He fiddles with his jacket zipper, staring blankly past her and pointedly not watching the screen. It wasn't that he's nervous, she assumes; nerves usually hit him on the ice rather than rinkside. Annabeth figures he was mulling over whatever his mom told him before taking her seat. The crease in his brow said that while it wasn't heavy news, it was still something important to think over.
She shoved off the ice, gritting her teeth and putting all of her concentration into the jump. Her boots knocked together and silence whistled past her ears. A split second had her landing on the edge of her blade, wobbling enough to fling her hand down to steady herself. Still, she managed to keep gliding, however jagged a line she may have left was. Flushed with pride, Annabeth cut around to find her coach's face. It wasn't so hard a task, as Chiron was already skating over with such a look of fury she stumbled to a stop.
"How many times have I told you not to make it a quad?"
She sighed, brushing her hand free of ice flecks. "Yeah, but I made it."
"You do that in competition and you're through."
She adjusts her earbuds, rocking back and shaking her hands. The cheers of the audience kept seeping through her music and she was having a rough time falling into the competition energy. The couple from Japan marched their way to the ice, glittering costumes coming into focus as she zoned back in. They had won silver the previous 4 Continents, which had surprised everyone, including themselves. A team like that was accustomed to shinier prizes.
She recognized him from competitions. Of course, they were never pitted against each other, but he caused uproar in their general community after announcing his switch to pairs. It usually was not done so young, one wouldn't have the skill nor the physical developments required. However, if she remembered right, he already possessed an impressive grasp on techniques far above their expected age bracket. This was also said of her, though, so she should not be awestruck by the boy with sea glass eyes.
(She totally was not watching him from the corner of her eye while lacing up her boots.)
(That would be ridiculous.)
He and his mom were talking with Chiron and she hoped to god that he wasn't planning on hiring him to coach. That would be just what she needed.
He must have felt her staring because the brunt of the green in his gaze hit her like a freight train as he blinked at her. Determined not to look any sort of flustered, Annabeth stood up haughtily, snapped off her guards, and pushed onto the ice without a glance back.
That oughta discourage him.
Piper and Jason round the corner, snickering at whatever they were watching on Piper's phone. They both sport France's emblem on their jackets, something Percy latches onto immediately. His eyes are light and his mouth is twitching, most likely desperate to spew the jokes flooding his mind. He finds her gaze and helplessly gestures to the pair, as if to show how obvious the opportunity was. Annabeth smothered a smirk with her palm, moving to sit next to him.
"First senior event he officially belongs to France, how can I not make the Titanic reference?"
"You'll have to refrain," she chuckles, bumping her shoulder against his.
He mock pouts, snatching an ear bud. "Torture, thy name is No Fun Annabeth."
"They're next, wait til they come back from the kiss and cry to unleash your terrible jokes."
Their breath came out in little clouds as they lounged on the wall, watching the boy weave languidly across the ice.
"I dunno, he is pretty good."
YOU ARE READING
Alternatively
Fanfiction[completed, in editing] Whether as royalty and peasants, werewolves and humans, pirate enemies, or high school rivals, Percy and Annabeth will always find each other in these one shots and multichapter alternate universes.
