Loverboy (PERCABETH AU)

Chapter 7

Percy POV

I glanced over at Annabeth. She didn't say anything, just studied me for a second with those stormy grey eyes like she was... reassessing.

"Come on," I told her, jerking my head toward the hall. "We're gonna be late for class."

She fell into step beside me, and for a second, neither of us said anything. I could still feel the tension buzzing in my chest from the fight-that-wasn't.

Thing is, I've never really cared about being "popular." Half the people at this school know my name because of sports, the other half because I keep stepping into situations like that. It's not about the attention. It's just... if someone needs help, you help them. Simple.

At least, that's how my mom raised me.

We walked down the hall, her bag slung over one shoulder, mine hanging loose at my side. The crowd finally started to thin out, leaving behind the usual background noise of lockers slamming and people talking about nothing important.

"You do that a lot?" Annabeth asked suddenly.

"Do what?"

"Play hero."

I shrugged. "Only when necessary. Trust me, I don't wake up in the morning planning on getting between Luke Castellan and somebody's face."

She gave me this small smirk, like she didn't quite believe me. "Still... not bad, Jackson."

"Wow," I said, pretending to be shocked. "Was that... a compliment? Should I write this down somewhere?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it."

We reached the door to our class, but I stopped and leaned against the wall for a second. "You know, you could've jumped in too. I saw that death glare you gave Luke from across the hall. Pretty sure it shaved a year off his life."

"Not my fight," she said simply, but there was a little smile tugging at her lips.

We stepped inside, and as we took our seats, I caught myself wondering why it felt so easy to talk to her now. Yesterday she was this mystery I couldn't stop staring at. Today... well, okay, she's still a mystery. But a mystery I kind of want to keep figuring out.

The rest of the day went by faster than I expected. People kept giving me nods in the hallway, the kind of silent "nice job" you get when you've just shut down someone like Luke. Honestly, I didn't think it was that big of a deal — I just hate watching people pick on others. But I could feel Annabeth noticing it.

At lunch, our usual table was already packed — Jason and Piper were laughing about something Leo had just said, Hazel and Frank were sharing fries, and Travis was animatedly explaining to Connor how "he totally had Luke handled" (which was a complete lie, but whatever).

When I sat down, Katie gave me a quick smile. "Thanks again, Percy."

"Anytime," I said, grabbing a bottle of water. "But maybe keep Travis away from Luke, yeah? Just a thought."

"Hey!" Travis protested through a mouthful of food. "I was doing fine until Luke—"

Connor cut him off. "Until Luke decided he was done letting you breathe? Yeah, sure, man."

The table erupted in laughter. Even Annabeth cracked a smile, though she quickly focused back on her sandwich like it didn't happen.

The rest of lunch was easy. Jokes, stories, Leo trying to convince us that his toaster was "possessed by the spirit of a Roman gladiator." But every now and then, I caught Annabeth watching me, like she was still trying to piece me together.

When the final bell rang, I was walking toward the parking lot when Piper jogged up beside me. "Hey Perce. Party this weekend at Jason's. You in?"

"Yeah, probably," I said. "You inviting Annabeth too?"

Piper gave me a sly smile. "Why? You want me to?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just thought she should meet everyone outside of school."

"Mm-hmm. Sure." Piper grinned and jogged ahead to catch up with Jason, leaving me shaking my head.

By the time I reached my Prius, I spotted Annabeth walking toward her ride. For a split second, I almost called out — maybe offered her a ride again — but she looked like she had somewhere to be.

So I just got in, started the engine, and drove off, the faint sound of the group still laughing behind me.

I drove the Prius back through Queens with the windows cracked open. The late afternoon air was cool, carrying that faint mix of saltwater and hot dog carts you only got in New York. I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel, still tasting the blueberry milkshake.

Dropping Annabeth off had been... weird. Not bad-weird, just... different. She didn't smile much, but when she did — even a little — it stuck in your head longer than it should. I kept telling myself it was just because she was new and I didn't know her yet. Totally normal curiosity. Right.

Traffic was light, so I pulled into our street in under twenty minutes. Our apartment building wasn't anything fancy, but it was home. Paul's Prius fit perfectly in our tiny spot between a dented Ford and Mrs. Ramirez's ancient Buick.

Inside, Mom was at the stove, the kitchen filled with the smell of spaghetti sauce. Estelle was in her high chair, smearing mashed sweet potato across her face like it was war paint.

"Hey, Mom," I said, leaning down to kiss her cheek before stealing a meatball from the pan.

She swatted at me with the wooden spoon. "Percy, that's for dinner!"

"Quality control," I said, grinning.

Paul looked up from the table where he was grading papers. "How was school, champ?"

"Fine," I said automatically, but then added, "Got paired up for a project."

"With?" Mom asked, way too casually.

"New girl. Annabeth."

Mom gave me one of those subtle mom-smiles, the kind that said she already had Opinions she wasn't going to share yet.

After dinner, I crashed in my room, halfheartedly scrolling through my phone before tossing it on the nightstand. For some reason, my brain wouldn't shut up about today — Annabeth's sharp grey eyes, the way Luke had backed off without me even raising my voice, the fact that she'd actually said yes to milkshakes.

Tomorrow was going to be interesting.