Percy's POV

You're like perfection
Some kind of holiday
You got me thinking
That we could run away

"You sure you want to?" Annabeth tossed me the hacky-sack she was playing with.

"I guess." I tossed it back after catching it. 

"Alright. Well, I think my dad will be home tonight. You can meet him then if you want. Come over for dinner, or come back really." She tossed the ball back, shrugging.

"If it works for everyone here it's cool with me." I said.

"Okay, cool. I'll let him know." She said with a bit more enthusiasm than normal.

"You happy about that, Chase?" I smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No. Shut it, Asshole." And her scowl was back, her stubbornness making me laugh. But she ended up smiling with me.

Normally, I wouldn't be so willing to meet new people, but I could tell that Annabeth wanted me to meet her dad and was happier about my cooperation than she let on.

And because I was crushing on Annabeth really hard, I was willing to do it if it made her happy. It also wouldn't hurt to get in good with her dad, for (probably not) future references.

"You should meet my mom one day." I said.

"What?" Annabeth stopped abruptly as she was about to throw the hacki-sack. She looked at me with wide eyes. "I don't think that's a good idea." Annabeth shook her head, refusing profusely.

"How come?" I raised an eyebrow. "She would love you. And especially after how much you've helped me out."

"I don't know, Percy." She swallowed. "I—I just..." She took a deep breath. "What if she hates me?" Her voice was the faintest whisper. She looked at me with her grey eyes a little stormier than usual.

"Why would she hate you?" I asked back gently, getting up to sit next to her on the bed. I grabbed her hand and rubbed circles into it with thumb.

"I mean, my mother did." Her voice was low and sad, a little angry as well. Her head hung down, and she stared at her hand in mine.

"Hey," I tilted her chin up so she was looking into my eyes. "She's not going to hate you. And I know that your mom didn't hate you." I was whispering, attempting to be as gentle as possible. "She may have left, but I know she didn't hate you."

She looked up at me, her grey eyes stormy and sad, a bit glossy as well. She sniffled, which was adorable, but at the same time I hated seeing her sad. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms and give her anything she wanted. But I didn't know what she wanted, and there was nothing I could do except just be there. Just be a good, supportive friend. I was doing my best, hoping it was enough.

"Really?" She whispered.

"Really." I nodded.

"Thank you." She whispered, her minty breath fanning my face. Our noses were inches apart.

Do it, my mind said. Lean in! Kiss her! You know you want to. I did want to. Really badly. I'm sure that my cheeks flushed a faint red. She looked so beautiful, a few strands of her golden locks fell forward into her face, the rest of her wild curly hair pulled up into a huge messy bun. I tucked a strand behind her ear before I could stop myself. Neither of us moved away. Her grey eyes were sparkling, framed by thick black eyelashes. She wore no makeup, her face naturally flawless and gorgeous. She looked absolutely beautiful. I really wanted to kiss her.

But did Annabeth want me to?

Probably not.

"Of course." I whispered. I didn't want to ruin the moment or make things awkward, so I settled for that.

Then Annabeth's phone rang. She moved away a bit awkwardly to grab it, answering and rolling her eyes. "Hello?"

Silence.

"Oh, hey dad. I was wondering if you wanna meet Percy tonight. He's free." Annabeth suddenly didn't seem so annoyed. She really loves her father. I smiled.

Silence.

"Alright, awesome. I'll let him know. Bye dad, love you." Annabeth hung up, turning to face me. "He said tonight would be wonderful." She flashed me a winning smile.

"Alright. Well, it's already four, so I should head home, get ready." I said, standing from my spot on the bed.

"Okay. Call me when you get home, let me know that everything's good, and if you need to cancel." She said sternly, handing me my phone.

"Aw, you care about me." I gave a touched expression. But the fact that she did released butterflies into my stomach, though I tried not to show it.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Please." A few moments passed while I pulled on my sneakers. "Also, my dad will be home for the next few days, and Helen and the kids are coming back, so try not to get too beat up. But if you really need it, I could sneak you in." She explained.

"I'll try to avoid getting beat up." I smiled at her and she smiled back. "And thanks. For taking care of me lately." I chewed my lip nervously. "I really appreciate it."

She sighed. "Anytime, Asshole." She clapped me on the shoulder. We walked downstairs to the front door. "See you in hour—get here by five."

I walked out the door to my car. "Okay."

"And wear something nice!" She called.

I smirked back at her before getting into my car. "Will do, Wiseass. See you soon." I got in the car.

Annabeth saluted from the door. I pulled out of the driveway as Annabeth walked back inside, the door closing behind her.

Let's hope that tonight goes as smoothly as possible.

><•><

"How do I look?" I asked my mom.

"Oh, sweetie. You look so handsome." She said as I turned around to face her. "Your father would be so proud of you." She smiled, her eyes a bit sad. A few tears streamed her cheeks.

"Mom." I walked towards my mother, engulfing her in a hug. "Don't cry. He's in a better place, watching over us." I was really just quoting my mother. That's what she would always tell me after he passed, when I was really upset. We pulled away.

"I raised you well, didn't I?" She cupped the side of my face. I looked down at her—I'm 6'1 and she's 5'3–and her blue eyes sparkled. "Alright. You don't want to be late. You should head out."

"Yeah. I'll text you, let you know what's going on." I grabbed my car keys, heading out the door. "Love you mom."

"Love you too. Be on your best behavior. You always want to impress the girlfriend's father." She said firmly.

"She's not my girlfriend!" I whined in protest.

"Yeah yeah," And with that, my mother closed the door in my face.

I headed to my car and got inside, starting the engine. I turned up the radio, music playing through the speakers.

Counting down these seconds
Jumping up these fences
Finding other places to start again

I tried to calm my nerves, as I made my way back to Annabeth's house. I was extremely nervous—I was going to meet my best friend/crush's family for the first time. And I had already slept in their house. (God that sounds weird.) But of course, they had no idea about any of that. I exhaled.

All too soon, I pulled up in front of Annabeth's house. I pulled down the visor, looking in the little mirror. I straightened my bow tie and ran my fingers through my hair in an attempt to fix it a little better. I failed. I took a few deep breaths before closing the visor and getting out of the car.

"Here we go." I muttered to myself, walking up the path to the front door. I rang the doorbell.

"I got it!" I heard Annabeth yell from inside. I chuckled to myself. Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal Annabeth standing there with a happy smile on her face. She looked a bit more ADHD than usual, fidgeting with a leather rope bracelet around her wrist. "Oh wow." She looked me up and down, an impressed look on her face. "Khakis, button down, bow tie," She lightly tugged at my little blue bow tie, smirking. "You're such a dork."

"You said wear the something nice." I shrugged.

"But the converse and sweat jacket are a nice touch." She smirked at me, half joking, half serious. We both laughed, but were interrupted by a stern and slightly shrill voice coming from from behind Annabeth.

"Care to introduce us?" A petite woman with black hair and fair skin spoke up, her voice anything but friendly. Her eyes were dark and piercing. A taller man with blonde-grey hair and a much friendlier aura stood next to the woman.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and sighed before turning around. "Percy, this is my dad,"

"Frederick Chase." Annabeth's father stuck out his hand.

"Percy Jackson, it's a pleasure to meet you." I shook his hand firmly. My dad taught me when I was younger that a good, firm handshake is always important. Frederick gave me a nod of approval. Cue internal happy dance.

"Same here." The man smiled at me. I could definitely see some resemblance between him and Annabeth. They had the same nose and smile.

"And this is my step mother, Helen." Annabeth continued with a glare at Helen.

"Helen Chase." The woman stuck out her hand.

"Percy Jackson, nice to meet you." I shook her hand, trying to be as polite as possible. Annabeth's dad wasn't glaring at me so things were good so far. Helen didn't seem like she loathed me just yet, so that was also pretty good.

"Alright, dinner should be ready in a bit, and I'll show you around." Annabeth grabbed my hand and pulled my away from her parents. Once we were in a small hallway off to the left, Annabeth sighed. "I'm sorry about Helen. She's such a bitch." She put a hand on her forehead.

"She didn't do anything. It was fine." I shrugged.

"No, she was—"

"Hey." I grabbed Annabeth's hands in mine. "It's okay." I gave her smile. "Things are going well so far. No one seems to hate me yet, so we're starting off on the right foot, right?"

"I guess. I just don't want things to get fucked up." She sighed.

"It's okay. You look good by the way." I complimented. She really did, though. White ripped jeans, a black crop top, and her signature flannel.

"Are you trying to make me feel better with flattery?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me playfully.

"Maybe." I was pretty sure I turned pink.

Annabeth laughed. "Well, you're not too bad your self. Come, I'll introduce you to the twins." She dragged me into the living room.

"Bobby, Matthew, this is Percy." Annabeth gestured to me, immediately grabbing the twins' attention. The both stood from their game on the floor, coming right up to me.

"Are you Annie's boyfriend?" One of them asked.

"Bobby!" Annabeth said. "No. He's not."

"We're just friends, buddy." I finished, smiling at Bobby.

"Oh. Well, do you want to be Annie's boyfriend?" The other, who I assumed was Matthew, asked.

"Alright, that's enough with the boyfriend girlfriend questions." Annabeth declared.

"Why?" Bobby asked.

"Does he have a girlfriend?" Matthew looked at Annabeth.

"I said, enough with those questions you two!" Annabeth bent down and tickled the two boys, making them giggle uncontrollably.

"Annie! St—stop!" They laughed.

I smiled, laughing a bit as well. Annabeth really loved her brothers. I thought that it was adorable.

"Alright," Annabeth stood from where she was kneeling on the floor. "I think that's enough tickles." She straightened out her shirt.

"Come look at our game." Bobby and Matthew each grabbed one of my hands, leading me to the floor where they had their toys. The boys explained the rules as we sat down to a row of little cars.

"This game doesn't really make much sense since they're eight, but just follow my lead." Annabeth muttered to me.

I smiled at her. "Got it."

><•><

"So Percy," Frederick began. "How long have you lived here in New York?"

"All my life, sir. But I hear that you guys just moved here from San Francisco, is that correct?" I responded.

"Yes it is. I'm sure Annabeth has talked your ear off about how much she wants to go back." He took a bite of his steak, laughing a bit.

"Love you too, dad." Annabeth said sarcastically, eating a fork-full of mashed potatoes.

I laughed. "She's mentioned it once or twice." I looked to my right at Annabeth, giving her a side smile.

I reached for bowl of broccoli, accidentally knocking over the salt. I quickly picked it up, but not before Annabeth could make a comment.

"Nice job, dumbass." She snickered.

"Annabeth Chase! Language at the dinner table!" Helen scolded.

"Oh I'm sorry, would you prefer..." she thought for a second. "Seaweed Brain?" She asked sarcastically.

"And Wise Girl." I quietly chuckled, keeping my head down, so only Annabeth could hear. She started laughing. I quickly looked up to see Frederick smiling to himself and shaking his head.

"I'd prefer no names at all." Helen said sternly. I stopped laughing.

Annabeth looked like she was about to fire back but then quickly glanced at her father. She relaxed in her seat. "Fine." She said grudgingly, and went back to eating her food.

"So Percy, do you know what you want to go into?" Frederick asked, breaking the silence and tension that hung heavy in the air.

"I think it would be cool if I could go into marine biology. I've always enjoyed the ocean and I want to help marine life by cleaning the oceans, sir." I explained.

"Nice." Annabeth's father nodded with a pleased expression.

"What's your favorite color?" Bobby asked.

"My favorite color is blue." I said nodding to the young boy.

"Okay, that's an understatement. You're obsessed with the color blue. You eat blue cookies for God's sake." Annabeth chimed in.

"Blue cookies?" Frederick asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, it's sort of a tradition that I have with my mom." I took another bite of my mashed potatoes.

"I want blue cookies!" Matthew said.

"Me too!" Bobby added. Annabeth and I laughed. I hoped the conversation deterred from my home life and family.

"He also swims." Annabeth said. I gave her a grateful look for changing the subject.

"Oh really?" Frederick looked at me.

"I used to." I corrected Annabeth. "But yes, I did a swim camp for most of my life." Frederick just nodded.

"So how are your grades, Percy?" Helen spoke up for the first time.

"They're steady. I haven't really had many distractions during my high school career so I've always been able to get my work done. But I'm no straight-A student." I said.

"Hm." Helen didn't sound pleased or angry. She seemed like she didn't want to like me, even though she hardly knew me. She probably wouldn't come around for a while, if I even lasted that long.

"What's your family like? Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Matthew asked.

"Um..." oh god, I knew it was coming. But I was surprised it came from one of the twins. "Well, I live with my mom in an apartment. I don't have any siblings." I said simply.

"What about your dad?" Bobby asked, his head cocked to the side.

"Well, I think that dinner has been wonderful. Percy should probably get going, we wouldn't want to keep his mother waiting." Annabeth quickly intervened, changing the topic.

"The food was wonderful, Mrs. Chase. Thank you both for having me." I said as the four of us walked to the door. "It was a pleasure meeting you, sir." I shook Frederick's hand. "You as well, ma'am." I shook Helen's, too.

"Same here, Percy. I'd love to meet again sometime." Frederick switched his gaze from me to Annabeth.

"Alright well, I think that I'll say goodbye to Percy." Annabeth said.

"Alright." Her father gave her a look; no funny business. She gave one back to say, what the fuck, that wouldn't happen. I, of course, turned bright red. Then Helen and Frederick walked back to the kitchen.

"Wanna go for ice cream?" She asked.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"I really want ice cream right now, and I have 20 bucks and my phone on me. All I need is a ride." She smiled at me.

"Okay. You don't need your money, though." I said.

"Yeah I do, how am I gonna pay?" She asked.

"You're not going to pay. I am." I said as we walked to my car.

"No you're not. After what just happened, I owe you ice cream. It's on me." She insisted.

"Fine." I said, though I wasn't really going to let her pay.

><•><

"Your total is $14.36." The girl behind the register said. Annabeth went to hand her a $20 bill.

"Nope," I quickly grabbed it from her hands, about to give the girl my twenty.

"Oh my god, Luke?" She said.

"You're kidding." I whipped around.

"I am." Annabeth took her money back, about to pay.

"Oh my god, it's Brendon Urie!" I pointed behind her. She turned and I quickly paid, the girl handing me my change.

"You won this time, Jackson, but the next one is on me." Annabeth insisted, pointing her finger at me in a playful manner.

"Sure, Wise Girl." I smirked, using the nickname I made before. She rolled her eyes.

"You're such a Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, making me laugh. We both ended up laughing as we walked to the car, ice cream in hand. I got plain vanilla soft serve, but Annabeth got a vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry swirl.

"I had a surprisingly decent time tonight, Asshole." Annabeth looked over at me from the passenger seat.

"Well that just makes me elated." I said dramatically before smiling over at her to see her rolling her eyes and slightly shaking her head. But it really did make me happy that I could show her a good time, and that she enjoyed herself. It made me feel good to see her happy.

It started with a picture
Those messages you sent to me
You're like the perfect mixture
Of Megan Fox and Katy P.

><•><

"Bye, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth called back as she walked to her front door.

"Bye, Wise Girl." I smiled one last time before she went inside, and I drove home.

I exhaled.

Tonight went much better than I thought.

The entire time when we got ice cream, I got butterflies in my stomach and a giddy feeling. When I was around Annabeth, I felt so alive and just happier than usual.

Annabeth made me feel good.

And I made Annabeth feel good.

I smiled all the way home.

•••

Authors note

wOW. 3,000 words later jESUS Christ. This chappie too fOREVER to get out so I hope you guys like this chapter and gUESS WHOS GOING TO A PANIC! CONCERT IN JANUARY BITCHHHHHHH. IM SO FÛCKING HYPEEEEE. anyways, hope you guys enjoyed! Thanks for all the reads! Don't forget to comment, vote, etc. thanks and love you guys!
-bella💕