Chapter 11: Less Blue More Green

Encounters

AN:

Annabeth

"Anna?" My eyes snapped up and away from my calculus work and met Jason's electrifying blue ones. There was a moment where nothing was said, and I just gaped up at him, wondering if maybe I was imagining that he was willingly coming up to me and starting a conversation. Realizing that I was gaping slightly, I closed my mouth quickly and cleared my throat.

"Yep, that's my name, last time I checked." I replied coolly, scribbling the date down on the side of my class work. Jason's light chuckle filled my ears and I forced myself to keep writing. Calculus was the only class I had with Jason now, so not only was it the hardest because the course material was unbearably difficult, but it was also hell because of the distraction of him every single day. Recently though, I found it easier to stop myself from being distracted by his presence. I let out a breath and started on the first problem. I stopped as soon as Jason sat down in the seat next to me. Finally, after me breathing, and warning myself to not freak out, I set my pencil down and looked up at him.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, you can actually." He replied with a brief smile, his eyebrows drawing together slightly as he glanced down at his paper.

"Alright, what with?"

"So, there's two things. First, I'm having some trouble with this calculus problem." He slid the paper over to me and I stared down at it. Of course he'd only come talk to me about work. He wanted me for the grade. I nodded curtly and slid it back to him.

"So we're trying to find the limits for these problems, does that make sense?"

"Yeah. So on this problem, would the limit be undefined because the denominator is zero?"

"Well…It depends, really. If the denominator is a zero, and the top is a whole number, the limit is undefined. But if the numerator is a zero, that's a different story, and you have to go and work out more steps. So for this problem, figure out the denominator and numerators first, and then we'll see if you need to keep going or if the limit is undefined." And with that, I turned back to my own work and avoided his gaze. We worked silently for a few minutes, and all that could be heard was the scribbling of our pencils on the paper. After some time, he turned to me and slid the paper over. I peered down at it carefully and corrected the few mistakes he'd left on his work, then slid it back and pushed my hair out of my face.

"It looks okay, from what I can see." I said after he still hadn't moved from the spot minutes later. He cleared his throat and I met his eyes again.

"Right. Thanks. So, um, now to the other thing." I set my pencil down, knowing this was gonna be something rich. "I, um, need help."

"Yes, I can tell that much." I replied sarcastically, and when he didn't crack a smile mine fell. "Okay, what is it?"

"I… I have a problem with my pipes." And by the way he said pipes I could tell that Pipes actually meant Piper, and he was about to confess the thing I'd been suspecting for months on end. I nodded quietly to signal him to continue. "I've always been really fond of my house pipes, ever since middle school after the incident. But the thing is, I've had a really good… um, associations with my pipes in recent months. I've started growing closer to my pipes, if that makes sense. But my pipes think that I'm just going to replace them with some other ones, and there's a lot of complications with the feud, but I want me and my pipes to be a thing. An official thing. But I think my pipes don't really believe that I want that. And I don't know how this could ever work with the feud. Is this making any sense?" He said the entire thing in a rushed whisper, trying to prevent anyone from listening in.

I covered my face with my hands and let out a small breath. So in an interpreted version, Jason liked Piper, they'd been seeing each other for the past couple months in secret, and now he really wanted it to be official but Piper didn't really believe that he truly wanted to be with him.

You'd think I'd be really frustrated and upset about the fact that the guy I liked had been with one of my best friends for months without anyone knowing, but really, it upset me more how complicated the situation seemed to be. There was no way that they could have an official relationship like Jason wanted without risk of tipping off one of the teams. Someone would notice that something was up.

Knowing that he was with Piper didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, mainly because I suspected he liked her anyway, and it just confirmed that there were no feelings for me. In a way, I was almost glad that now I knew his feelings weren't returned because I wasn't as paranoid. And somehow, deep inside me, I had a sensation that I really didn't even care that he didn't like me. I was over it, I'd been chasing the guy for who knows how long, this just gave me an even better reason to move on. So I looked up quietly after some time and met his eyes. The guy looked so desperate for help that I actually pitied him.

"Why are you even telling me this?" I asked curiously, turning back to my calculus work in an attempt to clear my head.

"You know about pipes more than anyone."

"But I'm also a head cheerleader, Jason. I'm supposed to turn this stuff in to the captain." He quirked an eyebrow at me and took the pencil from my hands.

"I know you're a head. But I also know that you don't agree with the rules about the feud. You follow them, but you don't agree with them. You wouldn't turn anyone in. And you don't have a captain at the moment, there's no one to turn us in to. Besides, I wouldn't be coming to you about something like this, something this risky, if it didn't matter to me as much as it does." I considered his words for a moment and then snatched my pencil back from him.

"Well you're wrong about one thing. We do have a captain. It's the pipes." I said quietly, pretending to be working on the next problem.

Yes it was true, Miss Piper Mclean had finally scored the captain position she always wanted. Drew, unfortunately, was still in a position of power solely because she was good at what we did. She was now assistant captain. Still, Piper had more control over Drew, and I expected nothing from the best from her. I had high hopes that she'd mold our team into an even better one. As soon as I shed this new information, Jason's eyes lit up and he suppressed a smile.

"I didn't know that, that's so great. But that just helps our situation even more. With Piper being captain, we can change the rule. We can stop the feud." I shook my head and dropped my voice to the quietest whisper I could manage.

"It doesn't work like that, Jason. Drew is still assistant. If Piper tries to change the rule, there's no guarantee that everyone will agree with her. There are a lot of cheerleaders. Some of them agree with the rule, some don't. If she tries to do that, and enough people disagree with her, she could be impeached as captain, which would mean that Drew would be captain again, and she would surely get Piper kicked off the team." I explained quickly, truly feeling sorry about the situation he was in. It seemed like everywhere he turned, he was at a dead end.

"What do I do then?" And the question sounded so defeated that my heart cracked on the inside. Despite him not liking him, Jason had always been good to me. He was always so nice, and caring, and I just wanted him to be happy.

"Look. You're kind of in a tough situation right now. I suggest you go and talk to your pipes, and tell them how you really feel. Make it sincere. As for the officialness of everything, I'd advise you and your pipes to stay on the down low until you can figure something out. And I swear to god, if you break the pipes, I'll break you. I'm fond of the pipes as well." I finished off as the bell rung loudly above us. I gathered my things and started shoving them in my bag as quickly as I could manage.

"Okay. Thank you, Annabeth. And I know this is gonna seem a bit random, but give Malcolm a chance. Trust me, I'm the last person who wants to do that, your brother's not really on my buddy buddy list, but hear him out, okay?" And then he turned and walked out of the classroom without another word, leaving me to wonder what everyone else knew that I didn't.

"Okay, I think that's it." I told Percy as I finished typing the last sentence for our English mythology project. I spun my chair to look at him and smirked as I found him looking through one of the fashion magazines Piper had left behind the last time she was over with a bored expression on his face. As soon as his eyes met mine, he threw the magazine to the side and scratched the back of his neck.

"Aw, Jackson, you like fashion? How come you never told me?"

"I was just bored, there was nothing to read." He explained quickly, and I laughed behind my hand.

"Uh huh."

"I mean, I do have an impeccable fashion sense though." He sprung up and opened my closet, grabbing one of the few dresses I owned and holding it up in front of him. "What do you think?"

"Oh, that'd work wonders with your skin tone." I assured, getting up and inspecting him closely. "Oh, you know what would go great with this dress? A necklace." And so I walked over to my drawers and pulled out a stoney necklace, then walked back to him and handed him the necklace. He looked down at it with a confused look.

"Uh. How do I put this on?" I gave him a look and dropped my head in a disappointed manner.

"You fool. How are you supposed to be a fashionista if you can't even put a necklace on?" I asked as I snaked the necklace around his neck and worked on the latch. I paused as my fingers ran across the hair on the back of his neck, and suddenly I felt cold inside. I realized we hadn't been this close since we fell in his room, and something about making skin to skin contact felt different now.

I risked a glance up quickly and found his eyes pinned to me. Something about this situation felt wrong, but then again, something also felt natural. I cleared my throat and patted his chest, backing away awkwardly.

"Right. Um. You're all set. You look beautiful." I said nonchalantly, flipping my hair over my shoulder and smiling.

"I'm sure you'd look a thousand times better." He said, and then his eyes widened as if he'd just realized what he said. I flushed and looked at him uncertainly.

"Why do you keep complimenting me?" He shook his head and squeezed the bridge between his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't really know. I just, sorry, I'm stupid."

"It's okay." I decided, fully understanding his position. It would've been me doing the apologizing if I wasn't so subtle whenever I looked at the guy. "But when you're done checking me out, let me know, will you? Because I don't think Malcolm would like it much if he found that you were checking out his baby sister." His face quickly turned red and I smirked as I sat back down at my computer.

At this moment in time, Malcolm decided to come barging into my room. I'm sure it looked bizarre, to see his best friend standing in the middle of his sister's room, wearing a necklace and halfheartedly holding a dress up to his body. Percy quickly shoved the dress back in the closet and took the necklace off. Malcolm gave him a look that just read, what the fuck is happening?

"Um, Annabeth and I were just finishing up our mythology project for English. I'll see you guys later." And then after gazing at me for a second too long, he left, closing the door behind him. I waited until I heard Percy's truck start and go away, then turned around and addressed Malcolm.

"Yes?" I asked curtly. I folded my hands on my lap, avoiding his eyes. I watched quietly as he sat at the edge of my bed. He ran a hand through his hair and then looked up at me.

"Annabeth. You know that trip the cheerleaders are taking to Florida at the end of the month?"

"Yes, the competition." I said with a small smile. I was beyond excited for the trip. After we competed, we'd get one day off to enjoy Florida, and I was really hoping to go down to the beach with Malcolm. He let out a breath and looked down.

"I can't go." He said quietly, and I looked up at him.

"What? Why?"

"I have this… this thing." And that's when I lost it.

"You have this thing? This thing? Are you joking right now? This has been the plan for months now! Malcolm what thing could come up, I told you to save the date!" He cringed as I yelled at him.

"I have this appointment I have to go to." I scoffed.

"Oh, what a load of bullshit. An appointment? Seriously? Can't you just change it? Book your appointment for another day! You promised we'd go together!"

"I can't change it, it-"

"You know Malcolm, if you didn't want to come, you should've just said something from the beginning because I just don't believe your shit." And then I picked up my things and left. I was pissed beyond belief.

This trip was supposed to be for both of us, he'd come with me, and then we'd have a nice brother and sister day, and it'd just be us, catching up on each other's lives and sharing with each other. But apparently, whatever he was hiding was more important than a trip that was planned out for months. Not to mention the fact that as of that moment, I was supposed to be going on a plane by myself.

I didn't really know where I was going until I knocked on Thalia's door. My chest hurt from suppressing angry tears, and as soon as the door was open, I walked inside without a word and marched up to her room.

"Annabeth? Annabeth, what's wrong?" But I didn't stop to answer until I sat myself down on her bed and took a breath for a couple minutes. "Annabeth?" She asked again, after ten minutes had gone by.

"It's Malcolm, he's doing it again." As soon as I said Malcolm's name, her face fell.

"Doing what?"

"He's avoiding me again! He told me he can't come to the competition trip because he has an appointment. An appointment. A fucking appointment. He could change the appointment, if there even is one, he's just making this up so he won't have to come." I let out angrily. Thalia sat down next to me and grabbed my hand quietly.

"I'm sorry. He does have an appointment though. He's not lying." I looked up at her confused.

"How would you know…" I began to ask, but I trailed off as I spotted something on the floor. It was a little crumpled up blue football shirt, with the name Chase on the back, and it was barely noticeable as it was in a pile near the window. Thalia followed my gaze and then her eyes widened as she spotted the shirt.

"Is that Malcolm's shirt?" I asked, more confused now than ever. And then slowly, things started coming together. Thalia never answered her phone for me anymore. She was always gone when Malcolm was. And when we were at the mall, she cried because she knew where Malcolm had been the night before. I stood abruptly shaking my head, and at the same time, Jason and Malcolm burst through the door.

"You guys are together? You guys are dating?" Thalia looked like she could burst out crying and I didn't know why. I turned to Malcolm and met his eyes. "You guys are dating? Oh my god. Oh my god, you guys are dating. Oh my god. You're telling me the reason you've been away all this time is because you wanted to spend time with your girlfriend? With Thalia? Oh my god."

"Annabeth-"Jason started, but I cut him off.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh god." Thalia was for sure crying now, and I didn't know what to do, or think. My brother was dating my best friend.

"Annabeth. We aren't just dating." Malcolm said shakily, and Jason grimaced as if he knew what was about to happen and didn't have high hopes for it being a good outcome. My eyebrows came together as I met Malcolm's eyes. "Thalia's pregnant." And now it made perfect sense why Thalia was crying. For the longest I just stood there. I didn't even know what to say. And then,

"Okay." Jason's mouth dropped open, Malcolm looked like he'd seen a ghost, and Thalia lifted her face from her hands. No one was expecting this reaction.

"Okay?" Malcom repeated in disbelief. I nodded.

"Yes. Okay."

"You're okay with this?" Jason asked, stunned.

"No. I'm not okay with it. In fact, I'm pissed. I'm not okay with any of this. Don't get me wrong, I'm not okay at all. My brother got my best friend pregnant. My best friend went behind my back and slept with my brother. They both lied. I'm not okay. But it's too late now. She's pregnant, there's nothing we can do except be supportive and encouraging through this whole thing. We have to help them. I'm sure this will be difficult for the both of them. We'll just have to help Thalia have a smooth pregnancy, and help them prepare and just be there for them." I said quietly. No one spoke for a while.

"The appointment Malcolm has is to reveal the gender of the baby. We can't change it, they're booked every other time. I'm sorry." She explained quickly, sounding a little choked up. I nodded to signify that I understood, but stayed quiet.

"Annabeth-"Malcolm started, but one look at him shut him up.

"Look, I just need some space and time to process this. I'll help you guys all I can, but for the time being, I really don't want to be social with either of you. I need time to be okay with this. I'm gonna go." And as soon as I got out of the house, my feet went the way they wanted, and I ended up at a place that was starting to get familiar for me. I knocked the door hurriedly and as soon as Percy opened the door, I walked inside and sat down on the couch.

"Annabeth? What's wrong?" He asked, sounding concerned as he sat down next to me. He glanced at me once before his mouth set into a thin line.

"He finally told you, didn't he?" I looked up at him, surprised.

"You knew?" He nodded quietly.

"Yeah, I put the pieces together not too long ago. I wanted him to be the one to tell you though. It wasn't my place to tell." I nodded in understanding and sunk into the couch. "So how'd it go down when he told you?" I shook my head and closed my eyes.

"I told them I'd help them and support them. But I'm not happy about it."

"Well why would you be?"

"I just… They're supposed to hate each other. That's the way it is, that's the way it's always been. Thalia would talk shit about Malcolm in my room at our sleepovers, we'd make fun of him, and then I'd get a real kick out of watching them bicker. When we were younger she'd kick his shins, he'd tackle her. It was a mutual thing. I never thought it'd be anything other than that."

"Yeah, I know Chase. I'm sorry, I know this must be hard for all of you guys."

"I just don't know what to think." I said quietly, because I truly didn't. My mind was blank, and it felt like what I would imagine static on a tv would feel like. He paused the movie playing in the living room and looked down at me. After a minute, he stood up and tugged at my arm.

"Come on, I have hot Cheetos and video games in my room. Let's go cheer you up" And I smiled quietly as he helped me up and into his room.

"Come on, you're off your game Annabeth." Percy said as he managed to successfully kill me for the third time in the game.

"Shut up and pass me the Cheetos." I commanded as I rolled my eyes at him. It was two in the morning, I was still at his house, and we had school tomorrow. Sally was working the night shift at her job tonight, so she didn't even know I was here.

"I'm telling you, maybe you're just losing your touch."

"Mmkay."

"I mean, maybe you are."

"Mmkay."

"Or maybe I'm just getting better than you." I sat up quickly as my eyebrows came together and worked tirelessly on the buttons on the game controller, dodging Percy's hit until I shot him.

"Or maybe I was just letting you win." I answered as I leaned back on the headboard. I busted out laughing at the completely defeated look on his face.

"Can you stop being so good at everything?" I chuckled quietly and yawned.

"Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game."

"Oh, I'll hate the player all I want." He shot back as I started getting up. "Where are you going?" He asked curiously, setting his controller down and fixing those big green eyes of his on me.

"Home. It's getting late and I'm kinda tired."

"Come on, just stay here. It's dark and late, we can swing by your house tomorrow morning and grab your bags."

"But Sally doesn't know I'm here."

"She doesn't need to, she won't be back till late tomorrow, it won't matter. Come on, I'd rather not have to go drive you home. Just stay here and mock me because you beat my ass once again." I bit my lip in consideration, and then with a groan, crawled back into the bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. He started playing some unknown movie on the tv, and then tucked himself in next to me. As soon as he'd laid down and made himself comfortable, I tucked myself into his side and grabbed his arm, wrapping it around my shoulders quietly.

I still couldn't wrap my mind around everything that had happened that afternoon. I was now going to be an aunt, the child was my best friend's, and I was to fly alone to Florida. It all seemed too much to handle. Apparently, Percy could tell how tense I was because after a couple minutes, he spoke.

"Are you okay?" He asked hoarsely, sleep evident in his voice. I set a hand on his chest and nodded quietly, as a sudden thought occurred to me.

"Um, yeah. I'm okay. But I have a question." I said uncertainly, not knowing what to expect.

"Shoot."

"Do you wanna come to Florida with me?"

AN: I didn't think this chapter was that bad, so hopefully you guys like it. I'll try to update soon. Drop a review! Till next time- ShyGal