Chapter 4
It had been a week since that day in Simpson Creek, and Percy had finally gotten the feeling of Annabeth's bare skin on his out of his head for the first night since it happened. It wasn't ideal, showing up to work at her family home with those unholy thoughts running through his head, but he was a hormonal teenager who really couldn't control himself no matter how much he wished he could. It was even more awkward, however to run into Annabeth. Who, by the way, was still avoiding him like the plague. He didn't know what he had done to deserve the icy cold glare she reserved just for him, but he didn't dwell on it too much. Not everybody was going to like you. He had learned that lesson pretty fast in order to survive in NYC.
Today was fortunately the weekend, and Percy was looking forward to sleeping in, watching some Netflix and taking a day for himself. He had never considered himself an introvert, since you really couldn't be in New York. Here, though, he hadn't had a second alone. In New York, you were surrounded constantly by people - people you didn't know, had zero interaction with and never had to socialize with unless you wanted to. In Bridgeport, everybody was friends with everybody and everywhere Percy went was a constant social affair. Today, he was relaxing.
Just as he was settling back in after a full breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon (the perfect way to start a weekend if you asked him), his phone started ringing.
"Thalia." He answered, clicking pause on his show before finding her eyes. "What's up?"
"We're all going to the club at noon." She clipped, setting him down so he could stare at the ceiling. She had luckily gotten over the little fight they had at the end of the party. When Percy had brought it up to her, she had said "Not my shit." and had never brought it up again. Still, Percy felt like he was walking on eggshells around Thalia and Annabeth. You never could tell when girls were going to be in a good mood or not.
"The club?" He adjusted the pillow, sitting slightly higher up in bed. When he heard club, all he thought was bodies and sweat and bad dj's and loud music.
"The country club?" She asked, bringing the phone back to her to give him a you're dumb look before he went back to staring at the ceiling. "Annabeth, Jason and I. You're family has a membership too."
Another thing that had become clear to Percy about Bridgeport. The poor and the rich went to the same high school, but there was a definite difference. Certain events only the rich went too. Certain parties that only the poor attended. Places only Annabeth and his cousins went, without their other friends; the country club, the stables with the picket white fence and cider waiting for you after a ride on Rayne Drive, the lake that was on their side of town. No matter what they liked to say, the curtain was still there. Percy just happened to be on the right side of it for once in his life.
Percy had apparently taken too long to respond because he was back at eye level with Thalia. "What?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "You have better plans today?"
Percy rolled his eyes, shifting onto his side and propping up onto an elbow. "Yeah. My bed."
Thalia sighed, swiping on some chapstick. "So, that's a no."
Percy shrugged. "I'm fine, really. Besides," He paused before he couldn't stop himself from saying the next part. "I don't think Annabeth really wants to hang out with me anyways."
"Cut her a break." Thalia said, just as Jason walked in the room with purple swim trunks on and a t-shirt that said Bridgeport Football on it. "She's had a rough couple of weeks, and you're not making it any easier on her."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Percy asked, wrinkling his brow but Jason had already interrupted him.
"You coming to the club today?" He asked Percy, taking the phone from Thalia.
Percy groaned. "Unfortunately. See y'all at twelve." He hung up before he could dwell on that fact that he had just said y'all after two weeks here. Disgusting.
Percy was right. Annabeth was highly uncomfortable with him going.
"You lied." She said, turning on her black haired friend.
Thalia shrugged. "No. Just avoided the truth. Would you have come if you knew he was gonna be here?"
Annabeth sat back against the tan leather of the Mercedes and crossed her arms, avoiding an answer. With her blue polka dot bikini popping out under a sheer white coverup and the straw sun hat covering half her face, she looked like she had walked out of Vogue's latest summer edition. He would be lying if he said she didn't look like a million bucks. The sun glinted off her blonde curls, and her laugh although not ever directed at him, was irritatingly contagious. It was a new Annabeth, one he had never seen before. In fact, it was a new look for all four of them. In the past couple weeks, all they had done was party out in the woods, or try to teach Percy how to ride a horse, or run around the Grace's house causing trouble until Zeus sent them packing. Today, though, the four of them were dressed up. The girls in thousand dollar swimsuits and hats, the boys in khakis and loafers. Poseidon had stayed true to his word and had bought Percy a whole new wardrobe that he hadn't known how to wear until Jason showed him.
No matter how many clothes Poseidon bought him, or the cars they drove, nothing could have prepared Percy for the country club. There was a guard at the front gate, who immediately recognized Jason and let him through. They drove down a winding road, the farm land turning into trimmed green grass and a wall of hedges to separate the run down barns from the fancy cars and people. A few feet later, they arrived at a Waynesboro Country Club. About a forty-five minute drive from their small town, and the wealth was even more prominent here. The all white building glittered in the hot summer sun. Men and women were chatting in the front while their clubs were loaded into their Bentley's. A group of kids giggled as they ran into the parking lot, followed by a tired looking nanny who was pleading with them to slow down.
"Leo!" Jason exclaimed, tossing their friend the keys. "Take care of my baby."
"Always." Leo said with a smirk. "So," He said, directing his voice towards the car. "Where are we going today?"
"You better not." Thalia said, sending Leo a playful warning sign before waving to the front desk.
"Leo…" Percy trailed off, trying not to stare at the two ladies with their martinis walking by them as they headed deeper into the club.
"Works here?" Thalia finished for him, grabbing them some towels. "Yeah. Piper and Luke do too. Speaking of him, is he here today?"
Annabeth shook her head, her blonde hair now up in a bouncy ponytail. "No. I'm seeing him for dinner tonight, though, so I have to leave around five."
Thalia shook her head. "For a second, I thought you were about to break that."
Annabeth flinched, but didn't look mad. "Let's just go swim, yeah?"
The four of them changed in the locker rooms, and Percy was glad for the chance to talk to Jason alone.
"So," Percy shifted uncomfortably, slipping out of his t-shirt and getting out the sunscreen. "Why is Luke so unpopular with you guys?"
Jason gave a slight chuckle. "First, lower your voice if you're gonna talk about him in here. Second, it's not my story to tell. If Annabeth wants you to know, you'll know."
Percy scoffed. "Like Annabeth will ever want me to know anything about her. That girls got so many walls up…" He trailed off, unsure of where he was going with that statement.
"You gotta just lay off." Jason said, stuffing their things in an electronic locker that locked with a fingerprint. "Annabeth and Luke are… Annabeth and Luke, you know? Yeah, Luke may be an asshole but they'll work things out. Everybody's convinced they'll be married by the time they're out of high school."
Percy wondered what that would be like. To have that sort of stability in your life. Percy hadn't been with the same girl longer than a couple weeks at a time, and he sure as hell didn't know what it was like to be in love. On the other hand, it would be stifling. He couldn't imagine it, being with the same girl for his whole life, never having any other experience except for just that one. He would hate it, personally.
The girls were already out by the pool when him and Jason got out there since they had worn their swimsuits instead of changed in the lockers. Annabeth was digging out a book of her straw tote bag, and Thalia had already stripped down and was pulling on Annabeth's hand, begging the blonde to get in with her.
"Who reads at the pool?" Thalia asked. Annabeth was trying to pretend she was annoyed, but there was a small smile hidden under her scowl.
"Plenty of people." Annabeth pointed out. She was right, of course. There were about thirty other adults sitting around on the lounge chairs with their book or magazine of choice.
Thalia just wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, and they're all over thirty with kids and saggy tits. Come on, get in the pool."
Jason and Percy followed Thalia into the deep end, the three of them jumping in like they were seven. Annabeth crossed her arms over her body, before pulling off her coverup to reveal a bikini that was not covering enough. She jumped in after them, and the four of them splashed around like little kids for the better part of the afternoon.
A little after three, Piper showed up tying a waitress apron around her waist. "Just clocked in." She said after saying hi to them. "Anything to drink?" She asked with a little wink.
"A martini?" Annabeth suggested, looking up at her friend from her lounge chair with a giggle.
Piper laughed. "Sure. Beers for the rest of you?"
Thalia nodded, not looking up from whoever she was furiously texting. Percy thought it might have been a boy, but she was frowning at her screen, not looking lovestruck and happy.
A couple beers and martinis later, Thalia and Jason were soaking in the hot tub. Percy had thought about joining them, but he decided to let the siblings have their time. Besides, he was kind of relaxed, laying out in the sun on a cushioned lounge chair, solid tan lines starting to appear.
"Want another drink?" Annabeth asked.
Percy jumped. "Uh - yeah, sure. Sorry, I thought you were asleep."
She waved him off, sitting up and slipping on her flip flops. "Just had a lot of practice in the art of getting a minute of quiet while around those two." Her eyes drifted towards the pair, who were currently annoying the two older ladies in the hot tub with them. She headed up to the bar, Percy trying very hard not to watch her walk away in a swimsuit.
The blonde came back with two beers this time, and Percy took a sip, the cold liquid sliding down his throat.
Annabeth made a face, "Ugh. I always try to be a beer person, but it's just really the worst thing." She settled back into the lounge chair, setting the beer on the table.
Percy hadn't realized he was staring but Annabeth raised her sunglasses up on her head before raising an eyebrow at him. "I don't bite."
Percy regained his wits, looking back at his phone. "Really? Could've fooled me."
Annabeth sighed, sitting up again and this time putting her book back in her bag. "Whatever. I gotta go, tell Jason and Thalia I'll see them at family brunch tomorrow. And you, I guess."
"Family… family what?" Percy asked.
She was halfway to the locker rooms by now. "First Sunday of every month." The look On her face said duh! Before Percy could respond, she had disappeared inside the club, a man in a white uniform holding the door open for her.
He shook his head, leaning back again on the chair before he was interrupted by a bubbly brunette, her hair piled high on her head and wearing the same waitressing apron that Piper was. "Another beer?" She asked, her voice annoyingly high.
Percy shook his head, taking off his sunglasses. "No, all good."
She cocked her head, hand on her hip and clearly looking for a way to keep the conversation going. "You're new around here, I'm guessing?"
"Moved a few weeks ago." He answered, sitting up. Seeing her without the window of sunglasses over his eyes had made her ten times hotter, and she was very interested.
"Bethany." She said, sticking out her manicured hand.
"Percy." He said, with one of those dumb grins he gave girls that always made them swoon. "So, Bethany. You interested and getting two drinks for us?"
She smirked. "I'm on the job, but I'm off in an hour if you want to wait?"
"Sounds perfect." Percy said, leaning back again and slipping sunglasses on.
The girl smiled a little too wide before bouncing off and serving up the next round of food.
Minutes later, Jason and Thalia came back, their skin wrinkled like prunes and laughing like they had just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Hey!" Jason said, grabbing a towel. "Where's Annabeth?"
"Luke, remember?" Percy said in response.
"Right. We're gonna head out, you coming?"
Percy glanced over at Bethany. He could go home with his friends, right now. The girl would be a little bummed, but she would get over it. Or… he could make the bad decision and wait until Bethany was done with her shift.
"Nah," His head inclined toward the girl, who was now serving a family their fries.
They followed his gaze. "You're kidding." Thalia said, rolling her eyes. "Bethany?"
"How do you know everybody? Aren't we like, a million miles away from Bridgeport?" Percy asked.
"She lives less than five miles from us." Jason said. "Her parents made her get a job here after she got suspended for alcohol in a water bottle during finals week."
Percy started laughing and quickly stopped when he realized no one else was. "So, anyways. You guys have a good time and I'll see you tomorrow."
"You're gonna be in so much trouble." Jason shook his head as he walked away.
"That's the point!" Percy called after them.
Hours later, after he had successfully snuck Bethany in his room, they had two rounds of average sex, and the girl was now sleeping peacefully next to him while he was more restless than he had been in a while. Giving up on sleeping and instead falling into the depths of social media, he ended up stalking his cousins instagrams until he ended up on Annabeth's page. Filled with dozens of pictures, about half with Luke and the other half with friends, he clicked on her most recent. Posted three hours ago, her in a blue summer dress, her hair perfectly curled and not at all frizzy like it was at the pool today, Luke in khakis and a button down. The two looked perfect together. If you were just looking at the picture, you would have thought they were the couple everybody dreamed of being in high school. But their smiles didn't reach either of their eyes.
Celebrating 22 months. The caption said, with a smirk emoji. 22 months. What kind of bullshit anniversary was that?
Percy almost turned the phone off and went back to sleep, but he instead made the rash decision to follow the blonde instead. Almost immediately, the notification went off. has started following you.
Ten seconds later, he was shaking Bethany awake and sneaking her back out the window she came in.
