Disclaimer- Once again I have to write this. I don't own Percy or Annabeth or Thalia or Nico or anyone.
Chapter Twelve-
"So how did you manage to get a job at Olympian Scrolls? My friend Ethan tried to get a job there a while ago but Athena turned him down right on the spot. He didn't even hand her his résumé. She just pointed at the door and he left," Luke asked as he and Annabeth sat in a booth at Taki's, the diner down the street. He picked up one of his French-fries and popped it into his mouth.
Annabeth shrugged, stirring her mango smoothie (what diner had smoothies she didn't know, but she adored Riki'sand their ability to have every sort of food you wanted). "I don't know. I think it has something to do with the grey eyes. All of us have them that work there," she laughed. "Honestly I have no idea how I got the job. She asked me some really weird questions about why I sat in the chair I picked and then who my favorite author was and stuff. And then she read some of my writing."
"Your writing?" Luke asked. "Are you still writing?"
Annabeth blushed and nodded. "Just a little," she said, holding up her index finger and a thumb to demonstrate.
"Have anything published yet?" She shook her head. "Shame, I always like the character of Orion," Luke said, referring to the Descent of Darkness. "I honestly thought it should have been published if it was only for Orion alone."
Annabeth laughed hesitantly. What she would never admit was that Orion was based off of Luke a little. "That's what Thalia said."
"Ah yes and how is the great daughter of Zeus?" Luke asked.
"So you know about that too," Annabeth said. Luke laughed.
"Please Annie, who doesn't know about Jason and Thals? It was one big publicity stunt to boost Zeus in the eyes of the public. Hera of course wasn't too happy about it."
"Hera?" Annabeth asked. "I'm sorry but I'm not too up to date with New York social gossip."
Luke smirked. "It's not as if it's that important. It's not going to make world peace or anything… more like cause World War 3. Okay so here's the quick low down Annie. Hera was Zeus's first wife whom he then divorced to marry Thalia and Jason's mom…" he paused a minute and tapped his chin. "Gods I always forget her name. Anyway when Zeus got bored of their mom when Thals and Jase were only little, they divorced. Zeus then got back together with Hera and remarried her."
"So he's been married three times?" Annabeth asked. Luke nodded.
"With a bunch of affairs on the side. Of course Poseidon's no better. He's never been married."
"What?" Annabeth exclaimed loudly. Everyone in Riki'sgave her a strange look and she looked down at her smoothie.
"Quiet Annie," Luke snickered. "Anyway, Poseidon's never been married so technically the great Percy Jackson is a bastard."
"Don't call him that!" Annabeth hissed. She didn't know why she was sticking up for Percy Jackson but he couldn't help who his parents were. It wasn't his fault his father was an idiot.
"I'm just using the politically correct term Annie," Luke said.
Annabeth sighed and brushed a strand of blond hair out of her eyes. "Can we talk about something else? What are you up to?"
Luke all of a sudden beamed… which was something Annabeth hadn't seen him do since they were super little. "I work at Titan Inc. under Kronos himself."
"Kronos? Who's that?" Annabeth asked. Luke's eyes suddenly flashed dangerously.
"Only the greatest inventor of all time. He invented so many different timing devices and weaponry for different countries that he's a billionaire. And he chose me out of all the different people who tried to get the job, to be his assistant."
"Wow that's great Luke!" Annabeth said earnestly… even though she still had no idea who the heck Kronos was.
"I know," he said smugly. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Luke always had a massive ego. It was self-detrimental sometimes.
"So where are you staying?" Luke asked.
"Um… at Janus' Doors. It's an apartment building near Central Park," Annabeth said.
"Do you have a view?" Luke asked.
"Oh yes, a very beautiful one… of the neighboring building's wall," she shrugged. "But it works and it's cheap."
"You could always stay with me," Luke said suggestively. Annabeth sighed, here it was. She was waiting for it. Waiting for him to try and snatch her up… just like he did in High School at Goode. He always thought that he could. He always thought that she was still just a little girl like how they met in the park when she was seven.
"I'm fine Luke," she said. "And I think my lunch break's over." She stood up and smoothed her shirt down.
"Oh come on Annie," Luke said in a voice which was his closest to a whine.
"Goodbye Luke," she said firmly and then strolled out of Riki'swith her head high.
"Hey," Percy said as he stepped out of the elevator and straight into his and Nico's penthouse. He dropped his keys in a bowl by the elevator, a habit he had ever since his mother did it.
"What's up Percy?" Grover Underwood, one of Percy's oldest and closest friends from Goode High said from where he was lounging on the couch next to Leo. Grover had always looked mature for his age back in Junior High, with the faint outline of a goatee when he was only in seventh grade but then once everyone else hit puberty they caught up with him and he looked younger than them all now… as he still suffered from severe acne.
"What are we watching today?" Percy asked, flopping down in his favorite chair which everyone knew not to sit in.
"The Great Gatsby," Beckendorf, a tall and burly African America said from his spot on the floor. At six ft six, he had played basketball for the New York Nicks as their starting center three years ago and was twenty six, a good four years older than most of the group. He had joined the group when Percy had sung the nation anthem at one of his games and the two had really hit it off well. Now he ran a club with his excessive amount of money from his basketball career.
"Who's choice was it this time?" Percy moaned. There was only one person in the group who would choose the Great Gatsby over Iron Man 3 or Wolverine… or really any movie with any decent action scene.
Jason raised his hand guiltily.
"I'm sorry, Piper and I watched it together and I thought you'd all enjoy it," Jason said.
"Come on Sparky, you'd thought we'd enjoy a movie based off a Classic book?" Percy groaned from his seat.
"It has Spiderman in it?" Jason said, trying a different approach. All the guys groaned.
"Why do we let him choose the movie?" Grover asked.
"Because that was the rules of guy's night," Nico said. "And it's always been the rules, we rotate who gets to choose." Sometimes Percy wished Nico didn't go by the rules so much.
"At least tell me we ordered pizza from Taki's," Percy said. Riki'swas the only place Percy would get pizza from in New York.
"It'll be here within the hour," Leo said, grinning. "And I made sure to get the good type unlike lightning boy over here," he said, nudging Jason.
"So how was your date with RED, Percy?" Beckendorf asked. Percy groaned.
"I wish to erase those four wasted hours of my life from my mind. Do not remind me."
"That bad," Grover said sympathetically.
"She made me help her decide which lip stick went best with which dress," Percy said.
"Girls do that?" Jason asked curiously.
"Normal girls don't, crazily weird ones, yes," Percy scowled.
"Oh come on Percy, Rachel isn't crazily weird," Nico said.
"If you think she's not, then you can have her," Percy said, glowering at Nico. Nico turned paler than he normally was… if that was even possible.
"No… I'm good. I think you two make an excellent couple," Nico choked out.
"Look I don't want to talk about RED, can we just start the movie already?" Percy asked, slumping in his seat.
Anything was better than Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
"I love you Daddy," Annabeth said, as she sat crossed legged on her couch, her plate of pasta on the table in front of her, the book she was currently reading: The Count of Monte Cristo, turned upside down to mark her place and her notebook spread out beside her.
"I love you too Sweet Heart," Fredrick Chase spoke into the phone. "You call me if you need anything, anything at all okay?"
"Okay," she said, though it wasn't as if she'd do it. She was not going to take charity from anyone, even if it was her own father.
"Well I have to go now, I love you," he spoke, somewhere across the country.
"I love you too," Annabeth whispered as Fredrick hung the phone up on her. She sighed and turned her phone off, flipping it closed. She set it down on the table in front of her and stared at her pasta. If her father really did love her why didn't he see the bruises she got at night? Why didn't he see the way her step-mother treated her?
Why didn't he see her mask she was wearing?
Annabeth reached for her pen and scrawled a new W4W down on the piece of paper:
W4W- The ones who love us the most will be able to see through our masks. They'll be able to realize when we're hurting, when we're aching inside. And even more, they'll feel our pain as if they're suffering through it with us. They'll cry with us as if they really can feel the knife cutting through their skin like it is ours, they'll feel the sorrow when one of our loved ones dies as if it was their own. Because when they love you, they will do anything and everything for you. If it's being a shoulder to cry on or if it's forcing you to carry on when you don't want to. They will be there for us.
Annabeth yawned and picked up her bowl of half eaten pasta. She carried it with her to the kitchen, covered it with a paper towel and put it into the fridge, she'd eat it some other time. She hit the lights in the kitchen and the living room and then padded into her little loft area where she slid into her bed.
But she couldn't sleep.
So instead she turned on her laptop and looked at reviews for the Letter Writer.
And that was when the message popped up.
"Percy I'm heading to bed," Nico called from his room.
"Okay!" Percy yelled back. He was currently laying on the middle of the wooden floor in his bedroom, staring up at the ceiling… doing nothing… absolutely nothing. The guys had left an hour ago after the movie and a whole lot of pizza and soda which then led to belching wars… which then led to icecream. It felt good to be almost… normal.
Except for the fact that he was hanging out in a million dollar penthouse, with NBA stars and Rich Kids and he himself was musical prodigy.
But those were only minor details.
Percy suddenly jerked up. "Nico!" He called.
"What Percy?" He yelled back.
"We're still visiting Tyson tomorrow right?"
"Yes Percy! Now go to bed!"
But Percy couldn't sleep. He had too much on his mind. He stood up and trudged to where his i-pad was on his king sized bed. He flopped down onto the bed and turned it on and then logged onto Writer's Corner.
There were new chapters posted for the Letter Writer, a story which he now found himself completely captivated by. There was something about the way the writer used her words, the way she crafted her sentences, every word had a purpose.
WiseGirl36: And another chapter done. Finished. Completed. Concluded. Accomplished. Ended. And every other simile you can think of. What did you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Feeling this urge to toss it into the trash? Let me know. Please? Message me. I like messages. It makes me know I'm not alone.
When Percy read that last line, he felt a tug in the bottom of his gut. He clicked on the message button and typed in WiseGirl36.
Hi. I wanted to tell you that there are good stories in the world. And there are great stories in the world. And then there are the stories that make your insides be turned inside out and your every thought questioned. Your story is one of those. It makes me laugh and smile and cry at the same time. Is that even possible? I just wanted to let you know that you're doing something amazing here, something that I can't describe and something that the world needs to see. Not just the internet. ~GreenEyes&BlueCoke
Percy sat back in his chair and was surprised that two minutes later a message popped up. It was from WiseGirl36. He clicked on it.
Hey. Do you know how much that message means to me? It means the world. Every little word in that message means the world to me. Little words are important after all. I know what you mean by the stories and I'm flattered that you would think of myself in the same category as some of the greatest authors in the world. Disney movies make me laugh, cry, and smile at the same time… it's quite embarrassing… especially when you're in a theater with a bunch of people. I don't know about the world. The world seems so big at sometimes. I'm not sure I'm ready. How do you become ready for the world? ~WiseGirl36
Percy smiled and then typed back his response.
Make it smaller. That's my answer, to quote Superman's mother. Make the world smaller, it doesn't have to be big. Just think about it. The world is made up of people like you and me, just a lot of them all together. That's all. Your words are inspiring. Why hide them? You want to be a legend. You want to leave a legacy. So do it. If you don't do it, then you spend the rest of your life regretting not doing it, trust me, I have personal experience. Some things seem scary at first but if they're not scary then they're not worth it. The greatest things usually come from the things that scare you the most. ~GreenEyes&BlueCoke. PS Birch is amazing and I love your sarcasm for Hannah.
A message popped back. It was weird, knowing that somewhere else in the world, this girl, this genius with words, was sitting at a computer talking to him… and she probably would never guess that she was talking to Percy Jackson.
WiseGirl36: I liked that movie. The guy that was Superman was cute. I'll try your advice. Making the world smaller… perhaps I'll think about it in terms of science. I'll compare it to the sun… then I'll make it very, very small. JOr is that not a good idea? I've always been the nerd of the class after all. What experience if you don't mind me asking? And I agree with your last part, the greatest things usually come from the scariest times. It reminds me of something I wrote. T4H (thoughts for the humble): You can't wait for the calm in the storm. The greatest things that have happened, happened in the midst of war, struggle, pain, in the middle of the storm. It's when we're overcome with fear that we truly realize beauty. It's when we're facing Death that we truly realize just how important life is. I don't know, trials are here for a reason. Fear is here for a reason. I think fear is healthy. Without fear we'd just be stupid. It's as simple as that. ~WiseGirl36 Post Script- I'm glad you like Birch, I really like him too. He makes me smile. And Hannah is so strong. Who's your favorite other than those two? Please don't say Jake. If you do I'll strangle you.
GreenEyes&BlueCoke: Leave it to a girl to only like the movie because the main guy is "cute". Way to take things literally WiseGirl. Nerd of the class you say? I could tell. You have a vocabulary that my English Teacher would envy… then again my English Teacher was my mom's boyfriend at the time. Is that weird or no? My experience… well they say the first part of overcoming your fault is admitting it… or something like that. I fell in love with a girl. We had a very strange relationship… I never once talked to her. And then she moved away before I had the chance to. Now I wish I did. Everyday I wish I did. I hate living with the "what ifs" in life. Your quote is amazing. Where the heck do you come up with these ideas? They're like freaking genius! ~GreenEyes&BlueCoke PS Favorite character between those two? Hard… I like Dr. Tanner… and I also like Gil, Birch's best friend. Something about him… I don't know. I just like him. How would you strangle me?
WiseGirl36- He was British okay!? I have a thing for guys with accents. And of course I have a big vocabulary! It's what happens when you read Trixie Belden when you're in first grade! Um… a teacher who's also dating your mom… that's not weird at all… how did you manage? That's a sad story. My biggest thing that I regret is my not sticking up for myself, for not doing what I want to do, for being a pushover. But not anymore! I refuse to be. I want to follow me own dreams. Oh yippee I'm a freakin' genius! Well then… that's a lovely compliment. ~WiseGirl36 Post Script- Oooooo! I love Gil! The minor characters really make a story. And I would strangle you with my punjab lasso of course… duh. I'd wait until you were alone and then I'd strangle you will my lasso… it doesn't leave any fingerprints.
GreenEyes&BlueCoke: What is with girls and British accents? Honestly. What the heck is Trixie Belden? It was super weird… my mother would always ask me to give Paul something (his name is Paul) during class and he'd usually ask in the middle of class how my mom was and if they were still on for dinner (as if I knew about their plans!) But Paul's an awesome guy and after my mom's previous experiences with men, she deserves him. I'm glad you're going after your dreams. What are they? Mine is to take over the world of course. ~GreenEyes&BlueCoke PS Wow… um you have this all figured out don't you? Wait what's a punjab lasso?
WiseGirl36: British guys are hot okay? You're just jealous. And Trixie Belden… well it's like Nancy Drew but I'm pretty sure you don't know what that is either. I'm glad your mom's happy now. Everyone deserves to have their happily ever after (but for the record if your happily ever after involves murder or anything sick and twisted like that… you're messed up and need help). My dream is to write… as you can probably tell. It's that simple. I want to write and inspire and dream. I can't imagine a better job than being paid to do what I love. I'm sure you want to take over the world… I think every boy does. Well I have to go to bed. Seriously… I have work tomorrow morning and I had a super late night last night with an incredible guy… okay that just sounds wrong but it wasn't like that. ~WiseGirl36 Post Script- Seriously! You don't know what a punjab lasso is? Well that's your homework. Figure it out. Post Post Script- Goodnight and sweet dreams GreenEyes&BlueCoke.
GreenEyes&BlueCoke: Good night WiseGirl36. Keep Dreaming.
Sometimes in life there's this funny little thing called fate.
What is fate? Well fate is when two people who had met through letters back in high school then meet again at a Masquerade and then rediscover each other online all without knowing that it's each other. Fate is drawing to people together.
Fate is love.
And one cannot fight fate just as one cannot fight love.
Because love consumes all. Love is burning. Love is fire.
That night, under the same starry sky in New York City, two people fell asleep with smiles on their faces, Percy Jackson, the greatest young musician of this day and age, and Annabeth Chase, a girl who wanted to write.
And Percy fell asleep dreaming of grey eyes like storms and Annabeth fell asleep dreaming of green eyes like the sea.
And fate was at work.
