This was already published a while ago in the Percabeth One-Shot Community Collection by @crazedauthors1093. Based on the song "Water Fountain" by Alec Benjamin.

Percy's POV

She told me that she loved me by the water fountain

I stared at the numbers on the page of the textbook in front of me until they started to swim. I could no longer tell the difference between six and eight or "x" and "y" and certainly not "t" and a plus sign. I threw my pencil across the library in frustration and slammed my head down on top of the book.

A soft voice beside me asked, "What's wrong?"

I turned my head to look Annabeth in the eye.

"I can't do it," I groaned miserably.

"Sure you can, Seaweed Brain." She pulled up a chair next to me and worked out one of the problems while I watched over her shoulder. After what felt like the millionth problem and explanation, I still didn't understand. I buried my face in Annabeth's shoulder and sighed. She brought her hand up to my hair and scratched my scalp soothingly.

I heard some whispering and giggling from the bookshelf behind us, but I didn't care. I wasn't embarrassed to be close to my best friend. It didn't matter what everyone thought.

My best friend must have thought differently, however, because she dropped her hand and scooted away from me.

"Let's take a break for a little bit, Percy." I nodded in agreement. "Let me just go grab my stuff." She stood to head for her locker, and I sat a minute longer, sending a pointed look to the gossiping girls behind me.

I cleaned up my books and starting walking for the door, but I heard one of the guys from my swim team holler my name. I turned towards him and his group and raised my eyebrows, knowing I wasn't going to like whatever he said.

"Is your girlfriend tutoring you now, Jackson?" They started chuckling. I breathed out heavily through my nose.

"She's not my girlfriend. It's not like that. You all know that, and I'm not in the mood for this."

"Oh, I bet I know what you are in the mood for - with your 'not girlfriend.'" He made air quotes, then another gesture that was much more suggestive.

I turned on my heel and stormed out because I knew a fight was not what I needed right now... but I did make sure to return a gesture of my own with my middle finger up.

"Now what's wrong?" Annabeth asked when I met her in the hallway.

"Nothing," I lied, trying to wipe my scowl. "Let's just go find some food."

We ended up at a little cafe, seated at a table next to a small ceramic water fountain. Annabeth looked nervous and picked at her food.

I nudged her foot with mine. "Everything okay, Wise Girl?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking." She looked up at me briefly, then her eyes returned to the table.

"I'm not surprised, but about what?" I stepped on her toes under the table, pulling a smile out of her.

"A lot of things, Percy." And that was all she said, which was pretty unusual for Annabeth. But I didn't push, and we sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I don't think I'll ever understand algebra," I blurted out. I didn't want to talk about math, but something needed to fill the space. I never felt that way with Annabeth, though. Just being with her was always enough. But today was weird, and I didn't like it.

"If you have a best friend to help you out, I'm confident you will," she promised, her voice sounding a little strained. I ignored that.

"Do you know where I can find one?"

She threw her napkin at me and I laughed, causing her to laugh, too. I would do anything to keep her happy like that. I tossed the napkin back and she caught it, fiddling with it between her fingers.

"Do you wanna know what I was thinking about?" She asked me, still focused on the napkin.

"Of course."

"I was thinking... this is, like, kind of a date."

"Um..." I wasn't sure what to say. We ate out together all the time. "I guess so. We're eating at a restaurant."

"I know, I know," she responded quickly. "But do you ever wish it was a date? Like a real one?"

"What do you mean?" I suddenly felt awkward. I think I did know what she meant, but it was confusing. Annabeth was my best friend and it had been that way since we were kids. I couldn't think of it any other way.

I may have felt awkward, but Annabeth sure looked it. "I - you know what - it's not-" She stumbled over her words and fidgeted. "Just forget I said anything. I should go home." She started to stand up but I grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Annabeth, let's just talk about this!" She tried to fight me but I pulled her back into her chair.

"No, no," she mumbled, wiping at her eyes. I hated myself for being the one to do this to her. "There's nothing to talk about. I just had a long day and I'm being unreasonable and I shouldn't have said anything. You're my best friend, Percy, and that's all that matters."

"Yeah, um, okay," I said lamely. Curse my poor conversation skills and screwed-up emotions. I wasn't convinced in the slightest that she was really okay and I still felt like beating myself up, but I sensed that she was finished with topic.

We didn't speak much for the rest of the "date," but I swear I saw her blush when I paid for her meal.

She told me that she loved me by the water fountain
She told me that she loved me and she didn't love him
And that was really lovely 'cause it was innocent
But now she's got a cup with something else in it

Annabeth had distanced herself since that day at the cafe. I felt her slipping away from me, which was stupid because she was never mine to begin with. And she was still my best friend, but now it was just... different. I started to notice new things too, things that came with the space. I realized that I missed her laugh and the way that she would shake her head every time I told a bad joke. I found that if we didn't have a goodnight conversation, I couldn't fall asleep. I felt the ache in my chest when she never sat as close to me as before.

I was thinking about all of this in the locker room after swim practice. I slammed my locker shut in frustration. That's when the peanut gallery started up.

"What's wrong, Jackson?"

"Girl problems?"

"Is she not putting out anymore?"

Before I knew it, my fist was connecting with a face. I wanted to knock the teeth out of whoever was disrespecting my Annabeth, but someone held me back. I shrugged him off and shouldered out the door. I stumbled to the drinking fountain and let the water run over my face, trying to calm down.

"Percy!"

I turned around to see the girl of the hour practically running down the hallway to me. Annabeth hadn't looked this excited to see me in awhile.

"Percy, you'll never believe this! Guess who..." Her voice died out when she noticed my condition. "What's wrong with your hand? What happened?" She worriedly grabbed for me, but I didn't let her.

"Nothing. I just hit it along the side of the pool." I was most definitely not telling her the truth. She would be mad if she knew I could get in trouble over her.

I knew she didn't buy my lie, but apparently whatever she wanted to tell me was more important. "Okay, so you know Luke Castellan?"

I nodded, not liking the direction this was going.

"So we were talking after school a few days ago and I gave him my number and we've been texting and stuff and he just asked me out for Friday night!" She looked at me expectantly.

"Oh," I started, then cleared my throat. "That's great, Wise Girl!" I gave her my best smile, even though I wanted to punch something again. She threw her arms around me, and I hugged back, ignoring the pain in my chest.

It's getting kind of blurry at a quarter past ten
And he was in a hurry to be touching her skin
She's feeling kind of dirty when she's dancing with him
Forgetting what she told me by the water fountain
Now he's grabbing her hips, and pulling her in
Kissing her lips, and whispering in her ear
And she knows that she shouldn't listen
And that she should be with me by the water fountain

Annabeth has been dating Luke for about fourth months. And that's fine. I mean, Luke's fine. He's not great. Some of his friends are jerks and he's a bit of a party goer. He also doesn't seem to be able to grasp the concept of his girlfriend's personal space, but she doesn't seem to mind as much as I do. Annabeth is happy. So Luke is fine.

I walked over to the lunch table where the happy couple was already sitting. I didn't like to third wheel and Luke always gave me a dirty look when I sat down, but Annabeth told Luke from the very beginning of their relationship that I was part of the deal. I'm not sure how either of us feel about that, but she is my best friend, so I sit with her at lunch.

"Oh Luke," Annabeth said, "don't you think Percy should come to that party with us tonight? He never goes out!" I didn't remind her that she was the only one I ever "went out" with.

Luke glanced over at me, then back at Annabeth. "I mean, if he wants to, yeah."

I got the feeling that he didn't want me there, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"Okay, I'll meet you guys there."

Luke scowled, but Annabeth didn't notice because she was too busy smiling at me. I smiled back.

That evening, I was playing video games before the party when my phone rang. I answered the FaceTime to find Annabeth's ceiling.

"Hello? You there, Wise Girl?"

"Yeah!" she yelled, far away from the phone. "I need your help finding an outfit. I want to show you a few, then you pick the best one."

"Um, alright, but don't you think this is more of a job for your boyfriend?" Don't get me wrong, I was very glad she called me instead. But Luke wouldn't be.

"No dummy," she said, finally fixing the camera on herself. "The outfit is for him."

"Oh," was all I managed. But Annabeth wasn't stopping anytime soon.

"Isn't it crazy that Luke is my first long-term boyfriend?"

"Well, I don't feel like four months is very long term."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, but compared to the rest of my boyfriends it is. They only lasted, like, a week at most. Why do you think that is?"

Should I tell her that her boyfriends always left because they didn't like how close she was to me? A guy best friend never seemed to go over well. Personally, I think that's pretty immature.

"I don't know, Annabeth. They're wrong, though, I know that."

I suppose that I maybe am just a tiny little bit head over heels for her. Her ex-boyfriends probably didn't like that. But I missed my chance. And it's not like I'm acting on it, anyway.

By the time we were done talking, I had seen all of her outfit choices.

"Which one is the best?" she asked.

I shook my head, "They're all great. Except the third one. That one is way too good to wear."

She blushed but tried to hide it behind a glare. "Okay, Dad."

So maybe I'm a little bit protective, too.

I groaned as I pulled up to the party - loud music, bright lights, people everywhere. The house wasn't very big so it was bound to be overly crowded, and it's a little too cold to hang outside. I've never liked parties and neither does Annabeth. I'm not sure why she lets Luke drag her into these messes.

But maybe I do... the same reason I let her drag me into these messes.

I shuffled awkwardly into the mess of high schoolers, searching for the familiar curly blonde hair. I found her standing by herself, surveying the crowd. The first thing I noticed was that Luke wasn't with her. The second thing I noticed was that she was wearing the third outfit.

"As in-character as ever," I yelled over the music to her, "Annabeth Chase does the exact opposite of what she is told."

She looked confused, so I gestured to her attire. Her look turned smug.

"You know I don't like to be told what to do-"

"You asked for my input!"

"-and I thought Luke would like it!"

"Oh yeah, Wise Girl," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended, "he seems super interested in you right now."

She looked offended. "He was earlier! He's just with his buddies right now!"

"Are you telling me that he left you behind?" Annabeth looked like she wanted to defend him, but I wasn't going to let her. "Does he always do this?" At the few parties I'd been invited to, Luke always wandered away from Annabeth and I. I had always just assumed it was because I was there to keep Annabeth company. Now I see that is not the case.

"Percy, if all you are going to do tonight is gripe about my boyfriend, you should just leave." She was serious, I found, from searching her eyes.

"All I'm saying is," I took a deep breath, trying really hard to keep my cool, "he shouldn't ditch you at the party he brought you to. Luke shouldn't treat you like that, Annabeth."

I wouldn't treat you like that, I wanted to say. But I didn't.

"Luke treats me fine, Percy." She grabbed my hand, seeming to have softened a little. "Really, I promise."

"Just fine? Not spectacularly? Not like a princess? Because that's what you deserve." I spoke so softly that I would have believed she didn't hear me, but her eyes started to get glassy from tears. She opened her mouth to respond but exactly the person I least wanted to see cut her off.

"Babe, c'mon," Luke yelled, grabbing her waist from behind. He didn't even look at me. "I wanna dance!"

Then my Annabeth was whisked away from me. I sat heavily on the kitchen floor, knowing I'd be the one to take care of my princess tonight and she wouldn't even remember any of this in the morning. But what else are best friends for?

I should've built a home with a fountain for us
The moment that she told me that she was in love
Too young
I was too young

I wiped my sweaty palms against my jeans. I wasn't even getting on a plane, but the airport still made me incredibly nervous. I think my fear of flying was contagious, too, because Annabeth seemed to be getting nervous. But maybe it was more of because of the destination, not the travelling.

"Percy," she mumbled, "am I doing the right thing?"

I honestly didn't know how to answer that. I didn't want her to move across the country for college and live in an apartment with Luke. I wanted her to stay with me. But that was selfish of me and didn't mean she made the wrong choice for herself.

I realized I had been quiet for too long when I noticed her starting to wilt beside me. I gently cupped her face in my hands and made her look into my eyes.

"Annabeth, are you excited about the school you're going to? Are you excited about the field you're studying?" She nodded, so I continued. "Are you a strong, independent woman who can take on anything and everything?" This time she laughed.

"Of course I am, Seaweed Brain." She used my old nickname so sarcastically yet so sweetly that I felt my face heat up, but I ignored it. I braced myself to ask the hardest question.

"And do you see yourself having a future with Luke?" She nodded again, and maybe it was just my hopeful imagination, but I swear it was more hesitantly than the last one. Nonetheless, she gave me her answer and I couldn't dwell on it. So even though it hurt coming out of my mouth, I told her, "Then you are doing the right thing."

Instead of responding, she threw her arms around my middle and squeezed. I hugged her back, holding her head close to my chest and dreading the moment I would have to let go. But of course, the moment came quickly as her flight was the next called. Annabeth detached herself from me.

"I have to go," she said like I didn't already know.

"Luke knows what time you'll get there, right? And he has the right airport?"

"You really don't think very highly of him, do you Percy?" She asked me this question a lot, but usually with some humor. This time she looked very stoic.

I swallowed the true response and said, "I'm just making sure, Wise Girl."

Annabeth squeezed my hand, then turned around. We had already said our goodbyes. Before I knew it, she was gone. I felt my gut seize up in fear when I thought of her on a plane, but I knew that was the most irrational thing to be scared of for her. I felt like an idiot, knowing that I wouldn't be in this mess if I had been put together enough to realize I felt the same way she did that day in the cafe. Annabeth had always been one step ahead of me, and everything surrounding that day was no exception.

And if she ever goes back to the water fountain
The handle will be broken and the rust set in
But my hand, it will be open and I'll try to fix it
My heart, it will be open and I'll try to give it

My doorbell was ringing while it was still dark outside and I was not happy about it. I pulled myself out of bed, grabbing my phone to check the time. It was four a.m., which was alarming enough, but even worse was that I had six missed calls from Annabeth. I stumbled through the apartment, trying to turn on lights, get to the door (which was still ringing), and text Annabeth to see if she was okay. I turned the doorknob right after I hit send.

I did not expect to look up and see the same face I was just looking at in the top of the messages.

"Yes, I'm fine, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, holding up her phone. "And you are as heavy of a sleeper as always."

After staring at her, completely dumbfounded for a good few seconds, I remembered to breathe. I pulled her into a bone crushing hug. We stood like that for a while, her arms wrapped around my shoulders and her fingers threaded into my hair. I'm pretty sure my lungs stopped working again.

When she pulled away, I started in. "What are you doing here? How did you get here? Why didn't you call me?"

Annabeth laughed. "I did call you!"

"Oh... right," I said sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"S'kay." She flashed me a blinding smiling, but it quickly faded. "I just came to talk to you. I have to leave again in a few hours."

"You seriously came all the way here for a single morning just to talk?" Honestly, I was elated. But I had to let her know she was crazy. "We literally talked on the phone yesterday!"

"I know that!" She gave me a playful shove to sit me on the couch. I think my brain exploded when she curled up next to me. "But I wanted to talk in person."

"Well," I responded, even though my mouth felt like sandpaper and my limbs seemed to have detached from my body. I guess Annabeth has that effect on me, even after all these years. "Here I am. In person. Talk away."

But she didn't. She opened her mouth like she wanted to, but nothing came out. She started to fiddle with my fingers and wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"Do you want something to drink or eat?" I finally asked, not wanting to push her. It was obviously a big deal if she came all the way across the country to tell me about it. But she shook her head and took a deep breath.

"I think... I think Luke is going to ask me to marry him."

Ouch.

I must have been wearing an incredulous look. Annabeth scanned my face and whispered, "But you don't want me to."

"I... I didn't say that." Nice save, Percy. Real smooth.

"You didn't have to."

"Well, Annabeth," I choked out, "it doesn't matter what I want, anyway. What do you want?"

"That's the thing, Percy." A tear slipped down her face. "I don't know."

Then she really started crying, leaning into me. I held her close, searching desperately for the right thing to say. It was kind of difficult when my whole body felt numb.

Annabeth started to pull herself back together and, luckily for me, spoke first. "I suppose you would probably know if you wanted to get married, huh?"

"I mean, yeah, I'd say so." I was thankful she was thinking about this logically. "I don't think sad tears are a good response to an engagement."

"No," she agreed. "He hasn't actually asked yet either. But he mentioned something about a wedding a few weeks ago and now he's planned a big date for our anniversary. And I just know it's coming."

"You always were rather good at predictions," I recalled with a slight laugh. Annabeth smiled a little. "C'mon," I said, pulling her to her feet. "We can talk more after breakfast. I'll make pancakes."

"I was so hoping you'd say that."

Just a few hours later, the two of us were back in the airport. Annabeth looked even more nervous than last time. I felt like I had been zero help with her problem, but she promised I had made all the difference. I'm not sure exactly what that meant, but I'm sure I liked it.

"Let me know when you're home safe, okay? And let me know what goes down."

"Of course," she promised. Then she kissed me on the cheek and was gone. A goofy grin made it's way to my face.

"You two are such a cute couple," a woman beside me commented. Oh, how I wish, lady. How I wish.

Now I'm grabbing her hips, and pulling her in
Kissing her lips, and whispering in her ear

I hadn't heard from Annabeth since her surprise visit. I got one "I'm home!" text with a smiley face, and then absolutely nothing. She didn't tell me what day their anniversary was and there was no way I remembered that from high school, but I was confident Annabeth had done what she needed to do. I wasn't sure what that was, though.

I called her phone and she picked up after what felt like a million rings. "Now's not really a good time!" Her voice sounded angry, but I got the feeling it wasn't directed at me.

"Oh... sorry?"

I heard someone else in the background.

"It's just Percy," she told the voice, even angrier. Yikes. My timing, as per usual, was horrible.

"I can call back later, Wise Girl-"

There was a noise like the phone was being jostled around, then Luke's fuming voice hit my ear. "Jackson, you just always have to screw up everything, don't you?"

"Luke!" I heard Annabeth cry in the background before I could respond. She must have grabbed the phone back because she started apologizing to me.

"No, I'm sorry!" Luke yelled, plenty loud enough for me to hear him. "I'm sorry I could never get between you and your precious Seaweed Brain!"

I felt like an intruder on their conversation, but I had to stay on the phone to make sure Annabeth would be okay. This fight sounded intense. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her because of me.

"Luke, stop being ridiculous," Annabeth pleaded. I was just considering putting in my two cents when a beeping signaled on my phone. Did she really just hang up on me?

I called her twelve times in a row. Not surprisingly, she didn't pick up. But there was no way I was going to sit here and worry and not know what happened. I inhaled deeply and grabbed my jacket. It was finally time to face one of my biggest fears: flying.

Hours later, my legs were shaking as I pounded on Annabeth's door, but I think it was for reasons other than the turbulence. Fear gripped my chest when no one answered. I knocked again. And again. Finally, on the fourth try, the door whipped open to reveal a frazzled Annabeth.

"What do you want, Castellan?" She snapped quickly. Her eyes widened when she realized who it was.

"Nope," I said, stupidly happy. Relief was coursing through me to see my Wise Girl okay and to know Luke wasn't home. Alright, and maybe to know that she was furious with him. "It's just me."

"Just you," she breathed out, staring into my eyes with a look that I knew well from wearing it often. Maybe it was my worst idea ever, but I couldn't help it. I surged forward and kissed Annabeth.

No, I thought when she kissed me back. This is my best idea ever.