Welp. I just had to get some other creative juices flowing as I currently have a bit of a writer's block on my story I am working on.
So here's some Percabeth fluffy longer oneshot for you to chew on.
I don't own Percy Jackson, otherwise my name would be Rick and I don't know if I can live with giving people so many cliffhangers.
Pulling on my running shoes, the whistle blows crisp and deafening throughout the locker room. I pull my hands to my ears, trying to block out the ear drum shattering sound, but with little success. Once the sound stops, not a moment too soon, everyone in the locker room stands and makes their way to the door. Everyone knows what that whistle means. Groaning, I stand to my feet to follow my fellow classmates. I've never really been much of a runner. I'd rather spend the majority of my time reading a quality book or designing buildings. Yeah, I know, architecture is on the downside of the 'cool' scale, but I've never paid that particular scale any attention. I have my friends, they like me for who I am, and that's that.
I should introduce myself. My name is Annabeth, I'm eighteen years old, and a senior at River Rush High. I pull my blonde curls back into a loose pony tail and meet up with the rest of my class on the pitch. We do a five mile run around a gravel track the school made, which includes hills and sharp turns. It gave me time to tune out the things around me and think about other things. Like how much better my time would be spent reading a new architecture book, or doing my homework that is due tomorrow for Chemistry.
As previously stated, I'm not very high up on the 'cool scale'.
Outside, clouds are forming overhead, throwing the world into a dim contrast of colors. The trees rustle with the damp wind, leaves tumble over the pavement as I make my way to the pitch, and the grass has standing water puddles from all the rain we have gotten over the past week. I shiver. The wind is cold, blowing straight to my core. I rub my arms for warmth as I walk up onto the pitch where the rest of my classmates wait in irritable silence.
That's when I see someone waving at me. Immediately my eyebrows furrow skeptically and I frown. Why is Percy Jackson waving at me? He wears a signature smirk on his face, his dark hair disheveled, and looks at me with his piercing teal eyes that have a hint of a smile in the corners, as if he is ecstatic to see me.
I highly doubt it. He is the most popular person in school. Why would he want to get my attention? I'm just 'that geek' that everyone cheats off of in Calculus to coast by.
But he continues to wave. Blinking a few times, I turn to look behind me. All his buddies are walking behind me to meet the rest of the class, too. Obviously the wave was meant for them. Not me.
I puff out an exasperated sigh and roll my eyes as the teacher puts the whistle to his mouth to get our attention. I plug my ears in advance. Years of having him as a teacher has taught me that if I don't want a pounding headache after class, I should cover my ears.
"Okay everyone," he says in his low voice. "I will be timing you for this run," everyone groans in unison. I just stand there expectantly, arms folded. "Everyone get to the start position."
We all walk over to the start line, getting as close to the actual line as possible so we had less distance to cover. I get pushed to the middle of the group, right next to my polar opposite of a classmate. Percy gets shoved by one of his buddies and bumps right into me. I barely get my footing again before the teacher blows his whistle signaling for us to start. I look over my shoulder to Percy as he gives me an apologetic look.
Wait. What?
I turn my attention onto running instead. But my mind continues to analyze what that look meant. It confuses me more than anything. Sure, we've been civil in the past, and when his friends aren't around he can actually be a nice guy, but his cronies are here and he still gave me an apologetic look that completely went against the status quo of this school. Popular kids, like say the captain of the swim team to give an example, simply didn't cross the border to the unpopular zone. But I've noticed something else in Percy over the past few years. He has been pushing against that social standard. Maybe that is why I've been able to see him in a different light lately. Maybe because things are improving for him at home. He did get a stepfather over the past summer, and has seemed much happier since.
I notice that no one is ahead of me as I turn around the bend to go down the first hill. Due to all the rain we've had, it's a bit slick. I quickly analyze the best path down and take it, slipping a bit at the end but thankfully not getting a face full of mud. I continue on, not looking back, and notice the sun peaks out from behind the clouds. It beams straight to the ground. I smile. The coveted light quickly vanishes, though, to my disappointment.
I turn my head back to the path and the trees that line it blurring past me as I try my best to finish this five mile warm up as fast as I can.
"Good work out there, Annabeth," my teacher praises me.
"Thank you, sir," I respond quietly. He nods, knowing that I'm more of an introvert than anything, and turns his attention to the others throughout the gym, pulling out his whistle. I plug my ears as the sound pierces the air.
"Okay, everyone, we have time to play a round of dodge ball before we call it a day. Jackson, come with me," he turns to the storage closet and selects the correct key from his lanyard to open the door. I examine my nails on one of my hands as we wait. Not even a minute has passed as the teacher and Percy emerge with a giant bin of dodge balls. I fold my arms together as they roll around the room in different directions. One rolls directly for me and I stop it with my foot. Picking it up, I place it on the center line and walk over to the rest of the group.
"Now," the teacher says, "count off every other to divide the teams. Ones on the right and twos on the left," he points at one of the students to start off the count. Once we are sorted, we go to our respective sides to line up.
The teacher blows the whistle and everyone charges for the middle. Immediately six people are eliminated as the game begins. I stand toward the middle of the group again, scanning the opposing team to see if there was a ball flying directly at my face. One eventually does make a path toward me that is too high to catch, so I dodge it easily. But the person behind me wasn't paying attention as it hit their shoulder. Cursing, they leave the court.
Slowly the numbers dwindle. And in dodge ball, the best remain the longest in the game. I'm not the best by any means, and as I went to dodge another ball, I tripped on a fellow classmate's foot, falling into another classmate and completely knocking him over. I fall right on top of him as our limbs entangle. We are literally sitting ducks on a dodge ball field unintentionally getting intimately close to each other. Limbs flailing, I look up to see who I fell on and freeze.
Percy Jackson lies underneath me, just as shocked and confused as I am. In my efforts to stand, I accidentally placed a palm on his chest to push myself up. Turning to see a ball flying right at me, I catch it, tuck and roll in the opposite direction of Percy to dodge another ball, stand and throw it back all in one fluid motion, eliminating the suspected thrower. I continue examining the field as Percy continues to stay on the ground. I sigh and offer my hand.
"Come on, lazy," I start as he sits up. Normally I'm not this forward, but today seems to be a bit off for me. "If you don't get up you'll be—" I get hit directly in the gut. Before the ball lands, though, Percy lunges forward and catches it, sliding on his side due to the extra momentum. I stare for a moment in disbelief. Then turn my attention back to the game.
Two players left on their team. Four on ours. We can do this.
Grabbing a ball, I hurl it at the player on my left. He wasn't expecting it, though, as it hit him on the shoulder. I hold my head down and duck as the other opponent threw one my direction. As it flew over my head, Percy caught it, holding it over his head victoriously. The gym teacher blew his whistle.
"Team two wins!"
High fives and body slams were distributed among team two. Folding my arms I smile softly as I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I see Percy.
Man, what is with the Percy overload today? Not that I'm complaining.
"Hey, nice dodges today." He says with a crooked smile. I raise an eyebrow.
"Same to you," I respond, "sorry for knocking you over, though." He shrugs.
"It's all good. Believe it or not, swimmers are tougher than we look." He scratches the back of his neck.
"Yo, Perce," we hear one of his friends say from across the room. "Why are you talking to that geek?"
I immediately look to the floor, letting my hair fall across my face so no one can see me blush. Before I turn my attention away, though, I see an almost hurt expression cross Percy's face.
"Dude, not cool," I hear him mutter. I open my eyes and look up to him in confusion. He simply gives me another apologetic look.
"Don't listen to him. I think you're pretty cool. And I think he's just jealous of your dodge ball skills."
"Yeah, my eliminating him probably helped me shoot that horse in the face." He chuckled quietly.
"Yeah, you're probably right," he says. Right then the bell rings signaling the end of the school day.
Thank the gods. Now I can go home and isolate myself in my room. Heaven for the introverts.
Smiling, I turn around to head to the locker room and change, but not before I feel Percy place a hand on my shoulder turning me back to him again.
"Yes, Percy?" I look at him. I try to not show how skeptical I am that he is simply talking to me. I don't think it works.
"Annabeth," he begins, "seriously, ignore them. They're all basically jerks."
"Then why do you hang out with them?" I fold my arms and look up at him expectantly. He shrugs.
"Honestly, I'm trying to figure that out myself," he says quietly.
I wasn't expecting that. Honestly, I wasn't expecting him to start a conversation with me, especially after I awkwardly fell on him in public like that. For some reason, I feel like I need to reach out to him and ease his conscience.
"If it makes you feel any better," I start, shrugging, "I literally only have four friends."
"But they are probably quality people. Not shallow like all of my teammates."
"Touché," I respond, smiling a little. He smiles back.
"Would you like to meet my friends?"
Wait. Where did that come from? I look at him waiting his answer. He smiles and nods his head.
"That would be awesome, actually," he says, "my mom has been nagging me to make real friends since we moved here. I know it is senior year and a little late in the game, but this could be what I've been looking for since coming here." He smiles, flashing his perfect white teeth, and locks gazes with me. Those teal eyes can stun anyone. I bite my lower lip, nodding.
"Then it's settled," I say.
"Percy!" I hear a girl say. It took me until then to realize how close we were standing. Less than half a foot apart—when did that happen? Backing up and tucking the loose hair behind my ear, I wave to Percy and smile.
"I've gotta go," I say quickly. He doesn't buy my less than sincere goodbye, but goes with the flow.
"Hold up, Annabeth," he calls after me. I turn around to face him.
"How can I contact you?"
"Well," I think," you live in the same apartment complex as I do, right?"
"Yeah," he responds slowly.
"How about you come over to my place around seven tonight? Apartment 201."
"Sounds great! See you then, Annabeth." He smiles. I can't help but notice how much that smile is growing on me. Blushing, I turn to head to the locker rooms as the girl who called out Percy's name runs in with her cheerleading outfit, perfect hair, and her mommy-and-daddy-buy-me-everything attitude. I roll my eyes as I open the door leading to the locker room. Pulling my hair down from the ponytail, I look in the mirror and run my hand through my curls.
What a strange day.
I open my locker to begin changing when someone comes up from behind and slams it shut, or tries to due to my arms being in the way. I moan and turn to my attacker.
Kelli. The bane of my existence. I sigh and give her my undivided attention, knowing if I didn't there would be hell to pay.
"How can I help you, Kelli?"
"You can stay away from Percy," she glares at me. "I can't believe someone of your geeky past would even try! It's hilarious! But don't fool yourself for one minute, ugly, because he's like totally into me. So scram if you want to walk these halls again."
I forgot how poorly constructed her sentences are. Shaking my head, I turn around to re-open my locker.
"Whatever you say, Kel—" She slams my head into the locker.
"Idiot. Don't shake your head at me when I degrade you." She grips my hair tight and pulls. I moan in pain, but I can't let her get to me or she will win.
"Wow, Kelli, I had no idea you've been reading a dictionary. 'Degrade' is, like, such a big word." I mimic her valley girl accent to add insult. She glares at me.
"You would be so surprised with, like, how smart I can be."
"And that sentence you just uttered from your lips has completely convinced me that you are indeed smart and can hold a deep, intellectual conversation with anyone of your choosing."
"Whatever, Beth, just back off," she aggressively lets go of my hair and stomps away. I smile to myself, rolling my eyes, and turn to my locker again to finish my uncompleted task of changing out of these sweaty gym clothes.
"She will do great things," I mutter to myself as I pull out my shoes, clothes, and bag and begin to make myself decent again.
"Dad! I'm home!" I call out, shutting the door behind me. I flick on the entrance light and hear nothing. I call out again, but there is no response. I enter the kitchen to find a note:
AB, I'll be back around nine tonight. Got called in for an emergency meeting. Feel free to call me out of it though.
Typical. He doesn't want to attend a boring meeting. Laughing a bit, I continue reading.
Leftover food in the fridge. The twins are at a friend's house tonight. Let me know what you are doing.
Love you,
Dad.
I find a pencil and paper to leave him a note that I will be gone for a while tonight as well. He always forgets that my friends and I go bowling on Friday evenings.
Since I have the whole house to myself, I bring my school bag to my room, drape my sweatshirt over the back of my chair, and grab my towel off its drying hook to take a shower. As I enter the bathroom I take in my appearance in the mirror.
My hair falls around my face in curly blonde streaks, light freckles dance across my face, and my sleet grey eyes look unforgiving. I guess Kelli really did end up bothering me more than I planned. Puffing a sigh, I turn to my shower and turn on the water, allowing it to warm up a bit. I jump in after a minute and sigh contentedly as the warm water cascades down my frozen body. I look to my wrists and see bruises forming where Kelli slammed my arms in my locker. Nothing doing about them, though, as I close my eyes and try to think of a happier place than that high school.
I place my plate in the sink once I have finished dinner and hear a knock on my door. Turning to look at a clock it reads seven on the dot. I didn't realize it was getting that late.
"Just a second!" I call, running into my room to grab my sweatshirt, purse, and a scarf. I look in the mirror and give myself an encouraging nod. Then laugh at myself for doing something so dorky.
I make my way to the door and open it to reveal Percy standing there, hands in his pockets. I smile, simply because I don't know what to say.
"Hi," he says.
"Hi," I respond.
"Great conversation so far," he states with a chuckle. I laugh softly, too. "So, what have you got planned for us tonight?" He moves so I can shut the door and lock it. We turn to head down the hallway.
"Well, my friends and I go bowling on Friday nights in town. They have half price bowling and shoe rental after seven."
"Sounds fun! I haven't been bowling in years." He admits quietly. I laugh.
"Don't worry, we're not super competitive. Except for Thalia, we are all pretty low key."
"I can see Thalia being competitive," he laughs. I turn my attention to him.
"Do you know her?" I tilt my head to the side.
"Yeah, we have English together. Second hour."
"Ah," is all I say. I know English isn't her favorite subject, and I know she vocalizes it as often as she physically can. I smile at the thought of her bursting her opinions in the middle of class.
"Yeah, I bet you can imagine how it goes," he laughs. We walk up to the exit of the building and make out way across the street. The bowling alley is just a couple blocks away.
"So," I start, as I begin to walk in a crosswalk, but he grips the inside of my elbow and jerks me back onto the sidewalk and out of the path from a car severely off course. I suck in a sharp breath, and turn to watch the car skid off around a corner a few blocks down.
"You okay?" Percy asks, tilting his head to the side.
"Yeah," I breathe. "Thank you," I look up at him, noticing how close we are. He still holds my arm tightly, and holds me against him. I cough, blushing, and step away. He lets go of my arm and scratches behind his neck. That must be a nervous habit of his.
"Come on," he says, pointing at the crosswalk light signaling that we can go. "We don't want to be late now, do we?"
"Or run over by cars," I mutter. He outright laughs. I've never heard a laugh like his—filled with joy, color, and depth. I smile as I catch up to him as we continue walking to the bowling alley.
"Strike!"
Jason is really good at bowling. He is actually in the local bowling league, and tells us all sorts of new tricks he has learned over the past week. As he fist bumps the air returning to his seat, we all give mocking moans of boredom and pain.
"Come on, Jason," Thalia groans, "can you just not be good at something for a couple hours?"
"Nope," he says, plopping down in his seat and grabbing his water. I laugh.
"We'll find something you aren't amazing at. Just give us some time," I say.
"Then that's all you guys will want to do!" He whines.
"Exactly!" we all respond. He simply shrugs.
"Whatever, you're up, Percy." He sips his water through a bendy-straw.
Percy stands and grabs his ball from the corral. Everyone piques in interest, and turns to me with tons of questions.
"So," Thalia leans over, "why is he hanging out with us again?"
"Because he's trying to make some real friends before graduation; at least, that's what he told me."
"And his group of mindless minions just doesn't cut it for him anymore," she states, quirking an eyebrow skeptically. Thalia is the most expressive of all of us. Her short spiky black hair and black studded attire clearly speak volumes of their own; but she still makes sure her message gets across in some way. I'm about to respond when her cousin, Nico, cuts me off.
"Let him do what he likes," he simply says. "He hasn't done anything to offend you, Thals, so I don't see a problem." He brings his hands behind his head, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.
"Fine," she submits. We hear pins go down and see that he also got a strike. Thalia throws her hands up in fake frustration.
"Come on," she groans. We all laugh.
"Looks like you've got some competition, Jason," Nico chimes in.
"Yeah? It's just the first frame," he says, "the game isn't over yet."
"Or, as Sherlock would say, 'the game, Mrs. Hudson, is on!'" I chime in just as Percy sits down. He jerks his head up and smiles.
"You watch BBC Sherlock?"
He sounds surprised. I raise my eyebrows, smiling.
"Yeah! Do you?"
"Yeah buddy! You're the first person I've met who watches it other than my parents and cousins in New York."
"Annabeth, it's your turn," Nico states.
"Don't worry," I say to Percy, "you'll fit in just fine here, then. All of us are Sherlock fans." I walk over to the corral and pick up my ball to get into position. I watch it as it spins down the lane, right for the middle pin, but only knocks down seven of them. Sighing, I return to the corral to wait for my ball. I turn around to watch my friends as they talk. Thalia and Percy are in a pretty deep discussion. It almost seems like an embarrassing one, the way Percy's cheeks are growing redder by the second. Jason and Nico simply laugh at whatever Thalia is saying. Then Percy turns his attention back to me, taking me in from head to toe, then turns back to Thalia.
What was that about?
Shrugging it off, I hear the ball come out of the track and into the corral. Grabbing it, I get into the proper positioning and let it fly. Hearing the satisfying sound of the remaining pins falling down, I smile and walk back to my seat. They quickly drop the topic of discussion at hand. I continue on as if I hadn't noticed it.
"Spare," I announce. Thalia gives me a high five.
"Nice work, Annabeth," she says, standing to take her turn.
I know that none of them will divulge what they were talking about before I sat down again, but if I had to make a guess, it had to do with me.
But what would they ask Percy about me? I try to think of what it could be, but come up with nothing as the night continues. I eventually set it on the back burner of my thoughts and simply enjoy the night of bowling and friends.
We go out for milkshakes afterward at the local diner. On our way to the car, Jason turns to the group.
"I think next week I'll bring my girlfriend. She's visiting from out of town. And I figured since Annabeth brought her boyfriend tonight, that—hey!" I slapped him upside the head, earning laughs from everyone else. Smiling to myself as I got into the car I lean my head against the headrest behind me, closing my eyes to enjoy the company of people who like me instead of bully me. I have been hiding my bruises on my wrists all night and nobody has noticed. I sigh, opening my eyes again as everyone else clamors into the vehicle.
Jason drops Percy and me off at our apartment complex. As we wave goodbye, we turn around to enter the building. Percy grabs my wrists and stops me just outside, though. I hiss as the pain erupts over my arms, quickly trying to retract them from his grip. He simply grabs them again, gently this time, and examines them.
"You didn't have these after class today," he states sadly. "What happened?"
I had no idea he was so compassionate and caring. I smile sadly.
"Well, you know Kelli, right?"
He glares and makes a gagging sound.
"I'll take that as a yes. She slammed my arms into my locker after class."
"Why?" His face is full of concern as he continues to examine my arms.
"She saw me talking to you, actually," I admit quietly.
He stays quiet, still holding onto my arms. He runs his fingers up and down them soothingly. I close my eyes, dropping my head to face the ground. Then I suddenly smell his scent as my face is buried into his shirt. I feel his arms encompass me and his hand rubbing circles into my back. I freeze with my arms between us. No one has held me like this in a long time. Also no guy has ever held me like this. Ever.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
"Me, too," I respond softly.
He pulls back, grasping my shoulders, looking confused.
"Why are you sorry? It's because of me this happened to you."
"Because I just should have kept silent," I mumble. He brings his hand up to my chin and lifts it to bring my gaze to his.
"No, you shouldn't have. Kelli is being abusive. That's not something you want to keep quiet. I can help you," he starts. I bring up my hand to silence him.
"Really, Percy, it's fine. I'm used to being bullied, as sad as it is to say," I let out a soft laugh. "Honestly, there really isn't much time left in school, so I just need to grin and bear it until graduation. Then the real world stuff will hit them and they won't be ready. I'm just waiting for the day that mommy and daddy doesn't pay for everything they own."
"Wow, that's kind of adorably evil, Annabeth," he laughs. I smile. "I don't think I will ever place a bet against you," he admits, placing his hands in his pockets. I smile.
"Well thank you, Percy," I say as I grab my key to open the door leading into the apartments. We walk up the stairs in silence as he walks me to my door. Wow, chivalry does still exist!
I turn to unlock my door and place my key in the tumbler.
"Annabeth," Percy says.
"Yes?" I turn to face him once I unlock the door and take the key out.
"Thanks for tonight. I haven't been around the best people lately, and tonight was just what I needed. It restored my faith in humanity, if only a little."
"Hey, we do what we can," I place my hand on his shoulder. He smiles.
"Also," he pulls out his phone from his pocket, "would you mind if I got your number? I mean, I'm going to need some help on some tests coming up," he trails off. I laugh.
"I only give you my number to help with school. No other purpose. Clear?" He laughs.
"Absolutely," he says. I give him my number and he turns to leave. Smiling, I turn to enter my apartment. My dad still isn't home, so I assume the meeting is going late. Refusing to let boredom ensue, I change into my sweatpants and tank top, and plop down on my bed to read a bit in my architecture book before falling into the world of dreams.
Monday came quicker than I wanted it to. As I walk the halls of my prison, my judgers sneer and glare at me. I smile back with as much spite I can muster. As the bell rings, I make it to my first hour class I share with Jason. I sit in my usual seat, and thud my books onto my desk a little more aggressively than normal.
"Everything okay?" Jason asks.
"Sure," I respond. Jason is about to ask me another question when the teacher stood up and began his lecture.
Needless to say I didn't focus.
Why are people harboring even more animosity towards me than normal? I don't see what I did wrong to upset the status quo. Oh yeah, other than hang out with one of the most popular guys in school this past weekend, Percy, I can't think of a single reason.
High school is such a shallow place.
I head to the lunch line a bit early today, seeing as I don't want to be glared at for another second by all the popular girls. I roll my eyes as I turn the corner into the cafeteria. But it turns out the girls' glaring was the least of my worries.
I stand in front of the entire swim team, all of them with intimidating stances and glares, pointed at me. I raise my eyebrows, curious what is going on.
"Can I help you?" I say, due to lack of better conversation starters with school bullies.
"Yeah," one of them piped up. His name is Octavian. "You can help us. Can you show us which way leads us to the nurses office?"
Uh oh. I know where this is going.
"Sure," I say, my voice dripping with distain and sarcasm, "leave the commons over there and head down that locker bay, go down the hallway t off to the right then it's the first door on your right. Why? Are one of you injured?" I smile sweetly at the end. They only snicker.
"No, we were just wondering if you knew where to go after this," one of the guys steps forward and grabs me by the arms, picking up my little frame like I weigh nothing, and carrying me over to the garbage can. I start screaming, but the loud noise of their laughter drowns out my desperate cries for help. He walks up to the nearest trash bin and holds me over it. He is about to let go when suddenly I hear someone yell.
"Enough," Percy said. Everyone turns around to look at him. Octavian simply lifts his eyebrows in shock. "Put her down." He says forcefully. The guy holding me laughs.
"Very poor choice of words," he says as I look down. I widen my legs so my feet are placed on the edge of the bin.
"Whoa, Joker, seriously?" Unfortunately, my Batman reference goes unnoticed. I guess that happens when you're dangling over a garbage can. "You're actually doing this," I breathe.
I step up on the bin just in time as he lets me go. I jump off the bin and march right up to the one who held me over it.
"I can't believe you," I say with as much intimidation as I can gather. "You would do that to someone?"
He just laughs.
"I do it all the time, princess," he says. A few of his buddies pat his shoulder, also laughing.
"You are despicable," I say, turning to Percy and standing beside him.
"If I ever catch you guys doing anything like this to Annabeth again, I swear to the gods I will find you and make you wish you hadn't. Understood?"
I think he actually struck fear into them. All of their eyes widen as he said it, and shock takes over. All of them nod in unison.
"Good, now that we have that clear," he places an arm around my shoulders, "I am going to get some lunch. Annabeth, would you come with me?"
I nod, giving the swimmers one last glance. I look at Octavian last and see a look of pure loathing cover his features. I make a mental note to never cross his path again.
"Sorry, Annabeth," Percy says, "I would have gotten there sooner if I hadn't helped someone with their books they dropped in the hallway."
Man, you don't find a guy this sweet every day. I smile.
"Well, you'll just have to be less chivalrous in the future if you want me to stay out of garbage cans," I laugh. He joins me as we make our way to the end of the lunch line.
Friday. Finally.
All tests are done, papers handed in, and homework accounted for, as I head to my last class of the day. Gym.
And now I have a friend in that class.
I change in the locker room and just finish pulling down my shirt when the teacher comes in blowing his whistle.
Again? We just did this last week.
I shut my locker and head out toward the pitch. I see Percy ahead of me and jog to catch up to him, enjoying the sun.
"Hey," he says. "It's almost the weekend!"
"I know! I can't wait to not see my bullies for a full two days." He turns his head to me, suddenly turning serious.
"Were there more incidents this week?" He puts a hand on my shoulder. I look away, down at the grass. I don't have to say anything, and he knows it happened all throughout the week.
"Maybe becoming my friend wasn't such a good idea," he mumbles. I turn my gaze back to his teal eyes.
"No," I submit, he looks confused, and then I smile. "It was a great idea." I laugh.
He smiles in return, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"Hey, I'm serious. I'm glad we're friends," I place my hand on his shoulder. His smile becomes more genuine.
We meet up with the rest of the class on the pitch. The teacher whistles, not before I plug my ears, and states we are doing another five mile run. We get to the start position, Percy close to me, and the teacher blows the whistle.
Now I kind of don't like running. Rather, running and talking have never been a problem for me before I made friends with someone in my same gym class. I get winded a lot easier now than if I was just running. I had to cut Percy off for the last mile just to maintain a decent speed. He laughs.
"What's wrong, Wise Girl? Can't talk and run at the same time?"
"Wise Girl?" I manage between breaths. He smiles.
"Ever hear of a nickname before?" He asks, laughing.
"Yeah, Seaweed Brain, I've heard of nicknames," I respond.
"Seaweed Brain?" He responds as I smile.
"What, you can give me a nickname, and I can't give you one? What is this?"
"I guess, but Seaweed Brain?" He asks as we cross the finish. We slow our pace down to a walking speed to catch our breath.
"I remember this past week you mentioned how much you love the ocean. It's the best I could come up with in a pinch."
"Well, I think it's good," he laughs.
"Because your brain is actually full of seaweed?"
"Yes," he deadpans. I laugh. I see out of the corner of my eye that nearly everyone has finished with the run. I lean against the fence for the tennis courts for support and see someone come up to me in my peripheral vision. I turn to see who it is.
Kelli.
I really don't want to deal with her right now, but she gives me no choice.
"What did I tell you a week ago, Beth?" She gets dangerously close to my face, glaring. "He's mine," she warns.
"Excuse me," Percy interjects, "but I believe I have a say in who I belong to." He folds his arms in front of him and waits for Kelli's move.
"But Percy," she says, suddenly sweet. I had no idea her voice could sound so, what's the word, human?
"No buts," he cuts her off again. "And for the record, I like Annabeth, so you back off of her or you'll have me to deal with. Capiche?"
She looks like tears are about to fall over her eyelids. I almost feel bad for her, but the feeling is quickly removed by her sudden death glare she shoots my way. I raise my eyebrows as she walks away.
"Yikes," I breathe. "Thanks, Percy."
"No problem," he says, grabbing my arm and leading me inside.
I know we've really only known each other for the past week, but I can't get over the thought that I might be developing feelings stronger than friendship for him.
"Dad?" I enter my apartment, and find it to be empty again. I flick on the light and enter the kitchen. Another note on the counter, almost identical to last week's, tells me he is at work and the twins are not home tonight. I bring my bag and sweatshirt into my room and come back out to the living room to watch some television. I pop in a DVD of BBC Sherlock series two and I get up to find some popcorn. Opening a bag of it and putting it into the microwave, I hear a knock on the door. I grab a bowl from the cupboard and place it on the counter before grabbing the door. I twist the handle and pull it open to reveal Percy.
"Hey, Percy" I say.
"Hey, Annabeth," he responds. "Can I come in?"
"Sure," I move out of his way so he can enter. He takes off his shoes and places them on the mat next to the entrance. I go back to the kitchen to see if my popcorn is ready. I pull it out of the microwave when it is and place it in the bowl.
"Want some popcorn?"
"Don't mind if I—dude. You have Sherlock on DVD?"
"Maybe," I respond slyly.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all, actually, I just have to grab a blanket from my room quick."
"Awesome," he says, sitting down on the couch and anxiously awaiting my return to start up the show. I pull my go-to throw out from my trunk and bring it out to the living room. I place it over me and start up the DVD. Percy lays his arm behind me on the couch, and leans in. I can't help but notice our proximity. Needless to say, I zoned out for a while.
About half way through, I got up to use the bathroom.
"Want me to pause it?" He asks.
"No, I've watched all the episodes. You keep going." I close the door to our bathroom. Once I'm done, I look in the mirror again. The bruises from last week are almost, if not all the way, gone, and a newly found confidence has arisen in me. There is just something about Percy that did that. And I like it.
Leaving the bathroom, I walk back into the living room and Percy stands up to walk over to the bathroom as well.
Or so I thought.
He holds out his leg and trips me, but he falls with me on his back so I lay on top of him.
"Remember when this happened last week during dodge ball?" He looks at me with his piercing teal eyes. My breathing becomes labored for some reason. How could I forget this?
"Of course I do," I whisper.
"Well, that is when my life changed. I met the most amazing, self-confident girl, and she taught me that there is so much more to life than being popular."
"Oh really? Who is this girl?" I say sarcastically.
"Her name is Annabeth. She's pretty cool," he blushes. "And pretty."
I blush, too. Did he really just say what I think he said? He thinks I'm pretty? I smile.
He reaches up and entwines his hand into my curly hair, and grabs my waist with his other hand. I place my hand on his chest, splaying my fingers to feel his strength, and he brings my head in to close the distance.
As his soft lips perfectly move with mine, all I can think of is how he truly thinks I'm worth it, that I'm beautiful. His hands explore, and I sigh. I place kisses on his neck and he brings me back for another round.
And all that goes through my mind, as he whispers my name like a song, is that this only happened because of a beautiful accident during a dodge ball game.