SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL PERCY JACKSON BOOKS.
I'm actually really surprised no-one has done a songfic for this song – it fits in perfectly. So here it is, Annabeth's view on her and Percy's relationship throughout the books, ending with the scene in the pavilion on Percy's 16th birthday. Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan, and Sparks Fly to the incredibly talented Taylor Swift.
Sparks Fly
I knew from day one he was something different. Ever since I dragged him into the big house that day, even before we went on the quest to retrieve Zeus' lightning bolt. How? I can't really say. It's probably how quickly I came to trust him. It's unnatural for me. I came to trust him more than I did Luke within a few months, while I'd known Luke for years.
The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm
And I'm a house of cards
But never in my wildest dreams did I think it would lead to something more than friendship.
That's another thing. How we befriended so quickly. He's just so...reckless, stupid – oblivious, and I should have been running. I mean, why would I, a dignified daughter of Athena, want to befriend someone so careless and blind?
You're the kind of reckless that should send me running
But I kind of know that I won't get far
In the beginning, that was all it was. Friendship. A strong friendship, yes, but that's all. The idea of dating Seaweed Brain, of all people, was completely unthinkable. Absurd. But as time went on...my view began to change.
And you stood there in front of me just close enough to touch
Close enough to hope you couldn't see what I was thinking of
The first time I felt something else? Probably after he took the world from me. He even admitted to me afterwards that the whole reason he went on the quest was because of me. Not because of Lady Artemis. Not because it was the right thing to do. Because of me. He put his life on the line, then even acted like it was no big deal later.
Then the dance on Olympus. I knew something was up when, a week later, I could still remember exactly how many seconds it had lasted and how many times he had stepped on my foot. I wanted to kick myself when I was caught staring at him later – but I just couldn't help it. Who would've known?
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain
And his smile. I thought it was goofy, at first, but as the years flew by, that crooked old grin came to be the one that gave me butterflies every time.
'Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
Don't even let me get started on his eyes. Luke's had always been attractive, a startling blue, but Percy's were just...hypnotic, almost. Sparkling like the ocean on a clear day, or stormy like a cyclone. A thousand different tints and shades, all forming that beautiful sea green that quickly became my favorite color.
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around
'Cause I see the Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
I remember the day I vowed, no matter who our parents were, I would stick by him. And I knew he would stick by me. No matter what the cost.
Normally, I over-think everything. Plans. People. Even life. But Percy…he was an exception.
My mind forgets to remind me
You're a bad idea
You touch me once and it's really something
I know what he thought of me at first. To be honest, I don't really blame him. I set him up on his first Capture the Flag and nearly got him skewered. But he didn't care. He still wanted to be close to me, and vice versa, despite the nicknames, the teasing, all the things that were once infuriating but soon became adoring.
You find I'm even better than
You imagined I would be
After everything, after all the betrayals, I had learned to put up walls. Never give yourself to somebody. Never put so must trust in them that they can crush you on their will. You can't trust anyone but yourself. They'll just hurt you.
Then Percy came along and just barged straight through my mental defenses, crumbling them into dust. Try as I might, I couldn't stop myself from getting closer to him. And closer. From trusting him with my past, my thoughts, my mind, my life, myself.
I'm on my guard from the rest of the world
But with you I know it's no good
I found myself waiting. And waiting. He was just so thick sometimes, so obtuse – after even the kiss on Mt. Helens, he didn't get the hint, and went after some mortal.
And I could wait patiently but
I really wish you would
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain
'Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
I remember looking into his eyes so many times, and then the once I couldn't, the once when he realized what the prophecy meant. That he was going to die, and there was nothing anyone could do. And I cursed myself for getting so close to him, when I knew what was going to happen in the end. He was going to leave me, intentionally or not.
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me
When you're not around
'Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
During the fight on the bridge. It was such a blur – the adrenaline, the sparring – and then the searing pain.
He asked me why I did it later. I said he would've done the same for me, but it was only half the truth. I did it because I knew something was wrong, because I knewif he died, I would die. From the minute I touched his Achilles heel, my fate was sealed. I could not live without Percy Jackson.
I run my fingers through your hair
And watch the lights go wild
Just keep on keeping your eyes on me
It's just wrong enough to make it feel right
Yes, I saved him many times. But he saved me just as many, both physically and emotionally. One time I'll never forget would be the Sirens.
I know he saw what I saw. I know he could see that I wanted Luke with me at that time, and not him. But he didn't care. He still saved me, still held me while I cried, still smiled like nothing was wrong.
And lead me up the staircase
Won't you whisper soft and slow
It wasn't like all our moments were life-threatening. There was that time when I finally got that stupid Seaweed Brain to go out with me, to the Fourth of July fireworks, no less. It was probably the best night of my life before the Titan War.
Embarrassingly enough, I'll admit I stared at him more than the fireworks.
I'm captivated by you baby like a firework show
When he still didn't get the hint after that, I wanted to scream, pull my hair out, stomp around like those girls did in movies. Didn't ignorance have its limits?
Despite the nickname, I knew he was smart, in his own way. Then why? It was because he was scared. He ran away from something that he never had to deal with before, something he was afraid of confronting. He was scared, and that's why I called him a coward, right to his face. Didn't he know how much it hurt?
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
'Cause I see the Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
I almost lost him again. After everything we'd been through, how could the gods curse him like that? Become a god? I remember being crushed, from inside out, like holding up the sky again. I remember feeling horror, anger, anguish, pain, excruciating pain, all at once, so it felt like I was about to explode. I had never felt more alone.
And then he said it, the most beautiful word I had ever heard.
"No."
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me
When you're not around
'Cause I see Sparks Fly
Whenever you smile
So when he stutters helplessly, trying to tell me about what he saw in the Styx, I realize that no matter what, the one thing I've always wanted is right here in front of me, and I could keep him for good, and make it permanent, I don't hold back.
It's wrong. But it's so right. I kiss him, and watch the lights go wild.
Or maybe that's just the other campers, I think, as we're hoisted onto their shoulders and carried off towards the lake, the cheering nearly deafening me.
I look towards him, and he smiles.
Sparks Fly, oh baby smile
And the Sparks Fly
~End~