Welcome to the story everyone!

I'm going to point out now that this is only a teaser. The full story should be posted very soon, but I still appreciate any feedback that you've got to offer.

This is a Percabeth AU, so the gods don't exist. Percy and Annabeth are 17 and in high-school.

And thanks to my sister who wrote this story with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

She looked at him from across the room. Well, 'looked' was a bit of an understatement, as she had been staring at the back of his head for the past half hour. That wasn't a particularly abnormal act for a teenage girl who was sitting in the middle of her algebra class, but this was Annabeth Chase, and Annabeth Chase had never not payed attention to Mrs Walker, no matter how boring her classmates found the lesson to be.

The clock above the blackboard was ticking by agonisingly slowly, and you could almost hear the impatience of the twenty teenagers in that room who were watching it, eager to bolt out of the door and escape into the sunny afternoon.

But one boy was neither watching the clock nor Mrs Walker, and was instead gazing out of the window onto the grassy field of the Goode High School oval. He was tapping the end of his pen against his desk so loudly, that Annabeth could hear it from her seat two rows behind him. And apparently, she wasn't the only one.

"Mr Jackson?"

Both Annabeth and the boy were jerked out their daydreaming at the sound of Mrs Walker's voice. He sat up straight and stopped tapping his pen, and Annabeth smiled as he ran his fingers through his dark, shaggy hair before addressing their teacher.

"Yes ma'am?"

Mrs Walker sighed before answering, "I would appreciate it, Mr Jackson, if you could take a little time out of your day to pay attention in my class."

The boy grimaced, knowing that that was the last time he'd be called out without getting detention. Annabeth muffled a silent laugh that escaped her lips as she picked up her own pen, hoping she'd hear the sound of the Goode High bell – her ticket to freedom. And also partially because she hadn't completed more than three of the Worked Example problems that Mrs Walker had set for them that lesson.

Luckily, her wish was granted and she heard the school bell echoing throughout the corridors.

"Make sure that you've completed the Chapter Review by tomorrow's lesson," Mrs Walker called out to the bustling class. "Oh, and Mr Jackson? Make sure you are on time tomorrow."

Just before she left, Annabeth saw him salute and grin widely. "Sir, yes sir," he said. "You can count on me."

Mrs Walker smiled. "I hope so, Mr Jackson. Now go on, get out of here and enjoy your evening. You too Miss Chase."

Annabeth blushed as Mrs Walker gave her a knowing look.

"We will," the two answered together and hurried out into the corridor.

"Saved by the bell yet again," a voice said filled with obvious smugness.

Smiling, Annabeth replied, "Percy, your timing never ceases to amaze me."

"But it's just because I'm that awesome, am I right or am I right?" Percy said.

"Well, I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong." Annabeth shot back, leaving Percy frowning and contemplating the meaning of her remark.

"Anyway," Percy said catching up with her. "We're still on for tonight, right?"

They had reached their lockers by this time, and while she was already organising her books ready for the next day, he was banging on his locker door after its refusal to open.

"Of course," Annabeth said, trying to ignore the hypnotic aroma of Percy's shampoo. "Is Sally going to be there?"

"Mom's going out with Paul tonight, but she said that she'll leave some cookies in the oven for us. But, yeah, it's just us."

Annabeth's heart raced at the thought of the two of them being alone together, even though they had studied together countless times before.

"Awesome," she said, slamming her locker door shut and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "What are we working on tonight?"

Percy checked his phone before answering her. "We have that Chapter Review for Mrs Walker and I have an essay due next week."

"So you've been using that study app I got for you?" Annabeth asked, smirking.

Shoving his phone into his back pocket, Percy grabbed his own bag and began to weave his way through the mobs that cluttered the hallways.

"Yeah, I have," he said. "It has honestly saved my life this year."

"I knew it would."

"How'd you know that?"

"Because I know everything."

Percy scoffed. "You totally do not know everything."

"I beg to differ."

And so their contest began. There was an ongoing rivalry between the two and Annabeth won more times than Percy would care to remember. However, when competing against their other friends as well, an unspoken agreement ensured that they would always work together. They worked better as a team, and they preferred to be together anyway.

Let me know what you think so far. I've almost finished the story but can't work out whether to post it as a long one shot or as a two or three chapter story. If you have any preferences, please let me know!

Kisses,
Daphne