Sorry for the delay! My life had gotten a bit crazy, but I should be back on track with a more consistent schedule hopefully!

XxXxXxXxX

Swatting Piper's hand away from her fries, Annabeth took another bite of her burger as she glanced over it towards her raven-haired friend's customer service smile.

Percy was working the tills alone at the moment, charming the customers as usual as he kept the line moving surprisingly quickly. He really was coming into his own at the place, a lot of the early nerves were gone. He seemed a little less nervous. Fewer of his nervous ticks seemed to be showing themselves, like him running a hand through his hair or drumming on his leg with his fingers.

Pausing mid bite, Annabeth slowly realized that she actually knew his nervous ticks. She must have been paying more attention to him than she had previously thought before. Slowly she finished chewing while she tried to digest that new fact she just realized.

Piper had given her a quizzical look but she just ignored it, instead opting to look through the restaurant. It wasn't too busy, so she wasn't feeling as pressured to speed through her lunch as she normally did.

She hardly paused a beat when she saw Tyler and Ashe in their usual corner, though she was thrown off by the large number of books around them. At least until it dawned on her they were probably just studying judging by the amused look Ashe was giving her utterly confused boyfriend.

The small smirk still on her face, Annabeth just continued to let her eyes wander until they once again rested on Percy's face.

Her smile faltered as she studied it for a moment. It seemed... off. His usual smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and his gaze kept flickering down every few seconds. His shoulders drooped a little more than they usually did when he was on the clock. She had her suspicions, but the little sigh he let escape was the final nail in the coffin. Turning back to Piper, she frowned.

"Does Percy seem sad to you?"

Piper paused her sip of her smoothie as she tilted her head. "A little. It makes sense though, doesn't it?"

Annabeth stared at her blankly. "Why would it make sense he's sad?"

Piper pointedly took another sip of her drink before she set it down on the table. "You're kidding right? You know how much he was looking forward to tomorrow."

Pausing, Annabeth's brow furrowed. "Tomorrow? Friday?"

This caused Piper to lean back in her chair. "You're kidding, right? You two are head over heels for each other and you still don't talk that often?"

Annabeth shifted her shoulders, suddenly feeling a little defensive. "We talk! Occasionally. Just... mostly about work and stuff."

Dramatically Piper let her head drop to the table with a soft thud. "I thought getting Tyler and Ashe together was tough, you're like a whole new challenge."

Annabeth threw a fry at her overly dramatic friend's head. "I don't need your help getting together with anyone. So what's the deal with tomorrow?"

Piper just lifted her head so her chin was resting on the table with a look that revealed that Piper was fully aware of Annabeth's attempt at deflection. Still keeping her unamused glare, she took pity on Annabeth.

"Tomorrow is Percy's first swim meet of the season. His mom is out of town because of work, and she couldn't make it back without getting in trouble so Percy told her to stay. She's his biggest support so of course he's going to be bummed to compete without her there." Piper explained, sitting back up properly and resuming her assault on her smoothie.

Annabeth paused, processing all that information. A flurry of emotions passed through her as she struggled to figure out just what to feel. Eventually she settled on concern. Percy, someone who was quickly becoming an incredibly important friend to her was about to go to a swim meet with no one cheering him on? Sure he'd probably have his team by his side, and he always talked about his good friend Grover but she knew how close he was to his mom.

Chewing her lip, she ignored Piper's intense gaze as she thought things out. A few things were playing through her mind. One, there was no way she was going to let Percy go unsupported tomorrow. Two, they honestly needed to work on their communication if she was unaware of such an event. She was able to admit that she really did want to become close friends with him, and she would not have him hiding such important things from her. Especially when he was so seemingly open with sharing it with Piper. Annabeth did her best to suppress the feelings of jealousy in her, she could never be mad at her best friend. Especially for just being a kind and caring person.

Before Annabeth could ruminate in her feelings for too long, the chime to the door played and a strange duet of voices rang out.

"Thalia!"

"Thals!"

Percy and Jason both looked each other shocked, before they looked back towards the raven-haired girl with a buzz cut and military fatigues that just walked in. Percy quickly made his way around the counter while Jason just hopped over it, rushing across the store and tackling the girl into a hug.

Annabeth was rooted in place, floored with happiness.

The girl just laughed, messing up Jason's hair as she hugged him back tightly as well, burying her head into his neck. "I missed you bro."

Now Percy was pausing awkwardly a foot away, clearly feeling out of place.

Annabeth got to her feet as well. After a moment Thalia caught her eyes, before she smiled, taking a step back from Jason, rustling his hair once before sweeping her into a hug. Annabeth just relished in her warmth, hugging her practically adopted sister tightly. It had been years since she had seen her. Since before her deployment. She had never been able to see her on her leaves.

Glancing over, she saw Percy rubbing the back of the neck, and it only just occurred to her that he had also said Thalia's name when she entered the shop. Which was... odd to say the least. Why would he know Jason's sister?

Thalia gave Annabeth's head a quick kiss before she turned and walked over, wrapping Percy also in a tight hug.

"You've gotten so big!" She said, before messing up his hair.

Jason was still grinning like a kid on Christmas, though a look of confusion was tainting it at the moment. "How do you know Percy?"

Thalia looked at him, amused. "You serious bro? We're cousins after all."

Percy and Jason looked between each other, then at Thalia, then each other again.

"What?" They said in unison.

Thalia just laughed. "Our dads are brothers, I thought you knew that. The second you mentioned him in your letters I figured you knew."

"Thalia is your sister?" Percy asked Jason incredulously.

Jason nodded. "Yeah but... Why do you know her then?"

Percy shrugged. "When I was young I saw her pretty often at family events. She was like an older sister."

Thalia nodded. "It was back before we got back together as a family. You were with mom and I was with Dad."

Jason nodded, finally understanding.

Piper raised her hand. "Not to interrupt, but Grace and Jackson aren't the same last name."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Family drama. Our dads hated each other for a while. When they all married they took different last names." Thalia looked the girl over once. "Piper I take it? Jason's told me all about you." Thalia said with a dangerous glint in her eye, a devilish smirk on her lips.

Noticing the line starting to form at the now empty registers, Percy patted Jason on the back. "Go say hi to your sister. It's slow, I'll be fine alone for a while."

Annabeth was about to to get up but saw Percy wave her off, tapping his wrist to indicate she still had ten minutes left of her lunch.

Hesitating, Annabeth finally nodded and sat back down as Thalia set down her bag and joined the trio at their table.

Jason was still grinning ear to ear, and Annabeth had never seen him even close to this happy before. Then again, she figured your sister finally finishing her tours and being home for good was a pretty good reason to be over the moon. When Annabeth had first moved out and started working here, Thalia had fulfilled an older sister role she desperately needed, and really helped her get her feet underneath her. As far as Annabeth was concerned, Thalia was her sister so she also couldn't help the few tears that threatened the corner of eyes at the sight of her home safe and sound in one piece.

Thalia just looked around at all of the grinning. "I'm so happy to see you all here safe and happy." She offered.

"You didn't tell me you were home!" Jason scolded, slapping her arm.

Thalia just laughed. "And ruin the surprise? I'm just glad you haven't gotten fired yet. Otherwise it would have been really awkward."

They all laughed and Annabeth felt like a piece of her life that had been missing for a while was finally back where it belonged. She knew Thalia had a strong sense of duty, and nothing could have stopped her stubborn ass from joining up, but Annabeth would always give thanks that she made it back to them.

Their conversation remained relatively light for a few moments, everyone kind of agreeing that a proper reunion and catch-up would be served much better during off hours of work. They all promised to meet up for dinner this weekend. Just the three of them like old times.

Piper wrapped up her sandwich as she noticed it was almost time for their lunch to be over. The cafe was pretty dead though, so they weren't in a huge rush. Percy was relaxing against the counter at the moment, that annoyingly sad look on his face. Annabeth hadn't realized she had been mirroring his expression till Thalia had nudged her. "What's up? Why are you frowning suddenly?"

She followed her gaze to see Percy.

"Oh. So they haven't..." Jason shook his head.

"Not yet."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "That's going to have to change."

Annabeth ignored those comments pointedly as she thought about tomorrow.

"About tomorrow..." She offered Piper.

Thalia perked up. "Oh? Plans? Involving Percy?"

Piper nodded. "So there's this swim meet."

They all leaned in closer as Piper quickly filled Thalia in on the situation.

Smirking, Thalia cracked her knuckles. "Seems like I made it back just in time. Here's the plan..."

XxXxXxXxX

Standing in her small apartment, Annabeth shrunk slightly from Piper's intense glare.

"Are you serious Chase? 2 years at the school, and you don't even have a hoodie from it?"

"I'm not really into sports, okay!"

Piper just dropped her head into her hands. "I get that but... you take a lack of school spirit to like a zen level."

Annabeth had nothing to say to that. She really probably should have at least a hoodie or something. It had just never really came up.

Some cloth collided with her face, making her flinch backwards as she freed her face. A moment later she found herself staring a school hoodie. "Where did you..."

Piper just smirked. "It's Percy's. He left it in the break room. He won't care if you borrow it."

Annabeth frowned, but knew she probably wasn't wrong. He was the kind of guy that would give you his shirt if you shivered once.

"We're going to be late. Not put that on and let's go. Thalia and Jason are already there."

Sighing, Annabeth didn't have time to be stubborn. Quickly pulling the hoodie over her head, Annabeth did her best to ignore that the fact that it smelled a lot like Percy did.

She felt incredibly warm in it, and some part of it wondered how upset Percy would be if she just didn't give it back.

Judging by the Cheshire smirk Piper had, Annabeth had a feeling she annoying knew exactly what was going through her head.

Shoving Piper in the back, she ushered them out of her apartment. "Come on, let's go." She muttered, pausing to lock her door.

They made their way down to Annabeth's car as they both climbed in it.

"So Percy doesn't know?" She asked.

Piper could hardly suppress her grin as she buckled her seat belt. "Nope. He has no idea. Jason said he might be able to stop by, but as far as he knows me and you are seeing a movie and the rest of them are working.

Annabeth smirked slightly. She hoped this worked and he was surprised. She had hated seeing him so sad. Honestly, she found it a little adorable how much he loved his mom and he was always pouty when she was gone for an extended period of time. Thalia's plan had been perfect. God, how Annabeth had missed Thalia and her schemes while she was deployed. Their reunion had been brief earlier, but this weekend they had plans for the two of them to take a road trip and shop and catch up. There was nothing that sounded better to Annabeth.

Parking quite a distance away due to the school's dumb parking, they quickly made their way through the chilly night air towards the pool hall. Piper had to give her directions twice, and Annabeth realized she really had never even been in the general area. Maybe Piper was right that she needed to actually attend the extra curricular events a little more.

Eventually they found the entrance and Piper pulled out the tickets she had scored. She had also completely ignored Annabeth's attempt at compensation for her ticket, to her mild annoyance. Winking at her, Piper lead them towards the usual snack stand that Annabeth had no idea existed in the hall.

That's where they found the rest of the crew they could manage. Thalia and Jason were still chatting, they had been inseparable since Thalia returned unsurprisingly. Frank and Hazel were currently waiting in line, and Hazel had given her a little wave when they made eye contact. Leo currently snacking on a massive tub of Popcorn that Annabeth realized wasn't actually a size they offered here.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and Piper merely took a handful of his treat before the boy could protest.

"Any chance he could see us before it?" Annabeth asked, stealing a piece for herself as she looked over her shoulder.

Jason, finally noticing the girls, walked over and answered. "Nah, after they warm up they keep them off in the lockers to keep them focused and ready. Coach says something about not wanting them distracted before the meet." Jason offered helpfully.

Annabeth nodded, seeing the logic behind that. A bunch of unsupervised college guys before an important event sounded like a recipe for disaster.

Thalia gravitated to Annabeth's side, nudging her hip. "Glad you made it. I'm surprised to see you somewhere so full of sweat though." She teased.

Scoffing, Annabeth adjusted her ponytail. "I work out." Was her only defense.

The raven-haired girl just laughed. "Okay, okay."

Giving her a careful look, Annabeth hesitated for a moment. "You good being here? I'm sure you're probably exhausted or just want to be home..."

Thalia's smile shifted from a grin to a warm smile as she wrapped an arm around Annabeth's shoulder. "Trust me kid, after everything I've been through a normal school event is like a dream. Plus I wanna be there for Percy too."

Annabeth nodded, realizing Thalia must have experienced far more than she could imagine. She looked forward to learning what she would be willing to share.

A partially muffled voice over an old intercom explained the heat that Percy was starting in was happening soon.

"Let's go!" Leo ordered, gesturing with his massive pile of popcorn, spilling a substantial amount though there was still an absurd amount left. They all made there way, finding an open chunk in the stands for all of them. Annabeth realized swimming wasn't exactly the most popular sport even if their school had a pretty well known team.

Whatever lack of popularity had though did little to stifle the energy in the air. The crowd was practically vibrating with energy. Percy's heat was called and the next group of boys filtered out to take their spots at their lane. Annabeth only knew the basics of how things worked, but she couldn't help but be swept up at the excitement.

If Annabeth blushed when Piper leaned over and mentioned something about Percy's compression shorts, she'd never admit it though Piper swore the bruise she got from Annabeth hitting her was worth it.

Piper looked at everyone, a grin on her face. "After I say three, ready?"

Everyone nodded and they got ready.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"PERCY!" They erupted into a loud cheer, calling out his name at the top of her lungs. Annabeth felt her face flush a bit. She wasn't used to doing stuff like this, but she couldn't help it. Not after see had seen that consistent frown on him.

She saw her friend look up from where he was, look around the confused until he caught sight of the group waving. His eyes widened, and Annabeth was pretty sure she'd never be able to forget the smile that had erupted on his face. It was hard to describe, but Annabeth could only compare it to the feeling she felt when she found out she had been accepted into her dream school to study architecture.

Percy just waved happily till his coach yelled something, making him flinch, before he offered her one last smile and turned back to the water.

Annabeth's group sat back down, laughing and feeling accomplished. They had done their job. That smile had been exactly what they had been after.

Annabeth highfived Thalia and they got ready to see the race.

Percy leaned forward, and Annabeth could feel the tension build. She could feel her own nerves start to race, and she was just watching.

The starter went off, and everyone dove.

Percy was just impressive. That was the only word Annabeth could think of to describe him. He was a good head and shoulders in front of everyone easily. It was like the water parted for him, he cut through it. Everyone was beginning to cheer and Annabeth found herself calling his name as well.

He was the first to flip over and kick off the far wall and Annabeth screamed her lungs out. It had only been seconds, but she was already so invested in the race.

She leaned forward, growing more and more interested. Losing her balance for a moment, she probably would have tumbled into the row in front of her if Thalia hadn't grabbed her hoodie and pulled her back to her seat.

"Careful Blondie."

She said, her eyes never leaving the race.

All the swimmers were closing in on the end and Annabeth felt like she was going to explode. Percy was still in the lead, but it wasn't over till the first person touched the wall.

Percy's hand touched first, and Annabeth exploded into a cheer. She hadn't even made the decision to herself, it had just emerged from her.

Judging by the crowd, everyone else felt a similar way. Annabeth just leaned back in the seat, laughing. "That was pretty fun."

Piper just nudged her side. "I could tell, you were having when you almost dove into the water yourself."

Flushing red, Annabeth looked off to the side. "I can't believe Percy is so good. He was way ahead of the rest of them."

Jason just raised an eyebrow. "You really should pay more attention at school. It's not a secret that Percy's part fish. Everyone talks about it."

Annabeth nodded. "So how long till we see him?"

Piper paused, staring at Annabeth with confusion. "You do know that was only the Semi-Final right? Like, Percy got a pass to the semi's due to his time and this is just the first meet hosted, but he has another race.

Jaw dropping, Annabeth wasn't sure her heart could handle another race.

The rest of them seemed to be able to read her mind because they all started laughing.

Honestly, Annabeth had wanted a chance to say hi to Percy and congratulate him, but once again it seemed his teacher was keeping him isolated to keep him "in the game" much to her annoyance. But she supposed it if actually would help him do better, she could wait. Besides, it wasn't too often that the group was able to hang out outside of work. It had certainly taken a lot of shift trading, and pleading and bartering to get it to work.

They were all chatting happily between the heats. Luckily Percy's had been the second to last before the semi-finals so they didn't have to wait as long. Thalia had just finished answering a string of Leo's questions about the explosives she had been trained in, when the same muddied announcer called for the final race of the night.

The conversation trailed off and everyone turned their attention back to the pool.

This was it.

This was what the night was all about, what Percy had been training for before the season.

Annabeth was also pretty sure it would be the end of her based off the nerves she was feeling.

Percy walked out again and the group exploded into cheers again. Some part of her mind registered the fact that her throat was starting to be a little sore from all the cheering. The rest of her mind told that part to shut up though. That would be Tomorrow Annabeth's problem.

This time Percy was scanning the crowd for them, and offered them a big wave when they made eye contact. It was hard to tell by the distance, but Annabeth swore she saw a smirk on Percy's face.

He turned back to the water and got into position.

Glancing over, Annabeth saw Piper recording it on her phone. She raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure Sally is going to want to at least see a video." She offered, and it dawned on Annabeth that was probably true.

Jason leaned over, nudging Annabeth's shoulder. "You see his expression? Get ready for a show. They say when Jackson gets serious it's really something. I have a feeling he wants to show off for someone." He offered before sitting back.

Pointedly ignoring the implication, Annabeth did note that he seemed different. His usual relaxed posture was tightened up. He looked... coiled. Like all his muscles were ready to go off. He was perfectly still for once, almost looking mechanical.

All in all, he seemed "intense".

The starter went off and they all hit the water. This time Percy's lead was much less, but certainly not due to a lack of effort. No, in this bracket everyone seemed to be desperately going after the victory in their reach. Once again Annabeth found herself leaning forward, though she made a point to mind her balance.

The racers all sped across the pool, and this time Percy was the third person to touch the wall.

"COME ON PERCY!" She screamed out, practically willing him to go faster.

Jason just laughed, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Just wait for it."

Annabeth paused, unsure of what he meant until she noticed something. Percy was under water after the push for a lot longer than the others. By the time he surfaced, he had caught up with the others and was neck and neck.

But that wasn't all, Percy was actually faster than them. It was slow, but sure enough he was gaining a lead. As they neared the end of the pool, everyone was on their feet. Honestly, Annabeth wasn't even sure that what she was shouting was English anymore. She was just desperately trying to send any energy she could to Percy. Anything that could will him to finish just a second sooner.

The wake of the swimmers all seemed to meet the wall at the end at the same time and everyone froze. They couldn't tell who won. It was between around three swimmers.

"The winner is... PERCY JACKSON!" The announcer called out after a moment.

Annabeth felt tears build up in the corner of her eyes as she screamed out with all she had. "PERCY!"

Everyone else was also calling out to him. Percy just turned to them waving and laughing happily. Then, maybe it had just been a trick of Annabeth's mind, but she could almost believe that he had turned to look at her and grin specifically.

All Annabeth could do was pump her fist and cheer again.

Eventually the cheering died out, and the awards were given out. They all gave another round of cheers when Percy got his first place award.

The night eventually wound down after what felt like an eternity to Annabeth, and she realized it had been ages since she had had that much fun with everyone. Normally it was studying with Piper, or maybe a movie with Jason or a day shopping with Reyna when Chiron was in town and able to manage the place. She guessed the Halloween dinner had been the last time, but even it hadn't been quite so exciting.

When Percy finally left the lockers and was walking to them, Annabeth would blame the adrenaline that made her rush over to him and tackle him into a hug as she congratulated him. He had just laughed and spun her around, grinning.

"You guys came tonight!" He said, his voice dripping with appreciation and enthusiasm like he was about to start crying.

Taking a step back and ignoring the blush in her cheeks, she nudged Percy in the shoulder. "I can't believe you won."

The boy just rubbed the back of his neck and looked away sheepishly and Annabeth was pretty sure the feeling in her heart was just adrenaline and not a spiking level of affection for him.

"I guess I got lucky."

Jason stepped forward, punching him in the shoulder. "Please. You worked too hard to say that. Now come on, lets go get something to eat to celebrate."

Thalia just threw an arm over her brother's shoulders as she began to lead them out towards the parking lot. "It'll be my treat. To Shari's we go." She said.

As the group began to walk Percy and Annabeth fell into pace next to each other. "Don't forget to call your mom soon. I'm sure she's dying to hear the result." She offered, nudging him after a minute of silence.

Percy nodded, grinning. "I'll definitely do that after we eat."

Annabeth nodded, satisfied. They fell back into silence as they walked through the parking lot, a bit behind the rest of the group but the silence wasn't too uncomfortable.

Eventually everyone started piling into their cars and she paused next to Percy, feeling a surge of confidence rushing up in her.

Turning to her friend, she tried to will her heart rate to a normal level. "You did amazing tonight." She paused, before she punched his shoulder. "But don't you dare hide stuff like this from me again, okay? We're friends Percy. We're here for each other. Next time there's something important like this you better let me know right away." She threatened, though she couldn't keep the fond smile off her face.

It was hard to tell in the night, but she swore she could see a faint blush on Percy's cheeks. He nodded after a moment. "Got it."

Before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek quickly. "Great job tonight, you were really cool. I'll see you at the place."

Annabeth said before she turned quickly and fled to her car, quickly climbing in the driver seat, and resting her head on her steering wheel.

Did she really just do that?

"Nice moves girl." Piper's voice sounded out from beside her.

"BWAH!" Annabeth jumped, letting out a shriek as her hand flew up to her heart.

"Oh my gosh, Piper. You scared the shit outta me."

Piper just laughed, shrinking back a little sheepishly. "I figured you knew I was here. You did kind of give me a ride here after all."

Annabeth just dropped her head back down, wondering if scaring her half to death was a valid reason for firing her best friend.

She was about to say something when it dawned on her what Piper had said earlier.

"You saw that?"

Piper just laughing, reassuringly rubbing Annabeth's back. "I'm pretty sure everyone did."

Annabeth groaned, but started the engine. "I hate everything." She declared.

Laughing, Piper just patted her back. "If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure Percy is still standing there so it's not like you're the only one mortified. Now come on, I'm hungry. Let's get food~"

Shifting into gear, Annabeth decided that after tonight all she needed was a nice peaceful chance to relax.

Still, that smile Percy had given them when he first found out they were there was lingering in her heart. It was so warm and so bright, and just so Percy. Whatever embarrassment had happened this night, or confusion or whatever was definitely worth it to see that smile. Glancing over at Piper's amused but knowing smile, Annabeth realized all of her teasing might not have been totally of the mark after all. There was something about that raven haired goofball.

XxXxXxXxX

Thank you for reading! Like I mentioned before, my schedule had kind of exploded but it should be back on track now. Hopefully less time between updates! Also sorry to anyone who actually knows about swim meets, I kind of winged it and went with basic googling for answers.