Annabeth's POV
This is a bit of an angst-type chapter. I just used it to show how confused Annabeth is feeling about the whole situation, so…
Anyways, hope you like it!
The moment I heard the 'yes' come from Percy's mouth, I stormed out of the throne room, shaking. Didn't he realize how much I'd given up two years before, when I turned down the chance to become a Hunter of Artemis?
I sat on a bench in one of the palace gardens. Soon enough, I heard laughter and cheering from near the entrance.
There's Percy and his new fan club again, I thought, smirking to myself a bit. The smirk faded quickly; making wisecracks didn't make me feel better.
The voices were getting louder. They seemed to be coming towards me. Gods help me.
'No, really, Grover, that's enough,' I heard Percy say. 'I mean it. Don't make me blast you!' Show off.
I heard his footsteps on the grass as he jogged over. Jerk. Why doesn't he fly so he can show off even more?
'Hey, Annabeth,' he said. 'You okay?'
'Yeah,' I said, nearly choking on the word. 'Congratulations.'
'Are you sure?' he pressed. 'You seem a little…'
'No, no, I'm fine!' I said in a slightly hysterical voice at least an octave higher than my own. Obviously I'm not fine. Jerk.
He hesitated. 'Well, okay then.' He went back to his friends.
As wrapped up in my misery as I was, I didn't notice somebody else sitting next to me until he put his hand on my shoulder.
'I know how you feel, Annabeth,' said Nico di Angelo.
'No you don't,' I said, wiping a tear from my cheek fiercely.
'I do,' he pursued. 'I'm no satyr, but I can feel that you're upset, angry and miserable about this whole mess, and you don't know what to feel.'
'So what?' I cried. 'How does that help me?'
'It doesn't,' he said gently. 'You're the only one who can help yourself, Annabeth, and sometimes…sometimes you just have to let go.'
I just broke down then. All my dreams, my hopes…gone with a single word.
Really heating up now, isn't it? As you might have figured out, we're going to see some Annabeth/Nico later in the story . Please review!
