Hey, y'all. So, my account kind of got deleted (formerly TheMythTheLegend) (and when I say that it got deleted I mean I lost my email address and password) so I'm starting this over on another account. Hopefully I get all the readers back but who knows. As always, don't know the characters and whatever. Thanks for reading!
As the smell of liquor and smoke filled her nostrils for what seemed like the millionth time that night, and several pairs of hands shoved her towards the open closet door, Annabeth came to the realization that she should've just stayed home.
The second that Piper had texted and asked if she wanted to come with her to Drew's party, she had a sick feeling immediately overtake her entire body. But she, like the idiot that she is, had said yes.
It was a Friday night, they had just crushed one of their rival teams in their volleyball game the night before, and she had nothing else to do. Why not?
So, she had thrown on the best looking dress Piper had available for her, did her makeup nicer than she normally would have and elevated the outfit with a nice pair of silvery heels. She spent most of her time getting ready trying to convince herself that she would have a fun time.
Well, it was more of Piper trying to convince her that she'd have a fun time.
As the girls did their hair and makeup together, Annabeth's best friend went on and on about how amazing this party was going to be. She spoke about the amount of people coming, the certain special people that would be there, and even about the kinds of alcohol that would be present.
Drew had a certain way in which she bypassed ID checks that no one really knew. Annabeth had always theorized that she simply flashed the men behind the counter and it was enough for them to hand over the booze.
But anyway, she had stupidly agreed to attend and was quickly realizing she shouldn't have. It wasn't long before the closet door slammed shut behind her, and several people leaned against it so it couldn't be opened so she could escape. "Shit," Annabeth cursed under her breath before she turned to the other person in the closet across from her, an equally flustered football player who'd also gotten shoved in against his will. "Uh..." she began before she stopped, unable to meet his gaze.
There were very few cases in which she, Annabeth Chase, was at a loss for words, yet here she was. The boy was looking at her, hanging on the single word that dissipated in the air, before he cleared his throat. "Ah...well, I don't know if we've ever been properly introduced," he admitted with a sheepish smile. He held out a hand. "Jason Grace." She clasped his hand in hers, giving it a few firm shakes before she pulled back. "Annabeth Chase," she said, giving him an equally unsure smile.
She already knew who he was, but she was thankful for the opportunity to waste another minute until she could escape the closet and reunite with Piper.
He was the quarterback for the Goode High School varsity football team, and Annabeth figured everyone in town knew the blonde-haired athlete either from his performance on the field or the numerous pictures of him plastered in the newspapers. After the simple handshake, his smile became a bit more genuine. "The volleyball team captain," he said with a small chuckle. "You're quite the living legend."
She shook her head immediately, giving him a modest smile. "I'm really not," she assured, though he responded with a shake of his head. "Don't give me that! I came to your last home game, against Yancy. You guys absolutely destroyed them." Annabeth assured him that she couldn't take credit for anything and that it was their team that got the win.
"You're one to talk though," she said through a small smile as she recounted his performance in their last football season. Their first game was scheduled for the following Friday, so they hadn't actually played yet this year. They talked sports for a bit before someone slammed a fist on the door and surprised both of them as the girl in question shrieked out that they had one minute left. Mischief lit up in Jason's eyes as he grabbed her arm for a moment to gain her attention.
"Hey, follow my lead."
He pushed his fingers through his hair to mess it up from how it was perfectly styled, and continued on to loosen the collar of his button down and switch the buttons so it looked like he had hastily redone it. She got his idea and mussed up her own curly blonde hair, pushing the shoulder straps of her dress so one of them hung off limply as if someone had been tugging on her dress. As they both heard people counting down outside the door, he gently touched her arm, giving her a sheepish smile. "Oh, yeah, uh...by the way," he began sheepishly. Annabeth could see the pink tint in his cheeks even in the dark closet.
"If it's not too big of a request, do you think you could talk to Piper about me?"
When they finally released the pair from the closet, the first thing to happen was everyone cheering Jason on and asking for details about what they had "done" in there. Some of his teammates slapped him on the back, hollering and whistling as Jason gave a sheepish smile and fixed his shirt and his hair.
The first one to speak to Annabeth individually was Piper. She quickly pulled her aside to a more secluded area and gave her the single most apologetic look that the blonde had ever seen. "I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, grasping her friend's arms tightly. "I turned around to talk to Hazel for a second and when I turned back around Silena had you and was dragging you towards the closet."
Piper was one of her teammates and oldest friends. Though she loved her to death, it often frustrated Annabeth that her friend was able to look stunning and beautiful no matter what. Whether she had just gotten out of a hard practice, was drenched in sweat, and had her choppy brown hair thrown into a ponytail or if she was dressed up in some of her nicest clothes and wearing flawless makeup like she was now, she was beautiful. Annabeth had to try ten times as hard just to look half as decent.
It took a few moments for the blonde to realize that Piper's multicolored eyes were still trained intently on her, and she simply offered a shrug and a small smile. "Hey, don't worry about it," she laughed and stole Piper's red plastic cup from her hand, taking a swig of whatever was inside. It tasted strong and it burned going down her throat, but she welcomed the fiery feeling it left in her stomach.
The brunette simply rolled her eyes and stole the cup back, though Annabeth could see the small smile that played on her lips. "I didn't even see you get pulled out of the closet because there was such a big crowd. Who did you get stuck in there with?" she asked, taking a sip from her returned cup as they both watch Silena grab some poor cheerleader and shove her towards the door, everyone cheering in response.
"Well, Jason," Annabeth admitted with a shrug, which definitely caught Piper's attention. "Jason Grace?" she asked, thoroughly shocked. "You got to play seven minutes in heaven with the Jason Grace?" Annabeth laughed, throwing her arm around her flustered friend before she stole her cup once more. "No, Pipes. We just sat and talked," she assured the brunette before she took a long sip from the cup.
The burn from the alcohol inside it was becoming numb and it ended up tasting a lot better now.
"Really though, you are into him, right?"
Piper playfully fanned her face with her hand, leaning against her friend. "Into him is an understatement," she admitted with a slight shrug as she swooned, taking the opportunity to go on and on about his gorgeous blue eyes and that blonde hair that could help you spot him from a mile away.
Annabeth just listened, deciding to be a supportive friend as she drained the rest of the liquid from the cup. When it was gone, she set it down on the end table near the couch.
When she felt the time was right, she finally rested a hand on her friend's arm to stop her, and gave her a big smile before she spoke: "He asked me about you."
After Annabeth had told her friend all the nice details about the conversation back in the closet concerning her, she almost squealed. Immediately after, Piper went to find Jason before the blonde could stop her, and she was alone once more. She made her way to the kitchen to get her own drink since she had drained Piper's during her rant about the star quarterback.
On her way over, Annabeth had to dodge around people in the living room dancing and grinding away to some loud music, drunk people standing in groups while they talked and laughed loudly, as well as several people so drunk or high that they had no idea where they were or what was going on. She finally made it to the kitchen, where it was surprisingly not as crowded, though there were a couple people in there.
The two of them were actually seated on the kitchen table, making out like there was no tomorrow.
As Annabeth rifled through the fridge for a decent drink, she stole glances at the couple. She had no idea who the boy was, but anyone could have recognized the girl. Drew Tanaka, the host of every wild and crazy party ever thrown and the captain of the cheer team. How stereotypical, right?
She hated that she couldn't find a decent drink, and was considering just leaving so she wouldn't have to listen to them sucking face, when Drew finally giggled and climbed off his lap, gently leading him out of the kitchen. When she got to the door, though, she stopped and let him keep going.
When he was finally out of sight, she sauntered over towards Annabeth and gave her a small smile, her lipstick only the tiniest bit smudged from her encounter with the mystery guy. "Hey, Annie," she giggled as she grabbed a red cup from the stack on the counter, pouring in several different liquids before she was satisfied and took a tentative sip. "I hope you're having fun."
Since Annabeth was a volleyball player, she was one of the more popular girls in the school. This also meant that Drew was decently nice to her, unlike how she acted towards others. Annabeth didn't really know what to think of her. She had heard horror stories of her destroying relationships, ruining lives with rumors, but she had no clue if they were true or not. She didn't care to find out, either. The blonde simply grabbed a beer from the back and shut the door before she twisted the cap off. "Hey, Drew," she said politely, giving her the smallest of smiles. "I am. I mean...other than getting locked in the closet, I guess."
They shared a laugh as Drew leaned against a counter across from her. "Yeah, Silena loves trying to match people up like that," the cheerleader said with a smile as she sipped her drink. "Her heart is in the right place, it's just that her methods aren't sound whatsoever."
They shared another laugh before Drew leaned a little closer and gave her a little grin. "How are you and Luke, though?" she asked in a soft voice before she winked slyly. Annabeth's cheeks flushed a tame shade of pink as she mentioned her boyfriend, and the image of his beautiful blue eyes and his sandy colored hair popped into her mind.
Reason number one why she had been so hesitant to head into the closet: Her boyfriend, Luke Castellan, was a couple years older than herself and was enrolled in a university in upstate New York. They had started dating a couple months or so ago, when he had been home for summer break. They had been friends since childhood, and she realized her crush on him long before they actually started dating. She was happy. He was amazing, sweet, caring; everything a great boyfriend should be. It was just hard for her not seeing him all that often.
Annabeth snapped out of her daydream with the realization that Drew's eyes were still focused intently on her, waiting for her answer. She nodded and gave the cheerleader a warm smile. "Things are amazing, actually," she chuckled softly. "He's coming home next weekend for the first time since he went up there in August, and I'm excited to see him."
Drew nodded with a warm smile, sipping her drink as she listened to Annabeth speak about her boyfriend. If there was one thing she could respect, it was a good relationship like the volleyball player and her boyfriend had. "That's amazing, Annie."
They both laughed a little and talked until a loud crash sounded from the living room, and Drew had to run off to check what it was.
Meanwhile Annabeth stayed in the kitchen, sipping her drink and daydreaming about when Luke would be coming home.
The night dragged on, and soon Annabeth went off to find Piper. She knew that the brunette had been either looking for or following around Jason all night, and that it was time for them to get to Annabeth's house.
She searched around the living room and the surrounding hallways of the giant house, before she came across someone who she knew would know where the quarterback was.
Percy Jackson, Jason's best friend, teammate, and cousin. He was one of the other star players on the team, a runningback with scholarships lined up from almost every single major college in the country. Besides football, he was definitely a hotshot at Goode. With his messy dark hair and his sea green eyes, every girl within the school had a crush on him, whether past or present (It also didn't hurt that he had a pretty great physique).
Not that Annabeth was part of that statistic.
He had been leaning against the wall with a can of Coke held in his hand, watching as a group of people played spin the bottle on the living room floor, all too drunk to care who or what they were actually kissing. As the blonde approached him, he raised his eyes from the game to her, and gave her a small smile. "Hey," he said before taking a sip of his drink.
She opened her mouth to speak, but was beat to the punch by the raven-haired boy. "I'm guessing you're looking for Piper," he stated with a smile. He motioned towards the sliding glass door that led into the backyard with his elbow.
"She's out there, talking with Jason." As she gave him a small smile and thanked him, she started to head towards the door. He called out to her once again, causing her to spin around. "Hey, do you mind sending Jason in here? We need to get going too."
It wasn't long before Annabeth and Piper were on their way in the car. The blonde was driving, since she'd only had a bit to drink, and therefore was cursed to listen to her tipsy friend about her night with the star quarterback.
As she pulled into her driveway, she felt as if she knew more about Jason than even Percy did. Since it was late, they headed inside and snuck up to Annabeth's room.
She had to push Piper up the stairs faster since her friend was a. slightly drunk, b. not old enough to be slightly drunk and c. in the same house as the blonde's overbearing stepmother.
They finally made it up and Annabeth shut and locked the door behind them, breathing a sigh of relief before she began to get herself ready for bed.
They had an afternoon practice almost every Saturday and Sunday, since they were on the warpath for the state championship. Their coach believed they needed to devote every single day to volleyball, which Annabeth strongly agreed with.
She removed her own makeup and dress clothes, changing into shorts and a blue volleyball hoodie before she assisted Piper. She had recently stopped her rant about Jason, and instead talked to her friend about volleyball. The two of them were team captains together and needed to find ways to bring the team together over the course of the season. They wouldn't get anywhere if they didn't all work together as a single unit.
"Team bonding!" Piper assured her friend as she managed to finally pull on her t-shirt that she had been struggling with for the past couple minutes. Annabeth snorted but nodded in agreement as she tied her hair up into a messy bun, several blonde curls framing her face as they came loose. "That's a conversation for tomorrow, when you're not too tipsy to suggest going camping together or taking a group shopping trip," the blonde quipped as she climbed into her bed, flicking off her lamp as her friend threw herself down beside her.
Piper muttered a joke about how Annabeth needed to dress in something besides t-shirts and spandex sometime in her life, though the blonde simply ignored her. "Shut up, Piper. Just go to sleep."
Her friend finally took heed of her words and drifted off, though Annabeth stayed awake for a bit, just thinking. About volleyball, about the party, about school, about everything.
She'd been stressing harder than she needed to over her final year of high school and her senior season of her favorite sport.
Sometimes, she got too much in her own head and got too worked up over trivial matters like school or practices. Though, she believed it kept her grounded for the most part.
So maybe it was a good thing.
Right?