Author's Note: So, I just wanted to write this story because... I felt like it? This is Post-The Last Olympian, but I'm pretending for the purposes of this story that the whole fantastic Percabeth scene didn't happen. Because even though it was wonderful and I loved it, I wanted to write my own as well. :) And yeah, prom stories are totally cliche but every once and a while I get in the mood to write something really cheesy, and I have to get it out of my system.
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.
I Hate Prom Chapter One: Friends Or Not
She slammed her locker door closed a little harder then she meant to, and the sound echoed through the school hallways, but no one noticed amidst the excited chatter. Prom excitement. That was all anything was these days. And it made Annabeth want to be sick.
She turned to go to the parking lot, because school was over for the day, but was stopped by someone standing in her path. She looked up to see Justin Smith standing in front of her. He had dirty blond hair and his blue eyes reminded her eerily of Luke. But he had no scar on his face, just a very wide smile.
"Hey Annabeth, can we talk for a moment?" He asked, offering a charming smile.
"Sure?" She agreed, wondering what he had to say to her. She wasn't used to him signaling her out. It wasn't as if he was normally rude, he was actually very nice for someone so popular, but it was weird nonetheless.
"I was just sort of wondering if, you know, you wanted to go to prom with me?" He asked with a sort of certainty, Justin Smith was not accustomed to the idea that he might be turned down.
She stared at him in surprise, and it took a whole minute before she was convinced that he was serious. She blinked a couple times, considering how she might answer. "Oh, um...Justin, that's really nice of you to ask. But, um, I don't think so. Sorry."
His eyes widened in slight surprise, "Why? Did I do something? Because I can-"
"Justin! No, really, you've been really nice. Sorry, but no."
He looked disappointed, but more surprised than anything, "Yeah, okay. Call me if you change your mind. Catch you later, Annabeth." He offered one last smile, though admittedly this time he looked too shocked for it to seem genuine.
Suddenly she heard a voice behind her, "Please do not tell me that you just said no to Justin Smith."
Annabeth turned to see her friend, Kaylie Edmond standing with a shocked look on her face.
"Oh, hi Kaylie, what's up?" Annabeth asked, turning around and opening her locker again just to give her an excuse not to look her friend in the eye.
"Justin Smith is the most popular guy at school, Annabeth, do you realize what you just turned down? You could have, like, had friends. No offense." Kaylie shook her head and her short brown hair stuck up, reflecting the rather frantic look on Kaylie's face.
Annabeth laughed, "I appreciate it, Kaylie, thank you."
"Oh, Annabeth, you know I'm right. Grace and I are your only friends. I can't figure out why or anything, because except for all the freak accidents that happen around you, you're really cool. But you could have been, like, popular." Kaylie had a look of wonder in her eyes at the very thought, and her words came out in a rush. She was one of those helpful people who always said exactly what they thought, even if it wasn't the most polite thing in the world.
Annabeth closed her locker again, because she couldn't stare at it for no reason forever, and turned to walk out the door with Kaylie.
Another girl approached them at a run, her black curly hair flying behind her. "Guys! Wait up!" She called. When she caught up with them she slowed down and caught her breath.
"Grace! You won't believe what just happened!" Kaylie said, excited to share the piece of gossip with their friend. "Justin asked Annabeth to prom!"
"Justin King or Justin Smith?" Grace asked, curiously.
"Smith! And Annabeth said no!"
Instead of seeming too surprised like Kaylie was, Grace just smiled triumphantly, "There is only one reason anyone would turn down Justin Smith! And that is because there is another guy. So who is it, Annabeth?"
"Would you two please shut up about Justin Smith?" Annabeth exclaimed in exasperation.
"Ohhhh! Grace! I bet it's that boy who visited from New York last month!" Kaylie spoke with excitement. Eager to discover who her friend was secretly in love with.
Annabeth's eyes widened just slightly, but her two friends were too caught up in their conversation to notice.
"Which one? The guy with the crutches? Grover was his name, right?" Grace asked, confused.
"No, no, no! The other one!" Kaylie squealed in excitement. "It has to be him! They spend all summer together, right? Don't you Annabeth?"
"Hold it you two! Percy is just my friend!" She said, stopping her tracks with a frown etched on her face.
The two girls stopped walking as well and turned to face her. Kaylie had a wide smile on her face, and Grace's eyes were shining with curiosity.
"I don't believe it. I can totally see you two together. Besides, you were like, inseparable when they visited last month!" Kaylie said, giddy with excitement.
Annabeth let out a groan, "Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with you two,"
"Because we're the only people at school who will be your friends." Grace offered helpfully. 00000
"This is stupid!" Annabeth said in annoyance, "I don't want to go!"
Her father and her stepmother were standing in front of her in the kitchen, the smell of fresh-baked cookies filled the room, but even that didn't melt Annabeth's fury.
"But, Annabeth, dear! Why don't you go with your friends?" Her dad asked her, sounding concerned.
"You mean the only two friends I have in San Francisco? Kaylie and Grace both have dates. So I can't go with my friends!" Frustration was evident on Annabeth's face. She didn't want to argue with her parents, and all things considered, they'd been getting on pretty well lately. But this whole prom thing infuriated her. There was only one person she was at all interested in going to prom with, and that wasn't going to happen. So, why go?
"And you don't have a date, honey?" Mrs. Chase asked, curiously.
"No! I already told you. Why are you guys so set on me going to prom?"
Her dad and step mother just exchanged a smile as if they were hiding something from her, which only made Annabeth more angry.
"Let's make a deal," Her stepmother said, with a smile on her face, "Come shopping with me this afternoon and buy a dress. If you don't have a date by the night of the prom, you can stay home."
"I'm not going to have a date! No one will ask, and if they do I'll just say no." She meant it too.
"Just humor me, Annabeth, please? I've always wanted to take a daughter shopping for prom!" Her stepmother asked hopefully.
"Fine." She sighed. She didn't see the point in shopping for a prom she wasn't going to. But if they agreed not to make her go without a date (and she could always refuse anyone who asked her,) then she didn't mind so much.
00000
Two hours later, Annabeth regretted agreeing to the deal.
She actually liked spending time shopping with her stepmother. And looking at dresses was fun, she had to admit, she could be as girly as the next person. But the whole thing was depressing.
What was the point in looking for a dress when you weren't going to have any occasion to wear it?
"What about this one?" Her stepmother asked, pulling a dress off the rack and showing it to Annabeth.
"Too pink and frilly." She said, shaking her head.
Mrs. Chase glanced at the dress again then nodded, "You're right… Annabeth, why don't you want to go to prom? Most girls your age love that."
"I'm not like most girls my age. If I went to prom monsters would probably attack or something, anyway." She responded with surprising calm.
"But that's not the reason, is it?" Her stepmother asked, knowingly.
"I just don't have any reason to go." Annabeth replied, going through the dress rack halfheartedly. "Sure, it might be fun if I could go with my friends. But I can't. So what's the point? Why would I go by myself? Boring."
"And you're telling me no boy asked you to prom? You're beautiful and you have a great personality- And I'm not just saying that because I'm your stepmother!"
Annabeth was quiet for a long time as she continued to go through dresses, but then she said almost inaudibly, "Justin Smith asked me."
"Justin Smith?" Mrs. Chase asked, in surprise, "And you turned him down?"
"Sure, yeah, I guess."
Mrs. Chase caught Annabeth gently by the arm and turned her so that they were facing each other. "Honey, why did you tell him no?" But she had a look in her eyes like she could already guess the answer.
"I just didn't want to go with him." Annoyance was starting to creep back into Annabeth's tone, she didn't like where this interrogation was going. So she turned to face the dresses again.
There was a short silence, before Mrs. Chase said, "Would you go if Percy asked you?"
That's where the conversation went too far. Fury filled her to the brim and she spun on her stepmother with anger burning in her gray eyes. "Can't I just have friends? Everyone keeps accusing me of turning Justin down because of Percy! Percy this, Percy that! Percy doesn't rule my life!"
"Of course, you can just have friends, dear." Her step mom stayed surprisingly calm. She just smiled and said, "Grover is your friend, Justin Smith is your friend. But Percy-"
"Is going to his prom, in New York with some cheerleader! Good for him! I hope he has a blast! Why do you assume that anything else is going on?"
"Because you got so upset, dear." Mrs. Chase's voice softened, and she said gently, "Now, how do you know he is going with a cheerleader?"
"Grover told me that Percy told him that a cheerleader had asked him to prom. Girls asking guys these days. Crazy, huh?" Annabeth's voice had quieted, but there was still anger burning in her tone.
"And do you know he said yes?"
"Why wouldn't he? Now, there are no good dresses here. Can we leave?" Annabeth asked, furiously.
"I thought I saw one over there, Annabeth, I'll go look. Just a minute."
Suddenly she heard a slightly muffled voice behind her, "Annabeth!"
She spun around, startled, and saw mist forming in the air in front of her. In it she could see Percy's face. "Percy! This isn't a good time. Is everything okay?"
"Sure, just wanted to say hi." He replied, looking confused. "Are you... Shopping for prom?" He raised his eyebrows.
"My parents made me, okay? Now, I'm in public. So, later." She waved her hand through the mist, and it cleared away. Her cheeks burning red. It was not a good time for her to talk to him, both because she was in public and also because of her current issues with people thinking she was in love with him.
Even if, maybe, just maybe, she was. Okay. She was. But everyone didn't need to keep talking about it.
Mrs. Chase came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. Annabeth turned to face her, and almost let out a gasp when she saw the dress her stepmother was holding. It was beautiful.
"Want to try it?" Mrs. Chase asked, with a big grin on her face.
"Okay. Yeah, I guess." Annabeth said, with a slight smile.
Author's Note: I was going to make this a really long one-shot, but I think I'm going to make a little three-shot. I haven't tried that before. But I didn't want to try to stuff this all in one chapter. So I think I'll go for three! I hope you guys like it! Please review and let me know! Constructive criticism is appreciated!