Percabeth Oneshots

Special Education pt.4

If anything could be said for Percy, it was that he was loyal to his word. Over the next several sessions, his off-topic remarks were kept to a minimum, and he even began truly answering the questions that his tutor would throw at him.

"But why did Dickens go into such detail with the slums? Why didn't he just say it was dirty and leave it at that?" Annabeth tapped her pencil on the lined paper in front of Percy. They were steadily working their way through Oliver Twist, much to the black-haired boy's dismay. 

"Uhhhhh," Percy started. His fingers sped up on the rhythm that he was tapping. "Because he wanted to really immerse the reader in the character's situation by using jockey-position with the other people's houses?"

Annabeth smiled. "Juxtaposition and very good. Write down the last few ideas, and we can be done for today."

As her student squinted in concentration, Annabeth glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it already at 4:45. These sessions had unintentionally become longer and longer as Percy became more engaged.

"Done!" Percy said proudly as he flopped back and adjusted his beanie. "Take that, Dickens."

The blond girl smiled. "Very nicely done. Same time on Monday?" She began to pack her bag and flushed the smallest bit as Percy gathered up the pens and set them in just the order she liked. It was a small detail, but no one else really cared enough to notice.

He cleared his throat and leaned casually on the library table. "So, uh, you have an academic competition this Saturday, yeah?"

Annabeth was surprised. Kennedy High School definitely did not advertise anything but athletics, especially if the event fell on the weekend. "Yes," she answered cautiously. "It's at a school a little ways across town."

"Yeah, Ballad Academy down by 41st," Percy answered before he caught himself and shuffled his Converse, embarrassed. "I may have looked up the schedule to see when your next one was."

Annabeth raised her eyebrow, and her student flushed further.

"And I looked up the address to the school you're going to," he mumbled. "and a map of what subway routes to take."

Her grey eyes sparkled, and Annabeth zipped up her bookbag as casually as she could manage. "Well, that's the first time in a while you have actually done research without being hounded by a teacher." 

Percy laughed. "Yeah, I guess I was thinking 'cause I know the way that I could walk you there or somethin'."

The tutor wrinkled her brow. "Oh, I already know the way. I've had routes planned out since the schedule was posted."

Percy looked crestfallen and stood up with a half-nod to the blond. He moved towards the library doors until a voice stopped him.

"Wait," Annabeth called, swallowing her pride. "It would be nice to be able to walk and study instead of focusing on where to go."

His whole demeanor changed, and Percy straightened up immediately. "Yeah, yeah, sure! Extra study time is never bad. You'll text me your address, and I'll meet you there?"

"Sounds like a date- PLAN, plan, plan, sounds like a plan," Annabeth stumbled over her words in an effort to avoid insinuating anything that her student did not want.

Percy's goofy grin made her stomach flutter just a small bit as he agreed and jogged out of the library, leaving Annabeth to worry about her words for the next several hours.

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

"Ughhhhhhh," Annabeth groaned as she hurled another sweater at the wall of her closet. This was so stupid. She never cared what she wore to academic tournaments, and it had been way too long since she cared what she wore around a guy.