AYYYYYY! What's up, peeps. Here's a new chapter. I don't like it because I felt like I could do so much better, but my fanboy took over and I just put them together. READ PLZ!
If you were to ask Percy on the current state of his emotions, he would say they were a hurricane. He had a not-so-small crush on Annabeth. That much he knew. But Piper kissed him. That didn't count for anything, right? He walked outside, passing by the doorwoman, Hebe. She smiled at him.
"Hello, Mr. Jackson." Percy smiled back.
"Hebe, I've told you a thousand times to call me Percy."
"I know. Mr. Jackson sounds better." Percy sighed internally. Hebe was quite stubborn, not unlike himself.
"Fine." He said goodbye and walked off.
Because he had lived in rural Ohio his entire life, the talled things Percy saw were trees. Massive wooden sentinels towering above everything. The shade from the canopies provided shelter from the blistering heat in the summer, the downpours of fall and spring, and held snow up in winter. There was a particular grove near Percy's house were one evergreen steadfastly stood. At least two hundred feet tall, it lorded over everything.
Here in the city, that tree would pale in comparison to the much, much larger skyscrapers. Steel, glass, and concrete giants glinted in the midday sun. They cast a shadow over the streets, except when the sun was over head. Like now. Percy had been living here for almost a week and he still stared at the massive buildings. He walked along the busting sidewalks, hood up and looking down. He recalled the first and best advice Grover had given him.
"Never, under any circumstances, look people in the eye when you're walking alone on the sidewalks." Percy took that to heart. Leo had given him another bit.
"Always walk quickly." At first, Percy too this too literal and practically jogged. This had caused the ire of many a pedestrian. Percy really didn't want to get beat up, so he slowed it down a lot. If Percy was honest, he prefered Ohio a lot more. Out there, most people kept to themselves and it was nice and spread out. Here, it was as though someone had taken every possible human and crammed them all together. People jostled around and pushed. Wanting to avoid this, Percy cut through an alley. He stepped onto a smaller road. The screech of tires made him look up in time to see a white Nissan slam into him. Percy was knocked to the ground, pain slamming into his hip and skull like an elephant. The lights became suddenly blinding and he blacked out.
When Percy woke up, he was laying on a couch. He sat up and immediately lay back down. Where was he? Movement caught his eye. He glanced over. It was the girl from the elevator, Calypso, sitting at the table on her phone.
"Excuse me?" he said. The girl jumped slightly. "Where am I?"
"You're at my house, Percy,"
"I thought you lived at the Neptune,"
"No, my friend does. I was over there for a sleepover, but nightmares got to me."
"How'd I get here? I remember a car…"
"That was me. I hit you. You fell, hit your head, and passed out. I didn't want to get involved with any legal stuff, so I brought you back here,"
"Isn't that kidnapping?" Calypso laughed.
"Maybe. But it was the least I could do,"
"Well, thanks, anyway,"
"You're welcome. Now get some sleep. Dinner will be ready when you wake up," Percy lay back. He didn't feel tired, but as soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep.
Percy slept for two hours and woke up to the smell of cooking meat. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Calypso was standing over the stove. Percy got off the couch unsteadily and walked over to the table. His host noticed him and pulled a chair out. Percy murmured his thanks.
"How do you feel, Percy?"
"My head still hurts," he groaned. Calypso held a finger in front of his eyes and moved it around. Percy watched it, though it took some concentration. The finger went down and she stared at his eyes.
"You have a minor concussion. You'll be fine as long as you don't exert yourself,"
"So can I go back?" Percy asked. He wanted to get back to the Neptune to apologize to Poseidon and to see Annabeth. Mostly to see Annabeth. Calypso shook her head.
"Not yet. At least two days so I can keep an eye on you." Percy's nurse stood and went back to the stove.
"What're you cooking?"
"Beef stew. It's my mother's recipe." She dumped chopped carrots into a bubbling pot. Percy lay his head down. He was exhausted. A few minutes later, his phone buzzed. He started to reach for it, but Calypso slapped his hand.
"No phone. The LED light will make your concussion worse." she picked it up and frowned.
"Who's it from?"
"Annabeth," she replied.
"What's it say?" Percy asked. Calypso read the message.
"Where are you? We need to talk. Come over to my place." Percy blinked. Annabeth wanted him to come over? He had a pretty good idea as to what they were gonna talk about. "Should I reply?"
"Yeah, uh, tell her I'll be over," Calypso tapped back the response. She set the device down and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Percy asked.
"I'd prefer you stay a little longer under my care. Sounds like Annabeth needs you," Percy detected a slight undertone of jealousy. He did want to stay with Calypso, but he needed to go to Annabeth. Percy got up and hugged Calypso. Rarely did Percy initiate hugs.
"Thanks for looking out for me," he whispered. "How'd you know how to do it?" Calypso sniffled a bit.
"I want to be a doctor when I get outta college. Might as well get ahead now."
"You're in high school?" She nodded and pulled back. Taking Percy's hand she led him to the front door and handed him a pair of sunglasses.
"Wear these when you go outside. Rest for a few days and text me how you feel."
"I don't have your number, though."
"I put it in while you slept." Percy checked. Her number was indeed there. Percy added a hospital emoji. She smiled sadly at him.
"Goodbye, Percy." Calypso kissed his cheek and gently pushed him out the door. Percy stared at the red paint, then at the address. He looked around at the surrounding buildings to get his bearings and walked off, heading for a road. He flagged down a taxi.
"Where to, kid?"
"Neptune Building," Silently, he added, Take me home.
Annabeth paced her room nervously. It was a good thing Athena or Malcolm weren't there, or Athena would have thought her daughter was going insane. Malcolm would have tried to act like a psychiatrist. She checked her phone every few seconds, which she knew was futile. It would buzz if Percy texted. After the seemingly hundredth time she checked it, a chime ripped through the silence.
Here. Annabeth ran to the door and threw it open. Percy Jackson stood in her doorway. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes. He looked depressed. Had Annabeth's words done that to him? Hopefully not.
"Hi." he mumbled. Annabeth hugged him fiercely.
"Percy, I am so sorry. I didn't mean that and I was stressed out from my mom and-" she broke down crying. Percy patted her back.
"S' okay, Chase. You wanted to talk?" Annabeth let go.
"Yeah, come in," Percy walked in. Her apartment wasn't much different from Piper's other than the furniture. Annabeth sat on the couch and Percy plopped down next to her. The friends were silent for a moment before Annabeth spoke.
"We both know what this is about,"
"Yeah. That night at the pool," Percy supplied.
"Piper texted me earlier. She said we needed to talk,"
"Yeah, I talked to her today. Helped me a lot,"
"What do we need to talk about?"
"Let's review. We talked, almost kissed, you ranted, I kissed you, and you dipped. What do you want to talk about,"
"Our feelings,"
"Like therapy?" Annabeth laughed slightly.
"No, stupid. Well, yeah, I guess," she said.
"Okay. You go first." Percy shifted.
"Blunt or complicated?"
"Blunt,"
"Okay. Annabeth Chase, I have a crush on you." Annabeth stared at the floor and mumbled something Percy couldn't hear. "What'd you say?"
"I do too." Percy stared into her gray eyes and smiled slightly.
"Now what?" he asked.
"I don't know. My mom can't know we're together. I told you what would happen,"
"Wait, do you want to be together?" Annabeth looked out the window.
"Yes, Percy, I do." She turned back to her friend.
"Piper gave me a suggestion,"
"Which was?"
"Closed doors. Whenever we're alone or with our friends when we're not in public. No one will know except for our friends," Percy explained. Annabeth considered the idea. Finally she nodded and smiled.
"Okay." she sat down on the couch and put her head on Percy's chest, gazing up at him. "Are you gonna kiss me or…"
"I'll do it," Percy leaned down. When their lips made contact, it felt right. Not like in the hot tub. This was way better, in Percy's opinion. Maybe they weren't public yet, that could wait. For now, this would work.
Percabeth is unofficially happening! Shoutout to ZebraGirl202 for commenting on EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER and also SPQR-Alan. SPQR-Alan, I am taking idea #2. ZG202, expect many, MANY more chapters. Review, plz! It makes me happy to see those in my inbox. -RFA
