EXCAECAVIT AFFECTIO

I pursue you where none else has pursued you;

Silence, the desk, the flippant expression, the night, the accustom'd routine, if these conceal you from others, or from yourself, they do not conceal you from me;

The shaved face, the unsteady eye, the impure complexion, if these balk others, they do not

balk me,

-Walt Whitman

The stars glittered brightly in the clear night sky as Annabeth Chase jogged around her usual circular path. The luminous moon seemed to beam at her today, as that ever rarely happened. After reaching her second lap, she picked up her pace and blindly reached for her phone attached to her arm.

5:55 A.M.

'Five minutes more.'

She glanced around and saw the sun peering over the horizon, slowly driving the black atmosphere away with its rays. She could now hear the morning cuckoos of the roosters and the sweet humming of a few mocking birds. Just a minute ago, it seemed that the world was boxed inside an abyss and now it was illuminated by fiery streams of light. Annabeth wondered how these things happen so suddenly and yet it creates a vivid vision of how majestic the world is. She found herself being entranced as the glowing ball of fire started to drift away from the horizon, and touched the familiar face of heavens. She thought of how possibly the world continues with its routines, of all its faults, loopholes and labyrinths, and still never gets tired of doing it.

She reached her house at exactly 6, a custom time she'd set for her to prepare for work. Long before, Annabeth had trained herself to be familiar with the common procedures and practices that definitely made her life more manageable and comfortable. She certainly didn't minded much the complexity of Life, for as long as she's stuck with her tradition and usual system, she could easily sort out accustomed patterns and methods to fit any variations and diversions. Long story short, Annabeth Chase was a certified planner.

After her quick bath, she walked over to her dining table and got her breakfast ready. Her eyes scanned the newspaper while silently sipping her usual black coffee. Apparently, Annabeth got a sort of obsession with anything within the shades of black, as she secretly admired its simplicity, the way it carried itself regal. Even though she yearned for it, she didn't care much about her dull gray eyes and golden curls.

When she's already set for work, she grabbed her typical leather bag and her camera from its hook. She locked her apartment's door and carefully trudge the wooden staircase. On her last step, she was met by a beautiful Cherokee girl with an unevenly cut chocolate hair.

"Hey Annabeth!" the girl exclaimed, hugging her for a greeting.

Okay. Annabeth tried to search her mind for any recognition of the girl with the unevenly cut chocolate hair.

Chocolate hair…Unevenly cut…

After a few seconds of thinking, one name rose out. 'Oh, Piper.'

"Hey! Piper," she replied. "What makes you up her at seven in the morning? I thought you hate mornings."

"Oh silly!" Piper grinned. "I just want to tell you that there'll be someone moving in tonight."

Piper nudged her shoulder. "You know… Maybe you two could hang out. He'll be occupying the room above yours."

Annabeth slapped Piper's arm playfully, smiling. "Haha. Don't worry. I'll make sure it will be hell in here."

"Well, hell can be pretty hot."

After a few minutes, Annabeth arrived at her workplace, too early to spot any of her co-workers. She strolled over her table, unconsciously arranged the piles of paper and rolls of blueprints that were definitely in order. As she started rummaging her bag for her phone, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She peered at him, a man of confidence in a crisp black suit and slicked back gray hair was looking at her.

Crisp black suit… slicked back gray hair… Mr. Howard. Her boss.

She instantly sat up and put down her bag. "Oh, Mr. Howard, good morning."

Mr. Howard smiled softly at her, his dark eyes crinkling a little. "Always early, Ms. Chase." Annabeth seemed to brighten a little. Why wouldn't she? She just got a compliment from her boss.

"Okay. I have a favor to ask of you, if you don't mind."

"Anything, of course. If it's within my abilities, definitely I can do it for you."

"Okay. Thank you." He slipped his hands in his pockets. "Here's the favor. I need you to somehow guide my friend's son about the quirks and that of the company. How do the staffs work, how these happen and sort of. Think you can do it?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." Annabeth replied without a second thought.

"Good." Mr. Howard clapped her in the back. "If you want to start now, he's in the 3rd room in 3rd floor."

"Okay." She grinned at him.

When she finished reorganizing her things, she picked up her bag and camera and headed off the 3rd room in 3rd floor.

Annabeth's pacing in front of the door, constantly murmuring to herself. A few weird looks were sent at her, but she cared none about it. What troubling her right now was the thing she should first say when she enters the room. Funny, she thought. But seriously, she couldn't even choose what to say.

"Should I say hello, hi, oh I'm Annabeth, good morning probably?" she muttered quietly. She stopped pacing when an idea popped in her mind.

"Hello. Good Morning, I'm Annabeth. That's it!" she exclaimed. Her voice came out loud, but no one cared anyway.

But, when she started knocking at the door several times to be rude and yet, no one still came, her patience melted out.

'If you won't let me in, then I'll force my way in!'

She pushed through the door, slowly but she could hear nothing aside from the door's faint creak. She tipped her way towards the table, where a man was sleeping soundly. His back was hunched forward and his head was cradled carefully on top of his crossed arms.

Annabeth stared at him bluntly, as if she was in a sort of trance. She thought of how possibly he could be so good looking. His dark long eyelashes were sprawled neatly on his eyes, his high cheek bones graced his face and his accentuated jaw that looked like he was Adonis carved out of marble to life, specifically for perfection. Her eyes flitted down to his lips and oh—his full lips were slightly parted and …what was that?

Her gaze zeroed on the liquid that seemed to come from his lips. Upon closer inspection, she saw what it was actually.

Drool. He just drooled.

And all at once, she hastily got hold of her camera and in a click, came the flash that sort of woke him up.

His eyes fluttered open and she swore she had never seen eyes as green as his were. His bright emerald orbs quite resembled the unrestrainable sea, like the way he seemed spontaneous. Somehow, Annabeth felt a tugging sensation, as if she could drown in his eyes just by looking at him.

Of course, Annabeth was so startled at the moment that she forgot the first line she was supposed to utter. Instead of, 'Hello, good morning. I'm Annabeth!', what came out was, "You drool in your sleep."

He didn't seem to mind it though. But when it soon dawned to him what she just said, he quickly sat up straight, and wiped the liquid using the back of his hand.

"Sorry." He smiled sheepishly at her, and Annabeth couldn't help but smile in his demeanor. "Right. Uh, who are you again? I believe I hadn't met you yet," he said while running his hand in his dark rumpled hair.

"Oh, my bad." Annabeth flushed in her own mistake, silently cursing herself. 'Why the hell did I forgot that?'

"I'm Annabeth. Annabeth Chase."

"Percy here. Percy Jackson." He extended his hands as a gesture to shake Annabeth's but retracted it as soon as he realized that he used his hand to wipe off the… whatever.

"Oh, sorry!" He fumbled in his suit for his handkerchief, but he was unsuccessful to find one. He's blushing hard while furiously digging on his bag for something he could wipe his hand on, and Annabeth found it a little cute for her liking.

Feeling bad for Percy, she handed him her white handkerchief with the fancy embroidered 'Annabeth' in the lower right corner.

"Thank you." He managed to say.

Her eyes were suddenly drawn to his hair and she felt a sudden desire to touch it. Unconsciously, her hand raked its way through his hair, slightly tugging at some places, but in all, she felt comfortable.

Percy, however, momentarily stopped and closed his eyes. He didn't know why but he felt safe and at ease as Annabeth ran her hand through his hair. It's a different feeling, one he didn't felt for a while, a sensation of contentment and peace of mind.

"It's soft," Annabeth stated quietly. He turned to look at her eyes, and she, she seemed lost. Like there was something soulful in her eyes, a depressed and vulnerable feeling despite the storm she was.

After a few silent beats, she withdrew her hand and Annabeth felt the embarrassment flood through her. How had she let herself be distracted?

"Sorry. I didn't mean to be so impulsive. Uh, maybe we can talk later? I really need to finish something." She hurriedly excused herself, taking long strides towards the door.

Percy was staring straightly at the door, wondering how the contentment he felt slipped away as Annabeth walked out of his door.