Annabeth's Mortal Friends

Chapter One

Caleb Pierson's POV:

I drummed my fingers on the desk, glancing back and forth between my notebook and the clock on the far wall of the classroom.   It was hard to see from here, but I could tell by the subtle rustling of backpacks that it was almost time for lunch.  I was just as excited to leave math class as the rest of my classmates were, but I wanted more then to just get to lunch.  After this period, I get to spend the rest of the school day with Annabeth Chase, the absolute coolest girl in the world.  She's practically a genius, but she has an amazing sense of humor to go along with it.  Not to mention the fact that her clear grey eyes, long blonde curls, and tanned skin come together to form the most gorgeous girl in San Francisco. 

If you couldn't tell by the praise-filled description of this girl, I'm basically in love with her.  We've been best friends since freshman year, and my slight crush only grew stronger from there.  Sometimes I get romantic vibes from her too, but I've never been able to work up the nerve to ask her out.

The guy sitting next to me snaps his binder rings closed, bringing me out of my daydream.  I look up towards the board, smiling as Ms. Truong begins to erase it.  I slide my books into my backpack, standing up and slinging it over my shoulder, heading for the door as the bell rings.  I half-jog down the stairs to the cafeteria, starting towards my regular seat at our lunch table.  I can see that Emma and Jordan are already sitting there with Annabeth and Andrew, both of whom look extremely disinterested by whatever Jordan is wildly gesturing about.  I set my bag down on the ground, grinning at Annabeth as I take my seat across from her.

"Caleb, just in time, I've been waiting for you!"  Jordan exclaimed, excitedly grabbing my arm.  I raise an eyebrow at her, wondering what she needed to tell me.  "Apparently there's a really hot new guy who's enrolling today!  I saw him in the hallway and, believe me, the rumors are true!"  She says, shaking my arm and practically bouncing up and down in her seat.  She lived for gossip like this, which I really didn't understand.

"Why did you think I'd care about that?"  I questioned, lifting up my sandwich and taking a bite of it.

"Come on, a hot new kid at school?  Everyone should care!"

I couldn't help but laugh as I watched Annabeth roll her eyes slightly, looking back down at her phone.  I never understood her and technology, she didn't even get a phone until the beginning of this year, and it doesn't look anything like the average phone you'd see.  It's a shiny bronze color, and looks to be in way better shape than any other piece of tech I've seen.  I've tried to ask her where she got it multiple times, but she always gives a weird vague answer, so I've stopped trying.

I looked back over at Jordan as she rapidly shook my arm again.  "There's the guy I was talking about!"

I looked towards the door, and the scene reminded me of one of those romance movies where the girl turns into a princess and everyone watches her dramatic entrance into the ball.  Although, instead of a girl in a ballgown, it was a tall, tanned guy with a mess of black hair.  I stared at him, watching as he slowly came closer to our table.  I looked back down at my sandwich, hoping he wasn't walking over here because I was staring.

I got a better look at his face as walked up behind Annabeth.  His sea green eyes sparkled with mischief as he leaned closer to her, asking her if he could sit with her.  I smirked to myself, looking over at Emma and Andrew, noticing the matching suppressed grins on their faces.  This had happened many times before.  Annabeth was gorgeous, which obviously attracted a lot of attention.  Multiple guys had come up to us, asking for her number or a date.  They were all quickly shut down, and possibly judo-flipped onto the ground and left in the dirt.  I waited, feeling a bit sorry for this guy.  He had gotten a little too close to her personal space, which probably wouldn't end well for him.

My jaw dropped.  Annabeth got the biggest smile I've ever seen on her face, and she shot out of her seat, staring at the guy in awe.  He wore a matching goofy grin, lifting his arms a bit as Annabeth nearly tackled him into a hug.  He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes softly and sighing.  I clenched my fist, feeling a tinge of jealousy.  He brought his hand up, twirling one of her curls around her finger and muttering quietly, "I missed you too, Wise Girl."

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1/4/20