Disclaimer (I really don't think this is necessary, but whatever!) *GOES TO MIRROR* Nope, not Rick!

The Battle of the Labyrinth

Annabeth's PoV

If my day had gone as planned, it would have been really cool. Unfortunately, in the life of a demigod like me, a lot of things don't go as planned. I was mulling around New York on a street near my best friend Percy Jackson's school, with nothing to do. I was supposed to meet him after school, see a movie, and hang out. Little did I know that this would not work out.

So here I was, waiting for Percy with nothing to do. (I was a little ahead of schedule.) My mind kept focusing on the little things I liked about Percy. Such as, the way his eyes light up when he smiles, or the way his hair was never quite brushed. Of course, neither was mine, usually. Today, I wanted to impress him. I had brushed out my blond curly hair, and only wanted him to think I looked pretty. Maybe he'd even say 'Annabeth, you look beautiful today'.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the real Percy bursting around the corner like a lunatic. I couldn't help laughing at his expression.

"Hey, you're out early!" I giggled, and grabbed his shoulders to stop him from falling off the curb, "Watch where you're going Seaweed Brain."

Then, just my luck, guess who comes charging around the corner after him. Some pretty red haired mortal girl. Mind you, she was covered in monster dust. Whoops, there goes my chance for Percy thinking I was attractive.

"Percy, wait up!" she called. Ah. So she knew him. Suddenly I looked up and saw smoke drifting up in the sky, and heard school fire alarms ringing. Nice going, Percy.

"What did you do this time?" I glared at him, "And who is this?"

"Oh. Annabeth, Rachel, Rachel, Annabeth." He introduced us quickly. "Umm, she's a friend I guess." He glanced nervously at her.

She looked at me. "Hi." Turning back to Percy, she said "You are in so much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!"

Police sirens wailed in the distance.

"Percy," I said angrily, "We should go."

Rachel chattered on. "I want to know more about half bloods. And monsters. And this stuff about the gods." She whined. Writing down her number on his arm, she demanded that he call her, and as Percy protested, she shooed herself off, leaving us alone. I stared at Percy for a second. Then I stalked off down the street.

He ran after me with some dumb explanation about empousai and the camp burning.

"You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?" I cut him off.

"She can see through the Mist." He protested, "She saw the monsters before I did."

"So you told her the truth."

"She recognized me from Hoover Dam so—"

"You've met her before?" Now that ticked me off.

"Um, last winter, but seriously I barely know her."

"She's kind of cute." I said, hoping to get a good answer out of him.

"I-I never really thought about it." He stammered.

Yeah right Percy, I thought.

He went on, promising he'd take care of the school.

"I guess our afternoon is off. We should get you out of here, now that the police will be searching for you." I said coldly, without meeting his eyes.

"You're right." He said dejectedly. Well, at least he was disappointed we couldn't spend time together. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. Now."

R&R!

~PurpleShadowMonster