Chapter Three
"What about Luke?"
Annabeth tensed. She knew this was coming. She'd just finished telling Thalia what happened at Percy's apartment, and in true Thalia-fashion, she'd been a bit more sceptical than excited.
"I don't know," she confessed honestly, bringing her socked feet up onto their couch. She tucked her knees under her chin and watched Thalia as she painted another sign. "I haven't talked to him in weeks."
"But you've been in love with him for practically your entire life," Thalia pointed out.
"I know."
"Remember when you couldn't look him in the eye for like, two years?"
"Yeah."
"And that time you dressed up to go to his house but he didn't notice you were wearing a skirt?"
"Yeah."
"And last year, when you nearly asked him to prom but –"
"Not re-living that," Annabeth interrupted, groaning. Thalia laughed. "Look, I get it, Thalia. I was obsessed."
"Exactly."
"And he doesn't return those feelings."
Thalia looked up from her sign with an apologetic look on her face. "Oh come on, Annabeth, you don't know that –"
"But I do." She slid down to the couch next to Thalia and sighed. "For years, I've been trying to get him to notice me and it hasn't worked. He's seven years older than me. I don't think he sees me as anything other than his little sister."
"And Percy?" Thalia asked.
Annabeth shrugged, trying not to smile like a maniac. "He's different. I mean, I don't want to compare the two, but –" She cut off, shaking her head. "He's sweet. Really sweet. Even if he didn't like me that way, he'd be sweet. And he's only a year older than me. And even if he's a bit stupid sometimes, he's just… selfless."
"Wow." Thalia smirked, making Annabeth scowl. "I never thought I'd see the day when you decided you didn't have feelings for Luke anymore."
"I still might." She didn't really know if she could have still have feelings for Luke until she saw him, face-to-face. Even then, her heart would probably leap into her throat and she'd say stupid things around him, but maybe that didn't mean she was in love with him.
As strange as it was, it made more sense to Annabeth to be in love with Percy. Everything felt more natural with him; their conversation, their laughter, even just being with him. She didn't have to doubt what he was thinking or worry if she said the wrong thing.
"I really doubt it." Thalia leaned over her sign to perfect the arch on one of the letters. "But I'm really glad things are working out with Percy."
Annabeth's face split into a grin. "Really?"
"Yes." Thalia looked up and smirked again. "And I'm glad you finally got your first kiss. Do you realize how many opportunities you've missed because you were busy pining over Luke? You're gorgeous."
Annabeth blushed and stood, brushing off her clothes distractedly. "Not true."
"Is too!"
"There are more important things than beauty," she said dismissively, grabbing her purse off of the kitchen counter, "like punctuality. I'm going to Starbucks."
"To kiss some more? Good," Thalia said. Annabeth blushed harder and hurried out the door. But not without hearing, "Embrace it, Annabeth! Kissing is fun!"
She was never going to live that down.
Percy didn't regret bringing Annabeth to his apartment. Not even a little.
Sure, maybe he regretted that they didn't really have any dessert ready and the couch had holes in it and they didn't really have many channels to watch. Maybe he regretted that he'd fallen asleep on her (God, that was embarrassing).
Okay, so maybe he regretted a couple of things. But despite that, she'd somehow had the amazing ability to see past all the lack of money and lack of good hosting and enjoyed her time at his home. It made him think maybe there was less to regret, really. Annabeth didn't care about that stuff. She wasn't that shallow.
And neither was that kiss.
He didn't really feel all these weird fireworks he's heard about his entire life, but it definitely wasn't a bad kiss. At all. A little wet and gross, but he could do with some practice; after all, he'd never kissed anyone before. He had to restrain himself every time he saw Annabeth so he wouldn't slobber all over her face or something as equally embarrassing.
Asking Grover for kissing advice was not his proudest moment.
Restraint is a legitimate problem, he thought nervously as he watched Annabeth from the counter. She came into Starbucks all the time, and he had to admit, his work performance had definitely plunged in those few hours she was there.
But as long as he didn't get fired, he didn't really care.
"Hey," he greeted as she came up to him at the register. He dropped his forearms on the counter and leaned over it, trying not to smile like a maniac. "Happy Independence Day."
"Thanks," she said, leaning onto the counter as well. "Are you going to see the fireworks tonight?"
"Is that an invitation?"
"Do you want it to be an invitation?"
"Yes."
"Then it's not." He scowled, and she playfully stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm just kidding, Percy. Come see the fireworks with me."
"Sure." He knew the only reason the store was open today was because Grace wanted to do Percy a favour. She knew he needed the money, and figured maybe a couple of people would come in. He could ask to close the store early.
"This place is dead today," Annabeth commented, looking around the empty coffee shop. "Is Grace around?"
"She's probably going to come in and kick me out at some point." He absent-mindedly brushed a stray hair behind Annabeth's ear. "Do you want any coffee?"
"I don't have much cash left on me."
"It's free," he urged. "Family and friends of the employee."
"You're making that up," she teased, and he laughed.
"Okay, maybe a little," he said guiltily, "but I can just say it was for me and then I changed my mind."
Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"So, what do I want?" he asked, gesturing to the menus behind him. He watched as her eyes flickered between the menus. She bit her lip and he nearly groaned. What he really wanted was to kiss her again.
"How about a Frappuccino?" she asked, oblivious of Percy's discomfort. "Which one would you recommend?"
He cleared his throat. "I love the cookie one."
"Do you?" she said, grinning. She was so close he could smell the lemon soap scent coming off of her.
"It has chocolate whipped cream," he told her.
"Sold," she said immediately. He laughed and reluctantly moved away towards the machines, grabbing a clear plastic cup on his way. "How do you make these things?"
"It's not too hard," he said, grabbing the bottle of milk. "You basically just have to add water and cream and stuff then let the machine do the work. Since Starbucks is a huge franchise, they have to make sure all the drinks taste the same everywhere, you know?"
She nodded. "Can you show me?"
"Sure." To Percy's surprise, she glanced around the shop quickly before swinging her legs onto the counter and leaping over it. He gaped at her, and she shrugged.
"I've always wanted to do that," she said matter-of-factly, looking at the coffee machines in interest. "Whoa. How do they work?"
"Well, first you crush the ice."
"How?"
"With the blender."
She looked a little lost. "You put ice in there?"
"Yeah," he said, his lips twitching. It became very obvious in that moment that she wasn't used to making coffee. Or doing anything in the kitchen. Maybe that's why she'd had frozen pizza the night he met her. "Go ahead."
She poured some ice uncertainly into the blender before going to press the buttons. Making a split second decision, Percy put down the cup, wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her hands.
"You're going to want to put the lid on, first," he said, chuckling to lighten the mood. She seemed be very nervous. He put his chin on her shoulder and squeezed. "Relax."
"Sorry," she said, biting back a smile. She put the lid on the blender. Percy helped her crush the ice, becoming aware her breath was getting low and shallow. Or maybe that was his.
He wasn't quite sure he was doing this right, but taking tips from every single chick flick his mother had forced him to watch, he brushed his lips to her ear as he whispered instructions. Percy wondered briefly if she could hear or feel his heart thumping in his chest through her back pressed against his. He carefully ran his mouth to the side of her neck and kissed it gently, lingering there. He could've sworn he heard a whimper.
Before he fully comprehended what was happening, she'd put the cup down on the counter, turned around and crashed her lips to his. He immediately responded, almost naturally, because god this felt amazing and he'd wanted to do that since they'd stopped the night before. She'd been nervous the night before, but now she slid her hands in his hair and kissed him without hesitation. He groaned and grabbed her waist to bring her closer.
"Jackson! No making out on the job!"
Percy and Annabeth immediately split apart, gasping for air. He could feel his face burn as he saw his grinning boss walk up to them, clad in red, blue and white clothing.
"Umm," he spluttered, "we were just –"
"I know what you were doing," she said sternly, putting her hands to her hips. He could clearly see she was enjoying this. "No kissing while you're on your shift."
"So why don't you give him Saturday off?" Percy wheeled around to Annabeth. Her face was flushed, but she was smirking. "Make sure you don't let him work for the entire day. You'll never catch him kissing on his shift again."
Oh, shit, he thought, nearly groaning out loud. Percy was pretty sure Grace was going to kill Annabeth. However, to his astonishment (and slight disbelief), she threw her head back and laughed.
"I like her," she declared proudly, clapping a hand to her shoulder. "You get Saturday off, Jackson. And Sunday morning."
His eyes widened. "But I –"
"And I want to hear the details of your date," she added, and Annabeth readily agreed. "Now, get out, you two. Enjoy the rest of Independence Day. I'll close up for you."
Percy was speechless as he left.
"Can you believe that just happened?" he asked as they stepped outside, still stunned. "You just got me a day and a half off."
"I did," Annabeth said proudly.
"You just asked me out."
"That too, I guess."
"Hey, wait a second," he said, rounding on her. She was still grinning broadly, looking very proud of herself. He really liked this side of Annabeth. She was bold and fearless. Maybe he made her nervous, because he didn't see it as often as he hoped, but she was showing it more, day by day.
He frowned at her. "You just asked me out!"
"I thought we established that," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"I wanted to ask you out!" he protested, and he winced internally when it came out as a whine.
Annabeth snorted and stepped closer to him. She was a few inches shorter than him, so she rose up on her toes and pecked his lips. "Too late."
"Unfair."
"I beat you fair and square."
"You asked me out indirectly."
"You were taking too long."
"I demand a rematch," he grumbled, and she laughed.
"I won't make it easy for you," she promised, kissing him again. They were getting really good at this lip action thing.
He hummed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I don't doubt that."
"Better to just give in."
"Will do," he mumbled before closing the gap between their lips again.
She was a lot smarter than him, anyway.
Annabeth hated feeling stupid. If there was one thing she was very sure about herself, it was her brains. She prided herself on not being shallow and how hard she worked for her life. When she felt stupid, she knew she didn't take it too well.
Despite it all, she made her way to Percy's apartment. Without Percy. Because even if she felt like a bit of an idiot, the last time she was there, Mrs. Jackson had told her to come back if she needed anything. And though for her entire life she'd done without, she wanted motherly advice.
She just hoped it wouldn't get awkward. She was not very good at dealing with that.
Annabeth practically ran through Percy's sketchy street to get to his apartment. Once she was there, she breathed a sigh of relief at the smell of old mothballs and cat pee. Even though she'd only been to his apartment once, she felt safe there. And New York City was a scary place, honestly.
Mrs. Jackson was both surprised and pleased to see her. Annabeth immediately felt a bit less stupid when she ushered her inside, no hesitance whatsoever. She asked where Percy was, and Annabeth could only shrug.
"I'm sure he's at work," she replied, sitting down at the kitchen table.
"You didn't go to see him today?"
"No."
"Is everything okay?" she asked, putting down a bowl of grapes in front of Annabeth and sitting down.
"Yeah. I mean…" Annabeth started picking at her fingernails. "Percy and I have our first date tomorrow."
Mrs. Jackson only grinned. "I know."
"You do?"
"He only mentioned it about a thousand times," she said matter-of-factly, and Annabeth blushed. "He's got something nice planned for you two. Spent hours trying to figure it out."
"Really?" she asked in awe, laughing to herself. "Are you supposed to be telling me that?"
Percy's mother shrugged. "Probably not."
"That's good, then," Annabeth said, reaching for a grape. "I'm really nervous, too."
"Are you?"
"This is my first date."
"Oh, don't worry," Mrs. Jackson said, waving a hand in reassurance. "It's Percy's first date, too."
"It is?" Annabeth asked in surprise. Sure, Percy was a little awkward and talked about being really busy, but she didn't think he'd never had a girlfriend before. "Not even in high school?"
"No." She hesitated, drumming her fingers gently on the table. "Percy had to grow up fast. He never really did normal teenage things in high school." Mrs. Jackson looked incredibly guilty, but Annabeth felt like it would be an invasion of privacy to ask why.
"Do you –" She broke, blushing fiercely now. She decided that maybe she didn't want to ask Percy's mother about how many girls he'd kissed. She changed topics. "I'm not really sure how to act on a date."
"Be yourself."
"Is saying that a requirement as an adult or something?"
Mrs. Jackson laughed. "Well, yes. But only because it's true." Annabeth groaned as she laughed again. "Think of it this way. You already know how he feels about you. The hard part is over."
"True."
"So just have fun tomorrow. If you're relaxed, I promise you that Percy will be. He'll just want to enjoy your company."
"Okay." Annabeth smiled at his mom, trying to repress the lump in her throat and the way something in her chest was aching. She never realized how much she was missing. Percy was so lucky to have one loving parent, even if his dad was gone.
"Oh, Annabeth –" Mrs. Jackson didn't miss the tears in her eyes as she instantly moved to hug Annabeth. "Don't be nervous. You're a beautiful, wonderful girl, and he never stops talking about you. He is so lucky to have found you."
She really did start crying at this point. "Thank you."
"Please don't," Percy's mother whispered soothingly, rubbing her hand along Annabeth's back. "Percy will kill me if I make you cry."
"I'm not – well, I am sad, but –" Annabeth took a shuddering breath, horribly aware her tears were staining Mrs. Jackson's blouse. "No one's ever really cared so much. And you and Percy just…"
Mrs. Jackson waited a few moments as she let out a few sobs. Maybe she could tell how long Annabeth had been keeping them in.
"Where's your mom?" she asked as Annabeth leaned back, wiping her eyes. "She's not around?"
"No, no… she's busy," Annabeth said bitterly, plucking a napkin from the Kleenex box on the table. "She runs a huge law firm in San Francisco. She basically dumped me at my father's doorstep. And my dad kind of lost interest in me because he met my now-step-mother, and then they had my twin brothers and I just…"
"I'm sorry." Mrs. Jackson got up to the sink, and came back with a full glass of water. "I wish things were different."
"I had good friends," she said, accepting the glass and taking a few gulps. Annabeth thought of Luke and Thalia, and how distant they'd all been lately. "These two friends. They're five and seven years older than me. They were like my alternate family growing up."
Percy's mother handed Annabeth another Kleenex. "They took good care of you."
"You think so?"
"Better than how my mom is doing." Annabeth and Mrs. Jackson both jumped as Percy walked in, grinning at the sight. "Sheesh, Mom, did you really have to make her cry?"
Annabeth gave a watery chuckle. "It's not her fault."
"Don't lie," he said warningly, dropping his bag on the counter and coming to the table to kiss his mother on the cheek. "My mom can be vicious, you know."
"Right," Mrs. Jackson said sarcastically, ruffling his hair. "What would you two like for dinner?"
Percy looked to Annabeth. "Hey. Guest. You decide."
"Rude," she retorted, laughing.
"We have a few frozen patties left," Mrs. Jackson suggested, getting up to check the freezer. "Are you two up for burgers?"
The three of them made food in record time, since Percy was starving after work. Annabeth found she really loved being with Percy and his mom, even though most people her age would rather be left alone with their boyfriend/girlfriend, she didn't mind. It almost reminded her of how it used to be with Luke and Thalia. Like she belonged.
Annabeth and Percy happily agreed to a slice of (blue) apple pie for dessert. "Do we still have whipped cream?" he asked.
"I think so."
Annabeth watched amusedly as Percy covered every inch of the top of the pie with whipped cream. And then some. He only smirked at her giggling.
"Want some?" he asked, shaking the can again. She nodded, and he made a swirl at the top of her pie.
"Hey, double standard," she teased. "I want more."
"For a guest, you're very demanding," he told her, grinning as he put more whipped cream on her pie.
"No, I was only kidding," she assured him. He shrugged, but didn't stop. "Percy, I said I was kidding!"
"You want more? Okay."
"Percy!" she squealed, grabbing at the can. Unfortunately, this was approximately the same time he was still squeezing the top, and whipped cream flew all over his shirt. He looked up at her a look of mock horror.
"You didn't."
"Well, technically I didn't," she said, moving away nervously. "I mean, you were the one with the – ahh!"
She ran as Percy pointed the can of whipped cream at her, finger pointed to the edge, ready to spray her. Percy's apartment wasn't very big, but she leapt out of the kitchen and down the narrow hallway, Percy hot on her heels.
Annabeth ended up going through the first open door she could find, stopping in shock when she realized it must've been Percy's room. Catching her off guard, he grabbed her waist and pushed them both onto the bed.
"Don't spray me," she begged between giggles.
"It's only fair, Annabeth," he said from above, his knees shoved painfully around her.
"Come on," she said breathlessly, struggling to flip around so she could see him. "Have mercy on an accident."
"Fine," he said playfully, loosening his grip. He bent down and kissed her quickly before jumping off the bed. "Stay here, I'm getting our dessert."
"All right." He left the room, and a few moments later, Annabeth could here him reassuring his mother that he hadn't broken anything. She laughed again. The corners of her mouth felt stretched.
Annabeth looked around his room, seeing it was very plain and uncharacteristic. She thought he would've had posters of sea creatures or even supermodels, but his walls were blank. He had a pile of textbooks on his desk and a couple of picture frames of him and his mother on his dresser. She wondered why he hadn't decorated at all.
"Hey," Percy said as he came back in the room, holding the two plates of pies. Annabeth felt a jolt of nerves as he shut the door behind him with his foot and sat down on his bed beside her. "I have your pie with whipped cream."
"And your whipped cream with pie," she joked as he handed her the plate and a fork. "Thanks."
"I enjoy my dessert to the fullest."
"And blocking your arteries to the fullest."
"Shut up and stop ruining dessert," he said, poking her arm with the back of his fork. They finished their pie in a nice, comfortable silence. Annabeth really liked the fact that they had that.
"I have to tell your mom she's a wonderful baker," Annabeth said as she finished her pie. Percy took the plates and set them down on his desk before sitting back beside her again. "It was amazing, even if it was blue."
"It was amazing because it was blue."
She laughed again – he was really good at making her laugh – and poked at the front of his shirt. "I'm sorry for ruining this."
"It'll come out in the wash," he said, unconcerned. To Annabeth's surprise (and disbelief), he pulled his t-shirt over his head and threw it in the corner, where he'd collected a small pile of dirty laundry.
"What?" he asked, noticing the shocked look on her face and smirking. "Are you uncomfortable or something?"
She shut her mouth, because apparently it had dropped open at some point, and pointed her chin up defiantly. "No." He chuckled before getting up to his dresser and rummaging through it for another t-shirt. She almost whined in protest when he pulled it on.
Yep, definitely a swimmer's body.
He lay back down on his bed and stretched. "So what were you guys talking about before I came in?"
"Didn't you hear?"
"Not really."
Annabeth sighed and lay back as well. "I don't know. I was just telling her about my mom, and my step-mom. That whole situation."
"Oh yeah," he said, nodding in understanding. He'd heard all about it by this point. "She made you cry over it?"
"She was just really understanding," Annabeth said quietly, staring determinedly at his ceiling. She didn't want to cry again.
"So you came over to talk about it?"
"Erm." She blushed. "No. I came to talk about our date tomorrow."
"What?" he said immediately, eyes widening. "She didn't say what were doing, right?"
"Nope," she assured, and he relaxed. She could help but laugh at his instant relief. "No, I just… needed to talk to someone."
"About what?"
She grabbed his hand to avoid looking at him. "I'm nervous."
"Oh." He let out a long breath and intertwined their fingers. "Don't worry, I'm nervous too."
"She mentioned that it was your first date, too."
"It's your first date?" he asked in disbelief, raising an eyebrow at her. "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"I thought you were joking about that," he muttered, frowning to himself. Annabeth chuckled. "No, really. I thought you just didn't want to tell me because we'd just met."
"No, there just… hasn't been anyone," she said, shrugging. She didn't really feel like talking about Luke.
"Weird," he said. Then he smiled. "I get to be the first."
"First everything," she admitted.
"Really?" he said, full out grinning. "You too?"
"You've never had a girlfriend or kissed anyone?" Annabeth asked.
He shrugged. "Nah."
"Your mom said you grew up too fast."
"That's probably true," he said, "but I think it has more to do with the fact that I stink at talking to girls."
Annabeth snorted. "You're very optimistic, though," she said, sensing he didn't want to talk about it. "It's incredible. I wish I could do that."
He shrugged again. "I don't know. I like being happy. I find if you try to just focus on the stuff you like thinking about, it's a lot easier. My mom always tries to take the burden so I don't worry about things. I like to think it doesn't work."
Annabeth swallowed hard. "You are so lucky to have her Percy."
"Yeah," he said, equally as quietly now. She glanced at him; his eyes were watery too, but she couldn't understand why. "Yeah, we are."
Another lump rose in her throat, and without thinking about it, she leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his. He tasted like coffee and whipped cream. It took him a second to respond, equally as softly, lingering. She felt his hand cup her cheek, stroking the raw spot under her eye where her tears were. It was so loving and tender she nearly broke away to cry again.
Instead, he leant back for air before kissing back more firmly, shifting them so they were sitting up. Their legs entangled as they pressed closer, deepening the kiss. Everything felt like it was in slow motion, unhurried, almost lazy. Like he was just fine with the way things were at the moment.
His hand threaded through her hair and she nearly moaned. The other one was slipping down, so slowly like he wasn't really thinking about it, and rested on her waist. His fingers went under her shirt and she felt his warm hand gently stroking the skin at her hip.
Annabeth didn't know how long they were kissing until they heard loud arguing coming from the kitchen. They jumped apart at the sound of breaking glass crashing to the floor, then a loud thump. Percy was on his feet within seconds and sprinting out. She followed quickly behind him, bumping into him when he stopped suddenly at the entrance of the kitchen.
The first thing she noticed was Mrs. Jackson on the floor, unconscious, drops of blood spreading onto the floor beside her head. There was darkly-coloured beer-bottle glass everywhere, dripping in honey-coloured liquid that smelled strongly of alcohol. Standing over her in shock was a large, balding man.
"What the fuck did you do?" Percy roared, startling her so badly that she squeaked. He ran to his mother's side and checked her pulse in her wrist, starting to breathe heavily. "Did you throw a beer bottle at her again?"
"No!" the man snapped back. "I told her to get my beer and she passed out!"
"You and your fucking beer –"
"Percy," Annabeth whispered, suddenly finding her voice. She leant beside Percy and grasped at his arm. She could see Mrs. Jackson's chest move up and down with each breath. "She's breathing, we need to get her to the hospital."
"Call the ambulance," he said shakily, digging into his pocket for his phone.
"We can't afford an ambulance!"
"I can afford an ambulance!" Percy shouted at him. Annabeth realized that this must've been his step-father. With shaking fingers, she dialled the numbers and held the phone to her ear. Percy was still glaring angrily at his step-father. "You won't have to waste your precious alcohol money on an ambulance, you –"
"Hi," Annabeth interrupted, hearing the operator on the other side. "My friend's mother just passed out, and it looks like she hit her head hard –"
"Can I?" Percy asked, asking for the phone. Annabeth handed it over without a second thought. "Hi, my mom passed out, and this is about the third time but she'd always detected it before and sat down, but it looks like it caught her by surprise…"
Annabeth was speechless as he recited his address. This had happened before? He hung up quickly after and looked to her helplessly. Through his anger, she could see how frightened he was. "Can you give me that towel on the counter?"
She did so, and he pressed it underneath Mrs. Jackson's head, as a sort of makeshift bandage. He turned to his step-father. "Gabe, I need you to let the paramedics in downstairs."
"I –"
"Just go," he snapped, and Gabe grumbled unhappily as he stomped out of the apartment. Percy reached for the broom in the corner of the kitchen and swept the glass into the garbage before mopping up the beer. Annabeth didn't dare to ask why. She only kneeled next to him and his mom and held his trembling hand.
They heard sirens a minute later. Percy let out a breath he was holding, not looking at her. "Annabeth."
"Yeah?"
"I think you should leave."
She stared at him incredulously. "You're kidding me, right?"
"It's not that I don't want you here, but –"
"You need me here," she said firmly. She didn't know if it was true or not, but she strongly suspected it was. And she was not going to let him push her away. "I'm not leaving."
"But –"
"Deal with it, Percy."
He let out a strangled laugh and squeezed her hand hard, looking back at his mom. The paramedics came in a few seconds later, and Percy and Annabeth moved back so they could lay her on the stretcher, moving quickly to connect her to monitors.
When the paramedics were leaving, Annabeth felt as if her hand was about to fall off, Percy was squeezing it so tight. When he looked at her and asked her if she was going to come to the hospital, she nearly laughed.
"Stop asking stupid questions," she told him, pulling him out of his apartment and shutting the door. "You couldn't let go of my hand if you wanted to."
He took a deep breath. "Right."
"Everything's going to be okay, Percy," she whispered as they followed the paramedics. He couldn't take his eyes off his mom. "It will be, you'll see."
But if she was being completely honest, she had no idea.
