AN: It's here! The long-awaited chapter :)
P.S. I don't own anything.
When Percy left, Annabeth was, for once, at a loss for words—or thoughts. Yes, he had done what she had told him to, but didn't he see that that wasn't what she wanted? For a couple minutes, Annabeth continued standing in her same spot, half-expecting Percy to come back knocking; and when he didn't Annabeth felt even more lost.
She was mad. Mad at Percy for leaving her in this state: confused, enraged, empty, seething; a multitude of contradictory feelings. Empty somehow because Percy had taken something with him when he left. Perhaps her hopes of this ever becoming a clean relationship. Confused because Annabeth was also seething with rage. Mad because Percy had obviously—now—chosen the wrong choice. And even angrier because he had not come back, only continued on his way home. Was he too obtuse…too stupid to know that he had chosen the wrong choice and that he could do something to fix it? With all of these emotions, a part of her just felt like it could not function at all.
She dragged herself to her bedroom. She took off all of her provocative clothes that she had put on with an aim of a different ending to this night. She pulled on an oversized shirt and sweats. She continued the depressing trek to her bed and collapsed into a crumpled heap of limbs.
She laid there—not crying herself to sleep—but exploring the new concept that was too glaring for Annabeth to try and ignore, no matter her distaste. The concept of nothingness. It wasn't that she couldn't think of anything for her brain to ramble about, it was just that there was too much; she couldn't think. She couldn't comprehend what was happening; she couldn't digest the simplicity of what she was experiencing. So she continued lying there, trying, but failing, at escaping the expanse of nothingness in her head.
Annabeth lay awake on her bed at six in the morning. She had fallen in and out of the dark expanse of unconsciousness known as sleep. But after waking up for the last time that day a half an hour earlier, Annabeth had a newfound appreciation for sleep. She had this appreciation because when she woke up from her dark nothingness, she realized that her mind was no longer in a white nothingness. If anything, her mind was crystal clear now. Sleep had helped her define the unfamiliar, raw emotion she had been feeling. Sleep had uncovered it to be: frustration. Not her normal frustration at her coworker for doing things wrong, but a different frustration that came with Annabeth not having control.
Feeling rather accomplished at figuring out what had eluded her the day before, Annabeth was in a better mood. She got out of bed and walked over to her kitchen counter where she had left all her work material the night before.
She tried to continue working but was still distracted. And after thinking more and more about this, she began to hate her current situation. She hated Percy for obvious reasons. But right now, she hated how she was. She hated how her emotions had rendered her useless. She hated how Percy had invoked these emotions from her in the first place. What right did he have to do this when their relationship description included not having great emotional ties?
Annabeth let out a frustrated sigh and abandoned her work. Five minutes later, her hair was up in a tight pony tail and she was lacing up her worn tennis shoes. She put her earbuds in, jacked the volume up, and was on her way through the city with no destination in mind.
What Annabeth liked about running was the monotony of it all. It was as easy as breathing air for her and she found it the best thing to do if she wanted to work out problems in her mind. Or, it was the best thing for her to do if she wanted to escape. To her, it felt as if she was running away from it all. As if she was running away from her problems, running through people who didn't know her at all, who didn't want to get to know her, who she would never have to explain herself to.
Annabeth knew what she was doing seemed cowardly and like she wasn't facing her problems, but it wasn't. She would face her problems soon enough. She was just biding her time and thinking of all possible courses of action and solutions.
Annabeth ran. She ran on the bike lane, on the sidewalk. She ran next to people, behind them, past them. Annabeth ran past buildings, through parks. Annabeth ran, nothing being able to stop her. Until she reached a business district and a gray car pulled up along side of her, slowing down to match her pace. Annabeth was about to tell the creep stalking her to back off, but was surprised—to say the least—when the completely tinted window rolled down to reveal Athena. She was sitting on the other side of the car and stoically turned her head to look at Annabeth. "Get in."
There was no question if it would inconvenience Annabeth. There was no question whether it was what Annabeth wanted or didn't want to do. There was just absolute authority; so Annabeth opened the door and got in.
To say Annabeth was embarrassed was also another understatement. Not that Annabeth had ever been very concerned with appearances before, but, as the car began moving again, Annabeth couldn't help but notice how perfectly ironed Athena's dress pants were, how her jacket and shirt had no wrinkle or crease, and how not a hair was out of place on her head. And Annabeth couldn't help but compare it to her current outfit of running shorts and shirt somewhat soaked by her sweat and her ponytail—which many stray strands of hair had fallen out of during her workout.
After an uncomfortably long silence for Annabeth, Athena spoke, "What has happened since I last saw you?"
Annabeth answered truthfully, shamefully going over her love life. Although she suspected Athena already knew everything Annabeth was telling her. Nevertheless, however shameful Annabeth felt about telling the failings of her love life to Athena, she did not skim over the details. In a way, Annabeth was even more descriptive. Athena was a model woman. Perfect. Athena had helped Annabeth obtain her job with a recommendation. Annabeth had almost everything in the world to owe to this woman and was intimidated by this fact.
Annabeth told Athena everything to try and connect to her. To try and elicit some emotion from her to make her relaeable. All Annabeth wanted to do was be able to have some sort of a relationship with the goddess-like-Athena.
After Annabeth was done, she was embarrassed knowing that she had been babbling like some Aphrodite spawn. Athena remained mute-thinking Annabeth guessed—before she seemed to acknowledge Annabeth with more than her words. Athena turned her head to Annabeth and lowered her sunglasses, "And now you are seeing that Poseidon boy?"
"In a way," Annabeth answered feeling small. "Should I not be?"
Athena released her current breath through her nostrils in a seemingly angry manner. "I will not tell you what to do; you can make your own decisions and was never a person that liked being told what to do. However, I do strongly emphasize that evident truth that he is one of Poseidon's friends. Do whatever you want."
Annabeth had mixed feelings toward this response. She would admit that she would not listen if she was being told what to do, but she still would have preferred Athena had told her what to do instead of giving her such an indifferent and, seemingly, uncaring answer.
Annabeth saw Athena check her phone and then tell their driver, "Take us to Just Brewed," then to Annabeth, "I thought we could continue this over coffee."
Annabeth was elated at hearing she would be getting her morning dosage of her chosen drug from its best source and rode the rest of the car ride in a happy silence.
The driver dropped them off and went to find somewhere to park until he got Athena's call. The two lovely women walked in one after the other turning heads with their beauty and shocking similarities. Annabeth went up to the counter to order and pay for their coffees while Athena went and got a table in a corner of the store, facing the door. Annabeth took her seat in silence. Both examined their surroundings while waiting to pick-up their orders.
Unexpectedly, a teenage boy with stumbled his way towards their table, nearly spilling their drinks innumerous amounts of times. It was clear that the worker was infatuated with Athena as he unnecessarily and uncustomarily delivered their drinks and asked if he could do anything else for her. Athena kept her manners as she politely declined, but Annabeth knew of the disdainful gaze Athena held behind her dark sunglasses. When the boy left—disappointedly—Annabeth shared a small smile with Athena, mocking his failed attempt.
And before the two had any more time to talk, the known sound of metal hitting a person rang through everyone's ears. Athena and Annabeth looked up simultaneously to see Percy rubbing his forehead; apparently at the place he hit himself when he pulled on the door instead of pushed. Annabeth knew of the raised eyebrow Athena was giving her that said: You're dating this guy? And while Annabeth was embarrassed by this fact, she couldn't also help but feel giddy and possessive of him, especially when he saw the woman leaning into him, trying to keep her balance while laughing hysterically.
Annabeth was focused so intently on the woman she assumed to be Bianca that she didn't even think twice about the smug look on Athena's face or the text she sent to her driver, or when she excused herself at the perfect time; brushing past Percy, and disappearing just as fast as she had appeared.
No. The only thing she did think about was how quickly the two grew somber when Athena passed by them and how Percy seemed to recoil when he saw Annabeth sitting from the table Athena had come from. Rather than sit there awkwardly, to try and maintain some of her dignity, Annabeth stood up as well and crossed the distance between them with measured steps. "Hey Percy," Annabeth spit out with about as much sincerity as she could muster—which seemed to be enough.
"Hello, I'm Bianca." Takes initiative, Annabeth immediately added to the short list of things she knew about this woman that she would later be judging her on. Under normal circumstances, Annabeth thought she would have taken an immediate liking to Bianca with her self-confident air, sincerity, and proactive quality, but at the moment, Annabeth felt a certain…jealous sentiment that she knew she should not be feeling. She should not be feeling jealous of some woman that Percy was simply showing around town. And she should not be jealous because their relationship allowed no room for jealousy. But still, Annabeth couldn't help but envy the…simplicity—for once in her life—of their situation compared to the one Percy and she shared. She envied how easy things seemed. After some small-talk, Annabeth excused herself before she could let her emotions take over her rational thoughts and actions.
Percy had felt the air around him turn cold the couple of seconds before the intimidatingly gorgeous blond woman walked past him; and had had to do a double-take to confirm in his mind that it had, actually been Athena. And then, when he turned to look at the direction she had come from, he cringed to himself. He saw Annabeth sitting at a table with a good view of the door. Great, he thought. They must've seen hit myself with a door; Just another reason for Athena to think of me as stupid before actually meeting me. Then he saw Annabeth walking towards them and he almost cringed again. This was not how he wanted to meet Annabeth again after walking out on her the Friday before. He at least wanted it to be at a private place, preferably with just the two of them. Not the best coffee shop in New York, with tons of bystanders and one of his best friend's sister.
Percy heard Annabeth greet them and Bianca introduce herself before he realized that he should be contributing something to this conversation. Percy had heard the slight coldness in Annabeth's voice and was relieved when she excused herself from their small-talk before anything significant could happen.
After Percy and Bianca got their coffees, they officially began their day of tourism. They began their day at the Statue of Liberty, which although they did not have tickets to, were able to get into because of Percy's connection to their head of security: Clarisse.
In truth, they had actually started out hating each other. It had started when Clarisse accused Percy of pick-pocketing her and had tackled him from behind. They had immediately hated each other but quickly got past those differences and found their similarities while ridiculing the cop that had shown up to solve their dispute. The guy was horrible at his job with no backbone, and the two immediately found something relatable in the other's snide and sarcastic remarks.
After walking up the many flights of stairs to the top and raiding the gift shop, the two headed back to the main city, going through Broadway and Central Park. Around rush-hour—the time when people are just getting off work and parties and nights-out are getting started—Percy took Bianca to Half-Blood, hoping Hades would be there for her to meet. They went in through the side entrance, being met by the smell of stale alcohol, sticky floors and, at the moment, a rather unappealing setting. It was strange how a couple of hours from now, no one would care and it would be dark and filled by people without personal space.
They were greeted by an old man in a wheelchair—Chiron—that had been their manager since forever. "Ah, Perseus."
"Percy," he automatically corrected.
"I cry your pardon, please forgive me." Sometimes, Chiron talked in such a weird way he questioned what time period he actually lived in. Chiron turned his attention to Bianca, "And I suppose this is Bianca, Nico's sister?"
Bianca just gave a confused look as to how Chiron knew of her to which Percy just shrugged and gave his best he-just-knows-everything look. "Yeupp. I don't suppose Hades would be here would he?"
"Certainly; I did remind him to be available because I suspected you two would show up. Just go through that door and down those stairs." They followed his instructions and found themselves in a big dimly lit waiting/sitting room with a plush circular couch in the center. There were twelve doors, each belonging to one of the respective owners.
As if out of the dark, a man appeared in a suit and sunglasses—despite the lack of light—that looked kind of like the men in Men in Black. He smiled a grin with blindingly white teeth, which a subtle evilness forced you to suppress an unwanted shiver. "Bianca! I've been waiting for so long to meet you. Please. Would you come into my room and we could become more acquainted." Hades turned and walked towards the indicated room, not even waiting—but knowing it would happen—for Bianca to follow.
Percy sighed and sat down on the lush couch, expecting to have to wait a while. Just as he was getting comfortable he was shaken by a booming voice, "Percy!" The voice came from a man half in and half out of a door. He, too, was wearing a suit but with a blue tie and one that was less intimidating because it remained unbuttoned—Poseidon. "Why don't we talk some more in private." It was not a question. And just like Hades—although Percy didn't think anything of it—Poseidon walked into his room, leaving Percy no choice but to follow.
"I didn't know you would be in," started Percy after a long bout of silence.
"Yes, well I heard Chiron telling Hades that you would be coming around and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to...talk."
"Talk," Percy repeated skeptically, as if he didn't quite grasp its meaning. "Anything particular you had in mind?"
"Well, mainly about Annabeth."
Percy was somewhat shocked that Poseidon knew of or even cared about his relationship with Annabeth. "How do you know about that?"
"I am part owner of this club; I know what happens inside of it. And besides, I would have to be deaf to not hear Aphrodite gushing on and on about how cute you guys are together. It's like the two of you have single handedly cured her addiction to soap operas."
"Um...that's great...I guess." Percy felt his pant pocket vibrate, signaling that he was receiving a call, but out of courtesy did not pick up.
"It would be great…but with that Athena girl? Really Percy, what are you thinking?"
Percy immediately went on the defensive. "You're stereotyping, and if we're doing that, then thinking isn't something we do."
Poseidon heaved a sigh worthy of his enormous stature. "I'm not stereotyping her. It's just the fact that she's friends with Athena. Couldn't you have picked one of the other hundreds of girls that pass through this club?"
"No. Because she was the one that chose me."
Poseidon relented, knowing Percy had the same stubbornness he did. "Fine. But just know that I'll be watching you. And I'll be there to tell you that I told you so."
"Thanks, you are such a good friend," replied Percy sarcastically, pouring all the venom he could into his voice. It, however, had no effect because Poseidon had already disappeared—into his phone-world of business. Apparently, Poseidon couldn't extend the same courtesy to Percy.
Annabeth shut her phone; the clicking of it being the only sound in her apartment as she remained at a stand-still, reviewing what had happened, what she had just done, and what was about to happen.
As a child, Annabeth was always somewhat of a pariah. While possessing the quality to be assertive when needed, Annabeth was more aloof and shy. Even from a young age, she was an outcast. At the time, because of her decision making. Unlike most children, she did not listen solely to her emotions, she made the most rational and logical decisions; keepings her feelings out of things just becoming a habit over time. So even if Annabeth knew exactly what she was feeling, she never really talked about them. It was hard—even with her large vocabulary—for her to put into words what exactly she was feeling.
But now, she had to. Because whatever relationship she had with Percy, whatever emotions that were caused by their relationship, they were interfering. They were interfering with her daily life and she just couldn't deal with mess and confusion constantly playing in her everyday life.
Which is why this all had to be sorted out tonight. While she felt a little braver after meeting with Athena. With her new found confidence, she couldn't let another day pass without Percy explaining what they were. Without them working out what exactly they wanted from each other and exactly what they expected from the other.
I used to be a little bit shy, I kept my deepest feelings inside
Speaking up to you about my emotions has always been hard
But this just can't wait, tonight I feel a little bit brave
So I won't let one more day pass without you explaining what we are
Percy let himself out and checked his phone. It was from Annabeth and she had left a voicemail. Percy dialed his voicemail. Hey, it's Annabeth. I'm coming over tonight. Percy quickly shut his phone before the robotic woman could begin its monologue of different numbers for different things. The tone Annabeth had used—while was not cold—made it clear that there was no discussing it. It was not a plea as much as it was more an order.
So after seeing that Bianca made it back safely to her hotel—thank god she was the pure-innocent type and did not want to go clubbing—Percy made his way over to his apartment. As Percy walked those few blocks to his apartment he couldn't fight off the paranoia that was slowly creeping up his bones. Paranoia at Poseidon's words: I'll be watching. Because any of the twelve owners never failed to keep a threat, so surely there must be someone or something following him. This and his anxiousness sped Percy's walk to a brisk pace. Yes, he was anxious. The spontaneity of his and Annabeth's meeting tonight could lead to nothing good.
Percy reached his apartment and walked in; twitching and making nervous actions while waiting. Eventually his nervous energy boiled over and he used it to clean his apartment—a rare thing to see. When Annabeth rang the doorbell, every coat was on a hanger, every unread magazine in its place. He opened the door and saw a uniquely blue colored car park on the other side of the street. He bent down for a quick, greeting kiss while keeping his eyes shifted to the side, watching the blue car.
Annabeth pulled back from the kiss, noticing how Percy was distracted. Were his eyes open? Was he looking over my shoulder? But Annabeth gave her head a small shake. This is silly. I sound like some dumb Aphrodite friend: jealous and obsessed with anything that could make a drama.
Just to make sure, Annabeth pushed Percy inside and kissed him again, hard. She tried to placate herself, creating passion with surprise and a desire for it. Still something about it was off, and if this was an example of the future, she did not need to hold on.
This is gonna sound kind of silly but I couldn't help but notice
The last time you kissed me you kept both eyes open
Baby can you tell me what does that mean?
If you're looking over your shoulder then you don't need to be with me
And I don't need to hold on
Annabeth walked further into the apartment with a purpose, but was momentarily distracted with its tidiness. She got over her momentary shock and walked over to his kitchen table, seating herself and folding her hands in front of her. She waited and listened to Percy's footsteps as he followed her lead. When he sat down Annabeth prepared to begin; steeling her mind—and unknowingly the guard to her heart.
In short concise words that displayed the professionalism she was handling the situation Annabeth began speaking. "Percy. You know the kind of person I am. I am not weak. I can handle pain; I have a high tolerance for it. But pain is not something I want. I do not self-induce it. That being said, we need to straighten out our relationship. We need to figure out exactly where we stand, because if we're together, I do not share boyfriends. I'll share friends, but not boyfriends. If that's not what you want at the moment, that's fine. This fling has been fun, but there's the door; I'll let myself out."
A lot of things I can take, gotta high threshold for pain
But let's get one thing straight, I'm not down to share you with anyone
If that's not what you're looking for, nice knowing you but there's the door
'Cause I know I can find someone who give me what I want
"Are you suggesting that I am the kind of person to cheat?" Percy asked, somewhat incredulously.
Annabeth gave a nervous titter for both the awkwardness of their conversation and the silliness of her next statement. "I saw you flinch when you saw me at the coffee shop, and I saw you looking over my shoulder earlier. I just want to tell you that it's fine. Our relationship isn't like that. But I need you to know that that is not how I want it. If you want to see other women you can, just don't expect me to hold on for the ride."
This is gonna sound kind of silly
If you're looking over your shoulder then you don't need to be with me
And I don't need to hold on
By this time Percy was beyond furious. He was blown past that point when Annabeth had charged his decency. He didn't even care about her huge misunderstanding of the situation.
"No," he practically yelled. "No. Do not turn this around on me. I see how defensive you are. You're practically waiting for this to fall apart and are just pointing the finger at me. But we don't have to assign blame, leave. Just leave if you want to. If you don't want this to work out, if you just want to break up with me then go. Don't let me stop you."
Don't let me stop you from doing what you wanna do
You don't wanna stick, trust me it's cool, take no chance, get over you
No, no, don't let me stop you, if you wanna leave baby you can leave
Just don't pretend that you're into me if it ain't true
No don't let me stop you
"What are you talking about?" Annabeth denied with as much anger. "I'm trying to talk this out and all you're doing is throwing accusations!"
"So what if I'm accusing you? Just because your words are disguised with fancy smart-ass words doesn't mean that they aren't accusations."
"I am not accusing. I'm just stating facts! I never said you were cheating. All I said was that if you wanted you could see other women. I just wouldn't hang around if you decided to."
Annabeth's words were dripping venom, but Percy was invincible to it. "Oh bullshit! You think you're so smart. You think you know everything. You think just because the answer path you have chosen is logical its right. You don't think there are other ways besides your own that could be right! I'm not cheating on you! I don't know how many more times I have to say it. I'm not going out with any other women. I have no interest in Bianca at all. She's my friend's sister! I didn't flinch because I saw you at the coffee shop! I flinched because I thought I looked stupid to you and Athena and knew she hated me even more. I flinched because I didn't want to be meeting you in a crowded coffee shop after I completely blew our last meeting!"
Annabeth was a little surprised but didn't let it faze her. She could not rescind her statements now without looking like a fool. "You don't even know half of what you're talking about! I've had enough. I don't need to take this crap! Don't expect me to be back!"
And Annabeth was storming out of Percy's apartment. "Yeah? Well don't expect me to come groveling either!" and that's all Percy could yell before Annabeth slammed the door and disappeared to the other side of the door.
Despite their strong words, they were betrayed by the tears forming in both of their eyes. Their tears told of the heartbreak that both were reluctantly experiencing because of their bizarre break up. They told of their reluctance of saying goodbye to each other. But both were too strong. Too prideful to admit their mistakes. So Percy stayed put in the same spot and Annabeth continued stomping away; knowing that they would deal with it, and eventually after enough time, they would get over it and be alright.
Even if I end up broken hearted I won't lie
I don't wanna hear goodbye but either way I'll be alright
AN: So how was it. I guess i was having writer's block with this. Like i knew what i wanted, i just couldn't put them into the right words. Review and tell me if you did or not.
And the first person to tell me what song I'm going to use next will get a virtual high-five and maybe something else. Like all my other chapters, i fit the song name into the story. The lyrics for the song should fit in. And most teenage girls (or boys) have listened to the artist. Almost everyone has heard of the artist. Have fun :)
