Loverboy (PERCABETH AU)

Chapter 6

Annabeth POV

The moment the blue Prius pulled away, I stood there for a second on the porch, milkshake cup still in hand, watching the taillights disappear down the street. It was weird... spending time with him outside of school. Percy Jackson wasn't exactly the kind of guy I expected to hang out with, but somehow the whole milkshake thing hadn't been awkward. Annoying at times, yes. But not awkward.

I stepped inside, the familiar scent of lemon cleaner and fresh laundry wrapping around me. "Hey, honey," my dad called from the living room, where he was half-buried in paperwork.

"Hey," I said, kicking off my shoes and making my way toward the stairs. My stepmom's voice floated in from the kitchen, chatting to Bobby and Matthew about their homework. I ducked past without stopping. Not in the mood for small talk.

In my room, I set the milkshake cup on my desk and collapsed into my desk chair. The math textbook was still open where I'd left it this morning, half-covered in sticky notes and highlighters. I tried to focus, flipping to the page on quadratic equations, but my brain kept circling back to a certain black-haired, green-eyed boy and the way he'd grinned when I told him I liked vanilla over blueberry.

Ugh. Ridiculous.

I shoved the thought away and started scribbling equations, but it didn't help much. By the time I realized I'd written the same wrong answer three times in a row, I gave up, leaning back in my chair.

Somehow, Percy Jackson was getting under my skin. And I wasn't sure if I hated that... or didn't mind it as much as I should.

The next morning was one of those painfully bright New York days where the sun is practically daring you to be in a bad mood. I wasn't biting. I'd stayed up way too late trying to finish my math homework, and my brain still felt foggy.

By the time I pulled into the school parking lot, the usual chaos was already in full swing. Jason's car was parked in its usual spot, Leo was leaning against it telling Hazel some wildly exaggerated story, and Piper was perched on the hood, sipping from a travel mug.

I grabbed my bag and stepped out of my car. Piper spotted me first.
"Annie!" she called, hopping off the hood and striding over like she owned the place.

"Morning," I said, and she gave me that look — the one that meant she was about to ask something she shouldn't.

"So..." Piper drawled, falling into step beside me. "How was your milkshake date with Jackson?"

I stopped dead. "It wasn't a date."

Her smirk said she didn't believe me for a second. "Uh-huh. You just 'happened' to get milkshakes together, and he 'just happened' to drive you home."

I rolled my eyes and kept walking. "You're impossible."

When we got to the front doors, Jason and Leo caught up. Jason nodded in greeting, but Leo... Leo grinned like a cat who'd found the cream. "So, Wise Girl, when's the wedding?"

I didn't dignify that with an answer.

And of course, because the universe hates me, that's when Percy Jackson himself strolled up the steps. Blue hoodie, messy hair, looking like he'd just rolled out of bed and somehow still pulled it off. His eyes flicked to me for the briefest second — and yeah, my stomach did this stupid flip — before he shoved his hands in his pockets and said, "Morning."

"Morning," I replied, keeping my tone neutral.

"Morning," Piper added in a tone that was anything but neutral.

The bell rang, saving me from further interrogation. We all headed inside, and I told myself I wasn't thinking about how Percy had smiled when he saw me. I definitely wasn't.

When we entered the school Percy walked in beside me, and we looked into eh hallway.

The hallways were chaos, like always, but this was different. About halfway to the history wing, a knot of students had gathered near the north hall lockers. It wasn't just the usual "someone dropped their phone" kind of crowd — this was the "fight's about to happen" kind.

Percy slowed down beside me, scanning the scene. "That doesn't look good."

Before we could push closer, a voice cut through the noise.

"Percy!"

We both turned to see Katie Gardner hurrying toward us, shoving past a couple of gawkers. Her face was flushed, and she was breathing hard, eyes wide with urgency.

"Percy, I need you!" she blurted. "Luke's got Travis pinned against the lockers — Connor's trying to pull him off, but it's not working!"

Luke.

Even before we reached the center of the crowd, I could see him — tall, broad-shouldered, and way too handsome for his own good. His sandy-blond hair was effortlessly perfect, like he'd just stepped out of a magazine ad, and his blue eyes had that calculating glint that made you feel like you were a pawn in a game he'd already decided he was going to win. He wore that cocky smirk that said he thought he owned the school... and maybe, in his mind, he did.

We pushed forward, and sure enough, Luke had Travis by the collar, shoving him hard against the metal lockers. Connor was hanging onto Luke's arm, trying to pull him back, but Luke was bigger, stronger, and clearly enjoying himself.

Then Percy stepped in.

"Let him go, Luke."

Luke's head snapped toward him. The smirk faltered for just a moment — not much, but enough for me to catch it. His grip loosened slightly, like some instinct told him he didn't really want to see where this would go if he kept pushing.

"This isn't any of your business, Jackson," Luke said, trying for his usual confident tone, but there was a thread of hesitation in it now.

"Wrong," Percy said, his voice steady. "It's my business now."

Luke's jaw tightened. For a second, it looked like he might push back — then Percy took one more step forward, and Luke let go completely, shoving Travis away like it had been his idea all along.

"This isn't over," Luke muttered, pointing at Percy like he was making some dramatic movie threat.

Percy didn't even blink. "Sure, Castellan. Go bother someone else."

Luke left with a scoff, shoving his way through the crowd, and Travis straightened his shirt with a sheepish grin. "Thanks, man."

"No problem," Percy said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Connor smirked. "Knew you'd show up."

Katie exhaled, relief all over her face. "Still the same Percy."

The five of us started walking toward the history wing together, the tension fading into easy chatter. I hung back slightly, watching Percy slip so effortlessly into their little circle — like stepping in to help was just another part of his daily routine.

And that's when it hit me. Percy wasn't popular just because of his easy smile or the fact that he looked like he belonged in a swimwear ad. He was popular because of moments like this — because when something was wrong, he didn't wait for someone else to fix it. He just... did.