It's a stupid program, Annabeth thinks. Admittedly at the beginning of all this - when her teacher first informed the class they'd become pen pals with students from other schools both foreign and domestic, she thought it was pretty cool. Annabeth entertained the idea of exchanging letters with some kid from France or Germany or even Greece but when she actually received her first letter from her pen pal, her expectations were not even close to being met.

"I got a guy from Spain. I didn't know people from Spain spoke English." Thalia took her usual spot next to Annabeth and just started speaking. The ten year old was never one for greetings, anyway. "What about you, Annie? Who'd you get?"

Annabeth was too busy feeling completely and totally ripped off to even acknowledge the fact Thalia had called her Annie, a nickname she hated. "You got a kid from Spain, Jason got someone from Brazil and I somehow ended up with some boy in New York." Not only was she expecting someone foreign but she was expecting that someone to be a girl like herself.

Thalia sighed at her best friend's over dramatic reaction and took the paper from Annabeth's hands. She gave it a once over before reading it aloud. "Hello Annabeth. My name is Percy. I'm ten and from New York. My favorite color is blue. My favorite food is blue cookies?" Thalia set the paper on the table in front of her. "You're right to be mad. You got a weird kid, Annie."

Annabeth glared at her soon-to-be former best friend. This just wasn't fair. She wanted some French girl who would write to her about the Eifel Tower, not some ten year old who likes blue cookies.

She hated this pen pal program.

It's a stupid program, Percy thinks. When his teacher first told them that they would be writing to kids from schools across the world Percy was excited. He imagined becoming best pen pals with an Australian kid who loved blue food and swimming just like he did. So when his teacher handed out the pen pals and he found out he would be writing to some chick in California, Percy's excitement levels decreased tenfold.

Percy's best friend Nico had been assigned a boy in England and couldn't stop talking about it, which was really starting to get on his nerves. "Maybe he's, like, David Beckham's son!" The nine year old wondered excitedly to Percy while they were sitting at lunch. "Oh man I can't wait till he writes back!" Percy just hummed, picking at his school severed mashed potatoes. "What do you think your pen pal will be like, Perce?"

Percy sighed. She was a girl. She would probably talk a lot about dolls and the color pink. This sucked. "Not David Beckham's son that's for sure." He dropped his fork with a clank! Lunch was almost over and when he returned to class, he would get his letter back from Annabeth Chase. What kind of last name is Chase? That's a verb not a person's last name. He'll have to ask her when he writes his letter back.

Upon returning to class Percy's teacher had set everyone's letters on their desks. Everyone tore his or hers open with excitement. Percy opened his with a sigh. His eyes scanned over the words carefully, his dyslexia making it difficult to read. He noted various things as he read.

She likes to read? Who likes to read?

San Francisco. I'll have to look that up on a map.

She has dyslexia - wait. She has it too?

Percy wasn't sure he was reading it correctly. He read it over and over to make sure he was getting it right. 'My teacher says I should mention I have dyslexia. Basically it just means it takes me a while to read things because the words get all jumbled. I don't see how that's important but, yeah, I have it.' No, he definitely read it right. What are the odds he'd get someone who has dyslexia too? He had never met anyone else who had it.

Maybe this pen pal thing wouldn't be that bad.

As the weeks passed Annabeth became a little more okay with the pen pal program. Percy wasn't that bad. She even thought how her school days - maybe her days, period - would be a little more fun if the blue food loving fellow dyslexic actually went to her school. He had mentioned once or twice about his want to visit California. 'If I lived in California, I would just live on the beach. I could catch and eat fish, take baths in the ocean and live in a beach cave! If I did, would you visit me, Annie?' She told him - or wrote him, rather - how absolutely silly that sounded.

(And she really regretted telling him how much she hated that particular nickname.)

Normally on mail days Annabeth would be excited but this mail day, she was the most nervous she's ever been in her entire life.

A week before, her teacher had every student take a picture to send to their pen pal. Their pen pal would do the same and send one to them. This stressed Annabeth out for reasons she couldn't figure out. She was never like Silena, this girl in her class who applied lip-gloss at least six times a day, but she suddenly felt like maybe she should've applied a coat of lip-gloss before taking her photo. What if Percy thought she looked weird? What if after seeing her his opinion would change and their letters would lose that...spark?

(Why did it matter so much to her anyway?)

"Letters are here!" Annabeth sat at her desk waiting patiently for her letter. Only this time it wouldn't just be a letter. A picture of the boy who loves the ocean would be attached.

Her teacher laid the letter down and Annabeth took a breath before opening it. Just as she neatly tore into hers, Thalia leaned over from her own desk and flashed the photo of her pen pal. The little girl with the spiky hair stuck out her tongue in a disgusted fashion. The picture was of a boy, probably their age, sticking out his tongue and scrunching his eyes in an attempt to look silly. "Why do boys have to be so weird?" Annabeth shrugged at Thalia's question. I sure hope Percy isn't weird, she thought inwardly.

Another deep breath and rip! Annabeth pulled the photo out slowly and finally laid eyes on Percy Jackson. She wasn't sure what she expected but somehow, Percy fit those nonexistent expectations. He was smiling big like he was just told he had won a free trip to Disneyland. He had black hair that looked as if a gust of wind decided to ruin it before he took his photo. His green eyes seemed to shine and Annabeth wondered if it was just the glossy photo paper. He wasn't weird like Thalia's pen pal. In fact he was kind of...cute.

(But Annabeth reminded herself she is only ten and too young to think stupid, weird boys are cute.)

If Sally Jackson had a nickel for every time her son told her about this Annabeth Chase, she'd probably have enough to put Percy on a plane and send him to California. And she's sure he would love that.

"I am really sorry to interrupt you on your lunch break but Percy's been asking me to ask you this so -"

Percy's teacher held up a hand and gave a smile. "It's no problem, really. This is about his pen pal, right?" Sally smiled a bit sheepishly. "Percy has been asking me as well. I guess he just wanted you to come to make sure he had all his facets covered."

"So can he do it? Can he keep writing this girl?" The pen pal program was ending soon for Percy's class and the boy simply wasn't ready for it to end. He enjoyed writing to Annabeth and reading the letters she sent back so he asked his teacher if he could keep sending letters to her just to her house instead of her school. He then asked his mom to ask his teacher, just to be sure. It was a week until the program was over and Percy still had no answer.

"Well I emailed Annabeth's teacher who asked her parents and it seems like Percy can keep writing his pen pal."

Sally sighed. If the answer would have been no, she wasn't sure Percy would have ever gotten over it. "Oh Percy is going to be so happy! He really likes this whole thing."

"I'm glad he does. It's helping him too. His reading and writing have improved since we've started." His teacher explained whilst scribbling on a small sticky note. "Here, this is her address. Tell Percy after this week he'll need to address all his letters there!"

And after that week, Percy sent all of his letters to Annabeth's house and all her letters came to his apartment. They kept writing to each other through thanksgiving and Christmas (of course they had to tell each other what toys they got) and beyond that. Next thing Percy knew Christmas turned to Summer which turned to the next school year and just like that, neither one of them were fifth graders but instead freshman in high school. They wrote to each other twice a month for four years. There were times it would be inconsistent, like when Annabeth's dad started dating this woman and her life was changing majorly or when Percy's mom met this guy named Gabe, but they still managed to send at least one letter a month. Because with all the changes happening in both of their lives, they were the one constant thing for each other.

Percy looked strange now. He wasn't the cute ten year old Annabeth once knew. Now he was some awkward looking fourteen year old who badly needed a haircut. But he was still her Percy. He still had those stupid shiny green eyes and that dumb smile that made him look way too happy. He was still her kid-turned-preteen pen pal that's somehow been there for her through a lot even if he wasn't physically there.

No matter how awkward he got, he would still be her best friend that happened to live on the other side of the country.

Annabeth was way too pretty now. Percy always thought she was pretty but that was like little kid pretty. Now she's fourteen and her hair is really curly, kind of like a princess', and her smile is really nice and her eyes are really grey and, god, she's just really pretty. He's glad he writes to her because if he actually had to talk to her in person he's almost positive his voice would do that annoying cracking thing and he'd get sweaty and he doesn't want to his there-but-not-really-there best friend to see him sweaty and hear him cracking.

Maybe after his voice was done cracking and he stopped sweating so much he would be able to talk to his very pretty best friend that happens to live on the other side of the country.

If he ever got to meet her in person.

One day Percy stops writing and Annabeth is gutted. She doesn't cry because Annabeth Chase doesn't cry (especially over boys) but for some strange reason when she's trying to fall asleep at night her eyes feel wet and she buries her face in her pillow.

She tried hard to remember what she wrote in her last letter - something about her advanced English class and blue soda? - searching for what she possibly could have said that would make him stop writing.

"Maybe he's just busy, Annabeth. He'll write." Her father didn't know her and Percy's schedule like she did, though. It had almost been a month. Percy would never wait that long to write. Even if he just sent a stupid sticky note and a picture of silly sea animal, Percy would write.

Annabeth kept sending her letters, though. She didn't know what else to do. She hoped maybe he would read one and get the urge to start writing back but after three months, six letters and her father's wedding, Percy never wrote back.

Soon enough, Annabeth stopped writing too and tried to forget about Percy Jackson.