You Belong to my Heart: A Percabeth FF

32. Annabeth

Chapter 32: Annabeth

After the meet had gone pretty well. Luke had taken me to get some ice-cream and we had chatted for a while. It felt nice and relaxed. I was happy for once in my life and I was pretty proud of myself for it.

That day I had agreed that I would go with him to a movie, so I wasn't surprised when I received his text: I'll be there in 2 hours.

And so, I began to get ready. I chose to wear a simple, spaghetti-strapped black dress over a white, long-sleeved shirt. I felt much too self-aware to wear the dress without anything underneath. I styled on boots and wore my hair in a messy side braid. I thought I looked pretty cute. Not that it mattered. I was so done with romance after Percy had broken my heart. But I couldn't ignore the small flutter of my heart whenever Luke smiled at me.

I walked downstairs, when he texted me, my boots clunking heavily on the stairs. "Hi!" I said, as I opened the door to his car and slid in. He was a senior, so he could drive and take other people with him.

"Hey!" He looked me up and down and smiled. "I love your outfit."

I looked down and blushed. "Oh thanks."

He started to drive. He looked over at me. He was wearing dark sunglasses and a dark blue shirt. "Excited for the movie?" he asked.

"Very!" I giggled.

The whole ride there we talked about our classes and teachers and various life experiences. I found out that his dad had left him when he was young, to go on a business trip and ever since then, he had always been traveling distant places. He also told me that his mom was slightly crazed and he lamented the huge responsibility he had to take in order to take care of her.

When he finished, we were already in line to buy tickets. "Wow Luke, I'm so sorry. I can't believe you had to go through all that," I replied sincerely. In a small act of courage, I placed my hand over his and squeezed it tightly, reassuring him that I was here for him, supporting him. He gave me a weak smile and then shook his head quickly.

"Come on," he smiled and led me inside.

The movie theater was classically styled, with velvet couches in the lobby area. The line for the tickets was surprisingly short and in no time, I held in my hand a thin, plastic ticket. We were going to watch the new live action "Tangled" movie, which I was extremely excited about. Tangled had always been one of my favorite movies and I related to Rapunzel a lot. To be completely, honest, however, I was very surprised that Luke had agreed to take me.

"Do you want to get something to eat or drink?" he asked.

The smell of popcorn made me dizzy. "I don't have money," I laughed nervously. "It's okay, I'll wait here."

"Nonsense!" he said. "What do you want?"

"Do you want to share some popcorn?" I asked. "But I don't have money so I really can't—"

"Annabeth," he said, his voice deep. He placed his thumb on my chin. His eyes looked deep inside mine and I shivered. "I'll pay, okay? No more nonsense of money,"

"Okay," I whispered.

The movie was wonderful, and I loved every single minute of it. I hadn't been in a movie theater in a long time and it was a nice break. Rapunzel was well cast and Pascal was hilarious the entire movie. Of course, Eugene stole my heart the moment he appeared on the screen. Suddenly, the credits were rolling with beautiful titles moving across the screen.

"Did you like it?" he asked.

"Loved it!" I smiled.

"I'm so glad," he grinned, and reached over to hold my hand. I turned to look at him, but I didn't know what to say. Everyone else was moving out of the theater, too bored to watch the credits.

We stood there like a couple of idiots for a couple of minutes. No interaction was passed between us, it was just pure silence. I observed a thin scar over his eye and the way his eyes shifted quickly from side to side, as if he were anxious about something, but also the way they rested happily when they landed on me.

His blue eyes studied my face, and a blush followed them everywhere. I could feel my face getting hotter and hotter and I lost the ability to breathe correctly.

I cleared my throat. "We should—I should—" my voice cracked and I winced in embarrassment. I stood up quickly, my heart racing in my chest.

He stood up as well, his eyes moving down to our hands. He took another step forward and we were intimately close. Still, no one spoke. I looked around and saw that we were completely alone. Everyone had left.

Except us.

He gently brushed my cheek, like a faint whisper of a tickle, and moved my hair to the side. His blue eyes were piercing and large, staring into my own. He moved his mouth closer and closer to mine until our lips were brushing. He parted his lips and held me closer. I separated away from him, breathing heavily.

"I think we should go," I replied, confused. He had just kissed me hadn't he? Was this even real?

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to! You just looked... gorgeous," he said, humiliated.

I chuckled nervously. I didn't know what to respond. On the one hand, I had felt fluttery around him, and I couldn't deny it, but this wasn't Percy, and no matter how pretty his eyes were, I missed Percy. Percy's with Cal, a voice whispered in my mind. Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. Luke is nice and handsome and funny and—

"Annabeth?" his fingers brushed my temple. My stomach twisted.

"Yeah?" I whispered.

"So she is alive," he teased. "Can I ask you something?"

"What's the question?" I asked.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Woah what?" I replied, suddenly scared of him. I had told him I wasn't comfortable moving too quickly and yet, he kept pushing. It really annoyed me.

"Look, we already go on dates—"

"These are dates?" I asked, astounded.

"Only if you want to. It's just a title Annabeth. It doesn't mean anything. And all the other boys at swim tease me about you. Please? For me?" he widened his eyes.

I thought about how close I had been with Percy and how even we hadn't put a label on us. This was different though. Luke was nice, charming and calm. He wouldn't betray me like Percy. And I really didn't want him getting hurt because of me... Plus, I didn't want to stay lonely forever in this new school. Luke could help me... branch out. And I would gain a friend. A close one. His proposal sounded more appealing than ever. His large blue eyes never left my face and I could feel a blush rise up. "Oh fine," I waved him off. "I shall be your girlfriend. Now let's go. I'm starving."

He looked up in surprise and slowly smiled.