soulmates ⋮ heroes of olympus au

twenty-three.

A n n a b e t h

☼

The Goode football stadium was bursting with activity that Friday night. "I still can't believe you managed to drag me to one of these," Thalia glared at her friends as they walked into the football stadium. "Why are we even going anyways?"

"We're going as a coverup for Hazel, who just wants to see Frank," Reyna stated as if it was obvious.

"Shh! Not so loud!" Hazel hissed as she hit Reyna in the shoulder. The group laughed loudly as Hazel continued with, "He knows I'm coming, anyways. Frank made me promise to come see him in at least one game."

"God, you two like each other so much," Rachel pointed out. "It's a wonder none of you have realized that you like each other."

Hazel blushed and fiddled with the blue-and-gold pom pom's they were handing out at the entrance. "He doesn't like me," He mumbled.

"I'm not even going to try that here," Piper muttered while scanning the bleachers to find a place for the group to stand. "Oh looks there's a spot right there!"

Annabeth couldn't help but smirk a little to herself when she saw the spot Piper had pointed out happened to be right in front of Jason.

But then she saw Percy and Leo standing next to Jason, and that smile quickly faded away and a nervous look replaced it.

Trying her best to act normal, Annabeth continued to talk with Rachel as they made their way over to stand in front of the three guys. Jason seemed to notice Piper coming towards him and he waved, ushering for the girls to take up the empty spot before someone else did.

Both Leo's and Calypso's eyes widened upon seeing each other in the stands, and Annabeth couldn't help but notice Leo sneakily squeeze Calypso's hand before standing next to her.

Percy finally took notice of Annabeth and grinned. Annabeth tried her best not to, but she couldn't help but notice how cute he looked in his blue and gold letterman jacket and swim team sweatshirt underneath. "Holy crap," Percy teased. "Do my eyes deceive me, or is Annabeth actually outside of the library?"

Annabeth hit him in the shoulder with one of her pom-poms. "Screw you, Seaweed Brain."

Thalia smirked at the two of them for a second before turning to grab a handful of popcorn out of Jason's popcorn bag. "Thanks, Staple-head."

Jason's face scrunched up in annoyance. "Seriously, Thalia?"

"Oh, look!" Calypso exclaimed, pointing to the field. "I think the football team's coming out!"

Calypso almost didn't need to point it out, as the screams that came from the stands made this very clear, Goode's football team came rushing onto the field in a sea of blue and gold, earning loud cheers from almost everyone in attendance, especially the cheerleaders below.

The game started, and if Annabeth was being completely honest, she was quickly confused as to what was even happening on the field. She had never been a huge football fan, so trying to keep track of the game while talking with her friends was near impossible. The only times Annabeth knew something significant was happening was whenever she'd hear the crowd cheer or boo.

Annabeth leaned over to Rachel, who appeared to be watching the game intently. "Remind me again why we came here?"

Rachel shushed her, "This is surprisingly pretty good," She admitted.

"Seriously?" Reyna laughed, even though she seemed to be watching the game closely too. "Out of all people who I expected to get into a football game, I never expected it to be Rachel."

When halftime came around, even though she had been having fun with her friends, Annabeth couldn't help but sigh with relief. Two quarters down, two more to go.

Hazel turned to Annabeth with a wide grin and adjusted the yellow bandana on her head before asking, "You want to come with us to the concession stand?"

Annabeth shook her head and sent her friends a smile before they made their way down the stands and walked over to the concessions.

Jason and Leo exchanged a look, and Annabeth noticed a mischievous glint appear in Leo's eyes. "We're going to the bathroom," They said simultaneously before bolting down the bleachers, shoving each other as the two ran towards the bathroom area.

Annabeth wasn't sure why the boys were acting that way until she looked over and saw that only Percy was there.

"Annabeth!" Percy jumped down a row to Annabeth's bleacher, his arms swinging at his side as he did. "What do you think about the game so far? Think you'll start showing up more?"

"Probably not," Annabeth admitted as she crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to gain some sort of warmth. "I'm so confused about what's even happening right now."

Percy raised an eyebrow and began to grin. "Wise Girl? Confused?" He teased. "Never thought I'd hear you say that in a million years."

Annabeth punched him in the shoulder, trying to contain the blush that seemed to be creeping onto her cheeks. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

Percy laughed loudly and the two stood in a silence after a while, watching the marching band perform on the field. The freezing wind whipped around her, and Annabeth couldn't help but shiver continually against her will.

"Hey," Percy said after a while. "Are you cold?"

Not wanting to let on how freezing she really was, Annabeth shook her head. "Nope," She lied. "I'm perfectly fine."

Percy frowned and, much to Annabeth's shock, began to take off his letterman jacket. "You can wear this," He offered. "It'll be humongous on you, but it'll still probably keep you warm."

Even though every part of Annabeth was screaming to wear the jacket, she still shook her head. "It's your coat, and it's freezing out. You're not suffering because I was stupid enough not to wear a warmer coat."

"Nope, not happening," Percy refused as he placed the jacket on her shoulders. "I'm perfectly fine. Just wear it, Wise Girl."

Annabeth felt her cheeks burn as she pulled his jacket tightly around her. "Thanks," She mumbled embarrassedly.

Percy grinned down at her and moved closer to her, pressing his shoulder up against her. Annabeth felt something brush her hand, and she glanced down curiously. Percy's hand seemed to be inching towards hers, his fingers just barely grazing Annabeth's.

Percy looked down at their hands then back up at Annabeth. The two locked eyes, and Percy seemed to be silently asking her whether he could grab her hand. Annabeth nodded and gave him a small grin. Percy smiled softly and intertwined his fingers with hers.

Annabeth could hear her friends walking up the bleachers, holding all their food and laughing about something Reyna had said. Thalia was the first to notice Annabeth and Percy holding hands, and she smirked as she caught Annabeth's eye. "Nice job," Annabeth winked.

"Shut up," Annabeth hissed before turning her attention back to Percy, who was tugging on Annabeth's hand and laughing as he pointed out a fumble the Goode football team made.

The football game actually turned out to be a lot more interesting in the second half. First, Percy held Annabeth's hand for the entire game – which had Annabeth freaking out for the rest of the night. Second, Percy and Reyna took the time to explain the football rules to everyone there who didn't understand, so Annabeth was finally able to somewhat understand what was happening. After the game – which Goode had won – Frank practically ran over to Hazel to hug her. Annabeth was pretty sure Hazel was still freaking out about that one.

Percy was still holding Annabeth's hand as they ran down to the football field. "So..." He asked. "Think you'll be coming to more football games in the future?"

Annabeth squeezed his hand and grinned at him. "You know? I think I might."

☼