March 27th

It seemed the whole world was watching. Rationally, she knows that isn't the case. The only person she knows that's in the audience is Percy. The rest of the seats are filled with a sea of unfamiliar faces that have come to support the show one final time.

Nostalgia creeps into the auditorium like a dense mist. Every thing she does is for the final time. This is the final time she will open the show, the final time she will sing this solo, do that routine, say those lines. Part of her wants to freeze in those moments forever, the other part of her wants to live through them all as fast as she can.

(Her vlogging camera is safely packed away in it's case in her apartment. As much as she wants to remember this experience forever, she would much rather focus on living in the present moment.)

And then the cast is bowing and she lets out the breath that's kept her going for the last few hours. Her chest is heaving and her headset feels sticky from sweat, but she's beaming at Ella who squirms impatiently on her hip. As is customary for a closing night, Jake darts on with a handheld mic and Apollo saunters to the front of the stage to make a speech.

"Good people of New York!" Apollo greets the audience, his flair for the dramatics making a few of the company hold back a laugh. He seems to have dressed a little more formally today in lieu of the show closing. His usual tracksuit or jogging bottoms has been replaced with a pair of clean jeans and a plain white shirt. There were a few creases in the shoulder but besides that, he looked almost smart. "Thank you for being here on this momentous occasion, the closing of a door, the finale to a wonderful run of shows. I've written a haiku for tonight, because my otherwise simple words cannot express my gratitude and love for the cast and crew of this wonderful production."

Around Annabeth, there was a commotion of people grumbling or trying not to laugh. Apollo's haikus must have been pretty memorable then, and not for the way he likely claimed they would be.

Tapping his mic, Apollo cleared his throat and began reciting the words he'd written on his hand. His voice was low and serious, causing the tone of the tone of the poem to be seriously misleading.

"Waitress is over.
We're all out of a job now.
Thank you for coming."

The auditorium fell into an awkward silence. Someone on the upper circle coughed. Ella wriggled in Annabeth's arms. Finally, Katrina let out a snort and everyone on stage fell into rowdy laughter, the tension easing from the room.

Still stood centre stage, Apollo beamed and spread his hands out, bowing to the audience. It seems he misunderstood the meaning of the applause. Annabeth was happy to let him bask in the limelight anyway.

"Now, back to the serious stuff. I've got about a million 'thank you's to say, but I'll do those in person. The most important ones just happen to be for the people on this very stage."

All eyes turned to them once more. Luke tugged on Ella's pigtails, muttering something that Annabeth didn't listen to. Her eyes met Percy's and all of her thoughts turned to him as Apollo droned on in the background.

He was sat closer to the front this time around, though she hadn't been able to see him during the performance. Now the house lights were up, her focus was drawn to him like some kind of magnetic force. Percy was smiling widely at her. When he caught her staring, he blew a kiss in her direction and butterflies swarmed her stomach as if she was reliving her Broadway debut all over again.

"That's you!" Ella prodded her side.

Dazed, Annabeth turned back to where Apollo was stood. Somehow, a bunch of flowers had appeared in his arms. She had been to out-of-it to notice how they got there.

"Annabeth Chase," The way he called her name made her realise this wasn't the first time he had said it. "Our leading lady."

Luke lifted Ella out of her arms and gently pushed her towards Apollo, who handed the flowers to her somewhat reluctantly, as though he was hoping to hold on for them for a while longer. With the flowers in one arm, Apollo pressed the mic into her hands and muttered a few words of encouragement.

Determined not to make a fool out of herself, Annabeth cleared her throat. So, they wanted a speech. Her mind reviewed her tenth grade public speaking class and the rules her teacher, Mr Brunner, had outlined. Be unapologetic; speak slowly to the back of the room; use pauses to emphasise your point; look at the audience, not your notes (that one was easy enough when she had no notes to look at) and finally practice. Well, that last one might require a little longer than the ten seconds she allows herself before she starts speaking. Thanks for the heads up, Apollo.

Her worries die before she can dwell on them. One look at Percy's face, split in half from his wide smile and winking at her, calms all of her nerves. If he was her audience, she could do this.

"So, Broadway isn't usually my scene." Annabeth began, turning on the diagonal so she could see her cast mates as she spoke. "I'm not trained for this, I'm a 'social media influencer' who sang a cover of a song that went viral overnight. But I cannot possibly express how grateful I am for all of this. For these incredible people, the audiences, the cast, the crew and everyone backstage. And this show. This show has led me to several existential crises, namely about myself and my future. This show will forever sit close to my heart. Thank you so much for having me."

Her eyes began to well up. It was difficult to put into words how much this past year had meant to her. Never would she have even considered that she had what it takes to headline a show (not only because of her lack of performance training but also due to the fact that her following had been about half the size last year). Waitress has taught her a lot of things. The importance of doing what's right. The value of family. It had made her contemplate her relationship with her parents - something she was still working on - but they were making progress.

It had had it's downside. The distance it forced between her and Percy had been difficult to manage, though maybe it was the reason for their strengthening connection. Such a challenge so early in their relationship had been painful but it was probably for the best. And it was refreshing to know that for the rest of the year, it would be the two of them together against the world. Or at least until the next adventure.

The microphone was passed over to the creative team who listed thanks to a horde of people that Annabeth had never even heard of. It seemed entirely unfathomable how many people were involved in the show, the songwriter and lyricist, the director, casting team, producers, lighting and sound design, tech, set design, wig-makers, costume department, the list went on.

Percy nodded proudly in her direction and it made her heart flutter once more.

The speeches drew to a close with Apollo pointing to the sound booth to start up the music again. "For a send off, let's all sing this one last time. Everything changes and so will we."

Once again, a mic was shoved into Annabeth's grasp and she started singing as people wiped their eyes, smiling widely.

I didn't know, but now I see
Sometimes what is is meant to be
You saved me

My blurry lines, my messy life
Come into focus and in time
Maybe

Kayla looped her arm through Annabeth's, leaning into the mic and singing alongside her. Up in the box, Nyssa must have switched on everyone's headsets because there was a sudden swell of voices. It took a moment for her to realise that the audience was singing along too.

I can heal and I can breathe
Cause I can feel myself believe

The cast split into their vocal parts, arms around each other and swaying. A finale to top all their previous ones. And the only person in the audience that mattered was grinning at her with vibrant, smiling, ocean eyes.

Everything changes
Oh my heart's at the wheel now
And all my mistakes, they make sense when I turn them around
Everything changes

What I thought was so permanent fades
In the blink of an eye, there's a new life in front of my face
And I know in due time every right thing will find it's right place
So I swear I'll remember to say, we were both born today
Cause everything changed

Everything changes

All around her, people were embracing and wiping their tears, but Annabeth didn't feel like crying anymore. There was no reason to be upset. Because this was only the beginning.

~~~

Things moved slowly backstage, everyone reluctant to take of their costumes for the final time and say goodbye to their wigs (it was a touching moment, Annabeth had named her's Ethel. She was going to miss having a mask of sleek, blonde curls without having to do any of the work). Ella was the first to go, her mom eager to get her home and to bed to avoid another late night.

As soon as she had gathered her things, Annabeth was out at the stage door taking selfies and signing playbills. The energy on this corner of the block was vibrant and invigorating. By the time it had cleared out, her wrist ached and her cheeks were begging for a moment to relax out of the smile plastered to her face.

Having already agreed to meet Percy back at her apartment made the journey much quicker as didn't have to look for him in the busy crowds of people. He was already right where she wanted him to be. The cab journey felt all too long, her knee bounced as she approached her building. To use up her excess adrenaline, Annabeth opted to use the stairs over the lift.

Percy was waiting before she even had to knock on the door, arms strong around her waist and lips against her cheek. He tasted like spearmint under her tongue. He smelt like the aftershave he'd worn that day in Sacramento, sea salt and sugar, his skin burning hot beneath her palms like it had done when they'd been reunited during his show. Each time her eyes fluttered open, she was able to catch a glimpse of his own. Their sharp color made her spine crackle with electricity. He tasted like spearmint, he smelt like the sea, he looked like pure energy and he felt like forever. This was what it felt like to come home.