Chapter Text
It is the first day of senior year, and something feels drastically off as Annabeth enters the building. Percy is at her side as always, rambling about his job at the aquarium, but her focus shifts to the seemingly endless pairs of eyes on her while they begin their walk down the hallway.
Usually, Percy and Annabeth are not the center of attention. Yes, they are definitely well-known at the school, but they mostly stick to their immediate friends.
So when the stares and whispers begin the minute they step foot into the hall, it was wildly unexpected and unsettling. Annabeth nudges Percy, who is in the middle of talking animatedly about how cute the baby penguins have been recently, trying to get him to notice what was happening.
“Percy, look around,” Annabeth whispers with a more pointed elbow digging into his arm when the first nudge didn’t break his focus.
“Ow, what was that for?” Percy rubs his arm, annoyance lacing between his words.
“They’re all staring at us.”
“What?”
Annabeth watches as Percy finally takes in their surroundings, eyes widening as he understands what Annabeth is trying to bring his attention to. “Why are they looking at us like that?”
Annabeth lightly shrugs. “Something tells me Piper knows.”
“Well, Piper knows everything, like the little gossip she is,” Percy laughs.
“Hey, I don’t hear you complaining about it when she tells us the drama between Katie and Travis every other week.”
Percy huffs but doesn't deny the accusation as they approach Piper. As always, Piper has her arm thrown around Reyna as the couple chats aimlessly. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite couple!” Piper yells as soon as the two are within earshot, smirking at the immediate matching blushes that paint Annabeth and Percy’s faces.
“Like always Piper, not a couple. I know it’s hard to believe that we’re platonic, but it’s true,” Annabeth sighs as she fiddles with the combination on her locker.
“Well that’s disappointing. You’re going to cost me twenty dollars with that attitude,” Piper spits back before freezing, eyes growing comically wide as Annabeth whips her head towards her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Annabeth glares, crossing her arms over her chest.
Piper gulps, glancing at Reyna, who raises her eyebrows in a telltale “ you’re on your own with this one” fashion. She looks back at Annabeth before raising her phone to her face to break the painful eye contact. “Wow, would you look at the time! I’m going to be late for first period.”
Before the words even finished coming out of her mouth, Piper is halfway down the hall, dragging Reyna along with her. Annabeth shakes her head, knowing she’s going to be stuck forcing Piper to spill at some point today.
“She can’t avoid me forever, we have Latin together in two periods,” Annabeth complains to Percy. When Percy doesn’t say anything, she spares a glance his way. He is standing uncharacteristically still, something that never happened with his intense ADHD, staring at her with a look in his eyes that she didn’t recognize.
“Hello? Earth to Percy?”
Percy jumps slightly, shaking his head slightly as if to get himself out of his own brain. “Sorry, lost in thought for a second. It’s been maybe five minutes and this morning is off to a weird start.”
Annabeth makes a mental note to grill him later too but pushes it aside for the time being. “What do you think she’s talking about?” She questions instead.
Percy glances at her with that strange expression again before a weak attempt at a shrug, casting his eyes off of Annabeth and towards the hallway with no particular target. “Beats me. Piper is a mystery sometimes.”
“I hate when she does shit like this though and she knows it,” she groans, slamming her locker shut so her and Percy could start walking to their respective first classes.
Senior year arrived all too quickly after the summer Annabeth had. She spent a good portion of it working so she could save towards her upcoming college beginnings, but she also practically lived at the Jackson household whenever she wasn’t at work. This was nothing new; she was practically adopted by Sally Jackson within days of meeting Percy for the first time. He was unfamiliar with the suburbs, fully acclimated to the busy lifestyle that New York City provided him his entire childhood. Annabeth was the first person he befriended in the new environment, and they had been practically attached at the hip ever since.
Going into their senior year of high school nearly six years later felt bittersweet to Annabeth. She knows that they both plan on attending colleges in the city, possibly even renting an apartment together to save money, but it is hard to ignore the painful twinge of emotion that clouds her brain when she thinks about this year being their last year together before having to be adults forever.
“I’ll see you later, ‘Beth,” Percy says when they are suddenly in front of his English class. She manages to send him a small smile and a wave before going to the end of the hallway for her biology lesson.
Shockingly her first two classes fly by, and before Annabeth knows it, she is bounding into her Latin class with Piper. Anxiety flashes over Piper’s features before it settles into a look of mild smugness, frustrating Annabeth even more as she flops into the chair next to her friend.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook- I’m getting an answer out of you one way or another, McLean,” Annabeth threatens.
“Look, you want answers-”
“I don’t want them, I need them. There’s a difference.”
Piper gives her a pointed stare. “Right. Well, here’s the deal. If I tell you what’s going on, you have to promise to not freak out because I am not the one who started it.”
“That’s so freaking cryptic Piper. Just tell me,” Annabeth demands.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. There… may-be-a-secret-bet-going-around-the-school-involving-you-and-Percy? ” Piper speaks at record speed, which is impressive considering she’s constantly rambling on about something.
Annabeth blinks, unable to decipher a single word her friend said. “What?”
“Please don’t make me repeat myself,” Piper begs.
“I didn’t understand a word you said and you know it.”
Piper groans, shaking her head as if Annabeth was being the unreasonable one. “Fine. People started a secret betting pool about you and Percy, and it’s blown up into a bigger thing than it probably needed to be.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” If looks could kill, Piper would already be six feet under from the punitive glare Annabeth fixed on her.
“I- there’s really no easy way to say this. A lot of the school is betting on when you and Percy will become a couple.”
Annabeth feels herself lean backward into her seat to the point where she nearly tumbles out of it, unable to process what she just heard. Her and Percy have been friends since he arrived in this town, and that was it. End of story.
Except…
There is a chance this bizarre situation does have a baseline of truth. She knows it would ruin her and Percy’s friendship if he found out that she may not have solely platonic feelings for him, so she keeps that bit of information under lock and key. Nobody needs to know about her unrequited romance.
“I- why?” Annabeth manages to say after an unknown amount of silence.
Piper looks at her disbelievingly. “You two are so painfully in love with each other it hurts, and us seniors need something exciting to focus on with graduation looming on the horizon.”
Annabeth just stares, mouth opening and closing several times as she tries to think of what she can say.
“This is the first time I think I’ve seen you truly speechless by something,” Piper laughs, “What happened to Miss nothing surprises me Chase?”
That sentence knocks Annabeth back into her senses. “Well it’s not everyday where I find out that the entire school is scheming about my love life, thank you very much.”
“C’mon, it’s just a little bit of fun. Nobody’s taking it as seriously as Jason and I anyways.”
“Even Jason’s in on this?” Annabeth whines, for good reason. Jason is arguably the most level-headed out of all their friends, and if he’s as involved as Piper claims, it means there is no way she’s getting out of this by ignoring the issue alone.
“Of course he is!” Piper responds, exasperation evident, yet Annabeth can’t think of a single reason why she would feel so strongly about this. Yes, her and Percy definitely toe the line of best friends and possibly something more often, but they have never talked about romantic feelings towards each other. Ever. Annabeth wasn’t about to start now, because she would rather preserve her friendship at all costs, thank you very much.
“Piper, this is humiliating. I don’t want things with Percy to feel weird because of this,” Annabeth says, shutting her eyes and
Piper grabs her hand when she recognizes the underlying insecurity in Annabeth’s words, squeezing lightly. “Annabeth, nothing you do could ever make that boy leave you. You two might as well be the same person with how much time you spend together. Don’t let the grade’s dumb senioritis get in the way of your friendship.”
“Alright,” Annabeth begrudgingly agrees, “I still have to talk to him about this though, because I feel weird knowing while he doesn’t.”
With that, Piper uses her free hand to smack Annabeth on her shoulder, laughing while she shouts, “Don’t you dare!” The somber mood is broken as Annabeth pushes back, allowing herself to temporarily let go of the bubbling anxiety in the pit of her stomach.
Annabeth barely manages to ignore everything that isn’t related to her classes until the last bell of the day rings, signaling the school’s freedom for the day. She glances down at her phone as it buzzes, checking the notification.
Percy
I’m by your locker! :)
Annabeth smiles to herself and makes her way down the hall to meet up with Percy. The two commute to school together each day, typically ending up at Percy’s place after classes wrap up so they can have dinner and attempt to do homework (it’s successful on Annabeth’s end, but she can rarely say the same for Percy).
“Funny seeing you here,” Annabeth muses as soon as she’s within earshot of Percy, causing him to glance up from his phone with a smirk as his eyes connect with hers.
“Whoa, Sassy Annabeth makes a triumphant return! The crowd gasps in horror, unsure what to make of this predi-”
“ Sassy Annabeth will murder you in your sleep if you don’t stop immediately,” Annabeth deadpans, but the gleam of humor in her eyes betrays her. She knows Percy sees it too when his smile only brightens, reaching out one of his hands to poke her side in the exact spot he knows tickles, prompting an unintentional giggle out of her.
“Wow, I have to say I’m disappointed in how short that lasted. You know Sassy Annabeth is my favorite,” Percy sighs dramatically, no real upset in his voice.
The pair begin their walk towards his car to start the perilous journey to his house- which happens to be a ten minute drive, but after the first day it can’t help but feel endless.
Annabeth rolls her eyes. “If you weren’t such a dork, maybe you’d see her more.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“As if. You’re never not a dork.”
Percy pouts, crossing his arms over his chest and standing in front of Annabeth to block her from taking another step. Annabeth tilts her head back slightly to meet his eyes and whoa- when did that happen? Logically, Annabeth knows that Percy has still been growing while she’s stayed firmly at her own height for a while, but it’s a bit strange to not be at his immediate eye level anymore.
Percy appears to notice this as well, his fictitious expression morphing into a smug one as he turns his head down. “This is an interesting turn of events, wouldn’t you say?” He taunts, knowing that Annabeth has always loved being tall.
She scowls, batting his arm as she tries to dart into his car, but he grabs her wrist and keeps her where she is. “C’mon, what happened to ‘You’ll never be taller than me Percy,’ ‘You’re destined to be a twig forever, Percy?”
“I guess miracles do happen sometimes- you don’t need to rub it in,” Annabeth retorts, finally able to push past Percy and dive ungracefully into the passenger seat. Percy follows suit, hopping behind the wheel and turning the key into the ignition.
They mindlessly talk about their classes for the drive back to Percy’s house, and soon enough they’re plopping onto the couch in his living room, cracking open identical cans of Coca-Cola. Annabeth starts to pull her planner out so she can start recording her upcoming assignments when Percy asks, “Did you have a chance to talk to Piper earlier?”
She freezes, her mind racing back to the conversation she had earlier in the day. She completely forgot about it, but his question brings it all back to the front of her mind.
“Um…” She starts, trailing off when she struggles to find a way to share what she’s learned.
“Is it that bad?” Percy sounds nervous, which only heightens her own anxiety around telling him, but she takes a deep breath to collect herself. She owes Percy this- it’s unfair to be the only one knowing about something involving the both of them.
“I guess it’s not really easy to say. I want to preface this by saying that I have nothing to do with this,” Annabeth starts, to which Percy nods and continues staring at her expectantly, ready for her to keep going.
She takes another deep breath before it all tumbles out, “Well, the school is under the impression that we like each other, so they started a betting pool which revolves around when everybody thinks we’ll get together.”
Percy’s mouth opens slightly as he processes what she just said, and Annabeth can’t help but snort at his face. She may have a crush on him, but he’s still her best friend, and she can respect that he has some dumb expressions at times.
“They think- we- they think we’ll start dating?” Percy stutters, thankfully less speechless than she was earlier when she found out herself.
“Apparently? I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable-”
“It doesn’t,” Percy interrupts before she can keep speaking, “I’m just more surprised than anything. Why do they care what we do?”
Annabeth sighs, tucking a curl behind her ear and averting eye contact with him. “I guess they have nothing better to focus on.”
They sit in silence for a few minutes, each taking some time to let Annabeth’s words sink in. She can’t help but feel embarrassed. It almost feels like she’s confessing about her actual crush for him.
“What if we did?”
Annabeth whips her head towards Percy. “What?”
“What if we did…you know, date? Fake date obviously, I know we’re just friends, but it could be fun to get back at them for betting on somebody else’s love life,” Percy rushes through his words as if he can’t say them fast enough, his face bright red by the end of it.
“Wouldn’t it be obvious if we start to date the day after Piper tells me about the bet though?” Annabeth counters, hoping that Percy doesn’t notice the light shakiness in her voice. If he does notice, he doesn’t acknowledge it when he shakes his head.
“Well, we’d have to be smart about it. We can’t just show up tomorrow holding hands or something. But we could start to plant a seed about going on a date this weekend and slowly start acting more couple-y around school. We don’t have to do this, I just kind of thought it could be fun to mess with them back,” Percy says, becoming quieter as he continues talking.
Annabeth blinks, mulling over his idea. Would it be a terrible idea for her to pretend to date her best friend, the same best friend she is in love with? For sure, but this may be her only chance to actually experience him as a significant other rather than just her painfully platonic best friend.
Plus, she can’t turn down an opportunity to screw with their friends, especially considering the fact that they’re orchestrating the entire bet in the first place.
She nods her head once, crossing her arms and making eye contact with Percy again. She sees that strange expression again, the same one from earlier in the morning, and she can’t help but wonder again what it could mean.
“Let’s do it.”