Beyond the Storm: A Percabeth Collection

Everything's Better With You

Annabeth's POV

I had always been someone who planned everything. I had to be. Life, for me, was a series of carefully laid out steps, goals to be achieved, and dreams to be chased. The future was always just one more hurdle to jump over, one more achievement to unlock. I was used to controlling everything around me, ensuring that I knew where I was going and how to get there.

But right now? Right now, I had no idea what I was doing.

The pregnancy test sat in my hand like a ticking bomb, an object that had somehow become both the source of my anxiety and a strange sense of excitement. I wasn't sure what to feel. I had to do something about this. I couldn't just let it linger in my mind, constantly reminding me of something that felt like a twist of fate I had never anticipated.

It had been two weeks since I had first noticed the signs. A little nauseous here, a little dizzy there, but nothing that screamed "pregnant"—until the day I realized I was late. My first instinct had been to dismiss it. The stress of finals, the long hours spent studying, fighting monsters, and just trying to balance everything else I had going on with Percy—it made sense, right? But when the second test confirmed it, I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I was pregnant.

My head was spinning, a thousand thoughts racing through my mind at once. This wasn't part of the plan. The idea of being a mother—of having a child—had always seemed like something way off in the future, something far beyond the path I had set for myself. The kind of thing I had only thought about in fleeting moments, when I could picture myself a little older, maybe more settled, maybe in a house somewhere. But this? This was happening right now.

And the more I thought about it, the more the reality of it began to sink in. I wasn't alone in this. I wasn't the only one who had to process this. Percy, the love of my life, the person who had been through everything with me, would need to know. He would need to understand. I couldn't carry this burden alone. It wasn't just my future anymore.

I sat on the edge of the bathroom sink, staring at the test in my hand. I could hear the sounds of Percy in the other room—his usual laughter and hums, the clink of him doing something in the kitchen. He had no idea. He was oblivious to the whirlwind in my head.

I needed to tell him. But how?

The thought of bringing it up seemed so... out of place. Percy was my rock, my constant. He was the one I had always turned to when everything felt overwhelming, but this? This was different. I wasn't sure how he would react. I wasn't sure how I felt about it myself.

I took a deep breath and slid off the counter, walking to the kitchen. I needed to act normal, to be calm and collected like I always was. But that wasn't going to happen, not today.

When I stepped into the kitchen, Percy was humming to himself as he made sandwiches, his back to me. I could tell he was in one of those easygoing, happy moods—his carefree smile, the relaxed way he moved, like nothing could go wrong in the world.

"Hey," I said softly, my voice sounding strange to my own ears.

Percy turned around, his face lighting up when he saw me. "Hey, Wise Girl. You okay?" He studied my face, and I could see that familiar spark of concern in his eyes. "You look a little pale."

I forced a smile, trying to mask the chaos inside me. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... a little tired."

"Want me to make you something to drink? You should relax. You've been working way too hard lately." He stepped toward me, his hand finding mine in that reassuring way he always did.

It should have been comforting. It should have made me feel safe. But instead, the closeness felt overwhelming. I knew I needed to say something, but the words stuck in my throat. This wasn't something I could just brush off. This wasn't something that could be fixed by a cup of tea or a night of binge-watching movies.