Loverboy (PERCABETH AU)

Chapter 10

Annabeth's POV

By Wednesday, the swim meet was still buzzing around school — especially with the girls. Every time I passed a cluster of them in the hall, I caught snippets like, "Did you see his last lap?" or "I swear he smiled right at me."

It was ridiculous.

Math was first period, and of course, the only open seat was the one next to Percy Jackson.

"Morning, Wise Girl," he said, like the nickname had been around forever instead of him slipping it out of nowhere in the parking lot after his swim meet.

I raised an eyebrow. "That's not my name."

He smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Sure it is."

I turned my focus to the whiteboard. If he thought I was going to ask him where it came from, he was wrong.

The teacher started droning about quadratic equations. I was halfway through copying a problem when I heard the faint thunk-thunk-thunk of a pencil tapping. I didn't have to look to know it was Percy.

"You're distracting," I muttered.

"Me? I'm not even talking."

"You're tapping."

He grinned like I'd just confirmed his entire reason for existing. "Guess you're just too focused on me."

I rolled my eyes and went back to my notes. It was safer that way.

Halfway through class, the teacher announced we'd be pairing up to solve a worksheet. Naturally, fate — or whatever cruel force ran this school — stuck me with Percy.

"Perfect," he said, dragging his desk closer.

"I can work on it myself," I replied.

"Too late. We're partners, Wise Girl."

He leaned over the paper, squinting at the first problem. "Alright... so, the two numbers are... uh... probably not important."

I stared at him. "They are important. This is math, Percy."

"Right. Math." He tilted his head. "But see, you're already so good at it, why would you need me?"

"Because this is a partnership," I said, forcing the pencil into his hand. "You do number one. I'll check it."

He groaned but started scribbling something that might have been numbers. The 7 looked suspiciously like a fish.

When I checked his answer, it was wrong. Obviously.

"You didn't even try," I said.

"I did! I just... maybe multiplied when I should've divided. Or... added. I don't know."

I sighed, erased it, and wrote the correct solution. "It's not that hard."

"For you," he said. "My brain's wired for other things."

"Like swimming?"

"And fighting off guys who mess with my friends," he said, a flicker of seriousness crossing his face. Then he grinned again. "And being charming."

"You keep telling yourself that," I said, though my lips twitched before I could stop them.

By the end of class, I'd done most of the work. Percy leaned back in his seat, stretching like he'd just run a marathon.

"That was exhausting," he said.

"You didn't do anything."

"I supervised."

"From what? The math attacking me?"

"Exactly."

I shook my head and started gathering my books. He offered to carry my bag, which I refused, so he carried it anyway.

We walked into the hallway together, and I noticed how many people greeted him. He didn't just nod back — he remembered their names, asked about their weekend, joked with them. It hit me then: Percy wasn't just popular because of his looks. He made people feel... seen.

Even when he was a pain, he had this way of drawing people in.

Second period was English. Jason and Piper sat behind us, and Leo slouched in the row by the window. He looked half-asleep, but when the teacher handed out copies of Romeo and Juliet, Leo perked up long enough to mutter, "Spoiler alert: they die."

"Thanks for ruining the ending, Valdez," Piper said, smacking him lightly with her book.

"Hey, I'm just saving everyone from false expectations. Not all love stories have happy endings."

I caught Percy glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't say anything.

After English, we split up for different classes, but somehow Percy always seemed to appear again — at my locker, in the lunch line, cutting across the courtyard to meet me. I tried to tell myself it was coincidence.

At lunch, the group gathered at our usual table outside. Frank was halfway through telling some story about his grandma when Leo interrupted with, "We should totally have a bonfire this weekend."

"Where?" Piper asked.

"My place," Leo said. "We've got that big empty lot next door."

Jason shrugged. "Could work."

Percy grinned. "I'm in." Then he looked at me. "You?"

"I'll think about it," I said.

He leaned back like that answer was good enough, but I could tell he was waiting for a real one.

The afternoon dragged. History was dull, science was worse, and by last period, I was counting the minutes until the bell. Percy was in my last class of the day too — of course — and spent most of it passing me dumb doodles instead of paying attention.

When the bell finally rang, we walked out together. The parking lot was full of students heading home, music blaring from car stereos.

Percy tossed his bag into the backseat of his blue Prius, then leaned against the door. "You want a ride?"

"I have my own car," I reminded him.

"Yeah, but mine's better company."

I hesitated, then shook my head. "I'm good."

"Suit yourself," he said, sliding into the driver's seat. But before he left, he grinned at me. "See you tomorrow, Wise Girl."

And just like that, he drove off, leaving me standing there, wondering why my heart was beating faster than it should have.

Bit of a Short filler chapterr