Thank you to whoever reviewed, favouritied or followed my previous story, Jasper: Thief or T-shirts. All of your reviews made my day!

I just got this sudden light bulb that went a bit like: okay so I would like a... *look up* holy shit sweet Lord help me.

Yes so this was made. Hope it's not too bad. :/

-oOo-

~There I was again tonight

Forcing laughter, faking smiles

Same old tired lonely place,

Walls of insincerity

Shifting eyes and vacancy

Vanished when I saw your face,

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you.~

-Taylor Swift, Enchanted

-oOo-

Annabeth Chase didn't believe in love. She didn't believe in the exotic fairy tales, in love at first sight, or love till the end, or together forever. She just didn't believe in love.

And she was sure it would always remain that way.

-oOo-

"No, Rachel, I swear I'm not over working myself."

"Annabeth, please, do I sound stupid to you?"

"Um."

"Don't answer that." I could literally see Rachel run a hand through her fiery red curly hair, a habit of hers when she was frustrated, even though I couldn't see her over the phone. "Sweetie-"

"-don't call me sweetie-"

"-you're 22. You should be going drunk at a night club and dancing to 22 by Taylor Swift. But instead, what do you do?" Rachel paused, as if expecting me to answer.

"Um."

"Exactly, sweetie. You've stuffed so much into that huge brain of yours that you can't even remember how to speak anymore. See my point here?"

I sighed miserably and burrowed my face in my hands. "Look, Rachel-"

"No. I don't want to hear it."

"Rachel, I've got about three blueprints to finish up, all due next week, and then-"

"Yes, I'm sure listening to your delightful, cheerful stories about how much work you've got would be the most enjoyable thing ever, but I really cannot afford so much happiness right now, Annabeth." The sound of bottles tinkling came over the phone. Probably Rachel choosing some light make up to apply. "Look, Annabeth, we've arranged this dinner for months now. We all agreed that on August 18th, we would all go out and have a girls night. Didn't we?"

I sighed in frustration. As much as I loved this girl, she could get pretty damn annoying.

"And I'm pretty sure you could do with a bottle of red wine too, you know..." Rachel trailed off.

"Okay, fine. But this better not take the whole night, Rach," I warned, and winced when I heard her airy laugh over the phone.

"Oh my God, Annabeth, do you really think that lowly of me?"

"Yes."

"Okay, whatever. I'll grab Piper and the others and we'll be at your place in about 20, okay? And I expect to see you in your best clothes."

"Yes, mom."

"And get ready for a crazy night!"

"What kind of mom are you?"

-oOo-

And yes, that is exactly how I got pulled into sitting in a congested booth in TGI Fridays surrounded by a bunch of lunatics. Seriously, could these people get any louder?

Thankfully, I wasn't sitting in the middle of the bunch, but rather to the end of the cushioned seat. Opposite me sat Thalia, who, judging by her facial expressions, seemed to have been forced here as well. Her dark black lipstick and the choker that was wrapped around her neck glistened in the bright lights.

We exchanged tiny strained smiles at the antics of our so called friends. Next to me, Piper was having an animated and loud conversation with Rachel over the table about a newly released movie as she made wild gestures with her hands to explain herself. Calypso, Hazel and Reyna were all deeply absorbed in a conversation at the other end of the table.

"Annabeth? Hello, earth to Annabeth!" A strongly tanned hand, which belonged to Piper, waved in front of my face, trying to gain my focus.

"What?"

"Quit thinking about them!"

I tucked a blonde curl behind my ear. "About what, exactly?"

Calypso scoffed. Everyone glared at me. "Annabeth, please, we all know what's going through your head right now. You can edit those blueprints when you get home, okay?"

"But I-"

"Nope," Rachel sang. "No buts. For now, just loosen up and relax a little!" She leant back and put her hands behind her head, and if to emphasise the point.

"I'm just glad none of you psychos decided to drag me to some fancy restaurant," grumbled Thalia.

"Yeah, I like Fridays," spoke up Piper. "The restaurant, I mean. It's casual but kinda fancy too."

"Yeah, you'd think with all the money they'd be able to afford longer seats," grumbled Reyna disgruntledly, uselessly struggling to find more space from where she was squashed up between Calypso and the wall. "Well, at least we get to find out whose lesbian this way," she stated matter of factly, then looked up to stare at us.

There was a moment of silence as we all tried to comprehend what she was saying, and then simultaneously we all burst out laughing. Even Thalia cracked a smile.

"Seriously, Reyna?" Chuckled Rachel. "That's what you think about?"

"Well, it is true!" Reyna said indignantly. "I mean, les' bi honest here."

There was a pause. Then, when no one replied, Reyna said quietly, "well, now that we've got that out of the way."

"Did you just... quote Pitch Perfect?" Calypso whispered, her expression awed.

"What, you think just because I'm a badass I can't watch an occasional chick flick?" Reyna asked indignantly. "Annabeth and Thalia watch chick flicks! No one questions them."

"Yeah, but you're like the super serious, hard core type of gal," Piper whispered solemnly. "You shouldn't be watching chick flicks."

"Please," Reyna scoffed. "I've seen many chick flicks. Mean Girls, Pitch Perfect, Clueless, The Notebook, Love Actually-"

"Wait- you also watch romance?" Rachel cried, looking incredulous.

"Well, yeah- I mean- I like Logan Lerman, okay?" she said defensively.

It was a comically unusual sight watching Reyna so flustered. Everyone laughed. Even Thalia and I.

"Well, would you look at that," Hazel's quiet voice reached my ears as she leant forward to look past Piper and at me. "The soulless finally smiles!"

"Oh my God! Someone take a picture!" Cried Piper. "She looks stunning!"

"Oh, shut up, Pipes."

"Okay. But you really do look gorgeous today, Annabeth."

Blushing, I muttered a quick thanks, and smiled. This was one of the rare times I had wore thick eyeliner, and it bought out my startling grey eyes beautifully. Even though I thought they were ugly and boring, I had to admit they did contribute to making me look good today. Other than that, I had tied up some of my blonde curls and let the others cascade like a waterfall down my back. The dress was a simple one-shoulder which ended just above my knees, and was a dark night blue, with a silver stash around the middle to match my eyes and punctuate my narrow waist. Piper had helped me pick it out one day.

The others didn't look too shabby themselves. With the exception of Thalia, we had all taken Rachel's advice and decided to wear casual nothing-over-the-top dresses, even if it was reluctantly. We agreed that an occasional treasured event required an occasional dress. But we all knew that even Rachel, being the spectacular artist that she is, would much rather be wearing a T-shirt and a pair of paint splattered jeans.

"So," began Calypso, as she leafed through the menu, "who is ordering what?"

"Oh, I just want my regular."

"What the hell is your regular, Pipes? It's Jason who loves coming here with you, not us."

"Uh, rude. And my regular is-"

I kind of zoned out after that. I mean, you can't blame me. On most occasions in the Fridays restaurant slash bar food would be my top priority, but not today. Today I had to get home and finish up an enormous amount of work. As much as I love spending time with my girls, couldn't they have chosen a different day?

Just thinking about my blueprints made me think of so many things I did wrong. I should have placed that arch on the staircase, not over the balcony. And those railings... what the hell was I thinking to put them there? Not to mention those pillars-

"Annabeth!" Thalia's voice interrupted my deep thinking.

"Huh?" I asked, snapping out of it.

"Sorry to interrupt the architecture factory in your head, but we're kinda waiting here."

"Oh yeah," I said hurriedly, pulling the menu towards me. My eyes flew over the words to find something which seemed appetizing. "Okay, I think I'll take a..." I looked up at the waiter, and my words got lost in my throat. I almost dropped my jaw.

Freshly tousled raven hair, with bangs falling into absolutely gorgeous vivid sea green eyes, a shirt stretched across the definite muscles of a good, lean build of a swimmer, the apron tied around the waist and oh my God that adorable shy half smile which was making my stomach squirm in the best way ever-

Piper's sharp bony elbow against my side snapped me out of my sappy trance, and I mentally shook myself. What the hell, Annabeth? I thought to myself as I caught Thalia's tiny smirk from across the table, and I made a quick mental promise to myself: I will not freak. Or scream. No, not over a man. Never will I go completely love struck over anyone. I am a strong 22 year old aspiring world famous architect who lives alone and does not freak out at the sight of am absolutely gorgeous man and when her hormones decide to ruin her life. No. I am fabulous.

Clearing my throat, I stared at the words on the menu, struggling to not make my dyslexia too obvious. Squinting at the page, I read off the first dish I could make out in a monotonous voice, keeping my eyes fixed on the table, refusing to lift my gaze in order to avoid another melt down.

After everyone had given their orders, the drop dead gorgeous- no, Annabeth- the waiter left, and just as I expected, every person on the table rounded on me.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Calypso said, smirking mischievously.

"Does Miss Goody Two Shoes have a- do I dare say it- crush?" Piper asked, gasping dramatically.

"Naughty, naughty, Annabeth!" Rachel said, laughing. "Aren't you supposed to be the-"

"Okay!" A snapped suddenly and stood up. If there was a chair behind me I would have pushed it back to make the scene more dramatic, but at the same time that would draw attention to myself and that is something I try to avoid at all costs. I didn't need to embarrass myself any further. "You know what? I'm just gonna... go. Step out for a bit. Get some air."

Stepping out of the booth, I began to take brisk steps towards the exit. Behind me, I heard Calypso quietly say, "please tell me it wasn't something I said." I rolled my eyes and stepped onto the sidewalk, letting the refreshing night breeze cool my heated cheeks.

The streets of New York weren't empty- no surprise. In the Big Apple, one could never expect to find the streets empty. However, today there was only the occasional person roaming the sidewalks, and from where I stood, there were hardly any people around. The closest people were inside the restaurant.

Anger bubbled up inside me like hot lava, threatening to spill out. Why is it so hard for them to understand? I thought bitterly. It's not like my bad luck with past boyfriends means that I'm incapable of being attracted to someone. I've not become an aromantic just because Luke used to hit me, or Ethan only dated me because of my looks... I knew my friends were just teasing me for fun, but still, it hurt.

"So you like architecture?" A sudden deep voice spoke from behind me, jerking me out of my thoughts.

Spinning around, I was met with the sight I was most trying to avoid. Legs, please don't become jelly, I thought fervently to my lower half. "Uh, yeah." Seriously, Annabeth? "It's a hobby of mine," I managed to squeak out with collapsing in a pile of jelly and embarrassment. My cheeks felt hot- a tell-tale sign that I was blushing like crazy. Hopefully, the night sky wasn't doing much to make it too visible.

"That's a weird hobby," the man said, his two dazzling sea green orbs glinting in the moonlight. I could see his fading blush. Well, at least I'm not the only one terrified at the prospect of this conversation. "Don't you have a... you know... normal hobby? Like, swimming or reading or art?"

"Well, I do like reading."

"Figures," I heard him mutter quietly to himself.

"Excuse me?" I asked, half indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh," he looked up, staring directly at me. Oh no, don't you dare focus those eyes on me. Unless you want me to die. I swallowed thickly. And then, of course, he decided to crack a captivating, charming half smirk. Oh sweet mother of all gods, help me. Isincerely hoped that the constant cool breeze drowned my sharp intake of breath. Not attractive. "You just seemed like the kind of person who spends her free time with her nose in a book."

"Oh, really?" I asked, proud that my voice wasn't trembling or cracking. "And may I ask how you figured that one out, oh wise one?"

He chuckled, and the sound made a series of shudders travel through my body. Honestly, since when did I get so sappy? "The eyes," he stated simply, and pointed at me.

"Oh, so first they look so scary and intimidating that they stop people from coming near me, and now they're telling people all of my hobbies. Great. I just love my eyes."

"Was that sarcasm, or...?" He trailed off uncertainly.

"Yes."

"Your eyes aren't bad," he said. "They're actually quite beautiful. They give you a very mysterious look." All of this was said very matter of factly, but I still stared at him in awe. It was the first time anyone had said that to me.

"Seriously?"

"Well, yeah." He tentatively cleared his throat, trying to break the silence as my normally speedy brain, which had just transformed into mush, absorbed what he had just said. "So I'm guessing you're still studying in college?"

"Uh, yeah." I mentally shook my head, trying to clear it. "I attend Olympus University of Architectural Advances."

He looked slightly surprised and awed. "Wow, isn't that like... way up there?" He raised his hand and waved it high in the air.

"No actually, it's right here on the ground."

He rolled his eyes, making my legs go wobbly again. Unfortunately. "You know what I mean."

"Well, then yes," I replied, staring around for a bench. I spotted one towards the right, and started walking towards it. I could tell he was following me. "It is a rather high up place. Very expensive. I had to get a scholarship." I sat down.

He nodded his head as he sat down next to me. "Impressive. So I'm taking you're a smartass?"

"You could say that," I said carefully, nodding my head in confirmation.

"So do you work in the architecture industry yet?" He asked curiously.

"Well, yeah, I guess. I take an internship. It's really exhausting though. One of the reasons I wasn't exactly eager to come here."

"Work overload?" He smiled sympathetically.

"Yeah." There was a moment of silence. "So what do you wanna do with your life?"

"Well..." he cleared his throat uneasily, and I hurriedly carried on.

"You don't have to tell me."

"No, no, it's fine. So... I've always kind of had an obsession with marine biology, so I either want to do that. Or I want to be a teacher."

I stared at him incredulously. "Why the hell do you want to be a teacher? Surrounded by kids all day?"

"Well, not for like, young kids. More towards high school age."

"isn't that worse?"

"It is if you're the bitchy kind of teacher who keeps on nagging at the kid, but I don't want to be that." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further.

"You're ruining your hair."

"What? He asked indignantly. "I like it this way."

I snorted, and couldn't help but sound slightly affectionate. "Seaweed brain."

He pouted, and it looked absolutely adorable. "Fine, then you're a Wise Girl."

"What kind of insult is that?"

"Who said I wanted it to be an insult?" He replied quietly, and smirked at me again. My insides immediately squirmed deliciously. "Anyway..." he continued, clearing his throat, "I want to be the kind of teacher who is approachable by the students. You know, who makes bad puns and jokes with the kids and lets the kids know that if they ever need anything you're always open and... yeah." He suddenly blushed. "I know it's kinda stupid, but-"

"No, no," I cut him off. "That's actually really cool."

He looked slightly surprised that I had that opinion. "But I have no idea how it's gonna happen since I'm dyslexic and I've got ADHD, but that's one of the reasons I'm hoping to be able to connect with the kids and understand them."

"Yeah, it would be great to have a teacher who doesn't humiliate you for not being able to read," I replied thoughtfully.

"So I'm taking you know exactly how that feels?" He asked, and I stared at him, surprised.

"How do you know I'm dyslexic?"

"You were squinting at the menu," he replied immediately. I quirked an eyebrow questionably.

"Looks like you took a lot of notice in me, Seaweed Brain," I began cautiously and smirked. He blushed a deep red.

"Well, yeah..." he cleared his throat, and I quickly picked up that it was a habit of his when he was nervous or apprehensive.

Hurriedly continuing before my courage dissolved, I asked, "and why might that be?"

I hadn't realised it, but our faces were moving closer with each syllable. I could see his eyes flickering towards my lips. "Well, wise girl... maybe it's because..."

He looked as if he didn't know how to continue, so in a burst of boldness, I leant forward and closed the gap between us, locking my lips against his. They were soft. And warm. With my heart fluttering in my chest, I felt a surge of warmth overcome me, and when I finally had to pull away from lack of breath, my lips were tingling. I could still taste him on my tongue.

There was a moment when I stared directly into his mesmerising green eyes, and I caught on to the tiny ring of hazel surrounding each pupil, and the hint if blue in the corner of the left iris. He stared back at me with a look of awe. Our lips were still close together and our heavy breaths mingled.

And then both of our mouths simultaneously broke into smiles, and he chuckled. "The truly weird thing is that I don't even know your name," he whispered against my lips.

"Annabeth. Annabeth Chase."

"Annabeth," he repeated it, savouring the word as it rolled of his tongue. It sounded beautiful from him.

"Well, I believe I deserve to know the name of the gorgeous owner of the lips I just kissed."

He blushed, and said, "I'm-"

"JACKSON!" The roar came from inside the restaurant, and the man immediately jumped up. "Oh, shit- Annabeth, I-"

"It's okay, go. I should be getting back in too, we've been out here for about half an hour already."

He shot me a grateful smile (oh my god), hurriedly pulled the door open and rushed inside. I followed at a more leisurely pace and began towards my table, my mind reeling. Oh my god, I just kissed him. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my-"

My internal freaking out was interrupted by Calypso's scream, "And the soulless returns!"

Rolling my eyes, I slipped back into my seat.

"Oh my god, Annabeth, where were you? We were gonna call you," Piper said, then ran a hand over her face and cracked a small smile. "We half thought that you were so angry that you decided to go off and kill yourself or something."

There was a short silence. Then Reyna spoke. "Well, that's fucked up."

"Oops," Piper said quietly, sounding horrified. "Annabeth, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking-"

"It's okay, Pipes," I said, even though it wasn't. They all knew how sensitive I was when it came to the topic of depression or suicide. Those two words had had a big impact on my life in more ways than one. But I didn't want anything, especially everyone's guilty expressions, to ruin my good mood today. "Doesn't matter. Forget it."

Piper still looked regretful and doubtful, but her expression immediately brightened up when she saw our food heading towards our table. The wonders of food.

Bad decision, but I decided to look up again, and was met by the green eyes. He shot me a playful smirk, but by now I had trained my hormones to not go insane. So I simple smiled back. He set the food down on the table and began to stroll away, hands in his pockets and whistling innocently. My eyes narrowed.

The others immediately began to dig into their food in a not so civilised manner. I looked down at the plate it front of me, and my eyes caught on the corner of the napkin next to my food.

It said, in tiny black wonky handwriting:

Percy

And below it, there was a ten digit number. His number. He gave me his number.

I'm counting on you, wise girl. ;)

My insides immediately erupted into joyful flames, and I stuffed the napkin into my purse before the others could see it. However, judging by the way they were attacking the food in front of them, it didn't seem like there was much danger of that occurring.

My eyes lifted to gaze at the spot Percy had been walking towards. He was leaning against the bar counter with his hands stuffed in his pockets, talking to a blonde man. When he felt my gaze on him, he shot me a sidelong glance. Then another man came up from behind him and tapped his shoulder, forcing him to turn. But I could see his cheekbones were lifted up in a smile.

I smiled too. Completely love struck.

Immediately I knew what my order would be the next time I turned up in this place: fried chicken, with a cute waiter on the side, please.

-oOo-

If you've gotten all the way down here, you have earned my respect. Congratulations. Or maybe you just skipped to all the way to down here. :/ I wouldn't blame you if you did. I'm not all that happy with this fanfic either. Ik Annabeth was kinda OOC, but this is an AU fanfiction after all, so… yeah.

This was supposed to be 1000 word drabble type thing and now look at this. -_-

I have no idea where the part about and Annabeth and the suicide came from so I just hope it kinda boosted your curiosity.

Idk if this is going anywhere, so eh. It all really depends on the amount of reviews and favourites and follows I get, and how much u guys like it. But I have a feeling this could be going somewhere. ;)

REVIEW if you liked it, and then I'll decide whether this is worth continuing.