Hey guys! Just so you know there's a lot of stuff that's going to happen before Percabeth does but I'll be throwing in some things here and there. I promise I'll make it worth it though. In the meantime you can read my other story because it's full of Percabeth *hint hint*. I was trying to get this up on Annabeth's birthday (July 12th) but I couldn't so here it is two days later haha. This is a pretty important chapter. Thanks for all the reviews on the last update!
Disclaimer: Don't own
The school week goes by pretty fast for Annabeth and before she knows it it's Friday and the weekend is just around the corner. For the most part the week went smoothly. She didn't have too many tests or graded assignments to do which was good. Practice was probably the only part of the week where things were kind of tense and uneasy. Unsurprisingly, Percy had managed to get under her skin all week. He would constantly annoy her by not using her actual name, being overly confident whenever they had to do a drill that he was particularly strong in and just overall pushing her to her limit. It was as if that one random act of kindness he'd shown by helping her with her books on Monday was some dream that had never happened.
In addition to having to share the rink with him, she also had to deal with constantly hearing Rachel flirting and batting her eyelashes at him every chance she got. It made her sick. Practice used to be the one part of the day she looked forward to the most, now it was more like her least favorite part. On the bright side though, she talked to her coach Christina and she said yes to allowing Annabeth to skate privately on the big rink after practice time was over. She was only permitted to on Saturdays after practice but she'd take what she could get.
She was currently on her way to her car that was sitting in the parking lot of Goode high school. Other students all around her swarm out of the building, all too excited for the end of the week. She hears several pieces of conversations with people talking animatedly about what they were going to do for the next two days. The school day was over and she was so looking forward to having her own individual practice time after getting through the team practices today and tomorrow. She smiles happily, there was light at the end of the tunnel.
She must have jinxed herself because about ten seconds later when she makes it to her parked car she notices that she has a flat tire. Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, you would just use the spare tire hidden in the car but what makes it unfortunate is the fact that she has no idea how to change a tire. These were the types of things they should've been learning in school, not imaginary numbers and quadratic formulas. She sighs in annoyance. She needed to get home so she could get dressed for practice. Her mother was out working and wouldn't be back until later tonight so calling her was out of the question. It didn't look like there was any other students around that she could ask for help even though just seconds ago there were tons. The amount of time it takes for students to exit a school building is incredible. She could walk home considering she lives pretty close. She would have to leave her car at the school but she could come pick it up later on tonight. Seeing no other solution, she starts on her walk home. She doesn't get a chance to leave the parking lot because a moment later she hears a voice call her name.
"Annabeth, wait up!" She turns around to see Luke jogging up to her. Her heartbeat picks up. She tries to appear as casual as possible so as to not let him know the affect he has on her. He stops running and stands about three feet in front of her.
"Hi Luke." She greets in a way she hopes doesn't come across as overly excited. He smiles at her, greeting her back and making her stomach flutter lightly.
"I saw you go to that car but then you started walking. Isn't it yours?" He asks, gesturing to her dark blue Toyota corolla. She blushes, realizing how weird it must've looked to see her walk up to her car but then leave without it.
"Yeah, it is. I just-I have a flat and I…don't know how to change a tire." She admits bashfully. He probably thought she was so stupid, not knowing how to do something as simple as changing a tire.
"Well lucky for you, I do. I'd be happy to help." He offers, not an ounce of displeasure apparent in his response. Annabeth looks up, grateful for his help.
"Can you? That'd be great, thank you so much."
He shrugs like it isn't a big deal before speaking, starting to slowly walk back towards her car. "Let's take a look."
When they get to the car Annabeth gets the spare tire out along with the wrench and tire jack. She hands the stuff to Luke who was examining the back tire that had gone flat.
"Do you have any wheel wedges?" He asks after a beat. Annabeth stares at him blankly, when it came to cars she was pretty clueless. He laughs, taking the silence as her answer.
"Hang on, I've got some in my car." He says, getting up to grab them from his own car. He returns with two small black plastic pieces that do indeed appear to be shaped like wedges you would see in a door. He places them safely under the tires before going to work. Annabeth feels pretty useless, not knowing anything that she can do to help. She surprises herself when she starts a conversation.
"So no wrestling practice today?" She asks, sitting down and leaning her back against the side of the car as he removes the hubcap and loosens the bolts on the tire.
"Nope. Coach has been pretty easy on us lately actually. We all think it's cause he's getting married." He replies, putting the tire jack underneath and beginning to raise it. Annabeth laughs at his words.
"Wish I could say that about my coach."
"You figure skate right? What's up at the rink?" He asks curiously, removing the flat tire and beginning to put the spare one on.
"Where do I even begin? The hockey team is now practicing with us so it's kind of a mess not to mention we have less space to practice for regionals." Annabeth explains hastily.
"It's really annoying. We have to practice drills together and actually try to get along oh and don't even get me started on the rotating schedule we have-" She stops speaking when she realizes how fast she's talking. Luke stares at her with his eyebrows raised.
"Sorry, you probably didn't need to know all that." She says, feeling her cheeks heat up.
He chuckles. "No it's cool. Sounds like it's pretty rough. Everything gets better with time though, you just have to believe it will."
"Did you get that off a greeting card or something?" She teases, not believing that he actually came up with that last sentence.
"Probably." He says causing both of them to burst out laughing. This was the first real conversation she'd had with Luke. Usually when they talked it was just a quick greeting or maybe to complain about a math test (the one class they shared).
He finishes tightening the nuts and bolts, lowering the car back into place and putting the hubcap back in its rightful spot before returning all the equipment. He holds his hand out to her and she takes it, letting herself be pulled up off the ground and into a standing position. His hands are soft in hers but she pulls her hand back after a minute, not wanting the situation to become awkward.
"So uh, thank you again for everything. You really saved me." She says, breaking the silence.
"No problem. Who wouldn't stop to help a pretty girl in need?" He responds, grinning towards her.
Annabeth can feel the fluttering stronger than ever in her stomach. Was it just her imagination or did Luke Castellan just call her pretty? Her cheeks redden again at the thought.
"So I'll see you…around then?" She says, finally finding her words.
"I hope so, I'll be looking forward to it. Bye Annabeth." He says, slowly making his way towards his black Camaro. She waves as he leaves, still feeling like she was floating on air.
Had he been…flirting with her? The smile grows on her lips as she ponders the thought. On the way back to her house the only image in her head is of a certain blond haired, blued eyed jock.
On Fridays the main area of focus during practice was speed. They started off sadly with many squat and lunge exercises in the dry room. Coach Hedge and Christina had told them the main way to improve your speed and maintain it was to strengthen your legs because that was what you used the most to skate. Therefore, they had set up a rotating exercise drill for them to do. The exercises weren't bad compared to all the conditioning Annabeth had to do that other day as a result of arguing with the Tridents team. That seemed like it was so long ago but it was actually only a week ago. She remembers that her muscles took days to recover from how sore they were.
She can't help it when her mind starts to drift off while she's doing lateral lunges. She finds herself thinking about her earlier encounter with Luke and smiles to herself. Not only had he done her a huge favor but he had also confirmed her thoughts on the fact that he was different from the rest of the popular group at school. He wasn't shallow and rude to others. Instead he was an honest nice guy.
"What's got you all smiley Annabeth? You're kinda starting to freak me out." Piper comments, walking over to stand next to her and starting to do lunges as well.
She tells Piper about the encounter, trying to recall it as best she can without making her face heat up at the memory. Piper's jaw drops when she's done explaining, grinning at her friend and trying not to be too loud when she lets out an un-human like sound in response.
"I told you he liked you! You really need to stop doubting me. I know these things." She says, pointing to herself to prove her point further.
"Well maybe but also…maybe not. He could've just been saying that to be nice." Annabeth responds hesitantly.
"Are you kidding me?! Listen to me." She stops in the middle of her stretches and takes hold of Annabeth's shoulders dramatically.
"He likes you." She says slowly, trying to get her point across to the blond. "One of you just needs to ask the other out already or I'll do it for you."
Annabeth's eyes widen in fear. "Don't, for the love of Gods, do that. Besides Pipes, I told you, I don't exactly have time for a boyfriend right now."
Piper sighs. "Excuses, excuses."
Annabeth laughs at her friend, moving on to squats and feeling her legs start to burn from the movements. The sound of a whistle blowing interrupts her work out.
"Alright everyone back to the big rink for the remainder of practice!" Coach Hedge shouts, grabbing the attention of everyone in the crowded room.
When they get back to the rink after a short break for water and after changing their sneakers for skates they're told to make a line again across the width of the ice. Christina gets their attention, shouting loudly across the room.
"We've decided that we're going to hold a little friendly competition. We know the last few days have been rough so why not end Friday on a high note?" Looks of relief and excitement are seen in the faces of both the figure skaters and the hockey team. Annabeth loved competition. She'll admit that sometimes she could get a bit too competitive but that's what made her determination all the more stronger.
"You'll be split up into two teams. And no, before you start forming your teams, we'll be choosing them for you. There will be an equal mix of both my skaters and Coach Hedge's team. Since today's practice is speed each one of you will be trying to skate as fast as you can once around the perimeter of the rink before tagging the next person in line's hand so they can go. When you get to the last skater, that person will be doing two laps on the ice before coming to a full stop and joining their respective team. Both Coach Hedge and I will be standing at each teams completed lap finish line for the next person to go. I expect you all to work together." Christina explains, starting to count us off into two separate teams.
When the two teams are formed there's an equal amount of fourteen people on each. The ratio of figure skaters and hockey players is very close if not perfectly even. Almost right away Annabeth notices something that concerns her. Percy Jackson was on the opposing team and she knew that he was the biggest threat being as he was said to be the strongest player on the hockey team and he was faster than anyone else.
Both teams form huddles to discuss the order each of the skaters was going to be in. There's a lot of arguments that emerge from the groups at first, especially on the subject of who was going to be the last person in line. When Annabeth hears her name come up she instantly focuses her attention closely.
"I'm telling you. The other team is obviously going to put Percy last and we need to put Annabeth last. She's the strongest skater on this team and I for one think if anyone has a chance against Percy it's her." One of the figure skaters, Addison, states. Some of the hockey players on her side of the rink argue with the statement. Leo surprises everyone with his words when he finally speaks up.
"I think she's right. Guys we've skated against Percy in drills before and remember how well that turned out for us? We should let Annabeth do it, she's a good skater from what I've seen in our joined practices." He says, addressing his hockey teammates.
Annabeth turns to look at the curly haired boy, her facial expression showing nothing but surprise. She sure wasn't expecting that from one of the hockey players.
"Thanks Leo." She says. He nods in her direction before going back to discussing the rest of the racing positions in line. They finish a moment later and so does the opposing team. When they're in line Coach Hedge calls it and with one final blow of his whistle, they're off.
The next few minutes are a blur, literally, as many skaters speed past them. People could be heard cheering for their teammates loudly. Annabeth looks across the ice to indeed see Percy standing last in line, waiting for his turn. He looks up and catches her eye. She sees a spark of competition light up in his orbs as a look of determination spreads across his face. A crooked grin forms on his lips and he shakes his head back and fourth as if in disbelief. If he thought it was going to be easy to beat her he had another thing coming.
When it comes down to the last two people in line Annabeth gets ready, making sure her skates are snug on her feet. The two teams were close, either one of them could easily win. She knew it was going to come down to her and Percy to determine which team won. Jason, one of the hockey players second to last in her team takes his turn, gliding across the ice easily. She sticks her hand out so he can tag it and sees Percy in the corner of her eye doing the same but to Rachel who was second to last for their team.
When Jason tags her hand she shoots off, trying to gather as much speed as she can and not bothering to see if Percy had left. After completing her first lap she notices him for the first time, having completed his lap as well. They had different ending lines on either side of the ice rink so she wouldn't know who had won until she finished. Wind blows across her face as the blades of her skates make continuous contact with the ice. By the noise coming from the other skaters she could tell they were really close. She hears a loud applause come from the opposing side right before she crosses her end line.
She comes to a complete stop, breathing heavily and turning to face her team who were applauding her. When she looks over to the coaches they blow their whistles before speaking.
"This side wins!" Coach Hedge announces, pointing to the side where Percy was standing, being given claps on the back and high fives from his team. Annabeth's heart sinks a little at the sight. She hadn't been able to beat him.
She's snapped out of it when other figure skaters come up to her, bringing her in for short hugs and the hockey players on her team high fiving her as well.
"You did amazing Annabeth! It was a great race." Piper tells her, nudging her comfortingly.
"No, seriously Annabeth. I don't think anyone has ever come that close to beating Percy in a race." Jason adds, the other hockey players nod in agreement.
"Thanks guys." She says, not really used to all the attention. The other skaters join them a second later, forming one big group again. She doesn't notice Percy skate up to her until he's right next to her.
"If you've come over here to gloat about winning you can save it. We all know you've won." Annabeth says, cutting him off before he can say anything.
He has the nerve to chuckle at her words before responding. "Relax Princess. I was actually coming over here because I wanted to say that it was a good race. You…you're a good skater."
He mumbles the last part but Annabeth still hears it. Despite the fact that he had called her Princess, he had said something nice to her for once and it takes her completely off guard.
"Oh, uh thanks…you're a good skater too." She says awkwardly. When she takes a look around she notices a fair amount of the figure skaters talking with some of the hockey players about the race. The activity seemed to have broken some of the tension between the groups. Was the coaches plan actually starting to work? Of course there was still a clear divide between the teams but it didn't seem to be as strong.
"Thanks." He says, beginning to turn around to the others. Annabeth shocks herself when she speaks up, stopping him.
"Jackson." She shouts. He pauses in his tracks and turns back around to face her with a curious look on his face.
"I want a rematch soon." She comments, her competitive side showing. A hint of a smile crosses his lips and his eyes flash with something undecipherable.
"Anytime, anywhere." He replies smugly. He walks towards his other teammates without another word.
Annabeth didn't know it yet but that day would be the day her feud with the green-eyed hockey player became just a tiny bit less of a rivalry.
There you have it, chapter 5! Tell me what you thought. Please guys, I read all of the reviews I get and they motivate me to write faster so I can get more content up for all of you. In other words, how fast I update depends on how many reviews I get! Let's try for at least another 15 on this chapter, for the last one we got 17! Love you all and I'll see you soon!
REVIEW, REVIEW AND REVIEW!
-M