Hello. 'Tis the return of I.
I apologize for the incredibly long absence, but I haven't been really motivated with anything recently. And, now that I'm rereading what I've previously done with this story, I'm tempted to just redo the entire thing.
But for now I'm up and running and hoping to start a completely new Heroes of Olympus fanfic!
Now if only I can figure what to do with this one..
Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Percy was sure if someone wrote a novel on him, maybe a five-book series with an epic sequel string of books, it would mainly star the line "Percy Jackson is confused."
The runner ups would include "Percy Jackson is not a clever man" as well as "Percy Jackson is extremely angry with the world."
He tried to sit alone by the lake, which was surprisingly hard.
Nico had left Percy gaping like fish, which he decided to not dwell on any further. Judging by how glowing red the pale boy's cheeks were when he left, even Percy could guess that he wouldn't want to bring up the subject again, despite his cool demeanor. The interaction still managed to plaster a knowing smirk on his face.
After Nico's flustered departure, other campers came by to greet him and ask him how he was feeling. Jason and Piper came soon after, eager to lighten the mood with stories of Leo nearly blowing the entire camp off the grid (not that it was technically on the grid in the first place), how Tyson had uprooted an entire rose garden in attempt to find the prettiest flower for Ella, and, as gently as they could put it, that Annabeth was very worried about him. Percy's eyes darkened and his hair swirled in the breeze like a storm, but he laughed and told them to relay on a message; that he was totally fine.
Piper blinked. "But, don't you want to tell her yourself?"
Percy froze and stared at her, his mouth opened as if to reply.
"Percy," Jason clamped a hand on the boy's shoulder, but nearly jumped off when he saw how shocked he was. "Dude, are you okay?"
"It's- it's nothing."
"Clearly not!" Jason pressed. "What happened when you were asleep?"
"I told you-"
"Was it a dream? Is your wound still hurting? Did we miss something when we defeated Gaea-?"
"Nothing!" Percy slapped off his friends hand and rose, the meek waves lapping the sand of the lake dragging after him like a heavy cloak. His breath labored the way it had confined in a hospital breathing mask, and his face danced with the shadows cast through the wall of water looming behind him.
He stopped. Jason was on up on his knee, his arm extended in front of Piper to protect her from what was before them. His serene blue eyes blazed like the flame of a lighter, a face Percy had seen countless times.
A face he'd only seen when they faced a very dangerous enemy.
Piper sat behind him, her entire body tensed like a cat. She hardly needed Jason's help defending herself, but she seemed to have figured that with her boyfriend's help, she would have plenty of time charmspeaking their way out of a fatal fight.
He realized the one they were preparing to fight was him.
Whatever anger that had taken control only moments before had drained away, leaving nothing but emptiness. Percy slowly lowered the wave until it slapped the sand with a soft plip.
"I..." no words came to defend himself. "I'm sorry."
He hung his head in defeat and briefly flashed back to all the previous times he'd done so in front of his mother, having to explain that he'd been kicked out of school yet again, or he'd gotten in a fight with his smelly old stepdad despite promising he wouldn't be provoked, or that he'd worried her sick going off on a quest without warning.
Suddenly his mind snapped to focus. It had been days since the entire ridiculous quest had been accomplished and he still hadn't visited his mother. Maybe she would have the answers. Maybe she would be able to help him.
"I- I have to go," Percy quickly stuttered to Jason and Piper and felt extremely lame after doing so, especially after what had just happened. But he had to leave immediately.
"Where are you going?" Piper asked.
The question almost shocked him. Her voice was so calm and cooling, without a hint of anger or mistrust. Maybe she had completely disregarded Percy's reckless anger, or she was trying to understand what had happened. Either way, he was very grateful and felt a twinge of guilt for not being able to tell her.
"On a walk, I just need to clear my head."
"Do you need some company?" Jason offered.
The Roman seemed to not have forgiven as easily as his girlfriend. He had relaxed his body, but his eyes were still alert and scanning for another threatening move.
Percy gave a nervous laugh.
"Nah, I just need to be alone, you know?" he managed to lock eyes with his ex-rival, his friend. "Just... before I lose my mind."
That seemed to do the trick. Jason's guarded stature melted and he took a step back, closer to Piper, as he nodded briskly. He looked as if he was going to say something but decided against it.
"Tell Annabeth I went to the beach," Percy offered the excuse. "Please, I don't want her to worry."
"Why?" Piper asked, her tone far too mature to make the question sound childish. "We're worried, so of course she would! Why don't you tell her what's going on if you won't tell us?"
Silence dragged itself between the three of them for moments that felt like eternities.
"I don't know."
And with nothing else to say, he left the two demigods in the unbearable silence.
I don't know was an understatement, but it was the closest to the truth. He had no idea what he was doing and why, but it felt better than any alternative.
Or maybe he was finally spiraling towards insanity? After what he'd gone through, it seemed like a highly likely explanation.
But what he couldn't understand was why he refused to tell Annabeth. Why he refused to tell anyone at all. Was it because they'd think he was crazy? Nonsense; anyone that spent enough time in the demigod world would soon learn that nothing could be classified as "crazy." Was it because of some pride issue? An obligation to deal with it himself? Or did he not want to disturb the hazy joy around the camp lingering from uniting the Romans and Greeks, the peace among the gods, and the fall of the giants and their Mother?
His head began the throb as a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He'd finally made it to the edge of the forest and was tempted to curl up under the dappled shade and take a nap, but instead slapped his face as hard as he could. It left a stinging mark across his cheek, but managed to wake himself up. He continued to skirt around the edges of the forest before he found the dining pavilion and raced towards it. It seemed that lunch had ended a while ago from the harpies barely visible through the cramped kitchen window nearly done tearing through their task of washing the dishes.
Percy ran over to the nearest table and took a seat. He began thinking intently and almost immediately a gust of wind blew behind him and delivered an assortment from energy drinks. He silently thanked the aurae, gathered the cans, and ran off to his cabin. A few campers stopped their activities to watch him dash past their cabin and mutter, but at this point Percy could care less. His plan had finally settled in his mind and exactly how selfish he was being.
He burst through his open door and set to work. He grabbed his old school backpack out of the closet and started shoving clothes, the remaining nectar and ambrosia settled on the stand beside his bed, and the energy drinks. He patted his pocket and huffed in relief, though he already knew Riptide would be sitting there, and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
Before another urge to rest could hit him, he pulled out a can of Monster Energy and downed the entire thing, hoping only the second part of the name would hold true.
His fingers were practically vibrating as he took the sharp edge of the can off his lips. The cold drink trickled down to his stomach, making his heart race and his face heat up. It was as if he'd taken a huge swig of nectar rather than a sugary mortal drink.
This could not be good for his ADHD.
"PERSEUS JACKSON."
Percy nearly jumped out of his skin, which seemed very possible in this state, but managed to toss the can behind his bed before Annabeth stomped into the cabin.
He looked up and her and tried not to twitch as he grinned.
"'Sup, wise girl?"
"'Sup?" she demanded. "Where in Hades have you been? You wake up from something that was nearly a coma and the first thing you do is leave the camp? Piper told me you were at the beach but she didn't seem very sure about that." Annabeth narrowed her gray eyes. "Spill, seaweed-for-brains, otherwise I'll make you."
Percy stared at her blazing face and blinked. His first instinct was to start laughing. His second was to kiss her. He wasn't sure if she would appreciate either.
"I'm okay, I promise," he took her hand and lead her to sit next to him. "I'm just... getting paranoid I guess. I tried talking to my dad but he wasn't there. I guess the gods are still pulling themselves together but it's been a couple of days now..."
Annabeth hushed him.
"The gods have always... lacked with keeping in touch," she comforted. "And I know that that's not what's really bothering you-"
"You're right." Percy intervened, and finally mustered a genuine smile. "You're always right. But I have to ask you to trust me on this."
Annabeth looked up and they locked eyes. He could see her worry and frustration and felt the guilt wash over him like a low, but heavy tide. He swallowed nervously, and willed his hands to stop shivering as he grasped on to hers, the hands that had slayed countless monsters, drawn out breath-taking architectural wonders, and comforted him when he needed it so desperately. He focused on her, only her, and stared back into her swirling gray eyes.
She opened her mouth ever so slightly.
"I trust you," she said, barely above a whisper. "And, you promised that you're fine. I'll have to hold you true to your word."
Percy nodded.
He wished he could read what she was thinking (or maybe just watch play out like a movie since reading wasn't one of his favorite activities.) She seemed to be calculating every outcome and possibility of the future, and how the world would play out for them. Her eyes bore right through him, and he waited for her to gasp, telling him how she had just read his mind.
A sad smile made its way across her lips, which made him wish his first thought had occurred instead.
"C'mon, Percy," she got up, her blonde hair swinging in its ponytail. "Leo's fixing up the Argos II and I promised that I'd help."
"I'll be right there," he said. "Gotta change outta these."
He nodded at his pajama pants with little pineapple designs on them.
Annabeth sighed her usual oh, Percy sigh and turned to leave the cabin.
"Oh, Annabeth?"
She spun her head to glance at him, hiding the hopefulness in her eyes.
Percy did his best goofy idiot grin that always seemed to warm her heart.
"Thank you."
She laughed and replied, "We'll see how thankful you really are soon, seaweed brain."
And with that, she left, closing the door behind her.
Percy's smile twitched a bit before fading completely. A horrible feeling settled in his stomach. He couldn't tell if it was from the anticipation or from the guilt of lying to Annabeth.
He'd lied to Annabeth.
He made his way to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. He relished the feeling of water on his skin and longed for a swim in the ocean.
The red mark from slapping himself was still there but had lightened considerably. He hit himself again, with a lot less force this time, and stared into his reflection. He immediately knew why everyone was so worried. His green eyes looked almost black with the dark circles around his eyes, formidable to challenge Nico di Angelo's, and his tan skin had subsided to almost a pastey gray. His hair clung to his forehead, even after he willed his face to become dry, and had lost its windswept look. He ran his fingers through it and huffed.
He closed his eyes and concentrated. His mind ran a million thoughts a minute, but the only thing he could pull up clearly was the glowing face of Annie Bell. He lifted his eyelids ever so slightly.
Tonight. He'd have to leave tonight.
:O
