Percy hated parties. He went to them all the time, but it was more of a social thing for him rather than getting wasted or high or anything. This particular party was a little too big and crowded and loud for his liking.
Selena's parents were out of town, it was after a big game, and no one had anything planned. So naturally, all those factors added up to create one of the biggest parties Goode would see that year.
He'd also been trying to spot Annabeth the entire night, since he'd seen her signature silver Honda parked a ways down the street, but he'd yet to find her. They hadn't spoken since the incident at the party the previous week.
Whenever he thought about it his eyes stung, like she'd thrown fresh vodka lemonade in them. He just thought she needed space, which was a bit hard for him. So, yeah. He was feeling a little let down.
Why did he want to see her after that? He had no clue. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to talk to her, so much as see if she was okay.
What just made matters worse was when Percy was on his fifth red Solo cup of Coke and whatever alcohol he could find to mix with it and someone who'd taken spin the bottle a little too far was pushed away from the group. The guy slammed into him and sent Percy's brand new, full cup flying out of his hand and against the wall.
That's when the dark-haired teen decided that he was done drinking for the night. He rarely drank, but when he did it was mainly to get his mind off something. He had no idea what this something was this time, but he believed he just wanted to stop thinking in general. Plus, he was already a good, decent amount of drunk.
The noise and hustle around him suddenly seemed too loud, so he stepped down a quiet hallway to try and get away from it. Soon, it was a dull thrumming noise in the back of his head as he navigated down the dark hallway.
He knew there was a bathroom at the end of ot, and that's where he planned to sit and wait out this party. At least until he felt calm enough to return to it.
He opened the door to the bathroom, hoping no one was in there. But that's where he found Annabeth, seated on the floor with a cup held in her fingers and a blank expression on her face.
He was at a loss for words for a moment as her slightly glazed-over eyes raised to look at him. They had barely spoken to one another the past week or so since Luke had ended things. He felt his heart ache slightly as he saw her.
He had no clue what to do. He felt confused for a bit, trying to process what was going on. It was hard for him to process anything at this point, but she definitely looked like a mess.
The silence between them was eventually broken by Percy clearing his throat and offering a sheepish smile. "Mind if I come in?" She managed the smallest of smiles, nodding her consent before Percy closed the door behind him and clumsily sat down beside the blonde on the cold tiled floor. It was honestly more of a controlled fall to the ground.
He gave her a small smile as he leaned back against the wall, letting out a soft sigh. He could see the remains of mascara that had run down her cheeks, and how her hair was disheveled and messy in an entirely un-Annabeth way. But most importantly he could see how forced her smile was.
"Hey, Percy," she said in a quiet voice, sniffling and reaching a hand up to rub her eyes while the other one continued to grip the red plastic cup. It was obvious she was tipsy from drinking too much.
It's not like he blamed her. If the love of his life had dumped him out of nowhere, he'd probably be even more of a wreck. He smiled in greeting and sighed as he just looked at her. She gave him a sheepish, absent smile. "I...I know how pathetic this looks," she admitted with a shrug.
Her eyes were unfocused, staring at something on the opposite side of the room that wasn't actually there. "I just needed to forget."
Her voice was quiet and tentative, her fingers aimlessly tracing around the rim of her cup. He was shocked that she had been able to go to school while being this...broken. He felt awful. The breakup with Luke was...too sudden. Too random. Too uncalled for. No one was prepared or ready for it. Percy had doubts Luke himself was even ready for that decision.
"I can't believe it," she chuckled, her eyes becoming misty. Her words were slightly slurred, and it seemed as if it took a decent amount of effort for her to to get them out. "Like even now, I just...I keep thinking about getting to go home and call him. And then I realize that I can't."
She gave him a sheepish smile, sighing as she downed the rest of the liquid from her cup before she set it aside on the tiled floor. He could see tears welling in her eyes, and he hesitated for only a moment before he shifted over so he was directly beside her.
He wrapped his arm tentatively around her shoulders and felt her body stiffen for only a moment before she melted against his side. She buried her face into his shoulder while she wrapped her arms around her knees, letting out sobs that were so broken and sad that they gave Percy chest pains.
"Listen," he said softly as he brushed his fingers through her messy blonde hair. "I know it's shitty right now, but it's gonna be okay. I know it will be."
He drew her closer to himself as one of her hands shifted to fist in his shirt, tugging on the fabric slightly as she cried. Her voice was muffled and he could feel her tears dampening his shirt. "Annabeth, honestly, he didn't deserve you," Percy said softly.
Now, where his honesty and confidence come from, he had no idea. Whether it was the alcohol, how close the two had gotten in the past few weeks (and how distant they'd gotten in the past week), or some other factor, he let himself speak his mind. It turns out it would be the most sober thing he'd said all night.
"You're one of the most incredible girls at Goode," he assured her quietly. "Anywhere, really. You're the captain of the volleyball team, and you've been to the state championship tournament all four years of your career. You've gotten scholarships to some of the best colleges in the country. Everyone loves you to death, Annabeth."
He could feel her shaking body start to relax, and her sobs subsided into light sniffles and whimpers into his shoulder. "I mean literally everyone. You're so kind, and smart, and funny, but especially kind. You can make anyone feel like...like they matter. I can't tell you how many times you've made me feel...content. Made me feel happy."
He was staring intently down at his scuffed black Nikes, but he could see her peek up from his shirt, her stormy grey eyes focused on him as she choked down quiet sniffles. "A-and, I..."
He found it hard to find the necessary words. His face turned red, and he felt fidgety. But he had to say it to her. "Annabeth," he said in one of the softest voices he'd ever spoken in. "You're gorgeous. You...I can't even describe it."
He cut himself off with a small chuckle, and he could hear her quiet down again as she hung on every single one of his slightly (more than slightly) drunk words. "It-it all drives me insane. The way your hair curls up when you don't straighten it, th-the way you smile at everyone and everything, and the way you look after a hard practice and you're all sweaty and tired but you still look incredible, a-and..."
Whether he was stammering from the alcohol or just being nervous, he didn't appreciate it. He paused for a second to look down into her eyes, a sheepish smile on his face. "Your eyes. They're so dark and intense and beautiful. And I've never seen anything or anyone more perfect in my whole life."
Even though he had never planned on telling her all that, every single word he'd spoken was true. He'd been thinking about it a lot more than he probably should have, and he just needed to be more than slightly drunk to reveal it.
Annabeth's eyes were tinted red and her cheeks were blotchy from her crying, but she had a small smile on her lips that made Percy feel like a million bucks. They were so close together, his arm around her shoulders, and her fingers pressed up against his side. All he could focus on was those stormy eyes of hers, so he was a little taken aback when she leaned in and pushed her lips against his.
He was so shocked he couldn't move - his muscles failed him and he was left paralyzed. If he could feel any kind of emotion or anything in that kiss, he felt loneliness. Sadness. Desperation.
He hesitated for a moment, thinking about whether or not he should kiss back. He knew she was hurting and a little more than just tipsy, and that she was probably using him as emotional consolation, but his mind was muddy. It wasn't long before he let his eyes drift shut and he kissed her back, drawing her closer to his chest.
Her fingers slid up to run through his thick, already-messy hair and they pressed closer, sitting there on the bathroom floor while the biggest party of the year raged on outside the door. Her fingers slid from his hair down to the hem of his shirt, pushing it up so she could drag her fingers across his toned chest and stomach.
He shivered at the cold touch of her fingertips, and he felt her giggle a little into the kiss. She pulled away from him, and he immediately hated every inch of the newfound space between them. She grabbed his hand and urged him to his feet with some difficulty.
"Where are...where are we going?" he asked with a small smile as he latched onto her hand while she struggled with the door handle. "Shhhh," she said to him through a smile, finally managing to open the bathroom door. "J-just come on." They both laughed at one another before she before pulled him out of the bathroom and towards the stairs on the other side of the hall.
He was feeling more and more out of it with every passing second, and by the time they got upstairs and Annabeth had pulled him into a bedroom, he was struggling to walk in a straight line. He barely registered her locking the door behind them and pushing him onto the bed, her movements fumbling as she pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside.
"A-are you sure?" he mumble to her as she managed to pull off her dress, so she was left in nothing but a bra and underwear. She nodded, giving him a warm smile as she brushed her fingers across his cheek and down his chest. "Yeah. I am."
And this was the last thing he recalled clearly about that night: Annabeth Chase giving him her signature sunny smile before she leaned in to kiss him once more, his fingers dragging through her wavy blonde hair like he'd been wanting to do for ages.
Percy had always heard those cheesy stories about the morning after a drunken hookup. The thing was that he'd always been laughing at them, like "Who could be that irresponsible?" or something else related to being dumb and drunk. Yet when his eyes opened, he realized a few distinct things all within several seconds.
The first was that he wasn't in his bedroom. His bedroom was a bit small, painted blue, and was endlessly messy. This room was big and spacious, with a large bed, painted and decorated in all light, rosy colors and dark wood.
The second was that he had a pounding headache. As he said before, he never drank, but when he did it was to forget. And how could one possibly forget their troubles without a large quantity of alcohol?
The third thing was that he was naked. He could see several hickeys scattered across his collarbones and his chest, and he just knew there were more on his neck that he couldn't see. He saw some of his clothes draped along the edge of the bed, and when he angled his head he could see the rest on the floor in a heap. But...there were more. Was that a bra?
This, of course, led into the fourth and final realization, which was possibly the most shocking: he wasn't alone in that bed.
He registered a warm presence beside him, the feeling of someone's hair brushing against his chin, and someone's warm breath cascading across his chest and neck. This someone's arm was draped across his chest, and he realized that they were naked as well.
His eyes widened as he began to recall what had happened the night before in the bathroom, and when he looked down, he realized who was laying naked in his arms. Annabeth.
He froze up as she snuggled up to him, her breathing soft and even as she tightened her grip around his middle. "Oh, fuck," he muttered to himself as he racked his brain to try and think of a way out of his current situation.
He was already flustered enough, but it became ten times worse when the blonde's eyes opened up and her breathing hitched.
He knew she was going through the same mental checklist he had only moments before, and when she raised her head to look at him, he gave a sheepish smile and a shrug. "Uh...hi, Annabeth," he muttered as he let his arms fall from around her.
She hesitated, trying to find the right words, before she sighed softly and sat up, pulling the sheets around her to cover herself up. "Uh...we...we should talk about this," she muttered softly to him, standing and hurriedly throwing on her nice clothes from the night before.
He turned to give her some privacy, managing to snag his boxers from the frame at the bottom of the bed and pulling them on. "Y-yeah...definitely," he agreed softly as he scrambled around to find his jeans.
He only found them when Annabeth, half dressed in her own underwear and bra, handed them to him. He gripped them in his hand and gave her a slight grimace. "Um...first off, I'm so sorry," he apologized quietly. "I didn't...I don't think either of us knew what we were doing."
He turned away to tug his pants on, buttoning them up with a sigh. "I really...I've enjoyed hanging out with you the past month, and I really don't want this to be ruined because I messed up." He turned and gave her a bit of a helpless look before he tried to find his t-shirt. "Just...know that I'm so-"
He was cut off by a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look up at her. She was mostly dressed, and she had a small smile on her face. "Percy, stop apologizing," she said softly as she reached up to brush some of his hair back from his forehead.
He didn't want to say that he really enjoyed her touch, but he did.
"I...I wanted this. It's kind of exactly what I wanted, y'know?" she said with a small chuckle. "Something...someone to get my mind off of Luke. Something easy." She gently ran her fingertips down from his jawline to rest against his chest, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
Just her simple smile was enough to put him at ease. Don't get him wrong, he still felt like he'd just gone and ingested a gallon of espresso, but it was a little better. "So don't apologize. And, uh, in fact..."
She hesitated and seemed a bit unsure of herself. What was she thinking? Percy thought to himself as he took in her eyes, flickering back and forth as if she was in a state of internal conflict.
It took her a moment to compose herself and consider her words before she continued again. Maybe she didn't even know what she was thinking. "If you would want to, maybe we could like...keep doing this?" she suggested, looking up at him with a sheepish smile. "I've never actually asked someone to be my hookup, but..."
She dissolved into soft laughter and it was enough for him to smile too. He could relate to that. It's not like he went around finding random girls to have sex with whenever either of them wanted it. He'd always told himself he would get too attached. Well, hopefully he had been wrong about that. If not, it would suck.
He considered her words momentarily before he nodded, giving her a sheepish smile. "Yeah, definitely. I'd like that." He found himself panicking a bit. Did he sound too eager? Was that kind of creepy? Shit, he wasn't good with girls.
She nodded nonetheless and gave Percy a smile. He took note of the red tint to her cheeks, and the way her smile carried all the way into her eyes. "Great. That makes it easier," she laughed with a nonchalant shrug. "After Luke, I...I don't know if I'm ready for another serious, immediate relationship, you know?" She said it all with a smile, though he could see how her brow slightly furrowed.
He knew she was still hurting over her breakup, but she had a lot of varied ways to cope with it. Like staying after volleyball practice for an extra hour to run and lift weights. Or like hooking up with a random dude at a party. "It's really nice to have something like this. Like friends with benefits except we can still hang out. And you can take me out to dinner."
She grinned playfully, and he couldn't help but nod in agreement with a laugh. Was it nice? He had no clue. Maybe, or maybe not. "So I'm basically your boyfriend without actually being your boyfriend," he summed up, causing both of them to laugh, while she nodded and shrugged. "Basically," she agreed with a smile, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
Should I really feel this flustered? he thought to himself with a grin, hoping he wasn't blushing. "Just try not to fall in love with me then, Chase," he joked with a grin.
She pushed his chest lightly and they both laughed again. Her laugh was clear and more happy than he had heard in a while, and her hand was still braced against his chest.
And in that moment, all he could think about was how beautiful she looked with her curly, messy, blonde bedhead and that big smile on her face, and a fifth realization hit him.
Screw getting attached later on, because he already was. He was falling for her. The one girl he had just agreed not to get feelings for.