Hello.

I haven't updated this story in a while. I've been extremely busy and tired, and I know that's not the best excuse, but that's all I got :p

I hope you enjoy the chapter and review!

I stood in the bathroom, trying to do something with my hair. It would never stay the way I wanted it to. I would smooth it down and it would stay there for a second, but then it would go back to its normal, messy looking phase.

I groaned and just ran my fingers through my hair, just keeping it the way it looks. I was wearing the nicest pair of jeans I had, considering that I don't own any tuxes, and a white button-up shirt with my best looking sneakers to conclude.

I hardly had any dress clothes.

And when I say hardly, I mean none.

I looked in the mirror once more to check that my hair didn't poof up again with that annoying little hair sticking up. No sign of anything. Good. I walked out of my bathroom, out of my bedroom, and into the living room where my jacket hung on the coat racket. I put my wallet and phone in my back pocket before shutting the lights off. I walked out of my apartment, my keys in hand.

My truck rested in the parking lot. I checked my phone and scrolled down to my text messages to see the text Annabeth sent me. It was her address. I revved my truck, looked to see if anything was coming and then drove out of the lot.

I pulled into the driveway of her house and looked at my phone to see if it was the right address. It was correct. I slid out of the truck and walked over to her front door, knocking twice. The door opened and Annabeth stood in the doorway.

My god.

Annabeth wore a knee-length, black, strapless dress with some small heels. Her legs went on for miles and her curves wore the dress really, really well. I felt like I was teenage boy again, seeing a girl really good-looking girl in a dress for the first time. I felt myself drooling and I couldn't stop staring at her. God, she was beautiful.

"U-um, wow," I said stupidly. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Mother of pearl... wow."

She laughed. "Is it too much or should I chan-"

"No, you look perfect." I told her, smiling.

Annabeth laughed again. "Are you sure I look all right?"

"You look fine. Y-you look beautiful. Very beautiful." I answered, truthfully.

She smiled this time. "Ok, whatever you say."

"Are you all set? Ready to go?" I asked.

She held her hand up for a second, turned around into her house, and came back with a light jacket. "Now, I'm all set and ready to go." She shut the door behind her, locking it with a key.

"All right then." I grinned, holding my arm out.

She laughed and took a hold of my arm, letting me escort her towards the truck. I opened the door for her and she climbed in, letting me close the door. I walked over to my side and slid in, turning the engine on. I drove off in the direction that Annabeth was telling me to go.

I leaned against the cushion in the seat and rested my arm across the seat. "So, is there anything I need to know about these parties? I haven't been to one in years."

"Um, there's some people you would want to avoid, but most of the time you have to talk to them anyways. Stay away from the waiters or in your case, the waitresses." I laughed. "And don't listen to the guys if they call you a loser for being in the army."

"Why would they do that?" I asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "I have no idea. I guess they think that if you studied and worked on something you really care about, they think you're losers. They have nothing better to do. They rather spend their lives sleeping around and doing nothing."

"What about the girls?"

"We may have to talk to my rival, Stacy. She's very flirty with men and doesn't matter whether they're married or not or even dating somebody." I cringed at the sound of that. "Everything in the world has to be hers."

"Why are you guys rivals?"

She sighed. "Just... different point of views on certain things."

"Oh, I see."

When we pulled up to where the party was taking place, it was packed with different types of cars. I was surprised to see that some of these cars, some people could actually afford. I may work with planes, but I knew all kinds of cars and the way they work.

"I thought you said it was only for nurses and doctors with their dates." I said, pulling into a parking space. I turned the truck off and walked around to open the door for Annabeth.

"It is. Last year when we had this, it looked the same way. It's for the restaurant down the streets. It is always packed this time of year. They're celebrating its tenth year in business this weekend, which is probably why it's so crammed here."

I nodded. "Where's the entrance?"

"Over here." she led the way to the door and smiled at the man walking up to the door beside her. "Good evening, Dr. Redmond."

Dr. Redmond, I guess, tilted his head at her and turned to look at me. "I suppose this is your date."

"Yes sir. This is my date, Percy Jackson. He's a pilot in the U.S. Navy."

The doctor smiled at us both. "Well, congratulations on your win, Mr. Jackson. Aren't you the pilot that was shot down, though?"

"I was. But I'm healthy and back into action from this fine lady over here." I looked over at Annabeth and she was blushing lightly.

The doctor nodded. "It's great to have you back."

"Thank you, sir."

Annabeth took a hold of my arm after. "Do you like the attention of being a pilot?"

"Not really. I like the attention from beautiful nurses and their gorgeous smiles." I winked at her and she blushed again, leaning into my side.

When we walked into the grand building, I felt slightly underdressed. Everyone was wearing fancy suits and the right clothing for a party like this. Annabeth touched my forearm and I looked down at her. Those grey eyes stared into mine.

"Don't worry about the formal wear. Men nowadays look tacky in them anyway. I think you look handsome the way you are. I also love the casual smirk on your face. I say it makes you look like what you really are. A leader."

I grinned and began walking forward. "Well, thank you."

"You're welcome." Annabeth smiled. "Now, where is my friends? I need to show off my date."

"Don't they know me already?" I said as we continued to walk.

She shrugged. "Some of them do. Some of them don't."

I looked around and saw people making small talk. Women wore long, fancy dresses and men wore tacky and from the looks of it, expensive suits for the occasion. I felt confident in my attire and I say that Annabeth was the most beautiful person in the whole room. She said hi to a few people as we passed them.

"Oh god," she whispered as she turned around to face the other way. "Please, please-"

I rested my hands on her back. "Annabeth, what's wrong?"

"Please-"

"ANNABETH?"

"Oh no," she groaned, turning around to face the crowd again.

A young lady around her age came walking through the crowd, pushing other people and stepping on their feet like she was the queen of England. She was wearing a gold dress, that looked like it cost a million dollars and it was really short. Her shoes, good heavens, who could walk in them? I know I couldn't of.

I stared at her in disgust, wondering why anyone would want to be friends with THAT?

The lady walked over to Annabeth, who was biting her lip and glaring at her. She ignored the look and gave Annabeth a small hug, patting her on the back like she was afraid of touching her. I was fed up with her act, so I cleared my throat, resting a hand on her lower back.

"Who is this?" the young woman asked.

Annabeth looked over at me. "Um, this is my date, Percy Jackson. This is Stacy Edwards."

"Nice to meet you..." her eyes stared me down. "Oh, um, Percy."

"Hi, Stacy." I said with no enthusiasm.

She smiled at me before turning to Annabeth. "I haven't seen you in years! You finally have cleared your face from all those pimples you had in sixth grade."

Annabeth fake-laughed. "Hmm, I guess beauty does have its miracles."

Stacy laughed. "Yes, it does. Percy, did you know that this little girl here was the school's nerd back in the day? I remember the days when I was going through puberty and actually getting boy's attention as you stayed stuck in your little brain with all your facts."

"Well, I was the one who graduated with highest grade and a scholarship to medical school."

Stacy ignored her and looked towards me. "And what do you do, Percy?" She said my name with a purring sound.

"I'm a U.S. Navy pilot that kicks enemies in the crotch when they mess with me." I answered.

She laughed. "Oh, a pilot! Who knew Annabeth would get such a lucky man?"

"Yeah, um, do you want something to drink?" I asked the gorgeous blonde in front of me.

Annabeth sighed. "Sure. I would love one. I'll come with you. I'm in the need for something to eat as well. I'm feeling light-headed."

Stacy grabbed her arm. "We should get to together."

"She's extremely busy with her job that she doesn't have time to sit around and gossip around a round table with woman that are obnoxious and don't care what they say even if it's hurts somebody? Good-bye." I told her, leaving her standing there with her mouth wide-opened.

When we weren't around any people, I brought her over to the door. I looked at her with a concern look on my face. "Annabeth, what's wrong?"

"She's such a horrible person! I still can't believe she would say something like that to you."

It didn't really bother me that Rebecca told me about her being the school nerd or the girl who a million pimples, but if it bothered Annabeth and made her upset, then I had to comfort her. "Hey, it doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. She says that to every guy I've ever brought here. I think she only dates doctors just so she can embarrass me. I bet she does. I bet that's what-"

I covered my hand over her mouth. I chuckled and said, "You talk way too much. One day, you're going to break that brain of yours."

Annabeth tried to smile but my hand was over her mouth. I let my hand drift over to where it rested on her cheek. "That was rude."

"Well, baby, get used to it."

She had a glint in her eyes that made me think that she liked getting called that but her response was different. "I never agreed to you calling me baby."

"I'm older than you, so technically, I don't have to listen," I smirked.

Annabeth was about to protest, but the vibration of my phone in my pocket made us both stop talking. I grabbed my phone and took a glance at the number, and answered it. "Yeah, man?"

"Hey dude, I was wondering, would you want to come to the party station with us?" Nico asked. I could pratically hear the smile on his face. Party Station is where pilots and their dates have fun instead of talking in formal tone.

I grinned. "Sure. Can I bring a friend with me?" Annabeth's head came up from her hands and her eyes met mine.

Nico laughed. "Let me guess. It's that foxy nurse you're always talking about."

"Yes," I answered about to punch him in the face, which won't end well with a phone that can't fight back.

He yelled into the speaker. "GO AHEAD AND BRING HER!"

I hung the phone up and turned to look at Annabeth with a grin on my face. "Do you want to go somewhere with me?"

PaGeBrEaK

The music played loudly in the background as I laughed while Nico and a young girl danced around the floor. Beckendorf and Silena were talking about things over in the booth away from me. Luke was enjoying his third beer of the night and I couldn't keep my eyes off Annabeth. She was clapping with the song and taking sips of her Coke-Cola.

I finally emerged from my seat and grabbed her hand from the table that was inviting me to take. Her expression when I pulled her from her chair was hilarious. She was uneasy, but I took her hand in mine and looked at her.

"Don't worry. Just let the music go through your veins," I told her. My hand rested on her waist, pulling her a little bit closer to me.

Annabeth laughed once before looking over at the other dancing partners/couples. "I'm only here just because of you. I had no choice to come with you. You were my ride home."

"Oh, just shut up and enjoy it," I teased and started to go with the music.

She took a moment and her head began to move. A few minutes later, we were laughing while my hands rested on her hips and Annabeth was escaping her shell and moving to the music.

God, if she wasn't beautiful already; she just hit rock bottom.

Annabeth was then pulled away from my grasp and I was about to punch the guy, but I realized that it was Nico. He did this with every date of mine. He spun her around once and soon enough, I caught her while spinning. My arms wrapped around her petite waist and her hands were pressed against my chest. Our eyes met for a split second before she looked down at her watch as the music ended.

"Oh shoot," she whispered, looking back at me. "I need to get home. I have to help Doctor Warren with a early surgery tomorrow morning."

I was disappointed, but tonight was worth it that I let it slide. "Ok, then."

My truck stopped in front of her house, sputtering for a quick second. I looked over to Annabeth who was raising an eyebrow towards the engine. I laughed. "Um, Beckendorf and I are still trying to fix this bad-boy."

She laughed, grabbing her shoes from the mats. "I can tell."

I walked out from my side of the truck and opened the door for her. Annabeth stepped onto the concrete and jumped a little bit, surprised the cold under her barefeet. Her heels were bothering her so she took them off. If I were a girl, I probably would have chose not to where them in the first place, but I'm not a girl. DO NOT SAY ANYTHING.

Annabeth dug through her small bag and pulled out her keys, un-locking the door. She stepped inside and turned to look at me with a smile on her face. "I had a good time. Thank you for coming to that... downer."

"Nah, it's ok. I enjoyed it," I was really talking about the party station.

She glanced inside of her house. "Hmm-mm, sure you did."

"I did. I loved meeting some of your friends, some of your co-workers, and even your enemy," I laughed. Annabeth slowly came to a smile. I raised an eyebrow and took a step closer to her in the doorway. "What's wrong?" I was now cupping her cheek with my hand.

"Nothing. I just need to remember that tomorrow I need to speak with my brother," she answered, those grey eyes staring into mine.

"Well, then do that," I said.

Annabeth shook her head and turned back into her house, my hand pulling off her cheek. She was about to close the door, but she looked behind her shoulder and said, "The dance was the best part of the night." And then the door closed with a click.

I grinned while walking towards my truck. I climbed inside, escaping the cool night and into the warmth from the heater. I took one last glance at the house and revved the engine, driving into the dark night.

LONG CHAPTER... don't you agree?

Review, my wonderful fans! I do enjoy writing this story a lot. I just forgot about it since school started back again.

Oh, I have to share this! One night I was searching through Percy Jackson stories and I clicked on one. I began reading it and I was on the seventh chapter (I think) so I was going to favorite it and then I realized that it was my own! I was too tired to look at the title of the story. I just read the summary and clicked on it :P

It's not really funny, I just thought it was weird that I didn't realize that it was my own story. I must of been really tired.

NEWS: The sequel to Past and the Present is still in the works. I haven't had time to begin on chapter two. I want to see if the story is going to hold out for a while before it starts getting boring.

-HunterofArtemis32