A/N: Hey! I'm back from the dead with a one shot. I saw this prompt on instagram and I couldn't NOT write it, ya know?

Annabeth looked up for the hundredth time that night as the bell on the door to the diner chimed, sighing as it swung open to reveal yet again patron who wasn't Luke. Her shoulders slumped as her eyes fell back to her now cold coffee, her chin propped up pitifully by her sweater clad elbows. Above the busy noise of the diner, she heard footsteps coming towards her and she straightened up only to meet the eyes of the kindly waitress who'd been checking on her for the past hour and a half she'd been sitting here.

"You need a warm-up sweetie?" The woman, whose name was Rosie as Annabeth finally paid enough attention to read her name tag, looked at her with these knowing eyes like she knew exactly the situation she was in and patted her gently on the shoulder as she slipped her order pad into her embroidered apron pocket. "You know sweets, he could still show…"

At that Annabeth bristled and shrugged away from the kind server's attention. "Thanks. He will." she replied in a brusque tone and Rosie pursed her lips as she and her compassionate eyes waltzed away to the next customer, leaving Annabeth to her moping.

If Luke had said anything, she thought, this wouldn't be so bad. But she had been here since their scheduled time at 6:45, sitting here like an idiot, and he hadn't even bothered to message her an excuse. And as much as it pained her to think about, it wasn't the first time. Luke had been getting more and more distant as his senior year of college dragged on, and freshman Annabeth had been feeling more and more like she couldn't keep up.

They had known each other as kids, Luke was the boy next door. When her mother died and her father shrunk into his work, Luke had taken her under his wing and as teenagers they began to date. They had survived his first three years of college, overcome distance and time apart, so damnit why was this happening now when they were closer to each other than they'd been since he went off to school?

Annabeth ground her palms into her eyes to stop any tears of frustration from leaking out at this public restaurant, and when she blinked up, she realized in absolute mortification just how many eyes were on her. It seemed as though every diner was glancing at her booth with sad eyes, taking pity on the girl who had clearly been stood up. Their eyes fell on her and oozed pity and sympathy in the worst kind of way. It leeched out of their gaze like poison and she felt herself grow more and more helpless and dejected and small. And if there was one thing that Annabeth never felt it was small. So she was NOT about to sit here and rot in all of the pity these strangers had for her. She survived with an absentee father, she survived high school alienation, and she'd gotten into a top school without anyone's pity and sh certainly didn't need it now. The bell clanged once more as she steeled herself to leave with dignity, digging her wallet out of her coat pocket and preparing to leave cash on the table for the coffee she hadn't touched.

She went to slam the change on the linoleum tabletop and remove herself from this suffocating booth when all of a sudden-

"Sorry I'm so late babe, you now New York traffic is." A shockingly handsome man with a calm but loud voice interrupted her walk out, and as he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek he whispered, "I'm Percy. Just go with it, yeah? Whoever didn't bother to show up is a dick." The nosy diner-goers shrink back, their pity receding with them.

The man draws away, unwinding his blue knit scarf from his neck as he slides into the booth's other side. In her shock Annabeth says nothing, nodding blankly as he grins at her from across the table, cheekily sincere.

"So, I've made the grand gesture, I think that earns me something. What's your name?" Boyish charm seeps through his voice as he leans forward, resting on an elbow.

Annabeth doesn't take a second to think, a shocking new behavior for her, before answering. "Annabeth. Chase. Annabeth Chase." Her broken introduction appears acceptable as he reaches a hand across the table.

"Nice to meet you Annabeth Chase. I'm Percy Jackson." She takes his hand, shake it gently, a stark comparison to his warm and firm grip.

"Thanks. I guess. For the rescue." His green eyes shimmered as the corners of his lips turned up.

"Anytime m'lady. I know the feeling of being stood up, ya know, and I just thought I could help, uh, make your night suck… less." As his confident exterior melted into honesty, Annabeth felt herself warming up to the stranger across from her. She smiled back at him and he looked down briefly, ruffling his hair.

"So, uh, are you student?" He asked, bravely attempting to start a conversation.

"Yeah actually, I'm in the architecture program at Columbia." Percy let out a low whistle as he met her eyes.

"Wow, you must be really good then. Getting in there is tough on its own, but into the Architecture program…" She blushed slightly at his compliment as he continued. "Well, er- I'm a student too. I'm at NYU for marine biology, but I'm double majoring in photography too. I want to go on expeditions and photograph marine life or do research documentation on the shore somewhere."

"That sounds… really interesting actually. I've always wished I could spend more time near the ocean. I've… I've never been." The look in his eyes said there was more to that story but he didn't pry, instead taking the chance to dazzle her with his grin.

He launched into a story about his vacation house in Montauk and Annabeth finally let her eyes wander. His tousled black hair, cropped shorter on the sides, perfectly framed the softly defined line of his facial features. His jaw and his cheeks were chiseled just enough, smile lines still evident around the corners of his mouth. Most shocking were his gleaming green eyes, sparking from beneath dark brows that danced as he continued his beach story. Annabeth blushed slightly as she realized just how attractive Percy was. Damn.

Suddenly she was ripped from her trance as his voice halted with the return of Rosie the waitress. The older woman had a new gleam in her eye as she looked Percy up and down. "Well," she said glancing back at Annabeth to shoot her a quick wink, "are we ready for menus?" The two students nodded with a smile as they looked back at each other.

The rest of the non-date went unfortunately quickly but extraordinarily well. Before either of them realized it, it was already ten o'clock and the streets outside the diner's windows had gone dark except for the amber glow of the street lights and the glittering technicolor sparkle of the buildings and streets of NYC. They politely split the check and Rosie waved the two of them off with an extra slice of banana cream pie each.

As the made their way out of the diner, Percy offered his arm and she took it tentatively. As they turned down the street Percy spoke again.

"Well normally I would have to say my goodbye's here and dash to the subway to get back to the East Village, but lucky for you I'm staying the weekend at my mom's on 96th which just so happen to be right near Columbia, so I am completely available to walk you home." She grinned at his bold humor as he adjusted their linked arms.

"Well I suppose I could do with an escort this evening. Wouldn't want to be a damsel in distress two times in one night." He smiled as they crossed a crosswalk before speaking again.

"So… the guy you were actually waiting for before I so gallantly swooped in… what's the deal? Because if I'm being really honest, I had too wonderful a time tonight to give up that easily." She turned her head to meet his hopeful eyes, the green still shimmering even in the dim light of the street, and answered.

"Well, he's my boyfriend," His shoulders slumped just barely as they walked on. "But, um, he hasn't been very… present recently? Ya know? And uh, God I probably don't need to be telling you this but, we've known each other a long, long time and I think… I think he might have moved on? Grown up, I guess? I just- I didn't want to admit it because he's been my rock through a lot of shit and I-"

"Hey Annabeth?" Percy interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to explain it all to me," he said softly. "I get complicated, believe me. I just wanna say that I've had the best night in a long time tonight and I think you have too and I don't care what else is going on or whatever, I just want to tell you that I want to see you again. Maybe like a real date? Once you figure everything out with your… your boyfriend?" She looked back at him a little stunned but so incredibly happy she didn't really know what to do.

"Or before you figure everything out because honestly I just want to see you again." He blurted out before she brought a finger to his lips.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes. I had more fun tonight than Luke and I have had in… a long time. I want to see you again too." His grin in that moment was absolutely priceless and she would give anything to see it every day.

"Ok."

"Ok."

They both looked down smiling as they walked the rest of the way back to Annabeth's dorm, chatting idly about the things they love about New York, neither of them able to wipe the grin off their face. When they reached her door, they exchanged phones and added their contacts, the grins still plaguing them. And as Annabeth shut the door behind her and Percy made his way down her hall, they both secretly hoped the grin and the feeling would never go away.