I am sooooo sorry for not updating in like two months. I'm a terrible person. But I hope this incredibly long and cheesy chapter makes up for it! And when I say cheesy, I mean sharp cheddar. The romantic lines Percy says can be so cliche. But oh well.

Percy's POV

I rub my sweaty hands on my pants for the sixth time in the past two minutes. I make sure everything is set up perfectly. The roses petals are scattered around on the path, no lights are on except for two candles. The pathway meanders through the garden and leads up to a table in a wide, circular clearing. Two dinner plates are set up on a white tablecloth. Perfect. I've been planning this ever since I promised her a date. I want it to be special. I want her to remember it.

I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and I quickly extinguish the candles, casting a long and dark shadow over the garden.

"Percy? Where are you?" Annabeth whispers uncertainly. Her voice sounds as if she had recently been crying. I remember earlier that day when she didn't get the notice for the outdoor lunch. I suspected that a foul playing Selected girl was behind it, but I had not proof. Still, I felt so guilty when she almost missed the lunch.

I straighten my blue tie before stepping out on the path. Annabeth looks stunning in her dress. It's a long silver ball gown that matches her eyes. Her hair is as curly as usual. The sight of her literally takes my breath away.

Seeing Rachel earlier today made me happy. But being with Annabeth was different. She made me whole. Like all of my life I was missing the use of a hand, one I never knew I had until she came.

Annabeth's gray eyes take in the scene. First she scans the table, the pathway, the candles. Lastly, she looks at me. Her eye trap me in a way that I never want to end.

I feel as if there was a wall between us before and it's now removed. I want to run towards her and swing her around just because I want to.

"You look...amazing, Annabeth."

She gives me a smirk, making her more beautiful, if possible.

"Not looking too bad yourself, Seaweed Brain. Much better than this morning."

I walk down the pathway, straight towards Annabeth. She waits for me, looking a little bit confused. I take her hand and lead her towards the table I prepared for us.

"M'lady, your dinner is served," I say with an exaggerated bow. Servants walk in from both sides and set down covered dishes.

I help Annabeth into her seat, taking my mom's advice. She said all ladies love a gentleman.

The servants leave and Annabeth stares at the plate in front of her. I reach over and uncover it, revealing a salad.

"Nothing too over the top, but always a good first course," I say, feeling nervous that she won't like it. Maybe she only eats meat.

Wait, who only eats meat? Would they be called meatarians?

"...fine, perfect actually," Annabeth says, reaching for a fork.

I shake my head, trying to stop thinking about meatarians.

"Are you okay?" She asks me.

"Perfect."

I take a bottle of ranch dressing and dump it on my salad. Right before I dig in, I hear a little noise coming from Annabeth. I look over and see that she's laughing.

"What?" I demand, feeling slightly insecure.

"Sorry, it's just," she breaks off into a fit of laughter. "Do you plan on eating all that ranch yourself?"

I look at my plate and see that the salad is hidden under an ocean of ranch, the way I normally eat it.

"I like my salad this way," I tell her. "Salad with a little bit of ranch dressing."

"More like ranch with a side of salad."

I promptly take the bottle and dump the rest of the contents onto her salad. Annabeth shrieks a little as all of her food is concealed. She glares at me, but I see a twinkle in her eye.

Before I can move, she dumps her salad on my head.

"Sorry," she says. I grin before dumping my plate over her head.

Lettuce falls down and clings to her dress. Ranch gets stuck in globs in her hair. If possible, it makes her look even cuter than before.

"I'm sorry too," I say with a smile.

Annabeth grabs a breadstick and throws it at me. I catch it and fake swing at her, like the breadstick is the sword. She takes another breadstick and we have a small sword fight. We're both laughing too hard to take it seriously.

Finally, my breadstick breaks in half when Annabeth swings at it. I hold my hands up in mock surrender.

"You win," I say.

"I know," she gives me a tiny grin. I smile back.

"And as looser of the sword fight, I will go fetch us something to eat that will not end up as clothes."

I walk towards the door and go inside. The kitchen isn't too far, but I don't want to leave Annabeth alone for too long. I break out into a run, not caring how ridiculous I must look.

I hear them before I see them. A few voices drift up the hallway. I quickly resume back to a walk and try to look as casual as I can.

A few girls appear in front of me. One of them has tan skin and is standing in the front, like the ringleader. She glares at me before realizing who I am.

"Your highness," she says, giving a deep curtsy. Her friends shriek and follow her example.

"Hello ladies," I say, returning the bow. My fingers are twitching and I'm anxious to get back to Annabeth.

"We were just talking about how hospitable you are," the girl in the front says, walking closer to me.

"Thank you, but the pleasure is all mine. I am glad that everything is suitable for you," I say, trying to sound polite when really all I want is to push over this girl and run back to Annabeth.

"Almost everything," the girl murmurs as she walks closer to me. The name on her name tag shines at me, Drew Tanaka.

Before the girl can get any closer or I can run away, a fork impales itself on the wall behind us. I look to see the intruder.

A tall, regal looking girl wearing a purple gown is scowling in the doorway. Drew's friends scurry away, leaving just me, Drew, and the other girl.

"Was I interrupting something?" The girl asks.

"Yes-" Drew starts.

"No," I say firmly. The girl gives me a look, not in awe, not of nervousness. Just looks at me like I'm not worth her time.

"Okay," she says before walking away. I remember her when she got Selected. Reyna Ramírez Arellano.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Drew,"
I say, quickly walking away towards the kitchen.

"But-" Drew says before I open the door to the kitchen.

I enter and practically collapse against the door. A few servants head towards me with platters full of food. I look at a clock and see that it's almost 10. I hastily grab the trays and scurry out the door.

Drew is nowhere to be seen, neither is Reyna. I head down the hallways as fast as I can without dropping everything. Pretty soon, I reach the garden doors and open them.

Annabeth is still sitting at the table. I released a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"There you are. I was beginning to think that you left," Annabeth said.

"Never. Traffic was murder. But I got the food!"

I set down the platters and open them. A chocolate mousse is on one plate, a delicate looking cake is on another. The other two plates are filled with assorted cookies and pastries.

Annabeth laughs. "Seaweed Brain, you only brought dessert."

I give her a cocky grin. "Is there any other meal?"

We split the food, trying a bit of everything. Before long, we cleared the plates of the food.

I reach across the table and take Annabeth's hand. My sleeve rolls up, revealing blue paint left over from the date with Rachel. As if reading my mind, she moves her hand away from me. Her eyes, bright and clear a few moments ago, are now cloudy and guarded.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"How many dates have you gone on?" She demands.

My mouth goes dry, but I force myself to smile. I don't want to lie to her, but I also don't want to lose her.

"You're my second," I say honestly.

"I know. I saw you ask out the girl with red hair. I saw you two come back from the date. I know that I'm the second."

"Annabeth, that's not what that means."

"I do not want to be your second choice. I don't always want to be the last resort. If you're going to keep playing with us like this, maybe I should just go home now."

"Listen to me, Annabeth. This is difficult for me to do, everything. I've never done a Selection before. My mom advised to go on a few dates in the beginning to get a feel of who I like. And I wanted you to be my first date, but Rachel sort of intervened. I promise that you will never be second to anyone."

Annabeth looks at me, her eyes revealing everything that she's not saying. She wants to believe me, but can't.

Before she can do anything, I hear the doors open. I silently thank all of the gods that I can think of. Until I hear who opened the door.

"Prince Percy, where are you?" A high pitched voice calls out. Drew. I'm really starting to hate this girl. She just doesn't know when to quite. I'll have to send her home soon.

I motion for Annabeth to follow me. Confused, she follows.

We sneak around the sides of the garden, towards my favorite spot; the pool. In the night, the water looks so much darker, almost black.

"I heard you talking to someone, Prince Percy. Where are you?"

I silently take off my shoes and socks, setting them to the side. I don't want Drew to find me just because I'm walking loudly.

I bend down and undo Annabeth's shoes. She gives me a look like I'm crazy. I probably am. Scratch that, I most definitely am.

I mouth the words just go with it. She gives a tiny nod before taking off her other shoe. I don't want her to think that I also asked Drew out on a date. How do I convince her that I'm not trying to play her?

Curled up near a rose bush, I spot a garden hose. I take it and twist the nozzle. Water jets out of it. I aim it in the direction of Drew's voice. I press down on the house and douse Drew.

I hear a loud scream and footsteps running away. Annabeth is laughing behind me and I turn to squirt her next. The water is so powerful that it pushes her into the pool.

"Annabeth!" I scream.

I run towards the side of the pool. I feel a hand squeeze around my ankle and pull me in headfirst.

The water swirls around me. I open my eyes and see Annabeth grinning underwater. I smile back at her. She kicks up to the surface and I follow her.

"Payback," she tells me. I want to splash water at her again, but I take a more mature route.

Grinning, I grab her hand and duck us underwater again. She is dragged under with me. She struggles slightly, but gives up after its clear that I won't let go.

On the bottom of the pool, the moon's light casts a spotlight on the both of us. Annabeth's gray ball gown billows around her, looking like a gray cloud. Her eyes are uncertain and cautious. I pull Annabeth closer to me and I kiss her. She kisses back, tasting like chocolate.

And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.