Reaching for her washcloth, bending awkwardly in the shower stall that was far too small for any regular human being, Annabeth attempted to lather herself in soap as the hard water rained down on her.

Usually, she would take her showers in the morning; it helped her wake up and be ready for the day. But her roommate, Thalia, a sophomore and self-proclaimed expert on campus life, had told her it would be a better use of her time to take showers at night.

"For some reason, nobody realizes that the showers are empty at night. Meanwhile, they all fight over them like animals in the morning," the girl had said, observing a tear in her Green Day shirt. At first sight, Thalia looked a bit intimidating, but after a few weeks at school, she and Annabeth had actually begun to get along. At least she'd made one friend so far.

Not that she'd had very many friends from her hometown. Mostly Luke, but he was a senior this year at Half Blood University, so she wouldn't be seeing him very much. There was Grover too, but he was in a different dormitory, and was already making new friends of his own. Clarisse La Rue had also come to Half Blood, but their relationship wasn't exactly that of a friendly one. Annabeth wasn't really very shy, she just liked being alone, working on all of the different blueprints that came to her mind rather than engage in frivolous social activities, which seemed plenty here on campus. At least in her point of view.

Softly, she began humming to herself, a tune she didn't recognize, but kept going with. She had to admit, she was getting used to the night shower thing, just as she was getting used to most things here.

"College life suits you," her father had said when he and her stepmother had come to visit the other day.

It probably suits me only because now I'm out of the house, she couldn't stop the bitter thought. Her dad and she had made their peace when she was a senior in high school, with all of her running away as a kid and the trouble with her mom and him…but they were still very wary of each other. Too aware; the house was filled with tension whenever she was there, and when she walked in, it felt like she was interrupting a TV show from the 1950s, where they were some happy, perfect family. And she was the odd one out.

Her humming had taken on a more demure tone, when suddenly the bathroom door flung open loudly, and footsteps slapped on the floor at a fast pace.

"What the-?" It was almost midnight. It wasn't unheard of if some student had finished their homework late and was just now taking a shower, but could they have some care for quiet hours?

The footsteps grew closer, and just as she was about to shush them, the curtain to her shower stall was pulled aside.

"What the-!" she exclaimed, breaking the rules for quiet hours as well, but how could she care for those when her own rules of privacy were being broken? The person did not startle at her outburst. They simply pressed in tighter, forcing her against the back wall of the shower and moving far too close for Annabeth's personal preference. As she quickly moved to cover her naked chest and other certain parts that were not meant for other's eyes, she noticed this person was fully dressed; from the ragged tennis shoes and jeans to the blue hoody.

Then her eyes met curious, alarmed green ones that were focused right on her gray ones. "Please, don't make a sound. She won't look in a running shower." The voice pleaded. A deep voice.

The intruder was a boy.

"What? Who the hell won't look in here? What the hell are you doing in here?" she demanded. He tried to explain, but before any words could come out, the door slammed open again.

"He can't have run in here. This is the girl's bathroom. Even that little jerk isn't that stupid," the new voice echoed in the bathroom.

Speak of the devil, Annabeth silently cursed. She recognized this voice. It was Clarisse's. So her intruder had messed with Clarisse the Beast. Even if anger and embarrassment were bubbling up in her belly, she still pitied the boy.

"Who's in this shower?" Another girl asked, rustling Annabeth's curtain. The intruder almost squeaked, and he pushed just a little closer to her. The cloth of his hoody was rubbing up against the arm that was covering her chest, and a blush was beginning to make an appearance on her cheeks, and she was sure it was not from the heat of the water.

Why should she save him? He had interrupted her shower! And this could technically be considered sexual assault according to campus rules. Annabeth was about to shove him out of the curtain and let Clarisse have him.

But looking up at those green eyes, a shade of green like the ocean she had never seen in human eyes before, something made up her mind. She couldn't let the poor idiot get caught in Clarisse's clutches; no one deserved that, even peeping toms who intruded on showers.

"I am, and I would appreciate it if you would let me shower in peace."

Clarisse groaned on the other side of the curtain. "Seriously, Wise Girl? You loner. Come on, looks like he isn't in here."

The retreating footsteps were a relief not only to Annabeth, but the boy's tense muscles relaxed, and he unconsciously leaned into her for a moment before he caught himself and pulled back. Not far enough for Annabeth's liking, as he was still in her shower stall.

"In case you missed it, I said I wanted to shower in peace." She reminded none too kindly, glaring up at him. Those ocean eyes of his were really quite captivating, but they would not distract her from his infraction. Panic was slowly growing inside her gut, as her mind finally caught up with what was happening.

She was naked. And this boy was still here, looking at her.

Though, granted, his eyes were still on hers. But that was no excuse.

Blinking rapidly, he finally moved, backing out of the shower and grinning at her, his eyes sparkling. He looked ridiculous, soaked to the bone and still fully clothed. "Thanks Wise Girl."

Not knowing how else to respond to someone who had just shared her shower, she reached out and shoved the curtain closed.

"Get outta here before I call the RA," was all she said in an angry mumble. The boy may have laughed slightly, but she couldn't be sure over the sound of the shower.

Annabeth stood there for a long time, long enough for the water to run cold and make goose bumps erupt all over her arms that were still in position to shield her chest from sight.

It was only her third week at school, and everything had actually been going smoothly. She'd fallen into norms, her own comfort zone. She felt like she was starting to belong, even though she didn't know very many people yet.

And then that just had to happen and throw everything out of whack.

What the hell?