Loverboy (PERCABETH AU)

Chapter 3

Annabeth POV

By the time I got to the lunch table, Piper was already mid-story, hands flying as she told Hazel and Frank about some disaster involving Leo and a blender. Hazel was trying not to laugh too loud, and Frank looked like he wasn't sure if he should be concerned or impressed.

I slid into my usual seat, across from Piper. She grinned at me like she'd been waiting to say something.
"Guess who's in your history class now?"

I didn't need to guess.
"Don't say it," I warned.

"Percy Jackson," she said anyway, way too cheerfully.

I sighed. "Great. Just what I needed."

It wasn't that I hated Percy. I barely knew him, really. But I knew of him — the kind of guy who coasted on charm, had a reputation for flirting with half the school, and always seemed to get away with it. He was also somehow friends with everyone at this table... except me.

Hazel gave me a gentle smile, like she was trying to balance Piper's teasing. "He's not that bad, Annabeth."

I stabbed a piece of lettuce with my fork. "He's... fine. As long as he keeps to himself."

Of course, that's when I spotted him across the cafeteria, heading toward us with Jason. Like he always did.

Jason dropped into the seat beside Piper, his easy grin in place. Percy sat down next to me, not hesitating for even a second. My brain instantly supplied the image of him from history class this morning — green eyes, messy black hair, looking at me like he was trying to figure out if I was a puzzle worth solving.

I pretended not to notice.

"Hey, Chase," he said.
"Jackson," I replied, not looking up from my tray.

Piper kicked me under the table. I shot her a glare, but she just smiled like she knew something I didn't.

Jason and Percy started talking about practice after school, Frank chimed in with some game schedule, and Hazel asked me about my design project for architecture class. I tried to focus on Hazel, but Percy's presence next to me was... distracting. He was too close. Not in a bad way, exactly — just enough to make me hyper-aware of every time he moved.

When I finally risked a glance at him, he was already looking at me. His expression wasn't teasing this time. Just curious.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

He shrugged. "Nothing."

But something about the way he said it made me feel like I'd missed a step on the stairs.

I told myself I wasn't going to fall for Percy Jackson. I had boundaries. I had common sense.
Still... I couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to test both.

By the time lunch was halfway over, I had convinced myself that sitting next to Percy Jackson wasn't going to ruin my day.

Mostly.

Piper was deep into telling Jason about her morning — something involving a pop quiz and a pen that exploded all over her notes — and Jason was hanging onto every word like she was describing the secret to eternal life. Frank and Hazel were sharing one of those quiet side conversations that looked normal to everyone else, but you just knew was full of cute couple stuff.

And then there was me. Sitting here. Trying to ignore the fact that Percy smelled faintly like the ocean. Not in a bad way — it was actually... fresh. Clean. And that was annoying. I didn't need "pleasantly distracting" added to the list of things about him I was trying not to notice.

"Are you always this quiet?" he asked suddenly.

I blinked at him. "Are you always this nosy?"

That got him to grin. "Guess so."

I rolled my eyes and went back to my sandwich, but I caught Piper hiding a smirk from across the table. She loved this way too much.

It's not that I don't talk to new people. I do. But Percy had that kind of energy that made it feel like if I gave him an inch, he'd take the whole mile — not in a bad way, just in that effortless charm way that made you forget why you were keeping your distance in the first place.

And maybe I didn't trust myself to forget.

The bell rang, and everyone started gathering their stuff. I was almost free when Percy fell into step beside me in the hall.

"You've got architecture next, right?"

I shot him a sideways glance. "How do you know that?"

He shrugged like it was obvious. "Jason mentioned it."

Of course he did. Jason Grace was apparently the human version of an open book when it came to his friends.

We walked in silence for a moment, the crowd of students shoving past us. He didn't seem to mind that I wasn't talking. Then, right as we reached the stairs, he said, "You know, for someone who acts like she doesn't like me, you sure sit pretty close."

I stopped on the step, giving him my best unimpressed look. "You sat next to me."

He just smiled. "Details."

I left him on the stairs and walked the rest of the way to class alone. But my brain betrayed me by wondering what he'd say to me next time.