Chapter 33 - Playing Matchmaker
published: Wednesday, 3 June 2020

happy birthday to Piper! my heart goes out to all the protesters in the US — stay safe and stay strong!

—*—

Annabeth caught a glimpse of her reflection in the sliding glass doors as she waited patiently for them to open up.

Percy's hoodie hung down to her thighs, her light-washed denim skirt peeking out from under the hem. Her hair was up in a ponytail today, pulled together with a blue scrunchie to match.

The November air was chilly, whipping at her bare legs. Annabeth made a mental note to bring tights with her in the future.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside, gazing around the stadium with wide eyes. She'd never done this before; supporting a boyfriend at a sports game.

Piper and Jason had briefed her — they had a long-running tradition of wearing the other's team clothing at games like this. Percy's hoodie had already been sprawled across her couch, so Annabeth took it upon herself to wear it to his swim meet today.

Percy was representing the school team, so Beckendorf, Travis and Clarisse would be swimming alongside him, as well as two other teammates.

Her friends were already seated in the bleachers; taking up the front row.

Rachel and Silena held up a large "Go Goode!" banner between them, Katie struggling to raise the centre part up. Annabeth's gaze flickered to Katie's nice outfit and make-up; the blue eyeshadow couldn't just be for the school.

A few teachers milled about — Coach Hedge, who was also in charge of swimming, and Paul Blowfis. Annabeth was surprised to see Percy's English teacher getting roped into chaperoning this event.

Another familiar face in the stands was Sally Jackson, who sat beside Hazel, beaming proudly.

Annabeth followed her gaze to see the swim team gearing up on the right side of the pool, and the opposing team beside them. Waving wildly, Annabeth laughed to herself when Percy caught sight of her and grinned madly.

"Hey, Sally!" Annabeth said nervously as she slid into the seat between her and Hazel. She hadn't seen Percy's mother since they began dating, and she wasn't sure if Percy had mentioned it.

"Annabeth!" Sally said excitedly. "Oh, it's nice that you're here too!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Annabeth reassured her.

Sally shot her a furtive look. "Congratulations, by the way."

Feeling her face grow warm, Annabeth ducked her head embarrassedly. "Thanks." Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth glimpsed Mr Blowfis sitting in the next row up. "Mr Blowfis! Hi!"

Paul waved cheerfully.

"Oh, are you the swim coach?" Sally inquired.

"Oh, no," Paul chuckled. "I'm the English teacher — Percy's, actually." He smiled. "You must be his mother."

"Sally Jackson," she introduced, shaking his hand warmly. "Nice to meet you..."

"Paul," he finished.

Annabeth released a sigh of relief as she excused herself, squeezing past the rest of her friends to take the vacant seat between Leo and Frank.

"So, what exactly is this competition?" she said breathlessly once she was seated.

"It's one of the qualifying rounds," Frank explained. "Hazel and I have been coming to these for years." He had an unreadable expression on. "Trust me, it's a lot more interesting than you'd think."

Annabeth shrugged. "Well, okay then." She leaned over the railing, scanning the stadium. "The other team looks good."

"It's okay, no eliminations today," Hazel informed her. "They're just here because they're nearby the swim centre."

Annabeth squinted to read the board. "JFK High School," she winced. "Oh, God, any chance there are two schools named after JFK here?"

Leo regarded her warily. "Why?"

"Brady goes there," Annabeth groaned, eyeing the stands. Sure enough, in the stands sat her ex-boyfriend, who thankfully hadn't seen her yet. It wasn't like their split had been bad, but it was never nice to see your exes, especially when you were with someone new.

Leo pulled a face in response.

Brady chose that moment to spot her in the bleachers, a confused look passing over his face before he waved at her. Annabeth waved back as politely as she could, smiling.

Her gaze drifted to the poolside, where Percy was looking between them with understanding. He had never met Brady, but had seen a couple of pictures back when they were dating.

Annabeth pulled out her phone to text Percy.

don't freak out

He replied almost instantly.

relaxxxxxxxxx
you're here with me, aren't you?

Glancing up, Annabeth rolled her eyes when she spotted Percy's smirk.

"Ooh, it's starting!" Hazel broke into her thoughts.

Annabeth set her phone down after a final text.

good luck

The first four swimmers lined up. Travis and a girl with dark hair were swimming for their team, and the other two were from the other school.

Annabeth found herself instinctively turning around to see Katie straightening up eagerly as the horn sounded and the swimmers dove in.

Oh. Annabeth felt the corner of her mouth quirk up. How hadn't she seen it before? Katie liked Travis. It was adorable to see how she looked at him when he wasn't looking.

Annabeth turned back in time to see one of the opposition's swimmers finish first, with Travis close behind, and the other two a short lag after.

Clarisse came second in her meet, her teammate right behind.

As Percy readied up for his turn, Annabeth heard Frank mutter to Hazel, "Do you think they'll be shocked?"

Annabeth had the time to think, 'what?', before Percy gracefully sunk into the waves.

Her eyes widened in astonishment. It was as if Percy was made to swim. His lithe movements resembled a sea animal, and he cut through the water too quickly for Annabeth to keep track.

Percy was pushing off the wall to finish the second half of the lap before the other swimmers reached it.

"Jesus Christ," Annabeth murmured, letting our an incredulous snort.

Of course, the swimming medals in his room had to come from somewhere, but seeing him actually swimming was...something else.

Percy emerged from the water, wetness clinging to his skin as he pulled his swimming cap off to release his hair, flicking water droplets in every direction.

"It's like a shampoo commercial," she heard Leo grumble.

Annabeth couldn't help the grin breaking across her face as she cheered as loudly as she could for him. Beckendorf came in a far second lace, the other swimmers at his heels.

Overall, Percy had the shortest time, seconds ahead of his competitions and teammates.

As Percy draped the towel across his shoulders, Annabeth turned to Frank. "Did you know he could do that?"

Frank chuckled. "There's a reason we always come to his swim meets. He never loses."

+++++

"Please make sure he doesn't accidentally drink anything," Hazel pleaded, gesturing to her half-brother Nico, who was a year younger than them and looking fairly lost among the older seniors.

She was hosting a celebratory party following the successful swim meet today, and Annabeth had seen her stressing out as she rushed around the house.

The boy wore a black graphic tee with a skull on it and matching ripped jeans. A large jacket practically swallowed him whole.

"On it," Annabeth promised her, grabbing vodka-Coke mix and sidling up next to him. "Hey, I'm Annabeth, and you're Nico, right? Hazel's brother?"

Nico nodded, eyeing her with a mix of curiosity and something Annabeth couldn't name. He glanced down at her beer. "Hazel knows that I have drunk alcohol before, right?"

Annabeth hid a smile. "Right." She popped open the lid of a beer bottle and handed it to him. "Don't tell her."

They clinked drinks as Annabeth glanced around the room. "Did Hazel not let you invite any of your friends?"

Nico shrugged. "I don't really have any."

Annabeth frowned. "Seriously?" She winced. "Sorry, that sounded mean. I meant, well, you seem pretty cool."

"The kids in my year don't like me," Nico admitted. "They think I'm creepy."

Annabeth huffed, "Well, they're dumb, clearly." She read the label on his shirt. "My Chemical Romance?"

"Very typical, I guess," Nico remarked half-heartedly.

"Piper likes them," Annabeth informed him. "You should talk to her about it. I mean, you're welcome to hang out with us if you want."

A ghost of a smile tugged at Nico's lips. "Thanks?" he sounded confused.

"Boo," a bright voice sang.

A rush of wind to Annabeth's right alerted her to Will Solace stepping up beside them.

"Any song requests?" Will questioned.

Annabeth folded her arms. "You won't take any of mine anyway. 'Don't Start Now', I told you."

Will pulled a face. "All that does is remind me of Tik Tok." His blue eyes zeroed in on Nico, curiosity overtaking his features. "I don't think we've met?"

Annabeth watched with increasing amusement as Nico stared blankly at Will.

"This is Nico di Angelo," she interjected. "Hazel's half-brother." She resisted the urge to step on Nico's foot.

Will flashed one of his signature smiles that were brighter than the sun. "Hi," he said shyly.

Annabeth felt her eyebrows shoot skyward. Well, she'd always known Will was gay, but she'd never have guessed that Nico was his type.

"Nico would probably have some song requests," she hinted.

"Right-yeah," Nico stammered. "Um."

Annabeth dropped her empty cup in the bin and promptly left the conversation, feeling proud of herself.

Her gaze landed on Travis, who was leaning against a wall, stealing glances at Katie. Beckendorf stood next to him and talked, unaware that Travis was completely ignoring him.

"Two for two, I guess," Annabeth muttered under her breath as she approached him. She deserved an award for this.

"Travis," she interrupted.

Travis blushed darkly. Beckendorf rolled his eyes. "Oh, he's always like this. Don't even try pretending you weren't just staring at Katie."

Travis scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly. "I-I wasn't," he tried feebly.

"Please," Annabeth told him dismissively. She glanced to where Katie was sitting next to Rachel. "You should go over and talk to her."

Travis snorted, "You're joking, right? The only time she ever speaks to me is to insult me."

"Girls are different," Annabeth tried her best to explain. "It's our way of flirting."

"By insulting someone?" Beckendorf repeated. "That doesn't even make any sense."

"Drew must be in love with me, then," Travis said helpfully.

"Just go," Annabeth insisted exasperatedly, giving him a friendly shove.

Travis pitched forward, stumbling toward Katie even as he threw uncertain looks over his shoulder at them.

"Look who's playing matchmaker."

Annabeth laughed as Percy popped up beside her and kissed her on the cheek. "Some people are just so blind it pains me," she told him.

Beckendorf gave her a look as if she'd just said she wanted to eat a smelly shoe. "You're joking, right?"

"She's right," Percy agreed. "It's, like, everyone can see it, except for them."

"I'd punch you if we didn't need you for football season," Beckendorf informed him.