Happy Monday Everyone! I hope you had an awesome weekend :)

The site is crashing a lot , so I deleted this chapter and I am uploading it again.

Thanks Azure Bluet for being the beta of this story!

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

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Annabeth's P.O.V

Annabeth walked out of the exam hall feeling pretty pleased with herself. Her hard work had paid off since she was quite certain that she had just aced her design exam. She decided to treat herself with a cup of coffee with her friend, Silena. She picked up her phone and texted her to ask her if she was free.

Hey! My test just got over. Want to get coffee? –Annabeth

Sure, I just killed my fashion merchandising test :)–Silena

That's great. Where do u want to meet? –Annabeth

Ellie's—the new off-campus coffee shop. Have u tried it? –Silena

Yes, I love their coffee–Annabeth

Is it ok if I bring a friend? –Silena

Sure! –Annabeth

Cool, see u. I'll be there in 15 mins–Silena

Annabeth went to Ellie's and ordered herself a cup of coffee. She began replying to the texts she had received when she was solving the test. There were two from Piper, asking about her hair ties, a text from her mom about a design, and to her complete surprise, she saw that her dad had texted her too.

Hi Annabeth. I know that we haven't talked in a long time but I would really appreciate it if you could call me whenever you have the time. I miss you–Dad

Like her mom, her dad had also neglected her as a kid. She still talked to her mom pretty frequently, even if it was for a professional purpose, but she rarely talked to her dad. It didn't surprise her if months went by without a call or even an email from him. He never told her that he missed her before and always spoke formally to her.

She was contemplating calling her dad right then but saw Silena enter Ellie's along with a blond boy. Silena came up to her and smiled.

"This is Will. He's a friend of mine," Silena said, pointing to the blond, blue-eyed, and tallboy standing next to her.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Annabeth," Annabeth said politely.

During the course of their conversation, Annabeth found out that Will was in med school, gay and very charming. She loved meeting new people and was quite certain that Will would soon become a good friend of hers since they had the same taste in music, books and movies. Silena soon left to meet her boyfriend but Will and Annabeth continued talking.

"So, when's your next test?" asked Will, taking a sip of his iced coffee.

"My test schedule is very weird. It's in two weeks and then the test after that is just one day after," Annabeth answered with a frown.

"You think that so many smart people who are supposedly here to teach us would know how to make a decent schedule," Will said, earning a laugh from Annabeth.

Percy's P.O.V.

Percy walked into Ellie's, ready for his shift. As he was entering the shop, he caught a glimpse of blonde hair, grey eyes and a beautiful smile. He knew it was Annabeth and went in with a bright smile of his own which turned to a slight scowl when he saw that she was laughing at something a guy was saying.

He knew that he shouldn't be jealous since he barely knew her. The things that he did know about her indicated that she had no romantic relation with the guy, yet he still had a bad feeling in the back of his mind. He decided to at least say hi to her before he started working.

"Hey Annabeth," Percy greeted with a smile.

"Percy? Hi!"

"How was your test?" He had texted her enough to know that she had a test that day and she had been extremely nervous about it.

"It was great! Oh, by the way, this Will. Will, this is Percy."

Will waved at him and smiled which Percy did his best to return. He then excused himself to go and work. He was happy to see Annabeth and Will leave separately after a while instead of leaving together. He waved good-bye to Annabeth as she left which she returned enthusiastically.

He worked for 4 hours and went back to his dorm on his blue bicycle. It was a birthday gift from his dad which he reluctantly accepted. Percy was about to start studying when he suddenly remembered his conversation with Rachel the other day. He had forgotten to ask her what was wrong. He took out his phone and texted her.

Hey, so, do you finally want to tell me what's wrong? –Percy

I do but I also don't–Rachel

No pressure. I just want to help you but you can tell me whenever you're comfortable with it. K? –Percy

Can you meet me tomorrow for lunch? I'll then you then–Rachel

Sure! –Percy

1:30. Chilli's. My treat–Rachel

I'll be there :) And we will split the bill–Percy

Thanks, Perce–Rachel

He felt relieved as he put down his phone because Rachel was a private person and he hadn't expected her to agree to open up. He finally stopped procrastinating and opened up his laptop to start studying.

He was well into his second hour of studying when Leo came into the dorm smiling and dancing like a madman. He took out his shoes and started jumping on his bed. Percy looked at him in surprise.

"Dude what happened? You look like you just won the lottery or something," implored Percy, laughing. Leo's laughter was infectious.

"Something even better happened," said Leo, still jumping on his bed.

"What? Tell me!" Percy asked enthusiastically. His books and laptop were now forgotten.

Leo finally stopped jumping, tried to stop smiling, and put his hands on Percy's shoulders.

"I asked Calypso out and she said yes!" Leo confessed excitedly.

"Really? I'm so happy for you man."

Leo had been crazy about Calypso for the past six months. They had started off as enemies when they were made partners for a project but slowly became friends. Leo wanted to be more than friends but he never asked her out since he was scared of losing their friendship, yet now he finally had the guts to do so.

"Want to come to the bar for a celebratory drink? I've asked Jason and Frank to come as well," Leo inquired

"Not today. I still have a lot of studying to get done."

"When did I become the cool person and you the nerd?" joked Leo.

…

The next day Percy reached Chilli's early for a change and saw that Rachel still wasn't there. He sat down on a chair and texted Rachel to let her know that he had arrived. She came a few minutes later and looked really flustered.

"Hi, thanks for coming, I know that you are very busy with your finals and stuff." Rachel smiled at him, but it looked half-hearted.

"Of course. I really want to help with whatever's bothering you." Percy peered at his friend, taking in her nervousness.

"Thanks Percy but let's order first. I'm starving." The idea sounded good enough for him, so he nodded.

The two of them ordered long island iced teas, tacos, and a burrito they planned to share. Percy could sense that she was very uncomfortable about the thing she wanted to talk about, so he tried to put her mind at ease by telling her a funny story about something that happened during swim practice.

It worked and she laughed heartily. They were in the middle of eating when Percy brought the subject up again. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Rachel took a deep breath and said, "Percy, I think that you're a great person. You're kind, generous, smart, witty and really handsome." She said the last adjective a little hesitation and continued.

"I really like you Percy," she rushed at last, her cheeks turning pink.

"I really like you too Rach." Percy was completely oblivious to the meaning of 'like' in this scenario.

"Really?" Rachel had a hopeful look on her face, which Percy didn't understand; they were friends, of course they liked each other.

"Yeah, you're a great friend."

Rachel sighed and said, "No Percy, I mean I like you as more than a friend."

Percy was very confused since he hadn't thought in his wildest dreams that Rachel liked him like that. He didn't know how to respond to that but he knew that he had to say something. Rachel looked very vulnerable and he hated the thought of hurting her.

"Rachel, you're a lovely girl but I don't think of you like that," he mumbled softly, not wanting to sound harsh.

Rachel looked heartbroken and Percy detested the fact that he was the reason for that.

"I'm sorry but I'm sure that you'll find someone much better than me one day. Please say that we can still be friends." Percy said, a little nervously, a little taken aback by the situation.

"Yeah, of course we can. I don't want to lose a friend like you.", Rachel replied quietly.

The atmosphere became a little awkward after the conversation but the two still managed to finish their meal and actually talk about lighter subjects for a bit. Percy knew that their friendship would be fragile for some amount of time but he was willing to work on it.

….

Author's Note

Yay, Will has been introduced to the story now! The Solangelo content is coming :)

Please leave a review and let me know how old were you when you first started reading PJO

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