Italicize
Hey yall, I want to apologize for not writing anything lately. Saved By The Moon is still on stand by and I have so many other things in the works that have also been put on hold. Everything has been put on hold for two reasons, first reason is that I'm taking a writing class for my CW minor and that is taking up a good portion of my writing time, and second, I've been scatterbrained.
I reread Cursive today and realized that there's so much more I could add to that story, and I made tons of mistakes in that one shot, that I want to rectify. Alas, I wanted to give that AU a more solid ending hence this story. I hope you all enjoy it!
I play with Annabeth's blonde hair and ignore my buzzing phone. My phone goes silent and I breathe a sigh of relief. If Leo texts me one more time I think I'll throw my phone at the wall.
It buzzes again. Seriously, man?
"Will you turn your phone off?" Annabeth mumbles sleepily. Her voice betrays her irritation and I curse. Some people are trying to take naps, Leo!
"Yeah," I say quietly. I untangle our fingers and lean on my forearm so I can reach my nightstand. I grab my phone and hold the power button down until the slider appears that allows me to power my phone off completely. Let's see if you can bother us now, Leo!
I replace my phone on my nightstand and lie back down on my side. I wrap my arm around Annabeth's waist and intertwine our fingers so, she shifts until her back is pressed firmly against my chest. She pulls my hand up to her lips where she places a soft kiss and mumbles, "Thank you."
I forgo a response and instead bury my face in her hair. Annabeth smells good. Really good. She must have taken a shower this morning. Her hair smells strongly of her lemon shampoo and it soothes me. I close my eyes and sigh in contentment.
"Is Leo still trying to ask for advice?" Annabeth mumbles. Her voice is husky with sleep and my chest constricts. She was sound asleep until Leo decided to panic and blow my phone up with messages.
"Yeah. Poor kid doesn't know a single thing about women," I chuckle. Annabeth laughs breathily and turns her head to look at me. I press my lips to her temple and pull away with a small smile. The past three weeks have been something close to paradise. Annabeth is better than I could have ever imagined. I already knew she was funny and witty, but these past few weeks I've learned just how funny and witty she is. She's sassy and the most beautiful girl I've ever laid my eyes on.
Looking back at the girls I dated in the past, I know that they were pretty girls. They were all different from each other, but if you asked around, everyone would comment on their beauty. They all understood what to wear to make themselves look good, whether it be makeup, clothes, jewelry, all of that. They decorated themselves so they would stand out more.
Annabeth didn't need to decorate herself. Here she lays, in my bed, wearing sweats and a hoodie, no makeup, and her hair frizzy from my pillow, looking like a goddess. She is a divine being who found me worthy to be in her presence. She allows me to see true beauty. No one else compares and objectively speaking, I've seen some beautiful women.
"You're staring at me," Annabeth whispers. She now lays on her back, my sheets bunched around her waist.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Why?" She asks, tilting her head to the side. I kiss the newly exposed skin of her throat, lightly pecking my way to her shoulder.
"Because I can," I say against her throat. I pull away and tug at her waist until she's facing me.
"That's a lame reason," Annabeth comments lightly. I laugh and quickly kiss her lips.
"Do I need a reason to stare at my beautiful girlfriend?" I ask, cupping her cheek and rubbing my thumb across her cheekbone.
"There's your reason. You're staring because you think I'm beautiful," she smiles and kisses me. She pulls away swiftly but I drag her lips back to mine and lazily kiss her. I wish every Sunday could be like this. A quiet morning, finishing my homework and calling my parents, followed by a lazy afternoon with my girlfriend where we cuddle and take a nap. I bite her lower lip and gently pull away, releasing her lip so I don't hurt her.
"When do you have to go back?" I ask softly. Annabeth's been here for the past three hours and I'm dreading the time she needs to leave. We've been so busy since we got together. Annabeth's calculus teacher has been running her through the paces, stressing her out. We tried studying together but we ended up studying each other, more than our individual subjects.
Annabeth grabs her phone from my nightstand and looks at the time.
"I can stay for another hour, what do you want to do?" She asks. I slide my fingers through her hair and gently untangle the hair when my fingers catch a small snarl.
"I don't really want to move," I admit softly. I'm comfortable, and warm, and Annabeth's lips are easily accessible. Why would I want to move?
"Okay, we can just scroll through social media." Annabeth unlocks her phone and clicks on her Instagram. Her feed refreshes itself and she turns away from me so, I can lay my head on my arm and peek over her shoulder at her phone.
We scroll through her Instagram for thirty minutes when we hear a knock at my door. I groan and bury my face in Annabeth's hair.
"What are the chances of it being a room check?" Annabeth asks. Her voice is soft, so the person behind my door won't hear her.
"They don't usually check our dorms on Sundays," I tell her. There's another knock. Why is someone here on a Sunday?
I get out of my bed and quickly go to the front door. I unlock it and crack the door open. It's Leo. Of course, it's Leo.
"I already told you it was okay if you went after Callie. Why are you here?" I ask him, cutting straight to the chase. All I want is to spend the remaining time I have with Annabeth before she needs to leave.
"You have got to help me, bro. She's way out of my league!" Leo says. He pushes on my door to get in but I don't budge.
"Can't we talk about this tomorrow? It's a Sunday!" I try and give him my best pleading look, but he just gives me one right back.
"I want to start wooing her tomorrow! We only have like," Leo counts his fingers, "seven weeks left of school before you guys graduate!" Leo tries getting past me again and I let him in this time. The poor kid looks like he's going to cry.
Leo quickly makes his way to the couch and sits down. He's running his hand across the top of his head, pushing his curls in every direction and he looks like a disaster. He's wearing black joggers and an oil-stained grey t-shirt.
"You don't mind if Annabeth joins us do you?" I ask him sarcastically. He didn't even ask if I was the only one here! He must be freaking out more than I thought. Leo usually has manners.
"Oh sure, I'd love to hear a girl's opinion on some of the ideas I have anyway," Leo waves me away and starts muttering to himself. I roll my eyes. Sure make yourself at home, Leo.
I turn to my left and push my bedroom door open.
"Leo demands our presence," I tell Annabeth. She's already sitting up, running a hand through her golden curls.
"I'll be there in a second."
Annabeth stretches causing her hoodie to lift and expose a tan strip of skin that suddenly looks tantalizing. I quickly promise myself that I'll pay extra attention to that stip of skin when Leo leaves. I back out of my room and tear my eyes away so I can focus on the grumpy seventeen-year-old in my living room.
I sit on my armchair and wait impatiently for Leo to get his thoughts under control.
"How did you get her to ask you out?" Leo finally asks me.
Horrible first question. How do I answer that without making him feel bad? I can't just tell him that I looked like a model without any model personality traits now can I?
"Umm..." come on Percy! Think of something!
"Percy was polite and honest. He complimented her and made sure she knew, he liked her," Annabeth says. She walks over and sits on the floor, her back against the couch.
I give her a look. Why didn't she come and sit on my lap? She sticks her tongue out at me before turning her full attention to Leo.
"Yeah, but like, that can't be it. What about, Percy specifically, stood out? Lots of guys are like that around her!"
"Besides my incredible good looks?" I ask cheekily. Leo glares at me and Annabeth throws a pillow, hitting me in the face. Whoops, I wasn't going to mention that was I? Too late now I guess.
"Not helping," Annabeth hisses. I shrug apologetically. Sometimes I open my mouth without any thought!
"I know I'm not," Leo pauses and then gestures to me, "all that, but she always seemed so sweet! I doubt she'd be as shallow as to just go after you because of your looks."
I cringe. Why did I let my mouth run away from my thoughts? I'm supposed to be encouraging him, but now he thinks he isn't good-looking! I rack my brain for any sort of inspiration.
"Percy is a good person," Annabeth says with a shrug. I smile at her.
"Let me be candor, Leo, she noticed me because she found me attractive. She knew Piper was my best friend and became friends with her. So, we hung out a few times with Piper as our mutual friend. I can't tell you what she saw in me because I'm not her, but she was pretty so I tried to make her laugh, and I smiled at her a lot, and I don't know," I offer a shrug.
I always thought Callie was out of my league too. She's already a model and she's still in high school. The only reason she's still in school is to get a diploma and make connections with other people. She wants to go to college but plans on waiting a couple of years.
"Do you think she'd appreciate me trying to woo her the old-fashioned way?" Leo asks. Annabeth nods her head quickly and Leo smiles, for the first time since getting here.
"What do you think Percy?" Leo asks.
I shake my head, "You're going to have to tell me what the old-fashioned way is."
"You know, flowers, asking her if she needs help with anything, complimenting her, and then eventually asking her out on a date," Leo says, ticking things off his fingers. I look at Annabeth for guidance. She gestures to Leo and doesn't indicate a single thing about what I should tell him. So much for being a big help.
"I don't know. I guess. Don't give her roses though. She didn't seem to really care for those."
Leo nods his head. He mutters something under his breath for a few seconds until the biggest grin I've ever seen, spreads on his face.
"I've got it! Thanks for your help!" Leo says. Leo lets himself out faster than a bolt of lightning, my front door slamming behind him.
I turn to Annabeth and study her. She isn't looking at me or anything in particular. She must be as stunned as I am. Leo left without so much as a goodbye. I shake my head and remember that Annabeth needs to leave soon.
I get out of my chair and lay down on my stomach. I army crawl until my chin is hovering over her lap, my arms taunt in front of her crisscrossed legs so I don't faceplant into her. I lift her hoodie a few inches and kiss the strip of skin I thought about earlier. Annabeth sucks in a breath and I smile into her skin. Now I have her attention.
I suck on the skin for a few seconds before my arms start to hurt from my awkward position. I pull away and let her hoodie drop so I can wrap my arm around her waist and pull her away from the couch and push her shoulders to the floor. Annabeth willingly changes positions and I position myself on top of her legs so I can balance on my forearms instead of my hands.
I return to sucking at her stomach. Her muscles pull taunt every time I move to another spot of her tan skin and it's like a fun little game. She's so incredibly gorgeous. One of her hands finds my hair and she starts playing with it, making me to hum. I wish I could spend the rest of my life like this.
Annabeth laughs and tugs at my hair, pulling me away from her stomach.
"Come up here," Annabeth tells me. Her soft smile turning into a smirk.
"How much time do I have before you leave me," I ask, slowly making my way up her body. I pause at the next bit of exposed skin. Her collarbone. Her perfect, beautiful collarbone.
"We have five minutes," She tells me. She tugs at my hair insistently but I don't budge. I have so much skin to kiss and so little time.
"I'm already late and I want to kiss you, leave my neck alone," Annabeth says, laughing softly. She grabs my chin and pulls.
"Pushy," I mumble. I let my tongue drag up her neck, loving the feel of her chest as she wiggles against me. Why do we only have five minutes? Surely she can spare a bit more time?
I finally reach her lips and as soon as our lips meet, she devours me. Her lips are insistent on mine, her pace fast, and I race to keep up with her. Our slow Sunday is instantly gone and in its place is a passion-filled high-speed Sunday, that seems to make time fly past. She sucks on my lip, bites my lip, and then soothes it with her tongue in an unforgiving pattern that makes me dizzy.
My brain fizzes out as I try to keep pace. I follow along as best I can and all I can feel is the heat of her body on mine. I'm burning up in my air-conditioned apartment. Her hands are in my hair, and on my lower back, pressing us as close as possible. I'm drunk off of her. Her passion makes me feel clumsy and yet, euphoric.
Before we got together Piper had told me that Annabeth had only been with, and been kissed by, a few guys at most. Annabeth later confirmed that to me, but I have a hard time believing that any guy would give up this. I would honestly consider being casual with Annabeth. I could forget about the soulmate system and love Annabeth no matter what. She is my everything and there isn't anything I wouldn't give up to stay with her.
She pulls away from me and pushes against my chest. I whine and kiss her again, hoping my lips will make her forget that she needs to leave.
"Percy-," kiss, "I have too-," kiss, "leave-," kiss.
"Five more minutes," I try and kiss her again but she presses her hand against my chest and I slowly back off. I won't force her. No matter how reluctant she seems to be about stopping.
"I need to go, I'll see you on Tuesday," She pushes me until I'm to the side of her and not right above her. She stands up and goes to my room. I take a deep breath to get my body under control before standing and meeting her by my front door.
"I love you," I say with conviction. The words feel so right coming out of my mouth. It causes a warmth to spread inside my chest and no other words have felt so right.
"I know," she says softly.
'I know,' has been Annabeth's response whenever I tell her I love her. It doesn't bother me too much. She won't admit it to herself, but I can see it in her eyes. She loves me, she's just scared and since she's scared to admit it, I'll just be here, waiting for whenever she can admit it.
I grab the baseball cap from her hand, and place it on her head, pulling the hoodie up over top to shield her hair and shadow her face. It's a miracle nobody has been caught in my friend group. The girls are so obvious!
Annabeth leaves, and my dorm suddenly feels empty. I guess I can always play video games.
Finally, it's Tuesday! Monday went by about as fast as a snail. My classes were boring, everyone seemed to be busy, and my dad sent me the financial statements from the previous year. He does this every year. He'll send me the financial statements from the previous year and then he'll set up a time for us to meet and have dinner. I've never minded the dinners. Both my dad and my mom come, we eat good food, discuss the business, and the family, and then we talk about future plans. It's a good excuse to spend time with my parents.
The only problem is, that the financial statements are even more boring than my classes. They come hand-delivered in a box filled to the brim, and I usually get around a week to look at them all. My dad hasn't told me when he plans on having this dinner, but I need to keep my weekends free just in case.
I check the time on my phone and sigh. I still have thirty minutes until everyone will meet at Jason's place. I don't know why we decided Tuesdays were the best day to hang out, but I'm grateful. I'm so sick of these financial statements.
After fifteen minutes of going through the statements, I give up. I go to my room and grab a baseball cap to hide my hair. It's been so difficult lately. I look like I just woke up and not in a good way. I need a haircut. I spin it around so the visor is in the back and I grab my wallet just in case and then leave my dorm. I knock on Jason's door and laugh when I hear a crash. Piper must have come early too.
I sit down on the floor and wait for them. The door opens a few minutes later and I smirk at Jason's hair. His usually perfect hair is a mess, he has his glasses on, which are askew, and his polo isn't buttoned all the way.
"You doin' a naked shoot for Piper?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows. I laugh, and Jason punches my arm.
"Dude, be quiet!" Jason looks down the hall and then grabs my arm and pulls me into his dorm.
I pat his shoulder and walk past him to his living room where Piper is laying on the couch.
"I hate you so much right now," Piper says with a glare. Her glare intensifies when I sit on the floor with my back to the couch-my head falling next to her thigh.
"Why are you here so early?" Jason asks. He lifts Piper's legs and sits down, placing her legs in his lap.
"I'm bored," I whine. I pout at him and Jason nods sympathetically.
Piper smacks my head, pushing my hat off of my head, "Well we weren't!"
I rub my head, "Ow!" I glare at her and she sticks her tongue out at me. Real mature.
She lifts her hand again and I flinch, "I'm sorry okay?" I turn to Jason, knowing I'll get more sympathy from him. He might even stop Piper from hitting me more.
"My dad sent me all the financial statements from last year, and I'm trying to get through all of them before the dinner he always invites me to."
Just like I thought, Jason gives me a sympathetic look, and nods his head, "Those are the worst."
Piper retracts her hand and lays back on the couch. Score!
"We're going to rewatch the Hunger Games movies. Will you be a decent best friend for once, and grab me the remote?" Piper asks.
"For once? Who works for free? Who lets you steal all their baseball caps?" I ask, getting off of the floor. I walk over to where the remote sits. I grab it and point it at Piper.
"I'm only doing this because I'm going to make some popcorn," I toss her the remote and head into Jason's small kitchen without caring where the remote lands. I grab the popcorn from the top of his medium-sized fridge and toss the popcorn next to the microwave. Jason's kitchen has always been better stocked than mine. He takes full advantage of having a kitchen. Most of us - me - utilize the cafeteria because we're too lazy to cook.
Someone knocks on the door.
"I got it," I say loudly. I throw the popcorn into the microwave and press the popcorn button. I then make my way to Jason's front door. There are pictures on the wall and an actual coat rack by the door.
I open the door and beam and Frank and Hazel.
"Hey, it's good to see you guys!" I wave them past me and grab Frank's coat from him. He lives in another building making it a warm occasion whenever he makes the trip over to our dorms. He usually sticks to the people in his dorm but I made friends with Hazel through Piper who invited Jason to hang out, who then brought Frank, and boom! Sparks were made, names were italicized and now they have pretty cursive names on them.
I hang the coat on the rack and leave Hazel with her hoodie. I don't know if the Hall Monitor people are stupid or they just turn a blind eye, because I can understand why they'd let Annabeth in and even Piper, but Hazel? Annabeth is tall and lean, and when her hair is covered by a hoodie and ball caps she could pass as a dude.
Piper is the same way except she's shorter and pulls off the flannel hoodie look. She wears a ball cap and usually forgoes the hood, considering her hair can actually fit under the ball cap. On Halloween a few years ago she dressed up as a guy and the security guard to the girl's dorm wouldn't let her in. It was hella convincing. But, Hazel? She's maybe five-two and her hair would never fit under a ball cap!
"How's the lacrosse team this season Percy?" Frank asks. I trail behind them but stop when someone else knocks on the door.
"They're keeping us busy with practices. Tomorrow we have a game at LA West. We're lucky Coach didn't run us to death at practice this morning," I call over my shoulder as I open the door. Callie stands at the door and I open it wider for her.
Callie's and I's split was super awkward at first. Especially when she stopped hanging out with the gang. She only stopped hanging out with us for a week, but I felt awful. I thought she was the one, and then our friends took more of their time to comfort me. It wasn't on purpose, of course. Piper is my best friend and Annabeth just joined the gang this year and is mostly friends with Piper and I. Hazel is a year younger than us, and the rest of the gang is guys or they graduated last year.
Callie slips past me with a small nod which I return. The microwave starts beeping so I quickly shut the door and walk into the kitchen. I grab another bag of popcorn and throw it in the microwave after taking the other one out. I grab a large bowl and pour the popcorn in.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, making me jump. The only person that would be calling me right now is my father. I quickly pull the phone from my pocket and answer it.
"Hey, dad."
"Percy, my boy! How are those financial statements coming along?"
"Oh, you know, they're coming. The company took a big hit last September. What was that about?"
"We helped a Make A Wish kid that month. Remember? He wanted to try and sail around the world before he died? He was a sweet kid."
I nod my head and hum, an affirmative. The financial statements usually show when we donate to charities, but the Make A Wish foundation must be different.
"How's mom?" I ask.
"She's doing well. We're going to the Naval Base in Pearl Harbor until Friday. You don't have any lacrosse tournaments this weekend do you?"
I ignore his question.
"Sounds like fun. You going for a routine check, or...?"
"Captain Bueller asked me to come in and check the USS Beacon. They might retire the ship soon, but they want to see if they only need to modify it, or do a complete restoration."
"Sounds cool. Wish I could come."
"Me too. But enjoy your time as a student and an athlete. So, no tournaments this weekend?"
"Nope. No tournaments. I've got a game tomorrow and on Friday though."
"I'll try and make one next week. Your mother says she's sorry she's missing them."
"Mom's with you?"
"Yeah, we're just finishing some packing. We leave in an hour."
"Be safe and say hi to mom for me."
There's some mumbling over the line, so I take the time to take the popcorn from the microwave a few seconds early and pour it into the bowl.
"Does dinner, Saturday night, work for you?"
"Yeah, that should be fine. Are we going to 71Above again?"
"I was thinking of changing it up. Would you rather go to Nabu or Flemming's?"
"Let's go to Flemming's."
"Sounds good. You should invite your soulmate to join us. What's her name again?"
I hear a slapping sound over the phone and assume my mom hit him upside the head. I smile at the mere thought of Annabeth.
"Right, right, Annabeth. You should invite Annabeth."
"I'll ask her. I can't make any promises though. Her workload is a lot more than mine."
"Is she an athlete?"
"Yeah, she runs track. She does both the four-hundred-meter sprint and the four-by-four-hundred relay. You should see her run she's incredible!"
"Maybe we'll catch one of her meets and we can meet her parents."
"I'll mention it to her."
"Perfect, now-,"
"Percy, bring in the popcorn! Everyone's here and we're going to start the movie!" Leo calls loudly, interrupting my father.
"Sorry, dad. Will you repeat that for me?" I ask. I grab the bowl of popcorn and take it to the living room.
"You spoke about a swimming scholarship offer last time we spoke seriously."
I hand the popcorn over to Leo and pull the phone away from my mouth and ear.
"Go ahead and start the movie," I tell Piper.
I leave the room and quickly head back into the kitchen.
"Yeah, UCLA made an offer."
"You wouldn't have mentioned it if you weren't considering it a lot."
"You're right, I wouldn't have."
"I thought we had discussed this already?"
"We did! But I never thought that UCLA would offer me a swimming scholarship! Dad, they have a great business program! I could make it work!"
"And what of the company? The plan was for you to start working for me while you completed your degree online."
I sigh and rest my forehead on the hanging cabinet.
"I could work as soon as the season finishes!"
"You would be making a major commitment Perseus. You'd need to be around for training and weight lifting. Not to mention you wouldn't be able to do any of the business that's outside of California! Jackson's do not half-ass things."
I hit my head on the cabinet. He'll never understand.
"I don't want to stop playing sports."
I jump when a pair of arms wrap around my waist. I twist my neck and see Annabeth. My body relaxes and my free hand rubs Annabeth's arms absentmindedly.
"We already agreed that you would stop after high school. We can discuss this again when we're in person."
"Yes, father."
"Don't call me father. You know I don't like it when you call me that."
"I'm sorry. I'll see you and mom on Saturday."
"Okay. I love you, son."
"I love you too, dad."
I hang up the phone and place it on the counter.
"Everything okay?" Annabeth asks softly.
"Yeah, everything is fine," I say. I turn in her arms and wrap my own around her, pulling her tight.
"How do you feel about meeting my parents this Saturday for dinner?"
"Are you sure I don't need to dress up more?" Annabeth asks, flattening her dress against her stomach. I watch her hands glide across her body and smile. I'm the luckiest guy in the world.
"If you dressed up anymore, I'd need to take you to the Met Gala instead of dinner," I joke. Her dark blue dress almost looks black in the darkness of the parking lot. Her golden hair has braids running through it in a complicated design, half of it still laying past her shoulders in their natural curly state.
"Are we going to leave or are you just going to stare at me all night?" Annabeth asks teasingly. She closes the remaining distance between us and wraps her arms around my waist.
"If we weren't meeting up with my parents I would do just that," I tell her, and honestly, I really would. There is nothing else that could grab, and hold my attention like Annabeth.
"Well, let's go before we're late and I make a bad first impression," Annabeth says teasingly. She lets go of me and walks up to my car. I quickly catch up with her and hold open the door for her. When she gets settled in the car - making sure I don't accidentally catch her dress - I close the door.
I walk to the other side of the car and quickly get in and start the car. The drive to Flemming's is only thirty minutes with traffic but we got a late start so we'll probably be late. Hope my dad won't make a fuss.
LA is beautiful at night. You can't see any stars at night, but the buildings are all lit up. People stay up late hoping to achieve their dreams or party the night away. Companies with big bright logos, trying to catch drivers' attention, restaurants trying to look more appetizing than their neighbors, with colorful billboards hanging under bright white lights. LA is a city that rarely sleeps.
"What should I expect from this dinner?" Annabeth asks while she fiddles with the Bluetooth in my car.
I shrug my shoulders. My mom is a sweet soul. She'll be happy just to know that she's meeting the love of my life. My father is a wild card though. He'll appreciate her driven personality and will be impressed with all of her achievements. The problem is, he wants someone who's 'perfect' for a CEO. But, he's also, a romantic so he might take that a few different ways.
"My mom will love you and you'll impress my dad," I tell her simply.
"Your dad won't love me?" Annabeth asks teasingly. She laughs softly, but I can't join her. I want to tell her that yes, my father will love her, but I can't.
Annabeth must notice that I'm not laughing and gives me this look. I don't know how to describe it other than she wants me to elaborate on why I didn't laugh.
"He's a bit of a wild card," I admit, tightening my grip on the steering wheel. I really want him to like her.
"Oh," Annabeth breathes. She goes back to smoothing out her dress. I take one of my hands off the wheel and grab her left hand, intertwining our fingers. So much for trying to keep her calm.
The rest of the drive is spent mostly silent, the silence is only interrupted when a particularly well-known song comes on, or we make a comment on the traffic. I don't mind, just being with her is enough.
When I pull into Flemming's parking lot, I turn off the ignition and wipe the sweat off my hands. I'm about to introduce my soulmate to my parents. The love of my life, the person I want to marry one day! Annabeth takes the lead and gets out of the car. I scramble after her and get out of the car.
"You couldn't wait for me to get out of the car and open the door for you?" I tease her. Annabeth gives me an amused glance and rolls her eyes at me.
"We're already late, I didn't want to completely miss out on meeting your parents because you were too nervous to get out of the car," she says. A warm feeling spreads across my chest.
"You want to meet my parents?" I ask her. I walk toward her and grasp her hands in mine.
"I'm flattered that they invited me, and I'm surely going to lose any chance of them liking me if we don't get in there," Annabeth tugs my hands in the direction of the restaurant. She lets go of one of my hands and starts walking, pulling me along with her.
"You, my love, are amazing," I compliment her. I don't know how she does it. She's confident and smart and beautiful and she's meeting my parents after only three weeks of dating. I'd have passed out if I were meeting her dad!
She doesn't respond, she just squeezes my hand, never slowing her pace. I walk faster to catch up and then open the door for her.
"Milady," I say with an exaggerated bow. Annabeth snorts and hits my arm before passing me. I can openly admit to myself that I tilt my head and watch her backside for a few seconds. I do not appreciate her backside as much as I should.
I drag my eyes up and away to a place that's considered socially acceptable and follow her. Can't have my mom catch my staring. I'd be smacked around until someone called the police.
I catch up with Annabeth quickly enough and lead her to the hostess.
"Jackson table," I say when the hostess looks at me.
"You must be the other half of the Jackson party, Perseus?" She asks, not bothering to glance back up from her tablet.
"You would be correct," I tell her. I look to her name tag and read, Janice. Janice looks up from her tablet and smiles at me.
"Right this way Mr. Jackson," she says, guiding Annabeth and I back, past the lobby area. The restaurant is dark, the lights more yellow than white. We walk past a waterfall that I hadn't taken proper notice of before and past other tables filled with rich-looking people. I watch Annabeth take it all in from the corner of my eye. She fits right in with all the extravagant rich people and yet stands out as a true beauty.
Annabeth elbows me discreetly and I startle. I look away from her and realize that we're standing in front of my parents. They both stand and give me a hug each.
"Did you guys get any work done while you were in Hawaii?" I joke, gesturing to their bronzed skin.
"Some of us can multitask and work, while we're in the sun Percy," Annabeth jokes from my side. I beam at her. How she has the confidence to joke around before being introduced to my parents is... wow.
"This is, Annabeth," I say gesturing to her proudly. My mom hugs her, and my father holds out his hand which, Annabeth takes and shakes firmly. I breathe a sigh of relief when he nods his head appreciatively.
"Let's get this party started," my father says. I take out a chair and nod down to it. Annabeth picks up on the gesture and sits letting me push her in. I quickly take the seat next to her, my parents sitting across from us.
"Was there much traffic? Fashionably late is a strategy, but being too late is considered rude," my father says with narrowed eyes. Of course, he brought it up, I shouldn't even hope for these things anymore.
"Ah, I'm sure anyone would excuse me if I told them I got distracted by my incredibly beautiful girlfriend," I put my arm around Annabeth's chair and smile charmingly at my mom. My mom returns my smile while my father frowns.
"That will only work with me, and I don't want you to be making any bad-,"
"Dad, I really did just get distracted. Give me a break, we only got together a couple of weeks ago. I'm not quite over the novelty of being in a serious relationship like this," I try to smile at him but it probably doesn't come out like I wanted to. Why couldn't he just take my joke?
"If we're placing blame then I shouldn't have let him stare at me for so long," Annabeth says, smiling at my mom charmingly.
"We won't blame you for basking in our son's undivided attention. Every girl should soak it up while it lasts," my mom says with a wink. I gasp dramatically and place a hand over my heart. Just like I predicted, my mom likes Annabeth.
"I will be distracted for the rest of my life, I will have you know," I say semi-seriously. My parents both smile at me and I feel Annabeth shift in her seat. I look at her from the corner of my eye, she's smiling albeit, a bit strained, but it's a smile. Good, my father hasn't scared her off yet.
A waiter comes to the table and asks for our drink orders. My parents get some wine, I get a coke and Annabeth asks for a strawberry lemonade and water. The waiter leaves and I turn to my father. He always runs these dinners and I'm nervous about how he'll direct the conversation considering Annabeth is here.
"So, tell us a bit about yourself Annabeth," my father says, giving Annabeth his undivided attention. I turn to Annabeth and wait for her to speak. She's in the spotlight, and if she's nervous, she doesn't show it. She's being an absolute champ.
"I'm an only child. I've only met my mother a few times, but she's a renowned architect in Europe. My dad is an American History professor at Stanford. I didn't go to LALA until this last year and I'm there specializing in Architecture and Calculus. I also run Track," Annabeth says smiling confidently. My parents nod their heads and I don't know why, but her explanation isn't enough.
"Annabeth is the most talented, most well-rounded, person, I've ever met. She can solve any equation, she'll beat you in any debate, she'll strike you speechless by walking in the room, and she's honest," I say, watching Annabeth as I finish speaking. She has the lightest of pinks on her cheeks. Beautiful.
"I'm glad you're such a wonderful girl. My son will need someone in his corner when he takes over the company," my father says. I watch Annabeth shift in her seat again. I lean back in my chair and yeah, these seats really aren't the most comfortable, maybe that's why she keeps squirming.
My father quickly changes topics to the financial statements he sent me, and we discuss those for a while. Business is as usual. Sailboats are coming back in style and according to Annabeth, it's because everyone is obsessed with the lifestyle of Donna, from the Mama Mia movies and Bill from the second movie. This leads us to the topic of how pop culture influences the market and how we can use it for profit.
Annabeth takes part in every conversation and shows off her intellectual prowess. I'm specializing in business, and some of the things Annabeth knows astounds me. The only reason I can keep up with the conversation is because my father has been training me since I turned fifteen!
"Annabeth what do you want to do after you graduate?" My mother asks, turning the conversation away from Oceanus Inc.
"I plan on going to Stanford. I already have a full-ride scholarship," Annabeth tells them with obvious pride. I stare at her. That's news to me. Have we never discussed this before? I zone out, only half listening.
I wrack my brain trying to remember a conversation where we talked about our futures. I go back to when she told me she wanted to be an architect and nothing else was said on the topic of futures. Nothing about colleges or what would happen after we graduate.
Suddenly, the end of the school year is daunting. We won't be living across the street from each other. If things go my father's way then I'll be off traveling, completing online school, and Annabeth will still be in California at Stanford.
Their conversation continues and I zone out completely. Can we survive long distances? Is there any other option? I never applied to Stanford and I don't think my father has any connections there to get me a late application waiver for admittance. So is that it? We'll graduate and I'll only visit her once every blue moon? The thought of that physically causes my chest to tighten.
"Perseus!" I snap to attention and turn to my father.
"Yes?" I ask panicky. They all stare at me with varying degrees of concern. My dad pauses while the waiter gives us our drinks and takes our orders. I get the surf and turf and try to remember what he asked. I'll think about this other stuff later. I don't want my father to pick up on the lack of communication Annabeth and I apparently have.
"I asked if you had heard anything else from UCLA," my father says. Annabeth looks at me strangely and I'm once again struck with the fact that we haven't talked about the future. Have I not mentioned UCLA? Have I even told her about the company I'm going to take over one day? Surely I mentioned it?
"They're pressing me for a final answer," I tell him slowly. I really don't want to discuss this in public, or at all. I thought it would be easier than over the phone, but I'd rather have it over the phone now.
"And?" My father prods. I look to my mom for help. Her eyes are sad but she gives me an encouraging smile.
"I really want to accept, but if you want to retire really soon and you need me to learn everything now, I'll decline the offer," I straighten my back. It's not like I'm going to become a professional swimmer, but this is a great opportunity for me! I'll meet so many people, I'll get to do something I'm passionate about, and I'll stay in California where I won't have to be as far from Annabeth. From my point of view, it looks like a win-win.
"Perseus," my father sighs. He turns to my mom and looks at her, silently asking for help. I do the same and she looks completely torn. Does she side with her husband or her son? I pray to the gods, she sides with me. I'll never win if she sides with my father.
"You made a deal with your dad, Percy," my mom says softly. My heart shatters and I look down at my lap.
"What do you think of this Annabeth?" My father asks. I look up at her and catch her eye. For the first time tonight, she looks nervous. I wish I'd talked to her about this. Man, I'm such an idiot!
"I think, I don't know enough about the situation to give an opinion," Annabeth says slowly. Any hope I have of staying in California fades, and I can't blame Annabeth for staying out of it. This conversation really is out of her element. All because I didn't communicate with her what's happening in my life. I was blinded by love every time I saw her. I was stuck in the honeymoon stage, and now I'm back to reality where things aren't perfect, my name isn't on Annabeth's chest, and not everything goes my way. I really don't deserve her.
"You don't have an opinion about your soulmate's future?" My father asks. His voice is deeper than usual and I'm suddenly on edge. What's with the sudden hostility?
"It's his future," Annabeth says with a shrug. Her comment stings a little. I want her to have an opinion. Doesn't she have an opinion on whether I stay or leave?
"You are soulmates," my father says. His eyes flicker to the area of skin that will soon - hopefully soon - have my name.
"Do you not have an opinion because you don't love him?" He pressures.
"Father!" I exclaim. I tighten my grip on Annabeth's hand. Where is he going with all of this? I glare at him in warning, I don't want to start a fight.
"It's been three weeks son. I've seen this happen before and it usually ends with you in pain," my father sneers. I look at my mom and she looks as shocked as I am. Seen what before?
"What happened to her being absolutely perfect for me and my future as the Owner of Oceanus?" I say scathingly. Annabeth glares at me. Wait. Why is she glaring at me?
"Not helping," she hisses under her breath.
"See? Not even she thinks-," I slam my hand on the table causing everyone in the vicinity to fall silent. Everyone and I mean everyone looks at me shocked.
"I'm not going to UCLA, I will take over the company, and I'll do online school, but you won't say one bad dam thing about Annabeth. You should be ashamed of yourself. Accusing her of something she has absolutely zero control over!
"I'm going to get some fresh air really fast. Care to join me Annabeth?" I ask. I glare at my father and dare him to say anything.
"Some fresh air would be nice," Annabeth says quickly before my father can get a word in. I scoot my chair back and stand quickly, pulling Annabeth's chair back so she can stand without risking a fall. I grab her hand again, leave the table, and my parents behind.
My stride is longer than Annabeth's and I have to physically hold myself back so I don't storm away and end up dragging her behind me.
I push the door open and wait for Annabeth to walk past me before I finally breathe. I let my breath out in a disbelieving scoff, and mutter obscenities under my breath.
"The nerve!" I growl. My hands are clenched in fists and I turn my back on Annabeth so she doesn't see my rage. How dare he!
"Percy, it's okay, everyone's emotions were-,"
"Don't," I interrupt, "Don't defend him."
"I'll call you an Uber to take you back to the school," I pull out my phone and press the Uber app.
"Stop, Percy. Just stop," Annabeth comes around me so she can see me, and takes my phone from my hands.
"Take a deep breath," she says sternly. I do as instructed and take a couple of deep breaths.
What kind of soulmate am I? I take her to meet my parents without informing her of any of the possible things they'd bring up, I let my father insult her, and then I make it worse by causing a scene! Maybe I wasn't ready for a soulmate! I'm a walking disaster!
"Emotions were running high and you both said things. Just clean the slate. We go back in, talk about mindless things like school and sports, and we eat dinner," Annabeth says. I let my head fall back and groan. She wants me to forget about what my father said? It was unforgivable.
"I'm so sorry," I apologize, still looking at the sky.
"It's a bit early in our relationship for us to be having these big conversations with your parents," Annabeth admits.
"This is why I hate soulmates, you know?" Annabeth says offhandedly, not noticing my shattering heart. Hates soulmates? I know she isn't a fan of the system, but how can she hate something that brought us together? Or does she not want to be together?
"You get my name on your chest and all of the sudden it's set in stone that we're getting married, and I'm going to be your little wife who stays at home to support you, and I need to run everything by you and visa versa!" Annabeth continuous, oblivious to my emotional distress.
"Let's go back inside," I mumble, not wanting to hear anymore. Anything to stop her tirade of how she hates me. Hating the fact that she hates being soulmates with me.
"Okay."
I hold the door open for her and follow her back to the table. Was I so caught up in my own feelings that I disregarded everything? Since her name was italicized over my heart, I automatically get a future with her? Oh, she'll love me because her name is there, she'll be my wife because her name is there, she'll want me because I love her.
Isn't that the point of the soulmate system? To show how strong your love for each other can be? The potential? If everyone would just let love run its course wouldn't the soulmate system work like it was meant to? Why do people have to fight it? What is so wrong with knowing, that someone will love you no matter what?
We reach the table and my parents start to stand again. I quickly put my hand out to stop them and pull a chair out for Annabeth. She takes her seat and I quickly get in mine. Nothing sounds better than my bed right now. I just need this dinner to be over with.
"I'm so sorry son, I didn't mean-,"
"Don't apologize to me," I interrupt. He looks at me pleadingly but I sit back in my chair and refuse to say another word until he apologizes to Annabeth. She might not love me, but I love her, and she deserves an apology.
"Annabeth, I'm so sorry. I should know better than to let my emotions run my mouth. Nothing good ever happens when I let that happen, and I want you to know that I didn't mean a word about your opinion and you not loving my son," he hangs his head and my mother glares at him and he looks back to me. I shake my head.
"Don't worry about it, sir. I understand how conversations about the future can cause tension," Annabeth smiles at him and it seems to relieve some of the tension that has hung over our table since UCLA was mentioned.
Thankfully, I'm saved from speaking by the waiter, and I don't need to hear another apology from my father. The waiter places our food in front of us and tells us to, "enjoy." He leaves just as quickly as he came, and I feel bad for being that, kind of table. I need to remember to apologize to him before we leave.
"How was Hawaii? I've never been," Annabeth says conversationally. My mom takes the invitation to change the subject and starts talking about their week-long trip to Oahu.
I stay silent and try to enjoy the expensive meal in front of me. The rest of the evening was spent with Annabeth and my mom trying to drag my father and I into a conversation. It worked most of the time if for brief moments. We stayed away from topics regarding the future and the past, so we were basically stuck with politics and the stock market as our points of conversation.
"Thank you so much for inviting me to dinner," Annabeth says graciously when the food is all gone and conversation is becoming too difficult to come up with. I pull the chair out for her and offer her my arm. She takes it and we all walk to the front of the restaurant. She and my mom get along well and she seems to have come to mutual respect with my father. Should I have expected anything less? She's practically perfect. Perfect to the point that she now seems out of my reach.
I flag down the waiter and discreetly slip him a hundred-dollar bill when I shake his hand and apologize to him. He takes the money graciously and I nod my head one more time before I lead Annabeth out and into the cool night air.
"I'll see you at graduation then?" I ask my parents. They're standing a good distance from us and the distance means something now. Before I would have said it was because we parked on opposite sides of the parking lot, but now it represents the distance they created.
"We'll be at your next lacrosse game," my father says. He tries to smile but it comes out looking forced and plastic.
"See you then, mom," I say nodding my head at her, "father," I say repeating my head nod. My father returns my nod and my mom just looks sad. I'll make it up to her after my game. I just need to leave right now.
"It was lovely meeting you Annabeth," my mom says while my father nods along.
"Likewise, Mrs. Jackson," Annabeth says.
"Call me Sally dear," my mom says. Annabeth beams and my chest constricts for the thousandth time tonight. I need to get back to my dorm. Before Annabeth can respond, I turn us around and lead her to the car. I open the door for her and then get in on the driver's side. I quickly start the car and instantly start driving. I speed through the lit streets and focus on the music instead of my racing thoughts.
We make it back in record time and I can't bring myself to move. The thought of saying goodnight to Annabeth makes my stomach turn, and not in the way it usually does. I can't believe I let my father's words get to me, but he has a point. Annabeth doesn't love me and she doesn't want to. I can't get any better for her. I've been high off of happiness these past few weeks and I've been attentive and so, in love. It can only get worse and then I really won't have a chance of making her fall in love with me.
And the really funny thing about all of this is, she's my soulmate and I shouldn't have to worry about not being good enough. It's been written by the gods. We are meant for each other. Our love story is written over our hearts and will one day be in the stars. Soulmates aren't supposed to lead to tragedy. That stuff is in Shakespeare and bad soap operas.
"Are you going to sleep in your car?" Annabeth asks, breaking the silence.
"You can go, I just need a second where nothing happens," I tell her without looking at her.
"Alright..." Annabeth turns to me and stares for a few seconds. I watch her from my peripheral vision and wait for her to leave. I don't want to say something I don't mean.
I watch her face scrunch up before she turns and gets out of my car. I don't watch her leave, I don't appreciate her backside like I said I would, I don't kiss her goodnight, I don't walk her safely across the street, gods I didn't even drop her off as a proper gentleman should have. How can one night spin my world on its axis? My soulmate, Annabeth, she's my world, my constant, and now everything is tilted, distorted.
Maybe I should run off to Europe and start a seaside restaurant in Greece. I'm half Greek, maybe I can pull a Donna, and one day everyone will envy my lifestyle.
"Dam, who slept with your girlfriend?" Leo asks, staring at me with wide eyes. I grunt.
"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you not looking like a Greek god," Leo tries to joke. I ignore his comment and stand up to leave. I have a kitchen, I don't need to sit here and socialize. Leo doesn't follow me which I'm grateful for. I'm generally a nice guy, but after coming to the realization that Annabeth doesn't love me and is way to good for me, I've been less than agreeable.
I've been overly sassy with every teacher I've had today, I sent a short - very short - email to UCLA telling them I can't accept the scholarship, and I've ignored every single text I've gotten today. It doesn't help that I have lacrosse practice in an hour. I'll be forced to spend time with others and Jason is bound to pry. I've never been very good at hiding how I feel. I can change my facial expression with a single thought, but while I'm playing lacrosse I won't have the focus required for keeping my face blank.
I step off the elevator and groan when I see a hooded figure by my door. If my lacrosse gear wasn't in my room I'd turn around and head straight for the field. I sigh and walk up to my door.
"I have practice, and homework to finish before said practice," I say, unlocking my door. I don't spare the hooded figure a glance. It's either Piper or Annabeth and I honestly can't bring myself to care which one it is.
"You should always make time for your best friend," comes Piper's voice. I groan. Annabeth could be persuaded to leave me alone if I was going to do work, but Piper won't take no for an answer.
I step into my room, followed closely by Piper. She quickly discards her hoodie and flings herself on my couch. I ignore her and head to my kitchen. I grab a protein bar and a Gatorade from my fridge before sitting in my armchair. If Piper has something to say, she can break the silence.
I pull out my phone and start scrolling through my emails. I ignore the response from UCLA's swim coach and every other college email. My father will probably tell me which school he wants me to get my degree from. There's no use in looking through all of the college emails. I trash most of them but keep the emails that were sent by my high school and my father. Most of the emails sent by my father will be about the business and while I really want to be petty and delete them, I'd rather save myself from a future fight because I accidentally deleted some important business emails.
"I need you and Annabeth to do a shoot for me," Piper says suddenly. I look up from my phone and stare at her. I figured she'd be a bit busy with Venus to be doing shoots for her Instagram.
"Is it for school?" I ask her. It's the only reasonable explanation I can think of. Why else would she need us for a shoot?
"No, Venus sent me some clothes and make-up she wants me to promote for her. She said I have a large enough following that it would be a good marketing scheme. She asked for you and Annabeth specifically, she said you guys would make sweet music with her influence," Piper says, smiling at me. I nod my head and go back to scrolling.
"You'll have to check with Annabeth. Her schedule is busier than mine," I tell her noncommitedly.
Piper makes a humming noise and says, "Annabeth said the same thing about you, except she also mentioned that you two met with your parents last night and she wasn't sure how you'd feel about doing the shoot with her."
I curse under my breath. Why couldn't Annabeth, not mention that?
"What happened?" Piper asks. Her voice is mostly curious but holds a hint of anger.
"My father and I got in an argument about my future and when he asked Annabeth for her opinion and she said she didn't have one...," the rest of the sentence dies on my lips.
"You lost confidence in your relationship because Annabeth said she didn't have an opinion?" Piper asks incredulously.
I glare at her. As if Annabeth not having an opinion would put me off this much.
"My father started laying into her and I caused a scene. I took Annabeth outside with me for a breather and she told me that she hated the soulmate system and doesn't want to tell me about her future or hear about mine," I tell her staring at my phone sadly. Piper breathes out an "Oh," and I nod my head. I power my phone off, my eyes unfocused. I flip it around in my palm and shrug. At least I know now.
"I was so caught up with our new relationship, I forgot she doesn't love me," my eyes water and I clear my throat. I blink the tears away as quickly as possible. I hope Piper doesn't notice. I'm pathetic.
"Well, we know Annabeth is smart, but that doesn't mean she can't be an idiot," Piper says with a shrug. I glare at her. Annabeth isn't the idiot in this situation. Piper raises her hands in surrender when she notices my glare.
"Hey, if there is anyone that could make Annabeth fall in love, it's you. Didn't she tell you the soul mark would show up eventually? She did! I remember you telling me after you guys got together. She said it would, right after she saw her name on your chest! Like, she already warned you that it would take a while, plus you already knew her stance on soulmates."
"That doesn't make it any easier, Piper! How is she supposed to fall in love with me if she hates me?" I run a hand through my hair and check the time on my phone. I need to leave soon.
"When is the soulmate system ever easy?" Piper asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I hate to remind you, Piper, but you and Jason had it pretty easy. It was pretty much love at first sight!" I lean back in my chair and groan. Everyone's relationship looks easier than mine.
"Oh yeah, sure, we fell in love easily enough, but staying in love has been difficult!" Piper says. She huffs and rolls her eyes like I'm an idiot. Which, I kind of am, but I don't need to be reminded every fifteen minutes!
"Difficult?" I ask, suddenly worried about my best friend's relationship.
"It's hard being in love with someone who has their whole future planned out. His future doesn't change because I'm now a part of his life. I need to change for him. I didn't want to move to Europe and work with Venus, but that's where Jason is going to be, so I'm changing my future plans to be with him. Jason has to put the company first," Piper grates. Her fist is digging into her thigh, and I wish I knew how to comfort her.
"And it's not like Jason doesn't struggle with things either. He doesn't like how my job surrounds me with male models and famous people who want to use me for my talent. It's one of the reasons you're my go-to model. Jason trusts you," Piper says with a shrug. She stares at me and I feel small under her gaze.
"Any relationship is difficult, especially soulmates. Annabeth might be more difficult than most, but don't you think she's worth it? I've watched you these past few weeks, and today is the first day that you haven't been on cloud nine," Piper smiles at me softly, and I relax. Piper is right.
"Thanks, I needed to hear that," I tell her. My phone buzzes in my pocket, reminding me I need to get ready and leave for practice.
"You have your future all planned out for you, and Annabeth had hers laid out for herself too. It's going to be tough for you guys, but if you love her, and trust her, it will work out in the end," Piper says with an encouraging smile. I nod my head at her and smile. She's the best, best friend anyone could ask for.
"I need to leave for practice, but don't be a stranger. I haven't seen you as much these past couple of weeks; which now that I think about it, was probably my fault. If you ever need to talk to me about Jason, my door is open and my ears are yours," I say with a smile. I get up, kiss my fingers, and press them to her forehead.
"Let yourself out!" I call behind me as I step into my room to change.
"I'll text you details about the shoot!" I hear Piper call. A door slams immediately after and I assume Piper has left my dorm. It looks like I owe Annabeth an apology.
Practice first, one step at a time, Jackson.
"Did Venus make this jacket?" I ask loudly. I'm standing in front of the mirror in my bathroom trying to figure out the many buttons on this jacket. The cream turtleneck sweater and grey plaid pants were easy enough to figure out, but this jacket is... it's something else.
"Yeah! It's a part of her business clothes line. It's perfect for you don't you think?" Piper calls. I play around with the buttons for another minute before I give up. The buttons don't line up with the holes, the jacket is way too long in the back on the left side, and the whole jacket is lopsided.
I leave my bathroom in a huff. Venus is not on my list of recommendations at the moment. How is anyone supposed to figure out how to put this jacket on?
I walk into my living room where Piper and Annabeth are. Piper is on the couch with Annabeth sitting in front of her. Piper is doing Annabeth's hair, weaving it together to form a braid.
"Help me, please!" I beg. They both look up at me and Piper laughs. She laughs so hard she tips over and lets go of the braid she'd been weaving.
"It's not funny! This thing doesn't make any sense!" I lift my arms in exasperation and let them fall with an audible smack, as my hands hit my legs.
Piper continues to laugh so I turn my attention to Annabeth. She's smiling at me and I can't help but smile back. I'd apologized to her yesterday and she accepted it easily enough. We still have a lot to talk about, but for now, we're back and better than before.
"Will you please help me? I've been trying to figure this thing out for ten minutes!" I gesture to the many buttons and Annabeth laughs.
She stands up and walks around me, studying the jacket. I stand still under her studious gaze. She steps close to me and plays with the buttons for a few seconds.
"Aha," Annabeth says softly. She grabs a hold of the left side of the jacket and wraps it around to the right side. She grabs a button that's higher up than the others and more to the right - a button I didn't even notice before - and puts it through the first slit. The rest of the jacket's buttons line up with the slits and even out so both sides of the jacket are the same length at the bottom.
Annabeth steps back with a proud grin on her face after finishing the last button. How did she figure it out so fast? She winks at me and sits back on the floor. I rush back to my bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. I look like I'm going to the Met Gala!
"Are you sure this is a part of her business line?" I ask loudly. I run a hand through my hair and appreciate the way the jacket doesn't restrict my arm movements. I wonder what kind of fabric this is? I hope this is a free sample.
"Where are we taking the pictures at?" I ask when Piper doesn't answer my other question. I shoot my mirror self handguns and leave the bathroom again. I return to my living room and sit in my armchair.
"We're going to the girls' science building," Piper answers. I look over at her quickly to see if she's joking.
"You're sneaking me into your science building?" I ask incredulously. An image of me being manhandled out of the building in handcuffs floats through my head.
"You're giving a lecture about chlorine and other chemicals at five," Piper says nonchalantly. She continues to weave Annabeth's hair, ignoring my distress.
"I could get kicked out of school if we're caught! My father will kill me! Pick somewhere else. I'll drive and I won't even make you chip in for gas!" I exclaim, panicked. Piper doesn't look at me so I look to Annabeth. She's smiling evilly.
"You're laughing at me," I accuse her. Her smile turns into a Cheshire grin, and I groan. They have an evil plot to murder me, there's no other reason they would do this to me!
"Don't worry, I've got it all handled. Besides, you're a swimmer, you should know all about chlorine!" Piper says enthusiastically. I glare at her.
"That's like saying a basketball player knows all about carpentry because they play on wooden courts," I deadpan. Annabeth snorts and even Piper's cool facade breaks.
"Everyone attending the lecture is in on it, all you have to do is spit out some useless facts about chlorine until the teacher that helps you settle in, eventually leaves," Piper says, shrugging her shoulders.
"What's Annabeth going to be doing?" I ask.
"She's going to be a student until the teacher leaves." I look at Annabeth and raise my eyebrows.
"No offense, but you're going to have Annabeth sitting in the crowd? Won't she a bit overdressed to be going to a lecture?"
"The teacher isn't going to know anything and, like I said, everyone else is in on it!" Piper counters.
"He's going to think I'm a pervert!" I whisper yell. Annabeth chuckles and Piper looks at me, a fake innocent look on her face. The little devil.
"Now, why would he think you're a pervert?" Piper asks, her face pulling a confused face.
"Annabeth looks like the epitome of sex whenever you dress her up! She is a walking sin. I won't be able to keep my eyes off of her, or, on her face for that matter!" I cry indignantly. They both snort and my face burns. Did I say that last part out loud?
"You have the same effect on Annabeth Percy, don't get your panties in a twist. It's one of the reasons Venus wants you guys for the shoot! It's going to be difficult to pull off, but the science building is perfect for what Venus is looking for! Bright white lights, sleek designs on the floors, ceiling, the light fixtures are hexagons for god's sake!" Piper's eyes light up just imagining her finished product and I can't say no.
I sigh, "What's my cover?"
"The almond tone concealer," Piper says, eyes fixed back on Annabeth's head.
"That's not what I-. Yes, I'll find that shade, but I mean, what's my name, how old am I? That kind of cover," I ask. I stand up and go to Piper's bag full of make-up. Did she say almond?
"You're Mr. Stark, you're twenty-six years old and you're going to be a professor at Stanford next year. Your Stanford ID is in the bottom of the clothes bag," Piper mumbles. I grab the almond shade of concealer before going to the bag of clothes. I carefully take out Annabeth's business clothing and set them aside. She has tan pants and a cream square-neck sweater. I bet five dollars Piper will put makeup on Annabeth's collar bones to make sure they glow; I pull out her blazer and smile. There Venus goes, confusing me again. The blazer is two different colors, cut right in half. Why is it two colors?
"What's this called?" I ask, holding the blazer up so Piper can see it. She looks up and smiles.
"That is a two-toned blazer. Venus let me watch her make it, and it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen," Piper smiles widely before declaring Annabeth's hair done. She shoos her away to my bathroom to change.
"Bring my make-up bag over and I'll do your make-up. The white-colored lighting in the science building will make even your tan skin look pale," she tells me.
I roll my spinny chair in front of her and I sit down in front of her, setting the bag down next to her. I hand her the almond concealer I still have in my hand and relax. Piper is a talented make-up artist, hairdresser, and nail tech, and she's always had a penchant for fashion. She belongs behind the scenes of a runway. She highlights people's best features and hides any insecurities or imperfections.
I remember when we first met, she was taking an advanced photography class. She would rant to me for hours about how much she hated it. She'd go on and on about how the lighting was so important and simultaneously the biggest pain in the universe. It obviously became super useful when she started using me like a life-sized doll and I'm not even scared to admit that I've loved every second of it.
I turn some music on to help the time pass and zone out.
"Forget about your boyfriend and run away with me Annabeth," Piper says suddenly. I jolt and open my eyes. Piper is leaning back on the couch, looking at something very appreciatively. I spin around and feast on the sight of Annabeth standing before me.
"Excuse me," I say to Piper. I stand up and look her up and down flirtatiously. Annabeth mimics me and I wink at her when her eyes come back to mine.
"I'm so attracted to you it's not even funny," I tell her. I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her waist, pressing our hips together and leaning back so I can continue to look at her.
"Are you going to ravish me in your office after the lecture, professor?" She asks huskily. A very dirty scenario plays out in my head and I shiver.
"You're playing a dangerous game, Miss Chase," I say, matching her huskiness. I let one of my hands drift up to the back of her neck.
"As much as I love your hands in my hair, if you ruin what Piper did, you're not going to make it to the lecture," Annabeth warns. I pause my hands' upward drift and scowl.
"I'm looking forward to tonight then," I tell her. I dip my head down and kiss her wonderfully displayed collarbones, and then I kiss her temple. I let my lips linger and then step away in a real sign of self-control.
"I'm afraid I'll be daydreaming during your lecture professor. I can't stay focused when I'm looking at you," she presses a lingering kiss to my lips and then bites my chin.
"Hey!" I say indignantly. She smirks before walking past me to take my spinny chair and get her make-up done.
"You guys need to just have sex already," Piper says, looking between us. Annabeth snorts and I feel my face that up.
"Percy told me pretty early in our relationship that he wanted to marry me before we had sex," Annabeth tells her. My face burns hotter than before and I hide my face in my hands. Why is Annabeth telling her this?
"Poor Percy," Piper says with a coo. I sneer at her and Annabeth yells indignantly.
"Poor Percy? No, poor me! He expects me to stay chaste while he looks like," she gestures to me wildly and I raise my eyebrows.
"Every time I see him he looks like he just finished having sex! He, undresses me with his eyes every time I show up, get's hard, and has the audacity to tell me I can't jump him!" She crosses her arms and I turn away completely embarrassed.
"Get out and calm down Percy, you're distracting her and it's making it difficult to do her make-up," Piper says, barely containing a laugh. I quickly follow her advice and go into my kitchen. I grab a glass and fill it with ice water. The jacket is elastic and great with movement, but these pants... These pants are way too tight.
"We leave in thirty," Piper yells.
I walk up the steps to the science building as confidently as I can. I belong here. I'm a smart guy who's going to lecture some girls about chlorine. Easy peasy. I'm even wearing fake glasses to seal the look!
"You must be Mr. Stark," an older man says, holding out his hand for me to shake. I shake it and offer him a smile. Please don't stutter, please don't stutter.
"That would be me. Where will I be lecturing?" I ask, without a stutter. I mentally high five myself. I switch my leather satchel to my other hand and as discreetly as possible, wipe my hand on my pants. He gives me a once-over and raises his eyebrows.
"If you don't mind me asking, you look a bit young to be a professor at Stanford. How did you go about getting hired?" His eyes linger on the Stanford ID I have hanging from the breast pocket of my jacket. I fake a laugh and grab his forearm, pulling it up so I can shake his hand again.
"They used to call me boy wonder, back when I was attending Stanford! You'll lead me to where my lecture is before I'm late won't you?" I ask with another fake laugh. I let his hand go and gesture to the doors leading to the Science building.
"Of course, of course," he says, giving me another once over. I smile as charmingly as I can and take a step forward. He takes my lead and pulls ahead so he can show me the way. He continues to ask me about my years at Stanford and I deflect as many as I possibly can and instead talk about the side job I had as an actor. I tell him I was an extra for the marvel movies and I even make him laugh with a joke about my fake name and the parallel to the genus, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, that is the character, Tony Stark.
He keeps looking at my ID and I thank the stars that Annabeth is a genius and with Piper's help, photoshopped a picture of her dad's ID and put a picture of me on it. We finally make it to the lecture room and I can see why Piper wanted to take the pictures here. The lecture rooms are large, and the classrooms I got a small peek at on my way here, were what I picture business meeting rooms all over the country look like. Very business-like for a science building.
The room is filled to the brim with girls and I try to ignore their loud whispers. They might be in on Piper's plan but some of them are obviously here just to look at me. The leering is so obvious I feel my ears start to burn with embarrassment.
"I'm going to leave you in the capable hands of, Mr. Stark. If I hear a single complaint from him once this is finished, I will look at the signup sheet and have a word with every single one of you. Mr. Stark," he says, gesturing to me to take his place at the center of the room.
"Thank you, sir, as your teacher has already told you, my name is Mr. Stark. I'm a recently hired Science Professor at Stanford, and a Stanford graduate. My lecture is going to be on the effects of chlorine," I smile at all the girls and try to wipe the sweat from my hands on my pants as discreetly as possible. I let my gaze wander, trying to find Piper or Annabeth. A familiar face would make this whole thing a lot easier.
"By itself, chlorine can be a very useful thing, we use it in pools and fountains, to keep the water clean, but if you know chlorines makeup you can pair it with other things, and chlorine can become dangerous," my eyes finally meet Piper's. She smiles at me and gives me a thumbs up. I look to my left and notice that the teacher is standing near the doors. Just a bit longer. Focus on your lecture! Remember what you read on Google!
"The chlorine you can find in a pool will become explosive if mixed with brake fuel! I would do an experiment to show you all the effects and the explosion itself, but I'm afraid I'm not a fan of paperwork and don't feel like filling a ton out, so I can get permission to blow up your science building," I smile and they all laugh. A tension I don't know existed leaves my shoulders.
"At room temperatures, chlorine is actually a gas, but when cooled it can be stored as a liquid that has an amber tint to it. While chlorine, compared to other chemicals is fairly harmless, the fact that you can get chlorine so easily and in large quantities can pose a threat to others. Later in my lecture, I will show you all some footage of a chlorine gas explosion," I shift on my feet and pause when the door opens.
Annabeth walks in the door and I can't help but let my eyes wander her body. It's an automatic reaction. She's wearing heels and they complement her naturally athletic figure and her hair is just begging for my hands to run through it. Annabeth is speaking to the teacher in hushed tones. I try to get my thoughts back in control so he doesn't notice I've stopped my lecture, but luckily he just nods his head at Annabeth and leaves the room.
I breathe a sigh of relief and smile at Annabeth when she turns to face me. She smiles back at me and quickly joins me at the center of the room.
"Thank you guys so much for your help! If you want to watch the photoshoot feel free to stick around, but if you want to leave, you should be all clear in ten minutes, thanks again," Annabeth says. I lean against the table that I had set my satchel on and grab a handkerchief from my pocket to dab at the sweat that had gathered on my forehead. I take extra care to not ruin Piper's make-up and smile when I don't see any concealer or bronzer on the handkerchief.
"Just like I predicted, I saw you and lost every single train of thought," I say, laughing when Annabeth's cheeks go pink. She's beautiful. Her cheeks only go pink when I give her my most honest compliments and I have yet to ever see her cheeks go a real red color. One day I will make her blush like a true school girl.
"I hope most of these girls stick around," Annabeth says absentmindedly. She's looking at all of the girls who are sitting in their seats chatting to each other. I look over at Piper and notice she's talking to a group of girls I've never seen before. I'm not surprised. Piper's cool.
"Why is that?" I ask her. She looks over at me and smiles brightly.
"So these girls can all see that you're mine," she says, putting extra emphasis when she says, mine. Warmth spreads through me at her words and I smile at her softly. I don't know why I thought Annabeth hated me. She cares about me and I know she likes me. I can't wait for when she loves me though, I already feel amazing just by listening to her say I'm hers. Gods.
"I love you," I tell her. Her smile becomes softer and she kisses my cheek.
"I know."
We talk about how things went from when we separated to now. Annabeth used her influence to get Mr. Childs out of the room and apparently he told her to make sure the girls didn't jump me. I'll need to make a fake email and thank him. These girls are hella scary.
"You guys ready?" Piper asks, coming up to us, camera in hand.
"You want sexy businessman, brooding businessman, or simping businessman?" I ask with a wink.
"I am not going to take pictures of you making out with Annabeth so you can get those thoughts out of your head right now!" Piper says sternly, waggling her finger in my face.
"What, you don't want any pictures of lovers in a work environment? I bet you could see the fire through the camera," Annabeth lifts her eyebrows and smirks.
"I'll be getting fire whether I want it or not! You two have bedroom eyes like you wouldn't believe!"
I open my dorm door and let Annabeth in. It's been a week and a half since the dinner with my parents and today is the day, I'm going to talk to her. About everything. Annabeth pecks my lips before she starts stripping out of her hoodie. She tosses it on my bed through the open door and heads for my living room.
"How was your day?" She asks me.
"It was fine," I tell her. She nods her head and lays down on my couch.
"I wanted to talk to you," I say, trying to keep my voice as light as possible. I make the quick decision to sit in my armchair instead of cuddling with Annabeth on the couch. I should be looking at her while we have this conversation. I want to hear what her thoughts are, and I want to see what she's thinking too.
"What's up?" She asks. She sits up and leans forward, looking me right in the eyes.
I open my mouth, and my mind blanks. How do I start this conversation?
"Cat got your tongue?" She asks teasingly. I pout at her.
"I think we need to talk about us," I say slowly, hoping my brain will catch up with my mouth. Annabeth doesn't move. The only indication that she heard me is the small dip in her eyebrows.
"I think there's been a lack of communication," I go on, taking her silence as an invitation to continue. I should just talk to her about everything that's been running through my mind right? Right.
"Our timing for this was really bad and," Annabeth's eyes burrow further and I backtrack quickly, "I mean, my timing was really bad and we haven't talked about our futures at all. The dinner with my parents was the first time I'd heard that you were going to Stanford!"
"Well, now you know," Annabeth says with a shrug. I pinch my nose in exasperation. That is not what I was trying to get at.
"Annabeth, you're going to Stanford and I'm going to be god knows where! How are we going to stay together if we don't know what's going on with each other?" I say, slightly frustrated.
"I just figured we'd go on a break. I'm not a big fan of the idea of a long-distance relationship," Annabeth says. She sits back so her back is straight and my mind reels. A break? We graduate and then our relationship goes stagnant until... until what? Until I settle down and buy a house?
"Annabeth, I know you're not the biggest fan of the whole soulmates thing, but you're it for me. I love you and that's not going to change with distance. There won't be any reason for us to go on a break because there won't be anyone else, that is, unless you..." I let my sentence hang and pinch my lips together. I'm more committed to her than she is to me, I knew this, but dam... A guy can dream, right?
"It would be like we're on break anyways," Annabeth says with a shrug.
"Couples taking breaks don't visit each other as much as possible, face time every night, and kiss when they see each other. Isn't that what you want for us? Or do you want to try and date other people?"
Annabeth sighs and rubs a hand down her face. I focus on her facial expressions instead of the images of Annabeth with anyone else, which are racing through my mind.
"I don't know, alright? I don't talk about the future with you because it seems so set in stone! There's this invisible tie between us and it doesn't matter what I think, because of it! Yes, I want to be with you but..." She stops talking and looks away from me.
"But what?" I ask, hoping she'll finish her sentence. I need to hear it. I need her to say it out loud.
"I don't love you," Annabeth says quietly, her lips set in a straight line, her face grim.
I cringe. I knew it was coming but her saying it out loud makes my heartache. She doesn't love me and she doesn't want a future with me either. How am I possibly going to get her to fall in love with me? She seems so against the thought of having a future with me. Is it me that's the problem, or is it the fact that my future is already set in stone? I look at Annabeth's face, and really study it.
She isn't upset or sorry about what she said, so she was at least honest with me. My chest restricts again as she shrugs, obviously noticing my gaze. I need to think. I need to go for a drive.
I get up and go to my kitchen. I look around for a second until I find my keys sitting by the microwave. I grab them and quickly find my Nike blazers. I pull my shoes on and look up when a shadow falls on me.
Annabeth is standing in front of me, her eyes worried and a frown nestled on her face.
"Where are we going?"
"I'm going for a drive," I tell her, standing up and opening my door. I needed to hear her say it, but now I need to go and deal with my reality. Annabeth will leave for Stanford without my name italicized on her heart. We only have so much time left before we're separated and I don't know if I can leave her in California knowing she doesn't love me. The problem is, I have to. My dad will drag me away if he needs to.
"So that's it? We have a serious conversation about our future, just like you wanted and now you're running away?"
I turn around and frown at her. Does she not recognize that I'm hurting? Her words hurt me, and it wasn't her fault so instead of saying something stupid, I'm going to straighten out my thoughts and look at it from her perspective. I'm going to try and understand her feelings and thoughts and then make a plan. I need her to fall in love by the time we graduate!
"Annabeth, you don't love me," I tell her, as a way to explain.
"Yet," she says firmly. I shake my head at her, ignoring the flutter in my stomach.
"You meant every word you said to me in the living room, and you didn't say the word, 'yet'. I'm just going to go to the twenty-four-hour fitness gym across town. We can talk more about it later," I walk through the door and close the door behind me.
My door flies open, right as I step forward, and I turn around at the sound of the hinges squeaking.
"Don't go driving while you're angry. You might get hurt," Annabeth says, her voice soft, almost pleading.
"The school's gym doesn't have everything I want to use," I explain with a shrug.
"Percy, I really like you, I really truly like you and I do want this to work, its just, our lives, our plans, they're so different!" She says, her eyes pleading with me to stay. Her eyes are watery and Woah. Is she going to cry?
"Annabeth, hearing you say you don't love me and hearing you talk about how much you hate the soulmate system hurts, and I understand where you're coming from; I really do, and I have every intention of getting you to fall in love with me. I just need to take a time out from our talk. I'll be safe, I promise."
Annabeth nods her head dejectedly at me and I smile at her softly.
"I love you Annabeth, you could probably tell me you hated me and I would go to the gym, work off some steam, and be back to you within an hour and a half just to be near you. I'll be back soon," I turn around and walk away, having said everything I needed to.
A ticket. I got pulled over on my way to the gym and I got a ticket. A ticket.I stay on the side of the road and wave to the officer - who pulled me over - as he pulls back onto the road. He seemed nice and sympathetic to my situation, but going fifteen over the speed limit is a bit much apparently. Dam...
My phone rings in my lap and I glance down and, oh no. My father's face lights up on the screen and I hit my steering wheel in pure frustration. His timing is awful! Should I ignore his call or maybe silence it and throw it in my glove box?
I should really get a ringtone for when people try to call me. Listening to this is going to give me a headache. I let it ring until the picture of my father's angry face pops into my head. I definitely should pick up.
I press the green answer button, hold it up to my ear, and say, "This is Mr. Jackson, soon to be CEO and owner of Oceanus inc. May I ask who I'm speaking to?"
"You won't be the owner if you don't shape up Perseus!" I wince and pull the phone away from my ear. Why does he need to yell at me? I'm beating myself up enough!
"It's the first time I've ever even been pulled over dad! I'm beating myself up plenty!" I yell back, placing the phone next to my ear again.
"Why'd you get pulled over, and did you get a ticket?" He asks.
I let my head fall to my steering wheel in pure shame, "I was speeding and yes I got a ticket."
My father sighs loudly over the phone and my guilt threatens to overflow. He sounds exhausted.
"Are you late for something?" He asks, his voice a lot kinder than it was.
"No," I say softly. My eyes water and my throat constrict; I clear it quickly so I don't break down. Please don't talk to me about Annabeth, please don't ask me about Annabeth.
"Is it Annabeth?"
Dam it dad!
My throat constricts again and this time everything comes out. I can't stop the tears from falling and I let out a pathetic sob.
I can't do anything right! I can't run a company, I can't make my parents happy, I can't even get my soulmate to fall in love with me! I'm graduating and then I'm leaving! I'm leaving my friends, my home, Annabeth!
The line stays silent while I try to reign in my sobs. I take the phone away from my ear so my dad won't hear my pathetic show of feelings.
I take a few deep breaths and blow my nose into a napkin. Calm down Percy, calm down.
My dad's voice comes through my phone's speaker and I quickly press it to my ear to hear what my dad is saying.
"Son, son, it's okay, tell me what's going on!"
I sniffle and take another breath, "I-," my voice cracks so I clear my throat again, "I don't know what to do, dad."
"What's the problem? Talk to me, Percy."
I take another deep breath and explain everything. I tell him about how Annabeth has never liked the soulmate system; I tell him about what she said at Flemming's, what she said during our talk earlier, I explain how much I love her and how I'm worried about the future and the distance that I think will come between us.
My dad lets me ramble and I do, I ramble for thirty minutes about my worries of Annabeth not loving me. When I run out of words the line is silent. Is he even listening to me?
"Have I ever told you the story about how your mother and I became soulmates?"
"Yeah, mom met you on her summer trip to Hawaii and you guys fell in love and ended up being soulmates. What about it?"
"That is the most simplified, watered-down version of this story that I have ever heard. That does not bring the story justice at all! Let me tell you how this really happened boyo.
"I was twenty and trying to become a Navy SEAL. I didn't know what I wanted out of my life but I wanted to serve my country and I wanted to do it from the water! Becoming a Navy SEAL is not easy! We were the elite of the elite! I had just finished all of my training and had some time at home on Oahu when I saw her. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. She took my breath away and never gave it back.
"So, as the confident, good-looking man I am, I went up to her and talked to her. We spent hours talking with each other. That day, and the next day, and the day after that! I spent most of that summer with her and after only a week and a half, I told her I was in love with her, and her name showed up on my chest. I was euphoric, and your mother was... How do I put this? Scandalized? Scared? Unwelcoming?
"I don't know how to describe it, but she did not want to move to Hawaii and wait for me to come around every couple of months. So, I had to wait until the week before she was supposed to leave. I usually tell everyone that I wasn't fazed, that I knew I could make her fall in love with me, and everything would work out in my favor, but I was terrified. I took her on expensive dates, took her on wild adventures around the island, invited her to family dinners on Sundays, and don't even get me started on how often I told her I loved her.
"Annabeth might be just as stubborn as your mother was and there isn't much you can do. Treat her well, communicate your thoughts, and talk about how you both see your individual futures and how you think they'll look if you do it together. I'll make sure you spend as much time in California as possible, but as people say, distance makes the heart grow fonder. I know it feels like she needs to love you now, but as long as you know you love her, everything will be okay.
"You can be together now, so just enjoy it, graduate together, spend all of June together before we leave, and just," my dad's voice pauses and I can hear him smiling. I forgot how much he loved talking about soulmates.
When I was younger he and my mom would be cooking in the kitchen and my dad would throw me in the air while waiting for the water to boil, or the oven to heat, and he'd talk to me about how his friends got together or the date where my mom said she loved him back!
"After that summer finished, I left and I did two years of service with only a few months that I actually spent with your mom. When I told my commanding officer that I planned on making warships for the Navy instead they set me up with the government and I started right away. I grew up sailing and I knew I wanted to make ships! I knew how it worked, I had the knowledge, the skills, and the ambition to start a company that not only worked with the government but made luxury sailboats and yachts.
"None of that would have happened without your mother! I went over all of my ideas with her, and we became successful because of her. If you run everything by Annabeth, and communicate with her, you will be successful in life, in your relationship, and hopefully one day, with your family."
I rub my eyes and get rid of the salty crust under my eyes. I sniff once and clear my throat in preparation to apologize.
"Dad, I'm sorry I've made your life difficult lately," I get out. No voice crack, no wobble, it was the smooth, sincere apology I wanted it to be.
"Son, I put a lot of pressure on you and you've handled it very well considering it's a time of decisions for you and also, a time of uncertainty with your soulmate. I'm proud of you Percy. I hope our talk helped but if you need any other advice, I'd call your mom. I'm afraid I'm all out," he says with a chuckle. I laugh softly and nod my head.
"I'll do that. Thanks, dad. I'm going to start driving," I say into the phone.
"Alrighty, be careful and don't get pulled over again, love you, bye."
"Love you, bye," I say. I end the call and relax my shoulders. A weight I didn't know existed has lifted and life looks a lot brighter right now. I put my blinker on, turn my music back on, and restart my trip to the gym. I'm too close to the gym to not go anymore anyway.
I open my dorm door and quickly step inside. The weight that my dad had lifted from my shoulders has been replaced with the ache of way too many pull-ups and a few too many shoulder presses.
"Percy?" I jump and quickly follow the voice into my living room. There, wrapped up in my varsity swim hoodie is Annabeth. My heart aches when I see her face. She looks tired and worried. I hope I didn't cause all of that.
"Annabeth, what are you still doing here? It's late," I ask her, sitting down next to her. Annabeth instantly leans against me so I wrap my arm around her.
"I wanted to make sure you got back okay," she mumbles into my shirt.
"I would have texted you if you had left," I tell her. I kiss the top of her head and ignore my clenching heart. This beautiful, kind woman, waited in my dorm, risking her own curfew, just to make sure I got back safe.
"I didn't want to go back after our fight," she says.
"It wasn't a fight, it was simply a-," Annabeth pulls away and gives me a look, "Okay maybe it was a fight, but I told you I love you and that I'd be back."
"I know but you can still love someone and be angry at them," I close my eyes and rest my head on the couch. She's right. She makes a choking sound in the back of her throat and my eyes fly open.
"Hey shhh, it's alright. Guess what?" I ask her as she buries her face into my chest. It makes the skin under her name warm-up pleasantly.
She hums questioningly and I kiss her head.
"I made up with my dad."
"Really?" She asks pulling away. There are tears in her eyes but she looks pleasantly surprised at my news. Good, I don't want her to be sad.
"Yeah, and he gave me some good advice for once," I say with a small chuckle. Annabeth laughs softly and sniffles when it comes out choked sounding.
"What was it?"
"Basically just to never stop loving you. Which was a good reminder. I would have loved you for the rest of my life with or without this knowledge but I feel good knowing and reminding myself that I love you. It's all I need right now. There were some other things he said that I want to talk about with you though," I tell her quietly. She nods her head and I take a deep breath, trying to get my thoughts straightened out.
"I'm going to start working with my dad at the beginning of July so I can spend the beginning of summer with you. He said we'll be returning to California often and, Annabeth, my future is laid out in front of me, waiting for me to take the steps. You know what you want and you're going to have to work for it, and I'm going to support you through every step. You can get your degree and work or do whatever the hell you want.
"I will love you through it all. I will fight tooth and nail to spend eleven out of the years twelve months with you. I don't want to take a break when I leave for work, I want to kiss you like it'll be our last and return two weeks later and kiss you like it's our first. I want to marry you someday and have kids with you, but we'll do those things when you're ready for them. I'd wait till we were forty if you asked, and it's because I love you and I want this all to work out with you and you're my soulmate. I'll tell you everything because there's nobody else's opinion I really care about."
I take Annabeth's face in my hands and wipe away the fresh tears. She needs to know all of this. I haven't done a good enough job saying any of these things to her and I mean all of them. I'll do everything at her pace and I'll support her through anything. Whether she wants it or not I'm going to be there for her. For us!
"Thank you. You have no idea.. I mean. Just, thank you. I want to talk to you about everything," she says with a small smile. I smile back at her softly and kiss her forehead lovingly.
"I'm listening," I tell her. She half laughs and half sobs.
"Thank you."
"Leo, you have three weeks for your final project, why are you freaking out?" I ask with a laugh. I throw popcorn into the air and catch it in my mouth. I grin smugly at Jason who scowls at me. I haven't missed a single piece of popcorn and he's missed three of the past ten.
"I'm restoring a 69 Mustang in three weeks! I wouldn't even be here if you guys didn't promise to help me paint it after," Leo says with a whine. I throw a piece of popcorn at him and laugh when it gets stuck in his hair.
"Don't worry we'll make sure it looks good and gets done in time," Jason says sincerely. I roll my eyes at them. Of course, we'd make sure it looked good! Between the three of us, it will look like it came straight off a car magazine.
"When are the girls getting here?" Leo asks. He's bouncing in place a smile stuck on his face. I roll my eyes again. He's asked that question at least twelve times already. His good mood and infinite energy can all be followed back to the fact that Callie agreed to be his girlfriend. Apparently, that old-fashioned wooing really works. Of course, it might have been the not roses advice I gave him, which he used on their first date, but I won't take all the credit for his success.
"They could be here at any time. We told them to come at six, but if Callie is nearly as excited to see you as you are to see her, then we can expect her at the door in thirty seconds!" Jason says with a laugh. Leo blushes and I join Jason in laughing. The poor sap is already head over heels for Callie. I really do hope they end up as soulmates though. Callie deserves someone who will love her as much as Leo can.
A knock at Jason's door has Leo scrambling off the floor and running to the door, Jason and I laughing behind him. The door opens and I listen to Leo groan loudly. I laugh louder when he walks back in, a slump to his shoulders.
Annabeth and Piper come in together and I stop laughing so I can smile at them brightly.
"If it isn't two of my three favorite ladies!" Percy says teasingly. Piper smirks at him and plops on Jason's lap. Annabeth follows Piper's lead but sits on my lap. She's pouting at me and I can't resist kissing her pouty lips.
"Who's the third girl?" Annabeth whines jokingly.
"The third girl is a woman after my own heart. In fact, I'd say she's number one in my heart," I say, wrapping my arms around her waist. Piper snorts and I can feel Leo's questioning stare on the side of my head.
"How should I make it more clear that you are mine and mine only?" Annabeth asks, her voice dropping to a whisper. Her head dips so she can kiss the base of my neck, near my shoulder, and I have to physically hold back a shiver. Now is not the time and place.
"Ah, come on guys! Stop being gross!" Leo whines.
Annabeth pulls away and looks at me with a raised eyebrow.
"My mom won't mind the claim too much I'm sure," I say, laughing at Annabeth's scowl. Loser.
"Your three favorite ladies, are your girlfriend, your best friend, and your mom?" Leo asks incredulously.
"Would you rather I made it four and add my ex-lover to the list? I think you might know her," I say. Jason snorts and Piper giggles.
"Hey!" Leo shouts indignantly. I laugh and turn to Annabeth. Her face is pinched and I smirk. I love seeing a hint of her jealous side. No matter how joking or fake it is.
"It doesn't matter how many ladies have been on my favorites list, because you, my love, are there to stay, and I can't wait to tell you that I love you every day for the rest of my life," I say, pulling Annabeth's face toward mine. Annabeth wrinkles her nose and I kiss it, hoping to smooth out the wrinkles she caused.
I then kiss her lips again. It doesn't get any better than this.
"You're such a romantic Percy. Why can't you kiss me like that Jason?" I hear Piper ask Jason. He makes a spluttering noise and I laugh against Annabeth's lips. I pull away and rest my forehead on hers. I don't want to scare her away, but Piper and my mom are a candle compared to the forest fire that Annabeth burns in me.
"I love you," I say softly.
Annabeth kisses me and hums against my lips in response.
"I thought we were going to be watching a movie? I didn't dress for an orgy," a new voice says. I freeze against Annabeth's lips and slowly pull away.
There stands Callie, staring at, Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and I with raised eyebrows.
"I don't share. So, yes we'll be watching a movie," I say, breaking the weird silence that had settled over us. Leo laughs suddenly and wraps an arm around Callie's shoulders.
"Perfect I was thinking Harry Potter," Jason says with a smile.
"Hell yes!" Annabeth says, throwing her fist in the air, almost hitting my head in the process.
"Hey, watch that flying fist of yours, nerd," I say, teasingly.
"Shut up, boat boy, you love this nerd."
"Dam straight," I say giving her a quick kiss. I don't think I'll ever get tired of kissing her.
"Bloody hell, you guys are disgustingly adorable," Piper says smugly. I raise an eyebrow at her.
"What's the smugness for?" Annabeth asks.
"I knew you two would be soulmates," she pauses and looks at Callie warily, "No offense, but the chemistry, and gods dare I mention, the sexual tension? It was destiny."
Callie nods her head which is surprising.
"I think that's why I was always wary of her. You guys just seemed to slot together like puzzle pieces," she says with a shrug.
"Which I'm a grateful man for. These past two weeks have been incredible with you, mi Amor," Callie blushes and Leo grimaces for a second. I watch his face shift in a thousand different ways before it settles on astonishment.
"No way. No way!" Piper exclaims, standing up. I watch confused as Piper flails her arms and continues to exclaim, "No way!" Over and over again.
"Holy," Annabeth mumbles. My brain races to try and catch on to what is happening, but Jason looks just as confused as me, and Callie seems frozen so... I don't feel too left out.
"What is it?" I whisper in Annabeth's ear.
"I think Callie's name just showed up on his chest," Annabeth answers. I whip my head and study Leo. He looks like a kid in line to hit his birthday piñata. Anxious to hit it, but nervous that he'll miss.
I watch him pull his arm away from Callie's shoulders before grabbing both of her hands in his.
"You don't have to say it back. I've been pining after you since I first saw you, relationship with Percy or not, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met, and knowing that you're my soulmate is enough. You don't need to say it back," He repeats. I watch as Calypso opens and closes her mouth. Her eyes close briefly and I watch her take a deep breath.
"I think I love you too," she whispers. Her voice is quiet but it might as well have been said into a microphone. Her face lights up and I just know. They're in love. They're each other's soulmates. She's his and he's hers. It's been italicized over that hearts. The cursive writing symbolizing that they were meant to be is there, hidden by their clothes but showing off in their exuberance.
They kiss and kiss and kiss and I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Not only is it weird that my buddy is making out with my ex, and now his soulmate, I wish it were me. Not me kissing Callie, but me knowing that my soulmate loves me back.
"Shall we reschedule our Harry Potter marathon then?" Annabeth says, interrupting the couple's make-out. They blush happily and I nod my head.
"We'll change it to next Tuesday when we all see each other next," I say. I squeeze Annabeth's waist and pull my arms away so she can get up.
"Yours?" She asks. I nod my head and I quickly give the happy couple a hug before following Annabeth out of the dorm and into my own.
They've only been dating for two weeks and now they're soulmates. Soulmates! I can't believe it! It took Annabeth months of friendship, sexual tension, and an accidental confession before we even started dating, and Annabeth still hasn't told me she loves me.
Before, I was pretty sure she loved me but just didn't want to say it but now? Leo called Callie, his love as a nickname and it counted as a confession. The system is such a fickle thing and yet Annabeth doesn't have my name on her anywhere.
I still have till the end of June to make her fall in love. That's almost two months. I think it's time to pull out the big guns and ask my mom for help.
"I'm sorry," Annabeth says, breaking through my thoughts.
"What for?" I ask, bewildered. Why is she apologizing to me? Did she cheat?
"They've only been together for two weeks and they've both said it and we've been together and you don't know..." She trails off. I frown at her.
"It's okay," I tell her honestly.
"It is?" She asks timidly. I sigh and wrap my arms around her in the hallway leading to my living room.
"It hurts sometimes, especially when I'm watching something as miraculous as Leo and Callie admitting their love and revealing they're soulmates, but for now, my love for you is enough. Just being with you can be enough. Sometimes I feel like this is an opportunity for me to show that I deserve you," I let my eyes drop to our hips, where our bodies are connected.
"Percy it's not about deserving and even if it was you're-,"
"I know it's not about that, but Annabeth you are incredible. There isn't a day that goes by, where I don't thank my lucky stars that I have your name in cursive, italicized over my heart. There's nobody on this earth that's better and I will love you for the rest of my days in... in thanks that I can earn your love. You're it for me, whether you say you love me or not, whether we're one mile away from each other or ten thousand miles away," I say, concluding my speech by finally looking her in the eyes.
Her eyes are shimmering. The steel grey of her eyes shines brand new. Her eyes might look like a cloudy sky, but I love the cloudy skies that bring summer rain. I love the cloudy skies that shade me from the persisting heat from the sun. I love her eyes.
"If any of this were about deserving you'd be with someone a lot better than me," she whispers. I shake my head. Slowly and first and then more quickly.
"There is nobody better. Trust me, I looked for a while, and I have not felt like this with or for anyone else. You're going to be permanent for me. For the sake of your sanity, I hope you don't run away to another continent because I'll give chase until I finally have you wrapped in my arms again."
"Sometimes I think you're too perfect to be mortal," Annabeth says, before roughly grabbing my neck and pulling my lips to hers.
I let my finger off the trigger and let my eyes wander over my work. The 69 Mustang looks good if I do say so myself. The glittering black paint with a dark purple ombre effect really makes this car stand out. Maybe I should drop out and start a business!
"This looks wicked good mate," Leo says with a proud smile. I stare at him for a few seconds trying to comprehend what he just said. Did he just call me, mate?
"What's with the English slang hermano?" I ask him.
"Well I grew up in Texas with my Madre and padre and then my padre's business expanded and he moved to Europe. I spent my summers with him but when my Madre died from a fire when I was fourteen, I moved to Europe to be with him," Leo explains, grabbing the paint gun from me so he can make a few touch-ups.
"I'm sorry about your mom," I tell him, empathetic.
"It was three years ago, I'm doing okay now. Anyway, when my padre told me he wanted me to run his business with him as a partner, he sent me here for school and to spend time with some cousins before I moved back to Europe permanently," Leo usually talks with his hands flying everywhere in wild gestures but his hands are steady as he paints the car to his inner eyes perfection.
"What are you going to do with the car after it's graded?" I ask, leaning against the school's garage wall.
"My dad bought the car so I could do my project and told me to leave it for my tía and her family as payment for watching out for me," Leo says with a nonchalant hug. I nod my head and watch Jason roll from out under the car, white paint all over his face.
"You'll have to join Piper and I for lunch sometime then. We're both moving to Europe soon," Jason says with a smile.
My phone rings from my pocket so I excuse myself with a small wave and exit the garage. My school is one of the largest in the country, half of the classes I take give me college credits, and the other half are electives that help me find hobbies or as my father calls them, de-stressors. I press the answer button on my phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, you know that Business shoot we did a couple of weeks ago?" Piper asks.
"Yeah. I was wondering why you didn't post them," I say, leaning against the outside wall.
"I needed to get Venus's approval first and that took a while since she had a huge project runway for a spring fashion week or something like that. Anyway, I finally got the go-ahead and when I showed Annabeth the pictures she got really weird and left for your dorm so, heads up," Piper says.
"Was she upset?" I ask worriedly. Annabeth has been so happy lately.
"No, but she seemed nervous about something. She made this really funny squeaking noise and then threatened me to death if I ever tried teasing her about it," Piper says with a laugh. I chuckle, the image of Annabeth threatening Piper, coming to my head.
"She can be scary," I say with a bright smile.
"You don't sound scared," Piper comments.
"I like a bit of danger in my women," I try and say as mysteriously as possible.
"Well, you picked a good one then," Piper says with a laugh. I smile. Talking with Piper has always been easy and I can count on a good laugh whenever we make the effort to speak with each other.
"Okay, I'm uploading the pictures, take a look at them and then go make sure Annabeth is okay for me alright?" She asks, her voice already sounding distant.
"Sounds good, love you, Piper," I say quickly. I head something that vaguely sounds like, 'I love you too,' before the line goes dead. She must be in a hurry. She's probably making sure she has all she needs for her final projects. We meet tomorrow for studying and project work. Bestie time.
My phone buzzes again, but this time it's an Instagram notification. I click on it and my phone takes me to Piper's new post.
Wow. I will never doubt Piper's lighting ideas ever again. The science building was a great pick for this particular shoot. The first picture is of me leaning against that front table, my mouth opens showing that I'm speaking to people. I look good. My attire is attractive and in neutral colors making my skin look really good. I might need to get myself some bronzer, that stuff does crazy things to my face!
I swipe through the next few pictures taking my time to look at Annabeth in each of them. Annabeth is a natural. Her body is always positioned in a way that compliments the clothing and her makeup, although she probably doesn't need to try that hard considering she looks like a model in sweats and a hoodie.
The second to last picture is just a blurry picture of Annabeth walking with words typed out over it reading, the next picture was taken with my iPhone so excuse the bad quality.
I swipe one last time and instantly take notice of the quality changes. Piper obviously tried to do some touch-ups, but the different camera lenses make a bigger difference than I ever gave credit.
The picture itself is far away from the focal point but it's obvious why Piper added the photo to the small gallery. I remember the moment when this picture was taken. Annabeth had just walked into the room and started speaking to the teacher who escorted me through the Science building. The picture's focus is on me, while all of my attention is on Annabeth. You can barely make out my slightly parted lips, one hand is holding me up on the table and the other, is over my heart. Even Piper's iPhone can capture the pure awe I feel when I look at Annabeth.
I like the post and scroll through the comments that are pouring in. There are a few verified people who complement Venus's clothing and Piper's talent for makeup and photography. Venus's comment is full of compliments for Piper and of course, she mentions the last picture and how it's her favorite one. I like her comment and reply, telling her thank you for the jacket that she did in fact let me keep as a sample, and of course, I thank her for trusting me to model her clothing and makeup.
After I finish, I turn my phone off and head back into the garage.
"Hey, If you don't need me for anything specific I'm going to head back to my dorm," I call out. I hear a clanging noise like someone dropped something and a few curses that are weirdly English and Hispanic sounding. How does one do that and why didn't I notice it before?
"Yeah, you're good to go, Percy! Thanks for your help!" Leo calls.
"I'll see you later Percy!" Jason calls.
"Bye guys, don't hurt yourself!" I say over my shoulder, as I head toward my dorm.
My dorm is on the other side of campus so it takes me almost ten minutes to get there, but when I do, I'm trying to unlock my door as quickly as possible. Piper said Annabeth was nervous and I promised that Annabeth and I would talk about these kinds of things and that I would always listen and I really just need to get this door open faster!
I finally unlock my dorm and step inside, closing the door behind me.
"Annabeth?" I call out. I look into my room and find it empty. I walk into my living room and find Annabeth curled up on my armchair, looking through her phone.
"Annabeth?" I repeat, quickly closing the distance between us. I kneel down in front of the chair and bite my lip. I don't think I've ever seen Annabeth so spaced out before. I grab her leg and squeeze it lightly, making Annabeth startle.
"Holy crap, Percy! You're going to give me a heart attack!" She says, glaring at me. I chuckle and grab her hand so I can kiss her knuckles.
"Why were you so distracted?" I ask her.
Instead of responding, Annabeth shows me her phone and I nod in understanding. It's Piper's post, specifically the last picture.
"Piper called and told me you looked nervous so I ran over here. Wanna talk about it?" I ask her. She nods her head and nudges my hand with her own. I take my hand off her thigh and stand up. Annabeth quickly follows suit until we're both standing.
"Should we sit or...?" I let my sentence trail off, unsure of what I should do. Annabeth is standing in front of me, arms crossed over her chest, wide-eyed and biting her lip. If I wasn't slightly freaked out I'd close the distance between us and kiss her until she forgot her troubles, but I don't think that's a good idea this time.
"No, stand. I don't know how to say this so, I'm just going to rip off the band-aid."
What bandaid? I thought we were good? Oh no no no no! I think I'm going to throw up!
"Your name is over my heart," she blurts out, and, seriously what?"It's been there for almost three weeks," she continues, and again, what?
"It happened when you got back from the gym after our fight," she takes a deep breath and it's all the time I need to catch up. She loves me, my name is over her heart in cursive, we're soulmates, and she's waited almost three weeks to tell me?
"At what point?" I ask her. Was it after my long-winded speech or, when I first got back?
"Do you remember me telling you that you can still love someone and be angry at them?" She asks, and Woah. My head spins with all the information and I put my hand behind me and feel around until I realize I have nothing around me, so if I faint, I'm falling to the floor.
"Are you okay?" She asks worriedly.
Am I? Why did she keep it from me? Did she not trust me yet? Was I too overbearing, was it too close to our fight?
"Percy?"
She hasn't even said the words, 'I love you,' to me yet. Where do we go from here? I was so prepared to wait for as long as possible and now it's happened, three weeks ago!
I feel her hands grab mine and my eyes find hers. My jumbled thoughts finally zero in on one thing and my heart about bursts with even the thought of her answer.
"You love me?"
All of a sudden there are tears spilling down my cheeks and Annabeth looks seconds away from crying herself. She steps away from me and in one swift motion takes her shirt off. In every other situation, I'd be on her as soon as her shirt was off but not this time. This time I let my eyes zero in on my name.
Perseus Jackson
How did she hide this from me? I've definitely seen her without a shirt on these past three weeks.
"How did you hide it?" I ask bewildered. My mind zeroes in on a better question and I ask it, "Why did you hide it from me?"
Annabeth takes another deep breath and I prepare myself mentally. This might hurt.
"There were a couple of reasons. First, I was pretty freaked out about it. Second, we had just had a fight and I was worried sick about you and I didn't want you to think I confessed to myself because we fought or something as cliché as that. Third, I needed to talk to my dad about some things, and four, every time we spoke about our futures we fought, and these past few weeks we've been doing so much better, I didn't want to throw a wrench in the gears and screw our progress up," Annabeth looks at me with tears slowly gliding down her face. They aren't sad tears but they aren't happy either. I don't know what kind of tears they are.
"My mother still sends my dad a card on their anniversary. She says, I love you and thank you for taking care of our daughter. It's basically the same card every year and I never see her. She's in Europe somewhere! I've seen her maybe twice in my whole life and if someone says they love you, how can they handle being away all the time! It's bugged me for ages, that my dad is stuck loving a woman he never sees! It's the soulmate system, he is entirely connected with her and frankly, that's where my hatred for the whole thing started!
"I didn't want that for myself, and I hoped that I would never have to deal with a distance relationship, but then I met you and my whole world has turned upside down! We'll need to deal with distance a lot. We won't be making a future together, we'll be molding your future with mine in hopes it will work out and that is terrifying because I'm tied to you now. My body and soul are tied to yours and I'll never let go," Annabeth says resolutely, taking my hands in hers again.
Those are some really good reasons and they actually dim the sting I'd been feeling since she told me. Three weeks is a long time to hide something like this from someone you love - gods someone you love - and then again when I look at all of this from her perspective, she got rid of years of anxieties and hatred in three weeks! All for me! She's magnificent. Abso-bloody-lutely magnificent!"Thank you," I say, still trying to take it all in. Annabeth laughs and I glare at her.
"Don't laugh at me! I was prepared to wait years for this to happen and it feels better than Christmas and the Fourth of July wrapped in one!" I get the motion in my legs back and swiftly close the distance between us so I can swing her around.
We laugh joyously together and I set her down, only to pull her as close to me as possible, burying my face in her hair.
"I love you," Annabeth says simply. I smile into her neck and kiss it before pulling away. My chest feels warm and I can't stop myself from leaning down and kissing my name.
"I love you too, so much Annabeth! I can't even begin to tell you how much!" I say.
"You can show me," Annabeth says mischievously. Winking at me and kissing my chin.
"If you want to have sex we'll have to get married first," I remind her. It's the one thing I won't change my mind about when it comes to the rules of this relationship. I will make love to my wife only.
"Guess you'll need to propose sooner than later," Annabeth says jokingly. My heart leaps into my throat.
"Really?" I ask her.
"No," she says with a laugh. I scowl at her for as long as possible but my smile breaks through too quickly.
I pepper her face with kisses and whisper I love you after each one. I continue to do this until she grabs my face and pulls me within an inch of her lips.
"I love you, Perseus Jackson," and she kisses me. I kiss her with all I'm worth.
I tangle one of my hands in her hair and rest the other on her lower back. I kiss her with all the passion and desire I have, holding nothing back. Her lips move fervently against mine, her body grinding against mine, trying to get as close as possible. I back us up until I feel my couch pressed against my legs. I flip us around and push Annabeth down on top of it before crawling on top of her.
"Let me see it," Annabeth says breathily when she has more than half a second to speak before my lips are on hers again.
Understanding her immediately but not wanting to leave her lips, I let my lips linger for longer and press deeper until I finally let myself pull away long enough to take my shirt off. The skin on skin is glorious but I don't let myself fully rest on her. Her hands start at my belt buckle and slowly glide up my torso causing me to shiver. Her touch feels euphoric. She lets one rest over my heart, covering her name, while the other wraps around my neck and her fingers play with the hair at my nape.
"I love you," I tell her. Her eyes which were previously on my chest, meet mine and she smiles. A brilliant white smile.
"I know," she says. I frown at her. The hand in my hair leaves and touches my lips.
"I love you too. More than anything, so please, don't let our names be just another cursive tattoo. Take care of it, because that name represents more than just your love for me, it represents my love for you just as much as your name on me does," she says, serious.
I let one of my hands trace my name and think of how to respond. This is a special moment. She's here with me, loving me, caring about our futures, and I'm out of speeches. Well, maybe not quite yet...
"I've been told that distance makes the heart grow fond. I will come back from every work trip with one goal in mind and it will be to see you. I won't put any emotional distance between us and I will always talk to you so we can be on the same page.
"I love you, Annabeth Chase."
Well, this was fun! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave a review with your thoughts and suggestions, and feel free to favorite!
-Ace
