Forever- a Percabeth story.

Chapter 10

Annabeth

I don't think I slept at all last night, I was wide eyed when my alarm went off. I had plenty of time in the morning. I wore a top that used to be Piper's and a pair of shoes I usually only wore to NHS meetings. I felt giddy, I wanted to dress different because I felt different. Something in me had changed, I just didn't know what.

"Good morning, sweets." My dad said when I walked into the kitchen. I smiled at him.

"You look nice." My step mom said. When I was younger we didn't get along very well, but as I grew up we worked on our relationship. We were good now, I trusted and her and she cared about me. After years of fighting, it felt nice to be on the same team now.

"Morning, thank you." I had some oatmeal before I left to meet Piper. Piper and I liked to get to school early, so I rode with her. Whereas Percy would get to school with just a minute to spare.

Oh god. I remembered last night. Had I really called him good looking? Had I really leaned into him like that? Time didn't feel real out there on the dock, it felt slowed and mystical. Did he feel it too?

Suddenly, I felt extremely embarrassed. I had no real reason for feeling so down yesterday, it was nameless. A sadness I hadn't been able to shake, but couldn't quite understand. Maybe it was just nostalgia, my favorite photo of us as kids had been missing from its place— why had that haunted me so much?

An even more alarming thought: why had I wanted him to kiss me?

Ugh.

Chemistry? easy. History? a breeze. My own annoying emotions and mental health: a complete mystery.

I was lost in these thoughts when I got into Piper's car. She was playing Taylor Swift, her favorite. Secretly, mine too.

"Hiya, pretty girl, cute blouse," she chided. " I brought you coffee." Piper was great, besides Percy's cousin Thalia, she and Hazel were the only good girlfriends I'd ever had. Freshman year, Percy met Grover in class, and he had introduced us to his friends in the Green Team club, thats how we met Piper and Hazel. Eventually, Nico came around because of his sister.

Sophomore year, when Percy made the swim team, thats when Jason, Leo, Frank, and Reyna joined our friend group. Though, secretly, I always felt like they were all more of Percy's friends.

"Thanks, I needed this." I said holding the cup. I had pulled all nighters for projects before, but never without coffee the next day.

"Late night?" She asked.

"Just hung out with Percy awhile after we left." I told her casually, hoping she couldn't hear my thoughts.

Just hung out with Percy and went to our favorite park and almost kissed out on the dock, no biggie. Who cares? not me. Not at all.

Had we almost kissed? Was I just making that up? The feeling I had kept me up all night... it made me wonder how Percy slept.

I hummed along to the song playing, wondering what he'd look like when I saw him.

___________

After first period, where I almost drowned in a puddle of mind numbing calculus, I saw Percy and Rachel walking together. I was on the second floor and they were on the first, I could see them below. Percy looked like a wreck, like he tumbled out of bed. The coffee cup in his hand confused me, Percy didn't drink coffee. I watched Rachel wave and walk away, giggling like crazy once she turned away from him. He must have said something funny. He watched her walk away, I stared as he stood there, still looking at her back...was he staring at her ass?