Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson $ the Olympians nor The Vampire Diaries.
English is not my native language, so I'm deeply sorry for any mistakes I might have.
(All comments are answered via private message, but since this was on guest...)
Guest: I know she is very moral, of course she's like that. Those are not principles, that's her taking very careful moves, she can't just be super reckless all the time. And no, my fem!Percy is not that different from her male counterpart, I don't like the idea of changing everything just because their gender changed. They're still the same character. Mhm, I know, very judgy. But she's got a reason for that, witches aren't exactly nice to demigoddess, and Bonnie herself wasn't. You'll know 'how the hell Mason knows she's a demigoddess' as soon as Percy herself finds out how he knows. But no, it's not that he can smell her and instantly know. As for Apollo and Percy, I know she's being very broken about it, but she's got all the right in the world to be upset; it doesn't mean she's going to throw herself at him just like that, she's got dignity. I didn't mean to make it seem like that, she's simply grieving, and would just like to see him being there for her in such a hard moment of her life. She's not going to cry and beg to be back with him, she's simply trying to cope with all that changed.
...
Chapter 8
...
"What exactly have you gotten yourself into, Percy?"
Two seventeen years old girls were sitting cross-legged on a small bed, a gigantic hell-hound happily wiggling its tail as the raven-haired girl scratched its head in a distracted way, all while the blonde girl looked almost exasperated.
It had only been a couple of hours since the daughter of Athena entered Mystic Falls in the back of Mrs. O'Leary, and the first thing they've done was embrace so tightly that they weren't sure which limb belonged to whom.
Afterwards, Annabeth had told Percy that her father had stayed behind taking care of some preparations for their trip, but that he'd drive in a couple of days to collect her. Since Sally and Paul had arrived, their night consisted of genuine laughter and cheap dinner.
But after a while both of them moved upstairs, taking Percy's very excited hell-hound with them, and tried to speak what they couldn't in front of Percy's parents.
"You offend me, Annabeth. I haven't gotten myself into anything! It's not my fault that I'm literally living next-door to a bunch of vampires that want to kill a werewolf that probably knows what I am, and that both parties want a stupid stone that contains an Aztec curse or some nonsense like that."
"You forget something," Annabeth gave her a serious look. "Your little vamp-neighbors want to murder you yet you have a treaty of some kind-"
"For the record, I just want peace," Percy pointed out. "I honestly thought that if I just ignored them they wouldn't be a threat anymore. I am so tired of fighting."
"Ignoring something won't make it go away." Annabeth paused. "While we're at it, why don't you tell me about your issue? Last time we spoke you told me you weren't sleeping, which as much as I understand your reasons, is a very stupid idea. Have you had any other hallucinations?"
"None this past week," Percy couldn't catalog her small breakdown in the park as a hallucination. "And believe it or not, I am sleeping. Just that not every single day..."
Not after accidentally flooding the house after a particularly nasty nightmare.
"Percy," After a small pause, the blonde demigoddess cleared her throat a little, grey eyes locking with sea-green ones. "And what did Apollo say about all of this?"
Percy raised her eyebrows at her, "What do you mean?" She straightened her back, and stretched her legs until they were sided with Annabeth's, ignoring the way her heart seemed to thump louder in her chest at his mention.
"Don't try to act dumb with me, you know what I mean."
"No, I really don't."
She received an irritated look, along with, "He's always dealt with your insecurities, one little mention about Kronos and he always managed to find a glimpse of him in Tartarus, now after your little incident I am sure you must've told him. You did, didn't you?"
The raven-haired demigoddess paused a little, but ended up sighing, not seeing a reason to lie to her best friend; she knew her too well. "I didn't talk to Apollo, but Artemis was here earlier."
"You called Artemis?"
"She says she's going to talk with Hades to see if they can check Tartarus and try to find any signal that could mean that Kronos is regenerating quicker, or something like that. If they find he's not, then...well, you're smart enough to know what that means."
"PTSD," Annabeth muttered, ignoring how her friend cringed at those letters. She was silent for a small moment, looking lost in thoughts. In the end, she looked up. Percy was looking down at her hands, quietly tracing small invisible lines over a small golden ring she wore.
"I like Nico's term better. Makes me feel a little less sick."
"That's exactly why he invented that term, you know? He didn't want to admit he was suffering."
Percy flinched. "I know." She paused momentarily, before looking up at Annabeth's face. "How long will you stay with me?"
She sounded vulnerable, but neither of them cared. Annabeth sighed a little before answering, "Just three days. I tried to convince my father of letting me stay the whole week, but we have to continue our trip. Magnus was spotted again."
"Was he?" Percy asked distractedly. "I hope you two find him."
"Me too." Annabeth hesitated a little. "Percy, do you want to talk about-"
"No." At the way her friend looked at her, she tried to explain herself. "What's there to talk about, Wise Girl? I can't do anything until Artemis tells me what's going on down in Tartarus. And either way, whatever it is, I know it's going to be bad for me."
"A war or mental illness, wow, Percy," Her voice was thick with irony. "I wonder what could be worse. Oh, yeah! A war," She paused, adopting a softer tone. "Look, I know you don't like the thought of being mentally sick-"
"I have dyslexia and ADHD, I really don't need another stupid mental illness to torment me."
She continued over Percy. "I know the thought of being mentally sick bothers you, but it's way better than getting involved into another war. Because if Kronos is indeed regenerating that's what it means, another war will rage. And with war comes death, pain, loses...we can't afford to be involved in something like that again."
Another war would only mean more pain for them, more suffering to add to their never-ending list of torments. None of them were ready for that.
"I know, and my demigod résumé says I've been directly involved in two wars, and you know how much I hate changing it...I would hate how pretentious it would look if I added another one to the list. I don't want to end up looking like Hercules."
"He was a royal dick," Annabeth looked disgusted. "And while we're at it, you know, talking about royal dicks, why hasn't Apollo-"
Percy snapped without meaning to. "Enough about Apollo, Annabeth." She took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. "He's not doing anything to help me. I've prayed to him. Every single night. And I'm still sick, I'm still seeing things that aren't here, and I'm still trying not to explode-"
I'm still being tempted by darkness.
Not that Apollo could do anything to stop her from feeling tempted by the darkness, as cliché as that sounded. No one could, it was something only she could deal with.
But still...he could've helped just by being there for her.
But he wasn't, and that hurt like hell.
It was painful because in moments like that, Percy finally realized that she didn't just lose her first boyfriend and the first man she ever loved, no, she lost one of her closest best friends, too.
Percy looked at the verge of tears, and embarrassed, she looked away.
She thought her friend would pity her, or gave her an exasperated sigh for her outburst, but she didn't. Instead, she spoke clearly and without any sign of hesitation, leaving no room for any argument. "He promised, Percy."
"Yeah, well," Percy swallowed, thinking, so did Luke, and he still betrayed you and Thalia, but not voicing her thoughts, knowing she could hurt her friend if she did. "We know for a fact that gods excel at breaking promises, I'm a living proof of that."
"Look, I hate him for breaking your heart-" Annabeth started.
"We broke each other's heart," Percy shook her head. "It wasn't a one-sided thing. I hurt him as much as he hurt me."
"-And I'm not trying to defend him," She continued over Percy. "But maybe there's a reason as to why he's changed towards you."
"Yes, there's a reason, I don't know if you can understand it, but I'll still say it: We fucking broke up."
Some days it seemed so unbelievable the thought of not being together anymore. After years of courting (she was quite hard to win over, she wouldn't simply fall for his cheesy pickup lines and his charm; she fell for the real him, the Apollo she knew when they became close friends), years of dates, of friendship, of being together...it was over.
He'd been a very prominent part of her life for years, and now he simply wasn't.
It was harder and harder to adapt to being without him again. Those months she spent without her memory didn't count, she'd survived solely of the thought of finding out who the mysterious man with golden hair and soft blue eyes was, because all she could remember was his name and they way he always kissed her when she did something stupid.
He must've kissed me a lot, She had thought once in New Rome. And she'd been completely right.
It was hard to think it was over, more so when she couldn't forget the way he'd laughed after seeing her all those months later in New Rome, and the way he had instantly jumped off the Argo II and enveloped her in his strong arms, hugging her for a very long time...
Apollo had defied Zeus and his sacred rules by traveling with Leo, Annabeth, Piper, Jason and Coach Hedge just to see her again in New Rome. He'd risked his sanity, torn between his Roman and Greek counterpart, just to see her again.
And now he wouldn't even answer her prayers.
The change was...startling.
"You're impossible," Annabeth sighed, pursing her lips. "Forget it, I won't have a fight with you over that stupid god."
Both of them froze for a moment, waiting to hear the thunder that would surely follow her insult. But it never came, which seemed to make the raven-haired demigoddess moody.
"Fine," Percy snapped a little. "We won't talk about him."
"Fine," Annabeth echoed back, resting her back against the pillows. It had only been a couple of second when she continued, "But what I don't understand-"
She ignored Percy's groan and the way she threw herself dramatically to the floor, hiding her face in Mrs. O'Leary's neck.
"You might be the most smart girl I know, Wise Girl, but you can't let a topic go, can't you?" Her voice was muffled by the wild mane of hair that covered the hell-hound, and she lazily scratched her dog.
"Give me a break, Seaweed Brain, it's been months since we last had a conversation face to face. We have a lot to discuss."
"I know, I know. But I was hoping we could have a nice, relaxed day and then we could discuss all this mess-" Percy motioned around distractedly, gently scratching Mrs. O'Leary as she turned, resting her back against the hell-hound's stomach. "Y'know, vamps, wolves, Leo being alive, Jason getting hit by another brick, trauma, whatever you want to talk about."
The idea seemed to please Annabeth, because she grinned. "Can we go to the beach?"
Percy grinned too, suddenly feeling very relieved. "I love that you know what I meant by a relaxed day."
"It's settled then? Tomorrow we'll take Paul's car and look around for a beach, and if we don't find one-"
"Don't even say that!" Percy interrupted her, eyes wide and fearful. "I can't live in a town that has no beaches! What kind of sick and twisted place would this be?"
"You're unbelievable. The thought of living somewhere without a beach terrifies you more than the reality that is living in a town infested with mortal-monsters. Percy, you truly never cease to amaze me."
"And I never will," The green-eyed girl gave her a shit-eating grin, the one that used to annoy her to no end. "But you know you love me anyways."
"I do," Annabeth sighed. She paused a little, looking down at her watch. "It's late, we should sleep if we're to head out tomorrow morning."
"I can't sleep, remember? You go ahead and rest, I'll just read for a little while-"
Percy had started to flip over Artemis' book when it was suddenly in the hands of her best friend, who eyed it in complete curiosity and a spark of interest, to then place it gingerly on the nightstand.
"Annabeth-" Percy started.
"C'mon, Seaweed Brain. I'll be with you..." The blonde demigoddess intertwined their fingers together, smiling kindly at her best friend. "We'll be together."
She could have promised that it would be better, that nothing was going to happen that night. But she didn't. What she said instead was way better. After everything they went through, it was easy to believe they could face anything if they just stayed by each other's side.
Anything.
So Percy joined her on the small bed.
Both of them were fighting their own demons and trying to survive what was life after Tartarus, yet together they fell asleep, holding into each other as tightly as they had that fateful day of their fall.
And for both of them, it was, probably, the first night in months where they could sleep peacefully.
No dreams, no visions, no memories of a cold, harsh and dangerous place filled with monsters and enemies.
Nothing at all, just blissful darkness.
...
Percy knew that there was meant to be some kind of comradeship between her mother and her best friend. They were the ones to look for her nonstop when she disappeared, but not even in her wildest dreams did she imagine just how close had Annabeth and Sally became.
When she woke up, Annabeth was gone. Fear filled her senses, and she had almost jumped down the stairs, fearing the worst. But what she found wasn't remotely scary, it was actually very sweet and nice.
Sally was making breakfast side by side with her, both of them laughing softly about something as Paul watched them with a fond smile by the table, a newspaper on his hands.
"Good morning, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth called without turning. "Take a seat and close your mouth, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
Percy closed her mouth, realizing she had been staring at them. Swallowing down her embarrassment, she moved forwards and took a seat across from Paul in the small table, who winked at her.
"How?" Was the only thing Percy asked.
"Nine months, Percy," Paul reminded her gently. "Lots of things happened, things you're yet to know."
"I can see that."
In a matter of a few minutes, Sally and Annabeth joined them on the table, the blonde demigoddess helping Percy's mom to serve the four of them breakfast.
"Don't look so surprised, Percy," Annabeth said pleasantly, eyes shimmering as she took a seat at her side. She was pale and still in her pajamas, her messy blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail, but Percy thought she looked like the perfect daughter. "I'm not just a bratty guest here, I'll help as much as I can."
"You're making me look bad, I never help with breakfast," Percy mumbled.
"Maybe it's time you start helping around." Sally called from her spot in front of Paul. "Pancakes?"
"Yes, please. Thanks."
"When did you wake up?" Percy asked quietly, taking a small bite of her blue pancake. "You scared me. I woke up and you weren't there. Not even Mrs. O'Leary was there, I thought..." She hesitated, feeling embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," Annabeth said sincerely. "You looked so peaceful sleeping that I didn't want to bother you. I took Mrs. O'Leary outside because she wanted to poop, and Sally would probably kill you if Mrs. O'Leary did it inside the house. You know how...um, vast can hell-hound's drippings be."
Percy held back a few giggles. "I know, the image of Travis submerged in her shit is still implanted in my memory-" Her friend snorted, clearly remembering that incident.
After a small second, her lips curled into a small smirk. "You can say he truly was full of shit."
This time Percy wasn't able to hold back her giggles. Her parents shared a look and smiled down at their plates, rejoicing in the image of their daughter laughing again after so many weeks of seriousness and forced smiles.
They had a nice morning. Paul was staying home with Sally that day, helping her find inspiration for her novel, and had therefore agreed to let his step-daughter borrow his car. After a long speech from Sally begging them both to be careful, she seemed happy to know that her daughter was going out of the house.
"She never goes out," Sally told Annabeth in exasperation. "Over the last weeks she's only been out for school, the carnival where Damon invited her, and yesterday for a social event-"
"Damon?" The blonde demigoddess locked eyes with her friend for a brief moment, asking her with her eyes. At the small nod she received, she scowled. "Well Sally, I'll assure you that these three days I'll be here I'll make sure Percy goes out and enjoys herself more."
"Mm, Wise Girl, you're the only entertaining thing my life has. Can you blame me for not going out?"
"I won't blame you for something you can't control, like drooling-" Annabeth grimaced. "Which by the way, you drooled all over me last night."
"That's how I show my love," Percy defended herself, trying to fight the blush that was about to appear on her cheeks.
Annabeth's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she retorted easily, "Did you do that to Apollo too or is it only me you drool all over?"
It was impossible not to notice how Percy's parents tensed immediately at that, looking sour and sharing a grimace, both of them thinking that she was going to shut herself at the mention of the god. But Percy seemed not to notice, or not to care about it, because she looked at her friend and smirked.
"There wasn't much sleeping when we were together, if you know what I mean."
Paul choked on his coffee and groaned loudly. "Percy-"
"What?" Said demigoddess gave him the most innocent look she could muster, all while ignoring the small giggles the daughter of Athena was trying to hide by stuffing her mouth with food.
Sally shook her head at Paul, silently telling him to ignore it. "It's not like we didn't knew they were having sex, Paul. It's nothing."
Annabeth looked at her friend while guiding the last piece of her waffles to her mouth, but the other girl was paying more attention to her small mountain of blue pancakes than to her parents, a frown on her face.
"...Your mom is pretty cool about this stuff, isn't she?"
Percy looked at her out of the corner of her eyes, stabbing her pancake with her fork rather rudely and shoving a big mouthful into her mouth. "She got pregnant with me when she was in college, Wise Girl. And to a god nonetheless. Of course she's pretty cool about this stuff."
Sally looked in her general direction, her whole body screaming disapproval. "Percy, I can hear you perfectly well."
"I know. That's why I said it."
Sally narrowed her eyes, "Persephone-"
Paul looked between them, wanting to avoid a fight. They almost never discussed, but he didn't want them to in that moment, not when they had a guest in the house. So he opened his mouth and said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Annabeth, did you hear there's going to be a masquerade ball? I was hoping that since you're here now Percy would want to go with us."
The blonde demigoddess looked startled, but nodded quickly. "Yes, of course. That sounds lovely, Mr. Blofis. But I think we should go upstairs to get ready for our day. Percy, c'mon."
Percy moved her half-eaten mountain of pancakes away from her, and stood from the table too, sea-green eyes set firmly on her mother's sky blue ones.
"Watch your tone, Persephone. Mind your manners, and don't look at me like that."
There was a tapping sound echoing the whole house, making them all stop and glance around, frowning. When the older woman looked back at her daughter, the sound seemed to get louder and louder again, and then the sink exploded.
"What!"
Paul and Sally jumped from their chairs and ran towards the kitchen, trying to appease the long stream of water that was now flooding the floors. The demigoddess jumped up, ready to help, but her mother snapped at her, "Go upstairs! Go! Go! Now."
"It was not my fault!" Percy said indignantly, trying to move forwards but finding that her stepfather was blocking her way. "Let me help-"
"Go to your room!" Sally boomed at the same time that Paul yelled a "Percy, get away, the water is reacting to your presence!"
As if on cue, both adults in the room seemed to get soaked impossibly fast, a wave of water hitting them straight in the face and throwing Paul into the floor.
Percy moved forwards, set on controlling the water and helping them, but found a hand pulling her back from all that mess. Without muttering another word, Annabeth dragged her away from there, keeping her grip firm and steady.
"Wise Girl-"
"Not now, Percy," Annabeth sounded distressed. "Let's go upstairs."
Annabeth kept staring at her off the corner of her eyes, and it was annoying Percy to the extent that she couldn't stand it anymore, and turned to face her at the edge of the stairs."What? Annabeth. What?"
"What was that?" Annabeth demanded. "Percy you made the sink explode."
"It wasn't my fault," But the lie left a sour taste on her mouth, and she had to swallow thickly, trying to drown that uneasy feeling.
Percy turned away from her abruptly, walking swiftly towards her room. Annabeth followed her, walking just as quick as her, and closed the door behind their back. For a long moment, Percy did nothing but look around her drawers for the clothes she was going to wear, but her hands were trembling.
"Percy. Look at me."
She didn't.
"Let's just get out of here already," Percy breathed. "I need fresh air."
But outside, the fresh air did nothing to appease her nerves, because all she could smell was the familiar yet unwelcome stench of human monsters. Her best friend was so startled by the smell that she actually froze at the porch, then turned back to stare at the Salvatore's house.
"How the fuck can you stand this?" Annabeth swore loudly, her nose crunched with disgust.
"I'm barely keeping myself from throwing up, Wise Girl. And watch your language."
Annabeth flipped her off. "Fuck off, this smells like putrefaction and...ugh. This is worse than Mrs. O'Leary's shit."
"Obviously, my dog's shit is way better than some corpses walking around sucking blood," Percy said impulsively, to then close her eyes and groan. "I can't believe I just said that."
Her friend offered her a shrug, before both of them moved towards the garage. Both entered Paul's car and as Percy ignited the car and turned the radio on, Annabeth had her eyes glued to the silhouette of the Salvatore's house.
"The stench comes from there."
"Really? I never noticed." Percy gave her friend the most sarcastic look she could come out with, and they drove away, leaving behind both houses. "That's the Salvatore's house, a.k.a the vamp nest; that's why it smells so bad."
"Have you ever been inside?"
"Do I look like I have a death wish? Or rather, do I look like I want to murder them?" She paused a little, and then grimaced. "...don't answer neither of those questions."
Her friend snorted.
A comfortable silence covered them, but it didn't last much. They started talking- not about problems- but about silly old memories of their years in Camp Half-Blood, and of their plans for when they would move to New Rome together. They talked of their friends too, and Percy discovered Piper had been writing to Annabeth almost nonstop.
(To which she obviously said, "Should I be worried you're becoming her best friend now? Are you going to change me for her, Wise Girl? Oh my gods, is it because she's prettier than me? Annabeth!")
("Don't be stupid, Seaweed Brain." Was the answer she received along with an eye-roll and an amused smirk.)
Percy asked her if she had heard of Frank and Hazel, to which Annabeth replied that she had not, but that Reyna had called her and told her that Camp Jupiter was running smoothly.
("Oh. So even Reyna calls you but no one calls me? I'm offended.")
("You're not offended, you're just jealous.")
In the end, they talked about almost anything that had happened in the small- yet torturous- amount of time they hadn't seen each other. It was everything and nothing at the same time.
They had just crossed a rusty part of town when Percy stiffened suddenly, her hands on the steering wheel squeezing hard before relaxing abruptly. Her whole body seemed to give one long, content sigh, and then she smiled the biggest and whitest smile Annabeth had ever seen.
"I found it," Percy breathed.
Her young and pretty face had been, as always, stuck on that look that was the perfect mix between a bitch-face and a scowl, but suddenly it was all light and smiles.
"Where?"
"Not too long ahead of us, hang on-"
And as the daughter of Poseidon said, just ahead of them, in the distance, Annabeth was able to see tiny speaks of gold and the clearest blue crashing together. The air was salty now, even them inside the car could smell it, and everything seemed to change in Percy.
She was out of the car before the other demigoddess could say anything at all, which made her laugh.
"Wait, Seaweed Brain!"
The daughter of Athena followed her best friend out of the car and walked alongside her until they reached the fine line between sand and sea. The place was deserted but beautiful, a little hidden from the rest of the town. The water looked clean and clear, the sand had no trash anywhere.
"This place is beautiful," Annabeth admired, still looking around. "And it's empty, which is a plus."
Percy still hadn't said anything, which made her turn to look at her. She had closed her eyes, arms open as if to hug the air around her, the soft breeze tousling her curly hair. Another sigh left her mouth, and then she let herself fall to the water, almost gracefully, her body not making any sound as the waves seemed to become her.
The blonde demigoddess chuckled softly before taking her shoes off, and siting cross legged on the sand, patiently waiting for Percy to emerge out of the water while she enjoyed as the sun gently caressed her already lightly-tanned complexion, her toes splashing the small waves that crashed quietly with the sand.
"Have I told you you look like a diamond with the sun shining so brightly over your golden hair?"
Percy had emerged from the deep sea, a look of pure relaxation on her face, her words lazy and sluggish. She moved so she was floating above the surface, the once savage waves changing so they were as calm as the girl floating in them, and Annabeth saw her close her eyes and enjoy the sun too.
"You've mentioned it before, yes," Annabeth allowed herself a small smile. "Is the water any good?"
Her reply was another happy sigh. "I feel like my soul is healing. No, don't look at me like that, I'm serious. It's ridiculous, but I just feel so calm here, like...I think the water is healing me. Not the brokenness inside of me, but the little things- like those moments when you feel awful but something little happens and it's like remembering all that's good and nice in the world? Something like that."
"You're rambling," The blonde demigoddess smiled, but nodded slowly. "I know what you're trying to explain, it's a very nice feeling."
"That's how I feel right now."
They were in comfortable silence, the blonde demigoddess resting against the sand as her best friend stayed swimming and floating in the water. After a couple of minutes, the silence was broken when a couple of kids ran past them, laughing and splashing around in delight. Behind them, a couple of adults sighed and followed them to the other side of the beach.
Being broken out of their comfortable zone, the blonde demigoddess frowned a little before raising into a sitting position. Her friend seemed unfazed by the sudden laughter and squeals in the once silent beach. She was contently floating around, occasionally submerging herself and coming out a couple of minutes later.
"Last time I saw Jason, he was talking of holding an Argo II reunion monthly," Annabeth told her best friend as soon as she remembered. "With all of us; him, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Nico, Reyna, you and me."
"And Will," Percy muttered distractedly, her lips moving upwards. "Nico's got a doctor's note for mood disorders."
"Excuse me? Mood disorders?"
She waved her hand. "Long story, Nico was telling me about it a while ago. Said he'd started to develop horrible tendencies when alone, so his doctor- which is conveniently Will Solace- made him a note. He's supposed to stay with someone in the dinning pavilion and other places where he used to sit alone, or horrible, strange things start to happen."
The blonde demigoddess laughed. "Horrible things?"
"Cracks open in the floor, Zombies crawl out and start roaming around..." Percy listed, grinning as she remembered the unashamed smile the son of Hades had given her while telling her about that. Nico di Angelo had actually smiled! Percy was so happy about that.
"He's misusing his powers to get what he wants," Annabeth announced, eyes shining.
"Obviously." Percy sniggered. "I can't believe Chiron brought it, though."
"He's got a doctors note, Chiron's gotta believe that."
"So, when's this reunion?" Percy asked curiously. "Have you guys decided a date already?"
"They're yet to decide the date, but I'm sure they'll call to tell us."
They talked a little while about that, wondering what they could do in that monthly reunions they planned. Probably talk a lot about what they're doing now that the war is over and they're back to their respective camps. Percy was dying to know how Frank and Hazel were, but never found enough time to call them.
"Just do it," Annabeth smiled. "I'm sure they'll be more than happy to hear from you."
"Yeah, but he's Praetor now. That's a busy job, believe me, I was one too-"
"For, like, five minutes," Annabeth rolled her eyes. "They literally saw you for the first time and proclaimed you Praetor."
Percy looked amused. "I had to defeat Polybotes to show how worthy I was, Wise Girl. They decided I was a good replacement for Jason after only knowing me for five days. That's how awesome I am."
"And very modest too," Annabeth teased her. "You were Praetor for only a day, Seaweed Brain. Don't act so important."
"Ah, details," Percy grimaced.
From that they moved to the topic of Leo Valdez. Both wondered where could he be, the notice of him being alive only appeasing them a little since that meant nothing. Not until he managed to find his way back to them, until then, it was pointless to try and look for him.
He was probably too far away for them to find him.
The blonde demigoddess grimaced a little after a while, "Have you heard of Poseidon lately?"
Percy faltered, her eyebrows forming a small scowl. "No." She sounded wounded, which made her friend grimace in sympathy. She hadn't heard from Athena either.
They stayed in silence for a little while, Percy looking down at the water before scoffing a little. It seemed so surreal that she hadn't heard from Poseidon in months and then there she was, in his domain, happily swimming around. She knew he could feel her there, it was obvious.
But he still hadn't made any kind of signal to acknowledge her presence.
Not after the war, not even after the small party they made to congratulate the demigods for their "success".
Before her friend could submerge herself and get lost underwater for another couple of minutes, Annabeth decided to address what had been stuck on her mind for hours.
"Percy, what happened this morning? Why did you made the sink explode?"
The raven-haired demigoddess forced herself to blink back to reality, finding that her eyes hurt after staring too much at the blue-white, cloudless sky.
She showed hesitation, looking, for the first time in a couple of minutes, completely uncomfortable. Annabeth knew instantly that her friend would probably close herself and never admit what made her lose control in the way she did.
But for her surprise, she actually sighed and muttered quietly, "I'm just so angry."
It was so quiet that she almost couldn't hear her. "About what?"
Percy shrugged, her eyes holding a troubled edge and her voice filled with an emotion her friend couldn't quite place just yet, and said, "Everything." Something about her expression must've been downright anxious, because her friend looked away after a moment, unable to stare at her for much longer.
"I understand," Annabeth assured her quickly, still not looking at her.
Percy closed her eyes and shook her head imperceptibly.
The daughter of Athena could comprehend where the anger was coming from, and why. But she could never understand, because she wasn't going through what she was; she wasn't feeling what Percy was. In that moment, those were only empty words.
"You freaked out yesterday because the werewolf somehow knows you're a demigoddess, right?"
Percy felt the faintest twitch of annoyance, because she had decided not to speak of anything monster-related that evening.
"Yeah. Why?"
There was a long pause. Percy observed her best friend, trying to understand what she could possibly be thinking about. Her eyebrows were forming a scowl as her grey eyes hardened; she almost looked capable of murdering anything that would ever dare to approach her.
"What is it, Annabeth?" She insisted, knowing that look better than the palm of her own hand. It usually meant trouble. "You've got that I'm-planning-something look on your face right now."
"I don't have an I'm-planning-something look."
Fighting the urge to smile at the familiar conversation, Percy smirked. "You totally do. Your eyebrows knit together and your lips press together and-"
Annabeth looked up and locked eyes with her. "Do you want to do something reckless?"
Percy watched her curiously and a little cautiously, her amusement being replaced by curiosity, "What do you have in mind, Wise Girl?"
"Want to go werewolf-hunting?"
Maybe Percy was wrong, there was someone more reckless and impulsive than her; Annabeth Chase.
She was so shocked that she actually lost her balance and found herself submerged in water. She came out a second later, looking embarrassed and confused.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"Listen, Percy. I know you didn't attack him because you're scared of facing yourself-" Annabeth's glare stopped Percy from trying to defend herself. "And you're scared of doing what you did in Tartarus-"
"You were scared of me," Percy breathed, the waves around her crashing almost savagely against the shore in the distance. "How can I not be scared of becoming the monster my best friend, the person I truly care the most about in this goddamn world, was so scared of?"
The blonde seventeen-years old girl seemed to soften a little, an unknown emotion crossing her face and making Percy swallow uncomfortably. For her surprise, Annabeth actually stood from the sand and walked forwards, entering the water and swimming until she was grabbing Percy's shoulders and facing her completely.
"Percy, I was terrified when you did...what you did to Misery, but not because of you-"
The raven-haired demigoddess scoffed quietly, trying to pry herself of her best friend's hands, hard as steel, on her shoulders. "I know what I saw and heard, Annabeth. You were scared of me, completely terrified."
"Percy..." Annabeth looked pained, "Please don't make me talk about that."
For the first time in months, she managed to notice how uncomfortable and vulnerable her friend looked. Just like her, Percy realized with a start. Powerful, scary, strong Annabeth Chase was suffering too because of Tartarus.
How had she ignored the obvious signs?
"I-I'm sorry," Percy managed to say. "I'm sorry, Annabeth."
But I'm sorry couldn't convey how sorry she really was.
Her friend closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember what she had been saying before the flashbacks about Tartarus and her best friend almost murdering a minor-deity invaded her. Something about the wolves...
"I know your reasons to back down from that fight, and it's okay. I understand. But I'm here now, we're together. If you don't want to face him, I'll face him for you. But you can't, under any circumstances, let anyone else find out you're a demigoddess."
"Oh, shit. I was planning on telling everyone what I am. Silly me."
Percy was so used to the exasperated look she received that she almost smiled. It was nice now even after so much changed, she could still annoy Annabeth.
"Seaweed Brain, we are only fifty percent goddesses. That's fifty percent vulnerability from the part of us that is human and-"
"But what about the human body being around seventy-something percent water, and since I'm Poseidon's daughter that would mean I'm more like a hundred percent water and-"
"Percy, there is no special way of killing a demigod and you know it," Annabeth gave her a sharp look, looking as though she didn't think it was time for jokes. "They think they have to find a special weapon, something powerful enough to kill you. But you can literally die if you fall off the stairs and hit your head the wrong way."
Tricky thing about demigods, they could be killed by both magical and normal stuff. Worst thing about being only a half-divine being.
"I know that," The raven-haired demigoddess said, "Do you really think I don't know that? I'm using that as my advantage against them. They're not even close to knowing what I am, and it's a relief, honestly. I'd be forced to act if they knew. Damon claims he wouldn't kill me, says he likes me, but I find that hard to believe."
"Well then," The blonde demigoddess raised an eyebrow at her. "Let's kill that mortal monster before he goes around telling everyone your secret."
"I feel like a dumb teenager trying to keep the mean girls from reading my diary," Percy said.
"You're both dumb and a teenager, so I think you're entitled to feel like that."
Annabeth started dragging her away from the water, making Percy groan and try to melt into the water, which she could technically do. But her friend's grip was too tight, and she was forced out of the water and dragged away into the sand and beyond.
"Hey, this was supposed to be our nice, relaxed day!"
"We'll have a nice, relaxed day some other time." Percy wanted to remind her that they always said that but it never happened, but Annabeth ignored her, "C'mon, I'm itching to know how a mortal werewolf looks like. And besides, we've got two more days together. I'm so pumped about that Masquerade Paul mentioned. We should go."
"I don't like Masquerade parties."
"Yes, you do. You loved it in Paris-" She stopped herself, looking almost pained by her accidental slip up. Her eyes shot to the side to meet her friend's, but as usual, Percy was being exceptionally good at hiding what she was feeling.
"It was different back there."
"I know."
Wisdom's daughter swallowed thickly. Their trip to Paris had been the last good memory they had before the second war started. It was before Percy's disappearance, before they knew Roman demigods were a thing, before the problems started...before they fell into Tartarus.
Before old friends died trying to defeat Gaea.
Percy was trailing besides her now, no longer being dragged, simply following her while intertwining their arms. The green-eyed demigoddess was leaning against her as if for support, all the relaxation and happiness she'd felt while in the water being long gone by then.
"I miss him."
She hadn't meant to admit that, not really. It had slipped almost unconsciously, the once comforting sun feeling almost harsh on her back now, burning her in a way it never had before. The words left a sour taste on her mouth, because even as her attitude showed it, she had never said it out loud before.
Saying it only made it seem more real.
"I know."
Another long pause, and they approached the car. Before entering, the raven-haired demigoddess stopped and sighed deeply. She tried to concentrate on the salty air around them, on the comforting smell and the sound of water clashing against the shore.
"I'm tired of everyone looking at me like they expect me to blow up."
Annabeth blinked, one eyebrow raising as she crossed her arms and observed her, urging her to continue.
"I know I'm unstable and I know I probably look uncomfortable, but they have to stop looking at me like I'm going to blow up at the sole mention of Apollo."
"To be fair, you look like a kicked puppy when someone mentions him. So we thought we'd ought to be more careful around you."
"A kicked puppy? Really?" Percy rolled her eyes inwardly. "I think that, considering the circumstances, I have all the right in the world to look like 'a kicked puppy' over my first breakup. And instead of helping, to see you guys do that only brings me more pain and leaves me more uncomfortable."
"I know, I won't apologize because that wouldn't really do anything, but I can promise you I won't do it again."
"...Thank you," Percy nodded.
They entered the car simultaneously, and Percy started driving away. After asking her friend where they could start looking for Mason Lockwood, she set out in the direction of her house, where they would collect Mrs. O'Leary and bring her with them so she could sniff him out.
"Have you talked with your parents about what bothers you?"
"You're going to have to be more specific, Wise Girl. Everything bothers me lately."
"Apollo," Annabeth said bluntly. "Have you told them, as you told me, how much it bothers you when we try to make it seem as if you two never were together?"
Percy stiffened. "Not really. They don't understand. Mom tries to compare my relationship with Apollo to the affair she had with dad." She felt her friend wince, and she chuckled humorlessly. "Exactly."
"...Maybe she thinks it's a similar situation, have you thought about that?"
She had, a lot. There was some similitude, she couldn't deny that. But it was something completely different. Sally and Poseidon had known since the very beginning what kind of relationship they were going to have, he was a married man after all.
Percy and Apollo hadn't meant to fall for each other. They started off as allies, both of them wanting to rescue Artemis and Annabeth back when she was thirteen and they were kidnapped. Then he was amused with her, of how reckless she was.
He said she was interesting, that it had been centuries since he'd seen an interesting demigod. She was unpredictable, impulsive and rule-averse, qualities he dearly admired.
She thought he was fun, one of the few gods that were easygoing and almost normal. Kind of annoying and too cool for her liking, but he was actually nice.
Then his amusement changed to admiration as her powers developed, her interest deepening as he showed the first glimpse of who he really was.
The young demigoddess, fourteen at most, had been walking back home from Goode when she'd seen a red Maserati gleaming in the distance, just ahead of her in the street. No one seemed to notice it, but she did. He'd gotten out of the car unnoticed by everyone, and stopped dead on his tracks at the sight of her.
"Persephone Jackson?" He'd sounded surprised, before a small smile appeared on his lips.
It looked forced, out of place on that uncharacteristically sour-looking god, and the young demigoddess noticed.
She tried to bow a little before him, thinking that she'd ought to show him some respect since he looked so sour, but he'd waved her away instantly, muttering a quiet, "Don't do that, it's fine."
"Lord Apollo," She greeted quietly, inwardly sighing as she thought he was probably there with a mission for her. "What can I help you with?"
He had looked startled, she could remember thinking how strange it was to see a god looking unfocused and utterly confused, more when it was him, who was always always cheery and seemed to ooze confidence and security. Then realization had shone on his face, and he'd shook his head a little.
"I'm not here to pester you today, sweetheart. I don't need your help with anything, I was just passing by..." He'd looked distracted, to then blink a little, eyes locking into hers curiously. "Unless you'd like to keep me company?"
She'd thought of refusing, of simply declining politely and walking home, homework awaited her after all. But she found herself tempted by the offer. Why could a god possibly want to have company if it wasn't for a mission? So impulsively, she'd said the first thing that came to her mouth, "Okay, sure."
In the end, she'd found out he was in the city because an ex-lover had died with a child. His child. She remembered the doubts consuming her after an encounter/ fight with Luke and hearing him say how 'gods never cared for anyone else', but in that moment, when Apollo- a god- had been so lonely and miserable that he had let a small teenager, a demigoddess no less, see him grieving in a funeral...
That said a lot about gods actually caring for mortals.
Maybe not all of them cared, but Apollo cared. That intrigued her enough, and soon that interest changed to admiration. He was a god, but he cared enough to go to a funeral, something mortal. And he'd grieved...
She'd started to think of him as more than just amusing and easygoing. He was complex.
His admiration for her grew, and then- sometime after he'd offered again to teach her how to drive the sun-chariot and she'd accepted- he started to see the younger girl as a friend.
She started to see him as a friend too, and they became closer.
He'd put his cool façade every time someone else was around, and he'd start making up excuses to see her, like "My ukulele got stolen, can you retrieve it?" and she'd been "forced" to snoop around his house, only to find it in very obvious places, which made them both laugh.
But with her he was always sincere. His façade falling away and showing who he really was underneath. Guilt-ridden, miserable, envious...lonely.
He'd admitted how worried he was for the war, and she'd admitted how much of a failure she was, saying how she never could stop Luke from gaining more power.
He taught her how to drive, tried to teach her how to shoot an arrow successfully (it ended badly for both of them), he tried to teach her how to play several instrument, calming that she had musicians hands; long fingers and whatnot.
For almost a year they had secret meet-ups and simply talked about their days, and if they were too stressed, they'd simply try and talk about anything else that wasn't war-related.
Then she had disappeared in the middle of a mission. Two weeks without knowing where she was or if she was even alive. Apollo felt so desperate he was about to tear down the whole mortal world looking for her, but he wasn't sure why he felt so bothered with her disappearance.
He tried to convince himself that it was normal for him to feel like that, she was his friend; his only mortal friend, of course he'd be worried!
But then he'd learned she'd been with Calypso, and a feeling ate at his stomach like never before, a feeling he refused to call jealousy.
"Did you fall in love with her?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
They were in Camp Half-Blood, by the canoe lake, watching the stars. He'd managed to disguise himself as a mere mortal and fool his father into thinking he was away flirting with a mortal man; he'd brought her two bags of her favorite blue candy, and had hugged her almost too tightly, muttering a "Do you have any idea how worried I was, Persephone? I thought you were...dead."
"Please, Apollo. You can't get rid of me that easily."
He'd sighed. "Thank the gods for that."
When he'd asked her if she loved Calypso, Percy wasn't surprised, which made his stomach sink lower and lower until he felt like choking. He still didn't knew why.
"I didn't."
"Every single hero that ends up in her island falls for her," Apollo had said, watching her reaction very closely. She still hadn't looked at him, she was looking down at her lap. "It's her curse. That's her curse. Percy..."
Percy looked up, piercing sea-green eyes staring directly at him, emotion shining there. He stopped breathing for a moment. "I couldn't stay with her. I had to leave, too much responsibility, the war, I couldn't...I couldn't let Nico be the kid of the prophecy, he doesn't deserve that."
"Are you..." Apollo stopped himself. But he was her friend, it was a completely platonic question. Friends asked each other about their crushes, right? "Are you in love with Nico di Angelo? Is that why you came back? Or was it...was it Annabeth? Are you in love with Annabeth?"
Percy had laughed, not at the questions, but at the way he'd looked. He found himself smiling too, her laugh being completely endearing and reassuring. "No, silly. I'm not in love with them."
"So who are you in love with, then?"
Percy's eyes twinkled as she looked at him. "You're my best friend, you're supposed to know that stuff. I'm kind of offended you haven't noticed."
"Is it that mortal girl you met?" Apollo breathed. "That girl Rachel?"
She'd simply laughed again, "C'mon, let's go to my cabin. I'm freezing out here."
At Percy's fifteen birthday, he took her out for dinner- friendly date, completely platonic- he'd assured both Sally and Poseidon, but he was actually reassuring himself too. Afterwards, they'd found themselves at the movies, it was a silly comedy one, and Apollo found himself more interested in the way she laughed, the way she would cringe her nose when she disliked something...
It was then, in the darkness of the movie theater, with no one looking at them, with Percy laughing at the silly movie, that Apollo realized that his feelings for her weren't that platonic anymore. He couldn't deny it any longer, not really.
His admiration had changed. It went deeper, that feeling. He was crushed with the painful realization that Percy would never, ever feel the same way towards him. She wouldn't get involved with a god, he was sure of that. So he sat back and accepted that it would probably be better to try and hide those feelings.
They were friends, and that's what mattered. She was comfortable with him, she liked him, she trusted him.
He couldn't risk losing all of that because he saw her differently than before...because he'd developed feelings for her. He felt like choking, and actually had to held back a sob. Of course he'd had the bad luck of falling for the only mortal that would never want to be with him.
Fucking Eros and Aphrodite...
It wasn't enough that he'd lost Hyacinth and Daphne for his flaws, he could now lose Percy too. The pain he felt while thinking that was unbearable, and he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, set on ignoring the warm feeling that rose to his chest when she took his hand as they walked back home.
It was normal, platonic. Friends walked with intertwined hands every time, he was sure she never knew how much it bothered him to join hands with her like that, how much he wanted that contact to be different for her too...
For Percy it started different.
Her amusement had changed into friendship too, but it stayed as friendship for a little longer than for him. She knew that she liked him, but never thought too much of it. People liked each other a lot, right? And there was nothing unusual about that.
Then he'd asked her and Grover a favor- she'd thought it was another one of his little schemes to spend time with her without them being judged, but in the end he'd really needed their help- finding his lost Celedon. Afterwards, he'd taken her- as a gift for her good work, he assured everyone- to the concert he'd been planning in Olympus.
It was then, when he glowered with pride at the applause his singers were getting, when he left himself laugh and hug her joyfully, raising her from the ground and twirling her around, not caring that anyone could see, that she realized her feelings had changed.
It wasn't friendly anymore, it was different. Very, very different.
She couldn't really explain it, it just felt so intense, like her chest was being squeezed by invisible hands and her heart was about to explode, but in a good way.
"Apollo?" Percy had asked shyly as they walked away from the after-party. He had been happy to show her around Olympus, enjoying how she looked speechless over certain beautiful places.
"Hmm?"
"A while ago you asked me who I was in love with," She noticed how he tensed almost imperceptibly, then relaxed against an oak three at their side in the gardens. "I didn't answer because I wasn't in love with anyone in that moment. But I thought- it's a friendly question, of course- that I should ask too."
He was barely breathing by then, his eyes widening. "What?"
"You're my best friend," Percy shrugged a little. "It's my duty, too, as your best friend to know that kind of stuff..." She paused a little. "Though I admit it would be freaky to know all the horny details. I'm a teenager, but I really don't want to know that about you."
Greek mythology was really messed up in that aspect.
He actually laughed at that, relaxing a little. "I wouldn't tell you any horny detail anytime sooner, sweetheart. You're too young."
That had stung a little. Too young. Swallowing the uncomfortable feeling on her throat, Percy forced herself to smile. "So?"
The way he looked at her was different, almost fondly, but there was something else she couldn't quite decipher yet. Was it pain? No, It couldn't be.
"I haven't been in love in centuries, Percy," His voice was soft, tired. He lacked his usual arrogance and security, which made the demigoddess know he was telling her the truth. He looked down at the grass, and picked up a flower for her.
"I'm sorry," She said sincerely, and that was another reason why he was so in love with her. She accepted the flowed he offered her, a hyacinth, and smiled at him. "Thank you."
He chuckled a little, and used one arm to hug Percy to his side. "It's fine, love isn't everything. There are more important things in the world, like friendship and family," He kissed her forehead unconsciously, which made both of them turn scarlet though both tried to hide it.
"We should go back to the party," Percy cleared her throat, the space where his lips had touched her forehead was burning.
He nodded. "C'mon, sweetheart. I'll tell you all about my fantastically tragic love life some other time. Let's enjoy this party now, yes?"
"Will you take me home after this is over?"
He gave her an affronted look. "I'm a gentleman, Percy. I wouldn't leave you hanging around alone in the city even if Zeus forced me to. Which I really hope he doesn't. Of course I'll get you home safe and sound."
She beamed at him. "I know you will."
"Your faith in me is heartwarming, my dear. Now come, I want to introduce you to someone..."
It had taken them a while to actually get together as a couple. In the end, not mattering from which side they looked at it, her parents relationship was nothing alike hers and Apollo's.
"Perhaps," She said to Annabeth at last. And that was all she said of the matter.
"You should talk to them," Annabeth said softly, not bothered by the long time her friend was silent, clearly lost in thoughts. "Not only about that, about everything. You should come clean to then. They could help you feel better."
"They have better things to do than worry about my well-being," The raven haired demigoddess shook her head. Her mother was working on her novel, her stepfather busy with school... "We're almost here. Do you have a plan already?"
"Obviously," The blonde demigoddess couldn't help the smugness that got laced in her voice. "We just need Mrs. O'Leary's to sniff him out and then-" She waved her Yankees Cap in Percy's direction. "Well, he won't know what hit him."
"He literally won't know," Percy tried to smile, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to end terribly wrong.
"I'll tell you the rest later," Annabeth promised. "I don't want anyone to hear us- you did say they had good hearing, right?"
"That's what the book says," Percy shrugged. She thought it was going to end terribly wrong, but her friend seemed to be very confident that it would be alright. And after all, Annabeth was always better at planning stuff than she was. She was- almost- always right.
Almost.
"Promise me something," Percy said before she could stop herself. "You said you weren't scared of me in Tartarus. But you were scared. When all this is over, will you tell me what you meant by that?"
Annabeth looked distressed, but ended nodding. "I think I owe you an explanation, don't I? Yes, I'll tell you what I meant by that. I promise."
A little more relaxed, Percy nodded. "We're here. Let's get Mrs. O'Leary before mom sees us and asks what we're doing."
"Hurry," Annabeth nodded.