Because I realized that I haven't written a Soulmate AU yet. And I'm kind of wanting to write this thing for ages then I got a severe case of writer's block. Yeah.

His hand was a little bigger than hers.

It was frail; long and bony just like the rest of his body. And even though Annabeth was a head taller than him, his palm engulfed her whole hand; his fingers wrapped around her like branches of a willow tree. But the thing that she liked most about it was the warmth it gave off. Warm and steady like he was.

"Thanks for helping me," he said, his voice dripping with worry and fear. He dusted off his pants; his head bowed down like he's afraid he might scare her off.

"It's fine," Annabeth replied, because it was alright. She didn't like him worrying over things he shouldn't worry about. "What's your name?"

The boy stiffened, as if he didn't expect the question. He slowly raised his gaze to hers, his long, mess of a black hair brushing over his lids, but there's no mistaking in the bright glow of his eyes. It was a strange color, Annabeth thought so. There was something blue and green swirling around it, that briefly reminded her of the sea, and perhaps she could ask her teacher tomorrow about what color it was.

"Percy," he answered timidly.

Annabeth thrusted out her hand to him. They had been taught to shake hands when making friends. And besides, she liked holding his.

"I'm Annabeth," she mumbled and smiled at him. "We're friends now."

Percy's eyes snapped up to her, somehow disbelieving. He seemed to be afraid of the idea of having a friend. But the slightest of smiles graced his face, and Annabeth found herself grinning wider. It was a nice thing to make him smile, she thought.

"Friends," he repeated, tasting how the word rolled on his tongue.

They shook hands.

Later that time, when Annabeth's mom came to pick her up, Annabeth wondered how holding and shaking Percy's hand was far better than holding her mom's.

. . .

Annabeth saw him again two days after.

Her mom had something to do, so she's taking the bus to get home. It was actually her first time boarding alone, but she's not scared. She'd seen some of her classmates take the bus with their parents, and somehow she'd picked a few tips from those.

Annabeth was not scared. She was a smart kid after all.

So, she walked with her head held high, clutching the straps of her backpack as she neared the bus stop. To her surprise, she saw Percy standing there too.

"Hi Percy," she said, startling the boy.

"Annabeth," he greeted with a small smile.

Annabeth looked at him, noticing how his backpack was ill-proportioned with his small frame. Percy was all skin and bones, and his slouched stature didn't help at all.

"Are you taking the bus?" she asked warily.

"Yeah." He kept his head down, watching as his shoes scrunched on the pavement. Percy glanced at her through the corner of his eyes. "Are you taking the bus too?"

Annabeth nodded. She sidled closer to him, close but not touching. It was as if there's something about Percy that pulled her to him, something that she couldn't quite place. It wasn't gravity for sure, but it was more subtle. More careful.

"Can we sit together?" she asked shyly. She didn't meet his eyes.

"Sure," he answered, and for the first time, there's no worry and fear in his voice. There's only glee that matched the slow, careful smile on his lips. And Annabeth couldn't help but smile back.

When Annabeth got home that day, she argued with her mom that she was old enough to ride the bus home on her own. Thankfully, her mom accepted and the kid couldn't be any happier.

. . .

The next day, Annabeth sat with him again in the bus.

Percy was always quiet, so she tried to be quiet too. But it was awfully hard, and she decided she'll just try to draw something to pass the time.

She started drawing a house, the lines a little jagged because of the bus' motions. She was already getting at it, when she felt a set of eyes on her and realized Percy was watching her draw all along.

Annabeth turned to him. He glanced away, shyly.

She pushed the paper and pencil towards him. "You should draw too."

He fiddled with his fingers nervously. "I don't know how."

"Then I'll teach you," Annabeth said. She moved closer to him, her arm pressing against his. Then she took his hand with hers and guided it to make some shapes on the paper.

It was weird, how his hand was bigger than hers. But then she thought it was really fun to teach him how to draw. Plus, she could feel the warmth of his hand with hers, too.

When they finished drawing a stick man with a smiley face, Percy looked up to her with a first real smile on his face. It wasn't the slow, careful and guided smile he usually gave, and that made her smile back instantly. He looked really good when he actually smiled, she thought.

The next time they rode the bus together, Percy gave her a paper. It was a drawing of them; a stick Percy and a stick Annabeth with a 'FRIENDS' written on top. They argued about how stick Annabeth should be taller than stick Percy, and everything they could point about. But all through that, they were grinning like they never did before.

When Annabeth got home, she pasted the drawing inside her room and stared at it long enough so when she fell asleep, all she could dream was stick Annabeth and stick Percy.

. . .

Soon enough, the bus became a special place to them.

They would always sit together and somehow, they would always have something to busy themselves about. They would draw figures and characters on the papers, and arguing later about who did better. It was Annabeth who frequently prevailed. (Because she bribed Percy with donuts and stories.) Sometimes, they would exchange snacks; Percy with his blue cookies and Annabeth with her donuts. They had grown to love each other's food that sharing became a constant thing between them.

But at times when Percy wanted nothing to do but listen to her, Annabeth would read to him stories from her books. She usually read anything, most of them about history, science and stuff. Yet on special cases, she would read a fairytale themed, which were his favorites.

Annabeth thought it was really absurd to listen to her read. There wasn't anything special with her. She thought that perhaps, she could let him borrow her books and he could read those at home.

One time, while she was reading something about whales and sharks, she stopped midway and turned to him. "Why do you want me to read things to you?"

He didn't open his eyes, like he was still stuck in the world of whales. But he did reached for her hand and gripped her pinky, a signal for her to continue. "Because I like hearing you read."

Annabeth smiled at that.

So maybe, she liked reading books for Percy too. Because when he laughs at something she read, all she could hear was the carefree and childlike sound of his voice. And she'll read to him as long as he liked, so as to listen to his laugh like a lullaby being sung over and over in her head.

. . .

It's like they've always been together.

The word 'bestfriend' seemed too common, too inappropriate. There could be no further term to describe the intensity of their bond. It's as if they're a part of each other, the halves to their whole. Three years of friendship seemed to have been stretched to forever.

It's like they've always been together since forever.

She would unknowingly reach for his shirt when they're in a crowd, and he would be fumbling around until he could hold her hand. They're the anchors of each other, the ones keeping them on track.

And then there would be their hugs and special smiles; innocent touches and wistful gestures that only the two of them could understand. It had always been too simple, too Percy and Annabeth that no one bothered to question their friendship.

Not until they got their soulmate bracelets.

Those soulmate bracelets tickled the curiosity of Annabeth. The idea of wearing it and seeing it glow when she meets her soulmate seemed too magical, too fantastic. She didn't understand the whole meaning of soulmates yet. But that's okay. She got to wear her bracelet, anyway.

So after having it installed on her 11th birthday, Annabeth rushed to their usual place: the bus stop. She waited for him to come, her glee bouncing higher and higher as she stood there. Finally, Percy appeared and he hadn't even seen her yet when she ran towards him. She gave him a bone-crushing hug before stepping back and waving the bracelet in front of his eyes.

"You got it already?" Percy asked. There's a wide grin on his face, which was enlightened by Annabeth's glorious mood. "And happy birthday by the way."

She nudged his side playfully. "I'm older than you by a month, remember? And thanks too."

Percy slid his fingers with her and tugged gently. "C'mon. I've got something to show you, birthday girl."

As Annabeth followed his lead, all she could feel was the special tingling warmth of his hand on hers, and she momentarily forgot everything but him.

. . .

A month later, Percy got his soulmate bracelet too.

He was so ecstatic and he was so eager to show it to Annabeth. So he waited at the bus stop with his mom.

Sally knew about Percy's friendship with Annabeth, and she was really glad to see her son this happy. If his bestfriend could just make him smile like this always, then she would really wish they would end up together.

And when Annabeth finally came, flushed and giddy from running, she hugged Percy tight while mumbling 'happy birthday'.

The two kids were lost in their own Percy and Annabeth world, while Sally could only stare at their bracelets in shock.

It didn't glow.

. . .

Calm down.

There's a part two or three, it depends. When? Let's just say I need to have enough inspiration to write.