I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks so much for all the support!

Wednesday. Annabeth thought of Wednesdays as the last little boundary before you got to peaceful thursday-friday territory. As far as the days of the week went, Wednesdays were one of the better ones.

Wednesdays were in short, the start of the end. The highly awaited conclusion of the week was coming soon, and Wednesdays were what you had to get past to achieve that.

Annabeth tapped her pencil against her desk, further contemplating the days ahead of her- the weekend in particular. She had gotten advice from Rachel late Tuesday night, and through that, managed to get a slight idea of what the party might look like. Loud music, possible alcohol- which Annabeth knew to avoid at all costs, and it depended on the party, but large crowds of people.

Annabeth didn't know which one she was least ready for. As a self-proclaimed introvert, she got her energy from being alone, recharging through relaxing by herself. It's not that she didn't like talking to people, it was just that it took energy out of her, it was exhausting. Which meant, in short, that she would have to prepare for this party.

Additionally, Rachel had told her that it was advisable she bring a water bottle, as the drinks at big parties couldn't be trusted to be non-alcoholic. Annabeth agreed, and decided she'd bring the small green bottle she carried around in the summer when she was outside.

Rachel had also explained some fashion etiquette- which Annabeth had plainly disregarded. She one, didn't have the type of clothing Rachel suggested, and two, wouldn't be comfortable wearing that clothing in the first place. Outfits were something she could decide later, when the party was closer in time.

She looked up, as the class grew unusually silent. Mr. Brunner, the teacher, was apparently, as she saw on the board, mapping out partners. She sighed. This might be a little tricky for her, considering that she talked to no one. She would either be paired with an obnoxious jock, or an oblivious dumbnut.

Okay, fine, she had more options than that, but this obviously wasn't going to end out good for her.

Mr. Brunner finally called out her name, pairing her with a girl named Hazel. She squinted at Hazel, trying to access her. She dressed formally- almost in an old fashioned way. She picked up her materials, and walked towards her cautiously.

"Hi," She said, placing her stuff at the empty desk on the other side of the girl. "I'm Annabeth."

Hazel smiled cheerfully. "I'm Hazel. I don't think we've ever talked before."

"Yeah," Annabeth shifted awkwardly. "I don't think so."

"Well, it's nice to finally talk to you. What's up?" Hazel asked, and Annabeth appreciated her conversation attempt. It would lessen the tension within this situation.

"Not much." Annabeth said, trying not to come off as too enearst about getting her work done. "You?" She asked, turning her ever-present neutral expression into a smile.

"I'm good. Except for this worksheet." Hazel frowned at the paper. "This does not look good at all."

Annabeth laughed, and pointed to problem one. "Let's see what we can do." She winced, hoping that what she said didn't come off as condescending or anything like that. Even though this conversation was going fairly well, Annabeth's worry did not have an off button.

They chatted, and worked through the sheet together, and as they completed it, Annabeth realized that she liked talking to Hazel. Hazel was nicer than some of the other people she interacted with.

Once they were finished answering the final question, they smiled at each other, and handed to paper to Mr. Brunner, who smiled and took it.

Class was ending in three minutes, so in that time, Annabeth took the liberty- and the chance on her part- to continue talking to Hazel. She wondered what Hazel was thinking. What did she think of Annabeth?

Annabeth knew what she thought. It would be nice to possibly have a friend- specifically a friend who was a girl. For as long as she remembered, she hadn't had a friend who was a girl in real life. Sure, Reyna and Rachel were there, but they wouldn't always be there. They had lives in other places, doing other things.

As Annabeth left the class, she hugged her books to her chest, and smiled. She was lucky to be paired with Hazel, and not someone else. That "someone else" could be any thing from obnoxiously condescending, or annoyingly unfocused. Hazel wasn't either, plus, unlike the others, she had an actual conversation with Annabeth.

She walked to her next class, and thought in more depth about the party which was now looming in her near future. Wednesday was just starting. Meaning, she had three days for mental preparation.

By mental preparation she meant a routine that consisted of: One, staring at the ceiling until she gained Mathilda like super-powers and blasted it open. Two, looking at her watch compulsively as she was doing step one. And finally Three, ignoring the last two steps and pacing nervously across her room.

See, as much as she liked the idea of moving things with her mind, the last step was the most probable one.

The school day went normally and at a fast pace, despite Annabeth's internal protest. It was the first time she has actually wanted to have more time in school, as this whole "party" thing was setting off her whole mood.

She was always excited during the end of the week- or, at least when they were nearing it.

Maybe she just shouldn't go.

The party was giving her all this added anxiety, and if that anxiety manifested for a while, there was no telling she wouldn't get a panic attack on Saturday.

As she sat down at lunch, she prepared to tell Percy her decision, but as he smiled at her and set down his things, she felt herself slacking off.

As she thought about it more and more, this would give her good exposure for college and social environments like that. It could be a social exercise, and to be honest, Annabeth did really need to get out of her comfort zone.

She sighed, and looked up at Percy, who had started talking. While in her thoughts, she had missed what he had said.

She interrupted him. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Oh, sure." Percy laughed. "I just wanted to tell you I really enjoyed that chapter last night, it was good."

Annabeth smiles. "Thanks Percy. I appreciate it."

Having conversations like this was also good. It lessened here worry about other people knowing, and made it so she was less inclined to look over her shoulder while talking about things like this.

"Also," Percy started, "I was wondering if you'd changed your mind about the ride thing. I can give you a ride if you want, you know."

Annabeth shook her head. She wanted to get there on her own, so she could take in the whole experience without being judged. Even though she knew Percy probably wouldn't do that, she still had some anxiety about it.

"No," she said to him. "It's fine. But I would appreciate a ride back, like I said before."

Percy nodded. "Okay, sure thing."

"I can even drive us back too if you- if you," she stuttered. "Want to drink." She finished. She couldn't imagine Percy drinking. He always seemed so responsible. He was nice.

Even so, she had heard the stories, and nice didn't mean innocent.

"I haven't made any plans to drink." He said. "I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable. Plus, looking back on it, I really regret every time I did that."

Annabeth nodded in relief. "Okay..."

Percy smiles. "I'm really glad you're coming with me Annabeth." He hesitated. "Because- because I really like you." He finished. "And I know that we've only been talking for a couple of weeks, and I know that we got off on the wrong foot, but I can confidently say I really like you."

Annabeth felt her face go hot, and she'd bet a hundred bucks she was blushing. "I like you too." She said. "You're not what I expected. And I like that."

Percy sighed. "It's a relief we got all that out. I've wanted to say that for a while now."

"Yeah," Annabeth responded softly. "Me too."

Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate all the feedback and support on this story. All the reviews, favorites and follows give me a little burst of joy.

Also, If you have any questions about anything, feel free to leave them in the reviews, and I'll try to respond. (:

On that note (expert transition), RandomFanAuthor, to answer your question, yes, my publishing habits are similar to Annabeth's, haha, that's probably why everything is so specific.

Question: Any predictions on what might happen at the party?