Chapter 9
"Can I go to the bathroom?" Brett asked, wanting to go after Annabeth. She seemed off. First, she got into a fight with Mara, then she disrespected a teacher? Something was going on, and Brett needed to get to the bottom of it.
Once he was dismissed he hastily made his way toward the principal's office. He found Annabeth waiting on one of the chairs outside of the main office, but she gave no indication that she was actually going to enter the office, much less find the principal's office. She had her head leaned back against the wall, face pointed toward the ceiling and her eyes closed. She didn't look so angry anymore. Instead, she just looked tired.
Brett was about to approach her when she spoke. "You got here fast,"
Brett startled, thinking that she was talking to him, but then he heard a familiar chuckle as none other than Percy Jackson appeared, taking the seat next to Annabeth. "I was in the area," was all he said.
How did Annabeth even know Percy was there? She hadn't even opened her eyes. It was as if she could simply sense his presence. It must come with having to be on high alert all the time around him, Brett thought bitterly. Annabeth must have developed an ability to sense Percy as a survival technique.
Annabeth sat up, frowning at Percy. "Why were you in the area? What happened?"
Percy waved off her concern. "I was following a potential lead on the bridle Hermes told us about. I ran into a couple hellhounds along the way, no big deal."
What were hellhounds? And why were they chasing Percy? Was it some slang term for the police? Whatever they were, Brett did not like the implications that he was hearing.
Annabeth, on the other hand, did not seem nearly as concerned as Brett thought she should be. "Did you find anything?" she asked.
"No," Percy sighed, "it was a dead end."
"But you were able to handle the hellhounds alright, yes? You're not hurt?"
"No, Wise Girl, I'm not hurt," Percy rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I've managed to stay alive this long, I should be able to take on a couple of hellhounds on my own."
"I know, I just worry," Annabeth looked down at her hands clasped together tightly in her lap, obviously not sharing Percy's lighthearted mood.
"Hey," Percy said gently, picking up on her mood. "What's up?"
Annabeth sighed. "It's nothing. It's just a bad day, I guess."
Percy lightly nudged her with his shoulder, staying close to her when he pulled back. "Talk to me."
Annabeth was silent for a long time, but Percy didn't push her. When she eventually did speak, all she said was, "We were talking about Tartarus in class,"
Percy sucked in a breath, wrapping his arm around Annabeth and pulling her close. Annabeth continued. "It's just- I thought I was getting better. I haven't had a nightmare- at least not related to that- in weeks, and then suddenly one stupid lesson and I'm back there again." Her words came out shaky as if she was on the verge of tears.
"You can't force healing, Annabeth," Percy said softly. "No matter how much progress we make, there'll always be bad days. That doesn't mean you're not getting better."
Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy's waist in a sideways hug, burying her face in his shoulder and Percy brought up his other arm to fully embrace Annabeth. "I feel like I should be stronger than this," Annabeth admitted. "Like I should be able to just muscle through it."
"You always hold yourself to impossible standards. It's okay to not be okay sometimes." Percy pressed a kiss to the top of Annabeth's head.
Annabeth pulled back just enough to look Percy in the eyes. "What would I do without you?" She asked, her eyes wet but not quite crying.
"You'd probably spend a lot less time keeping me alive and cleaning up my messes," Percy grinned.
Annabeth laughed. "You're right. You'd have died a long time ago without me."
"It looks like we both need each other," Percy whispered, leaning his forehead against Annabeth's.
"So it would seem," Annabeth agreed just as softly.
"I'm always going to be here for you, Annabeth, through everything. Just like you're always there for me."
Annabeth hummed in agreement, letting her head rest on Percy's shoulder. They sat in silence for a long moment, simply taking comfort in each other's presence. Brett felt like he was intruding on a private moment. This must be how Percy convinces her to stay. He manipulates her with pretty words and comfort to make her overlook his mistreatment of her. Annabeth was in even more danger than Brett had previously thought. It was one thing if it was simply Percy's attractiveness keeping Annabeth ensnared; if that was the case Annabeth could eventually be made to see sense. But it was a whole other level if Percy was also a smooth talker. He already had Annabeth wrapped around his finger, who knew what else he might make her believe?
"Let's go home," Percy said eventually.
Annabeth nodded and they stood up.
This was his chance. Brett couldn't allow Annabeth to leave with Percy. It wasn't safe. "Annabeth!" He called, stepping in front of the pair. "Where are you going?"
Annabeth sighed and stopped walking, but didn't say anything. Percy took that as a signal and angled himself so he was in between Brett and Annabeth. He said, "We're going home, Brett. Leave her alone."
"There's no way I'm gonna let her go anywhere with you," Brett fought back, though the glare Percy sent his way had him hesitating. Percy was angry, and for the first time, Brett caught a glimpse of how dangerous Percy really was. Storm clouds raged behind his eyes, summoning up images of raging seas and drowning sailors in Brett's mind.
"You don't let Annabeth do anything," he snarled. "I don't know how you got it into your head that you hold some sort of significance in her life, but you don't. She has told you multiple times to shove off, but you won't listen. So now I'm telling you. Leave. Annabeth. Alone."
Brett turned away from Percy. He told himself it was because he wanted to focus on Annabeth, and not because he was afraid of Percy. "Annabeth, you're clearly upset. First, you fight with Mara, then you disrespect Ms. Mason? What's wrong? What does Tartarus have to do with anything? Why are you having nightmares about it?"
Annabeth still didn't say anything. She just leaned further into Percy's side. Percy immediately turned his attention to her, squeezing her gently with the arm he had wrapped around her. They seemed to have a silent conversation that only lasted seconds, then Percy turned back to Brett. "You don't get to ask those questions," Percy growled. "You don't understand anything about the real world. You live in your protected little bubble, completely oblivious to the sacrifices people make to keep your world safe. You don't have anything to do with our lives, so just stay out of it."
By the time Brett regained enough courage to try to come up with a retort, Percy and Annabeth were already walking away.
"I think we should go to Camp," he heard Annabeth say. "I need some time to recuperate, and that way we can help with the search. When I was talking to Chiron it sounded like they need all the help they can get."
Brett watched the two of them disappear out the front door, Percy's arm wrapped around Annabeth's shoulder and Annabeth's around his waist.
