return again ✧ percy jackson

chapter seven

❂

THEY MET UNDER THE CLOAK OF night for the rest of the month. Annabeth watched him sleep in and stay up late without complaint. She never commented on his messy hair or the marks under his jaw. As far as Percy was concerned, she didn't even notice it. 

There was one day where Ryan had to work late at night and early the next morning, meaning there was no time for Percy to fit into the schedule. It was so long before he had basically a full day for himself.

During the days, he was with Jason, Leo and Frank making sandcastles and laughing at Nico stepping in seaweed. At night he was with Ryan doing some things he would never want his parents to know about. 

But on that day, he went with Annabeth to the library. They were both doing their summer homework in preparation of the start of senior year. Annabeth had already turned 18 but that still did not stop her checklist of stuff to do now that she's a legal adult. When Percy looked at the page, the top listings were (1) summer homework (2) nose piercing and (3) tattoo. So basically normal teen things. 

"Have you ever been here before?" Annabeth whispered to him as they walked into the library.

"Yeah," Percy replied, not taking his eyes from the second floor of the building, "non-fiction is upstairs."

The climbed up the steps and made their way to the section with a table next to the window. Only when Annabeth left him to collect books from her other checklist did Percy wonder why he was even there. He only took one class that required homework over the summer and it was a presentation he'd done even before junior year concluded.  

Annabeth, however, was taking multiple APs that, in her opinion, were easy. But between Percy and himself, he did not understand how a fellow person with dyslexia and ADHD could find AP classes easy. 

He took that moment to look out the window. Even from up above, he could notice Thalia and Reyna but their hair. Thalia's hair was short with electric blues around her head but what really made Percy notice it was them was Reyna's long brown hair that reached her back even in a braid. His eyes tore from the window and to his phone when he felt it vibrate in his pockets. 

ryan: fancy seeing you here.

Percy turned around and smiled when he saw Ryan. "Hello."

Ryan smiled back. "Can I sit?"

"Um, yeah. Annabeth went somewhere."

"It's okay I won't be here for long."

Percy's eyebrow quirked up in question. "Oh?"

"Just asking if you're free tonight."

"I don't know. Tonight's our last day here and I'm not sure if everyone is going to hang out or not."

Ryan looked down while nodding. "If you're free just meet me at my place."

Annabeth, with a pile of books, walked up to the table. Her eyes widened when she saw the two boys and walked into a aisle close enough to the table but far away enough so she wouldn't hear their conversation.

The two of them smiled and swallowed a laugh when they saw Percy's blonde friend. "I shouldn't keep you waiting," Ryan said before standing up. He went over and kissed Percy on the cheek before leaving. 

Percy was still blushing when Annabeth came back. "Oh is that him?" she asked while smirking.

"Fuck off," Percy replied, getting stares from a nearby table.

TURNS OUT, PERCY'S OTHER FRIENDS did want to hang out, so he wasn't able to step out until the early hours of the morning.

He made sure to pack all of his things before leaving. Thalia and Reyna were in the kitchen area, sipping on a beverage, when he sneaked past them. Thalia noticed Percy leaving and smiled to herself, knowing where Percy was going. She didn't stop him and neither did Reyna.

Percy texted Ryan as he ran over. He got a response so he was not surprised when the blond boy greeted him at the door.

He kissed Percy with force and pulled away. "I thought I wouldn't see you."

"After you asked me out in the library?" Percy replied. "How could I leave without a goodbye."

And what a good last visit it was.

❂

PERCY WAS HALFWAY BACK TO HIS house when he got a text message from Ryan.

ryan: return again percy.

Percy smiled to himself before replying.

percy: always.

When Percy's phone slipped out of his pocket and fell into a small body of water for about ten minutes at his home, he never thought to transfer all of his contacts to the new phone, and he forgot about the boy at the beach.

END // ACT ONE

author's note

yes i did forget about this fic.
i really only use my main account
and i had writer's block for this story
(that's why the update was short, fast-
paced and shitty). now, since act i is
over, hopefully i can write better words.
but, happy belated new year, i'm proud
of myself: i got into two colleges! still
waiting on the third one, fingers crossed.

see you in the next update!!