Hello again fellow humans (and aliens to those who are)! I have come back from the bottomless pit of writer's block to bring you this! If any of you guys watched Uta no Prince-Sama, you'd know where I based this story from. If not, then enjoy the totally unique idea (*cough* yeah right *cough)
This is a totally different genre to the story I uploaded around the same time as this. Story revolves around music and Percabeth.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Annabeth Chase believed in, what humans call, destiny.
She was a pretty logical person. After graduating as valedictorian of the recent graduates of a prestigious academy for gifted individuals, she knew that her true calling was far from what she's studied the past fifteen years. Her family was what the dictionary would describe as wealthy. They were financially proficient due to her parents' extravagant professions. She lived as a pampered princess in the hands of multiple maids and butlers who suffocate her every second of every day.
Yet, she found release. At the young age of five, she started turning to music. Her mother, the intelligent woman that she was, knew that all the pressure being placed on her daughter was not ideal for a child's growth. Therefore, she allotted a small part of the money they have in excess into funding her musical education. Annabeth was gifted with every musical instrument she dreamed of playing at that age. She was given a teacher who remained patient with her despite the mistakes she made. By six, she already mastered the piano, the violin, the cello, and the harp. Her heart beats for the music she composes and she yearned for this form of release whenever she was away from it.
Annabeth knew that the arts will not provide her with a sustainable future. She did not enjoy relying on the taste of other people to find out whether she would eat dinner that night or not. Instead, she will learn the arts but pursue architecture instead. After all, she started appreciating structural design shortly after she finished pre-school.
Therefore, at age eighteen, she enrolled to a sophisticated university for artistically inclined persons. She met with her friends with whom she met whilst she was taking the exam. They talked, told stories, and laughed as if they've known each other forever. By the time the bell rang, they all proceeded to the main courtyard for the welcoming remarks for the entire student body.
After taking a decent seat with her companions, silence struck the surrounding crowd. Annabeth, not very used to the resounding stillness, looked around for the source and found herself losing her voice as well.
During her time back in high school, she paid little attention to the premature adolescent boys trying to gain her attention. Now that she was free from math equations and laboratory experiments, she found herself more vulnerable to the opposite gender. What little experience she had with the one or two boyfriends throughout her teenage years was useless now.
He was single-handedly the most attractive man she has ever laid eyes on. In the midst of his small group of friends, he was the one who stood out the most in her perspective. His eyes reflected the ocean in a calm summer's day, with the perfect mixture of greens and blues and the tiniest hint of hazel. He had the infuriatingly unkempt hairstyle that only a select few from the billions of males out there could pull off. His build was reflective of a swimmer and a fighter: tall, lean, but definitely muscular.
And yet, his physical perfection was not what took her breath away. It was the way he moved, the way he spoke, the way he interacted with the other lovestruck teenagers around him. He seemed so happy, like an innocent child resting on his mother's bosom or a puppy dog who had just seen his owner after a long day. His movements were smooth and graceful, filled with life and enthusiasm. He seemed to be one of those guys who never let what others say get to him. She had just seen him defend a small child from her bullies exactly an hour ago, as she was going here. His kindness was almost inhuman.
She paid little attention to the men walking alongside him. Once she has already seen perfection, nothing can meet with her standards anymore. She was hardly like this in the past. She paid attention to monotonous lectures and redundant public speeches. She sat through an entire documentary about the history of yarn and she was not fazed a single bit. Now, she found herself constantly looking to his direction, slowly falling in love with her idea of who he was despite the fact that she does not know in the slightest what his name was.
After the lecture, she dragged her luggage up the grand staircase towards the room she shared with Thalia, one of her friends. It was relatively small from what she's used to but it was still quite large for a normal person. She enjoyed the big glass doors leading to an adjacent terrace and the seemingly symmetrical room design cut cleanly in half.
Annabeth took the bed on the left, carefully placing her luggage someplace easily accessible as she started to unpack her belongings. Thalia chose to procrastinate as she had merely chosen to play with her phone instead of cleaning up. If Annabeth was given the time and the privilege, she could have done the work for her friend but that was just not agreeable.
It was already nearing sunset when the blonde finally finished decorating her side of the room to her liking. She initially wanted to mimic her bedroom back in the mansion but decided otherwise. She wanted to live a much simpler lifestyle here than she did back home.
Her curiosity persuaded her to discover the school grounds despite the inevitable darkness. Bringing nothing but herself, she bid her unusual friend a temporary goodbye before heading towards the gardens. She was glad for the lampposts illuminating the darkened pavement. If it wasn't for that, she would already be lost even with her impeccable sense of direction and eidetic memory. Her casual strolling led her to different landmarks of the campus, all of which she was greatly impressed with. It was at the end of her journey when she discovered the most beautiful thing.
It was a large crystal blue lake, reflecting the luminescent glow of the full moon as quiet ripples from soft wind disturbed the otherwise calm water. Unfortunately for her, she was not alone. It would have been best for the intelligent soul to bask in the utter magnificence of nature in private but she couldn't help it if other persons enjoyed the sight just as much as she does.
After careful observation of her companion, she found that it was actually the same man who she was ogling at during the assembly. There was a sentimental air about him as he sat on the moist grass just by the shore. He was almost ethereal in this light, with an unknown power radiating off him in waves. She was sure that she was hidden well in the shadows and no normal person would ever pay attention enough if they sense that someone was watching them but he was different. She jumped in surprise when she heard him call her over.
Shamed that she was caught, she approached him as cautiously as she could. To make matters worse, she was dressed in her nightclothes with a sheer silk robe protecting her decency. He gestured for her to sit beside him, a small smile playing on his soft-looking lips. His green eyes glowed in the darkness and the silhouette of his face sent shivers up her spine.
"This is my favorite place on campus," Were his first words to her, his gaze set on the lake instead of her. "I always come here when the attention gets overwhelming." He looked to her and flashed yet another crooked grin that turned her legs to jelly. "My name's Percy, by the way. Percy Jackson."
She took his outstretched hand with her own, "Annabeth Chase."
"Annabeth…" He played with the new, unusual words before deciding that he liked the way it sounded when he said it. "Annabeth is such a beautiful name." He complimented her easily but sincerely, unlike all the empty flattering she received as she grew up.
They stayed in comfortable silence the next few minutes, enjoying each other's company before they were forced to part by campus curfew. Before that time comes, she would absorb every moment she has with him. "What are you taking?" She asked him after a while, ignoring how cold she felt in her choice of clothing.
"Music, composition to be specific." He looked as if he felt the need to justify his answer but decided otherwise.
She smiled at him, "Me too. What do you play?" She didn't know why she felt the need to ask that. She was going to find out anyways.
"Piano, guitar, violin… I couldn't choose which one I'll focus on so I'm still thinking about it." She nodded in understanding. She felt the same way about her own dilemma. "How about you?"
She told him about her instruments and explained how playing the piano always seemed to capture her heart more than the others. He agreed and disagreed with her. They playfully bantered a few times until the bell chimed ten minutes until curfew. He stood from his place beside her, extending a hand to help her up. She took it. They said their goodbyes and promises of meeting again. Annabeth gave an involuntary shiver as a specifically cool breeze hit her like an iceberg.
"You know what? I'll walk you to your room." He offered as he shrugged off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders. "Don't want you getting lost along the way, right?"
She smacked him in the arm softly, "I know perfectly well where I'm headed but I can never deny such a mannered offer." They laced their fingers together, something that seemed so right even if they've only known each other for a short while. The clock tower showed five minutes until ten but they didn't bother to rush. She leaned to him, he pulled her closer. If a totally objective perspective would have seen them now, they would already have dubbed them as a couple.
At the front door of her dorm room, she found herself refusing to part from him. He placed a hand on the small of her back, his fingers fluttering over her cheekbones, "I'll see you again." He told her, his lips ghosting over the skin of her forehead. Her lips tingled in jealousy. "Keep my jacket safe, okay? It's my favorite."
"I will." She exhaled sadly, "Promise me you won't forget."
"I won't." With that, his mouth found hers in a soft, almost chaste, kiss before he opened the door to her room, whispered yet another sorrowful goodbye and left.
Hey! Did'ya like it? Huh, huh, huh? (*pokes you until you answer*). I know it sort of escalated quite quickly but that's how I love me mah Percabeth, y'know? I hope I'm not alone in this.
Freedom of Speech is rightfully provided to all my readers so you can voice out your opinions (please be nice, I'm sensitive... kiddinggg!) Love you all.
Oh, and if any of you noticed, the title is a reference to Mattie Stepanek, one of my greatest heroes. If you guys don't know him, please try reading up on his background.