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Percy thinks he may have just died.
He would have had to. Things like that, dying, that is, happen to Percy. This does not.
Because the most beautiful girl Percy has ever laid eyes on, has just fallen into his lap, like something out of a fairytale.
Not something that happens on the subway at midnight in New York City on a fucking Wednesday night.
Maybe on a Friday.
And most definitely, not something that happens to Percy Jackson.
Let him explain.
It’s a freezing Wednesday and Percy’s mother wanted hot chocolate. They’d been planning to curl up on their couch and watch silly telenovelas when his mom got home from work. Percy and Sally loved to watch them, because as much as they love shows like Stranger Things and Friends, it’s nice to watch something in his mother’s first language, and something as shitty as Bajo el mismo cielo—and it’s really shitty.
But Sally had a terrible day at work and was ready to come home and binge some more episodes with her son, and she’d asked Percy to prepare some hot cocoa for them.
Percy, being the perfect son he is, said yes of course.
So when his mother calls him to tell him that she is 20 minutes away, he decided to make sure that they had cocoa and some peppermint—for his.
He pulled open the cabinets and low and behold, no hot chocolate mix. He pulls open another and nothing. And the rest don’t have any either.
“Fuck,” Percy mutters. He glances at his phone. He was 18 minutes before she gets home. He knew the small supermarket down the block is closed already. The 7-Eleven doesn’t sell the mix, he doesn’t think and he doesn’t want to risk it.
Which means he needs to either walk a couple blocks or take a subway to another market like theirs for authentic cocoa.
Percy texts his mom that’s he’s running to the store really quickly for some stuff and to get changed into some pajamas if she gets home before him. He plucks his keys out of the bowl by their front door and trudges down the stairs, because he does not trust their elevator.
Sally texts back, Ok. Be safe, and that’s the end of it.
Percy takes the subway, gets the authentic cocoa he and his mother are obsessed with and takes a subway home.
They stop a couple times, per usual, before the conductor comes on over the intercom and tells them, “It may be a few minutes, folks. So sorry.”
Percy groaned. The people in the car join in. They all start to get comfortable, they’re used to New York subway nonsense.
Percy decided to people watch for a couple minutes.
There’s an elderly lady, who has a bird in her hood.
A Statue of Liberty yawning, they’re crown slipping as they fall asleep.
There’s a cute blonde, who loosely hold on to the pole and scrolls on her phone.
Percy looks away, his foot bouncing.
So they wait ten minutes and then—
—the subway shoots off, unannounced, and the blonde who’d been looking at her phone shoots back and Percy quickly grabs her waist, pulls her into his lap, and dies.
“Oh my gods! I am so sorry. Shit!”
Percy decides this is the craziest moment of his entire existence—and maybe the smoothest—because he has enough qualms to say, “Looks like you’ve fallen for me.”
Percy lived, apparently. And he’s still a dumbass.
He glances at the blonde, who has grey eyes staring at him in shock.
“Um, well, I? Thank you?” It’s polite, but clearly she’s confused and embarrassed. Her tan cheeks are bright red. She glances away, before saying, “Looks like I may have.”
She’s perfect, and Percy is tongue tied.
“You’re, uh, beautiful—Welcome! You’re welcome.”
Percy’s face turns pink and he bites his lip.
She blinks at him before softly laughing. “I’m beautiful welcome?”
Percy’s eyes flit away, aware of the fact that his hands are still on her waist and she’s still in his lap, before looking back at her. “Yes,” he says firmly.
She looks like she’s a second away from laughing at him, which makes his heart drop.
“Well, thank you,” she smiles. “For grabbing me, and for saying I’m beautiful, as well as the pick up line, ignoring how cheesy that was. It’s nice to feel appreciated.”
“Who wouldn’t appreciate you,” he asked, shocked, and then wishes he really were dead.
The elderly lady smirks at him in amusement and even the bird looks entertained at this turn of events.
The Statue of Liberty snorts.
The girls blinks at him, smiling and puffing in a way that shows she is laughing, and trying to hold it in.
But not very well because a second later, she laughs loudly and clearly, it’s sounds a little unsure, like she doesn’t do it very often and Percy wants to make her laugh like this for the rest of his life.
“I’m Percy,” he blurts.
She stops and narrows her eyes at him, but she’s still grinning so Percy doesn’t feel too scared—but yeah he’s definitely scared of her—before she says, “Annabeth.”
Percy grins, bright. “Hi.”
“Hello.”
And gods, he’s super fucking happy they ran out of hot chocolate mix.