DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO/HoO or anything else you may recognize.
"Where are we going?" Annabeth finally breaks. They've been driving in silence for an hour, ever since Percy barged into her house at three in the morning, demanding she get a change of clothes and some cereal bars and get into his car. His face didn't look like he was joking, which is why Annabeth decided, as she has many times before, to trust her best friend blindly and against all reason, and quietly got into what was the real love of his life, his sleek black Spyder.
"We're going to find my parents."
Annabeth's head snapped to his, hoping desperately that he was going to burst into laughter and say 'Nah, we're going to the beach!'. Instead, Percy looked straight on to the road, one arm on the wheel and his jaw set firmly. She's a little nervous when she speaks.
"Perce, we don't know where they're staying." She puts on her most reasonable-at-five-in-the-morning voice. She's still wearing a short pair of shorts and a tank top, and she wishes he'd pull up the hood because she's cold. A small shiver escapes her teeth before she can stop.
"I've got a jacket in the backseat. See if you can get your hands on it." He says, still not sparing her a glance. "I know. I just have a bad feeling about this."
Sally and Paul had been travelling the country on Sally's book tour after it had been branded New York Time's Bestseller. They'd tried to get in touch with the two of them, to their credit, but Annabeth was too busy with work, and Percy was chasing behind a girl, and they'd both missed the couple. They'd walked into Percy's apartment on Wednesday to a schedule and a note that read,
Dear Percy, we're off! Sorry we couldn't catch you. We'll be home in twenty three days- Don't worry, we'll be fine! I've written out the tour dates for you, just if you did worry, because I know you will. Take care, Mom and Paul.
P.S. Tell Annabeth we miss her!
She can't believe Percy.
"This is insane." She hits his arm lightly after slipping into his hoodie. She pulls her legs up to her chest and stuffs them under the hoodie, too, to keep them warm. "You don't even-"
"Fifty states. How hard can it be?" Annabeth stared at him.
"Are you hearing yourself?" She wonders if this is a dream, because there's no way someone kidnapped her to go on a road trip around the whole of the States. That doesn't even happen in books. She closes her eyes and tries to picture the schedule lying on Percy's dining table. It's the third day, she thinks, so where are they going to be?
"Do you remember where she started?"
"I think she'd said California."
"She said Washington, Seaweed Brain. The furthest to the closest."
"We're still headed in the right direction. We'll start from there."
"Look, Percy." Annabeth straightens up. "I get that you're worried for Sally, but you have to let go. Remember when you moved out of home when you went to NYU?" She says softly, and she can see him hear her words. It's still dark around them, but she can see bags under his eyes when they pass streetlights. She reaches out and rests a hand gently on his, over the stick shift. "It's hard, I know, but right now, she needs you to step back, okay?" He's still driving, but they're slowing down, which she takes as her signal to continue. "They'll be home before you know it. And I'm always here to talk, okay?" She soothes, and Percy pulls up under a streetlight.
When he turns to look at her, she can see how tired he looks. He shakes his head slowly.
"I don't know, Annabeth. Something's going to go wrong. I can feel it." She realizes then that he believes it, and she's long since learned not to question him. Logic might come easier to her, but his gut was the most reliable- It was his gut that told him Craig was cheating on her, and his gut that told him that she'd get the job at Lindsay Architectural Firm.
When he dies, she hopes they'll preserve that psychic stomach.
She lets out a sigh, dropping her hand from his. She gestures for him to keep driving.
"Fine, then. Let's go on a nationwide roadtrip to find two people, Percy Jackson." She resigns, and Percy looks like she'd just told him she was a unicorn and was about to poop out candies for him. He opens his mouth, but she cuts him off. "On one condition."
He frowns at her.
"We take turns driving." She knows it's a risky bargain- He doesn't let anybody get into the driver's seat of his precious car, but she knows that he's going to exhaust himself if he doesn't take a break. She can see the conflict in his eyes, but she stands her ground.
"You don't know how to drive stick shift."
"You underestimate my ability to learn." She argues.
"If there's as much as one scratch-"
"You'll make my life a living hell, alright, great." Annabeth waves off. "We're only doing this if I drive the minute it's eight." She cocks a brow, challenging him. She sees him deflate a little and mumble a soft 'Whatever' before starting up the engine again.
She settles back into her seat, now wide awake, and watches them leave the city. It's a beautiful view, and the sky is starting to tinge orange- The sunrise is too beautiful for either of them to miss, so they pull up and climb onto the hood and watch it in silence. Annabeth wants to pull out her phone and take a picture, but she can't move; It's too cold, and Percy's got her wrapped up and tucked under him.
She feels Percy's gaze on her, so she looks up at him His face is lit with a soft yellow tinge, the green of his eyes looking nearly liquid. They're bright and passionate, and wow, Annabeth thinks. She's never really thought of Percy as good looking- Not ugly, for sure, but not good looking either; He was just her best friend- but right now, she doesn't think she's ever seen a more beautiful pair of eyes. He's smiling slightly at her, and she frowns.
"What?"
"Have I ever told you I think you're beautiful?" He asks, smile growing into a grin. Annabeth feels her face heat up a little, and she rolls her eyes.
"It's probably the light." She laughs, and he joins in. She leans into his chest, and they don't move for a few minutes, until he decides it's time to get back on the road, and so, they do.
Annabeth watches the countryside flit by, trying to keep her eyes open. The lull of the engine and the blur of the trees calm her down, and she lets her eyes close- just a blink, she promises herself, and drifts promptly off to sleep.
When she opens her eyes again, they're most definitely in a city. She knows this because they're in a traffic jam and the hood's come up, as have the windows. She looks up at Percy, who's whipped out his shades. He looks down at her with a smile.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead." She sits up straighter in her seat with a yawn. She hears some of the muscles in her back crack, and she winces.
"What's the time?"
"Eleven thirty."
"Percy." She glares at him. "I was supposed to take over three hours ago. Move over." She demands, crossing her arms over her chest. Percy lets out a snort just as the vehices before them start to inch slowly further.
"Yeah, because that would be safe. You were exhausted!"
"I would've woken up." She insists, but it's clear he's won this time around. She looks around her. "Where are we?"
"Columbus, Ohio." Percy announces, and Annabeth feels her eyes widen.
"We didn't have to come all the way south to Columbus." She says weakly, regretting ever agreeing to this. Percy scowls at her.
"Yeah, but I'd rather go through cities I know than get lost." It's obvious he's offended, becausehe scoffs. "If you know how to get about America so well, you navigate."
Annabeth glares at him, ripping his phone out the charger. She looks down at her own, which is dying because she'd forgotten to charge it the previous night. She blinks up at Percy.
"You don't happen to have a spare lightning bolt charger, do you?" Even with his dark glasses on, she knows he's rolling his eyes.
"Apple is a machine for people who don't know what programming means." He recites, and Annabeth scowls. The Apple-Android debate had been an on going one ever since she'd gotten her first laptop when she was fourteen.
"I'm not a programmer. I don't care." She throws back, more out of habit than spite. He cracks a grin at that, displaying a set of perfectly aligned teeth. Annabeth wishes her teeth were a little larger- Unlike Percy, she'd never needed braces- Even when she'd asked the dentist for them just because Percy had them, he'd ruffled her bangs and told her she had perfect teeth and nothing to worry about, something she'd believed until she grew a brain cell. It was obvious her teeth were just too small, she doesn't know why nobody can see it when she talks about it.
Percy reaches out and lets laces his fingers with hers, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"We'll pick one up the next time we stop for gas." He promises softly.
Annabeth nods, playing with his phone aimlessly. She finds herself scrolling through his Instagram, looking through his own posts. He's not far behind from her- She's about a thousand followers ahead of him, at the most. The weird thing about his photos is that most of them include her, in some form. She'd never realized that before- Either it's a picture of them being goofy, or something she'd taken on his phone, or one of him that she's taken. She's mentioned in most of his captions and tags; there's even some pictures of just her at the beach or in his Mets jersey and her Yankees cap, captioned 'Traitor'. It's funny, she thinks, because she's never given any of these posts much thought, but she understands now why all his girlfriends are immediately threatened by her- Online, it's as if she's his entire world.
"What're you up to?" Her head snaps to him, but he's looking at the road. He places a hand on her knee absently.
"I think we should take a break. I haven't taken a shower." Annabeth loves to take showers- Something you know about her if you've spoken to her for longer than a minute. She takes two a day, but if you give her the chance, she'd take one every hour.
"Looks like you're going to have to ditch the shower today, Princess." Percy teases, and she scowls. "We should be in Iowa by tonight."
"Okay, great. Now move over, it's my turn on the wheel."
They're in Ohio in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but the road and stretches of grass as green as Percy's eyes running for miles and miles, and nowhere to crash the car. This, combined with the tiredness, must have given Percy some confidence, because he doesn't put up a fight, just wordlessly pulls over and switches places with her.
Annabeth settles into the seat, and looks down at the pedals.
There's three.
She takes a deep breath. She can see Percy watching her from the corner of her eye, and she really doesn't want to mess this up. She takes another deep breath to steady herself. She rests her hands delicately on the wheel and closes her eyes, trying to calm herself down. She drums her fingers against the wheel, until she feels her stomach grumble. Her eyes snap open, and she turns to her best friend.
"You know, I'm really hungry. I've got a couple of granola bars and apples in my bag, do you-?"
"God, you're so transparent." Percy bursts into laughter, but reaches behind him for her handbag, regardless. He hands her a bar with a laugh, before taking one for himself. "Fine, Annabeth. I'll teach you." He grins at her and she's tempted to reach out and shove him out of his car, but it's time she learns how to drive a stupid stick shift.
"That one, right there" He leans over to point to a pedal. "Is the clutch. You use it when you're shifting gears, which is what this does." He moves back to his seat, patting the stick shift. "Now, you change these when you want to move faster or slower." He explains, and Annabeth finds herself zoning out a little. She really can't think with his hand over hers. She lets out a shaky breath, cautiously pressing her foot down on the clutch.
She grips the wheel like her life depends on it, and she can see her knuckles turning white as the car starts to roll forward slowly. Percy's still giving her instructions, his voice gentle, and giving her constant approval.
"That's right. Nice and easy. Loosen up, Annabeth." She can see him smile in her peripheral, but doesn't dare let herself get distracted. Her mind is already spread in five different directions with the stupid stick shift, and she really doesn't need anything more to think about.
"Do you have your seat belt on?" She calls, about half an hour into her shift at the wheel. Percy has his seat pushed back slightly, and his knees are locked on the top of the glove compartment, legs dangling freely off. She thinks his fingers are interlaced and supporting his head, but she can't be sure. She hears him scoff.
"We're going at like, three miles an hour." She bravely releases her hold on the wheel with her right hand to smack him across what she thinks much have been his stomach. She doesn't dare look, but she can hear him laughing. "You don't know how to go faster, do you?" He straightens his chair before Annabeth can answer, and explains it to her all over again. She scowls, but they're definitely moving at a more deserted-highway speed when he settles back into his previous position.
They drive in silence for a while until Percy reaches over and turns on the radio. Nadia Lingard's voice fills the car, and she can feel the happiness radiate off Percy at the sound. He's had a crush on the radio jockey since they were in college, one of the many things Annabeth will never understand about him.
"Nothing better than listening to my favorite girl with my number one girl in the girl of my life." He gestures to the car, and Annabeth rolls her eyes.
"Heart breaker." She plays along, nonetheless. "How can I trust you if there's so many girls in your life?" She definitely overplays the jealous girlfriend, she thinks, but Percy doesn't seem to mind.
"I would gladly give up Nadia if it means keeping you and Tash." He reaches out and pokes her side and she squeals.
"Percy, I'm driving!" She laughs, and he instantly lets go of her. "I can't believe my only competition is a car." She grumbles playfully.
"Ssh. Don't insult her!" Percy strokes his window. "Natasha is a woman of class, and it's bad enough I'm letting you drive- Don't push your luck, Chase."
"I can't believe you named your car."
"You named your guitar. Now shut up, let me listen to Nadia's beautiful voice." Just as he says it, Nadia's introducing an Arctic Monkeys song, and both Annabeth and Percy compete to see if they can recognize it before the other.
"It's Arabella." Percy cries, the same time Annabeth hollers,
"R U Mine!"
They both don't as much as breathe until the first notes start to play. It's Knee Socks, and they both end up shooting each other a glare.
"You're on." Percy says.
"Like you're any competition." She rolls her eyes for the seemingly millionth time. "I'd bet I can predict what artist they're going to play next."
"I say All Time Low." Percy says confidently.
"Iggy Azalea."
It's Selena Gomez, but it doesn't stop them from trying over and over again. Finally, Percy gets bored and connects it to his phone, and cranks up the volume and lowers the hood. It's three in the afternoon and they're running on a couple of hours of sleep and a granola bar each, and Annabeth's never felt happier than driving down in the middle of vast stretches of land and jamming out to Simon And Garfunkel at the top of her voice, the wind in her hair. Beside her, Percy's singing just as loudly, only he actually sounds good. The moment makes Annabeth feel complete, for some reason, like she'd been missing this moment for all her life, and now she had it. She leans back in the seat happily as the song comes to an end.
Percy follows her, but he still sings the next song softly, and Annabeth decides she likes it. Percy, although he'll never accept it, is actually a really good singer. Like most things about him, he downplays it, and it's something Annabeth just can't understand. He's the kind of person who's really smart and talented and overall, just a cool guy, but he never shows any of it off, something that drives her up a wall. He'll slump into her apartment and announce that one more of his girlfriends dumped him, and she'll want to tell him it's because he just doesn't put himself wholly out there, but instead lets him eat all the ice cream she has. It's ridiculous, really, because anyone who sees Percy Jackson for who he is would know it's impossible not to adore him.
She's pulled out of her thoughts by a click! And turns to see Percy's phone pointed at her. She blinks through her shades at him.
"What was that for?"
"For me to show people my best friend," Percy says proudly. "Comfortably driving a stick shift."
Annabeth can't stop the laughter bubbling in her stomach, although it has nothing to go with what he said. They fall into an easy conversation after as they navigate through the winding roads of Nebraska.
"So how's it going with Dr. Chase?" Percy asks quietly, and Annabeth hesitates before answering. She wants to lie, say everything's fine, but this is Percy. She can't hide a thing from him, even if she tried.
"It's getting easier." She allows, because in all fairness, her father is trying really hard to get along with her. She can appreciate his effort, if not his actual ability. "We just don't think on the same wavelengths, you know? We're two adults trying to create something where there's nothing, and it's just time to give up, I think." She shrugs. It's not something that's as painful as it was when she was younger and really needed a parent. She's happy with the way she's turned out, and she's content living in a crummy apartment and well away from her father's money. He sends her expensive gifts on almost any occasion, starting from Daughter's Day to Independence Day, but she just puts away all the watches and bracelets and fountain pens away without a second thought. It's not that she doesn't appreciate the gifts, really, she would love to be able to have something to share with her father, but she knows that they're just really expensive and pointless apologies for all the years he was missing, and she's put it behind her- Her childhood isn't something she wants to go back to.
Percy doesn't respond for a while, and she doesn't expect him to- Of all the people she knew, he knew best what it's like to have a bad dad. At least Annabeth's only pretended she didn't exist. Percy's stepdad had treated him so much worse, it sends shivers down her spine just thinking about it. She can't imagine the kind of stuff he'd had to go through, and she never wanted to know.
She thinks back to when they high school and Percy, who'd had a majorly rebellious phase, got into a fist fight with a senior four times his size. She'd found him in the center of a large crowd with a black eye and a split lip, and just the slight bruises Luke Castellan had given him made her want to throw up. Seeing someone like Percy, seemingly indestructible, in any kind of pain makes Annabeth queasy. It's just not something she's very good at handling.
"We should stop somewhere for the night." He comments finally. His voice is a lot softer, like he really doesn't want to be changing the topic, but Annabeth appreciates it. The sun is sinking into the horizon, the sky turning a wonderful shade of pink.
"There's no civilization in sight." She states unnecessarily.
"We'll take a detour, get into a town somewhere." Percy taps away at the screen on his phone. "The next motel's an hour away from here. We'll just stay there for the rest of the day. We're nearly there, anyway."
"We're halfway there." Annabeth raises a brow, but Percy's not having it. He waves her off, and she hears his stomach grumble. They'd managed to grab some fruit and chips at the gas stations that they'd stopped at, but there was no way that could keep them going for much longer. She hopes there's a bar nearby, she'd really, really like to get her hands on some rum right now.
"There's a bar not too far down. Drinks and dinner?" Percy seems to read her mind, but she's long since stopped being surprised by it. She hums quietly. "Annabeth, you've been driving for nearly ten hours."
"Eight and a half hours, Perce. Stop being a drama queen." She brushes off. She actually likes driving Tash, she decides- Not that she'd ever admit it to Percy.
"You threw a tantrum when I did it!"
"I'm fine. I'll hand it over to you when I'm tired." She assures him. "Or you can drive tomorrow, because tonight's all about the whiskey-"
"You won't get past a cocktail." Percy scoffs, and she glares at him. She thinks her tolerance is definitely improving, but her best friend seems to think otherwise. "Let's just get you some food, Annie Bell." He rests his hand on her thigh. She's too tired to argue, so she lets it slip, instead concentrating on the soft music still playing. Percy's silent for a while, until he speaks up to give her directions. They settle into a comfortable sort-of-silence then, and Annabeth finds it really distracting to hand his hand on her leg.
They check into a room in the motel and waste no time in racing up to decide who was going to have the first shower. Percy loses, but Annabeth knows that he only lets her win most of the time. She doesn't tell him, of course, a little because she doesn't to embarrass him and mostly because she likes winning, even if it's unfair.
When she steps out, she feels like a new person ad at least ten pounds lighter. Her hair is dripping wet and she sinks into the large bed as Percy ducks into the small bathroom. She closes her eyes and drifts off into sleep, her muscles slowly loosening up. She wakes up to Percy prodding her, looking over at her with worried eyes.
"Oh, you're awake. Good, I thought you were dead." He says when she focuses on him. "I would have let you sleep, but you haven't got anything to eat all day. We should head out." He holds out his hoodie to her, and she wriggles into it, her top and skirt doing almost nothing to protect her from the cold. She wishes not for the first time that Percy had told her what to be prepared for when he told her to get a new set of clothes. His hoodie barely sits on her shoulders, and her arms only extend a little over half way to the end of the sleeve, but she doesn't compain, because really, it's all she's got. Percy's shrugged on his jacket, and she slips her feet into her sandals, and they're good to go.
She lets him order her dinner, too, because she really can't think enough to read through the menu, and watches in fascination as Percy talks about work. He's gesturing wildly and smiling and laughing, and it strikes her then that her feeling towards him might be a little more romantic than she'd thought. It's a scene out of a movie, but she can't stop her mind from wandering a little. She decides she's felt this way about Percy for too long for it to be a crush, but finds that this new revelation is hardly something that bothers her. She's content with having Percy in her life- She doesn't really think it would affect them in any way, and she decides she doesn't care.
"I want a cookie." She tells him finally when he's done talking, and he blinks at her.
"What?"
"Cookie. Brownie. I want something." She moans, resting her face on the table. She isn't really sure why she's saying it, but she can't think. Her body is sore, her back hurts and she feels really dizzy- All before she even got to her first drink, which is going to be a lemonade, as per Percy's order. She's just so sleepy, she wants to curl into a ball and wake up three days later. She voices this to Percy, who frowns slightly at her.
"Annabeth, wake up." He shakes her arm. "You have to get some food in you. Wake up." Her stomach lets out a large rumble that, thankfully, is drowned in the music, and loud crowd. Just then, the waitress comes in, laying out their food for them with a strained smile, and Annabeth can't help but feel sorry for her.
"Tough day?" She asks sleepily, and the waitress rolls her eyes.
"Doesn't even begin to cover it. You look pretty tirrd yourself." She nods at her, and Annabeth scowls at Percy.
"It was this idiot's idea." She glares at him, and he only laughs, putting his arms up in surrender.
"She just drove down from Ohio. Excuse her crabbiness." He grins at the waitress, who scowls at Percy too.
"Why would you subject her to that?" She seems to remember then that they were her customers, because she claps her hand over her mouth, eyes going wide. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean- Oh, I'm so sorry!" She turns on her heel, and Annabeth laughs.
"Pleasure talking with you!" She calls, but the other woman's already gone. Percy grins proudly at her.
"She was totally flirting with me." He announces, and there's so many things Annabeth wants to say that she can't, so she digs into her chicken instead.
The next day, they get a bigger, better balanced breakfast before they head off again. Percy's at the wheel, as promised, and Annabeth props her lets up on the dashboard, ignoring Percy's protests of 'Respect Natasha, get your filthy feet off her!' The hood is lowered, and she feels the wind in her hair again. She's gotten really comfortable in the car over the past two days, so she leans her seat back and curls up on her side. Percy absently reaches out and strokes her hair, and she smiles into her curls.
"Uh, Annabeth?" His voice is strained, which isn't something she hears often, so she looks up. His jaw is set and he's glaring at the road, so she sits up, crossing her legs over and turning to face him.
"What's up?"
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you." He stutters slightly, something that doesn't go unnoticed by her. She waits for him to go on. "I, uh, you want to go get coffee?" She shrugs.
"Yeah, sure. Do you want me to search for a nearby Starbucks, or something?" She asks. She hates Starbucks from the bottom of her heart, but it's just one more of those things she and Percy can't agree on, so she decides she'll bite first this time. Only because he looks so worried about it.
"No, I meant, sometime." He says, sparing a glance at her. She frowns.
"Not now?"
"Oh my god, Annabeth. You're so stupid sometimes." He breathes out.
"Eh?"
"Do you want to be my girlfriend, fuckwit?" His voice is so exasperated, like he'd asked her a million times and she'd missed it- Which isn't true, in reality; he'd only asked twice. Annabeth blinks at him, because she can't be sure she's hearing it right.
"Eh?" She repeats dumbly. Percy pulls over then, turns to her, cups her face in his hands and kisses her. Fireworks are exploding in her stomach and she can't see anything and there's so many stars and good lord, it's a scene out of a Nicholas Sparks novel. She lets out a shaky breath when he draws back. "Uh, yeah." She says in a daze.
She's not really surprised by the fact that he'd just asked her out, or even kissed her- It was more because of the way kissing him made her feel. It wasn't something she'd ever experienced before- She felt confident, like she could take on the world, and also strangely humbled. She felt indestructible and also really delicate. She can't fully put into words what Percy makes her feel, but if she had to try, she'd say good.
Percy made her feel good about herself, and really, that's all she can ask for. She tries to bite her lip to stop the smile from growing, and she can hear Percy laughing.
"You're so annoying." He tells her, reaching out to hold her hand.
"You're one to talk, Seaweed Brain." It's a weak comeback, she knows, but can you blame a girl?