Percabeth Drabble

From Percy's Perspective

One.

Percy was pressing his hands so hard against his face that he could feel his eyes flittering from side to side against his eyelids. He was leaning into the corner so extensively that he could accentuate the different scents in the fresh paint. But he wasn’t cowering in the corner, no. He was waiting. He could feel the soft cotton of his sweatpants resting against his legs, and that helped him concentrate.

Two.

Mentally, he was trying to remember where everything was in the apartment. Keeping them firmly shut, Percy started to project images of the layout of the apartment onto his eyelids, trying desperately to remember what he had seen in the blueprint the landlord had given him.

Three.

Next, Percy tried to rule out where she was. He knew she was smart, possibly the smartest girl he had ever met. By now, she wouldn’t be in the living room, no, not enough cover. Maybe the bedroom, but that would be too obvious. Then, an idea occurred to him. The TV room.

Four.

The TV room had enough spaces to squeeze into that Percy probably wouldn’t have found her if he looked for a half an hour. Of course, she would have already found the best spot in the apartment, and, as Percy reminded himself, he didn’t know the layout of this place all too well.

Five.

Percy released his hands from his face and opened his eyes, finding himself in a corner of his kitchen, in his apartment. The first thing he saw was the landlord’s deed that had been given to him when Annabeth and he had purchased the apartment two weeks ago, in cash. Apparently, golden drachmas don’t go through an economic recession. Next to that was a picture of Annabeth and him in sweatpants and t-shirts on moving day.

Percy’s chest warmed at the sight of the picture. Annabeth looked so happy, so relaxed, so different from all the hard times they had gone through. Then, he remembered his task, and shouted into the corner of the kitchen,

“Ready or not, here I come!”

He scanned the room quickly and smiled. Hide and Seek, a children’s game, and here he was, playing it with his girlfriend at age nineteen. He checked the rooms as he had remembered them in the blueprint. Living room, no Annabeth. Bedroom, no Annabeth.

“Funny,” He murmured to himself, “We spend eight months away from each other, and now she’s hiding from me.”

But then again, that was the nature of the game.

He checked both bathrooms in desperation, and finally moved onto the TV room. He checked everywhere, but he caught no glimpse of storm-grey eyes and no flash of blonde hair.

“Huh,” He remarked softly to himself, “I could’ve sworn…oh, ha, you’re smart!”

A new idea had occurred to him. She was in the attic. He began to purposely quiet his steps, his socks sliding silently against the polished wood floor. He could feel his breaths come quicker; his head go dizzy with anticipation.

He climbed the stairs to the attic in full ninja-mode, barely breathing and completely silent. He reached out for the door-handle and felt the cold brass on his clammy skin. She had to be in here. He twisted the door handle and exclaimed,

“Ha! I found—”

But once again, Annabeth had outsmarted him; he found his lips pressed against hers in the most spontaneous kiss they had ever shared. She hadn’t even bothered hiding. She had been waiting for him to open the door just so she could she could spring her romantic trap upon him.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed her embrace and lips for a moment longer, and then pulled away, complaining with a hidden smile,

“Annabeth! It’s called Hide and Seek for a reason. You didn’t do the ‘hiding’ part very well.”

She smiled at him, her cloud-grey eyes playful, “Well, it’s not like you didn’t enjoy where I was hiding.”

“Well, no,” Percy considered philosophically as he pulled her into another kiss,“I guess not.”

Annabeth had trouble kissing him back because she was smiling so hard. But she managed.

“In fact,” He continued, “I could do this all day.”

“What,” Annabeth asked, “The kissing, or the hide and seek?”

“What do you think?” Percy asked sarcastically, placing a light kiss on her nose. He loved kissing her, loved touching her. It reminded him she wasn’t a dream or something he was imagining. Just as feeling the cold door handle reminded him that this apartment was real. He also loved kissing her because Annabeth had this adorable habit of kissing him back whenever he did it.

“The hide and seek, then,” Annabeth answered, and Percy grinned at her. Percy slipped his hand into hers and they both walked slowly back down the stairs to the kitchen. Percy led Annabeth into the corner where he had been hiding and picked up the picture, showing it to his smiling girlfriend, standing behind him.

“I love that one! It was so nice outside that day,” Annabeth sighed, and as she rested her head on his shoulder, he could feel her breath on his ear, sending a chill down his spine.

“You know,” Percy noticed, looking through the huge windows of the living room across the hall, “It’s not that different outside today. You want to go relax in Central Park?”

“You know me too well,” Annabeth responded. They raced for the door, Percy grabbing his keys, new keys, as he closed the door behind him.

Notes

Hey guys, so this is my first chapter on this story, and I am very grateful to Nova for accepting me as an author. I will mostly be on here to edit, but I will occasionally post my own stuff. I will be editing all other chapters over this weekend, so get ready for these one-shots to be the best that they can be.

Enjoy,
Grafon (Daniel)