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“Silena, my boobs are going to fall out of this dress.” When Silena had first revealed her outfit for the premiere, Annabeth had been riddled with uncertainty and self-consciousness. It was a lot more revealing than anything she’d ever worn—she hardly considered herself confident enough to pull off wearing something like that. But Silena was as charming as ever and pleaded until Annabeth had reluctantly agreed. And here she was.
The raven-haired girl sighed, rolling her eyes. “Babe, you gotta trust the process. And the tape.”
“I better not see my tits on TMZ tomorrow,” she grumbled under her breath.
“Relax. It took a lot of work but they’re secure.”
“They better be. It would be so embarrassing to suffer a wardrobe malfunction this early in my career.”
“Well, you have the best stylist in the business so it’s not going to happen.”
“I know, I love you,” Annabeth rose slightly out of her seat to press a quick kiss to Silena’s cheek. If Annabeth noticed the way the brunette’s cheeks colored, she didn’t say anything.
Silena cleared her throat and averted her eyes, struggling to regain her cool composure. “Anyway, here’s the clutch to go with it. You can fit your phone, some chapstick, and a flask with room to spare.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a flask. I’m 18.”
Silena shrugged, “Just in case. These things can get boring.” She turned on her heel and called for her sister. “Drew! I need you to fix her lipstick. Annabeth, put the drink down.”
“I’m thirsty!” the blonde whined.
“Then waterfall.”
“I might spill on my dress!”
“Oh my god, no you won’t, just be careful. Drew! Where are you?”
“Sorry, sorry, I’m here,” Drew apologized, hurrying back, something in hand. “Okay chin up, babe,” she said, holding Annabeth’s face with one hand and carefully fixing her makeup with the other.
“What’s that?” Annabeth asked, glancing at the object Drew had put down out of the corner of her eye.
“A little something to pull the whole look together.” Drew let go of Annabeth’s face and reached behind her to pick up a beautifully delicate golden laurel wreath. She gently placed it on the crown of her head, careful to not mess up the complicated half-up, half-down hairstyle in place. The sisters stepped back to appraise her and turned to each other grinning. “Wow. We did good. You’re drop-dead gorgeous. If I weren’t taken I would totally date you,” Drew said, seriously.
They definitely had inherited their mother’s talent. As the daughters of the fashion industry’s most prized designer, Silena and Drew had a big name to live up to. The girls were only 19—call it nepotism or call it talent, but they had already worked their way into glamming high-profile clients like Annabeth. Annabeth couldn’t deny they’d done a stunning job. She felt pretty for once.
“I love you guys. Thank you,” she said, sincerely.
“Anytime, babe. Now please don’t cry or you’re going to ruin my hard work.”
——
He felt his heart crawl into his throat as his searching eyes landed on her figure. There she was, on the red carpet in all her glory. She was radiant, all the cameras drawn to her to beauty. Her dress...her dress. Percy was sure she was trying to murder him right there on the red carpet itself—his throat was drying quickly and his palms were sweating. It was a lot more revealing than he was expecting—a Grecian-inspired dress with no real neckline, plenty of chest and midriff on display, two slits that ran up each leg, letting the alluring skin peek out from beneath. He was careful to not let his eyes drift downward in front of all the cameras, but if they did, it wasn’t his fault. He knew she was deliberately teasing him. There was no way she would've agreed to wear an outfit like that otherwise. Golden laurel adorned her pretty blonde curls, matching the golden leaves decorating the waistband of her gown.
His heart churned in inner turmoil; half of him fought the urge to avert his eyes in deference—he felt undeserving of even looking at her beauty—and the other half of him couldn’t peel his eyes from her if he tried, her aura magnetic enough to compel those with the strongest of wills. Here was this absolute goddess of a woman and against all odds, despite the sheer number of talented, charming people in their business vying for her attention, she had chosen him . Next time someone called him a talentless hack, he knew that that was the first card he was going to pull out.
His head was swimming from the cacophony of cameramen on the sidelines—“Miss Chase, this way, please!” and “Annabeth, look here!” —but she maintained her collected demeanor, just like she’d been trained to from a young age. He envied her ability to remain unfazed, but he didn't envy the attention she received. Percy noted the way Connor's eyes burned into her skin, appreciative and hungry, and fought back the urge to deck the boy in the face, fists clenched in bitter envy. He closed his eyes and swallowed, trying to make it through the night.
——
“Do you have any idea how gorgeous you look right now. Because I think I’m five seconds away from fainting.”
“Please don’t. The last thing I want to do is drag a body out of here,” she teased, but he could tell by the blush spreading down to the exposed skin of her chest, she was pleased by his reaction.
He grabbed her by her waist, the warmth of his hands searing into her bare skin, and pulled her to his lips. It was dizzying and intoxicating, the faint vanilla of her chapstick on his tongue, the rosy aroma of her perfume and the lemony scent of her hair clouding his mind. Kissing her was so deliciously debilitating. She finally pulled back after a moment that had seemed infinitesimal and eternal all at once, and they gazed into each other’s eyes, chests rising and falling with labored breaths. Both their eyes were hooded with lust, desire running at an all-time high, the fact that he couldn’t just take her right then and there—or escape this suffocating function with her—a very specific, excruciating kind of torture. He could count her eyelashes from this close, the dark hairs of her eyebrows, every contour of her ethereal visage. “I love you,” he whispered into the silence.
Her face relaxed into a gentle smile and she leaned forward to kiss the dopey look on his face. “I love you. But right now, I just want to love you. You have no idea how hard it was to keep a straight face out there when I saw you in this fucking suit. It’s criminal, really. I need to have a talk with your stylist."
He groaned, head falling into her chest. “Don’t tempt me. You have no idea how much I want to rip that dress right off of you.”
“I thought you liked the dress,” she smirked, carding her fingers gently through his hair, careful not to displace the curls too much.
“I love it. But I’d love it even more on the bedroom floor.”
She groaned, hitting his chest. “You did not just use that line on me.”
He chuckled, grabbing her hand and resting their conjoined hands above his thrumming heart. “You set it up so well.”
She sighed, a little wistfully, leaning her head on his chest this time. “I just wish I just could hug you and kiss you and hold your hand in front of everyone. Without sneaking off to a random bathroom or worrying about getting caught.”
He wrapped his arms around her in understanding, tucking her head right beneath his chin, fingers threading through her curls. “Seeing you in that dress…seeing you in general when we’re in public tests my willpower so fucking much. We don’t have to keep it a secret, princess,” he reminded her, pressing a warm, reassuring kiss to her forehead. “It’s up to you. We tell everyone and suddenly it’s not just our thing anymore, it’s theirs too. But it would mean not having to hide what we have.”
She hummed against his neck, pressing a soft kiss to the column of his throat and his chest rumbled in satisfaction. “I know. As hard as it is, I do want our relationship to be for just us. I don’t want people inserting themselves into our business, with tabloids releasing breakup or engagement speculations every week. I don’t know. It’s just so frustrating.”
His hands moved to her back, rubbing up and down her skin in understanding. “I know, baby, I know. I do want the world to know your mine. Especially that fuck Connor with the way he was staring at your boobs earlier—“
“He was not staring at my chest.”
“Oh, he so was. Son of a bitch didn’t even bother hiding it.”
“Well, if I recall correctly, you didn’t either,” she said pointedly, a knowing look in her eyes.
His face flushed against his will. “I’m your boyfriend. He’s your kind-of ex. He has no right to be looking at you like that.”
“You’re cute when you're jealous,” she grinned, dimples pressing into her cheeks as she looked up at him.
“I’m not—”
She surged up and silenced him with her lips. He didn’t complain; it was, after all, his favorite way to be told to shut up.
Annabeth pried her lips away with much effort, pulling her head back as he tried to chase her lips with his. He pouted and she rolled her eyes, hiding a smile.
“Anyway,” he continued, “as I was saying, I want everyone to know you’re my girl. But if the violation of privacy that comes with that makes you uncomfortable, there’s no pressure. We can tell people on our own time, okay? The only thing that matters is what you want.”
“What about what you want?”
“I want what you want,” he said simply, like it was obvious.
She fell to his chest again, groaning, “You being sweet isn’t helping my self-restraint. Like, at all.”
Her words reawakened that familiar rush of desire that coursed through his veins. “Oh?”
“Mhmm,” she hummed, nose tracing the sharp cut of his jaw before placing a whisper of a kiss in his sweet spot. “I want to rip your suit off of you as much you want to tear this dress off of me.” He felt her hot breath in his head and he groaned in approval, hands tracing down her the curves and muscles of her body to her ass. He hoisted her up onto the vanity with minimal effort and caught the small gasp she let out with his lips. One palm caressed the smooth, tan skin of her legs revealed by the slits in her dress. The right sleeve was dangerously close to slipping off and exposing her chest to the cold of the bathroom air. The heat of his hands trailed dangerously high up her skirt as he captured her waiting lips in his eagerly. Her fingers played with the silky black tie, tugging him closer, one hand leaving his chest to grip at his hair. He moaned into her mouth as she gently pulled at it, and he lifted her legs to wrap them around his waist. His hand crept higher and higher—
The door sprung open and the pair broke apart in shock. Percy heaved a sigh of relief when he saw who it was.
“It’s been ten minutes! You said five! People are getting suspicious. I’ve been standing by the door telling anybody that wanted to go in ‘Sorry, my friend’s having some bad diarrhea. It reeks in there. I think it was the detox tea she drank this morning.’”
Annabeth stifled a laughed, leaning into Percy’s chest. “We’re sorry. We just needed a moment.”
“Yeah, clearly. You were about two seconds from having sex when I walked in. Thank god I interrupted when I did.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes, “We weren’t going to—”
“Annabeth, his hands were all the way under your skirt. I don’t want to know where, but—”
“Oh my god, Piper! We’re sorry. Thank you for covering for us. I’ll make it up to you.” Annabeth hopped off the counter and smoothed her dress down, forcing Percy to back up.
“You two look so suspicious right now,” Piper hissed, grabbing Annabeth’s hand. “Percy, you idiot. Silena and Drew aren’t even here. We can’t even fix her hair and makeup.”
“I didn’t mess it up that bad,” he defended.
“Your hands or lips touch her one more time and you’re dead, Jackson,” Piper threatened, wagging a finger at his mildly amused face.
“Then consider me a dead man,” he yelled, a little too loudly as Piper shoved him out the bathroom and slammed the door shut in his face, pulling Annabeth along to get her appearance in place.
——
They lay on the couch, nestled comfortably against each other, synchronized breaths, fingers playing with each other’s hair, kisses exchanged every now and then, slow and sweet.
Percy hummed, deep in thought. “Why don’t we just...rip the band-aid off? People will get bored of us eventually and we can just be together in peace. Right?” he asked, as if they didn’t have this discussion every other day.
“Mmm...that does sound nice. It’d be pretty suffocating at first, I think. But I hope it’d die down within a few months. Plus I'm not opposed to showing the world you’re mine. Do you know how many thirst tweets about you I come across everyday?” she whined.
He laughed at her tone and pulled her closer into his chest. “You say that like you don't have a whole army of people tripping over themselves to get your attention. And I don't just mean normal people. I mean, like, actual famous people.”
She laughed, pecking his cheek in consolation. “Are you still pissy over Connor at the premiere?”
“God, don’t remind me. I love the guy, but I wanted to deck him so hard for the way he was staring at you. Or where he was staring.”
“Relax," she soothed. "It's not like that.”
Percy rolled his eyes. “I swear, you’re more oblivious than I am sometimes.” He squeaked as she punched his side in retaliation. “Didn’t that one shitty Soundcloud rapper confess his love for you?”
Annabeth winced and Percy chuckled, taking in her expression. “Yeah...Scar Face or whatever. That was a little strange. Can’t say he’s my type.”
Percy quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? And what is your type, exactly?”
“Um, minus the Soundcloud rapper bit, I’d still have to say blonde hair, blue eyes, the whole sheba—Hey!” she cut off, when he shoved her shoulder in mock offense.
He pouted, flashing her those stupidly adorable baby seal eyes he knew she had a hard time resisting. “Is that really your type?”
Annabeth rolled her eyes, flicking his chest playfully. “Yes. That’s why my boyfriend looks the exact opposite. I purposely fell in love with a guy I wasn’t attracted to in the slightest. For spice.”
“That sucks, I’m sorry,” he said, straight-faced. She burst into a fit of giggles and collapsed into his embrace and he smiled under her. A comfortable silence replaced her laughter as it died down and she pressed a grin into the column of his throat. “I love you,” she whispered into his warm skin, like it was a secret meant for the two of them. Maybe it was, a little bit.
“Even though I don’t have blond hair and blue eyes?”
Annabeth lifted her head off of him to shove his shoulder. “Shut up,” she whined, settling back into his warmth.
“I love you more,” he mumbled into the top of her curls, holding her body tightly to his, the heat of her frame seeping into his, love setting his skin alight everywhere they touched.
“Stop trying to outshine me,” she huffed. “I already get enough of that on set.”
Percy choked out a surprised laugh. “I do not try to outshine you on set. I couldn’t hold a candle to your talent if I tried.”
“Now you’re just kissing up to me.”
“I’m just telling the truth,” he laughed, tilting his chin to kiss her forehead.
“I’d prefer it if you actually kissed me.”
“Yeah?” His arms that were wrapped around her tightened their grip and he shifted her body upward, grunting with effort. “Who am I to say no to Annabeth Chase, three-time Golden Globe nomin—”
“Shut the fuck up,” she interrupted, softly laughing into his mouth. She slotted her lips between his, catching him in a firm kiss, body molding to his. He was hyper-aware of every place his skin made contact with hers and suddenly all his senses were overwhelmed with the feeling of her. The electricity of her touch, the intoxicating nature of her scent, the endless sweetness of her taste, the beautiful sound of her laughter ringing in his ears, and the absolute vision of her on top of him, blessing his undeserving eyes. He was one lucky piece of shit. He was suddenly really glad his agent had pushed him to broaden his career. She was a more beautiful gift than any Golden Globe, BAFTA, Oscar—you name it—he could get for his role in this film. She was a star in every sense of the word—a brilliant talent to the industry, a kind-hearted role model to younger girls, a beacon of hope, a guiding light home to him. This star—this absolute gem of a woman shining amongst the city’s bleak night sky—wasn’t burning out anytime soon. She could be his secret for now.