Hello again! As you may be able to tell, I am not one of those 'Updates in a month' writers. I update… a lot. But this is lucky, even for me. I will probably be able to update a few times a week.
LittleMissAnonymous- Well, here you go! :D
elephantlover123- Thank you! (Don't worry; I'm an exclamation point loving weirdo too!)
TheHerondale- Thanks so much! Here you go!
Also, sorry if I accidentally contradict anything from one chapter to the next. I'm not the best at remembering my stories minor details, but I try!
I am now going to bless you all with a new POV… Percy's. Yay! Enjoy :))
Disclaimer: I'm flattered, but I don't own PJO.
Percy's POV
I didn't wake up this morning and think, 'Maybe I should impress hot girls on the first day back at school. What should I wear that will get me girls?'
I woke up this morning and thought, 'Do I have to wake up?' and then I thought, 'Do I have any clean underwear?'
I don't know what the motto of that speech is. I was just thinking about it.
As quarterback on the football team, all the girls love me no matter what I wear, not that it matters. I can't make myself like any of them, from Drew Tanaka to the nerdiest nerd. Not a spark.
Basically, I've never kissed, had a girlfriend, any of that. I don't regret it. I just can't see myself kissing and dating a girl if I don't feel anything for her.
Beck and Silena- that's a real spark. That's what I want. I want something amazing… something that I want to be my future and start a family with.
I know. Congratulations, Percy. Real deep. Pat yourself on the back.
But when Beck and I were talking, he even said that it was the best thing he'd ever done, waiting for Silena, even when she wanted to date every guy in the school. He waited for her. And now he loved her, and she was his future. We graduated next year, and they were even probably going to colleges in the same state. Cheesy, but cute.
I think Beck set my standards too high. But that's what I'm waiting for.
I don't know the motto of that inspirational speech either.
So as I threw on that shirt and hoodie I wasn't thinking that I would wanna impress anyone at school today. Boy was I wrong.
When Piper Mclean brought Annabeth Chase, the new girl, over to our table, we immediately locked eyes. She gave me an once-over with her seriously stormy gray eyes, while I just gave her a teasing smirk. I immediately wanted to get to know her better. Don't ask me why. I didn't know anything about her except that she made me want to hug her and run from her at the same time.
Piper introduced everyone, and eventually Calypso brought Annabeth over to me, gave me a knowing smile, and plopped Annabeth between her and I. Rude, right?
"Hey, Annabeth," I said, giving her another classic Percy smirk.
She studied me again, quickly deciding to smile back. "Hi, Percy." Suddenly, she was pulled into a conversation with Calypso, Piper, and Silena. I inwardly groaned, knowing I'd never get her back now, and started up a conversation with Jason and Beck.
"So, Jason, what's up with Reyna?" Beck asked.
"What do you mean, 'what's up with Reyna'?" I said.
"Wait… Jason, you didn't tell Percy?"
"Tell me what?"
"That Reyna called him yesterday."
"Reyna called you?" This was weird. I turned back to Jason. "Why?"
Jason mumbled something about Beck not being able to keep a secret under his breath. Beck just laughed.
"Jason wouldn't tell me, either," he said. "Don't take it personally."
"I'll tell you if you won't tell anyone," Jason mumbled. Beck laughed again. "I'm serious, Beck."
"Okay… what happened?" I asked. I almost laughed because Jason sounded like a teenage girl. (AHAHA get it? Because I'm a teenage girl and I'm writing this? No? Alright. Well. Continue.)
"Reyna said…" He cringed. "Reyna said she was over me and wanted me to date Piper."
I laughed out loud but stopped at Jason's look. "What? It's not funny!" Jason said.
"Dude, why are you taking it so hard? You dumped her. Not vice versa," Beck said with a chuckle.
"Yeah. I mean, she literally gave you the go-ahead. That means she's over you." I laughed with Beck.
"Wait… really?" Jason said. His face brightened. "I thought she just wanted to make me feel bad about the whole dumping her thing."
"Nope. You dumped her last year. It's over now." Beck grinned. "Now you have to figure out how to ask Piper out." I left the conversation once they started talking about which was better, waiting for a special occasion or asking her today.
"Hey, Annabeth!" Leo called from across the table with a grin. "Where you from?"
"I've lived in cities all over New York and Connecticut," she said with a small smile "What are you making?" I didn't even notice that Leo was tinkering with something in his hands. I felt a pang of jealousy. That's stupid. You don't even know her. It seemed I had to remind myself that a lot today.
"Taking apart a battery," he said. He suddenly swore super loudly as he dropped it on the table. The wires were all messed up again. "I know there's a way to easily double the battery power." He sighed. "I just haven't figured it out yet."
Annabeth laughed—it was really cute—and walked around the table. I watched, slightly interested. Could I survive their nerd talk?
"It's a 9V rectangular, right?" she asked. Nope. Couldn't survive. Next conversation. I glanced around quickly. Will and Nico were talking and teasing. Not joining that one. Jason, Beck, and Frank were arguing. I'm good. Hazel was talking to Silena, probably about Frank. No thanks. Piper and Calypso were casually gossiping, while Thalia ate her food and looked genuinely normal, except she was eavesdropping on Jason's conversation. I laughed at Thalia, and she glanced at me with a glare. I moved over next to her.
"Hey, Pinecone Face," I said, as her glare got more menacing. I ignored it. "Wanna organize a squad fun night?"
She smiled, despite her previous bad attitude. She always loved getting everyone together. "My pleasure, Kelp Head. Hey, losers!" she yelled. I stifled a laugh as the people at the surrounding tables looked at our table warily. "No, the losers at my table," she corrected.
"What?" Annabeth said. I laughed gently, or so I tried to. I didn't want it to sound like I was making fun of her.
"We're organizing a squad fun night," I explained. Everyone else already knew the drill.
"For the record, Percy and Leo are the only ones who call it a 'squad fun night'," Beck said, snickering. I glared at him, but he laughed harder.
Annabeth smirked. "I can see these two coming up with that name." Leo glared at her, but smiled at the battery parts lying around them. I can't believe that Annabeth was that smart. Leo was mechanic smart, but not book smart. Annabeth was like… both. What a cute little nerd. Forget I said that.
"Who's house?" Hazel asked.
"Not it," Beck, Calypso, and I called out at the same time.
"Oh, our house should be fine," Jason said.
Thalia nodded. "Dad's away on business." Thalia and Jason were twins. They got along mostly, with occasionally arguments. I feel like they bond a lot more by themselves than they do with all of us.
"Cool, after school?" I asked. Since it was Thursday, I didn't have football, thankfully. Jason, Beck, and Will were all also on the team, and they gave a nod of consent.
I glanced at Annabeth, and she looked intrigued. "Ladies, including our newest squad member Annabeth, does that work for you?"
Murmurs of consent filled the table. I grinned. Tahlia and I high-fived. "Sweet." I polished off my second slice of pizza just as the warning bell rang.
Jason cursed, standing up. "I was supposed to be at class early!" He ran off. I pushed my chair back, stretching.
"I should probably be at Biology," I said, winking at Annabeth. Her cheeks went pink. I loved making her blush.
"Alright, bye, Perce!" Beck called, the rest of them also getting ready to go.
I got there three minutes early, which wasn't like me at all. I heard earlier that Annabeth had this biology class, and I wanted to see if it was true. (Yeah. That's what I wanted.)
Sure enough, she walked in right on time, only thirty seconds after me. She glanced around the room, and her eyes found mine. I smirked at her, getting a smile in return as she—Wait. Holy shit. She's walking over to me. Damn, look at her—shut up, Percy. Fuck. She's sitting beside me. (Sorry, my mind gets filled with swears when I'm nervous.) Keep it cool, Percy, keep it cool.
"Hey, Blondie," I said with a chuckle. "Long time, no see." That was totally cool, I thought, my mind's voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Don't call me Blondie, Bedhead," she retorted. She was smiling, though. One point, Percy.
"What?" I said, teasingly running my fingers through my hair. "Is it that bad?"
"Yes," she said with a totally straight face. She turned to face the front as the teacher walked into the room. The rest of the class went by in a blur. I wasn't paying attention at all. I kept sneaking glances at Annabeth (What? I'm a hormonal teenage boy!), and I'm pretty sure she caught me more than once.
As class ended and I tidied my stuff, I thought back to my mom's second car in the parking lot. She'd been letting me drive it since I'd gotten my license. Did Annabeth need a ride to Jason's? Because I could totally do that.
I turned to her just as she turned and started talking to me. I burst out laughing and she blushed again. I eventually heard her laughing with me. We managed to get up and walk out to the hallway, still chuckling.
"So, what did you want to say?" she asked me.
"I was just wondering if you needed a ride to Jason's," I asked casually.
She stared at me, looking surprised. "You're 16, right? How do you already have your license?"
I considered lying to her, not wanting to ruin my chances with her. I finally decided to just tell the truth. "I'm actually 17, as of August. I, uh, was held back in eighth grade. Dyslexia and ADHD. Then I met Jason and Beck, so it wasn't bad."
"Oh," she said with a light laugh. Wow, she wasn't judging me. "Well, a ride would be great then. Thanks." Oh, gods. Her smile was amazing.
"What were you going to ask?" I asked.
She laughed. "The address of his house." I joined her in laughing. So she didn't hate me for being older. I was internally jumping up and down about the prospect of maybe dating Annabeth someday.
She gave me one last smile. "I have to go to French." I snorted as she tripped over her own feet, and she glared at me before giving me another smile. "Bye, Percy." She said lightly.
"Au revoir," I snorted, remembering my mom telling me that was how French people said goodbye. I ducked into my English class.
Annabeth's POV
Piper was right. When I got to French six minutes early, Hazel and I hit it off immediately. She just had such a lovable and innocent figure. No wonder Frank and she got along so well.
Piper arrived three minutes before class started, giving us a sarcastic "Bonjour," before sitting behind us.
French class flew by in a blur. It was my second year taking it, and we were reviewing simple things, like 'I love you', 'cat', and 'dog'. Which are, by the way, 'Je t'aime', 'chat', and 'chien', respectively.
Eventually, I was navigating through the halls, making my way towards the front of the school where I was meeting Percy. Percy Jackson, school jock and bad boy, hottie and still humble. You heard a lot about him and his crowd in just one day here at Goode. I guess I was in his crowd now, huh? I felt a small twinge of pride as I remembered only this morning meeting Piper on the bus. I had made a good choice. Now it wouldn't be so lousy getting on every morning.
I felt myself run into someone a couple of inches shorter than me. I was about to apologize when I realized it was Leo.
"Hey, Anniebell." He winked and kept going.
"Hey! You got my name wrong on purpose!" I called after him, but he grinned and was gone.
I continued my thinking. Hanging out with the 'squad' and Percy wouldn't be bad… at all. I was actually excited. First day of school, no homework, and a bunch of friends? Score. Potential boyfriend/crush? Bigger score.
That's not how Annabeth does things, though. I am not a girly girl who falls in love like… that. What are the statistics of him breaking up with me? Like, 85%? Something like that. Most high school relationships don't last. But… he's so cute. I pouted to myself, having an internal argument about Percy.
I suddenly felt myself falling, and let out a little gasp as I was caught and steadied by—you guessed it—cliché high school moment—Percy Jackson. His hands were on my waist.
"I'm so sorry—Annabeth!" He ran his fingers through his hair, giving me a sheepish smile. "Are you okay? Sorry!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I nervously adjusted my bag, giving him a smile to let him know all was forgiven.
"Sorry again," he said, gently taking my bag from my shoulder and carrying it himself. As we were nearing the front door, he held it open for me. Okay, someone brought up Percy the right way. I really need to congratulate his parents.
"Thanks," I said, smiling at him again. I felt myself becoming comfortable with him a lot faster than I became comfortable with anyone else. How did he do this to me?
He pointed to a silver Honda Accord. "That one's mine." He opened the passenger door for me, and I said thank you again. He dropped our bags in the backseat, and he climbed in the front. I noticed how he did everything the perfect driver's supposed to do. Hands at ten and two, adjusting the mirrors, buckling the seatbelt, etc.
He smiled at me again, turning on the radio. I laughed as Blank Space by Taylor Swift came on. He turned the volume up louder, singing in a falsetto voice with Taylor. I sang along too as we got to the chorus.
So it's gonna be forever. Percy made an awkward sounding 'Ehhhhh'. Or it's gonna go down in flames. He made a whoosh sound for the flames. I cracked up.
Out of nowhere his phone dinged from the backseat. "Can you get that?" he asked, turning the volume down two notches.
"Sure!" I grabbed it out of his bag. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just open it, I don't have a passcode," he said. "Who sent it and what does it say?"
"Uh…" I looked over it. "It's from Jason. He says ToD, ten mins. be there, your getting killed no matter what.
I laughed. "What's ToD?"
Percy laughed nervously. "Truth or Dare. It's pretty brutal, but it's awesome."
"Cool," I said, laughing, and going back to singing the end of the song.
Yeah, I got a blank space, baby, and I'll write your name. Percy gave me a smile.
"Hey, Blondie."
"Yea?" I said, glaring at him for still calling me Blondie.
"You've got a great voice." With a small smile on his face, he turned back to the road. I felt my cheeks go hot.
"Thanks. You're not too bad yourself." He laughed.
"Jason's house, right here!" We pulled up to a big house, and I got ready to get out.
"Not so fast," Percy said, looking at me seriously.
"What?" I said, giving him an awkward smile.
"Listen. Truth or dare with the squad can be a killer. Literally. Are you sure you want to do this?"
I laughed. "It can't be that bad. I've probably played worse games. Now come on, let's go." Faking confidence, piece of cake. Faking not liking Percy was much, much harder.
"Okay, Wise Girl," he said, stepping out of the car. I followed his lead.
"Why Wise Girl? I'm not that wise."
"Well, 'Confidence Girl' doesn't have the same ring to it," he said with a chuckle. I giggled. Annabeth Chase does not giggle. What is wrong with me?
"Alright, Seaweed Brain." He gave me a confused look, and I laughed. "Seaweed because you smell like saltwater, and seaweed brain because your brain's filled with seaweed. It's like a nice way of saying you're stupid. Anyways, only a Seaweed Brain would come up with a name like Wise Girl…" I trailed off when I realized I was rambling. He gave me an amused smile as we walked up the stairs.
"Ready?" he asked, perching his hand on the doorknob, waiting for my okay.
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," I said. He nodded, and we opened the door.
Stopping point! YAY!
Percabeth moments are what fuel me, oh my gods.
So anyways… What POV would you guys like to see next? Do you have any ideas or advice? I will credit you if you come up with something that I want to use, so feel free to throw anything at me.
Also, remember to use constructive criticism. There's a fine line between being helpful and being rude, so try to stay on the helpful side. No, nothing happened yet, I'm just trying to get that out there so the reviews stay nice.
Can I have 5 more reviews for a new chapter? Thanks! -Emily
