What better thing to do when I'm sick than post a new story on Fanfic?

General notes about this story: I have altered the ages so everyone is the same age, except for Hazel who skipped a grade. There is a combination of characters from Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

So, anyways, I hope you enjoy this story!

Percy

I leaned on the counter top, listening to the rain pouring down outside. The restaurant was empty, which was expected for a rainy sunday afternoon of the long weekend. Everyone was either out of town, eating dinner with their families, or getting ready for the big party that night at Jason Grace's house, except for yours truly, who was stuck working the late shift until 8:00.

Jason's parents were pretty cool about the parties, as long as their 1) house didn't get ruined, 2) they weren't home, and 3) the authorities didn't get involved.

I stared at my watch. 7:40. I was so close to freedom. I yawned loudly. There was no one around to hear me besides the cook, Mr. D, who was also the owner of the oh-so-classy "Burger Palace" The food was okay, plus it was cheaper than the big corporate fast food chains, so most of the kids my age at there.

The place wasn't too special. Classic dinner booths lined the walls, and tables and chairs took up the rest of the space. There was a small condiments bar attached to the counter, beside the extra counter seating. And everything, right down to the stripes on my uniform, was red.

"Johnson!" Mr. D called from the back. I walked over to the small window and looked into the kitchen.

"It's Jackson," I corrected for the billionth time. Names clearly weren't his strong suit.

"Can you work the late shift tomorrow too?" he asked, ignoring my correction, as always.

"Can I get a raise?" I asked.

Mr. D laughed. "Kid, the day you get a raise is the day I make wine appear out of thin air."

"This is so unfair!" I yelled dramatically, slapping my hand on the counter. "I demand compensation!"

"For what?"

"I've lost my freedom," I told him seriously. Mr. D laughed.

"No one's forcing you to stay here," he said.

"I'll quit," I threatened.

"You won't," Mr. D said, not sounding the slightest bit worried. I let out a defeated sigh. He was right. I was broke.

I crossed my arms over the counter and rested my head on them, shutting my eyes and listening to the rain as it pelted down on the roof.

The small bell that sounded whenever someone walked in went off. Ding ding. I sighed. Now I had the honor of dealing with whatever customer had walked in the door.

I lifted my head up. "Welcome to the Burger Palace. How can I..." I stopped short when I met the most beautiful, yet unusual eyes I had ever seen. I say unusual because of their intense, stormy grey colour. "...Help you?" She didn't seem to notice my inarticulacy.

Shining blonde curls from her ponytail spilt over her shoulder. She wasn't trying to be beautiful or anything, she just was. She was wearing a simple beige sweater and dark jeans, with a long black raincoat over top that still glistened with rain drops. She had an orange school bag slung over her shoulder. The strap was decorated with weird symbols.

"Can I get a regular chocolate milkshake, please?" she asked. I nodded and entered her order into the register, forcing myself not too stare at her.

"$3.99," I said. She handed me 5 dollars. I gave her back a 1 and searched for a penny. "Uh, there aren't any pennies in here."

"That's okay," she shrugged.

I turned to the kitchen window and yelled to the back. "Mr. D! Chocolate, shaken, not stirred!" I looked back at the girl, who had taken a seat at the counter. "It'll be ready in a couple of minutes," I told her.

"Thanks,"

"So, what's your name?" I asked. She looked at me skeptically. "For the order," I added, grinning.

"Annabeth," she answered.

"Nice name. I'm Percy," I said. Her stormy eyes studied me carefully, picking apart my every action. "So, are you at Goode?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Same," I smiled. She nodded and looked out the window. It was almost as if she really didn't want to talk to me... oh well.

"What's your last name?" I asked, eager to learn more about her.

"Chase," she responded, not meeting my gaze.

The name set off an alarm bell in my head. Annabeth Chase. Chase. The famous new girl in the school. Known for being incredibly beautiful, yet extremely intimidating. I had never seen her around school before, so I only had everyone else's description to go off of, though none of their words came close to capturing her beauty.

God, was that me talking?

"Paul, order up!" Mr. D called, setting down a drink on the windowsill, the straw poking out of the top.

"Paul's my step-dad," I yelled back to him, taking the drink and handing it to Annabeth.

"Thanks," she said. She took a sip and her eyes lit up. "This is really good," she said.

"We pride ourself on our quality food here at the Burger Palace," I said in a monotone voice, gesturing to the small sign hanging on the wall. Annabeth paused for a moment, as if making a difficult decision, then smiled.

"Are you going to the party at Jason's tonight?" I asked her. They were never invitational things or anything, more like first come first serve. If someone arrived after a certain time, Jason would normally tell them to leave. Annabeth took another sip from her drink.

"You know, you ask a lot of questions for someone who works behind the counter at a burger joint," she remarked.

"I know," I shrugged. "So, are you going?"

"I don't know. I was thinking about it, but those things are always so boring. It starts out fine. I'll be with a group of people, talking, laughing, whatever, but sooner or later they all wander off to slobber all over someone else," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, then you're obviously hanging out with the wrong people,," I pointed out. "You can come hang with me and my friends. It'll be fun. Only, like, two couples. Jason and Piper, and Hazel and Frank, but Jason has to play host, and Hazel and Frank are super awkward about it, in a cute, endearing sort of way," I said.

"Maybe. I'll think about it," she said. "I just have to figure out how I'm going to get home in this rain. My shoes aren't exactly waterproof." I peeked over the counter at her feet. She was wearing a pair of running shoes that looked like they had been dunked in a pool.

"I can give you a ride," I suggested. Annabeth looked up at me, surprised.

"Really?" she asked. I nodded. "Even though we've known each other for three minutes?" I nodded again.

"Wait, you're not a serial killer, are you?" I asked. She laughed and shook her head. "Good! I get off in fifteen, if you don't mind waiting."

"That'd be great, thanks," she said.

"Jordan!" Mr. D yelled.

"It's Jackson!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes.

"I need you to sweep up out there!" he called, ignoring my correction once again.

"Fine," I groaned loudly. I pulled myself up on the counter and swung my legs over.

"And don't go over the counter!"

"I'd never dream of it!" I called back innocently, hopping over on the other side. I grabbed the broom from the supply closet beside the bathroom and dragged it lazily across the floor, sweeping up bits of wrappers, fries, drink caps, dust, and anything else that had accumulated on the floor over the course of the day.

"Stupid job," I muttered.

"Why don't you just quit?" Annabeth asked. I looked up at her, remembering I wasn't alone in the restaurant.

"Well, my parents have a very strong belief in 'taking responsibility for your own life', so lending their sixteen year old son money is not on their To-Do list," I said, leaning on the broom. "Besides, I need it for gas. My dad let me have his old car, but I have to take care of it. So, repairs, gas, license plate renewal, etcetera."

"Hey, at least you have a car," she said pointedly.

"True, but at least you have me willing to drive you places," I grinned. She smiled and shook her head, taking another sip of her milkshake.

I finished sweeping the floor and looked down at my watch. 8:01. I was free at last!

"FREEDOM!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, throwing the broom back in the cupboard.

"Bye, Mr. D!" I called back into the kitchen. He gave a loud grunt in acknowledgement.

"Shall we go?" I asked Annabeth, making a wide sweeping arm gesture towards the door. She tossed her empty drink into the garbage.

"Gladly," she said. We walked outside under the small canopy that provided little shelter from the ongoing rain. I spotted my black, four door, used car. It was relatively small, but worked well enough. There was a small sticker on the bumper with a black spade and the word "Blackjack" written in curved letters on it.

"That one," I said, pointing it out to Annabeth.

We made a mad dash for the car.

I hope you enjoyed!