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

Chapter Fifteen

Let's Take A Look in Andee's Mind, Part 2

No one can say what we get to be

And why don't we rewrite the stars?

Changing the world to be ours

"Rewrite the Stars"from The Greatest Showman

I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at him.

"Daddy?" I asked. He didn't respond, just stared at my hand in Percy's. "Daddy, what are you doing here?"

"Well, when you ignored my call yesterday, I was worried something had happened to you," dad said. Percy looked over at me, realizing what he had done. "Apparently I was right, but not in the way I thought." Another pause in which he looked over at Percy, staring at him for a few moments.

"Hi, Lord Apollo," Percy greeted my father, nodding his head in greeting. My father remained silent, watching Percy intently.

"Perseus Jackson," Apollo finally said, his eyes never leaving my new boyfriend (was it too early to call him that? I wanted to call him that). "I think I'd like to speak to my daughter alone."

Annabeth and Grover couldn't leave the room fast enough, but not before Annabeth locked eyes with mine.

You are in so much trouble, Annabeth's voice echoed through my mind.

When we were around eleven years old, we were driving home with my Aunt Val from the beach when we were side-swiped by a drunk driver. Annabeth and I hadn't been wearing out seatbelts and we both went flying out of the car. Val was fine, but trapped.

Annabeth and I died. Seems silly, doesn't it? These two demigods who have spent their whole lives training to fight monsters, and we died in a drunk driving accident. Being I was am, I was able to regenerate. Very painfully and a lot slower than normal, but I did. I walked around, feeling lost as I did so. Val was yelling at me to stay where I was but I couldn't hear her – not properly, at least. I had seen Annabeth lying on the ground, dead, and I felt like my whole world was caving in.

I kneeled beside her body and started crying, feeling like a chunk of me had died with her. How is it fair that I got to live while my best friend died? I cried and cried and prayed to the gods to bring her back, to do anything so that my best friend, my sister, wouldn't die.

She started coughing and coming back to life, all of her cuts healing like mine usually did. She sat up, a bit confused about what happened. I hugged her tightly, ecstatic that she was still here. After that, we found that we were bounded for the rest of our lives. We had a telepathic connection and if one of us got hurt or died (I always the one who died), the other would know. It was a weird feeling, but very distinct, so there was no confusing it with anything else. Every time Annabeth got hurt at Camp or on a quest, and every time I was injured or killed, we both knew.

Last winter had been horrible, when Annabeth had been holding up the weight of the word. I had been able to feel all the physical and emotional stress it had put on her, which was a terrible, terrible feeling.

You know it was going to happen, I said.

I know, Annabeth said, and unfortunately I saw some pieces. You need to block your mind, please and thanks. Be careful with your dad – you know how he feels about this Prophecy.

I nodded and she left the room. Yaya and Popa talked briefly with my father before leaving the room as well. Percy was the very last one in the room with us.

"Go," I whispered. "Trust me, if there's anyone that can handle my father, it's me."

He nodded. "I'll wait for you in your room." He was about to leave, but I pulled him back and gave him a sweet kiss before he left.

My dad gave me a look, clearly demanding that I explain myself. I decided to take a different approach. "Hi daddy!" I said warmly, hugging him tightly and kissing him on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm not playing this game, Andee."

"What game? Can't your favorite daughter give you a proper greeting?"

"You're my only daughter."

"And I'm still your favorite kid overall," I said with a grin.

He had to try to hide his smile, because he wanted to be stern with me. See? Daddy's Little Princess had some power over her all-powerful father. "That's not what I hunted you down to talk about, which you very well know. Why didn't you answer your phone yesterday?"

I moved to sit in one of the chairs. "I had a migraine and Percy saw the sound was disturbing me, and he turned my phone off. He didn't know it was you."

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" I nodded. He immediately looked at my necklace, a gift he gave me to show what state my mind and soul were in. It was tinged green. "Andee –"

"I know, dad. I know what's coming and I'm fighting it tooth and nail, but the chances of me not seeing him are very unlikely. We've both seen it in visions already," I said in French. That way no one in the house could understand what we were saying. "Something will bring me back."

"We don't know that."

"I can hope."

"Andee."

"I get that my life isn't great. I killed my mom before I was even born, my own family wanted to kill me if I could get the powers they gave me under control, I spent my childhood training and fighting instead of having play-dates and going to birthday parties, I'm destined to have my heart broken over and over again by the person I love, and some psycho is trying to take over my body and mind to do gods knows what. I get it. I don't need everyone telling me what I can and can't do. Those are my choices while I can still make them for myself."

The look my father gave me scared me a bit. "So you think it's smart to date the Jackson boy? Even knowing how badly it's going to hurt you?"

"I don't think it's smart, but it feels right and I'm a lot happier being with him than I am trying to make him hate me," I said. "I didn't want to meet him. I was terrified. And when I did meet him, I tried and tried to push him away. But have you met Percy before? He's probably the most stubborn and persistent person I've ever met! And I want to be with him. He's just…he's so amazing, dad."

My dad sighed. I knew he was thinking about all the times he had fallen in love and gotten hurt (which was a lot). My dad fell in love very easy, but I never heard him talk the same way about anyone as he did my mom.

"Do you love him?"

"Yes, dad, I love Percy. There's this intense pull between and I know he's the one from the Prophecy, which sucks, but it doesn't change the way I feel. I don't want to fight this anymore because it feels so good and so right. I will face the consequences when they come."

"You shouldn't have to face any consequences! Please, let me protect you!" my dad said. "Let me make you into a full god, and then none of this will matter anymore. You don't know the pain that's in store for you – I do, and I don't want my daughter to go through that."

"You can't protect me!" I said. "You fell in love with mom even though you knew she was going to die young. You knew she was going to die before she turned nineteen and you still let yourself fall in love with her. You married her against grandpa's rules, and had me with her anyways! You knew your heart was going to be broken again, maybe the worst of all, and you still did it!"

"That is so much different than this!"

"Not really!" I said, getting more and more agitated. "You don't want me to make the same mistakes you made, and I get that, but I will never learn if I can't make those mistakes for myself. And Percy is far from a mistake!"

I needed to leave. I needed to get away from my dad. I stood up as tears started to fall from my eyes, and started walking back to the stairs.

"Andee Larissa, don't you leave this room! We are not done talking!"

"I am!" I shouted back at him, running up the stairs to my room. All I wanted to do was crawl under my covers and stay there until everything was better. Maybe one day that would actually work.

Annabeth was waiting at the top of the stairs for me and I rushed into her arms and she hugged me tightly. "It'll be okay. He's just worried for you. I am too, but I'm also happy for you. Percy is one of my best friends and as dumb as he is sometimes, he's a good guy. He would never hurt anyone on purpose."

"I love you, Annie."

"I love you too, DeeDee," Annabeth said. "Always and forever, right?"

"Always and forever," I said into her curly hair.

"And besides, if he hurts you, I'll kill him," Annabeth said, making me laugh. "Now, go see Percy, he's really worried. And block your mind, for Hera's sake!"

I laughed and she gave my hand a squeeze before she headed back downstairs for breakfast.

When I walked into my room, Percy was sitting on the edge of my bed, watching the door. "So your middle name is Larissa?" Percy asked and I ran over to hug him. He returned the gesture with just the right amount of tightness. Well, two days in and he'd already had to deal with all sorts of my problems, so we were off to a good start. "Mine is James."

I pulled back to look at him. "I know, it's kind of anticlimactic after a name like Perseus, but it was my mom's uncle's middle name, or something like that," Percy explained.

"You are just too wonderful," I said with a laugh.

"I know, I'm pretty great," he said with a smile. "Is everything okay with your dad? He didn't sound very happy."

"He's just…he's just overprotective," I said. "He doesn't want me to get hurt. And I get that he's just trying to protect me and look out for me, but I'm sick of people telling me what to do with my life."

"Then stop listening," Percy said, making me smile. I stood on my tippy toes and pressed my lips to his. I loved how he tasted.

"I am so incredibly happy that we're here and together and doing this," I told him honestly.

"Me too," Percy said with the most sweet and genuine smile. He kissed me again, and we ended back on my bed with me sitting on his lap while we kissed and touched. It took us a little while longer than we expected to get back downstairs once Annabeth gave us the all clear that my dad was gone. Annabeth and Grover were sitting at the table while Yaya and Popa continued to make breakfast after the disruption.

"You guys are really cute together," Annabeth said with a smile.

"Thank you," I said happily as Percy pulled out my chair for me. What a gentleman.

"Congrats, man," Grover said Percy grinned and thanked him, his eyes never leaving me as he took the seat beside me.

"We need to establish ground rules, Percy," Annabeth said. Percy looked super confused and I gave Annabeth a warning look.

"Um…okay?"

"First off, if you hurt her in any way, I will break every bone in your body – twice," Annabeth said, and I definitely agreed with that one. "Second, no extreme PDA in front of me."

"I would never hurt her," Percy said, which made my heart skip a few beats, "but no PDA in front of you…I can't promise that." I rolled my eyes and suppressed a smile as he pressed his lips against mine, kissing me overdramatically to prove a point.

"You are so annoying, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth shrieked and I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

After breakfast, everyone had plans of what they wanted to do. I decided that I'd try to figure out what we needed to do next my meditating. It would also help get my mind off my dad, and how badly my grandfather was going to react when he found out.

I sat on the edge of the pier with my shoes off and my legs crossed. My eyes were closed and my mind was blank, waiting for some sort of sign to appear and reveal itself to me. I must've been there for a long time, letting the sounds of the waves and the heat of the sun relax me and cleanse my mind.

"Guess who?" a husky voice said, interrupting my clear mind and filling it with fireworks and excitement. Their hands were covering my already closed eyes.

"Hmm…I have no idea," I said, playing it cool before my lips were met with his. We broke apart after a few seconds and he sat down beside me. "You realize it's hard for me to meditate when you come and kiss me, not that I mind you kissing me, of course, because it's amazing, but meditation could be a key element to us succeeding on this quest."

"You've been sitting out here for hours and I'm so bored," Percy moaned, wrapping his arms around me and falling over, bringing me with him. I laughed and smiled at how adorable he was. I was so incredibly happy with him. "I like you a lot, you know."

"Well that's a relief, because I'm pretty crazy about you too," I said as he lightly stroked my cheek from his spot beside me. He seemed so happy and so comfortable since we decided to give being together a shot two nights ago. It didn't seem like it had only been two days – it seemed like we had been together for a lifetime.

He pressed his lips against mine gently before pulling back and gazing into my eyes. I couldn't stop smiling and blushing as he let his hand slide down to my hip. It was probably my most sensitive spot and he always seemed to touch it when we were kissing, and every time it made me feel tingly all over.

"I need to figure out what we need to do next for the quest," I said softly, hating that I had to ruin this perfect moment. Unfortunately, as the leader of this mission, I knew I had to be the one to figure out where we needed to go – time was of the essence, as they say.

"Come on," Percy groaned as I started to stand up, trying to pull me back down as I tried to make him stand up. "Let's just stay here for a while."

"Percy." He grudgingly stood up, but immediately wrapping his arms around me from behind, hugging me tightly against him.

"I'm not ready to let go of you yet so you can't go yet," he mumbled, burying his face in my hair. I leaned back, resting my head on his shoulder as he lightly kissed my neck. This was so perfect. As strong as I knew I was, I never felt safer or more protected than when I did with his arms around me.

"Then don't," I whispered, closing my eyes and taking in the moment. Percy reminded me of the beach – the perfect combination of water and sun.

"We should go swimming," he said suddenly, which I should've known was coming since the only thing keeping us from the water was the dock we were standing on.

"Percy, I can't…" I said, even though I wanted to so badly. I had so many reasons for wanting to go swimming with him, the main one being that I liked seeing him without a shirt on.

"Please," he begged, turning me around so he could give me puppy dog eyes and a matching pout. Oh lord, he was so cute.

"Good try, but I have to be responsible."

He grinned. "I can make you go swimming with me," he said and I smirked at him just before he tried to push me into the water. When he did this, I quickly spun around and grabbed him, pushing him into the water instead. He resurfaced and pushed his hair out of his face, gaping at me in surprise. "I cannot believe you – okay, actually, I can believe you just did." He gave me a devilish grin. "I'm going to get you for it, though."

"Not if you can't catch me," I teased in a sing-song voice, sticking my tongue out at him before running away. I knew I could easily out-run him because Camp Half-Blood didn't seem to really focus on the basic enhanced skills of a half-blood like speed, when that was one of the most important abilities to be able to access.

I heard a big splash and turned to see Percy riding a wave back to shore, completely dry. That was amazing! I don't think he realized just how powerful he was, especially now that I saw more of what he was able to do. I wonder how many people knew he was powerful enough to command the ocean.

I was so stunned by all of this that I did even notice him running towards me now. He was so close that I didn't have enough time to turn and run again. He caught me around the waist, spinning me around a few times before putting me back down, but keeping me wrapped in his arms.

I looked to see we were right next to the princess tree in my grandparents' garden. I walked closer, bringing Percy with me so I could see the inscription on the little metal plate.

Avalon Violet le Fay

August 19, 1974 – August 19, 1993

Loving Daughter, Wife, Friend, Sister and Mother

I remembered seeing this all the time when I was younger. When Val and I would come here during school breaks, I'd sit in front of this tree and pretend I could talk to my mom. I'd tell her all about my school, my friends, and everything going on in my life, as if she could hear me.

"Your mom?" Percy asked softly and I nodded. "She died on the same day she was born." I nodded again. "That's like Shakespeare."

"How do you know that?" I asked, a little surprised.

He shrugged. "I guess I actually paid attention for that class in English," he said and I chuckled. "Well, it's either that or Annabeth mentioned it at some pointed." That did sound like something she would talk about.

"Technically my mom died on the eighteenth, but the doctors didn't call it until a few minutes past midnight, so officially it's the nineteenth."

"So your mom actually died on my birthday."

"Wait," I said. "So your birthday is the day before mine."

"I guess so," Percy said, smiling. "That's actually pretty cool."

"We could have the best joint birthday party ever!" I suggested and he laughed.

"We definitely could," he said with a small laugh. "If we make it through this whole Kronos thing."

I nodded solemnly, looking back up at my mom's tree, silently praying to any god that would listen to give me a sign – any sign as to where we needed to go. I felt myself collapse on the ground, finding it hard to breathe when I'd seen it all. The sun, a laurel wreath, a scrying glass, and the all-seeing eye.

"Andee, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Percy asked frantically as I came to, finally able to see what was in front of me again.

I nodded, finding it hard to talk because I was still catch my breath, balancing on my hands and knees while Percy kneeled beside me. "I know where we have to go."

"So…can

"Dee, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Percy asked frantically as I came to, finally able to see what was in front of me again.

I nodded, finding it hard to talk because I was still catching my breath, balancing on my hands and knees while Percy kneeled beside me. "I'm okay. And I know where we have to go."

"That's really great! So...can we go swimming now?"