Ughhhhh...this probably won't be done by the fourteenth. I mean, I could write really quickly and get it done, but the chapters would be even more rushed and crappy than they are now, so I don't want to do that. I'll probably end up extending the deadline so I have more time to edit.

(This is such a shocker, right? I mean, I'm always on time with updates for my stories, and I never abandon my update schedule. *Insert the most sarcastic tone ever*)

Lol but seriously, I'll try to wrap this story up quickly and get back to writing Of Seaweed Brains and Wise Girls. This ended up being longer than I thought it would be, so….yeah. Sorry to everybody following it OSBAWG. I'll return to it as soon as I can. ;)

"Can I ask you a question?" Percy asked.

"Does it have anything to do with my half naked body?

"What? No. No, definitely not. I would never—"

"Relax, Percy," Annabeth said. "I'm joking."

They were in the dressing room of a salon/clothing store, owned by Percy's friend Silena—a pretty, dark haired girl several years older than them.

After seeing their soaked, shivering bodies on her doorstep, Silena had immediately ushered them in, let them (separately) use her shower in the connected loft, and then shooed them toward the dressing room with a pile of clothes.

There were only two stalls, divided from each other by a turquoise colored wall. Annabeth, wrapped in towels, had been led to the right one, where Silena had her left a large pile of clothing to pick through. She was dressed in everything but a shirt when Percy entered the other stall.

"What's the question?" Annabeth asked. She held up a sequined top and immediately dismissed it.

There was a shuffling sound as Percy pulled on a pair of pants. Either Silena had given him a smaller pile, or he was just quicker at deciding. "You have a crush on this guy, right?"

"Right," she said slowly.

"How long have you liked him?"

Annabeth frowned. "I don't know. We've been friends since I was seven, but I guess it really started when I was...fifteen?"

"Fifteen," Percy mused. "You're twenty, right?"

"Yup. Practically ancient."

"Okay. If you've liked him for five years, then why haven't you made a move?"

Annabeth exhaled through her nose. "It's complicated."

"Try me. I'm smarter than I look."

"He's...he's dating my roommate," she explained reluctantly. "They've been together for two years. I've basically been third wheeling the entire time."

"Ouch," Percy said.

"Ouch," she agreed.

There was a rifling of paper as Percy opened a shoe box. "I have another question."

"Is this an interrogation or something?" she asked. "Is the mirror two way glass?"

"I'm not that smart," Percy said. "Here's my question: when was the last time you had a boyfriend?"

Annabeth pulled on a gray shirt. "Um...like…" She dropped her voice, mumbling her response.

"What?" Percy said.

Annabeth sighed. "Five years," she said loudly.

There was a thud from the other stall. Percy had dropped the box. "Wait…"

"Don't say it."

"Annabeth Chase—"

"It's not important."

"Are you dressed?" he asked suddenly.

"I...yeah, I'm dressed. Are we dropping this? Because—what the hell?"

Percy's head appeared above the wall. Using his arms, he pulled himself up further, then rested his forearms on the top of the wall to support his body. "You're telling you that you've been hung up on this guy for five years?"

"Ding, ding, ding," she said sarcastically. "And was the entrance really necessary?"

"It was one hundred percent necessary."

Rolling her eyes, she knelt down and began to lace up her boots. While she did so, she noticed the price tag. "Oh my god. These are two hundred dollars?"

"Yeah, Silena's kind of a famous designer. But that doesn't matter! What matters is—"

"I can't pay for these! I only have three dollars!"

"I'll take care of it," Percy assured her. "In exchange for one question: Why?"

She ran a hand through her tangled curls. "Really? Blackmail? That's low."

"It's not blackmail," he said. "It's a favor. In exchange for a question: Why?"

Annabeth scowled. "I don't know what's more pathetic: me talking about ex crushes that aren't actually exes, or me talking about ex crushes to my fake boyfriend."

"Come on," he wheedled. "You know you want to."

She sighed, reluctantly giving in. "I don't know what I feel for him. It's true!" she added as Percy made a disbelieving face. "Luke...for the longest time, he was my only family. The only person that really cared about me. Then came the time where I thought things might be...more...but it never happened. He started dating Thalia, and and things have never been the same."

Annabeth looked up at Percy, who had an uncharacteristically pensive look on his face. "I don't know what feelings are real or not," she confessed. "I don't know what part of me is the little girl that idolized him, and what part is the teenager head over heels for the only boy who ever cared about her."

Percy stared at her, open mouthed. It was obvious he hadn't expected such a deep answer. "That's...well, that's…"

"Pathetic. Believe me, I know." She tried to knot her laces again, but her hands were shaking too much. "I can't even tie a damn shoelace," she muttered. "That's how much I suck at life."

Percy spoke hesitantly. "Do...do you want some help?"

She paused for a second. "I...yeah. Okay."

Percy lifted himself up further, pulling his body over the wall, and then dropped lightly next to her. They stared at each other for a moment, then he cleared his throat. "Uh, double knot, right?"

She nodded. He knelt down and picked up the laces. "I'm sorry," he said abruptly. "I'm shouldn't have pushed you. I didn't know it was…"

"It's fine," Annabeth said. "You know, I've never actually told anyone that." She exhaled. "It was...it was kind of nice, to be honest."

He gave her a slight smile. "Okay."

She hesitantly smiled back. "Okay."

Percy snorted, then finished tying the laces and stood up. "I'm shitty about giving life advice, but hey, at least your shoes are tied."

Annabeth's lips twitched. "Yeah. You...you tie good knots."

"Uh huh."

They were inches apart. The stall wasn't huge, but there was still enough room to step back if need be.

Neither of them did.

Percy took a deep breath. "Listen, about the contract. I—"

A knock on the door interrupted him. They both jumped back from each other.

"Annabeth?" Silena said from the other side. "Are you dressed?"

"Um, yeah." Annabeth's voice came out an octave higher than usual. "Yeah, I'm dressed."

"Great!" The door opened and Silena walked in, a jacket in her arms. "I just wanted to give you—oh!" Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfect O.

Annabeth's face reddened. Beside her, Percy paled. "I was tying her shoe," he said lamely.

Silena nodded quickly. "Right," she said. "Shoelaces." The edges of her lips twitched, but she didn't say anything else. She turned to Annabeth. "I have a coat for you."

"I…I can't," Annabeth stammered. "I don't have enough—"

"I'm paying," Percy said.

"No, I can pay tomorrow," Annabeth said. "I can come back with—"

Silena waved her off. "It's on the house." She pressed the jacket into Annabeth's arms.

Her eyes widened. "Seriously? But—"

"It's my treat," Silena insisted.

Percy grinned broadly. "Thanks, Silena!"

"On one condition."

His shoulders slumped. "I should've known. What's the chore?"

Silena laughed. "The cabinets upstairs need to be dusted, and you can reach them better than I can."

"But…" Percy glanced between her and Annabeth.

"There are chocolate chip cookies upstairs," Silena added. "Your mom dropped off a batch this morning."

Percy's eyes widened. "I'll be upstairs," he said, and immediately rushed out of the stall.

Silena followed him. "Kids," she said, shaking her head. "I'll be right back, sweetie. Give me five minutes."

And then Annabeth was alone.

She slipped into the jacket without checking the price—no need to guilt herself even more—and looked at herself in the mirror.

She could see why Silena was a popular designer. The skinny jeans were perfect, the boots stylish but practical, the white ski jacket snug and comfortable. Excluding her hair—which resembled the aftereffects of a hurricane—Annabeth had to admit that she looked good. Better than she did in snickerdoodle cookies and a coffee stained tank top, at least.

She smiled, and the girl in the mirror smiled back.

"Maybe getting a fake boyfriend really is the way to go," she said aloud. Then she shook her head, laughed, and left the changing room.

The store was divided into two parts: the clothing section and the salon. Annabeth wandered toward the front, where a row of leather swivel chairs waited, each with its own mirror, sink, and hair supplies.

Silena appeared a moment later. "I've set Percy to work," she announced. "In the meantime, how about we sort out those curls?"

Despite Annabeth's protests that she was fine, and that Silena had done enough for them already, Silena insisted that she sit. Eventually Annabeth caved. She settled herself in a chair and watched through the mirror as Silena began combing through her knots.

"Where are the other customers?" Annabeth asked, glancing around at the empty store. "Aren't there people you have to help?"

Silena shook her head. "I'm closed for the afternoon. Don't worry," she added after seeing Annabeth's face. "It's no big deal. I wasn't going to leave my kid and his, ah, girlfriend out in the cold."

There was something about the way she said girlfriend that made Annabeth wonder if Silena knew more than she let on.

"Right," Annabeth said quickly. "Girlfriend. And—did you call him your kid?"

Silena laughed. "Not genetically," she assured her. "I used to babysit him when he was ten. To me, he's still the energetic, sweet little boy I would see every weekend."

She moved to another knot. "You have such pretty hair," she said. "If you take the time to brush it every once in a while, these knots won't be as hard to get rid of."

As if to prove her point, the comb caught on a tangle, making Annabeth's eyes water with pain.

Sorry." Silena winced. "Don't worry; I have some mousse that will turn these curls into pure gold. It's to die for."

Girl talk. Annabeth had never been good at it. She wished she could be like Silena, who was obviously able to navigate conversations about hair, clothes, and makeup so easily.

"Oh, right," Annabeth said to fill the silence. "Yeah, I use mousse sometimes."

"Oh, really? What kind?"

"Um...I dunno," Annabeth admitted. "It looks like whipped cream," she added lamely.

And there it is, she thought. Another miserable attempt by Annabeth Chase to fit in.

Silena was nice enough not to laugh at her ineptitude. "I get you," she said. "When Percy was younger, he thought it was whipped cream. Let me tell you, that was not fun to deal with.

Annabeth snorted. That sounded exactly like something Percy (at either age ten or twenty) would do.

"I've been watching your videos," Silena said. "Percy seems to really like you."

This threw Annabeth off. If Silena knew they were pretending, then why was she continuing with the facade?

"I've known Percy for a long time," Silena continued. You wouldn't know by looking at him, but he's had a rough few years. And those fans of his…"

Silena scowled, and the comb caught on another knot. "He didn't say anything, but you could tell he was nervous for Valentine's Day. That's why I'm happy that...well…" She set her comb down and turned the chair so Annabeth was facing her. "Just promise me you'll treat him right. Please?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Percy bounded down the stairs. "Annabeth!" he called. "Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth!"

Annabeth had just enough time to say "What do you—" before a cookie was shoved in her mouth. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god," she said, spraying crumbs. "What is amazing thing? And...wait, why is it blue?"

Percy and Silena both laughed. "Special Jackson recipe," he explained. "My mom makes them blue every time."

"They're his favorite," Silena added.

Percy rubbed his hands together. "All right, Sweetcakes," he said. "We're wasting daylight."

Annabeth swallowed the cookie. "Sweetcakes? Peercy, your nicknames are continually worsening."

"I happen to like them, Honeycookie," he said, placing a hand over his chest as if she had wounded him. "I am a very creative person when it comes to nicknames. I may not have the intellect of you, O' Wise One, but I'm competent."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and stood up. "See what I have to deal with?" she said to Silena. And then to Percy: "I already shot down Honeycookie, remember?"

Silena smiled. "Get going, you two. I'll have your clothes dry in a few hours."

After thanking her, they headed to the door, bickering the entire way about cliché nicknames. As the door swung shut behind them, the last thing Annabeth heard from inside was Silena talking on the phone, saying something about a seven o'clock reservation.

Then the door swung shut, and once again she was in New York City, walking down the sidewalk with a fake boyfriend/celebrity in tow.

MyNightmaresAreMyDaydreams: Aw, thank you. I'm literally cringing as I go back and read how rushed it is, but I'm so glad you think it's good!

Shadowhunterofathena: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it.

Voldinette: You're absolutely right; I made this pretty cheesy, even by my standards. (Actually, seeing as everything I write is coated in cheese, that's not saying much lmao) Anyway, thanks for reading. ;)

Aawesomesauce: Thank you! Here's your quick update. ;)

Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thank you! :)

Loudlilylaughter11: I totally agree: it's really rushed. Rest assured, I'll come back and edit it—fill in the details, fix the pacing, etc.—but for now, thank you for reading and leaving a nice review!

Simba the Beagle: Yeah, TATBILB was huge inspiration for this story. I suppose that's what happens when you combine a love of writing with a love of movies. (which pretty much sums me up lol). :)