I'm in love with my Best Friend. A Percabeth Story

Love

CHAPTER 2 IS UP BOYSSSSSSS!

Percy

I stared down at my pizza slice, feeling sick to my stomach. I couldn't help it. Steven did that to me. I mean, he was a really nice guy, and I was happy for Annabeth, but...

"Hey." Annabeth slid next to me on the bench, and I lost all train of thought. She was beautiful. Her straw-colored hair glowed gold in the sunlight, and her stormy eyes sparkled when she spoke. Her right thigh was pressed against my left, sending shivers up my spine. Try as I might, I could never seem to get her out of my head. She and I had been friends for years, and recently I had noticed tiny little things about her that I had never given a second's thought before. I had begun to hope that we could move past being friends.

Then she met Steven.

"Hey, Annabeth," I pushed thoughts of Steven to the back of my mind. She was here, talking to me. That was what mattered. "Wassup?"

She groaned. "We have to write a thousand-word essay on King Lear for English, due Tuesday. I have enough on my plate without teachers giving me huge assignments!"

I pursed my lips and shrugged, "Doctor's Note?"

She blinked, surprised at my answer. Then she tilted her head back and laughed in that cute way of hers, her shoulders shaking and the back of her hand covering her mouth. I relaxed with relief.

"I don't think so, Seaweed Brain." She grinned at me, and my mind melted. I hated it when people tried to nickname me, but when Annabeth called me "Seaweed Brain," it had the opposite effect. All of my cares and worries would disappear.

I shrugged again. "I guess you're right. Dr. Thorn wouldn't go for it. Besides," I added, "what would it say? 'Please excuse Annabeth Chase from her assignment. She has Senioritis?'"

She laughed again, "I'm a junior, Percy."

"Senioritis is a very serious and contagious disease," I spoke like a narrator on a Tylenol commercial. "If not treated right away, it can cause laziness and procrastination. Some more serious victims might even need their College Eligibility surgically removed."

By the time I had finished, Annabeth was holding her sides and resting her forehead on my shoulder, her laughter echoing around the courtyard. I found myself laughing with her, thinking, Why is this so easy? I didn't want the moment to stop.

"What's so funny?" Nico slid onto the bench across from us, much to my disappointment. Before Annabeth could sit up, he mouthed a quick, Sorry in my direction, and I gave him my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare. (A.N. I'm sorry, but I love the I'll-kill-you-later stare! I just had to use it!) He shivered.

"Nothing," Annabeth sat up, still giggling, her eyes shining as bright as the sun. "Percy was just trying to cheer me up about the King Lear assignment."

Nico nodded. He and Annabeth had the same English class, so he knew what she was talking about. "What's Kelp Head's big idea this time?"

"Doctor's Note," Annabeth giggled again, and I couldn't resist smiling. "Once again, Seaweed Brain shows off his brain capacity."

I pouted teasingly. "I can think," I protested. "Most of the time..." The two of them erupted in fits of laughter, and we were still like that when Thalia, Jason, Leo, and Piper came by with confused expressions. Soon, the seven of us were laughing and chatting like we hadn't a care in the world.

Then Steven showed up.

"Hey, Percy," he nodded coolly at my scowl, then came over and kissed Annabeth. I could feel my heart break in two when she kissed him back. He sat on her other side and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her away from me. The pieces of my heart sank to my stomach when she let him. I knew that she didn't mean to hurt me, but I couldn't stop the pain in my chest when she was with Steven.