Found Family (HoO, Mortal AU)

PERCY JACKSON

Time was passing way too fast and he hated it. There was so much to do before the SATs- so much organising. It was almost spring break, too.

There was something good going on in his life, though. Every time he saw Annabeth, which was a lot, he couldn't take his lips off hers. Their friends found out straight away. None of them were surprised. Neither was Sally, but she was very excited. Like, very.
"Annabeth should come for dinner!" Sally grinned.
"Mom- stop. Don't make things awkward. Please."
"Then you invite her out for dinner."

"Mom- we're not officially dating- I-"
"You're an idiot. Do you want her to be your girlfriend."
"Mommm-"
Sally just raised an eyebrow.
"Yea," Percy sighed. "But it's not like that-"
"Then make it like that. Go, invite her to dinner."
"Nooo-"
"Okay," She shrugged.
"FINE!" Percy groaned.
"I wasn't forcing you-"
"Yeah well-"
"You wanted to?" She guessed.
"Leave me alone."

• • •

Annabeth said yes straight away. A couple of hours later, Percy borrowed his mom's car and drove to a nearby restaurant. It was rather fancy, but Percy knew he'd have enough money from working. Spending it on Annabeth was the perfect idea.

She looked beyond beautiful, as always. At every red light, Percy would just look at her as she stared out the window. She'd look back at him, before they'd both look away blushing.

Percy parked the car, feeling super nervous, though he wasn't sure why. Annabeth was one of his best friends. She was one of the people he felt most comfortable around. He'd liked her for- a while. Now he was afraid of messing up. They were only eighteen- love was fragile. Relationships were fragile. They were confusing and wonderful and terrifying. He didn't want to mess up.

Being raised around Gabe changed things, too. For a while Percy thought dads hitting their sons was normal. Percy thought hitting in general was normal for someone who was angry. So he'd get into fights at school. His mom didn't understand why. Gabe would 'discipline' him, only making Percy angrier, making beating more normal. Not that he'd ever lay a finger on someone he loved. Sure, his past was rocky. Heck, he still felt like getting into fights often. Not with Annabeth, though. That was unimaginable. There was still worry, deep down. Gabe normalised so many things. Percy was just afraid of hurting someone.

It was a constant fear in his mind. Gabe. He was gone. He'd been gone for a while. Percy still found similarities, though. At parties when he'd take too much to drink, he'd instantly go home and lock himself in his room. That wasn't something to think about tonight, though. The most beautiful girl in the world was going to dinner with him.

He'd already booked a table for two. Annabeth was happy to see him so organised. He was worried about not having anything to say to her. That wasn't the case, though. Annabeth was just so easy to talk to. She'd listen to every word he said and he'd do the same for her.

She was in middle of telling some story- something about a party her and Will went to in sophomore year before getting caught by their parents. Percy just stared at her, as she smiled at the memories.
"What?" She asked, laughing.
"Nothing. You look pretty tonight."
"I don't look any different than usual."
"Exactly."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."
"Maybe," he grinned. "But a truthful idiot."

They ate, talking non stop about the stupidest things. Percy didn't think he could ever get bored of her talking. She was telling him all about her plans for college, looking so excited that he couldn't help but feel excited for her.
"I'm not sure where I'm going yet," she said. "But I'm definitely going into architecture. It's been my dream for so long- I just- I can't wait." She had this sparkle in her eyes, which Percy couldn't help but stare into. God, what had he become?

"Grover, Frank and I are going to college together, here in New York. We've been planning this for years. Rachel isn't going to college, though. I'm going into marine biology, Grover is doing ecology and Frank is doing zoology. We've always kinda had this dumb idea to save the planet. Not dumb, but ambitious. Along with painting, Rachel is going to help us help the environment. Obviously the four of us can't save everything, but we can help. We can make a difference. It's so weird how we're going to college later this year."
"That is adorable! You've all been planning to go to college together this whole time."
"Oh, be quiet."
"Can I help you with your saving the planet goal?"
"Grover will literally cry for hours. Absolutely."

After eating, they decided to just drive. Drive wherever. It didn't matter. They stopped for a while, admiring the 'view' and kissing. Just a little.
"I'm sorry, Percy," Annabeth said after laying her head on his shoulder for a while.

[ANNABETH CHASE]

Never had she ever met someone like Percy Jackson. Never had she ever had someone care, not leave. Never had she ever thought she could fall in love. Never had she ever knew she was so, so wrong after spending an evening with Percy Jackson.

"What?" Percy asked.
"I'm sorry," she repeated.
"For what?"
She didn't know how to put her feelings into words. Abandonment. Neglect. How was Percy supposed to understand what she meant?"
"Annabeth?" He said.
"Sorry- I- uhm. When I was seven, I ran away,"

Annabeth told him everything. From the neglect at home, to Thalia, to Luke. Percy listened to every word.
"I'm scared of being abandoned. For so long my only friend was Will and I was even scared to lose him. I don't want to be alone again."

[PERCY JACKSON]

Seven years old. Annabeth was seven and so, so alone. Percy wrapped his arm around her.
"I'm not going to leave you, Annabeth. You're not going to be alone. Never again."

Maybe it was stupid to say. They'd only kissed for the first time after prom- it was way too soon to be diving into anything. Wasn't it? It didn't feel too soon. Percy was afraid to see Annabeth's reaction, but she smiled and kissed him again.
"As long as we're together," she said.

Maybe diving into relationships was stupid. There were a lot of maybes. Percy was sure of one thing: there was no girl like Annabeth Chase.

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Word Count: 1091

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A/N: this chapter is super repetitive and probably confusing, but you know, Percabeth 🥰