Chapter 13: Text Message
Annabeth
"Of course not! I'm… We are not that close!"
It's been about a week since Percy and I met at the coffee shop. Today was Thursday, and it was a particularly uneventful day, at least within my classes. As for everything else in school, I had been struggling quite a bit. It couldn't be helped, things had been different since the last few days and I certainly didn't like how difficult it was to walk around the hallways without some whispers or gossips behind my back. I heeded them no mind, or rather, I tried my best.
"Oh my God! Admit it, Annabeth. You are totally into him."
"I am not!" I huffed in annoyance.
As usual, Piper was being a giant pain in my butt. I wished she would just leave me well enough alone about this, but it was too tall an order for my best friend, and because of her unusually perceptive talent in seeing right through me, I've been keeping her in the dark when it came to my new friend with messy onyx hair and his mesmerizing green eyes. I hated it when I had to lie to her, but after the promise I made with him, it just couldn't be helped either.
She let out one huge sigh after another, "You are really impossible, Beth."
Mimicking my favorite phrase, I shot her a cold glare and came back with a taunt, "And you are really annoying, Pipes. Gosh! Just how many times do I have to tell you that I don't like him like that?"
"Lies!" Piper somehow got really heated up about this, "I know that's not true…"
I sighed in exhaustion, "I'm taking a seat. You are tiring me out."
Currently in between lunch break, Piper and I were taking a long stroll by the green park that's directly south of our campus. Of course, I would have preferred if we stay inside the cafeteria or even the outdoor dining square close by, but Piper insisted that we take some time to have a girl talk through the park, just by ourselves. Being her best friend, I couldn't refuse as much as I wanted to.
At least I could get a breath of fresh air and watch the leaves fall…
"Come on, princess… I am your best friend! You can tell me if you are into him… p-please?" Piper promised me, "You know I would never tell anyone about it."
I bit my lips, "I know you wouldn't, but that doesn't mean I am comfortable telling you."
Piper actually pouted like a newborn puppy at me. My heart grew weak and I almost gave in at her cute and pleading look, but it was at the last second when I got my head together and stood my ground.
"And besides, why do you care so much if I like him or not? You are obviously not into him, so why come and bother me about it?" I turned the question around.
Hoping that would shut her up so we could talk about anything else, Piper doubled down much to my surprise and dismay, "B-Because- Mwwaahhh! Jeez Annabeth, you are really clueless when it comes to this, aren't you? You really want me to spell it out for you?"
I didn't like that she called me clueless in such a dramatic manner, but I wasn't too offended because my curiosity took hold of me more than her lighthearted insult, "What are you talking about?"
Piper let out a fragile soft sigh like I was the one who exhausted her, then she took a seat next to me on the bench and looked at me with a serious straight-face, "I can't believe I have to say it, but Percy is so into you, princess. How can you not tell?"
Huh? So Percy is into me too? Wait, What?! I did not just say that about him!
Frozen in place, Piper's sudden revelation took me at least a full minute to comprehend, and even then I still couldn't understand or wrap my head around it. Surely, I couldn't really confirm if Percy did like me that way or not, but the absolute worse thing about my best friend's sudden reveal was her always precise and accurate intuitiveness, a gifted talent for Piper Mclean that hadn't been wrong once, and it's her remarkable reputation that made what she said about Percy and me so hard to swallow.
Am I into him too? I- No, that can't be, I can't be into him… We are totally just friends.
"W-We are just f…friends…" I managed to repeat my thought and blurt out softly.
Honestly, I wasn't sure what's gotten into my best friend for the first half of today. Perhaps it was a symptom of us not having as much time to hang out as usual. After all, we didn't have the same classes together since Monday, so maybe that's the reason why she's been so excited and being such a pain in the butt about Percy. Besides, I also had the tutoring arrangement after school which meant even less time to be with my best friend.
Of course, Piper could always find me after classes- or I could find her instead- and we could catch up like always, except that didn't happen because I purposefully made it so. I felt terrible about it, but it couldn't be helped. For the past three days after school, I've been strategically avoiding a lot of different areas around the campus. It was all in an effort to hide my tutoring relationship with Percy, and so far, it didn't seem like it made any difference whatsoever.
Since another new year was starting to pick up, so it's almost unavoidable that more students would stay after classes for clubs or after-school activities. Despite being overly cautious and forcing myself to take a preplanned route I established, I still wasn't able to keep our meet-up a secret. In other words, I couldn't have expected nor prepared for an influx of people to hang out in the library, way more than the first two days of school which was empty and just the two of us.
It was very difficult to adjust at first, but I had come to grip with that realization and reality soon enough. It also went without saying, but dealing with the whispers and gossip around school wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. It's something that I still hadn't gotten around yet. Whenever I heard something about me and Percy sitting alone in the library and studying, my feet would automatically pick up their pace. Even thinking about it now made me want to run away in panic.
I guess that's why I've been avoiding Piper as well. As horrible as it made me feel, my best friend was among the list of people I actively tried to avoid when I went to meet up with Percy the last three days. I didn't sit with her at lunch, choosing to eat outside the courtyard by myself. I even ignored her text messages a few times, lying to her about where I was or what I was doing. Though in all honesty, I suspected she knew about my reasons one way or another.
Piper Mclean was my best friend and I had no problem hanging out with her, but even then I wasn't ready for an onslaught of annoying questions or her riled-up tease about Percy if we were to meet up somehow, especially after all that's happened between me and Percy. Hence, I've intentionally kept her at arms-length… at least, not until today.
Now that I thought about it, Piper's insistence that we spent some time by ourselves and her reaction right now most likely had to do with me spending more time with Percy than with her. I felt terrible about how I've treated my one and only best friend, enough that I wanted to apologize.
But given how annoying she had been with me today- it was just as I had feared would happen when the two of us finally hung out after I've purposefully avoided her, I decided to save the apology for later.
"H-He doesn't like me like that…" I said calmly and did my best not to blush.
For real, it didn't seem like any of my plans to keep my relationship with Percy under wrap worked to my imagination at all. If anything, it seemed like I've only caused more rumors and suspicion about us.
Damn it…
Piper heaved a loud frustrated sigh in the end, "Oh Lord, please have mercy on my poor soul! You are an absolute idiot, Beth. I can't wait to see just how long you would be able to deny your feelings for him."
I am not an idiot! That's what I would have said if I was my normal self. However, that part of me was utterly gone the moment she revealed something so embarrassing; like she really thought things between me and Percy were completely black and white, that there was nothing else in the grey. I didn't believe her. I couldn't…
Finally, Piper calmed down from the "tense" topic and shifted her back against the bench rest. She slumped her shoulders and leaned back with a lazy posture, "Gosh! Talking to you about this is absolutely exhausting! I am so thirsty, gonna get something to drink…"
I sighed as well and quipped under my breath, "You are the one who started it…"
Her body jolted upward from the seat abruptly, leaving me in a bit of a surprise because she actually ignored me completely and left our spot in the park without another word. Knowing Piper, I was sure she would stick her tongue out at me or something. It made me wonder just how much effort she was putting into our conversation about Percy.
Now that she was taking the path back to our school campus and probably getting herself a cold lemon ice tea from the outdoor café, I finally let out a sigh of relief and relaxed backward too. Of course, my head was already working up a storm.
Why did she say Percy was into me? What does that even mean? Does he like me too?
In any case, if Piper was right about one thing, it's that I did have a lot of feelings for Percy, but those feelings are so tangled up and a real mess inside my head that I wouldn't- or rather, I couldn't really admit anything just yet.
But maybe all of that was just a lie… a façade I desperately wanted to put up so I didn't have to think, to imagine, and finally come to realize what all these strong and emotionally resonate feelings I had for Percy meant.
No matter how hard I tried to slice it or spin it into something different, at the very end, it's obvious that I liked him in some ways or another. If I didn't feel something for him, I wouldn't have taken on the huge responsibility of tutoring him every day after school, nor would I actually spent an evening just three nights ago and had a nice and relaxing dinner with him. I still remembered how awkward my conversation with my mom went that night. It was something I wasn't in a hurry to experience any time soon, just the mere memory alone made me shiver.
Leaving a bemused sigh into the open air just as a windy breeze rustled the green leaves above me, I tilted my head and looked up, a bit of my blonde hair flew down from my short bangs to cover my view, but I could still see very well through the slight veil, noting that none of the leaves were blown off the tree even with such a powerful gust. Seconds later, there was a softer breeze. This time my blonde hair flew past my eyes, the rest of my loose ponytail flew along with the wind.
I held a soft pondering face and look further up into the blue sky.
As much as I liked to deny Piper's intuition of my relationship with Percy, a part of me knew full well of a special place within my heart, it glowed like fireworks every time I thought about the boy with sea-green emerald eyes, honestly just anything about him and the time we had together. For better or worse, he made me feel things that I didn't usually feel with others right away. I could let my guard down, be as cheerful and carefree as I wanted to be around him. Even our interactions were filled with moments where I actually wanted to remember them. We might not have known each other for too long, but the genuine feelings I shared with him- it was so embarrassing to admit it, even if it was only in my head- but it felt precious to me much to my strong sense of denial.
Why can't I just admit that I like him? Why is it so difficult?
Deep down, I knew exactly why, but somehow, the new and good-looking boy in my school was doing everything he could to make me like him, intentional or not, and I knew it was useless to keep challenging my heart.
It was true. As much as I hated to say it, Piper was right about my feelings all along, and I've been too stubborn to hear her out. In just every romantic troubles she was involved with, Piper had never been wrong once, so why would she be any wrong about my sudden and newfound connection with Percy?
If anything, the only issue I had was the way she went about it, but that's just how Piper was… Her surprisingly blunt and straightforward attitude would have turned off most people, but as her best friend, I knew she just wanted what's best for me in her own unique way.
In any case, despite not being physically next to me at the moment, Piper somehow made me realized the truth. I was the only one who had been resisting these strange yet affectionate feelings for Percy since the day we met at the coffee shop. Now that I've grown quite close with him, it's obvious that Piper would pick up on it like eating a piece of her favorite ice cream cake.
I wondered if Piper's other revelation might be true too…
"Here." Out of nowhere, I wasn't aware of my best friend being back from her trip and I saw her left hand shoving a drink at my face, "You have your thinking face on again, princess. Are you thinking about someone… oh, I don't know, someone whose name started with a P and ended with a letter Y? A certain person who rhymes with the name Perseus?"
I forced an ice-cold glare at her, but at the same time, I couldn't deny her tease because she was right on the dot, like always. I held my blush away as best I could, "Shut up, Pipes. And besides, that doesn't even rhyme one bit."
"You know what I mean…" She smirked, thrusting her left hand out more, "You gonna take it or not? It's your favorite after all."
"Wait. For real?" My eyes lit up, then it occurred to me that this was just Piper's way of bribing me. I wanted to say that I didn't that I really care because what's in the drink wasn't worth the price for what she wanted from me, but… my hands moved on their own, "T-Thank youu… Ah! W-Wut?"
I reached out and like I've expected, she withdrew the drink right away. I wasn't prepared for how cruel she could be nor how sad I felt when she put the cup just outside of my arm's length, "Well, now that I've got you hook, care to fess up?"
"I- I'm—" It should have been easy for my resistance to win out. After all, I didn't want to tell Piper anything about me and Percy in the first place, so that drink should have meant nothing to me. Yet, once that creamy and rich scent hit my nose, no matter how strong I've built that wall, it eventually crumbled to my addiction.
I really should fix my unhealthy obsession with coffee…
Piper most certainly saw my rock-solid conviction weakening on my face, my indecision took over in less than an instance. No doubt she was savoring her sweet victory over me in a gloating way, and the smug smiles on her face were all the evidences I need to figure her out. Gosh! It seemed like I could never win one over her, ever.
All of a sudden, my memories and recollection of that night surfaced back on the forefront of my mind.
"I guess I can never win with you, huh?" He said, the left side of his face lit up way more by the yellow Christmas light, that almost irresistible gentle smile on his lips as he looked at me playfully, while a soft exasperated sigh left his mouth.
"Okay! Okay! I get it!" Thoroughly annoyed, I gave up struggling against her bribery and hoped that little break in my thought would at least stop my recollection of that night with Percy.
I threw my hands up in surrender and also in irked frustration, mumbling my defeat at my best friend and silently cursing her out for knowing way too much about me, "I hate you so much…"
Piper's smirk grew triple its size before she finally handed me my favorite coffee drink of all time, which coincidentally, was also the same drink that I spilled over Percy the day I met him.
"You own me as much for ignoring me for the past three days, Annabeth." Her sudden reveal shocked me to the core, and as a result, she laughed at my blank expression, "Well, you better spill everything out fast… It's not long before we have to head back to our classes."
-Fifteen Minutes Later-
"And that's everything…" I finished off the last piece of the puzzle for her.
Luckily, Piper wasn't as shocked as that last time when I recalled my first day meeting Percy. If anything, it seemed like what I revealed this time went straight to her expectation. In many ways, I was already unsettled by Piper's perceptiveness over any romance-related topics since we became best friends. Now adding this to the mix, I felt even more creeped out by her "gifted" talent.
"So let me get this straight," Piper made a gesture to count her fingers after I've told her what happened with me and Percy for the past three days.
Of course, I didn't tell her everything… just enough to satisfy her burning curiosity.
"Ever since Monday after I left you two alone, you have—"
I cried out in complaint, "Hey! You don't make it sound so suggestive, you know…"
Piper smirked, "Anyways, right after that hilarious moment on the stairway with you two…"
Being reminded of that mortifying and awkward moment made me blushed on the spot, and even right now, I still wondered if Percy got a chance to see up my school skirt. I really hoped he didn't, but if he did, I was sure he'd be too gentlemanly to point that out. Nevertheless, Piper's voice brought me back to earth just in time.
"You both walked side by side to the library where you insisted that nothing else happened, then somehow Luke was waiting to ambush you two, which he somehow found out about your new relationship with Percy and soak him with freezing cold water from head to toe… Am I missing something?" Piper stopped to confirm with me.
I shook my head at her flawless memorization so she continued, "Then you helped him dry up in the same restroom, had a long studying session till 8:30 pm, and left home? Just like that?"
My instinct was telling my head to nod vigorously for absolutely no reason at all, "Mmm-Hmm! Yep! Just like that. Why? Do you think something happened after?"
What In The Hell Was That?! That was so obvious you might as well not hide your dinner date with Percy in the first place, you stupid moron! Oh Gosh, I just called it a dinner date, didn't I?
"Hmm?" Her response felt kind of half-hearted, but she hummed intriguingly back at me.
I could only crack a nervous chuckle back at her. At the same time, I was also holding an awkward smile with her intensely inquisitive expression, even despite my anxiety peaking at a rather unhealthy level. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if I needed to take a pill or two to help calm me down.
"You don't believe me?" I laughed nervously this time.
Such a lame attempt… but it was already obvious that she was suspicious of my story, which truth be told wasn't a lie at all. I just didn't bring up what happened after our tutoring lesson. As usual, Piper was already sniffing for clues after my involuntary reaction, like hungry sharks circling around a pool of blood for its waiting prey. A nervous gulp later and praying that I wouldn't get eaten alive, it seemed like random chanced luck was finally on my side and I was saved by a literal bell- a messaging notification from my phone, vibrating for two seconds inside my bag.
Oh, Thank God! Who could have thought that I would feel grateful for a text message of all things?
"H-Hang on…" I grasped at the golden opportunity straightaway.
Not letting it slipped through my fingertips, I hurriedly pull out my phone and brought up my messaging app. I was expecting something from my mom or maybe even Owlfred for the matter, but once I realized who the sender was- he was either of those people- it quickly surprised me with an abrupt halt to everything. There was only one thing I could say for certain: I was pretty sure a small-sounding girly yelp escaped my throat.
"W-What?" Piper grew even more curious due to my sudden jolt on my seat. Now she was staring at me with her long and piercing hazel eyes, her face mused with nothing but the desire to find out what just made me jump like that, "Wait? Don't tell me… It's from Percy, isn't it?"
Piper figured it out with no problem whatsoever. Now holding a giant grin over her lips, her whole face was shining at me with a subtleness to them, hinting so much in such a short time that I couldn't possibly understand her fully.
"No…nooo. Of c-course not—" I tried to convince my best friend otherwise, but even I knew just how pathetic of a job I was doing. She didn't even faze at my weak and utterly useless attempt.
In any case, this wasn't a time to understand nor convince her for now. Rather, a more pressing matter needed my attention right away and I didn't want to keep that situation waiting any longer.
"Sorry, I've got to go…" I shoved my phone back into my bag.
I wasn't sure if I should be grateful or not, but Piper didn't even try to keep me here before she showed me a bright, almost gleaming smile, "Go get him, girl!"
I grumbled back, "It's not like that, you jerk!"
Before she could pull any short remarks or quips back to my annoyance, I stood up and escaped from my tortuous lunch break with Piper. At the very least, I was glad to have come out of that interrogating experience mostly unscathed.
-Line Break-
"What in the world was that?" I bluntly shoved my index finger at his chest, forcing him to inch backward until his back was touching the wall, "I thought we promised not to text each other unless it was an absolute emergency."
My new friend with his stylish yet messy onyx hair and green eyes threw actual mumbles out at me. Of course, he predictably threw his hands up in surrender mode too, just like the last few times I got angry at him, but that should be the least of his concern when I was still fuming in hopeless annoyance and total despair at him, "Umm… I- I didn't… I just…"
I gave him a cold and calculating glare.
He heaved a defeated sigh to signal his white flag, "I am sorry… I didn't remember it at all."
My ice-cold glare melted when my irritation gave way for smoldering heat to take over, growing redder and burning a little brighter inside my grey eyes. Flinching back now, I didn't let him escape as I directed my gaze at nothing but the new boy who I befriended in just a week, the same boy who unlikely got transferred to Goode, the boy who I unofficially became a tutor of, and whose name started with a letter P and ended with e.r.c.y.
"Ahh-! I mean, only at that moment, you know? I honestly just forgot about it." Percy pulled back from me as if he was in mortal danger, like I got a sharp knife at his throat or something.
Couldn't do anything since it's already done, I groaned helplessly at his reply. Surely, I didn't mind the text message, but his timing of all things couldn't be any worse because I was having a girl talk with Piper then. I could already imagine an alternate scenario where Piper forcefully peeked over my phone and saw what he texted me. It would be a real nightmare if that came true, "Gosh, Percy! I knew you were a forgetful one the moment we s-start… I mean, when I- I m-met.."
Despite wanting to mock him endlessly, I failed to explain myself fully. Of course, I tried to finish my words but couldn't once I realized it was too open-ended and it would just give both of us the wrong idea. I wasn't a fan of that, so I settled for something slightly better: by just leaving my quip halfway without finished what I wanted to say. Of course, I had to pull my unwavering gaze from his eyes down to his school shirt to avoid any tension that might pop up expectedly. Still, I couldn't help but occasionally meet his eyes for a brief moment, then pulling away quickly after.
"Um…" Percy began, "You are not mad at me?"
I sighed, able to compose myself with a bit of luck, but perhaps it wasn't exactly luck as I would normally call it because my sudden calmness came from an unlikely place. It was the place where I shared with Percy right now, his body backed into a corner of the wall and just inches from mine…
Very much alone by ourselves right now, I thought back to what he texted me and blushed on the spot.
(Hey! We have the same classes together now, right? Do you want to go together?)— Percy wrote me.
The Thursday of every week was the only day where Percy and I had the same three classes together. I still remembered his schedule vividly in my memories. I assumed Percy remembered mine too. Then again, he wouldn't have asked me to go to class together if he didn't. All that was beside the point though, because I was more concerned about the context and meaning behind his friendly text message.
Why? Why did he ask me that?
It was during our Tuesday tutoring study, I believe. As usual, we were sitting together while I helped him get through stacks of homework and papers. I recalled picking a table further away from the middle of the study hall, an effort to avoid being noticed and singled out by the other students who came in through the main entrance.
In any case, we went through everything like normal, ignoring the strong emotional feelings as they popped up; it was way more intense after that night we shared before. We were able to finish the work promptly too. It was a tremendous feat for Percy alone because he got through the studying session with me without a single complaint whatsoever.
Afterward, we made a few small talks in between; mostly as I reassured him that he could get through school no problem, and his promise that he would get caught up soon enough. It was pretty standard stuff after another long tutoring session. But out of nowhere, he thanked me for the ride back home after our dinner last night, and I remembered awkwardly nodding back. It was the only thing that was mentioned about our night before, and the blushes on our cheeks were so apparent that we both noticed right away. At that point, my thoughts took a wild turn before I spoiled everything and made him promise me something that I wasn't sure if both of us could keep. I told him that we should keep this tutoring relationship between us a secret from the other students in the school, and we shouldn't hang out with each other besides our tutoring arrangement in the library. He nodded nonchalantly back at me, so I assumed he understood my meaning thoroughly.
I now knew how wrong I was.
If his impromptu text message had shown me anything, perhaps I should have a proper talk with Percy and set up some ground rules about our unofficial tutoring relationship, how our interaction should be with each other… or I guess just the two of us in general.
"I am not mad, you idiot." I huffed, "Just use your brain a little more the next time when you decide to text a girl for some stupid reason like that."
Percy threw his hands back down after he knew I didn't blame him- not too much anyways…
"Besides, this is the opposite of what I meant." I pointed out our current situation, "… about us not hanging out too much in school?"
Today hadn't end yet. There were still three more classes to finish. Since so many students still roamed about and school was still in session right now, I had to wait for a perfect opportunity to grab Percy by his shirt collar and drag him down to this abandoned and barely used small hallway. Luckily, I succeed without bringing other's attention one bit; I didn't feel proud about it, but I was sneaking behind an unaware Percy until no one was around, then I grab him forcefully and tore him away from the main hallway. I pushed him along until he smacked his back against the brick wall on the right, which was how we ended up now. The only thing around here was the maintenance closet on the left side of the wall and a large window at the end facing the city skyline. Of course, I made sure beforehand that no one was around here either when I sneaked both of us over, so we were totally alone in this dimly lit space and no one else would know where we were. Since then, we probably had less than ten minutes before our geometry class start.
"Right." Percy offered so little reassurance for me, I wondered if I should just have that talk with him now, "I am sorry. I didn't want to upset you."
I grumbled at his weak excuses.
"So, I guess you don't want me to text you anymore?"
His sudden question caught my attention and put me off guard. I tilted my head back to his and wonder why he would think that, but given my reaction right now it's not hard to figure out why, "I did not say that, Percy."
Confused, he mumbled softly, "Um… So, you do want me to?"
I sighed at his cluelessness, "Look, I was with Piper earlier and I didn't want her to k-know about-t-"
Know what exactly? What was I so afraid of letting Piper find out?
For real, I've already told Piper basically everything there was about me and Percy, so why was I so afraid of Piper seeing what Percy texted me? She'd probably gleamed fireworks in her hazel brown eyes once she knew what Percy asked me through the message, telling me some nonsense like we were destined star-cross lovers or something silly of that sort. And besides, it's not like Piper didn't already have her own explanation when it came to the two of us, so why would I worry about one stupid text message from Percy? Why did I run away from that situation?
Some part of me knew the answer already: Because you weren't ready for it...
"Oh." Percy got his answer too, "Okay. I get it now. Sorry if I embarrassed you."
Relieved by his sudden intuitiveness, I wondered where exactly did it come from when he was being an absolutely stupid and clueless idiot just seconds ago. It was as if something I said suddenly gave him a moment of epiphany. Not that I minded too much. After all, if Percy got what I meant, that just meant I didn't have to explain it to him, nor to myself either. Maybe I was hoping for that in the end.
"Dummy…" I mumbled softly and hid my face halfway toward his school button-down shirt, "It's not like I mind you texting me— I mean, you can text me…"
I bit my lip at that last part, "… w-whenever you want, so..."
Blushing wildly as I admit to him the real reason why I had to pull him away and grill him on the spot, I had to alternate my gaze from his green eyes to his white shirt collar, doing it back and forth with seeming randomness. It was the only thing I could do after revealing something so personal with my feelings for him, especially when we were all alone in a small hallway, our bodies almost pressing against each other's warmth. Surprisingly, I was comfortable with our very close proximity.
My eyes finally drew upward to get a look at his reaction, but I couldn't hold my gaze for a second before I pulled away from his face abruptly, "A-Ahem… Don't you go and get the wrong idea, Percy."
Trying as I might to say otherwise, I just couldn't deny it anymore. It's still hard to say it, but I actually liked the way my heart raced faster and my stomach churning butterflies when I saw his name pop up on my messaging notification, it's just— right at that moment, I couldn't get over how embarrassing it all felt, receiving my first real text message from a boy I couldn't help but like, especially with Piper sitting next to me and knowing full well that it was Percy from the start.
"I see," Percy said with an inkling of a small smile.
Shooting him with half a cold glare, I could see him working his way to tease me before he could open his mouth. After all, I've made him promise me that texting each other was for absolute emergencies only, but it only took me less than two days before that I disregard that promise I myself put in place.
"Ughh-ahh… Don't you even dare, Percy," I warned him before he could put forth a knowing smile at my way, "I don't want to smack you…"
I was already blushing needlessly, and I didn't want to blush anymore toward my own embarrassing awkwardness. I also didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me like this before him, utterly speechless and completely sheepish from backing out of my promise. Luckily, he didn't do anything that made me grow bright red like a cherry. His handsome face softened before he gave me a gentle-looking smile instead of one that's filled with subtle teases behind it.
"Noted," Percy said. I looked up, relieved when I didn't see the smirking look I was dreading to see before we both relaxed and slumped shoulders with each other, "Well, do you want to let go of my shirt now?"
"Huh?" I asked in a sudden dazed.
He was right. I still had a tight grip over his shirt collar. It took me a moment, but I finally yelped out loud and flung it away from my hand, and of course, Percy automatically propelled backward and smack his head on the wall. I only realized that the moment he made a low groaning voice, amusement and delights soon followed after.
"Oww…" He rubbed the back of his head and looked down on the floor, "Hey! That's not funny…"
In response to the tiny laughs and subtle smiles moving across my face, I said cheerfully, "Come on… you know I wasn't trying to be mean."
Percy shook his head as he obviously didn't believe me, but that just made me feel better and even more amused by his reaction. I knew for a fact that he wasn't too hurt, so the dramatic response just added to my already uncontrollable suppress laughs.
Apparently, he didn't like that one bit.
"Alright, that's it! I can play that game too!" Percy shouted.
Suddenly, our pose shifted when he pulled away sneakily, then he backed me up against the very same wall and push his body against mine. I went out of breath the next instant when I was trapped within his figure, his touch made me shiver with goosebumps. Both his hands were placed beside my head and there was nothing but his playful sea-green emerald eyes staring down into mine. I froze, unable to speak except for the initial yeep. Soon, my body ultimately and naturally succumbed to the instinctive feelings of melting and turning jelly against him. I stared back at him weakly.
"How do you like it, huh?" Percy looked at me with a real smirk, "Doesn't feel good, right?"
In actuality, it didn't feel good at all just like Percy said, but at the same time, it… it also feel very good in a completely different sense.
"Yeah, I thought so." Percy gloated smugly without moving away from me, "The next time you decide to push me up against the wall, maybe use your brain too and remember how it felt now…"
It was some miracle that I had recovered from the shock of being trap against his body, but regardless, my full control over my body and my mind returned promptly and I gladly accept his challenge.
"Don't get too smug, Percy…" I shot him the same playful look, adding a small flair into my smile before taking advantage of that momentary gap in his reaction to slipping away, "Huuaah!"
In a lightning flash, I got him off me and shifted him back against the wall- the smooth grey brick wall wasn't cold nor freezing one bit now- as he slammed his back against it once again. Like a dance of sort, I managed to put us back to our original stance and grip onto his shirt collar again.
"You were saying?" I smirked, pulling on his collar hard and forcing him further up against the wall. He was stunned, half choking by the tightness of his shirt and half gasping for air at me.
Percy eventually tapped my hand in surrender, "Okay-Okay… You win, you win! I give up!"
I grinned at my victory and slowly let go of his shirt. Feeling incredibly happy with myself, I would usually go on a tangent and ruminate like crazy about what we just did, but this time, I didn't even bother to think aimlessly about what holding his shirt collar like this could mean or entail, and it didn't seem like Percy was too worry about it either.
Certainly, this was something that would make us blush endlessly for eternity at the beginning of our relationship, but a mere week later and I wasn't even bothered by it except for a slight pink flush on my cheeks.
We were really growing closer… I just didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Nice try, Percy." I'd give it to him for being bold enough to play a prank on me, "But next time, you're gonna have to try harder than that."
I smirked at him and got a mean pout instead. I laughed out slightly, "Idiot…"
Percy shifted back to a smiling expression and responded with a lighthearted chuckle back. He didn't say anything or quip back at me, though I was quite alright with that.
"Anyways," I spoke up in a lighthearted manner too, readying myself for what I wanted to say next, "Just keep it to a minimum, I guess, and don't send me stupid stuff, okay? Cause I'll really get mad if you do."
Percy's smile grew in size and looking at him now made my head felt all flowy, "Yes. I'll keep that in mind and make sure not to send you any 'stupid stuff'."
I shook my head mockingly with a please smile on my face, "You better."
Even though I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or not anymore, given that he agreed to my wishes nevertheless, I straighten back from his figure so I could pat my uniform a few times, flatting my school skirt so that it looked normal once again, "So, we should head to class now?"
He nodded promptly, "Well, you can go first. I'll wait here for a bit until you are far enough away."
Again, I felt a small lump in my throat after he replied so quickly and without hesitation. After everything I've said, everything I've made him promise me, it seemed like I was the one who couldn't keep them because of some unknown reasons nagging at my heart.
Despite telling myself to move, I couldn't.
"No," I said in a softer tone and after watching his reaction, I felt better when he didn't outright refuse my sudden reversal, "I'm… I mean, I think it's okay now, you are already here anyway so we might as well go together, right?"
His wavy green eyes blinked in succession as he let my words sank in a few seconds, then an unbelievably cocky smirk grew over his face and it was obvious that he was seconds from laughing at me. At a loss of words, I just couldn't believe how bold he had gotten with me since that day we met.
I smack his chest hard, "Don't make fun of me, you jerk!"
He coughed a bit at my totally justified sneak attack, yet his snickers didn't fade away and he made me turned away in embarrassment. My cheeks grew pink, blushing as I huffed, "You are the absolute worse, most irritating person I've ever met, Percy!"
I was about to turn around and leave him, but he caught my right hand and halt me on the spot. In a very weird way, I was glad- or rather, thrilled even- when he pulled me back to him.
"Hey! I am sorry, okay. Sorry…" He waved his right hand around his temple, doing a small bow, and said without his usual sarcastic tone, "It's just— uh… never mind that, okay? I am just glad you want me to come to class with you. Thank you for that. Let's go, Annabeth."
He never did let go of my right hand and now he was standing beside me. I looked to my right. Percy looked to his left. We shared a warm and friendly gaze.
A happy and lively grin move across my expression and I mimicked him back, "Hmm. Let's go then, Percy."
