Chapter 11

Percy felt like an idiot. Of course she would friend-zone him, she just got out of a relationship. A long one. He felt horrible for making a move when she was ready. He felt stupid for reading the signs all wrong.

Still, he thought the night was amazing. Any time with Annabeth, as friends or not, was amazing. He had so much fun with her and felt so at ease. If she wasn't there, he probably would've left the party early. He felt more confident with her around him. It helped that she was beautiful and impressed everyone, as well.

Once she arrived at the party, Percy's heart felt like it was going to literally escape his body and place itself in Annabeth's hands. She looks stunning, as always, but more important she just looked happy. Content. And it made Percy happy.

He also was very vulnerable with her, something that he's never done with anyone. Not even his mom knows how insecure he feels around his father's inner circle. His dad could tell as soon as he laid eyes on Percy how he felt about her. This, fortunately, did break the ice with him.

He recounted his night to Nico and Charlie over drinks, who listened intently. They were at a dive bar on a Friday night, it's been a few weeks since the Christmas party. "So, maybe it's time i move on. Maybe I'll keep my distance."

"Kinda hard when you work together," Nico muttered, sipping an orange, sweet drink that Percy was sure Will introduced him to.

Charlie shrugged, "I don't think you should completely give up, but maybe that's my inner Silena talking."

"At least we're not on the same team," Percy sighed, "I feel like I'm constantly losing with her. I just thought that she felt what I did. Maybe I'm bad at reading people."

"Maybe?" Nico snorted, earning a glare from Percy. He sighed and sat up, "Percy, listen. The best thing you can do right now is give her space. If she cares about you, she'll come to you. There's no use sitting and driving yourself crazy about what she thinks. You don't have to wait for her, but you also don't have to completely forget about her. Your feelings for her aren't going to shut off overnight, just stop worrying."

Charlie raised an eyebrow, "incredibly insightful, Nico. How's Will?"

"Incredibly annoying," Nico grumbled.

"So you're doing better than ever?" Percy asked, a grin on his face. Nico rolled his eyes, but didn't object.

Percy sighed and leaned back, glancing around. No one interested him. He was looking for Annabeth. He felt love sick, all he wanted to do was be next to her. Be with her. What was he supposed to do?

"Maybe I should go back to Brazil," Percy said absently, watching everyone around him chat and drink.

Charlie groaned, "that's a horrible idea. I mean, Brazil is beautiful, but horrible idea. You can't leave us. Who will cover my tab? Who will be NIco's roommate? Who will convince the company leaders that a keg in the office is a great idea?"

Nico raised his hand, "don't worry, Will would be more than happy to move in with me."

"You're not helping."

Percy sighed, "it was just an idea. Or maybe I should go work for my dad."

"We love nepotism," Silena jumped in, scaring all three of them. "HI, babe." She placed a quick kiss on Charlie's head.

Percy's heart skipped a beat when he realized Annabeth was behind her. They locked eyes for a moment too long and Percy was reeled back in. He could never let go of his feelings for her.

"You want to leave the company?" Annabeth asked, settling in the seat across from him. Her and Silena placed a quick order for wine and the bartender rushed off. ANnabeth slid her coat off, she wore a simple beige sweater and had her hair in a sleek low bun. Percy thought she looked gorgeous.

Before Percy had a chance to speak, Charlie jumped in, "not only that, he's thinking of going back to Brazil. Someone please tell him that's a bad idea."

Annabeth looked up sharply, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows, "Brazil?"

The table got quiet. Percy held her gaze, maybe it was the drinks but he felt a little more brave, "I do miss my colleagues over there. The marine life is amazing. So, why not?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes a bit, "maybe you should, if it's so great over there."

He was a bit taken aback, Silena let out a little squeak, "Annabeth!"

Percy tried to act like that didn't hurt him. "Definitely warmer than it is here," he said, less edge in his voice. Annabeth looked down, seemingly guilty now. The bartender brought over their drinks. Percy was feeling sick, he didn't know what he did to make her dislike him so much. He sighed and got up, earning objections from the guys. He forced a smile at Charlie and handed him a few bills, "as promise, your bill is covered. I'll see you all next week. See you at home, Nico."

He ignored the objections and slid his coat on. Once outside, he felt a little better. It was pretty late and cold, but people were still out and about. It was probably easier to run back to Brazil, but Percy knew it wouldn't help. He'd just feel alone and empty and come right back. He did the next best thing, he walked to his mom's apartment.

Sitting in his mom's kitchen, eating a warm blue chocolate chip cookie and laughing with his mom and sister, Percy felt better. He hadn't made as much time for them as he should've since he'd been there and he was beginning to think this was a better outlet than pining after a certain blonde.

"-then I told Lucy there's hundreds of gods and she was like no, there's one!" Estelle sighed dramatically, making Percy laugh.

"Honey, people can believe in their own gods. Her faith is different than ours, you have to respect that," Sally gave her a tiny tap on the nose, making Estelle roll her green eyes.

"Well, now we're not friends anymore. She said I was dumb," Estelle crossed her arms, blowing her dark hair out of her face.

"That's a very mean thing of her to say," Percy interjected, "but, maybe she didn't mean it. Sometimes friends fight and say things they don't mean." He ruffled her hair, making her laugh but feeling a twinge of sadness. Maybe Annabeth didn't mean what she said.

Sally nodded approvingly at Percy, "Maybe give Lucy time to cool down. That's your best friend, she'll realize what she said wasn't okay."

Estelle sighed, uncrossing her arms, "Maybe. For now, Simone is my best friend." And with that, she snatched a blue cookie and raced away to her room.

Sally laughed then turned her eyes to Percy, she could tell something was wrong immediately, "What is it, Percy? Everything okay? It's pretty late." She took his hands into hers and Percy almost sobbed with relief. He really missed his mom.

Instead of crying and earning the cry baby title from his little sister, Percy instead cleared his throat, "I don't know, mom. This is gonna sound silly. I just feel… lonely, I guess. Maybe a little heartbroken."

He clued her in on everything that's happened with Annabeth and she listened intently. Percy couldn't help but notice the wisp of gray hair that his mother had, and felt more sadness. His mother was getting older and all he could think about was a girl not liking him back.

After he finished, he took a deep breathe, "I'm pretty sure I love her, and I don't know what to do about it."

"Oh, Percy," she wrapped him up in a tight hug and he's never felt safer. Immediately he knew everything was going to be alright. "Have you told her how you felt?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, "I think she knows."

She smiled knowingly, "she'll never know exactly how you feel unless you tell her. It sounds like she's been through a lot… maybe she needs you to be upfront and honest in order for her to sort out how she feels about you."

Percy thought about it for a few moments. "Maybe you're right. But, I don't want to ruin our friendship or make things weird. What if she doesn't feel the same way?"

Sally shrugged, "you'll at least know. Percy, a big part of love is being brave. Having the courage to express it and not fear the consequences."

He leaned his head on his mothers shoulder, slowly chewing his cookie. She was right. Maybe he should tell Annabeth how he feels, he's gotten so many mixed signals from her, he might as well lay it all out on the table.

"Thank you, mom. I love you."

"I love you, too, dear. Now help me clean up."

Of course, he didn't tell her right away. He couldn't because she avoided him like the plague for the next few weeks, which was very disheartening. He tried not to be offended, but it was hard. She didn't even meet him at their little cafe/bookstore like they usually did every other Wednesday. Whenever he saw her at work, she was aloof and running away with a coffee in her hand. He hadn't seen her at this week.

He sat in the office with Charlie and Silena, stabbing his salad with his fork thinking about his situation. Charlie and Silena watched him, amused, until he looked up and realized they were watching him.

"What?"

They shared a look and Silena gave him a friendly rub on the shoulder, "Percy, you don't even eat salads. And now you're destroying it. What's up?"

Percy pushed his salad away, "just not a fan of caesar."

"Ah, as Brutus once said," Charlie sighed dramatically, and the comment made Percy smile.

"What's really bothering you?" Silena asked, shooting a look at Charlie who was still chuckling at his little joke.

"The same thing that's always bothering me," Percy muttered, taking a sip of water.

Silena frowned, "a certain blonde? Yeah, I'm bothered, too, but it's for a good opportunity. I'm excited for her."

Percy looked up at Silena, confused, "what?"

He cocked her head to the side, "what?"

Charlie raised an eyebrow at Percy, "…what?"

"No, Silena," Percy put his hands on the table, "What?"

Silena seemed to shrink, "I'm just sad to see her leave the company… but, it's a good opportunity for her. It won't be the same?"

Percy's heart beat faster, "I'm sorry, what? Annabeth is leaving the company?"

Charlie frowned, "you didn't know?"

Percy tried to stay calm, but he was having difficulty. He tried not to feel hurt that he was the only one he didn't know. He tried not to feel hurt and offended that she didn't tell him. He tried not to feel hurt that he thought he were at least friends, and that she at least would let him know she's been interviewing.

Without saying a word, he got up, sent his manager a quick message saying he wasn't feeling well, and left the office. Walking home, he couldn't help but feel angry. Not at Annabeth, but at himself for fooling himself into thinking he and Annabeth were at least friends. Then, he started to feel embarrassed. All this time pining after her and thinking they were close, she didn't even think to tell him she quit. They were never friends and he was silly for thinking so.

He sped walked to his apartment, and threw himself into his bed face down. He felt stupid and incredibly sorry for himself. "I'm an idiot," he mumbled into his pillow and stayed like that until nightfall.

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but he woke up to his phone vibrating. With a heavy sigh, he picked it up and then noticed someone was knocking on his door. He stumbled out of his bed, eyes shut and tried to maneuver through the dark apartment.

"Hello?" He said groggily into his phone, his hand on the door knob.

"Gods, Percy I called you five times, open your door," an out of breath voice said into his ear.

"Huh?"

He was still half asleep. He opened his door and had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Annabeth stood there, her cheeks red from the cold. Her phone was to her ear and she stared back at Percy, almost surprised to see him open the door. Her hair fell in soft curls around her face and she wore a matching grey sweater set under a black wool coat. On her shoulder hung a beige tote bag.

Percy looked at his phone, then at her, "did you call me?"

She rolled her eyes, "yes, like I said, five times. I needed to talk to you. Can I come in?"

"Um, sure," He was so taken aback, he didn't know what to do. Hours ago, he was livid, but now he was just confused, and a bit self conscious about his bed hair.

She set her coat down and paced around his kitchen when he ran his fingers through his hair and took out a box of pasta. Within a few minutes, he had a pot of water boiling and poured the pasta in. He stirred absentmindedly while Annabeth seemed to go through her little inner turmoil.

"So…. Did you come here to get your steps in?" Percy ventured, not too sure what else to say.

She stopped pacing and met his eyes. His heart did a somersault and he ran his fingers through his hair again, cursing himself for being a messy sleeper. Without a word, she reached into her bag and pulled out….

A stainless steel coffee tumbler. His stainless steel coffee tumbler. That she stole the morning after they met.

He looked at the tumbler, then back at her, "I don't get it?"

She sighed and walked around his island so she was next to him. Percy felt like he was still dreaming.

"Percy, I haven't been fair to you. I'm aware that I've been avoiding you, I've been a bit mean, and I haven't been a very good friend. I'm sorry you had to hear from Silena that I quit my job," She said, looking away. She waited for his response, but he didn't say anything, he just continued to stir the pasta. "Well, that guy from your dad's party? He reached out to me directly, saying there was an opening on his team. I went through the interview process and… I got it. It's my dream job, and I wouldn't have had this opportunity if it wasn't for you."

He sprinkled salt and a bit of olive oil into the pot. Taking another pot out, he poured pasta sauce and began to add in a few spices and herbs.

"I'm very happy for you, Annabeth. Trust me. I'm also a bit hurt you didn't tell me. I thought we were friends," with a deep breath, he looked at her, "I'll be honest, Annabeth. I'm so happy for you, but also wish you would've have taken the job. It's selfish of me, but this means I won't see you everyday and… I hate the idea of not seeing you everyday." She sucked in her breath and he looked away again, staring the pasta sauce. "I'm happy for you." He said finally, after a few moments.

She watched him as his drained the pasta and poured the sauce into the bigger pot. Not looking at her, he continued, "Annabeth, I-I think I'm in love with you. I think about you all the time, all I want to do is be beside you. Even if that means as a friend." He pulled out two plates. Focusing on cooking is the only thing keeping him from throwing up out of nervousness. His heart raced. "I wish… I wish you'd at least let me be your friend. You don't have to like me back, I won't cross your boundaries, but I sincerely thought we at least had an understanding of each other." He poured the finished food into both plates and set one in front of himself and one in front of her.

Without saying a word, they sat down and ate slowly. After a few bites, he looked at her and she immediately met his eyes. His heart skipped another beat and gods, he thought she looked so beautiful. Even with a bit of pasta sauce right above her lip. Now or never, he thought.

"Annabeth, I love you," he repeated, "and I want to be with you. If you don't want to be with me, would you be my friend?"

With a shaker breath, she picked up the coffee tumbler and set in front of him, "I don't want to be your friend," she breathed, still keeping his eye contact.

He had to admit, his heart broke. He was hoping she'd have feelings for him or at least be his friend, but she rather fully shut the door between them.

"Oh," he said, looking away, "I… I can respect that. I'll stay away from-"

"No, Percy," she took another deep breath and put the tumblr into his hands, and held them there, "you told me to give this back to you when I was ready. Percy, I'm ready. I don't want to be your friend. Just your friend. Percy, I love you, too."

Percy stared at her in shock, trying to process what she said. Relief flooded his system and he smiled, making her smile. He noticed she was also tearing up. He pushed his food aside an slide his hands around her waist, pulling her into him and kissing her.

His heart raced and melted into her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He could swear fireworks were going off. His internal monologue repeated one thing only, I love you I love you I love you.

They laughed into their kiss, feeling so much relief and happiness. Percy felt on top of the world, and he loved that Annabeth was right up there with him. They finally pulled away, breathing heavily and laughing lightly. Percy moved his hands so they cupped her face. He took the sight of her in, his heart feeling like it would burst and almost feeling like that moment wasn't even real.

"Is this a dream?" He muttered, making her laugh.

"It's better," she whispered and kissed him again.

The kiss turned into an embrace, and they held each other for several minutes. She fit perfectly into his arms, he knew they were meant to be. In that moment, he knew they were fated for each other and he felt like found the other half of him. Nothing else mattered except for her in his arms.

They pulled away and she smiled at him, her face blushed and her stunning grey eyes reading into his soul through his eyes. She put a hand on cheek an pressed their foreheads together. "I'm sorry I put you through all this… confusion. I didn't know how to comes to terms with how I felt. I didn't know if I was ready for these feelings, I've never felt anything like this before. And when you said you'd move back to Brazil, I was so hurt, so angry, I just didn't know how to express myself."

Percy shut his eyes, "I never would've made it to Brazil.I don't think I'd be able to be so far from you."

"Gods, I love you so much," she said, almost sounding like she was crying.

He understood, the emotion was flooding out of him too, and the happiness of her reciprocating his feelings was enough to almost make him cry. The relief of knowing someone he considered was his world, also loved him back? He couldn't even place the joy into proper worlds. He was just happy to finally be with her, in the way that he's wanted to for such a long time.

After a few moments, she sniffed, "the pasta is so good."

He laughed, he was not expecting her to say that, "it's probably getting cold."

"Should we eat?"

"Lets eat."

"Finally!" A voice yelled from Nico's room, making Percy and Annabeth jump. Nico walked out of his room, shaking his head, "that was incredibly sweet. I'm happy for you, too. However, I am also hungry and I could smell the pasta from my room. Where's my plate?"

Annabeth covered her face, embarrassed, and Percy tried not to laugh at Annabeth's expense, "I got one right here for you, man," Percy laughed and handed him a plate.

The three of them sat together, Annabeth and Percy sat closely, their arms brushing. They sneaked glances and smiles at each other as they all chatted. Eventually their friends joined them. Charlie, Silena, Grover, Juniper, Thalia, Rachel, and Will all came over. They had drinks, more pasta, and clinked lots of glasses to Annabeth's new job. They tried not to make a big deal out of Annabeth and Percy not letting go of each other, but they constantly through the new couple grins and winks.

As Percy sat next to Annabeth and handed her a glass of wine, he couldn't help but feel like this was life was meant to be like. He put an arm around Annabeth's waist, bringing her closer as they played a board game with their friends. He knew he was meant to be with Annabeth, since the moment he saw her, and he finally had her. He was meant to be with this group of slightly dysfunctional friends, who maybe joke a bit too much but always mean well.

Annabeth caught him looking at her and gave him a quick kiss, earning a grin from him.

Yeah, he thought, we're meant to be.

And that's a wrap :) thank you all for your patience and sticking through this with me! I had a lot of fun writing this. Another story with AU characters is in the works, check it out when it comes out ;)