Chapter 50 - Fake It Till You Make It (AU) (Part I)
published: Monday, 13 April 2020
Time Frame: Alternate Universe (AU); all characters are mortal
Synopsis: After Percy's girlfriend Rachel dumps him out of the blue, he enlists ex-best-friend Annabeth Chase to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to save his family and friends from disappointment.
Contain(s): fake dating trope; relationships between family and friends; Christmas vibes
—*—
Percy yawned as he sleepily stumbled through baggage claim. It was 2.34am on the 16th of December, and he had just arrived in LaGuardia airport from Massachusetts.
His flight had been delayed, only leaving him to miserably mull over his dilemma.
Rachel had broken up with him today. Two hours before he left for the airport. While she reserved the right to do so, Percy was slightly offended that eight months of dating had ended with a phone call.
Especially since Rachel was supposed to come back with him to Manhattan. His family and friends had been so excited to meet her.
What was he supposed to tell them? Percy dreaded the dismayed look his mother would give him when she found out.
Not to mention that his friends were constantly on their never ending quest to set him up with someone. He figured that if he had a girlfriend, he could stop all that.
Percy wondered mildly if he should be more upset about the breakup. Eight months was a long time.
Percy slumped into the seats once he eased through customs, pulling out his phone to text his friends and tell them he was here.
He was staying at Jason and Piper's place, the house she'd inherited from her late father, then spending Christmas day with his family.
Hopefully he'd figure out a way to let them down slowly about the whole girlfriend thing.
Percy groaned internally. This whole thing was just incredibly inconvenient for him at the moment. Estelle had been excited for weeks, and disappointing a four-year-old was never recommended.
As he pulled out his phone, a conversation near him caught his attention.
"...their flight's been cancelled because of the storm," a woman was arguing. "Please, I've been waiting here for hours, can you just get me to San Francisco?"
The man at the desk shook his head. "I'm sorry, miss, but our flights are completely booked. It's very busy this time of the year."
Percy glanced up momentarily at them. The woman had curly blonde hair that tugged at his memory, and she was wearing a grey coat and jeans.
He debated whether he should help her. Percy's stepfather, Paul, had a best friend who managed the airport. If anyone could get her on the flight, it was him.
Sighing and mentally chiding himself for being a good person, Percy tapped her on the shoulder, "Um, hi?"
When she whirled around, Percy had to blink a couple of times before he could speak. "Annabeth?"
"Percy!" she responded, astonished. "Oh my—What are you doing here?"
"Just got in on a flight," Percy stammered. Annabeth Chase had been his best friend back in middle school, but they'd lost touch when her family moved to San Francisco when they were 14.
It was like a giant bat had whacked him round the head. It also didn't help that Annabeth was very, very pretty. Her grey eyes were still the same, blonde hair was less tangled, and she was tanner than he'd ever seen her.
"Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing, and I can probably help," Percy explained, beckoning her to the side. "My step-dad's best friend manages the airport. He could get you on a flight to San Francisco."
Annabeth's eyes widened as she released a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much! Oh, that's amazing. It doesn't have to be super soon, just in time for Christmas day, I guess." She smiled. "Really, Percy, that was really nice of you."
"It's fine," Percy shrugged. "It was nice seeing you again."
She nodded. "Crazy how it's been so long. Though I'd recognise those eyes anywhere," Annabeth chuckled. "You've grown, Percy."
Percy grinned. Back then, Annabeth had been taller than him by nearly an inch. Now he practically towered over her by a whole foot. It was both refreshing and relieving.
"Are you here on holiday?" Percy guessed.
"Studying, actually," Annabeth corrected. "I'm an economics major at Columbia."
"Northwestern University," Percy gestured to himself. He chuckled. "Yeah, most people were surprised. I had to study my ass off to get in."
"Not that surprised," Annabeth assured him. She shrugged. "You aren't as dumb as you seem to be."
Percy frowned. "Thanks?" His phone buzzed, making him wince as he braved himself for his friends' texts.
"Parents?" Annabeth guessed.
Percy pulled a face. "Friends. I'm staying with them for Christmas." He sighed. "It's gonna be so much worse when I tell them that my girlfriend isn't coming because we broke up."
Annabeth gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry."
"It's not that bad," Percy admitted. "But my mum was so excited — and my friends have been trying to set me up and — it'll be a lot to take in."
He stopped walking, glancing back to look at Annabeth, whose face had lit up in the middle of an epiphany.
"What?" he asked.
"Just," she hesitated. "I mean, I have this crazy idea. It would solve both our problems."
Percy replied with a puzzled expression.
Annabeth spread her hands. "I'd pretend to be your girlfriend."
Percy blinked. Once. Twice. He stared at her in astonishment. "My what?"
"Girlfriend," Annabeth repeated impatiently. "Look, obviously you'd be helping me with this whole flight thing. Plus, the dorms are shut over the holidays so I don't have a place to stay, seeing as my parents have cancelled their booking at the hotel."
She paused. "Okay, yeah, it's insane. Sorry. Just forget I said anything."
Percy studied her face. Annabeth had always had a knack for coming up with crazy plans, but they worked just about all of the time.
"It does make sense," Percy said slowly. "On some level." He hesitated. "You'd really be fine with doing that?"
Annabeth shrugged dismissively. "Of course! It's just pretend. You can tell them we broke up after, and there, we have a plan."
Percy knew how weird this sounded, but it was starting to form some sort of plausibility in his head.
A fake relationship.
It would shut his friends up, and honestly, spare him a holiday of pitiful looks and people treading around him like he was fragile. Annabeth was a great person (or she was from what he remembered), and she wouldn't be around on Christmas Day, so it wasn't like he'd have to introduce her to his family.
That way, his sister and parents wouldn't get attached.
It was a win-win situation.
"We couldn't tell anyone that it's fake," Percy warned.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Please. That's like the first rule of fake dating."
"You don't think it'll be weird?" Percy wondered aloud. He blushed. "I mean, acting all close and lovey-dovey?"
"I knew you my entire childhood, Percy," she pointed out. "I don't think I'd ever feel weird around you."
<<< >>>
It was the weirdest thing; reconnecting with an old friend. But they had a lot of things to catch up on, and only a short cab ride.
Annabeth had her suitcase in hand, having prepared to meet her family at the airport before heading to the hotel together.
Seeing as that had gone down the drain, Percy and Annabeth climbed into the cab together and prepared to lie their way through the next week.
45 minutes in the cab wasn't nearly enough, but each tried to provide a crash-course of basic information a partner would know.
Annabeth was studying economics at Columbia and was on her way to law school next year. Her brothers were Bobby and Matthew, a pair of 17-year-old twins, and they lived with her father Frederick and her step-mother Helen in San Francisco.
Percy's mum Sally and step-dad Paul had a daughter a few years ago, making her just 4 years old. They lived in Manhattan, near Percy's old high school, where Paul used to teach.
"Okay, so whose house are we going to?" Annabeth questioned. "This is probably the most dangerous thing I've ever done. I've never even met these people."
Percy snorted. "Yeah, Jason and Piper are real dangerous."
Jason and Piper were Percy's best friends. They lived in Long Island, one of Piper's many properties. Jason was Percy's roommate at Northwestern, while Piper studied elsewhere.
Percy's old neighbour, Hazel Levesque, who was also Piper's classmate, was attending too, with her boyfriend Frank. And finally, Leo Valdez, Piper's best friend from high school, and his girlfriend Calypso.
Percy had met them all before at Piper's birthday party a while ago, but none of them had met Annabeth before, which made this all the more perfect.
From all their old memories together, Percy remembered that Annabeth had always been incredibly smart. It was evident that she still was, from the way she rattled off their names within seconds of hearing them.
As the cab pulled up into a street in the suburban area, snow cleared away to make way for the road, Percy pressed his face up against the window to look at the house, his eyes widening at the Christmas lights draped across the roof and the snow-covered ornaments in the front lawn.
"It's beautiful," Annbeth voiced his thoughts exactly.
They climbed out of the cab, hauling their luggage up the steps and to the front door.
Percy's hand hovered uncertainly by the doorbell.
Annabeth glanced at him. "Ready?"
He exhaled, pressing the button.
The chining sound was answered by a flurry of activity within the house. Laughter, chatter and movement could be heard for a few moments before someone pushed the door open.
It was a burly Chinese guy Percy recognised as Frank Zhang.
"You wore it!" Percy laughed, noticing the "Kiss the Cook" apron Frank was wearing. They exchanged hugs, while Frank shook Annabeth's hand in a friendly manner.
Percy swallowed. This was it. No turning back now.
He watched in surprise as Annabeth flashed Frank a dazzling smile. "Hi, I'm Annabeth, Percy's girlfriend. You must be Frank. It's nice to meet you!"
Percy hid a grin. He'd taught her well.
"Oh, come on in," Frank insisted. "Let me get your bags."
As they stepped inside, Percy took off his boots and left them on the rack, nudging Annabeth so she'd follow suit.
The inside of the house was toasty warm, and the smell of cookies wafted from further in, the culprit behind Frank's outfit.
"Percy!" came Jason's happy shout. The familiar blond appeared round the corner, Piper at his heel in her iconic Cherokee braids.
"It's so good to see you again," Piper assured him. "If it's even possible, you're even more tanned than you were last summer."
"What can I say," Percy chuckled. "It's a talent."
Piper's gaze flickered to Annabeth, who was looking a little lost at his side. "You must be Percy's girlfriend," Piper tried.
Annabeth smiled. "Yeah, Annabeth. You have a really nice house." She reaches out a hand to shake Piper's.
The other girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, we're way past that." Piper attacked Annabeth with a hug, surprising her in the process.
Percy cleverly covered a snicker with a cough, catching Annabeth's wide eyes.
"If you're Percy's girlfriend, you must be here to stay," Piper told her. "He's only ever serious with his relationships. I told him to get out more, but "no"..."
"What?" Percy demanded. "You've been dating Jason since sophomore year! Don't tell me to 'get out more'."
The two of them were ushered into the living room, where Hazel was buried in a massive arm chair, while Leo and Calypso were squished together on the couch.
Introductions went all around and Percy was practically dizzy from the hubbub. When he glanced over to check on Annabeth, he caught her with a kind of longing in her eyes as she laughed at jokes and chatted to his friends.
It disappeared as soon as he saw it.
The first obstacle they ran into was during dinner, when Hazel, very innocently, asked when they'd met.
Almost in unison, Percy answered "When we were 7" as Annabeth said "Last year".
An awkward silence fell upon them, which Percy assumed was cause to panic. Fortunately, Annabeth, thinking on her feet, interjected.
"Well, we first met when we were 7," Annabeth explained. "But I moved to San Francisco in middle school, and we ran into each other last year." She smiled. "After some intense hints, Percy finally got the guts to ask me out, and we've dating since."
"Over a year together," Piper reasoned. She turned to Jason. "See? I told you giving them one room to share was fine."
Percy froze, the steak on his fork hovering almost comically. He cleared his throat, plastered a calm expression on his face, and nudged Annabeth gently under the table. "Of course, it's not a problem."
One room? One bed? That was their second obstacle.
It would be fine, Percy tried to reassure himself. It wasn't like he'd never shared a bed with a girl before. Besides, they'd walked into this knowing that things like this were possible.
Later that night, Percy laughed when he saw Annabeth sprawled across the bed, staring at the ceiling exhaustedly.
"Tired?" he said sarcastically.
Annabeth groaned. "Oh, it's a chore, being your girlfriend." She sat up with a jolt, frowning. "I mad a good impression, right?"
Her cheeks reddened. "I mean, I'm gonna have to live with these people for the next seven days. I kind of want them to like me. Do you think they did?"
Percy snorted incredulously. "Are you blind?" Jason and Leo had both asked him how in the world he'd scored someone like Annabeth. "I'm pretty sure Piper's gonna propose to you on my behalf any day now."
Annabeth released a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. I tried my best."
"Just be yourself," Percy promised. "They'll love you."
He glanced around the room. One bed, just as he'd guessed. "Okay, if I just take one of the pillows, I'll sleep on the floor."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Percy, there's one duvet and it's freezing outside. We can share the bed. Don't be a seaweed brain." She started, seemingly having used the nickname without realising it.
"You remembered," Percy said embarrassedly. "I hated that nickname."
"You loved it," Annabeth corrected. She was right. He did.
"You're sure about this?" Percy asked again.
"If you don't stop asking me if I'm sure, you will be sleeping on the floor," Annabeth informed him decidedly.
They climbed into bed that night, exchanging good-natured jabs and sleepy conversation. As his eyes drooped, Percy realised that it felt like she'd never left in the first place.
<<< >>>
Light streamed through the window.
Light? It was the middle of winter, how late was it?
Annabeth groaned as she turned over, raising a hand to block the brightness.
Her eyes widened momentarily when she looked over and saw Percy slumbering deeply on the other side of the bed, his hair messy and limbs sprawled in every direction.
She laughed to herself at his antics, yawning as she grabbed her phone of the bedside table.
10.26am.
What? Annabeth was practically nocturnal. This had to be some sort of record.
It took her a few minutes to get her bearings, grabbing a change of clothes and hopping into the bathroom to freshen up.
Annabeth stared at the mirror. Did she look like Percy's girlfriend? They certainly didn't act like it. No kissing or public displays of affection. She reminded herself to bring it up with Percy.
Sighing, she brushed out her curls and quickly did her make-up, pulling on tights, a skirt, and an owl hoodie over it all.
Presentable but comfortable.
When she walked out of the room, Annabeth rolled her eyes inwardly when she saw Percy still snoring away. She made a mental note to never let him forget that he drooled in his sleep.
She hesitated at the door. Should she go out? She didn't exactly know any of these people. They'd been nice enough the night before, but they were pretty much still strangers.
Come on, if you can get into Columbia, you can keep up a little pretence.
Annabeth took a deep breath and twisted the knob, shuffling outside uncertainly. The house was large; three storeys of five bedrooms, with winding wooden staircases.
It was homey and cozy, but Annabeth wouldn't put it past herself to get wildly lost inside.
Trying to retrace her steps from what she remembered, Annabeth arrived safely in the living from the night before.
"Hey!" came a bright voice behind her.
Annabeth spun around to see Calypso grinning at her.
"Morning," Annabeth returned with a smile. "Are we the only ones up?"
"Please," Calypso snorted. "Jason wakes up at 8 every morning — probably because he sleeps by 7," she added with a laugh. "I was just going out to get some firewood. Wanna help? We can light the fireplace."
Annabeth shrugged, and promptly found herself following Calypso to the garden outside. She slid on her boots before stepping into the snow, following the imprinted footsteps to where Frank was standing by a large trunk of wood.
"So, we're the in-laws, huh," Annabeth noted.
Frank's lips quirked up in the corner. "They're the most chaotic bunch I've ever met." His tone was fond though.
"From what I've seen," Calypso started. "They're more welcoming than actual families."
Annabeth made a noise of agreement in the back of her throat. God, she knew how bad actual families could be.
Her father had always been distant, ever since he remarried, and even though Helen tried her best to include her, Annabeth knew that her stepmother was still uncomfortable around a daughter unrelated to her.
The detachment had only increased when Annabeth left for college. Her parents didn't even try to keep in touch
She grabbed an axe of the ground and promptly split the oak in half.
"Jesus!" Frank yelped. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."
Annabeth shot him an innocent look, which Frank responded with, "Please, Percy's baby seal eyes are the worst."
Annabeth frowned. "Baby...seal eyes?"
"You haven't seen them?" Calypso said incredulously. "Oh boy, you'll find yourself ready to give him the world."
Annabeth smiled. "Yeah, Percy has that effect on people." In all honesty, she was lying through her very teeth. She assumed that was what a girlfriend would say.
She'd never really had a boyfriend other than Luke, and he'd been a jerk. It was a shame that it'd taken her a whole year to realise it.
"It's so nice that you came," Calypso offered.
Frank nodded vigorously. "I've known Percy for four years now, and he's never once invited a girlfriend to one of these things."
Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Wow, guess I'm a special girl." It made her wonder just what "Rachel" meant to Percy. Yet he didn't seem to dismayed over their break-up, did he?
Chopping firewood was more tiring than expected. Annabeth found that she didn't have to pretend much around Calypso and Frank. Other than anything related to Percy, Annabeth could be herself.
Calypso, a chef who'd never gone to college, was in awe of Annabeth and her insane career aspirations. Frank had a shared passion for architecture, which Calypso complained about as they animatedly discussed monuments and old cities.
Lighting the firewood was a whole other deal.
"You?" Annabeth said in astonishment. "Frank? You're scared of fire?" She spluttered, "Frank, you're like football player! You're gigantic!"
Frank has gone redder than a tomato as he inches away from the fireplace. "No," he protested. "Fire's terrifying."
Calypso rolled her eyes. "He burnt himself when he was a kid and now he's got an irrational phobia of it." She shook her head. "I think I might prefer that to Leo; he's basically a pyromaniac. Once, he set off fireworks in the backyard and broke a hole in the fence."
Annabeth peered out the window to stare at the damaged fence. "Is that what that is?" Laughs bubbles up in the back of her throat as Annabeth grabbed the poker. "Okay, so YouTube says to just leave the wood inside. Then, what? Pump it up?"
As she said it, Annabeth pumped the poker, and jumped back as a small spark erupted into massive flames.
Frank let out a high-pitched squeak, using Calypso as a human shield.
"Am a master or am I a master?" Annabeth declared triumphantly, throwing the poker down.
"Neither. I can vouch for that." Percy traipsed into the room, grinning at her.
Annabeth folded her arms. "I just lit a fireplace. Using a YouTube video."
"Fine," Percy yawned. "That actually is pretty impressive."
Annabeth realised that Frank and Calypso were staring at them almost expectantly. Fortunately, Percy seemed to have caught on, because he pulled her into his side and kissed her on the cheek.
"Morning," he murmured, his breath hot on her neck.
Annabeth swallowed. "Hi." She could feel the blush rushing to her cheeks.
Percy winked at her furtively before turning around to the other two. "Jason and I are baking cookies in the kitchen again. My mum's famous recipe," he announced.
"What famous recipe?" Annabeth said instinctively, and instantly regretted it.
"You've never heard of Sally's cookies?" Calypso shrieked. "He brings it up every chance he gets!"
"Oh," Annabeth chuckled nervously. "Those cookies." She shot Percy a look that screamed panic.
"Come on, I'll show you," Percy beckoned first her time follow him, which Annabeth obliged to immediately.
"Sorry," Annabeth groaned the moment they were alone. "That was dumb."
"It's fine," Percy laughed. "Okay, so my mum makes these amazing cookies. Chocolate chip. They're also blue."
Annabeth stared at him. "Blue. Blue...cookies."
Percy blushed. "Yeah, it's, uh," he paused. "Remember my step-dad Gabe?"
Annabeth pulled a face. "Never liked him." Smelly Gabe, as they'd nicknamed him when they were kids, had been horrible. He would shout at Percy and make him do the chores.
"He was..." Percy started hesitantly. "Not great. To us, I mean. My favourite colour has always been blue, so my mum would colour my birthday cakes blue. Gabe said it was nonsensical — that blue food wasn't a real thing. As a sort of silent defiance, I guess, my mum always makes blue food. Cookies are her specialty."
Annabeth groaned. "Oh, Percy. I never knew." She slapped a palm to her forehead. "I'm so stupid. I should've known he was bad. I mean, I was there with him half the time. I just figured, when he left, that it was because your mum fell out of love with him or whatever."
"Well, you're not wrong," Percy shrugged. "She got up the courage to kick him out. And it was pretty heavy for a ten-year-old to talk about."
"I'm sorry," Annabeth told him truthfully. "I really am. No one should have to go through that kind of thing."
A small smile formed on his face. "Thanks."
They walked down the corridor in silence until Annabeth knocked her shoulder into his playfully to lighten the mood. "Now, why don't we go bake those cookies I've heard so much about?"
That night — it was game night, apparently — Piper pulled out the Newlywed Game with a flourish.
Annabeth felt herself pale at the sight of it. She and Percy were already pressed up against each other, which, although was just to convince their friends that they were a couple, didn't meant that Annabeth wasn't grateful for the warmth he provided.
"You're like a giant radiator," she'd informed him earlier. Toasty warm.
"What are we going to do?" Annabeth whispered discreetly as his friends started gathering the cards.
"Try our best?" Percy offered.
Annabeth snorted, then covered it up with a cough. "Wow, that's brilliant. A absolutely unprecedented plan. Who's going to play you in the movie?"
"A young Leonardo DiCaprio, I'd think," Percy muttered back.
Annabeth ducked her head to hide the grin that had broken out across her face. "In your dreams."
"Okay! So it's simple," Hazel explained. "We're all coupled up, so this shouldn't be hard. For example, if Frank and me are being asked, we'll get the same question and write our answers down on the whiteboard. When we show them to everyone, if the answers are different, we take a shot."
Annabeth blinked. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"
"We take a shot," Hazel echoed.
Percy slung an arm across Annabeth's shoulders.
"Don't be fooled," he told her, loud enough to be heard by everyone. "Hazel's the devil in disguise. When she and Leo get together on April Fool's, you'll want to leave the country."
As Piper pulled out the first card, Annabeth leaned into Percy. "We're about to get real hammered," she warned him. They barely knew the first thing about each other.
"Percy and Annabeth!" Leo called. "You're up first." He scanned the card and burst into laughter.
Annabeth glared at him. "If this is a bad question, I will hold you personally accountable."
Leo gulped. "I'll take it. This is too good to pass up." He flourished his hand for dramatic effect. "What colour is the underwear Annabeth is wearing right now?"
Annabeth's mouth dropped open. "You've got to be kidding me." Percy had gone so red Annabeth was sure he was going to explode.
As they were handed the boards, Annabeth gave Percy a look that she hoped said "black". She scribbled the word down.
Annabeth wasn't quite sure if it was better for them to get different answers, or the same ones.
She held the board to her chest, laughing as she saw Percy staring at his with the utmost concentration.
"Okay, show your boards!" Piper called.
Percy flipped his around to say "black", which made Annabeth's eyes widen in disbelief.
Whoops and whistles came from the group, making Annabeth rub out the word hastily, unable to catch Percy's eye.
"Spared the shot but not the embarrassment," Percy murmured under his breath.
"How'd you guess?" Annabeth whispered.
"You're wearing a black skirt," he responded with a smug grin.
Annabeth glanced at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to notice or deduce that.
Unfortunately, their wit didn't hold up well with the other questions.
Which of her exes are you most insecure about?
What's her bra size (which Annabeth was glad to say Percy overestimated)?
What was the last thing you argued about?
Those were just a taste of what they'd be bombarded with. By the end of the hour, they'd taken six shots of vodka each.
"We should p-probably stop," Annabeth stumbled over her words. She wasn't a lightweight, but no one could hold what she'd had unaffected.
Percy stood up, leaning against a wall for support as he pulled her to her feet. "We'll be in the kitchen," he mumbled, staggering out of the room.
When they were out of earshot, Annabeth slumped into the seat by the kitchen counter. "Good call, bringing us here. Much more and I'd be spilling every dirty secret I've ever had."
Percy almost looked tempted. "Maybe we should go back."
"No!"
<<< >>>
Annabeth woke up with a haze over her mind. No hangover, which was great, but she felt disgusting in her clothes from yesterday.
Groaning, Annabeth shuffled into a seating position, squinting to see past the sunlight streaming through their curtains.
"Mornin'," came Percy's voice, still drugged with sleep.
"Sorry," Annabeth mumbled, opening her eyes lazy to look at the ceiling. "Did I wake you?"
"It's fine," Percy said painfully. "My head's killing me."
Annabeth snorted. "You did not have enough for a hangover. We stopped before we got drunk."
"You're just lucky," Percy said accusatorially. "You don't get hungover easily."
They left the room, fully awake and dressed, at 11 o' clock.
Annabeth found Piper in the living room, squashed up next to a dizzy-looking Hazel.
"She's still drunk from last night," Piper snickered, gesturing to Hazel.
Annabeth's eyebrows shot skyward. "Is that even possible?"
"It is for Hazel," Piper laughed. "Every time without fail."
Annabeth slid into the armchair across from Piper, not quite sure what to say to the other girls. With Calypso and Frank, they'd had something in common to bond over.
Piper reminded Annabeth of the pretty, popular bullies from high school who ignored her.
"So what's it like dating Percy Jackson?" Piper asked curiously.
Oh no.
"Great," Annabeth said vaguely. "Um, he's really sweet."
"I have to admit," Piper confessed. "We were all really curious about you. Percy's never told us anything about you before. I had a bet with Leo that you were fake. Of course, I owe him five bucks now."
Annabeth laughed. "Yeah. I'm very real." She paused. How far was she going to go with this? And if Rachel was important enough for Percy to bring her back for Christmas, why hadn't he ever talked about her before?
"You're a lot better than his other girlfriends," Hazel hiccuped. "You're not a bimbo. And you actually talk to me."
"Hazel," Piper hissed. She winced. "Sorry."
"Other girlfriends?" Annabeth questioned, intrigued. "Were they bad?"
Piper pulled a face. "The worst. I don't know about the ones he's had since college — he's never brought them home. But back in high school, this girl Reyna broke his heart, and Percy kind of...dated around. A lot."
"Really?" Annabeth said, surprised.
"Have you seen the guy?" Hazel said drunkenly. "He's hotter than a model."
Annabeth blushed. To be honest, she'd never exactly thought about it before. But now that she did, yeah, Percy was gorgeous.
She had been speechless for a few moments after seeing him at the airport, but that had just been the shock of their sudden reunion...right?
"It's not like he was a player," Piper reassured her. "But he did have some questionable relationships."
Annabeth tried to think back to middle school. She did vaguely remember Piper and Jason, though they'd never really been friends. There was one girl though who stood out. "Drew?"
Piper exhaled. "Oh, you remember her."
Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "Oh, she was horrible. What the hell was he thinking?"
"Thank you!" Piper said exasperatedly. "God, if you'd been there in high school, maybe we could've been spared all that."
"If I'd been there?" Annabeth echoed.
Piper shrugged. "Yeah, you have a way of handling Percy."
"No one handles Percy," Annabeth promised her.
"He listens to you," Piper pointed out. "There's something about it."
As it turned out, Piper was not at all what Annabeth had expected. Piper could read people like she'd known them her entire life, especially when it came to things about love.
She was also funny, down-to-earth, and if Annabeth was honest, completely the type of person who she'd be friends with.
Hazel was adorable. Even drunk, Annabeth could see that she was a genuinely nice person.
"Percy's supposed to go get groceries today," Piper informed her. "You should probably go with him. Get some alone time."
"A supermarket date?" Annabeth snickered. "Wouldn't be the worst thing he's done."
—*—
hey everyone! sorry for the break in updates, I've been lacking inspiration for worthwhile one-shots lately. as usual, if you have any ideas, please do tell me! I'm severely in need of suggestions.
in regards to the pandemic sweeping the globe, I hope everyone stays safe, at home, and healthy!
I'll try to use my newfound free time in lockdown to funnel new chapters your way, hopefully some good ones that aren't AUs (which I apologise for writing so many of, but they're seriously addictive).
have a good week everyone — to the next time!
- unsureavenger