#hthf

"He’s actually so hot though.”

“I agree, but like in an underrated kinda way.”

Annabeth cocks an ear toward the conversation happening behind her. She can’t see the two girls, but they’re talking just loud enough for her to overhear.

“His arms,” one of the girls says with a sigh. She’s got a higher pitch voice compared to the other one so Annabeth mentally dubs her ‘Bubbly’.

“He does have that vein thing going on,” the other one agrees. She sounds more reserved and so gets named ‘Introvert’ in Annabeth’s head.

She’s supposed to be going through her emails but the conversation is so much more exciting than her inbox, so her attention stays on them.

Leaning back, she takes a sip of her drink. Annabeth is in what she likes to call ‘Incognito Mode’, engulfed in Percy’s hoodie (with the hood up, of course) and leggings. With her laptop in front of her, she looks like one of the many people who come to Blue Cookies to work.

“Can I get you girls anything?” A voice interrupts their conversation. Annabeth automatically smiles upon hearing his voice.

“No, we’re good,” Bubbly replies cheerfully. “Thank you!”

“Cool, well let me know if that changes,” Percy replies, and Annabeth can imagine the smile on his face as he says the words.

He’s been so happy since he opened this place, and it makes her happy too. It’s clear Percy loves this kind of work.

“Ugh,” Bubbly whines. “How is his smile so charming?”

“He’s def got that bad boy turned good type vibe,” Introvert adds.

Annabeth freezes. Wait…so this whole time they had been talking about—

LA is not at all like what Miley Cyrus had told him. He hops off the plane at LAX and the taxi doesn't play a Jay-Z song. 

Instead, it's some old dude who doesn't say a word, but frowns at him in the rearview mirror and proceeds to charge him nearly half of his food money for a cab ride to his motel.

It makes him reconsider if the change of scenery is worth it. 

But deep down he knows it is. Knows that he’s been ready for change, itching for something new.

The motel room is pretty standard, an acceptable amount of shaggy for the price, and he dumps his bags on the single bed as he looks around. Some old beige wallpaper, a splash of paint on a canvas in the rough outline of a horse, green blankets, and two black bags that carry all the remains of the life that he had packed up.

He’d sold pretty much everything in his old apartment when he’d made the decision to move here, only packing the things he knew he wanted. He had another box ready to be shipped to him once he found a place to live.

Deciding he’s had enough of the motel room, he walks out, warm air hitting his face.

It’s strange.

By September the heat is pretty much gone from New York, making way for the cool breezes of fall. But here, it’s a warm day.  And if he’s to believe the forecast, it’s always going to be a warm day.

He treks along the sidewalk with no particular destination in mind. It’s easy when you don’t know where you are. 

Palm trees line the roads and everything is just so…different. Then again, if you want change, moving all the way across the country will do that. 

He approaches an intersection, only to be met with none other than McDonalds. 

Different, except for McDonalds, that seems to be a constant no matter where you go. 

Since half of his food money was spent on the taxi (and he wants to stretch his savings for as long as possible) McDonalds is probably his best bet. It won’t be healthy, but it’ll be cheap.

He steps inside and the familiar smell of burgers and oil hits him like a wave. Well, if he ever feels homesick this is where to go. But it’s too early for that, it’s only the first day of his new adventure. 

Ordering a big Mac and fries, he leans against a table, waiting for his food. The sight outside shows blue skies and a late afternoon golden sun. That must be why they call it the Golden State. He’s only visited California once and that was San Diego when he was like thirteen. Moving here, though, is already different.

It wasn’t quite throwing a dart at a map, he looked into places that would actually be viable because contrary to popular belief, LA is more than Hollywood. (And based of off his research, he wants to stay away from Hollywood if he ever wants to afford a place to live.)

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there could also be a part 2 to this where social media finds out about this and twists the story into percy being a jealous and controlling bf which makes annabeth mad because he is anything but and then she tries to dispel the rumours?

idk i just thought this could be an interesting idea haha, do what you make of it

“Ugh,” Annabeth grunts as she plops down on the couch, papers in hand. “I’m so tiredddd.” She draws out the word as a whine as she tosses the papers onto the coffee table before cuddling up against his side.

He chuckles, setting his laptop aside to focus his attention on her. She’s incredibly cute, all blonde hair and blue crewneck bunched on top of him.

“Hi there,” he says, pressing a kiss onto her head.

Her eyes finally peek up. “I’m tired,” she repeats with a pout.

Oh, someone save his heart from exploding out of his chest. Because of all the different Annabeths (cute, hot, sexy), adorable Annabeth is rare form. With all the pouts and cuddles and puppy dog eyes, he’s going to melt into a puddle.

“Do you want to take a nap?” he asks in an effort to keep functioning like a normal human being.

“I want to!” There are those puppy dog eyes again. “But I can’t!” And there’s another pout.

(Is she trying to kill him?)

“Why?” he asks, pulling her even closer. Because at this rate he just wants to hold her. She quickly repositions so her head is on his lap.

“I have a script to read. Rachel wants my thoughts tomorrow and I haven’t startedddd.” Once again, her last word ends with a whine as she rubs her hands over her face.

He grabs one and brings it up to his lips for a kiss. “Read it now, with me,” he suggests.

Annabeth sighs. “But it’s over there.” She points to the coffee table. “So far away…” She mimes reaching for the papers before giving up and looking up at him expectantly.

It’s so endearing, he can’t help but lean down and kiss her forehead.

“Message received,” he replies as he reaches over to grab them for her.

“Thank you!” Her smile is so bright, he’s ready to climb a mountain for it.

Annabeth holds the papers up and immediately frowns.

“What?” he asks, poking her side so she squeals.

“Percy!”

He grins back. “Well, what’s the problem?” he repeats, hoping she’ll forgive him.

She turns back to the papers. “There are so many words….”

“A script will have those,” he replies.

“Percy!” she admonishes. “Are you on my side or not!”

“Your side of course,” he says quickly. “You’re right, words are horrible. How dare they be there.”

“Annabeth, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Jason says as soon as he picks up the call. She shakes her head at his antics, leaning back into her couch.

“Are you busy?” she asks, ignoring his statement.

“I’ve got some time before the next scene and I’d prefer not to engage in a conversation with the producer walking this way, so please,” he replies, fervently.

Annabeth smiles. “I guess I’ll save you.”

“Appreciated,” Jason jokes back. “So what’s up?”

What is up…honestly, she’s not sure why she’s calling about it. It could have been a text and there’s not really too much to say other than the fact the barista from Cali’s Café has not left her mind all day. (And she isn’t going to say that because she’s aware it sounds a little insane.)

“I checked out the café you told me about,” she starts slowly.

“Oh, awesome! Did you like it? The coffee is good and the place is lowkey, right?”

“Yeah, the coffee was good.” She pauses, unsure of what to say next. Does she ask about Percy? What could Jason even tell her?

“Why am I sensing a but? Was the service not good? I always have the guy, Percy, and he’s super chill. Not sure how the other employees are.”

“I met Percy,” she says. The picture of his face and sea-green eyes comes clearly to her mind the moment his name is spoken.

“What happened?” Jason asks, clearly sensing that something had, in fact, happened.

But really, nothing had happened. Sure he’d been awkward, endearingly so, but very sweet and had made great coffee.

No, he hadn’t done anything wrong. She is the problem.

“Nothing,” she replies. “He was awkward but it was cute. He forgot to charge me and said my coffee was on the house when I brought it up.” A smile surfaces as she remembers his cheeks getting red.

“Really? My order has never been on the house.” She suspects Jason might be frowning.

Chuckling, she replies. “Guess he like me more.”

“Are we in competition over a barista?” Jason asks and she imagines him raising an eyebrow at her.

She pulls the blanket closer to her chest and re-settles herself.

“No,” she replies easily. “I’ve already won.”

“Rude,” he jokes, before his tone turns serious. “I’m sorry if you were uncomfortable though. Honestly, he handled Thalia very well so I thought it would be alright.”

“Not at all!” She rushes to explain. “I was not uncomfortable, it was good and I’ll be going back.”

No Percy had not made her feel uncomfortable, just…intrigued. In the way that she wants to go back and see him again.

“Okay good, I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be going tomorrow morning anyway—oh, they’re calling me, gotta go.”

“Yep, talk to you later,” she says, as she hangs up the phone. She stares at the black tv screen she has yet to turn on.

So Jason is going tomorrow? Maybe she should tag along…just to see how Percy is with Jason. It’s for science really, nothing more than that.

“And, of course, the biggest thank you to my biggest supporter Percy for being my haven through all the moments, big and small.”

The adrenaline running through his body from the initial winning announcement prevents him from registering the words until a few seconds later. It’s a shock and he’s reisters a cameraman getting closer to him but his heart is soaring in his chest and that’s all that matters.

His vision is also getting a little fuzzy and he realizes it’s because there is water in his eyes that in quick succession also make their way onto his cheeks.

Everything feels like a blur so he sits down and attempts to ground himself. It’s harder without her by his side though.

As he waits, his brain starts to actually process what she had said and it occurs to him that maybe she’s giving him too much credit. 

He’s a haven?

But it’s the other way around. She’s his haven, his rock, it explains why he’s struggling so much right now without her by his side. 

There are people congratulating him and he smiles and nods all the while waiting for his Annabeth to return. 

It’s probably not that long, but it feels like forever until she slides into view next to him, taking her seat again. A smile automatically comes to his face as he, openly, stares.

She smiles back and their fingers interlock under the table so everything is right in the world. People at the table turn to talk to her during the break and she responds in stride.

He squeezes her hand and runs his thumb over her knuckles absently as he watches her do her thing. She truly sparkles in the lights which is how he knows she was made for this. 

It’s not till the car ride home does he reveal this thought to her though.

She’s leaning against his shoulder, clearly tired from the activities, but she leans back to look at him when he says the words.

“Thank you. But you’re the reason I can continue. You remind me of my dreams when I start to forget them.”

She says it simply like it’s the most obvious thing in the world but it’s far from that to him.

“But how?” His confusion must show because she smiles at him.

“By being you. By holding my hand throughout the night, by cuddling when I have a rough day, by making me smile and laugh. Just…by being who you are.”

And with that final statement she settles back into his chest and wraps an arm around his waist.

He sits there trying to process what she’s said, and he’s not sure he has even when they’re home in bed and she’s fast asleep and pressed up against him.

His mind is racing too much to go to sleep so he does the worst possible thing and pulls out his phone to scroll social media. (Which is never a good idea at 1AM but definitely not a good one when you’re dating a celebrity.)

Gifs of his surprised face greet him when he opens twitter and apparently the people are calling it wholesome. (It’s not the most flattering image but whatever.)

He watches himself process her thanks and his jaw definitely did slacken a little and the eyes filled with tears is obvious.

Maybe it is #wholesome and maybe his love for her is showing in ways he’s never really thought about.

And maybe he should give himself a little more credit.

He looks down to see Annabeth sleeping beside him and thinks that she’s the wholesome one.

(But, he supposes as he puts his phone away and settles down beside her, maybe he isn’t too far off either.)

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Somehow it all starts with a caramel macchiato.

Because she’s older now and finally allowed to drink coffee.  Plus, she thinks adult conversations should happen with an adult beverage, which is why she’s calmly sipping on her drink as her dad stares at her in a mixture of confusion and surprise.

“What?”

She takes another sip before responding. If she’s being honest, it’s more bitter than she was expecting (caramel is in the name after all) so that must be the macchiato part. But the bitterness somehow eases the twinge of anxiety she feels before she speaks again.

“I’d like to become an actress,” she repeats as if it’s the most casual situation in world. As if this isn’t her first time voicing this out loud (or drinking coffee for that matter).

Her dad looks at her over his glasses. “I thought you’d ask for a car,” he says finally. “Isn’t that what 16-year-olds usually ask for?”

Annabeth rolls her eyes. This is more serious than a car, which is why she saved this request specifically for today.

Shrugging, she takes another sip of her coffee and waits for her dad to continue. She needs to be calm, otherwise he won’t take her seriously.

“Are you serious?” he asks.

She nods. It’s a question she’s prepared for.

“I’m in all the plays at school with lead parts and have—”

“Theater and Hollywood are different,” her dad cuts in.

“I know,” she replies with a frown, taking another sip of the coffee. (It’s starting to grow on her, actually). She decides to cut to the chase.

“There’s an audition coming up for a TV show,” she starts. “I want to try out for it and if I get it then you have to agree.”

Her father lets out a heavy sigh.

“This is what I want for my birthday by the way,” she specifies, using the last card she has. She’s not asking for much, really.

Just a chance.

“Caramel macchiato for the birthday girl,” Percy announces loudly, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Though I could make you something way more—”

She shakes her head. “No, I want this.”

“Ask and you shall receive,” he jokes as she reaches forward to take a sip of the drink he placed in front of her.

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