Your Shoe's Untied

Percy watched as Annabeth bent down to retie her shoe laces. Her tan nimble fingers worked crossing the laces almost effortlessly. But her gray eyes were steady, concentrated on what she was doing. She paused to push a strand of golden hair away from her face and he noticed how the sun cast shadows along her cheekbones. He wondered how such a simple task could become beautiful just by the person performing it.

Annabeth's pink lips puckered as if she had done the knot wrong, but then, "You're staring at me." She pulled the knot taught and turned to glance up at him as heat flooded his face. "Why are you staring at me?"

Percy stumbled. "Oh, um..." Had he been staring? How was he supposed to answer a question like that?

Annabeth stood to meet him. She's your best friend, He reminded himself as she straightened. And it's not like she'd ever--

"Percy?" There was a small smile on her lips as she titled her head to the side, raised a blonde brow. Styx, he'd been staring at her again.

"I was just, uh," Percy racked his brain for excuses. There was of course the most obvious. "Watching you tie your shoe," He blurted.

Annabeth's small smile grew into a smirk and he wondered if it had always looked that pretty. "Don't you know how to tie your own shoe?"

Wait what? "No!" He said quickly. "I mean yes! Yes, I know how to tie a shoe." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just--that wasn't what--"

Annabeth laughed and her silver owl earrings winked at him behind her hair.

"I'm just kidding." She poked him in the side. "No need to get flustered, Seaweed Brain."

"Oh," He forced a laugh even as his cheeks burned brighter. "Right."

"Well, I've got to train." Annabeth folded her baseball cap and stuck it in her back pocket. "See you at dinner, Dork."

"Uh, right." Percy scolded himself. Stop being an idiot, talk in complete sentences! "See you later, Wise Girl." Well, that's a little better.

She started across the grass. He was just turning for the arena when she called.

"Oh, and Percy?"

He glanced back as she threw a smirk over her shoulder. "Your shoe's untied."