Percy POV

"Can I help you with the dishes Mrs. Chase?" I asked as the rest of the family was beginning to settle down in the living room.

Her head turned towards me, her long hair nearly whipping me in the face. I subtly took a step back.

"Honey, pretty please just call me Whitney. We are all adults here," she said while handing me a Christmas themed dish towel.

I let out a small, somewhat forced laugh, and took the rag from her hands, and hoped that I could think of some conversational topics, so the chore session wasn't composed of awkward silence and running water. What do wealthy, middle aged woman like to talk about? Yoga? Any book clubs?

As my brain was running rampant searching for new ideas that weren't going to sound as desperate and forced out loud, she spoke up. "So, Percy, you ski for a living?"

It wasn't what I was expecting her to ask, and I noted the hint of condescending tone, so I was cautious of my next words. "Well, yes, I guess you could say skiing is what I do with my life…" I trailed off, hoping she would stop her questioning before it got even more uncomfortable.

Whitney was persistent, and followed her previous question with another. "So is that a steady job?"

I was at a loss for words at this point, and opened my mouth to retort back, but then realized that the truth of the matter was that skiing wasn't a steady job. One fall later and I suddenly lost all of my major sponsorships, and my chance to prove myself for more.

Annabeth's stepmother, who was finally showing her true colors, spoke up again before I could compose myself to answer. "What do you make a year? Because both Bobby and Matthew are already making over 6 figures a year, and I would only hope that the trend continues."

I bit my tongue so hard I thought blood was going to come out, and held back any comments I could think of, for fear that I would be kicked out of the house.

Whitney didn't seem to sense that anything she said had any fault, and she continued washing the dishes and handing them to me to dry. As I was contemplating throwing a salad bowel at her head, Whitney had the nerve to continue her questioning.

"And so what do you see in Annabeth?" At this question, she slowly turned away from the sink, and faced me. Her calculated eyes scanning my own, which I'm sure reflected a deer in the headlights look.

It wasn't the question that bothered me. It was a simple, polite enough question, normal for a worried parent to ask the new boyfriend. But Whitney didn't intend to be a concerned parent. The question seemed to say, why would you be dating her… It was laced with judgement and a hint of disgust.

I'm not sure if it was the questioning, or the way she looked at me with one perfect drawn on eyebrow, but I lost all of the self-control I had been trying to utilize, and my anger left my body like a runner on the starting line.

"Listen, with all due respect, I understand that Annabeth is different than your sons, and may not make 6 figures a year, but if you can't see the special qualities that I can, then I am sorry, because you are surly missing out. I shouldn't have to explain why Annabeth is so great, because if you were a true mother figure in her life, you would already see the qualities that I am learning to love," I took a deep breath, calmly set down the knife I had been drying off, and turned to walk away, without looking to see the impact of my reckless words on Whitney.

As I was leaving the kitchen, I remembered another point. "I ski because it makes me happy. And that is more valuable than any type of monetary value or benefits that sitting in a cubicle from 8-5 is going to reward me with."

My legs led me up the stairs, and into the only other room I had been in the large, family house. I closed the door behind me, and sunk into the bed that Annabeth and I had shared the night before.

I leaned my elbows on my thighs and then put my head in my hands, running my fingers through my raven locks.

What is my problem? All I had to do was hold the pretty girl's hand, and get to eat home cooked meals and tour San Francisco for a week. All I had to do was be the perfect boyfriend that every family wants to meet. All I had to do was play a charade, and reap the benefits of it.

Instead, I develop feelings that run deeper than a crush for my fake girlfriend, I open my mouth and disrespect her step-mother, and I will probably end up getting myself kicked out of the house.

Great going Percy…

I kept myself hunched over my knees, leaning on the side of the bed, waiting for someone to break the news to me that I was kicked out of the house. My hands kept pulling on my long hair, styling it in a messy sense that seemed to reflect my life.

When I heard the knock on the door, my heart dropped to the bottom on my chest, and I was prepared to face a mob of angry Chase family members, ready to run me off of their property because I had upset the queen bee of the colony.

Instead I was surprised to see Annabeth's angelic face peep though the crack. Her hair was now in a braid, with loose curls framing her face. The light caught on her face, casting shadows that made her seem mysterious and enchanting.

These feelings definitely ran deeper than a crush…

"Perce," she asked in a soft voice, and my heart did a cork 900, a move I had perfected on the mountain. "We are about to start the movie, and I don't want to 5th wheel at the couple fest out there like I usually have to."

She extended he hand out to me, and my face must have reflected confusion, as I tentatively reached up to grab her dainty fingers.

"Whitney told me you came up here to grab your phone or something. You must have wooed her over with your charm, because she told me that you're a keeper, and I've never heard her say that she approves of anything in my life," she winked and used some impressive strength to pull me up.

I scrunched my eyebrows together, trying to figure out what kind of sick joke Whitney was playing on me, or if maybe I was dreaming. Last time I checked I said some nasty things to her step-mom, and gave her no reason to 'approve of me.'

Annabeth laughed at me, and spoke again, "Percy are you okay? This is the quietest you've been since I met you."

I snapped out of my daze, and realized that it's not very often you have a goddess of a women holding her hand, inviting you to go watch a movie. And when these opportunities present themselves, you seize them.

"Sorry Angel, did you miss my charming remarks?" I smirked at her.

She bumped me with her shoulder and flashed a flirty smile. "I think I like when you're confused and silent. Can you go back to that Percy?"

I leaned closer to her face, and could smell her shampoo, once again. "Well, I am not shutting up anytime soon."

She slowly raised on to her toes, and I bent my neck down, so our faces were mere inches apart. I admired to boldness of her grey eyes, and the fullness of her lips.

I watched her lips, and she whispered, "We will see about that."

Just as I had closed my eyes with the intent of kissing her, a voice shouted up the stairs.

"Hey love birds! We are waiting!"

I jumped away from Annabeth, cursing her family for interrupting us once again.

Just as I had gathered the courage to kiss the blonde angel, they had to shut me down.

I don't know what it was about Annabeth that is so intimidating. I had kissed many, many girls in the past. Hookups come easy when your life is a constant cycle of ski, then party, the repeat the next morning. Get beyond wasted, take random, wiling girls back into my condo, and then attempt to ski off the hangover the next morning. And that is the exact lifestyle that I had lived up until last year, when I had focused all of my energy on getting the gold, until the dreaded accident of course.

Annabeth took control of the situation, grabbed my hand, and led me down the stairs. I wondered how she was able to compose herself in the matter of seconds, while my heart was still racing.

When we finally landed on the first floor of her house, I analyzed the scene in front of me. Bobby and Fiona were sitting snug next to one another on one end of the couch, Matthew and the very pregnant Sarah were occupying the other two-thirds of the lengthy couch, her laying down with her feet in his lap. Fredrick was in a reclining chair, and Whitney was in a separate chair next to him. When I caught her eye, she gave me a brief nod of her head, and a small smile.

Maybe that is her way of acceptance?

There was a loveseat open, and I knew it would be a tight squeeze for both Annabeth and myself, so I debating if I should get myself a separate chair from the dining room, but Annabeth, taking control in her admirable way once again, pulled me towards the seat.

I sat down first, and she followed, half of her body squeezing in the only space, the other half laying on me. I wrapped one arm around her shoulder, and her head fell into the crook of my neck.

Without thinking about it, I placed a gentle kiss on the top of her honey curls, and it suddenly alarmed me how natural everything between us occurred.

A/N: Fun fact, this was typed on my car ride to Las Vegas. I realize that the pace of the story is somewhat slow, and kind of dragging, and I promise from here I will try and pick up the pace, so the story will wrap up nicely and not take so long to complete. Hope you all have a good weekend!