He walked down the sidewalk, head down, hands in his pockets. His girlfriend, Natalie, had just said it was over. She was seeing another guy. She said that Percy deserved better, but he knew that this was just a measly attempt to make him feel better, not that it helped. Percy thought he was in love with her. He had never actually been in love, so he didn't know what it felt like, but if he ever felt love, that's what it was. He was about to get up the nerve to tell her that he loved her, but it was too late. He sort of noticed that Natalie was becoming more and more distant, but he was too stubborn to investigate and ask questions like he should have. What if she broke up with him because he wasn't communicative enough? What if she broke up with him because his best friend was a girl named Annabeth, who happened to be a, 'enemy' of Natalie's? These were the questions that roamed through his head as he headed nowhere. Well, he thought he was headed nowhere. Without realizing it, he was subconsciously making his way toward the only person who could make him feel better. To his best friend. Annabeth. He stopped in front of her house and realized where he was. He ran to the side of the house, the side Annabeth's window was on, knew she was home because her favorite band, Paramore, was blasting through her speakers so loud that he could hear it from two stories down. He started to climb the ladder that they had built there so he could get up whenever. There was one just like it for Annabeth at his house. He knocked on the window three times, so she would know it was him.
Annabeth was jumping around to the sound of her favorite band, Paramore, while cleaning her room. She picked up her hairbrush and started to sing into it.
"Woah, i never meant to brag, but i got him where i want him now. Whoaa, it was never my intentio-" She stopped as she heard three faint knocks on her window. Percy. She didn't know he was coming today.
Annabeth bounced to the window, still singing into her hairbrush, grinning the whole way. Her grin rapidly turned to a frown when she pulled the curtains open, because she found herself face to face with a boy with tears streaming down his face. She quickly unlocked the window and opened it. While Percy climbed in, she found the remote to her radio, turned off the music, and set down the hairbrush.
"Percy….," She started while turning to look at his face. It was red and blotchy from the crying, and his big bright green eyes were rimmed with water, threatening to spill out. She walked up to him carefully and brushed some of his black hair off of his forehead.
"It's Natalie. She broke up with me," he sniffed. Annabeth held out her arms for a hug and Percy graciously accepted by wrapping his strong arms around Annabeth's slim waist and burying his face in her hair.
"I'm so sorry Percy," Annabeth said sadly. All Percy did was sniff and dig his face deeper into Annnabeth's hair. She could feel the steady stream of tears that continued to pour out of Percy's eyes. After a long while of just standing there, Percy let go and sat on the edge of her bed. He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and put his head in his hands, while Annabeth sat on the floor in front of him.
"Did I do something wrong? I mean, I wasn't a bad boyfriend, was I?" Percy asked, sounding hurt. That was one of the things Annabeth liked about Percy. He always thought that things gone wrong were his fault. It was one of the small, cute, insecure parts of Percy, and Annabeth loved it about him. But Natalie breaking up with him was definitely not his fault.
"Percy, it's her loss. You didn't do anything. Any girl would be lucky to have you as a boyfriend. You were perfect," Annabeth replied, every word of it true. Percy looked up at her. He reached out his hand and Annabeth took it.
"You're the best friend I've ever had, Annabeth," Percy said. In a way, this upset Annabeth. She didn't want to be Percy's 'best friend', she wanted to be his girlfriend, but he didn't need to know that.
"Thanks Perce. That means a lot," she replied simply.
"…. Maybe things happen for a reason. Natalie and me, maybe we weren't meant for each other. Maybe it's a good thing we broke up," Percy said, mostly to himself, trying to cheer himself up. "I don't need her. I have you, Annabeth. You're all I need," Percy said, looking her directly in the eyes.
"….I like you Percy. I like you a lot. Maybe you and Natalie breaking up is the Gods giving you and me a chance," Annabeth blurted out. She didn't mean to, but at the same time she did. Percy looked at her like she'd dropped from the sky. Annabeth's face turned bright red.
"Maybe you should just forget I said that," she whispered.
"Maybe I should, but maybe you're right. I didn't love Natalie. Maybe I liked her, but not as much as I like you. You're the one who was always there for me. You always knew how to make me laugh when I was sad. You always picked me up when I was down. Natalie never did. She couldn't. It's you, Annabeth," Percy stated, looking into her eyes. She got up and sat next to him on the bed.
"So, where does this leave us?" Annabeth asked quietly.
"Right about… here," Percy whispered before leaning in and kissed her softly. Percy knew that this felt right. Much more natural than how kissing Natalie felt. Annabeth knew that this felt perfect, and maybe they were meant for each other. Just maybe.