Annabeth prides herself on many things: her innate ability to draw a perfect circle every time, that one cross country meet junior year where she ran an even six minute mile, and, most of all, her perceptiveness. She's constantly aware of her surroundings – whether it be people, animals, or vehicles, she knows where they are in reference to her own body, as well as where they're likely to be in the next fifteen seconds. Maybe it stems from being a reasonably attractive teenage girl in the middle of New York City; or maybe she's overly paranoid. Either way, it benefits her more often than it doesn't, and despite the fact that the scruffy boy in the orange sweatshirt probably thinks he's as sneaky as the Pink Panther, she knows that he's glanced her way no less than seven times in the past two minutes.

He's not unattractive, per se, but he's not exactly her type. Annabeth usually doesn't go for boys with ridiculous bed head and skateboards strapped to their backpacks. But then again, he's a part of her campus tour for one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Intellect most definitely makes up for the incapability to use a hairbrush. She contemplates confronting him for a moment or two – Thalia once told her that when it comes to boys who repeatedly check you out but don't ever approach you, you have to make the first move – but the tour guide motions them along the path and begins talking about what kinds of student organizations like to meet on the quad.

They stop for lunch in one of the dorm buildings. They all have dining halls on the first floor, although each building has a different specialty. The one they're in has a taco bar. Annabeth brought her food from home, however, and immediately finds a table by the windows instead of racing towards the line like everyone else. She pulls a boxed salad and a travel-sized Tupperware of ranch dressing from her backpack, setting them neatly on the cheap plastic table and grabbing a napkin to spread across her lap. She people watches while munching on her lettuce, staring out the window at the various college students who pass by. Most of them are bundled up in university apparel, proudly sporting the school's insignia – or at the very least, its colours.

Annabeth's about halfway through her salad when the boy in the orange sweatshirt plops himself down in the chair across from her. His lunch tray rattles dangerously, sloshing a good amount of his soda from the topless cup, but he doesn't pay it any mind. He simply picks up his slice of pizza, folds it in half, and takes a whopping bite.

"Can I help you?" she asks, fork frozen in midair. Luckily for her, he swallows before he opens his mouth to respond.

"Is it cool if I sit here?" he asks. "Most of the other tables are taken and you looked nice enough, so…"

And god dammit if his sheepish half-smile isn't endearing enough for Annabeth to say yes.

Annabeth is perfectly content to sit in silence while they both finish their meals, but he clearly isn't.

"What's your name anyway? I'm Percy, in case you were wondering." (She totally was, but it's not like she's going to let him know that).

"Annabeth."

"Oh, that's nice! There's a girl in my grade named Annabelle, and there's also a Beth, but I've never met an Annabeth." He pauses to gulp down some of his soda for a few seconds. Once he's finished, he wipes his lips with the sleeve of his hoodie. "So where are you from, Annabeth?"

"Manhattan."

"No shit! I'm from Manhattan, too! Don't tell me we go to the same school." Percy's eyes grow comically wide, and Annabeth gets the impression that this has happened to him before.

"I doubt it," she chuckles. "I actually go to an all-girls boarding school up near Poughkeepsie."

"Boring!" he says, holding out the first syllable excessively. "Do they only let you eat plants there?" He eyes her salad as if it's about to attack him.

"No. I'm trying to get convince my dad to eat healthier, but he refuses to stop eating cheeseburgers until I do, so I'm stuck with this."

Percy honest to god gasps. "You poor thing," he says before ripping his piece of pizza down the middle. Most of the cheese hangs off of the half he hands to her. "Eat it – quickly. Who knows how long we have until you go into shock."

Laughing, Annabeth catches the runaway cheese with her mouth and watches as Percy's expression of horror transforms into one of expectation. It takes her a moment, but she figures out what he's waiting for. She chews deliberately, exhales loudly, and collapses against the back of her chair, holding one hand to her heart. Percy erupts into cheers.

After lunch, the tour guide explains that the group tour has concluded, but she will be answering any questions about the university in her office. Annabeth has a 2:30 train to catch, so she thanks the smiling, uniformed woman and starts walking down the street, her hands shoved in the pocket of her teal pea coat. Footsteps echo on the pavement behind her, and somehow Annabeth knows who'll be beside her before he even arrives.

"Leaving so soon?" Percy asks.

"Unfortunately. My train leaves in twenty minutes and, to be honest, I'm probably not even going to apply here. It's my dad's alma mater, and he would love for me to attend, but – I dunno – it doesn't really fit for me, you know?"

Percy nods, even though his brow is furrowed in confusion and it's painfully obvious he doesn't really understand what she's saying. "So what do you think would fit for you?"

"New York Institute of Technology, I think," Annabeth says, and she can feel herself smiling just talking about it. "They've got the School of Architecture and Design, and that's what I want to do – architecture, I mean – and god, I miss the city."

Percy smiles and says, "I know the feeling."

They've reached the train station with roughly four and a half minutes before Annabeth's train is scheduled to leave. The two of them stare at the doors to the atrium in silence.

"I guess this is it," Percy says, sounding awfully resigned at the fact.

Surprised, Annabeth whips her head around to face him. "You're not heading home?"

"No, not yet. I've got another tour tomorrow morning."

"Oh," Annabeth mutters. She had been hoping they could keep talking on the hour-long train ride. "Well… good luck."

"Thanks. You too."

They stare at each other for a few more seconds, and then Percy turns around and starts walking back down the street, but before he's even made it ten feet, he spins on his heels and rushes back towards her.

"Go with your gut. Don't let anyone else make your decision for you, okay?"

Annabeth nods and watches as Percy unstraps the skateboard from his backpack, pushes off of the ground with his foot, and rolls off into the horizon. Only once he's out of sight does she think of asking for his phone number.

Annabeth walks into her mandatory English 101 class on the first day of the semester and spots a familiar scruffy boy in an orange sweatshirt with a skateboard resting on the seat next to him. He's waving at her with a dopey smile on his face, and all she can do is cover her face with her hand and laugh.

A/N: i'm sorry it's so short but someone suggested a 'on the same college tour au' and i coULDNT RESIST

Disclaimer: characters belong to RSquared