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Chapter Text

"A new record for his college! Percy Jackson has just completed a 100-meter butterfly in only 55.4 seconds!" The announcer yelled and the stands erupted into cheers.

Not even a quarter into his first year, and he was already making waves.

He removed his swim cap and goggles, relieving the pressure in the back of his head. As he toweled off, a girl came up to him.

"Mr. Jackson?"

"Percy. Just call me Percy." He replied before looking up.

When he did look up, he pushed his hair out of his eyes and got a better look at the girl in front of him. She had curly blonde hair, which fell down her back until about midway. She clearly did some sort of sport, judging from her toned arms.

"Percy." She snapped, drawing his attention back to her, "My name is Annabeth Chase, I run the sports column of the school newspaper. Are you available for an interview at the moment?"

"Even if I wasn't, I'd still clear my schedule."

Annabeth ignored his comment, "I take it that means you are available?"

"Or we could push this off 'til later, I know a good coffee spot."

"That's not necessary." She replied, "Well?"

"Al-"

"Swimmers involved in the 100 meter freestyle, please be ready at your lanes in no more than three minutes."

"Shit. That's me. I totally forgot about this one." He took the pen from her hand and wrote his number down on the notepad, "Text me!"

She rolled her eyes as he ran off, positioning himself at the lane closest to her. He hastily pulled his swim cap and goggles back on, preparing for the signal to go.

Despite her annoyance at his disorganization, she held up her camera that was hanging around her neck and got a few shots, hoping there'd be something she could use.

When the race was finished and he'd claimed victory once again, she approached him, determined to get this interview done and over with.

"Congratulations on the win. Now, could we get this interview started?"

He nodded, pulling off the cap and goggles once again, eyes meeting hers.

"Walk me through your training regimen. What does a typical day look like for you?"

He leaned back against the wall, "Oh, you know; lots of swimming, more swimming, and a sprinkle of swimming on top."

"Very funny. How do you balance your schoolwork with this?"

"Easy. I just swim in my textbooks."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, jotting down his nonsense responses. "What are your goals for this season?"

His facial expression softened, and Annabeth thought she was finally getting somewhere with him.

"Going on a date with the girl who runs the sports column of the school newspaper." He grinned.

She sighed, exasperated, "Mr. Jackson, are you going to give me real answers?"

"You can text me and find out." He smirked, resting his towel on his shoulders, "I'll see you later, Beth!"

"That's not my name!" She called after him as he walked off.

~~~

Annabeth : Hey

Percy : hey beth

Annabeth : Don't call me that

Percy : you raelly need this interveiw that bad?

Annabeth : Yes, Mr. Jackson

Percy : meet me at the cofee place on main av tmrw at 11 am
Percy : also don't cal me mr. jackson.
Percy : we're the same age.
Percy : it makes me so nu d old and gros

Annabeth : Fine, Percy

Against her will, she smiled the slightest bit at his texts, finding the misspellings similar to her old texts, before she'd resorted to just using the voice-to-text feature. She left her dorm room and met up with Grover in the dining hall.

"How was the swim meet earlier?" Grover asked as they sat down with their food.

"It was awful. I had to interview Percy Jackson and he is just insufferable."

Grover nearly choked on his food, "Percy? Really?"

"Mhm. Why?"

"I'm warning you now, I'm close friends with him, so I'm biased."

"You're close friends with me too."

"Whatever. What was so insufferable about him?"

"When I first tried to interview him, he had to run off because he forgot he had another race to swim. When he came back, I tried to interview him, but all I got were bullshit answers and flirting. He gave me no legitimate answers, telling me he would if I'd meet him for coffee tomorrow."

"Sounds pretty in-character for him. He's really scatterbrained. Are you meeting him for coffee?"

"Well, I kind of have to... this is required by the editor-in-chief. Also, does he have dyslexia?"

"Random question, but yeah, why?"

"I figured. His texts were a bit amusing."

"I don't know why he doesn't just use text-to-speech like you."

She shrugged, "I'm gonna get back to my dorm, I'll see you."

He waved goodbye and watched her walk off.

When Grover got inside his dorm, his phone buzzed with a phone call from Percy, which he answered.

"Grover, you'll never guess what happened to me today."

"Do tell."

"Well, first of all, I set a new record for the 100 meter freestyle, but a girl came up to me to interview me."

"Okay?"

"No, you don't understand. She had this hair that was curly like a princess's and these gorgeous eyes. Oh my Gods... I think I'm in love. She was scowling at me but still looked like a fucking angel. "

"You're not in love, Percy. You met her once. Was her name Annabeth Chase?"

"Yes, how'd you know that?"

"Because I'm really close friends with her."

"Do not say a word."

"I don't want to be in the middle of this one-sided enemies to lovers and one-sided love at first sight trope."

"Do you think she hates me?"

"I think you annoy her. Don't take it harshly though, everyone annoys her at some capacity. You should've heard her at dinner when she was ranting to me."

"What'd she say about me?"

"She told me about her attempt at an interview and asked me if you have dyslexia."

"Why'd she ask that?"

"Have you seen your texts?"

"Fuck off."

Chapter Text

Annabeth entered the coffee shop, finding Percy sat at a table in the back.

She walked over to him and put her bag down, noticing two coffees on the table.

"Iced americano, right?" Percy asked.

"Uhm, yeah. How'd you know?" She sat down, taking a sip.

"Grover told me." He shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Alright, are you going to answer me truthfully this time?" Annabeth opened her laptop to an empty document, changing the text to Comic Sans as it was easier to read.

"Ask away, Beth." He said, leaning back in his chair as she glared at him.

"What's your workout regimen like?"

"I don't think you need it. What sport do you play?"

"Percy."

He chuckled, "I start off my morning with an ice bath, then I go for a swim. I then usually hit the gym for strength training."

"How do you balance schoolwork and swimming?"

"Next question."

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows, but his discomfort was obvious, so she complied. "What are your goals for this year?"

"Going on a date-" He was cut off by her glare, "I would like to get stronger in my swimming and keep my athletic scholarship."

"What keeps you going?"

"My mom. I want to make her proud."

"How do you mentally prepare yourself for big races?"

"I try not to overthink it, I also always call my mom sometime before, then I'll listen to my playlist with songs that get me energized."

"I have some questions that were sent in by anonymous students. Don't be flattered, it's not me asking them. Are you in a relationship?"

"Nope. Thought that was pretty obvious from all my flirting yesterday."

"I'm not writing that second part down. Oh, this is a good one. What's your biggest fear?"

"Not living up to my potential. I want to make the most of all of my opportunities, and falling short of that is pretty terrifying."

"Just a few more questions... I have to ask basic information. This isn't for the interview, it's because you forgot to fill out your form for the athletics website and won't email them back. So, birthday?"

"August 18."

"Hometown?"

"Manhattan."

"Height?"

"Six foot two."

"Full name?"

"Perseus Jackson."

"No middle name?"

"Nope."

"Me neither. High school?"

"Uhm... which one?"

"The one you graduated from."

"Goode High School."

"Those questions are done, I'll get them sent over to the athletics department. I do have a few more for the interview. What's your favorite part of swimming?"

"It gives me the feeling of freedom. I feel weightless and calm. It's a sense of serenity; being underwater, sounds muffled."

"What do you do in your free time?"

Percy grinned, "I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Spontaneous adventures are my thing. I'm pretty good at rock climbing, and I've done skydiving before."

She shifted gears, "What about your family? You mentioned your mom a lot earlier."

His expression softened, his grin turning into a soft smile. "My paternal side is Greek, so family gatherings are loud. But, I live with my mom and stepdad, as well as their daughter. Her name is Estelle, she's the best little sister. My mom is the strongest woman I know." 

She felt a pang of longing in her heart, she couldn't help but envy his strong support system. "How old is your sister?"

"She's two. You're not writing any of this down."

"I know, I was just curious, that wasn't an interview question anyways. Anyways," she closed her laptop, "I've got to get going, thank you for the legitimate answers this time."

"I'll see you around." He watched as she walked off.

~~~

"Piper, you know I hate parties." Annabeth groaned, flopping on her bed.

"It'll be fun, I swear!" Piper was already dressed and was now rummaging through the dresser, trying to find Annabeth something to wear.

"I doubt it," she said, glaring at her roommate.

"I'm not going alone, that's unsafe." She resorted to the small closet they shared, retrieving a few dresses.

"Fine." Annabeth got up with a sigh, "But I am not wearing that."

Piper frowned, holding up a sequined mini dress. "Fine."

Annabeth looked at the dresses Piper had pulled from the closet, settling on a blue patterned sundress. "I will tolerate this one."

"Fine."

Annabeth changed into it, "Do you have anything longer?"

"Just wear shorts under it. You have great legs, show them off." 

Annabeth rolled her eyes and gave in, grabbing her frat sneakers from the closet and handing Piper her pair as well. 

When they arrived to the party, the sun had already set. Boys were playing beer pong in the basement and Piper went off to find Jason; her "not boyfriend."

Annabeth was playing darts against Grover, bored out of her mind.

"Hey Grover," a familiar voice came from behind her, so she turned. "Hey, Beth. Didn't know you were a party person."

"And I didn't know you were in a frat."

"I'm not, Jason invited me."

Grover went off to get him and Percy drinks, leaving Annabeth with him.

Percy's eyes swept over her multiple times, looking her up and down. "You look great."

"Thanks, I guess."

"What sport do you play?"

"I'm on the fencing team."

"Fencing, huh?" he quirked an eyebrow, "that's pretty badass."

"It's a lot of fun, and it keeps me in shape." She shrugged.

His eyes swept over her body again, "I can tell."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Percy's comment, feeling a mixture of amusement and irritation at his blatant appraisal. "Well, I'm glad my fencing skills and toned muscles are impressive to you, Percy."

He grinned, unphased, "I call it like I see it, Chase."

"Whatever, Jackson."

~~~

"Pipes, let's get you home." Annabeth took the red solo cup from Piper's hand and trashed it.

Piper rolled her eyes, "Oh, c'mon Beth, I'm not ready to go home yet."

"Go say bye to Jason, then I'm taking you back to our dorm."

Piper went off, and Annabeth picked up the scattered plastic cups from the floor, trashing them.

"Hey there, Beth." Percy slurred from behind her.

"Not you too," she sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"Piper's tipsy, and you're clearly drunk."

"'M not drunk," he protested.

"Where's Grover?" 

"He left early to hang out with Juniper."

"What dorm building are you in?" She sighed.

"Brunner Hall." 

"I can drive you back too, Piper and I are in McClaren."

He nodded, moving towards her, "You look pretty."

"Percy, I'm not interested."

"Didn't mean it like that, just wanted to state the obvious."

Before she could respond to the drunken compliment, Piper came back, lipstick smudged, trailed by a drunk Jason.

"Okay, both of you need to sleep this off." She sighed, leading them both out to her car.

"Thanks for the ride." He said when she dropped him off in front of his dorm building.

"Not a problem, Jackson. Get some sleep."

Chapter Text

When her phone buzzed the next morning, she opened it to see an email that came from the head of the English and Arts department

Subject: hey could u do me a solid

one of my students is kinda drowning in the class and i know u tested out of it so ur smart. tutor him pls. like explain the material and stuff and u get money off tuition. he kinda needs help with math too but that's not my subject

apollo p.

Sent from my iPhone

No one really questioned how unprofessional the professor was. He had tenure, so he took advantage of it. Though, it did annoy her that the head of two departments was emailing her with less formality than Percy the other day.

Annabeth instantly replied to the email, accepting it. She had most of her college tuition covered by scholarships, but still had to pay some. Tutoring would be worth it. Another email came, telling her to meet the student in the library that night at seven.

So, that's what she did. She entered the library and went to the study room she'd rented out, waiting for the other student. When he walked in, she sighed.

"Hello to you too." Percy said, putting his backpack down and taking his laptop and textbook out.

It's worth it for that extra scholarship money. She reminded herself. "So, I was told you're failing English 101?"

"Thank you for the reminder. And no, I'm not failing... I'm just... close to it."

"How are your grades in other classes?"

"I'm doing well in Intro to Marine Biology. I've got an A."

"Thank Gods, because I can't help you with that one."

"I have a D in math, a C in Sociology, an A in Greek, and a B in US History."

"How high do your grades have to be to stay on your athletic scholarship?"

"I have until the end of the year for them to all be at least a B. They gave me longer because of my dyslexia."

"We'll start with English, can you open your laptop to a blank document and then hand it to me?"

When the document was up, he handed her the laptop, and she changed the font and its size before handing it back. "Keep it on that font at all times, you can adjust the size if needed."

"Why this font?"

"Just trust me. It's easier to read because of the letters being more distinct." She opened her laptop and brought up Canvas, looking over the homework assignment, which she'd already gotten done. "It's light work this week; questions about the first few chapters of the book, then a one-page essay about how wealth can affect a person."

"What's the book again?"

"The Great Gatsby. I'll let you borrow my copy, it's in that same font I told you to use. Read it while listening to the audiobook so that you can process it better."

"Thanks, Beth."

"Let me see your math work."

"Aren't you in the class?"

"I got out of it with my AP Calculus credits." She shrugged, "I can definitely help you with the required math course."

He turned his laptop to her, and she looked it over. "Okay, have you been doing an Algebra review?"

He nodded, "I hate Algebra with a burning passion."

"Well, after this is probably geometry, trig, and algebra two."

"Kill me now." Percy groaned.

"Stop with the dramatics so I can help you." She scrolled down the page, "Okay, so it looks like you're doing functions, then radicals and exponents."

"Ew."

"What do you remember about functions?"

"It's the X and Y thing, right?"

"On a graph, yes. It's a series of inputs and outputs, most of the time you'll see them on a graph, like this one." She took a piece of paper from her bag and quickly sketched out a graph with four quadrants. "Since it seems you know the basics, I'll give you a relatively easy practice problem." She scribbled it out on the paper, trying to make her handwriting somewhat readable.

He took the paper and stared at it for a moment, "What's this supposed to say?"

She read it out to him, and he began to work on it. He handed her the paper after five minutes, and she had to ask the same question.

"It says that Y is three." He explained.

"That's correct, how about you start on the homework and you can ask me for help if you get stuck?"

"Sounds like a plan." He nodded, and got to work.

She sat back and sketched in her notebook as he worked.

"Beth?"

"Hm?"

"What do I do here?"

She explained the steps to him, he thanked her, and she went back to sketching.

"Could you look this over for me?" He asked an hour later.

She took the paper, only marking one as wrong. "You forgot the negative sign."

"I always do that," he grumbled and fixed his mistake.

"I think it's safe to assume we're done for the day?"

He nods.

"Here's my copy of Gatsby, and I'll send you the link to the audiobook." She hands him the book.

"Bye, Beth."

Chapter Text

Annabeth is awake when the weekly student paper is released. It's seven in the morning on a Monday, and she's in the gym, getting a workout in. She's an early riser, and is used to her quiet mornings... so, she's quite surprised when her phone rings as she's on the treadmill. She doesn't check the caller ID, just picking it up. "Hello?"

"I read the article." Percy's voice comes through the speaker, and she can hear the grin in his voice.

"How? The website isn't in the right font." She responds, keeping her pace steady.

"I found a browser extension that switches it. Are you in the gym?" He asks the last part incredulously.

"Yes? It's not that early. Don't your swim meets start this early?"

"Sometimes. But I'm not awake this early if I don't need to be."

"Then why are you up?"

"Wanted to read the article."

"Was it up to your standards?"

A dramatic sigh sounds through the phone. "Well, the pretty journalist left out some of my answers."

She rolls her eyes... and nearly jumps out of her skin when she's tapped on the shoulder. She turns off the treadmill, turning around to find Percy, who hangs up the phone. "Fancy seeing you here," he grins.

"Since you're here... are you any good at sparring?" She asks, taking a sip from her water bottle.

"I'd say so. You need a partner?" He raises a brow.

No more than ten minutes later, they both have the proper gear on. She rolls her shoulders back, "Try not to embarrass yourself, Jackson."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Chase," he replies, a smirk on his lips as they tap gloves, starting to circle each other.

Percy moves first, and Annabeth blocks him without breaking a sweat. "Your stance is too wide."

He readjusted his stance, "You have actual training in this?"

She lunges quickly, and Percy instinctively caught her strike, throwing her a bit off-balance. But, just as he was grinning over it, her hand wraps around his wrist, distracting him. He's about to say something... but she twists and sends him straight to the mat. She had won.

"You good?" She asked, removing her gloves.

He nods, getting up and taking off his gear. "You're good at that."

"We train in it for fencing." She explains, taking a sip from her water bottle.

Percy can't keep his eyes off her, gaze catching on her legs in the shorts she's wearing. But, his mother had taught him respect, and he tears his eyes away. "I finished my English assignments... would you mind looking over them at some point?"

"Not a problem, did the audiobook help?"

"I have never understood a book that well before." He grins.

"I'm glad it helped you."

~~~

Hours later, they meet up at the café on campus. She's dressed casually, in jeans and a t-shirt. She smiles at him in thanks when she sees her coffee order on the table, along with a snickerdoodle cookie in a little bag.

"I am so sorry, but I'm allergic to cinnamon." She mumbles, embarrassed. 

"Oh, shit." Percy curses and instantly takes the cookie away, putting it in his backpack and zipping it up. "I didn't know you could be allergic to that."

"Yeah, it's stupid. Of all the things in the world that could kill me, cinnamon is the top culprit." She sits down, setting her bag on the floor. She takes a sip of the drink, her usual order. Luckily, she doesn't need to worry about it having cinnamon.

"How serious is it?" Percy asks, worry in his eyes.

"I carry an Epi-Pen, I can go into anaphylactic shock."

Percy's eyes widen, "Let's change locations."

"It's fine, Percy-"

"Nope, can't have the only tutor who has ever gotten me to pass a pop quiz die in a café."

"You passed?" She grins.

"I did. I've never passed a pop quiz, let alone with an A."

She agrees to switch locations, and they end up sitting in the grass outside.

"Okay, let's see what you've got." She motions for him to hand over his laptop so she can read his essay.

He passes it over, and she sees that it's entirely written in the dyslexia font and within MLA guidelines (except for the font, of course). It takes her a bit to read through it, and when she does, she looks over at him and grins. "This is good, Percy. Just a few minor things to fix."

"Really?" He grins, checking the wrapper of the granola bar he pulled out of his bag, making sure it didn't have any cinnamon, before unwrapping and taking a bite.

"Yes, really. And you can eat cinnamon around me."

"What if it were to get in the air?"

"I'd be fine."

"Has that been tested?"

"No..?"

"I'm not taking those chances. So, what needs editing?"

"Since you have accommodations through the university, you don't need to worry about changing the font before submitting the assignment. You'll want to change the date to the due date and cite the book."

"That's it?"

Annabeth nods, typing on his laptop before passing it back to him. "Favorite this website, it generates citations for you."

Percy nods, doing as she says, then generating a citation for his paper.

By the time they finish working, the sun is beginning to set. Percy stands up, offering his hand, "I'll walk you back to your dorm."

She takes his hand to get up, then releases it. "You don't need to worry about me."

"It's getting dark." Percy's tone says that there's no room for argument.

"Fine," Annabeth sighs.

He walks her back to her dorm, walking her right up to the front doors of her residence hall. "I'll text you, Annie."

"Thanks for walking me back, Percy."

Chapter Text

Percy: Annabeth
Percy: Annie
Percy: Beth
Percy: Don't we have a session today?
4 missed calls from Percy

Annabeth groans as she wakes to her phone buzzing like crazy. It's 10:30 in the morning, much later than she normally wakes up. And the reason? She's sick.

She doesn't even try to use voice to text when she texts him back, not feeling like fussing with it.

Annabeth: sorry
Annabeth: sikc
Annabeth: sore bdoy

She sits up so she can cough without feeling like she's choking. When her coughing fit is over, she notices the sharp pains in her abdomen. She looks down and groans when she sees the stained sheets, as if her day couldn't have gotten worse.

She looked across the room, Piper wasn't in bed. Annabeth gets out of bed with an unhappy groan, stripping the sheets from her bed and carrying them into the private bathroom with her, planning to treat the stains. Once that ordeal is done, she showers, which takes an absurd amount of time even though she isn't washing her hair today.

When she leaves the bathroom, she changes into a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. After putting her new sheets on the bed, she plugs her heating pad in and waits for it to start working. On top of that, whatever virus she caught has her whole body feeling sore.

A knock sounds at the dorm door, and she doesn't stop to wonder who it is, just calling out "come in" as her abdomen seizes again.

The door unlocks, and Percy steps in, backpack on his shoulders. "Hey, Beth."

"How do you have a key?" She mumbles.

"Grover's the RA, I told him I was concerned about you and he just handed me the master key."

She hums in response, not wanting to waste energy. Percy approaches her, setting his backpack on the ground. Unexpectedly, his hand goes to her forehead.

"Yknow that's a highly inaccurate way to check for a fever?" She mumbles.

His hand on her forehead moves, and now his hands are on her cheeks. "Your forehead and cheeks are really warm."

"How scientific. MIT is calling."

He sits down at the end of her bed, plopping his bag down into his lap and beginning to pull out a ton of medicine. "I've got it all, whatcha need?"

"Tylenol, Advil, and DayQuil, I guess."

"I don't know if those can be mixed."

"I don't care." She mumbles into her pillow. "Is there a white bottle with a pink and yellow label on it anywhere in here? Most likely on my desk?"

Percy looks around, finds the bottle... which is empty. "I don't have this one, what is it called?"

"Midol."

He looks it up, along with the other medicines she had requested from his bag, "You can take like one of these meds and Advil."

"That's stupid."

"They all have acetaminophen, we don't need you overdosing on fucking Tylenol."

"Advil and DayQuil, then." She says, trying to turn up the setting on her heating pad. "Of course." She groans as an intense cramp rolls through her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

She sighs, "Cramps and my heating pad is broken."

"I've got one— it's basically prehistoric, so you know it'll work well." He stands, giving her the pills she requested. "I'll be back in ten. Anything you need?"

"I'll text you if I think of anything."

True to his promise, Percy was back ten minutes later. In his arms he carried the heating pad, a thermometer, and a rapid flu test.

The test ended up coming back positive for Flu A, and she tried to get him to leave.

"I'm fine, Beth. I had it two weeks ago so I have antibodies. I also got my flu shot two months ago."

"I have the same kind that caused a pandemic in the early twentieth century."

He rolls his eyes, taking her temperature with the forehead thermometer, "102."

"Can you hand me my phone?" She requests.

He promptly passes it to her, then crosses to the microwave to heat something up.

"Why were your texts capitalized earlier?" She asks, turning away to cough into her elbow.

"I used voice to text." Percy explains, coming back over and handing her a bowl of chicken noodle soup. "There's no cinnamon, I checked. If you have an allergic reaction, I'll sue Campbell's."

She laughs softly as she takes the bowl. "Thanks, Percy. You didn't have to do all this."

"Well, someone had to! Otherwise, you'd be trying to write an essay with a fever."

"I would not! I can handle it on my own."

"Totally. Absolutely. Why else would you have texted me 'sikc' and 'sore bdoy', both spelt wrong. Pure Shakespeare. It's truly the height of coherent thought."

She finishes her soup and Percy sets the bowl aside before rummaging in his bag, pulling out a deck of UNO cards.

He deals her hand of cards, then his, and just as he's about to tell her it's her turn, he realizes she's fallen asleep. He holds in a laugh, gently taking the cards out of her hand and putting them on her side table. He drapes another blanket over her and goes into her bathroom to wash her soup bowl.

He turns on the sink, finding the dish soap next to the hand soap, and scrubs the bowl with the sponge next to the dish soap. When the bowl is dry, he notices a rumpled heap on the floor, realizing it's a fitted sheet. He then notices the blood that stains the white fabric, and his brows draw together. Then, he remembers her cramps from earlier, "ohhhh," he mumbles, realizing that she's on her period.

He pulls out his phone and begins to type, not wanting to wake her due to him using voice to text. He had found out the other day that his autocorrect was turned off, so he switched it back on to hopefully avoid future spelling mistakes.

Percy: mom
Percy: i'm over at my friend's dorm cause she's sick but i didn't realize she was on her period and i found her stained sheets in the bathroom would it be weird if i cleaned them? she has the flu so i don't want her to worry about it

Sally : Soak in cold water, get the stained areas wet. Dab with a paper towel, then see if there's hydrogen peroxide under the sink.

Following the first of his mother's instructions, he picks the sheet up, wetting the stained areas and dabbing it with a paper towel, which he then throws out.

Percy : there's hydrogen peroxide

Sally : Good, put it on there, rinse after ten minutes

When ten minutes pass, he washes it off the stains, grinning when he sees that it worked.

Percy : stains gone!!

Sally : If there's a washer and dryer in her dorm building, I'd wash it too. And no need to mention it if she doesn't bring it up.

Percy : thanks for the help, mom!

After checking on Annabeth and finding her sound asleep, he takes the sheets to the laundry room, accessing it with the key from Grover. He sits in the laundry room, waiting for the washer to finish. He does some schoolwork while he waits. Then, he switches it over to the dryer.

When the dryer beeps, he folds the sheet (or, attempts to) and goes back upstairs to her dorm. He enters and finds her still asleep, so he puts the sheets on her desk, then goes back to where he had been when she fell asleep.

"Percy?" She mumbles, opening her eyes.

"I'm here. You should drink something, though. You sound like you've been gargling gravel." He goes over to the mini fridge and grabs a Gatorade, handing it to her.

"You don't have to keep babysitting me. Piper will be back soon."

"Well, she's not back, so until then, you're stuck with me."

When she finishes the bottle of Gatorade, she goes to the restroom, then gets back in bed and falls back asleep.

Piper comes back around an hour later, and Percy motions for her to keep quiet. Piper nods, coming over to him so he can hear her, "Grover said you need to go back to your dorm and get some rest for yourself."

Percy rolls his eyes, but quietly begins packing up. "She has Flu A, so don't get too close. I had it two weeks ago, so I have the antibodies. If she gets worse, I can drive her over to the doctor." He leaves the DayQuil, NyQuil, and his heating pad behind.

"I got it from here, Jackson." Piper grins.

Chapter Text

The second he became aware that Annabeth and Luke were talking, Percy wanted to throw up. He hated Luke even more when he managed to make her smile. It's only been a week since she was sick, but she recovered quickly, and Luke set his sights on her.

Percy didn't go to his residence hall. Instead, he barged into Grover's single dorm (RA perks) and flopped onto the bed.

"How did you even get in the building without a key—" Grover starts.

"I mean, what does she see in him?" Percy complains, head hanging off the side of Grover's bed.

"I'm not a mind reader. Who are we talking about?"

"Luke Castellan." Percy practically spat out the name.

"Maybe the fact that he's tall, charming, lacrosse team captain?"

"I'm tall, charming, and the captain of the swim team."

"Maybe she likes blondes?" Grover shrugs.

"They're both blonde, they look like siblings. How am I the only one disturbed by that?" Percy grumbles, then goes back to his complaining. "He's totally the guy that quotes Nietzsche at parties and can get away with it-"

"You know who Nietzsche is?"

"Yes, Grover. I'm not completely dumb."

"Name one Nietzsche quote."

"Uh... fuck. Something about the abyss staring back? I dunno, but that's not the point. The point is, he probably says all that shit, most likely while drinking an IPA and wearing a sweater that is worth more than a shoebox apartment in New York City." Percy takes a breath, before launching back in. "And, he irons his t-shirts! Who the fuck does that?!"

"Luke, apparently."

"I bet he has a trust fund. And a dog named Chad that he brings up rescuing whenever he can."

"Any evidence for that?"

"Just look at him. Also, there's way too many pictures on his Instagram of him on a boat... with his dog." Percy groans, "he even calls her Ann."

"You call her Annie."

"That's different. That's cute, Ann is cringey."

"Are you done with your rant?"

He sits up dramatically, running a hand through his hair. "He's also in a frat!! And not even like a service frat or one of the nerd ones where they play chess all day. He's in one of those frats for all the rich kids— he pays for friends, Grover! All they do is brag about their dad's law firm or whatever."

"Percy, you're spiraling." Grover tries to stop him.

"There's something off about him. Have you seen the way they interact? He's always in control of the conversation, he interrupts her a lot, sometimes she fakes her laugh."

"How do you know it's fake?"

"You've heard her laugh, so have I. When she laughs with Luke, it's tight, controlled, and short. It's not her real laugh."

"Look, Perce, I haven't seen her with Luke, so I can't agree or disagree with you. But, the best thing you can do right now is to keep noticing these things. She's smart, Percy, she can get herself out of situations. If you ever see a situation where he's physical? Get her away from him and call campus police."

"Thanks, Grover." Percy replies after mulling it over for a bit.

"Not a problem, and I'll keep an eye on her, too, since you're not in our residence hall."

Percy nods, standing up, "I think I'm gonna go for a walk."

"I'll see you."

Percy waves goodbye and leaves the room. When he gets to the main doors, he sees Juniper standing outside, so he holds the door open for her, then leaves the building, deciding to walk to the café. He orders a smoothie to go, then continues his walk once he gets his order.

He walks towards the pond, where he finds Annabeth with a sketchpad in her lap, sitting in his usual spot.

"Hey, Beth." Percy greets warmly.

She jumps a little, then smiles softly when she sees him, "hey."

"Whatcha working on?" Percy asks as he sits down in the grass beside her.

"Homework. It's an analytical sketch of the theatre building. I picked it because it's most interesting architecturally."

"I'll pretend I know what you mean."

"You're supposed to be studying, Jackson."

"Well, Chase, my test was canceled. Apollo got tickets for some concert, so he canceled class. He hasn't even rescheduled the test."

"I don't know how he stays working." Annabeth rolls her eyes. "You should see the way he emails his students." Their easy conversation was cut off by her phone buzzing, but she ignores it, finishing her point, and then texts back.

"Who was that?"

"Luke. Wanted to know where I was."

"You don't have to answer his every beck and call."

"He worries." She doesn't look like she believes the words that come out of her mouth.

"Are you guys, like, official?"

"Not exactly. But exclusive, I guess."

Before Percy can push the subject more, a voice cuts through the peaceful atmosphere.

"Annabeth!" Luke's voice.

She stands and brushes off her jeans, "I thought you had practice?"

Luke's eyes went to Percy, before darting back to Annabeth. "We ended early."

When Luke gets close enough, he wraps an arm around her, hand resting on her lower back. He leans down as if to greet her with a kiss, and she turns, the kiss landing on her cheek instead.

"You didn't respond fast enough, you had me worried." Luke says.

"I was busy."

"With?"

"Percy and I were talking, I tutor him."

Percy pipes in, "We were talking about how unprofessional Professor Apollo is."

"I saw him outside the gay bar the other weekend! It's so inappropriate." Luke complains.

"What he does in his free time is none of our business, Luke." Annabeth glares at him.

Luke's hand squeezes her waist just a bit, and Annabeth straightens. "I'm just saying, Ann. He's supposed to be setting an example." Luke pulls her closer to him, "no need to get so worked up, babe."

Percy clears his throat uncomfortably, picking at the grass.

"So, Jackson, how's tutoring going? Annabeth told me you needed a lot of help." Luke's expression is tense, but he attempts regaining control of the conversation.

"Tutoring has been good! I'm on track to keep my scholarship." Percy grins.

"Well, I guess scraping by still counts." Luke smirks.

"That was rude, Luke." Annabeth pulls away from his arm.

"I'm just being honest, Ann."

"Well, he's actually doing really well."

"If you say so." Luke sighs and changes the subject. "So, swim team, huh? Do you guys even count? Like, as a real sport?"

"Of course, we do. It's recognized by the Olympics and NCAA. Our swim team is Division One… remind me of your division?" Percy rolls his eyes.

"Division Three." Luke sighs.

"That's what I thought." Percy stands, about to leave. "Oh, and Luke? Being a dick won't make yours any bigger."

~~~

That night, Percy finds himself in the library to do homework. He was typing away on his laptop, answering the prompt sent out by his teacher, headphones on and music softly playing.

He nearly jumps out of his skin when his shoulder gets tapped. He turns and sees Annabeth, and immediately takes off his headphones, "you scared me!"

"Sorry, sorry." She laughs softly. "Mind if I join you?"

"I don't mind. Though, shouldn't you be with Luke?" Once again, his words are faster than his brain.

Luckily, she doesn't seem to mind. "His frat is having a party, I don't like parties."

"Me neither, they get really loud, and I usually end up drinking to cope with the noise, which ends in stupid decisions."

"Well, now we can be noise-sensitive together." She jokes, settling into the chair across from him.

"I- uh- yeah." Percy stammers, blushing a little. "Oh, I was in the campus store earlier and grabbed something that reminded me of you." Percy roots around in his bag and pulls out a neatly folded crewneck, handing it to her. "Before you say anything, it was on clearance and you do not need to pay me back."

Annabeth unfolds the crewneck, revealing the school's logo on the front, embroidered over the left breast side. She turns it around and sees the back, which is the school's original blueprint, embroidered onto the blue fabric in white thread. "This is awesome, Percy. Thank you."

"Not a problem, Beth."

She pulls it on over her shirt to combat the cold library.

"So, what are your plans for Thanksgiving? Gonna go home to visit family?"

"I'm staying on campus over break."

Percy frowns, "why's that?"

Annabeth thinks for a moment, before deciding that there's no harm in telling him. "I don't have a great relationship with my family. My dad remarried after my mom divorced him. My stepmom Helen is a bitch, hates me. But, at least my stepbrothers are nice. I just— I try to avoid Helen when I can. I text my stepbrothers often, though."

"I'm sorry, Beth. You're not evening going with Luke to see his family?"

"We're not even official, he doesn't want them to meet me yet."

"Well, if you want, I'm sure my mom and stepdad wouldn't mind having you over. If my mom found out that I didn't invite you, she'd have my head."

Annabeth is caught off-guard, staring blankly for a moment.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"No, sorry, zoned out. I'll— I'll think about it and let you know, if that's alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine!"

"I think I'm gonna get going now. Thank you, Percy."

"Anytime, Beth."