"Come on! It'll be fun."

"No, I have work to do."

"Tell me what work you haven't done yet. Or double checked for that matter."

"......"

"Exactly, come on, you need this"

"Can I at least triple check them?"

"No, we're leaving, come on. Unless you want me to carry you out."

"Nope! I'm coming. I'm coming," Annabeth stood up, and I smirked as she glared. Happy I had won, I grinned as I placed my converse on. I laid down on the bed, watching Annabeth pack her school notebooks away.

"Hurry up! Come on, Annabeth," I whined. She just ignored me as she threw on her shoes. She was still wearing my hoodie and sweats, and I honestly didn't mind. But she might.

"Hey, uh, quick question. Do you want to change? Or are you good, going out in the world in your pj's? Honestly, I'm fine with it, but I know my mom would kill me if I let her out of the house while she was wearing sweatpants," I rambled, not wanting to offend her and at the same time point out she was still in pj's. I looked away from her and stared a hole into the wall.

Gods should've just kept your mouth shut. No one wants to hear you speak anyway.

"Thanks, Perce, actually I will change, I completely forgot" she smiled at me and stood up. Walking out of the room with her clothes from yesterday.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thank gods. See, I can be helpful. That was just her being nice.

I grit my teeth as I tried to busy myself by grabbing my phone and stuffing it along with the house keys into my hoodie. Annabeth walked back in a few moments later and threw the borrowed clothes onto my bed.

I smiled at her and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the room.

"Mom, we're heading out! We'll be out late at a friend's house," I yelled. I heard a yell from the back of the house that sounded like an Ok, and we headed out.

After a few minutes of walking down the street, hand in hand, I spoke up.

"You know it's weird."

Annabeth looked quizzically at me, "What's weird?"

"Um, well, normally to come to this party, I have to sneak out of my window. So I guess it's weird that we walked out of the front door without any issues" my voice trailed off near the end. Why would Annabeth care about that? Keep your mouth shut! Geez, let her start the conversations.

"Hmm, that would be weird. So, are we heading to the same party you always go to?" Annabeth tapped her chin with her right hand.

"Um, yea, same place," I nodded as we walked across a few more streets. Turning the corner to the pound of blaring music, I smiled. I always enjoyed the fact that I couldn't hear my thoughts at parties. It made me feel weightless until someone either decided to beat me up or the party ended.

We walked up the stairs of the house, and I opened the door. I pulled Annabeth through by the hand, dodging teenagers and making my way to the concession table. I grabbed a plate and put a sandwich and chips on it while waiting for Annabeth to finish.

Taking a bite, I let my eyes wander the room of insane, drunk teenagers. I was almost sorry for this guy. He had to clean this up every time? That's insane. Never will I have a party where clean-up is part of the job.

I felt a squeeze in my hand and looked down to see Annabeth with a small smile on her face. Even with the flashing lights, she was still beautiful. I leaned down quickly and gave her a quick peck. She wasn't expecting it, and I saw a faint pinkness tint her cheeks. I grinned goofily at her and pulled her out towards the back, where my spot was.

Annabeth was still a bit flustered as we sat down. I started eating my food, and Annabeth just stared blankly out across the field of dancing teenagers.

I waved my hand in front of her face when I finished my sandwich. She woke up and blinked rapidly as she turned confused to me. I looked worriedly at her.

"Are you ok? You kind of stared off into space."

"Yea, just thinking," she said softly as if not entirely there.

"Hey, this is supposed to be a break from thinking," I playfully scolded her, and she grinned at me before digging into her plate of food.

It was quiet. Well, except for the shrieking, laughing teenagers, blaring music, and cheering all around us. I was aware that time was ticking down for Rachel's threat. I knew, but I didn't care. I wanted to do it on my own time. Sure I wanted to say it this whole time, but there was never really a moment where I felt like it needed to be said.

I sighed, and Annabeth looked at me quizzically. I just looked straight ahead as I finished my chips. Suddenly Annabeth stood up, placing her plate to the side, and dusted her pants.

"Come on," she stuck out her hand, and now it was my turn to be confused.

"Where are we going?"

"Just take my hand," she said, annoyed. I shrugged and let her help pull me up. She didn't let go of my hand, and I felt sparks as she pulled me along.

She stopped abruptly on the dancefloor and made me hold her like I did last time. Right hand on her waist, the other holding her hand. Her hand on my shoulder. I gulped a bit and felt a blush rise on my neck. I had half a mind to rub it, but she was holding the hand I usually used.

Instead, I tried my best to look at her. I was taken aback when I realized she was looking right at me. I felt a blush rise in my cheeks as she smiled at me. Her gray eyes sparkled, and her blonde hair framed her face perfectly. We swayed, off the side, regardless of the song playing.

Then Annabeth switched her hands from my shoulder to around my neck. Pulling herself up and simultaneously pulling me down, she kissed me. I immediately got over my shock and closed my eyes, kissing her back. Our lips moved together as I felt electricity pulse through me. I grabbed her waist softly and brought her closer.

We pulled away, needing air. Annabeth kept her hands around my neck, and I kept my hands on her hips. She looked in my eyes, and I held her gaze. I got lost in her eyes, the gray swirling together as she looked at me with an emotion I couldn't explain. I must've been smiling because she just whispered, "Dork."

"Hey, just came to mind. Why did your friends seem so surprised when I stopped you from reading?" I blurted out and immediately regretted it. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?

But then the regret faded away when she giggled at me. My heart melted as her eyes crinkled in laughter.

"Oh, that's easy. Just like they told you, it's nearly impossible to get me to stop reading. I think I told you the first day, too," she said softly. I hummed as we swayed.

"So, why is it easy for me to get your attention?" I genuinely want to know. Annabeth just stuttered as a blush crept on her face. She bit her lip as she looked away from me in embarrassment.

"Um, you don't have to tell me. I was just curious," I quickly said, reassuring her that she didn't have to say anything she didn't want to. She nodded and returned, looking at me wordlessly.

We stayed like that for a while. Occasionally kissing softly as I held her. At some point, Annabeth put her chin on my shoulder as she hugged me. I let my arms cross lazily around her lower back as we continued to sway, enjoying each other's presence.

I noticed the music die and teenagers either shuffling out or being forcibly removed by their designated drivers. I slowly turned my head towards Annabeth when I felt soft breaths coming from her. I was surprised to see she had fallen asleep.

My eyebrows furrowed. Did she sleep last night? I'll have to ask her tomorrow.

I was careful not to wake Annabeth as I slowly shifted her from laying on me, standing up and lifting her bridal style. Annabeth groaned in her sleep as she was moved, and I winced every time I thought she woke up. I carefully leaned her head against my shoulder as I held her.

Figuring my arms would soon get tired, I started walking home. Opting for the alleyway on the side of the house instead of walking through the furniture filled house. Quickly walking down the streets, I felt comforted by the soft breaths as Annabeth continued sleeping.

When I got to my street, my arms wanted to give in. I've never done any muscle work out or use my arms for anything but playing instruments. Not to mention the cuts from my attempt.

I braved through the exhaustion and pricks of pain. I finally made it to my house and was forced to set Annabeth down so I could take out the house key and open the front door.

Annabeth woke up groggily as I went to pick her back up from where she was leaning against me.

"Wa? Rusticitas, where are we?" I chuckled at her sleepy voice.

"My house, you fell asleep, so I carried you home," I whispered to her as I helped her stumble inside.

"I'm surprised you didn't trip," she teased, and I scowled playfully at her. While walking to my bedroom, Annabeth stopped using me to keep herself steady and walked confidently towards the room.

"I'll just get my pj's, and then I'll head to the couch," I explained as I followed her in. Quickly grabbing my clothes, I slipped out of the room into the restroom, where I changed.

I noticed the long gashes on my arms slowly healing and that single word. I bit my lip as I blocked out the thoughts running through my head. I had Annabeth and Mom and Rachel. I needed to be strong for them. I slipped on my hoodie and walked to the living room. Pulling out my phone, I sighed at the time, 12:37 am.

I knew Rachel would probably chew me out tomorrow when we went to school and make me do something I wouldn't want to remember, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Tonight was awesome. I had danced and kissed Annabeth for who knows how long, and that was enough for me.

That brought me back to what had happened earlier; Annabeth had fallen asleep standing up. Sure we were swaying, but I don't think it's normal to fall asleep like that. Maybe it was the stress from finals. I mean, Rachel did say something like that. I yawned, today was pretty great, and I was ready to hit the hay.