Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Annabeth’s P.O.V.

Annabeth had gotten used to always being stressed about exams, being in Grad school sort of did that to a person, but the stress she felt before her first-year finals was insane. She couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat and sometimes even forgot to take a bath. She was so accustomed to finding everything she studied easy, that coming into Grad school had been a big wake-up call for her. Suddenly, studying just one week before the exams was not enough to be in the top 1% of her class and doing her assignments a day before the due date was not enough to get a perfect grade.

“Annie, you have got to stop this! Please just take a break. You have been in the same position for the past 6 hours” , said Piper.

Piper was Annabeth’s best friend and roommate. They had been roommates since their freshmen year of undergrad in Harvard and were now in Columbia together. She was genuinely worried about her and constantly reminding her to do basic things like sleeping which she seemed to forget when her exams were approaching.

“I can’t take a break. I still have to finish one unit.”

“I am sorry that it had to come to this, but if you don’t take a break right now, I will not share my grandma’s cookies with you.”

“What? You can’t do that! She sends them for the both of us.”

“I can and I will. Come on, let’s go and get some coffee.”

Annabeth thought this through carefully. Her design exam was in two days and she had to complete one unit, which would take her about 3 hours. She knew that she would not be able to retain much information in her current state and a break would do her a lot of good. She also really loved the cookies and could not risk losing them, so taking a break seemed to be the most logical choice.

“Uh ok fine. But just for an hour and a half.”

“Yay! Let’s go to the new coffee shop which has opened up off campus.”

“Ok, give me 5 minutes to get ready.”

When Annabeth said that she only required 5 minutes to get ready, she meant it, unlike most girls. She quickly washed her face, changed her hoodie for yet another hoodie and put on some yoga pants. The two girls headed out their dorm and walked to a cute little coffee shop which had just opened up. It was pretty crowded since it was 5 pm and most students desperately needed caffeine during finals.

“Thanks Piper, I really needed a break. My brain was very close to exploding.”

“Well, I know you better than you know yourself, so you should always trust me when it comes to this stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Coffee’s on me, you want your usual order?”

“Actually, I just want a black coffee today”

“Okay, coming right up.”

Annabeth stood in line and waited for her turn to come while revising her syllabus for her test mentally. She was so engrossed in her own world, that she didn’t realize when it was her turn to order. The person behind her nudged her sharply, clearly annoyed and told her to go ahead.

“I am going! You could have asked me politely and there is no need to have any physical contact with me.”, she retorted

“I don't have time for this shit. Just go!”, said the boy behind her

“Ugh Fine.”

Normally, Annabeth would have picked a fight with such a person but she didn’t have the energy to do so at that point, so she chose to ignore him. She went up to the barista and placed her order, still thinking about her coursework.

“I am sorry about that jerk behind you. He really didn’t need to do that. Some people just don’t have manners.”, said the barista, loud enough for the boy behind Annabeth to hear him.

Annabeth looked at him and was momentarily stunned. His eyes were the prettiest colour she had ever seen- sea green, his hair was jet black and messy and his smile was mind-blowingly charming. She quickly collected her thoughts together and said, “It’s fine. I am used to dealing with idiots so it doesn’t bother me anymore.”

He chuckled and began working on her order, while she tried to not stare at him. This was very uncharacteristic for Annabeth as she was not really the type of person who instantly developed a crush on someone. She collected her order, thanked him and went up to the table where Piper was sitting.

“Thanks Annabeth! I really needed coffee. I have been working my ass off for my women studies test.”

“I know. You are almost as bad as me. By the way, I got a text from Thalia and she wants to meet up with us after our finals and before we head back home.”

“That’s great! I miss that weirdo”

The two girls chatted and caught up with each other. They could rarely spend time with each other, even though they lived with each other because of their busy schedules. Piper told Annabeth about Jason, a guy who was in one of her classes and was really cute while Annabeth talked about her plans for the summer. She was going to intern in her mother’s architecture firm in Boston and was extremely excited about it.

Annabeth kept getting the urge to look at that guy again and finally gave in. She turned and her heart flipped after seeing him serve coffee to someone with that amazing smile of his.

She kept telling herself that she didn’t have time for a crush and forced herself to stop thinking about him. I don’t even know him so he shouldn’t affect me so much, she thought to herself. Piper saw Annabeth look at him and smirked.

“Are you looking at the barista?”, she asked knowingly

“What? No!”

“His name is Percy, he is Jason’s friend so I have seen him around.”

“I don’t know who you are talking about”

“Mhmm Sure. Annie, you don’t need to be ashamed of being attracted to him. He is cute, you should ask him out.”

“I am not attracted to him and even if I was, I don’t have time for distractions.”

“We are young, if you don’t let ourselves be distracted now, then when will we?”

“Can we just change the topic?”
“Okay, fine.”

The girls finished their coffee and went back to their dorm to resume studying. Annabeth allowed herself to think about the guy whose name was Percy apparently, for 5 minutes.
She studied till dinner time, had food which Piper had ordered and went to bed. It had been a long day for her and she had an early class the next day.

Chapter Text

Percy’s P.O.V.

Percy left the coffee shop after an extremely long shift. He was very tired and just wanted to sleep, but he couldn’t because he still had to study for his test for environmental biology which was his least favorite subject but he had to take it since it was a requirement for his major. He went into his dorm and saw that his roommate-Leo was sleeping.

“That lucky bastard”, Percy said to himself

Percy took a shower and sat down to study. His ADHD made it very difficult for him to concentrate and his thoughts were all over the place, particularly on the beautiful girl he had seen in the coffee shop that day. When Percy had seen her, he had felt his heart flip and he had to do everything in his power to not stare at her. She had curly blonde hair, a very pretty face but her eyes were what Percy liked most about her, they were grey, stormy and very expressive. Just one look at her eyes and Percy could tell that she could be very scary If someone messed with her.

He forced himself to stop thinking about her and tried to focus on the weird words on his laptop and make notes. After about 2 hours of studying, he woke Leo up so that they could go out and get some dinner.

“What the hell Perce? let me sleep”, he mumbled and covered his face

“Get up man. You need to eat.”

“Fine”

Leo got up mumbling to himself about some machine he dreamed about and the parts he would require to create it. He was Percy’s best friend and was kind of a weirdo since he liked machines more than humans. He was the cheekiest person Percy had ever met but sort of a genius. He was brilliant at maths and could build basically everything, which is why he almost always topped his class even though he barely studied.

They went to Taco Bell and saw that a few of their friends were there as well. They went to sit down with Jason, Frank, Hazel and Rachel. Somehow, Percy couldn’t bring himself to actively participate in the conversation that everyone was having because his thoughts kept going back to the gorgeous girl he had seen in the café.

“Earth to Percy, dude what are you thinking about?”, asked Jason

“Nothing”

“I know all his expressions, so in my expert opinion, I think that he is thinking about a girl.”, said Leo with a knowing smile.

“Thanks for your diagnosis Dr Leo, but I am not thinking about anyone.”

“Stop lying Perce. Who is she?”, asked Hazel

“No one! God, why am I even friends with you guys?”

“Because you love us.”, said Frank

“Come on, tell us”, pestered Rachel

Percy knew that his friends would not drop this subject till he told them because they were very stubborn. He finally decided to give up.

“Ok fine. It is not a big deal, but I saw a girl while working and I just can’t stop thinking about her.”

“Woohoo! Percy finally likes someone! Took you long enough”, said Leo

“Shut up Leo”

“So what’s her name?”, asked Hazel

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about her.”

“What the hell man? You should have talked to her or gotten her number or something.”, said Jason

“I was working!”

“That’s no excuse.”

“I am pretty sure that she has a boyfriend or something, she is so pretty, how could she not?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to actually talk to her and find that out.”, said Frank

“Fine! If I see her again, I will talk to her. Now can we change the topic?”

“Ok Ok, calm down”, said Hazel with a chuckle.

They all chatted for a bit but Percy realized that Rachel was uncharacteristically quiet and looked to be deep in thought.

“What’s up Rach?”, he asked

“I will tell you later, okay?”

“Ok sure. But are you fine?”

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal.”

Percy made a mental note to check up on her later. He was a great friend and did everything he could to make sure that his friends were happy.

“So how is swimming going?”, asked Frank

“It’s ok. I am helping the coach with the undergrad freshmen and they are pretty pathetic, but I like my team.”

“They are babies. I can’t believe that even were in their position once.”, said Leo

“Well you still look like a freshman”, said Jason

Everyone laughed while Leo scowled.

They all ate and chatted for about an hour and then went back to their dorms to study. Percy decided to call his mom before he went back to study and she instantly picked up her phone.

“Hey Percy, how are you?”

“I am good mom, I just wanted to check in before I forget otherwise, I am sure that you will make me feel guilty for not calling you.”

“Talking to your mother is a chore now?”, Sally joked.

“No mom, my finals are coming up so I am going to be extra busy. I also need to start working on my thesis or at least start thinking about its topic.”

“Wait, you are actually studying?”

“Yeah, unfortunately my passion for the subject is not enough to pass Grad school”, said Percy with a chuckle.

“I am so proud of you Percy for pursuing your dream career even though you hate studying”

“Thanks mom. I will talk to you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

After his conversation with his mom, Percy made a cup of coffee, settled down to study again and fought with his mind to stop thinking about the girl from the coffee shop.
“You are such an idiot Percy, you don’t know anything about her so why are you thinking about her so much?”, he said to himself

Chapter Text

Annabeth’s P.O.V.

Annabeth wanted to throw her phone on the floor when her alarm started blaring at 7 am. She had finally gone to sleep at 3 am and functioning on 4 hours of sleep was not something she was looking forward to. She got up and quickly got ready for the day. She just had two classes that day but both of them were ridiculously early since the first one was at 7:45 and the second one was at 10. She internally groaned when she realized that she did not have enough time to get some coffee but decided that she would do so later.

She attended her first class and did her best to pay attention to the math that was written on the board even though her head was pounding. After class, she took out her phone and saw that she had a text from Piper.

I hate mornings. Must kill mornings! -Piper

I agree! Why do these people think that a two-hour algebra class is a good idea at freaking 7:45 in the morning? -Annabeth

They are idiots. I had digital marketing at 8 :( -Piper

True, they really are idiots. I need to go to my next class so I’ll text later. -Annabeth

Byeee -Piper

After Annabeth’s second and last class, she knew that she desperately needed coffee if she hoped to survive that day. She was about to go to the on-campus Starbucks when she heard someone call her. She turned around and saw that it was her friend Malcolm who was in quite a few of her classes since he had the same major as her.

“Hey Annabeth!”, said Malcolm

“Hey, I didn’t see you in algebra”

“I was sitting in the back and just hoping that the professor couldn’t notice that I was half asleep.”

Annabeth chuckled and said, “I can totally relate. I am going to get coffee now so that I can actually get some work done today. Do you want to tag along?”

“Sure. Can we go to the new coffee shop? My roommate said that it’s great but I just haven’t tried it yet.”

Annabeth thought about this carefully. She had somehow managed to finally stop thinking about Percy and she knew that if she saw him again, she probably would start thinking about him again but she didn’t know how to explain this to Malcolm, so she agreed and hoped that the boy would not be there.
They entered the shop and Annabeth instantly looked for Percy. She hated the disappointment she felt when she didn’t see him. Get over this Annabeth, she thought to herself and sat down on the chair in front of Malcolm.

Once Annabeth and Malcolm were caffeinated, they talked for a bit and their conversation mainly consisted of complaining about finals and swapping tips with each other on solving certain questions. After a while, Malcolm reluctantly got up to go to his next class and Annabeth decided to stay there and study a little. The ambience of the shop was very cosy and comfortable which made it very favourable to study in.

She switched on her laptop and took out her notebook from her bag. She had an iPad but preferred using a notebook for notes since it helped her to memorize more and she just liked writing.

After studying for about 1 hour, she ordered two more cups of coffee for her and Piper. As she was leaving the place, she barged into someone and spilt both cups of coffee on the ground.

“I am so sorry. I was in a hurry and I wasn’t paying attention.”, she heard the person she ran into say.

She looked up and saw that the person was the one who had been in her thoughts a lot recently. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared into those amazing sea-green eyes. She managed to pull herself together and replied, “Uh it’s ok, don’t worry about it.”

“No, it’s not. Please let me buy you coffee to replace the cups you spilt. It’s the least that I could do.”, said Percy

“It’s really ok. You don’t need to do that.”

“I do. Can you please wait for 5 minutes? I’ll be back with the coffee.”

Annabeth nodded and internally marvelled at how considerate he was. She had been in this position many times before because she was extremely clumsy and often in a world of her own but the reactions of people, including her own were never so considerate.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Percy’s P.O.V.

Percy felt like the clumsiest person ever as he stood in line to buy the coffee. He had been in a hurry as he was running late for his shift since he had overslept. This is not how he wanted to meet the girl he had been thinking about almost constantly. He suddenly felt nervous at the prospect of talking to her again.
He picked up the coffee and nervously went up the girl.

“Here you go. I am Percy by the way.”

“Thanks! I am Annabeth”

Percy’s mind was in overdrive. He really wanted to talk to Annabeth but he didn’t know how to start the conversation in a way that didn’t seem creepy or desperate. His nervousness made him feel like a pre-teen again who had absolutely no experience of talking to girls which was far from true.

“I just wanted to apologize again. I should have been paying more attention.”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. I am very clumsy so I do it all the time.”

Percy smiled at her and nearly fainted when she smiled back. She had the most radiant and beautiful smile he had ever seen. He wanted to talk to her more but even after racking his brain, he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Thankfully, Annabeth saw his condition and saved him from the trouble.

“Are you a student in Columbia too?”, she asked

“Yeah. I am a marine biology major in grad school. What about you?’

“Marine biology sounds really interesting; I have always been fascinated by sea life. I am an architecture major.”

“You must be pretty smart then”

Annabeth chuckled and said, “I don’t know about that. Grad school is doing a pretty good job at making me feel stupid.”

“I can relate. The workload is pretty insane.”

Annabeth was about to say something when Percy’s boss called him for his shift. Percy wanted to kill him at that point. He finally had the chance to have a conversation with this amazing girl and here he was, pulling him away from her. He wanted to know more about her.

“Looks like you need to go. Thanks again for the coffee.”

“No problem. It was nice meeting you”

“It was nice meeting you too.”, Annabeth said with her radiant smile.

Percy debated asking for her number but finally came to the conclusion that it was too soon to do so. He just hoped that they would meet again. The odds were probably in his favour since there was a good chance that they would meet in the coffee shop.

Percy dreamily went to the counter and put on his apron to start his shift. For the first time ever, he was actually thankful that he had been running late.

“Why do you have such a dopey smile on your face?”, his boss joked

“No reason”

“I am not blind; I know the reason. That girl seems pretty nice.”

“Yeah, she does.”, said Percy with yet another dopey smile.

Chapter Text

Annabeth's P.O.V.

Annabeth couldn't stop smiling, no matter how hard she tried. She felt like a silly 13-year-old girl again and it was all just because of a very short encounter with Percy. She went inside her room and saw that Piper was there too, working seriously on her paper.

"Hey, how's your day?" she asked, getting the attention of her friend.

"Hi, it's okay, I guess. Is that coffee?" Piper hungrily eyed the steaming cup in her hand.

"Yes, here you go. I thought you might need it."

"You're seriously a lifesaver," Piper said, taking a sip from the paper cup.

"I know, I'm the best."

Annabeth decided to call her mom to check up on her. They didn't have a great relationship but had been constantly working towards making it better. Her mom was a workaholic and hadn't always been around during her childhood, since she'd split with Annabeth's dad a long time ago and they both didn't get along at all.

Annabeth clicked her mom's contact and waited for her to pick up. She answered after several rings.

"Hey Annabeth, is it something important? I'm kind of in the middle of something," her mother said, her voice muffled over the phone.

"Uh, no mom, just wanted to check-in."

"I'll call you later then. I'm having some structural issues with a particular design."

"Okay, send it to me and maybe I can help," Annabeth offered, tapping her foot on the ground. She didn't really want to interrupt anything.

"I'll email it to you right now. It would be great if you could send me the revised design by 9 pm."

Annabeth wanted to refuse the time limit because she really had to study, but she'd wanted her mom's approval since she was a child. She agreed, causing her mother to abruptly cut the call without saying bye. It was moments like these when Annabeth thought that the work she was putting into her relationship with her mom was in vain. They would never have a normal mother-daughter relationship.

She opened her laptop and critically saw the design, trying to figure out the problem. She worked on it for the next few hours and finally got it done by 3 pm. Taking out her phone, she quickly emailed it to her mom, who replied with a simple 'thanks'. Annabeth had hoped for a call, but she wasn't surprised when she didn't receive one. She got used to being neglected in her 22 years of existence.

"Let's go out for lunch. It's 3 and I'm starving," said Piper, who was sitting next to her, hundreds of papers sprawled around her.
"Me too. Any place you want to go?" It was true; all that work was truly tiring, and food would help her focus.

"I feel like eating junk food today so let's go to Pizza Hut."

"Yes!"

They went to Pizza Hut and ordered a veggie supreme pizza, which was Piper's choice, who was a vegetarian. They were drinking lemonades when three more people entered the restaurant.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Percy's P.O.V.

Percy, Jason and Leo entered Pizza Hut, ready to consume tons of calories. Percy was extremely hungry since he'd just come back from swim practise and hadn't eaten lunch yet. They were disappointed to see that all the tables were full and were about to leave to find a new restaurant when Jason spotted Piper. Percy heard about her from Jason, who had a huge crush on her but didn't have the guts to tell her.

He glanced at the table and saw that sitting next to Piper was her friend, Annabeth. He was stunned by looking at her. Her beauty never failed to mesmerize him, even though it didn't seem like she tried to be pretty. Jason nervously went up to Piper and asked if they could join them, who agreed, much to Jason's surprise.

Percy's heart was beating fast with trepidation. He silently thanked the universe for giving him a chance with Annabeth. Percy and Leo were still behind Jason, standing in silence when Leo whispered to him, "is this the girl Jason is always talking about?"

"Yeah. I think so," Percy confirmed, his gaze still fixed on Annabeth.

"She clearly likes him too. Why the hell isn't he asking her out?" Leo inquired, looking sceptically at his friend.

"He is even more oblivious about other's feelings than us."

The two boys chuckled softly and Jason called them over. He began introducing them to Piper and Annabeth.

"Annabeth and I have actually met," said Percy, with a smile directed towards her.

"Really? When?" asked Jason, staring at him.

"It included an unfortunate incident with two cups of coffee and me running late," Percy answered, getting a laugh out of everyone.

"So basically, the thing which happens every day?" asked Leo.

The three boys sat down and started chatting. Percy got annoyed when he saw Leo talking to Annabeth. Once he turned his attention to Piper, Percy decided that it was time for him to talk to her again.

"It's nice to meet you again."

"You too," Annabeth said with her beautiful smile.

"So, do you think that the universe is trying to tell us something by making us meet twice in one day?" Percy joked.

Annabeth started laughing and said, "Oh god. Please don't tell me that you are the type of person who believes in fate and destiny and stuff."

"I don't. I was just trying a cheesy pick-up line."

Annabeth laughed again and asked, "Who says that I want to be picked up?"

Percy tried to think of a clever answer that would make her laugh again because it was his favourite sound in the world now.

"The only reason a girl wouldn't want to be picked up by me is if she has a boyfriend. Do you?" Percy really hoped that the answer would be no.

"Well, you think very highly of yourself, don't you? To answer your question, no, I don't have a boyfriend but I don't want one either. I am way too busy for that type of stuff."

Percy had mixed feelings about her answer and started chatting to her about lighter stuff. He noticed that Piper was looking critically at him interacting with Annabeth. He had a great time during lunch and loved getting to know Annabeth. When the bill was about to arrive, he decided to ask for her number.

"I had a really great time, talking to you," he said, looking over at Annabeth.

"Me too. We should hang out more often." For some reason, he grinned at her answer.

"Absolutely. Can I have your number? It would make making plans much easier," he said nervously.

"Sure."

Percy did an internal happy dance. Even if she didn't want to date anyone, he was happy to have her as his friend. She was smart, witty and extremely sarcastic and it didn't hurt that she was really gorgeous. Annabeth promised to keep in touch with Leo and they made plans to do math together. Percy tried his best to not feel jealous and said bye to Piper, who again looked at him as if she was trying to figure something out.

As they were heading back to their dorm, Leo said, "Both of them are great and all, but I felt like I was third-wheeling on both sides of the table man. You and Annabeth were flirting and Piper and Jason were off in dreamland together."

Percy laughed and said, "Me and Annabeth weren't flirting, we were just talking. Besides, you should feel happy that Jason's finally talking to Piper like he wasn't a complete idiot."

For the first time in ages, Percy wasn't too unhappy with the fact that he had to study again because he was still delirious after his conversation with Annabeth

Chapter Text

Annabeth's P.O.V.

Piper and Annabeth made their way back to their dorm, tired after a good lunch. Piper really didn't want to study, so she decided to ask Annabeth something she was curious about the entire time.

"So, what's going on between you and Percy?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow. Typical Piper; she always noticed everything.

"Nothing, we were just talking." Annabeth was a little defensive at the question.

"Annie, I know that you like him and from what I saw, he likes you too." Annabeth didn't appreciate Piper prying into her business, so she glared at her friend.

"Look, I don't have time for dating and stuff. I'm way too busy trying to top my class and working on some designs for my mom," Annabeth scoffed, hoping Piper would back down.

"Yeah, I know that but you've got to make some time for romantic interactions. It's part of college life and if you don't go on dates then you're certainly missing out," Piper retorted.

"Dates are just awkward and a sheer waste of time."

"Not if they're with the right person," Piper replied to her statement, causing Annabeth to roll her eyes. When her friend started an argument about her life, she never let go.

"Whatever. I just don't have the time."

Just then, Annabeth heard her phone buzz, so she took it out and excused herself. She saw that she had a text from an unknown number.

Hey, just checking to see if you gave me the right number. It's Percy btw.

I gave you the right number. I'm not that cruel ; ) -Annabeth

Good. Wait, should I have waited for like, 24 hours before texting u? -Percy

Only if we were dating. That's not a rule for friends. -Annabeth

Good to know. So, I can now annoy you as much as I want. -Percy

Annabeth laughed and replied, typing her response.

Just keep in mind that I can block your number anytime. -Annabeth

Noted. -Percy

I have to study. Ttyl -Annabeth

Bye :) -Percy

Annabeth's mom had always told her that boys were a distraction and to achieve your dreams, you needed to make sure that they weren't holding you back. Even though Annabeth did not agree with this extreme point of view, she did think that she should wait to date until she graduated.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Percy's P.O.V.

Percy was running late again. He had to meet his cousin, Nico, who was transferring to Columbia in his junior year of undergrad after the summer. He'd been studying in NYU since he had been rejected from Columbia when he first applied.

He decided to splurge and take a cab instead of using the subway, as that would take way more time. When he entered the cab, he texted Nico to let him know that he'd be a little late. Percy was exhausted from trying to juggle studying, work, swimming and having some sort of social life. His mom had assured him that if he wanted to quit working, she would support him financially but Percy knew that it would put a strain on her and his stepfather- Paul.

He was in Columbia on a swimming scholarship so he didn't have to pay any tuition, but he did have to cover other expenses such as dorms, food etc. His dad had also offered to give him money, but he wouldn't take anything from him if he could help it.

He finally reached the restaurant where he was supposed to meet Nico and went inside. He saw that Nico was already over there, busy typing something on his phone. Nico spotted him and smiled lightly. He hugged him and sat down.

"So, you excited about Columbia?" asked Percy, deciding to start with some small talk.

"Yeah, I think so. NYU is great and I made some friends, but I always liked Columbia more."

"It's pretty good," Percy agreed, thinking about his university.

"There's a reason I called you today Percy," Nico said seriously.

"What is it?" asked Percy, genuinely interested to know.

"Please just don't say anything till I finish talking," Nico pleaded, worrying Percy a little.

Percy nodded and let Nico continue. He paid the utmost attention to him, knowing that whatever he was about to say was going to be important.

"I've known something about myself for a long time but only recently accepted it about myself. I've already told this to my immediate family and friends. I want you to know as well. I don't want to hide this from anyone ever again, I've had enough with that. I'm gay. Yeah, that's pretty much it," Nico quickly said in one breath.

Percy was decently surprised, not expecting that at all. He didn't anticipate his cousin revealing such a big thing to him. He tried to be calm about this since he knew that his cousin wouldn’t appreciate him freaking out about this.

"Uh, wow. Since when have you known?" Percy asked the first question that popped into his head.

"Since sophomore year of high school," Nico replied, a bit hesitant. His acceptance of himself must have been a huge step for him.

"Wait, weren't you dating a girl last year? Tina?"

"As I said, I didn't accept myself for who I am and kept trying to convince my mind that it wasn't true. I've stopped doing that now and am the happiest I've ever been," his cousin explained.

"I'm so proud of you Nico. I'm really glad that you were brave enough to do this."

Percy knew that it was difficult for Nico to show any emotion, so he was baffled to see tears come out of his eyes. He didn’t know what to do, since he had never seen Nico cry before.

"Thanks Percy. It means a lot to have your support."

Percy smiled at him. Nico had been through quite a lot in his life and Percy vowed to protect him if anything remotely bad happened to him.

"How have others received this?" Percy asked gently, not wanting to overwhelm Nico.

"My friends were pretty supportive but Mom and Dad were confused. They said that they didn't understand this but they still loved me. Honestly, that was much better than how I expected them to react."

"I am glad that your friends were supportive," Percy admitted. He was honest; he knew that he would have gone crazy had Nico's friends even slightly harmed him.

"They're great," Nico said, fondly.

"So, have you been on any dates with guys?" Percy asked cheekily.

"We didn't talk about my dating life before and we are definitely not going to start talking about it now.", said Nico firmly.

Percy laughed and said, "Okay, fine."

The two boys caught up for a bit as they ate their burgers. They were meeting after a long time since they'd been busy for the past few weeks.
Percy's ability to eat a ton of food never failed to astound Nico, who shook his head said, "Oh god Percy. At least chew your food before you swallow it."

"I don't have time. I'm too freaking hungry.", Percy replied before taking another gigantic bite of his burger.

All in all, it was a great Sunday lunch for the two boys.

Chapter Text

Annabeth's P.O.V

Annabeth walked out of the exam hall feeling pretty pleased with herself. Her hard work had paid off since she was quite certain that she had just aced her design exam. She decided to treat herself with a cup of coffee with her friend, Silena. She picked up her phone and texted her to ask her if she was free.

Hey! My test just got over. Want to get coffee? –Annabeth

Sure, I just killed my fashion merchandising test :)–Silena

That's great. Where do u want to meet? –Annabeth

Ellie's—the new off-campus coffee shop. Have u tried it? –Silena

Yes, I love their coffee–Annabeth

Is it ok if I bring a friend? –Silena

Sure! –Annabeth

Cool, see u. I'll be there in 15 mins–Silena

Annabeth went to Ellie's and ordered herself a cup of coffee. She began replying to the texts she had received when she was solving the test. There were two from Piper, asking about her hair ties, a text from her mom about a design, and to her complete surprise, she saw that her dad had texted her too.

Hi Annabeth. I know that we haven't talked in a long time but I would really appreciate it if you could call me whenever you have the time. I miss you–Dad

Like her mom, her dad had also neglected her as a kid. She still talked to her mom pretty frequently, even if it was for a professional purpose, but she rarely talked to her dad. It didn't surprise her if months went by without a call or even an email from him. He never told her that he missed her before and always spoke formally to her.

She was contemplating calling her dad right then but saw Silena enter Ellie's along with a blond boy. Silena came up to her and smiled.

"This is Will. He's a friend of mine," Silena said, pointing to the blond, blue-eyed, and tallboy standing next to her.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Annabeth," Annabeth said politely.

During the course of their conversation, Annabeth found out that Will was in med school, gay and very charming. She loved meeting new people and was quite certain that Will would soon become a good friend of hers since they had the same taste in music, books and movies. Silena soon left to meet her boyfriend but Will and Annabeth continued talking.

"So, when's your next test?" asked Will, taking a sip of his iced coffee.

"My test schedule is very weird. It's in two weeks and then the test after that is just one day after," Annabeth answered with a frown.

"You think that so many smart people who are supposedly here to teach us would know how to make a decent schedule," Will said, earning a laugh from Annabeth.

Percy's P.O.V.

Percy walked into Ellie's, ready for his shift. As he was entering the shop, he caught a glimpse of blonde hair, grey eyes and a beautiful smile. He knew it was Annabeth and went in with a bright smile of his own which turned to a slight scowl when he saw that she was laughing at something a guy was saying.

He knew that he shouldn't be jealous since he barely knew her. The things that he did know about her indicated that she had no romantic relationship with the guy, yet he still had a bad feeling in the back of his mind. He decided to at least say hi to her before he started working.

"Hey Annabeth," Percy greeted with a smile.

"Percy? Hi!"

"How was your test?" He had texted her enough to know that she had a test that day and she had been extremely nervous about it.

"It was great! Oh, by the way, this Will. Will, this is Percy."

Will waved at him and smiled which Percy did his best to return. He then excused himself to go and work. He was happy to see Annabeth and Will leave separately after a while instead of leaving together. He waved good-bye to Annabeth as she left which she returned enthusiastically.

He worked for 4 hours and went back to his dorm on his blue bicycle. It was a birthday gift from his dad which he reluctantly accepted. Percy was about to start studying when he suddenly remembered his conversation with Rachel the other day. He had forgotten to ask her what was wrong. He took out his phone and texted her.

Hey, so, do you finally want to tell me what's wrong? –Percy

I do but I also don't–Rachel

No pressure. I just want to help you but you can tell me whenever you're comfortable with it. K? –Percy

Can you meet me tomorrow for lunch? I'll then you then–Rachel

Sure! –Percy

1:30. Chilli's. My treat–Rachel

I'll be there :) And we will split the bill–Percy

Thanks, Perce–Rachel

He felt relieved as he put down his phone because Rachel was a private person and he hadn't expected her to agree to open up. He finally stopped procrastinating and opened up his laptop to start studying.

He was well into his second hour of studying when Leo came into the dorm smiling and dancing like a madman. He took out his shoes and started jumping on his bed. Percy looked at him in surprise.

"Dude what happened? You look like you just won the lottery or something," implored Percy, laughing. Leo's laughter was infectious.

"Something even better happened," said Leo, still jumping on his bed.

"What? Tell me!" Percy asked enthusiastically. His books and laptop were now forgotten.

Leo finally stopped jumping, tried to stop smiling, and put his hands on Percy's shoulders.

"I asked Calypso out and she said yes!" Leo confessed excitedly.

"Really? I'm so happy for you man."

Leo had been crazy about Calypso for the past six months. They had started off as enemies when they were made partners for a project but slowly became friends. Leo wanted to be more than friends but he never asked her out since he was scared of losing their friendship, yet now he finally had the guts to do so.

"Want to come to the bar for a celebratory drink? I've asked Jason and Frank to come as well," Leo inquired

"Not today. I still have a lot of studying to get done."

"When did I become the cool person and you the nerd?" joked Leo.

…

The next day Percy reached Chilli's early for a change and saw that Rachel still wasn't there. He sat down on a chair and texted Rachel to let her know that he had arrived. She came a few minutes later and looked really flustered.

"Hi, thanks for coming, I know that you are very busy with your finals and stuff." Rachel smiled at him, but it looked half-hearted.

"Of course. I really want to help with whatever's bothering you." Percy peered at his friend, taking in her nervousness.

"Thanks, Percy but let's order first. I'm starving." The idea sounded good enough for him, so he nodded.

The two of them ordered long island iced teas, tacos, and a burrito they planned to share. Percy could sense that she was very uncomfortable about the thing she wanted to talk about, so he tried to put her mind at ease by telling her a funny story about something that happened during swim practice.

It worked and she laughed heartily. They were in the middle of eating when Percy brought the subject up again. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Rachel took a deep breath and said, "Percy, I think that you're a great person. You're kind, generous, smart, witty and really handsome." She said the last adjective a little hesitation and continued.

"I really like you, Percy," she rushed, at last, her cheeks turning pink.

"I really like you too Rach." Percy was completely oblivious to the meaning of 'like' in this scenario.

"Really?" Rachel had a hopeful look on her face, which Percy didn't understand; they were friends, of course, they liked each other.

"Yeah, you're a great friend."

Rachel sighed and said, "No Percy, I mean I like you as more than a friend."

Percy was very confused since he hadn't thought in his wildest dreams that Rachel liked him like that. He didn't know how to respond to that but he knew that he had to say something. Rachel looked very vulnerable and he hated the thought of hurting her.

"Rachel, you're a lovely girl but I don't think of you like that," he mumbled softly, not wanting to sound harsh.

Rachel looked heartbroken and Percy detested the fact that he was the reason for that.

"I'm sorry but I'm sure that you'll find someone much better than me one day. Please say that we can still be friends." Percy said, a little nervously, a little taken aback by the situation.

"Yeah, of course we can. I don't want to lose a friend like you.", Rachel replied quietly.

The atmosphere became a little awkward after the conversation but the two still managed to finish their meal and actually talk about lighter subjects for a bit. Percy knew that their friendship would be fragile for some amount of time but he was willing to work on it.

….

Chapter Text

Annabeth's P.O.V.

Annabeth was alone in her dorm since Piper had gone on yet another 'friend-date' with Jason. After a strenuous 4 hours of studying, Annabeth decided to call her dad. She took a deep breath and clicked on her dad's contact. Surprisingly, he answered on the second ring.

"Hello, Annabeth." A gruff voice was heard from the other side of the phone.

"Hi, dad. How're you?" asked Annabeth politely.

"I'm good. How's Grad school?" Annabeth's dad enquired.

Annabeth was sort of surprised since he usually never asked her about her personal life and always talked about himself during his rare calls and emails.

"Uh—It's good. Tiring but good."

"Annabeth, I know that I haven't been the best dad and haven't always been around but I really want that to change now," he said, his voice barely audible.

"Where is this coming from? Why now?" Annabeth was greatly confused; he had forever, why did he choose now?

"My colleague's daughter passed away recently and they weren't on the best terms. He feels really guilty about never resolving his issues with her and I just don't want us to feel the same," her father admitted.

Annabeth could hear the nervousness in his voice and she really didn't want to hurt him, but on the other hand, she couldn't forgive him so easily, not after what he had done. She had lived with her dad in California after her parents had split, but her dad had barely given any attention to her and instead put all his efforts into working. She had wanted and needed his love and attention as a young girl but never received from her father or her stepmother.

The remorse in her father's voice made her think that he genuinely cared about her now and wanted to make amends.

"Dad, everything can't be okay right away. But...I'm willing to take small steps," said Annabeth with a sigh.

"Really? Thank you, Annabeth, for giving me a second chance." The relief in his voice was very evident. After the call, the two talked awkwardly for about 10 minutes and then Annabeth politely told him that she had to study. She hung up the call with a smile on her face.

Her phone buzzed just then and she saw that she had a text from Percy.

Hi, I have some free time today. Would u like to get lunch with me?—Percy

Sure. When?—Annabeth

I'll pick u up in 20 mins, just text me ur dorm building no—Percy

Dorm building 11—Annabeth

Annabeth felt a little giddy after their text conversation. She had texted quite a bit with Percy in the week that she knew him but the two of them could have never gone anywhere alone.

He's just a friend. You don't want anything else. Don't be so stupid, she thought. Her mom's words were floating in her head. Boys are a distraction.

She quickly changed into a pair of black jeans and a blue tank top and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. She felt like dressing up for some weird reason. She usually hated dressing up with a passion and basically lived in hoodies or t-shirts and yoga pants.

As promised, Percy was outside the building 20 minutes later. Annabeth couldn't help but notice that he was looking stunning. His hair was a little damp and he was wearing an orange t-shirt with jeans.

"Hey, thanks for picking me up," said Annabeth, walking towards him.

"No problem. Where do you want to go?"

"Any place which has food. I'm not a picky eater."

Percy chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll take you to an awesome restaurant but we'll have to take the subway."

"I don't mind as long as we're back within 3 hours," said Annabeth. She still wanted to study more so she had to set a time limit for herself.

"Okay. That won't be a problem," said Percy happily.

"So where are you from?" asked Annabeth as they walked towards the subway station.

"Born and bred in New York. You?"

"I'm from California but I went to Boston pretty often since my mom lives there."

"Let's play 20 questions. I want to know more about you," suggested Percy.

"Sure."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"I have two step-brothers and we don't get along at all."

"Favorite food?" asked Annabeth curiously. She believed that someone's eating habits said a lot about a person.

"Blue cookies" said Percy fondly.

Annabeth giggled and asked, "Why blue?"

"That's a fair question. My ex-stepfather once told my mom that there is nothing such as blue food and she kind of took it as a challenge and made blue food whenever possible and since blue's my favourite color and I love cookies, blue cookies are my favourite."

Annabeth could see from his face how much he loved his mom and that she meant a lot to him.

"You mom sounds really great."

"She really is," said Percy proudly.

They talked a lot more and finally reached the restaurant called Flavour. It was a small and homey looking place and it smelled heavenly.

"This place seems really nice," said Annabeth.

"It is. I come here pretty often but most people don't know about this place which is a shame."

They sat down and looked at the menu. Annabeth was shocked that the prices actually seemed reasonable.

D

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Percy's P.O.V.

Percy just checked the menu to see what he wanted to drink since he always got the same thing to eat. Experimenting with food was not really his thing unless his mom cooked it. He decided to get cold coffee to drink and waited for Annabeth to go through the menu.

He decided that he absolutely loved spending time with Annabeth and her personality was even more attractive than her looks. She was funny, smart and her laugh was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

He was proud of the fact that he had gathered enough courage to ask her to come with him for lunch but he knew that he would think about her even more now.

You need to get over this crush. She is a great friend. Friend.

He knew that his crush could become unhealthy especially since he had refused two girls' offers to go out with them ever since he met Annabeth.

He pushed those thoughts away and focussed on what Annabeth was saying.

They were eating their food when Percy's phone started ringing, he picked it up and saw that it was Paul.

"Sorry, I should probably take this," he said to Annabeth who nodded.

"Hey, Paul." Percy was quite friendly with his step-father.

"Percy," said Paul and paused. Percy could tell from his voice that something bad had happened.

"Uh, your mom fell down the stairs and she's unconscious right now. We're at the hospital and I really think that you should come. I'll text you the address."

Percy was panic-stricken and turned white.

No, this is not happening. Please. , he thought

"I'm coming," he said quickly and hung up.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter Text

Previously
“Sorry, I should probably take this.”, he said to Annabeth who nodded.

“Hey Paul”, said Percy pleasantly

“Percy”, said Paul and paused. Percy could tell from his voice that something bad had happened.

“Uh, your mom fell down the stairs and she is unconscious right now. We are at the hospital and I really think that you should come. I’ll text you the address.”, Paul said in a low voice.

Percy was panic-stricken and turned white.

No. No way. This is not happening.

“I’m coming.”, he said quickly and hung up
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Now

“Are you ok?”, asked Annabeth

Percy was spaced out and kept thinking about his mom in the hospital. He needed to get there as soon as he could.

“Sorry, what?”, he asked Annabeth in distress

“I asked if you are ok but you clearly aren’t. What happened?”

“My mom..she..she..fell down….unconscious…. and is in the hospital. “Percy stammered, still unable to believe that this was actually happening.

“Oh no, is she going to be ok? I’ll ask Piper if I can borrow her car and I’ll drive you there. That’s the fastest way.”, Annabeth said, as logical as ever.

“No, it’s ok, you don’t have to do that. I’ll take a cab or the subway.”, said Percy hurriedly while Annabeth was busy typing on her phone, texting Piper.

“Don’t be silly, I am driving you and we are taking Piper’s car. She is insisting that we take it. In fact, she is driving the car here and she’ll take a subway back since she has a class.”, Annabeth said firmly.

“Thanks, I owe you.”, Percy said, visibly relieved. He knew that a cab would cost a fortune at that time and would also be very hard to find while taking a subway would take a lot of time.

“It’s going to be fine; I know it.”, Annabeth said, trying to reassure him and Percy attempted to smile but failed.

Piper arrived in 15 minutes and gave a sympathetic look to Percy. She handed over the keys to Annabeth and quickly left for her class.

“I can drive since the hospital is pretty far.” Percy really didn’t want to cause any trouble.

“Shut up, you are not in the condition to drive.”, said Annabeth, refusing to give him the key.

Annabeth and Percy moved towards the car and started driving to the hospital. Annabeth could sense Percy’s nervousness as she drove so she took his hand in her own, hoping to calm him.

Percy was shocked when he felt her hand in his and his brain started short-circuiting. He also felt a calming effect caused by the gesture so he held Annabeth’s hand tightly just hoping that his mom would be alright.

They reached the hospital pretty quickly and opted for the valet parking since the hospital was very crowded. Percy didn’t realize it but he was still holding Annabeth’s hand and embracing the comfort it gave him.

“I need to see Sally Jackson. I am her son.”, Percy told the receptionist frantically and finally left Annabeth’s hand after noticing that he was holding it.

“Of course, sir, she is in room 315.”, the receptionist replied after looking at her computer and told them the directions.

Annabeth and Percy half-ran towards the room but when they finally reached the door marked 315, Percy froze.

“I can’t do this. What if she is not ok?”, said Percy, his voice shaking a bit.

“She will be ok. I can feel it.”, said Annabeth softly.

“I hope so.”

“Uh do you want me to leave?”, asked Annabeth hesitantly. She wasn’t sure if Percy would be comfortable with having her around since they barely knew each other and the day was going to be pretty emotional for him. She really didn’t want to be a source of added anxiety for him.

“No, could you stay, please? I feel like I need someone calm to be with me. Paul will be there but he’ll be a mess too.”, said Percy seriously but then added, “Oh, you need to study right? You can leave. I am so sorry; I didn’t think about that.”

“Are you serious? I am staying if you need me. I can study anytime”, replied Annabeth

“I could call Leo, it’s not an issue, you can go.”

“I’m staying so stop procrastinating and get your butt inside your mom’s room.”, said Annabeth haughtily.

Percy took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Come in”, said a person who Percy instantly recognized as Paul.

He pushed the door and went in with Annabeth following. He saw that his mom was lying on a bed with weird-looking machines around her. There were two doctors, a few nurses and an extremely distressed Paul there as well.

“How is she?”, Percy asked, his eyes unable to look away from his unconscious mom.

“She’ll be ok. We will be performing a surgery….”, the doctor rambled on about some medical nonsense that Percy couldn’t understand.

The only thing he understood was the statement that she will be ok. Paul came up to him at that point and engulfed him in a warm hug.

“She’s a fighter. She will be fine.”, Paul whispered during the hug.

The three of them went out of the room as the medical staff prepared to begin the surgery.

Annabeth’s P.O.V.

“Hi, I am Paul. I don’t believe we have met.”, said Paul to Annabeth who had still not said a word to anyone.

“I’m Percy’s friend, Annabeth.”, responded Annabeth politely.

Paul smiled slightly and excused himself to go and get some water and make some calls. Annabeth turned towards Percy and sat down next to him. She was exhausted because she had slept really late the previous night and could not stop herself from falling asleep on the chair almost instantly without even realizing that her head was resting on Percy’s shoulder.

She woke up about half an hour later to the sound of some people who were seemingly talking to Percy. She could feel that her head was on his shoulder and he was trying not to move so as to not disturb her, even though her eyes were still closed. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that Leo, Jason and three people she didn’t know had arrived as well.

“Uh, hi everyone.”, Annabeth said as she slowly recovered from her disoriented state. She realized that everyone was eyeing her curiously, especially the girl with the red hair.

“Oh, you’re up. These are my friends, Frank, Hazel and Rachel. You’ve met Jason and Leo already.”, said Percy.

Annabeth greeted them and noticed that Percy looked pretty happy and optimistic. She felt extremely guilty about not being there for him and dozing off instead.

“I’m so sorry that I slept. Did you get any news about your mom?”, asked Annabeth hopefully.

“I did. She is out of surgery and will probably wake up pretty soon.”, Percy responded happily.

“That’s great!” Annabeth was truly happy for him and glad that she was right about his mom’s recovery.

Just then, she saw a person walk by who she recognized.

“Will?”, Annabeth called out.

“Hey Annabeth, what are you doing here?”, asked Will, a little surprised.

Annabeth explained the situation to him and he seemed sympathetic towards Percy.

“What are you doing here?”, asked Annabeth curiously.

“I am interning here actually. I need to work right now but I’ll catch up with you guys during my break.”, he said before walking away towards a busy room full of doctors.

Annabeth went to get herself a glass of water and by the time she came back, she saw that there was a new addition to Percy’s group of friends.

“Annabeth, this is my cousin Nico.”, said Percy

Nico and Annabeth clicked almost immediately and started conversing together since the two of them didn’t know the others very well. Annabeth liked Nico immensely, she could tell that he was a little shy but he was very interesting and she loved his dark sense of humour.

After 15 minutes, Will came there since his break had started. Nico’s face when he saw Will was the most precious thing Annabeth had ever seen and she made it her mission to play matchmaker right then and there.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Percy’s P.O.V.

Percy was touched beyond words by the fact that his friends had dropped everything that they to do just to be there for him. He loved them so much and really appreciated their efforts to keep him distracted. He was also amazed by Annabeth’s ability to get along with everyone because even Nico had been pretty open with her. She had been his rock throughout the whole ordeal and he had felt overwhelmed by emotion when she had slept with her head on his shoulder.

A nurse came there and said, “Mr Jackson, your mother is awake now. You can visit her if you wish.”

Percy felt as if he could finally exhale and nodded enthusiastically. He let Paul visit her first and tried to wait patiently. While he was waiting, he tried to persuade everyone to leave and managed to convince Frank, Hazel, Rachel and Jason as they all had tests coming up. Annabeth, Leo and Nico refused to leave and said that they would go with him, whenever that happened.

Paul came out of the room a few minutes later with a teary smile and patted Percy’s back. He went inside the room and saw that his mom lying down on the bed.

“Hi mom”, he said softly

“Hey sweetie”, she responded with her blinding smile.

“God I was so scared, please don’t ever do that again.”, he said with a half-laugh and half sob.

“I won’t. I promise.” Sally took Percy’s hands and squeezed them.

“Good. How are you feeling? Any pain?”, he asked, extremely concerned.

“Honey, I am fine. Please don’t worry. It’s getting late, you should leave if you want to catch the train back.”, Sally said, being practical.

“No, it’s fine. Annabeth drove me.”

“Annabeth? Who’s that?”, asked Sally with a small smirk.

“My friend. She drove me here and is waiting outside.”

“Friend? Really? I want to meet her and thank her for what she has done for you.” Sally knew her son very well and she could tell from his face that he liked her as more than a friend.

“Right now? Don’t you need to rest?”

“Please Percy. Let me meet her. I won’t embarrass you.”, Sally said with a small laugh.

“Ok fine”

Percy went outside and told Annabeth that his mom wanted to meet her. He was not surprised to see the shock in her face when he said that. She agreed and stepped into the room with him a little nervously.

“Good evening Mrs Jackson.”, said Annabeth formally.

“Sweetie, please call me Sally and you don’t need to be so formal with me. Percy’s friends are like my own kids.”

Annabeth laughed and said, “Ok Sally”

“I just wanted to thank you for taking care of my son. He really needed someone and you were there for him so thank you.”

“Of course, Mrs Ja- Uh sorry Sally. It was no problem at all”, said Annabeth pleasantly.

“I will be sending cookies for you soon, make sure that you get them and this guy doesn’t eat them all.”, Sally said, pointing towards Percy who tried to look angry but failed.

Annabeth giggled and said, “Thank you so much. I have heard a lot about your blue cookies.”

Annabeth got a call just then and excused herself.

“I like her, she’s really nice.”, said Sally

“Me too.”, said Percy with a sigh. He knew that he could never be his boyfriend and that hurt a bit but then he comforted himself by the thought that she was his friend.

Chapter Text

Will's P.O.V.

Will had never felt this way before. He had dated a few guys in his life but none of his dating experiences had ever come even close to how he felt while talking to Nico. They had only conversed for about 30 minutes but they were enough for Will to know that he liked him.

The only problem was that Will didn't know if Nico was gay. He couldn't just ask him outright but from his short conversation with him, he knew that there might be a possibility. Will also had no way to contact him since it had completely slipped his mind to ask for Nico's number.

He reached home completely exhausted and made himself a cup of coffee. He had started his summer internship early, which meant that he had to juggle finals and the internship which was very tiring and time-consuming. He sighed and picked up his huge human anatomy book and started studying. Sometimes, med school was too much for him but he knew that in the long run, it would pay off and he would achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.

After a long night of studying, he decided to go to bed. He knew that there was something missing in his life and now that he had met Nico, he knew what or rather who it was. He decided that he would ask Annabeth for his number the next time he met her.

Will woke up the next morning and checked his phone and was surprised to see that Annabeth apparently had the same idea as him.

Hey, so, I saw you and Nico yesterday and you guys were so cute together. I asked Percy for his number so that I could give it to you. I know I'm the best :) Here you go. -Annabeth

Will was ecstatic and danced like a maniac in the privacy of his room. He decided that he should probably get caffeinated before trying to think of a witty message to send Nico. He glanced at the clock and freaked out when he realized he was late for his internship. The message would have to wait.

Little did he know that the following week would be so hectic that he wouldn't be able to find time to even breathe. He had many assignments to complete and had to be at the hospital for extra hours during the course of the week so messaging Nico completely slipped his mind.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Annabeth's P.O.V.

Annabeth just had two tests left but they were the most important ones so she had been studying like a crazy person for the past week. She had switched off her phone and kept minimal contact with the outside world. Since Piper was also busy because of her finals, she had not been able to monitor Annabeth's health as she usually did. Annabeth had managed to get away with jut eating chips and drinking soda for all her meals.

This eventually caught up to her one morning when Piper had gone to give her test. It was two days before her second last test and she had just started studying after only 3 hours of sleep when she started feeling dizzy. Her head was pounding and her vision became a little blurry so she manoeuvred herself from her study table to her bed with a lot of effort and just passed out. She really didn't want to 'waste time' by sleeping but she couldn't help herself.

She woke up feeling very disoriented and heard two people talking. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and realized that her head was still aching.

"Is she going to be ok?", she heard a person ask. After focusing thoroughly on the voice, she realized that it was Percy who was sounding incredibly concerned.

"Yeah, she does this all the time during exams. I should have paid more attention. Can you go and get some food? I am pretty sure that he hasn't had a proper meal in days.", Piper said with a determined voice.

"Yeah, sure. What should I get?" Percy wanted to help as much as he could.

"Anything healthy and filling.", Piper responded, as if she had dealt with this situation a dozen times, which she probably had.

"Got it. I'll be back soon.", said Percy and left.

Annabeth finally opened her eyes and saw that Piper was coming towards her with a thermometer in her hand.

"How are you feeling?", Piper asked, as soon as she saw that Annabeth was awake.

"I am fine.", Annabeth said in a low voice, even though she most certainly wasn't.

"Be honest. I know you, Annie, you don't look ok.", Piper said seriously. Her look was pretty dangerous and informed Annabeth that she was not messing around.

"Okay, I am not fine. My head is aching and I was feeling dizzy before.", Annabeth conceded.

"When was the last time you had a proper meal?", asked Piper. She had known Annabeth long enough to know that lack of food was probably what had caused this.

"Three days ago.", Annabeth whispered.

"Why do you always do this? You need to start taking care of yourself, you are 22 years old for god's sake. Tests are important but they not more important than your health.", Piper said in her 'I am not angry but disappointed' voice which was very effective.

"I know. I just wanted to do my best in this final.", Annabeth said, trying to defend herself but knowing that it was useless.

"I know you were but now look where that's got you. Take your temperature.", Piper commanded, handing over the thermometer to Annabeth.

Annabeth had a fever, so Piper took out her tablet and was about to give it to her when she remembered that she had not had food.

"We'll have to wait till you have food. Percy will be back soon.", Piper said after glancing at her watch.

"What was he doing here anyway?", asked Annabeth curiously.

"He came by to give you some blue cookies apparently and saw your condition. He wanted to help so I told him to get food."

"Oh. That's nice of him"

Percy arrived in a few minutes with a sandwich and soup. He looked relieved when he saw that Annabeth was awake.

"Hey, how are you feeling now?", he asked gently.

"Better, thanks. Also thank you so much for getting me food.", Annabeth said with a smile.

"Anytime. I am just glad that you are feeling better."

Just then, she realized that she probably looked disgusting. She had not changed since the previous night and had just woken up, which meant that her hair was probably a mess.

Why do I care that I look like this? I let my friends see me like this all the time, she thought.

She didn't have time to dwell on this subject as Piper handed over the food to her in a plate. Annabeth hungrily ate it as it felt very good to have a proper meal after so long. Piper and Percy were chatting on their own, mostly about Jason, as she ate.

"Oh shit. I have a study group right now for my last test. I'll skip it.", said Piper and picked up her phone.

"No, you won't. I am fine and I know that you really need to attend it.", said Annabeth weakly.

"Annie, you need someone right now. I can't just leave, you literally just passed out.", said Piper ready to argue.

"I'll stay and help her. You can go Piper.", Percy offered

"Ok, thanks a lot Percy.", Piper said with relief in her voice.

"Nobody needs to stay. I am a grown woman and I can take care of myself, you guys don't need to babysit me.", Annabeth protested.

"Shut up, I am leaving and Percy is staying. Percy, don't go anywhere ok, no matter what she says.", said Piper strictly.

"Yes, ma'am", Percy replied, jokingly and sat down on a blue chair in Annabeth's room.

"Sooo...I heard something about cookies.", said Annabeth once Piper left.

"Oh yeah, my mom sent them for you as promised.", said Percy and handed her a container full of blue cookies.

"Is she alright? Shouldn't she be on bed rest?" Annabeth said, before taking a cookie and eating it

"She just had to rest for 3 days and it's been a week so she's completely ok.", Percy said with a huge smile.

"That's great! Oh my god, this is the best thing I have ever tasted" Annabeth quickly finished the first cookie and took out another.

Percy chuckled and said, "Yeah, she's a great cook."

Percy got up and brought Annabeth a glass of water and a tablet for her fever. Annabeth felt drowsy after taking it and fell asleep.

Percy took out his phone and responded to a couple of messages before falling asleep on the comfortable chair himself.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter Text

Percy's P.O.V.

Percy woke up instantly when he heard a loud bang of the door. He was a little confused as to where he was and why he was sleeping on a chair but realized that he was in Annabeth's room when he saw her slowly waking up as well. They both looked at each other, confused about the noise.

"You drool when you sleep," Annabeth said with a small laugh.

Percy had never been more embarrassed in his entire life and that was saying something because he had done many questionable things in high school. However, he didn't have time to dwell on this since Piper came rushing into the room, looking absolutely delighted.

"Annabeth! You'll never believe what just happened," Piper shouted as she came into the room.

She saw Percy and stopped abruptly. "Oh, you're still here," she muttered, a little surprised.

"Yeah, I've been given some pretty strict orders to not leave. I'll go now, since you guys clearly have a lot to talk about," Percy said with a chuckle.

"Please send me your mom's number so that I can thank her for the heavenly cookies myself," Annabeth told him with her beautiful smile.

"I will. Oh, did Will message Nico yet?" Percy had a good feeling about Will and he had been pleased to find out that he was gay since he spent a lot of time with Annabeth. He knew that Nico would be really annoyed with him for giving his number but Percy just wanted him to be happy. Annabeth had told him that they would be good for each other and he trusted her.

"I don't know. We haven't talked since the hospital as we've both been pretty busy. Anyway, thanks a lot for everything you did today, Percy," Annabeth said, shifting a bit on her bed so that she could see Percy properly.

"Anytime. You really don't need to thank me after what you did for me last week." Percy was glad to see that even the short nap made Annabeth look much healthier.

He said goodbye to Piper and left the house. He had a shift at Ellie's in 15 minutes so he went there straight away. He had planned to spend some time with his friends that day and study a bit but he was happy to cancel those plans in order to be there for Annabeth. He knew that he would have to study till late that night but for him, it was worth it.

He was a little early for his shift so he decided to check his phone which had been buzzing a lot.

Perce, u have to come soon. We r celebrating!—Leo

Oh, u have a shift. Never mind, come to the bar after ur shift—Leo

Answer me. U can't ignore me forever; I'm ur roommate—Leo

PERCY!! ANSWER ME—Leo

Calm down man, I'was busy. What R we celebrating?—Percy

Jason finally kissed Piper—Leo

Thank god, they finally acted on their feelings—Percy

Ikr. T'was becoming too much. So u coming to the bar? -Leo

Percy knew that he had to study and he probably would be exhausted after his shift but he had not gone out in a long time and he really wanted to have some fun after the stressful week he had.

I'll be there—Percy

Great, see u—Leo

Percy went up to the counter, put on his apron and started working. This was going to be his last shift for freshman year as he would start working at the shop again after summer. He liked his job since it paid pretty well, wasn't too difficult and his co-workers were nice. It was much better than his previous job so he always worked hard here.

He left his shift at 9 pm and decided to go to his dorm to change first. He had been in his hoodie all day and had even slept in it. Before he left the dorm, he sent a quick message to Annabeth.

Hey, just wanted to check in and make sure that u r ok. Please take it easy and don't overwork yourself. P.S. Congratulate Piper on her big news ;)—Percy

He checked his appearance in the mirror and headed out, feeling excited. It had been a while since he had been to the bar. He tried not to drink often since it brought back memories of Gabe- his ex-stepfather, but sometimes he liked to loosen up and enjoy a drink or two.

He reached the bar and found his friends pretty easily. Leo was talking animatedly to everyone while Jason, Frank and Hazel were pretending to listen to him.

"Hey guys," Percy greeted as he took a seat next to Jason.

"You're finally here! What do you want to drink?" asked Leo impatiently.

"I'll take a beer," Percy said and took out his wallet.

"Drinks are on Jason," Frank announced.

"Great and congrats man. You finally gathered enough courage to do this. It took you long enough." Percy had been tired of the shy and bashful looks Piper and Jason gave each other and couldn't understand why they hadn't acted on their feelings earlier.

"Thanks, it just happened. I asked her to get some coffee with me after our study group session was over but she said that she had to help Annabeth, so I walked her till her building and I just did it," Jason said a little wistfully, as if he was remembering the moment.

"You're not drinking Hazel?" Percy asked curiously.

"Nope, I just came here to make sure that you idiots don't embarrass yourselves after having too much to drink," Hazel reprimanded with a small laugh.

Percy noticed that Rachel wasn't there but decided not to comment on that fact. Their friendship was still a little fragile and he didn't want to tell his friends about it.

Percy had a great time that night, almost too good. He lost track of the number of beers he had and had fun dancing and chatting with his friends. He was so drunk that even Leo's impressions were funny to him.

Hazel was glad that she had accompanied the guys as they had all had a little too much to drink and she had to take them to their dorm rooms herself. She took Leo and Percy first and opened the door for them before pushing them inside. She forced the two of them to have a lot of water and left some aspirin on the table for them.

Percy didn't know what he was doing but he called Annabeth and when she didn't pick up, he left a voice message.

"Hi, I'm drunk. Woohoo. So, I just think that you're really pretty. Bye." Percy slammed his phone onto his bedside table and went to bed.

The next morning Percy woke up with a massive headache and had no recollection of the voicemail he had left. He took the aspirin next to him and heard Leo groan as he woke up.

Chapter Text

Annabeth's P.O.V.

Annabeth felt as if the whole world's weight had been lifted from her shoulder since her exams were finally over. She had a free week before her flight to Boston, where she would live with her mom and do her internship. She came out of the exam room with Malcolm, feeling relieved. Even though she had been unwell just two days ago, she had managed to perform well in both her tests.

Malcolm and Annabeth discussed their answers as they walked towards their dorm rooms, both pleased with the results. Annabeth couldn't wait to start celebrating with her friends. She was going out with Piper and Thalia that night and was very excited about it. It had been a long time since she last saw Thalia.

Annabeth entered her dorm and saw that Piper was there, already looking for an outfit.

"I am free!", Annabeth yelled loudly.

"Me too!" Piper also had finished her last exam that day.

"When is your flight?", Annabeth asked after noticing that Piper's room was looking very untidy and there was a suitcase in the middle.

"Day after tomorrow." Piper was going to Los Angeles for the summer to intern in a PR company and spend some time with her dad.

"Oh okay. I guess I'll have a few days to myself." Annabeth was a little excited about this because even though she loved Piper, she wanted a little alone time when she could watch nerdy movies without Piper judging her.

Annabeth decided that she should take a nap since she desperately needed to catch up on some sleep before going out. By the time she got up, Piper had already started dressing up and told Annabeth to do the same.

Annabeth picked out a simple outfit, but one she knew that Piper would approve of. It was a silky black dress with a silver chain belt. She knew that Piper would want her to wear heels but she hated heels with a passion and chose to wear bellies. After doing her hair and light makeup, she picked up her phone to check her messages. She had not checked her phone in days and the first thing she noticed was that Percy had sent her a voicemail.

She clicked on it and listened curiously.

"Hi, I'm drunk. Woohoo. So, I just think that you're really pretty. Bye", came the sound of an evidently drunk Percy from her phone.

Annabeth was momentarily stunned by the voice mail and heard it again just to make sure that she hadn't misunderstood it. Wow. Ok. So, Percy thinks that I'm pretty. This doesn't mean anything. He was drunk.

She had never been the type of person who cared much about her physical appearance and such type of compliments had never affected her before but for some indescribable reason, she loved hearing it from Percy. She was pretty sure that she was blushing and was glad that there was no one there to see her. Before she could think more about the voice mail, Piper informed her that she was ready to go. Annabeth put her phone in her bag and left her room quickly, putting the voice mail at the back of her mind.

They had all decided to splurge a little and go to a nice restaurant to celebrate the end of their first year of grad school. Piper and Annabeth entered the restaurant and saw that Thalia had not arrived so they got a table for themselves and waited for her to come.

Piper's phone buzzed and Annabeth noticed a little blush on her cheeks as she checked the message.

"Let me guess, Jason messaged you?", Annabeth said in a teasing manner.

"Yeah, he did. God, he's so sweet.", Piper said, her blush deepening.

Annabeth was very happy for her friend who in her opinion, deserved all the happiness in the world. Piper had been a constant in her life and had always been there for her since the past 5 years. Annabeth had witnessed Piper date a bunch of jerks which made her very protective about her friend but she thought that Jason was a good guy and hopefully wouldn't hurt her friend.

Thalia came up to them at that point with a rare grin on her face.

"Hello girls, I missed you", Thalia beamed uncharacteristically.

"We missed you too.", Piper said as she got up to hug her.

After they had greeted each other, they ordered food and drinks immediately since Annabeth was starving.

"So, what are you doing this summer?" Annabeth had not talked to Thalia in quite some time so she wasn't aware of her plans.

"I'm staying here and actually taking some classes. I wanted to start working on my theses a bit early so that I can finish it without stressing out too much." Thalia was a criminology major so her thesis was going to be quiet research and analysis driven.

"I see, that's nice."

"Do you have any idea about who Piper is texting?", Thalia whispered to Annabeth.

"Yeah, it's a guy. His name is Jason and the two of them are too cute together.", Annabeth replied with a smirk.

Annabeth noticed that Thalia had an impish look on her face and waited excitedly for what she was about to say. Thalia could be the most hysterical person when she wanted to which was one of Annabeth's favourite qualities about her.

"Piper, you know if you wanted to talk to your new boy-toy the entire time, I wouldn't have come. I'm sorry that I'm not enough to satisfy your talking needs for just a few hours.", Thalia said dramatically and waved her hands to emphasise her point.

"Shut up. It was just one text; I'm keeping my phone down now. Happy?", Piper said defensively.

"No, no, keep going. Us mere mortals can't have such an exciting dating life as you so we have to live vicariously through you. Right, Annabeth?" Thalia held her hand up to Annabeth for a high five which she happily reciprocated.

"Definitely", Annabeth said with a small smile.

"What? You are such a hypocrite Annabeth. Thals, Jason's friend, Percy has been pining over her for weeks and she is not willing to date him even though I'm sure that she reciprocates his feelings because apparently, she is 'too busy'." Piper looked smug after her statement.

"Ooh, I like this plot twist." Thalia looked expectantly at Annabeth as if waiting for an explanation.

"Ok, first of all, Percy is not pining over me and we're just friends. Secondly, my reason is very valid because I'm busy all the time and I just don't time for a relationship."

"Look, I get the being busy reason but Annabeth, you need to make time to try new things in life. It's very important because that's what will make you completely happy. I'm not saying that a girl needs a guy to be happy because that's definitely not true but I'm just saying that don't let your study life also become your personal life." Thalia was rarely so serious so Annabeth knew that what she said was important.

"But can't I wait till after graduation?" Annabeth looked a little uncomfortable and was genuinely questioning her rules.

"You have two years left to get your degree, right? So, you're telling me that all you want to do in these 2 years is study?" Piper was determined to make sure that her friend saw her point of view and changed her opinion on the topic.

"Maybe not.", Annabeth acknowledged with a sigh.

Thalia and Piper could see that Annabeth did not want to talk about that topic anymore so they started talking about lighter subjects and let Annabeth think things through.

Annabeth's mind was in overdrive. She had been on dates before but she had never let herself get attached to someone so nothing ever felt real but now she was considering letting herself open up to people and finally being a part of a real relationship, hopefully with Percy.

She forced herself to stop thinking about it and tried focussing on the current topic of conversation between Piper and Thalia. Her phone buzzed and her heart rate sped up as she thought it was Percy. She picked up the phone and was a little disappointed to see that it was Will instead.

Hey, just wanted to congratulate you since your exams are over. Can we lunch together tomorrow? -Will

Thanks, and same to you :) We can definitely have lunch tomorrow. Also, any update on the Nico situation? -Annabeth

Shit, I forgot to text him. The past two weeks have been too hectic. I'll text him soon but he has probably forgotten about me by now. -Will

I'm pretty sure that he hasn't forgotten. Go, text him! -Annabeth

Annabeth had a great time with her two best friends that night. She knew that she would miss them immensely during the course of her stay in Boston.

…

Piper left two days later for L.A. The two girls shared an almost tearful goodbye which may have seemed silly to most people but they just weren't used to being without each other.

Annabeth wasn't used to being alone but she kind of liked how peaceful it was. Since the academic year was over and Will had cancelled the lunch because he had to go to the hospital, Annabeth had nothing to do. After Piper left, she changed into her most comfortable clothes, made some popcorn and settled down to do a Harry Potter movie marathon. It had been a while since she had watched the movies and that was horrible because she loved them dearly.

She was about 10 minutes into the first movie when someone knocked on the door. Annabeth groaned and went to check who was at the door. Her annoyance turned to excitement when she saw that it was Percy.

"Percy? Hi. What are you doing here?" Percy had to hand in a paper the next morning so he hadn't left yet.

"Hey, I am so sorry to come unannounced but I just got some awesome news and I wanted to share it with someone. Since you are the only person, I know who hasn't left campus already, I came here." It was clear that Percy was very excited since he was talking quickly and his cheeks were flushed

"No problem! Come in." Annabeth ushered him inside, eager to know his news.

"Thanks, ok so, I just got a paid internship at the New York aquarium!" Percy had wanted to work there since he was a small child when he had gone there for a school trip. His dream had finally come true and he was over the moon about it.

"Oh my god, that's amazing! Congrats.", Annabeth said excitedly.

"Thanks! The best part is that I'll be able to live at my mom's house and spend time with her."

"I'm sure that she would love that." Annabeth could tell that Sally loved her son the most in the world.

"She was ecstatic. So, what are you doing?" Percy looked around the common area of the room and saw that Harry Potter was playing.

"Just watching some movies. Do you want to join me?" Annabeth realized that she was dressed in her ugliest clothes yet again. It baffled her that Percy only saw her when she was wearing her baggiest clothes.

"You sure? I love harry potter and definitely want to watch it but I don't want to intrude on your alone time.", Percy said shyly.

"You won't be intruding. What's your house?", Annabeth asked curiously while making some space on the couch for Percy to sit.

"I'm a proud Hufflepuff and I'm guessing that you're a Ravenclaw."

Annabeth nodded and told Percy to sit down. That's when she remembered the voice mail that he had sent her and it seemed that Percy had no recollection of it and was busy watching the movie.

"So, it seems that you had a lot of fun 4 days ago", Annabeth said with a smirk.

"Uh yeah, we had gone to the bar. How do you know?", Percy asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Well, I got a voice mail from you", said Annabeth, trying to hold back her laughter when she saw Percy's horrified face.

"Shit, a voice mail?", Percy asked in a tight voice.

"Yeah", Annabeth said nonchalantly and paused the movie.

"What the hell did I say?" Annabeth could hear the nerves in Percy's voice and felt a little bad for him but she was having too much fun to stop.

"I'll play it for you." Annabeth left the couch and returned with her phone. She played the voicemail and struggled to stop herself from laughing after seeing Percy's face.

"I'm so sorry about that. God, I'm such an idiot.", said Percy and proceeded to face-palm himself.

"It's okay", Annabeth said sweetly and played the movie once again.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but for the record…I do think that you are pretty.", Percy said nervously

Annabeth didn't know how to respond since she never knew how to receive compliments so she just smiled at him.

They completed the first movie with many interjections from both of them as they talked about every scene in detail and were about to start the second one when Percy made a suggestion.

"Do you want to go out for ice-cream?" Percy was still excited about his internship and wanted to celebrate it.

"Sure! Let me go and change first." If Annabeth had one rule in life, it was to never say no to ice-cream.

She quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt and tried to tame her hair. The two of them left the dorm and started walking towards the ice-cream shop. They talked about trivial things but Percy never failed to make Annabeth laugh. She realized that this is what Thalia had meant when she said being completely happy. Percy made her feel that way.

Somehow, their discussion became a little serious as they kept walking and they started talking about their insecurities.

"I just think that people overestimate me all the time because most of the times, I can't do anything." Annabeth was tired of feeling this way all the time because she hated limits and boundaries.

"Annabeth, you can do anything.", Percy said confidently

The confidence in his voice made Annabeth want to cry because only a few people in her life believed in her so much.

"Anything?", she questioned with a smile.

They both stopped walking and looked at each other with sappy smiles.

"Well, within reason.", Percy joked.

"It's too late for that because I want to do this." Annabeth leaned forward and closed the distance between them. Her lips brushed against Percy's; a bit unsure a first but her worries were assuaged when he reciprocated enthusiastically.

Annabeth felt complete.

She had found her missing piece.

Chapter Text

Previously

"Well, within reason.", Percy joked.

"It's too late for that because I want to do this." Annabeth leaned forward and closed the distance between them. Her lips brushed against Percy's; a bit unsure a first but her worries were assuaged when he reciprocated enthusiastically.

Annabeth felt complete.

She had found her missing piece.

…..........................................................

Percy's P.O.V.

A touch can mean so many things to a person. It can be a source of comfort, pain, love and even hatred. For the first time in his life, Percy experienced the most powerful effect of it as he was strolling down the street, holding Annabeth's hand. He was sure that he was grinning like a fool but he didn't care, how could he when the world's most amazing girl had kissed him merely 5 minutes ago?

He had never thought even in his wildest dreams that simply holding hands with someone could make him so happy or that a kiss could be so perfect. They had not said a word to each other since the kiss and both of them were in their own little worlds.

Percy finally broke the silence because he needed to know if that kiss had meant something to Annabeth or not because it had meant the world to him.

"So, that was interesting" Percy thought that this would be a good conversation starter.

"Interesting in a good way?", asked Annabeth hopefully.

"In the best way!", Percy reassured her quickly.

"Good, because I intend for it to become a frequent action."

Percy's heart almost exploded with joy and excitement so he gave Annabeth the widest smile ever and leaned forward to kiss her again. When their lips touched, Percy felt the feeling of being complete, of being home.

They reached the ice cream shop and Annabeth bought chocolate ice cream while Percy got blueberry. They smiled at each other bashfully, as if they had just met and not known each other for a month. They ended up being corny and fed each other ice cream, while people stared at them adoringly.

"So, when do you have to leave?" Annabeth asked, and took a huge bite of her ice cream.

"In three days. I was about to leave tomorrow after submitting my paper but my friend needs me to cover his shift at the coffee shop in 3 days, so I figured I'll stay here till then." Percy had only accepted the proposition to take the shift because he had wanted to keep Annabeth company while she was staying alone.

"Oh, I see. Can you come to my dorm tomorrow after giving your paper?", Annabeth asked a little shyly.

"Of course!" Percy felt happiness course through his veins. He didn't know what was going to happen in the 2 months they were going to spend apart and that scared him a little so he made a mental note to talk about it the next day with Annabeth.

He dropped her to the dorm and the two of them shared another sweet kiss at the door before saying 'Goodbye' to one another.

Percy couldn't believe that the evening had been reality and was almost convinced that it had been a dream. This was the strongest connection he had felt with a girl in his life so far. Annabeth's persona literally pulled him towards her and made him feel warm and fuzzy.

…

Annabeth's P.O.V.

Annabeth put in some effort while getting ready the next day and waited eagerly for Percy to come. She was sitting on the couch and responding to some emails when she heard a knock. She jumped up immediately and opened the door to find Percy standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"Hi, you look amazing and these are for you." Percy handed Annabeth the flowers.

"Thank you, these are lovely." Annabeth couldn't help herself so she gave a chaste but sweet kiss to Percy.

They were acting a little awkward with each other but Annabeth found it endearing. She had never felt so bubbly and airy before. Percy entered the dorm and sat on the couch, looking pretty nervous.

"I think that there is one thing that we should get out of the way as quickly as possible.", Percy said in one breath.

"What is it?" Annabeth gulped, visibly nervous.

"I like you Annabeth, a lot and I want us to be more than friends. Even though we will be in different cities for some time, I still want us to be together." Percy took Annabeth's hand and looked at her softly.

"I completely agree", she whispered.

"You do?"

Annabeth simply nodded and kissed him again, this time a little deeper. They were about to get lost in their own little world when Annabeth remembered something.

"I need to tell you something. You will be my first 'boyfriend', if that's what you are. I have been on dates and stuff before but I've never had a proper boyfriend. I just never found someone who I thought was worth it before you." Annabeth was rarely insecure but at this point, she really feared that Percy would reject her due to her lack of experience.

"That's fine. I am proud to be your first boyfriend and yes, I am your boyfriend if you would like me to be."

"I would." At that moment, Annabeth knew that kissing Percy had been one of the best decisions she had ever made. She had faith in Piper's and Thalia's opinions about relationships and was glad that she had taken their advice into consideration. She finally felt that she deserved to be happy and she knew that Percy would help her with that.

The two of them curled up on the couch together and hate-watched a cheesy tv show while eating snacks. It was unbelievable how comfortable they became around each other after just one conversation. They were meant for each other and they were both certain about it. They could tell that meeting each other had been their destiny.

In a way, Annabeth was glad that they had been friends first since she had gotten to know a lot about him without the awkwardness of dates. She knew the real him and not some persona he put on to impress girls. She liked him just the way he was

…..

Chapter Text

Annabeth's P.O.V.

Annabeth walked out of the arrivals gate at the airport, thinking about Percy. He had been kind enough to drop her at the airport in the morning by using his stepfather's car. Spending time together as a couple was amazing and the two had never been happier in their entire life. She saw that her mom's driver was there to pick her up and she sat inside the car after greeting him.

She was a little disappointed to see that her mom had not come to pick her up, but she had been expecting it. As the car drove through the city, she checked her email and actually opened Instagram for once. She was a firm believer in the thought that one should not spend a lot of time on social media and only had her account on Instagram because Piper had forced her to use it, insisting that only psychopaths and old people didn't have Instagram accounts.

She absent-mindedly checked her follow requests and saw that she had one from Percy which she quickly accepted and clicked on the follow back button. He instantaneously accepted and she clicked on his profile because well, she was a curious person. He had quite a few posts, most of which were with his friends. Annabeth smiled as she scrolled through his posts when she got a notification for a DM.

Are you stalking me too? -Percy

You know me well enough to know the answer. -Annabeth

Yeah, I guess I do :) -Percy

Have you reached? -Percy

Yeah, I'm in the car rn. -Annabeth

Cool. Will it be weird if I say I miss you? -Percy

No, because I miss you too -Annabeth

I'm very glad about that -Percy

The car stopped at that moment and Annabeth saw that they had reached her mom's house which was a gigantic bungalow that looked very modern and sleek. It was one of the best buildings her mother's firm had designed and Annabeth wished that one day she would be able to create something as unique as that house herself.

She rang the doorbell and the housekeeper, Maria, came to welcome her. She had known Maria since she was a kid and loved her immensely. Annabeth tackled her into a tight hug as soon as she opened the door.

"Hi dear, I missed you.", Maria whispered tearfully.

"Me too", Annabeth said softly as she released Maria from the hug.

"Now come, it's time for lunch.", said Maria, leading Annabeth towards the dining room.

"Where's mom?", enquired Annabeth as she walked.

"Your mother is at a meeting. She said that she'll be home by 9 pm"

"Oh, I see.", Annabeth muttered, hating the pang of disappointment that hit her.

Don't expect anything from mom, you know how that always ends, Annabeth thought to herself.

Annabeth had the most amazing lunch which made her realize how much she had missed home-cooked meals and she went to her bedroom to unpack. Her room still looked the same and barely had any things in it because having a minimalistic room helped her focus. For the first time in a long time, Annabeth had nothing to do which was very unusual for her so she decided to open her laptop and browse on Netflix to see if something caught her attention. Having so many options gave her a headache so she decided to ask for help.

Hey, any Netflix recommendations? -Annabeth

What genre? -piper

Something light and funny – Annabeth

Ooh okay! Watch the good place or Brooklyn 99 or Schitt's creek -piper

Thanks, babe. -Annabeth

Anytime :) -Piper

She spent the next four hours binging schitt's creek and laughing. She didn't really get the chance to watch Netflix a lot because of her workload so she relished the moments when she could just sit back, relax and get engrossed in a completely different world. When she finally closed her laptop, she saw that she had two texts, one from her mom and one from Percy.

I Will come home by 1 am because we are behind on one design. I'll be very tired so we'll meet tomorrow. -Mom

Goodnight wise girl <3 I am thinking of you :) -Percy

Mom is busy, she still cares about you. Be understanding Annabeth, she thought. It was hard for her to keep calm because she couldn't for the life of her understand what kind of mother who hadn't seen her daughter in months wouldn't meet her the day she comes home. So, instead of focussing on her mom's messages, she focused you Percy's. A smile replaced her slight frown when she started thinking about him and how he must be sleeping and probably drooling by that time.

Sleep tight perce. I'm thinking about you and your drooling too <3