Woodside Academy (Percabeth AU)

Chapter 37 - Sweet on America

Annabeth's POV

December 20

That night I slept a lot better than expected, given the fact that I was in a completely new environment.

     The Jackson home was very cozy, despite there not being anything fancy. The apartment was just basic, but Sally made up for that with pictures and decorations.

     Photos of Percy when he was younger were everywhere, on the walls and on shelves. There were also pictures of him an a little girl, with brown hair and bright eyes. Every time Percy walked past one of those photos, he would avert his eyes.

     I felt bad for him, having to see those pictures of Estelle. It must have brought back too many memories for him. This was his first time back in New York since that day, and he hadn't known that his mom was pregnant or that she was engaged.

     Percy didn't seem too phased by Paul or the soon-to-come-baby. He just acted like it was a fact of life, which I guess it was. But it was still so mature of him to just accept it, which only made me like him even more.

     Sally made us pancakes the next day, which were absolutely delicious. The only strange thing about them was their color, the pancakes were a bright shade of blue.

     I woke up and immediately was hit with the smell of the pancakes, and brought myself out of the bedroom. I met Percy outside of his door as well, and his face was lit up like a child's.

     "Pancakes." He said, looking more excited as I'd ever seen him.

     Percy took my hand and dragged me to the kitchen, where I saw the blue food for the first time. On the counter was two plates with stacks of pancakes, blue pancakes.

     Percy grabbed the plates and handed me one, then proceeded to head over to the table and sit down. I followed his example and sat down across from him, laughing inwardly at how he immediately began pouring syrup on the pancakes and eating them.

     "They're blue," I said, beginning to cut the pancakes and take a bite.

     Percy smiled at that, like it was the best observation that I could have made. "I know, I haven't eaten blue in..." he took a bite and sighed, leaning back in his chair. "so long."

     I smiled, but I was admittedly confused. "Okay, but...why are they blue?"

     "Because, blue is the best color. So why not?" He asked, shrugging. Percy leaned forward again and began shoveling the food into his mouth, which ended the conversation. That made me wonder if there was more to the bizarre blue color, but I didn't push.

     We finished breakfast then went back into the bedrooms to get ready. As we brushed our teeth, we just stood beside each other then took turns using the bathroom and showering.

     Then we found ourselves sitting on the couch, trying to find something to watch.

Sally was at work, a candy shop a few blocks away. Paul was at the school he taught at, since his school hadn't yet gone into break. Today was their last day, though.

"I think we should watch Home Alone." Percy suggested, trying to find the movie in the search bar.

I shrugged and pulled the blanket further up onto my lap. "That's fine with me, but let me search it. The way you're typing is bothering me."

"Shut up," Percy said as he handed me the remote.

     I typed in the movie name (must faster than Percy), and clicked on it. Then the movie started and we silently watched it.