Welcome to the second chapter of Coffee Beans. I must say that this chapter is quite long because I got a little ahead of myself. In this chapter, you get to meet the gang, so that's cool! I meant to upload this a day after I posted the first chapter (kind of like an apology as to not updating my other stories in months) but I just kept adding and adding and adding… so.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO (BTW: Have you guys seen the House of Hades book cover? AMAZING! I am seriously so excited) (PS: The movie looks really good too. Much better than the first one. I have faith).

Nothing really happened the night Travis came over to help unpack Katie's boxes. They didn't talk much, for if they did, yelling would ensue and scissors would be flying, and neither of them wanted that. However, they did make some small talk and they both learned a few new things about each other.

Katie learned that Travis wasn't the only one living in the apartment next to hers. He lived with his younger brother, Connor. Connor was one year younger than Travis, but people still insisted that they looked like twins. When Katie asked why Connor wasn't bothered by the loud music, Travis said that if a war started happening on Long Island, Connor would still find a way to sleep through it. Connor also worked at The Flying Shoes Coffee Shop. Travis also mentioned how his mom and dad were divorced. He lived with his mother because he preferred her over his father. He said that his father was a pilot, and he traveled all over the world. His family eventually found out that his father had another wife somewhere else in the world and had another son named Luke.

"I haven't heard from him since," Travis said. Katie stared at him warily. He acted like he wasn't hurt at all.

"Are you okay with that?" Katie asked slowly. Travis lifted his head up from the box and turned to face her. When he did, Katie quickly looked down.

"Yes. I mean, I guess I thought we were happy before we found out about his other family, but… it's better that we know now. I'm glad my mom knows the truth," Travis said. Katie stopped cutting and looked up at him admirably.

"You care about your mother, don't you?" she asked. Travis' mouth twitched into a small smile before he pointed his scissors at her.

"What? Like you don't?" he asked.

"Actually… I don't have a mom. She had me, and then got the heck out of there. It's just me and my dad." Katie watched as his smile slowly faded and he dropped his pointed scissors. Katie moved over to another box on the separate side of the room. Travis coughed.

"Have you made any new friends lately?" he asked.

"Only Silena… but I'm not sure if I can call her a friend," Katie said. Travis didn't say anything for a while. The two unpacked in silence as Katie's ipod blasted some of her favorite songs.

Katie got up and strolled over to the bathroom. From the corner of her eye, she could see Travis watching her go. When she got inside, Katie grabbed a hair tie and pulled her brown hair up into a ponytail. Her green eyes stared at her in the mirror. What was he even doing here? Katie asked herself. Why is he acting so nice? After washing her face, Katie walked back to the living room and started unpacking again.

"How long have you been working at The Flying Shoes?" Katie asked.

"About three years. I came here for college and got a job as the 'cleaning boy', or janitor. Later, I got upgraded to bartender because of my popularity with the regulars," Travis said.

"Do you have a lot of friends that work there?" Katie asked.

"Not many. Most of my friends come in the morning- when it isn't too busy- and we just hang out," Travis said. Katie nodded in response. After finishing the box she was on, Katie stood up and scanned the room. The only boxes that were still unopened were the ones next to Travis.

"What song is this?" Travis asked as Katie kneeled down next to him. She caught another whiff of coffee beans. Unconsciously, she leaned a little closer towards him and took deeper breaths.

"Uh, nothing you would know. It's by my friend in Indiana. She likes to write songs in her free time," Katie told him.

"What's her name?" Travis asked.

"Kayla Sonne," Katie said.

"She has a lovely voice." Travis spoke softly. Katie's hands clenched her scissors tightly. Giving him a quick glance, Katie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Travis had been cutting the tape off of the same box for over ten minutes.

"Yeah?" she said as she stabbed a cardboard box. Travis nodded. After violently ripping the tape off of her box, Katie dropped her scissors on the ground and walked up to her ipod. She pressed the replay button and turned the volume up all of the way.

As she sat back down, Travis gave her a look. "What? You said Connor could sleep through anything. Plus, if the other neighbors are annoyed, they would've come and complained long ago," Katie said. Travis just shrugged and started humming along to Kayla's song.

Once they finished all of the boxes, which ended up being at two in the morning, Travis slowly stood up from his spot. He moved very slug-like to the door. Katie assumed that it was because he was very sleepy- she was too. Katie stood at her apartment door as Travis looked at her from out in the hallway.

"I'll see you when I see you, Katie," he said. His words were slurred and hard to comprehend. It seemed like he said 'cutie' instead of 'Katie'. Katie shook her head of that thought. Travis gave a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes.

"Thanks for helping me, Travis," Katie said. She leaned over and shut off her music. "I won't be keeping you up any longer." Travis nodded to Katie and walked to the apartment next to hers. Katie quietly shut the door and fell onto her bed, immediately falling into a deep sleep.

"One chiaro cappuccino please," Katie told the bartender. He punched her order into the computer. "Oh, by the way, Travis," Katie said. The bartender looked up at her confused. Katie reached into her purse and pulled out his scissors, "You forgot your scissors at my apartment last night." She placed the scissors on the counter and pushed them over to his side.

"What was my brother doing at your apartment last night?" the bartender asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your brother?" Katie asked. Then it dawned on her. This boy had slightly shorter hair that Travis. His eyes were smaller, and Travis was quite a bit taller than her while the bartender was only an inch. "Are you Connor?" she asked. Connor nodded. Katie started laughing, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Oh! Travis was right! You two do look like twins," Katie remarked.

"And he told you this... at your apartment… last night," Connor said.

"Oh!" Katie exclaimed, waving her hand dismissively, "It's not what you think. I just moved into town. I'm Katie Gardner," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. He did. "I live in the apartment to the right of yours. My loud music woke him up so he came over to help me unpack my boxes."

"I do remember him complaining yesterday about annoying neighbors…" Connor mused.

"I guess that would be me," she said. Percy then walked over and handed her a mug of coffee.

"Hey, you're Katie, right?" Percy asked. "You're the girl that was about to slap Travis! He's out back if you want to give it a go," he said playfully. He leaned over and whispered to her, "I just didn't want to cause a scene. There aren't many people here now, so I suppose giving him a beat down wouldn't be too much of a problem. Sometimes he needs to be put into check every once in a while." Katie laughed and Percy smiled, standing back up straight. Katie took a turn around the room. There actually weren't that many people around here. Only two people sat at one of the tables in the far corner. They were both silent and on their laptops. It was just thirty minutes after the shop had opened.

"It's fine, I guess. I suppose we're on friendly terms now," Katie said. Percy just shrugged and Connor elbowed him in the forearm. "What are you doing here so early?" Katie asked, handing Connor the money for her coffee. "Aren't you the one that's always late?"

"I usually don't work in the early morning. My starting time is lunch time. However, I have to make up for my tardiness yesterday… and the three days before, so I'm working mornings for the next week," Percy said. Connor handed Katie her change and receipt. Travis then walked out of the back room wearing his coffee shop uniform. Katie was unsure as to why she blushed and felt the need to get away.

"Um, I'll see you two later. Oh, and Connor, can you give Travis his scissors?" Katie asked. She turned around and walked over to an armchair that was quite a ways away from the counter. As she was walking, Katie heard Percy's and Connor's goodbyes.

"Here are your scissors," Katie heard Connor say from the counter. She didn't turn back to look at Travis' reaction, but instead, she pulled out her writing notebook and grabbed the latest edition of Olympus Magazine. She flipped through the pages until she got to the nature section. Finding an interesting article, Katie wondered if it was alright if she could rip the page out.

"Need this?" Travis' voice said, waving his pair of scissor in front of her nose. She turned around to see Travis and his smiling face, leaning on the back of her chair nonchalantly.

"Is that okay?" Katie asked. Travis shrugged.

"Probably not. I do remember you telling me that you like to collect articles, so I guess I could just cover for you," Travis said. Katie grabbed his scissors and started snipping around her article of choice. Meanwhile, Travis made himself comfortable on her armrest and leaned slightly on her shoulder. Tossing the magazine back on the coffee table, Katie tucked the article inside the pages of her writing notebook.

"What's this?" Travis asked, plucking the brown, leather bound book from her hands. Katie panicked and jumped up from her chair, pushing Travis off of the armrest. He gave a yelp in surprise and fell in a heap on the ground. Before he could open up her book, Katie made a mad dash for it and tried to pry it out of his hands.

"Give it back! Don't you dare read what's inside!" Katie cried. She jumped on Travis' stomach as she tried to reach for the book he was so desperately keeping away from her.

"Why?" Travis asked laughing, "Is it your diary or something?" Katie scowled as she saw how hard he was laughing.

"You're getting a real kick out of this, aren't you?" Katie asked, reaching for her book again.

"Of course I am. A pretty girl is straddling my body trying to get her diary," Travis taunted her. Katie blushed red and groaned.

"What are you? Eight?" she got up from his body and leaped for her book, which he moved away from her reach. "Stop being immature and give it to me!" Travis cackled and started rolling on the carpet floor, to the dismay of Katie. "Travis! Stop it right now!"

Travis didn't stop. In fact, he kept on rolling until he banged into the table Katie had placed her mug of chiaro cappuccino. It tipped, and everything moved to slow motion. Slowly, the mug fell on its side and Travis tried to roll out of the way. Katie panicked at the sight of her notebook being in the line of attack. In the last second before the coffee fell onto him, Travis chucked her book as far as he could, and then he got a face full of hot coffee.

"OW!" Travis yelled, sitting upright. "My skin is sizzling!" Katie rushed over to her book, plucking it from the ground, then ran over to Travis who was still yelling.

"Come with me," Katie said softly, slowly helping Travis stand. Connor had run over and was busy trying to get the coffee out of the carpet. Katie walked Travis over to the counter.

"Percy, where is a sink I can wash him off in?" Katie asked. Percy pointed a thumb out to the doors that led to the back room.

"It should be the first thing on your right," he said. Percy lifted up the divider and let Katie and Travis past the counter. Katie muttered a thanks to him and went back to shushing Travis.

Katie pushed aside the double doors and quickly found the sink. Katie sat Travis down on the corner of the sink and grabbed a washcloth. She ran it over cool water and moved Travis' hands away from his eyes, checking out the damage.

"Where does it hurt?" Katie asked him, hesitantly touching the tender skin around his eyes. They were both squeezed shut and had turned a shade of red that should only be reserved for the cheeks and tomatoes.

"Ah," Travis winced, "Where you just pressed." Katie touched that spot again and he cringed. "Please don't do that anymore.

"What this?" Katie asked, taunting him. Immediately, Travis' hand went up to shield his face. Katie let out a snicker as he slowly put his hand down, realizing that she was teasing him.

"Ha ha." Katie pressed the cool cloth on his eyes. "Ow!" Travis yelled in surprise. Katie grabbed onto his shoulder to prevent him from falling off the sink.

She couldn't help herself from realizing that Travis had some pretty strong shoulders. Since Travis couldn't see, she took that time to check him out. He had broad shoulders, which Katie really liked in a guy. Katie noted that he got most of his height from his long legs. His hair was a caramel brown and Katie just wanted to run her hands through it. Travis wasn't that bad of a looker.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you are checking me out right now," Travis said, his mouth forming a smirk. Katie frowned. His personality was a major turnoff, however. He was just so cocky and obnoxious! His smirk made her want to scream.

"In a good way or a bad way?" Travis teased.

"What?" Katie asked, snapping out of her train of thought.

"Does my smirk make you scream in a good way?" Travis asked, purposefully smirking. Katie scoffed and let go of his shoulder so fast that you would think he was as hot as a stovetop that had poison ivy. Katie dropped the washcloth from his face.

"Try to open your eyes," she commanded.

"Yes m'am," Travis said, smiling. Katie rolled her eyes and turned away from him. She ran the wash cloth back under cool water and grabbed a long chain of paper towels. She turned around to say something to him, but her words got caught in her throat as she saw a bright blue orb staring back at her.

"Um, hold still," she ordered, snapping out of whatever she was in. Katie held the washcloth to the eye that was still shut and used to chain of paper towels to keep the washcloth in place- kind of like a mock eye patch.

"How does that feel? Will it stay?" Katie asked. Travis shook his head for a few seconds.

"Yeah, I think it'll work… Do I have to go out in public with this?" Travis whined.

"Yes," Katie said, pointing a finger at him and staring him down. He gave a loud sigh and stood up from the sink. Katie started heading for the door, but Travis held her arm before she could reach it.

"Thanks for treating my eyes. I really appreciate it," Travis said, giving her an award winning smile. "Even though you were kind of the cause of the injury in the first place," He told her, knowing that she would be provoked.

"Uh huh," Katie squeaked, quickly turning away from him. Her heart was beating slightly faster- but only slightly. She pushed open the doors and Travis followed her out to the shop.

Instead of the empty shop filled with only two people, a group of people seemed to have wandered their way inside at this hour (taking Katie's seat, I might add). They were laughing and talking- creating quite a noise- and they looked like they were having a good time. Percy and Connor stood by the group. Connor was passing out some coffees and pasties on a tray and Percy had his arm around some blonde girl's chair. When Travis saw them, he grabbed Katie's hand and pulled her to the group.

When Travis and Katie reached the group, a really big and buff girl with brown stringy hair in a bandanna started singing He's a Pirate. Travis crossed his arms and frowned as Connor and some guy with crutches wearing a rasta cap joined in with her.

"Stop it Clarisse," Silena said, reaching over a big African American guy she was holding hands with. She gave the girl named Clarisse a soft smack and sunk back into the guy's arms. Percy started laughing with the Rasta Cap Guy and the blonde haired girl just rolled her eyes.

Katie started feeling a bit uncomfortable, like she was intruding on an inside joke between best friends. Katie gave a small cough, about to grab her bag from the blonde's chair and leave, but then Silena turned her head and gave a squeal.

"Katie!" Silena yelled, jumping up from the couch to wrap Katie in her arms.

"Oh! Hi, Silena," Katie said, trying her best not to be uncomfortable.

"Come sit with me!" she said, excitedly.

"Um, actually," Katie said, starting to point to her bag, but Silena grabbed her arm and dragged her to the side of her on the couch that wasn't occupied by her boyfriend. Katie sat down, about to put her arm on the armrest next to her when Travis sat down on it and claimed it for himself.

"Everyone, this is Katie. We met at the shop yesterday," she said. Katie was showered by greetings and smiles. She shyly gave a small wave and beside her, Travis snickered under his breath. Katie turned and glared at him, contemplating on whether or not she should push him off of the armrest.

"This is Charlie, my boyfriend. I told you about him yesterday," Silena said, tapping the muscley guy who had his arms around her. He gave her a two fingered wave.

"Beckendorf," Travis whispered over to her.

"What?" She leaned towards him.

"No one calls him Charlie but Silena. Call him Beckendorf," Travis said. Katie nodded.

"This is Clarisse!" Silena said pointing to the girl with the bandanna.

"She's a total meathead," Travis stage whispered.

"I heard that," the girl growled. She started to get up, but the guy next to her grabbed her before she could.

"That's Chris, Clarisse's boyfriend," Silena said, giving a small smile.

"I'm not her boyfriend!" Chris said that at the same time Clarisse said, "Will you let it go, Princess?"

"He's totally into her," Travis whispered to Katie.

"The one with the goatee is Grover, Percy's best friend," Silena said.

"Wha- You guys are all my best friends," Percy said spreading his arms wide and giving a cheesy smile. The blonde girl gave Percy's stomach a small smack and he reached down and crushed her with a hug. Katie couldn't help but smile at their adorableness.

"He's a nature-enthusiast. You two would get along," Travis said, adding his commentary. He hushed his voice down. "He has a disease where he can't walk straight. That's why he has the crutches." Katie nodded, taking all of the information in.

"I already know Connor and Percy," Katie told Silena.

"Then I guess the last person is Annabeth. I think you can figure out that she and Percy are dating," Silena said. Annabeth gave Katie a wave.

"Total brainiac. She's always reading- crazy girl. Also, don't challenge her to anything, she will pulverize you," Travis added.

"So, how do you and Travis know each other?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, we're apartment neighbors," Katie said.

"But we actually met here," Travis interrupted.

"-And he was a total jerk," Katie countered.

"It was during rush hour!" Travis said, throwing his hands up. Beside her, Silena gave a small giggle and was staring intently at the two single people, her mind reeling.

"Right… well, can I have my bagel to go? I have… uh, a job interview," Grover said, grabbing a bagel and some cream cheese off of Connor's tray. He stuck the bagel in his mouth and used his crutches to lift himself on his feet.

"Oh? Where?" Beckendorf asked. Grover took a bite of his bagel.

"Nowhere. It's secret. Don't ask about it… alright, bye," Grover said hastily. He stuck the rest of his bagel in his mouth and walked out the shop, leaving the little bell by the door ringing.

"Why do you guys come here so early?" Katie asked.

"We're all busy people. We have jobs and things to do," Connor said.

"-Blogs to write," Silena added.

"-Equipment to sell," Chris said.

"-People to train," Clarisse said.

"-We're just really busy people," Travis said.

Katie turned to the clock in the corner of the room. 9:10. Forty minutes have passed. Katie mentally scolded herself. She was just supposed to get some breakfast and leave!

"I have to go," she said, jumping off of the couch. Katie walked over to Annabeth's chair and pointed to the purse she was leaning against. "Mind if I get my bag?"

"Oh, this is yours?" Annabeth asked, jumping up and handing her the purse. "Well, by the way, I think you're a really talented writer. Your affinity for nature is just inspiring!" Katie guessed that Annabeth meant that as a compliment, but Katie couldn't help feel that her worst nightmare just become a reality.

"You read… my book- journal?" Katie stammered. Annabeth's face immediately fell, knowing that she somehow upset her.

"Did you not want me to?" Annabeth asked, "It was just sitting here on the chair and I wasn't sure whose it was, so I opened it to look for a name and-" Katie waved her hand dismissively.

"Um, it's fine. Did anyone else read it?" Katie asked, glancing at the group of people. Annabeth shook her head.

"No, just me. But if you're embarrassed, you really have nothing to worry about-"

"It's fine," Katie said. Travis craned his neck to look at the book sticking out Katie's purse curiously. "It's just that it's my writing notebook, and also my journal. I just don't want people reading it," Katie explained.

"Oh," Annabeth said, handing Katie her purse, "I'm sorry again." Katie put on her scarf and placed her hat on her hair. She shouldered her bag and waved goodbye to everyone. Stepping out into the cold, Katie pulled out the business card from her wallet. 3527 Delanor St. Katie put the card back where she held the rest of the business cards she collected.

"Great, it's nearby."

Grover managed to make his way through the thick snow without slipping. It also helped that his destination was very close by. Opening the clear glass door with the coffee shop name in the front, Grover stepped inside Juniper's Tea and Coffee. Glancing behind him hastily, he unwrapped the scarf that covered most of his face and re-positioned the rasta cap on his head.

"Grover!" he heard an excited voice yell.

Grover turned to the counter where a girl with orange hair and freckles, wearing a pine green apron, was cleaning. She dropped the rag on the counter and ducked under the divider. Grover had already started to make his way to her, but she met him halfway.

"Juniper," he said into her hair after she ran into his arms, nearly knocking him over.

She released him and pulled him over to the cherry wood counter. She pulled him behind the divider and past the glass containers and plates where numerous pastries were displayed. Juniper returned to her station at the register and started serving the person that was in line.

"That will be $4.55," Juniper told the man. She left the register only to find her other employee taking the order. She sighed.

"Thanks, Thalia," Juniper told the dark haired girl making the man's coffee. She turned back to the man. "You can wait down there and Thalia will give you your drink." The man left and Juniper started to serve the next person in line.

Grover leaned against the counter, careful not to disturb his girlfriend while she was working. He liked to take that time to admire her. Juniper was a lot like him. She was just as much into nature as he was. She was also sensitive and gentle, and didn't care that he wasn't all macho and such. She also always smelled of juniper- which was actually quite fitting. And he would know. One time, he went to a nature rally/outing that was in forest that was stocked with juniper plants. That outing was actually the place Grover and Juniper met. Grover sighed, relishing the memory.

In the back room, the sound of a timer went off. Juniper looked between the back room and the long line of people. "Thalia!" Juniper called, collecting the customer's money, "Can you get that? They're going to burn!"

"I'm a little busy!" Thalia called back, balancing a tray of teas and coffees, ready to be brought to the customers waiting patiently for their fix.

Juniper turned to her boyfriend. "Can you please get that? You know how hard it has been here ever since Miranda quit." Grover reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

"Sure," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. He grabbed his crutch and walked into the back room. Juniper smiled and turned back to the customer she was serving.

"You two make an adorable couple," the old lady in line said. Juniper's smile grew wider.

"Thank you so much. You're really sweet," Juniper told her. The lady handed her the money and walked over to a seat where Thalia would bring her the coffee.

Katie walked into Juniper's Tea and Coffee, breathing in the fresh smell of coffee beans. Every coffee shop smelled the same. This shop was different than The Flying Shoes in appearance, however. This coffee shop had mostly earth tones, with accents of dark, navy blue. There was a big chalkboard by the door and little paintings of trees and tree leaves and flowers decorated the walls of the room. The armchairs and couches were made of green leather and the counter was a cherry wood.

The chalkboard by the door said the words "This coffee shop is eco-friendly!" in big loopy handwriting. Underneath that title was all the listings of how they were environmentally friendly, including recycling, fake leather couches, and reusable cups. Around those words, however, were cute little drawings that Katie assumed were drawn by the customers.

Making her way over to the counter, Katie stood behind the two people in line, waiting for her turn. Katie started to observe the coffee shop more. There was a girl with short black hair serving a large assortment of drinks to the different customers sitting in their seats. She was wearing a pine green apron that had the words "Juniper's Tea and Coffee" in big white letters. Katie watched as the girl weaved around the many chairs and tables, passing the drinks out to the grateful customers.

The girl at the counter had wavy orange hair that flowed down her back. She seemed to have pinned a flower to her hair. She too was wearing a pine green apron. The girl had freckles that covered her nose, shoulders and arms, which were made visible by her sleeveless dress. Katie wondered how only two girls could manage a coffee shop this big and this popular. As the last person left the register, Katie walked up to the counter.

"Hi!" the girl chirped, "What can I get you?"

"Actually, I'm here because I heard you guys were hiring," Katie said. "Would it be alright if I spoke with the manager?" The girl's eyes widened in excitement.

"That would be me!" the girl said. She held out her hand. "I'm Juniper, the owner of this coffee shop." Katie reached over and shook Juniper's hand.

"My name is Katie Gardner."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Katie. I must say, you could not have come in a better time. I was just talking about how we were a bit short on staff," Juniper said. "You were the girl that emailed your resume to me, right?"

"Yes, that was me. I am gkatie65," Katie said. Juniper started pointing her finger at her.

"I must say, you have a very impressive resume, Katie. Did you really work at a bakery for five years?" Juniper asked.

"Yes, I did. I started in high school and went on through college," Katie spoke in her 'interview voice'.

"That's good. You can make a lot of pastries, right?" Juniper asked. Katie nodded. "Good, good…" Juniper said. She had reached into a bag and pulled out Katie's resume, reading it through. "Well, Katie," Juniper said, "I see no reason as to why you cannot have the job." A grin spread on Katie's face.

Just then, the door to the back room opened and Grover hobbled out, trying to balance his crutches with a tray of pastries. He set the tray on the counter and wiped his brow. As he turned to the register, he saw Katie and froze.

"Hey Grover," Katie said nonchalantly. Grover hesitantly made his way over to the two girls.

"Hi… Katie," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I just hired her," Juniper said, proudly.

"What are you doing here? Did the job interview go well?" Katie asked, concerned. Juniper turned to her boyfriend.

"Job interview? I thought you were perfectly happy in-"

"No! Honey, I am! It's just…" Grover stammered.

"Honey? Grover, are you dating Juniper?" Katie asked.

"Yes, I am. Can you please not tell-"

"Not tell who?" Juniper asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Who are you hiding our relationship from?" Grover put his hand on his head and started chewing his lip.

"No one, sweetie. It's complicated. Can I just borrow Katie for a second?" Grover asked Juniper. Grover walked past the divider and made his way to the couches, motioning for Katie to follow.

WOW! Long chapter! What's Grover hiding? What does he want to talk to Katie about? What the heck is going on? I was going to write more, but then I looked at the word count and was like, "Whoa! I'm stopping this here! So please, Review and tell me what you thought of it. Smiles!

~xhiddendreamx