Annabeth
I had chemistry last block, and I was never happier to see something explode in my life.
Today had been alright I guess, aside from the stereotypical whores hitting on my boyfriend, but I'm really not particularly worried about them, to be honest. Percy pulled a Nico di Angelo for crying out loud. I don't think I have anything to worry about. I laughed at how uncomfortable Percy looked when she was near him. Stupid seaweed brain.
I was looking down starting the first work sheet that was passed out when somebody very obnoxiously sat down beside me, slamming his binder.
I looked up, making a face. The person caught me off guard when I saw him. He was tall, muscular but lean, with blonde hair and blue eyes and a smirk. At first, I thought he was Jason. He was good looking, but not compared to Percy.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "Sup."
"Hey." I muttered back, rolling my eyes and looking back down at my work sheet.
"Sooo," the guy said, looking over my shoulder as he sat down. "Whatcha doin?"
"My work. What are you doing? Oh, right. Violating my personal space." I said sarcastically. The guy raised his eyebrows, but quickly recovered and smiled with amusement.
"Oh, you're feisty." He laughed.
"Oh, I am? What are you then?" I asked.
"Hmm..." he put his hand on his chin comically. "You know... tall, athletic, devilishly handsome, smart-"
"I was thinking..." I mimicked him, putting my hand on my chin, and managed a joking smile. "Jerk, obnoxious, narcissistic, something like that."
He laughed. "It's Joe."
"It's Annabeth." I said.
Joe extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Annabeth."
"You too, Joe," I said, taking it. He reminded me of the blonde version of the Stoll brothers, with a mix of Leo- but more athletic and firm.
"So... you must be one of those new kids all my friends are talking about," Joe said. "Everybody's talking about the huge group of hot kids. I'm assuming you're one of them."
"Are you calling me hot?" I asked, smirking.
Joe managed half a laugh. "I don't think it matters. Let me guess..." he studied me. "You're smart, but a badass smart, probably know martial arts or play some type of sport- maybe volleyball or... huh, you don't seem like a basketball type. Softball, maybe? You're strong and tough and... you've got a steady boyfriend. Maybe been dating for a year or more? You guys are really serious. You've got ADHD, and a bad habit of biting your nails when you're nervous. You've spent all Summer working outside, or outdoors. You go to a camp, actually. You don't have a job, but you stay physically busy. You've got your guard up right now, and you're misreading me. You must've assumed I'd be some dumb jock, right?" He paused, and then cocked his head to the side. "And... you like blue."
My mouth fell open in shock. "How did you-"
"I'm studying criminal science. I want to be an FBI agent, preferably a profiler."
"You're a good one," I said slowly. "How...?"
"Well. You're in honors chemistry, so I assumed you're smart. But, you're confident with a bold face, not shy, so I'm assuming you're used to winning a lot, and you're studying me, like I'm an opponent. You're smart, but obviously athletic. Tall, long legs and whatever. I say volleyball because your stance, the way you hold yourself... and you're tall and muscular. Most volleyball players are tall and muscular. And softball. And martial arts. I know you're ADHD, because you keep fidgeting. Your legs bouncing, or you're tapping your fingers. I have ADHD, so I can recognize it, you know. You're not medicated though... interesting. Your fingernails are short and the paints shipped off. I bite my fingernails when I'm nervous, so..." yeah, a habit I'd had since Tartararus... biting my fingernails. "You have a ring on, obviously a gift from a boy, and in the front of your binder- a picture with a boy and some other people, but you and the boy are really close. Also, the pictures date says it was taken a few months ago. The picture was taken at a campfire, so probably at a camp, so that's how I figured out you've stayed at this camp all summer. You're really tan, so I know you've stayed outside, but... not at the beach. You have tan lines from shirts and shorts, not bikinis. You don't have a job, but you're lean, tall, and athletic looking... you run a lot, don't you?" Yeah, run for my life, I wanted to say. I nodded instead. "Your eyes, they're stormy grey. They get stormier when you're thinking. I'm thinking you're misreading me, and your guard is up, because the color in your eyes. And... you like blue. You're wearing a blue shirt, and your school supplies are blue."
I blushed and laughed. "Actually, my boyfriend likes blue. The school supplies are from where he went shopping for me. Never let Percy buy your school supplies." I said. "He bought me all blue."
Joe laughed, and then nodded. "I study psychology, too."
"You're good at it." I decided.
"Thank you," he said. "It's the only thing I'm good at. I'm really not that smart. I hacked the system and changed my schedule to get in this class. I'm a really good cheater, so I'll be able to hang. You can't have a lot of write up's if you wanna be in honors classes, and I do, so I had to hack. Oops."
I raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. I'm not good with technology."
"I kinda figured that," he said. "I don't know. You don't seem like the type."
"Well..." I said. "Yes, I'm smart, I guess. And I do know martial arts... and I win a lot. Actually, my fatal flaw is pride, so I'm a little too confident sometimes. And I don't play volleyball on a team, but we take our camp tournaments pretty seriously. Yeah, I have ADHD. No, I'm not medicated for ADHD. It dulls your- uh... my parents don't believe in it. I have a habit of biting my fingernails, yep." I glanced down at my ring. The band was silver, and it had an owl on it. In the middle, where the owls heart would be, was a sea green diamond, the same color as Percy's eyes. "Yeah, my boyfriend and I are pretty steady. We've been through a lot together. We've been best friends since we were 12, and then started dating when we were 16." I looked at my binder, and then pulled the picture out of the front cover. "This is him." I pointed to Percy. "And yep, we're at a campfire, all together at a camp." I pointed at the different faces. "That's Frank, Hazel, Jason, Piper, and Leo. We all transferred here. We spend all Summer at that camp, and no, we don't swim or anything, so I have T-shirt tanlines and short tanlines, not bikini tanlines. And... you're very observant."
He smirked in victory. Then the bell rang, and the teacher got up.
