Chapter Text
Annabeth Chase woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring, the shrill beeping cutting through her dreams like a knife. She groaned, rolling over and blindly smacking at her phone until the noise finally ceased. The early morning light filtered through the blinds, casting golden stripes across her bed. She sighed, already knowing what kind of day it was going to be. Boring. Predictable. Another Friday filled with lectures and caffeine-fueled study sessions.
She forced herself out of bed, and after taking 10 minutes to get ready and tying her mass of golden curls back into a messy bun, she shuffled into the tiny kitchen of her shared apartment. The apartment was admittedly very small, with barely enough room to hold both Annabeth and Pipers’ room, a small kitchen and a living space which doubled as the girls’ office space (courtesy of the small wooden desk shoved in the corner), but this apartment was home for the both of them.
They had met at a boarding school somewhere in California. Piper’s father was an A-list Hollywood actor with way too much money and way too little time. Annabeth’s father was a historical fiction author with way too much money and way too little time. It was a match made in heaven.
With their combined pity money, the girls had a nearly infinite cash flow, and could definitely splash out on an upgraded pad, but neither really wanted to. Annabeth had never figured out hers and Piper’s reasons for staying in the tiny flat. Maybe it was sentimental, maybe it was the worry that one day the river of money from their parents would cease, and that they wouldn’t be able to sustain a luxurious flat with only their measly Jackson’s Bakery income. But even so, the small apartment was fine, and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
The rich aroma of the coffee she had made filled the space, helping to clear the last remnants of sleep from her mind. Piper had already left for an early shift at Jackson’s, meaning Annabeth had the place to herself. She wrapped her hands around her mug, staring out the window at the bustling street below, her thoughts drifting back to last night.
Meeting Percy had been...unexpected. She still cringed at the memory of launching a croissant at him, but he had surprisingly taken it in stride. He had been easy to talk to, and didn’t overly try very hard to impress her. Most men were afraid of her, and her headstrong attitude, but Percy? Percy did back down at all and at some points matched her energy. It was an alien feeling, but one she strangely enjoyed.
Still, she shook off the thoughts and focused on the day ahead. He said he was only covering for Chris that night, so she was sure she would never see Percy again. Annabeth needed to focus on her studies, not handsome men with messy dark hair, startling eyes greener than the waters of the Caribbean, and smirks that would make any woman swoon. She had a three-hour lecture on structural engineering principles that morning. It was going to be mind-numbingly dull since she’d already studied and aced the material last semester, and probably knew more than the actual lecturer.
An hour later, Annabeth was seated in the lecture hall, her notebook open but untouched. The professor droned on about load distribution and tensile strength, his voice blending into the monotonous hum of students typing on laptops and flipping through thick textbooks. The fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead, adding to the background white noise of the lecture. Annabeth rested her chin on her palm, fighting to keep her eyes open.
Her mind drifted. What was Percy doing right now? Did he have classes? A job? He had seemed comfortable at the bakery, but something about him felt...out of place. He was only covering for Chris, but did he also work shifts at Jackson’s? Why has she never seen him before? Should she work different shifts in the hope of seeing him again?
She shook her head, scolding herself and dragging her out of her Percy-induced trance. Why was she even thinking about him? He was just some guy she met once. Yes he was ridiculously good looking, funny, smart, and witty — but it was a one time thing, definitely not worth the brain space she was giving him.
“Alright, klass, ve vill now look at bazic column zupport.” Her very-German professor announced. Annabeth barely held back a groan. She almost double checked if this was actually the Advanced Architecture class instead of Beginner Architecture, because come on? Basic column support? That is way too easy, like ‘Basic’ is literally in the name.
He continued writing stuff on the board, and she continued zoning out, thinking about her future trip across the USA that she will do once she finishes university. She had planned it when she started uni as a trip with Piper. A tour of the USA, with stops based on both their interests. Annabeth wanted to visit all the monuments: The Gateway Arch, Hoover Dam, Mount Rushmore. Piper wanted to visit one place: Las Vegas, with her one reason being “fuck it in the casinos”. Annabeth slowly zoned back into the lecture, to make sure she didn’t actually miss anything, and she frowned. Wait. That was wrong. He was explaining the topic completely incorrectly — any building designed using his method would collapse in a stiff breeze.
Sighing, she tapped her pen against her notebook and, after a moment of hesitation, pulled out her phone under the desk to text Piper.
Piper
Annabeth: This class is putting me to sleep.
Piper: And this is surprising how? At this point I could probably teach that class just from listening to you.
Annabeth: Maybe you should. The professor just got basic column support wrong.
Piper: You should correct him. Call him out in front of everyone.
Annabeth: I value my life, thanks.
Piper: Coward.
Annabeth smirked, pocketing her phone before she got caught. She tried to refocus, but the words on the screen blurred together, and her mind drifted off to a land far away. The lecturer had now moved on to the importance of structural flexibility, and by the distinct silence in the class, spare one girl at the front who was asking the most ridiculous questions, no one was really listening to him.
By the time the lecture ended, she all but bolted out the door. The air outside was crisp, carrying the scent of fallen leaves and fresh rain, a reminder that autumn was giving way to winter. The towering campus buildings cast long shadows across the pavement, students weaving through them as they hurried to their next classes. Annabeth’s only class for that day was Architecture, so she adjusted the strap of her bag and started jogging home, letting the cool air clear her head. She popped in her headphones, hoping music would help relax her before she returned to the stressful real world. She wasn’t really listening to each verse, but the chorus caught her attention.
And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storms
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
That's what the promise is for
She frowned. That voice... It sounded familiar. She glanced down at her phone, checking the song title.
Dancing in the Minefields — Perseus Jackson.
Her eyebrows shot up. The same artist as last night. The song titles on the album all had millions of views each, and by the looks of things only came out recently — Riptide, Pompeii, Budapest. She spotted Castle On A Hill, the song she had been singing last night at the bakery, and now Dancing In The Minefields.
Was it a sign? She shook her head, but, now intrigued, continued to read the lyrics to the song.
Then she ran into someone—literally.
She stumbled back, yanking her headphones out. “I am so sorry—” She froze when she saw who she had crashed into.
Percy.
He was dressed casually in a hoodie reading ‘Son Of A Beach’ and some scraped up jeans, looking just as annoyingly charming as he had last night. There was something different about seeing him in the daylight, though. Less flour-covered, for one. His dark hair was windswept, and his green eyes were bright with something she couldn't quite place. He had his signature smirk from the bakery on his face, annoyingly making him look even more handsome.
“You again,” she said, crossing her arms.
Percy smirked. “Yep. You really should watch where you’re running, Princess.”
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “Do not call me Princess. And if I remember correctly, you didn’t move out of the way either.”
He laughed. “Yeah, okay, you got me. I was on my phone too.”
She tilted her head, amused. “So you just... happen to be here?”
“Well, yeah. I was dropping some lunch off to one of my friends, Will.” Then, his demeanour shifted. He rocked back on his heels, then cleared his throat. He looked… nervous? “Actually, while I have you here, I, uh, wanted to ask you something.”
Annabeth crossed her arms. “Go on then.”
“There’s a new club downtown opening tomorrow night,” Percy said, rubbing his hands together as if working up the nerve. “It’s a private event. Thought you might wanna come?”
Annabeth blinked. That was unexpected. “You want me to come to a club opening?”
“I mean, only if you want to!” Percy added quickly. “No pressure. Just thought it’d be fun. Piper can come too, if that helps. It’s one of my friends clubs and it is opening and I feel like we got off on the wrong foot yesterday and I want to make it ri-”
She watched him ramble, trying to figure out why he seemed so awkward. Most guys who invited her to things did so with way too much confidence. Percy, on the other hand, looked like he half-expected her to say no.
She stopped him mid sentence, shrugged and said, “Yeah, alright. Could be fun.”
Percy visibly relaxed. “Cool. Uh, can I get your number?”
Annabeth raised an eyebrow, watching as his eyes widened slightly. “To send the details!” he added quickly, his face reddening slightly.
She smirked but handed him her phone. He typed in his number quickly and shot her a text.
“Alright,” he said, letting out a relieved sigh and stuffing his phone back in his pocket. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“Yeah,” Annabeth said, watching as he walked off. She smiled, and she had to admit, watching him look flustered and lost for words was slightly refreshing after seeing him ooze confidence in the bakery. She liked that he was slightly dorky. She shook her head, still smiling, and turned to continue her run home.
The jog back to the apartment was actually peaceful. Annabeth listened to the Memories album, making sure to look up instead of at her phone, assuming any other people she crashed into would just be plain angry, rather than invite her to a club.
When she reached the building where her apartment lay, she took the elevator up and put her key in the door. It took a few attempts to push the door open, it had been stiff since the day they moved in, and walked inside.
Piper was sprawled across the couch, half-eaten takeout beside her. The scent of soy sauce and noodles filled the small space, mixing with the faint aroma of coffee. Piper glanced up, raising an eyebrow.
“Hey Annie, you look like you’ve got something to say.”
Annabeth tossed her bag onto the chair. “I kinda ran into Percy again. He invited us to a club opening tomorrow night.”
Piper sat up, intrigued. “Really? That super duper hot guy from the bakery that you were definitely flirting with?”
“Um… Yeah, him.”
A slow grin spread across Piper’s face, silently catching that Annabeth didn’t deny the flirting claim. “And you said yes?”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Don’t make it weird.”
“Oh, I’m definitely making it weird.” Piper smirked. “This is gonna be fun.”
Annabeth huffed, but even she couldn’t deny the excitement buzzing in her chest. Having a party in a club was definitely something both of them needed.
Then, Piper immediately zeroed in on the most important thing: "What are you wearing?"
Annabeth frowned. "I don’t know, I can just choose tomorrow. I have plenty of outfits."
"Annabeth, you wear sweaters and jeans. We're going to a club! You need something... fun, hot, sexy. Something that will knock Percy off his feet."
Annabeth groaned as Piper dragged her to the closet. "Pipes, seriously, what I have is fine."
Piper ignored her, flipping through clothes. "Nope. Nope. Ew. Oh, this is cute—oh wait, it’s grey. Why do you own so much grey?"
"It's a neutral colour," Annabeth muttered.
"It's a boring colour. You are going to borrow one of my outfits." Piper declared.
Annabeth sighed, resigning herself and letting Piper control her clothing choices. But Piper was right about one thing: Tomorrow night would be fun.