Chapter 17: Bubble Bath

Annabeth

The full moon was very high up in the night sky tonight. Tiny silver stars spread around the background like they were trying to steal the moon's spotlight. Enveloped under its captivating stellar display, it's hard to imagine looking at anything else. Instead, there was nothing but sadness within me, a complete reversal of the breathtaking scenery just outside on the terrace.

I could easily walk outside and get my breath taken away in a heartbeat, but I stubbornly stood in the living room, tears running down my eyes and sobbing.

"Promise me!"

It was way past midnight already. I held my ground in defiance as he shifted a very heavy-looking bag over his shoulder, bearing its tremendous weight like it was nothing, "Princess. I've got to go now. Be good to your mom, okay?"

"Promise me!" I cried again, "You didn't promise."

If I start crying, I know he wouldn't leave anymore. He wouldn't leave me alone when tomorrow was the most important day for me. At least, I won't let him. I wasn't going to let him go out that door.

"Sweetie…" I held his hand tightly and struggled to pull him back as hard as I could.

He paused and came back to me. His knees bend forward as he kneeled. I couldn't stop crying anymore. I hugged him tightly without letting go.

"You said you'll be here for my birthday…"

"Princess…" He said softly, "Daddy's got to go. I am sorry I couldn't be here for your birthday, but I'll always be here with you, inside here…"

He pressed his hand on my chest where I suddenly felt my heart thump against his palm, but I shook it away. I wanted him here, to be together with me and mom, and I didn't want to see him go again.

"Come here…" He said gently, but I hit him in the chest instead, "I promise I'll come back to you as soon as I can, okay? Don't be mad, princess. I am sorry. I am really sorry, Annabeth."

I shook my head and hug him tighter. I refused. I refused to let him go out that door.

"You said that every time…"

He hugged me back and kissed my forehead, "I love you, Annabeth."

Despite all my struggle to keep him with me that day, he left in the end, and this time, he never came back.

I was only nine years old back then. Ever since that day, I've been growing older and wiser. Before I knew it, I turned sixteen and now face every day's struggles without the person who meant the most in my life. My mom, Owlfred, and Leo were the only ones left in my family.

Back then, regret and anger came as naturally as a thunderstorm brewing after a hot day. During that period of my life, I've made many mistakes- some bigger than others- and was unreachable. Nothing was stopping me from going down a dark path ahead. I recognized it, but I didn't care.

When I turned thirteenth years old and just started high school, I was on the brink of everything. Tired of all the suffering and useless struggles for what seemed like an eternity, I made a really bad impulsive decision, one that still left scars. Fortunately, it wasn't a decision that lasted very long, but by then it was too late. It wasn't until that day that I finally came to realize how far I've sunk. It was my mom- along with everyone else who has always cared about me- who rescued me from digging any further down a dark tunnel anymore. It was an act I could never repay them for, pulling me back into the light.

Then I recovered. Time began to heal the wounds I've learned to cover up. I've learned to move on from the past as best I could. I tried my best to keep my head above water every day. More importantly, I've slowly accepted that it was alright to let the right people back in my life.

Three years had passed since I swear to keep everyone away and isolate myself for good, and now, I wasn't as anti-social as I once was. I have friends, people who I cared deeply about too. I didn't get angry at everything when it didn't go my way; a rather debatable topic for my tempestuous personality. I wasn't that unreasonable brat that defined my childhood; again, a rather questionable claim when I could sometimes be a real unreasonable cheeky kid with my mom.

But the honest truth was that I've really grown a lot since then. With everything that's happened, I would always be grateful that I have my family and friends to turn to when troubles come. Without them, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did now.

And in many ways, getting better was also a way to repent for my sins of being a detestable person. God knows how many times I've disappointed my mom and gotten angry at her for no real reason at all. I was terrible to just about everyone close to me after he left and never returned. Yet, my mom still loved me with all her heart, doing her absolute best to care for me. The same thing with Alfred, with Owlfred, with Thalia and Piper, and even with Leo. They all loved me in their own way and care for me deeply.

Since then, their endless support of my wellbeing gave me the strength to trust again, and I've learned to love them back too. Of course, I still have trouble saying it out loud, but with more time, I was sure I could eventually.

Truth be told, I've always missed him even now and wished he was still here with us, with me.

But over time, I've grown distance too, a sturdy wall I put up whenever I thought about him. That distance only grew more and more the longer I kept everything of him at arms-length. The precious memories, pictures of our family, joyful moments between me and him, I've sealed it all away in an empty box, locked it with a key, and threw that key away.

I've kept it hidden underneath as best I could. Until today...

Somehow, I knew who was responsible for making me feel this way, to suddenly have all these vivid memories rushing back at me. I thought I wouldn't be able to handle it, but after spending almost the whole day with the boy with green eyes and onyx jet black hair, and having my mind filled with nothing but his gentle and easing nature, I was able to bear the weight I have not carried in a long while.

In between the main corridors leading to our bedrooms, I stood still and faced the left wall where picture frames hung front and center. A memento of a time before, a time where everything was innocent and perfect, I stared long and hard at a photo of a man in his military uniform, whispering softly, "I love you too, dad."

Tracing my fingers over the glass, I wanted to feel something- a supernatural sign perhaps, but there was nothing. I didn't feel anything but the sadness of seeing his face again, or remembering his voice, or the painful memories of my last day spent crying at him. Left with only the anguish past, I sighed and left it alone.

"Mom! I am home!" I called out again.

It's been fifteen minutes since Alfred pulled up at our building on the Upper East Side. After getting off the car with giggles snickering behind me, I went straight up on our private elevator with blooming red cheeks. The never-ending blushes brought on an annoyed pout on my face, the results of getting tease and poked around like a guinea pig by Piper; even good old Alfred who I thought was my trusted ally gave a helping hand for my idiotic best friend and made sure to embarrass me as much as possible too.

Fuming spontaneously without end; it felt like my insides were about to melt like a teapot being boiled for way too long, my cheeks took on a puff pink color and my grey eyes were glued straight in a daze. I stared forward at nothingness, but in reality, I wasn't even on the plains of Earth anymore. In my own little realm, I was spinning in an endless circle out there in the dark void of space.

Fortunately, each floor the elevator ascent up to the penthouse lulled me back to peace. Home, the place where I felt the most comfortable, was my safe space and I could be myself without worrying about people or the outside world endlessly.

Thorough relief settled once I got off the elevator, and I promptly made my way down the left side of our fancy little hallway. It led to our penthouse apartment where our bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and among everything else that an apartment should have resided.

Over on the other side, the right hallway led to our huge open patio with a decorative marble-tiled swimming pool for relaxation. A little fountain sat on the corner of a small garden, it looked very similar to the one we had back at the manor, two statues on top, one holding a trident and the other one holding a spear with an owl on its left shoulder. There was also a little open concept room in the far edge of the terrace, a matte white pedestal in a triangular form, resembling a column from ancient Greece that stood sideways like the leaning tower of Pisa. Though I've no clue what it was for, and any curiosity or intrigues would produce an automatic answer, that it was somehow related to my mom's work.

Still, I've never found any reason to step down the right side of our penthouse hallway. Despite living here for all my life, I might have only spent three nights out on the beach chairs by the pool, and that's only because my mom insisted that I stayed with her to relax and not spend so much time coop up in my room alone.

For real, if I wasn't forced, I would much rather spend my time stuck in my room than do anything else like that, maybe I could work on a new blueprint design or just catching up on my favorite books or shows. To hang out with the outside world, I was never that type of person who enjoyed this type of leisure. It would only make me more stressed than relaxing.

Speaking of stress, I recalled cursing my best friend out while walking toward our main door. That entire car ride back home was so embarrassing, I swore that I would get my revenge on her no matter what. Already, my mind was churning up ideas, some much more evil than others as I envisioned her priceless reaction one after another.

"Welcome home, Annabeth." The automated AI greeted me instead of Owlfred.

Our penthouse door opened for me as soon as I've gotten close to it. At first, I thought I would get a sly greeting and a mischievous look from my mom straight away. I was wrong. No one was here when I came back, not even in the high ceiling living room where she would usually rest with a glass of wine or something light. I tried calling out to her, but no one answered, not even Owlfred who couldn't possibly overhear me when he was everywhere in the house.

"Mom! Are you home?" I moved away from the picture frames on the wall, "Owlfred?"

After spending some time searching through the living room and her study, I didn't see her anywhere at the bottom level. I thought maybe she was cooking our dinner tonight, but nope, she wasn't there either. Left with no other choice, I went up the staircase by the end of the hall which was how I ended up looking at the picture frames on the wall a second ago.

"Is anyone home?" I asked again.

Feeling strangely weird out by this turn of events, I began to wonder just where everyone was.

"Leo?" I called out my puppy, expecting him to run to me in under three seconds.

Nope, not even my usually avid and full of energy puppy was responding to my cries. I was hoping to see his golden fluffy fur flying behind him as his scrambling paw steps scratch wildly on the hardwood floor, but nothing was happening. It was all eerily silent. The whole apartment felt… lifeless.

What the heck is going on? Am I sudden in a horror movie?

"It's not that simple." A voice called out from further down the second-level hallway.

The familiar voice eased me from the unquiet feeling of an empty apartment. It was my mom, and she seemed to be in her bedroom, talking with someone.

"I realize that, Athena." Another voice spoke, "But my hands are tied."

"Have you inform him yet?" My mom asked this mysterious woman with who she was having a hush conversation, "Does he know that the prophecy had already begun?"

"Yes. I've already told him about it. He's aware of the situation, and he wanted it to play out without interferences."

"As expected. I supposed he's too busy dealing with his brothers…"

"I understand that you are worried about your daughter, Athena…" The voice seemed to be reassuring my mom, but what did she mean by that? Did I know this person? Why was she talking like she knew me already? I grew curious, "But I believe it's too early for the prophecy to play out yet. I am worried about my son too, but the fates would always find a way. We are both overburdening ourselves right now."

I sneaked up toward my mom's bedroom, surprised to find that the door was slightly open and I could peek into her bedroom. Inside, I could see her sitting in front of her work desk. It was just out of sight, but there seemed to be a blue tint in front of her, lighting her up in a neon color. It fluctuated causing the light to have a wavy grow to them. The rest of her room was barely lit, but there seemed to be someone else in the room with her. A pair of feather-liked wings… I must have been imagining it, but there was something large in the background, but it was so dim the further inside her bedroom that it was hard to make out exactly what it was.

"That's the kind of optimism I very much like to avoid, Sally. But I supposed you are right. There is nothing we could do at the moment, but I would still like the twins to watch over them, just in case." My mom talked in a manner I've never heard before, suggesting that this must be pretty important.

Then soft murmurs like a shouting background noise broke out from the woman having a secret talk with my mom. The blue tint shifted.

"I am sorry, Athena… but I've got to-"

"Yes. I won't interrupt you anymore. Take good care of yourself and your kids, Sally."

"You as well, Athena."

The conversation ended afterward. Leaving everything up to my imagination, I wondered what that was all about. It didn't make the slightest sense to me, and the woman in the call: Sally… She spoke of me as if she knew me already. Yet, I didn't have the slightest clue as to who she was. Maybe it was someone I forgot when I was young?

The most intriguing part was the context of what they were talking about. In the beginning, I didn't doubt that it was about my mom's work at the company, but the phrase 'the prophecy' they spoke of briefly, suggested rather obviously that it wasn't about her work one bit. Growing like a viral disease infecting my body, their secret talk tickled my curiosity just a tad bit more than I was expecting, and I wanted to learn and find out more.

Clank! My bag where the laptop was must have hit the door frame rather loudly. Given that I wasn't paying attention to myself while eavesdropping, I was surprised that it didn't happen sooner.

Shit! I got caught!

Sudden whispers and murmurs sounded from inside the bedroom, and the very large object in the background began to move a bit. It looked inhuman… like a creature…

I gasped, then everything in the room started to shift and the chair moved backward.

Uh-oh… I should run.

My over-reactive instinct helped me so much right now as I scurried back down the hallway with lightning speed, going down a couple of steps of the staircases just in case with sneaky and silent footsteps. I had to hold my breath the entire way.

"Annabeth? Sweetie, are you home?" My mom poked her head out from behind the door and glance both ways.

Hopefully, my acting was on point as I pretend to have come up from the stairs just now, "Hey mom, I've been calling you and Owlfred, even Leo, you know?"

Choosing to hide whatever that was that I've overheard, my mom smiled like how she normally would and rubbed the back of her neck in apology, "Sorry-sorry… I got something to take care of, that's why. They are with meee- Oomph! Whoa! Slow down, Leo!"

It was Leo, my golden retriever puppy. He ran out of my mom's room as soon as she revealed that Leo and Owlfred were both with her. Doing that crazy drift with his paws on the hardwood floor, he rushed over with his tongue out, saliva flying behind him as he tackled me in a frenzy.

Almost sent me flying backward, I laughed and giggled before holding him up by his two front paws.

"Hey, buddy! How are you?!" I said with a silly voice because just seeing Leo was enough to dissipate all that I was thinking or worrying about, "Were you a good boy with mom? Huh? Atta-boy!"

Woof! Woof Woof!

Wagging his fluffy tail without end, he eventually became too heavy for me to handle so I let him down and walked up the rest of the way toward the end of the hall.

"Come alone, you big silly goofball…" I said as Leo followed happily after me, rubbing his fluffy golden fur against my side.

My bedroom faced the left wall. My mom's room faced the right wall. Toward the end was a small balcony/entryway that could look beneath on our living room, it led to the right side where one would take for another patio, albeit this one was a lot simpler and smaller than the other side of our penthouse. The only thing here was a few comfy couch chairs facing an open sky, a small pergola with a modest and simple vegetable garden lined up underneath, and a really expensive-looking telescope pointed toward the sky.

"So, how was school today?" She asked when I neared my room.

I held a straightforward expression, "It was fine. Nothing really happened."

My mom saw right through me with a playful smile that followed afterward, "Mmm… I suspect there is going to be another wonderful story about that boy for dinner tonight."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed back playfully as well.

It's not going to be that easy this time around, mom. I am not going to tell you anything about me and Percy, for sure!

"Keep dreaming, mom…"

Of course, I was so wrong in the end because she got exactly what she wanted.

"Well, I guess I should start cooking dinner then. You must be hungry." It was such a cheerful attitude, I wonder if it was all an act to cover up what she was doing before, "Go and get change, sweetie. I'll whip up something you always love to eat, okay?"

My empty stomach began to growl as I wondered what kind of my favorite food I was about to fill my belly with tonight. In any case, I nodded and shifted sideways for my room. Leo followed suit.

"Wait,"

I paused and looked around behind me.

Gone was the pure sweet and gleeful display, there was now a semi-serious look on my mom's face. Her features in total contradictory with her carefree demeanor a second before, "Sorry, I know it's a strange thing to ask, but you didn't overhear anything when you came home, right?"

I kept up my pretense, "No… Why? I didn't hear anything."

She seemed to be studying me for a moment.

"Oh. Okay then." She turned for the stairs down to the bottom floor, "Sorry for being silly. Take your time and enjoy your bath, princess. I'll be waiting downstairs for you, okay?"

I smiled, "Okay."

My mom waved her hand as she descended the stairway toward the bottom floor. I smiled back at her until she was out of sight, then I sighed and disappear into my room. Not fully aware of it, but my body was really tensed. It felt like I've been on flight or fight instinct, a battle that I wasn't even conscious of.

"Mmm." I waved my arms above my head and said dreamily, "A bath…"

After separating the stuff in my bag back on my study desk, organizing a few items in between, I got a sudden urge to step in front of the mirror and took a look at myself from top to bottom. It showed a reflection of a pretty girl in her school uniform, her slender figure that most girls would dream of having along with those highly desired wavy blonde hair, but I also saw a girl with a long list of baggage and scars that ran deeper than the deepest trench of the ocean.

I am not just a pretty face… I reminded myself.

The long grey school jacket which felt lighter than it should be covered the white blouse I had underneath. A small symbol of our school crest sewed into the right breast pocket, the surprisingly comfy outerwear was honestly my only safety net against- well, it's complicated.

Beneath the jacket, the long sleeves blouse I had underneath had to be buttoned up, and the hem was uneven between the sides and the back, which was a little bit longer to cover more of my behind. I always leave the last button in the front undone, letting it loose so the whole shirt wouldn't be too constricting for my liking. Today, I had a ribbon tied around my collar instead of a long tie because I decided to switch it up a bit.

Looking at myself in the mirror would usually get me self-conscious right away, but tonight, I was checking out my appearance without cringing one bit. Turning sideways, I angled my hips up and watched myself in rapt attention. Never tucking my blouse underneath, the white shirt hiked a fair bit up from the bottom I had on, giving way to show a bit of my slim waist.

Even though every girl in school had to wear the same uniform, for reasons unknown to me, I've always drawn more unwanted attention from the boys. That's why I've always dressed as reserved as I possibly could, not least to prevent them from gawking at me too much. The pair of long black stockings underneath my pleated skirts was for specifically that reason. I could only imagine how much wolf-whistling I would get if I didn't wear them in school. It would be my personal nightmare.

Like I've said before, I was thankful that the school had enough common sense and didn't make its standard skirt for girls as short as possible. A respectable length just two short inches above my knees, it meant that the school wasn't run by some old pervert who enjoyed seeing the female student body in nothing but tight skirts with bare legs underneath.

Mmm… but I do look pretty cute though in our school uniform, I hope… My wonderful mind wandered off aimlessly, which resulted in me blenching in horror.

Oh my God, what the hell happened to me? Where did Annabeth Chase go? I corrected myself.

I titled my waist around and pushed my hips back down. Standing straight once more, I faced the mirror gingerly and saw a reflection of the girl where she suddenly smiled out of nowhere, an unusual eerie display but I could see the delightful-looking smile on her face was genuine.

Reaching up, I undid the small ribbon holding my messy ponytail in place, watching as my honey blonde hair cascade back down to my upper shoulder. Naturally wavy and long, there were always that few unyielding strands that would get stuck to the side of my face. My short bangs hung toward the right side of my forehead, I brushed them sideways and tuck them behind my ear.

Wait a minute? Why was I checking out my appearance in the first place? Just as I had that moment of realization, it happened at the worse time possible where an image of the sweet and sometimes pain-in-the-butt boy with messy onyx hair flashed across my mind. It stayed inside my head instead of being a passing thought.

"Percy...yy?" I looked straight at my reflection.

Filled with nothing but the image of Percy in my head, I couldn't block out how pretty and handsome he looked in our school uniform, how lean and muscular he looked in them, how his planet obliterating smile made me feel all the time, or how much of an idiot he was which just made me grow my increasingly inescapable feelings for him.

No-No-No-No-NO! Bad Annabeth! Don't think about him right now!

I saw the reflection tried to smile and hide it away. She was squirming with her right hand on her left arm, rubbing up and down softly. Like I've developed some multi-personality disorder, one side of me was all lovey-dovey, but on the other hand, the reflection of was anything that.

"Stop it, you dolt!" I forced myself to stop filling my head with giddy thoughts, "Get a hold of yourself, Annabeth."

It seemed to have work. After scolding myself before it could get out of hand, I sighed and stripped out of my uniform, taking a towel with me so I could finally relax after another long day.

"Okay! I am going to take a bath to calm down." I huffed heavily in an attempt to rid my mind of Percy.

Since tomorrow was laundry day, and Rosa would be coming to clean up the whole penthouse, I decided to make things easy for her this time. Working so hard by herself to clean our house every other week, the least I could do to help was tidying up the place a bit and throwing all my clothes in the basket so she wouldn't have too much to do to clean up.

"Owlfred, let me know when it's time for dinner, okay?" I asked him after doing the best I could around my whole room, then with a small pause I stared at my phone resting on my bed.

Owlfred replied right away this time, "Sure, princess. I'll get the tub ready."

I could hear the tub inside my bathroom as it's being filled up with warm and steamy water now, and impulsively I grabbed my phone and took it with me too. It's a bit embarrassing to admit it, but I was curious— ahem, actually more than curious but rather intrigue by the photos Piper took of me and Percy. Besides, it gave me something to do while relaxing.

A few minutes later, everything was nice and ready. The white bubbles were already in the tub, a sweet lemon scent filling my entire bathroom. No doubt Owlfred help dispense a few squirts of it into the hot bath and I couldn't help but feel grateful. It meant I didn't have to do it myself and wait.

Blushing softly as I set my phone next to the tub, I removed my underwear and slipped inside the bubbling warmth. Instantly feeling rejuvenated, I slipped further in, more and more until I was laying down, my body leaned back, my legs stretched out resting on the bottom of the tub and I was surrounded by steamy water. I almost felt weightless too, given that the water was pushing me around the tub a bit.

"Ahh-" I sighed and tilted my head back on the small edge.

It felt so good! Time to relax… or so I thought when out of nowhere, my phone vibrated beside the tub and jolted me slightly. I grabbed it and only after did I realize it might be a message from Percy. The phone almost slipped out of my hand at the sudden realization.

(Hey princess! Thanks for the ride home. Btw, I felt bad about teasing you so much about Percy ~stuck tongue out smiley face~ so I delete them from my phone. You're welcome. Of course, you can choose to delete them on your phone or not, but being your annoying best friend, I hope you'll keep them. ~Thumbs up smiley face~ Teehee… you two are so cute together! See you tomorrow at school, Beth)

Oh! It was only Piper… I sighed a breath of relief. Huh wait, did she just called us cute?

(We are not cute! ~smack my face emoji~)

After sending exactly what I thought of her subtle hint, I did my best to ignore her message list from that point and open my photo app. At first, I was hesitant to even scroll into my folder to see what picture Piper took of us, but curiosity won out. Lifting myself a bit, I sighed with a breath of courage and tap the icon for the latest downloads.

I gasped.

There were three pictures in total, and each showed a different moment when we were alone in the library. The angle and distance of each were different too, meaning that Piper sneaked photos of us way farther than I had imagined. Par for the course for my best friend, I didn't expect any less from the girl who had been pinning for something to happen between me and Percy.

"I hate you, Pipes," I mumbled.

The first one showed that moment when Percy put his hand on my forehead to check my temperature. I still remember it vividly and as a result my temperature right now raised uncomfortably high in an already hot bathtub.

I heard myself babbling and blushed.

The second one showed that really embarrassing moment when I decided to go all out to tease Percy in a way that only girls could achieve. Horrified by the recollection, I saw how Piper had captured the moment where I was just about to kiss him. It was so embarrassing that I wanted to hide underneath the surface of the tub. Given that there was no context for Piper one bit, it really seemed like I wanted to kiss him outright and I didn't doubt my best friend already had a field day with that.

"Uhh…" I couldn't help myself as I stared at it.

Taking a hurried final swipe, the third and final one showed the last moment where we caught onto her schemes. Right beside our table this time, our taken-back surprise expressions were on full display and it even featured how close our face still was at the time it was taken. Blushes were wild and spontaneous, it was the most embarrassing one out of the three Piper took. It really took everything of me to not squirm around or throw my phone away in frustration.

Once I've gotten through the embarrassment and was still alive by the end of it, I had to really compose myself or else my head might explode from being overwhelmed.

I hope you'll keep them…

There was no way I could keep them, and I knew full well that I should have them deleted as soon as possible. Yet, my reaction wouldn't heed what my mind wanted to do.

"Owlfred?" I called out.

"Yes? What is it, princess?"

I selected them into a group and put them in the virtual space, "Put these pictures into my private server, would you?"

"Sure, no problem." Owlfred was nice to not point out the reason why, until he did, "Should I delete them off your phone then? I suspect you don't want pictures of a boy you like when you've only known him for a full week?"

Sometimes, just sometimes, I wished Owlfred would have an off switch that turned him into a regular AI so he didn't have the sentient to pick up on the subtle emotional nuance from a human being.

I sighed as he hit me right on the dot.

"No teasing, Owlfred. And don't you dare let my mom know!" I commanded.

If Owlfred could giggle, I was pretty sure my response would have produce one from him.

"Yes princess," He spoke with the smallest hint of amusement, "Uploading now, and I estimated about thirty minutes before your mom finished cooking and ask me to tell you dinner is ready."

I nodded, watching as pictures of me and Percy got deleted off from my phone and now stored on my private server. It was the only way I could avoid a scenario where Piper find out that I do want to keep them, while also keeping them at the same time.

Percy… Why the heck am I thinking about him so much?

The obvious answer was already in my head, but I shook it away and scold myself for being bad. Given that the latter part of my day was spent entirely with him, it's only normal that I would be thinking about him even now. I told myself there was nothing more, but at the same time, I highly doubt it.

With so much time until dinner would be done, I sank back into the tub and thought back on today.

I can't believe Percy reveal something so vulnerable to me. He had no reason to tell me what happened to his brother, yet he told me so much anyways.

It might be connected, but I believe the reason I could think about my dad after years was because of Percy. The way his expression turned sorrowful when talking about Tyson reminded me of myself. I was just as grief-stricken when my dad went MIA, and after seeing Percy struggling with his own grief, it might have given me the strength to face my own.

I miss you, dad… I whispered and looked up at the marble ceiling.

Out of nowhere, I suddenly got a nerve-wracking shiver. It seemed so random, but that's when I subconsciously remembered what happened after I moved away from the photos on the wall. The eavesdropping I did on my mom…

Oh yeah, what the hell was that all about? Why did my mom hide what she was doing in her room? It couldn't be, but was the blue shift on my mom's study desk actually Owlfred? And the creature? Was I just imagining things?

It would be the most logical reasoning, but I knew it wasn't that simple. Whatever I've overheard my mom talked about- whether or not if I should have known in the first place- the hair-rising feeling I got when thinking about it made it a reality, as much as I would like to deny it.

"Owlfred, don't tell my mom I ask you this? But what were you doing when I came home? I called and called again, but you weren't in the living room nor anywhere else. Were you in my mom's room?"

Owlfred answered only to falter halfway, "Yes, I was in her room-m… W-Wait,"

I knew it. Even Owlfred was hiding something from me.

"What was she doing in there?" I asked more and couldn't stop after just one question, "I mean, what was the prophecy she talked about? And the woman, Sally? Why did she sound like she knew me from a long time ago? And what were you helping her with?"

Expecting Owlfred to answer every single one of my intrigue, a scratch on the door prevented him from doing exactly that. Leo pawed the door open and came inside my bathroom. He spotted me immediately and came over, putting his long head on the side of my tub. He looked at me with puppy eyes and whined softly for no reason at all.

"Aww? What's the matter?" I shifted from leaning on my back so I could lean over the side of the tub instead. I pat his head and scratch his softly, "You okay, Leo?"

He whined again and looked so sad I wondered if there was actually something wrong with him.

"I think he's just hungry." Owlfred suddenly said, "I'll let your mom know to feed him right now."

I turned to my puppy with a smile and said with a silly voice, "Well, you heard Owlfred, Leo. Go downstairs and dinner will be ready, okay?"

He seemed to actually understand me before he woofed softly, then he took off from my bathroom and disappear behind the doors. I stared with slightly wild eyes as I wondered if he's been understanding me this whole time, at least, it certainly seemed that way at the moment.

"Huh?" I wondered for a moment.

A small pause broke my train of thought.

"Naw… that's impossible." I laughed at how silly I was being and leaned back again.

Most of the bubbles in the bath were gone by this point, and I know I should get a shower now. More than twenty minutes had passed, yet I didn't feel like leaving how comfortable I've been feeling. The warm water still felt so good, I wanted to stay in place a bit more.

"Dinner is ready now, Annabeth," Owlfred said.

I nodded, only then did I realized my questions were still unanswered, "Owlfred, you are not hiding anything from me, are you?"

As straightforward as he possibly could, I didn't hear any subtle change in his voice, "No, princess. You are just imagining things. I was helping your mom with her work at the company."

"I see," I replied softly, though my doubts about it still linger more than they should.

Seeing as I wouldn't get anywhere to keep thinking about it, I tried not to let my doubts bother me too much and just focus back on relaxing in my bath. The flowing water from the fish sculpture still gave me a comforting feeling, one that couldn't hurt if I enjoyed myself a bit more.

"Anyway, can you let my mom know that I'll be downstairs later? I want to enjoy the bath a bit more." I asked nicely, "And if you don't mind, can you turn off access-point to my room? I wanted some alone time."

There was a small pause from Owlfred, "Sure, Annabeth. Disconnecting now."

Once he was gone, I sighed and lay in the bath further. Lifting my legs, I bent my right knee until it emerged from the water's surface. I sighed again, rubbing both my knees and stared forward aimlessly.

I bit my lip, wondering if I should… I know now it's not the time, but I really wanted to.

In the end, I couldn't help myself.

With my long blonde hair flowing on the water, I grabbed my phone again and brought up the message list. There weren't too many people here. My mom, Alfred, Piper, and occasionally Thalia were all the people I ever need to have a text conversation with. Moreover, Owlfred could send himself through our phones in less than a heartbeat, so he didn't need something as antique as a text messaging system.

However, I wasn't looking for any one of them but the last contact at the bottom of the list. With a stupid nickname I made on the spot: coffee boy, aka the boy with messy onyx hair and a pair of captivating wavy green eyes, the boy who was transferred to my school and ironically got stuck with me, the boy who I unexpectedly grew much closer than anyone else in my life, and the boy who I knew as dummy Percy Jackson, I glued my sight on our conversation bubble.

I bit my lip and tap on his last text message to me.

Smiling a bit at the reminder, I hit up the keyboard and began to type. Restlessly tapping my thumbs all over the screen, I seemed to be hitting the delete button more than any other key.

"No, that's stupid."

I tried again with another, "Oh gosh, now you just sound like a creep."

With each new message I came up with, nothing seemed to ease the anxiety in my heart. I knew it was just a mental thing that made me feel this way, but it didn't help that I felt them so strongly too.

"Okay. Just be simple and not be creepy…"

It was a simple reassurance, but it did the trick and I finally settled with a message I was more or less comfortable with. It wasn't fancy or anything, but it would serve its purpose.

(Hey, Percy, it's Annabeth. What are you doing right now?)

Okay, now that I've sent the message, I couldn't regret it anymore. All I've got to do now was not to overthink about this. It's just a friendly text message. Plus, I still hadn't explained why I want us to meet up tomorrow before school. It would give me the perfect opportunity/excuse to have a small chat with him through text, to see how I would feel and react knowing that it's with Percy- a boy with who I unexpectedly fell into a deep spell for my third year in Goode.

Oh goodness gracious, I still couldn't get over how awkward and embarrassing it was to hear myself say it, much less thinking about it in my head.

Despite all these comforting thoughts, I still hadn't got over how fast my heart was beating. Honestly, why was I getting so nervous and worked up? I mean, there shouldn't be anything to worry about, right? Yep! I was just being silly…

But am I though?

The sudden ding and the vibration on my phone jolted me awake from my own thoughts. I yelped. My hand shook slightly, but it was enough to loosen my fingers and my grip faltered. I've narrowly avoided it for now, but an accident almost turned into a reality where I dropped my not-so-waterproof phone into the bath, which would be a really bad thing.

I sighed, composing myself and tap on his icon. It escaped my notice for quite a bit, but once I came to my senses I realized it took less than a minute before his reply came through.

(Hi Annabeth ~normal smiley face~) I rolled my eyes at his lame attempt to be cool, but my heart fluttered at it for some reason.

(I am taking a shower right now, so what's up?)

Uhh…. What did he mean? He's taking a shower right now? Like right now right now? At this very moment? Realization hit me slowly again and again, not until minutes later when his message finally clicked in my head. I felt an inconceivable heat burning and rushing from my chest toward my face. Oh my God… Oh my God!

Then some very explicit and forbidden images popped into my head…

"Eeekkk!" I squealed and splashed around in the tub, and in one motion I submerged and hid my lower face underneath the bath, leaving just my nose above water so I could breathe.

Making bubbles on the surface, my chest was beating so rapidly I thought I might be having a heart attack. Grey eyes glossed over and wild surprise plastered over my entire expression, I felt like the steam in my bathroom suddenly grew a lot more steamy, making the whole room foggy at best and a literal overcast at worse.

And of course he's taking a shower. Why wouldn't he be taking a shower? Why did I even decide to text him right now?

Shaking my head sternly, it was a tough ordeal to get these inappropriate images out of my mind. From one to another, I couldn't stop how fast these shameless imaginations of mine were filling up. The fluster-inducing images of what Percy was doing now invaded me with a limitless supply. At some point, I began to feel lightheaded too. Even after hugging my knees toward me and throwing my arms around them, I couldn't stop the wild blush on my cheeks nor heed them under control.

A minute later, there was another sudden ding on my phone, and this time I actually dropped it into the bath at the abrupt vibration.

I yelped again.

"Ahh! Noo… no…" I fumbled my hands underwater and desperately searched for my phone. I found it after a short while, but it was already soaked.

Cursing myself for being an idiot, I gingerly pulled up his text message again and was horrified once more.

(By the way, what are you doing right now too?)

Completely red face all over, I eventually found my head and managed to type quickly into my phone. I hit sent right away without another thought.

(I am sorry! I'll text you later! Bye!)

It was very abrupt, but I slammed my phone face down on the marble tub rather forcefully. There was a sudden cracking sound underneath, but I couldn't care less. It was much better than throwing the phone across the bathroom, that's for sure.

Ignoring it completely, I buried my face into my knees and gave myself a bit of time to straighten out my thoughts. Jumbled up with knots everywhere, I had to tell myself that it was alright more than a few times, and even then it didn't help lessen how warm my face was nor how nervous I felt.

The fish sculpture spewing a steady stream of water suddenly stopped flowing. I sighed at the clear message hidden behind it. Left in a bathtub that's anything but fresh with bubbly warm water, I knew full well what that was supposed to mean. Only a few trickles dripped from the faucet now, creating ripples on the water surface.

With a bit of shuffling, I silently stood up and let the automated system drain and clean the tub on its own. I walked over to the other side of the bathroom and placed my most likely broken phone above a weave basket.

"Shower…" I mumbled to myself.

I got in the glass stall and took another fifteen minutes to wash myself down. During it, my mind was racing just as wildly as before. There was no stopping it. All I could think about was Percy…

Once I was done, I dried myself down rather quickly and got dressed in my pajamas. With a comfy button-up top and long bottom, I was finally ready for dinner.

"Annabeth? You know dinner is ready, right?" I heard my mom shouted from the floor below.

Almost like she had six senses and knew exactly when I would come out of my bedroom, I sighed and walked down the stairs to meet her for dinner.

"I am here, mom." I said after emerging from the short hallway, "What are we having?"

It was a redundant question because the smell of freshly made pizza gave my empty stomach a growl. I gulped at the delicious meal on our dinner table.

My mom smiled slyly, "Too lazy to cook, so I order pizza. Hope you don't mind."

I shook my head and took a seat next to her, but hidden away was the biggest grin I had plastered on my face. It rarely happened, but that excuse was barely used because my mom was a master when it came to managing her time, and she was also an energetic person who never gets tired easily.

Hence, this sudden change and ordering outside food put a sort of amusement in me.

Hungry and awaiting food, my right hand was already reached for the biggest slice in the box, but just before I could reach it, she smacked my hand away.

"Oww… what the heck?" I gave her a soft glare and pout.

Instead of letting me have dinner, she smirked in a way that would never bode well for me, "Before we have dinner though, mind tell me what happened with you and Percy today?"

Fuck! I totally forgot about that.

I hated that she had to put so much emphasis on his name while smiling slyly in my direction. As much as I wanted to devour that slice of pizza, I held my hand away and resisted.

"I guess we are at an impasse then," I said confidently, but my stomach wasn't agreeing with me before it growled louder to my embarrassment.

There was a suddenly paused in between us and I blushed.

My mom finally snickered at my involuntary reaction and didn't even hide it, "Uh-huh… Sure, honey. I guess we are at an impasse then."

I pouted as my stomach growled endlessly, watching the tasty food before me disappeared away into her plate and not able to touch any of it. Meanwhile, my mom made sure I was watching closely before taking a bite from her own slice, smiling teasingly with waggish arched eyebrows.

"Mmm… It's so good, honey." She had to shove it in my face unnecessarily, "Just think, you can have as much as you want if you tell me just a tiny little bit about your day with Percy."

For the past two days, I had similar experiences with her when we talked about school. If this kept up, I didn't know if I could survive. Oh, how I wished I never told her about Percy in the first place...

"You are so mean, mom…" I gave up in the end.

She grinned victoriously, "Well, tell me quickly, or else all the slices you want will be gone before you know it."