A/N: Hi guys! This will be my first story here in so please be kind to me. Please review! I accept anything, suggestions, recommendations, criticisms.
"Nikki!"
I turned to see Lizzie, Harry, and Jake smiling at me. "Guys! G'morning!"
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "We've been calling you for like, ten times already. What the hell are you spacing out for?"
Sam jumped up and down excitedly, "Oh, I know! You're thinking about how you're gonna make some dumb, or subtle move on your crush, right?"
I sighed. "No, Sam. Today, I will go for straight and direct."
"Whoa!" "No way!" "Really?" "Oh, finally!" are their responses.
Let me explain. My crush is the only one missing in the current group of people in front of me, Percy Jackson. He is... let's say, not so bright when it comes to girls. I've been making a move on him every damn day for a year already. Well, my moves were the opposite of the moves of a slut, which consists of pouting their red lips, swaying hips, showing off their boobs (no matter what size they are). My moves are a little brush of hands here, gentle slaps there, joking about liking him (sooo not a joke). And he just shrugs/laughs/rejects them all off. It's kind of insulting that he didn't even realize my feelings for him. So I decided to do it straight and direct today.
I will ask him out.
"Asking someone out on the last day of the school year can be sooo cool and uncool at the same time." Jake said, grinning.
"Why's that?"
"Well, if you'll get together, that means you've liked each other for quite a long time. If not, no other boys to turn to. School's over. Bye bye boys." Jake made an imitation of a girl's voice for his last sentence.
I smirked, "What, you think boys can only be found at school? The world is wide, buddy!"
Jake rolled his eyes, "So wide you can easily overlook past a few boys."
I crossed my arms. "There are just some boys that are okay to overlook and there are boys who should not be overlooked. If every boy is so dazzling they should not be overlooked, then I must observe every guy I come across to."
"Whatever, Nikki." And we all laughed, knowing that I won the argument.
Suddenly, Percy arrived, looking handsome as ever. His wind-swept hair, his tanned muscles, and his eyes. Oh, his eyes. They are the most perfect shade of green.
"Hi, Percy!" We all greeted him.
"Hey!" He was grinning widely.
Harry and Jake gave him a high-five. Noticing his good mood, the latter asked him, "So, why do you look so happy this early in the morning?"
"You remember my girlfriend Annabeth? The one you are all convinced wasn't real?"
We nodded and said "Yeah." "Uh-huh." "So what?" (If you're wondering, the one who said 'So what?' was me. *wink*)
He grinned wider, showing all his teeth. (It may sound creepy, but it looked dazzling on his face.) "She's coming to get me after school!" He said excitedly.
"Oooooh!" Sam squealed. "I can't wait to meet her!" I shot her a glare, just a quick one, so Percy wouldn't notice. Apparently, she didn't notice it either.
"Really? You sure you didn't hire someone to act as your girlfriend, just to make us believe she's real?" Harry teased.
"She's real and she'll make you believe she's my girlfriend. I know it doesn't sound convincing from me, but if she talks, man, there's no room for argument." Percy said, his chest swelling with pride, as usual when he talks about Annabeth.
The bell rang and we separated ways, going to different rooms. The guys whispered to me "Good luck confessing, Nik." And I scowled at them.
The girls and I have the same first period. I know, I know. The last day and there's still class? Yeah, but it's mostly the teachers giving reminders, goodbye speeches, etc, etc.
"So, are you still planning on asking him out?" Sam asked me.
"Nikki, his girlfriend might be real." Lizzie told me, her tone serious.
I groaned. "Liz, don't think such negative things."
Her eyebrow shot up. "It's a possibility."
"That's exactly why you shouldn't think about it!"
"So, you're going to go through your plan?"
I nodded. "Yup."
"What if he rejects you? You know, friendzoned?" Sam asked innocently.
I glared at her. "Are you really my bestfriend? 'Cause as far as I know, bestfriends are supposed to support each other."
"Oh, we support you, whether you get rejected or not." Lizzie grinned at me.
"She's correct!" Sam giggled.
I shook my head, but I can't help by grin as well. I don't know why the hell these two were my bestfriends.
Now, let me tell you that I have thought of those things. Percy always talked about his Wise Girl, as he calls Annabeth, whenever there's an opening. Though, his description of her was a bit too... perfect, I say. Well, the way I described him earlier, I suppose he sounds too perfect, though he really is. So it really won't surprise me if he does have a girlfriend, but it will make me reeeaaally sad. And friendzone? Of course, he could just look at me as his friend.
I shook my head. It's Lizzie's fault I'm thinking about this! It's so depressing that the one you like doesn't like you back, so just like I said earlier to her, don't think about the possibilities.
At lunch, we talk normally, like we do every day. Percy's so excited that his eyes lit up whenever we ask something about his grilfriend, whether we are teasing him or just curious. We tried matching his excitement. But Lizzie, Sam, Jake and Harry give me pitying glances every now and then. I ignored them.
And then, the bell rang, signaling that it is officially the end of the class and the start of the summer break.
I quickly got my things from my locker, and then went to the bathroom and checked my appearance, Lizzie and Sam lending me some of their cosmetics, since I'm so silly I forgot mine at home.
I decided to ask him out before his "Annabeth," real or fake, take him away. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to speak alone with him.
The six of us came out from the school, teasing one another, making jokes here and there, the boys creating a little drama scene that we won't see each other again, causing us girls to roll our eyes, and slap them lightly. And then a girl's voice rang clearly in the air.
"Hey you! Seaweed brain!"
We all stopped. Percy told us earlier that his girlfriend may call him Seaweed brain, which was what she nicknamed him.
Then the voice shouted again. "Kelp head! Percy Jackson!"
Percy turned and a smile broke in his handsome face. "Thalia!"
We all looked at the girl who tackle-hugged him. She was average height, her hair short and spiky, eyeliner in her eyes, wearing skull earrings. She's definitely punk, but a silver headdress, a circlet to be specific, and silver jacket, ruined her punk style.
"Who's this?" I demanded, "I thought your girlfriend's name was Annabeth and she's blonde!"
They broke they hug, the girl ruffling Percy's hair. I felt a twinge of annoyance. Percy doesn't let us ruffle his hair. He said it makes him feel like a child.
"I'm Thalia." She introduced herself, grinning wickedly at us. "Percy's cousin."
We exchanged hi's and hello's. Percy looked at her, "I haven't seen you in a year! Where have you been?"
"Oh, you know the usual. Dangerous places. Almost gone to the Underworld. The Hunters are currently in the area so we decided to stop by the camp. I went with Annabeth to fetch you from school." She grinned when Percy perked up at the name "Annabeth."
"Where is she?" he asked, his eyes already scanning the area.
"There." We all looked at where she pointed.
A girl with honey-blonde hair in a ponytail was walking casually towards us. She was wearing simple clothes, a knitted cream sweater, skinny denim pants and converse. A streak of black ran in my range of vision. Percy. He ran to her and lifted her up, twirling and smiling and laughing.
When he finally set her down, they shared a kiss (it broke my heart), which was interrupted by Thalia. "Alright, you two! That's enough!"
We walked to them. Up close, I can see that she's tanned evenly. And she's wearing the same kind of nacklace Percy always wears. I bit my lip, in annoyance with her and myself for putting a bit of makeup to make myself prettier and here she is, beautiful without any on her face.
"Hi!" Harry said in a friendly tone. "You must be Annabeth!"
"Yeah. Annabeth Chase. That's me. And I'm very real." She smiled in a friendly way and her gray (oh, how uncommon that eye color is!) eyes sparkled but they jumped from Mark to each one of us, sizing and calculating us up. It made me uncomfortable, and seeing how my friends seem to squirm under her gaze, we might all be feeling the same.
"We can see that you're real. And now, we know that Percy wasn't lying to us the whole year!" Sam joked. We laughed. And when I glumly added "Yeah," my friends gave me a couple of pity looks, which I was growing to hate.
Percy introduced us. "Annabeth, this is Harry," he gave her a thumbs up, "Jake," he gave her a grin and shook her hand, "Lizzie," they gave each other a close-lipped smile and shook hands, "Sam," she said "Hi!" and then hugged her which clearly suprised her, "And Nikki." I walked to her, gulping and hoping my voice won't crack. I hate that I'm the last one Percy introduced, it just means I have to talk at least a sentence.
"Hi!" I hoped I sounded cheerful, "We've heard so many things about you."
She raised her eyebrows but she smiled, her eyes eyeing me suspiciously. (oh, the word.) "Really? And may I ask what Seaweed brain here," she gave him a playful look (Oh, I hate that look.) and then turned back to me, "told you about me?"
I swallowed all my rising feelings, "Umm... He said you're beautiful, brave, and you have fast reflexes... you can match him in sports, except swimming he says, you're a bookworm, you're a dyslexic and ADHD like him, you go to summer camp with him, you know each other since you were kids, 13 or 14, I forgot, you're fluent in Greek, you rarely lose in an argument, You give really scary glares, and he says you're smart." By the time I was finished,I was blinking tears out of my eyes and trying hard not to sound bitter. Percy talked about these things over and over again.
A small wrinkle appeared in her forehead at the last part. I guess my tone wasn't that nice, and I didn't word it nicely, 'cause aren't blondes supposed to be dumb? So, I'm sorry for thinking the stereotypical. "We met when we're 12. Those are a lot, but can I just say that I would be insulted if the word 'smart' wasn't on the first three things. It's my asset that I'm proud of the most. " she said, smiling knowingly.
"It's the second word he often uses when describing you," Jake assured her.
"The first is beautiful," Sam added with a giggle, which made Percy's face go beet red. Annabeth and Thalia laughed. My friends joined too, while I just faked a laugh "Ha ha."
Thalia looked at her silver watch, "We enjoyed chatting with you, but we need to go. Actually, I need to go. I told the Hunters I'll see Percy before we head out again."
My friends and I clearly don't know what the heck she's talking about. Hunters? Is that some sort of group? But Percy and Annabeth nodded like they know, which of course they do.
"If you came here to see me, you must have some things to discuss." Percy said.
"Yeah. We'll talk in the car." Thalia turned to us and shook our hands, but her cool face seemed to turn to twist with distaste when she approached the boys (it's weird). "Nice meeting you all." We said the same thing to her, then she walked briskly to a parked van in front of the school, which has the sign Delphi Strawberry Service.
"She's an impatient person, and I wouldn't want to keep her waiting, even if she has almost all the time in the world." Percy grinned at Annabeth, like they're sharing a joke.
Annabeth waved at us as she began to walk away with my crush, "Hopefully, we'll meet again." And her startling storm gray eyes met mine and they flashed. I averted my gaze, but not before glimpsing a half-grin and half-smirk she gave me.
Percy waved at us before he stepped in the van.
It was horrible. I started crying the moment the van disappeared from our eyes and my friends tried to comfort me. I tried to slap their hands away, since they were so nice to Annabeth, but they still comforted me with hugs and pats.
Soon, the school was deserted except for me and Jake. Sam was the first to go, apologising that her family needs to leave for their vacation right after her class ends. Lizzie and Harry went next, with Lizzie eyeing us, as if she's wondering if I can be left alone with Jake. And I was still bawling my eyes out.
Jake sat next to me, "It ain't that bad." When I didn't answer, he continued. "Asking someone out on the last day really sucks, huh?" When I still didn't respond, he sighed. "But you haven't had the chance to ask him."
"I know! So, shut up!" I yelled at him.
He shrugged, "I didn't have the chance to ask someone out. I planned to ask her today, too."
"No one's left here. Go after her. She must be in a mall with her friends or somewhere."
"Nah, I'll ask her some other time." He looked at me in the eye, "Besides, it's a bad time right now. She had her heart broken."
I blinked. I turned away. I blushed.
Asking someone out on the last day of the school year can be cool and uncool at the same time.