A/N: As you all know, the first 6 chapters of this story came out rather quickly last Spring, and I've posted pretty infrequently since then. That's life for you. Had a lot of stuff I needed to take care of. But alas, I'm back and ready to continue. I probably should've put this A/N at the beginning of the last chapter, but I kind of forgot to write it so y'all are getting it now. I'm looking forward to continuing this story and thank you for all of the positive reviews! We are nowhere near finished! If I had to guess we're probably only 30-40% of the way through. I think you'll all love what I have in store for you going forward. From here out I'm looking to post once, maybe twice a week.

Also, thanks a ton all for the sweet comments you've left, it warms my heart to see that others are enjoying the story as much as I am! I'm not sure if you OG commenters are still around to see the story continue/wrap up, seeing as I haven't posted in a while and nobody's commented since last May, so let me know if y'all are still reading. As always, suggestions, comments, and reviews of any type are very much appreciated, so don't be shy, I love hearing what y'all have to say. That's what makes fanfiction great, chatting and writing with the rest of the community.

Also, if you have any stories that you'd love to share, drop the titles in the comments below. I'm always looking for some good Percy Jackson fanfiction and I can only assume the rest of y'all are as well.

- FantasyYeti

I watched as Jamie warmly embraced Percy. He returned one of those awkward one-arm half-hugs. You could tell she was way more into him than he was into her. That warmed my heart a bit. If you thought the hug was awkward, you should've seen the aftermath.

As Percy tried to pull out of it, Jamie held on for dear life. Percy was just standing there looking around. In all my anger, I was surprised to find myself stifling a laugh. Ryan found it quite amusing as well. When Jamie finally let go, they both eyed each other.

"So..." Percy said.

"So..." replied Jamie. Her attention moved from Percy towards Rachel and me. Clearly, she was sizing up the two of us, wondering if either of us had stolen Percy from her. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends?" she asked innocently.

"Sure. Annabeth, Rachel, Ryan." Percy replied, pointing to each of us as he said our names.

"It's nice to meet you all!" Jamie replied. It was one of those overly friendly tones. You know the ones that are so over the top sarcastic and obvious that she did not want us to be here.

"It's nice to meet you too." I replied, stepping forward. I took Percy's hand in mine and leaned my head against his shoulder. My message to Jamie was loud and clear - BACK OFF, he's mine. The two of us were starring daggers at each other, and everyone around us was watching the standoff keenly. Except for Percy, of course, he was looking around through the crowd, oblivious as always.

"Good to see everyone made it out today," Percy interjected, breaking the ice-cold atmosphere. "It would've stunk if nobody was here."

"I'm sure we would've gotten a better turnout if people knew you were coming, Perc (pronounced "Purse")" Jamie replied. Perc... she was bringing out nicknames now. I would say I was ready to play that game, before it dawned on me Percy and I didn't actually have any nicknames for each other yet. After all, we've only known each other for 2 weeks, so it's not that big of a deal, right?

"C'mon," Percy said, suddenly pulling me away, "There's a whole bunch of people I've got to introduce you to. See you later Jamie." He called over his shoulder.

As soon as we were out of Jamie's earshot Percy stopped and turned towards me. "That might've been the worst moment of my life."

I laughed. "If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't too fond of it either."

"Oh relax," Percy chuckled, "You've got nothing to worry about."

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Jamie. We've known each other for a long time. Her grandmother worked on the set of Orange River Valley, with my mom. We were both young at the time, like 8 or 9ish. Both of us made frequent appearances on set, watching the wonders of a Hollywood production."

"Sounds like a true love story." I jested. It was only half a joke, half a comment to see how Percy would respond.

"Absolutely not." Percy replied to my heart's desire. "Things between us are, erm, interesting. Do you remember Tyler? He works at Daphne's." I nodded "He dated Jamie for a while in middle school. That ended horribly. Plus the fact that she's pretty much family to me. In the nicest way possible I wouldn't go anywhere near her. Uh-uh. No way."

"Something tells me she doesn't feel the same way about you."

"What? Are you joking?" Percy exclaimed. "There's no way."

"From what I just witnessed, there's every way."

"No shot."

"Ask Rachel or Ryan, they'd both back me up instantly. Honestly, you could probably ask any of those kids over there, they'd probably agree too."

"Oh, well in that case," Percy replied. He turned around and took 2 or 3 steps towards Jamie before turning around with a mischievous grin smeared across his face. "I'm kidding!" he exclaimed when he saw my face. I was not having any of it.

"You're such a jackass," I told him.

"Maybe so, but you still love me."

"Not if you keep acting like that I won't." I told him, smiling. We both knew this wasn't true as we'd both fallen for each other, hard.

"As I've told you twice already, you've got to loosen up. Now c'mon, everyone's looking this way now, they're definitely eager to meet you. See that group over by the edge of the water, those are my people."

We walked over to a group. All of them were staring as we approach with fat smiles planted on their faces. There were 4 guys and 2 girls.

"Damn Percy, of all of the things you could've brought back from New York, I did not think a girl would be it."

"Oh shut up Doug." Percy replied. "Everyone's been saying that. Is that really what you all think of me? That I can't get a girl?"

"More like you choose to avoid a romantic relationship with every single person who has ever tried to make a move on you." One of the girls replied. "It's not that you can't get a girl, it's more so that you've never had any interest in doing so. Oh, I'm Hazel by the way," she added, addressing me.

"Annabeth," I replied. The rest of the group introduced themselves as well, but I couldn't remember their names. Oops.

"So," Hazel continued, "how did you manage to steal the infamously thick-headed Percy Jackson's heart?"

"I don't know," I replied, "it all just kind of happened so quickly. We've only known each other for like 8 days or something."

"And he took you home to LA to meet his mother? You must be something special."

"Oh, she is," Percy cut in. My cheeks reddened a bit; they must've looked extremely bright to the LA crowd. All of them were permanently sun-kissed, with beautiful tanned skin. There were no exceptions. On the other hand, I was as white as snow. It wasn't a surprise, given I just spent the winter in New York, but it was still weird being significantly paler than everyone around me.

Percy told them the tale of Sophie throwing lemonade on me. And of how he drenched me with water while I was walking home from school. And of how he spilled water all over me at Ryan's party. Everyone was laughing, including me. While those moments stunk at the time, they were definitely memories to look back on and cherish.

"You know, it wasn't as funny from my perspective." I told Percy, still laughing. "Can I see your phone for a second?" I asked him.

"Yea, why?" he replied, handing it to me.

"I just want to check something." I replied. Immediately, I handed his phone to Doug and turned back towards Percy. I stepped forward and pushed him into the ocean. Instinctively, he tried to grab my arm and pull me in with him, but I was too quick for him. He fell on his butt in the water, which was about half a foot deep. A large wave crashed right near the shore at the exact same time, soaking him from head to toe.

"Payback!" I cried out to him. Once again, everyone was laughing, including Percy. All of his friends took out their phones and started taking pictures and videos.

"You are so not getting away with that." Percy said to me as he got up and ran towards me. I tried to escape, but Percy was much faster than I. He picked me up over his shoulder, pulling my phone out of my pocket and handing it to Hazel in the process. Despite all of my struggles, I couldn't get free. Percy had an iron grip on me. He ran out into the ocean as far and fast as he could and threw me in.

The water felt amazing. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't freezing either. It was cold and refreshing. I stayed underwater for a moment, swimming over to Percy who'd lost sight of me. I grabbed him by the legs and pulled him under as well. He managed to find my face, cupping it with his hands, and kissing me. Kissing underwater is weird, to say the least. It's liquidy and salty and just feels odd. Nevertheless, this was one for the memory bank.

It would've been cool if we could've made a giant air bubble at the bottom and kissed in there, but hey, neither of us are kids of the Sea God, so, I can keep dreaming.

We emerged from the ocean smiling and holding hands.

"What were you two doing down there?" Hazel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Percy replied. "If Doug was more romantic maybe you'd know, for now, you'll just have to use your imagination."

"Don't even start," Doug interjected, "I will not be taking relationship advice from someone with the romantic experience of a potato."

"Maybe you should, that whole thing looked pretty adorable." Hazel said.

"Oh, so that's how it is?" Doug shot back sarcastically. He proceeded to pick Hazel up over his shoulder in a similar fashion to the way Percy did me. And sure enough, Hazel was the next victim of the ocean. We were all laughing our heads off, struggling for breath, abs aching. I hadn't laughed this hard in a while - ever, maybe.

"Was that everything you dreamt it would be?" Doug asked Hazel.

"I. Hate. You." was all Hazel replied.

At that moment, Ryan and Rachel had rejoined the group. I was so caught up in the moment that I'd forgotten they had come with us (A/N: I was enjoying writing this scene so much I forgot they were here too!). The two of them introduced themselves to the rest of the group.

We all sang and danced and laughed and had a great time. The sunset was otherworldly. The music was incredible. The company was impossible to beat. The party went on well into the night and before I knew it we were all sitting around a bonfire well past midnight. Most of the crowd had left by this point. There were a couple of other groups of kids scattered around at other fires. Most importantly, though, Jamie was gone. Hopefully, we'd never see her again.

The NY crew was telling the LA crowd about the Housewives and our school's social dynamic. They all sat there listening intently.

"So let me get this straight, this group of sluts -"

*SMACK* "Ow!" Doug exclaimed.

"Don't call girls that word you dick!" Hazel shot back. "I'll hit you a hell of a lot harder next time if you ever say that again!"

"Fine. Fine. Sue me because I'm drunk! Let me try again. So, a group of, erm, females with extremely poor attitudes in all walks of life who get with guys for sport -"

"Much better." Hazel cut in.

"Stop cutting me off! So these girls, the self-proclaimed "Housewives," rule your school, and you and your friends are the rebellious ones who don't care what they have to say. What is this, the American revolution?"

"More like the French," Percy replied. "They'd love to behead Rachel, Annabeth, and their gang for pretty much anything. Just wait until Sophie and Anna find out we're a thing, then all hell will break loose."

"Oh, so we're officially a thing now?" I asked Percy. Everyone looked towards him, curious as to how he'd respond.

Percy smiled and turned towards me. He made a huge scene of getting down on one knee in front of me, pulling out a ring pop from his back pocket. How long had that been in there?"

"Annabeth Chase," he began, "Will you do me the honor of dating me?"

"I would be honored to." I replied.

We all laughed at Percy and his goofiness, but the whole situation was adorable. He slipped the ring on my finger, taking a lick in the process. He took my hands in his and stood up to face me. He kissed me right there in front of everybody. The group cheered as we embraced one another and I heard Hazel telling Doug in the background that he should definitely be taking notes.

I've loved all of our kisses up until this point. Each was unique and special in its own way, but this one was without a doubt my favorite.