Don't judge a book by its cover.[Percabeth]

Chapter 11

Percy's POV

Oh, god I had messed up. I lay on my bed after Annabeth left, staring up at the ceiling. I groaned as I thought of everything went wrong. My brother hit her, I cried in front of her, I hugged her and then whispered in her ear. I mean correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think anyone had ever messed up so badly. Seriously, I'd known the girl like two days. She probably thought I was a creep. I whispered in her ear for gods sake! And I hugged her, we barely knew each other! I was going crazy. A quiet whimper from my brother's room pulled me from my slow journey to Crazy Town. I pulled myself from my bed and made my way to his room.

Praying he wouldn't be having another meltdown, I poked my head around the door. A sigh of relief escaped my lips, he was still in his bed. It wasn't fair, but I started to feel a little angry at him. Of course it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help what he did. But still, it was difficult to remember that. Especially when I saw the mess he'd made in the living room. Honestly, I couldn't be bothered to tidy the mess up so I left a note for my mum, explaining what happened so she wouldn't freak out when she got home. I could sort it in the morning.

After writing the note, I got ready for bed. As I brushed my teeth I noticed a bruise on my cheek. Shit. That Chris may not look like much but he sure packed a punch. My mum was sure to notice that the next day. I walked in my room and noticed Annabeth had left her camera on the floor. I got changed out of my jeans and t-shirt, flopped on my bed and looked through the pictures from the day. There were pictures of most of the apartment, pictures of Tyson and many pictures of me and my bedroom. I winced slightly as I flicked past two pictures. One was of Tyson playing with his toys and the other was of me and Tyson together. In the first image he looked happy, full of life and no different from any other seven year old boy. But the other, he had a far away look in his eyes and a completely vacant expression. I felt like shit for just thinking it but the two pictures made me wish he could just be a regular, happy child. I felt tears prick my eyes. What the hell was wrong with me. Tyson was fine as he was. I hated myself for even thinking it.

My mood instantly perked up when I came across one particular photo. It was a selfie I'd taken just as a joke. But it was Annabeth that made my mood better. She was laughing, actually properly laughing. Her eyes had crinkles around the corners and her nose was all scrunched up in an extremely cute way. Wait, cute? No, this was Annabeth. I barely knew her. She was not cute. Or at least that's what I told myself, except for a little voice that spoke up unhelpfully. Yeah right, keep telling yourself that.

Looking at the clock, I decided it was late enough for it to be deemed acceptable for me to go to sleep. Before I put the camera down though, I snapped a picture of the photo on my phone. I looked at my phone for a moment. I clicked on the contacts and left my thumb hovering over the first contact. Annabeth. I clicked on the name and typed out a quick message. After about five full minutes of considering whether or not to send it and taking a deep breath, I hit send. Oh gods that was way more difficult than it should have been, it was just a friendly text about a hoodie. I lay my phone on my stomach and took deep breaths. She might not have even got it, I tried telling myself. I was honestly starting to panic. Until my phone vibrated, telling me I had a text. For some reason, my stomach jumped as I read who it was from. The message read,

Of course I am! Its verryy comfy, I think I'll struggle to give it back;) -A

I typed out a quick reply. For some reason, I kind of liked the idea of her wearing my hoodie so late at night. It looked good on her, a little big on her so she looked all cute. Gods, again with this cute thing! I barely knew her, she was not cute! Again that little voice spoke up, aha okay then buddy . Her reply came pretty quickly this time. I sent her a short message back. I started to panic after about five minutes of waiting for a reply. Until I looked at the clock, realised it was past midnight and she was almost definitely asleep. An idea formed in my mind. Before I could change my mind, I quickly tapped out the message and punched send. The message read,

Night, wise girl x

I don't know why I used the nickname, it just seemed to fit her sarcastic, wise ass ways. I liked it anyway. I put my phone on the bedside table and flipped over, trying to stop the grin that was forming on my face. That night, I fell asleep smiling.