Half-Blood High

Chapter 14

~0O0~

"Ah shit! " Annabeth cursed softly as she shut the door to the teacher's lounge just as the second bell rang out. She raced through the almost empty corridors to Mr. Salt's lab- the one class she'd least dreamt of being late to. Her face had yet to cool down from the reproaching she had received from Mrs. Wingrave, the second years' physics teacher, for having scored lesser than usual on the last test, and she hastened her pace at the thought of Mr. Salt's sadistic smile.

She wondered when she had started to lose her ironclad grip on her school work and quickly shook her head to get rid of the face that immediately popped up- she just didn't want to think about that right now.

"Mrs. Chase! So delighted you could join us!" Mr. Salt said dryly, test tube in hand as she skidded to a stop at the door. "Did you perhaps get locked up in the library again?"

"I'm sorry, sir." The blonde puffed, out of breath, her heart thumping painfully from those mercilessly long stairs. "I promise it won't happen again."

"Hmm I'm sure." he pursed his lips before signalling her in. She took her seat beside Jackson, a sort of anxiousness filling her as she did so- different from the first time he sat with her, sure- but still very much tiresome. She gave a discreet thumbs up to her friends at the back as she bent down to retrieve her notes, and sat back up, pen ready and a new page blank in her notebook- devoid of the usual points she would have jotted down before a class and she tried to pretend it was alright. That all of it was alright. She could still turn this sloppiness around.

Jackson, for his part, studiously ignored her presence and she found herself finally calming down in her seat, when Mr. Salt demanded their attention with a loud rap of the table.

"Today, we shall be moving onto the test for proteins and shall be using a couple of reagents." he said holding up a test tube of opaque solution. "And please hand in your analysis of starch and fats from last week before we begin."

Annabeth felt her heart drop- she couldn't for the life of her remember doing it. She gripped the table anxiously as she watched everyone pull out sheets of paper- Jackson already had his ready on the table. She had never in her life, except for a solitary incident in pre school, had ever been to class without her homework. And it looked like she was going to have another missing assignment today.

"Uh Mr. Salt." her voice wavered the tiniest as he reached her table "I- I forgot to bring my assignment."

She swallowed as whisperings broke out around her and as everyone gazed at her in shock- her , Annabeth Chase, straight A student, the biggest swot ever to grace the halls- couldn't have possibly not done her work?

Mr. Salt raised his eyebrows "Well it looks like our top student is struggling a little- are you sure you've haven't-"

"My hand hurts. Could you take this already?" Jackson cut Mr. Salt off rudely, brandishing his report at his face. Annabeth found herself feeling very small and unable to turn around and see his expression.

"Mind your tone Mr. Jackson." Mr. Salt reproached, his target of annoyance switching over " And Mrs. Chase- turn it in tomorrow before lunch."

She nodded, turning her gaze to the empty page in front of her, her new found hope of turning things around frozen into a gloomy picture in her mind. Even if she did catch upon things- would she still be able to stay on top of them from then? Her routine had been destroyed, she knew well enough- but she never thought the consequences that she had quietly brushed aside would actually come to pass- she thought could manage them. Both of them.

She couldn't afford to fail here- she couldn't keep pushing aside the reality if she wanted to go where she'd always dreamt of- the best architecture University in the country - from where her mother had passed out. She couldn't- especially not for a random fling.

Annabeth determinedly tore out a piece of a page from her notebook, scribbled the words library and ten on it before discreetly holding it out in Jackson's direction under the table. His fingers snatched them away almost immediately as though they had been anticipating them. He gave her a tiny nod after examining it's contents and she went back to staring at her note book, desperately trying to ignore the feeling of his hands on her- that she would make certain no longer grace her again.

~0O0~

"And what do you think about Jackson?" Calypso asked leaning against the desk, her almond shaped eyes strangely prominent on her pale face. Leo, who hadn't been expecting the East sider's name to come up in the conversation, furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Not much." he replied, rolling on the balls of his feet "Is he the reason you wanted to talk to me?"

Calypso nodded "He's quite a character isn't he? Definitely not the sort you'd want-"

"Atlas!" Nico Di Angelo suddenly strolled forward from the bookshelves behind Leo and came to a halt between them. He seemed to have quite literally materialized from the shadows somewhere behind- his figure completely black and oddly out of place. "I have something I need to talk to you about. It's urgent."

Leo took in the scowl that had marred Calypso's face at the interruptance "Perhaps it could wait, Di Angelo. We were in the middle of something."

"I'm quite afraid it can't." the dark haired boy didn't turn around and Leo watched uneasily as he pulled Calypso away.

"I'll wait here then?" he called after them.

Calypso looked back at him, her lips pursed in disdain. "I don't think there will be any reason to anymore. Just forget it."

Leo puzzled over it all afternoon, a fraction at dinner and some in bed. He kept his eyes on Jackson throughout chemistry the next day- right from when he took his seat to when he shoved his assignment in Mr. Salt's face. He still couldn't figure out what on earth Calypso had wanted to tell him about.

As he turned his attention onto Annabeth at Jackson's side, his mind filled with worry at how she must be feeling at having forgotten her homework, he felt a strange feeling that the answer was right in front of him- if only he had the will to see.

~0O0~

"Here." Piper set down a cup of hot coffee in front of Jason, who was scribbling down the readings from his partner in physics to his own record. The common room was nearly empty as a lot of students had gone out into the grounds to see the fireworks that Coach Hedge had whipped up for no apparent reason other than letting off steam. Chiron had agreed reluctantly.

"Oh thanks Pipes." Jason said, pushing his golden framed glasses up onto his hair- Piper always found him cute in those. He took a generous sip. " Did you see Annabeth yet? I heard what happened in Chemistry from Leo."

"Yeah." Piper sighed, tracing vague patterns across the skin of her forearm. Sure, missing homework wouldn't at all be something to be concerned about. But this was Annabeth. Something was majorly wrong. "She went to the library. She said she'd be late."

"Let's go talk to her." Jason suggested "I don't like it when she goes off alone like that."

Piper shook her head, pulling him down onto the chair. "No. She said she didn't want to be disturbed. And that she was fine. I think we should let her have some time."

Jason nodded after a moment and then leaned back onto the cushions "Ah, I fucking hate physics."

Piper grinned "Then how are you going to become a pilot Superman?"

Jason smiled wearily before suddenly sitting up forward, his expression completely sober "I've been thinking about that. I don't think I want to be one anymore."

Piper, startled for a moment, felt sad when the reason dawned on her immediately. "Your father."

"I just- I don't want to go anywhere near him. It makes me sick and- and just tired whenever I think about it. Her. Think about her." Piper clasped his hands in hers and stroked them comfortingly. "I just- hate him. So much. All my life I was so alone. If only- why didn't he tell me about her, huh? What on earth made him abandon her to that psycho?"

Piper let him stew for a while, murmuring reassurances whenever there came a pause. When Jason had pulled her aside that one day during the beginning of the term, his eyes watery and speech slurred from confusion, she had been horrified and at an utter loss on what to say. She knew she had a dysfunctional family, but they seemed mockingly normal after she learned Jason's ordeal. A workaholic movie star father and a mentally ill mother couldn't be worse than someone who abandoned his wife and daughter for years, only to remain perfectly unaffected when his daughter was found murdered.

Zeus had called up Jason and in one breath had explained that he had had an older sister all this while, living with their mom, and she had been killed in a mugging incident a month earlier. The funeral was long over but he thought Jason should know about it at least now.

Jason had been adamant that the rest of the gang shouldn't know anything about it- he seemed to shrink and get jumpy whenever he thought about his dead sister and having more people know about it didn't sit well with him. He blamed himself, Piper knew, but she also knew that no amount of logic or reasoning would get him to accept his innocence- he would just have to take his time with his feelings.

"Thalia." he murmured softly, smiling lightly at the carpet. "Such a pretty name isn't it?"

Piper nodded along "And I bet she was very pretty too."

"She must have had a lot of boys after her." Jason shook his head.

Piper studied him for a moment. "I don't know. I feel like she would be the type to beat up boys in an alleyway."

Jason grinned at her and she felt herself genuinely smiling back. "I know right? I feel the same. She would have been a total badass. Always breaking the rules, getting in trouble. Completely sworn off boys."

Piper laughed, her heart suddenly light. A firework exploded outside the window. "I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself there superman. I'm sure she would have had some relationships."

"Nuh uh." He shook his head playfully and then ducked down to pick up his glasses that had fallen off " She's my sister. I know exactly what she would have been like. She would have been a complete man hater."

He seemed happy at the thought and Piper, after a moment of reflection let him be- after all, who knew? Maybe she hadn't liked boys after all.

~0O0~

"You want to…break up?"

Annabeth had fidgeted anxiously, buried away at the corner of the library, shielded away from prying eyes since dawn. She had gone through her little speech in her head a few dozen times- and had managed to recite it perfectly when Jackson had shown up. For whatever reason she had assumed that the biggest concern she would face would be her own hurt feelings. Now as she took in Jackson's bemused expression it dawned on her she might be up for a bigger fight.

"Yes." she nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the table- at her recently completed chemistry assignment, the word starch underlined twice for emphasis. Jackson followed her gaze and his expression shifted a little.

"You do know we aren't exactly...dating?" he said slowly, his sea green eyes trained sharply on her face while he turned the silver ring on his left hand.

"Obviously." Annabeth rolled her eyes "I want to end whatever- wherever it is that we are doing right now. We'll pretend this never happened and get on with our lives. You can continue being mean to me like you did before and I won't tell anyone about what happened and - yeah, that's it. Let's just wrap this up, okay?"

She turned to grab her satchel, her head pounding when he asked "Why?"

"What?" Annabeth hadn't expected that. There didn't have to be a reason. This wasn't how it was.

"I asked-" Jackson quipped, leaning back in his chair comfortably, his eyes trained on the silver on his finger, his tongue darting out to the side of his lower lip "- why is it that you want to... end this?"

Annabeth considered her reply for a moment "Does it matter?"

"It does to me."

Again she was perplexed at his... insistence. From all that she had gone through she was quite sure that theirs wasn't a relationship that needed explanation or justification. It was based on nothing but pure lust- at least it had been for her. At the beginning anyway. They had started it with the very consolation that it would end. So why was Jackson so hung up about it?

"Okay." she tried to gather her thoughts as she leaned forward towards the table, tapping her foot against it's leg. Her eyes fell upon her assignment and she blurted out without thinking.

"My mother graduated from Harvard."

Jackson seemed surprised for a moment as her eyes widened in alarm. He drawled " I'm aware."

"Well-" Annabeth found herself unable to meet his eyes as she fidgeted with her fingers below the table. She knew he had no reason to hear any of what was racing through her mind at the moment but a few images still leaked out in defiance at being buried away too long. "I want to go there as well - to make her proud. To make her...make her see me, I guess. It's just- that-"

She was appalled when her voice broke off. She couldn't possibly be tearing up? "Anyway- I have to go now. Thanks-er- for everything."

"Your grades." Jackson said, staring at her with her determination. "I get it, okay? I'm not as dumb as you make me out to be."

"What?" Annabeth muttered, still embarrassed at having blurted out her thoughts. She felt as though she could kill herself. She looked down at her lap, hiding her warm face behind her hair.

"My father." Jackson suddenly said softly, his hand reaching out into the middle of the table, into her line of sight. Annabeth stared at it in confusion from behind her hair. "My father abandoned my mom when she was pregnant with me. He didn't want a child out of wedlock, because that meant he wouldn't get his inheritance, so he left her to fend for herself. "

Annabeth stared up at him in shock, not in the least expecting that. "How- then?"

"It's a long story." he muttered, a tiny smirk on his face and his eyes looked...sad. It was the first time that she had seen that expression in them. It was gone as quick as it came. "The point is I understand- about having shi- difficult parents. And that excessive need to please them."

Jackson stood up, his chair creaking back on the stone floor. He leaned towards her and she fixed her eyes on his white shirt, on the third button that looked a little frayed at the edges. Just like him it seemed. All perfect and shiny in the middle- at the center of attention; but frayed out at the edges, just out of sight.

"I'll help." he said. " We can do our work together. And study for tests. You won't forget your assignments because I'm in almost all of your classes."

"What?" she asked, startled. "You? "

He looked offended at her tone. "Yes, me, Chase. You keep forgetting that we have almost the same score in our year. I'm literally the best study partner you could ask for."

"I meant-" she said, her lips curling up a little at the ridiculousness of it all. " Why would you? You don't even like me."

"And did I ever say that?" Jackson raised an eyebrow as he leaned closer to her face. "That I didn't like you?"

"What?" she mumbled, her heart pounding from his close proximity and she tried to keep her eyes off his lips. Did he suddenly forget the past four years? "You- are you high or something?"

"Not right now." he grinned at her suddenly, laughing a little. She found herself in a trance- this was all so new. "I'll help you get your grades back on track and we can continue with our- thing."

"Wait!" she shook her head a fraction to clear her mind. "You're willing to help me sort out my school work- just so that we can keep doing- it? Ugh that came out wrong."

"Let's find a name for it." he agreed, looking at the books around at them as though for inspiration.

"I really don't think that's what matters right-"

"Quantum?' he asked, squinting at the titles. "Or Kepler? Fuck, why are we in the physics section again?"

"Because no one usually comes here and we won't get caught." she said without missing a beat "Which brings me to the question- how exactly do you propose to work together? As deserted as this place is, it isn't completely safe for long hours either. Someone is bound to stumble in here."

Jackson looked unbothered "I'll figure it out."

"Really?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows in disbelief " I'm going to put this out there right now- I'm not going to agree if its broom closets."

"Those serve a far higher purpose." Jackson shook his head and she let out a scoff " Just trust me okay? I'll come up with something soon."

Annabeth was about to retaliate that she very well wasn't going to trust him- but realized that wasn't the case anymore. His confession about his father had startled her beyond words- but it also made him seem more human to her. He wasn't quite so intimidating anymore and she felt a little bit easier as she met his gaze.

"It better be hidden well." she warned. He responded by giving her a mock salute and turned around to leave.

"And about your father-" she said suddenly "If you ever want to talk-"

"And this is when you shut up, Chase." he said, though not as harshly as he might have usually said and walked away.

As she walked up the stairs to the West side dorms a little later, she wondered why he had dodged her question. Why exactly was he so determined to continue the affair with her?- it wasn't like he was short on girls. Could he have possibly seen it as something more?

More importantly- did she really want him to?

~0O0~