Title: Sixteen Candles.
Author: justice incarnate.
Word Count: 2,482.
Summary: Today was Annabeth Chase's birthday. And it looked like she would be celebrating it alone. (More in-depth look at Annabeth's character. Mentions of Percy/Annabeth.)
Disclaimer: Yeah, okay.
Author's Note: So, do the books ever mention in passing when Annabeth's birthday is? Because I don't believe it is mentioned, so I just set it for right after camp ended, before The Last Olympian. Anyway, Annabeth's my favorite character out of all of them, so I really wanted to get more insight into what she thinks and feels. Hopefully, I stayed in character.
She wore a pretty little smile, poignant in its appearance. It reflected her mood, this smile. It said something no other smile could say; it was special. She was sad, but she wasn't masking it with a grin that oozed with its lies. It wasn't that sort of grin that said, "I'm unhappy, but I'll pretend to be happy for the sake of those around me." No, this was not the smile adorned by a Miss Annabeth Chase. Her smile was just a small upturn of the corners of her lips, a smile that said, "I'm trying to be happy, I really am. It's just not working, but I'll keep trying anyway."
She wanted to be happy, but she didn't want to pretend like she was. Not in front of her dad. He could see her trying to see a bright side amongst everything, and he adored her for that. That she was trying to be happy so he could be happy. Her stepmother noticed the same thing; Annabeth trying to overcome her misery. However, Annabeth's half-brothers were too occupied with the large cake sitting in the middle of the table that they scarcely noticed the moistness of their half-sister's eyes. This was her family, and as much as she resented them at times, she would put on a brave face for them.
"Annabeth," her father's smooth voice finally broke the thick silence in the room. Silent for him, anyhow. Annabeth's sensitive ears picked up on everything, though. The tiny little spark that emitted from the lighter her stepmother was holding before a flame broke out. She could hear this flame, as clearly as if she were sitting next to a campfire. She could hear her half-brother's tongues drag across their lower lips in anticipation for the cake. She could hear her father shift ever so slightly in his chair, before he continued speaking, "Are you feeling very well? Maybe you should go lay down."
"Dad," she began, wanting to say, 'I'm feeling fine,' but she was cut off with the whine's of two young boys.
"What?" They cried simultaneously, then they both began to blabber at once. They answered for her, eagerly saying with their rushed words that Annabeth was fine because if she wasn't fine they wouldn't get any cake, therefore she was fine, just fine. Maybe the comfort of her room wasn't so bad, at least for a little while.
Annabeth rose from her seat at the head of the table and responded, "You guys go ahead and eat. I think I'll just lay down for a bit."
Her stepmother looked up from having almost lit one of the sixteen candles decorating the cake and regarded Annabeth uncertainly. She asked concernedly, "Are you sure?"
Annabeth nodded and shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Yeah, go ahead. Just save me a piece. I think I need a little rest." She glanced at her father, who nodded as if to say, "Yes, that could be what you need," but his eyes said it all. She could read his message in them as clearly as if it were scripted on his forehead. Thank you for trying.
Her half-brothers grinned from ear to ear, lunging forward and scrambling up almost onto to the table, using their arms to support all their weight, their feet swinging lightly over the floor. Annabeth dragged herself toward the staircase, gently brushing her dad as she passed. She tried her hardest in that brush to pass her message to him. Thank you. She didn't look back to see if he had gotten it, rather walked solemnly up the stairs and into her bedroom.
She sat on the edge of her bed, not even bothering to turn her lamp on, rather using the ghostly illumination the moon cast in her room from the window as her source of light. The moon's glow drained the color from everything, and she felt oddly like she was in an old black and white film, then chuckled sadly and dismissed the thought. In films, there were happy endings. In real life...well, she wasn't so sure.
She'd returned home just two days previously from Camp Half-Blood, and found the house looking newer. More pristine. And yet, it looked even more worn than it had three months ago, like the life of it was slowly diminishing. She wasn't going to lie, the architecture of the house wasn't shabby. Not at all. No, the house was nice...but it wasn't home.
She felt a pang in her chest at the thought of home. Home was New York. Home was Camp Half-Blood. Home was the long hours spent at archery or capture the flag or dueling Luke and trying to stay one step ahead of him.
She felt a violent sob rack her body at the thought of Luke. Luke. Why couldn't Percy see what was wrong with Luke? It was because Percy didn't know him before...everything. He never knew the real Luke. The Luke he knew was under a trance, being manipulated by Kronos. It wasn't his fault, Kronos could hypnotize and use even the best heroes. The real Luke was more kind-hearted, more caring. Annabeth knew a small fragment of him still cared for her, even if he tried to suppress it.
He had to still care for her. He'd been on the run with her for quite some time; she'd known him since she was just a little girl. Back then, he was so sweet, always making sure Annabeth and Thalia were okay, always trying to protect them from harm. That was the Luke she knew. Percy didn't know that Luke.
Percy, she thought, and gave a sad little sigh that pierced the silence like a knife. She rose slowly from her bed and dragged herself to the window, pushing it open and sitting in the pool of moonlight. She felt the breeze rustle through her hair, and she stared at the scattered scars in the sky, absently wondering where Zoe Nightshade's constellation was.
Oh, Percy. Percy had called her earlier, wishing her a happy birthday - but the conversation had been very brief. He'd asked her how she was doing and if she'd analyzed any cool buildings lately or if she'd been doing some architecture of her own, and Annabeth couldn't stop the grin the broke out on her face as she prepared to tell him about the new house being built in her neighborhood and how the structure was absolutely elegant, but didn't seem too stable.
She began to say all of this, too, but her voice was cut short by a girl calling Percy on the other end of the line. "Percy?" she said questioningly. There was a pause as Percy's voice, now muffled as he'd probably covered the phone with his hand, said back, "Yeah?"
It was when the girl responded, "The movie's going to start in ten minutes," that Annabeth recognized it. A twinge of jealousy rocked her from head to toe at the thought of who the voice belonged to: Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
She began to say, "Percy-" but she was once again cut off, as Percy now said, "Anyway, Annabeth, happy birthday again and I wish I could talk to you some more but I have to go. I'll call you later," and he quickly hung up the phone.
He never did call back.
Annabeth's thoughts were consumed with images of Percy, of memories involving him. She immediately blushed upon thinking about what happened between them at Mount St. Helen's. The impulsive kiss she gave him, and the goofy, dazed look that came over his face, and the happiness that consumed her from head to toe. She felt a flutter of butterflies in the pit of her stomach as she relived that kiss - that beautiful, bittersweet kiss.
She also thought of the Fourth of July fireworks at camp, and how she'd asked him to go with her as...what? A date. She didn't even know, herself. She just remembered she'd imprisoned him in capture the flag (after facing down a golden dragon) and as she went back to finish the game, she'd asked him. And he showed up at the lake, wearing a nice button down and he'd combed his hair nicely, and he was looking for her.
She'd snuck up from behind him, and whispered, "boo," in his ear. He'd nearly jumped out of his skin, whipping around fiercely to look at her with wild green eyes that made her heart flutter like the wings of a hummingbird. She'd dressed up for the occasion, even letting Silena give her a little makeover. Percy's eyes had widened as he took in her appearance from head to toe. Annabeth could feel herself blushing brightly, and Percy too bore a blush on his cheeks as they began to walk around, greeting everyone and putting their feet in the water and joking around with Grover and Juniper.
Then, a little while later, the fireworks went off and they were absolutely marvelous - bright and colorful and lighting up the entire sky, bathing it in blues and yellows and reds. Annabeth's breath had caught at the beauty of it, and she'd absently grabbed Percy's hand in awe. When the display was over, she'd realized their fingers were still intertwined, and she'd quickly pulled her own hand away, ignoring the hard thump of her heart.
But now, she thought while trying to swallow back the large lump in her throat, now he's with Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
She wondered if he let her hold his hand, too.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of her door opening, and the soft footfalls of her father walking toward her. She didn't have to turn to know it was him, she could just sense it. He padded toward her, until she could feel him directly behind her, and he leaned forward to place a slice of cake with a single candle on the floor next to her legs. She looked at him out of the corners of her eyes which made her now notice that she had been crying.
Her cheeks were moist, and she almost felt embarrassed for not noticing before the tears streaking her cheeks, but her father didn't seem to mind. He didn't even look surprised. Rather, he just bent down to place a soft kiss on the crown of her head. "I'm fine," she hurriedly said, scrubbing at her wet cheeks.
Her father rose and smiled down at her. "It's okay," he told her soothingly. "I don't know what you're upset about, but you know these things'll work themselves out in the end." Then he winked, and she gave a little chuckle. "After all, they always do."
She pursed her lips, unsure of whether or not to believe him. She didn't suspect him of lying, but she knew he had no clue of what was going on with...everything. She wasn't sure if something that seemed so broken could repair itself. "Maybe," she said, and turned her head back toward the open window, to continue staring at the starry night sky.
Her father started toward the door, before turning back to regard his daughter carefully. "Don't leave that open too long," he told her finally. "It's going to be chilly tonight."
She didn't respond, but she didn't need to. Her father was back in the hall after that.
Looking solemnly down at the flicker of the candle and the orange glow it cast in the room, she wondered if maybe her father was right. Maybe things could work out in the end. Maybe the Fates would decide for her. Or maybe she just wasn't that lucky.
She wished her friends were here for her birthday. She wished Percy was here, and Grover too. Juniper, of course, would love to be here. And Silena, Annabeth thought she wouldn't mind being here, either. And Thalia, and Luke, but not Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She could stay in New York, for all Annabeth cared.
And Annabeth wished her mother, Athena, was here. She sent a silent prayer to her, Please take away this feeling of loneliness, and wished she could appear in her room with her comforting words of wisdom. She wished she would send Annabeth a sign, something like, Happy Birthday spelled in the stars (of course, this was asking for too much, but it sure would make her feel better).
She knew her family was right downstairs, laughing and joking and eating cake. She could go sit with them, and for once, be a fragment of that happy family she'd wished for while on the run with Luke and Thalia. The kind of family that could curl up together and watch movies and be a normal family.
Then again, normal was out the door as soon as she'd found out she was a demigod.
And she knew she wouldn't be happy, downstairs. Try as she may, it just wouldn't work. Her real home was camp and her real family was the campers. She missed them, even though she'd seen them just two days ago. It was always hard to say goodbye, but this year, it especially hurt. She knew why - war was around the corner, and she knew that she wouldn't see some of those people ever again. This time she noticed when she started crying again.
Gripping the plate, she pulled the cake close to her mouth, wracking her brain for the perfect wish. She stared at the flame, burning the image of the fire into her mind. The first thing that popped into her head was Percy, but then she thought of Luke. Then she thought of the war, and all the lives that would be lost - all the lives already lost. She didn't want to be selfish with her wish, but at the same time, it was her wish. And did these wishes ever come true?
Maybe, maybe not. Closing her eyes tightly, she filled her cheeks with a big huff of air, before blowing it out, distinguishing the candle almost instantly just as she thought, I wish to be happy again, sometime soon.
Today was Annabeth Chase's sixteenth birthday.
And it looked like she would be celebrating it alone.