The Tension

Annabeth POV

Stupid teenage hormones. I blamed them for the dream I had last night. It was about Percy. Get your mind out of the gutter; it wasn't like that. The dream was PG.

Percy and I were walking on the beach holding hands. We looked older, and we were looking after two kids who were playing in the water. The girl had dark hair and gray eyes while the little boy with blonde hair was splashing his sister.

"He takes after you, Seaweed Brain," I commented.

"Rather than just one Percy, you get to have two. That's a win-win," he said slyly. Then, Percy took off towards the kids.

The siblings turned and swam towards their father with open arms. Percy scooped them out of the water and spun them. In the process, he lost his balance, and they all splashed into the sea with loud laughs.

I smiled brightly before th8inking about how lucky I am.

That's when the dream ended. I woke up in a cold sweat and a loud gasp. I couldn't believe that I dreamt that. It was so surreal. I frantically looked at the clock. There was no point sleeping again because it was close to wake-up time anyway.

it was the first day back from Winter Break. While I had one of the best breaks of my life, I was ready to get back to learning new things at school.

Besides, I needed a distraction from my thoughts about Percy.

There were only three weeks left before our proposal ended. As far as I knew, Percy was still going strong. Furthermore, I had such conflicted feelings about him now. I knew that he was an amazing and caring guy, but was he good enough for me?

I didn't think so. I didn't want to get with him due to a contract.

I sighed before jumping out of bed. I shook my head before going to the shower. The warm water washed over my cool skin, and I washed my hair as well. A lemony scent permeated from my shampoo.

Thalia was honking loudly before I was done with breakfast. Gosh, my best friend had no patience, especially in the mornings.

"Stop honking, Thalia, I'm here. You're going to wake up the entire neighborhood," I hissed while rushing into her black Audi. Thalia simply laughed while I greeted Jason in the backseat. It was a surprise to see him hear.

"We don't have football practice this week, so I decided to drive with Thalia. I wouldn't have if I'd known that she was such an impatient driver," Jason commented.

"How is football season going?"

"Goode High is doing very well. However, we still have a few more games before the tournament roster is finalized."

"Will Goode High win the championship? I know that Goode was a semifinalist last year," I asked. I was curious. While I wasn't a fan of football, I did have some school spirit.

"We're looking very strong," Jason said with a proud smile.

Jason wasn't the quarterback, but he was one of the star players. I believed that Silena's boyfriend, Charlie, was the quarterback. Jason was a wide receiver and a very good one at that. They had a strong rapport with the team.

The rest of the car ride was casual. We talked about random topics. Jason and I were more similar in terms of interest. We talked about school and teachers much to Thalia's annoyance.

I couldn't tell Thalia about my dream because of Jason's presence. Ever since Percy helped with getting my dad back, I couldn't stop thinking about him. It was very weird.

We arrived at Goode High to find Leo and Calypso near Leo's junk car. Despite having enough money, he insisted on driving an almost broken car. According to him, he loved the puzzle of fixing the near-broken car.

"I still can't believe that they're together. They're so different," Thalia commented.

Her eyes widened as Calypso leaned in and kissed Leo's lips.

Leo practically froze as Calypso made out with him. At the end of the day, Leo was still an awkward elf around girls.

I ushered Jason and Thalia into the school. It was awkward to just watch Calypso and Leo making out in the parking lot. At least, they were happy. It was nice of Percy to give a pass on the bro-code or whatever. The bro-code was a lot simpler than the girl-code, yet it was probably more effective in keeping friendships intact.

"Hey, Wise Girl," Percy greeted while walking next to me.

"Percy," I acknowledged rather awkwardly. The dream flashed in my mind again as I quickened my pace. Of course, he didn't understand the cue that I wanted to get away from him.

"Is everything all right?" he asked with concern.

"Yup, perfectly fine. I'm as happy as a daisy," I responded. I face-palmed internally. Oh my god, I was so stupid.

Who says that? Happy as a daisy. WTF.

"You sure because you're face is bright red, and you're not looking at me."

"Seriously, what is going on here?" Thalia asked. "I could cut the tension with a knife. I don't get it." She must've noticed my silent glare. "Anyway, Jason was looking for you, Percy. I think that he wants to talk about some plans this week."

"All right, I'll go find Jason." Percy gave me a final once-over before walking off.

It was only after he left that I could breathe. Gods, that was so awkward. What was wrong with me today?

Thalia roughly pulled me into an empty classroom. I groaned while taking a seat on a desk while she analyzed my behavior. The tension in the air was palpable.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" she snapped.

"I don't know," I stammered. "I had a crazy dream about him, and I can't stop thinking about it. Was I as awkward as I felt?"

"No, you were way worse. I've never seen you so messed up," Thalia expressed. "Hold up, did you say that you had a freaky dream about him?

Thalia's eyebrows raised as (no doubt) dirty thoughts flooded her mind. Considering she was asexual, she certainly had a vivid imagination about sex. My face reddened as I quickly shook my head at her.

"Ew, Thalia, NO. It wasn't a naughty dream. It was normal yet crazy at the same. Percy and I were at a beach in the future with two little kids," I explained.

Thalia simply blinked before gasping a "Woah." She didn't do or say anything to make me feel better. She wasn't a fan of me messing around with Percy.

Needless to say, I remained awkward for the rest of the day. It took a few days for the dream to evaporate to the back of my mind. By then, I was interacting with Percy just fine. I knew how to compartmentalize and push my anxiety aside.

Besides, Percy seemed distracted as the week continued.

While everyone was disappointed about school starting again, Percy was depressed about something else. Something way worse.

That's when I realized that I didn't know anything about Percy's personal life. He practically knew everything about me while I knew nothing. I didn't know his parents or where he lived specifically or what his childhood was like.

I knew nothing about him, which only piqued my curiosity.

I hate not knowing things.

***

"Seaweed Brain, you have ice cream all over your face," I laughed. I reached forward and wiped his cheeks with a napkin. He was such a slob sometimes.

"Mind your business," he snapped with a playful chuckle. He purposefully smashed his mouth onto the vanilla ice cream cone. Everyone burst out laughing when the scoop slid off the cone and fell onto his pants.

He pouted like a little kid. His baby-seal face was adorable.

The gang had come out to Khione's Ice Cream shop on Friday. The owner named the store after his daughter. I don't like Khione. She is a spoiled brat who fortunately doesn't go to our school.

I also don't like her because Piper doesn't like her.

They had a falling out a few months ago about Jason. Kionne tried to flirt with Jason in front of Piper. Who does that?

"This place is very pretty. It reminds me of Elsa's ice castle in Frozen," Hazel commented. She wasn't wrong. The walls were light blue, and glass ornaments hung from the ceiling and walls. The interior was cool and matched the visage of an ice cream parlor.

"Monster coming from the west side," Leo warned.

As if on cue, Khione approached our rather large table. Some people were even standing because there weren't enough seats at our booth. Khione had dark that flowed to her waist. She stopped in front of Percy, who was still busy eating his cotton-candy ice cream. Cotton candy was the only ice cream flavor that had some sort of blue color.

"Aw, poor baby, let me clean your face," Kionne slurred.

She grabbed a napkin and leaned into Percy. Percy froze as Khione stroked his jaw with her hand. Then, Percy staggered away from Khione. He seemed shocked more than anything. He used his hand to wipe his mouth.

I smirked at Kionne's lost expression. She wasn't used to getting rejected.

"Uh, I can clean my own face," Percy replied.

"I know that you can. I big, strong man like you can do anything. However, I thought that you'd appreciate it if I do it for you."

"Get lost, Khione. He's off-limits. Of course, that's a phrase that you don't understand," Piper scolded.

Khione simply rolled her eyes before wrapping her hands around Percy's neck. For a second, Percy's eyes closed. My eyes narrowed at his facial expression, but he quickly recovered. Without hesitation, Percy pushed her away.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested."

"Really? You looked fairly satisfied," Kionne commented.

She tried to touch him again, but Percy blocked her touch with his ice cream cone. Everyone was watching their interaction. Technically, if Percy went off with Khione, it would help me with this proposal. However, a part of me hated the notion of him with another girl.

"Maybe I looked satisfied, but external looks can be deceiving. I have no intention of getting with you," Percy said firmly. His quotation was 100% accurate. I wondered what was hiding under his playboy persona.

"Why don't you give in to relief?" Khione asked.

Percy hesitated. My breath hitched as I watched him. His hand instinctually rubbed his other hand. It was a bad habit that I've seen before. He rubbed random parts of his body often (usually his arms or abdomen).

I don't understand this tick of his. It was like his arms or abdomen would randomly bother him, and he rubbed them for relief. I've noticed it more than once this week.

"I don't want relief. Not from you," he expressed.

Khione glared at him in response. However, considering our entire gang was glaring back at her, she had no choice but to back off.

I smiled as Percy turned back to us. Every time he rejects someone's advance, I feel giddy.

Girls approaching Percy wasn't a strange occurrence. When you look as good as he is, it was no surprise for girls to flirt.

I mean, Percy looks delicious. Like cotton candy ice cream.

OH MY GOD. ANNABETH, I scolded myself. The strange tension from earlier in the week settled in my mind and body again.