^^annabeths bump (please forgive my terrible cropping skills)

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry that this took so long to get out. I've been going through a little bit of a rut but I was able to write this for you guys. But I apologize because most of my attention is going to my oneshots currently. I have a lot of fun projects open right now and I want to finish them so that's why breathe hasn't been moving very quickly. But aside from that I want to say thank you to all of you who continue to support me and show my writing love because that means the absolute world to me. Thank you guys !!! But yeah I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Wednesday, February 20th
4:30 pm - Annabeth's living room
29 weeks pregnant

"Hey," Annabeth said, kissing Percy hello as he walked inside. Thalia, Grover, Silena and Connor followed him, everyone taking off their shoes and coats. She wasn't exactly expecting guests, but people were always in and out of the Chase house.

"Here is all of your homework," Thalia said, plopping a tall, thick stack of papers and textbooks on the kitchen counter.

"Lovely," Annabeth said.

"Even the stuff from your building geeks cult," Thalia said with some slight annoyance.

"You mean architecture club," Annabeth corrected.

"Same shit," she said, waving her hand dismissively. Annabeth just smirked and rolled her eyes.

"So, not that I don't love all your company, but why's everyone here?" she asked the group.

"Well, I thought why not come see my best friend? I missed you," Silena explained, smiling. The blonde grinned back, happy to hear that—she missed Silena too. She walked to Annabeth and put an arm around her, standing comfortably.

"I figured it wouldn't hurt to pay a visit!" Grover said cheerfully, giving his lopsided grin. "There was also talk of baby carrots."

Annabeth laughed and walked to the fridge. She pulled out the small bag and handed them to Grover, standing back at the island. He excitedly started eating them, crunching away.

"I just love you too much," Percy said honestly, shrugging. Annabeth chuckled at him before kissing his cheek.

Connor faked gagging, being incredibly dramatic. "I swear, I am just surrounded by love and it's disgusting."

"I know, right?" Thalia mumbled from where she was rummaging through the cabinets.

"I came here because Travis finally got the balls to ask Katie on a date. They're going tonight and he has to 'get ready.'" He mocked his brother, making air quotes with his fingers. "Katie this, Katie that—I mean, I like the girl but it's a bit much," he complained jokingly.

"Aww, really?" Annabeth said excitedly. She had been waiting for those two to get together forever. "I'm sad I missed it. I'm happy for them, though."

"I came here to escape it, but clearly that was a mistake," he griped exasperatedly. They all knew it was just to be funny—and it was, as they were all chuckling. "How can I relax when Mr. and Mrs. Jackson here are decorating their baby's nursery?"

"Woah, woah, woah," Annabeth said. She put her hands up to emphasize, STOP RIGHT THERE. "Percy and I are not married—marriage is not even on the table right now,"

"Yeah, pshhhhh what?" Percy said in a jokey way. Annabeth swatted his arm, to which he mumbled an 'ow' and stood up straight.

"Ooh, wait, is the nursery finished?" Silena asked excitedly. "Can we see it? Please, please, please?"

"No, not yet," Annabeth laughed. "It's almost done. Sally just has to finish up a few little last minute things she was helping me with," she said, smirking at Percy. Of course, he knew all about it as it was his mother and he had been helping decorate. Even if he wasn't very good at home decor, he tried, and that was what counted (it was also super adorable).

"Yeah, she won't even let me see it, the kids own godmother," Thalia said, shaking her head. They laughed.

"You guys can pick out some snacks and hang out in the living room," Annabeth offered. Everyone flocked to the cabinets, taking chips and cookies and whatever else she had. Then they all walked into the living room, but before Percy could, she grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards her.

"Hello," he said, acting a little surprised.

She laughed. "Hi..."

"Hi," he replied, both of their voices a little quieter and giddy.

"I missed you," she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Percy put down his chips and placed his hands around her waist. "I missed you more."

"Now, that's impossible," she protested.

"Oh really?" he teased. Annabeth giggled as Percy kissed her, both of them chuckling against each other's lips. Then she kissed him for real, passionate and proper. She pulled away, a little flushed and out of breath, leaving them both cherry red.

"Can you two quit sucking face and get in here!" Thalia shouted from the living room.

"We have important news to discuss!" Silena added. Annabeth rolled her eyes and Percy chuckled, following her to the living room. Everyone sat on the couch, snacking and waiting for Silena to talk. "Okay. The time has officially come to speak of four things: prom, graduation, Annabeth's return, and college."

Those were all things Annabeth didn't want to discuss. She could barely wrap her head around the fact that she'd be having a baby in about two months. Little Finnley of course always reminded her, with the little dance parties he seemed to have in there. It might sound ridiculous, but Annabeth would sometimes play classical music for him. Her mother did it for her, and clearly something worked out. She and Percy would read to him too. Those were some of her favorite times.

But the thought of returning to school, graduating, everything... it was scary.

"By this time everyone should have gotten their letters so, we're going to have a gathering at my house on Sunday to have fun and celebrate," Silena said. They had all agreed not to open their letters yet. It was driving Annabeth crazy, knowing her future was simply sitting in an envelope right in the dining room.

She had sent in her college applications before she got pregnant, so there wasn't much she could do after she found out. But she could make it work, right? She honestly wasn't that confident in herself to swing college classes and a baby. But her father said he would be home a lot more often because he had talked to his supervisors. With his and Percy's help, it might work. But that was a bridge she needed to cross just a little later.

"Don't you think everyone should be here for this conversation, actually?" Connor asked Silena.

"I think you have a point there, actually. Okay, I guess not!" She announced smiling. "This will commence on Friday. For now I say we watch a movie and then play board games."

"Agreed!" Thalia hollered. "I am so bored."

"What are we watching?" Grover asked, munching on his snack.

"The Shining!" Thalia hollered.

Everyone exchanged looks, conveying the same message: no.

"Fine," she said disappointedly. That girl was always trying to watch scary movies. It was quite fitting for her personality and she had been doing it since they were young. Because of this, Annabeth had seen a number of movies that scarred her for life, but that was besides the point.

"We're watching Toy Story, I have decided!" Connor announced, snatching up the remote and clicking through to the movie. Everyone sat and got comfortable, enjoying their snacks.

~*~

"I'll be right back," Annabeth said, standing from the couch. Percy lifted his arm off her shoulders and let her get up.

She walked to the bathroom, closing the door to use it. The movie had been over by then and everyone was now sitting and talking. It felt good to have company again, for she missed school greatly. It was hard to fall out of a routine like that and to stay cooped up in the house. Her homework only occupied her for so long and she was running out of shitty Netflix movies to watch. Soon enough, she'd go crazy.

Drying her hands, she walked out of the bathroom, overhearing a conversation in the living room.

"What are we gonna do?" Grover whispered.

"We have to tell her," Silena said.

"But what if that just stresses her out more? Annabeth's already under a lot of pressure." Annabeth could hear the concern in Percy's voice and it made her heart jolt. Her mind was already swirling—what were they talking about?

"Guys she's gonna find out—"

"Find our what?" Annabeth said, walking into the living room. Everyone immediately fell into dead silence. She stared down each one of them, hoping someone would crack. "What is going on?"

She locked eyes with Percy. He swallowed anxiously. "Don't check Twitter."

"Nice going, dipshit," Thalia scoffed, rolling her eyes and hitting his arm.

Annabeth pulled out her phone and opened Twitter. She scrolled, not finding anything at first. That was when she saw it.

Her heart dropped into her stomach.

It was a picture of her, in the supermarket from last week. The caption read, Mykonos or Maternity ??? She was wearing dark sunglasses but apparently that wasn't enough of a disguise. Despite her dark clothing, right on display was her very visible baby bump. She was desperate to get out of the house, and why would anyone she knew be at the supermarket? But of course, things could never just go smoothly for her.

Everyone immediately stood up and surrounded her. Percy seemed at the ready to catch her if she fainted. In all honesty, she nearly did. Everyone knew, and if they didn't, they were going to find out. That was just how the world worked. She would never get any privacy, and she could never keep any secret.

"Are you okay?" Silena asked gently.

"I..." Annabeth shut off her phone. She almost started crying, and her chest felt tight. "I don't know," she said shakily.

"Come sit down," Percy said, leading her to the couch. She sat and everyone continued to stare at her.

Her head was a tornado of thoughts, wrecking any hope she had for her future and social life. Everything was ruined. It was all over.

"This isn't the end of the world, Annie," Thalia reminded her.

She took a deep breath, her mother's voice playing in her head: breathe, Annabeth, breathe. She looked at the photo again. While it did look like her, it also could technically be anyone. And that was what she needed to play up.

"That's your thinking face," Percy noted. "What's the plan, Chase?" he asked, a small smile on his face.

"Connor, you're a computer geek right?" she asked, suddenly determined. She wasn't going to let anything or anyone else uproot her life again.

"Well, I wouldn't say geek but—"

"Do you know how to edit things? Specifically the background of a video? And I should add, seamlessly?"

"Yeah, I can do that," he answered, shrugging.

"I need your help," she said.

"General Stoll, reporting for duty!" He stood at attention, saluting her.

"Good." Everyone looked at her expectantly. "If they want a show, let's give them one. Let's get started."

~*~

Thursday, February 21st
3:45 pm - The Beach

"Alright, are we ready?" Annabeth asked. They were shooting her 'comeback' video. It wasn't exactly that, but she needed to convince people of a much more appealing, and safe, lie; she was in Greece, studying abroad on a program her college had set up.

And so, she was standing, freezing her ass off in a bikini top on a beach in February. Despite the 40° weather, she was toughing it out and wearing a smile. All she had to do was shoot a quick few minutes of footage, smile, and talk about her trip so far. Then, Connor was going to work his computer magic and edit it to perfection and she would post it.

"Your boobs look great," Thalia teased, giving Annabeth a smirk. She rolled her eyes playfully at the blue eyed girl.

"A little extra highlighter clearly didn't hurt," Silena said with a smile. She was in charge of makeup and wardrobe. It really wasn't that big of a production, but they figured why not make it a little more fun?

"She's not wrong," Percy muttered to her, shrugging with a grin.

Annabeth laughed, "Shut up." She swatted his arm.

"Okay," Connor announced. "We're on in five, four, three..."

Percy stepped out of frame and joined the others behind the camera. They were borrowing from Rachel; she used it to showcase her art, and apparently she was a bit of a photographer. Annabeth had thanked her relentlessly, to which Rachel was very gracious. Whatever jealousies Annabeth had toward the redhead were gone; she was actually coming to like her quite a bit.

Connor gave Annabeth a thumbs up and she started talking.

"Hey guys! It's Annabeth, I just wanted to make a little vlog for you guys and tell you about some stuff I've been doing. As you all know, I'm studying abroad in Greece! It has been so much fun so far. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a lot of pictures, but some of the ones that I do have I'll show you guys," she continued. These said pictures were ones that she took about two years ago, when she actually visited Greece with her father. It was a business trip, but he was able to bring her along. It was her favorite trip she had ever been on.

Things went on like this for a while, shooting some b-roll, and a little more conversation from Annabeth. They were able to get one full shot of her from afar, because her belly didn't show very much looking at her from behind. With a cover-up on, she didn't look pregnant at all.

It felt strange doing all of these things to hide her pregnancy. At the beginning of this crazy journey, she wanted to lock herself up and never leave the house; she was terrified about what people would think and say if they found out she was pregnant. But now, her feelings changed entirely. She wanted so badly to be able to share her pregnancy with everyone. She wanted to share this beautiful gift she was given, and explain her story of how she got there. She wanted to convey her message that even in the worst darknesses, there was light. Finnley was her light. He was her everything. So having to hide him and work so hard to prove that he didn't exist, felt... wrong, almost.

But despite this, Annabeth knew that if she told everyone now, all of this hard work would be for nothing. Things would unravel. She knew that as soon as they graduated, she could share her baby with the world all she wanted, but she was still so excited about it, it was hard to contain. Still, she knew that this was what she needed to do.

~*~

Saturday, February 23rd
2:40 pm - Annabeth's house

"Alright," Connor announced. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yes!" They all shouted.

"Show us already!" Drew complained.

"Jeez," the tech geek griped. "You'd think you would all be a little nicer to this brilliant mind," he mumbled.

"Brilliant mind my ass," Thalia retorted, flicking his head.

"Ow!"

"I'm playing the video!" Percy shouted as everyone started to argue again. Annabeth shook her head at the bunch. They were all very excited to see how the video had come out, her more than anyone. She was excited, but also incredibly nervous. She didn't doubt Connor's abilities, but this needed to be absolutely seamless. One mistake and everything would be ruined.

Percy pressed play and everyone waited for it to start. A small introduction started playing, with cute music Annabeth had picked out and some pictures. Then, her voice came through the speaker.

"Hey guys!..." Annabeth wasn't concerned with how she was talking but more so with the visuals. Everything looked so... real.

"Connor this is incredible," Annabeth said in awe. The background was seamless, and he even touched her up a little bit, making her a tad tanner than she really was. It was just... perfect.

He edited in the pictures that she took two years ago. Luckily, she could use them because she hadn't posted them on any of her social media's. She thanked her past self for that.

The part she was most nervous about began to play. It was the video on the beach of her in the ocean. God, the water had been so cold, but it was worth it. She didn't look pregnant at all. It was amazing. Annabeth felt the strongest sense of relief she had felt in a long time.

Soon, the barely two minute video was over. Everyone clapped and cheered. It was stupid, but Annabeth was so happy. She was relieved that they were able to solve this problem, and she was incredibly grateful for the help and support of her friends.

"That was so good!" Katie said, hugging Annabeth. She laughed as everyone high-fived and cheered.

"Not bad, kid," Rachel said, nudging Connor's arm and smirking at him. He chuckled sheepishly and smiled at the ground. Annabeth and Silena exchanged a look; they both knew the two had feelings for each other.

Then, Annabeth looked to Connor. "I seriously don't know how to thank you enough," she said. Their exchanges weren't often serious, for they usually involved jokes and snide comments, but this was completely genuine.

Connor grinned his quirky smile at her. "Don't worry about it," he said, hugging her. "It's the least I could do." She hugged him back before they separated.

"So I know that you're obviously just the worse version of me," Travis started. "But that was pretty good."

"Hey, Connor is my favorite Stoll, so you better watch it," Katie chimed in jokingly.

"Thank you, Katie," Connor replied, getting in his brothers face.

"Oh really? He's your favorite? You're gonna get it," he said before Katie ran and he chased after her. Travis grabbed her waist and Katie squealed. Annabeth grinned at the two as they laughed and kissed, very clearly happy together. She knew they'd be a great pair.

Connor uploaded the video and Annabeth posted it. Once that was done, she turned around and cupped Percy's face, bringing his lips to her own. She kissed him passionately, knowing that everything was going to be okay.

"You feel better now?" Percy asked. His arms were around her, and his mouth was next to her ear. Hearing his voice just drowned out everything else. She loved it.

"Yeah," she sighed contently. "I feel really good." They smiled at each other.

"Good."

•••