Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. If I did, Percachel would so be canon.

Right, this is a PERCACHEL fic. If you don't like the pairing, don't bother to read it. Simple as that. :-) Yes, I know they're OOC. I did it on purpose. This is really just make a point *glares at PQ members*. Enjoy!

Oh, and I'm going to write a few more chapters on this. So....


Goode High School. 7 PM, the 8th of October. I would rather have been any place but there. Why? Simple: it was the night of the school dance.

After some thought, I had decided to ask Rachel. She had agreed to go with me, and was the only reason I didn't just skip out. (That and the fact that Paul would tell my mother. But looking back on that night, I'm pretty sure it was mostly because of Rachel.)

My mom dropped me off at the door, smiling. "Have a good time, Percy. I'll be back to pick you up later!" As she walked away, I could have sworn I hear her murmur, "My little boy's growing up!" and sniff.

I looked around. There was no sign of Rachel. We had agreed to meet right here. I looked around again...and again....and again. Still no sign. Then someone tapped me on the shoulder. I whirled around to face....Rachel? It couldn't be!

She was-there was no other word to describe it-beautiful. Her hair, normally frizzy, was pulled back into a bun, and she was wearing a shirt that seemed to shimmer in the light along with a pair of jeans.

For a moment, I was too speechless to say anything. Then I somehow managed to make my voice work. "No paint stains?" I laughed weakly, pointing to her pants. She laughed, and the sound was like music to my ears. "Nope. These are my reserve pair, for when my other ones get too much paint on them."

Nod...smile...do SOMETHING! my brain yelled. I gave her what must have looked like a stupid grin. "Uh, should we go inside now?" Rachel nodded, and grinned back. "Sure!" Together, we walked into the gym.

The gym was decorated with flashing lights. Music was coming out from speakers on the wall. There was a table set up with food, which most of the kids were clustered around. The rest were either talking with their friends by the stands, or dancing. I instinctively wanted to head over to the snacks, but something held me back. Maybe it was Rachel, standing next to me....

Whatever it was, it made me turn to her and ask, "Do you want to dance?"

Rachel shrugged. "Okay. It looks like fun." She smiled, and my heart-rate suddenly increased.

Once we had started to dance, I realized something. Dancing with Rachel, even just being there with her, made me feel happier than I had in weeks. Could I be....? I swallowed. In love with her? Another look at Rachel gave me the answer.

There was something about Rachel that made her different from the other girls. She wasn't shallow, or stupid. She was bold, and didn't mind telling people how she felt. She didn't try to play mind games with me, and she always seemed to understand what I was thinking. It was like being able to see through the Mist made her more mature than the rest of them.

But what about Annabeth? She kissed you, you know... something whispered. I bit my lip, hoping my thoughts didn't show on my face. It was true that at one time I had liked Annabeth. But it was a silly crush-and besides, there was no way Poseidon and Athena would have let it happen.

Suddenly, it felt like Janus was there, standing next to me. I could almost hear his voice whispering nastily, "Choose, choose." I knew that I had many choices ahead of me, and this was the first. But it was also one of the most important.

"Choose," Janus hissed.

I stopped dancing, frozen to the spot. Rachel stopped, too, and looked at me, concerned. "What's wrong, Percy?"

Oh, gods.

I knew that my next sentence would have to satisfy the god of choices. I drew in a shaky breath.

"R-rachel? I....love you."


Go right ahead and flame. I'm curious to see how many people are anti-Percachel.

-Sheva Das