Chapter 5: He's Different

Annabeth

It was currently 2:08 pm as the clock on the wall clearly stated, but for me, time seemed to have turned back a few hours and I kept thinking that we were still closer to the afternoon. Then of course, this must be directly correlated with how I was unconscious, not to mention being almost two hours late for school.

As I sat in the back of a classroom on the fourth floor, I had my chin resting on my hand with my elbow propped up on the desk. Staring out the window into a clear blue sky, I was totally spaced out.

"As you can see, this value is…"

It might have been very simple for me, but as Mr. Wilson's voice drone on over his calculus lecture, I had to bit my lips and refrain from correcting him on his method to solving the equation. Being my least favorite professor in the entire school, he would no doubt get defensive and decide to write up another false report about me interrupting his class. While he wasn't wrong by any means- I've also learned my lesson the last time I spoke up and said he was wrong, at least I wanted everyone else to get the right answer after his explanation took more than ten minutes for that specific question.

"Pssst..." Someone on my left buzzed at me before throwing a folded up paper at my desk.

Well aware of the person sitting beside me, I was in the midst of daydreaming about what happened this morning when it bounced off my left hand. Ignoring her attempt to distract me, I pretended not to notice it at all. She must be real annoyed when I didn't unfold her note because it only took less than five seconds before her ADHD kicked in and she went ahead and made another buzzing sound.

"Pssst..."

"Piper! Stop making buzzing sounds during my lecture." Mr. Wilson shouted.

Having been caught so easily, Piper Mclean snapped her head forward and apologize to the ego-centric professor albeit with half-hearted intention. She wasn't a big fan of the way he taught his lessons like a lot of other students here too. The man was so arrogant and full of himself that I sometimes envision a day where I would purposefully embarrass him until his overconfident and cocky personality got utterly destroyed by a sixteen years old girl, "Sorry, Mr. Wilson. It won't happen again."

A soft murmur of students in front of us made a snickering tone towards Piper, and like always I gave every one of them a glare if they dared turned around at us. Of course, I knew Piper could handle it on her own, but being her best friend for so long it was hard not to get defensive.

Piper- the girl known throughout school as the one and only beauty queen- had been by my side ever since freshmen year, I wasn't sure how it came to be but somehow she and I became really good friends over the years. I still remember bits and pieces of our initial interaction- the way she won't leave me alone no matter how much I've insisted. It's likely that we've only become friends because I gave up fighting to avoid her.

Flashing her deep hazel eyes at me, I knew I should make up for getting her into trouble. I sighed and picked up the folded triangle note while glancing over toward my left at Piper's smiling expression. It was obvious that she was saying thanks, but I put it aside before unfolding her message.

Hey Beth! Sorry I didn't get to sit with you during lunch, but what the hell happened?! Why were you so late today?

Even though I was already expecting that question from Piper, it still didn't prepare me one bit on how to answer her. After all, no one else knew about the events that took place between me and Percy this morning, except for Clara and Evelyn- the old woman at the front office. Knowing my best friend, she must be a little worried for me so I looked back reassuring at her.

Barely paying attention to the lecture anymore, I picked up my pen yet I was hesitant to write anything down. What should I even say anyways? I could tell her about Percy- perhaps about how we met, our awkward interactions, or maybe my first impression of him, but that would take up more than a page to explain thoroughly, especially with Piper being so thirsty for gossip all the time.

Deciding to make it simple for her to understand, I wrote up as little as possible before slipping the note back on her desk. Unlike Piper, I was actually being careful to not get caught by Mr. Wilson when…

"Annabeth!" I heard a loud bark.

As soon as Piper began unfolding my message in secret, the gigantic a-hole professor startled me out of nowhere and made me snapped my head forward too. I almost cursed back at him with some colorful words but instead I just looked petrify at him because I thought he caught me sneaking.

"Yes?" I looked at him with a narrow and subtle enough glare.

"Can you tell me how to solve this?" He asked me with such a disparaging attitude, it's not hard to see how much disdain he held for me.

While I hated him with the same passion too, there was nothing that could be done about it. I was already used to this type of response from a lot of people around the school. That's one of the worse things about being labeled as the smartest girl in Goode High. Winning grants and awards that I didn't even know about- not to mention my name being on the top of the honor roll every year, it's not hard to see why professors and students alike despise me to the bone.

I never did ask for this, but that had been the reality for me since the second half of my first year.

After a brief glance at the problem on the board, I easily made up the final answer within a few seconds right inside my head. When I gave him my response, I wasn't surprised that he looked befuddled by how fast I managed to give him the correct value. Of course, the others in the class all had a reaction too before their composure settled. In the end, everyone just sighed in mild irritation and some even shot me dirty looks as if I've personally done them wrong.

"Good. Now pay attention to—"

Suddenly, a chair was pushed back on the floor violently, making a loud screeching sound before another shrieking scream filled the class, "Ahhh! What?!"

Mr. Wilson was cut off by my best friend. I was startled again yet not to the same degree, watching as the girl with braided brown hair and tan skin stood straight up behind her desk, holding our note in both her hands. Her hazel eyes were filled with shock like a live grenade just land right next to her. No doubt she was surprised by what I wrote back.

"Piper? Are you going to keep interrupting my lecture?" Mr. Wilson asked as he looked ready to write up a report.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's the only thing he lived for. Writing reports was probably his delights…

I was hoping Piper would calm down and take her seat instead of looking between me and the paper constantly. No luck… Unable to stop interrupting our shared class, now her mouth was gaping wide open as she returned her surprised expression at me.

Stop it, Pipes! People are going to get suspicious!

Judging by her reaction whilst staring at me dumbfounded, I sighed in annoyance only to fling myself at my best friend a second later to cover her babbling mouth.

"W-What do yo-u mean by that? You m…met a boy-yy?"

-Line Break-

. A few hours ago this morning….

"Hey! Wait up," Percy called from behind me.

I shook my head without turning back, "Come on, you are the slow one here."

After leaving the infirmary- I was more than glad to be away from Clara's subtle smirks, Percy began to follow me as I led him to the front office. Even though it wasn't too far away as it's only over on the other side of the main hallway, I must have been walking pretty fast because Percy was lagging by at least a few feet behind me. Is it just me, or is he walking really slowly?

Perhaps I was the one going faster than normal. After all, the overthinking side of my personality couldn't stop ruminating on a specific thought in my head, not since we left together.

Did I really just offer Percy to take him there? Why did I even do that?

In all honesty, I didn't understand what was going on in my head back then, and given how we didn't know anything about each other nor did I own him anything, there was a strange feeling when we began to walk in the same direction. Luckily, the hallways were devoid of people which meant that we were the only ones roaming around.

Maybe that's why… If I was already feeling awkward right now, there was no telling how I'd feel if Percy were to walk right beside me.

Just as I had that comforting thought did Percy finally managed to catch up to me, but in doing so he was already panting with a heaviness to his breathing. I sighed in despair, my eyes trained at him in disbelief. He spoke with a broken voice, "How... How in the w…world can you walk so fast? I mean, right after you had a concussion?!"

It was a valid question, yet it was one that I couldn't answer because I didn't understand it either. Fueled by my awkwardness, I told myself that's the reason why I was walking so much faster than Percy, but if that's the case, I wouldn't have offered to take him to the front office in the first place.

As confusion settled upon me, I reluctantly turned around and noticed Percy bending over and holding onto his knees. Seeing him like this, I couldn't stop but rolled my eyes at him, "Gosh, you are not going to faint on me now, are you?"

He wasn't offended by my slight jab, "No, just give me a second… I- I don't know why, but I've been really tired after our conversation earlier."

My lips pursed, "Oh."

Not understanding what he meant, I didn't push him for an answer. Instead, I did my best to ignore his exhausted state, pointing forward at our destination and said, "Well, here we are."

He nodded and I saw that he was a little better now, "After you…"

Sensing that he hadn't fully recovered yet, I opened the door for Percy and waited for him to get in. It must have been my imagination, but as he walked pass me I swear I saw a slight blush on his cheeks. His supposed redness made it impossible for me not to grow red too.

"Ah, I see we still have two very late students." An old woman smiled as we entered.

Rarely have I entered the front office before, I was getting a very minimalist vibe through the simple workplace decorations and the shockingly unclutter space. It seemed like everything was exactly where it's supposed to be, neatly organized in a way that I could absolutely fawn over. Yes. I am somewhat of a neat freak so to speak… Eventually, my observation took my eyes from scanning over every part of the room- resembling a waiting room, the school's front office had coffee styled texture walls and there were more than a few chairs in the small lobby, along with many individual rooms in the back- my gaze shifted toward the elderly lady sitting behind the tall counter of her front desk. There were all kinds of flyers about the school sitting in their own little plastic holder. A small vase holding purple lilies …

"Uh… Annabeth? You okay?"

I heard my name being spoken over his lips for the first time…

Feeling a small nudge on my arm, I didn't realize how I had been spacing out with the layout of the office while Percy stood beside me for more than a minute. Embarrassed, I cleared my throat and shifted away from his touch. In many ways, it couldn't be helped. I was just like my mother because I've inherited her nature of always being obsessive with the details. My brain was wired this way from the beginning, and I credited this gift/curse all towards being her daughter.

"I am fine…" I said and moved in front of him.

Percy followed behind me as I walked up to the counter, "Um… Hi, we were at the nurse's office earlier and Clara said we should get our schedule here?"

"Yes. I see she added your names to the list." She said, "Don't worry, Annabeth. I'll print them out for you two now. And you must be Percy…"

I sensed Percy coming up from behind and stood beside me, "Welcome to Goode High School. My name is Evelyn. If you have any questions on your first day, please don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

Nodding beside me, Percy answered, "Sure. Thank you, Evelyn."

"Now, let me go get your schedules and fetch some other stuff…" She smiled and walked away.

Again, it happened and I was unexpectedly left alone with Percy. It didn't take long before my inner awkwardness decided to scooch a little bit away from his standing figure. I hoped he didn't notice when I moved away. Besides the veil of utter silence that automatically surrounded us, my mind was already desperately over-thinking. Any thought I had kept racing non-stop, yet nothing was coming up from these intrusive thinking. At least there was a reoccurring theme playing in the back of my head, and it was making me uncomfortable because they all revolved around the boy next to me, Percy.

Why am I getting such a weird feeling when I am with him? And why can't I stop thinking about it?

"So, not that I mind too much, but I guess you are going to your class after this?" Percy asked out of nowhere. I turned my gaze at him and saw him looking at me.

Momentarily forgetting his question when his green eyes caught mine, his words left me grasping at straws to understand what he meant, "What? What kind of question is that? Of course I am going to my classes after this."

"Right." Percy smiled and turned away from me.

It's no surprise that I began to wonder what he was thinking about after blurting out something so stupid. It must have lapsed his brain because what else am I going to do besides going to my classes? I am not definitely going to stick with him, that's for sure! But that's only because it won't take long for the rumors to spread like wild fire if anyone saw me walking and talking along with a new guy in school.

"Anyway, you will be fine without me, okay?" I stated as a matter of fact, "Besides, you could always ask around if you didn't know something or got lost…"

So why did you let him accompany you to get your schedule? Why is that okay but not this?"

Percy nodded and smiled away from me, "No worries. I can take care of myself. Thanks for the offer though."

I nodded without looking back.

It was for the best, that's what I kept telling myself, and given how I was still a little bit apprehensive about him too, it made sense to keep away for now. Besides, I didn't need more drama in my life if I somehow lost my mind and chose willingly to stick with him.

For one thing, I was well aware of my rules about getting too close with boys of that type- even though Percy probably wasn't that type from what I could gather… Secondly, accidents kept piling up whenever we were around each other so putting some distance between us would no doubt be beneficial. Plus, our interaction would most likely draw his irk attention if he were to see us together.

I grumbled and felt disgusted with that thought…

In all honesty, that really shouldn't have an influence on my decision regardless, yet I've always hated when I had to keep that thought in mind after it's been so long since that past had gone by; or at least I wanted it to feel like a long time even though it was only two years ago. It just wasn't something I could escape from, not when the previous boy in my life, aka my ex-boyfriend, still feel possessive of me since the start of my high school days.

Getting sidetracked in my head, I didn't notice when Evelyn came back just as we agreed upon going our separate ways. She held a bunch of plastic bags in both hands, each filled with one set of uniforms, plus a paper form in between her index and ring finger.

"I forgot to ask, Percy, but what size are you? I brought out the large sizes, but I didn't know if you'll fit in them." Evelyn asked.

"I think they should be fine… I usually wear that size anyway."

"Oh, perfect then." She handed them to Percy, "Okay, please filled out this form and you'll need to change before going to your classes, okay?"

"Both your schedules are being printed out right now…" Evelyn must have noticed me being anything but at ease since I was more than ready to get to class- or rather maybe it was because I was more than ready to get away from Percy and not let anything awkward happened between us anymore.

How long does it take to print something out? It shouldn't take that long…

"Mmm… It's nice to finally meet the smartest girl in the whole school." Evelyn smiled at me and perhaps tried to ease my nerves, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Annabeth."

I blushed shyly at that, "Nice to meet you too."

Evelyn then pointed and gestured at me and Percy, "So, do you two know each other already?"

Already giving another person the wrong idea, that's why I wanted to separate from Percy as soon as possible. It won't possibly be good for my health if Percy kept staying by my side. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed his slightly red cheeks, and just like before I could feel my own redness surfacing right after him.

"No, we don't know each other." I explained as fast as I possibly could.

Evelyn looked slightly confused, "Oh? I thought—"

Percy helped me out, "Actually, we've only met by accidents."

Throwing in the plural form for the words accident, I almost gave him a death glare.

"I see… It's just when both of you ended up in the infirmary, I would have imagined you two were… Oh, how silly of me. I am sorry I jumped to conclusions…" Evelyn apologized, "Well, let me see if your schedules are ready now."

Damn it, now both Clara and Evelyn thought something was going on between us…

Again, she walked away and left me and Percy alone. Knowing that I could leave as soon as I know which class to go to, it seemed like God was messing with me again, delaying me from getting my schedule right away. I sighed, stuck with Percy for a little more.

Maybe the printer is jammed?

But before Evelyn could leave for the room in the back, Percy spoke up unexpectedly.

"Wait, do you have a place I could change now?" Percy asked, "I've filled out the form already."

Evelyn turned back, "Yeah, it's in the back. Come with me then…"

Surprised when it took Percy less than a minute to complete his paperwork, I wasn't even aware of him filling out the form in the first place. He then disappeared with Evelyn into the small office hallway.

"We'll be right back, Annabeth," Evelyn said.

Left truly alone, I guess it felt at least a little bit better since Percy wasn't standing right beside me anymore. I had more time and space to be myself without anyone around.

Not that it mattered though because I didn't have anything to do after they left. All I was waiting for was that damn schedule on a stupid piece of printing paper, yet it was taking its very sweet time.

Getting an ominous feeling that nothing was going to go my way today, I heaved a loud and defeated sigh before burying my face in between my arms.

"Aaahh!" I mumbled at myself.

Is there really something going on between me and Percy? We just met though…

How in the world did both Evelyn and Clara jump to that conclusion was beyond me. Like I've repeatedly explained, we didn't even know one another until today yet something about us was giving them the wrong idea in the first place.

Feeling like it was impossible to unravel the cobwebs that had made it onto their minds, there just wasn't any point for me to think about it anymore. I couldn't stop what others think. The only thing I could do was to make sure that we wouldn't cause any more misunderstanding in other people's minds and to achieve that goal, our only choice was to go our separate ways.

Yep, he will do just fine... I don't need to take care of him.

Yet as that thought passed my head, I felt a nagging feeling behind my head that something was wrong with it. Why the hell would I feel like I need to take care of him to begin with anyway? If anything, he was the one taking care of me this whole morning… After all, he said it himself. I am a klutz that made all these accidents possible- not that I believe him though.

"Yo, I am back," Percy said which jolted me a little.

Out of nowhere, Percy came back out from around the hallway and I saw that he was already in his uniform. Half expecting him to take longer than when my class schedule would come out, the disbelief was growing inside me. Something else was definitely going on in the back, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out a definitive answer.

Wait, it's only been five minutes… How in the world did he change so fast?

I straight up from leaning my head on my arms only to have Percy chuckled at me. It confused me for a few seconds, but it didn't take long for me to realize that I was making an exasperated and down-on-my-luck type of face at the wall. Percy must have seen me like that when he came out…

Catching me unexpectedly, I wanted nothing more than to shoot him a death glare and tell him to erase that from his memory. Instead, I turned my gaze away from Percy and blushed. Awahh! Why do I keep reacting this way with him? Why can't I just be normal instead of giving him one wrong idea after another?

"That was fast," I commented.

Percy smiled and came around the counter to stand beside me. Like before, instinct took over me and I scooch a little bit away. Luckily, he didn't push his luck and keep his distance comfortable enough to satisfy my personal space.

"So, do I look good in uniform?"

I almost choked on nothing, "Eh?"

My jaw hit- no, crashed onto the floor at the blunt question that he somehow didn't realize was very embarrassing, at least for me. Asking a girl something like that when we've only met for a few hours, not even a full day, I didn't know if he was just very bold or somewhat of a huge idiot.

The latter made more sense to me…

Percy must not have the capacity to realize what he asked because he was looking at me innocently like he said nothing out of the ordinary, his green eyes twinkled as he looked for an answer.

Despite not knowing him all that well— other than the coffee shop accident, the falling-over accident, and our unintentional small conversation back at the nurse's office, I was completely lost the moment my grey eyes glued to his deep green ones. It felt like I was aimlessly roaming in a vast emerald city in those shining orbs. Not caring if I had a destination in mind, I was lost for both words and any rational reasoning in my head.

"Hello? Annabeth? Are you okay? Did I say something—?"

I had the most awkward reaction where I attempted to glare at him only to fail miserably. It probably ended up as a half-glare, half-awkward smile. From that moment forward, it was obvious that I couldn't give him a proper response anymore. I was feeling so ridiculous at one point that my inaction was only serving to tense up my entire body. Before long though, I told myself to just screw it.

Just make something up, Annabeth. Say something… Anything? Putting every effort I had to avoid his eyes, I took glances at Percy up and down, seeing how his new school uniform fit on him.

I noticed something wrong right away, "Your tie is uneven…"

"Oh." His response lagged several seconds behind.

Barely getting a response from Percy; even though he was the one who asked me in the first place, our interaction suddenly took a long pause. We could only stare at each other in silence. I didn't know why he was reacting this way, but the awkward and uncomfortable feeling made me shifted on my feet and fidget a little away.

Like some cheap and cheesy movie you'd watched on a lonely day, I could feel the strong tension between us and it was giving me goosebumps. Sensing where this might be going straight away; it surely won't be hard for Evelyn to pick something up from our little moment too, I was desperately thinking of ways to break us out of this eye staring contest.

It was merely a split-second decision, but before Percy could say something that I didn't want to hear nor was I ready to- What the hell do you think he's going to say? Geez Annabeth, you are overreacting just a bit! -something besides myself moved up until I was right in front of him. That worked to break our gaze off each other before I reached up his tie to try and fix it for him.

"Uhh…" I heard him mumble as he backtracked a few steps.

I was completely red on both cheeks as I kept my eyes on his grey tie, my fingers working to loosen his lack of an effort or attempt to wear it properly. Given that the back of his tie was longer than the front, I'd bet my money that Percy never had to wear a tie ever in his life.

While I was working to fix it for him, I noticed as his right hand moved up and ran through his onyx messy hair. He was making uncomfortable chuckles before me, "T-Thanks… I- I uh… I never had to wear a tie before, so…"

I rolled my eyes at him, but I didn't let him see it.

Focusing on the task at hand was the only way that I could manage the growing redness from getting out of control. Once it was undone, I pulled the other side further down before looping it around the back. My fingers working flawlessly, it took me no effort and a minute to fix his tie like how it's supposed to look.

"There…" I said, "You look better now."

Waiting for myself to let go of his tie, I made the mistake of looking up at Percy after I've done what I could for him. My grey eyes flashed when we caught each other again and I blinked in confusion.

"Hey, cupcake. You better hurry up now. I am already late for work." I heard his laughers.

I remembered myself running down the stairs with a blue tie in my hand, it flopped up and down behind me as I raced as fast as I could to— Recollection of a past repressed memory surfaced out of nowhere as I kept my eyes on Percy's green ones. It took me by surprise and I did my best to hold the forgotten memory back as best I could. I guessed it still hadn't change one bit. Anything about him was as painful as I remembered…

So I still remember his voice…

"Umm… Annabeth?" Percy asked me with an underlying concern in his voice.

It soon became apparent what he was mumbling about because I finally realized that I've yet to let him go from my grasp. The two of us still blushing within two feet from each other while I held him close by that grey tie.

"Eehhh!" I squealed.

Followed by a loud huff from my shrieking voice, I almost sent Percy flying back when I abruptly shove his tie away. Must have frightened him because he yelped and lost his balance, but if today's accidents were any indication of his steadiness, he found his footing effortlessly again.

Blushing like crazy, I hurriedly back away from Percy with more than five huge steps. In the process, I unintentionally bumped into a table with a potted plant beside the wall. I was beyond flustered as it trembled at the force of my body, an uncontrollable feeling began to overtake my senses enough to make me say something out of nowhere.

"Ah-hem… you still smell like caramel."

Lacking any rational brain cells after that… whatever that was, I felt even more confused and awkward now with what I've blurted out. It was true though. He did still smell like caramel even after changing into his new uniform, but that's not remotely the point when I just had a random and tense moment with Percy.

What the hell was that? I was desperately asking myself for the answer.

It didn't take very long before Percy responded with his eyes looking away from me as he chuckled uneasily, "Oh,"

I had pretty much the same nervous reaction and nodded, absentmindedly as I played with my finger while fidgeting like an idiot. It was so embarrassing, especially when I had no clue why I didn't let go right after I fixed his tie for him.

"Umm… Well, at least I smell good, right?"

I blinked twice at his response.

God knows it was such a lame joke, yet it somehow worked wonders to dispel a bit of the awkwardness that has enveloped our interaction. I saw him flashed a small smile my way, and instead of blushing away or scolding myself for looking back, I just couldn't help it anymore and gave him a friendly shy smile without hiding anything away. I even chuckled at his joke without huge nervousness in my voice.

"Yeah. I guess that's one good thing abou—"

Just as I was about to make fun of him for that, Evelyn came back and interrupted the moment, "Oh boy… Sorry, you two. It took a while because the printer was jammed in the back."

Yep! It was just as I expected…

"And also, I just had a conversation with the principal."

Uh-oh… I didn't expect this…

"Here." Evelyn handed out our schedule before revealing why it took her so long, "Annabeth? Mrs. Farron wanted you to help Percy around for a few days, at least until he's used to being here and settled in. He's new to the school after all, and she wanted you to tutor him at the end of your classes."

I was pretty sure my eyes just popped out of my sockets because I made a sound that I've never made before, "Eehhh! Wait, what?"

Evelyn shot me a smile, "It is what she told me. She wouldn't reveal more, but it something related to Percy being a transfer student from the city."

Percy must have been just as shock as I was because he lends me a helping hand all on his own, yet at the same time I knew any cajoling would be in vain because our new arrangement was already set in stone by our principal. Long before I had any idea what was being planned, there was no escape now, no way for both me and Percy to weasel our way out from this.

I was stuck in utter disbelief while Percy did his best to convince otherwise much to my relief, "Mrs. Evelyn, I am pretty sure I can manage just fine by myself."

"Nonsense. I am sure Annabeth is more than happy to help you out, right?" Evelyn smiled at the two of us, "I mean, you two seemed like really good friends already."

I doubled over.

Evelyn must either have a brain the size of a pea, or she was intentionally ignoring how I was reacting to her news, but in any case, she made it impossible for me to refuse what was expected of me. Using the principal's words as her defense was a really dirty trick.

"But I- I… I mean, Percy did say he can take care of himself, right?" I turned around and asked for his moral support.

Percy nodded and went along, "Yeah, I wouldn't want to be a burden to Annabeth."

Evelyn sighed afterward and I knew that was the end of the argument, "Come now… Are you two really going to make an old lady walk back and forth?"

Damn right! I am not going to stop arguing about this until I get my way! Or at least that's what I would have said if I was a heartless person. Instead, I found it hard to open my mouth after Evelyn gain the upper hand with that trump card to end our complaints. Percy didn't have it any better because all I heard was mumbling Uhh and Umm from his direction.

Defeated by Evelyn, by our principal, and by the fate of the universe, it seemed like I really couldn't stay away from him. Now I get to be stuck with Percy for the rest of the day even when we had agreed on going our separate ways. It honestly felt like God was playing a cruel joke on me, throwing everything imaginable at innocent Annabeth and making her day as terrible as possible. If that's the case, then it's only fair that I made him known some colorful words too.

I heaved a loud sigh.

"Ugh, fine," I finally said with a grumbling huff, "Come on… Let's go."

"Whoa. Hey, wait…" Percy abruptly spoke up.

I turned around and stormed my way for the door without another word. It was a really bad attitude in response, that's for sure, and I felt bad because I wasn't one to usually act like this. Luckily, Percy was nicer than I was and I heard him apologize to Evelyn.

"Sorry about that. Thanks for printing our schedule and getting me the uniforms." Percy said.

I didn't see it, but it wasn't hard to picture a knowing smile from Evelyn's expression after Percy sheepishly apologized for me, "You are a nice young man. Don't worry about it, Percy… I am sure Annabeth had her reasons to react this way. Well, onward to your classes."

Almost slamming my way out the door before they even finished their conversation, I wanted nothing more than to scream out loud into the hallways and curse as much as I could. Yet, this wasn't the place nor time for it. I bit my lips and held it back.

This is crazy! This is absolutely crazy!

Suddenly, I heard the front office door opened and Percy came up from behind me.

"Hey! What was that?" Percy asked me softly with an agitation behind his tone.

Somehow, I sensed the mood changed in his voice. He didn't seem too fond of me running out the door like that, and the waves in his green eyes blazed a little with a hint of a rough storm behind them. It was the first time I've seen Percy react this way, but I didn't even blink away.

Gosh! If he is too dense to get it, then forget it…

"I get that you didn't get what you wanted, but you didn't have to act like that to Evelyn." Percy said, "I mean, she didn't make the decision."

I shook my head away from him, "Yeah, whatever…"

There was another tension between us, but it was different this time. Before, I felt my gut clenching up when we were two feet away from each other. Now, I felt my hands clenching up when we were more than eight feet apart.

Percy eventually sighed, "Look, if you don't want me to follow you around, then just say it and we can go our separate ways. It's not like you have to help me out even if the principal asked you to-"

Honestly, what do you mean by that, Annabeth? What is he supposed to get anyway? Do you even get it yourself? Everything was so confusing… I only knew one thing- that thing being that I couldn't refuse what Mrs. Farron wanted for whatever reason. It's what infuriated me the most about this…

I sighed, "No…"

I felt something snapped inside me, yet I didn't react with anger but my expression soften and my fist stop clenching. I knew I was overreacting and honestly being a bit dramatic about babysitting Percy, but at the same time I also hadn't deal with these nagging feelings since my freshmen year, so…

"I mean, it's okay. I- I don't have better things to do anyway." I tried to give an explanation- more likely an excuse -before reaching out with my right hand, "Here. Give me your schedule."

For a moment, I thought I saw doubt in his eyes as he asked, "Are you sure?"

I ignored his question.

Instead, I shot him a brief and small smile, letting him know I am fine now and that I won't ask a second time. Able to convince him, Percy then handed me his schedule and I began to memorize his classes. In a heartbeat, I realized we had quite a few classes together. We both had Geometry, chemistry, and lab on the same day. Luckily, Friday wasn't one of them.

"You know how the beginning of the room number means what floor is on, right?"

Percy scoffed and sounded offended, "Wow! I am not that stupid, Annabeth."

Jotting down a mental note, I reminded myself that as long as I act normal and neutral with Percy when we were together, everything would be fine in school. And who knows, maybe it won't be as bad as I thought being forced to stick with him.

That's being a little bit optimistic, Annabeth…

Since he was so confident about locating each class, I figured it was better to think of a spot where we could have our tutoring session that Mrs. Farron wanted. No doubt she would be keeping track of it one way or another, and I didn't want to incur a lecture from her if I were to lie about it. There was only one place on my mind. It was an obvious choice, that's because not many students go there in the first place. It would be perfect.

"You sure?" Right after the words left my mouth, I didn't understand why I just teased him there.

His eyes turned upside down at me, "Wow… that's low, Annabeth."

I chuckled, "Anyway, meet me at the library when your classes are finished. We can have the tutoring session there. It's on the second floor. Just don't be late."

Gone was the tension from our little spat, I saw Percy smiled and chuckled back, "Right-right… Don't be late, same goes for you…"

I shook my head at him before shoving his schedule back. He reached out and took it.

"Well, I'll see you, Percy."

I walked away opposite of where he was supposed to go.

"See you later, Annabeth."

AN: It took a while to finish this chapter. I hope people are enjoying it. Thanks for reading and till next time.