Hey everyone, so big news, we are over 300 reviews, seriously guys, 320 reviews, you are just awesome and I am so thrilled about it. As you can see, since you guys asked so nicely, I updated early. It was a hard thing to pull off since my school schedule is different to you guys in America, but I did it. Hope you enjoy this chapter which is inspired by Begin Again by Taylor Swift.
It Had Begun Again With A Simple Hello
It was nearing lunch on Wednesday. It had only been almost two days since the movie night with Thalia and Nico and she honest to the gods wanted to throttle that blue eyed woman.
Annabeth was still in shock that Thalia never said anything about how comfy and cozy Annabeth and Percy were on the couch during the movie. It honestly hadn't registered in her mind at the position the two took on the couch until further on in the movie. It took Percy a lot longer to register the intimately close comfort and proximity between the two but through most of the movie Annabeth was blushing, thoughts racing through her mind.
She was seated at her desk, surfing through the files on her computer for that one special project she hadn't forgotten about. The whole thing with the movie night left her hopeful and full of possibilities about what the future might be like if the two ever got back together.
She smiled when she found the file, it was the digital design of her and Percy's dream house, she couldn't help but smile at how she had created the design in a three D image to view it from all angles, smiling as she thought about life with Percy in each of those rooms. She couldn't help but smile to herself, it would be incredible to wake up to Percy's beautiful face every morning, to laugh and chat in the kitchen, to lie on the couch watching movies, playing in the garden with their children...
She sighed sadly, running her hand over her face, guilt hitting her with a wave of nausea to accompany it. She felt sick to her stomach just thinking about how they should have already been like this, happy, with a family already but they weren't and it was Annabeth's fault. It was one of the biggest mistakes of her life, she had never regretted anything so much in her life but she deserved to feel this way because she caused both of their hearts heartache like nothing before.
She knew that no one was to blame but herself. Percy may have left but he came back, he had every right to walk away, he had every right to be hurt by her unfaithfulness, he had every right to walk away from them. She could never blame him for that, she couldn't blame him at all. They both had stressful jobs, they were both stressed, fighting constantly over petty little things like groceries and coming home from work late.
They aggravated each other, pushed each other's buttons to the point where they couldn't stand to be in each other's presence, it was awful and Annabeth hated it. It didn't justify her going out on dates with another man behind Percy's back, hugging and holding hands... kissing; none of that should have ever happened. She wasn't justified in doing it and she was never going to forgive herself for doing it.
The sound of her telephone ringing brought Annabeth out of her guilty thoughts and reached out and picked up her phone and looked at the screen, a instant smile gracing her face when she saw the caller ID.
Percy, she thought with a smile as she slide her finger against the clean screen to answer the call and raised the phone to her ear, the smile to ever present as she greeted Percy, "Hey you. Didn't think I'd be receiving a call from you so early."
Annabeth practically felt her heart sing when she heard his beautiful laugh, if she could she would record it and set it as her ring tone because it was her favourite thing to hear apart from Percy's voice, "Well, I was wondering if you were free?" Percy chuckled through the line, his voice sounding deep with such a velvety quality it made chills run down Annabeth's spine.
"I might be," She said as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and bit it nervously, she felt like a teenage girl right now. "Why do you ask?" She asked with a genuinely curious tone as she twirled her pencil between her fingers.
"Good, I'm gonna take you for lunch. Come downstairs. I'm waiting for you." Annabeth's eyes widened when she heard the call end, Percy hadn't even given her a chance to say yes or no, no that she would or could've said no to him since he is already waiting for her.
"Looks like I am going to lunch." She mumbled to herself as she closed her programs on her computer and packed her phone and Ipad in her bag and made sure she looked presentable. She smoothed out her skirt and neatened the collar of her blouse. She made sure to lock her office door behind her head as she headed downstairs.
As she stood waiting for the elevator, a familiar face appeared next to her. "Hey, Annabeth. You look like you are going out?" Piper said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she held a file, cradling it almost like a baby in her arms.
"Percy called and asked if I was free and when I said yes, he ended up saying he was taking me to lunch and that he was already waiting for me downstairs." Annabeth explained, noticing the bright grin on Piper's face. "He didn't even let me answer." Piper chuckled.
"A man who can take charge. You likey don't you?" Piper teased as they stepped into the vacant elevator, hitting the lobby button.
Annabeth just shock her head at her friend, Piper had a very naughty mind sometimes. "You are terrible Piper." Annabeth said as she rolled her eyes at Piper who just continued to have that cheeky grin on her face.
"You aren't denying it's true?" Piper smirked knowingly when Annabeth rolled her eyes but smiled brightly.
"I always liked him taking charge and its not like I can say no to the man since he is waiting downstairs for me already." Annabeth said with her cheeks slightly tinged with pink. The thing about Percy is he was tentative, caring, sweet, lovable and considerate but he was shy thought out a lot of points in their friendship and relationship but sometimes he got these bursts of confidence and she loved it when it happened.
Annabeth and Percy weren't intimate in the sense of having sex, they in all honesty were waiting until they were married but sometimes they got very caught in the moment, and that is when Percy got confident. He always shy when it came to their making out sessions but he'd sometimes move and would find that sensitive spot in the juncture of her neck that made her moan and that got him going.
"Oh my god Annabeth!" Piper interrupted Annabeth's hot thoughts about Percy and his confident moments and stared wide eyed in front of her. She looked at piper who was smiling but still had shock in her eyes. "You were thinking about him weren't you?"
"No," Annabeth answered immediately as she felt the already present heat on her cheeks growing hotter by the second.
"Oh my god you are blushing so hard. You were thinking about him." Annabeth just blushed deeper, she hated how just merely thinking about Percy made her flushed and hot. "Okay, I am not going to tease you since you need to control that blush since he's going to see you." Piper said as she waved the file, creating a cool breeze on Annabeth to cool her down whilst Annabeth took deep breaths.
Thank the lord by the time the elevator reached the lobby she had calmed down the rhubarb red blush on her face. Piper smiled and gave her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up to her friend. Annabeth nodded as she exited the building and saw that Percy's car was here like he had said, parked with the man himself in it.
Okay Annabeth, you can do this, she thought as she took a deep breath and smiled at Percy who waved at her. She walked towards the vehicle and opened the door and climbed in, getting comfortable, remembering to put on her seatbelt as she grinned at Percy. "Hey Percy." She greeted.
"Hi." He said with a smile as he put the car into gear and pulled out the parking and into traffic.
"So where are you taking me since you decided to kidnap me?" Annabeth inquired cheekily in a playful way which caused Percy to smirk at her.
"I am kidnapping you to take you to a lunch because I thought we could starting hanging out like we used to." Percy answered simply, a smile still present on his face when he spoke.
Annabeth smiled sadly, if there was one thing she missed, it was hanging out with Percy during their lunch hours. Before all the hectic stuff started happening, they'd either go out for lunch or one of them would pop in with sandwiches or something and they'd have lunch at one another's work. It was so much fun and it they loved doing it and Annabeth had missed seeing him.
It was only a five minute drive to what was their usual place they went to all that time ago, it looked different but still the same. The vibe of the Olive Garden Cafe was still a little bubble of peace and quiet in the busy city life of New York. They had already found a table inside by a window that looked out into the small garden they had.
"I see they did some redecorating." Annabeth noted as they took their seats, smiling as they got a complimentary glass of raspberry lemonade.
"Yeah, the original owner passed so his daughter took over and decided to give the place an overhaul and this was the result." Percy answered as he took a sip of his lemonade, obviously enjoying it by the grin on his face.
"it's lovely." Annabeth answered as she took a drink of her own, loving the contrast of the sweet raspberry to the sour lemon on her taste buds. "Has anything on the menu changed?" Annabeth enquired as she picked up the menu that was in front of her.
"Nope, still the same stuff is on here plus a few more." Percy said with a knowing smile as Annabeth raised a questioning eyebrow. "Yes Annabeth, they still have you favourite." At that Annabeth grinned brightly, she was excited now but there was something still lingering in the back of her mind, questioning Percy's motive as to why he wanted to come here.
Percy had noticed the look in her eye and put the menu down and sighed, "I take it you are curious as to why I brought us here?" Percy asked softly, Annabeth giving a single nod. "I have been thinking about what happened during the movie night-" Annabeth felt her cheeks tinge with a slight blush of pink as she nervously bit her lip, "and I think we need to talk about it... and us."
That one word perked Annabeth's ears, us, a word that she had to hear from the sense. She wanted to know if there would be an us to them, if there would be something between them again.
"Percy, I know you want to take things slow and I want to too. Don't pressure your-"
"Let me speak." Percy said softly, raising his hand, effectively cutting Annabeth off. "I know that after what happened, I've been acting standoffish and distant," which was true, he had been distant, "and its because what happened, I missed that. I missed being that close and comfortable with you. I missed being with you like that and I just needed time to process my thoughts."
Annabeth smiled sadly, "I know. If I had of known what happened, I would have stopped it sooner." Annabeth said softly as she reached out and put her hand on top of Percy's causing them to meet gazes. "I didn't mean to confuse you in any way. I respect your choice in wanting to take things slow and just start off as friends because I thinks its what we need."
"But what if I want to be more than friends." Percy answered, Annabeth's body freezing as her eyes widened in shock.
"W-what?" Annabeth stuttered softly, completely taken back what Percy had said. It had been only just a few days since he said that he wanted to be just friends for now and now here he was saying he wanted to be more.
"I know that I am contradicting what I said that day but I cant help it." Percy breathed out softly. "Being in the same place and not being able to hold you the way I used too hurts and it makes me feel empty inside." Percy confessed as he turned his hand out from Annabeth's and slotted his fingers in between hers and smiled. "I am saying this now because I want you to know that I don't want anyone else. I want to work out things between us."
Annabeth was just in complete shock by Percy's confession. He had answered the question that burned in the back of her mind. He still wanted her, he wanted to be with him which is more than she could have asked for.
"I do too Percy." She answered softly as she smiled softly.
"I still need time to learn to trust you again," Annabeth nodded in understanding, "but I do want what we had again. I want to try it again with you, Annabeth." She could see the uncertainty in his eyes, she knew why it was there and she needed to sooth it.
"We'll take things as slow as you need, Percy." Annabeth whispered with a genuinely happy, reassuring smile on her face. "I have no intention of rushing things. I know I hurt you and I have no excuses for it but I am sorry for letting it happen and I promise you that you have always been the one that I wanted." Percy smiled with the same lop sided smile that Annabeth knew and loved.
"I have the intention of eventually taking you out on a date but for now, can we enjoy the wonderful experience of being best friends again." He said, throwing his head back and letting out an amused chuckle to which Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"You're such a Seaweed Brain." She said as she sipped her lemonade, the fact registering in her mind at what she had said. She hadn't used his old nickname in such a long time but it just felt so natural and judging by the smile on Percy's face, it seems that he didn't mind the use of the name whatsoever.
Percy grinned his lop sided smile, "Missed ya Wise Girl." Percy said playfully which caused Annabeth to smile.
"Don't you forget it," She said in reference to her nickname with a smirk as Percy laughed. Gods she had missed this, is felt so much more comfortable since they had walked in and she was very much a thousand times happier that they were taking steps forward to being back how they once were.
It almost seemed that what was in the past is the past and remain that way because everything seemed to be beginning again. Things were slowly starting over for them, slowly but surely they were making their way back towards the happiness they had before everything happened between them.
"Now, you said that they still have my favourite. Did you mean the French dip sandwich or the cheesecake?" Annabeth asked as she started looking at the menu, her mouth practically watering as her stomach growled, causing her to blush brightly because Percy heard it.
"Both and you can order both if you want since I'm paying." Percy said with smile. Annabeth just wanted to lean over an plant a kiss on Percy right in that very moment at how sweet he was being.
"Thank you Percy." She said when she noticed that their hands were still linked by the finger, a blush forming on both their cheeks when Percy too realised that they were still connected by their fingers. They hadn't even realised that their fingers for still slotted together, it just felt so natural and comfortable that neither took any notice of it. They separated reluctantly, annabeht biting her bottom lip, "Sorry." She apologized as she drunk some more of her lemonade.
"Its alright." Percy said as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he diverted his eyes, "You know you still look cute when you blush." He mumbled softly which caused Annabeth to blush even brighter.
"So do you." She replied back, they had always teased each other about one or both of them blushing but the light dusting on Percy's cheeks was a delicate and subtle feature to his sculpted face that made him look more human than the god she was sure he was. As they sat there in silence, they both had smiles on their faces, knowing that they were getting somewhere with their relationship.
Things were better between them, you could see it even if they were shy and blushing like they were on their first date as teenagers. The way they acted, you'd think they were only just confessing their like for one another for the first time. It was innocently sweet and Annabeth was grateful for this time with him. it meant that they were getting somewhere which is what she wanted.
Little did she know that someone familiar was seated a few tables away but not in Annabeth's sight line, watching her with a curious longing gaze. The man's features were tight, his jaw tense, blue eyes narrowed and filled with jealousy and anger.
Well everyone, surprise. I got you chapter ten in a new record time. Took a lot out of me to get it done but I am glad I was able to get it done for you all. Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews, so glad that you are all enjoying my story and I am looking forward to the next chapter. He he he, its going to be an interesting one. See you all soon, I'll see if I can update early again, no promises.