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Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson *sadface* (get the joke, Twin?) Oh, and I didn't make up the title; it's a song called "You Picked Me" by A Fine Frenzy (she's amazing!)
You Picked Me: Chapter 2
Annabeth was hurt, but she hid her emotions from Thalia. She dismissed herself from the table, grabbed her tray, and bolted out of the cafeteria. Annabeth ignored her friend's objections. As she left, she saw Percy's worried expression. Percy was about to get up but Rachel held him down, distracting him somehow.
Annabeth headed to the library, her favorite place to just sit and relax. But she couldn't concentrate on her work, and she couldn't relax due to what she saw in the cafeteria. She just couldn't distract herself. She found herself wondering about Thalia's plan, really hoping it would work. As Annabeth stared off into space, she didn't notice Thalia's presence near by.
"Alright Annabeth, get your act together. I have a plan and Grover and Juniper are in on it too," Thalia said with an authoritative voice. Her lips were thin, her expression serious.
"I don't know Thals… Are you sure? If he's willing to pick Rachel over us, I doubt he'd pick her over me," Annabeth said, speaking as if it were obvious. Frankly, Annabeth was a bit surprised with herself. She usually never seemed so doubtful, or vulnerable. With Thalia, it was a different story, she assumed. She understood, at least.
"It will most definitely work, I am positive."
Thalia sat down and mapped out the plan to Annabeth. Annabeth smiled to herself, feeling a little more hopeful. She was more confident now that Thalia had devised a plan that sounded promising. They finished finalizing details of the plan and joined Juniper for their next class. Though it was usually Annabeth with the plan, she left it all up to Thalia this time.
--
After school, Annabeth and Thalia met up at their adjacent lockers. Every Monday, the two best friends went to a small coffee shop to study and talk. No one really knew about the place because it was on a small side street. They were sitting in the back when they noticed Percy and Rachel walk in. This girl was really starting to annoy Annabeth; she just wouldn't leave his side. Annabeth ducked down before they could notice Annabeth and Thalia in the back.
Percy and Rachel sat down at a table by a window in the front. Rachel was being overly flirtatious as if she knew Annabeth was there, watching them. Percy, being the seaweed brain he is, didn't think much of it. He believed him and Rachel to be just friends, not knowing she liked him a lot more than he liked her.
"Let's regroup here, I didn't think we would have to start until tomorrow by why wait?" Thalia said, "Here's the new first part of Operation Percabeth…"
"Percabeth?" interrupted Annabeth, confused by the name.
"Percy and Annabeth of course! Did you really think I could pay attention in math with my best friend upset? No, so I thought of a name for you two," Thalia laughed.
Annabeth shook her head; leave it to Thalia to come up with a name for the two of them, even though they weren't going out… yet.
"Go over there to get some sugar and wait for Percy to casually notice you. When he calls you over, walk over and be flirty with him. Touch his arm, laugh at his jokes, stuff like that. Also, if he stands up give him a small hug and wait for him to let go."
"That's a lot, you are sure that will work?" Annabeth questioned.
"Positive, now go!" replied Thalia, giving Annabeth a little push towards the sugar stand.
--
Annabeth slowly walked over to the sugar stand, peering at Percy and waiting for him to glance her way. She turned her body diagonally so he would notice her. He casually turned his head and happened to notice Annabeth standing right across the room.
"Annabeth?" Percy called out.
Annabeth looked over 'cluelessly' and saw Percy wave. The smile on Rachel's face dropped right away. She walked over, ignoring the glare from Rachel.
When Percy stood up she hugged him, making sure he let go first.
"Long time no see Seaweed Brain," she joked.
Percy scratched the back of his and grinned.
"Heh, yeah, two hours! So long ago!" he said sarcastically, "What are you up to right now?"
Annabeth noticed Rachel's scowl and smirked to herself. She was secretly gloating to herself and glad she took Percy's attention from her.
"I'm actually here with Thalia doing homework and stuff. Someone didn't show up today at the lockers…" she trailed off accusingly.
"Oh," Percy replied embarrassed, "yeah, sorry about that. Rachel said she needed to talk to me, and we happened to come here." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
Annabeth's face fell. Of course he chose Rachel over them. No surprise there. But she would go on with Thalia's plan and hope that it works.
"Why don't we hang out tomorrow after school? Maybe go to a movie and dinner?" Annabeth suggested curiously. 'Where did that come from?' she thought, surprised at herself and her boldness. It was so unlike her and yet, she liked this newfound confidence. This wasn't exactly what Thalia had told her to do, but it seemed to work.
Rachel coughed, breaking any moment Annabeth and Percy had. She gave Annabeth a nasty look for interrupting what she believed to be a "date" with Percy. Annabeth completely ignored her and looked back at Percy, awaiting his response.
"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll call you later so we can talk," he said smiling at her.
In truth, Annabeth was ecstatic, but she maintained her cool.
"Okay," she replied, smiling, "well, I have to get back to Thalia. I guess I'll talk to you later."
She grasped his arm, squeezing it lightly, and walked back to her table where she saw Thalia's excited expression. Annabeth grinned, a blush rising to her cheeks. Thalia would tease her about this, saying it was a 'date', as would all of her other friends.
--
Thalia was shaking her arms in excitement. Annabeth swore she would keel over from spazzing, "No studying today. We have too much to do for tomorrow. Clothes, makeup, shoes…" Thalia began mumbling to herself like a crazy woman.
"Um, Thals?" said Annabeth, trying to bring Thalia back down to earth.
"Hmm?" Thalia asked, not all the way there.
"Shouldn't I just be myself?" Annabeth questioned, "I'm not some doll to glam up, and Percy is not Ken," Annabeth said stubbornly.
Thalia raised her eyebrow at Annabeth.
"Yeah, yeah of course. Um, right well let's go. We have things to go over before your date tomorrow."
Annabeth didn't bother correcting her or going against her. What Thalia wanted, Thalia got. And if she wanted to put make-up on Annabeth, she would, forcefully or not.
She knew Percy didn't consider it a date and neither did she, but she couldn't help the feelings that bubbled up in the pit of stomach. Thalia grabbed their books, handed Annabeth her bag, and together they walked out of the coffee shop.
--
During school the next day, Annabeth found it hard to concentrate. She was excited and nervous about her afternoon with Percy. When lunch rolled around, Annabeth and Thalia excused themselves, muttering something about unfinished work, and went to the library to prepare for the afternoon. Thalia dressed Annabeth in a navy blue v-neck shirt with a high wasted, short, flowy black skirt and black high tops converse.
Annabeth was reluctant to letting Thalia put makeup on her. She only allowed a bit of mascara, a little eyeliner, and some colored lip balm. Thalia was sure Percy would take note of this. After this date, Thalia was sure Percy would be convinced that Annabeth was the girl for him.
When the last bell of the day sounded, Percy and Annabeth met outside on the steps of the school, ready for their outing.
"So what do you want to do first, Wise Girl? Movie or dinner?" asked Percy as they walked down the street.
"I think we should get dinner first," Annabeth responded, "what movie are we seeing?"
"Well down in the village, the Barefoot Contessa is doing a Horror Movie Marathon Week, so I thought we could see that. Tonight they're showing The Covenant, which I heard is pretty good," Percy replied.
The Barefoot Contessa is a small, old time movie theatre where they showed a different movie every night. They usually had themed weeks and showed different movies under certain themes. It was a fun place for teenagers to hang out with friends, and the place would always be packed. It had a room with the ticket counter and concession stand. There was only one room with a semi-big screen where the movie was played that had red cushioned seats going up a hill.
"Is that the one about the Salem Witch Trials? I think I've heard of it before."
"Mhm, I think so," said Percy. He seemed to be distracted by a familiar voice he had heard.
Percy turned around quickly, but no one was there. He could have sworn he heard a voice awfully familiar to Grover's.
"Seaweed Brain? Hellooo…?" Annabeth was shaking her hand in front of Percy's face, trying to grab his attention.
"Yeah, I just thought I heard Grover's voice," replied Percy, shaking his head, confused.
"Must be the empathy link," he chuckled.
"Interesting…" Annabeth murmured, "I'll bet Thalia and Grover are following us."
"What was that?" asked Percy, puzzled.
Annabeth shook her head, muttering a quick, "It's nothing, Seaweed Brain," her face flaming.
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