Okay, y'all, it's a lil late from where I'm staying, but I worked hard on this chapter. Maybe a bit too hard, so if you find an issue please point it out. If you have suggestions or anything, plss review and lmk.
A lil hinting at future Percabeth in this chapter, and things are getting real in Olympus rn. I'm answering reviews at the bottom. Thanks for reading guys, and enjoy!
O-O-O
"Many people pray to be kept out of unexpected problems.
Some people pray to be able to confront and overcome them."
-Toba Beta
O-O-O
Percy
The waffles in the morning are freshly made, to Percy's delight. Of course, they were as delicious as ever; and as blue as ever. His mother, Sally Jackson, walks into the kitchen with her classic warm smile. "Morning sweetheart."
"Morning, mom."
"I see you've already gotten to the waffles, huh?"
Percy shrugs. "Main reason I ever get up in the morning at this point."
Sally gives him a look, to which he puts his hands up in surrender and exclaims, "Kidding, kidding!"
She grins, picking up the last two waffles on the plate. "Good. You better be. Now, Paul already left to his office, and I have to head to the shop to finish up some other paperwork. So, since there's no one else looking after the house when schools over…"
He perks his head up. "Again? He already came last week. And the week before."
"Honey, he's your father. Your pathological father, if I must add," his mother sighs, "I get that this is new transition for you, but he's trying. And you should be, too." She takes a bite of the waffle in her hand, chews, then swallows. "He is trying, right? And you are, too?"
Her son nods. "Of course, mom."
"Oh, Percy, please tell me you're not making it hard for him or anything."
"I'm not, I promise," he says through a mouthful of waffle, "And besides-"
"Not with your mouth full, honey. You're sixteen, you're not a toddler."
He frowns, making a dramatic gulp as he swallows the food. "Anyways… besides, we actually haven't been doing that bad. Dad and I have been getting closer lately."
That was the truth, actually. Percy's father hasn't necessarily been present most his childhood. In fact, his mother remarried a few years back, and some time after that his father bothered to check up on his son.
Sally was a Fait, and his father was an Alt. There was no legitimate reason that Sally gave Percy as to why his father left ("We were just too different, your father and I."), but he knew it was actually Sally who broke up the relationship. His father, Poseidon Jackson, was a rising politician at the time. Rich, powerful, and on the cover of almost any media tabloid. Besides, he worked with Krone, and the rumors surrounding him wasn't a healthy environment to grow up in. According to Poseidon, both of them agreed that this wasn't the ideal life for a child, so they split when Percy was a few months old. Sally kept the surname, but that was about as much contact they had for years.
Poseidon never brought up the fact that he was ever married before the fame, or had a kid, and the news reporters were too distracted with the numerous other politicians to publicize it. When Percy's sixteenth birthday arrived, Poseidon came to check up on him after years of truancy, to find Sally remarried and Percy all grown up.
Poseidon remarried, too, but Percy suspects that it was more for public support than for any actual affection. Her name was Amphitrite, but that was about all Percy and Sally knew about her.
As a "family favor", Sally called it, Poseidon bought them a brand new house, and gave Percy a car when he turned sixteen. Sally was uncomfortable at first, but she grew used to her new home, and she and Poseidon were finally on much more friendly terms.
"You two are getting along? Oh, this is great! I was so worried that it'd be hard on you."
Percy picks up a glass of orange juice. "I mean, he is really busy, and we're not exactly fully comfortable with each other yet, but it's getting there." Not as fast as he'd prefer, but it wasn't a total lie.
Sally claps her hands together happily. "Ohh, this is perfect! My two best men are getting along." She comes and pulls Percy into a tight hug, much to his chagrin.
"Mo-om. My juice is gonna spill."
"Alright, honey," she pulls away, laughing , "I have to leave soon, but Poseidon should be coming any minute now. Behave, okay? And drive to school safely."
He marches up to Sally and gives her a quick peck on the cheek. "I promise I'll be careful. Love you, mom."
"Love you, too." He hears the door shut, signaling her departure. Percy pulls out his phone. There's a text from Rachel.
Just woke up, yike. My dads being a bitch, lol c u at school xx
He smiles at the message. Rachel has been his girlfriend for a few months now, around the end of freshman year. He really likes her, and she never gave him a reason not to. She was sweet, and ambitious, and creative, and he had more he wants to say but he compacts it with a:
Lol relatable. Aight, I'll see you there xx
He scrolls through his other messages. One's a notification alerting him of the upcoming track meet. It's sent to every individual member who made the team, including a list of the top runners. Percy finds his name in second place, behind Chase, Annabeth.
He remembers racing against her, and seeing the pure fury on her face when he reminds her he could've easily beaten her. It was hilarious, to be honest. He recalls a week ago, when the list for the track members was posted.
It was hysterical every time he was able to get to Annabeth. She made it too easy, and when he trapped her to the point that she gave him the most ridiculous nickname her ever heard of.
Seaweed Brain.
He almost laughs out loud at the memory when the door lock clicks, then swings open. Poseidon Jackson enters, in a crisp black suit complete with a silky black tie.
To anyone, the resemblance should've been a dead ringer that Poseidon had a son that he kept away from the press. They had the same dark, raven hair (Percy's is wild and unkempt while Poseidon trims it and keeps it tame with gel), sharp facial features, and the same distinctly bright green eyes. The only part that Percy inherited from his mother is his smile, which he is proud of, thank you very much.
Of course, the age difference has made Poseidon far more worse-for-wear. His eyes and mouth have wrinkles and lines from the constant smiles he puts up on-camera. His hair has started to gray at the roots, and his green eyes were a little colder and duller from the years of work and stress. He walks up formally to Percy, and examines him.
Percy suddenly feels a little exposed under his father's gaze. He's sporting a casual blue T-shirt today, with a worn denim jacket and jeans. Frankly, he's looked worse, but he doesn't really care until his father is studying him. He looks awfully irritated today, Percy can't help noticing. His father was a politician. Sure, he could be a little cold and intimidating, but never irritated, at least not when he's with Percy.
"Uhm," Percy clears his throat awkwardly, "Hey Dad. Did Mom tell you? I made track, top five fastest times too, you know."
His father gives him a tight grin. "Great," he says flatly, "If you didn't I'd be disappointed considering I specifically changed your speed, you know." He barely even glances at Percy, but stares intently at the counter before striding over to an armchair and collapsing down, sighing heavily.
Huh. So at least my dramatics were inherited from somewhere, Percy thinks.
"Um, Dad? Is there a reason why you're so… I mean, did I do something, or..?"
Poseidon sighs again. "No Percy. You don't happen to keep up with the news, do you?"
He cringes. "Erm… no."
His father laughs dryly. "Oh gods, Percy. Your father's a politician; anyone would think you'd keep up with simple politics."
Percy scratches his head nervously. It's not that he chooses not to read about the news, it's more he just doesn't feel it necessary. His father's a politician, for goodness sake. And he pays enough attention to realize when something major has happened, right?
"You know The Underworld, right?"
"The entertainment magazine? Yeah, but what does that have to do with your sudden change of mood?'
"Apparently it doesn't do entertainment anymore," Poseidon scoffs bitterly, "And it's not like we can do anything about it, because it's an independent company. Read this, it was released a week ago." He tosses a small booklet over to Percy.
In a large font lie the words The Underworld. It seems like almost any other edition. There's still the gossip about celebrities and movies and such, but in the center of the cover is a picture of the presidential cabinet. There's Krone, dead center, and he's surrounded by all the other members. Percy sees the deadpan face of Zeus Grace in the corner, and he counts the other politicians. His father is right next to the president, as intimidating-looking as ever. There are white letters displaying: "The politicians of today: Honest thoughts and opinions?"
He frowns. "So you're upset because of an entertainment magazine's opinion of you?"
"Oh for Gods' sakes, actually read the article. It's been a week, and public outcry has already reached nationwide attention." His father puts his head in his hands exasperatedly.
Percy scrambles to open the labelled page. The overall selection takes up about a quarter of the magazine, it wasn't hard to miss. There are multiple different passages; a lot of them, Percy thinks. Some of them are only a paragraph long, and some take up about half the page. At the bottom of each passage lie the names of the person who wrote them. Some are anonymous, but the age is still listed. He counts a little over thirty passages, and starts rushing over the words.
I don't believe that our country's leaders have our interests at heart…. Krone and his followers have no intention to better anything for Faits… The tensions that are growing between Faits and Alts already display the fact that Krone can't take care of Olympus and… his eyes scroll through the different accounts. He only skims through, but it's enough to see that almost all of these are brutally honest reviews about the poor state of Olympus's political condition. Percy falls his eyes to the names. Some of them are anonymous, but the ages listed are young. The oldest one given seems to only be about thirty-something years.
With a jolt, he spots one of the names. Grover Underwood, 16 years. He knows Grover. Well, he doesn't know Grover, but he knows of him, and that they both have first period together. He also knows that Grover hangs with Chase's group. He scans through hurriedly, looking for any other familiar names. Nico, Piper, Hazel. Even Thalia's name shows up. And Leo Valdez? Frankly, Percy's a little surprised, Leo never seemed like the political type. But they're all friends with her. He looks through passage to passage and there it is- Annabeth Chase, 16 years.
She's the last passage, and one of the longest ones. He briefly admires her ability to hold nothing back. Her review is scornful. It's pretty respectable that she's able to procure -wait- this is his father that's part of the targeted group, and the admiration turns to a burst of irritation.
Must she always be this insufferable?
He's about to speak, but Poseidon interrupts. "If you're gonna say something about the public accounts, don't. That's not even the worst of it. Check the next page."
He does. It's an actual article this time, about a page long, with no pictures.
The Problem with our Social System; Olympus and its Unspoken Division
By Annabeth Chase
He would've laughed if the article wasn't from such a public platform. Of course Annabeth would be the one to do something like this. He's warned her; but she can't seem to listen to anyone, it seems. He reads on:
Since the inauguration of President Samuel Krone, the social system in Olympus has taken a turn for the worst. Let's face it: there's always been an invisible border between Faithfuls and Alterations. None of us choose to point that out, at least not publicly. With some desperate grasp to hold on to the idea that there isn't any tension and that Olympus's political state is as serene as it was before is a lie. In fact, since the official confirmation years ago that altering a child is the new norm, when have things ever been serene between the two subgroups? Our political figures, as well as countless other pubic influencers have attempted to distract us, or fool us into believing that the country is as peaceful as they make it out to be. But with the rising rumours of Krone being an Alt-Right, and his cabinet supporting those ideals, it's fair to say that Olympus's citizens are in an unspoken turmoil. As for our own political figureheads, let's review over their supposed 'measures' to assure Olympus's tranquility.
Percy stops reading there. The rest of the article lists the names of the most popular Olympus politicians, as well as an absolutely scathing paragraph explaining their lack of action towards helping the country. Krone, Rhea, Zeus, Atlas… Poseidon?
As his eyes go further down the page, he reads more about his father. Chase made no effort to hold back, especially since Poseidon was the head advisor, he received almost as much negativity as Krone.
He's so irked to the point where he can't even read the whole thing, only bits and pieces. The puppetmaster behind Krone's antics… Poseidon remains one of the most controversial figures in the cabinet… His lack of empathy deems him to be …
He can't keep reading. Poseidon sees this, and says, "I've talked to Krone and some of the other cabinet members. This magazine isn't owned by us, so we can't do anything about its distribution, as far as I'm concerned. But I've checked up on the officiators of this article. This girl, Annabeth Chase, doesn't she go to your school?
"Unfortunately, yes," Percy replies stiffly. He doesn't know how to feel about this. He's definitely not prejudiced against Faits or anything, but this is his father that she's talking about.
That outspoken little bitch, He thinks irritably.
Poseidon tiredly puts his head down. "This is really bad; this thing was written by teenagers, and it's already reached so much of Olympus. I don't even know how Krone will-"
Percy's already leaving the house as his father's voice dies out behind him. He practically jumps into his car and shoves the key in to start it.
When he gets to school, it seems the whole school also received word of the magazine. Almost everyone he sees has a copy in their hand. He slams the car door shut, and is about to look for the group when Rachel approaches.
"Hey, Perc-"
"Not now."
He scans the school and sees the familiar curly blonde ponytail. Before he could think about what he was going to say he loudly shouts, "CHASE!"
Annabeth
Okay, here's the thing.
Annabeth knows that The Underworld is a major magazine publisher that the whole school has heard of. And she knows that it's bound time before the article reaches major notoriority. What she doesn't know is that it reaches public attention so soon.
She checks the news first thing this morning, and is shocked to find that the magazine has already reached national headlines.
It's been a week!
When she gets downstairs, she's thankful that no one in her family pays much attention to the news (considering Frederick is a history professor, she finds it kind of ironic). No one asks her, and she's glad that there's nothing she has to answer for. She's finding it better and better that her family has such a blatant disregard for her life; it comes in use in times like this.
Thalia is ecstatic at the news, and instantly says so when Annabeth gets in the car.
"My dad is pissed, Annie!" She cackles gleefully. "He's all like 'you're my daughter, I will not have this kind of disrespect in my family, and this kind of negative press,'. I swear, this is like, the best idea you've ever had."
"Thals, it's been a week and it's reached nationwide attention." Annabeth shifts nervously in her seat. "I mean, don't get me wrong. This is the kind of publicity we need. But this fast… I don't know if I can handle it."
Thalia gives her a rare sympathetic look. "I get it, sort of. I agree, not everyone at the school is gonna agree with you. You might get a bit of hate, not gonna lie. But remember that the rest of the group has your back. We wrote our own opinions, too. And we all published our names in the magazine. Besides, if they get to you," she puts a hand on her hip challengingly, "they'll have to get through me."
"Thalia. You're shorter than me."
Thalia scowls. "Do you want my support or not, Beth?"
"Alright, alright, sorry. But I guess you're right," she pauses to think, "Besides, even Leo provided his own passage. If anything, that's more impressive than anything I wrote."
Thalia chuckles dryly. "I, um, read that article you wrote. Y'know, the one about the politicians and their 'supposed measures' and all that. That was pretty ballsy, Annie. Serious respect. But just so you know, erm, Poseidon Jackson is kinda related to-"
"-Hey, we're here."
She looks out the window, and tries not to show her nervousness. Almost everyone in view has a copy of The Underworld in their hand. They're all bunched off into groups, and she can only imagine the conversations that are occurring.
She forcibly laughs. "Oh. This is gonna be hell."
Thalia grins widely. "I love the smell of controversy in the morning. This should be fun." She kicks out a spiked combat boot and marches over to the table. "Morning, sophomores."
The rest of the group seem to be taking the attention rather well, except Nico. He's covering himself with his aviator jacket as if it's some sort of Invisibility Cloak. "Annabeth," He hisses, "I know that this would get attention, but not this soon."
"It was gonna get attention anyway." Piper rolls her eyes. "What were you expecting?"
"I don't know, maybe a few looks here and there, a slow trickle of people talking about it. Not the whole damn country in the span of a week. People tried to talk to me about my dad. Not how I wanna go down in high school, man."
Leo leans back, lying into Hazel's lap. "I don't know, guys. Any attention is good attention, and I think I'm liking this, to be honest."
Grover holds up his copy of the magazine. "Yup. The entire nature club sends us their support for the article."
Annabeth smiles. Okay, maybe this wasn't too bad. Maybe not everyone would agree with them, but she has her friends. And if they can deal with the sudden attention, so can -
"CHASE!"
She swivels around, and her happy expression turns into a sneer. "Jackson. Must you be so loud this early in the morning?"
He scowls, taking large strides towards her until they're a foot apart. "You know damn well why I'm talking to you."
"Actually, I don't," she replied coldly. "I just got here and last I checked, I haven't done anything to you specifically. Yet. We'll see how the day turns out."
"This isn't a joking matter, Chase. What the hell did I tell you? You just can't seem to find your boundaries, huh?"
She spots the magazine in his hand. "Wait, Jackson. Don't tell me this is about the article. Look, it was all opinions being broadcasted to the public. And everything was aimed at the politicians, not Alts in particular. So if you're here to confront me about being prejudiced against Alts, then buddy, you better do some-"
He put his hand up to silence her. "I'm not stupid, Chase. This isn't about some stupid vendetta you may or may not have against Alts. This is about your article."
He points aggressively at the page where her article occupies . "What is this?"
"That, Jackson," she states stiffly, "is an honest opinionated article about our nation's leaders. I don't get what your problem is with this? Mr. I'm-not-Alt-Right?"
"I'm not Alt-Right, Annabeth." She tries to ignore the fact that this is the first time he referred to her by her first name, which was easy because his face quickly turns back to its furious state. "What my problem is is that you publicly insulted my father. And you expect me to be okay with that?"
She tried keeping the cool demeanor, but can't help paling a bit. "Your father?"
"Yes. Poseidon Jackson is my father." His voice is dangerously low. But she maintains her front.
"Oh." Oh. Oh. "Wait. Your father is head advisor to the President? And how is it that this is the first time this has been brought up?"
"That's none of your business, Chase." Back to last names. "What is the actual issue here is that your lack of boundaries led to publicly insulting my father. On a publicized magazine."
She scoffs. "Oh, I am so sorry that your father works for the same man who is allegedly threatening people for protesting. He's head advisor, he's the literal puppet master behind it all.
You cannot expect me to just ignore that because of your supposed daddy issues."
"I do not have daddy issues, Chase. But I do have a problem with the fact you're so desperate to prove yourself that you think it's acceptable to openly display your thoughts out like this. This isn't just about the fact you insulted my father, you know. I told you already, the tension is heightening. And this lack of tact-" he gestures at the page, "- isn't doing anything but stirring trouble."
She wants to say more, but she doesn't know exactly what to ease the situation. Her friends are behind her, watching with caution. She sees Rachel awkwardly standing behind Percy, looking anywhere but at her.
Percy shakes his head. "You know what? Forget it. Deal with the consequences, we'll see what happens from there."
He stalks off over to his table, Rachel is close behind.
Silence.
Thalia walks up to Annabeth. "Yikes. That was, um… I mean, I knew you two don't like each other, but that was… wow."
The rest of the group follows suit, bunching behind her. Hazel pats her on the back supportively. "Don't worry, Annabeth. It's good that you're getting your opinion out to the public. And who knows? Maybe this'll be the wake up call that Olympus needs. Don't listen to him."
She's only half-listening. Her eyes are still locked on Percy. "Um… yeah, you guys are right. Let's go, we should get to class anyway." She reluctantly leaves into the halls, her friends slowly follow her.
O-O-O
Miss Dodds is substituting again, to everyone's delight.
"Good morning, class."
There's no effort to hide the groans that spread through the crowd. She doesn't acknowledge it. She puts on a fake smile for everyone, but it disappears when Annabeth, Piper, and the rest of their group walk into the class.
"Oh. I see the radicals have made an appearance."
Annabeth peeks at Dodds's desk, and sees the familiar corner flap of The Underworld. So Dodds is public enemy number two of the article. Behind Jackson, obviously.
Everyone looks over at her, as if expecting another show like a few weeks ago. She suddenly feels too tired now to even try and argue back. Piper, however, seems to be on a different train of thought.
"I wasn't aware openly displaying your beliefs counted as being radical, Miss Dodds," She says boldly.
The sub is apparently taken aback, but only momentarily. "That's not important. What's important is that we get started on the lesson plan today," she plasters on an even faker smile today. "Your teacher had given me the instructions to-"
"Miss Dodds," a student interrupts. Annabeth recognizes him as one of the kids from the track meet. "Have you read about the recent article from The Underworld ?"
The woman gives him a dirty look. "I'm afraid, Mr. Stoll, that practically the whole country has read the article," she looks at Annabeth, "unfortunately."
Annabeth feels a little more sick now.
The student keeps talking. "If you don't mind, would you provide us your thoughts on the article?" He sends a glance at Annabeth, and she can see that this is some misguided attempt at showing his support, but she currently wants nothing more than to sock him.
Dodds's frown deepens. "I don't see why that would be necessary. Besides," she forces another grin, "We still have a whole lesson plan to discuss. Now, Brunner has given me-"
"I support the magazine," a girl pipes up from the back of the class. "I mean, if we're gonna be discussing what happened, I'd like to say that I completely agree with the article."
Annabeth subtly looks behind her. Percy's head is down, he's avoiding her eyes. She cringes.
"Well, to be fair," it's Drew Tanaka who speaks up this time. "I don't personally agree with the article. It was completely uncalled for. Might as well have been a cry for attention. Don't you agree, McLean?" She says in a sickly sweet voice, glaring daggers at Piper. Piper sends her a dirty look back. "Like you have the brain capacity to provide an opinion, Tanaka?"
"I think the articles were really insightful, you guys."
"Are you kidding? They were completely unnecessary. Krone is gonna flip in his next-"
"That's the best part. Especially with the rumors surrounding his-"
"That's not a valid reason to start attacking his whole political-"
"His whole political cabinet is part of the reason why this was-"
More and more students start speaking up, and it seems Dodds has grown more and more exasperated. "Class. So help me, I will send this whole room to the principal if I hear another word about that magazine article."
"But this is a history class," Piper calls out, "And Brunner always tells us that history class is the best time to discuss what counts as, well, making history. If this article reached so much attention in one week, wouldn't this be an appropriate time to talk about it?"
Drew scoffs. "Please, McLean, this is just a pathetic way for you to talk about yourself and that account you wrote."
"Tanaka, believe it or not, you're one of the only ones who would likely have the audacity to direct any spoken topic towards themselves. I'm just trying to-"
"I'm afraid that Miss Tanaka has a point, Miss McLean," Dodds sneers, "There is no reason to try and take something so majorly political and turn it back as an excuse to use the spotlight. All of you," she looks at the group, lingering heavily on Annabeth. "Besides, we shouldn't be discussing this because this is a public school, and political opinions can reach too offensive an audience-"
"No. The reason you don't want us to discuss isn't because of attention or anything. It's because you're too afraid to speak your true beliefs of being an Alt-Right." The feeling of sickness in Annabeth's stomach is pulled up as word vomit, and everything comes out faster than she can stop herself.
There's a collective silence. She could cut the tension in the room with a knife. The term Alt-Right was an extreme one to use, and as correct as Annabeth knows she is, it was still a huge conclusion to jump to in front of the whole class. She freezes, and slowly sinks back into her seat.
Dodds's face is red with silent fury. "Miss Chase," she says in an eerily calm voice, but it's painfully forced. "I'm afraid this is your second outburst this year. Your second highly inappropriate one, may I add. I'd appreciate it if you could find your way to the principal's office."
Nico sighs, sending her a remorseful look as if saying you just can't keep your mouth shut, huh?
She awkwardly slides out of her chair, timidly walking out the door. And then Dodds decides to make this better by announcing:
"Mr. Jackson, as someone who undoubtedly has been sent to the principal enough times, would you escort Miss Chase to his office? To make sure she keeps herself…" she jeers at the blonde behind her back, "... in check."
Annabeth hears the loud scraping of chair against the floor, and the pattern of footsteps coming behind her as she exits the class. She doesn't turn around to acknowledge him, and she refuses to let him see her face this red.
After a safe distance away from the room, Percy says, "You know, Chase? I've finally figured it out. You just have an incapability to listen to anyone, huh?"
She doesn't want to say anything, but she does anyway. "Oh please, everyone knows that Dodds is one of them. I just pointed it out, just without a filter to keep me tied down this time."
She hears him scoff, but there's a quiet chuckle after. "Chase, you are honestly something."
"I can practically hear that eye roll, Jackson."
"Whatever, I'm not wrong, you know. I did tell you."
"Fine, whatever. I apologize, is that what you want? I'm unable to control my thoughts and words, but at the very least it's better than agreeing with everyone even when they're wrong. Like some people." She subtly nods in his direction.
"Know-it-all."
"Ignoramus."
"Killjoy."
"Coward."
"Hey, just because I don't broadcast my beliefs on my sleeve doesn't mean that I'm a coward."
She ignores him when they finally arrive at the office.
"I'll be waiting for you outside. Don't start an argument with the principal, would you?"
She scowls at him, but walks into the office with her head high.
The principal's office is cluttered with paperwork and binders and what she really hopes aren't wine bottles stashed under the desk. Mr. Dionysus, or Mr. D, is the principal of Goode. He's… there. He barely gets involved with the students and their school life, and spends most his time in his office. Most students say that he spends that time drinking and sleeping. How he manages to keep this job, Annabeth doesn't know (she blames the public education system).
"Err… Mr. D?"
His head is flat against the table, asleep. His trademark leopard print shirt is riding up. She tries again. "Mr. D."
He jerks awake, gasping in a gruff voice, "W-Wha… " He sees her, "... oh. Miss Chapman."
"It's Chase, sir."
"Whatever. Is there a reason you're here in the middle of first period?" He looks at her suspiciously. "This isn't about that article you and that group of students wrote, is it?"
"Erm… not exactly...Miss Dodds told me to come here because I spoke up in class."
He frowns. "Okay… what did you say, exactly?"
"I may have called her an extremely offensive term because of her stance with the president."
"Which would be…?"
"I kinda called her an… Alt-Right," She says sheepishly.
He winces. "Okay. Is that it?" He weirdly unsurprised, and takes a deep breath, as if preparing a speech. "Well, here's the thing, Chavez."
"Chase, sir."
"Whatever. Point is, it's not my place to say as principal, but you're not wrong. But I am principal, so I can't go around saying stuff like that if I want to keep my job. So.. between you and me, I agree with you, but I can't be the one to make that claim because of simple observation, obvious as it is."
She stares blankly. "So… you're not gonna punish me?"
"Well… I kind of have to. Look, I'm in charge of a public school. As in, government funded. I can't be going around displaying my political agenda. And with the state of Olympus right now," he looks at her reproachfully, "I advise you don't go around making it too obvious, either. But with your recent article, however, that's no longer possible. So here's some rare words of wisdom: shut the hell up. You don't know who you're talking to with everything going on. Don't go shouting everything that comes your head, Carson, because you need to be careful."
She can't help scoffing. "I've been hearing that a lot lately," she says, thinking of Percy. "So, it that it? A warning?"
He rolls his eyes, now back to his previous mood. "Well… yes and no. That was the warning. But I still have to punish you. So, detention. After school, one hour. Done, deal, now get out."
She nods and quickly walks out. Percy is waiting outside the door. When he sees her, he bounces up and trails behind. "So, what happened?"
"Detention after school."
"That's it? Dang, someone got lucky."
"Good to know.'
She counts thirty seconds of awkward silence between them before finally saying, "I'm sorry, by the way."
He stops, slightly taken aback. "For what?"
"That article," she admits, "I mean, like, I don't regret writing it, because it's true. But I am sorry for insulting your dad so brazenly. It was a bit too far, I didn't know and I'm sorry." She feels a sudden weight being lifted, and she doesn't know why.
"Oh," he looks at her in amazement, "Wow. Annabeth Chase is the first to apologize this time. Who would've known?" He chuckles to himself, but when he sees her annoyed expression, he adds, "It's alright, though. And I'm sorry for overreacting and whatever. Like, calling you out in front of your friends and whatever. You're right, I don't support his agenda, and if it weren't my dad, I probably wouldn't have blown up at you like that."
She nods. He sighs, then tells her bluntly:
"Y'know, I'm gonna be honest. I don't know why I blew up at you like that this morning. I actually just met him last month, on my sixteenth birthday. I mean, he's a big time politician, and we're not even that close. But, we're getting there, y'know? And I guess we were starting to get closer and then that article came and I just felt this weird urge to sorta… defend him or something, I guess? But you get my point."
She nods. "I didn't ask for your life story, and I don't know why you needed to tell me that," she deadpans, and he almost winces. She quickly adds gently, "But… thanks. It's nice knowing there's a human heart behind all that gene-editing."
He actually grins this time. "You're actually pretty funny when you're not a heartless prick, you know."
She gives a small smile at that. "Ha-ha, you're hilarious."
They pull up outside their history door.
"Well, we're here," Percy scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Mmhm, no kidding."
"Ladies first?"
"Just get in, Jackson, we're wasting class time," she scoffs amusedly, rolling her eyes. He does, and she follows, sitting quietly back in her seat. To her relief, no one really makes an effort to point out her return.
It's subtle. Very subtle. But Annabeth can sense the silent mutual agreement in both her and Percy's heads, that there's a definite shift in their relationship.
O-O-O
And that was it! I'm working hard, and school's almost back, so I may not be updating as frequently. If you have questions, comments, concerns, pls review and I'll let you know. I worked hard on this chapter, but there's still room for improvement, so maybe I portrayed something wrong? Or there was some issue connecting it to the actual characters? Idk so let me know… If you like this story pls FAVE AND FOLLOW.
Any chance we can get to 15 reviews at least lel?
Flightfoorkeyseeker: yes, yes, I thought about that too, dude. I'm planning on addressing it in a later chapter where there's more Percabeth moments. Don't worry, I think my stuff through ;)
Tsubasa no Yume1: Tysm! That's exactly what I wanted to go for!
11saphira11: Thanks! I could really use that kind of support haha