A/N: Hey guys! Back again, hope you like it!
Percy has never really been into traditional social media all that much. Not because he hates it or anything, but because he's never been able to look good in Instagram photos (he needs a someone to teach him how to pose, like seriously what do you do with your hands?)
Plus, he gets most of his news and stuff through Reddit rather than Twitter.
That said though, he has every social media platform on his phone with notifications on for the one and only Annabeth Chase.
It might seem extra, but he just calls it being a supportive boyfriend.
But the way the algorithm on these apps work means that he sometimes gets notifications for tweets other than Annabeth's simply because they are about her.
So when his phone buzzes with a tweet from annabanana2 that just reads: They're so cute together! he has a momentary panic.
And of course, it has to be a busy day. He hurries to try to finish the caramel mocha as quickly as possible so he can open up the tweet as a million possibilities run through his head.
The biggest one being that someone had found out about their relationship.
He hands off the mocha and swipes up on the notification.
Never mind, this is worse than being found out.
It's a picture of Annabeth hand in hand with a guy who he vaguely recognizes, with a wide smile on her face. But before he can really look into it, the door dings, signaling another customer.
Trying to push aside panic and summon midwestern newscaster, he turns to the girl at the counter.
"Welcome to Cali's, what can I get you?"
"Hi, um, I'll take the…" she trails off, looking at the menu.
His fingers itch to check his phone again, to put a name to the face of the guy he's definitely seen before.
"How's the French vanilla macchiato?"
Maybe in a TV show? "Huh?"
The girl turns her gaze to him and he flushes, embarrassed at his inattention as he apologizes.
"Sorry, I got distracted, what did you ask?"
He tells her the French vanilla macchiato is a good choice and proceeds to make it for her, all the while trying to resist the urge to check his phone.
The happy smile on her face is burned into his mind. But he tries to focus on trying to place the guy because it's much less painful to think about.
"Here you go," he calls as he pushes the drink across the counter, already pulling out his phone.
"Uh...could you give me a straw?"
He flushes again. "Oh shit, I'm sorry, here you go."
The girl waves it off, thankfully looking more amused than annoyed. As she turns to leave, he swipes open to the photo again.
"Do you—" he cuts himself off, brain finally catching up to his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that, but she's already turning around with a questioning look.
Well, he's in this far and she seems nice to hopefully she won't mind. "Do you know who this is?"
He holds up his phone and she steps forward to take a look.
"Annabeth Chase?"
"Yeah, but who's the guy?"
"Luke Castellan."
Recognition floods his brain at the name.
"From The Titans! I knew I remembered him from something!"
The girl smiles, taking a sip of her drink. "Yep, they dated a couple years ago."
His mind goes blank. "What?"
The girl nods. "Annabeth and Luke, they dated for a while. I guess the tweet is from the people who still think they're together. They had a pretty amicable break-up."
This girl is a treasure trove of knowledge and has just saved him ten minutes of Googling.
"Oh, I didn't know…" It's a lot of information to process.
She just shrugs. "I used to be super into Titans which is why I know. Anyway, have a good day!"
"You too! Thanks!" He calls after her, knowing his day is now far from good.
The replies under the tweet just echo the original, confirming that they are indeed a cute couple, and go well together.
They have to still be together, she hasn't dated anyone since one reply so helpfully reads.
His stomach sinks further.
She does look happy in the photo, free and smiling, no need to hide anything cause she's dating some measly barista.
His stomach sinks even further. Maybe she is better off with Luke.
The thoughts don't leave his head the rest of his shift.
He was going to meet Annabeth on set today after work, but when he pulls off his apron, he finds himself heading towards home instead. The set is just another reminder of everything she deserves and everything he isn't.
So he trudges to his shitty one-bedroom apartment and sits on the secondhand couch, mood sinking lower and lower by the second.
The TV is a blessing and a curse, so after flipping through shows that have very attractive people who'd make better partners to an actress than him, he stops on some Bob Ross reruns.
They help, calming him enough that he starts to doze off.
The knock on his door, however, startles him out of it and he sits up in a rush as the knock pounds again.
Before he can get up though, the lock clicks and the door opens, revealing Annabeth Chase's hood.
She pulls it down, dumping her bag on the floor, before frowning at him.
"How come you didn't come to set?" she asks, making her way to him. "Or respond to my texts?"
His stomach sinks again for having disappointed her. He really is a shitty boyfriend.
"Percy?" she prompts when he stays quiet. "What's going on?"
How does he even begin to explain himself? If he starts talking about how she's going to be happier with someone other than him, she might actually leave him and there's a selfish part of himself that doesn't want that.
Her worried grey eyes appear into his view. "Percy…?"
"Are you happy with me?" he blurts.
She leans back, surprise coloring her face at the question. "Of course I am! Why do you ask?"
He shrugs, unable to look at her. He doesn't really know how to say any of this but he has to respond so he starts to ramble. "You'd probably be better off with another actor or something so you wouldn't have to hide your measly barista boyfriend and—"
"PERCY!" she shouts, gripping his hands. "You don't believe that do you?"
He continues to look down at his lap where her hands are squeezing his.
"I'm just saying it'd probably be easier and better. He could give you stuff that I can't and—"
"No," she cuts him off. "Stop talking like that! I want you, you make me happier than anyone else. I don't care about some rich actor!"
"And," she adds, slowing down, "you don't actually think the reason we're keeping this a secret is because I'm…ashamed of you or something, do you?"
He doesn't respond.
"Percy!" She pulls him closer, forcing him to look at her. "That's not it at all! I don't want to ruin your life with the publicity it'll bring."
He kinda knew that. Hearing her say it is gratifying though.
"Percy," she continues in a soft voice. "I only want you, exactly the way you are. Please don't think of yourself as any less, ever."
He just nods and she presses herself into his side, warming him up inside and out. Her touch, as always, calms him down, burying the thoughts that had been eating at him all day.
"Sorry," he apologies. He's not really sure for what exactly, but he knows he brought her pain with his words.
"You don't have to apologize," she replies, voice muffled by his neck. He nods, and just revels in her presence as they sit and watch Bob Ross.
His heartbeat slows to match hers and he can feel himself starting to drift off again. But he still hears the words she presses into his skin.
"I think it's time for some change…don't worry, you're a part of it. My happy little accident."
A/N: Shoutout to anon on tumblr for the prompt! This one is obviously set before all the recent onehsots in the series, it was nice to revisit this part of the timeline! Hope you guys liked it!
Please Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
And as always, thanks for reading!
See ya! :)