So basically every 1, 2, or 3 chapters (depending on the full story's length), will be about them in a different situation or time period. All AU, and some might have demigods, but not most of them. The time periods will not be in order, just whenever I decide to write them. Also, they might not be too historically accurate.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.
Great Depression - around 1937
Annabeth Chase was having a rotten day. Her "loving" father and stepmother had kicked her out of their house.
"Sorry honey, but we need to cut costs. Without you, we can afford to pay the bills better." Her stepmother had explained with cold eyes.
"But I'm only 16! You can't kick me out, where will I go?" Her father had just stood there, not looking at her, while his wife kicked his biological daughter out of his house. Annabeth had been given a few minutes to collect a few belongings and stuff them into a rucksack.
As she walked towards the door, eyes watery from anger at the injustice of it all, her father came up to her. He pressed a few dollars into her hand, and Annabeth looked surprised at the amount of money in her hand. Her father whispered in her ear.
"Take this money. Find a boarding home to stay in. Since this Depression has started, there should be many nearby." Still surprised, Annabeth nodded. She turned to walk out the door. "And, Annabeth," She glanced back again. "I do love you." Her eyes widened and Frederick Chase closed the door.
And, with that, she walked away from the Chase household.
Now, Annabeth sat on a bench in the park a few blocks away from her house. She glanced at the swings and remembered how her real mother had taken her here before she died when Annabeth was six. But now, the once charming park looked empty and forlorn, littered with garbage. Like everything else, the Depression had changed it for the worse, leaving Annabeth to wish something good would be permanent for once.
Percy Jackson was feeling pretty stressed.
He lived with his mom in a rather large house. His father had been wealthy and bought it for them before he drowned in a boating accident. Money was running lower and lower, and his mother had come up with a solution. She had opened up a boarding home in their too-big house. Basically, if you didn't have anywhere to go, you could pay a smell rent and get food and a room in the Jackson household. They had already taken in a few clients.
There was his cousin Thalia, whose parents had sent her here while they worked out their marriage issues. There were his other cousins, Nico and his sister Bianca whose parents had died and left them with money, but no home. Grover was an orphan who stayed there as well. There was also Malcolm, a boy whose parents had been too busy to raise them and sent him here.
He had spent his whole day trying to resolve a fight between Thalia and Nico over some trivial thing like who ate the last cookie, until his mother, Sally, had intervened and made a new batch. He decided to take a break and go for a walk. Malcolm had decided to join him as he said he had a headache from those two as well. Malcolm was quiet enough, so Percy agreed and they wandered aimlessly for a bit.
They happened upon a park that Percy had never noticed before, but Malcolm seemed to recognize. A girl with long, curly blonde hair sat on the bench with her head down. Malcolm started. He ran over to the girl.
"Wait, Malcolm! What are you doing?" Percy called, running after the blonde boy.
"I think I know that girl!" called Malcolm, still making his way towards the girl on the bench. "Annabeth!" he yelled.
Annabeth's head snapped up as she heard her name being called. The voice sounded familiar and she looked up to see two boys running towards her. The boy closer to her had grey eyes and sandy blonde hair. He was so familiar… She gasped.
"Malcolm!" She screamed and ran towards him, the two colliding in a large hug. She hadn't seen her cousin Malcolm in ages; her aunt and uncle were always too busy to bring Malcolm over often. "I haven't seen you in forever! You'll never guess what happened today."
"Well the reason you haven't seen me is because my parents were so busy, they sent me to live in a boarding house." Malcolm explained.
"A boarding home? Actually, I was just looking for one to-" she faltered when another boy came up to them, panting.
"Malcolm, would you like to introduce us?" he asked. The boy was tall and dark-haired, with tanned skin and bright green eyes. He was also rather good-looking.
"Annabeth, this is my friend Percy Jackson. He and his mother run my boarding home. Percy, this is my cousin, Annabeth Chase." Malcolm said. Annabeth shook hands with Percy.
"A boarding house, huh? That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Dad and Helen kicked me out because of money and told me to find one." Annabeth said. Malcolm looked shocked.
"They didn't kick you out, just like that? You should come stay in our house. We still have room, right Percy?" Malcolm asked.
"I'll have to talk to my mom, but I'm sure she'll let you stay." Percy said cheerfully. Annabeth regarded him with hopeful eyes.
"Really? Because I have money, I can pay rent." She replied.
"Sure, come on." And the three of them trekked back to the house.
Annabeth nervously stood at the front door. Percy knocked and a kind-looking woman with brown hair and hazel eyes answered the door. Annabeth tensed, if this woman didn't accept her, then she would have nowhere to go and she wouldn't see Malcolm again. The woman smiled.
"What do we have here, boys?" she asked, looking curiously at Annabeth.
"This is Malcolm's cousin, Annabeth. She needs a place to stay, so can she?" Percy explained to his mom. Annabeth held out the money to Mrs. Jackson.
"I can pay you, Mrs. Jackson." Annabeth said.
"Of course you can stay, Annabeth. And please, just call me Sally, everyone does. Malcolm, Percy, show Annabeth to a room, and dinner starts in 5 minutes." Sally said kindly, accepting the money and hurrying off to what was presumably the kitchen.
"Alright, right this way." Said Percy starting towards a hallway.
"Umm, Perce, can you show Annabeth around? I need to go clean off my shoe before dinner." Malcolm asked. He gestured to his shoe that had a large, fresh-looking mud stain on it.
"Fine by me, if Annabeth's okay with." Annabeth nodded and the two kept going down the hallway as Malcolm stepped into a room.
"Right, so that was Malcolm's room. There's Nico's, then Grover's, and mine is on the end. On the other side it's Bianca's, then Thalia's, and you're on the end. Hey, you'll be across from me. My mom sleeps upstairs." He said, leading her down a many-doored hallway.
"Gosh, how many people live here?"
"Including you, just 8. Don't worry though, we're all like a family here. Nico, Bianca, Thalia, and I are cousins, and Bianca and Nico are siblings, though."
"Oh, so where's your father?"
"Dead." Percy's eyes darkened and his smile faltered.
"I'm sorry, my mom's dead as well."
"It's fine, a lot of us have parent issues. I think you'll fit in just fine." He smiled at her and Annabeth smiled back, one of the first genuine smiles she'd had since the Depression started.
As Annabeth entered her room, she set down her pack on plain bed. The room was modest, with clean white walls, a lamp on a table, a bed and a small chair by a wardrobe.
"It's not much, but you can fix it up a bit, like mine." Percy opened the door across from her with his name printed across the top to reveal his room. It was messy, but in a nice well-used way. The walls were adorned with paintings of the sea and the furniture was in shades of blue and green, giving the room an ocean-like feel.
"You like the ocean?" Annabeth inquired.
"Yes. I've always felt at peace there. Now, come on, it's dinnertime."
"Okay… Seaweed Brain."
"Seaweed Brain?"
"Yeah, because you love the ocean so much." She said, suddenly unsure of herself.
"I like it… Wise Girl." He said, and she blushed.
"Everyone, this is Annabeth Chase, our newest resident." Percy introduced as he sat down at a crowded table. He beckoned her over and pointed to the seat between him and a girl with dark and blue eyes. She sat down.
"I'm Thalia", the girl said. She gazed critically at Annabeth, but Annabeth held her chin high and stared right back, and Thalia grinned at her. Around the table, all the residents introduced themselves. They bantered and bickered a bit, but Annabeth found herself loving the company and enjoying herself. Nico was quiet, but he and Thalia loved to argue, Bianca was sweet, Grover was awkwardly funny, Sally was kind, and Percy was... interesting.
A lot of men in their time believed women were inferior and shouldn't have opinions, but Percy treated her like an equal. He and Annabeth were completely different of course, but still, they were drawn towards each other. She was smart while he had a tendency to missy the obvious. She was strict while he was a rule-bender. Still, of all the people she had met today, he was the most memorable.
Percy knew that Annabeth was special when he asked her opinion of the Depression and she had responded with a passionate answer instead of an ignorant, pansy response so many girls had. He was tired of the frivolous girls he met, the ones that were concerned with their dresses and lipstick, but knew nothing of politics and education. Annabeth was new and different, and he loved it.
3 Months Later
The teenagers of the Jackson Boarding home were currently in the living room. Thalia was playing the piano; she had a passion for music. Nico and Grover were playing a card game while Bianca and Malcolm debated the pros and cons of some politician.
"Well, Seaweed Brain, I guess that leaves us." Annabeth said, turning to the boy occupying the other have of the loveseat.
"Hmmm, I suppose you're right. How long do you think it will be before those two are married?" Percy asked, gesturing to Bianca and Malcolm, who were now flirting.
"Less than a year." Annabeth replied, grinning. Percy nodded in agreement.
"So, tell me what you want to do someday, when the economy recovers?" Percy asked curiously.
"I want to design a building, a monument for the future. Something permanent when nothing else is." She said dreamily.
"Permanent, huh? How about this? You can stay as long as you want and we'll be friends forever, something permanent and never-ending, okay?" Percy said, with serious eyes.
Annabeth looked at him, surprised. "You say that like you can promise that. But nothing ever lasts."
"This will," he said.
" You're like a little kid, you know? You believe everything and anything can happen." She said, teasing.
His smile didn't waver. "Maybe I don't want to grow up, then."
One Year Later- about 1940
There wasn't anything Percy Jackson hated more than waiting around. He saw men and boys, some of them he had even known and befriended, head off to war, never to return. The country had entered World War II, and he was doing next to nothing to help the cause.
In other words, Percy Jackson was restless.
Percy Jackson was tired of watching others die.
And Percy Jackson was considering joining the navy. The only thing stopping him was a certain grey-eyed girl. Percy had finally admitted that he had fallen for the girl, but he had no idea if she felt the same.
"Annabeth?" he asked, sitting next to her in their usual spot on the loveseat. The room was empty except for the pair; the others had gone out to see a film.
"Yes?" she responded, looking up from her book.
"Uh, I-I need to tell you something." He stuttered, looking nervous.
"Alright then, out with it, Seaweed Brain. What do you want to tell me?" she demanded.
"I'." He said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly.
"What? Could you slow your words down so I can understand you?" she asked. Percy swallowed; he doubted Annabeth would take this the right way, but then again, was there really a right way to take this news.
"I've been thinking about joining the navy and I wanted to know what you thought about it." Annabeth froze. She was horrified; he couldn't leave, the oblivious fool still didn't realize she was in love with him. What if he went to war and died not knowing? Still shocked, she said the first thing that came to her mind.
"I don't want you to go." She whispered. "You promised forever."
"I need to serve my country, though. I can't just watch all these men die and not do something about-" he was cut off by something he never would've expected. A kiss. Annabeth had silenced him with her lips. It was like everything he imagined it would be. It felt so right.
They broke apart. Annabeth's eyes watered as she looked at him. The kiss had been amazing, maybe now he finally got the message that she loved him. He stared back at her.
"Then I won't go." He said finally. "For you." She smiled and hugged him.
"Annabeth Chase," he declared. "I love you."
"I know." She said cheekily while he rolled his eyes. "And I love you too."
2 Months Later
Annabeth and Percy sat on the bench of the park where they first met. It looked so much better than it did the first they had been there together; the trash was cleared up and some children played in the field. Annabeth's head lay on Percy's shoulder and they sat contently watching the kids play with a kite.
"Annabeth." Percy said.
"Percy." She countered.
His lips twitched into a grin. "I have a question."
"Of course you do. You don't have that many answers in that empty head of yours." She quipped.
Percy wasn't paying attention. Suddenly he was on the ground in front of her. On one knee.
"Will you, Annabeth Chase, marry me?" he asked, presenting a modest diamond ring.
"What do you think?" she said, reaching for the ring, but he caught her wrist. "That's not an answer," he said.
"Yes," she said. Percy slid the ring onto her finger.
"See, was that so hard?" he asked. Or tried to, because at that moment, she kissed him.
Whew, that was long, longest thing I've ever written, but this concludes Great Depression Annabeth and Percy. Feel free to send in suggestions for the next location and time period, but note that I won't use all suggestions and some of these may have tragic (but romantic) endings. Also, updating frequently will be hard with such long chapters, so I'll try for once a week.
Read and Review. I'll only continue if I get enough comments that want me to.
-WhoIsThisWriter