Annabeth Chase had not expected to be spending her days in photoshoots and at movie premieres and networking when she started her Instagram account. She hadn't expected sponsorship deals, viral Tiktok videos, or minor celebrity status either. The expensive clothes, the skin care products and makeup, the hair serums and bright lights and cameras and taxes and spreadsheets and agents and emails and the picture perfect social media feed showing a picture perfect life– none of it had been expected.

No, what Annabeth had planned on (as she planned everything she could in advance, no matter how minute) was to have a simple aesthetic place for her close friends to keep up to date with her life.

It started as most people start; a simple, easy to remember handle, blurry photos with friends, pics of new shoes she had splurged on, a snapshot of her Starbucks drink from the shop on campus. And then she discovered there were accounts outside of her close circle of friends. She followed that movie star she liked, a musician, a writer. Her favorite architect even had one, surprisingly, and she followed them too. Then the site began suggesting accounts and posts to her, and she fell deep down the rabbit hole. Beautiful photos, lined up in neat little rows with inspiring quotes and long winded captions grabbed her attention, and she thought, " If I'm going to do this, I may as well be the best at it."

She knew even everyday, ordinary people could get fairly popular. She'd seen Silena's own account grow into something truly terrifying, with hundreds of thousands of followers, and while Annabeth had no delusions about achieving that level, well… she wondered if it wouldn't be so bad, reaching more people than usual.

Her first attempt had gone shockingly well; she'd set her favorite book and a cup of tea beside her bright curtained window of her last apartment. At a glance, it seemed too simple, so she lovingly arranged some preserved flowers from her bridesmaid's bouquet from Silena's wedding into the setup as well. She snapped a few shots, picked her favorites, downloaded an editing app or two, and tested out filters until she was fully satisfied.

Surprisingly, it had been fun. She'd written a short but sweet caption, quoting the text featured, typing out what it meant to her, added a hashtag or two, and before she knew it, it had over 200 likes, far more than her eighty-something follower count.

For her next post, she decided to try something different.

She used the same curtained window, letting it reflect her face in soft natural lighting. She had applied light makeup, and tagged the brands in the comments as she had seen others do before her, and she tried to make herself seem very natural and soft in her simple white top and with loose curls hanging around her face. She practiced her smile, her laugh, trying to fake a candid photo. This wasn't difficult- she figured that years of disguising her emotions at home had prepared her for acting happy.

That post had been accompanied by a longer caption, vague enough to keep people wanting more but specific enough to seem open and honest and down-to-earth. She liked it when the people she followed seemed down-to-earth.

And then all hell broke loose.

She wasn't sure what it was that skyrocketed that particular post onto the feeds of so many people, what caused her to gain hundreds of followers overnight- Maybe it was Silena sharing it to her feed. Annabeth supposed she was traditionally beautiful. The world unfortunately handed many things to thin blonde girls just for existing, and she had no illusions that it had been her own hard work that had her suddenly receiving DMs from beauty brands and creepy men and girls asking for follow backs. It was luck and genes, plain and simple.

Annabeth hated that. She would much prefer to earn something than have it handed to her. And she knew in a matter of days or less, people would move on to the next thing if she didn't continue to step up her game.

She started taking it seriously. Not because she wanted or needed the attention, but out of some desperate desire to prove she deserved it. That she worked hard for it– She didn't want a single person to question if she had earned her followers or not.

So she bought a tripod for her phone, and a ring light. She invested in a few other materials; makeup brands, hair styling products, clothes. Nothing that would break the bank, but things she'd been meaning to get for herself anyway. She threw herself into research; photography, makeup artistry, styling tips, lighting, color theory, whatever she could get her hands on. And she took photos. So. Many. Photos.

She used less than 1% of them.

And her numbers climbed. She started making short form videos, reviewing her favorite products, showing off shopping hauls– but it wasn't all surface level. She also had a popular series of tiktoks talking about famous architecture, the history of her favorite buildings, how different styles evolved. She might as well put all that knowledge to use while she was still in her Masters program.

She posted more selfies, more staged candids, photos of her architecture sketches and notes for classes, shots of her and her friends on the beach, in the city. They learned soon enough that they'd be taking pictures wherever they went, and no one seemed to mind- in fact, while Annabeth was all business, they seemed to have fun posing and being featured on her quickly growing pages.

Then her first sponsorship offer happened. She actually turned it down– some "slim smoothie tea" company wanted her to promote their product, and claim it had helped her achieve her figure. Annabeth wrinkled her nose almost immediately.

Her response had been cordial, but she was proud of the new levels of passive aggression she had reached, citing articles about social media distorting young girls' views of their bodies and the long term health effects of these so called "tummy teas".

They hadn't contacted her again.

But, they had been the first of many, and in no time Annabeth had reached an agreement with a custom hair care company to give her honest opinion on their leave-in conditioner for curls. She ended up liking the product, gave her honest opinion, and got paid.

Then it happened again. And again.

Soon her followers numbered in the tens of thousands across multiple sites. She made spreadsheets of posting schedules, sponsorship deals, video ideas, and more. She found herself around tax season hiring an advisor (which she somehow could afford now) to sort through her saved receipts and payments.

She was meticulous when she posted. Annabeth spent evenings after studying reading up on social media algorithms, the constantly shifting landscape of virality, saving audios for videos and plotting out her next photo or video or tweet.

Most surprising? It was fun.

Of course, there were frustrating days. Days when she wanted to tear her hair out from troll comments or offensive DMs, days when the "algorithm" didn't want to cooperate with her or a sponsored post flopped or she saw a decline in likes and follows, where she wanted to just log off forever, but the planning and arranging and charts and graphs all scratched a part of her brain she didn't even realize needed to be itched.

Her first real photoshoot had been about eight months after she started to take this whole thing seriously. They were interviewing Influencers with degrees in other industries, asking them about balance, how they use skills they learned from one for the other, blah blah blah. She thought it would be fun.

So Annabeth and Silena (handle; "lovelyaphrodite") drove across town for the shoot. She'd been rushed into hair and makeup, dressed in clothes that weren't hers, and thrust in front of a backdrop next to about fourteen other influencers, some of whom she actually recognized– mainly by their usernames, of course.

There was "", a girl from Annabeth's hometown who was known for her bodybuilder's physique, self defense videos, and gym reels. Annabeth was pretty sure Silena knew her, actually… Clarisse? Maybe that was her name. She spotted "piedpipes ", a beauty blogger with an alternative style, as well as daughter to some action star actor. And there were a few guys too- of course she recognized Silena's husband "benditlikebeckn", a large Black male model who Annabeth knew was a mechanical engineer in his daily life. Mostly, though? She felt completely out of her element.

Posing for selfies or with friends was one thing. Being on a professional set with people who have done this sort of thing for potential years? Forget it. She felt stiff. Awkward. The camera flashed, and she blinked in the blinding lights, trying not to hunch or slouch. She glanced around- no one else seemed to be having any problems.

Annabeth liked to be the best at what she did. She also liked to be good at things on the first try- perhaps it was part of that "gifted kid syndrome" everyone was always talking about millennials having. Maybe it was something else. Either way, she found herself growing more and more frustrated.

Finally, someone announced for them to start on individual shots and Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief- until they called her name first, and everyone else got to shuffle from the room to receive coffee and snacks and oh God she was so not prepared for this.

The photographer, a taller guy with messy black hair, approached her, "Relax."

She frowned, jerking her head to narrow her eyes at him, "Excuse me?"

He laughed, "You're super tense. It's not that serious. Find your inner zen or whatever."

Annabeth regarded him for a moment, before deflating slightly, "Is it that obvious?"

He had chuckled again, "Yeah, a bit. Here, may I?" He gestured to her shoulders and after a moment of processing, Annabeth understood what he was asking for. She nodded.

The man came around behind her, his hands hovering around her body, barely touching her as he began to arrange, "You'll want to be open, shoulders back– no, not that far back– there. Don't cross your arms for every shot, we like variety. Okay, the hand on the hip is good, but bring it back, keep things angular, add curves– Don't look at me like that, not those kind of curves!"

He continued to direct her as he moved back behind the camera, shouting bits of encouragement when a pose looked good. "Okay, tilt your head to the right– no, my right– there! Aaaaand big smile– good, perfect!"

Annabeth felt a bit like a child getting her school photos done, but at the very least, he helped her feel comfortable. Like she belonged.

They finished up and he grinned at her, showing her previews on the back of the camera, "No worries," He had assured her, "We can photoshop one of these into the group pics instead, piece of cake."

She opened her mouth to thank him, ask him his name, but his attention was called away and she was bustled out of the room. She didn't catch sight of him for the rest of the shoot.

The magazine debuted with their article and Annabeth got a physical copy for herself to keep, as well as a few more for friends and family– well, her brothers, at least, who's new favorite pastime was to good-naturedly heckle her on her new found fame. She flipped to the pages of the spread, admiring the group photo. The man had done his job and photoshopped one of her better photos seamlessly into the shot. She scanned the page for information, and that's where she saw it: Photographer, Perseus Jackson .

And just like that, time exploded like a bullet from a gun. Her followers surpassed one hundred thousand, then two hundred. More and more articles came out. She made it on Forbes' 30 Under 30 , a podcast with her guest appearance wracked up more numbers than she could have dreamed, and she hosted her first (and second, and third!) red carpet events– only one had been a movie premiere, some indie film that wanted a media personality to interview their stars as they arrived for the event. Annabeth had been so nervous she swore she almost threw up, but once she got started she found she had a lot of fun! Then there was a gala for a museum, and the unveiling of a new building downtown. She figured there was a distinct lack of architecture based influencers, but that didn't stop her excitement at being able to talk shop at an event for once.

She made more friends in the industry too. PiedPipes introduced herself as "Piper, Piper McLean" at the end of that first shoot together. And there were more shoots. Annabeth felt her confidence bloom brighter with each one. She remembered what that first photographer had said, about being open, shoulders back, relaxed. She wondered if she'd work with him again.

And her wondering was answered almost a year later. Annabeth moved into a much larger apartment than she ever dreamed of renting as a grad student, and she was unpacking boxes when the call came, asking if she'd be willing to participate in a fashion shoot. It would be couples themed for Valentine's Day, and when she protested that she didn't have anyone to shoot with , they assured her that they didn't need real couples. They could provide a model to pose with her.

So there she was, in hair and makeup once more, the dress she'd be wearing was hanging on the mirror as she glanced around and wondered who would be posing with her. Silena and Beckendorf were here, thank God, and Annabeth smiled at her friend when their eyes met. She still wasn't as used to these sorts of shoots as she would like.

The artists finished messing with her face and head, and she examined herself in the mirror, frowning slightly. She wasn't used to the dark red lip, or the sleek curls they replaced her natural ones with. But the smoky eyeshadow set off her grey eyes in a way even Annabeth had to admit was stunning, so she grabbed her dress and walked off to change. It took two assistants to squeeze her into it and lace it up properly in the back.

The set was in chaos when she finally arrived.

"We need a replacement–"

"On this short of notice?! No one will be available!"

"Well what do you want to do?"

"We'll think of something…"

"What's going on?" She whispered to the first person she came across, and she was surprised when a familiar voice answered her.

"Male model crashed his electric scooter on the way to the shoot." Perseus Jackson responded, not even turning to look at her even as she jerked in surprise, "They're worried you won't have a partner for your set of photos." He glanced at her, finally, his green eyes flashing with… something. "Hi."

"Hey," She smiled, "Fancy meeting you here. Are you shooting…?"

He shook his head, his hair falling into his eyes. It was longer than it had been last they met, "Nah, moral support for a friend. Well, and general assistance. It helps when you have a guy who actually knows what they're doing behind the scenes."

Annabeth nodded, "Well, it's nice to see you again."

He chuckled, "I'm surprised you remember me at all."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"I'm no Annie Leibovitz."

She raised an eyebrow, "So? You were very kind to help me on that shoot."

"Yeah, well, it was my job to make you look good."

"Still, thank you, it was…" She trailed off, "It was nice." Annabeth finished.

He studied her openly, making her shift uncomfortably on the spot. Finally he said, "It was no problem. Really."

Annabeth cleared her throat, "So… why can't I just be in the shoot on my own?"

"Something about showcasing true love or…. something."

"I could represent self love. I think that would be a cooler concept than posing with a stranger, anyway."

He thought about it. "Mm… That would be neat, but I doubt the artistic director would go for it."

"Jackson!" They both turned as the aforementioned artistic director marched up to them, a tall blonde man with a dazzling smile, "Hair and makeup, chop chop!"

Perseus sighed, "What is it Lest-"

"Ah ah, what did I tell you about using stage names when we're on set?"

"...Fine. What is it, Apollo?"

"We settled on a model replacement."

"Alright, who?"

Apollo's grin widened, "You, of course."

Perseus snorted, "No way."

"Yes!"

"I won't."

"You must!"

"Absolutely not."

"I'll pay you double!"

This was considered, and then– "I want the Pride Month shoot."

Apollo's jaw went slack, "You– that– but we can't just–!"

"Sure you can." Perseus said cheerfully, "Unless you think you could manage without me? Miss Chase here had some great ideas about self love and–"

"Fine, fine!" Apollo threw his hands up, "Just– Hair, makeup, now!" And with that the man stormed off, looking far less sunny as Perseus called towards his retreating figure;

"I want that in writing!"

"You know my name?" Annabeth wasn't sure why this surprised her, and Perseus shrugged, turning to face her once more.

"I may have… looked you up after that first shoot." He admitted it casually, and she smiled, "You have some neat stuff. Not bad for someone who's self taught."

Her eyebrow raised again, "How do you know I'm self taught?"

"I might have…. read the Forbes article about you too."

She laughed, "Are you stalking me, Perseus?"

At his name, he did look surprised, but he recovered quickly, a small smirk coming to his lips, "It's Percy. Just Percy. And it sounds like I'm not the only stalker around here."

"Maybe I looked you up too, Just-Percy." She teased, taking a moment to really look at him. She could see why Apollo would think him a suitable replacement for the shoot– he was handsome, from the green eyes that shone with mischief to the defined lips that smiled down at her. She swallowed, "Aren't you supposed to be…?"

"Oh… oh, right. Hair and makeup." He chuckled, backing away, "I'll see you in a–" He stumbled, nearly knocking over an expensive looking light which he scrambled to right quickly, "-in a few minutes, then?"

Annabeth giggled, nodding, "In a few."

She sat off to the side, her red dress gathered around her carefully to prevent wrinkles as the other couples went first. Silena and Beckendorf looked as in love as ever, posing so easily and naturally. It was a big part of their brand, their relationship, but Annabeth had seen it when the camera's were tucked away and it was every bit as passionate, but in a quieter, softer way. Where fans saw lavish vacations, airbrushed photoshoots, and two strong personalities in love, Annabeth saw something real. Intimate. She wondered if she would have something like that someday.

She spotted Percy out of the corner of her eye and turned, trying not to gawk as he strolled into the room. His hair had been styled in messy waves, that "I just woke up like this" look that took way too much effort. He wore a trim, grey, historical styled suit with a silk cravat that matched the scarlet fabric of her own dress. Her heart skipped a beat, and Annabeth stood.

"Who knew you could clean up so nicely."

Percy rolled his eyes, a smirk back on his lips, "You calling me a slob, Chase?"

"Not at all. Just saying it's a far cry from that hoodie you had on earlier." She laughed, reaching up to straighten the corsage pinned to his lapel. "God, why the flowers? It's going to make us look like we're going to prom!"

"Well I never went to prom, so I guess this is as close as I'll ever get."

"Me neither." She saw yet another hint of surprise cross his features, but it's gone again, and he cleared his throat, offering his arm.

"Then will you be my prom date, Chase?"

"It would be my pleasure, Jackson." She slipped her arm into his and he led her to the set, just in time for her name to be called.

"Annabeth Chase and Connor Stoll?"

"Percy Jackson, actually." Percy responded.

The assistant scribbled a note on their clipboard, "Social media handle?"

"Don't have one."

Another note was scribbled, "To the right, please."

The set consisted of a pink backdrop with a white and gold staircase surrounded by bunches of flowers, a chaise lounge, and some large fake windows. Percy helped Annabeth onto the stairs.

"So… how lovey do these need to be?" Annabeth asked in a low tone, now suddenly confronted with the fact that she'd be up close and personal with a practical stranger. She'd never done a romantic themed shoot before.

"No more than you're comfortable with." His smile was comforting and she took a breath, returning it after a moment.

The photographer, a woman with curly red hair and paint-smudged jeans, called for them to start posing, "No funny business, Percy, or I'm calling your mother!" she added at the end, at which Percy laughed.

"I'm a professional, Rachel, give me some credit." His gaze dropped to Annabeth again and his smile softened, "Is it okay if I take you?" He gestured towards her.

Annabeth blinked, "Excuse me?"

"Your waist."

"Oh– oh, yes, of course." Her cheeks turned pink under the layers of makeup as his arm snaked around her waist, his palm gripping her side.

"This okay?"

"It's fine."

"Can I–"

"You have my permission to maneuver me however you need."

He raised an eyebrow, but nodded, pulling her flush against him, "Okay, lean away from me– not so stiff, think romance novel cover, not kidnap victim–"

"Sometimes they're the same thing." She muttered, and he laughed. She liked his laugh.

Her left hand rested on his chest as she leaned back and towards the camera, her free arm curving in a way she had practiced for numerous other shoots before. She directed her gaze downward, showing off the eyeshadow on her lids. Rachel, the photographer, snapped a few photos, then they shifted positions as if taking a silent cue. There was a flow to shoots like this, and once one had done enough one could generally feel when a change was needed even without direction.

Annabeth rested both hands on his chest now, and felt a strong hand reach up to cup the back of her head, bringing their faces closer. For one world-tilting moment, she thought he might kiss her, but instead their mouths just hovered centimeters away.

From this close she could see almost too much of him. His green eyes weren't just green– they had flecks of blue. He had a freckle just below his lashes, and another on his lip. His breath mingled with hers in the air and she decided to lean into the intimacy of it, letting her body relax in his arms, her eyes to lid and her chest to heave in the corseted dress. He seemed to relax too, his gaze softening, his usual smirk dropping to something more… gentle.

"You do this often?" She murmured between shots, wondering if he can feel the way her heart is beating.

He shrugged almost imperceptibly, "Easier to direct models if I know what it feels like. Never did it professionally myself, but I do test shoots at home all the time."

"You test shoots like this at home? By yourself?"

"You'd be amazed at how versatile anime girl body pillows can be."

She can't contain a snort of laughter at that, "You're joking."

"Am I?" He wiggled his eyebrows, "Okay, you got me, I make my roommate practice with me."

"And how do they feel about that?"

"Oh he hates it."

Annabeth laughed. That made more sense. Wordlessly, they shifted again, Percy guiding her to turn and lean back into his chest, her head resting against his shoulder, his arms coming around her to hold her gently. She felt a strong palm rest on her stomach and sucked in a breath. The hand was gone.

"Too much?" His voice in her ear was laced with concern.

"N-no, not at all." She guided his hand back to her waist where it stayed, her own hand resting atop his as the shoot continued. Soon enough they finished on the stairs and moved to the lounge, and Annabeth thought that this shoot really did feel like they were featured in a romance novel cover as she reclined back into the cushions, Percy hovering over her.

He checked in with her constantly, despite her reassurances, and it made her feel far more comfortable than she would have been otherwise. Knowing he was so concerned about making her uncomfortable… Well, it was the bare minimum, but she appreciated it all the same.

Annabeth shifted beneath him, and of course he noticed.

"Don't worry, we have a costume change after this but the next part of the shoot won't take long, it'll be more modern clothes too so you won't have to deal with a corset strangling you."

Annabeth couldn't help herself, "Actually it's quite comfortable, historically corsets were no more restrictive than a bra and were for support, especially with how heavy the clothes at the time were, unless you're tight lacing but even then if you do it right, it shouldn't cause you to pass out like the movies might suggest."

The corner of Percy's mouth twitched, "Huh. I didn't know that."

She cleared her throat, "Sorry, I just–"

"Why are you apologizing? That's really interesting."

Annabeth opened her mouth to respond, but Rachel called for them to go get changed and Percy was off of her in moments, offering a hand to help her up.

The next set was white with giant colorful blocks, rose petals, and plushies stacked around. Annabeth found herself in a tight, hot pink dress, her makeup touched up to fit the mood, and met up with Percy who was decked out in a charcoal grey suit. They took a moment to size each other up, and he grinned, his smile charmingly lopsided. Maybe the smirk he always had wasn't intended to be a smirk. Maybe his mouth just did that.

"Ready for round two?" He asked, guiding her to one of the blocks.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

The theme of this part of the shoot was less about a sweeping romance and more– well, raunchy. Annabeth found herself posing with her heeled foot planted directly against Percy's chest, or her hand tugging at his tie, or with them sprawled on the blocks, looking resentfully at the camera as if they wished it weren't there. During a particularly smoldering shot, Percy leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Wanna know Apollo's real name?"

"Tell me." Annabeth breathed.

"Lester Papadopoulos."

She couldn't contain her laugh, breaking character, " Lester?! "

Annabeth got back at him a few shots later, brushing her lips against his lobe as her arms wrapped around his chest from behind, "You know, I almost became a photographer."

"Really?" He murmured, and she nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Yeah… but I couldn't keep focus ."

She couldn't see his face, but she could imagine the way his brow might furrow as he paused, trying to work out what she said. Then she felt his body shake against her. Then he was laughing, "Oh my God, seriously? That's the best you could do?!"

"Cut me a break, I'm working with what I have!" She giggled, trying desperately to keep her face straight and failing.

Of course, it didn't stop there. Back and forth they went, until finally Percy groaned out from beneath her for a shot of them lying on the ground, surrounded by the petals, "Why can't you come up with better photography jokes?"

Without missing a beat, Annabeth responded, "Because they haven't been developed yet."

The two dissolved into giggles, and Rachel poked her head out from behind the camera, rolling her eyes, "Oh my God will you two stop messing around for five seconds while I take this shot?!"

"Sorry!" They responded in unison, trying earnestly to force the smiles from their faces to no avail.

The rest of the shoot was a blur, and Annabeth and Percy made their way back to the dressing rooms together, still laughing over dumb puns and shoving each other playfully.

"Oh please, I totally got you more."

"Mmm, don't think so." Percy scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Pretty certain I made you break way more."

I'd like to see you break me in other ways, the voice in Annabeth's head answered. "Pretty sure that's wishful thinking." Her voice said instead.

"It's definitely not." He nodded to the door behind them, "Well, Annabeth Chase, I believe this is your stop."

"Well, Just-Percy, it was an honor."

"Please, the pleasure was mine." He did a flourished bow, and Annabeth laughed again.

She slipped into her room to change, tugging on her jeans and blouse and wiping off the lipstick before exiting, still pulling bobby pins from her head as she ran into Silena.

"Oh, hey! Ready to go?" Her friend asked.

"Sure, let me find Percy to say goodbye and–"

"Oh, he left already."

Annabeth's disappointment was immediate. "Oh. Well, okay, then yeah, I'm ready." She had been hoping to grab his phone number, but she supposed he was a busy guy, and probably had lots of places to be. Still, she hoped he enjoyed himself today as much as she had.

With a sigh, she padded behind Silena and Beckendorf, the couple holding hands, talking about their excitement to see the finished product, and Annabeth's mind wandered.

She hadn't been so physically close to someone in a long time. Percy was handsome, there was no doubt about that, and Annabeth definitely wanted to get to know him better. But asking him out for coffee seemed so… well, as casual as a cup of coffee between friends was, it had deeper implications these days.

When she arrived at her half-unpacked apartment, Annabeth flopped on her couch and began scrolling her phone. Percy had said he didn't have social media but that couldn't be true… could it? Her thumbs flew across the screen as she typed "Perseus Jackson" into the search bar. Nothing. "Percy Jackson" then? A few accounts popped up, surprisingly, but none looked to be the photographer she'd spent the entire day with.

She switched to google, which yielded slightly more success– She found an old article about an up and coming photographer, and pictures. Lots of pictures.

Disappointingly, none were of him, but rather, were taken by him. And they were gorgeous. Most were portraits, vogue style shoots, some fashion, a few nature shots. There was one portrait of a familiar red-head girl, younger than when she had seen her earlier that day, but there was no mistaking Rachel. It was attached to a link talking about her being the eccentric heiress to a billion dollar company, and Annabeth blinked, taken aback by this new information. Huh. What was an heiress doing snapping photos for a online magazine?

Finally, she found a link to a website domain that seemed promising, a gallery of Percy's work and a contact page. No phone number, but there was a business email.

She hovered over it, biting her lip. It would be weird, to just reach out to his work email and say she wanted to see more of him, right? Definitely weird. Totally weird. And creepy. And unprofessional.

Well damn.

With a sigh, Annabeth closed out of the tab and tossed her phone to the side. If she ran into him again… well then maybe she'd work up the courage to ask for his number or something. Or see if he wanted to hang out outside of work. Or… something.

But until then, it was best to stop worrying over it. With a groan, Annabeth sat up and began bustling around her apartment, despite the late hour, unpacking shelves and the books that belonged on them, hanging curtains, generally keeping herself so busy as to prevent a single thought from occurring.

Annabeth was an overthinker. She knew this. And try as she might, she couldn't stop it. Couldn't stop wondering why Percy left without saying goodbye, even as she reasoned with herself. Couldn't stop wondering if he had as much fun as she did. Couldn't stop wondering If he even wanted to see her again.

Was she reading into things if she thought he had liked her? Or was it reading into things if she decided that he must not? Or perhaps it was reading into things to assume he thought nothing of her at all.

Plagued by her anxieties, Annabeth finally glanced at the clock and seeing that it was well past midnight, decided she should probably call it and sleep. But even as she climbed into her newly made bed, she couldn't stop thinking about it until the moment she finally drifted off.


Two weeks later, the shoot debuted online in time for Valentines Day. Annabeth moaned as she stretched under her sheets and reached for her phone, already knowing she'd need to schedule her own post about it now that it had gone public and her NDA no longer applied. Then there were Instagram stories to share, behind the scenes photos, videos, a selfie with Silena, a mirror photo of her red dress, etc. etc. etc.

As her screen clicked on, she was greeted to a barrage of notifications. Expected, of course. They were a constant, and always increased after a shoot like this went live. But then as she scanned the contents, she frowned, sitting up in bed.

7 New Text Messages

5 Missed Calls

One missed call from Matthew, her brother. The other calls were from Piper. Some of the texts too, and her frown deepened at the contents.

6:05AM PIPER MCLEAN
UMMMM you didn't tell me you were seeing someone!
congrats, btw!
annababe, wake up!
call meeeeeeeeeeeeeee

6:30AM SILENA BEAUREGARD
Hey, saw the comments, it might be a rough day, if you need anything, moral support, or advice, or anything at all… well, you can always let me know, okay? 3

7:17AM MATTHEW CHASE
lmaooooooooo who is connor?

But it was the last text that caught her attention.

7:39AM THALIA GRACE
You know Percy Jackson?

As much as she was curious as to what the other texts were talking about, as much as her anxiety rose in her throat like bile… Thalia's text intrigued her the most. She quickly texted back;

8:03AM ANNABETH CHASE
Kind of… you know him too?

And then she opened Instagram.

She was used to seeing the little red notification icon in the top right hand corner. She was used to seeing big numbers. But what she saw now made her eyes widen. She tapped it, clicking on the first priority notification, a tag on a post by the magazine she'd shot with just a couple weeks ago.

When it finally loaded, she saw her own face and Percy's staring back, his eyes focused on the camera while her own were lidded, looking off to the side. They were embraced, and they looked good. It was sensual and sexy and Annabeth couldn't fight a smile. It dropped quickly once she glanced at the caption, and she nearly choked, her mouth falling open in shock.

: Happy V-Day Olympians! Featuring influencer Annabeth Chase ( annabethechase) with boyfriend Connor Stoll ( stollurheart)

Beneath was a list of crew members and products used for the shoot but Annabeth had stopped reading. She stared. She laughed, incredulous at what she was seeing. What… what?

Her mind raced. Someone messed up. And who was Connor?! Vague memories of that name being used to refer to the model who never made it swam in her head and she groaned, flopping back into her pillows. Not only did they incorrectly credit Percy, they… wrote that he was her boyfriend? Her curiosity got the better of her and she snatched her phone back up, scrolling to the comments.

greg049967: ugh she's dating someone? Darn :/

no1chasefan: lollll um i dont think thats stollurheart in the pic?

adeptrising: Oh my gosh that's so cute! How exciting!

fboifsu: ugly ?

marielovesbrad: it's not him guys, i checked

gotrollurself: ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

.the.w00ds: congrats

hoosier_daddy: ? ゚リツ?

Her annoyance grew. Now some poor Connor person was probably being flooded by weird comments too, her own page was a disaster zone of people talking about her love life, and she had no idea how to approach damage control. Should she contact the magazine directly and tell them to change it? Did she make a post herself stating they weren't dating? She was tempted to take Silena up on her offer when a notification caught her eye. A new follower alert. Common, but the name is what drew her attention;

percyjustjackson

Her breath caught in her throat, and she clicked on the profile. It was empty, other than a profile pic of a dark haired guy covering his face. Could it be…?

Annabeth followed back without thinking, and that's when the new message icon lit up. She was pretty sure of what she would find.

percyjustjackson:
hey.

She didn't need to think twice before responding.

annabethechase:
Oh my god I am so sorry!

percyjustjackson:
?

annabethechase
Just the whole… thing.
The photoshoot thing and dating thing and… everything?

percyjustjackson:
oh, haha, no worries, that's not your fault

annabethechase:
I know but I feel bad! They even credited the wrong person!

percyjustjackson:
it's really okay lol

annabethechase:
I'll make sure they fix it.

Annabeth bit her lip, then;

annabethechase:
Did you make an account just because of this?
I just didn't see this one before.

percyjustjackson:
were you looking?

She facepalmed. She gave herself away, without thinking, and now he would definitely think of her as some creep. But, she was in it now- might as well be honest.

annabethechase:
Yes.
I wanted to apologize for not catching you before you left the shoot, I wanted to say goodbye!

percyjustjackson:
haha no worries
actually the photoshoot thing is only part of it
why i made an instagram, i mean
i uh
well i figured i could probably do some networking, get some sort of following. couldnt hurt to be more easily reached by clients and models and magazines and stuff too

annabethechase:
Oh yeah!
Well if you ever need any help getting started, let me know.

Annabeth took a breath, building her courage, before—

annabethechase:
Actually, I can give you my number, we can go get a coffee sometime or something?

She paused, then hastily added;

annabethechase:
To talk about networking and stuff.

percyjustjackson:
yeah that would be cool
we should sort out this vday thing first tho
i dont think it would help the whole "not dating" thing if we hang out haha

Annabeth paused once more, clicking her thumbnail on her phone screen. Well… would it really hurt, to let people think they were dating? Percy said he was interested in growing his following after all, and if Annabeth could help then…

annabethechase:
Actually, I have an idea.
Here's my number, can you call me?
xxx-xxx-xxxx

She hastily closed out of the app, too nervous to see his reply— which she figured she'd find out his answer shortly.

And it came even faster than expected, because no sooner had she swiped away from Instagram did her phone start to buzz in her hands, an unknown number. Annabeth pressed answer, holding it to her ear, "Hello?"

"Hey Chase." His voice was casual, but deeper than she remembered, possibly from sleep. How soon after waking up did he see the news, make an account, and message her?

"Hi Just-Percy." As she said it, a thought struck her, "Wait, your username…"

"Ah, yeah." His chuckle sounds sheepish, "Just-Percy was somehow already taken. So was Just-Jackson. So I compromised."

For some reason, the fact that he based his account off of a joke she had made made her heart flutter, "It's cute, I like it." A breath, "So um…" Annabeth trailed off.

There was a moment of silence, then, "Was there a reason you wanted me to call you or—"

"Yes! Yeah, um… I had an idea."

"Okay."

"And it's a little… well, it's weird by most standards. Not super weird by social media standards but you haven't really used it before and—"

"Nah I've used it before, just didn't find much use for it."

"Okay, fair."

"You were saying before I so rudely interrupted?"

Annabeth laughed, her nerves lessening a bit, "Well… okay, we can get the magazine to tag your new account, but what if… what if we didn't… tell them to retract the boyfriend part?"

There was a long pause.

"… This your way of asking me out, Chase?" He sounded nervous, his voice a bit strained, and Annabeth jumped in quickly.

"No! No, God no, just… I have a lot of followers, right? And the thing about followers is that they'll often um… well they can have a bit of a parasocial relationship with the people they follow online. And that extends to their significant others…"

"…Ah."

"I'm not saying we have to fake it or anything!" She adds quickly, "We don't need to lie, we just… wouldn't deny. It would be a good way to get you some early exposure, you could grow a lot very quickly. And if we ever get sick of people assuming we're together like that , we can set the record straight. No big deal."

"Right…" Percy could be heard exhaling on the other end, and she was sure he was going to shut her down, tell her she was crazy for suggesting it, when, "Okay, let's do it."

"Really?" She perked up, trying not to sound too excited.

"Yeah sure. But what are you getting out of this? Why would you just… do this sort of thing out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Am I not allowed to do something just because it's nice?" She felt her eyebrows raise, and he laughed on the other end.

"No, don't you read? Apparently as a social media addicted millennial influencer, you're supposed to be horribly vain and selfish."

"Ah, I must have missed that particular newsletter. All us social media addicted millennial influencers get them, you know?"

She could hear the lopsided grin in his voice as he spoke, "You know, you're not bad Chase."

"You're not too shabby yourself, Just-Percy."

"Then I guess we should go get that coffee soon. Tomorrow?" Her heart skipped a beat, and he continued, "Just thinking if we want to keep up some sort of pretense, we should get to know each other better."

"Yeah, yeah that would be great!"

"I'll text you the details then."

"Sounds good."

It was quiet again, then, "Hey, Annabeth, it's… really cool of you to do this sort of thing for me. Really."

She tried not to dwell too much on the fact that it was the first time he'd called her by her first name, or that his voice sounded so much softer when he said it. "It's no trouble, really. You'd be helping me too— it's mutually beneficial."

"Yeah, well, either way, thanks. Talk to you soon?"

"Soon." She promised. "Bye."

"Bye."

They hung up. Annabeth got to work immediately, not even bothering to get out of bed as she emailed the magazine, letting them know that they'd tagged the wrong person as her "boyfriend" and giving them Percy's new handle. She swung her legs out of bed and padded to her bathroom, getting ready for the day before sending a text to Piper;

8:52AM ANNABETH CHASE
No, Pipes, no boyfriend lol
I'll explain later

She figured she should probably explain to Matthew too, but her family didn't really "get" the social media thing, and they'd be extra confused about why a guy was listed as her boyfriend who wasn't her boyfriend. Later, then. She made her way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, before remembering the coffee maker was buried somewhere in the numerous boxes strewn about her house. With a groan, Annabeth grabbed her box cutter and began the search, ripping through tape in a desperate search for the mislaid appliance. She was swiping it across the top of her third box when her phone buzzed again, distracting her.

Slice!

"O-ow! Shit!" She stuck the sliced fingers in her mouth automatically, grabbing her phone as she went searching to the bathroom for bandaids–

Which were almost certainly also boxed up somewhere. Cursing under her breath, Annabeth grabbed some toilet paper and hastily wound it around her fingers, already sick of today and it wasn't even nine. Stll, it wasn't all bad…

Percy was handsome. So far, he'd also been kind. And funny. And something about him intrigued her; she wanted to know more. She wanted to know him. Annabeth had a funny feeling they'd get along.

She was digging around for bandages when she remembered her phone had gone off, and when she glanced at the screen, she was taken by surprise at Thalia's answer to her question; did she know Percy Jackson?

9:04AM THALIA GRACE
Yeah lol he's my little brother's roommate

Annabeth's eyes widened. In a flash, she was texting back, ignoring the throbbing pain in her hand as she did, too eager to find out more.

9:07AM ANNABETH CHASE
I thought Jason lived with Grover?!

The response was almost immediate.

9:07AM THALIA GRACE
Yeah lol, the three of them got a place together last year.
So you're seeing him or what?

Annabeth bit her lip, debating on how to reply.

9:08AM ANNABETH CHASE
Not exactly…

9:09AM THALIA GRACE
What does THAT mean?

She sighed, opting to dig for bandaids once more instead of answering Thalia's question.

The truth was… it wasn't out of the goodness of her heart that she offered for her and Percy to keep their relationship vague. Of course, that was part of it– he was talented. He deserved to see success. But part of her was eager for an excuse to see him again. To get to know him, to talk with him and joke with him as she'd done at the shoot. And as far as she could tell, he didn't seem opposed to seeing her again either.

With an "aha!", Annabeth tugged out the tiny cardboard box of bandaids and some disinfectant, getting to work on her hands before finally turning her attention back to her phone, which had been buzzing non-stop for the past few minutes.

9:11AM THALIA GRACE
Hellooooooooooo
Annabeth
Annie
Annie are ya ok
Are you ok Annie
Oh my god you can't leave me hanging like this

9:16AM ANNABETH CHASE
I've told you not to call me that

9:16AM THALIA GRACE
It was for the bit!
C'mon give me something to work with

Annabeth gnawed on her lip, examining her bandaged fingers idly, before finally responding;

9:17AM ANNABETH CHASE
It's a long story
We're not… like, together-together
Idk we're getting coffee tomorrow.
Just like. If anyone asks just shrug your shoulders

9:18AM THALIA GRACE

This isn't some dumb social media stunt right

9:18AM ANNABETH CHASE

9:18AM THALIA GRACE
Oh my GOD it is!
lmaooooo
Percy like… didn't strike me as the type to go for that
also why did it tag him as some connor person?

9:19AM ANNABETH CHASE
It was a mistake, the magazine will fix it.

9:19AM THALIA GRACE
uh huh
WELL anyway, we gotta catch up, because I'm still confused lol

9:20AM ANNABETH CHASE
Okay!
I promise it's not that big of a thing.

9:20AM THALIA GRACE
Yeah, yeah
let's do like, lunch or something?
ugh
Here I am, suggesting LUNCH
Who am I, my mother?!

Annabeth giggled.

9:21AM ANNABETH CHASE
We'll figure it out.
Talk soon!

She sighed, standing from her crouch on the bathroom floor to stride purposefully to her laptop on the kitchen table. Annabeth had a lot of work to do today.


It was almost noon when the magazine finally fixed the caption on the post. To her surprise, it now read;

: Happy V-Day Olympians! Featuring influencer Annabeth Chase ( annabethechase) with model Percy Jackson ( percyjustjackson)

So they fixed the "boyfriend" part too. Well that would keep internet sleuths busy for days . In fact, the newer comments were already running wild with theories, and she scrolled them idly, taking a break from photoshopping photos and drafting new posts;

no1chasefan: told u guys it wasnt him

inyoureyes91: wait, so is stollurheart her boyfriend or is percyjustjackson?

annabethc4ever: omg ive never seen his face before! I love his photos! So excited that they're together!

itshannahgrey: no she's with connor right? they said he was her boyfriend earlier…

snugglescream: lol someone messed up big time

hidemyerror: who is percy jackson?

Who is Percy Jackson? Annabeth repeated the question to herself, mulling it over. Photographer, one-time model, and… what else? Her curiosity was only growing. Annabeth liked knowing things. She liked to know people. Maybe it came across as judgemental, but most individuals she felt she could figure out on the first meeting; who they were, what they were like, how to best interact with them to get maximum relationship points– maybe she'd been thinking about it too much like a Sims game, but it worked for her so far. Maybe that was why this social media thing had come so easily to her. She knew what people wanted.

But Percy wasn't like that. He was… well she couldn't quite figure him out. But he was funny, and fun to be around, and had an energy that left her wanting more. And that's what she liked about him.