Another idea stemming from my rereads!
The moment I read this part during my reread of TLT, I internally screeched and wrote it down as an idea. Now that we have our Annabeth (and Grover) cast, I'm giving you this chapter. Leah Sava Jeffries will do a phenomenal job.
And this minute scene better be in the show or else I'm rioting.
Story #37: Annabeth Meets Semi-Conscious Percy and Feeds Him Butter-Flavoured Pudding
Annabeth was told she had to wait for The One before she was allowed to go on any quests.
It bothered her. She thought Chiron was making stuff up whenever he told her fluff like that. She trained hard and was one of the best fighters on site, and still had to wait for The One. Her necklace is full of beads from main events she was barely tertiary to except for the pine tree.
She thought nothing was going to happen this summer, not even her quest, but then she heard the jabber of the boy who killed The Minotaur right outside of Camp's borders. And nobody would shut up about it, not like she could blame them.
A boy with no training, a boy who was only being dropped off at Camp (so she heard). A boy versus a monster he was lucky to fight because everyone's been training for it.
The One vs. The Minotaur.
Annabeth wishes she could've seen it. Just watching from behind Thalia's Pine, peeking over the bark to see him in action. The small boy was dwarfed by the snarling beast, looking up with either immense fear for his life or determination that he was going to win this fight and cross the border. Maybe a secret power for his unknown god parent emerged.
Now she's making things up, but all those stories and reality end with Clarisse nearly breaking her spear upon hearing the defeat of the Minotaur. Especially by a tiny, untrained boy who blacked out the second he got here.
Annabeth knows Clarisse is going to get her hands on him — on Percy, as Chiron told her was his name — when he wakes up. Aside from her usual new camper tradition, she'll want to "properly welcome" Percy to camp by fighting him. Her logic would be that if he can beat the Minotaur, then he'll have high chances of maybe surviving a fight with her.
Surviving, not winning.
But if Percy were to be claimed by Ares, which she doubts but just in the slim chance, then Percy would probably have even fewer chances of surviving Clarisse. She'd hate it even more if one of her brothers got to beat the Minotaur.
Annabeth wonders who Percy's godparent could be. He's a cute boy so Aphrodite is a good contender. Maybe the natural elements in the forest helped him so could be Demeter's. Maybe he tricked the monster as a strategy and got it from Hermes.
But he defeated The Minotaur with no training nor knowledge of the gods being real for them.
He couldn't be a Big Three, could he? They made a pact not to have children but Annabeth knows how those gods work. They probably broke it right after they made it. She was brought to Camp with a Thalia Grace, after all.
Besides, she wants to say she saw the ocean in his eyes before he blacked out in front of her, but maybe she was imagining things. It was an eventful night.
And now she's sitting beside an unconscious Percy in his recovery room, tasked with supervising him and feeding him some ambrosia pudding. A role she takes seriously. Whenever he would wake up for a few moments, she'd feed him a spoonful.
"Butter pudding?" Percy would whisper after each bite before going back to sleep.
Every time he said it, it piqued her interest. At first, she thought he caught the faint golden colour of the pudding and linked it to butter, but he kept on saying so he might've actually been tasting butter.
Half-Bloods all taste something different when given ambrosia or nectar. It's always a popular question when a newbie gets their first bite.
Demeter kids usually taste their favourite garden food like fall vegetables or strawberry jams. Silena's tasted like her father's chocolates despite getting a box so often. It's a comfort for her. Luke once told her his tasted like his mother's sandwiches she often prepared, and Clarisse's was charred, nearly burnt ribs on a barbecue. Annabeth's convinced Clarisse's is just straight charcoal.
But like Percy, Annabeth's ambrosia also tasted like butter. Almost. It was buttery popcorn.
Whenever she would be in excruciating pain and take a bite, she was almost immediately relieved. Not only would her wounds be healing, but her mind would wander. She'd find herself sitting in the living room with her father, sharing a giant bowl of fresh, buttery popcorn during their movie nights.
The memories would ease her. They helped her in the healing process. Good times carried her through the bad.
Annabeth wonders what butter memories triggered that taste for Percy and if they have anything to do with his mortal parent.
She looks back at him after having been staring at the pudding for a bit and notices his mouth slightly opened with a little stream making its way down his chin and onto his shirt.
"Ew..." Annabeth mutters, seeing him drool in his sleep. She isn't sure if she should leave it, wipe it with a tissue, or scoop it with the spoon and shove it back in his mouth.
She leaves it, cringing but then she smiles. She'll so make fun of it later.
From defeating the Minotaur to tasting butter, Annabeth wanted to be his friend so badly. She hopes he really is The One.
Don't worry, girl, he really is.