Chapter 16

Percy

"Don't be silly," Thalia muttered harshly, her voice raspy. "This isn't your fault, Annabeth." Percy shouldn't have been eavesdropping, he knew that, but it was so easy when Annabeth had accidentally left the door open a crack when he had offered to give them some alone time.

Something that he offered after Annabeth had blatantly said, "Leave me alone."

Today was a disaster. Besides Thalia being okay, alive and talking with the same snarky attitude, he couldn't find anything else that was going good for him. He had asked Annabeth if she needed a ride, hoping to extend some sort of olive branch to the girl because whether she liked it or not they were going to be around each other for the rest of the summer. She had responded with a simple No. It was almost worse - no, it hurt more - than when she was screaming at him.

Then, he had run the truck through a pothole that was recently filled with rain, splashing him with the dirty water since all the windows were rolled down. When he finally made it to the hospital, he had a difficult time getting in to even see his cousin because apparently around here if you didn't have the same last name, you weren't family. Eventually, after multiple attempts to sweet talk the young nurses, he finally found one that fell for his charming smile and with an exaggerated eye roll, she dragged him down the hallway to Thalia's room.

He had to promise coffee at some point, but it was a minor inconvenience considering he had given the girl a wrong number.

When he eventually busted through the door an hour late, Thalia cracked a smile. "Classic." She said, her smile widening as he reached out to give her a hug as best he could when she was laying on the bed in three different casts.

Annabeth looked up at him, her expression blank and generally unimpressed. He did his best to ignore her, but it was harder than he had hoped for during the drive here. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, thoughts that floated through his head whenever he tried to sleep at night, but anytime he tried to scratch deeper than the surface with her, she ended up biting his head off. Or, maybe, he was just bad with words. He didn't know. Maybe, it didn't matter - if they were going to fight more than they talked, who cared who's fault it was?

He sighed, leaning back against the cold wall and rubbing his eyes, trying to shut out Thalia and Annabeth's conversation as best he could. He hadn't slept well last night, and he gladly accepted Piper's offer to go retrieve the self-serve, lukewarm coffee from the waiting room.

She returned a few minutes later, eyes bright and awake as if she had slept like a princess the night before. Of course, Percy had never seen her look bad in the few weeks he had been here. It didn't look as if she tried very hard, but there was never a hair out of place, her clothes perfectly ironed, her nails always painted a new color every few days, never chipped.

"Thalia will be okay," Piper said, passing him the bitter coffee. He took a grateful sip, nose wrinkling at the liquid that barely tasted edible.

Percy started, confused for a second as he realized that she was reassuring him, mistaking the stressed line imprinted on his forehead and the black under his eyes as a sign of worry for Thalia. He immediately felt guilty. Of course she would think that, since they were here about his cousin, not for his therapy lesson over a girl or something.

"Yeah." He finally responded, "Yeah, she will."

Piper raised an eyebrow at the delay. "Anything else?" She questioned, doubt flicking in her eyes and an expression that he couldn't quite make out. He could never quite decide on the color - today, they were brown, reflecting the dusty air that seemed to float through the hospital, never settling.

He had never felt particularly comfortable around Piper. The most he knew about her was that Jason liked her, and she was extremely pretty - though, admittedly, not his type. She made him nervous, not in the same way Annabeth did, but he always felt like Piper knew what he was thinking, like she could tell the way his skin tingled and his mind raced whenever Annabeth was around, as if Piper could read the disgusting thoughts that entered his mind when they argued. In a way, he figured she could. She seemed good at reading people.

"Just…" He started, not knowing where to go with that sentence, running a hand through his already messed up hair.

Piper took a drink of coffee, the sound of it filling the awkward silence. "Annabeth will come around. Just give her time." The fact that it was so obvious who he was talking about was embarrassing, a blush creeping up on his cheeks.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the rim of his cup, the white stained brown now. "Why does everybody assume I'm looking for her approval?"

Piper raised an eyebrow. "I never said you were." She licked her lips, hesitating before continuing. "Listen, there's a lot of things you don't understand."

"So everybody keeps telling me," Percy grumbled.

"Serious." Piper stressed. "One day, she'll tell you."

"I doubt that." Percy finished off the coffee, finally feeling the slightest of spikes run through his veins.

"She will." Piper promised, confident and sure of herself. "Right now, though, I'm not even sure she knows what to say."

Percy didn't respond. He doubted Annabeth would ever even speak to him again, let alone start sharing her deepest secrets with him. He wondered where Piper was getting her information, because it wasn't accurate in the least. He tossed his cup across the hallway at a trash can, making it perfectly before heading back into Thalia's room to go visit with his cousin.

-0-

After about thirty minutes - in which his cousin managed to deliver at least thirty insults, though he let them slide since she was currently on her almost deathbed - the three of them were kicked out because she had to take her meds and would subsequently be passing out. Piper had somehow convinced Annabeth to get in a car with him, but he figured that was mostly because neither of them had wanted to wait thirty minutes for their parents to get there.

"We should go do something." Piper announced from the back seat, bouncing up and down to the radio. "Cheer us up."

Annabeth crossed her arms, looking generally sour. "I'd rather not."

Percy watched Piper roll her eyes in the rearview mirror, "Don't be ridiculous." Annabeth's friend chastised. Percy was impressed by her bravery - Annabeth was not in a good mood. "It'll be fun. Percy, go to Annabeth's instead of dropping me off. We can go on a trail ride."

Annabeth looked conflicted, but Percy knew she couldn't say no to that offer. If there was anything he had learned about Annabeth, it was that she loved riding. He normally would have made a joke about being a horse girl, or hick stuff, but he thought back to what Piper had said and left it alone.

"Fine." Annabeth grumbled, turning her legs so they were as far as possible from Percy's.

Piper squealed, clapping her hands once before chattering away again, going on about the rest of the summer, what kind of backpack she was getting for the school year. Percy was glad she was there, despite his constant urge to be with Annabeth alone. She made things less awkward, filling the tension with her bubbly energy. She constantly interjected with comments on baby animals or pointing out the scenery on the way there, ignoring the dirty looks Annabeth shot at her everytime she spoke.

Percy saddled up Blackjack, who despite everything, Percy had actually started to enjoy his company. He thought he and the horse had kind of an understanding - Percy didn't know what he was doing, so Blackjack was much better behaved for him than anyone else. Maybe the horse felt bad that he had to put up with Annabeth for the better part of most days, so he took it easy on Percy.

Percy was feeling pretty proud of himself that he had gotten the saddle on all on his own, but Annabeth came over right before he got on, judging his work.

"This stirrup is too loose." She said, leaning down to fix it before heading back to her own horse. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, secretly grateful for her help because without it he would've spent the entire ride uncomfortable.

Piper had already trotted out of the barn, leaving the two of them literally in the dust.

Annabeth spit into the ground, huffing, "Gross," She complained, before following her friend. Percy went last, a little because he had convinced himself he was being a gentleman, mostly because he was the slowest.

The ride was pretty, he had to admit that. They took a different route this time than usual, winding around the backside of the creek and into a more shaded part of the forest which he was grateful for in this heat. Annabeth and Piper did most of the talking, chatting about insignificant things like school and the rest of the summer. Percy tuned them out, trying to focus on the chirp of birds in the trees, the rush of the creek in the distance. It calmed him, and god knows he needed that after the last couple days.

"Oh!" Piper said loudly, pulling tight on her horse's reins, making Percy have to fumble around with his own horse after he noticed she had stopped suddenly. "Oh my gods, you guys, I'm sorry." She said apologetically, but she didn't look extremely sorry when she gave Annabeth a smile. "My dad said I need to come home, he's on his way right now so I probably should head back."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at Piper, giving her a glare that Percy had been on the receiving end of far too many times. "Is that a joke?" Annabeth asked, her voice dangerously slow.

Piper winced, as if even she could get scared of Annabeth sometimes. "No, sorry." She said, giving them a wave before breaking into a canter, her hair whipping behind her.

Percy swallowed. "Uh - we can - I mean, we can head back too." He stuttered. "If you want."

Annabeth sighed, picking at her cuticles and not meeting his eyes. "No." She said finally. Percy tried not to look surprised, but he figured he didn't do a very good job because Annabeth saw him flinch and cracked a sliver of a smile. "It's a nice day out." She added, her voice shy. "Besides, the horses need the exercise." She glanced down again, a blush creeping on her cheeks.

"Of course." Percy said, trying to stifle the grin that appeared on his lips at their first civil conversation in weeks.

They rode for a couple more minutes, Percy catching up to her and riding side by side. Annabeth shifted nervously in her saddle as Percy wracked his brain for something worth saying. Nice day? How's life? He couldn't come up with anything substantial, but was luckily saved when Annabeth decided to speak up.

"I doubt she actually had to go." Annabeth muttered.

Percy chuckled lightly, "I'm getting the idea this was a setup," He agreed, nodding slightly.

She cracked a smile, her cheek lifting as he glanced over at her cautiously, trying to gauge her response. "I'm gonna kill her," She said, shaking her head and making a finger gun in the air, but Percy didn't actually think she was that angry with Piper.

"So," Percy stated after another beat of awkward silence, breathing out his mouth in a little puff.

"So," Annabeth agreed sullenly. "Thalia said we're not allowed to fight anymore," She said, twirling the college ring she wore on a little gold chain.

Percy laughed, loudly this time. "I know." He said, thinking back to the conversation he had overheard earlier this morning.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, turning slightly in her saddle to face him, anger suddenly seeping into her expression. "You what?"

He held up his hands in defense, before remembering he didn't know what he was doing on a horse and went back to holding on for dear life, "You left the door cracked," He finally said, and she turned back to stare at the open field they were approaching, her body slumping tiredly again.

"Sorry," She breathed, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Just a habit." She said.

"S'all good." Percy muttered, clenching the saddlehorn. "Is there-" He started, but she cut him off, speaking over him.

"You wanna-" She stopped, realizing she had talked over him, and blushed.

"Sorry." They both said, which made Percy blush harder and nervously chuckle.

"Go ahead," He gestured with a wave of his hand. Gods, this was bad. It reminded him of a time he went on a date in his freshman year of high school. Of course, Annabeth was a lot cuter and just generally more exciting, but still - the same air of awkwardness was there, the same butterfly nerves in the pit of his stomach.

Annabeth bit her lip before continuing, the bundle of nerves traveling lower. So, maybe not like freshman year - at all. "We could go faster, if you want. I mean, if you're comfortable with it. I can help you."

He wasn't comfortable with it, but he wasn't about to let Annabeth know that. "Uh - sure." He said intelligently.

She laughed gently, which was nice to hear. It had been a while since he had heard her laugh genuinely in front of him. "It'll be okay. Promise." She said, kicking Lily into a trot to get ahead of Percy. She started to demonstrate, using her legs to move with the horse but Percy found the whole thing utterly distracting.

Her legs tensed, her hair blew in front of him, and her ass was tighter than he had remembered in the denim that she had picked out for the day. Which, yes, was a terrible thing to be looking at when she was trying to teach him how not to die, but he also was a teenage boy who was finding it harder and harder to ignore the churn in his lower stomach that always appeared whenever Annabeth was around.

"Okay, you wanna try?" She asked, placing a hand on the back of her saddle to turn and talk to him.

"Huh?" Percy asked, then shook his head. "Yeah. Yeah, sure, sorry."

She gave him a questioning look. "You okay?"

"Yep." He said, flashing her a thumbs up and what he hoped looked like a confident grin. What was he supposed to say? No, I wasn't listening because I was checking you out? The reaction to that was more likely to cause him death than trying out this whole trotting thing with zero instruction.

She didn't look convinced, but she turned around, edging Lily back into a trot. Percy gulped, kicked Blackjack lightly, and he picked up.

It was… bouncy. Annabeth made it look easy. She looked genuinely happy, and he figured she would be even happier if they broke into a run. Percy, on the other hand, was uncomfortable and scared. He bounced all over the place, held onto the saddlehorn for dear life and prayed to a God he didn't believe in. A million hours later, which was probably more like five minutes, Annabeth slowed. The look on his face must have been priceless, because she busted up laughing.

"Glad you find my misery so funny," He grumbled.

She grinned. "Again?"

He made a face. "Really?" He complained.

"Practice makes perfect."

Percy doubted he would ever enjoy this form of torture, but he urged Blackjack into a trot again, following Annabeth. It was slightly better this time, his body a little more used to the jerky motion. Besides, he would do this a million times over if it meant Annabeth wasn't annoyed with him anymore. He definitely enjoyed her smile more than that glare he had become so accustomed too.

Happy Sunday, sorry this kinda took a while. I've been having a little bit of writer's block, but it's about to get easier. Hope y'all enjoyed this civil experience for the two of them. Yes, they will be getting along slightly better after this, but no the fighting is not done. ALSO, please expect some exciting chapters soon. They should be up in a few days, since I have a lot of it written.

Love y'all. Review!

-a