Real quick, credit to those people up there for this!

You were told as soon as you could understand, that seeing in black and white was normal. It's what everyone saw.

At least, until you saw your soulmate.

And then the world would fill with color.

For some, it would come slowly. For others, it exploded all at once.

But everyone was waiting for the day that they met their soulmate. If not for the fact that it was their soulmate, then to finally see the colors.

And that was exactly what Annabeth Chase was doing.

Annabeth was in the grocery store, buying food for herself since her father was away for work and she would be home alone for about a week. She was picking up the necessities, such as milk and cereal. (If she was being honest, then Annabeth would have to admit that she couldn't cook to save a life. She was secretly hoping that whomever her soulmate is would be a good at it.)

And yet, she was consumed with thoughts of what it would be like when she met her soulmate as she picked up the gray box of cereal and then another gray one with a few shades of black and white mixed in.

When one saw only in black, white, grey, and the few shades in between, the most interesting thing one could see was when something had all three of the colors and different shades of each mixed in.

Annabeth didn't mind that much, she knew that she would meet her soulmate when the time was right. Therefore, she never really stressed about it. She would wait patiently for them to show up or for them to stumble upon each other randomly one day.

When she was younger, she would fantasize about meeting her soulmate in the library. She would be browsing the biography section and when she grabbed a book off the shelf, someone else would grab a book from the matching spot on the other side. She would look up and laugh. Then she would look at them again and suddenly the world would be filled with swirling colors and lights and everything would be beautiful. Her soulmate and she would stare at each other in shock before both of them would put their books back and run to the isle to throw themselves into a hug with each other. Her soulmate would pick her up and twirl her around while she laughed and wondered how she could have ever been happy before that moment.

But now, she had given that up and had decided that no matter how she met them, it would be perfect.

Annabeth was walking inside, laden with grocery bags and on her third and final trip into the house, when she realized that she had forgotten to buy more butter since she was almost out.

Glancing back at the car, she shrugged her shoulders and entered the front door, putting the bags down on the floor of the kitchen after walking down the short hallway and turning the corner. Turning back around, she headed out the door again and locked it behind her.

Annabeth decided to walk to the store this time because it was only a block away and the only reason she had taken the car the first time was because she knew that she would have a lot of bags to carry and bring in.

And so she began her walk. It was a nice spring day anyway, she probably needed the fresh air and the exercise.

In order to reach the store, Annabeth would have to cross the rode and pass through a small park dotted with a few trees here or there and grass that covered the ground like a blanket.

Soulmates liked to go on dates there in the spring and summer. The place was so full of light and life and the flowers must have such beautiful colors and seeing all the trees and the grass would be beautiful.

Annabeth stood at the crosswalk, waiting for the dark grey hand held up in a stop to change to a lighter grey person walking. While she stood there, she tapped her foot and crossed her arms, wishing the lights would change faster. She wanted to buy the butter and get home to her couch where she could curl up and read a book. (And maybe she would watch a movie or two.)

So, when the hand finally turned to a walking man, she practically flew across the street and into the park. She walked purposefully through it, not sparing a glance at the soulmates curled up together on blankets as they gazed at each other and the colorful world that they must see.

Annabeth did not get jealous when she would pass by one such couple and hear one of them say to the other, "look at that flower! Isn't it a gorgeous shade of purple?" Or "the grass is so green today." Nope, not one bit.

Annabeth was content to wait for her soulmate to appear. Right now, she just had to get that butter.

Annabeth was almost to the store and was doing her best to ignore the people around her by staring at her black shoes and the grey grass beneath them. She studied her pants that faded and swirled between black and grey as she took step after step.

But she was startled out of her concentration when she ran into someone. Said someone grabbed her arms to keep her from falling. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" They asked, their voice was deep and caring, this person sounded very concerned for her. She looked up to tell them that she was fine, an apology of her own forming on her lips, but the words died.

The first thing she saw was his eyes. They swirled and shifted and glowed and grew dark and-

They were beautiful.

She didn't know what to call them because they weren't black or grey or white or some shade of any of those.

His eyes were a new color. The color of his eyes was the first color she had ever seen and she loved it.

She couldn't think of a better first color to see.

Annabeth stared into his eyes even as he stared into hers. She was captivated by the layers and all the shades and the swirling pattern of color she saw in them and she could not look away.

But as she continued to stare at him, more colors began to appear, all starting with him.

The first thing to gain color after she had spotted his eyes was his hair. It had been black before, but now there was more of a colorful tint to it and it shined in the light of the sun.

After his hair came his lips, and once again, she was astounded by the color they turned. Next was his skin. Annabeth couldn't look at anything but him.

His shirt turned from a light grey to a bright color that she loved almost half as much as she loved the color of his eyes.

His pants turned an even darker shade of what she assumed was the same color as his shirt and she was so amazed to finally see all these colors and to finally meet her soulmate.

She somehow managed to turn her head from him and look around at the park. The grass and the trees all slowly turned a beautiful shade of something she had no name for and the sky was the color of his shirt but shades and shades lighter. The sun was beautiful but still hurt her eyes to look at for too long.

But she didn't care.

She had met her soulmate.

She could see in color.

And the world was beautiful.

Annabeth finally looked back at him and she breathed out, "My name is Annabeth."

He looked down at her, his beautiful eyes open wide and responded quietly, just like she did, "My name is Percy." They continued to stare at each other until Annabeth remembered where they were and what she was doing there.

"Oh!" She said, "I have to go to the store! I-I need butter. Will-Will you come with me?" Percy smiled and his smile was blinding and nearly as beautiful as his eyes.

"Of course! I have nothing that I need to do. I was bored at home while my mom was at work so I decided to just get out of the house. I was just kinda walking around and ended up here. And she has a date tonight, so I'll be home alone again. We could go back to my place after buying the butter and watch a movie maybe?" Percy had a hopeful expression on his face as he looked down at her and his hands were still holding her arms and she hadn't realized it before but her hands had come up when she had run into him and were clutching the fabric of his shirt.

"Of course! That sounds wonderful. In fact, it sounds perfect." Annabeth grinned from ear to ear and she couldn't be happier.

Percy's gorgeous smile appeared again and he took his hands off her arms and she released her grip on his shirt and instead, their hands found each other and they held tight. They began walking to the store to get butter, and neither of them could be happier.

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When you were young, most kids were told that seeing in black and white was normal. Most kids got the whole thing about soulmates and when they meet the world would begin to turn beautiful colors and you saw in black and white no longer.

But what most kids didn't learn growing up, was that when your soulmate died, the world went back to black and white.

Percy's mother told him this at the same time that she told him about the other things.

And his mother would know. Her soulmate, his father, had died before Percy was born, before he even knew that she was pregnant. And the moment he died, her world had plunged back into black and white, all the color drained right out.

But a few days ago, Sally had told her son something else. "I saw a man the other day and he was walking into your school. I think he might be one of your teachers. And I could have sworn that his hair was brown."
(Percy had no idea what that meant, he hadn't met his soulmate yet so he didn't know what colors looked like.) "I thought I saw his hair flicker from light black to a brown for just a moment when I saw him as he walked inside the doors of your school." Percy and his mother had talked about it at length, before deciding that she had in fact seen the man's hair gain color. The next day, Percy's English teacher, Paul Blofis, asked him about his mother.

Mr. Blofis had said, "I thought I had seen a woman outside yesterday. She looked like you. Only, she wasn't in black and white. She was in color! But I only caught a glimpse of her and I think I might have imagined it." Percy had smiled and gone home to tell his mom. He had then agreed to arrange a meeting for them.

The second they both showed up and laid eyes on each other, they both gasped and Sally was so shocked. She had never heard of someone having a second chance at having a long life with a soulmate before.

And apparently, Paul had never met a soulmate before Percy's mother, and Percy couldn't have been more happy for the two of them.

So when he ran into a girl at the park, he had just left his house to get some fresh air after his mom left for work and she had a date with Paul that night.

He hadn't been looking where he was going and he guessed that she hadn't either. He quickly caught her arms and held tight to keep her from falling down. He didn't look at her. He was afraid that she would be looking at him with a frown on her lips and words already forming to tell him off for running into her.

But when he finally looked up, an apology already falling from his lips, she looked up to. Her mouth fell open and she stared at his eyes. But it was okay. Because he was staring at hers too.

At first, he hadn't seen what he knew was different. Because her eyes were grey. But then he saw it. They sparkled and glittered and glowed and- he couldn't describe it. Her eyes were just, more grey, more colorful that the greys he had been seeing his whole life before.

The next thing he saw was her hair, it turned from the light gray it was before to something else, he couldn't describe it. But it shone in the light of the sun. Then he noticed her lips, a dark color. Her skin, something so beautiful and something that seemed so... her, he immediately fell in love with it.

In fact, he immediately fell in love with everything about her. The bright color of her long curly hair, the shining grey of her eyes, the dark shade of her lips, the perfect cast of her skin.

All of it.

It was all beautiful.

He saw her eyes move from his face to his chest and then his legs as she took in all,the color and he did the same.

Her shirt was a dark color, a different shade of the color of her lips. Her jeans were dark and then faded to light, the same color, different shade again, as the sky when he looked up to take it in.

The sun was bright, a color like her hair. The trees were so vibrant, the grass and the flowers were beautiful.

He turned his head to look at her again just as she turned hers to look at him once more. "My name is Annabeth," she said quietly.

"My name is Percy," he said just as quietly as she had. They stared at each other for a little longer before Annabeth--oh what a beautiful name--seemed to realize something.

"Oh! I have to go to the store! I-I need butter. Will-Will you come with me?" Percy smiled at her question.

"Of course! I have nothing that I need to do. I was bored at home while my mom was at work so I decided to just get out of the house. I was just kinda walking around and ended up here. And she has a date tonight, so I'll be home alone again. We could go back to my place after buying the butter and watch a movie maybe?" Percy bit his lip and he probably looked like a fool as he looked down at her. His hands were still on her arms and he realized that her hands were clutching at his shirt. He didn't mind though.

"Of course! That soundsnwonderful. In fact, that sound perfect." Annabeth grinned widely and her cheeks turned a lighter shade of her lips. Percy smiled widely himself and took his hands from her arms as she took her hands from his shirt and as they walked toward the store, their hands found each other and they held tight.

Neither of them could be happier.

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(HA! You thought it would end there? This is me. You get no happy ending.)

Five years later, Annabeth was at the store, getting butter, that she had again forgot on her first run. Percy had laughed and let her go to get them butter even though he insisted they would be fine without it and she could go get it tomorrow because tonight was movie night and she was going to miss the start of the movie if she left but she went anyway because they needed butter.

She walked down the aisle and grabbed a tub of butter. She turned to walk to the registers and buy it so she could head home when the world seemed to flicker. Everything was black and white for a second and then it was all colorful again.

But then she blinked and all the colors started to fade. She gasped and the butter slid from her grip. She ran through the store. She had to get home, something was wrong.

She ran through the park, across the street, to her and Percy's house, right next to her old house where a different family lived because her father had moved to California. She saw a black-clad figure slip from a window and take off across the lawns, disappearing around the corner. She threw open the front door and screamed Percy's name. The TV was still on in the living room, she could hear it. She ran to the living room.

Percy was sprawled on the floor, blood seeping from a wound in his side. The dark red was one of the only colors she could still see. "Percy!" She cried, running to his side and putting pressure on the wound with one hand as she pulled out her phone and called 911 with the other. "Help me! My husband's hurt and I think we were robbed! I got home and someone jumped out a window and my husband is bleeding out! Please, hurry!" She gave the operator their address and then put both hands on Percy's stomach. "Hang in there, Percy, please." She said desperately. Percy's eyes opened and they were still vibrant as ever, the swirling blue-green still glowing ven as the last of every other color drained away. "Percy, don't leave me!" Tears fell from her eyes and she pushed down harder on Percy's still bleeding stomach. Outside she heard the sirens of the police cars and the ambulance finally arriving.

Percy only blinked his gorgeous eyes and opened his mouth to tell her one last thing. "I love you." Annabeth let out a sob.

"I love you too! That's why you can't leave me! Percy?" Annabeth sobbed and Percy's breath left him in a great sigh and then his eyes were no longer colorful. As soon as the breath left his body his eyes were black and grey and all color was gone from the world. "Percy!" People came running into the room, paramedics and policemen but they were too late.

Percy gone.

And the world was Black and White again.

A/N Word Count: 3115

Well, I decided to write a but while I waited for more votes to come in on the last chapter and well, I started and didn't stop so here's this.

Yours in demigodishness and all that,
Annabeth_Jackson_12 <3