Internet Friends (Percico)

Chapter 11

-Percy-

The day of February 14th was a nice one. You know days where it's chilly, and you have to wrap up against the cold, but it's sunny? But not warm sunny? Yeah, it was one of those days.

The crunch of the icy grass beneath Annabeth and I's feet was little to be heard as we walked through Central Park together, gloved hand in hand as the cold nipped at our faces. Annabeth's cheeks were rosy as she beamed up at me, and my stomach did flips.

"I can't believe you did this." She smiled, leaning her head on my shoulder with a soft sigh.

In all truth, I hadn't done much. I'd gotten her a few things, yeah, and I'd taken her out for breakfast, and we'd seen a movie too. But if she's happy, I'm happy.

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "It's the least I could do, you're my girlfriend."

Her blush deepened as she gave me a gentle shove. "Tell me something I don't know."

I paused in thought. "Something you don't know? Like the 50 dollar Barnes and Noble vouchers you didn't see before?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. Then her face broke out into a grin, "you didn't!"

I chuckled, "they're taped to the bottom of the box of flowers I got you."

For a moment it looked like she was going to burst with excitement. Then she pulled her hand from mine and threw her arms around my neck, kissing me softly, causing my lips to curl up into a smile against hers as my hands held her waist.

She pulled away, her face flushed as she gazed up at me. I tucked a stray piece of golden hair behind her ear, laughing, "c'mon we better get home before we freeze."

-

I dropped Annabeth off when it began to get dark, around 7:30. Mom and Paul had gone out for dinner so that meant I had the house to myself, so I called Nico.

He was doing homework when he first picked up, and watching him now, his brow furrowed in concentration as he bit at the top of his pen, was actually pretty cute.

But, like, cute as in platonically cute, okay?

I was doing homework too, actually. We hadn't said anything in the past ten minutes, but I didn't feel awkward. I could sit in silence with him forever and...it'd feel nice, still.

"Percy?" Nico's voice sounded. It was slightly raspy, and for some odd reason, my heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah?" I replied, looking back up from my English essay to see his eyes raking across the homework page on his desk I couldn't see. The hand he wasn't writing with was lost in the front of the dark mess that was his hair.

"Is it the atomic number or the mass number that never changes?"

I chuckled. "Chemistry or Physics?"

"It's relevant to both actually." Nico looked up with a grimace, although he was smiling. "Overall science revision."

"Atomic, I think." I smiled back.

"Thanks." Nico looked back to his work, and we lapsed back into silence.

It was times like these I wished he was actually here. I found doing homework with someone nice, and none of my other friends did this with me. But somehow I felt like it would only be nice with him. He made me feel at ease, relaxed.