Oh, my gosh the funniest thing just happened. So my sister was at college for summer classes and I stayed home and I was watching the Avengers. It was her movie, so when she came home and realized I had taken it out of her room without permission, she got a little mad. And then I got her even more mad because I flicked water at her like the mischievous little sister I am teehee:3 So I hid behind the counter as she was washing off her face and I was going all secretive spy-ninja mode.

"I'm going all Black Widow on you," I told her. And it was hilarious because I sneaked up behind her and she was giving me the same old not-to-take-her-movies-without-permission-from-her lecture.

I've heard it thousands of times so the only thing I was looking at was the water dripping down her chin from washing her face. I pointed it out and she wiped her hand on it. "You never know, it could be saliva," she said and threatened to wipe it on me.

I squealed and closed the bathroom door on her and hid out in the bathroom for a while. I knew she was still right outside the door, and I knew I couldn't stay in the bathroom forever so I took my hairbrush and held it up like it was some sort of evil weapon. I slowly opened the door like I was in an action-thriller movie and peeked outside. She was standing right next to the door with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face.

I laughed and attacked as if I were Natasha Romanov. Of course, it didn't work out like she would've done it, but I managed to make some cool (not really cool) noises as if I were really smacking her. It didn't really work because we were laughing and I somehow grabbed her arm, twisted her around, and pinned her against the wall with my back while we were still laughing.

And all with a measly little hairbrush.

She started laughing and asked me what I was doing and I told her I was Black Widow. xD Thank you, Avengers, for helping me with my lame and not-so-cool stealthy moves.

Anyways, off of my little story, and onto this one. Kinda a short chapter, but at least I'm updating:) I do not own PJO, but I hope you guys enjoy!

Annabeth pulled up in front of the house. Percy had given her the address and it led her here. She was a little cautious about it, but who wouldn't be especially after getting rejected so many times.

But when she saw the house, something clicked in her head and she just knew that this was going to be the best change she ever encountered.

How did she know? Well, it happened when she first laid eyes on the small house. It was actually normal-looking and comfortable. A small pathway led up to the door and along the edge of the cobblestone path was beds of flowers and gardens of some kind of harvesting fruit. The lawn looked healthy and not like fake grass as if they actually had a sprinkler system. Planted on one side of the freshly cut grass was a big tree which branches loomed over, creating shade.

Annabeth had the urge to grab a book and sit under it, back against the trunk, and just stay there the entire day. But she cleared her throat and resisted it.

And the house, it was a normal brick house. She almost felt like the anti-wolf in the Three Little Pigs story. All the other houses before didn't work, but this one was brick and sturdy and just right for her. It had a chimney and wasn't too small, but not as big as the other mansions she'd been to before.

She got out of the car and as soon as she closed her car door, she saw something move in the curtain of one of the windows of the house.

Annabeth's brows furrowed and she tilted her head in skepticism.

The figure moved away and Annabeth got an eerie chill up her back. She locked the door behind her and then she heard a creak behind her.

Then she heard excited screaming and squealing.

Annabeth turned around and then was attacked by a hug. She was about to judo-flip this person as well, but then the girl pulled back, a grin on her face.

When she first saw the lady, she was struck and immediately thought that she was beautiful. Not caked with makeup beautiful, and not perfection beautiful like all the other women she's worked for. No, this was beautiful as in naturally beautiful. She didn't have any makeup on, but her eyes seemed to glow and change color in the light. Her smile was a real smile, not some Botox smile.

"I'm so glad you're here!" She squealed. Then she cleared her throat at Annabeth's more-than-shocked expression. She stepped back. "Sorry," she said in a normal tone. "I'm just so excited to have someone here. And you're just in time; Jason was about to leave for work."

Annabeth didn't have time to question, because as if on cue, a man appeared at the door of the house. He had blonde hair and was wearing a suit, like he was about to leave for work—like the woman said.

"Piper, don't scare her away on her first day!" He joked with a crooked smile.

The lady—who Annabeth inferred was Piper—turned around and put her hands on her hips. "I'm not! I was just greeting her, Sparky!"

"Sparky?" the first question popped out of her mouth.

Piper whirled back around to face her, her sundress twirling. "His name's not really Sparky." She said matter-of-factly. "It's Jason; he's my husband."

Annabeth nodded.

"Oh!" Piper exclaimed suddenly and it made Annabeth jump. "I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself." She offered out a hand. "I'm Piper Grace. You must be Annabeth."

Annabeth shook her hand warily, but with a lightly strong grip. She nodded. "Annabeth Chase,"

"It's so nice to meet you. Here, come inside." Piper kept hold of Annabeth's hand and guided her up the cobblestone path.

"Hi," Jason said when they made it to the doorstep. "I'm Jason,"

"I know. Annabeth," she said.

"I'll go fix us some drinks," Piper said and she made her way to the kitchen.

"No, thanks, for me, honey," Jason called. "I have to leave soon."

"Oh, all right. I'll show Annabeth around then." Piper said. She came back into view holding two cups of water. She handed one to Annabeth.

Jason kissed Piper's cheek. "Bye, honey, I'll see you later."

"Bye," Piper smiled.

Jason nodded towards Annabeth. "Nice meeting you. Oh, and," he leaned forward a little. "Good luck,"

Piper punched him in the arm.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry; just kidding. I'm sure you guys will do fine." He kissed Piper's temple one last time and then walked out the door.

Piper shook her head while sighing. "I don't mean to be jumpy. I'm not usually like this. I'm always alone here so I'm just so glad that you're finally here with me."

"Don't you have a job?" Annabeth asked.

Piper nodded and led her further into the house. "Yeah, but I work at home."

"What do you do?"

"Fashion," Piper smiled and led her to a room. "This is where I usually work."

It was an office but clustered with fabrics and measuring and pins and needles. There was a mannequin that had an unfinished dress on it.

"You two don't have kids?"

Piper had a sad look on her face. "W-We're trying. We really want kids, but…" she trailed off and shrugged.

Annabeth nodded and then smiled. "I'm sure you guys will have a family in no time."

"I hope so." Piper said.

Now that she was fitting more into the environment of having Annabeth around, Annabeth could tell that she was really a calm person. She wasn't high-strung like the others; she was just…Piper.

Her face suddenly brightened. "Let's take a tour of the house."

There was a small kitchen, something Annabeth could easily work with. Right next to that was a staircase leading to a small hallway and down there was only a couple of rooms and closets and a bathroom. The master bedroom was up there, attached to their grand bathroom. They had a small room saved for planning on having a baby, though Piper wasn't pregnant.

Across from the kitchen was the living room with two couches facing each other; a glass coffee table separating the two. But connecting the two arm rests was a mahogany wooden table with a plant. Across the other side of the living room was a TV.

And then there was a hallway leading down from the living room, and deeper into the house. It had a small bathroom and a closet with the laundry room and the garage. Annabeth didn't see a driveway, so it must've been on the other side of the house where the garage was.

"Piper, I have a question,"

"Shoot,"

"This is such a normal house. Why would you need me, a maid, to help you clean it? Not to be rude or anything, but what's so hard about cleaning up this place on your own?"

"I know," Piper sighed. "But like I said before, I'm here all alone. It's not just for someone who can clean, it's so that I also have a friend during the day. Besides, I'll also need someone to help me with my gardening and cooking," Piper's cheeks blushed with embarrassment. "Jason says I sometimes burn the food."

Annabeth smiled. Something felt so right, being here; and comfortable and not so big and exposed. She could see the big difference and she really liked it. And Piper seemed to be looking for the same thing Annabeth was: not just to clean and be ordered around, but to actually be with someone.

Piper led Annabeth out of the house through the front door and they looked at all the plants Piper had. There were roses, dandelions, tulips and the big tree that was an apple tree. She even harvested strawberries.

Annabeth liked the smell. It was fruity and sweet and refreshing. The wind was cool and the atmosphere enveloped her and she just wanted to stay there. "It's so…wonderful. I've never met anybody who grew this much."

"It's kind of like a habit of mine. I think it's beautiful."

"It is."

"Why, thank you,"

"When I first got here, I looked at that tree and thought that it was the perfect reading spot," Annabeth confessed. It surprised her why she had said that, because she barely even knew Piper. But it felt like they had been friends for a long time.

Piper grinned. "I'm glad you did." She walked over to the tree and rested a hand on the trunk. "I remember when this was just a little bitty branch just poking out of the ground."

The way she said it, it got Annabeth thinking. Piper must plant all these since she doesn't have any children. She treats these like her kids. Annabeth compared and realized that children really are just like plants. They start out as a small seed and they grown and bloom. You have to keep nourishing them, though, so they grown tall and healthy and beautiful.

And these flowers really were beautiful. They were wet and soft with dew and a little dry from the light wind. They swayed from it and it was like they were dancing or waving.

Annabeth turned back to Piper and they stared, as if having a silent conversation.

And then they smiled, as if making a promise.

Annabeth exclaimed as she jumped into the café. Percy was right next to the door, delivering a drink to a person and she immediately tackled him with a hug.

"Whoa!" he yelped and stepped back, but Annabeth had locked her arms around him. "What's gotten into you?"

She pulled back with a grin. "I guess Piper's energy rubs off on me." She shrugged. She then hugged Percy again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed. "I got the job!"

"You got the job?"

"I got the job," She sang and started jumping into a little dance number.

"Is that your Happy Dance?"

"Uh," she grunted as she booty-bumped him. Annabeth stared at him, breathing heavily and he gave her a look that was trying not to burst out into laughter.

Percy bit his lips and shook his head. "You're such a weirdo." He began to walk back to the counter.

She paused and rolled her eyes. "Um, a weirdo with a job now," Annabeth followed him.

"Uh-huh. So you like it? I actually helped you?"

"Yeah, but don't get used to it."

"Oh, but I could," he said.

She began to glare at him. "All right, you're never going to let this go. What do I have to do?"

"I never said you had to do anything." Percy said and began to make a drink.

"No," Annabeth said and put her arms on the counter. She continued, "But you helped me with my job and now that it actually worked for me, you want something in return. What do you want?"

"All right," Percy raised his hands in defense. "You got me. Let me think about it," he leaned closer to her and his sea green eyes glowed as he pondered. Then they brightened as he said, "Ah, I know. I want a date with Miss Annabeth Chase." He smiled mischievously.

Annabeth gave him a look.

"Ooh…Annabeth's got a date with the Percy dude?" Hazel purred.

"Yeah, just because he helped me with my job," Annabeth groaned.

"Well, you do owe him," Thalia countered.

"Yeah, but I didn't think he'd ask for a date."

"How could you not think that?!" she exclaimed. "He was flirting with you the second you stepped into the door, he gave you his phone number—which you rejected—but you're the smart one! I thought you saw this coming!"

Annabeth paused because she didn't know what to say.

"Oh, don't get all flustered, Annabeth," Rachel tried to reason. "It'll be fun. He seems like the fun type,"

Hazel smacked her arm. "Don't go flirting with Annabeth's date. You never know, it may be the start of a relationship you've always wanted."

Annabeth's entire face blushed furiously and she thought about Luke. She had always loved him, but he never seemed to respond to that. Annabeth wondered if the same way would happen with Percy. She kind of hoped not, because she thought of him as only a friend. And besides, she just met him. They were supposed to be only friends.

But then again, that's how she first started out with Luke.

"Relationship?" he asked as he stepped into the room as if on cue. "Annabeth's got a date?"

"Jeez," Thalia scoffed. "You come in at the best moments," She rolled her eyes.

Luke ruffled up her hair and Thalia glared at him. She usually didn't mean most glares, but if looks could kill, Luke would be in the morgue already. Annabeth narrowed her eyes on Thalia and realized she had been acting strangely around Luke for a while now. She decided to ask her about it later.

"Yeah," Hazel answered Luke's questioned, "with Percy from the café."

"Oh…" he trailed off, his lips tugging upward a little as he sat next to Thalia, who seemed a like she was on edge with him sitting there. "Well, good luck,"

Annabeth wasn't very sure if she needed it. Luke didn't seem to care that she was going off with another guy that wasn't him. She knew that she probably wouldn't ever have a future with Luke. For some reason, that seemed to calm her down about her Percy situation a little.

Annabeth groaned and thumped her head against the table.

It was going to be a long and confusing couple of days.

Percabeth to the rescue! :) Anyways, so I hoped you guys liked! Please review if you did!