Annabeth

Piper's question had caught me off guard. I mean, I liked Percy, but I had just met him after two years. I needed time to think about this stuff. Besides, we hadn't even talked about the kiss we shared the last day we saw each other that summer.

On Friday night, as I got ready for the party, Percy called.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Wise Girl."

I smirked. "Seaweed Brain."

"Are you on you way to the party?"

"Yeah, I'm about to leave the house. Why?"

"Do you have a car?"

"Um, yeah I'm borrowing my dad's."

"Okay, I know this is a last minute favor, but could you pick me up?"

"Sure. Text me your address and I'll be over in a bit."

And sure enough, Percy had texted me a minute later. I hopped into my car after saying goodbye to Dad, and drove off.

Percy was waiting for me outside his house when I got there. He smiled as he saw me pull up, and he opened up the door to the passenger seat.

"I owe you, Annabeth," Percy exclaimed. "My step dad wouldn't let me use his, and my mom is at work with her's."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, you can repay me by hanging out with me at this party. I hate these kinds of things. I'm not big on socializing."

"Oh really? A pretty girl like you could get any guy."

"I haven't kissed anyone in a long time."

I realised what I said. The last person I kissed, was Percy. Two years ago. And he knew it now.

"That's funny, because I've had tons of girlfriends. The ladies think I'm hot now that I've grown."

I smirked. His face gave it away; he was lying. "Oh really? Well, a seaweed brain like you could never get a girl."

"Hey!"

I rolled my eyes and drove away from Percy's house.

The party was so loud, I could hear it from down the block. Oh, no. This party would be the death of me.

"We're here," I muttered, climbing out with Percy. We didn't even need to ring the doorbell once we got there; it was open for everyone.

"Finally!" Jason exclaimed. He looked sober. So did everyone else. Hopefully they were.

"Someone needs to turn down this awful music," I muttered.

"You can't even tell what they're playing," Percy agreed.

"Yo, Jason! Who are these guys?" Josh, one of Jason's teammates, looked us over. He probably knew me, but Percy was new.

"You know Annabeth, and this is Percy. He just moved here."

"Glad you could make it, dude," Josh said.

He was a typical white guy. Dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, and a muscular body. Too muscular. And too tall. He made Percy look like that fourteen-year-old boy again. But, hey, I hadn't seen any muscle on Percy.

Girls laughed from the other side of the house.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"They're playing truth or dare. Just a ton of bull if you ask me," Jason informed. I nodded.

"I'm hungry," Percy whined. "Let us head to the food."

I laughed and shook my head as I followed him to the kitchen where a couple was making out. Full on making out. You're lucky I'm not going into details.

Percy grabbed a cookie, and I got a soda for myself.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare

The new boy. He was pretty hot, I had to admit. He had black hair, green eyes, and a hot body, by the looks of it.

One problem, Annabeth Chase.

Wait, let me introduce myself.

I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and you can call me Rachel. I have red hair and blue eyes. And a thing for the new guy.

I've known Annabeth Chase for a long time. She and I used to be best friends in middle school. Brains and creativity. That's what we were together. But in high school, things changed. I wanted to be popular, she stuck to books. And that weird friend group of her's.

I had to play it subtle. I knew what every other girl did. They threw themselves at him in an incredibly suggestive way, making him uncomfortable. But I knew how to play guys. Especially good boys like Percy.

"I'll be back in a second, Perce, I have to go find Piper," Annabeth said to Percy, who nodded while he munched on a cookie.

"Hey, I'm Rachel. You're the new kid, right?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah, I moved here a while ago. Nice to meet you."

"You too. So you've been hanging around with Annabeth Chase?" I asked, walking up to him. Not so close as to scare him off.

"Yeah, she and her friends kinda took me under their wing."

"Are you two dating? She's pretty," I stated. Play it nice.

Percy blushed. Ever so lightly. "Not really. I've known her for a few years. I met her a long time ago."

"Oh, so were you two friends back then?"

"We were insecure fourteen-year-olds. Anyways, Annabeth's back," he said, gesturing towards Annabeth, who was dragging her friend with her.

"Sorry, Perce. Piper here promised to come see me at the party. She can be a handful sometimes."

"Hey! Now that I've seen you're in good hands, I'm going back to Hazel. She hates parties even more than you do," Piper said, waving bye.

Annabeth turned to me. "Oh, hey, Rachel."

I nodded in acknowledgement. "Anyways, Percy, I'll see you around."

"Yeah, okay."

Annabeth turned to Percy, and they laughed.

I didn't care that Annabeth and I used to be friends. If she wasn't dating him, I could.