The Pretty Girl

Annabeth POV

Percy was ignoring me again. He always does this. When he was feeling emotional, he bottled up and gave the silent treatment. I wish that he could yell like everyone else.

His silence felt awful.

He didn't respond to any of my texts over the weekend. I wanted to check on how he was doing after the action-packed night. However, Percy didn't give me any response. He was such a stupid Seaweed Brian. It was so infuriating.

Piper texted me constantly. She was giving me updates on Calypso and Bob, who were now living with Piper and her staff. Calypso was doing much better, and Bob was very happy. Neither of them seemed to mind that their dad went to jail. It demonstrated how much of a monster than man, Atlas, was.

"You had a very interesting weekend, Annie," Thalia acknowledged.

"Yeah, I know. I have no clue how we got out unscathed. Well, actually, Percy got hurt in the process. His stomach was bleeding."

"Wait, What?" Thalia's attention snapped to my face.

"He had a scuffle with Atlas, and his stomach was bleeding. I believe that the knife must've scratched him," I expressed.

"Right. That makes sense," Thalia said hesitantly. Once again, I couldn't help but feel like she was hiding something. However, Thalia never kept secrets from me, so I didn't want to doubt her (especially about a boy).

Thali was my best friend, so I trusted her instincts.

We were walking to homeroom, and I began cramming for the pop quiz. I hate teachers who give pop quizzes. Not everyone has the time to prepare every day.

I was so focused on my textbook that I bumped into Hazel. I got a faceful of her poofy brown hair, which cushioned my collision with her.

"Ugh, I'm so scared, Annabeth. I'm gonna fail this class," Hazel shuddered.

"Yeah, I'll join you in that endeavor."

"Annabeth, have I ever told you that I hate people who say they're going to fail a test even though they're the smartest in the room?" Hazel responded rhetorically. When Hazel was panicking, her sassy side comes out.

Suddenly, a shout interrupted our conversation.

Piper was running to us with Calypso following behind her quietly. "Thank goodness I ran into you guys. I want everyone to meet Calypso. Annabeth, you already met."

Hazel and Thalia politely greeted Calypso before silence took over. It was awkward, to say the least. Not to mention that everyone was stressed out this morning.

Jason and Leo were also in our homeroom.

Jason greeted his girlfriend with a kiss before extending a warm welcome to Calypso. Calypso shook his hand before Leo decided to make a bold entrance.

"Hello, my name's Leo Extreme Hot-Stuff. I'm so hot that I set random things on fire," Leo cooed. "And, I happen to be very single at the moment."

I bit my lip to stop my smile. Calypso had a bewildered expression on her face as she shook Leo's hand. She quickly pulled back since she was still shocked by Leo's outwardness.

"Don't mind Leo. He's like this with everyone," Jason explained.

"I'm only like that with a pretty girl," Leo replied with a laugh.

Surprisingly, Calypso blushed, which caught us all off-guard. Even Leo was surprised that his cheesy compliment had an effect.

"I don't mind a clown," Calypso responded slyly.

Leo gaped as we all laughed. "I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult. Regardless, thank you for blushing. I like it when you blush." Leo scratched his arms nervously.

I smiled at their exchange. I could see the glint of attraction in Leo's eyes as he continued to joke with everyone in our group. Calypso was more shocked by Leo than anything else.

Leo wasn't the most attractive one in our group, but he was the funniest. He was definetly not Calypso's type, especially considering that she dated people like Percy. I can say with confidence that Calypso still likes Percy.

The thought sent a burning sensation to my stomach. My smile faded as I analyzed Calypso. She was a pretty girl, which didn't help me one bit.

She kept hugging Percy that night. Ugh.

I didn't say anything because she was feeling vulnerable. Besides, Percy and I were just friends, so it shouldn't matter. Yet, it did matter for some reason.

Thalia gently nudged me back to reality.

"Annie, stop glaring. People are gonna notice," Thalia advised. "What's your problem with Calypso?"

"Nothing, Thals. Absolutely nothing," I gritted.

"All right, everyone, time to go to hell: Ms. Dodds' math class," Piper announced. We all groaned before filing into the classroom.

***

"Thank you all for welcoming me into your group. You guys are so kind and supportive, and I appreciate obtaining friends like you," Calypso expressed kindly. I realized that she was very respectful and generous.

Great. Percy's ex-girlfriend is a gorgeous saint. Terrific.

"Did you meet everyone in the group?" Rachel asked. "Not everyone has arrived at the lunch table."

"But, the table is already full. Who else is left?" Calypso asked in shock.

Honestly, she wasn't wrong. Ever since our friends merged, our table was buzzing with activity. We had so many diverse characters at our table, and I loved it.

"Actually, we're only missing Grover and Percy," Travis responded.

"Yeah, I wouldn't bother with them," Rachel expressed. I shook my head in disapproval. Several others rolled their eyes. "Seriously, Calypso, I'd recommend that you stay away from Percy because he's such a jerk, and Grover is knowingly his best friend."

"Don't you dare talk about my boyfriend," Juniper snapped in frustration. However, she was so nice that her threat came out soft and innocent.

"Percy is the reason that I'm alive right now. Respectfully, I think that you're wrong, Rachel." Calypso admitted with conviction.

The conversation died after that. Calypso got acquainted with everyone else. Our group accepted Calypso partly due to Piper and partly due to Percy. He texted everyone saying that Calypso's nice and that befriending her was fine from his end.

Everyone knew that Calypso and Percy had a history.

Of course, everyone also knew that their relationship was over.

Finally, Grover and Percy arrived. Grover was patting Percy's shoulder as they approached. His gaze avoided mine and locked onto Calypso's. I felt a little bit dejected.

My fist clenched around my fork as I watched Calypso. A nasty part of me imagined a fork in her eye. Ugh, what's wrong with me?

"Hi, Percy, thanks for everything," she acknowledged.

Percy nodded while sitting next to Jason and Grover. He was far enough away that I couldn't have a private conversation with him. The conversations died as everyone turned towards Percy and Calypso. They were still looking at each other.

Percy's gaze simply looked tired, but Calypso was yearning. Anyone could see that she still had feelings for Percy.

Finally, Percy sighed. "Yes, everyone, Calypso and I used to date. It's been a few years though, so I'm fine. She's out of danger, and there aren't any romantic feelings left."

His response was short and straightforward. You could see the hurt in Calypso's eyes as she nodded towards everyone. Percy was answering the question that she was asking with her eyes and heart. Percy had no intention of getting back with Calypso.

After a few minutes, Calypso recovered and smiled.

"So, what is this proposal that the whole school is talking about?" she asked. I groaned while stroking my forehead.

"Percy and Annabeth made a deal. Percy can't have sex for three months. If he loses, he apologizes to everyone. If he wins, he and Annabeth get to--"

Connor faltered off while looking at me with fearful eyes. Calypso seemed very surprised that Percy was the playboy of Goode high. Clearly, his whole escapade (sexscapade) started after he moved here.

Percy sighed while resting his head on Grover's shoulder. He was off today. He could barely keep his eyes open, and his body was tense.

"Dude, did you not sleep or something?" Leo asked.

"I'm just really tired, guys. It was an eventful weekend, and I made the regretful mistake of drinking coffee yesterday. As such, I couldn't sleep last night."

"Ooh, what coffee? I'm always looking for a legal way to get high," Thalia asked.

She easily steered the conversation away from Percy and towards legal drugs. Will Solace was the expert in this department; he knew disturbingly a lot about over-the-counter pills.

However, my attention remained on Percy.

He was avoiding my gaze, but I caught him peeking a few times. Exactly 33 days left till the end of the proposal. He made it two months. In those two months, so much has changed.

Percy was getting too close for comfort.

Too close to me and too close to winning this proposal.

***

By the time I got home, my dad was in a virtual meeting. I couldn't even say hi because my dad gestured that he was busy. Greetings are overrated anyway. It's not like we haven't talked to each other in weeks. Oh, wait.

The boys were playing quietly in their rooms.

It was sad. Our dad came home after five weeks, yet I still couldn't have a good conversation with him. He worked enough without taking home phone calls.

"Hey boys, are you excited that dad's home?" I asked.

"I'm so excited to show him my mythomagic cards." "And, I can't wait to play video games with him. We're gonna have so much fun this weekend." "Yeah, I'm happy."

Matthew and Bobby talked over each other as I listened. They were so excited and optimistic. I knew that they deserved to maximize their time with Dad even if that meant that I didn't spend much time with him.

It was fine though. That's what I was telling myself.

I was an hour into my homework when dad knocked on my door. He stood in the doorway and took everything in.

"Hi, Dad, how have you been?" I asked as I embraced him.

"I've been fantastic. We are excavating a Guatemalan site in Central America, and we are on the verge of finding some major Mayan artifacts. It's very exciting."

"Yeah, that's great," I said with fake enthusiasm.

"So, Annabeth, what have I missed? I want to know everything about my daughter and get some pictures before returning to the site on Thursday-"

"Wait, you're not staying for Christmas break?" I asked.

"No, unfortunately, the excavation is very time-sensitive. Regardless, we can catch up right now. Tell me what's been happening-"

"DAD. DAD."

Matthew and Bobby rushed into the room and started pulling on each of my father's hands. They were pulling our Dad towards the door; clearly, they wanted to play video games and stuff with him. Their latest obsession was Fortnite.

Dad paused at the doorway and looked at me. I knew that he cared about me, but he was so busy. He didn't realize that work, friends, and family should be balanced. Sadness weighed on my chest heavily, but I cleared my head.

I used the same response and fake smile that I always use with my father.

"It's fine, Dad. The boys are excited. Go ahead."