A/N: I am so so so so sorry y'all! I feel horrible about not updating for so long, but I have been impossible busy and it was my birthday on Wednesday (I'm fifteen!) and life has just been crazy. Unfortunatly, I don't think I will be able to update every wednesday (especially since summer is coming up), but I definitly want to try to have that as my goal day. I can't garentee that my updates will be super regular, but I promis I will finish this story and I will update at least once a month (I hope). I love all of you and thanks for staying with me.
If you recognize it, it's not mine.
"Annabeth, if you don't turn off that goddamn alarm clock I will smash it -and your head- against the wall." Silena groaned from under a pile of covers. Annabeth took her head out from underneath her pillow and rolled over. She blindly slapped the space where she guessed her alarm clock was and after a crash from what she guessed was a book, she found it and turned it up. She sat up and looked across the dorm room at Silena, who was peeking back at her, her face the only part of her visible from under a mountain of pillows and blankets.
"Are you ready to see Dreamboy?" Silena asked. Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"No, I am not seeing Luke today."
"Ha, ha...you know what I mean." Silena replied. Annabeth did know what she meant. Ever since Annabeth first mentioned Percy, Silena had given him the nickname Dreamboy. Annabeth knew she wasn't referring to Luke because she always referred to him as The Fascist.
"Uh...yeah. Why wouldn't I be? We'll just be in class together."
"MMhmm. M'kay. Tell me about it when you get back. 'Till then, I have no classes and I am going to sleep away the day."
Annabeth didn't go back to the dorm after her shower. Instead, she opted to shove her dirty clothes into her book bag and take it along with her, so as not to disturb Silena. When she opened the door of the dorm building, the cool autumn air made her shiver. Now Annabeth wished that she had decided to dry her hair before she went outside.
The cooling temperatures and falling leaves reminded her that Thanksgiving break would be just around the corner. One could document the changing seasons by the layers the students at the university had to take off at the beginning of each class and by the amount of knitted everything Annabeth wrapped herself in. Annabeth wrapped her knitted wool scarf tighter around her neck and kicked through a pile of leaves.
Thanksgiving. Speaking of that, Annabeth still didn't know what to do over the break. Usually she went home with Luke and his family, but this year she didn't feel like she wanted to. Maybe it was time to finally spend a Thanksgiving with her family. After all...according to her timer, it was her last one.
Annabeth still hadn't figured out why it changed when Percy was around her. She guessed that it might be his own 'chemical imbalances' that were messing up her own timer, but besides that...she had nothing. The one thing that she did know though was that every time they parted it went back to it's original time. But maybe it was better not to dwell on such matters. The holidays were drawing nearer and whether she would die in about seven months or not, it was time to spend time with her family. Who knows if she will ever be able to again.
Annabeth pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and unlocked it. Her finger hovered over one contact. Mum. She hadn't even talked to her mum in two years, not since the incident in the subway. Her mum had always seemed a little bit...off, but that day she cracked. She told Annabeth that she was already dead, that she had been born dead and had never really had a life that she could fulfill. Before Annabeth left her there she had told her to never talk to her again. And so far, she hadn't. Not for two years. But that could change right now. I wonder how she's doing…
"Annabeth!" Annabeth's head snapped up towards the voice calling her.
"Annabeth!" She twisted around to see the source of the noise. Hazel was slowly jogging up to her with one arm raised in a wave and the other pulling her boyfriend, or who Annabeth assumed was her boyfriend- it was the guy she had been on a date with at the restaurant, Annabeth was sure of that-, over.
"Hazel!" Annabeth said in recognition. Hazel's face lit up and she broke into a grin. She stopped in front of Annabeth and pushed her curly hair out of her face. The big guy stood awkwardly behind her, smiling meekly.
"Annabeth...hi! Um…, oh, pardon me. This is Frank," Hazel said, gesturing to the big gu- Frank, behind her. "Frank, this is Annabeth. She is in my English class." Annabeth raised her hand in an awkward wave.
"Nice to meet you." She said. Frank smiled and Annabeth marvelled at how such a big guy could look so...cute. Frank had a round face and short black hair, but his 'chubby' cheeks were what emphasised his puppy-like look. He must be around the same age as Annabeth, maybe a little bit younger. Definitely older than Hazel though. Frank put his arms around Hazel and she stepped into him. They're cute together.
"So what are you doing? Are you coming from a class?" Hazel asked her.
"No, I'm just taking a walk. Y'know, getting out of the dorm."
"You still live in a dorm? You're a junior right?" Frank asked her.
"Uh...yeah. I live in the upperclassman dorms. There's a building a little bit..." Annabeth pointed behind her and to the left. "Over there."
"Oh, ok. That's cool. I didn't know you could do that." He said. Annabeth nodded her head. The small group fell into an awkward silence (awkward just seemed to be the word of the day). Hazel cleared her throat.
"So Annabeth...would you...like to come with us for lunch?" She said desperately. Frank shot her an uncertain look, but not unkind.
"No, no. I really wouldn't want to intrude-"
"You wouldn't be intruding! Besides, it's warm," Annabeth shivered. "There is coffee and tea and plenty of food." Annabeth grinned like she knew she had won Annabeth over.
"Ok….I guess I can't say no to that." Annabeth shot Frank an apologetic look, but she was surprised to see that he didn't seem unhappy that she had intruded on their date. Instead, like Hazel, he seemed excited. Maybe they're not used to people actually saying yes?
Annabeth let herself be led along by the couple.
They ended up in a small cafe that was nestled in between a pet shop and a little boutique. It was not very well lit and a little bit drab, but there was a fireplace and the whole place smelled like coffee. Annabeth waited behind Hazel in line, not that there was much of one, and looked at the menu. There wasn't very much, just the usual- tea, mochas, decaf, espresso, chai tea latte. Annabeth wondered why of all of the places to go Hazel and Frank choose this one.
Annabeth ordered a chai tea latte and went to sit next to Hazel by the fireplace. She sank into one of the worn leather couches and wrapped her hands around her cup. It warmed her up so much that she had to resist the urge to rub it on her face. Soon enough, Frank joined them and sat down on the love seat next to Hazel.
"So how is your partner project going?" Hazel asked. Annabeth sipped her latte before answering.
"It's going fine." Annabeth said tentatively.
"You're working with Percy, right?" Annabeth nodded. Hazel laughed.
"He's kind of a handful, isn't he?" She chuckles.
"Well, actually, he's really on top of everything." Annabeth defended.
"Ohhhhh...he must be trying to impress you then. Classic Percy. Has he invited you to a swim meet yet?" Hazel giggled. Annabeth ignored her comment.
"Do you know him?" She asked.
"He was one of the upperclassman in high school. He transferred to our school in senior year." Hazel explained.
"We all became pretty good friends, y'know. He's a good guy, Percy is." Frank added. Annabeth could barely hear a soft accent when he spoke, but she couldn't quite place it.
"Yeah, he actually helped us get together." Hazel smiled. She gazed lovingly at Frank who returned her gaze. Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. It felt weird talking about Percy's past without him there. Like facebook stalking, but in real life. Like she was "liking" all of his pictures from four years ago.
"That's really great. Maybe he'll help me meet the love of my life." Annabeth said. Or at least until...yeah. She had a feeling that she and Luke wouldn't last much longer. Their relationship was stressed and tight, like a rubber band being pulled too long. Who knows when someone will snap?
"I thought you had a boyfriend?" Hazel said, her eyebrows drawing together in concern.
"I- I do. It's just...I don't think it will last that much longer. We're both just kind of drifting apart." Annabeth said. A lame excuse, but believable none the less. How was she supposed to explain that both of them were going to die in a few months and the stress of ending on a good note was getting to them. Or even harder to explain- Annabeth was starting to compare Luke to someone else...and Luke was the bad side of the coin.
"Well, that's too bad. It happens to the best of us." Hazel said, nodding her head sadly. Her curls bounced with her and Annabeth bit back a smile.
"So your partner is Leo, right?" Annabeth asked, eager to get off of the topic of her love life. Hazel's expression darkened.
"What? You didn't tell me that!" Frank said incredulously. Hazel shrunk into the couch like she was trying to disappear.
"I know what you think about Leo….you wouldn't want me to work with him."
"Damn right I wouldn't want you to work with him." Hazel grated at Frank, but Frank didn't look angry. He just looked concerned. Annabeth cleared her throat.
"Is there...some kind of history between you?" She asked. Frank looked at her surprised, like he forgot she was there.
"Oh, sorry Annabeth. Um….yeah, a little bit. I mostly hate him because he's a slimeball."
"Frank." Hazel said. She turned to Annabeth. "He just hated him because Leo is always flirting with me. He's just jealous." She poked Frank in the side.
"That and he's always joking about the ti-" Frank looked at Annabeth. "Um, yeah."
Frank and Hazel shared a look and Annabeth was reminded of the bandage around Hazel's wrist. It had just sounded like he was about to say timers. Was he just being defensive about Hazel or was he hiding something too?
"So what are you doing your report on?" Hazel asked, trying to salvage the last remaining shred of conversation that she could. This was a disaster and she knew it.
"Percy and I are writing about a girl with a timer malfunction." Annabeth said quietly. Hazel winced. It can only go downhill from here.
"Yeah, we thought it would be a good thing to write a story about something that was happening in real life to kind of raise awareness about it. Maybe to kind of normalise it so that it wasn't such a taboo subject." That hadn't been there actual plan, Annabeth was just saying that so that Hazel didn't feel the need to hide anything, but it seemed like a good idea as she said it. Raising awareness and making people with malfunctioning timer feel better about telling people without negative effects was something that was important to her because it was something she lacked throughout her whole life. She just hoped Percy was ok with it.
"...Annabeth, there's something we- both Frank and I -need to tell you." Hazel said. She shared another look with Frank, but it was somehow different from last time. Instead of hiding something it was like they were having a whole conversation with just one look. Annabeth could imagine what they were saying: 'We should tell her' 'Should we?' 'I think she gets it' 'OK...if you say so."
Hazel leaned closer to Annabeth and began to unwrap the bandage around her wrist. As the bandage unfurled bit by bit,the tension within their little circle increased until it was almost unbearable. Finally, Hazel removed the bandage completely and showed her timer.
At first Annabeth didn't see anything wrong with it. There was no gaping hole where it should be, not blank wrist. It looked just like hers. But then she realized what was wrong. The timer was completely zeroed out.
Annabeth looked up at Hazel who was looking at her worriedly. She looked back down at the wrist, but saw nothing wrong besides a few red marks caused by the bandages.
"How- how is it… how long has it been like that?" She asked.
"It's always been like that." Hazel said. She began wrapping it back up and Annabeth watched at the timer disappeared behind the cloth. "Ever since I was born. It has always been zeroes out."
"How is it like that. I thought babies were only born with zeroed out timers if they were stillborns." Annabeth whispered. Frank leaned it closer to hear her and to block their conversation from the people entering the store.
"I'm not sure," Hazel sighed. "All I know it that I'm technically not supposed to be alive."
Frank but a reassuring arm around Hazel's shoulders. Annabeth looked at her own wrist, at her own numbers and counted down with them. She imagined never having them, never knowing what it would be like to have constant reassurance. A constant reminder of when it was her time. What would her life be like without the constant count down on her wrist and in the back of her head.
Frank scooted closer into the circle and put his wrist in the middle. Where his timer would be was a piece of white athletic bandage. He took a deep breath and prepared to take it off. Annabeth copied his actions and held her breath. If Hazel was born without a countdown then what could Frank's be? She leaned forward in anticipation as Frank started to peel the right corner from his wrist.
"Hey! Do y'all need anything?" The boy from behind the cash register called. She recognised him as Lee Fletcher and cursed his name as Frank slapped the tape back on his wrist before Annabeth had the chance to see anything.
"No! We're good Lee!" Hazel called. She leaned back, away from the group and grabbed Frank's hand.
"Ok...well, we better go." She said, laughing nervously. She leaned in closer to Annabeth and whispered in her ear.
"Don't tell anyone."
"I won't." Annabeth reassured. Hazel stepped back and her happy grin reappeared on her face.
"Ok, well bye Annabeth!" She said, waving.
"It was nice meeting you." Frank added, smiling softly. Annabeth waved at them as they left. She settled into her seat and took a sip of her chai. It was cold.
Annabeth settled into her seat in her English lecture hall. In front over her sat Hazel, who was conciously trying to ignore Annabeth. It's not like she was being rude, no, Hazel could never be rude, she just wasn't...cheery. She was usually such a ball of sunshine. Usually, she would turn around in her seat and talk to Annabeth and she would smile a bright smile and laugh into her hand, but today she just sat still, facing forward in her seet and pretending to focus on the book in her lap(but Annabeth noticed that for the ten minutes they had been in the classroom, Hazel hadn't turnned one page). Annabeth didn't blame her though. It made sence that their conversation earlier had ruffled some feathers.
The class started; Mrs. Cavan was talking about conditionals; and Annabeth realized Percy wasn't sitting next to her. Normally she could recognise his presence by the overwhelming smell of chlorine and his elbows jutting out to her area of the desk(The elbow thing really bothered her. She should really talk to him about that.). Annabeth tried to forget about the absence of her partner, but it was hard not to worry about him now that she realized he was gone. He might be sick. He may have been kidnapped. Oh God, what if he was hit by a car! Call Annabeth bleak, but her argument is that she couldn't be wrong until she was proven so.
Annabeth sat in her state of nervous anxiety, her mind tumbling over questions like 'Did he get cancer?' 'Is he dead?' 'Where is he?' It was all a bit dramatic, but Percy had always been early to class, never absent. Annabeth just had a habit of blowing everything out of proportion.
As she mulled over her most recent idea (he was arrested by the FBI for drug trafficing), she was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts by the door of the classroom slamming open. Percy stood panting in the doorway, his face bloody and the collar of his shirt streached and ripped like someone had held the front of it while they beat him up.
The entire class turned to look at him as he walked forward, apologising to the teacher who gaped in response, and taking his seat next to Annabeth. He asked her for a piece of paper and a pencil, but she barely registered the words coming out of his mouth. The rest of the class had moved on and Mrs. Cavan was able to get them together and quell their chittering. She had to remind herself to keep breathing and to ignore his grunt of pain as he mover his hands, his bloodied knuckles obviously hurting. This was much worse than her overblown hyperboles. This was real and all to close.
Annabeth didn't know why it mattered to her so much, why this felt like a punch in the gut, but she was going to kill whoever did this.
A/N: I already apologized, so I have nothing more to say on that, but still- sorry. :( Also, sorry about my spelling if it bad. I have a lot of trouble with my dyslexia and my spell check is being especially selective. Tell me who you think it was that bet Percy up. And what is up with Frank's timer? Let me know what else you want to be added to this story and please give me tips! Fave, follow and review!
~skulls-surround-suns
