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knuffled · 5 years

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Just Practice - Chapter 2

chapter 2 is out! reblog and like if you enjoyed the chapter! comments/asks are especially welcome!

here in the ao3 link in case anyone prefers that!

The following Monday, when Annabeth walked into first hour English and made her way to her seat by the window, her eyes still burning from lack of sleep, she remained woefully unaware of the fact that news that Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson were finally going out had spread through Westwood High like proverbial wildfire. It didn’t take long, however, for that to be rectified. Piper accosted her the second that she sat down, grinning like the cat that got the canary, which should have been enough to arouse some modicum of suspicion in Annabeth, but she was still far too caffeine deprived to realize what was going on.

It was therefore altogether understandable that she felt completely discombobulated when Piper said the following: “So word around the block is that a certain someone is finally going out with the captain of the swim team.”

Annabeth, who had been in the process of rummaging in her backpack for her english essay, froze and turned to her friend. “What?” she asked.

Piper scooted her chair closer to Annabeth’s desk and threw her arm around Annabeth’s neck. “C’mon, you honestly thought I wouldn’t know?” Piper asked.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and said, “Obviously, I knew you’d find out. Just not so soon.”

There was a twinkle in Piper’s eyes as she said, “Well, I do have my sources.”

“That sure is a roundabout way of saying Percy told you.”

Piper leaned back in her chair, shrugging. “We are best friends after all.”

Before Annabeth could do more than roll her eyes, Percy walked into the classroom, a cup of coffee in hand. He took his seat in front of Annabeth’s desk, but not before wordlessly passing Annabeth the cup. Annabeth felt the tips of her ears burn, aware of Piper watching her like a hawk, that shit-eating grin still stubbornly on her face. Percy stifled a yawn and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before he turned and gave them an oblivious smile.

“It’s my two favorite girls,” he said.

“Don’t let your mom or Estelle hear you say that,” Annabeth said, giving him a pointed look.

Piper laughed and said, “She’s right you know.”

There was an undeniable fondness in the way he rolled his eyes and said, “She’s always right.”

Annabeth shrugged and took a hasty sip, which made her hiss in pain when she burnt her tongue. “Fuck,” she muttered.

“You okay?” Percy asked, frowning.

“Burnt my tongue,” Annabeth said.

When Percy’s frown deepened, Piper rolled her eyes and said, “She’ll live, Percy.”

Percy shot her a nasty look that only made Piper laugh and tousle his already messy hair. Percy scowled and swatted her hand away, grumbling to himself as Piper leaned forward in her seat. “Anyhow, on to more pressing matters,” Piper said. “Which of you two idiots asked?”

Percy gave Annabeth a sidelong glance, a smirk sliding on his face. “Yeah, who asked, Annabeth?” he asked liltingly.

Annabeth stared at her coffee as her face grew warm. “I did,” she mumbled.

“Hah! Vindication!” Piper cheered, pulling out her phone.

“You watch way too much Brooklyn 99,” Percy said.

“I had a lot of money riding on this, fucko, so excuse me if I celebrate a little,” Piper said, texting furiously. “Man, Jason and Leo are going to be so pissed I was right.”

It was hard to mask the exasperation in her voice when Annabeth said, “You bet on whether we would go out with each other?”

“We bet on whether you’d ask him out before we graduated,” Piper clarified. “I knew my trust in you wasn’t misplaced, Annabae.”

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that,” Annabeth said, a low growl in her voice.

“Well mark me down as scared and horny, babe,” Piper said, not even sparing a glance as she pocketed her phone. “Oh wait, I can’t say shit like that anymore now that you and Percy are finally a thing, huh? What a bummer.”

“You’re actually intolerable.”

That was when the bell rang and their teacher, Mr. Edmonds, walked into the classroom with a stack of papers tucked under his arm. Piper reluctantly scooted her chair back to her desk next to Percy’s desk, and Annabeth was thankful that her interrogation had been brought to an abrupt halt. Percy turned around when the teacher asked everyone to pass up their essays and held his hand out to her. His hair was as messy as ever, black waves crashing into each other haphazardly. The ratty, orange camp t-shirt he was wearing had begun to fray at the edges of the collars, leading her eyes to linger on the shark tooth necklace hanging from his neck, the bone white jarring against the tanned skin beneath.

“Do I have something on my face?” Percy asked, disrupting her observation.

“No?” Annabeth said.

Percy raised an eyebrow and said, “Well, you were staring pretty hard, so I thought.”

When Annabeth didn’t respond, Percy laughed and said, “You wanna turn in your essay? I’m getting tired holding my hand out like this.”

Annabeth felt her face burn as she handed him her paper. “My bad,” she muttered.

Percy rolled his eyes and said, “Make sure you finish your coffee. You look like you need it.”

Annabeth told him to shut up under her breath but reached for the coffee anyways, which was now thankfully not as hot, and took a sip. Thankfully, the rest of class passed by without any further shenanigans, and it didn’t take long for the bell to ring again. Percy was gone by the time Annabeth finished packing her belongings in her backpack, but before she could leave her desk, Piper stopped her, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face.

“So what brought this on?” Piper asked.

“What do you mean?” Annabeth said, putting her folder in her backpack.

“Like why’d you ask him out now? What changed?”

For a second, Annabeth considered telling Piper the truth about the whole “practice dating” thing but something gave her pause. There was the fact that even though she’d known her for a long time, Piper had always been closer to Percy than to her, but there was also something in the way that she was looking at her that unsettled her.

“I’m not sure,” Annabeth said, shrugging.

Piper stared at her for a few seconds before a smile blossomed across her face. “Well, that doesn’t matter now anyways. I’m rooting for you two lovebirds,” she said.

Piper slung her backpack across her shoulder and make her way to the classroom entrance, but before she stepped outside, she paused and turned to look at Annabeth. “He sounded really happy, you know?” Piper said.

Annabeth wasn’t really sure how to respond to that, so she just plastered an uneasy smile onto her face. Piper stared at her again for another second or two with that same intense emotion in her eyes before she finally stepped outside. Once she was gone, Annabeth let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

Percy was waiting for her outside the classroom, falling into step with her as she walked to her next class. “Why’d you wait? I thought your class was on the other side of school,” Annabeth said, frowning.

“Isn’t it normal to walk my girlfriend to class?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

For the umpteenth time that day, Annabeth felt herself flush with embarrassment. “I guess,” she said, squeezing her backpack strap tighter.

“So what did Piper wanna talk to you about?” he asked.

For some reason, she couldn’t tell him the truth — there was something about her interaction with Piper that just felt weird. “Nothing much. Just girl talk,” Annabeth lied.

When Percy hummed in response, Annabeth added, “She did say that you seemed, and I quote, ‘really happy’ that we were dating.”

A dumbfounded look crossed his face as he said, “Well, would you rather I had sounded miserable?”

“That’s not what meant, and you know it,” Annabeth said, stepping in front of him to stop him.

Percy sighed and said, “It would be really weird if I didn’t sound happy about it.”

“But we’re not really—”

“I know we’re not,” Percy interrupted. There was a harshness in his voice that made Annabeth frown, but before she could press him on it, it melted back into that same effortless kindness that she had always associated with him.

“I know we’re not actually a couple, but think about it: we have to act like we are, otherwise there’s no point to this. If we’re not going to go at this seriously, like it’s real, then it’s not really practice, is it? If this was real, wouldn’t I immediately gush to Piper about it? Wouldn’t I sound really happy?”

She couldn’t deny the truth in his words so she nodded. “Well, as long as you know.”

“I know,” Percy promised. “I’m not getting carried away. This is ‘just practice’, right?”

There was something about the way that he said that that rubbed Annabeth the wrong way, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was. “Right,” Annabeth said slowly.

Percy’s answering smile dispelled any tension that might have formed in the air. They spent the rest of the way walking to Annabeth’s class in silence, and once they got there, they both stood outside the classroom for a while.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later?” Percy said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Annabeth nodded and made her way into the classroom. She walked to her desk and sat down before it occurred to her that she should probably thank Percy for walking her to class. That seemed like the sort of thing a girlfriend would do, right? She put her backpack in her chair and walked back outside the classroom, hoping Percy wasn’t gone. Thankfully, he hadn’t went too far when she stepped outside.

When she called out to him, he turned around, a curious look on his face. “Thanks for walking me!” Annabeth said before adding, “To class I mean!”

A grin broke across Percy’s face just as the bell rang, prompting him to give her one final wave before he turned and ran to make it in time for his next class. As she watched him go, Annabeth balled her hands into fists by her side and felt a rush confidence wash over her. Maybe she could do this whole girlfriend thing after all.

~oOo~

The heat was particularly sweltering during track practice later that day. Annabeth found herself incessantly wiping sweat off her brow with the back of her hand over the course of the run. The coaches had settled on a six mile run following the trail that circled the lake behind the high school. After the day’s events, going for a run was exactly the thing that Annabeth needed to settle her thoughts. The familiar burning in her lungs and the sound of her own ragged breathing calmed her down like nothing else. It was only when she ran that the chaos in her ADHD brain ever calmed down.

She forced herself to run a more strenuous pace that she was used to, making her way out of the woods only a half-hour into the run. The lake sat placidly to her right, and the reflected light of the slowly setting sun cast an orange-bronze hue to the water. Annabeth stirred when she heard the sound of someone running behind her. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Jason only a foot or two behind her, his face screwed in concentration.

“Your pace is way too fast, Annabeth,” he protested breathlessly.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and said, “No one’s asking you to keep up with me.”

“I’m not talking about myself — I’m talking about the rest of the team,” Jason said. “I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, but now that you’re captain, you can’t just jet ahead of everyone else like always.”

“Being captain is a real pain sometimes,” Annabeth muttered. “Maybe they should’ve made you captain instead.”

“You and I both know they chose the right person for the job,” Jason said.

“Well, thanks for letting me know,” Annabeth said, sighing as she slowed her pace significantly to something more akin to a brisk walk than to actual running.

Jason sped ahead of her but not before shooting her an apologetic smile. It only took a few seconds for the other seniors on the team to pass her as well. Before long the juniors came and went, nodding when they noticed her, but it took quite a bit longer before the sophomores and the freshman came into view. Annabeth shouted words of encouragement and broke into an easy jog herself as she mingled with them. She kept an eye out for any stragglers or people struggling, stopping now and then to attend to them.

By the time she finished the run, the sun had begun melting into the horizon. Annabeth made her way to the track and finished a final lap for her cool down run before she found Jason, who was in the middle of his stretches.

When she sat down alongside him and settled into her own stretches, he turned to her and said, “Piper tells me you and Percy are going out now?”

Annabeth nodded and said, “Yeah, I asked him out on Friday.”

“After the meet?” Jason asked, bending to touch his toes.

“Yeah, we went to Martha’s after,” Annabeth said. “I couldn’t find you after the meet or I would’ve asked if you wanted to come.”

“Piper wanted to go to Taco Bell,” Jason said, shrugging.

“She’s fucking obsessed with Taco Bell.”

Jason rolled his eyes and said, “Tell me about it. I get PTSD every time I drive past the one near school.”

When Annabeth laughed, Jason smiled and said, “I’m happy for you though. I’m sure things will go well for you and Percy.”

“Thanks,” Annabeth said.

“I do want to say that you lost me fifty bucks, though,” Jason muttered.

“Well, maybe that’ll teach you not to bet on other people’s relationships, ya dork,” Annabeth said.

Jason huffed and laid down on the grass, done with his stretches, and threw an arm over his eyes. Annabeth sighed and said, “What do people even do in relationships?”

“I dunno,” Jason said. “Whatever they want, I guess.”

“What about you and Piper? You guys have been going out since forever,” Annabeth said.

“Well, at first we went on dates and stuff, like everyone else. We went out for dinner and a movie,” Jason said.

“Yeah? Which one?”

“Inside Out.”

Annabeth gave him a look and said, “That’s a pretty bad movie for a first date.”

“Yeah, I cried like seven times. It wasn’t exactly ideal,” Jason said, laughing. “We didn’t have the first clue about dating either back then. Now, it’s a lot easier. We just hang out. Go to Taco Bell. You know, the usual.”

“How romantic,” Annabeth said, smiling. “Doesn’t sound that different from being friends.”

“Well, you don’t usually kiss your friends,” Jason said cheekily.

“Gross, I don’t want to hear about you and Piper kissing,” Annabeth said.

“God, you’re such a prude, Chase,” Jason said. “You want to kiss Percy, right? That’s why you’re going out after all.”

Blood rushed to Annabeth’s face. “I-I do not!” Annabeth squeaked.

Jason raised his arm and looked at her. “You’re so full of shit. Why else are you guys going out? Isn’t it because you finally wanna bone him?”

“Shut up, oh my god!” Annabeth groaned. “You spend way too much time with that horny girlfriend of yours. You used to be a prude back then too.”

Jason sat up and wiped the grass off the back of his shirt. “Well, yeah, but then I got laid,” he said. “You should try it some time.”

“Maybe I will!”

He held his palms up in surrender, but the gesture was undercut by the fact that he was laughing. “It’s weird to see you like this,” he mused.

“Like what?” Annabeth muttered.

“I dunno, flustered, I guess? You’re always so put together and stuff. But even the great Annabeth Chase gets bent out of shape about something like dating, huh?” Jason said.

“I don’t have any clue what I’m supposed to do. I don’t like not knowing what to do.”

Jason shrugged and said, “That’s part of the fun. You just learn things as you go. Besides, Percy’s a great guy. I’m sure you’ll work things out together.”

Annabeth sighed. “I hope so.”

“I know so,” Jason said. “You got this, ABC. And if you ever wanna talk, I’m here for you.”

“I know,” Annabeth said. “Thanks. I appreciate it. Like a lot.”

Jason laughed and said, “Okay, good to know. I’m gonna head back and hit the showers. See you at practice tomorrow.”

Annabeth offered him a smile and said, “Yeah, see you.”

Once he left, Annabeth sighed and laid down on the grass, thinking about what he said. It hadn’t occurred to her before Jason had said it, but if she was going to be practice dating Percy or whatever, that would mean that she would end up kissing him at some point, right? That just felt… weird. Kissing Percy was weird. She’d known him since they were kids. It would be like kissing her brother or something. Obviously, Percy was attractive. Anyone with eyeballs could see that. That wasn’t the problem though. The problem was that she’d never seen Percy in a romantic light, like ever. There was a reason she’d never asked him out before, even though everyone in school seemed to think they were destined for one another. Percy was just her best friend. Someone who had been there for her through everything. And she’d been there for him through everything too. Romance had never really been in the picture before. There had never been space or need for it.

But now, they were dating. Dating meant kissing. And other stuff. Fuck, maybe she hadn’t thought this through. She knew that Percy would never do anything that she wasn’t comfortable with, so she wasn’t worried about that. What if she didn’t want to kiss Percy? Wasn’t that a problem? Didn’t that make the whole practice dating thing pointless? Practice dating sort of necessitated that sort of thing, right? Wow, she really hadn’t thought this through at all.

Annabeth sat up with a sigh, resolved to table the problem for another day, and made her way back to the school. Once she showered and changed, she made her way over to the school pool. There was only one person still in the water, but Annabeth knew without looking who it was. She made her way over the water’s edge and waited for Percy to finish his lap. His head popped out of the water once he noticed her standing there.

“Annabeth, hey!” he said. “Ready to go?”

When she nodded, he hauled himself out of the pool and said, “Just let me shower and get changed, yeah?”

“I’ll be waiting by your car,” Annabeth said.

Percy nodded and said, “Yeah, sounds good.”

It took about fifteen minutes for Percy to meet her outside — his hair was still wet from the shower and the scent of his body wash clung to his skin. Once he unlocked the doors to his car, they both sat down. As they drove out of the parking lot, Percy turned the radio on and began humming along to the song that was playing. His fingers drummed against the steering wheel, off-time like always. There was something so familiar about the situation that it made Annabeth smile despite herself.

Percy must have noticed because he raised an eyebrow and said, “What?”

“Nothing,” Annabeth said. “Just glad practice is over.”

“Ugh, you and me both,” Percy said. “Coach has been making me do extra laps after practice to help our chances at winning state.”

Annabeth winced and said, “That’s brutal.”

After Percy nodded, a comfortable silence settled between them, but it wasn’t long before Percy spoke again. “So, since we’re doing this whole practice dating thing and all, shouldn’t we be going on dates and stuff?”

“What did you have in mind?” Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Is that a yes?”

She rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah, Seaweed Brain, that was a yes.”

Percy grinned and said, “It’s going to be a surprise.”

“Better be the good kind,” Annabeth warned.

“When have my surprises ever been anything but good?” Percy asked indignantly.

Annabeth hummed and said, “Hmm, I can think of a few. Remember the chocolate chip cookie debacle of ’09?”

When Percy winced, she pressed further and said, “Or the Last Day of Camp prank on Mr. Brunner when we were in 8th grade? Or Piper’s surprise birthday party last year?”

“Okay, okay, you made your point. It’s a good surprise, I promise,” Percy said, laughing.

“I should hope so. I’ve heard it’s very important to make a good impression on the first date.”

“Did you now?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mhmm, so I expect to be wowed.”

“You’re awfully demanding for someone who’s never been on a date,” Percy said, shaking his head.

“Mhm, I’m free this Saturday, by the way,” Annabeth said casually.

Percy parked outside Annabeth’s house and laughed. “That was smooth,” he said.

Annabeth opened the door and grabbed her backpack from the back seat and slung it over her shoulder. “So Saturday?” she asked.

“Saturday,” Percy confirmed, nodding.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

There was an uncharacteristic tremor in his voice when he said, “I-I hope I don’t let you down.”

Annabeth scoffed and said, “You’ve never let me down, like ever. I’m sure we’ll have a blast, Seaweed Brain. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Percy said.

With that, Annabeth walked to her house, giving Percy a final wave before she went inside. She slipped her backpack off and rested the back of her head against the front door and shut her eyes. She’d never seen Percy’s nervousness directed towards her like that before. They’d always been so comfortable around each other. She didn’t know how she felt about that. Maybe it was a sign that he was taking this seriously, in which case it wasn’t that big a deal. She just didn’t want things to be weird between them because of the whole practice dating thing. Still, she felt a rush of nervous anticipation herself too — for the first time in her seventeen years of existence, she would be going on a date.

#knuffled fic #percabeth fic #percabeth fanfic #percabeth fake dating au #fake dating au #percabeth #percy and annabeth #percy/annabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #percyxannabeth

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