"Percy! We're going to be late!" Annabeth shouted down the hall of the Jackson's Apartment. She had moved in for their senior year of high school. After going through hell, they figured that high school couldn't be all that terrible.
She walked into the cozy kitchen and began eating her stack of blue pancakes that Sally had left for them.
"We cannot possible have school again today. This is like the fifth day in a row." Percy mumbled as he shuffled into the room. He was in jeans and a tee shirt, but his hair gave him away. He looked like he was keeping a dryad in it.
"How'd ya sleep" Annabeth said through a mouthful of pancakes. They weren't a well-mannered group at six in the morning. Literally before the crack of dawn.
Percy responded with a series of grunts through pancakes, mostly unintelligible. Annabeth nodded, totally agreeing. Getting thrown into Tartarus was one thing, but high school was relentless, and it made you get up early. Nasty demons could mess you up, but English papers seemed to have the same effect.
"We gotta go," Percy said, standing. He offered a hand to Annabeth, who accepted. They trudged to the front door of the apartment and grabbed their backpacks. They hopped into the elevator with their uncomfortable neighbor and rode to the bottom floor. They made their way through the atrium and hopped into Percy's car. It had been a gift from his father, an Aston Martin Vanquish. Annabeth through it was a bit of overkill, but Percy thought it made him look cool.
"What did batman say to robin before they got in the car?" Percy said a goofy smile on his face.
"I don't know. What did he say?" Annabeth responded, rolling her eyes.
"Get in the car, Robin," Percy had trouble getting the last bit out because of the giggles. Annabeth smiled, rolling her eyes at his antics. They drove to Goode High and parked with plenty of time to socialize, or not socialize as it generally was.
Percy turned the car off and turned to face Annabeth. She was staring off into space, half asleep. Percy smiled and pressed his lips to her cheek for a quick kiss. She turned at the last second and their lips met, both smiling through the kiss. Finally a knock on the passenger window jarred them out of their kissing. Annabeth's friend Morgan was smiling knowingly on the other side of the glass. Annabeth blushed and gave Percy a quick kiss before opening her door and getting out of the car.
Percy smiled, knowing that by the end of first period the entire school would be talking about Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson. He got out of the car, grabbing Annabeth's backpack that she'd forgotten. As he walked to the commons to meet with his 'friends', he thought about how he was going to explain their relationship. They had said they were family friends, that's why Annabeth had come to live with them so suddenly. He shook his head, knowing that the news would be earth shattering to the normally dull life at Goode High.
"Yo Percy looks like someone's getting action tonight!" Yelled his co-captain Austin. Percy naturally had joined the swim team, shattering the records for the school. He was always careful to only swim, and not manipulate the water. He smiled crookedly at his team, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
"Chill, it's just Annabeth," Percy said, acting like it was just a fling. The team all smiled knowingly, like they were all watching a drama on the television.
"Just Annabeth?" Percy's cool demeanor deflated immediately. He recognized the voice. It was the same voice that said things like seaweed brain and I'm going to kill you. Naturally Annabeth would be standing right behind him. He turned slowly, ignoring the jibes from behind him. He tried for a smile, towering uncomfortable over her. He had recently grown again. He just hit 6' 3". He also had outgrown most of his pants, sticking him in shorts for the winter in New York until he could get his mom to take him shopping. Annabeth on the other hand, had leveled out at 5' 8". She had a smirk on her face, one that she knew Percy found adorable.
"You know what I meant," Percy attempted to explain. She smiled, dazzling him for a second.
"I just need my backpack, Seaweed Brain." He handed her bag over, pulling her into a tight hug.
"I can't make a scene, but I wish I could," he whispered in her ear.
"Your lovely friends appear to be taking pictures of us." She smiled into his neck. She missed just being with him.
"Let them," He said cupping her chin and pulling her in at the waist to give her a sweet kiss. They smiled at each other, barely centimeters apart. The bell abruptly rang, ending their moment.
"Saved by the bell," Percy mumbled, shooting a glare at his lovely friends. Annabeth just hit him with her shoulder, silently telling him to cool it.
"Everybody loves a good love story, Perse." She smiled at him, looking at him through her lashes.
Shockingly, English was dull, as was History. Math was a refreshing change from boring to painful. The letters and numbers all blend together, making the math itself even more impossible. Lunch was a refreshing change from sitting in classes that would in no way help them fight monsters.
"Hey, beautiful," Percy said, coming up behind Annabeth. She smiled. He had probably spent the entire morning planning that line. She turned to face him, catching herself looking behind him at the table of other lanky boys on the swim team. They were all smiling like idiots and pushing each other. She looked into his eyes, seeing not only humor, but something deeper, possibly love.
"Wanna sit with us?" Percy asked, not nearly as suave as he had hoped to be. Even after all the time he had spent with her, he still marveled that she chose him to be with. He knew she could have any boy at camp or at Goode, or anywhere else, and she had chosen him. She smiled at his adorable uncertainty.
"Of course, Seaweed Brain. Who else would I sit with? Perhaps the lovely cheerleaders who look like they want to kill me?" She smiled, nodding in their direction. She knew that Percy was not only tall and tan, but also quite handsome. He had grown up quite a bit since she had met him when they were twelve, but she still saw the socially awkward boy who drooled in his sleep. And she loved him.
He took her hand and they walked to sit at the swim table, across from the girls' soccer team's table. Fortunately or unfortunately, there was only one seat left, so Annabeth was planning on standing, but Percy had other ideas. He sat on the stool, and then grabbed her waist, pulling her to sit on his lap, against his chest. She smiled and leaned onto his frankly ridiculously well-muscled chest, whispering "Very smooth," into his ear. He smiled, looking quite proud of himself. The swim team was very excited about Percy's new girlfriend. Well, new to them. Annabeth on the other hand was getting glares from the girls' soccer team table. She smiled sweetly back at them, totally used to glares of much more dangerous creatures than high schoolers.
The remainder of the day passes without incident. Science was full of symbols and equations that were of no use when your parent was a god, nor was Spanish. How often is that language of use to a demi-god anyways? The bright spot at the end of the day was Annabeth's architecture class and Percy's gym class. A bit cliché, but they liked what they were born to do.
After school, Percy went to swim practice, while Annabeth stayed in the library reading and doing homework. Today her load was light, so she decided to go for a quick walk around central park. She was, in fact, totally aware of the group of girls that were following her, and decided to keep walking. She quickly texted Percy that she might be a bit late. She wasn't afraid, just irritated. People are so annoying sometimes.
He shot back a quick text, probably on a break "Soccer Team?" She smiled. There must have been rumors floating around, the ones she doesn't listen to. "Yup. I'll be fine." She responded.
She had walked into one of the more wooded parts of the park, where you could almost forget that you were in a massive city. Central Park had always been her favorite part of the city, brilliantly placed so you could escape the city without actually leaving. Escape without leaving. Brilliant.
She put her backpack on the ground and sat on a rock, waiting for them. After maybe ten minutes they all appeared from the bushes, surrounding her, with one girl infront of the rest. Annabeth smiled, loving the cold determination in the leader's eye. You see, monsters are evil and everything, but humans sometimes are much worse. They get their mind set and will not stop until they get what they want. They are the real monsters sometimes. And they are truly terrifying.
"You think Percy Jackson is yours? Please, he deserves so much better than you." The front girl said. Annabeth smiled. Too easy.
"I hate to break this to you, but if you're trying to get me to leave him, you'll need to kill me." Annabeth smiled. They were adorable.
The big girl smiled, "So be it." She launched herself at Annabeth, who sidestepped the affront easily. The girl turned and faced Annabeth, who was no longer smiling. The lead girl morphed into a creepy girl thing with mismatched legs, one donkey and one metallic. Her hair was fire and her eyes were red. Annabeth gasped. "Empousa." All around her, they were changing into the she-demons. Annabeth drew her knife, newly forged by Leo after she lost the original in Tartarus. She counted seven of them, seven in total. On a good day, she could take them, but naturally, she hadn't trained in almost three months. They advanced slowly, knowing that she was weak. She kept her knife hidden against her chest, and finally pulled it out, sweeping through three at one time. One of them scratched at her shoulder, but Annabeth sidestepped, stabbing one more in the chest. There were three left, including the leader. One attacked, and was stabbed through the eye socket, erupting into ashes. The last two looked at each other uncertainly.
"You will never get the happy ending you desire!" one said as it threw itself at her. Annabeth was caught off guard, swiping a bit late, catching the demon after it swiped it claws across Annabeth's jaw. She felt the blood, and knew it was not good. The last one thought Annabeth was incapacitated, overall a bad call. Annabeth was prepared, and the demon exploded where it stood. Throwing the knife is never a great idea, but it works if one's injured, and this time, it was all she had. Annabeth sat down and poured nectar into the cut, which almost instantly began fixing itself.
"Annabeth!" Percy burst through the underbrush, looking frantic with riptide out. "The soccer team isn't the soccer team." He said flatly, looking at the blood on her shirt and neck, and the remainder of a scar that was disappearing as he spoke.
"Empousa. Trying to steal your happy ending. Not Kelli." Annabeth spoke in fragments, still out of breath. Percy sheathed his sword and sat down next to her. He looked at her, again reminded of how lucky he was.
"How many?" he asked, afraid of the answer. She smiled at his concern. "Seven, untrained." She replied, getting her breath back. Percy raised his eyebrows. Seven was quite a few.
"Nice job," he said, looking at the ashes that were all around her. "I knew you were in danger when the soccer team showed up at our practice. What can I say? They have excellent taste!" Percy bumped her with his shoulder, making light of the situation. She smiled, glad to be with him. She leaned her head onto his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"You wanna go home?" Percy asked.
"No. I want to stay right here. With you. Forever."
And they lived happily ever after.