The rest of the week went by rather uneventfully. That was until Friday. Mike's party was the only thing anyone talked about. Apparently the whole school was going. Even more of a reason to sit this one out.

I walked home by myself after school. The rest of the gang went to Colettes to pre-game and get ready. It was raining hard, but I had my umbrella. Small rivers formed along the curb. It was only a matter of time before some asshole drenched me. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I was prepared.

Sure enough, right before I reached my family's apartment, I was met with a wall of water. I was soaked from head to toe. The car pulled over on the side of the road, was I going to get kidnapped? Unlikely, I decided, given how nice the car was. It was a sleek, matte black bentley convertible. That thing must've cost a fortune.

The driver exited the car and walked towards me apologetically "Oh my god I'm so sorry." he said.

I looked up from my soaking wet clothes and found myself face to face once again with Percy Stone.

He had the audacity to laugh. "Oh it's you again." he smiled cheerfully. "You know we've really got to stop meeting like this."

"Trust me, it's much worse when you're the one covered in liquids." I shot back rather aggressively. Probably a little too aggressive if I'm being honest. After all, it was an accident.

Percy put his hands up defensively "I'm sure you're right. Hey, by the way, are you going to Mike's tonight?"

"Probably not." I replied. There was no point in lying. I could've sworn I saw him frown but after blinking he was back to his normal happy go lucky self. Or what I assumed was normal for him. I've only known him for a couple of minutes but he seemed like a pretty chill, devil-may-care type of guy.

"May I ask why not?"

"Not really my scene."

"What's wrong with parties?"

"Everything. Too many people. Too loud of music. Most of the music is terrible. I'd rather stay in."

"Oh c'mon you gotta get out. Loosen up a little"

"Loosen up?" I looked at him questioningly. Yea he was a cute guy but who was he to tell me to loosen up.

"Yeah, both times I've met you you've been uptight about something."

"That's because every time you've met me so far I've been covered in shit." I replied.

"Touche. What'll you be doing instead?"

"Reading, I guess." His ears perked up when I said this.

"And here I was thinking we had nothing in common. Whatcha reading?"

"The Miles Between Us by Cynthia Rose."

Percy laughed again. What is it with him? Why is everything so funny to him? "As it so happens I read that last week. Don't you think it's kind of ridiculous when Maggie goes -"

"No spoilers!" I shouted, stepping forward and clamping my hand over his mouth. Once I was sure he was silent I stepped back so I was no longer invading his personal space. "Sorry about that," I half heartedly apologized. "But c'mon Percy, you could've ruined the whole book for me!" Once again, he smiled his goofy smile and laughed his childish laugh. "Anyways, what are you reading right now?"

"The Domino Trials." he replied confidently.

"You haven't read The Domino Trials!?" I replied, shocked. "That's like saying you've never read Harry Potter! Isn't it crazy how in the third book the nuclear -" I was cut off by Percy's hand over my mouth.

"Alright, alright, I see where you're coming from. Do you by chance own books three through five, I'm only on the second one."

"As a matter of fact I do."

"Could I maybe borrow them?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll bring them to school on Monday."

"Could I, uhm, maybe get them a little sooner? I'll be done with the second one by tomorrow no doubt."

"What, do you want them now?"

"I'll give you a ride home for 'em."

I shrugged. "Sure, why not." We both hopped into the front seat of his car. It was without a doubt the nicest car I've ever been in. Being this rich must be nice.

"So where do you live?"

"That way." I pointed straight ahead. "It's not that far."

We drove for about two minutes before I pointed out an old brownstone building on the right. Percy pulled into a parking garage to the left. "I said it was on the other side you dunce."

Percy smiled. "Yeah, well it's my car and I live in this building, so we're parking here."

"What're the odds of that?"

We parked and walked across the street, entering my building. The doorman gave me a weird look, then smiled. I rarely brought friends over in the 17 years I'd lived there. Never a guy. I gave him a quick wave and continued to the elevator. I live in a five story apartment complex with roughly twenty other families.

I pushed the button once inside and we began our ascent. "Fourth floor too, huh? Add that to the list of things we have in common."

"A whole three similarities, woah!" I replied sarcastically. The elevator arrived and we exited. My family's apartment was the first on the left. My hands were shaking as I fumbled to get the key into the lock. Why was I nervous? I was never nervous. "Next thing you're going to tell me you live in the apartment right over there." I said pointing out the window and across the street to the neighboring building.

"You're not gunna believe this." Percy laughed.

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

"What are you stalking me?"

"I guess it wouldn't be that hard if I wanted to."

"Do you?" I asked. I've never tried flirting before, if you can call this that. But hey, there probably wouldn't be a better man to do so with.

"If so, you'll be the first to know." Percy took a look around digesting the apartment. It wasn't anything special, but it wasn't a dump either. "Is your family home?"

"Thankfully no. That would be torture if they knew I had a guy here."

"Oh, rough relationship? Talk to me."

"I don't think we're quite there yet."

"What do you mean?"

"We've known each other for what, an hour at most? I'm not just going to pour the traumas of my home life out to you."

"I'm in the same boat, you know where to find me if you need a shoulder." Damn he was smooth. Are all guys like this?

"The books." I said, changing the conversation.

"Lead the way."

I grabbed Percy by the arm and pulled him down the hall to my room. It was the smallest of the three in the house, but at least I had it to myself. My dad and step-mom shared one, and my brother and step brother shared another.

I totally forgot my room was a mess. The bookshelf in the corner was overflowing with reading material. Art supplies littered my desk and the surrounding floor. Tattered posters of Indie bands covered up the chipping up my sea foam green walls. Even my closet, which I normally kept super organized, looked as if a tornado had gone through that morning. It was a disaster.

"You know," Percy began, "I pegged you as kind of a neat freak."

"Normally it's not this bad."

"I sure hope not. I don't think I can see your floor."

"Feel free to clean up if you feel so inclined." I chided as I walked over to my bookshelf, grabbing the three copies. "Here you are."

"Thanks a ton. You're a lifesaver! I would've been screwed without these."

"Huh?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Percy asked.

"Better than anyone else I know." I replied.

"Well you know how they're adapting them to film. I got casted as Donovan -"

"YOU WHAT?" I cut him off. I know that's normally rude, but he can't just drop a bomb like that and expect me to say nothing.

"Yeah, filming starts in two weeks. I couldn't find any other copies anywhere. I was getting worried I wouldn't be able to finish them in time. The director would've been pissed."

"Shouldn't you be in hollywood for that?"

"That's what you'd think, but seeing as how the movie takes place in New York, the director decided it'd be best to shoot here. You know, get a feel for the place. He used to be big into method acting and takes it very seriously. He thinks that filming and living in New York part time will allow us to better understand our characters."

"You're full of surprises aren't you?"

"I've got a couple tricks up my sleeve."

"Anything else insanely cool you're hiding?"

"I can juggle!" Percy replied excitedly. He reached for the container of tennis balls on my dresser and tried to demonstrate. He got them around once or twice before losing it.

"Losing your touch I see."

"Like you could do any better."

"I'm not the one who said I could juggle. Oh by the way, are you just going to walk around wet all day?"

I completely forgot I was soaking wet. Percy was so enticing I could barely bring my thoughts elsewhere. My cheeks reddened as I began to play with my hair. Percy was looking me directly in the eyes, it felt like he could read my thoughts. "Well I'm not getting changed while you're in here. Once again hotshot, we aren't there yet."

Percy laughed. "That's fine. I've gotta get going anyways, big party to get ready for. If you decide you wanna come, text me."

"Don't have your number."

"Here, add me on snap." he replied. I started laughing, which caught him off guard a bit. There was endless comedic value in me getting his snap before any of the other vagabonds. I was kind of happy about it though. Percy and I got along pretty well for only knowing each other for such a short period of time. "You ok?" he asked as I tried to subdue my laughter.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." I replied as I scanned his snapcode.

"It was nice hanging with you, I'll see you later, hopefully."

"Unlikely."

"I'll get you out one of these days, mark my words Annabeth…"

"Chase."

"Annabeth Chase, I like that."

"Well that's a relief, cause I have no plans on changing it."

"At last we disagree." he replied. "I'll see you around Chase." he called over his shoulder as he left. It took me a moment to register what he meant. Damn that was smooth. Too smooth.

I crossed the living room to the window and watched Percy cross the street back towards his place. About 2 minutes after he entered his building, the lights flickered on in the apartment he pointed to directly opposite ours. What a coincidence. Suddenly I saw the blinds open and he was standing there, looking directly at me. I ducked out of view but I was sure he saw me. I felt my phone vibrate. Sure enough it was a snap message from Percy. "And I'm the stalker?" it read. He added a couple of smiley face emoji's with their tongues out to keep the mood light.

I didn't reply. Instead, I crawled across the carpet until I knew I was out of view. I retreated to my room, eager to finish my book. The rest of the evening flew by until my father got home, around 9. The rest of the family was nowhere to be seen.

"Annabeth!" He yelled from the kitchen. "Get out here!"

Reluctantly, I complied. As I entered the I saw him stumbling around hammered, rummaging through the cabinets, no doubt looking for food.

"Where's the food Annabeth?"

"I don't know I don't go grocery shopping." I replied calmly. Riling him up when he's drunk is a bad idea.

"Well why don't you, you useless shit!" he snorted, throwing a $20 at me. Gods, I just wanted a peaceful Friday night.

I ignored him, retreating to my room. In no less than 10 seconds he was pounding away on the door. "Food, Annabeth. Get me some fucking food!" he persisted for the next half hour.

That's it. Maybe Mike's wouldn't be so bad after all. I walked over to my closet and put on something a bit more presentable. I slipped out of my sweatpants and tank, replacing them with leggings, a Shakey Graves t-shirt, and a sweatshirt that was a bit too big. I threw my hair in a messy bun. I wasn't trying to impress, I just didn't want to look like I woke up from a decades long slumber. I slipped on a pair of green stan smiths that match the cursive Montauk written across my hoodie.

I paused for a moment before opening the door. My father was exactly where I expected - right in front of my face.

"About time. Get me food."

"Yes sir." I replied sarcastically. I slid between him and the wall and scooted out the door as quickly as possible without arousing suspicion. His eyes were glued to me until I closed the door behind me. I stepped out into the fresh spring air, turning left towards school.

Mike lived about halfway between school and my house. His family owned a three story townhouse in one of the nicer parts of town. Everybody I go to school with is rich. Well, most of them anyways, except me. I go to Wellington on a scholarship. There's no way my dad would invest money in my education. We weren't poor by any means, but everyone at Wellington was in a different league.

I could hear the music from down the block. I'm not kidding when I say it sounded like a nightclub. I let myself in. I didn't bother knocking, knowing full well nobody would've been able to hear me. Mike was so getting in trouble after this. The place was a madhouse. I've never seen so many people in such a small place before. Hundreds of drunk highschoolers were squashed shoulder to shoulder. The music made my head throb. I was abruptly reminded of why I hated parties. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

I weaved my way through the bodies looking for my friends. They had to be somewhere. Dining Rome? Nope. Kitchen? Nada. Living Room. Apparently not. Where were they? I saw a sliding glass door at the back of the house, I guess the patio was the only option left.

I was almost at the back of the house when a body was thrown in my direction. He spilt his drink all over me. Ugh! Luckily, it was only water.

"Oh my gods I'm so sorry," I heard a familiar voice say. "Oh hey you made it! I thought you said you weren't coming."

"And I thought you said we had to stop meeting this way." I replied jokingly, meeting Percy's eyes. I looked behind him and saw he was talking to Sohpie and Anna. They were staring at me with murderous intent, like they couldn't believe I had the audacity to speak to Percy. Whatever. "Remember when you told me to remind you-"

Percy abruptly cut me off, grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the front of the house. "I don't need the reminder, I've been trying to get away from them all night. They've been following me everywhere."

"That's what happens when you're half famous. If you're struggling to cope now, you're fucked once Domino hits theaters."

Percy rubbed the pack of his neck, thinking over what I just said. "I just want to be treated like a kid, you know? Just another one of the guys." He had a certain sadness in his eyes, suggesting a childhood of part fame had led to a lot of fake and unfulfilling friendships. I felt kind of sorry for him. I've experienced unfulfilling relationships my entire life with both my dad and step mom, it isn't something I'd wish upon my worst enemy.

"You've just got to find a small group of genuine friends. Stop trying to be a crowd pleaser." I suggested. "It's not about quantity, it's about quality."

"It's a little harder than you'd think. The guys aren't horrible, but don't even get me started on the girls. Don't even get me started on the housewives." He put air quotes around 'housewives,' shocked that girls could be so self absorbent to identify with such. "I've introduced and hung out with almost everyone in our grade already and I've only found one genuine person."

"That's a start." I replied. I was happy for him. A close friend at a new school was crucial. "What's his name?"

"Her name's Annabeth." Percy mumbled sheepishly. My cheeks instantly reddened. I definitely looked like a tomato. Nevertheless, it made me smile. Even my girlfriends don't pay me those sort of meaningful compliments. I looked up at Percy, meeting his eyes. He had tomato cheeks too.

"Thanks." I said, still smiling uncontrollably.

"For what?"

"That's probably the nicest thing anyones ever said to me."

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to you and you're lecturing me about good friends?" We both laughed.

"I've still got good friends Percy. But it's different coming from a stranger. It means more."

"I'm still a stranger?" Percy asked, his cheerful aura a bit deflated.

"Former stranger," I corrected myself. I definitely felt the connection between us. Talking with him just felt so natural. I really didn't want to botch this.

"So does that make us friends?" he asked hopefully.

"Fine by me." I replied. "I've got to go meet up with the girls. I rarely come out to stuff like this. They'd be pissed if they knew I was here and didn't say hi."

"What're their names?"

"Amanda, Colette, Hunter, and Rachel."

"Oh, I've met them all, I think. They seem nice, but all they talk about is snapchat. That's all everyone seems to talk about." I laughed at this and Percy looked at me oddly. "What?" he added.

"I don't know if you remember, but when you first got here on Monday, you told Amanda you only gave your snap to close friends. Word of that got around to the girls, quick. It's sorta become a competition among all of them to see who can get it first. Especially with my friends." I explained the whole concept of friend group rights to him and he laughed, apparently amused by the concept.

"Please don't tell me you're only talking to me because of a competition."

"I usually don't partake in them. Rachel and I observe the rest of the girls, it's quite entertaining. She has a boyfriend and I just don't really talk to boys often."

"Why not?"

"Lack of self confidence, plenty of experience with rejection in middle school, need I go on?"

Thankfully, Percy changed the subject. "Well, you're the only new snap friend so far. By the looks of things it's staying that way."

"Just me? How inclusive is this little snapchat club of yours?"

"3 people."

"That's it?"

"Well, 8 if you count family." I smiled at this. Has he really taken a liking to me this quickly? "Are you gunna tell them you won?"

"They're my best friends Percy, I'm not just gunna rain on their parade like that, I don't know how'd they react to me taking the boy of their dreams. Besides, like I said, it's entertaining."

"Entertainment at my expense," Percy added. "So what are we gunna have like a secret friendship?"

"It sounds intriguing, not gunna lie. Plus I hate the spotlight, I can't be seen hanging out with Mr. Famous once Domino Trials announces the cast."

"You could write a movie about that. A secret friendship between 'Mr. Famous' and the mysterious girl." He put air quotes around 'Mr. Famous'.

"Maybe you will someday. I've really got to go find the girls."

"I'll see you around then, message me if you need a ride home."

"Will do. I'll see you soon." I wanted to give him a hug but that would draw too much attention. Right now I looked like any other over obsessed girl trying to scheme their way into Percy's life.

I was right, the Vagabonds were out back. They sat around a patio table with a couple of our guy friends. Ryan, obviously, Mike, Will, and Cristian. We call Cristian 'Dels' for short.

"Annabeth?!" Hunter screamed when she saw me. I was met with a bone crushing hug. "What brings you out tonight?"

"Dad." I muttered. The happiness from my time with Percy faded as I remembered why I was here. Everybody knew what that meant. The guys didn't know the extent of my strenuous parental relationship, but they knew it wasn't pretty.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth." Hunter whispered as she consoled me.

"I'm fine." I said. I felt bad ruining the mood like that. "I just needed to get out of the house."

"Well you're always welcome here." Mike added.

"So ladies," I began, changing the subject, "any luck with Percy?"

"None so far." Amanda admitted. "I was asking him about it before though, he said one person got it."

"I swear if its one of the housewives I'm gunna lose it." Rachel added. She reached over and grabbed Ryan's hand. "Not that you have any competition, I just hate them with a burning passion."

Thankfully Ryan laughed, or that would've been awkward. "Trust me, I know. If you weren't aware, I'm not quite fond of them either."

"They stick to Percy like glue." I added. "I saw them walking through, he looked almost scared of them." Everyone laughed.

"That would make my year!" Colette yelped happily.

We sat there talking, joking, laughing, and having a good time. So much for not liking parties. I didn't realise it was 2 in the morning until Rachel went inside to go to the bathroom. Only then did she notice and inform us that almost everybody else had left, with the exception of a few stragglers.

I thanked Mike for having us and made my way through the house and out the front door. As soon as I stepped outside, a matte black bentley roared to life. Percy rolled down the window. "Need a lift?" he asked.

"Please tell me you haven't been waiting for me all night."

"Nonsense, only part of the night. I can't let you walk home at this time are you kidding?" he replied.

I hopped in the passenger seat. Percy was playing some sort of rap music.

"If we're going to be hanging out, this music isn't going to work." I said grabbing the aux cord.

"What's wrong with rap?" Percy asked. "Too intense for you?"

"Rap used to be ok, but this modern mumble rap nonsense is horrible. You've got to expand your music tastes a bit."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

I put on Honeybee by The Head and the Heart, one of my favorite songs right now. We sat in silence, listening to the sweeping harmonies. There's usually not too much traffic at this time of night and we got home pretty quickly. The song came to an end just as Percy pulled up in front of the building.

"I'll admit that was pretty good. Are you doing anything tomorrow?" Percy asked. I shook my head no. "Do you maybe wanna grab some food or something?"

"Yeah. That sounds nice."

"Does brunch work for you?"

"That sounds perfect. What time?"

"How about 11? I'll pick you up. I know a good spot. Wear something nice."

"I'll see you tomorrow." I considered giving him a kiss on the cheek but I decided against it. I didn't want to rush things, nor did I know if he felt the same way about me as I did about him. I told myself I wouldn't fall for him, but I have to admit, I'm falling - hard.

I entered my apartment to find my dad passed out in his usual place on the sofa. I tiptoed quietly to my room and got ready for bed. I did a bit of reading before finally attempting to get some shut eye at almost 3 in the morning. Usually, I wasn't a night owl, but everyone once in a while I lose track of time. As I lay in bed I couldn't take my mind off of Percy. Finally, my exhaustion overwhelmed me, and I fell asleep.