A/N: I wanna wish a HUGE happy birthday to percyyoulittlepumpkin on tumbr. She came up with this AU, and she told me I could write it months ago. Sorry it's taken me so long, Mari, but I hope you like it, and I hope you have a great day!
The title is from The Edge of Tonight by All Time Low.
-1082015-
Annabeth was six when she met the neighbors for the first time.
Well, not really their neighbors, but their summer-time neighbors. Annabeth's parents owned a beach house out on the east coast a few hours away from their hometown in Virginia, and they always spent the entire summer out there while her dad worked from his computer.
But anyway—the neighbors. She was six, and she knew that she was the best track runner in her entire class back at school. Her blonde hair was always pulled back into double French braids that her mom helped with in the mornings, and she could even tie her shoes all by herself now.
So she was a confident first grader, stubbornly holding her mom's hand only because they had to walk across the street, alright? Her mom knocked on the door of the house that was across from theirs, and a red-faced little boy opened the door.
He looked like he was about Annabeth's age, but he didn't look anything like her. His black hair was a mess, with white glitter and glue in it. He had stains all over the front of his white shirt, and both of his shoes were untied. His green eyes were wide, and he was calling for his mom a few seconds later.
A nice dark-haired woman appeared in the door, all smiles and waves until they came inside. She was carrying a bundle of blankets, and when it made a sound, Annabeth realized it must have been a baby.
So Annabeth ended up sitting at a table, eating chocolate chip cookies beside the boy that was her age. He didn't look at her, and the only reason he told her that his name was Percy was because his mom made him.
She was convinced that he would be awful to have to play with like her mom was talking about with the nice lady, Sally, who happened to be Percy's mom. But when Annabeth's mom announced it was time to go, Percy slid out of his seat too and followed Annabeth to the door, pressing one more cookie into her hand even after her mom told her she didn't need anymore because she would ruin her dinner.
Annabeth stared down at the cookie for a few seconds before she looked back up to him. She said, "You'll do."
"What?" He asked, scrunching his eyebrows together.
"You'll be an alright best friend. See you tomorrow," she said, following her mom out before he could say anything else.
And the rest of their friendship was pretty much the same, with Percy being stubborn and sweet at the same time and Annabeth ordering him around every chance she got.
Ω
Percy officially got the nickname "Seaweed Brain" the summer they were twelve.
The two of them had been swimming in the ocean, and after Percy came back up from under the water with seaweed draped all over his head, Annabeth had told him that it matched the inside of his brain.
Even though she was being mean when she said it that first time, somehow it stuck and made Percy smile whenever she used it.
Ω
Even though Annabeth loved school, she looked forward to summer vacation more than anyone, mostly because she got to see Percy every single day in the summer. He was still her best friend, somehow surpassing all of her school friends even though she only got to see him three months out of the year.
So that was why she was messing around on the beach with Percy and Hannah, because it was the last day before Annabeth's family went back to Richmond and Percy's headed back to New York.
They had been outside all day, putting on layers of sunscreen to avoid getting burned. Their parents had all gone inside long ago, but since Percy and Annabeth were both fourteen now, they had permission to stay outside with Hannah as long as they were in sight of their houses.
"Annabeth!" Hannah squealed from her castle in the sand. She was seven now, and she looked exactly like Sally. "Let's play princesses!"
"No!" Percy objected immediately, poking his head out around the wall he had built in the sand. "I'm not a princess!"
"You can be a prince instead," Annabeth said, scrambling up from her place in the sand to slide down beside Hannah. "Right, Hannah?"
"Wait!" Hannah said. "The prince and princess have to have a wedding!"
"Uh—" Percy started. His face was already getting red.
Annabeth's was too, but she interrupted Percy before he could say anything because there was no way she was getting married to that seaweed brain, even if it was fake. "But we don't have a ring, and you have to have a ring to get married!"
"I have this!" Hannah yelled, digging something out of the pocket of her shorts and running over to Annabeth.
"Uh, Hannah, where did you get that?" Percy asked, looking down at the sea-glass ring that Hannah had dropped into Annabeth's hand. It was a really pretty ring, all smooth edges and a soft blue stone to compliment the silver band, but it probably cost a good amount of money.
"I found it," Hannah announced smugly. "Now you can get married!"
And then she was herding the both of them toward each other, yelling at Percy to hold her hands and telling Annabeth that her hair looked very pretty. Percy's face was red as Hannah made them repeat their "vows," and Annabeth couldn't look at him throughout the whole thing, especially as he slid the ring onto her finger, even if it was too big.
"Now say 'I do!'" Hannah shouted from where she was standing in front of them.
"I do," Percy mumbled, kicking at the sand with his sneakers.
Annabeth nodded, "I do."
"Now I may pronounce you awfully wedded wife. You're princess and prince forever! And kiss!" Hannah said, waving her hands above her head excitedly.
Annabeth's eyes shot up to Percy's face, and she was frozen in her spot. He hadn't reacted, probably preferring to pretend like he hadn't heard Hannah at all that last time. But when she yelled it again, Annabeth let out a sigh and ducked forward to press a small kiss to his cheek.
Hannah squealed again, yelling in victory before running back over to her sand castle.
"Umm," Percy stuttered. His face was blood red, and he still wasn't looking at her. "Uh, sorry—"
Annabeth rolled her eyes even though she was blushing too. "Don't be stupid, Seaweed Brain."
She caught the shy grin that was on his face just as she turned away.
Ω
Later that same night, Percy and Annabeth were taking one last walk on the beach. She was leaving early in the morning, so they were saying goodbye tonight because they both knew that Percy would end up sleeping through anything they tried to plan in the morning.
The sun was just now setting over the horizon, turning the ocean to flames and casting a warm glow on the sand. The waves were crashing over Annabeth's feet, and she wanted to stay here forever.
Percy was walking beside her, and just when they reached the halfway point where they always turned around, he stopped and turned to look out at the ocean.
"You know, the first time I saw you I thought you looked like a princess," he said. His cheeks were a light red color, and it looked like he was holding back a smile.
"It's the hair," she said absentmindedly, staring at the waves too.
He shrugged, "Maybe."
It was quiet for a few seconds before Percy said, "Um, Annabeth."
"Yeah?"
"Um, can I—uh, can—"
She rolled her eyes, looking over at him, "Spit it out, Seaweed Brain."
"Can I kiss you?" He blurted out, looking like he regretted the words a second later.
"Um, why?" She asked stupidly, unable to say anything else because her best friend, who also was starting to look kind of nice without a shirt if she thought about it, was asking to kiss her. Sue her for being a bit dazed.
His face was burning red now, and he shrugged again. "You kissed me earlier."
And Annabeth really couldn't think of anything to say, so she just nodded.
Percy stepped toward her slowly, like he was giving her time to change her mind and shove him away. When he was just barely an inch from her, he glanced down at her lips and leaned in slower than before.
Annabeth tried not to roll her eyes at him as she reached up and grabbed the collar of his shirt to pull him in. Their lips met, and Percy made a surprised sound against her from where their noses bumped together.
It didn't last long, but it was—it was pretty great. Annabeth was nervous and blushing when he pulled back, but his face was just as red and she had to bite back a smile.
Percy pulled her into a hug, pressing her against his chest. His voice was low and shaky when he said, "'M gonna miss you, princess."
She nodded, "I'm going to miss you too, Percy."
Ω
Annabeth's parents got divorced in November. She went to live with her dad in California, and it was Christmas day when her dad told her that he sold the beach house and they weren't going back.
She was upset for weeks. The beach house was theirs. First, her parents get divorced, then her dad starts working non-stop, and now—
It took a few days for her to realize that she would never see Percy again because of it.
And—she was a mess for a few weeks. Annabeth wasn't ever going to get to see her best friend again because of her parents, and to be honest, that hurt more than this whole divorce thing did anyway.
That summer, Annabeth's mom made her go visit her in Greece, and even though Annabeth loved the place, she couldn't stand the thought that Percy and Hannah were on the beach without her, without having any clue what happened to her.
Ω
Annabeth had kept the ring that she had gotten from Hannah on the beach that day, and when she got home from Greece that summer, she went up to her room, strung it onto a necklace, and put it around her neck.
She never took it off.
Ω
Annabeth dragged her backpack inside the coffee shop with her, pulling her hood down off of her head and shaking the excess water from her jacket. It had been raining all morning, but thankfully, she had the forethought to grab her rain jacket from her closet before setting out for class.
She usually came to the coffee shop a few times a week to study in between her classes. It was only a few blocks from campus, and since they had just started the spring semester, everywhere on campus was flooded with people trying to buy books and get their schedules together. Annabeth herself had just gotten back from San Francisco where she was visiting her dad, and this was the first week of classes so it was the first time Annabeth had been back.
Her usual booth in the corner by the window and outlet was empty, so she tossed her backpack down onto the table before grabbing her wallet and making her way to the counter. There was one other older woman in line, discussing her order with the black-haired barista. After a few seconds, he caught her looking at him, and she forced her gaze away from his sharp jaw line and bright eyes to stare up at the menu on the wall like she hadn't been here a million times and like she wasn't going to order the same drink she always did.
She was still staring at the menu, trying to plan out the rest of her week when a deep voice cut through her thoughts and said, "How can I help you?"
"Just a tall iced macchiato please," she said immediately, looking down to her wallet. One of her curls fell down into her face, and Annabeth reached up to shove it back behind her ear, catching her necklace on the way. It happened a lot, so she let it drop back against her skin with the familiar weight of the ring.
The barista didn't say anything for a second, causing Annabeth to look up curiously.
She had to do a double-take when she did.
He was staring at her too, and Annabeth realized that those eyes she had spotted earlier were bright green. Like, one of the prettiest colors she had ever seen, and why did they look so damn familiar—?
He blushed suddenly, looking down at the register and hurriedly punching in her order. His skin was tan, and he was devastatingly good-looking but there was something that Annabeth felt like she was missing about him.
"Sorry," he apologized, grabbing her cup and sliding the marker out of the cup holder next to him. "You just look like someone that I used to know. Name for your order?"
She laughed slightly, "Annabeth."
He nodded, uncapping the pen to write on the cup, but he was halfway through her name when he stopped suddenly and looked up at her.
It hit her right before he opened his mouth.
"Percy?" She asked, eyes roaming over his face and shoulders. Her voice sounded weird, but this whole situation was weird.
His eyes lit up suddenly, and a grin devoured his face. "I knew it was you!"
"Oh my god," she laughed. "It's been forever since I saw you! You look so different."
"So do you," he said, one side of his mouth pulling up into a smile just like she remembered. "What are you doing here? I wasn't sure what happened since you never came back…?"
She winced, "My parents got divorced. I went to live with my dad in California, and he said that the beach reminded him too much of Mom, so we never went back. I wanted to tell you, but—"
"Yeah, yeah," he said, shaking his head. His eyes were wide, and he was staring at her like he couldn't believe this. "That sucks, Annabeth. I'm sorry."
She shrugged, "Thanks. I'm studying at Cornell now."
"Seriously? You've been this close the whole time, and I'm just now finding you?" Percy asked with a small laugh. "I'm going to Ithaca College."
"Really?" Annabeth asked. She never would have dreamed that she would see him again, let alone be in the same city as him. "This is crazy, Seaweed Brain."
Percy grinned at the slip of his old nickname, and really, Annabeth couldn't stop smiling either.
He opened his mouth to say something, but someone behind Annabeth cleared their throat, and she turned around to see a line forming behind her. Percy blushed again, but he said, "Are you going to be here for a while? I can take my break."
She found herself nodding and smiling, "Yeah. I'll be right over there."
He nodded again, and her fingers brushed against his when she handed him her money for her coffee.
It was difficult to keep her eyes off of him when she had returned to her table. She tried to focus on her reading assignment, but after a while, she gave up and just let herself stare at him.
From where she was sitting, Percy had filled out extremely well. His shoulders were broad, and he had shot up in height, surpassing her by nearly a whole head. His black hair was as messy as ever, but it looked windblown instead of ratty. Annabeth could see the muscles in his forearms flex from where he had pushed the sleeves of his sweater up, and she blushed when she started wondering why the hell she was thinking about his muscles.
Memories from those summers came flooding back to her. She and Percy building sand castles in the sand with his little sister, Hannah. She and Percy swimming in the ocean, laughing when Ms. Sally would yell for them to come back in because they were out too far. She and Percy running off on some adventure together, leaving Hannah behind but bribing her with a cool souvenir to keep her mouth shut.
Percy leaning in to kiss her with the sun setting behind them because they were leaving the next day. Their faces being both blood red, but him pulling her in for a hug anyway because it would be a whole year before he got to see her again.
She didn't realize that Percy was coming toward her until he said her name.
Annabeth stood up, and he didn't waste any time until he was tugging her into his arms and pulling her against his chest to wrap his arms around her.
He smelled just like the ocean, and Annabeth smiled against his collarbone.
"Oh my god, Annabeth," Percy laughed, one of his hands tangling in her hair. She burrowed further into his chest. "It really is you."
She leaned back enough to see his face, and her voice was breathy when she said, "Yeah. It's me."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!
-SomethingMoreCreative