A/N- LOL, I apologize for the late chapter! The hella late chapter. School takes up a lot of time, and after much coaxing from you guys, I decided to just sit down and crank this chapter out in one sitting. Merry Christmas, you guys! Consider this a present from me :) I hope you guys have a great holiday, and even if you're not Christian, take the time out of your day to appreciate your family or just appreciate the good things in your life. Have a great break, and maybe I'll write an epilogue. I don't know, we'll see. Once again, Happy Holidays or Happy Break!
Chapter 23
Percy decided it was the right moment. They had their graduation ceremony yesterday and senior year was finally over, after more than 9 months of painful school. Drew had finally left him alone, after a lot of subtle hints from Annabeth, and he and Annabeth were finally at a stable point in their friendship. He found out back in April that he got accepted into the local college, and quickly shared the news with Annabeth. Annabeth excitedly exclaimed that she was going to NYU as opposed to a prestigious Ivy League University; her reasoning being that she didn't want to be separated from Luke and the twins for too long. As long as they weren't separated by too much, he knew that choosing to pursue a relationship with her was fate. He trudged up the steps to Luke's apartment, with Riptide strapped to his back. Surprisingly, he wasn't as nervous as he thought he would be. In the middle of May, he finally told Thalia and Luke that he was ready to act on his feelings for Annabeth. The both of them had jabbered on about how he was a coward for waiting this long, and that they were prepared to do whatever it took to help him.
They had finally come up with a plan: whenever Percy deemed it appropriate, one of them would take Annabeth out; while the other helped Percy inside the apartment. If they somehow managed to fuck up, Percy would have Tyson with him to, hopefully, appease Annabeth.
He knocked on the door to Luke's apartment and patiently waited for Thalia to answer the door. Thalia opened the door and ushered him inside. He sat on the couch and took calming breaths, helping him relax even further. Thalia went to the kitchen and fetched both Percy and Tyson some glasses of water. Tyson placed the cup on the table and stared at it, his eyes bugging out of his head more than usual.
During Percy's tuning, Tyson turned to Percy, "Are you nervous?"
"Of course not," Percy childishly retorted.
Tyson looked doubtful, but shrugged it off.
Thalia sat on the chair opposing Percy's and stared him down. When it finally became unbearable for Percy, he looked annoyingly at Thalia and huffed.
"What is it?"
"Oh nothing," Thalia said offhandedly. Percy rolled his eyes and tipped his head against the couch, eyes fluttering shut. As Percy began to really drift into sleep, he heard the ding of his phone and wearily opened his eyes.
We're coming, be ready and don't back out – Luke
Percy blinked a couple of times and finally comprehended the full meaning of Luke's words. He jolted awake and kicked Thalia, who was quietly sleeping as well. She snuggled further into the chair and Percy had to resist the urge to kick her out of the chair.
"Thalia," he hissed, "Wake the fuck up."
"What, Jackson?" she mumbled.
"Annabeth's coming," he said.
That seemed to wake Thalia up and she picked up the sleeping Tyson, after multiple crude gestures from Percy. With Tyson in her arms, she walked to the kitchen, and Percy could hear the remnants of her soothes to his brother. He quickly, mentally, went through a list of what he was going to do when she walked in the door.
At last, he heard the jingle of the keys open and first saw Luke peek his head through the doorway, giving Percy a nod of acknowledgement. He saw Annabeth walk through, oblivious at his invasion into her and Luke's apartment. Finally, Luke nudged her towards Percy. She glanced tiredly, then her eyes widened.
"Per-Percy what are you doing here?" she said, stumbling through the words.
"Uh, Annabeth, could you please just sit down?" he replied, rather awkwardly.
She did as asked, and looked puzzled when Luke turned towards the kitchen, stepping through the doorway.
Alright, Percy, you can do this.
He strummed the opening chords and Annabeth's look of puzzlement turned into an intrigued one. He decided to skip the beginning Yeah, you! considering that it would be quite awkward for the both of them.
Finally his cue for the opening lyrics began. He opened his mouth and began to sing,
I used to wanna be
Living like there's only me
But now I spend my time
Thinking 'bout a way to get you off my mind
I used to be so tough
Never really gave enough
And then you caught my eye
Giving me the feeling of a lightning strike
She smiled softly, and it fueled his courage to continue on.
Look at me now, I'm falling
Can't even talk, still stuttering
This ground of mine keeps shaking
Oh oh oh, now!
Her smile transcended into a full out grin.
All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
Percy gained more and more confidence, as he kept on singing, with Annabeth's soft encouragements.
Everybody's tryna be a billionaire
But every time I look at you I just don't care
'Cause all I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
Look at me now, I'm falling
I can't even talk, still stuttering
All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
Everybody's trying to be a billionaire
But every time I look at you I just don't care
'Cause all I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
'Cause all I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah
Is somebody to you
He finished out the rest of the song and as soon as he put the guitar down, Annabeth quickly rushed over and tackled him to the ground. Before he could gain his wits, he saw a flash of blonde hair and white teeth, before he felt her lips connect to his.
She quickly pulled back and Percy was left with staring at her in shock and amazement.
"So- uh, was that, uh, a yes?" he stuttered out.
"You didn't even properly ask me out," Annabeth said in amusement.
"Still?" Percy persisted. He poked her cheek and crooned, "Come on, Annabeth. Was that a yes?"
She rolled her eyes, "Of course it was, dumbass."