That One Green-Eyed Barista

It was a warm evening, and the coffee shop was slowly becoming more empty as the sun moved closer to the distant horizon. There were only a few people left in the cafe, and while Percy recognized some of them as regulars, he ignored them for the most part. Sometimes, when he was bored, he'd start up a conversation with a few of them. But today he wasn't really in the mood.

As Percy finished wiping down the counter, he looked up to see Rachel Dare, a customer who came in every couple days, wave to him and leave a tip. He smiled, put down the rag, and waved back.

As she walked out the door, Percy walked over to see the tip. Usually people didn't leave tips- considering it was a cafe- but Rachel always left something for him. He sighed, slipping the $10 into his pocket.

"Hey, Percy," a voice called from behind the counter. He turned around to see his long-time friend and co-worker, Annabeth Chase, hanging up her apron. "I'm going to head out a bit early. I've got a lot of work to do, sorry. There's hardly anyone here, so you'll be able to handle it on your own, right?"

"Of course." Percy grinned. After Annabeth took his shift last week, he owed her something. Plus, she was only supposed to work for another hour. It wasn't a big deal. It was a slow day, anyhow. "I'm happy to help, Wise Girl."

Annabeth lightly punched his shoulder. "Thanks, Percy. I knew I could count on you."

Anyone who didn't know the two of them personally might think they were flirting with each other, but those who knew them more personally would know that they didn't date- at least, not any more. It was only for a few months in High School, but the idea of dating each other made them uncomfortable both then and now- they were best friends, and that was it.

He sighed, grabbed his rag, and watched her walk out of the small cafe. Why did he have the feeling it was going to be a long night?

He glanced up at the clock. 2 hours till closing. Time to get to wiping!

He started at the table Rachel had been at- she never made much of a mess, so it would be easy to begin with. As he started wiping, someone left.

He moved on to the next table. A dirty napkin sat on the floor next to it. Ew. Percy gently picked it up, throwing it into the trash can. Another person leaves. He continues wiping the table.

Moving onto the next table, he waves to a regular, Jason Grace, as he leaves the shop with his new girlfriend, Reyna, who'd also taken to Jason's regular schedule for coming to the cafe. He wiped the tables once more. 

Circles, strokes. Remove the napkin holder so he could wipe under it. Push all the chairs in. Anything to cease his boredom. Wipe here, wipe there. It was a pattern, a rhythm. It was familiar.

Something- someone- not familiar walked into the small coffee shop in lower Manhattan as Percy continued to wipe the tables. The non-familiar person wasn't a bad thing, though. He was around Percy's age, maybe a year or two younger, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Percy tossed the rag onto the counter, and went behind the register. He smiled- though it looked more like a smirk- to the customer. "So, what can I get for ya?"

The boys' blue eyes studied the pastries. "Hm, can I have a muffin and a large cafe mocha?"

"'Course," Percy said, ringing it up. "Can I get your name?"

The blue-eyed boy looked around the small cafe. "There's no one here."

"Can I have your number then?" Percy wasn't too sure why he asked that. Maybe as a joke. Maybe he was serious.

He laughed. It was a sweet, melodious laugh that only lasted for less than a minute. "Will," the boy with bright blue eyes said.

Percy went to grab the boys muffin, only to realize Will hadn't specified what he wanted. "What type of muffin?"