isnt she lovely

.

Percy has a crush on Annabeth Chase.

They only have one class together (first period with Mr Katz; Annabeth sits in the last row, and he sits at the desk under the window against the wall, diagonal from her. They're in a group chat for the class, and have each other's numbers, but they've never actually texted each other directly. Percy barely says anything in the groupchat, and she only ever answers questions others ask about due dates or assignments.) But they pass each other in the halls: between second and third period, sixth and seventh period, and after school Percy and his friends pass by her as she's rummaging through her locker (number 206). And he sees her in the cafeteria during lunch.

Their eyes always meet in the halls. Her eyes are grey and shiny, and they make Percy think of stormy skies and marble sculptures. (She could be a marble sculpture, in the entrance of a museum, surrounded by scholars and artists and mesmerised passersby. Fucking beautiful in a way that only art ever is.)

They don't really talk. They're not really friends. But she still smiles when their eyes meet in the hallways, and she still gives him answers to worksheets in class when he whispers to her that he's lost. She stills rolls her eyes at him and smiles like she doesn't want to be smiling when he acts like an idiot. (The first time he hears her say his name he has to lay his head on his desk and close his eyes so his heart can slow down.)

—————————

Percy lets his head fall against the wall, watching the documentary out of the corner of his eye. It's an episode about Athens, but Percy is barely paying attention. He didn't get nearly enough sleep last night after losing track of time at the pool and staying up to finish an essay outline due in second period. He glances around the room. He'd missed what Mr Katz had said before putting the documentary on, but it doesn't look like anyone is taking notes or filling out a worksheet.

He lets his eyes close, sighing heavily. He could fall asleep. He doesn't want to really; he wishes he had a Red Bull or chewing gum or something. (Neither of which are allowed in Katz's class, but no one ever really cares.)

He shifts, furrowing his brows as his hair tickles his neck. He relaxes against the wall, but his hair tickles him again, and he grimaces in discomfort. He opens his eyes to find the hair tie around his wrist and tilts his head forward to gather his curls into a messy ponytail.

When he finishes he drops his arms, feeling better. He picks at the holes of his jeans, ripping the threads even though he knows he'll regret it later. He tried to watch the documentary again but after a few minutes he forgets to pay attention, distracted by the sound of someone bouncing their leg, their desk creaking quietly.

He sighs again, letting his head fall against the wall and looking over at Annabeth (his go-to when he doesn't know what else to do with himself). She's resting her chin in her hand, but she's not looking at the screen. She's looking down at her desk, sketching in her notebook, but Percy can't see what she's drawing. As he watches, she sighs, frowning at the page, and spins her pen over her thumb, catching it deftly before writing something on the page and doing it again. Percy lifts his head, narrowing his eyes like she's doing a magic trick.

She looks up at the documentary, swinging the pen around like it's connected to a string, and Percy tilts his head, watching. She finally notices him looking, her grey eyes meeting his, and she furrows her brows, smiling.

What? she mouths.

He jerks his chin up, gesturing to the pen.

"How do you do that?" he whispers quietly, and she looks down at the pen in her hand like she's just noticed it. She spins it again, shrugging. Percy finds his pen on his desk,
looking at how she's holding hers and copying her. She does it again, slowly, demonstrating, and he tries, but instead of spinning around his finger easily the way hers did, the pen is flung across the room. They both gasp.