Numbness, shock and grief hit me before I even saw the results of the test. The past month had been filled with nothing other than that, not sure how to handle my impending situation. Percy and I barely even spoke of the drunken sex that had taken place, it was nothing but an embarrassing moment in our lives.
That disappointed me. Losing your virginity was supposed to be something special, particularly for a couple that loved each other. Yet, our foolishness -more specifically mine- had cost us that exclusive milestone in our relationship.
I felt as if I was going to be sick, and it wasn't from the pregnancy in question. My phone timer was about to ring, but I had yet to even glance at the pregnancy test. I didn't have the heart to watch it change, just affirming my suspicions. At this point, the fact that I was pregnant was painfully obvious, but that didn't mean I had to accept it until it was official.
How could Percy and I be so reckless? We would have never done something like that, but love makes you do crazy things. Love and alcohol, that is. Percy didn't seem like someone who would leave me over this, but it was also a chilling reality. We were teenagers, we couldn't afford a child. Plus, how could he want to continue dating a girl who's naive actions ended in her getting pregnant?
It was a pathetic sight. Locking myself in one of the school's bathrooms to take a pregnancy test. I couldn't risk taking it at home where my roommate Reyna might find out. Percy was one story, but how was I supposed to tell my parents, too? It was too much, even for me, to comprehend at once.
The timer had gone off at least a minute ago now, but I payed no attention to even spare a glance at the stick. I was in no rush to learn my future, though class was about to start relatively soon. All it took to get out of the last class was telling the teacher that I wasn't feeling well and getting a pass to the nurse's office. It wasn't that drastic of a lie, since I did in fact feel like a truck hit me and I looked pale enough to solidify that fact.
I let out an audible sigh, that echoed in the empty restroom. I had been staring at the dirty floors long enough that the pattern of the tiles seemed to be etched into my eyes. It was now or never to force myself to look at the results. Maybe it was going to be negative, and then I could laugh about this with my boyfriend later? Okay, maybe that was wistful thinking.
The positive on the stick seemed to taunt me, laughing in my face as my stomach sank even lower. I had fought monsters, ran away from home, traveled through literal hell- and yet the fact that I was now going to be responsible for another human being was a terrifying feeling that I had never experienced.
I wrapped the cursed test in a bundle of toilet paper, before disposing of it. I flung my bag over my shoulder, finally unlocking the stall door and stepping out into the bathroom. With all my fears confirmed, I tightly gripped the sides of the sink in front of me. I was terrified, but also angry. The gods must have thought this was one big huge joke, like the rest of my life. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Hera, still infuriated at me for disrespecting her.
I picked my head up, locking my eyes with the reflection. I had to be brave, just like I always had to. It could just be a faulty test, and I couldn't just rely on one flimsy test from the pharmacy. I could get through this. I was only seventeen years old, but I had gone through so many other traumatic events in my life, this could just be added to the list. At least this time, there were no one in danger of being killed. There were no angry giants, titans or otherwise threatening the world. For once, I was dealing with a relatively normal problem, and that was saying something.
My mini fear-induced pep talk was interrupted by the shrill sound of the bell in the hallway. I had to be in class in three minutes, but the world around me seemed unreal. The only thing I could do at this point was put on a brave face and deal with my issues later.
Cutting off any pregnancy-related problems, I stepped out into the hallway. I was already on the lower floor, but I still had to walk to the Cooking Wing to get to my class.
Isn't it funny how your brain always convinces you that whenever something shitty happens, that suddenly the entire school would know about it? Like in one of those movies where the girl is walking in the hallway and every head turns to look at her? Yeah, I'm here to tell you that it's not something that actually occurs. Everything around me was surprisingly normal, no one knowing the tight position that I had found myself in.
I walked into the cooking lab, ready to explain to Thalia why I had left the previous class early. But, I didn't even think that she had been paying attention in that class anyways. I don't know why Thalia had insisted on going back to high school to begin with, she didn't even pay attention. She had quit the Hunters about a year ago, making her now around the same age as me physically, but you would think she would be a little more mature. Instead, she went on to tell me how she was "making up for her lost teen years" or something similar. I accordingly responded that she should be making up on missed studies, but Thalia wouldn't hear anything about it.
Hazel followed in shortly after me, "Why are you just standing here?" Her eyebrows furrowed.
"Just lost in thought, I guess." I managed a small smile, taking my seat next to Thalia. She looked up from her phone, but before she could ask me anything the bell rang out. I watched Piper run into the room, uttering an apology to the teacher before sitting.
"What were you doing, making out with my brother?" Thalia whispered, earning an elbow from Piper. They both straightened up a bit after noticing the watchful eye of the teacher, turning to listen to her instructions.
I sighed in frustration when the ancient woman announced that -once again- we would not be cooking, rather working from the book in groups. The class exploded into the drone of twenty people speaking at the same time the instant she finished.
"I am so done with being in a cooking class and not cooking." I crossed my arms, speaking low enough that the teacher would not hear.
"I should have taken Percy's advice and dropped it faster than my grade is dropping in Bio." Thalia placed her head down on the table, her next question muffled by her arms. "Where were you last period?"
"I thought you didn't pay attention in class." I ignored her question, opening the textbook.
"I pay attention to the people not the lesson, Annie."
"Tell you later, not now." I tried to shut down the conversation, but Thalia had already sparked the others' curiosity.
"Annabeth Chase, skipping class?" Piper mocked a gasp, "Unheard of."
"What's wrong?" Hazel asked, her eyes connected with mine. "Did something happen?"
I nodded, "But I'll tell you guys later. Besides, Reyna isn't even in this class."
"She's the smart one." Thalia's head was still down on the table, "We've only cooked eggs in this class and I don't even like eggs."
Piper laughed, "Thals shut up you're going to get yourself in trouble."
"You and I both know that she can't hear for shit, we are fine." Thalia responded, finally picking her head up. Her blue eyes connected with mine, reminding me that she still had so much fight left in her from her past. "Make sure you tell us later Annabeth."
I nodded, grateful that she seemed to understand that something serious had happened. Moments like this took me back to when I first met her, when she acted so old and mature for her age. A reminder that she was an older sister to me.
I fell into the drone of filling out the worksheet, labeling different uses for cooking appliances. I never minded schoolwork, except when it was tedious and pointless- such as this worksheet. By the time the bell rang, I had been working on my other homework for over a half an hour.
"Okay so I assume we all need to talk?" Piper started as the scraping of chairs on tile filled the room. "Who's apartment?"
"Why not mine?" I responded, "It's the quickest from school and you'll most likely be able to find parking."
"I assume I'm not telling the boys?" Thalia placed an arm around Piper, "I'll take Piper, but your car is bigger so take Hazel and Reyna. See you there." I knew that Thals was going to beat me to my own house due to her little habit of speeding.
I just shook my head as I left with Hazel, both of us walking side by side in the hallway. Since going to the same high school, I've become really fond of the fourteen year old. Although I know that she can take care of herself, I've grown protective of her. I've been making sure that she can properly adjust to modern life, since she was thrown into Camp Jupiter without truly experiencing it.
I glimpsed a head of familiar curly hair about to pass us in the hallway, so I flagged him down. "Leo! Can you tell the rest that we're having a girls' night at my place?"
"Sure!" He grinned, rushing past us. "Sorry, need to make it to the bus."
Hazel rolled her eyes. "I hope that Percy can come back to pick him up, because there's no way that he's going to make it."
Despite the thought of pregnancy still occupying my head, I laughed. "Well good luck to him because I'm pretty sure Percy has swim practice."
"Still think that shouldn't be allowed, but okay." Hazel giggled. Together we turned into the Junior hallway, looking for Reyna. It was easy to spot her, since she still had the posture and confidence of a royal leader despite being stripped of her position. I couldn't tell if the decision for her to try regular high school was helping or hurting her PTSD, but I was also glad that the Roman Camp treated mental health with utmost care.
"All the girls are coming over to our apartment because I need to talk to you all. Sorry that I didn't ask your opinion, it was kind of spur of the moment." I asked as she was shoving binders into her school bag.
"Yeah, that's fine." She smiled, but turned serious as she scanned my face. "Are you okay Annabeth. You look a bit off."
"I'll explain it once we get back." I waved her off. I really needed all of their opinions on the issue at once, I wouldn't be able to handle telling each one of them individually. Besides, I didn't even know if the damned test was a false-positive yet. I followed them both outside, ready to finally face my problem and talk it out.
