I'M BACK! sorry my updating has been slow, school just started for me and it has been really stressful. I'm actually writing this during my free period and I'm really paranoid that someone is gonna come read over my shoulder….eh. I have another disclaimer down at the bottom about the aquarium scene, so please read that before you judge. Enjoy anyway, this chapter is pretty cute if I do say so myself, please follow and favorite and tell me what you think!
The next morning Annabeth was at the grocery store, trying to get her chores for the weekend over with before her date with Percy. As she was examining the bags of carrots, looking for the best one, she was suddenly pushed forward by someones run away cart.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, dropping the bag but catching herself before she could tumble into the broccoli. Turning around ready to give the reckless shopper a piece of her mind, her heart nearly stopped when she saw who it was.
"Annabeth?" he asked, his ice blue eyes staring into hers intensely.
"Luke?" Annabeth replied, her tone less excited and more cautious.
"I can't believe this!" he exclaimed, reaching over to hug her. His arms embraced her, wrapping tightly around her slim shoulders. Annabeth's hands just hovered awkwardly in the air, not sure if she should hug back or not. Annabeth cleared her throat, very uncomfortable with the situation. She hadn't seen Luke in almost a year, ever since they broke up.
Luke pulled back but held onto Annabeth's shoulders, "I never would have thought that I'd run into you. At the grocery store of all places!"
"Yeah, crazy…" Annabeth muttered, discreetly trying to step back. She could feel him waiting for a bigger reaction, for her to hug him back with equal friendliness or actually look him in the eye. Honestly, she didn't know how to react.
"So, how have you been?" Her ex chatted, finally removing his arms and leaning down to pick up a bag of carrots. She was slightly annoyed when he grabbed the bag that she had dropped when he crashed into her, placing it into his own cart.
"Um, fine-listen, Luke, it was nice seeing you but I need to go-"
"What?! No way, we need to catch up" he crowed, reaching for her arm again. Swiftly, Annabeth moved behind her cart, using it like shield.
"I know, but this is just really horrible timing for me-"
"We should go get coffee sometime." he interrupted, following her behind the cart.
"Ugh…" Annabeth mumbled, scrambling to gather her thoughts.
"Dammit Luke, just leave me alone." she snapped in her head.
"C'mon, Annabeth, for old times sake?" he pleaded.
"Ugh, well, I really don't know what my schedule is but-"
"Great! Here I will give you my new number and you can call me whenever you're free." he said cheerfully, extending a hand for her phone. Hesitantly, she reached into her pocket for the phone, and handed it over. Before she could even process what was happening, Luke entered the number, gave her back the phone, and kissed her quickly on the cheek before walking away with her carrots. She stood there for a minute, her mind reeling.
"What the fuck just happened?" she muttered, before turning and bolting to the checkout line, wanting to get out of the supermarket as soon as possible.
Later that day, Annabeth's phone buzzed. Assuming it to be Piper, probably asking about what she's wearing tonight, she was pleasantly surprised to see it was Percy.
Percy: We still on for tonight?
Staring at the phone for a minute, she decided to keep her answer simple.
Annabeth: Yes.
Percy texted back immediately.
Percy: You sound so excited
Annabeth: I will be when I know where we're going.
Percy: It's a surprise
Annabeth: You don't know yet, do you?
Percy: Pfft, yes I do
Annabeth: Alright, whatever you say…
Percy: Are you doubting my date planning abilities?
Annabeth: Little bit
Percy: Be prepared Annabeth Chase for the best date of your life
Annabeth snorted, about to go get ready when her phone buzzed again.
Percy: Don't wear anything fancy, we'll be taking it all off later ;)
Annabeth was confused, before another text came.
Percy: Okay, that sounded so inappropriate, but just trust me, 'kay?
Annabeth: Alright, Seaweed Brain
She heard Percy before she saw him.
A loud rumbling could be heard from her bathroom, and when she looked out the window she watched the rusty, old jeep make it's way down the street, turning into her apartment complex parking lot. Her date sat in the front seat, smiling like an idiot, and doing one of the worst parking jobs she had ever seen. Her phone buzzed a second later.
Percy: I'm here!
Annabeth: I heard
Annabeth: I'll be down in a minute
When she got to the jeep, Percy was sitting on the back bumper, watching her approach. His smile grew even bigger when he saw the shirt she wore.
"We match." he said, gesturing to his own Camp Half Blood shirt. The black lettering and pegasus were dulled down to a grey, and the bright orange was stained with what she assumed was white and blue paint.
"What happened to yours?" she asked, her own shirt in much better shape.
Percy shrugged, "I like wearing it."
Jumping up from his seat, he walked over to the passenger side door and gave it a hard yank before it opened. He bowed deeply while holding it open for Annabeth to climb in, "M'Lady," he said. Rolling her eyes, she climbed into the car and sat patiently as Percy ran back to his side and climbed in too.
"So," she asked, "Where are we going?"
"Tut, tut," he chided, starting the obnoxious vehicle, "Still a surprise."
"C'mon!" Annabeth smiled, "Tell me!"
"Nope." Percy grinned.
"Is it a physical activity?"
"You're not gonna be able to guess, Annabeth," Percy chuckled.
"Is it a physical activity?!" she repeated.
"Yes,"
"Will I get a workout doing it?"
"I guess?"
"Are we going hiking?"
"No,"
The guessing game continued for another 10 minutes as Percy drove them to the mystery destination.
"Could I break my arm doing this activity?" she guessed.
"It is very unlikely."
"What if I-"
"We're here." Percy grinned, pulling into...
"The aquarium?" she asked, looking over at him. His grin grew even wider, as he clambered out of the car to come get her on the passenger side.
"I work here on the weekends, sometimes weekdays." he said, reaching for her hand. Taking it gingerly, she hopped down from the car and together they walked into the building.
Annabeth had only been here one time before, pre Jason and Piper dating, They all went as friends, but left as a new couple and the awkward third wheel. She found it funny that Percy took her here, and honestly wasn't very surprised. She wouldn't have guessed it in their game, but something random and quirky like this was anticipated.
"So, I know our past encounters with water haven't been too successful, but I thought we would be able to handle this..." Percy babbled.
"Yeah, I think we'll manage," she laughed, but grew silent when she saw the new painting of the ocean on the ceiling. It had bright coral reefs, dancing sea horses and dolphins, prowling sharks, and lazy fish. Seaweed weaved throughout the painting in varying shades of green, and a huge blue whale swam in the background. One of the most impressive pieces of artwork was the sunken pirate ship that dominated the bottom right corner. The intricate mural of the sea was new, it hadn't been there the last time she came.
"It's beautiful," she muttered, admiring the architecture as well as the art.
"My friend Rachel helped paint it," Percy commented, grabbing her hand and leading her across the lobby.
"Look at the archways, I never noticed them before," she admired, pointing to the swooping ceilings rimmed with seashells.
"Do you like that kind of stuff?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, I want to be an architect when I get out of college."
"So, you would like... build buildings?"
"We design them," she corrected.
Looking around, Annabeth noticed the lack of people in the lobby.
"When does this close?" she wandered.
"In about...10 minutes," Percy said, looking at the clock on the wall, "I got permission from my boss for us to stay later."
"What-" Annabeth began to ask when someone interrupted her.
"Hey, Perce!" one of the remaining staff called to them, walking over.
"Hey, Frank," Percy smiled, and pulled Annabeth over to greet him.
Frank Zhang was someone Annabeth hadn't seen since high school, and she probably wouldn't have even recognized him. Frank had grown, gotten more muscle and no longer had a cute baby face. His shirt seemed strained against his chest, his arms twice as big as she remembered, and he had gotten taller too. Although his outer appearance had changed, he still seemed like the sweet and timid boy from senior year chemistry class.
"Hey, you guys match." Frank noticed, stopping in front of them and pointing to their matching shirts.
"Yup, showing off our greek pride," Percy smirked, wrapping an arm around Annabeth and squeezing her against him.
"You know, I probably still have my SPQR shirt somewhere…"
"You went to Camp Jupiter?" Annabeth asked, allowing Percy to keep his arm around her.
"Yeah, that's where I met Percy actually," Frank responded shyly.
"Really?" Annabeth looked over to her date as he smirked again.
"I wanted to give both camps a try,"
"Did you destroy that one too?" Annabeth teased.
"Not as much, no," Percy chuckled, "So, Frank, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
"Yes, I'll be a little late though, so expect me at 9." Frank said, walking towards the door, "Bye, Annabeth, nice seeing you," he told her politely.
"Good seeing you, too." she smiled at him as he left.
"He's a cool guy," Percy remarked as they kept walking through the aquarium.
"He's so much...bigger than I remember," Annabeth replied.
"Yeah, he's a late bloomer, that Frank," Percy chuckled.
"So, are you going to tell me what were doing here?" Annabeth questioned again.
Percy groaned, "You are so impatient,"
"Tell me." she demanded one last time.
"Fine." Percy huffed, leading her into the staff changing rooms. Taking two wet suits off the hanger, he held them in front of her.
"You know that giant fish tank that spirals around the stairs and is filled with dozens of fish and stuff?" he questioned, smiling excitedly.
"Yeah…"
"Well, we are going to snorkel in it." he proclaimed.
"Are you serious?" Annabeth asked in amazement.
"Yup, I got permission from my boss so we won't get in trouble or anything. I'm one of those people that snorkels during the day and everyone takes pictures of me, feeding the fish and that kind of stuff. I thought it would be cool for us to try...unless you don't want to?"
"No! No, of course I do!" she smiled at him in reassurance, and was glad to see his momentarily worried expression vanish.
"Good, okay, yes," he mumbled, "Alright, so just change into that-ugh wait, here…" Reaching into his locker, he pulled out one of her bathing suits.
"Okay, so before you get really creeped out, Piper gave me this because I told her about my idea and I didn't want to ruin the surprise because you would have figured it out if I had asked you to bring that so I just asked Piper for one of your suits and well, yeah." Percy explained quickly, looking at the ground embarrassed as he gave her the suit.
"It's okay, Percy, I understand," she smiled at his bashfulness and accepted the bathing suit. Before he left, Percy showed her the correct way to put on the wet suit and where to meet him when she finished changing.
10 minutes later, Annabeth was standing beside Percy, geared up in her snorkeling attire. She gazed down into the deep tank where hundreds of colorful fish swam.
"You ready?" Percy asked, reaching for her hand.
"Yeah," she grinned and intertwined her fingers in his.
"Okie-dokie!" Percy said, causing Annabeth to snort.
"What?"
"You just said 'okie-dokie'."
"So?"
"It just sounds funny," Annabeth laughed, squeezing his fingers.
"My apologies, your grace, I didn't know I would be judged on my language during our outing today," Percy rolled his eyes, "Anyway, I'll get in first and then I'll ease you in…"
Annabeth watched as Percy climbed the small ladder into the water and followed his instructions as he guided her to do the same. She had never been scared of the water before, or the ocean, but looking down and seeing all of the fish kinda freaked her out.
"This is crazy…" she muttered, as a small blue fish swam by her foot.
"I know, right?" As they floated above the water, Annabeth's body swayed closer to Percy's until their feet began to play under water footsie.
"Do you wanna dive?" Percy asked, his face suddenly very close to hers. His eyes were bright, the water making the green stand out even more. Cheesy thoughts filled her mind, imagining waking up to those eyes and getting lost in them forever, drowning in his sea.
'Ew, stop it Annabeth, this isn't a Nicholas Spark's novel.' she thought, annoyed with herself. Discreetly, she used her arms and let the water carry her farther away from Percy.
"Yeah," she grinned, "let's go!"
Adjusting her goggles and other gear, they let their heads sink under the water and into an entire other world. Percy had already warned her of the rules, assuring her that no fish was dangerous and that they would most likely avoid them.
Percy led the way, Annabeth following closely behind, as the coexisted with the other species. They passed so many different kinds of fish, they began to blur together. A huge sting ray swam over her head at one point, and a school of guppies crowded next to her. The entire experience was fascinating and Annabeth was jealous Percy got to do this all the time. He would turn around and attempt to smile at her through his mask, and she would return it with a big thumbs up. Time passed, how much Annabeth wasn't sure. Eventually Percy pointed a finger up to the ceiling, signaling they needed to surface. Saying a silent goodbye to the world of fish, she followed him up to the top of the tank.
"That was amazing!" she exclaimed the minute she removed her mask.
"Welcome to my world,' Percy grinned, swimming over to the ladder. After he climbed out, he reached down a hand for Annabeth and helped her. When they were both standing on the platform, dripping water all over the place, Percy still wouldn't let go of her hand. He was looking at her, and she could tell he wanted to kiss.
'Do I want him to kiss me?' she thinks.
Percy started to lean forward, his eyes slowly closing but still open to make sure she would return the kiss. Warning signs flashed in Annabeth's brain, 'I didn't have enough time to over analyze my emotions!' she thought in her mind, 'I'm not ready for this!'
Quickly, Annabeth took a step back and pulled her hand from Percy's.
"I think I have to go now, I have the morning shift, so…" she awkwardly mumbled. Percy seemed surprised, his eyes falling and his puckered lips growing thin.
"Oh," he said, clasping his hands together in front of him, "Okay, let's go get changed then…"
The ride home was awkward.
It was unbearable.
Percy was trying to brush the rejection off, but when he had turned the music on the instant they got into the car, she knew he was upset.
'Why didn't you let him kiss you?' Part of her mind demanded.
'I'm not ready, it was the first date after all.' she argued back.
"You like him though,' her inner thoughts reminded her.
The trial continued, her mind pointing out the many confused emotions she felt. When they reached her apartment, Percy parked and turned the car off. They sat in silence for a minute, both staring straight ahead.
Finally, he sighed, "Annabeth," he took a deep breath, and turned completely in his seat so he was facing her. She stared at the mole he had on his neck, the way his lips never fully closed, the sparse hairs on his eyebrows.
'Why am I attracted to you?' she thought. 'You're nothing like Luke, your personalities are complete opposites, and your looks. You're nothing like anyone I would normally be interested in, so why do I want to kiss you?'
It was like her mind shut down, all reason disappearing from her brain. Her mind had no counter argument, everything inside her screamed 'KISS HIM!'
"Annabeth," he repeated, "Did I-"
"Percy." She said.
His forehead creased in confusion, "What?"
She continued to analyze him with her sharp grey eyes, not saying anything.
"What is it, Annabeth?" he asked again, flustered.
"Screw it," she muttered, before leaning over and kissing Percy on the mouth, grabbing his shirt in her fist. His lips were soft and tasted like artificial raspberry, and he smelled like fish. She could tell he was surprised, but eventually he ran a hand through her hair and pressed his lips even harder against hers. Annabeth pulled away, enough to let their foreheads rest against each other.
"Why do your lips taste like raspberry?" She whispered.
"My chapstick, Berry Twist. Want some?" He smiled
"No thanks, I'm good."
"Want to go on another date?"
"Okay."
"I'll text you."
"Mmmmm,"
"Can you let go of my shirt now?"
"Oh," Annabeth leaned away and released the grip she had on Percy's shirt. He laughed and looked like he was going to say something else, but Annabeth's mind had decided to come out of its coma and it was giving her a headache. Opening the jeeps door, she hopped out and gave Percy a breathy "Bye!" before running back to her apartment. She could already hear Piper's screams of delight when she told her what happened.
Okay so I don't know that much about aquariums so if any of that information was extremely inaccurate, I'm sorry. I don't even know if you can swim with fish like that, I just remember from my local aquarium that they would have people snorkeling with the fish. I don't really think Percy would have been able to take Annabeth on a date like this, but it is fanfiction. I hope you liked it, next chapter coming soon!