Chapter 5

If you loved me, why'd you leave me?

Annabeth felt like her head might explode. She hadn't got even an ounce of sleep last night when she came back to the motel. She didn't even know that it was humanly possible to feel the spectrum of emotions that had plagued her all night. She lay in bed, twisting and turning, replaying the events of the entire day in her head as she munched on the cookies Percy had given her. Her mind, like a broken record, kept coming back to the moment she had met him again.

She was proud of herself that she had kept a straight face as she had stared into his eyes, her favorite shade of green. He had gotten taller, broader, and more handsome since the last time she had seen him. His eyes were the same though, well almost the same, sparkling green, glinting with hints of mischief, but now they also held a tinge of sadness and regret in them. The road had definitely been rocky for him and it made her all the more guilty for leaving. She should have been by his side, holding his hand as they both conquered the hurdles of life. That had been the plan until Annabeth had to be so stubborn as to wait for him to approach her when she left.

And then she had been a coward, burying her feelings for so many years, until now, when as soon as she was reacquainted with his warmth, all those feelings came rushing back to her.

She was jolted by her alarm, indicating that she had to start getting ready for her new job. She rushed to the bathroom, took a quick shower, looked at Piper's lamp, asking it to wish her luck, and made her way to the cafe. As she walked, she was well aware that the stress of last night was displayed on her face; she could bet there were bags under her eyes and her hair resembled a bird's nest, she tried to untangle her hair using her fingers, hoping to look at least a bit presentable when she saw him- nope , she wanted to look presentable on her first day.

As she finally entered her new workplace, she took her time to allow the familiar aroma of coffee and cakes to seep into her nostrils, instantly calming her nerves a bit. She allowed her eyes to wander taking in the changes that had happened to the cafe in which teen Annabeth had spent so many of her evenings. She didn't get a look around yesterday as she was a bit preoccupied. She could feel Percy's eyes burning into her spine, but she chose to focus on the new decor instead.

Not a lot had changed to the interior design she observed, it still felt as cozy and welcoming as the first day she had been here. She did take notice of the new dream catcher that hung above the counter, the new seat covers, and the new red couch in the corner, adjacent to the page wallpaper. It had been her idea to decorate this wall of the cafe like this when the wallpaper had chipped off. She traced her fingers along the designs she remembered creating; she had borrowed the old books from Chiron, ones that were either going to be replaced by new additions or the ones that were in poor condition. She had put in newspaper cuttings that displayed the history of the town, and even quotes from certain customers who had volunteered.

"It seemed like the perfect place for the couch, the people can relax and take their time reading all of it."

The deep voice shook Annabeth from her reverie. She turned sideways to see Percy looking at the wall with a fond smile.

Her lips turned slightly upward. "I'm glad it's still as good as it was 7 years ago."

"Of course, why wouldn't it be? We've been guarding it with our lives, not a smidge or a stain, perfectly pristine."

"Oh, did you now? Because I distinctly remember you trying to throw coffee on it multiple times in the past."

He barked out a laugh and nudged her with his shoulders, "Oh come on, Beth, you know how much I loved messing with you." Loved? Past tense. She didn't know why her chest felt heavy at the use of the word.

"I can't bear the thought of something, anything messing it up, especially because it was the only reminder of your presence in this cafe for so long." Annabeth gaped at him for using such bold words and judging by his equally horrified expression, he hadn't meant to say that either.

Before they could slip into the awkwardness of the situation, she heard Thalia drop a mug forcefully on the counter.

"This is getting painful to watch, are you guys done yet? Because the cafe opens in 30 minutes and we still need to show her the ropes."

Percy shook his head and led Annabeth to the counter. As he began explaining to her the logistics of her job, she felt Thalia smirking at her from where she was sitting on the counter.

She tried to calm her stupid heart and prayed the color on her cheeks would be attributed to the nervousness of starting her first day instead of Percy's comment. She gave her a tiny scowl and turned her full attention to what Percy was saying.

"So we have me behind the counter and Grover and Thalia in the field. Mom and I bake the cakes and the cookies, sometimes Grover helps too because you know, it is his job, unlike a certain someone." He informed her, giving Thalia a not so gentle shove and Thalia flipped him off.

"Okay, so what will I do? " She asked.

"You can work the machines with me," Thalia snorted at that but they both ignored her, "We recently got another one, so that can be yours. We can even switch for the counter."

"Ok, I can do that, though, um, how does the coffee machine work?" She asked shyly.

Percy gave her a mischievous grin, "C'mon let me show you."

They made their way to the machines and Annabeth tried not to stare at his arms as he gesticulated with his hands. That task became more difficult when her eye caught the sight of the tattoo peeking from underneath the sleeve of his T-shirt. When had he gotten that? . She wanted to figure out what it was and maybe trace her fingers over it. What? No, Annabeth.

When he was done demonstrating, he told her to make him a cappuccino and Annabeth instantly shoved aside those ridiculous thoughts, her brain switching into work mode. She put the ingredients in the machine and when she pushed the button, nothing happened. She pushed it again and a third time but to no avail. She turned to Percy who just shrugged. She then moved to examine the machine, when the sudden loud noise made by the machine caused her to jump back and release a shriek. With a hand on her heart, she turned towards Percy, and instantly Annabeth had murder on her mind. That bastard had switched off the main switch and to scare her, plugged it in again when she had been examining the machine and was now doubling over with laughter.

"Say goodbye to your mama, Jackson, because you just signed your death certificate." She growled and ran towards him. She felt a slight satisfaction when his eyes widened with fear.

"I'm pretty sure killing your boss on the first day at work is frowned upon in society Annabeth."

"You are not my boss."

"I technically am," he said while jumping behind the couch.

Before she could reply with another threat about how she liked punching bosses, the door opened again, and in came a beaming Grover.

"Oh Annabeth, I'm so excited to work with you! We will all have so much fun." That much she could agree with.

She let Percy go for the moment and prepared herself for the day, recalling all the things he had taught her as customers started pouring in. Percy, Grover, and Thalia guided her throughout the day and soon it was almost closing time.

She had just made a complicated latte when the door burst open with a voice shouting, "Where is she?"

Annabeth breathed out a laugh as soon as she recognized the owner of the voice.

She wiped her hands on her apron and reached the front, "Hello to you too Leo!"

"Annabeth Chase," he grinned, "I knew you would come back in the arms of your one true love." He then picked her up and twirled her around, making her laugh.

"Of course I came back, couldn't resist the bad boy supreme for too long." She smirked and then noticed the blonde guy, who had previously been conversing with Percy, observing their interaction with a confused look. She gave him a once-over and came to the conclusion that he was Thalia's brother, Jason. She went over to introduce herself and his eyes widened,

" You are Annabeth, the Annabeth, Percy's An-, um, why is this idiot calling you his true love."

Leo came to stand beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Jason, don't believe what this town says, Annabeth and I are the real star-crossed lovers."

"Bro, you have a fiance." Jason, explained, giving Leo a funny look.

"That is why we are star-crossed lovers, you dumbass," he turned to Annabeth, giving her an apologetic look, "I'm sorry mi amor, but I'm taken now."

"Oh no! Whatever will I do now?" She gasped dramatically, moving away from his embrace. Leo laughed and moved to take her hand and place it on his heart, "But remember this Annabeth, you had the honour of having this first."

She opened her mouth to give another dramatic reply but was cut off as Percy removed her hand from Leo's chest. "Alright, that's enough manhandling for now."

Leo gave him a sour look and mumbled to Jason, "He had always been the sharpest thorn in our love story." Jason just laughed.

"Shall I give Calypso a call Leo?" Percy asked, taking out his phone from his pocket.

"She'd love to hear this Romeo-Juliet-esque tale of yours."

"That's low Jackson," he grumbled then dragged Annabeth over to a nearby table. Leo informed her how they spent Friday or Saturday nights in the cafe when it was closed, catching up on the week. Annabeth then played her own version of catch-up with another person again. However this time her eyes drifted to Percy, who was engaged in a deep conversation with Jason, while Thalia slept on the couch.

He looked so cute with his arms folded across his chest, the mysterious tattoo peeking from his sleeve. She craned her neck a bit to get a good look but was startled by the broom falling on the ground.

Beside her, Leo snickered, "Auntie Barb doesn't like it when someone stares at Percy".

Choosing to ignore the latter part of his comment, she asked surprised, "Auntie Barb? She's still here?"

Sally had opened The Blue Cookie when she was 23, after the death of Percy's father. The land was pretty cheap and they sometimes found weird creepy things happening in the cafe like the floorboards creaking, lights flickering, mugs being replaced, the music changing on its own accord. When the entire gang was young, they had stumbled across an old article about a 20-year-old girl who had died in the house that used to be there. That gave birth to the long-running gag that the place was haunted by her ghost who they named Auntie Barbara. They made all sorts of jokes and often carried pranks, blaming it on the ghost.

Leo nodded his head vigorously, "She never left, and she has become even more possessive over Percy, ever since a certain someone left him heartbroken."

"I did not okay, and I didn't realize Barb was a pedophile."

"Well, technically, she was 23 right? So no harm no foul."

Annabeth laughed at the stupidity of it and Leo continued, "Now you've got some real competition, had you accepted my love back in high school, things would have been much easier."

Annabeth hit him on the arm, "Shut up!"

"No, but seriously, don't you think it's time for all the skirting around to end Annabeth, life has literally given you both a second chance, just don't fuck up and make those stupid mistakes again".

Percy jumped up as he felt his finger burn . Shit , he had been so busy mulling over how absolutely adorable Annabeth looked in that apron that he dipped his finger in the cup with the hot coffee. It had been a week since she started working and Percy's days at the cafe seemed much more fun now. She just seemed to fit so easily in his life as if she had never left in the first place. The awkwardness between them had dipped down but he wanted it to disappear completely. He had decided to have a talk with her because he couldn't bear it anymore, he desperately wanted his best friend back. Today, he had asked her to stay behind for a couple of hours to help him clean up and he would finally broach the subject. He would no longer be a coward and make the move.

They had to close the cafe a bit early as there was a weather warning of an approaching thunderstorm. It was drizzling by the time it was just the two of them at the cafe and Annabeth was helping him examine the finances when he spoke up, "So, um, how is the housing situation going?"

"Oh, I contacted Nana's lawyer, the house is for any member of the Chase family and my mother doesn't have any other influence over it, so I can legally inherit it, will just have to go over a couple of formalities."

"That's great! When will you start moving in then?"

"I actually visited the house a couple of days back with Thalia, most of Nana's stuff is already there, all that's left to do is renovate the place a bit."

"We all can do that this weekend, I'm sure the BnB bed can't be that good for your back."

She gave him a tiny smile and muttered a silent thank you, shifting her focus back on the notebook in front of her. He did not know what possessed him to say his next words, maybe it was the weather, it was getting harsher by the second or it was the way she had a pencil between her lips that stopped his rational thinking.

"Why didn't you call Annabeth?"

She was taken back by his sudden question. She stuttered through a response but Percy wasn't done. His voice became accusatory.

"Why didn't you come back? Did I mean so little to you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You completely shut me out, shut this place out, I always knew you were a city girl at heart, this town was too mediocre for you."

Percy wished somebody would stop his word vomit, this was not how he wanted their talk to go. Annabeth's expression changed from guilty to angry.

"Well, it's not like you were spamming me day and night with your calls."

"Because I didn't know if you ever wanted me to call."

"That's absurd, why wouldn't I want that? "

"Oh I don't know, maybe because you shut me out when your Nana died and you didn't even say goodbye to me the day you left." He knew he was shouting, but the pain was still raw. Grover had told him that day about her departure, he had tried to rush to the airport but it was too late. He had spent nights wondering why she had left him hanging like that.

"Because I was angry Percy, I was mad that Nana was taken from me and my best friend had been ignoring me since the day he fucking kissed me. "

Just like the flash of lightning outside, Percy's anger faded as everything suddenly made more sense. God, he was such an idiot. He messed them up.

"I-I was never ignoring you Annabeth. "

She gave a sardonic laugh and Percy wanted to run outside in the storm and die.

"Oh, so you kissed me and then didn't speak to me for two whole days and avoided my eyes whenever we were in the same room together, in what world is that normal behavior?"

Percy's hands were shaking as he took a step forward toward Annabeth but she held her hand up. "I don't need this now, good night."

As she made a move to grab her coat, he caught her arm and turned her so that she was facing him. She tried to wriggle free from his grip but he wasn't gonna mess it up further.

"Let me fucking go."

"Not again."

"I'm done here Percy, it's too painful for me."

"You can't go outside, the storm is raging, and please you need to hear me out."

"I'll be fine, I don't want to-"

"I was gonna ask you out." He breathed out and her attempts to move away stopped.

"What?"

"That night, after we kissed, I wanted to officially ask you out at Junior Prom, those two days I spent learning your favorite song on that guitar you had gifted me." She said nothing and Percy took it as his cue to continue,

"I wanted to surprise you, the prom was a week away so I spent all my time rehearsing. When I found out about Nana, I rushed to your house but your Mom was already there and then you stopped answering my calls."

"You-you were going to ask me out."

"Yeah, I had a whole stupidly cheesy gesture planned but wow did that turn out to be a colossal fuck up and instead of getting you as my girlfriend, I just lost you altogether." He choked out, finally letting go of her arm.

She didn't speak for a while as she settled on the couch. He really wished there was some way he could know what she was thinking.

"We are both idiots." She said, her eyes glassy. "We wasted 7 years of our lives because of a simple misunderstanding."

He moved to sit beside her and spoke gently, "If anyone is an idiot, it's me, had I just told you-"

"No Percy, it's as much my fault as it's yours."

He grabbed her hands in his and spoke with the most earnest look he could muster, "I'm sorry Annabeth, I'm so so terribly sorry."

"I'm sorry too".

"Can we forget all of this? You were and will always be my best friend, can we put the past behind us?"

"You still are my best friend too Percy and nothing would make me happier than having you back in my life." She gave his hands a gentle squeeze and when she looked up and stared into his eyes, he was sure that the rain outside wasn't the only thing falling.

"So.. I guess we can't go home in this weather." He said, pulling his hand away before she got uncomfortable.

"I suppose not."

"So now we have all night and since everything is much clearer between us, spill."

"What?" she asked, amused.

"I've only got bits and pieces from Grover and Thalia, I wanna hear everything from you, Beth."

She bit her lip nervously but began her story. Percy listened intently, he wanted to know every single aspect of her life so that he could get the feeling of still being there with her in some form. When she was done, she gave a small chuckle, "God, you and Piper are so alike, she used to remind me so much of you."

"I'm sure we would have gotten along really well."

"Yeah, she knew about you, she always wanted to meet you," her eyes welled up and Percy didn't want her to reminisce anymore. He gently pulled her close as she let out a few tears. When her breathing evened out, he blurted, "I almost got married once."

She looked up at him in shock and pulled away. Percy internally cringed and hastily tried to explain. "Rachel and I met in college, even though I had Jason, we became really close and started dating in our senior year. She was a lot like you, and she really got me you know. When college ended, I guess I was too scared to lose her too so I proposed, impulsive and stupid decision but I-I didn't want history repeating itself."

"What happened?"

"I moved here to work at the high school along with Jason and she went to San Francisco, we still spoke but I realized that when I was here, with my friends and mom, I really didn't feel her absence. I didn't feel that something was missing and this feeling was mutual between us, so we called it off."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, we still talk sometimes, she's a great friend."

"Well, I'm glad, I-uh, I mean I'm glad that you guys are still friends, not that you broke up or something." She stuttered.

"Sure, of course," he couldn't keep the small smile off his face.

"You know what I mean," she grumbled, punching him in the shoulder. He just laughed and Annabeth soon joined him. However, her expression turned serious again.

"Percy, why did you quit your job?" There it was, the question he was dreading to answer, but it would have to come out eventually. He braced himself for the conversation.

"Around 4 months after I started teaching, Mom fell sick," Annabeth's eyes widened as she grasped his closed fist. "Like really sick, she was in the hospital and she was diagnosed with SCID." He heard her sharp intake of breath.

"The doctors said it was a miracle she had survived for so long and then I didn't want to take any more risks, so I quit to handle the cafe and lessen her burden and also stay close to her and hopefully keep her safe."

"Oh my-Oh my God, Percy!"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you but Thalia told me about Piper and I didn't want to worry you-" He couldn't finish his sentence as Annabeth surged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.

"Shut up Seaweed Brain, Sally is like a mother to me too, and she will be fine, don't worry we will keep her safe, together." He could tell by the slight crack in her voice that she was pretty shaken up.

"Together?" Those were the words he had longed to hear, he needed the support, he was tired of shouldering the worry alone.

"Yes, I'll be with you every step of the way okay?"

"Thank you, Wise Girl."

"Any-fucking-time." Their little moment was interrupted by the sudden creaking of the floorboards. Annabeth looked up and whispered, "Auntie Barb is making her presence known." making Percy chuckle.

"Hi Barb, sorry we are intruding at this hour but the storm is pretty nasty, can we crash here tonight?"

The light flickered a bit and they took it as her acceptance.

"So, we will have to spend the night here," Annabeth said, looking outside the window.

"Yeah, you can take the couch in the break room and I'll take this one."

"Okay, but are you sleepy right now?"

"Not really, why?"

"Well, I think it was enough gloom for today so wanna do something stupid?" Annabeth asked, smiling mischievously.

"With you, always." His blood pumped with excitement, the night was still young after all.

They spent the next few hours concocting different flavors or varieties of coffee, mixing together all kinds of ingredients while playing I Spy. They kept aside the drinks that had almost made them puke for their friends. As she made a face when tasting another one of their creations, gagging slightly, Percy thanked all the gods above that he finally had Annabeth back, he was glad to have his best friend back.

While they were in the midst of building a plastic cup pyramid Annabeth suddenly wondered out loud, "How many coffee beans do you think are in all these containers?"

"Only one way to find out." he smiled and offered his hand to pull her up from the floor.

A/N: I love this chapter so much! What did you think about their confrontation? Do share your thoughts :)

PS: The chapter title is from the song All I Want by Kodaline