Hey guys! Happy Saturday! Thanks so much for the reviews, favs, and follows. So I did this chapter in both of their POVs, since a lot of people seemed to like that idea. There was also an idea for a chapter with a Piper POV, and I think that would be really fun, so maybe I'll try that too sometime in the near future. Thank you so much for everybody who shared their preferences! :)

Alright, people, onto the story!

Percy breathed in deeply. The cold was so sharp and biting that it hurt his lungs to suck it in, the whirling snowflakes biting into his cheeks above his scarf, but after smelling busy tourists and body odor and dirty diapers from little tourist children, all in an enclosed space, the entire morning… he definitely needed fresh air.

And Annabeth.

Urgh. Percy ran his fingers through his hair, trying to forget how, only two days before, he had woken up in Annabeth's bedroom after their movie night. He had woken up, glanced to the other side of the room, and saw Annabeth. Her curls had been wild around her pillow, her sweater had been pulled off sometime in the night, and she was just so freaking adorable that he had bit his lip.

He shook his head, feeling his nose growing red in the cold as he waited for the light to change. How could you meet someone only a few weeks ago and not be able to get them out of your thoughts? In all of his life, Percy had never had a girl have that effect over him before.

But then, not everyone was Annabeth. Not by a long shot.

He quickly crossed the street in an awkward, half-walk, half-run style, waving at the impatient cars waiting to cross the street. He could smell the coffee shop before he even got there, could feel the warmth of freshly baked pastries and hot, creamy drinks, could hear the merry bells jingling on the wreath on the door as tourists bustled through the doorway.

He opened the door and stopped as the blast of warmth hit him like a truck. Here, he could stay for hours.

(For more than one reason.)

He got in line, anxiously searching for Annabeth. When his green eyes met hers, busy behind the counter, the grey widened in surprise and – was he imaging the spark of delight that passed through them?

"Seaweed Brain!" she called.

"Hey, Wise Girl," he answered, grinning. Several older folks in the line smiled and nudged each other, the looks on their faces plain as day: young love. Percy blushed at the thought.

As people gave their orders, paid, and went to the other end of the bar to wait, Percy again tried to read the menu. Okay, so maybe he wasn't trying too hard – it gave him an excuse to let Annabeth help him.

He finally made it to the front, where Annabeth was waiting to take his order. "And let me guess, this guy has dyslexia and can't read the menu?" she teased. Percy noticed that her eyes looked livelier and happier, less tense, than they had last week. Her curls were actually arranged and smooth, her short layers framing her face pulled back, but the rest left free.

"Now how would you guess that?" he teased right back, enjoying the feeling he got when those grey eyes sparked with happiness. "What would you suggest?" he asked, leaning across the counter.

She pretended to consider. "I would say a peppermint cocoa would be good, especially in this weather."

Percy glanced outside again. The storm was growing stronger. He could barely see across the street for the swirling snowflakes, and the drifts by the big flowerpots next to the door had to be more than a couple feet high. "Yeah, that sounds great, Wise Girl. It's like you read my mind."

She giggled. Percy thought absentmindedly that she had a very nice laugh. It wasn't like a Valley-Girl giggle, but somehow retained the breathy, girlish qualities without making her sound like a dumb blonde.

"I'll have it ready in a couple minutes," she continued, the freckle near her left eyes crinkling when she smiled.. "If you want, you can come behind the counter – we have a little table in the back, and I'm almost on my lunch break."

"Okay, will do." He saluted, and she laughed again before turning her attention to the next customer. The girl with long, curly, cinnamon-colored hair and dark skin that he had met on Saturday motioned, smiling, to a little gateway near the back of the counter. He quickly made his way over to her.

"Hey, Kelp Face," she said. "I'm Hazel, in case you couldn't remember. You met a lot of people on Saturday."

Percy smiled. "Nice to meet you again, Hazel. I'm just waiting for Annabeth to be done."

She winked. "Well, technically she had about twenty more minutes, but I got Pipes to come in a little early."

He grinned. Even Annabeth's friends were on his side. "Awesome. Thanks, Hazel."

Hazel grinned as she made her way to the front of the counter again. "You're very welcome, Kelpie."

•

Within a few minutes, Annabeth had been taken over by Piper, and finally she could go talk to Seaweed Brain.

She tried to control her giddiness as she grabbed his peppermint cocoa, poured a few drops of blue food coloring in it, and mixed it around. This was Seaweed Brain. Even though she had just known him for a few weeks, he felt like any of her old friends. He fit in well with their group, and just everything about him was perfect.

The problem was, Annabeth was tired of crushes. She was tired of the dating game. She was tired of being hurt, tired of promises being made and then oh look there goes another guy who decided someone else was better.

She shook away her thoughts and grabbed a cocoa for herself, too, minus the blue, and pulled off her apron before walking briskly to the back.

"Hey Annabeth!" His green eyes reminded her of a little seal. She tried not to grin. He was so cute.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," she answered easily, sitting down and handing him his drink. "How've you been since, well, Saturday?"

His laugh made her want to smile, simply because it was so deep and happy-sounding. So smile she did.

"Great, how have you been?" he asked. "You look less tired than you did last week."

She nodded, surprised at how observant he was. "Yeah, the tourists are wearing me out, but I got about fourteen hours of sleep, a long run in the snow, and a hot bath in yesterday, so I'm feeling rejuvenated."

"That sounds good." He sipped his cocoa. "Mmm, that's good. Thanks for the blue. I forgot to ask today, but you knew."

She smiled, and took his hand casually. Feeling it, feeling how it fit in her little palm and how they just fit, was so amazing that she almost forgot what she was saying. "Of course I knew, Seaweed Brain."

They talked for a few more minutes, small talk mostly, before Seaweed Brain asked something more personal. "When was your last relationship?"

She was surprised, yes, but not offended. Seaweed Brain had a way like that – able to just ask anything. Annabeth was sure she could never refuse those baby-seal eyes anything. "Um, my sophomore year of college."

"But you're a senior now, right?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "I mean, just wondering, but why nothing since then?"

She smiled thinly, not because of Seaweed Brain, but because of bad memories. His eyes widened, though, and Annabeth thought a moment too late what the smile could have been seen as by him.

"You – you don't have to answer, I'm just being nosy, I'm sorry," he stammered.

"No, no," Annabeth reassured him. "It's just… I'm tired of guys saying one thing, and meaning another. I'm tired of being promised something, and then those promises broken. I want a relationship that will last, something where we could be together for life and always, ya know, like, be each other's person, forever. I think – I think that's why I like architecture. I want to build something permanent, something that people can see for a thousand years and remember that I built it."

Seaweed Brain nodded understandingly. "Yeah. I get that."

Annabeth found herself smiling. "Thanks."

Seaweed Brain smiled too, and squeezed her hand. "Anytime, Wise Girl."

And that's all for today, folks! (I feel like I'm watching Loony Toons or something. XD)

Love ya'll!

WM