Do you want to skateboard or not? Asked Piper through her yellow legal pad with her eyebrows furrowed.

"No." Annabeth answered but Piper looked at her, lips a perfect line. Annabeth rolled her eyes as she steadied herself onto the skateboard but failing eventually. She hunched forward, causing her to lose balance and move. Piper caught her with an annoyed look on her face. She let Annabeth go and scribbled down her legal pad.

Keep balance. She wrote, stepping onto her board and giving Jason, who was standing next to her, her legal pad. She held out her arms and pushed her foot on the pavement, pushing herself in a graceful way. "Why did I even agreed to skate?" Annabeth muttered under her breath.

Jason looked at her and cocked his eyebrow. He could hear everything. Annabeth suddenly felt guilty and then was surprised when Jason gave her a bear hug. He laughed as he set Annabeth down, probably because of her confused expression.

Piper came back and gestured Annabeth, who was still struggling to balance, to try. She walked to her friend and climbed on the board. For some unknown reason, she stayed still and was not falling down. "Yes!" Annabeth whispered quietly to herself. She was secretly enjoying her triumph with gravity.

GREAT! Piper wrote with a big smile on her face. Annabeth began to move, which made her panic. She instinctively looked at her back. Somehow, Piper went to Annabeth's back unseen and pushed her so hard that Annabeth was too afraid to stop.

She refused to fall down and thought she had the hang of it. But, just like when she was a toddler, pebbles were her enemy. Piper's board unexpectedly stopped and sent Annabeth falling. She made a faltered scream, while she saw the ground getting closer to her face. Sweat dripped from her forehead.

"Shi—"

Then she stopped. Her face was inches away from the rocky, hard pavement. She panted, grateful for not falling flat but a little perplexed. She glanced at her arms and saw someone else's holding them. Her mind tried to complete this puzzle. It was still processing everything, the pebble, the fall, the arms around hers who saved her from said fall. She looked forward and her heart almost stopped.

Sea green eyes.

Those were the first thing she saw. They were studying her, the pupils searching her face. They reminded her of the beach. She felt the riptide pull her away from the stranger's arms. She refused to give the tide power. They looked beautiful, but Annabeth felt a tug inside her stomach. Something sad was in the depths of the sea eyes that created some sort of veil. Annabeth searched deeper. Then it clicked, something Annabeth could relate to but swore to not let anyone see, abandonment.

She never seen someone so lonely before, especially if she was just judging the eyes. Oh, this is awkward eye contact. She freed herself from the boy's grasp to see the full picture. He had raven black hair and a smile on his face. Annabeth wondered why he was smiling but his eyes cleared like a fog and Annabeth almost didn't see the abandonment in his eyes.

He was wearing a shirt and pants, nothing fancy, but they fit him and his slender build. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm sorry." Annabeth said, dusting her jeans after snapping of the boy's intriguing eyes. His smile widened and he held out his hand.

"Percy." He said.

Annabeth took his hand and shook it. "Annabeth." She replied, a grin growing to her face unnoticed.

"I've been in your place before but, just for advice, the sidewalk is not very kissable."

Annabeth laughed, along with Percy. She stopped when she heard the sound of squeaky sneakers on her side. She turned and squinted.

Piper was walking to her gaze but was motionless when she saw Annabeth with a boy. Annabeth could feel Piper's smile as Piper gestured Jason to turn and flee. Annabeth began to follow them until she realized Percy wasn't laughing. Hesitating to remove her eyes from her target, she looked at the stranger, who seemed as uncomfortable as ever.

"You can go, if you want to." He didn't look at her, she knew exactly why. She knew that if she was going to leave him, the abandonment in his eyes will grow bigger and he'll be forced to hide it. Annabeth knew what that felt like and didn't want others to feel like that. Plus, Percy seemed to be a cool guy, even if Annabeth knew nothing about him and just met him two second ago.

Annabeth glanced back at the direction Piper retreated. She smiled at Percy, who looked at her in confusion. "I'd rather stay here and kill my friend later." Percy grinned and chuckled.

Percy was as interesting as he looked, and he looked hella interesting. He talked not much about himself, just that he was an only child and he loved the outdoors. Annabeth found herself curious. She wanted to know more about Percy. She felt, somewhat, attracted to the boy. "This is one of my favorite places." His voice washed over Annabeth. His eyes twinkled.

Annabeth was feeling everything. From the way Percy readjusted his shirt to the sound of Piper's skateboard scraping the sidewalk. She was so indulged at him as they walked around the park. It took Annabeth a second to comprehend what Percy has said. "What do you mean favorite places?" Annabeth felt stupid for asking the question. But the way he said one of his favorite caught her attention.

He turned to her and grinned. "I love a lot of places." He said. "I have a lot of favorites, this park is one of them."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know, maybe because it's real and balanced. It's beautiful and I feel attached and attracted to it because—"

He stopped suddenly, like he was aware of what he was saying. He was hiding something.

"Because…what?"

Percy shook his head, faking a smile. "Never mind." Annabeth didn't push and a wave of relief washed over Percy's face.

They sat on a bench that was empty. The streetlights were lighting up. Each one of them. They sat there in silence, though Annabeth was still caught up with what happened. She studied the park. It has a stone pavement. She thought to herself. A metal gate which is too plain. I do love how they made the pavements a star shape on a circle lot…

She began to think about and opinionate the park. She then saw that Percy was staring at her with a smile. She pondered why before realizing that she was talking out loud about boring architectural designs. "Oh, wow," she said, faking a laugh. "I zoned out."

"I'm so glad I found you." Percy's sea-green eyes sparkled.

"Huh?" Asked Annabeth, who looked at him with slightly confused.

"All the people I've met here are fake. They only care about their looks, grades, or reputation. I've never met anyone who showed more passion for anything. You're obviously passionate about architecture." Percy said matter-of-factly. "Nobody has ever showed much determination. I want to meet you again." His voice slowly filled with excitement.

Annabeth slowly understood what he was saying. She wanted say something intelligent but all she could come up was another huh.

"We'll meet here tomorrow and go to your favorite place." Percy began.

"But I don't have one. I just moved from here!"

"Well, be ready with a place then." He looked at his watch and frowned slightly. "It's seven p.m., I have to go." He stood up.

"You're curfew is seven? That's kinda early."

"Yeah, but I gotta go, see you tomorrow, Annabeth, the same time we met today."

"What?" Annabeth's head was spinning. Meet Percy back here, sure. But meeting a stranger again in a park?

"Bye, Annabeth!"

"Bye?" Her voice was so unsure, it was basically a question. By then, Percy was nowhere to be found and Annabeth was left alone in an empty park.

Finally, you guys get to meet Percy! I have been really stumped on how they'll meet. Thank you for the reviews! I love you guys! Fav, Follow, Review! - Alex