Chapter 1

'Cause I'd never say no to you'

It was the week before the start of Junior year. I was sitting on Annabeth's sofa waiting for her to finish getting ready. We were going to Thalia's for a 'Fun day'. There was an awkward silence as I sat there, Athena was sat in an armchair reading some book and Malcolm was sat next to me on the sofa with a math book, his eyes were scrunched up in concentration, He looks like he's constipated, I thought. I snorted at myself.
Athena glared at me from over the top of her book. I muttered a sorry and went back to sitting quietly. I got bored and started tapping my fingers on the armrest of the sofa. Again Athena gave me a look from the top of her book. I stopped and as she went back to reading her book a discretely flipped her the middle finger. Malcolm caught me, shook his head and went back to the look of constipation. I sat still, not moving, and just when I thought I was going to explode with boredom Annabeth came in.

"Ready to go Perce?" She asked

"Yes" I practically shouted at her. She gave me a questioning look but I just shook my head. She said bye to her mom and we started to walk out of her apartment.

"You know, your brother looks constipated when he reads" I told her matter of factly. She laughed at me. I love hearing her laugh… Wow that was, something.

"Come on, Seaweed brain" She sighed, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.

And that's how we walked to Thalia's house, hand in hand. Annabeth and I have a… complicated relationship. Most people think we're a couple- but we're not. We hold hands, we cuddle on the sofa watching movies, we've even kissed a few times… but we aren't a couple. We're weird and complicated but we're happy like this and I don't want it to change- ever.
We were walking in comfortable silence our hands swinging between us. Annabeth turned her head to towards me.

"Rachel's got a new song out." Annabeth told me quietly with a frown on her face.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare. The pop star. The new big thing. One of my best friends. I met her in middle school, she had no friends and I introduced her to mine. We all got really close to her because she went through the same things we did. Her dad's rich too. Rachel and I got close- like really close-so close that Annabeth was jealous. Rachel and Annabeth had a talk and then after that everything seemed fine… but then Rachel entered the school talent show. She won. Got signed by a Record Label… Apollo Records. I know, there seems to be a lot of greek inspired companies in New York but… who cares. Anyway, Rachel left and here we are.

"Really, Is it any good?" I asked looking at her.

"Yeah… It's good. You should listen to it. I think you'd like it"

"Yeah? And why exactly would I like it?" I ask giving her a funny look. She just shrugs her shoulders and looks straight ahead "Come on Annie, there has to be a reason you're telling me."

"There's no reason. I just thought you'd like it…" She stopped walking and looked at me seriously "Don't call me Annie, Fish face."

"Sorry, your highness" I say giving a sarcastic bow. She punches my shoulder and grabs my hand again giving me a sad smile. "But really… why do I need to listen to it?"

"Just listen to it Percy" she sighs indicating the conversations over.

We walked in silence for the rest of the journey.
—

About half an hour later we were sitting in Thalia's basement. Everyone was there, even Jason was there with his friend Leo Valdez and girlfriend Piper Mclean.

Piper is the daughter of the famous actor Tristan Mclean. She has long brown hair that looked like she had cut it herself and kaleidoscope eyes… she's actually pretty hot but Annabeth's hotter… to me anyway. I don't think Jason would agree. Leo… I don't know how to describe him… Annoying, hispanic and extreme ADHD come to mind. Leo's got curly black hair, tanned skin and brown eyes. He's Jason's best friend, which is kind of surprising, they're so different… I mean… Jason's so… Jason, and Leo's so… Leo. That probably made no sense to you, but just trust me, they're different.

Anyway Jason and Thalia's basement was the hangout. It has everything, 2 sofas, an armchair, bean bags, 50 inch flat screen TV, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Wii… Don't judge… Their dad buys their love.

Anyway we were all sitting around and Thalia decided to break out Rock Band. This is our group game. We Rock at Rock Band. We even have the band members set out… Thalia on electric guitar, Hazel on drums, Frank on Bass and Rachel as singer.

"Well… who's gonna sing now?" Thalia asked all of us.

Everyone looked down, not making eye contact.

"Percy can sing" Annabeth piped up. I glared at her and turned to Thalia.

"I can't, she's lying. She just thinks I can because compared to her I sound like an angel" I said
simply. Annabeth glared at me again

"I'm not lying. He can sing" She said sternly

"No I can't" I said shoving her

"Yes you can" she said shoving me back

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes you can Percy" Bianca piped up now.

"And how would you know?" I snapped.

"I don't… I just wanted you two to stop arguing like an old married couple" she
remarked. Everyone snickered.

"It's settled then… Percy's singing" Thalia said holding the mic out to me

"What? I never… This is… Fine" I relented grabbing the mic and taking my place.

Thalia, Frank and Hazel grabbed there instruments. Thalia chose the song…
Dead on Arrival by Fall Out Boy. She knows I can't be mad when Fall Out Boy's playing….

I hope this is the last time
Cause I'd never say no to you
This conversation's been dead on arrival
There's no way to talk to you
This conversation's been dead on
A rivalry goes so deep
Between me and this loss of sleep over you
This is side one
Flip me over
I know I'm not your favourite record
The songs you grow to like
Never stick at first
So I'm writing you a chorus
And here is your verse
No it's not the last time
Cause I never say no to you
This conversation's still dead on arrival
There's no way to talk to you
When you're dead on
A rivalry goes so deep
Between me and this loss of sleep over you
This is side one (This is my side one)
Flip me over
I know I'm not your favourite record
The songs you grow to like (songs you grow to like)
Never stick at first
So I'm writing you a chorus
And here is your
This is side one
Flip me over
I know I'm not your favourite record
So
This is side one
Flip me over
This is side one
Flip me over
I know I'm not your favourite record
The songs you grow to like
Never stick at first
So I'm writing you a chorus
And here is your verse
Here is your verse

Wow, I thought, that was… good. It turns out… I'm a dam good singer. Everyone was silent… that was actually good. Like really good. I turned to look at Annabeth, She just looked at me with wide eyes. Thalia, Frank and Hazel just looked at each other…Jason broke the silence

"Guys… have you ever thought about starting a band?"
—
Later that night I was laying on my bed, No shirt and a pair of flannel pants. I was just staring at the ceiling… This was crazy. As soon as Jason asked the question we all said no but as I lay there and thought about it… the idea got better and better.
I heard my window open and looked up to see Annabeth climbing through. She used the fire exit to get down here. She walked over to my bed and lay down next to me. I rolled over so we were face to face.

"Hi" she whispered

"Hi" I whispered back

"How are you?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine…" I whispered uncertainly

"You sure? You don't sound like it…?" She said poking my chest. I grab her hand and lace our
fingers together.

"I just… Maybe… Maybe the band wasn't such a bad idea. I mean… It could be fun."I whisper

"Yeah. It could be…" She offers "Percy, my mom always tells me to do what I think's right and to never have any regrets… So, the question is, If you don't try this will you regret it?"

"I don't know."I sigh, grabbing a blanket and pulling it over us. Annabeth snuggles further into me.

"Get some sleep Perce, You'll feel better in the morning." she yawns. She looks like a puppy when she yawns… I could watch her yawn all day, I could watch her do anything all day.

"You know, I love you, right?" I say leaning my head down so are foreheads are pressed together.

"Yeah" She says, a small smile on her face "I know, and I love you too"

"Good" I yawn. I pull her closer to me. "Goodnight Wise Girl"

"Goodnight Seaweed Brain"

Notes

Disclaimer: I don’t own Percy Jackson, the title to this fan fiction and the songs mentioned… Anything you recognise… I most likely don’t own. The song in this chapter belongs to Fall Out Boy. Thank you for the reviews :) They mean a lot to us.