Percy didn't think it would be this bad. Yes - he knows that Annabeth was one of the biggest singers in the world, and yes, he knew she had lots of fans. But this was crazy.
This morning when he had pulled up at school, Annabeth in the passenger seat and Leo in the back (who lived the closest to him,only up the street), the nerves radiated off of Annabeth and she nervously bounced her leg and glanced out the window.
'Hey, its going to be fine, okay?' He reassured her, Leo nodding behind him.
'Yeah, don't stress it blondie, after all - you have goode's most good looking guy on your side!' Leo winked at her, causing her to roll her eyes. It did help lessen her nerves, but she was still really stressed.
'Okay okay, lets just get this over with. I can do this,' she spoke determinedly, opened her car door and stepped out, Percy and Leo in pursuit.
She immediately recognised Hazel, Frank and Jason, waiting patiently outside of the school, and beelined towards them with her head down. They smiled at her in response before Jason spoke up,
'Morning Beth, how you feeling?'
She shot him a small smile, 'Nervous, honestly what if everyone hates me?'
Frank, who had been watching on quietly spoke up, 'I highly doubt that, plus maybe you'll be lucky enough that no one recognises you?'
Percy chucked an arm over the shoulder guiding her into the building, 'Cmon,' he spoke with a small grin, 'it's like ripping off a band aid, you've got this,'
She smiled at him thankfully, happy that she had his and his friends support. The doors of the small school swung open, and many groups span round to look at them.
A girl, maybe 15, froze eyes wide, and her starbuck slipped out of her hand and crashed onto the floor.
'OH MY GOD, ANNABETH CHASE!'
And with that, Annabeth and her group were swarmed, many excited students gathering to see the star. Percy tried his best to guide her through the crowd, to whom she was sending polite smiles and little hellos to. He quickly made a right and entered a small room, where a man on a desk was sat. He was in a wheelchair and had a rather large beard, but Annabeth immediately got good vibes from the older man. He rose his eyes on entry, and sent a grin in their direction. Noticing that they seemed to be struggling keeping the fans at bay, he coughed rather loudly gaining everyones attention,
'Everyone! Thats quite enough! Please leave the poor girl to settle, im sure she'll be happy to talk to you all later! Now shoo, go to your lessons!'
Annabeth watched as the crows dispersed slightly, some needing a few more words from the man to leave. She smiled at him thankfully, and Percy spoke up,
'Thanks Chiron! This is Annabeth, it's her first day,' he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, before dropping his arm back to his side.
'Hi Annabeth! Many people are very excited to meet you, but we need to make sure that everyone stays safe, and try and limit these crowds. I don't want them to affect tour experience too much!' Chiron spoke, shifting through some papers on his desk,
'Now, I remember seeing your schedule earlier, where's it gone?' He continued.
The bell rang as he loudly proclaimed 'Ah ha! There we go!' and handed her a piece of paper.
Both her and Percys eyes scanned the paper and his smile dropped slightly.
'You're in all the high classes?'
She shot him an apologetic grin, noticing his disappointment at not sharing the same lessons. He continued to look down her sheet before speaking up again,
'Well, at least we have lunch and gym together. Im pretty sure Jason is in a lot of your classes.'
Her nerves subdued slightly at the idea of being with someone she knows.
'Right, well off you both go now, the bells has gone and your teachers will be wondering where you are. If you need anything at all Annabeth please let me know,' Chiron kindly spoke, causing the young girl to nod and Percy steered her out of the office. No one was in the hallway.
Percy stood there, and half awkwardly pointed to a door down the corridor.
'Well, that should be your classroom then.'
She glared at the door, nerves creeping back in, which he noticed.
'Hey,' he grabbed her hand, 'it'll be okay. I promise'. He gave her hand a little squeeze and she smiled up at him.
'I know,' she said, 'I should probably go, I'm already drawing even more attention by being late.'
He nodded and released her hand, watching her take a couple steps away before turning round and coming back. She stopped in front of him and leaned in to kiss his cheek.
He froze as butterflies erupted in his stomach. His face must be so red right now.
She smiled at him and with a small 'thank you Percy', she carried on down the hallway and through the door, leaving Percy with his emotions going haywire behind.