CHAPTER 16

Tactics

ANNABETH

"It's almost 8pm, Thalia. Percy should be home any minute. What the heck are we doing in Pizza Hut?" Annabeth was sitting in a table with Jason, Piper, Luke, Rachel and Thalia and they were ordering Pizza. "And why the HECK did we leave Sally alone?!" Annabeth cried.

"Annabeth, Sally can take care of herself fine. Also, she asked us to buy pizza for her, hence why we're here!" Thalia exclaimed.

Annabeth merely let out a sigh.

Pizza Hut was actually the usual place Annabeth and Percy would get their dinner, almost twice a month. And believe her, everyone who's seen them inside the restaurant confused them as boyfriend and girlfriend. Annabeth found that pretty annoying, and she didn't really like being called Percy's girlfriend. But now? She's technically begging for someone to tease her and Percy. Begging for someone to tease her as Percy's girlfriend.

What an idiot she was.

"I've ordered Percy's favorite pizza. Specifically for you, Annabeth." Thalia stated.

"Um, why?" Annabeth asked.

"To get your game on. Remind yourself you're her man! Not Callie's." Thalia replied.

Can I pull it off? Taking back Percy? Annabeth thought.

"Guys, I really am going to stay neutral on this one." Jason blatantly stated.

"And why is that?!" Piper asked.

"Percy's my friend, okay? And I sit right here, plotting to destroy his relationship with Callie, who's a good girl and a geek. She understands him, and maybe, JUST maybe, they like each other, okay? It's Annabeth's mistake that she rejected Percy. But I don't wanna be the one who destroys Percy's relationship with her." Jason scoffed, and folded his arms.

For once, Annabeth's both mad and proud of Jason.

Jason was, to Annabeth, always the goofball of a brother Thalia had. But this is the first time Annabeth heard Jason do some "real talk" and Annabeth, although she always saw this aspect in Percy, rarely saw it in Jason. This is a first time.

"I don't know why, but even though I'm still with Annabeth in this one, I respect your decision, Lightning Rod." Piper said, then proceeded to hug Jason.

"Yeah, that speech was great, man!" Luke sipped his glass of water. "And yeah, sorry, Thals. I'm neutral with this one, too. Besides, I want Percy to focus on our swimming competition right now, not on his love life!" Luke exclaimed.

"Says the man who ditched swim practice to make out with Thalia at the parking lot." Annabeth's sarcasm came out.

"Uh…. You got a point." Luke said, scratching the back of his head.

"I cannot believe I used to have a crush on you." Annabeth stated then rolled her eyes.

Annabeth had a crush on Luke for about a month, when she was on her first year in high school, but it was better seeing Luke with Thalia along the way. Too bad Zeus, Thalia's dad, doesn't like Luke, though.

"WHAT?!" Thalia almost screamed.

"Y-yeah… Sorry Thals. I kind of had a crush on him back then. I told you, remember?" Annabeth almost surrendered.

It's a first time seeing Thalia get jealous.

"No, no, no! Not that, hehe. I already knew that, you told me about that like years ago. I was shouting…. At LUKE!" Thalia turned her head towards Luke.

"What?! Why am I the bad guy here?!" Luke complained.

"You told me… that you didn't have swim practice that day! You told me, you were free! You ditch swim practice?! You little—" Thalia scrutched off.

"Jason! Be honest! How many times does Luke skip swim practice?" Thalia pointed at Jason.

"Um, about four times a month!" Jason stated.

"HELLO?! You're supposed to be on my side, here, Jase!" Luke cried.

"If you ask Percy, it'd probably be four times a week." Annabeth added.

"NOT HELPING!" Luke almost shouted.

Sometimes, Annabeth and Percy argued like that. Annabeth thought that although it was annoying, it was cute how Thalia and Luke got each other and argue all the time. There were times, Annabeth was genuinely concerned for Percy like Thalia was for Luke. Like how instead of studying, Percy went to eat with Annabeth at the park.

Annabeth didn't want to remember the part that Percy partly did it because he had a huge crush on Annabeth at that time.

So the chances of Percy missing something to go with Annabeth are highly unlikely to happen again.

Maybe with Callie or something, but definitely not her.

Evidenced as last time, when she and Percy planned to watch a movie in her house, just the two of them, but ditched it because he was at school hanging with his fellow "geeks".

My, my, how the tables have turned.

"Speaking of old crushes…. Hey, Rach, didn't you use to have a crush on Percy?" Piper turned to Rachel, then wiggled her eyes.

"Drop it, Piper. Or I swear to any god in any universe that I will polish your face with shit." Rachel threatened. "Don't be mad, Annabeth, that was a long time ago."

"You mean eight months ago? You call that 'long time ago'?" Piper adds.

"Don't make me kill you, Piper." Rachel threatened again.

Annabeth, as usual these days, felt a twinge of hatred for Rachel. It was only a twinge, but hatred nonetheless. Basically jealousy.

Annabeth knew, that even as dorky and sassy and clumsy as Percy is, he was a god among women. Girls threw themselves at Percy all the time. Percy, of course, rejected each one of them. Almost every girl Annabeth met just tried to be friends with Annabeth to get closer to Percy. Annabeth already lost count how many girls had a crush on Percy.

But she always suspected Rachel had a crush on him. There were times it bothered her, there were times she wished "Perachel" as the ninth graders go would eventually happen. But if it happened now, Annabeth would beat Rachel to a pulp.

"It's okay, Rachel." Annabeth reassured. "I understand the feeling."

"Oh, thank gods." Rachel sighed in relief.

"Lay a hand on Percy, though, or try flirting with him, you know what'll happen." Annabeth's tone this time was dark.

Rachel saluted.

"Alright, Anniebeth!" Rachel shouted.

"Don't call me that."

After the bickering of Thalia and Luke, only the girls were left in Pizza Hut, as Jason and Luke proceeded to play video games at the nearby Arcade.

"First things, Annabeth, you need to constantly show Percy that you like him. Be subtle about it. Give him clues. Hints." Thalia said as she bit a pizza.

Annabeth continued to listen.

Ugh.

She was really not good at showing her feelings for a boy. Back when her rabbit died, it would be hard to know if Annabeth was sad or angry.

"I'm not good at that, Thalia." Annabeth bluntly said.

"Well, you're going to have to learn. The heck are you going to do? Confess to him straight up?" Thalia asked.

"Actually…. That's not a bad idea….." Piper intervened.

"It's a very, very bad idea. Are we even sure Percy still likes her? Besides, that would work…. IF HE WASN'T SEEING SOMEBODY." Rachel explicitly stated.

"Okay, are we sure, Percy likes Callie?" Piper asks another.

"Okay, I've actually had suspicions, me and Thalia, that Percy has a crush on Annabeth. 100% sure. And look, Percy had this sort of love struck look when he was with Annabeth. Trust me. He was the same look with Callie, and if we figured out that he likes Annabeth, then he sure as hell likes Callie." Rachel replied.

Annabeth hated the facts. That she used to be the closest thing Percy ever had, and because of what she did three months ago, some other girl overpowered her.

"Fine. Hints. How do I do it?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know how, but you gotta act fast. You better do it now while Percy just 'still' likes Callie. The longer you wait it out, he'll eventually be dating her. So you gotta act now." Thalia adds.

"What do I do?" Annabeth asks with no confidence.

"Hints. Hints. Hang out with him all the time. Take him out on dates and stuff like that. Stick to him every time. Sleep at his shoulder or shit." Thalia replied.

"But….. I do that all the time!" Annabeth adds.

"Jeez. Then we gotta go deeper. You still have to keep doing that. But we gotta go deeper. You need to hug him all the time or maybe, you know, kiss him. In the cheek." Thalia states.

Piper and Rachel gasp.

"Annabeth?! Kiss? How does she pull it off?" Piper asked with doubt.

"Deep down, I know I shouldn't be listening, but, *sigh*, I gotta do it do I?" Annabeth asks.

"Well, duh." Thalia said. "Look," Thalia puts her hand in Annabeth's shoulder "see those girls there? And that fat guy?"

Annabeth sees another table across Pizza Hut.

Annabeth knew who they were.

The Sophiavengers.

They were eating in another table.

They were these kids, same age as Annabeth's, that went to another school. They had 7 people in their group. Most of them, we're fans of Marvel. There was the fat, ugly guy named JC, the twins named Sophia and Samantha, the tough-as-nails girl named Mich, the bookworm genius named Alexi, the shy but smart girl named Demi, and the outgoing girl named Louise.

"Look, you know them, right? Did you know they own the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe Collection?" Thalia remarks.

"The heck is that?" Annabeth asked quickly.

"That is your second option, Annabeth. Learn about geeky stuff. Like Percy and Callie do. Learn about the stuff they like. Actually, it's pretty enjoyable." Thalia said.

"Not my type." Annabeth states.

"Then you have a huge disadvantage." Thalia remarked. "Then you have the third option."

"And what's that?" Annabeth asked.

"Try to make him jealous." Piper stated.

"What?!" Annabeth retaliated.

"I'm not sure if this would work, really. But the plan is, you get a guy, like, you know, go out with him for a while, and you want to show Percy. Show him you got someone else, that you don't need Percy. Then Percy will realize what he lost, and will want you back." Piper says.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if it would work either. It has like, 20% chance success rate." Rachel adds.

To be honest, Annabeth both loved and hated that idea. First of all, she wasn't sure if Percy was the type to get jealous. Especially since he already had a different crush. Second of all, if she did go with the plan, that would've meant spending less time with Percy, and right now, Percy was the only man in her mind. Third, she'd look like a slut in school. Especially to the Percabeth fangirls. (Those exist, by the way.)

"Not sure about that either. It would work. Percy would be jealous. But it would instantly backfire. I've seen it a couple of times. It backfires almost immediately." Thalia states.

"Look, I believe, Percy still likes you. Just a little, right now, not a lot like back then. It would work, Annabeth. Percy would be jealous. He'd want you back. Because it would hurt him seeing you with another guy."

"So it would work?" Annabeth asks.

"I'm not finished. Here's the part where it'll backfire; Percy will realize, you're finally happy with the guy. He'll leave you alone, and start focusing on Callie. Yes, the plan would make Percy jealous. But it would inspire him to focus on Callie more. A girl I knew did it once with her crush. That crush of hers kind of liked her, too. You know what happened in the end?" Thalia asked.

"The crush of hers ended up marrying the girl he currently liked at that time. Plan backfired." Thalia said.

"Nope. Definitely not doing that." Annabeth retaliated.

"That's alright. So, which plan you going ahead?" Thalia asked.

Before they both could react, they were speechless.

A couple had entered Pizza Hut.

"Um, Annabeth—?" Rachel asked.

Annabeth was instantly shocked.

It was Percy and Callie.

Well, I do not need to say this again, but please….

REVIEW!

THE MORE REVIEWS, THE MORE FASTER I UPDATE.

For the next chapter, the finale to the Calercy date will be typed.

I have more time to update next week, since it's semestral break, but just review guys.

P.S.

Thanks for all the support guys. Esp. our Captain Sophia from the Sophiavengers.