A/N

An idea that came to me a few days ago, and i decided to write it out. Might become more than this- we'll see.

Chapter 1

He stumbled onto the bus, nodding to the driver Janet; she nodded back in greeting. He turned and nodded to the other regulars on the bus, who also returned the acknowledgement. With a world-weary sigh, he collapsed into his seat.

However, he could tell something was wrong.

Perhaps it was the fact that his seat was a bit warmer and cushier than he remembered. Maybe it was the loud shriek that made him jump back to his feet. At any rate, when he turned around, his feelings were confirmed. After a short moment of studying, his tired brain realized the problem.

There was someone sitting in his seat.

"But wait" his brain said. "Why is she in my seat? It's my seat." This didn't happen on the M11 Bus. All of the regulars looked at him an shrugged, as if to say, "we tried to tell her". She should have known…

That was the problem. She wasn't a regular. "Duh" his brain replied, "you would have remembered a face like that".

"I'm sorry, can I help you?" she asked. Slowly he realized that for a few minutes now, he had been staring at her with a slight frown on his face.

"You're—you're in my seat" he replied, tired brain still trying to comprehend just exactly why she was there.

"Oh, sorry. What was your name again?"

The hamster wheel in his brain started to churn a bit more, "did I tell her my name?"

"Percy" he said aloud. She nodded her head, and then turned and looked at the seat.

"Hmmm yes, well, I don't see your name anywhere on the seat, are you sure it's yours?" she countered, grey eyes twinkling mischievously. After a moment, Percy realized that it was sarcasm.

Percy closed his eyes as he let out another sigh. He walked over to an empty seat and fell asleep instantly against the window. Annabeth, the girl he had been talking too, studied him for a while.

"Excuse me," she said, tapping the man next to her, "does he always fall asleep like that?"

"Hmm?" the middle aged man replied. "oh yes, he does that all the time. Actually, I am quite glad you are sitting there instead of him, I'd rather not be drooled upon." The man went back to his evening paper while she smiled at the information that she had just learned. "he drools?" she thought as she watched his sleeping form. "yeah, he drools" she said to herself, smiling as she watched saliva drip out of the corner of his mouth.

The bus made it another three stops before the bus driver called out, "Jackson!"

With a start, Percy awoke and realized it was his stop. Getting up, he walked over to the exit and thanked Janet. She nodded curtly and closed the door as he stepped off the bus. Watching out her window, Annabeth saw him walk into a decrepit apartment complex—perhaps decrepit was the wrong word. Perhaps modest was better. It was fairly sturdy of a structure, but most importantly, it was clean. The building was lost from sight as the bus pulled away—and before she knew it, it was her stop. She got off the bus, and headed for her condo.

Percy made his way up the stairs to his small apartment. Unlocking the door to 4d- he dropped his duffel on the floor and made his way to the kitchenette. It was pretty much the same routine every night, and he mindlessly dumped ingredients into the blender, adding yogurt and a bit of ice. His mind was on sleep mode as he fixed the smoothie, drank it straight from the blender, and then fixed another one. Dinner was too much work, especially after all the work he had done already. Draining the blender once again, he washed out the pitcher and put it aside to dry. He only had a few cups in his apartment, so he didn't like to get any dishes dirty that he didn't have to. To say that his house was an apartment would be a bit of a stretch.

His apartment consisted of a kitchenette off to the side, a closet next to the door, a bathroom of to the opposite side of the kitchenette, and a living room. The furniture was sparse- as far as appliances went, he had a small refrigerator, a blender, and a toaster that only made toast in one of the two slots. There wasn't a stove, but instead he had a hot-plate.

His kitchen table was a fold-up card table, and there were a few beat up stools that sat around it. In the corner of the living room was an old leather couch- which he got from a neighbor that was just going to toss it. Beside that was a stack of books—mainly about marine biology, Greek mythology and swimming. Off against another wall was a rack where his clothes dried—he never had enough money to use the dryers at the Laundromat anyways.

Stumbling over to the mattress that he had in the corner of the room, he flopped down and fell asleep. Sleep was one thing he desired over anything else. Everything that is, except THE GOAL. Although his apartment wasn't much at all, he needed little. Percy Jackson was a swimmer. All he needed was a pool, goggles, and a swimsuit, and he was happy. Or so he thought.

Although he wouldn't realize until much later, strange things were afoot. Little did he know that his chance encounter on the bus would lead to so much more. Such thoughts didn't plague him as he drifted off to slumber, but feelings did. He felt an odd feeling in his chest, but thought nothing of it as he began to sleep.