8:15

TV had gotten lame. There were absolutely no shows that could hold my attention for a span of longer than three seconds. Three seconds was exactly how long I stared at each channel before pushing the little rubber button firmly down on the remote. I know, I counted.

I had answered the phone, voice shaking and short of breath, only to stop breathing completely halfway through my greeting. Not because of the confused, lost and stoned Alex who murmured something about pelicans; but because of the quiet, affectionate sigh that came from Percy as he uttered her name.

I had completely forgotten about her.

I talked to Alex for about ten minutes. More like, he babbled on and on about the many different foods he was thinking about at that moment, and I tried desperately not to listen to Percy's hushed terms of endearment.

Finally I managed to convince Alex to go with a cheeseburger instead of Chinese on the grounds that a cheeseburger was less likely to upset his stomach and ruin his high. Then I threw myself off of my bed and nearly tripped as I ran out the door and down the stairs. I don't know if Percy noticed my rabid fleeing, but I don't care either. I flopped down on the couch, covering my face with my hands and taking deep breaths.

"This is okay, Sophia, its fine. Everything is just fine." I whispered out loud. I'm a terrible liar, and I was having a very hard time convincing myself of anything.

The TV was making beautiful background noise when Percy came trotting down the stairs. He leapt over the back of the couch and landed half in my lap. I groaned and shoved him a little, not enough to move him completely off of me, but enough to give the customary annoyed impression Percy smiled and adjusted so he was beside me instead, then he cleared his throat and gestured to the TV.

"Since when do you watch Antiques Roadhouse?"

"Since I developed a crush on middle-aged delusions." I sighed, "Who was on the phone?" I asked casually, pretending I didn't already know the answer.

Percy hesitated before answering, maybe because he realized that something here was different, "It was Annabeth." He said hurriedly.

"Oh."

Neither of us would look at each other.

"She says I've been distant."

"Really?"

"She thinks we need to spend some quality time together."

"Sounds fun."

"I'm actually thinking about heading over there now..."

"Oh."

There was an extended silence. It filled the room and muffled the sound of the television. I felt Percy's body move as he breathed and it made me feel sick inside. Then a flutter shot through my stomach as I felt his fingers tangle themselves shyly with mine. I glanced down at our joined hands on the couch cushions between us, and a bashful smile touched my face.

"I don't know what we're doing here." Percy said quietly, as if he thought the words wouldn't make any sense if spoken too loudly, "But whatever it is, I still need to talk to Annabeth. Because right now, even though I'd give anything in the world at this very second not to give a flying fuck, she's my girlfriend, and I have an obligation to care."

I nodded slowly, the smile fading quickly from my face. I squeezed his hand tightly and then pulled mine free, "I understand."

Percy smiled and leaned toward me to press a, still timid, but meaningful kiss to my cheek, but I turned my head slightly and he caught the corner of my mouth. Then he got up and walked toward the door, shooting me a smile as he left.

The minute he shut the door behind him I slumped down in the couch and sighed. I shook my head, "'I have an obligation to care.'" I mocked him, "Obligation my ass. His only obligation is to suck and he's doing a tremendous job of it." I glanced around the room and groaned, "I'm fucking talking to myself."

I let myself sit and wallow for about ten minutes before wandering toward the phone and dialing Marissa's number with a sigh. She picked up after two and a half rings. Two and a half. I counted.

"Hello?"

"Sup Pimpette?"

"Not much, loser." Marissa laughed, "What're you up to?" I leaned against the wall across from the front door and stared at it, mentally willing Percy to come back, bursting through and taking me into his arms like in those heart wrenching Hollywood teen flicks.

"Pondering the meaning of life, arguing the ethics of gravity, considering the benefits of Buddhism, debating whether or not asparagus should be considered edible, you know the usual." I said nonchalantly and began picking at the chipped green nail polish on my pinky finger.

"Sounds stimulating."

"Yeah." Then, without thinking, I blurted, "Percy kissed me."

There was a second of silence on the line during which I was given a chance to realize exactly what I had said. I felt like an idiot.

"What?" Marissa finally said.

"Percy...well, he almost...kissed me." I slid down the wall and hit the floor with a thump.

"What do you mean almost?"

"I mean, like, we almost kissed and then...the phone rang."

"Was it important?"

"I've only been fantasizing about it since the first grade."

"No, I mean the phone call."

"Oh." I rolled my eyes at myself and gave myself a mental thwack on the head, "It was his girlfriend."

"Ouch, I bet that put a damper on the mood, eh?"

"To say the least."

"What did you do?"

"Well I just sort of closed my eyes and held my breath-"

"No, God, about Annabeth being on the phone."

"Oh." I sighed loudly, "Fortunately Alex called at the same time. Then I ran out of the room."

"So you panicked?"

"Naturally."

"Naturally." There was a pause, then Marissa sniffed loudly and spoke, "So then what happened, is he still there?"

"No he went to her house."

"Damn, that's lame. I'm sorry Soph."

"I don't know how sorry you should be. Before he left he held my hand and said that he wished he could just ignore her. But he's got an obligation to care."

"Really?" This intrigued her immensely. "What do you suppose he meant?"

"I don't know, Riss, but I'm hoping it's good."

"I'm sure it is. It sounds so anyway. He sure enjoyed that kiss you two shared at the diner last week."

I blushed just remembering it, "He wasn't the only one."

"Oooh, my little Sophia finally openly admits that she has hormones."

"I so do not have hormones. Only animals and boys have hormones."

"Grrr. You should totally ask Percy to Homecoming."

I frowned, "Homecoming?"

"Yea that thing where you get all dressed up and dance and everyone's hormones they don't have get wired."

"Ugh, sounds barbaric."

"Sometimes I seriously think our only option is piracy."

"Sometimes I seriously doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion."

"Shut up, I'm a lifer. That's why I'm peer pressuring you into taking a leap and asking Percy to Homecoming before Annabeth the Ass-whore does."

"Ass-whore?"

"Yea apparently she takes it in th-"

"So this Homecoming thing sounds great. I'll mull it over, bye!" I hung up immediately and tossed the phone across the floor. The last thing I ever wanted to know was the places that Annabeth Chase would "take it". And the whole asking Percy to Homecoming idea was, although incredibly appealing, not going to happen. Not only was some stupid high school dance probably the furthest thing from his mind at the time, he would never go with me. Like he said, he had obligations right now to his girlfriend. I couldn't expect him to just ditch her when he didn't know what the hell was going on here, could I? But unless he got rid of his obligation to her he could never just find out what was going on here. Suddenly, realistic logic started to pass through my head and the idea of taking Percy to Homecoming started to seem more and more possible.

Now I just needed to grow some balls.