𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 - 𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐔

Annabeth

"Okay, what the hell?"

Now it was my turn to gape at Percy as he dropped his last card on the ground, smiling like he didn't know what to do.

"I..win?" he declared, gathering up the cards into the pile.

"For the fucking fourth time in a row", I stated, a little miffed. "I think I'm cursed at Uno."

Percy laughed. "Or I'm just good at it."

"Touché."

He smiled and set the cards aside. "Clearly, there aren't any games you and I are both good at."

I shrugged, stretching my arms above my head. Percy leaned back against the head of the bed, looking up at the ceiling. He'd put one leg on the bed while the other simply rested on the floor.

His hair looked incredibly soft today, I noted. He seemed a lot more at ease around me, and I was glad about that. Trust is not easy to earn from someone, and the fact he was starting to trust me was something that I wasn't going to take lightly.

I cracked my pinky knuckle, when he said, "Your friends look nice."

I looked at the pictures he was looking at, and smiled. "They're the best. The girl in the middle is Hazel, and the guy next to her is Frank. We were all in the same school, though they're a year below me. Thalia went there too."

Percy smiled. "That's nice. Do you miss them?"

"Of course", I turned towards him. "I wasn't really looking forward to leaving them, honestly."

"You told me."

"Right", I gave a small smile. "I'm not really a fan of change. I guess I just prefer things to be a bit more permanent."

He bobbed his head a little. "I get that, I guess. It's not that easy to adapt to change, but it's going to happen." He smiled at me. "And sometimes, I guess we find it's not all that bad. Maybe change can be a little good for you."

"Yeah", I gazed at my fingers. "Maybe."

Percy hummed, then pointed at another picture. "Who's the blond guy?"

My smile thinned a little. "That would be Luke. He was also at the same school as us. He's a few years older than I am."

"Oh, okay", I heard, "I think I've heard of this guy from Thalia."

I laughed. "They wouldn't have been good things."

"They definitely weren't", he laughed as well. "She said something about him never staying away from any girl, no matter the age group, and sort of being a waste of oxygen."

I shook my head, grinning. "That I would agree with her on."

Percy turned to me. "What did he ever do to you?"

His question seemed amused. I shrugged in answer.

"Everything Thalia would've told you. He wasn't the respectful type, but you wouldn't know that when you first meet him. He comes off as sweet, you know, captain of the football team, good grades save for biology, I never knew why he hated that, but he seemed...perfect. You wouldn't think someone like him could be such an idiot."

Percy nodded. "So clearly you did get along with him for a while."

I shrugged again. "My parents liked him. We were friends. It was kind of our group back there: Luke, Nico, Hazel, Will, Frank, Thalia and me. And you know what the craziest thing is?"

At his nod, I said, "I dated him for a while."

His eyes widened. "You...dated him?"

I nodded, smiling deprecatingly. "Sometimes, I do have to wonder whether I'm smart at all to begin with." I laughed. "But decisions like those remind me that I still have work to do."

Percy smiled comfortingly. "You're smart, I wouldn't worry about that."

"Thank you. But yeah, I had a crush, he asked me out, it was the best thing I could've asked for at the time. And I guess I could say he was nice. We hung out at lunch, we'd drive around and we used to spend a lot of time together."

"So, what went wrong?"

I cracked my knuckles, frowning when I remembered they were already cracked. "Well, one day he decided I wasn't the prettiest girl in the room anymore."

Percy's eyes widened again. "Oh", he said.

"Yeah."

"That...really sucks."

I laughed. "It did. I just don't really care anymore. It happened a long time ago, and I was upset, but his decision doesn't change anything about me. I don't blame him or hate him, but I don't ever want to see his face again. I suppose that's the healthiest I can come up with."

Percy shrugged. "It works. But hey", his voice came a little softer, "you were right when you said his decision doesn't change anything about you. I don't really know what to say about cheating, but I'm glad you're not hung up over it anymore."

I couldn't help my smile. "Thanks, Percy."

"You're welcome, Annabeth."

I shifted closer to him, sitting more comfortably on the bed. "There's something I wanted to ask you about."

He seemed to stiffen a little, but managed a: "Go on."

"I thought it'd be a while before I got really close to someone that way again, since my last one concluded a little badly." He chuckled. "But you know, I guess I did. And he's sweet, and nice, and I would love for things to be different. A good different, I mean."

"Yeah", he whispered, like he'd lose the words he wanted to say if he didn't say them with care. "I think I know what you mean."

"So, maybe you also know who I'm talking about."

His cheeks turned red. "Unless you kissed Jason, I think I do."

I rolled my eyes, laughing. "I mean, he's not so bad."

"Shut up, Annabeth."

I laughed harder, as his lips lilted into a smile. He ran a hand through his hair, and met my eyes. "So, who's going to say it?"

I shifted even closer. "I don't know, I think I was the one who kissed you first. So, maybe, it's your turn."

His lips quirked upward. "Okay. Annabeth?"

"Hm?"

"You can't laugh at me."

"No promises."

"You're making this harder than it should be."

I laughed again. "It's never going to be easy with me, Percy. Better get used to it."

He leaned forward until his face was an inch away from mine, so I could see the lights dancing in his eyes. He grinned.

"Go out with me, Annabeth Chase?"

I kissed him.

When I pulled away, I chuckled at his astonished face. "I'd love to, Percy Jackson."

He kissed me this time, and I didn't really feel like pulling away so soon. This was a commemorative kiss anyways.