Hey guys, no I'm not dead, I just need some ideas for 'For Freedom'. But in the meantime I feel like I owe you at least something, so here I have a story based off Rascal Flatts' song 'Here comes goodbye'. Some lines are written in, I hope you guys love this! It's my first one-shot, so go easy on me.
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO, all rights to the amazing author, Rick Riordan! And I do no own the song 'Here comes goodbye', all rights to the awesome artist(s), Rascal Flatts!
Seriously guys, if you haven't heard the song then I suggest you go listen to it now, I think it's cool (though I can't speak for you guys), plus the story will make more sense. So go do that…
Hope you did listen to it, now enjoy the story!
Percy's POV:
I sat on the couch, clutching its arms, and bracing myself. This morning, Annabeth called me up (yeah Leo figured out how to make the phones repel monsters instead of attracting them) and told me various things I didn't catch, something about '…A move…It's a big offer, a once in a life time chance…But…and we can still-' It was about at this point when I started to try harder to listen and when she sighed I knew something was up. That's when she spoke up and my heart started bouncing around in my chest, 'Percy, I can't- *sigh* I don't think I'd- *sigh*- Percy, we need to talk…'
I can hear the truck tires coming up, the gravel road,
It was at that point where I finally remembered I could speak, 'Okay' I had replied hoarsely, than I smiled. 'I love you.' she didn't reply, I could hear her sniffling. My heart started doing flips and my brain was practically beating itself to death with curiosity, what could possibly get my girlfriend so on edge, it wasn't like her.
It's not like her to drive that slow when nothing's on the radio,
'I'll meet you at the house.' She finally said and the line went dead. And that's about when I decided to sit down, awaiting her curios arrival. Then I heard the doorbell, I know it's her because I can see her princess curls through the window, but then why didn't she just knock? That's when something struck me, could it be…? Is she…?
Footsteps on the front porch, I hear my doorbell…she usually comes right in,
No, she can't. She wouldn't. Would she? I got up and opened the door, expecting to see her smiling face, to assure me I had been wrong. But when I opened the door all I saw were her grey eyes holding back tears…and I just knew.
Now I can tell.
She was leaving, I couldn't believe it, but she was leaving. I took her in my embrace and she gladly followed, for a few moments I almost had forgotten she was leaving, until she coughed out a sob and let go. "Percy…" she sniffed. "I don't know if you heard on the phone, but I've gotten an offer from my mom…"
Here comes goodbye…
"…she offered for me to follow her on her travels and become her fulltime personal architect." Annabeth explained. I didn't quite follow all I could register was the fact that she was leaving, but when I saw the look on her face I knew she understood. "I will be heading all around the earth and Olympus, I can't possibly pass this up, it's my dream, and it'll be hard to have a long distance relationship." My frown sunk even further than it already had. She bit her lip and I knew she was waiting for my reply.
"You have to go, I'll miss you, but you should go, it's your dream." I managed a smile and squeezed her left hand. That's when she kissed me, running her fingers through my hair, it was the most depressing goodbye kiss ever.
Here comes the last time…
Then she pulled away again and I knew she hadn't finished. "Percy, I don't think I can do a long distance relationship." My heart stopped its deranged pumping and I gulped, I knew what was coming. "Percy…" she hugged me and we squeezed each other so tight that I'm pretty sure breathing wasn't an option. Annabeth cried, and I'll admit, I let a few tears slip also.
Here comes the start of every sleepless night, the first of every tear, I'm gonna cry!
This time I was the one to pull away, I took my Wisegirl by her shoulders for the last time as her boyfriend, and I stared deep into her shattered grey eyes. I held back those tears so I could say what I've been wanting to say since she started the conversation. "So this is it? It's over?" At first she nodded her head slowly, then she placed her gentle hands on my face, and stole a peck on the lips. When she was done she let her hand fall to her side and wiped her tears.
"This is goodbye." She answered sadly. I let out a deep sigh and stared back at her.
"In that case…" I pulled her close to me and kissed her one final time. "That's to remind you it's not goodbye forever." And for the first time since I answered the door, she smiled.
I suddenly remembered a dark trench, so dark that all I could see were her grey eyes, staring lovingly at me. I remember promising to never leave her, she replied in 'As long as we're together.', and then I remembered the fall and clutching her hand like I may never see her again. That feeling where I knew this could be the end, that's exactly what I was feeling now.
Here comes the pain…
"No," she agreed. "Not forever." It was only when her hand slipped out of mine that I remembered I'd been holding onto it, just like the fall, by the look in her eyes I knew she remembered too. She slipped into her car and rolled down the window. "This is not goodbye!" she reminded me. "Not forever!"
I waved at her and rubbed my crying eyes, I gasped a quick "No never." And watched her roll down the driveway. "I love you!" I called.
"I love you too!" she yelled back and I watched her disappear down the road. It left me wondering what would have happened if her mother hadn't offered her that job.
Here comes me wishin' things had never changed…
I stood at the doorway, almost expecting her to turn around and come back, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. So I walked back inside, sat on the couch, and cried. I could still feel her warmth.
And that she was right here in my arms tonight…
Something caught me, in the struggle to decide whether I should get up or not I smiled at the memories, and that's when I got up and head for our room. I opened the closed door and slipped a scrapbook of the top shelf. I returned to the sorrow filled living room, sat down, placed the scrapbook on my lap, and opened up to the first page.
There my eyes rested on two pictures; one of Annabeth, her two little step-brothers, her step-mom, and her dad all smiling, before Annabeth had run away and then returned; the other of me and my mom running on the sandy shore of Montauk (it was kind of blurry since my mom was holding the camera). I smiled. So I looked to the next page.
But, here comes goodbye… (A/N: Here's where the lyrics stop, according to fanfiction rules I shouldn't go any further, but it's the beginning of the song, just to let you know)
On this page I saw my first week at Camp Half-Blood, I was wearing my T-shirt and grasping the Minotaur horn, I was just barely smiling since throughout the first week I had thought my mother was dead. Next to my picture on the right Annabeth stood, towering over me by an inch, she had her T-shirt and clay beaded necklace on, she didn't smile or stare at the camera she looked out into the distance as if thinking about something. I was laughing by that point, thinking about everything the camp and life had put me through, it made me feel awkward that I could look back on that horrible stuff and laugh, but I yet I did.
I skipped a couple pages ahead and there was Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, and I standing side by side smiling for the camera as best friends my next year. Below the picture was labeled 'I survived', I laughed hard at that. Annabeth was so stubborn those days, this was also the year where she found out her fatal flaw, hubris. I think it was when I hugged her underwater that I started to develop feelings for her.
I skipped a few pages ahead to my third year at camp. There I saw a picture of Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, and I all scrunched together with our arms over one another like we got along fine (not all the time mind you). Thalia's intense electric blue eyes showed the depression and betrayal she felt when she found out Luke had joined Kronos, but even through that she managed to smile. Grover kind of leaned over as if he was about ready to sneeze, but really he was just trying hard not to step on our fragile feet, he kind of half-smiled because of that. Annabeth and I linked together each of us bearing the burden of Atlas, forced to hold up the sky as though it were as light as a feather, we both had the same knowing smiles. We had lost Zoe Nightshade and Bianca di Angelo that year, I'm pretty sure neither Artemis nor Nico were going to let me forget it.
Off to the side was a picture of Nico and his sister before she had paced away, I smiled knowing how happy he felt when she was alive, but frowned also remembering how much pain he went through after. So naturally I skipped another few pages ahead.
Here at my fourth year was a picture of me pointing to the new bead on my necklace, since the battle in the labyrinth was something I knew I'd never forget, I wasn't smiling in this picture it was more of a confused frown, like I was missing something. Below that was a pic of Rachel Elizabeth Dare painting something majestic, her bright green eyes literally reflecting the flash of the camera right at you, she had an annoyed look on her face like someone had interrupted her masterpiece so they could take the picture. The page continued with a picture of Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover as old friends on a day out before Thalia went back to Artemis; Grover was holding up a plate of something sweet and smiling with crumbs all over his mouth, Thalia was pointing her fork at him and laughing, Annabeth smiled and shook her head, they all were perched over a picnic table at camp.
At this point I was daydreaming and still I skipped pages ahead. On this page was a picture of all of camp before the titan war, including Chiron, we all had surprised looks on our faces because one of the Hermes kids had taken this surprise picture, and yet it still became our camp picture. On the next page was a picture of Annabeth and I having our first kiss, yep they took a secret photo, which we hadn't known about until later.
Many more pages later, I spotted a picture of Annabeth, Leo, Jason, Piper, and Chiron together. Chiron had his arm around Jason's shoulders and a huge smile on his face. Jason looked extremely confused sense he had lost his memory, he was biting his lip with nervous tension, the orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt kind of clashed with his personality now that I think about it (Oh gods, I'm turning into a child of Aphrodite). Piper had a bright smile on, her choppy brown hair flowing down her shoulder, her eyes showed a million different emotions at once. Leo looked super hyper like he was about ready to bounce out of the picture and build something, he was like the epitome of ADHD. And Annabeth had no smile, no laugh, her eyes were full of pain and fear, she was that upset that I had gone missing, it broke my heart looking at her.
Under that pic was another of Frank, Hazel, and I all smiley because something had finally been done. Frank was grasping something like a stick well stretching his right arm over Hazel's shoulders. Hazel was slipping her hands into her pockets like she had a sudden chill. I was looking happy but at the time I had been extremely annoyed I was about ready to kill Hera for taking my friends, precious months of my life, and my Wisegirl away from me. That memory made me frown.
On one of the final pages was a picture of almost everyone Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, Ella the harpy, Chiron, Rachel, Thalia, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Jason, Nico (although he was kind of off to the side like he was photo shopped into the picture, which he actually might have been), Reyna, Conner Stoll, Travis Stoll, Katie Gardener, Coach Hedge, Clarisse, etc. We all smiled (minus Nico who half-smiled) very happy that the Giant war was over. I smiled at this, after everything we'd been through it was nice to finally have a happy ending.
By the time I had finished I heard the phone ring, I was tempted to just let it ring, but it might have been my mom so I got up and grabbed it. To my surprise I heard Annabeth's voice on the other end. "Hey Seaweed Brain," she greeted, I could hear a squeal of excitement behind her voice and my smile grew wide. She only calls me Seaweed Brain when she wants to annoy me or if she's happy so I was expecting good news.
"Hey Wisegirl," I replied. My heart started beating with happiness, my pulse suddenly going turbo speed, my sea green eyes wide with curiosity. "What is it?"
"After plenty of convincing, my mom has decided there's room for one more on this trip, if you want to come that is?" her voice was flirtatious, as if this was more of a dare then an invitation. I laughed out loud I thought it was funny that she had to ask me if I wanted to come, she knew the answer.
"I don't know," I said. "A trip around the world with your mother who-I might add-extremely dislikes me? Doesn't sound to thrilling." I laughed again because I was already packing.
"Fine then, I guess I'll have to give the invitation to someone else willing…" she joked. My smile grew.
"Okay, I give in, you win." I admitted. "Of course I'll come along." I stuffed everything I knew I'd need and want into my truck, which since I was a demigod, wasn't much.
"See you there Seaweed Brain." She replied. "I love you!"
"I love you too, Wisegirl!" I said and hung up the phone so I could meet her at her mother's. After a couple of calls to some friends and my mother and Paul I was set. I grabbed my keys off the hook and the scrapbook off my couch. Then I took one last look at the house and headed off to meet Annabeth.
Maybe a goodbye is really a hello in disguise, maybe my luck was changing, or maybe this what the fates plan all along. Whatever the reason I was more than happy to know that it wasn't goodbye. When I arrived at her mother's, Annabeth jumped into my arms. "I missed you!" she cried.
"I missed you too." I agreed, pulling her closer. I smiled down at her and she smiled back then we kissed. We heard a rude cough and turned to see Athena, Annabeth's mother, staring impatiently at us. She had a business suit on, small round reading glasses (it's funny sense, being the goddess of wisdom, she probably spent most of her time reading), and tapping one of her black 'professional' (more like painful) high heels against the road.
"Hurry up," Athena ordered. "We don't have all day." Annabeth and I gave her a nod, showing her we understood. She hurriedly turned around to walk back inside, but not before shooting me a warning glare, the likes of which I cowered under. When she left I turned back to my girlfriend.
"Where were we?" I asked, pretending to think about it. She smiled and placed her arms around my neck, leaning in slightly. I place my arms around her waist in return.
"Right here." She answered, kissing me like we had never kissed before. Then she pulled away and gave me a nervous look. "Can we pretend this morning never happened?"
"Okay," I agreed. "Let's start over." She smiled and placed her arms around my neck again.
"Hi Seaweed Brain." She greeted. I laughed and placed my arms around her waist again.
"Hello Wisegirl." With that we leaned in and kissed again. I had one thought in my head the whole time…
I kept my promise. It's not goodbye, it's never goodbye!
So guys, how was that? Yes, I gave them a happy ending, they deserve one, after everything they've been through. Well if you liked this please show it in a review, Thanks!
Also it would be awesome if you all could just take a quick moment and go to my profile and vote on my pole on which PJO story you'd like to see me write next. That'd be awesome of you all! Thanks guys!
Oh and for all you For Freedom fans out there, I will try to update as soon as I possibly can! Thank you all for being patient! Please Read and Review.
Samantha's Library.