I woke up the next morning, laying on my bed. I rubbed my eyes and opened them, seeing that Annabeth was laying asleep next to me. I smile as I saw her sleeping face. She's seems so angelic.
I carefully brush the strands of hair from her face and kiss her on the forehead.
I continued to watch her sleep when I heard a little noise behind me. I turned around, still laying in bed, and found Andrew sitting there, staring.
I shot up from the bed, but not enough to wake Annabeth up.
"What are you doing?" I asked, fast and loud. He chuckled.
"Just wanted to know what happened."
"Well, nothing happened. How long have you been there?" He looked up, thinking.
"I don't know, ten, twenty minutes?" I stared at him shocked. He was just sitting there? Like an idiot? He laughed and Annabeth fidgeted, then woke up. "Don't worry, I was kidding. Around a few seconds." Annabeth sat up in bed and looked at her brother. Her hair was all messed up, sticking in different directions that I wanted to laugh and take back what I said that she looked like an angel.
"Hey, Andrew. Why are you here?" she asked groggily.
"Nothing. I was just leaving now. Oh, yeah. Percy, I need to talk to you about the music score that you wrote. Jeremy and Sam already got up and they're eating breakfast right now. I'll see you two, later." He smiled, showing his teeth, and ran out the door. I turned to face Annabeth and she smiled at me too.
"Why are you smiling?" I asked her. She shook her head.
"No reason." I furrowed my eyebrow.
"Okay. Well, let's go." I got out of bed with Annabeth and we walked down to the kitchen, finding the other three there.
"Yo, Percy, Annabeth!" Jeremy waved his hands around wildly. We walked over and sat down next to him. Annabeth had a few things in her hands, but they were all in boxes. They were probably gifts from Europe.
"What do you have there, Annabeth?" Sam asked, sipping a cup of tea. She smiled wide and let the boxes go, placing them on the table.
"They're gifts from Europe that I have for each and everyone of you." She took the first box, one wrapped in bright and vibrant colors. "Jeremy, this is yours." He jumped over and took it from her hands. When he opened it, he gasped.
"It's a fish cup!" He yelled excitedly, up and down. He was right. Jeremy held up the big hug with the shape of an actual fish, with it's lips pursed. It reflected Jeremy's personality exactly. As long as it doesn't break. "Thank, you, thank you, thank you! Thank you very much, Annabeth!" He ran over and gave her a big hug, earning a jealous look from me, but it went unnoticed.
After Jeremy had calmed down, Annabeth brought out another gift.
"This is for Sam." Sam gave a grin and walked over, the cup of tea still in his hand. Annabeth handed him his present, wrapped in simple paper, and he looked very pleased with what was in it.
"A watch," he said, as he put it on his wrist and stared at it with wonder. The watch was embroided with gems, so precious that it looked as if a single crack would ruin the whole thing. It was really a 'Sam' kind of thing. "Thank you very much, Annabeth." She smiled at his kind words. Then, she handed Andrew her present.
"For Andrew," she put out her arms in front of her and a small box with smiley faces posted all around it. He happily jumped off the couch and ran over to snatch the present.
When he looked in the small box, he gasped and looked up at Annabeth.
"Are you serious?" he asked. Annabeth nodded.
"Yeah." Andrew slowly brought out the small ring that was placed in the velvet box. I was wondering what was so important with it when I saw a sad, but hopeful smile appear on Andrew's face. He held it up to the light and the ring shined brightly. I suddenly recognized it. It was the ring that Annabeth had had on her ring since the first time I'd met her. The same exact ring that I pretended to throw in the pond.
"Annabeth, you didn't have to do this," he said, but she disagreed.
"Mom's ring is very important to me. But it's even more important to us. So, I gave you mom's ring. Dad's college ring is with me." She was right. I looked at her finger and one of them had a ring on it, though it was slightly larger than the one she gave to Andrew. "One for you, and one for me." Andrew had on a weird face until I realized what happened. He was almost crying.
"Thank you so much, Annabeth." He slid it onto his finger and gazed at it as Annabeth gave out the last present.
"And the last one for Percy." She handed me a box decorated in a simple blue color, just how I like it. I carefully took it from her hands, brushing them as I took it.
I slowly open it up and what was inside wanted me to kiss her there and then.
Inside the box was a star.
No, not like a real, burning star like you would see when you gaze at the night sky. But Annabeth had gotten me a silver and green star keychain. It looked almost like the hairpin I had bought her, but it didn't have the gem in the middle. Each crystal gleamed of green, then gray. It big enough to fit onto my palm, but small enough to place in my pocket. A huge grin appeared on my face and I looked up at Annabeth's beautiful, smiling face.
"Oh my gods, thank you Annabeth." She blushed and looked down at her feet as I wrapped the keychain around the ring of my keys and the car clicker. I slid it in my pocket and took it out again, not wanting to let it out of my sight. Jeremy suddenly shouted.
"Did you here the news?" I shook my head.
"What news?" Sam continued.
"Mr. McKenzie and the President came over this morning, while you two were asleep, and we seem to have bad news." I furrowed my eyebrows for the second time.
"What? What happened?" He sighed.
"We seem to have new rivals."
"Rivals?" Sam nodded and Jeremy bobbed his head vigorously.
"Yeah. I heard that they're almost as successful as us. They're band name is JAS. Like jazz, but spelled differently." He held up a piece of paper and Annabeth took it. She began to read.
"Formerly a small band from Vancouver, JAS has become a sensation, running across the country. J for Jase, A for Aiden, and S for Shane. Tickets sell out immediately as JAS announces their tour for the summer. For others it might be tough rivalry, especially to the highly popular band, A.J." She finished by looking up at us, horrified
"You guys are going to have to work harder," she said. Everyone agreed, but there was more.
"There's more," Andrew announced. "Tomorrow, we'll have to meet JAS." I whipped my head around to face him. "Mr. McKenzie and the President told us that as well. They thought that maybe if the bands meet, they can form a friendship and stop the rivalry between the two bands. There's going to be a big party tomorrow and everyone is going to attend, including Annabeth." I could hear her gulp, but she agreed to it.
After breakfast, Rachel was surprisingly the first person I saw over that day.
"Hey guys."
"Whatever," I mumbled. Just because she changed doesn't mean that I like her. Sure, she's nicer and her attitude has changed, but what she did to Annabeth was almost irreplaceable.
"So, I guess that you guys know about JAS, huh?" We all nodded. "Well, I hope you know what you're going to wear tomorrow. Today, I'm going to bring Annabeth to the mall with me." I shot her an evil look, but she shrugged it off. Annabeth seemed surprised.
"M-me?" Rachel nodded and the other members were shocked too, besides Andrew. If he told Rachel...
"Let's go. You boys are going to have to bear on your own. Also, Silena can't come, since she has a meeting with the other stylists. But no worry, I'm here. So, Annabeth, get dressed, and let's go." Annabeth slowly got up from her chair and Rachel ushered her to my room, where her luggage was.
I turn to Andrew and glared.
"Did you have anything to do with this?" I asked him. He gave me a baby face and held up his hands.
"No, why do you say that, Jackson?" It was obvious that he planned it, but I let it go, looking at Sam and Jeremy. They nodded.
"But she's right. There's going to be media all over the place and if we look like slobs, they'll just say that we don't like JAS. Even though it's true, we don't want the press to hassle us about the rivalry."
All of us ate our dinner and ended up changing into causal clothing, mixing it up with disguises. I wore a gray hoodie, black jeans, leather shoes, and wore a pair of light blue contacts with a light brown and blonde wig. The others were dressed up as well, not including Annabeth and Rachel. Sam wore a black wig, gray eyes, a sweatshirt that he threw on, and jeans with blue shoes. Jeremy wore a brown wig, brown eyes, green shirt, white pants, and white shoes. Andrew just looked like Andrew, but wore dark brown contacts.
"Dude, I don't get how you guys can look through these things," he said, gazing around with his contacts.
I started my car with the other three and headed off to get new clothes for tonight. Though I feel like something was going to happen.
Annabeth's POV
I was surprised today, and that says a lot. But when Rachel came over and wanted to bring me shopping, I was more than shocked. After I changed into skinny jeans and a yellow shirt, I stayed a little quiet to myself.
"Um..." I mumbled. Rachel seemed to understand.
"Look, the truth is that your brother wanted me to bring you out shopping." That makes sense. "But...I also want to become friends. I hope that you will forgive me for all the horrible things I've done to you. I really want us to become good friends. I've changed after something that Percy told me two years ago. After that, I kinda think that he's right. I need to change. And I'm sorry." I wasn't' expecting anything like that. However, I smiled.
"It's okay. I forgive you." She looked up and her eyes were almost tearing. I gave her a hug. "Don't cry. People are supposed to smile when they look at you. So don't cry." I gave her a pat on the back and she nodded, then, ushered us off.
"Let's go to the mall near the ballroom that you guys are going to this evening. There are really great stuff there and it's really cool." She drove off in her car.
When we reached there, she was right. The place was really cool, big, and futuristic. I got out of the car and followed Rachel in. A crowd was behind us and they recognized Rachel.
"Rachel! Rachel!" She brushed them off.
"Please don't bother me today, since I'm going on an emergency shopping trip." They seemed to understand and dispersed, earning a weird look from me. I let it go and walked in the rest of the way with Rachel.
During the shopping trip, I looked around for something nice to wear for the party. I searched, but nothing really popped out to me. By then, Rachel had bought about three full outfits already. I was empty handed.
"Don't you like anything?" she asked me as we were eating in the food court.
"Than the food? Not yet. I don't see something that really stands out." She looked at me questioningly.
"What kind of dress do you want?" I thought about it. I've worn dresses before, but not always, so I don't really know what I'm supposed to wear." Rachel looked at me like she had the most amazing idea in the world.
"Annabeth, come with me. I know exactly where to go."
After a while, she lead me over to a huge store full of dresses. The store clerks greeted us and noticed who Rachel was.
"Oh, you're Rachel Elizabeth Dare, right?" Rachel nodded, looking proud while I blend in with the background. While she continued to talk to the store clerks, I roamed around the store and looked through the dresses. None looked too good to me.
'Too short, too long, too bright, too dark,' were going through my head as I searched each rack. It was easier when Silena was here, since she was able to find what looked good on me right away.
I kept looking until I found something that caught my eyes.
It was a turquoise dress, a little bit aquamarine. There were barely any ruffles, and it wasn't too short, but it looked like it reached up to my knees. A small smile came upon my face when Rachel walked over and saw what I was doing.
"Did you find anything?" she asked. I slightly nodded and she gasped as she saw the dress. "That will look amazing on you," she said. She quickly took it from the rack and pushed me into the dressing room and I changed into the dress.
I opened the door and walked out. Rachel's eyes were wide and the store clerks were there too.
"Annabeth, that looks beautiful!"
"Really? You don't think it's too big, or small, or anything like that?" She shook her head and the store clerks agreed with her.
"You're Annabeth? As in Annabeth Chase?" I nodded. They seemed satisfied and walked back to the counter. Rachel was still looking.
"Annabeth, that so fits you. You should get it." I looked at her, then back at the dress, uncertain. An idea sprang into Rachel's head. "Wait here, I'm going to get something." I was about to testify, but she already left. I walked back into the dressing room and waited for Rachel. Then, I over heard something.
When Rachel came back, she was carrying a pair of pale heels, crystal earrings, and a gold bracelet. She made me try them on. I ended up wearing them and she took a photo without my permission.
"Rachel, did you take a photo?" She smiled and nodded.
"Don't worry, don't worry. Now, it looks perfect on you. Let's get going. The party is going to start in a few hours."
Rachel's POV
After we had bought Annabeth her dress, I drove her back to the dorms. However, she stayed quiet throughout the ride. I noticed something was up.
"Are you okay, Annabeth? You're awfully quiet." She smiled and shook her head.
"Yeah, I'm okay." But she just turned back and put on a melancholy face. I felt a little worried, so I decided to talk to her.
"You know, two years ago, I thought that I had everything." She turned and listened. "But I found out by someone that all those things I had was no comparison to something else. I use to think that dreams were supposed to be playfully tossed around, but everyone has their own and if we can't respect that, we can't respect ourselves because everyone has a dream. I thought that maybe if I pretend to be nice, than I would be liked more and become popular. But when I met Percy, I instantly fell in love with him." I saw Annabeth shift in her seat. I continued on.
"When I blackmailed Percy to date me, I was thinking that if we kept pretending to be a couple, we might actually become one instead. But that never happened. Because he was in love with you." Annabeth shifted again, though she looked a little happier. "I was a horrible person who played with people's dreams, blackmail celebrities, and want to steal other people's love. However, someone once told me that even though I was like that, my smile makes everyone happy. It gives them hopes and if I keep it up, I might change as well. I listened to that person and now, I feel better than ever. No matter what, I wanted you to forgive me for all the things I've done to you. I'm sorry." Annabeth finally choked out a few words.
"Rachel, it's okay. I forgive you." I smiled and drove to the dorms the rest of the way, sitting next to my new best friend.
Sorry for the bad chapter. Anyways, OH NO! They have a RIVAL BAND! lol, sorry for being over dramatic. Thanks for reading!