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Annabeth felt a groan escape her lips as she checked the time. Her date was in thirty minutes and she was still trying to wrestle her hair into a bun.
Piper is going to kill me, she thought miserably as she once again tried to pin her riotous curls. She could still remember the conversation that led to this dreadful situation.
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It was a week ago that Piper had approached her. She could tell that something was off, Piper was acting much more nervous than usual.
“Ok, something’s up. What’s wrong Pipes?” she asked.
“Nothing!” she responded quickly. But Annabeth knew better, she could see it in her eyes.
“Come on Piper, we’ve known each other since Kindergarten. Tell me!”
“Fine, you know that guy I’ve been dating?” Piper said.
Annabeth raised her eyebrow, “Jason, what about him?”
“He has a friend. His name is Percy, he’s 23 too, and he’s single.”
“So?” Annabeth asked as a nervous feeling in her gut emerged. She knew where this was going.
Piper chuckled anxiously, “Well… I’ve met him and he seems nice. I think you two would really hit it off!”
Annabeth felt heat rising in her cheeks as she turned herself away, “No.”
“Come on, I can show you a picture!”
“No Piper.”
“Please Annabeth,” she pleaded, “it’s been more than a year since Luke! I know he really hurt you, but you have to move on sometime! Just one date and if you’re not interested then you never have to see him again.”
Annabeth stopped dead at the mention of her ex. Thirteen months ago he tried to kiss Piper and after confronting him Annabeth discovered he had been cheating on her for their entire relationship. She dumped him immediately and hadn’t been on a date since.
Annabeth sighed, “Ok, if it really means that much to you then I’ll go on one date with him. But just one.”
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As the memories faded away she shook herself back to reality. With one last look in the mirror (and a feeling of gratefulness that she had the foresight to do her makeup beforehand) she left her apartment and made her way to their meeting place.
Soon enough Annabeth was facing the restaurant, Aphrodite’s Mesopotamian Grill.
Here goes nothing… she thought as she took a deep breath and took the first step in. As Annabeth expected, the second she walked in she saw a lovely woman with bright blond hair beaming at her.
“Hi Mrs. McLean, how’s the restaurant doing?” Annabeth asked, not liking the glint in the eyes of her friend's mother.
“Annabeth dear, you’re my daughter’s best friend. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, please call me Aphrodite. But we’re not here to talk about that, now are we? Piper says you’re here on a date.”
“Yeah…” Annabeth mumbled as she felt herself turning red.
“Don’t be shy sweetheart,” Aphrodite said with a smirk, “tell me all about the lucky guy!”
Annabeth could feel her cheeks brighten even more, this was what she was afraid of. After a silent curse to Piper for picking her mother’s restaurant and following said mother to a table she was finally seated.
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Crap, he’ll be here any minute, Annabeth thought with her heart nearly beating out of her chest as she checked the clock. As her heart raced, so did her mind. What if she embarrassed herself? What if he was just like Luke? What if, worst of all, she liked him and he ended up breaking her heart?
Suddenly, she heard an unfamiliar voice, slipping her out of her thoughts. As her eyes focused on the person before her, recognition hit her like a truck. With those sea-green eyes, windswept raven hair, and a crooked troublemaker smile she had only ever seen in pictures up until now it could be no one else.
“Hi, are you Annabeth?” He asked with a slight tremble In his voice that told Annabeth he was just as nervous as she was. With this thought comforting her she managed to croak out a reply.
“Yes, I am. I take it that you’re Percy?”
“Yeah,” he replied, flashing her an uncertain smile as he took a seat. After a couple minutes of awkward silence, Percy decided to break the ice. “So, Jason tells me that you’re an architect major. How is that?”
Immediately Annabeth felt a smile cross her face. It was common knowledge among those close to her that with the slightest mention of architecture came the possibility of her slipping into rants that could last for hours.
“It’s amazing! At the end of the year, we have this project where we choose a famous building to completely redesign and we show the models to the heads of the Schuyler Corporation. The winner gets an internship, the chance to design a building with them, and maybe even a job! Right now I’m starting to think about which building I want to- Hey… what’s with that look?”
Annabeth’s words died in her throat as she gave Percy a curious stare. It seemed like he was in some sort of trance, his eyes holding an emotion that she couldn’t recognize. As soon as she registered It though, it was gone and a soft blush had crept into his cheeks.
“What do you mean?” he asked as he avoided her eyes.
“Never mind,” she said as a sense of foolishness filled her.
“Please don’t stop talking on my account,” he replied, possibly picking up on her discomfort,” I can see you really like it and it’s nice that you have something you’re passionate about.”
“No, I think I’ve talked enough about myself. Piper tells me that you’re studying Marine biology, do you like that?”
Immediately she got her answer when his face lit up like a Christmas tree. As his eyes brightened she couldn’t help but feel a strange flutter in her chest, but pushed it down as he started talking.
“I love It, I’ve always been interested in anything that has to do with the sea but it wasn’t until high school that I realized how much I like animals too. Sometimes I can’t even believe I’m still in uni, I honestly never thought I’d graduate.”
This piked her Interest, “What do you mean?”
Suddenly his smile faltered and he looked down, not meeting her eyes, “I’m not exactly what you would call a ‘model student’. I could never remember the facts they gave me. I could never sit still. I could never pay attention. No matter how much everyone wanted, how much better it would be, I could never just be ‘normal’.”
Annabeth couldn’t help but wince. This was an all too familiar story for her. With her ADHD and Dyslexia she had to work twice as hard to do even half the work. “They labeled you a troubled kid without so much as a second glance, huh?”
He gave her a look of disbelief before a small smile slipped on his face again, “Yeah, they did. Were you a ‘problem child’ too?”
“Me? Never!” She said with a teasing smirk, “You are looking at one of the most ‘brilliant but difficult’ children in the Bay Area.”
“Difficult you say. How many schools have had the honor of expelling Annabeth Chase?”
“Five, what about you?” she said, looking him straight in the eyes and trying to gauge his reaction.
“Well I guess that puts me ahead, I’ve got six. So what did little miss wise girl do to get five expulsions under her belt?”
Annabeth felt a sigh escape her as she let the memories rush in. “I could never seem to stay out of trouble. It felt like no one thought I would ever be anything and it frustrated me. I would get into fights constantly. No one really believed in me. I wanted to prove them wrong so bad but they kicked me out before I even got a chance. What about you Mr troubled kid?”
“About the same I guess, except trouble always seemed to find me. You know one time I blew up a school bus?”
“Wait, what?”
“Yup! We were visiting an old battlefield and I got too close to a cannon. You would think after all that time it wouldn’t work, but the hole I left In the bus proved otherwise.”
She couldn’t help the snigger that escaped as she imagined the scene in her head. Maybe this date wouldn’t be so bad after all…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Wait-wait- let me get this straight. You ran away when you were seven.”
“Yup.”
“Found and were basically adopted by two other runaways.”
“Yup.”
“Managing to survive off pretty much nothing.
“Yup.”
“All while running around the country undetected for a year?”
“That about covers it.” She agreed.
“Wow, and I thought my mom marrying my teacher made my life weird.” He said in astonishment.
“It does, but mine’s just weirder.” She shot back with a grin. After dinner had ended (blissfully free from any embarrassing interjections from Aphrodite, Annabeth noted) they had decided to walk around a park that was across the street. She would never admit it out loud, but with every minute that passed and every secret that they shared, she grew a bit more grateful to Piper for pushing her into the deep end. She also had to admit that something about those sea-green eyes made her heart flutter.
The sun had finished its journey Into the horizon and the sky was a hazy obsidian. It felt so natural being here with him, but she felt something nagging at her mind. It’s getting pretty dark, she thought as she looked up, then a feeling of dread hit her.
“Wait, what time is it?” She asked nervously as she tried to look for her phone.
“It’s like 10, why?” He asked. Her stomach sank even more.
“Crap, I’ve got to get home, I got a math presentation tomorrow and I’ve got to be on campus by 8.”
“Yikes, that’s rough buddy.” Annabeth rolled her eyes as a small smile crossed her face. “In all seriousness though,” he continued, “I had a great time.”
“I did too,” she said slowly as she took a deep breath. “Would you like to go out again sometime?”
“Yeah, can I give you my number and maybe we can text tomorrow if you're ok with that?”
“That works for me.” She said, feeling a slight blush creep into her cheeks as they walked back to their cars. When the time finally came to say goodbye, she couldn’t help but be filled with one thought:
Maybe this time is going to be different.