Time had whisked away in a flash, while Percy and Ananbeth chatted away. It was a nice chnage of scenery where there was no cameras or journalists to intterupt their time together. They lost track of the time- but who cared? Not them, that was for sure. Percy snatched this chance to talk about his Selection experience. So far it was nice, but Percy didn't really feel anything.

That was a lie. He did feel things. A lot of feelings. Happiness, joy, complete stress and wanting to throw himslef into the ocean. But none of them felt like the one he wanted, and that was love.

"Someone like you," Percy said randomly. Annabeth looked at him. What exactly was he implyling? "I wish there were more people like you, Annabeth."

Annabeth went back to watching the tiny fishes swim around. "Is that so? thanks." She laughed, avoiding his gaze. She told herself not to travel to that thought. No, no no. Her only purpose and role in the Selection was to help Percy. Simply put, to not develop any other feelings she already had. So why did it visibly ache every time she saw Percy with someone other than her? Why did it feel so wrong when other girls flirted with him? And why did it hurt the most when he didn't do anything?

'There I go again, being all sappy and that stuff.' She laughed humorlessly to herself. 'I need to get a hold. I'm being selfish.'

Desperate to change the mood, she started on a different subject.

"I think I saw something that I shouldn't have," She said. Oh dear. Why did he have to bring that thing up, of all things!

Percy tilted his head in a questoining way. "What do you mean?"

"Well, If you saw two very sketchy people talking in very sketchy voices, what would you do? And if one of them had a weapon with them?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"I would call the cops and make a run for it, obviously. And tell a hundred people while im at it."

"Thats what I thought at first. But then it turned. out it was nothing to worry about. I made sure of it already. I'm pretty sure I'm just telling you this to get it off my chest, though," Annabeth said.

"What? So you actually saw that happen?"

Annabeth nodded her head.

"Oh. That was unexpected. But." Percy coughed. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. 99% sure."

"You couldv've i don't know, tell the guards? Or me at least?." Percy asked.

"I could have," She admitted. "But I would've kicked their butts before they could do anything. I was also kinda afraid of being wrong. Actually, that sounds stupid now that I said it aloud."

Percy just laughed and swished his leg in the water. Back and forth. It wasn't too long before they noticed the setting sun. He got up, trying to balance on a rock.

"We should head back now. Its getting late."

" 'Kay. I hope that our stuff didn't get stolen." Annabeth said, also getting up. "This was pretty stupid of us."

Walking back, the moon slowly took over the sky. The sun was hanging low on the sky, leaving the darkness to settle in. Bugs and crikets chirped in the tall, swaying grass, making the silence break. Their footsteps left marks in the sifting sand and they walked slowly. The growing size of the waves was becoming louder and louder with each passing second.

It was soon before the night fully settled in. And it was well past their time to leave, but it hadn't crossed either one of their minds quite yet. No one had come for them, so that prectically meant they had more time together. Surrounding them were large, grey rocks that stuck in the sand. They were a bit taller than the two, maybe seven or eight feet tall.

"So about earlier. I'm kinda concerned about what you saw, so I now i'm definitely paranoid. But you saw the recent reports of robberies, correct?" Percy said warrily. His voice was hushed, as if someone was going to pop out from anywhere.

"Yeah. Again, I confirmed that there was a missundertanding."

He sighed relieved. "Okay, good. I'm guessing you got their names."

"One of their names. Allister Gurrero and a chef. I saw both of them when I was out on a... Walk. Something about a food delivery?" Annabeth looked around. "But I don't think we should be talking about that right now." Annabeth tensed up, sensing that they weren't the only ones there. A chill ran down her spine as she twirled around.

"Hm? Wh-?" Before Percy could finish, Annabeth yanked his arm down. They were both now against a rock, hiding their presence. Percy's shoulder met with a hard and cold surface. The rock certainly wasn't a comftorble pillow. Annabeth pulled him only slightly closer, so now both faces were a couple of inches from each other. Percy's breath hitched.

"There's someone here." Annabeth said in a stiff tone. She looked around, seeing a man dressed in neutral dark colors. He had both his hands stuffed deep in his pockets, and something about him said 'Danger'. Annabeth looked back at Percy but then blushed when she noticed the close contact. She let go of his arm. As soon as they were out of the mans sight, he shook his head and cursed.

"I've lost them. I can come back later." She overheard. "There'll be another chance, so calm down!"

Percy looked frantic. "Another chance?" He whispered. "Weirdo."

The man whipped his head in their direction. His eyes peirced directly into theirs, a threatening look darkening on his face. He started to grab something fro his pocket, not breaking his gaze. He didn't pull out anything, but he surged foward with incredible speed. Percy and Annabeth started walking away from him, increasing their speed as he walked faster. The two were still facing him.

"I'm no genious, but I think that guy looks like he wants to kill us." Percy said, turning around so he could go faster.

"You're absolutely right," Annabeth increased her speed.

Annabeth's flight or fight response was activated, and she chose flight. Percy and her dashed away, as far as they deemed safe. That was when they reached their stuff back at the beach. There, waited a Royal worker, bags in hand and an unreadable look on her face. Her foot tapped impatienty in the sand, but her attire didn't match the area. She was clad in a sleek black suit, which made her look like some sort of bodyguard.

"Prince Perseus and Annabeth Chase," She said. "You two are late. Where have you been?"

"We- There was-" Percy stammered.

"We got caught up. Sorry 'bout that." Annabeth scratched the back of her head and laughed. It was clear that she was trying to hide his nervousness.

"Just make sure to tell me ahead if you plan on doing some buisness. You guys really should know better," She said. It wasn't the words that threw Annabeth off guard, it was the suggestive tone that did it for her. The prince laughed it off. He had a slightly embarrassed blush spread across his face, matching the similar look on Annabeth's. She refrained sprinting away into the cold, blue ocean.

"Don't you want to tell her what just happened?" Percy whispered not so subtly.

"Later. Now's not exactly a good time."

They get back into a car. Its a different one from when they arrived at the beach, but it had the same interior and feeling. They're provided new, clean shoes to prevent any excess sand from getting in the expensive ride.

"Yua, when me and Annie here were walking back," Percy said into the quiet vehicle. Annabeth cringed at the nickname. "We saw a creepy old dude watching us."

"Probably just the paparazzi looking to get a good story. You've got to expect that sometimes." The royal worker replied. Or 'Yua' as Percy adressed her as.

"Sure, but-" Annabeth clamped a hand over his mouth to shut him up. She glared at him.

'Shut up.'

'Okay.'

To be completely frank, Annabeth was too tired to explain and didn't want to make things more complicated. It would be sure to cause concerns and eventually, pure chaos. She didn't know how stupid she was at the time.

The rest of the ride back was uneventful. The occasional flash of a camera in the black tinted windows, or the shout of questions as the car neared its destination. One desperate person nearly got ran over when they idioticaly jumped in front of the still moving car. The driver swerved right easily. The stranger cursed out a colourful string of words. Percy and Annbaeth exchanged a unfazed look at each other, and then looked back outside.

By the time they got back was when the coldness of the night had settled in. Both Annabeth and Percy were sore from all the running and swimming, so it was a hard time moving around so much. The two teens stood outside the steps of the Selection Building, the car's engine rumbling quietly in the distance. The moon aligned perfectly, lighting up their trail.

(A/N- Im just gonna start calling the place where annabeth and the rest of the girls stay the 'Selection Building' at this point)

"Today was fun," Percy said, hugging Annabeth.

"I wish we could stay together for a bit longer." Annabeth replied, burying her face into the crook of his neck. The familiar smell was calming to her senses.

"Me too. But unfortunately we can't. But before we go..." Percy backed up slightly, pulling back. He looked into Annabeth's grey sparkling eyes as if he was making a desicion. He leaned forward.

His lips met with Annabeth's cheek, caressing her face ever so lightly. time had seemed to slow down right then and there. It was a smiple gesture; yet it made Annabeth feel so... Annabeth didn't know herself.

Annabeth stood there, dumbfounded. She touched her cheek unconsiously. "What was that for?"

Percy blushed and looked away, covering the lower half of his face with the back of his hand. "Well, I haven't done much for you in this whole Selection, so... There. Please don't kill me."

The blonde smiled softly, but unknowing to her, Percy couldn't see it due to the dark light. He couldn't see the blush creeping itself upon the girls face as well.

"I'm not going to kill you. You got to it first." Annabeth said. Percy didn't understand what she said before-

Annabeth quickly pecked his cheek back and ran up the stairs. The black haired prince didn't get the chance to say a proper goodbye, but that action was more than enough to quench his longing. He felt a pang in his heart as he saw his best friend leave.

He hoped he could get back to the car without fainting.

Sorry for this short chapter! I'll try to do better. So erm. I have a new story, so thats part of the reason why updates will be a bit more spread out. Inconsistent. But they'll still be at least once a week! :)

Have i mentioned how I really hate life right now? No? Okay. Im hoping this chapter (Or book in general) has given you some sense of happiness or brought a smile on your faces. Again, i apologize if chapters will get inconsistent from now on.

Thanks for reading!