A/N: Oh god if you guys can see the poll right now. It's really close. Keep voting! And oh boy, the questions you guys sent me. I'll try my best to answer you.

rampratheek07: I don't know about the android app, but one way I do know how to find polls is by going on my profile page. The poll should be at the top of my profile. Oh, and make sure you're in desktop mode.

Zayden StormVoid: I can answer your question partly. When you're playing Olympia, you do the actions yourself. So it would make sense for Percy to get tired if he runs, attacks, dodges and all that. As for the other parts . . . ;)

Quihi: Yeah, I know. In my defence, English is not my first language. And I suck at describing things. But I'll try to improve them. Thanks for the tip! And as for Annabeth, yeah. I just made her that way just to be funny.

shadowmere388: Okay. For your first question, here ya go ( /P37FWT5). That should give you a better picture of the class system. Second question, yes. Mana is used, just not yet by Percy. Have you noticed Percy haven't used any form of spells and skills yet? They're used and they exist. Just not by Percy. At least not yet. And last question, *wink.

Cynaotic: Aw.

milkween: Perhaps :D

Now, let us continue.

Chapter 8

"Remind me again," Percy said as he sat next to Annabeth in her limousine. "Where are we going?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "How short is your memory?" Annabeth asked. "We're going to the Olympia Market."

"For what?"

"To help you prepare for the Rookie Showcase." Annabeth said. "I do hope you brought your wallet with you, because I'm not buying you anything."

Percy felt a little offended by that statement. "I can provide for myself, thank you very much."

"That's good, because these people don't take lightly to people with no money." Annabeth said.

"Wait, what do you mean they don't –"

"We're here," Annabeth said. They both exited the vehicle and the place made Percy gasp. It was a circular plaza ringed with buildings that looked like hotels and houses. At the centre of the plaza, Percy could see a huge fountain sprouting water upwards.

The most interesting part in this place were the stalls. There were stalls everywhere, scattered around the plaza that was almost as wide as the Colosseum in Rome. People were bustling around, checking through the stalls and shops looking for things that they would buy. At first, Percy saw nothing. But when he put his AR glasses on, he could see the items sprawled everywhere. Some looked like basic items, others looked like they were one-of-a-kind edition.

"Whoa," Percy managed.

Annabeth chuckled. "I had that same reaction when I first came here." Annabeth said. "This is the Plaza. This is where all kinds of magic happen. Here, you can trade with other players, buy items that you're looking for, sell items you don't want, etcetera."

Percy could hear people promoting their shop to have the lowest prices while other shops were promoting the same thing.

"You can make a living here," Percy said.

Annabeth nodded. "Some merchants, who have the rare items, are super rich." Annabeth stepped closer to him. "But between you and me, some of these items are . . . illegal."'

Percy decided not to question any further as they stepped into the Plaza. Percy could feel Annabeth wrapping her arms tightly around his, careful not to get separated. Thanks to their casual clothes and the bustling atmosphere, hardly anyone paid any attention to them.

Percy and Annabeth surveyed some of the shops and stalls on what they're offering. There were a few items that attracted Percy's attention. Some were just way out of Percy's price range, while some were just too weird for him to use.

Like, who uses an electric back scratcher to fight?

"See anything you like?" Annabeth asked.

"Some," Percy admitted. Then, he noticed one of the shops were selling necklaces. "Let's check that one." Percy said as he and Annabeth went towards it.

The shop was selling all kinds of necklaces. Some looked fake and some looked rare. When Percy hovered his hand over some of them, a message box containing all the info about the item popped up.

"Good morning," The vendor greeted them. "Fancy for some necklaces?"

"We're gonna take a look first," Percy said. Percy looked around to see a variety of them. Annabeth was looking as well, but she kept glancing at one of the necklaces. It was a silver necklace with an owl emblem attached to it. Percy hovered his hand above it. It didn't show anything. Percy lifted his Glasses to see that it was a real necklace. Not one from Olympia.

"Ah, you want to buy the girl a gift?" The vendor smiled.

"Um, what?" Annabeth asked.

"How much is it?" Percy asked.

"For you young man," The vendor said. "Thirty dollars,"

Percy feigned a surprise. "Outrageous," He said. "No more than ten."

"Twenty-five,"

"Eighteen,"

"Done." The vendor seemed pleased with the deal. Percy made the payment as the vendor handed the necklace to him. "Thank you, my friend."

Percy nodded in appreciation before turning towards Annabeth. She had an eyebrow raised. "What?" Percy asked.

"Why did you buy it?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shrugged. "I saw that you kept looking at it. I thought you might like it."

Annabeth seemed to blush but under the hat, it was hard to tell. "Even if I did, I could afford it you know."

Percy smiled. "Now that would defeat the purpose of a gift," Percy said. "Now turn around." Annabeth did so. She pulled her braid to the front so Percy could put the necklace on her easier. Annabeth's face was flushing red. No one had ever did this with her before. No one had ever even gotten her a gift that wasn't on her birthday.

She turned around and faced Percy again. "Thanks," She managed not to combust spontaneously because of how hot her face felt.

"Don't mention it," Percy grinned. "Now, let's walk around for a few more minutes, shall we?"

They wandered around the Plaza, looking at everything the place has to offer. Percy and Annabeth bought some stuff for themselves before they took a seat at one of the cafes in the place.

The waitress came over and smiled at both of them. "Hello and welcome to Hecate's Magic Cafe," She offered them the menus. "For today's special, we have the chocolate swirl ice cream topped with marshmallows and rainbow sprinkles."

"What a mouthful," Percy muttered a she studied the menu. "I'll have the Nectar, please."

"Make that two," Annabeth added. The waitress nodded as she picked up their menus. Percy noticed that the waitress kept looking at Percy.

"We'll have your drinks ready in a few minutes. Thank you!" She said before winking at Percy and walking away, something that seems to annoy Annabeth.

"What's her deal?" Annabeth grumbled. "Why was she winking at you?"

Percy chuckled. "Probably it's just because I'm that good-looking," Percy wiggled his eyebrows.

"How are you okay with this?"

"With what?"

"That waitress winking at you." She looked furious. "You're not supposed to allow other women to do that when you're in a date with one." She caught herself as she'd just realize what she just said.

Percy grinned. "Oh, is this a date, Miss Chase?" Percy leaned closer to her.

Annabeth tried to gather herself. She can't let Percy see her like this. She was a leader that's always composed and never panic in even the most dire of situations. So why was she flustering right now?

"I mean, i-it's just common sense." Annabeth stammered. "Other women can't make a move at you if you're already with someone."

"But I'm not with someone," Percy teased. "I'm just being accompanied by you to walk around the Plaza. There's a big difference there."

Annabeth's face felt hot. She was about to explode when Percy's laugh melted her heart. "You need to relax." Percy said. "I'm just messing with you."

"I don't like being messed around with," She grumbled.

Percy held his hands up in surrender, but a smile was evident on his face. "Alright, alright. I get it." He said. "But you haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

"Is this a date?"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

Line Break

Percy and Annabeth spent the day together until it was night time. They didn't buy many stuff, but they just walked around and explored the Plaza as Annabeth gave him lessons about Olympia.

By the time they arrived Percy's apartment, Annabeth and Percy were walking together up until the entrance to the building.

"Well, today was . . . enlightening."

"Really?" Annabeth smiled. "In what way?"

"In many ways," Percy smiled back.

Annabeth whistled. "Such deep words coming from a Seaweed Brain." She said before letting out a small laugh, in which Percy also laughed. "I had a great time today."

"So did I," Percy said with a smile. Under the moonlight, Annabeth looked like a goddess (much courtesy to Hestia). "Maybe we'll do it again some time."

"Maybe," Annabeth smiled at the suggestion. Then, Percy find himself to be surprisingly close to Annabeth. They stared into each other's eyes. If Percy leaned in just a bit more, their lips would be touching. Percy could feel the heat from her breath against his skin. Their only company was the moon, being their only witness.

The doors then swung open. Percy and Annabeth stopped before pulling away quickly, trying to hide the awkward moment they'd just felt. Mr. Funk, who'd opened the door was carrying two trash bags.

"Excuse me," He said. "Gotta take the trash out."

Percy cursed his landlord mentally in ways he never thought he knew. Once they were alone again, he found that brief magical moment was gone.

"I should get going," Annabeth said awkwardly with a smile.

"Yeah," Percy said absently. "Goodnight, Annabeth."

"Goodnight, Percy." Annabeth said before she walked away and entered her limousine.

That was annoying.

Percy went upstairs to his apartment before crashing face first onto the bed, groaning out loud.

Annabeth's POV (just for a brief moment)

Annabeth had to hold herself from smacking the landlord at the head.

She couldn't believe she almost kissed Percy. She had never done that to anyone. She had never kissed anyone before. She never felt like this before.

Then again, she hadn't met a guy like Percy before. Thanks to her popular status as one of the best Olympia player and a ruthless leader, most boys that met her respected her personal space.

And yet Percy just made her feel . . . normal. He didn't fear her nor did he respected her. He annoyed her, in fact. Something that Annabeth almost found endearing.

The ride home felt really long and empty. Annabeth really wished she could turn back time and just made sure that moment between them happened.

In frustration, she screamed into a cushion.

Percy's POV

Percy sighed as he was laying down on his bed. He put on his AR Glasses to check the news, or sort out his inventory, or watch some Olympia matches. Anything to keep him distracted from what just happened.

He sorted out his inventory along with all the things that he'd bought from the Plaza. At least now he was one step closer to being prepared for the Rookie Showcase.

Then, he scrolled through the Olympia News website. If he found a news article about him again, he was going to pop a fuse.

But surprisingly, something had caught his attention.

People Dying From Due To Brain Damage. Olympia To Blame?

Earlier this morning, a person has been found dead in his living room after suffering from what the doctors classified as a fried brain. This phenomenon can occur if the brain is exposed to an intense amount of microwave for a long period of time.

The victim has been found with his AR Glasses on, which are burnt due to short circuiting. The post death autopsy reveals that the microwaves coming from AR Glasses are the cause of death. This has caused a community outrage who fears for their unsafety.

The Olympia PR department has released a statement, denying these allegations.

"The players of Olympia have nothing to fear. Our devices have been tested in multiple scenarios and under multiple conditions for up to a hundred years. The only way that this could happen is that the device that the victim was using is tampered or it's a cheap knock-off." – Olympia.

The police tries to investigate if what Olympia saying is true and that the device is tampered or a cheap imitation. But there is no way of knowing since it was so badly burnt. This event has caused Olympia's stocks to drop massively and their player base has reduced significantly. Whatever lies for Olympia in future, we'll just have to wait to find out.

Percy was slightly worried. Olympia hasn't had an issue since the day of its release. Now all of a sudden someone had just died from playing it. He had just gotten into it as well.

Then, his AR Glasses started to ring. He looked at the Caller ID. It was blank. Percy frowned. Can you even call someone with a blank Caller ID?

Percy thought maybe it's Nico playing pranks on him. So he answered. "Hello?"

There was nothing but static. "Hellooo?" Percy called out.

Then, he could hear a distorted voice. It was clear that the caller wanted to remain anonymous since his voice was tampered.

"If you know what's good for you," The caller said. "Stop playing this game."

"Who is this?" Percy tried asking but the call had already been cut off. This was getting freaky. Percy decided that he needed some sleep before he had to deal with this.

Line Break

Percy got woken up in the middle of the night when his AR Glasses rang. He groaned at who might be calling him at this time of the night. He drowsily put his Glasses on and looked at the Caller ID.

It was Artemis. Percy answered immediately.

"Hello?" Percy said in a daze.

"Hey," Artemis said in the other end. "Are you awake?"

"I am now," Percy said.

"Sorry for disturbing you." Artemis said. "If you want to go back to sleep, then go ahead."

"Nah, it's fine." Percy said as he rubbed his eyes and sat up straight. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Artemis said. "I just feel like we didn't get a chance to talk much at the hospital."

"To be fair, I was injured," Percy said with a smile. He could hear Artemis laughing softly.

"You're such a dork." Artemis said. This made Percy reminisce the times when he and Artemis was still dating. They would call each other in the middle of the night, just to annoy each other. "Percy?"

"Yeah. Still here." Percy said.

"Do you hate me?" She asked, her voice being ever so soft. "About back then."

Percy thought about it. He knew Artemis was asking about two years ago, when she left him to play Olympia professionally.

Was he happy with it? Not really. Did he accept it well? Heck no. Was he mad at her? Maybe slightly. Did he hate Artemis for it?

"No." Percy admitted. Artemis stayed silent, waiting for him to go on. "I wasn't too happy about it and maybe I was even mad at you for a moment. But I never hated you."

"Even after all this time?"

"Yes, even then." Percy said. Then, she said something that Percy didn't expect.

"Sorry," Artemis said, her voice was fragile. "I'm sorry for leaving you back then."

Percy smiled sadly. "Nah, don't worry about it. You did nothing wrong. It's all a thing in the past now." From the other end, Percy could hear Artemis sobbing. Was she crying? "Why are you crying?"

"Why are you so nice to me?" Artemis asked. "I mean, I left you and you're still so nice."

Percy wanted to say that he still had feelings for her, but he was afraid that it would jeopardize this current relationship that he had with Artemis. "Well, maybe it's because I get it."

Artemis waited for him to continue. "I mean, it was your big break. You've told me countless times about how your dream was to be a professional Olympia player. When your chance arrived, I knew that I was going to be a burden." Percy sighed. "I didn't like it. I never liked it. But I knew I had to do it. I wasn't going to be the reason that you didn't go for your dreams. I'm not going to be the one that's going to hold you back."

Artemis's sobbing has lessened. "You never change, do you? You've always been so kind."

Percy managed a sad smile. "And you need to stop crying. Captains don't look good when they cry."

Artemis chuckled. "This is your fault."

"How is this my fault?" Percy asked. Artemis laughed, which was good to hear.

"You were just saying sappy things that made me emotional."

"Yeah, that's the thing about you. You get touched easily." Percy said. "You would watch the sunset and let out tears in fascination."

"Oh, how about you then?" Artemis said, clearly not crying anymore. "You always have a thing for blue food."

"So?"

"Who asks for a blue Pepsi?"

They both then start to list out all the weird and quirky things that both of them knew about each other. It made them laugh out loud, thinking about all the things that they knew about the other person.

What started out as minutes of conversation turned into hours. Percy didn't notice the time fly by because talking to Artemis had that effect on you. You could be talking to her for just five minutes and you look at your watch it's been an hour.

This was the only way for him to express his feeling on how much he missed her.

Maybe . . . Just maybe . . . If they were close like they used to . . .

"Well," Artemis said after what felt like hours. "Thanks for staying up with me."

"I didn't. You woke me up."

Artemis chuckled. "Still, thank you." Artemis said. "And thanks for making me laugh. It's been a while since I've had fun like this."

"Yeah, that's the thing I don't get with captains. Why are you guys so . . . stiff?"

Artemis laughed. "Goodnight, Percy."

A/N: I know it's a bit short. But this is as much as you'll get before I finally decide on the pairing. I'm gonna give you guys some time to voice out your opinions and vote in the poll on what you think the pairing should be. Will it be Percabeth? Will it be Pertemis? Or do you simply just don't give a fuck? Vote now! Last chance! After this, no more voting and the result will be final.

On a side note, for someone who doesn't really understand about the class system, please review the author's note above to make sure you didn't miss anything.

Oh. Big fight coming soon in the next chapter. Stay tuned!