Friday, 5-11-18

"When do you guys want to meet up later?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I'm picking Annabeth up at five thirty, so we can all meet at the park at five forty-five for pictures."

"That works," Grover said, before confidently continuing, "because I have to pick Juniper up at five twenty."

Grover had called me Wednesday night, very happy, chattering about how he had managed to get the date he wanted. I was happy for him.

"Great," Caly said. "We should have just enough time to make it here at six thirty, then."

I nodded. "I'm pumped. You?"

Everyone nodded, giddy smiles on their faces. It made me happy seeing people I cared about happy. The fact we only had another two weeks of school helped too.

"Then after the dance, you can all head to your homes quickly to change and grab your things, and we can meet at my place right after."

"Sounds great," Annabeth confirmed, smiling.

"The weather is supposed to be good this weekend," Calypso mentioned. "Maybe we can do something outdoors tomorrow."

"Is everyone down for the beach?"

We agreed to head to the small beach we had in the community that was on the Long Island Sound around ten o'clock Saturday morning, and spend the day there.

"I can't wait."

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No matter how many times Annabeth had demonstrated tying a tie during our shopping excursion eight days prior, I still didn't learn how to do it. Maybe I was too focused on the fact that she was mere inches from me, her delicate hands planted on my chest as she performed several loops and twists with the material.

I groaned. "Mom!"

"I'm busy, sweetie! What do you need?"

"Is Paul home?" I asked after a moment.

"Yeah, I'll be right there, Percy," the man himself answered.

A minute later, Paul knocked on my door. I opened it for him and he stepped inside.

"Oh, dear."

I breathed a laugh. "Yeah, I have no idea what happened, or where to go from here."

Paul managed to take the tie off, before tying it properly. "This is very nice. Did you choose it?"

"Actually, Annabeth did. We each grabbed a few, but this ended up being the winner."

He smiled. "You look nice, Percy. Are you going to do your hair?"

I shook my head. "It never works out, and Annabeth likes it better when she does it herself."

Paul chuckled. "Alrighty. You have about ten minutes till you need to leave. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?"

"Yeah, I'm all set. I want to spend time with just her before we spend the night with everyone else."

"Okay." He stood, awkwardly lingering by the door. "You have any questions?"

I smiled. "No, but thank you, Paul."

"Alright. I don't want to nag you like your mother. Have fun."

I followed him out of my room and wandered down the hall. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, checking my appearance one final time before I left. I had to admit, Annabeth had quite the fashion skills. My bright tie was stark against my black dress shirt. I was wearing tan khaki joggers, as well as a nice pair of shoes from Paul.

I grabbed my phone, wallet, keys, and a bouquet of lilacs off of my dresser. I left for the door, but it was being barricaded by my mom. She had a wide smile on her face and her blue eyes were shimmering.

"You look great, Perce. Remember, be a gentleman tonight. Treat Annabeth with the respect she deserves, and behave yourself." She furrowed her eyebrows and pointed at me playfully. "Those hands stay at her waist, no higher, no lower."

I laughed, rubbing my neck. "No worries, Mom. I love you."

"Love you too, Percy. Have fun!"

I left my apartment and took off down the stairs. I began the walk to Annabeth's house, and it was peacefully quiet, with the exception of the usual Manhattan traffic sounds.

I was at my best friend's house sooner than anticipated, and suddenly I was nervous. I had no idea what to expect.

I put on a confident smile and knocked on the door. Malcolm answered.

"Percy," he greeted.

"Hey. Um, is Annabeth ready?"

He glanced at the flowers in my hand. "Yep. She'll be down in about two seconds...there she is!"

Malcolm smiled adoringly at his sister. I wish I could say the same, but I had no awareness of my facial features. I had forgotten how amazing Annabeth looked in her outfit, but I was pleasantly reminded. The black fabric hugged her tiny waist and accentuated all of her curves. The shoes went well, too, which was a relief. Annabeth had pinned her hair into a half ponytail, but left it in its natural curls. She had opted for minimal makeup, and looked absolutely magnificent.

"You look beautiful, Wise Girl," I blurted, a small blush on my cheeks.

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain. You too."

I laughed, and Annabeth's cheeks flushed. "You know what I meant. You look good."

I smiled. "Thank you. These are for you." I handed the bouquet to her.

"Malcolm, could you take a couple photos?" Annabeth asked.

He nodded, taking her phone. Annabeth clutched the bouquet in her hand, pressing it against her chest. I stood beside her, draping my right arm behind her waist and lightly resting my hand on her hip.

She laughed, pressing my hand onto her further. "I'm not going to break, Seaweed Brain."

I looked down at her sheepishly and she stared up at me, smirking. The flash on the iPhone went off, signifying a photo had taken place. We both looked at Malcolm and he shrugged, a smile playing on his lips.

"What? It was a good candid."

We posed a few more times...a smiling picture, a goofy one, one where Annabeth kissed my cheek - yes, I blushed like crazy. Eventually, we had to leave to meet with the gang for more photos. Annabeth put her lilacs in a vase and set them on the counter, and then we left.

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"My cheeks hurt!" I whined.

"Oh, stop complaining, Percy," Annabeth said, pinching my cheeks. I scrunched up my nose, clasping her face with my hands. 

Click.

"Grover!"

"What?" he asked innocently, removing the camera from his eye. "You two looked cute."

I rolled my eyes. "Is that enough?"

We all agreed we had plenty photos. Grover said he would send them to everyone the next chance he got, and we all took off to the school.

Rachel was wearing a stunning emerald green dress that contrasted with her fiery red hair and drew attention to her eyes. She was also wearing a pair of black Converse, which made the look more natural. Calypso was adorned in a flowing cream dress styled like an old fashioned Greek chiton, but it only fell to her knees. She was wearing a pair of black flats, creating an overall classic outfit. Juniper was wearing a lovely pastel yellow dress that fell higher in the front than in the back and matched her ginger locks wonderfully. She was wearing classic white pumps.

We reached Goode High School and entered the gym. We paid our admission and wandered to the snack table.

Rachel and Caly separated from the group early on. Rachel had spotted  her art club friends by the DJ and dragged Caly with her. Grover brought Juniper to the dance floor, murmuring something about it being "their" song. Soon enough, Annabeth and I were the only ones left.

"Fancy seeing you here," a familiar voice sounded.

I whirled around, seeing Drew from the dress store. I was struck by the realization that Drew and Silena were sisters. I guess they looked similar, with their dark hair, round faces, and tiny yet curvy bone structure. 

"Hey," I said. "You look nice."

She smoothed out her bright red dress and smiled. "You guys look great together."

Suddenly, Silena tapped on Drew's bare shoulder. "Hey, sister."

They hugged, before Drew took off to hang out with her friends. Beckendorf stood behind Silena with his large hands on her waist.

"Hi, guys."

Silena grinned. "Don't they look great together, Charlie?" she asked, looking up at her boyfriend.

A blush was present on his dark skin. I found it amusing that he was still flustered around her. "Yeah," he mumbled.

"We just wanted to say hi, but we'll leave you two be. Have fun!"

Annabeth and I waved, before turning to each other. A new song came on, sparking an idea.

"Do you want to dance?" I asked.

"Why not?" She grinned, grasping my hand and wandering to the dance floor.

I looked around, noticing that no other girl was wearing black. Everyone had decided to go for a bright color, seeing as it was the dance was themed after Spring. Annabeth stood out, and I loved it.

A few moments later, the music softened and the DJ announced, "Here's a slow song for you guys. Grab your significant other, or your crush, or even that random person who sits beside you in math, and dance away!"

The speakers blared, before the starting chords to James Arthur's Empty Space began playing.

I looked down at Annabeth nervously. "You want to stay, or do you want to grab something to eat?"

She smiled up at me. "Might as well stay. This song isn't half bad."

I tentatively put my hands on her waist, and she wrapped her hands around my neck. We swayed slowly to the beat. Annabeth laid her head on my chest and I worried for a moment that she could hear my rapid heartbeat.

I glanced around. "Don't look now, but Grover's about to make a move," I snickered quietly into Annabeth's ear.

She whipped around and was just fast enough to see Grover take Juniper's hand and kiss it. I laughed under my breath, and Annabeth stepped back.

"Don't make fun of him! He's nervous!" she hissed.

I grabbed her hands and wrapped them back around my neck, a small smile on my lips. "I know. I'm glad for him."

The song eventually switched to a more rapid beat. I took my left hand off of Annabeth's waist and took her right one from my neck. I began directing her into a different dance step, adding twirls and dips here and there. Annabeth was laughing, breathless.

After a few more songs, Annabeth dragged me to the snack table. She grabbed two water bottles from a cooler and we chatted about our surroundings: the decorations, the people, the outfits...anything that came to mind. 

We eventually reunited with Grover, Juniper, Rachel, and Caly by the exit.

"You guys done?" I asked, a grin still plastered on my face from my dance with my best friend.

"Yeah, I'm getting a headache," Rachel admitted. "Let's get out of here, the afterparty is overdue."

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First and most importantly, inspiration for the dance scene goes to kaddydee and her story Breaking The Bad Boy.

Secondly, this was almost 2000 words, which is like double my usual length. I just had so much to write about, and I wanted to add every piece. The next chapters should also be fun, so I hope you like them!

If you did like this, please leave a vote, and comment a place you want to travel! I want to go anywhere in Europe, but France, Italy, and Greece (duh) are my dream places!

P.S. DOUBLE UPDATE WOOT WOOOOOOT! XD