CHAPTER 3

3 Months Later

ANNABETH

Annabeth was on her way to Percy's house via Taxi.

It had been 3 months since their awkward encounter. But there was only little change in their friendship. Annabeth and Percy remained best friends as ever, and act as if nothing had happened.

They still went to lunch together, they still hung out regularly, they still had get togethers and movie nights, and they were still the same old Percy and Annabeth

But Percy's changed, though.

They still hung out, but Percy's attitude changed a bit. It was like he was moody all the time. It was like all the happiness had been sucked from him. And Annabeth? Well, she missed the old Percy. At least Percy still wanted to be her friend. Even though she recently just friendzoned him 3 months before. It hurt her a lot to see Percy like that.

The taxi pulled over to the Jackson house and she paid the cab driver, and went on to knock on the door. The door immediately opened.

"Annabeth!" It was Sally Jackson, Percy's mom. Her arms spread wide like she was excited to see Annabeth.

Annabeth smiled at Sally and engulfed her in a hug.

"Is Percy here?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah. But it's hard to talk to him these days. These past 3 months, actually. Since you know. . ." Sally drifted off.

Sally knew that Percy confessed to Annabeth about his feelings. And she knew Percy didn't take it well these past 3 months. It also hurt Sally a bit that Ananbeth didn't like him back, but what hurt her most is she lost the old, fun Percy that used to be.

"Yeah. I'll be in his room." Annabeth said to her, and smiled weakly.

Then she went up to Percy's room.

PERCY

Percy was not himself.

It'd been 3 months since Annabeth rejected him, but he had been trying to heal. He became less social. More prone to temper. Less fun, his mother would say. But if you talked to him, you'd see not Percy Jackson, but a teenager that was only half of what Percy Jackson was.

You could say Annabeth was a big part of his life. And now that Annabeth didn't like him back, a huge part of his life was taken away from him.

For the past three months, Percy knew he still liked Annabeth. But seeing her was a growing reminder that his past self was gone.

Rather than making snarky jokes all the time that made Annabeth laugh, he would be moody.

And here he was, in his room. Watching Star Wars.

Both his mother and Annabeth know that ever since Annabeth's rejection, his more 'geeky' side of him was unleashed, and he would stay home and watch sci-fi or superhero movies and his favorite TV show, Firefly. Even though it was cancelled.

He was in his bed, watching Star Wars from his laptop, sitting cross-legged, watching it dimly.

"Your new empire?!"

"Don't make me kill you."

"Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic. To Democracy!"

"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy."

Percy felt a bit like that towards Annabeth. But only a bit.

"Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must."

"You will try."

These were the only moments that made Percy happy for the past three months. Lightsaber fights, epic battles of Iron Man and the Avengers, marathon of Firefly and Star Trek, and a couple more other things like reading comics. This was Percy's entertainment for now. His previous entertainment was Annabeth herself. Just seeing her made Percy happy.

But ever since the revelation of Annabeth's feelings, things have changed.

Then there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." Percy groaned.

The door opened.

Then she showed up. Percy's favorite or least favorite (either one is accurate) person in the world. Annabeth Chase. Percy immediately scanned her looks. She was wearing her "NYU" hoodie that was gray, new jeans and sneakers. She had a smile on her face that showed she was happy to see Percy.

But Percy was definitely not happy to see her. And when she noticed that, her expression turned sour.

ANNABETH

It hurt her to see that her best friend wasn't really happy to see her. It made her a bit angry. She felt like she wanted to punch him in the gut because just because he didn't get the reply he wanted from Annabeth doesn't mean he can ignore her. But she also felt guilty. Guilty for not realizing that this boy, has had a crush on her for years. And she always wanted to see Percy happy. Now? He wasn't

He was in his usual clothes, and he was cross-legged in his bed, watching a sci-fi movie (was that Star Trek? Or was it Star Wars?) and his expression was neither happy nor sad. He looked bored and a bit angry.

Annabeth tried to break the silence. "Hey."

"Hi." Percy simply replied. With no emotion.

"So, uh, wanna watch a movie? I brought Atlantis. Your favorite movie." Annabeth tried to smile at him.

"'Kay." Percy muttered loudly.

Annabeth could tell Percy wasn't in the mood. Annabeth was mad right now. Mad at Percy for trying to avoid her for all these months. Mad at him for liking her. She wanted Percy to not like her. Because that Percy was her 'true' best friend. Retaliating, she pressed the off button in his laptop as quick as he could. Percy reacted quickly as he could.

"Hey! What was that fo—" He was cut off by Annabeth.

"Oh, no you don't, Seaweed Brain! I've been at it for months! I know you like me, but I'm trying to be your friend here! You've been ignoring me this past 3 months and you act like you're the victim! Well, guess what! I'm the victim here! Don't you know how it feels to be avoided by you?!" Annabeth was shouting, and she didn't care that his mom could hear.

Percy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, okay?" He looked sympathetic. "Is that what you want?"

Annabeth was still mad, and she still wanted to scream at him, but she just couldn't resist those puppy eyes colored sea-green that Percy gave her. She never knew Percy could look so cute trying to apologize. Add that to the list of things she didn't know about Percy. That's a number one.

Annabeth also took a deep breath. "Yeah. That's what I want. And sorry for screaming at you." Annabeth scowled.

Then Percy did something that was a first. . . after three months. He smiled. He smiled back at her, the smile she likes about her best friend. That was the moment she knew, Percy Jackson was back. She smiled back at him. Percy broke the silence.

"Now, can you let me finish my movie? It's only minutes left and then we'll watch Atlantis." Percy said, smiling at her. She hasn't seen him this happy in months. Maybe it was the fact that Percy liked her. Maybe it wasn't. But one thing's for sure. The Percy Jackson she liked as a best friend was back.

ONE WEEK LATER

The week was the best of Annabeth's life. Percy was now back to the way he was. He acted like his confession of his crush on her had never happened. Annabeth missed that Percy, and she was sure glad he was back.

On Monday, they were partners at the science lab.

On Tuesday, they were having dinner at Annabeth's house. (It wasn't a surprise that Annabeth's dad liked Percy a lot.)

On Wednesday, they went out on a movie night, and they watched a movie at a cinema. (With Annabeth constantly teasing him of how this was a date.)

On Thursday, they ate at Pizza Hut.

On Friday, they ate at Percy's house.

And on Saturday, they hung out at the park.

Percy, on the other hand, had forgotten to be moody. He was more lively than ever. He figured it was better to be best friends with Annabeth than to be nothing at all, and he convinced himself that being mean to her isn't going to make things better. So those were the facts: The old Percy Jackson was back.

For Annabeth, she didn't care whether Percy liked her or not. As long as he was back to the way he was. But she was secretly hoping that Percy would find someone other than her to be crushing on.

It was Monday, and Percy and Annabeth were in the cafeteria at lunch time, hanging out with Luke, Thalia and Grover.

Luke kept sneaking kisses on Thalia's cheek, and seeing the two cuddle made Percy a bit jealous. That could've been her and Annabeth. But what could she ever see in him?

"Hey, seen the new MCU movie, Perce?" Grover asked.

"Yeah. Avengers: Age of Ultron. Man, that's like the, uh, eleventh movie in the MCU? And the twelfth one, Ant-Man? Also coming out two months later?" Percy was enjoying his conversation with Grover. Annabeth never understood any of Percy and Grover's "geeky" talks, but for once, she tried to join in.

"Uh, what's MCU?" Annabeth asked, dumbfounded.

Percy smirked and chuckled. "You wouldn't know, Wise Girl. You're a nerd, not a geek." Then Percy and Grover high-fived in the air. Luke wasn't talking, since he was too busy whispering 'naughty' things to Thalia. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

Most people would feel awkward around their crush after they confessed. Percy was like that. But now? He's comfortable around Annabeth even though she knows he likes her. That's what Annabeth was happy about right now.

"Marvel Cinematic Universe." Grover explained. "A franchise of superhero movies based on Marvel comic books and all films take place in the same universe."

Ugh. Geek Talk, Annabeth thought.

"No need to explain in to her, Grover. She's not interested in those kind of stuff." Percy added, grinning at Annabeth.

"What?! What kind of insane human being doesn't watch the MCU?! And Percy! She's your best friend and you have a crush on her! You have to let her watch the MCU, man!" Grover complained .

"Nah. Besides, she's watched at least one of them, right?" Percy turned to her, and Annabeth took in the question.

"Uh, The Avengers? I've watched that. That's an MCU film, right?" Annabeth told both boys cluelessly. She was super intelligent, but she hated acting dumb in a conversation.

"What?! That's it! Oh, man! Unacceptable! Are you hearing this Percy?! The girl you like has only watched one MCU film! ONE! That's unacceptable!" Grover raged, and Percy merely chuckled. It was a normal conversation. One Annabeth was used to everyday. And she liked these guys.

One of the best days that she will remember in high school. Hanging out with friends.

"Ahem."

The voice came from behind them.

When the whole group looked, they were stunned.

It was a girl that had caramel hair, braided over one shoulder, and she wore glasses. She had dark-almond colored eyes that was cute in a way. She was holding books in her right arm and she wore a sky-blue shirt with a dark blue hoodie, and faded jeans and some ratty old sneakers. She was pretty in a very cute and nerdy way.

"Hi. Uh, sorry to interrupt. But I was looking for Percy Jackson. Percy?"

The girl's name was Calypso. Or Callie. Everyone called her Callie.

Percy sat there, dumbfounded. Staring at Callie.

EPIC CHAPTER! BUT CHAPTER 4's WHEN THE FUN BEGINS

ANYWAYS.

REVIIIEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

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NEXT CHAPTER:

Chapter 4 – Meet Callie

Callie is a nerdy, geeky, introvert girl. Like Percy. And she's asked to borrow something from Percy. But she didn't say anything about borrowing a heart.

- OTPMaker22