A Little Ambrosia For Your Day (Percabeth One-Shots)

Slides Are Kind of Tall

Percy's POV

"Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat!"

"You'll never make it down."

"Aww, does the baby want his mommy to get him down?"

As a matter of fact, the only person Percy wanted at that moment was his mother. Sally Jackson had a way of making things better just by being present.

"I hate slides," Percy mumbled to himself. "They're so... tall."

Percy's green eyes betrayed him and looked down. Truth be told, the wood chips on the playground looked awfully far away from where he was standing. He felt queasy just looking at them, and the taunting didn't help. Recess wasn't fun when peer pressure made him climb the tallest structure at his elementary school. Percy wasn't even sure how he had climbed all the way to the top without puking.

Only two options remained for Percy: he could climb back down or go down the slide. Neither option was appealing to him. He wished for his mom so that she could get him down, or for some sort of a god to magically make him float to the ground. Percy had never wanted the ability to fly more than he did at that moment -- not that he would be able to cash that in. Heights terrified him.

If he climbed back down, he would be seen as a wimp. Every kid in his grade was standing at the bottom of the slide, waiting for him to chicken out. They wanted to witness his failure. The teasing would never end. Plus, Percy knew he would just get himself tangled into the intricate mess of the ladder. The architects of this playground did not make the ladder straightforward or easy to climb, much to Percy's disappointment.

Sliding down would practically be suicide. Whoever thought a slide this high would be fun for the kids should be fired, Percy decided.

Stupid adults.

Percy sighed, taking a seat on the top of the slide. He knew this option was the better one, yet his heart pounded. He took a deep breath and gripped the edges, ready to push himself down.

But he couldn't. Percy squeezed his eyes shut and let go. He couldn't do it. He felt like a fraud. He tried to drown out the teasing, but with little success. He opened his eyes to scan the sea of people. Every single kid was either laughing or making fun of him. Every single one.

Some classmates.

Percy's eyes rested on a girl who was sitting at the edge of the playground. He noticed her smile -- it was encouraging, not teasing. Percy smiled a little and waved, feeling silly right after. Why would any kid want to be caught waving back at the coward?

To his surprise, she stood up and waved back, her gray eyes bright and steps slow as she moved towards him. Percy simply gaped at her. A random girl who was willing to wave during the moment of his social destruction? That kind of kindness was rare.

As she moved closer, he recognized her as Anna... something. Annie? Anniebell? Annabeth. That was it. Annabeth Chase. She was in his homeroom class. Percy remembered her as the girl who always raised her hand in class. She was one of the- no, the- smartest kid he'd ever met. She knew everything about everything, whether they were in class or not. The amount of times he had said something and she had corrected him... well, it was a lot. Annabeth did it even when he didn't ask.

She wasn't mean though, just smart. And really good at building. Whenever they were playing with the blocks, all Percy needed to do to feel bad about himself was look over at what Annabeth was building. His rectangular stacks of blocks were no match for the castles she created. She would toss her golden curls and flaunt her structures, making sure that everyone knew how talented she was. Her ego was pretty big for someone who hadn't hit double digits, but Percy found himself admiring her confidence and intelligence, and now her kindness as well.