It was the strange looks that made Piper stop crying.

Piper had left the hospital shortly after Thalia, the awkward silence between her and Jason's dad being too great. It was only when she'd seen the dark skies that she realised how late it was, and how angry her parents would--

No.

Piper shook her head as she walked from the building, smiling weakly at a friendly old man that was headed inside. Her parents probably weren't interested. Her mother was almost definitely packing to go abroad next week, and her father was probably locked away in his office learning some new script or something. Knowing them, they probably hadn't even noticed she'd gone.

Piper felt her lip wobble and clenched her fists tightly, feeling her nails digging into her palm sharply. She gulped, pulling her thin jacket around herself and feeling her composure crumble. She didn't want to go home - stupid Jane would probably rant at her for staying out late anyway, like she cared - and she couldn't exactly go back to Jason's. Piper cringed at the thought.

More tears trickled down her face. God, she was so pathetic. Why couldn't she just stop crying! Piper fiddled with her sleeves and looked down as a large gang of teens sloped past, faces barely visable with their poor posture and pulled-down hoods. Though they were pretty scary, to be honest, they didn't seem too bothered by Piper's presence; only shooting weird looks at her mascara-streaked face.

Piper quickened her pace, walking past the gang and heading towards the local park while scrubbing at her face in an effort to make her look more sane. The street lamps had come on now, and the road was bathed in an eerie orange light. Finally, after what seemed to be ages, Piper stepped through the gates of the park with a sigh of relief, heading to the small bench her and her father had shared many picnics when she was little.

She plopped down on the creaky old wood, ignoring the slight wetness that was seeping through her leggings. Memories flooded her mind: happy ones with her parents and sweet, romantic ones with Jason. Funny ones with Leo and Nico, and boring ones with Annabeth (but she still loved her best friend, really). Piper smiled to herself, feeling sadness and joy at the same time, as a confusing jumble.

She took her iPod from her pocket, putting the earbuds in and leaning back. She quickly got lost in the calming classical music, feeling her scrambled mind slowly regain order.

Suddenly, a hand clapped down onto her shoulder...

"Eek! Get away from me!" Piper screamed, jumping up. "What do you want!"

The tall, slim shadowy figure moved forward, and Piper saw the face of a handsome, tanned teenage boy, just older than her. He wore a light blue hoodie, with the hood up and hands shoved into his pockets. Piper could just make out a smirk on his face as he held out his hands, as though surrendering.

"Hey, hey, calm down! I only wanted to say hi!" The boy grinned. "And ask why a young girl like you is out wandering the streets at this time of night!"

Piper scowled. "I'm sixteen, actually. And, I'm so sorry, since when was my life your business? I don't know who the hell you are!"

The boy smiled mysteriously, walking around to the front of the bench and sitting down, patting the space beside him. Reluctantly, Piper sat beside him. He pulled his hood down and the shadow across his face disappeared, revealing sparkling sea-green eyes and tousled black hair.

"I'm Percy Jackson. And you're Piper McLean, right?" He asked, and Piper gasped, finally recognising the name.

"You're Percy Jackson? Wait, I've heard about you! You go to that club thing Leo - Leo Valdez - goes to, right?" He nodded.

"Yeah. And I'm also Annabeth's boyfriend. She's mentioned you a-"

"Annabeth's got a boyfriend!?  What!? She never told me!" Piper gasped dramatically. Why on earth wouldn't Annabeth, her best friend, tell her about her boyfriend... especially one as hot as this. Honestly, Piper never thought Annabeth was the type!

Percy looked puzzled, absent-mindedly tapping his fingers on the wooden arm in a fast rhythm. "Oh, I'd assumed she'd told you! Oh well, I am pretty new around here as well, and we've only just got together. So maybe that's why..?"

Piper nodded, already resolving to give Annabeth a thorough quizzing tomorrow when school started again. "So... why are you out here at..." she checked her phone, ignoring the seven message alerts that popped up on screen. "...half one in the morning?"

Percy looked awkward, kicking his feet on the floor and reminding Piper of a little kid, despite his crazy tallness. "Um... I don't feel like going home yet, you know. My mom won't be back from work anyway, either, so..."

"What about your dad?" Percy visibly winced at the question, his hand moving to touch his side before stopping quickly, hovering strangely in mid-air. With an odd smile, Percy placed it back on the arm while keeping his eyes fixed firmly onto the soggy green-ish grass beneath their feet.

"He... he's not around. So, I wait for my mom to get back..."

"Don't you have a key?" Piper interrupted impatiently, squeezing her fingers together as she tried to warm up. God, she'd get hypothermia!

Percy shook his head. "No!" But Piper saw through it. He answered too abruptly, too loudly.

"You're lying."

"I'm... I'm not..." Percy stammered, looking more and more anxious as the quick shoot questions continued. Piper felt guilty as she looked at his worried expression, realising she'd been really nosey.

Slowly, she put an arm around his hunched back and she smiled reassuringly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosey!"

Percy laughed. "It's ok."

Piper breathed out in relief, worried she'd ruined her new found friendship immediately, and felt her phone vibrate in a pattern, signaling an incoming call.

"Hold on," she muttered to Percy, realising she couldn't exactly hold off Jane any longer. Percy held a finger to his lips and shut up while she clicked the accept call button. Instantly, a shrill, shouting voice pierced her eardrums.

"Where the hell are you, Miss McLean! Your parents and I have been so worried!"  Jane shrieked, though Piper caught a slight hint of sarcasm.

She scoffed, causing Percy to give her a strange look. "Yeah, right. You don't even care about me, you just like getting the money. I'm not stupid."

Piper could almost sense Jane smirking down the phone. Her annoying voice floated into her ear. "Sweetie, please. You just sound like a silly little girl now!" Piper growled at the remark.

She doubted her parents would care if she stayed out all night, but maybe they would notice. It would be really nice if they did...

"Fine. I'll come back now."

Jane laughed, but it was mocking. "Thank you." With that, she ended the call as abruptly as her words.

"Who was that?" A voice asked from her right. Piper jumped, having forgotten Percy was there.

"Just... an idiot." Percy laughed at her sullen retort.

"Oh, right. So, you're going now?"

Piper nodded. "Yeah." She noticed Percy's happy expression falter slightly. "Sorry..."

"Nah, nah, it's ok. I'll go in a bit too. 'Bout half an hour," Percy reassured. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and grabbed her hand, scribbling something down. A phone number. "Keep in touch, ok."

Piper nodded. "Sure. See you... hopefully not at this time again, though!"

Percy leant back on the bench, closing his eyes, and Piper took that as a cue to go. She turned and walked away, already dreading getting home.

God, why was her life so messed up?

AN
Eh, I know. That was rubbish :(

I was lacking inspiration, and I just knew that I wanted to make Piper and Percy meet!

Uuuurghhh I'm tiiiireeed!!!!

Vote and comm....... *falls asleep* Just kidding! Vote and comment if you liiike :)

RandomPhandom xxx

(PS: Lol, that was a random AN!)