OTP PROMPTS: Person A of your OTP is a recluse and rarely leaves their apartment. Person B lives in the apartment next door to Person A and is secretly in love with A. Person B leaves Person A little notes on A's apartment door (wishing them a good day or what have you) or attached to little gifts for Person A every day. Person A collects said notes and gifts and eventually starts to leave notes on Person B's door. Whether they become an actual couple is up to you.

Optional: If an OT3, Person C can find out about A and B's notes and decide to act as matchmaker for them.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters used belong to Rick Riordan.

The first time Annabeth Chase met Percy Jackson was when she was climbing up the stairs to her new apartment carrying a cardboard boxes labeled "BOOKS". She was sweaty, red-faced and her entire body ached with the effort. For the first time in her life she almost regretted having so many books.

Annabeth couldn't afford movers to do the job for her. The most she could afford was one van which had dumped her few worldly possessions on the ground floor of the apartment before departing as quickly as it had come. It was around the afternoon so most of the other tenants were at work, leaving Annabeth to haul her belongings up by herself. Not that Annabeth would have asked for help even if anyone else had been present. She was far too proud (and perhaps just a little bit too shy) for that.

She walked up to the third floor landing and, for just a moment, closed her eyes and leaned her head against the mercifully cool wall silently cursing the broken elevator.

"Need any help with that?" a voice asked her.

Annabeth's eyes flew open and she found herself face-to-face with a guy around her age. He was standing in front of what she presumed was his apartment door right next to hers, seemingly in the process of entering his apartment. The guy was attractive, Annabeth's fatigued mind noted, with wild windswept hair, sea-green eyes and a tan only someone who worked out in the sun could have. Her eyebrows puckered at the glaringly bright orange T-shirt he was dressed in. She wasn't sure why but that color immediately got on her nerves. As Annabeth took in the sight of him (he caught her by surprise that was all) a bemused smile on his face bloomed on his face and he raised an eyebrow at her, startling green eyes sparkling with mirth.

It occurred to Annabeth then as she saw the amusement in his eyes that he might be making fun of her. Her eyes hardened in a steely glare in an instant as she clenched her jaw.

"No thank-," she started to say. However at that moment her traitorous arms decided to give out under the weight of her encyclopedias and the box tumbled to the floor. To the man's credit, he reached out to intercept the box but was just a little too slow. The box hit the floor with a loud thump.

Annabeth groaned in mortification, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. When she opened them again the guy was up with her box in his hands, smirk still in place.

"Seriously," he said, "you look like you could use the help."

"I can't-" she began but he cut her off.

"I don't mind, really," he said with a shake of his head. "I've got nothing better to do anyway."

Annabeth wanted to protest, she could do it by herself, but her shoulders screamed at her with agony and she slumped in defeat and just a little bit of gratitude.

"Help," she said wearily, "would be very appreciated."'

Annabeth didn't think it was possible but her companion's grin seemed to grow even wider.

"Percy Jackson," he said as he stuck his hand up over her cardboard box. "Your new neighbor."

"Annabeth Chase," she replied politely, taking his hand in her own.

The afternoon was spent meticulously collecting all of Annabeth's belongings from the ground floor up to the third one. The entire process took until evening and once they were done Annabeth was infinitely glad that she had accepted Percy's help. Heaven knows how long it would have taken her if she had been working alone.

Afterwards Percy invited her over at his place for cupcakes and Annabeth had wanted to refuse but her body, once again, betrayed her with a low grumble from her stomach. And Percy was nice, she reasoned with herself, as she climbed up after him. He'd helped her out with moving in and she really wasn't up to cooking herself something after this tiring day and, well, cupcakes.

Annabeth settled herself on one of the mismatching chairs at his kitchen counter while Percy rummaged through his fridge and brought out a platter of blue cupcakes, an assortment of blue cookies and a bottle full of a fizzy blue drink which, upon taking a sip, Annabeth realized was just lemonade with some blue food color mixed in.

Percy grinned at the quizzical expression she wore (he seemed like the sort of person who smiled a lot, sometimes at very little) as she carefully unwrapped one of the cupcakes and took a bite, filling her mouth with the taste of chocolate.

"Blue food is always better," Percy answered her unasked question and Annabeth smiled with a mouthful of icing. "It's this tradition my mom and I have going."

Annabeth nodded but didn't answer. A silence settled over them and Annabeth wasn't sure if it was companionable or uncomfortable. She decided to fill the moment by taking a cookie from the plate and Percy helped himself to a cupcake.

"So," Percy eventually asked around a bite of the cupcake, smearing blue icing all over his upper lip. Annabeth giggled a little at that and Percy's tongue darted out, licking off the excess. Annabeth pretended that her eyes hadn't lingered. "Are you new in town?"

"Not exactly," Annabeth admitted. "Up till now I was living at the university dormitories but um…I don't really…like crowds or too many people…and…" she flushed. She wasn't sure why she had told him that bit but she kind of wished she hadn't now.

"A University Girl," Percy nodded. "I wonder what that's like. My friends seem to think that university is a magical place full of booze and parties. Then they start cursing the hell out of it every time the exams roll around."

"You don't go to university?" Annabeth frowned.

"School's not really my thing," Percy shrugged in response, lowering his eyes to the ground. This seemed somehow wrong to Annabeth who had given up so much to get into a prestigious university. She had fought and struggled against all the odds, all the naysayers, all of her disadvantages to make it this far. It seemed a little incomprehensible to her that some people wouldn't even consider a university education.

"Not everyone can afford it, you know," Percy said suddenly as if he had read her mind and Annabeth startled. Had she become so transparent? Usually her face betrayed no secrets. "The student loans and everything. Not to mention I've never had grades that qualify anywhere near as 'good'."

He drummed his fingers against his thigh, not meeting her eyes. Annabeth swallowed against the lump against her throat. This time the silence was definitely uncomfortable, she thought.

"Umm," Annabeth stood up suddenly. "I really should go," she said hastily. "Thanks for helping me move in and um for the cupcakes and-and…Thanks for everything!" she almost squeaked and then dashed out of the room.

She let out a soft groan as she closed the door to her apartment. And it had been going so well too. She shook her head and opened the bag containing her toiletries to get ready for bed.

The next time Annabeth met Percy was when she was leaving for university and Percy was leaving for work. In her hurry she had slammed her door shut and turned blindly, immediately crashing into Percy and landing on her butt.

"We have got to stop meeting like this," Percy had joked, giving her a lopsided grin as he picked her backpack and spilled books off the ground. In response Annabeth had blushed and spluttered in indignation, grabbed her things and dashed off down the stairs (smooth, Annabeth, smooth).

After that debacle she next met him when she had come out of her apartment for a grocery run. He was standing outside the apartment across the hall arms full of shopping bags listening to the ramblings of Hera as she gesticulated wildly.

Hera lived in the apartment across hers along with her sister Hestia. Hestia seemed to Annabeth as a friendly woman. They had never spoken directly but Hestia always offered Annabeth a warm smile whenever they met. Hera, on the other hand, was a complainer. She would corner anyone unfortunate enough to stumble across her. From what Annabeth could gather from the few times Hera had managed to nab her, Hera's husband had been unfaithful and had deserted her. She never seemed to have gotten over that.

Annabeth watched the pair interact, noting the glazed look on Percy's eyes and the fact that he was wearing earphones, and she couldn't help but let an amused smile grace her face. That was when Percy turned his head and caught her looking. His face took on an exaggerated long-suffering look and Annabeth let loose a small giggle. She even forgot to be embarrassed at having been caught staring.

And this continued. They met at the landings and passed each other in the hallways. They exchanged 'heys' and 'hellos' on occasion and Percy always, always graced her with a grin that left Annabeth smiling as well no matter how horrible her day had been. Sometimes Annabeth could hear soft rock music floating through the thin walls of her cheap apartment. Sometimes she could hear loud laughter and hours of talking. She was sure that he was on the phone because she could never hear anyone else. Either that or he was crazy. Annabeth wasn't sure why (it was certainly no laughing matter) but that thought never failed to bring a grin to her face.

Occasionally Percy had friends over. She knew some of their faces but lacked any names to go with them. They were a rowdy bunch. Each time any of them came over there would be an inevitable commotion. A crash of plates tumbling, the loud bang of a door slamming…and laughter. Lots and lots of laughter.

Annabeth would readily admit that she despised loud noises with her very being even though Percy and Co. seemed to revel in it. How anyone could enjoy someone else's company with that blaring din in the background Annabeth would never know. If Percy's gang ever got particularly raucous Annabeth would put on her headphones and think of the times she, Thalia and Luke would sit around under that enormous pine tree at summer camp chatting, laughing and exchanging song recommendations. Thalia had always insisted that they appreciate the beauty of death metal. That had been before Thalia's accident, before Luke had closed off his heart and left Annabeth so terribly alone. She tried not to envy Percy when she was feeling wistful (she always failed miserably).

Annabeth would never admit it but sometimes; very, very rarely on those days when only Percy's voice would fill his apartment, Annabeth would curl up in a quilt with her back against the wall and a book in her hands and listen to him talk as she read. The apartment got a little quiet sometimes. She enjoyed the silence but there was never any in-between. It was either too silent or there were too many sounds coming from the streets, from her neighbors, from everywhere that Annabeth's head ached. Sometimes, on those too-loud-nights, Annabeth had to resort to her noise-cancelling headphones. And sometimes, on those too-quiet-nights, Percy's voice provided Annabeth with an in-between.

The next time Percy and Annabeth had a real conversation was when she was down in the laundry room. She had her sketchbook with her where she liked drawing famous buildings and monuments. Occasionally she drew a few of her own.

She was sitting on the table in the middle of the room doodling the Empire State Building, one of her personal favorite landmarks, when Percy dumped his basket of dirty clothes and groaned. He massaged his own biceps as he asked her, "Remind me to never ever again offer to carry Her Majesty Queen Hera's shopping."

"She does shop a lot," Annabeth said sagely. "Why do you keep offering anyway?"

Percy shrugged helplessly. "Because I'm a nice guy?" Somehow Annabeth didn't doubt that. "And anyway I kinda feel sorry for her you know? Whoever her husband was she clearly loved him a lot. It's sad that he treated her that way."

Annabeth snorted leading Percy to raise his eyebrows. "She's the stupid one. She should have left him when she had the chance. She's over fifty now and she's still not what I'd call unattractive-"

"Hera the Cougar?" Percy snickered. "I'm not sure if I can see her hanging around cafés, discreetly checking out the hot teenage waiters. Discreetly nabbing them to rant about Justin on the other hand-"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Jupiter," she corrected before continuing. "And that's not what I'm trying to say. My point is she should have left him ages ago, from the first moment he was unfaithful. Instead she kept on forgiving him. Some things shouldn't be forgiven. She should have just dumped that guy and moved on."

"Yeah, I guess," Percy shrugged again. He bent down to load his clothes into the washing machine. "I don't really know her whole story though. I never pay attention to what she says." He straightened up and turned towards her. Annabeth spun her head over to look at him and all at one was struck by how vivid a green his eyes were. "But sometimes, it's not easy to move on."

His words led her to purse her lips. Annabeth thought about how it had taken her father barely a year and a half to forget about her mother. How he had never married her mother and how afterwards had pretended that his relationship with Athena had never happened even though Annabeth was living proof that it had. She thought of her stepmother who had never been unpleasant to Annabeth but had never been completely comfortable with her either.

Then she thought of her mother who had walked out of her life when she was seven and had never told Annabeth or her father why. She thought of the framed picture she still had of her sitting on her mother's lap while Athena read her stories from this dusty book full of ancient myths. She thought of the love Athena had instilled in her of dark corners, hot chocolate and libraries filled with the musk of old books.

"Maybe," she told Percy and then turned back to her sketchbook.

"What are you doing here?"

Annabeth's head snapped up from where it was pouring over her book and immediately smacked against the door. She had been sitting outside her apartment with her back to her door reading one of her textbooks when she was interrupted by the not entirely unwelcome visage of Percy.

"I lost my keys," Annabeth admitted awkwardly as she rubbed her head. She didn't even know how that had happened, she was sure that she had put them in her purse but when she had returned home lo and behold! They weren't there.

"Why didn't you ask the landlord?" Percy leaned forward a little to ask her curiously.

Annabeth sighed. "I went down to talk to him earlier but umm there was a sock hanging on the doorknob and a post-it note that said 'Anyone interrupting will be immediately evicted or worse'", Annabeth explained.

Percy made a face. "Ugh. Mr. D giving Ariadne the D. Not the sort of mental image I needed."

"Believe me I know," Annabeth agreed with a rueful smile. "I wonder what she sees in him. Mr. D's so…well Mr. D. Then again she could have a horrible personality," Annabeth mused.

Percy laughed in response. "Nah Ariadne's great. Not sure why she married Mr. Douchebag though. I have been to his place once. It was all classy and there were shelves full of different kinds of wine. Maybe she keeps herself drunk all the time and that's how she tolerates him."

Annabeth knew it was wrong really but she couldn't stifle her laughter. "You are terrible," she said. "And I think you're a bad influence on me."

"I try," Percy grinned in answer. "Well you can't spend the whole night here." And Annabeth wondered for a moment if he was going to invite her over to his apartment again. Somehow the thought made her stomach grow a little squeamish. She wouldn't say no to some more blue cupcakes though.

"Do you have a bobby pin?" Percy asked her and Annabeth blinked in surprise. She raised her hand to her mess of curly hair which was only loosely tied together with a rubber band.

"Umm no," she replied. Was he honestly going to do what she thought he was?

"Hang on a minute," Percy motioned with his hands for her to sit still as he opened the door to his own apartment. "Rachel left a bunch in the bathroom cabinet the last time she slept over. I think I still have them."

Annabeth stood up from where she was sitting, stuffed her book back into her bag and tried to ignore the way her stomach turned unpleasantly at the words 'Rachel' and 'slept over' (it wasn't any of her business really) as she waited for Percy to reappear. When Percy emerged again it was with a handful of said pins. Some of them, Annabeth noted with mild disgust, were still tangled in red hairs.

"Good thing I never clean huh?" Percy grinned and Annabeth crinkled her nose in further distaste. Percy reached out an index finger and tapped her on the nose and Annabeth's eyes widened in shock. "Sorry," Percy said sheepishly as he dropped to his knees before her doorknob. "It's just something my mother used to do whenever I made faces. She still does sometimes."

"It's okay," Annabeth mumbled in response. And she was surprised to find that she meant it. Annabeth usually didn't like being touched.

Percy picked out two pins from the pile and quickly set to work while Annabeth watched him with interest (purely for educational purposes of course). "Where did you learn to do that anyway?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

"These friends of mine-Connor and Travis, brothers- they are all about these life hacks," Percy explained as he worked. "They taught me how a while back."

"Life hacks," Annabeth repeated reproachfully.

There was a satisfying click. Percy stood up and turned the handle. "Life hacks," he reiterated once more. "Even if they hadn't taught me I have a laptop at my place. Everything's just a YouTube video away Annabeth."

She couldn't really argue with that so she strode into her apartment purposefully instead. Once she was inside she realized that she should probably invite Percy inside; he had helped her out again after all and he was probably expecting it and it would probably be rude to just say 'thank you' and close the door on his face and he had fed her some amazing cupcakes-

"Um," Annabeth started before she could overthink things too much and lose her nerve, "Do you want some coffee? I mean I only have instant but…"

"Sure," Percy agreed easily and Annabeth sighed in relief. As Percy seated himself on her kitchen counter Annabeth busied herself with making two cups of cheap instant coffee. Hey she was a university student, she could hardly afford luxuries.

As Annabeth mixed in a spoonful of sugar, belatedly realizing that she never asked Percy how he took his coffee, his voice broke her thoughts.

"What are these, like blueprints?" Percy asked voice riddled with curiosity. Annabeth froze. She realized that she had never had anyone over to her apartment before, never planned on having anyone over ever so her apartment was still covered with the designs of buildings she had drawn in her spare time. They were everywhere: pinned to the walls and stuck to the fridge. Invisible buildings on non-existent plots of land. All of her designs were grand and lofty and Annabeth knew that realistically architects nowadays rarely got to design those kinds of structures. Most only designed apartment blocks with minimal differences from each other. Still Annabeth was nothing if not ambitious.

She fought the juvenile urge to cover up her outlines and yell at Percy for looking -after all the whole point was that people should see her brilliance- and set the coffee cup before Percy. She also resisted the urge to blush at the appraising look on her companion's face.

"They're good," Percy finally spoke once more, taking a sip from his cup. Annabeth smiled. As if Percy was an expert. "Architecture?"

"Yeah," Annabeth answered. "I've wanted to design buildings -since before I even knew what architecture was really. It appeals to me, you know? Build something that'll last for ages, something people will remember forever. All those old buildings from ancient civilizations still exist after all."

Percy nodded in understanding and his eyes roamed over the various pencils and pen stands that littered every surface before coming to rest on the post-it note on her fridge that proclaimed in big bold letters: TO VISIT. Below were pictures of the coliseum, the Parthenon along with a number of other structures stuck under fridge magnets shaped like owls.

"Greek and Roman architecture's sort of my favorite. I'd like to visit sometime," Annabeth said quietly even though Percy hadn't asked. Suddenly Annabeth felt self-conscious. She'd said too much, given away too much of herself and Percy hadn't given anything back yet. She didn't like talking about herself and the way Percy seemed to just draw out her stories from her made her uneasy. It gave her a strange feeling of anticipation.

"What about you?" Annabeth asked because tit-for-tat of course. "What do you do for a living?" Vaguely she realized that this was probably the longest time she had spent with anyone since Thalia had died and wow wasn't that just a little sad.

"Oh this and that," Percy gestured aimlessly. "I'm sort of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. I do a bunch of odd jobs here and there. Doesn't pay well but I get by." It seemed Percy was as unambitious as Annabeth was ambitious.

"Really?" Annabeth frowned. "There's nothing at all that interests you?"

"The sea?" Percy phrased it like a question. "I like surfing I suppose, and swimming. I love orcas, I think they're cute. And I work part-time at Atlantis. And I know that a lot of those 'animal rights' groups bash it," Percy immediately said and held up his hands as if to stall Annabeth, "but they don't understand how much the organization helps out with the protection and breeding of endangered species-"

"I know," Annabeth cut him off bemusedly. Looks like Percy was passionate about something after all. "We used to have debates on things like this back in freshman year in high school all the time. 'This house would ban all zoos.' Now there's a horrible idea."

Percy smiled in relief. Annabeth wondered just how many people Percy knew who were interested in the politics of Atlantis. "So the sea huh," Annabeth mused. "You could have studied marine biology?" she offered.

"Yeah no," Percy snorted. "That would involve this horrible torture called studying." Annabeth rolled her eyes at his expression. "Believe me between my dyslexia and my ADHD-"

"You have dyslexia?" Annabeth breathed out, "and ADHD?"

"Uh yeah."

"Me too," Annabeth rushed out, giddy. She wasn't sure why, Percy couldn't have been more different from her if he tried, but somehow this new information gave rise to a feeling of kinship with him.

"Oh," Percy apparently didn't share her sentiments. He looked down at the floor uncomfortably and started to drum his fingers on his thigh again just like that time in his apartment. Annabeth frowned, wondering exactly how she had messed this up. "School must have been a bitch huh?" he asked quietly and suddenly his withdrawal kicked into place.

"Well yeah," Annabeth started unsure of exactly what she wanted to say. "I...I had to struggle a lot but I made it because, well, I liked school," she admitted. "But it's not for everybody after all. Some people do fine without it." Really when she imagined gigantic friend-circle, life hacks and odd jobs, aquatic animal rights and zoo advocate, surfer-swimmer Percy Jackson sitting behind a desk writing down things about quadratic polynomials, she absolutely believed it.

Percy looked up at her, a shy smile gracing his features. It was a new look, Annabeth thought warmly, a good look. "Yeah," he said after a while.

They sat in silence for a little while longer during which Annabeth managed to finish the coffee. It was comfortable, just being around with Percy was comfortable. Annabeth could see herself doing this, a few words of conversation and a few moments of silence, for many more nights. But all good things come to an end eventually.

"You don't get out much," Percy asked reigniting conversation. "And I never see anyone around here either. You don't have many friends do you?" Percy didn't say it bitingly or mockingly; Annabeth was sure from his voice that he was just genuinely curious. Percy struck her as the sort of person who couldn't survive without friends, who needed to be surrounded by them.

However, even if it was completely unintentional, Percy reminded Annabeth of the only two (only two) people she had ever called friends: Thalia and Luke. And both of them had left her hadn't they? Thalia involuntarily… Luke…semi-voluntarily? Thalia's death had broken him to the point that when Annabeth had last glimpsed him before he left for Greece, he was barely the person she had come to view as her brother. And Athena, her mother, had left her completely voluntarily. Because that's what people did. They abandoned you. Maybe they wanted to, maybe they didn't but in the end you always wound up alone. And that's why, Annabeth remembered, she didn't bother with seeking companionship from anyone. She figured it was safer if you were alone from the start.

"Look Percy," she set her cup down forcefully and Percy jumped with shock at the motion. Annabeth would have laughed at the look of surprise and confusion in his face if her insides weren't boiling right now. Poor Percy had no idea just how many miles her brain had run in the minute between his question and her reply.

"I'm not good at this," Annabeth stated, gesturing at the air between them. She tried to state like a fact from a history lesson (which it kind of was). Percy's eyebrows knitted together, "At socializing. At relationships in general, really." Was that disappointment she saw flashing across Percy's eyes?

"You seem fine to me," he seemed confused by her sudden shift in mood.

"Percy, this is our third conversation," she said warily and Percy's mouth snapped shut, eyes blinking in surprise. It was surprising once Annabeth thought about it. She felt like she had known Percy forever, like she'd always lived in this dingy little flat with his voice on the other side of the wall. This was especially stupid given that she had just been thinking about Luke and Thalia.

"Oh," Percy said softly, his brows creased. He looked like he was trying to puzzle her out which was laughable because Annabeth couldn't figure herself out.

"So…yeah. I'm not good with people, I don't care for it," Now that she had started she had no idea exactly what it was she had wanted to tell him. Warn him off? Warn herself off? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that she wanted him to stop talking right now because he was dredging up some painful memories. And he was making her contented around him while he did it. Annabeth didn't think she could take it if she welcomed someone as vivacious as Percy into her life only for him to leave again.

Percy recognized the dismissal for what it was and got up. All the while, as he made his way to her door, his green eyes never left her gray ones. Confusion shone in them like jades in the dark. When he left Annabeth head hit the counter and she groaned out loud, wondering exactly what was wrong with her.

University was getting harder. Her bills and rent were piling up. The modest allowance her father had given her when she'd left home was rapidly dwindling. Her nights were spent studying and finishing her papers because she wanted to maintain her perfect scores. Her mornings were spent in classes. And her bills were piling up and her rent and she had student loans, God! Why had she thought that getting her own place (technically Mr. D's place) had been a good idea? Why couldn't she have gone to university and lived in her parents' basement?

I need to get a job she thought as she rushed through her breakfast. Despite all of her workaholic tendenciesshe'd never had one before. Whatever time she hadn't spent at school or at home, she had spent at summer camp. She could ask Percy about it but her stomach lurched unpleasantly at the thought. She hadn't talked to him since that debacle in her apartment. With her recent manic stress she had left her flat even more rarely so she hadn't even glimpsed him in the hallways. She hated to admit it but she missed him. More specifically she missed his infectious grins. She could use a few laughs right now.

Should she apologize? Had she been rude? She had been rude hadn't she? Annabeth wished her oratory skills were better. She was absolute shit at explaining her feelings mostly because half the time she didn't understand them herself. Her feelings were complicated. But she missed Percy's smile. That was simple enough.

Annabeth sighed as she grabbed the stack of foreboding letters. She looked through them as she locked her door and stumbled through the stairs. I need a job she thought over and over again. I need a job. I need a job with flexible hours. A part time job, that's what I need.

"I need a job," she muttered distractedly as she brushed past Percy on the stairs. She made it two more steps down then stopped in her dead in her tracks. She glanced back up at him and found him staring down at her as well. His green eyes were unreadable. She dropped her gaze hastily, cheeks burning. Should she say it now? Might as well right?

"I-I'm sorry, about -you know- before. I was rude and I'm sorry," she mumbled hastily and then fled down the hills like a coward. She desperately hoped he'd understood.

When Annabeth came home after her classes, she came home to a surprise. On her door was taped two pieces of paper: newspaper cuttings. One was an advertisement for an assistant librarian at the local library which was expanding its collection. The one underneath that (and Annabeth's heart leapt at the sight of it) was for an internship -an unpaid internship her mind reminded her harshly- at an architecture firm. She would have to think about that one.

Below that was a blue post-it note. Written on it with gold ink, which had turned slightly green against the background, were words scrawled in a messy handwriting.

Apology accepted :)

Friends.

He hadn't signed it but of course it could only be one person. He hadn't put a question mark next to the word. He hadn't even asked her permission, just waltzed into her life and declared himself her friend. Annabeth grinned giddily at it. Funny, how Percy didn't even have to be next to her to have her smiling again.

Annabeth unstuck the note from her door and put it in her pocket, taking care not to crumple it. Then she turned her hands over the cuttings.

Annabeth fell into a comfortable rhythm. Her mornings were spent in classes. After she got back home, she had two hours to kill before she left for the library. She came back in the evening, took a power nap of an hour and fifteen minutes then pounced upon her studies. She got five (sometimes four or three) hours of sleep each night. She'll live. In the morning she woke up almost late and had just enough time to down crappy instant coffee and stick a piece of semi-buttered toast in her mouth before she was off to beat the traffic.

Now and then when she stepped outside her door with her messy hair and toast crumbs all over her Percy would be there. He would stand outside his apartment, grin and quip something at her ('Good luck with you daily dose of torture!'). He timed it, she knew he did but she liked him all the more for it. She liked the fact that Percy, who was obviously not a morning person- she can tell from the first day he greets her slouched against the doorframe, took the time to get up from bed just to see her. She liked his droopy eyes, bed head and the curve of his mouth as it quirked up when he saw her.

It was a routine and she liked it.

It's the only time she got to see him nowadays. Between her tendency to stress over her studies, her new job and her state of perpetual exhaustion she rarely saw him anymore. She lacked any motivation to leave her room and her laundry was done at unholy hours, two or three in the morning. Mostly she just buried herself under the covers with her books. She did consider trying to talk to him again, a real proper conversation. It would be easy really, all she'd have to is knock next door and she knows that Percy would welcome her over but-

She talked herself out of it and buried further into the covers. Later, maybe. Like when a hundred years or so have passed.

The next note came almost two weeks later when Annabeth dragged herself back to her apartment after her shift ended. It's not that working as a librarian is hard; it's quite the opposite really. It's quiet and peaceful and in this day and age visitors are few in number (which is an immense relief to her God knows how she would have fared if she's had to work in retail). She enjoyed the sanctuary of the place, loved the smell of old books. But somehow she couldn't shake the fatigue that hung over her like a cloud these days.

She noticed the bright piece of paper immediately against her brown door. The ink was the same gold-turned-green.

You look good in blue. You should wear it more often. :)

It's my favorite color.

Annabeth was torn between blushing and rolling her eyes because wow blue's his favorite color! She never would have guessed. She snatched the piece of paper up and then stalked into her flat, not stopping until she reached the bathroom. She scrutinized herself in the mirror. The T-shirt she was wearing was pale blue with a silver swirl on it. She'd thrown it on without thinking about it but now she stared at herself with a frown.

Percy was wrong, she decided. The blue clashed horribly with her sunshine yellow hair and the pale color did absolutely nothing to bring out her already pale gray eyes. Percy must be fashion dead, she thought, or color blind.

The realization didn't stop her from wearing the only other blue top she has the next day, deliberately marching past Percy's smirk without meeting his eyes. It also didn't stop her from browsing online and adding two more blue (aqua and navy, to be more specific) outfits to her wardrobe even though she didn't really need more clothes and she was trying to be frugal. Oh well.

A week passed before another note got stuck to her door. That particular morning had seen Annabeth slamming her door shut in a hurry. As she fumbled with her keys the piece of toast between her teeth slipped and fell to the floor. Annabeth groaned in frustration. This was going to be one of those days she just knew it.

"Please don't tell me that was supposed to be your entire breakfast," she heard Percy say from behind her. She sighed and nodded, rubbing her eyelids tiredly.

"Wait," Percy instructed firmly before disappearing into his apartment and returning with a green apple. He chucked it at her and Annabeth caught it deftly.

"Mom managed to drill in some good habits," Percy answered her raised eyebrows. "After so many years of trying it was bound to have happened."

"She sounds like a formidable woman," Annabeth said, taking a bite and letting that delicious sweetness fill her mouth.

"She is," Percy agreed with a fond smile. Annabeth's heart clenched a little as she thought of Athena and her step-mother and she turned on her heel to rush down the stairs. Only after taking three steps did she realize that she hadn't shown her gratitude leading her to yell out a 'thanks' in his general direction.

Once Annabeth got home she noticed the sticky note and grinned. There was something taped beside it too. Annabeth picked up the note, feeling anticipation bubble through her.

You know breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

What's the point of pulling all-nighters if you're not awake at class?

Annabeth felt affronted at that. She never slept during class. What Percy probably meant was that she shouldn't pull all-nighters if she couldn't wake up early enough to have a proper breakfast. Well tough. Like he could stop her.

She turned her attention to the other piece of paper folded and taped to her door. It looked like a coupon to a place called 'Demeter's Den'. A printed-out fake coupon judging by the fact that it's validity was listed as 'Forever' and there was a smiley drawn in gold ink. Below was a note that said 'Just give this to Katie Gardner'.

Annabeth stared at it nonplussed, wondering if Percy was serious. She shook her head and tucked it into her pocket. She had no plans to go to some unknown café and waste time. Her food was fine, breakfast was fine, everything was fine and Percy needed to goddamn stop interfering! And the irrational anger was rearing its ugly head once more.

Annabeth shook her head to dispel the thought. He'd meant well even though she was fairly confident that she was never going to use it. She put in the drawer of her bedside table anyway along with the rest of the blue notes.

Thursday had Annabeth changing her mind when she opened her fridge and found nothing but bread and milk. She ran out of cereal a while back. Annabeth had no morning classes on Thursday so she knew that there was time to kill, time to get breakfast.

Annabeth glanced back at her drawer where the fake-coupon was resting. She looked back at her fridge and was struck with the realization that she didn't even have butter. She hesitantly made her way to the drawer and opened it. She stared at the coupon for a long while before deciding that Percy's not the kind of person to play cruel pranks (unless he thought that this wouldn't be a cruel prank just a funny one and will Annabeth's brain please shut down now?)

Before she could change her mind yet again, Annabeth found herself grabbing the piece of paper, stuffing it in her pocket and making her way out the door.

Demeter's Den proved easy enough to locate. It was a cozy café-diner hybrid located near the outskirts of the university campus. Annabeth hesitantly walked through the door. For such a small place it was surprisingly busy. It was surprisingly peaceful too. Not too rowdy and everyone minded their own business. It was decorated in warm earthy colors: soft browns and grass greens. Annabeth looked at the counter thinking, 'this was a bad idea'.

What was she supposed to do now? Walk to the counter and hand over Percy's ridiculous piece of paper? What was she doing really? Annabeth stood uncomfortably near the doorway but was thankfully saved the trouble of making a decision when the barista at the counter locked eyes with her. Recognition blazed in her eyes though for the life of her Annabeth couldn't figure out why. She'd never seen her before in her life.

The girl grinned and beckoned her over. Annabeth unsteadily made her way to the counter.

"Annabeth Chase right?" The girl asked and Annabeth nodded mutely in response. "Percy mentioned you. Described you in great detail."

Annabeth hoped that she wasn't blushing.

"I'm Katie Gardner," the girl introduces herself. "My mom owns this place, me and my siblings run it. Come on, sit." Annabeth sat. Katie turned back to the small window and called out something that started with 'Travis you idiot!'

A moment later there was a steaming plate of eggs, buttered toast, bacon and a mug of black coffee in front of her. "Ummm," Annabeth started to say but Katie cut her off.

"For you," Katie winked, "it's half-price. Not everyday mind you. Every alternate day and only for breakfast. Cool?"

"Uh sure. Are you even allowed to do that?" Annabeth asked as she stabbed the egg with her knife. Goodness did it smell good. She decided not to mention that she didn't really plan on being a regular customer. Why look a gift horse in the mouth?

"Percy works here Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays," Katie waved her hand airily. "Think of this as him transferring his employee discount to you. I mean the dude's a snarky piece of shit but he's the kind of snarky piece of shit you can't help but be friends with. So I'm doing this as a favor to him."

"What do you mean by 'favor'?"

Katie smirked at her secretively. "Well, all of us still owe him and Leo from that time mom went through a muffin phase and they finished off all of crappy bran ones for us. But more importantly," Katie leaned in slyly, "he really likes you, you know?"

Thank God, thank all the gods that ever were that some other customer from another corner of the room demanded Katie's attention. Annabeth felt her face burn, felt Katie's knowing, Cheshire Cat-like grin sear itself onto her brain. Annabeth resolved to never, ever set foot in this place again no matter how deliciously greasy the bacon was (it probably wasn't healthy anyway).

Next Thursday would see Annabeth back anyway, unable to get her mind off that greasy bacon, and the every alternate day rule would be changed to every alternate week.

The notes kept coming every day now. They were nothing special.

Hope you had a good day!

Atlantis flooded yesterday. Don't ask. (She hadn't even though she had desperately wanted to know)

Your hair looked nice today

You should listen to the Arctic Monkey's new album. It's awesome.

Annabeth couldn't help but notice that Percy seemed busier lately. He didn't show up at the doorway nearly as often. However the notes had increased in frequency. Before, they had come when she returned from work. Now they were there in the morning. She'd found one at two in the night when she'd gone down to do her laundry. Annabeth wondered about what had caused the disruption in Percy's schedule. She wondered but didn't ask. She hated people prying into her life and it'd be hypocritical of her to pry into his. Instead she saved each and every one of those notes in her bedside drawer.

When Annabeth took her load of washing down to the laundry room at 3 am, she found another note stuck to her door. She frowned, hefted the basket to one hip and then took the page in her hand.

My bro Tyson's sick. Flu or something.

Mom's stressing so I'm heading back to her place for the weekend. See you Monday.

Annabeth swallowed thickly. She hadn't known Percy had a brother. Then again how could she? She put the note into her basket and tried to force herself into believing that two days was a very short span of time. Besides she and Percy hardly ever saw each other anyway.

Once Percy was gone, her flat felt disturbingly silent. There were no shouts, bangs or rustles coming from the other side of her wall. It unsettled Annabeth slightly but it also gave her ample time to think. It had occurred to her that her odd friendship with Percy was rather one-sided. One-sided in that Percy had thus far found her a job and a discount at an amazing diner and she had done basically nothing for him. What made it harder was that she had no idea what do get him.

What did she know about him? His favorite color was blue. He loved the sea, especially orcas. He had ADHD and dyslexia just like she did. He had no interest in pursuing a higher education but instead worked part time jobs at Atlantis and Demeter's Den. He couldn't carry a tune to save his life (Annabeth knows because of the damn cheap walls). His favorite band was called the Arctic Monkeys. He loved his friends and his mother and he had a brother named Tyson. He held impromptu parties in his place. He was ridiculously nice and forgiving and he smiled way too much. And that was about it.

And also, Katie Gardner's voice whispered slyly in her mind, he really likes you, you know?

Annabeth obstinately told the voice to shut up.

It still left her with nothing. She needed to give him something; she hated feeling like she was indebted to anyone. The thing was Percy didn't seem to need anything. Still she had two days to decide and she was determined. Nothing could stand in the way when Annabeth was determined.

Saturday was grocery day. Annabeth bought her usual things: cereal, eggs, bread, milk, instant coffee and ramen. She also bought packs of skittles, m&ms and jellybeans. When she got back home, she painstakingly opened each pack and separated the blue pieces from the rest of the candy. She put them into a clear plastic bag and tied it with a piece of golden string. Let it not be said that Annabeth Chase did anything by halves. She looked down at the pile of candy still in the bowl. Percy better appreciate her rotting teeth. Then she browsed online until 12 am and finally found something halfway decent. It wasn't anything special but since she was fresh out of ideas it would have to do. Besides it was cute.

Percy came back home Monday night. Annabeth heard the telltale sounds of thumping footsteps, a door being wrenched open and then slammed shut. She put her put her book down then got up. She ripped out a sticky note, scribbled down on it then went out and stuck it to his door. After that she took the two tiny wrapped parcels and taped it next to the note. She tried not to feel stupid as she did it and wondered how Percy did this every day.

Welcome home

The following morning Percy left his apartment the same time Annabeth did. He locked his door then turned to her and opened his palm. She could see that his keys were attached to a key ring that ended with a small, fat blue penguin made of cotton with green buttons for eyes. A lucky color combination.

"I thought it was cute," Annabeth admitted sheepishly.

"It is," Percy agreed, green eyes sparkling.

Annabeth got out of her apartment to leave for the library when she found the most obnoxious note Percy had given her yet.

Want a kiss? ;)

Taped next to it was pouch full of, wouldn't you know it, Hershey's Kisses.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and took out the note. Instead of putting it in her pocket, however, she took out a pen and wrote underneath the Percy's text.

Your sweet tooth is criminal. I can hear your gums crying.

Then she stuck it back on Percy's door. She put the pouch full of chocolate in her coat pocket despite the fact that food wasn't allowed in the library.

The last thing Annabeth expected to see after she left the library was Percy standing there with a box in his hands. As she approached he flipped the lid open to reveal a row of, thankfully brown, brownies.

"I'm guessing you didn't get my note," Annabeth grinned as she reached down and took a piece. Without permission, she realized belatedly.

"I got it," Percy answered. "What's the point of teeth though, really, if they get ruined by chocolate? I mean, couldn't it have been broccoli?" Percy apparently had been one of those children, the ones who complained about healthy food and hated veggies with the burning passion of a thousand suns. Annabeth had never been a picky eater but she still hummed in agreement. Chocolate brownies. Mouth-watering chocolate brownies.

"Anyway Mom sent me this to celebrate the fact that Tyson made a full recovery from a bad case of stomach flu," Percy told her. "I'm supposed to share."

So you decided to come all the way out here to give the first piece, Annabeth thought as they walked down the street together.

"You…" Annabeth faltered, unsure if she should voice herself. "You've been busier lately," she said finally. "Was it because of Tyson?"

"Not exactly," Percy sighed, an uncomfortable look overtook his face. "A friend of mine, Jason, he's been having some trouble with his parents. They are super rich but also super…snobby," Annabeth could tell that he wanted to use a less delicate word, "and that never sat well with Jason. Something happened and…that was basically the last straw for him. He moved out and me and Leo are kinda helping him get settled."

"Oh," Annabeth said softly. She wondered if it was right of Percy to talk about Jason without his permission. "Ever wonder if you're too nice, Percy?"

"What's wrong with being nice?" Percy asked. "Wait, don't tell me. You don't like nice guys. Annabeth Chase prefers the bad boys, the dirt bags, the-"

"Shut up!" Annabeth told him but she was unable to quell her laughter. "God! And I'm just saying out of genuine concern," her lips quirked and she wondered when she had regained the ability to joke. "Don't you know that nice guys finish last?"

"Ah so you do like them!" Percy grinned triumphantly. "Didn't peg you as a bad boy type."

"Percy!" Annabeth laughed again. "No one's my type," she added a little more quietly after her laughter had subdued.

There was a pause. "Wait…You mean like you're asexual?" Percy asked and Annabeth choked back more laughter.

"No," Annabeth answered. "Definitely not." She had wandered into the varsity swim team's practice sessions once and…yeah. That had led to some interesting dreams. Definitely not asexual. "I'm just…I'm…" Annabeth lifted her shoulder and dropped them again in a helpless shrug, unable to explain what she wanted to say. I'm not good with trusting people. I have abandonment issues. The words didn't make it out of her mouth. "I'm complicated," she said quietly. A silence fell over them.

"I have brothers too," she added after a while partly to break the silence and partly because it was only fair that he know as much about her as she did about him. "Half-brothers. Matthew and Bobby. They're cute in that annoying sibling kind of way." She didn't mention her mother though.

Percy nodded but didn't say anything to that. Annabeth wondered if this was how it was always going to be when she was face-to-face with Percy. It was so much easier to communicate with small sentences written in notes. But that kind of communication didn't really have much depth to it did it?

"So do you want to catch a movie?" Percy asked her suddenly, breaking the silence and startling Annabeth. A movie, she considered, in a dark and crowded room with stale popcorn below her feet and people everywhere. Matthew, her brother, had led her to believe that there would always be at least one person who talked incessantly through the movie and another who would always forget to turn off his phone.

"Ummm…No thanks," she told him and tried not to feel guilty at the look of disappointment that flashed through his face. She lowered her head. When she looked back up again, Percy's expression had changed. It held a look of curious understanding.

"Do you…" Percy hesitated. "Do you want to come over to my place, watch a DVD and finish the rest of these brownies with me?" He lifted up the box for emphasis.

Annabeth smiled shyly and wondered how he had seen right through her. "Okay," she agreed.

They settled down on Percy's ratty old couch and watched The Fellowship of the Rings, devouring the brownies with sporks (the ultimate utensil according to Percy). It was during this time that Annabeth realized that it was a good thing she didn't frequent movie theaters because she was the person who talked incessantly throughout the whole movie.

"Arwen didn't rescue Frodo. It was this other elf called Glorfindel."

"Okay."

"Arwen didn't really have much of a role in the books at all really."

"Uh-huh."

"Oh and there was supposed to be this character a while back called Tom Bombadil but they didn't include him in. Thank goodness too, I hated him. He added absolutely nothing to the plot and-"

"Annabeth," Percy looked at her seriously. "I hope you know that I am never, ever going to touch that ginormous book series written in 'Ye Olde Englishe' with a ten-foot pole. This is really the only way I can enjoy the story. The films are epic. They're my favorite. Stop ruining my movie experience!"

Annabeth didn't stop though. She grinned and plowed on while Percy flicked brownie crumbs at her in mild annoyance. After all it was Percy's idea to have her over. He had better deal with the consequences. The film ended and Percy put on the next one without asking Annabeth and she found herself staying for that one too. She fell asleep on Percy's shoulder while in the middle of ranting about how book Faramir had had none of the negative characteristics of film Faramir.

She woke up the next day on his couch and flailed about for a minute before realizing that it was Thursday and she had no morning classes. Percy was snoring softly, splayed over the rug in front of her. He drooled in his sleep, Annabeth noted with amusement. She shouldn't have found that cute, really, but she couldn't stop herself. Picking herself up from the couch, she realized with dawning horror that she had gotten not one ounce of studying done last night. Worse still was the fact that she wanted to do this again.

She stretched, feeling her spine crack, before tiptoeing over Percy to the door. As soon as she opened it, however, she was greeted with a sight of a red-haired girl with paint splotches down her white blouse, her fist raised to knock on the door. For a moment the two girls stared at each other. Then the redhead's eyebrows raised themselves so high that they bore the risk of disappearing into her hairline and Annabeth grasped exactly what this must look like.

She opened her mouth to explain herself then snapped it shut again. Turning on her heel she fled to her apartment which, unfortunately, was right next door and thus provided no shelter from the girl's scrutiny. She could feel the redhead's eyes boring holes into her back as she fumbled with her keys. Her lock was being agonizingly uncooperative today.

Annabeth got the door to open, went inside and slammed it behind her. Her heart was still hammering; her cheeks were still burning from the mortification of it all.

Stupid, stupid Percy.

Winter was almost upon them and if Annabeth didn't want to freeze her butt off she really needed to stop doing her laundry in the dead of the night (or early morning, whatever the case may be). Annabeth shivered as she got out her door, bundled up in layers with the basket resting against her hips. She looked at the note stuck to the door.

Looks like university's finally turned from Booze Party Palace to Hellhole for Leo. Poor guy. Good luck for your exams!

She smiled. They were still a fair way off but of course Annabeth had already started preparing. She decided to do the laundry first and then retrieve the note from her door. She thumped down the stairs, humming tunelessly.

Annabeth hadn't expected anyone else to be down in the laundry room at this hour so she was thoroughly taken aback when she found not one, but two other occupants in the room. The first was Percy lounging drowsily against one of the machines. The other one was the red haired girl sitting on the floor in front of him. Colored pens were scattered around her and she was intently pouring over a sketchbook. Both of their heads snapped up when Annabeth stumbled through the doorway.

"Annabeth," Percy called out in surprise. Annabeth wrenched her eyes away from the girl who looked as if she was perusing Annabeth's very existence. Clearly she remembered Annabeth from before. She must have made quite an impression. "What're you doing here?"

Percy was obviously exhausted, barely awake. His eyes were bleary and words slurred together a little. Somehow Annabeth couldn't summon up as much sympathy for him as she would have on any other day.

"I could ask you the same thing," Annabeth spoke in a cold voice that surprised even her.

"Oh uh," Percy rubbed the back of his head. "Rachel needed some inspiration and sheeeeee," he yawned and no Annabeth definitely didn't find endearing, how preposterous. Besides irritation and endearment didn't mix well, "she dragged me down here to model or something? I dunno."

"The lighting's good here," the girl-Rachel- stated absentmindedly. She was still staring at Annabeth eerily, as though she was hoping to find the answer to life's greatest questions on Annabeth's face. Annabeth stared back, eyes narrowing in a steely glare as she tried to rationalize her immediate dislike of Rachel.

"Anyway," Percy continued, oblivious to the mood. "Rachel this is Annabeth, my next-door neighbor. Annabeth, this is a friend of mine, Rachel. She lives in the apartment above yours." Her gut twisted as she registered the fact that he'd introduced Annabeth as a neighbor but Rachel as a friend. Her mind flashed to the little blue note tucked into her drawer.

Friends.

So much for that, Annabeth thought bitterly. Maybe she'd been right to keep her distance. But keeping her distance hardly helped when it came to Percy.

"We've met before," Rachel smirked; the girl had the goddam nerve to smirk at Annabeth. Whatever she had been looking for in Annabeth, she seemed to have found it because she turned away to work on her drawing once more. Annabeth's face twisted into a scowl without her permission.

"Yeah," she grumbled while she unloaded her basket. "Small building."

Percy looked at her curiously. Then he reached out and tapped her nose. Annabeth blinked in surprise before remembering why he'd done it. "You shouldn't make faces. It's unhealthy," he grinned at her lopsidedly. If this was sleepy Percy she couldn't wait to see the drunken one. Annabeth rolled her eyes and silently worked her way through the washing.

"I'm all done!" Rachel declared importantly a moment later and set her pen down. Haphazardly she gathered back all the stationary lying around the floor and stuffed them into a bright tie-dyed bag. Percy yawned and stretched.

"Thank God," he mumbled. "G'night Annabeth," he called as he sauntered off. Rachel gave her one last knowing look before leaving as well. That left Annabeth alone with her thoughts and, as per usual, her thoughts ran away from her.

She tried to calm herself down. She couldn't understand where her irritation was coming from or why it was directed at that Rachel girl. She needed to think things through, logically, step-by-step. Why was she annoyed at Rachel? She was annoyed because…because, well, Rachel was Percy's friend. Rachel was Percy's friend just like Annabeth was. And Rachel dragged him out at ungodly hours and Percy went out of his way to appease her just like Percy went out of his way to wake up in the morning to greet her or put out notes for her. She couldn't stand the thought of that, she realized.

She couldn't stand the thought of being unimportant to Percy. No, not unimportant. She knew better than to think that. She couldn't stand the thought that she was just another friend, that she wasn't special to Percy. She couldn't stand the thought that all the things he did for her he'd do for anyone else (for Rachel or Leo or Jason or whatever) because Percy was special to her. Percy was important in a way that no one else in her life currently was because Percy was actually in her life. Not floating by the sidelines like her parents and siblings, not a dead and buried memory like her mother and Luke, not a loving and cherished memory like Thalia, not a post-card acquaintance like her high school teacher Chiron. Percy was here and Percy was now and he'd wormed his way under her walls damn it and now he was a constant. His blue notes and blue food and wide smiles and bright green eyes were fixtures in her life. Annabeth came to the startling realization that Percy was the first friend she'd had after over seven years of having no one but herself.

Annabeth felt her eyes burning and she tried to blink away the tears but that only caused them to fall faster. Annabeth furiously swiped her hand across her face. This was pathetic. Annabeth Chase with all her grandeur and big dreams and independence was reduced to tears by the sudden stupid epiphany that she had exactly one person worth caring about in her life. A person she just barely knew and had initially wanted to avoid. A person who might not feel exactly the same way she did.

"Annabeth?"

She turned to see Percy standing in the doorway, shock etched onto his face. It dawned on Annabeth with horror that her face was still wet, her tears were still falling and the object of her turmoil was standing right in front of her. How lost in thought she must have been to not notice him coming down the stairs. Annabeth hastily wiped away her tears with the palms of her hand. How goddamn pathetic.

"Annabeth," Percy's took a step forward but Annabeth moved back. "What's wrong?" his voice was gentle.

"It-it's stupid," Annabeth hated how her voice trembled.

"If it's enough to make you cry, I don't think it's stupid," Percy insisted in the same soft voice.

Annabeth shook her head. "It's actually pretty damn stupid," she maintained. "Like…really stupid," she choked out.

Percy didn't say anything more. Instead he raised his arms as an offer to Annabeth. She hesitated. She didn't want to, not really. She wondered if he would have offered if it had been Rachel who he'd found crying in the middle of the night. Of course he would have; the thought was bitter in her mind. But she raised her own arms and stepped into his embrace anyway. The night was chilly but he was warm and Annabeth grudgingly accepted the meaning of the sharp tingling in her body as she hugged him.

"If you wanna talk about it," Percy whispered.

"I don't," she cut him off, glad to hear that her voice wasn't wobbling as badly anymore. Her face pressed against the crook of his neck and she was surprised by how wonderful that felt.

"If you change your mind-"

"I won't," Annabeth smiled a watery smile against his collarbone before stepping away. "But…thank you."

"Anytime," Percy answered her seriously.

"What're you-" Annabeth cleared her throat. "What're you doing back here?"

"Oh I uh," Percy glanced around as if he had forgotten why himself and had only just remembered. "I forgot my pen."

He spotted it lying on top of a washing machine next to the one he had previously been lounging against. "Found it!" he declared triumphantly.

"You carry around a pen in pajama pockets? Are pajamas even allowed to have pockets?" Annabeth wondered out loud. Clearly coherency was affected by hour of day and number of tears shed.

"Mine do," Percy grin sobered up in seconds. "It was my dad's," he said after a pause. "The pen, I mean, not the pajamas," he added after a moment with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Was?" Annabeth asked before she could stop herself.

Percy pressed his lips together into a firm line and Annabeth hated herself for bringing it up. Clearly this was a sore subject and wasn't this the exact reason Annabeth didn't hang around people? They brought up sore subjects. Percy seemed to be debating on whether to tell her or not. Just as she was about to tell him to forget it, he heaved himself onto one of the machines. Annabeth briefly wondered about what Mr. D would do to them if they broke any of them before following suit.

"Mom always wanted to be a writer so dad gave her this pen, to inspire her. She never used it," Percy explained in a subdued voice. "…He was a sailor. I guess that's where my love of the sea comes from. Mom says he taught me to swim when I was around four."

"Pretty early," Annabeth whispered.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "When I was about seven, Mom told me he was lost at sea. His ship sunk, they found survivors but he wasn't one of them. He'd given Mom the pen before he left. Promised her that after he came back he'd get a job closer to home so she could focus on her writing career. Except he never came back and Mom never used the pen. She had to support me and Tyson so…so she didn't really have time to write anymore. She gave it to me instead, told me to hold on to it."

He paused. Annabeth nodded softly to show that she was still listening but Percy didn't seem to notice her. He was still staring intently at the pen. He uncapped it and twirled it around his fingers in an idle manner.

"I never used it much either -gold ink didn't exactly fit with school standards and it seemed stupid to waste it on grocery lists- but it's pretty important to me. As stupid as it sounds, I like carrying it around. It feels like a piece of him is still with me you know?"

"Yeah," Annabeth sighed softly. Unconsciously she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Seven must be a pretty unlucky number."

"Hmmm?"

"When I was seven," Annabeth whispered and tried to focus on the hum of the machines and not Percy's breath, "my mom left me and my dad. They'd never married. Seven years they lived together but they never married. I wonder if Dad had ever meant to ask. Anyway, she left without saying goodbye. Actually scratch that," Annabeth laughed sourly. "She left a note. In Dad's diary." Her gut twisted uncomfortably.

"It hurt him pretty bad, I think," Annabeth continued. "He married again but she- God this is going to sound like a fairy tale cliché- but she wasn't the same. I felt like she didn't look at me right you know? I was closer to Mom than Dad. When she left, it felt like she'd punched me in the gut. I refused to believe it for the longest time. I stopped eating, I-" Annabeth stopped. She couldn't go on anymore.

"Whoever thought that seven was lucky number, really?" Percy whispered faintly.

"I have no idea," Annabeth answered.

They stayed there for what felt like hours, with Annabeth's head on his shoulder. Eventually, however, Annabeth's washing was done and they parted their ways silently. Annabeth wanted to say something else, anything else, but no words would come to her lips. She decided to let it go, convinced that they needed to cool off. It had been a stressful night.

Later on when Annabeth lying upon her bed, exhausted but unable to sleep, she replayed Percy's words in her mind.

Gold ink didn't exactly fit with school's standards and it felt stupid to waste it on grocery lists.

It's pretty important to me.

She threw a hand out and rummaged into the drawer and pulled out a note. Curiously she inspected it. She turned her eyes over the gold ink that had been tinged slightly green due to the blue setting and she flushed. There are plenty of gold pens out there, she reminded herself but that didn't stop her heart from jumping into her throat or her lips from forming a stupid sappy smile.

Are you avoiding me?

I'm sorry of I made you uncomfortable

Annabeth, please.

Annabeth stared at the notes splayed across her kitchen counter, her heart twisting itself into knots in her chest. The last one was particularly difficult to look at.

Annabeth, please.

Two words shouldn't hold so much power over her. She had hoped that he wouldn't notice her change in demeanor. She had thought that she had continued to act normal around him. If she hadn't seen him as much lately or if she hadn't been responding to his notes, well she could blame it on the exams (they over by now; that's how long it had been). Apparently Percy was more perceptive than she initially thought. She supposed it had something to do with the fact that the last time they had spoken, it had led to some very painful memories…and some very troubling realizations, on her part at least.

Annabeth bit her bottom lip in worry.

She liked Percy. Liked him liked him (God how old was she, ten?). She liked his infectious smiles, his blue food, the tenor of his voice as he chattered away and his bright intoxicating eyes. And she had no idea what to do about it. Clearly…clearly he only thought of her as a friend, right? The incident with Rachel had proved that…right? And even if he…even if he was willing to give her a chance (willing to give awkward, anti-social, party-hating bookworm Annabeth a chance)…Hypothetically speaking, would she give him a chance?

No, her mind resolutely refused. Definitely not. Don't go down that rabbit hole, Chase. You know how it ends. Because everyone leaves. It's just a matter of time.

Annabeth sighed. It still didn't help the tension in her chest. If possible, it only made it worse. Nevertheless Percy was still her only friend. She couldn't avoid him forever. If she did, well, then she'd be no better than Luke. Although she highly doubted that Percy was as emotionally dependent on her as she had been on Luke and Thalia. But the point remained. Ignoring someone, not acknowledging their existence was just…wrong. She would never put anyone through that, not if she could help.

She ripped up one of her own yellow post-it note and brought a pen down on it.

I'm sorry. I-

She paused, unsure of what to write. What could she possibly say to excuse her behavior?

I just have a lot of stuff on my mind right now

Annabeth frowned at the ineloquent words. It was hardly ideal but it was really all she had to say. She walked out the door and pressed the note to Percy's door. And all of a sudden, she was overwhelmed with the desire to see him, it had been ages since they last met face-to-face, and before she could stop herself she raised her fist to knock. But before her fist could make contact with the door, she paused. See him and say what exactly? She shook her head to rid herself of the notion and lowered her hand.

As she turned around to head back to her own place, she thought she saw a flash of brown disappear into the apartment across hers. Probably just Hera snooping, Annabeth decided sourly.

There was a small knock on her door, forcing Annabeth to look up from her laptop. It could only be one person of course. Even after her apology note three days ago things hadn't quite settled down between the two of them. It didn't help that Annabeth couldn't even think of him without getting squeamish, never mind face him. It was winter break too which meant that Annabeth had even less of a reason to go out than usual.

Annabeth rose and opened the door. To her surprise Percy wasn't standing there. Judging by the thumping she could hear, he was on his way down. Annabeth looked back at her door, and sure enough, there was something stuck to her door. It wasn't a blue note though; it was an envelope. Annabeth unstuck it from her door, feeling the weight of it in her hand. It was heavy and fat too. It must contain a lot of papers, she mused.

Annabeth took it inside, curiosity eating away inside her. She carefully opened the flap, poured out the cards within- and gasped.

They were postcards, except not really. They were hand-painted in exquisite detail. Whoever had painted them had incredible talent as well as an incredible imagination. With shaking hands, she picked up the first one. It showed a picture of a harbor at night. Dark waves crashed around the border of the picture and in the distance there were dark shapes that could have been ships. The highlight of the picture, the structure that dominated half of the card, was a lighthouse. Orange flames glowed out of the top. The lighthouse was white, a stark contrast to the dark night. Annabeth's breath hitched, her fingers ghosted over the picture, marveling at its beauty. She immediately knew what this was supposed to be: The Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Annabeth put the card down with trembling hands. Her eyes roamed over the others. Seven cards. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Architectural marvels that hadn't been able to withstand the test of time but people still remembered them anyway, still imagined their splendor. She picked up the second card. Lush greens and warm browns met her eyes. She saw a grand building, overflowing with beautiful flowers, flowers she was sure the artist had dreamed up. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

There were more. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus, proud and haughty, at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Mausolus, The Colossus of Rhodes, and a beautiful sunset overlooking the Great Pyramid of Giza which happened to be the only one of the wonders still standing.

Annabeth let out a deep shaky breath. Turning the cards over in her hands, she noticed a small insignia on the back of each one.

R.E.D

Written in bright red ink. The signature of the artist, no doubt. Annabeth lifted the envelope to put them back in, they were far too precious to be scattered across her kitchen counter, and only then did she notice the other piece of paper still inside the envelope.

How're you supposed to go travelling around Greece and Rome if you barely leave your apartment? You should get out more.

Irritation flared inside her. Before she could think about it, she grabbed her own post-its and grabbed a pen from one of the many stands lying around.

It's not that I don't like going out, she wrote truthfully, I just like being alone.

She stomped over to his door, pressed the piece of paper to the surface then stomped back inside her own flat, fuming all the while. But as soon as her eyes landed on the post-cards her anger simmered off. What incredible talent. Percy hadn't painted them but he had acquired them for her. It was easily one of the best presents she had ever gotten. Gently she picked up each of the cards and carefully put them back into the envelope. Even as she put the envelope inside her drawer, she knew that she would take out the pictures at least once a night to feast her eyes on the details.

Percy's reply came the very next day and Annabeth detested him for pasting the note in front of her door where absolutely anyone could see. Then again, she refused to meet his eyes. How else was she supposed to contact her?

You dislike crowds, Annabeth. Nobody likes being completely alone.

Annabeth scrunched up the piece of paper and tried to calm her breathing. She wasn't sure what but his words struck a chord within her.

Nobody likes being completely alone.

Annabeth had been completely alone for seven years, ever since Thalia had died in a horrific car crash. Her mother had been driving. Luke, who Annabeth had had a crush on and who was completely in love with Thalia, had changed. And since then Annabeth had been alone. She hadn't bothered to befriend anyone; no one had bothered to befriend her. No one but Percy.

Did she like solitude? Yes. Had she enjoyed those seven years? Fuck no.

With shaking fingers, Annabeth pulled a pen towards her. Because Percy needed to understand what she was feeling. Because Annabeth wasn't completely alone, not anymore. She had just one person and as far as she was concerned, he was more than enough.

I'm not completely alone. I have you, don't I?

Didn't she?

Annabeth couldn't bear to put it on his door where Hera could see, where Rachel could snoop when she bounced down the stairs, where God knows how many others could notice. So she folded the note in half and, feeling a complete creep the whole while, slid it underneath the gap of the door.

With her heart hammering and ears ringing she made her way back, already regretting the decision. It was too late to go back now. The note was in his apartment now. Well, she could open up YouTube and find out a few life hacks to get it back…Annabeth shook her head to get rid of the idea.

Annabeth sighed. Five days. Five days and he still hadn't responded. Damn him. Maybe he hadn't seen the page yet, some part of Annabeth's mind tried to rationalize. Maybe it had been swept away as he opened the door, maybe there had been a stray breeze-

There was a short knock on the door and Annabeth's heart leaped in her chest. She practically bounced to the door and threw it open- only to come face-to-face with Percy himself. Annabeth reeled back in shock, feeling the blood rush to her face. Funny thing was Percy seemed to be blushing too.

Percy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hey," he said. What a stellar conversation starter.

"Hi," Annabeth answered meekly, her mind wandering to the note she'd left, if he'd seen it yet and if he had, what did he think about it-

"So I was thinking," Percy started. "Me and my friends are having a sort of Christmas party this Friday night-"

"Christmas is over a week away," Annabeth frowned.

"Pre-Christmas party," Percy amended. "Piper and Nico's families live in L.A, Jason has to make an appearance at his family's vacation home- point is everyone has someplace to be during actual Christmas so…"

"So you guys have a get-together before Christmas," Annabeth nodded. "So?"

"So," Percy mumbled and was it just her or did Percy look extremely flustered? "So I was wondering if maybe you'd want to come. Meet the gang, you know."

Annabeth blinked. "To your party?"

"Only if you wanted to," Percy added hastily. "I mean no pressure or anything. I know you don't- you don't like being around crowds and whatever but," Percy took a deep breath while Annabeth's brain tried to glean from his words whether or not he had read her last note. "It would mean a lot to me," he finally voiced softly, "if you came."

"I-" Annabeth wanted to refuse. Percy's friends always made such a horrible racket that it made Annabeth's head ache even through the walls. She had no inclination to actually be in the same room as them. But Percy was gifted with a pair of bright, brilliant sea-green puppy dog eyes that were looking at her with such a hopeful expression, Annabeth couldn't bear it. "I'll think about it," she told him.

His expression fell for a moment but he brightened again almost immediately. "Okay," he said. "Thanks, you know for…thanks."

Annabeth had no idea what he was thanking her for, she hadn't even given him a straight answer, but his weird gratitude was making her feel like she had let him down. "You're welcome," she told him awkwardly.

They stood around staring at each for almost another minute before Percy mumbled out a hurried good-bye and shuffled off. Annabeth closed the door and wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into.

Come Friday evening, Annabeth was dressed in the aqua blue outfit and scrutinizing herself in the mirror. She looked nice…ish. She looked good, this was good.

Through the paper-thin walls of her apartment she could hear voices chattering; someone was bleating off-tune Christmas carols (it wasn't Percy; she had spent too much time listening to his voice through the walls to not instantly recognize it). She should make an appearance at the very least. Stay for five minutes, she tried to convince herself. Five minutes, then leave. He can't complain.

Annabeth walked over purposefully. She could do this, she could. But her stride faltered as she approached his door. She raised her fist to knock but stopped, her hand hovering in the air. Annabeth bit her lip nervously. Maybe this was a bad idea; maybe she should go back, maybe-

"Facing a dilemma dear?" A soft voice called from behind her. Annabeth spun around, mortified.

A woman stood in the doorway across her one. It wasn't Hera though. Annabeth recognized the woman as Hestia, Hera's sister. She was dressed in a brown dressing gown, her curly grey hair falling around her face in ringlets. Annabeth could see the family resemblance in the shape of their nose as well as their sharp cheekbones but whereas Hera looked and dressed like the quintessential 1950s housewife from all those strange advertisements, Hestia looked more matronly, like the grandmother that loved feeding you cookies. She regarded Annabeth with warm, understanding eyes.

"I…um…I," Annabeth wasn't sure about what to say.

"Would you like to come inside for some tea?" Hestia asked. Without meaning to Annabeth found herself agreeing.

Hestia's apartment was decorated with plush rugs and cozy armchairs and it was much warmer than Annabeth's one. The smell of food baking hung in the air, making her mouth water.

"My niece just opened up a small organic foods shop," Hestia explained, gesturing to some rainbow colored bags leaning against the armchairs. "She sent over some samples. What sort of tea do you usually drink?"

"Coffee," Annabeth admitted with a shy smile. "But when I do drink tea, I like it with a lot of milk and sugar."

"I see. Well then, my usual for you," Hestia smiled and took down a kettle from the stove while Annabeth seated herself on a stool she could only describe as 'poofy'. She poured the tea into a ceramic cup decorated with blue birds. Hestia's own cup, Annabeth noticed, was decorated with donkeys. She had to smile at that.

As Hestia stirred her cup, she regarded Annabeth with a contemplative look. "Would you like to talk about it dear?" she asked.

Annabeth recoiled in shock. "Umm, I don't really know what you're talking about," she mumbled out.

"You know, this isn't the first time I've seen you wandering outside his doorway," she reminded her. Annabeth flinched but Hestia hadn't said it in an unkind tone.

"It was just one other time!" Annabeth protested. "Just my luck," she muttered darkly. Hestia's smile widened at that and she set Annabeth's cup in front. Annabeth's skin crawled. Part of her wanted to get away from Hestia and her prying questions while another part of her felt oddly comforted by the woman's presence. Hestia just seemed to have that sort of aura about her.

"Percy," Hestia stated after they had both taken a few sips of their tea, "is a very sweet boy."

Annabeth groaned. "I know," she admitted, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Believe me, I know."

"Then what seems to be the problem?"

Annabeth stared at Hestia, this woman who she had formally met literally minutes ago and who had taken a disturbingly quick interest in Annabeth's life. What right did she have to pry into Annabeth's thoughts? And she'd be a fool to go and blab her secrets to a woman that shared Hera's genes. It bothered her, how Hestia seemed to effortlessly see through her.

As if she could really read Annabeth's mind, Hestia said, "You two weren't exactly being very subtle, were you?" Hestia's raised eyebrows reminded her once again that post-it notes were not the most private form of communication.

"Percy is my family," Hestia further informed her and Annabeth's eyes widened in shock. "Not my blood relative," Hestia hastily amended at her expression. "But he might as well be. His father was a close family friend."

"Really?"

Hestia nodded. "Why do you think Dionysus cuts his rent in half?" she asked. "Dionysus is my nephew, by the way. I think he likes to go by Mr. D nowadays, he was always so embarrassed by the name when he was a child."

"Is everyone living in this building related?" Annabeth wondered incredulously.

"You'd be surprised," Hestia told her with a wink. Her expression sobered up a moment later. "So please Annabeth. I'd like to help, if I can."

Annabeth swallowed in nervousness. Against her better judgment, she opened her mouth. "I…have trouble. Trusting people. It doesn't come easy to me," she said, lowering her head in embarrassment.

"Why not?" Hestia asked simply.

Annabeth wanted to cry. Why not? Why not? Because you were supposed to trust your parents to take care of you but her ones never did. Because you were supposed to trust your friends to always be there for you but her ones weren't. Because trust didn't stop people from leaving you behind, from abandoning you. It just made it hurt all the more when they did.

"Because," Annabeth said, taking care to make sure that her voice didn't shake. "Because it's pointless," she shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "Relationships, no matter what kind, they just- they end. Always. And then there's nothing. Just you and your own heartache. Why would anyone want to go through that?"

Hestia nodded as if she'd just understood something. "You seek assurance of permanence," she stated. "But nothing is permanent Annabeth. Even this city will be gone one day. Your life will also end. It does not mean that you should stop living because of the inevitable."

Permanence. Annabeth liked the sound of that. She wanted things to last, wanted them to last forever. Otherwise what was the point? It was part of the reason she wanted to be an architect. She wanted to build something that would last forever.

But nothing is permanent Annabeth. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were supposedly some of the finest examples of architecture ever. And even they were gone now. Just one remained.

"We go through that, as you put it," Hestia continued softly, "for the sweet memories we make. Surely you must have been close to someone sometime in your life. Do you honestly regret the memories you have of them?"

Annabeth's fingers shook, rattling the teacup. She couldn't hear that though. In her ears, she could hear Thalia screaming out Swedish metal lyrics while Luke laughed, fingers stuffed in his ears. She could feel her heart in her throat. "No," she whispered. "I suppose not."

"Well since that's settled," Hestia smiled again and Annabeth thought that she shouldn't have been surprised even if she and Percy turned out to be relatives. They both smiled far too much. "What are you going to do now? Stop living, or start trusting?"

"This is getting way too philosophical for me," Annabeth complained shakily and set down her cup. "I should go."

Without waiting for Hestia's response, Annabeth got up and stumbled her way out. As soon as she got out, she faced two doors: the one on the left promised instant coffee, noise-cancelling headphones, cozy quilts and her favorite book; the one on the right promised a thunderous racket with unknown people and Percy.

After a moment's hesitation, Annabeth made her way over to the right one and firmly knocked twice. Percy answered the door, his look of surprise easily melting into a grin that set butterflies flying in Annabeth's gut. She smiled shyly back at him and then stepped into his world.

Annabeth would be lying if she said that she had had a terrific time but she would also be lying if she said that she hadn't enjoyed herself, even if just a little. Rachel had been there as well as a small number of others and Annabeth finally had names and faces to go together.

The carol-bleater turned out to be Percy's best friend Grover Underwood, who seemed to Annabeth as a meek sort of person. He had ceased his caroling as soon as she had leveled him with a glare (unintentionally of course, she was just annoyed by his singing). Grover and his girlfriend Juniper worked at Persephone's Gardens. Persephone, the owner, was Nico di Angelo's stepmother which was how Percy knew Nico. Nico, with his quiet attitude but observant eyes, felt like someone Annabeth could get along with but they had hardly interacted. He was shy and he barely met Annabeth's eyes. He was about the only one of Percy's friends who was shy.

Leo Valdez, who Annabeth would have disliked simply because he thought university was a place to party, immediately got on her nerves with his corny jokes and exuberance. Jason, who was Percy's other best friend from high school and Leo's current roommate, had seemed more reserved at first but even he smiled at Annabeth cheekily.

"Percy's told us so much about you," he teased as he elbowed Percy in the gut. In response Percy swatted his arm and shot him a look that plainly said Dude, stop talking!

Annabeth fought off her blush while Rachel looked on smugly from her place on the armchair. The person Annabeth liked the most was Piper, Jason's girlfriend, who rolled her eyes at all of the boys' antics, smacked them over the head if they got too rowdy and occasionally gave Annabeth looks that said I know how you feel and What am I going to do with these losers?

Percy had painstakingly introduced Annabeth to everyone one-by-one much to her chagrin but they had all been friendly, some (like Leo) maybe even a little too friendly. By the time Annabeth had gotten there, the boys had already started on a game of monopoly and after Percy made sure that everyone knew who Annabeth was, they returned to their game. Nico, apparently, was bankrupting everyone and looking disturbingly malicious while he did it. Annabeth pretended not to notice Percy sneaking glances at her every now and then.

Instead she moved to the kitchen to help Piper.

"Once upon a time," Piper informed her, "I used to complain about having to cook for these idiots-"

"Women belong in the kitchen!" Leo hollered, mouth quirking up in a teasing grin and everyone else collectively groaned.

"Don't test me Valdez!" Piper called back, eyes flashing in a way that let Annabeth know that she was joking as well. "I will cut you, don't think I won't! And quit eavesdropping," she turned back to Annabeth. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. I used to complain. Then this one time Leo, Jason and Percy somehow managed to simultaneously set my kitchen on fire and flood it all at once and Nico made something that smelled like the undead. Bottom line: I don't complain anymore."

"The only things I know how to cook are instant ramen and frozen dinners," Annabeth admitted sheepishly.

"That's cool," Piper grinned, "because I have mastered exactly one dish in my entire lifetime. Spaghetti Bolognese."

"Not that again!" Leo complained. "I'm sick of that stupid pasta!"

"Valdez!" Piper thundered and Annabeth was colored impressed. "What did I tell you about eavesdropping?"

"Don't listen to him Pipes," Jason called as he rearranged his fake money. "I'd take your spaghetti over my mom's stuffed turkey any day, that's how good it is."

"Flatterer," Piper mumbled but her cheeks flushed pink anyway. Despite herself Annabeth smiled at the display. She turned her head to glance at Percy only to catch him staring at her. As soon as she caught his eye, he ducked his head and looked back to the game.

Annabeth shook her head and got to work. Together the three of them (Juniper had ambled over to help them at some point but Rachel was still in the armchair) managed to gather a bunch of mismatched mugs and then make something that would hopefully taste like hot chocolate. Annabeth took hers with extra marshmallows, whole-heartedly blaming Percy for her new-found sweet tooth.

Leo, Nico and Jason moseyed over to grab the mugs for the rest of their friends while Annabeth took her mug and carefully sat down on the couch behind Percy. She was joined by Piper while Juniper sat on Grover's lap. They were one of those couples that had no problem with PDA. Those kinds of couples made Annabeth cringe.

They watched Nico become the lord of the game board while the spaghetti simmered in a pot. They jeered at each other and laughed and shared strange stories about their lives but Annabeth wasn't really paying much attention, it was all background noise to her. At some point Percy had leaned back against her legs and Annabeth had frozen, feeling the warmth of his back seeping in through the fabric of her jeans. And no, Annabeth hadn't minded, not really. What really bothered her were the knowing smirks Rachel kept shooting her from across the room. They made her feel so damn uncomfortable in her own skin.

As soon as Nico was declared the winner, Annabeth decided to excuse herself. An hour and a half was long enough, she reckoned. The constant buzz of conversation around her was not something she was used and quite frankly, as nice as Percy's friends were, their ceaseless jibber jabber still gave her a headache.

"Are you leaving already?" Percy's voice had the effect stopping her dead in her tracks while simultaneously turning everyone's eyes on her.

"Yeah," Annabeth mumbled, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh come on, Annabeth," Piper called. "At least stay for my spaghetti."

"It's divine," Jason added hopefully.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth mumbled. "I'm just, I'm not feeling well."

Percy nodded, looking let down for a moment before his expression cleared up. He followed her to the door. "Thanks for coming," he said earnestly.

"You're welcome," she replied before letting the door shut softly behind her.

Annabeth sighed as she entered the familiarity of her own home and stripped off her top. She should change but she felt so tired right now and that couch looked so inviting. Stretching her limbs, she yawned and flopped down onto her couch, pulling the comforter that hung there around her and closing her eyes for just a minute…

Annabeth woke up to a sharp knocking on her door. Blearily, she got up and made her way to the door, wrenching it open just in time to see Percy giving up to return to his place. At the sound of her door opening, he turned around. His expression as he saw her turned absolutely terrified; his face flushed a deep crimson and his eyes immediately steered themselves onto the ground to stare at his shoes.

"What?" Annabeth frowned irritably.

"You-um-you," Percy stammered breathlessly before waving a hand in her general direction. Annabeth's frown deepened as she glanced down at herself. After a moment's silence, she shrieked and slammed the door with such a loud bang that the whole building must have heard.

Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god

She had taken off her top. She had taken off her top and she had forgotten and she had answered the goddamn door and goddamn Percy of all people had been on the other side and he had seen her wearing nothing but her bra and she was going to die of embarrassment right now, she just knew it.

Annabeth let out a mortified groan and sunk against the door, burying her face in her hands. Her hands were cold before, she realized, but they were soon warming up from contact with her heated skin.

"Annabeth?" Percy tentatively called from the other side of the door. She can hear the discomfort and embarrassment in his voice even through the door. She couldn't believe that he still had the nerve to be standing outside instead of retreating. "Uh, once you're decent," Percy implored. "Could you please let me in? I still haven't given you your present yet."

Annabeth groaned again. She didn't want to let him in. She wanted him to go far, far away and never see her again for as long as they both lived. Except no, she didn't really want that. She slowly got up and retrieved the dress from its position on the arm of the couch. She shrugged it on, took a deep breath and then opened the door to face Percy once again.

His cheeks were still glowing and she was confident that her ones were still flaming red but thankfully, instead of mentioning it any further, Percy simply held out a present wrapped in blue wrapping paper with seashell patterns on it. Annabeth forced herself to smile at it.

"So…can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Annabeth moved aside to let him in. "What time is it anyway?"

"About one-thirty in the morning," Percy told her apologetically as he took a seat on the couch. "Everyone only left at around midnight. I cleaned up a little before coming."

"And this couldn't wait till morning?" Annabeth grumbled, taking a seat beside him. "Or you know, actual Christmas?"

"I couldn't wait," Percy admitted and Annabeth didn't know what to say to that so she filled the silence by taking the gift from Percy and carefully unwrapping it. Annabeth was one of those people who kept old wrapping papers and then reused them again. No sense in wasting paper and money after all.

As she pulled off the paper Annabeth could see Percy fidgeting nervously. She was taking too much time; she knew he wasn't the most patient of people. Annabeth hid a grin. The wrapping paper fell away to reveal a leather-bound book and Annabeth's fingers itched to touch the cover, to flip through the pages and inhale the scent of a new book. Instead she chose to carefully fold the wrapping paper into a small square.

"Oh come on!" Percy groaned and Annabeth stifled a giggle. "You're doing this just to spite me, aren't you?"

"I'd never!" Annabeth smirked.

"Just open the book, would you?" Percy demanded and Annabeth obliged.

There was no title on the cover so Annabeth flipped it open. No title on the first page either. Then she flipped through the pages, looking at the illustrations.

"Are these Greek myths?" Annabeth asked.

"Sort of," Percy answered. "But not exactly. They're a bit of a hotchpotch. Greek, Roman, Persian. The Middle Ages. Heck, I think there's even a little Japanese at the end. They're supposed to tell you how people's beliefs shaped their cities and everything. Some of them tie in with myths; some of them are more about the ideals or whatever of those times. I didn't really read it. And it's supposed to be really simple stuff so you probably know all-"

"Percy," Annabeth interrupted in exasperation. "Where do you find these things?"

"You don't like it?" he asked crestfallen. He was worried she didn't like it. God, what an idiot.

"Percy, I love it," Annabeth told him seriously. "My gift is going to look so much lamer by comparison."

"You got me a gift?" Percy asked in shock and Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Yes," she told him ruefully, "but it's not half as good as yours."

"That's okay," Percy replied quickly. "I mean this is a pretty old book. I didn't even buy it. My step-dad had this already; I just spruced it up a little. My parents really love the mythology thing. You know what Percy stands for?"

Annabeth frowned. "I'm guessing it's not Percival."

"Nope," Percy popped the 'p' with a grimace. Annabeth wasn't sure if it was because he had avoided the name or if because his real one was something he considered worse. "It's Perseus. After the son of Zeus. He's my mom's favorite Greek hero. Know why?"

Annabeth arched an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"Because Perseus didn't have a shitty life as far as Greek heroes go. He rescued Andromeda, got home, married and lived happily ever after. There was no 'and a war started the next day and his city burned to the ground' or a 'there was a snake in his boot and he put it on without looking and died from poison.' Mom hoped I'd have his good luck, he struggled but he made it in the end."

Annabeth giggled, surprised at the ease of their conversation. Of course no conversation with Percy ever went without a hitch. She expected the uncomfortable silence to emerge from its slumber any minute now. Until then…

"If its happy endings she wanted, why didn't she name you Prince Charming?" Annabeth asked, idly tracing the illustration of a priest sacrificing a bull in front of a grand temple with her finger and wondering how long this would last before it ended.

Percy made a face at her. "Because Prince Charming didn't have to struggle for his happy ending. The Minister did all the legwork. And what kind of a stupid prince forgets what his true love's face looks like and has to resort to a shoe?"

Annabeth was tempted but she didn't tell him that the Minister didn't exist in the Grimm Brothers version. Besides there would be no point since in that version the Prince took the step-sisters home the first two times around. What a stupid prince indeed. "Maybe he had a foot fetish," she said instead, leaning back against the arm of her couch.

Percy snorted into peals of laughter and Annabeth heart swelled with satisfaction at the sound.

"You're stalling," Percy reprimanded her once he settled down. "Where's my present?"

Annabeth's smile fell off her face. "It's really not much," she told him truthfully. It was nothing really compared to the things he got her, the cards with the pictures or this book in her hands.

"It's the thought that counts," Percy insisted. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll love it."

Annabeth highly doubted that since she had gotten it for the sole purpose of annoying him. She left Percy on her couch and entered her bedroom. She returned a few minutes later with three books with a chain wrapped around them. She had thought she would be giving them to him on Christmas so they weren't even wrapped. It felt inadequate, like she hadn't made enough of an effort. Not like he had. But that was just how Percy was. Far too nice and kind and willing to go that extra mile.

She dropped them onto his lap and avoided his gaze. He paused for a moment.

"The Lord of the Rings trilogy?" Percy asked. Annabeth couldn't understand if it was disbelief or amusement in his voice. "Oh and cool! The One Ring!"

At this Annabeth decided it was safe to look up without feeling guilty. Percy was grinning at her, the ring on his finger, still attached to the golden chain. "Can you still see me?" he asked and Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"It's my favorite book series," Annabeth admitted. "And you said that it was your favorite film series so…"

"I'll get through them," Percy promised. "I mean, it'll probably take me a couple of years for each book but still. It's time to find out why all those people bitch and moan on the Internet about films not being like the books."

Annabeth smiled and settled down on the couch, watching Percy turn the ring she bought off e-bay to inspect the writing on it.

"You missed the best part of tonight," he told her after a while. "We played Mythomagic afterwards. Nico owned our asses again and the game's rules are ridiculously complicated but it's still fun. You missed Frank and Hazel too. They came a little late."

"You sure have a lot of friends," Annabeth mumbled dejectedly. I just have you

"I…" Percy trailed off and simply stared at her. His sea-green eyes burned brightly in the dim light of her apartment. Annabeth's heart stuttered and she worried that she had said the last part aloud. If she had, Percy mercifully didn't address it. Instead he cleared his throat.

"It's getting late," he said softly. "I should get going. Thanks for the books."

"I should be thanking you," Annabeth insisted.

Percy smiled at that. "You shouldn't sell yourself short, Annabeth."

Percy was gone and everything was eerily silent again. He had left a note; he'd gone back to his mom's place once more for Christmas and had stayed there for almost over a week. Now that she thought about it, it sort of made sense that Mr. D was cutting back his rent. How else could a guy be working minimum-wage jobs, hanging around his friends for days on end, regularly making trips to check on his mom and still be able to pay the bills and rent? The place was tiny and crappy but still. Everything was relatively expensive nowadays. Annabeth crinkled her nose at the thought of the nepotism.

She set her book down when she heard the telling sounds of Percy's footsteps on the stairs. She listened carefully to the sound of him opening and shutting his door. Then she grinned, picked up the bag of blue candy, the wrapped present (a plush toy of a shark this time) and her note and taped them to his doorway.

Welcome home

She had decided to make it a tradition of sorts.

The next day was Saturday and Annabeth opened her door to see if Percy had left an answer. What greeted her was a note all right, along with a ticket to Atlantis. The words written on it made her heart nearly falter.

Go on a date with me? ;)

It took Annabeth a moment to regain her composure before she frowned. The handwriting was obviously Percy's but…She looked over the ink, turned the paper over and her frown deepened. Irritation flared within her. She scrunched up the piece of paper in her fist.

She stomped over to the apartment in front of hers and banged loudly on the door. The door opened to reveal, not Hestia as she had been hoping, but Hera who was wearing some sort of an odd green face mask. Annabeth would have laughed if she were in the mood. Hera was obviously scowling and it made the mask crinkle around her eyes in a strangely grotesque way. Despite her anger, Annabeth's lip twitched.

"What?" Hera asked irritably, only her lips seemed to move.

"I was wondering," Annabeth controlled her voice to give an impression of calm, "if you knew which one of the apartments upstairs is Rachel's?"

"Who?" Hera frowned and more of her mask flaked off and fell.

"Rachel?" Annabeth asked, wondering if this was a lost cause. "Red hair? Covered in paint?"

"Oh!" Recognition lit up Hera's eyes and her green goopy face turned, if possible, uglier. "Snooty Ms. Dare," she sneered. "Do you know what she said to me that day? She said-"

Someone cleared their throat behind her. "Hera," Hestia's soft voice called. "Shouldn't you be taking a shower right about now?"

"Oh!" Hera startled. "Right, I can't believe I almost forgot." She shuffled away to expose Hestia in a dull red dressing gown with fuzzy, donkey shaped slippers on her feet. One of these days, Annabeth determined, she was going to ask this woman about the donkey thing.

"Was there something you needed, Annabeth?" Hestia smiled kindly.

"Yes," Annabeth told her resolutely. "Where does Rachel live?"

"4a," Hestia answered, "but-"

Annabeth didn't wait to hear anymore. Anger boiling in her veins, she marched up the stairs, sought out the door with the plaque that declared '4a' and banged furiously. She was greeted by a scowling Rachel, whose expression quickly turned to surprise before a calm mask settled over her features.

"Annabeth," she said coolly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Beyond her Annabeth could see white sheets draped over numerous canvases, paint splashes decorated the walls and floors. This wasn't where Rachel lived, she surmised, this was her studio or something.

"Percy didn't write this," Annabeth replied in an equally cold voice, thrusting the paper at Rachel. Rachel's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she grasped the paper. "You did."

Rachel was silent for a minute and Annabeth thought that she would deny it. But then she spoke.

"How'd you know?" Rachel looked almost impressed. "I spent ages perfecting his handwriting!" she complained.

Annabeth wordlessly took the paper back from her hand and turned it over. A soft sigh fell from Rachel's lips. On the other side of the paper was a pink fingerprint, the imprint of dried paint flaking off.

"You're the only one who I know who's always covered in paint," Annabeth ground out frostily. "And also, the ink's not the same. His one's…golden…er." And it was true. When it was Percy's pen, the ink turned only slightly green against the blue, it was still yellow mostly. This one was splotchy green in most places. Also Percy wouldn't have so audaciously asked her out, she knew it.

Rachel let out a low whistle, her expression a cross between irritated and impressed. "You're just a regular Sherlock Holmes aren't you?" she grumbled as she tucked the note into her jeans pocket. "Even got the colour of his pen memorized."

Annabeth refused to let the jab get to her and told herself that the heat rising in her cheeks was from her anger. "Why?" she demanded instead. "Why'd you do it?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh come on! Why? Really? Because I'm kind of tired of you two making goo-goo eyes at each-"

"We do not make goo-goo eyes!" Annabeth protested fiercely in a shrill voice but Rachel ignored her and plowed on.

"I'll admit it, I thought you're medieval courtship was cute and all at first," Rachel started only to get interrupted once more.

"Medieval courtship?"

"You guys could just as easily have texted you know," Rachel stated and Annabeth could think of nothing to refute that claim. "I thought it was cute but then it kept leading nowhere! Neither of you asked the other out, so Percy kept moping and moping."

"I-He- wait- He moped?" Annabeth asked, stunned.

"Annabeth, if this is news to you I don't know what universe you've been living in," Rachel groaned in disbelief. "He's head over heels for you! God knows why. You think he does all these stupid little things for all of us? I remember this one time you avoided him for a week or something and he comes crawling to me like 'Rachel, she's upset and I don't know why, please, come one, paint her this one thing, she'll love it, please' except no, it wasn't just one thing, it was seven things and-hey where are you going?"

Annabeth ignored Rachel's calls and numbly stalked back down. She went inside her apartment and slumped against the door. Her brain felt like it was turning to mush from the onslaught of Rachel's words. She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.

He's head over heels for you!

He's head over heels for you!

For awkward, anti-social, party-hating bookworm Annabeth. Annabeth could feel a giddy, hysterical laugh building in her and she didn't even try to stop it. She let it loose.

Because Percy Jackson was head over heels for her, Annabeth Chase. Because she was special to Percy, just as much as he was to her. Because she wasn't just another Rachel or a Piper. She laughed. Annabeth could feel a part of herself disapproving, telling her not to do this to herself. She tried as hard as she could to squash that part down. She could feel the giddy feeling slowly start to ebb away, to be replaced by a spiraling nervousness.

Now that she knew, now that she knew how Percy felt (if Rachel wasn't wrong, please God don't let her be wrong), was she willing to go down the rabbit hole?

What are you going to do now? Stop living, or start trusting?

Annabeth took a deep breath to steel herself, decision made. She strode over to her room to find that unflattering blue T-shirt with the silver swirl on it.

Annoyingly enough, Atlantis was teeming with people. Really, didn't people have better things to do on a Saturday than look at dolphins and turtles? Finding Percy was proving to be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. At this point she grievously regretted not having his phone number. Annabeth sat down on a bench, dejected. That was when fate took a shine to her and she spotted Percy.

He was talking to some tourists, or at least that's what she assumed. They had the group feeling. Strange hats, identical T-shirts and cameras slung around their necks. She watched amusedly as Percy gestured wildly and kept pointing at different directions which only seemed to make the leader of the group even more confused. Eventually (either because Percy had gotten through to them or because they had deemed help from him to be a lost cause) the group moved away. Annabeth moved towards him and tapped him on the shoulder.

Percy whirled around in surprise. "Annabeth!" he exclaimed. A bright grin took over his features. "What're you doing here?"

Annabeth's gut twisted into knots while her heart tap-danced inside her rib-cage but Annabeth managed a smile anyway. Now or never, Chase. Here goes nothing.

"I was actually looking for you," Annabeth confessed and she hoped that her smile hadn't been ruined by her nerves.

"Yeah?" Percy ran a hand through his hair. "Well you found me. Why were you looking?"

"I was," Annabeth swallowed the butterflies that were threatening to fly up from her gut and spill out of her mouth. "I was, um, wondering if you'd like to go out on a date with me…"

Percy opened his mouth and then closed it again. He opened it once more before repeating the process, looking thoroughly like a fish out of water. Annabeth tried to hold onto her nervous smile but her brain, as always, jumped into overdrive. What if she had misjudged the situation, what if Rachel had been wrong, what if she'd just made-

"A date. With me?" Percy repeated and his expression changed into something that Annabeth recognized as hopeful. Annabeth reigned in a sigh of relief. "As in, a date, date?"

"As in," Annabeth wanted to congratulate herself, she had no idea where this new-found courage was coming from, maybe it was that new cereal she'd had for breakfast. She stepped closer to him, grabbing the collar of his shirt while she tilted her face upwards.

"As in," she whispered softly again and then pressed her lips to his. It was a chaste kiss, just a soft press of her lips against his but it meant the world to her when Percy placed his hand on her cheek and kissed back.

"As in that," she finished with a shy smile, fingers still bunched up in his collar. "So will you?"

The smile Percy gave her could have lit up a whole city.

"Annabeth," he told her, and even to her ears he sounded euphoric, "I thought you'd never ask."

A/N: Guess who just finished Blood of Olympus and then had a ton of feels? Me! I didn't exactly follow the prompt I think but I like how it turned out. Except maybe the ending. The ending feels a little anti-climactic. Oh well.

I have no idea what university in America works like or how the holidays and vacations are scheduled so I just wrote the way it is in my country. Hope that's alright! :P

I also originally wrote Atlantis as Sea World but then decided not to put any real places.

Read and review!