What Happened After Happily Ever After

Prologue - The Cereal Aisle

Prologue - The Cereal Aisle
published: Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Annabeth struggled to raise herself atop her tiptoes, cheeks reddening furiously as she desperately stretched her arm upwards; her fingers barely brushed the tiger on the Frosties' box. She cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth.

Annabeth was moments away from exploding. Her day was not going well. First, her laptop crashed overnight, deleting her paper on the constitution. Then, the website she was meant to use to submit the essay decided not to inform her that it was erroneous, and Annabeth woke up in the morning, grumpy and exhausted, to an angry email from her professor, who already didn't like her very much.

That, together with her favourite sweater ripping and her eyeliner being asymmetrical, was enough to constitute a tantrum, surely.

And now the Frosties. Supermarkets had to know that most of their visitors weren't able to reach the top shelf, right? Did they just aim to fuel her mental breakdown?

In that moment, Annabeth made a promise to herself that, once she graduated law school, her first act as junior associate would be suing Walmart.

Before Annabeth could burst into tears right there in the cereal aisle, someone behind her cleared their throat.

"Hi."

Annabeth rocked back on her heels and glanced over her shoulder. Now, Annabeth's heart didn't often skip a beat, but today it did. Full-out disrupted rhythm as she stared at the man standing there.

Those eyes...Jesus. Annabeth could ogle him all day. Messy black hair, green eyes, tall and muscular...and around her age. Annabeth felt her cheeks redden - from something other than frustration this time.

"Hi," she managed.

"Do you want some help?"

Annabeth opened her mouth to thank him when she caught a glimpse of a smile tugging at his lips. "You're making fun of me," she said instead, crossing her arms.

"No," he insisted.

"Yes."

He paused. "Fine. But I'll still get it for you."

"Forget it." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'll live without cereal."

"I don't think Frosties counts as cereal," the man pointed out. "It's, like, 90 percent sugar."

She glared at him. "What are you, a scientist?"

He faltered.

"Oh my God, you're a scientist," Annabeth made a face. "You're all so arrogant and cocky, thinking you're better than the rest of us."

He cocked his head to the right. "Architecture?"

"Law," she corrected.

"Right," he nodded. "So."

There was a beat of silence.

He broke the silence first. "Do you want me to get the Frosties for you?"

Annabeth stared at him for a second. Two. Three. "Yes, please."

Amusement was scribbled all across his stupid, gorgeous features, but he obliged, picking up the box and placing it inside her cart. "You're welcome," he offered. "I'm Percy, by the way."

He grinned at her, and Annabeth was speechless. She was a law student - she was never speechless. And yet here she was. Unable to form a coherent sentence because someone had smiled at her.

"Annabeth," she said, as calmly as she could. "I-I usually look better than this, I swear."

Percy - Percy; the name suited him - glanced down at her. A sweater that was unflattering but comfortable enough that she hadn't thrown it out and jeans with a scrape on the thigh. Ah, shit.

"It's a look," he said finally.

Annabeth gave him a withering look. "I appreciate it."

Percy shrugged. "I try." He pursed his lips, as if waiting for her to speak. "Well," he continued. "I, uh, I should go. I have to grab some drinks and I'm already late."

"Sure, sure," Annabeth repeated. "Thanks again."

He nodded politely before he turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Annabeth stared at his retreating back.

Today had been a terrible day. That didn't mean it had to keep going that way.

"Damn it," Annabeth muttered under her breath as she surged forward. "Hey, Percy!"

He turned on his heel, a knowing grin on his face. "Yes?"

Annabeth stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "Um," she painfully forced the words out. "Do you want to get coffee?" Her heart hammered wildly against her ribcage, her stomach caging in a zoo of butterflies.

"Are you asking me out?"

Annabeth paused. "That depends."

"On what?"

"If you say 'yes'."

"I could get coffee," Percy agreed.

She arched an eyebrow. "I thought you had something to get to."

"I do," he said sheepishly. "But this sounds much better."