Hey, guys! I'm sorry the update is late. Life has been busy for the last few days. And school is coming up so there's that. I hope you like this chapter. There is definitely more Percabeth moments. Plus! Another letter! And I'm sorry that this chapter isn't very long, but hey! There's a letter and Harry Potter jokes so I think that makes up for it.

Alright, enjoy! (And thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews!)


*one week later*

It was the beginning of the school day. The building was starting to fill with students and teachers alike. There were only 10 minutes left until the first bell so students were lingering at their lockers before they had to get to class.

Annabeth maneuvered her way through the halls to get to her locker. The secret admirer had left his first letter at the end of the day, so she wasn't expecting any surprises until then.

"Hey, Annabeth!" Annabeth looked up to see Thalia already waiting in front of her locker.

"Isn't today the day loverboy gives you the next letter?"

Annabeth sighed, "I wish you wouldn't call him that, but yes."

She quirked an eyebrow, before turning to put in her locker combination. "You know, I didn't expect you of all people to get so invested in this."

Thalia shrugged. "It's the first time you've ever had a secret admirer. Sue me for being curious."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and opened her locker. "It's really not as big of a deal as you're making it. He probably didn't even remember to—"

A folded slip of paper fell out of the locker and landed down on the floor beside Thalia's foot.

Thalia bent down to pick it up, reading the name on the paper, Annabeth's name was written in the same fancy cursive as before. She smirked and waved the paper in front of Annabeth's face. "You were saying?"

Annabeth snatched the paper from her, "Shut up, he's early today. The last time it was at the end of the day. I guess he's trying to be unpredictable, smart. That way it's harder for me to discover his id—"

"Hey, guys! Did I miss it?!" They turned to see Piper waving at the other end of the hallway, Jason standing next to her. She quickly made her way through the crowd over to the two girls. "Did Annabeth already read the letter? What did it say?"

Thalia put her worries to rest, "She hasn't read it yet. She was stalling." Thalia smiled smugly.

Annabeth glared at her, "Shut up, Thalia. I wasn't stalling." She turned to Piper, "And I don't know why you're so invested. I thought you weren't into high school romance as much as other girls. As you've said yourself, there are more important things to worry about."

Piper waved her hand in dismissal, "While I stand by that statement, one of my best friends has a secret admirer! And it's the one who already has the hots for a certain someone. I may not be that interested in high school puppy love, but this is definitely entertaining."

"And we're here for support," Thalia said, putting her arm around Annabeth's shoulders.

Piper nodded, "Yes, of course! Now read it! I'm curious."

"Okay, okay. But I'm not reading aloud." Annabeth relented. She looked at Thalia, who was slyly leaning over her shoulder to read along. "A little space please."

Thalia smiled innocently but backed off.

I wonder what he wrote this time.

Dear Annabeth,

Hi! Here's your next letter, just as promised. I hope you liked the first one, the one drawback of the anonymous letters is that I don't know if you actually read the letter or not. Well, I'll just hope you like them.

So, I guess the first letter wasn't much a love letter but more of an introduction to the many love letters I plan to write in the future. To make up for it, this one will be more "lovey-dovey" as they say. Get ready to be wooed!

You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. I know you're not interested in looks, but you still manage to look amazing without effort. Your curly blond hair reminds me of a princess. You might not like them because of the silly stereotype of dumb blondes. But I know that you're the smartest person I know.

I often find myself caught up staring into your serious gray eyes. I know they aren't the most eye-catching color, but I like how they make you stick out. Plus, it makes your glare especially effective. I pity anyone on the other end of it.

And you aren't just beautiful because of your looks. Your personality adds to your beauty and is the main reason why I like you. You're a no-nonsense type of person and don't let anyone push you around.

It's a little funny because I'm the opposite, but I think we'd balance each other out well. Plus, I wouldn't mind if you'd glare at me, then I'd get to see your beautiful eyes focused only on me.

Then there's your brain. You are probably the smartest person I've met or will meet in my lifetime. And you don't let it inflate your ego either. You still manage to be so modest when you're probably the most amazing person I know, second to maybe my mom of course.

I should probably wrap up this letter now. I hope you have a good day!

With Love,

Your Secret Admirer

"Wow, this guy's really into you huh?"

Annabeth whipped around to see Thalia leaning back from her shoulder. She glared at her, "Thalia!"

"What? You were taking too long to read and I got curious. But I stick by my statement, the guy's fawning over you."

"Aww! I wanna see!" Piper said. While Annabeth was distracted, she reached over and snatched the letter from her hands, thankfully not ripping it in the process. She immediately began reading it, cooing and awwing at the appropriate moments.

"This is so sweet! It isn't even filled with cheesy overused compliments!" She looked back up at Annabeth, a smile stretching across her face. "I think you got yourself a keeper Annabeth."

Annabeth took back the letter, "Yeah, except I'm already into you-know-who remember?" she snapped.

"Annabeth's crushing on Voldemort?"

The girls looked up to see Jason walking over with a raised eyebrow and teasing smile. He slung an arm around Piper's shoulder as soon as she was in reach. "I think he's a little old for you. Tom Riddle, however… I completely understand." Thalia punched him in the arm. "Haha, very funny. You know who we're talking about."

Jason rubbed his arm, but continued smiling, "Hey, no need to get violent, sis. And yeah, of course, I know. What I am curious about is why Annabeth would be blurting that out in the middle of the school hallway. We're catching a bit of attention."

Annabeth blushed as she noticed that he was right, many of the people around them had their eyes on her, surprised at her outburst. Thankfully, most high schoolers are much too busy with their own business to stay interested in her drama, and the people around them turned back to their conversations.

"So," Jason continued, "What are you girls arguing about? Teasing Annabeth about her crush on Percy, I assume."

Annabeth frowned at him, "No, it's nothing really."

Thalia scoffed, "Yeah right," before filling in her brother on the information that was private Thalia!

"Annabeth here has a secret admirer who's been giving her letters anonymously via locker." She took the paper from Annabeth and showed it to Jason.

"Does no one care about my privacy?" Annabeth asked, but was ignored as Thalia and Piper explained the situation to Jason while he read over the letter.

"So you see, Annabeth doubted the guy at first. She thought it could be a prank, a reasonable concern, but as it turns out, the guy was serious and kept his promise of a new letter each week," Thalia explained.

Piper continued where Thalia left off. "And now Annabeth has to figure out if she'll either try to date this secret admirer or reject him because she's head over heels in love with you-know-who."

"Annabeth's in love with Voldemort?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Haha, very funny Jason, but you already made that joke."

"Uh, last I checked, I wasn't Jason."

Annabeth turned around confused, to see Percy standing behind her.

"Percy! Hi..." Annabeth trailed off, her heart beating rapidly. Please tell me you didn't hear more than that!

"Hi," Percy said, lifting an eyebrow at the strange greeting. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing!" they all said, smiling innocently.

Both of Percy's eyebrows went up. "Okay? Well, Annabeth. We're going to be late if we don't head to class soon."

"Right! Right. Let me just get my things," Annabeth said, turning back to her locker to get her binders and notebooks.

Once she was done, she shut the door and smiled at her friends. "Alright, see you later Thalia, Piper, Jason."

"Bye Annabeth!", "See you at Lunch!", and "Bye!" were the respective responses.

As Percy and Annabeth walked to their next class, Annabeth panicked in her head.

He was right behind me! How much did he hear? He isn't asking any more questions so I can assume he didn't hear much. Then again, he seemed suspicious of us, but we did respond oddly when he asked what we were talking about. Oh, wait! He's talking to me, I better tune in to what he's saying or he'll be more suspicious.

"—was that?" Annabeth only heard the tail end of what Percy had asked but she assumed he was talking about their weird response earlier.

"Oh, uh, nothing, as we said. They were just teasing me," Annabeth replied, trying to appear as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"About a crush? You have a crush on someone?"

He doesn't sound as surprised as I thought. Instead, he sounds a little... hurt?

"What, no. Me? Having a crush?" Annabeth easily deflected. "Percy, when's the last time I had a crush on someone?"

"Well… you did have a thing for Luke—"

"How many times do I have to tell you, I did not like him," she denied, trying to ignore the burning on her cheeks as Percy looked at her.

"You stared at him constantly and blushed when he talked to you during our freshman year."

"So? I admired him a little yeah, but it wasn't a crush."

I was too busy falling for you.

"It sure seemed like a crush," Percy mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing."

They didn't talk anymore on the way to class. Percy seemed to have something on his mind and Annabeth didn't think he felt like talking.

Annabeth frowned after they waved goodbye and split up to go to their respective first periods. Maybe he heard more than I'd thought...


"Wait, so you haven't told Percy?" Jason asked.

They were in Physics class sitting at their shared table. They had a substitute teacher so Jason was taking the opportunity to question Annabeth about her secret admirer. Percy also had the class, but he was a few tables away sitting with Piper so he shouldn't be able to hear them.

As long as Jason kept his voice down.

"No, I haven't," Annabeth whispered back, answering another question about the article they had to read. It wasn't even about Physics, just some random news article vaguely related to science.

2. What was this article about?

About a third of the population will sneeze excessively when exposed to bright light.

"Why not?" Jason asked. He had finished his worksheet early so he was using his free time to question Annabeth. Yay!

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I would rather not have my crush know everything about my love life."

3. What is the name of this phenomenon?

It is called the photic sneeze reflex.

"Okay, I see your point. But did you consider this as a sign? Maybe the universe is pushing you two together by giving you this secret admirer?"

Annabeth frowned at that before answering another question.

4. Which famous philosophers wrote about this strange topic?

Both Aristotle and Francis Bacon wondered why some people sneeze when exposed to bright light.

"That doesn't make any sense Jason. I mean, it's not like Percy is my secret admirer."

Jason coughed loudly, causing Annabeth to look up from her worksheet and shoot him a worried look. "You okay?"

Jason nodded, coughing once more, "Yeah," he cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'm fine. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, maybe the appearance of this secret admirer is a sign that you should figure out your feelings for Percy sooner rather than later, or else there might be some broken hearts."

Annabeth didn't look convinced, "I think you're over-analyzing this. Besides, I know my feelings for Percy. His feelings for me are the issue."

"Okay, Annabeth. But he is going to figure it out sooner or later. He's your best friend. I think you should just tell him."

Annabeth didn't respond, she looked down at her worksheet.

Maybe he's right. I should just tell him.

She felt eyes on her and turned around to see Percy looking at her from the back of the class. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

Yeah, I'll tell him today.


"So, do you want to hang out after school?" Percy asked, walking with Annabeth through the hallway.

Annabeth shrugged, "Yeah, sure. I don't have too much homework, so we should be able to hang out." She smiled at him, as they neared her locker. "Want to finish another episode of Sherlock?"

Percy smiled, "You always want to watch Sherlock. I'm starting to think you have a crush on him."

Annabeth smiled, "Well, have you seen those cheekbones? Can you blame me?"

Percy laughed, "Well, now I know what I have to compete with."

Annabeth punched him in the arm, "Shut up. Besides, Sherlock wins, no question."

"Hey!"

Annabeth laughed, opening her locker to get out some things for her next class.

She grabbed a few books and closed the door. "Sorry, Perce, but even you can't compare to Benedict Cumberbatch."

She turned to smile at him but he was staring behind her at her locker with a strange face.

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows, "What is it? Did something fall out?"

He didn't see the letter, did he?

Annabeth's heart rate picked up. She turned around ready to hide the letter and try to talk her way out of his suspicion. Yeah, she said she would tell him today, but not like this!

Percy looked back at her and his face cleared up, "Huh? Oh, no. It's… nothing."

Annabeth frowned. It doesn't sound like it's nothing. What's wrong?

"You know I was joking about the Sherlock thing, right?"

Percy nodded distractedly, "Yeah, yeah. I just thought I saw something weird."

Well, that did nothing to reassure Annabeth's racing heart.

"R-really? What?"

Percy shook his head, his midnight black hair moving with it. "It's probably nothing. Come on, let's head to lunch. I'm hungry."

Annabeth didn't buy it, but she let it go. She snorted, "When aren't you?"

Percy nodded, the comment bringing his lopsided smile back to his face, "True."

Once they got to their lunch table, Percy immediately started to eat the lunch his mom packed for him. Taking a big bite out of his sandwich and a big gulp of his favorite blue cherry coke.

Annabeth frowned at his sloppy eating, mostly annoyed that Percy even made that look endearing, but Percy just shrugged, "I shwaid I wash hungwy."

Thalia nodded solemnly, "Yes, he's a growing boy. He needs his nutrients."

"Yes, Annabeth, you can't blame the poor boy for his hunger. Especially since we have one of the late lunches," Piper added.

"I know, but still, he should eat slower or he'll choke."

Percy scoffed, "I won't ch—" He started to hack as a bite of his sandwich got lodged in his throat.

Annabeth patted him on the back as he coughed, however, there was no sign of sympathy on her face as she smiled at him smugly. "Told you so."

"The power of the jinx everyone." Leo laughed.

Percy only grumbled, "Whatever. I'll eat slower, Mom."

Annabeth smiled and patted his head, "That's a good boy."

Percy pouted, which was adorable in Annabeth's humble opinion. "I'm not a dog."

Thalia snorted, "Could've fooled me."

He glared at her and she stuck out her tongue.

"Children, behave." Annabeth gave them both a look before eating her lunch.

After lunch, Percy and Annabeth were walking to their next class, as was routine, when Annabeth decided to tell him.

"Hey, Percy?"

Percy looked down at her, his sea-green eyes focused on her. "Yeah?"

You can do this Annabeth. So what if he doesn't immediately proclaim his love for you and challenges the secret admirer guy to a battle to the death?

Annabeth frowned at her thoughts.

Okay, that was a little extreme.

What I mean is, it doesn't matter if he doesn't act jealous or seem bothered by the thought of another guy trying to date you. He'll still be your best friend. Just say it and get it over with.

"Uh, well... Remember when I told you that I had some trouble with my locker last week?"

Percy stiffened beside her, causing her to look up at him. He was looking straight ahead, but she noticed that he suddenly seemed nervous.

"Uh, yeah. Vaguely."

Annabeth frowned, but continued despite Percy's sudden stiff profile, "Yeah, so I actually found this weird letter left in there for me. It was addressed to me by someone who… who claims that they're a secret admirer."

Percy was silent next to her, the longer the silence stretched the more awkward she felt. Why isn't he saying anything?

"A… a secret admirer?" Percy finally spoke up. His voice was a little shaky which did nothing to wave off Annabeth's concern.

"Yeah, weird right? I didn't know anyone did that anymore. The whole love letter thing, I mean." Annabeth forced a chuckle, trying to ease them out of this awkward situation.

I can't tell if this is going better or worse than I had hoped.

"Ha, yeah…" Percy trailed off. He was frowning at the ground. How he managed to look handsome while frowning she had no idea. But with his eyebrows pulled tight into a serious expression, it was kind of—

Whoa, Annabeth. Focus.

"Was that what you guys we're talking about earlier? When you guys were acting weird at your locker?"

We need to get better at lying. I knew he'd caught on to us. I blame Thalia and Piper.

"Uh, yeah. It was. But I'm not in love with the guy! I mean, when they were talking about you-know-who it wasn't… him?" Annabeth tried to explain.

Percy tilted his head, "I'm sorry, I'm confused."

Annabeth took a deep breath. Come on Annabeth, you can do this.

"What I mean to say is, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier about the secret admirer."

"Oh, uh, okay. But you have nothing to be sorry for, you know. I know we're best friends, but you don't have to tell me everything. I get that it might have been weird to tell me about a guy that has… a crush on you. I honestly take no offense. Trust me, I don't want to know the gritty details of your love life."

Annabeth was both relieved and tense.

I'm glad he isn't mad that I didn't tell him. But what did he mean about the gritty details of my love life? Was I right and he's simply not interested in who I like? Or does the thought of anyone dating me make him as jealous as I would be if the situation was reversed?

This love thing is so confusing.

"Hah, yeah. Same. So… we're good?"

Percy nodded, seeming relieved, "Yeah, of course. Everything's good. All good."

Annabeth smiled, and patted his shoulder, "Yep, all good."

Annabeth could have sworn she saw a light flush on his cheeks but it was gone after a second look.

"Well, uh, do you think you might like this guy?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shrugged, "I mean, I've only gotten two letters from him. I don't think anyone can start crushing on someone that fast." She smiled. "But he's sweet, at first I thought it was a prank, not many guys have been knocking at my door if you know what I mean."

"Hey," Percy grabbed her hand. "You're amazing. And you don't need a bunch of douchebags hitting on you to know it." He smiled, "Actually, it's probably better that way right? You don't have to deal with swarms of guys fawning over you."

Her lips stretched into a smile, "Yeah, that's true. Now I just have to deal with one guy fawning over me, huh?"

Percy frowned, "Wait, what? Who? Is it someone I know? If they're bothering you I can talk to th—"

He broke off as Annabeth collapsed into giggles.

"No, no! I was talking about you, idiot."

Percy's blush was quite noticeable this time, and definitely wasn't a trick of the light.

"Sh-shut up."

Annabeth smiled at him, her laughter tapering off.

Now that the atmosphere of their conversation was light once again, Annabeth realized that while talking they had passed her next class. She turned around and walked back, waving to a confused, and still blushing, Percy. "See you later, Perce!"

Percy blinked before belatedly waving back, "Oh, uh, see you!"

Annabeth's smile widened. Maybe Percy was a little confusing, but now he knows about the secret admirer so that's one weight lifted off her shoulders. She should try not to worry so much and just see how things play out.

Who knows, maybe Jason was right and this secret admirer will push her closer to Percy.

Or… if Percy doesn't like me then… I could always give the guy a shot, right?

Either way, things were changing, slowly but steadily. And hopefully, for the better.


Yay! She told him! Time for very awkward Percy and endlessly confused Annabeth. Next chapter will probably come with another letter and jealous Percy. (And the article Annabeth read was real. I would put the link here but I can't. The title is "Looking at the Sun Can Trigger a Sneeze" and it's by the Scientific American.) Until next time!

~PJOandHP4Life