Chapter 14: Chemistry Trouble

Annabeth

We got through geometry class with no problem whatsoever.

In fact, Percy even showed me that he wasn't slacking off nor playing around at our tutoring session because he was able to do all the work that had taken me a long time to go through with him. For some reason, the few moments where I saw him working hard and getting the answer correctly put a giant smile over my face, and as far as I was concerned, there was a feeling of joy that I couldn't even properly describe. That was how happy I've been feeling since the lecture ended.

"See? I wasn't too bad, right?" Percy asked me as we strolled along the sixth-floor hallway toward our next class: chemistry and lab, "I mean, I could understand and solve a few questions, so…"

I mused and replied with a gentle smile which I kept to myself, "Hmm."

Given that Percy wasn't struggling too much with the work I went through with him, I now realized that Percy was actually pretty smart in his own way. No doubt there was just too much for him to handle- along with his dyslexia- that hider his ability to do well in school. Juggling so much at the same time, it's no wonder why he had fallen behind so much. Lucky for him, I was here to help him out.

"Aww… what the hell was that?" Percy gave me a discouraging look that reflected back to my lack of a substantial reaction, "You could have at least act happy for me."

"Fine-fine… You are getting so much better at geometry, Percy." I teased him.

His jaw dropped halfway and the sparkles in his green eyes faded. Percy was in wild disbelief, "Wow… now I feel like you are just intentionally mocking me, Annabeth."

I giggled lightheartedly, "Now-now… while I'd say you are getting better at solving the problems,"

I patted his shoulders lightly and lean over sideways to give him a smirk, "I would be lying if I didn't say you've still got a long way to go."

Defeated, his reaction rivaled that of even the most dramatic and comic relief characters in my favorite anime. To see it in real life, it was a treat on its own. Percy threw his hands up, stomping his feet with each step, and groaned out loud. It was out of pure frustration after my blunt and honest tease, though I didn't regret saying it, especially if I got to see him like this.

"Heheh…" I was laughing with suppressed chuckles.

Soon, Percy stopped pulling on his hair and let out a wimpy sigh. His eyes turned sideways to give me the most whimsical smile I've ever since he made. His green wavy eyes staring into my dull grey ones with a kind of childish and whinny impression hidden behind his fiery gaze. It made my heart flutter and beat so much faster at the same time.

"Geez, you are starting to make me feel bad." Percy frowned, even his shoulders were slumped forward in apparent defeat.

I straightened up beside him and laughed for real, "Aww…"

He didn't quip back this time and shook his head at me with mocking sarcasm. I didn't mind it one bit, thoroughly enjoying the growing smile on his face that I couldn't stop but find so captivating.

But as soon as we caught gazes again, my soft giggles faded out. There was a gradual shift in our easygoing mood and we were left with subtle, tensed smiles that wouldn't disappear no matter how much I tried. He was the same way, breaking his eye contact with me awkwardly only to return seconds later with small apprehensiveness.

Hmm? What just happened? We were just having fun talking and now…

I fidgeted a little beside him and threw my hands behind my back, a sort of natural and innate reaction for me. More than likely, the Annabeth Chase just a week ago would have run away from this situation in embarrassment, but for some reason, the Annabeth Chase now wasn't feeling too awkward at all. I was more or less comfortable even though our interaction took a strange turn.

If anything, it seemed like Percy was a little more nervous than I was because he ran his right hand through his messy hair and casually made it even messier.

I gulped instinctively, noticing everything about his good-looking and well-built… Ahem! I gulped automatically again as Percy kept pacing normally beside me before I chuckled nervously too.

"Um…" I mumbled with no hint of what to talk about after that moment.

He waited for the words to come out of my mouth, but I was as frozen as I was empty to coherently form a question, much less articulate it without stuttering.

"You are going to be fine with me by your side." I wanted to say, but instead, the words in my throat took on different shapes and sounds, "So, are you driving—"

Currently in hallway C on the south side of the building, we were just two classrooms away from lab class. It was an especially long period, given that lecture and lab were combined together. The good thing was that it's our last class, meaning that school officially ends after it. I was looking forward to that moment because there was something else afterward that I couldn't help but wait with anticipation. It's been on my mind since I freshly woke up on my bed at home.

"Hey you two!" A happiness-filled voice cut me right off.

There was a sudden gleeful shout from behind us before someone propelled into us full force. Thrown off balance and caught completely off guard, I stumbled forward as did Percy at the exact same time, a small yelp left my gasp as I fell forward. Lucky, the boy next to me steady himself with no issue whatsoever, which helped me catch my feet as well. Over by our shoulders, two small and nimble arms wrapped themselves around each side, bringing us closer with her squeezing in the middle like an itchy wart that refused to go away. There was a giant cute puppy smile on her face, bridging her soft rosy cheeks together. I couldn't see her hazel eyes, but I was pretty sure they were gleaming.

"Pipes." I groaned, "What are you doing here?"

She planted a lively smile my way and pretended otherwise, but I knew she was totally ignoring the hints I was throwing into my questions, "What? I couldn't find my best friend and go to class with her together?"

"Wait, we have the same class?" I was in disbelief.

It was a tremendous oversight on my part and I couldn't believe how careless I've been. I was sure- to put it specifically, more than one hundred percent certain- that Piper and I didn't have any classes today, so where was she here? Had I been imagining it? Not possible, my photographic memory had never failed me once, and I was absolutely sure that Piper didn't have the same class with me when we exchanged our schedules on our first day.

Piper saw through my thinking face and added with a totally unnecessary smirk, "Ahha! Maybe your memory isn't as good as you thought, huh princess?"

I grumbled. Getting an intuitive feeling that she might be lying or holding something back, there was no way I could verify her claim right now. If I did and was wrong about my assumption, I would never stop hearing it from Piper for my entire lifetime. There was only one logical choice in this situation: I kept quiet and mumbled in an annoyed demeanor.

"Aww… don't be like that, Beth." Piper chimed in like an angelic church bell, "I am not going to interrupt you two too much, so rest easy."

Percy doubled over and almost tripped over himself in the meantime, but he regained his balance and stared wildly at my best friend between us, "Uh… I don't think…"

Having a much stronger reaction, I gasped before Percy could finish and almost yelled into the packed hallway, "It's not like that, Pipes!"

Drawing random eyes from all over and around the corners, I hid my face after my abrupt outburst and scurry back to where I felt the safest and comfortable; I impulsively pushed myself next to Percy again and in the meantime forced Piper from between us. Losing her spot in the middle, she had to settle on my left side as we walked to our last class together.

"I am sorry…" I whispered softly to Percy alone as I brushed against him.

Aware of the fact that I was drawing her hazel brown eyes and pretty much everyone else roaming around the hallways, I still couldn't pull myself away from his warmth. It was the only place I felt at ease.

Be that as it may, I was still blushing without reservation. A small and subtle glance in his direction and I noticed a similar blush on his cheeks too. Yet, it didn't seem like Percy wasn't too surprised by my attempt to stay close to his figure. He didn't say too much either and nodded his head, "Uh-huh. No problem."

Watching us with rapt attention, there was an intriguing mewling-like look on Piper as she hummed at us interestingly, "Eehhh…"

It's no surprise that I was embarrassed by my best friend's unwavering tease about us, and yet, I knowingly threw myself next to Percy and walked shoulder and shoulder with him, making things even more difficult for us and more entertaining for Piper. I didn't know why, but I felt like I could handle whatever it was with Percy next to me. It's sort of like a hidden shield when I was together with him, that somehow everything would be okay in the end.

"What?" I threw an accusing question at Piper's fascinated expression.

"Wow… I didn't know you and Percy are already so…" She looked at us with an increasingly amusing and smirking gaze, the belief in her eyes was solid and there was not a single hint of doubt in them, "… touchy and close."

I slapped her shoulder hard. To avoid any unnecessary attention, this time I scolded my best friend with a raised voice, quiet enough that only the three of us could hear but also harsh enough that Piper knew I wasn't playing around and wanted her to back off.

"It's not like that!" I repeated for infinite time, but it seemed like I wasn't the only one…

There was a second deeper voice, his words followed mine down to the letters, our voice combined as we complained together, saying the same phrase and in the same heated manner too. I only realized it after a long moment and looked toward Percy. He realized it at about the same time too and did the same thing. Like clockwork, it didn't take us too long before our pink blushes surfaced at about the same time as well. I looked away from him, and I didn't have to do too much thinking to know that he looked away from me at the exact time again.

Suddenly, I heard an even more embarrassing snicker from Piper on my left, "Hahah! You two are so cute when you are together."

I was ready to complain again, but I couldn't do much in my current state of mind. I bit my bottom lips, wishing that I could just run away from Piper or do something that would stop her from talking anymore- more specifically, I meant by strangling her until she couldn't speak- which neither one was an ideal option…

However, Percy seemed to have recovered faster than I did before he quickly switched the topics, "Um… Anyways, I guess hi again, Piper. How are you doing?"

Piper immediately fell into a dreamy spell.

"Gosh! Such a gentleman as always, Percy." She gleamed back quickly, "I guess I should say hi too, huh? So… Hiya, Percy! Anyways, I am glad you ask because I feel so much better right now… especially when I see how much fun Annabeth was having with you as much as you are with her, right?"

Percy doubled over a second time, "Umm… that's not—"

Piper looked beyond me and smirked at Percy with her sly and playful hazel brown eyes, her eyebrows wiggled a bit at Percy's greeting which obviously made him feel uncomfortable. A deep breath left from my heavy chest, glad and relieved that Piper could tease Percy for a while instead of me. Of course, I didn't get what I want…

"Mmm… All jokes aside. To be honest, I am feeling so much better now that I am here with my best friend, right Beth?" Piper inched herself close to my arm and giving me no personal space whatsoever.

I sighed with a literal head slump.

"Y-Yea…?" I responded with a sarcastic remark and managed to do a weak and fake half-fist pump in the air, "I am so happy with you here with me, Pipes…"

Suddenly, I heard stifle chuckles on my right.

Whatever it was about my reaction, it seemed like my mocking tease didn't affect just Piper alone because Percy somehow found some amusement as well. Of course, Piper was grinning ear to ear at my response, but in the meantime, Percy was also smiling to himself and laughing slightly. I stared at him with a bit of surprise in my grey eyes, and once I realized why he was laughing- he was such a massive jerk even though I couldn't help but like him, like a lot- I shoved my shoulder at his left one, pushing him away from our comfortable position and began to walk on my own.

"Jerk," I mumbled underneath my breath.

They burst out laughing for real, "Wait, Beth!"

Leaving them behind with lightning speed, I paced myself ten times faster than the two idiots behind me who were too occupied to get a chance to catch up. They called out, but I ignored them. I was glad about it too. The precious few seconds where I could sort out my head and get some time to think properly.

Again, I didn't get what I want…

"O-Ouch..." I hit something dense like a huge boulder and rough around the edges like sandpaper.

… Because around the end of the hallway, I bump right into the person I hated the most. Already, the scent of oily animal hide in his strong-smelling musk perfume was invading up my nose and the insanely disgusting smell made me wanted to throw up right on the spot. I recoiled back from his body after hitting him on accident, backing away more than a few steps to get some distance between us.

"Hey, Annabeth." It was his deep voice, but it was so much colder than the warm and gentle voice I heard from Percy a few moments ago, "Where are you going?"

Normally, it didn't take me much effort to stare into his self-absorbed blue eyes with an unweaving fierce glare that would always back him off, but for some reason, I couldn't do it now. Something deep inside me was fighting and struggling, and I couldn't find the strength I've always had to tell him to stay away. There was a growing fear inside my heart I haven't felt since we broke up, and just being in the same presence as he was now, my body was shivering slightly.

"I am going to class, Luke." I said without meeting his gaze, though I was very aware of his leering smirk which made me feel repulsive, "Now if you'll excuse me…"

I stepped around him.

"Whoa!" Luke suddenly reached out and grabbed my left wrist. He made a small twist with his grip and I winced in pain, "Why are you in a hurry, Beth? You know, we used to—"

I didn't want him to finish those words. I couldn't bear to hear them anymore, but I was powerless and knew I couldn't stop him. It's been a while, but I didn't expect today of all days was where I would feel my tears of guilt and regret to come back, welling up inside my eyes and ready to overflow-ww…

"Hey! You should let her go." It was another stern voice of the boy with messy onyx hair who spoke up for me, but at that moment, all I heard was his gentle calmness that filled me with a specific warmth.

Percy rescued me from shedding a single tear.

Soon as Percy spoke up, Luke shifted his attention from me to my rescuer. I looked back too, staring at my two friends behind me with a bit of a surprise in my teary eyes, feeling a mixture of relief and reassurance when they showed up with two pairs of cold and unwelcoming gazes. The hazel pair of eyes were way more hostile than the pair with a green wavy glow to them, but either way, it was obvious that they were trying to be intimidating.

"Back off, Luke." Piper scowled at the massive douchebag with straight blond hair, holding a mean look and disparaging attitude, "You wouldn't want me to get Miss Farron again, would you?"

Given the situation, it's no surprise that we were already drawing a crowd of people just by this little altercation with me and Luke. Whispers were already going around, and now that Percy got involved as well, it won't take too long before certain rumors were spread about me and Percy too.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but that's not at all important right now. Luke's hold on me tighten, yet I stay strong and weather through the discomfort knowing that my friends were here to help.

Soon, Luke was looking around at the murmuring crowds, but I knew he wasn't going to find what he was looking for. With only two of his friends behind him, I knew he wasn't going to pick a fight now as much as he wanted to.

"You should let go of me, Luke." I said sternly too after finding my courage.

It took a while for him to come to his senses, but eventually Luke made a small tsk sound, then he finally let go of my wrist and scoffed, "Fine. I don't feel like it today anyway. Let's go…"

Backing off, Luke walked away and disappear down the other side with the other two in toll. I hung my head down, but for the briefest of seconds, I was able to see both Piper and Percy watching Luke until he was truly gone. Feeling truly grateful that they were looking out for me, I wrapped my right hand over my left wrist and gently rubbing it a bit.

"Gosh! What the heck was his problem?" Piper ranted a few feet away from where I stood, "What an asshole! And what the hell are you all looking at?!"

With that comment alone, the murmurs slowly died down, yet I didn't care too much about that. After all, I was pretty used to it already. More importantly, there was something I wanted yet I didn't know if it was possible. Seeking a specific warmth, my thoughts raced toward a specific boy in mind.

"You okay?" Hoping that he would check up on me, my wish came true when his warm and caring voice made me feel cozy as soon as he came over and stood before me, "You are not hurt?"

I looked up after tending my left wrist in the front of my grey skirt, yet I held my hand there for a bit before I stared into his green and gentle eyes, "Yeah,"

I rubbed my wrist again when Percy held his tender and concerned gaze at me regardless, "I am fine, Percy… T-Thanks for that."

If anything, the small discomfort I felt was replaced with a new feeling, a stronger emotion like there were thousands of wild butterflies in my gut as it messed me up from head to toe. The pure worry look on his handsome face made my body feel heated and my head lightheaded at the same time.

"You sure you are okay?" He stood before me still, his tense posture eased gradually much to my relief.

I nodded back softly without answering anymore. Like I've expected, there were more and more words getting caught up in my throat and losing their meanings, the faltering strength of my willpower alone wasn't able to muster up the courage to say any of it out loud.

Then we were left with a long period of- of- I wasn't sure what it was, but I was gulping nervously at the utter silence between us as Percy stood before me with an intense look still in his eyes.

When I managed to fully tilt my head and looked toward his face again, I had to hold a deep silent breath and it was extremely difficult to exhale through my nose like a normal person. It was getting really hard to breathe, until…

"Oops… Sorry to interrupt your moments, Beth…" Piper blurt out when I was least paying attention to her. I looked beyond Percy and there was a small smile on my best friend's face, subtly hinting at her giggles and also throwing an apology for me altogether.

"But, uh…" Piper gestured at the space around us like she was desperately trying to get me to realize something, "You know, people are still staring…"

I blinked toward my best friend and a slight confusion took hold of me.

Eventually growing aware of my surroundings, I finally took notice of the whispering stares around us as they hadn't faded out just yet. I was pretty sure that more people were staring at us than before. They stopped dead in their tracks, obviously enjoying the tense and heated moment between me and Percy like a delicious dessert to be savor.

No way! Oh my Gosh! This is so bad…

The way Percy and I were staring so intensely at one another in a packed hallway... The lumps in both our throats… The hidden words that I wanted to say but couldn't… There was no way I could hold my blush away now and the best I could do was to hang my head down and stare at the tile floor again. I knew Percy realized it too now. He didn't say anything either.

I coughed a few times and made a hint toward Piper for help, "Ahem."

Breaking the huge tension, luckily Piper caught my message and helped me disperse the groups gathered around us, "Alright people! Nothing to see here! You should all scram before I find a reason to kick your butts!"

A shuffling of footsteps grew into a stampede, soon the completely stasis hallway was back to how it was, how it's supposed to be. Piper's intimidated warning worked wonderfully. Now everyone was back to their own pace and doing what they were doing before all this happened. I heaved a heavy and relieved sigh, the unbelievably huge boulder lifted off my chest. When everyone started walking and pacing again, Piper came back to us with a soft look on her face.

"That was fun to watch…" She was all smiles when she looked at us.

I shook my head without her noticing and ignored her know-all-too-well comment.

"Well, let's keep going too." I stammered a bit and offered my hand outward.

Right away, I could feel his gaze on my extended right hand, yet I couldn't tell him exactly why I offered because it was too embarrassing of a thought. It was already taking all of me to put my hand forward and asking for his in a packed hallway; no doubt eager and gossiping eyes more than a dozen still taking sideway glances and staring at our interaction.

But I really needed to feel something warm after that…

"Umm…" Percy hesitantly reached out, but Piper had other ideas.

"Oh stop being so gentlemanly and reserved, Percy." Piper groaned in exasperation, "It's not that hard to hold a girl's hand, you know? I am sure Annabeth only wanted to feel more comfortable after that whole thing with Luke, right princess?"

I wanted to shoot her a glare, but she was so right that I couldn't do anything but hide my face away.

"Ahem… L-Let's go then." Percy gingerly went and grabbed onto my smaller hand and led me along by his side. Being a first for the both of us, my palm instantly went sweaty as did his. I was pretty sure some part of me melted too when I feel his finger wrapping around mine, sending more than a few delightful shivers down my spine.

Besides the gentle ease yet awkwardness of holding hands with Percy- it lasted for longer than a minute, then more than two minutes, which eventually went on throughout the entire trip to lab class, I couldn't help but blushed way more whenever his cheeks heated up like crazy too.

Of course, Piper didn't fail once to give me grinning smiles every step of the way, but I didn't have time to wrap my head around it. All I could feel now was the warmth of Percy's left hand, the fact that both Piper and Percy stood up for me when I couldn't, and how we were all ten minutes late to class.

-Line Break-

At long last, Piper, Percy, and I entered the lab classroom only to be met with a bunch of heads turning towards the doorway facing us, "Ahh… you three are late."

Our chemistry professor was a young woman in her late thirties, most likely married, and probably had a few kids already. Her slender figure and soft feature made her look like a teacher from the start, though I felt like her gentle and at ease nature was more suited for kindergarten school than here.

"Sorry, Mrs. Owens." I apologized and tried to wave my hand, but then I remembered where it was right now and grew bright red in front of the whole class.

Oh well, now everyone saw me holding hands with Percy… Gosh! I must really want people to think that Percy and I are a couple or something, which we are totally not!

I shuddered as embarrassment snuck its way up from my neck toward my forehead, to the point where I had to mentally shake my head in desperation to forget I ever thought about it.

"Well, try not to be late the next time, Miss Chase." Mrs. Owen followed up with a friendly smile, "Of course, I am talking about you two too, Miss Mclean and Mr. Jackson."

I nodded sheepishly at our professor.

"And I guess this is perfect because it's a three-person lab assignment today, so take a seat at an empty table and made sure everything is working fine, got it?"

I nodded again. Not wanting to bring too much attention to us, I avoided everyone's gaze and made my way toward an empty lab bench on the far left side of the class- the station was in the very back of two tables which was already taken, it faced the windows and overlook the green park where Piper and I were having a one-sided talk earlier today. Piper and Percy followed after me; I had to let go of Percy's hand the moment I realized we were being stared at, and took a seat. Our arrangement went something like this: I awkwardly shifted and let Percy inside first, with me in the middle and finally Piper to my right.

"Okay, shall I start the lecture again?" Mrs. Owen asked us.

I could already sense some irritated looks before I shook my head, "No. It's okay. Just keep going…"

I was pretty sure Mrs. Owen shot me a knowing smirk, but regardless, I was able to ignore it and focus on the lesson and also the lab assignment at hand. Once her lesson continued as it was before our interruption, I grabbed my notebook and began to jot down some stuff about the lecture and also some new info that's gonna be real handy down the line.

Multi-tasking through the lecture and our lab assignment, I was already ten steps ahead. Twenty minutes into the class, which I was also late for, I've pretty much got everything there was to know for today. The only thing left to do now was to wait until Mrs. Owen finished her lesson so we could get started on the lab. I put my pen down and sighed.

On the other hand, it seemed like Percy and my best friend were still working hard, doing work in their own way. Piper had out her laptop, typing softly as Mrs. Owen went on to explain about chemical decomposition, using electricity and water as an example. I knew she could get it easily, but as for the boy next to me…

Meanwhile, Percy had out his textbook and his notebook at the same time, desperately trying to follow along with the concept that might be going too fast for him. After all, I haven't gone through with him about chemical decomposition yet. As I watch him struggle, something weird began to happen with me- a strong and emotionally intense feeling… it grew and grew to the point where I wanted- or rather, I needed to help him out, even during class.

"P-Percy-y-" I whispered halfway then stopped.

Luckily, I was able to reason with myself that this wasn't the time and I could easily go over the concept with him at our tutoring session anyways. Choosing not to distract him, I quickly shifted my focus from Percy and back to the lesson at the front of the class.

"Okay, let's see…" Mrs. Owen's soft voice switched from decomposition to another follow-up topic.

It was a bit of an unintentional habit, but given that I've already gotten through today's lesson on my own, my grey eyes slowly wandered a bit around the classroom. As expected, I wasn't surprised when I saw a bunch of different stares around us. Some were giving me dirty looks that I was more than used to by now, but most others were staring over here with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. It really shouldn't take a detective to figure out what all their faces were saying. I sighed in defeat to myself.

"Hey…" I abruptly pull my gaze from everyone, "Don't, okay?"

Out of nowhere, Piper nudged my elbow and brought my attention to her. She shot me a reassuring look and I knew what she was saying right away. I smiled back at her reminder, a sense of small relief settled over me. Yet, there was still a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, like maybe I saw something out of the corner of the room and I should really figure out what it was.

Bright red hair…

Given Piper's mental encouragement, I did my best to ignore the rude stares from others students here with us. But for some reason, there was a huge grey cloud in my head and I couldn't figure out what it was that seemed so relevant. The feeling was still there, but…

Just then, I heard a small sounding and muffled grumble beside me. I immediately chuckled at the frustrated tone behind his voice. Of course, Piper heard it too and chuckled on her own.

I sighed, relinquishing my original desire to not distract Percy. Pushing myself closer to my left side, I slowly leaned over to Percy and whispered, "Need help?"

Despite struggling to understand the lesson, he replied, "Huh? What about you?"

"I am done already." I gestured at my own notebook, "I can help if you want."

It must have come as a shock to him because there was a bewildered look on his face. No doubt he was wondering how I could finish the lesson in less than thirty minutes since we got to class, or even before Mrs. Owen could finish her lecture.

I smirked at him, "Don't worry, it's easy for me. I'll tell you later."

"Um…" He mumbled back.

There was a short moment of hesitation from him. At first, I thought he didn't want me to help him at all. My confidence- among other parts of my feelings- took a dip downward. But then I noticed his eyes were going above my head and staring behind me. Immediately, I understood. Given the animosity and envy filling the classroom before I talked to him, I wasn't sure how Percy would react to the whispers and stares.

"Um… Did we do something wrong?" Percy asked softly.

I sighed, "Just ignore it… that's how it is when I'm—"

"Okay people!" Mrs. Owen called out to the whole class, "I hope you all were paying attention because the lab assignment is directly from what we just went through. Now, for the rest of class time, please finish the handout and once your group is done, bring it up and you can leave for the day."

A bunch of murmurs and soon people started the lab project in their own little bubble, but cut off from what I wanted to say, Percy didn't seem too concerned about it anymore. I paused, unable to tell him why.

And just when I was going to tell him why people are staring over at us like that…

Thought I had an inkling that Percy knew the reason why; well, half of the reason why anyway. The way his cheeks flushed at that realization made me grew heated too. While I would very much like to deny his assumption before it could get out of control, the honest truth made it difficult to say otherwise.

On the flip side, Percy probably didn't know the other side of the coin. I could tell him about it- the way other students in school always pick on me one way or another, the gross gossips behind my back every day just because I was smart and good at pretty much all my classes…

But the moment was gone, and I didn't want him to pity me…

"Well, let's get going…" Piper chimed in for the two of us, "I assumed you already have everything planned, don't you, princess?"

While I disliked that knowing smirk on Piper's face, I couldn't deny that she was right because I've written all the steps down on my notebook since the beginning of Mrs. Owen's lecture.

Again, I knew it was going to come in handy.

"Yeah." I said, "Here. Grab the 100ml cylinder for me, Percy."

I shifted my notebook at Piper, "You've got the gist of it, right?"

Piper scoffed and began working with me like we always do, "Pssh… I am not that dumb, Beth. Unlike your new friend here…"

Rightfully shocked by her unexpected gut punch, Percy promptly recoiled, "Wait, what? W-Where did that even— I- I am not sure if I should take offense to that, Piper…"

"It's a joke!" Piper laughed it off, though I didn't find it to be funny at all, "Come on, I didn't mean to make you feel bad, Percy. Plus, you know Annabeth calls you that all the time…"

Unknowingly getting caught in hot water, I wondered if Piper set up this elaborate joke just to embarrass the two of us. Though given her track record, I was most certainly one hundred percent right about her goal in the first place.

"That's different," I said calmly while setting things up on the lab table.

Heeding her no mind, Percy suddenly came in with a clutch argument which I thought was a really good comeback- even for someone like him who had only half-a-working brain, "Yeah, Annabeth can call me stupid all she wanted. I mean, she does it just because she likes to be mean and a real jerk to me, but the way you did it made it sound like a statement or a matter of fact, which is way worse."

Taking back every bit of my praise, I gave Percy a soft glare at his meanings and he immediately gulped nervously, wondering what it was that he said or what I was mad about.

"Hmm… So what you are saying," Piper lifted her pen and brought it to her chin, her pretense couldn't be more obvious, "… is that Annabeth can be mean to you while I can't, that's why you don't mind it when Annabeth is the one who teases you, right? Mmm! I think I am getting a clear picture here…"

Once Piper achieved what she ultimately wanted, I had to force myself to physically remain calm, but inside my head, I was fervidly scolding Percy for being such a dumbass!

Percy had to literally gasp for words, "Wait, that's not what I—"

Unknowingly fallen into her cleverly hidden trap, I knew I need to help Percy out as much as possible, not least to prevent him from subconsciously spilling any more embarrassing things about us, "That's not it, Piper!"

Piper's smirk grew into a massive grin as she brought out the last piece of equipment we needed to finish the assignment, "Aww… It's just so cute that you two deny it together too. Hehee..."

Laughing to herself, it seemed like Piper could already tell my next move; I had already envisioned a plan on how to tackle her and strangle her up, because she hurriedly moved off her seat and went to the back of the classroom, "Ha-ah! Too slow, Beth…"

Leaving me alone with Percy, I heaved a loud grumble and did my best to stare daggers at Piper's soul and hoping it would obliterate her completely. Unfortunately, it didn't even faze my best friend. She just casually added with a sly smile, "I'll get the chemicals we need, princess. Don't worry, I am going to take my time for as long as possible."

Of course. She's going to wait until everyone else… Ugh! I really hated her so much!

At the very least, she was gone from being an annoying thorn on my side so that's a plus in my books. I turned back around to face Percy and growled at him now that we were by ourselves, "For real, you might as well just tell her the truth if you are going to say something like that, Percy..."

Percy didn't understand, or maybe he was pretending not to understand, "Huh? What truth?"

I sighed sarcastically, "… that we are dating or more than friends or something like that. I mean, you made it sound so… Really? Don't you ever think before you speak?"

He seemed really confused by what I was saying, especially that part where I mumbled out softly. No doubt he barely heard what I've said either. In any case, I shook my head at him in despair.

"You are hopeless, Percy."

It took less than a second for a reply to come up, but it wasn't from Percy.

"Who's hopeless?" An angelic voice spoke from my right.

My body jolted at the surprise. Unaware of someone sneaking up on us, I saw a girl with red auburn hair, her soft and smooth features were like a gift from God, her pretty face so innocent and cute that I was questioning just who made this perfect little doll of a girl. Before I knew it, she was leaning over our table and she smiled at me.

"Rachel! Jesus, don't sneak up on me like that." I almost shouted.

Her pretty smiles grew softly at my reaction, but something about it seem suppressed.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to." She held her soft green eyes on me for less than a second before her gaze shifted towards Percy, then she looked at both of us at the same time, "We didn't have the 100 ml cylinder at our table, so I was wondering if you guys have a spare."

Directing her pretty smiles at Percy now, I finally remember why there was a nagging feeling in my heart. I was right all along. I definitely saw Rachel in the same class with us, but that's beside the point because I was more worried about her finding out the truth. After all, I lied to her three days ago about not knowing Percy, and now she saw us holding hands, sitting at the same table, and talking together like we already knew each other. I didn't know what to say, nor what she was thinking right now. Truth be told, it's more likely that her smiles were just her being nice, but behind them lie something much more unpredictable, a heated debate that I didn't want to face and deal with.

Oh I am screwed…

Meanwhile, Percy went to search for the extra cylinder promptly, "Sure. Uhh, let me see…"

Doing his best to rummage through the messy drawer, Rachel leaned further next to me and whispered softly out of Percy's hearing range, "But hey… I thought you didn't know Percy, Annabeth?"

It was another all-smile question, but I could sense a different tone underneath her angelic voice. While I had hope that she wouldn't be mad at me, it seemed like she didn't like that I've lied to her about this. I didn't blame her. After all, I said I wasn't interested in Percy and certainly wasn't ready for a relationship with another boy. What's more, Rachel actually seemed interested in him. Now, I've betrayed everything I've said and made the whole situation unnecessarily complicated.

"Uh… It's complicated." I said weakly.

The angelic look vanished from Rachel's expression, but she tried her best to smile back, "Oh. I see…"

"Ah-ha! Here we go!" Percy thrust out the 100ml cylinder like a piece of prize treasure.

Just when I could feel the mood between me and Rachel souring, Percy saved the whole situation with an over-the-top reaction. Drawing our gaze, his silliness made me roll my eyes like usual. Of course, Rachel also forced the same smile back on her lips, "Ahh. That's it. Thanks, Percy."

They exchanged hands, "Sure. No problem."

"Well, see you around, Percy." Rachel gleamed, then she turned to me, "You too, Annabeth."

The way she threw in her words might have sounded exactly the same, but as a girl, I could tell a very subtle difference, and it wasn't a too friendly one when she was addressing me. Rachel soon walked back to her table.

I knew it wouldn't do anything but make me miserable, but the brief glances I got at Rachel and her actual friends afterward made me feel an upcoming headache.

I sighed to myself.

Just how much more complicated is my relationship with Percy going to be… Already, Luke is seeing Percy as an enemy, and now Rachel is jealous of me too...

I sighed again…

The class was well into its halfway point now. Of course, Piper was really taking her sweet time to gather all the chemicals we needed. It made me worry if she actually knew what we needed. She had my notebooks, but did she even know what to look for? I was just about to get up and check on her when Percy dropped a bombshell on me, forcing me still.

"Well, I guess she was jealous?" He revealed which snapped my face at him with a surprised and serious look, "I mean, it didn't seem like she like seeing me and you together, like everyone else here…"

Sometimes, Percy could really surprise me with his intuitiveness. This was one of them. Again, I didn't understand how he could be so clueless on almost everything yet sometimes so perceptive and right about specific things. It made me wonder if he was holding back a lot of his intuitions because of the many awkward situations he faced when he was with me.

But more than likely, he probably just overheard what Rachel asked me earlier.

"You could tell?" I asked.

Keeping his voice low to avoid attention, Percy nodded, "Yeah, I remember her last time at lunch, that Monday when I was- you know?"

Percy paused, "But it seemed like you two know each other already."

I nodded dryly, "Yeah. We are just friends, I think…"

"Oh. Not the close friend type, I assume." Percy spoke up for me and offered me a reassuring smile. I didn't understand what he meant by that, but what he said next somehow made me feel so much better about everything, "Well, don't worry. I don't really like her that way, so…"

I didn't know why such a huge metaphoric boulder was suddenly lifted from my chest. I even heaved a sigh of relief into the air. Eventually though, his words sank in and I tensed up spontaneously. Each breath of air getting stuck in my throat until I smacked his arm impulsively.

I finally realized what he was saying, "Why would I be worried about that? I-Idiot!"

Did he realize what he said too?

"Oww…" He rubbed his arm where I smacked him, "I am sorry. I didn't mean it like that-"

Satisfied, I began to explain myself, "It's just… I lied to her about meeting you last Friday, so that's why."

Percy didn't ask why I lied about it. His expression was mostly straight and I could only see half his face, the other half hidden while he stared at the lab equipment before us.

"I guess it won't be long before she finds a way to hate me for this." I blurted out with a heavy breath.

A sudden demeanor change, Percy promptly spoke up at that, "Why would she hate you?"

Back to being the oblivious dummy he usually was, I sighed and wished his intuitiveness had a switch that I could just turn on whenever it was powered off.

"Because… she has a-a…" I paused, realizing that this wasn't something I should say, "I mean, like you just said, she's jealous of- you know, so you get it?"

Percy threw me completely off guard with his straight-to-the-point reply.

"Yeah. I know already. Rachel kind of likes me differently, so what?" Percy didn't hold back his words and his bluntness surprised me. Besides the feign confusion plastered on his face, there was something else hidden deep in his expression, it was a foreign emotion I wasn't sure I've felt with anyone before, "I don't understand why would she go and hate you just because of it? You didn't do anything wrong…"

He was intentionally trying to argue with me, and I didn't like that he wanted to pick a fight on this. His logic was mindboggling to me, totally irrational to the point where even I got a little upset at him, "Were you listening? I lied to her about knowing you since the beginning, and she's into you… Anyways, what's there not to get?"

Percy got a little riled up too, "Hey, just because you lied about meeting me doesn't mean she should hate you for it. That's on her… I mean, why are you already assuming that will happen anyway?"

I knew the answer to his question, but I held it back by biting down my lip. It wasn't fair that he was suddenly springing this up on me, during the middle of class no less, and it was all because I said Rachel was going to hate me after I lied to her.

But I mean, that's how it's always been since I've been a student here, so why would this be any different…

"It's always like this…" I spoke softly and stared away.

Percy's voice grew softer, yet the sharp blade behind his message was still there, forcing me to put up my shield even though I would rather not, "Rachel didn't even say anything about it…"

If only Percy knew how bad it was… the torturous lifestyle of me being in the best school in the city with the entire student body looking to get a one-up over me.

We were definitely making a scene in the back of the classroom now.

Barely able to control myself, I said under my breath and glared back, "She didn't need to, Percy… Get a hint, will ya?"

Percy shot me a serious and critical look, "No! That's not fair, Annabeth. You are already blaming yourself before anyone even says anything about it. You shouldn't do that."

That was it. I really got upset at him now.

"What would you know about it, Percy? You don't even know me! And for the record, that's how it has always been with me, and it's never going to change as long as I'm here in this godforsaken school, so you don't get to do that… You don't get to tell me how I should be and play the moral high ground at the same time!"

Percy didn't reply right away, but his next words broke me down, "I know enough…"

At that point, I had enough of it too. If he wanted a fight, then I'll give him a fight.

"Fine. What about you then, Percy? Why don't you get a hold of yourself and stop relying on me to help you out with everything? Ever since I've met you, you've been nothing but trouble for me one after another." I shouted at him, "It's a miracle that you'd even lasted a day here!"

I didn't mean that…

I knew I hurt him with that one comment alone, but that had been my intention as much as I hated to do it. After that specific jab, Percy didn't try to look directly at me anymore. I couldn't care less, unable to stop raining down hellfire on him, and I knew he was paying attention with that sidelong look at the table. Being so angry, I couldn't stop myself from continuing and this time I really wasn't watching my tongue one bit.

"So, if you really don't want me to blame myself, then maybe we should-d…"

"Stop it, you two!" A loud cry broke off what I would probably regret saying. It was Piper who cut me off at the last second, and she was standing beside our table with all the chemical bottles laid out in an organized fashion. My words faltered and jumbled up in an incoherent mess once she yelled and got my attention away from Percy, "Gosh! You two are really something else…"

I paused, unaware that there were drops of tears swelling over my eyes, ready to cry at any moment. I could feel it now, new tears pooling over my eyelids and I finally realized how bad of a meltdown I was having. Everyone was looking over here, including Rachel and her friends. Even in the back of the classroom, there wasn't any chance to disappear from the drama we just created.

Defeated, I silently sat back down on my seat and pushed myself as far away from Percy as possible. I promptly went back to my best friend. Even though I still very much hated her teasing me so much, she was a much better companion than the boy next to me right now; the boy who I unequivocally like a lot, but somehow just had a huge and heated argument with.

I pushed myself next to Piper, lifting my jacket sleeves to wipe my eyes.

Gosh! Am I getting puffy eyes? What am I even doing?

"Hey, Annabeth? Percy? Everything okay?" Mrs. Owen called out and brought my attention to her fraught smiles. She pursed her lips with an actual genuine smile once we stopped, "I don't mind that you two have to argue about something, but for the interest of the whole class, maybe wait until the period ends first?"

I sighed and got a hold of myself. Right away, I dug myself into the lab handout and silently worked on the assignment alone. I knew my best friend was looking at me with a sigh on her lips, but I ignored her for now before she spoke up for me.

"Yes. Mrs. Owen. Sorry," She replied.

That seemed to have satisfied our professor because she made an affirmative sound, nodding in agreement.

"Okay. Now keep going on the lab assignment, everyone. You all have less than an hour to finish." Mrs. Owens announced.

Everyone got back to their own table to work, but the raging intrusive thoughts in my head knew everyone was still staring at me- or at the very least, taking intriguing glances over here. That's why I got a head start and just buried myself into the work at hand. It was something I could easily do about it, and at the same time, it also gave me a way out to escape the imaginative stares in my head.

Placing a soft nudge over my right arm, Piper took my attention briefly away, "I know you are angry, but want help?"

I didn't mind if it. Piper was always good at helping me and knowing exactly what I wanted, so having her support me was probably the best thing right now. I nodded, shifting my notebooks to her silently and knew she already knew what I wanted.

She grinned, "Here, drop them here and I've mixed it for you. You can just focus on completing the handout, yeah?"

I nodded again.

I've always taken Piper for granted, but this time, I was really grateful for her help and her support. If she wasn't here right now, I wasn't sure what's going to happen. Of course, Percy was sitting on his own even though we were on the same working lab bench. Absentmindedly, he was looking at his notebooks and out into the window periodically. His gazes never once turned over this way, nor did he offered an apology or his help on the lab assignment.

He's obviously not happy with me either…

Why are you paying attention to him?! He just- He just made himself into a real jerk and gotten me so angry at him. I can't believe he would say something like that when I was already telling him to stop. I just don't understand… Why did he keep going? Is he really trying to make me mad?

"Hey, Percy? Do you mind giving me the cylinders?" Piper voiced for Percy's assistance.

It took a longer than a normal moment, but Percy said softly, "Sure."

He made sure all the cylinders were accounted for before he brought them over to Piper. It's already obvious that he was ignoring me in the middle when he reached over to give them to my best friend.

He didn't have a problem with Piper… He had a problem with me.

Did I make him hate me now? I-I hope I didn't… He was the only boy with who I've ever felt a real connection… Usually, I would keep people- especially the opposite sex- at arm's length because I told myself that it was better this way, that it was always better without them.

That wasn't true with Percy from the start of our relationship. I've- for better or worse- ignore that rule completely when I was with him. It's why this argument between us hurt so much more than anything else I've gotten through.

Does he think I hate him too? Because I don't…

Ready to overflow the limits of my glass cup, my feelings kept building up endlessly and my intrusive thoughts kept ruminating forward. It had gotten to a point where I couldn't handle it; or rather, I didn't want to deal with it anymore, especially not for something so negative like this.

The reality between us… It was as confusing as it was obvious.

Because I've already gotten so close to him for the past week- as he did with me-, it's not surprising that this little spat made whatever it was between us unbearable. The countless struggles, the unnecessary stress, the nagging feelings I kept getting… It wasn't hidden somewhere deep inside my heart. I could feel them all in my compressed chest, the turmoil right there at the forefront of my rapidly beating heart.

It was too difficult to keep it this way. I was struggling to even breathe properly, and I wanted it to stop.

Did he also want to stop struggling too?

"P-Percy-yy…" I managed to say his name.

I got a reply almost immediately, "A-Annabeth-th… I'm-"

It was a very small moment that I wasn't expecting, but fortunately, it was just to ourselves. Still looking away from the one another; it was just an instinctive feeling that he wasn't looking at me when he said my name either, we heard each other right away after speaking up with earnest difficulty. The letters and syllables of our names rung through our tongues as they left our mouths.

I am sorry… I said in my head but not out loud.

A short moment like this was all it took before I felt the sour and 'hostile' mood changed. I could actually sense the sincerity in his soft and faltering voice when he called my name. I could almost finish what he wanted to say too, the way he held his words back at the tip of his tongue like he wasn't sure if he should say the last word to complete his sentence.

Nevertheless, I already knew what it was he wanted to say.

Everything softened. My facial features and my body learned to calm down right away. I relaxed, my tensed posture slumped a bit and a shiver eased me away from a lot of the quandary I was dealing with. I knew what we both wanted to say, and that's all that matters to me.

"…." I finally turned my head to the left and stared at him with a sidelong glance.

Percy did the exact same thing I did, at the same moment too.

"…." Percy didn't say anything as he held my gaze further and further until we were both looking fully at each other without apprehensively hiding away our looks.

We shared a hesitant smile when it broke out of our lips.

Nothing needed to be said then, because at that moment I knew everything he wanted to say. Whatever came after, I knew we would find the time to explain ourselves.

"Hmm, already making up so fast, huh?" Piper sneered at us with a playful pout.

For the countless time, we repeated together.

"It's not like that!" Both Percy and I cried out together and directly glared at her.