Hey, guys! So I finally finished this chapter tonight. It's really long so I hope you like! :) PJO is owned by Mr. Rick Riordan.

It was Annabeth's first day on the job and she already met someone she declared as annoying. At Piper and Jason's house, she looked at what all needed to be done and made a list of it. She started with the very first and important thing. She did the laundry, which their clothes hamper lid wasn't actually attached to the hamper there were so many dirty clothes.

She heaved it into her arms and started to the laundry room by the garage. While the clothes were being washed, she started to vacuum. The machine made so many scratching noises, it hurt her ears. It told her they didn't exactly vacuum much.

While Annabeth was doing this, Piper was at first outside with her garden—mending that first thing in the morning. Then once she was cleaned up, she followed Annabeth around the house, talking about her and Jason's past.

He had been in an accident once, causing him to lose some of his memory. And that's how he met Piper. She found him and called the ambulance for him. They had a friend, Leo, and she even said that he might be coming over later to fix a broken pipe in their bathroom; he was a mechanic.

Piper had to yell over the aggressive hum from the vacuum cleaner.

Finally, she gave up after a while. "I'm just going to go into my office!"

"What?!" Annabeth asked back.

"I'm going to my office!"

"What about Zach Galifianakis?"

"No! My office!"

"It's okay, Piper, I know you don't got this! I don't mind vacuuming!"

Piper huffed and reached over and pressed the power button, making the machine slowly die and the hum fade. "I'm going to my office now," Piper said in a low voice, but her tone was hoarse.

"Oh, okay. Sorry,"

Piper gave a soft smile and then left.

Annabeth watched her leave and then turned the vacuum back on.

When the washer was done, she spent a great amount of time sorting through the wet clothes and putting the ones that could handle it into the dryer.

Annabeth walked back out with wet clothes hanging on her forearm and she was going to walk to Piper's room and hang them up on hangers. But she passed by the living room and stopped.

There was a man sitting on the couch with his arms behind his neck and the TV was on. One leg was propped over the other.

Annabeth stopped and gave him a look. He didn't see her at first. He had curly brown hair that hung in crooked locks around his pointy ears. Even though he wasn't smiling, Annabeth could see his cheeky smile and his smirk. She'd seen that before on Luke's half-brother's faces. The Stoll brothers always had that look with them, but she knew this wasn't one of them.

"Who are you?" She asked.

He jumped and looked at her with alarm. His brown eyes were wide. "Um…" he cleared his throat and just as thought, that smirk lined his lips. "The real question is who are you?"

"Well I'm not answering that question until you answer mine."

"What are we, two year-olds?"

Annabeth gave him a look.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, okay, no need for that kind of torture." The man put his other foot on the ground and took his arms away from his neck and sat up. "I'm—"

"Leo!" Piper exclaimed as she just walked into the room with a grin on her face. She hurried to him.

"Yeah, what she said," Leo murmured to Annabeth as Piper greeted him with a hug. "Hey, Beauty Queen,"

She pulled back and then smiled at Annabeth. "Annabeth, this is our friend, Leo. He came to fix a pipe in our bathroom. Leo, this is Annabeth; she's our maid."

"Maid? You definitely don't look like a maid,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth said in a deadly tone. She still glared at him.

He stammered. "I—you just look like you'd be the one ordering another person around instead of being ordered around,"

She walked past him and smacked him with a wet shirt. Annabeth stopped beside him as he yelped and rubbed the sting on his arm. "I may be a maid, but that doesn't mean people order me around," She growled and then kept walking to Piper's room.

Piper, in the background, began laughing at Leo, who looked a little sheepish.

Though he may be annoying, Annabeth liked being around Leo. He was easy to mess with. Every time she passed by him, he'd say something witty and she'd reply back with something that made him speechless. She tried her best to hide her smile, though it didn't exactly work.

And every time she passed by him, she'd smack him on the head with whatever was in her hand.

Finally, he gave up and proceeded to the bathroom to fix the pipe.

Annabeth was dusting the TV. She had covered the majority of the living room. Suddenly, a face popped up on the screen and she jumped back, a small yelp coming from her lips. She heard a snickering behind her.

She turned and found Leo sitting on the couch again, his feet propped up on the coffee table—the one she just dusted off—and holding the TV remote in his hand.

Annabeth glared and walked over to him. "Very funny," she said shortly. "I just dusted that."

He looked down at the coffee table. "Oh,"

She waited, but he didn't move.

Leo smirked and Annabeth took his ankles and dragged him off the couch, twisting him over and then slamming him on his stomach on the carpet. He cursed and groaned.

"Hey, Repair Boy," Piper came back in. She stopped when she saw the scene. "What happened?"

"He tripped," Annabeth said innocently.

"Oh, yeah," Leo said sarcastically. "On what, the air?!"

"On your own dirty feet," Annabeth snarled.

Piper chuckled. "So, did you fix the pipe?"

Leo started to sit up, rubbing his ankles as he looked up at Annabeth, who was giving him a You-asked-for-it look.

"That's why you call me Repair Boy," he mumbled.

"Awesome. Thanks," She grinned.

"Any time," he began to stand.

Piper left the room again and Annabeth went back to dusting.

Leo sat back down when she had her back turned. He stared at her, skeptical. "So what do you, jujitsu? Karate?"

"I'll answer when you get your feet off the table."

Leo looked down and realized he had accidentally done that again. He instantly brought them off like it was on fire. "Sorry," he mumbled. Then a thought occurred to him. "Whoa! How'd you even see that?"

"I have eyes on the back of my head," Annabeth said coolly. "So don't even think about it,"

Leo stopped. He had slowly picked up the plant like he was going to throw it at her. "Think about what?"

"The plant," Annabeth said with her back still turned to him. "Don't even think about it."

Leo sighed defeatedly and put it back down. "Okay, fine, Miss Creepy Karate Lady."

Annabeth finally turned back to him. "It's Annabeth Chase,"

Leo's eyebrows went up.

Annabeth looked back and continued to watch him cautiously through the reflection in the TV screen.

"Piper!" Annabeth called after she had washed the last dish. "Can I talk to you?"

Piper came out almost immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Annabeth said, "I was just wondering if I could leave a little earlier."

"How early?"

"Like, now,"

"Now?" Piper asked. "Why now?"

"I have to…go somewhere," Annabeth replied hesitantly.

"What's more important than being at your job?"

Annabeth bit her lip. "I have a date."

Piper lit up, grinning and eyes twinkling. She jumped over to her. "Oh, my gosh! You have a date?!"

"You have a date?!" Leo spluttered. "The guy must be desperate."

Annabeth squeezed a pressure point on his neck and he jolted, making a weird strangling noise and fell limply on the couch, his face ended up buried in a pillow. "Sorry," He mumbled.

"Who are you dating?" Piper asked.

"Um, some guy I met at the café. I have to go so I'll see you tomorrow," she said and left with a wave of her hand.

Annabeth sighed as she smoothed down her dress. It was a soft gray dress that went just above her knees. There was a small black belt held together at her waist. She wore a thin, cotton black sweater that prevented her exposed shoulders from being chilly in the evening weather.

She looked at herself in her slanted mirror that leaned against the wall. Hazel and Rachel insisted that they helped with her hair, but she protested. All she did was tie up some loose strands back from her face, her curly hair tumbling over her shoulders.

Annabeth slipped on her black flats and suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Her heart quickened. If that was Percy, that meant—

"I'll get it, Annabeth!" Rachel said.

Her heart was heavy and she dashed out of the room. "No!" she cried urgently. Annabeth knew what was to come if Rachel opened the door and Percy was there.

Rachel was already reaching for the door handle and Annabeth sprinted, though it was hard because a flat slipped off of her heel. She pushed Rachel out of the way right when she opened the door—just a crack—and Annabeth could see Percy's glowing green eyes.

"Just one minute Percy," Annabeth said and then closed the door.

Rachel struggled. "Annabeth, what are you—"

"She knows exactly what you're doing, Rachel!" Thalia said with her hands on her hips.

Annabeth jabbed a finger in Rachel's face. "Don't you dare ruin this date for me."

"What are you talking about?" She said innocently. "I wasn't trying to do that."

"No, but if you're going to talk to him, I just know it's going to turn out bad."

"Annabeth?" Percy shouted and knocked on the door. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Aww, he sounds so worried," Rachel cooed. "Let's open the door."

"No. I will not let you talk to him or look at him." Annabeth said. "You've been teasing me about it all week!"

"Well, too bad." Rachel countered. "He's standing out there all alone and worried, someone's gotta open it."

Rachel started to open it and suddenly, Thalia dived. She brought back Rachel. "You're not going to ruin their date! None of us are!"

Percy tried to look at Annabeth through the crack that barely opened. "Annabeth, what's going on?"

"Uh…" Annabeth stammered nervously and she looked back at Rachel and Thalia wrestling.

"Why can't I just get one look?!" Rachel struggled to cry.

"You're so boy crazy!" Thalia said.

Hazel stepped in. "Guys! Percy can hear you!"

"Did someone just say my name?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"Just—I'm almost ready, Percy."

"Stay away! He's Annabeth's!"

Percy's brow furrowed.

"Um…I have to go…um, clean up a mess," Annabeth said.

"Oh, you want me to help?" Percy began to step in.

"No! No, you stay here, I'll go clean it up. It's not safe."

His green eyes glowed even more and he looked worried. "It's not safe? Annabeth, it could be dangerous. I should help you."

"No, because if you did, the mess would…eat you up alive." Annabeth took a deep breath. "Like, almost literally," She closed the door and left into the apartment.

Hazel tried to break up Thalia and Rachel, but it was almost impossible. They were all fighting, causing a mob and Thalia and Hazel trapped down Rachel.

"Just quit it! Percy is here for Annabeth, not you!" Thalia said.

"Whoa," a voice said.

They all looked up at Percy, who was wearing a suit with no tie, and his white button-up shirt loose until it was tucked into his trousers. He had his hand in his pocket, but the other one hanging loosely by his side.

Annabeth straightened and said, "Percy, I said it—it was too dangerous!"

"What's dangerous about a couple of girls?"

Annabeth's eyebrows went up and Thalia pointed to Rachel. "The one that's obsessed with you,"

Rachel blushed a little but smiled. "Gee, he's kinda cute."

Annabeth kicked her, but her eyes were still glued on Percy. She was about to agree with Rachel, but she blinked, mentally telling herself that that would be wrong.

"Um, Annabeth?" Percy asked as he brushed his fingers through his black hair. It was short cropped and looked a little messy, but was beautiful as it swept off his forehead.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Uh, where'd your shoe go?"

"My shoe?" Annabeth looked down at her feet and found that she only had one black flat on. She looked up at the hallway ahead of her. It was still where it had fallen off.

"Oh. My shoe. Of course." She went to retrieve her shoe and when she came back, Rachel had gotten up and went to Percy, her frizzy red hair stuck up everywhere.

Percy looked awkward. "Hi,"

"I'm Rachel," she stuck out her hand.

"Uh, cool. Well, Annabeth and I are leaving now,"

Thalia threw her head back and started laughing as she walked in between them. Hazel snickered.

"See, we told you he was here for Annabeth," Thalia said. "I'm starting to like this Percy dude already,"

Annabeth put on her shoe and then stepped up to Percy, who opened her door for her as they stepped out of the apartment.

Percy knew that there probably wasn't any fancy restaurant that they would enjoy, so he brought her back to the café. The lights were off except for some candles and he was making them some coffee.

"You know what I think it's time for? I think it's time you tried seaweed coffee."

Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "I think I'll pass."

"Oh, come on! It's great, you should try it."

Percy was behind the counter and Annabeth sat at one of the tables. She didn't really like seeing him where he usually is. It was their night together with no other customers around. He deserved to take his night off from his original post.

So Annabeth got up and walked around the counter to him. He was sprinkling some of the seaweed in a cup of coffee.

She still didn't find that quite appetizing, but decided that it might be worth a try. She took a sip of it and the taste was quite soothing, actually. It was sweet and different from what she usually drank. It was warm and when she pulled the cup away from her lips and took a deep breath, the smell wafted up to her nose and she took in the deep scent. It smelled like a calming sea and she took another drink of it.

Percy's eyebrows went up. "So you like it," he said with a grin.

Annabeth's brows furrowed and she pulled the cup away, giving him a slight glare. "I never said that," her voice even sounded drowsy, like the seaweed coffee put her under some sort of spell.

"But your reaction told it all," He glanced at her sideways with a smirk. "Hey," he said when she kept staring at him like that. "Just because you like something doesn't stop you to keep liking it. I'm not stopping you. There's nothing wrong about it."

"Yes, but that's how you develop flaws. And then you progress with a fatal flaw." Annabeth said softly.

He chuckled and blinked, as if that concept was wrong in his belief. "It's just a coffee, Annabeth. It's just seaweed."

Annabeth looked back down at the coffee, and something rippled in her taste buds, making her saliva ooze from the insides of her cheeks. She wanted more of the drink, desperately. She bit the inside of her lip and looked up at Percy, who was making some pastries for their small dinner.

Percy wasn't exactly a sit down and eat and talk kind of guy. It just seemed a little too boring—and that technique had been used millions of times. He was the kind of guy that tried different things, hence the seaweed.

So they snacked a little from behind the counter and Annabeth drank the rest of the contents in her coffee mug.

Percy had lied. He said he knew she liked it from her reaction. That wasn't the truth. He had known that because of the look in her eyes. It was the way she stared at down at it and that when she opened her eyes, the gray was twinkling kind of like a star. They reminded him of the moment she got her job with Piper; that they just lit up like she was staring at a whole different world.

He cleared his throat and looked around the empty café. He loved the sight of it, but in that moment, it all just seemed too normal. Annabeth made him feel like he wanted to do anything but normal.

Percy was about to suggest to take a walk, but Annabeth had been the one to walk back around and away from the counter and up to the window. She stared at the empty streets and the night sky that was starting to bloom different colors from the sunset.

Her eyes twinkled like how they did with the seaweed.

"Let's take go on a walk," she said. As simple as that, like it was the only other path to take.

Percy smiled because he liked her simplicity. "Alright," He said. He blew out the candles, cleaned up the mess so that way he wouldn't get in trouble later on, and he locked up the café again before he and Annabeth set out on their small adventure.

As they walked, they talked a lot—mostly about their past life.

Annabeth explained that she doesn't have a mom and her dad died a while ago. That was why she shared an apartment with her other friends. She explained how they hadn't, at first, intentionally wanted to be maids, but that it sort of just happened. She had been in college with Thalia and they shared a dorm, and they always kept a clean room—no matter what. It was always just an instinct to keep an organized room because she couldn't think with all the clutter.

Some of their neighboring dorms had had a party one night. When it was over the next morning and everyone had left or was just passed out, Annabeth couldn't walk through to get to her class. She and Thalia took trash bags and cleaned up the red solo cups and the beer and food.

"It's funny because Thalia was complaining a little. She even kicked one guy's head as he was unconscious on the floor." Annabeth snickered. "She swore she didn't mean it, but, I don't believe her. When I came back from my class, I ran into him and he asked me if he really did have a party last night, or if it was just a dream. I told him what happened." Annabeth shrugged. "And I guess, from there, we just sort of learned to clean after other people," she sighed.

Percy's lips were pulled tight. "But you don't like that,"

"I didn't, no. At first, not really, but it helped pay some bills. That was how we met Hazel and Rachel—they came to us and Luke helped us get the jobs. After a while, I got used to it and it just didn't matter anymore. And now I realize that it's not so bad when the person you work for doesn't feel like your boss."

Percy smiled. "So what did you really want to be? You said being a maid wasn't exactly your dream job."

Annabeth chuckled. "No, I never wanted to be a maid. I've…it's always been a dream of mine to be an architect. Just the buildings and shapes around me seem to catch my interest."

Percy looked over at her. She was in profile and the moon seemed to reflect off her frame. Her eyes twinkled even more when she talked about how she wanted to be in architecture, and that's how she knew she was telling the truth.

It finally hit Percy, staring at her then, how beautiful she was. Before, sure he thought she was pretty, but the sight of her now just makes his heart pound against his breastbone. Her long and full dark lashes and the way her hair just seemed to curl perfectly.

But he knew she wasn't that type. He knew she'd rather be reading a book somewhere than focusing on being pretty all the time. And he liked that about her. He could see her working furiously on some sort of blueprint for—maybe something even as grand as Olympus.

"I can see you becoming an architect," he said, interrupting her.

She blushed and tucked a curly strand of blonde behind her ear. "Thanks, Percy," she smiled at him. "So what about you? I'm guessing you aren't very fond about all these mini jobs."

Percy shrugged. "I like the ocean. Maybe I'll become a sailor one day. I've never exactly had a dream hobby. That's why I have so many different jobs. I don't really like staying in one place for a long time. It gets too normal after a while."

"Ahh," Annabeth nodded and stared at the sidewalk. "So you're an adventurer. A risk-taker."

"Isn't everyone?"

"Any chance you'll be settling down this time?"

Percy was a little taken aback by the question as she looked up at him, her eyes full of hope. "Maybe; it's a possibility. I guess it depends on whether I get fired or not." He grinned.

"I'm surprised you haven't been fired yet."

"Me too,"

"So you say you have a mother. How is she?"

"She's like your normal mom. Paranoid and worried about me from time-to-time. I love her to death, though. A couple months after I had been born, my dad and she divorced. It just didn't work because he had to work—all the time. She was all I had. Then I had my stepfather, Gabe—absolutely hated the…the oaf."

"Hm," Annabeth thought out loud. "What a wonderful choice of word."

A smile stretched across his face. "Well, that's exactly what he was. Then she met another guy—finally someone who could work out with her. Someone she deserved. She used to work at a candy shop, so that's how I was able to get my hands on blue candy. But I guess it grew a little old for her and she quit." Percy shrugged. "One day she just thought that hey, she loves to take care of kids. So she helps run with an adoption agency now."

Annabeth nodded. "That's sweet," She smiled over at him.

He smiled back. He was about to respond, but then that light was in Annabeth's eyes again and she looked at something past him. Her face read shock and he turned around. "What?"

He realized she was staring at a small bookstore that they were passing by. It was squished in between two buildings with wooden window frames and double wooden doors. It looked a little old-fashioned and like no one was there. Some books were featured in the windows, and some were cracked leather and some were old paper backs with bent and yellowing paper.

Percy looked back over at her dazzling eyes. "Y-You wanna go inside?" He pointed to the shop with raised eyebrows.

Finally, her gaze averted back to him and she cleared her expression of happiness. "No, no, it's fine. We don't have to."

"Annabeth," he said exasperatedly. He opened his mouth to continue, but couldn't find the words. Percy shifted his feet with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the street. He looked back up at her. "Hey, if you want to do something, we'll do it. I don't mind—as long as you're happy."

The corners of her mouth slowly lifted upwards. She realized how nice and gentle Percy was being with her and it made chills go through her, but warmth stabbing at her heart. She hadn't ever been able to reach the things that she'd always wanted. It seemed like something always got in her way and soon, she got tired of fighting it.

But ever since she met Percy, it was like those things that were getting in her way seemed to disappear. She got a job and a friend with no barking boss. And, she found someone who helped her get what she wanted. Someone who really acknowledged her, unlike Luke.

Annabeth smiled again. "Then I'd love to."

They walked in and it was a little colder inside than it was outside. But that was how Annabeth liked it. It was also quiet, and they were probably the only people there besides a woman—who was the librarian. And she was stacking books on a book shelf.

Up ahead, there was a desk where you check out the books. There was a laptop and a scanner. And then everything else was books. Dozens and dozens of rows of bookshelves that were packed with old and cracked books. This made her mind wander and her heart soar. She immediately loved this place and wondered how she hadn't stumbled upon it before.

There was a small sitting area to their right, but they didn't sit down. Annabeth floated around, her fingers sliding against the spines of all the books she passed by. She read the names and some were old poems from Edgar Allan Poe, and some were fiction. There were a lot of nonfiction books like on wars and biographies of famous people.

Percy followed behind. He hadn't said a word—neither of them has. Annabeth glanced back at him and his lips were pressed and firm like he was about to smile. His green eyes were glowing as they also read the titles.

Annabeth looked back ahead of her, smiling and feeling something flip over in hot warmth in her chest.

They had traveled all the way to the back where there was only one row left from the first row of book shelves. Along the way, Annabeth had paused at multiple books, but then remembered she had read them already and put them back with a satisfied look.

Her eye caught a familiar word: Greek.

She stopped and Percy almost ran into her. "What'd you find?"

Annabeth pulled out the book. It wasn't small or big. It was blue and cracked. In gold, it read "GREEK MYTHOLOGY".

"Oh, yeah, you're a Greek nerd." Percy said.

Annabeth lightly punched him in the arm. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"I didn't say there was." Percy countered. Then he took a deep breath. It shook. "The only thing I really know about Greek mythology is the Greek gods' names and their power. And only some of their myths. Like Medusa and Lotus and Arachne. Learned some of it during sixth grade, but I fell asleep through most of it."

Annabeth gaped at him. "How could you fall asleep during this?"

Percy shrugged. "I have ADHD. I just couldn't really pay attention and I end up dozing off."

"Well, maybe now's your chance."

"What, you're going to teach me Greek mythology tonight?"

"Nope," she shook her head but couldn't shake off her smile. "I'm going to read it to you." And she waved the book in front of his face.

There was something in the way Annabeth talked and explained and read to him that had Percy absorbing every syllable she spoke. He listened to every word she said about how the gods had cut their dad, Kronos, and threw his bits into Tartarus. How she read from the book in her lap about the wooden horse wheeling into Troy. And she talked about the heroes, Jason and Hercules and more about how they helped out the gods.

But she didn't just read. She added in her own facts, and that's what made Percy so interested. To see her point of view in all of this. It was like she was there, in those times, and had seen it all with her own eyes.

And her eyes. Percy watched her reaction in her eyes. How they glowed and he could see the gears turning in her head and how the storm churned in her grayness. It was amazing.

She knew so much about this, that Percy was intrigued by her. The way she talked about it all, she sounded so wise.

Though he had dyslexia and ADHD, so it was hard to keep up sometimes.

They sat with their backs against the side wall under a window. Rain had started to sprinkle against it very lightly. It was like a soft whisper as it trickled against the glass. Percy had his knees bent up in front of him while Annabeth, due to her dress, had them crossed. The book still settled in her lap.

He looked over at her and her blonde hair tumbled down her shoulders and covered the side of her face as she looked down at the book. She tucked the strands behind her ear.

Suddenly, the woman librarian came into view. "Excuse me, but I'm closing now. I apologize, but I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave now."

They nodded. "Sure," they mumbled simultaneously.

"If you want, you can check out the book." She said.

They both looked down at the Greek Mythology book. Then they looked at each other as if having a silent agreement.

"Maybe next time," Annabeth said as she smiled up at the woman.

She nodded and then walked away.

Percy got up, straightened out his suit and then offered out a hand to help Annabeth up. She stared at the book for a little while and then reached out. Her fingers slipped into his and warmth shot through his arm and over his whole body. Her skin was soft, but her palm felt a little rough. But he liked it and suddenly he had the urge to hold her hand for a while longer.

Though he didn't because once she was on her feet, she let go. She placed the book back in its spot and they took one look at each other and left.

It had stopped raining and they continued their walk along the road. They had an entire conversation on Greek mythology. They had an argument on who would be the better god, and whatnot.

"I would choose Athena," Annabeth said. "She's smart and is the only one with actual power."

Percy shrugged. "She seems too bossy. I would go for someone a little more…carefree. Someone who just kind of goes with the flow. Kind of like Poseidon. He literally goes with the flow, he's the god of the ocean and waves and such."

Annabeth scoffed. "Yeah, and that's all he does. Control water and talks to horses."

"Hey, he made horses. That's pretty darn useful right there."

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Whatever,"

"You know, it'd actually be pretty cool to be a demigod." Percy said.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow as she glanced sideways at him. "Not exactly. It'd be awfully dangerous."

"Well, duh. Anything involving Greek is dangerous."

Annabeth laughed. "That's true,"

"It would be fun!" he elbowed her. "Think about it. I would say you would be a daughter of Athena. I'd probably be…Poseidon. You know, Seaweed Brain and all," he nudged her again.

She snickered and grinned up at him. "You're right. It would be kind of fun. But you're forgetting that Athena and Poseidon hate each other."

"Yeah, but we don't hate each other." Percy countered.

"That's also true. But we're not half-bloods,"

Percy shrugged. "Oh, well,"

They were quiet for a while and the only they heard was their light footsteps and some dog barking in the distance. There were no cars and it felt like they were the only people on Earth. Unless the dog was a human impersonating a dog, but they doubted that.

Percy walked with his hands in his pockets and Annabeth had her arms crossed over her midsection.

Finally, he spoke up. "You know, this nickname thing isn't fair."

"What do you mean?"

"You call me Seaweed Brain, but I have nothing to call you. It's not fair. It's all one-sided. It's official—you need a nickname."

Annabeth chuckled. "So what's my nickname?"

"I don't know. Maybe Owl Brain?"

"No," Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "Besides, it sounds too much like yours."

"Okay, fine. How about…Goldie?"

"Goldie?" Her eyebrows went up.

"Yeah, because of your hair," he waved a hand to her.

She shook her head. "Definitely not."

He sighed and with each step, he thought of as many nicknames as he could. None seemed to work and he was about to give up. Suddenly, the names just sounded ridiculous and goofy, and each one she'd reject.

"Yeah, well how about smartass?" He joked.

She punched him in the arm. "Stop being a Seaweed Brain!"

Then the thought occurred to him. He stopped and faced her, his head tilted to the side and his green eyes churning like the sea as if they were waves and knew something she didn't.

Annabeth stopped and faced him as well.

His expression was trying not to be cocky, but it didn't work.

"I will when you stop being a Wise Girl,"

Her mouth gaped open, ready to counter that it didn't work, but then she stopped. It actually kind of worked. It didn't offend her and it didn't over-confident her. It was simple, but actually kind of perfect.

"Wise Girl, huh?"

"Wise Girl," Percy confirmed.

He stared down at her and she realized how tall he was compared to her. Storm met sea and it was quiet.

Percy awkwardly bent down, opening his mouth whether to say something or do something else, Annabeth wasn't sure. But he looked nervous. His hand came up and he gently placed his thumb behind her jaw, his other hands resting on her neck and underneath her soft hair.

She took a small step forward but her heart pounded and raged inside of her.

He leaned forward, their noses touching, and then decided against it. He pulled back a little.

Annabeth was starting to gasp a little. And her eyes had widened large to where maybe Owl-Eyed could've worked.

"Wise Girl," he murmured and then his hand became gentler and he took it away from her neck. He kissed her cheek, and then Percy turned and started walking again.

Annabeth stayed where she was though. Her heart was fluttering madly and she couldn't seem to catch her breath. What just happened? She clenched her hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

Then her eyes cut to Percy silhouette form in the shadows and she hurried to him. She caught up with him and didn't say a word. But she slipped her hand into his and he responded by closing his fingers around hers.

They still didn't say a word through their smiles.

My week's been kinda crappy so this was a good small cure :3 Percabeth and Leo - that's all a person really needs. Anyways, so we've reached 20 followers! Yay! Please review so I know you're liking the story so far! :) Until next time, readers!