Guess who just came back from the dead?

In celebration of my sudden awakening, I bring you this story, which is something that just popped into my head one day and something that I think is rushed since I was much too excited to be back and posting a story.

Hope you guys enjoy this one :)

See you at the bottom!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own PJO and HoO. All belongs to the king, Rick Riordan. Woo!

Of Planning and Pretending

Annabeth was having a particularly shitty day.

And it wasn't just because Miss Rachel Dare was having a panic attack and changing colors every three hours, and it wasn't also just because Miss Reyna With-the-Very-Long-Last-Name decided to cancel her wedding, making her lose a client altogether.

Annabeth received a phone call.

But not just any phone call.

Annabeth received a phone call from Percy fucking Jackson.

My friend Jason recommended you to me, he said. Soon-to-be wife's too busy to plan the celebration, and too busy to even call the wedding planner by herself.

Do you think we could meet up?, he asked. I really have no idea how to deal with this kind of stuff.

And then he laughed that really annoying Percy Jackson laugh that made Annabeth fall for him back in high school. She bit her lip to stop herself from trying to cry.

She didn't know why she agreed. She could've just said she was busy, or she could've just told the truth and said her independent being crumbled at the mere thought of her high school sweetheart, the only man she ever allowed to see the sweet side she possessed.

Then the call ended, and there was this awful ache in her chest.

Percy Jackson was getting married, and maybe Annabeth was still a little bit in love with him.

The world stopped making sense.

She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction, no.

He broke your heart, Annabeth, she reminded herself. He ended it right before graduation started, and he's the reason why you looked like you wanted to cry and kill an antelope in all of the photos.

"Her brilliant plan" was a stupid idea. She walked into the ring store and ignored the weird look she got when asked why she only wanted to buy one wedding ring. What was she supposed to say? Hi. I'm only buying a ring so my ex will think I'm married and won't know I'm still hung up over him, even if it has been six years since high school graduation and since he broke my heart.

So ten minutes before she and Percy were scheduled to meet up, in that small café where they used to go when she wanted to study (because he just had to choose a place that reminded her of the lovely times they spent together), Annabeth sat inside her car, debating with herself and questioning what she thought was an excellent idea.

Then a familiar car parked two positions away from hers, and a few minutes later came Percy Jackson, in his still handsome glory. She allowed herself to stare at him, trying to see what was the same and what was different. Her stomach churned at the sight of him, and she felt even worse when she remembered the reason why they were seeing each other.

If the fact that he was getting married was a fucking sign to move on, then she really should.

Annabeth took a deep breath, said silent you can do it! mantras to herself, and stepped out of her car to face the inevitable reality.

"So… wedding planning?" were the first words he said once they were able sit in one of the booths inside.

In the same spot they had back in high school, in particular.

Was he trying to kill her?

"Yup," she replied simply, fearing she might babble like she used to, like nothing happened between them, like he was still in love with her as much as she was in love with him.

A waiter came over to hand them the menus. She chose to trail her eyes over the printed words instead (as if she didn't know her usual order).

"I thought your dad wanted you to be an architect?"

"Uh, yeah… that didn't work out." Like us. Haha.

Ha.

Gods, Annabeth, shut the eff up.

He shrugged. "But wedding planning's great for you, I guess. I mean, you loved drawing and designing and colors and stuff. And you were organized as hell. I remember how much you hated how messy my room was."

Percy, stop reminiscing, she wanted to say.

"I turned okay enough, I guess. It's a fun job," she said instead. "What about you? What ever happened to your plans of being a swimmer?"

He beamed, showing off his usual goofy grin. Annabeth wanted to choke him for how adorable he still was. "I work at the aquarium now. I mean, marine biologist is different from that pro swimmer dream, but I get to swim still. I get to train some of the animals, too. Dolphins. They're cool."

And then she laughed completely against her will, kind of relieved that Percy was still Percy, the possessor of childish love for water and sea creatures.

Her happiness was short-lived once she remembered that he was getting married, and that his fiancée was the luckiest woman in the world since she gets to love and see this weirdo for the rest of her life.

Annabeth tried to fight off both a whimper and a scowl. She chose to clear her throat instead, veering the topic to what they were here for in the first place. "So, what do you have in mind for your wedding?"

Percy laughed sheepishly, rubbing his hand on the back of his head. "You have to forgive me. I really know nothing about weddings and stuff."

"Well…" she tried to keep a straight, professional face on. "What did your fiancée say?"

"Uhh…" he stuttered before clearing his throat. "Not much. Just that I won't choose bad colors. Or something."

The waiter interrupted them by arriving to take their orders. Percy surprised her by ordering both their usuals. She could only raise her eyebrow in question.

"Knowing you, you'd just choose the color blue for everything," she said once they were left alone again. "No offense, Percy, but why would she let you do this all on your own?"

Maybe her tone was a little bit bitter.

He shrugged. "She's just busy right now, that's all. She's going to help after she's done with all her… whatevers."

"Whatevers," she repeated, trying not to spat the word.

Okay, so maybe she was more than just a little bit in love with him.

Can you blame her though? He was the only person she ever allowed herself to open up to. He was the only person who didn't make fun of her for studying too much and for habitually alphabetically rearranging to books in the library. He was her best friend, and he made her fall for him through his annoying jokes and goofy smile.

She was lucky enough that he fell in love with her, too.

And then everything came crashing down on graduation, when he said he couldn't be with her anymore.

His reason hurt even until now.

"Yes, whatevers. She's, uh, busy. Not even sure what she's working on anymore."

"Sounds like you guys talk a lot." She didn't mean to be sarcastic, not really.

"Ish." He nodded, much to her disappointment. "I'm going to need a little help here, since, you know. I'm clueless. What were your colors?"

My what? "Huh?"

"Your wedding." His gaze dropped to her hand where her ring rested on one of its fingers. "What were your colors?"

Oh. Ah, shit. "Oh. My, uh, colors." She cringed internally.

"Yeah. Did you choose green?" he asked. "Like your favorite color?"

She had no idea why he still remembered that. She also noted that he still has no clue that she only liked the color because it was the color of his eyes. "My husband wasn't in agreement with the color," she lied. "And my favorite color is blue."

He looked as if he was genuinely confused. "I always thought it was green."

"Blue is his eye color. We, uh, chose that one."

"Oh. Well, uh, do I know who he is?"

Crap. She didn't think this part through. She just shook her head instead. "No, I met him in college."

"Hmm," he mused. "How come nobody ever told me that you were married?"

"We're exes, Percy," she pointed out, nearly glaring at him, hating that he had to bring this topic up.

"I'm telling you that I'm getting married," he argued, resting both his arms on the table and looking at her with a pointed expression.

"I'm your wedding planner." She rolled her eyes. "Who recommended me to you, anyway? I don't know anyone named Jason." And she knew every single one of her clients, even if the groom doesn't do much participation as much as the bride does.

"He was my roommate in college. He and Reyna hired you as their wedding planner," Percy explained. "And not too long ago they cancelled their wedding, so I guess you haven't met Jason yet."

"Miss Reyna With-The-Very-Long-Last-Name?" Things were starting to fall into place.

"Yup."

Annabeth frowned, not just at the thought of losing a client. "What happened?"

"Eh." He shrugged again. "Jason decided that he was still in love with ex, his high school girlfriend. Some girl named Piper. I don't know. He sounded happy the last time I talked to him. Not sure I can say the same about Reyna, though."

"Poor Reyna," she couldn't help saying, but at the same time her mind also wandered to the other things he said.

Cancelling wedding. High school girlfriend. Sounding happy.

Her heart ached at her musings, knowing all too well that Percy was happy and that there was no way he was going to cancel his wedding for her. Get real, Annabeth, come on.

"She's a tough chick," Percy said. "She knows Jason's happy. Knowing her, that's already enough to get her by."

Annabeth wished she had Reyna's strength.

She shuddered at herself. This isn't you, Annabeth, she reminded herself for the nth time since she and Percy broke off.

"Nothing we can do now," she sighed. "Let's get back to your wedding."

"I'm curious about yours," he interrupted. "Who's the guy? What does he do?"

"You're going to be paying me to do your wedding, Percy. I suggest we not talk about—"

"Where'd you meet him? In college? Are you sure I don't know him? Because I've met—"

"Percy."

"I've met a lot of people at the aquarium. Hey, you guys might've been there without me knowing—"

She felt like her head was about to burst. "Percy, please."

"Does your dad like him?"

And that was it. The fucking bomb.

She could feel her face getting hot, the tiny vein on her forehead throbbing. She could feel a migraine coming. Why oh why did she decide to agree to be his wedding planner in the first place? "What my dad thinks—" she started to argue.

"Don't tell me you that what your dad thinks doesn't matter, Annabeth," he retorted before she could blow up all over him. Annabeth was surprised at the sudden change in his expression. His eyebrow was raised and he actually gritted his teeth.

She's never seen him this angry before.

"I know you love him," he continued. "And I know you'd do anything to impress him and gain his attention. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

"I'm glad you think you know me, Percy—"

"You said you'd do anything to make your dad proud. Your dad didn't like me, Annabeth. You knew that."

"Yes, well, he didn't like me either." If she hated the fact that she had to bring up that they were exes, then she absolutely despised the fact that she had to bring up her father. "And I wish I realized that sooner," she sighed. "I wish I didn't do all those things he wanted me to do. I've been a good girl my whole life; you were the only thing that wasn't written in his whole perfect daughter plan. I wish he gave me the same respect, knowing I did everything just to make him happy."

There was silence. She decided to cast her eyes on her drink instead.

Percy bit his lip, clearing his throat. "Is that why… is that why you decided to become a wedding planner?"

She chuckled in spite of the sadness that came out from the conversation. "Yeah. It was random; I needed something to throw him off. But I turned out okay. I learned to love the job."

"And your dad." He clasped his hands in front of him, his expression turning to that of both worry and curiosity. "How is he?"

Annabeth shrugged. "He's had years to get used to the fact that I'm not going to do everything he wants me to do. Not anymore."

"So… you guys are okay?"

"To a point, yeah." It was her turn to clear her throat. She wanted out of this conversation already.

It wasn't fair. It was only when she lost contact with Percy that she started doing things her way, when she decided her life wasn't going to be dictated by her father anymore.

"Meanwhile," she continued. "We should really talk about your wedding, Percy. Your fiancée might get angry at our lack of progress."

"No, we're catching up," he said instead. "This is more fun."

"You're going to be paying—"

"Who'd you marry, Annabeth? Who's the lucky guy?" His tone was persistent.

"Wedding talk, Percy. Not this." Also, because she has no idea what she'll answer.

"Then we'll talk about your wedding. I might, you know, be able to get some ideas."

Another thing that didn't change about Percy?

His stubbornness was still very prominent.

Except she was still pretty stubborn too.

"No, Percy."

"Pleeeaaasseeee, Annabeth."

"Percy." It was when he whined and puckered out his lips that she couldn't resist him. "I'm not married, okay?"

She took off her ring and slammed it on the table.

"Now can we please talk about your wedding before your soon-to-wife will kill me?"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm not saying it again. Do you have a theme in mind? Or colors, maybe?"

"You're not married? Do you have a boyfriend? Or something? A friend for bene—"

"No." She glared at him. "Percy. Wedding. Colors. Please."

"How serious are you right now, Annabeth?" Why was he smiling?

She sighed. "A hundred percent. Now can we—"

"Annabeth." He grinned. "Will you go out with me tonight? For dinner?"

What? She couldn't imagine the expression she had on right now. "Are you insane? !"

"Yes, because I listened to your father when I knew full well that the thought of you would haunt me for years," he said, unwinding his clasped hands and grabbing hers. Oh, how she missed the feeling. "And now I'm correcting my mistake from six years ago. Please let me make things right again. Please let me take you out to dinner."

"Percy…" She shook her head. "This is wrong. So incredibly extremely wrong.I mean, I still love you and everything—"

"You do?"

"—but you're getting married."

What confused Annabeth was the goofy grin that plastered his face. Is he insane? The fact that he's asking me out to dinner is already cheating!

"Annabeth," he said. "You're not the only one who's good at pretending."

"What?"

"There's no fiancée. There's not going to be a wedding. I only wanted to see you. Now will you please go out with me tonight?"

And then the world started making sense again.

End

Feel free to let me know how much college has made me rusty with my writing. Haha. If you have any questions, I am most likely to answer in my Tumblr: whayjhey. The link is in my profile! :)

(random question: would you like to see a chapter but from Percy's side?)

Happy holidays, everyone! :)