Only Thirty Days
Summary: Thirty days is all I need to change my best friend into my girlfriend, but whoever said that it would be easy? To start this off right, this is 'Day 0,' leaving me with thirty more days to make Annabeth mine. Just remember, things are never that easy.

Thank Yous: leprechaunlady, dollyluvsya101, Copper Phoenix, riml, Awesomel, Mitzipitzi, Artmis-gurl, awesome derp, CimFan, Percabethlvrknowsall (x11), St. Walker (x11), trangnha, Arrow of Artemis, Waterlover13
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO…

A/N: Well, there goes the fluff from the last chapter. Really, I looked back, and there sort of has been just sweetness or something like that for the past couple of chapters. Hm, there can be too much sweetness, right? No? Yes? You don't know? I don't know. Anyways, I guess I'll just leave it at that for this chapter.

Also, I want to thank you Agent Astro Zombie, aka AAZ, for giving me an idea relating to this story; she had no idea just how much of a pivotal role it has played... ;)
Hope y'all enjoy. xx

Chapter 13
Day 13.

Thirteen, the lucky number, right? Eeeh, wrong, absolutely, positively, without a doubt, wrong.

"Hey, Nico," I muttered, slumping my tray down on the cafeteria table. Glancing across the cafeteria, I saw Annabeth, twirling the end of her blond hair that was pulled into a braid. By her side, unsurprisingly, sat Luke, probably saying whatever it was that put the smile on her face. No, I wasn't jealous. I just wished it was me sitting next to her.

Nico raised his eyebrows, shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth. "Are you going to spend this entire time staring at Annabeth or what?" He asked, while chewing on his mashed potatoes at the same time. Yeah, I probably shouldn't have decided to talk to Nico about this one considering how he felt about my situation with Annabeth.

I shrugged, glancing over at her again as she threw her head back laughing; she seemed to be getting along fine without me. It wasn't like we had any classes together or anything, considering the brain that Annabeth had, so it wasn't as if I really had any chance to talk to her during school in the first place. Plus, during the one period we had together besides lunch, free period, I had no idea where she even spent it, probably somewhere with Luke, though. "Probably," I eventually mumbled, breaking my gaze away from Annabeth to the food that slumped itself on my tray.

Grumbling something under his breath, Nico stuck the fork back into his mouth with another clump of mashed potatoes on it. "Can't you at least sit with her?" He practically pleaded, or that might have just been said that way because he still had the fork and mashed potatoes in his mouth. Yup, I was pretty certain Nico wasn't the person to talk to about this one…

I scratched the back of my head, sticking a straw into the milk that I had grabbed. "Nah," I muttered, rolling my jaw uncomfortably, "I'd rather not get my head bit off by Pinecone Face." Yeah, Thalia still wasn't my biggest fan by the way that she glared at me when I passed their table at the beginning of lunch. I had considered sitting with Annabeth but decided not to in the end. Plus, whenever Thalia noticed me looking in Annabeth's direction, she sent me a pointed glare; her glares were a prime example that looks really could kill.

"Thalia still hates you?" Nico chuckled, pointing his fork towards me before piling more into his mouth. "Guess I'm not surprised by that one," he added, piling the rest of his mashed potatoes into his mouth, something that he finished at, what would have been, an alarming speed had it not been Nico who did it.

"Yeah, something like that…" I mumbled, glancing towards Annabeth who was no longer laughing or smiling. Yeah, great to be back at school…

…

I geared myself up to quit the play, thankful for the fact that the school day was over, having gone through the least amount of pain that I could possibly go through on a day like that… It was still a lot of pain, though. So yeah, gearing myself up to quit the play was easier said than done. It's not that I didn't want to quit or anything, but not having Annabeth there to remind me of why I was quitting didn't help for a second.

Blond hair that fell in perfect curls onto her back standing feet away from me? Yeah, I must have been imagining Annabeth considering the fact that I wanted her there… Call it my overactive imagination or something, but it looked a heck of a lot like Annabeth who was standing in front of me, well several feet away. But, that had to be impossible… I meant, Annabeth had no real reason to be there anyways considering Rachel and Calypso were there.

"…can follow it," the image of Annabeth spoke to Chiron, blueprints in her hands. Wow, I must have really been missing Annabeth for the image of her to be so real.

Chiron nodded, his mouth moving, but he was too far away for me to say anything. Instead, I stood back and watched the imagined image of Annabeth in front of me as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. The image my mind created of her was almost as great as the real her; the only fault was the fact that it wasn't her. I glanced to see that Chiron was pointing towards me for some odd reason. It then occurred to me that Chiron was actually, more than likely, talking to a real person, and I just replaced them with Annabeth.

The image of Annabeth turned towards me, an eyebrow raised much like normal Annabeth would do. Whoever this image replaced walked towards me, but I couldn't help but notice just how spot on the grey eyes were that my mind had created in front of me. "I'd tell you to stop staring, but you look like you're daydreaming," the image of Annabeth spoke to me, playing with the end of her ponytail.

I shook my head, blinking, wondering why the image of Annabeth that my mind created was still in front of me.

She rolled her eyes, the image of Annabeth, addressing me, "Yeah, I think you were daydreaming."

"Wait, you're really here?" I questioned, noticing the way that Annabeth actually seemed like a real person, instead of the image that I had assumed she was. Okay, so looking back on it, I should have figured out that Annabeth was actually there way earlier, but I didn't… So, at least I actually told the story the way it happened.

She raised an eyebrow, placing her backpack onto one of the auditorium chairs. "Yeah, I am. Don't act so surprised," her voice was laced with sarcasm, yet I couldn't find a single sarcastic comment in what she said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, watching her go into her backpack and pull out a binder and some other materials. Her body was hunched over the bag, making it obvious that she was not able to find whatever she was truly looking for in the first place.

Her eyes lifted towards me for a second before they focused back on the bag. "I'm doing the architecture and stuff, remember?"

"Wait…" I began, not entirely certain when Annabeth ever actually agreed to doing it. Sure, I said that she would never turn it down under normal circumstances, but I was certain that she never actually accepted taking on all the architectural stuff. "Since when were you doing it?"

She shrugged, not looking towards me as she pulled a kneaded eraser out of her backpack. "Today. I thought about what you said and decided to accept it." Her grey eyes met mine as she zipped her bag and took a few steps closer towards me. "What'd you decide?" The grey eyes penetrated mine, searching for some amount of truth to disclose.

I scratched the back of my head, glancing towards the people milling around on the stage. Sure, I knew what I decided, but I didn't know if it was the right thing for me to do… "I—"

"Percy," Chiron interrupted, bringing himself over towards Annabeth and me. His eyes seemed guarded as he peered at me with suspicion. "You should be on stage," he continued, stopping next to Annabeth and me, clasping a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded, looking towards Annabeth who merely looked back at me with a blank expression. She was making me do this one on my own. "I… I'm accepting your offer," I explained evasively, hoping that Chiron wouldn't make me spell it out for him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, signaling that what I said wouldn't be enough. "I'm quitting the play."

He nodded, patting my shoulder roughly. "I knew you'd make the right decision, Percy." His lips curled into a knowing smile as his warm, brown eyes regarded me.

I made the right decision? Look, I can assure you that I didn't expect Chiron to accept it so… well. It was basically as if he knew I would do it. "Right decision?" I questioned, glancing towards Annabeth quick enough to see her roll her eyes before her expression became neutral once again.

"I think Annabeth here understands," Chiron smiled towards her before making his way back towards the stage where people had continued rehearsing their lines. I watched as Chiron pulled them altogether towards the front of the stage, and I was certain that he was delivering the news to them—the fact that I quit. Peeling my eyes away from the stage, I made sure not to make any eye contact with Rachel or Calypso, not wanting to see their reaction t to the news.

Instead, I met the knowing gaze of grey eyes, the owner of them hugging the binder to her chest. "So…?" I asked, wanting to know why I had made the right decision, or at least what Chiron considered to be the right decision.

She pursed her lips together before shifting her weight from foot to foot. "You quit. That's the right decision," her tone and explanation were short as she turned on her heels and headed towards the stage.

I couldn't help but think that she was mad with me for some reason. Maybe she didn't want me to quit? I couldn't be sure, but I was regretting making that decision after all. "Hey," I whispered loudly, picking up my pace to catch up with Annabeth, "are you mad or something?" I spoke again when I was next to her, having to match her brisk pace.

Her shoulders shrugged, not making eye contact with me. "I'm not mad," she stated simply, but her voice did nothing to match her explanation. Groaning, I kept in pace with her until she reached the stairs to the stage, putting my hand on her elbow to stop her. "What?" She snapped quickly, wrenching her elbow free of my grasp. "I'm not mad, alright?"

"I wouldn't have guessed," I muttered, earning a glare from Annabeth. "Look, what'd I do wrong?" I exasperated, lowering my voice so that the people on the stage couldn't listen in on our conversation.

She shook her head, pulling her binder closer against her. "It's nothing, alright?"

"We still have to talk," I stated, knowing well enough that after I left Annabeth's house yesterday, things would go back to being the way they had been, with us not getting along. That was the main reason for me not wanting to leave.

She bit her bottom lip, before running her tongue along it. I broke my gaze away from her lips, back to her eyes. "Percy, it can wait," she said strictly, taking the stairs to the stage one at a time.

I put my hand on her shoulder, stopping her from making it completely to the stage. She turned quickly, and I held my hands up in surrender. "We can't keep putting this off, alright? We got into the fight like six days ago, and you and I both know things haven't been the same since." She pursed her lips, tapping her foot lightly against the carpeted stairs. "How about I drive you home, and we can talk about it?" I offered, continuing before Annabeth had the chance to object. "I know Luke drove you in today, so you have no good reason to object, at all."

She raised her eyebrows, turning on heels before saying, "Don't be late."

…

I leaned against my car outside of the school's auditorium entrance, waiting for Annabeth to show up. I had seen multiple kids from the play exit and make their way to their cars, all without even acknowledging me. And the ones who did, their tones of voice made it clear that they weren't exactly happy with my quitting. Apparently, they didn't perceive my choice to be the right one like Chiron did. I wasn't even sure if Annabeth did, either.

"Hey," I turned towards the voice, a pair of green eyes and red hair accompanying it. I forgot how much I wanted to avoid her at the moment, after my semi-argument with Annabeth.

"Hi, Perce," another voice came from behind the first, this time warm brown eyes having been the match of the voice.

I sent them a grin, albeit it somewhat fake, and shifted my weight back to my feet and off my car. "Hey… Rachel, Calypso," I begrudgingly said, watching as they made their way closer to me.

They both sent me a small smile before coming to stand in front of me. I shivered slightly, not really from the cold, granted it was cold, but from the anticipation of whatever the two of them planned to say. "You quit," Calypso lamented, her milky brown eyes met mine with much sorrow.

I nodded, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. "I didn't want to ruin it for you," was my attempt at an explanation. It didn't appear to be a great one by the way she pressed her lips to one side and raised her eyebrows.

"You couldn't have ruined it for me, Percy," Calypso sighed, pushing a lock of chocolate hair from her face that had apparently annoyed her in the interim. I noted the way she used her fingers to smooth back the rest of her hair before turning my attention back towards her eyes.

I shrugged, not certain as to how she was missing the fact that I definitely could have ruined it. "I sucked at acting. Annabeth," Calypso's jaw tensed at the name, "was helping me before. And now that she isn't,…" Trailing off, I glanced towards the auditorium door, hoping to see Annabeth, yet I sadly didn't.

Calypso chuckled lightly, missing any amusement from the sound, "And, now she isn't, why? Why did she stop helping you?" I noticed the change in tone as the conversation took on a new direction. "Why wouldn't Annabeth help out her best friend?" Her voice was innocent as well as something else as she cocked her head slightly to the side and rolled onto the outside of her feet.

"Um…" I began, not wanting to walk around telling the whole world about the fact that Annabeth and I were on ridiculously rocky ground, only getting rockier. "It's… It's… It's complicated."

She raised her thin eyebrows, stuffing her gloved hands into her pockets. "It seems like everything is complicated between you and Annabeth," she added earnestly, blowing out a breath that was white in the frigid air.

I shook my head, knowing that wasn't the truth, and no matter what situation I was in with Annabeth, I wouldn't let anyone paint a false picture of her. "It's normal for stuff to happen between friends. I mean, it's really my fault anyways," I added, remembering the things I had said in the big fight I had gotten into with Annabeth after Calypso left; the same happened New Year's Day when the words I chose weren't exactly… nice.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for everything that happens between you and Annabeth," Calypso said softly, rolling her bottom lip under her teeth. "She's not perfect, Perce."

Obviously, Annabeth wasn't perfect. No one was perfect, not to be close to quoting a Hannah Montana song, but I also knew that Annabeth was the closest thing to the perfect human being. "She's pretty damn close to it," I stated, rubbing my hand along my jaw before stuffing it in my pocket to protect it from the cold.

Calypso's expression became sorrowful, her eyes gazing at me with pity. "How do you expect to be friends with her when you think that she's perfect?" Her eyes searched my face before she glanced away from my cold expression.

"I have no problem being friends with Annabeth. Every friendship had issues," I deadpanned, clenching my jaw at the allegations that Calypso appeared to be making. There was truly no issue between Annabeth and me besides ones that best friends tended to have. Plus, Annabeth was pretty damn near close to perfect.

Rachel cleared her throat, forcing Calypso and me to shift our eyes towards her. "I'm going to go warm up the car, so that it's ready when it's time to leave." She sent Calypso a look that I couldn't decipher before crunching her way across the parking lot towards, I was assuming, her car.

Red lights illuminated Calypso's saddened expression before she shivered noticeably. I sighed, realizing that she must have been freezing in the thin jacket. "Here," I pulled my jacket off, offering it to her at which she shook her head, "you're freezing. I'll be fine."

"No, I'm good," she protested, shivering again before a small, knowing smile filled her mouth. "You'll just be cold if I were to take your jacket." Her eyes still glanced longingly at the jacket, and I knew she was raging an internal battle over whether or not to take the jacket.

"Just take the jacket, Calypso," I chuckled, dropping it into her hands the second they touched it. I figured I wouldn't give her time to change her mind.

She sent me a weak smile before mumbling, "Thanks." I nodded, watching as she slipped her arms into my jacket carefully and held it closed. "Look, I didn't mean anything bad about Annabeth…" She began, her voice honest as her eyes met mine.

I nodded, pushing my lips together. If I knew one thing about Calypso, I knew she was extremely honest about quite a few things. This time, she was certainly being honest. "I just figured since you guys didn't get along…" She walked towards me, leaning against my car sideways.

"You act like I hate the girl," Calypso laughed under her breath, puffs of white air coming out of her mouth. Well, I mean, all signs seemed to point to yes… She must have noticed my expression as she continued, "I don't hate her, Percy. I really don't even know her that well, but I do know that you would do anything for her. I just… I don't think she deserves that…"

I raised my eyebrows, searching Calypso's face for some hidden meaning as to why she said that. I couldn't find one. "Well… She's my best friend. She would do anything for me, too," I added uncertainly, breaking my gaze away from Calypso for that very reason. Still, I knew she caught the uncertainty.

"Percy," she said lightly, causing me to bring my gaze back towards her, "do you love her?"

"Of course," I answered quickly, shrugging a shoulder. Annabeth was my best friend, so it was pretty obvious that I loved her.

Calypso shook her head, taking a step closer to me as she peered up into my eyes. "Percy…" she opened her mouth, nothing coming out for a few seconds, "…I meant, as more than a best friend? Do you love Annabeth, romantically?"

I chuckled for no apparent reason, trying to play off what Calypso asked. She looked at me expectantly. "Well, I mean," I scratched the back of my head, uncomfortably, "no, I don't. How could I possibly love her? It's… We're not… You know, we're friends. You know, yeah, we're friends. So… I mean, no… No, I don't… I don't love her." I sputtered off, shaking my head in disbelief at what Calypso asked.

She shrugged as though not convinced, tucking a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "Are you sure?"

"Well, yeah," I answered, tossing my palms up to show that I wasn't hiding or bluffing. I think I'd know if I were in love with Annabeth or something…

Her eyebrows rose as she nodded lightly, as if processing the information. There was half a minute of silence as I took in her expression and the way her brown eyes looked saddened in understanding. "I'm sad that you decided to quit," Calypso said ultimately, changing the subject.

I was thankful for the subject change. "Hey, now, don't be sad about it," I grinned, not liking the way Calypso looked when she was saddened. Sure, she was still ridiculously pretty, but happy definitely was better on her just like it would have been for anyone else.

She smiled while shaking her head; still, her eyes seemed downcast. "I think you would have been great," Calypso complimented lightly, slanting her head to the side.

"Nah, I think you got that wrong," I laughed, knowing well enough that I sucked at Shakespeare and the play as a whole. "You can't argue that one."

She merely shrugged, affirming what I said. "Will you at least still visit?"

I scratched the back of my neck, glancing downwards to meet her expectant eyes. "I don't know… I mean, I have swim practice every day of the week now that break is over, after school, not just in the morning. So…"

A slight frown found a way to her lips as she nodded in understanding. "It has just seemed like…" Her voice trailed off as she dropped her gaze from mine.

"Just seemed like what?" I bent my knees to be level with her face, making her meet my gaze. The second it did, I noticed that sadness swirled in her brown eyes as I felt her warm breath hit my face.

A wisp of a smile covered her features, a cheerless one albeit. "It seemed like we were starting to be friends or something again. I guess I just sort of liked it… I missed it," she added honestly, meeting my gaze again to search my green eyes.

I smiled slightly at just how different Calypso could be from Annabeth. She had no problem expressing how she felt, and she definitely didn't snap at me for wanting to know more, not that I had a problem with Annabeth doing that really. Sure, it was one of the things that annoyed me, but I mean, hey, it was also one of the things that made Annabeth, well, Annabeth. "Those were the times, weren't they?" I asked, bringing myself back to the conversation and warm eyes that continued to search my face. "You know, I missed it too," I amended with honesty, knowing that there was no reason not to be honest around Calypso.

"I did too," she breathed, leaving me with nothing to really say. She had already said that, anyways.

Leaving a silence between us, the two of us met each other's gazes as Calypso's eyes searched mine. I noted the fact that her skin was still slightly tanned as it always seemed to be. For some reason, she and Annabeth could be on the beach for a day and retain the tan for months. Yet, that may have been where the similarities ended as I took in the rest of Calypso's soft features before I met her gaze again. For a second, her gaze dropped lower on my face, before it met my eyes again. And before I even knew what was happening, the last thing I saw were her warm, inviting brown eyes before her lips met mine, and my lips met hers.

I can tell you right now that I still don't know who initiated that kiss. It might have been me. It might have been Calypso. It might have been mutual. I had no idea who it was as my lips brushed against hers for the first time. It was different than any kiss I had with Annabeth before, something unknown and mysterious seeming to fill the warmth that radiated from her lips. There wasn't that tumbling stomach feeling that I felt before, but instead it was a lightness filling my body, not something like my brain turning to mush. Sure, it was warm, soft, and I guess nice, but it wasn't something that made my brain melt and left me incoherent. It was nice though, in the idea that you had found something new, because I had never kissed another girl besides Annabeth until that moment, but it was different. It was definitely different.

"Calypso," I muttered against her warm lips before pulling away and resting my head on her forehead, "I can't do this. It's—"

"Annabeth," she added solemnly, a sad smile covering her features once again. I did my best to not glance at her lips, not wanting to feel any guilt for possibly being the one who initiated the kiss in the first place.

"No, that's not what I was going to say," I mumbled barely above a whisper, not even certain if Calypso could hear me. By the way she raised her eyebrows, I was certain she had. "It's really not her… It's just that…" And to be honest, I didn't know what it was that made me not want to kiss Calypso. I probably should have wanted to, knowing the kind of person she was, how nice she was. Numerous guys fell for Calypso, and here I was rejecting her when she finally fell for a guy, the wrong guy.

"I understand," she inserted, relieving me from having to explain something that I couldn't seem to grasp my mind around, "you don't like me like that." Her voice was a whisper as she stood up straight and slipped my jacket from off her shoulders. "Just forget about that, okay? Let's just go back to being friends," she uttered softly, taking a few steps away as she plastered a smile on her face, probably for my benefit, and handed me my jacket. "I'll see you around, Percy," the corner of her lips twitched slightly upwards

I watched silently as she turned her back to me and walked in the same direction as Rachel had. What was I thinking kissing her? Maybe I was just curious as to what it was like to kiss someone else besides Annabeth. Maybe I was just going through the motions, and it was truly Calypso who initiated the kiss. Maybe… There were too many "maybe"'s swirling around my head as I remembered the way her warm lips were pressed against mine and moving in synch.

"I see you're not keeping your life on hold anymore," Annabeth stated simply, walking towards the passenger door. I jumped at the sound of her voice, realizing that she must have been watching since, at least, the kiss, before I met her grey eyes from across my car. Her expression was guarded as well as her grey eyes took on a muted shade, one that I wasn't accustomed to in Annabeth's eyes.

I scratched the back of my head, clicking the unlock button on my set of keys. Annabeth quickly got into the car as I followed suit, sighing. This was not going as I expected. "Annabeth," I began, closing the driver's side door after me as she concentrated much too hard on buckling her seatbelt, "it's—"

"There's nothing you need to explain," she cut me off, glancing towards me quickly with a misplaced smile on her face. "You're just living your life, Percy, and I told you that you shouldn't drop everything for me, just because I don't like… Calypso." Her face became taut as she said Calypso's name before widening the obviously fake grin.

I cleared my throat, putting my keys into the ignition and starting her up. "So, you're not mad?" I asked, testing the waters as I backed out of the parking lot.

Her gaze met mine quickly, an expression covering her face that I couldn't seem to place before it was quickly washed away with neutrality. "Percy, it's like what you said on New Year's Day. We're best friends, and we're just that." She pressed her lips into a straight line as she nodded stiffly.

Focusing my attention back onto the road, I did my best not to be hurt by the fact that Annabeth seemed to be accepting that I kissed someone besides her with flying colors. I mean, she had to care, right? Sure, she never explicitly said that she liked me or anything, and sure, she would normally move on to her next boyfriend shortly after seeming to like me… But, I just thought… "So, you're okay with it?"

She raised an eyebrow, directing her gaze out the front window. "Yes, Percy, I am okay with it," her voice taut as she flashed yet another smile in my direction before focusing back out the window.

"Calypso and I are just friends," I explained, not wanting Annabeth to falsely believe that anything was happening between the two of us. "I swear. We agreed to forget about the kiss…" Trailing off, I glanced over to see that Annabeth's expression had yet to change from the one of neutrality she had used to cover up some other expression. "We need to talk about those fights though," I added seriously, feeling that I had done enough to dispel Annabeth's possible beliefs that something was going on between Calypso and me.

"What about them?" Her voice was hoarse as she fiddled with the knob for the heat, ultimately deciding to turn it up slightly. She then clasped her hands back in her lap tightly, her fingers turning white.

Well, to be honest, I wasn't sure what because it was normally Annabeth who brought up any kind of discussion or something. This time, she seemed to be the one who wanted to do whatever it took to avoid that discussion, something that I normally did, and I certainly had no idea how to deal with the reversal in roles. "Um, well, there was today…" I began shakily, wishing that Annabeth would just take control or something, "What happened?"

She didn't answer right away, letting silence be the immediate answer to my question. "What are you talking about?" She finally asked when she broke the silence, not looking towards me but still out at the road.

I scratched the back of my head quickly before placing that hand back on the wheel. "You seemed mad…"

Annabeth shrugged, shifting slightly in her seat. "You quit the play, and I needed to get to work. You grabbed me to stop me from getting to work on the architecture which you were so insistent on having me do. It annoyed me," she stated the facts with no infliction in her voice. "The play is coming up quickly. Therefore, I really needed to get started."

"Oh, yeah, of course," I mumbled, wondering how she could make things sound so obvious when they certainly weren't to me before. "Look…about the stuff I said before…"

"Which stuff?" she asked uncharacteristically calm, yet when her grey eyes met mine, the neutrality was gone. "The part where you lied to me about Calypso, saying nothing was going on between you two?" The snap in her voice became evident as she spit out the words.

"Annabeth…" I began, grasping at straws to attempt to water down what was about to become yet another argument.

"I saw you kissing," she stated simply, cutting me off from any explanation that I could possibly give.

I shook my head, clenching my jaw. "It meant nothing," and it truly did. That was the plain and simple truth.

She raised an eyebrow, facing me for the first time since we had gotten into the car. "Really? Since when do kisses mean nothing? I'm pretty sure they mean something when you kiss the other person back." Annabeth snapped, tilting her head to the side quickly with a sardonic smile on her face.

"Yeah, really?" I retorted, holding onto the steering wheel tightly as I forced myself to pay attention to the road, not wanting to get us into a car accident. Nevertheless, I was taking out my annoyance on the wheel.

Without even looking, I could tell that she had rolled her eyes. "Yes, Percy, kisses don't actually mean nothing, especially not when you kiss the person back." She pressed onward, changing the way in which she tightly grasped her hands.

"Oh, really? Are you sure about that?" I question, feeling my voice raise slightly as each time Annabeth dumped being my best friend for her next boyfriend filled my head. "Then every damn time you kissed me but got a boyfriend not even a month later meant something? Because I sure as hell don't think it meant anything to you," I spat, hating the taste of the words in my mouth and thankful to get them out.

She shot me a look, which I assumed, since I wasn't looking at her, to be dirty, before twisting back in her seat to sit forward. "You're an idiot."

"You never forget to tell me," I sarcastically grinned into the rearview mirror as she pursed her lips tightly. "Thanks for that. I had almost forgotten since the last time you told me seven days ago. Hah, but thanks really for reminding me. I am an idiot, so of course I would forget that."

Annabeth shook her head, crossing her arms tightly. "This is exactly why I didn't want to discuss the fights," she muttered, glaring out the window at whatever trees passed by us. If looks could kill, those trees certainly would have fallen dead right then and there.

"Oh, yes, of course because you're always right," I countered, sending daggers in her direction along with that compliment. "Tell me, how the hell were we supposed to go on acting like nothing was wrong between us?"

"I don't know everything!" She snapped, raising her voice to a level higher than mine before lowering it again, steady with anger. "Everyone gets into fights, so there's no point in making a big deal over ours."

"Really?" I questioned, chuckling with no humor afterwards. "I forgot that people tell someone that their best friend is just using them or that they're using their best friend. Totally and completely normal, right? Happens to everyone now doesn't it?" I chuckled again before clenching my jaw tightly.

"So then do something about it, Percy. If you really believe that, then why the hell are we best friends?" Annabeth prodded angrily, turning her stormy grey eyes towards me with intensity. I paused, seeing her tense expression as she pushed me even harder. "If there's seriously something so wrong with our friendship like you make it out to be; if there's seriously something so wrong with my side of the friendship, then why are you still friends with me?"

"It's obvious," I grunted, speeding at a yellow light to go through it, not in the mood to stop. "You're dumb if you don't know the answer."

Her eyes flared at my last comment as she said icily. "Well, Percy, since I don't know the answer, what does that make me?"

I paused for a second, not even thinking in that time frame as I stated simply with a smug smirk on my face, "Dumb. It makes you dumb." And that, that was probably the worst thing that I could have said at a time like that.

"You're a jerk," she stated, highlighting the last word carefully as she focused out the window, tension still high throughout her body.

"Hah, funny, isn't it?" I bitterly asked, indignant that she really thought I was the jerk in the situation. "Aren't you the one who forgets we're best friends after you use me after every single break up but get a new boyfriend? Last I checked, that was you, not me."

"You know I hate being called dumb," Annabeth ignored the latter part of what I said, only addressing the first aspect.

I rolled my eyes. "Annabeth you're so damn hypocritical."

"You don't even know what the word means," she stated evenly, raising her eyebrows slightly in obvious annoyance but more than anything anger. The normal tease in her voice was completely gone.

"It means you say something is bad and do the exact same thing!" I shouted, no longer caring how loud my voice was. We were in the car, anyways, so it didn't matter. "You hate when someone doesn't give a shit about other people, but you know what? You haven't acted any better than your dad and stepmom when it came to them giving a shit about you before. You're the same damn way about me. You use me for your convenience, and when that's done, it's as if I don't even exist."

"You don't even try," she said shrilly, her voice uneven with anger yet it didn't reach the loudness that mine did.

I shook my head, glancing away from the road towards her quickly. "I try every, single time. It's you who doesn't try."

She laughed bitterly, grinding her teeth together. "I don't try? What am I supposed to do, Percy? Put my entire life on hold and still be a middle schooler?"

"No," I gritted out. Yes was what I wanted to say that very moment, but that would have just been a ridiculous suggestion. "You're supposed to be that same girl, not this one who isn't even my best friend. I don't even know you anymore, Annabeth, and I'm supposed to be your best friend. I'm supposed to have known you since you were a little kid!" I shook my head, echoing the bitter laugh that Annabeth used earlier, feeling water fill my eyes from anger…and well, sadness. "But you know what, I have no idea who the hell you are anymore."

"Don't act like I don't even care or try anymore. It's you who never tries when things aren't the way they were when we were thirteen. I'm not going to just wait around for the rest of my life, Percy. I can't just wait around," she enunciated, using her hands to make gestures.

I rolled my eyes at her ridiculous comments, "Hypocrite."

"I'm not a hypocrite, Percy," she announced, more and more anger lacing each word that came out of her mouth.

"Except you are!" I retorted, banging against the steering wheel in anger as we stopped at a red light. "You can't wait around for the rest of your life, but you have no problem at all with me doing that and just putting my life on pause so that you can use me until you get a new boyfriend."

"It's not even like that!" Annabeth yelled, meeting my glare as we stared before the red light turned green. I held it for a second longer before focusing on the road.

She didn't even get it, and that was the problem. She never seemed to get it.

"You're no better than your fucking drunk for a dad," and that, right there, was when I said the one thing that shut her up and the one thing that was absolutely wrong. Maybe I should have apologized, but I didn't, forcing all of my attention onto the darkening road in front of us. I knew it hit her hard as Annabeth gave no comeback and merely kept her attention out the passenger side window, not even seeming to have moved since the comment I made. I knew it was wrong. I knew I shouldn't have said something like that to my best friend, but I couldn't stop the angry words from tumbling out of my mouth. Still, I regretted it the second I did. "What happened?" I asked softly, trying to keep my voice level as my anger seemed drained out of me. "What happened between today and yesterday? We said we wouldn't forget those past two days," yet I was certain that we had.

She was silent, not answering me as we continued down the road. There was nothing besides the whirling of the engine and humming of the heater to fill the car with noise. It was a thick silence that engulfed the area around us. Her body remained turned towards the window, and no movement seemed to come from her.

"Do you remember what you said to me yesterday, before you fell asleep?" Annabeth asked me softly, something completely different from the anger that had filled her voice before. Her voice barely broke the silence before she finished her question and stopped talking.

I shook my head, glancing towards her quickly, not having met her grey eyes but the back of her head instead. "No, I don't. Why?" At that point, she turned slightly towards me, enough for me to make out the majority of her face from the rearview mirror.

Her mouth opened for a second before it closed, and she barely shook her head. "Percy—" she halted and pursed her lips, her eyes downcast, "There's… There's nothing we need to discuss anymore. It's obvious that you meant what you said and that—There's just … nothing we need to discuss."

"Annabeth—"

"Please," her voice was broken as it cracked on the word, and I was certain that tears began to fall as she glanced away from me and towards the window.

It was my fault. I had said the one thing that I knew would destroy her, and yet I did it with quick resolve.

Since I had broken her to that point, there was nothing more that I could do than to simply say, "Okay," and to leave it at that.

AN: SO, that "idea" from AAZ that I mentioned before was to have Calypso cause some amount of trouble, which Calypso did here. Really, it's not all AAZ's fault at all; she just said she thought that Calypso might cause trouble or be a problem due to previous actions and whatnot. WELP, that truly made me consider, and well, I guess we all know how it from here. (I probably would have come to the decision eventually… maybe.)

Well, what did y'all think? I sort of, kind of love angst… Love to know your takes on it; I always welcome suggestions as well.

Until next time,

~Jam.
26 RAK

Anonymous Review Replies

Awesomederp – can we just address the fact that I am soo jealous of the fact that you have watched Perks? And well, nope I really didn't have them in mind when writing this. I honestly never got around to reading Perks until, like, oh wow, maybe October? November? It's been on my list for over a year. That does make me consider some things in terms of character relations, so thank you!