Thursday, August 10th
3:00 pm - the local park

Annabeth sat on her favorite bench, watching two birds share a scrap of bread on the path. She sighed in despair. She still hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy, and she prayed that Luke hadn't either, though she knew he wouldn't. His reputation was too precious. What would the people of Goode High think if they knew that Luke Castellan—their star quarterback, everyone's favorite jock—got his girlfriend pregnant? And what would they think if they knew Annabeth Chase—student body president, captain of the volleyball team, and natural female leader of the school—got pregnant? What would her family think? The possibility that they could react anything like Luke had scared her.

Possibility.

That's all anything was; possibilities. It was a possibility that Annabeth was pregnant. It was a possibility that Luke would react like that, or that he could get into UCLA. It was all possibilities. Sometimes, life needed to be played as a game of luck, not skill, and it just so happened that Annabeth was not as experienced in the former as she'd liked.

The two birds suddenly flew away, only leaving a few crumbs behind. Annabeth wondered if they had eggs in the nest they would be returning to, for soon enough, she would too.

~*~

The smell of her favorite café forced Annabeth to quicken her steps. Even at nearly two blocks away the scent of coffee and muffins was prominent. As she walked, she kept her head down and stared at the ground. She needed to clear her mind and organize her thoughts.

Annabeth always found that the best thing to do in a stressful situation was make a plan, and this had her stressing more than any test she had ever had to take. Everything was always better when you knew what you were doing. She felt like her world was crashing down around her. Annabeth saw her life as a stack of paper perched on a desk; every sheet in order, not one edge out of place. But now, it was as if someone had come in and shoved that neat pile straight off the desk; onto the floor, papers drifting through the air. Now, the stack was in a jumble of sheets and words all over the floor. It was a mess; her life was a mess.

She tried not to think about too much, or she might start crying, which was not the ideal thing to do in public places. Her spirits lifted as she neared the café, its blue sign like a smiling friendly face.

Annabeth had been coming to Riptide Café for a few years now. It had become one of her favorite places to be. It was a small, quaint little shop, and not many people knew of it, though the coffee was delicious, and there food was always fresh. Annabeth liked it that way, though; it was never too crowded, so it created a peaceful atmosphere. the smell of warm coffee was always nice, even during the hottest days of the summer, like this one. She always sat at the same table, in the corner by the last window, with only two chairs. Few people had ever sat in that second chair; Luke, Thalia, or her father. It was a special place to her, only to be shared with special people. However, it was just her today.

She thought about the people she had sat with. Thalia; Annabeth still hadn't told her, using her absence as an excuse. Her father whisked her and Jason away on a trip, and that was all she had told Annabeth. She still hadn't told her father; she needed to build up the courage. Finally, there was Luke...

It had been four days since they had fought, and neither had reached out to the other since. Annabeth was stubborn, and she wouldn't apologize for something that she didn't have to be sorry about.

But however strong-willed Annabeth was, she couldn't out run her fear. What if Luke didn't apologize? What if he just left? Annabeth decided not to think about that as she joined a few other strangers on line. She wondered what all of them were going through. Was it worse than her situation? Was it better? Yet, she would never know, because humans were gifted the wonderful ability of concealment. No matter what was going on in our lives, we could act and dress like nothing was wrong at all. It was something that, at times like these, Annabeth was grateful for, but it also could be the cause of her dismay.

She was pulled from her own thoughts when the barista smiled at her. "Next?" she called. "Oh, hi, Annabeth!" Miranda greeted her with a bright smile.

"Hi, Miranda." Annabeth tried her best to return Miranda's bright smile. She had worked here for three of the four years that Annabeth had been coming to Riptide Café. She was one of the sweetest girls that Annabeth had ever met, and with her bright green eyes and chocolate brown hair, one of the prettiest.

"The usual?" she asked.

"Thank you," Annabeth said, giving her a look of appreciation.

"Coming right up." Miranda began to make conversation as she made Annabeth her coffee. "You seem tired," she noted.

"Its been a tiring day," Annabeth sighed. "What about you?"

"Things have been kinda slow, but its actually pretty good for me; don't have to do as much work," Miranda mumbled, giving Annabeth a sly look as she handed her her drink. They laughed.

"Thanks, Miranda," Annabeth said as she paid for her coffee, putting her change in the tip jar. Then, she made her way to her table. She placed her coffee down and sighed, a frown adorning her face. She wanted to believe that everything would be okay, and that Luke wasn't going to leave her. But something told her that he already did, a long time ago.

But what was she going to do with this baby? Especially if she wanted to keep it? Annabeth propped her elbows on the table and massaged her temples. It really amazed her how drastically her life had changed, and in so little time.

"Hi." Annabeth was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of the chair across from her scraping along the floor. She looked up to see someone sitting across from her. He looked oddly familiar. The first thing that caught her were his striking green eyes. They seemed to churn like the ocean. Sea green, she decided. Annabeth took in the rest of his appearance. His skin was tan, not tanner than her own, however. His jet black hair was disheveled and messy, but in a way that still looked good. His teeth were pearly white and perfectly in place. To put it simply, he was gorgeous.

But he was also a stranger.

"Do I know you?"

"I would think so," He said. "But I saw you sitting here, looking all upset. Thought you could use some cheering up." He shrugged, flashing a bright smile. "So, what's got you down?" He gave her a calculating look, sipping what she assumed was coffee.

"I don't just go spilling my life to strangers." Annabeth said grudgingly.

"But what if I'm not a stranger," he said. "Percy Jackson, we go to Goode High together." He gave her a look that said, you see it now? Suddenly, it clicked. Annabeth knew why he'd looked so familiar. "And if that's not enough for you," he pulled out his wallet, handing her an ID, "there. 17 years of age, 6 foot 2, my favorite color is blue and finally," he listed as Annabeth examined the school ID, talking rather quickly, "I am on the swim team." He paused. "Am I such a stranger now?"

According to his ID, he was telling the truth. "I suppose not." She handed him back the ID. "But how do I know that I can trust you? If I tell you the truth about 'what's got me down', how do I know you won't go and tell everyone? Because trust me; this is quite a story." Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"You can ask any one of my friends, I don't go back on my word. I don't stab people in the back. I know the feeling and I wouldn't do that to anyone. Also, why would I have any reason to? I mean, its not like I have some sort of vendetta against you, so..." Percy shrugged.

"Not really the correct term for this sort of situation," Annabeth mumbled, "but that doesn't matter." Annabeth was honestly surprised by his persistence. She assumed that by now, anyone else would have given up already, or maybe not even ask in the first place. She decided to cut him some slack. "Alright, Percy," she began. "I'll tell you, but you have to swear not to tell anyone, ever."

"You have my word; I will not tell anyone, ever." Percy put his hand over his heart.

"Good." Annabeth took a deep breath. "Well, I'm pregnant with my boyfriend's baby, but he wants to go to college in California. And you'd think that after three years, he'd stick with me, especially now that I'm carrying his child, but no. I can't tell anyone that I know that I'm pregnant because I'm terrified of what they'll think of me. And I don't even think that its my fault that I'm pregnant. I also have no idea as to what I am going to do with this child and it feels like my entire life has gone up in flames and that my whole world is crashing down around me." Annabeth was out of breath.

"Hm." Percy took on a thoughtful expression and sipped his drink. Then, his face lit up as if he had an idea. "What are you drinking?"

"Coffee."

Percy took Annabeth's cup and gave her his. "I read somewhere that pregnant women shouldn't have caffeine."

"How do I know you're not poisoning me with whatever is in this cup?" Annabeth said, gesturing to the cup and raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, I was sipping it five minutes ago." He gave her a blank stare. "And I'm trying to be thoughtful, here."

"Fair point. Its hard for me to think rationally right now. Anyways, what is it?" She asked, staring at Percy.

"Hot chocolate."

"Alright," Annabeth took a sip. It tasted good and it made her nostalgic.

Percy sipped her coffee and gagged, wincing. "What is this?" He made a disgruntled face as he peeked under the lid. "Black coffee?" Annabeth shrugged. Percy sipped it again. "God, this is bad."

"Then don't drink it!" Annabeth retorted. She was beginning to think that this kid was lucky he was gorgeous.

"Okay." Percy put down the coffee. "So your boyfriend is going to college in California." He thought for a second. "Well, you could beg him to stay. Not the most dignified option, but it could work." He muttered. "Said boyfriend: Luke Castellan, correct?"

"Yes," Annabeth confirmed.

"Ugh, I hate that football douche," Percy took on a disgusted look.

"Hey! He's my boyfriend!" Annabeth defended, though she didn't know why.

"Was," Percy corrected.

"I thought you were trying to cheer me up, not make me feel worse." Annabeth glared at him.

"Sorry, right," he said as he tried to stifle a laugh. "I'm just lightheartedly joking around."

"Its really not the time."

"Right. Okay, so where was I?" Percy asked himself. "Right! Telling your family. You should. They'll find out eventually, and there's a big difference in trust whether they hear it from you or from some rumor. You have to trust that they'll accept and support you, and they have to trust that you'll make the right decision and do what's best. And if they really do love you, then they'll support you." Percy smiled at her.

She thought on his advice for a second. It seemed pretty valid to her. She realized that Percy was right; she needed to tell them sooner or later. And if they really loved her, they would help her through this.

"Okay, next." Percy moved on. "You said you don't think that its your fault that you're pregnant. What... do you mean, exactly?" Percy asked slowly. His face was serious now. Annabeth knew why. This could mean something extremely serious.

Normally, she wouldn't tell someone who she barely knew something so personal, but she had been holding in all of these secrets and it felt so good to finally get everything off of her chest, and it was even better that he was willing to help her. She decided it to be better to explain this to him than to leave him wondering. She prepared herself to admit something that she had only ever told Luke, something that he had completely disregarded.

"I'm supposed to be a virgin, but here I am, pregnant. I wanted my first time to be romantic, and special, and thought out," Annabeth said miserably, not making eye contact.

"I'm sensing a 'but.'" Percy kept his eyes on her, and for once, she appreciated the attention. Being the girlfriend of the star football player of Goode High, Annabeth was sometimes given stares from guys that made her uncomfortable. Luke always used to scare them off, but now its like he doesn't even care. Its not like Annabeth really needs it—she can handle herself—but it would be nice. Luke barely even paid attention to her anymore. He'd been... distant, lately. Annabeth stopped her thoughts there, for she might have started crying.

"But, I don't even remember all of it because I was drunk off my ass." Annabeth sighed and put her head in her hands. "I don't even know whose house it was. Luke said it was his friend..." Annabeth quickly tried to remember. "Kurt." She decided. "I had never even met the kid before. I didn't even want to go to that party. But of course, I did it for Luke." Annabeth's face contorted with thought. "I always do," she mumbled more so to herself than to Percy. Suddenly, a huge realization hit her harder than a truck. Her relationship was horrible, completely one-sided. Really, she had always had a feeling, but she was finally accepting it. Luke had been treating her terribly for the past few months, and she had cut him so much slack. Too much. He had been using her, and she had been completely blind. Blinded by her sympathy and her love. But she didn't love him anymore. He had been so disrespectful of her and her wishes and standards, especially at that party.

"He knew I wanted to wait. He had tried to convince me before, but I never gave in. So, when I was vulnerable, and..." she caught on her words. It was a difficult thing for her to comprehend. She felt Percy's gaze intently trained on her, but she couldn't meet it. She couldn't being herself to look him in the eyes. Annabeth blinked back tears. "When I wasn't in my right mind, he..." She knew what he had done, and Percy did too, now.

"You have to tell someone," Percy insisted.

"I-I can't. Even if I wanted to press charges, which I don't, there's not enough evidence. I was drunk. I don't even know what I was saying. How do I know that I didn't say yes?" Annabeth leaned forward and put her head in her hands again.

When Percy didn't say anything else, she assumed he was thinking. She looked up to find that she had guessed correctly. Percy had a faraway look in his eyes, and his hands seemed to have a mind of their own, fidgeting with the straw wrapper. "You should talk about it. To someone," Percy suggested. "Just at least to vent."

"Like a therapist?"

"Yeah," Percy still seemed like he was thinking. "Or even a friend who you trust, a lot." He shrugged. "Hm." He grabbed a napkin and a pen from another table. He quickly scribbled something down and slid it to Annabeth. He looked up at the clock above the door. "Shit." He stood up. "I have to go, but... use it if you want to." He gestured to the napkin in her hand, which Annabeth still hadn't looked at. She watched him as he pushed in his chair and turned to walk away. He looked back, shooting her one last smile and a wave before walking out the door.

Annabeth didn't pull her eyes from the window until the last strand of his messy, jet black hair had disappeared. She finally glanced at the napkin; 

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