III

By the time Percy was done with swimming practice, it was already 4 P.M. Practice had finished early since it was the first day of school, but Percy had decided to stay for a few more rounds. He knew Annabeth would be staying until late, since she had told him as much after first period, and Paul usually liked to stay in his classroom going over the following day's teaching plans once most of the students left, so Percy figured he might as well get some extra time in the pool. Besides, that way he could avoid any more of Jason's unsolicited advice on his life, so the way Percy saw it, it was a win-win situation. The pool was one of the few rare places where he could completely let go and relax, where his mind didn't focus on a million things at once, and instead centered around the serenity the turquoise water gave him. It helped him think, and right now, that seemed to be what he needed. He had tried his best to focus on his classes throughout the day, but the truth was his mind kept wandering to what Jason had told him, about needing someone to practice with. As he dried his hair with his towel, before putting on the dark grey t-shirt he'd been wearing earlier, he wondered what that type of conversation would even look like.

Hey, I'm Percy, wanna be my fuck buddy? He imagined himself saying and grimaced as he finished getting dressed, it sounded so douchey. Ideally, he would have a girlfriend, and that sort of thing would just happen, but if he was being honest with himself, he didn't want a girlfriend. He liked keeping things casual and letting things flow, without the need for labels or false promises about commitment. Besides, he barely had enough time for himself as it was, between his training, school, and his part-time job on the weekends, he was barely managing to schedule everything in. If he added a girlfriend on top of that, something else would have to give, and he wasn't ready to commit to that. Hence, he was left with what had made up most of his experience until now, random flings that took place during vacation months and that never lasted more than a few months, until he inevitably became too busy and the flame would fizzle out. Percy was okay with this, in fact, he was comfortable with it, it was within his comfort zone and he thrived there.

Before his thoughts could consume him even further, he headed towards the library, his hair still damp from the shower he'd taken moments before. Despite its number of students, Goode Academy was a surprisingly big-sized school, laid out similarly to a college campus, most of the sports facilities were separated from the main academic buildings. The walk wasn't long, maybe fifteen minutes, but Percy enjoyed breathing in the early September hair and hearing the leaves rustle as random gusts of wind pushed against them. He hoped Annabeth was still at school, despite how late it was, he thought, as embarrassing as it was, getting her perspective on this newfound insecurity would help him to stop overthinking, but maybe he was just being wishful.

Out of all of his friendships, Annabeth was perhaps the one he had the most trouble explaining. They'd met at a summer camp for kids with ADHD and dyslexia when they were both twelve years old, and alongside their other friend, Grover, they'd become an inseparable trio during that time. In the years that followed, they had tried to keep in touch and had planned sporadic outings whenever either one of them was in New York. At a time when he'd been barely surviving school or his home life, Percy had appreciated those genuine and long-lasting friendships more than he'd wanted to let on. Grover had been two years older than Annabeth and him at the time and was now studying the man-made ecological impacts on the Great Barrier Reef as part of his sustainability and environmental science courses at university. Although they texted and called from time to time, they didn't speak as much as Percy would've liked.

Annabeth Chase, on the other hand, was a different story. She'd been the smartest of the three, by far and despite having the same learning disabilities as Percy, she'd managed to excel at every single task she'd put her mind to (with the very hilarious exception of karaoke). A few seconds after they had met, Percy had developed a silly crush on her, and she would still make fun of him over it. As any sane twelve-year-old boy would've done, he'd refused to acknowledge any of it and would tease her mercilessly, but at the end of the day his cheeks would burn bright red and he would nervously ramble whenever she'd be near him for too long. Grover had noticed and pointed out on more than one occasion that Annabeth herself had a crush on one of the older campers, Luke. Of course, nothing ever came out of those unrequited feelings for either of them. It was puppy love, and over the course of the summer, Percy had decided he valued their friendship above any silly childhood romance they might've had. It was that simple.

In the years that followed, he'd met up with Annabeth a couple of times, like the spring they had met when his class went on a field trip to DC and she forced him to visit most of the Smithsoneans; or the time her dad had to give a conference in Columbia that the following fall and he'd shown her around the city. Despite the distance, their friendship steadily grew stronger, and despite their differences or his reserved nature, Percy considered Annabeth to be his best friend. Before the start of his sophomore year, when she told him that her dad had been offered a teaching position in Columbia, and her family would be moving to the city, Percy couldn't help but be thrilled at the prospect of having her nearby, and seeing her every other weekend instead of every other year. When she told him she would be attending Goode Academy, he imagined that was what children must've felt like during Christmas Day. He'd thought about how cool it would be to have her around, to annoy her while she tried to explain geometry to him the way he had during their pre-pubescent summer days, to show her all of his favorite spots in the city, and to always have someone he could call on when there was nothing to do on a Saturday night. He had not however thought about the conflicting feelings he would get upon seeing her after so much time.

He'd always been aware that she was pretty, in fact he thought a person had to be blind not to see that, but when he saw her in school that first day of Sophomore year, he hadn't realized just how attractive she'd gotten. Percy had offered to show her around, and so they'd settled on getting coffee at a bodega near the school. When he saw her, Percy had almost choked on his water. Her slim, elongated body had developed since the last time Percy had seen her. She'd always been tall and athletic, but now soft curves decorated her body across her chest and hips, and legs… God, her legs, Percy's thoughts ran wildly in his mind. She was wearing a pair of light-wash jean shorts that hung snugly on her hips, showing off her figure and her sun-kissed legs, the same legs that seemed to go on forever despite her wearing simple white sneakers. She was wearing a white sleeveless crop top that exposed a small strip of soft skin around her abdomen, which was half-covered by the knitted white and navy cardigan she had wrapped around her waist. She still wore her mother's ring around her neck, but she had other simple pieces of jewelry on, as well, mostly consisting of necklaces of various lengths, layered one on top of the other. Her blonde hair hung loosely around her face, her golden curls falling just past her shoulders, and her bright grey eyes seemed softer, searching the room for him. When she finally saw him, a small smile crept on her pale pink lips, and she began approaching him with her backpack casually swung around her shoulder.

He hadn't meant to stare, he really hadn't, but he's never seen her like this before. The slightly more rational part of his brain told him to snap out of it, this was his childhood friend, his best friend, and Percy was acting like a total cliché. Yet, a larger part of his mind, the one that during that second had become flooded with the hormones of a teenage boy, was too busy imagining one thing and one thing only. The image of Annabeth letting out soft gasps, as he ran his hands all over her bronzed body and pulled on her perfectly tousled golden curls. The way she would look plopped on his bed as his mouth slowly made its way down her abdomen, reaching her- He pushed the images aside, feeling his jeans tighten and his cheeks redden and avoided meeting her eyes while she asked him if he was ready for the tour.

In that moment, Percy made the decision to lock any and all inappropriate thoughts about Annabeth in the obscure part of his brain that would never see the light of day, and that he would never admit to. He would blame his hormones, and move on, and he would most definitely not think about what it meant that he'd fantasized about fucking his best friend into oblivion for the remainder of that week. Denial would be Percy's trusted companion when it came to Annabeth and all the confusing thoughts that swirled around their relationship every now and then.

Percy reached the library, realizing he hadn't been in that part of the building since the day he'd given Annabeth a tour of the place two years ago. Despite Percy having no interest in being stuck in a stuffy room filled with dusty, old books, even he had to admit that the library at Goode was probably the nicest room in the entire place. Large wooden bookshelves lined the walls, illuminated by the rays of sunlight that sneaked in through the glass dome that decorated the ceiling. The place was quiet, as he'd expected it to be, but mostly it was empty. Percy walked in aimlessly, looking for a familiar cascade of honey-blonde curls somewhere in the maze of shelves. After wandering for a few minutes, he finally found Annabeth sitting on the floor, with a blue, leather-bound book in her hand, seemingly unaware of the world around her.

Percy crept up next to her, before suddenly dropping his bag and loudly proclaiming "You seem hard at work." Annabeth jumped in her seat, gripping the book before giving him a deadly look and audible sighing.

"Jesus, asshole, you almost gave me a heart attack, I thought you were Mrs. Dodds!" She shushed at him as he slumped on the floor in front of her, still laughing at his well-executed prank. "I was starting to think you weren't coming." Annabeth said in a more relaxed tone, arching her eyebrow at him. Percy rested one of his arms on his knee and gave her a small shrug.

"You know getting rid of me isn't that easy, wise girl, practice just ran over later than I thought." He replied, and she rolled her eyes at the mention of his old nickname for her. "Besides, you seem to be very busy with your new job." He said as she straightened her back against the shelf.

"Shut up, there's been no one here all afternoon, I was about to leave early but Mrs. Dodds said I had to stay until five-thirty." She mumbled, putting the book she had been reading back on the shelf behind her.

"Is that why you're hiding back here? Don't like your boss?" He asked and she nodded.

"It is, I just figured since I'm stuck here, I might as well get some reading done. But enough about me, what was up with you this morning, you looked like you were ready to throw your desk at Hawkins and he hadn't even mentioned integers at that point." She said, getting straight to the point.

Percy usually enjoyed Annabeth's direct approach to things, the way she didn't beat around the bush, but before a sound even escaped his lips he could feel the heat in his cheeks returning. The blonde looked at him, her interest peaking and her eyebrow slightly raised in amusement. He could instantly feel the regret seeping through his bones at the prospect of telling her the ordeal.

"It's, uh- nothing, you know I always hate the first day of school. It always reminds me of being the new kid." He said, shifting his gaze from her eyes to the floor. He hadn't noticed his fingers tapping against the side of his leg, in a steady rhythm.

"Mhm… You know, you can tell me if something is going on, however embarrassing. I promise not to judge too much." She said as if reading his mind with her storm-like grey eyes. A pause hung in the air, her eyes settling on the soft taps escaping his fingers before returning her gaze to her book.

He knew she was right. He could tell her what had happened, in fact, he'd planned to do so, but he was embarrassed, and more importantly, he was ashamed as to why he was embarrassed. Annabeth was his best friend, and she'd been his best friend for years now. She'd been the one he'd confided in when his mom started seeing Paul, or when his dad had shown up in his life after being MIA for most of his childhood, or even when he'd started his first semester at Goode and he'd been scared of fucking it up like he always did. She'd been the first person he'd confided in whenever something, anything, big happened in his life, but that had only extended to topics that excluded his love life. That subject had always been beyond the purview of their friendship, and despite her being a girl and the majority of Percy's love and sex problems revolved around those very beings, something had always nudged Percy to steer away from the subject. He suspected it was because, despite the very genuine friendship they had, there was always a tiny part of him that felt the same sexual tension he'd felt that day two years ago creeping on him when she was with him. He knew the likelihood of him and Annabeth ever having sex was slim, but a part of him didn't want to destroy that possibility, no matter how small, by telling her the details of how bad he was at the deed. At the same time, he knew there was no one else he could realistically talk about the subject with, and she had promised not to judge. He bit down on his lower lip, his cheeks turning bright red, cursing himself at the conversation he was about to have.

"I slept with Reyna." He confessed, and her head perked up in interest.

"Reyna?" She responded, and without a moment's thought Percy responded "Jason's ex."

Annabeth's eyes widened slightly. Percy could see the gears in her mind turning, piecing together the bits of information. "Well, that complicates things." She added cautiously.

"You said you wouldn't judge!" He complained and she raised her arms defensively.

"I'm not!" Annabeth interjected, but before she could say more, Percy spoke again.

"She said I was bad in bed" He said, avoiding her stare.

"As opposed to Jason?" She asked, and he bit his lip before responding, dramatically pulling his hoodie over his eyes.

"Not exactly. It was more of a general thing."He admitted, defeatedly.

His palms felt sweaty and he could feel his heart beating rapidly against his chest. The earth could have swallowed him whole for all he cared. Annabeth remained silent for a moment and ran her fingers through the hems of her light blue cardigan's sleeves, toying with them, before speaking again.

"Well, you're seventeen, it's kind of expected, isn't it?" She shrugged casually, but Percy could see a small smile tugging at her lips. He grunted, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"So just by looking at me, you also think I'm bad at sex." He countered, feeling his humiliation reach a new high. Annabeth shook her head at his dramatism.

"That's not what I'm saying, I'm just pointing to the fact that teenage boys aren't exactly expected to be sex gods. It's the kind of thing that you get good at with time." She replied, giving him a small nudge with her foot. Percy rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"Right, says the girl who's always been good at everything. How many times have guys told you you're bad at sex!" He complained but immediately regretted the words as they left his mouth when he saw Annabeth shift in her seat and glared at him.

"It's not about me, Jackson, besides it can't be all bad." She said, her eyes focusing on the book in her lap, once more.

"Well, it is." He replied, slumping further into the bookshelf behind him.

"It's not. If it was, she would've walked out on you before you even, you know. Besides, it's not like it's an unsolvable problem, right? I'm sure you can find someone you could get better at that with." Annabeth said, her eyes still focused on her book.

"You sound just like Jason." He mumbled, and she shot him a questioning look.

"He knows?" Annabeth asked, her eyes suddenly meeting his own.

"Reyna must've mentioned something, they're still friends." He shrugged and he noticed the blonde's composure shift.

"Ugh, that's shitty." She replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Percy noticed how her breathing became the slightest bit quicker.

"Yeah, it is, but anyway, it's not like chicks are lining up to screw Perseus-mediocre-lay-Jackson, so even if sleeping around was the answer to my problems, it seems unlikely to happen." He countered, tugging his knees closer to his chest. At least he felt better about having told Annabeth what was bothering him, despite the humiliation. She studied him for a moment, biting her lower lip, leaving a small, pink mark on it as it left the grip of her teeth. The act made Percy focus on her lips, and for the faintest moment, he wondered what it would be like to feel them trailing down his neck. He immediately pushed the thought away as Annabeth opened her mouth to speak.

"Maybe not with that name, but plenty of people would kill for a date with Percy-Swim-Captain-Jackson, or so I've heard. You should use it to your advantage. I know I would." She replied nonchalantly, her eyes focused on his, but Percy couldn't help but notice the tiniest blush reach Annabeth's cheeks. He decided not to mention it, since, deep-down he couldn't help but be a bit pleased with himself. He gave her a skeptical shrug, focusing his gaze on his hands, unsure of what to say next. Luckily, Annabeth's phone began ringing, saving Percy from the dread of establishing a new conversation topic.

"Shit, it's Mrs. Dodds, I have to go." Annabeth said, quickly shoving the book on her lap inside her tote bag, and hurrying to get up. Percy began grabbing his backpack, but Annabeth was on her feet, smoothing the creases on her white tennis skirt.

"I have to go, but we'll talk later, and think about what I said." She said, a soft shy smile playing at her lips, before walking off. Percy gaped as she left, her long tan legs invading his mind. He stared as her short skirt swayed, and dangerous thoughts entered his mind, wondering what she'd meant with what she'd said last.