Annabeth sat in class, chewing on her pen. It was an old habit, and she thought she had shaken it but it came back.

Maybe it was the stress that Seaweed Brain was giving her.

How could he just live like that! That bruise was huge, and it looked painful.

"Annabeth?" the teacher asked, as Annabeth jerked her head up, blonde curls flying everywhere.

"Yes?"

"The answer?"

Annabeth looked at the board. The class was reviewing graphing asymptotes, and talking about points of discontinuity, which she had mastered last week. Annabeth took a wild guess "X cannot equal 6 or -4?"

"Good job," The teacher said warily, as if she knew I wasn't paying attention. Score one-Annabeth. Sometimes it helps to be the smartest kid in class.

Annabeth went over the facts she knew (About Percy, because she was done thinking about math):

-He asked her to butt out

-He was being pushed around by his stepfather

-He was gorgeous

'Wait….that doesn't have to do with the issue at hand' Annabeth thought to herself. She shook that thought out of her head, although Percy's lopsided grin and shaggy black hair made her smile. But she quickly wiped it off. If a teacher sees you smile in class they basically know that you aren't paying attention. Since school is no smiling matter.

'How about if I give Percy 2 weeks to figure out his situation. If things get bad, I butt in,' she reasoned with herself.

The bell rang, and Annabeth pushed her books into her backpack, throwing it over her shoulder. This whole event was going to kill her. She was going crazy trying to figure out the whole situation.

"Boo!" a deep voice shouted from behind, and she turned around and smacked the person.

"Damn, Wise Girl. That hurt my arm," Percy pouted.

Rolling her eyes, Annabeth replied "Oh come on, I didn't hit your bruise"

"But you put all your strength into that hit! I was just getting back at you from earlier today!" Percy complained.

"So we are even?" Annabeth asked. Percy stuck his tongue out at her, and she returned it.

"Tongues away, children," Thalia said, coming up from behind Percy. All three of them stopped at Annabeth's locker, so she could put away her books. Percy went across the hallway to his locker. The sound of freshman swooning rang through the halls.

"Hey, Thals," Annabeth said.

"Sup, Annie,"

"Don't-" Annabeth started before being cut off

"Call me that!" Thalia replied in a mocking tone. Percy walked back over, with a hoodie on now. He looked back, awkwardly, at the freshman stealing looks at him. He muttered something to himself that Annabeth couldn't make out, but then leaned up against the locker. "What are you doing hanging out with this kelp head?"

"I'm a sexy beast," Percy replied, shrugging, wiping the hair out of his eyes.

"Try again," Thalia laughed

"Because we are best friends forever," Percy said, trying agin.

Thalia turned to me, "Piper will be upset," I rolled my eyes.

"I won't tell if you-" Percy started but was cut off by a set of twins bumping into him, making him stumble and, if he didn't have great reflexes, he would've fallen onto me. "Stolls!"

"Hey, Perce" said Travis

"What's up?" asked Conner Stoll

"Nothin much," Percy replied.

"What are you doing later today?"

"Running?" guessed Travis.

"No, I have swim practice in, like, 5 minutes. Man, I gotta go get ready. Bye Stoll's. Bye Thalia. See ya tomorrow Wise Girl," Percy jogged down the hallway, off to the school's pool. The Stoll's were wearing white Tee-shirts that said "HBHS Athletic Dept" in big orange letters. What sport they played, Annabeth had no idea.

"Travis, I heard Katie was in the greenhouse," Thalia said.

"See ya later," the two boys walked off.

"So why were you really with my cousin?" Thalia asked as we walked off.

"We are friends now, I guess,"

"You love him," she sing-songed to Annabeth.

"Excuse me?" Annabeth said, almost choking from what Thalia said.

"You have fallen under Perseus's weird charm,"

"No I haven't!"

"Okay, you might not *love* him, but you have a crush"

"Noooooo-"

"Don't try to lie to me, I know when you're lying," Thalia shrugged.

"Whatever" Annabeth grumbled

"I gotta go to meet up with the Hunters, but I'll catch up with you later, my little lovesick puppy," She skipped off before Annabeth could smack her in the arm. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

Piper: What are you planning to do today?

Annabeth: It's Monday! Homeowork?

Piper: Okay, on Friday I want you to meet Jason! We can go to that pizza place

Annabeth: Um, sure I think I'm free

Piper: So you don't third wheel why don't you bring Thals?

Annabeth: She's busy. But I might know someone else to bring as a friend

Piper: PJ?

Annabeth: maybe

Piper: XD

Annabeth rolled her eyes and pulled up a new contact, to send a message. She typed in Seaweed Brain into the 'send' bar.

Annabeth: IK you're at practice, but I wanna ask you something. I need a friend to come with me to a pizza place on Friday cuz my fried and her BF invited me and I don't wanna third wheel

She tucked her phone away, and walked off.

PERCY POV

I got of the pool at the end of practice, and grabbed my towel. I shook out my hair, and dried it with the towel.

"Jackson! A word before you hit the shower," the coach yelled at me.

"Sure, what's up Coach?" I asked, hanging the towel over my unbruised shoulder.

"Where did you get that bruise, kid?" Coach motioned to my shoulder. 'Okay, Perce, we have been through this. We know what to say' I told myself.

"I was running through my house because I was late for school and I ran into the door frame,"

"I always knew you were clumsy, but are you really that clumsy?"

'Sell it!' I reminded myself "Trust me, Coach. It's fine, it's just a bruise. It doesn't even hurt that badly,"

"Hit the shower," Coach said, warily, eyeing my bruise.

Safe for now, I suppose.

I got the locker room, and went to my phone and saw that I had a message from Annabeth. Smiling to myself, I opened and read it.

Annabeth: IK you're at practice, but I wanna ask you something. I need a friend to come with me to a pizza place on Friday cuz my fried and her BF invited me and I don't wanna third wheel

I thought to myself; Friday should be fine. Gabe won't need me for anything.

Percy: Sure thing, Wise Girl

It's a date, I thought to myself.