Author's Note: This will be shorter than The Violin That Started it All. At least, I think so. Then again, I said that The Violin That Started it All would be like 30 chapters but I guess not.
Note: Thank you, Shinigami89, for editing and beta reading my chapters and all of that. I really appreciate it!
Warning: Homosexuality, language, child abuse, death, bullying, break-ups, sexual themes (I'll add more along the way.)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. I am definitely not Rick Riordan. Also, I got the "Hades abuses Nico" idea from some fanfic…though which fanfic I got it from I don't remember. Ciao!
The Violin That Started it Again
Author: Loving Healer
Part 3: Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase
Chapter Ten
Percy Jackson
Annabeth's pep talk really got me fired up. She even pulled me up from my spot on the ground and dragged me to the restrooms so I could look better and make it seem as if I weren't crying the whole time during lunch even though I actually was.
When I came out of the bathroom, she took my arm and pulled me along to wherever Nico and Silena were. I was feeling very hopeful, but at the same time I knew it would be absolutely useless. I knew Nico well enough to know that he wouldn't just accept my apology as if the whole cheating ordeal was nothing.
"Does anyone else know about the breakup other than us and Jason?" Annabeth questioned me, starting a conversation. I would bet you anything that she knew I was thinking about what was yet to come.
"Well," I drawled, "Silena and Nico know."
She scoffed. "They were included in the 'us.'"
"Oh," I simply said, and I already knew Annabeth was rolling her eyes at my stupidity.
"Well?" she asked. "Does anyone else know about it?"
I frowned, knitting my eyebrows together. "Hm.I guess, now that Jason knows about it, I think he'll tell the others where I've been and why."
Annabeth nodded slowly. "It seems typical of Jason to not hide anything from his friends unless he promised not to."
"Yep, exactly like Jason," I agreed, shrugging. "Jason's such an honest guy."
She chuckled, turning a corner. "Yeah, he surely is."
"I wonder what he's like with Piper," I remarked.
"What do you mean?"
"People seem different with the person they love, don't they?" I asked her, and she nodded.
"They are," Annabeth answered. "Luke seems a lotdifferent from before we dated. Was Nico any different?"
I tried to remember, but all the memories that we had together flashed through my mind and made it seem like I was carrying the whole sky on my shoulders.
"Can we...not talk about that?" I half-asked, half-pleaded.
There was a pause before Annabeth muttered, "I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"
"No, really, it's fine," I tried to say nonchalantly, but my voice cracked.
Annabeth stopped in her tracks and I almost knocked her over. She quickly whirled around on the balls of her feet and sent a stinging pain along the side of my face.
I stumbled back a bit and grabbed my cheek, attempting to send a glare her way. It didn't seem to work. I was too stunned to give her a glare.
"Do not ever, Perseus Jackson, ever pretend to be okay in front of me again," Annabeth pronounced slowly. She sounded so calm that it horrified me.
My eyes were wide and I couldn't even formulate actual, coherent words. The fact that Annabeth slapped me a few seconds ago was still trying to be processed in my brain.
"R-Right," I finally managed, attempting to regain my composure as the stinging pain began to subside. "Sorry."
Annabeth smiled triumphantly. Man, didn't she feel the leastsorry for hitting a guy with a broken heart?
"Good. You better be," she stated firmly. "I can always tell when you're lying to me, Percy. I think I've known you long enough to know when you lie and when you don't. After all, I diddate you at one point." Annabeth chuckled. "It's weird to think that we were once dating, isn't it?"
I nodded, a small, amused smile forming on my untouched lips. "Yeah, it is. It feels weirdthinking about kissing you now."
Annabeth grimaced. "Veryweird," she emphasized. She reached out her hand and tugged on my wrist. "Come on Perce. We have someone to talk to, don't we?"
I frowned. "Annabeth, you and I both know he isn't just going to accept my apology like it was nothing."
She smiled, a mischievous twinkle in her gray eyes. "You don't think I know that already?"
I blinked blankly at her. "Wait... If you already know that, then why are you taking me to see him anyway? It's just a waste of time, isn't it? Why should we even bother?"
"Nico has been trying to get his mind off of you ever since yesterday," Annabeth began to explain. "As far as I know from my observations, it isn't working out very well. If you," she jabbed a finger at my chest, "suddenly appear and try to apologize to him, he won't be getting his mind off of you. He still loves you, Percy. When you try and get him back, he'll refuse because he holds long-time grudges and everything. The fact that you stillwant to date him will be stuck in his mind like a mouse in a mouse trap.
"His mind will try to fight the idea of getting back together with you, but the more you advance on him, the more he'll see how much you want him. But you can't just go to him every single day or something. You'll just annoy him so badly he'll never even think about the idea. And if you do it too much, it'll make you seem desperate. I'm pretty sure neither of us want it to seem like you're desperate."
Good gods, how did Annabeth even think of these plans and ideas? How does a brain like Annabeth's work anyway?
"How long did it even take you to think of that?" I asked her, completely stunned by that huge plan.
She frowned as she concentrated deeply. "When I was dragging you over here after I made you wash your face—that was when it popped into my mind."
I sighed exasperatedly. "How do you even think of such brilliant plans like that? And I never use the word 'brilliant'!"
She laughed. "I know. 'Brilliant' doesn't seem to be a common word you usually use. I'm proud of you." Annabeth nodded slowly in approval.
I rolled my eyes. "Can we just get to him now? I haven't seen him in forever and I miss seeing him."
"Percy, it's been a day."
"It still seems like forever!"
Annabeth laughed once more. "You really love him, don't you?"
"Of course I love him!" I stated defensively.
She smiled. "That's good. Just...don't screw up so much next time."
"Yeah, yeah. I think I've learned my lesson by now," I replied.
Annabeth nodded. "I have to warn you about something though. Will you hear me out?"
"'Course I will," I answered. "Fire away."
Annabeth sharply inhaled. "When Nico rejects you, it's probably going to hurt. A lot. Well, I guess it depends on how much you love him. But I can already tell you love him a whole lot. He's going to reject you the first time around, but will you be able to handle it?"
My mind reeled to last night when I broke down from my flashback of the first time I talked to Nico.
Apparently I had some kind of frightened expression on my face because she stared worriedly at me. "Did something happen? You usually never act like this."
"I just...broke...down last night," I mumbled, resulting in Annabeth widening her eyes.
"What?!" She cried.
"I had a flashback of the first time I met Nico," I explained as simply as possible so I wouldn't have to think about the details of the dream. Correction—nightmare.
Annabeth was silent for awhile, but she finally manage to say, "I'm so sorry..."
I shook my head. "It's not your fault, so you don't even need to apologize. But, did you...feel this way when I broke up with you?"
Annabeth shuffled her feet together, averting her gaze to the ground. "Y-Yeah." She glanced up at me, and there wasn't even a trace of sadness. "But, that isn't important right now. Will you be able to handle it?"
I gulped and nodded. "If I want to get Nico back, I'll have to."
She grinned. "There's the Percy I know." She tugged on my wrist. "Let's go get your man back, Percy."
I chuckled. "Right," I replied as I let her drag me to wherever Nico and Silena were located.
