Hey everybody! Thank you for the reviews! I hope everybody is enjoying their winter break and their Christmas. And who was excited when Les Miserables premiered on Christmas Day? Please no spoilers I have not seen yet but I want to so bad! Haha if you guys haven't realized I love Broadway and musicals! I've seen Les Miserable a bunch of times on youtube and saw it live once too but I can never get tired of it so I cannot wait to watch the new movie.

ElmoDaHorse: okay first of all: love your pen name! Yes, I saw Ohio University marching band too, especially their video game show; that was AMAZING! And it is so cool that you are from Australia!

Lovebug109: congrats on a superior rating! And wow those freshmen must be really good to get superior for only a few months of marching. Thanks on the feedback on drumline and good luck on concert season!

BoxAuthor88: hey you just predicted an upcoming scene for this chapter!

And the topic on Percabeth's soon first kiss in this story...is a surprise. But to be honest I have been going though many different and possible scenes for Percabeth in my head, so please bear with me!

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!

Enjoy!

Percy's POV

Soon the buzz was out on how the fragile-yet-persevering drum major fought against the nasty beast of a quarterback and won…all with the help of their strong and chivalrous drum captain. Okay, I'll admit that was a bit exaggerated and overstated. I am also confident that Thalia will kick my ass if I ever called her fragile- but at least I called her perseverant. However, news travels quickly in Goode High School, and the news that was going around was about how their quarterback got told off by the drum major and drum captain. So it wasn't much of an over- exaggeration but I felt pretty damn nice after hearing that story roam around the school.

Band is still getting picked on by some groups, especially the wannabe big shot jocks who think they are superior to us. But what they don't know is that this school has always been a marching band school and forever will be.

I still walked around with pride on my shoulders because the drumline's reputation in this school will never fade.

Crap, where was I going though? I found myself in familiar territory yet it all looked distant, almost surreal. Strange. I kept walking, but I noticed my surroundings: lively posters, weird looking sculptures, and above all: colors, everywhere. Oh no, this isn't good. The last time I was here was in my freshman year, with a friend.

Not far from me was a door to a classroom, open, and I couldn't help but peek inside. A huge wave of déjà vu washed over me as I watched what I thought was an unfathomable dream right in front of me. I don't think I have even seen her without her cheer uniform on, not for years!

My mind contemplated on possible things that could happen if she noticed me. They all resulted badly and I wasn't going to risk anything, especially after what happened last time.

I took a step back only to find myself running into a small table by the door. When did that get there? My heel hit the table leg, loudly I might say, and the table came collapsing down. Crap this isn't good.

"Percy?" Here comes my doom.

I looked up to see a very curious and strangely frustrated Rachel. "Hi, um, you should get this table fixed." If I could, I would slap myself at the moment.

"Why don't you try to not be an idiot for once and break everything," she snapped.

"At least I'm not the heart breaker here," I muttered, then silently prayed she didn't hear. With my luck, she did. Rachel glared at me while we were trying to clean up the mess.

I cleared my throat, "Where do these go?" I asked holding up a tray of paint brushes.

"Just leave everything on the big table and I'll clean up everything." She sounded pissed but why should she be? She is the one who broke me.

"I'm sorry," I confessed. Deep in my heart, that apology meant for something more profound.

"It's fine." Her green eyes met mine. My breathing became irregular. "What are you doing here anyway?" The question was innocent enough to ask.

"I should ask you the same thing. I never thought I would ever again see you in holding a paint brush."

"Well, I am still the old me." What was going on here?

"That, I am not so sure about."

"But how are you so sure that I even changed?"

"I might have some evidence." I noticed each time she talked, she got closer.

"Come on Perce, I'll always be your guard girl." It sounded as if she choked on that word. This was too confusing for me to handle.

"Yeah well, I got to go." I knew I needed to get out of that place before things got out of hand, which I think it easily could've if this was three weeks ago, but tough luck to her, this wasn't. So with that I turned around and headed to the band room, like always.

My mind ran through what I just experienced, analyzing and puzzling over Rachel. I was completely satisfied with my life at the moment and I by no means wanted to change it. But there was this tugging feeling whenever she was around. I thought that after four years it would finally go away but it never did and that is why I hate guard so much.

Walking through the locker room, I thought I was hallucinating. There was my mom with a clipboard and a pen. She was crossing off things on the paper while checking out the lockers. What is wrong with today?

"Mom?" She turned to look at me.

"Hi dear, can you help me with this baritone sax case please," she asked, pointing to the case on top of the lockers. I sighed because it was my mom so I had no choice. Caring down the case, however was a lot more work than I thought, because of the instrument the weight was lopsided so it almost fell on me.

"What are you doing here, Mom?"

"Don't you remember?" Obviously not, otherwise I wouldn't be asking. "There's always a booster parent meeting after your first game so we can talk about this upcoming season." Right, it's been four years and I still can't remember that simple detail.

"Yeah, I remember now. Is everybody here?" She knew what I meant.

"The whole board is here, but not all parents are here, sorry dear," she said looking at me with kind eyes. That's what I love about her: she was understanding and sweet.

"It's fine. It's just another meeting." It was true, after four years I got used to disappointment from him.

"But I'll definitely make sure that he will come for your big day, I promise." She smiled and brought me in for a hug. Being the tough drum captain as I was, I couldn't help but give her a big hug. She was a couple of inches shorter, compared to my 6 foot 3 towering height.

"Aww, picture perfect moment!" Damn it, I thought nobody was here. I released my mom and turned around to see the Stolls coming in to set up for practice. I blushed knowing that they would never let me live down this moment.

"Travis and Connor, what a lovely surprise," my mom sounded too excited.

"Hey Ms. Jackson, or apparently future Mrs. Blofis," Connor greeted her, eyeing a shiny ring on my mom's finger. He better think twice before stealing it; I glared at him.

"Oh, thank you dear."

"You're welcome. Well, we must be off to set up for practice." They waved us goodbye and I gave them a little nod.

"Goodbye. Oh, and your mother said that she left the ointment in your lockers," she mom yelled out to them. I laughed when I heard Travis and Connor groan. That was pure genius and possible black mail to use.

"Ms. Jackson?" A soft voice called out. I raised my head to see Annabeth carrying a box of paint. I flinched, remembering the memory. She narrowed her eyes when she noticed me.

"Hi sweetie, you could leave them on the side, thank you very much." Annabeth laid them down and walked toward us.

"You're welcome Ms. Jackson. Hi Ja-Percy." I smirked from hearing that.

"Percy, this is the dearest and sweetest person I have ever met," my own mom poured onto me. Chase? "Dearest and sweetest"? I raised my eyebrow while looking Chase. She glared at me menacingly which almost made me back down. Almost. "You should learn a thing or two from her, Percy." Annabeth smiled triumphantly after hearing that. Great.

"Yeah, I'll think about it." I didn't want to hurt my mom's feelings just yet.

"Oh Annabeth, if only I had you for a daughter," she said, the whole time looking up at me. Oh no. I could feel the sweat starting to form. And I knew Annabeth was smiling at this too.

"Yeah, like I said, I'll think about it." I forced on a smile, feeling awkward.

"Well, I must get going to the meeting. Goodbye, Annabeth dear." She hugged her. Then she turned to hug me, "Goodbye son. She's a keeper," my kind mom whispered the last part to me. I tried to hide my blush from Annabeth. She released me and left, but not before giving me a slight wink and nudge to Annabeth. I really hope Wise Girl didn't notice that either.

My mom left leaving me and Annabeth alone together in the locker room. As long as it wasn't the uniform room, I'm fine.

"Aren't we practicing today?" I noticed she wasn't wearing her usual practice outfit of tights and t-shirt.

"We aren't practicing today. We are doing backdrops." I raised my eyebrow. "It was said during the announcements during fourth period," She said matter-of-factly.

"I never listen to the announcements," I chuckled, receiving an eye roll from Chase.

"Of course, I should've known," she smiled.

"So where are we doing these backdrops?" If the Stolls went in to "set up" then what are they really doing?

"In the room, where else? But the painting is done outside" she said. It all clicked now because that what the paints were for.

"Lead the way," I made a gesture for her to lead.

Inside looked like as if a music room and an art room exploded at once. Buckets of paint and paint brushes were scattered in a corner, large panels of wood and cardboard rested near the cellos and basses, and material and props were propped under the pianos and marimbas. Near Mr. D's office was the booster parent meeting.

"Great, you guys are here. The woodwinds are handling the curtains, brass is doing the masks, guard went out with the roses, battery is handling the wheels on for the backdrops, and we need to do a huge back drop of the Phantom's lair. Can you guys handle that?" Thalia poured everything on us the second we stepped through the doors. I felt overwhelmed before she even finished.

"Thalia, calm down. We got it," Wise Girl reassured Thalia. I nodded, agreeing with her because I don't think Thalia could get even more stressed.

"Thanks you guys," she smiled. Annabeth and I left to grab the materials until I felt a hand on my arm stopping me: "Percy, do you think you can handle this?" Thalia said with care. I knew what she meant, and it felt nice that she cared despite years of disregarding each other.

"Yeah, I can." And it was true. I left Thalia to go help Chase with the backdrop. She was struggling to carry a big piece of wood three times wide her size and a bag of paint and brushes. I chuckled debating whether to help her out or to watch her fail miserably. But I knew she would kick my ass whenever she got the chance and I preferred to not give her any chances soon.

I rushed up to grab the bag of paint and the bottom of the piece of wood while Annabeth carried the other side.

"Thanks."

"No problem," I said looking at her.

We stopped at a table and I set down the paints. I flexed my arm, for the wood and the bag of paint were heavier than I thought.

"Okay, do you have a clue on what it should look like?" I asked her because I was clueless on this project.

"Yeah, I have a good idea of the Phantom's lair." Good, because all I saw was a wide piece of wood.

Chase grabbed a pencil and immediately began sketching. I stared at her with amazement. Her grey eyes were everywhere as if she was calculating a million things at once.

"Jackson, do you mind getting me a ruler," she asked and I agreed instantly.

The room was even more crowded than before. More bandos showed up to help and even the parents began screwing down the wheels on the backdrops. How was I supposed to find rulers in this mess? Thankfully I managed to find a bucket full of yard sticks. I rushed out the door as fast as I could before I as called for another job.

"Hey, Perce." Damn, so close. I turned around and felt relieved that it was only the Stolls.

"Hey guys, how are the wheels coming along," I asked not really interested.

"They are just wheels," Travis smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"I should get back to my job."

"Speaking of which, I heard you were helping out guard captain," Connor pointed out.

"Yeah, I am. Is that a problem?" I could feel my blood rushing. More drummers became interested in our business. They were my section but this wasn't a drum line problem in the beginning.

"Not at all, just remember the rule," Travis warned and the rest of the nosy eavesdroppers nodded in agreement. I groaned; I hate that damn rule.

"You guys have nothing to worry about," I reassured them though I found it to be pointless.

"Good to hear that."

"Good, now I need to go back." I turned around and left the building before I was called back in again.

When I returned to Chase, she was half way done through the whole damn wood.

"How did you manage to do this whole thing while I was gone?"

"Really Jackson? You were gone for a good ten minutes and plus this is just a rough sketch; it's not the actual thing."

"Oh well, here is the ruler," I said handing it to her.

"I need you to line the ruler for me while I trace it, Seaweed Brain," she chuckled and I smiled.

I bent down to the ground where Annabeth was because the backdrop didn't have a base and wheels yet for it to stand up. Annabeth was below me while I hovered above her with the ruler. I could smell her strawberry scent just only less than a foot away. I kept my eyes on her the whole time she traced.

"Can you move it vertical now please?" I scrunched my eyebrows, confused but eventually moved to yard stick vertical, failing miserably.

"No, like this," Annabeth said as she put her hands on mine and moved the ruler connecting the line she made horizontally. My cheeks began to heat up but I didn't know if it was for her hands being on mine or the fact that I couldn't line the ruler up vertically. "Seaweed Brain," she smirked. A mischievous grin grew on my face as I head butted her for payback.

I laughed. "You deserved it." In return she stuck her tongue at me. I thought about it. I was a pretty buff guy, though Chase has a few guns from twirling the flag. But I have a hard stick in my hand and all she has is a pointy pencil. I figured to take a chance. The yardstick came flaying and hit her head, probably costing her a couple of brain cells.

"Hey!" she brought her hand over the spot I hit her on the head. I laughed even harder. "That's it, Seaweed Brain!" Crap. I stood up and ran for my life. The worst part is: I forgot the yard stick. Chase noticed and grabbed it, now chasing me down. I was faster than her, luckily, but I was running out of places to hide.

Out of nowhere, a yardstick hit my head, and again, then again. This wasn't fun anymore. Suddenly an impact knocked me down and I found myself lying down with a Wise Girl hovering above me. She was smiling triumphantly and all I wanted was to wipe the grin off her face with something even better.

"Okay truce," I finally told her but I didn't want her to get off just yet.

I looked up to her stormy gray orbs which were now dark but full of life.

"Well, look what we have here?" Both of our heads turned to see Travis and Jimmy, a sophomore who played cymbals in battery, carrying a base for the overly long wood that was underneath us and wheels. Seriously, what is with all of the disturbances today?

Annabeth blushed and soon got off. I couldn't help but pout at that.

"We were just- um…" she stuttered. I smirked. Wise Girl is nervous?

"In all honesty, I really don't want to know what you guys were doing. We are just here to do a job," Travis pointed out by raising the wheels in his hands.

"Right okay, we should continue tracing." Annabeth told me, apparently recovered from that embarrassing moment.

Travis and Jimmy raised the wood but Annabeth and I had to help them keep it up while the two screw on the base. Coincidentally Travis ended up on my side. Yeah right.

"Watch yourself out there, captain," he whispered to me in case Annabeth and Jimmy heard.

"I know Travis, it's about that damn rule; I know," I sighed. He was getting on my nerves; always reminding me about that ridiculous rule.

"Sorry captain, we are just looking out for you because we need you focused this entire season and we can't afford to lose that over some girl, no matter how hot she is." I didn't reply because I was too shocked to. My eyes landed on Annabeth who was on the other side. She was chatting up with Jimmy, laughing at something he probably said. I began to feel my nerves fuming.

"You know Perce, just because you know of the rule, it doesn't mean that you will abide to it," Travis told me, sounding shockingly sincere. That sounded too reverse psychology for Travis's taste. I didn't reply again and kept on staring. Travis sighed, clearly feeling defeated. "Just watch out, okay Perce?" I slightly nodded. "But it doesn't mean that we won't give up on you." I could feel his mischievous smirk. "Done, Jimmy, are you done?" he asked once he screwed the last bolt. Now the wheels were on the base, we just needed to screw on the legs in the back for it to stay up.

Jimmy and Travis went to work in the back while Chase and I pondered finishing the front. Well, more like Wise Girl sketching the lair while I was her trusty sidekick with the ruler.

"What are these lines supposed to be?" I asked pointing the vertical lines in front of us.

"They are supposed to be the candles. Use your imagination Seaweed Brain," Chase laughed and flicked my head. I yelped in pain.

"Wise Girl, that was not nice," I said looking at her. Suddenly a loud bang on the ground coming from the back ruined my train of thought.

"Sorry, sorry, it was an accident. Continue on with whatever you guys were doing," Travis called from the back. I am going to kill him one day. Annabeth looked back at me with a curious expression but I just shrugged. Who knows what was going on in his twist mind of his?

"Okay let's finish these candles and then we need to do the same thing on the opposite side."

"Okay…" I was once again clueless. Annabeth laughed and grabbed my hands again directing me to fix the yardstick. A tint of blush crept on my face.

"Ahem," somebody cleared their throat and I have a good guess who it was. We turned our head to see Jimmy standing awkwardly behind Travis holding a power drill and a mischievous grin. I would love to smack that grin out of his face.

"What?"

"We're done with the back, so you guys can continue with … yeah…" he broke off. From my periphery I could tell Annabeth was ready to kill him any moment and all I am waiting is for her word. Travis and Jimmy left, probably after looking at our murderous look.

"We should finish this," Annabeth said somewhat unaffected by what just happened. I sighed and nodded.

Three hours later we managed to finish the enormous backdrop. Although we would've finished earlier but Wise Girl was too much of a perfectionist. But at least it looked good. The backdrop perfectly illustrated the Phantom's lair, yup my lair.

Now Chase and I were sitting down a couple of yards away from the backdrop admiring our creation.

"Good job, Wise Girl."

"Thanks," she sounded surprised at my compliment.

"We make a good team," I joked, but I knew deep inside that it was true.

She turned to me, even more surprised than I was from saying it. "Yeah I guess we do, Seaweed Brain." I smiled. "Come on, we need to start painting it," she said while standing up but I protested. "Yes Jackson, we need to at least do the background before tomorrow." Ultimately I gave in and stood up. "Good now you open the paint while I go get paper towels and water." Annabeth left, leaving me baffled.

I walked forward to the black paint bucket, still admiring the backdrop, even though it was pencil marks. Eventually it won't be.

I spent about a good ten minutes wondering how to open the bucket of paint. Crap, Chase is going to tease me about this. That's when I noticed it doesn't take ten minutes to get water and paper towels. Then again, it doesn't take ten minutes to find a ruler, I thought wryly. A worried and concerned feeling washed through me. If something happened to her, I'll probably never live again and Mr. D will make sure of that. I stood up and walked to the nearest restroom.

"Come on, not even for one simple date?" I groaned, this was the voice I least wanted to hear in the world, even Travis would be better.

"Not even that." That was Chase's voice. The restroom was right around the corner and they were in front of it. I quickly hid behind a trash can to make sure I wasn't seen.

"When will I have the opportunity to take you out?" his voice was smooth like a real player.

"When I am suddenly into egotistical and chauvinist jerks," Chase snapped back and I smiled. What is it with him, first my cousin, now my partner!

Luke huffed and mumbled something too incoherent for me to hear but clearly loud enough for Annabeth because following that was a slap, a loud one too. I had to cover my mouth with my hand to make sure my laugh wasn't audible. I peaked over the trashcan to see Luke leaving with his hand over his check. Annabeth was returning back with water and paper towels.

"Annabeth, what took you so long?" She looked shocked when I suddenly stood up and headed her way. I grabbed the paper towels and water from her.

"Oh, I had a little complication," she said not looking into my eyes.

"Uh huh." If she wanted me to know then she would tell me. Right?

We walked back to finish the background. The sun was setting and the temperature was cooling down. Nobody was out in the quad except for us. I could tell this season was shaping up very nicely … sort of.

This marching season is coming along well isn't it? We have backdrops and props, a working booster parent, an over-stressed drum major, and the two captains are finally getting along! But we have a maniac ex-girlfriend on the loose, and a vengeful male-chauvinist pig who has a bone to pick on the band! Oh my...!

Special thanks to my beta/reviser Dessert Maniac for all of the help. And yes more guard drama in the later chapters. Are you happy now? Plan P is in action!

Please review! Due to my tight schedule I won't be able to update or write as often so depending on the number of reviews I will update as soon as possible.

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY!