[A/N: Here's chapter 7, guys. Again, I appreciate all your reviews and encouragements. I will never get tired of thanking you. :D
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WISE GIRL'S SEAWEED BRAIN

Chapter 7: THE ONLY EXCEPTION

PERCY

Something wet and warm on my face woke me up.

I opened my eyes groggily and looked around, trying to make sense of my surroundings. Definitely not my room. This one's too big and fully-furnished than mine. The bed was too soft against my back.

A figure of a girl came into my line of view and I nearly uncapped Riptide and stabbed her. Good thing I wasn't wearing any pants or else, I would've caused some serious confusion. The girl was my friend, Samantha Willard. Oh, good. I thought she was a monster. Oh, good. Oh. gods! I wasn't wearing my pants!

I snatched the blanket and covered my lower half with it, my face burning. "Sorry, Sam," I muttered. "I was too uncomfortable wearing jeans while sleeping and . . . um, really. I'm sorry."

Samantha just laughed. Then I noticed her eyes were red, so was her nose. I knew her. Those two were sure signs she had been crying. I realized the wet thing I felt were her tears. "Hey, what's the matter? Why are you crying?"

For a second she looked like she wanted to say something but then she shrugged and said, "I was chopping onions. I was being stupid and rubbed my eyes. It's nothing."

I reached out sand rubbed my thumb over her right eyelid and did the same to her left. Samantha took a deep breath and sighed. "There," I said, pulling my hands back. "Better now?"

She opened her eyes and smiled at me, but I could swear there was a hint of sadness. Ever since I met her in the hallway of our school, being bullied by Amber and her friends, I'd had this fierce urge to protect her. I guess that had something to do with the fact that I went through what she was experiencing. Ever since then, I made it my duty to make sure Samantha was happy.

Though when she took me and the rest of the swim team to her house, I was shocked to find out she was very rich. I finally made the connection. Samantha Willard. I was certain her name sounded familiar when she said it. Seeing her house, I instantly remembered someone named Anthony Willard, who was quite famous in the business world.

I knew Samantha was scared when she showed us who she really was. She kept it a secret for some time, so I did the only thing I could to make her at ease: I focused on the food. I liked her more when she told me what happened with her family. In a way, she reminded me of Annabeth. They both had a hard childhood, but that didn't stop them from being great people. Another thing was they were both beautiful without being pretentious. They were the kind of girls who could wear tattered clothes and still be eye candies.

Hmm, I don't think my girlfriend would appreciate being compared to a delicacy. Oh, well.

"Yes," said Samantha. She took a step back and announced, "Dinner's ready!"

I chuckled. "Yeah. I'll be there. I just, um, have to dress up."

"Sure," said Samantha before going out.

When I was back in my clothes, I went down and had to catch my jaw to prevent it from hitting the ground. The table was set nicely. It was covered in white cloth and had some flowers on top. The napkins were folded beautifully. The light in the dining area was dimmed but a couple of candles illuminated the area with just the right amount of light.

"Wow, Sam . . ." I said under my breath. Samantha looked up and smiled sweetly at me. I didn't know why that made me blush.

"You like it?" she said.

All I could manage was a nod. I felt kind of elated and . . . fine, touched, that Samantha went all the way into preparing dinner for me. No one had ever done this for me. Not even . . . not even Annabeth. That sent some weird sensation to my chest and I had to swallow thickly a couple of times before it went away.

I sat at one of the readied chair and Samantha spooned the, um – what did she call it again? Oreo chedder, no. Ah, you know what it was! – into my plate and laid a white napkin into my lap. She handed me a fork and a knife and urged me to eat. I'd never been so pampered and it was kind of ironic that it wasn't my girlfriend doing this for me. That made me a little sad. She hadn't even called. I texted her right before I slept but she didn't answer.

I set that thought aside and lose myself into the food, which wasn't hard, since it was really good. Samantha even made some garlic breads. For dessert, there was a chocolate cake. I had to restrain myself from eating the whole thing.

Dinner was a bit awkward. I didn't know why, but words left me the moment I saw what Samantha had prepared for me. I tried to make conversation. "Did you put strawberries in here?" I asked. I recently licked my lips clean and there was the unmistakable taste of strawberries.

"No. Why'd you ask?"

"That's funny," I observed. "I was sure it tasted strawberries."

I saw the hint of a blush blossoming on Samantha's cheeks. I ignored it and let my eyes wander to the setting my friend had made. I didn't want to put meaning behind it but, well, it certainly seemed like a date. And I thought I knew why.

"That was incredible," I said when I was done.

"I'm glad you like it," Samantha said, smiling.

"How couldn't I? You certainly put effort into this."

"Yeah. If you didn't, I would make you pay for the ingredients." I smiled but didn't answer. Samantha must've sensed the shift in my mood. "What's wrong?"

I cleared my throat. That half a dozen of garlic bread made my voice hoarse so I sounded like Darth Vader when I said, "Sam, I don't want to sound weird but, um, I think we have to talk about what you're doing here." I saw her gulp so I quickly added, "You know you didn't have to do this, right? I only did what was right. I couldn't just let Amber bully you around."

She frowned. "You think that's the reason why I was doing this?"

I knitted my eyebrows. "Why, is there any other reason I should know about?"

"No!" she said quickly. For a moment, she looked genuinely annoyed then relief slowly crept into her eyes. "Percy, you can't seriously expect me to just forget about what you did for me. I was no one when you saw me; you were, like, on the top and you didn't care I was looking like a homeless person – you still helped me."

"Sam—"

"Throughout my life, I had been living a lie. Friends who don't really care about me, a father who didn't give a damn what was happening to me and a mother who'd rather hug her bottles of liquor than her daughter." Tears had pooled in her eyes and sure enough, they fell. I felt bad opening this topic. I knew how sore this kind of conversation with Samantha and yet, I still opened it up. "And then you came out of nowhere, Percy. Just when I thought that I would never find someone who would actually care about me. You were the first genuine thing that has ever happened to me."

I was speechless. I never knew our friendship meant this much to Samantha. Of course I should've. She had told me what happened with her family. I should've suspected something like this could upset her. Before I knew it, I was hugging her. She cried softly on my chest and I felt sad. There was a nervous fluttering in my stomach and I quickly scolded myself for even feeling it.

I shouldn't be like this! Those feelings were just for Annabeth and hers alone!

But I knew I couldn't just pull away. Samantha's grip on me was tight so I let her cry for a couple of minutes. When she broke our hug, I said, "I'm sorry for upsetting you, Sam, and if it means that much to you, then okay, you can do this whenever you want. Just don't overdo things, okay? I'm your friend and I will always protect you. Keep that in mind."

Samantha wiped her eyes and nodded. "Thank you for being such a wonderful friend to me, Perce. I wouldn't know how to get through high school without you . . . and, um, all my other friends."

I smiled and tapped her chin with a finger. "We'll be here. Always."

The sound of my phone chiming made me sit back. I fished my phone out of my pocket excitedly, sure it was Annabeth. But it wasn't. It was Mom. She wanted me home.

"Oh," I muttered. "Mom told me to go home."

Samantha nodded and smiled. "I'll see you at school." Then she did something unexpected. She kissed me on the cheek. I wasn't a stranger with stolen kisses. Heck, Rachel did that to me once, and on the lips, no less. Some girls from Camp had kissed me on the cheek a couple of times when they thought Annabeth weren't looking. Of course, that always led to her chasing them with her dagger in the woods. "Good bye, my hero."

I went out of the house and spent half the drive home dazed. Samantha calling me her hero brought back memories of Calypso. I wondered where she was now. A part of my agreement with the Olympians after the war last summer was to free immortals like Calypso, who hadn't done any direct damage.

Then my thoughts shifted to Samantha. She was definitely someone who deserves to find someone to love her unconditionally and never hurt her. She had been through so much in her life and I thought it was about time for her to find some happiness. A plan formed in my head and I grinned. I would force her to tell me who Mr. X was.

Samantha had this huge crush on a dude whom she hid behind the name Mr. X. No matter how hard I tried to make her tell me who he was, she just wouldn't. Now I would make sure to have her tell me and then I'd see to it that that guy wouldn't hurt my friend.

Mom and Paul were eating dinner when I arrived.

"Where have you been?" Mom asked.

"I was over at Sam's," I said. Mom knew who she was. She had been over to our apartment a couple of times before, with the rest of Goode High swim team. "She cooked me dinner. It was incredible."

"Sam, huh?" Paul asked. I nodded. "I'm kind of surprised she doesn't have a boyfriend. A girl like her ought to find someone nice."

"Oh, she's saving herself for this dude she calls Mr. X," I said.

"You know who he is?"

I shook my head. "Nope." Paul raised his eyebrows and Mom shook her head. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing," they answered at the same time.

"Well then, I'll be in my room."

After changing, I sat down on my bed and stared at my phone, willing it to ring. But it didn't.

And for the next week, no call came through.


ANNABETH

My phone kept on ringing for a few days.

It stopped eventually and I sighed in satisfaction. Percy must've understood I couldn't talk, what with all the deadlines I had been trying to meet. I wanted to talk to him, I did, and I missed him, but I knew Percy knew how much I wanted and enjoyed what I was doing.

I focused on the last lines of the blueprint of the Parthenon Lord Zeus had ordered for me to do. There was still the Pantheon. I sighed. My week had been occupied with rebuilding those stupid statues of Ares and Apollo. My mother had to actually break a fight between them, thereby sparing the other Olympians' statues.

As I drew the final strokes on the parchment, I glanced at my phone. The wallpaper showed a picture of Percy, the same one I had on my notebook. It suddenly hit me out of nowhere how much I missed him. And along that longing came the feeling of guilt. I had been too caught up with fulfilling my dreams that I had completely neglected my boyfriend.

I picked up my phone and dialed his number, hoping that he wasn't mad at me. Of course he would be. He had the right to be. The line rang and kept ringing but he wasn't picking up. Then the call was cut. I swallowed a lump in my throat and redialed. How could I be so selfish?

There was an answer. Finally! "Hello?" Hearing his voice after a week was like being hit by a bowling ball on the gut.

"Seaweed Brain!" I said in relief "I'm – "

"Child." A voice behind me made me turn. I turned around and a chill went down my spine. It was my mother, Athena.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked from the other line. "I thought you forgot you have a boyfriend."

His words stung and I felt my eyes prickling. I wanted to say so many things and apologize for not giving us some time but my mother motioned for me to follow her. She walked away and I knew I couldn't ignore her.

"Percy, I-I have to go. I'll call you. I promise."

"Annabeth—" I ended the call.

I forced the tears back and followed my mother.

I found her looking at a statue of Percy. I blushed, not sure what she'd say. I'd put it there despite the constant complaining from my boyfriend. Seeing his face, even on a statue, was like being shot by caffeine. It made my nerves tingle with excitement. But I couldn't ignore the guilt that was weighing me down.

"You seem different, child," she said.

"What do you mean, Mother?" I half-expected her to scold me. A daughter of Athena doesn't usually ask questions.

"Are you happy with your relationship with Perseus?"

I was surprised with the turn our conversation took. I thought she wanted to talk about what I was doing as the architect of Olympus. My love life was last on the list of topics I thought I'd likely to discuss with the goddess of wisdom.

"Yes," I finally answered. "Percy has been the exception among my friends. I guess I've known that for a while."

"But you were afraid," she observed. "After what your friend Luke did, you were scared that everyone will do the same and hurt you. But you must know, my daughter, that by living with that fear, you are hurting the person you hold most dear."

I didn't answer. Of course I knew that. Luke would always be a part of me. He had been my family when my real one turned their backs on me. I guess he would always have a place in my heart. I knew I love Percy . . . He was the only one who had make me feel emotions I never knew I needed.

"You never thought that someone could make you feel like this," my Mother continued. "Along came the sea spawn. I don't claim to understand what you share with him but I do have eyes, Annabeth. I can see how much he means to you. But I have to ask you now, child, if you were to choose between him and your dream, what will you pick?"

I was stunned. I didn't know where all this came from. One second we were talking about my fears then the next we switched into my dream? Sometimes even I couldn't understand how a goddess' mind works.

"I'm confused, Mother," I admitted. "Are we talking about my fears, or my dreams, or my relationship with Percy?"

Athena smiled. "I only mentioned what happened with Luke because I can see it was affecting the way you act around Percy. But now, we are talking about your dreams and him. You may ask, child, why I opened this up and I will answer. The first few days of seeing you do what you've always wanted to, I knew you were happy, but the longer you do it, I could sense you were having some longing for that boy."

If you told me I would be having this kind of conversation with my Mother, I would've called you crazy.

"I guess I do," I said after a couple of seconds of silence. "I mean, I miss him. So much. But he knows what I've been doing these past few days."

"I'm not saying I completely understand what you have with Perseus," Mother said. "But I knew that if I was him, I'd be disappointed in you for ignoring him."

I nodded sadly. "I know, Mother. I've been an awful, um, girlfriend to him."

She turned to me and I felt like a specimen being viewed under a microscope. "I know you are happy with what you are doing here and with what you have with Perseus. Though I wish you could see yourself the longer you don't see him. The fact that you made a lot of mistakes with the blueprints made me realize that Perseus plays a big role with you reaching your dreams."

"What exactly are you saying?"

"You may not say it but I can see how not seeing him affects you. I know you love what you are doing here and I know that you, ah, have strong feelings for the boy. Apart from that, you're still attending school. What I mean is that there's a way for you to be close to Perseus and still do what you love the most."

"I thought you don't approve of him?" I asked before I could stop myself. But since I'd already blurted it out, I added, "Why are you giving me advice how to have him and continue being an architect at the same time?"

"I do not approve, Annabeth," she said. "But I like it less seeing you struggling. You're still my daughter and I want what makes you happy. If that means putting up with that sea spawn, I'd be willing to do it." She tapped my shoulder and smiled at me. "Now, do you understand what I was trying to say?"

I nodded, still stunned.


[Next - Chapter 8: BRAVE NEW WORLD]