Crush Over Best Friend

"The opposite of b, plus or minus the square root of b-squared minus four- a- c, over two-a equals x," Annabeth explained to Percy as he tried copying what she said but failed. He abruptly shut his math book and groaned in frustration.

"This is so confusing!" Percy exclaimed. Annabeth sighed and also closed her math book to face her best friend.

"C'mon, Perce. It will be really simple if you memorize this formula. You can solve any polynomial if you just remember it," she said to him while patting him on the back. Annabeth spent an hour trying to explain how the quadratic formula worked but Percy just couldn't understand with all the complicated numbers, text, and symbols. He would always complain that alphabets shouldn't be in math or formulas shouldn't even be that long. But all Annabeth would do is push him and repeat the same thing over and over again. Annabeth couldn't blame Percy for his frustration because she knew he had dyslexia just like her. It made reading harder than anything but Annabeth learned to control it more than Percy.

"Food is ready, kids!" Percy's mom walked into the living room, interrupting the study session and they were having. Percy's eyes lit up with excitement and relief, mostly because he wanted to get away from the text books. Annabeth, too, was relieved because she didn't have to deal with Percy's continuous complaining. Both of them ran into the kitchen only to be introduced to blue pancakes and cookies. Percy's favorite. Both Annabeth and Percy devoured the snacks in less than ten minutes, leaving only crumbs on the plate.

"Annabeth, your father called. He wants you back home in an hour," said Percy's mom.

"Okay, thank you Mrs. Jackson," Annabeth smiled as she started packing her books into her school bag.

Percy came running into the living room with a basketball tucked under his arm. "You want to go play some ball before you go?" he asked Annabeth. Annabeth smirked.

"Sure. But don't whine when you lose again." She taunted Percy while he just glared at her playfully.

"Is that a challenge?" Percy shot back.

"Oh, you bet it is, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, earning another glare from Percy.

"Don't call me that, Wise Girl." Percy said. Although his cheeks warmed up whenever she called him that. Annabeth laughed, which made Percy smile.

"I really don't recall that an insult." Annabeth grinned and stripped the ball from Percy's arm when she ran for the door and out the apartment. Both of them were having fun on the basketball court. Percy would groan every time Annabeth made a shot into the basket and she would laugh. After a few minutes, they on the park bench near the basketball court. They talked and laugh like friends would. But sometimes Percy would just stop and look at Annabeth's grey eyes. Her eyes always amazed him. Percy could tell whatever Annabeth was feeling when he looked at her eyes. When she was happy, they would shine bright. When she was mad or sad, it looked like her eyes were clouded with dark storm clouds. Right now, there were bright and shined in the sunlight. Annabeth caught Percy staring and he instantly looked away in embarrassment. She just laughed and they continued to talk.

They were soon interrupted when Percy saw Luke coming their way. Great, Percy thought. Luke was an eighth grader, a year older than Annabeth and Percy. He had short, sand-bleached hair and was considered handsome to all the girls in the middle school. Percy turned away once Luke reached them.

"Hey, Annbeth." Luke said, smiling. Percy noticed Annabeth hesitate a bit and blush. Annabeth developed a little crush towards Luke ever since fourth grade. Percy knows that because they tell each other everything. Well at least Annabeth tell him everything. Percy hasn't told her what Luke does in school and how he's a complete jerk. He didn't ruin his friendship with Annabeth but he still didn't like the fact that Annabeth likes Luke.

"H-hey, Luke," she responded. Percy just rolled his eyes, which Luke saw in the corner of his eyes and it made him grin.

"What you guys doing?" Luke asked even though he didn't care. He just wanted to get on Percy's nerve, which it did.

Annabeth was about to speak but Percy answered for her. "We were just playing basketball and having a good time, until now." Percy sounded harsh at the last part and he earned glares from both Annabeth and Luke. But Luke decided to let it go.

"Mind if I join?" Luke asked with his attention on Annabeth only. Annabeth looked down, blushing.

"I, uh, was about to leave actually. My father wants me back home," Annabeth said while getting up to leave.

Luke grinned down at her. "I can walk you home if you like."

Annabeth looked up at him gratefully. "That'll be great." Then she turned to Percy was practically being invisible the whole time. "Want to come, Perce?" Although, she was secretly hoping for him to say no.

Percy felt hope until he took a glance at Luke who was giving him a 'I will get you tomorrow if you come' look. Percy lost all his pride there and rejected the offer. "Uh, I can't. My mom is probably waiting for me at home." He lied.

Annabeth smiled gratefully at Percy and he couldn't help but smile back. "Oh, all right." She said. Luke and Annabeth started to walk together to her house and she looked back to wave to Percy. There was a slight ache in his heart but he pulled himself together to wave back. You see, Percy kind of likes Annabeth – more than a friend. Which is understandable. She was a pretty 12-year old. She had blonde curls like a princess and beautiful grey eyes. She looked pretty without makeup, which was another thing Percy liked about Annabeth. She never bothered to wear makeup. A lot of boys in school like Annabeth but never bothered to flirt with her. Annabeth was a tough girl in a innocent body. She could put any boy on the floor if she wanted to. So boys really didn't want to risk their dignity.

Percy continued to walk towards the apartment, thinking about Annabeth. Once he opened the door to his room, he plopped onto the bed and sighed in exhaustion. He drifted off into a sleep, thinking about his best friend, Annabeth.

Percy dragged himself out of bed the next morning. He took a glance at his alarm clock and saw that school started in half an hour. Percy immediately ran to the bathroom, rinsed his face, and brushed his teeth but didn't bother to brush his hair.

"Percy! Hurry up! We're running late!" He heard his mom yell from the living room. He took that note and quickly changed into a pair of shorts, a royal blue shirt, and a white jacket. He groaned in frustration as he tried to zip up his jacket but the zipper couldn't budge halfway. He was too much in a rush and left it that way. Percy quickly grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder forgetting to check if he had everything for school. He ran down and out of the apartment and into the parking lot. Percy's mom was also in a rush as she tried fixing her hair and putting on eyeliner using the review mirror to look at herself. Once Percy entered the passenger seat, his mom started the engine and drove off.

Fortunately, they only lived a few blocks away from his school so it only took a few minutes to get there. Arriving at the drop-off section, Percy's mom gave a quick kiss on his cheek and Percy groaned of embarrassment but luckily, everyone was already in class.

"Have a good day, Percy!" Sally yelled as she watched her son run into the school's entrance doors. Percy ran to his homeroom which was located at the west end of the school building. By the time he got to his class, he was already huffing and puffing. The class snickered when they saw Percy enter.

"And why are you late, Mr. Jackson?" asked Ms. Tune. Ms. Tune was Percy's advisory teacher and the English teacher for the seventh grade. She was a tall, skinny, and old lady. At 5'10", she towered her students, making her seem intimidating. Though, she slouched a bit when she stood up so it wasn't that scary. Her black hair hung right below her jaw line and she had a grey streak of hair hung on the left side of her head. Students never bothered to ask why she made her hair like that but it was kind of distracting. She wore square glasses and her famous flower printed long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Ms. Tune was considered mean and strict in the beginning of the year but her students soon grew on to her and realized that she was a pretty cool teacher. The only time she would be mean is when someone was acting up or late to class.

Percy gulped nervously knowing that Ms. Tune hated when kids were late and didn't have a note. "I, uh, woke up late." The whole class burst into fits of laughter.

"Well, Percy. Looks like you'll be getting home late too. One hour of detention after school." Ms. Tune said and the class continued laughing. She gestured for Percy to sit at the empty desk behind the class and so he did.

Percy sighed once he saw that he was sitting next to Grover. Other than Annabeth, Grover was Percy's best friend too. He was like a brother actually. Grover was a skinny kid with brown curly hair and a light brown tan. Grover had crutches because he was in a car accident when he was small and it cost him the use of his legs. People around school would use that against him and call him crippled or handicap but Grover got numb to the name calling and ignored it. He always wore a reggae-colored beanie and participated in any events involving environmental issues. That's one thing Percy liked about Grover. The other thing is that Grover was the one to get Percy out of trouble or try to convince him to change his mind whenever Percy wanted to do something mischievous. Grover was always there for Percy no matter what and vice versa.

"Sup, G-man," Percy greeted using Grover's nickname.

"Hey, Perce," Grover replied smiling. The rest of the period was study hall and Percy just rested his head on his table, staring at the clock. Once the bell rung signaling the end of class, Percy's head shot up. Him and Grover continued walking in the halls of school and bumped into another person.

"Hey, Nico," both Grover and Percy greeted the short boy. Nico Di Angelo was one of those shy, hidden in the shadows of the school kind of kid. He has dark curly hair that covered his eyes sometimes and pure black eyes. He had pale skin and always wore black clothes. Kids in school considered him an emo kid but truth was he wasn't emo. He liked to listen to heavy metal, though. But other than that, he was just a shy kid that hung his head down in school. Until he met Grover and Percy, he wasn't afraid to express his true self around them.

"Hey guys!" Nico said excitedly. Luckily, the three of them had the same classes together except elective. Grover had Spanish language, Nico had band, and Percy had Greek class. Percy took a liking into Greek mythology and for some reason; he could understand the language and read Greek without troubles.

The three friends continued their way to their first class, P.E. Percy mentally sighed because he knew that he was in the same period with Luke. Annabeth was also in the same P.E. period but they don't actually have the same classes together because boys and girls are separate. While they were walking to P.E., Percy noticed that Annabeth and Luke were walking together. Percy glared at Luke as he walked a little too close to Annabeth.

Percy heard Grover laugh.

"Is someone jealous?" Grover teased. Nico laughed too.

"What are you talking about?" Percy snorted.

"C'mon, Perce. You obviously like her." Nico said.

"No, I don't," Percy lied through gritted teeth.

"Don't lie, Percy. Just ask her out already!" Grover said.

"Like Percy has the guts to do that!" Nico joked. Percy just punched his two friends in the arm playfully.

"Oh yeah? Says the one who stares at Thalia all day," then Percy turned to Grover, "and the one who won't even talk to Juniper." That got Grover and Nico to shut up and Percy just smirked. Nico has a crush on this girl named Thalia Grace but she was an eighth grader so he didn't even bother to talk to her. Grover liked a girl named Juniper who was the same age as him. They met at a Global Warming meeting and he liked her since the first gecko. They continued their way to P.E. and after the period was over, they went to go shower in the locker rooms. The three boys hated showering after P.E. because that's when the eighth grade boys would be in the locker rooms too. So Nico and Grover decided to head to the next class and leave Percy to shower alone.

When Percy was changing back into his regular clothes, his face met the locker in front of him. Percy grunted and felt a hand wrapped around his neck.

"I need some money," he heard a familiar voice demand.

"Leave me alone, Luke." Percy said as he turned around to face the pretty boy that all the girls like.

"Or what? Is the freak going to run to his little girlfriend, Annabeth?" Luke teased.

"No. And she's not my girlfriend!" Percy exclaimed.

Luke smirked. "Good, because she'll be mine." Percy felt his anger boil up inside him but he couldn't do anything because Luke was like a beast to him. Luke looked down to the scrawny little kid with shaggy black hair and sea-green eyes. "Give me your money, freak." He demanded in a low voice.

"I don't have money, Luke." Percy said through gritted teeth. Luke examined Percy up and down.

"That's a shame," and then Luke's knees met Percy's stomach. Percy yelled in pain and clutched his stomach with his arms. Luke tossed Percy to the floor and rummaged through his bag to look for money. Luke grinned as he found Percy's wallet with a 20-dollar bill in it. He gave Percy a pat on the head. "Thanks, kiddo." He said while putting the money in his pocket and continued his way out of the locker room. Percy stayed on the locker room floor, in pain.

During recess, Percy walked through the hallways of school ignoring the looks of other students. Percy saw Luke outside with his friends, talking and laughing. He also noticed that Annabeth was by his side, laughing as well. See, Annabeth hung out with a lot of eighth graders at school. Percy thought she didn't really hang out with him because he was kind of the underdog in school. That was part of Annabeth's reason but Annabeth hung out with them only because she liked Luke. Percy continued to walk towards Luke and yelled his name when he was close enough.

"Luke!" Percy yelled out. Luke turned around and his face came in contact with Percy's fist. Annabeth gasped in surprise and his friends caught Luke before he could meet the ground. "Give me back my money, Luke." Percy demanded.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Percy?" Annabeth yelled at Percy.

"He took my money. I just want it back." Percy said holding out his hand.

Luke pouted but Percy knew it was all an act. Once Luke stood up, he shoved Percy back. Annabeth didn't even bother to help Percy. Percy looked at her but she refused to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

"My money. Give it back." Percy demanded and pointed to Luke's pocket.

"Luke, just give him his money back." Annabeth pleaded. Luke just looked at her.

"I didn't take anything, I promise." Luke said in a sincere voice. It didn't convince Percy but it did convince Annabeth.

"Oh really? Check your pockets then." Percy said.

Luke reached into his pockets and pulled it out. Nothing fell out and he looked up at Percy. "I told you." Percy looked at Luke like he was crazy. He could've sworn he saw Luke put the money in his pocket.

"I swear he-" Percy started but Annabeth interrupted.

"Just go, Percy." She said simply and avoided eye contact.

"He took my money!" Percy yelled again, shocked that Annabeth was defending Luke.

"He doesn't have it!" Annabeth yelled back. Percy saw that Luke was watching with a grin on his face and amusement filled his eyes. Percy took a glance at Annabeth and saw that her eyes were clouded with darkness. She was mad, he thought. Percy was too angry to argue anymore so he just stepped away like a coward and walked to his next class. Annabeth felt bad for snapping at him like that but mad that he accused Luke for doing such thing.

The rest of the day was spent ignoring each other. Even if Greek class, Percy sat on the opposite end of Annabeth. He was too ashamed and angry to sit by her, which only made Annabeth hurt a little. Percy noticed but he was still mad that she backed up Luke earlier. It hurt to see Annabeth hurt but he ignored it.

At the end of the school day, Nico, Grover, and Percy said their farewells to each other. Percy sat by a nearby tree and waited for his mom to come pick him up. While waiting, he felt some one sit by him.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said while nudging him on the shoulder.

Percy avoided eye contact with her because he knew that once he saw her eyes, he would forget what she did to her. But Percy didn't want her to feel that he was mad at her so he gave her a slight nod to acknowledge her presence.

Annabeth sighed. "Look, about Luke – " Percy didn't feel like talking about this right now.

"Forget about it." Percy said. Annabeth looked at him with concern.

"I can't forget about it if you won't apologize for what you've done." Annabeth said.

"I'm not sorry for what I did. He deserved it." Percy said in monotone. Annabeth was getting mad at Percy arrogance.

"Stop being so immature, Percy! Just grow up!" Annabeth snapped. "He didn't steal your stupid money. Get over it!"

Percy, not wanting to even argue with his best friend, lost it. "I don't get why you're defending him! He's a jerk!" He snapped too.

Annabeth couldn't accept that fact because Luke always acts innocent around her. "Percy, he's not a jerk." She said calming herself.

Percy sighed and knew that she wouldn't believe him. He gave up on the conversation. "You believe what you want to believe, Annabeth. I'm just stating the truth." But before Annabeth could protest, Percy got up and started to walk home. It was a long walk, but he couldn't handle fighting with Annabeth. Annabeth watched him as he walked across the street, not knowing that when he got home, he would receive terrible news from his mother.

Well, that's this chapter. I got so bored today and decided to do another story. If you guys didn't read my other one, go to my profile and it's called Life After War: Curse. So review what you think about this chapter. Favorite, subscribe, or whatever tickles your pickle!

-Breana