Falling for You (A Percabeth AU)

Chapter Thirteen

Percy's POV

A few hours later, Leo popped in a movie. It was one of the Avengers movies, which I'm not really into, but it's whatever. My main focus is on the girl I'm still squeezed up against. Stupid party. At least I've got Piper on my other side. I try to start up a conversation, but she and Jason are flirting their balls out to my right. Smooth, Grace. Of course he gets to sit by the girl of his dreams. I steal a glance at Annabeth. There's just something about this girl I can't quite figure out. I don't know how she makes me feel.

Uneasy, maybe? That's not the right word. Nervous? Yeah, that's it. But that's just because she's, well, Annabeth. She scares everyone. Everyone else feels like this around her ...right?

I shake the thought from my mind and look at Annabeth again. She seems bored, but keeps her eyes on the film. I try to get into it, but for some reason, I can't seem to focus with Annabeth so, like, close to me. In my mind, I go back to our little "adventure" in the closet. I was about to strangle Leo for making me go in there with her, but it could have been worse. Now that I think about it, she's still wearing my sweatshirt. I glance at her again. Her eyes are still glued to the movie, and she fingers a beaded necklace I haven't noticed before. Huh.

I've never really looked at Annabeth before. I mean, I've obviously seen her and stuff, but I haven't noticed the little things, like the way her curly blonde locks bounce down her shoulders, or how her grey eyes seem to take in every bit of her surroundings. I've never thought about it before, but she's pretty. Like, really pretty. Maybe even prettier than Drew Tanaka and the other popular bitches. But she's Annabeth, I remind myself. She's not just some pretty girl. She's a teacher's pet and tries wayyy too hard in school. But is that really such a bad thing? Ugh. I give up. I tear my gaze away from Annabeth and focus on the movie once more.

A few hours pass, and the movie finally ends. Thank the gods. Everybody gets up and stretches out a bit before we plop down in the original Truth-or-Dare circle and order a few pizzas. When it finally arrives, Jason asks, "So, what do you want to do now?" between bites of his own cheesy slice.

"We could play Truth or Dare again," Leo offers.

"Nah," I say. "Let's mix it up a bit. You guys down for some Uno?"

"Only if you're ready to lose." This time it's Annabeth who speaks up, which surprises me. But I give her my best intimidating face.

"You're going down."

The seven of us set up and start to play. It's all fun and games on the surface, but most of us here are pretty competitive. Annabeth ends up winning the first round, Frank the second, Piper the third, and I end up with a couple dubs myself. We're all having a good time, playing, eating junk food and blasting music that I need a double take at the clock to realize it's already well past two A.M.

A few of the others notice the time too, and the mood of the party seems to be steadily plummeting into drowsiness. Hazel suggests we go back to the couch, and everybody happily obliges. I try to steal a seat between Jason and Frank, and catch a glimpse of Annabeth doing the same on the opposite side of the couch. Unfortunately, Leo's anticipated this.

"Uh-uh-uh," he says, with a devilish little smirk. He points at to Annabeth, then to me, then back to Annabeth. "You two are together for the night, remember?" he adds, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Come on, Leo," Annabeth replies, "you don't seriously expect us to do that, right?" She turns to the others for support, but they're all snickering.

"Nah," Piper says, giggling. "I could totally see the two of you together."

I feel the heat rise in my cheeks. Annabeth blushes as well. Another round of laughs breaks out among our friends. I want to argue, but I can tell we're not getting anywhere with this group. "Whatever," I mumble and trudge over to the end of the couch Annabeth and I had been on earlier. She begrudgingly does the same. A few minutes of light conversation among the others pass before the first few drift off. Jason grins when Piper falls asleep, his arm still around her. He turns to me and grins. Annabeth shifts uncomfortably beside me.

Half an hour later, I'm the only one left awake. Annabeth is still half-pressed against me, back resting on the back of the couch, but her head is tilted in the opposite direction, so I can't see her face. Her blonde curls are a mess, long honey-colored locks splayed across the back of the couch, a few falling on me. I don't want to wake the others, so I sit there for a while, absorbed in my thoughts. For some reason, they always circle back to Annabeth. I wonder if she has a boyfriend. I mean, I guess I wouldn't be surprised. She's cute and smart, maybe a little feisty, but I s'pose that's okay too. I think back to my last breakup, with a girl named Rachel Dare. I shudder at the thought.

My daydreams (or nightdreams-? whatever...) are interrupted by a sudden movement beside me. I look down. Annabeth's shifted in her sleep, and her head is now resting on my chest. Shit, I think to myself. What are the others going to think if they see us like this? After a brief panic attack, I decide worrying's no use. I sure as hell don't want to wake Annabeth, and I don't see many other options than to just go with it. Ugh. I lean my head against the wall behind me, and before I know it, I've drifted off to sleep.

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Author's Note

Hey guys! Don't really know what to say here other than I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please don't forget to comment and vote! Means a lot.

Thanks, and hope y'all are having a great summer,

L (Author)

Disclaimer: All mentioned characters belong to Rick Riordan, and I do not make any ownership claims over them.