Percy's POV
I watched the rain fall outside the window. Water droplets raced down the glass, as the grass turned to mush. It was science class, and I was completely zoned out. I kept thinking about Annabeth, and the little incident we had at the spot. It was...weird. I don't know how to describe it. But ever since, I've had a different view of her. She wasn't a complete bitch, but still is in school.
"Jackson! Pay attention!" The teacher yelled. I jumped in my seat and immediately sat up. I heard Annabeth snicker, but I tried to ignore it.
"Now today class, we are starting a new group project, that will be worth 90% of your grade." That seemed to grab everyone's attention.
"Now it is a group project-" The whole class immediately started to look at each other. "-but partners will be selected from random draw." The whole class groaned. I was fine with anyone but Annabeth.
"First two partners...Annabeth and Percy." Of course. Of. Fucking. Course. I cursed my luck out loud, and I earned a glare from both the teacher and Annabeth. I didn't really care. I only cared about how much this is going to suck. Me and Annabeth both glared at each other.
"You can now start brain storming with your partner." The teacher said. I groaned one last time before getting up out of the chair and walking over to Annabeth. I slouched down on the desk next to hers. We didn't look or say anything to eachother.
"So, you're acting like a bitch again, huh?" I said finally speaking first.
"Just literally shut up." She immediately yelled back. We sat in silence.
"I like the other Annabeth better." I said turning to her curly blonde hair.
"Me too." She said under her breath, still looking at the board.I sat up in my chair, confused.
"What do you mean 'me too'?" I asked. She looked me in the eyes for a split second, then looked away again, never answering the question.
"I already know we're not going to have a lot of time to get this thing done, so do you um-" She cleared her throat, then said quietly "Do you think we could meet somewhere, like, after school?" Her face turned a light pink.
"Um, yeah I uh- you could come to my place, I mean, i-if you want to?" I choked on my words. Since when did we both stutter around eachother? Anyway, I knew Gabe wouldn't hurt me in front of other people.
"Yeah, that'd be good." She said picking at her hands. I took out a piece of scrap paper and ripped the corner off. I took out my pencil and wrote my address and phone number on it. I gave the paper to her. "Cool." She said. And as if on cue, the bell rang.
~+~+~+~+~
"Hey, someone is coming over, so can you please just leave us alone." Gabe had a blank stare on his face. He downed the rest of his beer.
"Fine. But I swear to god, if you cause me any trouble-". He slurred his words, obviously drunk. I just nodded my head and went to my room. I was internally freaking out. I had never had anyone over at my house, nonetheless a girl. I went into a panic, and started to clean profusely. I threw my last shirt that was on the ground in the laundry bin when I heard a knock at the door.
"Got it!" I yelled. I sprinted out of my room toward the door. I opened it, and it was the Annabeth I wasn't expecting. This Annabeth had an oversized hoodie on, leggings, and converse. She also didn't have her usual cake of makeup on her face, and had a messy bun with two strands of hair left out. She coughed, knowing that I was staring at her. My face turned red.
"Come on in." I led her to my bedroom. On the way, of course, Gabe had to say "Who's that babe?" My face turned redder.
"Ignore him." I whispered to her. Thankfully, she didn't make a big deal out it. We walked into my room, and she looked all around it, studying it. I stood inside the doorway awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
"Hey, uh, do you mind if I close the door? I don't want him bothering us." I asked nervously.
"Yeah, that's fine." She said still looking around my room. My room had a bed next to a huge window, and I had a desk. Leaning on my desk was my acoustic guitar. That was my prized possession.
"You play guitar?" She spun around to me. I smiled, getting caught off guard.
"Yeah, a little bit." I said flustered. She handed me the guitar.
"Umm... what do you want me to play?" I said getting my guitar pick.
"Mmm. How 'bout...Courderoy Dreams by Rex Orange County." I smiled. That was my favorite song to play. I began to pluck the strings. Annabeth listened intently.
"Well are you gonna sing?!" She sassed. I stopped playing.
"I barely even know you. I'm not going to sing in front of you!" I said embarrassed.
"So your a shy singer, huh?" She said walking off.
"Well let's hear you sing!" I said. Annabeth suddenly got quiet.
"Yeah, uh huh." I said nodding my head. "I don't sing in front of people, either." She said in a monotone voice. I cleared my throat.
"Well, we should probably start working now." I said awkwardly.
"Y-yeah." She said.
I tapped my pencil against my binder, bored out of my mind. Annabeth looked up from her paper. I stared into her stormy grey eyes, which seemed to gleaming with intelligence. It surprised me, I didn't expect her to be so...wise.
"Bored Jackson?" She asked. I smiled.
"Yes, I am...Wise Girl." I said remembering her nickname from yesterday, She rolled her eyes.
"Whatever Seaweed Brain."
"WheRE-" I instantly covered my mouth, embarassed about the bigget voice crack ever. Annabeth laughed. A pure, beautiful, laugh. Not a stupid girly giggle.
"Oh my god, I thought you 17, not 12." She laughed. My cheeks turned red from embarassment.
"Me too." I said sheepishly. She started to laugh, and I began laughing with her. It eventually died out, and we just smiled at each other. I saw her sparkling white teeth, and a crinkles in her eyes. As we sat there, there was undeniable chemistry between us. The popular, fake girl, and the quiet, loner boy, complete opposites, were now friends.
"Friends?" Annabeth stuck out her hand. I smiled even wider.
"Friends, I guess." I said jokingly, but also taking her hand. It was weird, her hand slipped perfectly into mine. Like a missing puzzle piece. I brushed it off and quickly let go of her hand. She rolled her eyes.
"I mean, I guess your not as bad as I thought." Annabeth shook one shoulder.
"Uh huh." I said squinting my eyes and nodding my head. We both giggled.
"Oh shit." She said checking her phone. "It's already six. I have to go." She said getting up quickly. The smile wiped off my face. I don't know why, but I didn't want her to leave. I could tell she didn't want to leave either, which made me feel better.
"Oh, ok. Let me walk you out." I said getting up from my seat. She gave me a half smile as I opened the door for her. Annabeth walked in front of me as we went to the front door. On our way, I saw Gabe passed out on the couch with a beer slipping through his fingers. Annabeth seemed to notice him too. We reached the front door. I was about to say something, when out of the blue, Annabeth wrapped her arms around me, giving me a hug. I was caught off guard and stood there for a second before hugging her back. She pulled away.
"Thanks for this." I stood there, still in shock, and barely got out a "hmyeah." And with that she winked at me (making me blush even more) and she walked out the door. I stood in the doorway, trying process what happened. I eventually walked off and closed the door. I ran my hands through my hair, smiling at the night I had. I laid in my bed, and kept replaying the evening's memories in my head for the rest of the night.
