I'M SO AWFUL WE HIT 4K FOREVER AGO BUT I WAS REALLY BUSY I'M SORRYYYY!

This is a celebratory chapter for 4000 reads (AHHH) based before their Freshman year of high school (Annabeth is 14 and Percy is ALMOST there), around the start of August. THEY HAVENT KISSED YET if you remember the last bonus chap. It's based in Percy's POV.

Read on and enjoy :)

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I scowled at my reflection in the water. We were at a beach in Montauk, so you may be wondering why I was so upset. The beach was my happy place, wasn't it?

I was dressed in very uncomfortable attire: a pair of slacks, a baby blue button up, and a black blazer. I also had a tight black bow tie on, which definitely wasn't my style.

My mom was getting married, which totally wasn't the problem. I loved her and wanted her to be happy. The guy she was marrying also wasn't the problem. Paul was pretty cool. The only issue was the fact that I was at the beach and I couldn't go swimming.

I ran my hands through my hair and stood up. I already had about three pounds of sand in my shoes, so that definitely didn't help my sour mood.

I shuffled across the beach to the tents where the ceremony and reception were being held. Only a small amount of people were there, including my best friends' families, my cousins Bianca, Nico, and Thalia, and a few of Paul's close family members. In one tent my mom was being pampered by Thalia's mom and in the other Paul was being pepped up by his brother. I passed both tents and went into the largest of them all, where the actual marriage was taking place.

Beneath the white fabric, a few rows of chairs were lined up facing a small stage with a little podium and a wedding arch. I sat on the stage and rested my elbows on my fancily dressed knees.

I still was in shock that my mom was finally remarrying. My father had died when I was very young, but she was never married to him. When I was about eleven years old, she got together with this guy named Gabe. He was absolutely awful and ruined our lives, but had Mom convinced that we would be worse off without him. She had finally split up with him a little over a year before, thanks to some legal help from my good friend Annabeth's stepmom.

The main problem with Gabe, beside his immense gambling issues and drinking addiction, was that he would abuse both my mother and I. It had been just Mom up until I stood up for her, which transferred the target on my mom to my back. Even though he was gone, his effects still remained. I still had scars from his beatings, both physically and mentally.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I still worried that Paul was going to 180 and his nice guy personality was going to slip away. Even though he was nothing but loyal and sweet to Mom, I couldn't help but wonder....

Before I could slip to deep into my thoughts, I heard a familiar voice.

"Percy, your mom wants you to go see her," Annabeth told me.

I looked up, a little shocked at my best friend's attire. She was wearing a flowy light blue dress that was fitted at the top and flared out at her waist. Her usually messy blonde curls were pinned back and she even had a small flower decorating her hair.

"What did she want?" I asked wearily.

"She wanted to talk with you about something, but I'm not sure what." Annabeth frowned and plopped beside me on the stage. "Is something wrong?"

I shrugged. "I'm not really sure why, but I feel so nervous about all of this. I keep worrying that something is going to go wrong, or that Paul is going to leave Mom, or something like that. I can't help it, I guess."

Annabeth brushed her hand against my arm. "It's perfectly fine to be nervous or worried, Seaweed Brain. You know how upset I was when my Dad got married to Helen, but everything turned out all right."

I nodded, smiling. When Annabeth's dad married her stepmom, she ran away from home. Quite drastic, I know. My best friend was known for being quite risky and dramatic.

"I won't be running away any time soon," I joked.

"If you did, you wouldn't last a week," she teased.

"Neither would you have if it weren't for Thals and Luke," I retorted back.

She rolled her eyes and pushed my shoulder. "I was seven, you're thirteen."

"Almost fourteen!" I stated.

"I know. What are you doing for your birthday?" she asked.

"I don't know. I hope we go to Montauk again. Paul hasn't been with us yet."

Annabeth smiled. "Sounds fun." She glanced over her shoulder. "Let's go see your mom. She's probably wondering where you are."

We got up and headed to the tent where my mom was getting ready. It blew my mind how Annabeth was so good at cheering me up when we had known each other for hardly two years. I guess we just clicked.

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An hour had passed since my mom had officially married Paul. I was sitting at a long table for all of the teens, including Thalia, Bianca, Nico, Grover, Annabeth, and I. The adults were at a separate table, and the younger kids had a small table of their own.

"I bet I can finish my drink before you, Thalia," Nico taunted.

"No way," she retorted. "I'm almost an adult while you're barely in the double digits. I've got this in the bag."

"You're sure about that?"

She nodded. "Yep. Winner gets five bucks and gets to embarrass the loser?"

Nico pursed his lips and nodded. "As usual."

"Three, two, one, go!" I interrupted.

The cousins tipped back their cups and quickly drained the contents into their mouths. They set them down at about the same time, causing a synchronized clank.

"I won!" Thalia cheered immaturely.

"No way, I was totally first!" Nico countered.

I laughed and let the two of them sort their own problems out. I turned to the peaceful members of the table, including Nico's sister and my two best friends.

"You know, Annabeth, I don't think that I have ever seen you wear a dress before," I teased.

She rolled her eyes. "And you never will again if you keep acting like the seaweed brain that you are," she threatened. "Besides, if it were anyone beside your mom I would've just worn nice clothes. But Sally insisted I be her junior bridesmaid, or whatever."

Annabeth's cheeks flushed a little, and I realized how much of an honor it must have been to have her friends mother want her in their wedding. Of course, I thought it was natural, because Annabeth was everywhere that I was and we did it all together.

"Are you two still coming over for a sleepover tonight?" I asked Grover and Annabeth.

They both nodded. "Yeah," Grover answered while Annabeth responded, "Duh."

I smiled. "It's going to be so fun."

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Why is someone shaking my shoulder, I thought as I tried to process what was going on.

"Seaweed Brain," someone fiercely whispered.

I sat up in my sleeping bag and rubbed my eyes. Annabeth, on my right, had a strange expression on her face. "What?" I asked her.

"I can't sleep," she explained. "I'm bored."

I resisted the urge to groan. Unlike her, I had been sleeping perfectly fine. In fact, I was having a very pleasant dream about punching Gabe Ugliano in his pudgy little baby-manchild face.

"What do you want to do then?" I asked tiredly.

She shrugged and bit her lip. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

I rolled my eyes. "Um, why don't we go watch a movie or something out in the living room?"

Annabeth nodded. We got up and carefully stepped over a sleeping Grover, who hadn't been subject to her midnight restlessness.

Climbing past, we scurried out of my bedroom with arms full of blankets and pillows. Annabeth and I sat on the couch. She covered herself in a fluffy blanket - my favorite blanket, actually, but whatever - as I scrolled through Netflix looking for anything that caught my eye.

"How about this?" I suggested, hovering over the latest horror movie, Split.

Annabeth shrugged. "Horrors aren't my favorite, but it's fine."

"You sure?" I asked. "I don't want you to be scared."

She scowled. "I won't be scared. Play it."

I laughed quietly. "Alright." Then I pressed on the movie and it started up.

About twenty minutes in, when things were beginning to get creepy, I noticed Annabeth inching closer every time anything would happen.

"You good?" I asked playfully.

She nodded, leaning away. "I'm fine." she replied hurriedly.

"This movie is boring," I decided. "I think I'd rather watch something else. Is that okay?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "I mean, if you want."

I smiled, exiting the movie. I could tell she was getting freaked out and just didn't want to admit it, so I decided to take measures into my own hands.

We decided to watch the first Harry Potter movie. By the time that Harry had made it to Hogwarts, Annabeth had crashed onto my shoulder. She was all tucked beneath herself like a kitten or a rabbit. I was more of a dog person myself, but she looked very innocent. Much more sweet and less frightening than her usual expression towards me.

Before the movie ended, I had also fallen asleep. We awoke the following morning in a similar position, but with the TV off and more securely wrapped in blankets.

We sprung apart and carried on with our day like normal, making fun of each other's stupidity and trying to get the other to laugh.

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I WAS GONNA DO THIS AS PART OF THE NEXT BONUS CHAPTER BUT I FELT SOO BAD SO HERE Y'ALL GO: BIANCA'S POV FOR THE LAST DAY OF CAMP.

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I woke up feeling happy and generally refreshed. That won't last long, I thought to myself. I was pretty right, speculating back.

I sat up, pulling down the grey linen sheets identical to each bunk in Cabin 8. I scratched my scalp with my left hand, teasing some knots out of my black hair. The other campers were already bustling around, preparing for the final day of camp.

I stood from my bed and kneeled down by bag, digging through it with my left hand and choosing a pair of denim shorts and a CHB shirt. That was the usual outfit for most campers, seeing as it was comfortable and worked well for each activity.

I dressed quickly, feeling slightly less self conscious from the first night at the start of summer. The fact that others had had to assist me while showering had rushed that characteristic right out of me.

My damaged arm really had altered the rest of my summer. Like adults always say, one bad choice can ruin the rest of your life. Sure, it wasn't the worst thing that could've happened. I could have been hit by the arrow in a worse spot, like my stomach, or even broken my arm. It was mostly just sore and weak.

Soon after dressing, we marched down to the dining hall. After sitting down to eat, somebody tapped my shoulder. I looked back to see Chiron looming over my shoulder.

"Yes, Chiron?" I asked.

"Please meet with me before lunch. You're not in trouble, don't worry. I'd just like to talk with you."

I nodded. "Okay."

Even though he told me I wasn't in any trouble, nervous thoughts streaked through my mind up until I was shuffling up the stairs to the Big House.

I rushed through the halls and found myself in Chiron's office after some time. I lightly knocked on the door and heard a muffled, "Come in."

I stepped inside and shut the door again behind me. "Hey," I greeted.

"Hello there. Take a seat."

I scurried over and sat at a chair beside his desk. Chiron set down his pen and straightened a pile of paperwork before turning to face me.

"Since it is the final day of camp, I figured that you'd like to tell me what really happened to your arm. I know that you didn't really scrape it during capture the flag, but I figured that the truth would come out eventually."

I bit my lip. "You knew about that?" I asked sheepishly.

Chiron chuckled. "Yes, of course. I am present at every capture the flag game, and I knew that you didn't get injured at all that Friday."

I smiled nervously. "So, you see, the girls and I - and Nico - were out in the, um, woods..." I paused. "Are you sure we aren't going to get into trouble?"

He nodded. "I promise, you have my word. My only concern is that everyone is safe. Go on, Bianca."

"Well, the whole Artemis cabin was out in the woods practicing archery, but we decided to use the real arrows instead of the blunt practice ones, and a stray one hit me in the crook of my arm. It messed with my nerves a little and I lost some blood, but I'm alright."

"Uh huh. This happened about a month ago, right?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"And you're still experiencing abnormal usage of your arm?"

I nodded again. "Yeah."

"Who checked out your arm? One of the Artemis girls?" He asked as he probed my right forearm.

I winced. "No, it was my cousin Percy."

Chiron laughed under his breath. "Figures. Good intentions, that boy, but he seemed to miss the fact that you chipped your bone. I mean, no untrained kid would be expected to notice this, but right here I can feel a missing gap."

My eyes widened. "That's almost exactly where the arrow hit."

He smiled. "Yeah, you seem to have a fracture. Let's get you into a splint and I'll have Argus drive you to the nearest hospital as soon as you're ready."

"Wow," I mumbled quietly. Things had certainly taken a much different approach than what I had suspected.

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Lol. No tea no shade to mah boy Percy, he just isn't a doctor. We've got one more lil segment for y'all...let's see if you can figure it out without me telling you a little preview...

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My first instinct when somebody tugged my earbud out of my ears was to scream and terrorize them until they regretted ever coming to New York in the first place. I immediately calmed down as much as I could and turned to face the culprit with a tight frown on my lips.

"What are you - " I recognized that playful smile, those teasing green eyes, and the swoop of black hair crossing his forehead. Percy Jackson, the nitwit. "Seaweed Brain!" I smiled happily.

We both stood up. "Hey," he said nonchalantly.

I punched his upper arm, which was very...firm. "How are you? Oh, Percy, I missed you!"

He grinned at me and tugged me into a tight hug. He smelled like ocean air with a hint of pine, and it intoxicated me. I didn't want to let go, but I eventually retracted after he whispered into my ear, "I missed you too."

I held his jaw, not wanting to be too far. I scanned his body, which was in fact much different from when I had seen him last. He was taller - he must have hit six feet - tanner, more muscular, and very lean. He was still handsome as ever, perhaps even more so. New and improved, I'd say.

"You look so different. You're taller, and tanner, and your face is more..." I hesitated, "you know."

Percy moved his eyebrows up and down teasingly. "More what? More attractive? Hot, per se?"

I rolled my eyes. Yes, that was what I was thinking, but if he thought I was saying that out loud he was bonkers. "No, I was going to say more mature."

He laughed. "It's good to have you back," he said sardonically, although I knew he was adding the sarcasm as a joke.

He quickly hugged me again, asking me, "Is your family expecting you any time soon?" after he stepped away.

I shook my head. "Nope. Helen said something about letting me have some time alone, and I don't really have that much of a curfew. We can go out if you'd like. It is your birthday, after all."

Percy smirked, that wonderful teasing smile that I missed so much. "I have an idea," he said, taking my hand.

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After a quick meal and catching up over pizza at the best place in Manhattan, Percy dragged me on yet another undisclosed adventure.

We walked beside each other down a familiar path, and I realized that we were going to the park. Percy seemed very antsy, almost nervous, for some reason.

After some time we found ourselves in front of a pond. We plopped onto a bench and I sighed.

"I love this time of day, with the sun shining down, about to set, and a nice breeze. It's really peaceful, don't you think?" I asked.

He nodded and cleared his throat, staring out at the water. "Yeah, I love this place," he agreed.

"So, do you have any other plans for the night?"

"Later I was thinking we could head back to my apartment for dessert, and then I could take you home. I mostly just want to spend time with you," he told me.

I smiled and looked up at him. "Aw, that sounds perfect."

He grinned bashfully, as if his kindness was something to be embarrassed about. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Boys, I thought exasperatedly.

Percy sucked in a deep breath. "I have something to say," he stated.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"Mhmm. You'd probably kick my butt."

"You know I'd kick your butt," I teased.

"I - I thought I knew what I was doing to say, but I don't really know how to..."

He stopped, looking into my eyes. Suddenly, I got the feeling that what he was about to say would change our relationship forever.

"During our time apart, while I was at camp and you were in Greece, I was almost always thinking of you. Missing you, you know?"

I smiled. I was exactly the same.

"Whenever I had free space in my head, you would immediately come to mind. I couldn't help myself from thinking of what we could have been doing together, or anything about you, really. Even before this summer, I've been, well, kind of obsessed with you."

I held back a gasp. I didn't realize how long...

"The entirety of sophomore year was comprised of me practically worshiping you, and I didn't even realize until these past few months. Ive been thinking that our relationship has been really great and all, but I'm ready for a - a change."

"A change?" I repeated, pursing my grinning lips to hold back excited laughter. "Anything in particular?"

Percy took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "What I'm trying to say is, well, Annabeth, I really, really like you. Like, in the more than friends way."

I stalled. Percy's blush was too much for me, and a small laugh bubbled out. His eyes opened and he frowned.

"You're laughing at me," he complained.

"I am not!" I argued.

"You are so not making this easy for me," he groaned out.

I paused once again, reassuring myself. No way would he reject me, I convinced myself. He was practically serenading me minutes ago.

"I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

I leaned in and held his jaw in my my hand. I looked into his eyes, where his lids were drooping. "I like you too, Percy."

Not giving him any time to think, I pressed my lips against his own. I had kissed him once before, but that was more of a friendly handshake. This kiss was a hug, perhaps even one of those cheesy bearhugs that you give when you're reunited with your best friend after missing him - er, them, for over a month.

I eventually pulled away, grinning, feeling ecstatic.

Percy blinked. "Uh - duh - mmm," he blurted.

I laughed and caressed his smooth cheek. "You're such a goof," I teased.

His cheeks flushed bright red, but he was smiling happily. "So, do you want to...you know..."

I cocked my eyebrow. I had made a promise and I was sticking to it. I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. "Do I want to what? Come on now."

Percy bit his lip, and I had to fight to keep my gaze locked on his green eyes. "I would really appreciate if you were a little more giving. What I'm saying is - "

Unable to continue because of several intruders, his face flushed with annoyance.

"Look at this, little Prissy is making a fool of himself," Clarisse from the pizza place bellowed.

She, as well as Silena, Beckondorf, the Stolls, Calypso, Rachel, Juniper, and Grover, marched closer.

"What are you guys doing here?" Percy asked, very confused.

As Grover explained, I pondered over what Percy had been about to say. Was he really going to ask me to be his girlfriend, or was I way over my head?

Before I could really process what was going on, I was being lifted up by Clarisse and Rachel. Percy himself was elevated by Beckondorf and Travis Stoll. I grabbed his hand and laughed along as we were dumped into the pond that held many wondrous memories.

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That's it. NO MORE, I SAY. Lol. Did ya like it? I apologize greatly for this taking absolutely ages to get out for y'all. We literally hit 4K over a week ago. I hope you're as happy with it as I am :)

Thanks so much for 4.3K reads!

Also, thought this was cute and a REALLY good drawing. It's by gabrielles_artwork on Instagram, full disclosure it isn't mine lol