Going Viral

Chapter 18

August 18th

After Percy's post, it became pretty obvious that they were dating. Annabeth had even had a call from her father to which she'd rolled her eyes throughout but somehow managed to put up with. She and Percy had filmed a video titled "You guessed it" which she was in the process of editing which clearly stated that, yes, they were dating, but that wasn't all she had to look forward to right now.

It was Percy's 22nd. She'd been gloating about being more grown up and mature than him since her 22nd was last month and she was rather proud of her way of saying happy birthday. (She'd signed off their conversation the night before with a sweet 'goodnight, baby boy' and set an alarm so she could text him first thing when she woke up 'mornin, old man'. Probably not her best joke but they'd been humoured all the same.)

She was keen to see him even despite the fact that they'd been on Facetime all morning, she missed him. They had dinner reservations at a rooftop restaurant near central Manhattan that evening and Annabeth had a gift for him.

In the meantime, she got to work editing. The video she was uploading tonight was titled "Guess the song in 5 seconds feat. Piper" and had taken an infuriatingly long time to film, so Annabeth was glad to be getting that one out of her hair. She walked Luna for almost an hour after lunch and then binge watched a show on Netflix before deciding that maybe she should get ready for tonight.

Determined not to wear the same dress she had worn to dinner with him before, Annabeth rummaged through Piper's closet as well as her own. She was unable to settle on a dress in the end, but found a pastel blue body suit she thought could look smart paired with some black jeans. When she tried it on in the mirror, Annabeth winced. The V of the neckline exposed her breast bone and left her feeling more than a little anxious about it falling loose altogether, but despite that, she did look pretty good. The sleeves were large but not too puffy and had cuffs to stop the extra material falling into her food as she ate and though they didn't sit properly on her shoulder, the material pulled taut enough so that she was sure it wouldn't slip. The last thing she needed to do tonight was flash her boobs on a rooftop in front of the boy of her dreams.

Adding black jeans made the outfit look smart but almost too casual so, against her better judgement, Annabeth slipped on her black court heels. Her makeup was minimal and natural, save for the rather orangey/red lipstick she'd coated on her lips, and after donning her necklace which now held her own birthday present from Percy, Annabeth decided she was ready.

She was picking up Percy in 20 minutes so she hastily slipped her phone, keys, lipstick and his present into a small, white purse, cuddled Luna as a goodbye and made her way out.

The summer air that hit as she left her apartment building was hot and humid and so Annabeth walked past the cafe's and carts with their air conditioning on as to not get sweaty before she'd even seen her date. Someone stops her on the street for a photo but she politely declines saying she's sorry but she doesn't want to. Luckily, the fan just smiles and gets a signature instead.

"Because it's his birthday, right? You're going to see Percy. I get it." It was more than a little alarming that strangers in the street knew her plans but at least most of them had the decency to be respectful about it.

It was only a short walk to Percy's apartment but she took it steadily, her feet were already sore from the heels but she would be able to put up with it for one evening. The buff looking security guy in the lobby of his building nods stoically at Annabeth when she gets into the elevator. He'd always made her feel a little uneasy with his dark, opaque sunglasses and leather jacket decorated with spikes on the shoulder pads, but she had heard Percy compliment the guy on his neat right hook that he'd landed the one time they'd had an intruder try to break in. She had no intention of getting on the man's bad side.

Percy and Grover shared an apartment on the fourth floor the furthest from the elevator so strolled slowly and glanced at the time as she walked down the corridor. She was a few minutes early but Percy wouldn't mind.

When he answers the door, he's grinning ear to ear. She can tell in a quick glance over that he's not ready.

His shirt is only half buttoned and done up incorrectly anyway. Percy's hair is usually a mess, but right now it's stuck to his forehead and dripping down his face and it still doesn't look like he'd made an effort to brush it. There's a few ties hung round his neck in different shades of blue and he has his hand clasped to his ear while he sorts his piercing. Annabeth smiles at the sight.

"I figured you wouldn't be ready." She sighs, setting her purse on the floor and reaching for his shirt to redo the buttons. Percy looks stunned at shuts his mouth. When she finishes sorting his shirt and looks up at him expectingly, he clears his throat.

"You look beautiful."

Annabeth just smirks and ties a tie round his neck, opting for the one that matches her bodysuit the closest. When she's done she leans up to his face and pecks his lips.

"Happy birthday, Seaweed Brain."