Hello there! Question: do/have you guys watch/watched White Collar? I've recently gotten into it and OMG MATT BOMER... I loved him in Chuck and now I'm watching his fabulous self in his own fabulous show.
Anyways, are you guys ready for another chapter? Here you go!
Mockingbirds: It's hard to tell what those two will get into. I guess we'll both have to wait and see. ;)
awesomesauce90: See? Athena always has a plan... Well... Yeah. Whatever. You know what I mean.
Jedi1: I thought so. I agree with Percy. Drunk Annabeth is fun.
HoOisawesome: I'm glad you appreciate it. I put it in my previous story and I was met with a lot of controversy. O.o" I've heard so many people say it and I thought it was a well known thing that I could reference but apparently not.
MidnightPotato (Guest): I FIXED IT! :D No need to worry.
kshonk33: Welcome! I'm happy that you enjoy this and I hope you stick around for the end. :P
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Percy Jackson and the Olympians... Obviously since I am in no way, shape, or form Rick Riordan.
Percy was quickly becoming Annabeth's best friend. They texted each other all the time and told each other everything. Well, almost everything. She still hadn't told him about her little project. But that was beside the point. Ever since they decided to be friends, everything came easier. Annabeth figured that it because there weren't any expectations. They were simply allowed to be. She found that she wasn't pressured or worried about all the little things about Percy. Sure she could still tell whenever he was bothered and would ask what was wrong, but she wasn't butt hurt when he didn't want to tell her the problem. He eventually told her anyway.
They hung out more often, now that Annabeth's workload lightened, but it was usually with other people, usually Percy's friends. She liked them well enough. Piper and Hazel were quickly becoming like the younger sisters she'd always wanted. She'd also met Juniper, Grover's fiancée and Will, Nico's boyfriend. When she first met the boy, she never would have thought that Nico was into guys. When she first met Will, she never thought that the two would ever get together. They were complete opposites. Will was all sunshine and pop music and Nico was all dark and alternative rock. But, watching them interact, she could see where they clicked and she was happy for them. Frank and Dakota were still pretty distant. Dakota, who seemed to be drunk twenty-four-seven, never really could hold a conversation with her that kept her interested or sane and Frank was just quiet and she never really got a chance to hold a conversation with him.
Currently, however, Annabeth was having dinner with her family and so far, it's been quiet. Until, "So, Annabeth," her Mom said, wiping the corners of her mouth, "how are things with you and that boy?"
"Percy?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "We're fine."
"Really?"
"Yes." She didn't want to tell her parents that they weren't really together anymore because she knew that her Mom was still having trouble with accepting Percy. She still referred to him as 'that boy' for Pete's sake! "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I was reviewing the portfolios of each of the architects and I noticed that everyone has at least three running projects while you only have two. I was wondering if that boy has been influencing your work ethic. Care to explain?"
"Mother," Annabeth sighed, slightly exasperated. "I've had to cut back slightly in order to fit in time for the transfer meetings. Percy has nothing to do with this."
"Are you saying you can't handle a heavy workload? Because I run the company and have more meetings than you but I still manage to have four running projects."
"I'm not you, Mother," Annabeth said, her voice raised slightly in agitation. Dinner had momentarily paused as her father and brothers stopped and watched their argument like a tennis match. "Nor will I ever be, much to your inevitable disappointment, because I never seem to do anything that is up to your standard. Ever since I was little, I'd bring you back an assignment that I worked really hard on in class and all I'd hear was, 'why didn't you do this instead,' or 'you should fix that.' Not once have I ever heard a 'good job Annabeth' or an 'I'm proud of you, Annabeth,' from you. Not even when I graduated valedictorian in high school or salutatorian in college. Do you know how hard I worked for those achievements, hoping that you just might be proud of me? I've given up chances to have friends or the 'teenage experience.' It was always work and study. All for you and now that I'm an adult, I want to experience what it's like to have fun and if I have to lower my workload to fit in all my meetings and still have time to be with friends, then I'm going to do it. And you can get mad at me for saying this, but there are more important things in life than a company." Athena said nothing but her face was flushed with anger. Annabeth had never lashed out at her parents and while Annabeth was internally terrified at her mother's reaction, she was also relieved that she finally was able to say all of the things she wanted to say. Before Athena could respond, Annabeth stood up, wiping her mouth, and excused herself from the table, leaving the mansion to return to her apartment.
On the drive home, Annabeth pulled out her phone and connected the Bluetooth in her car to her phone and called Percy. After a few rings, Percy's voice filled her car. "Hello?"
"Hey, Percy."
"Oh, hey Annabeth," he greeted. "What's up? I thought you were at dinner with your parents?"
"I was. I just left. I'm on my way home." Annabeth paused, wondering if she should ask what she wanted to ask. Before she could talk herself out of it, she spoke. "Can you meet me at my apartment?"
"Sure." He agreed. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm not sure. I just really need someone to talk to."
"I'll be there in a bit."
"Thank you." Annabeth hung up and leaned back in her seat, as she continued to speed down the highway to her apartment.
•-•
When she reached her parking space, she noticed that Percy's car was already parked in the space he usually parked in. She stepped out of her dark grey Lexus just as Percy stepped out of his blue Prius. "How long have you been waiting here?" she asked as they met in front of her car with a hug.
"Not long. Maybe five minutes." Annabeth nodded and the two of them made the way to her apartment silently.
Once they were settled on her couch, a glass of wine in Annabeth's hand and a bottle of beer in Percy's, Annabeth began talking. She told him what happened during dinner and the confrontation she'd had with her mother.
"Well, now she knows how you feel and maybe she'll go easy on you," Percy reasoned. Annabeth shook her head.
"No, you should have seen her face. It looked like she wanted to disown me. I actually wouldn't be surprised if she did."
"Don't say that."
"But it's true, Percy! Disowning me for talking back to her is exactly something she would do."
"Annabeth-"
"I mean I practically told her that I wasn't her and she's looking for someone who is her to run the company. What if she calls it off? What if she gives the company to Malcolm instead of me? I'd have nothing! My whole life I've been working so hard so that one day I could run this company and it could all get taken away just because I couldn't keep my mouth shut."
"Annabeth!" Percy shouted, finally getting her to stop ranting. "You're freaking out." He waited a minute as she slowed her breathing.
"Okay. I'm calm."
"Good. Now listen to me. It doesn't matter if your mom doesn't give you the company. You know why?" Annabeth shook her head. "Because you're Annabeth Chase. You don't give up. Other people don't define you. So what if Olive Branch Architects doesn't become yours? You go out there and start your own firm. Show them that you can run a business and that you can do it better than they can."
"Percy it isn't easy to start a successful architect company."
"No, it isn't. It'll take time and effort and a lot of hard work but if worse comes to worst, I know you can do it. And I'll be behind you every step of the way." Percy gave a cheeky smile. "And besides, it'll be a great life experience for you. You'll get the whole 'started from the bottom now we here' feel."
Annabeth narrowed here eyes. "Did you really just quote Drake?"
"So what if I did? Yolo!" Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"You really are a loser," she said.
"But I'm your loser." At that, Annabeth smiled. She couldn't wait for the day they decide to give their romantic relationship another try. Then, he'd really be her loser.
•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•
Percy was glad that Annabeth had called him to talk to him about her problems. It was weird though. He and Annabeth seemed to connect better as friends than as a couple. He always figured that it would be the other way around because of the higher level of intimacy. However, he'd learned more about Annabeth the Person while in a platonic relationship than he had in a romantic one.
Currently, they were sitting on her couch, her head in his lap, watching Once Upon A Time on Netflix. This is what he wanted in a relationship, he realized. Something simple. Where they worked through issues together and enjoyed each other's company without having to go any further. Where they could simply exist in comfort together.
Maybe that's what having a relationship is all about. Not the passion or the intimacy, but the communication and the honesty. And yeah, he could see himself having that kind of relationship with Annabeth someday. Perhaps the reason they didn't work out originally was because they didn't have that communication between one another. It was mostly the passion and intimacy. Having this platonic relationship with her really opened his mind to that fact and he understood where Annabeth was coming from when she first suggested that they did this. He'd made assumptions on his own without consulting her. He wasn't honest with her about his feelings. He listened to others over her. The whole time he was blaming Annabeth for the slow decline of their relationship when really, it was him. He kept the wall up between them and continued to build it while she tried to tear it down.
Percy looked down at the girl laying in his lap, watching the television in front of her intently and smiled sadly. He hated that they had broken up but he loved the new relationship they had and hoped that one day they could move forward and take the next step.
•-•
Percy woke up and didn't initially recognize his surroundings. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked around before realizing that he was still in Annabeth's apartment. When he tried getting up, he found that he couldn't because something was pressing up against his chest. He turned his gaze down on it and found a mass of blonde hair. Upon that realization, the rest of his body was well aware of the girl lying on top of him. The Fates, or whoever was up there, were not making things easy for him. He tried in vain to get himself out of his position but only succeeded in waking Annabeth. Percy stilled as Annabeth wriggled around on top of him. Her head pivoted around so that her chin rested on his chest. She blinked sleepily and Percy couldn't help but think that she looked like a cat. The thought caused him to smile.
"Good morning," he said, his voice still rusty with sleep.
"Good morning," she replied with a yawn. There was a beat.
Annabeth's eyes snapped open and she scrambled off of Percy's body, scooting herself all the way to the other side of her couch. Percy sat up slowly, stretching his limbs and torso as he resettled himself. When she seemed to realize that it was only Percy, she physically relaxed. "How did you sleep?" he asked, quite amused.
Instead of answering his question, Annabeth responded with a question of her own. "How did we…?" Figuring that she was wondering about their situation, he nodded his head toward the television that continued to play Once Upon A Time because of Netflix's autoplay feature.
"We must've fallen asleep and moved into this position over the night," he said. "I'm not really sure but it seems the most logical." Annabeth nodded slowly.
"Right…" They sat there awkwardly, neither really knowing what to say to the other.
"Well, I should head home," Percy said abruptly, standing up.
"Of course!" Annabeth agreed. "And I've got a ton of things to do so…"
"Alright." Percy gathered his things and Annabeth walked him to the door. They stood on either side of the threshold. "Annabeth."
"Yeah?"
"Don't worry about your mom," he said.
"No promises." The man suddenly had an urge to kiss Annabeth but was sure that wasn't exactly a 'friendly' thing to do. So instead, he gave her a small smile and a wave.
•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•
"I've made up my mind. I don't want her running my company, Frederick," the grey-eyed businesswoman said to her husband. "She's disrespectful and incapable of handling the workload!"
"Athena," Frederick tried to reason. "Were you even listening to the things she was telling you yesterday?"
"I was! And they were nothing but complaints. Her whole life I've been training her to be the best. To be extraordinary. And this is the thanks I get? Her coming here and complaining about it!"
Frederick shook his head. His wife was so stubborn. He knew that his daughter was exactly the same. The only difference is that Annabeth had a more open mind than Athena. Athena absolutely refused to see or hear a different side of a story.
"Athena, please. Just listen to me for a second," he placated. Thankfully, she stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "There's no doubt that you did everything in your power to push Annabeth to be the best and she's grown up to be a fine young woman. But all her life, you've been her coach: all criticism and tough love. Annabeth misses her mother, the one there to support her and love her unconditionally. Last night, she wasn't talking to you as her coach, the one who has been there all her life, but as her mother, the one she desperately needs. Right now, she needs your support. She went through a traumatic event and when she came back, you put her right back to work. She hasn't had time to really get over what happened on that island. She was forced to push it away so she could be your star pupil once again. So please, Athena, before you make a rash decision, think about Annabeth's words from the perspective of a child that wants her mother's approval." Frederick took a breath. He held his wife's gaze before stepping out of their room, leaving her to think about what he had just said.
And there you have it folks! Sorry that it's shorter than usual. OH! before I forget. I'm out of town in two weeks and unfortunately, I won't be back in time to post on Saturday (June 6). Just a heads up. I promise it will be up on Monday though.
Question: You guys should know my taste in television shows by now... (Once Upon A Time, Grey's Anatomy, Chuck, White Collar, Scandal, etc.) What other shows, based on that, do you think I should watch? :)
Don't forget to Review, Favorite, and Follow!
Remember,
Fluffy Pikachu Loves You!