A/N: Hey guys! Back with another chapter, hope you like it!
She's cute, are the first words that register in his mind. Though he doesn't actually see too much of her face since she's bent over a notebook with her blonde hair falling forward, blocking most of it.
What does catch his eye, though, is the speed at which her hand flies across the page. It's as if her hand can't keep up with whatever is going on in her mind. He only catches a glimpse of her wrinkled nose as she tilts her head up for a second, as if she's unsatisfied by the way things are playing out.
It's adorable.
He tries to stifle the small smile as he continues to make his way through the library. He's only been here a few days and of course his English teacher already has a book for him to read.
"You joined at the perfect time!" Mr. Blofis had said. "We're just about to start another book."
He doesn't think there is ever a perfect time to join when you're changing schools in the middle of the school year, but he hadn't said that because Mr. Blofis actually seemed nice.
Finding the book in question, he trudges to the front desk with his newly made library card and checks it out. Even the library card is different, a bright blue instead of…whatever the last one was. It's interesting how his old life seems simultaneously so close and yet far away.
Obviously, having to move high schools with only a little more than half of his senior year left has been tough, though he tries not to let it show to his mom. They're better off here, far away from the things that hurt them before. And yet, this small town feels unfamiliar and strange.
He steps out into the cold, the late afternoon sun glinting off a car and blinding him for a moment. The car drives away and he's left standing there, staring out at the road.
It's a surprisingly pretty view, the library being located on a slight uphill which draws a nice horizon line.
"Apricity." He jumps at the sound of a voice beside him and turns to see the girl he saw writing earlier standing right next to him.
"Huh?" is his elegant response.
"The warmth of the sun in winter," she recites, not even looking at him but out towards the sun moving lower in the sky.
"Oh…I didn't know there was a word for that."
She finally turns to look at him and he sees her properly for the first time. She's really pretty with her curly blonde hair (like some sort of Disney princess) and grey eyes that have an inexplicable depth to them.
"You're in my English class."
Is he? He tries to rack his memory of the one full day he's been in school, but honestly it had been such a blur that he doesn't remember any of his classmates except for a guy named Grover who had ripped out an extra sheet of notebook paper for him.
"I don't like that book," she continues, nodding towards the book in his hand.
"You already finished it?" he asks. As far as he knows, they just got this assignment two days before he joined the class.
She shrugs. "But maybe you'll like it."
He doesn't know how to respond to that. But as he's trying to figure out what to say, she speaks up again.
"Anyway, see ya."
And then with a small wave, she starts walking down the street without waiting for his goodbye. He stands there for another second, trying to process the encounter. It was strange and he feels a little bad that he didn't recognize her from class when she clearly did.
Strange, but not awkward. Which maybe makes it stranger. Shaking his head, he starts his own walk towards the new apartment.
And maybe it's because she'd drawn attention to it, but the cold November winds don't feel as bad with the sun shining on his face.
-.-
"Percy have you—oh." His mom's words stop short when she enters his room to see him sitting on his desk chair with the book.
"What's up?" he asks, looking up at her. She already looks five years younger ever since they came here, despite the stress of the move. It's a testament to how hard things had been, and he knows it. But he can tell she's nervous when she lingers in the doorway and asks questions.
"Is that for your English class?" she asks.
"Yeah."
"Do you like it so far?" It feels like maybe the question is about more than just the book.
"It's alright," he answers. He can see the guilt in her eyes. Though moving here is better, uprooting his school is also not good. He wishes he could explain that it's fine, he understands, and he doesn't hold it against her.
"Okay, well I'll leave you to it."
"Let me know if you need help with anything," he calls after her.
Truthfully, he's not liking the book that much and isn't excited to get back to it. The image of the girl flashes in front of his eyes. He wonders if maybe he'd like it more if she hadn't told him she didn't.
He makes a mental note to play attention in class tomorrow and catch her name.
-.-
Monday begins his first full week of school here. He's still trying to get used to the layout and figure out where his classes are, but Mr. Blofis's class is easy to find since it's right by the stairs.
As a result, it's one of the few classes he's early to and can pick his own seat. As he slumps into a seat at the back, he tries to discreetly watch all the other students file in, trying to find the girl.
He recognizes Grover, who shoots him a smile and sits next to him again.
"Hey!"
"Hey," he replies, relieved that at least one person knows him.
"How was your weekend?"
Percy shrugs. "Good, still settling into the new place. How was yours?"
"Oh, I went on this hike by…" Grover goes on to explain the plants he found on the hike but his attention is distracted when he notices her come in.
She doesn't look his way, just takes her seat in the middle.
"Sounds like fun," he manages to say after Grover finishes, feeling a little guilty for getting distracted.
"It was! You like hiking?"
"Yeah, I haven't really done it too much." The city they used to live in was much more urban than this place and his walks had mostly consisted of the bus stop and back.
"There are a lot of trails here," Grover says. "I'll take you if you're interested."
Very grateful for the offer of friendship, Percy immediately agrees just as Mr. Blofis calls attention to the class.
They start discussing the first two chapters of the book, and he can't help but focus on the girl. She's once again writing in a notebook, her hand flying across the page. There's no way she's taking notes on everything being said right now, though.
"Annabeth," Mr. Blofis says, and he sees her raise her head. So that's her name. "What do you think?" he continues.
He's looking at her in a way that makes Percy feel like maybe the teacher had the same idea as him about her fast writing.
"About what specifically?" she asks. It sort of proves that maybe she wasn't paying attention. But apparently, he was right about Mr. Blofis being nice because he just explains the question.
"The main character's approach to the problem we've just been shown."
"He has atelophobia and avoids the problems he can't fix instead of growing from them."
"Well, as of right now," Mr. Blofis says. "Do you think that won't change by the end of the book?"
Annabeth, who must have formed this opinion having completed the book, just shrugs. As the teacher moves on, he leans closer to Grover.
"What does atelophobia mean?" he whispers.
Grover shrugs. "No clue, Annabeth always says stuff like that."
That makes sense. Granted, he's only talked to her once, but it would explain their somewhat strange conversation.
Class ends and checking his schedule reveals he has lunch next. This is unfortunate because, as he learns, Grover does not have the same lunch period.
He walks slowly down the halls only ninety percent sure he's headed in the right direction for the cafeteria.
"Where are you trying to go?" He recognizes her voice this time.
"Cafeteria."
"You're on the right path, it's down and to the right," she says, falling into step beside him.
"Good, I was kinda worried I was walking in the wrong direction."
She just nods and starts to walk faster, having successfully helped him. But there's something that's been eating him.
"What does atelophobia mean?"
She stops walking to turn around to look at him. In two steps he's caught up with her and she falls back into pace beside him.
"It means the fear of imperfection, of not being good enough."
That makes sense. The main character was clearly afraid of failing and therefore was currently trying to avoid the problem entirely.
"That makes sense," he says. "You know a lot of cool words."
She glances sideways at him. "I'm a bit of a logophile."
He doesn't know what that means.
"It means lover of words," she says, sparing him the embarrassment of asking again.
He nods. "I'm getting that. And it's cool," he adds, making sure he doesn't offend her. At this point, only two people have even properly talked to him, and she's one of them.
"Thanks," she replies quietly. They stop by the door to the cafeteria. "I'll see ya."
"Yeah, see ya!" He offers a friendly smile as she walks away.
And now to tackle lunch on his own.
-.-
By the end of the day, he's halfway through the book, having either nothing else to do or no one else to talk to in moments of downtime. (Lunch got him through a half a chapter alone.)
It's saying something about his lack of social interaction too because he doesn't like the book very much. The main character is very much like what Annabeth had said, completely ignoring his problems because he knows he can't fix it all anyway.
It makes Percy a little mad. Even if you know you can't fix something, you should still try. He did. And he knows that though it didn't solve everything, it gave his mom some encouragement and hope that it would get better.
Trying makes all the difference.
Because now he's here.
He looks around properly for the first time. Having wandered out after school so absorbed in his thoughts, he hadn't been paying much attention to where exactly he was walking.
Luckily, he hasn't made it very far, just a little way down the road. He can still see the school behind him, a good location marker, and another half block in front of him are some stores, opposite a small park with two trees. It looks like a nice place to hang out, and sure enough there are a few students milling around.
Not particularly excited about the idea of having to unpack more and not having much to do other than homework, he decides to wander closer to the small strip of stores.
It's not like he had that many friends at the old place either, just a few classmates that he'd occasionally talk with, and one actual friend, Nico. He misses Nico now, though his company was usually quiet, it felt good to have somebody.
There's nobody now.
As he gets closer, he realizes the largest crowd is actually by a café. He wants to go in but the workers look hurried enough trying to fulfill the orders of the after-school crowd, so he crosses the street towards the small park.
Maybe, park is too grand of a word for what it really is, a small area of grass with two trees. There are a few students here too but not as many. As he's debating on where to go next a voice by his side makes him jump.
"What are you doing?"
Annabeth's ability to simply appear never ceases to surprise him. "Um…not sure…just walking, I guess."
That sounds more pathetic than he would like, but Annabeth just nods beside him, looking at the grassy area in front of him.
"A solivagant journey."
He just looks at her and hopes she'll explain the meaning of the word again without him having to ask.
"To wander alone," she continues, catching his eye.
"Right, yeah, though not by choice," he says, taking a large sweeping glance at the area to see if there's anything else to see. "Anything interesting around here?"
She shrugs. "The café." She nods to the grassy area. "That's a good place to read."
He makes a face. "I don't want to keep reading that book. You were right, I don't like it."
Suddenly those grey eyes are fixed on him. "Why?" The curiosity in her voice is overflowing and he feels a bit flustered, having been put on the spot.
"Um, well it's like you said, he, uh, doesn't do anything 'cause he knows he can't do everything. It's stupid and frustrating."
It's a lot less eloquent than how she said it, but she doesn't seem to mind, just nods slowly as if she's learning something new.
"Interesting."
Once again, he doesn't really know how it could be, but he's not going to question it.
"What are you doing?" he asks, realizing he still doesn't have an answer for how she suddenly appeared here.
She nods towards the trees, mostly barren with only a few leaves holding on and fluttering in the cold breeze. He shivers and realizes that most of the students have cleared away as the weather gets colder.
"I'm listening for the psithurism."
"What does that mean?" It doesn't embarrass him to ask the more he has to do it.
"The sound of wind through the trees," she explains. "It's always so different now than in the summer."
They're both quiet for a moment and he tries to listen for the sound. All he hears is the branches knocking against each other, it doesn't feel as gentle as the word sounds.
"It just sounds like branches," he finally says. He could see how the summer would have been a nicer rustling of leaves instead. In fact, there had been a tree next to his old apartment complex he used to sit under during the summer with Nico. The leaves, and his friend seem so far away now.
"Isn't it interesting."
She doesn't phrase it like a question, which is good cause he's not sure what his answer would be. Honestly, she interests him more than the trees, with her randomly popping up and saying all these unique words.
"Well, I gotta go," she says, breaking him out of his thoughts. "See ya."
"Yeah, see ya." He raises a hand as she walks away, further down the street away from the school. And as quickly as she had come, she disappears.
Slowly, hugging his backpack closer to add warmth, he trudges back towards the school and his new apartment, wondering if that long conversation officially made her a friend or not.
-.-
Grover, the strongest contender for new friend, invites him for a "quick hike" after school the next day. The path in front of him doesn't look very quick, but he doesn't mind as he slowly follows Grover through the trail.
"You aren't going to kill me, right?" he aims for a joke, realizing he's just following this kid into the woods.
"I don't even eat meat," Grover replies with a grin. He stores that fact in the event they end up getting food sometime.
"But thanks for coming along, not many people like to hike during this time," he continues. Though thankfully, the weather isn't as cold today.
"No problem, I didn't really get the chance to before so I guess I wouldn't know," he replies.
"You used to live in the city?"
The city. That's all it's known as to the people here. The place that holds so much…stuff in his mind. It's strange to hear it condensed like that.
"Yeah, it's so…different over here."
Grover nods. "Yeah, we're right on the edge of being super rural. But we have a mall! The best part though, is the trails. But then again, I'm biased."
"It's cool," he says, nodding to the woods around them. They seem to be approaching an open area soon, and the wind makes itself known.
The branches knock against each other, and Percy is reminded of Annabeth.
"Psithurism."
Grover looks at him. "What?"
"The sound of wind through trees," he explains, blushing a little at Grover's surprised look. "Annabeth told me about it yesterday."
"Annabeth, huh…"
"Why? Is there something up with her?"
He's curious to understand this girl more. She's just so intriguing.
Grover sighs. "No, not at all actually. People always think there is though, like she's weird and mysterious. Well," Grover pauses, "I guess she is a little weird, but that's nothing crazy."
"I mean," he continues, "she's just a girl, who knows a lot of cool words and will just talk to people she finds interesting. But there's no greater…" he waves his hand aimlessly, "whatever… to her."
He thinks he understands what Grover is trying to say. He can imagine a lot of people probably typecast her as some quirky girl type but she's not that mysteriously strange.
Still though, it doesn't make him want to get to know her any less. Even if she's just a normal person who knows cool words.
"And here we are," Grover says, breaking the small moment of silence. They've stopped at a clearing where most of the trees end on some type of hill/cliffside. Below him reveals more trees and woods and some buildings can be seen to the right.
It's colder out in the open but it's offset by the amazing view, made even better as the sun hangs low in the sky, providing spectacular color.
"Wow…"
Grover grins. "Right! That's why the hike is always worth it."
He smiles back and adds this to the number of reasons why this move was worth it. A few of the last leaves from the trees behind them drift into the wind and towards the sunset. Maybe letting go isn't as bad as he thought it would be.
-.-
He closes the book with a thump and pushes it slightly away from him. He wonders what the point was of reading a story where there was no discernable change. Things happened and yet it feels like none of it mattered.
He takes a bite of his apple.
"Didn't like it?"
He jumps slightly at the sound of the voice and looks to see Annabeth sliding into the seat beside him.
His first thought is how is she able to sneak up so quietly? His second is the realization that she's had his lunch period this entire time, and the third is the answer to her question.
"Nothing changes," he replies, venting his outrage. "I don't get it."
It took him another two days, but he's caught up with her and the mutual dislike.
Annabeth shrugs. "I guess in real life that happens sometimes, nothing changes."
"But real life forces you to change," he argues. He would know. Change has always been thrust upon him, whether he likes it or not. He's never had a choice.
Those curious grey eyes are locked on his again and he remembers Grover's words. 'She talks to people she finds interesting.'
"You're right, and yet some people stubbornly refuse. There's a lot of fears that get in the way, like thantophobia."
"What's that?" He chews on his apple as she explains.
"The fear of losing someone you love."
Oh.
Yeah, he gets that one.
Ever since his dad had died when he was a kid, he's been afraid of losing his mom. Especially with the added hardships of money issues and the shitty boyfriend who only helped pay rent once. But they'd done it, gotten out, forced to change, but as his mom had said over dinner last night, it's better.
"Fear shouldn't stop you."
"That's a brave thing to say."
Is it? He's never really had a choice in the matter.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asks, after he doesn't respond.
"Go ahead," he says, shifting his stuff so she has a little more room. It's the first time she's decided to stay after the conversation instead of leave.
It brings a warmth to his chest.
He focuses his attention on his uneaten lunch as she pulls out a notebook and pen. And then her hand is once again flying across the page. He tries not to look, holding back the desire to ask her what she's doing, for fear of interrupting her.
Because she's writing in the same way she had been that day he had noticed her in the library, like she needs to get it all out, whatever it is.
About ten minutes later, (not that he's counting) she finally stops. Having finished his lunch, he'd started on the math homework, which he gladly forsakes when she puts away her stuff and looks at him.
"What were you writing?" he asks, slowly putting away his stuff too. It's a bit of a personal question, but he figures she should be allowed at least once after the way she's probed him for answers.
"I'm working on a story."
"That's cool." (He thinks maybe asking her about the story would be taking it too far).
"Yeah, sometimes I become scripturient."
He just looks at her and she continues. "It means having a consuming passion to write."
He nods. Passionate and consuming are both words he would have used to describe it. (And also cute, but that's better kept to himself).
"You're a writer…makes sense how you know so many unique words."
Annabeth glances at him with a ghost of a smile. "Unique? Not obnoxious?"
He strongly dislikes whoever told her it's obnoxious.
"Of course not, I'm gonna dominate scrabble next time I play."
And then, for the first time, Annabeth laughs.
It's beautiful. Her whole face lights up and when she looks at him his heart beats harder in his chest.
The bell rings signifying the end of lunch and they get up from their seats, Percy still trying to calm down.
"See ya later Percy," she says, tossing him a smile as she walks away.
That's the first time she's said his name.
He gives up on trying to calm down, it's damn near impossible after that.
-.-
With his enhanced…fondness (aka crush) for Annabeth, he now feels extra anxious about finding a way to talk to her. He wishes Mr. Blofis would just assign a group project (and even better assign him and Annabeth to work together) so he'd have an easy way of hanging out with her.
Yet no such thing happens, no such convenient forcing of interaction.
Basically, if he wants to hang out with her, he needs to make it happen. He's absurdly nervous as he catches her leaving class.
"Are you coming to lunch today?"
She'd only shown up once more after the first time, and his lunches feel extra empty when she's not there.
Clearly, the question surprises her. "Okay."
He's not sure what that means and it must show in his face because she elaborates. "Yeah, I'll come to lunch."
"Where were you going to go?" he asks, as they walk towards the lunchroom together.
"The library."
"Oh…am I stopping you from something?" He really hopes he isn't, not after he's finally worked his way up to asking her to eat lunch with him.
She shoots him a curious look and sometimes he swears those deep grey eyes read him like a book.
"No, not at all." She pairs the sentence with one of those smiles that makes his heart beat too fast.
They walk into the cafeteria side by side and he tries not to think something silly like how perfect they are next to each other and how nice it would be to hold her hand.
"So how are you liking it here so far?" she asks once they've settled down at a table.
"It's nice," he says slowly, unable to really describe how he feels. There's too much to describe, really, too many mixed emotions, so instead he talks about what he's done so far. (Which is not much).
"Grover, from our English class, took me on a hike, that was really cool. We ended up on this hill, cliff thing and could see a lot of the forest. It's really different than what I'm used to, but it's cool…" he trails off realizing just how bad he is at describing things. Especially compared to her.
"You probably know a word for that that describes it better than me," he adds, chuckling a little self-consciously.
Annabeth finishes chewing her food thoughtfully before answering. "Selcouth."
"It means," she continues, "unfamiliar, strange, yet marvelous."
That is the perfect way to describe the feeling he felt when they had gotten to the top. And maybe even to describe this place, the move. Though, he thinks, it's getting a bit more familiar every day. Like going to the café with Grover and hearing his mom hum happily as she works, and the soft look that Annabeth shoots him every now and then, all the little things that he's rapidly getting used to.
"But," she adds, breaking him out of his thoughts. She's tilting her head curiously at him. "You didn't do a bad job of describing it. Though I try, I know words can never describe everything."
She sighs softly but the smile she aims at him lets him know she's not serious.
"What? Impossible," he says lightly, feigning surprise while returning her smile.
Annabeth chuckles. "I know right. Unfortunately, we can't put a word to everything. Some things just need to be felt."
Is he going insane or did she look at him specifically when she said that last part? It's the first time he wonders if maybe she's drawn to him as he is to her…
And then he pushes the thought out of his mind because that's another one of those silly little things to think.
"Yeah, I guess so," he manages to say. It's a lame reply and he knows it, so he tries to follow it up with something better.
"But I mean it's still cool you know all of these words."
Annabeth sighs again. "A lot of them are obsolete so…"
"Still," he insists, drawing a small smile from her which makes him feel like flying. "Do you have a favorite or something?"
She shakes her head. "Not really, just ones that stand out at different times."
"What's standing out now?"
She pauses for a second to look at him and he almost wonders if she's not going to tell him. But then she speaks up softly.
"Illecebrous."
Before he can ask her what it means, the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. But something tells him she wouldn't have told him anyway as she gets up and tosses him a smile over her shoulder as she walks away.
"See you later, Percy."
-.-
Tending to attract, enticing.
Percy stares at the computer screen for a solid ten seconds before turning away from his desk. Enticing? What is that supposed to mean? And why had she looked at him like that right before she left?
Was this her trying to tell him something? Or is he just reading way too much into it? He sighs, tilting his head up to the ceiling.
"Everything okay?"
He jumps at the sound of his mom's voice. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she says, offering an apologetic smile.
"It's okay, and yeah, I'm uh good."
It could literally be nothing and he's not going to make a fool of himself trying to explain it to his mom. "What's up?" he asks, instead.
"I was gonna make some cookies, did you want to help?"
He takes the distraction from his unhelpful thoughts and follows her into the kitchen as she begins to take out ingredients.
"How's school going?" she asks.
He knows one of the things his mom had been most worried about was the fact that he had to switch schools, he tries to reassure her now that it's okay.
"Good, I made a friend. Well, two friends." At the very least, it's safe to say Annabeth is a friend.
"Oh good, I'm glad that—" she cuts off.
"What?"
His mom turns to him with a grim face. "We're out of blue food coloring."
"What!" It's louder this time.
"I know, I can't believe it either," she says. "We could make it without…"
"No, I'll go get some," he says, quickly stopping that thought early on. Cookies are not cookies if they aren't blue.
His mom smiles. "Can you? I'm sorry about this."
"Don't worry about it," he says, already grabbing the keys. "I'll be back before you know it."
Thankfully, the store isn't too far away and it's another testament to how quickly he's adjusting that he's able to find the food coloring relatively quickly. He hurries out of the store, purchase in hand, when he's met with a cold breeze and a voice that stops him in his tracks.
"Percy?"
Of course, it's none other than the person he's been trying not to think about. Annabeth is smiling lightly at him, her coat unbuttoned, revealing workout clothing underneath.
"Annabeth." It comes out a little breathless from his speed-walking.
"Hey," she offers a small wave and it's painfully cute. "What're you up to?"
"Just getting some food coloring, what about you?" The workout clothes, he notes, are very nice.
"Just got out of the gym and I'm picking up some stuff for my dad."
"The gym…" It makes sense but he's never imagined Annabeth at a gym before. The thought must show on his face because she raises an eyebrow at him.
"I do do things other than write and know words, you know."
Heat rises to his cheeks. "Oh, I'm sure, I didn't mean, I just." He's stumbling over his words now.
Annabeth laughs, that loud cheerful one that makes him feel warm. "I'm just kidding."
"Oh…" He should say something else. "I, uh, looked up that word. Illecebrous."
Annabeth's eyebrows raise in surprise and those deep grey eyes are once again trained on him. "And?"
"Enticing, it means enticing, right?"
She lets out a slow smile. "Yeah," she replies softly.
"It's a cool word, um…" He really did not think this line of conversation through. What's he supposed to do now? Ask her why it's the one that stood out to her then and if it had anything to do with him?
"It is," she says slowly, head tilted in that analytical way towards him. "It just feels…accurate for right now, you know?"
"Right, right, yeah." He's stumbling over his words again and she shoots him another smile.
"I'll see ya around."
"Yeah, you too," he calls after her, head spinning with thoughts. The conversation leaves more questions than answers.
But he can't mistake the way she looked at him this time.
-.-
He kinda gets it now.
At this point it's clear that he should ask her out, and it's sort of clear that she might, probably, hopefully, want that too.
He just has to do it.
But he's scared to mess it up, to not do it well, or have her hate him because he misread the situation. And that fear really feels like it's stopping him.
Because this time, he has a choice.
Last time he didn't have a choice, or at least it didn't feel like there was one when it came time for them to leave. He needed to step up and help support his mom, and he had.
Asking Annabeth out, however, is not necessary. Just preferred.
"What's going on with you today? You look like you're in pain," Grover says as he sits down next to him in English.
"Having a hard time getting myself to do something," he mumbles, trying to school his face into something more neutral.
"Like asking Annabeth out?"
He swears his jaw drops open. Grover just shrugs. "It's kinda obvious you guys are interested in each other."
"It is?" He did not think anything about this situation was obvious at all.
"Well to me anyway." Grover turns to pull out his notebook. Having gotten to know Grover better now, Percy can believe that if anyone could pick up on something like this, it would be Grover.
In fact, he's extra thankful that he found Grover as a friend, he's pretty sure most of his comfortability about this place came from him.
"Oh…"
Grover shoots him a quick smile right before Mr. Blofis calls attention to the class. "You should go for it."
He tries to pay attention, he really does, but he can't stop thinking about it all. It is really hard to do something by choice.
In a way, it's easier being forced into it because there's no other option but to move forward.
And technically, he could stay here, as her friend and talk during lunch and that could be it. Or it could be so much more, so much better.
When class ends, Grover shoots him a wink as he walks out of class, nudging him towards Annabeth who's waiting by the door to walk to lunch.
"What was that about?" Annabeth says, noticing the wink.
He groans internally. Of all the things for her to perceive, that was not one of them.
"No clue, Grover is weird like that," he says instead.
Maybe next time.
-.-
He's at the library looking for yet another book for English class. This time he gets to choose from a list, so it's really whichever one he can locate first among the shelves.
Mentally repeating the alphabet in his head, he gets closer to the R's when he finds something, or rather someone, even better.
"Annabeth?"
She looks up from the shelf, surprise coloring her face. "Percy, hey. Are you looking for the book too?"
"Yeah, did you already find it?"
She nods, pulling out a copy. "There's only one here, though…"
"Oh."
He's a little distracted by a stray curl that's falling in front of her face, something she must mistake for disappointment because she continues.
"I'm sorry…"
"It's okay, I'll just go with a different one," he tells her, because it really isn't a big deal.
Annabeth bites her lip (another extremely distracting action) and he almost misses what she says next.
"Or…I mean you can have this copy once I'm done. I can probably finish it in a day or so if you're willing to wait."
It feels stupid now to tell her that he didn't really want this particular book, just whatever he could find first. It's also an opportunity he doesn't want to miss. In a way, an opportunity he's been looking for. For once, the universe seems to be helping him out by giving him a chance, he knows in that moment that he has to take it.
"Yeah, that's fine. You don't have to rush or anything though," he replies.
She smiles and his traitorous heart flutters at the sight. "I like to read books all the way through at once."
He follows her lead as they walk away from the shelves and to a nearby table she had been sitting at.
"Is there a word for reading a book all the way through at once?" he asks with a smile. She stops by the table, clearly thinking about it.
"Actually…I don't know…not that I know of anyway."
He pretends to gasp. "Impossible!"
She smiles, shaking her head at him. "You're ridiculous."
Her tone is so endeared it actually makes his heart ache. He wonders if maybe Grover was onto something after all. Maybe this chance will actually work out… he decides to go for it.
"I actually learned a new word recently," he says, heart starting to race in nervousness.
"What was it?" She's looking at him curiously, much like the first time they'd talked.
It's now or never, he almost chokes at the lump in his throat. It shouldn't be this hard, and yet for a second he wonders if maybe it is better to just leave things as they are.
But then he remembers how annoying it was to read that plot in the last book.
"Uh… orphic. Do you know it?"
Her grey eyes feel like they're searing into his soul as she answers. "Mysterious and entrancing."
"Yeah," he says, trying not to stutter. "Kinda like you…"
It feels like the moment after the words leave his mouth stretches on for an eternity and he's hyperaware of every action. Like the way her eyes widen, and her lips part just slightly as she registers what he's just said.
"Oh."
Trying very hard to appear as casual as he can, he just shrugs, trying to figure out where he even goes from here. Honestly, he didn't think he'd make it this far.
"I…" she starts again, but then can't seem to finish her sentence.
He laughs a little nervously, unsure what to make of her reaction, and tries for a joke. "Annabeth without words, I don't know if I did something good or bad."
"Good," the word leaves her mouth immediately. "Really good, I just…"
Trying not to fidget under her gaze he waits for her to continue. After a second, she just throws her hands up.
"Oh forget it, can I just kiss you?"
It's his turn to lose his words and just numbly nod as she steps closer to him. When her lips meet his, he gets it, he feels it.
Her kiss says all the things she couldn't put into words.
-.-
"Moving here was a good idea, right?" His mom finally says the thing he knows has been on her mind these past few months.
He looks up from his phone to see her somewhat anxiously arranging a plate of cookies for his friends that're coming over soon.
"Of course, mom," he responds, putting his phone away. She nods, letting out a slow sigh.
"I was worried…"
"I know, but you didn't have to be." He moves to the counter with the cookies.
"Well, of course it's better in some ways but—"
He cuts her off, "It's better in ways I could have never imagined."
She looks at him, clearly about to ask what he means when, as if on cue, the doorbell rings. He rushes to open the door and sure enough it's his favorite person standing outside.
"Hey," she says a little breathlessly, as if she'd just run up to the door. He quickly ushers her in from the cold. "Grover said he's going to be a bit late."
He just nods, helping her out of her coat. Her eyes roam around the living room, taking everything in.
"It's nice to meet you," his mom pipes up. "I'm Percy's mom."
Annabeth's eyes snap towards her as she responds a little shyly. "Hi Mrs. Jackson."
"Please, call me Sally. Do you want some cookies? I just baked them."
It's utterly adorable how her eyes light up when she sees the plate. "I'd love some."
"Annabeth," he asks. "I was just talking to mom about something, and I figured you'd probably know the word for it."
"What is it?" She turns to him with that curious look that he loves.
"Is there a word for finding something amazing without looking for it?"
They'd moved here out of necessity, a forced change if you will. Never had he imagined he'd not only get the choice of something even better, but that it would actually work out.
"Serendipity."
He reaches out and grabs Annabeth's hand, leading her to the plate of cookies on the counter.
"There you go," he says, meeting his mom's eyes knowing she'd been watching the two of them interact. "It was serendipity."
When his mom smiles, it's big and full, and he thinks that maybe there are some things that are simply meant to be.
Like when Annabeth takes a bite of a cookie and tells his mom it's elysian and when his mom asks her what that means and when Grover finally arrives with a funny story about his calico cat who got stuck in snow.
And especially when he steals a quick kiss from Annabeth in the middle of it all.
A/N: And there you have it! This was inspired by those word definitions on Pinterest so if anything is off, I blame it on that lol I've been having a hard time writing lately and this is the only thing I've managed to write this entire month so hopefully you guys like it. With the changing of seasons I've been thinking about change as a concept a lot recently and so this happened.
I hope you guys liked it, please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
And as always, thanks for reading!
See ya!