Jelly Bean

By EatBlueFoodAlways

There was no way this was happening again. It wasn't statistically possible. Annabeth looked again, and sure enough, there wasn't a single blue jelly bean to be seen. She had been coming to this store late after work for almost two weeks, and they were always out of the blue jelly beans. Come to think of it, they had very little blue candy left in the bulk aisle at all.

"Can I help you?" Annabeth turned and saw a man around her age, in his early twenties it looked like, observing her stare at the wall of bins. She noticed he wasn't too hard on the eyes, although his obnoxious purple employee vest was an eyesore. He seemed amused, his bright green eyes flicking from her to the offending wall of candy.

"Yeah. How come you don't have any blue jellybeans. Or any blue candy? It doesn't make sense. I've been here every day for like two weeks and you never have any. What's up with that? Where does it all go? Do you just not sell any? I really don't understand, unless you have a ban on blue candy or something." She stopped to take a breath, and realized she was rambling. The cute employee looked even more entertained, and if she was reading him right maybe even a little sheepish.

We do sell blue candy, we just happen to be out right now." He rubbed the back of his neck, and she noticed a large bulge in the pocket of his uniform vest. It had the end of a plastic bag peeking out of it, the same kind they used for the bulk candy. As he reached up to run his hand through his hair (his gorgeous, dark hair that she wouldn't mind running her fingers through), the bag was pushed slightly out of his pocket and she saw a clear hint of blue.

Annabeth was immediately suspicious, and her overworked, sleep deprived brain begged her to investigate.

"What's in your pocket?" She asked him, eyeing the bag. He seemed startled, and he was quick to try and cover the obvious lump with his arms.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he stammered, a vibrant red quickly flooding his cheeks.

"The bag, that one right there in your pocket." Annabeth was too tired to play games with the man, and she marched up to him, taking in his nametag that read: Percy Jackson. She reached out to grab the bag, but his hand swiftly caught her arm, holding it in a vice.

"What the hell? Do you normally just grab employees in stores?" The man, Percy, was looking at her with a bit of astonishment.

"I want to know what's in the bag, dude. I need to know." Annabeth didn't know why she needed to know so badly, but she had a feeling she was going to solve the blue candy mystery very soon.

She reached down with her free hand, and before Percy could do anything she was pulling the bag out of his pocket.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He was too slow to stop her, and he only managed to grab the bottom of the bag before she pulled away. They tugged at the same moment, and the bag put up a brave fight before it exploded. Blue candies of all kinds, mostly jellybeans, rained down on the two, and they both fell away from each other. Annabeth's foot slipped over a few of the candies, and she began to fall backwards. She barely had time to yelp before Percy lunged and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her upright. Unfortunately, he slipped on the candies as well, and he fell backwards with Annabeth in tow.

They landed hard on the ground, in a tangle of limbs and a flurry of curses. Percy had the air knocked out of his lungs, and Annabeth managed to bang both elbows and a knee on the unforgiving tile floor. As they laid on the floor to catch their lost breath and recover from the fall, they both realized how silly the situation was. Annabeth was the first to start laughing, and Percy wasn't far behind. The lay there giggling on the floor for what seemed like hours, until a cry of outrage was heard and someone stomped over to them.

"Perseus Jackson what in Gods' name is going on here? What did you do?" Annabeth looked up to see a pretty middle aged woman looming over them, and she scrambled to get off the candy covered floor. Percy chose to stay with his head hidden in his arms, refusing to acknowledge the woman's presence.

"Percy I can see you, hiding doesn't work anymore. Get up." Percy reluctantly rose at the woman's command, and he turned to face the two women with a sheepish smile and a bright red face.

"Sorry, Mom. It was an accident," he tried to tell her. "This chick just showed up and tried to take all the blue candy, so I had to try and stop her to save the store. It totally wasn't my fault."

"That is such a lie! You had all the candy in your pocket, and I was just trying to see why you were so adament on hiding it. You took all the blue candy, not me!" Annaeth was pissed, and she didn't understand why this man was acting like a child.

The woman looked between the two, surprised. She then turned to Percy and began to scold him.

"Why would you try to frame this poor girl? You know you can't take all the blue candy, and I know it was you because you've done it before. Don't look at me like that, it isn't my fault I can't trust you in this aisle anymore. From now on you're counter only, you can't even sweep down here." Percy stood there without trying to interject, and Annabeth felt a little bad for him. Sure, he had taken all the blue candy, but she was the one who had tried to take the bag.

"Ma'am, really it's fine," she interjected. "I shouldn't have tried to take it, I'm sorry for causing this mess. Could I help sweep these up? Do you have a broom I could borrow?" She really did feel bad for the trouble she had caused, and wanted to try and help them out as best she could.

"Oh no, dear, my son can take care of this. And please, call me Sally. I own this store, and I am truly sorry for what my son did. He's still learning the ropes, and I really should have trained him better." Sally smiled and laughed a little at her son's indignant expression.

"Hey! I was doing fine. I just... Wanted the blue ones." His face returned to its origanal sheepish look, and Sally and Annabeth couldn't help but laugh.

All three worked to clean the aisle, and afterwards Sally invited Annabeth to the back for some pastries on the house. Annabeth was slightly reluctant to intrude, but after Sally practically begged she relented. Sally closed the storefront with Percy's help, and they went through the door behind the bakery section. The kitchen was smaller than one would think, but it was obvious that every inch of space was used to create the pastries the store was famous for. Sally brought a tray filled with cookies and other delicacies over to the small table situated in the corner. Annabeth looked curiously at the array, noticing the absurd amount of blue on the platter.

"I know it's a little odd, but Mom is the best baker in the world, and the blue only makes them better." Percy looked proudly at his mom, adoration clear in his eyes.

Annabeth ended up spending almost two hours sitting and talking with the pair, until Sally stood and excused herself.

"It's getting a little late, and I have to be up early to bake, but you two kids enjoy yourselves!" Sally threw the two a not so subtle wink, and the pair blushed.

Annabeth and Percy talked late into the night about almost everything, like his blue obsession, her job as intern for a large archetecture firm, and how he had moved back in with his mom after returning from an overseas expedition to study rare fish. They hit it off, and by the time they seperated they had given each other nicknames and had exchanged numbers. Annabeth grabbed a cab back to her flat, and almost missed the brunette sitting on the couch like a suspicious parent waiting for their child to return.

"So... What brings you in so late?" Annabeth's best friend and roomate Piper was watching her closely, and she smiled a bit at the way the blonde jumped when she realized she wasn't alone.

"Piper! What are you doing up?" Annabeth smiled innocently at her friend, as if she hadn't just walked in five hours later than she usually did.

"I was worried. You weren't picking up the phone or answering my texts, what did you expect? Honestly Annabeth I didn't know what had happened to you, you could have been dead for all I knew." Piper was obviously peeved, but she was losing the dangerous glint her eyes had taken on when her friend had returned.

"Well, it's kind of a funny story..." Annabeth proceeded to explain the events of the night, only stopping when she noticed her friend's grin at the mention of Percy.

"What?" Annabeth was a little worried at the look on Piper's face, one she got only when she was coming up with a plan Annabeth knew would end poorly.

"I'm gonna get you a date with the store hottie." Piper's smile grew as the look on the blond's face grew horrified, and her plotting began.

In the months following their meeting, Percy and Annabeth grew much closer. She became a regular at Sally's store, and Piper did as well. She said it was for the food, but Annabeth knew better. Piper had been taken with another employee, a tall muscular boy named Jason. He also happened to be one of Percy's best friends, and the four became close.

It took Percy almost five months to admit to himself the fact that he liked Annabeth, and another to ask her out. He had help from Piper of course, and it took a good five minutes to get the words out, but by the end of the night they were the happiest couple to be seen walking through the city, hand in hand.

After their third year of dating, they moved from their shared flat to a house, their first major purchase together. They spent the first night together, curled up on the couch watching obscure Netflix shows. Annabeth was content, and barely noticed when Percy pulled a large bag of blue candy from the table beside him. It was one from his mother's shop, filled with an assortment of candies, but the bag was dominated by an impressive amount of blue jelly beans.

Annabeth took the offered bag, and without looking at her boyfriend she stuck her whole hand into the blue mass. Her hand touched something she knew wasn't candy, and she curiously drew the small object from the plastic sack.

When she realized what it was, her eyes opened wider than they ever had, and she looked frantically to Percy for confirmation. He took the small velvet box and got down on one knee in front of her, looking excited but immensely nervous.

"Annabeth Chase, from the moment I saw you glaring at that wall, I was taken with you. It took me too long to finally come to my senses, but I'm so thankful I had... Even if it took Piper slapping some sense into me. I really think talking could havebeen sufficient, but it worked, I guess." Percy took a moment to take a breath and break off his rambling. "I love you. I have loved you for years. I know you love me too, at least I'm pretty sure you do, so here goes nothing."

He took a moment to breath, and he popped the blue box open, revealing a simple silver band with a diamond in the center and two small emeralds on each side. Annabeth was becoming teary eyed, and she was having trouble believing this was actually happening.

"Annabeth Chace, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" As he finished the question, Percy lost his courage and dropped his eyes, focusing on a small spot on the floor uncovered by the rug. Annabeth poked him on the arm, and when he lifted his chin she pulled him up into a deep kiss.

Thank you to whoever is reading this, this is my first fic and I honestly don't know what I'm doing. I wrote this at 2 am while trying to avoid an essay, so if you do read this I'm sorry for any mistakes in spelling or grammar.

Thank You!