Summer, 1998
"This is a pretty house, Daddy. It's like the buildings we read about in the book." The little girl's blonde hair was in a lopsided ponytail. Her wispy hair escaped from the sparkly, pink scrunchie and flew in every direction. As the sun set, the light filtered through her hair and made it glow like a halo even though she was far from angelic, especially according to her father.
"Yes, Annabeth. Do you know what style of house this is?"
"Noooo," she dragged the word out in a sing-song-y voice, "What?"
"Any guesses?"
"Is it built by the people who built the Paratheaon?"
"Parthenon, Annabeth. That's what it's called."
"It's big and white like the Par...," she hesitated to make sure she was pronouncing the word correctly, "Parthenon."
"Yes. But that was built a very, very long time ago. The people who built the Parthenon wouldn't be alive to build this house. This is a neoclassical style house, Annabeth. That's why it looks so much like the Parthenon. They're trying to copy it."
"Daddy, can I go ring the doorbell?" Annabeth asked as they walked up to the welcome mat.
"Well, that would be practical since I'm the one holding the wine and the food. Can you reach it?"
"Look, Daddy! I grew! When we went trick-or-treating here last year, I couldn't reach it then!"
"Well, of course you grew, Annabeth. It's been almost a year."
Annabeth fidgeted while waiting for the door to open, wondering what her new neighbors would be like. Daddy told her that the lady who moved in across the street from them had a kid her age. She hoped the kid was a girl, so they could become best friends.
They heard feet pattering on the ground and a click of a lock. "Mom, Mom! I want to get it! I want to get it!"
"Percy, honey, the door's pretty heavy." The door opened with a swish and before Annabeth stood a woman who had dark curly hair and a little boy with even darker hair, who was desperately trying to push past his mom and get a good view of his new neighbors.
Annabeth, who was suddenly shy, tried to duck behind her father, "Annabeth, that's not polite. Say hi."
She peered out behind her father's legs and whispered, "Hi, I'm Annabeth. We live over there," pointing to her house.
"It's very nice to meet you Annabeth. My name is Sally, and this silly little boy here," she said, holding Percy by the shoulders, "is Percy. Why don't you two come inside?"
Annabeth grinned. This was exactly what she was hoping for when she bugged her father to take her to visit the new neighbors. She had wanted to see the inside of this Parthenon for a very long time.
A/N: This is an AU/AH story about Percy and Annabeth. Again, it is AU/AH, meaning there will be no demigods, no monster, no Greek mythology in the modern world. It's mostly an exploration of Percy and Annabeth's relationship, and how they will grow over the years (because honestly, everyone could use a little more Percabeth in their lives). Anyways, thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rick Riordan.