Forever- a Percabeth story.

Chapter 18

Annabeth

When we got to Piper's Rachel snapped a photo us just as we walked through the door. I slid away from her and rubbed my eyes from the flash.

"I did not consent to that!" Percy laughed "Besides, I thought you didn't use digital cameras." I heard him say as I moved to the other side of the kitchen. I didn't realize he knew her well enough to know what camera she uses. Then again, since he had her number I'm sure they spent all their free time texting. He also told me earlier today that she would be photographing at the party, what a joy.

I walked into a conversation between Leo and Jason, they were remembering an afternoon they spent at the arcade as kids. I made myself a plate of pizza and took my ponytail holder back from Percy before I started to eat. I listened to Piper and Grover talk about a member in their club having beef with another member because they wouldn't sign an initiative for healthier vending machines.

Really, I was waiting to talk to Leo. They were logistics about projecting the video for Percy's party that I needed his help with. I should have talked to him earlier about it, maybe when we weren't surrounded by everyone, but I waited too long and I needed to tell him now.

I texted him.

A: I need your help with something

I saw him look up at me, I didn't want him to out me and respond out loud. I made my way over to him and brought him down the hall near living room.

"What could the brainiac possibly need my help with." Leo asked.

Really, he sold himself short, Leo was ridiculously smart. He's in Mrs. Yancey's advanced statistics class, and I've graded his tests before since I'm her Teacher's Assistant. I don't think he's ever scored lower than a 95.

I explained the predicament of the project. And he nodded thoughtfully. We walked around the living room a little, talking about placement and the logistics of what we would need. We had to use the flash drive, instead of an entire computer, which made a little tricky to figure out how to project it.

Leo was nothing short of brilliant, he talked about rigging her television to play the same loop on every screen in the house. I knew I had come to the right place.

"You really should have asked me sooner about this," Leo scratched his chin.

"Are we going to be able to pull it off in time?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'll just prioritize my friends over my schoolwork. No biggie." Leo said casually.

"Leo!"

He laughed, "Relax, I'll still pass 11th grade." he said.

"Okay, well just text me and I'll come over and help you, alright?" I said.

He scoffed "Yeah, I'm going to ask for help when I need it," he said sarcastically "and then I'm going to take care of myself," he started laughing "and after that I might eat some vegetables" He used air quotes, and even though he was being self deprecating, I laughed a little.

Before we left the living room he stopped in his tracks.

"How loud does the audio need to be?" He asked

"It depends on how many people are here." I said.

"Do we know how many people are coming?" He looked around, as if he was calculating how many bodies could fit into the room.

"Probably not too many, I'm going to tell Piper to post it on a private story, that way we can control how many people are going to come." I turned and started towards the kitchen.