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one of annabeth's favorite things about working in a bookstore was that it was very rare for customers to actually come talk to her. most of them were there to either find a specific book and get out or just to browse aimlessly. either way, they usually left her alone and she loved it. today, however, was a little different.
"excuse me?"
the voice came from below her. annabeth turned and looked down to find a girl, maybe about 4 or 5, with chocolatey curls and earthy green eyes staring up at her.
"hi," annabeth said, a smile breaking out on her face, "do you need help, sweetie?"
the girl smiled shyly and nodded. "i can't reach the book i want," she said, pointing to the display a few feet away. "it's the one on the top."
annabeth walked over to the display and grabbed the brightly colored kid's book before handing it to the girl. "here you go." her face lit up as she took the book.
"thank you!" she said happily, looking at the cover. then she looked up at annabeth. "you're really pretty."
annabeth laughed at the unexpected comment, her heart warming nonetheless. she wasn't normally one to like kids, but she'd always loved the way they had no filter and would say exactly what came to their mind.
"thank you!" annabeth beamed at her. "you are, too!"
the girl opened her mouth to reply when she was cut off. "estelle!" her head whipped around and annabeth looked up to see a boy, seemingly the same age as herself, rushing towards the little girl, looking relieved to see her. he quickly picked her up and placed her on his hip. "you absolute monster, you literally bolted off."
estelle giggled and the boy, annabeth assumed it was her brother, rolled his eyes fondly. he looked at annabeth for a second before his eyes returned to the girl in his arms. "were you bothering her, you little devil?" estelle shook her head quickly with a smile. the boy looked at annabeth again with an apologetic smile. "i'm sorry about that. she ran off and she loves to talk to absolutely anyone about anything."
annabeth laughed. "no, it's okay!" she assured him. his eyes were such a vivid green it was distracting, so she turned her gaze to estelle. "she's really sweet."
estelle beamed at her and held up her book to show her brother. "the pretty girl helped me get my book! i couldn't reach." annabeth smiled again at her words.
"did you say thank you?" he asked and estelle nodded again. the boy adjusted her on his hip. "good. now tell the pretty girl bye bye because we have to go or mom is gonna kick both of our butts."
estelle laughed and looked at annabeth, waving. "bye!" she said brightly.
"bye," annabeth smiled, "have fun reading your book."
the boy smiled at her. "thanks again, have a good one."
"you, too," annabeth replied. he turned away, saying something to his sister about how she needed to stop running off. annabeth smiled and turned back to face the shelf she'd been organizing before estelle came up to her. honestly, interacting with the girl had been the highlight of her rough week.
and she idly wondered if the boy had referred to her as the pretty girl purely because his sister had called her that, or if he called her that because he thought that too.
-
if she was being honest, annabeth expected to never see estelle or her brother again. so it was a surprise when a week later, she found estelle back in the bookstore. the girl's eyes lit up as soon as she saw annabeth and she ran towards her.
"hi!" she said happily.
"hi, there," annabeth beamed. "did you read your book already?"
estelle nodded enthusiastically. "i'm getting another today!" she said, holding up another brightly colored kid's book. then estelle lowered the book and said, "my brother said your name is annabeth."
annabeth stared at her. she could vaguely remember the guy's face but she had no idea who he was or how he knew her name. "he... did?" she asked.
estelle nodded. she thought for a second. "and he told my mommy that you're the pretty girl in his english class."
she blinked a few times before a small smile grew on annabeth's face. "oh, he did?" she asked. she tried desperately to remember a single face in her senior english class but she couldn't. again, estelle nodded.
just then, her brother walked out between two aisles of books and looked at her, then up at annabeth briefly before back down at his sister. "stella. i am going to put you on a leash."
annabeth chuckled. she took a brief second to analyze the boy's face but she still didn't recognize him. he picked up his sister and looked at annabeth with another small smile. "sorry about that... again."
"it's okay," she said, smiling widely.
"she definitely seems to like you, though," he said, chuckling. then, more hesitantly, he added, "i'm percy, by the way."
"annabeth. but," she glanced at estelle briefly, "you already knew that."
percy blinked a few times before turning his attention to his sister. "what did you do?" he asked her cautiously, making annabeth bite back a smile.
estelle shrugged innocently. "i told her what you told mommy."
he stared at her. "what i... what did i tell mom?" he muttered, more to himself than to his sister. then he looked at annabeth. "don't listen to her, whatever she said was most definitely a lie."
she smiled. "oh, so i'm not the pretty girl in your english class? is that a different annabeth?" she asked, loving the way his cheeks instantly flushed as the realization dawned on him.
he turned towards his sister again. "i'm going to kill you, you monster," he stage whispered, making annabeth laugh. percy smiled sheepishly at her. "okay, so she wasn't lying completely. although, you're in my history class. i have no clue where she got english from."
annabeth held back another laugh. she moved sideways to walk around them and she stepped forward a bit to pinch estelle's cheek lightly, who giggled and squirmed away from her touch. then she caught percy's eyes and winked at him.
"see you thursday, percy," she said with a smile before walking past them. history was usually her least favorite class, but for once, she was looking forward to it.
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