Guess who's back with a brand new track.
Yeah. So this is a little Percabeth one-shot that I concocted when my dad took my computer to the computer store. It's an AU as well. Percy and Annabeth are in their 20's and have never met. Annabeth works for Geek Squad and Percy... yeah.
Disclaimer: All characters mentioned in this story belong to Rick Riordan
Disclaimer II: I do not own the Geek Squad or any Windows PC products, such as Word, or Google Chrome.
Percy Jackson stared at his new laptop feeling like the world's biggest idiot. What ever made him think that he could figure out a Windows 8 computer? (1) There were so many buttons to press and so many things that could go wrong. He did take a quick glance at the manual but with his dyslexia and amount of fancy computer words used, it was like trying to teach a fish how to climb a tree. That, and he may or may not have tossed it across the room. And it may or may not have slid under the couch. And he may or may not be able to get it out. Maybe.
He was starting to regret ever buying this gods-forsaken machine a few days back. It looked so shiny and new in the store, how could he say no?
Whatever the cost, he had to figure our how to work this thing. Maybe if he hit the control button... and it shut off. Again.
Okay start over. Step one in the manual. Something about getting your PC started or something? Ugh, dammit! Why are computer so frustrating?!
Maybe he'd consider calling the tech-dudes from the store for help. He hoped that he still had the number that was given to him when he bought the mechanic demon. However, Percy Jackson wasn't notorious for keeping his apartment clean. It was probably somewhere weird like in the bathroom or on the ceiling. Don't ask.
Slamming the laptop closed gentlest way possible, Percy got up from his chair and searched his home for the business card. It only took him 30, 45 minutes tops to realize it was in the pocket of his pants that sat lazily in the laundry hamper. Thank the gods he only did laundry once a month or that thing would have been long gone.
Ready to admit defeat, he dialed the number into his easier-to-understand-the-instructions cell phone. A man's voice picked up after the second ring.
"Best Buy Geek Squad. My name is Todd, how can I help you today?" He asked in a sickly sweet voice.
"Uh, yeah, hi. I'm having computer issues with my new laptop and I was hoping you could send a guy over to help me?" Percy asked, still embarrassed he had resorted to this.
"All right, sir. If you could give us you address and the state of the problem, we can send someone right over," Todd answered in an overly-charmed voice.
Percy cringed on the inside as he gave up his address and explained how he couldn't even get the damned thing to turn on. Todd said, a little to happy for Percy's taste, that one of their best would be right over.
After about twenty minutes of waiting and staring down the object that had caused him so much pain and humiliation, Percy heard a stern knock on the door. Percy gave an audible sigh and sluggishly made it to the door.
He grabbed the knob and pulled the door open, revealing the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had beautiful blond hair, pulled back into a ponytail and gorgeous gray eyes. Even with her ugly uniform, Percy still thought she looked like a goddess (no pun intended). He stood there for who-knows-how-long and stared her. He didn't even notice that she was talking to him until she snapped her fingers a few times.
"I'm sorry, what?" Percy asked, his face slightly flushed.
The girl held out her hand and stated, "Annabeth Chase. I'm here to fix your computer issues, sir."
"Uh, Perseus Jackson." Why he used his full name? Probably out of nervousness. He took her hand and shook, trying to ignore the electricity he felt. Annabeth seemed to ignore it to. "Perseus?" she asked. "That's a nice name."
"Um, well my friends call me Percy..." he added timidly.
She smiled. "Well, I like Percy better." He felt a red hot blush come over his face.
"So, sir, just show me the issue with your device and I'll see what I can do," Annabeth said, still smiling.
"My what? Oh, right. My computer. Yeah, it's in here." Percy stepped away from the doorway to allow her entry into his apartment. He suddenly regretted not using those twenty minutes of waiting to tidy up the place a little. "It's over there on my desk."
Annabeth walked over to the table in the corner of the room and sat down in the chair in front of it. She opened up the laptop and turned to Percy. "And what seems to be the problem, sir?" she asked.
"I, um- I can't get it to turn on," he said, trying to hide his embarrassment. Annabeth didn't seem to notice he was uncomfortable. She had faced similar issues such as this before. She motioned for him to come over and turned back to the computer. When she felt his presence behind her, she instructed the solution.
"See this button that is separated from the keyboard? This is the on button. You press that and wait for the title screen to appear."
"Well, I know all that," Percy defended himself, trying to tell her he wasn't that stupid. "I just don't know what to do after the title screen comes up."
Annabeth placed her dainty fingers on his keyboard. "Okay, so you click the bottom of the picture and drag it up." She did so with her thumb. The picture of a random building disappeared and was replaced with a blue background and different apps such as desktop, photos, and games.
"All right, I'll just install some apps like Word and Google Chrome and then you'll be set," she said to him in a sweet voice.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," Percy responded. "Um, do you want something to drink or something?" he asked, trying to start a conversation with her.
"No, thank you, no liquids near the computer," she answered, not looking away from the screen.
"Oh, yeah, right." Percy wanted to keep her talking but his mind betrayed him and he couldn't think of anything to say. Then it hit him. "So, how long have you been on Geek Squad?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I need to focus," Annabeth said as she typed and scrolled. Percy gave an awkward nod.
She stayed that way for a while, completely shutting out the rest of the world and he watched her. Eventually, Percy couldn't take the silence anymore and said, "Um, I'm gonna go use the restroom."
Without looking away from her work, Annabeth gave a simple "Mmm-hmm."
Percy took that as a sign to go and headed down the hall to the restroom. When she was sure Percy was out of the room, Annabeth looked over her shoulder and waited for the 'click' of the door to lock. When she heard the sound, she hastily opened up a word document and typed.
"All right, sir, you're all set," Annabeth said, pulling standing up and getting her bag. Percy stood up as well and walked over to the computer.
Annabeth continued, "I just need you to sign this form." She handed him a sheet of paper and, without even reading it, Percy signed it. "Thank you, sir. You now have all of your apps and your device's password is 'Seaweed Brain.'"
Percy gave her a look. "Seaweed Brain?"
Annabeth smiled and shrugged. "I thought it fit." She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed to the door. Before she left she said, "Thank you for calling Geek Squad." And then she out of his life. Percy stared at the door, waiting for something. But nothing happened.
He sighed and sat down at his computer. He was ready to do some serious internet surfing when he noticed and open Word Document. Confused, he proceeded to open it.
There, in 12 point, Bookman Old Style font, were the words
Call me
Annabeth
Percy stared at her number in disbelief. Then he smiled and reach for his easier-to-understand-the-instructions cell phone.
He should break his computer more often.
The end.
(1) I can vouch and say that these things are kinda hard to understand if you don't have a techy person near-by.
So what do you think? I liked it, but what do I know.
All right, I'm done now.
Goodbye!