Wish You Were Sober (PJO Oneshot)
loosely based off the prompt “I love you.” “Tell me that when you’re sober.”
Post botl which i haven't reread in ages so im sorry for any weird inconsistencies with canon please tell me because i remember vague stuff about chiron and centaurs but not a lot
***
Percy hadn’t intended to be dragged to a party in the Hermes cabin. When he found out Chiron would be gone for a day, his main hope was that Beckendorf would let him sit with him and Silena without them making out right in front of him while he tried to eat teriyaki chicken.
They did not, in fact, do this, and allowed him to joke his way into their conversation at the Hephaestus table. Silena smiled at him as Beckendorf asked him to sit down, then looked back toward the other tables. Her eyebrows drew together, and she nudged Beckendorf.
He ignored her, smiling at Percy. “Hey. Nice that Chiron decided to leave us all alone a few weeks after a crazy battle, right?”
“And after mysteriously hanging out with all those centaurs, too,” Silena added.
Percy shrugged. Normally, he would be more than happy to make fun of anyone in authority, because they were usually shit. But Chiron at least tried with the demigods, and he could understand him needing to spend some time with his own kind. Grover was doing the same. “We could all use a break anyway.”
“True.” Silena glanced toward the other tables again and smiled tenderly at Percy. He shifted in his seat. The look reminded him of the way his mom looked every time he said he’d been kicked out of a new school.
Beckendorf finally looked where Silena had, and his lips pressed together. “Annabeth’s pissed at you.”
Percy pushed the rice around with his spoon. “What’s new?”
“You should talk to her,” Silena said, her voice quiet. It was almost like a song, calming, easing the constant shaking in his leg. He wasn’t sure if Silena was able to charmspeak, but if he couldn’t feel the heat from Annabeth’s glare, he might have gone up and apologized to her right then and there, even though he was pretty sure he didn’t do anything wrong.
“I’m good,” he said instead. “Everytime we talk it’s like, we start off fine. She’s nice to me. And then I say something she doesn’t like and she blows up at me and won’t look me in the eyes.”
“You have a point,” Beckendorf said, but Silena just daintily placed tofu in her mouth, her eyes distant.
Percy and Beckendorf continued eating, discussing Capture the Flag and new weapons and how likely Beckendorf was to make varsity track next year if he went to school. Annabeth had stopped looking at them. Percy didn’t check, but he could tell.
“Percy,” Silena cut in, and the boys went silent. “I could talk to Annabeth, if you wanted.”
His gaze went down again. “Er--you really don’t have to do that.”
Silena smiled. “Annabeth may be my friend, but you’re mine, too. And don’t tell her this, but I think you’re right. Annabeth has her reasons for everything she does, but that doesn’t make everything she does right.”
Percy cracked his knuckles, not looking Silena in the eyes. “Thanks. I mean, like it’s really cool of you to do that. If you want.”
“It’s my job. As a daughter of Aphrodite, and your friend.” She grabbed Percy’s hand mid-fidget and held it. Percy glanced at Beckendorf, but he just ate his chicken. “Hey, how about you come to a party with us tonight? The Stolls are throwing it. It could be fun.”
Percy smiled and agreed, wondering why exactly a daughter of Aphrodite found it so important to meddle into his and Annabeth’s friendship.
***
He rushed to take a shower before the party because he still stunk of the canoe lake. Then he tossed on a camp t-shirt and shorts and ran after Beckendorf as he passed his cabin.
“You ready?” Beckendorf asked.
“Sure.”
“I heard the Stolls got some alcohol. Should be an interesting time.”
“I don’t even wanna know what they’re like drunk.”
“Aw, c’mon. Everyone will be happy you’re there. You’re becoming close to a celebrity at camp.”
Percy grinned. “I guess that’s what happens when you have a whole prophecy made about you. Or at least, no more getting my head stuck down a toilet.”
Beckendorf laughed, and they reached the Hermes cabin’s entrance. Silena was waiting for them and kissed Beckendorf on the cheek, then took Percy’s hand and dragged him through the door.
Immediately, Percy realized that having the Stolls of all people plan a party in an already overcrowded cabin wasn’t the best idea. People were practically pushed against each other, because it looked like every demigod thirteen and older had come.
And then there was the stench of liquor. Completely overwhelming and familiar and made Percy want to gag. It was like seeing a bunch of Smelly Gabes but younger and a bit friendlier cramped into one small, dim room, and he was about to run out the door when someone caught his arm.
He spun, expecting it to be Silena, but instead he was face to face with Annabeth’s fierce eyes. Percy jumped back a bit, but her grip on his arm didn’t break.
She looked different. A small smile was on her face. Her eyes still looked as intimidating as the day he first met her, still made his stomach flip, but there was less focus than he was used to with Annabeth. Her body was looser, like a rubber band that snapped from being taut for so long.
“Percy!” she said, practically yelling in his ear above whatever crap music the Stolls had blared, and that was when Percy realized that she was very, very, very drunk.
He immediately turned, looking for anyone around to help, but everyone else was focused on themselves and whoever they were intimately tucked into a corner.
“Hi,” Percy said, hesitantly. He really didn’t want to be around a drunk Annabeth, because being around a drunk anyone honestly sucked like, 99% of the time, but he was also a bit curious. The way she was practically leaning on him, and the small glint of humor in her eyes reminded him of the mortal girls from his school, who didn’t have to worry about fighting a titan lord next year.
It turned out, Annabeth was a very talkative drunk.
It was like when she talked about architecture, but using 100 more words per sentence and making sense with only every other. And she just didn’t stop. Usually she could go on for about five minutes before realizing Percy was spacing out and let him squeeze a few words in, but that didn’t seem to be a part of her plan.
And it was honestly really funny. Percy wished demigods could use phones, because holy shit, Annabeth actually talking about pop culture? That was a once in a lifetime experience, even if it was her debating with herself on whether social media was a positive or negative influence on today’s youth.
Not to mention, she was smiling a lot more at him and touching him more than she had in three years of friendship. The weird bubbly warm feeling he got when they hugged before the Labyrinth quest was back, because her hands roamed up and down his back as she swung her arms around him and changed her position, but refused to stay still. At one point she stepped on his foot in an effort to demonstrate the impact of her words, and with a complete lack of spatial awareness, and she profusely apologized for a whole five minutes.
“It’s okay,” Percy reassured her once again, barely able to keep himself from laughing. Annabeth didn’t have the same self control.
“I’m sorry, I’m so…rry, s-orry,” she said between giggles, and then her head fell onto Percy’s chest, and their bodies were so close he could practically feel the heat from hers on his arms. And it was so strong it felt like a forest fire.
He was pretty sure he stopped breathing for a long time, because the next thing he remembered was Annabeth looking up at him, her face clouding over, and Percy braced himself for the yelling. But instead she just dug her head back into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I like you a lot, Percy.”
“Huh?”
Her voice was muffled, and he could feel her lips grazing against the thin separation of his t-shirt and his chest, and he was definitely not breathing now. “I said I like you a lot, Percy Jackson.”
He smiled for a second, and her lips rested for a few seconds too long against his chest, until she flipped her head so her cheek was against it again. His brain seemed to be screaming “look here!” about Annabeth’s hands around her waist, but also her cheek on his chest, the ends of her ponytail tickling his elbow, and just every bit of her that was so familiar but also completely new to him.
Then he lifted his eyes and caught Clarisse’s smirk, and blushed and pushed himself a bit from Annabeth. “You’re really drunk.”
“Mmhm.”
“And tomorrow you’ll go back to hating me.”
“No. No.” Annabeth shook her head, finally pushing herself from his arms. “No, Silena talked to me. She said-she-she-” her words were slurring, and Percy’s head started to spin. “She told-t-told me, she-” Annabeth blinked, shook her head, took a deep breath.
When she opened her mouth again and met her eyes, it was like the words collapsed seconds before being spoken. He could see her start to tear up.
“Do you need to go outside?” Percy asked, almost reaching to grab her shoulders, but stopped. His arms hung limply by his side. “What do you need?”
Annabeth blinked again, mumbled, “Bye,” and clumsily shoved her way through the crowd.
Percy had been wrong. Being around anyone drunk sucked 100% of the time.