I am back! Chapter seventeen.

SunBear: Oh, puh lease. Sure. Stained and Liberated...which, uh, I think you need a better title.
That's true. We shall see...Rachel did make a slight appearance, but, uh, it was very slight and it was in, like, chapter one.
Lol. I like the Cheshire Cat.
Awkward Percy is nice. Lukabeth is not...eh.
Thanks!

Joshannis12345: ...maybe? I..did not think of that. Thanks!

Poseidon1702: Yep. Calypso was unexpected, I'd hope. Yay. Thanks!

Annabeth's POV:

"So?" Piper asked with a grin on her face. "How'd it go?" Annabeth rolled her eyes. Piper had been in on it- she could see that now. She had half a mind to thank Piper for it, but didn't want to give her friend the satisfaction. Mango sat by her side, kneading on Piper's lap- causing Piper to wince every so often at the feel of her claws. Pandora scattered as Annabeth walked through the door, scurrying into the kitchen.

"It went well," Annabeth allowed, "it was Percy, as I'm sure you already know." Piper feigned surprise- but both of them could tell it was only a charade.

"Why would I know?" she asked. "Jason's the one who set you two up. And also, Percy? That's great. Seriously, how did it go?"

"It went well, like I said," Annabeth told her. Piper raised her eyebrows.

"Well? Just well? Annabeth, I didn't get you dressed up for nothing. How did it go?" Piper asked insistently. "I want details this time." Annabeth rolled her eyes at her friend's antics but relented.

"Well, I got there first," she started. "And when he arrived I didn't think he was my blind date so I tried to hide." Piper looked like she was about to laugh. "I'll withhold all the details if you laugh at me, Piper McLean." Mango padded toward Annabeth, who scooped her up in her arms and smiled as Mango tried to grab Annabeth's face with her paws.

"Anyway," once it seemed that Piper would be silent, "we talked for a while, he tripped over his words, the usual." She would withhold their relationship for now…it would be all the better when Piper found out that way.

Annabeth's POV – Present Day:

It had been two weeks since Piper had confronted Annabeth about her blind date with Percy, and so far her roommate had not noticed anything amiss. Yes, there had been a suspicious glance or two when Percy stopped by, but they had been sly and when they did act 'couple-y', it was often on Piper and Jason's dates when Percy came by, or when Piper kicked Annabeth out because Jason was over.

Annabeth had a feeling Piper would be somewhere between furious and angry when she learned that Annabeth had kept this from her, but Annabeth wanted to see where it went first. Percy was a believer, she'd learned.

Annabeth, of course, was not.

If the relationship didn't go anywhere, why bother Piper with the news? It would just make them both sad if Percy and Annabeth decided to call it quits- which was a high probability considering Percy believed and Annabeth did not.

"Hey," Percy said slyly from behind her. "How is my beautiful girlfriend today?" he snaked an arm around her waist from where she sat in the SSB, just staring at a plan Malcolm had wanted her opinion on.

"I dunno," Annabeth replied distractedly, "where is she?" Percy chuckled, leaning over her shoulder to look at what she was doing- making little notes on the doc in which Malcolm had inserted the picture of the plan.

"Whatcha doing?" Annabeth turned to look at him, noting the fact that soon, his green eyes would glaze over as she talked about architecture- but at least he tried.

"Well, Malcolm sent me this because he wants to make a little neighborhood or something, down at the end of Fare Street. This is the first of the homes, a little two bedroom, one bathroom he wants my opinion on. Now, personally, I think some of the mouldings could use a little work, but that archway in the middle of the living room gives it such depth and dimension, even in this picture," Annabeth began, watching Percy try to pay attention while not knowing what she was talking about. "But I love the window in the bedroom, it's gorgeous." Annabeth rambled on about the different architectural pieces in the home, before turning back. "What did you-" she stopped, Percy's eyes had effectively glazed over. She snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Huh- oh, yeah, I see what you mean," Percy said dimly. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"You're such a Seaweed Brain. Sit down." Percy complied, taking a seat beside her as she showed him what she'd been pointing out- the shape of the window, the arch in the living room, the mouldings. Percy appeared to be attempting to look alert as she did so but Annabeth could see his interest waning.

"Annabeth?" Annabeth turned. "Oh, and Percy. What are you guys doing?" Piper asked curiously, her eyes shifting from Percy to Annabeth and back again. Annabeth responded easily, sending Percy a discreet nudge to follow her story.

"He asked what I was doing," she responded easily. "Of course, he didn't really understand it, but it's the thought that counts." Percy just looked confused, and Piper shrugged.

"Alright. Good luck surviving one of Annabeth's monologues, Perce."

"So…" Percy started as she left, "what was that about?"

"I…haven't told Piper we're dating yet," Annabeth confessed.

"Why? Are you ashamed of me…or something?" Percy looked angry, hurt…she wasn't sure which.

"No Percy, no," Annabeth hastened to explain. Percy crossed his arms, looking much more alert. "It's just…this is a new relationship, and I didn't know if it was going to flop, and it's ours, Percy," she said, putting a hand on his leg under the table. "And I like that, too." She paused. "I mean…we haven't had that conversation, and it's only been two weeks. You get that, right?"

Annabeth watched Percy thinking, almost afraid.

"Yeah," he said eventually. "I guess. But, like…I told Jason immediately after I got home…I woke him up and really pissed him off. Apparently he'd been having this dream- but that's not important. I just…kinda wanted to 'show you off', you know? Say, this girl is my girlfriend. How lucky am I?" Annabeth risked a glance at Piper, to find her friend had already gone. "But I didn't tell anyone else," he paused. "Wait. Except my mom. I told her."

Annabeth smiled at him. "And what did she think?" she'd obviously not met Percy's mother, but impressing the parents was always something you should do when in a relationship with their son…albeit a secret one.

"She was glad," Percy shrugged. "But, uh…should we have that conversation?" Annabeth's stomach flopped. She knew he was a believer already- he hadn't told her, it was just something she could see in his eyes when he saw an ad for a soulmate finder, or something. Something wistful and longing for that other half he hoped to find.

Annabeth knew he wouldn't find that in her.

"Alright," she said slowly, her voice carefully controlled. "Uh…here?" he shrugged.

"Is there a better place?" Annabeth shook her head. She hated this conversation with a passion- the conversation that hurt her relationships and often ended them altogether- what if we're soulmates? Her partner would ask. She'd shake her head. If you believed, how could you be in a committed relationship when you always wanted to find that other half?

"Well…I, uh, believe in soulmates," Percy said awkwardly. "And I get the feeling that you…don't."

"I could believe in soulmates," Annabeth argued weakly. "Who says I don't?"

Percy speared her with a look. "Do you?"

"…no." Annabeth admitted. "Uh…I haven't since I was little. My parents-" she cleared her throat- "they didn't set the best of examples. Combined with who I hung out with when I was just a kid, I…it sort of just left." Percy, to his credit, didn't look disappointed. Didn't look at Annabeth like she was a freak, which she appreciated. She was just a girl- a girl who didn't believe in soulmates. Not a barbarian.

"Well, that's alright. I…well, if I believe in soulmates…and you don't…what happens if one of us finds our soulmate?" This was the part Annabeth hated.

When she first moved to New Pine Creek, she'd gone out with a perfectly nice guy called Chris Rodriguez. But he met a girl, Clarisse La Rue, on their date at the movies in a different city, and Annabeth had given him a smile and walked away without a word.

Chris was a believer. It had been better to let him go then to try and hold on.

But Annabeth wasn't sure if she would let Percy go or hold on, if he found his girl.

She didn't want to let go.

"I…well, I told you. I- I don't want my soulmate. I don't need that 'perfect love' Destiny has set up, and I wouldn't just abandon my boyfriend because I found someone who was apparently better. But I…" Annabeth felt her throat close up. She cared about Percy- it had been two weeks, yes, but the relationship had been a long time coming and she didn't want it to end. "…I wouldn't expect you to do the same," she finished.

Percy watched her. "You go," she said after a moment, catching her breath.

"Well," he said slowly. "I won't deny that I want to find the, ah…perfect love, as you put it." Annabeth wasn't surprised. "But…I guess it would depend. If it was a really new relationship- a few weeks, maybe even a month- I'd probably consider ending it. It hadn't gone very far, it probably wouldn't be able to go very far because of me…but, if it had been a year, two years, three?" he shook his head. "I couldn't do that to her. It wouldn't be fair to my soulmate, some might say, but it would be even less fair to the girl I was already dating." Annabeth was glad he saw it that way. "But, still…I think I would have to try something with my soulmate, one day. How could I just let that go, when it's been what I've dreamed of all my life?"

Annabeth nodded slowly. "I understand," she said quietly. It was nothing she wasn't used to, but it was always crushing to hear that the significant other you were putting your time into would drop you when they found someone considered 'better' for them, or 'more compatible'.

Chris, after all. He'd called her the next day. He'd said that he needed to find himself, and he thought he could do that with Clarisse. He said she deserved a chance. Said that he deserved a chance. Said there could be no one more compatible with him than Clarisse, that it was obvious. Annabeth had hung up the phone.

Chris and Clarisse married two years later.

But Annabeth turned her attention back to Percy. "It's not fair for me to hold you back if you ever find her," she said softly. "If…if you don't find your soulmate, if you do…do you see us with a future?" Percy watched her for a moment, looking for a way to respond to her words.

"I think so," he said, furrowing his brow. "How far into the future?"

"Next month," Annabeth responded. Percy nodded. "The month after that." He gave her a smile, all the assurance Annabeth needed. "After six months?" he was hesitant, then, his gaze was far away. After all, the relationship was young. Was this fair to him, to be asking him where he saw them so far into the future?

"Yeah," he said hoarsely. "I think so."

"After a year?" the silences grew longer, but there was always a yes, or a maybe, and Annabeth was glad- a weight lifting off her chest the longer into the future Percy 'looked', the more time he looked ahead. Annabeth wasn't sure where she saw their future. But she liked to think there would be a one month anniversary, and a two month anniversary, and a six month anniversary, maybe. "Two, three years?"

"After you meet your soulmate?" The pause grew frigid and cold, instead of the warm atmosphere that had descended when Annabeth started asking the question. She watched him, adrenaline filling her nerves, looking at the clouds in his sea green eyes.

He shook his head.

Your song of the chapter...I'll go with English Sunset. Bet you can't guess who it's by!