Chapter 9:
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
A/N: Have fun reading. Not over yet. I thought I would finish it with this chapter but na... I've still got more left.
Conversation with Bianca.
Percy POV:
"B. I really need to talk to you."
She was not in sight, but I could already hear her footsteps behind me. I just had a feeling today… that something was going to change. But I had to put that aside for now. I was here to talk with Bianca and only her.
We found a quiet place in the corner, specifically a wooden bench, where shrubs were strewn around and trees get in abundance. No one was to bother us or eavesdrop, as the canopy of nature shielded us.
As she sat next to me, I began to think about everything. Not anything in particular, just everything. The path we walked down was filled with children playing and their parents telling them to be careful. Was it too much to ask for that? With no fighting or dramas interrupting what was ultimately to have fun and enjoy life, and to give that on to your children.
I was beginning to sound like a philosopher and yet I'm still a teenager. And so I turned to the person who could perhaps bring me that comfort and ecstasy when I'm older. When we're older.
"Percy. What's going on? Why are you so… so distant today?" she asked.
"I really need to talk to you about. Well, it's about Annabeth," I pleaded.
"What about Annabeth?" she quickly recovered.
"It's more between her and I, not just her."
"Wha-" she began, but I cut her off.
"Something needs to change and you're the only person I can talk to about it."
There was a period of silence as I began to take in my thoughts, and she allowed me to. This was probably as serious as I had ever been before.
"I can't… I just can't continue like this. My relationship with her is just so toxic that... it's impossible to ignore. The close bond we shared was lost and is now perhaps unrepairable, but I left it on the wrong note, Bianca. I really did."
She could tell I was being dead serious.
"I slammed the door on her. I was closing all connection I had with her then, and there's… there's nothing I can do about it now."
I looked up into the sky almost searching for answers. No sun shone through the silver clouds, but the day was particularly mild.
Bianca felt that I had come to her for advice, and for reasoning with what I was meant to do. Becuase she, like I did, knew I had to fix what I left broken.
More silence followed as she digested what I had served upon her.
"Perc- Percy. I'm going to tell you straight out. You need to forgive her."
Forgive her? Had I not already shown her enough mercy and sympathy?
"Be empathetic to her situation," Bianca continued. "She's lost her best friend and someone she loves, Perce. Someone she loves as more than a friend. You would be devastated if that had happened to you, and yet it is happening to someone you loved for so long. Percy… everyone deserves to be forgiven."
Bianca had inspired me with hope and had discovered something I didn't know I had, or even know what it was. She just… found it. But she wasn't finished yet.
"I can still see it in you, Percy."
I thought I saw wetness developing in her eyes, but it could have just been the reflection of the world.
"You still love her."
It was devastatingly true, and I knew it. Deep down, it was true. No matter how much she hurt or fought me, it would always be true. It just wasn't me who saw that first, it was her.
"Percy. Please, just don't… don't drag me along only to throw me off a cliff. We ar- are destined to be good friends. Maybe even something more. But we cannot stay in the middle. You must make a choice Percy, and I'm sorry to put this on you, but it's better for both o- of us."
Her voice began to crack in those last few words. Bianca need not explain my choices, but it was clear I only had two.
For me.. for me to mend things with Annabeth beyond childhood friends. I could finally have her as she wanted me. Something I had longed for an eternity. But in doing so, would severe the bond and most importantly relationship I had with Bianca. A person so worthwhile to get up for in the morning, and to hang out with, that I don't know what life would be like without her.
I couldn't drag her through the mud. I could never do that to her.
Or. Or Bianca and I could finally be together. A couple unified as one, something both of us yearned for. But as a result remaining mere acquaintances with Annabeth. We would speak in school, and that would be it. Our bond would slowly mend, but never progress.
I was interrupted by her angelic voice.
"I- I'm not going to ask you to ma- make a decision right now. But ple- please go over there, Percy. I can- I can't stand you so confused about her. Sort things ou- out. Make i- it righ- right."
With tear drops cascading down her cheeks, she left me with a decision. An impossible one.
Bianca turned back to me, some fifteen feet away.
"Go now, Percy. She'll appreciate it more."
