Hey guys! I tried to get this chapter done as soon as I could for you guys because I know you're dying to read more. I'm happy with the way it turned out and I hope you all like it! We got so many new readers to this story so welcome everyone! On another note, I FINALLY found time to buy and read the third book of the Trials of Apollo series (The Burning Maze) and I don't want to spoil it for anyone but let me just tell you that I am very VERY upset with Uncle Rick right now! I need to rant with someone so please feel free to PM me because I am not ok right now! Sorry, ok I'm done enjoy this chapter!
Review Responses:
HHQFandoms: Aww thank you so much! Yeah I try to keep the pacing as realistic as I can. Rachel's like that because pretty much every story has a villain right? I just felt it added something to the plot
The Immortal Shinigami: You're review made me literally laugh out loud! Yeah I could never read fanfiction at work I'd probably fangirl so hard and confuse everyone haha. Glad you like the story!
PrincessWiseGirl: Welcome to The Rink family! So happy you like my writing and read this whole thing in one sitting! That's so impressive! Enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Don't own
Annabeth walked into school the next day unsure of where she stood with a certain captain of the Trident's hockey team. Don't get her wrong, the night before had practically been a fairy tale and she still felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach whenever she thought about the whole ordeal but she was now super confused as to what they were. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't know if she was ready to get into a relationship. She didn't know if she should. Annabeth knew she kind of left Percy in the dark when she rushed inside after their kiss, barely saying anything before closing the door on him. She felt bad but there was a reason she'd done so. The thought of being with someone who she cared about so much and giving them the ability to break her heart scared her.
Annabeth was so deep in thought, she almost ran straight into Thalia who was busy talking to Piper, Calypso and Nico about something near a set of lockers. She approached her group of friends and they all smiled when they saw her.
"Hey Annabeth. Maybe you can settle this debate for us. Nico claims that black is a color but isn't it like, no color?" Piper asked, turning towards her blonde friend for an answer.
Annabeth's eyebrows shot up in amusement. "You guys had nothing better to talk about than trying to figure out if black was a color or not?"
"Just answer the question. These two are giving me a headache." Thalia mumbled, massaging the sides of her forehead. Annabeth found it odd that her best friend was at school earlier than the bell for first period but she didn't question it.
"Well technically Piper's right. Black is considered the absence of color just like how white is considered all the colors of the rainbow combined." Annabeth explained after another minute. Piper grinned triumphantly, shooting Nico a cocky look.
"What?! Then why do we have black and white crayons? I swear I will never understand the world we live in." Nico stated dramatically.
"Dramatic much? You've been spending way too much time with Will." Calypso joked. Annabeth laughed along with her.
Before anything else could be said, the person Annabeth had been thinking about since she woke up that morning emerged through the front doors of the high school. She couldn't help it, her eyes drifted to where he was.
Walking in between Jason Grace and Leo Valdez, Percy Jackson stood laughing at something one of his friends had said. He looked undeniably attractive as he did pretty much every day. He was wearing his usual black scuffed converse and a pair of dark washed jeans from the waist down. From the waist up he had on a grey t-shirt with a black leather jacket hoodie over top with the grey hood sticking out of the leather. He was holding only one of the two straps from his backpack on his shoulder as he walked down the crowded hallway.
Annabeth wasn't the only one who turned around when she saw him. Practically every girl within a mile radius was fixing their hair or smiling flirtatiously towards him. She really couldn't blame them.
Percy didn't hang out with the same people he used to before but that didn't mean he'd lost any of his popularity at Goode High even though that's what his goal was. If anything his popularity had increased since he'd left those people.
He was nice to just about everyone he came across. He tried getting to know anyone he could, especially the people he used to disregard when he was with the stuck up populars. Annabeth had even seen him helping a few freshmen with their stubborn lockers and defending a grade ten boy who was getting bullied by his former 'friends' last week. People adored him because of that and he didn't even know it. Not to mention, he was the captain of the school's hockey team that was now going to states. If that didn't make him popular Annabeth didn't know what did.
As the three males got closer to Annabeth and her group of friends, she saw Piper wave to her boyfriend. Jason waved back and then nudged Percy and Leo, gesturing for them to follow him to the group. Annabeth felt nerves building up in her stomach. Percy hadn't spotted her yet. He was busy talking to Leo about something while blindly following Jason.
She turned back around to her friends, not wanting to look like she was swooning over Percy even though she had been. She noticed for the first time that Will had joined them. Wow she must've really been spaced out to have completely missed him joining the group. He was standing next to Nico, an arm draped around his boyfriend lazily.
"Morning Pipes." Jason greeted his girlfriend sweetly, lacing his fingers with hers and pecking Piper's forehead. She smiled and leaned into his touch.
Annabeth noticed Calypso walk up to Leo who grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist smugly. The two of them had become an official couple a few days ago and everyone was happy for them. Piper had even come up with a couple name for them: Caleo. Calypso despised the idea of their names combined but Leo seemed to love it.
The grey-eyed girl felt someone staring at her. When she moved her gaze from the ground up to the culprit she wasn't surprised when her eyes met a pair of sea green ones. His lips parted to form a smile and Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. She grinned just as widely back.
"Hey" He started.
"Hey yourself" She replied teasingly.
His gaze never left hers. Throughout the short exchange Annabeth failed to notice Will Solace staring wide-eyed and gawking at the two of them. None of the others seemed to be paying attention to the fact that the blonde girl and the raven-haired boy couldn't stop smiling at each other but he'd noticed. Something had definitely changed between them and he would damned if he didn't force Annabeth to spill the beans.
With that objective in mind, the sun-kissed male cleared his throat rather loudly before speaking.
"Well first period starts soon so we should probably start walking! Come on Annabeth!" Nico's boyfriend shouted loud enough for Annabeth to come out of her trance and stare at Will confusedly.
"But the bell hasn't even rung yet. And you're not even in my first per-"
"See ya later!" Will said, cutting Annabeth off and taking her arm, practically dragging her along with him down the hall.
When they were out of sight from the others, Will unceremoniously tightened his grip on the blonde and pulled her into an empty classroom. Annabeth, now confused out of her mind, stared wide-eyed at the boy in front of her.
"Spill. Now." Will ordered, crossing his arms over his chest and moving to stand in front of the closed door so Annabeth couldn't leave.
"What?" She said, clearly lost with the whole situation.
"Oh don't you 'what' me missy! What the hell happened between you and Percy?!" He yelled insistently.
Annabeth blushed, further confirming Will's suspicions.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She claimed stubbornly.
"Oh please I wasn't born yesterday. You two couldn't keep your eyes off each other this morning. Not to mention you completely spaced out when I said hi to you this morning because you were too busy undressing him with your eyes!"
"Will!" Annabeth smacked his arm, blushing harder after hearing his words.
"What? I mean I don't blame you. The guy's practically a God! If he were gay Nico would definitely have some competition. Don't tell him I said that though."
Annabeth looked down, rolling her eyes at her friend's sassy attitude. They stood there for a few seconds without saying anything. She knew he was waiting for her to say something. She hadn't told anyone about the kiss yet. She pondered the thought of telling Will. It didn't seem like that bad of idea and it wasn't like he was going to leave her alone until she said something.
"Fine! So maybe something did happen. We, well we kinda sorta…"
"Spit it out Chase!"
"We kissed." She said quietly, biting her lip to hide her smile as she looked at her shoes. There was a moment of silence. Will's reaction was priceless.
"WHAT?!"
"I-I said-"
"YOU AND PERCY KISSED?!" Will shouted, taking hold of Annabeth's shoulders.
"Shhhhh! Announce it to the whole school why don't you?"
"Wha- When did this happen? Where did this happen?! I need details!" He added, shaking her shoulders and staring intensely into her eyes.
Annabeth sighed. "It happened last night, he-"
"Last night?!"
She shot him a look before continuing. "Yes, last night. I was getting ready to go to bed and I heard someone throwing rocks at my window. I opened the window and saw him there-"
"But it was raining last night. He went to see you in the pouring rain?! " Will cooed excitedly.
"Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?" Annabeth said, faking annoyance because she herself was being reminded of how sweet of a gesture Percy made.
"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. Shutting up now." Will stated, pretending to zip his mouth shut and throw out a fake key behind his back.
"Anyways, I saw him standing below my window. He started saying all these incredibly sweet things about how he couldn't distance himself from me even if he wanted to. Eventually it got to the point where I felt the urge to see him from closer. So I joined him outside in my sweats and forgave him for everything that happened at Silena's party. It started raining harder and even though we were both soaking wet we ran under my porch. Then there was a…a moment between us. Next thing I knew he was leaning in to kiss me and I let him."
When she was done she wasn't the only one who had a cheshire smile on her face. Annabeth could see that Will was practically dying of the urge to speak so she gestured for him to talk after she was finished.
Before speaking the boy in front of her made possibly the most high- pitched sound Annabeth had ever heard and jumped up and down a few times happily. She was starting to think Will was more invested in the situation than she was.
"You kissed in the rain?! Dear Gods my Percabeth heart! You two are killing me right now. It's like you're living some type of romantic fantasy!" Will squeaked out. He was in total fangirl mode.
Annabeth laughed. "Yeah…maybe." She said unsurely
"Whoa, wow, wow. What do you mean by maybe? Percy Jackson aka the school's number one hottie kissed you in the freaking RAIN! Why do you sound so unsure of something? Oh no was the kiss bad? Do you not like him like that? Did he-"
"Will slow down!" Annabeth said, cutting him off from his rant.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just…why the conflicted face? I thought you liked him."
She sighed again. "I do."
"Then what's the problem?"
"I just…I don't know if it's such a good idea. I've only had one other boyfriend in my life and it was just a fling back in grade nine. With Percy it's like everything's different. I can see myself falling in love with him and that scares the hell out of me. We only have half of senior year and the summer left before college. I-I don't know what I'm going to do Will."
He shot her an apologetic look before placing his hands on the sides of her arms comfortingly. She smiled sadly at him and waited for him to say something.
"Look this is going to sound super cheesy but if you want to be with him Annabeth then be with him. He clearly wants to be with you. You can't live your life if you're always afraid of the future and what's to come. Live in the moment and follow your heart because it makes life so much easier."
Annabeth furrowed her brows. She had no idea who the person standing before her was. One minute he was freaking out over her kiss with Percy and the next he was all serious and wise. Who knew Will Solace had a way with words.
"Did you get that from a Disney show or something?" She finally said.
Will laughed and shook his head. "Just think about what I said ok? I've seen the way you act around Percy. You two would be great together so don't let something as small as fear get in the way of that."
Annabeth smiled warmly at him, surprising herself by bringing him in for a hug. She was glad she told him, she felt like a small weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She thought deeply about what he said to her. Maybe he was right, she shouldn't let fear control her life. Right at that moment the bell for first period went off.
What a morning.
The rest of the school day went by like normal. Since the rain had stopped there was skating practice that day for both teams like usual. Even though Rachel and Annabeth were the only two girls moving on to the state competition the team still had practice together year round. The only thing that had changed was the fact that Rachel and Annabeth got their own private practice each day at a certain time.
They practiced various jumps and cross over drills during the team practice in the small rink that day. For her individual practice afterwards, Annabeth continued working on her routine with the help of Christina. Her coach had told her that picking a song and then relating it to something personal to skate to made for an incredible performance. That was why Annabeth had decided to dig deep into her past for her performance. She had to have hope that she could handle the routine without getting lost emotionally.
When it was Rachel's turn to practice her routine Annabeth changed into her street clothes and started her trek over to her car in the parking lot of the rink. As she was shouldering her duffle bag and getting her keys out to unlock the car, someone shouted from behind her.
"Annabeth wait up!"
She knew the voice all too well. She stopped and turned around to find the one and only Percy Jackson jogging towards her, hockey duffle bag resting on his shoulder. When he caught up to her the two smiled at each other before starting to walk again. Annabeth blushed and kicked the ground with her foot nervously. Percy placed his hands in his pockets.
"Hey" She said quietly.
"Hey yourself" He replied, repeating their encounter from this morning. Annabeth smiled shyly.
When they got to her car she saw that Percy was parked in the spot right next to her. Had that been a coincidence or on purpose? She would never know. He turned towards her once they were stopped in front of the vehicle.
"Did your practice run late today?" She asked. All the other Trident's players were no where to be found and usually they got out when the figure skating team did which would have been an hour ago.
"No I just thought I'd wait till you got out."
Annabeth smiled, feeling more heat rush to her cheeks. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously and looked up at him.
"You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to." He said honestly.
There was a moment where neither one of them said anything. Annabeth lent against the door of her car and then Percy took a deep breath.
"So listen, I wanted to ask you something." He said, running a hand through his head and scratching the back of his neck.
"Y-yes?" Annabeth stuttered out. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to ask her. He cleared his throat.
"Would you uh, maybe want to um… go out sometime?" He stumbled on his words.
"Like on a date?" Annabeth teased. He was adorable when he was insecure.
"…Yeah. I mean it doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be! I just- you know I thought since because of last night and the whole you know moment that you-"
Annabeth laughed, cutting off his nervous rant. Percy shyly looked down at his shoes.
"You're laughing at me"
"I am not!" She argued even though she was laughing silently.
"I'd love to go out with you Percy" The sea green eyed boy's gaze shot up to meet hers excitedly.
"You would?"
She nodded. "Yeah. But its just-"
"Oh no there's a but." He said in a defeated tone.
"I just- I'm scared…" She whispered just loud enough for him to hear. She hated being vulnerable in front of anyone but she knew he deserved to know the truth.
He looked confused at first but after a few seconds he started to understand what she meant. His eyes shined with something unknown. He adjusted the strap from his duffle bag on his shoulder and took one of her hands in his, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand delicately before speaking.
"Annabeth I'm not the guy I used to be, I've changed. You've made me into a better person. I know the old me was someone who dated a new girl every week and hung out with the wrong crowd but you have to believe me when I say everything is different with you." He started.
"You're so different from any other girl I've met and I would never want to hurt you. I'll be honest… I'm scared too. I've never felt this way about anyone. No one can predict the future but if there's one thing I'm sure of it's that I want to be with you." He took a step closer to her.
"I'm not saying that we have to make anything official right away. Just go on a date with me this Friday and then we can go from there." He said lowly.
"So what do you say Princess, take a risk with me?" He kept ahold of her hand and interlaced their fingers.
At that point he was looking at her with so much honesty and intensity that Annabeth found herself being completely captivated by him. She felt the nerves in her stomach disappearing as she stared right back at him. She thought about what Will had told her this morning and what Percy had just finished telling her.
"Ok." She said at last.
And that's all for chapter 30! What did you guys think? Percy's such a sweet guy! Writing the scene with Will was really fun. He hasn't had much of a role in this story so far so I wanted to include something with him. He's one of my favorite characters to write! And let's not forget the fact that Percabeth will be going on their first date very soon! Hit that review button and tell me your thoughts! You guys have been killing it lately with the reviews! Love you all!
REVIEW, REVIEW AND REVIEW!
-M