I walked back down the hall to my room, closing the door behind me. I tossed my suitcase onto the bed and started digging through the mess of clothes I brought with me. Shit, I muttered. I forgot to pack a bathing suit. By the looks of it, I forgot to pack anything other than street clothes. What a mess.

I ran down to Rachel's room and frantically knocked on the door. I entered before she answered to find her rummaging through all of her clothes. It looked like she brought her whole closet. She had outfits in every color for any occasion. I was baffled as to how she managed to fit it all into her suitcase.

"I was in a hurry this morning and didn't pack anything useful!" I complained. "No bathing suit, no dress, nothing! What am I going to do?"

"Relax, you can borrow some of mine," Rachel replied. "Help yourself."

I tried on every piece of clothing in her room and not a single one fit. Rachel was taller than I was by a couple of inches, but she was bone thin. She has an eating disorder, but that's not something we talk about often. She hates when anyone brings it up, even me. The last time I mentioned it was over the past summer. Rachel yelled at me and told me to get out, only for me to receive a text from her father later that day saying she fainted from malnutrition and was in the hospital. That was enough to earn me an apology. I've come close to bringing it up when I feel like she's slipping, but I can't bring myself to do so because of how upset she gets. It's tough watching your best friend suffer like that. And then her proceeding to lash out when you try to help. But that's just the way of the world sometimes, I guess.

"We'll go shopping before the beach." Rachel, half-stripped, told me. "Don't worry about it." I nodded in agreement but was still, obviously, extremely worried about it. What if I couldn't find anything I liked?

I went back to my room and threw on a pair of jean shorts with a slightly oversized t-shirt before returning to Percy's room. He was shirtless as I entered; I caught a look at his abs for the first time. Wow. They were defined. He turned and noticed me staring.

"Like what you see?" he joked, slipping on a striped t-shirt.

"Eh, you're alright." I teased. "And you are not wearing that. There's no way in hell we're wearing matching Tees."

"Oh come on, it's my favorite shirt."

"Find another one."

Percy half-stripped once again and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. "Just alright?" he mused.

I rolled my eyes and hopped up on the bed, sprawling out. "Rachel and I need to go shopping before we hit the beach."

"Already? We've only been here for an hour!" Percy replied.

"I know, but in my haste this morning I forgot to pack anything other than street clothes. Maybe if you set an alarm like a responsible person we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Oh, so this is my fault?" Percy replied. We weren't actually mad or upset with one another, just bantering playfully. Percy switched into a green and white striped Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt.

"Much better," I commented. "And yes it's your fault. So are you down for shopping?"

"It doesn't seem like you're giving me much of a choice."

"I'm not. So I'll take that as a yes then."

We hung out for about 20 more minutes, filling in the time until we left for lunch. Only the Gods knew what Rachel and Ryan were doing.

Annabeth: Are you guys ready? (12:46pm)

Rachel: Yea, just give us like 2 minutes (12:48 pm)

Annabeth: Rachel! (12:48pm)

While she didn't outright say anything, I knew what the two of them were doing. They were one of Wellington's PDA couples. Hell would free over before they missed a chance to snog each other.

We met them in the kitchen and Rachel gave me a sheepish grin. Ryan kept his eyes glued to the floor and Percy was oblivious to the whole thing. Boys. Percy led us through a maze of hallways to the house's garage. The house was incredible, but the garage was otherworldly. There were 6 cars in total, all well over $100,000. Ryan, being a car guy, practically fainted.

"I'm in heaven," Ryan announced. "I might stay here all day."

"Sounds better than shopping." Percy joked. I playfully punched his arm.

Rachel and Ryan slid into the backseat of one of the white Ferrari convertibles. Ryan got to pick which car. He made a good choice. Percy closed the door behind them before turning to me.

"People in LA know who I am," Ryan explained. "More importantly, so does the press. Paparazzi are inevitable, so are pictures. We're not going to be able to keep us a secret for much longer."

I kissed Percy briefly. I pulled away and smiled up at him, our eyes locking in the process. "As long as I have you I think I'll get over it." I kissed him again for good measure.

We joined Ryan and Rachel in the car and sped off through Beverly Hills towards Santa Monica.

"Where are we heading for lunch?" Rachel asked from the backseat.

"Daphne's," Percy replied.

"Like the Daphne's. Daphne Holmes' restaurant." Rachel inquired.

"That's the one."

"It takes months to get a reservation, how'd you manage that?"

"I had mom call," Percy replied with a grin. "Perks of being famous."

"I could get used to this," Rachel replied.

"Hands off, he's mine." I joked. "But she's right. I could get used to this."

Percy looked over and smiled at me, taking my hand in his. Kissing was great and all, but holding hands invokes emotions in me I can't describe. There's just a reassuring comfort and warmth about it I can't explain.

Daphne's is just down the road from the Santa Monica pier. We decided to park near the pier and walk over because that was our next destination. Right before we reached the front door, a photographer snapped a photo of us and started asking questions.

"How's life in New York treating you, Percy? You've been gone for less than two weeks and you already have a girlfriend? Tell us about that." We kept our heads down and stayed silent per Percy's instructions and entered the restaurant. It was just as beautiful as Arcadia, the place we had brunch at in New York but was different in every way. Arcadia was pretty because of its scenery. Daphne's was flat-out elegant. Everything in the room looked so expensive. I saw tens of A-list celebrities dining throughout the massive main room. To say we were underdressed was an understatement. All of the men in the room were wearing at least a button-down and trousers, nothing less casual. Almost every woman was in a dress. Then here come these four teenagers in beach attire sticking out like a sore thumb. We were the opposite of the needle in a haystack. More like an elephant on a pile of hay.

Percy was oblivious to the stares we were receiving for our casual dress like he's used to it.

"Why didn't you tell us this place was fancy?" I whispered into his ear.

"We've got a private room, the stares are just temporary. Plus nobody cares. They're a bit surprised, but it's just clothing. Everyone here knows the effort of putting up a good appearance, they don't judge if you take a nice casual day."

"If you say so."

We were met by a hostess shortly after. He was good friends with Percy. They shared a long embrace before he turned to the rest of the group. "Guys," Percy said, "this is Tyler, one of my lifelong friends."

"What, are we not best friends anymore?" Tyler asked.

"Sorry man," Percy said with a smile. "I think you got replaced." He gestured towards me.

" 'Mr. I don't talk to girls' is gone for a few weeks and is back with a girlfriend? You must be something special." Tyler insinuated.

"She's not my girlfriend Tyler," Percy replied. My heart sank a little at this. "At least not yet. Not officially anyway," he added.

"Nice save," I commented. The group laughed. Percy was at a loss for words. He's cute when he's flustered.

"I'll have to get to know you another time," Tyler commented. "You guys too of course," he added, gesturing to Ryan and Rachel. The two of them just smiled. "C'mon, I'll take you to your seats."

We dutifully followed Tyler through the restaurant and towards a back room. Percy stopped and said hello to half a dozen different people, most of whom anyone in the country would recognize. Sports stars, musicians, the socialites of the world. The interactions were rather awkward for Rachel, Ryan, and me. We just stood there and watched Percy chat away with people we'd idolized for half our lives. It took almost 10 minutes for us to reach our room.

"I thought I was going to have to tell you to find your way here yourself." Tyler joked. "Man, I forgot how you can talk."

"Sorry I'm popular," Percy replied cheekily.

Tyler smiled. "Some things never change. Let's catch up later," he called over his shoulder as he exited back into the main dining room.

Percy walked around the table and pulled my seat out for me. Ryan did the same for Rachel.

"How gentlemanly," Rachel mused, "Percy I think you're rubbing off on Ryan a little bit." Ryan gave her a look that said 'Really?'

I thought Arcadia in New York was a great restaurant; it was by far the best I'd ever been to. But Daphne's? Oh man, this place was something else. It was otherworldly. It was one of those super fancy restaurants where an average person like me doesn't recognize a single thing on the menu. Bone marrow? Foie Gras Terrine? Dover Sole? What are these things?

"Do you need the kid's menu?" Percy mused. "You seem a little confused."

"I didn't realize I had to speak French to go out to eat in America," I replied. Percy just smirked. "What are you getting?"

"Steak tartare."

"Is that like a normal steak?"

Percy laughed. "I'm pretty sure it's actually horse meat. You can't taste the difference though."

"That's foul."

"That, Annabeth, is the circle of life," Ryan interjected. "So Percy, Tyler was telling me on the walk over about a party tomorrow - mentioned something about a hidden beach. He said you'd know what that means."

"Oh, I do. You guys are in for one hell of a surprise."