Summary: Percy Jackson always hoped that his impulsiveness would result in something beautiful. In fact, he even hopes that that "something beautiful" will be a certain grey-eyed blonde. AU, One-shot, continuation of Even Though.
Author's Note: Hey guyss... I knowww, I haven't been on in another forever, and pretty much the only excuse I have for that is because I've been having ideas, but I just couldn't put them into sentences. I'm realllyyy really sorry for not writing in so long. But I had a huge inspiration boost today, because this author came to my school and made a presentation and everything. Even though he doesn't know it, he set my mind to writing another fanfiction :). Alright, so although this is long overdue, this fic is dedicated to Ninja Cats and Rainbows, who wanted a continuation of Even Though. This continues from where Even Though ended, except it's in Percy's point of view :).
...
In Fact
Annabeth: I miss you too. And don't call me Annie.
Percy smiles. He shoots her back a quick text, and rushes to exit his apartment building, because even though McDonald's is just down the street, and he could probably get there in two minutes, Percy really does miss Annabeth.
Throwing the door open, he grabs his keys and takes the stairs down to the first floor of the building two at a time. He pauses on the last step, feeling ridiculous. He doesn't even know why he'd had the impulse to approach her in the first place. It had just felt right. But even then, he should've ignored those nagging feelings. His impulsiveness never benefitted him in any way whatsoever. Yet he'd still done it, had still went up to her, even going as far as calling her beautiful.
He groans. What is he doing with his life?
By the time he gets to the fast food restaurant, it would probably take another five minutes for Annabeth to even leave her house.
Percy shakes his head and jogs the short way to McDonald's anyway.
...
He gets to McDonald's, sweating. It was a hot summer day, and he decides that he regrets jogging outside under the burning sun. Then he reevaluates his prior decision amd decides that he doesn't regret it. He would rather run a million miles out there in the boiling temperature than not see Annabeth for another day.
So maybe he's exaggerating just a little bit, but during the month that she hadn't been replying to his texts, he had been very Annabeth-deprived.
Now that he thinks back on it, it sounds absolutely absurd, but back then-by back then he means an hour ago-it had seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to be deprived of.
Percy didn't, and still doesn't, know why she had been avoiding him for the past few weeks. If he hadn't been thinking "what if I sound desperate" every single second of those weeks, Annabeth would probably have already gotten a new phone.
He's shaken out of his thoughts when his phone vibrates from where he'd placed it on the table in front of him-definitely not waiting for a text from Annabeth-and lights up with a new text message.
He can't help but grin when he sees that the text is, indeed, from Annabeth, but his smile drops when he reads it.
Annabeth: Percy, I'm really sorry but I can't come. My parents left the house so I have to watch my brothers. I'm really, really sorry. Maybe next time? :/
Percy suddenly feels embarrassed in McDonald's all by himself. He grabs his phone and rushes out of the now-crowded restaurant.
When he bursts out through the exit, he lets his feet take him along the familiar path to Central Park. As a kid, he would always go to the park with his mom, making her push him on the swings. It had sort of become a place where he could just think.
Now, he sits on the bench and wonders why he's as upset as he is at the moment. He shouldn't be. It's not like Annabeth doesn't want to see him, right? She just has responsibilities as an older sister that she needs to fulfill.
But that only makes Percy feel worse. She'd never even told him that she has brothers. Then he internally punches himself, because they'd had a total of two meetings. It's not like Annabeth would tell him her whole life story right after they'd just met.
Feeling stupid, he decides that he wants to get her out of his mind, so he sits down on a bench, and takes his phone out of his pocket again to send his childhood best friend, Rachel, a short text.
Percy: can u come 2 the park?
He locks his screen and sets the device down beside him. He turns his attention to the kids laughing and screaming in the playground, and smiles, remembering when he used to be one of them.
Then he hears giggling behind him, and turns to see two boys who he guesses are twins around the age of ten. They remind Percy of someone he can't quite put his finger on, and they start laughing even harder when he looks at them, confused.
"Uhm... what's up..?" he asks lamely.
One boy whispers something in the other's ear, and they walk away, still laughing.
Percy is sitting there, on the bench, wondering if there's something he doesn't know, when his phone vibrates, and a new text message pops up on the screen.
Rachel: i'm coming now
That's one thing he likes about Rachel. She never questions why he needs her when he asks; she's just..there.
He sits back on the bench, looking for the two boys who had him confused as heck. He scans the the mob of kids on the playground and spots them easily, as their blonde heads make them stand out.
They're sitting on the sand, building a sandcastle with a girl who appears to be about six years older than them. Her back is to him, so all Percy can see is that she's also blonde, but instead of being straight, her hair is in curls. Like Annabeth's.
Before he could start thinking too much into that, he hears his name being called.
"Percy!" Rachel's familiar voice sounds.
He smiles, turning around to see the bright green eyes and freckles that he's so used to by now.
"Rachel!" he mimicks her, standing up and pulling on one of her red curls when she gets close enough.
She pulls him into a hug, and, if it was a year ago, Percy would probably be blushing madly. Ever since he was eleven, he'd had a huge crush on Rachel, right up until last year, at fifteen. If anyone were to ask now, he would freely admit it, but back then, he tried to hide it as much as possible-not that it worked. Everyone knew he liked Rachel. Including the girl herself.
Percy had been ecstatic when, two days before his fifteenth birthday, she'd told him that she returned his feelings, and they started a relationship.
That had lasted about 3 months, and then they decided that the relationship they had wasn't working, so they ended it, but that didn't stop them from still being the closest of friends.
He's shaken out of his thoughts when Rachel releases him from the hug, sits down on the bench he'd been sitting on before, and pats the seat beside her.
He sits.
"Soo," she starts. "What happened?"
Percy sighs. "It's sort of a ridiculous story."
Rachel raises an eyebrow. "Well tell me anyway. Otherwise, what else did I come here for?"
He squeezes his eyes shut. "Alright," he reluctantly says. "But you can't laugh at me."
Ponndering her friend's tradeoff for a second, the redhead speaks. "No promises."
"What?" Percy pouts. "But-"
He stops when he sees Rachel's "I'm-your-best-friend-so-you-have-to-tell-me" face.
"Fine. Uhm, well... it started in McDonald's."
"McDonald's?
"Yes. So I saw a girl and my impulse told me to talk to her. So I did." He pauses.
"That's it?"
"No. I-this is so much more embarrassing when I say it out loud."
"But you're going to tell me anyway."
"That..is true."
Rachel smirks. "I know. So go on."
"Okay... uh, where was I."
"McDonald's."
"Right... so I start talking to this girl, and then before I know it, I'm saying that her name is pretty and calling her beautiful and different and asking her for her number and I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."
"Did she give you the number?"
"Yes..."
"Then that's a good thi-"
"I'm not done. For a week after that, we texted back and forth a lot, but after that... she just stopped talking to me. She avoided my texts, and ignored my calls. We finally started talking again today, and she said that she would meet up with me, but she ended up having to take care of her brothers. And I know, it's a ridiculous thing to be upset about, because they're her brothers, after all. But...I dunno, what if she just making it up because she doesn't want to hang out with me? What if she doesn't really have to take care of her brothers, but just wants to avoid me? Why else would she have ignored me for so l-"
Rachel sighs. "Percy, stop. Ever since I met you seven years ago-"
Percy cuts her off. "Wait, you still remember when we became friends?"
"This is exactly what I mean, Perce," she says exasperatedly. "You don't realize how important you are to other people. And don't you dare argue with me and say that you aren't, because you are. Okay?"
But before Percy can answer, she speaks again, adapting a confused tone. "Uh...Percy, do you know those two boys who're laughing at us?"
He looks up to see the blonde boys from earlier. One of them, who's slightly shorter than the other, turns around to grab the arm of the girl sitting on the sand beside him.
The girl sighs impatiently. "What now, Matt?"
Percy's eyes widen, as he finally realizes why the boys looked so familiar. She couldn't possibly be here, could she? But of course she could. She'd said that she had to take care of her brothers, and Central Park is undeniably, one of the most popular places for kids to hang out.
"Percy?" Rachel's voice interrupts his thoughts.
"Yea...?" he asks, distractedly.
"Who are they?"
Just then, the boy named Matt grasps the girls arm again. She turns around and he points Percy out to her, giggling. "Annabeth, look!" he squeals. "It's him!"
She whispers something in his ear, gets up, and starts walking towards Rachel and Percy.
Rachel speaks up again. "Percy, I'm really confused. Who are all these people?"
He turns to her. "The girl...she's Annabeth."
Her eyebrows knit themselves together. "Who...?" she asks, confused. There's a moment of silence, then it seems to hit her. "Oh," she realizes. "Ohhh." She smirks, and turns to look ahead at the approaching blonde.
Percy momentarily panics. "Rachel...don't you dare say anything."
"No promises," she says for the second time that day, still smirking.
He groans. "Rachel..."
"Percy?" a different voice asks.
He turns and gives her a slight smile. "Annabeth."
"What're you doing here?" she asks. "And..." she raises an eyebrow, gesturing towards Rachel. "Who's this?"
Percy opens his mouth to answer, but someone else beats him to it.
"I'm Percy's friend," Rachel introduces herself cheerfully. She pauses, looks at Annabeth, then adds, "just friend. Nothing more."
Annabeth blushes, and looks away.
Percy turns to Rachel, horrified. Before she could start saying something else, he breaks the awkward silence.
"Are those your brothers?" he asks Annabeth, referring to the two boys laughing and continuing their sand castle 3 metres away.
"Yep," she seems relieved, the awkwardness seeming to have disappeared.
"WELL," Rachel announces loudly. "I'll just get going now!" She adds in a hugely exaggerated wink, then skips away.
Percy decides that, at that moment, there is nothing he wants to do more than stab her. Multiple times.
He looks back at Annabeth and gestures towards the empty spot where Rachel had been sitting.
She sits. They settle into an uncomfortable silence yet again.
"So," he starts. But he doesn't finish. Then again, it wouldn't have mattered either way, as, when he looks at her again, she doesn't seem like she's paying him any attention. He decides to just stay quiet.
"Who was she?" Annabeth finally speaks up.
Percy's relieved, because at least she's willing to talk to him, but he's also confused. "Who?" It takes him a few minutes to register what she meant. "Ohh. Rachel? Childhood best friend."
"Oh," she says, then appears to slip off into her own world again.
"Yea..." he nods slowly, not knowing what else to do. "Why?"
"No reason."
"ANNABETH!" her brothers shriek her name from their places on the sand.
"Can we go now?" one of them whines.
"Yea, I'm boored," the other continues.
Annabeth looks at them, sighs, then looks at Percy. She gets up. "Yea," she says. "Bye Percy."
He hesitates, wanting to tell her to stay instead, but pauses a second too long. "Bye Annabeth."
...
When he's safely home and surrounded by the walls of his room instead of at the park surrounded by noisy kids, Percy groans, feeling stupid. Why couldn't he have held her back from leaving?
He picks up his phone, deciding he would text her, but ends up not needing to, as she'd already beaten him to it.
Annabeth: Sorry I had to leave. If my brothers hadn't gotten what they wanted, the turnout wouldn't have been pretty.
It's funny how one text can brighten up your whole day, he thinks, smiling.
He starts to type a simple "its ok", but decides that it would sound too lame.
Percy: u still owe me a "next time" ;)
He immediately regrets it right after he sends it. Would it sound too flirty?
Annabeth: We'll see.
He frowns. Did she have to be so confusing?
Percy: :(
Annabeth: I'm just kidding. How about tomorrow at 12?
Percy's fingers pause on the keypad. He wonders if agreeing would just make things worse. After all, the past couple of times they met up, that's what had happened. But he doesn't give himself more time to doubt.
Percy: yea. okay :)
Annabeth: If you're late, I'm leaving.
He thinks she's joking, but it's quite hard to tell with her lack of emojis.
Percy: ok :/
Annabeth: I'm joking ;)
...
The next day, Percy shows up at McDonald's ten minutes early anyway.
...
And, at the end of the day, he thinks that he might kind of really really like Annabeth. In fact, he kind of knows it.
...