You have never

had to steal

my breath

or take it away,

somehow

you have always

managed to convince me

to hand it over

freely.

~ Tyler Knott Gregson

1.

Piper had no idea how she ended up in the dinky, cramped bookstore tucked away in a shielded alleyway, but she did know who's fault it was,

"Percy!" She hissed, as the sea-eyed boy dragged her by the forearm behind a dusty shelf, "What the fu-

"Shhhhhh," he whispered, slapping a tan hand over her mouth, "We're just browsing, remember?"

Piper dragged the hand off of her mouth, "Whoever you're pining over must be worth it because I am breathing in so much dust right no-"

Percy's hand covered her mouth again, and frantically grabbed a book off of the shelf, "He's coming over, I see blonde hair,"

Piper promptly stuck her tongue out and licked Percy's palm. He wiped it on his jeans and open the book, shooting her a look of disgust. Suddenly a blonde teen poked his head around the bookshelf,

"May I help you?"

Piper turned to Percy, who was holding the book upside down in his hands and practically sees hearts in his eyes. She rolls her eyes, but deep down inside she can't blame him, the guy could be a Greek god. Blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and those kinds of muscles shouldn't even be allowed. He even had this cute scar on his upper lip. Percy was starstruck.

"We're just browsing," she said politely, stepping on Percy's foot. Snap out of it. Percy shook his head like a wet dog,

"Just browsing," he echoed, his cheeks dusted with pink. Jason smiled with half of his mouth, a cute little smirk that had Piper falling just a little bit,

"I can see that… interesting book you have there," he said, "Do you have a dog?"

"Hmmm?" Percy said, finally shaking out of it, "No?"

The boy made a small amused sound, and Percy flipped his book over and squinted at the title,

"Knitting With Dog Hair?" He said, the horror evident with every word, "Better a sweater from a dog you know and love than a sheep you'll never meet."

Percy's voice grew quieter with every word until he eventually trailed off with a horrified whisper. Piper was sure she was straining something while trying not to laugh. Her vision became blurry and her lungs started to burn. Percy turned to look at Piper, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Piper made an awful noise in the back of her throat before she rasped, "Bathroom," and took off to the front of the store.

Once the unfortunate pair was out of her sight, she caught herself on a nearby shelf and wheezed with laughter.

Piper lost herself in the struggle to stay quiet, but still catching her breath in between bouts of silent laughter. Beside her, someone coughed and Piper was shaken from her mirth.

"Pardon the intrusion, but may I help you find a book?"

Piper looked up at her interrupter and was stopped in her metaphorical tracks. In front of her was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, and suddenly she felt for Percy and his dog hair book. The girl looked about her age and was blonde like the boy from earlier; somewhere in the back of her mind, Piper wondered if the pair was related. The girl's hair tumbled down in princess curls and rested near a simple pearl necklace. Piercing grey eyes were framed by thick, dark lashes and a smattering of freckles sprinkled her nose. Piper couldn't breathe. She had to say something, but her brain wasn't working. Her mouth wasn't responding. All she could do was stand there with her mouth gaping. She was saved for a brief moment when Percy and his object of affection walked passed, the blond carrying a huge book and Percy trailing behind him. Blondie stumbled for a second, and the girl reached out to grab his arm. In the couple seconds, the shop workers were distracted, Percy took a single finger and pushed up on Piper's jaw until her mouth finally closed,

"You'll catch flies."

Piper flipped him her middle finger as he walked toward the front of the store, blondie right behind him. She turned back toward the girl and suddenly lost her words again, why was this girl so damn attractive.

"Are you looking for a specific type of book?" the girl asked again, and this time Piper managed to squeak out, "Poetry."

Piper immediately cursed herself for her response. Piper McLean hated poetry, and for some reason that was the first word that came to mind. However, the girl's whole face brightened (Piper may have swooned),

"Right this way. Any specific poetry book you are looking for?"

Piper didn't know a goddamn thing about poetry, but judging by the way this teen's face lit up, she was willing to bet a whole plate of Percy's mom's heavenly blue pancakes that this girl did.

Piper was lead through the store until she arrived at the front desk, where the girl pressed a small book into her hands. The girl said something, but Piper was distracted by the way their hands brushed for a fraction of a second. The best fraction of a second of her life. Just when she started plotting a way to get to touch the other girl again, the talking paused. The blonde was looking at Piper, clearly waiting for a response. Shit.

"I'll take it!" she said, a bit too enthusiastically, but the blonde smiled at her, and Piper actually swooned when she turned away to ring up the poetry book about who-knows-what. Percy tapped on the glass window outside of the store, the big book blondie was carrying earlier tucked under his arm. Piper held up a finger at Percy and offered a twenty to the girl. A quick exchange later, Piper was the proud holder of a book of poetry but not the name of the pretty girl. Gorgeous girl. The girl who was waving goodbye at Piper as she walked towards the back of the shop. It was now or never, and time seemed to slow down.

Piper was moving through jello trying to get to the girl before she disappeared into the back room, she wanted to call out but her voice simply would not listen to her wishes. Finally, time snapped back into place as Piper finally called out,

"Wait!"

The girl turned, her long hair swinging over her shoulder,

"Hmm?"

"What's your name?"

The girl smiled and called out,

"Annabeth."

Percy would never let her live this down. Piper was blushing as red as her mother's favorite lipstick, but grasped firmly in her hand was the book the girl recommended- Annabeth recommended. Piper didn't like poetry, but who knows? Maybe she will be able to change her mind.

The two teenagers walked side by side on the sidewalk, both soaking in the sunlight and the bookshop experience. Piper would have to hear Percy's side of the story later tonight between games of Mario Kart.

Percy gently- or not so gently- slammed his shoulder into hers while maintaining a huge shit-eating grin on his face,

"Seems I'm not the only one with a little crush,"

"Oh shut it, grandma, and go knit me a dog hair sweater."

Percy shoved her off the sidewalk.

A/N: Five more parts to go! This one will be short and sweet, I hope you enjoyed and will stick around for more! :)