Skater!Percy with a snapback has been going around tumblr and I decided to try my hand at it. Hope you enjoy
Cover art is from anxiouspineapples over on tumblr, go check out her amazing art (and fic)
Annabeth flips through her history book, reviewing the sections she needs to review. AP history isn't a joke and she has no plans on treating it as such, which means reviewing the chapters until she has them down perfectly. In the middle of the section on Calvinism she picks out the unmistakable sound of skateboard wheels clattering over sidewalk cracks. Her eyes flick up of their own accord, she has to stop herself from letting out a whimpered groan when she sees him. Biting down on the cap of her pen to keep from embarrassing herself.
It makes sense that Percy would take off his shirt in the August heat, especially since he's just finished basketball practice, but that doesn't make it fair. The snap back he has pulled backwards doesn't help her situation either. Annabeth notes with pride it's the same one she bought him last Christmas, giving herself a lopsided smile around the pen in her mouth.
Summer weekends spent at Montauk have built up his tan to a glorious bronze while summer training and the glories of puberty have honed his muscles to jaw clenching perfection. His shoulders are a bit wider, his chest having filled out enough to define his pecks, and the shadow of a six-pack is starting to appear. Her eyes drink everything in as he makes winds a lazy path towards the stairs she's camped out on. As he gets closer she can spot the slight sheen of sweat, her hand tightening around the pen. Either he won't take a shower and she'll have to deal with him smelling like salt and sweat and the ocean on a hot summer day or he will take a shower and he'll smell of Old Spice bodywash. Neither option is particularly beneficial to her hormone riddled body and she'll be forced to spend the next several hours keeping herself from dragging her hands across his back either way.
Percy hops off and scoops up his board without breaking stride and jogs the last few paces over to her. A few wild strands of jet black hair stick out from under the cap, falling across his forehead in jagged, irregular spikes. At some point during practice or the ride over here his basketball shorts have slipped low on his waist, giving her a view of the tortuous muscle indents that run from his hips and disappear beneath the hem of his boxers. What Annabeth wouldn't do to trace them with her fingers and find out exactly where they lead.
"Hey," Percy says, completely unaware of the mind-numbing fire he's started inside of her.
His expression changes suddenly, face dropping and brows coming together.
"You okay?" he asks, stopping just at the bottom of the stairs. "You look a little dazed."
"Yeah, I'm fine," she lies. "Just have some stuff on my mind."
"Anything I can help with?"
Oh, Percy, she thinks, the things you could do to help.
"Nope," she says, pushing herself off the steps and brushing off her skirt.
Percy's eyes drop to her skirt, then her legs, then quickly glance away from her and she watches his Adam's Apple bob. That sure as hell doesn't help the thrum of her blood or the urge to push him against a wall. Annabeth is acutely aware that short skirts have a certain effect on most males, even some females, and that school girl skirts amplify that effect. Her body is also very eager to remind her that Percy is a male and that it could very well have an effect on him. If it does he's good at hiding it, even in basketball shorts.
"Ready to get to studying?" Annabeth asks, pulling her book to her chest.
Percy nods, bounding up the steps while digging in his pocket for his keys. Annabeth uses the opportunity to be sure she hasn't awakened anything inside Percy but there's no obvious signs. She lets out a tiny sigh and follows after him.
All of this would be easier if she knew for sure that Percy's lingering looks and little touches were more than just their years of friendship. Things had been easier when they were twelve and fought each other on the playground, now that they're in high school and her body has decided to betray her by practically salivating over Percy it's difficult to figure things out. Does he sit so close to her while they watch TV because that's what they've always done, or is it because he needs to feel her pressed against him as much as she needs to feel him? Annabeth isn't ready to bet four years of perfect friendship without some solid evidence Percy is interested in her as well.
"How was practice?" she asks, eyes focused on Percy's backside as he climbs the stairs.
"Exhausting. I'm pretty sure Coach is trying to kill us, we're either running drills or running non stop."
"I can tell," Annabeth mutters, her eyes fixed on the very well defined curve of his shorts.
As much as she hates the fact he uses his new growth spurt to tower over her it's made most of his clothes a little snug, something Annabeth can't say she minds.
"Huh?" He turns and glances at her over his shoulder.
"You've seemed more tired recently," she rattles off the lie without a second thought, thankful her mind can cover for her mouth's mistakes.
Percy scrunches up his face and gives her a look but doesn't say anything else. He digs his key out of his pocket and jams it into the lock, throwing the door open with a hard shove before stepping aside to let her in first.
"Thanks," Annabeth mutters as she breaths in the smell of him.
He still smells of salt with a hint of BO, fueling the flames burning in the depth of her mind. That part of her brain that that wants to get him alone in his bed enjoying every second of this.
"I'm gonna grab a shower before we start studying, that okay?"
She nods stiffly in response, not willing to risk her filter letting something embarrassing slip by. Percy drops his skateboard by the door, stepping incredibly close to her as he heads for the bathroom and subjecting her to another wave of raging desire to kiss him. Annabeth decides her approaches to getting him to make the first move are going to have to be more direct.
The sound of the shower starting filters through the bathroom door and Annabeth pulls out her history book, aiming to take advantage of the small reprieve from Percy's ever tempting physique.
Eventually she manages to tune the noise out all together, honing in on her readings and jotting down notes. She's too focused on her work to realize Percy is done with his shower, or that he's back in the living room until he's hovering over her.
"Earth to Annabeth," he says nearly in her ear, startling her.
She tenses to move back but she can feel his chest pressing against her shoulders, his arms bracketing either side of her as he leans against the coffee table. Once again he's elected not to wear a shirt so the only thing separating them is the thin layer of her white uniform. She takes in the smell of his body wash and deodorant, which envelop her. Equal parts of her want to lean back into him and bolt away.
"I didn't realize you were so interested in AP history," she says tensely.
"Ugh," he groans. "No thanks." Percy pushes back and walks around her, sinking into the couch to her right.
He's traded his basketball shorts for a pair of dark skinny jeans, once again riding low on his hips and giving her an all access pass to feast de la abs. Her mind starts to wander for a second, imaging what it would be like to straddle his lap and run her hands along every inch of him she can reach. Annabeth shuts down the daydream before a blush can start to rise in her cheeks and turns back to the stale, boring facts of her textbook.
"Don't you have Algebra to work on?"
Percy groans again, slouching down further on the couch.
"I don't think that's helping," she chides, turning the page and staring blankly at the words.
"Fine," Percy huffs, sitting up and reaching past her to grab his bag on the other side of the table.
Annabeth catches sight of his hair as he leans forward, the disheveled mess sticking out in odd directions.
"Come here," she says, dropping her pencil.
She slips her fingers through his hair, pulling the strands into place and making the messy bedhead look into a cute, messy bedhead look. When she's done she cracks a satisfied smile, her eyes dropping to his. It's only then that she realizes he's scooted forward until he's on the edge of the couch, his eyes locked on hers. They're close enough it wouldn't take much, just a little lean from both of them and they'd be kissing.
Suddenly Percy clears his throat and jumps backwards.
"Tomorrow I was gonna go skateboarding after school. You could come hangout if you want."
Annabeth imagines an hour spent watching Percy shirtless while she holds a book in her lap and squeezes her thighs together. Knowing him he'll decide he doesn't need a shirt, and he'll have to check on her every ten minutes to see if she's okay, and he'll sit entirely too close for her sanity, and by the end of it she still won't have any better of an idea if the idiot is actually into her or not. She also knows she wouldn't pass up the opportunity for anything.
"Sure. That'd be fun."
Percy beams and digs into his back to pull out his work, leaving Annabeth to turn back to her work and keep herself from dropping face first onto the table with a groan. She wonders if anyones ever died of an abundance of sexual tension, or if she'll be the first.