Chapter 6

"i might never be your hero but i think i'd like to try"
- someone you like, the girl and the dreamcatcher

Annabeth knows she's done something wrong the second she walks into the kitchen and Piper looks up from her toast and gives her a judgmental look.

"What?"

Piper's eyes narrow into slits. "You're not going out wearing that, are you?"

Annabeth looks down at her clothes slightly self-consciously. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She had chosen a plain grey T-shirt, a pair of jeans and some ordinary sneakers. She didn't think she looked that bad.

"Well, for starters, you've got an orange juice stain down the front of your shirt."

"You can hardly see it."

"Mmm."

"I personally can see it quite clearly," Thalia chimes in unnecessarily. "It looks a little like Virginia."

"Shut up, Thalia," Annabeth says shrewishly.

Thalia just laughs. "What's the big deal, anyway? Piper's never put up this much of a fuss before – and trust me, there have been many occasions you've walked out that door looking pretty damn awful."

"Gee, thanks."

"Annabeth's got a date," Piper explains, buttering up another slice of toast. "It's quite a big deal."

Thalia turns to Annabeth, looking almost impressed. "How on earth did you manage that, Chase? You've barely been here two weeks."

"With two boys, too," Piper adds.

"Crikey, you move fast."

"It's complicated," Annabeth says.

"I'm not sure I want you to explain it."

"Excellent, I'll do it," Piper butts in. "So, basically–"

"It really doesn't matter," Annabeth says. "Look, I'll change my shirt and then we'll go, okay?"

"Also change your bra," Piper calls, raising her voice as Annabeth heads towards their bedroom. "You can't go on a date in a sports bra, that's utterly unacceptable."

Annabeth has been at the game for ten minutes and she already feels like strangling someone.

Percy, predictably, is late, and Brandon is out on the football field talking to some of the players. Annabeth has tried to avoid him ever since she arrived and she thinks that so far she's done a pretty good job – as soon as she had spotted him, she had pulled her hood up over her head (she did have a can of emergency black hair spray in her bag, but she didn't think it was considered normal to start spraying your hair in the middle of the pitch) and scampered as quickly as she could up the bleachers.

She's never been to a school game before – or at least not properly. There was that one time in Utah where she almost got beheaded underneath the bleachers (fun times) a few years back but it's never been the full thing. All of her experience comes from movies, books and the You Belong With Me music video – and after all her novels had let her down in explaining high school she didn't really bet on it.

Turns out, they weren't actually that far off.

It's not an ideal day to have a football game, if Annabeth is being perfectly honest. The spring is just beginning to arrive so it's still pretty cold, and it had rained the previous night so the bleachers are wet and the pitch is muddy and slippery. Despite it all, there is a huddle of cheerleaders in tiny white and blue dresses talking amongst themselves like a flock of well-manicured peacocks with ponytails and pompoms. The Marino team are stretching on the field, and Annabeth can see a group of boys in a football kit that she doesn't recognize doing pushups by the bleachers on the other side.

Annabeth sighs and tucks her hands under her thighs.

Suddenly, she looks up and sees Brandon looking at her. His face brightens and he starts heading over to her.

Crap.

Blindly, she fumbles for her phone.

Lois
where are you

Lois
percy

Lois
code red

Lois
code red code red code reD

"Hey Lois!"

Annabeth looks up from her phone and forces a smile onto her face. "Hey, Brandon!"

"I'm glad you made it!" Brandon swings down next to her. Annabeth wants to shuffle away from him, but that would be quite rude and she'd also fall off the bleachers. He leans in close to her, like what he's about to say next is a big secret, and Annabeth gets hit straight in the face by a blast of minty toothpaste breath and overpowering cologne. "I've been looking forward to this about all week," he admits shyly.

Oh no. Now Annabeth feels bad.

She tries for a winning smile. "So have I." Not believable enough. "I just– sorry, I'm just really excited."

Brandon gives her a fond smile.

Lois
PECRY WHERE ARE YUIU

A whistle goes off. Annabeth looks away from Brandon's eyes just in time to see a ball get kicked and boys in red and blue T-shirts chase after it like dogs. Someone behind her whoops. The cheerleaders start their routine, kicking mud everywhere when they aerial in canon and shedding pompom strands all over the field.

Annabeth absolutely loves it.

The only downside is that she's absolutely freezing. Normally she can handle temperatures as cold as -20°C (perks of spy training) but for some reason today she's hyperaware of everything and her arms prickle up in goosebumps. She rubs them absently. She should have brought a thicker jacket.

"Are you cold?" Brandon asks her.

Annabeth gives him a little shrug. She knows what he's going to do if she says yes. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can give you my jacket if you wan–"

"Hey, Lois!"

Both Annabeth and Brandon turn.

It's Percy. He pushes past a group of whooping boys and ungracefully clambers up on the bench next to her, giving her a wide smile. He's wearing a blue sweater that makes his eyes sparkle and his hair has been tousled slightly from the wind. "Hey," he says again, dimpling a radiant smile her way, and then leaning past her to give Brandon a small wave. "Hey, dude."

Brandon looks a little confused. "Uh, hey?"

Percy beams at him and then slings his arm around Annabeth's shoulder. "Who's winning?"

"Lancaster," Annabeth tells him. "Marino's behind by a point."

"Tragic."

Annabeth suppresses giggles.

"Lois," Brandon says tightly. Annabeth can hear the strain in his voice. "Who's this?"

"We've been in the same Maths class for two years," Percy says mildly.

"Right. Sorry, Jacob."

"Close. Percy."

"Brandon," Annabeth says weakly. What she had been hoping to achieve with her plan was upon Brandon realizing that she wasn't, in fact, a Single Lady, he would leave her alone. Unfortunately, it looks like he's closer to punching Percy's daylights out. She subtly pinches Percy's hand to tell him to stop being cheeky. "This is my boyfriend."

Brandon's lip curls. "Boyfriend."

"Almost a year now," Percy says proudly. "Right, babe?"

"She only just moved here."

"Long-distance," Percy explains. "We met at a ski lodge, didn't we?"

Annabeth fakes a smile. "Yeah."

The idiot is using the stupid High School Musical plot. If Annabeth wasn't so endeared she might have smacked him.

"Oh." Brandon's mouth tightens. "You didn't tell me you'd invited your boyfriend, Lois."

"Must've slipped her mind," Percy interjects before Annabeth can say anything. "Silly mistake. Can you blame her, though?" He gives her a look that would normally turn her bones to syrup but he's got this mischievous sparkle in his eyes that Annabeth doesn't trust one bit. "I am quite extraordinary. Every time she tried to bring me up she went into a daze about how incredible I am."

Now he's just being ridiculous. "Indeed," Annabeth says. She presses her heel against Percy's foot. "Sorry, he's in a bit of a mood. I did mean to tell you, I promise, but I just kept forgetting."

Brandon sneers. "Doesn't seem like that much of boyfriend if he's that forgettable."

Annabeth gives him an icy stare. "Jealousy isn't a good look, you know."

"Come on, Lois. You have to see it, too. Why on earth would you want to date him? He's a loser. I bet you don't know anything about him."

Percy laughs humourlessly. "I love how you say that as if you do."

"You'd be surprised, freak."

"Quite right. You didn't even know my name."

"I know a lot more then you'd think."

"Yeah, okay. Like how I'm called Jacob, right?"

Brandon gives Percy a look and suddenly Annabeth's blood solidifies to ice. That can't be Brandon. Is he a jerk? Absolutely – but the fire in his eyes is something Annabeth sees when she looks into the eyes of a psychopath with a gun. Something isn't right. That isn't the look of a teenage boy. That's the look of a terrorist.

"How about we start with your dad?" Brandon asks coolly, and Percy's arm around her shoulders tenses up like all his muscles have turned to metal. "I bet Lois doesn't know anything about that."

Percy starts trembling. Annabeth can feel his leg pressed tightly against hers begin to quiver. "You don't know anything."

"I wouldn't be sure."

Annabeth stands up. There's blood pounding against her ears. "That's enough."

Brandon looks mock disappointed. "Oh, but we've only just started."

Annabeth growls. "If you value your teeth I would suggest you shut up."

"Drop it, Lois," Percy mutters.

"No, I won't drop it! Do you hear what he's saying?"

"Aw," Brandon coos. "Look at you, Jackson. Can't even fight your own battles."

For a moment, Annabeth doesn't care about keeping a good reputation. She doesn't care that she's a spy. For a moment she doesn't have control of her body, and it only takes a moment for her to lunge forward and smack him straight in the face.

Brandon recoils. Everyone sat around them turns around and stares at her. Percy looks horrified. The fire in Brandon's eyes has died and he begins to look more like a teenage boy, but the stiffness in Percy's shoulders and the sting in her hand remind her what just happened.

Brandon stares at her in shock. "Did– did you just–"

"I'll have you know," Annabeth interrupts snippily, "that Percy is an incredible boyfriend."

Finally, finally, Brandon must hear that he's hit a nerve. His eyes widen. "Oh, Lois, I didn–"

"Yes, you did," Annabeth says curtly. "And I'd appreciate it if you kept your negative opinions about my boyfriend to yourself from here on out because they are unnecessary and frankly they make you look a little like a jealous five-year-old. Thank you." She stands up. "Come on, Perce."

Percy looks a little nervous. "Lois–"

"Marino's going to win," Annabeth tells him. It's actually kind of obvious. Lancaster is three points ahead of them, but they're far too cocky for their own good. At one point they're going to trip up on their arrogance and become lazy. Marino was always going to win. "Five to three. Jason Grace is going to be named star player. Lancaster player with the frizzy hair is going to try and twist his ankles off when the game ends but he'll be stopped by the coach and banned for the rest of the season. Now you know what's going to happen. Come on, let's go."

Percy goes without complaint.

"Thanks, by the way," Percy says awkwardly. "For sticking up for me."

"It's okay. Brandon's a pig."

They've been walking for a while. Annabeth isn't quite sure where – just drifting from street to street – but it's nice. Comforting. Percy's nose has gone slightly red from the cold and Annabeth's pretty sure her fingertips are blue but she doesn't think she'd rather be anywhere else.

"I just–" Percy sighs and looks up at the sky. "I don't know how he even knew that stuff."

Annabeth doesn't ask. She knows he'll tell her in his own time.

"I'm sorry," she says.

Percy gives her a look. "It's not your fault."

"Feels like it is. And anyway, I was the one who dragged you to the game."

"And it was incredibly gracious of myself to accept. Besides, it was for the greater good. We were doing it so you didn't end up roped into dating him."

Annabeth shudders. "Gross."

"I quite agree. That side would have come out sooner or later. He would have caught you talking to Leo or something and made assumptions, and then crapped all over him to make it seem like he was the better person."

Annabeth winces. "I'm sorry."

Percy stops her. "Hey. It's not your fault."

"I know. But it just– he shouldn't have said that stuff."

"No, he shouldn't, but you had no way of controlling that."

"And he had no way of knowing about your dad but look what happened."

"I mean." Percy shrugs a bit. "It was on the news, so maybe he recognized me. It doesn't matter, anyway."

Annabeth's subconscious's ears prick up. Annabeth tells it to shut up.

"It does, a bit," she says. "But it's all over now. You're okay."

"Yeah." Percy nods, and for the first time Annabeth realises how close they are. If she wanted, she could reach out and tangle their fingers. "I am."

They're quiet for a while. Percy's a bit taller than her. If Annabeth wanted to kiss him she's probably have to stretch up on her tiptoes. Would his hair be soft? Would it be his first kiss? Where would he put his hands?

Whoa.

Annabeth blinks. Not for the first time, she is so incredibly grateful that no one can hear her thoughts. Down, boy.

She clears her throat. "So," she says. "Fancy anything to eat?"

Percy gives her a shameful, apologetic kind of smile. "Um. I haven't got any money."

"My treat."

Immediately, Percy shakes his head. "Utterly not."

Annabeth is crestfallen. "What? Why?"

"Because! Do you know how emasculating it is to have the girl pay on the first date?"

First date first date first date firstdatefirstdatefirstdatefirstdate.

Annabeth swallows the impending blush. "Okay, scumbag, listen."

Percy laughs. "Kidding."

"Good." Annabeth gives him a pointed look that has Percy suppressing a snort into his sweater sleeve. "I was about to break out the Feminist Big Guns."

"Terrifying."

"Don't mock. It would have been."

"I'm shaking in my shoes."

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "Look. If it makes you feel any better this isn't even my money. I stole it from my cousin."

"Scandalous."

"Do you want me to leave you here?"

Percy barks out another laugh and Annabeth fondly watches as his eyes crease into happy green slits. His laugh probably has to be her favourite thing. Ever.

"Okay, okay," he says. "Spoil me."

"Watch me."

"McDonalds. Classy."

"Shut up."

"So," Percy says, after they've found a table to sit down at. "I suppose you want to know about my dad."

Annabeth shrugs. "Only if you're okay with telling me."

"I am." Percy laces his fingers around his drink. He cracks a small smile. "I feel like this is the part in a rom-com where the male love interest shares his angsty sob story."

Annabeth laughs. "That depends on how angsty it is."

"Oh, incredibly so. This is the product of all of my stereotypical shattered teenage hopes and dreams."

"Woe is you."

"Indeed. You should see me at home. I sit in my painted-black bedroom with My Chemical Romance in the background wearing lots of eyeliner and black clothes whilst screaming 'no one understands me!'"

Annabeth nods seriously. "Tragic."

Percy laughs. His foot taps against the ground – his ADHD is acting up again. Annabeth sympathizes. She had ADHD growing up. Chiron managed to channel most of it into countless training sessions. It's one of the reasons why she's as strong as she is now – because she just didn't ever get tired. (It's also the reason why a lot of her sit-down lessons from age six to eleven had to be repeated, because she didn't have the capacity to sit down and concentrate on one subject for so long.)

"So," Percy says. "My mom and I – we've always been a team. Never knew my real dad, so he was never really important. My mom was my best friend growing up. She's absolutely incredible. But I think she was lonely, you know? It was just us. All she had to talk to was a toddler, and by the time I was about ten or something she was about to go crazy. Which is understandable, you know. I would also go crazy if my only friend was my ten-year-old son. And so she married this guy. Gabe."

Uh oh.

"He was cool, I guess," Percy says. He stares at his hands. "Or. He was for the first few months. He and my mom didn't get married until I was about thirteen. When I turned fourteen he started hitting her."

Annabeth's eyes widen.

"He was a total piece of crap." He rips at his napkin. He's anxious; Annabeth can see it in the taut veins in his hand. Pack it in with ADHD and Annabeth knows that he might just work himself into hysteria. "Beat Mom black and blue. I didn't catch on fast enough. I only realised it when he hit me and Mom threw herself at him, and he just backhanded her across the room like she was a toy. It was so scary, Lois, I–" Percy stops. The tap-tap-tapping of his foot is getting faster.

"You don't have to tell me," Annabeth says. "If it's that hard don't force yourself."

"No, it's okay." Percy swallows. "Um. We didn't tell anyone. Gabe would have ripped us in two. But one day he was careless and he hit me in the face. Like. He did it on purpose, obviously, but with me he made sure not to get any of the places people would see. My mom he went nuts on, because he had banned her from leaving the house. But one day he hit my too hard and I bruised. Then I fainted in the middle of Calculus. The headteacher called an ambulance and they discovered everything else. Gabe got arrested."

Annabeth watches him. "You said it was on the news," she says softly.

Percy sniffles a little. "Yeah. It was. Turns out, it wasn't the first time Gabe was charged with abuse. The pig's been locked up for life and my mom got better but – but it wasn't fun. I don't really like people bringing it up, 'cause. You know."

"Yeah." Annabeth hesitates, and then carefully slides her fingers into Percy's until they are laced together on top of the table. Percy stares at them. "I'm really sorry, Percy. You didn't deserve that."

"No one does."

"Especially not you. You're wonderful."

Percy lets out a strained laugh. "Is this a ruse to get me to do the rest of our English project by myself?"

"Damn, you got me." Annabeth's smile turns serious. "But, like. Percy, if you ever want to talk or anything, I'm here. I understand a lot more than you'd think."

If only Annabeth could tell him about what she's been through. But she can't.

Percy smiles at her. "Thanks, Lois."

Something tugs at Annabeth's heart.

It's almost funny, really. When finally something goes right it's still not perfect. Because it'll never be Annabeth. It'll always be Lois.

"So." Annabeth gives Percy a big smile. Hopefully he can't detect the wistfulness in her voice. "You ready to head off?"

"Nearly. Let me finish my drink."

Annabeth rolls her eyes. Percy had insisted they stop at a coffee shop before they arrived at McDonald's because it turns out he's a drink snob and he found McDonald's drinks absolutely disgusting.

Then he went and ordered a chamomile tea.

This boy.

"This will never not be funny," Annabeth tells him. "I hope you realise."

"Just because you don't appreciate the true beauty of tea doesn't mean you can make fun of people who do."

"It's tea."

"Is that a problem?"

"You're letting down America. We're meant to hate tea. We threw it in the harbour, remember?"

"It's a new era, Lois." Percy sips at it and looks at her with his big green eyes. Annabeth subtly has to hold onto the table to keep herself from falling over. "Not all of us are barbarians nowadays."

They're still holding hands. Neither of them says anything about it.

In fact, they hold hands until Percy walks Annabeth to her apartment block and he has to in order to say goodbye.

"It's been fun," he says, a little shyly. "We should do this again."

Annabeth has to pinch her leg to stop a silly grin from splitting her face. "Yeah."

"Well." Percy raises his hand in a funny little wave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lois."

"You too, Percy. Thanks for being my boyfriend."

Percy laughs. "Any time."

("So?" Piper shouts as soon as soon as Annabeth walks through the door. "How was it? Which boy did you end up kissing?"

"Hopefully not both," Thalia mumbles.

"Neither, actually," Annabeth tells them.

Piper stares at her. "But we just saw Percy walk you to the door! That means it's a date! How did you go on a date and not get kissed?"

"Maybe you underestimated Annabeth's game," Thalia suggests.

Annabeth glares at her. "I have plenty of game, thank you very much. And it wasn't a date. Brandon was a jerk so we left and went to McDonald's."

Piper is horrified. Thalia cracks up laughing.

"Classic," she howls.

Piper scowls. "I am outraged, Annabeth. I thought I had raised you better than this. McDonald's? Do you know how tacky that is?"

All in all, it was a great night. Annabeth goes to sleep thinking of green eyes and how Percy's fingers felt against hers.)

A/N: note: it happened again guys. i made another mistake. thank you so much to WisePhoenix for telling me about the mistake. im gonna have to use you guys as my proof-readers xD

Hey guys! I hope you liked that. I enjoyed writing it far too much, if you couldn't already tell xD

So a few things. Some of you were a bit concerned about Thalia's character last chapter - you found her a tad rude - which, not gonna lie, was the point, but never fear. she is going to warm up (of course she is she's living with annabeth and piper how can she not) in a few chapters. at the moment she's still convinced that she's not going to enjoy it at all and that it's just another assignment with a bratty schoolgirl and a weirdo. She will get nicer, I promise.

Also - school has hit me like a truck, so updates from here on out may slow down a little. I will never abandon this story but I may not update as frequently as I used to? I will minimum try to update at least once a week. Pinky promise.

And guys we've nearly got forty reviews! Six chapters in and we've nearly reached forty. That's absolutely insane thank you all so much. I can't believe you like this little fanfic as much as i do it means so much aaahhh im so excited!

That's all I have for now! As always, please tell me what you thought - favourite bits? Bits that i could improve on? Parts where it was clear I was trying to be hilarious but wasn't and should never say again? - and i'll see you all next time. Bye! xx