Just a Percabeth fic I thought up while listening to You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift.
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the creator(s) of PJO.
This was set a few days before The Last Olympian.
It was a typical cool summer day at Camp Half-Blood; a Tuesday. In the Poseidon cabin, Percy Jackson woke up to country music. Looking out, it seemed to be coming from the Athena cabin. That was undoubtedly weird. The Athena campers weren't the sort to play music first thing in the morning, and they hardly played country.
Curious as to the reason for this out-of-characterness, Percy brought himself out of bed and stepped out in the direction of the music. Face-to-face with the open Athena cabin, there were more surprises yet to come. His gaze drifted to the bed of his favorite of all the kids of Athena.
Annabeth was sprawled across her bed, tapping away at her special Daedalus laptop, oblivious to the world. The source of the country music currently playing was a small pink radio on her bedside chest of drawers, which Percy assumed must have been taken from the Aphrodite cabin. Annabeth hummed subconsciously to the Taylor Swift song that was playing - what was the name again - You Belong With Me.
She was the only one in the cabin; the rest were out at breakfast. Percy considered backing away, but before he could, Annabeth reached into her one of the drawers to get out a pencil and paper. It was then that her gaze flicked over in the direction of the window on the other side. Her eyes fell on him, and Percy waved awkwardly. She rolled over, rolling her eyes.
"Aren't you going to come in?" she demanded, as she sat up in her bed. After hesitating for a bit, he obliged, scratching the back of his neck. He hovered at her desk.
"You're listening to country music." he said, as if by way of explanation.
"Yeah," she replied cooly, "So?"
He had no answer for that, so instead he said, "What are you doing?" He made a show of gesturing to her laptop.
She couldn't help smiling. "Working on what Daedalus left behind for me," she said breathlessly. "There's so much stuff to work on!"
Percy leaned in to take a look. He knew he shouldn't even bother trying to get into all the architectural stuff. He'd never figure it out. That was Annabeth stuff. Architecture and all that junk made her happy, and so, in turn, it kinda made him happy; watching it make her happy. If that made sense.
He leaned against the chest of drawers. There was silence for awhile; a nice, cozy, comfortable sort of silence. Now inside the cabin, Percy could clearly hear the Taylor Swift song currently re-playing:
You're on the phone with your girlfriend, She's upset
She's going off about something that you said
She doesnt get your humour like I do
And, well, because there was nothing else to do, he pictured himself as the male protagonist from what he remembered in the video. Only he didn't have a phone.
I'm in the room, its a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesnt like
And she'll never know your story like I do
That was funny. It was actually Tuesday.
But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find
That what you're lookin for has been here the whole time
There was only one girl he knew who never, ever wore skirts; but she would never be on the bleachers. She would never be at the ball game to start with.
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me
You belong with me
Percy smiled to himself. What was the point in that song? He already had a lot of people who understood him, here at Camp Half Blood. Annabeth caught his eye and grinned slyly.
Walkin the streets with you in your worn out jeans
I cant help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on the park bench thinkin to myself
Hey isnt this easy?
He and Annabeth looked down at his old pair of blue jeans simulataneously. Not even sure why, they both chuckled at each other.
And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town
I havent seen it in awhile, since she brought you down
You say you fine I know you better than that
Hey, Whatcha doing with a girl like that?
Suddenly, she looked down at some sketched she'd made from Daedalus's plans, and made out being immersed in them. She seemed to be concentrating hard on the details, biting her lip. Percy watched curiously.
She wears high heels, I wear sneakers
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time
Most girls he knew wore sneakers; they was nothing special about that.
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me
Fidgety with the silence, Percy leaned over to see what Annabeth was doing. She wasn't drawing any architecture thingy. She was engrossed in a little sketch, which was weird because Annabeth didn't do sketches. He leaned in closer and could just make out an unfinished sketch of her, Thalia, and Luke, together.
Standin by, waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know that?
You belong with me
You belong with me
She must have known he was standing behind her looking, but she still wouldn't look up at him. "What are you drawing?" he brought himself up to ask.
"Nothing," she muttered, but her voice cracked. He heard, but he said nothing.
Oh I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night
I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry
I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams
I think I know where you belong. I think I know it's with me.
"What's up with the sketching?" Percy declared. She didn't reply.
"Talked with Thalia lately?" Still no reply.
"How's Luke?" This time, Annabeth snapped, "Shut up, Seaweed Brain!" Her voice cracked for good, this time, and Percy worried that she was about to cry.
"Hey, no worries, I'm sure Kronos will give him all the time in the world to get back here."
Annabeth chuckled reluctantly; Percy sighed inwardly with relief. Though when she finally sat up and looked up at him, her eyes were glistening.
Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you?
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me
"Do you miss it," Percy murmured, stopping to sit beside her, "the old days?"
She stopped sketching. "Yeah," she said quietly, "sometimes." Then she continued, almost fiercely, "But only Thalia, not Luke."
When Percy dipped his head in a nod, she added, "Anyway, aren't you meant to be hanging with Rachel?"
That preceded in Percy checking his watch. "Yeah, later." He admitted. "Do you wanna come?"
She gave him a discerning look. "No thanks." she answered purposefully. "I have stuff to do."
Standing by or waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know that
You belong with me
You belong with me
Annabeth turned back to her laptop, abandoning the drawing. She expected Percy to take the hint and leave; but Percy was smarter than that. He picked up the pencil and a clean sheet of paper, and started drawing. He was awful at art, but he would try.
Have you ever thought just maybe
You belong with me
You belong with me
Five minutes later, he dropped the pencil. Annabeth reluctantly turned to face him, and that was when she saw it. It was a rough drawing, and if it had been under normal circumstances, she would have scoffed that it looked like something her brothers used to make at kindergarten.
"This is me," Percy told her, pointing at the lanky boy at the entrance to Camp Half-Blood, "and this is Grover," pointing at the boy with horns standing next to him, "and this is you." He moved his finger to point at the slim blonde girl with stormy gray eyes standing at the other side. "This is how we've been, and this is how we will always be."
A sniffle erupted from beside him, and her hand reached out and found his. Annabeth said something he didn't hear her say often.
"You're right, Percy." she agreed, as his hand enclosed around hers. "You're right."
The End :)
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