Hi everyone. How's it going? :) I'm not really up to writing anything interesting today, so…yeah. OH, WAIT! My school's having a Christmas musical tomorrow, and I have a solo! :D WISH ME LUCK!
Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns PJO, and I own the rights to this story. TAKE THAT, RICK! I:)
Enjoy! :D
Annabeth
xXxXxXxXxXx
I briskly walked down the hallway to my next class, hugging my books to my chest. Today had been a pretty normal day; there were no break-ups or fights. The thought of break-ups made me think to Thalia, who I hadn't talked to in a while, so I headed to the place where I thought she might be.
I rounded the corner to the library, and sure enough, Thalia was there.
Now I know what you're thinking, Thalia's reading?! But she wasn't reading. When I got there, she was leaning back in a chair with her feet propped up on the table, headphones in ears, and listening to music. I rolled my eyes, and pulled out one of her ear buds.
"HEY!" screeched Thalia in protest, opening her eyes and spinning her head around.
"Shhh!" shushed the librarian, Ms. C.
Ms. C was the crankiest person I knew, with a mole so big it blocked out the sun. It didn't help much that she added three pounds worth of make up to her face each day. She was looking particularly ugly today, and her big, poufy blonde wig was tilting dangerously to the side.
"This is a library, Ms. Grace!"
"You think I didn't know that already?!" Thalia retorted, quieter than before. She turned to me.
"I swear: some clown, somewhere, is missing their face paint right now." she claimed, referring to the librarians multi-colored face. I smiled at her remark, but then the moment passed, and Thalia was staring at me with uncertain eyes.
"Give me one logical reason why you're here." Thalia paused, remembering that she was in a library. "Besides to read."
"I just wanted to talk to you," I admitted, pulling a chair and sitting next to her. She scooted over to make room.
"Whatever." A moment of silence passed between us. Thalia looked punk-centric today, with her band name-covered black leather jacket and combat boots. She looked like she was ready to beat someone up, and I suspected it could've been Luke.
"I want to show you something," I said, hefting my backpack off of my back and onto the table. I unzipped it and stuck my hand in, feeling around until I felt the familiar crease of an envelope. I took out a love letter and handed it to her.
"What is this?" said Thalia, confused, holding it up to the light as if it held some sort of secret message. I took it from Thals and opened it, unfolded the letter, and handed it back to her.
"It's a love letter," I explained as she began to read. I waited a few minutes before she unglued her eyes from the paper.
"Who's it from?" she inquired, her words tinged with suspicion and interest. She handed the love letter back to me.
"That's the thing," I confessed, refolding the letter and sliding it back into the envelope. "I - I don't know. This is the longest it's ever taken me to solve a problem." My words faltered as I spoke. The whole idea was still a mystery to me.
"Wow. That's really saying something."
"I know! But I have no clue whatsoever, only a few guesses as to who he is."
"So, who'd you guess?" Thalia asked, eyebrows raised in anticipation.
I looked around then leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Luke."
I don't know what kind of reaction I expected Thalia to give. Would she be surprised? Would she be shocked? I could even imagine her laughing, but I never anticipated her getting out of her seat, grabbing her things and walking towards the library entrance. I turned out being the surprised one.
"What did I say?" I called after her, baffled. Was Thals really that bitter towards Luke? Why was she mad? She was the one that broke up with him, anyway. What did she have to be angry about?
"Listen, Annabeth," said Thalia, slowly turning around and walking back over to me. The librarian's face reddened in anger.
"Thalia Grace, for the last time, this is a librar – "
"Shut it, Martha." Spat Thalia, who directed a glare at the before said woman. Ms. C's eyes widened in shock, and her face paled, her make up shining brightly against the pastel backdrop of her skin. The other students in the library began to laugh, but after one glare from the librarian, and they returned to their books.
"Annabeth, be careful, please. I don't want you getting hurt. I know that you and Luke are close friends," she paused, probably thinking that we were closer than she wanted to admit. She continued on nonetheless, her tone more cautious and urgent.
"I know that you guys are close," she repeated, "but Luke is different now. He's changed. He's not the same person he used to be. You know, the one who used to keep his promises." She said bitterly.
"Just please promise to be careful." pleaded Thalia, and Thalia Grace wasn't one to plead.
I looked around, unsure about what to make of all of this, and answered, "Um, okay."
Thalia smiled a sad smile, visibly satisfied with my answer, and left.
Bewildered, I gathered my things and followed her example.
I glanced at my watch as I speed-walked down the hallway. It was 1:30 - I was late for Percy's tutoring session.
When I got to room 35, Percy was already there.
"Hey," I muttered, sitting down at the chair across from him. I hefted my backpack off of my shoulders and rested it on the floor next to me.
"Hey Annabeth," replied Percy, who was leaning back in his chair.
"You're late," he noted, turning to glance at the clock that hung on the wall behind him.
I sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Yeah, I lost track of time talking to Thalia earlier. Sorry about that. You should've seen it though, when she told Mrs. C –"
"Ahem."
"Oh, tutoring, right," I remembered, stopping my rant in its track. I smiled as I pulled out my Math book. "Let's get started."
For the next half hour or so, Percy and I went over several different subjects. At the moment, he was on the verge of flunking Math, English, History, and a bunch of other classes that I had already aced. Percy needed all the help he could get.
"Now do you understand?!" I said indignantly, leaning back into my chair. We'd been at the same problem for ten minutes, and I was exhausted. Percy still wasn't getting the concept.
"Well, if I said yes, would you believe me?"
"Probably not."
"Well, in that case, no." I sighed again, rubbing my temples in frustration.
"Let's just skip it and move on," I spoke, closing the math book and pushing it to the side. Percy was about to reach for his Science book when I stopped him.
"Wait," I said, recalling what I had wanted to show him earlier. I put a hand over his to stop him; I could've sworn that he blushed, but I didn't pay it any mind. I leaned down and grabbed my backpack with my other hand.
"Look," I said, dumping the contents of my bag onto the desktop. At least ten love letters spilled out onto the table. Percy plucked one from off the ground.
"What are these?" he asked, squinting to read one.
"Love letters," I gushed. I lowered my voice. "From my secret admirer." Of course, there was no one else in the room, but you could never be too careful, right?
Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah," I said, as I picked a random letter and began to read aloud:
"Dear Annabeth Chase,
Some people claim that they're romantics. That they're waiting for their knight in shining armor to ride them off into the sunset. But the thing is, they usually never come.
Sure, I had hopes to find the perfect girl. I wanted someone who was pretty, smart, bakes (specifically apple pie), etc. And even though about more than half of the stubborn, romantic population ends up single, I realized something.
You bake a mean apple pie.
Even though nobody's perfect, I just wanted to say: you're the closest thing I have.
Love,
Your Secret Admirer"
"And they're ten of these?" said Percy in awe, picking each one up and reading them.
"Yeah," I said proudly, blushing a little. As far as I knew, I was the only girl who was getting love letters, and it kind of made me feel…I don't know…special. Like someone out there actually did care.
As Percy read another letter to himself, I said, determined:
"Percy, I need your help."
"With…?" he said, not taking his eyes off of the letter.
If anyone was going to help me figure out my problem, it was Percy. "I want you to help me find out who my secret admirer is."
Percy
xXxXxXxXxXx
I widened my eyes in shock and surprise.
OH HELL NO.
"...Sure." I managed (despite what I thought), and smiled cheekily. She just had to ask me, didn't she?
This was just great. Now I had to help her find me. I swear, if I get my hands on the Fates…
Percy Jackson: ½
Fates: 3
Luke said he'd pay me back, right? Then he'd better pay me extra...
Short, I know, but I was rushing, and I'm really tired today. I had this Christmas party in class, and judging from the bubbly noise coming from my tummy, I overate. The next chapter will be much, much longer. Read and review! :)
