I was having a bad day.

It started out like all bad days start out – you know, your alarm clock wakes you up at 2:30 AM, you hit your head repeatedly in the process of getting up, you get toothpaste all over your shirt, and you trip over your shoelace and fall on your face. Twice. And it's raining. That stuff was easy enough for me to get over, but it didn't matter, because the day would just get worse.

Bad day part 1 started off in my tutoring session. Chiron was worried that the kids who stay at camp year-round weren't getting a proper education, so he decided to hire multiple tutors (who all "coincidentally" specialized in teaching dyslexics) for us. Of course, while most of the kids got nice, friendly tutors who didn't get frustrated with you, I got Dr. Stankerman. Dr. Stankerman is the most impatient man I have ever met in my life. Ever. You can see why I did not have a good morning. First, I screwed up all the math problems, and then I failed a spelling test. "GODS, ANNABETH!" Dr. Stankerman screamed, "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO STUPID?" That did it. I was fed up with him. So I stood up, shaking with rage (and the tears I was fighting back) and walked out. I didn't let myself cry.

That was just the first part of my morning.

Bad day part 2 took place in the sword practice arena. I was practicing with Clarisse, who was, by the looks of her, not having a good day either. She was probably angry that Mr. D limited her visits with Chris because he was talking loudly about her in his sleep, which, for some reason, was keeping Mr. D up. So she was taking all her anger out on me. Unfortunately, my mind was still on my tutoring session and how much trouble I would get in when Stankerman told Chiron and Mr. D that I lost my concentration. In one swift move, Clarisse knocked me to the ground and hit my chest with the butt of her spear, knocking me out of my daze. Laughing, Clarisse shouted, "Ha! Look everyone! I beat Ms. Perfectpants! Guess you're just too weak to fight against me, Annabeth!" and she ran off to her Ares friends, ecstatic over her victory. I got up slowly, grumbling to myself about how my day was going. Was I really weak? I mean, I've fought against Clarisse before but… maybe I was weak. And stupid, like Stankerman said.

The rest of the morning went on without event. As I was walking to lunch, I realized that I had skipped breakfast and was ravenous. I also realized that I hadn't seen Percy all day. Ah, Seaweed Brain. I bet if I could just talk to him, I wouldn't feel so bad. Percy always seemed to make me feel better. That's one of the reasons why I- why he's my friend.

Um. Anyway.

When I got to the pavilion, I sat down at the Athena table, turning around to try to catch Percy's eye. I was surprised to see that he wasn't alone at his table like always, but surrounded by a group of girls. A pang of jealously formed in my stomach. What are they doing there? With MY Seaweed Brain- oops… I mean, with Seaweed Brain? I was happy to say he looked a little uncomfortable, more that a little, even. But that happiness ebbed away when one of the girls, a tall, skinny, brunette, bent down and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed. I reddened with rage… for some reason. Suddenly, the girl turned my way and smirked at me, and her supposedly pretty face was ugly in my eyes. Percy turned to see what she was looking at I guess, and when he saw me, he turned away quickly in what looked like embarrassment. That hurt my heart. Was he embarrassed of me? I got up from my table, having lost my appetite. I knew I was about to break down, so I didn't want to go to my cabin and face my half-siblings. I took a detour to the nearest girl's bathroom and locked myself in a stall, breathing hard.

Why was I freaking out so much? Maybe it's because- but my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening. I held my breath, hoping I wouldn't be noticed, but, all of a sudden, someone's high-heel wearing foot kicked the stall door down.

"Well, well, well," said a high, nasally voice, "who'd have thought we'd find Miss Annabeth Chase hiding in a bathroom. How very much unlike you!"

It was then that recognized the voice: it was Drew, the girl who had been talking to Percy, the girl who had kissed him.

"What are you upset about? Is it, oh, I don't know, the fact that Percy doesn't like you? Don't look so shocked; you probably knew it already. Why would he want someone as ugly as you? That's right, he told me so himself." I stared at her, bewildered. Percy would never say that… would he?

"You…you… you're l-lying," I stuttered, horrified at the lack of confidence in my voice.

"Aw, poor little Annabeth's sad! Wait, did you actually think he did? Who would love you? You aren't worthy enough for someone as special as Percy. But I am. He said so himself." A bell went off in the background.

"Ooh, I'm going to be late for sword fighting. Bye, loser!" As soon as the door closed behind her, I sank to the floor and let the tears that I'd been holding in all day go. I felt horrible. Terrible. Nothing bad that had happened to me this morning could even compare to what Drew had just told me now. And the worst thing is, I believed her.

I don't know how long I stayed there, sobbing, until I heard the door creak open again. Scared it was Drew, I hastily wiped my tears and backed away from the door, my eyes wide in fear. Through the crack in the door, I saw a mop of messy black hair, followed by a pair of worried green eyes. Percy. This was even worse! I couldn't let him see me like this, as vulnerable as I was. When he saw me, though, he pushed open the door (which was brave on his part, seeing as it was the girl's bathroom and anyone could walk in at any moment) and came over to me.

"Annabeth! What are you doing in here? Have you been here all day Wh- are you okay?" He must have just noticed my red eyes and tear streaked face because his face went from confused to worried, which I thought was really sweet. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I felt a tingle go up my spine. But then I remembered what Drew said, and I burst out crying again.

"Just-just go away, Percy!" I said, but I immediately regretted it when I saw his hurt expression. He was only trying to help, and I was pushing him away. As he was getting up to leave, still looking hurt and confused (which were my feelings exactly), I said,

"W-wait… you can stay… if you want… I… I'm just having a bad day, that's all. I'm sorry." To my relief and surprise he quickly turned around and sat next to me again.

"What's been so bad about it?" He asked. I watched as he hesitantly reached his hand out to touch my shoulder, but drew it back again. I sighed.

"Well, I just… you know… sniff had a bad morning, and then my tutor yelled at me and I lost to Clarisse and these girls called me ugly and stuff." I mumbled so quietly I could barely hear myself.

"What? Can you repeat that?" Percy said, and his frown was so goofy I almost smiled, but didn't.

"Okay. So this morning my tutor said that I was stupid. So I walked out. Then Clarisse beat me in sword fighting because I was distracted by what my tutor said, and she said I was weak. Then some other stuff happened, and, um, yeah. That's it," I explained.

"What other stuff?" he asked. Ugh. I really didn't want to tell him. It was embarrassing and it just made me sad. Plus, I still didn't know whether what Drew said that Percy had said about me was true. I know it's stupid, but I was feeling self conscious and terrible and pretty much would believe what anyone told me. I took anther deep breath.

"Some girl… well…." Percy stared at me blankly with his big green eyes and I gave in.

"I'll start over. You know how those girls were talking to you at lunch? Well, Drew, the girl that… that… well… kissed you (Percy flinched, I didn't know why) came in here after I did. She said that … um… no one would ever like me. She…she said I was ugly. And that you thought I was too."

I looked at the floor. I thought Percy was going to awkwardly deny it, proving that Drew was right. Or worse – not deny it. But I was wrong. I felt a pair of arms reach around my hunched shoulders, and I lost it. I hugged Percy as tight as I possibly could and cried. I cried in relief as well as sadness. I knew instantly that Percy had never said that. He would always be my friend. I guess that's great, but I was still sad.

After I stopped crying, Percy gently let go of me and put his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to face him, embarrassed as I was for acting so vulnerable around him. He looked me straight in the eye and said,

"Annabeth Chase. You are not stupid. You are the smartest person I know. Your aren't weak. I don't know how many times you've kicked my butt in, well, everything. And you most definitely are not ugly, because you're beautiful." A shocked, hesitant smile spread across my face. I glanced down at my feet. Beautiful? Percy thought I was beautiful? I looked up at him again, preparing to say thank you, but he started to speak again.

"And… Drew was wrong about no one ever liking you because… I like you." I stared at him. He stared back. I closed my eyes to take in what he just said. It was unreal! I didn't feel him move his head towards me. Suddenly I felt a warm sensation spread throughout my body. My eyes shot open, then fluttered closed again. I had never thought that Percy, who had been my best friend and - fine, I'll admit it – who I'd been in love with for the past few years, would be my first real kiss – St. Helen's didn't count. I'd always hoped, though.

The kiss was short and sweet, and we both pulled away at the same time. When I opened my eyes, Percy was looking at me differently than he or anyone else ever has. It was cute, but, because it was Seaweed Brain, it was goofy, so I couldn't help giggling. Pretty soon we were both laughing uncontrollably, trying to catch our breath. I looked at him, grinned, and asked,

"When?"

"I guess it was probably from the day I met you, but I didn't realize it until you kissed me on St. Helen. I kind of forgot my own name after that. All I could think of was you and how I didn't know what I would do if it was my fault that you were hurt in anyway. I'd always thought you were pretty, though." He smiled. I smiled.

"For me, it was the first moment you opened your eyes that first day I met you. You looked so confused and cute and you were all worried," I said. Percy looked stunned.

"Wait… you like me back? But-" I interrupted him with another kiss. When I pulled away, he was blushing like crazy. He's such a Seaweed Brain.

"Of course I like you, Seaweed Brain. I guess it was kind of hard to tell because I was so aggressive towards you at first, but I was just covering up my feelings. I didn't know if you liked me back, and when Drew said you didn't I never thought… but that's all over with now." I didn't want to say anything about being head over heels in love. That would be extremely awkward – err, maybe not as awkward as having your first kiss on the floor of the girl's bathroom, but it was better that never.

We sat together in silence for a while, staring at each other. I was mesmerized by his eyes. Percy was the first to realize how weird it was we were sitting on the bathroom floor, so he pushed himself up and offered me his hand. I accepted it, and he pulled me up into a hug. After about a minute, we released each other and walked out of the bathroom, our hands intertwined. (: