Wow, this hit 100 faves and 300 reviews even before I finished the story. And yes, Guest, you are the 300th reviewer.

Previously—

"Percy," she began doubtfully. "About the kiss earlier…"

Percy turned back to look at her, surprised she was going to actually give him an explanation.

"Truth is, I like you and have done so for quite some time."

He wasn't sure whether he had heard correctly, but there's no way that Captain Chase of all people had confessed to liking him. It was impossible. The idea was unfathomable. Percy opened his mouth to say something, but was at loss for words for the first time in his life.

To be honest, he hadn't really thought of her like that. She was always just Captain. Sure she was she pretty. Forget pretty, she was downright sexy in a casual outfit, but her personality had always thrown him off. It was true that Annabeth had shown him another side to her today, a more fun-loving one. And if he was being honest, one that seemed more human like than her general officer disposition.

But, there was still Rachel. Percy wasn't dumb. He knew that he had to move on from her eventually and lead his life. He was still in his prime years. Yet, his whole reason for joining the marines was for the revenge, the revenge for what he done to Rachel. It wouldn't be fair to forget about that completely just because of this.

Besides, if he were to say he liked Annabeth too, what did difference would it make? They'd still be in the Marine Corps and relationships were discouraged. Annabeth had merely stated that she had liked him. Nothing more. Maybe it was just a friendly gesture. An overly-friendly gesture nevertheless.

Just what was he to say to her? Hey, I kind of like you, but I'm on a top secret mission to do away with your best friend from high school? That would get shot down almost immediately. So, at the end, after much internal debate, he decided to stay quiet.

Annabeth seemed to have noticed his ongoing dispute, speaking up before things got too awkward, "Look, Percy, I know really shouldn't have burdened you with this, but I thought you should know. I'm not asking for anything. I'm simply letting you know about my own feelings, so don't worry about it." She put on a weak smile to show that it was alright.

Percy winced at the sight, knowing that the next few weeks were going to involve awkward tiptoeing around one another in avoidance. She must have known what he was thinking because she grinned again, this time a bit more teasingly, "Don't have that look on your face. Nothing's changed. I'm still Captain Chase to you, and you're still my subordinate, Private Jackson. Just chill a little."

Percy wasn't sure what was more surprising: that Captain Chase had said 'chill' or that she was smiling. He nodded alright before asking, "Should we head back?"

"Uncomfortable already, Jackson?" She asked mockingly, a look of fake hurt on her face.

He felt a little bad…It was the truth; he was uncomfortable, but he retorted, "You wish. Come on. Mrs. Arnolds is probably wondering why I took so long. You'll never know what she's thinking in that mind of hers."

"Alright, alright. Excuses. Let's go."

Percy protested weakly, but complied. He opened the door for Annabeth when a thought struck him, "Shouldn't we change back into our uniforms?" She gave him a quick nod before the two went to locate the nearest public bathroom.

Within minutes, they were once more back on the road, both of them, yet again, in silence. Annabeth fiddle with the radio buttons, surfing the stations until she stopped at one. It wasn't any music that Percy had recognized, but Annabeth seemed to know, humming along with the tune.

"You know this song?" he asked in surprise.

"Beach music?" she asked. "Yeah, it's really popular in Carolina. It's technically the officially state genre."

"Oh."

The silence fell once more. Annabeth took advantage of this time to reflect on what she had just done, astonished with herself for actually confessing. Why had she done it? Was it a spur of the moment thing?

No, it wasn't. She had liked him from the start. That wasn't a lie. Maybe it was too soon to tell him. After all, she had just been in a coma for the last three weeks, and she had only known him for a little over a month before that. There was no denying the fact that she had been attracted to him from the moment she had seen it. Back then, it had been pure curiosity.

The man had presented her with an enigma. And for the first time in her life, she was unable to figure out what he was harboring. This attraction only augmented when she found him in unexpected places at unexpected times. The fact that he had a cellphone, the fact that he had declined an officer position in the navy, and he had been the one to check on her at the hospital nearly every day. Just none of it made sense. Who was this guy and why was he so important?

There wasn't much traffic on the return route. As Percy pulled into the garage, Annabeth noticed he took a curious look at Luke's black Audi before unlocking the doors. He stopped in front of her door with his hands in his pocket, looking slightly guilty.

"Umm…"

"Why don't you go back to your training? I'll go inform Luke about being back. See you later."

"Right, bye," he grinned, giving her a wave of the hand as she left the garage. Percy remained standing there, realizing this was the opportune moment to take a peek at the man's car.

Captain Chase—

The first thing Annabeth did was to go see Luke and inform him of her return. To her surprise, he had pulled her in for a tight hug, as though checking it were really her. He pulled back a little as if to examine her, "You alright?'

Annabeth merely rolled her eyes at his concern, "I'm fine Luke. As you can see, I have been discharged."

"Good, I was starting to get slightly anxious. If you hadn't gotten better by the end of the month, I probably would have kicked Jackson out for doing this to you."

"Just a little bit overprotective, are we?" she chuckled at the determination on his face. He scowled in reply, "Hey, I can worry alright. You're like my little sister."

"If you say so Major Castellan."

"Listen, I think we should celebrate your return. Plus, I have some announcements to make from the superiors."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "From the superiors, like what?"

Luke simply grinned, "You'll just have to wait and see. Can't let the surprised be ruined. Anyway, why don't you go get freshened up a bit?" He checked his watch briefly before continuing, "It's about 5:30 now. The bonfire should start at 8 after dinner. See you there."

He left without disclosing another word on the announcement. Annabeth clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "Bonfire, huh? It must be something special."

After exchanging her current outfit for a cleaner one, Annabeth sat down in her chair for a while, suddenly taken by a bout of vertigo. Her head began to spin at an alarming rate; she lowered her head in between her legs to stop the flow of blood. Slowly, little by little, it stopped.

Was it a result of the heat? She had just spent the whole day in the sun after all. That had to be it. Considering she was yet to recover fully from the coma. Annabeth decided her best option was to lie down for a bit in her bunk before going to dinner. She kicked her boots off, resting her head on her arms as she stared up at the ceiling above.

Her thoughts slowly wandered to Percy, wondering what had been so curious about Luke's car. Maybe it was just a normal man's fascination with cars. Especially that Audi. Yet, it still struck her as peculiar. Maybe she should go check on him.

He had missed considerable amounts of training over the past few weeks thanks to her. But Annabeth decided against, thinking how stalker-like it sounded. Annabeth waited patiently by her computer, going through the emails she had yet to catch up on.

Soon enough, dinner rolled on by. It was a feast compared to what she had had in the hospital; which was to say, nothing. She loaded her plate with mashed potatoes, steak, and gravy, avoiding the green beans entirely.

Annabeth took her regular place in the dining hall as Luke slid into the seat across from her with a knowing look on his face.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"You don't even know…" she muttered, taking a large gulp from her glass of lemonade.

"Mrs. Arnolds wasn't being all clear, but she said you had been discharged this morning. I wasn't too sure since she sounded a little too optimistic when she had said it, but what took you so long?"

"Hmm? Oh, the paperwork…" she mumbled.

He looked at her skeptically, "Paperwork?"

"We went out for lunch before heading back. Charleston is about an hour away in traffic, and I was starving. Plus, the storm had to clear up."

"What'd you do then?" he asked curiously.

Annabeth wasn't just about to tell Luke how she had spent her afternoon. Besides, he knew she had been with Percy.

"Oh…It was nothing!" she snapped.

Luke recoiled in surprise from her tone, "I…"

"Forget it Luke. Just tell me what you're going to say tonight at the bonfire."

"I said you'll have to wait," Luke's tone had gotten visibly darker from a moment ago. He hadn't expected such strong emotion from Annabeth, but he knew better than to push her. The topic must have been sensitive, but he didn't ponder on it any further. He waited for her to finish before the two headed out to the campfire site. Luke knew well enough to maintain distance from her at times like this.

Many of the privates were already out, getting the blazing fire going. He noticed Percy in the shadows, standing behind the other marines as though he didn't want to join the festivities. The light from the fire cast an eerie shade on his face, giving him the look of Satan for a second. Percy looked straight him, their eyes locking. Luke blinked, but it was gone before he could make sure.

Some of the marines had taken up to singing the marine hymn, one of the oldest military songs in the country:

From the Halls of Montezuma,

To the shores of Tripoli;

We fight our country's battles

In the air, on land, and sea;

First to fight for right and freedom

And to keep our honor clean:

We are proud to claim the title

Of United States Marine.

Our flag's unfurled to every breeze

From dawn to setting sun;

We have fought in every clime and place

Where we could take a gun;

In the snow of far-off Northern lands

And in sunny tropic scenes;

You will find us always on the job

The United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps

Which we are proud to serve;

In many a strife we've fought for life

And never lost our nerve;

If the Army and the Navy

Ever look on Heaven's scenes;

They will find the streets are guarded

By United States Marines.

As the song died down, Luke stood up and cleared his throat, getting ready to make the announcement. He kept his eyes trained on Annabeth as he spoke.

"I would like to start off by welcoming Captain Chase back after her reprieve." Annabeth turned slightly red at the mention of being hospitalized. "It's good to have you back. I'm sure many of the guys here have missed you and have gone to seed since."

He gestured for Annabeth to stand up. She waved slightly before sitting back down with her arms around her knees.

"Second, our Commander has brought to my attention that the annual Marine Corps Birthday ball is just around the corner."

He was interrupted by hushed whispers as the men began talking about the prospect excitedly.

"Yes, that does mean you can bring dates from outside," Luke continued, his eyes still fixated on Annabeth. But she was staring somewhere else into distance. She was looking at someone, but Luke wasn't able to pinpoint who.

"The deadlines for the RSVP is in about two weeks. So mark your calendars. The ball takes place in a month on November 10th. That's all I have to say, so continue with the bonfire."

Luke got up, ready to approach Annabeth, but she had moved. She was standing in front of none other than Percy Jackson. He couldn't hear what the blond haired woman was saying to Private Jackson as her back was turned to him, but he noticed Jackson's face smirk a little.

Percy had been surprised when Annabeth immediately got up after Luke's little speech. She approached him cautiously, her hands wrung together.

"Percy, I was wondering…" she paused, looking very uncomfortable. "Would you go to the dance with me?"

He noticed a pair of blue eyes staring at him from a distance away. The Major's eyes had been trained on Annabeth's back the entirety of the conversation, trying to decipher what was going on.

This could be Percy's opportunity to get it over with Luke. The ball, but now, Annabeth was in the way once more. The more he saw the look in Luke's eyes get cloudier, the more determined he became.

He said clearly and loudly enough for Luke to hear, "Of course, I'd be honored to accompany you to the dance."

That did it. Luke's face turned a fuchsia color and his hands clenched around the announcement paper he was holding, threatening to rip it.

So, I'm thinking about 4 more chapters left. I'm not sure when I'll update next depending on Wi-Fi connection.

If I have time tonight, I'll update another chapter of My Gay Best Friend. If not, I'm not sure when that will be updated. Again, Internet connection. I'll update by September.

I wrote a quick drabble/one-shot yesterday called You Found Me. Check it out. It's a little angsty but Percabeth. Make sure to drop a comment or fave.

Anyway, make sure to read, review, fave, and follow.

~TJ