A/N: I promised a million updates, I delivered on (1). Sorry 'bout that. This is also SUPER DUPER inspired by the movie Bachelorette and has mentions of drugs and alcohol. If that makes you uncomfortable, please don't go ahead and read it. I don't need negativity because of that, you know?
ALSO POINTER: A lot of you wanted to know why I didn't elaborate on the relationships in Broken Heartbeats, which is a totally valid point, btw. I just wanted to explain that most of my stories have a seemingly long skip epilogue, mostly because when I end my stories, I get some reviews asking for me to continue. The epilogue is mainly to completely shut the entire story down, you know? I'll stop, if you'd like; I'd actually like to do that, too. Anyway, on with this story!
Hope you like it! xo
She sees him almost the instant she enters the lavish hotel lobby. He's wearing a well tailored suit with one hand tucked into his pocket and he's speaking with a woman she's never seen before, and doesn't as much as give her a second glance. The first thing Annabeth feels is ridiculously out of place in her all-too-simple blue t-shirt dress in the midst of all the well dressed upperclassmen. She's too aware of the clacking of her ankle boots against the marble floor as she approaches a familiar gaggle of girls.
"You made it!" Hazel throws herself at her, and Annabeth drops the handle of her suitcase as she steadies herself. She laughs into the bride to be' hair.
"I'm your bridesmaid. What'd you expect?"
Hazel draws back sheepishly and Piper and Reyna take turns in greeting her. She hasn't seen her high school best friends in years; since she graduated high school, really. She asks them about their lives, only too aware of how their dresses are a lot better suited to the hotel than hers. She excuses herself to her room, only to have Piper follow after her.
Annabeth whirls around when she feels the other woman's fingers wrap around her arm.
"What?" She doesn't mean to snap, but she can't pretend seeing Percy hasn't thrown her off a little. She wishes she'd at leat got some kind of a warning. Piper has the decency to look apologetic.
"I'm sorry." She mumbles, but her pour grows into a grin before Annabeth can fully forgive her. "So Hazel and her other bridesmaids flew in from Alaska, so they want to 'have a mellow evening'" She does such a terrible job imitating them that Annabeth has to crack a smile. "You, Reyna and me are giving Hazel the bachelorette party of the century!" Her best friend announces and Annabeth admits it's tempting. She glares at Piper for a second longer before caving.
"Okay, alright. Fine. Let's do this." She says and the maid of honour squeals, throwing herself at her.
"It's going to be AWESOME." She slips off, leaving Annabeth to go make herself look more presentable to her ex boyfriend she's been in love with for the last eight years.
oOo
Hazel looks confused between bursting into tears and slapping Piper and Reyna, and Annabeth decides to step back in silence as the bride to be glares at her friends.
"You guys are high?" She repeats, voice hitching up an octave.
"Relax, Hazel! It's just pot." Reyna shrugs, and Annabeth flinches. This isn't going to end well, but Reyna doesn't seem to notice. "It's not going to kill us. The cocaine in my bag, though." She whistles. "That's a different story altogether." Annabeth sinks into her seat as Hazel starts to yell.
Hazel Levesque was one of the nicest, most earnest and down to earth people Annabeth knew, and watching her scream was something, she decides, she never wants to experience first hand. It kind of broke her heart to see how her friends managed to push Hazel over the edge. She straightens up when Hazel turns to her.
"And you," She cries, "What about you, then? Was your incredibly moving speech at the rehearsal also something you said because of the pot?"
Annabeth flinches at this. She knows she did a terrible job trying to 'wing' the speech this evening, because she barely got through a couple of terribly framed sentences before catching Percy's eye and then excusing herself from the entire party. In her defense, the rehearsal could've been a rehearsal of the rehearsal, because they held it in a completely different venue. According to Reyna, the wedding planner had told them she'd be done by tomorrow, and wanted it to be a surprise for Hazel. She shakes her head slowly. She's twenty four and single and definitely someone who parties a lot, but she'd always made it crystal clear that she wasn't into drugs, no matter what kind. It was just something she'd always been really hesitant about trying, even back in high school when all her friends were only starting to discover the world of highs.
"If you guys think for one moment that I'm still coming to the bar with you, you're insane." Hazel scowls and Annabeth can't believe she's seeing Hazel be so mean. A small part of her is proud of her for sticking up for herself and saying what she believes is right without a care in th world as to what her friends think. She'd always been a little afraid of hurting other people's feelings, and to see her growing out of it makes Annabeth strangely happy.
"Hazel, it's your bachelorette party!" Piper calls, but all they hear is the door slam shut. She turns to the two of them.
"Just us, then?" She shrugs.
oOo
"Why are you here?" Annabeth wishes Piper would shut up but she's got way too much pot in her system and she's high as a kite that nobody can control. Beside her Reyna groans.
Frank, Percy, Jason and Leo are standing around their booth in the bar in the hotel, and Percy's still not given her as much as a nod of acknowledgement. Watching Percy Jackson laugh and talk and look through her like she's nothing is making Annabeth want to curl up and die slowly. She looks up at the men, trying for her most charming smile.
"Piper needs to use the restroom." She explains, guiding her out of the booth. When she gets past the men, she turns around and flashes Reyna a panicked look. Her other friend purses her lips and they have a silent conversation, where Reyna basically says, Get her the hell out of here, to which Annabeth says, Okay. She pulls Piper to the washroom and shoves her into a cubicle before locking thedoor behind them. She takes a deep steadying breath.
"Okay." She turns to Piper. "You're high. Reyna's drunk. Hazel's pissed. And I'm in a state of emotional despair." Piper only blinks at her.
"I think Percy's gotten even hotter." She offers. "Like wow. Anyway, I was wondering- You think I could be a stripper?" Annabeth lets out a long sigh.
"Pipes, I know that you're a little off, right now, okay, but I need you to pull yourself together for me. Think you can do that?" She asks, and Piper only shrugs.
"I could stay here if you give me my stash." She argues, and Annabeth's just about to tell her no, they're stuck together, when her phone buzzes. She glances down at the text from Reyna, reading:
Annabeth! Reyna+Alcohol+Groomsmen=disaster HELP
Annabeth's so frustrated, she lets out a growl before pushing herself off the wall of the cubicle. She turns to Piper, shoving one of her joints to her.
"You get one. Stay in here or you'll regret it." She tells her slowly, making sure the other woman understands every word. Piper nods obediently and follows her out, settling on the sink counter contently. Annabeth decides it's safe to duck out for a couple of minutes, just to get Reyna out of there, and slips out, only to find Reyna chatting happily to Leo.
"-And then, you know, we were really tired so my sister decided-" She was slurring before Annabeth grabs her arm ad brought her to her feet. She lets out a surprised yelp and looks at the blonde, who's gesturing wildly for her to leave.
"Annabeth! So glad you could join us, I haven't seen you in ages!" Frank calls with a smile, and Annabeth lets out a groan through her smile. She gives the groom to be a hug, trying to come up with an excuse to get out of here, even though Reyna looks perfectly comfortable.
"Hey, Frank! Congratulations!" She smiles, grip still tight around Reyna's arm. "Yeah, I've been busy." She says, struggling to keep her friend on her feet.
"Yeah, last I heard, you were in New Haven?" He asks, passing her a bottle of beer. Reyna grabs at it before she can, and she lets out a sigh, gently prying it from her hands and returning it to Frank.
"I think we've had enough." She tells her friend before turning to Frank. "Oh, yeah. That was a while ago. I work in San Francisco, now." She smiles. "That's right, I got myself a job!" She announces, for no real reason except in hopes that Percy would hear. If he does, he makes no attempt to speak to her, instead letting everyone else congratulate her.
"Where's Pipes?" Leo asks, brows drawing in together, and Annabeth's mind goes blank.
"She's dead." She announces, at the same time Reyna says,
"She's ordering a drink."
There's a pause, and Annabeth can't believe a piss drunk woman can come up with a better excuse than her.
"She's dead serious about that martini." She covers awkwardly before deciding it's time to make their exit. She's had enough embarrassment for a day and she really just wants to go back to her warm home in California and sleep. "We should check on her, right, Reyna?" She smiles tightly and doesn't wait for anyone's response before dragging her friend away to the bathroom.
She bursts through the doors to find Piper in a heated argument with a pretty woman with long, black hair that makes Annabeth insanely jealous.
"-difference between mustard and saffron!" Piper screams, and the other woman looks offended.
"Excuse me? You're just disrespectful, you awful woman." Annabeth opens her mouth to argue, but Reyna beats her to it.
"Hey, Madeleine. Lay off her, no need to be such a bitch." She crosses her arms over her chest, and Annabeth looks between the three of them.
"You guys know her?" She asks a little lamely and Reyna scowls at the woman called Madeleine.
"Of course we do. She's the wedding planner. Which means," She says pointedly to her. "She treats te wedding guests with respect."
Madeleine looks like she's been slapped across the face. She narrows her eyes.
"I quit this miserable wedding, then." She throws her arms up in the air. "You're all brats and I can't handle this. Have fun figuring it out yourself. And the venue's only half done. Hope you can fix it in time." She spits before storming out the door.
Annabeth watches after her in silence before turning to Piper and Reyna, who look just as speechless as she feels. After what seems like an eternity, Piper's mouth slowly moves before she mutters,
"Well, fuck."
oOo
"Hey, Annabeth!" Her blood runs cold and she feels a chill go down her spine. She shudders as she turns around to face the owner of the voice. Percy Jackson is right in front of her, green eyes boring into her. He's not smiling, but she can't make out if he's particularly upset. She swallows hard before raising her brows and giving him a tight smile.
"Hi." Her voice sounds strained, and she isn't sure if she imagines Percy wincing slightly. He gives her a hard look and points to the door with his thumb.
"I just ran into Madeleine, you know, the wedding planner." He starts, and Annabeth nearly sobs. She's been racking her mind for an answer when the older woman refused to accept Piper and Reyna's apologies, calling them 'unprofessional, immature brats'. "She said something about not working on the wedding anymore. Weird, huh?"
"Yeah, strange. You know what? You should fire her." Annabeth tries, but she can tell Percy isn't amused. He glares at her.
"You see, I'm not entirely sure how this goes, but she did mention something about a pathetic maid of honor and a ridiculous bridesmaid." He said slowly. "And if I wanted to know anything else, to ask the 'dumb blonde bitch'" He makes quotation marks in the air and then gestures to her. "Which, judging by purely your hair color, means you?" Sarcasm is dripping from his voice and Annabeth has to resist the urge to really hurt him in some way. She takes a steadying breath.
"Yeah. She quit." She agrees slowly, still trying to work her way out of this mess. "It's a long story." She mumbles, and she can tell Percy isn't buying it. She hangs her head down in shame.
"Look, I don't know what your plan is," He leans impossibly close to her. "But as best man, it's my job to make sure everything goes smoothly, and I swear to god, Chase, if you fuck up," He pauses, and Annabeth bites down hard on her lip to stop herself from getting defensive. She deserves this, she thinks. "I'm not going to stick around to help you wriggle your way out." He draws away, steps around her and heads to the doors, not sparing her a second glance.
It takes more than just one breath to calm herself down and stop the tears threatening to fall.
oOo
Annabeth claps her hands together, smiling brightly at her two best friends. They're standing in the hall that, in seven hours, will have over two hundred people coming in to celebrate the joining of the Zhang and Levesque families. She looks around the large room, making a list of the things that still need to be set.
The flowers are still in large bunches at the podium, there are chairs and tables scattered haphazardly all over the room, the entire floor is filthy and, she realizes, except for bringing in the flowers, Madeleine had done nothing. She exhales slowly, hoping that someone would magically fix this by the time she's out of breath. When that doesn't happen, she turns back to her friends.
"Alright, team. You're drunk," She nods to Reyna, "You're high," She gestures to Piper, "And we are going to fix this entire room up to give our best friend the greatest wedding ever, god knows both of them deserve that." She announces, and Piper cheers happily.
"Pipes, you're in charge of decoration." She says. "You've an interior designer, tell us where to put up the flowers, and we'll do it. Reyna, once we're done, you're in charge of getting the names of all the guests, and print out the placards, while Pipes and I set the tables. You think we can do this in-" She checks the delicate watch on her wrist. It's four in the morning. "-Six hours?"
Reyna and Piper let out enthusiastic hoots before the here of them get to work. At four thirty, Annabeth realizes they've accomplished close to nothing.
"Stop. We need something more efficient." She sighs. Reyna looks like there's something she wants to say, but hesitates, so Annabeth raises her brows. "What?"
"It's just, uh, you said Percy knew about the whole Madeleine situation." She says, not meeting her eye.
"So?"
"We could work better if we had more people, is all-"
"We're not calling Percy Jackson." Annabeth grits out, and Reyna rolls her eyes, all hesitation gone.
"Annabeth, just suck it in and be an adult about this. I'm calling Jason." She pulls out her phone before Annabeth can argue and presses it to her ear. "Hey, Jase? I need you to get Percy and Leo to the hall. Yep. No! Don't tell Frank. Everything's fine. Okay. Great." She hangs up before beaming at Annabeth, who's heart is doing too many things to be beating effectively.
"Seriously, Annabeth, grow up. You guys fucked up, are obviously still in love with each other, and both of you are total idiots because you're making this a competition." Piper shrugs as she bunches up another set of lilies. Annabeth stares at her.
"He's not in love with me." She says quietly.
"I am, though!" A voice calls out cheerily, and she turns around to see Jason Grace beaming at her. "I really am, Annabeth Chase! Marry me, I don't care what your daddy says!" He cries, dropping to one knee, and Annabeth can't help but smile fondly at the man who used to be her real best friend, apart from Percy back in school. She gestures for him to join them, and he jogs up to her, pressing a kiss on her cheek before giving Reyna and Piper hugs.
"Grace, Valdez and Jackson, at your service." He tips an invisible hat before looking around him. "Except they'll be here momentarily. Wow. This place is a dump." He notes helpfully, and Annabeth rolls her eyes.
"Okay, Annabeth. Tell us what to do." Piper says when Percy and Leo walk in moments later. She's looking expectantly at her, like she expects not only instructions, but also for her to consider what she'd said earlier on. Annabeth looks around at her old friends.
"Okay, then. Pipes, you and Reyna continue to work on the lilies. You're doing a great job. Leo, get the placards printed from the reception, while you can set the tables and chairs around, Perce-y." She corrects awkwardly. You could've heard a pin drop in the silence that ensues, but Annabeth ploughs on, trying to ignore the blush on her cheeks. "Jase. You and I will get these drapes in order, okay? Sound good?" She looks around at them, and they all nod, even though Percy seems to be pointedly avoiding her gaze and Piper's frowning at her.
"Actually, Leo's into physics and stuff. I'll get him to help me out, Jason and Reyna can do the placards and arrangements and you and Percy figure out how the drapes work." She smiles innocently, and Reyna cuts her off before Annabeth can protest.
"Sounds great. Come on, Jason." She says and they run off, just as Piper drags Leo away, leaving Annabeth and Percy alone. She clears her throat, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Uh, okay, then. So, I've got a vague idea as to how to do it, we'll just fix them up on the curtain rods." She says, and Percy nods. He doesn't offer any opinions and they get to work in silence. They finish up the drapes faster than she'd expected, so she decides to start setting the tables that Jason and Reyna were arranging. Wordlessly, Percy helps her, until finally something in the tense air around them breaks.
"Okay, Annabeth. What do you want tell me?" He snaps, and she recoils slightly at the harshness of his tone. She opens her mouth to argue, but he waves her off. "Don't pull that shit with me. You're dying to say something. Now's your chance." She shrugs as she ties a large purple sash aroung the chair. She breathes out shakily.
"I have nothing to say." She tells him just as coldly. Letting out years of pent up frustration would only lead to tears, and she really doesn't want to cry in front of him.
"Then stop being mad at me." Percy says, and she looks up at him.
"You can't just demand I stop and expect me to." She tells him quietly, trying to keep herself together.
"Get over it!" He cries, throwing his arms up. "I was eighteen! I did what anyone would do."
Annabeth doesn't look up at him. Hurt fills her like it had happened yesterday, and she feels like curling into herself and blocking out the rest of the world so she can cry herself to sleep.
"Annabeth, he hurt you. Don't you get it? I couldn't stand to watch you in pain." He sounds exasperated, but she doesn't look up to see his face. The truth is, she'd forgiven him a long time ago. She doesn't really care that he'd chickened out from coming to the hospital. She has nothing against him. It was the pain that she'd carried with her for so long that she'd let herself believe she hated him. In reality, she was just a miserable woman with a great job and a great life who partied to forget about the man she'd fallen in love with when she was sixteen years old. She knows this about herself, she's known for a while- She likes to pretend her life is perfect, and when it's not, she disguises it to make it seem so.
Percy's standing next to her, too close for comfort. He reaches out and takes her hand in his hesitantly, like he expects her to pull away. When she doesn't, he draws patterns on her wrist lightly with his thumb. She can smell alcohol and mint and salt and something distinctively Percy that she's never been able to really place. She doesn't dare look up into his eyes, because she's terrified that if she does, it would happen again.
That she'd fall in love with him, again.
That he'd leave her, again.
And that she'd live waiting for him, again.
She lets out a shaky breath. Somewhere behind them, Jason calls,
"Guys, you just have to finish the sashes and table cloths. We're heading back!" And she hears four pairs of feet leaving the large hall, but she can't move. Percy's still standing beside her, holding her hand in his, and she loses track of time. A single tear falls down her cheek.
"I'm so sorry." He mumbles quietly. He's shaking slightly, and Annabeth's terrified he's crying. She doesn't think she can handle it if he is. "I'm so, so sorry." He says, and she absently reaches over to the scar on her forearm. It spreads across her entire arm, and it's definitely healed over the years, but it's by no means disappeared.
"It was all my fault." She feels a single, salty tear drop on her forehead, and she looks up to see Percy's eyes closed, tears freely trailing down his face. "I never deserved you, and I know it hurt you. It was for the best." He says, and Annabeth swallows hard.
"I'm a mess." She confesses quietly. He looks down at her with a frown. "Percy, I took that stupid knife because I care." She tells him. "It was my fault he attacked you, anyway." Her voice quivers slightly, and Percy sinks slowly into one of the chairs. She cups his face in her hands. "You deserve so much more than me."
He shakes his head, wrapping his arms slowly around her waist. Both of them move cautiously, speak gently, as if worried they'll scare the other away. His bottom lip trembles slightly.
"I was eighteen and in a gang, Annabeth. You're the one who made me see things clearly again."
"It nearly got you stabbed." She laughs humorlessly.
"It hurt my best friend." He says quietly. "And that's not something I can forgive myself for easily. You could've died."
"I could've." Annabeth agrees, and Percy pulls her impossibly close to him, burying his face in her waist.
"I love you. Always have, always will. " He tells her, and Annabeth falters at the promise. She's waited years for him to say that. Now, there's too much going on, too many problems. She doesn't know what to do. She lets her fingers tangle in his hair wordlessly, and for a moment, they don't move. Her emotions are a mess and she wants to cry and laugh all at once. Her eyes want to close and her arms ache after having gone two nights without a wink of sleep. She draws back, refusing to meet his eye.
"We should finish up and get some sleep." She says, and so they do. They work in a less hostile, but more awkward silence, setting up the tables to perfection. When they finish hoovering the floor and setting the mattress, the hall looks beautiful. Annabeth feels proud of her friends for pulling this off. She smiles softly as the two of them head to the elevator. She presses the button to her floor, and Percy hesitates. His thumb hovers over his own floor, and he turns to her.
"Where do you want me to go?" He asks, and Annabeth stares at him. She bites her lip and swallows hard before slowly shaking her head. He seems to understand exactly what she means, because Percy's got her pushed up against the wall of the elevator before she can blink, his lips moving desperately against hers. She kisses him back, wrapping her arms around his neck as he presses himself flush against her. She moans into his mouth at the familiarity of it all. She feels light, happy, like she's been lost for all these years,a nd now, finally,
She's home.
oOo
She gets about half an hour of sleep before her alarm goes off, and she struggles to open her eyes. Annabeth feels a pair of arms around her waist, and she struggles out of the bed as she realizes it's the big day today. She turns back to Percy, who's watching her with a soft smile on his face.
"Morning." He mumbles, voice raspy, and she reaches out to wriggle into his t-shirt from last night.
"Wedding!" She cries before racing into the bathroom. She scrubs her teeth clean only to have Percy catch up with her a second later. She hops into the shower and yanks the t-shirt over her head. Percy grins at her and is about to slip out of his boxers when she screeches.
"No! We don't have the time!" She points to the door, ignoring his slightly disappointed look. "Call Pipes. Now. Tell her that I can't walk down the aisle. I'll take on Madeleine's job."
Percy doesn't argue, only nods before heading out, and Annabeth shampoos her hair as fast as she can. She steps out minutes later, wrapping a towel around herself and reaches out to grab her phone. She's got a ton of messages, asking what the plan is, so she calls Reyna.
"Piper said something about Percy saying you'll be late?" Is how she greets her. "Hazel's losing her mind right now. We don't have a bouquet for her."
"Tell Hazel I'm sorry. My phone's out of charge, reach me on Percy's." She says, shoving him into the bathroom and snatching his phone from the bed. "I'll get you a beautiful bouquet. Leave it to me." She says as calmly as she can. She hangs up after giving the girls some more instructions, most of them about 'keeping calm'. Percy emerges just then, drops of water still sticking to him.
"Hey, Annabeth? I'm going to lose my confidence soon, and I just wanted to tell you that I think-" He starts, but she cuts him off.
"Just the man I need! Can you do me a favor, and go down to the florist, and get a bouquet with white and purple roses for me?" She asks, handing him his neatly pressed shirt and tuxedo. "I'm really sorry, we'll talk later. Right now, I've got a wedding to fix."
She slips into her lavender bridesmaid dress, which is strapless with a sweetheart neckline and sticks close to her body. She dries her hair quickly before tying it into a knot at the top of her head, and pulls on a pair of her pastel blue heels and hobbling out into the hallway and into the bride's room. She bursts in to a loud cheer, and she looks around the room until her eyes land on Hazel, who's getting her hair curled. She's already got her makeup on, and Annabeth feels time stop for a moment. She sees Hazel, the quiet girl at the back of the class who never spoke to anyone until Percy had bullied her into sitting with them. Everyone had almost immediately fallen in love with her, and that was that. Before her, now, was the most gorgeous woman she'd ever laid eyes on, and she can't help the tears form when she sees her.
"You look-Oh my god- Hazel." She manages with a sniff, giving her a tight hug, narrowly missing burning her nose off with the curling iron. "You look beautiful." She says softly, and Hazel beams at her, before frowning as she scans the room.
"Thank you! Where's Madeleine?"
"She's dead!" Annabeth nearly screams, an she can hear Reyna laughing behind her. Hazel's eyes widen and Annabeth stutters. "She's dead late. Don't worry. I've got this under control if she doesn't show." Hazel visibly relaxes.
"I trust you guys. Oh, Annabeth, these are my friends from Alaska- This is Rosalyn, and that's Alicia." She nods to the pretty woman on the other end of the room. Annabeth smiles at the other two bridesmaids as Hazel says, "This is Annabeth. She's been my best friend since high school."
"Nice to meet you guys." She smiles before turning to Reyna and Piper. "You guys, I've got some stuff to do." She emphasizes, hoping they understand. "Just call me on this number if you need anything." She holds up Percy's number and gives them pointed looks before slipping out of the door. She hobbles into the venue, half expecting it to look like shit because she made a bad judgement in her sleep and state of emotional turmoil, but the hall before her looks great. She smiles contently to herself, giving her a second to be at complete peace with herself before heading to Frank's suite.
She's a little surprised to see a confident young man lounging on the couch. His dad, Leo, Jason and a couple of people Annabeth doesn't recognize are also there.
"Annabeth! Hi!" Frank calls, and Annabeth feels a surge of pride to see how comfortable he looks in his skin. He's grown so much from the awkward boy he was in high school, she can't help the smile forming. "What are you doing here?" He asks, looking around the room with a small frown. "Where's Percy?"
"Dead." Annabeth shrugs, and Frank frowns at her. She bites her tongue. She really needs a better excuse. "Dead tired from last night." She amends awkwardly.
"Spare us the details!" Leo cries, and she scowls at him. She realizes Frank doesn't know about Madeleine, so she shuffles her feet awkwardly.
"I mean, he was really drunk, and, he's in the shower." She says. "And he's very tired. Dead tired." She realizes nobody in the room believes a word of what she's saying so she gives up "Okay, Jason, Hazel wants to speak with you." She says, gesturing for him to follow her. He doesn't ask any questions, bless him, and follows silently behind her. She closes the door behind them and turns to him.
"I slept with him." She blurts.
"What? Jesus, Annabeth! We just needed you to get along. What's this about?"
"I don't know, okay? And he's been trying to tell me something all day and I've just been brushing him off and I'm scared." She says hurriedly. Jason rolls his eyes.
"The only way to get through something, dear Chase, is to get through it." He tells her sagely. He looks over his shoulder before crouching to her level. "Where is our Mr. Jackson, anyway? Alive, I hope?"
"Hazel doesn't have a bouquet." She shrugs, and Jason smirks, leaning against the wall.
"So you're in love with him, eh?" He asks, and Annabeth feels heat rise to her cheeks. "Just talk to him, Annabeth. Look at the rest of us- Nobody's going to get married any time soon. This could be your last chance."
"What about Reyna?"
"Too drunk. Leo's too lame. Piper's too much of a child and me? I'm too much of-"
"An adult." Annabeth chimes in, but Jason doesn't argue.
"You and Percy are our last hope. Who knows, maybe at your wedding, I'll find the love of my life. It could become like, a tradition."
"You're strange." Annabeth tells him, pulling out her mascara.
oOo
The wedding is happy and sails smoothly, and everything goes off without a snitch. Jason decides to help her out so nobody has to walk down the aisle alone, and together, they pull off the entire thing. The guests are happy, and Annabeth meets a couple of her other classmates.
She's standing in a corner at the reception, trying to avoid running into Hazel's mother, who, the last time she'd caught hold of Annabeth, spoke to her extensively of how she can See that there's a lot of misery in her life, and that everything was soon going to take a turn for the worst. She fades into the background, until someone taps her on the shoulder. She looks up from her champagne glass to a good looking man smiling down at her. She recognizes him as one of Frank's cousins from China, and smiles at him.
"Would it be okay to ask you to a dance?" He holds out his hand, and because she doesn't know how to say no, she agrees hesitantly. She lets him lead her to where the rest of the coupes are dancing. He places his arm around her waist and smiles ar her. "I never introduced myself." He's got a very pronounced accent that Annabeth thinks could be Australian. "I'm Tom."
"Annabeth." She smiles just as he twirls her around. She nearly loses her balance, but his grip on her is firm and he steadies her. He laughs lightly, and they lapse into an easy conversation about their jobs. He's telling her about his work as an executive advisor, when a voice interrupts him.
"May I cut in?" Percy winks at her, and Tom smiles before saying his goodbyes and walks off. Percy places his arm on her lower back and pulls her closer to him, taking her hand in his. She laughs lightly.
"I'm not jealous." He tells her before she can say anything, so she stops herself. They dance in silence for a while.
"You've gotten better since prom." She notes playfully and he laughs.
"You've gotten prettier." He tells her. "Neither of those seemed possible at the time."
Annabeth feels her cheeks heat up. "I-"
"-Have been avoiding confrontation all day long and can't run anymore?" Percy finishes. "Sounds about right."
"Percy, look." Annabeth sighs. "We live in different ends of the country. It's been six years. I don't know if-"
"Do you like me?" He asks her quietly. She meets his eyes, shaking her head slowly.
"I love you." She says so softly she's not entirely convinced she said it out loud at all. Percy seems to hear it, though, because he nods. He doesn't smile or laugh or kiss her; he takes a deep breath instead.
"Enough to give us another shot?" He asks. Annabeth contemplates it. She doesn't think long distance would end well for either of them, but is she willing to take the risk, regardless? She nods slowly. Percy seems satisfied. "Cancel your flight tonight." He tells her.
"No, Perce- no." Her voice falters. "I've got a job, a life in Frisco-"
"Annabeth." He cups her face in both his hands, tilting it so she's looking at him. There's a small smile playing on his lips. "Leave tomorrow. I haven't had enough time with my best friend. Please."
"I don't know-"
"It's a Sunday." Percy counters, and Annabeth stops. She wants to, so badly, but her brain keeps telling her it's not a good idea. For the first time in years, she tells her brain to shut up.
"Okay."
oOo
He moves to San Francisco two weeks later.
Annabeth doesn't know what to say or think when he stands at her door with a lopsided smile and shrug.
"I need a place to stay." He tells her. "You're now looking at the newest recruit of the SFPD." He grins, and Annabeth wants to hug him so bad that she breaks down into tears. He hugs her and holds her close for a while until he decides he needs help moving in.
When they're done setting him up, he wraps his arms around her, drawing her closer to him.
"You think we're moving too fast with me moving in with you, and all?" He asks her, and she shrugs.
"We'll have to find out."
"Do you mind?"
"Not one bit."
He leans in and kisses her slowly. They're in no hurry; they've got all of eternity.