Chapter Text
So, no one asked for the backstory but his name is Percy Jackson and he has kind of an absent dad - right? Because nothing would make for a better story than having one absent parent, but then one super fucking awesome one. If this were your typical teenage coming of age movie that Annabeth loves to watch (she won't say it, but she does - so keep it secret okay?) Percy would totally be the main character. Annabeth jokes about it frequently, on the fact that he actually is the main character.
"And what does that make you, Wise Girl?" he jokingly asks her once.
"The super smart best friend who has to wrangle you all the time, duh Seaweed Brain." she had replied, rolling her quicksilver eyes and shoving a pillow into his face as he was about to retort. All he heard was her melodic laughing before he threw it off and tackled her - rolling them both off the couch.
Anyways..back to the story - he has ADHD, so try to keep up alright? Where was he? Oh, right. He's a walking cliche. His name is Perseus, but nobody calls him that unless he's in trouble...which now that he thinks about it, he's kind of in trouble a lot. His favorite color is blue, not because it's your stereotypical macho manly color - but because it reminds him of the ocean. And he loves the ocean. Also, he and his mom Sally Jackson (who is THE best mom) have this tradition of trying to make blue food for special moments. Blue chocolate chip cookies, blue pancakes, blue cake..you name it. Let's get back to the part where he's a total fucking cliche, he's a sophomore in high school. He swims, competitively - has since he was a kid. He surfs as a hobby (he loves to drag Annabeth out with him, even though she insists on staying by the sand and reading. One of these days he's gonna teach her how to surf, mark his words), surfing relaxes him and so does snorkeling. He skateboards which is fun, because most of his friends do too and Annabeth can rollerskate - so she often joins him there.
Ah and last thing, he's in a band. Let's back up a bit, Percy is a legacy. The thing about his dad being absent? Well, that's because he's married and famous. His dad is Poseidon (yeah real name) and he was once in a band with his two brothers, called Sons of Kronos. Super famous, with hits like 'Stairway to Olympus', 'Highway to Tartarus', 'Pour Some Nectar on Me'..etc. You've probably heard them from your parents, or in movies. Poseidon, Zeus and Hades once ruled the rock scene and are now happily retired except for twice a year where they get together and play again for the masses. So yeah, now you know why his dad isn't really there for Percy. Not that he blames him, he has a family and Percy has his. The cool thing about having a famous dad? Well, two things: his car Mrs. O' Leary and his electric guitar named Riptide. Originally, Poseidon had played the bass..Zeus the electric guitar and Hades the drums. They were seriously hoping their kids would take up the same instruments as them, but here's the kicker - none of his cousins stuck with their supposed respective instruments!
His younger cousin Nico is the one who plays bass - something about how the bass encompasses his grungy deep feelings, is the reason he gives when people ask why he'd chosen it. Jason, well he loves the drums - he plays with the pent up emotions inside of him and was seriously born to play them. So what about Percy? Well, Percy has always loved the guitar. He thinks it might be because he's a fidgeter, and strumming the cords gives him a small outlet while also giving him the chance to create something beautiful. On the other side, the electric guitar gives off a sheer power that he loves to channel. Now, you may be asking 'Well, why do Jason, Nico and Percy have a band?' Here's your answer ya filthy animals, bear with him.
Jason, Nico and Percy are cousins. Born to three great musicians (wait, he should add that Thalia, Bianca and Hazel are also cousins of his - but Thalia is older and Bianca isn't around much these days..she goes to a dance academy a couple hours away. And Hazel is more interested in the equestrian over music) they have this bond, they're all born out of their fathers 'tumultuous' times with their wives. It's okay you can laugh! It's kind of funny when you think about it.
Poseidon and Amphitrite (his famous ocean conservationist stepmom) have a pretty good marriage, though they're known for both being unrestrained and having had partners on the side. They don't really seem to care, and Percy doesn't want to think about the fact that they might be totally fine with it. His stepmom is pretty nice to him, and likes to have him visit their secluded home on an island. And she seems friendly with his own mom, Sally. She asks for her blue cookies at least three times a year. So overall, a somewhat healthy relationship between all of them.
Zeus and Hera? Well, that's another story. Zeus just had to go marry a world renowned marriage counselor for the rich and famous. Hera and Zeus had some...troubles in their marriages, to which Zeus took it upon himself to go ahead and get himself a girlfriend who was a famous actress. Not only was his cousin Thalia born, but...a few years later once everything seemed to be patched up and forgiven - Jason was born. So you see how it's kind of ironic that his aunt Hera loves perfect marriages, but still stays with his uncle Zeus? He doesn't understand it either. Also, Hera hates the Grace children. And he means hates. Percy should probably stop here, because his aunt isn't too fond of him either.
Now, Hades and Persephone (you're probably familiar with her if you're into horticulture and gardening, she designs some really cool gardens). Persephone married Hades after he had Bianca and Nico, then later Hazel. So overall, their relationship isn't as screwed up as his brothers. His uncle Hades has a strange brooding presence, which Nico seems to have inherited. Bianca sometimes has it but she and Hazel seem to be sunshine personified compared to their dad.
So there you have it, Percy's complicated family history and why is he talking about this again? Oh. Right, he was trying to explain why he's in a band with two of his cousins.
Heroes of Olympus. That's their band name. Yeah, yeah..laugh all you want - but it's a tribute to one of their dads most famous songs. Coincidentally, the town they live in is named Olympia and their dads hometown in Greece is Olympus. Funny how that works, right? Percy thinks it's the fates way of having a laugh. He's lived here his entire life, so has his family. It's a mid-sized town where it's almost big enough to not know everyone. Beachside, very scenic. They get a lot of tourists year round, partly because the location and partly because Sons of Kronos owned a home here, where they recorded their third and most mainstream album.
Nowadays, between his cousins Apollo & Artemis and the somewhat father figure/teacher Chiron - they run Olympus Cafe and Venue. What was once the famous band's favorite cafe, has been turned into a venue as well. The cafe runs from morning to evening, and on the weekends (the venue with its magnificent Persephone designed gardens and oceanside location) is rented out for any type of event you can imagine. As for Friday and Saturday nights, Heroes of Olympus has been playing in the cafe for around two years now. Chiron and Apollo were the ones who practically dragged them to play, not that he's complaining - the cafe has seen it's numbers go up since they started.
Shit! He almost forgot to mention their honorary band member - Piper! Jason's girlfriend and Annabeth's best girl friend. Piper fucking McLean. She's got some killer pipes (hah, get it?), and most of the time she joins them when playing. She keeps being stubborn about joining, her excuse is that she absolutely does not want the spotlight. Percy gets it. Her dad is actor Tristan McLean, her mom was supermodel Aphrodite (now engaged to MMA fighter Ares) and her step-mom is retired singer Naomi Solace (mom of Will, who mayhaps has a crush on Nico). Point is, she's used to being scrutinized by the media all the time. Piper really fucking hates the limelight, but he thinks that with a little more coaxing from Annabeth and Jason - she'll give in soon. If not, Percy might have to intervene during their surfing sessions.
Other honorary members include Leo Valdez, who is somehow even more ADHD than he is..and he's a crazy genius. He's in charge of their set production, their lighting, the cool additions to their instruments, their logo..even their name. He likes being called their manager and bossing them around - which often earns him a slap from Nico. The kid is wicked with building things and fixing them. He even learned how to play guitar and the keyboard courtesy of Percy, but he says he'd rather be in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly.
Nobody really asked for it, but I guess some people like to have some of the backstory before they delve into it - right? At least Annabeth would, she's kind of the type to hate the unkno- oh, last thing that he forgot to mention that makes him a total fucking cliche? He's in love with his best friend Annabeth.
Hah! If only Annabeth knew how right she was. Because if this were a coming of age movie, Annabeth would love it. He's sixteen, he's in a band, he swims. He happens to like surfing, has kind of a tragic backstory - and he's in love with his super smart best friend who wrangles him all the time. The thing is..he doesn't really know how to tell her. Sometimes, he gets this feeling like she actually likes him. Annabeth sometimes gets this look on her face when he plays her a new song when they're alone, she looks at him like she wants to grab his t-shirt and kiss him. He might daydream about it happening - but it hasn't yet.
Piper once called him an idiot, and told him to go for it after she'd caught him staring at her sitting on the sand. They'd both been in the water, waiting for some waves when he spaced out and watched as Annabeth kept swiping some stray curls out of her face. She had this frustrated look on her face that was adorable, she was wearing one of his blue swim hoodies that was somehow too loose on her - but looked perfect. In her lap was a sketchbook (no doubt full of architecture sketches), she seemed to be biting her lip and then suddenly Percy had an idea for the next song he would write. (side note: yeah, he wrote a lot about Annabeth. did he mention how he was in love with her?) He was broken out of his little daze when Piper splashed some water on him.
"Oh you are so whipped Perseus Jackson." Piper laughed and he paled. He didn't think anyone else had known about his crush. Well, Grover did - but that's only because he and Grover were inseparable over the years. Even before Annabeth had came into the picture.
"How did you-"
"Perce, everyone knows." Piper snorted, reaching up and fiddling with her braid. Percy's heart rate had spiked...everyone? Could a fifteen year old have a heart attack? Because he didn't even think he was obvious about it. And if everyone knew..did that mean Annabeth? Was that why she seemed to look uncomfortable when they got too affectionate? Was- "Except for Annabeth. I swear, you two are so oblivious."
And that was that.
So, he was talking about how he was in love with his best friend right? Annabeth Chase.
What can he tell you about Annabeth? If you got time, he has a whole list prepared. He has an entire set of songs about Annabeth. He can talk about her forever. How she's terrified of spiders, a fear so crippling she'll see one and cling onto Percy so tight. How her favorite building ever is the Parthenon and the fact that she's promised to drag him there immediately after their high school graduation. He'll brag about how fucking smart she is, how he sometimes can't keep up with her architectural jargon but he listens because he loves the little spark she gets in her eyes when she does. He loves how excited she gets, how she forgets to stop and breathe during the tangents she goes off on. But he thinks he'll start with the basics.
Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson met when they were ten years old. She was from Richmond originally. Her dad had been her primary parent, as Athena (scary, but still respectable) travelled too much to have Annabeth with her. When her dad had remarried, they'd moved to San Francisco..her dad was a military history professor. He then decided maybe it was best to move to Olympia, to focus on a book he was writing, also he'd gotten a job at the big university an hour away. So that's how Annabeth found herself in their town. He remembered meeting her on the first day of fourth grade. She had been getting a tour from his best friend Grover, and then had found themselves cornered by Matt Sloan. Coincidentally, Percy had been walking by and was about to intervene, when he'd seen the new girl step up to Matt - nose to nose. (she had a growth spurt and was taller than half the boys at the time, but nowadays she barely reached Percy's shoulder.) The first thing he noticed was her princess curls that were pulled back with pretty owl clips. Then, he'd noticed her steely eyes locked in a glare. Her fists were balled up, trembling with rage probably - he could relate.
Percy remembers every single detail from that day. And here's where it gets good.
Matt Sloan had made some comment about Grover's leg. Grover had a surgery on one of his legs as a kid, which had left a slight limp that normally could go unnoticed - but it flared up when it got cold, or on other occasions. Percy's temper had flared, and his little nine year old self had dropped his backpack and was advancing towards the bully - he never noticed Annabeth raising her hands and shoving Matt backwards. Matt - the stupid bully, had lost his balance and barreled back into Percy. Percy, with his annoying luck had hit his head on the edge of a trophy display and immediately was unconscious.
He couldn't tell you what happened in between that (you'll have to ask Annabeth), but he can tell you what came after.
Percy then woke up fuzzy and disoriented to some harsh lighting, he had groaned and sat up - a crinkling sound was heard and he realized he was in the nurse's office. Except, Ms. Di Angelo was nowhere to be seen and as he had turned to inspect the rest of the room; he discovered a pair of quicksilver eyes watching him from one of the chairs. It was the girl who had pushed Matt Sloan, and her eyes danced with laughter but apprehension.
"You drool when you sleep." she had told him, and his eyes had widened.
Before he could say anything, she had gotten up and ran out of the room - seconds later Mrs. Di Angelo had arrived and started asking endless questions, letting him know she'd called his mom and pressing an ice pack to his head, while shining a light into his eyes. He couldn't stop thinking about the blonde girl who had stood up for his best friend.
And that's the story of how he first met Annabeth Chase.
After that, he'd gone up to her a day or so later and invited her to sit with Grover and him for lunch. He had shared one of his mom's blue cookies with her, waited patiently for her to open up about her life and won her over with his charm. From then on, they had become best friends. Or best friends forevr, if you want to take into account the time they'd carved that into the massive tree on Olympia Square.
If someone told him he had to pinpoint the moment he fell in love with her? Well..he didn't exactly know, but he could tell you the exact moment he realized he was.
They were fourteen and it was winter break. His cousin, Artemis had founded a group called the Hunters who consisted of girls anywhere from seven to sixteen - they were sort of like the girl scouts except for the fact that they didn't sell cookies (a real bummer, but when he'd suggested it Artemis had threatened to feed him to a bear so he never joked about it again). Instead of selling cookies, they were taught survival skills - how to hunt (hence the damn name duh), how to read maps, compasses, the constellations. They also were taught a lot of self defense, Artemis believed all girls should learn how to protect themselves from danger. So, any of the Hunters could straight up kick your ass regardless of your age and skill. Oh, you're a 6'3 sixteen year old guy who plays sports and lifts weights and is in tip top shape? Cool, that doesn't matter - those girls are still beating you somehow. It's the reason he tries to never get on Annabeth's bad side, although he is that 6'3 sixteen year old guy. Annabeth would judo flip him in a second, and not break a sweat. It's kind of hot...but back to the point, it's winter break and the girls are on some trip in the forest nearby. Percy is sulking and cleaning the mugs at Olympus Cafe (where he sometimes picks up shifts), it's just Apollo for the week and no Artemis or Annabeth, or Piper. It's mostly quiet, when a screech of tires is heard from the street and then a very familiar black haired girl is flying past the doors. Thalia Grace, his older cousin looks frantic and she's supposed to be with the Hunters. So, immediately Percy is alert and starts to ask what happened. Thalia turns to him, breathless and with wide eyes.
"Percy, it's Artemis and Annabeth."
His stomach drops. Annabeth, Artemis. Annabeth, Artemis. Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth. Something happened to Annabeth. Annabeth is in danger. His brain is stuck on a loop thinking of the worst possible scenarios and he can't really stop thinking about his Wise Girl.
"Thalia. What's wrong?" it's Apollo now. Apollo and Artemis are Thalia and Jason's older half siblings. Yeah it's weird, but don't ask and focus on the story! Percy realizes he's been holding his breath for the past minute and exhales slowly.
"We were um, at the cave on Mt. Othrys and Zoë and I were leading the rest of the girls. Artemis asked Annabeth to help her track something that led into the cave. When we had just started the trek down to the lake, we heard a scream and ran back - but the front of the cave had collapsed and they're stuck. Apollo they're stuck in there." Thalia said with tears in her eyes, then looked towards Percy who was frozen. He then saw as his older usually tough as nails cousin moved towards him, wrapping him in a hug and starting to cry. Percy felt like his limbs were moving through honey as he hugged her back. Apollo immediately got into action, his demeanor changed from carefree to serious - asking if she'd alerted the authorities. He felt Thalia nod and Apollo then ushered them towards the door and into Thalia's car. He had left the place in charge to Chiron, and drove them out towards the area.
The next two days had been the most fucking gruelling days of his life. Rescue crews and professionals had to carefully find a way to try and open the cave without making the entire thing collapse. Annabeth and Artemis were relatively fine, as they'd communicated with the crew. Mr. Chase and Mrs. Chase had been extremely worried, anxious and Mrs. Chase having to go home to take care of the twins. Annabeth and Mrs. Chase didn't have the best relationship, but they were both trying. Apollo had been restless, antsy but trying to cheer up Percy regardless. Thalia and Zoë had been left to take charge of the group which had them coming back and forth. Somehow, the media had caught wind of the story (becoming "juicier" or whatever because Artemis was his uncle Zeus' daughter and Annabeth was the daughter of Athena the U.S diplomat and chief strategist.) and were now surrounding the area as well. As for Percy? Well he didn't think he'd slept at all in the past forty eight hours, his hair was a mess from tugging and running his hands through it, his lip was probably bruised from how many times he'd bit it, his body was still high on energy - probably because he was stressed and couldn't imagine a world where Annabeth wasn't by his side.
Annabeth. She'll be okay. She has to be okay. Annabeth. His brain was still doing that stupid loop when the crew said they'd started moving rock out of the way and were 95% certain that the cave would hold. 'Well what about the other 5%?' he wanted to ask, but perked up at the thought of seeing his Wise Girl's molten silver eyes and curly hair again. It was when the sun was barely starting to set (earlier than the summer of course) that the rescue crew had finally opened a way out and Artemis came out stumbling - she was pale, her clothes torn and her eyes blinking to adjust to the light. She smiled weakly when the rescue team covered her in a thermal blanket and was immediately swept up in a hug by her twin brother Apollo. Next, Annabeth was helped out of the cave and Percy's heart stuttered. He didn't realize he was running until there was no more than ten feet between them. Annabeth's hair was tangled, her curls streaked with dirt, she had a cut on her cheek and she looked too pale - even with her tan skin. Percy's stomach was doing somersaults now, a lump made its way up his throat as their eyes met. He was aware of Mr. Chase somewhere behind him, and Athena had just arrived but Percy had tunnel vision.
He couldn't tell you who moved first (maybe him because he would come to find out later that Annabeth had a sprained ankle.), but he could tell you that they were suddenly like magnets - pulled to each other despite their surroundings. They crashed into each other, his arms wrapped around her - he was trembling. She buried her face in his shoulder and he felt her shaking. Percy's hand came up to cup the back of her head, holding her closer - somehow she still smelled like lemons. Annabeth weakly clutched his shirt in her hands, breathing deeply. His own breath came out in stuttered intervals, it was like he was suddenly warmed from the inside out, slow and lazy - not too different than ocean waves on a really still day. That's when Percy knew. He was in love with his best friend.
So yeah, Annabeth was right. He is a cliche. He's sixteen, in a band and can't stop writing songs about her. Enjoy reading about his slow suffering! No really, you'll enjoy it. You'll have cavities by the end of how sickly sweet and fluffy this is.