Chapter Two:

July 12th

Annabeth's entire life was completely planned out for her. After she graduated high school as valedictorian, she would go to Yale to study architecture, just like her mom did, and then work with her mom at her architecture firm for the rest of her life. Annabeth knew that anything less would be unacceptable for her parents, both of them have accomplished so much in their lives and they always have expected the same from their only child.

And it was exhausting. Constantly having to think about her next decision and how her parents will react and seeking everyone else's approval before her own was exhausting and overwhelming. And Annabeth didn't know how to handle it sometimes.

And here she was getting ready for her 17th birthday party that she had no control over, where she was going to have to entertain all of her parent's friends that only wanted to eat the food and get drunk while sucking up to her parents. Annabeth's mom only let her invite 3 of her friends so Thalia, Jason, and Piper were coming before they all left to go to her real party. The party she had really wanted, with all of her friends and no parents where they could just relax for a little while. As soon as dinner was finished they were all sneaking off to go to the Grace's and Annabeth couldn't be more ready for a night where she could let go and forget all the expectations.

After she had finished her hair and makeup, Annabeth walked to the kitchen to grab some water and walked into a battlefield. There were tons of people running through her apartment setting up tables and chairs and stringing up lights. She couldn't believe the lengths her parents would go to for an excuse to network and throw their successes in other people's faces. She headed towards the kitchen and ran into her mother.

"Annabeth, have you decided what you're wearing tonight?" Athena questioned while typing away on her phone.

Annabeth responded, "Yes, it's the long, black, chiffon dress with the ruffles."

Her mom just pursed her lips and said "I guess that'll do, but if you're going to wear that then you need to put your hair up."

She rolled her eyes and just nodded as if she hadn't spent the last hour and a half fixing her hair.

She grabbed a water bottle from the fridge as her mom went on explaining the importance of tonight for her getting new clients for her firm and how Annabeth needed to be on her best behavior. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could handle and then the doorbell rang.

"Oh, I think that's the baker I hired." Her mom said as she headed for the front door and Annabeth took the chance to make her escape.

She went back to her bathroom to redo her hair in an elegant bun that she hoped her mom would approve of.

Her phone binged with a text from her best friend Thalia, Everything's set for the party! We're on our way over to your parent's party now.

Annabeth quickly sent a response Sounds good! See you soon :)

She realized that guests had started to arrive when she heard her parents greeting them and the music begin to play from their speakers. Annabeth scrambled to put her dress on, knowing her parents would be upset if she wasn't downstairs soon.

As soon as she was completely ready, she headed downstairs and met her parents by the front door.

"You look wonderful, sweetheart." Her dad said, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled, "Thanks, dad."

Her mom simply gave her an approving nod before turning to greet another couple.

Annabeth spent the first hour of the party there, greeting guests and thanking them for coming, until finally Thalia, Jason, and Piper showed up giving her a good excuse to leave her place next to her parents.

The second hour was spent with her friends trying to stay as far away from her parents as she could and snacking on appetizers.

The third hour welcomed dinner and her parents forced her to socialize with their guests and constantly answer the same questions, where are you going to school, what are you going to study, are you going to work with your mom, etc., etc.

The fourth hour brought an interesting turn of events. Annabeth was standing with her 3 friends in a corner when she saw him. Holding a tray of cupcakes, wearing black dress pants, and a white collared shirt, he was very obviously trying to blend in with the crowds and was very obviously failing. He looked perfect. His raven black hair was messy and was as dark as his pants, his tan skin seemed to glow against the white shirt, and his eyes were the brightest thing in the room. A swirling ocean of greens and blues that held a warm glow. They reflected kindness. He had kind eyes, something Annabeth never thought she would say about anyone.

He just seemed magnetic and familiar.

She turned towards Thalia and asked, "Do you know who that is?"

Thalia looked towards the guy and nodded, "Yeah that's Percy Jackson. He's like the star of the swim team at school."

The minute she heard his name, it clicked. She'd heard of him through most of her junior year, seen him in the hallways a few times, but never really noticed him. And now, now she was really seeing him and she couldn't look away. Percy was captivating.

Annabeth knew they were getting ready to sneak out to head to her party, but she didn't want to leave without speaking to him, so she didn't hesitate to walk over. He had turned away from her so she tapped on his shoulder to get his attention.

The minute he turned and looked at her, his eyes widened, his cheeks turned red, and it seemed like he became frozen in time.

She smiled at him and said, "Can I get a cupcake?"

He merely nodded nervously as he held out the tray.

After she had grabbed one, she asked, "You go to Goode, right?" He just nodded again.

She chuckled, "It's Percy? You're on the swim team?"

"Y-yes, that's right. And you're A-Annabeth." He stammered out.

She smiled, "That's me! So what are you doing here? I mean, serving cupcakes, which are delicious, by the way."

"Oh, thanks!" He replied with a big smile. Oh god, he has dimples. "My mom makes them, I mean, she owns the bakery that your mom hired to cater and, um, I'm helping serve and everything."

She nodded, "I didn't realize your mom owned a bakery, that's awesome! And you helping her is so sweet! Please thank her for all of her work, everything I've seen looks so good!"

He blushed more while staring at his shoes before glancing back up at her, "I'll tell her. I'm sure she'll appreciate it! And it's not really a big deal, I mean I'm not the only one helping. Uhh, Grover and Rachel are here, I'm not sure if you know them, but they're here somewhere."

Annabeth couldn't stop smiling at him, he was so cute and sweet and wonderful, she'd never met a teenage boy who just radiated kindness. And she never wanted to stop talking to him, she wanted to learn him. Everything about him, the things he loves, the things he hates, his mannerisms, she wanted everything that was him.

She realized she had tuned out when Percy was gently tapping her shoulder. "Um, your friends are calling your name," he said as he pointed over her shoulder.

Annabeth turned to see Thalia, Jason, and Piper signaling for her to come on so they could leave. She quickly glanced at her phone and saw they were already 10 minutes late.

She turned back to Percy and said "I'm so sorry. I have to go, we're having my party- I mean, my real party- right now and we're running late.

He just shrugged and replied, "It's okay, I should probably get back to, you know, my job and serve other guests."

She turned to leave and then paused before turning back to grab his shoulder. "Hey, umm I'm not sure how long you'll be here tonight or anything, but if you want to come to my actual party, you know, one that isn't this stuffy and everything," she said while gesturing around the room, "you can. It's at Thalia's and Jason's house, do you know where they live?"

He just shook his head.

"Well, I can send you the address. I mean, only if you want to come, of course. And you could bring your other friends, Grover and Rachel, right?"

He started at her for a second before responding while scratching his neck, "Umm, I-I guess, if y-you want me to. I'm not sure what time I'll be done though, it could be really late."

She just shrugged and said, "That's okay, we plan on hanging out the whole night so you can just swing by whenever you want. I would really love to see you there."

He simply nodded and said, "Y-yeah that works."

She smiled, "Great! Umm, let me get your number so I can text you the address?"

He repeated his number and she sent the text before quickly turning to meet her friends in the car.

When she finally climbed in the car with her friends they all looked at her with a smirk. Annabeth stared at them before glaring back, "What?"

They all shrugged and looked away before pulling away from her house. Annabeth spent the whole ride wondering if Percy would actually show.

A/N: Here's chapter 2! Again, please leave any thoughts or comments on the story so far! I appreciate anything you can give :) See ya in the next one!