Annabeth let out a choked sob, closing her eyes and pressing her back up against her dorm wall. It was grey - boring, plain, and it usually grounded her. But now all it reminded her of her own eyes, so similar to the color it made Annabeth feel sick.
She'd called Piper some time ago - ten, fifteen minutes ago, she didn't know - when she had first started to panic.
Graduation was in a month. A fucking month, and Annabeth had so far missed three, four, maybe even five days holed up in her dorm as she slowly wound insane.
She didn't get it, everything had been fine - until it just wasn't.
It was like something in her had just snapped, and suddenly she. couldn't find the strength to shower or eat. The last proper meal Annabeth had eaten must have been days ago.
Annabeth pressed the palms of her hands to her ears, trying to block out the sound. But the problem was that there was no sound, just an eerie 'eeee' that rang in her ears, and her hands did nothing to block it out.
It did block out actual sound, though, and Annabeth nearly jumped out of her skin as Piper's warm hand gently guided her right arm down.
"Pipes," She croaked out.
The daughter of Aphrodite gave her a timid smile. "Annabeth," She said gently. "What happened? Percy said he hadn't been able to reach you for a few days but..." The younger girl trailed off.
Annabeth understood why - her dorm room was trashed, papers littering every surface and markers littered among the floor with half of her closet. "The gods happened, Piper!" She snapped. "We're used as pawns and then we fucking die!"
Then the blonde sat up straight, eyes wide. "Percy!" She gasped, struggling to stand. "He's supposed to - he's supposed to come over and-"
Annabeth ran around, scrambling for papers and assignments and such that most likely had to be turned in. She stumbled over a loose marker, nearly losing her balance before Piper grabbed her shoulders.
"No," The girl said firmly. "You are going to sit down, eat something, drink some water, and tell me what happened and whatever caused it."
"But-"
Piper scowled. "No, no buts. You come first, Annabeth, and Percy knows that. If fact, I'm surprised when he couldn't reach you he didn't make sure you were okay."
Annabeth sat.
"Tell me everything," Piper insisted.
And she did.
She told the daughter of Aphrodite why she had ran away, who she had met, Thalia's pine tree. Told her how long she had waited for a quest only for Luke to be granted one and be the only demigod to return. Told her how - after about three more years of waiting for a quest why Luke pulled away and how Percy showed up and got a quest after only a week.
"Piper- Piper we saw Tartarus. It was right there and fuck we and Grover almost fell in and then we did but Grover wasn't there but we were older and -"
Told her about the quests that led up to the Battle of Manhattan, told her about the death and the bloodshed through those five years and how many of her siblings died even before the actual War.
"I still have this scar - here - from where a Dracanae tried to shoot me down at the battle of the Labyrinth."
And she told Piper about the death and the pain and the sorrow that came with war, then the blissful peace and bitterness after.
"We lost 6,029 during that war. Including Nymphs and Satyrs and those who were on our side."
She didn't say the rest - the sadness and anxiety during those months Percy had been missing and then the stress added on because of her mother's fucking mark. Didn't tell her about Tartarus - didn't say anything while Piper got up after a moment of silence to find something to eat.
The girl came back with some ramen - where she had actually found it, Annabeth had no clue - and forced her to eat every bite. By the time most papers had picked up by Piper, the spare pencils and posters put back in their place, Percy had knocked on the door, and the light turned on, Annabeth was finished.
And fast asleep. Had she mentioned she hadn't slept?
Heyyyy I am not at all avoiding stories that need to be posted by cleaning through my doc manager. No sir.