These one shots are addicting! I guess it's back to rehab for me….but before I go: Brick by Boring Brick by Paramore is the song I used. This was requested by . . *sigh* How much I wished something like this happened in the series… Remember to review, it really makes my day!
Annabeth Chase lived in a fairy tale. Everyone knew it, and those who knew thought she was too far gone to find. Most would believe she had forgotten the taste and smell of the very world she physically occupied. Even Percy Jackson believed she was beyond saving sometimes.
Percy watched her all the time. He had deduced her reasons down to two explanations: She felt exposed in this world or all the angles she could see it at were wrong. Annabeth wasn't one to show emotions, feelings, or anything remotely private for that matter. She probably felt like she was always under a huge lens and the rest of the world was examining her at all times. That or her perception of the world was so far off, she couldn't bear the thought. She was too innocent to go through such dramatic things. Hell, all demigods were. But Annabeth was different to Percy; to him the world was taking away her freedom. It was like taking a butterfly and ripping its wings off. But he knew this wasn't true. Life was making her rip off her own wings.
Annabeth needed to learn a crucial lesson. Such a thing shouldn't have been a challenge for a daughter of Athena. She had to learn to keep her feet attached to the ground when her head was in the clouds. But her dream world was so much better than the one she refused to occupy. Things made since in her world. People actually did what they were expected to do. Life measured up to all her expectations. She even felt hope. Maybe she was too far gone.
….
Luke: The one person who could break Annabeth. Percy had seen her go through so much and endured most of it along side of her. They had barely escaped a life threatening maze not too long ago. She held up the sky, as did he. She lived after hearing the call from the sirens. Together they survived the Sea of Monsters and the Underworld. What more could push her over the edge into her dream world forever? Luke.
Percy was deeply worried about Annabeth. She was on the beach, curled up on the ground, and crying. He knew what it was about. Luke asked Annabeth early to join him. Annabeth rejected him; her very own prince came to save her. And well the rest you could probably figure out. Annabeth built up this world of magic because her real life was tragic. Yeah, a world of magic sounded really good to Percy right now, but he settled for reality and joined Annabeth on the beach.
Judging from the sun's position, it was about eleven o'clock. The air was muggier than usual and the sad was hot. Despite all the factors, Percy braved on instead of staying in his pleasant cabin. Someone needed to rescue Annabeth from herself.
"Wise Girl," He walked up and sat beside her in the sand. He put a comforting hand on her back and prayed to the gods she didn't lash out at him for the nice gesture. Thankfully she didn't, she just looked at him through tear brimmed eyes.
She didn't hug him or try to say anything; some things are better left unsaid or unacknowledged. She liked Percy, but her recent heartbreak tore them apart. She was surprised to see him here. She was even more shocked at his next words.
"Let's build a sandcastle!" he took her hand and pulled her over to watch he claimed was the perfect spot to build one.
She didn't object. Maybe a distraction is what she needed. Her fairy tale world wasn't kind to her. It just depressed her more. And the real world was not much better.
Percy had started building the most pathetic excuse for a castle she had ever seen and her love for structures took over. She pushed him into the sand and repaired his mistakes. She had to admit, it was really coming together. It had four levels and stood up to her chest. She found a stick and imprinted some designs onto the surface to give it qualities of a real castle.
"Percy," she peered at him around the castle. The sun was in the middle of the sky making everything hot. He was covered in sweat and his skin glistened almost as much as his lovely eyes, "I'm done!"
"Good because I was getting tired of sitting here watching you," he blushed when he realized what he had admitted to.
Annabeth grinned, "Is that a compliment because you were watching me, or an insult because I'm no fun to watch?"
"Which answer will result in keeping all my limbs attached?" he asked hesitantly.
"The first one." She snorted as if it should be very clear. He was an absolute Seaweed Brain.
"I need a shovel, do you have one?" Annabeth nodded slowly not seeing the point in the question, "Well go get it! We have to bury this thing," he said the last part quietly as if it were only meant for his own ears.
She heard her watch beep, signaling it was twelve and lunch was fifteen minutes away. This whole thing must've been a trick. She made sure to build her castle, brick by sand brick, and make sure it was perfect. Now Percy the wolf was going to blow it down, just like the rest of her heart had gone not long ago.
"NO!" Annabeth screamed. He was not going to destroy her masterpiece.
He raised his eyebrow as if she had challenged him to it. He lifted his foot and swung his leg, as if kicking a fifty yard field goal. The top part of her creation was chopped off. Her mouth hung open in disbelief.
Annabeth tackled him, but due to his lack of balance after such a kick, they both toppled onto the rest of the castle, "Percy!" he pushed her off of him and moved away laughing.
"What was that all about?" She asked standing up, hovering above him, "I worked for an hour on that!"
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down next to him, "That was you fairy tale world, Annabeth, and now we buried it. It's gone; your castle, you fake world, your broken heart." He said the last part hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure. So this is what it was all about. She had to give him so credit. It was a pretty good metaphor.
"We're going to build you a new one," he nodded as if assuring both of them, "Brick by boring brick." He sighed as he realized what he got himself into. He was working with Annabeth, the perfectionist after all. But he thought it was the perfect metaphor. They were rebuilding her heart.
And so they did. Percy tried to participate but rarely did anything to help. But it warmed Annabeth to the bone just thinking her cared enough to help at all.
"You know," he said sitting back in the sand as she continued to work, "Some of the best things in life, you can't even hold in your hand. You can't even feel it in your heart sometimes. And that makes you not want to believe in it. But if it's true, you can see it with your eyes. Oh, even in the dark. And that's where I want to be."
I don't know if that was just the sun getting to him or his actual thoughts. I stopped working on my second castle and glance at him. He was stretched out in the sand, propped up on his elbows. He was looking at me with those eyes that matched the sea we were next to. The sun glistened off the sand in his hair. He looked genuine. "And what would qualify as such a thing?"
He paused for a second and restrained a smile, "Oh, I don't know: Friendship, loyalty…" he stared at me for a second.
"Love."
Wow, I actually liked that. Well, I just like Percy but that's beside the point. I love writing…so review and tell me if you enjoyed it as much as I did.