PERCY'S JOURNEY TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD | PERCY JACKSON X READER

Chapter Five

- 

They really do try to work through their economics assignment, but Percy'll admit that it's been a while since he and Y/N have talked like normal, save for the night at the fair. It's a little addicting to have short segments of banter, followed by brief references to their days as chemistry partners and mildly rebellious museum explorers, before they force themselves to get back on track. Percy likes the way Y/N shakes her head every time she realizes that they're surfing a topic far, far from economics. He finds himself focusing on his work just to make sure he's helping her to the best of his ability.

"If I have to write the word 'elasticity' one more time," Y/N grumbles, sighing in frustration at her paragraph about the determinants of supply elasticity. Percy spares a glance down at his one-sentence answer and decides that Y/N hasn't really changed at all.

"Let's take a break," Percy suggests, after he watches Y/N struggle for another minute, scanning the page like she's trying to add more to her paragraph.

"Great idea," Y/N says abruptly, like she'd been waiting for him to say it. She slams her book shut, tosses her notebook aside, and looks at him expectantly.

He fish-mouths briefly, not really having planned what the break would entail, but he recovers quickly enough. "Did you... Did you want to watch something? And get something to eat, maybe?"

"Yes," Y/N says, slowly, like he's missing something. "What are we going to watch?"

"I—" He considers his options, but ultimately decides that it should be his guest's choice what they watch. "You can pick. I'll be right back."

He grabs her glass and makes sure to refill it while he's in the kitchen, then proceeds to spend an insubordinate amount of time scanning their pantry for the best snack. They have chips, which is the obvious choice, but Percy's not even sure that Y/N likes sour cream and onion chips, plus he's not really in the mood.

He narrows his eyes at the shelves. He knows he and Y/N had to have talked about snack preferences sophomore year. Or—better yet—he just needs to remember what she asked for when they were writing their research paper two years ago.

Percy admits defeat a few seconds later, when his brain reminds him that his memory isn't skilled enough to remember what Y/N ate the last time she was at his house. On a whim, he snatches up a box of Oreos and returns to the living room.

"I hope you don't mind," she says, and Percy glances up to see her typing away on his laptop. She's relocated to the floor, which is coincidentally where Percy prefers to sit when he's watching shows on his laptop. He sits beside her without a complaint.

"It's fine." Then, he drops the Oreos between them, sliding her newly filled glass of water on the coffee table.

"Thank you," Y/N says idly, scrolling through Netflix.

"Did—?" Percy cocks his head to the side, giving her a bewildered look. "Did you hack into my Netflix account?"

"It's hardly considered 'hacking' when the password is auto-filled," Y/N replies boredly. "But if it makes you think I'm cooler than I am, then yes, I absolutely hacked your account."

Percy gives her a stupid smile, then forces it down. With time, he's forgotten how easy it is to be around Y/N. It's a great feeling to be in the presence of someone who has just the sense of humor that's basically a magnet to his taste in banter. "Should work for the FBI."

"Right," Y/N says drily. "I'd be a hero in that industry, being able to log into computers of teenage boys with no concept of security."

"Hey," Percy says, crossing his arms. "I'm totally conscious. I delete my search histories and stuff. Reset my passwords every so often."

"And what?" Y/N teases. "Change them from 'swimming1' to 'swimming2'?"

"'Swimming' is not my password," Percy says. Then, after a pause, he sheepishly adds, "Anymore."

She actually snorts. Percy doesn't tend to use that word lightly, unless someone actually, truly, full-heartedly snorts. The sound simultaneously startles him and sends him into a fit of laughter. "Your... It was really 'swimming'?"

"It was fifth grade!" Percy tries to defend himself. His cheeks are red, but it's from a lack of breath rather than embarrassment. Probably.

"Oh my God," Y/N says, sounding dangerously close to choking from laughter. Percy's grateful that he knows CPR. "You're so predictable, Percy."

"Am not."

"What's your password now?" Y/N questions. "Wait, wait—is it like 'percy2019' or something?"

"Close," Percy hums, raising one shoulder until it hits his jaw. His shoulder pops. "It's actually just my birth year, then my graduation year. Sometimes I add an 'P' if it requires a capital letter."

"Ah, half-right," Y/N says, snapping her fingers like she shouldn't have missed it. "What are you up for watching?"

"Whatever's cool." She lingers over a movie that looks Very Serious, and Percy sees his life flash before his eyes until Y/N scrolls past it. "Something, um, light is preferable."

"I'm guessing The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is out of the question, then," she mumbles, moving past that one as well. She seems to grow tired of the category she's browsing, since she scrolls back up until she can see what he's recently watched.

H20 glares back at him. Percy isn't sure if he's embarrassed, or annoyed at his computer for betraying him in front of a pretty person. "I didn't know they had this on Netflix," Y/N says simply, clicking on play.

Percy stares at her. "You like it?"

She shrugs. "I've only seen it a few times, but I used to love mermaids when I was younger. My cousin started to get me into it after everyone had already obsessed over it, so I was a little behind everyone else, but it was pretty fun."

"We're going to be great friends," Percy informs her. Anyone who'll waste time watching H20 with him is immediately a friend. He can't wait to tell Luke.

Y/N rolls her eyes, but she's smiling anyways. "We already are. Now, hush."

She folds back the tab on the box of Oreos and plucks one out with an appreciative hum, staring intently at the screen. Percy, who silently wonders when his lucky streak started, takes one too.