Percabeth at high school

Chapter 1

"I think driving under the influence is a felony in most northern states of America."

Oh, fantastic. A daily dose of Percy Jackson was just what Annabeth needed at that moment.

She glanced upwards and was undoubtedly met by the eyes of her annoyingly handsome locker neighbor, also known as the school's ultimate heartbreaker. Percy wasn't a cheater, but he loved to lead girls on only to reveal that there was no final destination because he refused any sort of commitment. Annabeth didn't particularly hold a grudge against him, but they definitely weren't friends, and she definitely didn't want him seeing her like this."I'm fine,"

 she insisted, tripping over her feet.

"There's no way I'm letting you go home like this," Percy said. "Come on." He grabbed her arm and wrapped it around his shoulder, supporting her weight.

"I don't want the Percy Jackson special," Annabeth groaned, bobbing her head back and forth. She was wasted, but not enough to forget who he was. Percy scowled.

"I would never do that with you while you're drunk, Annabeth. I'm taking you back to Luke. Where'd he go?"

She snorted. "The bastard left a few hours ago when I caught him banging Drew Tanaka in the closet."

Percy's face fell. "Oh."

"Mhm," Annabeth replied, unbothered. She remembered the pain of witnessing her three-year long boyfriend cheating on her, but only vaguely. She'd cursed him out so bad that he fled the party, and Annabeth stayed and got drunk with some people she'd never spoken to. Next thing she knew, she was being carried by Percy.

"Okay, well I cannot in good conscience leave you here," he decided. "There's a lot of creeps who could..." He didn't finish the sentence, but Annabeth got the jist.

"Not my place, please," she begged. "Don't take me there. I told my parents I'd stay at Piper's, and if they see me come in like this..."

"But what if someone sees us going back to my place together?" Percy whisper-shouted. "They're gonna think- well, you know."

Annabeth didn't know. She was so drunk she didn't even know her own last name.

"Please."

Percy considered his options for a moment. He looked around the party, and he didn't like the assortment of guys there who, ontop of being full-time creeps, were also wasted out of their minds. That was a terrible combo.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go."

Percy steadied her and tried his best to make a quiet exit, but Annabeth heard several hoots and hollers of encouragement coming from the kitchen, which Percy ignored.

"Diane's gonna be pissed," he said as soon as they were out the door.

"Who's Diane?" Annabeth asked.

"This girl I made out with a few hours ago. She's like, I don't know, 5'4? Brown hair, can't remember her eye color."

"Ohh, Diane Conway?"

"Mhm."

Annabeth waved her hand in a casual manner. "She's fine," she said. "I saw her go upstairs with Connor twenty minutes ago."

Percy pursed his lips. "Well, that would've been me if I didn't see you tripping over yourself."

"I didn't ask you to do this."

"Whatever." He steered her carefully down the steps. "You sure about my house, Princess? I don't want you freaking out when you wake up."

"Don't call me..." Annabeth's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen. "Let me go. Let me-" she projectile vomited on the sidewalk, trying her best to avoid hitting Percy with her puke. He stepped away for a moment in shock, but quickly put himself into action. He grabbed Annabeth's hair and held it up as she vomited.

"This is so nasty," she said, her puke subsiding. Percy nodded.

"Yeah, no argument here."

"I didn't know players could feel compassion for others."

Percy shrugged. "How do you think I get so many girls? I'm a gentleman." Annabeth didn't respond. She slowly stood up with Percy's help.

Now that her thoughts were a bit clearer, she started to wonder about Percy. Since when was he so caring and helpful? Sure, his tone was harsh and slightly irritated, but he was still doing something kind for her. Or rather; was Annabeth overthinking this entire situation? Any decent person would help her out of this situation, but maybe her perception of life was so warped that she was now seeing the bare minimum as a grand gesture.

"Thank you," she said anyway.

Percy brushed the hair out of his eyes and for a second, she saw a glimmer of kindness seeping through. "I'm doing the bare minimum, don't thank me."

Ah, it was as if they had the same thought process. Annabeth felt sick.
;;;

Halfway to Percy's house, he stopped at a Dunkin Donuts. Annabeth opened her eyes, which only then caused her to realize she'd been dozing off.

"Order something, Princess, it's on me," he said. Annabeth rubbed her eyes and decided to momentarily ignore the irritating nickname. It was probably instinct, anyway; Percy had to manipulate girls somehow, the nickname game was probably part of his act.

"Medium coffee, cream and sugar," she said. Percy frowned.

"That's it? No flavor?"

"Yup."

He sighed and recited the order to the person working the drive-thru microphone. "Now I sound like a psychopath," he complained. Annabeth smiled a bit.

When she obtained the coffee, she thanked Percy, which he didn't respond to.

"How are we gonna do this?" he asked. Annabeth sipped her coffee.

"Do what?"

"I mean, are we going to tell my mom the truth, or come up with a lie? I can do either, but I just want to know what's happening once we get to my house."

Annabeth froze. Of course she knew Percy had a mom. She just never imagined that Percy Jackson, the boy who broke the hearts of about 50% of the girls at school, would be concerned about what his mother thinks.

"She'll hate me if we tell her the truth," Annabeth said. For some reason, she wanted Percy's mom to like her. Anyone who could put that boy in his place was someone Annabeth could get along with.

He scowled. "What? No she won't. We just have to explain what happened with Luke."

She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, nervously peaking at the floor. "I don't think any mother would see that as a valid reason to bring some random girl over."

Percy laughed; an up-lifting, genuine laugh that Annabeth really needed at the moment. "You've never met my mom," he said. "She's the best person in the world. She'll understand, trust me."

Annabeth might've blushed because of how highly Percy spoke of his mother, but she dismissed it as an effect of her current state. Nothing Percy did should ever leave her flustered.

"Okay," she said after a few moments of consideration. "Let's tell her the truth."