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Pretend.
It seemed like a word that had been etched to her very existence at this point. Ever since she was young, she was always pretending. She pretended to be happy when her father remarried and had twins with his new wife. She pretended to be okay when her family practically ignored her when she was growing up. And then she pretended to be all sorts of people that she wasn't because she had the talent for it.
She was an actor ever since a young age when she got her first role to play the child of one of the leads on a popular tv show. Things spiraled from there, pretending to be all sorts of fictional characters for the cameras that she sometimes had a hard time telling what was real and what wasn't. Sometimes she would get too in character that her friends would make fun of her for her funny behavior (it happened more often than you think).
Other times, well…she couldn't tell apart what was genuinely real and what was fiction. That's how her last scandal had been. Honestly calling it a scandal was a bit dramatic. She got together with the lead from her previous project, and they stayed together for about six months until she read the headlines saying that he was caught with another woman. One way or another, his fans attacked her even though she didn't do anything wrong.
She had been in the acting scene for long enough that petty little comments from the internet didn't bother and she was glad that the asshole was caught anyway, but it still hurt regardless. She still couldn't believe that she fell for his charm when they were acting on set and it was all fiction, just like her life, shifting from role to role and moving from place to place to play different characters. She didn't need to keep pretending to be with him anymore, which she was sure was also how he saw it. Perhaps it was all orchestrated by his agency or manager from the start to generate buzz and controversy around him.
She didn't know, nor did she care. She would move on and forget it ever happened, a small part of her life that she would keep under lock and key as time moved on.
What she had in store right now was a new project. A project where the director himself asked her to play the lead so things were already looking brighter. A project that would take her away from her past role and experiences and was sure to excel in-
"Would you quit looking out the window like you're in some depressing Adele music video," Piper's voice from the driver's seat broke Annabeth from her stupor. “You’re making me depressed.”
"I'm just practicing my acting for the role," Annabeth huffed indignantly. "It's quite a depressing story."
"Uh-huh," Piper said, clearly not believing her. "Have you even read the script yet?"
"I have," Annabeth lied. "Memorized all my lines already."
"It's a good thing you're an actress and not a lawyer."
"How so?"
"Because then you'll actually have to be a convincing liar."
Annabeth rolled her eyes, her attention returning to the city streets as Piper continued driving them to the studio.
This new role was supposed to be a new start for her after the scandal. Honestly, she didn't want to think about it anymore, which is why she accepted the role across the country in New York as opposed to staying in the West Coast where her family was. Her family was, for lack of better words, absent at best, so she had no qualms leaving them behind.
That and the pay was good, but that was just a bonus.
They arrived at the studio about half an hour later with Piper ushering Annabeth in like she was her bodyguard, which she was not. Piper was just Annabeth's best friend and agent. Daughter of a famous actor Tristan Mclean and a supermodel by the pseudonym of Aphrodite. The young woman was well known in the acting squares, but never took acting herself, opting to become Annabeth's agent instead.
As the two of them rode up in the elevator, Piper asked Annabeth if she had even looked at anything from the movie to which Annabeth said, "I’ve read the book so that must count for something but otherwise I want it to be a surprise."
"Have you even looked at who they casted as the other lead?"
Annabeth shook her head. "Like I said, Piper, I want it to be a surprise."
"Hmm," Piper mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "That's one fancy way of saying you didn't look at the script. Like I said, you're a shitty liar."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm not a lawyer then."
"But honestly," Piper sighed deeply. "Aren't you at least a little nervous about this new gig?"
If Annabeth was being honest, she was slightly nervous. The director himself had asked her to play the lead so she was held to that high standard, and after everything that went on over the past year, she was only harsher on herself.
Just another game of pretend , she told herself. You'll get through it like you always have. Just like the last time…
The elevator opened to reveal the floor of the movie set. All around she saw the commotion that she was familiar with having grown up in the industry. They weren't filming today, as far as she knew. Today was just a day of meeting the team that she would be working with for the next couple of months from the cast, the producers, the directors, and everyone else in between.
Piper left her almost immediately saying she saw a cute girl she wanted to learn more about leaving Annabeth by herself as she stepped forward onto the set.
"Ah there you are!" A cheerful voice spoke once she walked deeper into the set. Annabeth recognized the man in front of her as Lester Papadopoulos otherwise known as Apollo in the film circuit. "I was wondering when my beautiful lead would arrive,” he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.
"Please, you flatter me," Annabeth said politely. "It's an honor to be working with you."
"Don't be so modest. I saw the vision of this film and I just knew you would be perfect for it along with the other lead. Have you met him yet?"
"Can't say that I have," she responded curtly but chuckled thinking of the character that the male lead would play. "I wonder if he’ll be an asshole in real life too like his character."
"And you're just a ray of sunshine yourself, Princess," a deep sarcastic voice said from behind her.
Annabeth quickly turned around to find out who was the one that called her by that moniker only to be greeted by the most startling pair of sea green eyes that she had ever seen. Annabeth recognized him immediately, she had seen a couple of his movies before, and she could claim that he looked way better in person than on the screen.
Her first thought was 'he's so tall and handsome as hell.' She would have left it at that if she was uncreative, but she was not an uncreative person. She had seen her fair share of attractive people in the industry, but Percy Jackson was something else. He looked like he had been meticulously crafted by the gods themselves with perfectly proportional and beautiful features from his tan skin, strong jawline, sculpted nose, strong brow, sea green eyes that reflected the ocean and messy wavy dark hair that would look bad on anyone else but it suited him perfectly.
He reflected the epitome of an actor, tall (he had at least a head of height on her), athletic and handsome.
"Princess?" She asked, feigning insult. "Why does that feel like an insult coming from you?"
"Well, you did call me an asshole ten seconds ago, so I think I should be the one complaining, not you, Princess," he winked.
Annabeth felt her heart beat just slightly faster each time he called her by that name. "I was wondering if you’d be like your character, not that you were. I didn't peg you as the sensitive type, Jackson."
He arched an eyebrow amusedly. "Being sensitive is in our job description, Chase," he fired back a lopsided grin making an appearance on his face. "Along with being overdramatic."
"If anyone is being dramatic, I say that it's you," she said.
"Good, just getting into character then."
“Your character is overdramatic?”
He tapped his head. “Definitely, I already memorized all my lines.”
"You're a bad liar."
“How do you know that I’m lying?”
“Because I used that same lie on my agent before coming here,” she responded, thinking of her interaction with Piper earlier.
"I never claimed that I was a good one, Chase," he said lightheartedly. “Just that I could be dramatic and very emotional.”
"Oh?" She cooed with false concern. “Did I hurt Percy Jackson’s feelings?”
"Yes," he pouted, those green eyes giving her an expression like a hurt baby seal. "You hurt me deeply."
"I'll let the two of you get acquainted," Apollo broke through their banter before waving them off and walking away to the main commotion of the set.
"So…" Annabeth began turning back to face the other lead. "Why did you call me princess?"
"Why did you call me an asshole?"
"Oh my god !" She nearly yelled. It looked like he wasn't going to let that go. "It was a joke, and I didn't know you were the lead!"
"Well, I sure hope so. It would be a bad first impression if you saw me like that. Think of how awkward our chemistry would have been on screen."
"Stop trying to change the subject!" She said, "Why did you call me Princess?"
"Don't you like it, Princess?" He smirked at the use of the name. He just seemed to be having way too much with that "I think it's very cute and quite fitting."
It's not that Annabeth hated the nickname. She had roles in the past where she had been called all sorts of pet names such as: Honeybun—Sweet Cheeks—Cupcake—Smart Ass and in one particular role —That Girl, so Princess wasn’t the worst she had gotten. What made it different was that they weren’t acting and well…it just felt…strange coming from someone she had literally met only five minutes ago.
"Fine," he sighed after taking in lack of response. "It's the blond princess curls," he pointed to her hair while giving her a genuine smile, before shifting into a smirk. "That and you played as that princess when you were younger."
"You know of that?" She asked skeptically, thinking of her younger years when she was trying to breakthrough as more than a child actress. Playing that princess character wasn’t exactly her proudest role but she was still branching out and she had bills to pay so…
"Everyone knows of Annabeth Chase," he said cheerily. "I just know this movie is going to be a hit once they plaster your face all over the promotional posters."
"Oh I know,” she said, flipping her hair back dramatically. “That’s why I agreed in the first place.”
“Your generosity truly knows no bounds,” he responded back sarcastically. “And I’m sure that the fact that we’ll be walking away with big fat checks didn’t contribute to your decision to help our humble little project?”
“You misjudge me, Jackson,” she chided, placing her hands on her hips playfully to scold him. “Unlike you, I’m not in it for the money.”
He dramatically put his hand over his chest. “We’ve only met fifteen minutes ago and you’ve already called me an asshole and greedy. You are by the far the nicest person that I’ve met.”
“Thanks, I try.” She found herself having too much fun messing and bantering with him. She hadn't felt this way since…well.
“You could say that I’m here for… a reason or two,” he added a moment later.
“Will you tell me what those reasons are?” She asked, she always had a natural curiosity about everything going on around her.
“We’ve only met fifteen minutes ago. I think it’s far too early to be sharing secrets. I’ll make you work for it, Princess,” he winked once more at the use of the moniker and Annabeth found her heart beating just slightly faster than normal. She pushed the feeling aside, she couldn’t afford to get entangled with another lead so soon after her last relationship, but he was making it quite difficult. “If we're going to be working together for the next couple of months, why don't we get to know each other?"
"You're right," she acquiesced, knowing that it would help their chemistry on screen if they knew the other better. She looked over at the buffet tables at the end of the large room. "How about we try the buffet?"
"I was thinking more…" he trailed off and then pointing to the exit with his thumb. "Just one on one. Like — drive you out of the crowd and show you around the city?"
'We've just met," she said. "I can't get in another stranger's car. What if you're a serial killer?"
"I promise that I'm not," Percy answered back.
"That's what they all say."
"I swear to my mother that I'm not a serial killer," he crossed his heart then turned to look at Annabeth once more. Sea green eyes staring into stormy gray with a soft comforting expression. "And we're not exactly strangers. We're coworkers now and 'love interests' in the movie we'll be playing."
"Oh…" she breathed. Annabeth hadn't looked over the script, but from reading the book she knew they were to be together on screen. She suddenly recalled that they would have to share a kiss scene or two throughout the process."Uh…well I'll love to go with you but you see my agent, Piper, said we had plans for tonight so maybe some other day," she offered as an excuse. Annabeth wasn't completely sure while she was lying, perhaps it was too soon to get entangled with another lead, or perhaps it was the feeling in her stomach whenever she was near him.
That didn't quite matter in the end because Piper with her impeccable timing yelled from across the room while holding onto the cute girl that she mentioned earlier. "Annabeth! Shel here is going to show me around the city! Don't wait up for me!" Then they both stormed out of the building.
"I take it that's Piper," Percy reasoned, looking at the scene with an amused expression. "She seems fun." He turned back to face her. "Come on, your agent just bailed on you and I'm a native New Yorker. I can show you all the best spots."
Well there was no use lying anymore, she could either embrace his offer or come up with another lie. That and he was right, they weren't strangers rather co-workers now and Annabeth knew more about him than she let on. She had seen a couple of his movies and interviews (for purely educational reasons of course, not because she enjoyed his acting, or those sea green eyes, or his messy dark hair or those shirtless scenes in … ) in the past and he always gave off this laid back, down to earth charming persona, the same one that she was seeing now. She knew it could all so easily be pretend, but he seemed so genuine that she was really questioning it.
The best that could happen, she could spend some time with him learning about all the best places in New York City. The worst… her body ends up dumped into the Hudson River because he's actually a serial killer, but that was probably just her over-imaginative mind at play. She could be quite dramatic at times.
So, she looked back at Percy. "Okay, show me around the city, Mr. Native New Yorker. But if you’re a serial killer, I’m going to kill you."
He smiled, a genuine one instead of a teasing smirk. "I swore to my mother. There's no need to worry, Annabeth."
The following weeks went by like a whirlwind, a giant to-do list hanging over everyone’s head. She had gotten fitted for her costumes, met the rest of the crew and cast and actually looked at the script this time because Piper kept bugging the blond about it.
As she was sitting on her chair looking over the script for the next scene she was rudely interrupted by none other than Percy Jackson.
“You look like an egg head,” he commented good naturedly while leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed.
Annabeth looked up at her green eyed costar noticing that he had already been prepped to film for his scene. She was so used to seeing him with dark messy hair that seeing him in with neatly styled curly blond hair was… novel. She somewhat had the urge to run her hands through his ‘hair’ despite knowing that he was wearing a wig as well. How ironic that the character that she was playing had dark hair while his character had blond hair.
“And you look like a douchebag nepo baby,” she fired back her own retort as her stylists finished styling her wig.
“That’s the whole point Annabeth. Did you not read the script?”
“I memorized all my lines, including yours.”
“Cool so you’ll act my part then?”
“Only if you pay me double,” she said. “And what are you even doing here?”
“Apollo said we’ll be filming our first scene together, so I just wanted to make sure that you’re ready for the cameras,” he shrugged.
So far they had been filming only scenes where the other wasn’t involved. During that time she had met her other costar, Leo Valdez, who would act as her partner for several scenes in the movie while Percy worked closely with Frank Zhang who was playing the foil to Percy’s character.
Leo was, for a lack of better words, eccentric and confident. He was a rising actor that liked to crack jokes and exuded great confidence. Frank was another up and coming actor who was tall, very tall, but soft spoken and reserved, the opposite of his appearance. It seemed like these two were also foils towards the other.
As for her and Percy… well the situation was going well —yes that was the best description. They talked and bantered with each other constantly and she found herself liking his company. She recalled one specific scene where Percy was filming where he messed up his lines and Annabeth made a snide remark about his acting which only prompted him to give her a very respectful showing of a certain finger.
There were also those times where he showed her around the city, took her to his favorite dining spots and just talked like friends would. Talking to him didn’t feel like he was a co-worker but rather felt like talking to a friend that she had known for many years. They had quickly become fast friends.
“Oi! Chica!” Leo’s voice broke into Annabeth’s dressing room just as her stylists were finishing the last of the touches on her outfit. Soon enough Leo’s figure scooted past Percy with a mumbled “scuse me, pretty boy,” before sauntering over to her as if he owned the entire building. Percy rolled his eyes at the moniker but let Leo through as the three of them would be filming a scene soon. “Apollo is going to blow a gasket soon if we don’t hurry up.”
“You heard him, Princess,” Percy added with that signature smirk that always made her stomach do backflips, all the blood in her body going to her face.
“Fine, fine,” Annabeth breathed, regretting showing up half an hour later than scheduled because Piper overslept (in reality it was Annabeth that overslept but it was much easier to pin the blame on Piper).
“Great,” Percy said brightly. “I’ll see you guys on the other side,” before he walked off.
It took another five minutes before Annabeth was led onto the set where she was helped into an empty train car along with Leo. They just had to wait for the signal for the door to open and they would exit for filming, so they made small talk in the meantime.
“If you’re not careful, I’ll steal all the spotlight away,” Leo joked. “It will be my movie.”
“You sure do have the confidence of a much taller man.”
“Whatever I don’t have in height I make up for in charisma and charm, Sweetheart.”
Annabeth wrinkled her nose at the nickname. It just felt…wrong coming from him. “Don’t call me that,” she quipped almost immediately.
“Jeez okay,” Leo laughed and put his hands behind his head. “How about…Princessa?”
“That’s even worse!” Annabeth grimaced, the name rolling over her like ice on her skin. “Don’t call me Princess.”
“But you let Percy call you Princess,” he defended. “Why can’t I call you that?”
“It’s just…” She thought for a moment, thinking of a possible answer but she couldn’t think of one. “It’s just different…”
“Hmm” Leo hummed carefree. “So you let the pretty boy call you that, but not me. I see how it is,” he shook his head in disapproval.
“Leo!” Annabeth chided. “You know it’s not like that. I just don’t like pet names.”
Leo stared at her a moment before he gave her a sly mischievous look. She did not like the look he was giving her. “What’s with that look?”
“Nothing, nothing,” he mused. “I just feel like there’s something more going on between you and Percy.”
Before Annabeth could even retort, they were given the signal and soon enough thoughts of the previous conversation were forgotten as she got into character.
Apollo shouted. “Action!” and the door of the train car opened.
“Welcome to the Capital,” Percy greeted Annabeth curtly while handing her a white rose.
She glanced down cautiously at the rose as if it were to come to life and poison her. She was about to reach out for it, but stopped herself at the last moment, trying to see what the man in front of her wanted.
“When I was little my momma used to bathe me in buttermilk and rose petals,” she said, still staring at the white rose in his hand. She reached for it, plucking out a single petal before placing it in her mouth and chewing while grinning at his bemused expression. “Tastes like bedtime. You look like you shouldn’t be here.”
“Well…” he paused uneasily. “I shouldn’t… but I’m your mentor.”
“A rebel,” she smirked, glancing back at Leo then bringing her attention back to Percy with a more serious expression. “What does my mentor do, besides…bring me roses?”
“I do my best to take care of you,” he answered in a tone as if he was unsure himself.
Behind him, a girl had been thrown down the train and into the cold hard ground letting out a pained grunt that brought their attention away from each other for a second.
Annabeth reached out, plucking the rose from his hand. “Well, good luck with that, Gorgeous,” she said and then was led away from him to the end of the train station. She could have sworn she had seen a slight pink shade on his cheeks when she said the last line.
“And cut!” Apollo shouted. “Great job everyone.”
Behind her Percy let out a long breath while fidgeting the collar of his dress shirt. “Goddamn, you’re good Annabeth, made me blush and everything.”
Oh so it was a genuine blush, it wasn’t just pretend… she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
“And how about me?” Leo interjected into their conversation. “How did I make you feel?”
“Incredible,” Percy moved his arms in an accentuated motion. “You didn’t have any lines. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you be quiet.”
Leo put a hand on his chest. “Rude, I would sleep with one eye open tonight if I were you, Jackson.”
Percy tilted his head to the side while crossing his arms. “You sure got spirit.”
Leo stepped closer, trying to be as imposing as he could but falling flat almost comically. “Don’t think I can’t kick your ass.”
Percy squared his shoulders, his much bigger frame towering over Leo. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Boys!” Annabeth cut into the two actor’s conversation before things got violent, even if she doubted that they would. She brought her gaze over to Leo. “Leo, you were incredible.” She then brought her gaze to Percy. “Percy, pick on someone your own size.”
The green eyed man huffed, then pointed accusingly at Leo. “He started it.”
“And I will end it,” Annabeth fired back in a threatening tone even if she didn’t mean it.
Percy shivered then glanced at her with what she was sure was fear. “Damn, you’re scary.”
“Everyone! We will take another shot of that scene so get into positions again,” Apollo said loudly.
“So… Annabeth is going to make me blush again,” Percy smirked. “Can’t say it’s a bad thing.”
“I can’t help that I’m a good actress, Jackson,” Annabeth said. “I’m sure I’ll make you feel all sorts of ways throughout filming.”
“Yes, regret and disgust for one.”
She lightly punched his chest. “Weren’t you the one praising my acting two minutes ago?”
“Couldn’t be me. Must have been your huge ego talking.”
“Maybe if you were a good actor you wouldn’t blush like a love sick middle schooler.”
“Really now?” He stepped in closer, the scent of clean ocean breeze hitting her nose. He leaned down so that his face was just inches in front of hers, those sea green eyes staring into her soul, while she felt her face begin to heat up from the proximity. His voice came out low and husky when he next spoke, “what do you say we practice that kiss scene? I think it would benefit the two of us greatly.”
Annabeth couldn’t speak. She felt like her heart was about to bounce out of her chest and start running laps all around the set. It would have been so easy to just lean up and kiss him. Maybe that would catch him off guard, or maybe he was just bluffing. It was always hard to tell in this line of work.
Instead what she received was Percy smirking at her and then saying. “And now who’s the one blushing like a love sick middle schooler?”
Of course, of fucking course he had messing with her. It always seemed like a never ending battle to see who could mess with the other with neither one of them conceding since they met. She should have known—but then why did she feel the way that she did? Like the feeling of a million butterflies fluttering in her stomach, like holding a breath that she didn’t quite know that she was holding, or like the feeling of genuine… no she couldn’t say the word. The last time she had felt that way towards someone she found out it was all acting, that it wasn’t true and she had gotten hurt in the end.
“Alright lovebirds,” Leo finally broke through the awkwardness that Annabeth was feeling. “You heard the man.” That caused both of them to finally stop staring at each other and put some distance between the two, a blush growing on Percy’s face as well as if the gravity of their situation finally dawned on him.
“Right,” Annabeth said motioning back to the train car, trying to put the moment aside. “We have a movie to film.”
After a couple more takes of the scene, Piper approached Annabeth with a sly look on her face.
“So… are you going to tell me what was going on with you and Percy?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Annabeth lied immediately, the scene from earlier where she had been tempted to kiss Percy came to mind. She still wasn’t entirely sure if he was being genuine or if he was being a menace. Knowing her luck, it could have possibly been neither and both at the same time. She wasn’t sure how that worked, but that’s how confused her mind felt.
“That didn’t look like ‘nothing ,’” Piper said while looking at the following scene that was being filmed. “Boy was blushing up a storm in that scene.”
“Oh please, Piper,” Annabeth responded, her attention brought to the scene Percy and Frank were acting. She found it ironic that the character that Percy was playing was a two-faced, egotistical, selfish manipulator when his real personality, as far as she knew, was the opposite and more akin to the character that Frank was playing. Yet somehow, Percy embodied the persona wholeheartedly and even seemed to thrive like he was made for the role.
That’s his job, her mind told her. Just like your job is to play this jovial, mystical, charismatic and endearing persona, even if it isn’t you in real life.
Annabeth bought her attention back to Piper. “You remembered how my last little fling with a lead went.”
Piper sighed mournfully. “I’m sorry, Annabeth. I should have spoken up. Castellan gave me bad vibes but you were so happy and… I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. It was my choice in the end, but tell me-” she bought her attention back to the scene with Frank and Percy. “What does the famous Piper-radar say about that?”
“Hmm,” Piper hummed. “You and Frank, I honestly don’t see that working. Percy on the other hand…” Piper wiggled her eyebrows.
“Not that!” Annabeth interrupted, not completely hating where the insinuation was going. “I was asking what you think of their acting.”
“Something tells me that you weren’t truly asking about the acting.”
Annabeth knew this day was coming sooner or later. D-day, the day the world would end, the day where she was sure she was going to die and go down in history in a blaze of glory… Okay she was just being overdramatic, her mind had a tendency of that. The only thing that would be different today in filming was the fact that she would be sharing a kiss (or multiple depending on the number of takes) with Percy Jackson.
She honestly wasn’t entirely sure why she was so nervous. It wasn’t like she hadn’t kissed for the cameras before, but something about this was just…different. When Annabeth brought her feelings up to Piper, the manager had unhelpfully told Annabeth that she was nervous because she had a little crush on the other lead. Annabeth, being Annabeth, denied everything but Piper only gave her a knowing look.
So there she was standing by a tree (they were filming outside in the woods after the lake scene which involved a lot of blushing on her part as she tried not to stare at Percy’s muscular chest…or his broad shoulders…or his abs, or when she had been pressed up against him while in the water) as the director guided the crew and actors to their positions.
“Are you nervous?” Percy asked from her side. She looked at him, taking in how he had changed from when they first started filming, or rather how his character changed. He had to have the blond wig he wore in earlier parts of the movie shaved into a buzz cut to fit these later scenes, but she still thought he looked as handsome as ever.
“A little,” she murmured.
He faced her, his hand moving to put a strand of hair (she still wore the wig) behind her ear. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do great.” His words of reassurance bought her a bit of comfort. “Besides, the rumor around the block is that I’m a great kisser.”
“Who told you that, your mom? Did she also call you handsome? She was just being nice, Percy.”
He snorted at her comment and she too laughed at their antics. The tension from earlier dissipating along with their laughter.
They had gotten much closer with each other over the past weeks to the point where she saw him as a serious friend. He had even invited her to his apartment where she met his cat, Blackjack and dog, Mrs. O’Leary, and that’s not mentioning that he made her quite possibly the best pancakes and cookies she had ever tasted. So yes, you could say things were going well as friends now, and nothing else, despite what Piper may have told her.
Once Percy’s laughter calmed down he addressed her with a mischievous look. “Well, my lovely little Princess.” Her heart always found itself beating just slightly faster every time he used that name. “What do you say I show you how good of a kisser I am?”
She crossed her arms. “I see being humble isn’t one of your traits.”
“On the contrary. I’m very humble but also confident in my abilities.”
“I won’t believe it until I see it.”
“Then let me show you then,” he leaned down, his face just inches away from her, his eyes glancing at her lips while she tried her best to keep herself under control, but failing to keep the heat in her face in check.
“Ah I see that the two of you are in position,” Apollo said as he stepped closer to the two actors.
Percy glanced over at Apollo with a soft smile, then pointed at Annabeth with his thumb. “This one over here says she can’t wait to kiss me.”
“Don’t put words into my mouth, Jackson!” Annabeth huffed, indignant.
Apollo just laughed then ran the scene through with them before they began filming. “And action!” The director yelled.
It began like this, Percy slowly leaned down, his forehead pressing against hers. From this close she could see even more details on his face, the faint freckles on his nose and cheeks only seemed to make his appearance even more perfect. His hands slowly moved to her face, lightly placing them on her jaw and cheeks and then she finally — finally dared to look into his ocean green eyes.
They say that the eyes are the door to the soul, and in that moment it was as if he was revealing everything to her like he held all the secrets of the universe. The way that his eyes shined as if the sun itself reflected off the sea and the look he was giving her as if she was the only person that mattered to him on the planet.
A part of her wanted to take a leap of faith. How could the look he was giving her mean anything else? But her mind always reminded her, he’s an incredible actor, he’s just acting— and she stopped herself. Of course, just like the rest of her life, it was all pretend. For him, for her, for everyone else here, and that itself broke her. She knew that’s all that it would be at the end of the day, just like the characters they embodied. That they would eventually split at one point and go their separate ways.
She should have seen the end right from the beginning, nothing lasts forever, but for this moment —just for this moment she wanted to relish in the pretend realm. In the realm outside of reality, so she closed her eyes, allowing herself into his embrace as their lips met for the first time, a whirlwind of emotions flowing through her. She allowed herself in and he in turn allowed her in, working slowly and carefully, their lips working in harmony with each other like a well orchestrated melodious aria. Like the soft breeze of summer blowing through the trees, she found herself lost in the kiss, as if they had been doing this for eternity, as if they had once been lovers in a past life and a million more lifetimes.
She had her fair share of experience, but nothing had ever prepared her for this. The way that her body responded to his touch, the way that her lungs breathed him in and the way that her hands gripped onto his shirt as if he were the only thing keeping her from floating away into nothingness. She truly, genuinely felt like this was not just a kiss—but something else that she couldn’t entirely describe. Something that she thought she had experienced before, but was learning it for the first time all over again. Something that she wouldn’t mind experiencing again—and again—and again, a sparkling night in the darkness.
She came to the realization that she liked him and not just in a friendship way, but in a more intimate way. But…did he feel the same way, could she have him? What if he was in love with someone else? Perhaps to him this was all imaginary, a dream that would fade like smoke come the morning, but to her it wasn’t and she would desperately hold onto it.
And maybe that would explain how she ended up inviting him to her apartment that night, hoping to at least hold onto him for a bit longer.
His touch was magnetic causing goosebumps to rise everywhere his hands touched, pulling her deeper into his embrace like a soft guiding ocean current. Their lips met once again, but this time there weren’t any cameras rolling, it was the two of them—two young adults that found themselves enthralled with each other. She ran her hands through his raven dark hair, the soft strands feeling like silk under her fingers while his lips worked on her neck, sucking on the skin and causing heat to pool all over her body.
Shivers went down her body when he finally spoke for the first time, his voice a familiar sound that she wouldn’t ever get tired of hearing. She led him to her bedroom where once again they pulled into each other, two sides of the same coin, like magnets attached to each other. Their hands roamed all over the other, slowly and carefully beginning to strip their clothes off while their lips worked much like earlier, but in much more intimate ways. In ways that had her knees buckling and leaning against him, her lungs burning from the passion of the night.
The cool air of the room caressed her body once her shirt flew off, hardly affecting the heat and sensation that Annabeth felt in that moment. Soon enough his shirt was off and she felt the warm skin under her fingertips, feeling every detail of his strong body that she had been too afraid to touch while on set but now she didn’t have the reservations. They were just two young adults after all.
She lost herself once again when he kissed her, wolfish and hungry, different from earlier. The type of kiss that would have her forgetting her own name and everything else in the world. When Percy Jackson said he was a good kisser, he was not lying as he did not play around—especially when he kissed her down there! Despite leaving her boneless and whimpering his name, she still needed more. The deep hunger and heat that arose from her body wouldn’t be satisfied by just kissing alone. The desire raged on within her like an angry tempest only to be quelled and transformed into a soft ocean teeming with life once the storm had passed.
The remainder of his clothes flew across the room, the last barrier between the two of them finally discarded, their bodies flaring with goosebumps whenever contact was made. She let herself get lost in his touch, lost in the embrace that he provided as the night went on, the sounds of moans, groans and the creaking bed echoing throughout the room until she was out of breath once more. Her hands gripped onto his back to keep her from evaporating away as she was once again hit with unbridled euphoria just as her body went slack. The craving that she had felt had finally been satiated.
He fell on top of her, his body sweaty and panting against her own and he took her lips in his once again, slowly like singing a lullaby to put a baby to sleep. After what felt like an eternity of gentle sensual caresses, he pulled himself out, walking over to take care of the condom while she tucked herself under the covers, exhaustion finally catching up to her. She felt a weight settle on the other side of the bed moments later and strong arms wrap around her, his chest pressed to her back.
She could have sworn he mumbled something into her hair, but she was too exhausted to decipher what he said. For tonight, she didn’t care if that was all pretend. This moment would live on even in her wildest dreams and she hoped these memories would follow him around.
Annabeth woke up with a man in her bed.
Correction, she woke up with an attractive man in her bed.
Upon further inspection she woke up with that attractive, naked man in her bed that just so happened to be her friend and co-worker.
And then just like a supernova, everything from last night flashed through her mind’s eye. The way they stumbled into her apartment unable to keep their hands off each other, lips pressed and touches all over bare warm skin, her hands running down his back and his hands in her hair while he—last night had definitely been an exhilarating experience. An experience that she would not be forgetting anytime soon.
But then it came crashing down, a house of cards tumbled by the wind. She knew this couldn’t last forever and there would be a time where they would share one last kiss and perhaps never see each other again. The moments they shared being just that, memories. Even as friends, she knew it would be difficult to stay in touch if they kept moving around the country for roles. She hadn’t even decided if she would move back to the west coast or stay on the east coast.
Her future was uncertain…just like whatever it was that she and Percy were. She knew without a doubt they were friends. Having spent so much time on set acting, joking and playing around with him had cemented that in her but after last night she wasn’t entirely sure. Were they partners, lovers, boyfriend-girlfriend? Would he even want that? What if she was just a one night stand for him and nothing more, and if that was the case, then she didn’t want to think of the ramifications it could have on their relationship.
Why were things so complicated in this strange…situationship that they found themselves in just like the characters they were playing? She knew that their characters on screen had chemistry and liked each other, but they never talked about their feelings before perceived betrayal and tragedy happened. She hoped that was all fictional and would not befall them. After all this was real life not some fictional story.
As her brain pondered through everything that happened last night she felt Percy stir behind her, his nose nuzzling her hair. She hadn’t noticed before, or maybe she had ignored it, but they were both completely naked, and he was spooning her so she could feel his chest, his stomach his…umm.
“Percy,” she said gently, hoping to stir him awake.
“Mmh,” he mumbled against her hair, sending vibrations through her, his strong arms still wrapped around her. “Five more minutes.”
“Come on wake up,” she prompted with a bit more movement hoping that it would shake him awake. “We need to be on set soon.”
“Mmh,” he mumbled deeply again but this time he actually began to wake up. He unwrapped his arms from around her and slowly sat up to stretch out before she followed him up as well. “Good morning,” he greeted her sleepily just as she took in the scene in her room with clothes scattered all over the place.
She looked at him, his eyes half closed and his dark hair even messier than usual. She was sure she looked just as messy as he did. She wanted to talk to him about last night, about the status of their relationship but she was afraid that bringing it to the forefront would shatter that illusion of fiction that she had grown accustomed to.
Instead of talking about it like a normal adult she settled for, “how did you sleep?”
He ran a hand through his hair, strands sticking at odd angles. “Good and you?”
“...Good,” she managed. Good God, why was this so awkward? Maybe because she liked him, but she wasn’t sure if he felt the same way. Surely after the looks he gave her yesterday and then what happened last night had to mean something…right?
Or maybe he was just acting that part of her mind told her. After her previous disaster of a relationship with Castellan, that part of her mind would always nag and remind her of it.
“Annabeth,” Percy began, taking her hands in his. “About last night…”
This is the part where he is going to tell you it was fictional. Her mind told her again. Just like the last time.
“What—what about it?” Annabeth stammered shakily, afraid of what he would say.
He leaned in closer, his green eyes staring into her own. “I need to tell you something… like a uh… secret.”
“Go on…” she prompted steadily, remembering when they first officially met and he said he had a secret or two. At the time she thought he had been messing around her, but maybe he wasn’t. She felt her heart speed up with each passing second.
“You see-”
There was a loud knock on the door followed by a “Annabeth get your ass up! You’re not pinning the blame on me for being late this time!”
“Shit!” Annabeth hissed suddenly aware of the time as both she and Percy jumped up in surprise from the sudden interruption. She let go of his hands, all thoughts of the previous conversation forgotten. “I forgot Piper was coming. Get dressed!”
They both stumbled out of her bed and started putting their clothes back on frantically. She had just put on a new clean pair of pants and a random shirt she found on the ground when she turned around to see Percy putting on his clothes. Thankfully he had put on his pants, but from her position she could see all the scratch marks she left on his back which brought a reminder of what they did last night and all the blood in her body migrated to her face.
He had just thrown on his hoodie and shoes when he faced her and said. “I’ll uh- see you on set.” And he walked to the door, opening it then walking right past Piper.
“Hey Percy.”
“Hey Piper.”
She heard the sound of his footsteps and the front door close a moment later with Piper entering the bedroom and giving Annabeth a sly smile.
“So…” Piper drawled then clicked her tongue in that annoying fashion that always told Annabeth she was about to get embarrassed. “What was Percy doing here?”
“Nothing!” Annabeth answered immediately, thinking of some form of semi believable explanation that wasn’t scandalous. “We just…uh watched a movie.”
Piper eyed her up and down, that same sly look still on her face. “Without any clothes on I’m guessing.”
“Piper! Be quiet.”
“You’re wearing his shirt,” she pointed out.
Annabeth looked down at herself seeing the t-shirt that she wore was a couple sizes too big for her and…it smelled like him. She found that oddly comforting. It also told Annabeth that Piper knew without a doubt that she had slept with her friend slash coworker last night. There was no use hiding it.
“Let me just take a seat and think about it,” Annabeth said, taking a seat on the bed to get her act together.
“Why? Was it bad?”
“No!” Annabeth shouted.“It was incredible, but…I don’t know how he feels about me.”
Piper was silent for a moment then sat down on the bed with Annabeth and rubbed her back. “Do you like him?”
“I do.”
“Then tell him.”
“But what if it’s… like the last time?” As much as she hated to admit it, that last relationship she was in may have shown her that she wasn’t as good as she thought at differing fiction from reality.
Piper continued rubbing her back. “Castellan was an arrogant manipulating prick.” Ironically that was the character that Percy played for the movie perfectly. “But… I’ve seen the way that Percy looks at you when you’re not looking. He’s mesmerized by you.”
“Then why hasn’t he said anything?”
At this Piper let out a long sigh. “Because he’s an idiot. He’s an incredible actor and yet he can’t pick up signals—just like you.”
“Hey!” Annabeth protested, chuckling at her friend’s antics then slapping her thigh.
“But think about it,” Piper mused. “He’s invited you to his place, he’s made you cookies and pancakes, you met his pets, he calls you Princess and he’s always teasing you. That to me looks like he likes you.”
“Well when you line it up like that, it seems so obvious.”
“Then just tell him.”
“Don’t you think it will be awkward?” Annabeth asked, thinking about last night. “We did… sort of hook up last night.”
“Obviously, that’s clear as day,” Piper rolled her eyes. “But… I’m just saying, maybe take a leap of faith. The worst he could do is say no.”
“And the best?”
“You sleep with him again.”
“Piper!”
Piper hugged Annabeth and mumbled into her ear. “You are a beautiful, talented, smart woman Annabeth. He would be a complete idiot to not see that.”
“Thanks,” Annabeth mumbled into Piper’s embrace, feeling more comfortable and confident in her arms. “Did I ever tell you you’re the best friend I ever had?”
“And you’re my best friend because you just won me five hundred dollars! Leo is going to be pissed.”
“What does that mean?” Annabeth asked, affronted.
“Leo and I made a bet. I bet that you and Percy would hook up within three months of filming and now he owes me five hundred dollars. Thank you best friend!”
“On second thought, I hate you, get away from me,” Annabeth said without any form of derision in her voice. She should have known that Piper would be making these types of bets behind her back.
Piper let go of the hug then rose to her feet before holding out a hand for Annabeth. “Come on Ms. Actress, you don’t want to be late for filming. I’m not taking the fall for you this time.” Annabeth grabbed onto Piper’s hand and stood up. Piper once again eyed her up and down. “Keep the shirt on. I want to bask in the glory of being right and rubbing it in Leo’s face.”
Leo’s eyes practically bulged out of his head when Annabeth and Piper entered the film set. Annabeth stood to the side while Piper laughed in Leo’s face as he reluctantly gave her the five hundred dollars.
“Nice shirt,” Percy’s voice said from behind her. “Where did you get it?”
She turned around to see him still wearing the same jeans and hoodie that he had walked away from her apartment in. For now, she wouldn’t spew out her feelings for him. She still had lots of time remaining where she could tell him, so she would look for the perfect time.
Instead she lightly elbowed him. “Thanks. Some idiot left it thrown on my bedroom floor.”
“Looks very comfortable. He must be a big idiot indeed.”
“You wouldn’t believe it.”
He leaned in slightly closer, his familiar ocean scent more prominent. “You should keep it, you look adorable.”
And with that she vowed she would tell him…eventually.
She was naive to think it would be easy. She wanted to go back in time and slap her past self for always losing her resolve every time she tried to say something to Percy that was akin to ‘I like you.’ She might also want to slap Percy because he seemed just as oblivious as her and like grown ass adults, they didn’t talk about that night.
The more time passed, the more she convinced herself that it was a one time thing, that perhaps he didn’t feel the same way. Her resolve crumbled with each passing day, until eventually filming was over and they wouldn’t see each other much. Not that they were seeing much of each other on set other than during filming their scenes. He had told her he had gotten the lead to another acting role, some musical or something, so his schedule was packed. And the times in which they did see each other, they both acted as if nothing had changed. They bantered, they teased the other, he was an absolute menace to her, he baked her cookies on occasion and even made her a cake for her twenty third birthday.
She had to tell him, but she always lost her resolve when she tried and Piper would always chide Annabeth for it, much to her displeasure.
By the time the last scenes were over Annabeth had resigned herself to… let things go. Maybe it was for the best, maybe it just wouldn’t work out. After all, she hadn’t entirely decided if she would stay on the East Coast or move back home. She had been looking up potential roles here on the East Coast to audition for and so far a couple caught her eye—but so did some on the West Coast.
In the meantime she was filming interviews and videos to promote the movie along with the other cast members. Leo, her and Frank were always present, but Percy, due to scheduling conflicts, could only attend some of the interviews.
Less time for us to see each other, she thought, thinking of the past several months of her life which all seemed to flash before her eyes. It all felt bittersweet. She was proud of her role and her performance, but that also meant that it was the end. The end of working with so many talented and wonderful people that it had become like a second home to her. She was sure she would run into them from time to time in future, but she doubted they would ever work together like they had for this movie.
At least you’ll have the memories of your time on set following you around. Her mind told her.
Annabeth found herself staring at the sunset on the New York Skyline. It was oddly beautiful, she thought. The sun’s bright colors reflecting off the tall structures, her leaning on the railing wearing a nice dress with red lips and rosy cheeks. It all seemed like a scene right out of a movie. This would probably be the scene where the main love interest finds the other and they confess their feelings, share a kiss and the film ends.
Unfortunately real life didn’t pan out that way.
“Hey,” she heard Percy’s familiar voice approach from behind her. “What are you doing out here? You wouldn’t want to miss our movie.”
Annabeth had walked out the premiere about ten minutes ago when it felt like too much, especially when the kiss scene between her and Percy happened. The kiss scene that had thrown everything out of order and made her feel ways that she couldn’t believe were possible.
“I could ask you the same,” she responded back solemnly, not taking her gaze away from the sunset.
She heard him shuffling behind her. “I was worried about you. You seemed a bit…tense.”
She sighed tiredly, looking as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. “I’m fine,” she lied.
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re a bad liar?”
“You wouldn’t be the first,” she smiled, a small ounce of humor in her voice. “Which is ironic considering our line of work.”
“I think it makes you more genuine though.”
She turned around to finally get a look at him, only to see him with a bouquet of white roses. He looked more attractive than usual in his tall dark suit. She brought her gaze to his face which was giving her that amused look she had grown accustomed to.
“I just realized I never gave you a proper welcome,” he said while handing her the bouquet of white roses. “Welcome to New York.”
“You’re a little too late for that,” she answered easily, but took the roses regardless. “Maybe four months too late.”
“Better than never, right?”
“You’re a dork,” she said, some of the tension from earlier relieved. He stepped closer, leaning onto the railing next to her and he too stared at the sunset.
She would have been content just staying the way they were for a bit longer but she knew it would eventually end—but just for now she wanted to cherish this small moment they shared.
“Remember when we met and you called me an asshole?” Percy said out of nowhere.
She turned around, saw his teasing smirk and was about to whack him with the bouquet of roses. She couldn’t believe he still held that little grudge.
“I told you it was a joke!” She hissed which only caused his smug look shift into a much softer one like the one he used when filming when his character comforted hers.
“No, no,” he said. “I think you may have been on to something.”
“So you’re admitting that you were an asshole the entire time?”
He let out a deep breath as he rubbed the back of his head shily. She had never seen him look so nervous before, not even during that night. “I might as well be… and a coward too,” he sighed deeply. “Listen Annabeth, I’ve been meaning to tell you something. Something that I should have told you a long time ago.”
Those were never good words , Annabeth thought as her heart plummeted to the floor, her blood chilled. At her silence he continued on. “When I heard that you were cast as the lead…well… I auditioned for the role because…” he paused for a moment, gathering his words. “Well because I wanted to work with you—initially that is. I’m a big fan of yours and it would have been a huge honor to work with you, but as we filmed I…caught feelings for you,” he said the last part so quietly that she hardly heard it.
“And I wasn’t sure how to feel. I couldn’t tell if I was just starstruck or if it was real. But as we spent time together filming and just messing around I found out it was real.” He grabbed one of her hands and held it in his larger ones. She thought they fit so perfectly together like two pieces of a puzzle coming together. “I was going to tell you the morning after we hooked up, but you know Piper showed up. I planned to tell you at one point but I always lost my nerve—so I’m sorry.”
His admission hit her like a truck going at one hundred miles an hour and sending her into some fantastical world where somehow she got reincarnated as a slime. She was sure she saw a book like that the last time she visited the bookstore.
Part of her felt relieved that he admitted his feelings towards her, but another part of her was irritated. Irritated that he didn’t confess earlier until this very moment and sent her in all sorts of emotional turmoil and confusion for the past couple of weeks. She was between grabbing him by the jacket and pulling him for a kiss or punching him on the chest. But then she recalled his words that he always lost his nerve whenever he tried to tell her his feelings, just like her. She couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of their predicament. They had been pining for the other for weeks, but neither had the nerve to make the first move.
God, we are both idiots, she thought.
“Wait so…” she said, her brain going through all their interactions of the past month. “That wasn’t all pretend?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Like the filming stuff. I guess some of that was, but what makes you think that?”
“I just,” she paused, trying to find her words. “My last relationship didn’t turn out well. I found out it was all for the cameras and he wasn’t interested in me even though I was.”
He leaned in closer where he gently grabbed her by the waist then pulled her into him so she could rest her head into the crook of his neck with his chin resting on top of her head. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “But know that what I’m telling you isn’t like that. It’s my actual genuine feelings and…you don’t have to agree to anything, but I just needed you to know how I felt.”
She moved her head slightly so she could look into his eyes filled with so much genuine affection that she thought she could melt into the ground. Her parents were mostly absent from her life so she didn’t have much of a benchmark of what genuine affection could look and feel like, and despite his talent she just knew that there was no way that he was acting. She was seeing true and genuine affection for perhaps the first time in her life. “Do you promise it’s not pretend?”
“It’s never been that way,” he answered back lowly, one one his hands going to gently stroke her hair. “Our characters may have been in love but they never told each other their feelings before tragedy struck. I don’t want to make that mistake so I’ll say it as many times as you need.” He cleared his throat. “Annabeth Chase, I like you—I like you.”
She couldn’t hold it in any longer. She grabbed onto his jacket, dropping the roses onto ground and pulled him down so their lips met as if it were the first time and she realized that it was. The first time they were doing this where it didn’t feel like an act for the cameras or just a moment of raw passion for the other. The first kiss that they shared as something much more than friends. She found that she couldn’t find a word strong enough to describe the sensation that she felt kissing him like this. Unobstructed with only the expectation of showing they cared the other.
After what felt like an eternity in heaven, they split apart and made eye contact, those familiar sea green eyes looking into her very being, inspecting each and every part of her soul. And she would let him.
She leaned up once more, catching his lips for a second before letting go. “I’m also like you, Percy Jackson.”
He grinned, that same troublemaker smile that she had grown to find endearing. “I would hope so or that kiss would have been awkward.”
“You’ll never stop being a menace will you?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Not for as long as you’re with me, Princess.” He held out his hand for her to take and without hesitation they held the other like they’ve done this a million times. He leaned down to grab the bouquet of roses to hand to her. “Come on, we don’t want the others to worry.” He pointed to the door that led back to the premiere.
“Together?” She asked, holding his hand in hers while the other held the roses.
He pulled her closer before kissing her temple. “Let's make it official," he whispered. "Together.”
This was the very first page—where their storyline would begin.
He kissed her once more—and for the first time, Annabeth knew that it wasn’t all pretend.
