Percabeth Oneshots

Special Education pt.3

The smell of chlorine stung Annabeth's nose with an unpleasant tang. The echo of whistles and buzzers echoed around the domed complex and bounced into her ears. As she stood at the entrance and got a paper wristband, Annabeth wondered if any of this was worth it.

She could just take the loss in extracurriculars and hope her grades pulled her through admissions. She could even ditch out early and argue that she had gone to the meet; Percy just never specified how long. But as an overweight mom bumped her impatiently, Annabeth knew that she was just going to stay and suffer.

The blond girl found a seat on the bleachers and tried to ignore the muggy air of hundreds of high schoolers. They were dispersed over the indoors and the large yard, sitting in groups that matched their school-issued suits. The Kennedy High School colors were ambiguous amongst the dozens of other red, black, and white-striped kids milling around. Even Annabeth's sharp eyes couldn't pick out her student.

"Event One: girls' 50 free. Heat One, take your marks," a distorted voice crackled over the speakers. 

Annabeth watched as girls from several teams stood impatiently on the blocks and adjusted their caps. 

"Go," the voice warbled, and a mechanical buzzer started the meet. 

The girls dove into the water, furiously cutting through their lanes in an effort to make the shortest time possible. In what seemed like just a moment, the swimmers were panting on the side of the pool, watching the times glow on the board. 

Hey, maybe this won't be so bad, Annabeth thought to herself. That was pretty quick.

The loudspeaker then announced the next swimmers: Event One: girls' 50 free. Heat Two.

Crap.

.........................................................................................

An hour and a half crawled by, and the pages of Annabeth's book were slightly damp from the humid air in the complex. She still hadn't seen Percy, but it was going to be a little while longer until he swam. Still, her eyes scanned the crowd of swimmers for a familiar face. Unfortunately, everyone looked identical with a swim cap, goggles, and regulation swimsuits.

She resorted to searching for team logos on the guys' shorts which led to more than a few strange looks from the people around her. Finally, Annabeth spotted another Kennedy High swimmer, and she assessed the physique of the swimmer. If it was Percy, he was a LOT more muscular than she thought. 

The boy was lean but by no means skinny. Muscle pulled taught as he stretched in the practice pool. Against her will, Annabeth's stomach swooped a little as he pulled himself out of the pool. Water dripped from his toned chest, and he pulled his goggles off first, then his swim cap.  

The blond girl cleared her throat as the raven-haired boy shook his hair. Yep, that was Percy. She could practically feel her cheeks heating up as he walked confidently towards the blocks. The black swim trunks hugged his waist just right, and Annabeth's eyes slid towards the logo, just to triple-check, of course.

Once she trailed back up to his chest and then to his face, Annabeth's heart gave out. He was looking right at her; she had been caught staring at him basically in his underwear while soaking wet. Shit.

Percy's eyes crinkled as he grinned at his tutor. He gave a goofy wave, and she returned an awkward thumbs-up, hoping to play off the perusing she had been doing. Instead, Percy raised his arms and, in a languid manner, ran his hands through his shaggy hair, staring right at her the entire time. 

By now, Annabeth's cheeks were hot enough to toast marshmallows, and she gave him a withering glare. Whatever game he was playing, she was not about to get caught up in that. However, as Percy's waterlogged hair stood on end in a spastic mohawk, she couldn't help but giggle.

Even from across the complex, Annabeth could feel his smug pride that he had scored a smile from her stubborn lips, the traitors. Thankfully, before any more shenanigans could take place, Percy's event was called to the blocks.

It was go time. He snapped his goggles into place, and a massive teammate came up behind him and slapped his shoulders with enough force to echo over the din of swimmers. Percy shook his arms out and switched onto the white block right above the pool edge. 

For just a moment, everyone was still. Then the buzzer blared, and the line of boys hurled themselves forward into the churning water. Annabeth kept her eyes trained on Lane 4 and held her breath with the black-haired boy until he surfaced again much farther down the pool.

It was incredible. Percy wasn't exaggerating his skills in the pool. The water seemed to work with him, giving him extra length in the broad strokes of butterfly. His shoulders arched in a way that looked extraordinarly uncomfortable to Annabeth, but seemed as natural as walking to Percy. His legs pumped in perfect unison and in a blink, he was flipping in the water and shooting back towards the starting point. 

Against her will, Annabeth rose up out of her seat. "Come on, Percy!" she yelled. "Touch that wall!"

In another breath, it was all over and Lane 4 glowed on the board with the shortest time blinking proudly next to it. Annabeth let out a tiny whoop as the rest of the boys pulled in behind her student. He had crushed it.

The next events crawled by as she waited for Percy to swim again. His energy was palpable as he won two more events and staying by the sidelines to cheer his teammates on. Annabeth couldn't help but admire how supportive he was. This was a guy who understood teamwork and led by wild example. She could see why he was the team captain.

After the final event came to a close, exhausted moms and volunteers began herding all of the high-schoolers to the parking lot. Annabeth waited by the swimmers' exit, hoping to say a word to Percy; A congradulatory one of course. Absolutly nothing to do with his abs or his wide shoulders or his-

"Hey, Wise Girl," a voice cut through the crowd and Annabeth snapped back to reality. "I didn't know if you would actually show."

Percy had a towel draped over his neck and his black hair was defying the laws of physics in a half-dried manner. His blue swim bag  bumped into her calf as he set it on the side walk and smiled. "So? How'd you like it?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes disdainfully. "With the hordes of sweaty teenagers and overly-chlorinated pools? I would rather be in a nice, cool library with no danger of being run over by an agressive swim mom."

Percy laughed at her comment, the kind of laugh that made her heart do a tiny skip before she squashed it back down again.

"You held up your end of the deal," Percy admitted, his green eyes betraying his happiness. "So I guess I have to actually try now, right?"

His tutor crossed her arms and gave a small smile. "Unless you're one to break your word, Jackson."

Percy smiled at her stubbornness. "Nah, I have too much fun keeping it."

And there we have it. Part trois for my excellent readers! Part 4 anyone? Thanks again for reading and have a wonderful, calming, restful day lovelies!

~Noot Noot