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Percy

"Fredrick sends his utmost regrets for his absence, but the museum simply couldn't perform the unveiling without him."

Carol's voice breaks the melody of utensils clinking against dishes. No one has the courage to speak.

Poseidon takes a long drink of his water. "Well, Percy, Annabeth," he addresses the two of us. "How are your wedding plans coming along?"

I nudge Annabeth under the table with my knee. She can answer this one. She jumps slightly at the contact. "Oh, um, they're doing okay. The decorations are getting set up on Thursday, and the dresses got delivered last week."

Carol peeks her ears up. "You'll have to show me your dress. I hope you've had a professional opinion on it. What colors have you chosen?"

My turn to answer. "Blue and gray."

"Or silver, depending in who you ask."

Dinner progresses like this for another fifteen minutes: Carol asks a question, Annabeth, Thalia, or I answer it awkwardly. This was turning out to be weird, but Annabeth's eyes shone. It was her way, after all those years, to,get back at Carol. By hell, I was going to help her as much as I could.

And then we got a question that threw us in a loop.

"Where do you all sleep?"

Neither Annabeth nor Thalia answers this, and I won't, either.

Thalia

"They're sleeping in the same floor? That seems highly inappropriate." Carol throws an accusing glance at Annabeth, like You bring dishonor on the family for that scandal. She looked like she wanted to disappear into her chair. Thanks, Poseidon. You just had to answer her.

"On the contrary," Poseidon says calmly. "They're smart and trustworthy enough to contain themselves." Oh god, just let me sink through the floor. I already have to watch them make out, don't make me listen to them talk about it while I'm eating.

"Hmm." Carol doesn't agree. "Where will they sleep after the wedding? Surely they won't be going back and forth to each other's rooms?" Annabeth's skin blanches, and she looks queasy. And I don't blame her; Carol's talking about her like she's a prized cow!

Percy

Annabeth looks like she's going to be sick.

I don't blame her; I'm having a hard time stomaching this conversation, too. I take a sip of water and nearly choke at what Carol says next:

"What sort of message would it send to the children, if their parents didn't sleep in the same room?"

The... What?!

Kids. Kids? Why the hell is she talking about kids? We're seventeen years old, practically kids ourselves!

"We're sitting right here!" I want to yell. "We have opinions, too!"

But I remain silent. I don't need to start a screaming match that will undoubtedly end in Annabeth's tears.

Annabeth stands abruptly. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. Give my complements to the chef." And she walks out.

No one says a word for a few moments, and I don't think anyone would have, but Carol broke the silence. "She's being over dramatic again. She was always like that, you know."

Annabeth

I was sitting on Percy's balcony (who knew he had one?) and waiting for the emotions to just stop.

She makes me so angry.

After my escape from the dinner table, I'd come upstairs and changed. The badass boots hadn't helped at all, and I'd been just as scared and impulsive as always. Now, my owl PJs comforted my skin with their fuzzy material. I'd grabbed my iPod, too, and added more songs to the Percy playlist. It was becoming a long, tangled mess, just like my life.

I now sat, earbuds in place, on the balcony. My bare feet dangled over the edge and I admired my blue toenail polish against the warm glow of the sun.

Everyone thinks that we're perfect

Please don't let them look through the curtains

Picture, picture, smile for the picture.

That's how I felt. Like I was broken into fifty million pieces and held together by a string, only able to put on an act of normalcy.

Footsteps sounded in the stairs and in the hall; they were looking for me.

I thought about moving, but why should I? They'd find me eventually, and I was tired of running.

I'd just sit and wait for Percy to come.

It didn't take long. I'd only made it through two more songs on my iPod when I felt him next to me.

The last song ended and another began, but I didn't bother to listen. I pulled out my earbuds and hugged Percy. I was determined not to cry, because I'd done enough of that this summer. Percy hugged me back, then leaned away. "What are you-" I started to ask when he placed one of the earbuds in my ear. He put the other in his own, grabbed my hand, and swung his own legs over the edge.

This wasn't all for my benefit, of course. He wanted something, too. "Sing to me? Please?"

I nodded. "One condition: you have to sing, too."

After he agreed, I hit shuffle. We began the first lines together, Percy taking the lower notes and me echoing an octave higher.

"You say I would make a better liar. And never face the music when it's dire."

"I breathe disaster, ever after," and damn, did this feel true lately. It seemed everywhere I turned, something was out to get me.

"Don't pull away from me now." Percy took an individual line, and then we switched back together. Our voices intertwined and sounded like magic.

"Don't you move. Can't you stay where you are. Just for now."

"I could be your perfect disaster." Percy, damn him with that smirk.

"You could be my ever after." I returned the flirtatious smile.

"You could be my ever after after all." He nudged my foot.

"I could be your perfect disaster." I nudged his back.

"You could be my ever after."

"We sound pretty good, don'tcha think?" Percy says once we've finished the song.

"I guess so, yeah. Why?" The sun's going down and the sky holds various hues of pink and yellow, with just the slightest hint of a purple horizon streaking across the bottom.

Percy leans back on his palms and stares at the sky wistfully. "Jason wants something extra on the album. We were wondering if you'd sing with us."

"Just one song, right?"

"Yeah, of course. We just need one more."

On impulse, I answer 'yes'. I'm done holding back. And Percy's so excited, like a kid the night before Christmas.

"Oh my gods!" He exclaims. "Annabeth, I could kiss you!" Well, what else was I supposed to do? Shove him off the balcony?

Percy

I don't know how long we sat there, mouths connected and fingers intertwined in hair, but the pink sky turned an inky blue and Annabeth's iPod had warned her of its low battery by the time we were done.

"I think we should do that more often," I murmur into her neck. She giggles- Annabeth has giggling capabilities?- and detaches herself from the balcony railing.

"I ought to go back to my own room, or Carol will come looking for us. You thought dinner was bad, just you wait..."

I groan, but follow her actions. Ed Sheeran still croons softly from the iPod, and I hear the last line of the chorus to Give Me Love before Annabeth finally turns it off.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" she asks, standing up and taking one last look at the night sky.

I stand, too, and stretch my arms above my head. "Looking for a few hours away from the stepmother?" Annabeth nods furiously, her wild hair going every which direction. "Come to practice with me tomorrow. It's the last one before the wedding." The wedding I've finally come to terms with. Sure, it'll be a little weird, but doesn't every couple have that transition period?

"Sounds like a plan. Oh, and Thals and I have a little... surprise planned for Carol tomorrow. So if she comes looking for me, I'm definitely not in the closet."

"Can you even fit in your closet right now? The dress is in there, right?"

Annabeth sighs, and we begin taking steps towards the indoors. "I forgot about that. Fine. I'll hide in your closet." I point out that it, too, is full of stuff. After a few more tries, with Annabeth suggesting the pantry, backyard, and Thalia's room, we have a final kiss goodnight and she leaves for her own bedroom.

A/N: hello again! I really wanted to post this chapter, just to have one more done. The songs used are Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez, Ever After by Marianas Trench, and I mention Give me Love. All are really, really amazing.

Speaking of Ed Sheeran, have you heard his song for The Fault in Our Stars? I like it, though there are so many amazing fans that have written songs for this. (I'm looking at you, Beth Crowley and Troye Sivan)

Okay. I just wanted to get another chapter in. Hope you guys liked it.

-Winters'sFangirl