So a bit about this, I read a one shot called "No Regrets" by xogray on Ao3, so this is inspired by that.

Anyways, sorry if its OOC, but I really do think Annabeth has this irrational fear and insecurity, so here's a chapter about it!

Enjoy!

(Oh, btw, I have no idea when I'll have the Halloween and Thanksgiving chapters done. They're just not really clicking for me (im not really that passionate about either of those holidays) but i have started on the christmas chapter haha)

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“Are those my sweatpants?”

Annabeth blinks and glimpses down at her legs, noticing she did, indeed, slip on a pair of Percy’s grey sweatpants. Oddly, she doesn’t mind. They’re oversized and comfortable. She shrugs. “I didn’t even notice,” she admits as she plops herself down on the couch beside him.

Really, she hadn’t. Her mind has been racing the moment she’d come home from a small get together with two girls she’d become friends with at AHS- or Alternative High School, the only school that would accept Percy and she after missing so much last year.

It was fun and all, but then the topic switched to boys, and Annabeth soon realized not all girls are as lucky as her in the boyfriend department. To say the least, her friends’ experiences with relationships- most of them- have all been complete busts. Either the guys acted nice then revealed his true colors one he's earned the girl’s trust, or he’s just a total nut job from the beginning.

Annabeth can’t say she really understands. Most the boys she’s known are some of the sweetest people she’s ever met. Maybe it’s just mortal boys- but even then she’s met some really nice guys at the schools she’s attended over the years. So maybe it’s really just her friends’ bad taste in men.

But there’s one thing her friend said that she can’t quite seem to shake off. The conversation had rather spontaneously dialed to Annabeth. All flushed and stuttery, she told them all about her close relationship with Percy, despite strongly believing their relationship is personal and should only be kept between them. However, her friends had just tutted and shook their heads.

Don’t fall in love. Just don’t do it. Most high school relationships fall apart right before they head off to college.

Annabeth wonders if she has just as bad taste in mortal friends as they do with guys. She knows Percy and her aren’t going to break up- they’re going to college together for gods sake! And they have four years of friendship to back them up, and oh, not to mention they travelled through Tartarus together only a few months ago.

But that doesn’t keep her insecurities from pulling her under the surface. She loves Percy, she really does, but maybe that’s the problem. It’s almost like she’s cursed. Everyone she loves- wether it’s romantic or platonic- they all have one thing in common. They all leave. So what if her friends are right and one days he decides to pack up and leave the moment he finds someone better in New Rome?

She has no doubt there will be some pretty amazing Roman demigods there. Obviously no one who can compare to Percy, but Annabeth can’t say the same for him. Maybe he’ll find some nicer, funnier, smarter demigod or legacy. Annabeth doesn’t like the way her heart squeezes at the thought.

“Hey, you okay?”

Annabeth blinks again. Her eyes flicker around the room to make out her surroundings- her brain having completely shut down seconds earlier- before they land on Percy. Why is he looking at her like that? With his eyebrows all scrunched together and lips tilted down into a worried frown, and his hand is resting against her thigh- oh gods, now her heart is thudding against her chest.

“Huh?” Is all she can muster up.

“You seem distracted,” he tells her, lifting the back of his hand to rest against her forehead. She flinches away from his touch and gives him an indigent look. She feels fine. He chuckles. “What’s up?”

“The ceiling.”

“Oh ha-ha,” Percy mocks with the roll of his eyes. He softly kisses her cheek and she can’t help the smile that tugs on her lips. He pulls away a second later, face serious as he asks, “now seriously, are you okay? You’ve been quiet since you got home, and you aren’t usually quiet. You’re usually dumping all your blueprints on me by now.” She presses her lips together and he nudges her with his shoulder. “Come on, ‘Beth, talk to me.”

“It’s stupid.” She finally meets his eyes.

“Nothing you say is stupid.”

“No, but this one is.”

“Then tell me so I can decide for myself.”

She rolls her eyes, but her smile deters the feigned annoyance and Percy kisses her cheek again. What is she even worried about? Here he is, showering her with his love, and she’s overthinking about where they stand in the future? When it’s perfectly clear right in front of her that they’ll be fine? But she still brings it up, because if it’s bothering her, she thinks Percy deserves to know.

Besides, reassurance is always nice.

“Um, do you think we’ll ever break up?” she asks quietly, almost like she’s afraid to admit this is bothering her. And she probably should be. After all, she knows they won’t. They’ve already sat down and discussed their future, and they both seem pretty set on going to college, getting married and starting a family (if a certain goddess will allow them.)

Percy stares at her. “Okay, that was stupid.”

Annabeth groans and flops back against the couch, covering her face with her hands. She peaks through her fingers at Percy only to find he’s laughing at her. She drops her hands. “You know, this is very out of character for you.”

“This is very out of character for you too.”

“How so? Enlighten me.”

“I mean- unless you’re thinking about breaking up with me, then you should know the answer.” His eyes widen comically and she swallows down a laugh. “Wait, you’re not breaking up with me are you?”

Annabeth sits up straighter and throws her legs over his like a seatbelt, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and playing with the the hair at the nape of his neck. His hand splays across her back, keeping her upright, and she tries to ignore the way his touch sets fire to her skin.

“No, no,” she assures him and his shoulders relax at her words. “I’m sorry, I should have made that clear.”

Percy shakes his head. “Where’s this coming from anyway?”

Ah, the question she’d been dreading to answer. It’s so stupid, and she knows it- and Annabeth isn’t one to admit that she, a daughter of Athena, can be very stupid. It’s almost comical, really, that two mortal girls (who know nothing of what Percy and she have been through together) managed to get her so worked up about something that simply isn’t true.

“Well- I don’t know.” She picks at the lint clinging to her- well, his- sweatpants. “Okay, you know those girls I went to that cafe with today?” Percy nods, eyebrows furrowed in concentration and he squeezes her hand. “Well we were talking about boys and I told them about our relationship, and I may have slipped that we’re in love-”

Percy grins cheekily. “You what?”

Annabeth shoves his shoulder. “Stop. Stop making fun of me. That’s my job.”

“Hey, you told two girls you barely know we’re in love.”

“Oh like you wouldn’t shout it out to the world.”

“Touché.”

“Anyways,” Annabeth continues, pinching his arm lightly and he chokes down a laugh. “They told me that relationships usually fall apart at the end of high school and I- I don’t know. It just got to me, struck a nerve or something.” She notices his expression and drops her forehead onto his shoulder. “I know, it’s stupid. I shouldn’t be worrying about this. Forget I said anything.”

“Hey, no,” he says softly and pushes her away just enough so he can see her face. She hates the way her eyes are tearing up at a something as stupid as this. She loves Percy, he loves her- so what's she worrying about? He reaches out to run the pad of his thumbs across her cheek, saying, “why are you so worked up about this?”

“I don’t know,” she grumbles. “I’m just worried, I guess. I don’t want you to leave- I don’t want to lose you, Percy.”

He stares at her unbelievingly. “I know that’s not the complete answer. You can talk to me.”

She takes a deep breath, attempting on calming her nerves but the new breath of oxygen only seems  to increase the butterflies fluttering around her stomach. “Percy- what if you meet someone new in New Rome?”

He actually has the nerve to laugh. Throwing his head back against the couch, he lets out one of the loudest laughs she’s ever heard. She swats his chest, mouth agape. “I’m sorry,” he says, not sounding sorry at all. “It’s just- you can’t be serious! Annabeth, I would never be able to find someone else.”

That gets a smile out of her. “Really?”

“Really,” Percy confirms in all seriousness. “First of all, you’re easily the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on- and I’ve seen Aphrodite. Second, you’re literally my tether to the mortal world, and the only thing I could remember when Hera decided to wipe my memories. Do you seriously think I could ever form a bond like that with anyone else but you?”

Annabeth thinks about it, not that she really needs to- she already knows the answer. “Hm, no, I guess not. For the record, I wouldn’t be able to find someone else either. You turned down immortality partially for me, and fell into hell for me- no one can top that, sorry.”

Percy throws his head back with another laugh and moves to wrap both arms around her, leaning forward to press their lips together softly. She hums into the kiss, loving the way her heart soars with love- love for him, and gods she just loves him so much. And he loves her, and she knows without a doubt that they’re a package deal- can’t have one without the other.

But yet again, reassurance is always nice.

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Short, but cute. Hope you guys liked it!