Disclaimer: These characters, Percy Jackson and The Olympians and Heroes of Olympus belong to Rick Riordan. The Grammy awards do not belong to me. The story is all that's mine.
So this was kind of a weird idea I had one day, and now I've finally gotten down to writing it. I wrote it all in one go, so hopefully it's not too bad. I hope you enjoy it.
1.
Annabeth was late.
It was her first day volunteering at the library, and she was late.
Cursing under her breath, she sped down the crowded street, brushing past people urgently as she sped up her already brisk walk. The cool wind whipped her curly blonde hair into a frenzy, and she frantically tried to flatten its wild careening to no avail.
Could her day get any more frustrating?
As she turned a corner, practically running by this point, she heard a faint music coming from somewhere. Now, Annabeth didn't consider herself a huge music lover; she liked it well enough, but she was never enthralled by bands and songs like many others were. It was simply that if she liked a song, she liked it. And she liked this song.
She could make out a singer, a drummer and maybe a couple of guitars. The melody was upbeat and energetic, and the playing was very impressive. So much so did she enjoy it, that she was almost compelled to stop and just listen. Almost.
As she sped along, the music grew louder, and she could now see that it was being sung and accompanied by a small group of guys performing on the sidewalk. They were performing with an exuberant energy and life, radiating an aura of happiness. Suddenly, Annabeth's day didn't seem quite as frustrating.
Nearing the group, she saw that they had a guitar case set out for change. Considering she was enjoying the music so, Annabeth felt generous and quickly slipped a five dollar bill from her purse, dropping it into their case with a brief smile as she passed by. For just a moment, she caught the sea green eyes of the singer, who was looking genuinely surprised at her action; then it passed and she was on the move again. She looked back just in time to see the boy with tousled black hair give her a salute of gratitude with a wide grin to go with it.
Turning away and rushing off, Annabeth smiled to herself, almost happy that she was running slightly late.
Percy was having a frustrating day.
A couple of weeks ago, he and his friends: Jason, Leo, Frank and Nico (with Grover behind the scenes), had decided to form a band.
They were all reasonably musically gifted, and it had always been a dream of theirs, so they had gotten together instruments and even written a few great songs, but soon they had realised that it wasn't quite that easy.
Then, Grover had suggested that they try to perform on the street to raise some money and hopefully gain some recognition.
With little to lose, they had agreed.
Now they were out on the sidewalk of a busy street in New York, singing and playing their hearts out, and nobody was noticing.
Masses of people passed by, not even turning a head towards them; it was as though they didn't exist. Every once in a while, they got a couple of coins, but they were thrown rather contemptuously, more a plea to stop than a cheer to continue.
So, morale was low in the camp, and they were beginning to consider giving up.
Then, out of nowhere, a five dollar bill landed in their guitar case. Percy was absolutely astounded, so much so that he almost forgot to keep singing as he stared at the small smile of the beautiful girl who had been so generous. However, in a flash of gorgeous blonde princess curls, she was already moving on.
As she looked back, before she completely melted into the crowd to disappear forever, Percy gave her a salute of gratitude with a wide grin, and was happy to see amusement in her storm grey eyes.
Maybe this day wasn't so frustrating after all.
2.
Annabeth disliked bars.
She had never been much of a drinker, and she just found the whole experience somewhat boring and tedious. Nevertheless, her good friend Piper had dragged her to one anyway, saying she needed to "loosen up" and "have some fun".
Sitting at a table, nursing a lemonade, and watching as guy after guy came up and tried to get Piper's number, watching as guy after guy was then promptly rejected by said girl, was not her idea of a fun night. Annabeth enjoyed Piper's company immensely, she truly did, but she preferred to enjoy her company in a more comfortable environment, like a library or a café.
Despite all her woes, she could do little but wait for the time to pass and hope it ended quickly.
Just as she was considering whether it would be worth ordering some shots just to have something to do, Annabeth was distracted by an oddly familiar sound. Looking around, her eyes were drawn to the small stage towards the back of the bar, where an oddly familiar group of boys stood, with instruments in hand playing a song she remembered had lifted her spirits on a bad day those weeks ago.
Like before, the song once again made her feel better, its energy and life wore away at her negativity like the waves against a cliff. She was enraptured by the tune.
Now that she was not in a hurry, and the band was going nowhere, Annabeth got a chance to properly see the singer who had looked so surprised, then so overjoyed.
He really was very attractive, she assessed.
She decided that staying for a while longer may not be so bad.
When the group had finished, they left the stage, and a couple of minutes later, emerged into the bar without their instruments, accompanied by a sixth boy with curly brown hair who hadn't been playing. They had taken a seat at a table and the black haired, green eyed singer had stood to go get drinks at the bar.
She had told Piper to go ahead and wait in the car, saying she'd only be a few minutes. Contemplating her chances and weighing up her circumstances, Annabeth finally steeled herself to go over and talk to him. Just to congratulate him and the band and tell him she liked their music.
"Hey." She said, awkwardly sidling up to him as he leant casually on the bar top.
Silently panicking, without even waiting for a response, she thrust out the canvas tote bag she had brought with her and blurted, "I really like your music; could you sign this?"
As soon as she said it, she closed her eyes, mentally beating herself up for what she had just uttered.
"So that when you become famous and all, I can say that I was your first and number one fan." She added, trying to amend her previous idiocy, trying to smile through her inner cringing at every word she was saying.
Up until that point, the guy hadn't said anything, but had just stared at her with wide eyes, flabbergasted, but then to her relief, his surprised expression morphed into an easy grin and he took the bag from her with a small laugh.
"Sure, I guess."
He pulled a pen from the back pocket of his jeans that had Riptide written on it and turned to her, "What should I write? Oh! I know!"
He began to frantically scribble on the bag, looking much too excited by a simple signing.
Annabeth watched as he wrote carefully, with his tongue sticking out slightly, and found herself thinking how cute he was.
Mid sentence he paused and turned to her, opening his mouth to say something, just as her phone rang. She scrambled to answer it and said, "Hello?"
"It's me, Piper. Where are you? It's been like ten minutes, we need to get going."
"Yeah, okay, I'm coming. Don't worry."
Annabeth hung up and faced the cute guy, "I'm sorry, I've got to go. I love your music and you'll definitely get famous."
Hurriedly, she took the bag back without reading it, and as she turned to leave and walked a little distance away, he called to her with a great smile that could span an ocean, "I hope to see you again Miss Number One Fan!"
With a last smile and a sudden inspiration, she called back over her shoulder with a small laugh, "Just dedicate your first Grammy to me!"
With that, she left the bar and joined Piper in the car. Only there did she read what he had written:
Form Percy Jackson and The Olympians
To our nubmer one fan, Miss
The small misspellings led Annabeth to believe he was dyslexic, and found herself feel a slight happiness to know she had something in common with him. With some sadness though, she saw that he hadn't finished the message because she'd forgotten to give him her name.
Percy Jackson, huh? Annabeth liked it.
Percy was jittery with excitement.
Their band The Olympians finally had their first gig!
Grover had arranged it, and it was at a small bar in town. It was nothing much, but it was something.
As soon as they had walked on stage and begun to play, Percy's eye was caught by a familiar head of blonde princess curls and a pair of stormy grey eyes. He remembered her.
She was the girl who had given them those five dollars that had given them hope. She was the girl to be the first one to notice them. She was the girl who seemed to genuinely enjoy their music.
Now that she wasn't rushing past, and instead sitting at a table and watching them play, Percy observe that she was in fact very pretty.
And so, with her as their audience, they played their hearts out until their throats were sore, and not for one second did she take her eyes off them.
After their performance, the group had decided to have a few celebratory drinks, so they put their instruments away and entered the bar.
Percy was coerced by the other guys, much to his protest, to go up to the bar and get them all drinks.
A few moments later however, he was ready to pay for all of their drinks as thanks for forcing him up there, because the beautiful blonde girl had quietly approached him and greeted him with, "Hey."
Logically, Percy knew that he should respond, and that it was probably rude to just stare at her dumbfounded, but he couldn't help himself, because why would she approach him? And more so, how was she so pretty?
Then, only a second later, she thrust a canvas bag out in front of her, and with eyes shut tight in an adorable way, she blurted: "I really like your music; could you sign this?"
Now he was even more surprised; she wanted him, Percy, to sign something? He couldn't believe it. Before he could say anything, she continued, "So that when you become famous and all, I can say that I was your first and number one fan."
She really was very cute.
Trying to shake off his shock and appear cool, he smiled and responded in possibly the lamest way he could muster, "Sure, I guess." He mentally kicked himself.
Percy took the bag from her hands and pulled out his pen.
"What should I write?" He asked her, never having done a signing before, but, suddenly was hit with inspiration.
"Oh! I know!"
With the utmost concentration, praying that his dyslexia wouldn't show too much, he wrote the words:
From Percy Jackson and The Olympians
To our number one fan, Miss
Realising he dint actually know her name, he turned, about to ask. Just then, her phone rang, and she answered in a flash.
"Hello?" She said, then a few moments later: "Yeah, okay, I'm coming. Don't worry."
She hung up and spoke to him, "I'm sorry, I've got to go. I love your music and you'll definitely get famous!"
Percy felt a strange sense of dismay at seeing her take the bag, turn and leave. Despite not knowing her at all, he wanted her to stay and get to know her more. When she was already a short distance away, in the spur of the moment, he called after her: "I hope to see you again Miss Number One Fan!"
Then, with a small laugh, she tossed back over her shoulder, "Just dedicate your fist Grammy to me!"
"I promise!"
Percy laughed, knowing she had meant it as a joke, but made a mental promise that if they ever did win a Grammy, he would dedicate it to her, even if he didn't know her name.
Grabbing the waiting drinks, he returned to their table.
"Who was that? She was hot." Leo remarked teasingly.
"I don't know her name." Percy confessed, feeling rather foolish, "But she asked me to sign her bag and said she really liked our music and was our number one fan."
They all smiled at that, even Nico, who rarely did so.
"I remember her. She gave us those first five dollars, didn't she?" Jason asked.
Percy nodded.
"Oh, and one more thing," He added with a grin, "She said we should dedicate our first Grammy to her."
"Done!" All of the guys said at once, all with wide grins on their faces.
3.
After that concert at the bar, Annabeth returned there a couple of times, hoping she would see The Olympians and a certain singer once more, but to no avail.
She'd relayed her whole awkward experience to Piper and her other friends the next day, and they had found it endlessly amusing, and had also seemed to make it their personal mission to find another concert by this band.
They had promptly found the group on Youtube and all agreed that they were great.
Much to Annabeth's disappointment, she didn't see them around anywhere.
That is, until one night, she and all of her friends went out to a small club and was ecstatic to find that they were performing.
Annabeth usually wasn't a big club person, but they made the experience ten times better. As they sang, she danced and a few times throughout the night, made eye contact with Percy, who gave her a small smile each time.
She was hoping to get another chance to talk to him afterwards, because something about him intrigued her, and ever since that first time on the street, she had wanted to get to know him better.
However, it was not to be, because one of her friends, Hazel, who had been feeling slightly unwell for the past hour, suddenly started vomiting up the contents of her stomach in the middle of the club. So, as any good friend would do, Annabeth and the rest of the group half escorted, half carried Hazel out of the club and back to their shared apartment.
Annabeth felt a twinge of regret at not having been able to see Percy, but just seeing the band perform was enough.
It was a few months after their first gig at the bar where Percy had met the girl with the golden princess curls, and now the band was scoring steadily more and more gigs at better venues. That night, they were at a small nightclub, that had a stage looking out over the dance floor.
As they performed, Percy hoped – like he had hoped at every gig they had – that the girl with the sparling grey eyes would be there, and that he'd be able to talk to her and get to know her more.
It was Percy's lucky day, for in the dancing mob, he spotted a head of bouncing blonde curls, and it made him involuntarily grin as he sang.
A couple of times, her eyes caught his, and she'd smile and he'd smile back, but when he hadn't made eye contact with her in a while, and surveying the club, he couldn't spot her anywhere, he was disappointed to see that she had left.
4.
The band The Olympians was growing in fame, and now a year after that first performance on the street, people had begun to recognise the name from various gigs across New York.
With the band more advertised, Annabeth was able to go to every one of their concerts she could find, every time hoping to meet Percy, but every time prevented in some way or another.
It was frustrating, but at least she could hear them perform, and she always knew Percy could see her, and that he knew she was there.
Their band was growing in popularity, and now they had concerts regularly, about every fortnight.
Percy was happy to see that the beautiful girl, their number one fan, was attending every concert. Still, however, he had not been able to meet her. Every time, something must have prevented her, or maybe she just didn't like him. Percy hoped that wasn't the case.
He couldn't talk to her, but at least he got to see her, at least he knew she was there every time.
5.
Annabeth was driving, just casually listening to the radio when she had to hit the brakes and screech to a halt to stop herself from crashing into something from shock. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, and had to turn the volume up and pinch herself just to check she was awake.
From her car speakers, she could hear a song she already knew well, a song she loved, the song that had always made her day better. Playing on the radio, were The Olympians.
In her chest, she felt a swell of pride; although she briefly thought that she herself hadn't actually accomplished anything, she still felt it nevertheless. Despite not knowing them personally, she felt as though she had watched the bad grow and develop, like a mother watching her child, and knowing that she had heard them play right when it all started, and now hearing them on the radio, it made her strangely emotional.
From there, the band's career skyrocketed. Their songs were playing on the radio regularly, and people everywhere were talking about them. Magazine articles, adverts, billboards featured them; they had boomed into fame.
Their concerts now had become huge, held at arenas across the world, so Annabeth could no longer attend every single one. Whenever they came to New York, she would try to get a ticket, but that too had become a challenge. Now, even if she went, Percy wouldn't know she was there.
"Guys! Our song! It's on the radio!" Leo called frantically to the band members as he turned up the car radio. Percy, astounded, listened, hardly daring to believe his ears as the lyrics he wrote and sang came blasting from the speakers.
Out of the corner of his eye, as he listened in awed shock, he noticed a car suddenly pull out of traffic and stop at the side of the road without apparent reason. Shrugging, he dismissed it, but found the sudden screeching halt of the car oddly amusing.
From that point on, their career blew up. Suddenly, they were whisked into the world of superstardom: interviews, talk shows, photoshoots, concerts, tours, adverts.
They were exhausted, but happy that they were finally achieving their goal, doing what they'd always wanted to do.
At concerts in New York, Percy always looked out at the sea of screaming fans, and although it was futile, still searched for that girl who had started it all. Even though he could never see her, he liked to imagine that she was there, cheering them on.
5.
The Olympians had been massively successful for two years now. With six number one hits and various awards, they were finally being nominated for a Grammy. Not only that, but they had been asked to perform at the award show.
When Grover, their manager, had informed the band, they had been blown away. Never had they imagined that they would ever get this far.
Then, after the shock had worn off, they all seemed to remember a certain agreement they had made a few years prior.
"Percy, if we win, you do the main speech." Jason offered, with a wicked smile.
"Why?" He asked suspiciously.
"Because mystery girl, our number one fan, asked you to dedicate the Grammy to her, remember?" Frank piped up.
"Also, considering she's the inspiration for so many of our songs, why don't you write another? It'd be great to perform something new at the award show." Nico added with a smirk.
"I bet she'd find it super romantic and fall head over heels into your loving arms." Leo teased, snickering with a devilish grin.
"Oh shut up guys!"
But if Percy was completely honest with himself, he had long ago prepared a speech he would say for her, long ago written a song for her, and for so long had he wished she would fall head over heels into his arms. Even he himself found it somewhat weird, considering he barely knew her – if at all – but he couldn't help himself.
The night of the award show came, and the band strode confidently down the red carpet, signing autographs along the way.
For Percy, every autograph he signed, he was reminded of the very first one he did: the one he never finished.
They greeted other artists, and took their seats. Slowly but surely, the show went on and on, until it was finally time for the award they had been nominated for: Song of the Year.
Percy felt his stomach knot in nervous tension as he watched with baited breath in anticipation as the presenters opened the envelope. He heard them utter to words, he watched their lips move, as the sound passed their lips, but it didn't seem to register in his brain what they'd said until Jason was stood up and grabbing his arm, excitedly telling him, "We won! We won!"
Then the shock and reality of it hit him, and Percy stood on shaking legs, cheering with the rest of his band, basking in the applause of the other artists, the small thought worming its way into the back of his mind: I wonder if she's watching.
On her couch at home, Annabeth sat nervously watching the TV screen. The Olympians had been nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys, and she was suddenly reminded of that quip so long ago, that they should dedicate their first Grammy to her.
Curled up into a tight ball, although she wasn't the one receiving any award, she felt her stomach flutter with butterflies as she anxiously anticipated the result. Biting her lip, she watched as the opened the envelope with excruciating slowness, and then registered two words being read out:
The Olympians
Contrary to her usual quieter, calmer nature, Annabeth shot to her feet and shrieked with joy as she watched the band stand, cheering, and move to accept the award. She watched Percy, with his tousled black hair, sea green eyes and tan skin, looking dashing in a formal suit.
She felt herself fill with a deep sense of pride and real happiness for them, because she had watched them grow from nothing, to blossom into such huge stars.
As they took the award, Percy stood before the microphone and cleared his throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen," He began, "My fellow artists. We are so honoured to be accepting this award; just a few years ago, we were nothing, just a couple of guys who loved music, and now we stand here on their stage, talking to you because we've won a Grammy."
He doesn't remember. Of course he doesn't. Annabeth wasn't sure why she felt quite so disappointed at this thought.
"Now, none of this would have been possible without our awesome manager, Grover Underwood, and of course, our amazing fans. But, to keep a promise I made a few years ago, back when it all started, I'm going to tell you a little story."
Annabeth saw Percy grin, and she thought, Could he? No… Surely not.
"Our first ever performance as a band was on the street. We were having quite a bad day, people were ignoring us and even acting annoyed by our performance. Unbelievable, right?" He laughed, and Annabeth smiled.
"So, there we were, performing the very song that just won us a Grammy, when someone drops a five dollar bill into our guitar case, and gives us the most beautiful smile, completely turning our day around, and stopping us from giving up.
"Now, a few weeks later, we had our first proper gig. It was at a small bar, and that same person who had saved us from giving up that first day just happened to be there. We performed and afterwards, when we sat down for drinks and I went up to the bar to order, she came up to me and said Hey, followed immediately by: I really like your music; could you sign this? And she held out a bag to me, saying: So that when you become famous and all, I can say that I was your first and number one fan. See, it sound like this should be the end of my story and I should tell you that I signed it and sent her off on her merry way and she inspired us to become great, but no. Not quite.
"In fact, I signed her bag To our number one fan, Miss… because I never got her name. She got a call and ran off, without ever telling me her name. And I, admittedly rather interested in this strange girl, said that I hoped to see her again, to which she replied: Just dedicate your first Grammy to me.
"So, here we are, Miss Number One Fan. All of this is thanks to you. Every time I saw you at our concerts, you inspired me, so thank you, and I hope to one day learn your name and get to know you."
Annabeth wasn't sure quite when she had started crying, but when she reached up to scratch her face, it was wet with tears.
They had remembered.
Percy had remembered.
Just when Annabeth thought she couldn't get any more emotional, she saw their performance.
The lyrics of the song gave her a fresh flood of tears:
Do you remember about me, what I remember about you?
That smile,
That hair,
Those eyes,
They make me stare.
Like sunshine,
Gold and curling like a princess,
Storm clouds, oh!
Do you remember about me, what I remember about you?
Miss First,
Miss Number One,
Do you remember, do you remember?
That laugh,
That voice,
That face,
They make me stare.
Like music to my ears,
Like a thousand harmonies,
A painting of perfect artistry, oh!
Do you remember about me, what I remember about you?
Miss First,
Miss Number One,
Do you remember, do you remember?
Do you remember my face?
Do you remember my voice?
Do you remember the words I said?
Because I remember, I remember!
Do you remember about me, what I remember about you?
Miss First,
Miss Number One,
Do you remember, do you remember?
Your name,
Wish I remembered,
Wish I knew,
Miss First,
Miss Number One,
Because I remember you.
Annabeth didn't know what to say, what to think, what to feel. She was so overwhelmed by a wave of emotion that all she could do was stare, open mouthed at her television screen, tears flowing endlessly from her wide eyes.
The song. It was about her, to her, and with that strange sixth sense you sometimes get, Annabeth could feel that Percy felt the same way about her, that she felt about him, and she wanted to rush over to him and shout: I remember! I remember everything about you, that you remember about me! My name is Annabeth Chase! I remember!
The sad reality was, though, that she could not.
Percy was an international rock star, and she was just a budding architect, sitting on her couch at home, watching him through a screen.
6.
Annabeth was late.
A few weeks had passed since the night of the Grammy awards, and Annabeth had moved on. She was in her first year at an architects firm, and she knew she had to focus on work. Still, while she was continuing on with her daily life, there was always an ever present, ghosting weight of regret, of sorrow that she couldn't meet Percy.
Even she found it odd how attached she was to someone she had only met once, but she just had this feeling.
As she brooded over this thought, which had become scarily more frequent, she almost ran down the crowded street as she hurried to the library for her monthly volunteering session.
She was sad and frustrated as she roughly tucked her flyaway curls behind her ear in an effort to remove them from her face, when she was abruptly distracted by the sweet sound of a familiar melody.
Not daring to believe her ears, she slowed slightly, nearing the source of the song. Too scared to hope, she only glanced for a second while she walked, and what – or whom – she saw brought her to a screeching halt.
Percy Jackson was standing there on the sidewalk, alone: guitar in hand and a cap shadowing most of his face, singing that very first song that had started it all. Even with the cap, she recognised him, seeing the glint of his sparkling sea green eyes from under it, and his pearly white grin of sheer, relaxed happiness.
Forgetting all about the library, she approached the singer, pulling a five dollar bill from her purse, dropping it into the guitar case in front of him.
This time, however, she stopped and didn't move on, Annabeth faced Percy in all his handsome, musical glory with a small smile.
She watched in amusement as his eyes stayed fixed on the bill for a few, startled moments, then they slowly moved up to meet hers.
For what seemed like an eternity, they just stared at one another, green boring into grey, each reflecting astonishment, amusement and absolute joy.
Gradually, his face broke into a grin, the likes of which Annabeth had never seen before, the likes of which could provide light for the whole universe.
"Hey." She said simply, holding out a hand, "I'm your first and number one fan: Annabeth Chase. I'm glad you kept your promise."
Hesitantly, as if unable to discern whether she was really there, Percy took her hand and shook it gently.
"Nice to finally see you, Miss Number One Fan. I'm Percy Jackson."
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much I did writing it. If people are willing to read it, I'm up for writing a continuation.
Thanks for reading,
Love, trinsa!