Hello dear readers! If you're interested, yesterday I added the next segment/one-shot to my mini-series, outrunning hope, and I'd really really appreciate it if you checked it out. It's basically just a bunch of one-shots in the same universe. I'd love it if you could leave a review! So yeah! I hope you all are having a great day. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I've proved this several times, with incredibly meticulous methods that include browsing the internet. Now, I present to you this: I'm not fifty six years old.
~headline: good going percy, how smart~
…
Everything feels like it's moving super slowly. He talked to a couple groups of people, but overall, no luck at all. He's seen several fans with green shirts on, and whenever he does, his heart pounds, but none with the word Acropolis on it. Each time he meets a group of fans, or fan, it's pretty much the same.
"Hey!" He'll say, smiling at them, going in for a hug. Percy knows that fans sometimes don't know if they should, so if he does it first, they're bound to be more comfortable. They hug both him and Calypso, and they talk for around five minutes. He'll ask them about where they're from, how they got into his music, and in the end, they take a couple photos. It's fun, it really is, though it can feel a bit impersonal. He hugs them as they leave out the exit, to a room where a bunch of people who have already met him get to mingle, hang out, or just leave if they want to, and restart it all over again.
He's talked to a group of middle school kids who just started listening to him, a middle age woman who's listened to him for a couple of years, people older than him, people his age, people younger than him, but no Acropolis. None of them. He just— he knows that he has many more people to go, but with the amount of people he's already met and seen, he's losing hope. Everytime a group leaves, Percy and Calypso have a couple of minutes to recuperate and drop the act, at least, that's what Percy calls it. The entire time, Calypso and him have to act like a couple, like they know each other so well, and joke around. It's not horrible and obviously, he's become friends with Calypso, but he's glad to have the time to let himself lay loose.
Percy lets a sigh of relief, once the last group leaves the room. He's handed a bottle of water, and he chugs about half of it down in one gulp. It's really hot in the room, which is why he's sweating, and also just a bit tired out from all the talking. Percy's social by nature, but even he has to have time to reconfigure himself sometimes. Talking to people is great, and it's a huge part of his job, but if he didn't have the breaks, and it was non-stop meeting fans, he doesn't know if he could take it.
Calypso smiles at him. "What's wrong?" She says, and god damn she's good at reading faces.
"Just anxious," Percy replies, fidgeting with his hat. He takes it off and inspects it, before putting it back on.
"Do you need anything?" Calypso looks earnestly up at him.
"No, I'm good." He picks up his water bottle, and takes another drink of it. "Just exhausted."
Calypso smiles at him, and then settles back into her chair, before grabbing his hand. The door starts opening slightly, and a guard peeks in, letting them know that another group is coming in. Percy leans back into his chair, and pushes his cap so it's visible to whoever walks in, just in case it's here.
Then a group of two girls walk in. One, has choppy brown hair that's together in a braid. She's wearing casual clothing, and a bunch of jewelry, definitely not wearing a green Acropolis shirt. His eyes are drawn to her first, but when he meets the other girl, next to her, with cold and calculating grey eyes, blonde curly hair, and tanned skin, he sees that she's a sort of low-key beauty, she's really pretty, just in a way that you don't notice at first.
And then his eyes go down to her shirt.
It's green, and there are words on it. Words reading the simple phrase, "Athens Acropolis."
His eyes meet hers, and there is only one thing he can think: Holy motherfucking shit.
It's her, it's her, it's her. Finally, it's her. She's already amazing, he just is really fucking star-struck, because she's in front of her, and he lets go of Calypso's hand, and stands up.
"Pylos?" The girl sputters her eyes widening. "This has to be a joke," she shakes her head, "am I on punk'd? Cut the fucking camera's, holy shit, what the heck?"
Her friend looks sincerely confused. Calypso looks confused too. So does Acropolis. Percy's probably the only one here that doesn't look confused, though he certainly has some processing to do, because she's fucking gorgeous. His eyes are starry already. "This isn't a prank." Percy says quietly, walking over to her. "Acropolis?"
Acropolis drops her phone to the ground, and nobody bothers to pick it up. She walks toward him, her arms outstretched, and then, instead of what he was expecting— a tight embrace— she slaps him. Square in the cheek. Calypso moves forward, to pull him away, but Percy waves her off, saying it's okay. This is a perfectly normal response, she's surprised, and to be honest, the slap hurt a little bit, but he's too excited to care.
"Why didn't—" She starts.
He accidentally interrupts, "you're beautiful."
Acropolis blushes, "why didn't you just tell me?" She says, her hand on her heart.
"I—" Percy says, and then looks over at Calypso and Acropolis's friend. "Uh— why don't you two talk, and we talk."
Calypso nods reassuringly, and her friend smiles tightly, walking over. They strike up a conversation, and apparently they recognize each other, so eventually it falls quite for Percy and Acropolis, the girl. "Why didn't you just tell me?"
Percy sighs— this is expected. He knows it is. That's fine, and it's going to be much harder for her to process it than him. He's trying— to not be so self-centered, not only thinking about how an action or event affects, just like Leo said. "I just— I guess you were the one person I could be normal with, and if I told you who I was, you would either laugh at me, think I was faking it, or, I'd cease to be normal. There was no way I could tell you without the entire thing ending."
"Oh." It makes Percy's heart drop, because— she just seems really averse to the entire situation, as if she doesn't like what's going on. "Wow." She breathes. "Percy Jackson, who woulda thought? It kinda— all makes sense now. A little bit. I mean… this is just hard to grasp, you know?"
Percy nods, and then stares at her, just taking it all in. "What's— your name?" He says, because she sure as hell knows his, and he's already used to calling her Acropolis, but maybe, knowing her real name will help cement it all, help him process it all.
"Annabeth Chase." She replies slowly.
Annabeth. It's perfect for her. Unique, he hasn't heard it before in his life, but also just extremely fitting. "Annabeth." He says, just for the sake of saying it out loud. It feels so nice on his tongue. He smiles brightly at her, and she offers him a slight one in response. There's a tinge of sadness to it, and Percy understands why. Once she leaves this room, they probably won't see each other again any time soon. Percy wants to work his damn hardest to make sure that that doesn't happen, because just— she seems perfect. For him, at least. He already knows her personality, what she's like, and meeting her in person just solidifies all of his love.
Love. What a strange word. He's pondered this over and over again, without quite understanding what it truly entails. And yes, Percy has loved Acropolis— no, Annabeth— for a long while, but for everything to really solidify, becoming real real meeting her, seeing her, talking to her instead of taping words against a screen— words, for all he knows, couldn't be genuine— changes the game. So much. "I'm Percy." Percy says.
"I know that Percy." Annabeth says to him. "I don't know what to do…" she laughs nervously, "should we hug, or something?"
Percy grins. "I'd like that."
And so he wraps his arms around Annabeth, and pulls her in for a tight hug. It's not intimate or anything like that, rather full of discovery and hope. She feels comfortable in his arms, it feels so right. He turns around, to see Calypso and Annabeth's friend staring right at the two of them, in genuine shock and surprise, Calypso less so. Her eyes are just a bit wide, but she smiles calmly at the two of them, like she's pieced it all together. And she probably has, Calypso was smart and perceptive, as he's seen. She had a special talent for reading people, just as she was to Annabeth right now.
They let go of each other, and Percy smiled at her. Annabeth's face turns up. "I don't know what else to say," Percy says, "you're here and I'm here and it's just… perfect." He lets the word fall out of his mouth, just randomly, and Annabeth raises an eyebrow. Maybe he's over-romanticizing this. But it all just… feels really really surreal. Like, this is the person he's shared his secrets and fears with for the last year or so. This is the girl who always motivated him, helped him be better. This should feel natural, but instead, he's a bumbling idiot who doesn't know how to speak to the girl of his dreams. "I'm sorry."
"No, I am." Annabeth tells him. "I feel like such an idiot. I should have realized this, I mean, this is what Thalia was talking about." She mumbles. "And like, I was criticising your music, all this time, and you didn't say anything. Then again, you didn't necessarily talk about Percy as if he wasn't you, but how would I even guess that? I mean, I feel like there were so many hints, the ambiguousness you used. How you always defended him. When you said that in real life, you didn't really like him! Then like the song lyrics. That was so fucking obvious, holy shit. It's like, straight blindness. Thalia was right," She rants on, rambling.
Thalia must be the friend she's here with, who's looking at her, just about floored. He meets her eyes, and she slowly shakes her head back and forth. She continues to speak, so Percy puts a calm hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Annabeth." He says hopefully, showing her that he understands. "How about…" he looks over at the girl he presumes is Thalia. She looks just a tiny bit annoyed, and then Percy remembers that they only have fives minutes, and they're already about three minutes in. He should probably talk to this other girl, a little bit. So he moves his hand down to Annabeth's, holding it tightly in his, just to let her know he isn't abandoning him. Her talking has slowed down, and the room is pretty quiet. "Thalia," he says to the brunette girl. He recognizes her a bit, just can't tell from where. She has a familiar air to him. "How'd you get into my music?"
"It's Piper," says Piper, not Thalia. "Uh, when you got big. I'm Tristian Mclean's daughter?"
That's it. He snaps the fingers of his free hand. "Right, that's where I've seen you. It's nice to meet you Piper." He says, and holds out a hand. She cautiously shakes it.
"You can talk to Annabeth if you want, you know. I— I'm not sure what's going on, but it seems like you guys have a lot to talk about," She turns to Calypso, and smiles at her. She seems like a good friend. "I loved that movie you were in— Emmaline? Was it?'
Calypso beams, obviously excited to talk about her role. Percy smiles at her.
"So was this all a big joke?" Annabeth says, and Percy turns to her quickly. "You two are dating, right?"
Percy looks around, almost as if the media is going to pop out and catch him. He lowers his voice to a whisper, just because he's a coward. "It's not real." He says to her.
Annabeth frowns. "What's not real?"
"It's fake. For press. The media. It's my management's fault, and all that jazz. Just a little inconvenience, but it's not like I've signed a contract or anything. Or maybe I have. They do things around my back all the time, so I don't know if I should be surprised or what. But it's not real. I swear Annabeth, you're…" he trails off, unable to finish his sentence. He feels like in her eyes, he's just another person, which is what he wanted, right? But the fact that she's being so chill about this, the fact that she's surprised, yes, but also interacting with him as if he has flaws, makes this all a bit more nerve-wracking. And yeah, he's Percy Jackson, pop superstar, plenty of people, would go bonkers if they met him. But with Annabeth, it feels different. "You're real."
"I know that." Annabeth laughs a little bit. "At least, I think I'm real. And if you're saying that too, I think it's pretty much confirmed."
"Unless you're a ghost." Percy says, falling into the old banter type conversations they have whenever messaging each other. It doesn't feel completely natural, not yet, but it feels like they're coming to that point.
Annabeth smiles. "You're really Pylos." She says, shaking her head. "I mean… just… wow. Sorry, I'm just really surprised. Like, really really surprised."
"No need to say sorry," Percy shakes his head. "Not at all. I understand. Well, not completely obviously, I'm not in your situation, but I have a feeling of what you may be feeling like. It's not everyday that the person you—" he wants to say love, but he's not ready. He needs to know, really know if she feels that way, or even acts the same way around him. "—you've been messaging for the past year also is, coincidentally the person that you've been trashing for all those years too."
Annabeth winces. "I'm sorry. If I had know, I would have—"
"No, I don't hold it against you. I know I've changed."
She shakes her head. "Well now I'm realizing that you haven't. In terms of personality, not really. You— you're exactly how I thought you'd be. Percy Jackson, I mean." Not Pylos, is all Percy hears. Does she see him as Percy Jackson, or Pylos? Maybe just Percy would be nice.
"I have something to ask you." Percy says, "do you— do you think that you're talking to Percy or Pylos?"
Annabeth blinks. "What do you mean?"
"Am I Pylos?"
"It sure does seem like it."
"Am I Percy?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"I just—" Percy sighs, "I've liked Acropolis, which is you, Annabeth, so I like you, for the past couple of months and I wanted to know if you're disappointed." He confesses.
"You of all people," Annabeth laughs, "how could I be disappointed?"
"Well, I mean. Were you hoping for some else?"
"I wasn't hoping for anyone. I was looking for you."
That makes his heart pound a little faster. "I—" he starts, but is cut off by a security guard, who enters the room, opening the door slightly, and peering in.
"Time's up." The guard pronounces, and Percy's heart drops.
He hears Annabeth sigh, beside him, and he pulls her in for a hug once more. When they unravel, she asks him, "I don't know, this is just— you weren't playing me, right? This is all real."
He takes Annabeth's hand, and kisses it. "I wouldn't ever play you Annabeth. And I'll send you my phone number, okay? Through email. You can call me, and we'll try to find a time to talk when we're in a more secluded area."
Annabeth smiles softly. "Alright." She says, and then laughs. "I guess I'll see you."
"Soon." Percy promises, and then watches as the two of them leave, Annabeth looking back once, with hope in her eyes. Somehow, he knows everything is going to be okay between them. Somehow, he's sure that in the end, no matter what happens, they'll become friends, at least, or maybe even more. Percy hopes for more. He dreams for more.
The door shuts behind them, and Percy goes back to his seat, falling against it. Calypso looks over at him, "that was her, right?"
"Yeah." He's still a little bit in awe.
She nods. "She seems good for you."
"I don't even know if I'll see her again."
She stares at him thoughtfully. "I'm sure you will."
They sit in silence for around a minute, until Percy finally relaxes into his chair, ready for the next fan to come in. But then, he spots a phone— Annabeth's phone, he guesses— on the floor. He grabs it, and then turns the case around. It has a couple stray papers in it, and yeah, a little piece of paper with the words, "Athens Acropolis" within the clear case. He holds it up to the guards. "I need to return this." He says quickly.
One of them comes up to him. "We can give it to her, you shouldn't go out, it isn't safe."
Percy shakes his head. "I've got to get it to her." Any other time, he would hand it to them, shrug it off. But this is Acropolis for christ sakes. He wants to return it to her himself. He wants to see her again, before complications get in the way.
And then, he burst through the exit doors, into a crowd of fans. His fans.
…
He runs as fast as he can, through the crowd, trying to cover his face, but it's no use, because everyone here knows who he is, knows his music, likes his music. People swarm around in clumps, and yes he knows it's horrible to disregard his own fans but he pushes past all of them, phone in hand. He has to find her, has to return this to her.
He gets to a point where he knows she's gone, that she's left with her friend, but still, he rushes out of his own meet and greet. This is a glass slipper, he knows it. This is another chance, and he has to— and Percy means has to— take it. So he flees his own meet and greet, confident that he'll find her. They're meant to be, right?
Well, maybe not so confident, because as he looks in front of him, there's practically an army of paparazzi in front of them. With microphones, notebooks, and of course, pointing their nosy-ass cameras his way.
Okay, so maybe he should have listened to the security guards. Because, this definitely isn't safe, and he knows that he'll be bombarded with questions. He tries his best to push through, but is eventually caught. And then, he slips a detail he shouldn't have, and makes an even huger mistake.
He screws up again. Again. And this— this is horrible.
…
~the best things happen unexpectedly~
Well well well looks like Percy has got himself in another situation. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Again; I'd appreciate it if you checked out the next outrunning hope one-shot. But yeah! I hope this satisfied you all! Leave a review, lmk what you think! Stay safe and healthy! Until the next chapter!
TheLil'Lion