Recorded Dreams (A Percabeth AU)

38

Percy POV-

"Annabeth, what's up?" I get a call around seven o'clock.

"Annabeth!" Estelle exclaims, overhearing me on the phone. She sits next to me, so Annabeth could hear her.

"Hi Estelle," Annabeth says. "Percy, can you meet me at Central Park?"

"Yeah, of course, Wise Girl. I'll see you in a few. Is everything alright?"

"I just need to talk to you."

"Is everything alright with your mom?"

She ignores my question. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

For the first time since we started dating, she hung up without saying 'I love you'.

"Percy, where are you going?" My mom asks as I throw on a coat.

"I'm meeting Annabeth at the park. I'll be home in a bit." I give my mom a kiss on the forehead. Estelle starts to follow me out the door.

"Estelle, you can't come with me today, okay? You need to stay here with mom."

"Why?"

My mom scoops up Estelle. "How about a movie night, my little princess?" Estelle smiles and cheers.

"Movie night! Movie night!" My mom winks at me before carrying Estelle into the living room. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Annabeth!" I call as I see her. She smiles and starts to jog towards me. Then, her smile turns into a frown as I practically see the gears in her brain beginning to turn.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" I ask.

"My mom offered me the job." She gives a soft smile. She wasn't happy though. Why isn't she happy?

"That's great!" I wrap her in a hug. "Why aren't you happy?"

"She says if I take the job, I have to get rid of all distractions. No phone-"

"We can email on your computer." I smile.

"She... she umm also said no boyfriend," she tells me.

"Oh." I feel my heart drop. Annabeth was going to leave me. She would have to. And I would have to be supportive.

"Percy, I can't leave you."

"We could be 'friends'." I put air quotes around the word.

"There's only a couple problems with that. First, she would know. She's smart enough to figure that much out. Second, she already said friends outside of work would be a distraction, so no to that too."

"Oh." I had no ideas. She had to take this job though. It would make her happy, and that's all I wanted her to be.

"I can't take the job, Percy."

"Annabeth-"

"Percy! I can't lose you! Don't try to argue with me."

"Is this all about losing me?" I ask her. She nods, tears running down her face. I wrap my arms around her.

"Annabeth, I don't want to be the thing holding you back." I hear her let out a whimper and I want to cry too, but I knew I had to be strong for her. "If this is what you want, I want you to go chase that dream. I'd love to have you with me forever and ever. God, Annabeth, I just want to hold you here forever. But I can't. I'd be an awful boyfriend if I let you stay doing something you hate."

"We're supposed to be together, Percy. 'As long as we're together.'" I wipe tears from my eyes before she knows I'm crying. God, she made this difficult.

"Annabeth. Do you want this job?"

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. Think about the job. Only the job. Do you want it?"

"Yes."

"Then you have to let me go, because I can't be the one holding you back."

"I don't want to let you go, though."

"Annabeth-" I cup her chin in my hands, forcing her gaze to me. "-you need to."

"Why can't you just let go of me instead? Then I could be mad at you instead. Then I wouldn't miss you so much."

"Because I can't. I'm going to think of you all day and all night until the day I die, you know that, right?" She smiles softly, more tears in her eyes. "Between the two of us, you're the stronger one. You need to do it."

"Says the man with the eight pack."

"Annabeth-"

"I love you, Percy. And I always will. We have until my mom gets custody of me to be together. It could be weeks or even months. I want to spend all of that time with you. I know it'll make it harder, but I'll regret every second that you aren't by my side."

"O-okay." I didn't want her to leave me at all. I wanted to grab her and run and hold her how I was now for all of eternity. But I couldn't be selfish, and I couldn't hold her back from her dreams.

They say if you love someone you have to let them go.

And that's what I would have to do.

We walk back to my family's apartment, her mind already made up that she would be by my side until her mom takes custody of her.

"It's the only way out," I hear her mumble to herself.

"Are you going to tell your mom that you want the job?" I ask her.

"Not yet, the longer it takes me to tell her, the more time I have with you." I pull her close to me as we walk. My family smiles upon seeing her come in the apartment.

"Annabeth, we've missed you," my mom says. Then she sees tears in our eyes. "What's wrong? Annabeth, did something happen at home? Come here." She wraps her arms around Annabeth, who tells her everything.

"Do you want the job, sweetie?" My mom asks. Annabeth nods.

"Wait, Annabeth's getting a new job?" Estelle asks, interrupting what my mom was going to say.

"Yeah, Estelle, I'm gonna be designing stuff now."

"Like pretty dresses?" Estelle asks.

"No, like Princess castles."

"Can you make me a princess castle?" Estelle asks happily. Annabeth laughs.

"Of course, Queen Estelle." Estelle jumps up and down and cheers.

"Mommy! Daddy! Annabeth's gonna build me a castle!" Estelle exclaimed.

I could hear Paul laugh. "Really?!"

"Yeah! Isn't that wonderful? I'm gonna get my own princess castle!"

Annabeth picks Estelle and the three of us walk back into the living room, where The Princess and the Frog was playing. When the movie finished up, we all headed to bed. Annabeth lays next to me, still refusing to leave my side. I pull her close to my chest, remembering that this would be one of our last days here.

'As long as we're together' is over now.

Don't you just love this chapter?

Love you guys!

Don't worry, the next few chapters will probably be just as heartbreaking and cruel.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️