The first time Annabeth Chase meets Percy Jackson is much more anticlimactic than she imagined.

It's not that Annabeth spends a lot of time actively thinking about someone she's never met, but being a student at Pantheon Senior High School means that an active education in the ongoings of people like Percy Jackson's life is inevitable. That's mostly due to the nature of the rivalry between their high school and his.

Olympus is a relatively small town in Virginia, surrounded only by rolling hills that are dotted by small farms and fields. The lack of interesting things to do results in all of the annoying teenagers at her school to fixate on outdoing the students of the only other high school in town. Whether it's academics, athletics, or school spirit, both schools compete with impossible rigor. Akin to the rivalry between Poseidon and Athena, this one between the Spartans and Gladiators was born of hormonal adolescent egos and mutual loathing.

Legion High School lies on the west side of town, across the Tiber Creek. The students there are generally more wealthy than the ones at Pantheon which only contributes to the unrest. Annabeth has experienced being caught in the crosshairs of the ill-fated rivalry more times than she can count. Being one of Pine's star athletes guarantees that her high school uses her as ammunition and bragging grounds every chance she gets. While she has as much- if not more- school spirit as the next girl, she has no desire to participate in the cutthroat barbs and practical jokes that the majority of the student body takes so much joy in. She makes it a point to attend all major school meets and games against Legion, if not for her interest in the sports themselves then for her fascination of how the rivalry makes her already arrogant and hypermasculine peers even more conceited and stupid.

Her heavy involvement in soccer and track may draw attention, but both schools place a much greater emphasis on basketball and swimming where Percy shines. It's at these basketball games and swim meets that she glimpses him at first. She always sits at the very top of the bleachers with Reyna so they can make fun of the athletes on both sides and review their schoolwork. Even if she didn't have to hear the accompanying booing from her side of the gym every time he steps out onto the court or up to the pool, she can begrudgingly admit that he is an incredible athlete. She's never held a conversation with him, but his jet black hair and deeply tanned skin always stands out.

Although she doesn't hate him the way most students do, she maintains a constant state of irritation towards all things Legion related. The way their town is split down the middle based on something as trivial as high school sports is remnant of something out of a medieval storybook written by children. Even the adults tend to promote the rivalry, like steadfastly watching a bunch of teens duke it out over volleyball and math competitions with save them from their boring lives.

She makes it barely 10 minutes into the school day before she hears someone mention Percy Jackson. She's at her locker, in the midst of shoving her books in her locker (it's way too far into the semester for her to still organize her stuff) when one of the designated douchey jocks starts loudly ranting about the previous night's basketball events. Apparently, there was a scrimmage and "that a-hole jackson kid" managed to pull the score into a tie during the last minute. The buzz continues throughout her school day, and even her normally sensible friends think that it's fascinating how much Legion's subpar team has improved.

A couple hours later, Annabeth is making a pit stop at her neighborhood's Stop and Shop on the way to movie night at Piper's house. She relaxes at the familiar clattering of wind chimes as she yanks open the door, and mutters a quick greeting to Chiron, the owner. Chiron's has always been one of her favorite places in town. It's owner is an old family friend who taught her how to deal with her dyslexia when she was younger. He's always been a mentor and father figure to her, and she picks up shifts at the store on weekends.

The store itself has this soothing atmosphere that never fails her. The floorboards creak when she steps across them, and the Frank Sinatra poster that's tacked to the wall by the door is on the verge of falling off but somehow the building still exudes comfort. She knows every inch of it from elementary school days spent curled up in the big vintage armchair in the corner so she could escape her parent's fighting.

That's partially why seeing Percy Jackson in the snacks aisle is so surprising. It's not that people from Legion aren't allowed on this side of town, but they aren't exactly expected. Percy Jackson with his shock of black hair and sea green eyes is utterly recognizable- not to mention that he's wearing a purple hoodie with the words JHS Gladiators emblazoned on the front. It's like painting a target on your back while simultaneously walking into a war zone. She considers walking away, but he spots her first.

"Hey! You're Annabeth, right?" he calls out just as she was about to begin her retreat. "You do soccer and track and stuff at Pantheon." his eyes reflect the light of the fairy lights Annabeth draped all over the fixtures in the ceiling during her interior design phase in seventh grade. The way he's rocking back and forth on his heels reminds her entirely of Leo, and she wonders if he had ADHD too. It's certainly a big part of why Annabeth's so involved in sports- it's nearly impossible to get rid of the restlessness she always feels. She's suddenly aware of the fact that she hasn't brushed her hair all day, or bothered to conceal the circles under her eyes. She shifts her weight onto her left foot and tries to suppress her nerves.

"Soccer and track and stuff. That's me." she answers honestly "and you're Legion's swimming god." He's a couple inches taller than her, and even more tan, like he spent all his free time at a beach instead of a tiny town in Virginia. His cheeks take on a rosy pink color and he lifts his shoulders in an awkward half shrug.

"So that's what they call me on this side of the creek, huh?" he questions. "You know, people say that you're the best forward that the town has seen in years." Usually when people bring up her soccer position their tones are mocking in a oh congrats, female sort of way. But Percy's tone is earnest and completely at odds with what most of his teammates have thrown at her.

"Uh- I'm okay." she manages "soccer's definitely not nearly as interesting as your whole basketball thing."

"So what, pray tell, is one of Westbury's revered athletes doing on this side of town?" Annabeth prods "You know, if any other student had noticed you you'd have been immediately sentenced to death by overzealous high schoolers."

Percy lets loose a quiet laugh at this, and she can't help the sliver of satisfaction that snakes through her body. He looks oddly embarrassed, and the sheer normalcy of his accompanying flush goes against all her prior expectations of this boy. She takes in the way he bites down on his lip as he unfurls his right wrist to reveal a small cellophane package filled with… dolphins?

"You… risked your well being in order to buy candy dolphins?" Annabeth can't help the astonishment in her voice. Percy looks deeply offended, and his eyes shine with mirth.

"They're gummy sharks." He protested "and they're my lifeblood. Seriously, Annabeth Chase, gummy sharks are the food of the gods." he continues, "my cousin, Nico is supposed to supply me with them, since this is the only place in town which sells them, but he's on some stupid date which means I have to do everything myself as per usual."

By the time he's finished with his tirade, his eyebrows are knitted together in concentration and his hands are still moving to finish his latest dramatic gesture.

"Nico Di Angelo?" she questions "He's your cousin?" Thanks to her longstanding friendship with Will, Annabeth cannot go 24 hours without hearing him ramble on and on about the gorgeous brunette with the gorgeous dark eyes that- oh god annabeth they make me want to melt he's so out of my league. It took Will an entire semester of pining from a distance before he finally made a move and Annabeth has spent the entirety of the last two weeks helping Will plan an overly complex date meant to woo his pants off, in his own words.

"You know him?" Percy questions

"Indirectly. My friend Will has spent so much time talking about his enormous crush that I probably know more about your cousin than I do myself. Will's probably setting off heart shaped fireworks as we speak."

"Ah. So he's the blond haired casanova that Nico hasn't been able to shut up about for the past few months. It's gotten quite concerning, really."

"It's ridiculous." Annabeth declares "They should just get on with it and adopt their seven kids and three cats."

Percy proceeds to wrinkle his nose (and yes, it's adorable) and tell her about how the children would be named after Pokemon and the cats after Yugi Oh! characters. She notices.. a lot of things. His eyebrows furrow when he's passionate about something, and he blushes more easily than anyone she's ever met. Their conversation continues and she finds herself enjoying his personality more than she's willing to admit. She tells him about her visions of becoming an architect, her soccer team, her qualms and praises of the most recent star wars installment… and before she knows it, her phone chimes.

"Um. Sorry." she glances down at her screen. It's a text from Piper asking why in the name of all that is holy it has taken her over two hours to buy a jar of salsa. "Yeah that's my friend who will burn me at the stake if I don't get to movie night with food. I should run." Percy looks disappointed but offers her a shy smile.

"That's cool. I should probably head back home." he waves his packet of gummy sharks at her "hopefully I'll see you around?" She tucks one of her curls behind her ear and glances up at him

"Yeah. I'd like that." Percy grins at her before he exits the shop and she grabs a couple extra jars of queso just to appease Piper.

She mulls over the conversation as she jogs her way around the block to Piper's house. It's odd, how instantly comfortable she was with him. It took her weeks before she had felt that close to any of her other friends. Her stomach is churning with a weird fluttery feeling and the crisp nighttime air isn't doing much to clear her mind. She takes her time walking up the steps to Piper's giant house. With the amount of money Tristan Mclean makes, they definitely should live on the west side of town but something about real estate and contracts made them choose this neighborhood. Piper throws the door open and rushes at Annabeth just a few moments after she rings the doorbell. She's wearing a pride shirt and shorts with multi colored palm trees on them which make Annabeth's heart clench with the faintest bit of pride.

"Annabeth!" she cries "I'm starving. And I'll murder you if you didn't bring nachos." Annabeth takes this as her cue to walk in and settle next to Reyna on the couch. They're watching the Goblet of Fire (as all the cool teens do on their Friday nights). Reyna squints her eyes at her as a greeting, which Annabeth returns with a one shouldered shrug. The couch groans as Piper flops onto the cushion next to Annabeth and she throws her legs into Annabeth's lap. Piper is rustling through Annabeth's bag of snacks when she lets out a low whistle. They both look over at her in surprise as she leans over and brushes Annabeth's face with her braids.

"Damn, Chase has game!" Annabeth squints at her and swats at her hair. This catches Reyna's interest and she turns away from the screen. Annabeth sighs

"What are you talking about?" she asks. Piper passes over the jar of salsa and is practically trembling with delight as she points out a pale yellow sticky note attached to the side. Scrawled (almost illegibly, she notes) are 10 digits, signed PJ complete with a smiley face. Reyna scans the note as she leans over.

"Who's PJ?" she asks as she shoots her a smirk. She knows that they're trying to be nonchalant about it, but the glimmer in Piper's eyes tells her otherwise. She hasn't done anything remotely romantic since her historic crush on Luke in middle school which resulted in one date freshmen year before he moved away. Piper has been begging her to go on a date ever since, and Reyna is convinced that she's aromantic just like her. It's not that Annabeth is opposed to dating, or even that she hasn't been attracted to her fair share of guys. It's just that any feelings she's had have been shallow and inconsequential; nothing she could possibly build a relationship out of. This thing with Percy is tentative and she has no idea what it holds, but deep down she knows that he'd make an amazing friend and that's important to her.

"Percy Jackson." She mutters, making sure to fixate her eyes on Victor Krum. The effect of her words is no less than she predicted. Piper squeals and drops her Tostitos and Reyna raises both eyebrows, instead of just one.

"Like, Legion's Percy Jackson? Thalia's cousin? If so, congratulations- he's like seven different levels of fine." Piper proclaims "not exactly my type, though." Reyna glances back at the number and frowns.

"Aren't people from that side of town generally elitist assholes?" Reyna asked "Also when did you get a chance to interact with him?" A wicked grin flashed across Piper's face and she grasped Annabeth's wrists.

"C'mon tell us about your crush." Piper pleaded "It'll be fun! Besides, are you going to ca- CEDRIC NO!" Piper shrieks and covers her eyes with her hands. Annabeth mentally thanks Voldemort for the distraction as Reyna shoots her a meaningful look. She glances back down at the post-it note in her hand and smiles, thinking about what Piper was about to ask. Maybe she would.