Percabeth fluff

So This Is Love?

This was originally going to be a whole separate AU story but I kinda lost steam for it and then I started two others so I just turned this into a long one-shot! I wrote it quite a while ago and it took me forever to go through and fix everything haha. It's so freaking long, idk how I even came up with these many wordsssss. Enjoy!

Ding!

The bell on the door chimes softly, indicating that someone has just walked into the store. I look up from drawling on my hand behind the counter and catch my breath. The mystery girl is back. Every time she comes in, I have to remind myself to breathe. Which is often. Usually I despise working my shift at my mom's bookstore but suddenly I've found myself anxious to get home from school.

I stand up straight, hiding my left hand in my pocket so that she can't see my immature doodles. I watch her go to her favorite section. She doesn't usually buy anything, but from the few purchases she's made, I can tell she likes architecture. I don't even know her name, yet I can tell she's smart, and way, way out of my league.

My mom doesn't mind customers coming in and just reading here. She has a whole section in the back dedicated to it, with copies that you can take and sit down with, most of them have well worn bindings. My mom is like that too, soft around the edges and you can tell she has some stories to tell. She had me young and raised me alone since my dad left when I was a baby. She's the strongest person that I know.

I go to the back with the pretense of restocking the shelves but really it's so that I can look at her more. Call me weird, but the lovesick mind of a teenage boy is a hard thing to understand unless you're one. I bring out a few books that go right on the other side of where she's standing. She catches my eye and I blush, unable to look away. Her eyes are captivating, a piercing gray. She gives me a small smile and goes back to looking over a book on ancient architecture.

I scurry away and hide in the back until she leaves about 10 minutes later. My mom comes in right after and finds me flipping through an old comic book.

"Really Percy? Did that pretty girl come in again?" She asks, looking at me in amusement. I scowl, knowing that I will never hear the end of this. The story of how I hid from a girl will haunt me into my thirties.

"Yes." I respond curtly. Since it's Friday and we have family dinner on Friday's, we lock up early and head upstairs to our little apartment. Living above the bookstore has it's perks but it definitely does not help my status at school.

"Percy! Come look at what I drew!" My four year old sister, Estelle, calls from the living room where she is sitting with my step dad, Paul. I oblige and look over her intricate map of Estelle-land.

"Wow! This is well thought out. I want to see what Percy-land looks like." I exclaim, knowing that that will keep her busy for a while.

"Dinner is in 30 minutes!" My mom calls from the kitchen as I head to my room. I log onto my computer and head to the online chat I have going with my best friend, Grover. I've known Grover since elementary school and we literally know everything about each other. People would probably think we are brothers except for the fact we look nothing alike. Grover has ginger curls and my hair is jet black, and I'm considerably more tan than him, despite never being outside. My mom says it's the Greek in me, from my dad's side.

Poseidonsunderpants18: You there man?

The-tin-man: Yep. How was work?

poseidonsunderpants18: Boring, other than the fact that I saw her again

I throw a bouncy ball against the wall, leaning dangerously far back in my chair while I wait for his response. My computer dings with the incoming message and I fall back down, probably harder than I should have.