A/N Hello, my fellow fanfictioners! How are you? If you're having crazy weather like I am, I hope you're being safe!
So, here's chapter eleven! It's kind of fluffy...
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, or any of Riordan's stuff. Yep.
Enjoy!
Annabeth grinned as the final bell of the day rang overhead, signaling the end of school. Kids all around her flocked out the door, headed towards the parking lot, anxious to escape the tyrannical oppression otherwise known as high school.
Percy smiled over at Annabeth, eliciting a flurry of butterflies in her stomach, just like he always did whenever he looked at her like that, like he loved her, like he'd always loved her and always would. It made her go lightheaded. It messed with her in the best possible way.
"Time for detention," Annabeth smirked, pushing her feelings down.
Percy scowled playfully at her, reaching his hand out for her to hold onto. She took it gladly, ignoring the pucker of his lips and the twinkle in his eyes.
He led her from the classroom and to their shared locker, a comfortable silence settling between them, louder to her ears than the encompassing noise of their peers that swarmed around them. When she was with Percy, she was only with Percy.
He entered the combination on the lock, twisting it back and forth, clockwise and counterclockwise, never releasing her hand. They exchanged their gym bags for their backpacks, shut the door, and angled their bodies towards one another.
"What are you going to do?"
Annabeth tucked a curl behind her ear, sighing, her eyes meeting his.
"I'll probably just hang out in the library," she said. "Read or work on some blueprints or something."
"You don't have to wait for me," he told her, knowing that arguing was futile. She would do the same things no matter where she was, and he'd rather her be near him than far away where he couldn't get to her should he have to.
"I'll always wait for you, Percy Jackson."
He didn't want to leave her, but Paul would have his hide if he didn't show up. He squeezed her hand twice and pecked her on the cheek, turning on his heel and hurrying towards Paul's room.
"I love you," he called over his shoulder, nearly running into a soapy mop bucket that had been abandoned by a janitor.
Annabeth laughed as he disappeared around the corner.
"He's such a Seaweed Brain," she murmured happily.
o.O.o
Vick's stomach churned with anger, his veins burning with barely restrained hatred. He had passed by the demigod couple on his way to Mr. Blofis' room, and while they hadn't noticed him, having been too caught up in each other to see anyone else, he had noticed them. They looked genuinely happy, something that lit a fuse in him. He was angry that Percy, someone who seemed to have enough going for him—his random freak out the other day notwithstanding—also had a beautiful girlfriend. It wasn't fair, he thought, that he had no one while Jackson had everyone. It made Vick want to punch him in the face, but he knew that that wasn't wise, considering he was in detention for trying that just last week—the key word being tried.
It also bugged him that Percy had not only escaped him, but had also managed to break his fingers. The thought made his fingers ache, a tingling itch crawling up and down his injured digits, a phantom tickle, prompted only because the stupid splint he was forced to wear was in the way. It meant he couldn't play in the last few games of the season. Coach was more than angry at him, and Vick thought he was trying to get back at him by recruiting Jackson. If he did, it would at least give Vick the chance to lay into the punk without facing any repercussions.
Vick stalked down the hallway, his left hand shoved down into his pocket, lint scratching at the knuckles of his uninjured fist. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to hit Percy.
He wanted to not want that.
The door to Mr. Bofis' room was open, and he could see the teacher sitting at his desk, his head down, staring at something in his lap. He had hoped to make an unnoticed entrance, but Paul sensed his presence and looked up, pushing his spectacles farther up the bridge of his nose. He laid a now closed copy of their mythology textbook down in front of him, pushing away from the desk and standing up.
Vick quickly sat down in a seat pushed up against the wall, and buried his face in his folded arms, ignoring Paul's prying eyes.
"Andrews," Paul called, though Vick didn't look up.
Paul honestly didn't like him. Deep down, he knew that he should probably give the boy the benefit of the doubt, assume that he'd merely had a bad day the week prior, but he couldn't. Vick was a bully, plain and simple, and no matter what happened to him when the day was done, he had no excuse to treat people like he did. If anyone deserved to act up every now and then, it was his own stepson. Pride swelled in him that Percy was so well behaved, that he continuously did the right thing regardless of the hardships he'd faced. What reason did Vick have?
"Andrews, we should talk before Percy gets in here."
That made Vick's head snap up, shock on his face. "What do you mean? Jackson's in here, too?"
Paul eyed him curiously. "Yes, he got detention for fighting with you."
"You gave him detention?"
"Yes, he got into a fight. He broke school rules. He had to be punished."
Vick just shook his head, clearing his mind. He knew it wasn't fair, none of it, but he couldn't blame Mr. Blofis for doing his job, especially considering that he gave his own stepson detention, too. Maybe he wasn't as nepotistic as he'd thought.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"I think you should see the school councilor about your anger. You give into your feelings too freely, and it's getting you into trouble. This is the time when you should be thinking about your future, and getting suspended or even expelled isn't going to make a college want you."
"It's not like I have a chance of getting into college now that your emotional son broke my throwing hand. He should see the councilor about not being as sensitive as he is."
Paul crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes flashing. He'd always been a pacifist, preferring to use his knowledge with the English language to compensate for his lack of upper body muscle, but since he'd married Sally, he'd been more inclined to settle disputes with his fists. His family was the one part of his life that he protected wholeheartedly, and it made him irrational. He couldn't see reason where they were concerned. He'd never wanted to hit a student before, but now he wanted that more than anything.
"Sit there, and don't say another word," Paul warned, returning to his desk, his voice quiet with his anger.
Percy walked in soon after, a small skip in his step. Paul could see how happy he was now that Annabeth was back, and it made him in turn just as happy. All he and Sally wanted was for him to smile again, to laugh and joke around like he had before Gaea ruined their lives, and now he finally had that chance.
"Hey, Paul," Percy greeted, plopping down in the desk closest to his stepdad.
Paul grinned and stood up again, his hands clasped in front of him. "Okay, I'm going to do something a little different today. Instead of you two sitting here, twiddling your thumbs for an hour, I'm going to set you to work."
Percy and Vick concurrently groaned, neither of them looking forward to doing even more school work, especially since they'd both believed they could use the time to nap.
"None of that," Paul said, his face stern. "You're studying the Greek myths in your English class, so I thought this was a great opportunity for you two to get in a little extra credit."
"What do we have to do?"
"You two are going to write a story about life during ancient times. Write yourselves into a myth, or make up your own. Pretend you're a demigod, and you have to prove yourself."
Vick didn't know why Percy suddenly grinned. The assignment sounded horrible to him, and he knew Percy didn't do so hot in English, either. It was why he was in a regular class despite him having an English teacher at home to help him.
"I'll be picking your parent, of course," Paul told them. He looked at Vick, and said, "You'll be the son of Ares."
"Is he the fire guy?"
Percy snorted, but Mr. Blofis shook his head. "Ares is the god of war. If you need to know anything else about him, all his information is on page five in the textbook."
Vick nodded, satisfied with that. At least he didn't get one of the pansy gods, like Aphrodite or Apollo, or something. War was a good fit for him.
"And you, Percy," Paul grinned. "You're Zeus' son."
o.O.o
On the other side of the building, in the gym, Tyler sat at the top of the bleachers, going over his notes.
He and Macy had made plans to meet up after school ended, and she was running late, which was surprising. She was very punctual, and she'd already been late a few times just that day. He knew that her stupid fight with Jordan had really gotten to her, but he'd never known her to be so affected before. She was usually more resilient than that.
He looked at the paper she'd told him to bring, reviewing the list, though he'd practically memorized it since he first started on it over the weekend. He'd spent most of his free time thinking about it, trying to figure out a reasonable explanation. He just couldn't find any answers.
The double doors swung open and Macy hurried inside, her heeled shoes clack, clack, clacking across the gymnasium floor, a look of extreme seriousness on her face. She was all business, and Tyler knew that he had willingly subjected himself to one of his worst nightmares: being alone with Macy when she was in a bad mood.
"Hey, Mace," he wearily greeted as she climbed up the bleachers, her arms out from her sides, flailing around, trying not to fall. He bit back a chuckle as she glared at him, knowing she could hurt him despite her delicate frame.
"Why did you have to sit all the way up here?"
"This is the best place! You have the wall behind you, which is insanely more comfortable, and you can spy on anyone that comes in here!"
Macy rolled her eyes. "We're supposed to be working, you dolt. We're not here to spy on anyone! If we were going to be spying on people, I would've worn all black, despite how unflattering that would be, and we would be following Annabeth around the library."
Tyler held up his hands, huffing. "Whatever. Here." He shoved the notebook paper at her, and she quickly plucked it out of his hands, her nails leaving little crescent shaped indentions in the edges of the paper.
She looked over it quickly, snorting under her breath as she read all his bullets. She cocked an eyebrow when she got to the last part, looking at him disbelievingly. "They know Tristan McLean?"
He nodded his head. "Apparently they're friends with his daughter. I looked her up while I was waiting for you. There's hardly anything about her on Google, but it did say he had one. Her name's apparently Piper."
Macy scrunched up her face. "Annabeth is from California, but not LA. She said she was from San Francisco. How would they have met?"
Tyler shrugged.
She turned back to the paper, filing the information away for later.
"They both speak Greek?"
"Yeah. Isn't that weird? Who knows Greek unless they live in Greece? It's not really a common language, especially not here."
"How'd they even learn it?"
"Beats me. But all those myths seem to be a big part of their lives. I mean, his name is Perseus, he keeps using weird myths as analogies to his own life, and he keeps mentioning Gaea whenever he has a panic attack."
"Maybe they met at a Greek enthusiast convention or something, and that's how they met," Macy mused, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. "They're too differently similar. They had to have met because of their weird obsession."
"I heard them mention some place called…Camp Half-Blood, I think. I don't know what the name means, but that could be where they met."
Macy nodded her head, agreeing with him. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and did a quick Google search on the name. Nothing came up about anything camping related. In fact, the only thing that did come up was a strawberry business called Delphi Strawberry Service. Well, that and Harry Potter things, but Macy knew Percy hadn't read those books.
"The only lead we have is this strawberry thing. Percy and Annabeth don't really seem like the type of people to farm, or whatever, and Percy's never mentioned having a job before."
"He never mentioned Annabeth, either, so we can't rule it out."
Macy conceded, saving the address in her phone. "We should call them later; see if we can find anything out."
Tyler heard her sigh, and glanced over at her curiously, wondering what was wrong. He'd assumed she'd be a lot more excited about their whole scheme than she was. Usually, snooping was one of her favorite pastimes, but it didn't seem to bring about the usual merry twinkle in her eyes.
"Are you okay, Mace?"
She shook her head, burying her head in her hands, her knees trembling, causing her whole body to quiver. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, afraid she'd hit him. She tensed slightly, but she didn't bite his head off, so he kept it there, moving it around in a small circle, trying to comfort her.
"What happened?"
She sniffed, looking up, meeting his gaze. "It's Jordan."
"What did he do? I thought you guys worked everything out."
"He's lying to me, Tyler. He said he just made it up, trying to be funny, but I know that he actually believes he saw Annabeth kill that guy. You should have seen him when he told me…. And then when he came to apologize, he just laughed at me. He laughed."
"Do you want me to sic Percy on him again?"
Macy chuckled, wiping her eyes. "I'm being stupid, aren't I?"
"No. Your feelings aren't stupid, Mace. Maybe you're being melodramatic, but you shouldn't be sorry for how you feel. Does Jordan know how upset you are about it?"
"I just kind of ran off. He made me so angry! I've never fought with him before, but now I don't know how! Everything he's done today made me want to punch him in the face, and I would if he was here and I heard his stupid laugh again."
"Someone wore their feisty pants today," Tyler joked, bumping her gently with his shoulder.
She turned and smiled up at him, the mirth once again in her eyes. He was glad to see her back to normal. He'd deny it if anyone asked him, but he liked it when she smiled. She was overtly pretty, anyone could see that if they looked at her, but she was gorgeous when she genuinely smiled. His heart ached looking at her, and as if he was no longer in control of his body, he reached out and cupped her face in his hands, pulling her close and kissing her.
He wasn't going to pretend he saw fireworks or heard angels sing, or anything else like that, but it did make him feel alive. It was the first time he'd ever acted on his feelings before, the feelings he'd buried deep down when Macy and Jordan had started dating, and no matter what happened, he wouldn't regret doing it.
He pulled back and looked at her, her eyes fluttering, her cheeks red, her lips still pursed. He wanted to remember her like that, to capture the way she looked right then in his mind forever, to hold onto when everything went wrong, because he knew things wouldn't work out for him in the end, not with her.
"Oh my God!" she whispered, shooting up, her eyes huge, her hands covering her mouth. "Oh my…. I can't believe—"
He gulped, playing with his fingers. He didn't want to hear her guilt, hear how much she regretted kissing him back, because she had kissed him back, he knew that much. He didn't want to see her face crumpled up with sadness. He didn't want her to look at him shamefully, or, even worse, he didn't want her to not look at him ever again. He didn't want their friendship to be ruined.
"I'm not sorry," he told her, finally standing up, gripping her hands in his lest she run away from him. He held on tightly as she gasped, flexing her fingers but not pulling away from him.
"You kissed me," she murmured.
He grinned despite himself, shrugging slightly. "You kissed back."
"I'm a terrible person."
"No, you're a human person. It's okay to give in to yourself sometimes, you know."
"Not when I have a boyfriend, it's not! Even if we are fighting, I can't just pretend that what I did was okay. It's not. It's wrong!"
"It won't happen again," he promised, his heart heavy. "Not unless you want it to. We can go back to just being friends. We'll call this strawberry farm, and we'll wear all black and stalk Percy and Annabeth, and we'll do what we've always done. Nothing has to come of it."
Macy shook her head and pulled away. "I—I have to go," she said, turning and hurrying back down the bleachers, disappearing out the same doors she'd come through not ten minutes earlier.
He wanted to chase her, to say whatever he had to in order to smooth everything out, but words were lost to him. He'd made his bed, and now he just had to hope that she'd forgive him and that not everything was destroyed beyond repair. He couldn't lose everything.
It wouldn't be fair.
o.O.o
Percy had stormed out of room 317 as soon as the little timer on Paul's desk had chimed. He'd handed his paper to him with a scowl, which had done nothing but make his stepdad laugh at him, only adding to his anger.
The paper was lackluster at best. It was the worst thing he'd ever written, and he'd written lots of horrible things in his years as a student. The worst part wasn't even having to pretend to be Zeus' son; the worst part was pretending to like Zeus. He had to write about how 'cool' it was to be the king of the gods' son.
It just made him sick to his stomach. He had two friends who were actually children of Zeus and even they had some issues with him. How was he supposed to write about liking him when his own kids didn't?
He entered the library as quietly as he could, thankful that the stupid paper was behind him and that Annabeth was in front of him. He could see her hunched over the table, papers spread out all around her, an array of pencils ranging in different sizes to her right, rulers and various other instruments to her left. Looking at her like that, in her natural element, doing her thing, it made him happy, and all thoughts of being Zeus' son fled his mind as good things replaced them.
He made his way over to her, shuffling along the burgundy carpeting, ignoring the librarian's watchful eyes. He could only see Annabeth, though it was fairly obvious that she hadn't even noticed him when he realized he'd been standing right behind her for the better part of a minute and she still hadn't said anything. He loved watching her concentrate on her work, seeing her get lost in what she loved.
Annabeth was staring at the sketch she'd come up with while she'd been waiting for Percy to get out of detention. The idea had come to her suddenly, and she couldn't help but draw it out, her mind on nothing else but the building she'd mentally constructed. She hadn't even thought about what it was she was drawing; only that she had to draw it. Looking at it now, her stomach rolled, knowing she was crazy, but she couldn't help but giggle as she titled it.
Percy spoke up from behind her then, and she jumped, whirling around to see him grinning down at the paper.
"So that's what our house is going to look like, huh?"
She blushed, shoving all her stuff back into her backpack. "Shut up," she muttered under her breath, embarrassed that he'd seen her sketch.
He pushed her around, the smile still on his face. "You're so cute," he told her, tucking a curl behind her ear, his eyes never leaving hers. "You drew our house."
"Go away."
He chuckled. "Most girls plan their wedding, but you planned our house."
"Seriously, Perce. Leave me alone."
Percy waited while she shouldered her backpack and held his hand out for her, pulling her out of the library once she'd intertwined their hands. She pulled away when they got out of the building and began running ahead, pausing only to stick her tongue out at him and call, "Race you!" over her shoulder, laughing at his stumped expression.
"No fair, you cheater!"
He raced towards her, quickly gaining on her. He had a lot less in his backpack than she did, which he thought was funny considering it was only her first day. He grabbed onto her arm and spun her around, hearing her little surprised scream.
"I thought you said you'd wait for me," Percy murmured, his face close to hers.
"That was before you laughed at me," she breathed.
"You're adorable," he told her, pecking her quickly on the mouth before sprinting ahead of her, leaving her dazed behind him.
She stood there for a second before realizing what he'd done. She shook her head, narrowing her eyes at her own foolishness. They always pulled little stunts like that at camp, and she should have seen it coming. She always had a plan, but not then. He'd been the one with an ulterior motive.
"Now who's the cheater?" she yelled after him.
"I'm not cheating; I'm just using my gifts!"
"Of course! Obviously you got cheating from Poseidon!"
He grinned back at her. "I'm talking about my devilishly good looks. You can't resist me."
"I'll be resisting you for the rest of the day, you cheater!"
Percy knew he'd probably regret it, but he didn't stop running. He liked the glory of beating her just as much as he liked kissing her. Well, not really, but she wouldn't hold out long against him. She liked kissing him just as much as he did, and so he knew that they'd both win in the end.
He'd always win as long as Annabeth was on his side.
A/N Um, what are your thoughts? I kind of think that was the best canon Percabeth I've done so far, but I could be totally crazy.
Did you like it? I know it's kind of fluffy, and some of you don't go for that, but there was definitely plot in there! Did you guys expect Tyler to be all overcome with feelings and just kiss Macy? I hope not, but it's okay if you did.
So, it's my brother's birthday today, and he's going to ask his girlfriend to wife him. It's a totally cheesy plan, too, but it's kind of adorable. She's making him supper, and so when she goes to give him his gift, he's apparently going to be, like, "What I really want is for you to be my wife," or something along those lines. He's all nervous, but we know she's going to say yes because she's asked me why he hasn't proposed yet. I'm excited to get a sister! And his proposal sounds a lot better than what I want when I'm older. I just want a guy to take me to Taco Bell and slide one of those sauce packets that say "Will you marry me?" over to me. I either don't have high expectations or I really like Tacos.
Eh.
Thanks to:
AndronicaJackson11398
pipermclean
zerowinz
TARDISbluu
Mango21
ShadowWalker207
llamaprincess13
BookReader10
hting
RascalJoy
UponACrowsWing
FallenHuntress26
haajoo master
hawthorneash13
Bloodtributes
Starriewonders317
my cat drools p- Sorry about always having school. School's a bummer, isn't it? I love my English teacher, and I hope I have her for the rest of my high school career. But good for you for being happy for your teacher despite how it effects you. Maybe things'll work out. The ninth grade at my school is technically part of the high school, but it has its own little building with its own gym and cafeteria and front office, and everything. We were kinda secluded. Venting's fine! I'm glad you don't mind sharing! Sorry Tyler's not gay... Surprise! Thanks! I agree; Percy's a lot cooler when he gets upset. My cat makes me happy too! She's adorable, and is sitting on top of my CP. Don't apologize about length! Now I know what you thought, and that's important to me. Thanks again!
huge fan- one of the OCs will find out REALLY SOON. Sorry you have to wait. I wish I could just write all the time, but life gets in the way. If only my life was strictly writing. I'd be pretty happy! And I'm honored that you'd give me a shout out even in death! That's truly fantastic! And I had my midterms before Christmas, but thanks for the belated support! I thinkI did well. Other things got in my way: school, snow, ice, friends, etc. etc... Good luck when you take them!
screams- thanks! I really appreciate it!
Mosh- any questions?
Seriously, guys, you floor me each and every time when I see your reviews! You've never had anything but kind words, and it warms my heart in this freezing weather! I don't know how to thank you all enough for your continued support! I could tell you about how penguins make me giddy, but really, it's you guys that do! Well, penguins do too, but especially you all! I smile every time I open my inbox and see something from one of you! I just want to give you all things that make you as happy as you make me! Obviously that won't be polka dots, but to each their own!
I LOVE YOU IN THE LEAST CREEPY WAY POSSIBLE!
Tell me what you thought and what you love and anything else! I love talking to you guys!
-SheCan
Au revoir!
