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Chapter 22: Meeting her Family
Percy
There were only two types of tribulation Percy had always been cautious about.
The first one: he didn't want what happened with Tyson to repeat itself, to see someone he loved disappear and gone from his life. That was the sole reason why he was being unreasonable with Annabeth that day at class. She knew why he reacted so vehemently now, but that didn't excuse his behavior one bit. Percy could apologize again and again, yet he wouldn't feel better about what he ultimately did to the girl he couldn't help but fell head over heels with.
As for the second worry that kept Percy on his toes at all times: he wanted to protect everyone close to him no matter what. Some might have called him naïve for that idealistic thought, but Percy wholeheartedly wanted to achieve it. It was his own Achilles heel.
Knowing this about himself, Percy really had to wonder if someone had cursed his mom or something like that. He didn't like to think so, but given the far-fetched accident that brought her to the hospital in the first place, there was no doubt on his mind that some forces of nature- something he couldn't possibly understand- was messing with his mom in a huge way.
Or maybe he was the cursed one and somehow passing it along to the person he cared most about…
In any case, Percy couldn't imagine how he would be if the same thing happened to his mom. He swore before that he would protect the last person who meant everything to him, yet the powerlessness he felt was so huge and wide that it put into perspective how lofty that promise was.
"I still can't believe your mom was struck by lightning and survived."
The voice came from beside him. It was the girl with honey blonde hair and grey eyes. She looked deep in her own thoughts, something that had captivated more and more his attention ever since he first met her on their first day of school.
"Do you know the probability of getting struck by lightning?"
Percy shook his head from staring at Annabeth too much and focused his eyes back on the almost empty highway ahead, "One in a billion?"
Annabeth shook her head, "Actually, it's closer to one in fifty thousand."
That shocked him. Percy didn't really think the chance of being hit was actually that high in the first place. But that revelation hit differently with his mom. It was something unexplainable, but she was always a magnet for anything electrical that seemed to go out of its way to harm her. There were many times where outlets of the house would spark when she tried to plug something in, or that one time with the car battery where it caught on fire after she tried to help Paul change it. Computers… phones… lightbulbs… Basically, anything that runs on an electrical current.
"But it's also based on the topography of an area, so the rare chance of it happening in the northeast, even in Long Island, especially in a densely populated area, it would have been closer to one in a trillion."
A bit surprised, Percy was glad to hear this new info from Annabeth, but at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder how she would know so much about lightning strikes.
Did she research about it? But when did she even have the time after my mom told her about the accident? Or is she just that smart?
"You seemed to know a lot about getting struck by lightning?" Percy couldn't help but ask.
"It's called common knowledge." Annabeth scoffed and corrected him, "Don't you read anything online? It's so easy nowadays to get information."
Percy rebutted, "Yeah, but I bet no one ever searches online for accidents involving lightning strikes… Did you?"
Percy saw the faintest hint of a pinkish blush on Annabeth's face, "No."
"Hmm? Are you a walking encyclopedia or something?" Percy made a joke to lighten the mood. It was the wrong choice, or rather, worse choice of words.
Direct and not hiding behind subtlety, her sudden glare was colder than even the peaks of Mount Everest. If anything, Percy felt chills running up his spine when the temperatures in her grey eyes dropped below zero, freezing him still with awkward chuckles.
"Uhh…" Percy tried to laugh it off, "I am not in trouble?"
Mentally preparing for that moment when Annabeth would hit him, Percy was relieved when she broke her angry-looking gaze with him and slumped back into her seat. There was a clear huff through a heavy deep breath when she sank back down. A deep frown- it was more like an angry pout that refused to be anything but cute in his mind- filled her expression which Percy just couldn't help but smiled at how adorable she… Mmm! Not now… N-not now… Just to show how irked she was at that nickname, Annabeth crossed her arms and looked toward her right side only, avoiding his direction at all cause.
"Don't call me that again." She said firmly, "I- I don't like it…"
Her abrupt reaction made Percy wondered why. Perhaps it was just her own quirk and she hated being called that, but instinct told him it was related to something that happened during her time in school, and he reckoned it's what made her hate that nickname. Percy felt guilty at first, but a burning heat rose from deep in his heart when he tried to imagine who would make Annabeth feel this way, over something as trivial as a stupid nickname.
"Is it because-" Percy wanted to ask, yet he couldn't finish his words because he already had an idea about who it could be. It wouldn't be fair to Annabeth if he went into this conversation thinking that her ex-boyfriend had something to do with her being so miserable and defeated over a name.
"Uh… never mind-"
But then she surprised him as if she already knew what he wanted to ask. Her feature relaxed in the leather seat and a composed sigh left from her soft lips.
"Mm-hmm." Annabeth shook her head at what he was hinting, "It's okay. I will tell you."
Her gaze tilted back slightly as she looked in between her seat and the dashboard. Reaching underneath her thighs with both hands, Annabeth seemed to want to hug her knees toward her face but thought better of it. After all, her casual shoe for school was still on, and more importantly, she probably knew that doing so would draw even more of his attention.
Percy gulped as his imagination took him toward a place he really shouldn't have gone.
Leaving her hands on top of her school skirt instead, Percy was really relieved that the bottom Annabeth had on covered only a few inches short from her knees. Because of its modest length, he sighed calmly that his innate male instinct couldn't see too much otherwise. The skin-tight stockings Annabeth wore underneath helped calmed his nerves a lot as well.
In any case, she spoke in a soft tone, explaining her reasoning openly like she had complete trust in him with what she's about to reveal.
"Remember when we had chemistry class yesterday?" Annabeth bit her lips. There was an indignant look over the rest of her expression, yet she didn't seem angry at the slightest. Her voice quivered with an immeasurable sadness stuck in her throat. Percy felt it. "The way everyone was looking at us? I- I've always been smart, I guess that's the right word... It's strange, but I sometimes know things that are beyond me, and I am not talking about the answers to a hard test or any of the subjects at school. To be honest, I don't really understand it myself, but it's like I could tell what's going even when I didn't study for it, things that other people spent a lot of time and energy on. I- I don't know how to say it… but-"
Her voice faltered for a second and Percy stayed quiet. He wasn't going to interrupt her now. He wanted to listen to her every word, her every worries, her every trouble…
And he wanted to help her in any way he could.
"- I guess that's why everyone hates me at school. I am always getting top grades in classes without even trying my best and…" Annabeth looked uncomfortable with what she wanted to say next, "- always drawing attention from the boys without even meaning to. A lot of girls really hated me for being labeled as the smartest and prettiest girl, and to be honest, I hated it too. I hated how much effect it had on me."
Percy felt a sharp pang in his chest at her revelation, but she paused suddenly and looked away from him again. Only after she hid her face away did she resumed revealing her feelings to him.
"I've always tried to stay in the background, doing my best to stay hidden, to not draw too many people's attention…" Annabeth bit her bottom lips at her next words, "- until I met you. You made everything so…"
Percy felt something rise from deep inside his beating heart yet he had no words to make a reply.
Annabeth faced forward again and let a sigh leave between her lips, ignoring what she was about to say next, "I never did ask to be the smartest girl in school, and I definitely don't like it when the boys tried to gawk at me like I am a prize or something. If I had a choice, then I would rather be normal."
Percy tried to shake his head in response.
"It's a curse being me."
At first, Percy was confident that he knew why Annabeth was so miserable- that day when Rachel made a dig at her for lying about meeting him, but now, it's obvious that he only knew half of the truth. She might have developed a strong sense of self-deprecation, but it was all reinforced by the people around her that made it even worse. A continuous cycle of self-hate…
Percy clinched the steering wheel tighter in his hands.
They had no right to make her feel this way. Percy couldn't even begin to imagine how much Annabeth suffered during her first two years in this school. Her genius intellect that no one else could match, being forced to hide her glowing, fun, and sometimes childish personality because she was hated by everyone around her, the way she looked so beautiful and pretty without even trying to…
Percy finally understood what she meant yesterday; Rachel wasn't the first girl nor the first person who started hating her because of all the envious qualities that made her so perfect in their minds. Making enemies without even meaning to, it's no wonder why she kept shutting people out of her life.
Is that why she avoided almost every other boy in school? The reason why she doesn't try to make friends with anyone? But it's not like I am in any place to say that…
Adding the fact that she had a history with Luke; Percy still didn't fully understand what had happened between the two of them, but given that Annabeth avoided all the boys in school like a plague, it must have been something serious.
And yet, she made a conscious choice to stick with him since she met him on their first day.
Percy knew what he wanted to say, what he had to say.
"It's not a curse." He said and put all his focus on the dimly lit road up ahead.
It couldn't be a curse. Percy refused to believe it was a curse. After all, she saved him in more ways than one, even if she didn't want to believe or realize it.
"Everyone has their own quirks anyways, something that they are really good at, so what if you are the smartest in school?" Percy said and now he couldn't stop the words from flowing freely, "I don't agree with those people who hate you just because of that. They don't get how difficult it must have been for you, and they are probably all jealous because you are smarter than everyone else and they couldn't be like you even if they wanted to be."
Annabeth was watching him now as he went on a tangent. Percy wasn't sure what she was feeling as he did his best to comfort all her negative feelings. Hopefully, he could blast all those thoughts away from her head and make her believe in something else, something better than what she had gotten used to. After all, Percy wholeheartedly believed that Annabeth deserved so much more. The reason why…
"Besides, I believe you were smart for a reason Annabeth. I mean, you saved my butt from being kick out of school so many times already. Without you, I would have been ship back to my old school since the second day."
That earned a soft chuckle from Annabeth. Percy smiled.
"I don't care what everyone else says about you. They can hate and dislike you all they want, and you can choose to believe in it or not. Of course, I wish you wouldn't believe in those things, because to me, you are more than just a smart and beautiful girl and I like you for who you are now."
It was only after the words left his mouth did Percy realized what he just said. His voice froze halfway afterward, hearing a very faint gasp from the girl next to him.
Oh my God… I didn't just confess my feelings on the spot, did I?
Percy tried not to glance at the passenger side of the car after admitting something so embarrassing, but it was impossible not to catch the moment when Annabeth looked at him with a bit of disbelief, her grey eyes glimmering underneath the soft moonlight.
No way… Is she tearing up?
Percy gulped at her spontaneous reaction. Trying to pick his words carefully now, Percy did his best to reassure her about the second thing she mentioned, "And you don't have to worry about the other boys in school."
Percy paused in the middle. Surely, he must be a hypocrite for saying what he wanted to say next, but the truth is: He didn't want Annabeth to ever feel like that with other boys in school, even though his mind had no doubt cross that forbidden place many times before. Still, he didn't want Annabeth to be in the other boys' center of attention. He wanted her to feel safe, which is why…
"If they so much as look at you the wrong way, I'll beat them up for you." Percy finished.
Saying all he wanted to say now, Annabeth left him with pricking silence for longer than a minute. It was an uncomfortable moment, and Percy didn't know how he could say all that to the girl he fell head over heels with so smoothly. His face grew steadily red.
"Muw-hahaha…. Heheh…"
That overjoy laugh was so out of nowhere, Percy couldn't tell if it was a really heartfelt and genuine laugh that left from Annabeth's mouth. A little confused at the beginning, Percy soon didn't care because seeing Annabeth in happiness made his heart skip a beat… then the next beat and the next beat until he was having trouble breathing properly.
"You are such a dummy, Percy." Annabeth smiled so wide at him that Percy couldn't help but fell even further than before, "But I am sorry…"
His heart sank really fast.
"Piper's already taken the spot unanimously, but of course, I wouldn't mind if you want to help my best friend out in beating up a couple of boys for me." She smirked.
Blood flowed normally in his veins once more.
Percy ran his hands through his hair, "I am sorry. That was a stupid thing to say..."
Her laughs were ebbing away now, replaced by a smooth calmness that kept Percy on his toes. He hadn't really seen her like this before, totally at ease like nothing could erase her peacefulness, and when Annabeth reached around the seat and held his right hand without even the faintest hint of a pinkish blush on her cheeks, Percy knew everything between them was different this time.
"Mm-hmm…" She shook her head slightly, "Thank you for saying all that, Percy. I- I need to hear them so you don't have to feel guilty about it."
A short pause... A light squeezed on his palm…
"And thank you for being here with me too."
It was very quiet after her whisper, but the words she created made Percy feel disquiet in every sense. His muscles felt limp, and it was taking all of him to keep his mind from failing to function. Everything in his body was racing after what she said.
Annabeth squeezed his hand again and Percy could vaguely tell his right hand was getting sweaty, but he couldn't do anything else except letting the girl he liked so much keep it up.
In the end, Percy turned to the only thing he could focus on so he didn't have to pay attention to how intense Annabeth was making him feel at the moment.
The dark road lit up by dozen of street lamps was getting fewer and fewer in between. The only thing that lit their path up ahead was the headlights of the car. Silver moonlight shone above the skies, Percy saw the faintest hint of its glow reflecting through the windows, through the mirrors, and over the immaculate fair skin of the girl radiating with wavy blonde hair beside him.
Annabeth looked so beautiful at that moment.
Everything around him was just as calming as that one night for him. He wanted this feeling to last forever. But sooner than he wanted, Annabeth broke the easing silence.
"Hehe…" She chuckled awkwardly, "I can't believe I went on a tangent and told you all that embarrassing stuff about me. You just wanted to know about that nickname, right?"
Percy wasn't sure how to reply. Annabeth was right about that, but the fact he'd gotten to know her better through what she revealed to him, he didn't mind it one bit. If anything, he wanted to know even more about the girl next to him now.
"Anyways! That's why I hated that name, so don't you dare say it again." Annabeth made sure he knew it with a playful glare, "If you do, I'll punch you without hesitation."
"I'll keep that in mind." Percy smiled back effortlessly.
-Line Break-
The trip took longer than either of them had expected, which was how Annabeth fell asleep on the passenger seat again. Percy would occasionally take a glance at the girl beside him, while a playlist of his favorite relaxing anime piano music would play over the speaker, keeping his soul and mood in such a mellow atmosphere.
After how unruly it had been just two hours ago, this might as well be heaven for him.
Percy still remembered how horrifying it felt back at the hospital room where his mom had to stay overnight to be monitor and to recover from her injuries. Safe with Paul and his little brothers, Percy's worries eased a little knowing that she was being taken care of by his family, but what he went through when she- along with his brothers and even Paul for that matter- decided to tease him relentlessly about Annabeth while she was still in the same room with him... Percy shivered at the recollections which made him feel goosebumps on his forearms.
There was one specific memory where it still sent sharp tingles up his spine though, and it was the moment when his mom pointed out to him that a girl was peeking inside the room from outside the hallway. Caught red-handed, Percy still remembered how red his face was when she teased him about who that might be.
Even now, Percy couldn't figure out why Annabeth would eavesdrop and peek inside the room like a total creep instead of just listening to his offer from the beginning. Still, what's done is done, and thankfully, his mom didn't mention it again so Percy was relieved for the mercy she showed on them.
"At five hundred feet, take exit seventy-four on the right."
Percy signaled his right blinker even though there was not a single car behind him. It might just be a habit of some sort, but Percy didn't like not following the rules, even though it's clear that he could drive from the left lane all the way to the right without using his signal once.
"Hmm… then what?" Percy mumbled as the car speed down the exit into another intersection of a smaller freeway, "Another five miles, huh?"
Enveloped underneath the starry skies in the middle of the night, the teasing he got from his mom was the sole reason why Percy found himself driving down the middle of an empty highway, devoid of cars as he headed for the edge of Long Island. Annabeth had given him the general location of her mansion for his navigation map; she didn't know the address of her second home as well, though he wasn't too shocked by that revelation. Any surprise he felt have faded already given she didn't know her family's phone number too.
Percy smiled as he ruminated a bit on how spoiled Annabeth really was. A large mansion in the suburbs, luxurious apartment back in the city, plus a really advance and almost organic AI- at least in his language speaking department anyway- that followed her around and help with whatever she needed…
It never crossed his mind before, but Percy suddenly grew worried as the girl he's got in his shotgun seat might very well have a rich and insanely overprotective father who would no doubt be on high alert right now. Maybe the police or a group of private security was already in search, and given that Annabeth couldn't contact her family since the end of school today, how would her father react to him showing up out of nowhere with his daughter in his car? The resulting mental outcome played in his head like a broken record and made Percy shivered endlessly.
"Naw… at least, I hope not…" Percy mumbled and tried to calm himself down. It worked, to various degrees.
Doing his best to relieve the pressure in his chest, Percy tried to sigh more than a few times, inhaling and exhaling through his nose with deep breathing. In the end, his attempts worked much better than he was expecting.
"Hmm…" then came a gentle sound from between her lips.
That soft, quiet unintelligible mumble came from the other side of the car. It was Annabeth. Following that meaningless sound when her soft lips moved, she shifted on the leather seat and turned slightly on her side while continuing to sleep calmly. There was a cute and peaceful look on her face. Percy gulped, staring at her figure for longer than he should have been.
A thought passed through his head.
"You trust me that much, huh?" Percy whispered to himself.
Annabeth has said before that she didn't want to take a stranger's taxi back home because she was scare of her safety. But if that's the case, isn't he a stranger too? They might have gotten along very well and quickly became friends, but isn't she scared of the fact that they barely know anything concrete about each other?
She was still sound asleep beside him, looking so peaceful while her left hand was still holding his right hand with a strong grip, slowly and steadily pulling him toward her side of the seat.
Percy felt a strange feeling clutching at his heart, squeezing it with involuntary thumps.
Maybe I want to get to know her more… a lot more… so much more…
Percy did achieve something that others might never have the chance to do with Annabeth though. He smirked at that latter part of their conversation earlier, the part before she fell asleep soundly in his car while he drove her home, the part right after he promised not to call her a walking encyclopedia ever again.
"Wise girl." Percy played with the words on his lips and a smile broke through.
Was it lame? Yeah, Percy no doubt thought so too. But that's about as good of a nickname he could come up with on the spot. After all, he was taking cues from what he knew about her; she was smart, intelligent, wise... and she was a girl. Even If he thought about it more, that's probably where he'll end up anyway. Despite his best attempt, the nickname was so self-explanatory that Annabeth actually laughed at him. He could still feel the heat on his cheeks which thankfully had returned to normal, but at that moment, she showed no remorse and even made fun of him for coming up with something so simple and embarrassing to say.
"Well, I am going to call you wise girl from now on, so you'll have to live with it," Percy murmured and smiled mischievously underneath his breath.
Of course, he didn't even remember how it was that he ended up having to come up with a nickname for Annabeth, but that's what happened, and now he had his own unique nickname for the girl he fell head of heels for, one that he came up with himself and no one else knew about it. A secret name shared between the two of them, something that only they know about.
Feeling a strong tug on his heart, Percy shook that aside for now because something was happening with the road ahead. Instead of the regular asphalt of a normal highway, the road was slowly turning into a gravel pathway. It was getting narrower too, merging the wide freeway with at least four lanes into a single one-way street with a different kind of lamp. Garden lamps, not the one used by the city which would have towered above the street.
"Huh?" Percy made sure they were still on track, and sure enough, the GPS signal pointed them forward for another mile, "Hey Annabeth?"
The scenery changed too. From the dense forest that surrounded them earlier, there were tall trees were lined along each side of the main road now. They were neatly trimmed and lined along the side of the road in perfect order- exactly ten feet apart and looked completely like a copy of the tree before it. Obviously, they were beginning to enter a very, very, very well-managed, and probably wealthy as a blue whale type of neighborhood.
Percy shook his right hand which Annabeth still held, "Wake up, Annabeth."
There was a bit of tossing and turning, Percy's right hand suddenly brushed against the side of her left arm and the damp grey school jacket. He froze as her body weight made sure he couldn't pull his hand free, left only to pray desperately for the moment when her consciousness would return. A few more mumbles were let out from her twitching lips. Her nose crinkled and a sniffle came out.
"Hum?" Annabeth finally woke after much shaking.
Driving slower than before, Percy couldn't help but spared a few glances at Annabeth who was coming out of her sleepiness. It made him gulped for no reason at all. Of course, the first thing she did was to squeeze his hand, as if she had forgotten about it. Percy tried to act as nonchalant as possible, not least to prevent another accident from happening.
Then she realized it and let go right away, "Ahem… Are we there yet?"
Percy pretended to be oblivious to her blushes, "Y-Yeah… your pinpoint lead me here. Do you know your way back from here?"
Annabeth was probably still very sleepy because she rubbed her eyes and Percy had to resist his urge from staring again, "Hmm… Oh! This is it. Just follow down this road and the gate will appear."
Percy wasn't sure what Annabeth was talking about, but he followed her instruction while leading them closer and closer down the gravel pathway.
"Say," Annabeth spoke up from the slightly awkward vibe that surrounded them, "You didn't— Um…"
She couldn't finish, and this time Percy was totally stumped because he had no idea what Annabeth wanted to say. He waited, but with an abrupt reaction, Annabeth pulled her question back completely and fidget nervously.
"Never mind… Forget I ask…"
Not sure how to respond, Percy left it as is and continued driving down the road. Of course, he noticed many things, subtle things like Annabeth acting weirdly or things like a thick metaphoric veil that separated them from each other, even if they were only one seat apart.
Oh God… Oh my God… Percy could feel his heart racing. What's happening with me?
On the other side, it seemed like Annabeth was having the same involuntary reaction too. Having that slightly fluster look, that averting eye habit Percy's gotten used to seeing, what gave it all away was that she couldn't even look in his direction, staring out the window into the bushes and trees.
Either of them was trying to look at each other, and Percy wished the gate that Annabeth spoke of would come quickly so this moment between them would end.
And then…
"Percy, I-"
No sooner did he hoped for a giant gate to appear, a black gate the size of a wall came into view. Having two sides, intricate patterns were drawn using the rails that made up the gate, but it didn't look like much to his imagination. At best, he could see two figures on either side of the gate, and that's it.
Percy eased on the brakes, pulling the car to a stop before it. A middle-aged man was standing in front of the gate before them, all alone by himself. From the headlights, Percy could vaguely tell he was a guard for this place. Dressed in a black suit and with an earpiece on his left ear, he looked like a typical security guard with rough and intimidating features. Sporting short greyish white hair, the man with brown eyes walked up to the car and each step he took made a crunching sound with the gravel.
"Are you sure we are in the right place?" Percy had to hold his breath as the man approached his side of the window, "He doesn't look too friendly."
What Annabeth said next reassured him considerably, "Geez, Percy… grow a spine, will ya?"
Percy took offense to that jab.
"He is Owen. He's one of the private security guards my mom had around the mansion."
Percy was so relieved because he didn't like the look on the guard one bit. At the very least, he wasn't hiding behind a tacky sunglass so that eased his worries— Okay, it actually eased a lot of his worries because Percy never like that specific look, especially if the person was as buff and menacing-looking as Owen was.
Percy lowered the window just as Owen reached the side of his car, "Young man. This is private property. You can't go-"
Percy cut him off and immediately wish he didn't, "Actually, I am here because-"
Then Annabeth cut him off too and leaned over so Owen could see her, "Hi, Owen… It's me."
That reveal seemed to have taken him back quite a few steps. Owen looked very shock.
"Miss Chase! I- I…"
Annabeth kept her body leaned over and Percy only realized it after it was done. She was pressed up against him in a rather- um… Percy didn't have the right words for what Annabeth was doing to him at the moment.
"Can you let my mom know that I am home? And don't worry," Annabeth gestured at Percy, "He can come along."
Lost for words, the guard Owen stammered as if he wasn't sure what to do, which was so unlike his tough and intimidating stature. Percy hung back at the sideline even though he was right in the middle of their conversation, waiting for Annabeth and this guard Owen to sort out their business.
"I see," Owen pulled back, "Let me inform you mom then."
Owen held his finger on the earpiece and whispered something inaudible. Percy waited for a bit, and less than a second later, a piercing scream reached even his ear and deafen him for longer than a minute. He could only wish that Owen wouldn't become deaf in his left ear after that.
Standing upright just a second ago, Owen seemed to have lost his balance- plus the emotions on his face- for longer than a bit before he said, "Yes. I understood, Ms. Athena. I'll let them through."
Brown eyes dazed over, Percy wanted to wish him well after the ear-shattering scream but the gate was opening now so he didn't get to say anything.
"Follow down the path until you reached the center courtyard. You can leave your car in front of the garage for now." Owen said through the window and step aside, then he gave Percy a look he wasn't sure what to make of, "Thanks for taking care of the princess, young man. You have my thanks."
Owen waved them through afterward and Percy drove further down.
"What was that?" Percy asked and was befuddled to the bone, "Did he just called you princess too?"
Though Annabeth didn't get the chance to explain right away because they were coming up on a huge clearing that's lit up by so many lights, it didn't even seem like it was nighttime anymore. They weren't blinding his eyes though, just enough that it caused his heart to flutter at the scene before him.
There were small flower gardens everywhere, water fountains litter all over the places, tall dense trees with falling leaves around them, neatly trimmed bushes on every side, plus a lot of those standing garden lights that Percy saw before he entered inside the gate. If Annabeth didn't mention that she lived in a mansion before, Percy wouldn't have been able to breathe seeing all this from behind the windshield.
Everything was… Percy was awe-struck.
And that's not even counting the literal mansion sitting in the middle of all these wonderful sights that kept Percy's eyes so wide.
"This is…" Percy began and lost his voice.
Are you really that rich? Percy wanted to ask so much, but that sounded really rude so he kept quiet.
Still a little way until they reached the front of the main building, Annabeth tapped his arm which snapped his attention away from this new reality- or is it fantasy- that he found himself in, "Here. Just pull up over there."
Percy did as she asked, pulling up in front of what he assumed to be the garage and parked the car. He hadn't realized how tired he was. Then again, driving through the night and for so long would exhaust anyone. Letting out a soft yawn despite himself, Percy blushed when Annabeth watched him with an interesting gaze.
"Sorry… I am a little tired." Percy apologized sheepishly, "Well, I guess- I guess that's it then."
Percy knew that was the end of his time with Annabeth now. After spending a whole day together, Percy couldn't have asked for anything better. He'd gotten to make so many nice memories with Annabeth, and even getting to know her a lot than he possibly could at the moment. If he had a chance to do this again with her, he knew he wouldn't hesitate.
"Hmm." Annabeth nodded at him, but her voice sounded rush, "Hey, Percy. Would you want to stay-"
"Hey, wait… Is that your mom?" Percy shifted his gaze toward a woman walking toward his car.
More than twenty yards away, Percy couldn't really see her figure fully. His senses dull by his sleepiness made it impossible to see her features fully. Indeed, that person seemed to be Annabeth's mom. If not, she wouldn't be rushing over here with her long hair looking so unkempt and only in her sleepwear.
"Oh crap," Annabeth set her sight on the woman who was looking furious with them, "I am in so much trouble…"
Pure frustration that's only one level below rage rang through the woman's voice as she closed the distance between her and the car, "Annabeth Chase! You get out of this car this instant!"
