𝙸 𝙲𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜

𝚂𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝟸 𝙱𝚘𝚗𝚞𝚜 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 [𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗'𝚜 𝙷𝚘𝚝 𝚃𝚞𝚋 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢]

Concept by me

Annabeth POV

It shouldn't feel this good unpacking the last box, especially since Annabeth's inhabited this apartment for three months now, but damn, it feels good.

With a swipe of her not-so-shiny new key, the tape is broken and the contents of the final box are uncovered. So that's where all of her books went! Between the fruitless job hunt and the lying around watching porn—Netflix, she means—Annabeth hasn't had much time to think about where her books ended up in her move, let alone take the time to read anything longer than a takeout menu.

She empties the cardboard box on her lumpy bed and tilts it on its side, and then carefully lays each book back into the box. She'll have to go thrifting for a real bookshelf soon, or better yet, grab one from the curb on garbage day.

"Damn book," she mutters to herself. It's not a damn book. It's one of her most prized possessions, which isn't saying much considering Annabeth isn't one for material goods, but it's hers. It's a reminder of the silver linings in life, a reminder to count her blessings, and maybe most importantly, a reminder that people don't always suck.

Yes, it's a scrapbook, and it got glitter all over Annabeth's things.

Hazel gave them out to everyone in the study group at their last meeting. She must have spent a long time working on these; everyone received personalized photos, messages, and other memorabilia. Percy's has fish stickers throughout it, and Piper's smells like coffee. Annabeth's, on the other hand, has a relatively neutral aesthetic, except for the glitter.

She planned on taking the time to examine the pages when she got a quiet moment to herself, but with moving out of her dorm and into a new apartment, and with the awkward run-in with her ex recently, she sort of forgot about that, as well as the thank-you text she was supposed to write to Hazel. Although, she supposes there's no such thing as too little too late with Hazel, is there?

There are fewer pages from the beginning of the year, probably because Hazel didn't anticipate everyone making such good friends, but there are a couple of pamphlets from orientation glued to the page, and the background—are those Hazel's Latin notes? How clever!

There's a photo of Piper and Jason kissing at the debate from last fall, and a quote from Annabeth... "You threw JUULius in the toilet!" When did she say that? There's a sweet note too: Congrats on quitting nicotine! How... kind.

The following page has a few condoms and fliers from the Safe Sex Fair taped to it. Wow, Annabeth forgot about that... and that note—she didn't realize the effect that she and Piper had on Hazel that night.

A couple of other expected events are on the pages, like the Valentine's Day Dance. Annabeth looks happy shooting finger guns at the mirror alongside Piper and Hazel.

Something falls out of the scrapbook binder.

Annabeth gasps. She thought she'd never see another one of these pamphlets ever again. They should have all been properly disposed of by Dean D's marketing director, Ms. Venus.

But there's Annabeth on the front of a New Rome Community College admissions pamphlet. That was such a nightmare for her at the time—not only the thought of people from back home learning where she ended up but the possibility of the whole campus making assumptions about her sexuality.

Does Annabeth know what her sexuality is almost a year later?

Yes. She's just not ready to say it out loud. Words aren't easily retracted. What if the label changes everything?