HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU HAVE A FUN WINTER BREAK!
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Chapter Eighteen
After lunch, Annabeth and Percy walked hand in hand down the hallway toward their next class. Percy, who had graciously took her books for her and rested them on top of his, was in the middle of telling Annabeth about how he wanted to go karoaking tonight with the rest of his friends. He had already managed to find out that Rachel won't be at the cafe, since she and Mark are going on some stupid date for the night.
"I don't know, Percy. I have homework," Annabeth argued.
Percy rolled his eyes. "Homework. Shmework."
Annabeth sighed. Percy and his childish antics.
"Come on Wise Girl. I already talked to the rest of the gang. They're all down for karoaking. They haven't gone in so long. You wouldn't want to spil their fun, would you?"
Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Percy!" She groaned. "Why do you like karoaking so much, anyway?"
"Come on! Don't you remember how much fun you had last time? When I was singing that song?" Annabeth flashed back to when Percy and Luke were singing Sexy and I Know It. Percy noticed her smiling, "See?! You did enjoy it!"
"It was kind of funny," Annabeth admitted.
"Which is exactly why we should go again! You don't let loose that often and I think this would be the perfect opportunity to do that. Come on! Please!"
Annabeth sighed. She looked up into Percy's eyes, which was her biggest mistake. He was doing his adorable, puppy dog eyes. Annabeth couldn't resist that.
"Fine!" She mumbled, disappointed in herself. Wasn't she supposed to be the stubborn one? "I have to talk to Athena first to see if it's okay with her."
Percy kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, WG."
Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "WG?"
"WG: Wise Girl. Duh!"
"Can't you just call me Wise Girl?"
"But WG is so much cooler!" Percy defended.
Annabeth playfully raised her eyebrows. "You're so obnoxious."
"Isn't that why you love me?" Percy joked.
"I guess," Annabeth admitted, chuckling. She leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed Percy on the cheek.
Percy examined Annabeth on the very top of her toes. Percy snickered. "Wise Girl, you are so short." Percy continued to ogle at Annabeth's 5'5" figure. He tucked one of her blonde locks behind her. "Really short."
Annabeth punched Percy in his arm gently. "Don't judge the vertically challenged, Percy and I won't judge the educationally challenged, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth challenged.
Percy raised his arms in surrender. "That's why I call you Wise Girl. You always have the best comebacks."
Annabeth just laughed.
"Did your mom say yes?" Percy asked as Annabeth walked toward him, her heavy backpack around her shoulder.
"Seaweed Brain, school just ended. I haven't gotten the chance to call her," she clarified. She took Percy's hand and they started to leave Goode High School. "What exactly was I supposed to ask her again."
"Ask her if you can go karoaking tonight and if you can just go straight to my house after school since I'm going to drive you there anyway. It'll save gas and time," Percy pointed out. "Besides, you can also finally meet my mom. I've told her so much about you and she's dying to finally meet you,.
Annabeth shrugged. "I do actually really want to meet your mom." As they stepped outside into the chilly weather, Annabeth pulled out her cell phone. They stopped near the cement staircase leading down to the parking lot. "I'm calling her right now." Annabeth dialed the number and waited.
It took a surprisingly long time for Athena to answer. "Hello?" She sounded tired. "Annabeth?"
"Hi, mom. I was just wondering if I could hang out with Percy and my friends tonight."
"Of course! Of course!"
"And could I just go over to Percy's house since he would be driving anyway? Just to save gas?"
"Of course you can go over to Percy's. But remember, no S-E-X!" Athena spelled out.
Annabeth blushed. "Mom!" Percy raised his eyebrows.
Athena laughed. "I'm joking. I'm joking. Have fun tonight. Don't do anything illegal. Get some homework done. And don't come home to late! I don't want to be up all night worried about. Love you honey."
"Love you mom," Annabeth grumbled and she hung up her phone.
"Did you say yes?" Percy asked.
Annabeth smiled. "Of course she did."
"And what did she say that made you blush?" Percy asked, interested.
Annabeth shrugged. "It's nothing important."
"Come on. Just tell me!"
"No."
Percy glared at her as menacingly as she could. "Annabeth Chase. Tell me."
Annabeth laughed. She got into the passenger seat of Percy's car. "No." Percy sighed, knowing that he had lost this battle. He jumped into the driver's seat and shoved the keys in the ignition. It made a slow, purring sound and Percy quickly pulled out of the parking lot.
"How far is your apartment?" Annabeth asked as Percy began to race down the road.
"Not very far. It'll be about ten to fifteen minutes, depending on traffic." Percy informed.
"Oh. So, are we just going to do homework until we leave? Or what?"
Percy rolled his eyes. "What is with you and homework?!"
Annabeth sighed. "Seaweed Brain, if you do homework, you get good grades. If you get good grades, you get into a good college. And if you get into a good college you-."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Percy interjected. "I get it! I get it! But it's not like you have to worry about not getting good grades or anything. It's impossible for you to fail anything when it comes to school."
"I can very easily fail assignments if I don't turn them in."
Percy rolled his eyes again. "Whatever."
The couple continued to bicker about school until they finally reached their destination.
Annabeth wouldn't describe it as a shabby apartment, just a cozy little place. It was a little bit run down compared to Annabeth's with the uncut vines growing on the side and the small bits and pieces of bricks missing. She noticed a couple of kids running out of the apartment complex. She smiled at the sight of them. There were hardly any kids at Annabeth's apartment complex. Just a bunch of business people. She stepped out of the car and followed Percy inside. He led her to the elevator and they waited patiently for it to bring them to the tenth floor.
When they opened it, a middle aged woman was waiting outside. "Hello Percy," she said with a smile.
"Hi Mrs. McLondon," Percy replied.
"Who's your friend?" She asked.
"Annabeth. We go to school together."
"Well, hello dear." She smiled at Annabeth and then stepped into the elevator before it closed.
"That was my neighbor," Percy clarified. "She's a good family friend."
"Oh," Annabeth smiled.
Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand and led her to his apartment. He fumbled with the keys a little bit before unlocking his apartment. He gently eased Annabeth into his kitchen. The kitchen seemed vintage in a way with its fading floral wall paper and the small white cabinets. Slaving over the dishes was Percy's mother, Sally Jackson. She was petite, a lot smaller than what Annabeth had expected. Mrs. Jackson had thick, curly brown hair and caring, loving brown eyes. She was wearing her dish apron.
"Percy. Your home...and you brought a friend," Sally said, turning around to her son and his girlfriend. "Who's this?"
"Mom," Percy said, stepping forward, careful not to block Sally from view of Annabeth. "This is Annabeth Chase. We go to school together."
"Oh Annabeth Chase! My son has told me so much about you! It's a pleasure to meet you, Annabeth," Mrs. Jackson said. She wiped her hands off and turned off the running water.
"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Jackson."
"Oh please, dear, call me Sally. So what are you and Percy doing tonight?"
"I thought you already told your mom," Annabeth said, turning to Percy.
Percy shrugged. "We're just planning on doing some homework and then going to this little cafe with all of our friends."
"Are you hungry? I can cook some food," Sally offered.
"Oh no, we're fine," Annabeth argued.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. We really should be starting on our homework, if you don't mind. We both have an English essay to do," Annabeth clarified.
"Well have fun," Sally said with a smile.
Percy groaned, "How can you have fun when you're writing an English essay?"
Annabeth laughed. "Come on." She hesitantly grabbed his hand, "We'll do it together."
Sally took interest in Annabeth holding her son's hand. "If you need me, just come out here."
"We'll be fine," Percy said. He didn't release Annabeth's hand as they made their way to Percy's room. He opened the door for her. He dropped his backpack and jumped onto his bed. He opened his arms up for Annabeth.
She glowered at him. "I don't think so. We are doing homework. No exceptions."
"But Annabeth!" Percy complained.
"Don't 'but Annabeth' me! We are doing our homework." She grabbed Percy's backpack and threw it at me as hard as she could. "Let's get started."
He covered his face. "Hey! Watch it!" The backpack hit him in the arm. "Damn! That hurt!"
"I've got a mean swing."
Percy rolled his eyes. He unzipped his backpack and grabbed out his binder. "Yeah. I'm sure you do." Annabeth set her backpack on Percy's bed and joined him. She opened her planner and began to examine the homework that she needed to finish. "So what do you think of my mom?"
"She seems very nice." Annabeth looked up from her planner. "Does she know about us?"
Percy shook his head. "No but I think she figured it out. What about your mom?"
"I haven't told her but she's smart. I would be surprised if she didn't figure it out."
"She likes me, right?" Percy asked. "Your mom?"
"Of course. You're much better than Travis. Let's not forget that."
Percy laughed. He grabbed Annabeth's hand experimentally, waiting to see if she was going to push him away. She didn't, though. Percy slowly pushed his binder out of his hands, moving Annabeth's planner off of her lap. It fell onto the ground. Hesitantly, Percy pulled Annabeth into the nook of his arms and he leaned back against his pillow.
"So about tonight, are you going to sing?" Percy asked.
Annabeth shrugged. "Probably not."
"Come on, Annabeth." Percy took Annabeth's face in her cheeks and forced her to look at him in the eyes. "Will you please sing? For me?"
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Don't beg Percy. It makes you look desperate."
"So is that a yes?"
Annabeth sighed, "Maybe."
"Yes!" Percy shouted. "I can't wait!"
"I have a feeling that I'm going to regret that," Annabeth mumbled.
"Relax! You're going to enjoy this!" Percy guaranteed.
"Yeah. I'm sure I will."
By the time that Percy and Annabeth were getting ready to leave, Annabeth had finished a good chunk of her English essay done. Percy, on the other hand, was nowhere near being finished.
"I'm going to fail that English essay," Percy told Annabeth as they were in the car, making the way to the cafe.
"No, you're not. I'm not going to let you."
"Awwwww," Percy mocked playfully. "My girlfriend cares about my grades!"
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Shut up! Of course I care about your grades! Why wouldn't I?"
Percy shrugged. "Maybe it's cuz you think I'm too much of a Seaweed Brain to do any good in school."
"Oh, you're not stupid Percy!"
Percy scoffed. "You think I'm a total derp."
"Derp? Really?"
"Shut up."
Annabeth laughed.
They pulled up in the cafe. Percy quickly jumped out of the car and raced to Annabeth's side and opened it for her. He grabbed her hand and kindly helped her out. They started making their way to the cafe door.
"So," Percy started, "You are going to sing, right?
"I already told you that I would."
"Good!" Percy said, grinning.
He opened the cafe door and led Annabeth to their table. Luke, Thalia, Connor, Travis, Katie and Grover were already their waiting. "There they are!" Grover greeted. "Finally! Percabeth arrives!" Annabeth sighed. She still hadn't forgotten their little nickname that their friends created. "The party is complete."
"Where are the others? Aren't Silena, Beck, Clarisse, Chris, Nico and Juniper coming?"
"Nahhhhhh," Thalia clarified. "Nico got grounded since he failed a test."
"Juniper is at some environmental protest rally," Grover informed.
"Chris and Clarisse are working out," Luke pointed out. "And Silena and Beck are out on a beach vacation thing. They don't have school for the week."
"Lucky them," Annabeth mumbled. She grabbed Percy's hand and scooted into the booth. "Luke, are you planning on singing again?"
"God, no! I'm still pissed at Travis for that Sexy and I Know It video."
"Come on, Luke!" Travis defended. He had his arm wrapped around Katie's shoulders. "You got to admit that that video was hilarious! I'm sure Thalia gets a good kick out of that every time she watches it."
"You actually watched that?" Luke gasped, appalled.
Thalia snickered. "A lot."
"So I'll take that as a no?" Grover asked.
"I will never do it again." Luke responded.
"Well, someone has to go!" Thalia said.
"Annabeth said she would," Percy brought up.
"Percy!" Annabeth groaned.
Percy winked at her and pecked her on the cheek. "Hey everyone!" Percy called out of the cafe, who were mostly just young couples or teenagers. "She's going up to sing!"
The cafe started to cheer.
Annabeth blushed. She stood up. "I hate you Percy." She quietly told the DJ her song and he handed her the microphone. Annabeth nervously fumbled with the microphone. She turned to face her audience, focusing on Percy's beautiful eyes. He was grinning broadly.
Remember those walls I build
Well baby their tumbling down
They didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make a sound
I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got angel now
It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I've had you breaking
It's the risk that I'm taking
I ain't never going to shut you out
Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
I know your my Saving Grace
You're everything I need in more
AnIt's written all over your face
Baby I can see your halo
Pray it won't fade away
I can feel your halo, I can see your halo (x4)
Halo, oooooh
Annabeth began to step away from the stage and make his way toward Percy's table. His eyes were sparkling in the dim light of the cafe. He was beautiful, a god.
Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You're the only one that I want
Think I'm addicted to your light
I swore I'd never fall again
But this don't even feel like falling
Gravity can't forget to pull me back to the ground again
It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I've had you breaking
It's the risk that I'm taking
I ain't never going to shut you out
Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
I know your my Saving Grace
You're everything I need in more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can see your halo
Pray it won't fade away
I can feel your halo, I can see your halo (x4)
Halo, oooooh
Annabeth sat down on the table. She caressed Percy's cheek as she continued singing.
Halo, oooooh
Halo, oooh
Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
I know your my Saving Grace
You're everything I need in more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can see your halo
Pray it won't fade away
I can feel your halo, I can see your halo (x4)
Halo, oooooh
Annabeth leaned down and kissed Percy on the lips. She whispered quietly, "You're my Saving Grace, Percy Jackson."
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww w, wasn't that a cute ending?! I hope all my readers have a happy holidays!
Sorry if there's a ton of grammar mistakes or missing words...
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