Annabeth POV

Bringing Thalia and Piper to a bookstore is a horrible idea. They don't appreciate the art of reading print book. Well, they don't appreciate reading in general.

"Why did you bring me here?" Piper whined. "This is so boring, Annabeth."

"You're the one who wanted to hang out," I countered.

"Yeah, but I thought we'd be doing something fun. This bookstore looks like a cemetery where nerds go to pay their respects," Piper expressed.

Thalia laughed and high-fived her.

I rolled my eyes. My hands trailed the books on the shelf, liking the feeling of the novels. I had brought Percy to this bookstore many times, and we'd sit in the lounge for our tutoring sessions. He didn't mind my fascination to the books, or maybe, he just never said anything.

"Percy never complains about coming here," I snapped in annoyance.

"He was probably too busy looking at you all in love. Obviously, Percy's not going to make fun of something you love because he wants you to like him," Piper explained. Thalia smirked.

"We're just friends," I said quietly.

I quickly turned my attention back to the shelf, trying to control my blushing cheeks. I picked up a random novel from the shelf and started reading the back. I just wanted a fun series to read.

"Bull shit," Thalia remarked.

"Seriously, we're just friends right now," I answered. "We figured that this would be best for us right now. Percy doesn't need any distraction."

"You're not a distraction, Annie," Thalia said. "And, trust me, Percy still loves you."

"I know that," I whispered.

I knew that Percy has a lot of feelings for me. But, for once in his life, Percy is looking after himself. He deserves to put his full attention to swimming because he's destined to do great things.

Also, Percy has so much going on since it's our senior year of high school. He heavily worries about not being able to commit to a deserving amount of time and energy to me without sacrificing his career.

I understand his intentions completely.

You know what? We should do something about you two. Y'all clearly are in love," Piper said excitedly.

"We decided to stay friends for now," I urged.

"So what?" Piper mumbled.

We started walking down the bookshelf aisle. I still haven't found the books I'm looking for, and I really need a series to read.

Suddenly, I bumped into someone while walking out of the aisle. It was a complete accident, but it stunned me for a few moments.

"I am so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," I murmured quickly.

"No, my apologies. I was caught up in my book and didn't realize you were there," the boy said. He was tall and muscular (not like Percy); he resembled more of a football player. I recognized him too.

"I'm Matt Sloan. We go to school together," he said in a friendly tone.

"Annabeth Chase, and Yes."

"Oh, I know who you are. The whole school obviously knows the projected valedictorian," Matt said.

I smiled at the compliment.

Piper and Thalia decided to leave the bookstore and go to the store next door. However, I stayed with Matt while we searched for our books together. Matt seemed pretty friendly, and it was rare to find a jock who also indulges in books.

I had a pretty good time, and it always feels good to make a new friend in my opinion.

"Maybe, we can hang out sometime, Annabeth?" Matt asked hesitantly.

I smiled politely in response.

...

Piper was getting on the last of my nerves. She wouldn't stop ordering me to do stuff at her house. Yet, she was the one that decided to host a Spring Break sleepover at her house. Now, I was at her mansion, making sure all the beds weee made upstairs.

On the other hand, Piper was pulling all the extra blankets and comforters from the closet. Thalia refused to do any work by choosing to not come early.

Thalia clearly has the most street smarts.

"All right, all the bedrooms are ready," I shouted to Piper in the next room. "I don't understand why we need to make the beds. Our friends literally won't care about house etiquette."

"I care as the host of the party," Piper flushed.

"You're ridiculous."

Literally, our friends would be okay if everyone was required to sleep on the ground in the living room. That's probably what will end up happening anyway. I can practically guarantee it.

Piper and I went back downstairs as everyone started to arrive. It was just the gang who were invited. The seven, Thalia, Nico, and Will.

I was excited for the sleepover. It'll be fun.

Leo made a big show of Percy's arrival, causing Percy to flip him off.

"Look who FINALLY decided to come to hang out. Here I was thinking that we weren't that important to you anymore," Leo joked.

Percy rolled his eyes.

"Don't mind him, Seaweed Brain. Not everyone can understand how stupid they're being," I said, intentionally loud.

Percy laughed as Leo stuck his tongue out at us.

It took a lot of effort to convince Percy to come. He hasn't been having the time and energy to come to social events; plus, he was trying to stay out of any problematic situations.

Also, Percy won't be sleeping over since he has swimming early in the morning, but he'll be staying for as long as possible.

Everyone arrived at Piper's house within a half hour of each other. Jason walked in last, holding way too many pizza boxes in his arms. Why did we order so many pizzas anyway?

Here's why?

Will, Frank, and Leo devoured the food. It actually caught me off guard.

"Wow, and I thought you eat a lot," I commented quietly to Percy.

"I eat an appropriate amount," Percy countered.

"Seaweed Brain, you're salad bowl is the size of a fruit bowl, and there's so much chicken in there," I over-exaggerated Percy's packed diet.

"Don't judge me, Wise Girl," Percy grinned.

After our dinner, a lot of people tried avoiding asking the question: what now? We all knew that Piper and Will would have the same cliche idea. However, Hazel made the amateur mistake of asking Piper what she had planned.

The answer is a standard one for Piper.

Truth or Dare.

Everyone sat in a circle in the living room with a spinning bottle in the center.

The truths and dates were pretty tame if you ask me. Some people were asked to kiss each other, others have random stuff in their hair, and Leo had the hair of his left leg waxed off.

The truths were just boring. We're a pretty close knit group of friends, so I knew most of the answers to the juicy questions. However, I didn't know that Leo had gone on a date with Calyspo last week. That ended up being the hottest news, and everyone pounced on Leo with additional questions.

Leo was normally the jokester, but at that moment, his face was bright red as he answered the questions that everyone had.

Finally, the game resumed.

Piper was way to happy to be getting Percy.

"Percy, truth or dare?" She asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Dare, obviously."

"I dare you to play seven minutes in heaven with Annabeth," Piper squealed. Everyone cheered or hollered or wooed.

My jaw dropped.

My gaze wondered to Percy, and his face was flushed. I should've know that Piper would do something stupid like this. I had told her clearly that Percy and I decided to stay friends. Now, things might get tense again.

"If y'all are just friends, then you shouldn't have any problem talking in the closet for a couple minutes. Now, go on," Piper said.

Percy and I slowly walked to the closet, which was really a pantry in the kitchen.

I set a timer for seven minutes before Percy and so stepped inside. Our friends cheered once again from the living room as the door closed behind us.

Of course, the light switch wasn't working in the panty. The dim light from the crack under the door was the only thing illuminated the small and crowded pantry. At least, it smells like cookies.

"I, uh, don't know what this is about," Percy said, scratching his neck nervously.

"It's nothing. They're just teasing us."

"How many people did you tell about us?" He asked.

"Well, we have a pretty small group of friends. The news travels around."

"Right, um, how much more time do we have?" Percy asked. He shifted his feet u comfortably, trying not to make eye contact with me.

"We just started," I replied slyly.

Percy decided to sit on the floor, and I followed suit. It was hard to sit next to a stack of pots, and a bunch of snacks on the floor. Percy had to duck slightly to avoid the shelf against the wall.

"At least, it smells like cookies," Percy joked a little uncomfortably.

"This is awkward," I whispered.

"It's only because we're in a dark closet, and I can't help but be thinking about kissing you," Percy blurted out. He immediately stopped an ducked his head. "Ugh, I'm so sorry. I'm just tense."

"Piper and Thalia keep saying that the sexual tension between us is killing them," I chuckled.

"Well, I certainly feel it."

"So..."

An awkward silence filled the space between us. We were sitting pretty close to each other, and our knees were bumping. Even that small point of contact sent a fire racing through my blood.

Percy thinks about kissing me even now. I'd be lying if I said that I don't think about our relationship. Sure, we're friends, but that doesn't begin to cover my feelings for him. Now, we're stuck in a closet, and all I can think about is pressing myself against him.

So, this is what sexual tension means.

Then, I got an idea.

"Look, Deaweed Brain, we're stuck in this closet for another four minutes, right?" I said.

"Yup."

"And, this closet is supposed to be an alternate heaven. Like, it's supposed to detach us from reality."

"Correct again," Percy said smiling.

"So, maybe, we can take advantage of this time. We can kiss under the pretense that it's a false reality. Once we're outside, we're back to our agreement as close friends," I told him.

"Sounds good to me," Percy answered.

I didn't even have time to think because Percy rushed forward, planting his lips on mine. His hands grabbed my waist pulling me closer to him. My hands got tangled into the locks of his hair.

Our lips moved in sync, and the fire inside of me exploded like a bomb. I don't know about him, but my world faded into the background. I could hear his heartbeat matching mine as we made out. He pulled me even closer to him as we positioned ourselves to kneeling position. My front side pressing against his. Everything felt perfect. Like heaven.

The alarm started ringing way to soon.

I pulled apart from Percy, and our heavy breathing killed the dark silence.

"Um, yeah," Percy mumbled.

He stood up and pulled me up too. I quickly fixed my shirt while he brushed his hair. We made sure that we looked just like how we entered even though we actually just made-out hot and heavy for about three minutes.

Then, we stepped out of the closet. The others were in the living room, arguing over a movie to watch. I fixed my hair and wiped the glossy chapstick off of Percy's lips and the skin around his mouth.

"That was a false reality, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, just a lucky chance for us to relieve some...built-up tension," Percy agreed.

"Right." I smiled.

Then, we returned to the group, assuring everyone that we simply talked the whole time. However, I could feel Percy's piercing gaze on me the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, my lips were still buzzing with sensation. His warmth didn't leave my heart.

...

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