"He totally asked you on a date," Shel said knowingly.

Reyna, Thalia, Shel, Hazel, Piper, and I were lounging in the commons of the main campus building, eating ice cream after afternoon classed had finished. I had just informed them about the scene at Cafe De Mama, and Shel was very interested in Percy. 

"It is not a date!" I protested. "It's just a meeting to catch-up between two best friends." 

"So, it's a date."

"No!" 

"Chill, Annabeth," Thalia said, lying with her head on Reyna's lap on the couch across from Hazel and I. "Besides, this guy obviously likes you." 

"You know what?" I said thoughtfully, licking my vanilla cone. "You might be right, Thals. Percy did seem to be very nervous when talking to me. He also blushed. This is a major problem." 

"So he does like you," Reyna said, biting a sizable chunk out of peanut butter fudge. "But what are you going to about it?" 

"I'm going to shut him down tonight," I said firmly. "I may love Percy, but it's a best friend. Luke is the one I love romantically, and it's going to stay that way." 

Hazel and Reyna exchanged a meaningful look, silently agreeing on doing something. 

"What?" I asked. 

"I'm not sure your relationship with Luke is..." Hazel searched for the right words while munching on her cone. "...is good for you." 

"What do you mean?" 

Their five expressions changed in sync to identical ones: exasperation mixed with disbelief and frustration. 

"Annabeth, come on," Reyna said impatiently. "You know your relationship with Luke is toxic. He gets upset whenever you mention talking to any guy other than him and that jealously made him almost punch Percy." 

"Luke wasn't going to punch Percy!" I said heatedly. "He only dragged him away from me. Now, I know it made Percy react to his trauma, but Luke left right afterward. He's fine!" 

"Annabeth," Shel said, her tone pleading with me to see sense, "Luke isn't-" 

"He's fine!" I was tired of their attempts to persuade me that my boyfriend was toxic. "I have to go. See you later."

I grabbed my backpack and strode quickly out of the main building with my heart racing and head spinning. I tossed my ice cream in a trash can, having lost my appetite after our conversation. There was no way my friends were correct in their suspicions about Luke. Sure he was envious sometimes, but he was just acting to protect me! Despite attempts to convince myself, a lurking doubt was beginning to creep up my heart. 

 I shook off my emotions, and forcing them further into the back of my mind, I proceeded back to my dorm. I showered quickly, changed into jean shorts and a red-striped tank, and pulled my damp wet hair back into a ponytail. 

I waited for about an hour in my dorm before someone knocked on my door a few minutes before 6:30. I rose to my feet and opened the door. Percy stood there, dressed in an orange t-shirt and denim shorts, looking very apprenhensive. 

"Uh.." he said awkardly, handing me the sunflower bouquet he was holding. "These are for you."

"Oh," I said, taking the flowers, "thanks." 

I placed the bouquet on my beside table and suggested to Percy that we depart. He agreed, so we walked together down to the entrance area. Percy held the door open for me, and I trod through the doorway. His car, a beat-up 2011 Blue Kia with many dents and scratches, was parked in the street. 

 "Who gave you this car?" I asked, climbing into the front passenger seat. 

"My stepdad," Percy replied with a slight smile. "Well, actually it's more of a rental, but my stepdad got me a nice discount." 

My pulse quickened. "Gabe gave this to you?" 

"Oh no," Percy reassured. "Gabe is dead; he tripped over a garden statue of a poker player lying on the ground into the street. Then a teenager ran him over." 

"Well, he deserved it," I said. "The asshole." 

Percy laughed, causing my stomach to do a flip-flop. "Yeah, he was. My new stepdad, Paul Blofis, is much nicer though. He's a nice guy." 

"I'm sorry, his last name is Blowfish?" 

"No, it's Blo-fis. Don't worry, I made the same mistake the first time I met him."

We continued to discuss our parents and their antics for the 6 minutes it took to drive to Arroyo Smokehouse. Once we arrived, Percy parked the car across the street. We walked to the entrance together, and I nervously headed inside. 

Y'all didn't really think I would include their dinner together in this chapter, did you? Nah, y'all have to wait until tommorrow. 😏