Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO or any of the characters.
Annabeth always imagined that falling in love would be something that happened to her gradually. You know, where you know someone for a long time and then it slowly becomes something more, and each day makes things more complicated because your feelings keep growing but you don't say anything for fear of ruining the friendship. Eventually everything turns out well when one of you cracks and you both realize the feelings were mutual all along.
So obviously, that wasn't how it happened for her.
Her group of friends was fairly tight knit and exclusive, everyone knew everyone else and they almost always hung out together, in small groups. It was common for Annabeth to arrive back at her dorm room to a big group hanging out, but she'd know everyone that was there.
That was why she couldn't hide the surprised look on her face when she opened the door to her room after class one Wednesday after classes to find the TV blaring with some video game on screen, being played by her roommate Piper and a guy she didn't know at all.
Piper, the great friend that she was, barely spared Annabeth a glance before focussing back on the screen, where Annabeth assumed she'd just been killed by the boy, when he fist-pumped the air and taunted her about it. Without looking away again, Piper gave her a quick hello and a rundown.
"Hey, so, I was hanging out with Jason, "she began, eliciting a slight smirk from Annabeth when Jason was mentioned, because him and Piper were still in the awkward blushing stage of their new relationship and Annabeth had to resist so many urges to tease her about how adorable they were around each other. "He mentioned his cousins who are around and mentioned Percy, who happened to show up to the dorm at the exact same time." She gestured quickly to the boy beside her, now known as Percy, before gripping the controller again and mashing one of the buttons furiously. Percy laughed at her frustration, ignoring the conversation completely, it seemed. "We talked a bunch and Jason mentioned how he was great at shooter games, and I told him that I owned Destiny and he totally challenged me acting all superior and stuff, as if he'd beat me when he's never even played it before" she scoffed, and Annabeth could easily visualize Piper's eyes rolling.
Annabeth glanced at the scores on screen, and noting how lopsided they were, grinned slyly.
"So does that mean you're beating his ass into the grass, Piper?" she asked teasingly.
To Annabeth's surprise, the boy snorted loudly and turned, completely ignoring the game as if he had nothing to worry about on screen. Judging by the scores… he was justified. "Please," he spoke, revealing bright green eyes now that he was facing Annabeth, "We've played like four rounds and she still hasn't gotten close to beating me."
He then turned and went back to playing, Annabeth decided to put her things away and then observe them play, as she had nothing better to do right now, in all honesty.
It was only a minute or two before Percy raised his arms triumphantly, celebrating what was apparently his fifth victory.
He turned towards Annabeth suddenly, ignoring Piper's cries for a rematch, and grinned crookedly.
"Want to go get something to eat, like, anywhere but in this dorm? I need an excuse to not play anymore" he asked, rubbing his neck.
Annabeth was at a loss for words at the offer, she lacked any clue of how to respond. Logic said no, since she didn't know him at all, and he hadn't even properly introduced himself, but looking at his earnest expression right now, and the fact that he seemed nervous, for some reason convinced her to go against logic and take a small chance on it.
"Sure, I'd hate to leave you here with Piper." she mock whispered, "She can get overbearing."
Piper was too stunned by the fact that Annabeth had said yes to even protest the accusation, she simply stared at her with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. Annabeth wasn't the most social of girls, even in the best times. This was an unheard of situation.
Percy, however, took the joke in stride and came back with a mock whisper of his own, "I know, Jason told me so"
Piper's head shot to him, and her expression turned sinister, "Please excuse me, I think I need to go have a chat with your cousin." She informed Percy, before striding out of the room and slamming the door. Annabeth burst out laughing, "Did Jason actually say anything? Cause he's about to die for it" In response, Percy just smirked, "Not even a word. All I ever hear from him is how amazing she is" he mock fainted, dramatically putting a hand to his forehead.
A thought occurred to her, and she was curious as to why it made her feel so disappointed, "So I guess you don't need that excuse to get away from Piper anymore…" she noted, insinuating that he didn't need to go out to lunch with her. To her surprise and apparently delight, Percy just smiled kindly, "I still want to go eat somewhere." He joked, reaching to the door and opening it, he stood by waiting instead of leaving on his own, "Just because it started as an excuse doesn't mean I don't still want to go with you. Now come on, I'm starving!"
Slowly, Annabeth let a smile cross her face, and grabbed her bag off of her bed, heading out the door with Percy on her heels. "Where are we going then, Percy?" she realized they didn't even know each other's last names, but that could be dealt with later.
They ended up at a small diner just off campus that was about the size of Annabeth's dorm room. Maybe smaller.
"This place is pretty cozy" she laughed, glancing around as they slid into a corner booth. Percy had been adamant about sitting there because 'its way comfier than the chairs, trust me'.
Of course she knew it was comfier, but booths were usually for people on dates, and Annabeth wasn't sure if that was what their outing was.
Percy leaned his head back, making himself at home in his part of the booth before answering. "Barely anyone goes here, but the food is good and cheap. It's my favourite hangout near the University."
They both ordered, and Annabeth took the time to get to know Percy a little better. "So, what caused the sudden decision to have dinner with a stranger?" she prompted, looking intently at him.
He smiled a little sheepishly, shrugging and lacing his fingers together on the table.
"You just seemed interesting, and I like to take chances on things, life is full of missed opportunities and sometimes, the littlest decision not to do something spontaneous can rob you of a great opportunity."
Annabeth's perspective of Percy shifted at that moment. He'd seemed like such a goofy guy, not really dumb, but she hadn't been expecting a statement like that. Now, he seemed like someone with a lot more going on inside than anyone ever gave them credit for.
"Are you a Philosopher or something?" she asked, smiling. "That was pretty insightful for a guy whose biggest revealed talent so far is video games"
Unfazed, Percy replied in an obvious tone, "I'm doing a minor in Philosophy, so I'd hope I come across as insightful once in a while" He shot her a silly grin, and Annabeth may have felt herself blush a little bit.
"What's your major then?" she asked, moving on. She actually felt genuinely interested in the answer. She wanted to know more about him, a lot more, and he was so different from everyone else that she couldn't even guess what the answer might've been. He was too full of surprises.
"Oh, Marine Biology. I almost went with a History major to become a teacher, but it seems like a way more interesting field for job choices with Marine Biology. Besides, the water's like a second home to me, I couldn't turn the option down." He said, with a joyful look in his eyes, "What about you?"
Annabeth laughed a little before replying, "I had the same sort of decision making problem, but I sort of couldn't decide. I ended up going into a double major. Architecture and Greek History" Percy's hands slammed onto the table as he jolted forward, making Annabeth jump back from him in surprise, "No way, Greek History was the major I would have taken!" he exclaimed, and Annabeth gaped at him for a moment. "You like Greek History?" she asked incredulously, to which Percy replied with a snort and a nod, "It's the only class I never got below a 90 in when I took it in High School. I was top of the class"
Grinning, Annabeth raised her hand childishly for a high five as she said "Same", and Percy returned the gesture without any hesitation. For some reason, he was bringing out the child in her, who worried less about school and more about having fun. Annabeth couldn't say she didn't like it. Her insides were churning around, but it was a pleasant feeling. Not like the nervous pit you get in your stomach before finals, but the euphoric feelings experienced riding a roller coaster.
"So," Percy continued, breaking her out of her reverie, "Architecture, huh?"
Annabeth nodded quickly, smiling timidly, "Yea, always loved the idea of building monuments that could stand for thousands of years. It's like when you see the Parthenon, when I see it, I can't help but think about how I want to make something important like that."
Grinning, Percy lifted his fork and pointed it at her humorously, "Correct answer, I like that."
She was sure that he'd meant it in a totally general way, but her cheeks tinted pink regardless, and she glanced down at her hands on the table for a smidgen of a second before looking back up, "What do you mean, correct answer? It was a personal question." She stated, raising an eyebrow interrogatingly. Percy had a little smile on his face, "Yea, but most people would answer about how they were good at math and angles so they became architects. Stuff like that." He pointed with the fork again, "You chose your major because it obviously interests you and means something to you." He grinned, looking up as the waitress set their plates down before them. After she'd walked away, he settled his gaze back on Annabeth, "In my book, that's the right answer."
She smiled back, "Are you sure Philosophy isn't your major, Percy?"
He shook his head, making a disgusted sound, "No way, the Major program would have me reading more philosophy books than the Minor does by miles, I like the application and discussion of theories and being able to look at life from a bigger perspective, I don't want to read all the boring junk people think you need to know to be a philosopher." He explained, "For example, have you ever read the book Sophie's World?" She shook her head, "Good, never touch it, just so much no when I had to read that in my Twelfth grade Philosophy course"
She nodded, emulating his level of seriousness, "So if you hate that part so much, why take a minor in it at all?" he shrugged, "I didn't want the full load of a major, the minor program is supposed to be light on literature and just explain different philosophical perspectives in a normal lecture way. I can handle that."
Annabeth smiled, "Honestly when I first saw you, I had figured you wouldn't be the type who can handle any sort of schooling."
He chuckled, "Get that a lot, they all think I'm going to be some surfer or skater guy who can't count to ten on his fingers."
She nodded, "I get the same sometimes cause I'm a Blonde, it's real annoying."
Percy took a few bites of his food, "Nah, it can be fun, I play up the surfer stereotype sometimes, to throw people off." He jokes, before narrowing his eyes slightly so as to look unfocused and using a bad surfer impression, "How's it hangin, brah?" he flopped out an arm wildly to Annabeth, asking for a cool handshake. She shoved it away, laughing. "Never do that again, oh my god!"
He grinned, eating some more of his food while Annabeth reigned herself in, "Don't act like you're above it, I bet you do a great Valley Girl impression."
"I'm from Virginia" she deadpanned. Percy, undaunted, raised a challenging eyebrow, his head tilting a little.
Annabeth sighed a little, rolling her eyes before using a nasally and high pitched voice to say "Like, I'm going to kill you for this, Percy." And putting her head down, taking a big bite of food to hide her smile at how wide Percy's grin got when she did the impression.
"Awe look at you, so ashamed of how flawless that was" he teased, patting her shoulder, which thank you very much, wasn't helping her situation.
Once she got her grin (and blush) under control, she looked back up from her plate, only to find Percy still grinning at her. "Aren't you glad you came and had dinner with me?" Tired of being the one blushing, Annabeth decided to try turning the tables. "Well I'd be gladder if I knew you were paying the bill, I mean, that's what guys usually do on dates, right?"
Percy smiled, but his cheeks began to sport a bright pink that Annabeth couldn't help thinking was adorable.
"I guess I'll have to pay the bill then, wont I?" he countered. Annabeth grinned at him, running a hand through her messy hair habitually. "Seems like it."
Annabeth felt her phone buzz in her pocket and looked down, she pulled it out of her pocket and was shocked to find that she had missed eight texts and a phone call. Her face must've been humorous because Percy laughed and said "Someone missing you?"
She nodded with wide eyes, "Piper, apparently."
He smiled, "My phone has buzzed so much, I'm pretty sure I've missed like three different calls"
She looked down at the table in the direction where his pocket would be, "Aren't you going to check then?" she questioned, to which his shook his head. "Nah, I'm going to ignore them until I'm done spending time with you." He grinned, Annabeth felt her cheeks going pink again, but this time, his were too. "Besides, I won't feel bad about it unless my mom called me, "Annabeth let out a small 'awe' to that, which Percy chuckled at before continuing, "She won't mind once I tell her why I didn't answer though, so it's fine."
Annabeth looked at him, bemused, "What about this would make her not mind?"
Percy snorted, looking her in the eye, "She's been telling me to go on a date for years, I guess I accidentally did just that, huh?"
She grinned, "I guess you did, it hasn't turned out so bad for you, I'd hope" Annabeth grinned at his expression after the tease, Percy looked like he wasn't sure of what he should say next, which hadn't seemed to be his type at first, but Annabeth was starting to figure out that he wasn't always the quickest to figure things out. A little bit dense, but he could obviously be quick when he wanted to be, if he was seriously minoring in Philosophy.
"I mean, I could definitely do worse."
Annabeth gave him an unamused look, "Please, feel free to elaborate on that." She monotoned to him.
Percy rubbed his neck anxiously before answering, "Well I mean, you could have ended up being a bitch like that girl Piper and I ran into on the way to her dorm, Drew" he said, trying to salvage the situation, "Instead, I got a funny and adorable blonde." Annabeth stared at him for a few moments longer to make him nervous before breaking into a smile. "Good job" she joked, in a patronizing tone.
"You're not so bad yourself, Plato" Percy glared at her, "Its Percy" Annabeth grinned devilishly, "I know, it's a philosopher joke. He was one and you're one too." Percy rolled his eyes, suddenly noticing how they'd shifted closer and closer in the booth after finishing their meals. He hadn't even realized it until now.
Annabeth watched as Percy's face suddenly turned a light red, and realized how much closer they'd gotten to each other. "So, what now?" she asked, to break the silence.
"Um, what now?" his voice went a little high at the end, indicating he had no idea what to answer, like at all.
"Well this has been turned into a date, Seaweed Brain, you'll have to do more than just take me to dinner."
He blushed now, red, looking somewhere between embarrassed and just flustered. His first response came as "Seaweed Brain?"
"Yep, you must love the water so much that some seaweed has gotten into your head and made you slow, hence, nickname."
Percy rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Well aren't you a wise girl" he mocked.
"Not an insult" she singsonged back, grinning cutely at him. "Well maybe" he slid a little closer to her in the booth, so their hips were just touching "Maybe I can only think of compliments for you" he whispered. Before Annabeth could say anything else, Percy scooted away from her and called over a waitress. He paid the bill without a second thought and got out of the booth.
For a moment, Annabeth thought she'd done something wrong, and he was leaving her there, but he turned and looked at her impatiently, "Are you coming then, Wise Girl?" he teased, holding out a hand.
She stuttered for a second, "Coming where?"
Percy smirked, "It's a surprise, take it or leave it."
Only staying stagnant for a second, Annabeth made her decision and pushed out of the booth, taking his hand and following him out of the diner.
A lake.
He took her to a lake.
"I didn't even know there was a lake near the school" she muttered, stepping onto the small dock with Percy, who was grinning.
"Well, I did."
"Of course you did, water nerd" she retorted.
He bumped shoulders with her, "Next date you can drag me to a library and we'll be even."
She glared playfully "Why you – " wait… "You're saying that like you expect there to be a next date." She accused, smirking smugly. Percy raised his hands in surrender, "One can only hope" he said.
There will definitely be a second date, she thought.
"We'll see how this one ends first, huh?" she said, instead.
"Despite how nonchalant you're trying to seem, I like to think that's a yes in disguise." She smiled involuntarily. Yes. "Maybe" she told him, bumping him back with her shoulders.
He laughed, turning to face her, "I'd suggest swimming, because I love to swim, but I think asking you to strip to your underwear in front of me might be a little forward."
Annabeth giggled, which if you knew her, was very rare. "Yea, maybe wait a while to try that." She confided. "So if not to swim, why else bring me here?"
He smiled a little, looking thoughtful, "I find water calming, felt like it'd be a nice place to spend the rest of the date." He informed her, "It's always nice and quiet here."
"I feel like we should know, so uh, what's your last name?"
"Jackson, Percy Jackson." He said, "and you?"
A small smile was on her face, "Annabeth Chase"
"Ah, I bet you have lots of boys Chasing after you then" he joked, looking shameless and curious at the same time.
She groaned, "Oh my god you so ruined the moment Percy"
He laughed loudly, before reaching out and gently placing his hands on Annabeth's waist. She quieted immediately, looking up at him. Slowly, Percy closed in, until they were nose to nose and he could hear how quick her heart was beating. "Annabeth?" he asked quietly.
"Hmm?" she squeaked out, finding it a little hard to breathe.
"Am I still ruining the moment?"
Annabeth caught her breath for a moment to reply, looking up into his eyes, "Only if you back away"
His response, moving in a little bit closer and pressing his lips to hers.
It was a soft and sweet kiss, one that Percy ended after seconds that had felt a lot longer than they were. He didn't back up any further than he had been before, though.
Annabeth let her hands slide down his arms until they found his hands, still holding her waist, and pulled them away, letting her fingers intertwine with Percy's. She pulled him forwards and gave him a quick kiss before whispering against his lips, "Come on" she backed away, smiling wildly and tugging him along behind her.
"Where are we going? I thought this was where you wanted the date to end" he called to her as he was dragged along. Annabeth stopped moving, and turned to face him. "Well I don't want the date to end anymore" she said quietly, looking up at him, before turning again and pulling him along with her.
She dragged him all the way back to her dorm, and for a second Percy wondered if that whole stripping to her underwear thing wasn't so far off, but he pushed that out of his mind, because he was certain Annabeth wasn't that kind of girl.
As she was putting her key in the door, he realized something, "Won't Piper be here?"
Annabeth smirked over her shoulder, "She went to bitch out Jason, remember?"
Percy began to protest the point, but realized how it'd go, "Riiight, Jason will try and find what he did and apologize and they'll end up snuggling all night at his dorm." He guessed, getting a nod of agreement from Annabeth, who had just opened the door.
"What now?" he asked, grinning internally because she had taken his hand again after opening the door and didn't seem intent on letting go.
"We." She said with authority, "Are going to watch a movie."
"Well great" he said, smiling at her, "what movie?"
She gestured to a bookcase that was half full of DVD cases, "We have a lot of selection. Mostly thanks to Piper."
Percy laughed, "I'd have assumed the half that is movies was yours and all the video games were her contribution"
"You're kidding right? We have season sets of like fifty different TV shows, she's a total Netflix addict, too."
"Never figured she'd be into TV shows." He spoke, "She's always seemed more into other stuff when I've hung out with her and Jason and Leo."
Annabeth grinned evilly, "Trust me, I didn't believe it either, but then here it all is." She then looked back at all the movies, "So, any standouts?"
"Well, not so – Oh my god you have so many Disney movies!" Percy exclaimed, browsing through the titles. Annabeth tried to hold in an undignified snort at how childish he'd sounded.
"Don't sound too giddy, Percy, I might think you're a fanatic." She chided playfully.
"You have stickers on all of them with your name on them Annabeth, you're just as much as a fanatic as I am, it would seem."
Annabeth cursed herself silently, "If I didn't, Piper would have tried to steal them."
She could see him grinning, "None of the other movies have your name on them, only the Disney ones."
Her cheeks went pink, "So maybe I appreciate their movies, okay? Most of them were a part of my childhood.
"So that is decided then" he said, pulling one of the movies off the shelf. She recognized the case right away, of course. The Lion King.
"Nothing but the best for us, Ms. Chase" he jested, handing it to her to put in Piper's PlayStation.
Percy flopped down on the couch, taking the moment to admire Annabeth. She was wearing a simple white tanktop with a plaid button up shirt over top and undone casually. This along with a flattering pair of jeans that didn't look like she'd need to spend eight minutes just to squeeze into, like most girls would wear. Her blonde hair was loose and seemed to fly all over the place, but it looked natural and it worked for her. A lot.
She grabbed one of the controllers and dropped on the couch right beside Percy, selecting the DVD in the PS4's menu. "God, "she muttered, "It's like 11:30, we're never making it through this whole movie."
Percy made a disbelieving sound, "We have to at least make it half way, I am not missing any more of this movie than I have to."
She moved a little closer, leaning her head against his shoulder as the movie started, "I doubt we'll be paying full attention to it anyways."
He set his chin on top of her head carefully, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Point taken" She smirked.
As predicted, neither of the two really paid much attention to the movie they'd put in. Their newfound relationship was much more interesting a focus. What they were had not yet been defined, but they decided to leave that to the morning, or whenever else it would come to the point where they needed to define themselves as a pair.
Piper returned to her dorm room the next morning, opening the door and calling out a greeting to her roommate, Annabeth. She wasn't sure what had become of Annabeth the day before, she just suddenly agreed to go get food with Percy and left. Not to be seen again. Piper had a sneaking suspicion that the two had taken a liking to one another, she knew both of their personalities, how they would clash and mesh together. She was majoring in Psychology with a focus on Behaviors, after all. It was her thing.
When she noticed two pairs of legs sticking off the couch towards the TV, she started to smile a little. When she got closer and saw Percy lying back against the couch, Annabeth huddled against him with a blanket carefully placed over her, she grinned.
She said nothing, however, just tiptoed to her room and put her stuff away, changing clothes and taking a quick shower, because she hadn't planned on staying over and Leo and Jason's apartment (turns out Percy was lying about Jason saying anything, the sneak.)
Stopping in the door frame of her room when she heard sounds from the living area of the dorm, Piper peaked out and watched as Percy walked over to the doorway of the dorm, tugging Annabeth along gently with intertwined fingers. He mumbled something to her and leaned down, giving her a sweet little peck before leaving to head back to his own dorm. Annabeth closed the door and turned from it, revealing to Piper a blissful smile that Annabeth was failing to hold back and pink cheeks.
Piper waited for a few moments, until Annabeth seemed to have shaken from her daze, and stepped out of her room innocently, heading over to the kitchenette as if she hadn't noticed Annabeth there. She stopped, turned, and took in Annabeth's face again, which had just noticed Piper and went a little brighter shade of pink.
Piper raised an eyebrow at her roommate, "Sleep well, Annie?" she teased.
Annabeth blushed harder, but deigned to answer, "I did."
"I know, I strolled into our dorm to find you snuggled up in the arms of your new friend." She grinned, and grabbed two coffee mugs from a cabinet, preparing to make coffee for herself and her roommate, "I hope he's perfect, cause you refuse to talk to almost every other guy, let alone fall asleep with them and kiss them goodbye in the morning."
Annabeth smiled distractedly, indicating I'd just reminded her of her night. "I think I might have to make an exception for him…"
She didn't say it, but something about Percy just put her at ease and made her feel warm and comfortable, it hadn't subsided the entire time they'd been together, only gotten more prominent. It was still lingering now, making her wish he was with her still.
Annabeth wouldn't admit it, but she may have fallen in love with him in one day, on a date neither of them had planned on having that morning.
Percy wouldn't have admitted it either, but he may have done the same thing.