It was about two weeks or so after the triple date fiasco at the mall, and there Percy was, seated across from the blonde herself while she ranted about anything and everything that was on her mind.
Recently, he and Annabeth had started studying calculus together a few times a week. And, honestly? It was fun. How someone made math fun, he had no idea. But he was passing with a solid B+, and he got to hang out with one of the most amazing girls he went to school with.
Even if he had to suffer through some derivative work, it was alright.
So, they went over to the blonde's house after their practices and sat in the kitchen, working through math problems together in their books and on their worksheets.
Plus, Percy had gotten to meet Annabeth's family, which was cool. Her dad was a really interesting guy. He was a professor of military history at a nearby university, and he had the coolest personal collection of World War II relics in his office. Annabeth acted as if he was the most embarrassing man on the face of the planet, but Percy thought he was awesome.
Not only did he meet her dad, but her brothers as well. Well, more specifically they were her twelve-year-old stepbrothers, Bobby and Matthew. Percy had to focus extra hard to try and remember who was who. When he did forget though (and that happened quite often) he just called them buddy, or bro, or man or something.
Y'know. Normal stuff you call kids.
They were hyper, identical twins who thought Percy was the coolest thing ever because he played football and video games. So, sometimes when they were home and Percy had come over to do homework, they stole him away to play games with them.
Like one time Annabeth went to the bathroom and the two of them darted out from the living room like they'd been sitting there and waiting for her to leave. They grabbed his arm and pulled him out, shoving a controller into his hand and starting a game.
Honestly? Percy had no problem with it. Calculus sucked a lot, and he really liked video games.
Even Annabeth's stepmom was cool. She had Percy stay over once for dinner, and man, she could cook. Whenever she had actually talked about her family, Annabeth acted like they were insane. Percy assured her that she didn't know insane.
Her home was always cozy and loud and the perfect amount of messy that just made it feel like a great place to be. She would never explain why she thought that, always turning around and changing the subject whenever he inquired about it.
He knew it bothered her, though, and he vowed to actually try and get it out of her some time. While her house was normally full of noise and movement, that day her dad was off giving a lecture, and her mom and brothers were at a soccer game.
The two of them were alone, so they sat there together at the kitchen table, just talking with one another about everything. Volleyball, football, school drama, all of that nice stuff that they usually talked about.
Sometimes, Percy liked to joke that it was Annabeth's therapy hour. She usually talked about volleyball and school stress, of course, but most of the time it was about Luke.
"I honestly just don't understand him," Annabeth stated with a groan as she traced her pencil absentmindedly along the top of the calculus worksheet she'd been trying to get through.
Like today, for example.
"Like, he says he misses me, but then he completely blows me off to go play video games with his friends. Who even does that?" She had been going on a rant about how her boyfriend ditched her this past weekend when he was home.
Percy had been struggling through some kind of limit problem he'd already forgotten how to do when she began to talk. So, he just stopped and listened to her, placing his left elbow on the table and resting his chin in his palm and twirling his pencil absentmindedly between the fingers of his right hand. "Apparently Luke does," he tried to joke in response, though he was met with an intense glare from the blonde girl.
"But I'm sure it was just a last minute thing," he backtracked with a smile. "He loves you, Annabeth. You know that." Her brow had been furrowed throughout the entire conversation, and when he finished speaking she groaned and smacked her forehead against the table. "I don't know that though," she insisted after a moment of silence, raising her head to give Percy a pout. "He's so confusing. I don't understand what's wrong."
The pair had begun hanging out a lot more recently, and he knew a lot of what was going through her head. She had this facade of strength and indifference that she could never really let down around anyone. Everyone knew her as Annabeth Chase, athlete extraordinaire and certified badass. She couldn't let anything tarnish that image.
More than anything, Percy just wanted to be the person she could relax and let her guard down around. And slowly but surely it was coming.
The runningback shrugged in response to her statement and sighed. "But you hung out with him Sunday, right?" he asked with a smile, to which she nodded. "Well, yeah," she mumbled as she traced her pencil along the top of her paper again.
He grinned and nodded. "See? You got to spend some time with him!" She sighed in response and shrugged. "I guess I did, but he still ditched our plans on Saturday to go play video games," she mumbled with a frown. "We had plans and he cancelled on me. He stopped by and we hung out for ten minutes and I asked him where we were going to go for dinner and he told me he already had plans, and then he left."
Percy didn't know what to say to that. That was kind of rough.
He didn't want to be that kind of dude that told her to break up with him, because that wasn't the best answer to give. But he didn't even have a semi-decent answer to give her. "Well...maybe he just knew that the two of you were going out Sunday and he wanted to catch up with the guys," he assured her with a sheepish smile. "I wouldn't overthink it too much, Annabeth. Really."
She stayed quiet for a moment before she nodded a little, fiddling with the eraser of her pencil. He tossed a wadded up piece of paper at her, which made her smile a little. "Plus, if you're really feeling lost about all this, you just need to talk to him," he assured her with his trademark grin. "Communication is a really big part of any relationship."
She threw the paper back at him, a smile tugging at her lips. "You're right," she said softly with a light laugh. "Thanks, seaweed brain. You always know how to make me feel better." He grinned and shrugged as he tossed the paper back. "And you continuously surprise me with new ocean-themed nicknames," he shot back with a laugh.
Her eyes brightened up and she jumped up from her seat. "Hey, speaking of the ocean," she began mischievously as she headed towards her volleyball bag that sat on the floor by the stairs. "I've got something for you."
He couldn't help but feel excited as he leaned back and forth trying to spot what she was grabbing, and when she did finally turn around, he was greeted by a small, white, plastic bag in her hands. She walked over, grinning ear to ear as she set it down in front of him before returning to her seat across the table from him.
She was all smiles now, her grey eyes lighter and less stormy than before. "Don't look at me like that," she scoffed playfully with a smirk. "Open it!"
He rolled his eyes at her, a smile tugging at his lips as he opened the bag up, only to see the blue and white gloves he'd been looking at in the store at the mall. His eyes widened a little and he just looked at them, his fingers dragging over the fabric before his eyes finally raised to look at the blonde, who was grinning like a fool.
"Annabeth," he said slowly before he shook his head and set them down. "I can't-" He couldn't get out another word before he was stopped from speaking by the paper sailed back across the table and nailed him right in the forehead. "You can and you will," she stated firmly. "Take it as my thank you for being my therapist and study buddy for the past couple weeks." She grinned at him happily and leaned back in her chair.
If Percy knew anything about his friend, it was that when she set her mind to something, it was happening, whether anyone liked it or not.
He hesitated before smiling sheepishly and getting the gloves out, slipping them onto his hands. They fit perfectly, and they felt nice and new. He'd have to break them in, but they were amazing. "Annabeth, I..." He trailed off before he looked up at her, smiling happily. "Thank you. So much."
She shook her head immediately and smiled. "Don't thank me, Perce. Thanks for being my friend." He just nodded before he slowly removed the gloves. He put them back in the bag before he tossed them into his backpack and raised his gaze back up to the blonde volleyball player.
"Alright, now, back to business," Annabeth told him with a forced serious expression, her eyes glinting happily. He grinned and rolled his eyes, picking up his pencil as they started on their math homework once more.
That Friday, Percy had a big game against the ironically named Jackson Tigers. It was one of their closer away games, so a lot of people drove the half hour to come watch.
It was late in the fourth quarter when Percy was out and taking a much-needed break that he took the time to actually look up in the stands. They had a nice little fan and student section on the bleachers behind their bench, all of them in blue and white.
He smiled to himself before he turned back to the game, where their coach had put in all of their second and third string players who never really got to play. They were ahead by quite a bit heading into the fourth quarter, so he let the starters sit out and have a break.
One of the sophomore kids who had gotten moved up for the season and hadn't gotten to play very much even scored a touchdown, which was heartwarming for everyone.
The Sharks were leading by a healthy margin of 28 points. Jason was seated on the metal bench, chugging a bottle of water. They were both sweaty and red-faced, tired from all their efforts in the first three quarters of the game.
Percy removed his helmet, sighing in content as the cool night air hit his face. He heard some screaming and cheering come from the bleachers, and he turned around curiously, smiling a bit as he saw
Piper going absolutely nuts in the stands as one of the Sharks on the field got a sack. Beside her, he saw Hazel and Annabeth, both of them looking kind of embarrassed. He had to give it to Piper, whether Jason was or wasn't in, she was a diehard fan.
He saw Annabeth scan the side of the field, where the rest of his team were all either seated on the bench or standing and watching the game, all decked out in their blue jerseys and helmets. It was a bit before her gaze finally came to him, and he waved unabashedly with a big smile on his face he hoped she could see from where she was sitting. It wasn't too far away.
She smiled and waved back at him, before he pointed at his gloves. He was wearing the new blue ones she'd bought for him, and her smile became even bigger. When he did finally turn away, he was smiling to himself. She was a great friend.
He plopped down next to Jason, settling his helmet on the ground between his feet as he grabbed a water bottle. There was only fifteen seconds left on the clock, and all the guys on the sideline were whooping and cheering for their teammates on the field. "I'm glad they got some playing time," Jason admitted with a smile. "Even if Leo's pissed because the freshman kicker missed a field goal."
They both laughed and Percy shook his head, grinning. "I mean, I feel bad for Leo. He loves getting in there and kicking. Coach always told him he was too short to play anywhere else," he said as he squirted a stream of water into his mouth. "He does a good job kicking though. He has a really good success rate."
Jason nodded thoughtfully with a smile as the buzzer sounded, prompting the crowd and the boys on the field to cheer happily. The two stood to their feet and grabbed their helmets, walking over to shake hands with the other team, who looked sullen and melancholic in their grass-stained orange and black jerseys.
The Sharks got into a huddle near the endzone, where a small crowd was waiting in their blue and white gear, and their coach gave them their usual post-game pep talk. When it finished they all gathered up into the middle, letting out a loud cheer before they finally dispersed to meet everyone.
Jason - who Percy had seen get slammed into by two 250 pound linemen and still stay on his feet - was immediately almost tackled to the grass by an ecstatic Piper. Hazel ran off to find Frank, and Percy made a beeline for Annabeth.
His mom had to work late that night, and his stepdad was busy as well, so they couldn't make it to this game. So, he had his friend, who he liked to call his own personal calculus textbook.
The blonde girl was a sight for sore eyes, giving him a big smile and an even bigger hug as he came over. "You did amazing, water boy," she teased him with a soft laugh as she pulled back from the hug, one of her hands remaining on his forearm. "How many catches did you have tonight? Like a thousand, right?"
Someone needed to explain to him how she looked so amazing and cute in just jeans and a hoodie. Her boyfriend's hoodie, nonetheless, though he didn't like to think about that.
All he could do was smile and shrug, letting his arms fall back to his sides. "Thanks Annabeth, but it was only a few." He honestly had never been one to keep track of his stats when he was playing. A few of his teammates did every now and then, and that's really the only time he ever thought about it. "And honestly? I think I'll be doing a lot better now that I have my lucky gloves."
He gave her a big smile and held out his hands, showing her the blue gloves that had quickly become his personal favorite.
Her eyes brightened as well and she smacked his arm. "Good, Jackson. Because I expect a shit ton of touchdowns and everything else from you during the rest of the season," she said and puffed out her chest, putting on her "proud mom" act that he always teased her about.
He just laughed and shook his head, patting her on top of the head. "Of course wise girl. Just for you." She gave a satisfied smile at his response and nodded. "Piper brought her bigass car, so she's taking all of us home," she informed him as she tucked her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.
"But you need to change first. You smell like absolute shit."