So we're starting off briefly this Chapter from the perspective of the 'mysterious girl' that Percy's blind date is with (though in third-person) an hour before Percy and Annabeth met, then switching back to Annabeth's perspective of their discussion over coffee and ending the Chapter with Percy's.

For Snowflake Eliza Cahill Sparkle, who wanted to read the next Chapter, and hproxx1999, just because.

Disclaimer - If you recognize anything, then I certainly don't own it.

-Unknown woman-
~1 hour ago~
The woman's iPhone chimed quietly on the desk in front of her and she reached out one slender hand to pick it up, tapping the 'answer' button before putting the small device to her ear. "Hello?"

"It's me".

The woman smiled slightly. "What news, Ju?" she queried.

"I heard back from Grover regarding that blind date with his friend" came the reply.

"And?"

The woman was doing her best to keep her voice level, to not show any emotion, but it was clear to her friend that she was eager for news. "His friend agreed".

Sighing in relief, the young woman couldn't help but smile. "Good. How much has your boyfriend told him?"

"Nothing".

That was all the listener needed to hear. "Alright then. Set the date up. Just be sure to actually book the table in advance this time. We both remember what happened yesterday, after all".

"Don't remind me..."

There was the brief sound of something being scribbled on a piece of paper from the other end of the line, before her friend spoke again. "6 pm tomorrow, that little Italian place near Central Park".

"The one with that pasta and the cheesecake that was so good you actually moaned in pleasure every time you took a bite, which almost resulted in both of us getting thrown out?" the woman chuckled.

"The very same".

She smiled, brushing a strand of her blonde hair out of her eyes, and made a note of the time on her phone. "Alright. Thanks for the help, Ju. I appreciate it".

"For you? Always".

The woman tapped a button on her phone to end the call, her smile widening as she got back to the drawing that she was working on. It may have only been a matter of days since her last relationship ended, but she was ready to fall in love again. She was definitely back in the game.
-Annabeth Chase-
~Present day~

"You actually called your English teacher an old sot?" I asked in disbelief.

Percy nodded sheepishly. I kind of got the impression that it hadn't been one of his proudest moments. "That was ten years ago. I hadn't been having a very good year, and when he asked me why I was too lazy to study for exams, I just sort of snapped. I wasn't sure exactly what it meant at the time, but it definitely sounded good".

I couldn't help but laugh. It was just so... odd. "That's definitely different, I'll say that much. Any other... incidents... I might be interested in learning about?"

"Well, there was the cannon accident in fifth grade and the shark pool incident in fourth grade..."

I took a sip from my coffee, raising an eyebrow at the young man across from me as I set the cup down on the table again. I can't have heard him right... "I'm sorry, did you just say 'accident with a cannon'?" I queried.

"Yes".

Interesting... "Okay, I'm officially interested. Do tell".

He nodded quietly. "Field trip to the Saratoga Battlefield in fifth grade. I was leaning against an old Revolutionary War cannon when it went off unexpectedly. Of course, I wasn't intentionally aiming for the school bus, but I still got expelled anyway..."

Who would have thought old cannons were still loaded? I wondered. "What about the shark pool incident in fourth grade?"

"Behind the scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool. It was completely unintentional, I swear, but I sort of accidentally hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and the entire class took an unplanned swim".

Just how unlucky is this guy? I mused. "Was anyone hurt?"

He shook his head. "No. Everyone came out in one piece. Anyway, enough about my troubled educational background, I think. Tell me about yourself".
I shrugged. "Alright, but I'll warn you now. My history is probably nowhere near as interesting as yours".

He gave me a soft smile in return. "You don't have to share your history with me if you don't want to. Just tell me about present day Annabeth Chase instead" he offered simply.

One thing I prided myself on, though I had only recently become good at it, was my ability to cold-read people. To get a sense of how they felt towards their environment, or towards whatever situation they found themselves in, just by looking at their body language and facial expressions. And, right now, I could tell that Percy was being completely genuine. He was offering me a way out in case I didn't want to discuss my history. But I wasn't going to take it. He'd shared his; it was only fair that I returned the favour. "Firstly, my parents divorced a couple of years after I was born. My father remarried when I was five, and my step-mother and I... well, we never really had the best relationship. I ran away when I was seven, and ended up making a couple of friends, who helped me to get here, to New York, safely. I lived with my mother until I was 12, which was about the time that my father got in contact with me. He wanted me to go back to him, to my stepmother, and my two half-brothers. To try being a proper family for once, I suppose. After giving it some very careful thought, I eventually agreed, and, after days of back and forth discussions, we eventually decided that I'd spend the summer here in New York with my mother, and the rest of the year living with my dad in San Francisco".

I paused to give Percy time to register what I had just said. His eyes had never left mine even once while I was speaking, which under any other circumstances, if it was any other person, might have irritated me. But when it was him, strangely I didn't mind at all. "So, what changed? Something must have, after all" he asked quietly.

"I grew up, decided I wanted to attend college here. I left San Francisco when I was 18, only gone back since then for birthdays and the occasional family gathering or Christmas party".

"I'm curious. What do you do for a living?"

"I'm an architect for a company in the city center. What about you?"

He smiled again. He definitely smiles more than Luke... "I'm actually working at a local aquarium at the moment. I love anything to do with the water, so getting to spend all day around sea creatures is perfect for me".

"Sounds like it must be a lot of fun".

"Oh, it certainly is. If you drop by sometime, maybe I'll show you around".

I smiled at him. I definitely hadn't felt this free, this happy, around anyone since... well, I suppose since about a month before I had broken up with Luke. I definitely liked the feeling. "I'd enjoy that. Thank you".

It was at that very moment that my phone chirped quietly. I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the small screen before cursing, downing the last of my coffee, and getting to my feet. "I'm sorry, Percy, but I really have to go. I have an important meeting at work in 25 minutes, and I really can't afford to be late. Especially since I'm taking tomorrow off. Thanks for the coffee though".

He nodded, getting to his feet and draining the last of his own coffee. "You're welcome. It was very nice to meet you, Annabeth Chase" he said simply, extending his hand.

I smiled at him, gripping his hand in a motion that already felt strangely comfortable to me. "And the same to you, Percy Jackson. Who knows, maybe we'll meet again".

"Maybe".

I could feel him slip something into my hand just before he broke contact with me. I was curious as to what it was, but I had no real desire to seem too eager to see what he had given me. I nodded slightly to him. "I'd better be going. Goodbye".

"Goodbye".

With that said, I tossed my empty coffee cup into the bin before walking out of the coffee shop and back the way I had originally come, not stopping to check what he had given me until I was well out of range. Pressed into my hand was a small piece of blue and green cardboard, with the address of one of the more well-known aquariums in the city on it, along with my new friend's name and a phone number. Percy Jackson - Senior Aquarist. I slipped the card into my pocket, turning slightly to flag down a passing cab. As soon as it stopped, I hopped in and gave the driver the address of the office building I worked at before settling back in the leather seat to wait. Maybe it wasn't going to be such a boring week after all...
-Percy Jackson-
As I watched my new friend walk out of the coffee shop, I couldn't help but sigh wistfully. It was almost unfair, to be honest. No matter how perfect the girl that ended up being my blind date was, she'd never be able to match the girl who had just left the coffee shop. I could only hope that she took my suggestion and showed up at the aquarium sometime. She was appealing, and I couldn't help but want to know everything there was to know about her.

So there we go. I'm sure you probably have your theories about who Percy's blind date is. You're welcome to include your guess with your Review if you do, and I'll be revealing it at the end of Chapter 3, and Chapter 4 (as well as a good part of Chapter 5) will focus on the actual date. Chapter 3 will also feature Nico and Bianca, along with mentions of Rachel, Octavian, and Reyna.