Race
Every Sunday, Percy was happy.
Every Sunday, Percy was happy for two reasons. One-he didn't have to go to work, and two-he got to see Annabeth Chase.
The reason he knew Annabeth Chase was through work. She was the boss's daughter, and damn, she was pretty. Every day, he could hear her teaching the new interns at their architecture company, but he barely ever saw her. Except on Sundays.
On Sundays, she would run by his apartment building everyday at exactly five in the morning. Percy had discovered her one morning when he accidentally set his alarm clock for weekends instead of weekdays. He saw her running, and since then, woke up every day before five just to watch her run.
But on this particular Sunday, Percy was even happier. Because this particular Sunday, Percy had decided he was finally going to go talk to her. And that made him really excited. So really, it wasn't a surprise when he awoke at three A.M instead of 4:45.
He took a shower, brushed his hair, teeth, and threw on some shorts and a t-shirt. Trying to tame his hair took a long time, especially when he had bed head, so it was a good thing he had woken up extra-early.
Grinning at himself in the mirror, he finally went downstairs and sat down to wait in front of the building. He pretended to be texting someone on his phone, but he kept sneaking glances upward to check if Annabeth was there.
Finally, a flash of blonde hair was caught in the corner of his eye. He quickly slipped his phone away and went chasing after her. After running for a minute, they stopped at a crosswalk. Percy saw this as his chance to talk to Annabeth, so he called her name.
"Annabeth?"
He saw her turn around, and - as if in slow motion - fall backwards into a puddle. Percy winced. New York City puddles were to be avoided. She groaned, and Percy could see a tear coming out of her eye.
"I'm so sorry! I just wanted to talk," Percy apologized, helping her up. "Please forgive me."
Annabeth leaned on his shoulder, her ankle swelling up. "Give me your shirt and I will."
"What?"
"Give me your shirt. Mine's all wet and yours is fine. I'll forgive you. Maybe I'll even told you out for Starbucks sometime..." Annabeth smiled at him as he obeyed her.
Percy tried to pretend he didn't hear her gasp as he pulled of his shirt. She slipped it on over her athletic tank top, hiding her red face with her hair. When Percy was shirtless and Annabeth had pulled his shirt on, they blushed.
Percy tried to make the situation less awkward by cracking a joke. "Now, did I hear something about a Starbucks?"
Annabeth shrugged. "You in? Let's go."
"I'll race you," Percy replied, and they were off.