Before I say anything else, this goes out to Demigod Kid, I did read your story Crusaders Through Time. I'm actually very intrigued on what will happen, and I can't wait to see what you come up with. Also, thanks for changing you're mind about my story; it really means a lot.
Second, I'm sorry about how busy I've been but I'm trying to do better on my updating. A lot has been going on with the holidays, homework, school, family, and all that other crap. I'm surprised I can even write this; I'm seriously about to collapse.
Finally, I'm thinking about writing a new story; as I've said so many times before. Something about the Hunger Games? Immortal Series? Lost Hero? Crossover? Not sure, I'm still thinking, but I did put up a poll and the winning story will be posted after I finish Gone. Which will be soon. Sorry, but it has to end eventually.
You ready to learn what the Girlfriend's name is? Well I know a simple way to find out! READ FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! READ!
On with the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of PJO!
Annabeth
3
THALIA COLLAPSED ON THE PORCH, breathing heavily; her tongue hung out of her mouth, symbolizing her exhaustion. I also sat down on the black wood and felt sweat drip down my back, making my shirt uncomfortable and hot. Reluctantly, I stood up and dragged Thalia with me; her sweaty hands made it hard to grab her.
"Come on Thals!" I pulled her wrist and she flew up, but then sunk down onto a porch chair Nico had set up in the corner.
"Annabeth." She pointed to me, her voice was dry and her eyes were half- crazed. "Please don't make me stand up." She begged, folding her hands together and giving me a sad look. "My legs feel like rubber!"
"Well that's what you get for running over here," I smiled but she remained sad. "especially since you couldn't handle it." I added, Thalia bolted up and started doing jumping-jacks.
"You kidding? I can handle any_" Her weakened legs tripped over a loose nail, she stumbled over; her chin scraping the wood, her nose inches from the door. "Ow." She said. She leaned forwards and tried to push herself up. "I'm fine. Nothing's going to keep me_"
"What's going on?" The door swung open, smacking Thalia in the face, Nico stood there. His hair stuck up like he just was struck by lightning and he wore his gray robe with the chocolate stain on it. And, worst of all, he had on those skeleton slippers Samantha got him for Halloween; Nico's Christmas. Those creepy slippers had glowing red eyes, and if you got to close, it had these little arms that would grab your ankles. Plus, they laugh at you once they grab you, which everyone, but Samantha and Nico, find creepy.
"OW! WHAT THE F_"
"Oh, hi Thalia." Nico said calmly, he laughed at her face.
"Gods Thalia! Are you OK?" I asked, examining her hit. And guess what? Her nose was broken, gushing blood and the bent cartilage laid unfixed. Payback. "Nico! We need to get inside and fix her!" I said, pushing Thalia into the dark cabin. I sat her down on the couch and walked over to Nico.
"Want me to get some Amb_"
"Yeah, and a really cold wash cloth." I smiled and Nico raised his eyebrow.
"What she do?" He asked as he sauntered into his supply room.
"You'll see." I turned around and walked back into the main room. I looked around at the gray walls; none of them were plain though. One had the word "Nico Rulz" written on it in black spray paint, others had paint splatters, skeletons, and fires on them. As I walked over to Thalia, I stepped on a pair of black underwear Nico left on the floor.
That's when the mess hit me.
There was a white-ish T-Shirt hanging on the ceiling fan, a pile of rotten food by the bunks, and something was moving under a pile of dirty clothes by the couch. Magazines covered the floor, the fireplace burned Greek Fire and a fish, and the clock on the wall was broken, a mountain of glass and a basketball sat underneath it. The place would've been nice without all the junk. It had a nice set of leather couches by the fire, a mini T.V, and it had this cabin had the best air current at camp. Course, Nico got it and completely ruined it.
Then I remembered Thalia. She sat on the long couch, clutching her face and trying not to get blood everywhere. I slowly came closer to her.
"Hey Thalia. Just relax, close your_"
"Is my nose broken?" She interrupted.
"Um..." I looked around the room to see Nico, quietly, bringing me the stuff. "Nah, just wait a few seconds... You'll be better soon. Close your eyes. Relax." I laid the cool cloth on her nose and she sighed.
"Ah. That feels good." She smiled, she almost looked asleep. I got a careful grip on her nose, not wanting to startle her.
"Stay still..." I said quietly. I motioned for Nico to be ready to give her the Ambrosia. "And...Now!" I pulled her nose the other way, her a loud rip in her nose; just like mine. Nico dropped the Ambrosia into her screaming hands and she pushed it into her mouth. Blood filled up the cloth as I ripped it off, staining my hands, but I had to stay and watch my revenge.
"WHAT THE HE_" She sprung up, wrinkling her nose, Nico laughed on the floor; he held a small camera in his hands.
"One word Thals. Payback." I said. She glared at me, but she let it slide.
"Thanks, I guess. Don't want my nose all crooked..." She sat back down on the couch, Nico stashed his camera and walked away. I threw the rag into a trash pile and sat down next to Thalia; surprisingly, she didn't punch me.
"Nico, where's Samantha?" I asked him as he walked into the room again.
"Um...Probably with the other Hecate kids. They needed her to do something. So she left me here for and hou_"
"Aw Nico. Your girlfriend left you." Thalia said sympathetically, Nico rolled his eyes and tried to speak. "Finally! The world makes sense again!" Guess she's feeing better. She jumped up and started dancing in her mocking way. Then, she slipped on one of Nico's shoes. She crashed onto the floor, landing on her butt.
"Nice." Nico said, smirking. She stood up quickly and sat back down.
"Continue you're story Nico." She said, her cheeks burned red.
"Right, so she said she'd be back in an hour." Stared at the flames coming from the fire, licking the edge of the black obsidian mantel. "She only left 20 minutes ago." he muttered.
"Yeah, we were wondering if_"
"Nico. When was the last time you cleaned this place?" I asked, interrupting Thalia.
"What's cleaning?" He looked at me, obviously confused. I smacked my head.
"It'll help you have a girlfriend longer, I'll show you!" Thalia said. She walked over to the small trash bag in the corner of the room, picked it up, and brought it over to us. She lifted the bloody rag off the floor and tossed inside, she smiled at the rustling sound. "Throw away the trash, put away the rest." She threw him the trash bag. Nico picked up a stick by the hearth and plucked the fish from the fire, then tossed it into the bag. It sizzled as it made contact with the plastic, he stuck the stick at a napkin on the floor and shook it into the bag.
"This isn't hard..." He said carefully, thinking he might be wrong.
Of course, he was.
We cleaned for the rest of the hour, but since there were 3 of us, we got the entire room cleaned. Thalia picked up the trash, Nico picked up his "valuables", and I did those finishing touches. It actually looked pretty good. We actually found the floor; turns out it's black with gold marks.
"Hey! Nico? You there?" Samantha walked into the cabin and almost toppled over in shock. She had black hair that was tinted purple in the sunlight, her dark brown eyes resembled Nico's in a girly way. She was almost Nico's height, so around 5.8, and she always wore something green. Today, it was a green Cami with a white thin shirt over it, she wore denim shorts, and black flip-flops. "Nico. You actually cleaned?" She asked him, walking around the floor like a banana peel will pop out at her.
"Yeah with some_" Nico started.
"Yeah all by himself." I said. He looked at me, but I decided to give him the credit. Thalia wasn't so easy to convince.
"Wha_"
"Yeah Thalia! You saw Nico clean the whole place by himself, didn't you?" I glared at her, but she still stared at me like I was crazy.
"Annabeth! We he_"
"Didn't we have something to ask Samantha Thals?" I asked, cutting her off before she ruined it for Nico.
"Yeah. Sure." Thalia said, her voice defeated.
"Samantha, I have this Volleyball match coming up in a few minutes and I was wondering if you'd fill in_"
"Course! I love Volleyball!" She said, she walked over to me and gave me an awkward hug.
"Great, we originally asked Percy but_"
"But you can't trust that he'll be there, right? I wouldn't either. I'll be there, you can count on that." She smiled, then danced her way back into Nico's waiting arms. He held her tightly, kicking of his slippers so they wouldn't grab her. She leaned her head into the crook of his neck, Nico smiled and stuck his tongue out; directing it right at Thalia. She groaned and laid on the recliner.
I was fine until Samantha kissed Nico.
Trust me, I'm not jealous. I made me feel uncomfortable. She pressed her lips against Nico's, he pulled her closer with one hand. It seemed to go on longer, I just felt like I was spying. Nico and Samantha made me think of Percy. How much I wanted him. How much I wanted to know what Samantha felt, when the person she loved kissed her. Something I wanted, right in front of me. I grabbed Thalia's wrist and we walked towards the door. I like that Thalia is a Hunter, this way, we can both be uncomfortable when there are couples nearby.
"OK...bye Samantha! See you in a few..." I flew out the door, Thalia on my heels. The heat of the day was upon us, the cold air felt so far away; there was really only a black piece of wood between us and it.
"You think she'll come?" Thalia asked. I sighed, pulling my ponytail tighter.
"Probably not." I said sadly, all of that work, for nothing. "But we can take them anyway!" I smiled a forced grin, but Thalia shook her head and we started walking back to out cabins; I had to get ready for the game.
I ran inside, pulling off my sweaty clothes. I changed into cotton shorts and a thin white shirt. I laced up my white tennis shoes, put a pair of sunglasses on my head, and ran outside; it was much cooler. Thalia ran out of her cabin a few seconds later; she wore a pair of black shorts, her gray cloud shirt white the lightning bolt on it, and her silver and white sneakers. For once, her hair was up in a ponytail; the hastily tucked strands fell out though.
"Ready?" She asked, her voice about to break. We both knew the answer.
"No." She said at the same time as me. I smiled but it was quickly removed when I caught a glimpse of Alec walking towards the court. Her red hair had large, artificial, curls this time, but it was still up in the ponytail. Her spandex shorts had her name written on the thigh, her light blue shirt almost covered them. She glanced in our direction, rolled her eyes; which were now darker, and sprinted faster. Something burned inside of me then. That simple eye roll had stared a fire. One I don't wish to extinguish. I loosened up my ankles then took off, sprinting towards the court; Thalia was surprised by my sudden speed, but ran after me all the same.
I looked at the court. The Apollo team was there; only now did I notice that each person's jersey had their name sewed on, "Miles" then "Alec" and "Kaleb" Alec opened a water bottle waiting in the sand and took a drink, glaring at me the entire time. She still looked at me after she stopped.
"Look who had enough nerve to show up." She said, her eyes darting between me and Thalia. "Too bad she can't win. Didn't you know? Three people on a team." She pointed to me and Thalia. "And by the looks of it, there's only two of you!" She smiled. I walked over to our side of the court, not giving Alec the satisfaction. I sat down on the bench, watching the sand stir with the slight breeze.
"Hey! One of them might show up!" Thalia said, trying to cheer me up. I highly doubt it.
"Hey guys! 'Sup!" I craned my neck to see Samantha running over to us, she had a white bag in her hand.
"What's in the bag?" Thalia asked, Samantha pulled out icy cold water bottles.
"Thanks!" I shouted, my throat suddenly felt weak at the sight of the cold liquid. I unscrewed the cap and let the water flow down my mouth.
"You guys seriously came without water? You have to play, like, all the time to not need it!" She took a sip of her water too.
"Kinda..." Thalia said, we put down our bottles and walked into center court.
"Good luck, you'll need it." Alec whispered in m ear as we shook hands.
"Likewise." I said, then walked back to my team, it was starting.
I tried t prevent myself from glancing at the other team, watching their warm ups, but my wandering gray eyes caught a few of their hits. Alec spiked the ball over the net; it spiraled over, barely missing the net, and hit the ground with incredible force. Something hard to hit. I noticed Kaleb, he served the ball over the net, going to the very corner of the court. I flinched away, even though it wasn't really near me. Miles set the ball, his fingers strong and firm, it flew over the net with good momentum landing it close to the line. Despite Miles size, he was still a contender; he was not to be over looked, or used as a weak spot.
I cocked my head back into our group, Samantha was experienced. She knew the rules, she could do everything except spike. But, from my observations, we needed a spiker. "We should warm up..." I said, my eyes looking at Thalia. She glared at the other team. "Or else...or else we'll..."
"Or else we'll get creamed?" Thalia asked, trying to help. Of course, she only made me feel worse.
"Thanks Thals," I said, my sarcastic tone seeping through my teeth. "have some confidence." I looked at her and she nodded, mouthing the word "sorry"
"Let's do this." Samantha said, trying to boost our spirits. We walked out into the court, I grabbed a sandy Volleyball lying on the line. I steadied the ball in my fingers, rotating slightly, like it'll help my aim. I lowered the ball, connecting my vision with the round object in my hands. I brought my arm back, stood behind the line, and exhaled a breath though it came out shallow and shaky. I smacked the wrist against the ball, placing all my force into the hit. It flew from my fingertips and soared through the air, landing on the other side and crashing right before it went out of bounds. I jumped up and smiled at Alec shocked face, her eyes burned with a new red tint around the pupil. Thalia patted my back, then rolled the Volleyball in her fingers. She threw the ball up, and as it came down, she slapped her hand on it and sent it whizzing through the air. She could spike, and she was good. I hugged Thalia, we watched Alec glare at us but she stopped when she turned to get a ball. Alec walked up to the net, and spiked the ball over, sending it close to our faces. She crossed her arms at us and watched up for the rest of practice, which only added more pressure to make us do worse. Every time we did good, she'd spike another ball over, close to our heads.
Then, the buzzer rung, starting the game. We ran to our spots on the court, I was going to be the starting server. Sweat dripped down my back as I stood there. The pressure Alec put on me was nothing compared to this, I stood in my position anyway. I served the ball over, it was a great serve; right on the line, but somehow Alec was able to retrieve it. She bumped it to Miles who set it over the net; it came onto our side and my heartbeat accelerated, it fell over near Thalia. Thankfully, she set it up and Samantha bumped it over to the other side. Kaleb spiked the ball, despite the fact that he was in the back row, but it still skinned the net and came straight to me. Instinctively, I raised my hand and spiked it; it worked. It tumbled into the net, but dropped onto the ground. Alec was on her stomach, close to reaching the ball but she missed. Frustration crossed over her face and mixed with rage.
The ball was rolled back, I prepared myself to hit the ball, when my wrist made contact the ball hurtled over the net and it flew towards Miles. He took the blow head-on but his strong fingers absorbed it. It rolled off his fingers and bounced into the hair, but it didn't go too high. He backed off quickly, while Kaleb came up behind him and bumped the ball over the net. After the ball left his skin though, he shrugged of his shirt and left his burly chest open and exposed. Samantha stared at the muscles and almost missed the ball, she did a bad set into the air, but Thalia managed to get it over the net again. It sailed toward Kaleb, hitting him square in the shoulder, he tumbled back and we gained the point. We planned on making this a short game, 5 points to win. We had a good start.
This time, I tried to over-hand serve. It spiraled towards Alec; the worst place for it to go. She countered the impact by spiking it, it tumbled into the net, but fell over near Thalia. She reacted so fast and saved it in the nick of time. It bounced back towards me, I spiked it and it flew over the net; straight for Miles. His fingers were still numb though, so when he to the impact, it didn't go far. It landed a few inches in front of him, he doubled over on the ground clutching his fingers. Kaleb groaned and started cussing in Greek, Alec rolled her eyes and walked over to her water bottle.
"Ow! That hurts man!" He groaned at glared at...Kaleb. "You could give me help here! I'm only ten, don't just stand there and criticize!" He leaped to his feet and walked over, leaning his face up to face Kaleb.
"Shut it brat! I'm doing my job, you do yours!" His long fingers curled into strong fists, Miles clenched his teeth. "Sides, you don't have to take a strong serve with your fingers! Try bumping!" Kaleb laughed, but Miles shoved Kaleb's chest; Kaleb went backwards, I didn't want to know how strong Miles really was.
"I'm strongest with my hands man! You know that!" His fingers twitched, i saw his muscles tense up. "You've seen me practice every day of my life, my fingers are_"
"Stupid." Kaleb finished, he cross his arms across his chest. "Learn to be, like, more cool. Don't just have one strength, have many. It's so stupid! Get over your weird-kid phase and grow up!" Kaleb glared at Miles, daring his to comment. "Don't be like your freaky Mom, Caste_"
Just then, Miles charged. He jumped onto Kaleb, hung there for a spilt second, then wrapped hit lethal fingers around Kaleb's throat.
Hello, did you like it? I hope so, I'm not so good at having long chapters-I suck like that. I took the longest time just getting all this up, and I've been working on this for a few days, nonstop. But, it's finally done! I'm sorry that I didn't say what the girlfriend's name was, but there was no way to incorperate it into the story...yet. Next time, though, I have it all planned out! Trust me.
Also, thank you to everyone who read/reviewed-I read the reviews everyday and it just gives so much inspiration that I log on this stupid computer and yank my brains out trying to update. Thanks though, it means the world to me.
Finally, please vote on my poll. I just posted it about my new story ideas-the summaries for them are on my profile. I might add more choices later, I'll see.
OK, thank you everyone. I'll update soon, but it does take a while. Review please!
~Ultimate Demigod98
