Long time no see! Sorry about that, everyone knows how school is. Recently, I've decided to write more for the new year and so, I'm posting a songfic I wrote over winter vacation! It's a Percabeth AU based on the 5 Seconds of Summer song, "English Love Affair"!
I think I might write another based on one of their other songs, I'm not fully a fan but I adore two songs in particular, but until then I'm not too sure!
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or 5SOS's song!
[EDIT: Edited out song lyrics so I recommend you listen to the song while reading!]
English Love Affair
.
Percy Jackson was in deep trouble. Scrunched over his table, scratching his head in the middle of his library…writing a fucking love song.
This was not his style; in fact it was cramping his style. When you're an internationally acclaimed musician at the top of your game, you're off stumped on writing lyrics most of the time. But not Percy Jackson. Hell, he was famous for the fact he could so easily write songs. Of course though, he didn't write love songs. For all his eighteen years, he had never really given girls a second glance. Most of them liked him for his fame and his good looks, which he didn't blame them. At sixteen, he debuted with a platinum-selling album with his friends and took the world by storm. For three years, Jupiter was platinum and young and old went crazy for them. They took their chances with risky rock songs and indie pop ballads and managed to stump every music critic on how none, absolutely none, of the songs were about love, or alternatively, about a girl. Regardless of this, their girl fans were obsessed with them. They were stalked, followed, screamed at and freaked out about in every middle and high school across the country, well, across the world.
He started out as a ratty kid in New York City who got kicked out of every school he ever entered, with no dad and a mom working shifts constantly, and with one album and a solid passion for music, Percy made himself the most famous young musician ever. Well, along with his friends. Jason, Leo, and Nico helped him take the world by storm. The fond memories of the four of them getting together and jamming in the early years would never leave Percy.
But really, he had to write this song. It was their manager, Luke, who proposed the idea. The next step to making it even bigger was to doing something unexpected, something they never had done before. And that was love in this instance.
Percy groaned and rubbed his face, grumbling into his hands and pressing his fingers to his temples. He sat in the middle of the modern library of the fancy, expensive flat that he had bought his mother the second he got his first million dollar paycheck. She was somewhere off with Paul, her boyfriend. Percy was glad she was happy, but really right now he was very glad he was alone.
He stood suddenly, gathering up his papers and walked out of the library, into the open concept flat with its floor to ceiling windows. Percy, only wear blue plaid boxers, didn't shy from the obvious exposure. He was up fifty floors above the paparazzi outside the expensive apartment complex, and unless they bought a helicopter there was no way they'd be able to click a photo. Stretching, he grabbed an energy drink and padded into his music room.
It was completely soundproof, and each of his twenty guitars gleamed as if greeting him. A spare drum set sat in the corner so when Leo came over, he wouldn't have to lug his own around and a couple of bass guitars hung on the walls for Nico. Jason kept his own guitars at his place, because he had some kind of trust issues after Percy smashed one of his favorites at a show in Berlin (also Percy was pretty sure Jason slept with them).
He propped the pages on a spare music stand and hefted up one of his limited edition navy Fenders, slipping the strap over his head and letting the cold clean back of the guitar press against his bare abs. When you're a rock star, you don't let yourself go. But it wasn't really time to ogle his own abs or anything (that he worked damn hard to get, just in case you're wondering); he was thoroughly stumped on what to do with this song. He tried a few chords, grimacing when all he came up with was a low bass line. At least it was something, right? He blew out of his nose, his messy hair ruffling. Luke was going to be pissed when he finds out Percy put off this so long and still couldn't find anything, and there was no way – no way – Percy was going to resort to buying some lyricist's sappy shit.
Percy sighed, pulled the guitar off of him and slid it back into its spot on the holding rack. Frustrated, he balled up his fist and slammed it against the light wood wall. "Fuuuuck." He groaned and flopped against the wall, sliding down into a crouch. He was silent for a few more minutes as he propped his arms out, drooping his head in between them. His mother would always talk to him when he was younger, about historical artists and musicians. Dozens of school trips to art and music museums had left him with high regard for the brilliant minds before him and it took him a while to realize that music had really never changed through the centuries at all. It was still the same man-made creativity that brought beautiful sound to humans' ears, and whatever inspired that Percy needed and he needed it right now.
Mind set, he stood and went straight for his phone. He was in need of some serious inspiration.
(...)
There are a lot of things that can do wrong when you're eighteen years old. Of course, none of those things had happened to Annabeth yet. She ran through puberty as smoothly as you can for being an American teenager sent off to live in London at an all girls' boarding school. She was from Virginia originally and bounced from California to New York, where she really belonged in her opinion, but her parents divorced when she was ten and her famous architect mother was far too busy to take care of her and far too stubborn to let her father take her.
So at eleven years old she was sent to St. Hera's Institute for Exceptional Women and thus began her seven-year reign in the school that refused to let her go. Along the way, she made friends, a lot of them actually. Other Americans went there too, in fact Piper McLean, the teenage daughter of that one famous actor she could never really remember the name of, and Thalia Grace, the famous punk sister of one of the band members of Jupiter. The girls at St. Hera's couldn't really make much time to watch any of their shows (St. Hera's was practically medieval, there were no TVs) but every iPod carried by the girls was guaranteed to have at least a couple of their songs. After living her fair share of fame however, Annabeth couldn't be bothered with how famous her friends' relatives were.
But now Annabeth was well into her final year at St. Hera's. She might've been wildly respected by the younger girls and probably one of the most popular girls in her year, but she was also widely infamous due to her, well, intense tactics when it came to making St. Hera's lacrosse team the best in the county. She had been captain since her third year and regarded as the 'crazy American' by other private schools girls' lacrosse teams, but it couldn't be helped. She was simply far too good.
It was just the beginning of second term and she had just gotten back from a lonely spring break trip to Paris, France, where she had been dragged by her mother then dropped in the hotel room for days at a time, when news broke out. As she stepped from the shining Mercedes down to the familiar cobblestone courtyard of the campus just outside of London, there was an ecstatic buzz in the air as girls rushed left and right and greeted their friends with high pitched squeals of various accented voices.
Her mother's driver bid his farewell, plopped her trunk next to her and sped off, probably to pick up said mother from Heathrow or maybe an important meeting somewhere in the financial district. But Annabeth paid no mind, she can gotten over the whole 'too busy, can't see you' attitude her mother always brought up as a defense mechanism to never see the daughter she had with the man she now hated. Flipping her golden curls over her shoulder, which were messy from running her fingers through them because of the architecture study pack assigned, she easily picked up her trunk with one hand and walked upward to the main doors.
Girls greeted her left and right and she made sure to say hello to everyone, grinning a bit. It was when she reached the front steps when Piper popped up. She had gotten prettier over spring break and her hair was a lighter shade of brown from the sun, shaggier than Annabeth remembered and this time with a pretty Peregrine Falcon feather.
"Annabeth!" Piper grinned and grabbed her friend up in a hug. It was sweet sound to hear her friend's American accent in a sea of British ones and Annabeth grinned into Piper's uniformed shoulder. "Hi! How was California? Nice tan." Annabeth laughed as she pulled back. Piper rolled her eyes at her and they walked up through the main hall together. "Oh my god, be quiet. You're like the epitome of a California girl. Blond hair, tan skin, brilliant smile and if your eyes were blue, you'd be a package."
Annabeth snorted, "Well sorry my eyes are gray then." And they laughed together as they went down the South wing to the girls' dorms. Annabeth glanced around at the dark oak architecture she'd come to love, eager and slightly sad for the last term before she'd have to leave this place. St. Hera's was all she'd ever known, but it was all she'd ever loved, with all her friends here and every ounce of perfect education she'd come to appreciate. Where else would she study other than St. Hera's large library and where else would she kick major ass out of every challenger in sight other than St. Hera's grassy fields?
"My dad and I had dinner once the whole week," Piper grimaced, "But at least we ate at Mel's." Her fingers twisted the feather in her hair and Annabeth gave her a sympathetic smile. She'd been there and she knew Piper would appreciate no comment, just support. They approached the door of Room 7 in a flash and Piper threw it open, not to the regular tidy room that Annabeth was expecting at the start of each term and instead to a nuclear war zone. Thalia Grace's dark clothes were thrown all over the room, covering the two beds, hanging off the brown wardrobe and dresser and all over the light blue carpet. "What the fuck!" raged Thalia, her hands thrown up and her short black hair more messy and spikey than usual. Annabeth's eyebrows went up and she stepped into the room first. "Did your trunk explode? What happened?" She hooked one of Thalia's electric yellow panties with her foot and kicked it the girl's way, trying not to step on a rolling tampon.
Annabeth dumped her trunk on the last bed on the left after clearing Thalia's clothes off. Thalia just grunted in response and hit the bed face down, grumbling into her pillow. "Sorry," Piper sang, "We don't speak Wookie." This made Thalia grumble louder and she grabbed her extra pillow and chunked it Piper's way before turning onto her back. Grinning, Piper caught the pillow and dropped it on the ground before leaning against the doorframe.
"I went to New York for spring break." Thalia stated, a slight tingle of a British accent to her voice, "To hang out with Jason. And it was by far one of the weirdest weeks of my life. I'm not joking when I say those guys of Jupiter are the dumbest boys I've ever met and to top it off, I forgot to bring back one of my maths books!" She groaned again and covered her face. Piper sympathetically awe'd while Annabeth proceeded to pick up Thalia's clothes and toss it back into her open trunk. "Don't take it out on our room then." Annabeth rolled her eyes, "You can borrow mine." Her best friend leaned up on her elbows and smiled brilliantly. "Aw thanks, mate."
Thalia's life was far different from Annabeth's. Her mom was a rising actress and her dad, a huge political and media industry figure who was already married. They received child support for years until Thalia turned eleven and her dad forced her mom to send her off to St. Hera's, leaving her little brother alone with their depressed, alcoholic mother in New York City. They had never met since, until Thalia bought a plane ticket last year to visit for the first time in six years. Her relationship with her mom and Jason was just rekindling but Annabeth could tell it was changing her for the better. There were no more cigarettes hiding around their small dorm room, and no more razors stuffed deep in her suitcases. In time, Annabeth would love to meet Thalia's mother and her brother as well, but she knew that Thalia needed time and space in order to relax in her family again, after years of thinking she was the sole reason that her family was as broken as it was.
"I should probably head out." Piper straightened, running her hands down her skirt, "I got to go return to the hell that is sharing a dorm room with Drew Tanaka." Annabeth sympathetically smiled at her.
"At least she's," Thalia twirled her finger in the air, "not as bad as she was when you guys first came here."
Piper shrugged. "Only because she knows who my dad is," Then her face broke out in a sneer, "And I kicked her ass last year in the locker rooms for breaking Hazel's tooth." Thalia snorted and Annabeth tried to remain stoic. "I had to do extra paperwork on disciplinary acts last year because of you." Annabeth accused, throwing open her trunk.
"It's your own fault for becoming head girl!" Piper shot right back, pointing an accusing finger, "You didn't even lessen my detention time! I thought we were friends, Annabeth!"
"You shattered her nose!" Annabeth cried, failing to hold her laughter back. Piper grinned but narrowed her eyes at her, "Watch your back, Chase, because you're next on my to prank list and let's just say, your knickers might go missing sometime this semester and it won't be the laundry workers who took 'em."
Thalia sat up and covered her mouth with a hand, "Oooh shit, that was a real ass threat. Whatcha gonna do 'bout that, Miss Head Girl, you gonna-?" But whatever Thalia was going to say was abruptly cut off by the distant sounds of screaming and a stampede of Mary Janes against the hard wood of St. Hera's levels. With a screeching slide, a small bolt of blond pigtails and braces crashed into Piper's side to stuff herself into the doorway. The smaller 10th year girl, Lacy, looked at the three of them with large round eyes and breathlessly screamed, "They're coming!"
"What?" Thalia bolted to her feet and Lacy whirled around to face her specifically.
"Jupiter is here! In the UK!"
(...)
Percy ducked his head under the plane's doorway and was greeted onto the tarmac of Heathrow airport to the screams of hundreds of fans pulsing beyond the fence of the airport. The flash of cameras rapidly erupted and he flipped out a pair of shades to position carefully on his nose, hardly able to keep the huge grin off his face. Tilting his Supreme snapback, he raised a hand to the crowds and waved, just as Nico slid past him out of the plane.
"Always the crowd pleaser." He remarked with raised eyebrows. Percy just turned his grin to the shorter guy and shrugged with one shoulder. Luke, their manager, placed his hands on Percy and Nico's shoulders and guided them stiffly down the plane stairs. "Come on, boys," He grumbled, "I need to get to the hotel before the jetlag hits my stomach."
"Ewww." Leo whined from somewhere behind Luke, and Percy couldn't help but laugh as the bodyguards closed in with looming suited chests, cutting them off from the screaming crowds. The smile didn't leave his cheeks, and stayed plastered like a false mask of confirmation that he wasn't floundering, yet Percy utterly was. Three weeks here was sure to set everything straight and help him find something…right?
(...)
He was sure he was going to tear his hair out. Only a week into his trip here in the United Kingdom and there was maybe one note on the page. Percy Jackson was officially stumped. Chopped down and left out like a moody piece of wood. He groaned and flopped onto his bed in the hotel suite. There was no way he would be able to write this song in three weeks, and Luke was already asking for the sheets. "People are getting antsy." The blond twenty five year old would say, tapping his foot in between looking at his watch and checking his Bluetooth.
"Fuck." Percy cursed, jolting up and grabbing his hoodie off the chair in the corner. He needed to get out of here.
When the hotel room door slammed shut, he was already down the hall and taking the stairs two at a time. Dodging the paparazzi by taking the employee back exit, Percy hopped over a fence and took to the back roads of London. The city's chipper busyness was stockpiling on the massive headache he already had so he grabbed the nearest taxi and pulled his hood all the way up as he clambered on it. "Off to somewhere not noisy, thanks." He mumbled and the cabby's eyebrows rose in the rearview mirror before the black taxi raced off.
(...)
Annabeth Chase needed some serious sun. She looked practically 'ghastly' as Thalia had told her that morning, but it was entirely the crappy English weather's fault on that part. It was always overcast, or raining. Neither of which Annabeth liked that much. Regardless of whether the weather was up to her standards, the bi-monthly trip out of St. Hera's looming walls was just what she and the fifty other girls of her year needed. The packed trolley bus into town was clambering with seniors squealing over the prospect of buying goodies and restocking chocolate supplies. Annabeth felt a little bad that Thalia was left behind but really it was all her own fault for violating dress code by deciding to put in a black stud on her nose piercing instead of her regular clear, and highly unnoticeable, stud.
"It goes with my aesthetic!" She had whined to Annabeth the night prior, but against all of her friend's begging, there was no way she could sway the wrath of Mrs. Dodds. Annabeth could still remember the sting of her flat ruler against the back of her knees until St. Hera's actually evolved into the 21st century and took away the metal slapstick.
"Annabeth!" Clarisse jostled her, "Are you listening?" Annabeth was not and turned to face her and Silena.
"What?" Annabeth blinked and they both snorted.
"Mrs. Dodds made Silena wear a gross mustard yellow sweater because her neckline was too scandalous." Clarisse sneered and Silena, the dark haired girl next to her, flushed. "It's not even that low," She whined, balling up the sweater in her palm, "But my purse is too small for me to carry it. Can you take it for me, Annabeth? No one else has bag space."
The mustard yellow sweater was wooly looking in the way where there were peals of fluff from the fabric balling up, and the sleeves were frayed at the edges. Overall, it looked pretty itchy, but knowing Silena, she must've been meeting her longtime boyfriend in town and wanted to look cute (even though the students of St. Hera's were strictly forbidden from having any sort of boyfriend). Shrugging, Annabeth grabbed the sweater to the cheers of her peers. "Thank you so much, Annabeth!" Silena cried happily as Annabeth pulled the sweater over her head.
"No prob." The sweater muffled the blonde's voice, and the mustiness of the sweater immediately made her cough loudly. Her friends laughed, and Clarisse clapped her on the back rather hard to try and help.
When the bus stopped, each girl scrambled to get off. They only had an hour and a half and every second counted before they had to be carted back to plaid skirt hell. On the trips to town, the uniform wasn't required but having come straight from Head Girl business, the dainty grey and red plaid hung snug on Annabeth's hips. "Roll it up, at least." Clarisse insisted as Silena placed her hands under Annabeth's newly acquired sweater in order to roll the waist up twice. Annabeth usually didn't "roll" her skirts, as most girls did. She didn't have a problem with it, but her legs made her skirts look short enough and now the hem brushed against the higher tops of her thighs.
"I feel like a scandalous cat lady." She commented dryly as they milled around in the chocolate shop. "In fact, I should probably go get a pack of pads before I leak and everyone will be able to see since my skirt's so damn short." Clarisse snorted and Silena flushed, but they both bade goodbyes as Annabeth left for the convenience store. It was the last thirty minutes of the time they had and girls were scrambling around the two or so blocks that were the main shopping streets of the small town of Hestia.
The line for the store was short, and the forty-something year old clerk gave her an odd glance for the weird look Annabeth was sporting but she couldn't care in the slightest. Grabbing the bag, she headed out of the corner store and carelessly bumped straight into a young couple. "Sorry!" She gasped and stumbled backwards, immediately loosing her footing on the edge of the curb and tripping back into the cobblestone street.
Annabeth was a second away from landing on her back on the hard cold cobblestones when a pair of hands landed on her biceps and righted her up immediately. She gasped at the foreign touch and the rush of being upright so quickly but whirled around to face her savior.
The boy was about a head taller than her, with tan even skin and a pair of dark shades covering his gaze. The messy head of black hair ruffled in the wind and for as much as she could see, he was pretty handsome. "You okay?" His voice was deep, free of a British accent and insanely familiar, and his face was etched with innocent concern.
"Uh…yeah," She stepped back from him, "Thanks!" She could tell he was looking at her sweater and skirt combo and it was making her, Annabeth Chase, insanely nervous for whatever reason. Just as if whoever in the sky was tilting a hat her way, Clarisse's urgent voice called out from down the block. "Annabeth! Time!"
He looked up too, and then back to her, opening his mouth. She glanced away, to the ground and back at his face. He looked…so weirdly familiar. "Bye." She said and turned away, jogging down the street in the bus stop's direction. Just as she was about to turn the corner, she glanced over her shoulder back at the boy on the corner. He looked up just in time to catch her eye before Clarisse grabbed her upper arm and dragged Annabeth around the corner. "What were you staring at? Jeez!" Clarisse huffed as they clambered onto the bus.
But Annabeth didn't answer. Her head had never worked so hard to wrap itself around a concept so simple, but one that she never encountered before.
(...)
Percy didn't mean to stare. But the girl in front of him was probably one of the most gorgeous girls he had ever seen. She looked his age, with the pale hint of a tan and steely gray eyes that would be intimidating if she didn't look so shocked from the abruptness of being caught. Her golden curly hair was swept up in a ponytail with flyaway strands curling in her face and catching on her bottom lip. But the most startling thing was her outfit. "You okay?" He managed.
Percy wasn't really into fashion, or specifically girl's fashion, but her jumper looked like something his nana would wear and her plaid skirt looked like part of some uniform. "Uh…," She trailed off, "yeah. Thanks!"
Struggling to think of something else to say, his thoughts were cut off by a particularly loud yell down the street that the girl in front of him immediately responded to. Annabeth? Was that her name? He was just about to ask when she muttered a 'bye' and walked quickly away.
And once again, he did not mean to stare but her hips made her skirt bounce with every step. It wasn't like she meant to do it too, her stride was determined, not teasing and when she glanced over her shoulder and they locked eyes, he held his breath until she was dragged out of view.
When he slid into the cabbie's taxi again, he barely greeted the man, who was too busy with a meat sandwich anyways. "Got a pen?" He breathed, shoving his hand in his pocket and pulling out a crumbled receipt. The cabbie passed back a ratty hotel pen and Percy's hand flew as he scrambled to write down the lyrics and notes that were suddenly becoming so clear to him.
(...)
"I can't believe we're doing this." Annabeth grumbled.
"I can't either!" Piper practically squealed, trying to not look like she was having the time of her life. Only a scheme like this would be produced at the hands of Thalia; something good at the center but with a lot of loopholes the principal would probably suspend them for if they got caught. Thalia had insisted that they actually meet her brother, but there was no way Jason Grace of Jupiter would be able to go around the little town of Hestia unnoticed by the roaming packs of St. Hera's girls during the only time they were allowed in town.
So they were sneaking out, to a club. In London.
Annabeth Chase was supposed to be Head Girl, a stunning dazzling example for all the rest of St. Hera's students and here she was in one of Piper's dresses, crammed in a taxi between the two troublemakers themselves. Thalia looked like a Goth goddess, who decided to delve in the British rave life, while Piper looked like she walked out of an indie hip hop music video. "Remember, take no drinks from anybody. Piper, you especially because you're such a sloppy drunk." Thalia smirked over to Piper.
"Oh my god, I am not!" She whined and the two argued good-naturedly while Annabeth tried to make her hem longer than it really was.
The club was packed when they arrived, and it took one wink from Piper for the bouncer to let them in. Annabeth's ankle boots had the lowest heels of the group so she was designated middle link to escort the two around the varying levels of the club. The music was making her temples ache and Piper was trying to drag them to the dance floor whilst Thalia was dragging them the other way to try and find Jason. "Ugh, fine go ahead!" Thalia shooed them off before disappearing into the crowd to look by herself.
Piper tried her best with Annabeth, but the blonde could only dance so much. It was fun though, whirling and shaking their hips together as they laughed. Halfway through the second song, Piper leaned in to Annabeth's ear. "Look at the attention we're causing!" Piper said over the music, grinning. It might've made her pleased but Annabeth instantly flushed and looked around in embarrassment.
"Piper," She started to say but was cut off by Thalia. She popped right up to them with the biggest grin on her face, her hands latching onto their hips. "You won't believe who else is here!" She dragged them through the crowd and up a private set of stairs, to the VIP area. As they approached, the crowd seemed to part to reveal the velvet booth and the four members of Jupiter lounging on it.
Annabeth's jaw remained lax in surprise up until he was leading her out of the club and into the street off to the side of it. Everything mindlessly clicked to some extent, but her eyes were still the size of saucers. She couldn't get a read of the boy's face in the varying light of street lamps and headlights of cars, but his eyes shown crystal clear in the night, like little pieces of ocean, the one physical trait that he was so crucially famous for.
"Why were you in Hestia?" She gasped immediately, trying to register what exactly was going on. He was…Jason's band mate. In fact, the leader of them…Percy Jackson, in the flesh and his hand was still lingering on her arm. He mumbled something like 'clear my head' before speaking up and changing the subject entirely, "So your name is Annabeth?"
She paused, searching his face then the street around them. It was less populated than the block with the club, and she slowly looked back up at him. "Yeah. Annabeth Chase. I'm Thalia's friend." She cleared her throat, "And you're…really Percy Jackson?"
He shrugged, his lips curling into a small smile. His eyes were sparkling something fierce and her stomach dropped. "Something like that." He murmured back, stuffing his hands in his pockets. His white shirt looked brighter in the moonlight, and the gold chain and black pants looked too New York for a club in London. "Hey, I need… to tell you that I can't…stop…" He started, but the familiar chugging of a struggling engine froze her solid.
"Oh my god." She cut in, grabbing his arm. Mrs. Dodds, at one in the morning, was put-putting along down the street in her rusty old Volkswagen Beetle and there was no way she could see Annabeth, in a tiny dress, out in the early a.m. in London, with a boy. Dead panic set in her stomach and she grabbed Percy and directed both of them straight into the backseat of a parked unattended limo. His back hit the cushions and she plopped straight down onto his chest. "Scoot back!" Her urgency stirred him and he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled them fully into the limo.
Annabeth ducked her head and peered out the window as the Beetle passed without any hesitance, and she held her breath and stilled as it turned the corner at the end of the street and disappeared. Only then, did she resume breathing, and fully realize the position she was in. "Oh! So sorry." She gasped and scrambled back from Percy.
"No uh," His grin popped back up again, but this time a bit absentmindedly as if he was thinking of something, "it's fine."
(...)
The third time Percy saw Annabeth Chase, she wasn't in something short. She was actually in her school uniform and looked pretty pissed with him all around. But then again, when was finding a rock star in your closet a truly becoming experience? Despite your answer, it wasn't becoming to Head Girl Annabeth Chase.
"What are you doing here?" She whispered fiercely as he climbed out of the wardrobe. Her hair, down for once, swirled around her as she glanced down the corridor both ways. "Jason wanted to sneak in," He replied smoothly, dusting himself off, "to see Thalia, but I'm pretty sure he wanted to see Piper too."
She snorted. "That's good because she never stops gushing about him when Thalia brings him up. But why are you here?" Her nose crinkled and her lips screwed up as she narrowed her eyes at him. Annabeth Chase's buttons were so easy to press by not answering her questions but he knew he'd get a punch if he didn't soon. "I wanted to see you." He simply said, trying not to let his cheeks heat up but failing completely.
Annabeth failed too, her cheeks blossoming in color. "Well, that's sweet and all," She started, grabbing his sweater in one hand, "but I need to get you out of here before a prefect comes and sees us."
They were close enough for him to smell her shampoo. It was something light and more spicy than fruity, and fit her perfectly. Before he could say much of anything, she was dragging him down the winding corridors of St. Hera's, pushing him against walls and ducking behind corners to avoid students who didn't have class. "Oof." He breathed as they smashed together into a little crevice in the wall. Annabeth mumbled a small "sorry" but wiggled back against him in order to not be seen.
In order to give them more room, Percy leaned back. "Wait!" Annabeth gasped, just as he did so but the wall gave and they both fumbled back into a large common room. The door slammed against the wall and their shoes squeaked loudly enough as they tried to stay upright. Freezing in place, Annabeth stared back at the multiple first years' faces, her hand grabbing Percy's forearm quickly.
A bad move, on Annabeth's behalf, because all the faces in the room turning straight at the oblivious Percy, who was tending to his expensive shoes. "Percy…" Annabeth's strangled mumble made him look up and freeze as well. There was a collective intake of breath, before the entire room erupted in screaming and Annabeth bolted, dragging Percy behind her, out of the room.
Annabeth was not about to let Percy get caught by first years, which might be scarier than getting caught by staff. They dodged and weaved through the halls, taking back entrances and dusty staircases down to the bottom floor where Annabeth crowded Percy quickly into the service hallways. They were smaller and tighter than the main halls, but soon they reached the back entrance of St. Hera's.
It was raining on the grounds and stepping out onto the cobblestones, Annabeth groaned unhappily. "I'm so sorry," She looked up at Percy, "You should leave quickly. Before those first years find you. Eleven year olds are terrifying, you know."
Percy grinned at her and shrugged. "It's cool. You okay?" He frowned now, "Aren't you going to get in trouble?" His hand caught her wrist, the other swiping his now wet fringe back in order to see her.
Raindrops clung to her eyelashes and dripped down her forehead. "I'll be fine," She smirked, "This isn't the first time the Head Girl caused trouble." His eyebrows shot up and his grin quickly replaced the concerned smile. "Yeah?" He laughed, "Had no idea English school girls could be such troublemakers."
He was so cute, standing in front of her with his big grin and his hair wet. The raindrops were trickling down his jawline, and Annabeth faintly realized how cold it was out in the English countryside rain. "Well now you know." She breathed and stretched up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his.
His lips were rough, like someone who didn't apply lip balm every day like she did, but they were warm and pressed back eagerly to her own. Annabeth grasped his sweater with balled fists in order to stay upright and kiss back as hard as he was, and sensing her struggle, Percy wound an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
It was something out of a movie; she had to admit, kissing a rock star in the rain. She felt soggy if anything, but the butterflies weren't stopping, even after they pulled away. His breath came out in one big puff as if he was holding it and her lips twisted into a modest smile. "You need to go." She murmured, settling back on the balls of her feet.
"Right," He breathed, "yeah. Can I see you some time soon?" When she nodded, his face erupted with a big grin and he squeezed her hand once before carefully jogging around to the front of the school where Jason and the getaway car were parked.
Annabeth Chase stood in the rain a little longer, tracing her lips and wondering to herself how many girls would kill her for finding out that Percy Jackson was an extraordinary kisser. She made her mind up on 'lots' and turned to trudge back into the mess she and Percy caused in St. Hera's.
(...)
His hands grasped her thighs and heaved so her back slid against the brick wall and her long legs could wrap around his waist. As if glued together, their lips moved roughly against each other's and his hand roamed up the back of her shirt. Annabeth hadn't really planned on making out with Percy Jackson against some tavern's wall when she was let out to town for the second time that month, but when he showed up on his own accord, it was the first thing she could think of doing.
"Percy," She breathed as his hand slid back down to grab her waist. She could already feel how excited he was, and his lips were practically bruising hers. "Annabeth?" He responded lowly, pressing his lips to her neck and nipping gently.
In her head, she tried to go about it eloquently. St. Hera's hadn't taught her anything about boys, but it had taught her how to not make rash decisions. "Let's go somewhere," She held back a squeak when he kissed deeper on her collarbone, "with a bed."
The simple words hung in the air after escaping her mouth, there was many a second or two pause before her legs dropped and Percy stepped out of the shadows of the alleyway to whistle for the taxi down the street. When they climbed in, Percy's voice was gruff as he rambled an address to the cabbie and with one hand, rolled up the taxi's partition and the other, grabbed Annabeth closer.
(...)
Percy had to admit this would not happen back in the States. But the limited time with Annabeth made him do crazy things. He felt drunk on how good she looked with parted lips and red cheeks, and he only faintly remembered telling the cabbie to change direction to her place in the middle of Mayfair. Her door was the next thing he remembered, and how she dragged him up the stairs to her room, her lips also dragging across his neck.
Every kiss was getting more and more heated, her skirt was pooled around her ankles in seconds and his shirt was hanging off the chair in the corner by the time they hit the bed. The sheets crinkled, white and shining in the afternoon sunlight and her lips found a spot on his neck that made him want to ravage her with every bite she gave.
With a light push, her back hit the sheets and she gasped as his fingers threaded through her ponytail and snapped the rubber band so her golden hair would be free. "Percy…?" She prompted, but his lips silenced her quickly. His hands traced hot paths on her silky smooth skin, grabbing her hips and parting her thighs, and trying not to dissolve at the glide of her fingers across his back. She moaned when his fingers hooked into her panties, and he was faintly aware of Annabeth yanking off her shirt before he slipped off her panties, slid onto his knees on the hardwood floor and sent her world spinning.
(...)
"Are…you serious?" Piper's voice always went high whenever she just found out something truly surprising. Thalia looked rather sick actually and Annabeth wondered if they would even believe her. Who would, considering she just admitted to fucking a renowned band member of a famous band?
"I'm gonna vomit," Thalia groaned, holding her head, "I had no idea that kid was…and you and oh my god." She fell back against the covers of her bed and rolled around onto her face to grumble against the bed. Piper spoke up again, her voice higher than before, "Well what now? Are you guys together?"
That stumped her. Annabeth frowned. "I don't know." She shrugged, "He's already at the airport to fly back to New York."
The whole room remained silent until Thalia peeled herself off the covers and grabbed her coat. Annabeth and Piper looked at her curiously as she straightened the collar determinedly. "Well?" She snapped, "Get up! We have to get to Heathrow."
Piper squealed and jumped up. "This is like a movie!" She clapped her hands and pulled Annabeth up by her forearm. But the blonde wasn't so easily accepting. "Guys, it was just a fling." She pleaded.
Thalia and Piper stilled and the room was quiet again. It was as if, from miles away, they could hear the private jet taking off and leaving Heathrow for JFK in New York City.
(...)
"What?" Leo snickered, tossing a hacky sack against the private jet's luggage compartment. It promptly shot against Nico's seat, disturbing him from a leather bound notebook. The boy grimaced and bumped up the volume of his music. Leo shrugged at him and turned back to Percy, "The whole hooking up with a foreign girl in a different country never works, why bother asking?"
Percy sat straight in his plane seat. "I never said foreign girl," He protested, "And we stayed for three weeks so logically it seems like it would work!" Leo sputtered again and shrugged, as Jason turned the corner out of the plane restroom and raised his eyebrows at Percy.
"Why are you asking, Perce?" His sly smile made Percy's eyes narrow. But Jason didn't know, Percy hadn't told him and Annabeth wouldn't have told Thalia…right? Hell, he didn't even know if she would or not… she was just some perfect brief but so lasting memory at this point.
He tried not to think about it that much.
Shaking his head, he dropped his voice. "It's nothing." Percy rested his elbows on his knees and rolled his neck back, just in time to see Luke peek into the cabin of the plane. "Hey guys." The twenty five year old's voice was cheery but his face was grim. The other boys gave him jumbled greetings but Luke headed straight for Percy and leaned over to his seat, "Perce, man. I don't uh…suppose you finished that rough for the new song…? We're booked to play in a month and upper management is asking and honestly I'm not sure if I can hold them off anymore."
Percy stared at Luke's face, but his gaze was a million miles way. "Yeah," He mumbled, snapping back to reality and meeting his manager's eyes, "Don't worry about it. I got it."
It smelled like burning leaves in Thalia Grace's mother's apartment. Apparently it was a new candle, according to said mother, who was guiding her through to the room she would be staying in. It was one of those before mid-year breaks that she and Thalia got off due to being seniors at St. Hera's. The apartment was distracting her from fully giving Thalia's mother her attention, she had to admit. The modern deco mix architecture blended oddly with the Grecian busts that were placed everywhere (all of the same man too).
"Aw come off it Mom," Thalia joked as she slid onto one of the kitchen island stools, "Annabeth is tired and too busy staring at all the marbles of Pa to pay attention to your candle talk."
Annabeth flushed and turned to apologize, but the tall beautiful woman, who looked like a splitting image of Thalia, yet with longer hair, just laughed breezily and patted her upper arm. Annabeth was glad Thalia and her mom were close enough to joke like that now, and she smiled as the two chatted snidely.
With one hand, Thalia grabbed a tiny remote off the counter and turned to turn on the TV in the living room, which was directly visible due to the open concept structure. Annabeth would take some time ordinarily to admire such a feature; if she didn't feel downright dirty in the uniform she just flew overseas in. Turning her back to the kitchen, the living room and the TV, she was about to retreat into the room Mrs. Grace had lent her in order to change when a melody froze her solid in her steps.
The guitar was clear, crystal and breaking the Graces' conversation like a knife. Thalia remained silent against the cheering and music coming from the TV but Mrs. Grace's voice was faint, "Oh isn't that the boys-!" Her voice died instantly in the wake of lyrics in the song.
"When the lights go out…She's all I ever think about! The picture burning in my brain, kissing in the rain…I can't forget my English love affair."
Annabeth spun around so quickly, she would've normally given herself whiplash if she weren't so focused on the TV screen. Alternatively, Thalia spun to look straight at her face. On the screen, there he was. Percy Jackson, face sweaty and hands gripping the microphone just like he gripped her body, stood on a stage singing his damn heart out. His voice was rasping, his eyes were passionate, staring out among the crowd of wild fans as if searching as he ran himself through the lyrics that he melded together like gold.
"…of her king size bed. Means I can't –."
His lip curled up at 'king' and a shiver went down Annabeth's spine. She didn't forget those lips dragging themselves across her skin, across the cheeks that were currently so red. His right hand clutched the microphone so tightly as the camera swung right in front, and the left hand swept his fringe out of his face. Percy's eyes set straight forward, boring out of the TV practically, as if he could tell she was standing right there in Thalia Grace's kitchen in New York City, with pink cheeks and trembling knees.
"My English love affair…"
I really like rock star/"nobody" concepts to be quite honest and I want to write more for this but I'm not entirely sure! Might post an epilogue or something if people are interested!
Until then! C: