What I Dreamed Last Night, chapter 3

The bustling noise of students making their way to the tables set up, the cries and laughter as they reunite with their friends. Annabeth Chase takes a seat the lunch table on the far right of the cafeteria, biting into her apple as she waits patiently for her friends to make their way to her side. She quickly revises the math, science and English homework, what they did today, and what must be done, before the image of an unruly, rugged, messy and overall annoying skater boy pops into her head. She narrows at the image of Percy Jackson that seemed to be stuck in her head, but it refuses to disappear.

Why the hell did she end up falling for his trick? It's not that Percy Jackson is the smartest student Goode High had seen before. As she is with him nearly every other hour, thanks to their schedules, she sees him fall asleep in class every day, snoring and even drooling a bit. Of course, she isn't one to report him, but it amuses her as just how fast he could fall asleep when class begins. He is average in school, at the very least, but attentive? Not at all. Usually, it's the teacher that wake Percy up, the interrogates him about what they've done. And it amuses everybody when Percy has no clue what to say, and earns a detention. Not that he necessarily deserved detention, he just needed to stay awake in class. Though, she's seen him during Physical Education. He was one of the only students in the senior year who still went to the gym to finish his gym hours, and when he did, it was rather admirable. He did work hard, and sometimes he would join the lower grades in their games, such as dodgeball. Smiling at the image of Percy laughing in the gym, then getting a dodgeball to the face amused Annabeth, as she continues to wait for her friends. Little did she know, Percy Jackson, who had stationed himself on the far left table of the cafeteria, was thinking about her too.

He sits on the bench, biting into his second slice of pizza, while there was still six remaining in the box. Right before lunch, managing to get kicked out of class early, he had walked down to the nearby pizzeria and picked some up for lunch, along with some blue Pepsi that the store sold. It wasn't that Percy wanted to get kicked out of class, though, it just sorta happened. The way the accident with Annabeth just sort of happened. He smiles at the memory, her vicious eyes and her sharp tongue, but this time, her temper got the better of her. Annabeth was famous for her impeccable logic and decision making, managing to make herself rather well known before senior year was up. All the while unaware of the hearts she had managed to tangle. Many people in her year, Luke Castellan, Uriah O'Connor, and Percy himself had all fallen for the intelligent student, but none of them had the courage to ask her out. She was way out of Percy's league, and most likely, anybody's league. But this time, she had managed to fall out of her own league and somehow into Percy's, cause they seemed to be going to Prom together. Somehow. He didn't quite understand how he managed to trick her, but he was still proud of himself for doing it. Tricking Annabeth Chase was a feat many enemies of hers would've killed to do. Smiling at the girl sitting across the cafeteria, he thinks for a moment about walking over and offering her some pizza, but he disregards the idea. She already thoroughly dislikes him, not exactly hate, and he didn't want to make it deeper.

"Hey, man! You alright?"

Percy looks up to see his friends, Leo Valdez and Jason Grace hovering at the edge of the table. He shakes Annabeth from his thoughts and nods, pretending to pull out the earbuds he always kept in his ears, just in case he needed to pretend he was listening to music instead of dazing out.

"Fine, fine. How about yourself, Valdez?"

"I don't even know, man," Leo takes a seat across from Percy, and Jason takes the seat beside him. All are quiet as Leo unwraps his lunch (tuna sandwhich with an orange) as he explains his predicament to his friends.

"Alright, so there's this girl-"

"Isn't there always?"

"Shut up, Jackson." Leo snaps, before continuing his story about the girl in the band room, the girl he apparently couldn't stop thinking about. Some girl, a transfer student. Calypso. Apparently gorgeous, a singer, and drop dead amazing, according to Leo. He covers his head as he finishes his descriptions, and groans.

"Oh, man. What do I do? I...I can't talk to her, and I don't even know if she knows I exist...like, seriously...I stumbled and mumbled like an idiot!"

"Yeah, Leo," Percy begins, taking his third slice of pizza out of his box and beginning to chew on the cheesy surface, "If you haven't noticed, you tend to do that around every other girl."

"Shut the fuck up! Anyway, I talked to Piper about her, and she said that I should just be myself around her. Be myself!" Leo slams his head on the table, covering his head with his hands, looking absolutely miserable, "I'm a fucking goner, guys."

Jason, having been listening the entire time, but not so interested, suddenly perks up at the aforementioned Piper McLean. He raises his head from his phone, interested at the mention.

"Wait, you're friends with Piper, Leo?"

"Yeah," he mumbles quietly, "Why?"

"Nothing." Jason grows pink, as though he let something slip that he shouldn't have, "Nothing at all. I...was just thinking...well, she's...er..."

"Let me guess," Percy says, leaning across the table, a smirk on his face, "You like her, don't you?"

"No! I...don't."

"You're such a bad liar, Jason," Percy says, before beginning to laugh again, shaking his head at his lovestruck friend, "Piper McLean! She's nice and all, but no offense, man, she's kind of...out of your league. Though she is pretty hot."

"Go figure," Jason groans, picking at the ham and cheese sandwich that was wrapped in wax paper, "She's pretty cool, she doesn't have a huge ego, but...I don't think she knows I exist, guys."

"Yeah, with Reyna Arellano and Octavian hovering around you, how could she not know you exist?" Percy asks, "Listen, guys, we just have to man up, and ask them to Prom before someone else does, alright? Grow a fuckin' pair."

There's morbid silence, before they all silently nod and continue on with their lunch, waiting for Frank Zhang and their other friends to show up. Percy begins to talk about the situation with Annabeth once more, giving them the complete story, and planning eagerly on how to flirt with her. Meanwhile, across the cafeteria, Reyna, Piper, Calypso, Thalia and Hazel have joined Annabeth at her table, and are having a similar conversation about the boys.

"-mean, he's really nice and all, but I don't think he knows I exist!" Piper grumbles, taking another vicious bite of her salad, if it was possible for one to take a vicious bite. She chews on the lettuce while waiting for an answer from her friends, as though waiting for them to give her advice. Instead, they all turn quiet, before Hazel speaks up, though rather quietly, and they all must strain their ears to hear her.

"I have a crush on Frank Zhang."

"What?"

"I have a crush on Frank Zhang..."

"Wait, are we just forgetting that I'm talking here?" Piper protests, but it quickly shushed by Annabeth as the girls realize what Hazel is saying. Reyna herself allows herself to 'aw' in reply, but Annabeth raises an eyebrow.

"Wait, he's that Chinese guy, plays on the hockey team, and he's really tall, right?"

"Yes!" Hazel's eyes suddenly are full of life, as Annabeth sucessfully identifies her crush, "Him! He's in my math class, and he's always very careful about everything, and he's nice too, and he can be a bit clumsy, though-"

As though on cue, a loud crash is suddenly heard from the far left of the cafeteria. The ladies all turn to see a large hockey player, wearing the school's hockey jersey, turning pink as he realizes dropped a glass plate, the plate now shards on the ceramic floor. Everybody either begins to laugh, laughing at the clumsiness of the player, or groaning, shaking their head. Another mess the custodians have to clean up. The girls all raise an eyebrow, realizing this was the Frank Zhang Hazel spoke about.

"He seems clumsy," Thalia notes, shaking her head, "But nice. I hear he's nice, and quiet. Flustered type."

"Yeah," Hazel replies, nodding as she stares down at her hands, "He's nice, though."

"Okay, I hate to interrupt," Reyna interrupts Hazel, before turning back to Annabeth, "Sorry about this Hazel, but I heard Annabeth is going to Prom with a certain...Percy Jackson?"

The table explodes into questions. Piper and Calypso, already knowledgeable about the certain situation, only smirk as Reyna, Thalia and Hazel begin to throw questions out as if they already planned this. As if they were journalists.

"With Percy Jackson?"

"I thought you hated him!"

"Guys, it's the end of the world!"

"How long ago did he ask you out?"

"Who are you, and what have you done with our Annabeth Chase?"

"GUYS!" Annabeth screams, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "If you don't mind shutting up for a second, I can explain!"

"Actually we do mind shutting up-"

Reyna covers Thalia's mouth as the girls lean in eagerly to hear about the accident this morning. Widening their eyes, and laughing when appropriate, by the end they're all laughing as Annabeth's cheeks turn redder and redder as the story goes on.

"So basically, now I'm stuck with Percy as my date, and I don't know what to do! He's reckless, rude, a total ass, doesn't even try at school-"

"Don't forget hot-"

"-and hot...THALIA!"

Thalia cackles as Annabeth accidentally admits something she wouldn't ever admit willingly, but the rest of the table nod in agreement.

"He's hot, Annabeth," Reyna says, shaking her head, "But you are right. I really feel horrible for you..."

"I just have no idea how to go on, you know?" Annabeth groans, covering her head as a banana peel flies over her head. When glancing over the heads and heads of student in between their side of the cafeteria, to see where it came from, she only sees a smirking Percy Jackson, and a couple of other boys who are either avoiding her eye, or laughing along. Grabbing Calypso's sandwich, she launches it across the cafeteria, and high fives Piper when it hits him smack in the face. The look of astonishment on his face is priceless. Taking her seat, she smiles triumphantly as Reyna, Thalia and Calypso watch her with shock. Percy, on the other side of the cafeteria, was now eating Calypso's sandwich. She groans, though everybody but Thalia fails to note the smile she now wore on her face, as though she was proud of their exchange. Thalia leans back in her seat, tugging at the collar of her leather jacket.

"Oh, you're a goner," Thalia laughs, having been holding it back for awhile, but it blooms into a magnificent sound, loud and clear, "You really like him, don't you? Usually, you would've ignored that."

"I-No! I mean, well..." Annabeth realizes her mistake, knowing Thalia was right. She would've never reacted to a flying banana peel, and would've come up with a smarter, more thought out way to deal with Percy. Not an action as impulsive as throwing the sandwich and depriving Calypso of her lunch. She blushes as the girls ooh and ah at Thalia's words. "Oh, shut up!"

Sentiment had won again, and Logic had failed her this time. But with Percy Jackson, there never really was a competition. Sentiment would always win.