Hey everyone! So, a friend of mine (you know who you are) has discovered my account, so GV, if you're reading this, I dedicate this chapter to you. I hope you like it!
Percy
Over the next two days, I rarely left Annabeth's side, not caring how much like a love-sick puppy I looked. As long as she'd let me, I'd follow her to through the underworld and back
We finally presented our project to Mr. Brunner, and it seemed like it had gone pretty well, if I did say so myself. Annabeth panicked a little when her computer wouldn't pick up the link with the projector, but Mr. Brunner simply shrugged it off and said we could present directly from the computer.
"If we don't get an A on that, then I'm officially boycotting his class," I said indignantly as we walked out of school that day. Annabeth rolled her eyes at me.
"I still think we could have rehearsed more," she said. I gaped at her.
"You're kidding, right? We were amazing!" I exclaimed, throwing an arm around her shoulders. She laughed and hip checked me. I bumped her back.
"God, you're such a seaweed brain. Let's go," she said, shaking her head. We climbed into my car and drove to the Burger Palace. When we arrived, Piper was carrying a large order of fries to a booth in the back where Jason, Leo, Frank, and Hazel were waiting.
"Hey," I said, pulling a nearby table up to the edge of the booth to give us more room.
"Percy! Finally!" Leo exclaimed. "Would you please tell Jason that Doritos are far superior to Cheetos?"
I pursed my lips as I took a seat. "Well, which kind of Cheetos are we talking about? Puffs or the crunchy kind?" I asked.
"Oh god, you guys are still on this topic?" Piper groaned, slumping down in her seat.
"Snack foods are not a topic to be taken lightly!" Leo exclaimed, pounding his fist on the table.
"Jackman!" Mr. D called over. I instinctively turned to look at him despite the only slight resemblance to my name. "Keep your friends in check."
"I'm off the clock, Mr. D," I told him, leaning back on my chair so it balanced on two legs.
"So? Don't you respect the place you work? Is that the kind of person you want to be?" he snapped. I stared at him, slack jawed, then turned back to my friends.
"How did he turn that around on me?" I wondered, flabbergasted, but everyone had broken into their own conversations. Jason and Annabeth were talking about their courses, Leo continued to lament his snack opinions to Hazel, and Piper and Frank were talking heatedly about some TV show they both watched. I smiled and sat back in my chair, content to simply watch as they interacted. After while, my eyes finally settled on Annabeth. I was struck again at how gorgeous she was. It wasn't a flashy kind of pretty that smacks people in the face, saying "Look at me, I'm fabulous!", but a soft kind that demanded attention and focus to really appreciate its warm glow.
I reached out and took Annabeth's hand under the table. She looked at me, slightly startled, but then smiled and squeezed my fingers before resuming her conversation with Jason, letting me run my thumb over her knuckles.
Gods, I was so far gone, and I didn't care one bit.
"Hey, Paul," I said hesitantly. He looked up at me from his newspaper. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Need homework help? Now, I know those questions on symbolism were kind of tricky, but if you just give them your best shot—"
"No, Paul, it's not about that," I interrupted, laughing slightly. "Though now that you mention it, question two literally makes no sense… Okay, anyways, see, the thing I wanted to talk to you about, um…"
"Yes?" Paul said expectantly, setting down his paper. Concern flickered in his eyes.
"I wanted to ask you about Annabeth," I said finally. He nodded and leaned forward, locking his hands together in front of his mouth in a contemplative gesture that reminded me all too much of him when he was teaching. His eyes flickered to the chair adjacent to him, urging me to sit down.
"Go on," he prompted once I was seated. I swallowed thickly, feeling a nervous, guilty pit growing in my stomach. I was a little angry with myself for going to Paul, but I had to make sure Annabeth had told me the whole truth. It wasn't that I didn't trust her, but I still needed to be sure.
"Well… she told me why she left her old school," I began. "And that you found her, uh, crying." I balled my hands into fists, hating even the idea of her crying. "But… Well, I was wondering if there was any more to it. Besides the rumours."
Paul's eyes grew distant, probably remembering the event. I watched and waited with baited breath.
"No, I think it was just the rumours. But isn't this something you should be asking her?" he asked. His words were like a punch in the gut, but I couldn't say I hadn't known it was coming. I already felt horrible about going to him to ask, but I had pressed Annabeth enough already, and I didn't want her to think I didn't believe her.
"I just needed to ask," I said quietly, standing up and disappearing to my room.
Annabeth
Percy and I sat in my living room watching a movie, a blanket covering both our legs. He was completely enthralled with the tale of The Never Ending Story, but I was having trouble concentrating. He just looked so cute—his eyes glued to the screen and his lips slightly parted. I leaned against him, then gave him a small peck on the cheek, bring him out of his trance. He smiled and kissed me full on the lips. I felt my stomach flutter, a nasty habit I had picked up since I first kissed him.
"I really like this," he murmured softly, putting an arm around me. I nodded and hummed in agreement, turning my attention back to the screen.
After a while, a thought crossed my mind. "Hey, Percy," I said. "I'm sorry. For not telling you the truth right away." He looked at me, surprised by this sudden notion, but then smiled.
"No, it's okay, don't be sorry. I get why you wanted to keep it to yourself. I'm just happy you told me. And that you told me everything. When I asked Paul earlier he said—"
"Wait, what?" I asked. "What did you ask him about?" Percy paled, retracting his arm from around me. "Percy," I said warningly. He sighed and angled himself to face me.
"I have a confession," he said. "And, please, don't hate me for it," he said, his eyes pleading.
"What did you do?" I asked, feeling a little too much like I was scolding a dog that had used a nice pair of shoes as a chew toy.
"I just… it was stupid. I asked Paul if there was anything other than the rumours at your school, and he said no," he said quickly, as if it would somehow keep me from hearing what he had said. It took me a moment to fully process his words.
"…You… asked Mr. Blofis—Paul— if there was more than just the rumours at school?" I asked slowly. Percy nodded and looked down at his hands, a little guiltily.
"I told you everything, Percy," I said.
"I know."
"I poured my heart out in front of you."
"I know and—"
"Did you not believe me?" I stood up, my energy mounting, and Percy followed.
"No, I—"
"Did you not trust me?"
"Annabeth, listen!" he exclaimed, squeezing both of my arms as if to keep me in place. "I was wrong." I felt all my anger drain out of me in the blink of an eye. Percy let go of me and stepped back, spreading his hands by his sides. "It was stupid of me to ask him and I'm sorry. I do trust you—I do—but I wanted to know for sure. I know I should have asked you if I had any doubts, and I shouldn't have had any because I should have just trusted you, but I didn't want to keep pushing you because you'd already told me so much." He took a pause and looked right in my eyes. I could only stare back at him, completely disarmed by his apology. "I'm sorry."
"Okay," I said, my throat dry. I cleared my throat and repeated, more clearly this time "Okay."
We sat down again, closer this time, me sitting entirely in his lap and him wrapping his arms around me so tightly and burying his face in my shoulder, barely even paying attention to the movie anymore.
*Skips away into the night*
