Chapter 8: Nails and Asses
"How stupid can you people be?"
The words drop from my lips in an exasperated sigh. The sun has risen and begun to set, the shadows lengthening on the dusty concrete floors of the warehouse and still Piper's crew is behaving like an octopus with mutinous limbs.
"Do it again."
The group stares at me, no doubt wondering if I'm insane. Their shirts cling to their bodies like a second skin, saturated with sweat. Chests heave, breaths echoing loudly across the room so that it almost sounds like the harsh raspy breathing of an exhausted animal is amplified off the walls.
"Again." I nearly shout. My patience is wearing thin.
Reluctantly, the group begins to dance, one by one slipping into the rhythm. I observe them with a hawk's eye, and what I see tempts me to jab an eye out with one the loose rusted nails laying around the abandoned room of the warehouse. Each dancer performs independently, each striving to prove their own worth so that the routine looks like a gross mash of goo. The only people even resembling cooperation are the Stoll brothers. Even then, the light haired boys don't flow with the rest of the group.
"Stop. Just please stop." The rhythmic music cuts short as my fingers fumble for the pause button on the speaker.
Dancers drop into relaxed positions at my words; some flopping down onto the floor, others flicking sweat off of foreheads as the frustration seeps into every inch of my body. Across the room, Piper's ever-shifting eyes meet mine, the tips of her lips twitching as she attempts to hold back a grin. My eyes sweep amongst the group. Most can't meet my steely gaze while others, like Clarisse, stare fiercely into my eyes for mere seconds before dropping away.
Something fierce coils in my stomach, itching to spread through every limb of my body so that I don't know whether to pace the floor like an antsy lion or pull every strand of blonde hair from my head.
"You guys are supposed to be a team. To move as a unit, but as soon as the music starts, you all forget about the person beside you. This is not an individual sport. It is a team effort and you will not get anywhere unless you begin to act like one."
My clipped words echo through the silent room, my voice struggling to keep the anger at bay. If Piper wants a team ready to win in a couple months, I've got more than enough work cut out for me.
Two fingers reach up to rub the skin of my pounding head. "Just get out of here. I'll see you guys in two days. Before sun rise. At the beach."
Mutters reverberate softly through the room as the dancers shuffle to pick up sports bags, some shooting half-hearted glares my way, others casting pleading eyes toward Piper. Tossing them over one shoulder, they file noisily out the door.
As soon as the metal door slams shut behind them, I whirl around to face Piper.
"Well, that went well. How many do you wanna bet hate you right now?"
I shoot her a glare before responding. "Piper, what you need is a team and right now, I can't see the slightest hint of one. I can't work with people who aren't capable of looking past themselves to see the bigger picture. I can't make them act as part of unit." I drop my eyes to sweep around the empty red-hued room.
"You're right." She says. My eyes meet hers and in the setting sun, Piper's now brown eyes seem to light ablaze as they catch the dying embers of the sun's light. "You can't force them. But you can guide them. Annabeth, you have no idea the influence you have on people. They watch you, want to know the next thing you're going to do. They'll follow you if you'd just be willing to guide them and push them."
With that, Piper lays a caramel hand on my shoulder, squeezing the muscle gently. She turns and walks towards the door, no scraping of shoe against the concrete to be heard.
I slide to the floor, head dropping to my hands. I don't know how to teach people who so obviously lack any desire to learn. The comforting feeling of belonging to a crew, to a group of people that understand the passion coursing through your veins as you dance, can't be taught. It has to be lived and experienced. I have to push them as a unit, force them to see they all have a common goal. Hopefully, the comradery will develop as they train.
I sigh, shoulders slumping before my hands push against the cold concrete beneath me. My footsteps scrape lightly over the rock. I grab the worn cloth handle of my bag, slinging it over one shoulder as I walk towards the door. I peer into the vast empty room, the light fading out slowly, coloring the walls a dusty red. I turn and the door slams shut, the lock clicking into place.
LINE BREAK
I weave through the crowds of people rushing along the sidewalk in the waning light. Suit clad bodies jostle mine as I shove forward, desperately trying to swing by the beach before heading home. I just need a moment to be surrounded in the comforting smells and sounds of the ocean. By the time my feet reach the hot sand, the sun has begun to dip down and kiss the sea. I watch the sun continue to sink, wondering what it would be like to see the fiery light rise from the sea instead.
Once the bright disc disappears completely, bathing the world in darkness, I turn from eternity of the ocean to the concrete buildings reaching for the sky. I trod down the hard sidewalks, eyes glossed over as I envision a routine of flipping bodies moving as one.
"Beth." A voice singsongs, stretching out the e. "Don't tell me you travelled all the way out here to se me."
My head snaps up at the voice. A man stands before me, hands tucked lazily into his pockets, back slouched slightly. A ball cap sits low on his head, no doubt an attempt to hide the conspicuous eyepatch covering his face.
"Nakumara. Didn't know you could live without your master." I snap back sharply. If Ethan's here, there's no doubt Luke is close by.
His face contorts in anger. "I'm nobody slave." He grinds out.
"You sure about that?" I smirk. Nakumara's nothing but a puppet, a shadow following a role he couldn't dream of defying.
"Whatever, Annabeth. I'm not here to talk to you."
As soon as the words drop from his lips, a voice whispers in my ear, "You're losing your touch, Beth."
My body jolts as Luke's cold fingers touch my arms. I whirl, my anger sparked eyes meeting his amused ones.
"Don't touch me." I snarl.
"But, Beth, you used to like when I touched you." He smirks smugly, daring me to deny the truth in his words.
My eyes narrow. "That was a long time ago." I hiss.
A quick glance over my shoulder shows Nakumara has faded into the black of the alley corner. When I turn back around, Luke's lithe body is leaning against the red brick wall lazily. His pale eyes watch me acutely and for the first time I feel like a mouse who's just caught sight of the falcon sweeping down with wings opened wide against a bright sky, gleaming claws outstretched.
"What do you want Luke?"
"Nothing." He says innocently. "Just wanted to see you." His lips curl in a smirk.
My eyes narrow distrustfully. Something's wrong; Luke doesn't do things just because he can.
I turn to walk away but his hand latches around my wrist. I look into Luke's eyes and just for a second, it seems like the Luke I used to know is staring into my steely eyes, pleading with me to understand. My gut wrenches with a sudden jolt of emotions.
"Let me go." I say softly.
His grip tightens on my wrist.
"Beth." His voice is pleading, no longer the arrogant voice I've come to know. "Remember all the fun we used to have? Me, you and Thalia? The days we spent wandering those cities, and the nights we spent staring at the stars. How you would beg to see the ocean nearly every day?"
My head shakes, blonde curls flying in front of my face as tears begin to burn my eyes. "Stop, Luke. Just stop and let me go." My voice can't go higher than a strangled whisper.
"Hey!"
The sharp voice rings through the night. Luke snaps his eyes up to look over my shoulder and I can't stop the relief from coursing through me at the absence of his piercing eyes. Luke's vice-like grip on my wrist disappears abruptly. His legs move back on instinct and he jerkily moves toward the alley. I whirl around, seeing the tall figure jogging towards us. The second I recognize the flopping mess of black hair, I don't know whether to groan in frustration or sigh in relief.
I turn back around to find Luke gone, disappeared into the black of the night.
"Who was that?"
"No one."
"Didn't look like no one to me." His eyebrow raises, frustrating me beyond belief.
"It's none of your business, either." I say sharply and continue down the road.
For a minute, my breaths are the only sound I can hear. Then, rubber scrabbles along the loose crumbs of concrete of the sidewalk.
"Well, at least I could walk you home." He says smoothly, face staring straight ahead so that he misses my bewildered glare.
"I don't need your help." I feel as though I'm beginning to sound like a broken record.
"Yes, you've made that quite clear, Annabeth." My eyes rise at the use of my name, and his engulfing green ones stare down at me for a second before flicking ahead.
"Fuck off, Percy."
His footsteps continue to echo along mine, long legs keeping time with mine.
"I can walk myself home, Percy."
He stares resolutely ahead and all I can do is stare at the profile of his face.
"Percy, just leave me alone."
He finally stops, glancing at me. "I'm walking to your house whether you like it or not. Would it make you better if I say I was visiting Thalia, Amazon?"
A smirk graces his lips, and for a moment I wonder what he's doing here in the slums of California with a face like that.
I huff before plodding on. If there's one thing I've learned about this boy, it's that he's a stubborn pain in the ass. Sure enough, seconds later, his long legs are matching my stride.
A/N: Soo…yeah. Sorry I procrastinate and then forget about things. Hopefully, I start to update more frequently. Please read and review.
I don't anything but the plot.
