Hey! I hope you guys are doing well, and that you enjoy this chapter! Disclaimer: With the limited spanish I know, and you have permission to tell me off if I'm wrong, but
For the next couple of days, Annabeth avoided Percy like the plague. It's not like much changed. She just avoided going to the pool area when he was there, didn't go to the bar at nights anymore, and stayed holed up in her room when Percy was doing his shifts downstairs.
It was Thursday, Annabeth was almost losing track of the days. She finally fell into a routine. Waking up, taking a shower, looking over her measurements, and working on good dimensions. She only had to go to the gym once or twice a week now, for updates with the team and Mr. D.
The team mostly worked on getting materials, and information to Annabeth, while she worked on designing the actual thing from her home. Piper was getting worried about her- she barely went out unless she knew Percy wasn't there.
Basically, she tried to act normal, when she clearly wasn't. Like, ever. Percy, thankfully, stayed his distance, aware that she was trying to keep away until he officially broke up with Rachel. She didn't want to do anything, and nor did he. Annabeth wouldn't be able to cope- she would be too guilty even if she hugged him knowing that he was with Rachel.
Rachel didn't deserve that, and although Percy had said he would end it, tell her the truth, she had her doubts. She tried to push them away as far away as she could, but the thing was Percy was just too damn nice. She worried he wouldn't be able to do it. And Rachel would continue to be strung along.
She'd actually met up with Rachel on Wednesday, yesterday. It was nice. They talked, and Rachel ignored the dark circles around Annabeth's eyes. She politely disregarded Annabeth's uncomfortable faces, and pretended she didn't notice the times Annabeth stopped herself, trying to tell her everything. But that was Percy's job, not hers. Rachel didn't mention anything about Percy breaking up with her. And Annabeth didn't know how she felt about that.
Well, she felt a mix of feelings, most which she couldn't identify.
Rachel was just the type of person she wanted to open up to. She was kind of like Piper, but not exactly. Piper was magnetic, she made you want to be friends with her. She made you comfortable just by appearance. Rachel was intense, but her appeal didn't come from the fact she was funny, or that she was good at making people feel better, she just made Annabeth feel normal.
She knew when to ignore things- she knew what Annabeth didn't want to talk about, or what she did. But she never forced anything.
She really hoped she didn't lose her as a friend when this was all over. Really, really didn't.
But since the confrontation with her and Percy, Annabeth always felt guilty around her. They'd almost kissed, goddamnit. She felt like a horrible person. Like she was hiding a secret. And in truth, she was. What made her feel even more guilty, was that she knew Percy was eventually going to break up with her.
All in all, she felt like shit. Like absolutely crap. And as much as Rachel was a good person that shouldn't be pitied, the girl seemed to have everything figured out, Annabeth felt so sympathetic for her. And in a way, for herself. She felt like she hadn't slept well in a while, awake from all the… sadness, guilt, whatever she was feeling.
She checked her phone for the millionth time today, to see if she had an DM's from Percy. She didn't know why she was expecting anything, she shouldn't.
But they had admitted that they still loved each other, right? That constituted something. So why couldn't she just text him. It wasn't a big deal at all.
She went to her DM's and tapped out a message to him. "When are you doing it?" She wrote, and then deleted it. That sounded so possessive and weird. She tried again. "When are you going to tell her the truth?" She fixed it. Much better. That sounded so much kinder, not just kinder, but honest.
She pressed the send button, and it only took a couple seconds for him to respond. "Tomorrow." He said. "I promise," another text message came in, just as she began typing her reply.
Percy's promises were always genuine. She deleted what she was writing, and typed again. "Okay."
It felt so terse and awkward. Weird, she'd never been awkward with Percy, they'd always been comfortable with each other mentally and physically. Awkward silences never came, ever.
She looked around the crowded cafe she had been sitting in. People were talking and sipping coffee. Annabeth had her laptop in front of her, and was supposed to be working. Of course, she wasn't, she was preoccupied with texting Percy.
She looked to the design on her screen. It was from a project she had been consulting on. Along with the gym, she also looked over other architecture projects to make sure they were safe and ready to start being built. The building looked strong enough, it just needed some supports. She added a note on the side, quickly typing it in the small comment box.
Sighing, she checked back to her phone. She was too distracted for this, she'd look at the building later. She shut her laptop, and shoved it in her bag, and then picked up her coffee, getting up to leave.
With her phone in one hand, and drink in the other, she exited the shop, and then promptly ran into none other than Jason. Thalia's brother, and Piper's… well, not Piper's anything yet, she supposed.
"Annabeth." Jason smiled weakly. Her coffee had spilled, and she was frowning down at the puddle that was forming between them. "I'm sorry, let me help you with that."
"What's done is done Jason. I'm good." She said, and then picked up the cup, ignoring the spill. She threw it into a nearby trash can. "How are you?" She asked, looking up and down at his expectant eyes.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, okay." He said. "Uh, just working at the office."
"With Piper." Annabeth said nonchalantly.
He almost visibly flinched. Annabeth found it kind of funny, he looked entirely smitten. "Uh yeah."
"How are things going?" She asked.
"Okay." Jason repeated, "Uh, I gotta go, but it was nice seeing you Annabeth. Um," he stuttered, "Percy-"
Annabeth shut him down. "I know." She said, and then walked away, shaking her head. The entire interaction was weird. So weird. She wasn't sure what to say. And the thing about Percy, that was even more out of line.
She did know things were getting sorted out, and that was all that mattered right now. And soon, she didn't know how soon, but soon enough, perhaps, Rachel would have had her feelings spared, and her and Percy would… she wasn't sure. Maybe be together?
She hadn't considered that before seriously, but now that the air had officially been cleared, she was. And she didn't hate the idea.
I hope you all enjoyed it! I think you guys will really enjoy the next three chapters. Actually those are the last three chapters too. Chapter thirty-five will be the last chapter of this. Which is kind of crazy, right?
Also, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter! Thank you all for your comments and support.
Also, I'd appreciate it if you could fill out the poll on my profile. After I finish writing the Knelt by Her Notebook sequel, I'm going to start another story, and I'd like to know what you guys want to read next most.
Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you are all safe and healthy! Leave a review! I'd love to know what you think!
TheLil'Lion