non-bold = piper / bold = annabeth
Annabeth
Annabeth would never call herself obsessive. Yes, she has the tendency to become fixated on things—situations, feelings, people—but she's not obsessive. No, Annabeth would call herself a planner. After all, there's nothing wrong with having a plan B or C or D.
And so, following the party, Annabeth does what she does best, she plans. She prepares for everything. She prepares for the endless questions her friends will ask. She prepares for the backhanded comments Luke will make. She prepares for the stares she'll convince herself she's seeing. She prepares her lesson plan for Percy's tutoring. She prepares for Piper's kind are you sure this is the best idea.
The only thing she forgets to plan for is Percy.
"It's early," Percy mumbles sleepily into his phone.
"Carpe Diem," Annabeth replies primly. "I'll be over in 15."
Percy doesn't reply—not verbally at least. She hangs up the phone before he can say another word.
...
(8:03 pm) so like should i get used to the idea of u and percy making out in front of me?
(8:03 pm) because ew
(8:03 pm) nothing against him honestly
(8:03 pm) i think it has more to do with u
(8:04 pm) no offense
(8:09 pm) none taken
(8:09 pm) i think
...
Fake relationships require a great deal of planning—or at least that's what Annabeth reads online. She isn't sure which part of her drunk mind thought to play it by ear, but she goes back on it the following morning. Playing it by ear seems far too reckless, and Annabeth has never been reckless. Instead, she draws up a contract.
"I have something for you to sign," she tells Percy after knocking on his door after school one day.
"Sometimes I really wish we weren't neighbors," Percy sighs, stepping back and letting her in.
Since their agreement, all of his awkward inquiries as to her welfare have stopped. She finds herself eternally grateful. She prefers it this way—simple.
"It's just a few rules," Annabeth explains, spreading the hastily written contract on his kitchen counter.
"Wow," Percy guffaws. "Can't imagine what it would be like to actually date you."
Annabeth stiffens but doesn't show it—hopes she doesn't anyway.
"Pen?" she offers instead, gesturing to the dotted line where she's already signed her name.
"I thought you were never supposed to sign anything without reading it first," Percy sniffs, leaning back against his kitchen counter and crossing his arms.
"It's hardly binding," Annabeth scoffs.
Percy doesn't look convinced.
"Fine," Annabeth groans, making a show of rustling the notebook paper as she lifts the contract and reads it aloud. "Rule 1: PJ must attend social events with AC. Rule 2: PJ and AC will go on two dates a week. Rule 3: There will be PDA unless strictly necessary. Rule 4: AC will tutor PJ once a week but more if necessary."
"Is that it?" Percy blinks, looking dubious.
"Yes," Annabeth frowns. She thought he would argue. Why isn't he arguing?
"Rule 5," he amends then, as if having read her mind. He snatches the paper from her fingers and she faintly protests as he roughly scrawls at the bottom. "I don't want my mom to know."
"Oh," Annabeth sounds. She isn't sure why she's surprised, but she is.
"What?" Percy returns, knowingly. "Do you want your dad to know?" he questions, arching a brow.
"No," she shakes her head, avoiding his eyes.
"That's what I thought," Percy hums, taking one final look at the document before signing at the dotted line.
...
(12:39 pm) what are ur thoughts on double weddings
(12:51 pm) strongly against them why?
(1:02 pm) good
(1:02 pm) thats the right opinion
(1:03 pm) just making sure we were on the same page
(1:08 pm) ok lol
(1:08 pm) how was brunch
(1:10 pm) u didn't miss much
(1:10 pm) that weird waiter was asking about u
...
She plans for their interactions and fake dates, of course. She plans for faux smiles and feigned giggles.
"Is there a reason we're doing this so early?" Percy yawns, half-heartedly hiding it with the back of his hand.
"Obviously," Annabeth tells him, rolling her eyes. She glances around them, careful to keep a smile on her face. "We can't make it too apparent that we're showing off. If we walked around during practice hours it would seem too obvious. So we have to pretend that we're hiding the relationship."
"Seems convoluted," Percy laughs, raising his brows at her as if expecting her to tell him it's a joke. She doesn't. "I guess if it works though," he sighs then, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt.
"It's pretty nice out today," Annabeth considers, feeling the spring breeze sweep across her features. "Not too windy, not too sunny."
"Are we seriously going to talk about the weather right now?" Percy scoffs.
"Sorry, Percy," Annabeth snaps back. "What else did you want to talk about? Our fake feelings?"
Percy glares.
"Yeah," Annabeth expounds sharply. "Why don't I tell you how deeply in love I am—"
"Fine," Percy huffs, silencing her. "I get it."
Annabeth doesn't bother to hide her smile.
"Still," Percy sighs, waving his hands around like he used to when they were kids. They're so much larger now, she notices absently. "There has to be something we can talk about."
Annabeth chooses silence again, allowing her eyes to drift to the path around them; it's one they used to walk when they were younger.
"Do you remember when we threw rocks at that beehive then cried when we got stung?" Percy asks, his tone light and airy, lacking its usual sarcasm.
"I remember you threw rocks at the beehive," Annabeth retorts, following his gaze to the hive in question. "I told you not to."
"I recall you throwing a stone or two," Percy negates easily.
Annabeth ignores the jab. "We jumped into the creek," she recollects with a wistful smile, "because we thought the bees wouldn't find us there."
"Your mom was so pissed when we came home sopping wet," Percy laughs, his chest bouncing as they continue to walk along the path.
"She yelled at us for dirtying the carpet," Annabeth remembers, a bittersweet ache tugging at her heart. "And then she saw our faces and—"
"We were so scared," Percy shakes his head, the messy hair she berated him about earlier falling freely, "and so cold and—"
"And she laughed," Annabeth recalls, warmth flooding her chest as the memory, even as a dull pressure strains her windpipe.
This is the part where people usually go silent, where they start fidgeting and clear their throats awkwardly. She doesn't blame them. They didn't know her mom, but Percy did.
"And it didn't hurt so much anymore," he says.
His words catch her by surprise. Her chest constricts. She steals a glance in his direction. His eyes are distant, fogged by nostalgia, and his lips are curled upwards.
"Yeah," she mutters softly in agreement.
Annabeth prepares for awkward conversations and annoying arguments. She prepares for sarcastic comments and weird puns. She prepares for everything—except those little moments that take her breath away.
...
(5:53 pm) yo
(5:53 pm) drew is asking up a storm rn
(5:53 pm) what do u want me to do ab that
(5:58 pm) just tell her its new but we really each other
(6:03 pm) also like if u can tell her that were trying to keep things private bc were both private ppl but that u can tell how much we like each other
(6:04 pm) if u have time u can also mention that weve known each other for so long that everything is flowing perfectly
(6:08 pm) yeah lol ill just tell her its still new
(6:09 pm) that works too
...
They fight a lot—like a lot. More than she expected to, honestly. They fight more than she's ever fought with any friend or boyfriend or—anyone other than her mom, really.
She and Luke had never fought more than once or twice. And that was a good thing right? That they never fought? It had to be a good thing. If they never fought, then none of their differences could have been that bad.
But she and Percy—they fight all the time. She's pretty sure she hates him, but nevertheless, she knocks on his front door with every intention of being cordial and polite.
"Hey loser," he greets, a crooked grin adorning his lips.
"Hey," she sneers and steps past him, swallowing back every bit of restraint she'd prepared.
They fight about everything and nothing. They get ice cream around the corner from her school and he gets some horrific combination of chocolate brownie, blue raspberry, and caramel ice cream, and she can't seem to hold her tongue.
"That looks so disgusting," Annabeth says, staring down her nose at his overfilled cup.
"Don't be rude," Percy sniffs, raising a heaping bite of it to his mouth and eating it excruciatingly slowly.
"Ew," Annabeth rolls her eyes, then, seeing one of Drew's friends walking down the street, instructs, "smile."
Percy beams, barring his chocolate-stained teeth. She makes a face but quickly hides it.
"It's good," Percy shrugs, maintaining his cheerful expression. "Besides, I didn't say anything when you got vanilla for the 400th time—and who gets a cone? What are you? Five years old?"
"I like Vanilla," Annabeth snaps, waving merrily at the passing friend. "It's a classic."
"Classically boring maybe," Percy mutters under his breath.
She kicks him, reveling in the groan that follows.
But despite all the fighting, Annabeth is surprised to find herself looking forward to seeing him. Even if every time she picks him up he berates her about the interior of her car.
"Do you know how impractical it is to have white leather in here?" he questions, arching a brow as he casts his gaze over her back seats.
"Like you'd know," Annabeth laughs, her fingers tightening around the steering wheel. "It's not like your mom's old minivan is exactly luxury."
"For your information," Percy retorts then, "my minivan is extremely durable, and she has a name, it's Dorothy, and she's going to hear all about this conversation."
Annabeth finds herself smiling before she can remind herself not to. She hates that too.
...
(4:10 pm) do u remember when gabe told us we couldnt talk bc we were on our periods
(4:17 pm) omgggg i almost forgot about that
(4:17 pm) he was the worst
(4:17 pm) remember when he tried to convince us evolution wasnt real
(4:20 pm) yeah he had deeper issues than most
(4:21 pm) remember when i debated with him about the morality of the luxury tax and he cried
(4:22 pm) uh no
(4:22 pm) how did i miss that
(4:25 pm) okay so maybe he didnt cry
(4:25 pm) but he def shed a tear
(4:26 pm) which is like totally fine btw bc we cant perpetuate toxic masculinity
I4:28 pm) i have no memory of that
(4:28 pm) really wish i did tho
(4:28 pm) he sucked
(4:29 pm) maybe i imagined it
(4:29 pm) idk
(4:29 pm) thats not really the point tho
(4:22 pm) point is im really good at arguing
...
Annabeth thinks the only thing Percy can't fight her about is algebra—but she's wrong. He's already voiced his deep opposition to the cafe.
"Why do we have to do this so close to Goode?" Percy complains over the phone.
"I'm the tutor," Annabeth tells him, gathering her things. "I get the choose the location."
Percy doesn't reply, just groans. That's how a lot of their conversations go these days.
Once they're in the cafe though, Annabeth is convinced she will find Percy perfectly compliant and utterly grateful—well, not convinced. Hopeful is a more accurate assessment. To her surprise, however, the Percy she meets is nervous. He won't stop glancing around the room, far more preoccupied with the occupants of the cafe than the math in front of him.
It's supremely annoying.
"So what would the absolute value of that look like on a graph?" Annabeth asks, ignoring how twitchy he is and pushing her notebook across the table.
"Um," Percy hums, using his pencil to lightly trace a large v over her graph paper, "with a y-intercept at 16 and no x-intercept."
The bell above the cafe door jingles, signaling a new arrival. Percy stiffens, shoulders visibly tensing at the sound. Annabeth frowns. The notion that he might be embarrassed to be seen with her, regardless of the circumstance, makes her chest hurt—she isn't sure why.
"I hate this," Percy mutters, shooting her a dark look as he pushes the notebook back towards her.
"Oh hush," Annabeth tells him quietly, eyes rising to see a pair of vaguely familiar faces wander into the cafe. "No one can even tell—for all they know, you're helping me."
"This is humiliating," Percy grumbles, intent on ignoring her rationale.
"More humiliating than forcing you to fake date me?" Annabeth counters with a sympathetic expression, taking a look at his graph. Out of the corner of her eye, she thinks she sees him laugh but she can't be sure. The cafe is loud, and she's had four cups of coffee so she's probably delusional.
"You make a good point," Percy replies.
She lifts her chin and catches his gaze, he's smiling, something warm and wistful in his eyes. Her chest flutters, and she blinks violently, convinced she's having some kind of small-scale caffeine overdose.
"You were right by the way," Annabeth says hurriedly, eager to focus on anything else. "About the intercept—"
As it turns out, anything else turns out to be far less pleasant than the feeling in her chest.
"Percy?" a far too familiar voice interjects from across the cafe.
Annabeth turns to find Rachel walking towards them, jade eyes crinkled curiously at the sight before her.
"Rachel!" Percy gasps, half choking on her name. A light flush tinges his cheekbones. He stands, unsteady on his feet as he makes his way over to her. "I totally forgot that you love this place—"
Annabeth smiles politely, turning back towards the notebook before her. Still, curiosity gets the better of her and she begins to watch their interaction under the guise of texting Piper. She observes as Rachel speaks animatedly and Percy nods, seemingly in full agreement.
Annabeth's eyes narrow. She isn't used to this interaction. Something has changed since she stopped hanging out with them. She tries to examine their body language but can't gauge much. They're both grinning, wide and easy—and just when she thinks she's about to figure it out, Rachel's eyes meet hers.
Annabeth averts her gaze, her breath fracturing. She turns her attention to her phone.
...
(5:35 pm) hey
(5:36 pm) hello
(5:36 pm) how r things?
(5:36 pm) good
(5:36 pm) r u getting kidnapped or something rn
(5:36 pm) no just bored
(5:37 pm) oh cool
(5:37 pm) i forgot to tell u
(5:37 pm) i had a dream i was an eagle last night
(5:38 pm) sounds majestic
(5:38 pm) was it?
(5:38 pm) honestly no
(5:38 pm) i couldnt feel my legs
(5:38 pm) gtg theyre back
(5:39 pm) wait what? who?
(5:40 pm) rachel and percy
(5:40 pm) odd choice but have fun
(5:45 pm) drew says hi btw
...
Annabeth forces a casual expression as Percy and Rachel approach the table. Her eyes flicker over Percy's first. He's nervous, running his hands through his hair like he always does.
"Annabeth," he says merrily; his demeanor doesn't quite match his tone. "Look who I found."
Her eyes fall on Rachel now. She looks nervous as well, though not nearly so bad as Percy. Her fingertips are stained in a myriad of colors.
"Hi," Rachel nods modestly.
It's not much of a greeting. It's not much of anything really. Still, Percy has nothing to be nervous about. She would never be openly rude to Rachel. That would be—well, rude.
"Hey," Annabeth greets brightly, smile widening. "It's so great to see you. I feel like it's been forever since we talked."
It hasn't been forever. It's been almost two years excluding small greetings and faux smiles. Their last argument is still perfectly imprinted into the back of her mind.
"I know," Rachel nods again, frowning as if it were silly. "I was just telling Percy we have extra seats at our table, you two should join us."
"Oh," Annabeth laughs, eyes flashing to Percy's once again. There's a quiet plea behind them, though she can't quite understand what he's pleading for. "That sounds like fun," she breathes, trying to think of a worthwhile excuse. "But I have to be home for dinner at six," she tells her.
"Your father and you still do family dinners?" Rachel asks, tilting her head slightly, her lips pulled into a pout. "That's so sweet."
It's an innocent question. It is. But it flips her stomach nonetheless.
"Yeah," Annabeth manages, careful to keep her expression steady.
"Well," Rachel considers, turning towards Percy as her nose scrunches up playfully. "You don't mind if Percy stays back, do you?"
"I—" Percy begins, and Annabeth genuinely can't tell what he plans to say. Whatever it is, she doesn't trust him to make the right decision. And moreover, even if there isn't a right decision, she can't stand the idea of Rachel thinking she's won.
"Percy has to drive me home," Annabeth interjects. "Right, Percy?"
"Yeah," Percy agrees slowly, rolling his lips uncertainly.
Rachel's gaze narrows perceptively. He looks nervous again.
"Oh, okay then," Rachel agrees after a moment, smiling at the both of them. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
The argument that follows isn't like the others. It doesn't feel playful or joking. No, the argument that follows hurts.
"Seriously Annabeth," Percy glowers once they're in the car. "Just because we're fake dating doesn't mean you can control when I can and can't see my friends."
"I wasn't controlling you," Annabeth snaps back, her knuckles going white around the steering wheel. "I just—" she flounders, trying to explain herself. "I was just tired, and I didn't want to—to deal with Rachel tonight."
"It's been years, Annabeth," Percy sighs, head falling against the window in frustration. The glass fogs up around his words.
It was an innocent question. She tries to remember that, but it's hard when her emotions blur her perception.
"Do you even remember what she said to me?" Annabeth questions sharply, her chest tight at the recollection.
"She said it was sweet that you had family dinner," Percy deadpans her, eyes wide with disbelief.
"No," Annabeth scoffs, shaking her head. She wonders, sometimes, if he can't read her the way he used to. He seems to forget how words stick with her. "When we fought, do you remember what she said?"
Percy opens his mouth to reply then closes it. She thinks he probably doesn't remember. No one ever remembers, so she can hardly blame him. It's not his fault she can never forget anything. Piper says it's her character flaw.
"We were kids," Percy breathes. His words draw her from her thoughts. "You have to learn to let things go."
"We were 15, Percy," Annabeth recounts tightly. She doesn't take criticism well, either—that's another character flaw of hers. "We were old enough."
"People say things they don't mean sometimes," Percy tries to argue, but his words are stilted and broken, like he's not sure.
"That doesn't make it okay," Annabeth replies.
"Yeah, you're right," Percy shrugs like it doesn't mean anything. She thinks it probably doesn't mean anything—not to him at least.
And after his hurried exit from her car, she stares down their street and wonders since when it hurt to win an argument.
Then, unable to figure it out, she screams. It works like a charm.
a/n: heyo, I know I promised LoS next but this came quicker so here ya go. again, sorry for the horrid delay. didn't edit ofc, so forgive typos.
dedicated to akisabookworm and pride-and-loyalty and Night734286
love u all, see u soon.