Hi everyone! So while Hero is on hiatus, I got this idea for a cute PJATO story. This is set after the war with Gaea, and The Seven have moved to New York so they can all be around each other. It's a tad dark, just a smidge, but it's filled with lots of fluff.
Summary: Set after HoO. What if Percabeth hadn't happened yet? What if after all this time, they were still only best friends. After the war, they buy an apartment together in NYC, and the real Percabeth begins…
So yeah. Enjoy!
"Annabeth!" I yelled. I was trying unsuccessfully to tame my hair, standing by the mirror in the foyer. "Come on! We're going to be late!"
Living with Annabeth wasn't an easy task. But I put up with it, because I was hopelessly, undoubtedly, head-over-heels in love with her, to which she still knew nothing about.
After the battle with Gaea, our group of demigods decided to settle down in New York, where we could be close. After being around each other for so long, living in the same city seemed like the obvious thing to do. As a reward for helping defeat their grandmother, the gods gave us the apartments, manipulating the mist so we didn't seem like minors and setting up a trust found filled with cash for us to share.
When I proposed that Annabeth and I buy a place together, she agreed without hesitation. During our time in Tartarus, we had formed an unshakeable bond, bringing us closer than ever. Annabeth was everything to me, and I'd hoped that by living together, she might start to love me back someday.
Piper and Reyna originally tried living elsewhere, but they came back. They always come back. Thalia was away with the Hunters a lot, but when she needed a home, she had one here.
"Gods, Perce, I'm coming," Annabeth called, running down the stairs. I had to remind myself to breathe as I took in her appearance. The stunningly simple yet incredibly beautiful black dress fit her athletic body perfectly, her blonde hair naturally curled and loose. Breathe, I thought. It's just Annabeth.
"Percy? What's wrong?" she tugged on her dress, not understanding my reaction.
I shook my head. "Nothing. You look really nice, Annabeth."
She smiled at me. "You too, Seaweed Brain. Now let's go, we're going be late and I have to meet Adrian there."
My blood boiled. I hated Adrian. Annabeth had started seeing him about a year after they moved to New York. He was this tall, muscular blonde dude with a little scar on his cheek. I know what're you're thinking: Wow! He looks just like Luke. Yep, that's what everyone else is thinking too. Annabeth and Thalia were always fighting about Adrian, just because of how similar to Luke he was. It seems like all anyone did lately was fight with Annabeth.
To be fair, she had changed a lot. When we got out of Tartarus, something was different with her. There was a time when they had gotten separated down there, and I had almost lost my mind fighting to get back to her.
She was with Calypso, who we'd found in the pit a little after we fell. I guess after the Titan War, the gods decided she hadn't suffered enough. I mean, there was the fact that Krios had told the Roman demigods that she had helped them break Typhon out, but how could they believe that? After all that she's been through, how could they possibly believe she was anything more than a girl who lived through too much? Even after that exiled her to that island, she never disrespected the gods. She took their decision with grace and bore her punishment in silence. Then she stayed in Tartarus to close the Doors of Death so Annabeth and me could get out. She was a hero, no matter what the gods thought.
But anyway, when I finally fought my way back to them, Annabeth was sobbing uncontrollably, and Calypso was trying to calm her down. She looked up at me through her tearful grey eyes and I felt for the first time that she actually had feelings for me. That she loved me. And she ran to me and kissed me and despite everything, I was whole. I survived in that pit for a month because I had her by my side, in my arms.
But then we got out, and she was distant. Still Annabeth, but she seemed…lost. Angry, but about what I didn't know. It was like everything we'd been through in Tartarus, everything that brought us closer, she'd pushed to the back of her mind and me along with it. We were still best friends, but all traces of us becoming anything more were gone.
"Percy? Percyyyyyy," Annabeth said, waving her hand in front of my face. She held up the car keys. "You ready?"
I rubbed my hands over my face. "Yeah. Yeah, let's go. Do you have Nico's birthday gift?"
"Shit, I forgot. Hold these," she said, dropping the keys into my hand. I smiled and shook my head. "I'll go start the car!" I called up.
I walked outside and smiled at the car my mom and Paul had gotten me as a housewarming gift. A shining blue prius, like the one Blackjack had ruined. I started the engine, rubbing my hands together for warmth as I cranked the heat.
Annabeth came running out minutes later, a big box tucked under her arm. She slid into the front seat and turned the heaters towards her.
The drive to Nico's house took about twenty minutes, because he lived on the lower east side of the city. Annabeth was quiet for the first part of the ride. It was like she'd remembered something unpleasant and it was eating away at her. I sighed, and she snapped out of her trace and looked at me.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's nothing. Really," I said. She gave the oh-come-on-I-know-you're-lying look and I faltered. "It's just…why, Annabeth?"
She shifted uncomfortably. "Why, what?"
"Adrian!" I said, getting angry. But she looked like she was going to jump out of the car, so I changed my tone. "Look, I'm not judging you. After Tartarus I can understand—"
"Stop!" she put her hands over her ears. "Percy, I don't want to talk about Tartarus. I don't want to think about it. That place…it almost destroyed us—it almost detroyed me." She looked close to tears. The light turned red, and I went to grab her hand to comfort her. She recoiled from my touch, and looked at me with fearful eyes. "Percy…please. Don't," she begged.
The car behind me honked and we broke our gaze. I'd had this conversation with her so many times before, and yet I couldn't let it go. I just didn't understand why she was acting this way, why she wouldn't talk to me. Even if she didn't love me, we were best friends. That's supposed to mean something.
I pulled into Nico's driveway and turned off the engine. We sat in the car for a while, and it felt like Annabeth was going to say something when Adrian tapped on her window.
"What the hell, Annie. I've been waiting in my car for like 15 minutes," he said as Annabeth opened the door to get out of the car. He put his arm in front of her path and eyed me distastefully. "Jackson," he nodded. "You going to answer me, Annie?"
"Traffic was bad," she explained, slipping under his arm and closing the door. I gritted my teeth and walked up the Nico's front door and knocked, locking the car behind me.
Thalia opened the door and smiled. "Percy!" She was wearing a tight black dress with a chunky black belt and tons of silver jewelry. Her short spikey hair and grown out and now sat straight on her shoulders, her skin glowing slightly with the blessing of Artemis. I gave her a big hug, spinning her around and into the house.
"Thals! I didn't know you were going to be here," I said as I put her down. "Gods, it's good to see you." She was about to reply when Adrian and Annabeth walked in, holding hands.
"Oh great, the bitchy fifteen-year-old is here," he grumbled.
"Oh Hades, no. You did not bring him here," Thalia spat, glaring at Adrian.
Annabeth looked down and glared at her boots. "I didn't know you were home."
I could feel the beginnings of a fight coming on, so I grabbed Thalia around the waist and carried her into the living room where everyone had gathered, kicking and cursing in Ancient Greek the whole way. "Behave. For Nico, okay?" She grumbled unhappily, but agreed.
"Percy!" Everyone yelled as I walk into the room. I plopped Thalia down on the couch next to Reyna, who looked regal in her purple Grecian dress, her long dark hair braided down her back. She smiled at me. "Percy, it's good to see you."
I smiled back. "You too, Reyna. How was your trip to camp?"
She sighed. "I miss it there, but at the same time it's good to be away." I nodded in understanding.
Nico walked up to me, chuckling. "I guess Annabeth brought Adrian again?" He looked so much older, even though he was only turning sixteen. But his dark eyes were less sad than they used to be, and his pale skin had lost its sickly tone. He looked healthier, happier. "Nico, man, how've you been?" I asked, pulling my little cousin into a hug. "And yeah, she brought him."
Nico shook his head good-naturedly. "I really hate that guy."
I patted his back. "Me, too." I looked around. Jason sat on the floor near the fire, playing some sort of card game with Hazel and Frank. His jeans, blue t-shirt and the Sparry's I'd gotten him last year for Christmas looked super casual next to Hazel's gold dress and Frank's tux.
Piper stood up from her chair. "Where's Annabeth?" She looked like a modern day Pocahontas in her tribal print dress and brown tasseled moccasins. Her hair had gotten longer, too, but it was still choppy, still had tiny braids in it, and still very much Piper.
"In the foyer," I said, pointing over my shoulder. "Beware, she brought the cake-slayer." At Piper's birthday a couple months ago, Annabeth had brought Adrian. We tried to make him feel included for Annabeth's sake, so we told him he could cut the cake, which he completely destroyed. Then he blamed it on me and stormed out of the party. He does that.
"I can take him," she joked, putting up her fists as she brushed past me.
"Where's Leo?" I asked.
"He's still at work, but he should be here soon. His shift's almost over," Piper said, walking back into the room arm-in-arm with Annabeth. Adrian sat down in one of the armchairs, his lips turned down into an unattractive pout. Next to me, Thalia tensed, but I gave her a look and she relaxed.
"Hey, Annabeth," Nico said, breaking the silence. A chorus of greetings followed as Nico gave her a hug.
"Happy Birthday, Nico! This is from me and Percy," she said, handing him the box and smiling at me over her shoulder. We'd spent two whole months looking for the perfect present, and we'd finally found it at this antique store on Olympus.
"Aw, thanks guys. You didn't have to get me anything."
"Oh, shut up and open it," I said playfully. Everyone laughed as Nico tore off the paper. He used one of his rings to cut the tape on the box, and gasped when he looked inside. "Gods, you guys, this is incredible." He pulled out a black cane with a silver skeleton on top, like his favorite ring.
Annabeth and I exchanged a look: nailed it.
"Pull on the top," I said. He did as he was told, and the top half came out as a beautiful dagger, black as midnight.
"Is this—?"
"Stygian iron, yep." Annabeth smiled proudly. "Just like your sword."
"This is awesome, thanks guys!" He hugged both of us again.
"Leave it to Percy and Annabeth to out-do everybody else," Frank called out, and I laughed.
"Well, they got nothing on my gift!" Leo called out, shutting the door behind him. He walked into the living room and looked around. "Percy! Thalia!" he hugged us. "I didn't know you guys were coming."
Annabeth cleared her throat, making Leo jump. He turned around and smiled. "Annabeth! How've you been, Owl Face?"
She huffed at the nickname but smiled all the same. "I've been good Leo, how about you?"
"Great! Actually I'm working on this thing—"
"Well, I'm leaving. This is stupid," Adrian cut Leo off, standing up and brushing off his pants.
Annabeth crinkled her brow. "Adrian—"
"No, seriously. I'm sick of hanging out with your band of fucking misfits. And really, Annabeth? You gave a sixteen-year-old a dagger? I'm so done," he said, walking out of the living room.
"Adrian!" Annabeth called out, following after him.
It was silent until Leo clicked his tongue. "Well, I believe it's time to open my gift to Nico," he said, handing him a brown paper bag. "Happy Birthday, Death Breath."
Nico put his cane down and reached inside the bag. "Tequila!" he cheered, setting the huge bottle down on the end table.
"What else?" Leo asked.
He reached in again. "Vodka!"
"One more time," Leo said.
Nico pulled out two twelve packs. "Beer!" We all cheered.
I nodded. "You beat us. Respect, man," I said, giving him a fist bump. "Where did you get all that?"
Leo grinned. "I had to do a favor for Mr. D a while back. It's a long story." Nico and Hazel went to go get shot glasses as me and Jason set up the dinning room table for beer pong.
Now I know what you're thinking: ten underage demigods getting drunk together is super irresponsible. But after all that we'd been through, getting drunk seemed like a rite of passage, and we deserved it.
By the time Annabeth came back in, without Adrian this time, me and Jason were beating Piper and Leo 3-1.
"You really want to miss this shot," Piper said sweetly, and Jason's ball sailed past the island cup he'd aimed for.
"Aw, Pipes; no fair! Charmspeak is cheating!" Jason pouted. She laughed and tossed to ball back to him. "Alright fine, do-over," she agreed, and the ball landed in the cup. My eyes wandered back to Annabeth, who was lining up shots on the coffee table.
"Give me a three, corner cup," I said. Piper arranged the cups into a pyramid and the ball landed in the cup on a bounce, which Leo had been too slow to swat away.
Aw, yeah. Jackson and Grace win again!" We finished our beer in victory and shook our opponents hands.
"Good game, guys," Jason said.
"Hey, Annabeth, line me up some shots, too," I said, sitting on the floor across from her. She lined up three shots for each of us.
"Same rules as always?" I asked.
"Of course," she replied, picking up her glass.
"Alright, I'll start. What happened with you and Adrian?" I asked.
She made a face and took a shot. "Why do you care so much?"
My hands started to sweat. "Because you're my best friend and I care about you." Shrugging, she took another shot.
"We were arguing about you, actually. Well, everyone. He kind of hates all my friends." She pushed a shot closer to me. "There, I answered your first question. Drink." She smirked as I downed it.
"Are you happy with Adrian?"
She smiled. "Nope."
"Fuck, I was sure you weren't going to answer that one," I sulked, taking my second shot. Now we were even.
"You sure you don't want to give up now? You know you always lose," she taunted, her cheeks flushed with alcohol. It's a good thing she always won, because Annabeth was a lightweight.
"Give me your best, Wise Girl."
"Do you like anyone right now?"
My eyes must have been bugging out of my head because she laughed, and my heart leapt at the sound. She pushed her last shot toward me, her grey eyes sparkling triumphantly. "I win!"
"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, taking both of the shots. Annabeth held out her hand, and I shook it. "You almost had me there, Seaweed Brain."
"One day I'll win, you just wait."
She squeezed my hand and smiled before standing up and fixing her dress. "Piper, I challenge you to a round of beer pong. Frank, be my partner?"
"Sure thing," Frank said, standing up from his poker game with Thalia, Reyna, and Hazel.
Nico shook his head. "This I gotta see."
I took Frank's spot at the table and looked around, the room spinning.
"Yep, I'm drunk."
Reyna let out an uncharacteristic giggle, so I could tell she was trashed. "Perrr-cy," she said, laying down her flush and collecting the pot, "you love Annabeth."
"Yep," I said, taking out some drachmas to cash into the game.
"Why don't you just tell her? Everyone else knows you've been in love with her since you were twelve. She's not stupid, Perce; she probably knows already," Thalia said as she dealt a new hand.
"It's not that simple," I grumbled, shifting through my cards and tapping the table for two more. "She keeps pushing me away."
This techno song came on and Reyna's head snapped up. "Jason, it's that song from camp! The one that was playing on the boombox that hellhound swallowed!"
He came running out of the dinning room, tripping slightly on the rug. "We have to dance. Come on, praetor," he said, pulling her from the table. We laughed at our friend's antics as the danced around the living room.
Leo came over and sat in Reyna's chair, looking over my shoulder at my cards. "Percy has a straight."
"Leoooo," I groaned. He always does this to me whenever we play poker.
"Annabeth needs you anyway, quit your whining. She's sitting on the couch in the study."
"I'll be right back," I said.
"No you wont," Leo called back, and I chuckled.
I walked into the study and sat on the couch. "What'd you need, Wise Girl?" I asked, yawning.
Annabeth turned to me, looking at me with her big grey eyes. "Stay with me?" she asked. "I-I'm tired, but the nightmares…" she trailed off, and I pulled her into my arms and laid back, brushing her hair from her face.
"Yeah, I'll stay with you." Forever.
She pressed her lips to mine, soft and sweet. Before I even had time to register what happened, she rested her head against my chest and fell asleep.
Sighing, I closed my eyes and willed good dreams to come. Boy was I in for it.
So there you have it. Should I continue? Review! And I promise a new chapter of Hero will be up soon.