8:12AM WISE GIRL
Good morning, Seaweed Brain
Annabeth had fallen into the habit of wishing him a good day, and this morning was no exception. She lounged in her bed, drinking in the sunlight that poured through her windows. It had been almost two months since he first messaged her, and she found herself relaxing more, taking his advice to "enjoy the little things", and that currently meant not rushing around her room to get ready for what was going to be a stressful day.
Today they were officially starting the campaign.
Twitter accounts had been made, Annabeth had contacted local news agencies to get the word out, and all day was to be spent handing out fliers downtown to try and reach as many people as possible.
Luke and Thalia had agreed to help, with Grover promising to try and make it, but even so Annabeth was overwhelmed with worry that it wouldn't be enough. She had already begun polling online and across campus to see what the general consensus was and it seemed most people believed one of two things;
One, a temple for all Gods was more fair.
Two, Athena was a pretentious bitch.
No one used those exact words, but the subtext was there. New Athenians didn't like anyone they saw as a "High-and-Mightier than Thou" sort, which was ironic considering it housed all the Gods, but it seemed that despite everything Athena had done for humanity, she was viewed as sort of a know-it-all. It would be an uphill battle to improve the public's perception, but Annabeth was sure she could do it with careful planning.
8:15AM SEAWEED BRAIN
hey! morning wise girl!
sleep ok? no nightmares?
8:15AM WISE GIRL
No nightmares.
8:16AM SEAWEED BRAIN
good.
u wont forget what i told u, right?
He had made her promise to message him if she was ever kept up at night again, and while Annabeth protested, she was grateful for it. That first night she mentioned her horrible dreams, he texted her until she had fallen back asleep, and she had gotten the deepest sleep in years.
Flipping onto her back, Annabeth mused about their relationship as she typed. Seaweed Brain was getting bolder by the day and she… well, she was encouraging him, wasn't she?
8:17AM WISE GIRL
Of course not.
8:17AM SEAWEED BRAIN
good. good.
big day?
8:17AM WISE GIRL
How'd you guess?
8:18AM SEAWEED BRAIN
wasnt hard haha
everyday seems like a big day when it comes to u
8:18AM WISE GIRL
Have some errands to run in the city
Nothing exciting.
8:19AM SEAWEED BRAIN
no kidding?
me too!
maybe we'll run into each other lol
8:19AM WISE GIRL
Highly unlikely.
The city is huge, afterall.
No monster hunting this weekend?
8:19AM SEAWEED BRAIN
uh yeah im taking a break
someone told me it was stupid and i decided to listen to them
doesnt stop the monsters from finding me tho
8:20AM WISE GIRL
But they usually can't get past the barrier?
8:20AM SEAWEED BRAIN
i dont always stay inside the barrier, wise girl
8:20AM WISE GIRL
Ah. Okay.
Promise you'll be safe?
8:20AM SEAWEED BRAIN
promise.
cant die before i get a chance to meet my wise girl
that would suuuuuck
His Wise Girl, he had called her. Annabeth's head felt hot and fuzzy, like she'd taken a shot of whiskey. She liked it.
8:21AM WISE GIRL
Indeed, that would suck.
I have to go, talk to you tonight?
8:21AM SEAWEED BRAIN
ttyl
3
And now he was sending hearts! Her own heart thumping like a giggling school girl's, Annabeth flipped her phone off and hopped out of bed, shifting through her clothes until she found the grey blazer she wanted to wear. That would look official but not too dressed up, right? New Athenians were known for their stubborn population- what did one wear while convincing them that their long held beliefs were incorrect?
She wouldn't know. But, giving herself a once over in the mirror, she did know she looked good. And sometimes, that was enough to get people to listen to you.
A bus ride later and she got off on the corner they decided to camp out on, a plaza stretching out between buildings and a popular throughway for foot traffic. Luke had already set up a folding table, draped with a nice grey cloth and boxes of fliers stacked behind it. Annabeth hoped that similar setups were already spread throughout the city, the teams she had assembled prepared with their talking points and fliers as well.
Luke and Thalia were chatting away, and Thalia had done her own version of dressing up, which simply meant she had left the leather jacket at home and wore a black long sleeve shirt instead of her usual graphic tank tops and tees.
"Yo, Annabeth!" Thalia waved as she approached.
Luke smiled and handed her a coffee, "You ready for a busy day?"
"Always." Annabeth accepted the cup gratefully, sipping at the bitter beverage as she dodged Luke's gaze. She had been avoiding him ever since the day at his office where he had gotten too close, but he acted as if everything were normal, maybe she should too. Even so, Annabeth wanted to set the record straight if he did have feelings for her- there was just no way she could see herself reciprocating.
Thalia seemed distracted, so she took a deep breath, "Look, Luke-"
"What's going on over there?"
The both turned to look at where Thalia pointed. There, across the plaza, another table was being set up, sea green cloth and boxes of more fliers that looked suspiciously familiar. And, of course, there he was.
Percy Jackson.
Again.
With a huff, Annabeth marched over, Luke and Thalia trailing behind her.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Huh?" A mop of black hair poked up from behind the table, Percy standing from his crouched position, "Oh, hey! It's you! And Thalia- 'sup Thalia?"
"'Sup Percy."
"And… who are you?" He squinted at Luke.
"Luke."
"Nice. 'Sup Luke?"
"'Sup."
"Stop… stop 'supping' each other!" Annabeth felt like pulling her hair out. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here." she repeated.
Percy looked surprised, "Oh, uh, my dad asked me to help out with this temple thing… we're passing out fliers and stuff. Right, Frank?"
The one who must have been Frank, a large Chinese boy setting down boxes, nearly jumped out of his skin at suddenly being the center of attention, "Oh, um… right?"
"No, no you can't be here!" Annabeth nearly stamped her foot, pointing to their own set up, "We are trying to- to do the same thing!"
Percy frowned, "...You're campaigning for my dad?"
"No." It required effort to stop herself from rolling her eyes, "We're campaigning against him!"
"Oh." Percy shrugged, "Well good luck I guess!"
"Don't you 'good luck' me! You have to move!"
Percy didn't seem to like being ordered around. His frown deepened, voice taking on an edge of annoyance. "Uh, I don't? And we're already set up so…"
"So un-set up!"
"Why, so you can steal a temple from my dad?"
"You- you're the one stealing it!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Hey uh… guys?" They all stopped and turned to look at the new voice. Grover stood there, two coffees in hand, eyes wide as he stared at his friends arguing with each other.
"Grover!" Annabeth heaved a sigh of relief, "You made it!"
"I… uh…" The poor satyr looked like he might pass out, eyes darting rapidly between Annabeth and Percy. "R… right."
Annabeth's smile faltered. "You… you aren't here to help me, are you?"
"No! I mean, I was going to come help you, after…"
"After helping me?" Percy finished for him.
Grover nodded slowly.
Annabeth could only stare, "... Did you tell him to come here too?" Her jaw tightened.
"N-no not at all!" Grover's eyes got wider, if that was even possible, "He… he just asked me for help first, and then you asked too and honestly I was already surprised you both decided to do this on the same day but I didn't think-"
"It would be in the same place." Annabeth's mouth was dry, "I can't… I can't believe you're helping him!"
"Is it really such a big deal?" Percy cut in.
"Yes! Yes it is!" Annabeth snapped, glaring at the two of them. Her pride was hurt, if she was being honest with herself. She crossed her arms. "Grover, we are on different sides. You can't help both of us."
"But… I want to help both of you?" He handed off a cup to Percy, turning to face Annabeth, "Does it really matter so much, who gets the temple?"
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"I…" she paused. She couldn't just say it was so she could have the chance to build it- everyone would think her unbelievably childish and petty. "I- because! Because it rightfully belongs to Athena!"
Percy snorted, "Please, just because your mom has some fancy job and a city named after her doesn't mean she gets first dibs!"
"It might," Luke added helpfully. "I mean, there have been instances in the past-"
"Look." Percy interrupted him, leaning across the table to face Annabeth. His green eyes were hard at the moment, black fringe tickling his brows and usually laid back expression suddenly serious, "I get it. Your mom asked you for help, my dad asked me. We can't exactly say no, right? But I'm not moving. So either you deal with it, or find another place to set up."
That was that.
Frustrated, Annabeth spun on her heel, marching back to her table with Thalia and Luke hurrying after her. Grover stayed behind, and she felt another pang of jealousy and hurt rush through her. Her pride had been shattered, her friend was choosing someone else, and she wasn't sure if she'd be okay with that.
"Don't forget a flier!" Percy called, tossing a paper airplane that Thalia easily caught.
"Uh, guys?" She spread out the pamphlet as soon as they got back to the table.
Other than a few changes in words, it was the exact same layout as the one Luke had designed for them.
"Who… who would do this?!" Annabeth groaned, running her hands through her curls, "Setting up in the same place, at the same time, with the same fliers… did Grover…?"
"Grover didn't know what the fliers were going to look like, remember?" Luke tried to calm her, his voice soothing, a hand on her back. She flinched away, turning to Thalia.
"Thalia, you didn't…?"
The other girl looked horrified, "Wh-what the hell?! You think I gave them the design?! Fuck no!'
"Sorry, sorry, I just… Luke?" She turned to him and he raised his hands in defense.
"Wasn't me, you know how much I care about this cause." His assurances did little to calm her down.
"I don't know who else could have!" She could practically melt from frustration. "Okay… okay. It's not over, we can still make something of this."
And so the morning officially began. On Percy's side, there was him, Grover, Frank, and a girl with dark skin and curly brown hair who arrived shortly after the altercation occurred.
With Annabeth, there was Luke and Thalia. Grover tried to come over half way through, but Annabeth had sent him a glare so dark he scurried back to the other side as fast as his hooves could carry him. Sure, she felt a little bad, but he had betrayed her! Did all the years they'd known each other mean nothing?! No matter. They had a job to do.
Annabeth wasn't really a people person. But she knew what drew them in, how a smile and a laugh could change minds, and so she worked the crowd, drawing in mortals and Demigods alike to their booth to learn about why Athena should be honored.
"No one has done more for the pantheon, other than Zeus, in the past millennia!" she pointed out to a couple who stopped by to learn more, "While other Gods cause earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters, Athena has helped us with every war we've come up against. And…" she flipped the flier over, "With a temple to Athena, her power will increase by at least 5.67%, encouraging growth in the crafts, knowledge, and bring about a higher success rate in colleges across the nation!"
"But wouldn't a temple to all the gods include her? We would get that stuff anyway." The man pointed out, taking the pamphlet to study closer.
"Not necessarily," Annabeth had practiced for this, "A temple to all the gods would mean much less power split between them, you'd only end up seeing less than a 0.047% increase in the things I mentioned, and give more power to gods that may not have your best interests in mind. Do you really want to risk giving more power to the goddess of revenge? How about the god of tsunamis? Sleep?"
The couple seemed thoughtful.
"Huh, I didn't consider that." The man said, folding the flier into his pocket, "Thank you young lady, I'll keep all this in mind."
"Thank you for listening!" she called after them, before collapsing into a chair behind the table. They'd been at this for hours, some people stopping by both tables and listening to what they had to say, some only stopping by one or the other, and most people ignoring them all together.
She could see Percy regaling a group with a story about something monster related across the plaza. Luke and Thalia were each talking to people as well.
Annabeth needed a break.
After standing and letting Thalia know she'd be a minute, Annabeth headed towards the city park, just a few blocks away.
The green was giving way to autumn colors, the lake still, the air quiet except for couples walking together and a few families picnicking. The daughter of Athena took a deep breath in, enjoying the peace and quiet, a sanctuary in the center of a bustling city. There was a lake, much larger than her favorite duck pond but no less beautiful. She sank to the grass beside it, watching the water, wondering if any naiads lived here.
"Hey."
She turned, "Oh. It's you."
Percy sank to the grass beside her, chuckling, "Yeah, yeah, it's me."
Annabeth huffed the bangs from her eyes, annoyance surging through her bloodstream. "Don't you have some voters to steal, Perseus? Or is that just fliers?"
He winced. "It's Percy," he corrected, "and I didn't realize our designs were the same, someone just sent it to me and well… I liked it." Percy shrugged.
"Sent it to you?" A grimace graced her features and she stared at the lake. So someone was for sure leaking their information. Great.
"Some anonymous email, it was just a jumble of letters and numbers." He sounded legitimately clueless and she couldn't help but take his word for it.
They sat in uncomfortable silence.
"Why are you here?" She finally said.
"I just wanted to check if you're okay."
What?
"What?" she said out loud, genuine surprise evident on her face, "I'm… I'm fine-"
"Are you sure?" His eyes met hers, intense green to grey, and her gaze fell to her lap. Silence hung between them for a moment.
"I'm sure."
"Huh." He leaned back on his arms, "Because I'm under the same pressure you are, and I know for a fact I'm not okay."
Annabeth continued to stare down at her hands.
Finally, she said, "It's not the same."
"Sorry?"
"It's… It's not the same pressure." Annabeth continued, "How could you possibly understand what I'm going through? I don't even-"
"Know you?" Percy finished, looking thoughtful, "I know you're a daughter of Athena, right hand to Zeus, which means you have a lot to live up to. I know you're the one she went to about this whole…" he gestured vaguely, "temple thing, so she has high expectations. I know you have a lot on your plate, and," he cracked a grin, "I know you hate me for some reason, though I can't figure out why."
"I don't hate you," she blurted on instinct, but Percy only laughed.
"Sure you do, but that's okay." he threw his head back, watching the clouds go by, and Annabeth snuck a peak at him. Sure, his face made her blood boil, but… he did come to check on her.
"You're more intuitive than I would have thought." Annabeth commented.
"Is… that a good thing?"
"I haven't decided yet." She faced the lake again, watching ripples appear here and there, "I'm still not really sure why you followed me if you know I don't like you, and know I'm working against you and your father."
"Hey, what our parents want? That's not on us." He shrugged, "And I figure, maybe you do have a good reason to dislike me, but that doesn't mean your mind can't be changed."
She couldn't think of a response to that. Her reasons for disliking him were petty, in fact, shallow, and she'd be embarrassed to state them out loud.
A few minutes passed.
"Thank you." Annabeth finally said, not looking at him, "For… checking on me. I'm really okay."
"Great!"
"This doesn't change anything though," she added.
"'Course not."
"You're still an idiot."
"Sure am." She couldn't see him, but she could hear the grin in his voice.
Maybe he wasn't all bad. Maybe she could forgive Grover for helping him- the guy had a presence that just drew you in, and even she was having trouble resisting.
"So… why do you hate me?"
She opened her mouth to respond.
"Annabeth!" They both looked up to see Luke. Annabeth scrambled to her feet and brushed grass off her black pants.
"Ah, hey-"
"Is he bothering you?" Luke wasn't looking at her, instead glaring at Percy who got up lazily.
"No, he isn't."
"Yeah, we were just talking." Percy stretched, seeming unbothered by Luke's aggression though his own eyes flashed with… something.
"Find someone else to talk to then," Luke snapped, taking Annabeth's hand, though she pulled away just as quick, staring at him.
"Luke, what… what's gotten into you?"
"He's the enemy right now, Annabeth." His voice dropped low, "We don't know how he knew about the location, the fliers, any of it. We can't trust him-"
"I don't!" Annabeth insisted a little too loudly. "Obviously I don't- I can look after myself Luke." She glanced back at Percy, who was doing a bad job of acting like he wasn't listening in. "Really, let's just… let's just go back."
They left, Percy hanging back to allow them space. Annabeth fought the urge to turn around, to wave, to say goodbye. Maybe Percy Jackson wasn't all bad, but Luke was right- he was the enemy. And until Athena had her temple, Annabeth couldn't be seen fraternizing with him.