Full Summary:

Annabeth Chase was a sucker for literally anything to do with the 80's era. Instead of listening to the newest pop songs, she was reliving the past with classic old school songs. In place of skinny jeans and crop tops, she wore baggy thrift store jeans and vintage t-shirts. Her best friend Thalia always joked that she wasn't born in the right time period. All she's ever wanted was to experience the past and to fall in love. When things take an impossible turn will her dream actually become a reality? An adventurous journey, a hopeless summer love story, a heartbreaking choice. Percabeth AU and OOC

Hello my fellow Percabeth fanatics! Hope everyone is safe and healthy! So, if you don't know me, welcome. This is my 3rd story and I'm so excited for it! It's called Time After Time (title is from an 80's song if you didn't already catch that).

I'm obsessed with Percabeth so please check out my other stories if you haven't already (The Marine and the Veterinarian & The Rink). I started writing this because I love anything and everything that's old school especially the music. That's just the way I grew up since my parents never played anything else in the car on road trips haha. So yes, Annabeth is kind of like me in this story.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

There are a lot of song tributes throughout this whole story (some chapters have/will have like 3 or 4). 80's music is so unique, and I wanted to put as many songs as I could. It would mean a lot if you could read while listening to the songs. Sometimes I'll include all the lyrics to the songs, other times I'll just mention the song in passing, and sometimes I'll include a few lines but not the whole song (but you should still listen to the songs while reading the scene). It will give you the full experience! If you choose not to listen to the songs make sure you at least read paragraphs in between the stanzas so you don't miss anything!

The date for this chapter says August 5th, 2020 which we haven't reached yet but it's a summer story and I felt like starting it in 2020 would give you guys a little hope if that makes sense. This year has been rough for everyone I'm sure.

Lastly, this story is unlike anything I've written before. I don't want to give much away but I'm sure a lot of you have guessed what this story entails based off the title and Annabeth's love of the past. That being said, it will take a few chapters for things to build up and for Percabeth to meet but I promise you once Percabeth happens you won't regret the wait (just ask anyone who's read my other stories, I write so much fluff and cuteness it's suffocating). You don't get much of an insight to what Percy is like from the summary, but I meant for it to be that way. Ok, I'm finally done. Enjoy guys!

Disclaimer: Don't own the PJO/HOO characters, or the songs in this story, but I do own the plot line

August 5th, 2020

[Song Tribute: Tell it to My Heart- Taylor Dayne]

*Instrumental*

Annabeth bopped her head to the beat. Her feet clad in white high-top converse zig-zagged across the floor of her small bedroom as she finished getting ready for the day. Her blonde curls bounced up and down as she attempted to brush her hair while dancing her way into the bathroom.

I feel the night explode
When we're together
Emotion overload
In the heat of pleasure
Take me I'm yours
Into your arms
Never let me go
Tonight I really need to know

She took a break from trying to tame her wild curls and placed her hairbrush near her mouth. She mouthed the words to one of her all-time favorite songs as the chorus came up, using her old hairbrush in place of a microphone.

Tell it to my heart
Tell me I'm the only one
Is this really love or just a game?
Tell it to my heart
I can feel my body rock
Every time you call my name

She made facial expressions and hand gestures to herself in the mirror, getting more into the beat of the song and the lyrics behind it. The many bracelets she was wearing clanked against the plastic hairbrush as she continued to sing before moving back into her bedroom.

The passion's so complete
It's never ending
As long as I receive
The message you're sending

As the next few lines of the song came on Annabeth paused in the middle of her dance routine, preparing herself to lip-synch the lyrics. She crouched down low, getting really into the long notes Taylor Dayne had chosen to include in the tune.

Body to body, soul to soul
Always feel you near
So say the words I long to hear

Tell it to my heart
Tell me I'm the only one
Is this really love or just a game?
Tell it to my heart
I can feel my body rock
Every time you call my name

She resumed her frantic dancing, allowing her high tops to take her every which direction as the second instrumental part of the song came on. She put her hands in the air above her head, one hand still grasping her hairbrush as her blonde ringlets bounced to the beat. A giant smile was apparent on her face as she continued to mouth the next part into her hairbrush.

Love
Love on the run breaking us down
Though we keep holding on
I don't want to lose

She sunk to her knees and closed her eyes when the high note sounded throughout the room.

NoI can't let you go

She stood up again, getting a bit tired from all the fast-paced dancing but still continuing nonetheless.

Tell it to my heart
Tell me I'm the only one
Is this really love or just a game?
Tell it to my heart
I can feel my body rock
Every time you call my name

She danced her way over to her dresser to grab a pair of rings she wore every day. She slipped them casually onto her right ring finger and left pointer finger, shaking her head to the music as she put them on.

Tell it to my heart
Tell me from the stars
Tell it to my heart
Tell it to my heart
Tell me from the stars
Tell it to my heart

Never make it stop
Oh take it to the heart
Oh no no ah ah

She ran back towards the center of her bedroom, grabbing her hairbrush she'd dropped and singing into it for the millionth time as the chorus repeated itself. Her feet continued in the strange zig-zag pattern as she tried her best to keep up.

Tell it to my heart
Tell me I'm the only one
Is this really love or just a game
Tell it to my heart
I can feel my body rock
Every time you call my name

Tell it to my heart
Tell me I'm the only one
Is this really love or just a game?
Tell it to my heart…

As the song came to an end Annabeth performed one final spin in the spot she was standing. In the middle of the final dance move she spotted a figure in the corner of her eye observing her from the doorway. She immediately stopped in her tracks and her thoughts were confirmed when she heard the sound of someone clapping whilst trying desperately to control their laughter.

She made eye contact with the blonde-haired male leaning against her doorframe. A smile of amusement had found itself onto his features and Annabeth felt her cheeks turn red from embarrassment despite her hardest efforts to hide her flushed appearance.

A moment of complete silence passed between the two before Annabeth broke it.

"Malcom! How long have you been standing there?!" She scolded. Her breathing was very heavy. She felt like she'd just run a marathon.

The boy in question smiled annoyingly towards her. "Long enough to see my baby sister make a complete fool of herself." He teased.

Annabeth sent a glare in his direction. "Shut up"

Malcom chuckled. "You're lucky. Most older brothers would yell at their sisters for blasting music at eight thirty in the morning but not me. This is like your regular morning routine now."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She said lazily.

They seemed to go through the same routine multiple times a week. Malcom would get up around six thirty in the morning to go running, Annabeth would wake up around eight, get dressed for her day working at the music store down the street called Apollo's, and take an extra five minutes because some amazing 80's song would start playing from her phone's playlist. He'd caught her in the same situation more times than she could count considering she worked five days a week.

Malcom smiled. "Breakfast's on the table and by breakfast, I mean a bagel I toasted for you." He joked. Annabeth nodded before quickly grabbing her phone from where it was plugged in on her nightstand.

At the bottom of the stairs she passed a framed picture of a gorgeous grey-eyed woman with gold curls smiling next to a dirty blond male that had his arms around the woman from behind. They were laughing at the person taking the picture. Every inch of the photograph conveyed happiness. Annabeth took a second to smile sadly at the frame, lightly tracing the outline of the woman before heading to the kitchen.

Five years ago, Fredrick and Athena Chase were killed in a hit and run on their way back home. A driver ran a red light. The husband and wife didn't react fast enough. Both of them died before they even got to the hospital. After the accident Malcom, being four years older than Annabeth, stepped up and took care of her. That was something Annabeth would forever be thankful for. She didn't know what she would do without him. It was a rough few years for the two siblings, but they supported each other through it all. With a little help from a family friend, the two of them moved into a small townhouse not long after the tragic event because living in the house they were raised in as kids by their parents was too hard.

It was because of her father that she had such a big love for music, especially music associated with the 80's, his favorite time period and now hers. Not to mention her parents also met in the 80's so every time she heard a song from that era, she felt like she could picture the two of them dancing to it like lovesick teenagers and just the thought of that made her smile.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the loud beeping of a car in front of her house. She checked the time and her pupils widened. She needed to go. Technically it didn't matter too much if she made it to the shop by nine considering it was her third summer working there and her boss was the most carefree person she knew. Half the time he didn't show up so she could basically do what she wanted. Still, she knew better than to keep her ride waiting.

"Later Mal!" She shouted as she snatched a bagel from the kitchen counter. She heard her brother faintly say bye and then she was out the door.

"Hurry up Annie!" She heard a voice call as soon as she'd stepped out the door.

Annabeth looked in the direction the voice came from and her eyes met those of her best friend Thalia Grace. She picked up the pace, jogging lightly towards Thalia's black Honda Civic and getting in the passenger seat. She closed to car door and then Thalia immediately started the car.

"Nice song choice Thals" Annabeth complimented as soon as she got comfortable and buckled her seatbelt.

Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer was playing through the car's speakers. Thalia smiled, fist bumping the blonde after she was settled in the passenger seat.

"Thanks Chase" She replied, turning out of the neighborhood to get on the road.

Thalia had been the first person to befriend her in high school. Annabeth didn't really have many friends growing up. She'd always been an outsider amongst everyone her age. Everything from her taste in music to her fashion sense was so different from anyone else's. Sure, she had her older brother Malcom to talk to, but he had his own friends from high school that he spent time with. When she met Thalia, the girl everyone was too scared to approach because she looked ready to murder anyone who did, she realized that she wasn't alone. Thalia had a very punk rock vibe associated with her. Her black hair was short and choppy, she wore a leather jacket and combat boots nearly every day, tons of eyeliner, and she absolutely loved rock music. When she came to school wearing a Guns N' Roses t-shirt one day, Annabeth approached her and started listing off her favorite songs by the band. Ever since they'd been best friends.

Thalia had been working at Apollo's music store as long as Annabeth had. Since they were best friends, they made their work schedules identical so they could spend the summer listening to music from the huge speakers in the shop and acting like idiots. They literally got paid to listen to music all day. For Annabeth that was equivalent to getting paid for sleeping.

Her and Thalia graduated high school over two months ago and were headed off to college in the fall. Seeing as how it was early August that didn't give them much time. Thalia was planning to stay in California at an art school and double major in photography and music. Annabeth had committed to NYU on a full scholarship and was planning to major in architecture with a minor in music studies. Besides music, one of her biggest loves was architecture. She definitely got that from Athena Chase who use to be an architect and design the most beautiful buildings you could imagine. She could only hope to be as good as her mother one day.

While she was excited to start the next chapter of her life as a university student, she was also sad. As cheesy as it sounded, she didn't want to leave her best friend or her older brother. They would be on opposite sides of the country. Malcom wasn't too into the whole university thing and instead graduated from the local community college near them with a degree in mathematics. She was never apart from him even during his college years. Now she was going to be thousands of miles away from both him and Thalia. She tried not to think about it too much, she still had a month of summer left before then.

As soon as Living on a Prayer came to an end Thalia pulled into the parking lot in front of a line of stores. Annabeth stepped out of the car and the choppy haired girl followed suit.

That particular day Annabeth's outfit consisted of white high-top converse, a lose pair of jean shorts with a belt secured around her waist, a plain white t-shirt and an oversized bright windbreaker that was purple, pink and green to go over top of the outfit. She left her hair down at shoulder length but on her wrist, she had a poufy white scrunchie in case she wanted to put it up later.

In the parking lot, she briefly caught the eye of a little girl about ten years old and her mother staring at her after coming out of the hair salon two stores down. It happened every morning. To be fair, she did look like she just walked out of an 80's film. She dressed so different from anyone else her age that it was only natural people were going to look at her. She didn't care though. She liked being different.

As Thalia switched the sign on the inside of the door from closed to open Annabeth fiddled with her phone plugged into the speakers, waiting for it to start playing music. She loved picking the first song of the day to play in the shop. Familiar notes sounded through the store and Annabeth instantly smiled. Thalia turned towards her, giving her an 'are you kidding me you know this isn't my style' look. The two had become so close over the years Annabeth was able to figure out whatever Thalia was thinking with a single glance. Annabeth just smiled bigger and turned up the volume on the speaker to Madonna's Material Girl.

"Oh I am not listening to this." Thalia stated after recognizing the first few notes of the song and walking over to her. Annabeth smacked her hand away from the loud speaker in the store.

"Come on Thals! How can you not like this? I mean sure rock bands are amazing but Madonna? You can't tell me her music isn't the most danceable thing you've ever heard. Just listen to the background notes!"

[Song Tribute: Material Girl-Madonna]

Some boys kiss me
Some boys hug me
I think they're ok
If they don't give me proper credit
I just walk away

Annabeth mouthed the words to the familiar song, nodding her head to the beat and receiving an eyeroll in return from Thalia.

They can beg and they can plead
But they can't see the light (that's right)
'Cause the boy with the cold hard cash
Is always Mister Right

It came as no surprise that Annabeth knew all the lyrics to the popular song from 1984. As the chorus came through the speakers, she screamed the lyrics rather loudly. It was moments like those that Annabeth truly showed how much of a music fanatic she was. Correction, how much of an 80's fanatic she was.

Thalia watched Annabeth try to sort the various CD's and records. The blonde was in the middle of shaking her head back and forth causing her curls to bounce up and down. She was singing along with the lyrics and dancing as best she could while alphabetizing the albums. Madonna's voice projected throughout the store. Thalia wished she could change it, but it was Annabeth's turn to pick the first song of the day. Instead she walked over to the records to help alphabetize those and sort them by year. They were the only music shop for miles that still sold records and old tapes. Of course, those didn't sell nearly as often as CD's and Bluetooth headphones, but she thought it was awesome they had them regardless. The store didn't have too many instruments, just guitars and then some sheet music. Occasionally they would have an older customer come to the store trying to find an old record anywhere from the 60's to the 80's or a teenager looking for a good beginner guitar and they would make a sale on something that wasn't wireless headphones or touchscreen gadgets. Those were Annabeth's favorite customers too.

Living in a material world (material)
Living in a material world
Living in a material world (material)
Living in a material

As soon as the song came to an end Thalia rushed over to change the song before another Madonna song could play and Annabeth started dancing like Duckie in the movie Pretty in Pink. That was the last thing she needed. She decided on the song Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard right before their first customer of the day walked in.

Annabeth was too busy bopping her head to the new song playing that she didn't even hear the bell ring above the front door. Thalia shook her head in disbelief. That's what she loved about her best friend. She appreciated every aspect of music. She enjoyed listening to 80's rock music with Thalia just as much as she liked the pop songs back in the decade of crazy patterns and neon colored clothing. Of course, Thalia also listened to a lot of modern-day rock bands too. She probably listened to modern rock more than 80's rock but around Annabeth she usually went for the latter because she enjoyed watching the blonde fangirl and jam out to the songs.

Realizing that Annabeth was in her own world and most likely wouldn't be noticing the new customer anytime soon, Thalia steadily made her way towards the teenage girl.

"Anything I can help you find?" She greeted, stopping in front of the customer who looked a bit lost.

Thalia noticed the young girl visibly relax once she'd noticed her approaching. "Yeah actually. It's my boyfriend's birthday tomorrow and I want to get him some wireless headphones and a couple CD's of his favorite bands."

Thalia nodded, having seen this type of customer all the time. "Who does he listen to?" She asked.

"Well there's this one band he really likes umm…starts with an A like Attic…Arc… Ma…Me.." She stumbled, trying to figure out the name.

"Arctic Monkeys?" Thalia questioned.

"Yes! That's them! And then he also likes Coldplay."

"Sounds like he's got great taste in music. If you'll come with me, I can show you where we keep the CD's for those groups." Thalia led her to a part of the store where they kept the more current artist music.

Annabeth finally noticed the new person in the store when she saw them walking. Thalia smirked. Took her long enough. She gave her a look explaining that she could do the sale on her own and Annabeth went back to organizing.

"Here we are. Arctic Monkeys CD's are right here, and Coldplay is nearby under the C's tab. You can find the wireless headphones on the back wall by the register. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you so much" The girl replied gratefully.

"No problem."

Thalia walked over to Annabeth who was now behind the register.

"And so the day begins" Thalia said, leaning against the other side of the register where the counter was and tapping her foot to the beat of the song.

So that's the end of the 1st chapter to Time After Time! What did you guys think? Just an insight into Annabeth's life and her love of music. I hope you guys liked the song references! There's a lot more of those coming trust me. Annabeth dancing around her room at the beginning is something I would totally do. Future chapters will range in length from this size or longer but nothing shorter. As I said in my note at the beginning, it's going to take a little while before things start to pick up, but it will be worth it I promise.

Please review and let me know what you thought because your comments really inspire me to keep writing and keep me motivated. Love you all!

REVIEW, REVIEW AND REVIEW!

-M