Chapter 12: An Awkward Dinner
Annabeth
I think I can see why now. The city really did feel different at night time. It could very well be just my crazy overactive brain, but I would never have envisioned the streets still packed with so many people bristling about and going their own way. Of course, it was nowhere near midnight yet as it's only around 7:30 pm, so it made sense for a city that never sleeps.
Honestly, it was quite a memorable display for me. The slightly damp pavements of the sidewalk while it glowed underneath dazzling lights- we've walked past a few occasional signs on store's windows and a lot of street lamps that illuminate every other corner with a yellow warmth- the scenery made me feel a strange sense of homesick nostalgia.
Despite living in Manhattan almost for my entire life, it was a feeling the likes of which I've never really experienced. What's more, I loved watching all the tall skyscrapers around me, their towering height in a unique New York City way which other cities couldn't dare compared to, pushing above everything underneath while I walked along the streets all the way on the bottom. It instilled a sense of wonder and bewilderment to know just how small I was compared to it, more so now that almost everything was lit up with a shining colorful radiance that was pushing back the darkness of the night.
This really is something else… My eyes settled upon new sights to marvel at and I had a moment of utter amazement from the awe-inspiring city. I can't believe I've never really taken in the city to this degree before tonight. But then again…
Aimlessly pondering, I was about to take notice of a few more modern architectures- namely the skyscrapers around lower Manhattan, especially the new world trade center building that was completed a few years ago- and a few rare Victorian style housing around this neighborhood when a gentle voice broke me out of my wandering daydream.
"So, where are we going?" His soft and gentle voice unconditionally sent a wild shiver down my spine.
I let out an uncontrollable yeep at his suddenness.
Unaware of how lost in the moment I had been, my attention quickly fixed itself on a very good-looking boy in our Goode school uniform. He had a mop of messy onyx hair and a pair of beautiful emerald green eyes. It never failed to captivate me when I looked at them. Walking alongside me, it looked as if he had been tapping my left shoulder for a while now, and since he finally snapped me awaked from my daydream, a slow and spirited smile shot across his face and he gave me a look filled with hints of curiosity and keen intrigue.
"You okay?" Percy asked and I could hear a slight concern in his tone.
Another blush instinctively crept over my cheeks but I rolled my eyes at him to cover it up- as far as how effective that strategy was, I guess I would never know, "Yeah, of course, I am fine. Why do you ask?"
He laughed nervously at my evasive reply, "Nothing…"
Finally reminded what we were doing before I got lost in my head, Percy and I had been walking around lower Manhattan for a while now. We were going to have dinner together- AH-HUM! NOT A DINNER DATE, MIND YOU- my way of paying him back for all the troubles I caused him. The only problem I had right now was my indecision. After all, I couldn't find a place where I'd wanted to eat when I said I would pick the place. It couldn't be helped. I didn't know this neighborhood well enough to find something to satisfy my craving tonight. In essence, I was aimlessly leading him from one place to another without a clear destination.
To my surprise, Percy didn't seem to have caught on yet. I sighed in relief.
"So, what do you want?" I asked in defeat.
"Wait, I thought you want to pick the place?" Percy looked pointedly at me, "Plus, I've never been around the city for anything else besides coming to school, so I don't even know where to…"
I don't know either… Ugh! Why did I even suggest for us to have dinner together in the first freaking place? You suck so much, Annabeth!
While it's still more than a little awkward to be walking side by side like this, it's no surprise that any strange feelings between us- and believe me, there was certainly a lot more weird nervousness on my part, it felt less and less nerve-wracking now because of how long we've been stroll beside each other. I was more or less comfortable enough to walk around the nighttime city with Percy by my side even though I've never done this with him before, let alone with any boy I met in school.
It might have been a blessing from God or something, but just as I thought all hope was lost, the street we were now on suddenly gave birth to more than a few dozen shops for food. We were just about to walk past a fancy pizzeria that was large enough to have tables inside for indoor dining. The brightly lit yet tiny decoration was one of the many reasons it caught my attention, but it was more of the amazing smell of its pizza, filling my nose with a whiff of heavenly goodness that made my mouth watered.
I made up my mind…
"How about pizza?" I asked and halted my steps in front of the store. It was called Joe's pizzeria, but it seemed to me that they served more than just your standard pizza.
Percy turned around and face me, "Huh? Sure… I don't mind."
Finally, it was decided even though I've never eaten here before. I heaven a sigh of relief.
"Well," I tilted my head toward the door and gesture for him to follow, "Let's go."
Percy backtracked his steps until he was walking right beside me again. There was a little known smirk on his face before he said something in such a smug way that it irritated me more than his comment, "I have a feeling you don't really have a place in mind when you asking me to have dinner with you, Annabeth."
I almost slapped him at the back of his head but my mouth snapped at him instead, "Shut it, Percy. I can't believe you are such a jerk."
Right away, he laughed at my response and I heard not a hint of nervousness in his voice anymore. Sure, he might still be blushing a bit and I was certain that the same thing was happening with me, but it's not hard to tell that something was different, a new dynamic between us was settling in. I held back my chuckles at his joyous reaction.
"Idiot…" I mumbled softly yet I was smiling.
Apparently, there was a waitress that took you to be seated. Of course, there was the take-out option too but that wouldn't work for us. I told the girl it's for two and she promptly led us to a booth by ourselves. I was pretty sure she misunderstood our situation, but nevertheless, when I saw her wink at me and smiled with that subtle but totally incorrect hint, I almost pulled her aside and tried to give her a long explanation that Percy and I weren't at all what she thought we were, "So, I'll come back and take your order. What would you guys like to drink for now?"
I felt a familiar rush of addiction at the stem of my brain and going down my spine. Even though I already had one cup when I woke up this morning, I couldn't help but ask.
"Do you have any coffee?" I blurted out without thinking first.
The girl gave me a strange look, "Umm… sure,"
"I'll have coffee then. Three milk and cream please." I said much to the girl's shock.
I turned to Percy and saw the same strange look on his face, but I was able to ignore his without another blush from surfacing. Percy quickly turned to our waitress.
"I'll just a regular coke. Thanks." Percy said.
The girl left us with a smile, "Okay. I'll be right back."
"Oh wait! My bad. Here's the menu." She stumbled back and fumbled with two leather-bound menus which she pulled from the side of our booth, "Let me know when you are ready to order."
Once she placed the menu in front of us, we were left alone for good. Luckily, there weren't too many people dining here, and the ones that were here were sitting in a booth as well so it wasn't like we were too visible. I was really glad, that's until I tilted my head and gave him a look. Leaving me in a bit of a surprise, he decided to look at me at the same time too. It was pure awkwardness after that.
Stop it! Stop it! Stop staring at him like that…
Trying to be normal, I finally lifted the menu up and flip it open. It worked absolutely flawless, the way I cleared my throat and heard him react the same way. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him looking at his menu now. Now that our eye contact was completely gone- I wasn't in a hurry to experience that again and I was pretty sure he felt that same, my excessively active brain began to pay attention to the flashing and blinking of the yellow decorative lights around the window and beside our booth. Feeling a little bit surprised by a wave of calmness, I was grateful because it somehow helped clear my head and the tense air around us. Meanwhile, beyond those lights and outside the store, the streets were still filled with people going about.
I heaved a sigh of relief.
For real, I didn't even understand why I've been having these uncontrollable reactions with him. Sure, we were having dinner together, but that didn't mean anything at the slightest– or maybe that's what I've been telling myself with its lame excuses.
Honest to God, I really did and tried my best to look at what they were serving, but my eyes wouldn't heed my command as they tilted up occasionally and unconsciously to stare at Percy who sat opposite of me. Even after the tense moment between us had already passed, I couldn't help myself. I was peeking at his figure over the top of my menu too, hiding my face behind it like a total creep.
"Um… So, what are you having?" Percy asked but unlike me, his eyes were actually scanning the menu like a normal person.
I sputtered and looked down at my choices, "Um…"
I grumbled at how silly I was being. It's just a friendly meal between us after all, but it didn't matter because I couldn't calm down or relax even with such a reassuring thought. I kept worrying about what this might mean, what we might seem like to other people, and so many random little thoughts that I was totally lost in an endless cycle without answering his question. Because of the long pause, I felt even more embarrassed than before which caused a chain reaction of me not able to speak and utter a single word. The pressure was almost suffocating.
As expected, Percy noticed my reaction, or rather a lack thereof. In any case, he definitely realized that something's wrong; the metaphoric sweat that refused to stop dripping from my forehead, before he asked nicely with a bit of awkwardness to his pretty smile, "Anyways, since you are treating me, I guess I won't hold back?"
"Hmm-mmm" I waved my hand to signal him that it's okay, "No. Order whatever you want."
He smiled at me, "Cool. I guess I'll have a pepperoni pizza then."
I nodded.
Seconds later, I got confused at his meaning, "Wait, are we sharing?"
Percy didn't seem to get what I meant before he said, "Oh? Yeah, sure I don't mind… you should pick another topping then. I guess we could order some fries too, if you don't think that's too much?"
Throwing me wordless with his reply, all I could do was utter some non-verbal, nervous chuckling sounds at him. I had an awkward smile plastered on my face too.
"Oh look, they have pasta as well. I think I'll get some chicken alfredo pasta then." He added with a grin.
Wow… A whole pepperoni pizza, a fresh basket of fries, and finishing off with parmesan pasta at the end… Umm… how are we going to finish this?
To be honest, I still haven't gotten over the fact that we were sharing our food. Such cliché should only be reserved for the lovey-dovey couples that exist in this world, not for two people who are anything but that. I sighed, giving up the useless struggle before it could start in my mind.
Praying for the Lord to have mercy, I really hoped we could finish everything without letting it go to waste, but it was a question for another time. I promised myself that I would treat him to whatever he wanted for dinner, and if he's that hungry then I guess it couldn't be helped.
… And if I was honest, I was a bit on the hungry side too.
On the surface, I might have given him looks of disbelief and utter bewilderment of his seemingly insatiable appetite, but my inner monologues were filled with nothing but amusement. I couldn't stop laughing and feeling so delighted by his idiotic nature, how he never failed to put a smile on my face and cheer me up. The fact that he seemed very satisfied with his choices eventually put a real lighthearted smile on my face too.
How in the world is he not overweight? Gosh, he's so fit and well-built even though he just ordered so much food, not to mention it's all unhealthy ones at that. Just what otherworldly magic is he using to keep himself looking so lean, m-muscular, and good-looking... I smacked myself mentally at the last bit.
In any case, I finally gave myself time to look down at my menu. That's when I spotted the section for dessert. My eyes gleamed like glitter at that one offer they had which was the most expensive thing there. My mouth watered at the imagination, but my mind was desperately resisting it.
No! It's not good for you… Plus, you'd need at least a week of workout to burn those calories away.
Yet my desires were much too strong. I couldn't help but gulp at that dangerously delicious but very destructive option on the menu. It was crumbling, my willpower was barely holding anymore. It was when I least expected it, but while I was debating endlessly whether to get the cake or not, a series of light laughs followed from the boy sitting opposite the booth.
I blinked at him stupidly, "What?"
There was a humorous smile on his face, and I didn't like that one bit.
"Nothing… I mean, I can share it with you if you are afraid…" Percy suddenly shot me a warm and friendly smile and I knew at once that he knew what I was thinking about. At first, I was downright confused on so many levels, but it all compiled into one huge embarrassment afterward. His knowing and playful grin made it ten times worse because it was one that I hadn't gotten used to seeing yet. It obliterated all my thoughts and reasoning while my eyes blinked repeatedly at his expression.
Ahhhh! I was screaming inside my head.
I forcefully slammed my menu shut and snapped at him, "Fine! I'll get the chocolate fudge cake too!"
Luckily, Percy was smart enough to not egg me on before he waved for our waitress to come over. As I huffed in annoyance, I couldn't physically pull my eyes away from seeing that same playful smile on his face while he talked to the waitress, taking brief glances at me in between.
"Oh, Annabeth? Do you want another topping for the pizza?" Percy asked.
I shook my head and didn't say anything, but deep down I wanted something else besides all the greasy food tonight. I sighed, convincing myself that tonight was my only cheat day for the month before letting go of that nagging thought. I am sure I won't gain too much weight, hopefully…
After placing our order, the girl set our drinks on the table, gave us another friendly (totally off the ballpark) smile, and left for the kitchen. I had a cup of coffee in front of me, while Percy had a glass of coke with ice in front of him. Neither one of us took the initiative to take a sip of our drinks though, our bodies glued to the seat while I fidgeted anxious and played with my fingers under the table. It was an on-the-spot habit, one that brought me a slight comfort from how uncomfortable I felt right now.
I didn't know what's going on with Percy either because I couldn't force myself to look at him fully. Idiot! You couldn't stop looking at him earlier so what's the difference now?
It was an obvious answer, but I refused to accept it. After all, the fact that I was having dinner with Percy when it was only our second day knowing each other, there was virtually no room left for interpretation. Surely, I wouldn't be crazy enough to go have dinner with a boy I didn't like or feel safe with, but that explanation didn't make me feel any better about my current predicament. If anything, I felt even worse because it just meant that I- I was getting closer with him…
My whole body shivered…
One of us will have to say something at some point… I thought to myself and abruptly got what I wished for. Percy got my attention when he put his hands forward on the table, reaching for that cold drink, and pulled it toward his side of the table. My eyes instinctively snapped toward them, and just like the last piece of a puzzle, it was easy for me to snap toward his face afterward too.
"Thank you." Percy expressed his gratitude, though I have no idea for what. "I know it's probably not easy for you to treat me to dinner since… well, you know... But I just want to say I appreciate it."
On a rare occasion, Percy actually picked up on how I was feeling. I doubt he knew the specific of what I was thinking about, but I didn't expect him to see through me nevertheless, and that comment alone made me feel ten times better.
"You're welcome," I said with butterflies in my stomach.
Percy smiled at my reply, "Anyway, can I asked you something?"
I nodded away, grateful to be feeling at ease somehow though it was only my naivety that thought the thick ice was broken between us.
There was a slight pause at the moment before he asked, "Why did you decide to tutor me?"
Uh-oh. The butterflies were gone. I bit my lip and right at the moment, I didn't know how to answer his question. It was something that came out of nowhere and I found it unfair that he was springing it on me when I wasn't prepared for it. I was pretty sure he didn't realize what he was asking me, but still... There was no doubt on my mind that he just wanted to know the reason why I would spend my own time helping him, even though for me it was—
I shrugged and put up an act, then decided to pull my coffee cup closer, "I don't know… I don't want you to fail your classes, after all. Do you?"
He hesitated, "No. Of course not…"
It was a lame excuse and a totally weak one at that. Even Percy with half a working brain was able to pick up on the subtle hints that I was avoiding his question outright. I hoped he wouldn't press on, but I was never that lucky. Percy tried to be nice and put up a feign oh in response, but I knew he wanted to know more from his expression alone. I bit my lip and refrain from spilling any details.
"Is that the only reason?" He asked after a long few seconds.
It was then my defensive mechanism went up with red blaring alarms, "Look, I just wanna help you. If you don't want me to, just say it, okay?"
My heavy and blunt words worked quickly to sour the mood between us, but it couldn't be helped. I wasn't ready to let him know the real reason, and I wasn't prepared to accept it myself either. If anything, I still wasn't sure what the real reason was deep inside me, a mess of emotions and intuitions that will most certainly take some time to unravel completely.
"No… I am sorry." Percy quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to pry."
I sighed and calmed down, "It's okay. I didn't mean to—"
— lash out at you either… For one reason or another, I couldn't finish my sentence. Then it was pure silence, but it wasn't the awkward kind. It couldn't be awkward now that I've unintentionally snapped at him. As much as I had every right to, I felt bad at how we ended up right now. Of course, Percy wouldn't want to say anything after the way I respond to his harmless question, but I didn't want to throw myself out there either.
I've tried settling with the unpleasantness that found its way between us, but I couldn't do it. No matter how difficult it would be, I wanted to break away from this feeling, not only for myself but for him too.
"Ahh-hum…" I cleared my voice, "So, you hungry?"
As he ran his fingers over the cold glass, a drop of precipitation fell on his index finger. Percy didn't bothered though, a faint smile returned to his expression and his reaction left me with a similar look too. I smiled back.
"Yep! I am starving. I haven't eaten anything since this morning." He made a funny look at me and laughed slightly.
Since this morning?! No wonder he's ordering so much food! But wait? Didn't he have something at lunch, I was pretty sure he had curry rice.
"Nothing?" I shot him a questioning look, "But I saw you having curry rice at lunch, didn't you?"
I must have caught him off guard because of the way he reacted with a brief loss of words look. It seemed like whatever I've said gave him a 'huh' revelation moment.
"Oh! You saw that?" Percy mumbled with another small laugh.
"Well, yeah. I saw you sitting—" I paused halfway when I realized what I've unintentionally revealed about my lunchtime with Piper today. Nice job, Annabeth! You are such a moron.
My face grew red in an instant.
Percy saw me blushed hard. And as much as I wanted him to look away from my embarrassed state, his reassurance did little to quell the redness from my cheeks, "Hey. I don't mind… I saw you too remember?"
Yeah, I definitely remembered that. After catching me staring at him at lunch, Percy waved back at me- I only realized now that someone might have seen that little interaction between us… Curse me for not being more careful- before a bunch of girls swarmed him like bees to honey, ending our little eye contact. But still, that didn't explain how he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast when he brought a curry rice platter for lunch.
"Hmm… That aside," I replied and hurriedly turned away from that topic. Virtually, I just didn't want to add any more gas to the flames in my cheeks, "But how? So you brought food but didn't eat it?"
"I was going to eat it!" Percy explained, "But if you were watching, then you already know what happened after, right? There was no way I could eat when- w-when— you know? I mean, how am I supposed to enjoy my lunch with so many… anyways,"
I thought he was going to say something like: "How am I supposed to enjoy my lunch with so many beautiful and pretty girls around me…" It would be an unattainable dream most guys have at least once in their lives, no doubt. I assumed Percy was one of them, after all, he was a guy. But instead of rolling my eyes with what I thought he would say, Percy took me by surprise when he focused on something else, "… there were so many questions from everyone around me, I didn't even have time to lift my spoon and eat a single drop of my curry rice! By the time lunch ended, I had to throw the whole plate out without eating anything."
Following along with his outburst, our conversation should have turned toward what happened with those girls who crowded around Percy during lunch. I was expecting us to have a talk about the rumors surrounding him, maybe ask him if he had ever had that happen to him before, or something along that line. Shockingly, my response was so different from what I had imagined.
"Puff-hahaha…hehe…" I had to put my right hand over my mouth to force it back.
It was such a morally wrong thing to do to someone who suffered, but it was impossible for me not to crack a chuckle here and there before my funny laughs overtook them. I was already holding back the amusement while looking at Percy, the way he explained what happened during lunch plus the really silly face he made while he ranted and complained passionately. To top it off, the fact that he was whining about something as simple as food was… It was hilarious to watch.
Percy paused and threw me sideways with a long, exasperated grumble, "Wow… Annabeth,"
"I am so sorry… I- I am sorry…" Yet, I was laughing almost endlessly, even more so when he finally noticed my reaction and gave me an unamused but lighthearted look.
Percy huffed in annoyance and gave me a disbelief sidelong glance, "I can't believe you would laugh at me. That's such a mean thing to do when you know I haven't had lunch, Annabeth. You know I barely ate breakfast too, FYI… I only had a piece of toast with butter."
"Aww…" I teased him and receive a light smile in return, "So sad…"
Percy got defensive, "It's true! I was so hungry! You wouldn't even know how hungrryy—"
It might very well be because of my connection with Leo- my best friend and my little pup, but I couldn't imagine myself doing something like this if not for my Golden Retriever goofball.
"Aww… you big cry baby…" I made a silly voice at Percy, totally lost in the moment with him and my own self-awareness, "Is that why you order so much food?"
I might have even given him a silly pout like how I would with my four-legged best friend, and now that I thought about it... Yep! I definitely gave him a pout. But, umm? I really didn't know how to feel about that?
"I- I…" He was speechless.
Why do I like this feeling so much? But I do… I like that… I really like that… My face was starting to hurt and I felt a small discomfort along with the delights running through my head, and just when I was starting to get a grip on myself- the amusing moment I had was slowly ebbing away- Percy made a loud, heated groan and tempestuously waved for our waitress to come over. She promptly did so, and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the greatest knowing smirk on her face.
Oh no… Was she watching us this whole time?
"Hi! I want to add another chocolate fudge cake please." Percy said impulsively to my surprise. The humorous distraction went and gone poof into thin air, and right away I could vividly envision the horror of another dessert to finish for us. Oh Lord have mercy…
The waitress's smirk grew ten times its normal size, "Sure. I'll add that right away."
She quickly turned on her heels to leave, but she was only a few steps away from our booth when she tilted back and looked at us with a wide grin, "By the way, you two are the cutest couple I've seen around here. Well, anyway, enjoy your date."
She actually hummed a little song to herself when she disappeared back into the kitchen. As for her little comment that came out of the left-field, all voice left my throat, and my vocal box responsible for making sounds cleaved completely in half.
"But… B-But we aren't…"
By that point, she was already long gone. Again, Percy and I were left alone by ourselves and we were also stuttering wordlessly… at the very least I was. I wasn't sure about him though because I couldn't possibly process whatever he was feeling nor his constantly changing expressions, much less anything else. I kept having the same recurring thought: Did we really look like we are dating?
"I-I think she had the wrong idea…" Percy added as quickly as he could with a subtle apprehensive smile while facing me. I knew what he was doing. It was his attempt to clear any awkwardness before it could find its way back to us, and to give him credit where it's due, it worked better than I was expecting.
"Yep! Totally wrong idea…" I let out a relief chuckle knowing that we shared the same thought.
Yet why do I feel something else instead? Is that disappointment in my heart?
"Anyway, I hope you feel good about yourself, Annabeth." Percy brought us back to the conversation we had before, "You just made me order another cake, so if we don't finish everything, it's your fault."
I grinned back, "Where is the logic in that, Percy? I am not the one to blame…"
"Yes, you are." He said.
I stood my ground, "No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are! And you know it…" Percy repeated and I saw a growing flame in his green eyes.
"No I'm not!" I returned his gaze with as much fire in my eyes too.
Oh my Gosh, how childish can we really be?
Our tense eye contact went on for longer than I was expecting. It might have started as something playful and fun, but now it had turned into a battle that I didn't want to lose. Not backing down nor giving up, I couldn't see past his green eyes which were shifting colors into a deeper shade of dark emerald. At the same time, I also failed to notice when our faces drew closer. Unaware of the change, I glared as much as I could at him until it finally dawn on me how we were inches apart... again.
Why in the world did that happen again? But this time… this time we were…
I pulled back abruptly and huffed, "You are such an insufferable jerk!"
Percy sank back into his seat and mimic my reaction, "And you are a pain in the ass, Annabeth."
Even though we almost got close to kissing again, it wasn't awkward like all of our other moments in the past. In fact, there was still a tinge of playfulness between us even now. Pretty sure some unknown force was pulling the strings here, but the moment I decided to stare sideways at Percy out of the corners of my grey eyes, he did the exact same thing. Our gazes caught together, and smiles broke out from the two of us as easily as two love interests in a romantic movie.
Wait, what?!
"You are such a child, Percy," I said dryly and crossed my arms.
"Same goes for you too, Annabeth." He replied with a sparkle to his annoying but happy-go-lucky smirk, the kind that made me want to lean over and smack him in the back of the head.
Instead of doing that, I stayed quiet so I could keep the unexpected joy from leaving me. Our moments soon ease up. It wasn't too hard for it to happen either, and once we calm down and I was feeling comfortable again, I brought up an actual conversation starter.
"So, can I ask you something this time?"
He nodded, "Shoot,"
I pursed my lips, "Did that ever happen to you before?"
Percy understood what I meant because he didn't ask for clarification and answered with an uneasy awkwardness to his voice, "No… I mean, I've been in a few situations with just one or two girls, but honestly not to this scale. I- I still have a hard time thinking about it."
I wanted to ask if he liked having so many girls surrounding him like that, perhaps hoping to tease him too, but my tongue froze at the words I thought up so I decided to settle for something else.
"You know there's a rumor going on in school about you…"
Percy didn't seem the least surprised by my revelation, which ironically surprised me instead, "Oh, yeah. I kinda figure that out since last Friday, but I don't really care either way. It's not like I could do anything about it. I mean, I've always hated how much attention I seem to get whenever I go anywhere new, so this is no different, you know?"
He finally took a sip of his cold drink.
"Oh? So you get many girls jumping on you like that everywhere?" I tried to add a smirk to my tease.
For a second, I saw a mild glare from an annoyed Percy while he gave me a frown. It was an expression I haven't seen him make yet, and that automatically made me want to recoil and take back what I said. I assumed that was the reason why he didn't seem too excited about so many girls pining for him.
"That's not funny." Percy sounded lighthearted in his reply, but I could tell there was a deep sadness in his voice that came right back to what I said.
"Sorry." I apologized, but my curiosity didn't fade away.
Instinctively avoiding his eye contact, I did the only sensible thing and looked down at my cup filled with coffee, my fingers gingerly reached out to play with the ceramic handle. Meanwhile, I thought back to what he said: He hated the attention everyone gave him... Percy might be an annoying jerk and an impossible idiot, but if anything, the thought he just shared with me certainly hit my heart right on the spot. I felt fireworks and flares flying and sparkling inside my rib cage.
A few seconds passed by, surges of courage made me gulp nervously and I opened my mouth.
"To be honest, I feel the same way." I ran my fingers around the cup's edge and my eyes kept level with the white foam over the coffee, "I've always hated the attention people give me."
Percy didn't look at me this time. His gaze fixed on the windows decorated with strings of yellow Christmas lights, just like how I was earlier, and I saw a heartfelt but solemn look on his face, "Yeah, I know what you mean."
Taken back by his reply, it was the most sincere and wholehearted experience I've ever felt with another person, let alone a boy my age. The moment when I felt Percy truly and genuinely understood what I was talking about, it almost seemed like there was another heart beating beside mine, the reverberation pushing every known thought out of my head.
"Hey, Percy…" I whispered, ready to say something but got cut off at exactly that perfect moment.
"Okay! Who's ready for dinner?" The waitress came back at just the right moment and brought a huge smile on her face. Of course, she brought all our food too, "Enjoy, you two!"
-Line Break-
Much to my curious and inquisitive personality's delight, I was able to find out a few new things about Percy while we made small talks in between bites. In return, I was pretty sure he was finding out new things about me too.
For one thing, I now knew where Percy lived, which was called Syosset in Nassau County all the way over by Long Island. While I personally didn't know the neighborhood, I figured I would have passed it more than a few times because of my ride on the weekends back to the Hamptons.
Much to my surprise, Percy didn't drive here and took public transit to school and back. He said he takes the LIRR, and the trip takes him about an hour and a half to make, and only on a good day with no delays, which meant that he spent more than three hours of his day in a train cart. I couldn't even envision that scenario for me, and I thought I had it bad when I had to take the subway occasionally…
I remember our conversation from that point on—
"So, do you drive?" I asked subconsciously.
"Yeah. I have my license and I could use my parent's second car, it's just— there probably isn't any parking spot around here anyways." He took a bit of his pizza.
I mentally smacked my forehead.
"You know there's a parking lot at the north entrance of the school, don't you?"
Percy's eyes bulged, "Wait what?!"
Once he had gotten over the shock in his system, we slowly went back to chatting normally. There was no doubt on my mind that Percy would work out a way to drive to school every day now. I remembered smirking at his gears-turning-in-his-head expression while he mumbled to himself in preparation.
"Well, what about you?"
From that point forward, I wasn't able to find out much about Percy anymore because he returned the favor and got to know more about me. I revealed how I lived in the Upper East Side; I wasn't sure if I should tell him about my affluent background so I kept that hidden. I revealed how I lived with my mom only; I kept Owlfred and Leo to myself because he didn't need to know about them.
Our conversation went something like this after—
"Well, do you drive to school?"
"Ahh-haha…" I gave out a nervous chuckle, "No. I don't have my license, unlike you. I got someone— my chauffeur drive me to school."
Percy went slightly slack jaw, "Oh? You have a chauffeur?"
"Hmm-hum." I nodded and did my best to avoid any more topics that reveal just how wealthy my family was. I wasn't sure if Percy was one of them, but it couldn't hurt to keep that part of my life beneath the surface.
"Oh," Percy definitely sensed that I wasn't comfortable talking about it because he switched us around like an easy breeze, "Cool. Well, what about school? Wanna tell me how you got into Goode?"
After getting to know a bit more about his life and vice versa, we must have talked like that for more than a few hours- at least it felt like that to me- about nothing else but our time at school. Of course, I had more to tell because I had been there since my freshmen year. I told him about how I skipped a grade level and got into Goode earlier than everyone else, so technically I was still a sophomore by age group. Of course, he told me how hard and difficult it was to get assimilated into this school, both socially and of course his academic as well. I smirked at that last part because I knew it fully well already.
And afterward, I reveal a little more which led Percy to reveal a little more…
Pretty soon, we were having a full-blown conversation and I wasn't even aware of it. He probably didn't realize it either. Taking turns and eating our meal at the same time, it felt so normal with him that I didn't even register how awkward my insides were screaming the whole time.
In any case, dinner was absolutely delicious, no doubt about that. To our surprise, we were able to finish everything with nothing to spare. Pleasantly full but not over the brim, I sighed in deep content and relaxed back into my seat with a huge grinning smile on my face. We were both done at the same time and he shot me a smile that gave me more butterflies in my stomach.
"Hmm…" I probably made another stupid-looking pout as I looked at all the empty plates in front of us.
"Okay, I am pretty full now…" Percy giggled too with such an obvious announcement.
I rolled my eyes when he let out a sigh and looked mischievously at me, "Duh… Of course you are- Wait a minute, don't tell me you are going to order more now?!"
Anxiety crept up my heart when I wasn't sure what Percy meant by that, especially when he said he was only "pretty full". I knew I was most likely overthinking this, but I couldn't help but imagine an alternate scenario where Percy placed another order for food. I could literally hear my wallet and my stomach crying in pain…
Luckily, his response reassured me.
There was a bit of a twinkle in those green wavy orbs before he wiggled his eyebrows at me, "Naw… I had enough. No… and even if I could, I wouldn't want to break your pippy bank too much."
It was such a childish thing to say about me and I had to correct him while defending myself, "I don't have a pippy bank, Percy. I am not a little kid anymore, you know?"
Percy let out small laughs at my reaction.
"You know, I actually think you ate more than me." He suddenly laughed at my expense.
In any other normal situation, I would have sat up, leaned over the table, and pull his cheeks wide apart as revenge for teasing me. I probably would have smacked him too. Yet, I stayed silent this time around.
Gosh! I was hoping he didn't notice… but of course he did and now he's teasing me. I hate him!
I bit my bottom lip and gave him a mean scowl, "Shut it, Jackson."
It was unlikely that I would get what I wanted, but when Percy actually laughed much harder at me, the unexpectedness of his audacity gave way to what I wanted to do in the first place.
Thoroughly annoyed by his idiotic nature that somehow always riled me up, I lifted my right foot and kicked him hard underneath the table. It connected with his shin just above his left ankles and he flinched at the pain. When he noticed my death glare burrowing into his eyes as well, he held two hands up and signaled his surrender. I smiled at my victory.
"Oww… That's a bit of an overkill, Annabeth."
I grinned in satisfaction, "You freaking deserved it, Percy."
His shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I guess I can never win with you, huh?" He sighed.
My grin grew steadily and I didn't try to hide it away. Like how he just found out something new about me, I had been learning bits and pieces more about him too. Among all those new and interesting things about Percy I've gotten to know, I was finally able to find out his last name after knowing him for two long days. Hence, I didn't hesitate to call him by that when he was teasing me.
Percy Jackson… I repeated his full name in my head and a little smile form on my face. Of course, I shook it away as soon as I could.
"Anyways, I believe it's common courtesy to thank someone for treating you dinner, so thank you for dinner." He said and changed the topic, "It was nice."
"Hmm…" I acknowledged, "You're welcome."
It was nice for me too. That's what I wanted to say, but I kept it inside me because it was still pretty embarrassing to have that thought inside my head. Sure, we were having friendly chats and getting to know each other much closer than before- I might actually be too comfortable with him- but in any case, it's not like I want him to think that I was giving him ideas or something. More importantly, I didn't want myself to believe in it either, no matter how much of it was true.
We shared a long silence with each other after that. No awkwardness. No apprehension. No other strong emotional feelings. We just sat there, occasionally looking forward and enjoying the company.
Vividly, I remembered almost all his smile which subconsciously led to my own. The way we glanced at one another with hidden and subtle small grins; I was certainly keeping it friendly and I could tell he wanted it to stay that way too, warmth spread throughout my body and I gave out a mild shiver.
It's kind of funny, to be honest. Time had basically frozen between us but I wasn't in a hurry to leave this space warping bubble. I guess that's what that classic phrase meant: time does fly pass by real fast when you are having fun.
Now approaching the end of the night- it was close to eight-thirty in the evening- perhaps it was time to call it for tonight. I knew nothing was keeping us here anymore, but I couldn't bring it up. I almost didn't want to leave this place with Percy sitting opposite me, and I could feel a strange sense of longing and ache inside my heart like I was going to miss this, and I didn't want to let go yet.
"Well, I guess— we'll see each other at school tomorrow?" Again, Percy initiated for me.
I nodded and said timidly, "Yeah, it's time for me to go too."
This was for the best, and it was probably the only thing left for us to do. After all, I was pretty tired already and I didn't doubt Percy was feeling very differently. Besides, I saw him holding back a few of his yawns since the end of our meal. Just remembering it brought me yet another smile…
I waved to our waitress for the check. It wasn't too bad. Even with all the food we ordered, it was only an $80 dollar bill. Of course, I didn't skim out and gave her a huge tip too.
"Thank you, the meal was lovely," I said politely to our waitress.
She gleamed and almost bowed, though I wasn't sure if it was my comment or if she was semi-shocked at the receipt, "T-Thanks… Come again."
I smiled and packed up.
Like me, Percy did the same thing and we strolled out onto the street a minute later where I came face to face with a familiar-looking white limo that's parked on the sidewalk. It was waiting for a specific person to show up: me. Yet I didn't remember calling for Alfred to pick me up, which meant that…
"Well, this is me…" I pointed at the car and shift on my feet to face Percy.
It didn't take a detective to figure out just how surprised Percy was upon knowing that this bulky white limo was waiting for me. He was barely able to speak, "Your chauffeur is waiting for you this whole time?"
I wouldn't be surprised if our car had been waiting outside of Joe's pizzeria for a while now. I didn't see it myself, but I didn't doubt that's exactly the case if judging by the wild look on Percy. In any case, I couldn't have guessed that today of all days was when she would do something like this, but it's not like I could do anything about it. If anything, she must also be a little worried by now.
"Well…" I mumbled as I wasn't sure what to tell him.
More likely, I wasn't sure how to tell him about it. How would I go about explaining Owlfred? After all, I wasn't sure if Percy had seen any top-down AI in action like those futuristic assistants from top software companies, much less a bottom-up AI that's decades ahead at that. If I told him about it, would he freak out? Not to mention, my mom had strictly forbidden me from revealing too much about our digital assistant. Would I be crossing a line if I let Percy know how this limo got here in the first place?
Yet, that wasn't the question at the forefront of my mind. More important to me, I was debating whether to offer him a ride back to his house. It was already close to being nine at night, and if Percy did take the train, he would most likely get home past eleven. I didn't want that, especially when I was the one who suddenly asked him to come to dinner with me with such abruptness.
"Do you want a lift?" I asked instead.
It must have been how exhausted he felt since our studying session at the library because Percy didn't seem too surprised by my offer. I felt much better at that. The fact that he didn't object right away nor threw in any awkward questions meant that he might be considering it.
"Are you sure?" Percy asked, "I'm… I mean, I don't want to intrude."
I coughed, "It's fine… Let's just get in. I'll let Owlfred know where you are going."
Luckily, Percy didn't fight me on this. He pretty easily agreed with me which I was glad. Yet, I suddenly got a little anxious about what I just did. I would have thought that he would argue with me how that's a bad idea- that he didn't want to keep me from getting home or the fact that we weren't really friends or something like that… Because he did none of those things, I couldn't stop wondering if he had some ulterior motive. Call it whatever it was, but as a girl, it's only natural instinct.
I thought about pulling back my offer, but it was too late at that point.
"Alfred?" Percy asked as he followed me inside the limo, "Like Alfred from the comics?"
A blush crept up over my cheeks, "No. It's Owl-Fred…"
"Owl? Like the animal? Owl-Fred…?" Percy went ahead and sat in the back with me, "Your chauffeur's name is Owlfred?"
Of course, he kept his distance once inside the limo which made me feel better about him easily agreeing with me. The fear didn't fade away though, but I knew if anything did happen- as unlike as it might be because I do trust Percy quite a bit, I was sure Owlfred would help.
"Annabeth? Who's this?" His semi-metallic voice rung through the limo.
Uh-oh…
"Hi, Owlfred. This is Percy. He's my… uhh— friend. Yup. Hmm-hum… Anyways, do you mind taking him home? It's pretty late and I don't want him to take the train back."
"Huh?" Owlfred redirected his program for navigation, "Your mom didn't say anything about a new friend?"
I said sheepishly, "I am sorry for springing this upon you so suddenly."
"Hmm…" Owlfred contemplated, though it's most likely he was sending a detailed report back to my mom from what he just found out. I didn't want him to, but it's not like I could do much about that.
"Okay. No problem, princess." Owlfred turned up into a blue sphere hologram right then, the cameras on either side of the car illuminated him in front of us, "So, Percy? Where do you live?"
Slack jaw in every sense possible, I knew there was no way that Percy wouldn't freak out when he saw something like this. Surely, I was screw once I got home.
"Wow, is that an AI? That's so cool. How come it's so different from the ones out there now? Wait, does that mean your AI- I mean, Owlfred, drove the car here all by itself? Is that even possible? Oh wait, is Owlfred him? Can AI be distinguished as either one? But how—?" Percy had so many questions I couldn't answer them all.
I wasn't surprised either when I heard a sigh of exasperation from Owlfred at the same time. Surely, he was getting tired of hearing a barrage of questions coming from Percy, and even he didn't have the time nor the energy to answer him back. I didn't blame him.
"It's just really advance…" I let Percy know with a semi-straight face, "And yes, it's him…"
I made a few light taps on his shoulder and was able to bring his attention from the blue orb back to me. He looked back at me, still with a wild shock on his face, "Your AI, I mean, Owlfred just moved."
He was referring to the osculation of the blue dot inside the sphere, "Does that mean he's thinking?"
I had to avoid any more questions from that point on, "Ah-hem… give me your address."
The shock had pretty much gone through his system, though his recovery was way faster than I was expecting. He took out his phone and pulled up the map, scrolling then pinching until he zoomed into where he lived, along with an address on top.
"Here." He said.
I pointed at Owlfred, "Yeah, just show him."
"Huh?" Of course, Percy didn't understand so I gesture for his phone. He gave it to me with a bit of apprehension before I gave Owlfred a look. It took less than a second.
"Okay, location marked." Owlfred said blithely, "Percy should reach home before ten if we leave now."
I gave Percy his phone back, "Okay, let's go then, Owlfred."
"Sure." Owlfred acknowledged and pulled away from the curb, speeding past the street and back to the Upper East Side, "Don't worry. It won't take longer than fifteen minutes before you get home, princess."
I nodded nonchalantly, but Percy almost cried out in excitement, "That's so cool!"
Percy was totally lost in his own bubble, not that I mind keeping it that way.
Once we began moving, I didn't say anything to Percy. Neither did he, but his awestruck display and astonishing looks at Owlfred more than made up for the silences that surrounded us. In a way, I didn't want us to have another conversation, who knew what we would talk about and if I would accidentally spill more information about Owlfred? Again, I wasn't ready to cross that fine line my mom had establish from early on.
"Percy? Do you mind? I don't like the way you keep staring at me." Owlfred said, his vocal cores inside the sphere moved accordingly.
Being asked nicely, Percy finally forced his glued eyes from Owlfred, "I am sorry, but that's just—"
I chuckled at their interaction. Now that I thought about it, it was the first time where Owlfred had interacted with people besides me, my mom, Leo, and the people who worked for us, same with Percy. I wondered how Owlfred felt about that, though I was more worried about Percy spilling anything about our bottom-up advance AI to the outside world.
Out of nowhere, Percy brought up something unrelated to his amazement with Owlfred but about me instead, "You know, I am really grateful that you decide to offer me a ride back home, Annabeth. I don't want you to think that I am not being appreciative, it's just— I know it's very awkward for both of us, and I didn't want to make things even more so. I hope you won't get any wrong idea, but I am not going to do anything."
Hearing that lifted a boulder off my chest, I said calmly, "Thanks, that made me feel better."
"I am glad. Okay," He paused and smiled at the orb, "Anyways, I guess I'll thank you too, Owlfred."
Wow… he's already interacting with Owlfred so casually.
Owlfred made a lighthearted and carefree reply, "It's no problem, Percy. Just know that if you do act inappropriately or anything else to Annabeth here, I won't hesitate and call the police and they will arrive on the scene in less than two minutes, okay?"
Percy recoiled in panic and said awkwardly, "Uh… noted. I'll make sure to keep that in mind."
Something then swelled up inside my heart, and I could tell it's another strong emotional response to what just happen with Percy and Owlfred. Still, I didn't know what exactly brought on my sudden reaction. Perhaps it was the way Percy replied in fear, or maybe it was the way Owlfred said something so serious in such a nonchalant manner, but I began to laugh at them. I genuinely laughed at the two of them in earnest.
"You two are idiots." I cracked up like crazy and had to wipe the little tear from my eyes.
It must have infected the boy sitting beside me because the next thing I knew, Percy's smiling response soon filled the entire limo with our laughers. Even Owlfred was happy from the way his hologram core began to light up in a different shade of bright orange.
Just like our time in the pizzeria, my time spent with Percy was passing way faster than I wanted it to. I was having way too much fun with him that fifteen minutes had gone by in just the blink of an eye. I knew I was going to miss this feeling somehow.
The car pulled up slowly until it stopped completely, "Here we are, Annabeth."
I was finally home. Faced with our tall skyscraper building, I had to refrain from blushing when I saw another bewilder look from Percy. It's no surprise that he was staring at the entrance of where I lived, a carpet underneath a huge awning, leading into the glass doorway with its own doorman at the ready.
"Wow." He simply made a sound.
I waited to see if he wanted to say something about that.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Percy said without any hidden meaning, "Good night."
It was such a cliché, but I went along with it this time. At the same time, I moved from my seat to pass his body and got out of the limo with minimum effort. I left the door open for just a second though and smiled back at the boy with onyx messy hair sitting inside, "You are going to be okay with Owlfred?"
Percy nodded casually, "Sure, no problem at all."
I tilted my head and left him with a pleasant- hopefully not too obvious- smile, "Good night, Percy."
We shared that look for longer than a second. I blushed again, and that was the moment when I realized it's happening again so I shut the door and waved bye once, then our limo sped off away to where Percy lived. I sighed afterward. For real, today had been real eventful.
I got inside our building with the doorman helping me. Our lobby receptionist was different because of the night shift, but I waved hi to him nevertheless. Getting into our private elevator, I waited until it took me up to the fiftieth floor of our penthouse.
A single door leading to my home awaited me at the end of the hallway. I sighed- a deep inhale and exhale- another time, mentally preparing myself for the possible interrogation that's more than likely to happen once I step past that door.
I slipped through the entryway when Owlfred automatically opened the door for me.
"Hello, sweetie." Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less because my mom was waiting for me at the dining table. There was a knowing smirk filling her expression with a bright grin. I doubt I could wipe it off her face anytime soon, "Well, I guess we have a lot to talk about tonight, huh?"
Dressed in her sleeping gown, I sighed in defeat because there was no escape from this. The only thing I could do was to give up. Pretty sure she won't let me leave until I told her everything- no warm shower or getting ready for bed until then, I lazily left my bag at the doorway and sat down with her. She was being rather cheeky too, I saw a cup of green tea between her folded arms like she was ready for a good story. I pouted, pleading for mercy before it began, "Just don't tease me, okay?"
Her wry smile didn't make me feel any better afterward.
