Hey! So first of all, I just wanted to say thanks to the people who left positive reviews. I am going to continue this, thanks to those reviews. Please just keep in mind that this story starts pretty slowly, so just remember that while you're reading. I hope you'll keep reading though, and please know that it will pick up soon.

Quick question: Why do we have American and British spellings? It's too confusing. Sorry if some of my writing switches back and forth between these two! Sorry for the punctuation and grammar also; I didn't really proofread.

Anyway, enjoy, and remember to review to tell me what you think and what I can improve on!

Disclaimer: I…I don't own the characters *sniffle*

After that first encounter, Percy found himself in the coffee shop every day. He would be there right at 8 am, where Annabeth (Name tags were crucial in the workplace, he realized. He made a note to get them for his office.) would be waiting. He went so often that she had his hot chocolate ready for him before he even stepped through the door.

It was things like this that made Percy feel at home in the store. He was pretty sure that Annabeth had dozens of other customers who came in daily, and yet she remembered him out of everyone else.

Being the CEO of a billion-dollar company was great, but most people didn't understand just how much people sacrificed to be in power. Ever since Percy had taken over his father's company, he'd forgone so much. Instead of going home and unwinding after a day of work, he stayed up through the night to finish up. He rarely got to see his family, and couldn't spend that much time with his step-sister Estelle. Heck, he didn't take care of himself as well as he should have because he was too busy worrying about his company instead.

As Percy sat in the coffee shop one day just as winter was turning into spring, he pondered his life for the seemingly millionth time. Did he really want to do this? He could have been a marine biologist, his childhood dream job, had his father not shown up after being absent for 23 years and offered him the job. He could have bonded with his parents and step-sister more, and maybe even started a family of his own.

Looking out the window, he just…snapped. Something clicked in his brain, and all of a sudden he felt a few hot tears stream down his face. His life felt so empty, so meaningless. Something about the way he lived just felt so bland. The only thing he did was work, work, and more work

And there, in a tiny booth in the back of a New York cafe, Percy Jackson let tears flow for the first time in years. He stared blankly at a wall until the tears ran dry, feeling numb.

And then, something cut into his line of view. Or, rather, someone. And to be specific, someone with blonde hair and gray eyes.

Annabeth didn't what made her do it. She had just finished her 2-hour shift and was about to head home to change before heading to the library for her other job. But that was before she had passed by the mysterious stranger who came in every day.

Now, Annabeth was no dummy. She could read people just as well as she could read books, so she knew when people were down. The first time she had made eye contact with the black-haired, green-eyed stranger (who was rather handsome too), she could tell they shared something.

And it wasn't really physical. Annabeth felt something when their eyes locked, and she knew he felt it too. They both felt the same way: empty and unhappy. So when she saw him sitting there all mopey and depressed, she had to do something (not that she could say anything; she was the same way).

She slid in the booth opposite of him, and she saw him startle. For a second, there was an uncomfortable silence before she said in a small voice, "You wanna talk about it?"

He looked at her startled again, as if he wasn't used to being spoken to.

"Me?"

"No, the table. Of course you."

He cracked a smile at that and wiped his eyes on his sweater. "Nah. I'm fine?"

He said that last part like a question, and she raised an eyebrow.

"You don't sound too sure."

Another grin. "Maybe I'm not."

He laughed, and this time, she laughed with him. It was a genuine laugh, something she hadn't done in a long time. It felt good though, and she had to admit that she wouldn't have minded if she could do it again.

He sighed. "Well, I'm as good as I can be right now."

Annabeth nodded, knowing how he felt. There was always a high to the low. And then, her curious side struck.

"Hey… so what's your name? I didn't quite catch it."

He smirked. "Well, I didn't throw it Annabeth."

She laughed at that because of course he was one of the jokesters. And then, something in her mind registered: the way he said her name was kind of nice. It wasn't malicious or spiteful, but teasing and playful. She found that she quite enjoyed it.

"But like seriously. You know my name, thanks to that name tag, so I should know yours."

He thought for a moment and then caved. "Fine. It's Percy."

"Percy?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

She giggled (since when did she do that?) and said it again, liking the way it rolled off her tongue.

They sat there for another minute before Annabeth remembered the reason she had sat down in the first place.

"So are you going to tell me why you were crying? I mean- that is-"

"No, it's fine." He ran a hand through his hair, took a deep breath, and started talking. "It's just…I don't know. My life just feels so pointless you know? Like, I only think about work now and I just-" he sighed again, and glanced over the table at Annabeth.

She was sitting there, with realization written on her face. "Wait… aren't you like Percy Jackson? Like, 'CEO of Jackson Industries' Percy Jackson?"

He looked like a deer caught in headlights and then sighed (he was doing that a lot today). "Yeah. I am."

He half expected her to start screaming and asking for his autograph, but was shocked when she just shrugged and said, "That's cool." She must have seen his stunned face and laughed.

"I'm not really a fangirl. My coworker Piper is a different story though. I swear, I only know who you are because she has, like, a massive crush on you."

He shook off his stupor. "Duly noted." And it was then that Percy realized that she wasn't bad looking either. She looked like one of those people you would see working in a department store modeling athletic wear. He was mesmerized by her golden hair for a few moments before he registered her snapping her fingers.

"Hello? Earth to Percy?"

He startled. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm here."

AHHH! They finally met. So I don't know why, but this was really hard to write, so sorry if it was choppy. I feel like this was really short and simple, but oh well. Also, I didn't edit it really, so sorry about that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and remember to review!