beauty and the beast ⋮ percabeth au

Epilogue

"Percy!" I called out, holding my various college letters in hand. Cornell's envelope sat at the top of the pile, as if the mailman knew that Cornell was my dream school.

"Yeah?" Percy responded, standing up from my couch. He noticed the envelopes in my hand and rushed over. "Are those...?"

"My college letters? Yes." I placed the letters on the table, but kept the Cornell letter in my hands. "My entire future lies in this envelope."

"The envelope looks big. That's good, right?" Percy suggested, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his chin on my head. "You want me to open it?"

"No!" I exclaimed quickly, clutching the letter to my chest. "It could just be a very huge rejection letter, and I am not having you read that."

"Annabeth." Percy turned me around so I was facing him. "You've had perfect grades since Kindergarten, you've landed two lead roles in two different musicals, you dance, and you've played the piano since you were six. If any college doesn't take you, they're nuts."

"Thanks for the motivational speech, Percy, but can I open my letter now?"

"Wasn't stopping you."

Hands shaking, I ripped open the seal to the envelope. Dear Ms. Annabeth Chase,

Congratulations! Cornell University would like to invite you to our graduating class of 2022....

The words took a second to take their impact on me. I then screamed out in shock, dropping the letter to the floor. "You're in?" Percy questioned, grabbing onto my shoulders.

"I'm in," I confirmed, still in awe. Percy whooped loudly, picking me up and spinning me around in delight.

"I told you so, Wise Girl!" He chuckled, setting me back down on the ground. "Now we're going to college in the same state!"

My eyes widened, realizing that Percy and I were in fact going to be in the same state for college. He had recently been accepted in Pace University, an elite performing arts college located in New York City. Cornell, on the other hand, was located in Ithaca. Not the exact same city, but in very close vicinity of one another. "Holy crap, you're right!"

Percy pulled me back into a hug, resting his chin on top of my head. "I'm so proud of you, Wise Girl. I love you."

"I love you too, Seaweed Brain."

•••

"Percy, where are you taking me?"

"I told you, dinner!" Percy laughed, steering the car in a direction that seemed to be really familiar to me, but I couldn't place where exactly we were going. "You've finally earned your Bachelor of Architecture degree after six years of hell, better known as Cornell University."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Cornell was absolutely amazing," I sighed, leaning back into my seat. "I graduated only a day ago and I already miss it."

"Annabeth, I frequently caught you sleeping on your desk in our apartment surrounded by at least four cans of Red Bull, muttering in your sleep about your demonic professor."

"Well, besides those moments."

Percy chuckled then turned into a parking spot. I looked through the front window to see quiet park surrounded by willow trees and a small pond in the center. "Is this...?"

"The place where we had our first date back in high school?" Percy answered, pulling a picnic basket out of the trunk of the fair and swinging it onto his shoulder. "Absolutely."