A/N: This is dedicated to lililibird on tumblr. Thanks for being so great, Lili! I hope you like this!

-12202015-

Annabeth can remember every single time that she's had to hold Percy's hand as he gets his knuckles stitched back up from punching someone or when she's had to hold a pack of ice to a black eye that he got for insulting someone at their high school or even that one time that she had to drag him out of the road after he had a skateboarding accident, and he was a lot heavier than he looked, okay?

So it's kind of funny to see Percy scowling and frowning and pacing around her small bed in the Emergency Room.

"Hey," she says softly, trying to make her voice sound like she was in less pain so he wouldn't panic. "You can go home. I'm fine."

He turns his scowl to her. "I'm not leaving you here."

She shrugs then, looking back up at the wall and biting her lip.

Annabeth was at practice earlier today—Track, even though she wasn't that good, it looked great on her resumes—when she tripped over one of the hurdles. She could usually clear them without a problem, but she had been thinking about her history paper and her foot got caught on it. She threw her hands out in front of her, which probably saved her face, but her wrist had cracked and bent to a strange angle.

Frank, a friend from the team, had called Percy, her best friend, and he had been there in what seemed like two seconds, picking her up from the bench she was resting on and carrying her to the car and to the Emergency Room. He's been pacing ever since the nurse left them in here, and even though her wrist is hurting like hell, she isn't going to cry. Percy will just freak out and cry too, and really, that's all she needs tonight.

After a few more minutes of his pacing, Annabeth sighs and says, "Percy. Stop. Come sit down. If I have to listen to your stupid shoes squeaking anymore because you're too cheap to buy new ones, I'm going to throw up on you."

Percy huffs, scowling as he sits down in the chair beside her. He leans closer, keeping his green eyes on hers.

"You look like you're hurting," he comments.

"Well it's no walk in the park," she mutters, shifting on her back uncomfortably and reaching up to touch her wrist. She winces when her fingers graze the skin.

Percy reaches up and takes her other hand away, twisting his fingers with hers and bringing their hands up to his face. He avoids her eyes, and they sit in silence, which is good because Annabeth doesn't want him to know how much her wrist hurts.

She stares at him instead. He looks odd against the white wall in the hospital, all black and leather. His black hair is cropped short now, after she managed to convince him to cut the blue dye out of it. He's wearing his black leather jacket with a black All Time Low t-shirt underneath it. His jeans are dark too, and he's wearing the same pair of Converse that he always has. They're so old that Annabeth has already bought him a new pair that she's planning on slipping into his closet after she destroys the old ones.

Annabeth thinks it's weird how he went from wearing blue t-shirts and talking about basketball one day to the next shredding a guitar, riding a skateboard and buying a leather jacket. The change seems almost instant when she thinks back on it, but when she had asked him about it when they were younger, he had shrugged her off, telling her that he had always been like that and he might as well show it.

It didn't really change anything between them. Just—just the way she looked at him sometimes. More often than not, she would catch herself staring at him while he played guitar in his band. She would find herself biting her lip when he shrugged on his leather jacket.

God forbid he ever gets the tattoo that he's thinking about. Annabeth would probably scream.

Okay, maybe she has a thing for her best friend.

But it's not like it's just now starting, okay? She has a feeling that it's always been there. Maybe that's why she can be so comfortable with him while having butterflies swarm her stomach at the same time.

For some reason, she finds herself thinking back to last week. Percy got into a fight with one of the football players over something stupid, and the guy's fist had connected with Percy's face before he could get out of the way. Annabeth never really found out how it started, but thankfully, it wasn't Percy's fault because he didn't get suspended this time.

In fact, the only reason she actually found out about it at all was because she went over to his house across the street to read him one of her papers before she turned it in. She got there before Sally did, and she found Percy shirtless in the kitchen, pulling a frozen bag of peas out of the freezer to press to his face.

She had nearly dropped her laptop when she saw him.

"Hi," Percy had said quickly. "It isn't what it looks like."

She frowned, "Sit down and let me see."

Percy closed the freezer and trudged over to one of the shorter bar stools. His jeans were riding low on his hips, giving Annabeth an impressive view of his chest (not that she was looking). When he sat down, his head was almost even with hers, and Annabeth took the frozen peas from him before tilting his chin back to see the dark bruise circling his right eye.

"It wasn't my fault," Percy said, wincing when she set the peas onto his face.

"Yeah, okay," she said, running her other hand through his hair and down his other cheek. He hummed when her fingers brushed his lips, and his eyes fluttered close.

"'M serious, 'Beth," he said, blinking up at her. "Not my fault."

Annabeth didn't answer him, instead looking down at his right hand. "Give me your hand."

He lifted his hand, and she took it with hers, running her fingers over his tan knuckles. They weren't bleeding, so he must have been serious about it not being his fault.

"Told you," he said. "I didn't hit him."

She hummed, letting go of his hand and looking back to his face. His eyes were closed again, and after a few more minutes, Annabeth removed the bag of peas before placing it back in the freezer.

He was staring at her when she turned back around. There was a small smile on his face, and Annabeth found herself returning it before she could scold him for getting into another fight and—

"Annabeth," Percy says now, interrupting her memory. He's frowning at her. "You okay?"

She blinks, realizing that she has been staring at him the whole time. She nods and looks away, squeezing Percy's hand.

Percy's mom, Sally, runs into the room a few minutes later, bending down to press a kiss to Annabeth's forehead before swatting Percy on the head and saying he should have called sooner. Annabeth laughs weakly, and really, she's relieved that Sally is here. Her dad is gone on a business trip, and Sally might as well be her mom anyway.

"Has the doctor said anything?" Sally asks, brushing Annabeth's sweaty hair off of her forehead. She's still in her practice uniform, and she just wants to go home, take a shower, and go to bed.

She shakes her head right as Percy says, "They took the x-rays already, but they haven't been back in yet."

Soon enough, the doctor comes back into the room, announces that her wrist is broken, and decides that she needs a cast. Percy tries to convince her to get a black one, but she goes with pink when the nurse asks her. The doctor tells her that she can't run on the team until the cast comes off, but she doesn't really care. She wasn't the best on the team, and she was only doing it for her resume.

Since Annabeth's dad is gone, Sally asks her to stay with them so she can make sure she doesn't have a bad reaction to the pain medicine the doctor prescribes her. Annabeth agrees, relieved that she doesn't have to go home by herself. Normally, she doesn't mind, but her wrist is hurting, and really, all she wants to do is curl up with Percy on the couch and watch a movie.

When they leave the hospital, Percy drives Annabeth back home, and they walk across the street to her house to get her clothes. Percy has his hand on the small of her back, and Annabeth's right arm is cradled in a sling to keep it above her heart. He waits on her bed while she takes a shower, which is a lot less difficult than she thought it would be. Even though her shoulder is sore too, it's fairly easy to keep her arm above her head so she doesn't get the cast wet.

"You alright?" Percy asks from where he's lying on her bed when she comes back into the room, clutching a towel around her body with one arm.

She nods, but doesn't say anything, walking over to her dresser and grabbing her pajamas in silence before heading back toward the bathroom to change. Honestly, she's afraid she might start crying if she answers because her wrist is throbbing and aching so badly.

Percy has gathered all of her school stuff for her, and Annabeth grabs an extra set of clothes and her phone charger before letting him take her backpack for her and handing her a jacket.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Percy asks when they get to the door. His eyebrows are scrunched together, like when he's worried.

He's already carrying her backpack, so she shakes her head. Percy wraps an arm around her waist anyway and pulls her into his side, quickly guiding her back across the street and into his house where Sally is waiting on them.

There are tears pooling in Annabeth's eyes now, and even though she kind of hates it, she lets them fall when Sally asks her how she's feeling. Her fingers are swelling and starting to bruise now, making her hand look puffy and gross underneath the cast. It feels like the cast is too small, even though Annabeth knows that it's just from the swelling in her arm because of the break.

Sally pets her hair and hands her a few pills to take with a bottle of water, and Annabeth can feel Percy's hands on her shoulders and back. He's saying something to his mom now, but she's still hiccupping and trying to catch her breath from crying so she doesn't understand any of it.

When she finally calms down, she whispers a quiet thank you to Sally, and the older woman smiles and nods.

"Percy went upstairs to get a movie for you guys to watch. Are you hungry? I can cook something for dinner, but the medicine is going to make you sleepy," she says, smoothing her hair back again.

Annabeth shakes her head again. She doesn't really think that she can eat anything right now.

Percy comes back into the kitchen a few minutes later, running his hands across her shoulders and murmuring something about watching a movie. She lets him guide her to the living room, helping her shuffle out of her shoes and jacket before stepping out of his own shoes. He must have left his jacket upstairs, and he moves to the TV, putting the third Harry Potter movie into the DVD player because he knows that it's her favorite.

His eyes are wide as he looks at her when he turns around, but his face is calm and it makes Annabeth want to calm down too. There are still a few tears in her eyes, and Percy swipes his thumbs across her cheeks before looping an arm around her waist and gently pulling her down onto the couch.

He pulls her up onto his chest, keeping his arm wrapped around her waist. He runs his other hand through her hair and over her shoulders and back before starting again. She rests her cast against a pillow on Percy's other side and tucks her face into his neck.

"Annabeth," Percy hums low in his chest. "Are you okay?"

She nods, using her good hand to fist his t-shirt.

She feels him press a kiss to her head, and Annabeth closes her eyes.

She doesn't wake up until she feels Percy slipping his arm underneath her knees and lifting her up off of the couch. He's saying something, and then Annabeth hears him mutter under his breath about how heavy she is.

"Percy?" She asks sleepily, pulling her head up to rest against his shoulder. He's carrying her bridal style up the stairs now.

"Hey," he says lightly, huffing as he gets to the stop of the stairs.

Her eyes are closed again, "Where are we going?"

"My room. You're not sleeping on the couch, Annabeth."

Percy toes the door to his room open and steps through the piles of clothes on the floor. His desk is overflowing with sheet music, and his two older guitars are sitting in stands by the window.

He sets her down onto the mattress easily, pulling the comforter up and over her as she curls up on her side. Percy props her arm up on a pillow on her other side, and Annabeth blinks up at him.

"Will you stay?" She whispers.

His face softens. "Until you fall asleep."

Percy lays on his side beside her, holding her good hand and running his fingers across the back of her hand. He hums under his breath, and it's one of the songs that he's written for her.

She's asleep within seconds.

Ω

Annabeth wakes up again when she hears Percy mutter, "Fuck."

She's curled up in his sheets, nose tucked underneath the blue comforter. She's laying on top of her cast, but her arm isn't throbbing right now. It will probably be later but—oh well.

She blinks her eyes open, surprised to see him standing in front of his closet, sliding a pair of jeans up onto his hips. His back is to her, and she can see his muscles shifting in his shoulder blades when he reaches up for a t-shirt and—

Annabeth closes her eyes before he turns and catches her staring at him.

The sunlight is drifting into the window despite his blue curtains, and Annabeth feels better than she did yesterday. Surprisingly, this is her first broken bone. It hurts like hell, and she can understand why Percy always whined when he broke his leg or collarbone skateboarding.

She hears Percy shuffle around the room for a few more minutes, grabbing his backpack and throwing books down into it. He's trying to be quiet, but Percy's always been a naturally loud person. Annabeth smiles into the sheets when he bumps his foot against his desk and says the f-word again. He's such a dork.

She wonders what time it is and why he hasn't woken her up yet. Yesterday was Thursday, so that means that they have to go to school, but when Annabeth thinks about trying to write with her cast all day, her arm starts to ache. Yeah, no thanks.

Percy zips up his backpack, but she can hear his footsteps getting closer to her. She's tempted to open her eyes and see what he's doing, but she feels his lips against her temple for half of a second before he pulls away and softly closes the door behind him. Annabeth wonders what he's thinking right now.

They've been at a weird point in their relationship for a few weeks. She's noticed it just because of his lingering touches and how close he seems to stand and sit to her. And he's probably noticed too—Annabeth wasn't exactly subtle when it came to fixing his hair because it "looked stupid, Seaweed Brain," or holding his hand because he "needed to hurry up, god, we're going to be late."

They're a wreck. She doesn't exactly mind.

Annabeth rolls out of Percy's bed, wondering if she can catch him before he leaves for school. She grabs an extra blanket from the foot of the bed and wraps it around her body before trudging down the stairs. She can hear Sally and Percy talking, and when she rounds the corner to the kitchen, she sees Sally standing at the oven and Percy sitting at the counter eating a stack of waffles.

Percy's talking about Jason and his new girlfriend, Piper, who likes to skateboard too. He gushes about the purple streak that's in her hair, and Annabeth finds herself grinning because she can remember Percy telling her that he liked it but dear god, Annabeth, don't you ever do something like that to your hair.

Sally laughs though, turning around and saying, "Percy, it sounds like you have a crush on her."

"Come on, Mom, you know—"

Sally spots Annabeth right then, and the smug smile on her face tells Annabeth that she might let Percy keep talking. She saves him though, smiling at Annabeth and saying, "Hi, Annabeth."

Annabeth smothers a laugh at the way Percy tenses his shoulders underneath his leather jacket. Her face is a little red, but she can pass it off as just waking up. Her voice is soft when she walks further into the kitchen and says, "Hi."

"Are you hungry?" Sally asks, pulling a plate from the cabinet anyway. "Percy's too talkative to eat all of the waffles for once."

"Mom," Percy grumbles under his breath, ducking his head. There's a blush crawling up his neck, and Annabeth bites back a smile to keep from laughing at him.

Annabeth yawns as Percy pulls the barstool next to him out for her to sit down. She says, "Sure. Thanks."

"How's your arm?" Percy asks, finally looking at her. He shoots his mom another glare when she looks at them with a smile.

Annabeth sets her cast up onto the counter for them to see. Her hand and fingers are still bruised and swollen, and it looks pretty gross. She frowns at it.

"It'll get better, Annabeth," Sally comforts her, sliding a plate down in front of her with two blue waffles and just the right amount of syrup. "You remember how bad Percy's looked for a while."

"Hey," he says suddenly. "Too bad you didn't break yours when I broke mine. We could have been cast twins."

Annabeth laughs, smiling at him, but Sally frowns and says, "Don't get any ideas, Percy. I can't handle both of you with broken bones. One is bad enough!"

He laughs, winking at her when his mom turns back toward the sink.

Annabeth uses her right hand to cut her waffles, which is weird, while she leaves her cast resting against the counter. She's left handed, so it's going to be hell trying to write and type with her right hand.

"Mom, where's a marker?" Percy asks, getting up to put his plate in the sink.

Sally grabs a black marker from the drawer and tosses it to him as she says, "You're going to be late for school!"

"Nah," he says, uncapping the marker and stepping right into Annabeth's space, reaching for her cast. "I don't have to go over and get Annabeth so I'm right on time."

"Go over and get me?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. He's standing in the way, so she can't see what he's writing. She's going to punch him if he writes the f-word. "I'm the one that's rolling you out of bed most days! It's a wonder we ever get to school on time."

Percy laughs, looking back to grin at her. "Stop making me laugh, I'm going to mess up."

Annabeth watches as he concentrates on whatever he's writing. His eyebrows are furrowed, and his tongue is sticking out slightly between his lips like it does when he plays his guitar. He smiles when he finishes writing, and goddammit, he's too fucking adorable for it to be this early in the morning.

She blames Percy for the profanity in her vocabulary. He's a bad influence.

"Done," he announces, capping the marker and tossing it on the counter.

He moves out of the way, and Annabeth leans up to look at what he's written.

"Property of Percy Jackson?" Annabeth asks, scowling and glaring up at him.

He grins at her outraged expression, "I was gonna write 'If found, please return to Percy Jackson,' but I couldn't figure out where the comma went."

"Idiot," Annabeth mutters, wondering if it would be worth the pain to hit him in the face with her cast.

It doesn't help that Sally's standing at the sink now, trying to cover up her laughter too.

"I'm going to school," he says cheerfully, getting out of the way before Annabeth can decide about punching him. Her best friend is insufferable sometimes.

He darts around the counter, pressing a kiss to his mom's cheek before heading back toward Annabeth. One of his hands hovers on her jaw, and he turns her face so he can press a light kiss to her forehead.

Annabeth hums, and then he pulls away, grabbing his backpack and heading toward the door.

"Bye, Mom! Bye, Annabeth!" He yells, slamming the door on his way back. Annabeth watches out of the window as he tosses his backpack into the back of his Jeep before getting in and driving away. He has the radio too loud, and he's just putting his seat belt on as he pulls out into the road, but it's so Percy that it makes her heart hurt.

Annabeth finishes her waffles, listening to Sally hum as she does the dishes. When she finishes, she turns around and walks over to Annabeth, rolling her eyes at Percy's handwriting on her cast.

"And he wonders how you know that he likes you," Sally says with a warm laugh.

Annabeth laughs too, feeling her face turn red as she blinks down at his messy handwriting.

Ω

Percy's in a bad mood when he gets home from band practice that afternoon, so that most likely means that they will have to sit on the couch and watch Finding Nemo while Annabeth holds his hand until he feels better.

She's been hanging out in the living room all day anyway, using her good hand to type up the rest of her English essay that's due next week. Sally's been working on her novel in her office, texting Annabeth to check up on her every few hours. It's nice, and Annabeth has been in her pajamas all day with her glasses and a blanket that smells like Percy wrapped around her shoulders. She never gets to do this so it's pretty cool.

Percy comes in a little after five, stomping up the stairs without a word to her. She sighs, wondering what Jason or Leo said at practice to piss him off because now she has to deal with it.

When he doesn't come back downstairs, Annabeth pushes her computer off of her lap and starts up the stairs to find him.

She finds him in his bathroom, leaning against the counter and scowling at himself in the mirror while he brushes his teeth. It's something that he picked up from Annabeth because she does it when she's stressing about school. He's not wearing a shirt, which tends to happen when he's frustrated too because he hates to feel like he's suffocating.

Annabeth watches him for a second before she slips inside and wraps her arms around his waist, laying her head against his back. She feels some of the tension ease out of his shoulders, then he's ducking his head and rinsing out his mouth.

When he's finished he asks, "How's your arm?"

She hums against his back, hugging herself closer. "It's okay. I've been icing it through the cast while I typed my paper. How was school?"

Percy hesitates, before he says, "Stacy asked me out."

Annabeth freezes, peeking up at Percy over his shoulder. He's still scowling, and his green eyes find hers immediately. Annabeth is suddenly afraid of the rest of the story.

Stacy goes to their school. She's a cheerleader, really sweet, and one of Annabeth's friends. Percy has kind of had a thing for her for the past few years—which Annabeth used to tease him about nonstop—but he hasn't really said anything about her for the past few months. And now that she's thinking about it, she can't remember him saying anything about her since last year.

Her voice is a bit breathless when she says, "So when are you guys going out?"

Percy's scowl deepens. "Annabeth, I told her no."

"You told her no? Percy, you've had a crush on her for years!" Annabeth says, moving away so she can stand in front of him.

"Yeah but I—" he blushes all of a sudden, looking down and away from her eyes. His gaze settles on her cast, and he reaches out, running his fingers over his handwriting on the pink cast. He looks nervous, and his eyes flicker up to Annabeth's for a second before he murmurs, "Property of Percy Jackson."

"Percy, what are you talking about?" She asks worriedly. He's acting crazy. "Tell me what's going on."

"She came up to me while I was on my way to my car and asked me how you were doing and stuff so we were talking and then she asked me if I wanted to go out tonight? And the only thing I could think about was how I had literally been dreaming about her asking me out for the past few years and the only thing I wanted to do was come back home and check on you," Percy rambles, turning away from her and walking out into his room to find a shirt. "So I don't even really remember what the fuck I said, but I was in the car and I went to band practice and we were practicing Lose Myself when I realized why I told her no, and I got in a fight with the guys when I told them about it and I just—"

He stops talking just as suddenly as he had started, staring at her in horror when he realizes what he's said.

Annabeth's heart is racing in her chest, and her voice shakes when she says, "Percy, why did you tell her no?"

He doesn't answer, staring down at the floor instead.

"Percy, answer me."

He sighs, and he's opening his mouth to answer right as Sally calls Annabeth's name from downstairs.

Annabeth stares at Percy, "We'll talk later, okay?"

He nods, watching as she leaves the room and heads downstairs.

Sally is standing in the kitchen with her suitcase sitting by the backdoor when she gets downstairs. It takes Annabeth a few minutes to remember that she is going with Paul, her new boyfriend and also Annabeth's literature teacher, to a convention this weekend.

"Paul is on his way, but I can stay here if you want me to," Sally says. "I know that your arm is hurting and your dad is still gone—"

"No way," Annabeth objects. "You've been looking forward to this for weeks! I'll be fine."

Sally's voice falls a bit quieter, "Is Percy okay?"

"He says he got into a fight with the guys at band practice, but—"

"Mom, I'm fine."

Annabeth and Sally both jump when Percy speaks. He's leaning against the door frame, staring at both of them. His face is blank, but he's twirling his keys in his hands. He's fully dressed again, leather jacket and all, and it looks like he's going somewhere.

"Okay," Sally says, eyeing him and Annabeth. She shrugs. "I'm about to leave, and I'll be back Sunday afternoon. If you guys need anything then just call."

Percy nods.

Paul pulls up in the driveway then, and Percy and Annabeth follow Sally out. Percy shakes Paul's hand, and Sally presses a kiss to both Percy and Annabeth's foreheads before she gets into the car and waves as they pull away.

Percy's silent until their car disappears around the corner of the street. Just as Annabeth is about to ask about earlier, Percy says, "Let's go for a drive."

She frowns. "I'm wearing my pajamas."

He looks her up and down, "So?"

"So I'm going to change, then we can go. Duh," she says.

Ω

Percy scowls when he sees her, "I said we were going for a drive, not to the mall."

Annabeth rolls her eyes and brushes her hands over her sweater and jeans. She's wearing Converse, so it's not like she picked up her heels. She says, "Did you get my phone?"

He hands it to her without a word, climbing into his Jeep and turning the keys in the ignition. Annabeth climbs into the passenger seat and buckles up, rolling her head over to look at Percy.

He's staring ahead at the closed garage door, and his scowl from earlier still isn't gone. Annabeth wonders what he's thinking about, but before she can ask, Percy slips the car into reverse and drives.

She holds her cast to her chest to keep it from throbbing and stares out the window while Percy drives.

Ω

The sun has already set, and the wind is chilly. Annabeth slips her arms into one of Percy's extra jackets, tightening it around her shoulders before climbing back out of the car.

They've ended up at the lake across town. Percy's leaning against the hood of the car, and he hasn't said anything the whole time except when she started shivering, telling her that there was an extra jacket in the back of the Jeep.

Annabeth shrugs into his jacket, smiling because it smells like his laundry detergent. She gently climbs out of the car, wincing when her cast bumps the side of the door.

The moon is bright, and Percy is staring at the light reflecting off of the lake. It's bright enough that she can see his face when she walks back to his side, and the scowl has finally melted away.

She leans back against the hood of the Jeep a few feet away from him. She'd much rather be tucked under his arm and into his side, but if something is wrong, she doesn't want to push him.

"I'm sorry I freaked out earlier," Percy says after a few minutes, breaking the silence between them. Annabeth turns her gaze to him, but he's still staring at the water.

"You never finished telling me what it was about," she says, keeping her voice soft while she looks at him.

He looks at her, all calm and serious. "You know what it's about."

Annabeth's breath catches in her chest because yeah, she knows, but she needs him to say it. Before she can say anything, he's moving closer to her, boxing her in against the Jeep with his hands on the hood of the car at her sides. His eyes are intense, but Annabeth can't make herself look away.

Percy's phone rings.

He groans, dropping his head to her shoulder. "I'm starting to get nervous that all of the interruptions are just the universe telling me not to fuck this up."

Annabeth laughs and reaches into his back pocket to grab his phone. She smirks when she feels Percy freeze, and she's still laughing when she presses his phone to her ear and says, "Hello?"

There's a slight pause before, "Annabeth?"

"Hi, Jason, you are interrupting something very important, and I'm going to have to ask you to call back," Annabeth says, squealing when Percy pinches her side.

"Oh gross," Jason mutters before getting louder. "Stop! This is an emergency! We need Percy!"

"Yeah, well so do I."

Percy starts laughing too, peeking up at her with a soft grin before he holds his hand out for his phone. He slips his other arm around Annabeth's waist, smiling down at her when she curls into his side.

"What do you want, Jason?" Percy asks. He's running his hand over Annabeth's back, and she would give anything if he would just get off of the phone.

She listens as Jason explains what they've gotten themselves into—apparently a band showdown at one of the local bars—and they need Percy to come play guitar. Percy argues for a few minutes until Jason apologizes for "being a dick earlier, you know I didn't mean it, Percy," and then he's sighing and hanging up the phone, telling Jason that they will be there in a few minutes.

"Percy," Annabeth whines, burying her face in his chest. "I'm not dressed for a concert."

He laughs softly, hugging her tight to his chest. "You look beautiful, now come on. The sooner we go, the sooner we can go home."

She grumbles as he pulls away, thinking about how romantic it would have been to have had their first kiss out here by the lake.

Percy looks at her like he knows exactly what she's thinking, but he just presses a kiss to her cheek before helping her climb back into the Jeep.

Ω

Jason, Leo, and Nico all start apologizing to her when Percy goes backstage to get a guitar.

She's been scowling at them ever since they walked in, and they must have been too afraid to say anything in front of Percy because once he lets go of Annabeth's hand and walks away, all three of them drop to their knees.

"Annabeth, we're so sorry," Jason starts.

"Yeah we didn't mean to—"

"We didn't know you guys were—"

Annabeth reaches forward and swats all three of them on the head. "Idiots. He was about to kiss me."

They scramble to their feet, eyes wide. Annabeth knows that they've been on Percy's back about telling her how he feels about her—which is probably why they got in a fight earlier—so they're almost as emotionally invested as she is.

Jason raises his eyebrows worriedly, "He's still going to, right?"

She rolls her eyes, "Well, duh. We were at the lake though, and it would have been fucking romantic and then you guys—"

Annabeth hears Percy laugh about something from backstage before saying something to the manager that he must be getting a guitar from. His voice is muffled, but he sounds happy, and she falls silent, listening to him instead of raging at the guys.

"Then what's the problem? Concerts are romantic," Leo says a few seconds later with a grin. "Just come up on stage with us."

"No thanks," she says with another eye roll. She's not getting on stage when she's dressed in jeans. "You guys owe me."

Nico shrugs, "Don't we always?"

Annabeth huffs, "Good point."

Percy comes back up on stage with them a few seconds later. He's carrying a blue guitar and tuning it on the way, scowling down at it as he walks toward them. He lifts his eyes to Annabeth before he grins and turns his attention to the guys, discussing what songs they're going to play.

A stage hand comes out, "Five minutes, guys. Do you need anything?"

"Yeah," Percy says reaching out for Annabeth's hand and dragging her closer. "Take her to side-stage, please."

She wishes the guys luck, rolls her eyes again because all the stage hand does is lead her a few feet away from them, and pulls out her phone to take a picture for Instagram.

Annabeth bites her lip when Percy starts playing the song that he wrote for her. It's beautiful, and her eyes still water when she hears it even though it's been months since he wrote it and played it for her that first time.

When Jason finishes with the first chorus of it, Percy looks over at her and winks before singing into his own microphone.

Ω

For Percy and his band to be so smooth when they're on stage and around fans, they are complete dorks the rest of the time.

Jason and Leo are giggling about something, Percy's face is red, and Nico is rolling his eyes. They're all shoving each other in different directions, and Annabeth steps out of the way to avoid Leo when he stumbles close to her.

"Thanks for catching me, Annabeth," he says through his laughter. She would assume they were all drunk if they had been like this when she got here.

She holds up her cast as an answer.

"Oh yeah," Nico says sympathetically. He's had a few broken bones too. "How's that going?"

She shrugs even though her arm is killing her right now. The last thing she needs is Percy freaking out over it. "It still hurts, but I'm fine."

"We should sign it!" Leo says.

Jason leans closer to her, pulling her cast up to look at it. He grins and says, "Percy already beat us to it."

Annabeth rolls her eyes again when they start laughing at Percy's signature on her cast. He grins at her even though a blush is dusting across his face. He hands off the guitar to one of the stage hands, and Jason talks with the manager of the bar for a few minutes, thanking him for letting them play and accepting another show in a few weeks.

Percy's arm slips around her waist a few seconds later. He speaks in her ear when he says, "Ready to go?"

She nods, taking his hand when he offers it.

They give the guys a quick goodbye, and Percy pulls her along, dropping her hand and wrapping his arm around her shoulders instead. He's sweaty and gross from performing, so Annabeth ducks out from under his arm and jogs ahead of him.

The night air is cold, and the stars are bright in the sky. The sidewalk in front of the bar is mostly empty. The street lamps that line the sidewalk are bright enough that Annabeth can see Percy's eyes sparkle when she turns around to smile at him.

He's staring at her again, keeping his eyes fixated on hers. There's a dreamy look on his face, and Annabeth blushes because it's for her.

She lets him catch up to her, holding her breath as he gets closer. Percy's eyes are heavy, and he slips one arm around her waist, pulling her against his body. His other hand brushes one of her curls behind her ear before tilting her chin up.

"Percy," his name drops from her mouth in a sigh, and Annabeth sees his lips curl into a small smile.

Just as he's leaning in, Annabeth hears Leo's voice call from down the street. "Have a good night, guys!"

Percy freezes, pulling back from her and growling, "Goddammit."

She laughs, looking over Percy's shoulder where they guys are walking to their cars. They yell encouragingly, and Annabeth flips them off with her good hand. She swears she learned the profanity from Percy and his friends. Then, she wraps an arm around Percy's neck, pulling his head back down and saying, "Third time's the charm, right?" before leaning up until his lips are on hers.

Annabeth can feel Percy smiling while he kisses her. His arm is tight around her waist, keeping her held against him. His other hand is buried in her hair, and she fights to keep the moan from falling out of her mouth because everything is so real. She may have imagined this more times than she can count, but it's nothing like the real thing. Percy is nothing like her imagination thought he would be. He's better.

She almost whines when he pulls back from her, but they're standing on the sidewalk downtown. It's not really a good place to make out.

She blushes harder when she realizes that she can do that now.

Percy's grin is blinding, and he peppers kisses across the side of her face while Annabeth laughs. His voice is breathy and muffled when he says, "Annabeth."

"Yeah?" She asks just as breathlessly, sliding her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck.

"I love you," he says, blinking at her. His green eyes are wide and he's biting his lip and Annabeth has never seen anything so beautiful before.

She surges forward, pressing her lips to his again and again and again while Percy laughs. She's shaking when she says, "I love you too. I love you too, Percy."

"That's good," he says, the tension draining out of his shoulders. The idiot had thought that she wasn't going to say it back? "That's really good."

She laughs, leaning up on her toes to rest her head on his shoulder and press a kiss to his jaw. "Yeah, Seaweed Brain. It's good."

Ω

They end up at the hospital again the next day.

Percy's laying on the hospital bed, scowling at her because she hasn't been able to stop laughing since they got here. His face is red, like it's been ever since he fell off of his skateboard because Annabeth had just kissed him.

"It's not funny," he says, glaring murderously at the X-rays that the doctor left up of his wrist while the nurse goes to get the cast machine. It's broken too, and really, he's the one that was joking about it before so it's his own fault. He should know that he has the worst luck.

"It is funny," she says, leaning forward to kiss him. It's something that she can't get enough of, and she loves seeing Percy turn red almost every time she does it.

"Yeah well you shouldn't have kissed me while I was skateboarding," he grumbles when she pulls back.

Annabeth laughs as the nurse comes in. She asks what color cast Percy wants, and Annabeth says, "Pink!" just as Percy says, "Black."

Annabeth frowns at Percy, and he scowls back at her for a few seconds before he sighs heavily and says, "Pink."

Percy drives them home with one hand, and when they have to FaceTime Sally to tell her what happened, they also have to tell her that they're dating now. She squeals into the phone, yelling the news to Paul, who is walking right beside her on the sidewalk.

Percy's face is red when they hang up, and Annabeth grabs the marker from the drawer in the kitchen.

She grins as she writes Property of Annabeth Chase onto his cast because yeah, he's hers.

"So I'm yours now, huh?" He smirks, looking up at her. His eyes are bright and beautiful, and she never wants to look away.

Annabeth leans forward, pressing her body against his and moving closer until her lips are ghosting over his. She murmurs, "Hell yeah you are."

A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!

-SomethingMoreCreative