vi. Percy
She's so annoying, Percy thinks as he picks up the paper containing the first lesson. Then, he looks at the other papers scattered on his bed. But so thorough.
In all honesty, Percy still thinks that maybe he's dreaming, because there's no way that Annabeth is now helping him, even if this is somehow coated in sarcastic remarks and ridiculous demands (like giving him homework). When he went to ask for her help in mythology class that day, his mind was running a thousand miles a minute to actually comprehend what he's doing. Once lunch rolled out did he just realize that he really tried to ask for her help. Which was probably the most embarrassing thing he has ever done.
Asking Annabeth Chase for help? Pshhh.
Then the events just followed, and next thing he knew, he was signing up for a fake dating agreement with the enemy. THE Enemy.
For a second, he contemplates not doing any of the steps written on the lesson plan. After all, Annabeth might be sabotaging his plan of dating Rachel, and instead of making him better, she might be making him worse. But then, he figures that she's not that evil to do such a thing, even if she's a little short-tempered and rude.
So he picks up the first lesson and tries to soak up as much as he can.
The next day, when Percy goes to school, he's a little afraid to admit that he's more self-conscious than usual.
He's not wearing his glasses, and the dark green shirt Annabeth suggested he wear clings to his skin more than he likes to. He doesn't really know how wearing this will make him look more appealing to the eyes, because, to be honest, he feels a little stupid.
But when he accidentally bumps to a girl from his English class in the hallway, he changes his mind.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" A voice screeches.
"I'm sorry. I really didn't see you—"
"Percy Jackson?" The girl asks suddenly as she peers at him. "From Mr. Blofis' class?"
"Uh, yeah." Percy reaches up and rubs the back of his neck since he could not push back his glasses.
Her eyes gaze at him from head to toe, then she grins. "Would you look at that? You clean up nicely, after all."
Did he just—did he just get complimented?
"Um, thanks," he says, his cheeks a little flushed.
Out of nowhere, he feels a pinch on his side, and she winks at him. "If you ever need help in English, you know who to ask."
He can only muster a nod, then she's already waving goodbye.
Woah. That was out of the ordinary. For all his stay in Goode, he never really got a wink from anyone (except maybe for Leo, whose eyes are always twitching, anyway).
But that? That is something new to him.
Grover sidles up to him, talking about the latest campaign his club is going to host, as Percy picks up the rest of his books from his locker. Grover hasn't seen him yet.
"Y'know, I really like this fun run drive we're hosting. I mean, I know I couldn't run because duh, crutches, but the importance of this program is—woah."
"Hello, G-man," Percy greets.
Grover squints his eyes at him. "Am I talking to the right Percy Jackson?"
"Of course. Who did you think I was?"
"Are you sure you're not an imposter or something? Y'know, cos my best friend has glasses and has this really bad style of clothing."
"I didn't think it was that bad."
"Uh, sure it was."
Nico, Percy's cousin, who happens to pass by the hallway, takes a look at him and smirks. "Hey, you actually look human today, Perce."
"Says the zombie," he retorts.
"Fuck off," Nico says, then walks away.
"I'll never understand your weird cousin dynamics," Grover comments, as he shakes his head at them. "So, is this part of your new grooming tactics or...?"
Percy tucks his hands to his jeans and shrugs. "Well, I just decided to change a few styles, and ditch my glasses. Nothing major."
"For what reason?"
"I mean, I just wanted a change from a typical Percy combination. This being a new school year and all."
"Are you sure it's not just to impress Rachel?"
"Uh, umm..," He fumbles for the next words, not sure how to phrase the fact that it is indeed for Rachel, but without revealing his fake dating ploy with Annabeth. "...actually, I've—I've moved on from her."
Grover is so surprised he loses his grip on his crutches for a second. With wide and unbelieving eyes, he stares at Percy. Then, he pokes him on the chest. "No shit man. You aren't Percy."
"You're crazy. I am Percy."
The bell rings, and any retort Grover has is lost among the noise in the hallways. Percy calls in a goodbye to his friend and rushes to his first subject. When he arrives, Annabeth is already sitting and she pays him no attention as he sits on his chair.
Huh. Looks like they're gonna be that couple. Anyway, that works for him, since he doesn't have to explain much to his friends.
However, right after the class ends, instead of directly going outside the classroom, she lingers by his desk. This is no surprise for the students who are still inside the classroom since it is normal to see them arguing after class. But what sends their jaw dropping to the ground is when Annabeth gives him a bashful smile (bashful! He didn't know she was capable of faking that!) and mutters, "I'll see you later at lunch."
To be fair, Percy is quite surprised himself, and much more are the classmates who have witnessed the interaction. Thankfully, no one dared to ask him questions, but he can see the wary and amused faces of their classmates. He gives them an awkward smile which almost turns into a grimace when he sees Annabeth's smirking face by the door.
Ugh. The nerve of that girl.
When the lunch bell rings, he almost forgets Annabeth's little stint after mythology class. A number of his classmates have noticed his new appearance, and their positive comments have uplifted his mood for the first half of the day.
"Hey, you look extra dashing today, Percy," Piper says as she takes in his appearance. She smirks when she notices the flush on his cheeks. "Got a hot date?"
Jason, who apparently, overheard the comment says, "Psh. Percy with a hot date? Never."
Piper pinches Jason on the arm. Weirdly enough, the blonde's cheeks turn red. "Don't be mean to him. All my friends are capable of a hot date."
"Say it louder, Pipes!" Leo exclaims.
Just then, Percy's object of affections arrives in a mass of red curls. Rachel looks good today, just as she does always. She beams at everyone when she arrives at their table. "What are you guys talking about?"
"We're talking about how Percy looks dashing today, and whether he is capable of a hot date," Piper says.
Rachel's gaze focuses on Percy, and she smiles at him. "Yeah. I noticed that too."
He's so absorbed with her blinding smile that he fails to recognize the new voice that joins in the conversation, up until he feels a hand squeezing on his shoulder.
"Hey, I told you I'd see you during lunch," Annabeth says to him, and without waiting for a response, leans closer to press a kiss on his cheek.
Woah. Just what.
Seriously, a kiss? On his cheek?
The action makes him stiffen in surprise because really, he did not see that coming. However, this does not escape Annabeth's eyes as she gives his shoulder a tighter squeeze as a warning. But it seems that the Fates are on his side today since his friends are apparently too stunned to take notice of his reaction.
Really, a warning would have been nice next time.
Piper recovers quicker than the rest and stares at Annabeth like she expects her to suddenly wage war on their table. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"
Annabeth looks at him and smiles a little tightly. "I'm guessing you haven't told them yet?"
"Haven't told us what?" Grover asks once he swallows his enchilada.
Underneath the table, Annabeth pinches his thighs, and glances at him as if saying, 'you tell them.' He swallows down his nerves and avoids Rachel's eyes.
"Uh, surprise! Annabeth's kind of...um, my girlfriend now."
As if to prove the point, Annabeth interlaces her fingers with his, but he still stiffens with the alien feeling. This time, Rachel catches the reaction with her eyes.
"Girlfriend," Leo repeats, and he gestures to the two of them. "So, um, the two of you are dating now?"
"Yes. Believe or not," Annabeth answers with a tight smile.
"Um, cool." Leo mutters under his breath, 'I believe it not.' Jason shoots him a look. "Congrats Percy and Annabeth. I'm glad that you've, uh...put the past behind you."
"Righttt," Piper agrees way too enthusiastic. "When did this happen?"
Percy answers "yesterday" at the same time Annabeth says "last week." At this, she sends him a knowing look while proceeding to create an excuse. "So, we actually got together last week, but knowing our past, we were hesitant to take a step forward. So we waited for a while then decided to make it official yesterday."
Percy nods his agreement.
"Oh, that's...great."
The rest of the lunch is filled with a weird and tense silence. That's the only way he can describe it. Once the lunchtime ends, Annabeth bids him goodbye with a little smile and an awkward wave to his friends.
"Did that just literally happen?" Jason asks once she's out of earshot. He stares at Percy. "Seriously, you two are dating now?"
"Is it so hard to believe that we do?"
"Um, duh. Did you forget the fact that you were fighting like cats and dogs three days ago?"
"Well, bantering is our form of flirting. And besides, the more you hate, the more you love, right?" Percy shrugs with a smile. His friends just stare at him blankly.
"That's the most messed up thing you've said. Anyways, I'm going. Bye Perce," Grover comments, and hobbles out from the cafeteria. The rest of his friends also file out, muttering goodbyes and half-hearted congratulations. Except for Rachel, who remains seated from where she arrived an hour ago.
"Percy, can we talk?" Rachel asks, then peers at the area around her. The cafeteria is almost empty, but there are still some people lingering on the sides. "Preferably somewhere private."
There's a weight on his stomach, and his nerves suddenly feel on edge. "Okay," he croaks out, then follows her out of the cafeteria. She leads him to an empty classroom in a hallway that's not frequented by people.
Rachel closes the door and crosses her arms in front of her chest. There's a determined look in her eyes and a little anger that Percy really doesn't want to face.
"What are we doing here?" he asks.
"I need you to be honest with me, Percy," she says, then fixes him a stare. "Is Annabeth setting you up for this? Is she manipulating you to act as her boyfriend?"
Percy's mind reels. What? He takes a moment to shake his head because he did not really expect that question. But this moment of hesitation seems to spur Rachel on.
"I mean, she may not look like it, but she can be very manipulative. And I don't want you to be at the end of her games. She can harm you."
"Okay, wait. No," Percy says. This is all going the wrong way. "Annabeth is not using me, nor is she manipulating me. We agreed to go out because we liked each other, even if it may not look like it. No one's using the other, okay?"
"But why do you freeze when she touches you? Like she's repulsive to you?"
Percy internally flinches because that wasn't intentional at all. It's an after effect of what happened to him on the past, and even though he is getting better, the muscle memory still remains. He's not ready to tell Rachel any of it, so he makes a statement that is not entirely a lie.
"To be fair, I'm still getting used to the physical touches couples do when they're together. And Annabeth's my first girlfriend, so it may take some time for me to adjust."
Rachel nods hesitantly like she still doesn't fully believe what he's saying but is willing to let it go. "Okay, fine. But are you really sure? You know you can always ask me to trip her on track practice or something if she does hurt you in one way or another."
"Right. I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he says with a smile. "Thanks for worrying about me, anyway."
"Of course. You're my friend."
This time the smile Rachel sends him feels like a knife to the heart.
"That could've gone way worse," Percy amends as he watches Annabeth pace up and down to his room. She had ambushed him yet again right after he got out of his last class, so he had to make up an excuse for his friends that he couldn't join them.
"It was the worst!" Annabeth exclaims. "They looked at me like I literally kicked a puppy when you introduced me as your girlfriend."
"Well, you were rude to me a lot of times so..." he stops talking once he sees the deadly glare she's giving him. "They were probably just caught off-guard. I mean, we just fought like we couldn't be around each other three days ago."
"Plus, we almost messed up with our inconsistent answers!" She falls back to his bed with a groan. "God! I can't believe I forgot to create a backstory."
"Good thing they're too stunned to question us properly then." Percy scrunches his eyebrows as he remembers their reactions. "But I don't think that they really bought this dating thing."
"Yeah. It was evident on their faces," she agrees. He nods.
"By the way, why are you always flinching whenever I touch you? It doesn't look good if we want to convince them that we're really dating," Annabeth asks. She stares at him, but he avoids her eyes.
"I'm—I'm not really used to physical touches," he lies. He can feel Annabeth's eyes on him, probably thinking whether to call out his BS or not, because back when they still got each other's backs, they used to touch all the time. Hugs, friendly punches, anything really.
"You never minded before."
That's different, he wants to say. He doesn't really know whether to tell her or not that she'd been right about Gabe all along. No, he decides, because she doesn't deserve to know after she left him unguarded in the dark.
This time, he looks at her in the eyes. "Yeah, but you were never a stranger then."
She sucks in a breath and sits up facing away from him. "Stranger, huh?"
"You did say that we can't be friends."
"You're right." She turns to him. "But that doesn't mean we can't be acquaintances."
He raises an eyebrow at her. She does the same.
Annabeth shrugs and asks, "So, tell me something new about yourself."
"Why?"
"So we can be acquaintances and no longer strangers to each other," she answers. He contemplates this for a moment.
"I like dolphins," he says, after a while.
"That wasn't new."
"I got a scraped knee after tripping on the bushes in fourth grade."
"I know that already."
"What? How?"
"That's because I was the one who pushed you."
"I knew that wasn't an accident."
She smirks. "Come on. Tell me something new."
"You probably knew everything about me already."
"Lie. I've only known you for half of your life, and that still leaves the other half."
"Fine. I tried eating olive pizza, and I've got to admit that it wasn't as bad as I've expected."
"Really? I knew you would like it. Nobody hates olive pizza," Annabeth says with a grin.
He rolls his eyes. "I never said I like it. I just said that it wasn't that bad."
"Sounds the same to me. Anyway," she clears her throat. "As for me, I once switched a girl's shampoo for glue because she was being rude to all of us. In short, her hair became a sticky mess."
"Savage," Percy comments. "I didn't know you had it in you."
She shrugs. "Well, she was being mean. Somebody ought to give her a lesson."
"Through a sticky hair?"
"Through a sticky hair." Annabeth reaches her hand out to him. "Now that we know one thing new about the other, we're no longer strangers. I suppose this will make you less nervous?"
He shrugs. "Maybe."
She intertwines her fingers with his own. Her hand, although tanned, still looks pale in comparison to his bronze ones. This time, when she squeezes, he doesn't flinch.
"You have small hands," he comments.
Annabeth chuckles. "I don't. Yours are just long." She looks at their hands, where his fingers almost engulf her own. "To be fair, I never really expected you to grow taller than me."
"Ye girl of little faith."
"I have a lot of faith."
"Really, huh?"
"Just not in you."
"You're mean," Percy says, and let goes of her hand to pinch her.
She glares at him for a moment but slides her fingers back with his. He startles but it's barely noticeable. Yet she has known anyway.
Her gray eyes meet his. "I want you to hold my hand until you get used to the feeling, okay?"
Looking at their intertwined hands and their first civil conversation in a while, he smiles.
"Sure."
He can get used to this alright.
A/N: Hello! I had some fun writing this chapter because it's generally light and fluffy. (I LOVE writing fluff). Also, this is a 'little' longer than my usual chapter length so I hoped you appreciated that.
And I'd just like to greet everyone "Happy Holidays!" Hope you all are doing great, and please don't forget to leave a comment or anything really. I always look forward to feedback from you guys.
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Thisisawesomess1825