Chapter Two
Annabeth
First day at Olympus and it's raining. Class starts in a few days so until then I get to admire the architecture—I mean walk around and explore the campus.
My phone rang my text message alert. I check at it and it was from Matthew. Mom's cooking sucks. Wish you were here. By the way, I have your room now, is that ok? Of course that would happen. The twins were sharing rooms for their whole life. I smile at the text, feeling homesick already.
I began to text my reply, but a call interrupted me. Thalia. "Oh, hi, Thals. Doesn't it suck that we aren't roommates?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, why aren't you here at the student meet-n-greet?"
"What meet-n-greet?"
"The one at the Union Building…Earth to Annie! You didn't know?"
"Oh, my gods! I totally forgot! I'll be there!" I guess exploring will have to wait until later. I quickly shove my phone into my pocket and run out of my dorm room. I didn't even get to unpack my things. But I ran out the door, anyway.
The raining had turned to thunder storming. Thunder boomed and lighting flashed. I was only outside for two minutes and I'm already soaking wet. I was going to ask for directions to the Union building, but nobody was outside. I guess this might count as exploring.
I kept running around, flinching at every thunder clap. Where is the darn Union Building?! I take a quick glance at my phone to check the time. I was outside for ten minutes now. I should probably go back to my dorm. Screw the meet-n-greet. I might get pneumonia or something.
Every step I took, the sidewalk splashed. This was serious rain. And to make more things worse, I lost my stupid way back to the dorm! I hate first days.
I decided to call Thalia again. "Annabeth! The meet-n-greet is great! I met this really cool kid who is kinda hot. His name is Nick or something, I don't know. Anyway, hurry up! There's free food and bumper stickers and stuff! And to top it all—free wifi! You seriously need to come!"
I sigh. "Thalia, I'm lost. Can you come at get me?"
"Wait, I can't hear you. Are you outside? The rain and thunder are too loud."
"Thalia! Please come get me! I'm lost and I'm terrified!"
"Crap, Annabeth! I'm running out of battery! Sorry, gotta go! Anyway, hurry up!" And the phone beeped. Thalia had hung up.
Just my luck. Everything seemed too cliché. You get lost in the rain, and someone's phone runs out of battery. But, my phone still has eighty percent battery left! I'll call someone else for help! I began to scroll down my contacts list, when a real loud thunder claps. I jump, startled, and drop my phone. Guess where it landed? In a stupid mud puddle.
I bend over and start digging in the mud for my phone. Everything's going wrong. Olympus University was supposed to be great! What am I supposed to do now? When I found my phone, it was all muddy and waterlogged. Oh, great. This makes everything better.
And then I start crying. I felt so pathetic. The tears trickling down my face then turns into sobs. Loud and ugly sobs. I felt like I was a four year old that didn't get her way. Feeling stupid, I wipe my tears and stand up, only for me to jump again at the loud thunder…and burst into tears again.
"Stupid, stupid things…" I say. I hated standing in the rain.
Then something lit up. Maybe I can go to a building and stay there! I brighten a little and then began to walk towards a random building.
The door was open. I stepped in. There was a woman sitting on a desk, typing on the computer. I'm assuming she's the secretary.
"Student ID?" she asks, not looking up from the monitor. I was about to burst into tears again. I didn't bring my student ID! I left it in my dorm room! "Um…" I say nervously. "I don't have it right now. Can I just tell you my name?"
"I don't know, can you?" the woman asks, bored. Ah, screw you.
"Sorry—may I tell you my name?"
"Yes. But there is no promise that I'll let you stay here." But does that mean there's still a chance?
"My name is Annabeth Chase." Please let me stay. Please. PLEASE.
"Okay. You may leave now, Miss Chase."
"What?!" I exclaim. Then I immediately lowered my voice. "Uh, sorry about that. It's just that it's storming outside."
"Well, Miss Chase, you are more than welcome to go to your dorm. Or you can go to the meet-n-greet."
"Oh, um, you see, I lost my way to the dorm and I don't know where the Union Building is."
"How sad. My condolences." Was she being sarcastic? "However, you may take a map. And after taking a map, I presume, you'll leave?"
What a jerk. "Yes, yes. I'll leave. Guaranteed."
"And the next time you return, you will have your student ID?"
"Of course." I walked briskly to the desk and grabbed a map. "Have a nice day," I say to her and leave the building.
Outside, it seemed to drop like twenty degrees. I shivered as I opened the map, only for it to be drenched from the rain within a minute. "Oh, come on!" I reluctantly walked back inside, since I'm pretty sure the lady would kick me out or something. "Um, I'm sorry, but may I have another map?" I ask, sweetly as soon as I reentered the building. The lady (for the first time) looks away from the computer. "Oh, you again? I thought you would come back with an ID. And I'm sorry but only one map per person. Please leave, Miss Chase."
I had it with this lady. "Oh, you can keep your maps! Can't you just let me stay here?" I had a rough day so far and I couldn't control my anger.
"Excuse me!" she stood up, and her nametag was flashing Hera, Principal's wife, secretary. (A/N: Do universities have principals? I don't know. I mean, they don't have teachers, they have professors…so is there also a fancy word for principals? Just wondering). How pathetic! 'Principal's wife'? Who would call themselves that?
"Miss Chase, you shall leave, right now!" she ordered me. I rolled my eyes but decided to exit the building (with the door slamming behind me, of course). I felt like screaming or punching someone in the face. I was lost and nobody can help me!
I crumpled to the grass. It was so cold and the thunder was way too loud. The lightning was blinding. I started to cry again, mainly because I was pissed. But another reason was because I was scared that I would have to stay out here until the rain stopped. Thunderstorms take forever—and this wasn't an ordinary thunderstorm.
"Screw university!" I know I'm acting childish, but I'm pretty stressed right now.
"Hey, you okay?'
I jumped, startled. The voice laughs. "Sorry to scare you." I look up to find the most beautiful, green eyes I ever saw. "My name's Percy," he says. "Here, let me help you." He held out a hand and lifts me up. I was too shocked to say anything. Then he put his blue umbrella over the both of us. "Are you lost?" he asks.
I was speechless since I was both mesmerized by his eyes…and because I was scared. I don't even know what I'm scared of. I'm just scared.
"Oh, I see. Do you want to go to my dorm? It's empty, though. I'm the only one who owns the whole place. It's weird." Before he could say anything more, I say quickly, "I have a boyfriend." And it was true. I had Luke, he just didn't go to this university.
But Percy just laughs. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything bad to you. I just thought you needed a place for shelter or something." Then he gestures his hand towards the way to his dorm. "Besides, I have a girlfriend. Rachel."
We walked silently to his dorm. The only sounds we made were the splashing of our footsteps and my occasional squeal at the thunder. "Are you thunder-phobic or something?" he asks. I don't say anything, I only shake my head. "Oh, okay. Just wondering why you squeal and stuff."
When we got to his dorm, I was rewarded with the forty degree increase of temperature. (A/N: I just thought of something nerdy to say about the heater since Annabeth is super smart) "It's warm," I say aloud. Percy puts away his umbrella. "Why were you outside by yourself? I mean, it's storming and you were just sitting on the grass," he says. That was rude. Okay, maybe it was weird to see a random girl when it's raining.
"I was lost and depressed," I reply, not looking at him in the eyes. I was too busy studying how different his dorm was from mine. (A/N: I decided to make dorms like cabins. Clever? Haha. Anyway, continue reading)
He snorts at my reply. "What?" I snap, looking at his face properly for the first time (like, you know, without the blurry rain). I blush a little. He was good looking.
"Sorry if this sounds rude or something, but it sounds like something a stereotypical blonde would do."
I was really taken back from that. "What?!" I shout. "Just so you know, Percy, I had a full scholarship rewarded to me when I applied! And my major is architecture—so that should say that I'm not some stereotypical dumb blonde!"
He bursts our laughing. "Oh, I see," he says. Then he looks at the clock. "Wow, I should get ready for the party."
"What party?" I ask right away.
He shrugs. "I don't know, seems to me that you weren't invited."
"Whose party?" My voice is demanding.
"Rachel's." Then he started to walk to the bathroom. "I'm gonna shower. If you're hungry or something, help yourself. I have some hot pockets in the fridge."
"I'm not hungry," I say. Just to make things even more cliché, my stomach decides to rumble. He raises and eyebrow at me and smirks. "Yeah. Sure you aren't. Anyway, I'm going to kick you out if you don't eat anything," the bathroom door opens and closes.
Was he being serious? I walk to the fridge. It was all coke cans. And to make things weird, they were blue! "How does he..?" I didn't know you can customize your own soda can. I pick one up and began to examine it. Reluctantly, I pushed the tab thingy and the can gave the pop.
I look inside the can. The soda was blue! "How in the world can you do this?" I say, confused. "Maybe it isn't coke." I kept observing the blue fizzy liquid. Then I smelled it. "It smells like coke." After minutes of deciding in my head, I decided to take a sip. "It tastes just like coke!" I exclaim.
I didn't realize that Percy had come out of the shower and was watching me. "That's because it is coke," he said with a smirk. I blush fiercely. "Why-why were you watching me?" I ask. "That's like stalking."
He opens the fridge and takes out a can. "It's not stalking," he said and took a sip. "Because it's my dorm." Before I can say anything, my stomach growled. He laughed. "My gods, were you just looking at soda the whole time?" he asks.
I put the can on the counter. "No. I was just merely distracted. It is an interesting sight to see a soda in an unusual color." Then I opened a cabinet without thinking. "What do you have to eat?" I say. And then I start rummaging through the piles of junk food. When I realize what I was doing, I freeze in place and slowly turn to Percy, whose eyebrow was raised at me.
"Sorry," I say immediately and shut the cabinet door.
"No, no it's fine. Hey, want a hot pocket?" he doesn't wait for an answer and puts two in the microwave. When the microwave was whirring, he asks me, "So, what's your name?"
"Annabeth." I reply. Then I sneezed.
"Bless you, Annabeth." The microwave beeps and then he looks at the clock. "Two minutes until they cool off. Anyway, I think you should take a shower. I have some of Rachel's spare clothes. I think they would fit you."
I began to blush again. "Did you two..?" My ears started becoming hot. Percy almost spews out his soda. His face reddens. "No, no! We did not!" he exclaims. Then we stood there in awkward silence. My face starts to cool off.
"Anyway, it's still storming. After you take a shower, if you want to that is. I have a spare umbrella. You can keep it," he broke the silence.
"Sure," the shower really seemed tempting. "Let me just eat a hot pocket first. Two minutes are up."
Percy
I can't believe I actually lied. I didn't have a girlfriend. Rachel was just a friend that was really close to me. Sure, we kissed one time, but that was a long time ago. Besides, it was a dare.
Annabeth was showering. I told her where the spare clothes were.
Okay, the reason why I have some of Rachel's clothes is because she ran out of packing space and I had to bring some for her. It wasn't a lot, just a few shirts and jeans.
When Annabeth came out, she was wearing a paint splattered shirt and paint splattered jeans. I go up to her with the extra umbrella. "Here," I say to her and handed her the umbrella. "You can keep it."
She smiles and takes the umbrella. "Thanks, Percy. I guess I might see you later?" she grabs a shopping bag (that was filled with her rain drenched clothes) and walked out the door.
Don't get me wrong, Annabeth was pretty. And after she left, the dorm seemed kinda lonely. I sat down on my couch and my phone beeped. It was a text message from Rachel. Hey there, party starts soon! Can you come over and help me? You know my dorm? I was about to text her back, but someone knocked the door.
"Uh, it's open," I yell.
The door opens. Annabeth slid inside. "Sorry, Percy. I forgot that I lost my way back to my dorm. So, when you go to your party, can I just stay in your dorm? Just until the rain clears up?"
I sigh. "Wait a second," I tell her. Then I started texting my reply: Yeah, I know your dorm. Mind if I bring a friend? After I sent the message, I look up at Annabeth. "You know what, sorry if this offends you, but I don't like someone staying in my dorm. I just feel like they'll go through my stuff," I say. Annabeth nods. "I know how that feels. Don't worry," she says, reassuringly. But her gray eyes are full of worry. Maybe she was thinking that I would kick her out?
"Okay. I'm going to take you to your party. Maybe we'll find your dorm mate or even roommate there! Then you can go home safely," I say cheery. She smiles, but her eyes are still worried. "We need a backup plan. What happens if we don't find a dorm mate?" she asks.
I shrug. "I don't know. I guess I'll just have to help you find your dorm." Annabeth nods. "Okay. Sounds good," she agreed.
My phone beeps again. Rachel replied: Oh, sure! The more, the merrier! I smile at that. Annabeth was observing me closely. Then she asked, "Is that Rachel?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Oh, you just seemed really happy. Don't worry, I'm like that when Luke texts me." Then she frowned. "Texting…Oh yeah…my phone is waterlogged…" her voice trails off sadly. I put my phone away. "Well, my friend Beckendorf is really good with technology. Maybe he can fix it. I'll ask him," I say coolly.
Annabeth immediately brightens up. "Really? Oh, thanks, Percy!"
"He can even fix it today. He's invited to the party and he always has a toolkit with him," I don't know why, but I liked making Annabeth happy. I mean, I like making everyone happy. But it was different with Annabeth. It just made me feel like the best person in the world.
"So," her voice interrupted my thoughts. "When are we leaving for the party?" she was really eager to go since it meant fixing her phone. I check the clock again. "Now would be a good time," I reply. I took out my umbrella. "Let's go."
"Wait, Percy. I have a question." My heart started to beat really fast for some reason. I waited expectantly. She continued, "When is the meet-n-greet over?" For some reason, I was disappointed, but I wouldn't let that show. I reply, "Um…I think it ends when the party starts. So around eight." It was seven forty right now. "We should go. Rachel's dorm is kinda far from here." I opened the umbrella and we walked out into the rain.
Aye, could this mean that Percy's already falling in love? You know, love at first sight. Anyway, I'm not sure if the next chapter should be at the party, or Percy/Annabeth describing what happened during the party. Please help me decide by reviewing your idea! Thanks for reading!
