Disclaimer: I do not own the amazing masterpiece known as Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Neither do I own the song Wish You Were Here by Avril Lavigne.
Wish You Were Here
Annabeth's POV
I was walking through the streets of New York City, ignoring the cold nipping the tips of my ears. It was around noon, the streets were filled with people, but not rush-hour full.
The Empire State building was receding behind me. The wind blew in from that direction, which was pushed forward my dragging feet.
A green backpack was slung over my shoulder, containing the blueprints for the new courtyard near the entrance of Olympus.
I had spent all morning talking to Mrs. Blowfis/Jackson. Paul was off at a teachers' convection of some sort, so I came to keep Sally company.
We had breakfast together, she did her daily routine as I worked on some things on Daedalus's laptop. We discussed plot twists for her first novel; and I was quite impressed by her amateur writing style.
She left about an hour ago to go to a writing lecture. I wished her good luck with her novel and we parted ways.
I've just been walking the streets mindlessly. I wrapped my jacket closer around myself as a gust of wind whipped around my normally tied hair.
Usually I would've been back at camp, but since the pegasi are out of commission, there would've been no other way to search for Percy.
But Rachel was in town, so I decided to pay her a visit. I walked along a shortcut-path in Central Park, admiring the Christmas lights hung up in the trees.
As I approached the fancy hotel her family lives in, I couldn't help but make note of ways to make the Christmas lighting better.
Bellhops guiding carts made their way through lobby traffic with worthy skill. People sat around in the plush-velvet seating in the sides of the lobby. Some were seated with luggage by their side-most likely waiting for the thick lines at the front desks to die down.
I made my way to the elevators and squeezed in with probably fifteen other people. Half of them looked related. An older lady of the family smiled at me as they got off at their floor.
I came up to the top floor and knocked on their door. A man opened the door. He wore a simple button-up shirt and dress pants.
"Annabeth Chase, is it?" he asked me.
I gave him a nod and he moved to let me inside.
"I'll take it from here, Al," Rachel appeared from a hallway. Wiping her hands on a cloth, she wore a paint-splattered smock and her fiery red hair was tied up in a ponytail.
"Annabeth! Good to see you," she said enthusiastically. Rachel waved a hand for me to follow.
We came into her art studio, a large room with the floor partially covered in white tarps. She had a breath-taking view of the city as well as the Empire State building.
Tables of paper, canvases, paint, and paintbrushes were placed the corners. Easels stood on the floor, ranging from my height to easels supporting themselves on tables. Something new was scattered on the floor this time: a bucket of clay and a misshapen shape sitting on a low dais with a short stool place beside it.
"I've tried to try my hand at sculpting. Literally." Rachel pointed to the glob of clay on the dais, and then held out her hands to show me how dusty they were from working with clay.
"What's it supposed to be?" I asked her. The thing wasn't giving me any clues. It was just…a blob.
"I'm trying a simple shape of a person, and then I'll carve some detail into it. But I'll do that later, let's…I don't know, hang out?"
"No, no, you can keep working. I don't want to interrupt you. I just figured that you would be alone and want since I needed some company…"
She nodded understandingly and went over to her mini-kitchen like corner and brought out some pizza. She put that in the microwave and heated it up.
She gestured over to one of the only clear tables in the room. "Why don't you sit down and we'll have something."
"Thanks a million." I smiled appreciatively. I went over, sat down, and then took out some books and papers.
She brought over a pan of a small pizza, some paper plates, cups, and a bag of snacks. We each took a slice and started working. I looked over my blueprints and she continued her sculpting.
Suddenly, she stood up and went to a large speaker connected to a small player
"You don't mind, do you?"
I shook my head. "No, not at all."
She walked out of the room, then came back carrying a box full of CDs. She set it on the table than closed her eyes.
I tilted my head to side in a curious fashion.
Rachel dug her hands into the CD box," Eenie, meenie, miney, moe, catch a tiger by its toe, if it hollers; let it go, eenie, meenie, miney, moe!"
She ended with pulling out a plain-looking CD with a great flourish.
"Tada!"
I shot her a look. She grinned sheepishly in return.
She ceremoniously popped the CD into the player and turned up the volume.
"Do you even know what that is?" I asked her.
"Nope! I have so much music; I try not to play favorites."
I rolled my eyes and went back to work.
An acoustic accompaniment played in the background as the singer began.
I can be tough
I can be strong
The lyrics reminded me of myself. At camp, I was known as The-Girl-Who-Could-Take-You-Down-In-A-Minute. The tough Athena camper. Not many knew me very closely. Even my cabin-mates, who were my siblings, only knew me as a friend would. Not best friends. Just friends. No more, no less.
But with you, it's not like that at all
But with Percy, everything was different. He could predict what I was going to do in a situation, probably not even aware. On our first quest, oh-so many summers ago (in reality, it was four), I even told him about my father. There was something about him you could trust. Maybe that's why I took down my walls, even though momentarily, for him.
There's a girl, that gives a shit
Behind this wall, you just walk through it
Percy Jackson wormed his way into my heart, I admitted that. But the thing that surprised me the most was how easily he strolled past my psychological walls, and captured my heart.
And I remember all those crazy things you said
You left them running' through my head
Percy never failed to make me laugh, whether he meant it or not. I remember our first few dates, he stuttered and messed up so much I could help but laugh. A lot.
You're always there
You're everywhere
Reminders of Percy were everywhere. At camp, when I would see the stables, Percy's face would pop up. The lake=Percy. The practice arena= Percy. Even my cabin had pictures and memories of Percy.
Percy, Percy, everywhere.
But never showing up.
Oh yes, I was paranoid enough to turn "Water, water, everywhere. But not enough to drink." into something that applied to Percy.
But right now I wish you were here
So, so, true. Everyone wanted Percy back. Especially me.
All those crazy things we did
Didn't think about it, just went with it
I remember all of our quests. We had a game plan, but Percy always did something to mess it up and we had to wing it. His crazy plans were one of the things that kept us alive.
You're always there, you're everywhere
But right now I wish you were here
Damn, Damn, Damn,
What I'd do to have you
Here, here, here,
I wish you were here.
Damn, Damn, Damn
What I'd do to have you
Near, near, near
I wish you were here.
I'd do anything to get Percy back. Go on a quest, eat something gross, anything to get him back! Even follow Her Most Royal Queen of Annoyingness's orders.
I love
You the way you are
Percy's imperfections make him so perfect. He's so understandable, never being the serious, distant hero some expect him to be.
It's who I am
Don't have to try hard
Around him I feel completely relaxed. Because I know that if we're attacked, he has my back. That's all the consolation I'll ever need.
We always say
Say it like it is
Percy is one of the limited amount of people that I trust with my life. I even went as far as giving him my heart to care for. Whenever I talk to him, it's the truth. I have complete faith in him.
And the truth
Is what I really mi-i-iss
Without him I feel like I can't trust anyone completely. My walls are up 24/7 now. I don't have that relaxing part of the day with Percy to slow down anymore.
All those crazy things you said (things you said)
You left them running through my head (through my head)
You're always there, you're everywhere
But right now I wish you were here.
All those crazy things we did (things we did)
Didn't think about it, just went with it (went with it)
You're always there, you're everywhere
But right now I wish you were here
Damn, Damn, Damn,
What I'd do to have you
Here, here, here
I wish you were here.
Damn, Damn, Damn
What I'd do to have you
Near, near, near
I wish you were here.
I don't wanna let go-o
I just, wanna let you know
That, I never let go-o
The woman rapping was right. If only I could tell Percy how much I missed him and that I'll never let him go.
(Let go, oh, oh)
No, I don't wanna let go
I just wanna let you know
That I never wanna let go
(Let go, let go, let go, let go, let go, let go, let go)
Damn, Damn, Damn,
What I'd do to have you
Here, here, here
I wish you were here (I wish you were here)
Damn, Damn, Damn
What I'd do to have you
Near, near, near
I wish you were here.
Damn, Damn, Damn (Damn)
What I'd do to have you
Here, here, here (Here)
I wish you were here.
Damn, Damn, Damn
What I'd do to have you
Near, near, near
I wish you were here.
I sighed and looked at Rachel. She understood my tired expression. She gave me a small, reassuring smile.
"Reminds you of someone, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it sure does."
AN: Wow, this is what? My third fanfiction? I'm so excited! *Smiling face off* I think I did a pretty good job with the ending this time. As you can see, this song has a form of cursing. Hope you guys don't mind. Even though it wasn't very much, I'm really proud of the reviews to my other stories: When You're Gone and Fall to Pieces.
THANK YOU TO THESE LOVELY PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET:
On When You're Gone:
YayPercabeth123 (guest)
1 PERCY JACKSON FAN
MidnightEevee
On Fall to Pieces:
Jamy12345
Guest (guest)
PLEASE REVIEW!
PS: Whoa. This's my 2,000th word: ThankYouSoMuchForLettingMeBe AProudAuthorOnFanfiction!LoveYouGuys!*Squeal*