*** I love reading college stories, so I decided to try writing one. It might be a little more suggestive than some of my other stories—because they're in college—but there's nothing explicit; just the usual kissing. I've tried to be as canon-compliant as possible (as of Tyrant's Tomb). This is the first chapter. A second chapter will be up probably later this week.

Also, quick note, not sure about other countries, but in many American college dorms, beds are "lofted", basically set up like a bunk bed but with empty space under it, to save space in teeny tiny dorm rooms. I've used that term a couple of times in this story, so wanted to make sure it's clear.***

Annabeth shivered as she walked quickly toward Percy's dormitory, lips pursed as she tried to keep from cursing. People who didn't live there imagined that California was warm all the time, but that wasn't exactly true. Northern California in December could still be chilly, and right now the temperature was only in the forties. A brisk wind whipped across the campus and a curse finally broke through Annabeth's lips.

Five minutes ago, she'd been perfectly warm in her dorm room, trying to finish studying for her first final exam, which was tomorrow at noon. However, it was harder than it needed to be because her roommate, Becca, was fooling around with her brand new boyfriend, and despite having music blasting through her earbuds until she was nearly deaf, Annabeth couldn't help hearing the giggles and whispers. Their beds were lofted, so she couldn't see anything, thankfully, but the noise was making her nuts. It was incredibly awkward. And this wasn't the first time Becca had brought a guy around while Annabeth was in the room. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Annabeth stood up from her desk, threw her books, some clean clothes, and her toothbrush into her backpack, and stomped out of the room, making sure to slam the door hard behind her.

Maybe, she thought viciously as she wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she'd also grabbed a sweatshirt, she should invite Percy over the next time Becca was trying to study. They could mess around on Annabeth's bunk while her roommate attempted to ignore them and stay focused on her work. And she could maybe understand exactly how uncomfortable that situation was.

Except she didn't really want to do that. Annabeth sighed as she leaned against the wall of Percy's dorm and pressed the button to buzz his room. Some things were meant to be private. She just wished her roommate thought that way.

"'Lo?" Percy's voice, thick and sleepy, came through the speaker, and Annabeth felt a surge of guilt. She hadn't intended to wake him up. When she'd come over, she'd assumed he was also still awake. But it was too late now.

"Hey, it's me. Can I come up?"

"Sure." He must have hit the button, since she heard the door click. Annabeth pushed it open and headed up the stairs to Percy's room on the third floor. When she knocked softly, his door swung open almost immediately, and her breath caught because, wow, he looked good. It caught her off-guard sometimes, like now, at almost midnight on a Sunday. His hair was tousled, he wasn't wearing a shirt, and his boxers were peeking out the top of his sweatpants. He stifled a yawn and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I just needed to come over." To study, she reminded herself.

Percy stepped back and gestured for her to come in. "Booty call or roommate issue?"

Annabeth snorted. "Roommate. And I'm pretty sure it doesn't count as a booty call when you're my actual boyfriend."

"Whatever you say." Percy smirked as he shut the door. "So Becca brought another dude over?"

"Yes!" Annabeth burst out, dropping her backpack beside Percy's desk. "I don't want to hear them make out. We have a teeny tiny room, and it's just rude. And gross."

Percy hooked an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. "That sucks, babe."

"Yeah." Annabeth let herself relax against him briefly, his warm skin pulling the chill from her cold hands. "You're lucky you have a single room."

"Yes, I am," Percy said. "Mostly because there's nobody here to annoy if we make out."

Annabeth laughed, then pressed a kiss against his bare shoulder. "Exactly. Although right now, unfortunately, I really do need to finish studying for my final. Sorry to wake you up, by the way."

"It's okay. I wasn't asleep long." Percy kissed her temple, then let her go.

"Oh yeah? Studying or playing video games?" Annabeth asked as she bent down to unzip her backpack and get her textbook and notes out again.

Percy grinned sheepishly, running a hand over the back of his head. "Video games."

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth muttered affectionately as she settled down at his desk.

After telling her good night, Percy went back to bed while Annabeth dove into her notes. Gods, it was so much easier to study in a quiet room. Their first semester at college had been stressful at some points, because going to college was a major adjustment, but there had been a lot of good things about it, too. Annabeth loved her classes. She was taking two at the University of New Rome and three at UC Berkeley. Several were gen eds, but a couple were already primarily focused on architecture. For the first time in her life, Annabeth could just focus on what she really loved.

Which included Percy. Despite their busy schedules, it was strange to realize how much freedom they really had. No curfews, no parents, no harpy or satyr chaperones. They could just relax and hang out without watching the clock or worrying about being back at a certain time. No one cared if Annabeth slept over at Percy's dorm, or vice versa. Technically, students were supposed to sleep in their own rooms, but as long as there were no problems, no one really enforced that rule. For a relationship that had been forged in the fires of multiple dangerous quests and two separate wars, the sudden expansive freedom was both terrifying and exhilarating. They'd had to make some adjustments, but now, as they reached finals week at the end of their first semester, they were in a really good place. Despite the stress of her upcoming exams, Annabeth had never felt more content.

She finished going through her notes about 2 a.m. At that point, Annabeth was having trouble keeping her eyes open, and she knew she needed to get some sleep to keep all this information straight in her head during the actual test tomorrow. So she turned off the desk lamp and dragged herself into Percy's en suite, also private, bathroom to brush her teeth. The perks of being a former praetor, even briefly. Then she crawled under the covers beside her boyfriend.

Percy was sprawled face down on the bed, so Annabeth poked him in the side and whispered, "Scoot."

He grunted, but made room, his arm falling across her waist as she snuggled against him. His voice was thick with sleep when he asked, "Ready for your test?"

"I think so." Annabeth yawned. "At least it's not until noon. Do you have one tomorrow?"

"None 'til Wednesday."

"Jerk."

"Probably. But I have two on Friday, if that helps." His breath ghosted over her skin, sending pleasant little shivers along her nerves.

"A little bit." Annabeth closed her eyes, soaking in Percy's warmth on this unusually chilly night. "Especially since all mine are done on Thursday."

"Jerk," Percy muttered, and Annabeth smiled.

She trailed her fingers along his forearm, draped over her waist. "We should celebrate on Friday. End of our first semester."

"'Kay," Percy mumbled. "But sleep now."

"Sleep now," Annabeth agreed with another yawn. "Night, Percy."

"G'night, Annabeth. Love you."

"Love you, too."

She woke up to the light brush of Percy's lips against her cheek. Without opening her eyes, she said, "Hey."

"Hey, beautiful. Look, hate to wake you up, but it's ten-thirty."

"Ugh." Annabeth rolled onto her back and flung her arm over her eyes. "What if I just don't get up?"

Percy tightened his arm around her waist. "I mean, I don't have a problem with you staying in my bed all day. But I'm pretty sure you'll be pissed if you miss your exam."

"Probably." Annabeth finally opened her eyes. Sunlight slanted across Percy's ceiling. When she turned her head, it was to see her boyfriend propped up on one elbow, looking at her with a goofy, endearing grin on his face, prompting her to ask, "What?"

"Nothing. I just…like waking up next to you."

Warmth suffused her entire body. Annabeth bit her lip, fighting down a wide smile. "Gods, Seaweed Brain."

"What?" Percy's grin turned a little sheepish. "Too cheesy?"

"Just the right amount." She reached up to touch his cheek. "But you can't say things like that when I really need to actually get up and get ready."

His smile widened. "My bad. Should I say it again when we have time to, um, not get up?"

"Yes." Annabeth kissed him quickly, then rolled out of bed. Goosebumps erupted on her arms as the chilly air hit her skin. She grabbed her backpack, then said over her shoulder, "You know, there's time to go get pancakes before my exam. If you want to join me?"

"I'm in," Percy replied, and she heard him scramble up just before she shut the bathroom door.

They got ready and went to breakfast at a nearby café that made some of the best pancakes Annabeth had ever tasted (except for maybe Sally's). Then, after extracting a promise from Percy that he would actually study this afternoon, not just play video games, Annabeth gave him a good-bye kiss sticky sweet with syrup, and headed to her exam.

Luckily, the test went pretty well. She felt like she'd remembered the majority of the material, although a couple questions tripped her up. By the time she finished, though, it was nearly three in the afternoon and her brain felt wrung out. But there was no time to take a break; she went straight back to her dorm to start studying for her next exam, which was on Tuesday morning. Luckily, her roommate was out for the night, so Annabeth was able to finish her studying in her own room and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Which was fortunate, since she had to be at UC Berkeley by 8 a.m. for her first exam. It was for her visual representation and drawing class, so the exam was pretty hands on, which Annabeth was fine with. Compared to her analytic geometry final yesterday, this was a breeze.

After a quick lunch with some friends from the class, Annabeth headed back to New Rome to go over her notes again for her English final. Why a composition class even needed a final, she wasn't sure, but apparently there was an essay exam requirement. Annabeth was dreading it. Writing an impromptu essay was particularly miserable for someone with dyslexia. She was even less happy, when she sat down to the test that afternoon, to find herself having to plow through several pages of multiple choice, true or false, definition matching, and short answer questions before she even reached the essay prompt.

By the time she turned her exam in, just before the time limit, Annabeth was exhausted and cranky. It was a relief to find Becca alone in their room, seated at her desk and diligently studying. After a muttered greeting, Annabeth microwaved some dinner and dropped onto the futon to watch TV while she ate. Then, since she didn't have another exam until Thursday, so she had all of tomorrow to study, she went ahead and got ready for bed. Climbing under the covers, she intended to read, just for fun for a few minutes, but she didn't get past a page before she was out.

She woke up, disoriented, when someone knocked on their door. "What time is it?" she slurred, lifting her head just enough to look at Becca, who had stood up, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Ten-thirty. At night. In the freaking middle of freaking finals week. So I don't know who the hell—I swear, if it's Brandon, I'll kill him. I told him I was studying all night."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and pulled her covers back up as Becca went to open the door. It probably was Brandon, the boy of the moment who'd been over the other night when Annabeth was trying to study. Now, she wondered drowsily if she should grab her earbuds to drown out either the yelling or the kissing that was about to happen.

"Oh, it's you," Becca said flatly when she swung open the door.

"Uh, hey, Becca," a recognizable voice replied. "Is Annabeth here?"

"Bed." Becca moved out of the way to let Percy in, looking over her shoulder at Annabeth and adding, somewhat unnecessarily, "This one's yours."

"Thanks. I know." Annabeth propped herself up on one elbow, leaning toward the edge of the bed. It was lofted high enough that Percy could just rest his chin on her mattress, which he did, while already giving her a pleading look with his sea-green eyes. Although she suspected what this was about, Annabeth still asked, "What's up, Seaweed Brain?"

He was clearly trying to look as pathetic as possible. "I need help."

"Calculus?"

"Yeah."

Annabeth yawned. "Fine. I'll help you. If you admit that you should have started studying sooner, instead of playing video games yesterday and today."

Percy's pleading expression turned offended. "How did you—" he stopped when she raised her eyebrows. A guilty smile snuck across his face. "Okay. You're right. I should have started studying earlier. Now, will you help me?"

"Of course." Annabeth lazily raked her fingers through Percy's hair, just because it was right there and she could. "But I'm too comfortable to come down, so you come up."

"Fine by me."

Annabeth moved her pillow out of the way while he clambered up, so they'd have somewhere to set his books. Percy flopped down on his stomach beside her, though he was still on top of the covers. He gave her a quick kiss. "Hi, by the way."

"Hi." She pulled his textbook toward her. "Okay, what are you stuck on?"

It took them until nearly 3 a.m., when they were both almost delusionally tired, but, finally, Percy said he felt ready for his exam.

"Thanks for the help." He leaned over the side of her bed to drop his textbook, notebook, and pencils onto the futon below. The books landed with a muffled thump, while one of the pencils clattered to the floor. However, Becca, snoring loudly in her own bed, didn't even twitch. Percy's eyes were slightly bloodshot when he turned back to Annabeth and said, "Sorry for keeping you up so late."

"You're lucky I love you," she replied as she put her pillow back in its spot, then wiggled over to give Percy more room.

"I know. That's exactly what I've been thinking for the last two and a half years," Percy said as he climbed under the covers.

"Dork," Annabeth said, because she was too tired to handle the way his words made her heart beat faster. But she slung an arm across his chest, tucking herself into his side and breathing in the familiar faint aroma of ocean air. "What time is your Calc final?"

"Nine a.m."

"Percy! You're barely going to get any sleep."

He shrugged, fingers playing with the ends of her hair. "I've done more on less."

That was true, but, "Still."

"It'll be fine." He kissed the corner of her eye. "Sleep."

"You sleep," she muttered, fingers curled in his t-shirt. She thought Percy might have murmured something else, but Annabeth didn't catch it because she was already drifting off.

***Thanks for reading! Again, the second chapter will be up probably late this week. Also, since I'm stuck at home right now because of the pandemic, I finally set up a Tumblr account. So if anyone wants to come talk about books or writing, you can find me there at justabooknerdposts.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! We will be okay. Take this time to take care of yourself, and your friends and family. Crises are also a great time for creativity. Give yourself permission to write, paint, draw, craft, anything like that. We always need what art gives.