1Annabeth woke up to a loud crash coming from her living room. She quickly got up, grabbed her bat from behind her bedroom door, and went to the living room. She found a man standing in the middle of the room, looking disoriented. Before her bat could make contact with him, he pleaded, "Please don't hurt me! I don't know how I ended up here!"
Annabeth didn't lower her bat but was now holding it like a sword. "Who are you?" The man looked relieved that Annabeth decided to spare him, "Percy Jackson."
To say that Annabeth was at a loss for words was an understatement. Getting a better look at him she realized that he was wearing the Camp Half-Blood orange t-shirt with the necklace displaying all the beads that showed how many summers Percy had spent at camp. She realized that her childhood crush was in her apartment. Now, this would've been normal if it wasn't for the fact that her childhood crush was a fictional character. It was Percy Jackson from a Greek mythology-based fantasy novel.
Percy looked around, "Where am I?" Annabeth followed his eyes, realizing that he was taking in his surroundings, "In actual New York City," she answered. This earned her a puzzled look from Percy. "What do you mean actual New York City? Also, who are you?"
Annabeth didn't know how to break it to a guy that he was a fictional character…well until now. "It's complicated, but I'm Annabeth Chase," she extended her hand. "Nice to finally meet you." Percy, still confused about everything, took her hand. An awkward silence soon followed, and both dropped the handshake. "Right so," Annabeth was the first one to speak, "Would you like some coffee?"
They found themselves sitting at Annabeth's dinner table. Annabeth found it cute how Percy liked his coffee with cream and sugar. It went with his personality. "So, what's the last thing you remember?" Annabeth asked. "I was in New Rome and I had talked to Apollo that day," Percy informs her. Annabeth realizes that he's talking about the ending in The Tower of Nero, "Percy, what year is it?" This caused Percy to raise an eyebrow. "2011," he says matter-of-factly.
"Percy…I don't really know how to tell you this but, it's 2020, and in this world…you're supposed to be a fictional character" Annabeth didn't realize she ended up whispering the last of the news. Percy's face fell, turned pale, and blinked slowly. "What?"
Annabeth could only imagine what feelings Percy was going through, she wished she could help, "I know it sounds crazy, but look," she stood up and went back to her sofa where she left her copy of The Lightning Thief and brought it back to the table. Percy opened the book and skimmed through it, "This is exactly how it all happened!" Annabeth nodded, "Yeah, it's a whole franchise. I would say Percy Jackson is a household name." She left her seat again to bring out the other books. They spilled onto the table, causing Percy's eyes to widen. "This is insane," was all he could say.
"Indeed, not to-" Before Annabeth could continue, Percy cut her off. "But you can see I'm obviously real right!" he shot up from his seat and stood next to Annabeth, taking her hands and placing them on his body, "Like I'm flesh and bones! Not just some figment of some author's imagination! Like I actually exist!" Percy's eyes were watery, and although Annabeth had read it, seeing it was different. She got up and pulled him into a hug. "You're real," was all she could say. Unsure of how to comfort him. They stayed there for a while before Percy pulled away. "Well, this is awkward," he sheepishly reached to scratch the back of his head and sat back down. Annabeth giggled, "A little."
"Say Annabeth," Percy started, "Do you think there's a way to get back to my world?" Annabeth was smart, but she was no scientist who dealt with multiple realities if that is even possible. "I'm not sure," she confessed. "I don't even know how this whole thing happened." Percy nodded. Annabeth wondered if the magic transferred with him, "Percy, do you have Riptide on you?"
Percy dug into his pockets and pulled out a ballpoint pen. They both looked at each other with excitement. Percy uncapped the pen, but nothing happened. "That's weird," he noted. "I guess the magic didn't come with you?" Annabeth assumed. Percy's face dropped. "Yeah."
Annabeth felt a pang in her heart. She was finally meeting her favorite character, but she couldn't even bask in the joy of it. Although Annabeth was happy to have Percy in her world, Percy was not. He was already working on ways to go back. "Percy?"
He looked up and met Annabeth's eyes, "Hmm?" Annabeth played with her fingers to deal with her jitters, "What if I showed you around this New York City and maybe we'll stumble upon something? It's my day off too." It's not like Annabeth hoped that seeing the city would convince him to stay, but she didn't want to stay cooped up in her apartment. She needed a distraction from the fact that he wanted to leave as soon as possible. Percy bit his lips, considering her offer. "Sure!"
"Cool! I'll get ready and then we can head out," Annabeth stood up, making her way to the bathroom before looking back at him, "Actually, do you need to shower?" Percy looked down at himself. "Um, I don't think so."
While Annabeth was in the shower, Percy knocked on the door, which startled her. She had forgotten she wasn't alone. "Annabeth, I found something you might wanna see." Annabeth fought the urge to tell him to come in. This was not self-inserted fanfiction. This was real life and Percy needed her help right now. "Yeah, give me a sec!" Percy must've walked away because Annabeth heard nothing after that.
She quickly got changed and rushed out, eager to see what Percy had found. It was a wallet with Percy's ID in it. "This would make me 27 years old." Annabeth nodded, "We're the same age." Percy seemed to have ignored her comment, "My 20s are gone…" he sat down on her sofa holding the ID, "I feel robbed." Annabeth took the ID from him and looked at it more carefully, the ID expired in 2016, and the boy in the photo looked much younger than the man sitting before her.
"The first spot we could hit is the address listed on here. It's your mom's apartment, no?" Annabeth suggested. Percy's face lit up. "Annabeth, you genius!"
Before Annabeth knew it they were jumping the turnstile, real or fictional, all New Yorkers did that, which Annabeth found amusing. "What are you gonna do when you get there?" Annabeth asked, wanting to come up with a plan. "Wing it?" Percy answered. "Absolutely not! We have to come up with some sort of plan," Annabeth suggested.
Percy turned his body towards her, "What did you have in mind?" Suddenly the two-seaters on the train were tiny to Annabeth, "Um, we go to the actual apartment number and knock on the door."
Percy smiled. "What a coincidence. I was gonna do that."
"Right," Annabeth nodded, "But we need the plan of what happens after you knock." "I hug my mom and boom, solved," Percy stated.
"What if she's not there?" Annabeth could tell Percy didn't wanna hear that "I just want to have a backup plan for every case scenario," she added. Percy offered her a forced smile, "I appreciate that."
On their way to Percy's apartment, they discussed different ideas on how they could get themselves into the apartment regardless of who answered the door. Did it include lying? Absolutely, but Annabeth felt a rush at the thought of doing something mischievous. When she was in school, she was a straight-A student (could've been A+, but alas, her dyslexia and ADHD made it nearly impossible). At work, she was on her A-game, quickly climbing the corporate ladder of architecture. So doing this was exciting and something she never got to do.
When they got to the apartment on E 83rd St and 2nd Ave, Percy was let down that it wasn't his mom who opened the door. Instead, it was a random man, who neither Annabeth nor Percy have ever met before. "Can I help you?"
"Yes," Annabeth was the first to speak up, "we were wondering if you knew who lived here before? My friend here is adopted." Percy did a small wave as if to say 'I'm the adoptee' "he's trying to track down his mom, and this is the last address he was given."
The man's eyes widened at the story. "Nah man, I'm sorry. I could give you the landlord's information. Maybe they know?"
Annabeth smiled, maybe this would give them some leads, "Yes we would appreciate that!" The man went back inside his apartment, leaving the door wide open for Percy and Annabeth to peer inside.
"Does this look anything like your apartment?" Annabeth loudly whispered. Percy shook his head. "No, our apartment had more wood." The apartment they were looking at was white, gray, and boring.
"Well," the man appeared from a room, "I know this isn't much, but I hope it helps you find ya mom." he handed Percy a business card. "Thanks." Percy took the business card and put it away in his wallet. They said their goodbyes and made their way outside.
The winter air greeted them, and Annabeth did not want to be outside any longer. "C'mon," she grabs his hand, taking both of them to the nearest coffee shop. Once inside the shop, Annabeth noticed that she was still holding onto his hand. She's thankful for the winter that made her face red. If not, she's sure Percy would've been able to tell that she was blushing.
"Sorry." Percy lets out a light laugh and Annabeth lets go. "I didn't mind," Percy confesses. His comment surprised Annabeth, who just stood there for a second, taking in what he said. "Right," she followed him to a table.
Percy took out the business card. Could you call them?" Annabeth took out her phone and dialed the number, putting it on speaker. Loud enough for Percy and her to hear, but not the entire coffee shop.
The landlord answered, "Hello?"
This time it was Percy who spoke first. "Hi, my name is Percy and I'm an adoptee. They gave me your apartment's address as the last address my biological mother was at. I just wanted to know if you ever knew Sally Jackson?"
"Off the top of my head, it doesn't ring a bell, but I can look at my records," the landlord informed them. Percy and Annabeth smiled at each other, a possibility for an answer. "Yes, I would appreciate that. You can call me back at this number," Percy responded. "Alrighty, well, I'll call you. Goodbye." Percy handed back the phone to Annabeth.
She felt a little electricity as their fingers lightly touched. She felt like a love-struck schoolgirl and it sucked! But could you blame her?
"I'm worried about my mom. She probably thinks Hera kidnapped me again." Percy guessed. "I just wish I could call her."
"I'm sorry Percy, I wish I could help more," Annabeth apologized. Percy smiled at her, "You're doing more than enough." Annabeth decided she wouldn't argue with that, because realistically, what else could she do? Build a machine and send him back? This wasn't some sci-fi TV show. "What do you wanna do next? Besides waiting for them to get back to you?" Annabeth asked. Right as Percy was about to respond, his stomach growled, answering for him. Annabeth tried to suppress her laugh, but failed, "Breakfast on me."
Bellies full, they settled into their seats. "Thanks for everything," Percy said, reaching out to place his hand on top of Annabeth's. Annabeth turned into a stuttering mess, "D-don't mention it!"
"No I'm serious," Percy continued, "You barely know me-" Annabeth cut him off, "Uh, I'd disagree."
She felt the opposite, she knew his strengths, his weaknesses, she's been there from when he was turning 12 to 18. Granted, it was through a book, but that didn't change anything. Percy rolled his eyes. "Ok, the books. Still, thanks for taking the time out of your day to help me."
Annabeth had a sudden realization, Percy still thought it was 2011. A jolt of excitement made her lean forward. "Percy!" This burst of energy caught him off guard. "What if while you're here time doesn't pass in your world?" Annabeth exclaimed.
Percy raised an eyebrow in confusion. "The last thing you remember was talking to Apollo in the summer of 2011, and in this world, it's winter 2020. That means your mom won't think Hera kidnapped again," Annabeth explained. Percy seemed to understand what she meant because his face lit up, "Oh man, I hope you're right!"
The heavy atmosphere seemed to be lifted. Percy didn't look as distraught as first did, he even walked with his head held up. "I say we should call it a day and head back to your place," Percy suggested.
Annabeth abruptly stopped, "Are you sure? It's only noon." Percy looked back at her. "I can't keep dragging you around. Like I want to keep looking but, I don't know what exactly I'm looking for. I'm scared that I'll just find nothing," Percy quietly confessed.
Annabeth rushed up to him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear, "You could drag me to the end of the world and I wouldn't mind" Annabeth cringed at herself for being that corny, she needed to quickly recover, "and so what if you find nothing? At least you won't stay with the 'what if?' feeling."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Ok, how about we head to the Empire State Building?"
"You mean Olympus?"
Percy let out a laugh. "Exactly. C'mon, race you to the train station!" Before Annabeth knew it, Percy took off running. "Wait up!" She ran after him.
Annabeth hadn't been to that building since she first moved to New York. Only going to it in the first place because of the Percy Jackson series. And yes she did spend $90 to go to the top, frivolous, but she'd be lying if she said the view wasn't breathtaking.
Percy went up to one of the workers. "600th floor please," he winked.
"Percy Jackson fan eh?"
Percy smirked. "You could say that."
The worker smiled before dropping his facade and leaning in, "Listen, buddy, you are way too old to be pulling these shenanigans. Now SKAT!" He shooed them away.
Back outside, Percy started laughing. "Well, that was a fucking fail."
Annabeth didn't understand why he was laughing, "What's so funny?"
"The skat," Percy managed to say between his laughs.
Annabeth cracked a smile. "Yeah, I guess that is pretty funny."
Annabeth could only imagine how crazy Percy looked to onlookers. A tall man laughing by himself non-stop in front of the Empire State Building. Percy collected himself and swung his arm around her shoulders, "C'mon before the employee calls the cops on this looney adult man."
They walked back to Annabeth's apartment, neither wanting to break the comfortable silence that engulfed them. Annabeth didn't mind that Percy settled on holding her hand.
Once inside the apartment, Percy let out a loud sigh and took off his jacket.
"Everything alright?" Annabeth asked, hanging her coat up.
"Yeah," Percy spun around to face her, "Just realized I better get used to dead ends. I mean, the whole situation is insane. Until recently, I thought parallel universes were only real in comic books! Plus, it's not like we have the slightest idea of how it would even work."
Annabeth couldn't help but frown. Percy was right, both of them were in over their heads. Wanting to pull off the impossible, so they better get used to failure. "No giving up though," She lightly punched his arm.
Percy laughed, "I thought you knew me."
"I do," Annabeth shot back, "Just gotta make sure this world hasn't changed you." Percy pretended to look offended. "Never that! Although, two dead ends on the same day does not do the morale any good."
Annabeth was going to suggest something, but her ringing phone interrupted them. She recognized the number. It was the landlord from Percy's fictional apartment. Quickly handing it to Percy.
"Hello?"
Annabeth could not hear the entire conversation, but from the lack of a smile on his face, she could tell he didn't receive any good news. "Make that three dead ends." Percy handed her phone back and made his way to her couch, face-planting it.
She made her way toward Percy, squatting down, to be at his eye level. "What do you want for dinner?" Annabeth figured food would make him feel better, and whatever she didn't have, she could run to the grocery store to buy. A grocery run would also take Percy's mind off the current situation and give him something else to focus on. Percy slowly turned to face her. "Pasta."
Soon enough, they were walking down the aisle. Percy was holding the grocery basket while Annabeth was throwing items inside. As they were on their way to check out they walked by the baking aisle.
Annabeth stretched her arm out to stop Percy. "Do you actually like blue-colored chocolate chip cookies?"
Percy smiled. "Guilty as charged."
Ingredients for Percy's craving, pasta, and the famous blue cookies. They made their way back to her apartment. Annabeth was grateful she was only 5 blocks away.
"You're helping me cook and bake," Annabeth informed him. "Wouldn't wanna have it any other way," Percy responded.
For someone who had never cooked before, Percy was pretty good at prepping. Annabeth had him slicing and dicing. Annabeth figured they could start on the cookies once they finished eating. She didn't want to be overwhelmed by working on two things at once. Plus, the smell of something sweet while eating something savory didn't sit right with her.
"I think we can take the rest of the day to chill." Annabeth turned the burner on. "We had an eventful morning and afternoon that has taken an emotional toll on us."
Percy poured oil into the water-filled pan. "I agree. You can show me your favorite movies."
Percy taking an interest in Annabeth's favorite movies made her smile. She suddenly realized how domesticated everything was. Annabeth had never had a serious relationship since graduating college, but she imagines it would be something like this.
"Plus," Percy added. "I want to judge your movie taste."
Annabeth's smile died, and she shot daggers at Percy with her eyes. "It's impeccable, so get ready to be blown away."
Percy's laughter filled her apartment. Annabeth felt a twinge of guilt for wanting to keep him in her world.
A.N: Ok so I was considering making this a one-shot, but decided to make it a multi-chapter story. I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also, everything in the PJO, HoA, & ToA happens, just take out the Percabeth romance. There was also no filler for Annabeth in the PJO universe so the trio of Grover, Percy, and Annabeth was just Grover and Percy.