Shortly after arriving to the party, Percy was quickly reminded why he didn't come to these things more. Everywhere you looked there were drunk teens, chugging liquor from red cups or making out in corners. The living room was packed with sweaty bodies, and he pushed past them making his way to the kitchen, desperate to greet the birthday boy. The sooner he said hi, the sooner he could leave.
It was his cousin Jason's 18th today, and he had invited pretty much the whole grade over for drinks. What turned into a chill evening quickly evolved into the biggest party of the year so far.
He paused in the doorway, taking in the room. His eyes fell on his other cousin, Nico, who had his arm thrown around his boyfriend, Will. Looking further he observed his friends, Hazel and Frank, and he grinned when he saw them tentatively holding hands.
He approached them, smile on his face.
'Hey guys! Hows it going'
They all grinned back at him and Nico rolled his eyes.
'I want to die. This sucks. And it's full of dickheads.'
Will shoved him, chuckling slightly.
'Hey! I come to these things all the time!'
Nico smiled up at his lover, glint in his eye.
'Exactly,' he replied, humour lacing his tone.
Hazel laughed fondly and began talking about the people at the party. Something about a guy throwing up in the plant pot? Percy wasn't really paying attention.
His whole frame relaxed when he saw Jason stumble through the door from outside, weakly supported by his girlfriend Piper who was grinning in amusement.
His eyes lit up when he saw the group, and happily staggered over, tumbling into Nico's side.
'You came!' He exclaimed happily. He reeked of beer.
Piper smiled politely at them all and adjusted Jason so he was standing upright.
'Of course we came.' Percy replied, embracing Jason. 'Happy birthday Man.'
They all hugged and began happily chattering between themselves, before Nico's eyes focused on something behind them.
'Uh oh. Incoming!'
Percy spun round to see Annabeth Chase saunter into the kitchen. She was dressed in leather trousers and a cropped band t-shirt, curly hair flowing over her shoulders. He could briefly make out part of tattoo that marked her shoulder, the rest hidden by her shirt. She was holding a red cup, and her eyes scanned the room in boredom. Her eyes met his briefly, and he could feel his heart pounding.
She smirked at him slightly before looking away, chatting to the guy next to her.
You see, her and Percy happen to have quite a bit of history together. They used to be best friends in middle school. They were inseparable, and Percy thought it would be them two until the end. His mom always joked that they would get married, and he never disagreed.
That's until she moved schools when they were 14, and he never heard from her again. He tried to keep in contact, even making social media profiles just to talk to her, but she never replied. She moved back a month ago, but they never kindled their bond.
Despite being one of the most popular girls in school, she showed no interest in other students and kept her circle small. He knows she hangs out with Thalia Grace a lot, because Thalia is his cousin. But other than that, the girl is a mystery to him now.
She had a reputation. Everyone knew she had been expelled from her last school, there are many theories on why, and she was known for constantly battling against teachers and other pupils. Every one still loved her though, and her and Thalia had been dubbed as the 'bad girls' of Goode.
Very different from what Percy remembered, little 11 year old Annabeth being scared to shower because there was a spider there.
He thinks often about what went wrong between them, because he used to love hanging out with her and, okay, just loved her in general.
He tried not to stare as she chatted away, but his chest panged as he gazed at the girl that used to mean so much to him.
He wishes he could say he talked to her that night, but he didn't.
————
'Percy, quit with the theatrics.'
The boy in question groaned in agony and glared up at his friend, who was frowning down at him from the bleachers.
'Jason, you do 50 laps of this pool after gym class and tell me I'm being dramatic. This shit is tiring!'
Jason rolled his eyes and chucked Percy the towel that was resting on his shoulder.
'I happen to be the captain of the football team, in case you forgot. I understand more than you think.'
Percy's glare intensified and he raised a hand to his heart, laying back on the floor dramatically.
'Leave me here to die!'
Jason kicked the boy and shook his head, smile playing on his lips.
'You're so dumb. Cmon, lets go.'
Percy sighed and stood up, following his friend out of the pool. They slowly made their way to his locker, discussing how hungover Jason was after the party. Apparently, the boy was throwing up until dinner the next day.
They laughed and shoved each other as they rounded the corner, Percy freezing when he saw the girl leaning against his locker.
He gulped and looked at Jason in confusion.
Why was Annabeth Chase at his locker?
She was wearing a hoodie that was way too big for her, and her hair was pulled back into two neat braids. She barely had makeup on, but Percy thought she looked gorgeous.
She was focusing down on her phone, eyebrows drawn together in what he thought was frustration. Her eyes shot up to his as he nervously edged closer, eyes widening.
'Percy! I thought i missed you because you took so long. Where were you?'
He glanced at Jason who grinned at him teasingly from the side, watching his friend struggle to form a sentence. Annabeth Chase was waiting for him?
'I was at Swim Practice. I have it every Monday.'
Her eyes widened in realisation and a small o formed on her lips. He couldn't help stare down at them and imagine what it would be like to kiss them. Wait - what was he thinking? He barely knew Annabeth anymore, and there he was fantasising about her.
'Ah that makes sense. Jason, do you mind giving us a minute?'
Both boys raised their eyebrows in shock.
'What?' They both asked simultaneously, causing Annabeth to look at them weirdly.
'I need to talk to Percy.'
Jason eyes darted between the pair and he shot Percy a suspicious look, before nodding and turning to leave.
The hallway was empty except Percy and Annabeth.
'Am i in trouble?' He nervously asked the girl, who stared at him blankly back.
'No? Should you be?'
Percy shook his head, looking down at her. Percy hadn't realised how tall he had gotten, and now he towered over the girl by at least 5 inches.
'Right, well, this may be a tad weird.'
He raised an eyebrow.
'Isn't it already?' He asked bluntly, to which she frowned slightly.
'Im really sorry. You know what, its fine. Forget i said anything.' She nervously pulled at her sleeves and turned to walk away. Percy felt his heart sink and desperately reached out to stop the girl, placing his hands on her shoulders.
'No! I mean, no it's completely fine. What did you want to talk about?'
The girl sighed and leaned against his locker. She appeared to be at conflict with herself, before giving in and turning to stare at the boy.
'I want you to be my boyfriend.'
Percys heart stopped.
'Not my real boyfriend! God don't look at me like that!'
Percy shook himself out of his trance and stared at her.
'Wise girl, what are you on about?'
She looked surprised at the use of her old nickname, but continued babbling on.
'My mom is getting remarried on Saturday. It's to the guy she left my dad for, and even though I'm still a little hurt about everything I've decided to go.'
Percy nodded slightly. He remembered when her parents divorced, and how hard she took it. He thinks he would've took it hard too if he found out his mom had been being unfaithful for the past couple years, and was leaving him to start a new family.
'The only thing is, she thinks I'm a complete let down. She was so mad when i got expelled, she didn't talk to me for three weeks, telling me i was no daughter of hers and that shes glad she left.'
Percy winced upon seeing the hurt look in her eyes. Annabeth rarely ever showed weakness, and he knew she must really be hurting to let him in like this. She sighed as she kicked off of his locker, taking a step towards him.
'She eventually started talking to me again, but i can tell she cant stand me.'
A thoughtful look took over her eyes as she glanced at him.
'She always used to like you though. Always talked about how committed you were to your sport, and your family. So i was thinking...'
Percy watched as the girl scanned his figure, trying to figure out how to word what she was trying to say.
'If you pretended to be my boyfriend, at this wedding, she might see that I'm not a total failure. She might actually start looking at me like I'm worthy of her respect.'
Percy felt his heart breaking for the girl. This girl, who even though they had drifted, he knew was an amazing person - feeling like she has to lie to get respect from her mother. The whole thing was sad, and slightly pathetic.
'I know,' she frowned as she looked up at him. 'Its stupid, probably won't work. But i don't know what else to - '
Percy cut her off short.
'Im in.'
She froze and analysed the boy, trying to see if he was serious. When detecting no lies, she looked at him in shock.
'Are you serious? It's that easy?'
He grinned back at her.
'Yep. Haven't worn my tux in a while, makes me look super sexy.'
He was joking, but she rushed forward and engulfed him in a hug. He felt his heart rate pick up, as he held the girl in his arms. She still smelt like lemons. He exhaled and leant his chin on her head.
'Thank you Percy, seriously. This means the world to me.'
He pulled back slightly and his eyes scanned over her face. She was looking at him with an emotion he couldn't determine, but her eyes sparkled with joy.
'This wedding better have a buffet, or i change my mind.'
Her laugh echoed down the hallway.
—————-
'Fuck wait, so did i ask you out or did you ask me?'
'Percy we've been over this a hundred times. You asked me when i moved back to school, and we've been dating ever since.'
Percy frowned over at the girl who was in the drivers seat. She looked stunning, and he had barely gotten over his shock from when she picked him up. She wore a tight black dress that brushed her knees, and had her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Hoops dangled from her ears, and a pretty green eyeshadow adorned her eyelids. He may or may not have checked her out for a solid minute, but he's pretty sure that she was also checking him out.
He'll admit, he did look pretty good. He wasn't lying when he said he looked good in a tux. It was classic black suit with a white shirt, and she had chucked a green tie to match her makeup at him. He smirked at her as she stared, causing her to roll her eyes and tell him to get into the car.
'Right okay. And our first date was where? A picnic?'
Annabeth sighed exasperatedly.
'Too late now, we are here.'
She pulled into a space and put the handbrake on, hand hesitating on the door handle.
He frowned, grabbing her other hand.
'Hey, it's going to be okay, alright? I'll be with you the entire time.'
She relaxed slightly and gave his hand a squeeze before releasing it.
'Im just nervous. I hope this works.'
Percy nodded and smiled at the girl.
'Well, it's now or never. Let's do this.'
He pushed open his door, running round to open Annabeth's and grabbed her hand once more, pulling her towards the building.
He didn't realise how huge Annabeth's family was.
He glanced around the room, his own nerves seeping in as Annabeth nervously tugged on his hand, pulling him further into the room.
This was more people than he had been expecting.
Chairs lined the hall and Percy shrivelled his nose at the overwhelming smell of flowers. They were scattered everywhere he looked, and Percy couldn't help thinking that it was slightly overkill.
However, from what he remembers about Athena, everything had to be perfect. It stressed Annabeth out a lot, and still does apparently, he thought as she played with his fingers.
'Hey,' he whispered in her ear, causing her to jump, 'stop fretting, everything will be okay.'
She bit her lip nervously and slowly spun round to face him. His breath caught when he realised the lack of distance between the pair, and she seemed to lose track of her thoughts too as he watched her eyes flutter down to his lips.
She glanced back up at his eyes, and they held contact for probably too long that was acceptable for friends.
She sighed and leaned her head on her shoulder.
'I just want this to go okay.'
He brought his hand to cup the back of her head, the other resting on her hip.
'I know.'
—————————-
The actual ceremony itself went okay. Percy knows nothing about dresses, but he thought Athena looked very pretty as she walked up the aisle. He pretended he didn't see Annabeth tearing up, he knew she would hate that, and sat quietly throughout the forty minute ordeal.
He couldn't help but grin as the couple leaned forward and gave one another a kiss, before laughing and making their way up the aisle once more.
Athena smiled at the guests as she passed, but Percy noticed as it faltered upon seeing Annabeth. Her steps slowed as she glanced at her daughter, before quickening her pace and exiting the building.
Percy frowned and squeezed Annabeth's hand, sensing her disappointment.
Annabeth wasn't eager to rush and congratulated the married couple, so the two sat in the empty room surrounded by flower petals and abandoned name cards.
He could hear her mind racing, and wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but he was at a loss. It had been years since they had hung out properly, and although still mildly obsessed with the girl (ok, maybe more than mildly), he struggled to find the words to make it all better for her.
After what felt like years of silence, Percy coughed, drawing Annabeth's attention.
'So, you reckon there's a buffet?'
A small smile graced her face and he mentally applauded himself. She stood up and straighten her dress, before offering out her hand.
'Lets go, you dork.'
—————————-
About half an hour in, he lost sight of Annabeth. He text her a couple times saying 'SOS', but got no response. He continued to mingle with her family, eyes darting round the room to try and find her.
But when he did, he wished he didn't.
Her eyes were brimmed with tears and she stomped over to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the door.
'Are you okay? Where have you been?'
'We're leaving.'
She shoved through the crowds, ignoring calls of her name and focused on the main door, and within two minutes Percy was back outside and being dragged quickly to the car.
'Wait, hang on a minute Beth!'
He stopped walking and she tugged on his arm slightly to hurry him up. He could tell she was about to break and didn't want to be anywhere near here when she did.
He walked in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulder, looking down at her in concern. Her grey eyes were overcast with tears and he could feel her entire frame shaking.
Her eyes looked up to meet his, and she cracked.
She let out a quiet sob that broke Percy's heart and he quickly engulfed her in a hug as the tears began to fall.
He cradled her head against his neck with one hand and stroked her back with the other comfortingly. He whispered quietly in her ear that she was okay, and that he was here, and he could feel her pushing herself closer to him until her chest was firmly pressed against his.
'I was so stupid Percy.' She spoke dejectedly, her warm breath brushing his neck.
His brows furrowed in confusion, but he let her continue.
'I don't know why I thought she would want to see me. She's never wanted to before. I just hoped we could fix it all today, you know?'
She paused as she laughed bitterly, sniffling slightly.
'She told me she only invited me because she didn't think i would actually come. She didn't even want me here.'
Percy's heart felt heavy for the girl in his arms, and he pulled her closer and held her tighter as she cried.
She pushed off of him slightly, staring at him in sadness.
'What did i do wrong? Why doesn't she love me?'
Percy brushed a tear from her cheek and leant forward to kiss her forehead.
'She doesn't deserve you Beth. No mother should treat their child like that. But i promise you. You didn't nothing wrong.'
She frowned at him in disbelief as another tear dropped.
'Why are you being so nice to me? I left you when we were young, you, you tried to stay in contact with me and i just didn't reply and -'
He shook his head firmly and stared down at the girl.
'I don't care. I don't care why you didn't, yes it hurt at the time, but now i can see that you were clearly dealing with a lot. Im not mad at you Annabeth. I could never be mad at you.'
Her eyes softened as she glanced up at Percy, seeing only honestly in his face.
'Thank you, Percy.'
He shook his head.
'Don't thank me. Im not telling you anything but the truth, or giving you anything other than what you deserve.'
Percy watched as a thousand different emotions flickered across her face, and his heart leaped as she looked up at him determinedly.
Before he knew it, she grabbed his face and smashed her lips onto his.
It felt like his brain was melting through his body.
He desperately grabbed her hips and turned them so her back was against the car, kissing her deeper. He heard her sigh softly against his lips, and her hands raked through his hair pulling him closer to her.
It could've been minutes or hours until they pulled back, but when they did Percy noticed with satisfaction that there was a new glint in Annabeth's eye. Hope.
He tried to control his breathing as he looked down at the girl, smiling when he saw she was doing the same.
He grinned and began placing kisses anywhere he could reach, her forehead, her cheeks, her neck, her nose, causing her to laugh and shove him slightly.
'Percy!' She squealed, and he couldn't help but lean down and his her lips once more.
He pulled back cockily, and smirked down at the girl.
'At least we don't have to tell anyone I'm your boyfriend, considering they all thought i was anyway.'
She rolled her eyes fondly at him, raising an eyebrow.
'So, you're my proper boyfriend now?' She asked teasingly.
He pulled her closer possessively and brushed his lips against hers.
'Hell yeah i am.'
——————————————————————
