Just High School

Chapter 10 - - Annabeth

With all the terrible things Annabeth had heard about high school, she definitely hadn't been expecting these last few months to have been the best of her life. But they definitely were. She was taking exciting classes, meeting new people, spending tons of time with her friends, was part of the school community, and, of course, dating Luke.

Annabeth had never been the type of girl who was boy-crazy. In middle school, she often made fun of the girls who literally drooled over the opposite sex. She cared what she looked like, sure, but never was one to wear overly flattering clothes or lots of makeup to impress members of the male species. Despite all this, she couldn't deny that she was head-over-heels in love with Luke.

In the few weeks they'd been dating, he'd swept her completely off her feet (literally on occasion). He complimented her frequently: in person, over text, on her Instagram posts. He was clearly proud of her and never missed an opportunity to remind the Goode community that they were dating, whether it was waiting for her after her classes or holding her hand in the hallway or once, kissing her in the middle of the football field. Shortly after they started dating Luke got his license, which led to lunch dates and weekend getaways to the beach. No one had ever treated Annabeth like this before, like a girl, and she was ridiculously happy.

Their one-month anniversary happened to fall on the date of the Goode boys soccer regional championships, so Annabeth decided to plan something special for Luke. He was getting more and more stressed as the big game approached, and she wasn't sure he'd remember that it was their anniversary. She deliberated for a week on what to do after the game: dinner reservations, a movie, a walk in Central Park? Finally she decided to plan a simple picnic with sandwiches from their favorite bakery, lemonade, and homemade cookies. She was very excited to see Luke play in the game, and knew that he would love her surprise afterwards. 

Thursday was the day before the big game. Annabeth and Luke were cuddling under one of the large trees outside, slightly apart from their group of friends, who was busy making posters for Luke. Luke's thumb lazily traced circles over Annabeth's fingers, and she smiled at him and nestled closer, head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes until something occurred to Annabeth.

"Luke?" she asked, pulling away so she could look at him full on.

"Anna?" Luke replied, using his pet name for her. She didn't really like it, it sounded childish to her, but if Luke wanted to call her that, that made her happy.

"What made you ask me to hoco?"

"Well, I told you, you've caught my eye for a while," Luke said, winking. "So I figured I should just go for it. You know? What's the worst that can happen? And I got you, so it worked out pretty good, I'd say."

Annabeth laughed. "Aww. Well I'm glad you did."

"What made you say yes?" Luke asked.

"Um . . . well Percy kinda tried to ask me, after you did, but he then screwed it up and so I got mad at him, which was stupid. But then I thought about you and I realized I really really wanted to go to homecoming with you. I've always kind of liked you, but I've always thought you were too good for me," Annabeth confessed, expecting Luke's face to light up with the compliment. Instead he jumped to his feet, dislodging her head, and glared down at her. 

"Percy asked you to homecoming???" he demanded.

"Yeah . . ." Annabeth trailed off, uncertain. "It's not a big deal, please, Luke, don't worry about it. It was just a stupid middle school crush that he has. Please, Luke."

Luke forced a smile, but his eyes were still stormy. "Sorry, Anna. Sorry. I was overreacting." But instead of sitting down, he moved towards the doors inside. "I'll be right back," he said over his shoulder. "I gotta go grab something from my locker."