DRUMROLL, PLEASE

Summary: Annabeth Chase knows nothing of the Youtube domain until she gets thrown into Percy Jackson's world of cameras and Internet fame.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus. All belong to Rick Riordan. I'm just a wannabe writer.

DRUMROLL, PLEASE

Chapter One

I've long ago decided that Percy Jackson is amazing.

And by long ago, I mean almost four months ago, when I actually had the privilege of interviewing the man who is now talking animatedly on my laptop screen.

Oh, no, he's not some hotshot heir-turned-CEO whose first live appearance was on Good Morning America or something. He's not even an A-list actor who's dead tired from the numerous interviews for some upcoming movie.

He's just a not-so-regular seventeen-year-old guy. And I'm just a writer of Goode High School's weekly paper. But when I said I got the privilege of interviewing him, I meant it in the most honest way possible. No, Percy's not some CEO or some hot actor, but he's famous, all right. And quite possibly to the whole world, too.

Percy Jackson is a Youtuber, you see. A Youtuber. Ever heard of the term? His kind involves a bunch of people talking in front of their cameras and uploading their videos for the whole world to see. Some of them even make a living out of it, while some of them simply enjoy the perks of being famous for talking about his day-to-day life.

Percy Jackson just so happens to be one of those people, and he also happens to be in my school.

Up until four months ago, I haven't bothered looking up his videos. Mostly because I couldn't see the reason why someone would want to share his whole life to everyone. Oh, and I detested his Goode High fan base (led by Rachel Dare, whose squeals of announcement about Percy's new videos were annoying).

But then Clarisse assigned me to write an article about him just as the school year was about to end, and since I was coming up blank on any information about him (except for the fact that he was in my History class) and because I was trying to impress Clarisse so that I could take her spot as Editor-in-Chief next year, I decided to schedule an appointment with him.

I also did my research, and, yes, I watched his videos and…

Well. Yeah. I decided he was good, and maybe, amazing. His interview afterwards proved that his thousands of subscribers didn't get to his head. He was funny and ten minutes into talking to him, I could really see why people wanted to hear more from him.

But that was four months ago, and I didn't even really consider us friends after that thirty-minute talk. Yesterday was the first day of junior year, and at this point of the year I was determined not to let any distractions get in the way.

But it's seven-thirty in the morning, and Thalia Grace all but begged me to walk her through her classes (mainly to help her avoid her ex-boyfriend). Since she was nowhere in sight, I decided to kill some time off in the Publication Office, which was, in a sense, everyone's dream hang-out place, considering the air conditioner and the free Wi-fi.

And so I did the unthinkable.

The man on my laptop screen scratched his head sheepishly, grinning. "It wasn't my fault, really. Making a mess of the Chemistry lab, I mean. I didn't think it was possible to get in trouble on the first day, but when you've got friends like Leo or Connor or Travis who are natural troublemakers…"

He snickered, shaking his head. "Anyway, a lot of you guys asked if I could do another Q & A to start off the school year. To be honest I'm more afraid of the ques—"

A hand appeared right in front of me, shutting my laptop with so much force that I was afraid for the object to break. I rolled my eyes as I greeted my scowling best friend.

"Nice to see you bright and happy first thing in the morning," I told her sarcastically. "You're three minutes late."

"You're too much of an OC, Annabeth." It was Thalia's turn to roll her eyes. "Sorry, ran into Riley in the parking lot. He claims to be – and I quote – 'unable to breathe and see the morning light without me.' Further proves I did the right thing."

I tried my best not to snicker. "I told you he was the girl between the two of you."

"You laugh now." She gave me her stink eye. I smiled. "Just wait 'til you get your own clingy boyfriend."

She walked to her tiny desk in the Pub – Thalia was the publication's official photographer – and slung her camera strap over her neck, carefully dangling her precious baby (her terms, not mine). She shuffled through her things before grabbing her backpack.

I simply grinned at her. "Not happening."

"Yeah, well, you need to loosen up," she told me. "Stop counting the minutes when I'm late and start going to parties or start falling in love or something. Last two years of high school, remember? The fact that you're running for Valedictorian and Editor-in-Chief doesn't count as an excuse."

My grin faded. "Do you hear that? That's me. Gagging."

"Stop being so dramatic, too." She walked passed me, dragging me by the elbow and out of the Pub to head on to our first class.

Leo Valdez seemed to start what would be an unusual day. Just as Thalia and I sat down on our chairs, his loud, mischievous character graced my space before plopping down on my desk. Beside me, Thalia raised one of her eyebrows in confusion.

"Mrs. Dodds is going to kill you if she sees you sitting there," I couldn't help saying.

He beamed, his eyes practically disappearing into tiny, happy slits. "Ahh, we've got a good girl over here! You must be Annabeth Chase! I've passed through every single blonde in the school just to find you!"

"Leo, we've been in the same homeroom for the past—"

"Ha! Gotcha!" he laughed. "No, I didn't really search every single blonde in the school."

I nodded slowly. "I'd be rather hurt if you did."

Thalia decided to remain quiet, her what-the-hell-is-up-with-this-guy expression clearly emitting the words she wanted to say.

"But, you know," he started to say, "Gotta be careful for my guy, so I've gotta do an appearance check."

"Your what?"

Leo scrunched his eyes and brought one of his hands to his chin, openly scrutinizing me. "Blonde hair? Check."

It was Thalia's turn to speak up. "Valdez, what do you think—"

"Grey eyes? Check." He tilted his head. "Hmm. He was right; your eyes are your best features."

"Leo?" Just keep your cool, Annabeth. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Yup! Just wanted to know where you usually hang-out after school." Ping. He flashed a smile, as if he wasn't just being weird two seconds ago.

"You're creepy," Thalia deadpanned. "But she hangs out at the Pub."

I was pretty sure my jaw just dropped.

But Leo gave her a thumbs-up before I could say anything. "Thanks, Thalia! See you later, girls!"

All my attention was on my best friend once Leo's retreating form was out of sight. "What was that all about?" Believe me when I say I tried not to raise my voice, but when you've just got someone who was obviously messing with you and he asks where you're usually staying, you're bound to get at least thirteen percent annoyed.

Sometimes thirteen percent is enough to raise a voice and maybe summon up a little sternness in the tone.

"You'll be fine," Thalia assured me. "You might learn a thing or two of fun from him."

"A thing or two from whom? Leo?" I asked incredulously.

"Calm down. He didn't even say why he's going to meet you there. Or if he's going to at all."

"Oh gods, he's going to pull a prank on me, I know it. I've got no time for this; I have to—"

"Study?" she said just as Mrs. Dodds walked inside the room. "Jeesh, Annabeth, it's the second day of school. Liven up a little."

Mrs. Dodds' death glare for the class killed my retort.

The thing about being a journalist is that you've got to be a lot of things.

Aware of all the things around you. Impatient for the next good news to come up. Careful of the things you say and the information you gather.

And you have to be observant.

Which is, I think, the trait that I can say I've truly earned from being part of The Goode News.

It's annoying, sometimes, how you get conscious of the little details. Like how someone's fifth tooth from the right is chipped off a little at the side, or how that Alegbra book once belonged to someone whose locker was next to the Biology lab by looking at the worn-out binder.

But then being observant has days when it has its perks, such as when you're sitting through a lengthy meeting that's bound to get boring except for the fact that you notice all these little things your peers do when they're bored.

Clarisse La Rue was in the center of the space our little desks have enclosed. She's reading out the beats for the next week's issue, and most (if not all) eyes were already close to drooping off.

Jason Grace's eyes were drifting between the clock, Piper McLean and the floor. Grover Underwood was mouthing the seconds (fifty…fifty-one…fifty-two) until the time struck four. Frank Zhang was currently kicking a tiny pebble he found underneath his table, and the Stoll brothers' gaze was glassy, making me believe that they've mastered the art of sleeping with their eyes open.

The air conditioner wasn't helping.

"So far we've got no good headlines for next week," Clarisse was saying. "Much less stuff for our front page. "Annabeth?"

Sleepiness back to zero. "Yeah?"

"Tell Thalia to wake up," she grunted, motioning to the girl who shamelessly had her head on her desk. "Ask her if she can take pictures of next week's game…"

And so the meeting droned on.

Just one of the few setbacks on having to stay on the school's dream room and doing what you love everyday.

All but Thalia sluggishly stood up form their seats once the meeting was over, arms stretching and knuckles crackling. With everyone's slow pace, my best friend was first outside the room, only for her to come back not three seconds later.

"Coast is clear, Annabeth Chase!" she called out to me before dashing out of the Pub once more.

No Leo Valdez to commence a prank then. Cool.

But as I grabbed my things and went for the door, Grover Underwood popped his head back in from the outside and motioned for me: "Uh, someone says he's here to see you?"

And I was prepared to ask Leo Valdez what he wanted with my time.

What greeted me, though, was not the sight of my potential pranker.

Percy Jackson sat slumped on the lockers outside the Pub, his expression almost worrisome and his gaze fixed on the people from the room who were heading towards the school doors.

I might've walked passed him (because, hey, I was expecting someone else), and he might've called out my name. When I turned back he was already on his feet, with one of his hands pushing wisps of black hair to the side and the other grabbing his backpack lying on the floor.

"Hi, Percy Jackson," I greeted him – with last name and all, because we haven't really established the "friends" relationship but rather the "acquaintance" part. "Can I help you?"

I guess formality was also part of the acquaintance-ship?

"Yeah, just Percy," he told me. "I, uh, Annabeth Chase, right?"

"Yeah, just Annabeth." I think my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Can I help you?" I asked again, because formality, remember? Although full name basis has been apparently dropped.

"Oh, uh, listen." He appeared to be scratching the back of his neck. "If a guy named Leo went up to you—"

He did.

"—and managed to creep you out—"

That, too.

"—well, I apologize, on his behalf," he sighed. "Leo can be quite…" He seemed to be at a loss for words, as if Leo Valdez was simply indescribable.

I could only stare at him, mutually not knowing what to say. "Uh…" I started. "It's okay, I guess. I mean, he's not out to pull a prank on me, is he?"

He raised one of his eyebrows. "I don't think so. What gave you… you know what? Nevermind." He shook his head. "Okay, wow. This is getting awkward. Okay," he said again before clearing his throat. "Okay."

"That was… three 'okay's already," I noted, mostly because I had no idea how to reply. "Was there anything else you needed, Percy?"

He shook his head slowly. "Uh… no. That was about it."

"Okay." Word of the day, huh? "Well, if that's all… I'm going to go now."

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Uh, thanks, I guess. For your time."

I turned on my heel to start heading towards the doors, but he stopped me before I could even get six steps away.

"Uh, Annabeth?"

I turned to face him. "Yes, Percy?"

"Hi," he said, smiling slightly before waving goodbye.

I nodded slowly... quite confused. "Hi." I waved back, before turning away once more for the doors.

I turned on my laptop that night only for the previous opened window to pop out.

Percy Jackson's – or rather, Percy's – video was left unfinished on my browser.

Huh. So he posted this just last night, but the already 300 thousand views proved just how much he was loved all over the world.

To play or not to play?

My fingers seemed to decide for me.

Percy shook his head, laughing. "Anyway, a lot of you guys asked if I could do another Q & A to start off the school year. To be honest I'm more afraid of the questions, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do."

"Alright," he continued. "So I randomly chose the questions you guys posted on Twitter, although I did personally choose some just because I wanted to answer them." He chuckled. "Okay, so this first question is from Mikayla, at kaylajackson, from… oh, wow. London. Hi."

The smooth-talker on the video was so much different from the stuttering person I saw today that it was hard to believe they were the same Percy Jackson.

"She wants to know: 'have you…-'" He suddenly burst out laughing. "'have you ever dated anyone in your school?' Well, Mikayla, I believe the answer is 'no.' And yeah, before you ask why, let's just say I'm a very romantic person and that I choose to date when I find the right one. Could be you, you never know."

Percy topped it off with a wink. I wonder how many girls swooned over that two seconds. That Mikayla girl probably fainted right in front of her computer screen.

"Or," he added. "I don't know how to pick up girls, and I stutter a lot when I'm talking to the girl I like. No joke. I'm part loser when it comes to this area."

I raised my eyebrow. He has seen his fan club at school, right?

"Uh, yeah. This next question comes all the way from Austin, Texas. Cool. From Erica, at glencocofiveever. Hi, Erica!" He beamed, waving. "She asked: 'are there girls in your school who fangirl over you, and what was your craziest encounter with a fan?' Well…" he put on a rather embarrassed face, no doubt thinking about Rachel Dare and her crew. "You could say I have a few fans." Understatement. "But I've known most of the people here since I was, like, in middle school, so they're cool. We're cool."

"As for the other question… okay, um, I guess I've had one person come over to my house, telling my mom that she was my partner for a Biology project or something." Did he just visibly shudder? "She arrived before I did, and I caught her checking out all the stuff inside my room. The next day she posted a picture of my underwear. Good thing nobody really believed her when she said we had some fun one night or whatever."

Ah, yes. Calypso's Facebook post that garnered a lot of attention.

"Oh, hey, this question's one of those I personally want to answer. It's from Lisa, at notyourserpent, all the way from New York City. Thanks for the question, Lisa. Her question is: 'do you have any goals for this year?'"

Percy nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I do, actually. Uh, one. I want to be awake for every single one of Mrs. Dodds' class. She's my math teacher, and I'm sure she's a nice woman and all – hi, Mrs. Dodds, if ever you're watching this – so I apologize for sleeping in, like, I don't know, seventy five percent of your classes? I'll do good this year, I promise."

"Two. I want to stay out of the Principal's Office this year. Yes, Leo, I'm talking to you. You, too, Connor and Travis. I'm serious about this." His eyes turned into tiny slits, making the 'I'm watching you' gesture with his fingers.

"And this last one… okay, I'm going to need your help in wishing me luck, guys, because I really think I need all the luck I can get with this one," he sighed.

"I think… I'm going to finally initiate a conversation with the girl I like. And I think I'm going to do it tomorrow."

And then the world just stopped making sense.

End of Chapter One

So here is a Percabeth Attempt. :) I've always wanted to write something for this fandom, but I've never really gotten the chance to, considering real life and all. Since I'm just starting to get the hang of this, I decided to make this story short and sweet.

Feel free to review on what you thought of it. Suggestions are welcome, too. And if you have any questions, I'm most likely to answer on my Tumblr ask: itsscaryyoke. The link is on my profile, too. Follow my blog if you have a Tumblr account and if you feel like it!

Next chapter will be out in a few days :)Thanks for reading! -YJ