More Than Just A Little White Lie~ A Percabeth AU

Chapter 5

The first thing I do when I get home is race up the stairs to my bedroom, flinging open the door and practically tripping over my clothes that are strewn all over the floor. I fumble with the drawer and I feel my face go slack when I pull it out to find it empty.

"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck." I curse, though I say it too loudly and my dad hears it as he passes. I didn't even realize he was home. I must not have seen his car in my haste to find my worst nightmare actually did happen.

"Hey, watch that mouth." He warns. I'm too in shock to really hear him though.

My letters are out. What the hell am I going to do now? I can't exactly face Luke and oh my god, I kissed Percy. If- no, when, Rachel finds out, she'll skin me alive. It wasn't exactly in a private place and I'm sure one of the girls in her pocket saw. I need some music remedy. Digging through my stuff, I find my headphones and plug them into my phone. Picking a favorite, I turn the volume up loud enough to drown out any background noise and I flop on my back in my bed.

I'm lying with my eyes closed, mouthing along with the words to the music when I get the feeling that I'm being watched. I open my eyes to see Hazel staring at me, her face a mere foot away from mine.

"Shit! Jesus Christ, are you trying to kill me?" I exclaim, as Hazel giggles. I glare at her which only makes her giggle harder. I imagine I don't look very threatening at the moment.

"What do you want?" I ask, still annoyed that she scared me.

"Oh, nothing. How was school today?" Hazel asks in an innocent tone, one that she only uses when she's not too innocent.

"Why you little..." I start but the sound of our dad calling for me stops me from giving her hell.

"Annabeth! Luke is here for you!"

My eyes go wide and I jump up off my bed. I grab my phone and my backpack which I'd oh so graciously tossed on the floor when I'd first gotten home.

"I'm not home." I plead to Hazel and she sighs but nods. I open up my window and climb out. Thankfully, here is a roof right outside my window and I slide down until I reach the gutter. I peer over to make sure that no one is standing outside and then I jump down.

"Ow!" I rub my butt, having landed on my feet and promptly falling on my ass. I hope none of our neighbors saw that. I glance back at the house when I reach the end of the drive way and it doesn't appear that they've noticed my absence yet. I shoulder my bag and start walking down the road. I have a destination on my mind and I know that once I get there, I'll start thinking more clearly.

The little bell above the door rings as I enter the small bookstore, breathing in the heavenly scent. I wish they made a candle that smelled like books. I'd buy a crap ton of them.

"Hey Annabeth." Iris, the store owner, greets me. I give her a wide smile. I come here often enough that I'm well known to all the staff. I've even considered getting a job here. I go to my favorite section, the world history, and pull out a copy of a book on ancient architecture. I may love reading romance, but I want to be an architect and I love reading about it. I settle into the reading corner and fall into a relaxing calm.

"Damn, Chase. I had you pegged for a nerd but you hangout in a bookstore?"

I look up and the embarrassing details from earlier today come rushing back to me. I push my glasses up nervously and stare at the tall teenager looking down at me with a cocky smirk on his face.

"I didn't think you'd be able to walk across the threshold of a bookstore. It requires knowing how to read." I comment, not holding back. It's common knowledge that Percy prefers to fool around in class then actually work. I don't have to be in classes with him to know that. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask bluntly, going back to reading about atriums.

"Well, I went by your house, but you weren't home. Your sister said that you would probably be here. I just wanted to be super clear about there not being anything between us. I literally just broke up with Rachel, I'm not looking for anything new now." Percy says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He broke up with Rachel? This is news to me.

"Noted. Just so you know, I wrote that letter years ago, and I don't want to date you." I tell him, not bothering to look up.

"But..you kissed me?" Percy says, sounding confused. I finally look up and have to stifle a laugh. He has this look of pure confusion on his face and it's actually adorable.

"I just had to make it look like I liked you, so that the person that I actually like wouldn't know. Though, he got a letter too so that's going to be an awkward conversation." I say the last part quietly and more to myself but Percy hears.

"Wait, I'm not the only person you sent a letter too? Who else got one?" He asks in a curious tone. I don't know why but I find myself telling him.

"Will Solace and Luke Castellan."

"Solace...you know he's gay right? He's literally dating my cousin. And Castellan.....doesn't he date your older sister?" Percy connects the dots.

"Dated. They broke up recently. But now you see my problem? I can't have Luke thinking I like him because I can't date him. It would destroy Thalia." I explain. Percy has a thoughtful look going on, honestly one I've never seen on him. Not that I've been watching.

"Hey, do you need a ride home?" He says suddenly, taking me by surprise.

"Uh, sure. I did walk here." I say, standing up and replacing the architecture book. He looks at the title before I put it back on the shelf and gives me a quizzical look.

"I like architecture, ok?" I say in my defense. He holds his hands out in surrender, not saying anything. We walk out into the now darkness, I didn't realize how late it's gotten. Percy's blue pickup is parked right in front, pretty terribly, I might add.

"Nice park job." I comment, even though it's probably better than what I can do.

"It's my specialty." Is his response.

The ride back to my house is quiet, other than the music playing softly on the radio. I don't recognize the band but it's nice. I want to ask him who it is but I feel awkward about trying to make small talk. 

"Well, this is me." I say when he pulls up in front of my house. I don't even question why he knows where I live. I go to open the door but his hand on my arm stops me.

"Wait, Chase. I have a proposition for you." He says, a mischievous grin on his lips. Why do I suddenly get the feeling that his boy is smarter than he acts? I nod, gesturing for him to go on.

"You want to make Castellan think you don't like him, I want to make Rachel jealous. What if we just let people think that we're actually together? I mean, half the school did see you French me. It would drive Rachel crazy, she went batshit when she found out we kissed. We were already broken up though so she really can't be mad about it." Percy finishes what he obviously put a lot of thought into. I wonder if this is why he came by my house looking for me. 

"First of all, I did not French you. That was barely a peck. And second, that is such a dumb idea. I don't want people thinking I'm just your rebound." I say skeptically.

"Just think about it?" Percy pleads and I nod reluctantly. Don't hold your breathe, Jackson.