I grinned. "'Was your best friend?'"

"You know what I mean," Annabeth said with a major eyeroll.

"Do I?"

"Yes, you do, Seaweed Brain."

Annabeth calling me this nickname appeared to intensify the blonde guy's, Luke's, rage. Blood rushed into his face, and his hands balled into fists.

"So, Percy," he said in a very passive-aggressive tone, "why were you hugging my girlfriend?"

"Because she's my best friend, Luke," I replied coldly. "And I haven't seen in her in six years. You got a problem with that?"

He obviously had an issue, judging from the way he had roughly dragged me away from Annabeth. However, I was feeling spiteful and wanted to sass him.

"No," Luke said through gritted teeth. "I don't."

"Well," I said, sidling over to Annabeth, "then you wouldn't mind if she and I went out for coffee tonight and caught up."

By this point, a vein was pulsing horribly in Luke's neck, and his eye was twitching. "Actually, we have a date tonight, so you can't. Sorry."

He didn't sound apologetic in the slightest, and I was just about to beat the crap out of this dude when Annabeth spoke up.

"Luke," she said gently, "can we move our date to tomorrow? I know we've been planning this for a while, but I haven't seen Percy for a long time, and I really want to catch up with him.

Luke's expression darkened even further, his brows furrowing in frustration as he processed Annabeth's request. His jaw clenched even tighter, and I could see the desire to pummel me in his eyes.

"Okay," he finally muttered resentfully. "We can do it tomorrow."

Annabeth thanked him and kissed him goodbye. Luke threw me one last evil look, before he stalked out.

"I'm sorry about him," Annabeth said, gesturing for me to sit down. "He's normally nice, but he always becomes envious when other guys talk or do anything he percieves as a threat."

"It's fine," I said, my stomach fluttering slightly. "Anyway, what are you doing at CalTech?"

Annabeth smiled, and she looked just as gorgeus as always. "I'm studying mechnical engineering. What about you?"

"I'm here to study marine biology at the Kerechoff Marine Laboratory."

"I had a feeling you would say that. You always did love being on the beach at Pine Haven. How's your mom?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but at that moment, Leo, Jason, and Grover arrived at our table. They all wore smirks on their faces, but Leo looked the smugest.

"Are you gonna introduce us?" Leo asked.

"Not you, Leo," I said with an eyeroll. "You're a major embarassment to us and society."

"Hey!" Leo protested.

Annabeth laughed; the sound was angelic and made my stomach do somersaults.

"I'm Annabeth." She extended a hand to shake my friends'. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Grover," Grover said, shaking her hand.

"I'm Jason," Jason said, also shaking her hand.

"I'm Leo Mcshizzle Ladies Man," Leo declared proudly with a dramatic bow. "Pleased to meet such a beautiful lady."

"Leo, go away." I rolled my eyes again. "Leave us be. You're going to scare Annabeth away."

"I'm not going to scare her away," Leo protested. "I-"

"Leo." I gave him a pointed look. "Leave us be."

Leo got the hint, and the three of them departed. I watched them walk away and disappear around the corner before turning back to Annabeth. "So do you want me to pick you up tonight?"

"Sure," she said. "Where do you want to go for dinner?"

"How about Arroyo Smokehouse?"

Annabeth flashed me a smile that melted my insides. "Sure. You know I love BBQ."

"Sure. Pick you up at 6:30?"

"Sounds good."

I stood up with a smile and walked out of the restaurant. I strode to the corner, halted, and then glanced back. Annabeth was leaning against the wall with her Airpods in, jamming to music. Her blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight, and her stormy-gray eyes glinted with joy. As I much as I wanted to deny it, I was hopelessly in love with Annabeth.