Ugh, I worked on this for about ten hours-not! Probably...40 minutes, give or take. And hey! Guess what? I'm adding a new character to the story, peeps. Lemme give you a hint: Annabeth's jealous of her, and her 3 initials spell a certain color. ;) I know, an obvious hint.

filmyfurry: Yes, 'sight seeing' with Annabeth. *wink wink* ALONE with Annabeth. *hint hint* I'll try to make chptr six and seven fluffy, but not to the point of making them a couple. But yes, there will be teenage hormones involved. (gotta love those hormones, eh? lol, jk)

somebody615: don't worry, bud. They get together waaaaaaaaay later after this. Waaay in the future. And thanx, i'm glad u like my story.

The Daughter of the Greek Gods, TwIx27, Ereader64: I'm definitely on a roll with writing chapters quickly off the top of my head; this was a breeze, and absolutely no writer's block came to torture me. Yes! XD

Oh! And just to let you know, this is REAL information. I'm serious, I don't live in Washington (I'm a Cali girl) but I looked this all up on Google Maps, and people who are in this area of Washington can be my witnesses...so can Google Maps.

This took the longest time ever, looking it all up, so you better like it! haha, jk...but seriously.

Annabeth sighed, looking out the window, watching us pass by cars on the National Park highway. I am sooooo bored, no exaggeration shown. I turned on the radio and we perked up when the singer said, "Once upon a time…Not so long ago…"

She sat up and grinned at me, "Do you think it's that song?"

I laughed as her eyes lit up and turned it up loud, "Oh yeah!"

Tommy used to work on the docks, Unions been on strike—

We sang along, obviously horrible at singing, "He's down on his luck…it's tough, so tough…" I rolled down the windows. I wouldn't be surprised if we made people's ears bleed. "Gina works the diner all day. Working for her man, she brings home her pay for love—for love."

Annabeth and I sucked in a big breath and sang—more like yelled—the next part, "She says we've gotta hold on, to what we've got. It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not. We've got each other, and that's a lot for love—we'll give it a shot!"

Even louder, the speakers blowing, we sang/yelled, "Whoa, we're half way there. Living on a prayer! Take my hand, and we'll make it, I swear."

We sang the whole song, and when we got to the end, Annabeth suddenly gasped, pulling back her legs from my lap. Yes, her feet were in my face until just a moment ago. She pointed at the huge sign, jumping up and down, "Turn right there! Turn right there! Percy, this is our exit! 'Marvin Road Yelm,' it's right there!"

I snorted at her panic and easily got off the highway, teasing her, "What's wrong, did you think I was blind? Or were you just so excited that you forgot that it was completely unnecessary to scream?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed my shoulder with her foot, "Psssh. Maybe you should shut up for awhile; you'd be doing us both a favor."

I scoffed, pushing her foot away before I made a turn, "Well, pardon me, ma'am. But I'm driving, so you'd be doing yourself good if you shut your pothole for a little while."

She put her feet in my lap again, making driving incredibly hard when it was hard not to be distracted by those silky calves of hers. I put my hand on her calf and she raised an eyebrow at me.

I pinched her hard and she drew back her feet, "OW! Gosh, Seaweed Brain, what was that for!" I snickered, my eyes set on the road like the good driver I am…not.

"That was for insulting me." I slapped her knee, pushing her away and laughed when she yelled, 'Hey!' "That was for using me as a foot rest."

She scoffed, then changed positions and stuck her head under my injured arm so that it was around her neck. She slid under me until her head was on my chest, then got the map out and rubbed her nose absentmindedly as she studied it, "Mmm…we're on Saint Clair Cutoff Road, right?"

I nodded, "I believe that's correct." She shrugged, tossing the map onto her seat, where her feet were.

"Then you just keep following it onto East Yelm Avenue," then she rest her head on my left arm, making it even more difficult to keep driving. I could felt her breathe softly onto my arm, and I gulped. Crap. I could also see that her hair shine in the ten a.m. sun, and those princess curls were so perfect…I frowned to myself and forced myself to lock my eyes on the road. She turned over to look at me, and I could feel her gaze, but all I did was roll my eyes at her, not bothered by her staring.

But of course, I got a little concerned when she started muttering, 'he's so hot and sexy looking with his hair like that and his handsome face…gosh.' Yeah, that's was my cue to give her a weird look that told her she was crazy, "What'd you say?"

Her eyes widened and she blushed furiously, her mouth agape, "Oh crap! I was thinking out loud, wasn't I?" She was so adorable when she blushed.

I nodded, then shot her a glance again, "And what the heck? Who's 'hot and sexy with his hair like that'?" She squirmed, biting her lip.

"Uh…no one?" I snorted, shaking my head slightly, displaying that she was a horrible when it came to lies. She crossed her arms grumpily and muttered, "I'm not saying."

I smirked, watching a car pass us by, "Annabeth, if you don't tell me I'll be forced to pull over and—dare I say it—I'll tickle you to death."

She gasped in fake horror, "You wouldn't!" I wiggled my eyebrows and smiled creepily at her, like a crazy villain, "Oh, but I would."

She buried her head in my chest and shouted in a muffled voice, "No! Not the tickling-to-death procedure! Nooooo!"

I laughed, "Indeed! It is the worst torturement known to Annabeth-kind!" She suddenly sat up, in my lap now, and frowned.

"Torturement isn't a word," she said with bewilderment.

I tried to see around her so I wouldn't crash, "Well, I just made it up—get out of my way, Annabeth! I need to see where I'm going!" She snickered and slid out from under my arm, still in a light mood. She buckled herself in and smiled out the window.

"The trees are so beautiful here." True enough, there were an endless amount of trees on either side of the road, and they had golden leaves, and red leaves that glowed a flaming color that took your breath away when the sun shone through them.

I smiled at her, "That's one of the reason's why I love autumn." She met my gaze with a tempting pink flushing her cheeks. I winked at her, then switched my focus back on the road.

It was silent for the next half an hour, mostly because Annabeth was reading. Believe me, you do not want to disturb her when she's reading; I still have bruises from that experience. I heard her sigh solemnly and glanced over to see her gazing sorrowfully at her hands. When I asked what was wrong, she bit her lip as she looked up.

"I…" I frowned at her hesitation, but otherwise didn't tear my eyes from the road's curves. "I miss Sally."

I gripped the wheel hard and glared at the road, "There's a Jack in the Box right here, should we get something to eat?"

"Percy—"

"And there's gas station just up ahead, I'm gonna stop there," I said bluntly, turning to the right, then parked the car next to one of those gas…thingies. Before Annabeth could say anything, I got out and, well, you know, refueled and everything. I turned to Annabeth and pointed to the little store, questioning if she wanted anything with my eyes.

She frowned, but nodded, and made a movement, as if she were drinking something. I nodded back, then went inside. I knew that she just wanted a vitamin water, preferably the pink 'power-c' one. I got myself the yellow 'energy' one too, and as I set it on the counter and got out money to pay for it, I frowned, a sudden thought occurring to me.

Gabe could be looking for us out there. He's not just going to shrug it off and say, 'ah well, better luck next time.' No, he's probably holding a mighty big grudge against me for doing that to him. Crap, we've gotta get out of here.

I swallowed back my sudden epiphany and asked the clerk, "Excuse me, but could you tell me where the nearest airport is?"

The clerk—she must've been about my age—nodded, scanning our drinks, "I could." I waited, but she didn't say anything.

Slightly annoyed, I raised an eyebrow at her, "Will you tell me where it is?"

"I will," she answered, typing something into the computer, then held out her hand for the money. I gave it to her and frowned. She rolled her eyes, smiling, "You asked if I could and if I will, you didn't directly ask me where it was."

I ran my fingers through my hair, and raised an eyebrow, "Did you just say what I think you said? Because you did just steal that saying from Eragon, right?"

The teen just flashed me a grin, "Yep." Unable to resist, I chuckled and smiled back.

"Fine, where is the nearest airport?"

"Olympic Regional Airport—'bout forty minutes from here, if there isn't any traffic stopping you," She handed back the drinks. I smiled politely, about to leave, when she asked, "I haven't seen you around here. This is a small town, and the same people come everyday. But you're unfamiliar…and why are you like, the same age as me? I saw you come in that large Ford over there with that girl and—" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, crossing her thin arms. "You're running away." Stupid little...

I winced, looking away, "Uh…better get going—"

"If you don't tell me, I'll report you to the police." I stared at her incredulously.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," she confirmed, starting to put her wavy red hair in a bun.

I snorted, "What's it to you? I mean—"

She picked up the phone, glaring slightly at me. I groaned, fabulous. I leaned close and beckoned her closer. She leaned forward eagerly, her wide green eyes filled with curiosity.

"You know how you see those movies where…this crazy maniac kidnaps some kids, and he beats them up, then they finally escape—blah, blah, blah, etcetera?" She bobbed her head once. I glanced around to see if anyone was near, then whispered, "Me and that girl in the truck," I nodded to Annabeth, who was staring down at something in her lap, "we just ran away from somebody like that, and it just occurred to me that he's probably holding a major grudge against me…probably because I stabbed him in the—" I broke off when her eyes widened even more. "Never mind. Just…I swear, if you tell anyone about this…" I trailed off threateningly.

She stuck out her hand as we straightened, "Your secret's safe with me, bud—"

"Don't call me that."

"—I promise. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare, nice to meet you." I gave her a weird look, but shook her hand.

"I'm…" I hesitated warily, wondering if I should lie about my name. I decided it was necessary. "I'm…Alex. Alex Truth." I smirked at the last part.

She rolled her eyes, "The 'truth and dare' joke. Hardy-har-har. I'm telling you, it never get's old. But…you hesitated. Tell me your real name."

I glared at her, "I don't give out personal information to nosy teenager girls."

"I think running away from some creeper is personal enough, don't you think?" I snorted. This girl was getting on my nerves, but I couldn't help but to smile.

"My middle name's Alexander, so yeah, Alex isn't exactly the total lie, Rachel," I lied smoothly. "Now, until we meet again—which I highly doubt—you are to pretend this never happened, cool?" I said it casually, but I'm pretty sure she heard the threat in my voice.

She smirked, "Cool…Alex. Maybe fate will cross our paths."

"No offense, but I really hope not, for your sake," then I glanced around and exited. I went up to the window of the car and Annabeth rolled it down, smiling teasingly at me.

"Took you long enough, Seaweed Brain," she said in a playful tone. I gave her the drink and ruffled my hair.

"We can stay at Mt. Rainier for a few days, but we have to leave Washington. You and I both know for a fact that Gabe isn't going to just give up on us. Especially since I gave him the biggest scar ever," I said the last part with a smirk. Annabeth smiled, but then her eyes flickered for just a second towards the store, and she frowned.

"Who's that girl?" I went around the other side, got in and sighed.

"A nosy teenager, that's for sure. She kept pressing me about where I was going, and if I was running away with you." She glared at her hands.

"And?"

"I admitted that we were running from a complete psycho, and she told me her name's Rachel Elizabeth Dare—long name. I lied about mine and told her my name was Alex, threatened her about telling anyone, and got the heck out of there." Annabeth took a sip, then sighed.

"Seaweed Brain, she could call the cops on us, stupid!"

I shrugged, "We'll be out of here by the time there's signs about us. I've been thinking about...mm…Arizona?"

Annabeth slowly smiled, "You mean…"

I grinned at her, "Yep, we're going to the Grand Canyon after we leave Mt. Rainier, Wise Girl."

She put her head on my shoulder, jumping a little in excitement, "Then what're we waiting for? Let's go!" I smiled, but then we both froze when we saw Rachel staring at us through the window, looking curious. I did the 'I'm watching you' thing with my two fingers and she nodded, holding her hands up in surrender innocently.

I smiled, she halfheartedly smiled back like the strange teen she was, and I started the car, asking Annabeth for directions.

Yeah, I was seriously surprised when I found out that 'torturement' wasn't a word. :( Anywho, I just wanted to remind people that I set up a poll on my profile about whether I should make Annabeth and Percy mortal or demigod. I seriously have no idea of what to do, so I'm just skirting around it until I get enough people vote on the poll.

Thanks y'all! (haha, i luv my vocab)