The Museum

Annabeth POV

Percy's change in mood was shocking. His tone and expression became serious as he turned away to his friends. I no explanation for his sudden change.

It was so strange that I didn't even feel the joy that he finally stopped bothering me.

I hadn't said anything too insulting either. At least, it couldn't be something that he wasn't used to already. Right?

***

I realized quickly that Percy and his group showing up wasn't a one-time thing. They sat with us for the rest of the week. Honestly, I liked a lot of Percy's friends because they fun to be around and talk to. The whole table relatively got along with each other.

However, there were a few exceptions.

One, Rachel didn't appreciate Percy's presence and his friends' presence. I understood where she was coming from, but I didn't think that she should waste her energy on him. Second, Grover didn't seem too fond of me, but I didn't know why. I hadn't done anything wrong to him, and Percy making the deal was his own decision. Finally, Thalia and I certainly didn't like Percy.

The point of the deal was to make him suffer not have him torturing us with his annoying presence and sleazy comments. However, I did like having new friends join our lunch table.

It was like taking a breath of fresh air when Percy didn't show up to school on Thursday and Friday.

"Thank gods, we don't have to deal with him today," Thalia exclaimed after 10 minutes. Percy usually arrived late to lunch because his previous class was far away from the cafeteria.

"I know right," I said with a smile.

"You both don't always have to be so hard on Percy," Grover replied.

"Yeah, Percy isn't a bad guy," Jason emphasized.

"Oh please, Jason, he is definitely a bad guy. After all, he jumps from girl to girl looking for one thing only: sex," Thalia said boldly.

Jason sighed without a response.

"You all don't even know Percy. He's a good and genuine guy," Grover said.

"And a very loyal person as well," Katie supported.

"Didn't he screw and dump you?" Rachel asked in anger.

"Mind your language, Rachel," Katie said firmly. "Percy's and my relationship is old history, but it was also a consenting relationship. I knew what I was getting into. Besides, it's because of Percy that I am dating Travis." Travis smiled as he took his girlfriend's hand.

I didn't know that Travis and Katie were together because of Percy. That actually seemed like a nice thing to do for a friend.

"Katie, he dumped you and set you up with his friend. How can you call that nice?" Thalia asked logically.

"Yes, we had a relationship, but it ended in a few weeks. Percy thought that Travis and I would make a genuine couple, so he hooked us up. He treated me with respect and looked after his friends. He is a nice and loyal person," Katie insisted and Grover nodded along.

"Don't even get me started on loyalty," Rachel spat. "He dumped me with no warning and went with another girl just a few days later."

Grover seemed to have enough of Rachel because he turned to her sharply. "I'm sorry Rachel, but did he tell you to grow feelings for him. No, he didn't."

"I was there when you both first talked, and he made it clear that this would be like every other one of his relationships. He only wanted a physical connection for a few weeks max," Jason said.

"Percy never once led you on, and he never leads any of his girlfriends on," Grover said firmly.

Rachel's face paled as the conversation died. Rachel did grow feelings for Percy even though she shouldn't have. I just didn't understand Percy, and that annoyed me more than anything. I hated not knowing things.

Percy seemed like a genuinely good person I guess. He was loyal considering he never got with another girl while dating someone. He was a good friend as seen by how much his friends cared about him. And, Percy wasn't fake. He was always upfront with his friends and girlfriends about his relationship intentions.

Yet, for some reason, Percy couldn't manage a real relationship. It didn't make any sense. However, my opinion of him was constantly conflicting now.

I disliked him, yet I didn't at the same time. Crazy.

***

"Annabeth, someone's at the door for you," Helen called loudly. I wasn't expecting anyone on a Saturday afternoon though.

I made my way downstairs and towards the front door. Helen came back inside and asked, "Why is there a boy here for you? Do you have another boyfriend?" She seemed excited to get my answer.

My thoughts immediately went to Luke, but I shook him out of my mind. I hadn't given him an answer yet. I had this deal with Percy, and I wasn't sure I could get together with Luke given the conditions of the deal. After all, Percy was claiming that I was his girlfriend even though I definitely was not.

Also, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to get back with Luke.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend, Helen," I said before continuing to the door. I wasn't expecting Percy to be at my door, though.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in shock.

"I'm here to take you out on our first date. These are for you," Percy said while handing me some roses that were tied together with some green string. The flowers looked handpicked and hand-tied.

"I, err, did you get these flowers?"

"Yea. From the park. It may come as a surprise, but I know how to be romantic, Wise Girl."

I rolled my eyes as I stared at him. He was wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt with a jacket.

"We are not going on a date. Hell, we're not dating," I said firmly.

His smile stretched as if he was expecting this response. I was about to shut the door when he put his foot in the way.

"Wise Girl, I'm not going to leave your driveway until you come with me. We have a date to get to."

"Yeah, good luck with that," I said before closing the door. I couldn't believe that Percy was here. He was not my boyfriend, and I refused to treat him like one by letting him take me out. With that internal confirmation, I made my way back to my room.

I was working on a new architectural design. I enjoyed everything about architecture and the idea of building something strong, permanent, and filled with love.

About two hours passed by, yet Percy was still outside. He looked incredibly bored as he used a bent stick to wack some weeks in my front yard. I thought that he'd just leave after I shut the door, but he was still waiting (for two hours now).

The fact that he was waiting for me to come out spoke volumes about his personality, which was either very good or very stupid. Maybe both.

I immediately felt bad and made a decision to at least see what he had planned.

"This isn't a date," I said firmly. "And, if you take me to some restaurant, I am leaving."

Getting food together or catching a movie entailed that it was a date, and this was NOT a date. He was NOT my boyfriend.

Percy turned around, and a smile graced his handsome features. He simply nodded before opening his car door for me. I purposefully closed it before opening it myself. As I said, this was not going to be a date.

"Anyway, where are you taking me?" I asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"It's a surprise, Wise Girl," he said with a smirk. ugh, I hated surprises, and I especially wasn't sure about Percy giving me a surprise.

'We have 12 weeks left," he said with a smile. Why did he have to remind me? Ugh.

"You won't last that long," I said while crossing my arms. I honestly wasn't sure though. I was stupid for accepting his condition.

"Wise Girl, I wanted to tell you that I've already been planning my best moves."

"Well, you're wasting your time."

After about 20 minutes of simple banter and a few sexual innuendos, we arrived at our destination: our small city's largest museum. I wondered why we were even at the museum. Percy definitely was not a museum type of guy.

We walked inside, and Percy bought the tickets despite my resistance.

He took me towards a large conference room. The door was open, and it seemed like many tables with different structures were set up. My eyes flitted to the large screen across the room.

Monuments of the Ancients vs Buildings of Modern Times, the display read. As I entered the room, I realized that the table had miniature replicas of different monuments. Some were ancient structures while others were still standing, but they were all accurate and magnificent. There were at least 50 tables with displays on the Athena Parthenon, Taj Mahal, Eifel Tower, the Colosseum, Machu Pichu, Temple of Artemis, etc.

I was awestruck as Percy gently touched my arm. I turned to him in surprise.

"I noticed that you like architecture a lot. You even are drawing sketches during lunch sometimes. I thought maybe you'd like this event even though it's not my thing. It's the last day of the conference before they leave for their next museum. So, um, do you like it?"

Percy looked nervous about my answer. He genuinely wanted me to have a good time.

"Oh my god, yes, I love it," I said excitedly as I looked around the room. I didn't even know where to begin. "How did you know about this?"

He smiled brightly as he gazed at me. His sea-green eyes were sparkling. Did I mention that anyone could just get lost in his eyes?

"My mom gets monthly newsletters," he said simply.

Percy followed me around as I visited each table. I loved inspecting the models and learning about the architectural elements behind them. A conference wasn't everyone's version of fun, but this was definitely an amazing time for me.

Percy listened and nodded as I talked about architecture even though he didn't understand half of what was going. No one would believe that Percy actually did something this thoughtful. We spent almost 3 hours at the conference before they had to close.

"Did you have a good time?" Percy asked in my driveway.

"Are you kidding? It was the best time. I had so much fun," I said before calming myself down.

Percy smiled as he gazed at me with that look.

"Thanks, Percy. I never thought you were like this."

"Like what?" he asked.

"So nice and thoughtful," I said.

If this was how Percy was like with his girlfriends (plus, the added physical experiences like kissing and sex), then no wonder the girls grew feelings for him.

"Wow, Wise, of course, I'm nice and thoughtful. I'm glad you had a good time. I was iffy after you stood me up for two hours."

"Yeah, I am sorry about that. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

I got out of the car, but he caught my attention by rolling down his window. "What, no goodbye kiss, Wise Girl?" he asked with a smirk. But, his eyes showed that he actually wanted one.

"Nice try, Percy," I said in a serious tone before leaving.

I decided on one thing: I was going to give Percy the benefit of the doubt that he didn't just do this to get out of the deal or to sleep with me.

Percy did this because he's good and caring.