Hello! This is gonna be a fun chapter ;-) Thanksgiving has basically been what the whole story has been working towards - this is as far forward as I planned, I always knew there would be Thanksgiving, and I'm not sure what's gonna happen next. Jk, I came up with what's happening next when I wrote the bet. The song used in this chappie is 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars. Let's do this!
Percy's POV
"Hey guys!" I greeted my cousins as I opened the door.
"Boys! Thalia!" My mum smiled as she hugged each of them intern, looking them up and down. "I haven't seen you all in ages! Jason you're so tall, Thalia you get more beautiful every time I see you, and Nico, you look pale, you need some vitamin D."
"That's what Will's for." Thalia snickered, earning a stomp on the foot from Nico.
"It's good to see you Aunt Sally." Jason said, ignoring his older sister's comment. "Everything smells so good."
"Jason!" Estelle yelled, causing a smile to spread across the blonde's face. For some reason I could never comprehend, Estelle favoured Jason over our other cousins.
"Estelle! How's my favourite little three year old!" He asked, getting down on one knee to give her a hug.
"I'm good! Do you know Annabeth?" She asked, making Thalia and Nico laugh.
"I do know Annabeth." He said, then, moving his hand in front of his mouth so that it seemed like he was telling her a big secret, he whispered, "Percy thinks she's very pretty."
"Jason!" I yelled at him, annoyed.
"What? She asked." He shrugged his shoulders, acting innocent.
"Percy's in love with her." Estelle said very matter-of-factly.
"Oh yeah? Did he tell you that?"
"Yup, he said she's just a friend." She said, acting like that explains everything before running off.
"What?"
"It's because of a TV show." I said, before getting mad again, "But why did you tell her that? What if she repeats it?"
"Ah you worry too much." He waved me off, "It'll be fine."
"It better be." What if she does repeat that? In front of Annabeth! Oh crap, if she does, I'm so screwed!
"Come on boys. You can tell me more about Annabeth while helping me in the kitchen." My mum told us. I dread whatever Nico and Jason are going to tell her. "Thalia, can you go take care of Estelle?"
"Sure Aunt Sally." Thalia smiled, and went to find Estelle who had ran off to her room.
Annabeth's POV
"Piper!" I yelled, getting impatient. I was sitting on the sofa, anxiously waiting for her to get out of her room, so that we could leave.
"Sorry! Sorry, I'm coming." She apologised, hopping out of her room, fastening the buckle on her shoe. "Okay, let's go!" She said cheerfully, grabbing her car keys off the table. I jumped up off the sofa and followed her out of the apartment and down to her car.
We got to the address that Percy had given me for his mum's apartment, and I knocked on the door. I could hear a lot of yelling coming from inside the apartment, and there was a faint smell of smoke. The door started to open, and I expected to see Percy standing there, but was surprised to instead see a toddler.
"Hi!" I said, "You must be Estelle! Percy's told me lots about you."
"Are you Annabeth?"
"Yeah I am. And this is Piper." I said, gesturing to my friend who was standing behind me.
Percy, who must have heard us talking, came out of the kitchen. "Estelle! You shouldn't be answering the door." He said , walking over to us and picking up his sister. "Hey guys!"
"Jason says Percy thinks you're pretty." She said, pointing at me. Percy looked like he was going to murder Jason, but I thought I could see a pink tint to his cheeks.
I laughed, "Well I think Percy's pretty too." I can't believe I just said that. "What's going on? We heard a lot of yelling." I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Oh Jason was just on fire, nothing serious."
"Jason was on fire?!" Piper exclaimed, worried.
"Only for a second. We put it out really fast." He assured her, but she still looked worried.
"Percy who are you- Oh!" A woman, who I assumed was his mother, appeared.
"Mum this is Annabeth, and this is Piper." He introduced us, as his mum walked over to us.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Jackson, thanks for having us." I said, smiling.
"Oh no need for that, call me Sally." She said, taking her daughter from Percy.
"Hey guys!" Jason said, walking over to us.
"Jason! Are you alright? Percy said you were on fire!" Piper asked, but Jason only laughed and hugged her.
"Don't worry Pipes, it was only my shirt." He said, showing us the singed corner of his shirt.
"Mummy down!" Estelle said, wiggling in her mothers arms.
"You girls go sit down, I'll get you something to drink. What would you like? Water? Soda?" Sally asked, as she set her daughter down on the ground.
"Water's fine." Piper smiled, taking her coat off.
"Okay, Annabeth?"
"I'll have water too thanks." Sally nodded and walked back to the kitchen, where I could see Nico and Thalia arguing over a bowl of green beans. Piper and I went and sat down on the sofa, followed by Jason and Percy.
"Percy! Percy! Percy!" Estelle ran up to us and climbed onto her brothers lap. "Sing me a song!"
"What song Estelle?" He asked, hugging her.
"The one you sung yesterday!"
"Oh! Um...why don't I sing you another song instead?" For some reason, Percy seemed nervous about singing, which seemed a bit unusual.
"No! I want that one!"
"What does she want?" Sally asked, handing us our drinks.
"I want Percy to sing the song he sung yesterday!"
"That was a great song Percy! You should definitely sing it again!" She smiled, grabbing Percy's guitar from where it was leaning against the wall.
"Ummm..."
"What song was it?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He said it was called 'Check Yes Juliet'." Sally told him, causing Jason to laugh.
"I've heard that one! Percy you have to sing it - it's so good."
"Thanks Jason." Percy grumbled. "Fine, I'll sing it."
"Yay!" Estelle crawled off his lap and onto mine, surprising me. Percy took the guitar from his mum and started to play.
When he finished the song, Estelle and I both started clapping. "That was great Percy! When did you write it?"
"Uh, a few days ago." He blushed - it was cute.
"Who's it about?" Piper asked, an evil glint in her eyes.
"No one." He replied hastily, putting the guitar down. "I just...made it up."
"Sure you did." She said, not believing him. "Oh my God." She gasped, eyes fixated on the glass coffee table.
"What is it Piper?" I asked, confused.
"Sally, is that a photo album of pictures of Percy?" She pointed to the coffee table, it had a little shelf underneath it with a load of books, and Piper appeared to be pointing at a blue one with a photo of Percy on the front.
"Yes it is." Sally laughed, taking the book off the shelf. "Do you want to look at it?"
"More than anything else in the world."
"Go ahead." She handed the book to Piper. "There should be some photos of Jason, Nico, and Thalia in there too."
"Thank you so much."
Sally laughed as she stood up and walked to the kitchen, Estelle climbing off of my lap and following her. Piper opened the book and showed it to me.
"Look at this! It's little baby Percy in the bath!"
"Oh my God Percy, you're so cute!" I gushed, making Percy blush.
"No I'm naked in that photo, get rid of it!"
"Yes and your tiny penis is adorable." Piper said, causing him to blush even harder. "Oh look at this one!" She exclaimed, turning the page.
It was a picture of toddler Percy sitting on a man's lap, holding the same guitar he has today. "Is that your dad?" I asked, turning to Percy.
"Yeah, that was the first time he taught me to play guitar." Percy smiled at the memory, and I put my hand on his arm.
"You have his eyes." I smiled, looking back at the photo album. "Oh shit is that Thalia?!" Piper had turned the page and there was a picture of a five year old who looked a lot like Thalia standing next to Percy, but she was in a hot pink dress.
"Yes it is, look at the writing, it says 'Percy and Thalia at Percy's third birthday'." Piper said, pointing to the description underneath the photo.
"Wait no don't look at that photo!" Thalia shouted from the kitchen, "I should have burned that years ago!"
"Nope!" I said, snapping a picture of it with my phone. "Now I have it forever."
"I will smash your phone Chase." Thalia threatened, but I just laughed.
"Next photo Piper." She flipped the page and we both burst out laughing. It was a photo of Jason, Nico, and Percy dressed up as disney princesses. Jason was Belle, Nico was Cinderella, and Percy was Arial.
"They were Thalia's dresses!" Jason yelled, "She was having a princess birthday party!"
"No she wasn't!" I argued, "It says right here, 'Jason, Nico, and Percy, July 1st, 2005' that's Jason's fourth birthday!"
"No that's wrong!" He protested, face turning pink.
"Jason you've got a badge on that says birthday boy."
He buried his face in his hands, turning as red as a tomato. "Awww you had a princess birthday Jason?" Piper asked, smiling. He didn't reply, choosing to groan instead.
We looked at the photo album until Percy's mum said the food was ready. We went and sat down at the table, Percy was on my right, Thalia was on my left, and Piper was sitting across from me.
"Do you kids want some champagne? I know you're all only 19, except you Thalia, but it's Thanksgiving so one glass won't hurt." She said, as she poured champagne into a few glasses in front of us.
"Thank you Sally." I smiled, gratefully excepting the glass.
"Okay everyone! Before we eat, there's a couple things we have to do first." She announced, standing up. "A long time ago, on Thanksgiving, Percy wrote a song for me. He was only ten years old, and I have to admit, it wasn't the best song in the world." Percy laughed beside me. "But, I loved it anyway. Percy and I have been through a lot together, and, even though it was tough, I always had him, and that was how I dealt with it. Anyway, that song started a tradition: every year, Percy writes me a song, and sings it at Thanksgiving. Except last year, because someone was in San Fransisco." She sent a pointed look to Percy, who looked down at the table. "So, Percy, the floor is yours."
"Thanks Mum." He smiled, standing up and grabbing his guitar from the sofa, pulling the strap over his head. He strummed a few chords, and started to play a song.
If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea,
I'll sail the world to find you
If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,
I'll be the light to guide you
Find out what we're made of
When we are called to help our friends in need
You can count on me like one two three
I'll be there
And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two
You'll be there
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah
Whoa, whoa
Oh, oh
Yeah, yeah
If you tossin' and you're turnin' and you just can't fall asleep
I'll sing a song
Beside you
And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me
Everyday I will
Remind you
Ooh
Find out what we're made of
When we are called to help our friends in need
You can count on me like one two three
I'll be there
And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two
You'll be there
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah
Oh, oh
Yeah, yeah
You'll always have my shoulder when you cry
I'll never let go
Never say goodbye
You know you can
Count on me like one two three
I'll be there
And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two
And you'll be there
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah
Oh, oh
You can count on me 'cause I can count on you
"Awe thank you Percy!" Sally said, standing up and running over to him, pulling him into a hug. I smiled, taking a sip off my champagne.
"I liked Annabeth's song better." Estelle said, I spat out my drink into the glass.
"What?" I asked, Percy looked alarmed.
"Estelle that song wasn't about Annabeth." He said, his mum trying to stifle a laugh behind him (as was everyone else in the room).
"Yes it was." She said, utterly convinced.
"No it wasn't." He repeated, putting his guitar down, and sitting back next to me.
"But you said she's just a friend." The three year old looked utterly confused. That's great to know. He says I'm just a friend. Just great. Great, great, great.
"Yes, because we're friends."
"But what about Marinette?"
"Who's Marinette?" I asked, getting more confused by the second.
"She's talking about a TV show." Percy explained, but he was blushing. I'm so confused.
"Okay Estelle, that's enough for now." Paul said, putting Percy out of his misery. "Shall we eat?"
"Yes, please." Percy said, raising his glass to his lips.
"Sally, please tell me you have lots of embarrassing childhood stories about these guys." Piper said, gesturing to our friends.
"Oh I have plenty." She replied, as she served food out.
"Can we hear some?"
"Of course."
"Mum please don't." Percy pleaded, putting his hands together like he was praying.
"Percy, I'm your mother, it's my job to embarrass you."
"Oh shit."
"Language!" Paul interjected, gesturing to Estelle.
"Sorry."
"So Piper, what do you want to hear first, the time Percy and Jason put pantyliners in their shoes? Or when Thalia made Nico cry because she convinced him he was dying?"
"Pantyliners, definitely pantyliners." I said, before Piper could respond.
"Pantyliners it is then." She laughed, and Jason and Percy both groaned and covered their faces with their hands. "So, when the boys were five, I took them shoe shopping. They both take of their shoes so that they can get their feet measured by the clerk, and he looks down at the shoes, then gets a very shocked expression on his face. Confused, I pick up on of the shoes and look inside it. Confused, I reach my hand into the shoe and pull out the pantyliner. I turn to the boys and say, 'Why do you have these in your shoes?' Percy looks up at me, and very proudly says, 'They're our Odour Eaters Mummy!'"
Piper and I both burst out laughing, while Jason and Percy turned into strawberries. "I wish you would stop telling People that story." Percy groaned, embarrassed.
"I'll die before that happens." She laughed, and Percy only blushed harder. "So girls, you've known Percy for a few weeks, he must've down something funny by now."
"Actually, I have a great photo of him and Annabeth." Piper said pulling out her phone.
"What photo?" Percy asked, as realisation dawned on me. Fuck.
"Piper please don't."
"I'm going to Annabeth."
"No. King of Sparta!"
"What's King of Sparta?" Sally asked Jason, who was seated next to her.
"It's a code they have when one of them doesn't want the other to reveal something." He explained, but a smile was on his face.
"You've already used you're King of Sparta this month Annie, you're not getting out of this." She said, tapping her phone screen, before turning it to Sally. "Look how cute they are in this picture." Fuck, fuck, fuck.
"Can I see the photo?" Percy asked, still confused as to what we were talking about.
"Sure Perce." Piper showed him the phone screen, causing his (and my) face to flush red. It was the photo of us sleeping on the sofa from last week, and no one but me had seen it yet.
"Let me see." Thalia said, and soon the phone was being passed around the table.
"Piper why didn't you show me this before?" Jason asked, amused by the picture.
"I was waiting for the perfect time."
"Smart." He nodded, handing her the phone back.
We spent the rest of the afternoon having fun and hearing more embarrassing stories about Percy and his family. I was sad when it was finally time to go.
"Thanks for inviting me Percy, this was really fun." I thanked him, standing by the door, about to leave.
"Well I'm glad you came." He smiled, his sea green eyes sparkling. Maybe I should just buck up the courage to tell him how I feel. But not today.
"Me too, this was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had." I'm glad I chose this over going to San Fransisco, I had much more fun here than I ever would've back home. "And your mum is an amazing cook."
"Where do you think I got it from?" He laughed, the sound filling my ears with joy.
"Oh! That reminds me, are we having our baking lesson tomorrow?"
"Yeah, of course. I've already decided what we're making - scones."
"Fancy! Are you sure I can handle it?"
"I'm fairly confident that you can. You do have an excellent teacher after all."
"Eh, I'd say he was average."
"Hey!" He protested, playfully hitting my arm.
"I'm kidding! You're the best teacher in the world." He smiled, and oh, how I longed to kiss those lips. "Well, we should be going!" I said, breaking the weird, romantic tension in the air. "Piper you ready?"
"Yep."
I turned to leave, but was stopped by something grabbing onto my legs. "No! Don't go!" Estelle yelled, "Please stay!" Half the time I had spent here today had been with Estelle, and I have to admit, I was a little sad about going too - I really loved hanging out with the little toddler.
I crouched down to her level, "I've got to go home Estelle."
"Can I come with you?"
"Sorry Sweetie, you've got to stay here with your parents." Seeing the sad look on her face broke my heart. "But, I'm sure Percy wouldn't mind if I came back to see you sometime."
She perked up, "Really?" She looked up at her older brother.
"Of course!" He smiled, "Next time I come home, I'll bring Annabeth with me."
"Yay!" She threw her arms around me, and I hugged her tightly.
"Estelle! I'm going too! Can I get a hug?" Jason asked, holding his arms open.
"Bye Jason!" She said, before running off.
"What? I used to be her favourite." He grumbled, glaring at me.
"Sorry Jason, Annabeth's replaced you." Percy laughed, and I joined in.
"Well, bye Percy." I said, opening the door.
"Bye! I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you then!" And with that, Jason, Nico, Thalia, Piper, and I, left the apartment.
So that was a fun chapter. I hope you liked the pantyliner story, (I got it off Buzzfeed) and I hope you liked everything else! Thanks for reading, please favourite, follow, and review!
Replies to Reviews:
SuperPotatoMan: I'm glad you're happy, and that you managed to read the chapter.
dodoking666: Thanks! I was just trying to make her as cute as possible.
TheLonelyViolist: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the chapter, hope you liked this one just as much!
ya6789: Thanks! I've been trying to post daily recently.
Potatoqueensnow: That is awesome.
Guest: Lol yes, I'm slightly more obsessed with it than I should be.
MaddieJackson: I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter.
LeobadboyValdez0: Thanks! Hopefully I can use that song.
LukeBoy23: Thanks! I'll try to use that song!
GirlsareBo: Thank you! I'll defo try to use that song!
SeaMaster: I'm happy you found it funny!
Perceus-Prior: Thank you!
Krutarth: RIP Percy indeed, I'm happy you liked the chapter!
Quickly Please: I'm going as fast as I can! :-)
joshannis12345: I'm glad you liked it, thanks for the song suggestions!
Guest: Thank you so much!
NoAccount: Thank you! And thanks for confirming that three year olds talk that much!
Guest: Thanks! I always write the name of the song in the authors note at the start of the chapter.
Pandas Are Squishy: Haha! My evil plan worked! Thank you, I'm so happy you love the story.
RavenclawHermes2: Thank you so much!
Hestiaisboss389: Hi! I'm so glad you like the songs!
epic95101: I'm so happy you like it!
JasperWho: It's here!