Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, a note: This chapter is basically the same as the last chapter, but from Percy's point of view. There were a couple of things I needed to establish in both of their POV's, so here we are.

Disclaimer: There's a reason this is here, right? I wouldn't put it here if I really was Rick Riordan.

Percy looked at Mr. D, who was eating a piece of pizza, as he handed a new schedule to Percy. Because of the construction being done on the pool, hours would change slightly, pushing Percy lessons an hour back. That was okay. He'd just have to talk to his co-workers, and see if they could help him out.

The schedule, as always, was slobbery, and contained minimal information- most of which didn't help him. "Thanks Mr. D," He said, being courteous. That was the best he could do, right? His phone beeped several times, and he looked down to see a couple of texts from Rachel, asking him to pick her up. He tapped his feet against the floor, and awaited a response.

"No problem Perry," Mr. D said, and Percy bit his lip, trying not to laugh. That was a new one. He'd been called Peter, Paul, Patricia (which he really didn't understand), and several other 'P' names which were rotated in and out, almost as if it was a cycle. Perry was new though.

There was a knock at the door, and Percy's head swivel around, to see if this might be his cue to leave. Mr. D simply swallowed his pizza, and told her it would be a minute. Percy sighed, and checked his phone again.

"Is there anything else you need more for?" Percy asked, tapping his fingers together.

Mr. D nodded, "You need to take off the Saturday swim class just for this week. The teacher had to cancel, and we have a lot of kids in that class. Money to be made," Mr. D laughed a bit, and Percy bit back a scowl. Of course, that's all Mr. D cared about. Money, Alcohol, and his dream of becoming the owner of a bar.

"Okay," Percy said, "I'm free then," He continued, opening his phone and adding a reminder to his calendar. "That's fine, I'll be there."

Mr. D waved his hand in the air. "Good Peter. Now go, I have someone waiting."

Percy rushed up to the door, and opened it, to see none other than Annabeth Chase, in all of her glory. She backed away, almost as if she was stumbling. Was she really that repulsed by him- maybe repulsed wasn't the word, but she definitely did not like him at all.

"Sorry," Percy muttered, and looked at his phone. Rachel was expecting him, and he couldn't let her down, "God, I'm running late," He clicked it off and put it in his pocket, looking Annabeth up and down quickly, hoping she wouldn't notice.

Damn, she looked hot today. Well, she looked hot everyday. That was nothing new. Once his eyes met hers, they flashed with something he didn't expect. It looked like envy, but that couldn't be it, could it? Unless… no, he couldn't get his hopes up. Not for them to be crushed like they did all the time. He tried to talk past her, but stopped when she spoke.

"Um, congrats," She told him, she held the door open to Mr. D's office. She swallowed, and it might have been wishful thinking but her cheeks looked like they were getting red. Maybe it was just him. It probably had been. "Rachel seems nice." That sounded weirdly… genuine. Annabeth wasn't one to give out offhand compliments, and they had hung out today, as Percy knew.

"I don't know why you care." He said, it coming out harsher than he had intended. Now she was looking at him with something else, not envy, but a flash of annoyance, anger even. But her voice, it sounded so familiar to something he'd heard before. That tone, that quality, something about him made him shiver, it was eerily similar to the voice he'd heard the night before. "I-" He stuttered, trying to find a way to make this better. "Thanks. I appreciate it." He told her. He almost wanted to call her "Wise Girl," the old nickname he had had for her, but decided against it. That would just make everything worse. "Annabeth," He finally said, and looked away.

Annabeth turned away, about to go into Mr. D's office. "Um, sure." She said. It was weird, sure wasn't usually the most affirming word. That meant she wasn't jumping for joy about any of this. And to be honest, neither was Percy.

And that sound- her voice, it was so similar to that mysterious voice from the night before, it wasn't just similar, it was the same.

"Before you go in," He said, just as she was about to take her first step, "Can you tell me something?" She stopped, and turned to him a bit. She raised an eyebrow at him, which was honestly the most beautiful expression ever to him. "Did you really mean that?"

Annabeth paused, assessing the question, like he knew she did every moment of her life. "Sure," She said, and there it was again. Percy bit his lip, and turned away, knowing what she meant by this. She couldn't lie to him, he knew her, almost better than he knew himself.

Percy cocked his head to the side, and stared at her for a moment. Annabeth ignored this, and walked into Mr. D's office. He stopped for a second, just watching her walk in. She really was gorgeous, in every moment of her life. He wished he could tell her that.

But he couldn't be thinking like this- it was unfair to Rachel, and especially, was unfair to himself. He promised he would try, and he really was doing that. Even so, Annabeth was just so damn appealing. He realized he was attracted to Annabeth. To everything about her.

But Rachel, he thought Rachel was great. And that usually wasn't how you thought of your girlfriend. It was how you thought of a friend.

Rachel. Shit, he'd forgotten. He checked his phone, to see three missed texts, asking him when he would be there to pick her up. He slapped himself in the face, and rushed out of the gym, and opened his car, even though the cafe was close.

He soon pulled up to the cafe, and saw Rachel, standing in front, a slightly worried look on her face. He was such a jerk. He hated the way he got- he thought so much about Annabeth, that he forgot about the world around him. It was a horrible thing to do, but he just kept doing it. She always found a way to wiggle in his life, leaving Percy to both love and hate the experience simultaneously.

Getting out of the car, he ran over to Rachel, and gave her a little side hug. "I'm so sorry," Percy said, shaking his head, "I'm such a jerk, I totally forgot."

"It's okay," Rachel said quietly, "You're here now."

Percy tried a grin. "Yeah, do you wanna get out of here now?" He asked, motioning to his car, to which Rachel nodded, and followed him in.

She got herself settled in the passenger's seat, and Percy pulled out of the parking spot. They were both silent, and it was unsettling. Rachel was usually pretty talkative.

"Percy, do you want to stop?" Rachel finally said, quietly. "Because I told you that we could stop at any time."

Percy swallowed, "I- I don't know," he didn't look at her, and kept his eyes traced on the road. "My ex and I-"

"Yeah," Rachel said, "I know you're still hung up on her, whoever she is. And I bet she's a great person."

She is, Percy thought. "Yeah," he chose to say, not daring to look over to her.

"I just… I don't want you to lead me on, okay?" Rachel said to him, her voice getting higher pitched, and the speech became faster. "I actually do like you, and I've had a nice time. I understand I'm sort of a way-" he could feel the cringe in her voice, and even the disappointment. "A way of getting over her. Or maybe not. I don't know. But please, tell me if you're actually into this."

Percy was silent. He felt like such an idiot- no scratch that, he was an idiot. Because he stayed silent the rest of the ride, until he dropped Rachel off at her house, and kissed her on the cheek, waving goodbye.

She never did get an answer, because Percy didn't know how to answer a question like that. Most of all, he didn't know how to answer a question like that nicely. And Rachel deserved nice- that was the least he could do.

And she also deserved the truth- the truth that he wasn't over Annabeth, and probably never would be. The truth that, based on what he'd heard, Annabeth felt the same way. She wasn't over him either.

But Percy couldn't tell her that truth. Because unlike the other's it was a harsh truth, not a kind one.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Any predictions or theories? I'd love to hear them in the reviews! You guys are all so awesome, and I really appreciate all the support you've been giving me. It always brightens my day. Especially those who have given me support on my other stories too (you know who you are)!

I hope you guys are safe and healthy!

TheLil'Lion