15 Days Before.

Percy Jackson raced down the school hallway as if he were an Olympic runner, but slower. Okay, a lot slower. Nevertheless, he really was running like his life depended on it, purely for the reason that he didn't want to get stuck sat next to Drew. Yes, the same Drew who had drooled all over him for the four years he'd spent at high school with her. He was nice to her and everything, but Drew was a major bitch. As if being moderately - okay, very cute wasn't enough, he'd attracted triple the attention just because the queen bee had a crush on him. Great.

His dread propelled his feet to go faster until he hastily stopped at the classroom door, catching his breath. Looking inside, he could see a random guy sat next to Drew - his lifesaver. He was doing more than just sitting next to her, Percy observed. The guy was practically kissing her feet. Percy sighed in exasperation. He would never understand what people (boys in particular) saw in her. Still panting slightly, he opened the door and stepped inside, bracing himself from the wrath of Mr Blofis...But it never came.

In the spinny chair that would usually be occupied by his strict teacher, there sat a scrawny man. From the noise everyone was making, Percy could tell that the poor substitute clearly didn't have any control over the class. He seemed to have given up, and was promptly playing a game on his phone. In fact, he didn't even seem to notice Percy's entrance, which wasn't particularly a bad thing. Percy thanked the gods once again that he didn't have to sit next to a certain blonde who was pretending to suck up to the guy sat beside her. Percy could be a bit slow on things, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Drew was trying to make Percy jealous. And boy, was she failing miserably. Percy wasn't popular, but he was too attractive to be considered unpopular. He was just kind of awkwardly in the middle.

He spotted an empty seat next to a girl with an oversized jumper. She was bent over her work, scribbling furiously. As he took a seat next to her, he couldn't help but feel a stab of sympathy for her back. That position did not look comfortable. While debating whether or not he should say something or not, she put her pen down and sat up straight. When she saw Percy sat next to her, she seemed to jump a little bit, as if he'd given her an electric shock. "Hi," She mumbled awkwardly. "Hi, uh...I'm sorry, I don't know your name," Percy blushed in embarrassment. She mirrored his expression and looking down at her lap. "Right, um. Sorry. It's er-Annabeth," She stuttered. "It's a pleasure to know your acquaintance, Annabeth," She stared right through him with her astonishing grey eyes. Percy didn't even know eyes could be grey. But they were - beautiful.

"I believe you meant, 'It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance'?" Annabeth asked, with a hint of sass, interrupting Percy from wondering how her eyes had gone from stormy to calculating in only a few seconds. "Aren't you just a Wise Girl," He pouted playfully. She bit her lip to contain the smile that was clearly creeping onto her lips. How had Percy never noticed this girl before? The question bounced around his mind like a tennis ball. "If I'm a Wise Girl, then you must be a Seaweed Brain," She rolled her eyes in a lazy fashion.

"Seaweed...?" He questioned cautiously. Annabeth turned as red as a tomato. "Uh - well, it's just...You know, you just...YousmellofsaltwateranditremindsmeoftheoceanandI'msorry," She blurted out. Seriously, the colour of her cheeks was really starting to worry Percy. That shade of red could not be safe. From the blank look on Percy's face, Annabeth took a deep breath and began again. "I don't know. You just smell of the ocean. So I thought...you know, Seaweed Brain. I don't know," She hung her head in shame. Despite how hard he tried, Percy couldn't stop the giggle from escaping from his lips.

Annabeth looked mortified and stood up abruptly, turning to leave. Before she could go, Percy grabbed her arm gently and pulled her back. "No wait, hey," He said soothingly. "I just laughed because...you're just cute when you're flustered," Now it was his turn to blush. "You really are a Seaweed Brain," the golden haired girl shook her head, looking abashed. There was an awkward moment where Percy noticed that his hand was still wrapped around her arm. He waited for her to pull away, but the moment never came. Her skin was soft and tanned and nice to touch. When he moved his hand finally, he felt butterflies go wild in his stomach, as if someone had gotten a mixing spoon and started stirring things up inside of him. Okay, probably not the best metaphor. It only reminded Percy of his mother's cooking. He did like her blue food, though.

"What?" Annabeth looked confused. "Blue...food?" Oh. He'd been talking out loud. He laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. That could wait for another time.