The weeks flew by as I waited, decidedly impatiently and edgy as hell, for Percy's master plan to be put into play. Not to say that I knew for certain that it was particularly masterful in any sense of the word, but having known Percy for fourteen years gave me plenty of evidence towards the suggestion that it was far and beyond the customary mastery most eighteen year old boys were capable of putting together.

Needless to say I was crawling right the fuck out of my skin.

Life continued in what I had sadly come to refer to as 'normal'. I went to school, Percy-less, I practically napped my way through my classes Percy-less, and I went home, my world still depressingly void of Percy.

And every night I waited in my room by the phone, chewing my nails and scratching absently at the bruises developing on my knee caps. Alex and Marissa expressed their concern for my wellbeing numerous times, and were always met with the same response.

An overly cheesy smile and words of assurance, drenched in false confidence, that I had not, in fact, lost my will to live or my steadily deteriorating mind.

The slightly less numerous times they showed up at my house made it quite obvious that they were not to be fooled.

Still, they wouldn't over stay their welcome. Just silently re-affirm that I was alive and functioning and then excuse themselves so I could get back to my seemingly infinite waiting.

And it did seem infinite. Because in spite of Percy's declaration of a plan, and my excruciatingly passive acceptance of the fact that time was necessary in order to put together such extravagance, nothing was happening.

Nothing.

Everything just continued.

Just exactly the same as before I had eavesdropped.

As if I had never heard a thing.

But I had. I knew something was coming. I just didn't know how much longer I could wait before I spontaneously combusted.

It might actually come as a relief.

Unfortunately, spontaneous combustion isn't nearly as common as they make it out to be on Comedy Central. So I was forced to keep on waiting in agony.

And waiting.

And waiting.

Aaaaaannnnnnndddddd

Waaaaaiiiiiiitttttiiinnnngggg.

When the weather started to get warm again, I started to feel hopeless. Even more hopeless than I had when all of this had begun. More hopeless than in the middle of it all. I came to the devastating conclusion that Percy had decided to forgo his plan. He had decided that no one was worth it. Especially not me.

Alphabetically, the letter "M" does not come anywhere near the letter "Dear God Kill Me Now". But apparently our principle watched the crack head version of Sesame Street when he was growing up, because my seat for the ceremony was right next to Annabeth Chase.

The scrawny and pasty little Michael Ishmael was, for obvious reasons, graduating with honors, something that had been a previous goal of mine but was inevitably discarded for the much less achievable goal of salvaging any amount of dignity I could after my drunken binges with Drake, and was therefore, seated in the very front of our class.

Annabeth made a very concentrated point of not looking directly at me, but constantly giving me the stink eye at the very same time.

I wanted to ask her how she found the time to practice simultaneous indifference and acknowledgment with all those other really significant activities she was involved in, not to mention the severe lack of a single thought floating around in her stupid little blonde head . . . but just as I opened my mouth, the valedictorian, one beautifully primped, painted and curled Summer Van White, took her place in front of the podium and started her speech.

I glanced sideways at Alex, he was absolutely glowing.

It made me a little sick.

What made me even sicker was the fact that I hadn't seen Percy at the rehearsal earlier that day, and I still hadn't spotted him in the bright lights that surrounded the lamely decorated football field.

I scanned the heads of my classmates, trying to pick him out somewhere in the red colored sea.

I spotted Christian, slumped down in his seat with his tassel in his mouth and a Game Boy in his hands. I could barely see David's long hair sticking out from under his graduation cap in the front row beside Michael Ishmael, and I found Marissa sitting with my parents and Percy's mom in the stands.

But I couldn't find Percy.

Of course there was always the simple explanation of myself being neurotic and anal.

But let's not go there.

Suspicion and paranoia fit me so much better.

A loud roar of clapping and cheers erupted in the stadium as Summer concluded her speech, and I stood with the rest of the student body to applaud her magnificent and inspired speech that I hadn't even heard.

As we sat back down, I felt hot breath against my ear and an awfully disturbing shiver spread up my spine.

"I guess it doesn't matter how skanky you are." Annabeth's voice crooned softly, "Sometimes Prince Charming just doesn't go for it."

Well, so much for taking the high road.

I turned slowly to face her as the first names were rattled off, "I guess it doesn't matter how skanky you are." I leaned very close to her, "Sometimes Prince Charming just wants to go make out with another girl and humiliate you in front of the people you try so desperately to impress on a daily basis."

Annabeth's face scrunched up with momentary rage before a heinous and evil smile spread itself across her lips, "He's still not yours." She said sweetly, "What happened, Sophia-pad? Did your master plan fall a little short?"

My stomach fluttered with her words, remembering all that waiting I did for nothing, and a pang of something unbelievably embarrassing shot through my chest, because she was right after all. He still wasn't mine.

But instead of letting the regret and defeat I felt show on my face, I squinted my eyes and stared pointedly at her lip, "Annabeth . . . that's the beginning of a really tremendous mustache."

And to add a little insult to injury, I reached forward and brushed my forefinger over her upper lip.

Her eyes popped out of her head, and with a barely muttered "Bitch" she twisted in her seat to face as far away from me as possible.

But I got a giggle every time I saw her hand sneak up to her mouth.

Finally, my name was called and I walked soberly up to the podium, took my diploma, shook three people's sweaty hands, and returned to my seat just a little more soberly, because even though I clearly heard Alex, Marissa, Christian and my parents shouting for me, Percy's distinctive voice was not among them.

The ceremony crawled onward. I watched Alex rise and take his diploma, and I took freakish pleasure in participating in the shouts of "Oh my god he actually made it!" and "Sweet now we'll have good weed at the party!"

Alex just held the paper above his head triumphantly before taking off his square graduation cap and chucking it into the air. The principal made only the slightest of moves to protest his timing, but even his face was graced with an amused smile when Alex pulled a trucker hat out from under his gown and tugged it over his hair.

Seven successful students later and the principal called Percy's name. It echoed out loud and hollow through the air around us. No one moved. It almost frightened me how everyone seemed to know about me and Percy. Seemed to sense the tension and significance of his absence. The entire stadium remained absolutely silent.

I could hear the crickets.

Of course, now they're all talk.

I stared up at the principal, expecting him to clear his throat awkwardly and make some excuse up for the last remaining graduating senior's disappearance, but he said nothing, just stood there calmly, staring right back out over the class.

I started to grow nervous. The paranoid Sci-Fi movie freak inside of me suspected alien infestation. Or that time had perhaps even stopped, and then I scanned the crowd for my parents and caught sight of Percy's mom grinning down in my direction.

My eyes shot sideways to see that Alex was no longer in his seat, and Christian had abandoned his Game Boy.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, the loud rhythmic sound of a guitar tuning up came through the speakers surrounding the stadium, followed by Percy's voice filling the air around our heads.

"Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band, "

And I nearly shit my pants.

"Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man, "

The entire student body was twisted around in their seats, watching something behind me. I turned carefully to see a very makeshift stage adorned with Alex and Christian, still clad in their grad gowns, and Percy Jackson.

What he was wearing is of the least importance.

"Ballerina, you must have seen her, dancing in the sand, "

He was singing for me. For me

He wasn't very good. At all. But he was doing what Percy did best, something grand and meaningful, and shockingly flamboyant.

Not to mention slightly embarrassing.

But I was worth it.

"And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand . . . "

His eyes never left mine throughout the entire song, and when it finally finished, I quickly brushed tears off of my cheeks as the stadium went insane with applause.

The principal managed to calm the crowd down enough for the closing address, but even as the hats flew into the air, and cheers swallowed everything within hearing distance, all I could do was stare at Percy.

And he just stared right back.

Finally people began filing out of the stadium and Percy lifted his bass over his head and set it down beside Alex's guitar. He stepped off the stage, leaving Christian and Patrick to finish packing up the secondhand equipment, and walked slowly and cautiously toward me, his hands stuck in his pockets and his hair falling into his eyes.

When he reached me, I stood up and tugged my cap off of my head, just so I would have something to hold on to tightly as the world spun around me.

"Hi." Percy said quietly.

"Hi." I repeated. We stood there for a moment, just watching each other squirm before finally I gestured to Percy's jeans and sneakers, "I see you've dressed for the occasion."

Percy gave a soft laugh, "I lost my gown."

"Lost?"

"Okay, me and Alex were boarding in them and his got all torn to shit. So I gave him mine."

I nodded, "How chivalrous of you."

Percy shrugged shyly, "We all know how I like to be the hero."

"Sometimes more than others." I mumbled before I could stop myself. Percy looked up and met my eyes, an expression that was a mixture of hurt and shame on his face.

I decided to get back to a subject a little less touch and go.

"Well at least you don't look like a cherry tomato."

Percy laughed, "Red was never really your color."

"Yea well, I never went for what they said in those girly magazines anyway." I crossed my arms over my chest, my cap hanging from my pointer finger, "They're bad for your health, fills girls with fimage."

"Fimage?"

"Fake image. It's really quite serious."

"Sounds it."

I shrugged nonchalantly, "Well if Oprah does a special on it you can rest assured that it's no joke."

"Yeah . . . " Percy chuckled, then his face got almost frighteningly serious, "I miss you, Sophia."

And for some reason, I couldn't help but be a little nasty, "Do you?" I asked condescendingly.

Percy knew me too well, all he did in response was give me a heartbreaking, pleading look.

I let out a long sigh and dropped my arms to my sides, "I miss you too."

His face lit up immediately, "Yeah? God, Soph." And he took a large step toward me, "I really need to apologi - "

I stepped back instinctively, "Stop." And he did, "All is forgiven."

"Really?" Percy asked timidly, "Because I would never do anything to hurt you, Sophs."

"Well, you did, Percy." I retorted a little helplessly.

"Not intentionally." He whispered.

I nodded, a small smile on my face, "I know."

Percy chewed his lip for a moment before smiling, reassured, and reaching into his pocket.

"I found this." He held out his hand to me, and when I looked into his outstretched palm, I saw the tiny silver "S", but instead of being on a chain, it was on a thin, black string.

My heart sank a little, because if he found it on my porch he must think I hated him, and because I was ashamed at the way I just tossed it away like some cheap piece of trash. But also I was overjoyed to see it hadn't been lost forever.

I took it from his hand carefully and glanced up at him, "When?'

Percy cleared his throat, "The morning after . . . the dance." He paused somberly, "I came to see you, but I got scared . . . I found it stuck in a crack on the porch."

He had come to see me the very next morning? For a moment I hated him for getting scared and not knocking on the door, for abandoning all reason and making the past few months of my life, of our lives, a living hell. Then I looked up at his face, Percy's face, so close to mine for the first time in six months, and I couldn't be angry.

I smiled and clutched the necklace to my chest, "Thank you."

Percy nodded, and a few more seconds of silence ensued before Percy cursed and ran a hand through his hair.

"That night I . . . I was just getting so sick of pretending stuff didn't happen-I know I was an idiot-but I was kinda . . . freaking out, ya know?" He looked down at me beseechingly and I nodded in understanding so he went on, "And at the same time, I don't know, it just seemed easier to . . . pretend everything was normal. Pretend nothing had changed. Between us."

I know my eyes were popping out. As big as golf balls about to explode from my skull. I wanted to say something, anything, but all I could do was remind myself to breathe.

Percy tugged at his bangs and turned away from me for a moment before shrugging apologetically, "I just got caught up in how good you always make me feel. I feel like I'm worth something when I'm with you." He tried to smile, like what he was saying wasn't as deep or as personal as it really was, but it faded as quickly as it came and he reached forward to touch my cheek, "The way you look at me . . . like I matter."

till had absolutely nothing.

For the first time in my life, I had been rendered positively speechless.

It was freaking me the fuck out.

"I like the way you look at me." Percy said again, a little baffled by my inability to respond as well as probably enjoying that he had no competition for the floor, "Nobody else has ever looked at me the way you do." His hand was still on my face, and his moved his thumb out to stroke my skin just under my left eye, "Like you see something other people can't." Then he laughed, "Maybe that's just because you've always taken the time to try . . . I don't know, all I know is that for the past six months I've been waiting to catch someone else looking at me like that and . . . they just don't." He sighed and let his hand drop to his side as well as his eyes to his shoes, "I don't think they see what you do."

I shook my head slowly, "All I see is you."

"Then you're the only one who really does." Percy chuckled again and held up his hands before I could even attempt to speak, "I know that people love me, Sophia. And I know what you said about the world seeing something special, but . . . I've fucking searched and nobodies eyes sparkle the way yours do when you look at me."

I felt my breath hitch in my throat and my sparkling eyes well up with tears of pure joy.

"Per-"

But Percy still wasn't quite finished, "I'm not nearly as great as you think I am." He laughed, "But the fact that you honestly think I am . . . is the greatest fucking feeling in the world." He gave another soft laugh and placed his hands on either side of my face, his face growing so serious that for a second I was afraid of what he was about to say.

I think my heart stopped beating.

"Being away from you . . . " Percy took a deep breath, "made me realize that . . . I'm in love you, Soph."

No fucking way.

His words echoed inside my head, heard but not quite registered. Percy just stood there, holding my face in his hands and searching my eyes patiently, waiting for it all to sink in. When it finally did, I let out a loud sob and wrapped my arms around Percy's neck tightly.

Percy's arms found their place around my middle and he pulled me as tightly as possible against him. He kissed me roughly on the mouth and then pressed his lips against my ear, "So I guess this means you love me too?"

I let out an almost hysterical laugh and jerked my head back to get at his mouth, pressing another firm, over the moon kiss to his lips.

"Jackson, you have no fucking idea."

This is almost the end.

I understand there is no demi-god action, but thats all for the sequel:)

Thanks to everyone who is still reading!