A/N: Hey guys! Made it just in time for the end of the month! Hope you like it!
Annabeth Chase is not afraid of needles she just…doesn't like them. Like if she had to list her favorite things, needles wouldn't make the cut.
So the fact that she has to get some blood work done is…well, not her favorite thing.
The room is overly bright and sterile and there's an incessant tapping in the background. It's not till the nurse walks in with a smile and asks her if she's nervous does she realize it's her. She stills her foot.
Needles might not be her favorite thing, but the nurse that walked in just might be.
Ruffled black hair, glasses, sporting a sweet smile —he looked like he belonged more on a set than an actual hospital.
He had asked her if she was nervous.
She had yet to reply.
"No!" She eyes the needle on the tray in front of him. "I'm just…not a fan."
He nods understandingly and walks closer and, oh wow, he's even prettier up close.
"Not on the list of your favorite things."
Her surprise must be evident (she's seriously wondering if he's harboring psychic abilities past that cute face) because he laughs.
"I get that a lot."
He sits down in front of her and preps the needles, and even though she doesn't like them, she can't help but watch his deft fingers maneuver the items like he was born for this.
He probably was. No one looks that good in scrubs.
"So," he continues, checking his clipboard. "Annabeth Chase?"
She nods in response to his questioning gaze. His eyes are so pretty.
(She swears she's not on anything for this blood work…maybe it's the lack of food getting to her).
"Well, Annabeth, what is on the list of your favorite things?"
A strong part of her wants to blurt "you," but she knows that's not a wise move, so she says the second thing that comes to mind.
"Cats."
He motions for her to extend her arm.
"I'm more of a dog person."
She can't help but roll her eyes. Of course he is. There had to be something to offset that jawline.
"Hey, what's that for!" He makes a face at her, but there's a hint of a smile behind it and she can tell he's just kidding.
Honestly, she doesn't know why she reacted like that. She wants to say it's because she feels more at ease with his comforting smile (but it could also just be her being awkward in a time of dire crisis and needles).
"All dog people that I know hate cats with a passion." She needs to justify her response.
He shoots her an outrageously offended look.
"Well clearly you don't know me," he starts, "I'll have you know that my mom has a cat, and she's great and I love her."
Part of her wants to ask if he's talking about his mom or the cat, but maybe that would ruin the flow and she's honestly loving this banter.
"Alright, fair," she amends, "you're the exception."
He leans closer to her the cold, clinical room feels a little warmer than it should.
"I've been told I'm exceptional."
Oh, the nerve, she wants to wipe that smug grin off his face and—ow!
The needle has pierced through her skin and she can't stop herself from looking down and watching the blood ooze out.
"Do you have a cat?"
Her eyes snap back to his face and the question throws her for a loop. Too many things are happening.
"Um, no, I'd like one though."
"I have a dog named Mrs. O'Leary."
"What?"
He removes the needle. "Yeah, she's great, gets along great with cats."
She wants to know how that's relevant but he's already wiping down the area and peeling off a small band-aid to stick over it.
"There, that wasn't so bad," he says cheerfully, shooting her a smile.
"Did you just—" she cuts herself off because she's pretty convinced she just got tricked.
"Did I what?" he asks, all smiles and charm and —ugh, she can't believe she just got duped the way a kid would, except instead of candy at the other end it was a really attractive nurse…
She makes a face at him. "Oh, you know what."
Surprisingly, he makes the same face back. "No, I don't."
He is really too cute to exist.
She huffs and crosses her arms, well aware that she's acting like a kid who just realized they just got duped with candy.
"Is that your move? Charm every person who's nervous with needles?"
"I wasn't aware I was being charming." His lips quirk up in a small smile and she's not sure if he is joking or not.
"Right," she confirms, only a little sarcastic because she doesn't even know.
He gets up, having finished his wrap-up and if she's being honest, she doesn't want him to go.
But before she can do something stupid (like yell wait!) he turns around.
"I usually try to distract people who don't like needles, I charmed you."
And with that, he has the nerve to throw a smile in her direction and walk out like nothing has happened.
-.-.-
Ten minutes later, Annabeth still doesn't know what to make of the whole situation as she waits for the nice old lady at the desk to finish some paperwork.
If she walks away from this without getting any information on the nurse, she'll have definitely missed a possible connection. But at the same time, if he was trying to flirt with her, he would have made it more obvious. Probably.
She continues to debate with herself, tapping her fingers as she waits for the old lady to finish scanning something, when none other than the subject of her debate appears.
Hot nurse walks straight to the other end of the desk, completely ignoring her, and calls to the old lady.
"Hey Mo!"
"Everything alright, Percy?" the lady replies, shuffling away from the scanner. Even she's smiling.
He was definitely lying when he said he wasn't charming.
"Yep," he responds just as cheerfully, "just need you to add this one there for me." He hands her a blue post-it-note.
"Oh!" Mo says in the way old ladies say oh when they've found some hot new gossip.
That gets a reaction out of hot nurse—Percy, his face getting a shade redder before he ducks away quickly, sparing her his first and last glance.
Annabeth leaves with informational pamphlets urged on by a smiling Mo, just as confused as she was before.
She drops the papers in her passenger seat and wonders if Taco Bell will help her make sense of all this.
-.-.-
She's back again in two weeks. In the meantime, she's gone on one unsuccessful date, spent Valentine's day the best way possible by binging YouTube, and gone to Taco Bell a total of three more times…she really needs to cut herself off.
But anyway, she's back, and Mo is back (well, Mo probably never left) and the room with the bright lights is back.
This time she recognizes the tapping as her own and attempts to control it.
But the big question is, is Percy back? Because a big part of her is hoping it's him, and another (smaller) part, hopes it's not.
The tapping speeds up.
So, when the door opens to revel the ruffled black hair and glasses, her heart skips a beat. But Percy doesn't seem as happy to see her, and she can see the smile he's forcing.
"Hey," she says cheerfully but cautiously.
"Hey." His reply is soft, and he ducks his head down towards the papers in his hands.
"How are things going with you?" she asks, a vain (and slightly awkward) attempt at conversation.
"Alright," he answers in the same quiet voice.
There's another moment of silence as he takes a seat beside her and motions for her to extend her arm, getting the needle ready.
"How's Mrs. O'Leary doing!" she blurts out, causing him to stop.
Her heart is racing and she's not sure if it's because of the needle or the fact that for some reason, all of a sudden, Percy hates her.
He gives her an odd look and puts down the needle. "Listen, Annabeth, it's okay, you don't need to feel awkward. I'm not upset."
She knows that, once again, there is a lack of food in her system, but there's no way she's that out of it.
"What?"
Percy winces, red coloring his cheeks. "Listen I can handle rejection—"
"Rejection?" she cuts him off. "What are you talking about?"
She's too hyped on adrenaline and her (tiny) fear of needles to really connect any dots.
It's his turn to look confused and she finds peace in the fact that she's not the only one.
"Didn't you get my note…" he trails off as her face retains the blank expression. "I'm guessing not."
"You're the medical professional, am I going crazy here?" she slumps back in her chair. "What's going on?"
Percy suddenly looks a million times lighter. Annabeth slumps more. She needs food. And an explanation.
He actually laughs. "Oh wow, I guess we have a misunderstanding here."
She rolls her eyes. "No, duh, want to fill me in?"
He smiles and grabs her arm once more. "Well, you see, I thought you had rejected me."
She takes the moment as he preps the needle to observe his arms. Very nice.
"Why?"
He leans closer, just like last time. She's captivated, just like last time. "Because you didn't call me after I gave you my number."
And just like last time, the words blindside her enough that she misses the needle going in her arm.
"You gave me your number?"
Noticing her gaze straying to the needle, he pulls out the card he's probably been saving this entire time.
"Of course," he says in a soft voice, "wouldn't want to miss my chance with the most beautiful girl ever."
Well shit.
He can't say that shit.
He pulls the needle and wipes her arm again and what the fuck he can't say—
She's been fooled, just like last time. Shame on her.
"You can't flirt with me to distract me from the needles," she complains, as if she's actually upset with the outcome.
His smile indicates that he knows it. "I just did."
"That's unfair." She's going to die on this hill.
"If I give you my number again, and you call, I'll make up for it."
Annabeth leaves the room looking like the Gryffindor crest, a cherry red face to pair with her golden blonde hair.
The informational pamphlets from last time are still on her passenger's seat and she flips open a few pages to see a blue sticky note with a phone number scribbled in Percy's handwriting.
Bless Mo for thinking she'd do the reading she was supposed to and flip it open to get as far as the note.
She sends a picture to the new contact on her phone.
Never has an informational pamphlet been more preserved than Next Steps After Bloodwork. And somewhere between hydration and nutrition is the something blue that gets pinned to her bouquet at the wedding.
A/N: So what did you think? Just another fluffy one for this month because…well it was what I came up with it. I'll try for a longer more in depth one next month, hopefully.
But yeah, hope you liked it! Just some hot nurse Percy and slightly awkward Annabeth for you.
Please Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
And as always, thanks for reading!
See ya! :)