WARNING, IN THIS FANFIC, THERE MAY BE SOME EXPLICIT CONTENT! WARNING!

Annabeth looked around.

She had just gotten off the bus that drove her to New York. It was buzzing with people, scurrying, hurrying to get to where they wanted to go. She smiled at the sights in front of her, all the shops, all the beauty...this was her dream. Annabeth hilted her bags on her arm, and walked right into the hotel. She had already made a reservation, knowing that she had to find an apartment, and she needed a place to stay while finding one.

Her suitcase rolled down the polished stone tiles and she made it to the front desk.

"I have a reservation for three months," Annabeth said with a smile.

The clerk only smiled and then got to typing on her laptop. "Name?"

"Annabeth Chase."

The woman took a moment longer, then handing Annabeth a key card. "There you are, Miss Chase. You have room 127, on the left side, fifth floor, okay?"

Annabeth walked down the hall, to one of the elevators.

There was a man and his young daughter that it opened up to.

Annabeth gave them a kind nod before she entered and punched the 5 button.

It too two more stops, picking up two other people.

One was an older lady, wearing a strong perfume that was kind of bitter, and a middle-aged man with gray hairs speckling his scruffy beard. They both acknowledged her. Annabeth knew she probably looked like some sort of business woman, from the way she dressed. She wore a gray blazer over her white blouse, and a tight gray pencil skirt, her hair in an elaborate bun. Also, her shoes were only slightly heeled, and gray as well. She liked gray. Annabeth wore tiny silver owl earrings, and hardly any makeup, but enough to make her look professional. "Do you work at a local office?" a man asked, proving Annabeth's point. She laughed a bit. "No, sorry. I just moved here. I'm hoping to become and architect."

"That's an excellent career choice," the woman added. "Oh! This is my stop, goodbye!"

She exited, some of her bitter perfume still lingering.

The man smiled Annabeth's way, and she smiled back.

Finally, it got the the fifth floor, and Annabeth exited, dragging her suitcase with her.

She waved to the man, then headed down the hall, checking the rooms until she found 127. She turned the handle and quickly slipped inside. The room was amazing, and it smelled like peppermint. There was what looked like a king sized bed, with soft carpeting, a large bathroom, a flatscreen TV, a closet, and a gorgeous view that showed the Empire State Building.

Annabeth collapsed on the bed, tired of traveling.

Tomorrow, she was going to go for a job interview for an available architecture job, for exterior design, so she wanted to at least try and get some rest. It was already evening, so she just fell asleep, accidentally of course, but still fell asleep.

Annabeth woke at around six in the morning the next day.

She got up and went into the bathroom to take a shower. The shower was a little complicated, but it was amazing. She got it to just the right temperature, and kind of melted at the perfect amount of pressure. Then it occurred to her: she could finally start her real life. Her life away from her family. She was finally out of her parent's house, with her stepmother and father...and she was free.

Annabeth got out of the shower and put on a pretty shirt and a satiny sweater, with a nice skirt that matched. She put her hair back up into a a bun. She smiled at her appearance. She liked the way she looked, professional, pretty, not desperate...

And then she washed her face and did her makeup, just simple mascara and a tiny bit of gray eyeshadow. Also, just a hint of concealer and lipgloss. She slipped on her small black heels, grabbed her bag, and headed out, deciding that she'd put all her things away when she got home that evening. Annabeth headed out the door, and walked to the elevator. It was eight thirty now.

No one else joined her, so it was straight trip down to the lobby.

The woman at the counter had been replaced with an older man, which gave her a grin as she walked out the doors.

The hotel, luckily, was right by a cafe that served coffee. And she needed coffee.

Annabeth hurried over, ignoring the biting wind, and opened the door. It rung a bell, and the sweet smell of pastries and warm tea made Annabeth blink. She closed the door, looking around the cafe. There were around five circular tables, and then there were five booths, with much more comfortable seats. There were chairs at the counter, where two people already sat. Annabeth joined the two people at the counter. It was a boy with curly black hair, and slightly brown skin. He was clearly flirting with the girl sitting next to him. She had chocolate skin and gorgeous curly dark brown hair.

The boy whispered something in the girl's ear, and she giggled, but then blushed and looked away.

"Hello, would you like anything?"

"Hmm?" Annabeth turned around to see a guy standing in front of her. He smiled. "Do you want anything?"

"Oh! Right, yeah...I'll have a Mocha, please."

The guy started making her drink immediately.

Annabeth couldn't help realizing that he had a nice face...like, a great face. Okay, so he was hot.

The guy had black hair, which was sort of messy, in a nice way. His green eyes were a little hypnotizing, and he had slightly tan skin. With his apron, he looked adorable.

Annabeth gave him a smile when he handed her her mocha. "Thanks."

He was about to go to another customer when Annabeth quickly called, "Hey, what's you name?"

The guy turned around to her. "Percy Jackson."

Annabeth pushed some of her hair back. "I'm Annabeth Chase."

And he smiled a little more, taking another order as Annabeth drank her mocha.

She watched him as he moved, admiring him. She knew she shouldn't, but Annabeth couldn't help it. But what is he had a girlfriend? What if he thought she was ugly? Annabeth only had one boyfriend in her life, and his name was Luke. But then he decided to break up, and he had just gotten married to a girl named Thalia. Annabeth had been the maid of honor...

Annabeth didn't notice as she finished her drink, but Percy did.

He walked back up to her. "Are you done?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I am."

"Then, that will be $5.50."

Annabeth pulled a five dollar bill out of her wallet from her bag. And that's when she decided. Carefully, she took a pen out while Percy was talking to another person. She wrote her number down on the bill, then waited until Percy came back. "Here," she said, and handed his the bill. "And by the way, just look at it for a moment, thanks."
That's when Annabeth got up and started to leave.

She exited the shop before Percy could say anything.

But she saw through the outer window his grin as he put the new numbers into his phone.

Annabeth arrived at Terrace Architecture Institute by nine ten, and she entered.

There was a woman at a desk in the cleanest lobby room Annabeth had ever seen. She walked up to the desk. "Hey, I'm looking for Ms. Arellano. I have a job interview."

The woman smiled. "You're Annabeth, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing. You just had the best paper and project."

That made Annabeth's spirits lift.

"Also, Ms. Arellano is on the third floor, our work floor. The door at the very back."

Annabeth thanked her, and then walked to the elevator, going up to the third floor.
Inside, it was busy. There were maybe thirty workers, all in little architecture cubicles. She glanced around and stepped out of the elevator and into the throng. Someone rushed past her, and Annabeth dodged them. As she started walking, someone knocked into her, dropping everything in her arms. "Fuck..." the girl muttered.

"Oh god! Sorry!"

Annabeth ducked down, trying to help the girl pick up all her stuff. She looked a little younger than Annabeth, and little prettier as well. "I am so sorry!"

"Eh, it's fine. Are you Annabeth?"

"Why does everyone know my name?" Annabeth asked while she stacked some of the papers.

"We all knew you were coming in for an interview."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The girl had brown hair in a ponytail, and pretty multicolored eyes. Her skin was slightly brown and coppery. "Oh, and my name's Piper, by the way. I work in Interior Design."

"That sounds interesting."

Annabeth finished picking up the papers with Piper, and handed them all to her. Piper smiled. "I like you."

"Thanks."

Then she slipped away, probably back to her own little cubicle.

Annabeth hurried to the very back, seeing a door.

She knocked, and when someone answered, "Come in," she entered.

This office was kind of big, and a woman sat at the desk. She had black hair and dark eyes that were stern and kind of commanding. "Hello, Annabeth."

"Ms. Arellano," Annabeth said, and closed the door behind her.

"Please, take a seat."

Ms. Arellano gestured to the seat in front of her.

Annabeth gladly sat.

"Okay, let's get to this interview," Ms. Arellano sighed. "I have work piled up around here."

"Sure, Ms. Arellano."

Annabeth was trying to act as professional as possible, but it was hard around someone like her.

"So, I've seen your designs. What inspired you?"

"Well," Annabeth shifted in her seat. "I'm inspired by ancient Grecian and Roman architecture, because of its structure and beauty."

"Ancient Greece and Rome? Interesting."

"Yes. But I also like designing modern buildings as well."

"So...what led you to Terrace?"

"I liked your program, as well as how popular you are, and how hard you are to get into."

Annabeth gulped. She hated job interviews. They always made her nervous. So, for the rest of the interview, Annabeth answered simply and honestly, telling Ms. Arellano everything about herself.

"Okay, I think we're done," Ms. Arellano said after half and hour. She stood, and Annabeth followed her lead, shaking her hand. "And you can call me Reyna, alright?"

Annabeth smiled. "Okay, Reyna."

"Now, we'll contact you tomorrow. Thank you for coming in."

Annabeth left, feeling only slightly confident.

She collapsed on the bed again, living out the rest of the day with pizza and the flat screen television.

Okay, so I need 20 reads before I'm posting the next chapter, so read it! Comment! Follow! :D