If you need help, please contact the following:

National Eating Disorders Association Helpline: 1-800-931-2237

(Monday-Thursday 9am-9pm, Friday 9am-5pm. All EST time)

where-do-i-start-0

Song of the Chapter: Old Friend by Mitski

The weekend passed without much event. Annabeth spent her time holed up in her room, catching up on homework and exercise, trying to think about Luke and not think about Thalia. She hadn't really talked much to anyone, not even Piper and Leo, when Monday morning rolled around again.

Luckily, Annabeth had continued talking to Luke. Once he texted her and the other time she texted him. The conversations weren't long— maybe a simple question about homework, or just checking in, but it was nice to talk to him more.

As she walked to the subway, she couldn't help but ask herself if there was any chance Luke liked her back. Annabeth had denied the possibility for so long— of course she wanted it to be real, but she had never trusted that it would. But now that he was buying her food and talking to her a little more, maybe there could be a chance.

Annabeth slid into her seat and turned on her headphones. Hopefully she'd see him today, and try and avoid Thalia.

Percy got on at his stop, gave her a big smile, and made a beeline for the seat next to her. "What's up?"

She smiled back. "I'm pretty good! How are you doing?"

He shrugged. "Morning practice is starting up soon, so you won't be seeing me on the subway as much."

"Well, it's probably going to smell a lot better."

Percy pretended to frown. "You're going to miss me so-o much Annabeth. Who else is going to ask you to do all their math homework fifteen minutes before its due?"

"You, still, because you're just going to pester me with texts until I finally tell you."

Percy shot her a sly grin. He has such a nice smile, Annabeth thought. "You love it."

"Maybe I do."

Percy settled into his seat, leaning comfortably against Annabeth and talking about how much he hated having math first period. He looked really good today. His green henley brought out the color of his eyes. Just a thought. Not like Annabeth really cared.

"How's your mom and Paul doing?"

Percy brightened up. "Really, really good. They're rushing around with all the last minute wedding preparations, which is driving both of them crazy. The apartment is a complete disaster, which is kinda nice, because then my mom can't yell at me to clean up my room if everything else looks like it."

Annabeth laughed. "I remember your room! Do you still have SharkBoy and Lava Girl poster?"

Percy pouted. "You remember that?"

"How could I forget?"

"Well, the answer is no," he said, turning a little red.

"You liar. You totally have it."

He shrugged. "Guilty."

The subway pulled up to their stop and Percy and Annabeth got out, still chatting as they made their way to school. When they got to the front steps, Piper was waiting outside in the cold, her teeth chattering.

Annabeth frowned as she walked over to her. "Why are you outside?"

Piper shook her head. "Jason told me to meet him out here."

Percy grinned wickedly. "Really?"

"Really," said Piper. "How are you doing Annabeth? Fun hanging with Percy?"

Annabeth resisted the urge to glare at Piper. She needed to beat it into Piper a little more that she and Percy weren't going to be a couple. Just as she was going to open her mouth to respond, Percy said "We've gotta get going Piper, see you soon!" and grabbed Annabeth's arm, dragging her away.

"Why'd you drag me away?"

"Just watch," Percy said, pulling her inside the front door so they could look through the window. "Jason's going to ask her to Snow Ball."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Really!"

"Yeah!"

They didn't wait for long, but Jason soon came in and walked straight to Piper. He was holding coffee and a doughnut from Piper's favorite coffee shop, which he handed to her and shyly rubbed his hand on his neck while he asked. Piper's smile stretched across her face as she gave him a hug and wrapped her arms around him.

Annabeth turned to Percy, who was already staring at her from the corner of his eye. "That's so sweet!"

"I know. He's liked her for a while."

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Piper's going to freak out when she learns that. She's liked him for so long… I can't remember when it started."

"Well," Percy said, looking at her directly in the eyes, "some things are just meant to fall together, right?"

Annabeth looked right back at him. Her heart thudded in her chest.

The moment was broken when Jason and Piper walked in. Piper was smiling so big, looking so beautiful, that Annabeth completely forgot Percy for a moment. Piper waved as she walked by with Jason.

Just as Annabeth was about to turn back to Percy, someone slid an arm around her. "Hey Annabeth!"

"Oh! Hey Luke!" she said.

"Percy," Luke nodded.

Percy gave him a cursory nod back. "I gotta get going to math. Bye Annabeth!" He gave her a tight lipped smile before giving Luke a quick once over and walking off. Even though Luke was a year older, Percy had an inch or two of height on him.

"How are you doing?" Luke asked.

"Good! Little tired. Nothing new. You?"

"Oh, good, good. Student council is just getting ready for the Snow Ball and everything. We have a little under two weeks, so we just have to iron out the last few details. You're coming, right?"

"I mean, probably," Annabeth mused. "I still need a dress." The idea of shopping for a dress— of looking at herself in the mirror and trying anything on— made her want to be physically sick.

Luke nodded. "I got you. I hope you come!"

I hope you invite me. "Yeah, I'll let you know."

"Sounds good. Want me to walk you to class?"

"Sure!"

As first period ended, she got a text from Percy:

Percy: Hey we just had a ton of stuff in math that I don't really understand can we meet up tonight and talk about it?

Annabeth: Sure! What time is good?

Percy: Is after 7 ok? I have practice all afternoon. Maybe we can just go get dinner?

That couldn't have been more perfect. She could make it to spin class, run back home, and not have to eat dinner at home. Her dad was making a heavy stew for tonight, something she definitely wanted to avoid.

Annabeth: Good for me!

Percy: Want to go to Aunty Em's?

The thought of greasy diner food made her queasy, but it was Percy. She could handle it, and she hadn't been to Aunty Em's in years.

Annabeth: Sounds good

Percy: Awesome :)

What a perfect morning. Annabeth didn't need Thalia at all.

When Annabeth told Piper that she was going to get dinner with Percy tonight for math tutoring, Piper's eyebrows raised, but she didn't say anything. She completely forgot about it when Annabeth mentioned Jason, and they spent the rest of the lunch period talking about that. Leo groaned and moaned through the entire thing, and it turned out that he had known about it before, but had been sworn to secrecy.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

Leo put his hands up to surrender. "Hey Beauty Queen, not my fault. Jason and Percy both got six inches on me, easy, and I don't want to piss them off."

Annabeth scoffed. "Like they'd ever punch you."

"Why," Leo grinned, "because I'm too fast?"

"No, because you're below their pay grade."

Leo pouted.

It was so nice to be with her friends again. It was also a good lunch because Annabeth had saved her lunch throughout the entire morning, trying not to eat in any of her classes even though she was starving. Her food was so much better than she had anticipated: a whole wheat English muffin with mustard and lettuce, carrot sticks, and a handful of almonds. It really did taste better if she had saved it.

The only thing that didn't quite fit into Annabeth's good day was Thalia, but she tried not to think about it. Hopefully they would be able to make up, but Annabeth wasn't going to be the one apologizing first.

As Annabeth checked the gym schedule on her phone when she left her last class of the day, she realized their only spin classes were at 1 PM or 6 PM. Shit. She'd have to run straight from class to meet Percy- but she could manage it. She'd just have to go home first and get everything together. She typed out a quick text to her dad— letting him know that she wouldn't be home tonight— and hopped on the subway.

She really was excited to see Percy. She missed talking to him for most of high school, and it was so nice to have the ability to reconnect. But a little part of what Piper had said was still nagging her- would she and Percy ever make a good couple?

For starters, they did get along really well. It was easy to become friends again, even if they hadn't talked for so long. To be honest, Annabeth had been really surprised by Percy. He was popular and pretty well liked— the combination of being both attractive and a star athlete. He had a work ethic and commitment to swimming that she admired. But they were going to do completely different things. Percy would be swimming in the Olympics while Annabeth was getting her masters degree.

Maybe it was stupid to think that far ahead. But she and Percy had known each other for so long, she hoped they wouldn't stop knowing each other after they graduated.

After her spin class ended, Annabeth barely had time to wipe her body down with a wet wipe and get changed before she had to sprint over to Aunty Em's. By the time she arrived, she was five minutes late and still panting heavily, from the workout and the sprint. She definitely hadn't given her muscles enough time to cool down, and she knew she was going to be sore tomorrow. On top of that, she was already starving.

Percy had taken a booth at the back. His math textbook and notebook were spread open, but he wasn't paying attention to them. When she walked in, his eyes snapped up instantly and zeroed in on her. Annabeth couldn't lie and say that her heart didn't skip a little bit. Why was she so nervous? She took a breath.

It had been ages since Annabeth had come to Aunty Em's. It was a classic 50s diner that she used to go to all the time with Piper and Thalia when they were underclassmen. It played old doo wop and barbershop quartets almost exclusively, and the waiters wore rollerskates on Friday nights. It wasn't busy right now, with just a few tables and two waitresses serving them.

Annabeth slid into the booth, beginning to apologize for her lateness. "I'm so sorry I'm late! I just got out of the gym late and sprinted over."

"Don't worry about it. How was the gym?"

Annabeth wished she hadn't mentioned that. She didn't know why, but she hated comparing her eating and exercising habits with someone else. "It was good. I just did a spin class. How was practice?"

Percy shrugged. "Fine. How long have you been taking spin classes?"

Annabeth could feel her face growing red. Damn him. Why'd he keep asking. "I'm not sure. Maybe a year. What math questions do you have?"

"Oh yeah," Percy said, pulling out his textbook. "I just thought we could look over the stuff we talked about today." He was just beginning to show her when the waitress came over and took their drink orders.

Percy ordered a lemonade, and Annabeth just a plain water. They flipped open the menu and scanned the options.

Annabeth's eyes quickly sorted out everything she could and couldn't eat. Nothing from the Burger list, or anything from Appetizers. Main Courses was risky- it really could go either way, and this one looked to be just fatty steak and mashed potatoes and the like. Salads and Soups was much more her territory. She wasn't surprised to see just a simple chef's, Greek, and house salad.

"D'you know what you're going to get?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not super hungry." If she told people that she wasn't hungry, then it was easier to just eat a salad or something small for dinner, and have them not question it.

"After a spin class?" Annabeth wanted to narrow her eyes at him. What game was he playing at? But Percy kept right on talking, acting as if his earlier comment had never been said. "I'm always starving after swimming."

The waitress returned. Annabeth got the Greek salad and Percy got a cheeseburger with fries and one of the diner's homemade cinnamon rolls.

"Alright," Annabeth said, "what math stuff do you need to talk about?"

"Right," Percy said, flipping it open.

They finished the math work before the waitress even brought them their food. Percy barely needed to have anything explained to him- he already basically understood it, but it was hard to get him to focus. He kept tapping his fingers on the table and staring at a spot straight over her head instead of focusing on her face. Annabeth knew firsthand how hard it was to study when you have ADHD, so she suggested they take a break.

Percy brightened up instantly. "Awesome."

Annabeth couldn't think of anything to say. "How're wedding preparations going?"

Percy grinned. "Oh, it's good. And that reminds me. My mom asked me if I want to invite any friends, so do you want to come? Jason and Piper will be there too, and a few more guys from the swim team. I'm trying to track down Grover too."

Annabeth couldn't stop the smile from tearing across her face. "Yes! I mean, I would love to."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Annabeth was a little surprised, but how could she pass on an opportunity like that? It was sweet of Percy to invite her, and she did want to go.

Annabeth was trying to think of another thing to say— an awkward silence was beginning to fall over them— but she was luckily saved by the arrival of their food. Gods, she was starving.

They didn't speak for a few moments, both diving into their food, until Percy's cinnamon roll arrived and he began to dive into it- slowly unwrapping the roll and tearing it into little chunks, making sure each one had cream cheese frosting. Annabeth's mouth watered. A Greek salad could never compare to that.

Annabeth eyed the little piece of bread that had come with her salad. Should she? Or no? It probably wasn't a good idea.

"Do you want some cinnamon roll?" Percy was trying to hand her a portion of it.

"No, no," Annabeth tried to smile, "I'm fine."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah."

Percy shrugged and went on eating.

Annabeth nearly choked on her water. Percy was doing an impression of the swim team's Coach Hedge when he was yelling at them to get in the water. He was surprisingly good at doing voices and acting like a overly-macho 5'5'' middle aged man.

"Jackson! Drop and give me twenty!" Percy grumbled in his Hedge voice.

"Stop, stop," Annabeth said breathlessly. "That's too good."

Percy shrugged. "At this point I basically see the man more than my own mother, so I've had a ton of time to practice."

The waitress came back over. "Can I interest you two in some dessert?"

Percy shot her a look. "Wanna split something?"

Annabeth paled. "I don't know-"

"What pies do you have right now?" Percy asked.

"Blueberry, pecan, and cherry."

"You choose Annabeth."

Annabeth's eyes widened. Oh no, oh gods no. "Blueberry?"

Percy flashed her a grin. "Right answer."

The waitress spun around and walked back to the counter. Annabeth's heart rate was quickening. She couldn't have dessert, she was full, she was so so so so full.

Just at that moment, her stomach grumbled. Traitor.

"Sorry if you didn't want the pie. I'll pay for it."

"No, no," Annabeth shook her head. "It's fine. I haven't been her in a while, so I was a little surprised. That they had pies." She wanted to slap herself. Could she have literally said anything stupider?

Percy nodded. "Okay."

She barely remembered what they talked about while they waited for the pie to arrive. It was probably something surface level like schoolwork, and Annabeth was much to focused on the impending piece of pie to think about anything else.

Finally, it arrived. It was a gorgeous slice of blueberry pie with a scoop of ice cream on top, melting into the golden crust. Annabeth could smell it, all of it, from a few feet away. The butter and the sugar and the blueberries and the milk from the ice cream and all of it. She didn't want it. She couldn't.

But before Annabeth could stop herself, Percy made her laugh with something dumb, and when he picked up his fork, she picked up hers too. Slowly, slowly, she ate the pie with him, making sure not to take more than her fair share. God, it was good. Why didn't she eat this more often?

After they finished, the check arrived and they immediately began arguing over who was going to pay it.

"I got it. You came here to tutor me, so it's a fair tradeoff."

"Absolutely not," Annabeth scoffed. "Let's just split. It's easy that way."

"No chance," Percy said, slapping some cash down on the table. "There, that's enough with tip. It's fine. You can pay for me some other time."

"Okay, but you have to let me pay you back. You can't dodge it like this time."

"Deal," Percy said. "Let's do this again and you pay?"

"Deal."

Percy insisted on walking her back home, too. Aunty Em's wasn't too far from her apartment— just a ten minute walk— but Annabeth knew it would take Percy longer to get back to his place. This was another fight she lost.

"Seriously, don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, but I want to walk with you."

"You want to walk with me?"

"That's what I said, right?"

"Yeah… it just surprised me, is all."

It was cold outside, but they walked quickly and talked the entire way back to her apartment. "Thanks so much for dinner, Percy. And walking me back, and everything."

"I should be the one thanking you. For helping me with math."

A question formed in Annabeth's brain. "Yeah. About that. That stuff we reviewed today— I feel like you really understood it. Did you need my help?"

Percy flashed her a grin. "Yes and no."

"What does that mean?"

"It means maybe I like hanging out with you."

Annabeth blushed. "I like hanging out with you too."

"Then let's do it again sometime?"

"Yeah. Let's do it."

"Bye Annabeth."

Percy Jackson walked off with a wave, slowly retreating into the dark city streets. Annabeth stared after him for a little bit, wondering about everything that just happened: that it felt like a date, that he made her laugh, that he was cute, that she wanted to see him more, as much as she could.

If you need help, please contact the following:

National Eating Disorders Association Helpline: 1-800-931-2237

(Monday-Thursday 9am-9pm, Friday 9am-5pm. All EST time)

where-do-i-start-0

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Can't wait to upload the next one! Sorry if I don't upload super super frequently. My school year is going to be pretty intense, but I'll try to make as much time for this as I can. It's something I really enjoy writing!

Emily