AN: I'm so sorry this took so long! Thanks for the support while I was gone. I hit a massive wall of writer's block and then my own anxiety acted up and I started panicking about not releasing the "perfect" chapter, but I finally was able to work through it. Massive extra thanks to my girlfriend for encouraging and pushing me through it. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

"I thought she was different!" Percy's voice rang out loudly, between breaths of air. In front of him, Frank lazily dribbled a basketball between his hands. A plant of his foot and Frank was off to the right. Percy shuffled, keeping step with his 6'9" friend's long strides. Stomping a foot down suddenly, Frank launched and began his shot, a fadeaway from the right high post. Percy's arms reached up to the contest the shot, but the combination of length and fade meant the ball sailed over Percy's outstretched fingertips.

CLANG! SWISH!

One bounce on the rim and the ball fell in. Frank grabbed the ball and brought it back to the three point line. "14 all, Perce."

Percy nodded, checking the ball back to Frank who began slowly dribbling again.

A sigh left Percy's lips before he tried to explain his outburst. "I just… she always came in and she'd smile or smirk or she'd just make me feel like a person and not a worker, y'know?"

Frank nodded slowly, crossing left and dribbling towards the paint. Percy's hand shot out for the steal, but Frank saw it coming and shifted so Percy's hand hit his hip. Frank then began slowly dribbling backwards towards the rim, using his wide back as a shield to stop any more incoming steal attempts.

"And even if she got sarcastic, I thought it was just cause I got that way too."

Frank backed his way to the basket. Percy placed a hand on his opponent's lower back to slow the advance and to feel for any sudden shift in movement. Both players bent their knees for more power and began a bit of a push against each other as they slowly fought for position.

"Not that I should've been sarcastic with a customer, but I'm an idiot like that. Y'know, never listening to the rules and just… not holding my tongue."

Without warning, Frank shifted his hip right and then spun back to the left, going for a turnaround jumper from the left corner. However, he and Percy had been playing basketball with and against each other for six years and Percy knew his friend's favorite move. Jumping in anticipation, Percy felt his fingers brush against the ball just enough to adjust the spin as it left Frank's hand.

BONK! CLANK! The ball hit the backboard before hitting the rim and spinning away. Percy sprinted after the ball, snagging the rebound and dribbling back out to the three point line. His turn on offense.

"Except for days where I don't want to speak…"

Percy crossed left, spun right, faked his shot before driving past Frank who got caught by the fake. Leaping off his right foot, Percy's six foot five frame flew through the air.

SLAM! With one hand, Percy slammed the ball home and hung on the rim for an extra second, sticking his tongue out at Frank. "15-14."

Frank rolled his eyes, "Good fake, Perce." They checked up again and Percy began dribbling, looking for an opening.

"It's just that I thought she'd be the type of person to always be gracious to the person behind the counter. And I don't know… I guess I'm just dumb for getting a stupid little crush on a random girl who came into the café."

Percy jab stepped before pushing off the jabbed foot to attempt a stepback three point shot. It rattled around the rim before hitting the ground. Frank grabbed the ball and took it back to the three point line. Percy switched back to defense.

"I know I've had them before, I just thought that… maybe… this time… it could be different?"

Frank didn't even pretend to try anything fancy and drove straight to the rim, dunking immediately. Percy blinked, chuckling. "Okay, yeah, you got me." They checked up again and Frank this time took his time, slowly meandering down the left side.

"She just seemed different from everyone else who came in and wanted coffee. Even with her sass, she was polite. And she always gave me a look… with those eyes. Like she could read past me, y'know? Which… scared me but also… I thought it was cool."

Frank pulled up for another left side corner shot. This time it released just past Percy's outstretched hand.

SWISH! Nothing but net. Frank smirked a little. "16-15."

"Very few people know about…" Percy gestured to his head. "That side of me. And I'm able to hide it from most everybody, only you and my Mom really know the extent. But she just… picked me apart with her eyes."

Frank nodded slowly before attempting a crossover Percy saw coming a mile away. His hand flashed out and he snatched the ball, immediately sprinting towards the rim and laying it in. "16 all."

Frank shook his head, smiling. "Still gotta work on that ball handle, I guess."

Percy grinned, "Ain't never gonna be good enough to blow past me twice in a row, Zhang."

Percy drove right and jumped, Frank matching the leap. What Frank could not match, however, was the 360 degree mid air spin that Percy used to get around the big man. While still in the air, Percy's hand reached under the net and with a flick of the wrist, the ball spun off the backboard and sunk through the net.

A confident smirk crossed Percy's face as Frank shook his head sighing, "I will never understand how you're able to do that."

Percy checked up the ball and started sprinting with it towards the rim. Frank followed quickly, sliding his feet to match the pace of Percy's steps. With a quick plant and a dribble between the legs, Percy's momentum completely stopped. Frank, to put it lightly, did not see it coming. He slid past Percy, stumbling over his feet to try and recover. Percy calmly shot the pull-up mid-range jumper.

SWISH.

Percy grinned innocently, "18 all. Oh, and, I so got you on that shot."

Frank rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, best part of the girl?"

Percy paused, not quite expecting the question, "Um… well… Her eyes, Frank. They were so unique. This stormy grey. Not a dull grey, but a grey like… steel."

The two checked the ball up, Frank nodding to the answer, choosing not to answer aloud and let Percy speak when he wanted to. Percy dribbled the ball, his face contorted in a frown.

"We're going into our senior year and I just feel like such an idiot for harboring a… crush. I should be more mature than to fall for a random girl who walks into the café."

Frank slashed a hand for the ball. Percy crossed it behind his back to the left before driving down that side. Frank slid his feet quickly to match Percy's strides. Percy picked the ball up. One step. Two steps. Left hand started to lay the ball up against the backboard. Then a rush of wind passed by Percy's ear and six years of training kicked in. He ducked.

Luckily, that training did kick in. The duck saved him from Frank Zhang's 6'9", 255 lb massive frame flying through the air to slap the basketball against the backboard.

Momentary pause to quickly remember Sir Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means whatever may occur to one object, the reverse of it shall also occur with equal force. This law would apply in multiple circumstances to the current basketball game between one Percy Jackson and one Frank Zhang. However, the one to focus on is the action of Frank Zhang blocking the basketball against the backboard.

According to the Third Law of Motion, when Frank slapped the ball with all the force his outstretched arm could muster, that energy had to go somewhere. As the glass backboard of a basketball hoop does not exactly absorb the energy of the ball, the ball was repelled and sent soaring across the driveway.

The ball flew through the air, landing and rolling across the street. This would cause a car driving down the neighborhood street to need to stop and honk loudly, a middle aged woman shaking her fist in the general direction of the boys. Said boys, however, barely even registered the car as Percy was currently sprawled across the ground and Frank was just coming down from the block, his shout of braggadocious joy echoing in the neighborhood.

"YOU GOT BLOCKED, SON!" Frank grinned, reaching his hand out to help Percy back up on his feet.

Percy grumbled something under his breath about an unfair height advantage, but accepted the help and got on his feet, dusting himself off. "Dang it, Zhang, you almost killed me with that one."

Frank's smile grew, "Risk of the trade, bro."

Percy rolled his eyes, "Oh shut up. I don't remember ever seeing 'Risk of Dying to Chinese Giant' in the basketball rulebook."

"Two words: Yao. Ming."

Percy groaned and grabbed the basketball from across the street. He absentmindendly dribbled it back up to the rim, not really remembering what he had been ranting to Frank about until Frank completely blindsided him with a question.

"What made her so different?"

Percy's hands froze and the ball rolled into the grass. "Wha… what do you mean?"

Frank shrugged, "I don't know, man. It's just…" Bending over, Frank picked up the basketball and passed it back to Percy, "You've dealt with rude customers before and you've had girls lose interest in you before without you even batting an eye. What happened this time?"

Percy shook his head, dribbling the ball to help him think, "Besides the fact I was gonna ask for her number? Not mu-"

Frank's jaw dropped as he heard the confession, "You were gonna what now?!"

Percy opened his mouth to respond, but Frank quickly cut him off.

"Perseus Jackson? The man who spends ten minutes debating over his entire closet, only to choose one of the same seven shirts? The one who can't breathe if a teacher so much as begins a word with a p? You worked up the courage to ask a girl out?"

Percy, feeling very much attacked and yet strangely loved in this situation, did what anyone whose brain was fighting between the two feelings would do: he nodded.

Frank's expressions instantaneously changed from shock to an encouraging smile, "She must be one heck of a woman for you to be able to decide on that."

A blush rose like a sunrise over a mountain on Percy's face. It moved slow, but heated his cheeks up very quickly. He looked down at his shoes, an orange pair of Converse All-Star BB Pro Flames that unfortunately matched his cheeks.

Frank grabbed his attention by asking the next serious question that again blindsided Percy, "So why didn't you ask for it?"

Percy paused before attempting to brush aside the question and shrugged, "She was having a bad day. Didn't want to stress her out."

Frank pointedly closed his mouth, refusing to talk, knowing Percy wasn't saying everything.

Percy let the silence sit for a couple minutes before his need for sound overwhelmed his desire to keep his issues to himself. "I chickened out, okay? I'm an idiot who can't even keep himself on task. She was quieter than normal and said her day wasn't going the best and so I started thinking about how I could help and I gave her an extra shot and I'm just… gahhhh I'm such an idiot. Should've gone for it, but now I never will. You know me. I get one shot and then my brain starts thinking and thinking and thi- Oomph!"

Frank had walked towards Percy while the anxious teen ranted and now, the Chinese giant grabbed his best friend in a massive bear hug, "Breaths, Percy. Deep ones. Now."

Percy's voice slowly died down, still ranting, but quieter and slower. Eventually it went totally silent and Frank felt his friend relax in the embrace. A small voice soon whispered out from between Frank's arms, "Thanks."

It wasn't much, but it was enough for Frank to know that Percy would be alright. That's all he ever needed to know.

Releasing the hug, Frank dropped the conversation and moved on to more important things, "Alright, Perce, check up. 18 all. Your ball. I still gotta win."

Percy took one last deep breath before his mouth twitched into an interesting combination of childish glee and testosterone fueled competition, "Oh you can certainly try, Frank." The battle of the titans commenced once more.

AN: Okay so, I know two things are going to likely happen when reading this chapter. 1. If you're not into basketball, you probably got extremely lost, but I hope I described things semi-well enough that you could picture some of it. I know the playing took up a huge aspect of the chapter, but I've been wanting to write something like that for a while and I enjoyed it immensely. 2. A lot of you have been clamoring for more Percabeth chapters. I hear you, I see you, I understand you. However, I want to take this slow. I like establishing characters in their own right and not just tossing them together and have them date immediately. I'll mainly write from Percy's pov with an occasional Annabeth, but I don't actually know how many chapters will have them interacting in the near future. I know that sucks for a lot of you, but please understand that I just want to make the characters as relatable as possible by establishing their strengths, weaknesses, etc. etc. Thanks again for the long wait and the support. Hope to see you soon!