From: Pierces-The-Valley seamail

To: abcNYPL

Subject: NO!

Agh! I swear swear swear that don't like u in that way. I swear. Kill ur bro 4 me. Agh!! Don't tell the stolls.

fanfiction . net/book/PercyJacksonandtheOlympians/!! WTF?

O-o

Annabeth sighed, clicking on the link the Percy had sent her. What was going on? Percy Jackson and the Olympians? What was that?

Had the stuck up son of Poseidon made his own website?

Drumming her fingers angrily on the desktop as she waited for the pages to load, Annabeth glanced out the window. Rain, again.

It had been raining for three straight days- she longed for the safety and sunnyness of camp, but no. she was stuck at her job at the NYPL, until…

Next week, Annabeth. You can last that long, right? You just have to survive for a week.

Finally, the link appeared at the top of the screen. The rest of the page remained stubbornly blank- instinctively, she checked to make sure the link was right.

Fanfiction?

She had heard of fanfiction, but always considered it an insult to her intelligence as a child of Athena, and never bothered to read them.

She so should have, Annabeth realized with a jolt. Her stomach seemed to fall from under her, her face heating up bright, bright pink- she was glad no one was in the room with her.

"Percy." Annabeth whispered, moving closer. "I love you."

"I love you too, Annabeth." And with that he pressed his lips to hers and-

NO! oh, god, this was not happening. She checked the disclaimer. Rick Riordan?? Her half brother? She made a mental note to kick his butt next time they were near each other .How could he do that to her?

"I made a mistake." Athena admitted. "I see my daughter really does love you."

"Great!" Said Percy happily. "Annabeth, will you marry me?"

Oh god, oh god no. She punched the 'backspace' button, selecting a story at random.



(Censored for inappropriate content)

Oh, gods, no. This was not as bad as she thought. It was way worse. She squeezed her eyes shut. This was a detailed description of her… and Percy… doing it..

Like I would ever- ever- ever- NO! please, let me wake up now.

In theory, she should be glad the worst event of the day was fanfiction, and not, say, a hellhound attack at the library. But in reality, her heart was racing faster then it did in an attack, her mind wrapping around it with more dread.

Taking a deep breath, she googled Rick Riordan's name.

The Lightning Theif.

And he didn't have to decency to change her name! He had been asking her questions when it happened, and now she knew why… He said he was going to write it up, but the top of the bestseller list?

Oh noooo. Dear gods, please let someone fix this. What did I do to deserve this?

A voice- Aphrodite's- echoed in her head. You never admitted you liked him.

SHUT UP!

'Oh, help.' She groaned, slamming her head on the key board over and over. "&(#."

From: a-b-c NYPL

To: Pierces

Subject: Re: NO!

Ty65g hnbhyhgbyhygbtghytb

"Improper words do not help in this situation. Try saying please." Suggested a cool voice that sounded more lot like a narrator or an electronic recording than a person.

A shock ran through Annabeth's body. Who was here? She hadn't heard the door. Her mind raced to find an excuse as to why she was sitting reading fanfictions when she was supposed to be checking in the pile of books next to her.

Putting on an innocent façade, she spun around.



It defiantly wasn't a librarian. For one thing, she lacked a 'Hi, I'm ' pin. For another… well, there defiantly was not a librarian like this at NYPL. (Though Annabeth realized that her working at the check out was all it would take to get guys reading again.)

Her hair was straight black, partially hiding her narrow, white face. Her eyebrows- Annabeth wondered later about how this could be her first impression- looked like Baskerville Old Face, the way they flared slightly at the ends. Her eyes were the blue of an unclicked hyperlink, and they way her blackish white dress drifted around her suggested that she was not… normal. Looking closer, the daughter of Athena realized it was words. Many, many little words, woven together into a garment.

And a small, chocolate guinea pig was tucked into the crook of her arm.

"Who… who?" Images came into Annabeth's head. Why had she thought fanfiction was dumb? All those idea's out there, waiting to be called in. This woman's presence made it hard to think, even to call back the anger that had been bursting her seams just a few seconds ago.

"I," The woman said calmly, "Am Beta Reader, muse of fanfiction."

That would explain the inspiration.

"A… oh." Annabeth stuttered. She took a deep breath, turning to the screen.

"I love you, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth whispered, moving closer. Percy smiled, and she got lost in the deep green of his eyes. She couldn't think, couldn't breath as he wrapped his arms around her.

It called back some of her anger, clearing her head.

"What the hell?" She said furiously, turning back to the goddess. "I… Me and Percy…"

"Percy and I." The muse corrected. Annabeth ignored her.

"I'd never- Rick shouldn't have- Why- why- What kind of word is Percabeth?"

The muse sighed, scratching the pig behind the ears.

"People love it." She said calmly. "The first amendment, you know. Freedom of speech, religion, and-"

"And the press. I know." Annabeth glowered at her. "But Rick shouldn't have printed-"

"You knew he was writing a book.""

"I never thought anyone would read it!"

"Then it was your mistake, was it not?"

Blowing up at a muse was not a good idea, Annabeth decided, glowering. No matter how tempting it may be.



"Then- then-"

"We can make a deal." Beta suggested. "I'll inspire my minion, storm-brain, to write up this episode. You just stop reading-" She took a deep breath, frowing. "-and know that I have never spoken these words before-" breathe in, breathe out. "Stop reading-" Annabeth frowned. What was wrong with her?

"Fanfiction?" She guessed, and Beta glared.

"NO! I mean, yes. I just- instincts tell me to-" the pig lunged at Annabeth.

"How dare you!" He practically squeaked- she could almost hear every profanity he was saying.

"Ah! Call off your guinea pig! Call off your guinea pig!" Annabeth yelped, trying to pull him off her face. Beta held out her hands, and the pig jumped back.

"I will express your views." She said calmly. "But in thirty seven and three quarters seconds, your boss will walk through the door. It was nice talking to you."

She and the pig vanished.

O-o

From: a-b-c NYPL

To: pierces-the-valley seamail

Subject: Re: NO!

You won't believe what just happened. Literally. TTYL,.
O-o

"Um, Ms. Chase?" Annabeth looked up. "What happened to your face?"

"I got attacked by a guinea pig." She admitted, reaching for another book. With a jolt, she saw the title of the series. Tres Navare.

Which reminded her. She had a brother to kill.