We're still in Conference Room B when Sara walks in and calls Nina and Mr Brunner outside. Everyone's sort of staring at me, and I try to ignore them. Percy is looking at me slightly confused, muttering words I can't hear under his breath. Ella's writing along the side of her foot and Nico and Leo are just looking at me. I push my focus to a bright orange splatter on the wall and try to listen to the conversation going on outside.
"…is back again." That's definitely Sara.
"I swear, those two have no idea how to handle her. Is she with us again?"
"Yes, all of the other groups are full. It's back to Team LENAR again."
"This must be some sort of record for her. She's been out for at least two months without any dramas. When will she be here?"
"She's here now."
"Sugar, Mr Brunner, do you have any more students you could send over?" Nina asks.
Mr Brunner sighs. "Oh, I do. I selected the four students with the lowest grade, but there was one other who just missed out. I'll put him on the list."
I hear footsteps, and Sara greets someone with a cheery 'Hello!'. The mystery person outside is told to come in and Sara walks off, telling Nina that she'll sort out forms for the new member of our team.
My eyes flick off the splatter of paint and to the door. Everyone follows my gaze and we watch as the door turns incredibly slowly. Whoever is behind the door is making a big deal out of this, making sure that the door creaks loudly, before running in screaming "Miss me, darlings?"
Rachel is back. Leo laughs like a serial killer, Nico cracks a smile, Percy hugs her and Ella freezes. Poor girl, she hates new people.
"New record, Red? Almost two months, huh. What set you off?" Leo says, waltzing over and swinging an arm over Rachel's shoulders. She's wearing the last thing I'd expect her to wear: a slutty Santa girl outfit. Somehow has miraculously managed to tame her wild hair, it falls down in soft waves rather than a chaotic mess of red curls. Her face is caked in make-up, thick mascara surrounds her eyes and her lips are a sparkly pink. She looks down, fiddling with the hem of her dress, which barely covers first three inches of her thigh, sighing. "Christmas portraits. My parents assumed that since they saw some girl in the street wearing this, that it would look good. The flashes set off my synesthesia; I completely broke down." She chuckles and tries to rub away the goose-bumps on her arms.
I look at her sadly and take off my jumper. I'm only wearing a t-shirt underneath, but Rachel would have had to walk through the cold in that outfit, so she definitely needs it more than I do. I hand it to her and flop back onto my beanbag.
"So what's been going on here?" Rachel asks as Nico passes her tissues. She begins wiping off the make-up, and we awkwardly look at each other, expecting someone to talk.
"Nothing much." Percy says. "Leo's stopped trying to steal the night-guard's lighter, Annabeth apparently less depressed, she doesn't believe it when you say that. Ella came about a week or two after you left. She's a bibliomaniac. Nico hasn't had nightmares as much. I guess they're all getting there."
"What's with the guy in the wheel-chair? New counsellor or something?"
"Nahh," Leo says. "Teacher. We have to play friends with some randoms from his school. Annabeth doesn't like that. Hey, does anyone know this Thalia chick? Thalia's a hot name. I bet this girl is smokin'."
Percy scowls. "Don't talk about her like that. Actually, talk like that when she's here, I need a good laugh."
"Man, you know her? Is she hot? Out of ten, what would you rate her? How sho….." Leo's blabber is boring and I focus on the songs.
And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself For for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself
And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself
For for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself
Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself
Why thank you Radiohead. I did almost loose myself. You said it so blankly, no flowery language. Gotta keep it together, Annabeth. Can't be dropped back levels. Stupid memories. Stupid people with stupid lives who stupidly think it's fun to make fun of the rest of us. These memories are my demons, my skeletons that I try so hard to keep locked up. But with Luke coming, I know that I'm going to crack. All my demons will come spilling out and everyone will know how much of a loser I am. They'll agree with me. They'll let me leave.
When you feel my heat Don't get too close
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Yet I feel like they can already start to see the cracks. I'm falling apart, my outer shell crumbling, revealing the delicate center. In six months, Percy can already predict what I'm going to, no, not say….write. He can read me like a book and that scares me. I've always tried to bottle up everything, it isn't anyone else's business what's going on. But Percy's different. He always gets me to make eye contact, like a little kid. His eyes are always soft, the brilliant mix of blues and greens flowing like tides. Whenever he looks at me, I feel safe, but scared that he'll discover all my secrets.
"Annabeth?" I jerk my head around, looking probably something like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car. Leo laughs and I notice that Mr. Brunner and Nina have returned. "As I was saying before Annabeth joined us in reality," Mr Brunner says. "I have found another student to join us: Octavian Schimdt. He'll be partnered up with you, Rachel. As school finishes up for Christmas holidays next week, I'll see you after the holidays."
"Everyone, please thank Mr Brunner." Nina asks. Everyone mutters thanks, while I just nod at him. He wheels his chair out and we sit there in silence for a while.
"Well, I think you've earned some extra free time Team LENAR. Off you go." Nina says with her eyes closed, in the middle if some incredibly painful looking yoga pose. Rachel looks at me and says "Art Room?" I smile slightly and nod. Percy gives me his hand as I struggles to get out of the bean-bag. I take it and walk over to Rachel, who's waiting outside.
"Annabeth, you won't believe how much I've missed you! Your music tasted so nice, and when I left, all I could hear was One Direction and Nick Minaj! I mean, dirt and the same smell that those tiny black ants make when you squish them, those are not pleasant tastes. Please play for me!" She wraps her arms around me and I nod, dragging her to the music room. The rest of our group follows.
We get there and there's no-one there, like usual. Our team's the only group to use this room. We all spilt up: Percy to his cameras, Rachel to the drama section to find some more appropriate clothes, Leo to the woodworks station, Ella to a couch where she has a stack of encyclopedias, Nico to a sketch-pad and me to my beloved piano.
"Hey, do you think this works, guys?" We all look up from whatever we're doing and look at Rachel. She's wearing the costume for Romeo, and not the Leonardo DiCaprio version. Everyone laughs and I just shake me head and turn back to the piano.
I start with a five octave chromatic scale, running my fingers up and down the smooth keys. The scales soon begin to flow into songs, as per usual. Paranoid Android is up first, and Percy attempts to sing along while sorting out film and lenses for his cameras. I stop playing and look at him. "What? You know I'm just going to keep on singing." I roll my eyes and continue, shifting genres with each song, going from Radiohead's Alternative rock to Feeling Good's Easy Listening (whatever that is) to Edge of My Dreams, which is just Soundtrack. The voice of the singer changes, depending on who knows the song, but Percy sings the whole way through. Blackie, who is still trailing me, adds the occasional bark or howl, but I do my best to ignore him.
It's only once I start playing I'm Into You that he comes closer. He speaks the words, just as Percy sings them. Blackie's voice is foul, like nails on a chalkboard. Percy's isn't much better, but I'd rather listen to him than to that horrid dog. But I can't stop playing. The look in Blackie's eyes suggests that a foul fate awaits me if I stop. Why am I even playing this? It's not as if it applies to my life in anyway. I'm not into anyone.
As I finish Leo comes over and smirks at me, a wooden dragon with moving parts in his hands. "You got the hots for someone, Blondie? I knew you'd come over to Team Leo at some point, all da ladies love me!" I snatch the dragon out of his hands and threaten to smash it. He wimpers and gives in, cradling the dragon in his hands.
I get up and walk around, watching everyone else. Leo's built eight dragons, all identical. Ella's muttering to herself, a strand of red hair in her mouth. Rachel's been working on a painting, one she didn't get to finish before she left, depicting her synesthesia. It's a chaotic mess of colours and shapes and LOTS of glitter, but it looks incredible. Nico's drawing is gruesome yet beautiful, an army of skeletons all attacking a beating heart, led by Nico himself. Percy's been sorting out his equipment, and there's a stack of pictures to be sorted. Almost all of them are of Team LENAR, different group sessions, Rachel and Piper's last day, and a lot of me. I'm playing the piano, crying under my desk, reading by the window, listening to music.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't planning on showing you, I thought you'd get mad." He says, trying to take the prints off me. I shake my head and keep looking. There's some of the ones I took. They look shit compared to Percy's. The lighting, framing, and angles all look cheap in my images, whereas Percy's looks professional. Percy's eating sushi, and in the next one choking because he realised nori was seaweed. He's doing homework, watching a film, looking at Blackie.
A bell chimes, and Leo sighs. "Visiting hours. Piper's coming to see me. I'll tell her you all say hi." He walks out, and the others follow.
"Anyone coming to meet you?" Percy asks, sliding the pictures into a folder. I shake my head, just as Sara walks in.
"Oh, good, I've found you! Annabeth, you have a visitor. Come along dear." My eyes go wide and I freeze. I shake my head rapidly and look to Percy for help. Who would visit me? I've only ever had one visitor, and that was Percy.
"Come on, Annabeth. It won't take long." Sara shifts her balance impatiently. "We don't have all day." She walks out and rolling my head to the ceiling, I follow. Percy runs up behind us and takes my hand. I breathe in quickly and look down to where his hand meets mine, then up into his eyes. His cheeks are tainted with the slightest blush, which makes me a little awkward.
"I promised I'd be here for you. We're friends, right?" he says, looking me straight in the eye. I like that. It means he has nothing to hide, whereas I tend to avoid people's eyes. I shrug and smile a little.
We walk down to the gym, no-one speaking. Suddenly, a bizarre thought comes to me. I write it down and show it to Percy, who chuckles. " 'Why don't you ever go to school?' I do, it's just that, well, my dad's pretty strict on how I'm raised, even though I don't live with him. So I have a tutor at home who gives me work for the subjects that I choose. When I lived in New York, I went to school, but Dad didn't like it. It kind of sucks, but I've gotten used to it."
I'm about to ask him more, but we've reached the gym. I close my eyes and try to slow my breathing as Sara pushes the door open. Percy rubs little circles into my hand and I gently take my hand from his, writing I'm sorry on his chest.
"Don't worry about it. Do you want me to stay with you?" I scan the crowd of people. Piper sees me and waves, I give a gentle wave back. Blackie walks up beside me and looks over to table 14. It's Her. I almost whimper, but the fear of Her holds me back.
"Table 14, Annabeth." Sara gives me my death sentence and Blackie runs over, sitting obediently underneath Her feet. She hasn't seen me yet. I snatch Percy's hand back, and he looks at me.
"Is that….Are you ready?" Percy says. I shake my head. I'm not ready. I didn't want her to come but She wouldn't dare do anything here, would she. I sigh and make my way over to the table, Percy close behind me.
She is on her phone, which gives me some time to prepare. But I have no idea what She'll throw at me, so I just sit there, twiddling my thumbs. Finally, She hangs up and sniffs as is a pile of dung has been shoved under her nose.
"Took your time, bitch. You should be grateful that I even turned up here." She takes a sip of coffee and gags. "Does this place not serve decent coffee? God! Who are you, boy? New boy, slut? He's not too bad, he's a hot piece of meat. Mmmm."
Percy stiffens beside me. "Ma'am, I'd prefer it if you didn't speak to or about Annabeth and myself in that manner." Percy's casual behaviour is gone, he's suddenly formal, a minute storm brewing in his eyes.
She taps her fake fingernails on the table, and pulls out a small mirror, fixing up her cake face. "Is someone going to explain?" She demands.
"Ma'am, I'm Percy Jackson, Annabeth's counsellor. May we ask as to why you are here?"
She sighs, pushing the coffee away. I take a sip of water from the plastic cup as She takes us in. "So there's nothing going on between you two? Well then. Why am I receiving letters saying that I have to see you, make sure that you're okay? What did I tell you? 'You need to be able to fend for yourself, Annabeth. I won't always be here to take care of you.' " She smiles sickly.
"I apologise, Mrs Chase. I had told the staff not to bother you, but Dr. Melody can be rather persistant."
She waves him off. "Don't use that name." She wipes away an imaginary tear. "It reminds me too much of…of…of my husband! Call me Chrissy. Anyway, I'm only here because I still have custody of you, and apparently I am required, as a loving, caring mother, to visit. Hopefully you won't be seeing me again, so be grateful, bitch."
Percy glares at Her, but She continues. "I got your letter. Cute. Little dramatic, don't you think? What a pity it didn't work out! Actually, you're right, maybe I should have sent you out that night. Maybe Freddy might still be with me. How many other people saw that letter? I can't have all of San Francisco knowing our little secret."
I count it up. Percy, Apollo, maybe Nina, and the four of Them. I hold up seven fingers and She looks at me, murder glowing in her eyes.
"How dare you! It only takes one person to start rumours! At least you aren't talking, it's not as if anyone would talk to you."
Sara walks past, placing a small tray of biscuits on the table. "Annabeth, perhaps you'll show your guest your room, give a little tour?" She asks, a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"I'd love to see everything, but unfortunately, I have a very important appointment to get to, and I have to pick my sons up from school. I'm sorry, sweetie, maybe next time?" The sweetness in Her voice is sickening. Sara walks off and She picks up her handbag. "You're lucky. If I ever come back here, you know what will happen. I could never do that to Matty and Bobbykins, it's been so long since I've had the pleasure of, well, you know." She smiles, and I write down quickly Why don't you join a gym? Plenty of punching bags there. And you could probably use the exercise.
"HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST THAT! Goodbye, bitch. Have fun rotting here." She struts off and Percy looks at me.
"She is a bag of sunshine and fun. You wanna leave?" He chuckles, all formality lost. I breathe properly for the first time since entering the gym, I nod, smiling slightly. "You okay?" I nod again and write on my notepad. She doesn't scare me anymore. She can't hurt me. Thank you, Percy. He stands up and we walk out.
If I'm not scared of Her, Blackie can't terrify me. If I can spend time in Her presence, I SHOULD be fine when They come. And it's all thanks to Percy.
Hi everyone! Long time, no...well, not see, because that could be creepy. Anyway, sorry about the long gap between updates, and sorry for last chapter. Honestly, I didn't like it too much, and I got mad at myself when I noticed that I kicked Rachel out, so she's back!
Special thank you to Black Roses for Hades girl for pointing out that I forgot to reference Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day in the last chapter and to R3D N3BuLOS17Y for recommending Demons by Imagine Dragons (I'm in love with the song!). And to anyone who's following/favourited, thank you!
In this chapter: Karma Police by Radiohead, Demons by Imagine Dragons, Paranoid Android by Radiohead, Feeling Good by Michael Buble, Edge of My Dreams by Lisa Mitchell, I'm Into You by Chet Faker. I am still open for recommedations, but please know that I can not stand country music, or really poppy stuff. Sorry!
Just a quick guest review answer: Angela, I liked your idea, but I already have Hazel worked into this, I've made a complex web of relationships, and she will definitely turn up!
If you're bored, have a look at my tumblr: awkward-jem . tumblr It's pretty boring, just a bunch of my photographs and random quotes that I hear in my day to day life.
I'm so completely over the moon with all the response I've received about this. Please review, there's a very lonely box just down there waiting to have something written in it! I honestly don't care what you write, compliements, constructive criticism, questions, or just tell me about yourself!
Well, that's a nice long rant for you guys. Byebye!
AwkwardGems xoxo