Annabeth Pov
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*. My eyes snapped open almost instantly, grogginess still clouded my vision as I turned it off. With a heavy sigh I flung my covers off to get ready for the day, the same old routine swimming in my head as I did so. Tuesdays were always more tiring than Mondays in my opinion, something about them just didn't sit right with me. This was what my brain was thinking about when I pulled into Thalia's and Jason's driveway, but today only Thalia was standing in the pavement.
"Where's Jason?He's already running late on the second day?" I asked as Thalia climbed into the front seat. She just looked at me and shook her head laughing.
"I guess that new kid Jackson hit him pretty good during practice yesterday. He's just running a bit slow, he'll be here soon". She was chuckling as she spoke, clearly enjoying the pain that her brother was in. As if he heard us speaking about him Jason was slowly making his way down the driveway. I couldn't tell anything was different except the speed he was walking.
"Jeez Jace did he really hit you that hard that you had to move at the speed of a snail?" I asked as Jason opened the back door. Thalia was also smiling, looking in the rear view mirror for her brothers reaction.
"Oh, haha. So funny you two." Jason said with a grimace on his face as he lowered his body into the back seat. "If it wasn't for your little argument", he continued, "then maybe that freak wouldn't have been so pissed yesterday". This made me scrunch my eyebrows together in confusion.
"What are you talking about?Me and Percy got along great yesterday. We even pulled that little stunt to get us out of trouble for - OHHH." I whipped my head around to look at Jason. "We faked that argument-so we wouldn't be in trouble for missing half the class. We figured if the coach saw us already pissed at each other he wouldn't punish us farther". Jason's eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of his socket. While Thalia just burst into laughter.
"Are you serious!? I thought he was just being a douche." Jason put his hands in his head. "Me and some of the guys even said something, which is obviously why he was pissed. He didn't even do anything wrong and we were being rude." He shook his head, seeming defeated. Thalia turned in her seat to rub his head.
"Hey, it's okay. You didn't know that, you were just trying to be a good friend for Annabeth." She gave him a small smile as she patted his head.
"Isn't he not supposed to hit you anyway?" I asked him as I pulled out of the driveway.
"Yeah there was a loose ball on the ground and we both dove in. He barely even hit me actually, not compared to the others." Jason turned to look out the window as we drove, clearly still a little upset.
"Others?" Thalia and I asked at the same time, making eye contact with each other after doing so.
Jason nodded, "Yeah I bet you the majority of our offense will be really banged up today. At least our receivers and running backs". I glanced back at Jason one more time as we pulled into school.
"Is he really that good?" I asked as I parked the car, trying to gather my backpack from under Thalia's seat.
"Yeah. He is." Was all Jason said as he slowly made his way out of the car and into school.
Jason wasn't lying when he said the others would be in worse shape. I noticed there sour moods almost immediately as we gathered around Pipers locker. The Stolls, who were usually a loud bunch of trouble in the morning, looked tired and were awfully quiet. Connor even raised his voice in irritation when Piper nudged his shoulder to get his attention. In fact, the only one who was normal was Beckendorf, but I assumed that was because he was on the same side of the ball as Percy was.
"So" I started, trying to break the tension, "rough practice yesterday boys?" The girls all snickered as the boys half heartedly groaned in complaints. Grover laughed along as well, making the other boys even more irritated.
"Why didn't you tell us your friend was a freak of nature Grover". Leo grumbled. "Kid was like a machine out there." The other guys nodded in agreement as Grover just shyly smiled while rubbing his beanie. I took this time to analyze how each of the guys in-front of me were moving and talking. All of the players on the offensive side were making slow movements, and some even had some grimaces on their face if they moved on way or another. It was the first day of contact, and the players are usually sore and complaining the next day but this seemed different. It seemed as though they were too embarrassed or ashamed to talk about the practice. I was too busy in my own thoughts to realize that everyone abruptly stopped talking. I glanced around finally noticing the abrupt silence, even the girls stopped chatting to look past me. So I turned to follow their eyes, and surprise, surprise they were all looking at Percy. My first thought when seeing him was just like the day before, this is one attractive kid. He was walking down the hall tall and proud, just like the day before, only today instead of jeans he had black sweatpants that cuffed around the ankles. His black, long-sleeve shirt was baggy, looking as though it was a size or two too big, a white trident was on the left peck, matching his white shoes. He was wearing a silver necklace that was outside of his shirt, glistening proudly as he walked down the halls. My eyes traveled up to his face and was surprised to see that his eyes didn't show the tiredness that the other players had in them. The lights from the ceiling dancing off his emerald eyes, making the mischievous glint he normally had enhance them even more. I unknowingly smiled, seeing as though he seemed more comfortable at the school today. Sure he was still looking a little guarded, but his eyes weren't moving as frantic as the day before.
"Yerrrrr, what up G- man". Percy shouted as he made his way closer to the group. My smile fell when I realized that his eyes were only locked on Grover, just like the day before. Grover must've noticed this too, because he made his way out of the group to ensure a little distance.
"Hey Perce! How you liking the school?" Grover gave him a quick fist bump before leading Percy away from the group.
"Why does he always do that". Thalia huffed, feeling as annoyed as I did. "Big New York hot shot can't say hi to us?". Piper and Jason made eye contact, it was quick but I saw it. I also noticed how Jason looked away, as if he was ashamed of something.
"Yeah, like I said before. We didn't really get off on the right foot, with the whole Annabeth thing being a fake argument." Jason looked at the other guys, Beckendorf didn't seem too surprised. Leo, Connor, and Travis rolled their eyes at Jason.
"I swear boys might be more dramatic then us girls". Hazel muttered, nudging Franks shoulder.
"Hey! I didn't really do anything! Besides he was at fault too! You should've heard some of the stuff he was saying on the field". Frank shrugged as he spoke, placing his arm on Hazels shoulder. "Guy is some sort of crazy person." The others nodded along. I was just wondering what he must've said to all of them to be so off put by his presence.
"Oh you guys are being so dramatic." A voice suddenly came from the side of our group. I turned to see Nico Diangeo one of the star defensive players on the team. Nico was a solid 185, standing at 6 feet even, he was a cornerback. His skin was unnaturally pale for the sun of California, his black hair was poking out from under his black hoodie. "It's not crazy, it's just some trash talk. Hell, I enjoyed it, but probably a little more then you guys. Since you were on the receiving end of it." He grinned as he walked by. All of us stayed silent as we saw him walk up and slap Percy on the back. Percy nodded to Grover before leaving with Nico. I assume going to our first period class.
"Great now he's best friends with Diangelo too". Connor rolled his eyes. "Those two are going to be a nightmare together". I shared a knowing look with Piper and Hazel before leaving to make my way to class.
The next couple weeks were pretty much the same. Percy would continue to focus on only Grover whenever he came around Pipers locker. I did notice that he was less guarded, and would speak to different members of our group, as well as other students individually. I would go out of my way to visit "our table" during lunch. I couldn't explain it, but I was curious about him. My curiosity peaked when I asked him when he would join the other students for lunch, secretly hoping he would sit with us. All I got was a shrug, which peaked my interest. It's not like he wouldn't be welcome at our table, hell he could even just sit with Nico if he wanted too. I also noticed he never had lunch at the library which I thought was odd.
"So are you excited about the game on Saturday?" I asked him one Monday while we were studying at the library. He glanced up from his paper to give me a shy smile.
"Yeah, it'll be a little weird playing with a different team. And my mom won't be there". He shrugged, "But I'm sure I'll get used to it". I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, I could tell he had a little anxiety on the subject. So I gave reached out and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
"You'll do great."
The rest of the week seemed to drag on, the nerves around school were climbing with each passing day. Jason and the rest of the guys in our little group couldn't seem to stop talking about how excited they were, and how this year they'd win the championship. Percy was quite the opposite however, he seemed to get more quiet as the week went on. In fact I don't think I heard him talk all day Friday, the day before their first game. He had his headphones in the whole day, seemingly in his own world as he went to classes. I mulled the memory over in my head as I waited in the driveway for Thalia. Her house was rather large, even for the standard of the, 'rich kids', our school is known for. It was a large brown house that seemed modern but old at the same time, giving off an elegant manner.
"Hey, ready to watch some idiots hit each other for a couple hours?" Thalia asked as she entered the car. She was wearing a black AC/DC shirt, light blue jean shorts that would have been frowned upon in a school setting, and black converse. Meanwhile I was wearing a grey tshirt and black leggings, so much for school spirit.
"Yeah", I said smiling, "we should have made Jason a sign". Thalia laughed at that as we made our journey to the school.
"I really want to see that Percy kid play" She was looking at her messages in her phone. "See what all the hype is about". I nodded along as she spoke, also wanting to see Percy play.
"Yeah I'm curious too", I remember back to the conversation I shared with him in the library. I wonder if he felt like he was apart of the team, being new and all. None of the guys really made a big effort to be his friend after the first practice, besides Nico of course. I broke away from those thoughts as me and Thalia chatted about classes and assignments before finally reaching out destination. It was a night game, so the sun was just started to set and the stadium lights were on.
"C'mon," Thalia said, "Let's go find Hazel and Grover" she was typing away on her phone, no doubt asking Grover where they were in the stands. As we were walking in to the stadium the team was leaving the locker room to take the field. They were standing in two lines, their black uniforms all mixing together as they jogged onto the turf. I scanned the players as they moved past, spotting Jason and them near the front of the lines . My eyes moved back and forth trying to see if I could spot Percy, but I couldn't find him. The music from the teams warm up tape was blasting through the stadiums speakers, the crowd cheering enthusiastically as we made our way up the bleachers. We spotted Juniper, Hazel, and Grover almost immediately, seeing as though they were a couple rows to the right of the student section. We liked having our space to watch the game.
"Hey guys!" Hazel shouted as she waved. I gave her a wave back and smiled at them. "Ready for some fooseball?" She asked in a funny voice.
"We sure are," Thalia said back as we took our seats next to them. "Oh there's the star." My eyes went back to the spot of the field the team enters in. There he was, slowly making his way toward the field, Percy.
"Is he always so punctual Grover?" Thalia asked sounding a little annoyed. Grover just laughed and shook his head.
"Not really. At Goode he usually lead the team out of the locker room, he probably just feels that he's not a real part of the team yet or something." So my suspicions were correct, I thought as I studied Percy from the stands. I knew he was muscular but the uniform left no room for imagination.I first noticed the fact that he wasn't wearing an undershirt, tucking his jersey up above the front of his pads to show some of his impressive abs as he walked toward the field. His veins on his arms and biceps bulged as he was finished tucking the skin tight jersey. His pants only went above his knees, exemplifying his impressive leg muscles which seemed to ripple with every step. He was an intimidating figure to say the least.
"I'm sure he'll get accumulated just fine as the year goes on" Juniper said as she reassuringly patted Grovers shoulder.
One can hope, I thought as I saw him slowly make his way to the rest of the team for warm ups. I then moved my eyes to look at the other team, West Central. They were in our division, making this an important game. They looked decent I thought as I watched them progress through their own warm up drills. If I'm not mistaken they placed 3rd in our league last year only one spot down from us. I then noticed the multiple local news channels, seemingly excited to cover the first game. We quickly stood up as the national anthem began to play, signaling the start of the game would be very soon. After that the teams captains went out for the coin toss, leaving Jason and Beckendorf at mid field. The ref announced that West Central differed, meaning that we would get the ball first to start out. At least Jason has a chance to start the game off strong I thought as we started clapping, excited to see them play. The teams took the field for the kickoff and I noticed Percy was back to field the ball.
"Grover I thought Percy only played defense?" I asked confused at what I was seeing. Grover just shook his head.
"At Goode he was a running back and return man too. But seeing as though Travis is a really good running back the coach decided to just use Percy for special teams and defense." Me and Thalia exchanged a puzzled look, before we just nodded.
As the teams lined up the stadium roared in anticipation for action, growing louder and louder before the ball was finally kicked. It quieted down as the ball was launched into the air, only a couple yards to the left of Percy. Once he got under it and cleanly caught it his head immediately snapped down to study the field before him. He started moving toward his left in a not so fast manner. 'Run already!', I thought as he continued to move up field. He then suddenly burst into another gear still making his way toward the left, before quickly changing his direction to move behind some blockers to his right, passing the first line of defenders. He was shifty, and possibly one of the fastest people I have seen, gaining speed with each step he took. He made another cut toward his right seemingly running right at a defender, but just before he got hit he changed direction again, this time going straight down the middle of the field. It was incredible, he stopped almost immediately once his right foot hit the ground, using his left foot to continue his path upfield toward the end zone, leaving the defender tackling air. And just like that he was past the second line of defense, leaving only the kicker in his way. He changed the angle of his running path to just run around the kicker, obviously knowing that with his speed he didn't have to make anymore cuts to score. The stadium roared to life as the kicker tried to jump out for his legs to stop him from passing, missing Percy as he ran past midfield. The fans roared even louder as he trotted into the end zone, the first time he touches the ball he scored. Me and Thalia's faces were clearly shocked, because Grover decided to comment on it.
"Just wait until you see him play defense" he chuckled.
I turned my attention back to the field as I saw Percy calmly jog toward the red and hand him the ball. It was odd to me usually when people score they celebrate and seem extremely happy, he just seemed like it was a normal occurrence. Like he expected to score. Even though he didn't celebrate his teammates ran to him to pat him on the back or helmet, jumping up and down in excitement. Percy just nodded and jogged to the sideline, taking his helmet off to get some water as our team kicked off. He then put his helmet back on to play defense. He was the safety so he was lined up farther from the ball than most, so call me surprised when he made the first tackle of the game a yard in the backfield. He was a blur out there, seemingly reading the field and moving faster than anyone else. It was like I was witnessing a violent art of some sort, it was beautiful. After West Central tried another run play that didn't work they finally threw the ball. They tried to get the ball to one of their star wide receivers, a kid named Ethan. My eyes traveled with the ball while it was in the air and I grew nervous, Ethan ran right past Leo and was about to catch the ball. As soon as the ball made contact with his hands however, he was hit. The sound of the collision echoed throughout the stadium, sounding like a small car crash. Percy sent the wide receiver flying, successfully breaking up the pass. The sound of the hit still in my ears as the crowd roared to life over the unsuccessful pass.
"Holy shit"
The rest of the game continued in that manner. Although Percy didn't have to return the ball again because Western couldn't score. He was in on almost every tackled, it was like he was naturally drawn to the ball. Wherever the ball was, Percy was there. My suspicions were confirmed when he intercepted a pass that was targeted on the other side of the field. It was a long pass, giving him time to run toward the receiver. But I don't think anyone else could've covered that ground in the short amount of time he did. As the game progressed Thalia and I were in a daze. We expected Percy to be pretty good, but this was just unexpected. It wasn't like our team or our division didn't have talented players he just stood out. So it was no surprise when the game was finally over Percy was immediately bombarded with interviews form the local news stations. Even though we won, and he played phenomenal, I could tell he wasn't happy the second he took his helmet off to do the interviews.