Percy's POV
September 23
One month. That's how long I've been dating Rachel now. We hold hands, go into town together, kiss, all the type of things a couple would do. But with all of this, why do I feel so disconnected with her?
A couple of weeks ago, Rachel had come into the common room sobbing her eyes out. I knew she'd been arguing with Drew in the bedroom, but she wouldn't tell me what about. It was worrying me more than I let on.
Right now, though, the two of us were relaxing on the couch in the dorm room alone. I was sitting near the end of the couch scrolling on my phone, while Rachel leaned on the arm of the couch and crossed her legs over mine. She had her sketchbook out and was drawing something, colored pencils laying in her lap. The sound of the lead scratching against the paper filled the silent room.
"Hey, Rachel?" I asked, disrupting the quiet. The sound of her pencil on paper stopped and she looked up at me with emerald green eyes. Her vibrant red hair was pulled back with a yellow and orange bandana, which made it look like a fire.
"Yeah?" Rachel replied, lowering her sketchbook so she could look at me better.
"Well, it's Friday, and we don't have anything to do this weekend, do we?"
Rachel shook her head, looking away from my eyes and studying her drawing. She's been doing that a lot, by the way. She never seemed to be able to meet my gaze longer than a few seconds.
"Well," I continued. "We could go into town? Or hang out at the lake?"
Rachel hesitated. She almost answered, but her words morphed into something different at the last second. "I'm going shopping with Drew and Calypso, so I can't. Sorry."
She didn't sound very apologetic.
"Oh, that's fine." I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I'll just hang with Leo and Jason." My focus left Rachel and went back to my phone as I scrolled through TikTok some more.
Beside me, Rachel closed her sketchbook and began gathering her pencils. She pulled her legs off of mine and stood up, not giving me a second glance.
"See you at dinner?" I asked her as she began walking away from the couch. I position myself on the couch so I had one arm on the back of the couch and I was turned around, watching her walk away.
Rachel didn't look at me as she responded, instead she kept her back turned towards me as she began walking up the stairs and into the girls bedroom. "Yeah, obviously." She said, and I frowned at the sarcasm. I'm no stranger to sarcasm, and I know it when I hear it. And that definitely wasn't the joking kind of sarcasm, it was the 'are you really that stupid?' type of sarcasm. Yikes.
She slammed the door behind her, and I whistled softly as I turned back around on the couch. That girl seriously needed to chill out.
***
About 30 minutes later, I was leaving the common room and stumbling down the stairs. As I left the tower, I felt a blast of cold air. The freezing temperature outside was almost unbearable.
I decided to walk in the hallways lining the sides of the courtyard. The pillars didn't do much to block the cold, but it made it slightly more tolerable. And by that I mean it did absolutely nothing.
After what felt like hours of walking, when really it was probably two or three minutes, I found myself in front of the Great Hall door. I pushed it open and walked into the entrance, appreciating the warmth, then into the large open arch that led into the dining room.
I made my way over to my usual area of the table where the east wing students sat. I sat down, and seconds later Annabeth sat down in front of me.
She was wearing a large white sweater that must have done much to protect her from the cold. Her jeans were rolled up to the ankles, and socks covered what would've been exposed, along with black converse. She had a gold necklace and gold earrings, which somehow made her gray eyes and her long curly golden hair stand out. Her face was tinted pink from the cold, and she looked absolutely gorgeous.
I realized I was staring, because Annabeth gave me a confused look. I looked away and saw Rachel giving me a pointed glare. Immediately I felt guilty. Annabeth wasn't my girlfriend, Rachel was. I shouldn't have been thinking how pretty she was. Annabeth and I barely even meet the definition of friends. Not that it mattered, of course.
Jason reached over my plate to grab a bread roll, as he did so he looked up at Leo. He glanced at me, urging me to look towards Leo as well.
I turned my head, and saw Leo's head resting in his hand as he stared down the table dreamily at Calypso.
"Close your mouth, Leo," I said, effectively snapping him out of his daze. "If you drool anymore, you'll drown your vegetables."
Leo scowled at me, but didn't do much to protest as he began shoveling food into his mouth. "Like you weren't just drooling over Annabeth two seconds ago." Leo grumbled, and I stiffened in my seat.
My eyes scanned the faces of my friends, hoping none of them had caught Leo's words. Unfortunately, my prayers went unanswered. Piper and Silena were frowning at me, they looked at each other and had some sort of secret-sister conversation with their eyes. I hate when they do that.
I nudged Leo with my elbow, causing him to drop his fork and have it clang onto his plate. He looked up at me and stuck out his tongue.
"Oh, real mature," I whispered, sticking my tongue out back at him in a way that mocked the way that he'd done it.
"Boys," a voice snapped. Leo and I jolted up, facing forward to see who had spoken. It was Piper, looking exasperated with our behavior like a disappointed mother. "Please, stop arguing like bickering babies."
Leo and I dutifully nodded, biting back smiles. Piper rolled her eyes and waved us off. I turned back to Leo.
"Are you ever gonna ask her out?" I asked him, taking a bread roll off of Jason's plate and taking a bite.
"Percy, why—" Jason started, but I held up my hand to block his statement from continuing any further. My eyebrow raised in a questioning manner at Leo and I waited for his answer.
Leo's shoulders went up then back down in a shrug. "Maybe, man. I dunno how she feels yet."
My eyes rolled and I slapped him on the back in a reassuring and encouraging way. "Dude, just go for it."
Jason poked his head around around my shoulder, shoving away my hand that had been blocking his face. "You never know until you try," he said. "Sometimes the only obstacle in the way of your goal is your own fears and self doubt."
My eyebrows scrunched together and I turned to look at Jason. "Could you not with the philosophy?" I asked. "What kind of nonsense is that?"
Jason put his hands up in defense. "It's not philosophy, man. I was just telling him how it is. Something philosophical would be like—"
I clamped my hand over his mouth, shaking my head furiously. "If something even slightly insightful comes out your mouth, I will duct tape you to the ceiling in your sleep."
Jason rolled his eyes, but when I removed my hand he didn't say anything.
Leo suddenly looked suspicious and he dropped his voice as he leaned in closer to Jason and I. Jason leaned in a as well to hear what Leo wanted to say, so I was in the middle of an awkward triangle.
"So," Leo began quietly. "Did you guys think about that...plan?" He asked, and I knew he was talking about the prank idea he'd had a long while ago.
I shook my head. "Leo, that idea is crazy."
"Not only would it get us in so much trouble," Jason offered, "but it would also be incredibly difficult to pull off."
"Aw, cmon!" Leo pouted. "You guys know we've done way worse stuff. Like when we got school canceled for a whole week because of the-"
Jason's eyes widened and he shoved Leo's shoulder, causing Leo to stop talking. Leo seemed to realize what he'd almost done and he quickly shut up, much to my relief.
"Dude, we swore we'd never admit to doing that." Jason reminded Leo, and Leo shook his head as he looked back down at his plate and began eating again.
Rachel's voice suddenly amplified to me when she spoke my name. "—Percy are going into town this weekend." She said, and I furrowed my brow in confusion.
"Wait, what?" I asked her.
Rachel rolled her eyes but gave Piper and Annabeth, who she'd been talking to, a look like 'isn't he so silly?'
"Well," Rachel said. "I was just telling Piper and Annie about how you and I are going to go on a date in town this weekend!"
I stared at her as if she'd just dropped from outer space. "But you said that you—"
Rachel dismissed me by waving her hand and going back to talking to Piper and Annabeth. Annabeth looked pretty miffed about Rachel calling her Annie, but was apparently keeping her mouth shut. She looked at me and brought herself out of the girls' conversation.
"How's your tutoring going?" Annabeth asked me, biting into some garlic bread. Surprisingly, she seemed like she was actually curious about how it was going. It wasn't an empty question, like something just to fill silence.
I shrugged, looking down at my food. "It's fine, I guess. Rachel's a...good tutor." The last statement came out a little shakily and unsure. Rachel was fine at just reading things to me and expecting me to remember, but it just didn't stick. And she also seemed a little bit more interested in the subject of kissing and holding hands than the subject of...well, anything basically knowledgeable.
Annabeth frowned at me. I knew she'd picked up on my unsure words, but thankfully she didn't comment on it.
"So Rachel says you have something super romantic planned for your one month anniversary?"
I stared at Annabeth. You know your relationship is going in the wrong direction when your girlfriend knows about the one month anniversary surprise you had for her before you did.
"That's what she said, is it?" I said, sending a look towards Rachel who looked at me innocently. Behind her innocence, though, I saw something else. Guilt. She quickly turned her focus back towards Piper.
"Yep," Annabeth replied, drawing me back to attention. "She also said she can't wait to spend some time with you."
I couldn't help smiling, because I loved hanging out with Rachel. She always made me laugh and we always had fun together. Maybe all we needed to get past this weird thing between us would be some alone time outside of school.
"That's great!" I told Annabeth, taking a bite of my chicken. Annabeth looked down, and had a weird expression on her face that I couldn't quite place.
I finished eating my dinner just when the clock bell sounded, and my friends and I all got up and began leaving the dining hall.
I stayed back behind everyone and walked with Grover, who was with his girlfriend Juniper. The two of them don't like being around a lot of people, but I've been friends with Grover for as long as I can remember so they're fine around me.
"Hey, Percy!" Grover exclaimed as I fell into line beside them.
"Hey man, hi Juniper," I said, giving them both a smile and a nod. My eyes drifted down to their hands intertwined, and I felt another pang of jealousy I'd felt when I saw Frank and Hazel holding hands. It was ridiculous, because I hold hands with Rachel, but it just doesn't seem genuine or something. Or maybe I'm just overestimating how love is supposed to feel?
Juniper gave me a small smile in return, then looked away shyly. No matter how long I'd known Grover, I've only known Juniper maybe two years, and I still don't know how comfortable she is around me.
"How's the um...planting going?" I asked, not really knowing what I'd come over here to talk to them about.
Grover shrugged. "It's going good. One of our rose bushes in the fields is starting to wither so the planting season is probably over until spring."
Juniper sighed sorrowfully. "It's a shame because the garden is so pretty during the spring and summer, and now we have to wait until winter is over."
Grover patted her shoulder and I tried to sound sad for them as I spoke again.
"Sorry guys, that must be tough."
Grover let out a laugh at me and I knew he didn't believe my act.
"Sorry, Percy. I know you don't get our gardening stuff." He said, snorting. I nodded in agreement, before someone else joined us.
Piper strayed away from Silena, Thalia and Annabeth to come over to me.
"Hey, Percy. Grover, do you mind if I borrow him for a sec? Thanks." She said, dragging me away from Grover and Juniper before any of us could to reply to her.
I glared at Piper, annoyed that she'd dragged me out of my very interesting conversation about planting.
"What is it?" I asked her.
Piper crossed her arms and stared forward, pursing her lips. Finally she exhaled and answered me.
"You need to stop giving that look to Annabeth— especially in front of Rachel." She said sternly.
I raised my hands in defense. "What look? I do not give Annabeth any type of 'look'."
Piper looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "You believe that? What about when you were checking her out at dinner?"
"Woah, hold on. I was not checking her out. I was acknowledging her." I argued, feeling my face get hot with annoyance.
Piper scoffed. "Acknowledging how pretty she looked tonight?"
"No, Piper this is ridiculous. I like Rachel—she's my fucking girlfriend! Stop these weird ideas, they aren't true." With that I sped up my pace and came up beside Jason and Leo.
"Hey man, you gonna have a fun day tomorrow with Rachel?" Leo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Jason shoved Leo playfully. "Knock it off, Valdez." He gave me a look and the two of us grinned.
"You know Leo," I started. "Rachel and I will be on a date, Piper and Jason are going into town, Grover and Juniper will be doing stuff in the garden, Thalia Silena and Hazel are taking Annabeth shopping, so most of us will be gone except for..." I glanced over at Calypso.
Leo's face went red and he stayed silent for a count of 3. "I guess I could take tomorrow as an advantage to use my amazing flirting skills." He finally said.
I rolled my eyes and Jason snickered, but we said "yeah man, sure."
The three of us walking into the little East Wing tower then made our way up to the second year floor. All of us decided to head to bed, so after showering and brushing my teeth I climbed onto the mattress and fell asleep.
***
September 24
I woke up early the next day, which by my standards means 9 in the morning, and began digging through my wardrobe. I didn't know if I was supposed to dress up fancy for my date with Rachel, but I decided to at least look nice.
I pulled out a pair of jeans then found a black sweater. Then I put on my shoes and walked into the bathroom.
Brushing my teeth didn't take long, but the hair did. I didn't know if I should just leave it messy or at least try to fix it. After a couple of minutes, my hair looked decent enough. Still, it looked messy because of the waves and a few curls, but it didn't stick out in a bunch of odd directions like it sometimes did.
I came into the common room and saw that most of my friends who would be going into town were gathered in the room as well.
Piper and Jason were talking to Annabeth about something. Rachel was standing with Drew while Zoë and Thalia argued beside them, a pretty normal scene to see. Hazel was sitting in the corner finishing up a sketch, away from everybody else.
I came down the stairs and didn't really know which group to go to, so I walked over to Hazel and sat down beside her on the hard wood floor.
"That looks really cool, Hazel," I told her, looking at her drawing of a horse.
Hazel glanced up as if just noticing me sitting next to her. "Thanks, I'm gonna add color when I get back from town with the girls."
"I'm sure it'll look g—"
"Percy!" Rachel's voice cut through the common room. I winced and tore my attention away from Hazel. What I saw nearly gave me a heart attack.
Rachel was standing a couple of feet away with her arms crossed. Her hair was straightened, tied up in a high ponytail. She was wearing a short light pink skirt with a much too tight white dress shirt. The shirt had four too many buttons undone. She had pink heeled shoes on, and the worst thing of all, there wasn't any type of marker or paint on her. She looked clean. She looked like a walking Barbie doll.
"Uh, yeah?" I asked her, trying to focus on her green eyes through the thick mascara coating her lashes. "Rachel, it's like, forty degrees outside, shouldn't you wear something—"
Rachel cut me off. "I worked so hard on this outfit! Don't you like it?" She batted her eyelashes at me. "And what..." she looked me up and down in disgust, "are you wearing?"
I looked down at my jeans and sweater. "I didn't know that—"
Rachel interrupted me again. "Whatever, I'm sure what you have planned for me will make up for it!" Her heels clicked loudly on the floor as she strutted over to me and pulled me off of the floor. She began dragging me out of the common room, and all my friends followed behind us. I glanced over my shoulder at Piper, who was giving me a warning look. Jason was trying not to laugh at me, and I scowled at him. Annabeth looked sorry for me, so did Hazel.
As I slipped my arm into Rachel's and walked out of the room beside her, I wondered what she was expecting from me today. I was glad I had my wallet in my pocket, because I felt like I was gonna have to buy my way out of her disappointed lecture later on.
***
Our small group walked down the side of the mountain on the path that had been leveled out. A few other students were on the trail as well, chatting excitedly about their plans for the day.
We finally made it to the base of the mountain, and we followed the worn out road that led to the small cluster of shops and cafés. A light film of snow covered the ground, roofs and trees. My breath came out in smoke.
I glanced over at Rachel. "Aren't you cold?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "You're giving me all the warmth I need." She told me, and I controlled the eye roll that I felt coming up.
When we reached the cobblestone yard that split into smaller roads leading to different buildings, we separated. I went with Rachel towards a café, Piper and Jason walked over to an ice cream shop, Annabeth, Thalia, Silena, and Hazel all walked over to a small clothing shop.
The café I led Rachel into was small and cozy. It had dark wood pillars with cream colored walls. Fairy lights hung above the outdoor patio, and above the ordering desk inside. Booths were set by the windows so you could see the cobblestone courtyard with the town buildings lining the side.
"You go take a seat, I'll order, what do you want?" I asked Rachel.
Rachel started walking over to a booth, calling out to me over her shoulder. "A hot chocolate, French toast with whipped cream and strawberries, and a croissant with Nutella."
I walked over to the lady at the register, pulling my wallet out of my pocket. I ordered Rachel's food, then got a plate of pancakes and a strawberry and banana smoothie.
"In my smoothie, could you put some blue food coloring in it?" I asked the lady. She looked stunned for a second, but then she smiled and nodded. I told her thank you then went over to the table Rachel had sat at.
I sat down in front of her and studied her as she scrolled through her phone.
"So...you look nice today, Rachel." I said, trying to hide the uncertainty in my voice.
Rachel looked up at me and put her phone down on the table. "I know what you're thinking, Percy. Drew chose the outfit, not me."
Without meaning to, I let out a bit of a sigh in relief. "At least I know you haven't totally lost your mind."
She rolled her eyes but I could see a bit of a smile tugging on her lips.
The lady called out my name and I got our food from her, thanking her and handing her the money.
I walked carefully back over to the table, holding our plates out steadily until I slid them onto the table. Rachel barely acknowledged her food being set in front of her as she was back on her phone again. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes as I sat down and began eating my pancakes.
After a few moments of silence, Rachel set the phone down beside her on the booth and started eating her food. When she was done chewing a bite, she finally spoke.
"Aren't you gonna talk to me, or something?" She asked me sharply, and I cringed.
"You were on your phone, you seemed pretty shut down." I replied to her, not looking up from my food. She scoffed in response to that, and I ignored her as I took a large sip of my smoothie.
The date pretty much went like that, eating in awkward and tense silence. I wondered why she seemed so annoyed with me. If she didn't even like me, why were we even here? Why was I even her boyfriend?
My attention turned to the window as I saw figures moving outside of the café. I saw Hazel and Annabeth throwing snow at Thalia as she tried to shield herself with Silena. I smiled as Silena got a horrified look on her face and threw snow right back at the first two girls, running after them and abandoning Thalia. The girls ran until they were out of my sight, and my discomfort returned.
Rachel finished off her breakfast and drink before standing up. "I'll wait for you outside while you pay." And with that she turned and left without giving me any time to object. I wouldn't have anyways, but the demand was so unlike her.
I paid the cashier girl and she smiled at me apologetically as I pushed open the door to leave the café. The cold air hit me and I sucked in a breath, releasing it in a cloud of smoke in front of me.
"Let's go shopping." Rachel suggested, and without waiting for my response (again), she grabbed my hands and started dragging me to a jewelry store.
I opened the door for her and waited for her to walk in before walking in behind her. Stones of all different colors, shapes, and sizes glittered on display, either on chains or bands or rings. Rachel clapped like a kid on Christmas then ran over to a display of different necklaces, while I stayed by the door and leaned against the frame.
Rachel took forever, going back and forth between different display cases and tables. When I tried to ask if she would want to go shop somewhere else, she said she "needed something to remember our first anniversary date," which I thought was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. I didn't argue, though.
My mom always told me that in the early stages of a relationship, and throughout however long you're together, you have to make it your main priority to make the girl happy. Hold the door for them, pay for their food, maybe buy them a gift, walk them to the door after taking them home. I kept all of this in mind as I watched Rachel lift a small pink satin box with a cousin inside of it. Once I saw her eyes light up, I knew it was time for me to go through the "buying a gift" part of the date. Then after, I'd walk her back to school and to the dorms, maybe we'd share a kiss then we'd wait for our friends to get back. We'd all watch a movie and hang out, laughing and having a jolly old time, until we retreated to bed.
If only I'd been wrong.
It wasn't just one gift, it was too many. I bought her the necklace she'd wanted, which I didn't even get to see by the way. She kept it hidden inside its little pink box and white bow. After the necklace, I bought her some fancy jacket she said she "needed." After that, I bought her a few sweaters and shirts, along with a few pairs of shoes. All types of clothes. Once she'd started getting her fourth pair of jeans, I told her they couldn't be that different, and she argued it was a necessity.
I was a walking shopping bag holder after a few hours. Too many bags to count were hanging on my arm. Rachel didn't offer to hold any, except for her own small pink handbag. She walked in front of me while I trailed behind like a lost dog, a lost dog made of money.
When she started taking me to a makeup store, that's when I got absolutely terrified. I could handle the clothing stores, because there was usually a men's section or something, but the makeup store was not my territory.
When I told her I'd wait for her outside, she took my wallet and pranced inside while I dropped all of the bags off of my arms and collapsed onto a bench outside of the store.
I lifted up the sleeves of my sweater and saw red lines indented in my skin from the heavy bags that had been hanging off my arms.
I rubbed my arms, but quickly got cold and pulled the sleeve back down over them. My gaze lifted to Piper and Jason, who were leaving a restaurant. My heart ached as I saw the loving looks they gave each other, the way their hands fit together and they walked close beside each other. And just my luck, Hazel and Frank walked out of another shop with Annabeth at that exact moment. Hazel's face was flushed and Frank looked flustered, while Annabeth lingered behind them and smiled proudly.
Silena quickly rushed out to Annabeth, pulling her back into the store they'd come out of. I saw through the windows, the two girls laughing and trying to find Thalia.
"If it isn't my favorite teammate!" A snarky voice announced from behind me. My mood got worse upon hearing that sickeningly obnoxious sound.
I turned around and saw a guy with sandy-blonde hair and cruel, ice blue eyes. Luke.
Groaning and slumping down farther into my bench, I wondered how my luck was so rotten. "What, Luke?"
Luke came over to sit beside me, side stepping around all the bags in a pile around my feet.
"Aw, Prissy went shopping for himself. Isn't that cute?" He cooed, mockingly pinching my cheeks. I slapped his hand away from me and scooted a few inches away.
"I'm here with my girlfriend, if you must know. These are for her." I told him, keeping my voice cool.
At that moment, thank the gods, Rachel came out of the makeup shop with three more bags.
"Why is all my stuff on the ground?" She asked, giving me an annoyed look. I quickly got up and spent a while trying to regather everything on my arms, along with the three new additions that she slipped onto my arms like I was a coat rack.
Luke snickered, standing up to face us. "This is your girlfriend, Jackson?" He asked, and I felt confused for a moment.
"Yeah, why?" I asked him cautiously, before glancing at Rachel. She had shut up real quick after seeing Luke. She looked sick, like she would throw up any second. She couldn't meet either of our eyes, and she stared down at the ground in front of her.
Luke's snickers turned into a bitter laugh. "No reason, see you at practice this week." He told me, giving Rachel a wink before walking away.
"What was that about?" I asked her, beginning to walk away.
Rachel didn't answer me for a while, and I thought she hadn't heard me.
Finally, she spoke up. "I want to go back to the school." She said sharply, and I eagerly nodded. I was dying to get rid of these bags.
We walked out of the town and up the side of the mountain in silence. We walked through the gate, the entry arch, across the courtyard and into the Little East Wing.
Rachel immediately ran into the common room then across the floor towards the bedrooms. She left me there with her bags as she slammed the door shut behind her.
"Yeah, I had a great time too." I grumbled under my breath. Without even caring, I dropped the bags down by the door and walked over to the couch. I fell down into the soft and comfortable cushions, exhausted from all the walking. My arms ached and I tried to ignore them as I stared up at the ceiling.
After about 20 minutes, the door opened and I heard laughter and talking die down as who I assumed were my friends took in the image of me collapsed on the couch and the thirty something bags by the door.
After a beat of silence, a girls voice spoke up.
"What happened?"
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