Chapter 21 - Dodgeball
published: Sunday, 19 April 2020
Annabeth's lower lip dropped as she gaped, Hazel's voice drowning into background noise.
"One moment," she muttered through gritted teeth, marching up to a certain Percy Jackson and pulling him by the shirt into an empty corridor. She slammed him against the wall before stepping back and crossing her arms.
"What the hell is this?" Annabeth said breathlessly, glaring pointedly at his sheepish expression. She gestured to the cut on Percy's right cheek. "Explain."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Good morning to you too."
Realising how closely they were standing, Annabeth felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and she retreated hastily.
"I told him to stop," Percy admitted. "He wasn't even that angry, but after that..." He shrugged.
Annabeth shook her head. "He's getting more violent," she insisted. "A cracked rib might soon be the least of your worries."
He was significantly better than on Friday, and the rib seemed to have healed up enough for him to move around normally.
"I didn't think it was important enough to call you," Percy explained, pointing at the cut. "I cleaned it up myself."
"These kind of things are always important," Annabeth said firmly. "Can't you stay away from the house? Stay with Frank?"
"I can't abandon my mum," Percy said exasperatedly. "She'd be alone with him—"
"Well, isn't this lovely?"
Drew's abrupt interruption forced Percy and Annabeth to spring apart instinctively.
Annabeth averted her gaze as Percy pointedly studied the tiled pattern on the floor.
She scowled. "What do you want, Drew?"
"Calypso's leaving next week," Drew sniffled disdainfully. "I'm just making sure that Percy doesn't return to..." Her gaze raked painfully from Annabeth's head to her feet. "...old habits."
As her vision tinged red, Annabeth nearly lunged at the other girl before she felt Percy grasp her wrist and tug her back.
"I'm going to kill her," Annabeth murmured as Drew rejoined the rest of her friends.
"Then you'd go to jail," Percy pointed out. "And I'd never see you anymore. So let's not do that." He relaxed his grip and pulled his hand away from Annabeth's.
The first bell of the day sounded, and Annabeth pulled a face. "See you at lunch, I guess."
She barely had any classes with Percy, which used to be a blessing, but had since turned into a disappointment.
+++++
The hands on the clock went round in a blur, and before Percy knew it, it was the end of the day.
Coach Hedge had looked ready to murder someone when Percy relayed that he'd fallen off his bike and cracked a rib.
"You can go over the plays in the bleachers," Hedge grumbled in response. "Bah, teenagers are so fragile these days."
Percy sat on the bench in the locker room as he waited impatiently for the rest of his teammates to get dressed.
"She broke up with you?"
It wasn't like Percy was trying to eavesdrop, but Matt Sloan and Luke were speaking loudly enough for the entire team.
"Yeah, rushed off in a hurry," Luke replied forlornly. "Wouldn't say why."
Percy caught Jason's eye. The other boy's gaze flickered to Luke and Matt, eyeing them suspiciously. They were clearly talking about Annabeth.
"Did she at least give you a reason for breaking it off?" Matt demanded. "Couldn't you have rescheduled the date?"
"She gave some crappy excuse," Luke explained. "Said she had feelings for someone else. She didn't say who, but she mentioned Jackson."
Percy felt like time simply stopped moving. The pen he was fiddling with accidentally rolled out of his hand and clinked to the ground deafeningly.
He winced as he snatched it up discreetly, avoiding Luke's judgemental gaze.
"Bet you're glad about that, huh," Matt snarled, spinning to loom over Percy. "Stealing his girl."
Percy slid off the bench and backed away. "Woah, I didn't do anything—"
"My ass," Matt growled, ignoring Luke's half-hearted attempts to stop him.
"Hey, back off," Jason interjected, leaning against the lockers on the right as he glared at Matt. Percy had never been so grateful for Jason and Frank having his back. "It's not his fault."
Matt sneered. "Look at you," he mocked Percy. "Defending your boyfriend?"
Jason snorted, slinging an arm across Percy's shoulders. "What's your point? I'd be honoured to be Percy's boyfriend."
A grin broke across Percy's face as he turned around, walking out of the room and away from Sloan.
As they crossed the pitch, Percy tried his best to remain nonchalant. "What do you think Luke meant?" He blushed when Jason and Frank exchanged knowing looks.
"About Annabeth breaking up with him for you?" Jason raised an eyebrow.
Percy stared pointedly at the ground as he kicked around a fallen fruit. "Um, amongst other things."
"Any specific reason why you care?" Frank prodded, stifling a smile.
Percy shook his head, still refusing to meet their eyes.
Jason started slowly, "Well, I could ask her, tell her you want to know."
"No!" Percy yelped hastily. Annabeth was smart enough to realise his feelings in a split second, and that would just ruin everything. "Nevermind," he amended. "It doesn't matter."
Ignoring his friends' curious looks burning into the back of his neck, Percy sat down on the bench, his thoughts occupied by just about
+++++
It was a busy week. The next time Percy really got to talk to Annabeth alone was Thursday morning. Being the only two people amongst their friends who took AP Biology, Percy glanced at the clock every few seconds, then at the door, keeping an eye out for her.
At 23 seconds past 8 o'clock, Annabeth strode into class, flashing him a blinding smile as she slid into the seat next to him.
"'Morning," she sang, pulling out her stationery and setting it out on her table. Annabeth has always been more organised than anyone else in terms of her desk. But Percy had seen her bedroom, and it was safe to say that she wasn't neat in much else.
Annabeth always insisted it was because she was too busy, but Percy personally thought it was because her brain moved too quickly for her hands to actually execute the actions.
She might start cleaning, but move on to doing an English essay within moments. It was one of his favourite things about her.
The first few minutes of the class were duller than Percy expected, but he perked up when the teacher mentioned the paired project they were to do on DNA mutation.
"Do I even have to ask?" Annabeth whispered to him.
Percy hummed, feigning thoughtfulness. "Yeah, I was thinking of getting Kelli to pair with me, actually."
Annabeth nearly choked. "Dick," she muttered.
The last lesson of the day was gym, and when Annabeth walked in, blonde ponytail and competitive grey eyes, Percy found himself wondering if she knew how gorgeous she actually was.
He knew he probably looked like one of the love-struck characters in cartoons, but at this point, he really didn't care.
When they gathered round to listen to Coach Hedge, Percy was broken out of his thoughts by Rachel elbowing him in the side.
"You're staring," Rachel whispered, gesturing to Annabeth, which only made him blush more.
"Zoned out," Percy lied through his teeth, ducking his head to hide his reddening cheeks.
Rain was pouring down outside, effectively cancelling any outdoor sport.
"Kids," Coach Hedge barked. "You'll be glad to hear that today's gym lesson will be more entertaining than usual."
Percy shuffled his weight onto either foot repeatedly as he grew warier of the smug glint in the coach's eyes by the second.
"Coach, are we playing dodgeball?" one of the students behind Percy called out.
Coach Hedge glared at them. "Thank you, for ruining my great reveal. Kids these days have no respect for your elders." He coughed gruffly. "Yes, today's lesson will be made up of fun dodgeball matches, alright, walk up in a single file here so I can separate you into two teams..."
Excited chatter overwhelmed the hall as everyone shuffled into place. In his three years of high school, Percy could count on both hands the total number of times they'd played dodgeball.
It was hilarious and fun to play, but since it wasn't actually a sport, they only played it if there were no other options, or if they had a nice substitute teacher.
Coach Hedge mixed it up while separating the year, so friends who had been strategically placed to be on the same team were unsuccessful.
"Over there, Jackson," Coach Hedge said gruffly. "Try not to crack another rib."
Percy felt dismay swell in his chest as he was hustled towards Kelli and Drew, throwing a silent cry for help behind to Leo, who was too busy stifling snorts.
Have fun, the Latino boy mouthed.
Resisting the urge to flip him off, Percy approached his team, trying to push any reservations off his mind.
"Okay!" he said eagerly. "We've got this!" As he did a quick scan of his teammates, Percy spotted Travis, Beckendorf and Clarisse. The latter looked especially prepared to grind the other team to dust.
Throwing a glance over his shoulder, Percy felt his shoulders droop slightly when he saw that Annabeth was sent over to the other team.
"You look like a kicked puppy," Calypso declared as she strode over to him, Jason and Piper on her heels.
"Understatement of the year," Rachel added.
Percy cleared his throat, making it a point to ignore both of their comments.
"I think we have a pretty good chance," Beckendorf remarked.
Clarisse smirked as she cracked her knuckles audibly. "Please, we'll crush them."
"Don't be too sure," Piper warned. She gestured to the other team, who was enclosed in a huddle. "Nancy's a menace, Luke and Matt throw hard, and don't even get me started on Annabeth."
Percy pulled a face. He had vivid memories of one time last year when Annabeth had thrown the ball too hard and sent Silena to the nurse.
"Are we taking this too seriously?" Jason broached tentatively. "I mean, it's just dodgeball." He was simultaneously faced with pairs of incredulous eyes. "I'm sorry," he quickly amended. "Sorry. Geez."
"Get on the court, slowpokes," Coach Hedge yelled. "We have a half hour for three matches; try not to injure anyone else, Chase."
Annabeth raised a hand in apology, earning chuckles from the other students.
As the whistle went off, Percy scrambled forward to grab one of the ten balls at the centre line, instantly knocking Katie Gardner our as he hit her in the right calf.
Narrowly missing one of Reyna's shots, Percy retreated back to his friends, his gaze flickering to the side of the court. Piper was out; caught by Annabeth's first strike.
The first match was over quickly, as everyone struggled to get the hang of the rules. If you caught the ball, the person who threw it was out. If you deflected with your hands, you were still in. And obviously, if it hit you anywhere else, you were out.
Annabeth's team won the first match. Percy didn't have time to keep up with all the ongoing activity, but he was out before half of his team, hit by Hazel in a moment of distraction.
The second round was a closer call. Percy couldn't help grinning when he heard Jason's triumphant shout when he got Annabeth by the arm towards the end of the game.
By the final round, tensions were high. Percy told himself to ignore how attractive the competitive sparkle in Annabeth's eyes was and focus on the match.
Beckendorf was out first. Silena had thrown a ball that got the back of his head when he was dodging another hit. Frank got Travis, but was then knocked out by Kelli's mean lob.
One by one, each team was reduced to smaller and smaller numbers. They were three minutes till the end of the game, with six people on either side.
Percy did a mental head count. Annabeth, Hazel, Matt, Luke, Nancy and Reyna were on the opposing side. Oh his team, Percy had Drew, Jason, Piper, Clarisse and Calypso.
"Okay, too slow for my liking," the coach insisted as he rearranged the cones to minimise the court space.
Percy came dangerously close to one of Annabeth's throws, which he returned in kind, though she dodged, causing the ball to hit Nancy Bobofit in the thigh.
Feigning remorse, Percy gave himself a mental high-five after all those years in middle school when she'd bullied him.
Calypso was out — Reyna's handiwork — but so was Hazel.
Percy sprinted across the court to grab a ball that was rolling away, twisting as best as he could to nail Matt Sloan in the shoulder. The resulting "ow!" gave Percy a sense of retribution.
He backed away to stand with Jason, Clarisse and Drew — Annabeth had gotten Piper out again. Annabeth, Luke and Reyna stood on the other side.
Percy tried to ignore Annabeth's adrenaline-fuelled grin as she sized them up, weighing a ball in her right hand.
Watching her gaze land on Drew, Percy yanked her out of the way, but Annabeth grabbed another ball from Jason and pitched with her best shot.
Drew let out an indignant yelp when Annabeth nailed her in the head, glaring at the blonde girl as she walked off the court angrily.
"Sorry," Annabeth called out, almost wickedly. Percy could almost hear her silent laughter.
Luke tossed a ball at him, which Percy promptly caught, but not before Luke hit Jason in the upper arm.
They were down to just two on each team.
"If we were giving our team names," Clarisse muttered under her breath as she returned to his side. "They would be called 'Percy's exes'."
Without even taking his eyes off of them, Percy responded, "I hate you so much."
Clarisse threw her ball mid-laugh, catching Reyna on the hip. Percy high-fived her as his teammates in the bleachers cheered.
Percy and Clarisse danced dangerously around Annabeth's carefully aimed shots. Of course, about thirty seconds to the end of the game, Clarisse stumbled and was promptly attacked by Annabeth's double-throw.
Both balls pelted her instantly, sending a grumbling Clarisse off.
Percy picked up one of the balls, eyeing Annabeth cautiously.
She grinned at him, waving in an almost comical fashion. It garnered a laugh as he waved back good-naturedly. "Hi," he called across the court. "How're you doing?"
"Awesome," Annabeth replied cheerily. "I'm about to beat some guy at dodgeball."
She winked at him.
Whatever her tactic was, it worked, because Percy was practically frozen in place as Annabeth threw the ball into his chest.
It collided with horrified "NO"s from his teammates and elated cheers from Annabeth's side.