Eyes like the Ocean

three

Annabeth grabbed her guitar and went outside onto her balcony, sighing sadly as she played.

The whole Luke thing was so bizarre, but she remembered how horrible it had been to catch him with Drew Anderson, the biggest hoe in the school. Annabeth recalled her smug smirk as she whispered into Luke's ear, letting him know who was watching. The panic in his eyes that followed was real, but Annabeth knew deep in her heart that he had wanted her to find out.

Someone knocked on the patio door, scaring her. She saw it was Percy and motioned for him to come outside. The light hit his face perfectly as he stepped outside, so Annabeth pretended to tune her guitar so she could look away.

"Jesus, you scared me," she told him. He blushed and looked down at his black, dirty Converse.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I, uh, wanted to ask you if you wanted to come with me and Thalia-"

"Thalia and I," Annabeth interrupted, looking up from her guitar. Percy shot her a dirty look.

"Thalia and I to see Godzilla today. Around seven, maybe?"

She looked down at herself, now clad in jeans and a gray sweatshirt. Good enough, she figured.

"Yeah, I'll go," Annabeth said. She expected Percy to leave, but he sat down in the chair across from her.

"You play guitar?" he asked.

"No," she replied, "I just like holding it."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

There was a short silence before the two teenagers started laughing. Annabeth accidentally snorted, which resulted in her blushing in embarrassment and Percy laughing even harder. She yelled at him for laughing at her, but he was having so much fun that he couldn't even focus on what she was saying. When the laughter subsided, Percy bit his bottom lip nervously.

"Don't tell Thalia," he said, "but I sing."

"We're not going to do a duet right now, if that's what you want," Annabeth said. Percy frowned.

"What? Why not?"

"Because that stuff only happens in movies, and it's so cringeworthy." Her lips spread into a huge smile. "Plus, if Thalia heard us singing together, she would probably record it and use it as blackmail for the rest of our lives." He shrugged.

"True. Well, are you going to play me a song, or what?"

Annabeth laughed.

"Um, no. I don't do self-inflicted pain." Percy pouted, and she used all her will power to stay strong. He looked so cute, though, with his eyes big and pleading. He took her hand in his and smiled a bit.

"Please?"

Feeling her willpower crumble, Annabeth rolled her eyes and started to play , and although she felt slightly insecure with Percy watching her, she couldn't help but smile when she caught him staring at her in amazement. She played and sung a few lighthearted songs while he listened quietly, occasionally cheering when she hit a high note. His eyes were lit up and Annabeth wanted to stay there forever, but eventually her throat became sore and she needed to stop. She ended up walking Percy to her bedroom door, oddly sad that he was leaving, even though his room was just across the hall.

"I should probably find Thalia," she said, and Percy agreed. He walked to his room and she walked towards Thalia's, swinging the door open with a newly-found happy attitude, yelling her name. She was surprised to find the room empty.