NECKLACE AND A PAIR OF GLOVES | Percabeth Mini-AU

December 23rd (part 2)

Sorry for not posting the rest! I'm incredibly busy, and working on a new fic. Here's the rest in a couple chapters.

An hour or two later, Annabeth had finally managed to recover a little. She barely felt any more pain physically. Just...mentally.

How could this have happened? She'd never thought she'd see the day where Luke would hurt her that much. She'd never realized that one day, he would go a little too far and get her hurt that much.

Sally had gone to work cleaning up the cafe. It was still pretty early in the morning, only 9 am. Apparently she had a son, and he was still sleeping, since he had stayed up doing the night shift for the cafe. The guy who had given her coffee was his best friend, Grover. They were all planning to exchange presents after he had gotten up.

Apparently it was just the two of them, with Grover coming around frequently. So technically, three of them.

She had offered to leave if she was intruding, but Sally wouldn't have it. "You need rest. You need a place to stay." She didn't ask about calling parents, almost like she just knew that Annabeth had no one, no one she lived with, no one she could stay with anymore.

So she didn't argue.

Now, she was sitting up on the couch, reading a book Sally had given her, foot propped up on the table, wrapped in fresh gauze. A finished bowl of cereal was sitting there, though she had to force herself to eat it. She didn't want to. She couldn't.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded. Annabeth turned her head around to find some random dude -- Sally's son -- rushing down the stairs. He stumbled into the kitchen, opened the pantry door, took out a box of cereal, then locked eyes with Annabeth.

He dropped the cereal box.

"Uh...hi?" She meant to say it like a statement, but it sounded more like a question.

"Um..." He trails off, looking at her cast, then back at her. Then his eyes filled with recognition. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." She adjusted her position as he walked out of the kitchen and sat next to her on the sofa. Not super close, but close enough to have a regular conversation. "I'm Annabeth."

"Percy." He shot her a lopsided grin, which she thought was pretty cute. Actually, he was just pretty cute. He had fluffy, messy black hair that just wouldn't stay in place, vibrant blue-green eyes sparkling like the ocean, and lightly tanned skin.

What am I thinking? She shook her head lightly, trying to ignore her rushing thoughts and stomach that suddenly felt funny. "Sally's really nice," she blurted, mentally smacking herself for saying something so stupid.

Percy laughed. "Yeah. She's known for being the best like that. Oh, by the way, is there anything else I can get for you? Some more cereal?" He gestured to the bowl in front of them.

"No thanks, I think I'm good," Annabeth said awkwardly.

Percy fiddled with his fingers. "Okay. So uh, what's your favorite color?"

Annabeth couldn't help it. She laughed. A full out laugh. Something deep inside your belly that just radiated joy and happiness and ecstasy. Something she hadn't done or even felt in months.

Percy gave her a confused look, laughing slightly.

"Sorry. That was just so random. Really? Of all things to say, favorite color?" She said after regaining her composure.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "I was just trying to start a conversation."

"Okay, okay. Fine. My favorite color's grey."

"Like your eyes?"

"Yeah. And because they're my mom's. Yours?"

"Sea-blue. Ocean blue. Or just any blue. I just really like blue."

"Like your eyes?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

They ended up talking more. For hours, really. Sally came up to check on them a couple of times, but they ended up just fine. For lunch, Percy had to give Annabeth a piggy-back ride to the table, which went...semi-smoothly. But it was fun. Talking to him, spending time with him.

Percy was so fun to speak to. So fun to spend time with.

After lunch, Percy decided to bring Annabeth every single book that they owned after hearing she enjoyed them.

"Okay, the Great Gatsby." Percy said, showing her the cover. "Have you read this one?"

"Yes, of course," she said, rolling her eyes. "Everyone has."

"I haven't."

"That's because you're a Seaweed Brain."

The grin -- the grin Annabeth had been trying so hard to bring out -- showed on his face.

"Seaweed Brain?"

"That's right. Because your brain's made out of seaweed."

He snorted. "Ha ha. Very funny. Uhh...Wise Girl."

"Really? Out of all names, that was the best you could think of?"
"Hey, it's a good name!"

Annabeth shook her head, sighing, but a small smile grew on her face.

'''''

For the rest of the day, they talked to each other. Whether it was friendly banter, or just talking about the things they loved, to ranting about specific thoughts, they just talked.

It had not even been one day, but Annabeth already trusted Percy. Maybe it was a bad decision, but he displayed the kind of kindness and happiness and trustworthiness that Luke had never shown. The genuine, raw kind that made you want to stay there forever.

That night, he had given her his bed, volunteering to sleep on the couch. It was so kind, it made her feel like she was floating. Little things like this made it even better.

Honestly, she didn't even want to leave.

She knew that she couldn't afford to make choices like this. That she couldn't just decide to stay.

But she had tomorrow to decide.