*Wince* Awww man…two weeks without updating…I'm SO SORRY!

Hope you guys like this chapter! COOKIES FOR EVERYONE WHO WAITED PATIENTLY!

(::) (::) (::)

Disclaimer: Do I LOOK like Rick Riordan to YOU?!


Percy

ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ (you like?)


Half an hour later, I found myself sitting in Rachel Elizabeth Dare's dorm room sipping a cup of tea.

Whoopee.

I was sitting across the table from Rachel, who was telling me about her latest art project – I sneezed – and how she was thinking about having an art showcase of her work to raise funds – I sneezed again – for a school in some country whose name I couldn't pronounce. After a while, I tuned her out, and my mind wandered to other things.

Things like: why the heck wasn't Annabeth calling me? Was she avoiding me? Does she hate me because she thinks I like Rachel?

After reminiscing in my thoughts for another five minutes, I found Rachel looking expectantly at me.

"So, are you going to help me or not?" I had no idea what she was talking about, but I nodded eagerly, trying to appear like I was engrossed in the conversation. Despite my nodding, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You weren't listening, were you?"

I frowned and shook my head. She was about to start again when Thalia, who just happened to be her roommate, walked in.

"OMIGODS," she cried into her phone as she plopped her purse down on the counter.

"Thalia, could you keep it down? I'm trying to talk to Percy."

Thalia kept going.

"She didn't. She wouldn't! How could she let him do that to her?!" Thalia screeched into her cell, making wild hand gestures to prove her unseen point. Rachel sighed, and then rolled her eyes again. She got up from the table and walked over to the front door.

"Walk with me?" She asked, already half-way through the door. The way she said it, it didn't sound much like a question, more like," Are you coming with me or not? 'Cause I'm leaving either way." I saw that I didn't have much of a choice, so I just shrugged in response and followed her out.

I hugged my jacket closer to my body, shivering. It was cold outside, seeing as it was early December. Dark clouds began to roll in from the east. The sun was going down, and the wind blew fallen leaves in various directions. Rachel walked in front, with me lagging behind, coughing every few minutes. When I had first came outside, a bunch of students were hanging around the campus, but now it was only a few. I sneezed again. I could smell the ozone in the air. The sun had just touched the horizon, the clouds were closing in. I quickened my pace and caught up with Rachel.

"Maybe we should head back. It looks like it's going to rain."

"It's not going to rain, Percy."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, but Rachel kept going. I hesitated, then followed her across the green.

She led me to Cal's Café, which was a quaint little joint on the outskirts of the campus. When we got there, I held the door open for her, and we walked into the dimly lit restaurant. There were stools at a large, raised table in the center of the building, and low-hanging lamps over each booth lining the walls of the café. We took a seat at a booth in the back.

"So…" said Rachel. I started to squirm in my chair, which made a loud, rubbery sound. How was I supposed to feel comfortable with her staring at me like that? I drummed my fingers on the table (ADHD, remember?).

"Yeah…" I chuckled nervously, my eyes darting around.

"Tell me about yourself." said Rachel, who leaned back into her seat. I stopped drumming my fingers. I didn't really know Rachel that well. We'd only known each other for a couple of months, but I didn't see any harm in talking to her, though.

So…I told her about me. I told her about where I grew up, about my mom, about my getting kicked out of every school I've ever been to; everything. Well, everything except me liking Annabeth. That, and me telling Annabeth that I had a crush on her.

What? I didn't know Rachel that well…and I certainly wasn't going to tell her that I actually didn't like her, despite what Annabeth thought.

Rachel told me about her life, too. She told me about her trips to various countries around the world (lucky bum), about her life as an only child, and about her latest art projects, and how she once went to Africa to build a school for blind children. Thinking back on it, her life was pretty impressive. She had a passport and a hundred dollars in her pocket – all I had was a few quarters and a Twinkie.

Wait, scratch that - I ate it.

Rachel was in the middle of telling me about a girl she met in Africa who was raised by baboons when the last two people I wanted to see together at that moment walked in.

Annabeth – and Luke, who just happened to be trailing behind her.

I immediately slid down in my seat; Rachel shot me a what-the-heck-are-you-doing face before glancing towards the door. She scowled.

"Oh gods, not her…"

"You know what?" I said quickly. "I think I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

And with that, I raced to the bathroom in the back of the restaurant, where Annabeth and Luke couldn't see me.


When I looked in the bathroom mirror, I freaked.

I began to hyperventilate, splashing water on my face from the sink, staring into my reflection, mumbling to myself every now and then, "You're not going out there…" Worst scenarios popped up into my thoughts – the worst being Annabeth seeing me and Rachel together, assuming that we were on a date. I shivered. I could not let that happen. Man, I acted like such a teenage girl sometimes.

A toilet flushed in the background, and, Suddenly, the perfect plan had formulated in my head:

Plan A:

Step 1 - Hide out in stinky, dirty men's bathroom.

Step 2 - Wait till Annabeth and Luke leave the café.

Step 3 - Make sure the coast is clear before exiting the bathroom, then, quietly leave the restaurant without Rachel. When outside, congratulate yourself on how smart you are for coming up with this pathetic plan. Annabeth would be proud.

If Step 3 fails, then proceed to Plan B.

Plan B: Cry like a baby if you're caught trying to leave the restaurant, deny everything, and leave with what little dignity you have left. If you had any in the first place (I mean, I'm the one hiding out in the bathroom…).

Plan B was looking pretty good at the moment…

Just as I was about to haul my dignity out the bathroom door, a little voice spoke to me in from the back of my head, and, surprisingly, it sounded a lot like me…great, now I was hearing things.

"What the Hades are you doing?!" said the little voice. "Don't you dare open that door!" I was about to let go of the door handle when another tiny voice echoed through my thoughts.

"Let's just get this over with," said tiny voice #2. "Would it really hurt if Annabeth saw you with Rachel?"

"Dude, you're me. If anything, you should be the first person to understand why I can't let that happen." I replied as another toilet flushed in the stall behind me. An old man exited the stall with a trail of toilet paper coming from his shoe. He peered at me curiously, and then asked, "Who were you talking to?"

"No one," I grumbled at my reflection in the mirror. I glared at my reflection with as much intensity as I could muster, but my reflection returned the gesture. The guy shook his head, washed his hands, and left, muttering, "Crazy teenagers…"

I sighed, scratched my head, and groaned. Rachel was probably sitting out there, wondering where I went and having a glaring contest with Annabeth, who would be sitting down next to Luke, who would have his arm draped over her shoulders. I scowled. I was going out there if I liked it or not, but only to prevent Annabeth and Rachel from killing each other, and to keep Luke from getting my girl. Well, she wasn't mine (yet), but you get the point.

So, I picked up what little dignity I had left, and opened the door…

To slam right into Luke.

"Whoa, didn't see you there!" said Luke as he backed up to avoid further collision. I stumbled, lost my footing, and fell to the ground, landing on my butt.

"Wait...Percy? What're you doing here?"

I grunted as I struggled to pick myself up off the floor. Luke offered me a hand (which was totally unlike him; probably trying to impress the ladies with his faux good manners…), but I waved his hand away and got up on my own.

"I just came to get a latté..." I trailed off as I glanced back into the café. Annabeth was fixated on her laptop. Thank the gods no one saw me fall – that would've drawn way too much attention.

"Really? 'Cause Rachel said you were here with her."

Ladies and gentleman, I give you plan B. (Refer to plan B.)

"Uh, no I'm not." I lied, flashing him what I thought to be a convincing smile as I slowly tried to inch my way around him.

"Whatever," said Luke, who had lost interest in the conversation and started to head for the counter in the front of the café.

I had made it halfway to the door when Rachel called out to me.

"Percy, over here!" said Rachel rather loudly, smiling and waving her arms to get my attention. I winced, and glanced in Annabeth's direction. Apparently, she didn't hear Rachel call my name, because she didn't look up from her laptop.

I hurried over to our table.

"You were in the bathroom for a while. Everything okay?" she asked in between slurps of her frappuccino. What was she, my doctor?

"I'm fine. Uh, how about we get going?"

Rachel looked at me funny. "But we just got here…"

"Then we'll get something to go. Let's just hurry up and leave, I don't want to be caught in that storm." I stated, pointing outside the window to the dark gray clouds brewing in the distance.

Rachel made a face and then slid out of the booth. After ordering our food, I bolted for the door. I was almost there; I could almost see the dorms in the distance, only to be stopped by – of all people – Annabeth.

"Hey Percy!" she called, waving and smiling in my direction. I slowly turned around.

"Hey…"

Her eyes shifted over to Rachel, who had stopped behind me with a bagel in her mouth.

"Rachel," Annabeth said coldly before turning her attention back to me. "Leaving so soon? I saw you over there by the bathroom earlier. Maybe you'd have time to hang out and talk…?" she left the question hanging, looking at me expectantly.

Stupid, pretty Annabeth and her stupid, pretty face. I sighed and trudged over to where she was sitting. Annabeth scooted over in the booth just as Luke sat back down next to her, and I sat on the booth across from them next to Rachel.

I sighed. So much for escaping unnoticed.

Fates: 2

Percy Jackson: 0

YAY! I'm so proud of myself! 5 whole pages! YES!

REVIEW! PLEASE! IT WOULD MEAN THE WORLD TO ME AND BOBOFINA! :D

/edit/: I apologize about OOC Thalia. I was tired and intoxicated when I wrote this. Not changing it, though. :P