Chapter Text
Return to sender.
The words were haunting her, mocking her. The letter was supposed to be with the other ones in a box in her closet, not in her hand after being dropped by the postman. It should have never been sent out in the first place. Her heart was beating fast, Annabeth was almost sure her dad was able to hear it from his spot on the couch. Ignoring the twins' curious looks and her dad's confused one, she ran back upstairs to her room and opened her closet door looking desperately for the teal box that was supposed to contain the letters. Empty, the box was empty, and the three letters that had her most embarrassing confessions were no longer there, that could only mean one thing:
The letters were out.
Luke Castellan, Silena Beauregard and Percy Jackson. The three people whose letters she wrote between the ages of twelve to fifteen were now out in the world, or at least two were. Silena’s letter was back in her possession and Annabeth was glad the older girl would never read about how she was Annabeth bi awakening at the age of fourteen. But that also meant Luke and Percy could have theirs in their possession and Annabeth wasn’t sure which letter mortified her the most about being read.
While now Luke was like an older brother to her, at twelve he had been her hero and Annabeth’s first experience with a crush. He was seven years older than her and had been her neighbor her whole life. Luke’s mom May had helped take care of her when she was little and then when Luke was old enough he took the role of babysitter alongside his friend Thalia Grace, someone who she would also end up thinking of as the older sister she never had. And now her embarrassing letter was out in his hands, but maybe with some luck he was already back in Manhattan and she could get her letter back via Aunt May.
And then there was Percy Jackson, her ex-best friend. He had been more than a crush and she thought maybe one day they would be more than friends but then high school happened. Not only they had very different schedules, they also had different extracurriculars and like most childhood friends they ended up drifting apart. The moment he started seeing Calypso Alatas she knew for sure their friendship was officially over. She wasn’t being dramatic, they had just moved in different directions, him with his swim team buddies and Calypso’s friends, her with the soccer team, and Leo and Piper who had ended up with almost the same schedule as her. His relationship with Calypso had taken his free time and there wasn’t a Percy and Annabeth anymore.
Okay so maybe she was being a little dramatic. Percy and she were still mutuals on Instagram, and while they never commented on each other's posts, he occasionally liked hers and he would smile at her when they crossed paths at school. Once he even lent her a pen in English class that she forgot to give back and ended up accidentally losing it. But if Percy had gotten her letter there was a high chance he and Calypso had gotten back together already and she had also read his letter, which meant she would use it to make fun of Annabeth. Senior year was already going to suck without being able to be on the soccer team, adding the it girl making fun of her would make it even worse.
What was worse? Moving to Boston and starting your senior year at a new school or having the popular girl against you for the duration of it? She went back downstairs to attack the candy shelf in the kitchen and started looking at Boston schools on her phone.
The more she thought about it, the less crazy moving to Boston for her senior year sounded. She could stay with Aunt Natalie and Magnus, or even at Uncle Randolph, now that Emma and Aubrey were living on their own the Chase family home in Boston definitely had space for her.
“Annabeth,” she looked up from her phone to see the twins standing at the entrance of the kitchen. Matthew was the one talking but Bobby looked nervous. The twins, just like her, had inherited the same curly hair and long and narrow nose from their dad, other than that with their brown hair and eyes the twins’ had really taken after their late mom. If it wasn’t for Matthew’s scar on his eyebrow and the fact Bobby’s hair was a few shades darker than his brother, it would have been impossible to tell them apart. “I think someone is outside looking for you.”
Annabeth scrunched her face and walked towards the window to see a guy standing on the driveway. Black hair, golden brown skin, that unique shade of sea green eyes, he was wearing jeans and a black shirt that made him look stupidly hot. Percy Jackson was outside her house, looking at her house with determination clear on his face.
She took a deep breath before opening the front door. “Are you lost?”
Percy’s face went from determination to confusion to surprise and back to confusion. “I-I don’t think so?”
“You don’t sound sure.”
“If I am being honest I’m not sure what to think.” He raised his arm and shook the envelope that was Annabeth’s current nightmare. “I got this in the mail, and yeah, I know me and Calypso broke up-”
Annabeth sighed. “I didn’t send you the letter, Percy. You were never supposed to even know it existed in the first place.”
“Oh.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a familiar silhouette walking towards them from her neighbor's driveway, her heart sank to her stomach when she noticed the tall frame and blonde hair. Luke was walking towards her and she could see her letter in his hand, he read the embarrassing letter her twelve-year-old self had written him and he was going to want to talk about it with her. And Annabeth didn’t want that, she didn’t want to ever bring up the contents of that letter with him and she would do anything to stop that conversation from happening even if that meant creating an embarrassing moment that seemed like the worst of the devils.
“I know this is going to contradict everything I just told you but I need you to kiss me right.”
“Wha- why?”
“Kiss me now, explanation later.” Luke was already on the Chase property and would reach them any moment. If Percy didn’t kiss her, her only option was to run in the opposite direction and never stop, which would not sit well with her ankle. “Percy, please .”
Percy was still looking at her with an unreadable look on his face, he probably was thinking how crazy she was and how glad he was to no longer be her friend and the fact she was about to run away from him and Luke was not going to help her case. Running without any type of warmup was against her doctor’s orders, but her ankle was already fucked anyway. Before she could start running Percy took a step forward and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her close. His lips found hers at the same time her arms wrapped around his neck pushing him even closer. For a moment nothing mattered, there were no letters or anything, just Percy’s lips moving alongside hers. It was nothing like that shy kiss they had shared almost four years ago. She wasn’t sure who would have broken up the kiss first, the option was taken from them when a very loud honk made them jump apart in surprise. She looked at the driveway expecting to see her dad glaring at Percy but instead, she could only see a gray car driving away faster than the speed limit. She turned to look at where Luke had been a few moments ago but he was nowhere in sight.
Percy cleared his throat getting her attention back to him, he raised an eyebrow at her. “Explanation?”
“You are not the only one who got a letter.” Annabeth sighed. “Do you remember Luke, my neighbor?”
“Thalia’s ex?”
Right , she had forgotten Thalia and Luke had dated for a while. “Yeah, him. He also got a letter and he was walking towards us and I definitely didn’t want to talk with him about the letter, just like I don’t want to talk with you about it.”
“So you asked me to kiss you?”
“It’s not like I had time to make a proper plan! Besides, he is gone and I didn’t have to talk to him, so it was a good plan.”
“You can’t avoid him forever.”
“Oh, I can definitely try and that applies to you too.” She extended her arms toward him. “So if you can please give me back my letter so we can pretend this never happened and we can go back to our lives.”
She opened and closed her hand a few times demanding the letter. But instead of giving it back to her, Percy hid it behind his back. “I want to keep it.”
“Why?” Annabeth snorted. “So you can show it to Calypso when you two inevitably get back together again and she can use it against me?”
“I would never share your letter with anyone.”
“I want my letter back, Percy.”
“You wrote it for me.”
“For you to never see it.”
Percy pursed his lips. “You never want to talk about it right? If you let me keep the letter I will never mention it to you again.“
“Why do you want to keep it?”
“Reasons.”
It was not a good answer for Annabeth but other than tackling him and fighting him for the letter, four years ago she would have definitely won but now he was a few inches taller than her and definitely was more muscular and she with her fucked up ankle didn’t really have a chance, letting Percy have it was the best option. She wasn’t happy about it and it reflected in her face because Percy added.
“May I not get a college scholarship if I ever show this letter to anyone who is not you.”
“We are never going to speak about this again.” She crossed her arms and tried to look as intimidating as possible, but if there was someone who was never affected by her glare, it was Percy who only smiled at her.
“You have my word. Scout’s honor and all that shit.”
She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t even last a week as one.”
“But I still was one so it counts.”
“Bye, Percy,” Annabeth said before walking back towards her house, not even caring if she was rude. After the morning she was having, she was allowed to be rude and if she went straight to her room to yell at her pillow, it was no one's business but hers.
✉️✉️✉️
For three blissful days, Annabeth could pretend nothing had happened. True to his word Percy didn’t contact her again and Luke’s car was no longer parked at his home, a clear signal he was back in the city for work. With school starting in a week, she was ready to enjoy her last day of freedom. Since Piper and Leo were still away, Piper in LA with her mom and Leo in Texas visiting his grandpa, Annabeth had decided to bike towards the park to sketch for a while. She was taking her bike out of the garage when a blue Suzuki Ignis parked on the sideway caught her attention.
“Callie saw us kissing.” Was the first thing Percy told her after he got out of his car and walked towards her.
“Hello to you too.”
Percy looked tired, his hair was messier than usual, like if he had been running his hands against it over and over. “Hello Annabeth, are you busy? Because we really need to talk.”
The twins were staying at their grandparents' house until tomorrow and her dad was in the city for the day, preparing his curriculum for the start of the semester. “Wanna come in? We have Cheetos, leftover pizza, and coke.”
“Pizza sounds good.”
It was weird and awkward having Percy in her house for the first time in three years. He was looking at everything, curiosity clear on his face, and didn’t try to pretend he wasn’t and when they walked into the kitchen he automatically sat down on the same bar stool he always used when they were little, unlike before his legs reached the floor now.
“Your house looks exactly the same and yet so different at the same time.”
She wasn’t sure how to reply to that so instead, she opened the fridge. “We have Hawaiian.”
“Pineapple on pizza?” Percy scrunched his nose in disgust. “Since when!? You used to hate it.”
Annabeth grabbed two coke cans from the fridge and gave one to Percy. “It’s the twins' favorite. sadly I was outnumbered when ordering food so I got used to it.”
“Can I take the Cheetos instead?”
Annabeth nodded and grabbed an open bag from the pantry and since she didn’t have anything against pineapple anymore, grabbed a pizza slice for her. “How?” She asked after putting the bag on the kitchen island and taking a seat next to Percy.
“How what?”
“How did Calypso see us?”
“Oh! Right.” Percy said sheepishly. “She and some friends were picking up Drew. apparently, she lives near here, and because of my fucking luck they happened to drive by while we kissed.”
“Okay…?” Annabeth said, not sure where this conversation is going.
Percy was looking intensively at his can of coke, he had looked tired outside but right now Annabeth could see how exhausted he actually looked. His eyes were a little red and his dark circles were really pronounced, his jaw was tensed and his shoulders stiff.
“Callie broke up with me around the middle of July while I was in Mexico visiting my family. It was suckish like usual.” his finger started tapping against the can. “She uploaded pictures making out with a guy on my birthday.”
Annabeth wanted to make a remark against Calypso but she bit her tongue from doing that. Percy’s on and off relationship with Calypso wasn’t news to her. She had felt really bad at first for Percy, especially since Calypso always had guys lined up waiting for her, and then she and Percy would get together again until they would inevitably break off and the cycle would start again. As far as she knew and gossip went, he never really dated anyone during the time Calypso dated someone else.
“Harsh.”
“I guess she got bored of him because she started texting me again as if nothing had happened.” he took a sip of his drink. “But for the first time I didn’t answer her texts and then I got your letter and well…”
“She saw us kissing,” she finished his sentence.
Percy nodded. “She saw us kissing and thinks I’m dating you and is not happy. Because when she breaks up with me she knows I will be there waiting for her like a fool in love.” He turned to face her, and she saw an intensity in his eyes. “Except this time I didn’t.”
“Are you not a fool in love with her?"
"I am a fool that’s for sure." Percy laughed bitterly. "But I am not sure about the ‘in love’ part anymore."
Annabeth's brain was swimming with all this new information. If she was honest for a long time her brain had been trying to understand the puzzle that Percy and Calypso were but there were so many puzzles missing. And now Percy was here willingly giving her puzzle pieces. “So you don’t want to get back with her?”
“No, yes, maybe?” Percy sighed and stayed quiet for a while, Annabeth was sure he wasn’t going to say anything else but then he spoke again. “I think my relationship with Calypso ran its course but I also think that every time she breaks up with me.”
“Then why do you keep getting back together?”
“Isn’t that the question?” Percy said. He took a deep breath and faced her. “I want her to keep thinking we are dating.”
Annabeth who was finally about to take a bite of her pizza paused, the slice halfway to her mouth. She was so shocked, she didn't even notice when three pieces of pineapple slipped right off and landed on the table. “What the fuck Percy?”
“I know it’s a lot of asking, pretending to date me but I have been thinking about this nonstop for the last three days so please listen to me.”
He was looking at her doing that baby seal expression she had never been really able to say no to, not even after three years of no communication. “I will hear you out but that doesn’t mean I will agree to it.”
“For the first time, I have the ball in my court, even if it was by mistake. Dating you will give me a break from Calypso and I will actually be able to take a step back and think if I truly want a relationship with her or not.”
She dropped her slice back on the plate and grabbed a napkin to clean her hands. The way this conversation was going she was definitely not eating anytime soon. “And you need me for that? What am I, a shield?”
“I know Calypso and we accidentally threw her out of her loop. The game she used to play has changed and-” Percy took a deep breath. “If I am honest I am scared that without your help I will go back to her.”
“So you want to make her jealous.”
Percy snorted. “I’m embarrassed to say I have tried that a few times already. Usually at parties and it never works. Our relationship has always been what she wants but what about me? What about what I want?"
Annabeth asked softly. "What do you want?"
"I... don't know. I just know I want some time to figure it out." He confessed and nudged her. "What do you say, Chase? Will you buy me some time?"
She wanted to say yes so badly, how could she not? Percy had always been a soft spot of hers even after all these years. He had been her best friend for seven years, he had been such an important part of her life. But at the same time, the person sitting in front of her was also a stranger.
“Okay so let me get this clear. You want me to date you-”
“ Fake date me.”
“For who knows how long.”
“A couple of months maybe.”
“So you can use me as an excuse to ignore Calypso.”
“To help me break the cycle where I always end up taking her back.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Excuse me?”
“Look Percy the truth is yes you used to be my best friend but we haven’t talked in years. I don’t know you anymore and you don’t know me either.” She knew her words were harsh, the way he flinched at them proved it, but they were also true. “And now you are back asking me this huge favor. Do you see where I’m going here?”
“You have always struggled with English.”
That was definitely not what Annabeth expected him to say. “Yeah, and?”
“Paul used to tutor me a lot and now I have decent grades. In exchange for helping me, I can tutor you.”
Today was truly full of surprises. Back in middle school, he used to barely get better grades than her. She couldn’t see how he could tutor her when the both of them were in the same boat. “When you say decent you mean…?”
“My lowest grade last semester was B+.”
Annabeth whistled. “Well, that’s definitely a glow-up from your middle school days.”
“Honestly, I give all the credit to Paul, if it wasn’t for his help and patience I would keep failing.”
She might not know much about Percy lately but if she knew one thing was that he wasn’t giving himself enough credit. They both used to study together in his kitchen and they both had so much trouble trying to stay focused, the fact he was having good grades now spoke miles about his dedication to his studies. “And you put in the work and the time so the credit is also yours, Seaweed Brain.”
His old nickname came out of her without warning, it felt like she was speaking a foreign language. She turned to look at Percy who had a sad smile on his face. Something inside her was yelling at her to say yes to him. Yes, the idea was absolutely insane but this could also bring Percy back into her life, and god, her heart truly missed him, her old best friend.
“If I get a C- on my first English exam we break up, C you are on thin ice.”
“Is that a yes?” His smile was blinding, so bright and happy that was almost enough to make Annabeth’s doubts about her decision disappear.
“I’m not done. I expect a weekly payment in the form of homemade baked goods.”
Percy laughed that, the same loud laugh that would always make her smile. It was so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. “Let me guess, brookies?”
“As a start.” Besides being an excellent swimmer, Percy like his mom had a gift when it came to cooking. Annabeth had been lucky enough to be their official taster when they decided to have fun baking and if she was being honest, she had been dreaming of having some of Sally’s blue chocolate chips again for so long.
“Okay, tutoring and baked goods in exchange for your help.” Percy extended his arm toward her. “Do we have a deal?”
Annabeth grabbed his hand and shook it. “I can’t believe I’m fucking saying this but yeah, we have a deal.”