Le finale
After a serious make out session, Percy gently slipped his hand into Annabeth's and led the way out of the woods. Both of them wore drunk in love smiles and they made no attempt to hide it even once they reached the field.
As they crossed the field, Annabeth looked up towards the sky where she saw dark grey clouds now loomed over them. She wasn't sure what made her do it, especially as she was by no means of the word religious, but she silently prayed that it wasn't a sign about her and Percy.
"I think it's going to rain" Annabeth said slowly, still looking at the clouds above.
"Come on then" Percy told her before pulling her into a slight jog. Little drops of rain splashed onto Annabeth's face, they quickly let go of each other and sprinted across the field, the droplets getting heavier with every step. They slowed down as they reached the canteen doors.
"Quick get in" Percy ushered her in as he opened the door for them and as soon as he stepped inside, it started chucking it down. They stood side by side at the glass doors laughing at their lucky escape and looking on as the rain drenched everything in sight. They noticed a few students emerge from the woods and started running towards the canteen.
Once they were close enough Percy held the door open for them. 5 of them piled in one after the other,
"Thanks man" the last one huffed as he stepped inside and patted Percy on the back, Percy returned the gesture before looking at his hand in disgust and wiping it down his trouser leg realising the guy was soaking wet. Annabeth felt like she recognised the voice and then glanced at the other 4 who conveniently still had their hoods up.
"You have got to be kidding me" Annabeth moaned as she rolled her eyes
Percy turned his head away from the scenery outside and looked at her in confusion "Annabeth what are you talking about?"
"These idiots" she gestured with her hand at the 5 hooded figures now sat around a table "Remove your hoods"
They looked at each other before one of them sighed heavily and removed their hood to reveal Piper, the rest followed as suit.
"Hi" Leo gave a little wave
"Why am I not surprised?" Percy rolled his eyes
"We did it out of love" Piper tried to reason
"You spied on us...out of love?" Annabeth asked with an eyebrow arched
"I think what she means to say is we had your interests at heart" said the familiar voice, which belonged to none other than Jason. Of course he would stick up for Piper.
"Privacy guys, you've got to respect our privacy" Percy told them
"It's not our fault that this is one of the biggest things to happen here since..." Hazel trailed off, probably trying to think of something to compare it to. Hazel glared at the others as she struggled to think of a comparison, Frank looked around the room to avoid his girlfriend's glaring eyes, Piper looked like she was trying to think of something but came up empty, the same expression worn by Jason
"Since we all became a group" Leo stated. Annabeth realised the tone in his voice meant he was stating it as a fact, it wasn't just something to finish Hazel's sentence.
The others nodded and muttered in agreement, whilst Percy and her exchanged a quick glance. Was the two of them being together really that big?
The following day all the students went home for a week to celebrate Christmas; Percy spent the week with his mum Sally and step-father Paul whilst Annabeth spent the week with her dad and his new girlfriend in their new apartment. They'd only been dating a month and decided they should move in together- all a bit too soon in Annabeth's eyes.
Her dad had dated many women since her mum left several years ago, Annabeth was used to seeing different faces to celebrate the holidays with. It used to bother her because she always thought it should have been the two of them celebrating together rather than the two of them and whatever flimsy he was dating at the time but as she got older, Annabeth slowly realised that these women didn't matter to him. They were just an attempt to fill this void he had since her mum left. However this girlfriend seemed different to the others. Annabeth wasn't particularly fond of the woman though she couldn't figure out why, there was just something...off...about her. Although, Annabeth had to admit she did buy her a really nice Christmas present; it was a puzzle which made a 3D Empire State Building when complete.
Annabeth completed it within the hour.
To keep herself out of the way, she face-timed Percy whenever possible;
"Oh she is pretty Percy" Sally had told her son in front of Annabeth during the evening of Tuesday's (30th of December) FaceTime session
"Mum she can hear you" Percy replied
Annabeth sat on her bed and awkwardly looked at the screen, unsure what to say or do so she just slightly bit her lip.
"I know she can hear me, she can see me too. I may be old but I know how iPhones work. I want sweet Annabeth to know I think she's pretty" Sally walked up behind Percy and waved into the camera, her chestnut hair falling just short of her boobs, Sally's deep blue eyes looked directly at Annabeth's.
"Hi Annabeth" Sally said softly
Percy's head fell into his hands whilst Annabeth waved at her phone "Hi Sally" Annabeth grined, she likes seeing Percy embarrassed "Thanks for the compliment earlier"
"Anytime sweetie, how's your dad doing?" Sally was the kindest woman Annabeth had ever spoke to and apparently she had a creative mind. According to Percy she invented blue food, Annabeth assumed whoever came up with the idea of blue food colouring probably invited blue food but Percy was convinced it was Sally so she didn't question it.
"Yeah he's good thank you, how's Paul?" Annabeth responded, ensuring the small talk continued
"Paul is wonderful, thank you for asking" Sally answered with a huge smile
Percy lifted his head up and rolled his eyes, Annabeth couldn't help but look at him and smirk. Sally took the hint, lightly smacked him on the back of the head before flashing Annabeth a smile and leaving the room, which Annabeth recognised as the kitchen thanks to the black and white tiles along the far wall.
"You should be pleased your mum and I get along so well" Annabeth told him with a smile
"She thinks the world of you" Percy responded with a smirk before letting out a sigh
"I can't believe you're not going to be spending New Years Eve with me" Percy told her with sadness in his voice. Annabeth fought back a smile when she answered
"I know but I promise to make it up to you when I see you"
Her dad had told her only a few hours ago that the New Years Party they were supposed to be attending together had been cancelled so she could go back to school and celebrate with her friends if she wanted, she accepted the offer immediately but decided not tell Percy or any of their group so she could turn up and surprise them.
"Make sure you tell everyone I said hey and I'll see them in a couple of days"
"That reminds me" Percy replied "Make sure you dress cute when you arrive" he wore a cheeky grin on his face and Annabeth knew he was up to something
"What do you know that I don't?" Annabeth questioned playfully and looked straight into the camera
"Sarcastic or honest answer?"
"Honest"
"A lot"
Annabeth rolled her eyes at him whilst he smirked
"I'll act surprised"
"No you're dreadful at acting" Percy laughed
"How about I do something for you?" Annabeth started slowly slipping her silky purple top down her shoulder
"Are you trying to seduce me Miss Chase?"
"And obviously I'm not succeeding" she huffed as she adjusted her top back to how it was "So I guess I'll have to play this card, no kisses for you ever again"
"Is that a threat?"
"You bet your ass it's a threat" Annabeth told him
"You seriously can't wait like 3 days?"
"It's infuriating that you know something I don't"
"Tough luck Wise Girl"
"I don't like you" she sulked
"I adore you too" he simply said with an adorable smile "Right I've got to go, got some secret arrangements to make with Jason"
"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Annabeth asked with one eyebrow raised
"Every second. I'll FaceTime you tomorrow evening Wise Girl" Percy said ensuring he rubbed it in one last time.
"Bye" Annabeth ended the call and sat on her bed staring at the blank screen with one thought in mind-what the hell was her boyfriend up to.
Wednesday 30th December
The next morning Annabeth got dropped off outside the entrance to the school at 11am. Similarly to when she first arrived, her dad lifted the bags out of the boot and handed them to her. She gave him a quick kiss and said she'd see him in the summer before they parted ways.
Annabeth headed straight to her room, walking as quick as her legs could carry her whilst clinging onto her bags with a huge grin on her face. She pushed the door expecting to see Piper already sitting on the bed but instead Annabeth collided into the solid door. Her bags bounced off and Annabeth's grip loosened allowing them to fall onto the floor. It was locked. Meaning Piper hadn't arrived back yet. Annabeth bent down to her cream handbag and shuffled her hand around before finding the key, she unlocked the door and pushed it open to find the room exactly how she left it. Annabeth smiled to herself before collecting her bags off of the floor and entering the room. She placed her handbag and another bag on the bed and put the other 2 by the side of the wardrobe. Annabeth opened her bag and pulled out her Christmas present from her dad; A speaker. She quickly got her iPod out from her handbag, connected it to the speaker and was about to hit shuffle when she heard a pile of bags drop on the floor
"Annabeth?! I thought you said you were going to spend New Years with your dad" Piper screamed with excitement before flapping her arms around Annabeth for a tight embrace
"Change of plans" Annabeth chuffed
"Yayyyyy" Piper squealed before pulling back "Does Percy know?" Her eyes wide and eyebrows raised high
Annabeth bit her lip and shook her head "I wanted to surprise all of you"
Piper pulled her into a tight hug again and Annabeth looked over Piper's shoulder to see a mountain of bags
"I'm guessing we're unpacking together" Annabeth smirked
Piper simply rolled her eyes before they simultaneously burst out laughing. They separated and Annabeth helped Piper move her bags from the corridor and into the room.
"I can see why you flopped on your bed on the first day now, how did you do all this by yourself?" Annabeth asked as she placed the last bag on the bed
"Oh I didn't, I had some guys help me" Piper admitted
Annabeth was in 2 minds on how to respond; On one hand, Annabeth's inner feminist wanted to rip Piper apart shouting 'we are women, we are strong, we don't need men to carry our bags' but on the other hand, she was rather impressed and wanted to know her secret. Before Annabeth could make up her mind, Piper moved the conversation into a new direction.
"Anyway how was your week? Have a good Christmas?"
"Average week, Christmas was...well...Christmas, got some nice presents. How about you?" Annabeth replied
"Yeah mine was the same" Piper simply answered
They both looked at the amount of bags they had to unpack before looking at one another again, Piper said what Annabeth was thinking
"Wanna go find the group and do this later?"
Annabeth grinned and nodded "You read my mind"
Piper laughed and they left the room and went off to find the group.
Annabeth was surprised to find nearly all the students downstairs, it was as if no one had seen each other in months. Everybody was hugging and one group of girls screamed every time a friend arrived. Annabeth found it ridiculous, yes she'd missed her friends but not enough to scream.
Piper was getting stuck inbetween people and was having trouble trying to squirm past so Annabeth grabbed her hand and led the way to the less crammed patio.
"Thanks" Piper said once they'd escaped. The crisp cold air hit them and they could finally breathe something other than sweat "Honestly you'd think people would have kept in touch over the week break"
Annabeth nodded in agreement as they walked round the corner and spotted the group. Leo, Frank and Hazel were sat down on the bench with Clarisse and Chris- where had those 2 disappeared to over the last 5 months? First and last time Annabeth remembers seeing them was the first week of school.
Annabeth couldn't help but notice neither Jason or Percy were sitting there.
"Where's.." Annabeth turned to ask Piper only to see that she'd already made her way over to the group. Annabeth smirked to herself before walking over to everyone
"Annabeth?" Leo asked, the others turned in shock before smiling at her
"Hey" she said with a little wave as she squeezed next to Piper on the edge of the bench with one leg hanging off
"Thought you weren't coming until New Year's Day?" Leo questioned
"Plans got cancelled so Dad said I could come back earlier" she replied with a grin
"Good Christmas?" She asked loudly and directed her attention down the table. They all muttered a yeah and nodded their heads.
Sometime later and Annabeth's not sure how they got onto the topic but they were talking about whether the future is fixed or not
"The future is inevitable, there's no way to change it" Piper stated
"That's stupid, there's no way my future is all ready set out for me" Leo argued
"I second that" Frank added "Your future changes all the time, it depends on how you respond to a cross road and surely we stumble across one each day meaning your future is constantly changing"
"I agree, you don't like where your future is heading then you change course" Hazel remarked from the opposing end of the table
Annabeth suppressed a smile as she realised Leo, Frank and Hazel had all spoke in order of their seating positions. It seemed she was the only one to clock this so she decided to keep it to herself.
"Deja Vu" Annabeth commented knowing this would end the speculation of the future
"Excuse me?" Hazel questioned
"Deja vu. If the future isn't fixed then how do you explain Deja Vu?"
The trio looked stunned and were trying to come up with an explanation
"She's got you" Clarisse shouted from the other side of Piper
"Well and truly owned" Chris smirked beside her.
Piper and Annabeth high-fived whilst the others moaned
"Doesn't prove anything" Frank quietly muttered.
Frank and Hazel then started a discussion with Clarisse and Chris about Marvel vs DC. Annabeth rolled her eyes because she knew Marvel were better but decided to stay out of this one and turned her attention to Leo who kept glancing at his phone
"Where's Calypso? Didn't you guys go on a date over the break" Annabeth pointed her finger at him and wiggled her eyebrows
"Yeah we did and I haven't heard from her since" he spat out
Annabeth wasn't sure if it was the way Leo spoke or what he had said that caught Pipers attention but she and Annabeth exchanged looks and Piper cleared her throat forcing Leo to look up from his phone but he beat Piper to speaking
"I'm sorry Annabeth I didn't mean for it come out like that. I just don't understand why I haven't heard anything- hey you two are girls"
"Very well spotted" Piper interrupted haughtily
"Why hasn't she answered me?" Leo asked. Annabeth waited for Piper to answer but when she didn't, Annabeth decided to step in
"How long after the date did you text her?" She sighed
"Well we went bowling on the evening of the 23rd and because obviously it was Christmas Eve the next day I didn't get a chance to message her." He took a deep breath and continued to recall what had happened last week
"Then it was Christmas Day and then Boxing Day and I was you know, very busy with family and repacking after that so I text her on...the 29th?"
"You text her yesterday?!" Piper raised her voice
"Yes?" Leo squinted as his voice went high pitched
"Idiot. Boys are such idiots" Piper said in defeat
"What did I do wrong?" Leo asked in surprise
"You waited 5 days to text her" Annabeth told him
"She probably thinks you had a horrible time" Piper retaliated
"But I didn't! It was the best day of my life"
"Well she doesn't know that peabrain! All she knows is you text her 5 days after the date, and what did the text even say? Did you say 'Hey sorry been crazy busy with the family! It's been manic! Had a great time bowling, hope we can do it again?'" Piper questioned
"Errrrr more like 'Hey smiley face'" Leo answered
Pipers nose flared and she sat there stewing and Annabeth knew she was about to rip Leo's head off
"Run. Go find Calypso and apologise. NOW." Annabeth ordered
Leo hastily attempted to leave the bench but not without banging his knee on the table and getting his leg caught. The group fell silent as they watched Leo squirm at the sight of Pipers glare. Once he'd successfully got his legs free Leo ran round the corner and disappeared.
"What was that about?" Hazel asked
"Piper was going to murder Leo" Annabeth answered casually
"And you let him get away?" Clarisse moaned
"What he do this time?" Frank enquired
"Text Calypso 5 days after their date" Piper uttered
"What's wrong with that?" Chris asked innocently. Clarisse shot him a look that could only be described as death will descend on you in the next 5 seconds unless you run.
"Frank I think I hear the lads shouting for us" Chris responded so quickly that Annabeth only just managed to work out what he said.
Frank looked at Chris with a puzzled look but Chris narrowed his eyebrows and Frank redirected his eyes to Clarisse whose facial expression mirrored Pipers. Frank's eyes skimmed back to Chris and understood what was being asked of him
"Right.. Yes... I hear them too" Frank answered and moments later the boys disappeared round the corner.
"Boys are such idiots" Clarisse stated
"Right?!" Piper answered
"Speaking of idiots, where's Jason?" Hazel asked with a smirk
"Him and Percy are..." Piper stopped when she caught Annabeth's eye "...err... They're gonna be joining us...later"
"Does Percy know you're back?" Hazel enquired
"No I thought I'd surprise him but I haven't seen him all day" Annabeth answered before replaying Pipers words in her head "Why can't the boys join us now?"
"They're busy unpacking" Piper responded quickly
"Liar" Clarisse muttered with a smirk and Piper stuck her tongue out in response.
"I've been sworn to secrecy I can't say a word"
"You can't even tell your girls?" Hazel questioned
All eyes fell on Piper as she glanced up at the sky to avoid eye contact
"It's not the right time to tell you" Piper argued
"Worst excuse ever" Clarisse laughed
"You could have said you were busy saving Leprechauns and I would have believed that more" Hazel giggled
"LEPRECHAUNS ARE REAL" Piper shouted
Hazel threw her head back and laughed whilst Annabeth and Clarisse snorted
"Then what do you call short ginger Irish people?" Piper asked desperately
"Short ginger Irish people" Annabeth, Hazel and Clarisse all stated at the same time before emerging into fits of laughter.
Once the girls had finished teasing Piper and gossiping about Leo and Calypso, they returned to their rooms to finish unpacking. Turns out Clarisse and Hazel had done the exact same as Annabeth and Piper, dumped their bags and then went searching for everyone else. Hazel said it was weird being in her room without Rachel, Piper suggested that they all had a sleepover tonight but Hazel dismissed the idea because she didn't want to break the rules and get into trouble.
Annabeth and Piper flopped onto their beds, tired from moving everything from one place to another.
"I still can't understand why you need all that stuff" Annabeth spoke aloud
"I have something for every occasion" Piper answered innocently
"How many occasions are you expecting?"
Piper sat up straight, her legs crossed neatly and gave a royal wave "One is always prepared young Annabeth" she said in her posh voice
"I'm older than you" Annabeth pointed out
Piper changed her tone to an east London thug "But I'm wiser so shut it"
Annabeth and Piper both cackled with laughter, if anyone had been walking past they would have thought they were evil witches.
Once they'd stopped, Piper looked at her watch before making a suggestion "Right I'm hungry, wanna go see if the canteen is open?"
"Yeah, let's go" Annabeth responded
The girls stood up, "What are they serving today?" Annabeth inquired
Piper shrugged "Who knows"
Both of them let out a light laugh and Piper swung the door open to be met by a body in the doorway, fist frozen in the air as if if they were just about to knock. Annabeth's heart sunk a little when Piper was brought into a tight embrace by Jason.
"What are you doing here? I didn't think I'd see you until this later this evening" Piper narrowed her eyes like he was messing up their plan
"Change of plans" Jason told her whilst producing a smirk
"Jason... Where's-"
Jason cut Annabeth off "In his room" he said with a small smirk on his lips, both he and Piper watched the words sink into Annabeth before stepping to one side so she could run past them.
Fortunately the corridors were empty so Annabeth didn't have to worry about running into anyone. She took the stairs two at a time and each stride seemed to be getting longer as she neared his door. The door was open slightly so she pushed it fully open only to find Leo in the room. She tried to hide her disappointment.
"Where's Percy?" She asked with her face scrunched up in confusion, her voice sounding more casual than she expected it be.
"I'm his roommate not his GPS tracker" Leo replied sarcastically whilst unpacking clothes from his bag and placing it into the wardrobe
"His bags are on the bed and Jason said he was in his room" she pointed out "So where has he gone Leo?"
"I don't know... Try the sports hall" Leo answered without batting an eyelid
"The sports hall?" she said aloud
"Yeah that big room where we do indoor sports" he muttered
It didn't slip Annabeth's attention that Leo wasn't behaving like his usual self, like he was a few hours ago.
"And how do I get there again?" She questioned innocently, hoping he might change his attitude
"Do I have to do everything around here? Right come on I'll take you there"
The surroundings were begging to be recognised but as Leo walked in front of her, the paintings in the corridor, the signs on the doors, none of it seemed familiar to Annabeth.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"You wanted me to take you to the sports hall, so I'm taking you to the sports hall. Just trust me ok" Leo replied
They walked a little further until Leo stopped abruptly and Annabeth made a noise that sounded a lot like "jefhsys" as she nearly walked into him but fortunately she managed to stop just in time.
"What the hell Leo?"
"There's instructions on the wall...says you've got to put this blindfold on" He unpicked the letter and handed Annabeth the blindfold
"You know what's going on don't you?" Annabeth questioned as she got ready to put it on
"Yes and my instructions were very clear. Take Annabeth to the sports hall and make sure she wears the blindfold. He doesn't even think I'm capable of doing that so please just put the blindfold on and let me take you inside" he pleaded
"Ok, ok I'm putting it on" Annabeth said as she picked the blindfold up when a thought occurred to her "How does he know I'm here?
Leo looked at her with a blank expression and shrugged "I have no idea, that guy knows everything around here" he took the blindfold out of her hands and tied it around her eyes and produced a neat knot at the back of her head. As expected, she couldn't see anything other than pitch black
"Are you ready?" Leo asked, Annabeth nodded despite having a thousand thoughts whirling around her brain and then heard a set of double doors open. A hand gripped her wrist and she assumed it was Leo's, he guided her through the doors and she tried to imagine what she was walking into. She assumed she was standing in the middle of it because she felt Leo let go of her wrist and she stood alone.
Until the blindfold was removed from her face, she didn't realise her eyes were scrunched up until she heard him from across the room.
"Open your eyes Annabeth" Percy told her
She slowly opened them only to be lost for words at what she saw; the sports hall had been transformed into a cinema. Fairy lights had been put up around the room and there were blankets spread out across the floor and pillows piled onto them with buckets full of popcorn and sweets on each blanket. The projecter was focused on a white sheet that had been wrapped round the climbing frame and it displayed the main menu to Annabeth's favourite Christmas film. Percy stood in front of her now looking sheepishly at the floor before taking a deep breath and finally letting his eyes drift up to hers
"Is it ok? I know you said Love Actually was your favourite and you didn't get the chance to watch it with your dad this year"
"Percy you're amazing, I can't believe you did this for me" she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a massive hug
"Well you've actually got Piper to thank for this, she text me to say that you were back today so me and Jason have been setting this up all afternoon otherwise you would have had to wait until New Year's Day"
Annabeth spotted Piper leaning against the wall and mouthed thank you to her. Percy pulled out of the hug and slipped his hand into hers and directed her to the front blanket and helped her sit down. Everyone else from their group took their place on their blanket; Piper and Jason, Frank and Hazel, Clarisse and Chris and Leo sat alone. She turned to him and told him to move his pile of stuff next to her's, he nodded and gave her a sincere smile. Annabeth knew he wished Calypso was here with him and she made a silent promise to help him make things right. Percy hit play before slotting himself down next to Annabeth. Everybody snuggled together with their partner and ate all the food. Annabeth realised she had an amazing set of friends and the best boyfriend in the world.
The following day Annabeth didn't wake up until 1pm, she looked across the room to see Piper was still asleep. She placed her head back onto her pillow and replayed last nights events, Annabeth had never had so much fun. Her phone started buzzing and she quickly removed it from her bed side cabinet and glanced at the caller ID, it was Leo.
She whispered "Hi Leo what's up?"
"Why are you whispering?"
"Pipers still sleeping"
"Oh... I need your help"
"Sure, what with?"
"...Calypso..."
"You didn't sort it?!" She hissed
"I couldn't find her" Leo squeaked
"Give me half an hour to get ready and then we'll sort this"
"Can't you meet me now?"
"I need to get ready, I've only just woken up"
"Oh... ok...Thank you so much Annabeth"
"Yeah yeah I'll see you later"
She promptly hung up and set to work on getting ready quietly to make sure Piper was undisturbed.
By some miracle, she was ready and Piper was still sound asleep. She crept out the door and text Leo to meet her in the common room. She had a feeling it would be empty due to everybody preparing for tonight. Tonight...she realised was New Years Eve which gave her an idea about how Leo could make it up to Calypso.
Sure enough Leo was already waiting in the common room for her,
"Ok so I thought that maybe I could like give her a really expensive gift to apologise and take it from there?" He said as soon as she closed the door with his eyebrows raised in hope that Annabeth said it was a good plan.
"That's a stupid plan" Annabeth admitted
"Bu-"
"Stupid" Annabeth said sharply
"Wh-"
"S-T-U-P-I-D"
"So what's your plan?" groaned
"Leo she doesn't want something really expensive, to impress a girl you need to keep it simple...but on a big scale"
"Annabeth, you're a smart girl but that makes no sense"
"Think of all the movies, us girls though we had to admit it, want a big romantic gesture. Run after us in the airport- simple but dramatic. Kiss us in the pouring rain- small but romantic as hell"
"Ok I think I know what you're getting at" Leo nodded with a smile
"So we've got to think of something simple first" Annabeth told him
"I could buy her a dozen roses
"No that's completely off, way too simple" She wavered her hand "Leo tonight is New Years Eve, you've got to use that to your advantage"
"And how exactly do I do that?"
Annabeth smirked at him "I've got an idea".
They spent the next hour strategising, making sure every angle of their idea was foolproof before finalising their plan.
"This is going to be so awesome" Leo said with a huge grin
"Ok so we're clear on whose doing what right?"
"Yeah, I'll go get the boys and you go get Piper and then you'll go distract Calypso so the boys can set her room up"
"Right" she nodded
"Let's do this"
"So why are we doing this?" Piper asked whilst being dragged by Annabeth as they searched for Calypso's room
"Because Leo is our friend" Annabeth answered as she scanned the room numbers
"How do you even know which room she's in?
"Leo" Annabeth simply replied
"Why doesn't that surprise me" Piper said as she rolled her eyes
"It's this one" Annabeth pointed to the door infront of them "So you're clear on the plan yeah?"
"Yeah I've got this don't worry"
Piper pulled out her camera and pressed record, she gave a thumbs up to Annabeth so she went ahead and knocked on the door. There was no turning back now.
After a couple of seconds Calypso opened the door, she was wearing a long khaki dress with a golden belt around her waist, her make up was perfectly blended in and if Annabeth didn't know any better, she would have thought Calypso knew she was about to go on camera.
"Hi Calypso, we're making a video of all the students to be shown at the party tonight"
Technically, she wasn't lying. A bend in the facts.
"Would you mind coming with us and answering a few questions?"
Say yes, say yes, say yes Annabeth prayed, it took Calypso a few minutes to speak but when she did Annabeth was relieved
"Sure, sounds fun" Calypso said with a smile.
"Great! Let's go and answer them on the field, get a shot with the scenery you know" Piper spoke from behind the camera, Calypso nodded in agreement
Annabeth slyly walked behind the pair and text Leo 'All clear'
God she hoped the boys didn't fail to deliver their side of the plan.
After some very carefully constructed questions had been answered and they got Calypso to countdown from 10 and a small clip of her dancing, Piper stopped recording.
"Right I think that's all we need from you, Thank you Calypso. I'll go give this to our editing guy" and Piper shot off
"Great, well I better get back to my room" Calypso started to get out from the picnic table
"Hang on Calypso can I talk to you for a second?" Annabeth asked nervously
"Err sure" and she sat back down
"I think we might have got off on the wrong foot...about Leo"
"Ah... I was wondering when he was going to come up"
"He's a really good guy and I love him but me and him would never...you know" Annabeth stopped there, hoping Calypso knew where she was going with that.
"I know. He's told me. I don't know why I got so protective of him" Calypso admitted
"Isn't it obvious? You like him"
"Yeah and I think that scared him off. I think he see's me as this jealous psycho who plays mind games with him" Calypso sighed.
Annabeth could see that she'd been bottling that in for a while and she was glad Calypso had opened up to her because Annabeth was beginning to think she was the only one on this rescue boat so save the idea of her and Leo being together.
"Leo would never think of you like that" Annabeth assured her
Calypso released a small smile "He wouldn't would he? He's different to all the other guys I've liked"
"Leo's different to all the guys I've ever met" Annabeth responded
That made both girls smile and then they fell into a comfortable silence,
"He really cares about me doesn't he?"
"I've never seen someone so smitten" Annabeth answered
"Oh really? Have you not seen Percy look at you?" Calypso joked "I heard you guys were together now, congratulations"
Just then Annabeths phone started to ring, she pulled her phone from her pocket to see Percy flash up on the screen
"Speak of the devil, sorry I should probably answer this"
Calypso nodded before Annabeth got up and walked a few paces away from the bench,
"Hi what's up?"
"Can't a guy ring his girlfriend up just to hear her voice?"
"Not when said guy is supposed to be helping his girlfriend pull of an amazing plan for his roommate"
"And best friend" Leo shouted in the background
"Touché" Percy replied "We're all set, you can set Calypso free now"
Annabeth turned around "Well that's good because she's already left"
Annabeth heard Percy start barking orders "EVERYBODY CLEAR OUT! SHE IS ON THE MOVE" He hung up without say goodbye. Annabeth took a deep breathe and glanced at her phone, this is fine, everything's going to plan, it's going to work.
The rest of the afternoon was smooth sailing, she spent the afternoon with Leo in the workshop watching him set to work on the final part of their plan whilst the others helped Mr Chiron set everything up in the hall for tonight. So many tools were used that Annabeth couldn't even comprehend what they were for.
"Do you think this will work?" He asked as he started painting his masterpiece
"I see no reason why it shouldn't. It's a small gesture on a grand scale with a meaningful gift" she smiled at him and he stopped working for a second with a grin on his face "I'm glad I met you Chase"
"Can you concentrate on what you're supposed to be doing, we haven't come this far for you to mess it up by complimenting me"
Leo chuckled before setting back to work.
It was now 11:45PM. Everybody from the school was gathered in the hall ready to start the celebration. Annabeth was wearing the dress that Piper picked when she went shopping for Leo's birthday, the chiffon short dress with a jewelled neckline and a small cut out feature to show her cleavage. When Percy had knocked on the door to pick her up, he jokingly clutched his chest where his heart was.
"It's going to work" he whispered into her ear, his hands placed on her hip and his whole body situated behind her's as they stood in the gym next to majority of their friends except for Leo who was the other side of the room as they waited for his big moment. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"
Annabeth let out a small giggle "I don't believe you have" she lied, he'd said it at least 10 times in the last hour
"Oh really? Well you look beautiful" he said before softly grazing her cheek with his lips.
"You look rather handsome yourself Mr Jackson" she replied with a smile. He was wearing a black suit which was nicely fitted to his body and made him look like an elegant bachelor. He also wore a bow tie which made him so adorable that Annabeth got butterflies every time she looked at him.
They'd had an amazing night so far, they had spent a lot of their time dancing. Everyone else seemed to be drinking but for some reason Annabeth and Percy didn't feel the need to drink tonight, instead they felt tonight would be better spent with a glass only after the countdown.
"It's time" Annabeth said aloud and the whole group looked at each other and prayed that this worked. They turned they attention to the white board that had now been dragged down and to a small figure standing on a chair just to the side of it. The music switched off and the noise of the students died down as they all noticed Leo
"Hey... So as you know it's New Years Eve" he started nervously
There was a big cheer from the crowd of students
"And as it nears the New Year, we use this time to reflect the year we've had...what we've accomplished...what we regret...but most importantly we hope that the New Year brings us something that last year didn't"
Leo takes a deep breathe and glances at his friends, they all gave him an encouraging nod.
"I asked my friends to help me do something to impress a girl a like and I was told the best way to do that was something simple but on a big scale"
A lot of girls Aww'd
"So this is for you Calypso and I hope you enjoy it" Leo jumped off the chair and hit play on the laptop.
The video started with Leo's face looking at the camera
"Is this on? Well that red lights flashing so I'm guessing it is"
The crowd chuckled at him
"So right now I'm going to take you through my day and the plan in making the girl of my dreams fall in love with me,
Step 1- Have 2 of your amazing friends distract the girl of your dreams"
The camera cut to Annabeth knocking on Calypso's door and Calypso coming out
"God she looks amazing" Leo said on a voiceover of the video
The students laughed at him and watched as Calypso left her room, to see the camera then cut to see Percy, Jason, Frank and Chris entering her room. The camera followed them into the room where they saw Calypso's roommate directing the boys.
"Step 2- Decorate her room"
The video then sped up with the boys moving very quickly and finishing the decorating within a matter of seconds. When they were done, the video slowed down and the camera scanned the room.
In the centre of the room the banner read 'Happy New Years' with roses scattered on the floor whilst 100's of photos had been stuck to the walls and as the camera looked up, also the ceiling.
"Step 3- Make sure roommate keeps it a surprise"
The video changed to an image of the corridor with the main focus being Calypso's door. After a few seconds Calypso appeared at the bottom of the screen and headed towards her door, just as she was about to enter her roommate stepped out with a bunch of clothes in her hand and a few make up bags balancing on top
"Bianca what are you doing?"
"Zoe suggested we spend the afternoon at hers" Bianca answered with her sweetest smile
Although no one could see it, everyone knew Calypso was giving her a look,
"Ok let's go...did you pick up my-"
"That white dress you had picked out for tonight since we arrived in September? Yeah I got it"
The crowd laughed and Annabeth stretched her head to try and spot Calypso to see her reaction, she leant backwards and whispered to Percy
"I don't see her, do you see her?"
Percy strained his neck and Annabeth watched his eyes as they scanned the room.
Percy shook his head "I can't see her"
"Step 4- Find the girl on the crowded room, give her the gift you finished an hour ago whilst our awesome duet is played" The video on the screen showed Leo's face on one side and Calypso's on the other. Hazel, Clarisse and Piper had managed to edit Calypso's video so that she said the lyrics without even meaning to and with a bit of tweaking they made it sound like she was singing rather than talking. Whilst the video of Leo and Calypso singing Never Forget You by Zara Larsson & MNEK played, all eyes were on Leo making his way to the back of the room where everyone had cleared a path to where Calypso stood, if Annabeth didn't know any better she would have thought Calypso was hiding.
Annabeth gripped onto Percy's hand tighter than she'd planned to as she waited to see Calypso's reaction.
"So I made this for you" Leo said as he pulled out a little wooden box, Calypso opened it cautiously before a hand went flying over her mouth to stop her gasp. Annabeth relaxed a little, knowing what was inside and she was pleased with Calypso's reaction to it. Inside the wooden box, Leo had recreated their date at the bowling alley with a miniature set of wooden pins and a bowling bowl on one side and 2 wooden characters on the other. He had been very delicate when painting them and remembered precisely what the both of them had been wearing. It melted Annabeth's heart when he'd shown it to her and was sure it would do the same to Calypso's. Calypso had a few tears escape her eyes and Leo wiped them away for her
"Are they happy tears or angry tears?" He asked nervously, squinting slightly as he waited for her to answer
"Why would you think these would be angry tears?" She asked a little startled
"Well for doing it infront of the whole school, making a video of you sing, sneaking into your-"
He was stopped when Calypso placed her lips onto his. They stayed like that for a few seconds before finally separating "whoa... That was even better than spin the bottle"
The hall erupted into a small chuckle before the clapping begun and everyone started cheering for them. Slightly embarrassed Calypso hid behind Leo but he pulled her into his chest and kissed her forehead with a big grin on his face. He grabbed her spare hand and dragged her over to his friends where they were all smiling and looking happy for the pair.
"Thank you guys so much for helping me make this happen. Annabeth you're my god, anything you need I'm there!" He pulled her in for a tight embrace and once they separated he took the wooden box out of Calypso's hand placed it on the table and pulled her into the middle of the floor so they could dance.
"I've never seen him so happy" Percy chuckled
"Let's hope it doesn't end" Annabeth smiled as they watched the new couple dance away.
"I for one think we should take a page out of his book and go dance" Jason suggested
"You want to follow Leo's example?" Frank asked in horror
"I never thought I'd hear those words...Jason wants to be like Leo" Chris laughed
"You're not going to let me live this down are you?" Jason sulked
Percy pat him on the back "Not in this lifetime" he smirked before walking past him with Annabeth hot on his heels. He spun her around and pulled her close to him and they swayed to the slow song that was now being played. Their friends soon joined and everyone was smiling as the minutes to the countdown neared.
Percy spun Annabeth around again and she had a huge smile on her face as she faced him again
"I like this feeling" Percy said
"Making me dizzy?" Annabeth questioned with a smil
Percy shook his head "No but it is quite enjoyable watching you spin. I mean being the reason for your smile. I'm glad I get to try and do that everyday. And be able to do this whenever I want"
He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up so his lips touched her's. It was a delicate kiss, not one where they were desperate for each other to be touching or full of passion, it was unlike any other kiss they had experienced. Annabeth could only describe it as breathtakingly delicate, so gentle at it took her breath away. It wasn't until a few minutes after the kiss that she remembered how to breathe again. The crowd stopped dancing and everyone stood next to someone they wanted to start the New Year with, Percy wrapped his arm around Annabeths waist the same as all the boys did with the girls in their group. They all glanced at each other and smiled, it might not have been the year they'd expected and it definitely didn't go to plan but they'd all ended up here together. As Annabeth snuck a glance at Percy whilst he talked to Jason she wondered if he missed Rachel, whether he felt weird being back here without her. Her thoughts of Rachel were drowned out as the hall roared with the countdown beginning and instead other thoughts were formed...
10
She glanced around the room at the smiles of everyone that filled it.
9
Annabeth was glad she chose this school.
8
She was thankful for the friends she'd made.
7
She glanced at Chris and and Clarisse as they stood together laughing, knowing they worked well together.
6
Annabeth saw the smiles on Leo and Calypso and was glad they finally made it.
5
Frank and Hazel, were an adorable couple and she was happy they were together.
4
Jason and Piper, had been through their share and she had no doubts there would be more but if she had to put bets on a couple making it till the end, it would be them.
3
Her eyes scanned the room and stopped abruptly to make contact with Luke's. He stood with Kelly wrapped round his side, he gave her a small smile and nodded and she politely returned the gesture. She wondered if she and Luke had worked it out' would she even be a little bit as happy as she is now?
2
She glanced up at her boyfriend. His face lighting up as he looked into her eyes. She knew for certain that this is where she belonged. With Percy. She prayed that this year would be easier for them than the last.
1
As long as she had Percy and her friends by her side, she could do anything.
"Here's to the year ahead of us" Percy whispered before placing his lips onto her's. Annabeth was thankful her previous plans with her father fell through because she wouldn't want to miss this for the world.