Hazel knocked loudly on the door of the small blue house before letting herself in. "Percy!" she shouted, "I brought some sandwiches for dinner. Frank couldn't come tonight, there was a monster threatening Camp Jupiter that he needed to help with." As she walked into the living room Hazel saw the familiar sight of Percy sitting on the couch staring blankly at the History channel. "Percy?" She tried again. "Brought Sandwiches. Frank couldn't come."
"Hi Hazel," Percy muttered as he took the sandwich and set it to the side. "I heard you the first time." Hazel sighed and took a seat next to Percy.
Ever since Annabeth died, Percy refused to leave the home he had built with her. His friends took turns bringing him food and keeping him company. They all thought he would have recovered a little, but it had been almost a year and Percy hadn't improved in the slightest. In fact, Hazel was convinced that Percy was delusional. When he thought no one was watching, Percy acted as though there was another person in the room. He still acted as though Annabeth was around. Sure it must be hard readjusting after seven years of marriage and being attached at the hip, but Percy's level of denial was incredible.
Percy stood up and got another blue coke from the fridge replacing the empty one on the coaster next to him. That was another thing Hazel had noticed. Little things. Tiny details that she wasn't sure Percy was aware of. Percy hated the idea of having to constantly use coasters, but Annabeth would yell at him if he didn't. He barely remembered to use them when she was living, but now that Annabeth was dead, Percy used coasters religiously. There were clues everywhere to how much grief Percy was feeling. He left the water running just a little bit longer when getting ready for bed as though waiting for someone else to finish brushing their teeth. Annabeth's closet was always closed as though Percy wanted to preserve how her clothes smelled like her. There were piles of Annabeth's body lotion in the bathroom. Hazel knew it was because Percy was afraid the store would run out. Annabeth's laptop was always fully charged sitting on the counter waiting for her to come home and open it. Percy's left hand was always turned upward waiting for its smaller second half. Hazel could go on and on. It was like Percy was subconsciously and consciously denying that Annabeth died at all.
Hazel looked up from her ponderings and glanced at the tv. It was a documentary on the architecture of the modern age. Counting today, this would be the twenty second time Hazel had seen this particular show. "Percy? Don't you want to watch something else?"
"Hm? Oh sorry Hazel, here you can pick tonight" Percy handed her the remote. He picked it up from his right hand side where he used to hide it from Annabeth and reached toward Hazel. Percy and Annabeth always argued over what to watch on tv. The fights sometimes escalated so much that the two would resort to sparring matches.. Annabeth usually outsmarted Percy and therefor, the two often watched what she wanted to watch. Now a days Percy always watched Annabeths favorite shows. Hazel took the remote from Percy's hand and began flipping through channels.
She settled on superhero movie. Hazel always liked superheroes, the villians were easy to spot and the good guys always won. There were no gray areas, everything was black and white. There were no people like Percy. If you were the hero, you got your girl and your happing ending. Percy had had that, but a freak accident had taken it all away. After all they had been through it was a gas leak that had taken Annabeth's life. She had suffocated in her sleep while Percy had stayed at Camp until the late hours of the night, chatting with Chiron.
Percy had been in a rage looking for someone to blame, someone to take his pain out on. In the end, he decided that person was himself and now, Hazel glanced at Percy, this was all that was left of her best friend.
Hazel hadn't thought about the events surrounding Annabeth's death in a while and grief overwhelmed her. She put her head in her hands and tried to hold back the tears. In a flash, she felt Percy's hand on her shoulder. "Whats wrong Hazel? You okay? Hey, Im supposed to be the emotionally damaged one remember?" His smile was weak. Hazel smiled back, that was the first joke she had heard Percy tell in a long time. When she realized that, Hazel started crying. Be strong. For the gods sake be strong. You're here for Percy. She couldn't stop though and her sobs continued while Percy held her close to his body. He had always been the strongest of the group. Even when it shouldn't have been his job, Percy took it upon himself if it meant helping his friends. Slowly Hazel stopped crying, but continued to shake in Percy's hug. Hazel wiped her eyes and pushed Percy away. "Sorry" she whispered. Percy looked at her worried then abruptly got up and went into the kitchen. When he came back he was holding two beers. "I didn't think blue coke was going to cut it tonight." He smirked knowingly at her. Hazel was stunned. A joke and a smirk all in the same night? She was lucky if he ate on a regular basis. Staring in awe, Hazel took the beer and opened it.
For the next three hours, Percy and Hazel drank, laughed, and talked. There were more words coming out of Percy's mouth than Hazel could count. She felt like she had her best friend back and it felt amazing. Hazel was so happy she felt like she could bring an entire city of gold to the surface if she wanted. Around eleven Percy had crashed on the couch. Hazel smiled when she heard him snoring and the smile got even larger when she saw the drool soaking the pillow. Hazel draped a blanket over him and quietly let herself out.
On the drive home, a thought occurred Hazel. Percy had come out of his depressed shell because he thought she needed him. What if this wouldn't last? What if the next time she visited, they were back to blank stares and silence? Hazel couldn't bear it. She had gotten a taste of the old Percy and now she couldn't, no wouldn't, let him slip back down again. Percy blamed himself for not being there to save Annabeth. So all Hazel had to do was convince him that it wasn't his fault. Get Percy some closure. Easy right? "Oh Gods help me" muttered Hazel. Battling a stubborn Percy hellbent on blaming himself for Annabeth's death was going to be her toughest quest yet. She'd talk to Frank about it when she got home, maybe he'd have some ideas.