Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.

Chapter Three

Prom!

I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile

I would like to show you what true love can really do

Girl, let me love you

And I will love you

Until you learn to love yourself

"Let Me Love You" by Neyo

I sat in front of the small, lighted mirror in front of my window and stared at my reflection for a moment, just taking everything in. I was going to my prom today. For so many years, I had wondered if I'd even make it this long, and here I was. I glanced over at all the pictures hanging on my wall and smiled. Every section of my wall was for specific people.

Closest to my bed was all my pictures of my family. The few pictures I had with my dad and my grandfather, a few pictures of my mother, a lot of pictures with Val, and more recently, Dimka and Johnny, more with my brothers, especially Lee and Will, Yaya and Popa, and of course, a ton of pictures with Annabeth from as far back as when we were five.

The next section on my wall, which was right behind my desk and beside my door, was for friends. That included pictures of Grover and some of the other satyrs at camp, Chiron, some of the other demigods from camp like Silena and Phoibe, and all the pictures with my friends from Vancouver, in all our different costumes, at different parties and events. I really missed them, but I knew that at least Delia and Mel were coming to camp this year, now that there were actual cabins for them to stay in.

The last section was on the wall right across from my bed. All the photos formed a heart on the wall, and as you may have guessed, they were all of Percy. I was in a lot of the photos, but there were quite a few I had taken when he wasn't paying attention that always made me smile. I knew he had a few photos like that of me, too. Included in the heart of pictures was photos from Percy's grads. There were quite a few candid photos of us – where were my favorite – of us just talking, kissing and holding hands. Just looking at the photos made my heart flutter with excitement for tonight.

I heard the roar of an engine as Paul's blue Prius pulled into our driveway. I quickly put on a pair of diamond studs before standing up and looking at my reflection. My hair splashed across my shoulders in curls, my make-up was a little darker than normal which made my green eyes really stand out, and my necklace sat gleaming in the dip of my collarbone. My dress was absolutely gorgeous. It was a ball gown with a strapless, structured corset bodice with a sweetheart neckline, and the skirt was gold tulle with beautiful light pink flowers decorating it.

The light caught one of the jewels on my bracelets and I sighed a little. They really did remind me of shackles.

I know last August I calmed everyone down and told them that it was okay, that I was just glad to have my life. And I was, I really was. I had just expected to be out of the bracelets a lot sooner, but with how busy my year had been, I hadn't had any down time to work on my control. So now these bangles kept me prisoner until I could learn to control everything. I wasn't even sure how to access a lot of my abilities anymore. It was like the bracelets turned off a certain part of my brain, and I couldn't remember how to access it. My lie-detecting abilities were pretty much gone now. I could really only tell when someone was obviously lying. I definitely couldn't fly (I'm still not sure how that happened before) and my other abilities were getting better, but nowhere near the ability they had been before.

I could still sing, act, dance and all of that. Those were more talents than powers or abilities. All of my physical abilities like archery, running and fighting were still fantastic, but once again, those weren't really things that needed mental control.

In all honesty, I was scared to even try to use them. I just remember waking up from being unconscious and everything being gone. I felt completely helpless as a storm swirled above me and the room was on fire. Because of me. I couldn't do anything to protect all the people I cared about in the building that I was about to bring down.

Do you know what it feels like knowing that you're about to kill pretty much everyone you love?

I hope you never feel that.

I turned away from the mirror, forcing the thoughts of my punishment to the back of my mind. Today was supposed to be a happy day full of happy thoughts, so I wasn't going to let anything ruin it.

When I walked out the front door and Percy's eyes found me, the smile on his face was the most adorable thing. His whole face lit up like he was the one who had the god of the sun as his father. My cheeks grew warm as he jogged over to me, sweeping me into a romantic kiss. "You look…well, there are no words for how you look. None of the words I can think of would do you any justice."

I laughed a little, squeezing him tight. When I pulled away and looked at him, my heart burst with affection. He looked so handsome in his pure black tuxedo, black dress shirt and gold tie. "You look pretty cute yourself," I said cheekily, pecking him on the lips.

"I have something for you," Percy said, holding out a white orchid corsage decorated with gold ribbon. She slid it on my wrist and I couldn't stop smiling. I was still so amazed that I was here and all this was really happening.

Val and Johnny must have taken a billion pictures of Percy and I together in all sorts of cute and ridiculous poses. Percy took over the camera and took pictures of me with Johnny, Val and Dimka, and even with Sally and Paul. They were like my second parents now. Just as Johnny was about to get even more pictures of Percy and me, a cherry red convertible Maserati Spyder pulled up to the curb. My dad loved that car. So did Percy, actually. My dad, Lee and Will stepped out of the car, all in pale yellow dress shirts and black dress pants.

"You made it!" I practically screamed, running over to hug my brothers and then my dad. I knew my brothers would come to see me off, but after yesterday's weir conversation, I wasn't too sure my dad would keep his promise to come.

"Of course I did – I made a promise, didn't I?" my dad asked, looking at me seriously. Okay, that question definitely had a double meaning.

"Yes, you did," I said quietly.

He kissed my forehead. "You look absolutely stunning. Percy is a lucky man."

"Yes I am, Lord Apollo," Percy said, coming over and giving my hand a little squeeze. I looked at Percy and smiled, leaning into him.

"Well," my dad interrupted, "John, would you mind getting a few pictures of me with my daughter and sons? And Valkyrie, too, of course."

Johnny nodded, getting me to pose with my brothers first, then with my father by myself, and then all three of them. Lee kept telling me how beautiful I looked and how he remembered me when I was six years old with little blonde pigtails. Always the pigtails with these brotherly figures! Good heavens!

"Percy looks really hot in a suit," Will whispered in his cute little southern accent.

"I know, right?" I said back with a smile.

"He should definitely wear one more often," Will added.

"Agreed," I said with a laugh, hugging my little brother. "In two years, you'll get to go to your own prom with your own super hot boyfriend."

"Fingers crossed," Will said with an elfish grin.

The limo pulled up, so with some final hugs and goodbyes, Percy and I slid inside, the first of our group to be picked up. Percy leaned back against the seats, looking over at me.

"What?" I asked, mimicking his position.

"I really am lucky to have you," Percy said softly. "Guys like me don't get girls like you very often."

"Contrary to popular belief, nice guys don't finish last," I told him. "At least, if you're talking to any girl with common sense."

"Or a crazy girl," Percy suggested.

I hit him joking. "Stop it," I said. "I love every single thing about you. Everything."

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, kissing him gently. "I love you too, Andee. More than anything."

I smiled and we kept kissing until the limo parked outside one of my friend's houses. We continued picking up everyone, getting pictures with everyone at each stop before finally arriving at the hotel where my prom was being held.

When we arrived, most of my graduating class was already there, getting ready for the class photo. Once that was done, everyone headed into the ballroom and I was blown away. The ballroom itself was huge with gorgeous marble tiles all along the floor and a huge, crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. From the chandelier, pieces of royal blue and gold fabric were hung and pinned to the corners of the room, making the ceiling look almost like the ceiling of a circus tent, but much classier. Every post was wrapped in gold and blue balloons, and the tables all had beautiful centerpieces with our names on it. The tables were all in white tablecloths, and the chairs were draped with white fabric and a royal blue bow.

I was speechless. This was exactly what I'd always hoped for. Percy chuckled beside me, kissing me on the cheek before leading me to our table. We sat down and listened to the different speeches made by the faculty, Percy massaging my thigh under the table the whole time. Waiters came around with dinner and then dessert, and after everyone was finished eating, we all got up and made our way over to the dance floor.

The lights dimmed and the music started pumping. I could never resist dancing. If I didn't already know that my fatal flaw was control, I would say it was dancing. Percy pressed his chest to my back and we danced very sensually together in the middle of the crowded dance floor. I turned to face him and he grinned at me, running his hands down my side to hold my hips. I shivered a little. "I have to go do something – I'll be right back, okay?"

I nodded, moving back a little to join the group of my single friends dancing. The song changed to a ballad version of 'Let Me Love You' by Neyo. Percy weaved through the crowed of my slow-dancing classmates and made his way back over to me. He immediately brought me as close to him as possible, his hands on the small of my back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, unable to help the smile on my face. "This is one of my favorite songs."

Percy leaned in so our foreheads were touching. "I know – that's why I asked the DJ to play it." I have him a light kiss. "I have something for you."

"Oh?" I asked. He grinned and reached into his jacket, pulling out a small blue box. He opened it and I gasped when I saw the yellow gold ring. It had a square cluster of diamonds, and the gold band crossed over itself and curled around the diamond cluster. "Percy…" I said, on the verge of tears.

"Your hand?" Percy asked and I held it to him as he slipped it on my ring finger, the same place an engagement ring and a wedding ring would hopefully go in the near future. "I saved up for a while to get this promise ring for you. I wanted something to show that you and me really are forever. So with this ring, I promise to always be there for you. To always tell you the truth, even if it might hurt one of us. I promise to protect you from everyone and everything. I promise to be your best friend. And I promise you that as soon as we are done with school, you and I are going to get married."

I looked into those sea green eyes, trying to stop myself from crying even though there was no way I could contain my happiness. "I love you so much, Perseus Jackson."

"I love you too, Andromeda le Fay," Percy said, and for once, I didn't flinch at the use of my full name. It sounded wonderful coming from Percy's mouth.

I reached up and kissed him full on the mouth. He instantly responded, snaking his arms around me and pulling me even closer. I ran my hands along the muscles in his chest before moving them into the hair at the nape of his neck.

It didn't take us long to leave the ballroom and get upstairs to the room we had booked beforehand. In a flurry of kissing and touching, we made it through the door, hastily closing it and locking it behind us. Percy was having a hell of a time, undoing all of the little hooks and ties of the corset back of my dress. I laughed every time he let out a growl of frustration. He finally managed to loosen the dress and I shimmied out of it, leaving me in just my bra and panties. I immediately threw off Percy's jacket, and while he loosened his tie and threw it over his head, I unbuttoned his shirt.

His lips found my neck and he trailed kisses down my neck and onto my collarbone. I jumped up, wrapping my legs around him, letting him carry me over to the bed, He let me fell back onto it, quickly crawling on top, a knee on either side of my legs, and resumed kissing every inch of skin he could reach.

Later that night, we lay in bed, completely entwined with each other. I had my hand above the blankets, my fingers curled with Percy's, looking at the ring he had given me in complete bliss. "Say it again, Percy." I looked over and his sea-green eyes were filled with amusement.

"What's that?" Percy said, wrapping a hand in my hair and twirling it around his fingers.

"Come on, Perce, please?" I asked, putting a hand on his chest. I could feel his quickening heartbeat under my palm. I guess he was excited about what our future held too.

"We're going to get married," Percy whispered and I kissed him before cuddling into him, getting ready to finally go to sleep. "You and I are going to be married in a few years."

I fell asleep smiling, Percy's arms holding me close. I had never felt safer.