Annabeth's Mortal Friends

Chapter Eleven

Caleb Pierson's POV:

Alright, this is it.  Class is out in a few minutes, and then I'm asking Annabeth to the dance.  My gaze flickered to the phone I strategically hid in my lap, glancing down at it every few seconds and waiting for the screen to light up with a notification.  I texted Annabeth asking her if I could talk to her after school, but no answer yet.  The issue was probably on her end.  She has such a weird phone, I've never seen one like it before.  Must be some kind of Android.

RING!

That was basically the most excruciating 5 minutes of my life. I sat back in my desk, drumming my fingers against the top of it as everyone around me packed things up, scrambled to finish a problem, or followed their friends out of the room. I told Annabeth to meet me in this classroom after school. It'd be empty by that time, so I'd have her all to myself. At least, I'm hoping that's what happens. I don't know what I'm going to do if Percy tags along with her.

"Hey Caleb." Annabeth smiled at me, dropping her bag down and hopping onto the desk, sitting down on top of it and kicking her legs slowly.

"Hey Annabeth!" I squeaked out, mentally kicking myself. Sure, your voice is supposed to get higher when you're nervous, but that was just embarrassing...

"So, what's up? Your text was kind of vague..." Annabeth questioned, fiddling with the hem of her grey T-shirt. Grey was totally her color.

"Oh, uhm," I started, clearing my throat, "I was just wondering...what your thoughts were on the dance? You seemed pretty bored when Jordan was talking about it."

Annabeth winced a bit when I mentioned Jordan, pouting. "Man, I was hoping no one would notice, now I feel bad."

I shook my head, laughing. "N-no, I don't think she noticed! She was too busy talking about what color dress Emma should wear."

Annabeth nodded, propping her elbow up on her knee and putting her chin in the palm of her hand. "It wasn't anything personal towards Jordan, I'm just...not the biggest fan of dances, that's all."

My heart tightened up a little bit, but I shook it off. That wasn't a no! I think.  Maybe she just gets bored at them.  Or maybe something went wrong at one?  If she wasn't so mysterious all the time, I probably wouldn't be wondering these things.

"Why not?"  I asked.

Annabeth got a look on her face that I couldn't quite read.  It was wistful, but I really couldn't tell if she was happy or sad.  "It's...a long story.  Percy and I can tell you guys some other time."

Of course Percy was there.  Seriously, was there a time in Annabeth's life where that guy WASN'T around?

I shook the thought out of my head, giving Annabeth a pleading look.  "I still think you should come.  We're all going to miss you if you aren't there."

Annabeth thought for a second before sighing and shrugging.  "Fine, but I'm only going for you guys."

I nodded, excited that I had got her to come.  Alright, it's now or never.

"Would you, uh...want to go with me?"  I asked, struggling to maintain eye contact.

"Uhm, you mean like the whole group, right?"  She responded, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

I took a deep breath, awkwardly rubbing my arm.  "Well, yeah, but...everyone goes to a dance with a date, and I thought that since Emma and Andrew are going together, and Jordan has her date, that...you know, you and I would go together."

I could feel the "no" coming from a mile away after seeing the conflicted look on Annabeth's face.  God I knew this was a bad idea.

"Oh!  Uh, that's sweet, but it'd be kind of weird, wouldn't it?  Since we aren't, like, dating or anything."  She replied, fidgeting with the necklace she was wearing.

I exhale, smiling in an attempt to hide any hurt on my face.  Technically, if she doesn't know I'm upset, then there's nothing to be embarrassed about, right?

"Yeah, no, that's fine.  We're all basically going in one big group anyway.  It won't make any difference."  I said, leaning back in my chair and bringing my arm up to rest on the one next to me.  Well, I more so elbowed the air for a couple seconds while I tried to find the chair.  But still; smooth.

We sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, waiting for an interruption, and thank God one came.  Annabeth picked up her phone, typing a response to the text she just got before hopping off of the desk and grabbing her stuff.

"My ride's here, but I'll see you at the dance, okay?"  She shrugged her bag over her shoulder, adjusting her hair so that it wasn't pulled down by the straps.

I nodded, waving goodbye to her as she walked out of the classroom.  As soon as the door shut behind her, I groaned, slamming my face down on the desk.  This seriously sucks.

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