Summary: It's 5:45 A.M., Percy has a cup of coffee and a bowl of Cocoa Puffs on his coffee table. He already has the news channel on, and he's waiting. Like the dedicated fan he is. He sighs dreamily into his cereal six times and laughs at every minorly humorous things she says. Another day in the life. OR - Annabeth is a newscaster, and Percy has a (huge) crush.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the Heroes of Olympus series, or characters I adopt from those books. Merely the characterization and plot are mine. I also don't own any books, movies, games, music, et cetera that I reference.
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Percy doesn't have a crush on Annabeth Chase.
(She's one of two Fox News anchors every morning at 6 A.M.; co-anchor named Piper McLean; blonde-haired, grey-eyed California native with sinewy tan skin; enjoys reading and watching How I Met Your Mother in her free time.)
He doesn't even know her, is the thing.
(He just, you know, knows all of these details about her because he watches the 6 A.M. news everyday, even if he doesn't go into work until 10 o'clock and he could just as easily watch the 9 o'clock news.)
She just… seems cool. And Percy likes people who seem cool.
(In Percy's head, the word 'cool' is probably synonymous for 'oh my god literally the best person on Earth this is actually obnoxious how much I would like to be your friend and maybe even kiss you once or twice or you know every day for the rest of eternity'.)
It's 5:45 A.M., Percy has a cup of coffee and a bowl of Cocoa Puffs on his coffee table. He already has the news channel on, and he's waiting. Like the dedicated fan he is.
From: Jason . 5:59 A.M.
hey you freak how's your morning stalking sesh going
Percy scowls at his phone, sends back a 'shut the fuck up you dick' and then follows it up with some emoji to soften the blow. He's not 'stalking' her, she's on television. Broadcasted to thousands.
He sighs dreamily into his cereal six times and laughs at every minorly humorous things she says. Another day in the life.
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From: Jason . 12:11 P.M.
are you on your lunchbreak yet? i think axe is in town and he says we should all get something!
Percy grins down at his phone at the mention of one of his closest friends in high school. He answers with a 'TIME AND PLACE NOW PLEASE', which is probably a little ardent, but today is a good day. Annabeth said she prefered dark-haired boys today during some banter with Piper, and Percy is extremely pleased. She's practically flirting with him, if you exclude the fact that she has precisely no clue about his existence.
From: Jason . 12:15 P.M.
calm ur tits wtf we're at zaxby's hurry it up
Percy pockets his phone and finishes the rest of the walk to his car. He works at this shoddy electronics place where he basically shows older men and women how to insert a jump drive—real challenging work.
Zaxby's is barely a ten minute drive, but Percy still speeds a little. It's been almost 7 months since the last time he saw Axe, and that was at a show. (In some ways, Percy's a little jealous of his friend; out of everyone in their friend group, he was the only one who 'made' it, per se. He travels on tour with his band that just recently got signed by some record company that loves attractive guys making pissy music.)
He considers changing his shirt from his work polo, but he decides he doesn't really care all that much. Plus, it's been around 6 hours since he last ate, and Percy's metabolism is much too fast to go much longer.
As soon as he steps inside, there's a chorus of his name that makes nearly everyone in the restaurant turn to him. He glares at his friends for a second, smiling uncomfortably at the rest of the people, and makes his way to the booth in the corner.
"Your hair is blue!" Percy laughs, messing up Axe's carefully-styled fringe. He claps him on the back in greeting. "How've you been?"
"Hi, all of my other much less important friends," Leo mutters grumpily.
"Hi, all of my other much less important friends," Percy repeats, smiling to show that he's teasing. "Seriously, though, how's the record deal? How's the concerts? How's the band?"
Axe shrugs, attempting to fix his hair. "It's great, I guess. Miss home a lot, though."
Percy nods in understanding. He's about to open his mouth with a sympathetic reply, but Jason cuts him off with uproarious laughter. He starts choking on his fries, and Nico carefully pats him on the back. "Shit—Jesus, fuck," Jason manages, their whole table staring at him with wide-eyes.
"Are you okay?" Axe questions, after Jason's managed to quell his coughing fit.
"Percy's crush is here," Jason says, fluttering his eyelashes teasingly.
Percy freezes, his hand halfway to a plate of fries. "What the fuck," he says. He glances over his shoulder, and sure enough, there's a girl with springy blonde curls staring at the menu contemplatively. It's the first time he's ever seen her in casual clothes, and he thinks a heart attack probably isn't out of the question right now.
"What the fuck, indeed," Axe interjects. "Why did no one tell me you had a lady?"
"I don't!"
"You have to order your food," Jason points out. "You should go. Right now."
"I'm not hun—"
"If you say you're not hungry, I'm leaving," Nico mutters. "You're always hungry. You were just about to steal my fries."
Percy narrows his eyes at his cousin. "You're supposed to be on my side."
"Is she the blonde one?" Axe asks, and Percy immediately shushes him. "Calm down, she can't hear us all the way over here."
"Better yet," Jason says, "I want to go with you. I want to see this train wreck in slow motion."
"What the fuck," Percy says again, shaking his head. "No, I'm—"
Before he can even finish his protest, Jason's hauling him up by his upper arm. "C'mon, then."
"No, no no no no no no no no no," Percy whisper-yells. "Jason, you fuck-faced shit let me go!" Sadly, Jason's been going to the gym while Percy's most prominent form of exercise has been taking in and pulling out flash drives. He regrets his entire life for the past three years he's been working there.
"I'm not going to let you walk out of here without talking to her," Jason says in a hushed voice. "Now fucking man up before I embarrass you even further."
That shuts Percy up almost immediately, since he's learned that Jason can be the most embarrassing human alive if he wants to be. Jason pulls them up to stand in line directly behind Annabeth, and Percy sends him a panicked look. "What do I say?" he mouths.
Jason rolls his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then he reaches forward and taps Annabeth's shoulder.
Percy's eyes are probably the size of the biggest plate in the world. Jason slaps his shoulder discreetly just before Annabeth turns around, but it still takes Percy a few seconds to neutralize his expression. "It is her!" Jason exclaims, elbowing Percy. "Sorry to bother you. Me and Percy here watch the news every morning. Him more than me, but…"
Percy would like to throw himself in front of a bus. Instead he smiles at her. "Yeah, huge fans," he manages, without too much trouble. He probably sounds like an idiot, but. What else is new?
She grins back. "Thanks. Means a lot. You guys are one of the first people who've recognized me in public."
"Who wouldn't recognize you?" Percy asks, like it's the most atrocious thing he's heard in his whole life.
Annabeth laughs good naturedly, tugging on one of her hoodie strings. "I ask myself the same thing everyday," she teases, raising her chin. Percy is in love. He wants to marry her. He wants to marry her and have several kids and name them all 'ANNABETH CHASE' in all caps.
He must stay quiet for longer than socially acceptable, because Jason claps him on the shoulder. "Excuse my friend here, he's a little starstruck."
"I am not," Percy mumbles, but he can feel himself blushing.
Annabeth looks like she's trying not to laugh. "I'm not a star, no need to feel like that," she says modestly. "I'm just some girl who got a job as a newscaster."
"You're good at your job." Percy would very much like to hit himself.
"He really believes that," Jason enthuses, and Percy is already reaching up to cover his own face. He just knows it's coming. "He even wakes up at 6 A.M. to watch you. And he doesn't go into work until 10 A.M."
"What the fuck," Percy mutters, but it's muffled by his palm.
He hears Annabeth laugh, and his knees are a little shaky. Thankfully, the cashier says, "I can help the next in line!" which leaves Annabeth stepping forward to take her order.
"You are a dick," he says, pointedly, as soon as she's out of earshot. Or maybe she's not, whatever, Percy can't think properly.
"Well, now that I've stirred up all the shit I can, I'm going to go finish my chicken finger sandwich meal, goodbye." He leaves Percy standing in line behind the newscaster he's been watching every day for as long as he can remember. He feels a little faint.
Annabeth finishes her order, but instead of going off to find a seat, she lingers around Percy as he orders. He keeps stumbling over his order, and Annabeth keeps laughing, so he just stutters some more. He's a mess, really. He would probably need twenty professional clean up teams to get himself together.
"So, waking up at 6 A.M.?" Annabeth asks, as they both make their drinks.
Percy's thinks he has a permanent blush on his face. "More like 5:40 A.M., if you must know, but yes."
"You don't have to be embarrassed about it," she reassures him. "I used to stay up late so I could see Jeff at 10 o'clock before I got hired."
Percy nods, taking a sip of his sweet tea. "Still feels a little weird. Like, now that you know the extent of my fan-ish-ness."
"That's not a word," Annabeth chastises. "And it's only weird if you make it weird. For example, I can count at least four instances so far in which you could have asked for my number, and yet…"
It takes Percy a few seconds to understand what he says, and then all of the blood his body has rushes to his face. He can't feel his limbs. "You would give me your number?"
"At this rate you'll never find out," Annabeth deadpans.
"You're more sarcastic in real life," he tells her, fumbling for his phone, which has to be somewhere in his pocket. "Um. So, can I have your number?"
"A grand gesture this is," she comments, but she recites her number anyways. He keys it in and keeps the hand-shaking to a minimum. "Just make sure you use it, you know, don't just stare at it."
Percy narrows his eyes at her. "It's like you already know me."
Annabeth laughs, but then her order number is called out, and she's walking away, and Percy's just staring at his phone like an idiot.
She waves at him before she leaves with her to-go box in hand, and he quickly types in her name. He's pretty sure it says something close to 'Ananan BEth' with a shrimp emoji, but he's in a hurry. He can't be bothered with the details.
He doesn't even bother with the three day rule. He texts her an hour later.
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THE END
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