Forever- a Percabeth story.

Chapter 7

Annabeth

 I hadn't even really wanted to go to Piper's. I was feeling antisocial and a little sick to my stomach, the overwhelming nostalgia had let to physical symptoms. But Percy always wanted to hang out, he never turned down a party or any sort of gathering. It was something I liked about him, but it also annoyed me. I thought about asking him to drop me off, but I wanted to talk to Piper about a few details for his party. 

I spent most of the evening hanging around Nico, I didn't feel like talking, and he wasn't usually too chatty. It was a great plan, except that Will Solace kept bothering us. 

He kept asking us questions like "How's school going?" and "What music do you like?"  I would answer half heartedly, and Nico pretty much shrugged for his answers. When he finally left us alone and practically ran to the bathroom, I glanced at Nico. 

"Dude, he never stops talking." I whispered, kind of making fun of him.

Nico was smiling just a little, and I took that as a compliment of my joke. "I know." he responded. 

Will was nice and all, but he was mostly Percy's friend. I wondered why he was all the sudden interested in people that couldn't care less about swim stats. 

I grabbed a piece of pizza, offered Nico a slice, but he didn't take it. I don't think I ever saw Nico eat much.

I noticed Rachel was here, her and Hazel were looking at something on Hazel's phone. I knew Piper had a friend named Rachel, she would mention her from time to time, but I was still adjusting to her being here. I just started to get close to Piper and Hazel, now I had a whole new person to get to know. Rachel made me uneasy for some reason, I wasn't a very trusting person to start with, and the way she looked at Percy made the knot in my stomach tighten...

"Do you blame all of your losses on innocent bystanders?" I heard Rachel say

All of Piper's L.A. friends were pretty, but Rachel was especially so. 

"Only if they have pretty red hair and distract me at the last minute." Percy said as he crossed his arms to mock her. 

Pretty red hair. The words haunted me and I had no idea why. She did have pretty red hair, it was wavy and framed her face nicely. Suddenly, I was pissed off. Percy acted so innocent, dorky and goofy, like he had no idea how people saw him. He was just like this. Warm, funny, flirty, so annoyingly cute. Did he seriously not understand the effect he had on people? on girls? Even Hazel had a small crush on him when they first met. I didn't realize my fists were clenched until Nico said something. 

"What are you about to fight me? I will literally crush you." Thankfully, no one heard him. I released my hands just as Percy walked over to us. 

 "How come you weren't in school, Nico?" Percy asked, cocking an eyebrow. 

"Thats what I asked him earlier!" Reyna chimed in, she was not a rule breaker. I liked that about her. 

"Deviant." I said, mostly to Nico. 

Nico didn't acknowledge any of us. Instead he looked straight forward. 

"Why would I go to school when I could light myself on fire and feel the same way?" He said, making us all laugh. Especially Will. Leo teased him and I wondered, for the second time, what was going on with Will tonight. 

While everyone started debating movie choices, I watched Piper take Percy over to the sound system. We had figured out the light sequence just a few days ago, watching Percy's reaction to it made me smile wide. He was going to freak come his birthday, he had no idea what we had planned. 

Piper came over to me. 

"Did you ask Leo for help with the other part yet?" She said in a whisper.

"Can't you do it? You're closer with Leo than I am!" I said

"Yeah but I don't know all the tech language like you do." She had a point there, she didn't really know what she would even be asking him for.

"Fine." I said.

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I thought I'd feel better once I got into the movie. But I kept hearing it over and over again 

"Only if they have pretty red hair and distract me at the last minute."

It was so alarming to me that he could turn on the charm like that. I have known Percy for my whole life and watching him grow up into this smooth-talking jock felt surreal. It was difficult to meld the two Percy's together. 

There was the Percy that needed help with silly little things, the goofy Percy that wanted to be sharkboy and eat blue cake, the one that had been there for me forever.

 But then, there was also this Percy. The one that everyone wanted at the party, the Percy that made everyone laugh, that flirted with girls and had inside jokes with the football team. He reminded me of... Luke. 

The thought made me sit up straight, and Piper gave me a funny look. I couldn't unthink it, no matter how hard I tried. 

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My uneasiness followed me all the way into the car. 

Percy cracked a joke about Frank looking like the triceratops, but I couldn't stop thinking about what he said to Rachel, and the thought I had about Luke. 

I felt like crying. I wanted to be 10 years old again, with Percy all to myself. Watching Finding Nemo and playing tag in the park. Before Luke, before High School, before Percy got so good looking, before I had this knot in my stomach when he looked at me, before I became so... whatever I am. 

"Percy, do you ever miss being kids?" I asked him, hoping he maybe was feeling the same way I was. 

"Sure, I miss actually thinking I could grow up to be Sharkboy". He said, still trying to make me laugh. I had to look out the window so he wouldn't see my eyes well up. 

"You're sad." He said. Not a question, just knowing. I didn't want to share the burden of being sad with him, so I cracked a joke instead. 

"No, Im Annabeth." I said, a joke my dad would often make. 

I could practically feel Percy smiling "Annabeth Chase? The one and only? The smartest, funniest, coolest, most brilliant and interesting person on the planet?" He said. 

I wondered if he really thought that about me, or if he was just trying to cheer me up. 

"No, the other one." I said sarcastically. I thought I distracted him enough, that he didn't know I was still upset. 

There was no one on the roads, so when the light turned green and Percy just stayed still, no one honked at him. 

I turned to tell him to drive, when I saw that he had just been staring at me. Despite the tighenting knot I felt, I told him to go. 

I knew where he was taking me the moment he turned right. 

I wondered how Percy always knew exactly what I needed, even when he didn't know why I needed it. 

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After Percy dropped me off, I snuck in quietly. I knew my parents would be livid if I woke my little brother up. When I finally showered and got into bed, I thought about texting Percy, but I didn't know what to say. 

I couldn't close my eyes without seeing his; the deep sea green, I could have drowned in them. I almost did. Out on the dock, my heart had been racing, and then something happened. 

Something I didn't ask for, something I didn't plan, something I couldn't stop thinking about. 

I  had wanted him to kiss me. 

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