Annabeth grabbed her guitar and went outside onto her balcony, sighing sadly as she played.

The whole Luke thing was so bizarre, but she remembered how horrible it had been to catch him with Drew Anderson, the biggest hoe in the school. Annabeth recalled her smug smirk as she whispered into Luke's ear, letting him know who was watching. The panic in his eyes that followed was real, but Annabeth knew deep in her heart that he had wanted her to find out.

Someone knocked on the patio door, scaring her. She saw it was Percy and motioned for him to come outside. The light hit his face perfectly as he stepped outside, so Annabeth pretended to tune her guitar so she could look away.

"Jesus, you scared me," she told him. He blushed and looked down at his black, dirty Converse.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I, uh, wanted to ask you if you wanted to come with me and Thalia-"

"Thalia and I," Annabeth interrupted, looking up from her guitar. Percy shot her a dirty look.

"Thalia and I to see Godzilla today. Around seven, maybe?"

She looked down at herself, now clad in jeans and a gray sweatshirt. Good enough, she figured.

"Yeah, I'll go," Annabeth said. She expected Percy to leave, but he sat down in the chair across from her.

"You play guitar?" he asked.

"No," she replied, "I just like holding it."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

There was a short silence before the two teenagers started laughing. Annabeth accidentally snorted, which resulted in her blushing in embarrassment and Percy laughing even harder. She yelled at him for laughing at her, but he was having so much fun that he couldn't even focus on what she was saying. When the laughter subsided, Percy bit his bottom lip nervously.

"Don't tell Thalia," he said, "but I sing."

"We're not going to do a duet right now, if that's what you want," Annabeth said. Percy frowned.

"What? Why not?"

"Because that stuff only happens in movies, and it's so cringeworthy." Her lips spread into a huge smile. "Plus, if Thalia heard us singing together, she would probably record it and use it as blackmail for the rest of our lives." He shrugged.

"True. Well, are you going to play me a song, or what?"

Annabeth laughed.

"Um, no. I don't do self-inflicted pain." Percy pouted, and she used all her will power to stay strong. He looked so cute, though, with his eyes big and pleading. He took her hand in his and smiled a bit.

"Please?"

Feeling her willpower crumble, Annabeth rolled her eyes and started to play , and although she felt slightly insecure with Percy watching her, she couldn't help but smile when she caught him staring at her in amazement. She played and sung a few lighthearted songs while he listened quietly, occasionally cheering when she hit a high note. His eyes were lit up and Annabeth wanted to stay there forever, but eventually her throat became sore and she needed to stop. She ended up walking Percy to her bedroom door, oddly sad that he was leaving, even though his room was just across the hall.

"I should probably find Thalia," she said, and Percy agreed. He walked to his room and she walked towards Thalia's, swinging the door open with a newly-found happy attitude, yelling her name. She was surprised to find the room empty.

Annabeth shrugged and jogged down the stairs, expecting to find her friend on the couch. She wasn't. She wasn't in the kitchen, pool, or even the bowling alley.

"What the hell?" Annabeth said, jogging back up the stairs. Percy was walking out of his room, and smiled when he saw her.

"Ready to go?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Can't find Thalia. I'm going to call her, give me a second." The phone rang three times, but finally, she answered. The noise in the background surprised Annabeth.

"Hello?"

"Thalia, where are you?"

"Oh, sorry, I'm at the mall-oh my god, be quiet!" Annabeth glanced at Percy, confused.

"Who's with you?" Percy asked.

"No one," Thalia replied, but she was giggling. Annabeth cringed. Thalia never giggled. "Just go see the damn movie without me. Bye." The phone went dead, and Percy scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.

"What was that?" he said.

"Just let her be," Annabeth decided. "She's probably fine. Plus, I'm not going to miss the movie just because she ditched us." Percy gulped.

"Just...us two?" She rolled her eyes.

"For God's sake, Percy," she said, "we're not in middle school. I'm sure you can handle yourself." He narrowed his eyes at her but smiled after. On their way out, Percy dropped his phone, his keys, and sang a Hannah Montana song, causing Annabeth to wonder how a boy like him could exist, and how she got the pleasure to meet him.

***

The car ride to the theater was possibly one of the best car rides in Percy's seventeen year-old life.

Annabeth was singing along to High School Musical and Spongebob songs with him, and it was fun because even though they could both sing, they purposely sang horribly. Her gray eyes were shining the whole time, and there were a few times Percy almost crashed for staring at her so much.

When they got to the theater, they were a laughing mess. Now he understood why Thalia had set the no dating rule. Despite their extreme differences, Percy and Annabeth were so compatible that it hurt. He shook those thoughts out of his mind and reminded himself to just have fun with her while he could.

As they approached the front of the line to get their tickets, Percy saw a couple pass by who were holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes. He smiled sadly and looked down at the girl beside him, wondering if they could be that happy if they were together.

Thalia, he reminded himself.

"I can take the next person," the cashier said. Percy and Annabeth walked up to the girl and ordered their tickets. He went to pay for both of them, telling her to not worry about it when she took out her wallet.

"No, it's okay," she insisted. Percy smiled at her, grabbing her hand so she couldn't take out her money.

"I got you, Princess." The cashier cooed, but blushed immediately after and took the money from him, telling them to have a good time. Annabeth's cheeks were a rosy color, but she slapped Percy's arm.

"I can pay for myself," she said. He rolled his eyes.

"Let yourself be spoiled, Beth. It's actually a nice time, you know."

"I don't trust good treatment anymore," she deadpanned. Percy gave her a weird look.

"Why?" he asked. Annabeth wouldn't meet his eyes.

Instead of answering, she said, "I'm paying for the snacks."

He didn't want to pressure her, so Percy just dropped the matter and stayed close to her. He ended up paying for the snacks as well, which earned another slap on the arm, but seeing Annabeth try to hold down a smile was worth it. They were early, so they got seats all the way in the back of the theater and laughed through all the previews. Finally, the movie started.

It was scary during some parts, and Annabeth jumped during one of the jump-scares. Percy rested his hand on her arm.

"Hey," he whispered. "It's just a movie."

"A fucking scary one," Annabeth corrected. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear nervously before shifting her hand so that it reached his. She intertwined their fingers but looked straight at the screen. Percy tried to control his breathing.

Forget Thalia, he thought. She ditched us, anyway. He smiled the rest of the movie, sometimes forgetting where he even was. When the movie ended, Annabeth got up and stretched, letting go of Percy's hand. He felt strangely empty. As they walked to the parking lot, though, he sucked it up and grabbed her hand, tangling their fingers once again. Annabeth started to walk closer to him, and he couldn't get the stupid smile off of his face.

The car ride home consisted of talking about dumb childhood stories, but Percy noticed how Annabeth didn't talk about her mom too much. He wondered why, but didn't want to ask unless she was ready to tell.

When they entered the house, they were laughing yet again, and Thalia was sitting on the white leather couch, tapping away anxiously on her phone. When she saw them, she jumped to her feet.

"Have a nice date?" she asked.

"You ditched us," Percy said. "Don't even start with that bullcrap."

"Oh, but you sure did make the best of it, didn't you?"

"Where were you?" Annabeth asked, not ready to be yelled at for no reason. Thalia waved it off and started to walk away.

"Hey, what the hell?" Percy shouted, but she didn't turn back. Annabeth looked as confused as he felt. Was Thalia seriously mad at them? It's not like they went to Paris together or anything.

When she was gone, Annabeth got in front of Percy and looked up at him.

"I'm worried," she confessed. "If she won't tell us who she was with, it could be someone bad. What if she's-"

"Thalia's a smart girl." Percy put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "She can take care of herself, I doubt she's doing anything...wrong. It's going to be okay, Princess."

"Don't call me Princess," she said, glaring at him. Percy smirked.

"Goodnight, Annabeth," he said, reaching for her hand and giving it one last squeeze before he walked up the stairs to his room.

It wasn't a surprise to him when he couldn't sleep thinking about a certain blonde.

today i saw a truck that had the logo; CRONOS.  with a c.  if you're going to expose yourself to us fellow demigods, you might as well spell the name the way that Uncle Rick does, idiot.

anyways i hope you liked this chapter, i'll be updating soon :)

-reyna