Percy walked down the crowded New York street, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. It was the beginning of Autumn and was not yet cold enough to need to wear a sweater. He wore a shirt sleeved gray shirt and a pair of jeans. He looked like a normal guy and he liked it that way. He could get used to it being normal. A smile spread across his face as he fingered Riptide, he was anything but normal.
Percy stopped outside of a diner with a flashing neon open sign and walked in. He glanced around looking for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. No monsters. No Titans. No gods. Not even a demigod. It was normal.
"What can I get you?" Asked a plump waitress behind the counter. Percy smiled once more to himself. She was normal. It was funny. After a summer of fighting monsters, gods, and titans Percy couldn't quite get back to the idea that some people were just people.
"Anything blue." He said. The waitress gave him a strange look but didn't say anything. Percy glanced around again for someplace to sit.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon and the diner wasn't that crowded. A family of three sat in one of the booths. In another sat a group of girls giggling and pointing at the boy two booths over. The boy two booths over hadn't seemed to notice, he was to busy looking at his coffee. He glanced up at Percy and Percy realized that he'd seen the boy before. They were in the same English class. What was his name? Sampson? Simon?
Percy walked up to the booth where the boy was sitting and sat down. The boy looked up from his coffee as he did so. He was dressed fairly normal, with a shirt that read [insert clever phrase here]. It took Percy a little bit longer to read it than it should have. "I like your shirt." Said Percy, trying to make conversation.
The boy looked down at his shirt as if he couldn't remember what he was wearing. "Thanks." He muttered and took a sip of his coffee. "You're Percy Jackson right?" He asked.
Percy nodded. "That's me." He said. "How'd you know? I haven't blown anything up yet."
The boy choked on his coffee. "Blown anything up? Have blown things up in the past?"
Percy felt a smile creep on to his face. "Every year." He said, remembering the multiple times that he had been expelled because some monsters decided to pick a fight. "You're Simon?" He asked, unsure of the boy's name.
"Simon Lewis at your service." The boy said. Simon took another sip of his coffee. "How'd you know who I am?"
"You're band sucks." Percy said.
Simon nodded. "That makes more sense. So you where at the Fall Fling?" They'd played a gig at their school's Fall Fling and had gotten booed off the stage.
"Yep." Percy said.
"So you have a girlfriend?"
"Definitely." Percy said thinking of Annabeth. They were definitely dating. The waitress came and set a plate full of blue french fries, pie, and Gatorade in front of Percy.
Simon raised an eyebrow. "Blue?"
"Yep." Said Percy not bothering to explain. Most people found his habits a little bit strange. "Do you want some?" He offered a piece of blue pie to Simon.
"No thanks." Simon declined. "I don't really liked to eat at this time of day." He watched Percy eat his food for a little while then he leaned across the table. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How'd you know?"
"How'd I know what?"
"That your girlfriend was the right one? That you had chosen the right girl?"
Percy exhaled slowly. "I don't know. It just was. I mean Annabeth-"
"Talking about me?" Percy turned to see Annabeth. She was wearing her camp shirt with a pair of jeans, her hair pulled up in a ponytail. Her grey eyes stormy like the sky outside. She looked beautiful.
"Percy was just giving me some dating advice." Simon explained. "You must be his girlfriend."
"He is my boyfriend." Annabeth nodded. "Move over." She said and scooted in next to Percy. She stole a blue fry off of his plate. "Who are you?" She asked.
"This is Simon..." Percy trailed off. He had forgotten Simon's last name.
"Lewis." Simon said.
"Nice to meet you." Annabeth said and stole another fry from Percy.
"Buy your own." Percy said sliding his plate away from her.
"That's what I have you here for Seaweed Brain." She said and stole another fry to make a point.
"Seaweed Brain?" Simon asked.
Annabeth nodded. "It's because his brain is made of seaweed and salt water."
"Shut up." Percy had begun to say when a girl with strait black hair and strange looking black tattoos running down the lengths of the arm and neck walked up to the table.
"Simon who are your..." Whatever else she had been about to say was cut off as she notice Annabeth sitting there. "Chase." She snarled.
"Lightwood." Annabeth said with equal disgust in her voice.