Author's Note: Just a side note, Percy does not currently live with his mom, although sometimes she does visit and sleep over, Percy lives with Grover at a house that Grover's grandma gave. Just thought ya'll should know cause I don't believe this'll ever be mentioned.

~▪~▪~▪~

Percy could barely believe his eyes as he read and reread Annabeth's message- nay, her invite, for the ever famed, albeit fairly new, SMP that she owned. As well as her discord server for said SMP.

It was... Incredibly overwhelming, to say the least. He genuinely hadn't expected it. It seemed so out of the blue, so out of nowhere. And Percy genuinely felt like he was in one of those fanfics that Grover liked to read sometimes. Where some incredible, and nearly unbelievable, as well as somewhat unrealistic, things happen.

And at that moment, he was overwhelmed with so many different feelings, that it lead to him not knowing how to really feel.

But nevertheless, after the competition, as well as all the interactions he'd had and just basically after everything, Percy was feeling more tired than any other time really. So he ultimately decided to take a breather for that day. Maybe rest, watch some television or indulge himself in the kitchen and make a healthy meal for himself.

It was the least he could do for his own self-care and health.

With that in mind, he didn't respond, instead logging off before turning off his PC and heading off, taking his peanut butter sandwich with him to get some milk from the kitchen.

~~~

That night, Percy found himself staring at the exact same message that Annabeth had sent, only this time, he was in bed and the message was in the discord app in his phone.

He was still yet to respond, and his nerves heightened the more he stalled himself from replying.

At least he had managed to actually take the time to relax some that day before he streamed earlier that night, hyping up his fans about the competition without sharing any of the important details.

But now, it was back to business, and he wasn't sure what to say or how to respond as his head fell down a rabbithole of most likely untrue things that Annabeth may or may not have been thinking about Percy at that very moment.

What if she thought he was ghosting her? What if she decides to second guess after he says yes? What if she backs down because he was taking too long to reply? What if it was a troll? Could she really be that mean? What if she thinks he isn't worthy because of his indecisiveness? Or just backs out because she can't stand how long it took him to respond? What if he really is late to reply? Could she be that impatient?

Percy wasn't sure at all.

And the more he thought, the further he got within the rabbithole. And what a twisted terrifying hole that is.

He sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

Maybe he should clear his head first? Maybe list down pros and cons the next day and then decide?

It seemed like a good idea, better than him wallowing in his own self pity at least.

Then again, what if his stalling makes Annabeth second guess? He was unsure if there was even meant to be this much pressure to answer one measly little question.

He let out a heavy sigh, placing down his phone before pressing his palms up against his eyes, letting out a soft groan.

He was almost sure he wasn't gonna get any sleep because of the situation he was in. But none the less, he decided he would at least try to.

~~~

Percy ended up sleeping fairly late, that said, way past midnight, and frankly, he was still fairly tired when he woke up the next day.

But that didn't stop him from remembering about the invite. And just as quickly as it re-entered his mind, he was off his bed and in the bathroom to freshen himself up.

And the next thing he knows, he's in the kitchen, with only a shirt and a pair of boxers, holding a piece of paper and a pencil with "pros" and "cons" written at the top, seperated by a line at the center.

He was really yet to write much as he contemplated on it, the coffee maker whirring by him as he let himself get stuck with his thoughts.

Grover was most definitely out, having texted him that morning that he was going off to visit his family for the day. Hence Percy being unable to get his best friend's opinion on the matter at hand.

Actually, he has no actual recollection of whether or not he had told Grover at all, so Grover might not even be aware that there is an issue at hand that's currently testing Percy's strong indecisiveness and giving him a crisis.

Percy is completely alone both figuratively and literally.

He let out a sigh as the coffee maker beeped, signalling him that his coffee's been made. And much like an AI, Percy went full autopilot mode as he placed the paper and pencil on the side, before pouring some coffee in his mug, adding sugar, milk, whipped cream, and other such sweetness to ease the bitterness of the coffee. All the while his head is just fully crowded with too much thoughts.

He may have been thinking too hard on this, if he were to be honest with himself, or maybe it was just the cold weather that was making his mind cloud over.

He shook his head, sighing again before taking a careful sip of his coffee. He then let himself take a few deep breaths, letting himself relax, before his free hand moved over, also seemingly automatically so, to grab his phone that he's left on the counter top, right by where he's placed the paper and pencil.

Opening it, he was faced with that message again, and despite the doubts that lingered in his head, he was suddenly faced with bursts of thoughts of all the opportunities that the offer was bringing. And suddenly he was filled with excitement and adrenaline.

Percy was quick to chuck said rush to a potentially small sugar rush, no thanks to the amount of sweets he piled into his coffee. But even so, looking into it only urged Percy further towards the invitation.

And so, with a soft and shaky breath of air, he placed his mug on the counter before carefully, although fairly shakily, holding onto his phone with both hands, thumbs typing shakily, eyes shining with a strange mix of uncertainty and determination.

And finally, after nearly a full day of pure indecisiveness, Percy sent a response.

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Welp! Happy Holidays ladies, gents, and non-binary friends! I'm back to wish you all a happy holidays and happy new year! 2022 is on the horizon, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it, frankly.

But uh yeah! Have this lil chapter as a crappy Christmas gift from me to you. I hope you guys have a wonderful holidays, and until the next one! (Which will hopefully come out on January, if not then it should come out by Feb!) Bye!

ᵖᵘᵇˡᶦˢʰᵉᵈ ᵒⁿ ᵈᵉᶜᵉᵐᵇᵉʳ ¹⁷, ²⁰²¹