Note: Heavily inspired by "Forever My Girl"

Endless Love

Chapter 1 - "Home sweet home, more or less."

Preloque - St. Lauderdale, New York, 2009.

The sun was shining on the clear afternoon sky and the willow trees that surrounded the edges of the churchyard were waving softly in the summer breeze as the yard was buzzing with the happy chatter of wedding guests making their way inside a small chapel located at the edge of town. It was almost as if the universe knew that today was a big day for the small town and it's residents. Today was the day that the local golden boy and the pride of the town, Percy Jackson, would be getting married.

Percy was the son of the local priest. He had inherited most of his features from his father. His dark messy hair, his strong eyebrows and his mischievous yet warm smile were all similarities he shared with his dad, Peter. Even though Peter was the local priest and his job was to offer words of comfort during hard times and to bring the community together, he always had a small twinkle in the corner of his eye reminding the residents of the town to not take life too seriously. Maybe that was why he was so loved by the entire community.

Growing up, Percy had inherited the same twinkle and attitude his father carried. He was an aspiring athlete, a good student and a loyal friend, but most of all he was an excellent musician. Although he had never shown the musical side of him to the public before he had met Annabeth, ever since the two of them had started dating and went to the local karaoke place for a date where they had been spotted by a record label executive, Percy had constantly gotten more and more recognition in the music industry and had even signed a deal with Atlantic Records. He truly was on the road to becoming a superstar.

Inside the church in a small wing on the left hand side from the main entrance stood a door that simply read; Bride's Room.

On the back wall of the room there was a mirror in front of which sat a young blonde woman in a wedding dress. Her storm gray eyes sparkled with excitement and nervousness as her two bridesmaids, both dressed in identical blue dresses, were adding the finishing touches to her lipstick while pampering her with compliments. The blonde in the wedding dress was Annabeth Chase, the girl that Percy Jackson had fell madly in love with during his freshman year in High School. Now that they were both eighteen and graduated, they were taking the big leap together and getting married.

Annabeth was one of those girls that had it all. She was smart, funny and incredibly beautiful. She had graduated with honors and was planning on studying to become an architect, however she didn't spend all of her days with her nose dug deep in a book. She loved the outdoors and was often playing sports with her friends or just hanging out and about with Percy, helping the locals with whatever chores they happened to have.

Unlike Percy, most of Annabeth's features were inherited from her mother, Athene. Her blonde naturally wavy hair, her storm gray eyes and her soft smile were all signs that reminded people whose daughter she was. Her wholehearted laugh and the more carefree side of her attitude though were inherited from her now late father, Frederick or as everyone in town called him, Freddie Chase.

Sitting next to the opposite wall from the bridesmaids were a group of older women, most of them in their 60s. They were chattering excitedly.

"Can you believe our Percy is getting married to Annabeth here? Oh how I've waited for this day." One of them rejoiced.

"Oh, how cute it will be!" Another one echoed.

"Ms. Chase will be so proud!" The third woman stated.

Annabeth turned to face the elder women. "You ladies are giving me headache." She said, with a hint of annoyance in her voice. The sparkle in her eyes and the nervous smile she gave them told everyone another story, she was anxious.

"Oh, don't you worry dear, everything will go great." A woman dressed in a bright red frock said reassuringly.

"It will be your perfect day!" Another woman from the group stated, smiling warmly at Annabeth.

She couldn't help but let her smile widen at the remarks. This would be her perfect day. She just knew it.

At the same time Percy's two groomsmen, whom also happened to be his best friends walked in. They were dressed in dark gray tailored suits complete with red bow ties. One of the boys walked straight over to the two bridesmaids as the other one, Jason, turned his attention to the group of older women.

"Well hello there girls, don't all of you look beautiful today?" He said, receiving giggles and winks from the women.

"Oh would you stop flirting with the elders?" Piper, one of Annabeth's bridesmaids and Jason's girlfriend pleaded with mock annoyance in her voice.

"Who are you calling an elder?" The trio of older women replied in unison, trying hard to play hurt. It was clear it was all in good fun. Meanwhile Grover, Percy's other groomsman, had spoken to Annabeth's other bridesmaid, Thalia.

"Piper -" Thalia started. "Can you finish up with Annabeth's lipstick? We'll only be a minute." She asked, with her eyes making it clear this was not a question. Piper nodded.

"You look amazing Annabeth." Jason said as he, Grover and Thalia walked out of the room. As Piper walked towards Annabeth, she spoke. "Do you think Percy is okay?" Annabeth asked nervously.

"Percy is fine. Im sure it's just some details they wanted to go over again on the last minute. You know how the boys are." Piper said reassuringly. Annabeth smiled wryly. She wasn't feeling exactly confident despite Piper's words. After a few long minutes Thalia walked back into the room, alone. The expression on her face was full of empathy.

The air in the room stilled, the happy chattering from the older ladies stopped and the tempature felt like it dropped below zero when Thalia spoke.

"Im so sorry Annabeth." She started.

"What is it? Is Percy okay?" Annabeth demanded.

"Percy is fine, it's just." There was a long silence. "He's not coming."

8 years later - New York, New York, 2017.

Madison square garden was packed. It was the last location on Percy Jackson's - Forever is a long time - tour and everyone was expecting him to sing a few of his unreleased songs that he had been teasing to his fans for almost a full year now.

The lights that had shone bright neon green and blue lights onto the stage dimmed until only one spotlight lit a small portion of the stage. There in the blinding light with an acoustic guitar on his lap sat Percy Jackson, the now twenty six year old star that everyone wanted a piece of. Behind the stage a huge LED wall started shimmering with purple light.

"You guys have been an amazing crowd tonight." Percy spoke. "Do you want me to do one more song?" He asked, raising his voice towards the end of his sentence. The crowd cheered so loudly Percy was sure that everyone in Manhattan could hear it. "Allright then." He said, putting on his signature smile. His shirt was soaked with sweat and water after jumping up and down on the stage for almost an hour and a half, but he had to give the people one more song. A song they hadn't heard before.

A soft piano melody started playing in the background and Percy started to play his guitar. After a small intro he started singing.

Before I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
I hope it's not too late for me, whoa

Difference changing in the distance
Time consumes the image, oh
Difference changing in the distance
Time consumes our image, whoa

Before I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
I hope it's not too late for me, whoa

Difference changing in the distance
Time consumes the image, oh
Difference changing in the distance
Time consumes our image, whoa

When Percy stopped, the crowd roared.

"Thank you New York!" was all he said before making his exit.

All he could hear as he walked off were the faint "we love you Percy" screams and the overwhelming "Percy, Percy, Percy" chant coming from the crowd. It should have made him feel amazing. Like he was on top of the world. Instead, all he felt was empty and exhausted. Backstage his manager, Charles Beckendorf, was waiting for him.

"Quite a show you put on there, huh. Nothing like a hometown crowd, eh?" Charlie asked as he walked besides Percy. Percy took the towel his assistant was carrying and wiped the sweat from his face. "Im not from here Beckendorf." He sighed, shaking his head. "Im from a few towns over, not here at all." He answered.

Percy threw the now soaked towel to his manager. "Send a steak up to my room. Im starving." He muttered. Beckendorf stopped as the sweaty towel slammed to his face. "But the record label is hosting an afterparty and the executives are going to be there. You need to come." He tried to reason with no results. Percy just kept on walking down the hall towards the exit.

"At least tell Rachel you're not coming!" Charlie yelled to the distancing figure of Percy.

Percy just threw up a peace sign before he opened the exit doors and sat down onto the backseat of a black Range Rover SUV that was waiting for him on the parking lot.

"Where to, sir?" Asked the driver.

"Just take me back to the Four Seasons Hotel on 57th street." Percy advised.

"Yes, boss." The driver replied as he stepped on the gas and raced out of the parking lot before the paparazzi, or worse, overly eager fans found out where Percy Jackson was. They drove in silence through the city that never sleeps, weaving through the New York traffic, with the only sounds breaking the silence being the gentle hum of the engine, the occasional emergency vehicle's siren and the radio that was spewing out the news of the day.

"We are devastated that we have to report another fatal car crash to you listeners, but unfortunately it has happened yet again. A drunken truck driver swerved out of his lane and crashed head on with an oncoming car, killing St. Lauderdale resident and city official Jason Grace." A sudden burst of energy jolted through Percy. His hands were shaking and his whole body trembled.

"Hey Rob, turn that up, please." Percy asked, leaning forward so he could hear better.

"His hometown of St. Lauderdale has announced that they will hold an open memorial service tomorrow at noon in the St. Lauderdale chapel." The radio host finished.

Percy felt like his stomach was turning inside out. Jason Grace had been his best friend before he had left his hometown, and now he was gone. There would be no coming back home and talking things through with Jason. He was gone forever.

It didn't take long for Percy's mind to wonder on to the other people he had left behind in St. Lauderdale. Grover, his own father, Annabeth. How were they all doing? Were they all even alive anymore?

Percy's jacket pocket felt heavier and heavier each second. A burning need to grab his phone overwhelmed him. He opened the old, beaten up phone and navigated straight into his voicemail. There he found what he had been looking for. The reason he had kept the phone all these years.

"Rob." Percy addressed the driver. "I'll make sure you and your family can enjoy a nice two week vacation somewhere in the mediterranean if you drive me to St. Lauderdale right now and don't tell anyone where I am."

Percy saw that Rob was surprised by the request, but he didn't argue.

"Yes, sir. According to the GPS, if we take the back roads so we can avoid the more popular paparazzi traps, we will arrive at 11:00AM." Rob said, meeting Percy's gaze through the rear view mirror. Percy nodded his approval, and Rob made a U-turn.

As Rob drove away from the city lights Percy opened the one and only voicemail he had saved. A robotic female voice spoke through his phones speaker.

"You have one message from, June 8th, 2009." After a long beep the actual message kicked into action. A soft female voice spoke. It was obvious from the emotional tear in her voice that she had cried before she had made the call.

"Hey Percy.. -"

As he lifted the phone to his ear, Percy switched the voicemail to play through his phone's earpiece rather than the speaker. As New York's skyline slowly faded into the dark night sky behind them, Percy fell into his seat and listened to the same message over and over again.

Present time - St. Lauderdale, New York, 2017

Percy arrived to the edge of the St. Lauderdale churchyard just as the last locals were making their way inside for the memorial service. Percy noticed that all of the guests were wearing black suits or dresses and most of them were carrying a bouquet of red roses, Jason's favorites, in their hands. He had been leaning against the hood of the SUV he had arrived in, but turned around to address the driver.

"Alright, im going to stick around for a while. You better get back to New York before anyone catches a drift of what is happening. If anyone asks, tell them you dropped me off at the hotel and haven't seen me since. I'll make sure you get your vacation soon." Percy said as he grabbed his bag from the backseat. There wasn't much in it. Just another outfit he had planned on putting on for the afterparty yesterday, but it was better than nothing.

Rob nodded, and drove off.

Percy waited a few minutes under one of the willow trees on the edge of the churchyard before he headed for the chapel. He wanted to make sure his entrance was not going to be noticed by anyone. When he saw that no one had entered the chapel in a few minutes, he decided it was time. As he walked towards the small church he could feel old memories he had suppressed surfacing again. He remembered the Sundays he, Jason, Grover, Piper and Annabeth had went to the chapel for Sunday service. He remembered the warm summer days when they had been five or six and had played hide and seek inside the church. He remembered how his father used to tell stories about how the chapel had been rebuilt after it burned down.

Percy shook his head, desperately trying to get rid of the memories, but it didn't help as not long after, another surfaced.

This time, it was the memory of when they had buried his mother, Sally Jackson, when Percy had been fifteen. He snapped out of this memory quicker. It was too hurtful to wallow in.

His eyes traced the outlines of the church. He had so many memories that were related to this town and it's people and yet he didn't feel like he belonged here at all. Moments before he had been confident in heading inside, but the closer he got and the more memories surfaced, the harder it became for him to move forward.

His stride slowed to a halt and he sat down onto the stairs that led to the main entrance of the church. He laid his bag down besides him and took a few deep breaths trying to collect his thoughts. He looked across the yard and spotted a familiar figure. He saw a white wooden swing that was hanging from one of the branches of the willow trees. Suddenly his mind jolted into another memory, this one the hardest of them all to handle.

He found himself reminiscing his wedding day. He and Annabeth had planned on taking their wedding photos here in the churchyard, with her sitting in that swing and with him behind her. Of course, because he had stood her up on the altar, that had never happened.

Percy buried his head into his hands and ruffled his dark hair. What was he doing here? This wasn't his home anymore.

He was just about to stand up and go inside the chapel when someone crashed into him. He tumbled back a little, but managed not to fall over. When he had collected himself from the crash his eyes met with the person who he had crashed with. There they were, staring into each other's eyes intently. Storm gray to sea green.

Even through his shock Percy could still notice her details. Her blonde hair was still wavy and a little over shoulder length. Her eyes were still the same shade of gray and she still had a few very faint freckles on her cheekbones and on her nose. Her eyebrows still furrowed the same way when she got confused. The only noticeable difference was that her body was curvier, still fit, but more feminine and mature than it had been 8 years ago. She was also holding a little girl's hand. The girl couldn't have been older than seven or eight and she had dark hair, accompanied by gray eyes similar to Annabeth's.

Annabeth was the first to recover from the initial shock.

"Excuse us." She said as she stormed past Percy and into the chapel. The little girl hesitated at the entrance and Annabeth turned around with a look of pure empathy on her face as she addressed the young girl.

"We're going to go in and give aunt Piper a big hug and then we can go sit next to Luke, okay sweetheart?" She said, caressing the child's cheek.

The girl nodded. Percy noticed how Annabeth squeezed the girls hand reassuringly as she led her into the chapel.

Percy stood frozen in place. He couldn't move, gods, he could barely breathe. He had seen Annabeth for the first time in eight years and she had acted like she hadn't even known him. Percy peered inside the chapel where Annabeth was now taking her seat next to a blonde haired man Percy assumed to be Luke Castellan. The man wrapped a comforting arm around Annabeth and squeezed her closer to his side.

Percy sighed and picked up his bag. He hadn't come here to reconcile with Annabeth or to ponder and judge her decisions. He was here to honor his late friends memory and that was exactly what he was going to do. He stepped inside and quietly made his way onto an indoor balcony at the very back of the church. No one ever used it, except when the chapel was full to the brim with people, and so it was the perfect dark corner he could sit in without being noticed.

The memorial service lasted an hour. A few people gave speeches, mainly Percy's father who was also the local priest, as well as Jason's girlfriend, Piper. After the memorial service was over, everyone brought the roses they had carried with them to the altar where Jason's picture stood. One by one, the visitors laid their bouquet of roses before Jason's picture and expressed their condolences to Piper and to Jason's family.

Percy thought that it would be best if he waited until everyone else had left and only then he would make his exit in order to avoid any more awkward reunions from occuring.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who had had the exact same idea. When he headed down the steps that lead down from the indoor balcony, he could hear two voices whispering to each other heatedly. Percy recognized one of the voices as Annabeth's and he assumed the other one was Luke's. Although his voice was still somewhat recognizable, it sounded a lot deeper. Percy stopped on his tracks, not sure if he should continue down or to stay put. It wasn't long until Annabeth, Luke and the young girl Percy had seen before came into his view.

"Percy's here." Annabeth whispered to Luke, with a shocked expression on her face.

Luke grunted. "Just stay away from him Annabeth."

Percy thought about turning back and heading up the stairs again, but Annabeth noticed him before he could move. Annabeth shared a quick look with Luke before turning her gaze back to Percy.

"Can you please take Sally to the car." Annabeth asked, her eyes fixated on Percy.

"Annabeth please, don't -" Luke started, but was interrupted by an annoyed look from Annabeth.

"Just let him be." Luke tried again, this time trying to guide Annabeth outside with his hand. When Annabeth smacked it down, he picked up the little girl and said. "I got you little one, I got you."

Luke walked out of the chapel, while shooting Percy an angry glance.

Annabeth waited at the bottom of the stairs for Percy. Slowly, feeling like his legs might give out from under him, Percy made his way down the steps until he was in front of her. He layed his bag down onto the floor next to him. He must have looked like a bum with his messy hair and dirty clothes, but he didn't care. He finally had the chance to talk things through.

"He-" He was interrupted by a strong punch to the gut before he could even finish his greeting. He crunched over in pain. Annabeth waited for him to recollect himself enough to be able to hear her words clearly.

"What the hell are you doing here, huh? Eight years with no contact and now you show up?" She snapped. She looked like she was ready to explode. She turned her gaze away for a moment, clearly trying her best to calm down. When she spoke again, her eyes held a new pain and sadness Percy hadn't seen in them before.

"You should have just stayed where you were. You don't belong here anymore." She said with a mixture of sadness and anger in her tone. Her words struck like a dagger piercing his heart.

She walked off without another word, leaving Percy with nothing but the faint smell of her fragnance. He grunted in pain as he collected himself some more.

As if his day wasn't already going badly, as soon as he was about to finally make his leave, another familiar voice spoke to him.

"Well hello, Percy." A harsh male voice said. He gazed in the direction of the voice and saw his father standing in the hall leading to the altar. 'Great, just what I needed.' He moaned internally.

"Hey, dad. Long time, no see, huh." He answered, and his father just grunted in response. Peter walked right past Percy, like he didn't exist, but when he turned back to see if he was following or not, Percy knew he should go with his dad. Neither of them said a word as they walked to the parking lot.

His last thought before he jumped into the big, old truck his father drove was;

'What have I gotten myself into..'

What has Percy gotten himself into indeed..

As some of you probably already figured out, this story draws inspiration from the movie "Forever My Girl". For those that have seen the movie, there will be some references to the events of the movie in here, but the further the story progresses the more this story deviates from the plot of the movie.

I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and look forward to more. Let me know what your thoughts are by leaving a review or shooting me a PM. I love interacting with everyone here. Cya all soon!

Disclaimer: There is no copyright infringement intended in this story to any owners of the original content that has inspired this fanfic.

The song lyrics used for Percy's song in this chapter were from XXXTentacion's song - before I close my eyes.