Chapter 14: Is This All Just A Coincidence?

We don't meet people by coincidence, they are met to cross our paths - Unknown

Author's Note: Hello all welcome back to my story sorry it took so long to get it published! But we've got it now so everything is good. I've completely abandoned my upload schedule because I can't keep it and there's no point trying. Since this is my first story I'm learning from my mistakes as we go so please cut me some slack! Without further ado please enjoy.

Chemistry was always an interesting class, first Clarise then Percy. The way Percy messed up her daily life was almost a talent. Almost. Because Annabeth wasn't really sure if he was messing it up or just changing it. A thought occurred to Annabeth, and she shuddered at the thought. Do I like the way he messed up the way my life?

She was sitting through a drearing lecture and tried to focus. Her concussion was making it hard and in return for trying to get good grades she got a head splitting headache.

She heard the door click and swirled her head towards the direction. There in all his glory was Percy. The green eyed, black haired boy. The boy who had comforted her, during her mental breakdown. She felt her cheeks heat up from last night. "Are you okay? It's okay Anna. It's gonna be okay Annabeth."

She could feel her face warm at how gentle he was yesterday. When she had finally stopped crying he drove to her house and walked her inside. She had told him that she could do it, but he insisted.

"I'm really sorry about all this Percy I didn't mean to make your life hectic."

"It's fine Annabeth don't worry about it. But if you ever need to talk, I'm here okay?"

She nodded, the awful lump in her throat returning. No one had ever been there for her to just talk and listen. Percy waved and started to leave, but Annabeth grabbed his wrist.

"W-Wait Percy!"

"Yes?"

"Are you really," She paused scared to say more.

"I am really what?" Percy asked gently.

"Are you really gonna be there?" She forced the words out and stared at the ground, hoping that she didn't sound stupid.

"I'll be there for you Annabeth I promise."

"Isn't it a little early to be making promises like that? How do you know you can keep them?" Annabeth asked, her defensive side-firing up again.

"I guess I just know Annabeth. If you called me at two in the morning and needed something from the grocery store, I'd wake up and go get it for you. You help me with my English and you told me that my work was good, something not even a teacher believed in. You're well… my friend Annabeth. You always have to be there for your friends."

My friend.

The words echoed in her head. She had a friend, who was there for her. This time she believed it.

~q~Q~q~

"Ah Percy, there you are was beginning to think that you wouldn't show," Reyna said. "You can take a seat next to Annabeth."

Reyna, the student teacher, gestured to the seat next to her. Annabeth internally groaned, but shuffled her stuff over, and let him sit down next to her.

He hung his backpack over the chair and sat down next to her, looking absolutely clueless. Trying to ignore his presence, she went back to writing notes.

"When examining a prism it is important to worry about wavelength dependence of the absorption by gas-phase matter of visible light dispersed by a prism," Reyna said gesturing at the board. "Today, you will complete homework about different wavelengths, and the effects of color. However, tomorrow you will be sorted into groups and start projects on different types of prisms." Reyna passed out the work, and Annabeth began the work. She was on question three when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't understand question two. Can you explain it please?"

She glanced at the question, and before refusing a voice went off in her head. You help your friends. So she nodded.

"Here the prism is a rectangular prism. The edges are all ninety degrees from each other, the light hitting the prism would be at two hundred and thirty degrees in this given problem. The light would pass through two times creating the color green. That's because of the two points at two-thirty, on the key see. All you had to figure out was the angle here." Annabeth said pointing at the paper.

Percy furrowed his brow as if thinking and computing the explanation. Percy made a sound of relaxation.

"Oh, I think I got it. Thanks, Annabeth."

She nodded once as an acknowledgment of his gratitude. Annabeth went back to her work, but her thoughts drifted. She wasn't the best at people but she could feel that Percy had more that he wanted to say. Annabeth not being the greatest with people hesitated before asking him what was on his mind.

The student teacher interrupted her thoughts, like usual. "All right that's all for today just finish the worksheet if you haven't already and turn it in tomorrow."

Annabeth returned to her locker, unable to deny how quiet it was without Thalia around. It had only been a day since they talked, they had gone weeks without talking sometimes but they had ended on a sour note. Something they both tried to avoid.

She shuffled around to get her binder and tried to push down the guilt welling up inside her. It wasn't my fault. Wasn't my fault, she refused to tell me the truth, so it wasn't my fault. She kept repeating in her head. Was it her fault though?

~q~Q~q~

Thalia sat outside with her earbuds in, thinking. Her headphones bounded a gentle lofi tune, not quite distracting her from her situation. The argument with Annabeth fresh in her mind and her newly single status hanging around her. Artemis had broken up with her. It was no big deal really, it was bound to come at some point but…why was she like this. She didn't feel okay.

"Look Thalia I'm sorry, but I don't know if... I don't know if you and I are a long term thing you know? I just don't think we're compatible together anymore."

"Oh… yeah. That's okay Artemis. I wish you the best." Thalia had given Artemis one last hug and left.

It was just as quiet as it always was, Annabeth and Artemis weren't loud people. They preferred to sit and watch and speak accordingly. Thalia didn't think about it, words would come tumbling out of her mouth with hardly any thought for the people around.

Sometimes it was a benefit sometimes it was a consequence. Her rash tendencies would more often than not result in arguments with friends, family, and her partners.

Thalia remembered there was a day when she and Annabeth were talking Annabeth had said "one day someone will be the one breaking up with you, and it's gonna hurt."

Did it hurt now?

"Of course not," her head argued.

"Of course it does," her heart disagreed.

So which did she listen to?

"Damn." She laughed. "How'd I get myself into this situation?"