Hey guys, it's me again. I might have missed an upload day, and I'm not gonna lie. It was all my fault. In my defense, I had a lot of school work to do. My past few weeks have been pretty busy. So anyway, I've decided to start a new series, and it is like 100% based off of leighismyname's Normals, Meet Abnormals so you guys should go check it out, like right now. Don't even bother reading my stuff go read that fic instead lol. Anyway this is just going to be a bunch of one shots on the different ways Percy and Annabeth could meet, all AUs. Anyway, here's the first one.

PLEASE REVIEW it means a lot.

Words w/out AN: 7407

Pairing(s): Percabeth, Slight Jasper

I am not Rick, so I own nothing.

Jerky Nights and Mild Crushes

Annabeth was extremely unlucky. Like, two shattered mirrors, a black cat and and a swift strike from lightning, unlucky. Okay, so maybe she wasn't actually struck by lightning, but with the amount of electricity that's running through her veins, making her heart pound against her ribcage, she might as well have been. Her entire body buzzed. It could've been anxiety, it could've been the aforementioned electricity, but it was probably the dozens of speakers spread throughout Madison Square Garden. The music and intense bass jolting her body, straight to the core. Don't get her wrong though, she was still very, very unlucky.

Okay, slight exaggeration.

But not by that much.

Beside her, was her best friend of 14 years, Thalia. She was pumping her fist to the music, forcing the people around her to avoid her knuckle of impending doom. Her spiky, black hair was bouncing all over the place. Her eyes were closed as she enjoyed the music but underneath her eyelids were her striking, sky blue eyes. She was dressed in all black, but she definitely wasn't goth. Thalia is very adamant about that. Her black leather jacket hung loosely around her Death to Barbie T-shirt. Her black, ripped jeans looked as if they had extra holes in them today. Yep, she definitely wasn't goth.

Annabeth didn't really go to venues like this. People surrounding her, her body thumping erratically. It seemed like a very social event, and Annabeth was anything but social. She would much rather spend her birthday sitting at home, reading a book, not at some concert. But she allowed her friends, Thalia and Piper, to dress her up and drag her out. It was mainly Piper who chose her clothes and did her make-up. Thalia just complained the entire time while munching on chips. Piper had gone off with her boyfriend, Jason, to get some snacks and a few drinks, leaving Annabeth here to regret her life choices while Thalia mindlessly 'rocked out' to whatever singer was performing.

However, there were a few perks to Annabeth's unlucky birthday night out with her friends. First off, there were the seats. Well, Annabeth wasn't even sure if that's what they were anymore, since practically everyone in a 500 yard radius was standing, or jumping, or dancing around. Thalia had somehow managed to score Annabeth and her friends front row seats. Like, 'I could reach my hand out and touch the performer's leg,' front row. Every time Annabeth asked Thalia how she got them, on the other hand, Thalia would just reply with 'I have my ways young child.' She had some ideas though, mainly revolving around Thalia's dad getting her the tickets. Since Thalia's dad and her uncles were all 'big shots' in the music business. Thalia probably just asked them for tickets.

Secondly, Annabeth didn't actually mind the current performer, Percy Jackson. He had naturally messy, raven black hair, as if his hair had a mind of it's own, not that it was a problem. Annabeth wouldn't mind running her hands through his silky hair. He had enticing sea green eyes. You could stare right into them and see his mood and emotions. Then again she's only seen photos and videos of them. Nothing up close, until now, that is. You could say Annabeth had a mild crush on Percy Jackson. She also loved his music, but she loved his music coming from her earbuds, not enormous speakers, she loved his music at a volume she could control, not the ear-blazing amounts it was in now. But she loved his music nonetheless. The way that it could speak to you, how she related to all of the songs. How the music always brought a smile to her face. Yeah, she only had a mild crush.

Annabeth was daydreaming at this point, and she was deep, like Marianas Trench deep. She was just staring at Percy with a dreamy expression on her face and a small smile. She didn't even realize that she was staring until she was looking straight at his captivating, sea green eyes. He was looking back at her too. Except he had a smirk on his face, which quickly turned into a knowing smile, almost as if he knew something that she didn't.

That should've been her first warning, instead Annabeth just frowned at him. Sure, she just received one of the Percy Jackson's infamous smirks, but she didn't like not knowing something. She prided herself on her knowledge. She's worked for years to gain a reputation in the architecture community. Albeit, she currently worked at the local convenience store to pay college bills, but nonetheless she did have a name in the architecture community. She then had to work extra hard to get other people in her life to recognize her abilities. Just because she was blonde, she was treated as 'dumb'.

Anyway, back to how Annabeth was unlucky.

"I can't believe this Kelp Head is my cousin." Thalia said, eyes glued to Percy Jackson.

That should've been her second warning, but no, Annabeth scanned the surrounding audience, searching for the 'Kelp Head' that was related to Thalia. Annabeth thought that the only family Thalia had here was Jason, after all, he was her brother. Annabeth was about to ask Thalia what she meant when she figured it out. The tickets, Percy's continuous glances in their direction. Gods Annabeth was an idiot sometimes, Percy Jackson was Thalia's cousin.

"Percy Jackson is your cousin?" Annabeth exclaimed, barely audible over the surrounding music and screaming.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, he is."

"And when were you going to tell me?"

"I think I did tell you actually, about 17 seconds ago." Thalia said, slightly amused, "Besides it never came up."

"It never came up? What about when you got the tickets, you could've said, 'Oh yeah I have these front row tickets for my cousin's show. You wanna come?' Or anything like that."

"Jeez, don't get too upset over front row tickets to one of the most popular singers in the world. Besides, I feel like my next surprise should make-up for that."

And that should've been Annabeth's third and final warning. But she barely even noticed what Thalia said. Instead she was going into super-ultra-freakout mode.

"Oh gods, oh gods, OH GODS!" Annabeth screamed, "All of those times I was mushing over Percy Jackson to you, saying 'Oh he's so attractive' or 'His eyes are so dreamy.' You mean I was talking about your cousin?"

"Yeah, you were. It was pretty weird, not gonna lie."

"Oh gods, oh gods, oh go-"

"ANNABETH!" Thalia screamed, "You need to relax. You're hyperventilating or something like that. Let's go get a drink."

Annabeth's ears were ringing from Thalia's screaming. Her chest was still pounding from the bass. She wasn't really mad or anything, she was just shocked and nervous. She took another glance at Thalia, she had a glint in her eye and a knowing smile plastered on her face. Annabeth was starting to really hate these smiles. The two left their seats and waded through the mass of people. Thalia took her hand and guided her, pushing and shoving people when necessary. The music started to calm down and then stopped completely. Annabeth turned back to see Percy Jackson walking off stage, clutching a water bottle. Annabeth didn't think much of this, except for the water, she really wished she had one right now.

Thalia was dragging Annabeth away from the concession stand now, they didn't even get a water. Instead she was being dragged off towards the side of the main stage. Annabeth was confused, she didn't like not knowing things and the look in Thalia's eyes definitely wasn't a 'let's get water' look.

Annabeth was getting closer and closer to the steps leading up to the backstage, "What are we doing here Thalia, are we still getting a drink?"

"Uh, yeah sure. The water over here is better." Thalia said unconvincingly.

Now Annabeth wasn't an idiot. She could figure out when someone was lying to her, and Thalia was definitely lying to her. But at this point Annabeth didn't even care. She probably could've been dragged to a back alley, beat and then robbed and as long as she got a water afterwards she'd be fine.

Okay, slight exaggeration.

But not by that much.

As they ventured deeper and deeper into unforbidden territory, Annabeth got a gut feeling. She shouldn't be here right now. If she continued on her life would be pulled out from under her, and everything would change.

Okay, slight exaggeration.

But not by that much.

They approached two bulky-looking security guards that were guarding an out of the way tunnel off to the side. The passageway wasn't that noticeable, so there wasn't much for the guards to do. As she got nearer, she realized just how big the security guards were. They towered over her. Muscles bulged out of their matching black T-shirts. Annabeth suddenly wished for an abandoned alleyway to be in. Once the men noticed the two girls their eyes narrowed, they took a step closer.

"THALIA!" Annabeth whisper-screamed into Thalia's ear, "We really shouldn't be here."

Annabeth was practically begging now, she just wanted to get back to their seats to enjoy the show, and hopefully get a water on the way. She really didn't want to be beat up by two men in a random hallway, never to be seen again.

"Don't worry, do you not trust me or something?"

"It's the two men in front of us that I don't trust."

"Quit stressing, we're chill." Thalia said, her tone calm, cool and collected.

"Quit stressing, we're chill." Annabeth mocked.

Once the guards focused on the two girls, their harsh expression softened. But it was more like from titanium to rock.

"Hey Thals," The one guard said, his voice gruff. The other just nodded their head.

"Hey guys, it's nice to see you again." Thalia raised a fist and fist-bumped them. "This is my friend, Annabeth."

"Hi…" Annabeth gave a small and nervous wave.

"We're just here to see my cousin."

"Go on through, it's the third door on the left." The other guard said.

Thalia just strolled between the two, Annabeth just hid behind Thalia down the hallway until they were out of site. They entered the third door on the left, inside was unexpected. Actually, Annabeth didn't know what she expected. Narnia? Wonderland? A broom closet?

Instead there was a man.

A gorgeous man with sea green eyes and raven black hair.

Inside of a fairly large dressing room. He turned as he saw the door open.

"Ahh, Thalia! It's so good to see you again." He ran over and hugged Thalia.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get off me Kelp Head. You have a guest."

Percy straightened himself off of Thalia. He extended a hand towards Annabeth, "Hey, I'm Percy Jackson. Thalia's told me a lot about you."

Annabeth was slightly in shock. To be this close to Percy Jackson? Sure, like, 20 minutes ago she was close enough to reach out and touch his leg, but now he is reaching out and is trying to touch her.

There's a lot of touching going around.

She was also very nervous. What had Thalia told Percy? Did she say anything about her mild crush? She shakily raised an arm and met his hand with hers. "Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase."

She felt literal sparks.

Okay, slight exaggeration.

But not by that much.

She felt sparks alright. Her hand jolted and she stared down at it, slightly confused. She glanced at Percy, he was also staring at their clasped hands, as if he felt the sparks too. He glanced up and met her eyes. Striking, sea green on fierce, grey. A sort of understanding passed through them.

And then Annabeth was back to extreme-nervousness mode. She realized she was staring at the Percy Jackson's sea green eyes. She also saw how his mood was reflected in them. She probably would've stared longer but Thalia shook her from her enticement.

"Wow, you've known each other seven seconds and you're already holding hands and lovingly staring into each other's eyes." Thalia said mockingly.

Percy quickly released their hands and whipped his head over at Thalia, "Oh, ha ha, Pinecone face."

Once their hands weren't touching Annabeth stretched her fingers and the jolt of electricity that once flowed through her hands subsided into a fading numbness. Annabeth couldn't do much more than blush at Thalia snide remark, she was still confused about Percy and his hand.

"Anyway," Percy said, anxious to change the subject. "I heard it's your birthday, right?"

"Uh, yeah it is. Thalia, is this the surprise you were talking about?" Annabeth waved her arms in the general direction that Percy was in.

Thalia gave an affirmative nod, "Yup." She said, popping the 'p'.

"Well," Percy said, turning his attention back into Annabeth, "If there's anything you want as a gift, don't hesitate to ask."

Annabeth warily eyed Percy. She gave him a quick nod and took the time to examine him more closely. He wore a sea green, v-neck t-shirt that complimented his eyes perfectly. He had on some dark, skinny jeans and a ratty pair of converses. His one hand was laying by his side and the other was holding the most amazing thing Annabeth has seen all day.

A water bottle.

Her eyes widened with excitement. She didn't realize how thirsty she had been until now. She desperately pointed a finger at the water bottle, "I think I know what I want."

Percy followed her gaze until he was looking at his hand. "You want my water bottle?" He asked skeptically.

"Seriously Annabeth? You want his water?" Thalia said incredulously.

"I told you, I'm thirsty." Annabeth said, her face determined.

Percy just shrugged and handed her the bottle. He eyed Annabeth as she uncapped it and downed the rest of the bottle in one swig. She tossed the bottle into an empty recycling bin.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "So, uh, how much has Thalia told you about me?"

Percy just laughed, "Don't worry, nothing bad. She just constantly talks about her genius best friend who has, and I quote, 'Honey blonde hair and striking grey eyes.'"

Now it was Thalia's turn to be embarrassed. A blush crept up her face and she turned away.

Annabeth started laughing and Percy continued on, "Yeah, she talks about you all the time and at first it was nice to hear about you, but it quickly became weird."

Now it was Annabeth's turn to blush. Did Percy just compliment her? Did he just say he liked hearing about her? Annabeth just laughed again to cover her blush, "Well, Thalia has always had a slight obsession with me."

"Hey! I just thought it would be great to tell you about my friend, Annabeth!" Thalia argued. "And don't get me started on talking about Annabeth. Every time I mentioned her, you looked like you were in love."

Now it was Percy's turn to blush. A lot of blushing going around, huh?

Percy cleared his throat, "Anyway, I have to go back out and perform. It was nice meeting you, Annabeth."

He smiled at her, a genuine smile, and scurried out of the dressing room. Annabeth was shocked at the sudden change of events. But she strangely felt good. Must've been the water she had, hydration is key, after all.

"Well that was interesting." Thalia said to break the silence.

"Yup." Annabeth replied, popping the 'p'.

"Let's go find Piper and Jason, they're probably wondering where we are."

They walked out of the room. Annabeth heard echoes of Percy Jackson starting up another song for the crowds to enjoy.

"So what did you think of Percy?" Thalia asked.

"He was pretty cool, we didn't talk long enough for me to get to know him, but he seems nice."

"So, what you're saying is that you want some alone time to get to know him?"

"That is nowhere close to what I said. And what's with you? Are you playing matchmaker between me and Percy Jackson?"

"Matchmaker? Of course not. I'm just letting you guys meet, and seeing what happens. If love grows? So be it."

"Yeah and what if it doesn't? What if it withers and dies? Besides, the Percy Jackson wouldn't fall for a 'no one' like me. Do you remember his last girlfriend? The super famous artist/model, Rachel Dare."

"I'll have you know, they were friends since high school, and he had a crush on her since then. And what's the point of not trying when it comes to love? Oh, I'm sorry, when it comes to mild crushes." Thalia retorted, "Also stop using last names, to me it's just Percy and Rachel."

They arrived back at their seats. They saw Jason and Piper, enjoying the music.

"Oh, hey guys. Where have you been?" Jason asked.

"Just getting Annie here, a water." Thalia replied.

Annabeth tried not to be irritated that Thalia called her Annie. "Yup, a water, that's it." Annabeth really didn't want to tell Jason and Piper about whatever it was Thalia was actually doing.

"We were just at the concession stands, but we didn't see you." Piper said.

"Must've missed us." Annabeth said dismissively.

"Uh, yeah. Must've." Jason said.

"So, how are you guys liking the concert?" Thalia asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'm actually really enjoying it! The way Percy sings his lyrics is melodic." Piper said, clearly enjoying the music.

"Yeah, he's really good." Jason said, "And to think I've been hanging out with him since I was three."

"That's great! Glad to know you guys enjoy it." Thalia said. "The concert is almost over, he has a couple more songs after this and that's it."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

When Annabeth got home, she was tired. And sleepy, giddy, exhausted, excited, happy and overwhelmed. She just met Percy Jackson. She just learned he might have a crush on her. She might dream about that moment for the next few days, or weeks.

Of course, she was realistic. What were the chances that someone famous, like him, would go out with a 'no one,' like her. Their meeting was a one time thing, arranged because Thalia was his cousin. Annabeth really should forget her mild crush. But of course, she couldn't. Since, her dreams were filled with sparkling, sea green eyes.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

She awoke to an annoyingly loud alarm. Sure, it was her alarm, and sure, she was the one who made it loud. But it was annoying nonetheless. Annabeth groaned and opened her eyes. She considered leaving the alarm clock to blare whatever annoying sound it was blaring. But she figured her apartment neighbours wouldn't appreciate that. So after a few quick smacks in the alarm clock's general direction, the alarm was no more.

Annabeth really despised her friends right now. If she didn't stay out so late last night, she'd have been able to get more sleep. But no, here she was, groggily waking up, just to get to her measly job at the convenience store. She glanced at her alarm clock again. It displayed the same time still. Nothing's changed, except for Annabeth's attitude. Oh, how a couple minutes can change someone's mood completely. From an ignorant dream to a rude awakening, figuratively and literally. How she yearned for the sea green eyes dream, instead of the nightmare that was waking up in even these hours of the morning. Morning, mourning, there wasn't really a difference that Annabeth could see now. Something's died, most likely her will to live.

It should've been illegal to have to wake up at this hour. No it wasn't 6:30 a.m, or even 5:30 a.m. It was 3:30 a.m, and Annabeth had the graveyard shift.

Lots of questions mulled around Annabeth's mind as she slowly got ready for work. Why was there ever such a thing as a 24/7 convenience store? Why did she decide to work there? Was missing out on precious sleep worth the money? Was it too late to quit? But instead of searching for answers, she searched for her keys. The store was only two blocks away from Annabeth's apartment, but Annabeth was smarter than that. She knew what kind of people lurked in dark alleys in New York. So the best option to avoid them was to drive. But little did she know the weirdest person she'd meet was in the store, not the alley.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The drive? Uneventful. The walk in? Uneventful. The waiting behind the counter at 4:00 a.m? Uneventful. It was all uneventful. Annabeth could've closed early, or slept behind the counter, or threw a party. No one would've noticed, no one would've cared, after all, who goes to a convenience store this late? Or was it this early?

And the more Annabeth thought about sleep, the more tempting it was. With her head in her arms, slouched in the counter, it just made her eyelids easier and easier to close. If only someone would turn off the lights, maybe give her a pillow, a nice warm cup of milk, and if someone would stop that ringing sound.

Ringing?

Annabeth straightened up and blinked away the sleep from her eyes. She scanned the room for the source of the noise and her eyes landed on the door. The bell above it was ringing around, probably because the door was recently opened. She looked around the convenience store again, this time looking for someone that's entered. She saw someone in the back corner, a hood pulled over their head and their hands stuffed in their pockets.

Now Annabeth wasn't one to judge. She usually let people's actions speak for themselves. But she did admit she was nervous. After all, who comes into a convenience store at 4:00 a.m? What if they stole from the store? Or she was held up at gunpoint? Or worse? She didn't want to assume the worse case scenario, but her mind decided to process all options. But as the mysterious figure walked towards the counter, beef jerky in hand, she didn't expect this.

"Annabeth?" The hooded figure pulled his hood up and asked.

Annabeth was confused, "Um, yes?"

The figure lifted his hood and revealed his face. Annabeth scanned it to see who this mysterious figure was. The colour sea green flashed in her field of view, then raven black hair and then Percy.

Percy Jackson.

The one and only. He looked as good as ever. His messy hair, all over the place. His eyes sparkling. He placed the jerky down and leaned on the counter.

"What are you doing here?" He said.

"I'm working." Annabeth replied.

Percy rolled his eyes but still held a smile on his face. "I know that. I meant what are you doing here? At this convenience store. At this time."

Annabeth just sighed, "I don't even know. I usually don't work at this time, but the person who did, quit. So their hours were given to the other employees. And guess who got their graveyard shift."

Percy laughed his beautiful laugh. What? Even in her sleep deprived state, Annabeth could still enjoy the finer things in life. "I'm guessing that would be you?"

Annabeth couldn't help but light up by Percy's constant smile and positive look on life, and even though she was tired and generally unhappy, she found a smile creeping up her lips. "Well what about you? What are you doing at this ungodly hour? With beef jerky too!"

"Well I'll have you know beef jerky is amazing at any time of day. And, it might sound stupid but I like the peace and quiet of New York at night."

"So at 4:00 a.m you go on beef jerky runs every night?"

"Oh gods no." Percy said laughing, "Just on Saturdays."

"Oh, much better."

"Well I wouldn't even be at this convenience store, but the one I usually go to ran out of beef jerky!"

"Not the beef jerky!"

"It's always the beef jerky!"

They both doubled over and were teary eyed from laughing. Percy straightened up and reached for his now bagged beef jerky.

"I should get going." Percy said.

Annabeth tried not to feel disappointed. But her smile instantly left her face.

"I'm glad we got to talk again though," Percy said while backing away, "I wanted to wish you another happy birthday."

Percy was almost at the doors now, ready to leave when he turned back to Annabeth. His signature smirk on his face, "I'll see you next week?"

And with that, he left. Annabeth was really confused now. She had so many questions. What did he mean he'll be back next week? What about his other convenience store? Did he not want their beef jerky? Was Annabeth's convenience store the official beef jerky provider for Percy Jackson? But one thing was utterly clear. He was coming back next week.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Although she had the rest of her week to worry about, Annabeth found herself looking forward to waking up at 3:30 a.m this upcoming Friday night, or was it Saturday morning? She still did excellent on her tests in college, she still hung out with Thalia, she still worked, although it was at a much more preferable hour. Yet she was silently wishing for the weekend to appear faster. She was excited for the change in her schedule. For the unpredictability that followed Percy. And sure, maybe she was just excited to see him.

So on the Friday night leading up to her graveyard shift Annabeth decided to get extra sleep. She went to bed early, that way waking up at the ungodly hour of 3:30 a.m, didn't seem that bad. Spoiler alert. It was indeed that bad. But after a refreshing shower and a few swigs of coffee, Annabeth felt as good as new. She trudged her way over to her car and drove the two blocks to her work.

Annabeth would've loved to say that business was booming. Except it wasn't. The store was empty, the streets were empty, everything was empty. Annabeth's excitement for Percy coming was quickly drowned by her overall depressing job of sitting behind a counter. Again, she almost drifted off to sleep. Except that darn ringing kept her awake.

At 4:00 a.m, right on the dot, Percy Jackson entered the building. Or was it more of a 'rushed' into the building? He slammed through the door, a bag over his shoulder. He raced towards the beef jerky section grabbed two bags and then literally dove behind the counter.

Annabeth looked down at him quizzically but his worried expression immediately made Annabeth concerned. Moments later another person entered the convenience store. She had straight black hair and dark brown eyes. Her clothes were all designer and she seemed out of breath.

She started walking around the small convenience store, searching every aisle and nook and cranny. "Did he come in here? He must've come in here!" The mystery girl yelled at Annabeth while searching.

Annabeth looked down at Percy to see him vigorously shaking his head 'no.'

"I'm sorry but you're the first person who's come in here all night." Annabeth yelled back.

The girl walked up to the counter, "Oh, alright. I'm pretty sure I saw the Percy Jackson! I am his biggest fan! If you see him let me know. My name is Drew, by the way."

"Hi Drew, I'm Annabeth."

Drew looked her over judgmentally and then stormed out of the convenience store, clearly mad she didn't find who she was looking for.

"Alright Percy, you're good."

Percy popped up from behind the counter and released the breath he was holding. "Thank god. She was chasing me for like three blocks."

He placed the beef jerky on the counter and pulled up a chair and sat beside Annabeth. He opened up his bag while munching on beef jerky. Annabeth just stared at him while he did all of this.

"You have to pay for that jerky."

"Yeah, I know." He said, "It must get pretty lonely here." He continued on, dismissing the subject.

"At times, yeah. But I'm starting to like the company."

Percy beamed at her and pulled a laptop out of his bag. "That's good, because I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I stayed for a few hours."

"And what were you planning on doing?"

"Well it is Jerky Night. And on all Jerky Nights, a movie must be watched. So instead of watching it at home, alone, we're watching together, here."

"And if I don't want to watch a movie while I work?"

"Oh come on! It's not like you have any customers to serve. Plus there'll be beef jerky. It's on me."

"I feel like it's on me since you haven't actually paid for those yet."

Percy smirked at her, "Well fine, if you really want to pay for it this time, you can. I'll get next week's."

"Wait a minute, hold on. I did not say I was paying for this."

Percy laughed, "All I heard was 'it's on me.'"

Annabeth sighed, "Unbelievable. The millionaire can't pay for his own jerky."

"Hey! I told you I'll get next week!"

Annabeth snorted and just sat back and started munching on jerky. Percy started playing some comedy movie and took a seat beside her.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Once the movie was over, Percy looked at her, "So what'd you think of Jerky Night?"

Her grey eyes met his sea green. He seemed nervous and a bit agitated. "It was amazing." She sincerely said. His eyes immediately relaxed and a genuine smile lit up his face. She smiled back at him and his smile somehow grew ten times bigger. Sometimes it was hard to think of this fun, loving guy as a world famous pop star.

Percy packed up his laptop and the rest of the jerky. He put a twenty on the counter next to a note he wrote. She looked up at him and he just winked.

"See ya next week." He said as he walked out of the door.

She looked down at the note, and read it.

The money is for the jerky, I am indeed able to pay for my own ;)
The number is for you, in case you wanna talk at a time that isn't 4:00 a.m at a convenience store.

Underneath, scrawled across in his hand writing, was Percy Jackson's phone number. The Percy Jackson, gave her, his phone number. There were so many things she could do right now. She could go up to Drew and wave it in her face, flaunting the number. She could sell it online and make some money so she could afford to leave this crumby job. She could text him. Yeah, texting him seems like the best option, after all, Drew seems like she would kill for that number, and Annabeth didn't want to put herself on a hit list. And surprisingly, her job was slowly becoming a lot better.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Hey, Thals." Annabeth said, her voice seemingly fused with happiness.

"Hey, Annie." Thalia smirked.

Annabeth tried not to let her eye twitch, she really didn't like the name Annie. Her name was Annabeth, not Annie. Thalia took her seat next to Annabeth in their English class.

"So, I heard you and my cousin went on a date Friday night." Thalia said.

"Actually, it was Saturday morning. And it wasn't a date. It was Jerky Night."

"Jerky Night?"

"Yup."

"Alright then."

"Besides, it's not like he would want to go on a date with me, right?" Annabeth asked.

"Well," Thalia started, "Let's just say he isn't walking four miles out of the way for just the jerky."

What did Thalia mean by that? Is she just pulling some sort of cruel joke with Annabeth's love life? Or did she actually mean it? Did Percy actually have a crush on her? "Are you saying that Percy has a crush on me?" Annabeth tried not to sound too excited.

Thalia just smirked at her, "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying he enjoys these 'Jerky Nights,' a lot more now."

Whether Annabeth was really bad at reading Thalia's messages, or maybe her brain was being blocked by all these thoughts of Percy, she didn't know. She just wasn't able to think straight. Annabeth just leaned down on her desk and groaned, letting the rest of English class, and the rest of the week, flow by.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Little did she know, one fateful Thursday evening, everything would change. She and Percy had talked, a lot. And texted, a lot. And Percy quickly climbed Annabeth's friend ladder. He was closer to her than most of her friends, even rivaling Thalia at some points. He was just so easy to talk to. He made her laugh, he helped her when she was sad. She's helped him when he was sad. He's made her happy.

There were so many things she liked about Percy, from his gorgeous eyes, to his messy hair, but there were things she liked about him that weren't just on the outside. His compassion for others, always trying to help when he can. His loyalty to his friends, how he'll always help and protect a friend. And last but not least, his overall good mood that can always make you smile even on rough days. That was a side of Percy that not everyone was able to experience, and she was very thankful for that.

So maybe Annabeth's mild crush had quickly grown into something more. She didn't know for sure what it is yet, but she definitely knew she wanted to spend more time with him.

She decided to give Percy a call, to ask him if he wanted to go out for dinner, like they sometimes do. After a few rings, he picks up. "Hey Annabeth. What's up?" A muffled noise and a loud crash come from the other end.

"Uh, not much. I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner or something, but if you're busy it's fine."

"I would but I'm at my Mom's and I'm making cookies with her. Actually, if you want, you can come over and we can have some of them."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't wanna intrude or anything."

"Nonsense, my mom would love to meet you and I've wanted you to meet my mom for a bit now. She's the most amazing person ever."

Annabeth thought for a moment, did she want to meet Percy's mom? Was she reading too much into this? She made up her mind. "I'd love to meet your mom, and cookies sound amazing, text me the address and I'll see you soon."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

She knocked on the door of the quaint apartment. She heard some yelling from the other side and Percy opened it up. He had flour streaked across his knows and he was licking a spatula. "Hey Annabeth." He grinned. "This is my Mom, Sally." He gestured to a woman mixing cookie dough in bowl. Sally turned around and faced Annabeth.

She had light brown hair and blue eyes. Nothing like Percy's raven black hair or sea green eyes. But they did have the same smile and crinkles around the eyes when they smiled.

Sally's apartment was smaller than expected, since her son was a millionaire. But it seemed better that way. From the pictures sprawled across the shelves to the cozy size of the living room. Their house may be small, but it seemed like an actual home. Sally smiled lovingly at Annabeth and went to give her a hug. Annabeth didn't expect that, but she returned it nonetheless.

"You must be Annabeth. It's so nice to meet you. Percy has told me so much about you." Annabeth raised her eyebrows at Percy in a questioning manner, but he just looked away, a blush creeping up his neck.

"Mom!" He managed to say.

"Oh, I'm just teasing." She winked at Annabeth and the look in her eye made it seem like she wasn't teasing.

"It's so nice to meet you Mrs. Jackson." Annabeth truthfully said, Mrs. Jackson seemed like a wonderful person.

"Oh, please. Call me Sally."

"Alright, Sally."

Sally just smiled again at Annabeth. "You guys can go off, I'm almost done here, I just need to put them in the oven."

Percy grabbed her hand and dragged her off to his room. She's managed to get the electric feeling she gets from being in physical contact with Percy under control since the last time. Percy opened the door to his room and stepped in, pulling Annabeth with him. Her first reaction, blue.

Blue walls, blue sheets, blue clock, blue bed. Everything that can possibly be blue, is blue. "I take it you like blue."

Percy took a seat on his bed and gave her a small smile. He gestured for her to sit beside him. "Well yeah, this was back when I was a kid. I still love blue, but I've managed to branch out and add different colours to the rooms back at my place."

Annabeth sat down beside him, "Your mom seems amazing."

Percy's eyes filled with mirth and he gleefully smiled at nothing in particular. "Yeah, she's the best. Always so caring and patient. I mean she was able to put up with me for so many years." Annabeth laughed at that.

"I'd give anything for a Mom like that." Annabeth said wistfully.

Percy looked at her with concern, "Is your mom not like that?"

"I wouldn't know, she left when I was young. I've never had a mother-figure in my life except for Thalia."

"I know what it's like," Annabeth looked at him, confused, "My dad died at birth. My mom says his ship sunk. He was a Navy Captain, no survivors were found."

Annabeth grabbed his hand, trying to comfort him. The look in Percy's eyes was so wistful, full of sorrow and sadness. She would give anything to make him happy. He looked at her and gave her a small, sad smile. She didn't say the usual 'I'm sorry' simply because it wasn't what she would've wanted to hear. Sometime she knew it was better to move on than to apologize for things you can't do anything about.

"Percy!" Sally yelled from across the apartment, "I'm going out for a bit, the cookies should be ready in 30 minutes."

Percy ran up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Alright, Mom."

"You two behave." Sally said looking at Percy and her, then she walked out the door and closed it.

Percy turned to her, "You wanna watch a movie?"

Finding Nemo. That's what they were watching. Percy says it's because all the movies here are from when he was a kid, but Annabeth's pretty sure he always carries a copy of it with him at all times. Just as the movie started, the oven timer buzzed. They got up to go get the cookies, when something happened. All of the cookies were blue.

"I know you like the colour blue, but the cookies too?"

"Hey! Everything tastes better blue."

"So when did you start this 'all food must be blue' tradition."

"It was when my stepfather, Gabe, was around. He was a terrible person, practically evil, nicknamed him Smelly Gabe, blah, blah, blah. He said that it was impossible for food to naturally be blue, and for some reason my mom went out of her way to cook only blue food for the rest of the week. After that, it became a tradition."

"Wow." Annabeth said, slightly in shock, "Do they actually taste better blue?"

"Why don't you find out?" Percy took a bite from his cookie as he said that. He immediately dropped the cookie and started screaming.

"Percy what's wrong?" Annabeth rushed to his side and grabbed his arm.

"Those are extremely hot." He said, after managing to catch his breath and down a glass of water.

"No wonder Thalia calls you a Kelp Head. You're addicted to the water and there's not much going on up there." She gestured with her arm in the general direction of his head.

"Hey!" Percy put his hand over his heart in a fake mock, "I am not addicted to the water."

"We are literally watching Finding Nemo, right now." Percy blushed a deep red, "You're such a Seaweed Brain." Annabeth playfully pushed his arm. "Are you okay though?"

Percy smiled at her, "Yeah? Well you're a Wise Girl, since you're such a know-it-all. And yeah, I'm fine."

"Wise Girl? That's the best you can come up with? That's practically a compliment."

"Oh, that's it." Percy lunged at her and threw her over his shoulder, his arm gripping her so she wouldn't fall. His other arm reached for the plate of cookies and he somehow managed to balance both the cookies and Annabeth on his way back to the living room.

"Percy! Put me down, now!" Annabeth screamed and pounded his back with her fists. She was laughing so hard she almost slipped out.

Percy finally put her down on the couch and sat beside her. He put the cookies on the coffee table and sat beside Annabeth.

And that's when she made up her mind.

She was in love with Percy Jackson. No more mild crush, no more 'like.' She was full-blown in love with Percy Jackson. She smiled at the sudden realization.

"What are you smiling about?" Percy asked, his eyes were studying her face.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just really glad you invited me here today."

He smiled and looked forward again, an irritated look flashed across his face. This time it was Annabeth's turn to ask, "Are you okay?"

"Not really."

"What's wrong."

Percy took a deep breath. He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes. "Nothing's wrong. In fact, everything is perfect, when I'm with you. You make me so happy and I enjoy spending time with you. I actually look forward to waking up at like 3:00 a.m so I can go to your convenience for Jerky Night. I'm sorry if I'm springing this all on you, but this is how I feel, and I needed you to know. I think I'm in love with you Annabeth. "

Annabeth took a deep breath, everything she wanted and more was happening right now. If anything it was almost too convenient. Percy Jackson was confessing his love for her. Sure it was during the opening scenes of Finding Nemo, but it was still romantic. The way his face scrunched when it was nervous, how his hand was slightly shaking. How he had a mix of anxiety and determination. Annabeth considered typing up an eight page essay on Her Love for Percy Jackson, but instead she surged forward and kissed him. He was shocked at first but after a few seconds, kissed her back with as much enthusiasm. The way their lips moved perfectly with each other, never going too far as to ruin it, but also delving into new areas to explore. Her hands moved up and tangled themselves in his hair. His hand went to her waist and pulled them closer, deepening the kiss. It was definitely one of the best things that's happened to Annabeth.

After they resurfaced for air, they just looked at each other. Percy's eyes filled with mirth and a small smile spreading across his face. Annabeth eyes gleamed with adoration, she already had a full blown grin.

She looked at him and grabbed his hands. "I think I'm in love with you, too."

Thank whatever gods there were for Jerky Night.