I keep forgetting I have to post things. I keep forgetting I actually have chapters to post.
Chapter 3: Water for Life Please
She slept the rest of the night away with her dreamscape amulet under her pillow instead of on her neck. A black dreamless sleep, thank heavens.
When the lights flicked on at six, and the groan of sleepy teen girls went up at seven, Annabeth found herself waking up with a shudder in her chest.
A very very nervous shudder.
Operating to avoid water at all costs was underway. Not an easy task when you lived with ten or so odd other teenagers.
Annabeth skipped going to the bathroom altogether and moped her way down to the breakfast table. Which was the longest dining table known to man in her eyes. All scratched up, and stained but polished with so much love you couldn't tell the difference. Geraldine was in her usual dark corner, chewing on one brown pigtail and clacking her knees together. Annabeth waved and the poor girl withered to the floor and sat there whimpering.
"Ah Connecticut, home to the world's most disgusting toaster waffles." Piper Mclean claimed her usual chair next to Annabeth. Setting two plates of overly yellow, and suspiciously stiff waffles on the table. She had to talk above the rise of chatter of entering housemates.
Annabeth raised a plastic fork. "Better than cardboard."
"The jury's out until I actually try cardboard," Piper quipped while flicking a choppy lock of brown hair over her shoulder. Looking dazzling even as she complained about food.
"Sorry ladies, but it's waffles for breakfast and pizza for dinner until Miss Harpy is back from sick leave." House head, Chiron rolled passed in his outdated and creaky wheel chair. Every time he pressed a button, the mechanics lying just shy of the crusty plastic would whirr loudly like a car rooting for a race. Seconds later he'd take off at a whopping snails pace. Took him five minutes to get from one room to the next.
"We know sir," Annabeth said kindly. "We appreciate how you toast for us."
"Here here!" Piper raised a paper cup of kool aid.
Paper cup of kool-aid. That could pretty much sum up what life was like living in 'Half-Blood house for Teens'. Cheap, a little factory made, and gritty at the bottom but also sweet. Half-Blood house was an old mansion composed of falling rain pipes, cracking drywall, slanted hardwood full of splinters and a basement that flooded every time it so much as drizzled outside. But it was home for people like Annabeth.
Not just orphaned teens or displaced teens either. A tidy mix up of wacky kids who either didn't have a family, or who had a rotten family in a place deemed unlivable.
Normally houses were separated into homes for girls or homes for boys, but Half-Blood was privately funded by Chiron. He named it 'Half-Blood' allegedly because 'family' was only half blood, and half love. Love alone was enough to make a family, in his eyes. It was home to Annabeth ever since she found herself alone in the woods at six years old.
"I miss Miss Harpy," Leo grumbled as he sat down across from them, staring at his waffles hatefully. Annabeth was pretty sure the waffles were staring back up at him with just as much dislike. Having a scrawny latino guy with wooly brown hair, sharp glinting eyes, and thin lips that peeled back into a smile when trouble was afoot staring down at you would not be pleasant.
"Weren't you the one who set her on fire?" Piper raised an eyebrow at him.
"Accidently! I swear! You people think I wanted crappy food for a month or something."
Annabeth picked at her waffles, a knot in her gut.
Yeah. I'm totally dreamscaping to a five star cruise tonight and pillaging their 'All you can eat buffet.'
"I don't know, it seems pretty characteristic of you." Percy sat next to Leo dejectedly. "I mean, you are referred to as fire king."
Percy Jackson. Tall, athletic, tan, and with a top of untameable raven hair, and eyes that sparkled with all the majesty of waves crested in algae.
To sum it up: Hot.
Annabeth suspected he would have girls fighting to get to him if it weren't for his goofy personality and awkwardness with actual romantic interests. She should know, she had been crushing hard on the boy since he came to Half-Blood house two years ago. No, beach boys weren't normally her 'type', but Percy had this defensive loyalty and kick back humor she couldn't help but admire.
"Things just catch fire when I'm around! It's not purposeful!" Leo threw up his hands.
"I'm sure all pyromaniacs say the same thing." Annabeth shrugged. Trying to get at least one bite of waffle down without gagging. She pulled her hair out of her face.
"Okay, I'm going to say it. I'm going to bring it up." Leo said after a moment of silence.
Annabeth looked up from her plate, confused to find all eyes had landed on her.
"Did you get plastic surgery or something?" Leo asked her directly. "Because you are not the scruffy, pimply, ugly duckling teenager we said goodnight to yesterday evening."
Self consciously, Annabeth gripped at her luscious curls. "Is it bad?"
"Bad?! Annabeth, you're hot."
No. Piper didn't say that. Percy did. And the moment he said it, he seemed more ready to stuff his face full of disgusting cardboard waffles than utter another word. His constant tan hid a fraction of his raging blush but not enough.
"Not that you weren't before... It's just subtle changes and… uh… you know… you have a nice face… it's just nicer now and… I'm… I'm going to shut up now. Leo, feel free to set me on fire."
Leo might've if he wasn't laughing into his paper cup to the point of spilling kool-aid onto his shirt.
Annabeth's own face felt like it was on fire. A wild animal might have been clawing around her chest with the way it was pounding. She couldn't even lift her eyes off her plate to look at Percy directly.
"Alright… yes… that's one way of putting it." Piper smirked in Annabeth's direction. "But seriously Beth, what happened?"
Just some rude lhama brained genie. That's all.
"I drank a lot of water this week," Annabeth muttered into her food. "That must be it."
Leo poured the rest of his kool-aid into Piper's cup despite her loud protests. "From now on, I am only drinking water."
"Even if there was something in the water, I doubt it will do anything for you," Percy laughed, scruffing up Leo's hair. Still bright with a blush but trying desperately to scrub it away with humor.
"Because I'm already the hottest guy you've ever laid eyes on." Leo shot back cockily. "Admit it."
"I don't think you even qualify as a 'guy'," Percy snorted.
Annabeth swallowed some air trying to calm herself down. She went to shove more waffles into her mouth but found that her plastic plate was empty.
"I'm… going to get ready for school," she said. Rising to her feet with the intention of never looking anyone head on ever again. She felt the eyes of Silena, Clarisse and Jaime start flickering towards her. "See you guys."
Piper was still smirking. "See you… hottie."
As she passed, the judgments on her looks started to pour in.
"You'd look better with a knife in your back," Clarrisse growled.
"Oh shut up. Don't listen to her. She's just jealous," Jaime said.
Silena blinked. "Swim?"
Ughh.