A/N: Hey guys! Back just in time with this month's updates. Shoutout to guests Live life and BlueCookies112 for the prompts that I combined together to write this, hope you guys like it!

Annabeth is dead tired. Between the AP classes and after school track meets, she barely has enough time to breathe, let alone grab a sandwich from a nearby café and sit under the tree in the small park across the street.

And yet, here she is.

Though even as she tries to relax, inhaling the sweet scent of the muffin she just bought, she can't get away from school. Quite literally, as it's just a block away and she can see a few people in the parking lot, no doubt going home after various after-school activities.

Sighing, she puts down the muffin to pull out her book for English so she can be productive while she eats. And if that isn't a depressing thought.

Luckily, the muffin lifts her mood as she tries to read the allotted chapters, but a loud sound startles her attention away. Even more luckily, she doesn't drop her muffin, but she still scowls towards the direction of the school.

A group of three guys are cackling loudly at the car siren they had most definitely been the cause of. And though she can't tell from this far, she can guess the head of dirty blonde hair belongs to Sloan. He's the kind of guy that she despises, the kind to do nothing but cause trouble on his daddy's dime and—why the fuck is he heading her way?

Separating from the other two, he shares one last laugh, and begins to walk towards the café. And invariably, towards her.

Whatever, she has an English assignment to finish.

(But she still lets out a sigh of relief when he passes her without comment).

Somehow, she manages to get decently into the book, so that she only notices his presence when he's six feet away. He's got a coffee in one hand and an annoying grin on his face and she wonders what he's doing here.

They've never talked. They don't have any of the same classes. She only knows who he is because his exploits end up as such common gossip that it even reaches her buried-in-homework ears.

"Heyyy," he drags out the word unnecessarily, shooting her a wink.

She rolls her eyes and wonders if ignoring him will work. But when she looks back down at her book, he steps closer.

Oh hell no. Her hand automatically clutches her phone and her grip around her bag tightens because she is not in the mood to deal with this bullshit right now.

She's a second away from getting up and walking away when he speaks again.

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

Yep, she's out of here. Stuffing her book in her bag and zipping it, she quickly stands up. He takes another step closer, anger now visible on his face.

Even with a backpack she bets that she can run faster than him. She's on track and field and he's on his dad's (very expensive) couch.

"Leave me alone." She decides to address him since ignoring him hadn't worked. Her fingers quickly unlock her phone behind her back. She would love to raise hell about this, call the cops if he takes even a half step closer.

She's got five assignments and a test and she's in no fucking mood to deal with some self-entitled dick who thinks he can get whatever he wants by treating everyone (especially girls) like things to be bought.

Maybe it's the book she's reading for English, but it hits her then how surreal this experience is and how absurdly well she's not only expecting the worst, but prepared for it. What kind of fucked-up society lets women live like this?

But the introspective (or is it extrospective?) moment ends when his face turns into a full-blown frown like a kid about to throw a tantrum.

"You're a bitch, but a hot bitch," he lunges forward as she takes a step back, ready to run. His hand just brushes against hers as he continues, "So why don't you come here—"

His words are cut off by a black blur and it takes a second for her to realize it's a hoodie sleeve covering a fist that just knocked the air out of him in a single punch.

Annabeth stands there, completely shocked at the guy who's somehow miraculously appeared there as Sloan sputters on the ground.

"And this," the new guy says in a low voice, bending down to the grass. "Is for existing, you pitiful piece of scum."

And with that the guy lands another blow right to his face and Sloan literally cries out in pain as the guy stands up again.

"Are you okay?" he asks, turning towards her for the first time and—holy shit.

It's Percy Jackson.

Another person she's never talked to, and though they don't share many of the same classes, she knows of him for two reasons.

One, he's also known around the school for his exploits (well, one exploit) which had incidentally been something about punching. But Percy is much more lowkey than Sloan, opting to stay in the back wearing black hoodies and ripped jeans, earning him a more "loner-bad boy" kind of vibe.

But Percy isn't a loner and she knows that from the second reason she knows about him. He's pretty good in English, and though they don't share the same period, Mr. Blofis usually talks about some point or the other some of the students in his second period class talked about and Percy's name usually pops up.

And she still hasn't answered his question.

Slowly, she nods, her heart rate still racing as she finally puts her phone in her back pocket, relinquishing the tight hold she's had on the device.

"God, he's such a dick," Percy continues, looking down at Sloan still slumped on the ground.

"Thank you, by the way," he adds, looking back towards her.

"What?" It slips out of her mouth before she can help it.

Percy shoots her a grin and it feels ten times better than the one Sloan had shot her earlier. "I've always wanted a reason to punch this guy."

"You FUCK!" Sloan suddenly yells from his position on the floor, apparently finally catching his breath.

Percy's face morphs into anger as he turns back towards where Sloan is attempting to stand up and oh no, she's not about to see another round of this.

Without really thinking about it, she grabs Percy's arms and tugs.

"Come on Percy, let's go."

Surprise crosses his face, and it's enough for her to get the advantage to pull him across the park and back towards the school.

"He's not even worth it and you'll get in even more trouble. Well, most likely he won't tell anyone because he can't admit defeat but still." She's rambling a little, but her adrenaline is still pumping, and Percy hasn't said a word, and she really should drop his arm now.

She does, letting her hand fall by her side, as he turns to her with the same surprised look as before.

"What?" she asks, more self-conscious now.

"You know my name." It's a statement and she can do nothing but nod.

"But… how?"

She can't stop the small smile from overtaking her face at his bafflement.

"People kind of know about you since that one incident where you punched a printer or something? Also," she adds casually, "Mr. Blofis talks about you."

"Wait, do a lot of people know about the printer thing?"

She has no idea how he doesn't know this, but the quiet surprise on his face is endearing and actually now that she's looking, he's cute in general. Like really cute. (A lot cute for some supposed "loner-bad boy.")

"Yeah, it kind of went around."

"Oh."

She smiles, nudging him slightly. "Don't worry, people think you're some kind of bad boy who punches things."

"But I'm not!"

Yep, way too cute.

"You just punched Sloan."

"Oh, right…."

She can't help but laugh and he gives her a sideways look, a grin overtaking his face as well.

"Thank you for that by the way," she says, sobering up. Because though their little chat had helped calm her nerves, she knows how shitty that situation could have gone. Even though she had had her phone ready and was on defense mode.

"No need to thank me, he deserved it." Percy replies, a scowl on his face. (Even his scrunched-up eyebrows are cute. How is she just meeting him now?)

"Still, that made my life a lot easier."

"I'm just glad you're okay." And he's looking at her again, face full of concern and voice laced with worry.

She takes a deep breath and nods. So is she.

"Yeah, I am."

He's slowed down his pace and they're approaching one of the few cars left in the parking lot.

"Did you drive?" he asks, stopping next to a black Prius.

"No, I was waiting on the bus."

And look where waiting for the bus landed her. Actually, Sloan with a broken nose and Percy Jackson's company didn't seem to bad.

"Oh, okay, um…" Percy trails off, fingers fidgeting with his keys. She hasn't been awkward or nervous til now but all of a sudden, she feels that way.

"Do you, um, want a ride?" He offers, finally finishing his sentence.

"Yeah, actually, that would be nice. If you don't mind…." She wants nothing more than to get to know this kid better.

He responds by opening the passenger side door for her.

-.-

The only saving grace to being a senior is off-campus lunch. The only downside is that none of her friends have her lunch period.

But today, she finds the best possible outcome of having her lunch sixth period.

Percy Jackson.

They haven't really talked after he had given her a ride home two days ago other than passing smiles in the hall, and she's not going to lie and say that she didn't wish they could just…hang out.

But for the second time this week, luck is on her side. Because as she decides to visit the café again, the tree in the small park catches her attention. And then the person sitting there catches her attention even more.

Evidently taking advantage of the unusually hot day, Percy Jackson is sitting there in a black t-shirt that does a great job of displaying his form.

Annabeth is not one to say no to the miracles, so she abandons her route and heads towards him instead.

He looks up as she approaches, and a confused smile graces his face.

"Annabeth?"

"Hey." She waves. "Can I join you?"

For some reason, she's nervous for his answer, even though it was here he had helped her not even two days ago and then driven her home chatting about everything from school to TV shows.

But her worry is unjustified because the confused look morphs into a smile and he moves over to make room for her.

She plops down beside him and god, she takes back what she said about him being cute. He's downright hot in a black t-shirt with his hair brushed to the side.

"Did you finish the book?" he asks, holding up the book they're supposed to be reading for class.

She shakes her head, pulling it out. After the…incident…she hadn't picked it up again.

"How far are you? Do you mind if I read it? I'm almost done." He's rambling a little, but she doesn't find herself minding it one bit.

"I'm almost done too."

He nods, turning back to his book, laying back on the grass with his head against his backpack. Much like last time, she fails to ignore him and focus on the book.

She's resting with her back against the tree and Percy's head is close to her lap and all she wants is to run her fingers through his hair to see if it's as soft as it looks. But somehow, she manages to, once again, get into the book. And much like last time something startles her attention away, a light touch against her.

Percy's book is brushing her legs as his eyes droop closed, his hand resting across her knees.

It's entirely too adorable.

But before she can let it continue, he startles awake and looks up to meet her eyes, his face turning bright red.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry—"

She cuts his apology before it can begin. "I don't mind."

He sits up, still clearly embarrassed and she's honestly more disappointed that he woke up than he is.

"The book is kinda hard to get into," she says by way of conversation, hoping it'll ease his worry.

"A little," he admits with a bashful smile still on his face. "But I like it."

She looks at him straight in his sea-green eyes, remembering all the things she has learned about Percy Jackson in the past few days. The conversation from a car ride he had offered her, the way he had punched Sloan in the face (something she had longed to do for so long) and just now, how soft he had looked while reading.

Yep, she likes it too. So with a soft smile, she replies as directly as she can, still looking him in the eyes.

"So do I."

The blush on his face says everything.

The next day, she sits by the tree at lunch and Percy plops down next her, wasting no time in pulling out his book and laying his head across her lap.

And it's not long after that she pulls him in for a kiss.

It's even more worth it to see the look on Sloan's face when he happens to see them in school holding hands. But it's nothing compared to the feeling of being in Percy's arms.

Annabeth might be dead tired. And between the AP classes and after school track meets, she barely has enough time to breathe, let alone have an insanely caring and loving boyfriend.

And yet, here she is.

A/N: So what did you think? Like I said I combined two prompts that were sent to me for this chapter (it's been a while since I've been in high school, so I hope this was realistic enough)! Thanks again to Live life and Bluecookies112. (I hope you guys still like this chapter even though it wasn't completely what you requested, I was able to come up with an idea if I mixed them together and I hope you two don't mind!)

NOTE: On the subject of prompts, I want to make a quick note about requests: a few people have sent me requests in the reviews of this story and I just want to say that I really appreciate it! But I can't promise that I'll get to writing each one or it might just take some time for me to get around to it. It depends on if I think I can write something good out of it, if I have time, and what I already have planned to do. So please know that I have nothing against leaving requests, I just can't guarantee that it'll happen or happen soon!

(Also, if you have oneshot/drabble requests that aren't first meetings, I can also take them on my tumblr: forevfangirlwrites)

IMPORTANT NOTE: A lot of people liked the last chapter and I wanted to let you guys know that there are follow-up oneshots to that AU on my AO3: foreverfangirlwrites (under the series: how to handle fame) along with a lot of other one shots if you guys are interested.

And that's enough out of me, so please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And as always, thanks for reading!

See ya! :)