Tuesday
Despite what other people think, Percy thought that social media was quite possibly the best thing to ever happen to humanity. Aside from it being his favorite distraction when he didn’t want to do homework, which was most times, it was also where he’d met his best friend. Who just so happened to live on the complete other side of the country.
Honestly, he was surprised Annabeth had even become his friend. Pictures she’d posted had somehow blessed his Twitter timeline and God, she was beautiful. And it may have led to Percy going through her tweets. And maybe her Instagram. But in doing so, he found out she was a huge Greek mythology nerd, much like himself.
So he went out on a limb and DMed her about why she thought Athena was the best of the twelve Olympians (when it was clearly Poseidon). It ended in a full-on debate that Percy still laughed about whenever he thought of it. Annabeth still claims she won the debate. She didn’t, but he’ll let her believe she did.
And despite arguing with him for a solid hour, Annabeth miraculously wanted to be his friend. And now, six months later, she was his best friend. Oh, and also his crush. But she didn’t need to know that part.
"What are you working on now?” Annabeth asked, not looking up from her notes. Percy blinked, looking away from his laptop where he’d definitely not been staring at the way Annabeth’s curls were falling out of her loose bun, and her pale blue hoodie contrasted with her tan skin.
"Uh,” he looked at his textbook for a second, "I have no idea.”
She chuckled and put down her pencil, looking at him through Skype. "What’s the subject, big brain?”
"Chemistry.”
"Okay,” she said, tilting her head. Her bun flopped sideways and Percy tried not to stare again. "What’s the unit on?”
"Um…” his eyes searched the page, looking for some keyword that would indicate what he was looking at. "Kinetic energy?” he said slowly.
Annabeth was silent for a second. Then, "Are you sure you’re in twelfth grade? We learned about kinetic energy, like, three years ago.”
Percy scoffed. "Maybe we’re just slower in New York,” he shrugged, finally picking up his pencil to write out the questions he needed to answer.
"Maybe you’re just slow.”
He glanced up at her, unimpressed. The bright smile on her face kind of made up for it, but he didn’t let that show.
"Come on,” she said, laughing, “you walked right into that one!”
Percy shook his head, still writing. "Why do I put up with you?”
"Because you love me,” she sang.
You have no idea, he wanted to say. Instead, he said, "Mm, only during business hours, sorry.”
"Do business hours include weekends?” she asked. There was a change in the tone of her voice, but Percy just prepared himself for another joke.
"Nope.”
"Hmm,” she hummed, “so, I guess I should tell my dad to cancel my flight on Friday to New York?”
Percy’s pencil froze and his eyes snapped up to his screen. Annabeth was trying and failing to hold back a smile.
"What?”
She shrugged nonchalantly. The way she was beaming counteracted how casual she was pretending to be about this. "Yeah, he booked a flight today for me to go to New York for the weekend,” she said, excitement creeping into her voice. "I have this friend who lives there, but apparently he doesn’t love me on weekends so...”
“Annabeth Chase, shut up,” Percy said in awe, “are you being serious?”
She bit her lip and nodded slowly. "I remember you saying you finally had a free weekend without swim practice,” she explained quietly, a sudden hesitancy appearing in her expression, “so, I asked my dad if I could surprise you and go to New York for the weekend.”
Percy blinked, trying to comprehend what she was saying. Annabeth was coming to New York. She was coming to see him.
"Is that… okay?” she whispered, slouching back in her desk chair.
"Um, duh,” he said incredulously. "Of- of course, it’s okay? Better than okay. You’re- oh my God.”
The smile returned to Annabeth’s face. "I’m missing school Friday to leave at 9 am, my time, and I should be in New York at, like 5:30 pm, your time.”
Percy’s cheeks hurt from smiling. "Oh my God,” he whispered, “that’s three days from now.”
Annabeth nodded. "Also,” she said quickly, “maybe, real quick, go check with your mom? You know, it’s kinda her house and I'd prefer to… stay with you and not in a hotel.”
"Of course, you would stay here, idiot,” he said, rolling his eyes. Then he pushed back from his desk. "Stay here, I'm gonna go talk to her.”
"Okay,” she said, but Percy was already halfway down the hall.
"Moooom,” he drew out, rushing down the stairs and into the living room. Sally was sitting on the couch with her five-year-old daughter, Estelle. She looked up as Percy entered the room.
"Yes?”
"So,” Percy said, smiling widely with his hands clasped together in front of him. Sally already looked skeptical. "You know Annabeth?”
Sally had met Annabeth countless times over Skype and she absolutely loved her. "Yes…” she said hesitantly, “what about her?”
"Well, she’s flying to New York on Friday and I wanted to know if it was okay if she stayed with us for the weekend?”
Sally’s eyes lit up. "Of course! That’s so exciting!”
Percy resisted the urge to literally jump with excitement. "I know, she just told me! Okay, she’s waiting for me. She wanted to make sure it was okay with you that she stayed here.”
"Tell her I can’t wait to meet her!” Sally called as Percy bolted back up to his room. Annabeth was writing notes but her head snapped up when Percy sat in his chair again.
"She said you are absolutely allowed to stay here and she’d very excited to meet you.”
Annabeth’s face lit up and Percy wondered if she felt just as giddy as he did. "Holy sh*t,” she whispered, “we’re actually going to meet. Three days.”
"Three days,” Percy whispered back.
Wednesday
Those three days were quite possibly the longest three days of his life. It had been a Tuesday when she told him she was coming, so the next day was spent deep cleaning his room the minute he got home from school. Annabeth knew he was messy, she’d seen his room on Skype and FaceTime nearly every day for the past six months. But he didn’t want to seem like a total slob when she was here.
"Two days!” was the first thing she said when he picked up her call.
"Two days!” he agreed.
"You better have a good weekend planned,” she smiled. His mind blanked and it must’ve shown on his face because she laughed. "I’m kidding, genius. Although, I really wanna see the Empire State Building. So I hope we can at least do that.”
"Yeah, yeah,” he rolled his eyes fondly, “we get it, you like buildings.”
She scoffed lightly and Percy instantly started looking up tickets to be able to go up to the top of the Empire State Building. He couldn’t deny her anything.
"Is it… cold there right now?” she asked. Percy bit back a smile. He knew from her Instagram that Annabeth practically lived in skirts. Which he loved.
"It’s not hot or anything,” he shrugged, "but it’s nice. You have a weather app, you know?”
"Shut up.”
Silently, they both began their homework. For Percy, school ended four hours ago but he usually waited until Annabeth was home and on Skype so they could do it together. He had just finished his draft for his English essay when he glanced up to find Annabeth distractedly staring into space with a smile.
"What?” he asked, bringing her attention back to him. Her smile turned shy.
"Nothing. Just,” she shrugged lightly, “two days.”
Percy’s heart jumped. "Two days,” he agreed.
Thursday
The next day, halfway through his second class of the day like always, Annabeth texted him.
From: Annabeth
PERCY
TOMORROW
LIKE 32 HOURS
He read the five words and was suddenly hit with the realization that not only would he be meeting his best friend, he’d also be meeting the girl he liked. It was hard enough for him to keep himself from staring at her over Skype, how was he meant to handle seeing her in person? How was he meant to spend 48 hours with her without doing something stupid like confessing his love to her?
Regardless of the thoughts running rampant in his head, he replied to her.
From: Percy
I KNOW
!!!!
For the rest of the day, his body ran on autopilot because his mind was elsewhere. It wasn’t until his last class of the day when someone finally snapped him out of whatever trance-like state he was in.
“Percy!” Grover hissed. "What’s up with you?”
“Annabeth is coming to New York tomorrow. She’s staying the weekend with me." He couldn’t help but smile. He was so nervous but God, he was so excited. Grover’s face lit up with happiness.
"Holy sh*t, dude,” he said, “that’s so cool!”
Percy nodded, his smile dropping a little. Grover noticed.
"That is cool… right?” he asked hesitantly. Percy nodded quickly.
"It is. I'm so excited,” he said truthfully. Because he really was excited. "But I'm nervous. I like her. Like, I like her so much. And I don’t wanna end up doing something stupid.”
Grover nodded sympathetically. "And you don’t know if she likes you?” he asked. Percy shook his head. He’d always wondered. He’d always hoped. But as far as he knew, Annabeth felt nothing more than platonic feelings for him. And that was fine, seeing as he only ever saw her through a screen and it was easy to hide how he felt. But tomorrow…
"It’ll be okay,” Grover said, pushing his shoulder lightly to shake Percy out of his thoughts. "You won’t do anything stupid. Regardless of whether it’s through a screen or in person, she’s your best friend.”
Percy nodded. The bell rang and it was like his body shifted right back into autopilot, and before he knew it, he was home. His room was clean, the tickets for the Empire State Building were bought, there was a deflated air mattress rolled up for tomorrow in his room along with blankets and a pillow for her. Everything was set up for her. And up until now, all of this had excited him to no end.
So why was he suddenly so nervous? Was she this nervous?
When they got on Skype hours later, he couldn’t hide his anxiety in the slightest.
“TOMORROW!” she half-shouted, a giant smile on her face.
"Tomorrow,” he agreed, smiling just as widely. But his voice was off and she caught it immediately. Her smile dropped and her eyebrows furrowed together.
"What… what’s wrong?” she asked quietly. Percy bit his lip.
"Are you… nervous about tomorrow at all?” he asked quietly. "I’m beyond excited, don’t get me wrong. But, I don’t know, I feel anxious about it, too.”
Annabeth smiled softly, tilting her head. Percy nearly averted his eyes because she was so pretty and he was going to fall in love with her or something if she kept looking that pretty. If he wasn’t already in love.
"Yeah,” she answered, "I’m nervous. I keep thinking you’re not going to like me as much in person or something.”
Percy almost laughed. His issue was that he was going to like her too much in person. "How could I not like you?” he asked, smiling. "Unless this is all CGI and you’re going to catfish me.”
As he’d hoped, the joke made her laugh. "No catfishing, I promise,” she smiled. God, maybe he was in love. The thought of already being in love with her struck him and he immediately stored it for later when he was laying in bed and could think about it without her eyes on him.
"But I don’t know,” she shrugged. "Maybe I won’t be what you expect. Or I'll be boring or something.” Her voice was quiet and shy and he wanted to hug her already.
"Yeah, right,” he said, “you won’t be boring. At least not any more than you already are.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes, her lips turning upwards just a bit. "Shut up.”
Percy glanced at the clock and smiled. "Hey,” he said quietly.
"Hm?”
“24 hours.”
He watched as her eyes flicked down to the corner of her laptop screen and her smile grew. “24 hours,” she agreed.
Friday
It was Friday and Percy absolutely could not concentrate. It was noon, meaning Annabeth was boarding her flight right now. Meaning he was five and a half hours away from meeting her. From seeing her. From hugging her. He couldn’t sit still in his chair.
Time didn’t feel real as the hours and minutes ticked away. He was in school, then he was home, then he was rushing through his homework so it would be done (though he only got through one assignment,) then he was in his car driving to the airport. All of it felt like a blur until his phone buzzed while he waited impatiently near the baggage claim, where he’d been waiting 25 minutes earlier than her arrival time.
From: Annabeth
percy jackson
From: Percy
annabeth chase
From: Annabeth
we’re pulling up to the gate as we speak
From: Percy
are you sure you’re not catfishing me? now’s the time to say it
From: Annabeth
no catfishing
From: Percy
so i should expect to see my pretty blonde best friend?
From: Annabeth
aw u think im pretty<3
From: Percy
nvm im going home
From: Annabeth
shut up
im off the plane !!
Percy’s head whipped up, instantly looking around. The airport was crowded and after a moment, he could see a new wave of people exiting the gates. His eyes searched frantically, looking for the golden curls he loved so much. His heart was racing and every nerve in his body tingled with excitement. Any anxiety was seemingly gone.
He saw Annabeth before she saw him.
She was in one of her adorable skirts and she had a smile on her face, her eyes searching just as wildly as his had been. She was maybe 20 feet away when she finally saw him. She stopped walking for a brief second and her smile got even bigger.
Oh, he was definitely in love.
As if having some unspoken agreement, they rushed towards each other at the same time.
And then they were hugging. She threw her arms around his neck while his went around her waist. "Oh my God,” Percy muttered before he could stop himself, “you’re, like, real.” Annabeth laughed in disbelief as she held him tight.
"Told you I wasn’t a catfish,” she said. Her curls were in a ponytail and he could smell the lemon scent of her shampoo. He felt the quick rise and fall of her chest as she caught her breath.
Percy pulled back a little and looked at her. Her smile was blinding and her eyes were bright and alive. Up close like this, he could see every detail Skype didn’t allow him to see. Her gray eyes had a slight blue tint and she had freckles across her nose. She was beautiful.
"Hi,” he said stupidly, making her laugh again.
"Hi,” she replied.
"This is kinda crazy.”
Her smile somehow brightened even more. "A little.”
They pulled away from their hug entirely and Percy nodded to where the bags from her plane were appearing on the conveyor belt. "Let’s get your bag and go?” he suggested. Annabeth nodded.
They found her bag quickly and Percy led her to his car. It was silent for about ten awkward seconds before Annabeth said, "Some brat was kicking my chair for almost five hours straight.”
Percy laughed, unlocking his car and opening the back door for her small suitcase. She climbed into the passenger seat after and by the time Percy was in the driver seat, Annabeth had already plugged the aux cord into her phone and was patiently waiting for him. He looked at her incredulously.
"You’ve been here for five minutes and you already stole my radio?”
"Yep,” she smiled. Percy rolled his eyes but his heart swelled at how comfortable she already was. As he started his car, Percy was sure that all the music she picked was purely to annoy him. They talked idly about nothing in particular like they always did, and Percy wasn’t sure why he ever felt anxious to begin with.
They were halfway home when Annabeth abruptly said, "Wait, I'm about to meet your mom.” Percy’s eyebrows furrowed at her apprehensive tone.
"Yeah…” he said slowly, “you’ve already met her a million times, though.”
"Yeah, but I'm about to meet her in person.”
"She already loves you, you know?” he said softly, trying to reassure her.
"Yeah,” she said before shifting uncomfortably. "I wonder if this is, like, how girlfriends feel when they meet their boyfriend’s parents for the first time.”
Percy nearly choked at the statement. It was so offhanded and… weird. and it made his heart ache just a tiny bit.
"Um, probably not exactly like that, no…” he said. Becauseyou aren’t my girlfriend, his brain reminded him.
"Well, yeah,” she rolled her eyes, "but I just mean, like, meeting the parents of someone important to you, you know?”
He bit back a smile. "Aw, I'm important to you,” he gushed dramatically. Annabeth chuckled and shoved his shoulder.
"Actually, Estelle is important to me. I'm meeting Estelle’s mom. Who are you again?” Annabeth had met his little sister a few times over Skype, as well, and Estelle thought Annabeth was just the coolest person ever. She was probably just as excited about Annabeth visiting as Percy was.
"I will kick you out of this car.”
"You would never.”
"Don’t push your luck, Chase.”
Annabeth laughed and changed the song, finally to something that wasn’t purposefully annoying. They were silent for a moment before Percy said, "She really will love you. You have no reason to worry.”
When Annabeth didn’t reply, he glanced over at her briefly. She had a soft smile on her face and she was studying him with a dazed expression. Percy instantly forced his eyes back to the road. She was so pretty, it was unfair.
The rest of the drive was fairly silent save for Annabeth’s kind of bad music. They weren’t in the city by any means, but her eyes were drawn to the buildings around them. A few times, Percy risked a glance over. Her eyes were wide and she looked like a kid in a candy store. Because of buildings. God, he was stupidly in love with her.
When they pulled into his driveway, Annabeth seemed excited now, like her anxiety had seemingly vanished. She got out of the car and grabbed her suitcase while Percy waited for her on the walkway up to the house. When she caught up to him, her hand slipped into his and Percy was grateful for the setting sun to hide his blush. He led her up the porch and pushed the door open.
“Percy?” his mom called when the door closed.
"Yeah,” he replied. Then he looked at Annabeth, who was smiling so widely and she hadn’t even met Sally yet. "You can leave your suitcase here for now.”
Annabeth nodded, letting go of the handle, and Percy led her down the hall and into the kitchen. Sally was putting away leftovers from dinner while Paul sat on the stool at the island with Estelle in his lap. His sister was the first to react.
“Annabeth!” she squealed, wiggling out of her father’s arms and wobbling across the floor quickly. Annabeth dropped Percy’s hand and squatted down to Estelle’s height. The toddler threw her arms around Annabeth’s neck.
"Hi, Stella,” Annabeth said happily, picking her up. Like a koala, Estelle wrapped all four limbs around Annabeth’s body. The sight was so adorable, Percy had to look away. Sally was beaming as she walked around the counter.
"It’s so nice to meet you, Annabeth,” she said, pulling her into a short hug as best she could with Estelle in the way.
"You, too!” Annabeth said. "Thank you for letting me stay here for the weekend!”
"Of course!” Sally exclaimed. She carefully extracted Estelle from Annabeth’s arms. "Come on, monkey. Let her breathe. Annabeth, are you hungry? I ordered pizza earlier.”
"Oh, I ate on the plane. Thank you, though,” she said sweetly. Then she turned her head to Paul, waving. "Hi, Mr. Blofis. It’s really great to meet you,” she said, a bit shyer. She’d only met Paul over Skype once or twice.
"Oh, please. Call me Paul,” he assured her. "It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Before anything else could be said, Percy interrupted. "Okay, it’s been fun. We’ll be going upstairs now,” he said with a smile. He really wanted to spend as much time as possible with only Annabeth. He took her hand again, ready to bolt up the stairs.
“Percy,” his mom said before he could take more than two steps. "Can I talk to you for one second?”
He held back a sigh and let go of Annabeth’s hand. "My room is the one with the ‘P’ on the door,” he said. "You can go up and I'll be there in a second.”
"Okay,” she said with a small smile. After giving a quick wave to his family, she trailed back down the hall. Percy turned his attention to his mom, who had a knowing look on her face.
Paul took his queue to stand up and throw Estelle over his shoulder, resulting in a fit of giggles from the girl. "Let’s go monster, it’s bath time.”
Once he was gone, Percy sat on the bar stool Paul had been sitting on and looked at his mom. She smiled softly. "She’s very pretty.”
Percy blinked. "Um… yes? Why is that… relevant?” he asked hesitantly.
"Honey,” Sally said sympathetically, leaning her elbows on the counter, “you’re really not subtle. You guys were standing here for three minutes and you were looking at her like a lovesick puppy the entire time.”
Percy’s cheeks flushed and he averted his eyes. "Yeah,” he muttered, not even trying to deny it.
"I’m going to ask this once and I want an honest answer,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her. Percy looked back up at her. "You two are just friends, right?”
Percy almost laughed. Instead, his cheeks flushed darker pink and he nodded. "Yeah,” he whispered. Even in his own ears, it was pathetic how upset he sounded over that answer.
"Okay,” she nodded, smiling a bit. "I just wanted to check since, you know, you’ll be sleeping in the same room and all-”
"Mom,” Percy groaned, standing up. "You have literally nothing to worry about. She’s-” he sighed, his voice dropping again, “we’re friends. That’s all.”
"Okay, honey,” his mom said quietly, giving him another sympathetic look. Percy called out a brief goodbye as he rushed down the hall and bounded up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. His door was open and Annabeth was sitting in his desk chair. She smiled when he came in.
"Kinda weird that this is where you sit when we Skype,” she said. "And now I'm sitting here.”
"Super weird,” he agreed, tossing himself on his bed and laying on his stomach with his elbows propping him up to look at her.
"What did your mom want?” she asked, tilting her head. Percy felt his cheeks heat up again.
"She wanted to make sure we were actually just friends since we’ll be sleeping in the same room.”
Annabeth barked out a laugh. Her cheeks tinted the slightest bit pink too. "I guess I expected that,” she shrugged.
Percy’s eyebrows shot up. "Really?”
"I mean… yes?” she said, looking a little confused. "We’re teenagers.”
Her explanation was simple and Percy shrugged. "I guess,” he said. "I just never expected her to ask about it, considering it’s you.”
“What do you mean?”
"I mean a) you’re my best friend,” he said, only letting the truth of the statement sting a tiny bit. "And b) the first thing she said when you went upstairs was that you were pretty so she knows you’re out of my league anyway.”
Annabeth blinked. "She said I was pretty?” she asked with a confused look on her face. Percy just nodded, unsure of where this was going. She blinked again, staring at him. "And are you saying she thinks I'm... out of your league or that you think I'm out of your league?”
Percy felt like he walked into some sort of trap. "Uh,” he said, "both?”
She studied him with an expression he couldn’t read. Finally, she just said, "Interesting." Then she stood up and moved on like the conversation never happened. "Where’s your bathroom? I need to change out of this skirt.”
"Right across the hall,” he answered, still lost.
Interesting? Did she agree? Disagree? Did she think she wasn’t out of his league? Surely, that wasn’t it. Because surely, even she knew that she absolutely was. But honestly, Percy wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer. So when she came back into the room, he dropped it completely.
"Wanna watch a movie?” he asked. Annabeth blinked, maybe surprised that he’d actually moved on, before smiling and nodding. He scooted over in his bed, opening his laptop. Without hesitation, she crawled in next to him and sat so close that her arm was pressed firmly against his. Percy pulled up Disney+ and started the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast.
Annabeth’s face lit up. "You remembered,” she said quietly, pushing her shoulder against his lightly. Beauty and the Beast was her favorite Disney movie and a month ago, the new version was added to Disney+. Annabeth had convinced Percy to watch it with her over Skype sometime but they never got around to it so once he’d learned she was visiting, he’d planned to watch it with her here.
"Here,” he said, shifting the laptop onto her thighs. "Let me change and turn off the light.”
He crawled off the bed and grabbed a change of clothes before traveling across the hall to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth first and then began to change. Instantly, he realized he’d only grabbed sweatpants and no change of shirt. He stripped out of his jeans and slid on the black sweatpants before padding back to his room. He tossed his jeans in the hamper and walked over to his dresser.
"I left to change and then literally forgot a shirt,” he said, making Annabeth chuckle.
"You have such a big brain,” she said.
"Mhm,” he hummed. "I know, right?” He turned his back to her and quickly changed shirts, tossing on an old Disney World shirt his friend Hazel had gotten him when she went last year. As he flipped the light switch off, he hesitated briefly before shutting the door. Hopefully, his mom wasn’t going to be so strict that he had to keep the door open while she was in his room.
He turned and crawled back into his bed. He idly remembered that they’d need to blow up the air mattress at some point, but the thought disappeared instantly when Annabeth locked her arm around his and leaned against him.
It wasn’t weird, obviously. She was his best friend, he knew her like the back of his hand. But still, this was the first time they’d physically been around each other, and knowing her, he hadn’t expected her to be so… touchy. He had no complaints, though.
They watched in silence until the first song, which Annabeth immediately sang along to. Percy shook his head and hid a smile. When the music ended, she said, "Emma Watson as Belle could punch me and I would say thank you.”
"Just as Belle?”
Annabeth thought for a second. "You’re right. She can just punch me and I'd enjoy it.”
He chuckled. Subconsciously, he shifted slightly and Annabeth unwound her arm from his. "Sorry,” she said quietly. Percy wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for. If he’d been uncomfortable, he would’ve asked her to move her arm a while ago.
"No, you’re fine,” he assured her. Part of him wanted her to wrap her arm around his again. She didn’t, but she did lean against him. Throughout the movie, she would make comments and she would sing along to every song, which endeared Percy to no end. At some point, her arm had locked around his again and it forced him to fight off a smile.
When the credits began rolling, they sat and watched silently for a while.
“Perce?” Annabeth said quietly after a moment.
"Mhm?” he hummed.
"I’m really happy I'm here." Her voice was so soft and somewhat shy, which was the complete opposite of Annabeth’s personality. He turned his head to find her looking up at him, her cheek pressed against his shoulder. She was so close and so pretty. The light blue screen of the end credits reflected off her gray eyes, making them a silvery color. Percy dug his blunt nails into the palm of his hand to concentrate on something other than how easy it would be to lean forward and kiss her.
"I’m happy you’re here, too,” he said. She smiled widely and Percy pressed his nails further into his skin. He turned his attention back to the screen, ignoring how he felt Annabeth’s eyes on him. "What’s next?” he asked softly, closing out of Beauty and the Beast.
She didn’t look away from him. "You pick.”
Percy smiled and looked over at her. "You sure you wanna give me that power?”
Annabeth’s smile dropped just a tiny bit as she looked worried. “Should I be scared?”
“Annabeth, what is my absolute favorite show that I have told you a million times that I would make you watch one day?”
She leaned away, pulling her arm back to her side. “Percy, no.”
“Percy, yes,” he replied, making his way to Netflix.
"But-” she whined. Percy just smiled as he loaded up American Horror Story. Which he absolutely loved and he knew Annabeth hated. Well, she’d never seen it but she hated scary movies.
"We’ll watch season three,” he said. "It’s about witches and it’s not that scary. And I'll protect you from all the monsters,” he teased, making her smack his arm. He laughed and pressed play on season three. He’d long ago explained to her how the seasons were all different and most didn’t relate to each other, meaning they could start season three without making her watch one or two.
Already, the intro had her pressing her face into his shoulder. And, admittedly, the intro was creepy as hell. "It’s over,” he said quietly when the episode started playing. As soon as it did, Percy remembered the first few minutes and pursed his lips. "Totally forgot this started with a sex scene.”
Annabeth laughed, which made him feel a little better. She locked arms with him, which he was starting to really love, and leaned her head against his shoulder. As they watched, Annabeth became increasingly confused. "What the f*ck?” she asked. "They… why did… what?”
"You’ll see,” was all Percy said. This time, Percy was the one making comments as they watched. For the most part, Annabeth wasn’t too scared but there were a few times where she tensed up. When the first episode ended, he paused and looked at her. "Can we keep going or do you wanna watch something else?”
Annabeth looked up at him and shrugged slightly. "It wasn’t that bad. We can keep watching. Skip the intro, though.”
Percy smiled and pressed play. They got through four more episodes, without the intros, before Percy yawned for the first time.
"Tired, loser?” she teased. The clock read 1:48 am, which was around the time Percy often went to bed.
"Shut up,” he said. "You’re three hours behind me, okay?”
She giggled. "I’m tired, too, if that makes you feel better." It was almost 11 pm her time, but Annabeth wasn’t as much of a night owl as he was so she was usually asleep before midnight.
"Oh, good,” he said, closing out of Netflix. "Bedtime." Then he paused when he realized.
"We never blew up the air mattress.”
Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows together. "I didn’t even realize you had one in here,” she said. "I thought we were just going to sleep in the same bed."
Percy’s mind malfunctioned on the spot.
"Uh,” he said stupidly. "I mean… we can.”
"We don’t have to,” she said, sitting up, "but you’re literally my best friend and you have a big enough bed. So I thought it would be fine.”
"Yeah,” he nodded. "I thought about it too but I didn’t want to assume you’d be fine with it. Plus, you know, my mother was like, ‘oh here’s the air mattress.’ And I'm sure she wouldn’t have liked me replying with, ‘no thanks we’ll just sleep in the same bed.’”
Annabeth laughed and nodded. "Yeah, she already asked if we were more than friends and that was for, like, no reason. So giving her a real reason to think that wouldn’t have been smart.”
He chuckled. "But if you’re fine with sharing a bed,” he said as nonchalantly as he could, “that’s fine.”
"I’m fine with it,” she said, smiling. Percy nodded and shut his laptop, placing it on the floor. They both shifted down so their heads were on the pillows and they fell silent. Percy was suddenly very much not tired as he became acutely aware of his best friend and the girl he loved laying a foot away from him.
"It’s so weird to be… here,” she whispered. "I've seen this room through a screen, like, almost every day for the past six months. And honestly, I'm not sure if I ever expected to see it in person. But here I am.”
She probably couldn’t see it, but Percy smiled. "You never expected to see it in person?” he asked.
"Not really,” she was still whispered but the tone of her voice changed into something more timid. "I guess I figured you’d get tired of me before I ever got the chance.”
"Idiot,” he replied without missing a beat. "As if I could get tired of you.”
She was silent for a moment before sighing quietly. Percy couldn’t see her but he felt her turn toward him. Then there was a hand blindly placed on his forearm that instantly traveled down until her fingers intertwined with his. It was a bit awkward because it was her left hand in his left hand, but it made his heart speed up nonetheless.
"I’m still worried you’ll get tired of me,” she breathed. Percy turned towards her too, switching his left hand for his right so their fingers slotted together better.
"Why?” he asked gently.
"Honestly, I don’t know,” Annabeth admitted. "I guess I'm used to people leaving once they really get to know me. And right now, you probably know me better than most people. So I feel like it’s just a waiting game until you leave too.”
Percy’s heart ached and he had the urge to pull her into a hug. Instead, he settled for squeezing her hand. If he were to hug her right now, he was sure she’d be able to feel his heart pounding in his chest.
"I’m not going anywhere, Beth,” he promised.
"I hope not,” she whispered. "I’d like to keep you around as long as I can.”
Saturday
When he first woke up, Percy had completely forgotten about Annabeth being in his bed. It wasn’t until she shifted behind him that he was suddenly reminded of her presence and his heart skipped a beat on its own accord. He turned on to his back and looked over.
if he hadn’t already been head over heels for her, the sight of her peacefully sleeping next to him would’ve been enough to make him fall in love.
He swallowed roughly and turned away, sitting up slowly. He did his best to get out of bed without waking her up before grabbing a change of clothes and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him. When he turned to walk across the hall to the bathroom, his mother was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed, making Percy jump out of his skin.
"Jesus, mom,” he said, looking at her with wide eyes.
She just smiled. "I don’t remember hearing the air mattress blow up.”
It wasn’t a question, so there was no point in trying to deny anything. "Yeah,” Percy said as casually as he could, walking across the hall until he was in the doorway of the bathroom, “we were watching a show until, like, almost 2 am and I mentioned the air mattress and Annabeth said she’d just expected us to sleep in the same bed. So we did.”
"Just slept?”
Percy nearly rolled his eyes. "Mom,” he whined. "Yes. Just slept. Because we are friends. Can I please use the bathroom now?”
"I suppose,” Sally shrugged with an innocent smile. Percy wondered if she was aware that every time she made a comment like that, it painfully reminded him that he and Annabeth were, in fact, just friends. "I’m making pancakes soon, so don’t take too long.”
And with that, she turned and made her way to Estelle’s room to get her up for the day. Percy shut himself inside the bathroom, locking it behind him. He rushed through his morning routine quickly, washing his face and brushing his teeth.
Once he was out and changed, he carefully crept back into his room to find Annabeth still in his bed on her phone. She looked over at him when he shut the door.
"It’s still 7 am to me,” she said. "Time zones suck.”
Percy chuckled, tossing his sweatpants onto the end of his bed and the rest of his clothes in his hamper.
"Poor baby,” he teased. She sat up with a yawn, stretching her arms up and Percy had to look away before he told her how cute she looked with her hair being the wonderful mess that it was. "You can shower if that’ll help wake you up. Mom said she’ll be making pancakes soon.”
Annabeth’s eyes lit up. "I get to taste Sally Jackson’s famous pancakes?” she asked, referencing the million times Percy had talked about how great his mom’s cooking was. "Lucky me,” she said as she slid out of Percy’s bed, stretching once again after she was on her feet.
"There’s towels in the closet in the bathroom,” he said with a small smile. Annabeth nodded, shuffling through her suitcase. She paused briefly.
"Is it cold?”
Percy pulled out his phone and checked the weather app. “68 degrees and no wind. So no, not super cold.”
Annabeth nodded once, continuing her search for clothes. Percy crashed into his bed, looking through his phone idly. He vaguely registered his door opening and closing as Annabeth slipped out of the room. He realized it was weird that he wasn’t… texting Annabeth right now. He was so used to doing that every day for the past six months and for the first time since they’d met, he wasn’t. Because she was here. In his house, using his shower.
He understood why Annabeth had mentioned how weird all of this was multiple times. It was kind of weird.
Maybe thirty minutes passed before his door was opening again. Annabeth stepped in, holding her pajamas close to her chest before setting them down in her suitcase. How she’d managed to get ready in such a short amount of time baffled Percy because from what he could see, her makeup was done, too.
And, of course, she was in one of her God forsaken skirts that absolutely were going to be the death of him. Today, it was a dark blue one paired with a thin, white sweater that hung off her shoulder. It showed off a lacy strap, either some sort of bra or tank top, Percy had no idea, that matched the blue of her skirt perfectly.
Percy forced his eyes away from her, standing up from his bed. "All set?” he asked, sliding his phone into his pocket.
Annabeth nodded, beaming. "Lead me to the pancakes, please.”
Percy chuckled and they left his room, rushing down the steps and into the kitchen. Estelle was waddling around the kitchen as Sally made pancakes and her eyes lit up like they had the night before when she saw Annabeth.
“Annabeth!” she squealed again, running over to her. Annabeth beamed, picking her up and placing Estelle on her hip like it was something she did every day.
"Good morning,” Sally said with a smile as she looked over at them. Percy and Annabeth sat on the stools at the island, Estelle being shifted into Annabeth’s lap.
"Good morning,” Annabeth replied.
"Did you sleep well, honey?” The question itself was innocent, but Percy heard the underlying tone in his mother’s voice that suggested she was asking about more than it seemed. He resisted the urge to groan. She wasn’t going to let this go, was she?
"I did, thank you,” Annabeth said without missing a beat, but Percy saw the look on her face. She hadn’t missed the tone in his mother’s voice either.
"That’s good,” Sally said. She brought two empty plates to them, along with a third stacked high with pancakes. "Here you guys go.”
"Thank you,” Annabeth said sweetly, sliding Estelle off her lap despite the toddler’s protests. “Percy has spoken very highly of your cooking and I'm excited to finally try it.”
Sally laughed, handing a smaller piece of a pancake to Estelle. "I hope it lives up to the praise.”
Percy immediately dug into his pancakes. "It will,” he said before taking a bite. Annabeth smiled and quietly began eating too. Seconds later, her eyes widened and she practically whimpered. The sound made Percy dig his fingernails into his palm.
"Wow,” she said, oblivious to Percy’s internal debate about confessing his love for her. "It absolutely lives up to the hype. This is, like, insanely good.”
Sally laughed warmly. "Thank you, dear. I'm glad you like them.”
Annabeth looked at Percy. "From now on, the only reason I'll be visiting is for your mom and sister.”
"Honestly,” Percy said, “that’s valid.”
She giggled quietly and continued eating. Sally asked a few questions about Annabeth’s life and school just to make small talk and within 20 minutes, the entire stack of pancakes had been demolished. It was nearing 11 am when Percy looked over at Annabeth.
"You ready to go?”
Annabeth stared at him. "Go where?”
"I thought you wanted to see the Empire State Building?”
Her eyes lit up and the smile on her face was blinding. "Wait, really?” She asked with excitement that resembled a child in a candy store.
"Duh,” he replied, standing up.
Annabeth hopped up from her stool. "Let me go get my bag, oh my God,” she said, beaming at him. She threw out a quick but genuine, "Thank you for breakfast, Sally!” before bolting up the stairs.
Sally leaned against the counter and looked at her son sympathetically. "Are you going to tell her?” she asked gently.
With the look on her face, it took Percy no time at all to realize what she meant. "No,” he said quietly. There was no way he could risk ruining this friendship by telling Annabeth how he felt about her.
"Well,” his mother sighed, "I think you should.”
"What?”
She smiled. "With the way she looks at you, I think she feels the same.”
Percy didn’t get any further explanation because Annabeth’s footsteps were approaching. He turned towards her to see her giant smile and the child-like excitement still in her eyes. But after a few seconds of looking at him, her smile dropped a bit and concern grew on her face. Instead of asking about it right away, she said, "Are you ready to go?”
Percy nodded. "We’ll see you later, mom. Love you,” he said, cracking his knuckles as he left the kitchen. He slipped on his shoes near the front door and grabbed his keys and wallet. Annabeth stood with her hand on the doorknob, looking at him with those wide, gray eyes he loved too much.
She opened the door for them and stepped out. The second the door was shut behind him, Annabeth stopped holding back. "Are you okay?”
He nodded reluctantly, swinging his keys around his finger as they walked to his car. "My mom’s just being weird, I guess,” he said. "Apparently she can’t grasp that we’re just friends." He chuckled and it came out a lot more harsh than he’d intended. They both got in the car and Annabeth looked over at him, still concerned.
"Does that... relate to her asking me how I slept?”
Percy nodded, starting his car. "She mentioned that she never heard the air mattress blow up and I told her it’s because we slept in the same bed. Very wild concept to her that we aren’t in love or something.”
The minute he said, he wanted to take it back. There was a sharp pain in his heart as he was reminded of the hard truth of the statement. They weren’t in love. It was just Percy that was.
"Right,” Annabeth whispered, nodding slowly. They were silent for a bit before Annabeth mercifully changed the subject. "I was kind of joking when I said we had to see the Empire State Building, you know?”
Percy smiled. "I know you want to, though. And you’re here, so we might as well,” he shrugged lightly. "Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve gotten tickets for it anyway because you like buildings or whatever.”
Annabeth shoved his shoulder, making him laugh. "I like architecture, you idiot. Not just buildings.”
"Same thing.”
“Percy Jackson, I swear to God-”
"Hush, we’re here,” he interrupted, pulling into the parking lot of the subway station closest to his house. Despite her previous annoyance, Annabeth grinned widely as she got out of the car, practically bouncing on her toes.
"I’ve never been on a subway,” she said.
Percy snorted. "It’s not fun,” he said honestly. "Especially on a Saturday, it’ll probably be super crowded.”
Annabeth wrinkled her nose adorably and they bounded down the steps. Using his subway card, along with one he’d gotten for her the other day, they passed through the entry gates and waited on the platform. True to Percy’s words, the arriving train was fairly full. Percy had definitely seen it worse, but it was still going to be uncomfortable. And it would only get more packed the closer they got to the city.
There were no seats so they held onto a pole, surrounded by others. Annabeth’s inexperience on the subway became very apparent when she stumbled slightly as soon as it started moving. Without thinking, Percy’s hand shot out to grab her arm, steadying her.
"Idiot,” he chuckled.
"Shut up,” she muttered, stepping closer to him. Stepping so close, actually, that her body pressed against his and her head rested against his collarbone. Percy tried very hard not to tense up when her arm wrapped around his waist. Instead, he swallowed hard and wound his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him. Regardless of his crush, being able to hug his best friend after so long of no physical contact was still so exciting to him.
"You know what I was thinking earlier?” he asked. For a brief moment, Percy regretted speaking because now, she was looking up at him with her face far too close to his.
"What?” she asked. The train stopped and Annabeth’s footing slid a tiny bit, pushing her closer to him. Percy was going to faint if she managed to get any closer.
"This morning, while you were showering, I was thinking about how it was so weird that I wasn’t texting you. Because I've been doing that every morning for the past six months. But I wasn’t today,” he smiled, "because you’re actually here.”
Annabeth’s eyes flashed with something he couldn’t read and she grinned slowly. "It’s so crazy,” she said quietly. "I woke up and for a second, I forgot where I was. Until I remembered I was in your room and I got, like, stupidly happy." Her cheeks were pink and Percy couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.
"It is really crazy,” he agreed. Under the fluorescent lighting of the subway car, her eyes looked metallic and her golden hair looked whiter. Percy never wanted to look away. He wanted to count each freckle on her nose and he wanted to memorize the shape of her cheekbones and the slope of her nose. He was looking at her for entirely too long before his eyes unintentionally flicked down to her lips, which were coated in a shiny gloss, before abruptly looking away.
Annabeth didn’t say anything. Instead, she hugged him close again. His heart skipped a beat and his brain rudely reminded him that her intentions were purely platonic. She was his best friend. That’s why she was hugging him. Regardless, he hugged her back, holding her close until their stop arrived.
"We’re the next stop,” he told her quietly after a while. Over the course of the ride, the train had gotten more packed so Annabeth could hardly step back from him. She simply nodded, lifting her head from his chest. Luckily for them, their stop was a popular one so a large crowd got off too, resulting in them not having to push through people. Percy locked hands with Annabeth as he led her to the exit gates and up the stairs. And then-
"Holy sh*t,” Annabeth whispered. They were surrounded by skyscrapers, hotels, and digital billboards. Her eyes scanned everything, trying to take it all in at once. Percy couldn’t help but watch her fascination. He gently tugged her out of the way.
"Welcome to Times Square,” he said quietly. Her eyes met his and she looked dumbfounded.
"I can’t believe I've never been here,” she chuckled.
"You look like a real tourist. You’ve never seen a skyscraper, Chase?”
Annabeth dropped his hand and she punched his arm. "Obviously I have,” she said, smiling. "This is different, though. There’s so much going on and the designs of the buildings are all so different, yet they still make sense together.”
Percy bit back a smile and took her hand again, pulling her along. "Alright, nerd. Come on. Our tickets for the Empire State Building are for 3:30 so we have about three and a half hours for exploring. Any specific buildings you’re dying to see?”
Annabeth’s cheeks flushed. "Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, the New York Public Library, the-”
"The library?” Percy interrupted.
"Yes!” she exclaimed. "It’s the second-largest library in the US and the third-largest in the world. The main building was opened in 1911 and it was designed by John Mervin Carrère and Thomas S. Hastings, who were pretty unknown at the time and now their names are on one of the biggest libraries in the world. And it’s been in tons of movies, including Spiderman, which I know happens to be one of your favorites.”
Percy watched her speak with the same fascination Annabeth had shown earlier while looking at the buildings around them. "Why do I love you?”
Annabeth nearly tripped over her own feet as she looked up at him. "What?”
Percy blinked, realizing what he’d just said. He quickly amended his words, his heart pounding in his chest. "You’re the biggest nerd ever, I can’t believe I'm friends with you.”
Annabeth stared at him for a second. "Oh,” she said quietly before blinking a few times and shrugging, the smile returning to her face. "Well, you’re stuck with me now so I guess you’ll have to deal with it.”
"Poor me,” he teased, not bothering to hide the affection in his voice. After her confession last night, the last thing he wanted was for her to actually think he didn’t enjoy being around her.
Annabeth’s eyes were still scanning Times Square as they walked when she gasped. "Can we go into the M&M store?”
"Finally, a building I can get behind.”
She laughed and pulled him along, weaving her way between people. Their hands stayed locked tightly together as they reached the glass building. Annabeth’s eyes lit up as she pulled the door open.
"There’s a wall of M&M’s upstairs, down here is mainly merch,” Percy said, already tugging her in the direction of the stairs. She let him drag her up to the second floor. Along the wall, in rainbow order, were containers of color-coded M&M’s.
"I am going to spend so much money here,” Annabeth stated, making Percy laugh. She dropped his hand and rushed forward, grabbing one of the cute plastic bags and immediately filling it with candy. Percy held back a smile as he watched her. He filled a bag, too, predictably with blue M&M’s.
A few minutes later, Annabeth came back up to him and held up her bag of pink, purple and blue chocolates. "My M&M’s said bi rights.”
"As they should.”
She beamed at him, taking his hand again as they walked around the store, a lot less rushed now. "How often do you visit the city?” she asked, looking at the arrangement of M&M merchandise they had on display.
Percy shrugged. "During the school year, rarely. I'm usually too busy. During summer, though, we try to go a few times a month for fun. We go to Central Park more than Times Square, with Estelle being so young.”
Annabeth nodded, smiling softly. "She’s so sweet,” she said, her voice dripping with adoration. "I don’t normally like kids, but she’s precious.”
"She really is,” Percy agreed. "I didn’t get any of mom’s good genes, she saved them all for Stella.”
"Oh, hush,” Annabeth bumped her shoulder into his. They slowly began walking towards the register. "You’re great, too. So is Sally, I understand why she’s so important to you. Your whole family is so likable.”
"Aww,” Percy teased, “look at you getting all soft.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes, smiling. "Maybe it’s just something you Jackson’s have on me.”
"I’m sure that’s what it is.”
Annabeth quickly got tired of looking at overpriced candy merch, so they paid for their M&M’s, which are just as expensive, and left. Rockefeller Center was their first stop and in retrospect, Percy doesn’t remember a single thing Annabeth said about the place because all he could focus on was the way she bounced on her toes with excitement and her eyes sparkled. At one point, she dropped his hand and hugged him and Percy nearly forgot his own name from how tight her grip on him was.
They hit Radio City Music Hall next, resulting in Annabeth ranting adorably about the musicians that have played there. Then, they stopped by the Chrysler Building just for her to stare in awe and ramble on about the construction and design. Percy didn’t understand a word she said but she was so enthusiastic about everything she said. Their last stop, for now, was the library.
"There are 92 locations in the New York Public Library system,” Annabeth said as they approached, "but this is the Stephen A. Shrwarzman building. It’s mainly known as the main branch.”
They approached one of the stone lions flanking the steps. Annabeth ran her hand along one of the paws. "These were designed by Edward Clark Potter and sculpted by the Piccirilli brothers. The library logo has a lion in it, so that’s why they’re lions. Someone also said they used lions so people could read between the lions. ” she chuckled, looking at Percy with bright eyes. "They have names, you know?”
Percy raised his eyebrows, trying to hide his admiration for her. "Names?”
"They were originally named Leo Aster and Leo Lenox, for the library founders. But then, they changed to Lord Astor and Lady Lenox, even though they’re both meant to be male,” she smiled when Percy laughed softly. "And in the 1930s, they were nicknamed Patience and Fortitude by the mayor who said people needed those qualities to get them through the great depression. This one,” she touched the stone paw again, "is patience. And that one,” she nodded towards the lion on the other side of the steps, "is fortitude.”
Percy shook his head, smiling at her. Annabeth’s eyes traveled over the building and its structure before her gaze eventually found his. "What?” she asked quietly, her cheeks flushing. "Sorry, I know I'm rambling. You can tell me to shut up.”
Before he could think twice about it, he reached forward and grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug. "Don’t shut up,” Percy said quietly, “you’re the biggest nerd ever and I absolutely love it.”
Annabeth wrapped her arms around his torso. "I probably wouldn’t have been able to shut up anyways.”
"Good,” he said honestly. Annabeth lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. Percy’s breath caught in his throat. Their faces were maybe four inches apart and she was smiling at him, showing off the dimple in her left cheek. And then her eyes dropped down to his lips for half a second. It was so quick but Percy saw it. He blinked a few times and forced himself to look away. Annabeth stiffened slightly in his arms and everything felt tense between them all of a sudden. "Do you head towards the Empire State Building? It’s right down the street,” he asked, hoping it would break the tension.
"Yeah,” Annabeth said, her voice much quieter than before, “sure.”
They pulled away from each other and walked in silence. Percy missed the weight of her hand in his but he felt like holding her hand now with the unsettling tension between them would only make things worse. He risked a glance at Annabeth to see her deep in thought, twisting her fingers together absentmindedly and her eyebrows furrowed. He desperately wanted to ask what was wrong but the possible answers scared him.
“Percy?” she said after a moment.
"Yeah?”
"You said the tickets were for 3:30, right?”
"Yep.”
"Can we… get something to eat first?” she asked. Percy slid his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. It was only 2:50 and the Empire State Building was a block away.
"Yeah,” he said, offering her a small smile. "I’m guessing you’ve never had New York-style pizza?”
Thankfully, she returned the smile, filling Percy with relief. "Pizza sounds so good right now.”
"Pizza always sounds good.”
Annabeth laughed quietly, looking up at him. "Lead the way, tour guide.”
Percy thought for a moment, weighing his options on where to take her. "Wait,” he said, realizing something, "Grover is working today. He works at a pizza place, like, right around the corner.”
Annabeth's eyes lit up. "Shut up, I want to meet him.”
She’d met Grover on FaceTime once, very briefly, but she’d heard countless stories of him and Percy from over the years. And Grover was, of course, Percy’s outlet to talk about his feelings for Annabeth so he knew all about her, too.
Percy took her hand without thinking, only realizing what he’d done after their fingers were laced together. Instead of dwelling on the choice, he just pulled her along the sidewalk. Weaving through people with Annabeth laughing behind him, it only took a few minutes for Percy to reach the pizza shop. For a Saturday afternoon, it was fairly slow, with only about a dozen people in the dining area. He spotted Grover almost instantly.
“Grover!” he called. Behind the counter, a pair of brown eyes snapped up to meet his. Grover’s face lit up as he saw Percy and Annabeth.
“Perce!” he exclaimed, waving them over. Annabeth was beaming as Percy led her over to the counter. There were only two other people in line so there was no wait.
"What’s up, dude?” Percy grinned as they approached.
"Nothing much." His eyes went from Percy to Annabeth, still smiling widely.
"I don’t really need to introduce you but Grover, Annabeth. Annabeth, Grover,” Percy said, making vague gestures to each of them, respectively.
"Thanks, Perce. I wouldn’t have guessed,” Grover deadpanned before returning his attention to Annabeth. "It’s great to meet you. He never ever shuts up about you.”
Annabeth’s cheeks flushed beautifully and she squeezed Percy’s hand. "Likewise,” she laughed, "I’ve heard many stories about you guys growing up.”
"Oh, God,” Grover said dramatically, "I’m sure he’s told you about all of our worst moments.”
"Oh, absolutely.”
Grover laughed, getting a slice of the pizza Percy usually eats. "What can I get you?” he asked Annabeth.
"Just cheese,” she smiled, “thank you.”
Grover nodded once, getting her a slice. "What have you guys been up to today?” he asked, sliding the tray with the two pieces towards them.
"Just some tourism,” Percy shrugged. "This nerd has been attacking me with architecture and history facts all day.”
Annabeth punched his arm, making Grover laugh. "Oh, please,” he chuckled, giving Percy a look. "You love it.”
He glanced at Annabeth, who was looking at him with a smug smile. "Yeah,” he shrugged. "I guess I do.”
Before any further comment could be made, a group of chatty teens entered the shop, getting in line. Grover sighed. "Your pizza is on the house, I have to deal with these children now.”
Annabeth laughed softly, picking up the tray. "It was great meeting you,” she told Grover, beaming at him. Then she looked at Percy. "I’ll find a table.”
Percy just nodded before looking at his best friend behind the counter. As Annabeth walked away, Grover raised an eyebrow. "You good?”
"I’m so f*cked,” Percy said quietly. "I’m so in love with her and it’s killing me.”
“Perce, I'ma be real with you,” he said seriously, “she loves you. I can tell from the five minutes you guys were standing here. She looked at you like you were the most important thing in the world. She-”
"Excuse me?” one of the girls in the group of teenagers called, looking impatient.
"Sorry guys, I'll be with you in one sec!” Percy could hear the fake civility in his voice, making him chuckle. Grover looked back over at Percy with a softer smile. "I’m telling you, I think you should say something.”
Percy just sighed. "I don’t know, man.”
"Just think about it,” he suggested lightly. "Now get out of here, I have money to make.”
Percy laughed and said his goodbyes to Grover, turning and making his way through the dining area to where Annabeth was sitting. She smiled widely as he sat down and Percy realized she hadn’t touched her pizza yet.
"You could’ve started eating,” he said, sliding his slice towards him. She just shrugged, picking up her food.
"The famous New York pizza,” Annabeth smiled, her eyes glittering. Percy matched her smile before taking a bite of his pizza. When Annabeth took a bite of hers, her eyes widened a bit and she melted into her chair. "I’m moving to New York.”
"Just for the pizza?”
"Just for the pizza.”
"No other reasons?”
"Mmm,” she hummed, “no, that’s it.”
"Wow,” Percy nodded slowly, "I go out of my way to give you the best weekend of your entire life and this is how you repay me? I see.”
"This is supposed to be the best weekend of my life?”
Percy’s jaw dropped as he kicked her ankle. "You are so rude,” he said, making her throw her head back with laughter.
"I’m kidding,” she said, still laughing. Her eyes softened. "This is the best weekend of my life. I promise.”
"Good.” Percy ignored the way his heart did a flip at the sparkle in her eyes. She turned her attention back to her pizza, eating quicker since they only had 20 minutes before they were meant to be at the Empire State Building. Within a few minutes, they were finished and heading out with a final wave to Grover.
"Come on!” Annabeth exclaimed, taking his hand once again and pulling him down the street. It was 3:24 when they reached the entrance. Percy pulled up the tickets on his phone and Annabeth was bouncing on her toes excitedly next to him. "Did you know a woman once survived a 75 floor fall in an elevator?”
Percy stared at her. "That’s the first fact you hit me with?”
Annabeth laughed, leaning against his arm. "I wanted to make sure I had your attention.”
"You always have my attention.”
The words were far too honest but Percy couldn’t find it in him to regret them when she blushed and smiled softly. They stood in the line for the 102nd floor observatory, waiting patiently as it moved forward in groups of people going up the elevators. Annabeth had plenty of facts to fill the time. The light in her eyes danced and Percy was possibly seconds away from confessing his feelings when she then tugged his hand and said, "We’re next! Come on!”
Percy held out his phone to scan the tickets and they were ushered into the large elevator with a group of people. Percy had his back to the wall and Annabeth ended up standing in front of him, her back to his chest. Percy resisted the very strong urge to place his hands on her waist, instead wrapping an arm around her shoulders. For a split second, he realized how odd the touch may have seemed but then Annabeth placed a hand on his arm, holding it there lightly. She leaned into his chest and Percy had to force his heart to slow down before she felt it pounding behind his rib cage.
"Do you think we’d survive a 75 floor fall in here?” he said quietly, lowering his head to be closer to her ear so only she could hear him. Annabeth shivered slightly and breathed out a quiet laugh.
"Absolutely not.”
"Why not? We totally could.”
"I’d use you as a cushion and I'd survive,” she whispered with a shrug. Annabeth turned her head and looked up to smile at his offended expression.
"So you would just let me die?”
Annabeth stayed silent and stared at him as an answer. "Wow,” Percy said, “this is the second time you’ve been mean to me in the last 30 minutes.”
"Poor baby,” she pouted, teasing him. With the hand that wasn’t wrapped around her shoulders, Percy pinched her side, making Annabeth yelp quietly, arching away from his hand. Her little outburst drew the attention of almost everyone else in the elevator. She dropped her head with flushed cheeks and jerked her elbow backward into Percy’s stomach. "Asshole,” she muttered.
"Says you,” he retorted instantly. Without meaning to, his hand had settled on her waist where he’d just pinched her a moment ago. Either she didn’t notice or she didn’t care, so he kept it there. Annabeth relaxed against him. They only had another 20 floors or so until they were at the top.
Annabeth began bouncing on her toes again when the elevator was five floors away. Then four, three, two…
When the doors opened a moment later, Percy could tell it took everything in Annabeth not to push through the people in front of her and bolt out of the elevator. Once her path was clear, her hand was around Percy’s wrist and he was being pulled into the observatory. It had giant floor to ceiling windows around the entire perimeter, giving them a 360 view of New York.
"Wow,” Annabeth mumbled under her breath, looking at the city beneath them.
Despite living in New York his entire life, Percy had never been to the top of the Empire State Building. He’d seen it a million times, probably had it committed to memory, but he’d never spent the time or money to go to the top. And while the view was beautiful, he couldn’t take his eyes off Annabeth.
Her eyes scanned the city and the buildings below, analyzing them like she wanted to memorize every street. The gray color of her eyes was bright and alive, filled with wonder and awe. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
"We should be about 1,250 feet in the air right now,” she said quietly. Annabeth reluctantly looked away from the city to shift her gaze up to Percy. He was sure the stupid smile on his face and the pure love and adoration in his eyes would give away his feelings for her on the spot. But if she realized anything, she didn’t say it. Instead, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you,” she said quietly, her head against his chest, “for letting me visit and bringing me here. And just everything.”
Percy didn’t hesitate to hug her back tightly. He’d never expected Annabeth to be such a physical person but he wasn’t complaining in the slightest. "I should be the one thanking you,” he replied, just as quietly. "You’re the one who came all the way out here. And by surprise, might I add. So, thank you.”
Annabeth lifted her head and looked at him. Her eyes searched his and there was something in her expression that made Percy’s heartbeat quicken.
Much like in front of the library, he watched her eyes flick down to his lips for less than a second. Instead of turning away this time, she returned her eyes to his and held his gaze. Percy wasn’t sure where it came from, but there was suddenly a thick tension between them that he couldn’t explain.
On their own accord, Percy’s eyes did the same thing Annabeth’s had. For a brief second, they moved down to her lips only to immediately dart back up to her eyes. But she saw it. He knew she did because her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly and he could see the gears in her brain turning, trying just as hard as he was to understand what was happening.
But before anything could be figured out, the sound of a phone interrupted them.
Annabeth’s senses regained all at once and she retracted her arms, offering a small, awkward smile as Percy fished his phone out of his pocket. He looked down at the caller ID. "It’s my mom,” he said quietly.
"It’s okay,” Annabeth assured him, “talk to her. I'll be right here.”
Percy just nodded and accepted the call, turning away from Annabeth and pacing a few steps forward. "Hello?”
"Hi, honey. Sorry to bother you,” Sally said sweetly. "I texted you but never got a response so I just wanted to call and ask if you guys were going to be here for dinner.”
Percy blinked, trying to focus on his current conversation and not on whatever the hell had just happened with Annabeth. "Um, I think so. Yeah.”
"Okay, great! I'll see you then!”
"Mom,” Percy said quickly before she could hang up.
"Yes?”
"I’m-” he sighed, a heavy feeling settling on his chest.
Sally’s voice grew concerned instantly. "What’s wrong?”
Percy swallowed. "I’m in love with her and I can’t say anything and it’s killing me,” he said quietly, the words coming out in a rush. He’d always been able to confide in his mother and he was hoping some advice from a girl would give him more perspective than just his and Grover’s points of view.
"Oh, honey,” she said sympathetically. "I understand it’s scary to put yourself out there but I think that you should. From what I can see, I think your feelings will be reciprocated. And if they aren’t, you guys are best friends. You can figure out a way to be okay.”
"But what if we can’t?”
“Percy,” he could hear the soft smile in her voice. He could see the warm, comforting look in her eyes. "If she told you she had feelings for you and you didn’t reciprocate them, would that make you want to stop being friends with her?”
Percy thought about it for a second. He couldn’t really imagine what it would be like to not be in love with Annabeth Chase. But in a hypothetical scenario where he wasn’t, he couldn’t see him jumping ship just because she liked him.
"No,” he said finally.
"Exactly,” Sally said. "Tell her. Either way, you guys will make things work.”
"Okay,” he whispered. "I’ll tell her at some point.”
"Good. Now, go! Have fun!” she said with a small laugh. "I love you.”
"I love you, too,” he said, putting every ounce of love he had for her into the statement. He hung up the phone and turned back towards Annabeth only to stop in his tracks. There was a guy, around their age, talking to her with a wide smile. Annabeth had a much smaller, polite smile on her face. When she spotted Percy, her eyes lit up and her smile grew. She waved him over.
"There you are!” she said brightly when he was in range. She wrapped her arms around his waist instantly and looked back at the other guy, who was sizing Percy up. "Like I said, I have a boyfriend and I'm not interested. I'd really like it if you left me alone now.”
Percy slid an arm around Annabeth’s shoulders and gave the guy a tight smile. He glared at Percy for another moment before looking Annabeth up and down once, then turning away and stalking off. Annabeth waited until he was a good 10 feet away or so before relaxing against Percy.
"Thank God,” she said. "I was literally about to break his ankles if he didn’t back off. And I was not looking to start a fight at the Empire State Building and get kicked out.”
Percy laughed softly. "So you told him you had a boyfriend?”
Her cheeks flushed beautifully and she nodded. "Men are usually intimidated by other men. So I thought it would make him f*ck off faster,” she said, pulling out of the hug. She grabbed his hand and began walking idly along the glass walls. "Instead, he was all like he doesn’t have to know, baby. Like, gross? No thanks?”
"I would’ve liked to see you break his ankles.”
Annabeth laughed. "I could do a lot worse than break someone’s ankles,” she admitted casually. Percy desperately wanted to know what she meant by that. "But since I'm in a skirt, I'd probably end up flashing everyone. Which doesn’t sound fun.”
Percy shrugged. "If you’re kicking ass, I don’t think anyone would care that much.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes, smiling. "Good to know.” she nodded, “Next time, I'll kick ass.”
"Can’t wait.”
She smiled briefly before she stopped walking. Her body turned and she faced the window, taking in the city again. "I wanna design something as famous as this building one day,” she said quietly. Percy smiled, recounting all the times she’d shared her dreams of being an architect and building something that would stand for thousands of years.
"You will,” Percy said, squeezing her hand. She looked up at him gratefully and stepped closer, leaning against his arm. They stood there for a bit, just looking at the city. All Percy could really focus on was Annabeth’s hand in his and the weight of her head on his shoulder. Eventually, he asked quietly, "You ready to go?”
She lifted her head to look at him for a few seconds. It seemed like she was contemplating something but before Percy could ask, she nodded and turned towards the elevator, keeping their hands locked. As their luck would have it, the man who hit on Annabeth earlier was one of the half a dozen people in the elevator with them. Percy took that as an excuse to wrap an arm around Annabeth’s waist, pulling her close.
Annabeth pursed her lips to hold back a smile. When Percy gave her a look of confusion, she stood up on her toes and brought her lips up to his ear. He felt her breath on his skin as she whispered, "To him, you must look like such a jealous boyfriend.”
Percy chuckled. "Makes sense,” he whispered back, "I tend to be the jealous type in relationships anyways.”
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Really?”
He just nodded. It was true. When he’d dated his ex, Rachel, there were multiple occasions where guys would flirt with her like he was invisible. And more often than not, he would make some public display of affection, as if to let anyone in the vicinity know she was taken. She always hated it but he couldn’t help himself.
"Didn’t expect you to be the jealous type,” Annabeth said honestly. "I am, too, though.”
"Yeah,” he thought for a second. From what he knows, Annabeth had always been super protective of her friends. "I could see that.”
She chuckled and stepped closer, leaning her head against his chest. Percy realized she was the perfect height to fit right under his chin. Her arms wrapped around his torso nicely, her hands clasped behind his back. They fit together nicely and Percy idly wondered if their lips would fit together the same way…
He was snapped out of his thoughts when the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Annabeth unwound herself from him, taking his hand and pulling him out of the elevator. The leisurely walked out of the building and down the sidewalk.
"Mom called earlier to ask if we’d be there for dinner and I said yes,” Percy said. "Was there anything else you wanted to do? We probably need to be home by, like, 6." It was almost 4:30 now so that gave them another hour and a half.
"How long does it take to get from the city back to your house? Or the station near your house?” she asked.
"About 25 to 30 minutes.”
"Do we have time to go to Central Park?” Annabeth looked at him with her big, gray eyes and how was he ever supposed to say no to this girl?
"Yeah,” he smiled. "It’s about a 15-minute walk from here and then from there to home is closer to, like, 35 minutes on the subway. So we could walk around there for about 45 minutes.”
"Sounds good,” she grinned, tugging him along. She had no idea where she was going so a few times, Percy would have to pull her back and lead her down a different street.
Under the sun, her hair glowed a pale yellow color. Her eyes sparkled and her dimple was showing from her wide smile. Percy’s conversation with his mom replayed in his head and it was then he realized just how badly he wanted to tell her. Or maybe it was just the way the lip gloss she’d reapplied earlier glittered in the light and he realized just how badly he wanted to kiss her.
Soon enough, they’d reached Central Park and Annabeth seemed to fit into the spring scenery beautifully. There were flowers blooming, the grass and trees were vividly green, the water shimmered under the sun, and Annabeth Chase looked like she belonged there. Percy pressed his fingernails into his palm harshly, trying to redirect his thoughts to anything other than the girl holding his hand and smiling beside him.
She began talking about the preservation of Central Park and why New York decided to keep it a park instead of tearing it down for buildings like the rest of the real estate. Percy tried his hardest to listen to her. But everything about her was distracting.
"Are you listening?” she asked at some point, squeezing his hand.
He blinked a few times before pursing his lips. "I got distracted,” he admitted quietly. Thankfully, Annabeth laughed and bumped her shoulder into his.
"Come on,” she smiled up at him, "I’m hungry. And I miss Estelle. She’s the real reason I'm here.”
"That’s understandable.”
Percy led her to the closest subway station and they bounded down the steps together. They swiped through the entrance gates and Annabeth rocked back and forth from her toes to her heels as they waited for the train. When it arrived, it was predictably packed.
Percy found a free spot on a pole to place his hand. Instead of placing her hand on the spot under his, she just wrapped both arms around his torso and hugged him close. He briefly hesitated before placing his hand on her lower back, keeping her steady against his body. The amount of physical contact they’d had today sent Percy’s mind reeling.
He tried to think about Annabeth’s closest friends at home and if she was touchy with them, but that was hard considering he didn’t really… see her around them. He thought of her Instagram. Her best friend, Piper, was featured often and Annabeth often had her arms thrown around the girl or their cheeks pressed together. There were a few where Piper was on her back. So maybe she was like this with all her close friends?
Somehow, that didn’t make Percy feel better.
He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and rested his chin on top of her head, waiting for their stop. They were standing for about 30 minutes straight, the only time they moved really was when someone needed to get past them. For the entire ride, Annabeth’s arms stayed firmly locked around him.
"Two more stops,” Percy said quietly. Annabeth nodded, finally lifting her head to look up at him. She seemed to love looking up at him while they hugged and Percy kind of hated it because she was right there and it would be so easy to lean down and kiss her. He didn’t though. He did, however, allow himself to hold her eye contact for now. Her eyes analyzed him like she’s trying to read his mind. He really hoped she couldn’t read his mind.
They held eye contact until the next stop approached, which was entirely too long in Percy’s opinion. Her gaze was so intense sometimes and he felt like he could crumble under the pressure of it. Once the train slowed to a stop, Annabeth unwound her arms from his torso and stepped off the train once the doors opened. She locked hands with him and they swiped their subway cards through the exit gates and made their way back to Percy’s car.
Once Annabeth was in the passenger seat, she placed her elbows on the center console and looked at him. "Thank you for today,” she said, a soft smile on her face. "Truly one of the best days of my life.”
Percy ignored the way his heart skipped a beat. "I’m glad you had fun,” he said earnestly. "It was one of the best days of my life, too.”
He felt her gaze linger on him for another moment before she snatched up the aux cord and plugged it into her phone. "We’re like five minutes away?” Percy protested halfheartedly.
"That’s enough for one song,” she smiled, flicking his arm. She picked a song that wasn’t… awful. Definitely not good, but Percy put up with it because it’s Annabeth and he can’t deny her anything. Plus, with the way Annabeth is singing along, he’s decided he’s okay with letting her play her music.
A few minutes later, Percy pulled into his driveway and shut off the engine. When Annabeth caught up to him on the walkway to his porch, she slipped her hand into his for the millionth time that day. Their hands fit so nicely together.
He pulled her into the house, calling out to let his mom know they were home.
"Dinner should be ready in about an hour!” Sally called back. Percy smiled at Annabeth.
"That sounds like enough time to watch another episode of American Horror Story.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes, grinning. She took off up the stairs, leaving Percy behind with a laugh. By the time Percy made it to his room, she was already laying on his bed with her legs outstretched and her ankles crossed.
Percy was absolutely not looking at her long, tan legs. Not even a little bit.
He slid his shoes off and sat next to her, picking his laptop up from the ground and opening it. Annabeth leaned against his arm in silence as she watched him navigate through Netflix the episode they left off on.
“So is Kyle like this the rest of the season?” Annabeth asked halfway through the episode.
"Kinda, yeah.”
"Hate that. Evan Peters deserved a better character.”
"Correct.”
They continued the episode in silence until Sally called them down for dinner.
"I guess,” Annabeth said, "It’s a good show. Maybe.”
Percy beamed and held his fingers up to his ear. "Oh I'm sorry, what was that?” he asked. "Are you saying I'm right?”
She sighed. "Just this once, you can be right.”
As they entered the dining room and Estelle’s eyes lit up. “Annabeth, can you sit next to me?” she asked.
"Absolutely.”
Percy frowned as Annabeth sat in his usual spot. "You don’t want me to sit next to you?” he pouted, making Estelle giggle and shake her head.
"You always sit next to me,” she said. "I wanna sit next to Annabeth.”
"Traitor,” Percy stuck his tongue out at his sister. He sat at the head of the table next to Annabeth, who smiled at him with a look in her eye he didn’t recognize. Before he could figure it out, Paul and his mother entered the room carrying a bowl of pasta and a plate of garlic bread.
"I hope spaghetti is okay,” Sally said with a small smile, looking at Annabeth. "I was feeling lazy and wanted something easy to make.”
She laughed softly and nodded. "Absolutely,” she said, "Thank you.”
"Of course,” Sally smiled, making a plate for Estelle. "How was your guys’ day in the city?”
Percy watched Annabeth’s eyes light up beautifully. "It was so fun,” she said, beaming. "I can’t believe I never visited New York sooner. I love it here.”
"I got hit with so many facts today,” Percy said, trying hard to mask the admiration he was feeling for Annabeth. "She’s so smart, it’s ridiculous.”
Annabeth kicked his ankle under the table, her cheeks flushing. Sally chuckled, watching them in amusem*nt. "What all did you do?”
Percy went on to tell them about their M&M factory visit, their sightseeing, meeting Grover, and the trips to the Empire State Building and Central Park. Annabeth would cut in from time to time to add her commentary or to answer questions asked by Sally and Paul.
Once they finished eating, Paul took everyone’s plates and Estelle turned to Annabeth. "Can you play with me?”
Annabeth didn’t hesitate. "Of course,” she smiled. Then she looked at Percy. "Told you I was only here for Estelle.”
His sister slid off her chair and took Annabeth’s hand, tugging on it impatiently.
"Stella, hold on,” Sally said, giving her daughter a stern look.
"Oh, it’s okay!” Annabeth assured her, standing up. "Thank you again for dinner, it was great,” was all she got out before Estelle was pulling her up the stairs giggling.
Percy’s mother turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "Did you tell her?”
He shook his head.
"Why not?”
"I don’t… I don’t even know how,” he said quietly. "I want to. I will tomorrow before she leaves. I just don’t know how.”
Sally placed her hand on top of Percy’s. "Honey, you must be blind if you can’t see how head over heels she is for you,” she said gently. "Pay attention. To the way she looks at you, speaks to you, acts around you.”
He just nodded silently. "Now,” Sally said, standing up, “go save her from your sister. She probably has Annabeth in a tiara by now, if not worse.”
Annabeth did, in fact, have a tiara on her head when Percy peeked his head into his sister’s room. Estelle’s back was to him and as he leaned against the doorframe, Annabeth caught his eye and gave him a small smile before returning her attention to the tea set in front of her.
Estelle pretended to pour Annabeth a cup of tea and handed it to her. "Here you go, princess,” she said.
"Thank you, princess,” Annabeth replied softly, her eyes flicking up to Percy again briefly who stood there silently, watching them. He didn’t even try to contain the smile on his face. He was so, so in love.
Estelle pretended to pour a cup for herself and then-
"Are you and Percy married?”
Annabeth’s face reflected the same confusion Percy felt. "What?” she asked.
"My mommy and daddy hold hands and they’re married,” Estelle said, “and you and Percy hold hands. Are you married?”
Annabeth laughed softly, her cheeks tinting a beautiful pink color. "No. But Percy’s my best friend.”
"Oh,” Estelle considered this. "So are you going to get married?”
Annabeth’s eyes flicked up to Percy as the pink color in her cheeks deepened. She blinked a few times and smiled. "Uh, no,” she said quietly, “we’re not getting married.”
Percy remembered his mother’s words about paying attention to her and he took the time to analyze the blush in her cheeks and the shyness of her voice. He wondered if there were underlying feelings for him that made her flustered or if it was just because of the awkwardness of the question.
Then, maybe to take Estelle’s attention off of her, Annabeth looked up at Percy and smiled. "Hey.”
Estelle’s head whipped around and her eyes lit up. “Percy!” she said, “Annabeth is a princess now.”
"I see that,” he replied, walking into the room and sitting next to his sister. "Isn’t that usually the crown I wear, though?”
Annabeth pursed her lips to hold back a laugh as Estelle giggled, leaning up against him. "She can wear it for now.”
"I guess so,” Percy sighed. "It probably looks prettier on her than it does on me.”
He looked at Annabeth when he said the words to watch for her reaction. She just blinked once before her lips curved into a smile and she blushed again, averting her eyes.
Percy pulled Estelle into a tight hug, squeezing her until she laughed and squirmed in his arms to escape. "Alright monster,” he said, releasing her, "Mom said you need to get ready for bed so I'm stealing princess Annabeth back.”
Estelle pouted and Annabeth rushed to reassure her. "I’ll still be here tomorrow,” she said, taking the tiara off. "We can play again then. I promise.”
"Okay,” Estelle said, still pouting a bit. Percy grabbed her under the arms and lifted her up until she was standing on her feet.
"Pajamas,” he said, tugging one of her curls to make her smile again. "And then find mommy to help you brush your teeth, stinky breath.”
"You have stinky breath!” she protested, crossing her arms defiantly. Estelle had a certain stubbornness to her that no one could figure out where it came from. "And I brush my teeth by myself. I'm a big girl.”
Percy held up his hands in surrender before standing. "Alright big girl, go get rid of your stinky breath.”
Estelle pouted again and stomped over to her dresser to get pajamas. Percy held out a hand to Annabeth who took it, pulling herself up to stand. He led her back to his room, dropping her hand reluctantly once they stepped through the door frame.
"I’m gonna shower,” he said, nodding towards his bed. "You can pull up American Horror Story or something if you want.”
She smiled. "Nah, I'll snoop through your laptop and find all your secrets.”
"All the deep, dark secrets are on my phone, sorry.”
"I’ll hack your phone later, then.”
"Mhm,” he hummed, smiling. Percy grabbed his sweatpants, t-shirt, and a fresh pair of boxers. "I’ll be back.”
Percy closed his bedroom door behind him as he left and trailed across the hall. He took his time in the shower, replaying the day's events in his head. He tried to pinpoint any moments that may have indicated Annabeth having feelings for him, but nothing came to mind.
In the end, he had nothing. There was nothing that made him think she looked at him in any way that wasn’t platonic. He shut the shower off bitterly and got out, drying off quickly and changing. He hung his towel up and walked back into his room.
Annabeth had changed into leggings and a t-shirt. She sat on the edge of his bed, her leg bouncing anxiously. Her eyes snapped up to his when he entered the room and before he could say anything, she blurted out, "I have something to tell you.”
Percy carefully shut his door and looked at her, his anxiety rising. "Okay…”
She opened her mouth before shutting it again, thinking. Annabeth stood abruptly and began pacing absentmindedly, which he knew she did when she was nervous. "I was gonna tell you yesterday,” she said, keeping her eyes on the ground, "but I chickened out and I wanted to tell you when we were alone and I'm… I don’t know why I'm so nervous because it’s not a bad thing but…” she trailed off, twisting her fingers together.
"Beth,” he stepped closer and grabbed her arms gently. "Relax. What’s going on?”
Annabeth’s gray eyes were wide as she looked at him. Percy wondered if this was it. If she did have feelings for him, was now the time she was going to tell him? She bit her lip and cracked her knuckles.
"Um,” she started quietly, “you know how you have a scholarship to NYU?”
Percy blinked. "Um… yes." He felt like his mind was drawing a blank from the unexpected question.
"Well… NYU has a really good architecture program,” Annabeth said, averting her eyes to her hands. "So, I applied.”
"Oh?” Percy breathed. He was 99% sure he knew her next words and anticipation built up in his chest as he waited patiently. She finally met his eyes.
"I got accepted.”
Despite expecting those words, they still knocked the breath from his lungs. "You got accepted to NYU?” he whispered, a slow smile creeping onto his face.
"Yeah,” she replied, just as quietly, still looking anxious. Percy stared at her, at a loss for words.
Without thinking, because his mind was short-circuiting right now, his hands moved up to cup her face. At this, she finally smiled. Her hands rested against his sides but Percy didn’t even feel it. "You’re going to NYU?” he asked, still in disbelief.
"I mean,” Annabeth shrugged, her voice taking on a teasing tone, "I haven’t committed yet so maybe I won’t.”
"Oh, shut up,” was all he said before pulling her into a tight hug, crushing her body against his. She giggled, hugging him back just as tightly and Percy was sure she was going to feel his heart pounding. "Oh my God, we’re gonna go to the same school,” he mumbled into her hair. Annabeth nodded against his chest.
"We’re gonna go to the same school,” she whispered.
Percy wasn’t sure how long he held her, it could’ve been hours. But eventually, he pulled away and they wore matching smiles. Percy felt absolutely euphoric. He went to turn his light off and right before he did, he saw Annabeth crawl into his bed and under his covers. She still had that blinding smile on her face as she picked up his laptop and began running her fingers over the trackpad to pull up the next episode of American Horror Story.
He flicked off the light and climbed in next to her. She moved the laptop over to his thighs after she pressed play and leaned against his arm. After maybe 20 minutes of Annabeth shifting uncomfortably, Percy lifted his arm from where it was pressed against her and curled it around her shoulders. She froze for a second as she fell against his side and Percy briefly panicked, thinking he’d ruined everything.
But then, she relaxed into him and her hand crossed her body to rest lightly on his rib cage. And then she said, "Cordelia is so badass,” as if they hadn’t just begun cuddling.
If her hand moved up six inches, Annabeth would be able to feel Percy’s heart beating out of his chest.
They made it through the last four episodes of the season, never making it more than 5 minutes without comment or conversation about the show’s progress. At one point, Annabeth shifted again, sitting up briefly. When she did, Percy’s arm fell behind her. Instead of moving it, he gently curled it around her waist.
Annabeth just leaned further into him.
When the show ended, Percy paused it before the next season could start and looked down at her. Annabeth tilted her head up and when they made eye contact, Percy had to remind himself to keep breathing. She was five inches away from his face.
In the dim light, only his laptop illuminating the room, her eyes looked dark.
"So,” he breathed, "It was good, right?”
Annabeth smiled and Percy almost leaned those few inches and kissed her. She was so beautiful and he was so in love.
"I guess it was good,” she admitted, shrugging and smiling softly.
"You guess?”
"It was okay.”
"I plan on forcing you to watch the rest,” he said, pinching her waist. It made Annabeth squirm away from his hand and further into his side. "So you better like it.”
"I guess that would be fine,” she said, shrugging again and laughing quietly. He smiled at her for a second and when her eyes glittered, Percy had to force himself to look away.
"Do you, um, wanna watch something else?” he asked quietly, closing out of American Horror Story. As if on cue, Annabeth yawned and shook her head.
"I’m tired,” she mumbled. Percy smiled and nodded, sitting up and slowly pulling his arm away as he closed his laptop and turned to set it on the floor. Annabeth shuffled down until her head was on the pillow, scooting away from Percy to put about a foot of distance between them.
In the darkness of his room, only the faint street lights coming through the blinds, he couldn’t see Annabeth as he laid back in bed. There was a comfortable silence before Annabeth whispered, "Goodnight.”
"Night, Beth.”
Sunday
When Percy first woke up, his first thought was, ugh, hair.
His eyes fluttered open and all he could see was gold. Annabeth’s golden curls glowed underneath the incoming sunlight. Percy leaned his head back a little to see more than just hair. Instantly, he realized what exactly was happening.
His face was buried in Annabeth’s hair because her back was pressed to his chest, his arm was firm around her waist, and their legs were tangled together.
They were cuddling. Full-on spooning, actually.
Percy tensed up momentarily, unsure of how to go about this. But Annabeth’s breathing was still even and she was still asleep, so Percy relaxed. Not completely, though, because he still had to move his arm without waking her up. When he lifted his arm, Annabeth shifted beside him and he panicked again.
Then she moved backward, pressing her back further against his chest. Her hair, which still brushed against his cheek, smelled like lemon and Percy needed to pull away before he did something dumb. But he so desperately didn’t want to. Annabeth’s body fit so nicely against his and she smelled nice and she was warm and he didn’t want to pull away.
He was about to try another attempt at pulling away when she shifted again. Except this time, she didn’t settle back against him and remain asleep. Now, she was waking up.
Annabeth stretched out and inhaled deeply before abruptly freezing, her breath catching in her throat. Percy forced his breathing to appear even so he could avoid this confrontation for a little longer. Slowly, Annabeth unfroze. And she settled back against him again, exhaling slowly.
Oh, Percy thought. Okay.
He waited a bit, silently reveling in Annabeth’s deep breaths and her slim waist under his arm, before deciding he needed to "wake up." He lazily stretched out, not missing the way Annabeth tensed up as his arm slid off her body and he rolled onto his back.
Annabeth turned around to face him, yawning. She looked so cute, Percy had to close his eyes, pressing his palms against his face. He felt her sit up next to him and heard her quiet groan as she stretched her arms above her head.
Annabeth pinched his arm, laughing when Percy jerked away from the touch. "I’m gonna shower,” she said with a soft smile. He nodded in response, pushing himself up. Annabeth lifted the covers, climbing out of the bed. She shuffled through her bag, pulling out her clothes for the day and a small bag before leaving the room without another word.
Percy flopped back onto his bed, covering his face with his hands and he resisted the urge to groan. He wasn’t sure how long he laid there, thinking about how much he wanted to hold her like that again, before begrudgingly sliding out of bed and changing into a pair of jeans. He’d just slipped his hoodie off and tossed it into his hamper when the door opened.
He turned his head when he heard a quiet inhale and caught Annabeth’s slightly startled expression. Her eyes flicked over what she could see of his torso before they abruptly dropped to the ground.
"Sorry,” she said quietly, making her way back to her bag to put her pajamas away.
"You’re fine,” Percy assured her, slipping on the first shirt he could get his hands on. Annabeth’s back was still to him when he turned around. Today, her skirt was a pale pink paired with a tight, black, long-sleeved shirt that was tucked in. The outfit accentuated her small waist. The very same waist Percy had his arm around 35 minutes ago.
He looked away before he did something stupid like wrap an arm around her again. Because he so desperately wanted to.
Instead, he sat back on his bed, leaning against his headboard and pulling out his phone. He opened Instagram and the post at the very top of his feed was one Annabeth must’ve posted before she’d re-entered his room.
It was a series of pictures. There were a few from some of the buildings they’d stopped at but they were mostly pictures of her or her and Percy together. There was one of her in the M&M store, one of her with her pizza from lunch, and one of her next to the lion at the library. Percy had taken it while she had been ranting about facts, her speech stopping briefly to pose. And then there were the pictures of her and Percy, all of which were selfies Annabeth had taken randomly from time to time. He smiled as he scrolled through them before he read the caption below it.
bestest day ever with my bestest friend in the world !! i love you percy, even though estelle is better than you !! not to get sappy or anything bc gross, but you’re the best<3
"Aww, I'm your bestest friend in the world?” Percy said before he could stop himself. He looked up at Annabeth who’d sat on the edge of his bed, typing away on her phone. Her eyes snapped up to his and her cheeks flushed.
“Estelle is still better than you,” she shot back. But the soft smile on her face said otherwise. Percy ignored the way his heart fluttered and he just rolled his eyes before returning his attention to his screen where he liked the picture and commented i love u too even tho you’re mean to me for no reason.
Percy’s head whipped up when Annabeth reached over and pinched his ankle. "Ow,” he pulled his ankle away, “stop pinching me.”
She ignored him and instead asked, "Can we get breakfast?”
Percy wanted to be difficult to get back at her for pinching him, but he was too hungry so he sighed and said, "I suppose we can feed you.”
She beamed at him, not waiting for him before getting up and throwing his door open. Percy scrambled out of bed to follow her, chasing her down the stairs. He’d just caught up with her by the time they reached the kitchen. Without hesitation, Annabeth sat next to Estelle and was immediately pulled into a conversation about how she’d promised to play with Estelle later.
Percy stepped up to the kitchen counter and began helping his mom with breakfast, taking over the scrambled eggs. His mother bumped her shoulder into his, gave him a look, then pointed her gaze in the direction of the dining table. Percy looked over and found Estelle now on Annabeth’s lap while they took pictures on her phone. God, Percy couldn’t handle it. So he looked away.
"Tell her,” Sally whispered under her breath, so quietly Percy barely heard it.
"I will,” he replied in the same tone. They left the conversation at that, finishing up the eggs and bacon and taking them to the table. As Sally went to get plates, Paul joined them at the table, kissing his wife on the cheek when she sat next to him.
They ate in relative silence, Estelle occasionally babbling about something random. They were just about finishing up when Sally asked, "What time is your flight, Annabeth?”
"Six,” she answered politely.
Percy’s stomach twisted as he remembered this was her last day. The thought made him upset despite knowing in about four months, he and Annabeth would be attending the same college for the next four years. A foot knocked into his ankle, pulling him out of his thoughts as his eyes snapped up. Annabeth was looking at him with concern and confusion. He just shook his head softly, standing to take his plate to the sink.
Predictably, Annabeth followed.
"Hey,” she said gently, standing next to him as he cleaned off their plates. "What’s wrong?”
"Just remembered that you leave today,” he muttered, shrugging.
Annabeth was quiet for a moment before she bumped her shoulder into his. "Aw, you gonna miss me?” she teased. Percy couldn’t find it in himself to tease back. Instead, he dried off his hands and turned to her, pulling her into a tight hug, not caring that his family could easily see them if they were looking.
"Yes,” he mumbled, his cheeks involuntarily heating up. Annabeth’s arms slowly wound around his torso.
"I’ll miss you, too,” she whispered, all traces of her previous teasing tone gone. "We’ll be going to school together soon, you know? You’re gonna get sick of me from how much I'm gonna bother you.”
"Shut up. I could never get sick of you." His response was way too honest and he was going to end up confessing his love for her right there by his kitchen sink if he didn’t stop talking right now. Thankfully, now was the moment they were interrupted.
"Sorry to intrude,” Sally said gently, offering an apologetic smile as they broke apart, cheeks burning pink.
"No, it’s okay,” Annabeth assured her. Then, Estelle came waddling into the room.
"Can we play now?” she asked Annabeth sheepishly.
"Of course,” Annabeth beamed at her. Percy unwillingly let a tiny whine pass his lips and Annabeth looked up at him, amused. "Hush, you big baby. In a couple of months, you’ll be seeing me, like, every day for the next four years.”
This caught Sally’s attention. "The next four years?” she asked. Annabeth’s smile turned shy again.
"I got accepted into NYU,” she said, rocking back and forth on her heels. "They have a really good architecture program,” she looked at Percy with a smile and glimmer in her eye, “plus this loser is going there which is a pretty great bonus.”
Sally gasped, her face lighting up. "That’s wonderful, congratulations! I hope Percy brings you around sometimes, it’s been lovely having you.”
Annabeth’s grin somehow got wider. "Thank you, it’s been so great being here. I really can’t thank you enough for letting me stay.”
"No worries, honey. You’re welcome anytime.”
Percy could see in his mother’s eyes just how much she loved Annabeth and it made his heart burst. And with the way Estelle was impatiently waiting for Annabeth, he could tell she liked her, too. Percy easily considered his mother and Estelle to be the most important people in his life and the fact that they loved Annabeth almost as much as he did comforted him in a way he hadn’t expected.
“Annabeth,” Estelle whined, making Sally scold her for being impatient.
"Okay, okay,” Annabeth laughed, allowing Estelle to pull her along, “let’s go play." She let the child lead her up the stairs and once she was out of sight, Sally turned to face her son.
"She’s going to NYU,” she said with a knowing look. Percy just nodded, waiting for the rest of what was to come. "How do you feel about that?”
"I mean,” he started, trying to put into words just how happy it made him. "It, like, doesn’t feel real. To know she’s going to be at the same school as me for the next four years. It actually makes me kind of excited to start college.”
Sally laughed, patting his shoulder. And as happy as he was, he still couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that he had to tell Annabeth today.
"Mom,” he said, looking at his feet. "How do I tell her?”
She sighed, leaning back against the counter. "You just have to be honest, Percy. Nothing you say is going to turn her away. I'm more than certain of that.”
"I know,” he admitted, "but still, how?”
Sally was quiet as she thought for a while. "You know that park a few minutes away? The one we used to go to a lot when you were younger?”
Percy could picture it instantly. It was about a ten-minute drive and it was about an eighth of the size of Central Park but still just as beautiful, if not more.
"Yeah.”
"And you remember that bridge you loved because you always looked down at the fish and turtles in the water?”
Percy smiled at the memory of six-year-old him, leaning over the railing and counting the turtle heads poking out of the water and fish that would swarm the little pieces of bread he would toss in the water for them.
"Yeah.”
"Take her there. Maybe go for a late lunch in a couple of hours and then tell her on the bridge.”
He considered this for a moment, enjoying the idea of adding another good memory to all the ones that surrounded the wooden bridge that was painted a dark shade of red. "Okay,” he decided. "Thank you.”
He still didn’t know what he was going to say exactly, but at least he was starting to create a plan.
He left his mother with a kiss on her cheek before trekking back up the stairs to find Estelle’s room. Again, Annabeth had a tiara on and she was sitting on the floor, this time coloring in a coloring book on the plastic table Estelle had in her room.
His sister’s eyes snapped up from her book when Percy appeared in the doorway. “Percy, come sit!” she beamed. Annabeth looked up, smiling as he sat on the floor across from her. Estelle pulled out another coloring book, one with unicorns and mermaids filling the pages, and handed it to him. He flipped through the book.
"There’s almost none you haven’t colored on,” he complained. Estelle just shrugged, clearly not caring. Percy found one that only had a few scribbles on it and began to color. "Do I get a crown?” Percy asked, glancing at his sister.
"I don’t have anymore,” Estelle said, not looking up.
"Wow,” Percy pouted, making Annabeth suppress a smile. "Rude." Again, Estelle shrugged. Percy quickly slid his phone from his pocket, checking the time. 11:30.
From: Percy
be ready to leave by like 2:30
i have a plan
Annabeth glanced down at her phone, then her eyes flicked up to Percy with confusion and maybe excitement. She typed out a response before asking Estelle something about starting kindergarten next year.
From: Annabeth
a plan??
you stress me out
but okay
They stayed there for another 30 minutes, coloring while Estelle talked about anything and everything. She was especially fascinated with Annabeth’s life in California. If he’d let her, Estelle would’ve kept them there all day so finally, Percy took the reins and said, "Alright monster, Annabeth and I have to get ready to go.”
"Nooo,” Estelle whined, pouting.
Annabeth smiled softly and said, "I’ll come back soon and play with you again, I promise.”
"Okay,” she said quietly, crawling over to wrap her arms around Annabeth’s neck. "I’ll miss you.”
"I’ll miss you, too.”
Eventually, Estelle let Annabeth go. When she reached up to take the crown off her head, Estelle said, "No, keep it! You’re a princess now so you need it!”
Annabeth smiled widely and nodded. "Okay,” she said softly. "I’ll keep it and wear it all the time.”
Estelle seemed satisfied with that answer, smiling widely and nodding. Percy stood up and extended a hand to Annabeth, who took it with a smile and pulled herself up. Again, he kept his hand in hers as they left Estelle’s room and walked back into his.
"So,” she said as she took off the plastic tiara and set it in her bag once he shut his door, “a plan?”
"There’s this park, like, ten minutes from my house that I used to go to when I was younger all the time. And it’s got this tiny, amazing cafe in it. I was thinking we could go for lunch in like two hours and maybe take a walk around the park before heading to the airport?” He suddenly felt shy about his plan but maybe that’s because he knew what the plans really consisted of.
"That sounds good,” she smiled. If she picked up on his sudden timidness, she didn’t comment on it. Instead, she carefully tossed herself onto his bed, making sure her skirt stayed down, before pulling out her phone.
Percy gave himself three seconds to memorize the image of her laying comfortably in his bed, committing it to memory, before slipping out his phone and laying next to her. Without hesitation, Annabeth slid closer until their arms were pressed together. "Hey,” she said, holding up her phone. Snapchat was open with a dumb filter that gave them cartoon dog ears and noses ready to go, making Percy roll his eyes. Nonetheless, he leaned his head closer and smiled. In the camera, he could see Annabeth’s wide grin and sparkling eyes as she took the picture.
"We look dumb,” Percy commented, mainly referring to the dog ears on their head.
"You look dumb,” she shot back. "I look cute.”
"I guess that’s more accurate,” he said as nonchalantly as he could. Annabeth gently pushed her shoulder into his but said nothing and Percy physically ached to turn and face her to see if her cheeks were flushed pink. But he resisted, keeping his eyes on his phone. He scrolled through his photos, picking out nine or ten to put in an Instagram post like Annabeth had done this morning.
Unlike hers, though, his contained no landmarks or buildings. Instead, the post consisted of pictures of both of them, one of just him that she’d taken, and a few candids of just her he’d taken that she still didn’t know about. He messed with the order of the photos for a bit too long before moving onto the caption. And suddenly, he felt stuck.
There were infinite things he could say about Annabeth Chase and now, his mind was filled with so many jumbled thoughts about her, he didn’t know how to put it into a few short sentences. It must’ve taken him about twenty minutes but eventually, he found something he was happy with.
spent the weekend with the biggest nerd ever !! and despite learning many things against my will, it was the most fun i've ever had. love you tons and tons beth !! <3
Percy read it over countless times before finally pressing post. He felt like he was holding his breath for her to say something because he knew she was going to see it right away.
"When did you take that?”
His breath released a moment later when she turned to him with an incredulous look on her face, holding her phone up for him to see the picture he took of her staring at Rockefeller Center.
"I believe,” he said with a smile, “that was at Rockefeller.”
"I know that smartass,” she rolled her eyes. "I just don’t remember you taking it.”
"You were kind of in the middle of falling in love,” he said. Then quickly added, "With the building.”
Annabeth blinked at him once before turning her eyes back to her phone and saying, "I was already in love way before I saw it in person.”
Percy felt his mouth run dry. Because the tiniest part of him wondered if she was still talking about the building. "Oh?” he asked, impressed with how his voice didn’t sound as breathless as he felt.
Annabeth looked back over at him and her gray eyes looked metallic in the light and Percy dug his fingernails into his skin to stop himself from kissing her right then and there.
"Yeah,” she shrugged. "You’ve never seen a place or,” the pause here was so brief, but Percy noticed it, “something online and fallen in love with it before seeing it in person?”
"I have." Now his voice sounded breathless and Percy silently cursed himself for it. He broke eye contact with her, looking at his phone before he did something dumb. Like his mother had told him to, he was paying attention. And yet, moments like that where it felt like she could have been hinting at feelings for him, he still found himself finding ways to deny it. Because he knew it was a very real possibility that she didn’t like him back. And if he assumed she did and ended up wrong, that would hurt a lot more than assuming she didn’t and being proven right.
Another 45 minutes of relative silence passed before Annabeth mercifully put an end to it. "I’m hungry,” she said. "It’s almost two, can we just leave now?”
"Yeah,” Percy breathed, sitting up. He slid off his bed, making sure he had his wallet and keys before turning towards Annabeth as he placed his hand on the door handle. She was looking around the room as if taking it all in.
"Still a little crazy,” she mumbled when she met his eyes. "I’m gonna go back to seeing all this through a screen again soon.”
"Ugh,” Percy whined, dropping his grip from the door and instead of walking over to crush her into another hug. "Don’t make me sad again,” he mumbled into her hair. There was the vague lemon smell of her shampoo again and Percy did his best to keep his breathing even.
Annabeth chuckled softly, hugging him back just as tight. "A few more months and we’ll be going to school together,” she muttered. "It’ll only suck a lot until then.”
Percy just nodded, keeping her in his embrace for another moment. He broke away when Annabeth’s stomach grumbled and they both laughed. "You really are hungry, wow,” he said, taking her hand instead.
Grabbing her suitcase for her with his other hand, Percy led her down the stairs. He set it down by the door before they popped into the living room. Sally and Paul were sitting on the couch while Estelle was laying on the floor, coloring.
"We’re leaving,” Percy said quietly when his mom looked over at them. She and Paul stood and Sally enveloped Annabeth in a gentle hug.
"It’s been lovely having you here,” Sally said quietly. "You’re welcome to visit anytime.”
"Thank you so much,” Annabeth replied before she was abruptly interrupted by Estelle worming her way between the two women. Annabeth chuckled and bent down to pick the girl up.
"I’ll miss you,” Estelle said, wrapping her limbs around Annabeth like a koala.
"I’ll miss you, too,” Annabeth said, hugging her close for a moment before setting her back down. To Percy’s surprise, Annabeth hugged Paul quickly too. "I know I've said it a million times, but thank you guys again for letting me stay,” she said to him and Sally when she pulled back.
"It’s been no problem at all,” Sally assured her. Annabeth stepped back to Percy’s side and he looked down at her.
"Ready to go?” he asked. She met his eyes and nodded. He took her hand and faced his family again. "I’ll be back in a few hours.”
With that, they said their final goodbyes and left. Percy only dropped Annabeth’s hand to put her bag in his car. She climbed into his passenger seat and twisted her fingers together. The drive passed quickly, minimal words exchanged the entire time.
Percy wasn’t sure where it came from, but there was a sudden heavy tension between them as they realized this was their last few hours together. And on top of that, Percy felt even more pressure knowing within these last few hours, he was going to confess his feelings for her. And despite everything his mom had said, he still wasn’t sure how she would take it.
He parked in the half-full lot, looking at her hesitantly. Annabeth was looking at her fingers, picking at her nails. "Ready?” Percy asked quietly. She didn’t look at him as she nodded, grabbing her bag and getting out. He turned the engine off, getting out and locking the car behind him.
He walked around the car to her side and without hesitation, she slipped her hand back into his. He led her down the sidewalk, towards the cafe. As they walked, he looked around and was reminded of countless memories.
"I broke my arm falling off those monkey bars,” he said, pointing at the set of metal rungs. He had been eight and instead of going across the bars normally, he’d found a way to climb on top of them like he’d seen older kids do all the time. Except eight-year-old Percy didn’t have the balance those older kids must’ve had because he toppled right over the side and crashed to the ground, landing on his right arm.
"I’m not even surprised,” Annabeth said quietly with a smile once Percy finished telling her the story of how it happened. "I’ve never broken a bone and I plan to keep it that way.”
"Yeah, kinda hard to break a bone by reading books,” Percy teased with a shrug. Annabeth dropped his hand to smack his shoulder.
"I was a cheerleader from sixth to eleventh grade!” she exclaimed. "And I was a flyer for the last year. I could’ve broken a bone but I never did, thank you very much."
Percy narrowed his eyes. "A cheerleader? I want proof.”
Annabeth grabbed her phone from her bag and went through it for a moment as they kept walking slowly. Then she turned the screen to him and showed him a picture from last year where she was standing with another girl, both clad in cheer uniforms. Percy recognized the other girl as Annabeth’s best friend, Piper.
"Very cute,” he conceded. "Piper was one, too?”
"I made her try out with me freshman year. She loves it,” Annabeth smiled, putting her phone away. "She’s still on the team. I dropped out of it senior year because I wanted to get a job.”
Percy nodded slowly. "You couldn’t do both?”
"Cheer practice was every day after school,” she explained. "I would’ve only been able to work weekends. And even some weekends were games or extra practices for games. I would’ve been exhausted.”
"Gotcha,” he said. "The cafe is right up here, by the way.”
"Okay,” she replied quietly, taking his hand. Percy had become so familiar with the feeling of their palms pressed together and their fingers intertwined, he wanted to feel it for the rest of his life.
They walked into the cafe and found a table next to the window, sitting down across from each other. Within a moment, a waitress came over and took their drink orders before handing them both a small menu. They looked over them in silence, deciding what to get.
After a minute, Percy set his menu down and looked up at Annabeth who was still studying hers. Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly, giving her the tiniest crease between them. Her eyes scanned back and forth before she finally seemed to make a decision. She set her menu down and looked up, immediately locking eyes with Percy who didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was staring.
Any embarrassment he felt about her catching him staring was dismissed when he saw Annabeth’s cheeks flush pink.
"I kinda don’t wanna leave,” she said quietly, placing her elbow on the table and her chin in her palm.
"Just a few months,” Percy said, mirroring the way she sat. "You gonna miss me that much?”
Annabeth rolled her eyes but still quietly said, "Yeah.”
Percy smiled and his eyes shifted to the waitress approaching. They gave their lunch orders and handed the woman their menus with a polite, "Thank you,” from both of them. Their attention shifted back to each other and they silently studied each other.
Her stormy eyes analyzed him and Percy wondered what she was thinking about. He would never fully understand how her mind worked and it was one of the things he loved most about her. She was always thinking and always trying to learn everything about everything.
Her head tilted, her chin still in her palm. "What are you thinking about?”
You, was what he wanted to say. Instead, he settled for something a little lighter. "I kinda don’t want you to leave either.”
Annabeth smiled softly. "You gonna miss me that much?” she teased, repeating his earlier words.
"Yeah,” he replied instantly. "But waiting a few months won’t be that bad since we’ll be going to school together.”
At that, her smile brightened and she nodded. "That’s going to be so crazy,” she said softly. Just then, their sandwiches were set down in front of them. They both thanked the waitress again before beginning to eat.
Annabeth hadn’t been lying when she said she was hungry because her entire plate was clean within five minutes. Percy struggled to keep up with her, making her laugh. "Did you even chew any of that? Oh my God,” he asked incredulously. Annabeth threw her head back with laughter and Percy thought she looked so pretty like that.
"I was hungry!” she exclaimed.
"I see that.”
"Shut up." She kicked his ankle lightly, smiling widely. "And hurry up, I wanna see this special park little Percy loved so much.”
"Okay, okay,” he said, finishing up his food. The waitress came by with the bill and after a short debate, Percy let Annabeth pay for lunch. As they left the cafe, Percy’s hand resumed its place in Annabeth’s and he didn’t miss the way she stepped closer to him.
He led her down the sidewalk, recalling stories from his childhood that made her laugh and lean against him. Up ahead, Percy spotted the bridge his mom had mentioned and he led her that way.
"Mom and I used to feed fish and turtles on this bridge,” he explained quietly as they began to walk over it. "I think it’s my favorite part of the whole park.”
"Even more than the monkey bars where you broke an arm?”
"Definitely more than that,” he laughed quietly.
They stopped in the center of the bridge and looked down at the water. Percy could see orange fish swimming around and a few turtle heads poking above the surface. The words both his mother and Grover had said to him bounced around in his mind. He leaned against the railing and looked around at the people he could see on the other side of the pond. Annabeth stood next to him, her arm pressed against his as she leaned against the railing, too.
"You okay?” she asked quietly after a moment of silence. Percy hesitated, knowing the second he looked over at her, something in him was going to snap and he was either going to confess everything or do something worse, like try to kiss her. He dug his nails into his palm like he always seemed to do when he was nervous. But Annabeth noticed this time. “Percy, hey,” she said, quickly taking his hand and twining their fingers together.
He swallowed roughly before turning his head, finally looking at her. The clear concern in her eyes as she studied him was enough to help him not immediately pull her into a kiss like he desperately wanted to.
"This has been one of the best weekends of my life,” he said quietly. And that was true. No matter how on edge he’d felt from being around someone he was so in love with, this would still easily go down as one of the top five weekends of his life. Regardless of what could happen next.
Her lips quirked upwards but the worry in her eyes didn’t disappear. "Mine too,” she replied, just as quiet.
He felt as though she was looking right through him. She was the smartest person he’d ever met and she probably knew him like the back of her hand. Though if that was the case, he supposed she might’ve already known about his feelings for her. He was sure he did a bad job of hiding them, even if he tried his best to.
"But,” he whispered, dropping his gaze to their hands, "I’ve also been going a little, uh, crazy. If I'm being honest.”
Annabeth looked at him warily, hesitating before asking, "Why?”
"Being around you is harder than I thought it would be.”
And in hindsight, he could have worded that better. Or explained what he meant right away. But he didn’t. He was silent for a moment until he realized no reply was coming. Percy looked up to find her fiddling with her necklace, squeezing one of the metal charms between her fingers. He’d seen her do that exact thing multiple times when she’d been upset.
"Not because of what you might be thinking,” he said quickly, trying to amend it. But she just chuckled sadly.
"It’s hard to be around me,” she repeated, her quiet voice hollow in a way that made Percy’s heart twist painfully. "Because I'm not what you expected. Am I that boring? Or annoying? Maybe rude? I'm that bad that it’s hard to be around me?”
"No,” he whispered. He released her hand and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "Wrong on every account. That’s not what I meant.”
"Then what did you mean?”
Percy pulled back just enough to look at her. "You are exactly what I expected. You’re caring, funny, so f*cking smart, so f*cking beautiful, and the biggest nerd I've ever met and I mean that in a good way. And I love all of that. I-” His breath caught and his throat became dry. He had to force the words out, though. Annabeth looked like she wanted to cry and that was the last thing he wanted.
He closed his eyes. "I love you,” he breathed. "That’s why it’s hard. Because I love you and I couldn’t tell you.”
When he opened his eyes, she was staring at him. "You mean that?” she whispered.
"I mean that,” he promised. Still, she just looked at him with wide eyes like she was trying to process the words coming out of his mouth.
"But when you say love, you mean-”
He showed her exactly what he meant by moving a hand up to her cheek and pulling her into a kiss. Her breath caught in her throat but Annabeth responded instantly.
For a moment, the world fell away and it was only the two of them.
The entire weekend, Percy had noticed how Annabeth had seemed to fit perfectly in every part of his life. She fit in perfectly with his family, their personalities meshed perfectly, and it made the best friendship imaginable.
Even physically, her hand had fit perfectly in his and her body molded perfectly against his. She was just the right height for a hug and even now, their lips moved together in a way that made Percy feel like he was floating.
Annabeth was the first to pull away but she didn’t go very far. Her head settled right under his chin and Percy could feel her breath ghosting along the skin of his neck.
"So, you mean to tell me,” she said, “we could’ve been doing that this whole weekend?”
Percy smiled softly and moved his head back to look down at her. "I guess so,” he replied softly. Her gray eyes danced with mirth as she grinned.
"We’re kinda dumb,” she whispered. And with that, Annabeth moved her hand to the back of his neck and pulled Percy into another kiss. This one was much shorter and softer but Percy felt the same elation he’d felt the first time. "I love you, too, by the way,” she said when she pulled back.
Percy’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest as relief and happiness washed over him, hearing her say those words. He pressed one more soft kiss to her lips before pulling her into a hug.
"I’ve been so scared to tell you that all weekend,” he said earnestly.
"There were so many times I almost told you,” she admitted. "But each time, I got scared and chickened out.”
"You should’ve. Loser.”
Annabeth pulled out of the hug and smacked his shoulder. "Hey! It still took you the whole weekend to say anything!”
Instead of defending himself, because he really couldn’t, Percy smiled and nodded. "Yeah, yeah. You’re right,” he conceded.
Percy quickly checked his phone and saw the time. 3:57.
"Your flight is in two hours and it’ll take us at least 45 minutes to get to the airport,” he said reluctantly. Annabeth frowned before nodding slowly.
"We should go then,” she said. Silently, Percy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they walked back to the car. Almost the entire drive was quiet save for the radio. The only time it was broken was when Annabeth asked, “Percy, what… are we now?”
Percy blinked a few times. "Well,” he started, "I want… I mean, would you... “ he trailed off, frowning, trying to piece a sentence together.
"I really want to call you my girlfriend,” he said quietly, glancing over at her. "So, will you? Be my girlfriend, I mean. Will you be my girlfriend?” Percy cringed internally at his awkward phrasing and stuttering. But Annabeth just leaned over the center console and pressed her lips to his cheek.
"Of course,” she said gently, making Percy’s whole body fill with warmth.
Percy intertwined their hands and he bit back a smile as she squeezed his hand and leaned her cheek against his arm. Annabeth stayed like that for the remainder of the drive, only moving when Percy parked in the parking garage underneath the airport.
She placed her chin on his shoulder and when he turned to look at her, their noses brushed together. Even in the dim light of the garage, Annabeth’s eyes sparkled and Percy closed the small gap between them. Because he could do that now.
Her hand that wasn’t locked with his came up to rest on his jaw, pulling him closer. He could’ve happily sat like that for the rest of his life but Annabeth had a flight to catch. So with a lot of struggle, Percy broke the kiss. "We have to go,” he whispered, his lips still brushing against hers with his words. She nodded slowly and stole one more small kiss before sitting back and getting her small bag together.
Percy watched her with a smile as she struggled with her zipper for a moment. When she looked back up at him, her cheeks flushed under his gaze and she nodded towards the door. "Come on,” she said quietly, opening her door and getting out. Percy shut the car off and got out, too, grabbing her suitcase from the backseat before locking the doors behind him.
Annabeth’s arm wound around his torso as they walked through the parking garage and into the elevator that would take them into the airport above them. The entire time, she stood as close to Percy as possible and he tried to memorize the feeling of her pressed against him so he could savor it after she was gone.
They walked through the airport until they got up to the check-in kiosk. Annabeth received her boarding pass and checked her bag after they waited in a thankfully short line. And then they walked towards security which was the point they would have to separate.
Annabeth stared at the lines of people before looking up at Percy with sad eyes. "I have to go,” she whispered.
"I know,” Percy said, pulling her into a tight hug. "Just a few months. We’ll see each other again soon. It’ll be okay.”
She nodded against his chest before pulling her head back to lean up into another kiss. Percy could already tell he would never tire of kissing her.
She broke after a moment just to whisper, "I love you.”
Despite feeling like he wanted to cry, Percy smiled at the words. "I love you, too,” he replied. Annabeth’s eyes looked glassy as they searched his and his hands came up to hold her face and kiss her again. "Do not cry because then I will cry and I won’t let you leave,” Percy said quietly.
She chuckled and pushed her cheek further into his hand. "You won’t let me leave? If that’s the case, I'm gonna cry.”
Percy smiled and kissed her forehead once, and then her lips one final time. "Go, Beth,” he mumbled. "You can’t miss your flight.”
Annabeth nodded and leaned up to kiss him again. When she pulled back, she said, "I have to stop kissing you or I'm never gonna leave, God.”
Percy laughed and dropped his hands from her face. "I love you,” he said again, just because he couldn’t get over the fact that he could actually say it now. "Text me when you’re on the plane. Or sooner, if you can.”
"Okay,” she said, finally pulling away completely. "I love you.”
With that, she gave him a small, sad smile before turning and walking towards security. Percy watched her go for a minute until she was standing in one of the lines.
And, of course, she turned back to look at him again. He watched as she wiped a tear away with a sad chuckle. Annabeth waved at him before turning again to face the front of the line. Percy took that as his queue to make his way back to his car, though part of him wanted to wait until she was through security and out of sight. But with such a long line, he knew it was better for him to head home now before traffic got any worse.
Once he was in his car, he pulled out his phone from his back pocket. There were already texts from Annabeth waiting for him.
From: Annabeth
this sucks
i miss u already
A heavy feeling settled on Percy’s chest as he realized just how long these next few months would be. He typed out a reply before putting his car in reverse and backing out of the spot.
From: Percy
i miss u too
i'm about to start driving but i'll be home before you take off
Percy’s phone buzzed a couple of times in the cup holder he’d set it in during the drive. Each time, he felt an urge to check it but he knew better than to text while driving. Then again, he also knew better than to speed but the only reason he wasn’t doing that was traffic. Had there been no other cars in front of him, Percy would’ve gotten home in half the time it normally took him.
When he reached home, 50 minutes later, it was 5:47 and he had seven texts from Annabeth.
From: Annabeth
okay
be safe
i'm through security
kinda thinking i should’ve stolen a hoodie or a shirt yk
would’ve been nice
this weekend was so much fun
i hope the next four years are just like it
Percy’s heart twisted as he read them.
From: Percy
i'm home
i think the next four years are gonna be even better
Quickly, Percy shut his car off and bolted into his house and up to his room, shouting a quick, "I’ll be down soon!” to his mom when she called his name. He tossed himself onto his bed just as her replies came in.
From: Annabeth
if that’s even possible
we’re boarding soon
From: Percy
boo
should i have pulled a ross geller and told you to get off the plane and stay with me
From: Annabeth
i hate friends so no
but it still would’ve been cute
Percy chuckled and rolled over in his bed as he began typing. For a second, he thought he imagined it. But he inhaled deeper and realized he could, in fact, still smell the lemon scent of her shampoo that lingered on his pillow. His chest grew heavy again as he deleted whatever he’d started to type.
From: Percy
oh my god my pillow smells like you i-
im sad
get off the plane come back
From: Annabeth
i'm not even on the plane yet
From: Percy
even better
just come back
From: Annabeth
i will
in a few months
Percy sighed. In the privacy of his room, no one had to know if he pulled the pillow that smelled like his girlfriend to his chest.
From: Annabeth
we’re starting to board
From: Percy
boo
hate that
From: Annabeth
can we skype when im home?
it’ll be like midnight for you
From: Percy
like that’s ever stopped me from talking to you
From: Annabeth
simp
From: Percy
wow
hm suddenly I can’t skype anymore rip
He waited a while for her next reply which he assumed meant she was getting on the plane and finding her seat. Percy tried to get the heavy feeling in his chest to dissipate but he missed Annabeth a ridiculous amount. Finally, his phone buzzed in his hand.
From: Annabeth
first of all rude
second of all, i'm in my seat
there’s a pretty girl next to me wow
my bisexuality is thriving
From: Percy
ma’am you have a boyfriend
am i joke to you
i don’t simp over you to be treated this way</3
From: Annabeth
so you agree that you’re a simp?
From: Percy
duh
have you seen you
what kind of question is that
From: Annabeth
you’re cute
i guess i'll keep you
The words may have partially been a joke but nonetheless, Percy’s heart fluttered. He rolled onto his stomach, trapping the pillow he was still hugging underneath him. Which very, very, briefly led to a thought about Annabeth being underneath him. But that thought disappeared almost instantly with Annabeth’s next texts.
From: Annabeth
we’re taking off in a minute
so i have to go
From: Percy
:(
okay
text me when you land
From: Annabeth
i will
i love you
Without fail, those three words made him smile again.
From: Percy
i love you too
She didn’t respond after that so Percy assumed her phone was in airplane mode. He sat up and tossed the pillow behind him, standing up and making his way downstairs. Paul and Estelle were in the living room while his mother was in the kitchen, putting dinner away.
"Hey,” Sally said when she saw him, "I made you a plate, it’s in the microwave.”
"Thank you,” he replied, maneuvering around her to heat his food up.
"So…?” His mom poked his side, smiling at him. "Please tell me you told her.”
Percy’s cheeks flushed pink and he smiled. "I told her.”
"And it went well?”
"It went well,” he confirmed.
"Thank GOD,” she said, hugging him. It was kind of funny now, hugging his mom. Percy had grown past her height by now so his arms enveloped her the same way hers had done to him his entire life.
"You were right, I guess,” he said, rolling his eyes fondly and breaking the hug to get his food from the microwave.
"I always am,” she said when she turned back to the sink. Percy shook his head as he sat at the dining table. He wasn’t super hungry since he’d eaten a few hours ago but he managed to finish all of his chicken and rice quickly. Since his mom had already cleared the sink of dishes and started the washer, Percy washed his plate and fork by hand, drying it and putting it away.
Bounding back up the stairs, he made his way back to his room and sat at his desk. He had hardly finished any homework since Annabeth had been here so he took the next few hours to push through the assignments he had. By the time he was done, he still had two and a half hours until Annabeth’s flight landed. Percy let out an impatient sigh and went to shower, mainly just to pass time.
He took his time, washing his hair and body. A portion of the shower was spent staring aimlessly at the wall and replaying the weekend in his head. A little part of him was upset that he hadn’t confessed his feelings sooner, but he couldn’t be that upset when, overall, it was the best weekend of his life.
By the time he was out, he’d accidentally ended up taking a 45-minute shower. Percy flopped onto his bed after slipping on some sweatpants, reaching for his laptop. He pulled up American Horror Story, smiling when he remembered Annabeth’s reluctance to watch the show. In the end, she’d admitted to liking it. Which overjoyed Percy because now he would be able to watch the remaining seasons with her. Though, he might’ve done that even if she hadn’t liked it.
He pressed play on the first episode of season four. He was well into the third episode when his phone buzzed.
From: Annabeth
i landed !!
Percy felt stupidly giddy when her name lit up on his screen.
From: Percy
boo get back on a flight to ny
From: Annabeth
good idea
omw
From: Percy
is your dad there?
From: Annabeth
piper came to get me
she didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to hear everything
so she’s taking me home
From: Percy
she wants to hear everything?
aw are you talking about me?
Again, Percy’s heart jumped at the idea of Annabeth telling her friend all about him and their weekend. He wondered what exactly she’d be saying. Percy knew that she considered her time in New York one of the best weekends of her life, just like he did, but he still wondered more about how she would describe the past few days to someone else.
It was a while before Annabeth replied again so Percy assumed she was making her way to Piper’s car, maybe already talking about him.
From: Annabeth
shut up
i take it all back i hate u
From: Percy
no you dont<3
From: Annabeth
mm i do a little
piper says hi
From: Percy
hi piper
From: Annabeth
she asked if you had fun
From: Percy
so much
From: Annabeth
im gonna be real, i think she was trying to make a sex joke
but it’s still cute to know you had fun with me aw
simp
From: Percy
ur so mean to me
and for what
i give you all my love and this is how you treat me
From: Annabeth
love you<3
okay piper is about to steal my phone bc im talking to you and not her
so i'll text you when im home in like 30 minutes
From: Percy
okay
love you too
Percy set his phone down and resumed his show, which he had paused to give Annabeth his full attention. Maybe she hadn’t been lying when she called him a simp… which didn’t really bother him because he couldn't deny it.
It was close to 50 minutes later when he heard from Annabeth again. This time, though, it was with a FaceTime call instead of a text. Percy quickly paused the show and accepted the call. Annabeth’s soft smile and bright eyes appeared on his screen, instantly filling his heart with happiness.
"Hey,” he said quietly. From what he could tell, she was laying on her stomach in her bed.
"Hi,” Annabeth replied. "What are you up to?”
"Watching American Horror Story.”
"Without me?” she asked, looking genuinely offended. "That’s so rude.”
Percy chuckled and shut his laptop, sliding down until he was on his back and holding his phone above him. "I’m so very sorry,” he said with mock sincerity. "We can watch all the seasons together in the fall.”
At that, Annabeth’s face lit up. "In the fall,” she repeated. Percy’s smile matched hers as they both thought about them going to school together. Annabeth broke the silence with, "This kinda f*cking sucks, you know?”
"What sucks?” Percy asked, tilting his head with confusion. For a brief moment, fear-filled him as he thought he may have been referring to something about them.
"Seeing you through a screen now,” she whispered, her smile fading.
Percy’s smile turned sad and he rolled onto his stomach. "Yeah,” he agreed. "Just a few more months.”
Annabeth smiled. "Just a few more months.”
Epilogue
Percy set down the last box and smiled at the sight of Annabeth sprawled out on the living room floor. They still didn’t have a couch so she’d decided the carpet and a single pillow was enough for her. Percy locked the entrance door behind him and walked through boxes until he was standing over his girlfriend. When he stopped above her, she opened one eye and smiled up at him.
“Hey.”
“Hi there,” he replied. “Tired?”
She nodded. “We’ve been moving boxes all day.”
“Poor baby.”
Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him. “I hate you,” she said flatly, making him laugh. Percy held his hands out for her.
“Come on, let’s nap for a bit before we unpack later.”
She reached up and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Percy kept one of his hands in hers and led her down the hall to their room which currently consisted of a bed, an empty dresser, and a mostly empty closet. They both kicked off their shoes before climbing into bed together.
As usual, Annabeth wrapped her limbs around Percy and snuggled in close to him. He bit back a smile and held her close, feeling the way her body rose and fell with slow, even breaths. Within minutes, Annabeth was completely asleep and Percy just relished in her warmth as he eventually fell asleep too.
When he woke up, it was with his girlfriend on top of him pressing small kisses along his cheeks and jaw. He groaned quietly, feeling Annabeth’s lips stretch into a smile against his skin.
“I’m hungry,” she said as she sat up, placing her hands on his chest.
“Wanna order something?” Percy replied, rubbing his eyes.
“Are you saying you don’t want to dig through boxes to find our two pans and make something with the lunch meat and ketchup in our fridge?” she asked, smiling widely at him.
“Very tempting,” he joked. “But I think pad thai sounds better.”
Annabeth’s eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite food. “You are a genius,” she kissed him quickly before beginning to climb off him. “I knew I was smart to fall in love with you.”
With that, she left the room to find her phone which was still on the living room floor, leaving Percy smiling to himself with his heart soaring from her words. He quickly pushed himself off the bed and trailed down the hall to find her.
Over the next three days, Annabeth and Percy barely left the apartment as the unpacked box after box. On the second day, Percy’s parents helped them move in the couch, coffee table, dining table, and build three bookshelves. They also helped empty the remaining boxes and they offered to take the cardboard to the dump for them, which left piles of clothes and books and a handful of kitchen utensils for them to put away.
As Annabeth hung up her last few hangers of clothes and Percy put away his last pair of shorts, they collapsed on their bed together, finally done with moving in. It was silent for a moment before Annabeth giggled quietly and rolled over to press against Percy. He wrapped an arm around her and smiled when he saw her sparkling eyes looking at him.
“We did it,” she whispered, smiling at him. Percy could easily tell she meant a lot more than just unpacking.
“We did,” he agreed softly, pushing her hair back behind her ear. They’d gotten through two years of living in separate dorms and now, in their junior year, they’d finally moved in together.
Annabeth bit her lip and ran her fingers through his hair, leaning on her elbow. She had a tender look in her eye as she distractedly watched herself comb through his locks. Annabeth often got sentimental about their journey and she’d cried when they first finalized their plans to move in together.
“I love you,” Percy said softly, drawing her attention back to his eyes. She leaned down and kissed him softly.
“I love you so much,” she replied just as soft.
Percy rolled over and trapped her underneath him, making her laugh softly and tangle her fingers in his hair again. “Did you ever think that we’d end up here when you first DMed me?” she asked, her lips curving upwards.
He chuckled. “I didn’t even think you’d wanna be friends with me,” he answered honestly. “Dating you has been a dream come true.”
Annabeth’s cheeks flushed beautifully and he couldn’t help himself as he leaned down to kiss her again. “It’s so crazy,” she whispered when he pulled back. “We live together. We went from living on opposite sides of the country to sharing a bed.”
“I know, it’s crazy,” he agreed. Annabeth wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him forward until his head was pressed into the crook of her neck. Her hair smelled like lemon and it was intoxicating and soothing all at once.
She took deep breaths and for a moment, Percy thought she’d fallen asleep before she whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Beth,” he replied, pressing a gentle kiss to her skin before falling asleep right there on top of her.
