Chapter 6

-Percy-

Since they live just a block apart from each other, Annabeth exits Jason's car when Percy does. She insists on helping him carry his things to his apartment since the bag isn't exactly light, not to mention the spear and shield don't even fit in the bag.

"You didn't have to do this, you know," he tells her as they ride the elevator up to the fourth floor.

"I wanted to," she says. "Besides, I live just down the street so it's not like I'm going out of my way."

"True," he says with a shrug.

The note Annabeth gave him at Leo's house is tucked into his right pocket. She wants him to wait until she leaves for him to open it.

The elevator door opens and they get out. Percy is carrying the bag over his shoulder and Annabeth is walking next to him.

"What's your room number?" She asks.

"402. Right here," he says, stopping at his door. He digs in his left pocket and pulls out his keys, unlocking the door and pushing it open. He enters the apartment and invites Annabeth to come in for a bit.

"Hello?" Sally calls from kitchen.

"It's just me, mom!"

"Oh, Percy. You scared me! Where have you been?"

"I was at Leo's, working on our project."

"How's that going, by the way? I know you were excited about it."

"Come out here and see," he says. "Leo finished the first set."

He opens the bag and starts pulling out the gear to show off.

"I'll be a moment. Just let me get this... Off the burner."

There's the sound of silverware clinking, then footsteps. Sally enters the room and greets her son, giving him a hug.

"How was your day, dear?" she asks him.

"It was pretty good, actually," he says with a smile.

"You wanted to show me something, right?"

Annabeth had drifted to the side of the room, out of Sally's view, to look at some pictures of a younger Percy at the beach, or him celebrating a birthday. Even when he was younger she thinks he's cute.

Percy shows Sally the bag of stuff that Leo and the rest of the group made.

"Wow, all this is wood and plastic?" She asks him, holding up a bronze-colored plastic helmet.

"He put leather and foam in the armor, too," Percy says.

"How'd you get all this stuff up here? It looks heavy all together."

Percy blushes lightly as he looks over at Annabeth. "I had some help..."

Sally looks over and sees Annabeth, who is still looking at the pictures.

"Oh my goodness," Sally whispers, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Um, Annabeth?" Percy begins. She turns to him and smiles. "This is my mom, Sally Jackson. Mom, this is Annabeth."

Annabeth shakes Sally's hand. "Hello," she says nervously.

"It's nice to meet you, Annabeth. How do you know Percy?"

"She's the transfer student I told you about the other day," Percy says.

"You mean to tell me this is the same girl you ran into at lunch? Literally ran into?"

Annabeth laughs. "Mrs. Jackson it's okay. He didn't mean to."

"Oh, I think he was just trying to find a way to get your attention," Sally teases.

"Oh?" Annabeth raises an eyebrow at Percy and smirks. "I guess that makes sense."

"That's not... I wasn't paying attention," Percy remarks, his face turning red with embarrassment.

Annabeth laughs at his embarrassment, but still gives him a beautiful smile.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Sally asks.

"I'd love to but I should be getting home," she replies.

"Oh, okay. Well it was very nice to meet you, Annabeth. You're welcome back here any time."

"Thanks Mrs. Jackson," she says but Sally interrupts her.

"Oh, sweetheart you can just call me Sally."

"She doesn't like being called Mrs. Jackson," Percy whispers.

"Ah, okay. Thanks, Sally," Annabeth says. She gives a little wave to Percy. "Bye, Percy. I'll see you at school."

"Actually, Annabeth," Percy says, before he can lose his nerve.

"Yes?"

"Umm... It's dark outside and this isn't exactly the nicest part of town so... Is it okay if I walk you home?"

"Wait, walk?" Sally asks.

"Oh! Yeah, if you want to," Annabeth says with a smile.

"Wait, you're walking?" Sally asks again.

"Yeah," Annabeth says. "My friend lives a block down the street. I'm her roommate."

"Oh, okay. Sorry, I just... It's not exactly common for Percy to bring a cute girl home, much less walk her places," Sally says, embarrassing Percy even more.

"Okay Mom! See you later!"

Annabeth laughs as Percy guides her out the door.

Percy blushes and sighs. "I'm sorry about her... She gets excited when she meets new people."

"You brought home a cute girl, huh?" She teases him, though, unbeknownst to Percy, her heart is pounding in her ribcage.

Percy's blush darkens. Cute doesn't even begin to describe you...

"Let's get you home," he says as he heads for the elevator.

...

-Annabeth-

Annabeth bites her bottom lip, trying to keep herself under control. It proves even harder for her once they get in the elevator.

The silence is awkward for a while until Percy finally talks.

"Yeah..."

"What?" Annabeth looks at him.

"Yes, I think you're cute. Beautiful, even..." He admits.

Annabeth's heart leaps in her chest. Her cheeks turn pink. "You really think so?"

"Yeah. As scared as I am to admit it, I really think so."

Scared?

"Why are you scared?" she asks him.

"I don't want to scare you off. And saying this just might do that but... I'm really glad we're friends, you know? Most girls think I'm a weirdo and avoid me," he explains.

Annabeth smiles softly. "Well, you are a weirdo. But you're a good weirdo, Percy. I don't understand why people avoid you." She puts a hand on his arm and looks him in the eyes. "If it means anything, I think you're pretty cool."

Percy blushes. "Thank you. It means a lot."

She smiles. The elevator door opens and they go outside.

He's so cute when he's embarrassed, too...

"So... Friends?" he asks.

Annabeth nods. "Friends."

"Does this mean I can get your number now?"

Annabeth laughs. "Check your pockets, dummy."

His smile fades and he pulls out the note she gave him earlier. It has her number written on it.

"Oh, of course..." He sighs.

"I was afraid it was too obvious," Annabeth giggles.

"You know, we should go for coffee or something. And I mean this as a friend, by the way," Percy says. "We still don't know much about each other."

Annabeth smiles. "I agree. The only thing I know about you is whatever people tell me. And it's not much."

They arrive at the door of her apartment.

"So what about Friday after school?" Percy asks.

"I'm going shopping with Piper and Rachel on Friday, but I'm available Saturday."

"Saturday works. So... See you tomorrow?"

"Well, duh," she laughs and punches his arm. "We have the same homeroom."

Percy smiles. "Right. I'll uh, text you later. Just so you have my number too."

"Sounds good. Night, Percy."

Percy waves as Annabeth enters her building.

She takes the elevator up to her floor and her mind is flowing with thoughts, some of which are dirty and she tries to push those aside and replace them with just normal, happy thoughts. Like his green eyes, his lopsided grin. She thinks about his arms and how strong they look and how much she wants to be wrapped up in them.

She's definitely attracted to him.

She likes him. But can she say she likes him?

Butterflies fill her stomach at that thought.

But she knows she has to try to be careful. She's had her heart broken before and she doesn't want a repeat of that, but Percy somehow makes it so easy to trust him even though she barely knows him.

She enters her apartment and Thalia greets her.

"Hey, girl! What took you so long?" she asks.

"I was helping Percy with something," Annabeth replies, smiling.

"With what?"

Annabeth sits next to Thalia and talks about her afternoon. She even shows her the pictures she took of Percy wearing his homemade armor.

"That sounds like Percy," Thalia laughs. "He's looking good, though! And you claim he isn't very popular at school?"

"He's not, but only because people think he's a weirdo," Annabeth replies.

"He is, but not really in a way to avoid him."

Annabeth sighs and rests her head on the back of the couch. "We've agreed to be friends and I gave him my number. He's supposed to text me later just so I'll have his."

"Sounds like you want to take this slow," Thalia observes.

"I do when I'm alone," Annabeth admits. "But as soon as I'm near him... I have to restrain myself."

"Sounds like you really like him," Thalia says with a smirk.

"I really do, but I barely know him."

"It's all good. Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

Annabeth sits up. "Friday after school I'm going shopping with Piper and Rachel. Then Saturday, Percy's taking me out for coffee so we can know more about each other."

"Oooh a coffee date," Thalia teases.

"He made it clear it's just as friends," Annabeth says.

She wants it to be more.

"Are you sure he's not just saying that?"

Annabeth is good at reading people. She's always been able to and she's never been wrong before. One side of her is asking the same thing Thalia is, but the other side is telling her otherwise.

"I... think he's honest. Just like you told me," Annabeth says. "He likes honesty."

"He lives by honesty, or at least he did while I knew him," Thalia says. "I don't know if he's changed. You gotta bring him here sometime."

"I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see you again," Annabeth says with a smile. "He hasn't mentioned you, though. I'll ask him either tomorrow or Saturday."

"What day is tomorrow?"

"I think Friday? Why?"

"Work has been ridiculous and I've lost track of what day it is," Thalia laughs.

"Of course you did," Annabeth says, laughing with her.

...

After they talk for a couple hours before Thalia yawns and turns in for bed. Annabeth goes into her room and plugs her phone into its charger. Her phone dings with an unknown number, but she remembers Percy said he'd text her so she checks it.

(Ex. 5:00a = AM ~ 5:00p = PM)

[11:34p] Percy: Test one-two?

[11:34p] Annabeth: Percy?

[11:34p] Percy:That's me :)

Annabeth rolls her eyes but smiles.

[11:35p] Annabeth: So what happened when you got home?

[11:35p] Percy: Guess...

[11:35p] Annabeth: Your mom started embarrassing you about me?

[11:35p] Percy: Bingo. She keeps asking me questions about you

Annabeth lies on her back on her bed, holding up her phone.

[11:35p] Annabeth: And what did you tell her? Nothing bad, I hope

[11:36p] Percy: Oh, I said you are just the worst. Always nagging and telling me what to do

[11:36p] Annabeth: you're dumb

[11:36p] Percy: What are you up to right now?

[11:36p] Annabeth: Getting ready for bed. It's been a long day

[11:36p] Percy: Yeah, it has. If you want I'll let you catch some sleep.

[11:37p] Annabeth: I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Percy

[11:37p] Percy: Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite.

Annabeth smiles.

[11:37p] Annabeth: dummy =P

Percy replies with a laughing emoji and Annabeth puts her phone down. She changes into shorts and a loose T-shirt and heads into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

...

Friday morning comes faster than Annabeth would've liked, but the smell of breakfast wakes her up. She checks the time on her phone; 5:30 am.

She also sees a text telling her she's been added to a group chat. She opens it and sees Piper, Rachel, Cal, and Reyna along with herself in the chat.

[5:30a] Annabeth: Good morning?

She gets out of bed and stretches. She wonders if Percy is awake yet, but she highly doubts it. He doesn't seem like the type to wake up early.

She grabs some clothes out of her dresser and goes to the bathroom to take a shower. When she finishes her shower, she gets dressed and puts her hair up in a towel before leaving her room. She pockets her phone as she approaches the kitchen where Thalia is just finishing up making breakfast.

"Morning," she says.

Thalia turns around and smiles. "Morning. Sleep well?"

"Yeah."

"Any dreams worth talking about?"

"Not really. I felt like this morning came too quickly," Annabeth says, sitting down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen.

"Ugh, tell me about it," Thalia groans. She holds up the spatula she was using to make scrambled eggs. "Hungry?"

"You know I don't skip breakfast," she replies with a smile.

Thalia grabs a plate out of the cupboard and fills it with eggs, buttered toast, and bacon. She sets it in front of Annabeth, who happily starts eating.

"What time do you think you'll be back here?" Thalia asks her then, as she forms her own plate of food.

"I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I've gotten to go shopping, much less with friends."

"It used to be with your mother, right?"

"Yeah but I never really got to try anything I wanted," Annabeth rolls her eyes. "It was always what she wanted for me."

"So are you excited?"

"Definitely," she smiles.

"And what about tomorrow?"

Annabeth's gaze drops to her plate. Her friend's tone tells her everything.

"I guess I'm a bit excited for Saturday," she admits.

"Only a bit?"

"Shut up," Annabeth laughs as she bites a piece of bacon.

...

-Percy-

7 o'clock sharp. That's when his alarm goes off. The shrill, rapid beeps cut through the silence in Percy's room for about two seconds before his hand groggily smacks the top, shutting it off.

"Fuck... off..." he groans to the alarm clock.

He really doesn't want to go to school, but the only reason he doesn't skip it constantly is because he knows he needs to graduate next year to get into the college he wants to go to. He also really enjoys hanging out with his friends during the day. The only plus sides to school: friends and the Halloween project they're doing.

His phone dings, alerting him to a new text message.

[7:01a] Annabeth: Hey, you up?

He sits up and rubs the sleep out of his eyes, his fingers fumbling over the screen to type a reply.

[7:01a] Percy: Just woke up, why?

[7:01a] Annabeth: I was thinking we could walk to school together today.

[7:01a] Percy: Yeah? I'd like that

[7:02a] Annabeth: Which means you should hurry up, dummy. You want to grab me or am I going to your place first?

[7:02a] Percy: What time do you usually leave for school?

[7:02a] Annabeth: While walking, around 7:15

Percy gets up and starts getting dressed.

[7:03a] Annabeth: So what's your plan?

[7:03a] Percy: I'll be there in a few minutes.

[7:03a] Percy: You're crazy for going to school so early

[7:03a] Annabeth: whatever. Don't be late, understand? I'll be waiting by the lobby.

Percy rushes into the bathroom and brushes his teeth. After that, he grabs his backpack and leaves his room. Sally is sitting in the dining room with a mug of coffee.

"Oh, good morning, Percy," she says. "Interesting seeing you up so early."

Percy checks the time. 7:08. It will take him a couple minutes to get to Annabeth.

"Yeah. First time for everything. Can't chat, gotta jet," he says, grabbing a bagel off the counter.

"What's the hurry?" Sally asks.

"Annabeth," he says sheepishly.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. We're walking together today. I'll see you later. Bye!"

He grabs the duffel bag off the couch and runs out the front door. The night before, he managed to secure the shield and spear to the straps of the duffel bag so he can carry everything with him. He checks the time on his phone...

It's 7:10.

He doesn't bother with the elevator this time, even with the heavy bag. He stumbles noisily down the stairs and reaches the ground floor. As soon as he gets to the sidewalk, he takes off towards Annabeth's apartment.

7:13.

He reaches her apartment building and he looks inside. No sign of her.

He texts her.

[7:13a] Percy: Hey, I'm right outside.

[7:13a] Annabeth: I'll be right out

A minute passes and the doors open. Percy smiles at Annabeth and she returns the smile.

"Well, you don't look bad for waking up at 7," she teases.

"And you... wait, what time do you wake up?"

"5:30."

"You're nuts."

Annabeth pokes her tongue out at him, but she smiles afterwards. "Come on, let's get going."

She notices the duffel bag and raises an eyebrow. "You brought your Greek stuff?"

"If it's for the class, I'll have to," he explains. "Besides, I'll see if Mr. Brunner will let my group go to a different room for secrecy's sake."

"Uh huh," she says, slightly amused. "And you're not bothered by how heavy it is?"

"Not really," he replies. "When I said I got it yesterday, I meant it. I mean, I'm happy you still helped but... You know."

Annabeth smiles. "Dummy."

Percy smiles and they keep walking together, talking about things and starting to get to know each other a little more.