soulmates ⋮ heroes of olympus au

seven.

P e r c y

☼

To make things perfectly clear, Percy didn't have a crush on Annabeth Chase. Sure, Percy thought she was really funny. And really smart. And really cute.

But Percy did not have a crush on her.
Percy's mom had always said he could be kind of a flirt sometimes, but he never really saw himself as much of a flirt. It had always been easy for him to joke around and make funny comments around almost everyone, yet Percy felt like whenever he was around a cute girl, he would end up stumbling over his words and saying something stupid. Because of this, Percy never really understood why his mom thought he was a flirt.

Feet dragging as he walked into English class that second week of school, Percy didn't really want to be there. Despite Paul being his step-dad – and an overall awesome guy – it was a Monday, and Percy had yet to get used to waking up early to go to school. Over the summer, Percy had made it a habit not to get out of bed before noon, so getting up so early now was the definition of a nightmare for him. At least he wasn't half-asleep like he was on the first day of school. The idea of being woken up by a textbook again didn't sound like a cheery start to his morning.

Annabeth already sat in her spot, fully engaged in a copy of Romeo and Juliet. A small smile couldn't help but make its way onto his face as he remembered what had happened in the library a few days before. Strangely, Percy couldn't help but think about how cute Annabeth was in that moment, despite the fact she was angry at him and had kicked him in the shins. Despite how annoyed Annabeth had been in the library, Percy hadn't cared in the slightest because he had gotten the chance to talk to her.

Shit. Maybe Percy actually did like her.

When Percy sat down, Annabeth looked up for a second to send him a good-natured smile before she turned her attention back to her book. This was usual for them. As much as Percy wanted to talk to her with her, both of them were usually too tired to have a conversation. Plus, Percy wasn't entirely sure what to talk about with her.

The ringing of the school bell interrupted any chances of the two talking. Paul – well, Mr. Blofis – strode into the class, a steaming mug of coffee in hand. "Morning, guys! As you all know, this year will be largely focused on argumentative topics. Because of that, I've created a project for you all to do that you'll begin presenting in two weeks."

The room filled with quiet murmurs and movement as people began pairing up with people they wanted to work with. Next to Percy, Annabeth turned away from him and was already talking to Hazel, clearly planning on partnering up with her. Percy looked around the room, trying his best to find someone who he somewhat knew and wasn't partnered up with anyone.

Mr. Blofis solved Percy's problem pretty quickly with his next words, however he replaced it with another problem that was much bigger for Percy. "And you will be working with your desk partners!"

Percy wasn't sure whether to celebrate that he now had an excuse to talk to Annabeth, or freak out because he now had to talk to Annabeth. The girl in question appeared to be pretty nonchalant about the whole situation as she glanced at Percy, shrugged her shoulders. and gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to Mr. Blofis, who was explaining their project. Apparently the pairs had to choose a famous story or myth and debate on it in a presentation to try and develop their argumentative skills. It was due in a couple of weeks, but they'd be given very little time in class and would have to work on most of it outside of school.

Fortunately, Mr. Blofis had given them the period to get started on the project. As soon as they were given the "okay" to start working, Percy turned to Annabeth and asked her, "Any idea on what story we should do?"