Hi guys! This is my first one-shot, I hope you like it! Oh, and shout out to my awesome Beta who I cannot live without, Aspire Away!
Disclaimer:
I do not own Percy Jackson. I am not a man, and my name isn't Rick. :(
Annabeth frowns at Percy, not bothering to conceal her negative expression. She's silent, her thoughts overrunning her head. They're all jumbled, too much of a mess to clean up. She doesn't know where to start.
Tilting her head, she eyes the usually easy-to-read male companion beside her. She searches his eyes for something, anything, but the blank expression that's etched onto his face stays the same. To her disappointment, she sees his aquamarine eyes hold no emotion. She feels hurt, but mostly confused. Annabeth hates being confused. She's usually never confused; she prides herself on that. But right now she's entirely, perfectly, and utterly confused.
Because of Percy Jackson.
He's been distant. Too distant. He's never like this. When they meet up, his eyes would normally light up like she's the most extraordinary living being in the world, and when she's with him, she feels special, like she belongs somewhere. But now, all he does when he meets her is space out. At first, Annabeth teases Percy, thinking that it was just a phase he would get over. After all, he never was quiet. She did everything, from snapping her fingers in front of his face to braiding his disheveled hair into ten parts, tying each section off with pink ribbons. It would be perfect blackmail, and she still smiles at the picture.
But she doesn't want blackmail; she wants him. And he doesn't even spare her a glance.
Now on the weekends whenever he spots her in Camp, Percy always scurries away, though not before looking over his shoulder and staring at her with a fretful expression before disappearing completely. No matter how angry or sad he was, he would never not wish to talk about it with her.
Once she catches Percy whispering to an Aphrodite girl while glancing at her ever now and then. Annabeth's eyes narrow with suspicion and worry. She loathes being in the dark. And everybody seems to know what Percy's doing except her. When she has enough courage to walk up to them, the girl has the nerve to smile brightly.
Annabeth forces a smile, and the Aphrodite girl flounces away like she has no care in the world. Annabeth questions Percy as casually as possible on what they were talking about. His eyes then dart to the floor, his shoes, anything to avoid meeting her gaze.
In conclusion, Percy was acting funny. Not only that, he was acting very suspicious.
She understands that they are having problems meeting up these days. But Annabeth's goal was to complete her education by going to college. It was a college in New York, they couldn't just walk to each other's cabin whenever they wanted to see each other.
They're 21 now, and they were perfectly content until a few weeks ago. Now all Percy is doing is fiddling with his thumbs or squinting into the distance. Is he having doubts? Did he decide that they weren't perfect for each other after all? Is he tired of her? Is he cheating? She scolds herself for the latter. Out of all the things Percy is, the most obvious is that he's loyal. He would have certainly broken up with her before... moving on.
And now here she is, scanning him. Trying to find out what's wrong. What is Percy hiding from her?
They're both sitting on her bed at the small apartment she's living in. Under this pressure that she's building up, she just can't take it anymore.
"Spit it out," she demands, giving him the stink eye.
Percy emerges from his stupor of thoughts and blinks, his green eyes glazed with confusion.
"W-what?" he asks quietly, finally looking at her straight in the eye.
She hadn't had a proper look of his eyes in what feels like an eternity. But she doesn't have time for this temporary feeling of relief.
"Spit. It. Out." she says, pronouncing her fury in short bursts of syllables.
"Spit out what?" Percy asks, fumbling with his hands, a clear give-away that he's nervous.
"Why you've been avoiding me. Or why you can't look at me in the eye. Or why you do nothing but stare off into space when we're together." Her voice raises in volume, making it more apparent that she's very, very aggravated with each passing sentence. It's a shrill sound, so unlike her, that hurts even her own ears.
Percy eyes her for a moment, before dropping his gaze to the ground, looking at the dark brown wood. He opens his mouth, and Annabeth is expecting a long, jumbled up explanation. But what he says comes as a total shock to her.
"I-I can't say." Percy explains, and her mouth drops. She feels... betrayed. He always tells her everything, from things way too personal to things he simply saw that day. Telling each other everything is normal in their relationship. They do that all the time. To not do it makes it feel like her day is incomplete.
Annabeth blinks, trying not to let these simple words get to her. But she fails. She can feel the distinct pressure on the back of her eyes and her throat clogs up almost painfully. She rails herself. She is not going to cry. Not now, not ever. She is a strong woman; she can handle this.
"O-okay." she responds. Despite her inner conversation, she stutters, and she curses herself. When does Annabeth Chase ever stutter? Her voice is cautious and Percy sighs, looking at her slouched shoulders and slumped back.
"Fuck. I can't seem to do anything right," he mutters, rubbing the back of his neck before moving his hand to run through his hair. Suddenly, he grabs her hands firmly, but gently, because this is Percy we're talking about. "Get your coat, we're going somewhere."
Blankly, Annabeth stares at him, and Percy blushes under her intense gaze. She gives him an odd look before hurrying off to grab her coat. Once she's out of his sight, she stands still for a moment, trying to catch her breath. She feels her heart thumping against her chest heavily and she feels nervous for some reason.
He's waiting for her at the door, and when he flashes her a small smile, Annabeth smiles back, her heart slowing to its normal pace again. Maybe things will work out after all.
"Where are we going?" Annabeth asks, starting to feel some of her courage coming back.
Percy's driving, tapping his fingers on the wheel distractedly. His breath is coming out in light puffs, and he keeps messing with his hair, pulling at it or running a hand through it. He hesitates, seeming to ponder if he's going to tell her or not.
She growls out in irritation, glowering at him piercingly, threatening him to tell her. She could only stay quiet and patient for so long.
"Montauk," he finally answers, looking at her from the corner of his eye. When she catches his gaze, Percy's eyes flash back to the road, licking his lips restlessly.
Annabeth looks at him in bewilderment. "Why are we going to Montauk at 11 P.M.?" she questions, looking at him in bewilderment. "Are you sick?" she blurts out, before she realizes what she said and snaps her mouth shut, tilting her head down precipitously. Her blonde curls brush against her back at the abrupt movement.
Now she tries to speculate what's wrong with Percy. What's going to happen to them? Surely Percy doesn't want to go all the way to Montauk to end things with her... right?
"What?!" This simple exclaimation interrupts her train of thoughts.
"No, I'm not sick!" He looks at her like she's a Titan wearing a pink tutu with black strappy heels and lingerie.
"Are you sick?" he asks, reflecting her question back at her. He stares at her worriedly, and before Annabeth can help it, she's laughing. At first, Percy's hesitant, but he chuckles with her also, his warm eyes twinkling with soft amusement.
"So, are you going to tell my why we're going to Montauk?" Annabeth asks a few minutes later. She feels much better after their little moment. Most of the awkward tension has disappeared, but Percy still glances at her like she might dissolve.
"I-I can't." He says almost desperately. Drops of sweat falls from his forehead. He does really look sick, especially now.
Leaning forward, Annabeth wipes at his forehead. "Are you okay?" she asks, concerned.
Percy looks at her with a forced smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry." Averting his eyes for the umpteenth time, he stares back at the road, seemingly trying to avoid this conversation.
The ride to Montauk is filled with uncomfortable silence once again.
The familiar sight of the waves churning on the wet sand appears. It's scary, with the water looking ink black. They turn left to the parking lot, and he parks, his hands trembling slightly on the wheel.
As they walk down to the water, the accustomed salty aroma washes over her. Percy grabs her hand, and Annabeth leans into him, laying her head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to his side. It's been a few days since they've had proper skin-to-skin contact, and Annabeth relishes it, feeling comfortable next to him.
"What's going on?" She asks, watching the sea churning. Percy tenses for a moment, before relaxing.
"I promise I'll tell you later." Even though his body seems relaxed, his eyes dart back and forth, and just by looking at them she feels dizzy. Then he starts wringing his hands, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. Annabeth decides to ignore it, and they lull themselves into a silence interrupted with Percy's constant glances.
After what seems like an hour, he stands up. Annabeth puts her hands onto the grainy sand to stand up, thinking they're leaving, but he shakes his head. She frowns in confusion. What is he going to do?
Percy sighs, rubbing the back of his neck before running a hand into his messy forest of thick hair, his eyes staring at his grubby Converse before staring up at her intensely.
"I-I had this whole thing planned and I was getting ready for it-I even had a speech-but you just had to interrupt it with your smartness and like…oh gods, it doesn't mean that I don't like it, but it's annoying at times…but I still love you! I love you so much, and I love your smartness, and I love everything about you, like your eyes, they're gray, and I love that too, and you'll never know how much I love you, and I know that's cheesy, but I'm a cheesy guy. And I…"
He starts rambling some more, continuing on about things like her hair and how he enjoys playing with it. It's obvious that he's nervous, but for what?
But still, Annabeth is thankful for the small things he said. "What's going on, Percy? Just tell me," she cuts him off, and his mouth is open for another second before closing it with a faint 'snap.' He looks at the water and at the sky and over her shoulder before he can look at her, really look at her.
"Wise Girl." He gulps, but this time the glint in his eyes changes, and he looks more determined. "I love you so much, and I know we're young, but I don't know what I'll do without you, so I've been thinking. I talked to my mom and your dad and even Athena! And they gave me all different answers, but it's our life, you know? So I decided that I'm going to do it, I'm really going to do it, so I asked some girls what to do, and I admit they did all the planning and it was awesome and romantic, but it wasn't us, you know? And with you and your analyzing me, I tried not to be affected by it, but tonight, I just… wanted to do it our way. So here I am. Hear me out, okay?" Percy quickly says when Annabeth opens her mouth to answer.
Her heart is beating very fast, there's an idea at the back of her mind telling her why Percy is so nervous, but she pushes it even farther back. It can't be true…could he really be doing it?
"You are my world, Wise Girl, and I love you very, very much, and I want to tell you that even though our godly parents disagree, I want to live with you, and love you, and have kids with you, and just do normal things with you for the rest of our lives… so…. marry me?" Getting down on his knees albeit awkwardly, he opens a red velvet box she hasn't even noticed tucked in his pocket, and her heart swells with love and all her mixed up emotions.
The ring is beautiful, though while some might think it is too simple, she loves it at first sight. At the center of the ring there's a blue gem that looks like the ocean on a clear blue day She gasps, the tears falling freely from her eyes. She feels stupid, that just a few minutes ago she thought they were having relationship problems. Her fingers shake as she reaches out to touch it. Before she can, she looks at Percy and he's smiling lightly, although his eyes still hold uncertainty, afraid she might decline.
Annabeth can't believe it. They're getting married, they're going to have a family together, and it'll just be them, and oh gods she has a fiance! She stares at the ring, admiring it and noticing the small 'Wise Girl' engraved onto the inside.
A small lump forms at the back of her throat, and it gets bigger and bigger, before she finally sobs. She knows he knows her answer, and finally, finally his eyes lighten and they're back to the beautiful sea green eyes she fell in love with.
Her answer takes shape on her tongue before she can help it, but she doesn't stop, because she was going to say it anyway.
"Yes."
And Annabeth knows she's never going to have doubts again.
Phew, I'm finished! I started writing this one-shot before I even began writing TASA. I forgot all about it until a month ago and I started writing this again little by little. I've heard that my characters are a bit OOC so I tried to fix that here. I know Annabeth is smart, but since she was oblivious to Percy's feelings in her childhood years, she'd obviously be a bit oblivious when she grows up.
Also, I know I'm supposed to be updating TASA, and I will soon! But this was too tempting not to post.
~ Director of Dreams