Little Miss Popular

Chapter 18

*Percy's POV*

            I exited the change room, hair still a little damp and my gym bag tossed over one shoulder. I walked towards the front desk, seeing Tom sitting there on his phone. As I approached, I pulled out my phone and leaned my back against the front of the desk. Tom looked up from his phone briefly with his eyebrows raised. I gave him a questioning look before hearing footsteps approach. I turned, sliding my phone back into my pocket. Annabeth approached, her hair thrown up in a wet, messy bun, her eyes sliding over my hair and face before giving me a slight smile. I smiled widely, grabbing her gym bag from her and escorting her out. 

            I yelled over my shoulder to Tom, "See ya tomorrow!" He smirked at me, pointedly staring at my hand that was on Annabeth's lower back. I glared at him, to which he only laughed and winked. I rolled my eyes and pulled the door open for Annabeth to pass through. She smiled slightly as she walked through the open door. He lifted her bag higher onto his shoulder, pulling the strap up so that it aligned with his. Annabeth glanced over at the movement. 

            "You know you didn't have to take that," she said quietly. "I can carry my own gym bag." She looked away from me before I could reply, and turned right onto a busy street. I laughed quietly before responding. 

            "It is my absolute pleasure to carry this bag for you, Miss Chase," I said, poshly. She looked over at me quickly, her eyes wide with laughter. I gave her a little bow, causing her to erupt in a fit of laughter. I smiled at the sight, her gray eyes lighting up in a way I have never seen, her nose wrinkling slightly. When she had calmed down enough to speak, she curtseyed to me, raising her voice slightly as she said, "Why thank you, monsieur." I chuckled, shaking my head. She turned to look back ahead again, the light not leaving her eyes.

            We arrived at Annabeth's house 15 minutes later. We had spent the whole walk cracking awful jokes and laughing our asses off. Her house was a huge three-story house, with red brick and white accents. The front garden was professionally landscaped, showing the family had money. Inside the front door was a massive foyer. It had high ceilings with a ginormous staircase, and sparkly chandelier. Everything was white - the walls, the ceiling, the carpet on the stairs - even the marble floor was white with black stripes running through it. 

            "This is incredible," I exclaimed, the awe sounding in my voice. 

            "Yeah, it's great," Annabeth said, somewhat sarcastically. I looked over at her, and saw her mouth was pulled down into a frown, her eyebrows furrowed. She met my eyes, and shook it off, trying to hide her previous emotions. "Here, I'll give you a tour," she said quickly.

            She took off, leading me through the house quickly. A couple highlights included the movie theater, the gym, the kitchen and the giant living room with the most comfortable looking couch I'd ever seen. Annabeth paused in front of a door in the main hallway, turning towards me with a small, shy smile on her face. 

            "This is my favourite room in the house," she told me quietly. She opened the door and stepped aside for me to enter first. I stepped inside and my jaw practically hit the floor. The inside of the room was bright, with floor to ceiling windows. The floor was a dark hardwood, completely contrasting the white everywhere else in the house. There were three separate desks, all made of dark wood, with a lamp and a chair accompanying each desk. Comfortable looking armchairs were placed randomly around the room, all of differing colours. But the most amazing part of the room was the floor to ceiling book shelves that covered every inch of available wall. There were thousands of books, all of different shapes and sizes, and from what I could tell, different topics.