It is 7:52 and Percy is running around the apartment, putting dirty clothes into the laundry bin, taking care of all the cheeseburger wrappers, pieces or armor, drachmas, CD's and other items scattered across the floor of his room.
He glances at the clock above the kitchen door: 7:54. Holy Poseidon.
In six minutes Annabeth is going to be ringing the bell and he hasn't showered, dressed and his room is disgusting. All because he decided it was a good idea to take a nap. He was laying on his bed, saying to himself: "Ok, ten minutes and that's it. Gotta clean up this mess", setting an alarm on his clock. Next thing you know, it's twenty to eight and he wakes up in a messy sea of sheets and blankets. He didn't hear his alarm, which is a bad sign because that thing can wake up even Morpheus' children.
He almost texted Annabeth, asking her to be there a little bit later but she would be walking to his building already. And also, he is tired of having to face her, knowing she knows his change of plans is due to his messy unorganized life style.
The thing is: Percy will kill any monster you want, slay them all almost effortlessly. But don't ask him to clean his room. He'd rather be fighting monsters.
He sweeps the room in two minutes and runs to the bathroom to take a quick shower. He forgot to check the time before getting in but he's sure he's got like two minutes.
"Please be late" he begs his girlfriend "Please, just five minutes late".
Outside the building, Annabeth is waiting. She is always very punctual, to the point where she arrives a few minutes before and then she impatiently waits until it's time.
Here she is, two to eight, waiting to ring the bell. One to eight. Eight o'clock. She doesn't move. She can feel Percy's energy. She doesn't know why or how but she can. Percy is not relaxed. Percy is late. She waits, even more impatiently than before. She grants him five minutes, which is, funnily enough, all he needs. She rings the bell at five past eight.
"Hello" Percy's half-calmed voice comes through the speaker.
"It's Annabeth" she says, and thinks that's pretty obvious but whatever.
"Come in" the door buzzes and she pushes it open.
When Annabeth walks into the apartment Percy wants to scream. Partly because she is so beautiful, with her stormy grey eyes and her adorable smile, partly because he made it. He doesn't know why the universe is being so good to him (usually the universe hates him) but he just hopes this doesn't mean he's going to have another terrible near-death experience in the future. (It totally does).
He's known her for six years and he doesn't know what to say. Nevertheless, his nervousness is probably being caused by the fact that they're all alone and Paul and his mom are not coming home until the next morning.
He still remembers in shock how Paul actually put him aside and said:
"You've got the house to yourselves until 8 a.m. tomorrow morning". And then he winked. HE WINKED.
Yes, Percy is eighteen. Yes, Percy has saved the world more times than he can count. Yes, Percy and Annabeth fell down into the pits of Tartarus, right into the depths of the Underworld and had to drink fire to stay alive, so yes, he deserves as much alone time with his girlfriend as he can. But no, Percy was not ready for that wink. That wink scares him more than an angry Annabeth.
"Seaweed Brain?" she asks, bringing him back.
"Yes, sorry, what?" he takes her hand and they sit on the couch.
"I was saying we could watch a movie" she explains.
"Sounds awesome" he replies and they start arguing about which movie they should watch.
Finally, Percy wins with his choice (Big Hero 6) and they prepare everything. Annabeth makes the popcorn (because it's one of the few things she can cook and Percy always burns the pot), he takes care of the drinks (cans of Coke that are on the fridge, because Annabeth always drinks Coke when she's with Percy). When everything is ready, they sit on the couch and the movie starts playing.
Thirty minutes in, everything is a mess. They threw popcorn at each other and now it's just everywhere. On the couch, the floor, the table in front of the TV and on Percy's shirt. But most of it is hidden in Annabeth's hair. They are laughing like maniacs. And Annabeth punches Percy because she's supposed to be angry but he's making her laugh. But now she's laughing even harder looking at him with those sea-green eyes and innocent grin. She loves him so much. And suddenly she's kissing him, and he's responding. Gradually the kissing intensifies. They are making out, the movie completely forgotten.
Things start getting more serious. They get up, hitting walls, recklessly making their way to Percy's bedroom. Gods, he's glad he cleaned. They land on the bed, Percy on top. There are hands on Annabeth's waist and arms around Percy's neck. Soon, those hands start to move. Their lips don't split for a second. The only thing that matters now is them. A few more minutes pass and Percy's shirt is somehow on the floor. He makes his way up Annabeth's stomach, his head about to explode because his hands are INSIDE HER SHIRT. He remembers Cory Matthews from Boy Meets World saying "I have seen the promised land! ". He stops his hands a moment, not sure if she's comfortable with this level of intimacy, but inside her head she's just wondering what's taking him so long. She's ready. So much more ready than him apparently. And so Annabeth's hands place his on her t-shirt, encouraging him to get rid of it. He's never done it before and his hands start to shake like crazy. He's about to see the Promised Land, too…
Then, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd starts jamming in the living room. That's his ringtone.
"Mom!" he whines and looks at Annabeth. She's smiling patiently. He gives her an apologetic smile and a peck on the lips and says "Be right back". After that he proceeds to cautiously get off the bed and make the extremely short and disappointing walk to the living room. He grips his phone and presses talk.
"Mom" he sounds a little bit annoyed. He loves his mom but he was about to see the Promised Land!
"Honey, what's wrong?" she knows that tone.
"Nothing…"
"Um… did I interrupt something?"
"No…"
"Percy…" He Sighs.
"How are you, Mom? How's everything going?
"We're fine, thank you. I was calling to check if you guys were ok"
"We're fine, Mom".
"Hi Sally!" Annabeth is standing right beside him. She has her shirt on, great, and she carries his on her hand: even better.
"Hi, Annabeth, dear! Percy, pass Annabeth your phone". Another sigh. They exchange items. Annabeth talks to Sally while Percy puts his shirt back on.
Moments like this are when Percy feels like he is the boyfriend and Annabeth is his Mom's daughter. They get along so well it's ridiculous. After a few minutes of conversation between in-laws (Percy gives himself a golden star for thinking that. "Smooth, Jackson, is not like you wanna marry Annabeth or anything… oh wait") Annabeth hangs up.
"She said hi" Annabeth smiles and hands him the phone.
"Whoa, thanks for letting me know" She rolls her eyes.
"You are such a mommy's boy" before he can argue she adds "I was gonna keep talking to her but Paul made her hang up. He said 'don't interrupt them, they are old enough not to have someone checking on them every five minutes'. Seems like Paul is pretty determined to treat us like adults." As always, Annabeth could read people better than books.
Percy looks at her trying to pretend he doesn't understand what she's saying and then changes the topic:
"Why do you get along so well with my mom?"
"Oh, here we go again! Because I like her, she's great, and she seems to like me, too"
"She adores you" Annabeth's face lights up. And then Percy realizes his mom is probably the closest thing to a real mom that Annabeth has ever had, more than Athena, who's cold as ice, and definitely more than her step-mom, who made her feel so unwanted that she had to run away. She would never run away from Sally. She's the kind of person you run towards. He promises not to bring it up anymore. "So do I" he kisses her. A few years back he'd freak out at the thought of doing that but now, after everything they've been through, he never misses an opportunity to kiss her.
They stare at each other for a little while. Percy doesn't know what to do; his mom interrupted something pretty big and the mood, the atmosphere, all that's gone. He scans the room looking for the clock: 9:44.
Annabeth suggests they eat and Percy agrees. They go to the closest dinner two blocks away. It's pretty late but it's not like two demigods are afraid of burglars, and these two are not regular demigods. Percy orders a cheeseburger because "You can never eat too many cheeseburgers, Annabeth!" and she just goes along with it. They've known each other for years but, as all best friends do, they always find new topics of conversation. They talk about the waitress that looks annoyed, about how much you can do in New York and about Camp Half Blood. They engage in a conversation about how awesome Piper is that lasts half an hour.
"And she's so brave! I mean, I've never seen an Aphrodite child that brave. At least not since…" Annabeth stops talking. She wishes she'd never started that sentence. Percy looks down, smile faded. The memory of Clarisse La Rue's best friend Silena fills them with grief.
Two minutes of silence and then they start talking again, about how much progress Nico has been doing at Camp Half Blood.
"The other day I saw him helping out in the strawberry fields. He would've rather shadow travel to the Underworld and not get out of his room a few months back." Percy says. Some old dude passes in front of them and gives them a funny look when he hears the words "shadow travel" and "Underworld". The demigod ignores him and keeps smiling to Annabeth: "I think he's actually happy".
"Yeah" She's smiling as well. "He's also been on the infirmary an awful lot…" she looks at him meaningfully.
"Yeah, that too. Will Solace is really helping him. He's a good friend. I think he's never been that close to a person… since Bianca". And now he brings it up. As awful as it sounds, sometimes they just can't avoid talking about demigods that fell in battle. It's such a common thing, to have known so many young Campers that are never coming back. He doesn't know what to say next. Luckily, Annabeth takes the conversation somewhere he didn't anticipate.
"Yup, friend" Annabeth sips her drink very significantly. Percy stares at her.
"You mean…?"
"Yes, Seaweed Brain" Annabeth rolls her eyes. She sure does that a lot when she's with him.
"But…"
"Have you seen the way Will looks at Nico? And more importantly: Have you seen the way Nico looks at Will?"
Yes, Percy noticed but he wasn't sure what to make of it. He knows it's a possibility but… it that really happening? He asks the most important source of information he knows: Annabeth.
"Well, yeah, probably later than sooner because they are both too awkward but I'm sure they'll keep as best friends until one day they'll just realize it grew into something bigger.
"Like us" Percy points out.
"But without all the hating each other part, at least not from Will. Nico is… difficult." Annabeth laughs, Percy follows.
"Can you believe he was… you know… into me?" Percy asks.
"It seems pretty rational" she replies "since you showed up when he was very young, you must've been like a hero to him, saved him from the monsters and led him to a safe place. I would've had a crush on you, too." She doesn't say it out loud but it did happen to her as well. Annabeth shakes the thought away and proceeds to add something less deep: "Also, it might've been your eyes".
"You don't have to flirt with me: I already am your boyfriend"
"Oh, shut up, Percy!" she throws a French fry at his face.
"What is it with you and attacking me with food?!" he protests, doing his share of fry-launching.
Walking back to the apartment is loud. The empty streets of New York that lead to his home are filled with Percy's jokes and Annabeth's laughter. They stop at the door, Percy looking for the key, Annabeth leaning against the wall, still laughing, trying to take control of her body again, but it's difficult to stop. She manages it.
Three minutes later they are back in the apartment. They decide to actually watch the movie this time. Percy fetches a small bag of blue candy from his room and they eat that. Annabeth curls up on the couch and places her head on Percy's chest. Percy strokes her hair. They watch the whole movie like that.
When it ends they move to Percy's bed where they keep talking for a while, mostly about that movie and other films they've seen. They took their shoes off and they're playing with each other's feet. At some point their talking ceases. They're eyes are fixated on each other. And once more they are amazed by what they see. Percy sees smoky eyes, smooth skin, a sea of golden curls that are everywhere and a pair of pink lips that look like they need an awful lot of kissing. Annabeth notices how his hair still looks like he was just taking a walk on the beach and the breeze made it look this messy. His skin still preserves that tan with which he returned from Juno's kidnapping but it's slowly starting to fade. And his eyes, those eyes are always the same, and they are definitely Annabeth's weakness. She would do anything for those eyes. Sometimes that worries her, but not now. She can't think about how much Percy affects her because his presence overwhelms her. He's so close she can feel his heart beating fast. Or is it her heart? She can't really tell but she waves away that thought. She could spend the rest of her life staring at those eyes.
Sometimes they do this, they stare at each other for long minutes, not saying a word.
"Do you wanna sleep?" he whispers after a while. She barely mouths out a weak "Yes" before getting closer. Percy's hand rests on Annabeth's waist, hers on his chest and they gaze at each other until they fall asleep.
And that's how Sally finds them the next morning. Well, not exactly. Annabeth has turned around and she is not facing Percy anymore. The boy's hand is no longer gently placed on her waist, but his whole arm is now wrapped around it. His head is right above Annabeth's. They're spooning.
Sally Jackson opens the door just a little bit, the smallest gap to fit one eye. She smiles widely at the sight of the two not-so-young demigods. She really adores Annabeth and knows they're meant to be. She's seen Percy grow up alongside her, helping him become the young man he is today, someone she's immensely proud to call her son. He was always talking about her. Trying to make it sound like it's not such a big deal, "She's just Annabeth, Mom", but Sally remembers how he attached a picture of her to his folder, symbolically taking her to school to face the new year with him. Just Annabeth. Percy's been in love with her since they met. He just didn't know it, but Sally saw it straightaway. The way his eyes sparkled when he talked about her. Just Annabeth was always so much more. She was Annabeth. And now, seeing them sleeping like this, the atmosphere so full of something that's only theirs, like they are supposed to be that way, she just knows. They're going to go to college together in a couple of months. They're going to move in together, probably. One day they're going to get married and have children. They're going to survive. She's so happy for them, her children. They're going to be happy after all the rough times, the hell they've been through.
She contemplates the scene one last time and slowly closes the door, careful not to wake them up. She's heading to the kitchen to make them breakfast when she bumps into Paul. He's smiling as usual. It would be contagious if Sally wasn't carrying a smile of her own. He knows she went to check on her son.
"Annabeth's still there." he guesses.
"They're sleeping" she replies trying to hide her glee but it's too much to disguise. "They are…"
"Meant for each other, yes, you've said so, many times actually." Sally's smile is even brighter. He remembers the conversation he had with Percy earlier the day before. "Yes, I think so, too." he smiles as well.