" Perfection Defined "

In which Annabeth gets jealous of a certain redhead. BandAU. First attempt at fluff.

oOo

If there was something Annabeth hated more than not knowing something, it was a certain Seaweed Brain's obliviousness towards the open advances of a certain redhead. Not that Annabeth was jealous or anything like that. It simply infuriated her to see Rachel all over her Percy like that. At times, she seriously considered making Percy wear a sign that said"Annabeth's property! Don't touch!" or maybe even putting him on a collar and leash because god knows Percy seems to enjoy the attention given to him. Jerk. But she figured that even the biggest billboard sign would only fall to blind eyes. This is Rachel Elizabeth Dare after all; stubborn as a mule and even dumber than the dumbest animal. Yes, animal. Because comparing her to a human being would be a plain insult to that person.

Annabeth swears she's not jealous. Only idiots, no wait, scratch that—only insecure idiots would feel jealous. She was not insecure and she was most definitely not an idiot. Maybe a teeny tiny bit territorial—not that she'd ever admit that out loud. It would only further inflate her boyfriend's already bloated ego. And she didn't want that. Percy was too much to handle as he is.

"Woah, tiger." The blue-eyed, dark-haired guitarist teased as she came to sit beside Annabeth, "What's with the scary face? You really look like you want to strangle someone."

"I do not." Annabeth huffed and crossed her arms, leaning further into the soft sofa.

"Uh, yes, you do." Thalia raised her brow and faced Annabeth, "Okay, spill. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Thalia snorted, "Yeah, and I'm a saint."

Annabeth rolled her eyes but said nothing in return. The guitarist beside her cocked her head to the side and followed her friend's line of sight, only to find herself looking at Percy as he tuned his guitar over by the amps. A blonde haired boy with electric blue eyes sat beside him with his earphones plugged on and seemed to be practicing air drums, only to hit Percy on the head multiple times. Sea-green eyes clouded with irritation before Percy grumbled, probably telling him to stop—only to be hit on the head again. Jason, the blonde boy, laughed, seemingly enjoying his friend's state. But he stopped when Percy took one of the drumsticks and hit him back. So, Jason moved on to his next drum set (though victim might be a more appropriate word) and that person just so happened to be Leo, the group's resident electrician—lights, sound, name it and he knows them all by heart.

Thalia opened her mouth, probably to tease Annabeth that she shouldn't be jealous of the bromance blossoming between the guys, but stopped short when she caught sight of red. Thalia quirked her eyebrow as she watched Rachel scoot closer to Percy, holding a piece of paper as she talked to the green-eyed vocalist. Probably about the song they were doing a cover of together. But then she noticed there was an odd glint in her eyes as she spoke, a sly hand resting on Percy's thigh as she moved even closer to the ever-oblivious boy. Feeling Annabeth tense and grit her teeth sent Thalia over the edge and she broke into a wild laughing fit.

"Hey!" Annabeth felt blood rush to her cheeks and she slapped Thalia's arm.

"You can't be serious." Thalia laughed, "You're jealous of Rachel? Oh man, this is golden."

"Shut up!" the grey-eyed girl scowled, "I'm not jealous! Why would I be jealous?"

"Yes, yes you are," the guitarist smirked, "And come on, Annie. What girl wouldn't get jealous if some bi—"
"Language, Thals." Said girl rolled her eyes and corrected herself, "—if some female dog would be all over her man?"

"I'm not jealous okay!" Annabeth hissed, "Why would I get jealous of a girl who's throwing herself all over my idiot of a boyfriend? That's absurd! I'm too busy wondering what's with her clothes, or more specifically, the lack of it. So, I'm not jealous, okay? I'm not jealous of some skinny, probably anorexic, girl who's practically shoving her baggage into Percy's face. Yeah, she's pretty, model-figured and probably Percy's type of girl—loud and pretty much wild." Her voice started to waver, "Sure, they look good together and most of the people at school want them to get together. Why wouldn't they? I mean, they're both popular, good-looking… they just… match. People at school practically hate me. After all, how did a nobody like me get someone like Percy?" Annabeth's voice cracked, but she cleared her throat, "But, anyway, I'm totally not jealous."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Thalia looked thoroughly amused, "Well then, I'd better go before Zoe whoops my butt for not practicing. Catch ya later!"

The blonde sighed, watching her friend run over to the girls crowded in one corner of the studio—Percy's own studio, to be exact. Two bands had come in today to supposedly record a collaboration. It was the first joint work of The Huntress, the band Thalia and the girls were in (sadly, that included Rachel), and Riptide, Percy's own band.

The grey-eyed beauty got up and made her way out of the room. She couldn't stand another second watching Rachel practically groping her boyfriend. It was disgusting and just it was making her angry—she's still not jealous, though. Or so, she claims.

"Hey, beautiful." A low whisper rumbled in her ear, making Annabeth jolt as arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

"Seaweed brain."

"Why are you out here, Wise girl?" Percy grinned, nuzzling her neck.

"Just wanted some fresh air."

Percy hummed in response. Then there was silence until he finally spoke, "You know, there's nothing going on between me and Rachel."

Annabeth sputtered in response; face heating up once again, "What? Are you trying to imply that I'm jealous or something?"

"I'm not implying anything." Percy chuckled, "I know you, Wise Girl. And I'm telling you now, stop it. You know how much I hate it when you start looking down on yourself."

"But, Perc—"

"Value yourself more." A kiss on her cheek, "I chose you, didn't I, Annabeth? You're the only one I want."

"Why me?" Annabeth asked, leaning into the warmth Percy radiated, "I'm a nerd, everyone at school hates me, I'm not pretty, I'm nothing, Percy."

"That's where you're wrong," In one swift motion, Annabeth was facing him. Percy's smile was gentle, as gentle as the hand on her cheek, "You're not a nerd; you're smart. They don't hate you—they're jealous of you. You're not pretty, because you're beautiful. You're not nothing, Annabeth. You're everything."

And then his lips were on hers. Percy's lips were smooth, gentle and he smelled vaguely of the ocean—so calming, so comforting. Annabeth wrapped her arms around his neck, lips pressing back against Percy's, and she felt him smile. He was the first to pull away. Green locked with grey, and then all her insecurities faded away. He stroked her cheek gently, as if she was precious—and god knows she was.

"Don't you get it, Wise Girl?" He smiled, resting his forehead against her own, "You're my perfection defined."