09:27
Hey A,
You wanna have dinner at Demeter's on Wednesday at 6:30? I'll pay.
Luke xxx

09:29
Sounds great. See you at 6:30 then (and we'll split the cost).
A xxx

The words flashed mockingly at Annabeth as she checked her phone for what felt like the hundredth time. She glanced at the clock in the corner of the screen and sighed. Where was he? Luke was never late for their dates, especially when he had arranged them.

"Excuse me, miss, but would you like to order anything? A drink?"

A waitress stood patiently waiting, her notebook and pen at the ready. Her name tag read: Katie. She looked a few years older than Annabeth, maybe 20?

"No thank you," Annabeth brushed her off. Surely Luke wouldn't be long. Perhaps he was just stuck in traffic and couldn't text her? He definitely wouldn't have abandoned her here, he was her boyfriend. No, she'd order something when he got here.

If he got here...

"Miss, are you sure you don't want to order anything?"

The waitress was back again. Annabeth sighed internally and turned to face her.

"Um... No, sorry," Annabeth apologised, "I'm waiting for someone."

"Oh, right," the waitress didn't look convinced. In fact, looking closer, Annabeth noticed she was actually looking kind of sympathetic. Great, now the waitress was feeling sorry for her.

The waitress left, and Annabeth noticed the looks she was staring to get from other customers. Sympathy, "oh dear" and, most often, that knowing look that meant they knew something she didn't, and Annabeth hated it. She hated feeling lost, feeling naïve, and not knowing what was going on.

She was lost in her thoughts when a shadow fell over the table, and Annabeth looked up expecting to once again see the waitress standing there. She wouldn't been surprised if she was told to leave or order something. But her guess was wrong.

Instead, a boy with messy black hair and tanned skin slid into the seat opposite her. He looked about her age, sixteen, and she had no clue who he was.

"Sorry I'm so late, babe," he said loudly, and Annabeth forced herself to have a neutral look instead of a 'what the hell?' face, "The traffic is just crazy right now, I got backed up, like, 20 cars at the traffic lights-"

What was he doing? And who was he? Annabeth was sure she'd never seen him in her life, ever. So what was his game?

He paused complaining about the traffic, and lowered his voice so only she could hear, "I'm Percy, just go with it, okay?"

Annabeth was confused. What the hell was he on about?

"I-I'm sorry, but what are you doing?" She asked quietly but firmly.

Percy looked a little sheepish, "I saw you waiting, and it had been almost an hour and I..." He trailed off and paused awkwardly before continuing, "I'm sorry but I really don't think whoever you're waiting for is going to turn up."

Was he trying to say that Luke had stood her up? Annabeth opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again, realising that was exactly what he was saying, and that he was right.

"Hey," Percy quietly interrupted her thoughts, "I don't think you introduced yourself to me, or an I going to have to keep calling you 'babe' all night?"

Annabeth let herself smile faintly. She supposed she'd have to stay now, it would look strange if she walked out on her supposed 'boyfriend'.

Meeting the eyes of the boy in front of her, Percy she reminded herself, she was taken aback by how green they were, almost the exact greeny-blue colour of the sea. With his slightly messy black hair and those eyes, he was actually quite handsome. She smiled again, "Annabeth. It's Annabeth."

Percy smiled at her. He had a nice smile, a friendly one, "Well Annabeth, since I suppose I'm your date, why don't I buy you something?"

Annabeth was surprised by how easily she managed to talk with Percy, given the fact that they'd just met.

She told him all about how she wanted to be an architect, and he in turn told her that his dream was to study to become a marine biologist. He said that the sea was his favourite place to be. "I love the calmness of watching the waves," he told her, "One day I want to learn to surf, but I'm too busy with studying at the moment."

Somehow, they ended up nicknaming each other. Annabeth joked about Percy always thinking about the sea, leading her to give him the nickname "Seaweed Brain", and he in turn nicknamed her "Wise Girl". It ended up being the most fun she had ever had on a date. When she and Luke went out they sometimes ended up running out of topics to discuss, and somehow the conversation would always turn to Luke's plans for his future business. Annabeth had always thought that it was fine, but recently it had began getting tedious. The difference of talking to Percy relieved her. The conversation felt more funny, and a lot more relaxed. Annabeth loved it.

When the waitress came to collect their order, she looked surprised to see the two of them there together. Evidently she'd seen enough people stood up to assume that Annabeth would either stay and eat alone, or leave awkwardly. She took their orders, and Percy confused both the waitress and Annabeth when he queried if there was any blue coke. After the waitress left, he explained that it was an inside joke he had with his mum. Her sister had said blue food didn't exist, so now his mother made a point of eating at least one blue thing every day.

Their food arrived quickly, and before Annabeth knew it their plates were being whisked away and they were left sat at an empty table waiting for the bill.

When it arrived, Percy reached for his wallet, "I'll pay."

"Wait," Annabeth began to reach out a hand to stop him, but quickly withdrew it, not wanting to invade his personal space, "I can do it, you don't have to."

Percy didn't look convinced, "I had more than you, you'd be paying for more than you had."

"I'm the reason you're sat here"

"Fine," Percy grinned, surrendering and putting his wallet back in his pocket, "I've got a feeling I'd never win in an argument against you anyway."

Annabeth smiled, "That's true."

Percy laughed and Annabeth joined in, before reaching her card out to pay.

It had been the best unplanned date ever, Annabeth though as she walked out of the restaurant with Percy.

They stopped just outside the entrance. The chilly autumn wind scattered fire coloured leaves across the pavement where the landed in the road, joining the piles of soggy brown leaves that already lay in the gutter.

"So..." Percy started, but he trailed off, snot seeming to know what to say, "So," he said again, shifting from one foot to the other, "Was that okay. I mean, I'm assuming it was since you didn't walk out on me, but then again-"

Annabeth cut off his rambling with a smile, "It was brilliant, thank you."

He smiled too, appearing relived, but then his face went serious, "Who stood you up?"

"I-" Annabeth bit her lip, "My boyfriend. I felt like we'd been growing apart for a while, and then he asked me to meet him here for dinner, but I guess he thought it was easier to break up with me by just not turning up."

"That's... That's not right," Percy looked angry, "You're not going back to him are you, because he's a absolute d-"

"No," Annabeth interrupted him. She pulled out her phone, "Actually, I'll text him now."

20:47
I knew we were growing apart, but you didn't have to be so shitty about it and stand me up like that. I'm NOT coming back crying.

Annabeth put her phone back in her bag, "Sorted."

"That's good," Percy looked relieved, "You don't deserve someone like him."

"Then who do I deserve?" Annabeth asked.

He blinked, seeming confused, "What-? Oh. Are you-?"

Annabeth shook her head, "You're such a Seaweed Brain, you know that?"

Percy laughed, "I do now," he paused, suddenly appearing unsure of what to say, "Annabeth-" he ran a hand through his hair nervously, "Annabeth- Would you like to get a coffee sometime?"

"I'm free this Saturday at 11:00"

Percy looked startled, "I- Um, yeah- 11:00 on Saturday, that's- that's perfect."

"Excellent, I'll see you then. There's just one thing..."

"What?" Percy looked slightly worried.

Annabeth looked at him, deadly serious, "What's your phone number?"

His mouth dropped open, before he quickly reeled off a series of numbers that Annabeth keyed into her phone. She repeated the numbers back to him, pressing 'save to contacts' when he confirmed them.

She showed Percy and he groaned, "You saved me as 'Seaweed Brain', was that really necessary?"

"Very."

"So, why did you come over to me back there in the restaurant?" Annabeth asked.

Percy cleared his throat, "Umm, well, actually I was supposed to be meeting my mum and my stepdad, Paul, there, but when I walked in I saw you on your own and it looked like you'd been waiting there a while. I went to see my mum and Paul, but I kept noticing you sat there and I couldn't help going over to see you."

Annabeth was touched, "Thank you Percy, really."

"I mean, I couldn't have just left you there. I would've felt awful sat eating with my family while you were alone."

"What about your family though? Are they still in the restaurant? I can go home if you need to go back to them," Annabeth offered.

"No. I mean, they'll be fine on their own. I can text my mum to explain and then drive you back to your house if you want?"

"Actually, I was just going to catch the bus. I wouldn't want to put you out of your way."

"It's no trouble," Percy insisted, "And buses are so crowded at this time of night."

"You've got a point. Alright then."

Percy smiled, and together they walked to the car park.

As it turned out, they lived less than a block from each other.

21:58
Annabeth babe I'm really sorry. It won't happen again
Luke xxx

22:16
Babe please let me explain.
L xxx

22:58
You can't just ignore me forever!
Your boyfriend xxx

23:16
Babe?

23:21
Annabeth?

23:34
You'll come round. Call me when you do. I miss you.
Luke xxx

Annabeth sighed as she scrolled through the endless texts from Luke on her phone. Quickly, she deleted them all, not bothering to reply. He could text her as much as he wanted, she didn't care. When she arrived home Wednesday night before she'd immediately texted to explain her feelings about the situation and to break up with him. It was over.

Just as she was about to put her phone down, it buzzed again. She was about to sigh and put it on silent, when she saw who it was and smiled as she opened the message.

09:37
See you soon, Wise Girl. Coffee's on me : )

She immediately texted him back.

09:39
I can't wait, Seaweed Brain : )

Putting her phone down, Annabeth turned back to her building design. Luke could pester her all he wanted, but she'd seen what he was really like. He just needed to accept that she'd moved on and he should do the same. Besides, she had no time for him. Percy was picking her up at 11:20 for their coffee shop date, and she had to get her homework done first.

A/N

This story was inspired by one of my favourite prompts from Tumblr. I published the original version on Wattpad, and now I'm bringing it here in its revised form. I first wrote it back in April 2017, and in the time that has passed since then my writing style has changed a lot. I've cut out a few scenes and changed some parts to help this story make more sense and I'm thrilled to be publishing the new version here. I hope you've enjoyed reading it and look forward to more content from me : )

xXMagikMystXx