Beyond All Expectation (Percabeth)

Chapter 13: Percy's Crush

Percy POV:

I just couldn't help it; all week, I thought of Annabeth. 

I thought of Annabeth when I swam, I thought of Annabeth when I walked through school, I thought of Annabeth when I skated with Thalia and Grover, I thought of Annabeth when I had dinner with my family. She was always in my head. And in my classes, I stared at Annabeth so much that I hardly ever chatted with my friends. 

On a Thursday afternoon, the bell rang signaling the end of school. I was in History class with Mr Brunner. As soon as I heard the bell I grabbed my bag, wanting to run off as soon as possible to get to the skatepark. 

"Mr Jackson, a word," Mr Brunner said sternly. I hesitated. 

Leo chuckled and clapped me on the back. "Bad luck, pendejo." 

"Pendyhoe? What's that mean?" I asked nervously, but he just laughed and walked away. I saw Annabeth leave the class and my eyes followed her blonde ponytail until she was out of view. And then I turned to face my teacher. What did he want?

"Um, Sir?" I mumbled. This was the first time I had ever spoken to my history teacher alone. Usually, he only spoke to me during our parent-teacher conference, where he would repeat the same old bullshit every other teacher liked to say: although Percy might not be excelling in the classroom, his strengths lie elsewhere and I'm confident he can get that scholarship. It was always a slap in the face to hear it. 

"I've just finished marking your homework - here, have a look," he said. I walked towards his desk slowly and took the sheet of paper from his outstretched hand, apprehensive about what I would find. On the top right corner of the page, Brunner had written 'C-' in bright red. My mouth fell open. Brunner chuckled. "Well, all I can say is that's the best piece of homework you've given me in two years. Well done."

"T-thanks Sir," I allowed myself to smile. 

"Are you okay? You've been quiet in my lessons all week - you're not actually paying attention, are you?" He asked, his eyes glinting with humour. I laughed. 

Truthfully, I was paying more attention to the back of Annabeth's head than him during class, but I had allowed a few of his sentences to sink in. 

"It's my understanding that you have a tutor, is that correct?" He questioned. I nodded. "Well, whoever they are, it's working. Keep up the good work, Jackson. I must say... you've surprised me."

"Surprised you, Sir?"

He shrugged. "Well, I just didn't think you cared."

At the skatepark, I was so distracted about thinking about Annabeth I must have bailed at least thirty times. After landing on my arm badly, I dragged my board off to the side and watched Grover and Thalia skate for a while. Eventually they skated over to me. 

"You're skating like an Am, Perce, what's happened?" Thalia teased. I grinned and shoved her away from me. 

"Distracted, is all," I answered. 

"I'm getting tired," Grover complained. "Wanna grab some pizza in a bit?"

I thought for a moment. I needed to do homework... but I couldn't tell them that - especially not Thalia, she would bully me senseless. 

"I can't, sorry guys, my mom wants me home for dinner," I sighed. Grover nodded sadly. 

"Thals?" He asked. 

"Can't either; Luke's taking me out to dinner," she smiled to herself. I rolled my eyes. Hearing Thalia talk about Luke made me want to barf - not just because I hated the guy, but also because it reminded me of my conversation with Annabeth on Tuesday, where she had found out that Thalia had been lying to her for years. I had wanted to confront Thalia about it straight away, but I knew that if Annabeth found out I had spoken to Thalia about it she would have gotten upset. The last thing I wanted to do was make Annabeth upset.