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

Chapter Twenty-Six

Our Fun Comes to an End

Andee slept in much longer than she normally would that morning, which forced me to sleep in as well. I didn't mind that, though, especially because of how rough last night had been for her.

Well, that and the fact that she hardly ever let me sleep in.

Once she did wake up, the only things on her mind were packing up the rest of her stuff for the move and the party later that night. We both showered and dressed, Andee putting on a loose white tee and denim shorts over the metallic gold bikini I had loved since the moment I first saw her in it.

As I helped her pack, I got an idea.

"How about when we finish packing, I take you out before the party?"

"Like a date?" Andee said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, you are my girlfriend," I said. "I know you mentioned something about an aquarium and the seawall, I think it was? We could do those and then go for dinner. You'd have to choose the place because I don't know what restaurants are in Vancouver, but I'm paying for everything."

She groaned. "You don't have to pay for me."

I brought her closer to me, holding her in my arms. "I know I don't have to, but I want to."

She stuck her tongue out at me before turning away and continuing packing, working a little more quickly than before. I took that was a yes.

About an hour later we were ready to go, and as we headed to the garage, Andee tossed me the car keys. "Do you have your license?"

"I have my junior license – I can't apply for my senior license until I turn 17, if that day even comes."

Andee gave me a stern look about the last comment before asking, "Can you drive?"

"Yes," I said as dramatically as she had asked the question.

"Cool, you're driving then," she said. "If you're taking me out, then you're going to drive."

"Can't I get in trouble?"

"Only if we get caught, and even then, I'm very good with the Mist," Andee said. "How do you think I get away with it all the time?"

Before we pulled out of her driveway, I put on some sunglasses to block out the sun and Andee turned the radio on, singing along with the song on the radio. She'd stop every so often to give me directions – it was mostly freeway driving, which was nice.

"What kind of music do you usually listen to?" Andee asked.

"Not this," I said and she laughed. "I guess it would be called alternative rock? Like Thirty Seconds to Mars, The Killers, Green Day…that kind of thing."

"So I must be killing you with my music selections!" Andee said. "We can change the radio – I like everything." She leaned forward and plugged her phone into a cord attached to the radio. After a few moments, 'Kings and Queens' by Thirty Seconds to Mars came on.

I smiled as Andee sang along, dancing a little in her seat. When it got to the chorus we both started singing at the top of our lungs, rocking out. Sirens started blaring behind us and Andee said, "Pull over – they need to pass."

But they didn't. They pulled over behind us.

Andee swore. "Get out your license," she said, reaching into the glovebox and pulled out a clear envelope with paperwork. "And don't say anything." She cussed again.

The police officer got out of his car and started towards. He was abnormally tall and had a brutal-looking face. His uniform was straining against his body like it was about to burst apart like the Incredible Hulk's. I wonder if that's what Canadian police officers look like…

When he reached my window, Andee leaned over, giving the police officer a dazzling smile. "What seems to be the problem, officer?"

I had to choke back a laugh. She sounded like someone out of a cheesy 90's movie.

He had a hungry look in his eyes when he said, "License and registration."

Andee snapped her fingers and his eyes unfocused. "My boyfriend has already shown you his license and registration. Everything's been worked out, so you're going to get back in your car, go to the nearest Tim Horton's and enjoy a nice donut."

He looked at her unimpressed, the cloudiness fading as the carnivorous look returned. "Maybe instead of trying to summon the Mist, you should have been trying to see what it was already hiding."

"Are you kidding me?" Andee practically yelled. Then I saw what we both should have seen sooner as the Laistrygonian burst out of the police uniform (just like the Hulk – totally called it!) and grinned sickeningly down at us.

"Go!" Andee shouted, throwing a bolt of lightning at the giant, and I sped off, ignoring whatever the speed might have been.

"I take it you two know each other?"

"His name is Tibia Chomper – I call him Tibs for short," Andee said. "He enjoys finding ways to try to eat me like a snack. It's very frustrating."

"So you have your own Canadian."

"Excuse me?"

"Canadians – the giant guys."

"Laistrygonians," Andee said.

"Yeah, Canadians," I said, knowing it would her get a rise out of her.

"I swear to the gods, Percy, I'm going to actually murder you," Andee said. "You are so stupid, sometimes."

"Love you too," I said and she hit my arm.

When we finally found parking and got inside, it was pretty cool. We walked around all the exhibits and we stopped in one of the bigger halls. There were lights at the bottom of the tanks lining the walls, lighting up the assortment of tropical fish swimming around. Andee looked at them all in amazement, and I could see them keeping an eye on me.

Look, look it's him!

It's him!

Hey guys, I said, trying to give the subtlest wave. Mind doing me a favor?

There was a lot of ooh-ing and ahh-ing and whispered conversation, before the majority agreed.

Can you do something like form a heart or do some tricks in front of the blonde girl? I asked. She's my girlfriend, this is kind of our first real date out of the way of danger, and I just want to make it super memorable.

Oh yes!

Of course, son of Poseidon!

Our pleasure!

I watched as the fish swarmed towards spot in front of Andee, forming a heart in front of her. Andee looked at it and looked back at me a couple times before saying, "You?"

I nodded and she laughed, hugging me. "Ohmigods!" she said. "That is so cute."

The fish started breaking apart from the group and doing little tricks in front of her. Flipping around, making patterns in the bubbles. "Percy, you can talk to fish?"

"And horses."

"And horses?" Andee asked in disbelief. "Holy…oh my gods, Percy, this is incredible. I'm just…I'm blown away!"

We continued making our way slowly through the aquarium, Andee asking me all sorts of questions to ask the fish and other sea creatures. They would follow alongside us everywhere we walked, and Andee was thrilled. When we went out for the interactive dolphin show. About mid-show they asked for some volunteers to come down and "try" some tricks with the dolphins – luckily, Andee and I were in the group of volunteers.

"Can you…?" Andee asked quietly and I nodded, smiling secretively at her.

The trainers went over the directions and Andee was practically bouncing on her feet, and kept looking over at me.

"Are you two together?" one of the trainers asked, and we nodded. "Come on over here, you can try some tricks with Maui."

Hey Maui, how's it going? I asked and the dolphin perked up.

You're a son of Poseidon! Maui the dolphin said excitedly. Oooh, I haven't even heard of one of you existing in a long time! It's an honor!

I smiled as the dolphin did a sort of bow. Andee noticed and looked at me and looked back, her grin stretching from ear to ear. It's an honor to meet you too, I said to the dolphin. Now, let's show up this dolphin trainer.

The dolphin trainer was stunned by the amount of things the dolphin could do that she'd never seen them do before and that they had definitely never trained them to do. Maui even reached up and gave Andee a kiss. She screamed in excitement and couldn't stop talking on the way to the car. She was so happy, and it was cool for me to get to see and communicate with all these different sea creatures.

When we got to the car, Andee stopped me, standing on her tippy toes to give me a sweet kiss. "You are so incredible, Perseus Jackson, and this has been the best day and it hasn't even finished yet."

"I'm glad you're happy," I said and she hugged me tightly.

"I'm so happy," she said, looking me in the eyes. "So, so happy. Do you want to go for a walk before we go for dinner? We have some time to kill, and the Seawall is incredible – you'll love it."

"That sounds great," I said and she took my hand and led the way down the path that led through the forest. When we finally left the trees, we came across miles and miles of sidewalk right along the sand and water. We were only about a foot above the water. "Wow."

"This is one of the things Vancouver is most famous for," Andee said, squeezing my hand as we started walking. Cyclists constantly past us – there was even a separate lane for cyclists and walkers.

"It's beautiful," I said taking it all in. It was amazing to be this close to the sea – I had been on the west coast before, and I was very impressed. There was just so much here you couldn't see back in New York. The food was different, the water, the weather –I was glad I got to experience it.

We walked together for about an hour, just strolling the seawall in silence or talking about just silly things, like our favorite animals or our favorite classes in school. The restaurant was only a ten minute drive away, in North Vancouver, and was this cool little bistro-style place by the quay that mostly served comfort food. Mac and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, soup, fondue…it was amazing.

Andee drove the way back past her house and to the beach where we'd be meeting her friends. It had a huge pier, a lot of small shops along the boardwalk, and there was hardly any parking, but Andee managed to nab a good spot after only a few minutes.

"We're meeting them in one of the ice cream shops," Andee said, taking her phone out. "It's the one closest to the pier."

When we went inside, a huge group was already waiting, loudly conversing at a few of the tables. Andee took my hand in hers and led the way over. As soon as her friends saw her, they practically attacked her, hugging her and asking her a million questions. It was a lot like her reunion with Annabeth.

"Guys, this is my boyfriend, Percy," Andee introduced, smiling at me as they all greeted me. Andee introduced me to everyone, but I knew I wasn't going to remember all of their names.

We got ice cream and all sat and talked for a while. Andee sat on my lap and her pictures were taking pictures nonstop. When the sun started to set, one of Andee's friends insisted it was time to go down to the beach for the bonfire. So we all paraded down there and a few of the guys built the bonfire before Andee pretended to light it with a lighter. One of her friends started blasting music and the girls immediately started dancing.

I loved watching Andee danced. She always looked like she was having so much fun and there was an extra sparkle in her eye. She was really good – for someone who was dancing for fun, she sure threw in what looked like a lot of professional moves. She made eye contact with me while she danced, throwing in a few sultry moves before making her way over to me, sitting down on my lap and pressing her lips against mine. When she pulled back, she was grinning hugely.

"I love you so much, Percy Jackson."

"I love you too, Andee," I told her, bringing her back for another kiss.

"Aww, you guys are so cute!" one of her friends said. Andee grinned as she hugged me tightly and looked at her friends. One had dark curly hair and kept herself pretty covered, despite the heat. The other one had cropped blonde hair and big blue eyes.

"Percy, you saw Delia and Mel when we were performing for your school. Delia was the stage manager and Mel was the Queen of Hearts," Andee said. "They're like us."

"Demigods?" I asked quietly and her friends nodded.

"My birth mother is Hebe," Delia said. "The goddess of youth."

"And my mother is Hecate," Mel said. "Goddess of magic and all that."

"Why haven't you guys ever gone to camp?" I asked.

"Where would we go, exactly?" Delia asked. "We're kids of minor goddesses – there's no place for us to stay there."

"Oh."

"That's kind of why we were born where we were born – our parents knew we would have no place at Camp Half-Blood, so why not have us somewhere safer and where we don't have to deal with all the drama that comes with being 'minor'," Mel said, and you could hear the undertones of anger in her voice.

That wasn't fair. Everyone should be able to train and stay at Camp Half-Blood. It was their birthright. They shouldn't have to stay in a cabin not dedicated to their godly parents or just not go at all. That really bothered me.

"You guys know you're always welcome in the Zeus cabin, right?" Andee asked.

"Of course we know that, but it's still not the same," Delia said. "You know – that's part of the reason you never planned on going, because it wasn't inclusive for everyone."

"I know," Andee said softly. "It's not fair. You guys should come visit at least and show these Americans how powerful Canadian demigods are."

They laughed, but I still felt really strange about the whole thing, even more so after finding out that it was the main reason Andee didn't want to go to camp. Everyone should be claimed by their parent and be able to train at camp and stay in their own cabin, with their brothers and sisters, if they had any. It was part of why Nico didn't stay at camp – he didn't feel like he belonged.

The rest of the going away party was fun. I talked with her friends some more and they shared all sorts of stories about her. Someone had brought a guitar so Andee started playing and singing for everyone. No one started leaving until around midnight, and when Andee and I finally got back to her house, we didn't even change into pajamas – just stripped down to underwear and then climbed in bed.