Chapter 1: Interdisciplinary

It had rained every Tuesday this semester. Normally he wouldn't have minded, but Percy Jackson had a half-mile between classes on Tuesdays, and even the best swimmers got tired of being wet. Why his bio lab had to be so damn far from his Greek class, he couldn't fathom. He supposed he could just take the bus. Being on a large campus had its perks, but he had vowed during his freshman year never to use the free transportation unless he was gravely injured. So, rain, sleet, or snow, Percy could be found walking to class.

The cloying smell of formaldehyde greeted Percy like a mortician as he reached his destination and opened the door. The ventilation system in this building was probably hazardous, but since the school had just spent a crazy amount of money on the new design building, engineering center, and business school expansion, a small project to fix it was just wishful thinking. Those projects were pretty amazing though, Percy thought. His school wouldn't be ranked the ugliest college campus next year, for sure.

Percy took his usual seat next to his friend Grover, who he had known since middle school. Grover wanted to "save the natural world from the violent destructive forces of capitalism," so he took many of the same courses as Percy, who hoped to be a marine biologist. Their interests had been shaped by their friendship, and they could often be found together at environmental rallies and protests, among the most vocal participants. They even had their own shirts made specially for those events. Grover's said "save the motherfuckin' bees" and Percy's said "save the motherfuckin' whales." Percy's ex-girlfriend Rachel had done the artwork below the words.

Today's lab work was another dissection, which Grover found offensive and despicable, and which Percy found engaging and interesting, though he didn't voice these opinions to his friend. The recent lecture portion of the class had focused on a new concept called fluid-structure interaction, the idea that biological and man-made structures interact in predictable ways with internal and external forces to reduce strain and generate thrust. It was making its way into mainstream science (was that a pun?) and specifically interested Percy since he studied the interaction between forces in marine ecosystems. The simple act of swimming was in fact an example of this concept.

A lot of people thought that Percy was unintelligent, since he received accommodations in classes for his learning disabilities. The opposite would be more accurate. Percy Jackson was a genius, if you looked past IQ scores and homework grades. He lived and breathed water. Some said he did so literally, looking at his record-breaking swimming career. He could tell you more about the intellect of octopuses than he could about that of humans. Personally, he thought octopuses might have the edge in any real battle of wits. More importantly, he could make other people understand the importance of marine ecology in their own lives and stir passions in the most stoic audiences. He had a gift, really, even if he himself didn't know it.

An hour and a half later, Percy and Grover disposed of the separated fish bits and left to find fresh air.

"Hey, Percy!"

Percy turned just in time to be knocked on his ass by his ex-girlfriend and current friend. Some people would have found their relationship strange, or thought the friendship to be a cover for something less innocent, but Percy didn't care. Rachel had been a good friend before the dating disaster, and would be a good friend after too.

"Hey, Red."

"Guess what today is!"

"Umm... Tuesday?"

"No, you idiot... well, yes technically, but that's not the point. Today is Senior Success."

Percy groaned. He had forgotten about that entirely. Rachel was a member of the student government and she was putting on some sort of networking event just for current seniors to meet their peers from other majors. She claimed it fostered "interdisciplinary cooperation," whatever that meant. Since Rachel's father was the largest single donor to the university, it was never really a question of whether she would get her way. Most professors had been cajoled into requiring attendance, which was sure to set the student enthusiasm level at zero, maximum. The only person who seemed at all excited was Rachel herself, and she was happily ignoring the irritation surrounding her.

"Oh, yay."

Rachel rolled her eyes, very aware of Percy's thoughts on the matter. She grinned impishly.

"It's business attire, so if you show up in sweats and ruin this for me I swear to the gods I'll kill you, okay hun?" Her false cheer sent shivers down Percy's spine. He was not a fan of that voice, and he knew Rachel was serious enough not to risk arguing. He might not end up dead, but an angry Red was not a pleasant experience.

"Sure thing. I'll dig out my best."

"Good. And take a shower Percy, you smell like death."

Rachel Elizabeth Dare waved goodbye, off to track down her next victim.

Grover muttered under his breath, having been completely ignored.

"You know, she might talk to you again if you apologize for calling her father an environmental terrorist."

Grover scoffed.

"Just a thought."

The new design building was nice, she had decided, but the constant rain during her Tuesday afternoon classes prevented her from enjoying the abundant natural light that made the building truly impressive. Annabeth Chase was still unused to the cold rain of New England, having grown up in California with her father, step-mother, and two half-brothers. She hadn't realized the truth behind the phrase "chilled to the bone" until she transferred here. Her friend Connor hadn't mentioned the biting wind and sub-zero temperatures in his letters raving about the architecture program here. She should have known better. Still, the professors were helpful and Connor was her TA, so she was happy with her choice of school. Her friends back home joked that she only moved east to be two thousand miles closer to Greece. They weren't exactly wrong, since she was making plans to go after graduation, still almost seven months away.

Greece had been her muse for as long as she could remember. Fredrick Chase, Annabeth's father, was a Combat History professor at UC Berkley. When Annabeth was young, he often would say that her mother had been as beautiful and smart as Athena herself, and that one day Annabeth would build something to rival the greatest temples of Athens. Those little moments they shared fell away when her father's favorite former student, Elizabeth, became a regular guest in their home after graduating, and a regular guest in his bed not long after. Annabeth was ten at the time. Even without her father's assurances, Annabeth still felt drawn to Greece, to its culture, its history, and most of all its architecture. Almost every single one of her designs incorporated columns or richly decorated pediments.

Unfortunately, not every project allowed for her typical hellenistic input. Today, for example, was another round of engineering theory, aimed at improving students' grasp of an intrinsically linked field of study. They would be incorporating moving parts to their models, based on the Fluid-Structure Interaction theory. Examples of this theory in action included the seismic-dampening properties of traditional Japanese structures using the "ishibadate" system of supports instead of fixed posts. While Annabeth found it interesting, she has no idea how she was going to create a new design based on these new principles. She would just have to come up with something, in the end. Architecture was her passion and her gift, even if she didn't know it.

"Hey, Annie."

Annabeth's eye twitched at the sound of her newest friend's voice, and more specifically at the name she hated. She had met Rachel Dare early this year, after attending a career event sponsored by her father's real estate business. Well, more like real estate empire, really. Dare Enterprises owned and operated a private architecture firm which designed only the biggest and most important projects. The building she currently occupied was one such project. Yet another gift to the university. It was Annabeth's dream job to work in such a high profile company. The pay would be nice too. She put down her pencil and turned to face the redheaded interloper.

"Hey, Rachel."

"Are you ready for tonight? I've been asking everyone I know to stop myself from freaking out."

"You do realize most of us have no choice, right?"

"Doesn't stop me from worrying. I just want this to go well. I want to prove that I can be successful on my own."

Annabeth's gaze softened. One of the things she had in common with Rachel was a thirst to prove herself to her father. Annabeth was working to earn her father's praises again, but Rachel was still waiting to be noticed.

"I'm sure it will be brilliant. Let's just hope the business majors can keep their egos in their pants."

"Don't count on it. I'm sure you'll meet at least one interesting person though. I'll introduce you to a friend of mine who promised to be there. Then you can at least be miserable together while I mingle."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "How kind of you."

"I do try. Now get out of here and get dressed. You look like a bum."

Annabeth just grinned at her friend as Rachel waved a goodbye.

Rachel left with a grin of her own, her thoughts on the one connection this networking event was really meant to make. Sometimes subtlety was overrated.

"I'm glad you made it."

"I recall being threatened with death if I didn't"

"Oh gods, that's awful. Who would do such a thing?" Rachel asked innocently. She started looking around.

"Looking for someone?"

"Two someones actually. Where's your... friend?"

"Grover is protesting. I convinced him to at least protest silently, at the apartment."

"Thanks for that, I guess."

Percy shrugged. "Who is the second someone?"

"A girl named Annabeth. She's a transfer student from Cali."

"She transferred her senior year?" Percy asked, one eyebrow quirked in surprise.

"Yeah. She says she heard about the architecture program from a friend."

"Huh." Percy was from out of state too, but California was a lot further than New York.

"There she is!" Rachel waved to get her friend's attention.

Percy followed her gaze... and took a sharp breath in. This Annabeth girl was beautiful. Who knew a pantsuit could look so good? Rachel was watching his face, and grinned like a cat that caught the canary. It was a little bittersweet. She remembered when he looked at her like that, but they really were better as friends than lovers. She hoped her two friends could be good at both.

"Hey, Annabeth."

"Hey yourself. This is amazing, Rachel." It was no idle compliment. The event was being held at the football field to accommodate the large number of students, and quite frankly there had never been this many people present for an actual game. Football in New England didn't matter unless you were the Patriots. Right now the stadium was lit by yellow string lights rather than the harsh stadium lights, giving the whole field a soft glow. The turf itself was covered in interlocking vinyl planks painted to look like hardwood.

"Thanks, Annie." Percy noted her grimace. "Have you met my friend Percy?"

Annabeth looked up to meet his gaze, eyes widening for a moment before she looked back to a smirking Rachel. "I'm afraid not."

"Well now you have. Percy, take good care of her for me, will you? Converse, socialize. I'll be back later."

Rachel left them facing each other awkwardly as she made a beeline for he far side of the stadium.

"So... Red tells me you're an architect."

"Red? You mean Rachel-"

"Elizabeth Dare, yeah. It's her nickname from way back when. 'Cause it comes from her initials and also because she has... red hair," he finished, trailing off in embarrassment.

"You two must be close then."

"We are. She's one of my best friends."

Annabeth sensed there was more to the story, but since she had only just met Percy, she let it slide.

"That's great then. She's been great to me since I transferred. Really the only one our age who I talk to. I hardly ever leave the studio."

"Probably why she organized this event then. I had wondered."

"What do you mean?"

"Red never does anything halfway. If she wanted a new friend to meet people, it's exactly like her to get the entire class involved."

"So all this is for... me?" Annabeth found the idea absurd. She wasn't even that close to Rachel, and certainly not worth the hassle that must have gone into planning this whole event.

Percy's eyes locked on her own, and she felt his stare like a physical force. The sea green eyes cashing into her like the waves. He took a step forward.

"She does a lot for her friends, but this is big even for her, I admit." He paused and added softly, "you must be worth it." His eyes never left Annabeth's and she felt her face warm dramatically at the sincerity in his voice. She took a step forward.

Percy looked away slowly, a blush growing on his own face as he noticed the shrinking space between them for the first time. The networking night had only just begun, but the desired connection had already been made.

AN: Well here we go. My muse disappeared for my other stories, so I'm looking for her in the Percy Jackson Fandom. Sometimes a change is what it takes to get the creative juices pumping. I debated writing this entire story before publishing, but decided against it. This will grow into something more, I hope, and give me another outlet for when my other stories slow down. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.

Cheers,

DamWaters