Chapter 29 - The Careers Convention
published: Wednesday, 6 May 2020

"So," Percy trailed off uncertainly, looking just about everywhere except at Annabeth.

"So," she repeated similarly, fiddling nervously with her hands.

It was their first official date; coffee at Walter's. Pretty fitting.

Annabeth had underestimated how weird it would be. Sure, they were making the jump from friends to a couple, but she hadn't expected it to be this hard.

Some of the most random conversations of her entire life had been held with Percy. Now that they were dating, it seemed like they were both a whole lot more jittery about the whole thing.

Annabeth was deathly worried she'd mess it up like the rest of her relationships, and Percy looked as pale and jumpy as a ghost.

"Why is this so weird?" she groaned.

Percy released a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God, I thought it was just me."

"It shouldn't be like this, right?" Annabeth waved her arms around helplessly. "I mean, it should be easy — smooth. We've been friends for a year now; we hang out all the time alone; how is this any different?"

Percy scratched the back of his head. "Well, I'm now incredibly aware that you're my girlfriend. Girlfriend, and I have had my fair share of bad relationships, so don't blame me if I'm a little nervous."

"As my boyfriend," Annabeth pointed out. "Maybe you should listen to me and stop drinking coffee?"

"Coffee is, like, 50% of who I am at this point."

"Caffeine dependency," Annabeth noted sarcastically. "Healthy."

Percy chuckled. "Alright, you can save the glares. I feel like I'll be seeing a lot more of them from now on. How's things at home?" He frowned. "Your dad's back, isn't he?"

Annabeth pulled a face. "I can't even remember when that used to be a good thing."

It was Saturday evening, the day after the entire Mortelli fiasco. Annabeth's sleepover at Piper's had involved an interrogation tougher than than the detectives', and hours upon hours of beauty sleep.

Her dad was back in town for the weekend, so family dinner and movie night was in order.

Annabeth had arrived home, all pumped up with her renewed appreciation for life and her mind giddy with the idea that Percy was her boyfriend, only to walk into a warzone at home.

The first warning had been Bobby and Matthew playing video games in the living room, the atmosphere more subdued than usual.

Then Annabeth entered the dining room to start setting table, accidentally interrupting a fight between her parents.

"You're never around, Frederick!" Helen shouted. "You leave on business trips just to be away from me!"

"So what if I care about my career?" Frederick snapped. "It's important to me."

"What about your kids?" Helen demanded. "They should be just as important to you as your work! I'll retract everything if you can tell me what's going on in just one of their lives' right now!"

The two of them had promptly stopped short once Annabeth arrived on scene, but she'd already overheard enough. After stammering out a few "sorry"s, she retreated out to the living room.

"That bad?" Percy asked warily.

Annabeth sighed, prodding at her ravioli. "Yep. I wish they wouldn't fight in front of my brothers. It's not good for them to be around this much arguing before they're even teenagers."

"I'm sorry," Percy tried. "I don't really know what to say..."

"It's okay," she said sincerely. "There isn't really anything anyone can do about it. But I just hope they make up before he leaves again on his business trip. Every time he leaves without resolving the issue, it gets worse. I wish they'd just face it already."

"Oh, this is such a depressing topic," Annabeth complained. "Let's talk about something happier. Nothing sad tonight." She smiled. "It's our first date."

"There was a time when I never thought this would happen," Percy recalled. "I'm still in disbelief, by the way. Still can't imagine why you'd want to date me."

"Don't say that," Annabeth insisted. "I don't pine over just anyone for months."

Percy stared at her. "Months? How long have you liked me for?"

Annabeth winced. "Um, I don't know, really. Probably longer, but I only realised it after my date with Luke."

Percy gaped at her.

"I rushed out on him," Annabeth reminded him. "That's when I realised that I'd choose you over just about anyone else."

"I should really thank him," Percy muttered under his breath, though he couldn't help the smugness seeping through.

"Don't be mean," Annabeth laughed. "He really isn't that bad. I think he's dating Thalia, actually. Well, they had a fling over summer."

Percy shuddered. "They'd be a terrifying duo." Thalia scared him. A lot. She had spiky black hair and blue eyes that looked into his very soul.

"What about you?" Annabeth asked curiously.

Percy winced. "Um, well, longer than you."

"Seriously?" she asked in surprise.

"Since Rachel broke up with me," Percy explained.

"Rachel?" Annabeth almost shrieked. "I was still with Brady — that was ages ago!" She shot him a death stare. "Why the hell didn't you say something? We could've gotten together so much sooner!"

"I didn't think you liked me back!" Percy protested.

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Did Rachel break up with you because of me?"

Percy gave her a sheepish look.

She groaned in reply. "Oh, I feel so bad now."

"Don't be," Percy assured her. "Rachel was the first one to tell me I liked you. That was when I realised that she was right."

Annabeth eyed him suspiciously. "So when Rachel told me, all those months ago, that you hadn't told me the real reason why you broke up..."

"Pretty much," Percy finished off for her, shooting her a guilty smile.

"I can't believe I never knew," Annabeth sighed, still in disbelief. "Piper was right; we are stupid."

+++++

"Boo."

Percy jumped slightly when Annabeth popped up behind him, smiling brighter than the sun. He grinned back at her, giving her hand a squeeze.

They were in school for a career and college convention, which meant acting like they were just friends.

All their experience with rumours and gossip had led to a mutual agreement to keep their romance under wraps for a little bit, just until they were stable enough that nothing could easily shake them.

It also meant not telling their friends, as it was pretty difficult to keep a secret amongst seven people.

Even thought they'd only been dating for a week, Percy was finding it more and more difficult to pretend like they weren't. He wondered why in the world they hadn't done this earlier; realised their feelings.

Dating Annabeth was pretty much the best feeling in the world. Despite his constant worries about messing up, Percy got more comfortable around her each day.

Their first date may have started off rather disastrously, but ended on a great note. Percy even kissed her at the end of the night, albeit it wasn't as romantic since they hadn't just escaped death, but he still had to admit that it was pretty good.

It killed him that he couldn't tell everyone about it. He was happier than he ever expected, much less fathomed a couple of months again.

"Any ideas?" Percy asked, gesturing to the many tables of career options and colleges.

Senior year meant "taking charge of their future", according to Mr Brunner, their principal. The Careers Convention was an annual event within the school, and aimed to get students thinking about their aspirations.

Annabeth sighed as she scanned a pamphlet about being a chef. "None whatsoever."

"What? Annabeth Chase doesn't have a plan?" Percy shook his head. "My life is a lie."

She rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the side.

"I'm kidding," Percy protested. "But seriously, I thought you'd have it all planned out. Weren't you set on becoming an architect?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I was. But I've come to realise that I'm not so much of an arts and history person. Plus," she paused. "It doesn't make that much of a difference in the world. I mean, I want to do something where I know that I helped make someone's life better."

Percy flashed her the leaflet for 'Medicine'. "What about a doctor?"

Her thoughtful expression caught him off guard. "Maybe. Pays well, very respectable."

"You're not that science-y though, are you?" Percy guessed.

"This is impossible," Annabeth grumbled as she yanked the leaflet away and set it down. "How do people ever decide?"

"I honestly have no idea," Percy admitted. "I think I'm pretty set on majoring in Biology, but I don't exactly want to do that or the rest of my life. It's pretty boring in terms of the jobs it leads to."

Annabeth flashed the pamphlet on doctors at him.

"Oh God, no," Percy snorted. "I'd be terrified of accidentally killing someone all the time."

"Yeah, I don't know if I'd trust you with a scalpel," Annabeth informed him. "Keep sharp objects away from young children, right?"

Percy picked up a small brochure labelled 'Engineering'. "Hey, you like maths."

Annabeth mused, "I have always liked the idea of attending M.I.T." She jerked her head in the direction of Leo, who had permanently stationed himself at the Engineering booth. "I think Leo's got his heart sent on mechanical engineering."

"Must be nice to be so sure about your life," Percy said enviously. He glanced around at the other students milling about.

Fortunately, he and Annabeth weren't alone in their predicament. Majority of their classmates weren't sure what to do either.

However, there were the few who knew exactly where they'd be in ten years' time.

Piper had already decided that she wanted to do something in business, or more specifically, fashion marketing. She had a good eye for trends and insights.

Hazel had a passion for history, so she mainly hovered by the booth on archaeology and palaeontology.

Frank was the only one of his friends who wasn't aiming to attend university. His dream had always been, since Percy had met him, to be a firefighter. Percy had never expected him to actually follow through on it, but here they were.

Jason was browsing the fair, more inclined towards the degrees in design and, ironically, architecture. Apparently all those years of Annabeth spouting random facts about architecture really got to him.

"Any colleges you have your mind set on?" Annabeth asked. "Other than NYU."

"NYU's the dream," Percy reminded. "But probably somewhere local." He shuffled his feet back and forth. "I don't want to leave my mum alone."

Annabeth gave him a sympathetic look. "I'd hug you if we weren't around so many people right now." Percy laughed as she leaned into his side as discreetly as possible anyway.

"What about you?" Percy waved a Princeton leaflet in her face. "Ivy League?"

"That's the dream," Annabeth echoed his previous words. "I've wanted to go to Yale since I was a little girl. It's where my dad met my mum."

Percy raised an eyebrow. Annabeth never spoke about her real mother. He understood that, seeing as his own father passed away a long time ago during an accident involving two ships at sea.

But Annabeth's story was different. Her mother had left her with her father and hightailed it out of there as soon as she could. Annabeth had never met her mother, to Percy's knowledge. She hadn't wanted Annabeth.

Percy wished Annabeth's mother could see that she'd missed out on raising the most incredible person he'd ever met.

"You'll get there," Percy assured her confidently. "And you're gonna have Harvard and Standford all clamouring to get you too."

Annabeth shot him a humorous smile. "Thanks."