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Annabeth, Piper, and Silena were trying to settle on what to do for Piper’s birthday. Needless to say, they found it hard to agree on a suggestion.
“…Aquarium?”
“Are we twelve?”
“Bar hopping?”
“Absolutely not,” Annabeth groaned.
“Please just go, Beth. Pleaseeee! For me,” Piper begged.
“But clubbing is so much more fun.”
“It’s a Thursday,” Silena pointed out.
“Damnit, fine, but this is the last time,” Annabeth relented, accepting defeat. She’d do pretty much anything for Piper, but bar hopping was cutting it close.
People were always so fucking drunk at bars. And not in a fun way; in a “my ex wife ruined my life” and “shit, I forgot a condom, but I can pull out!” way. It was nauseating.
As they boarded their Uber to the first bar, Annabeth couldn’t help but regret their decision more and more with each passing moment.
-
The first bar gave the vibe that it was trying to be much more swanky than it really was. It had one of those walls with a waterfall flowing down it, and blue LED lights that lined the edges of the bar. It felt like they were trying to serve you liquor underwater.
“One round of shots for me and my girls!! And it’s my birthday, so free booze would be much appreciated.” Piper beamed, making the bartender laugh.
Seconds later, a round was served. And then Annabeth was kicking Silena’s ass at darts, with Piper pretending to watch (but really flirting with the bartender, some blonde that looked like a Ken doll.)
Another round.
And another.
And eventually Annabeth couldn’t see straight, and everything became funny, somehow, and Piper made her way to the back with the bartender to do things she could only assume were sinful.
Silena ranted about her boyfriend, and Annabeth was happy to listen, because how could he forget their anniversary! Asshole.
Annabeth soon realized they would be hopping exactly zero bars at this rate, and she certainly couldn’t leave this one with Piper off doing god knows what.
She was stranded.
Just as things were looking beyond bleak, another bartender walked in from the back, and woah.
This guy was everything the other bartender was not. He had dark hair that was swept slightly to the side, making it look like it’d been blown by the wind. He had a five o’clock shadow, and his flannel was rolled up so that his forearms were bare, and holy shit this man was hot.
Annabeth was suddenly much more interested in the aquatic bar. Or more specifically, what was on the other side of it.
-
She acted indifferent. Well, tried to.
She talked about random shit with Silena, but giggled like a schoolgirl when the guy handed them drinks. Smiled so fucking bright when he told them his name. Flushed red when he said her outfit was cute.
And yeah. The alcohol was getting to her. But who cares? Because his name is Percy and he’s fine as hell and she’s into him.
Silena’s giving her this knowing look, and it’s pissing her off. Especially since she never acts this way. She’s never been the type to fawn over guys; she’d always let them come to her and then she’d assess them from there. It’s never like this.
But when he handed her that shot glass and their fingers brushed, she felt like she could die.
Silena excused herself, winking at Annabeth before heading to the bathroom.
Well, shit. Now or never.
“So, do the owners like the sea, or something?” Lame. Damnit, Annabeth, could you be any less interesting?
“Uh, yeah. Well, my dad owns the place, and he used to be a fisherman, so I guess that translated into this,” Percy replied, gesturing to the waterfall detailing.
“Oh, that’s cool. So is this, like, a family owned and operated type thing? Or do you just enjoy working late shifts on Thursdays?”
Percy smiled at her question, and it made her grin.
“Close. Me and my best friend, Jason, are the bartenders. Sometimes my little sister bartends, but she’s only sixteen so she doesn’t do it often.”
“I see. That blonde guy that was back here earlier is Jason, I assume? My friend has taken quite a liking to him.”
“I noticed there was some noise coming from the back, and you’re making me real glad I didn’t check it out.”
They continued talking for a while, laughing at the stupid shit the other was saying, and getting along like they’d known each other for much longer than they had.
Annabeth quit drinking, hoping she’d remember at least a quarter of the night the next morning, and Piper came out of the back with smudged lipstick and an earring missing, Jason in tow.
Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look, and smiled at each other like dorks, and Annabeth paid for the drinks and scheduled an Uber and Percy wrote his number on a napkin and handed it to her.
And even after they left and made their way back to Piper’s apartment, Annabeth just couldn’t stop smiling.
-
Piper and Silena wouldn’t get off her ass about calling him. And she wanted to, yes, but what was she supposed to say? “Hey, it’s Annabeth, that drunk girl that was hitting on you last night. You still interested? ‘Cause she is!” See the issue?
Piper even offered to call for her, but that was a hard no. Especially since Annabeth figured she’d get ‘sidetracked’ and ask Percy for Jason’s number.
It was two days after their bar escapade before Annabeth pulled up the dial screen on her phone. Should she have called yesterday? Probably. But she was too hungover then to get logical thoughts together, and she definitely didn’t want to subject Percy to that.
So she punched the numbers in. And stared at them.
“Just press the damn button, Annabeth. It’s not life or death,” Piper rolled her eyes.
“It kinda is, in a way, though.”
Silena said nothing, she just simply reached over and pressed the call button.
Annabeth felt like a deer in the headlights, panic-striken whilst also trying to glare at Silena. As the dial tone rang out, she was second-guessing this more and more, and she-
“Hello?”
She froze. Tried to calm the fuck down, because why was she so nervous? It’s just a phone call with a boy. She’s gonna be fine.
“Uh, hey! It’s Annabeth, from the bar the other night? You gave me your number.”
“Oh yeah, hey, Annabeth. You and your friends got home okay, right?”
“Yeah, we did- I think Piper might’ve traumatized the Uber driver by almost throwing up in his car, but yeah, we’re okay.”
He laughed. “Speaking of Piper, Jason won’t shut up about her. He’s been going on and on.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Piper grin and punch the air.
“Much the same way on my end.”
The line went silent for a few seconds. Then Percy cleared his throat, and his voice got noticeably quieter when he spoke again. “So… Annabeth. I think you’re really cool, and we seemed to hit it off at the bar the other night. I’m sorry if I’m overstepping at all, but would you want to get coffee sometime?”
Annabeth flushed as red as a damn tomato. Silena and Piper were losing their minds, because cute!
“That sounds great, Percy. I’ll text you the details.”
“Awesome. Nice talking to you, Beth,” He hung up. She screamed into her pillow.
“OH MY GOD YOU DID IT! YOU ACTUALLY DID IT!!!” Piper yelled, jumping on top of Annabeth.
“We’re so proud,” Silena sighed, acting like a mother at their child’s graduation.
“I’ll get you Jason’s number, Pipes.”
“Annabeth, you’re literally my favorite person in the world, I hope you know that.”