Percabeth Oneshots

Someone Like You Pt.3

By me.

By now, Percy Jackson had accepted two undeniable truths:

1. Annabeth Chase was not normal.

2. Trying to understand her would be like trying to hold water in your hands—it wasn’t going to happen.

This didn’t stop him from trying, though. It was like she’d dug her chaos into his brain, and now he couldn’t help but notice her in every little corner of campus.

There was the time he spotted her in the art building, of all places, casually debating color theory with a bewildered group of design majors. Or the time she was in the middle of the quad, arguing with a campus groundskeeper about the angles of the fountain.

And then there was The Dome Incident.

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Percy was walking back from swim practice when he saw it: a crowd gathering outside the engineering building.

“What's going on?” he asked Grover, who happened to be among the spectators.

Grover pointed toward the roof. “Annabeth.”

Of course it was Annabeth.

Squinting up at the building, Percy spotted her immediately. She was perched on the edge of the roof like some kind of urban gargoyle, waving a blueprint around as she barked instructions at two other students.

“Why is she up there?” Percy asked, already dreading the answer.

“She’s building a geodesic dome,” Grover said.

“On the roof?”

“Apparently.”

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is this even allowed?”

Grover shrugged. “When’s the last time anything stopped her?”

As if on cue, Annabeth shouted something about “load-bearing structures” and gestured wildly with a wrench.

Percy wasn’t sure what was more impressive: her total disregard for campus regulations or her ability to keep everyone listening to her without question.

He thought about calling out to her, but then she turned and locked eyes with him. For a moment, she just stared, and Percy could swear he saw her smirk before she turned back to her dome-building operation.

That smirk haunted him for days.

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A week later, Percy finally managed to corner Annabeth in the cafeteria. She was sitting alone, hunched over her ever-present notebook, a slice of pizza growing cold beside her.

“Hey,” he said, sliding into the seat across from her.

She looked up, startled, like she hadn’t expected anyone to approach. “What do you want?”

“Answers,” Percy said. “Why were you building a dome on the roof?”

Annabeth sighed, closing her notebook. “It’s called prototyping. Look it up.”

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“It doesn’t have to.” She picked up her pizza and took a bite, as if that settled the matter.

Percy groaned. “You can’t just do weird stuff and expect people not to ask questions!”

“Sure I can,” she said, smirking again.

He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “You’re like a cryptid, you know that? Nobody knows anything about you, and every time I think I’m getting close to figuring you out, you pull something like The Dome Incident.”

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “The Dome Incident?”

“That’s what I’m calling it. You’re a legend now.”

She laughed softly, and for once, it wasn’t at his expense. “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that.”

“Does that mean you’ll actually tell me what’s going on in that genius head of yours?”

“Nope.”

Percy groaned again, but he couldn’t help smiling. Annabeth Chase might have been an enigma, but at least she wasn’t boring.

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Over the next few weeks, Percy stopped trying to make sense of Annabeth. Instead, he just… let her be.

She’d show up in the strangest places—helping a freshman fix their bike, lecturing a professor on structural integrity, or sitting in the middle of the library floor surrounded by books.

Sometimes she’d acknowledge him with a nod or a sarcastic comment, and other times she acted like he didn’t exist.

And then, one night, something changed.

It was almost midnight, and Percy was walking past the engineering building when he saw her sitting on the steps, staring up at the stars. For once, she didn’t look busy.

“Hey,” he said, sitting down beside her.

She glanced at him, then back at the sky. “Hey.”

They sat in silence for a while, the cool night air wrapping around them.

“Do you ever take a break?” Percy finally asked.

Annabeth chuckled softly. “Sometimes.”

He tilted his head, studying her profile. For the first time, she didn’t look like the cryptid everyone made her out to be. She just looked… human.

“Why do you do it?” he asked. “All the crazy projects, the late nights, the impossible stuff?”

She didn’t answer right away. When she did, her voice was quiet. “Because I can. Because if I don’t, who will?”

Percy frowned. “That’s a lot to put on yourself.”

“Maybe.” She turned to him, her gray eyes softer than he’d ever seen them. “But someone has to build the world, Percy. Why not me?”

He didn’t know how to respond to that.

As she stood and walked back into the building, Percy realized he might never fully understand Annabeth Chase. But maybe, just maybe, he didn’t need to.

Some mysteries were better left unsolved.