The sleek elevator doors opened to the sound of upbeat, techno beats, the smell of cheap beer, and the crisp, electric buzzing of Jason's torch-filled rooftop patio. He had to hand it to the Graces, if they had one thing, it was style.
Percy walked in, taking in the modern, open floor plan before him. He'd been to this apartment plenty of times, but he was always a little starstruck by it. The way the classical Roman columns, placed strategically throughout the living room, clashed with the minimalist decor and ultra-modern architecture, always made him feel like he'd just walked inside the pages of an Architectural Digest magazine, rather than a home inhabited by actual humans. He always thought, compared to his mom and Paul's tiny apartment over by Hunter's Point, this place seemed so… ostentatious. Yet, for all its luxuries, it didn't feel like home. Percy shrugged the thoughts away, feeling guilty for comparing himself to Jason in the first place. He focused his eyes on the room, darting from one corner to another, taking in the faces that made up the party's crowd.
He noticed most of his class had already arrived, as red solo cups plagued the scene. His green eyes scanned the room quickly, trying to find even the faintest trail of familiarity among the sea of people scattering in all directions. Finally, they settled on the burly, dark-haired boy by the cream-colored couch with a half-moon shape in the middle of the floorplan. Frank was chatting with Hazel, a kind-eyed Sophomore who had transferred to Goode in the middle of last year's fall semester. Percy hadn't been able to hang out with her all that much, but he knew she had been in an advanced trigonometry class with Frank, and they had spent a lot of time together over the course of the last few months. Percy began walking towards them, a smirk playing on his lips as he saw Frank nervously talking with the girl, cheeks a deep scarlet, spilling the contents of his cup with each hand gesture. For a moment, Percy thought it was cute how obviously oblivious he was to the fact that the girl with golden brown skin and a laugh like honey was probably as into him, as he was into her. Percy walked closer towards them, catching Frank's gleeful eyes, before nodding in his direction.
"Purrcy, thought you wouldn't make it, bro! This is Hazel, Hazel this is Purrcy." He said, slurring his words as he gestured between the girl and him. Percy gave them a friendly grin, shaking his head, of course, Frank was drunk after half a drink.
"Hey Zhang, wouldn't miss it for the world, and-" he said, gesturing towards the girl, whose golden eyes glinted with mirth at the boys' interaction. "-we've met. It's good to see you again Hazel, if you two lovebirds excuse me, I'm gonna go get myself some of whatever he's having." he continued. The comment made Frank blush a deep scarlet, while Hazel beamed, her smile illuminating her face and her southern drawl lacing her words as she spoke.
"The pleasure's all mine darling, I think you should find Jason and the rest of them boys outside."
Percy moved away from the pair and shifted awkwardly through the different cliques that were forming throughout the apartment, as the sound of synthetic drums filled his ears. He made his way towards Jason's kitchen, his eyes scanning the crowd ever so often in search of his friends. He knew most of the people at the party, he'd caught a glance of Clarisse LaRue, who had been head of the women's wrestling team at Goode when he had first arrived. He had also seen the Stoll brothers by the couch where Frank and Hazel were, alongside Katie Gardner, a girl he knew from his biology lab from two years back. He was surprised at the number of people that had decided to show up, given it was a Monday night, after all. He shifted around, moving with ease through the crowd until he reached the large stainless-steel fridge. He figured, taming his nervous energy and faking interest in the small talk would probably be easier with a drink in his hand, and he wondered what variation of Jungle Juice Leo had come up with this time. He opened the fridge nonchalantly stuck his hand in and grabbed a beer. As he turned around to grab a red cup from the marble to pour the cool, amber liquid in, he felt someone drunkenly bump into him.
"Hey watch where- Jackson! There you are!" said the high-pitched voice in a shriek.
Percy turned suddenly, holding his cup firmly in place, his eyes landing on Drew Tanaka, as a smile crept on her face. Percy tried his best to muster a fake smile as the tall girl gave him an over-enthusiastic hug. Drew was drunk, he could smell the traces of cheap wine coolers on her breath mix with the repugnantly sweet vanilla smell of her perfume. She gave him a smile as she narrowed her eyes looking at him, leaning forward over the countertop giving him a view of her cleavage through her bright, pink top. Percy pretended not to notice, shifting his gaze elsewhere as he took a large gulp of his beer, the cool drink leaving a sour aftertaste in his mouth. Percy never really drank, or he never really liked to drink, but he found it was easier to hang around with the same drink all night than to have people constantly get him drinks before he could say no, so that's what he did.
"I've been looking for you all night." She said, inching closer towards him, grabbing a hold of his arm.
Percy felt an involuntary blush reach his cheeks. Drew had not so subtlety hit on him before, and it made him slightly uncomfortable every time. Percy suspected that her sudden fondness of him had more to do with the fact that Jason had already rejected her and his position as co-captain of the swim meet than anything else, which left a sour feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach. He wondered if, despite that, he could take advantage of the situation, use her the same way she wanted to use him. After all, she wasn't bad-looking, and it would be relatively easy to hook up with her, he knew all he needed to do was follow her game. He'd had time to think about what Jason had suggested, and Annabeth had confirmed, and maybe if the two could find this to be the topic they agreed on, Percy should listen. Sure, his ego was still shaken, but here was one of the, objectively, hottest girls in school (even if she was a little mean and not entirely his type) feeling her way up his arm, at a party, and maybe if he was lucky, he could forget about the whole Reyna incident with and get his groove back. Yeah, that would be the plan for tonight, drink up, let loose, and get laid, he thought confidently. This could work.
But this was Drew, the girl who had relentlessly bullied Annabeth and made her life impossible during her first year at Goode, all because she and Piper had ranked above her in a stupid, sexist, Goode's Finest list some Freshman had anonymously circulated throughout the school. When Percy found out, he'd wanted to beat the living shit out of the weasel who had created the list and made virtually every girl in the school either deeply uncomfortable or a raging jealousy machine. Annabeth hadn't talked about it at all with Percy, and despite his wanting to help at the time, he also knew it was something she needed to handle herself, but that didn't stop him from getting extremely defensive and worried when he saw the words slut written in neat cursive and red ink across her locker and Drew giggling across the corner. He didn't know what Annabeth had done, but after that, Drew never bothered her again, and while it was clear they didn't like each other, an unspoken truce had been settled between them. Percy knew Drew was petty and somewhat of an asshole, and maybe if he was drunker, he wouldn't have thought about any of these things, but he wasn't and he did, so he shrugged her grip away, gently moving away from the countertop.
"Yeah," he said, running his hands through his hair nervously. His eyes shifting quickly through the room.
He could see the large, double pane glass doors, and through them, the fireplace burning bright, as a tall, blonde boy laughed with ease. That was his cue.
"I need to go, it was nice talking to ya." He said before she had a chance to respond, and fumbling with his drink he headed through the glass doors.
The air was chilly so high up, given it was only September, and Percy could see the city lights stretch out on the horizon below them. He noticed Jason was ruffling Leo's hair, both of their booming laughter filling the air, while people gathered around the artificial fireplace, some dancing, some chatting, and some predictably beginning to hook up. He wondered if it had been a good idea to come, still feeling uncomfortable over the fact that Jason had been made aware of what had gone down with Reyna, but he shrugged it away. Better than third-wheeling with Frank, or being seduced by Drew, he thought grimly. He walked towards the pair, shooting them a nod, a grin spreading through his lips, as he bit slightly into the inside of his cheeks, feeling more level-headed than he had that morning. His nervousness faded when Jason gave him a crushing bro hug and put his arm around him, flashing his teeth in his direction. Jason was too good for this world, he thought sensing his friend silently trying to make amends for that morning.
"Jackson! I was starting to think you weren't going to make it!" Jason half-said, half-shouted at him, with Leo turning to face Percy, an elfish grin on his lips. Without the others noticing, Jason leaned in slightly to whisper in his ear, "Sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to piss you off."
Percy gave him a small shake, flashing him a genuine smile; don't worry about it, it's forgotten, he seemed to say.
"What's up Grace?" He replied with a smirk, clinging his beer against Jason's drink. "I almost didn't, forgot this was going down today, it was actually Annabeth who reminded me," Percy said, as Jason chuckled.
"Always with the head in the gutter, glad you could come all the same." He replied, his smile splitting the small scar that ran through his lips. Leo turned, a serious expression on his face.
"Is Annabeth the smoking hot, but deeply terrifying blonde you're friends with? I had her in civics, she completely annihilated Mrs. Wheeler in one class. Fun to watch would hate to be on the receiving end, though." Leo added, and Percy just chuckled.
He'd heard that story before, apparently, Annabeth hadn't exactly appreciated Mrs. Wheeler's unmerited rant regarding affirmative action and immigration, so naturally, she stepped in.
"Yep, sounds like her." Percy said with a smile.
Jason and Leo had met Annabeth a few times, in fact, Percy was pretty sure they had all hung out together on more than one occasion, but they were two very separate groups. Annabeth was part of his childhood-and-tutoring friend group along with Grover, meanwhile, Jason and Leo were his swim team friends. He knew it was silly, but he liked keeping the two groups separate, keeping those two worlds from colliding. It might have had to do with the fact that by keeping both groups separate he felt he had some control over how he was perceived. He looked around the rooftop looking around for a familiar head of blonde curls.
As he sipped his beer, Jason and Leo changed their conversation, talking instead about the possibility of taking the team to the state championships this year. Percy was half Listening to the conversation, normally he would be much more enthusiastic about the prospect of winning the national championship, but instead, his mind kept drifting elsewhere. He enjoyed swimming, probably more than anyone else on the team. He felt ease in the water as if he could drown out his thoughts and quiet his racing mind in the blue haze. Yet, the prospect of championships made him nervous. He didn't know where or even if he wanted to go to college, his grades weren't exactly stellar, and he didn't want to burden his mom with the prospect of a 30K yearly tuition, so he needed a scholarship and he knew swimming would be the easiest way to achieve that goal. But he sometimes wondered if that was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life if he wanted to commit to four more years of endless training and practices, the constant pressure of people's expectations resting on his shoulders. He remained quiet as Leo and Jason debated their personal records in the pool, and instead opted for drinking the now lukewarm beer instead.
"Uh, I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get another drink." He mumbled, but he doubted, the two boys had heard him.
Crushing the empty red cup in his hand, he walked back inside the apartment. Heading straight to the kitchen, he barely noticed when he bumped into the girl with a tight black dress and blonde curls falling down her back. The lemon scent was overwhelmingly familiar as he turned to see who he already knew was there. Annabeth blinked a few times before smiling at him, drink in hand as the brunette next to her whispered something into her ear before heading out the glass doors. He stood there for a moment just looking at her. She was looked different, a good different, but different, nonetheless. Percy realized she had dressed up, her blond hair fell messily down her back, as the shimmery black dress with see-through sleeves hung snugly to her body. She was also wearing more makeup than usual, her grey eyes looking like pools of silver against the dark liner that decorated them, her lips a soft shade of pink that made them stand out against her bronzed skin. She looked stunning. Percy noticed that despite how glammed up she was, she was still wearing her white converse, and a smile crept onto his lips. He figured; a good part of the look was probably due to Piper's handicraft. He must have been staring because a smug smile rested on Annabeth's lips as she pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"You know, if you take a picture, it will last longer." She said, clearly satisfied with the faint pink tint that rested on Percy's cheeks.
He raised an eyebrow at her, before flashing her his signature, trouble-maker smirk that she had hated when they'd first met.
"If you say so." He said, and before she could reply, he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of her, the smile still plastered on her face.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, trying to grab his phone, and Percy was silently grateful he was a solid five inches taller than her. Holding his phone beyond her reach, he laughed as Annabeth crossed her arms across her chest and gave him a playful frown.
"You are such an idiot." She said, slowly taking a sip from her drink. Percy laughed.
"Yeah, well, you put up with me regardless. C'mon, I'll grab a beer and we can head outside, it's nicer!" He replied and saw Annabeth nod as he turned around quickly.
He quickly reached into the fridge, grabbing another can, before following her out the glass doors. As they moved through the groups of people, Percy noticed Jason was no longer chatting with Leo, instead, the blond was nowhere to be found. He found it strange he hadn't even noticed when Jason slipped inside the house. As he followed Annabeth, they settled on a small corner next to one of the heat lamps. Leaning against the railing, Percy took in the city's nighttime skyline. Annabeth leaned against the railing as well, swirling her drink as she took slow sips from it.
"What are you drinking?" He asked as she turned to face him.
"Well, Leo said it was Jungle Juice, but really it's just vodka mixed with soda and Kool-Aid." She said, arching her eyebrow as she looked at the red cup, a funny expression creeping on her face. Percy smiled, that sounded disgusting.
"You can have my beer if you want, I'll finish the abomination." He told her, but she shook her head.
"It's fine. It's my second one actually, it's really not that bad." She replied, and Percy gave her a questioning look.
The faint glow from the heat lamp was casting shadows across her face, and the golden light made her look like she was glowing. Percy couldn't help but think about the images his brain had conjured up of her earlier, and he immediately felt the guilt make its way up to his throat. Sure, she looked gorgeous, but she was just looking out at the city and drinking her drink, nothing about that should have stirred those feelings in him.
"Perce, are you okay?" He heard her say, a half-worried expression landing on her eyes. He blinked at her and flashed her a small smile, quickly hanging the topic.
"Yeah, I'm good, so, where were you? I didn't see you when I came in." He said, and she let out a small sigh.
"Piper decided it was a good idea to pregame the party by herself, so I was trying to avert a crisis in the bathroom with her." Annabeth said casually, her finger coiling around the ends of her hair.
"Oh, is she alright, though?" He asked, interest showing on his face. With a smile, Annabeth nodded.
"Yeah, she'll be fine. I think, there's a guy she was talking to over the summer, and now that school's starting again, it looks like there's been trouble in paradise." She said, before turning her body towards him.
"How about you? Better than this afternoon?" She asked, her voice hinting at genuine concern. Percy gave her a small shrug and ran his hand through his hair. He took a large gulp from his beer as she looked at him, an unrecognizable glint in her eyes.
"I guess? I mean my ego is still bruised, but I was thinking about what you said." He responded, and saw her eyes widen with curiosity.
"Go on," Annabeth said, taking another sip from her drink. Now it was his turn to shift his gaze out towards the horizon.
"Maybe you were right, maybe I should get a… special friend, I don't know how yet, or who, but I don't want a relationship, so it makes sense." He said earnestly, his voice low as people walked past them to keep them from eavesdropping.
Annabeth tapped her fingers on her cup, nodding softly as he spoke. Percy felt a familiar uneasiness creep through him. Had he said the wrong thing?, he thought, as Annabeth furrowed her brows as if she were deep in thought. He shifted his weight under his feet, finding his own hands begin to fidget nervously. He thought he didn't really have too many courses of action in this scenario, so he changed the topic.
"Hey, by the way, what did you want to ask me?" He said, and she looked up at him.
"Hmm?"
"Over text, you said you wanted to talk, what was that about?" He asked.
Annabeth bit into her lower lip, and he could almost swear he saw her blush in the darkness. Percy tried to flash her a comforting smile, but she didn't meet his gaze, instead, her fingers began tapping rapidly against the red cup. She took another sip. He didn't know what was making Annabeth so nervous, but he figured it must have been important. She looked around them, before meeting his eyes again and pressed her lips together.
"Yeah, about that… follow me." She said, and before he could reply she grabbed a hold of his hand.
He could feel her soft, but slightly sweaty palms in his, as she dragged him through the groups of people. Percy didn't know what was going on, but he saw her glance around, making sure they melt into the crowd enough to go unnoticed, before pulling him up the stairs towards the apartment's upper floor. Why are we going here?, he thought, this is where the bedrooms are. He could feel a familiar nervousness settle at the bottom of his stomach, wondering what could be so important that Annabeth couldn't say in public. Still grabbing onto his hand, Annabeth slid quietly through the hallway, darting into the first open room she saw, and Percy followed. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and turned on the light. Taking in the room, Percy assumed this had been Thalia's old bedroom, as doodles of thunderbolts and glow-in-the-dark stars decorated the ceiling, and classic rock posters were plastered all over the walls. The bed was neatly made, with a dark blue and silver comforter matching perfectly with the rest of the room's decoration. Percy heard the familiar click of the door locking behind him and turned around to see Annabeth leaning casually against the door. Her eyes moved slowly, taking him in as she bit her lip, and Percy wasn't entirely sure whether to be terrified or turned on.
"What's going on-" Percy began, but Annabeth spoke before he could finish the question. He could have taken a million guesses at what was going to come out of her mouth, and all of them would've been wrong. In fact, never in a million years would he have been prepared for the words that left Annabeth's lips.
"I think we should have sex."