Hey there lovely people of Earth! Here's another wonderful, lovely chapter of Stranded! So.. really early update. (Near midnight where I'm at, but I'm gonna be busy this weekend so I wanted to get it to y'all before I become unavailable. I'm so behind on my writing. With this semester winding to a close, everything is due and it's fricken crazy. Ugh. Oh well.

TyberAurora: Hmm... Drama you say? Maybe I will add some. LOL! jk. or am I?

crazydaisy-in-tha-house: Percy did get a date! LOL!

Beeimahalfblood: An author? idk man. I can't even get a B+ on an English Essay. LOL! I guess that's why I'm a Biology, Pre-Med major. :P Though I am thinking about minoring in Creative Writing. But I'm broke so... ehh. We'll see.

TheDarkKnight1991: Hmmm... another girl you say? Maybe. I've got so many ways this could go. I don't know. We'll see. But I'll definitely keep it in mind.

Skymuse: Yes, while 2am is technically morning, I was going to sleep so it's good night.

Rinkika: I am American. Ethnically, I'm Filipino but I was born and raised in Amurrica. Chapter wise? I'm thinking of capping it at twenty, but who knows.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Percy Jackson and the Olympians... Obviously since I am in no way, shape, or form Rick Riordan.

(I also do not own the lyrics of the song in this chapter.)

Annabeth waited on her couch for Percy in her light blue sundress. She wasn't sure what to wear since Percy told her that the dress code was slightly more formal than smart casual. Whatever that meant, she thought. So, she dug through her closet until she found a dress that looked like it would only be slightly underdressed if she were to wear it to a formal gala.

The last time she was this nervous was when she stood outside of Percy's office door and now, she felt the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach while she waited for the same man to pick her up for dinner.

Just to be clear, the nerves she felt weren't bad. Not at all. In fact, they were like the nerves you got as you waited in line for one of the rollercoasters at Disneyworld or something. That nervous energy building up as you got closer and closer to the thing you have been so excited for.

Annabeth was so deep in her thoughts that she actually jumped when she heard a knock on her door. He's here, she thought. This was it. The moment she'd been both anxious for and dreading. Anxious because this date would solidify their relationship and dreading because she was afraid that it would go terribly bad and she'd find out that Percy wasn't all that great and her infatuation with him was just what it was: an infatuation. A life or death kind of lust that only arose because they were the only two people stuck on an island.

She stood up from her seat and smoothed out her dress. Grabbing her purse from the coffee table, she made her way to the door, took a deep breath, and opened it to reveal Percy Jackson standing at the threshold, clad in black jeans, nice shoes, a light blue button down shirt that matched her dress, and black suit jacket, with a hand behind his back. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hi." They stood there kind of awkwardly. Neither of them knowing what they were going to do next.

"I, uh, I brought you something," Percy eventually said. He brought the hand from behind his back out in front of him and pulled out a single red rose. "I, uh, wasn't sure if you were the flower type but I wanted to get you something and my friend told me, when in doubt, go with one red rose." Annabeth smiled and could feel the tension in the air dissolving. She took the rose from him and sniffed it.

"This is perfect," she said with a smile. She placed the flower in the vase that sat on the table next to her door. She'd been meaning to get a flower to put in it but now she was glad that she hadn't because now she could place the rose that Percy had given her in it. "I'll have to switch out the vase for something smaller but for now, this'll do." Percy smiled.

"Ready?" he asked, holding an arm out.

"Ready," she affirmed, sliding her arm through his and stepping through the threshold. She turned back slightly to lock her door and let Percy guide her back down to the front lobby of her building and to his car. "So… where are we going?" she asked. Percy's eyes sparkled.

"It's a surprise," was all he said, his eyes still glued to the road in front of him. Annabeth resisted the urge to groan. She hated surprises. She supposed Percy wouldn't know that but she held her tongue because she didn't want to ruin the evening this early but she would probably let him know later on.

"Oh," she opted to say instead, turning to face the window. That was neither positive nor negative, right?

Annabeth could see Percy turned his head to look at her with a raised eyebrow through the reflection in the window. "You don't like surprises, do you?" he asked. The blonde heiress whipped her head around in shock. There was no way he could have guessed that about her and have the guts to just blurt it out like that. But he did.

"How did you figure that out?"

"I may still be learning things about you, but I know, just by your nickname, that you like to know things and surprises tick you off because you're in the dark about what's going on." Her jaw nearly dropped, but she couldn't let him have the victory of having pegged her.

"And yet, you still insist that our plans for tonight are a surprise?" she challenged. "How do I know you're not really trying to lure me out to destroy my family name?"

Percy simply smirked. "I guess you'll just have to trust me." Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him before settling back into her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. She saw Percy sneak a peek at her from the corner of her eye and one of his hands left the wheel and pulled one of her arms toward him. She relented and let her arms drop so that he could take her hand. Her hand in his, Percy lifted them both to his face and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. They held hands the rest of the drive and he only released her hand in order to turn into the parking lot of wherever he was taking her. When she peeked out of the window, she recognized the architecture of one of the nicest, most expensive restaurants in all of New York: Ambrosia and Nectar. She turned to look at her black-haired date with wide eyes.

He smirked again. It was a sight that she should have (and would have at one point) found annoying but for some reason, she found it slightly endearing. "Are you kidding me? This place is so expensive, even under my standards. And, it takes weeks to get a reservation unless you've got the money and the contacts."

He didn't respond and simply stopped the car in front of the valet. He got out and walked over to Annabeth's side and helped her out. After Percy tipped the valet, they proceeded inside the restaurant where a woman who Annabeth recognized as Katie greeted them. Every time Annabeth and her parents came to dinner here, Katie was their hostess and led them to their seat. "Ah, Mr. Jackson," she greeted with a certain gleam in her eye that Annabeth couldn't place. "Ms. Chase," she acknowledged with a nod. "Your table is right this way." Annabeth couldn't hide her shock at this point. It was all she could do to keep her jaw from dropping. Percy was just dropping so many surprise bombshells that Annabeth was starting to wonder if he'd ever run out of surprises. When they arrived at their table for two, a little ways to the back of the room so they could have their privacy but still be able to see what was happening on the dance floor in the center, Percy pulled back a chair and gestured for her to take a seat. When she did, he scooted her in and sat down himself. Katie gave them a huge smile and placed menus down on the table in front of them. "Someone will be by to take your orders. Have a good night," Katie said with a nod before walking away. Annabeth turned to look at Percy, who was already perusing the menu in front of him.

"What was that?" she asked.

"What?"

"That whole thing with Katie! How do you know her?" Percy laughed.

"Really? I've known Katie since we were twelve. Though, I'm not sure why she went through all of that 'Mr. Jackson' stuff. That was just weird." He shook his head with a laugh. "How do you know Katie?"

"My parents have dinner meetings here all the time."

"Naturally," he responded with a smile so that she knew he was just messing with her. "Do you know what you want to order?"

"Shrimp scampi," she answered automatically. It was her favorite item on the menu. "You?"

"I'm getting the steak with mushroom sauce." He raised a hand to call a waiter over. When the man arrived, Percy shut his menu and placed their orders. "Also, can we get a bottle of red wine."

"Any specific vintage in mind, sir?"

"Uh…"

"Brandon, bring a bottle of the 1982 Cabernet Sauvignon," a new voice said from behind the waiter. All three people looked back and saw a fairly young looking woman standing there with her hands held together in front of her. The waiter nodded and disappeared to fulfill their order. "Percy," the woman greeted.

Annabeth's black-haired date stood up and gave the woman a hug. "Hestia," he smiled. Annabeth thought she would end up an awkward witness to this reunion but to her surprise, Percy took a step back and gestured to her. "This is my date, Annabeth."

"Ah, so you're the lucky girl," Hestia said. Annabeth laughed, somewhat nervously. This woman gave off such a warm and comforting vibe that Annabeth naturally put up her guard. "It's very nice to meet you." Annabeth took in her appearance and searched through her brain for where she'd heard the name 'Hestia' before. Then, realization made its way onto her face.

"You're the owner," she said in awe. Even after all of the dinner meetings she and her family had ever had here, they'd never met the owner. Sure, they'd met the manager on multiple occasions, but not the owner. But Percy seemed to know her very well.

"I am, Ms. Chase," was Hestia's reply. Annabeth felt her walls go up a bit higher. Her last name had never come up in the introductions. Hestia must have seen the look of uncertainty on Annabeth's face because she continued on. "Your parents are fairly frequent visitors to my restaurant."

"Uh, yeah." She turned back to Percy who had been watching the whole thing with amusement, though Annabeth could see in his eyes an underline look of fear. Probably fear that this whole thing would blow up in his face and go terribly wrong.

"Well, Percy," Hestia said. "It was great to see you again. I hope you two enjoy your night. And tell your mom that I said, 'Hi,' okay?"

Percy nodded. "I will."

Hestia smiled once again before giving a polite nod and walking away. Annabeth stared at Percy, unknowing of what to say. "You know the owner?" she asked after a while. The waiter had already poured their wine and left the bottle in an ice bucket to the side of the table.

"Kind of. She's a friend of my mom's," Percy explained. "She told me to let her know whenever I'm going on a date so that she could reserve me a table with top priority. I've never used it until now."

"Why not? It's obviously a very quick way to impress a girl."

Percy shrugged. "I've never been on a date where I actually thought things could go somewhere in the long run before. And now that I have, I wanted to make sure everything was perfect." A smile slowly made its way onto Annabeth lips, tugging the corners of her mouth up. She'd never heard anything so cheesy but it wasn't the bad kind of cheesy. It was actually just cheesy enough to be considered sweet.

•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•

Percy was actually enjoying himself. On every date he'd ever been on or forced into, he found that he was looking for a certain quality in each of the girls, or more accurately, a certain combination of qualities. That didn't mean he was shallow or anything. Not by a long shot. He just wanted someone who had a good sense of humor, could actually hold a conversation about something other than the latest celebrity gossip, and was generally an enjoyable person to be around. He'd realized on his date with Annabeth that the reason why all the other girls he'd gone out with didn't go well was because they were lacking in at least one of those three requirements. And, sure, someone would have said that he had high expectations – in fact, one of his buddies, Frank, had told him that they were pretty demanding requirements – but, those were just some things he wanted to have in a life partner. Percy was the kind of guy that thought that any girl who was willing to get down and dirty was so much cuter than the ones who spent hours putting on make-up or fixing their hair.

But now, sitting across from Annabeth as they ate their food, drank their wine, and talked about anything and everything, he realized that she did have all the qualities that he looked for in a girl. The thought brought a smile to his face.

"What?" the blonde heiress asked as she took another bite of her pasta.

"Nothing," he replied. "Just thinking."

"You know how to think, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth replied with a smirk.

"Har, har. Very funny."

"Seriously, what's on your mind?" she asked once she calmed down from her fit of laughter.

"I was just thinking about how smart I was to follow you on that plane. If I didn't, I would have died, I wouldn't have gotten stranded on that island, and I wouldn't have had the chance to get to know you." He took her hand in his and just held it there. "And now that I have you in my life, I don't really know how I went twenty-one years without you. Of all the friends that I've had for years, I can safely say that in the short time that I've known you, you've made your way up to the very top and are one of my best friends." Percy chuckled softly. "I guess saying all of that was my way of saying that even though I've known you for less than a month and people would probably call me crazy, I'm lucky to have you in my life." Annabeth smiled brightly and the look in her eyes told him that she felt the exact same way. The live band by the dance floor switched songs to something more contemporary than the instrumental music they'd been playing all night.

"We're going to do a little something different now. So grab your loved one and make your way down to the dance floor." Percy and Annabeth looked at each other and shrugged. They both stood and walked, hand in hand, toward the dance floor where a handful of other couples were already swaying to the music.

This is the first day of my life.
Swear I was born right in the doorway.
I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed
They're spreading blankets on the beach.

Percy placed his hands on Annabeth's hips, a respectful distance from her butt, but also low enough to let people know that they were more than just friends. Annabeth's hands went up to loop themselves up around his neck loosely.

Yours is the first face that I saw.
Think I was blind before I met you.
I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been
But I know where I want to go.

They smiled at each other, relating the lyrics of the song to their own relationship. Both Percy and Annabeth had led lives that were expected of them. Annabeth following her mother's footsteps in running the family business, and Percy doing everything he could to help his family and give them something to be proud of. But now, together, they could lead their lives how they wanted with each other without having to worry about what the other thought.

And so I'd thought I'd let you know.
That these things take forever
I especially am slow.
But I realized how I need you
And I wondered if I could come home.

Remember the time you drove all night,
Just to meet me in the morning?
I thought it was strange, you said everything changed
You felt as if you just woke up.

This song was pretty perfect at describing their relationship. Both of them felt as though the moment they met was the moment they started living. Sure, they hadn't gotten along, not in the slightest, but at least there wasn't that underline pressure of the possibility of disappointing someone.

And you said, 'This is the first day of my life.
I'm glad I didn't die before I met you.
Now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you
And probably be happy.'

So if you want to be with me,
With these things there's no telling
We'll just have to wait and see.
But I'd rather be working a paycheck
Than waiting to win the lottery.

Besides maybe this time it's different.
I mean I really think you like me.

Percy did win the lottery. At least he thought he did. Annabeth was a great girl who made him feel so different and he knew, from the signs and signals she'd been giving him, that he made her feel the same way.

When the song ended, they walked back to their table where their waiter, Brandon, met them. "Is there anything else I can get for you?" he asked.

"Just the check," was Percy's reply.

"Oh," Brandon said.

"Is something wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"No. I just receive an order that said that your meal was on the house. No charges." Percy's eyes widened. Hestia had probably told them that. Who else would?

"I guess I'll give Hestia a call later to thank her," Percy said. "In the meantime…" The black-haired man pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. "This is for you, for taking care of us tonight."

Brandon's eyes went wide. "Thank you, sir."

"It's no problem." He and Annabeth made their way out the front entrance, waving to Katie as they passed her and hopped in Percy's car, which the valet had pulled up for them. The ride back to Annabeth's apartment was quiet. There was no need for conversation. It was just comfortable like that. "So I guess I'll see you on Monday?" Percy asked as they stopped outside of Annabeth's door.

"Yup."

"Great. I'll see you then." Annabeth turned to unlock her door and opened it. Just before she walked through, she turned back, cupped Percy's face in her hands and kissed him.

"I don't usually kiss on the first date, but, you know…" was all she said before she retreated and closed the door behind her, leaving Percy in the hallway with a dopey smile on his face.

Now, I don't normally put song lyrics in my story and if I do, it's usually my own, but I'm obsessed with this song so...

For anyone who's curious, the song it "First Day of my Life" by Bright Eyes.

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