PRETTY PLEASE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE WHEN YOU FINISH READING!!

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Wednesday, 8-29-18

After three months of freedom, the end of all that was good had came. It was the first day of our junior year in high school, and I was not okay with it. Not that I didn't like school. I think that school is very important, because Annabeth thinks that school is very important. But I was bummed to see what was essentially the best summer of my life fade into another dragging school year.

I guess that I was afraid to let all of the progress that had occurred during the summer. I made a lot of new friends and strengthened bonds at Camp Half-Blood, I got an amazing girlfriend who I loved and loved me back, and I had reunited some members of my family. Would all of that change with the start of a new year?

An incessant beeping startled me out of my thoughts. I had forgotten about the horrors of alarm clocks. Groaning, I rubbed my tired face and shut off the noise. I sat up and struggled to leave my warm covers. Eventually, I stood up and went over to my dresser to grab some clothes.

I threw on my favorite Led Zeppelin tee shirt and a pair of tan shorts, straightened my hair out a bit, and ran out of my room to the kitchen.

"Hey there, Percy," Paul greeted.

"Hi," I said groggily. "What's Mom doing?"

He smiled sympathetically. "She's pretty tired. The last few nights she's been staying up late working on some edits for her novel. I told her I would send you off this morning, if that's alright."

I nodded. "That's fine, I was just wondering."

"So, I may not be as good of a cook as Sally, but I whipped up some scrambled eggs and toast. How's that sound?"

I smiled. "Sounds great, Paul," I told him genuinely, sitting down at the table. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Of course. So, how are you feeling about today?"

"Oh boy, don't get me started." I rolled my eyes. "I really don't want to go to school. I mean, no offense though."

Paul chuckled. "I get it. I actually hated school as a teenager, yet I still became a teacher."

I raised an eyebrow, biting into my toast skeptically. "Really?"

He nodded. "I figured I might as well teach people correctly, seeing as I didn't enjoy my experience. Tell me though, do you at least tolerate my class?"

I laughed. "Yeah, it's not as much of a torture session as...oh, let's say algebra."

He pretended to throw up, making me laugh. I was glad to have as cool of a stepdad as Paul.

After I ate my breakfast, I washed up my dishes and thanked him again. Then I rushed back to my room to gather my things. I swung my heavy backpack over my shoulder, grabbed my phone, and bolted for the door.

"Bye guys!" I called, exiting the door.

Next stop, the Chase residence. Then, Hades - er, sorry, I meant school.

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"I can't wait for the last day of school," Rachel groaned, flopping onto her back.

I laughed, sitting down on the grass. "Rache, it's only the first day."

She raised a thin eyebrow. "And? That's still too many in my opinion."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, tracing her fingertip down each of my fingers. "You're just upset because Mr. York called you out for not factchecking when you were arguing with that boy.

Rachel blushed, turning redder than her hair. "I - You know what, Annabeth?"

"What?" she retorted.

Rachel bit her lip. "Got me there."

Annabeth laughed. "Some people never change," she said, looking at me. "That rare specimen right there, she's had the same attitude problems since freshman year."

I smirked, playing along. "It's such a shame, too. Perhaps the devilishly handsome young boy would have kissed her back if she were nicer."

"You guys are the ones with attitude problems," Rachel shouted.

I chuckled, patting her arm. "Rachel, you're fine. Embrace the feistiness."

She laughed, leaning up on her forearms. "How were your first days, guys?"

After a pretty long day back at school, Annabeth, Rachel, and I had all decided to head over to the park and hang out together for a bit. Sadly, Calypso had to do something for her demanding father, and Juniper and Grover were staying after school to organize the gardening club. Still, the three of us were having a great time, especially since the weather was still so nice.

I shrugged. "Pretty plain and boring for me. Just a lot of going over schedules and introducing ourselves. I'm glad I still have Paul for English, though. I don't know if I could handle Mr. Boring."

"My day was basically the same. It sucks we only have a couple classes with our whole friend group."

I nodded. I shared at least one class with each of my friends, but the only class that included Rachel, Caly, Grover, Juniper, Annabeth, and me was Greek mythology.

"I'm glad that this year doesn't seem too crazy. It's practically just another year. I don't know why, but I guess I was expecting something insane to happen," I said.

Rachel nudged my arm. "Don't say that," she warned. "With you, you never know."

I laughed. "True."

I glanced over at Annabeth, who had halted her hand tracing only to clasp my hand with her own. I followed my gaze up her tan arm to her bare shoulders, scanning her sharp jawline and curved lips. Flicking my eyes up, I smiled when I realized she was staring back at me.

"I love you," I mouthed, running my thumb across the back of her hand.

She grinned, mouthing, "I love you more."

"I doubt it," I whispered.

Rachel fake gagged. "Keep the gooey love for the bedroom, why don't you?"

I laughed, although my cheeks were flaming red. "Sorry, Rache. Nothing can stop me for declaring my love for the girl of my dreams."

Annabeth scrunched up her nose. "Okay, even I have to stop you there, Mr. Cheese."

"Oh really, Wise Girl?" 

"Yeah, I thought that we decided we weren't going to be cheesy with each other."

"I'm pretty sure that those rules have expired now that we have said the Three Words," I teased.

Laughing, Annabeth shook her head. "Nope. I still think we should just act like friends who - "

"Friends who kiss?" I finished.

"Wow," Rachel stated. "You two are the weirdest people I know, and that's a lot coming from me."

I laughed. "Thanks, Rachel."

The three of us continued joking around, forgetting all of our worries as our time together progressed. That's when I realized something; I couldn't be stressed when I was with people I loved. Maybe that's what love was - when someone just soothes your mind and erases your problems.

Either way, I was certain that I was in love with Annabeth Chase. Our love had no limits, and I would do anything for her.

Because I would do anything for the girl that I loved.

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Omg. That's it. That's the end. I can't believe I just did that. How did I manage to do that? Am I even capable of that?

73,191 words. 8,875 reads. 528 votes. 47 chapters. 

Start date: November 11, 2018; End date: March 3, 2019

Thank you all so much for sticking along this intense, bumpy journey. I started this book by just randomly writing a fun story idea, and I never once thought that it would get more than a couple reads. I am immensely grateful for this story, because it has gained me so many people that I would gladly call my friends. And since y'all are my friends, let me do something that I would do if we were chatting in person..

Hey! You know me, and how awful I am at making decisions! I have a question. Should I make a sequel for this book? If I did, it would take place in Percy and Annabeth's freshman year of college, and the new friend group would be centered around HoO. Does that sound interesting?

Of course, even if I were to make a sequel, I'm going to be focusing more on one of my other stories for a bit. But should I start planning a sequel?? Please tell me!

If you enjoyed, please leave a vote and comment what you would want the sequel to be called!

I love you all, thanks for reading <3