Chapter Eight

"Hey wise girl" Percy beamed opening the door. He lived three houses down from me which was convenient "Glad you could make it"

"Yeah, you are going to need all the help you can get" I joked, making my way in. his house was beautiful, covered in blues, greens and creams. Looks like the ocean played a major part in the décor, but what I loved was the living room. It had a huge window that looked out onto the ocean, the view taking my breath away.

"yeah, well, it's good I got the best" he smiled leading me towards the kitchen room where the table was "You want a drink before we start?" he chucked me a bottle of water when I said yes. "You ready to start?"

"Ready as I'll ever be" he took the seat next to me, a grimace crossing over his face. This was going to be a fun hour.

After an hour of hard work and a lot of complaining from Percy, our first tutoring session was finally over. Not that I was complaining, but Percy really did need a lot more help then I thought. But I was as patient as I could be, thinking of happy thoughts when he got frustrated but In the end I was happy to be there. It meant I wasn't getting felt up by random guys or watch people practically have sex against the walls of Luke's place.

I've heard the stories.

But we were finally done for the night, which meant I could go, and enjoy some alone time whilst my parents were out on date night. They do this thing every Thursday and I guess they're happy judging by the way they come in all dreamy eyed. We have one rule in our house, if you can't handle the answer, don't ask the question and I defiantly couldn't think about my parents having sex. That's just wrong.

"Hey, sorry you couldn't go to that party tonight" Percy said, leaning up against the sofa as I packed away my things "which party?"

"Thalia's boyfriends one"

"Trust me when I say this Seaweed brain" I smiled "I'd much rather spend ten hours with you explaining calculus then half an hour at that party" my stuff was packed away, but I didn't want to leave. Hanging out with him, all casual like was fun. No pressure, just two friends, talking and joking around. It felt comfortable, like we had been doing it for years instead of days.

"you sure?"

"Positive" I said, walking towards his front door "Hey Wise Girl" he called after me, catching my arm in his lightly so I couldn't walk away "Seeing as we both have the rest of the night free, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out?" More time with Percy, who could say no to that? A grin spread over my face, one that I couldn't control

"What did you have in mind?"

We ended up at the board walk, which was about a five minute drive away from our homes. Twilight had just come, which meant the place was lit up but not as busy as it had been the past couple of weeks. Tourist season had ended, which meant we would actually be able to get something to eat without worrying about a reservation. Not that Percy had to worry, because he took me to his mothers restaurant.

I had only been here once before, on my mothers birthday but I had to say, Jackson's had some of the best sea food I had ever tasted "I never knew your mum owned this place" I said, smiling as he pulled out the chair for me "Yeah, well she's an amazing cook. Always wanted to open a restaurant. And with dad a fisherman, this just seamed like the logical choice"

Yeah, when I said lets go for dinner, I did not imagine this. I was thinking more a $2 pizza slice and some ice cream. But I was glad that didn't happen because the food was divine.

"So" Percy said, giving me a piercing stare "how come you don't have a boyfriend?" really did we have to go into this line of questioning. So I decided to joke around with him a bit "Oh I do" I insisted, watching as Percy's face fell slightly. Seriously? He was disappointed? "Yeah, he lives Iceland"

"Really?"

"No" I laughed, taking a bite of my pasta with a smile. This was defiantly more fun the traipsing round the shopping centre with Thalia and Piper, and that was saying something because those two girls are hilarious. It's the shopping part I hate. "well I guess I didn't think anyone noticed me" I answered truthfully tearing off a piece of garlic bread as I answered the original question "You're kidding right?"

"I haven't been asked out, therefore I assumed" I answered shrugging. It wasn't a big deal, I mean, I would have turned them down. Because I didn't see dating someone you weren't attracted to as fun, and I would rather stay home with my books then spend an evening with a guy with wondering hands and a cheesy smile. I had heard the stories thanks to the girls.

"How could anyone not notice you?"

"Well, hanging out with Piper and Thalia, it's kind of easy. Everyone notices them first, so I just sink into the back ground and let them take the spotlight I guess. I do a pretty good job at staying invisible"

I could see several emotions play out over his face, but before he could reply, a woman in a chefs uniform came out of the kitchen heading over to our table. "Oh no" Percy said, noticing where I was looking "I am so sorry about this" he whispered as his mum came and gave him a kiss on the cheek. And she wasn't being quick about it. A slight twinge of pink grew in his cheeks as she pulled away "Hi" she said turning towards me. Percy let out a "Mummmm" pushing her away from him, but she wasn't letting go of her boy any time soon "I'm Sally Jackson" she smiled, sticking a hand out for me to shake.