Hello everybody! Its been a while...

I'm so sorry for the wait, but its been a chaotic in the last 2 months which were also my last two months of high school. Yes! I graduated and although it hasn't hit me yet, I'm sure it will once I start college.

Nonetheless, I will be hopefully updating more often because of it. However, even though I graduated, I am still continuing marching band and Color guard. No, I will not be joining a drum corps (I would love to but can't), however I might possibly be doing independent Winter guard for WGI in the future. More importantly, I am going to be a technician for one of my instructor's school with 5 other guard staff members who I love very much. And I'm excited to be working with them in this next marching season. So I will still be connected to color guard, I just won't be performing. And basically that has been my summer so far.

I must admit that it was a bittersweet moment to graduate, but you know what four years was long enough so I'm glad we all get a chance to move on in life.

Bandbuddy: LOL I don't know about your trumpet section, but mine are pretty cocky...

Cammie-the-chameleon: First of all I love your review! And I'm glad that I captured the color guard well because it was a struggle in the beginning to find the right words to describe what is happening sometimes. And I do play an instrument, I played the violin for 4 years until 8th grade then I switched to the cello and been playing it ever since! So throughout high school I was in both orchestra and band. I've seen Diamante's show online but I haven't seen them live even though I would love to. Now I have a question for you, since your guard saw them live, does this mean that the circuit you guys compete is in Southern California? If so then that's so cool because I'm from there as well!

Slightlyinsanestarfish: Ugh AP testing, I'm so glad that I am done with them. And unfortunately everybody goes through family problems but that's just reality. Congrats on a successful winter season!

Thank you for all of the fantastic reviews! This story managed to hit 300!

Enjoy!

Percy's POV

To be honest, I have no idea what happened after the day we listened to the judge's recordings. Annabeth, being the mysterious wise girl she was, pretended like nothing had ever happened and continued talking to me normally. And by normal I meant, teasing me with seaweed brain jokes and responding casually to my wise girl jokes.

Now it was one and a half weeks later and everything was what it was before. I just hope that it wasn't a bad thing.

"Percy, come help me with this." I turned around to see my mom carrying cases of water bottles. I rushed to help her carry the rest. "Thank you, dear," she said as I put down the cases in the kitchen.

I nodded absentmindedly and went back to sitting in my chair, leaning my head down on the kitchen counter top.

"Are you okay, Percy?" my mom asked.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Okay, well when are you asking the nice girl Annabeth out?"

Well that was unexpected.

I jolted my head up, seeing my own mother smiling smugly at me.

"W-why would you ask such a thing?" I suddenly covered my face with my hands, willing away the embarrassment.

"Don't be like that, Percy. She looks like a nice girl, and from the looks of it, you guys seem to have gotten close lately," she insisted.

Oh no, I could see where this was going.

"Well, I'm going to be late for practice, gotta go bye." I waved bye as I bolted out the door, escaping my near death (also known as my nosy mom).

In the past one and a half weeks, another football game had passed, but it felt like just another rehearsal. After the first competition, we never kissed again during our performances. And it wasn't me who wanted to stop, it was Annabeth who said no.

I drove up to the student parking lot and the first thing I saw was Annabeth sitting outside under a tree, not practicing, but just sitting there in her practice clothes. I don't know what happened but my brain couldn't control my feet and I started walking over to her involuntarily.

Here went nothing.

"Shouldn't you be in the room setting up?" I nudged her leg when she didn't notice me.

Annabeth cocked her head up when my foot touched her leg. "Oh, I'm just sitting here." She wrapped her arms around her knee and set her head on her knees. From the looks of it, it was obvious that I was either unwanted or…I couldn't think of anything else.

After that, it was very hard trying to not think about her. And was absolutely confusing with the signals she was sending me. That's if she was actually sending me anything.

Instead of overthinking what Annabeth meant, I left to bring out my snare early and walk to the center of the field.

Drumming on my snare, I played from memory and just let my hands do the work, staying in tempo. From afar I saw a blue flag tossed in the air. Then a loud snap rang in my ear and the sound of an object falling on the floor followed. I look down to see my left hand empty and my drumstick on the floor. I had absentmindedly thrown my stick on the floor because I had seen a flag.

I ran my hand through my hair as I sighed and stared at the drum stick. I crouched down but somebody beat me to it, grabbing the stick for me. It was my long time best friend. He gave a slight smirk and handed me the stick.

"Thanks," I said softly. I took it and fiddled with both of them.

"No problem." I felt like he was holding something back. "Hey, you know how Homecoming is coming up soon?"

Great, the Homecoming Dance, when the guy spends more money than usual on their significant other for only 3 hours of royalty. And those who don't have dates either don't go and sulk at home, or go and stand at the walls, drinking punch as they watched actual couples grind against each other. Needless to say, I have become good friends with the punch bowl and the wall. First was Homecoming, then Winter Formal, and finally Prom. It was like the school wanted to remind us loners how lonely we really were.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I want to ask Juniper to the dance, and I want to ask the leaders if they can help by playing a song," Grover smiled. Wow, that threw me off guard.

"Sure, no problem, anything for you."

"Thanks man, I really appreciate that." Again, I could feel he had something else to say. "Are you going to the dance?"

Hmm, am I going to the dance? No matter how hard I tried not to I thought of Annabeth.

"I don't know, it still a long while from now," I shrugged.

"Perce, dude, it's only three week away," Grover laughed.

"Oh shit," I chuckled. "Yeah, I've been off lately." I rubbed my neck.

"Lately? Perce? You've been a walking zombie for the past week," Grover joked as he slapped my shoulder.

Had I really been distant and distracted for a week? Well it sounded like something I would do.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I never noticed."

"Of course you haven't noticed. That sounds like you." I laughed with him. "Are you asking anybody to the homecoming," Grover asked suddenly with a teasing smile.

I should have expected this question to be asked but I didn't. Once again, Annabeth came to mind.

"No, nobody in mind right now," saying it as calm and collected as possible, hoping he wouldn't see through my lie.

"Right, anyway, thanks for the help. I will have a small meeting with all of the leaders to go over the song by the end of this week. Thanks again Perce." He left with the final goodbye.

"No problem G-man," I finally replied when he was out of earshot. I hadn't said that name in forever.

…

We were going over the third song intensely because it was the messiest movement to perform due to its fast tempo. Thalia hadn't given us a water break in an hour and it was strangely warm for a September afternoon in New York, so we were all pretty sweaty and hot.

The woodwinds were fixing a mishap in their drill with Selena and Thalia while the other sections were standing around when I saw my cymbal player, Jimmy, sway and crash on to the ground. I dismounted my snare and ran towards him, followed by Thalia and the rest of the staff. The rest of the band halted, curious and glad for the slight reprieve.

"Jimmy, Jimmy," I yelled. "Somebody bring me some Gatorade!"

"He's dehydrated. Percy carry him to the room, let him cool down, and give him something to drink and eat," Thalia ordered.

"Okay."

"Hopefully Jimmy will feel better. Everybody gets a fifteen minute break," Thalia added as she turned to everyone.

"Can somebody give me a hand in carrying him?" I asked around.

"I will." It was Annabeth. Before I knew it she was on the other side of Jimmy and under his arm with her hand by his waist, waiting for me. Oh boy.

Now I'm not going to lie. After a while, Jimmy began to feel heavy for a skinny five-foot sophomore who probably hasn't hit puberty yet. If I was alone I would easily complain, but I wasn't so I didn't.

Once in the room, Jimmy was conscious enough to manage to walk on his own and lie down while Annabeth and I left to grab some water and a wet towel.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked once Jimmy got some color in his face.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks captain," Jimmy huffed.

"You should preserve your energy, Jimmy. Here eat this," Annabeth offered a granola bar to him.

"Thanks. You know, you're not really a bitch," he replied as he accepted it.

Uh-oh, I thought as Annabeth immediately reddened, but Jimmy didn't notice as he was guzzling down water.

"H-hey!" I exclaimed, hoping to distracted her.

She glared at me and demanded, "What?"

"Um," I floundered, looking for something to say while she frowned at me. "Uh, why don't we—why don't we take some water bottles back for the rest of the band?" Smooth, Percy! I congratulated myself.

"Oh, that's a good idea," Annabeth said, blinking.

I grinned. "Of course it is!"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," she retorted, slapping me on the shoulder and, dare I say it, it was not a light slap.

"Ow! Such an abusive woman," I grunted. I got a glower in return. But we laughed it off, as if it was something natural for us to do.

Snores filled the room. We both turned to see Jimmy lying like a dead corpse usually where the tubas normally practice. Both of us laughed even more.

My eyes set on her misty greys. They looked contemplating, as if a million things were running through her pretty (and smart) head every second.

Now was the time.

"Hey, Percy?"

"Annabeth—"

We both stopped, waiting for the other to continue.

"Yeah?" We said once again.

I chuckled slightly, motioning for Annabeth to go first, but a sharp screech interrupted. What perfect timing, it was Mr. D going into his office, the door scratching the floor slightly.

The moment broken, Annabeth just shook her head and left quickly.

I stared after her, wondering what the heck that had been about.

…

The next morning was no different. My mom continued to praise about Annabeth as if she was her own daughter. I beat a hasty retreat to school.

Walking through the doors, Rachel caught my eye when she strolled near me with a giant poster in her hands. After that encounter during the football game, I had made sure to stay clear away from her every step I took in the school. My first instinct was the walk the other way, but sadly my feet were too slow.

"Percy, hey!" Rachel yelled out, probably for the entire hallway to hear. I tried my hardest to put on a smile but it turned into a bitter smirk.

"Rachel," I muttered, "what do you want?"

"Oh, Percy, always so persistent. I need to finish this poster for a friend, so can you hold it for me?" She batted her eyes, as if it was meant to be flirtatious. I almost gagged.

I was about to say no when she forced the poster onto me and I was left with no choice but to hold it for her to finish with whatever she was finishing.

This was no way to start off this morning, or any morning for that matter.

Then out of nowhere Rachel began squealing.

"Yes! Percy I would love to!" She jumped up and down suddenly.

Wait, what? What the hell was she going on about now? A bunch of heads turned our way to see the commotion.

"I thought you would never ask, Percy!" Ask...?

Just then I look down at the poster I was holding and it was a poster to ask somebody to homecoming.

I am so stupid.

She hugged me and twirled me around but what stood out amongst the curious bystanders was Annabeth, standing at the entrance of the school, staring at us. I just stood there, gaping, with my arms pinned to my side.

I couldn't believe it, this conniving bitch. It was all a set up!

Rachel had her arms tight around my neck in a "loving" embrace and I couldn't pry her off without hurting her.

The eavesdropping crowd cheered at us as Annabeth walked away, away from me.

That was it. I had had enough of this.

I abruptly pushed Rachel and kept her away at arm's length.

"Sorry Rachel, but this is your poster, you set me up for this," I said handing the poster to her, "and I have no intention whatsoever to ask you to the dance." That felt good, but Rachel didn't look one bit hurt by my words, instead she stood there with her famous evil grin, making me uneasy.

I walked away while some people stood there still engrossed in the drama, but I could care less. The only thing that mattered to me right now was the heartbroken look Annabeth gave me when she saw Rachel hugging me.

…

The entire day, I received cat calls and whistling everywhere I went. The majority of them were from the band members walking by. It was obvious that rumors had spread about Rachel's set up with me and how I had brutally embarrassed her. However, other rumors were about what color we were going to wear and if we were going to win king and queen or not. It took my entire being not to track down the person who had started the rumors.

Unfortunately, I was an even bigger idiot when I mistakenly believed that fourth period band would be a sanctuary for me from the immaturity of high schoolers. I was wrong.

"Here comes the soon-to-be Homecoming King!"

"So you are going to the dance after all?" Grover asked me when we were walking to the field. "And are you really going with Rachel? The Rachel?"

I knew what he meant. I sighed. "No, she set me up and tricked me. So I told her no and whoever started these rumors needs to fuck off and mind their own business."

Half expecting to understanding and comfort, he frickin' laughed instead. "Man I know that you got set up, it was like broadcasted within the entire school that the head cheerleader got dumped by a band geek." He wrapped his arm across my shoulders. "You don't know how glad I was that you rejected her. It's what she deserves after all of these years and possibly more, too." He was right.

Up ahead were Thalia and Nico, walking back to Grover and I.

"Congrats on rejecting Rachel," Nico smirked.

"Thanks," I said tiredly.

"Yeah, we were debating if you were going to make the same dumbass mistake again," Thalia added. I believe she meant well when she said that.

"Dont worry, I know better," I chuckled. "How did you find out anyway?"

"Oh, um, Annabeth came to first period this morning looking pissed off. I knew she was crying even though she didn't want to admit it," Thalia hesitantly replied.

Annabeth, oh no, my Annabeth.

Asking her was going to be more complicated than I thought.

A forty-five minute practice was definitely not enough time to ask a girl for forgiveness.

As we were packing for lunch, I managed to catch her before she left.

"Hey, Annabeth!" I grinned at her hopefully.

"Oh, Percy, hi. What's up," she said flatly.

"Look, I know what you saw today and I just want to say that she set me up," I said, raising my voice slightly, "I did not ask her to homecoming nor will I ever want to and whatever you do, don't believe the rumors that have been going around." I was breathless and felt agitated when I finished, but everything lightened up when she showed her breathtaking smile.

"I know, Percy."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It took a lot of convincing from Thalia, but I'm smart enough to realize what really happened." She gave me a small smile.

"Oh, thank goodness!" I hastily hugged her, lifting her off the floor and twirling her around. It was a moment that I didn't want to end.

Will Percy ask Annabeth to homecoming?

Now I must admit I was planning on updating this a while ago but I had major writer's block. Sorry about that!

Also, I am going to be visiting my family in Vietnam tomorrow morning actually lol. I should be packing but instead I went to writing this chapter! Also although, I am going to be bringing my laptop, my access to internet will be limited. So please bare with me.

In more important news...On July 7 it will be the 2 year anniversary of this story! I can't believe that with my friend and I, we began this story ending our sophomore year starting our junior and now we graduated!

Who is going to watch DCI shows this season? Who saw Carolina Crown's and Santa Clara Vanguard's show? I was fangirling so much!

Please Review! What do you think will happen? What was your favorite part?