Chapter Seven: Time to Talk the Talk
Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan's
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
and the Heroes of Olympus Series, and I do not
own the songs I put into this book either.
I only own my fan made characters and of course
the plot line.
Added Songs – In Order of Appearance
Without You – For King & Country feat Courtney
~Author's Note~
Hey guys, so look who is back with a new chapter, so far so good but the reason I am doing it now is because my big exams are right around the corner, starting two days after my birthday to sometime in the middle of November so I wanted to give you this. It's not perfect but I hope you enjoy it.
Awkward… the feeling of finding one's self in a quiet, uncomfortable situation after past history which can range from an awkward kiss between friends, a drunken night that ended with two friends sleeping together… or in Annabeth's case, sitting in a car with Percy Jackson, the man she dressed as Anna Olympia to be with him, fall in love with him, and even slept with him… and hadn't seen in six months until last night…
Awkward wasn't even the right word to describe the air that surrounded them in this enclosed vehicle, one she had ridden in many times and shared laughs and kisses and even a little singing and making out in the back seat.
This place screamed memories… it was filled with memories and beautiful moments that she ruined…
She ruined it all by lying to him about her identity for six months…
And did she regret it… maybe… god she honestly did not know what she believed anymore.
It was the same with music.
She had said it… I quit music... a phrase that she never believed would be voice from her lips… but it was… and she felt lost now.
So many questions rumbled through her head as she thought about everything she had to do…
Her house was already on sale, hopefully it would be enough to buy out the rest of her contract…
She had to think about all of her assets… her instruments…
Would she keep them or donate them or leave them with Apollo Records…?
Would she stay here in New York or move back home… or move someone else and start from the beginning again?
Would she do work with her degree… or work for her mom?
She had so many questions and no answers… she honestly did not know what she was going to do, now that she quit music.
The biggest one of all, was what did she want to do with her life?
She was twenty-four now… and yet she was still spiralling here in this moment.
She was drowning and couldn't reach the shore and she just didn't know where to go with all of this.
She knew not where to go anymore and she was truly lost in the water of the turbulent ocean.
She was zoned out but still noticed the way Percy's hands occasionally gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, or how he like her gnawed on his bottom lip.
He felt the tension just as much as she did but given the history, there was no way of entering a conversation without getting an angry Percy Jackson…
She had so many questions to ask… but she didn't know how she was supposed to ask them…
So she just started with her tension breaker as they were stuck in a bit of traffic.
"Can I turn on the radio?" She asked in a shy and soft tone.
Percy glanced at her before he tipped his down in a curt, single nod before returning his eyes to the road.
Annabeth bit her bottom lip as she reached over and turned on the radio, turning up the volume as she settled into the car.
"Wazzup ladies and gents. This is the chick that gets you to dedicate to the loved ones in your life and today, we are apart of a very controversial panel today on Superstar Songs of Today. The topic we will be discussing is the one that has been circulating for about six months and the song we are debating about is Begin Again by Annabeth Chase." Annabeth froze as Percy's shoulders significantly tensed at the mention of her name. "Before y'all call, let's give it a listen shall we before we speak with our panellists."
She bit her lip as she played with the hem of her shirt as the song started to play. She figured Percy would have switched it off already but he sat there, listening to the song and analyzing the words.
She wanted to speak up but left it as he listened to the music as it play, the intimate song that was just her and her guitar, talking about how her life had changed, and how it was all because she met Percy on a Wednesday in a café and watched it all begin again.
"Now, this song when it first came out, it touched us at the beauty of the song, but now it seems marred and tainted in controversy given the events of finding out that Annabeth was living a double life." The radio host explained as Annabeth breathed, "Now, our panelists of special people. Right now, we have the owner of Apollo records, Apollo himself, fellow friend and colleague to Annabeth Chase, and cousin to Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace and Calypso Greeves. Interesting panel here but I'd like to first of all speak with Apollo himself. Apollo, tell me, what did you think of this song the first time you heard it?"
Annabeth glanced at Percy who seemed deeply interested in this radio broadcast.
"Well, when I first heard it, it reminded me of this young girl, age of sixteen that I met when she was waiting for the bus, and that is when I was getting my label off the ground… this is the girl I remembered from years ago. The soft, generous, passionate and emotion driven person who sung with her heart." Apollo said with a smile. "She was just sitting in the booth, with her guitar in her hand and was just playing and singing… being so open and happy for the first time in a long time."
"Could you elaborate on that for us Apollo?" The D.J asked with a curious tone.
"It's not my place to tell her story but she was hurt badly by someone who, tragically no longer with us, and it had been a year since he had hurt her, and for the first time, she looked… looked like herself and it was a breath of fresh air and a happy reminder for me." Annabeth sighed as she listened to her boss talk about her.
"So Thalia, you have been friends with Annabeth for many many years… what was it like for you when you first heard this song?"
"Wow… um, I have to say I was genuinely happy to see my best friend happy… I knew it was because she had met someone… she said she had a date that night… it was a Friday… I called the next day and she was official with Percy… it never twigged until I saw them together when she was Anna, but the way she looked at him, you couldn't deny that from early on, she was madly and deeply in love with him… I am sure she still is now, even after everything that's happened." She said with a sniffle and a sigh.
"For how long did you know about her being Anna?" The D.J asked softly.
"A while… very early on, I knew, but I kept pushing her to tell him, and in the process, I hurt her badly, even now too… but I still love her and speak for her when I say she still loves my cousin and I still love him… but it was not my secret to tell him… it was hers, and maybe one day he can forgive me, but I know it will take a long time." Thalia said with a sigh, "They loved each other and at the end of the day, all Annabeth wanted to do was protect him from the danger of this business… it killed a friend close to us… and it is hard, knowing that this may be the last song of love we here from Annabeth…"
Annabeth had heard enough and switched the radio off and was squeezing her eyes shut tightly as a tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at the sky through the window.
"Is what they were saying true?" Percy's voice asked as it filled the silence in the car.
Annabeth could only nod, "I… I wanted to tell you, I was going to tell you the truth… I wanted to be the one to tell you… I was never going to let you go on believing that Anna is who I was… even though she and I were one in the same." She whispered as she wiped her eyes. "When I said my ex hurt me, I meant that… Luke… he was sick and was twisted and corrupt and he broke my heart and it nearly killed me… I don't know how I carried on for as long as I did… but it brought me to you in that coffee shop on a day that I just wanted to be the other me… the person I would have been if I hadn't of chosen music…" She whispered as she rubbed her arm.
She didn't dare turn her head and see the look on his face as she placed with her shirt hem.
She turned and looked at him to see him looking at her intensely as she bit her bottom lip and stared at him, seeing the intensity of his green eyes that were filled with so many complicated and erratic emotions she could barely discern what wasn't there in his eyes.
She took a moment to take in his appearance, the beauty of his features…
He looked like he had aged years, yet he still looked young and lost he looked at her.
He was confusing her, and she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing for her.
"I… meeting you was a day that changed my life… you made me fall in love with music and believe in the power of my voice… you showed me a vision of strength so admirable that I couldn't help but fall in love with you before I told you the truth and part of me wanted to be Anna… permanently because she was normal… I liked being her, especially when I was with you…" She whispered as she looked at him as she rubbed her arm, "I was afraid of what you would say about me, about being someone I am not, playing a character and not being myself but that was me… Anna Olympia was Annabeth Chase… just with different coloured eyes and different hair… but was still madly in love with you…" She whispered as she looked into his eyes.
"Who is Annabeth Chase?" He asked simply as he looked at her with soft eyes but still confused emotions running rampant in his emotion fueled eyes.
"I… I don't know who I am anymore…" She admitted softly as she looked at him. "I am this lost girl who is torn about what she wants to do… after everything, I don't love the music anymore… I hate the identity I have… I don't know who I am supposed to be right now… I fucking told Thalia I was quitting music not just for me but for them because I took her and Luke's dreams from them… and I took everything from you…" She whispered as she had a tear roll down her cheek. "I am stupid and naive for not seeing what I had done… what I had stolen from people…"
"You didn't force any of us to choose… we all chose willingly…" he whispered as he looked at the road and drove a little, "I chose to love Anna… I chose to give her my heart… that was my choice and I am still figuring out my head… and my heart that keeps telling me that you are worth it, even if you lied to me… and my head is saying no, but I just… I don't fucking know." He whispered harshly as Annabeth looked at him. "I was free for the first time in six months after sitting and talking to Reyna at her grave… and… and then I found you near that grave and I just… i had a choice to save you or leave you and I chose you… I chose with my heart and because it was the right thing to do… and I don't regret it, no matter what you did." He said as he breathed out a shaky sigh.
His emotions were all over the place and he didn't know how to control them… every word she said, he believed… he fucking believed her but it still hurt… all of it still hurt… even though his heart clenched painfully and sung with praise when she said she loved him…
Annabeth was shocked and couldn't stop looking at him as though he were the only saving grace she had… and helped her believe that she could still keep her head above water and fight…
She was helpless… yet that went away when she realised that maybe there may be a chance, albeit slim and minuscule… and highly unlikely… but the fact that she was starting to believe again was opening her heart and soul…
She could feel that heart skipping beat of soul pour through her soul and it scared her… she didn't want a reprieve… she wanted people to be happy but she was still torn about her music… she was still scared of it… of what the industry would do to her…
"I'm scared… scared that if I give up music… I will lose who I am… because when I was Anna and Annabeth, just thinking about you made me love music more… if I lose music with you… I don't know who I am because I was me when I was with you…" She whispered as she looked at her hands that made music but deceived each time they put her wig and contacts in… and cut her hair… chipping away the remains of her already broken identity. "Can beauty come out of ashes?" She asked him as she looked at her hands.
Percy looked at her, he himself wondering if beauty could come out of ashes…
They were burned and broke, their bridge rubble and ash… but could beauty come out of their ashes…
Today would have been a year… a beautiful and heart warming year with a girl he loved… a girl whom he loved like no other and he didn't know what to do…
"It would have been a year today." She said as she looked into his eyes, "Six months of beauty… six months of pain to counteract with it… is there a platform for a fresh start?" She asked as she looked at him, clinging to mere shreds of hope in broken and ripped strands.
Percy didn't know what to say… silence was his only answer…
What did he want?
Her…
Of course he wanted her, he loved her… but was their story worth trying to save…
He looked back on all the time they had shared as Anna and Percy… and now she was Annabeth… and she like him too, was helplessly lost and abandoned to this messed up world, both not sure of who they were now…
"I… I don't know Annabeth… I need… I need to think… to feel and decide what I want… if I can forgive you and give you another chance…" He whispered as he looked at her with a helpless look in his eyes.
Annabeth nodded, understanding completely. "I know I lied and hurt you Percy… and I will always hold it against myself for the rest of my life… but I love you and always will and if this is the end, I will never forget you…" She said as she reached up and cupped his cheek hesitantly, wincing when he flinched but leaned into her touch. "You are a wonderful human being Percy Jackson… and I am grateful that I got a chance to love you, and I am sorry I messed it up… but don't let my mistake hold you back… live and be free… and always remember that I do love you." She said as she bravely leaned in and brushed her lips against his…
She forgot what his kiss felt like… forgot about the fireworks that erupted and made her see something so beautiful…
And when he kissed her back, it made the world fill with clarity as they stood in the spotlight together, in their light they stood and just existed in a single moment that made her feel grateful she had one last chance to show him how she felt before it was all over.
She would remember this kiss, either as the kiss of a brand new start… or the final good bye to a beautiful dream that was ruined by her and her nightmare…
She pulled away, tears rolling down her face, fresh and warm as she looked at him, "I love you, and thank you for everything… if this isn't good bye… I'm still most probably gonna stick around for a while… so you'll know where to find me… but if this is good bye… then thank you Percy… for everything." She said as she pulled away and opened the car door and hopped out and closed the door, waving good bye to him as she said, "Thank you and happy anniversary." Before she turned on her heel and headed into the crowd, her beanie shifted and her eyes down…
And Percy watched as he watched her walk away, even as the car behind him hooted at him…
He had some things to think about… and he hoped he could just figure everything out.
Annabeth slipped into her apartment grateful that no one had recognized her, but then again, if anyone did, it didn't matter honestly.
But she was happy and safe in her apartment that she grew up in when she was going to school, and smiled as she looked around it…
She had not been here in months, at least not since the paparazzi camped outside the building, waiting to catch her in the act, but it was truly tragic that she hadn't come home in so long… and yet it was still comfort and security she had longed for… and it was hope for the future…
Maybe she was naive for being hopeful but it didn't matter because she was going to cling onto the sliver of hope to do what needed to be done. Not that it changed her indecisiveness and confusion on what the next step forward was going to be…
She sat down on her couch with her bag on the floor and her journal in hand… her only companion she was able to talk to without being hurt in return… yet this time she didn't feel like writing in this book…
She felt like writing in another book that must have been burning a hole in her bag by now.
She pulled out her song book and decided to take herself on a journey with it… it was something her dad gave her when she first fell in love with music… it had every song she wrote, both loved and hated… it told the story of her journey through music…
From every unfinished page to every page that had a line drawn haphazardly through the page in frustration…
From the ones that took years to write to the ones that flowed from the first line onto the page…
It told her story and her growth… but like her career, the book was coming to it's end… not many pages of the last chapter to finish before this chapter of her life and these last moments of her story came to an end…
She looked down at the pages left of her book, wondering if she was going to fill them with memories… or if she was going to fill them with the precursor to the next chapter of her musical journey…
All she knew is that she had lines and words to work with to build each story…
Moments…
Head Above Water…
Can beauty come out of ashes…
Stand in the light and be seen as we are…
She had no idea if any of them would fit together, or if any of them would even work… all she knew is that they meant something… and she was going to tell a story with them… if things worked out that way…
And so she sat, ignoring the world around her and just letting herself get lost in the words she wrote on each page.
Some came easy and some came hard… but they all came from one specific source in many ways…
Pain, love, heart ache, hope, courage… and so so many more but they all came from her muse…
Percy Jackson…
And she had a smile on her face as she wrote her tale… but had to stop when she got a message from Apollo.
Meeting at the board room at 4.30pm. Urgent announcement. Please be there.
Apollo
She sighed as she looked at it, hating the disrupt of her flow as she glared at her phone screen with annoyance and disdain. She didn't feel like going anywhere, in all honest truth, she would much rather be here at home than at the studio…
But she could tell by his message that this was important and even though she might be quitting music, she still decided it was important that she go. By now he must have known about what happened and about the fact that she was going to quit music.
So she sighed and stood up and went to her room and slipped her beanie off her head and looked at her appearance… she looked like a more badass version of the girl next door she used to be…
But if her life had been different, this is the girl she would have been. The confident yet uncertain woman who didn't know what she was going to do with her life but liked being wild and free and to live.
So she reached in her drawer and pulled out the thing she had wanted to do for years… the pink hair dye and she was debating about doing it… but then smiled…
She was going to embrace her identity, even if no one recognised her, and even if they did. She was happy the way she was and was tired of hiding. Percy had told her to stand in the light and she was going to be seen for who she was.
She was tired of living in the shadows of self-agony. People could talk all they wanted about her and what happened with Percy but they had no right to judge her it because they didn't know her or her reasons. She was a good person who made a mistake and she was tired of people hanging it over her head.
So she slipped her beanie on, picked up her bag and song book and walked right out the door and hailed a cab to take her to her salon and her hair stylist and she was embracing her identity.
She was ready and prepared as the same cab driver who had taken her to the salon drove and parked outside the front of Apollo records where paparazzi were still waiting for her to make an appearance.
"Thank you for the ride Drake. I appreciate it very much." She said as she paid him the money for the ride, giving him a smile as she did so.
"The pleasure is mine Miss Chase. Would it be alright if I asked to take a photo with you? I love your music and I love your new style and I want to help you embrace the new you." He said with a smile.
Annabeth smiled nodded. "Sure." She said as she climbed out the cab with him and stood in front of the building with a cab, taking her beanie off and showing her new hair as she wrapped an arm around his waist as he put it around her shoulder and took a photo with his phone and then she took one with hers. "Don't forget to tag me." She said as she watched him post the photo on his social media accounts with her name.
She happily liked it before proceeding to make her own post on all her social media accounts with a tag for him and a location.
Be the first of many to embrace your own true identity like I have. My new buddy embraces my new look and my new identity. This is me taking back the youth I never had and embracing a little fire within and the little rebel I could have been. This is me standing in the light and being seen as I am and it's thanks to a special person who helped me figure out what needed to be done to take control of my life, and I hope one day he will forgive me for my mistakes. #StandintheLight #Thisisme #Bewhoyouare
She heard people's phone alerts going insane all around her, and watched as every one of the paparazzi looked at their phones before frantically searching round as many eyes landed on her as she walked towards the door and immediately they were rushing towards the barricade built in front of the building as guards kept them away as she waved at them and entered the building.
She was bring forth a storm of change and she didn't care what anyone said as she walked through the building, all the employees eyes landing on her as she walked through the building to the elevator.
She entered it as people in their asked for photos and she happily obliged, embracing her identity as she rode to her floor.
When she got off the elevator, her floor was quite empty, most probably all the others had gone to the board room already and she smiled as she walked through the hallway but stopped when she heard someone singing.
She stopped and peaked through an open door as she watched Phoebe sit at a piano, Zoe seated next to her…
Annabeth hadn't seen them in a long time… she didn't know how their time had progressed, and how things were moving on but Zoe… she looked ill, very very ill.
Her skin was pale, she looked skinnier, more fragile… her hair was tucked underneath a beanie, but it didn't look like a lot…
Phoebe… she had tears in her eyes as she sung her song that seemed to be dedicated to Zoe… and as she listened to the closing moments of the song… she realised what was happening…
I don't want to live without you
I'm not ready to live without you
So let's dance a little, laugh a little, and hope a little more
Yes, let's dance a little, laugh a little, and hope a little more
'Cause I don't wanna live without you, without you
I heard a voice from the other side singing,
"Hold fast, love last"
As winter turns into summertime singing,
"Hold fast, love last"
I heard a voice from the other side singing,
"Hold fast, love last"
As winter turns into summertime singing,
"Hold fast"
So let's dance a little, laugh a little, and hope a little more
Yes, let's dance a little, laugh a little, and hope a little more
'Cause I don't want to live without you
No, I don't wanna live without you, without you
As Phoebe looked at Zoe who had a teary smile on her face, tears rolled down Phoebe's cheeks, fresh and almost heart broken as she hugged Zoe. "I don't want you to go Zoe. I don't want you to die." She whispered tearfully as she held her friend.
"I know it's hard Phoebe but they tried everything… there is no reversing this…" She said as she pulled back and cupped Phoebe's cheeks in a gentle, almost loving manner. "I wish it didn't have to be this way but it is, and these last six months, of just being with you, writing and singing have been the best few months of my life, and when my time comes… I will have all these memories of you."
"But how can I be huntresses if you aren't there… I don't want you to die Zoe… I love you… I always have and always will. I don't want to be alone… I need you…" Phoebe said with a choked sob as she leaned her forehead against Zoe's who was crying too.
"I love you too Phoebe… I love you too and I don't want to leave you… I don't… I wanted more time with you… but I don't know how much time I have… but please… just love me and live with me." She whispered as she leaned in and kissed Phoebe…
Annabeth knew that it was time to give them privacy but her soul had been rocked…
Zoe, her friend was sick and… and dying… and she never knew…
That… that was a little overwhelming but so was the fact that the two who had been like sisters were a couple and loved each other… that was special…
It left her rather out of her thoughts as she mindlessly walked into the board room which went silent when she walked in.
Everyone was staring at her, taking in her changed appearance as she greeted everyone and went and stood in front of every, more so in front of Apollo, Artemis and Thalia who were looking at her.
Annabeth didn't know what to make of the entire situation. She watched Apollo with a curious yet confused eye, undecided about her take on all of this. This entire announcement and gathered meeting had been cryptic and she was growing more and more worried as Thalia, Artemis and Apollo examined all of them.
"I know you are all curious as to why we have gathered you all here." Apollo said calmly as he smiled. "I have been successful in bringing the hottest free agent artist that no one knew existed and a lot of things have been said about this artist and their character but that isn't the case at all." Apollo explained, a calm and excited expression on his face as he spoke… but there was a nervous tone to his voice.
"This artist was forced into what's known as a gimmick. It's a facade, an act that they thought would be the most successful but they made them be that person every single minute of the day." Artemis explained with a collected expression, revealing nothing. "Here at Apollo Records, we thrive in being ourselves so do not judge a book by its cover. This artist is not what the media and the world made her out to be." She said as subtly glanced at Annabeth before Apollo spoke once more.
"This woman will be participating under my request, in a duet with Annabeth," Annabeth raised an eyebrow, confused as she was already supposed to be doing a duet with Jason, "So without further ado, I'd like to introduce the newest member of Apollo Records." Annabeth looked over at Thalia who held a guilty expression on her face.
'I'm sorry Annabeth.' She mouthed much to Annabeth's confusion but her question was certainly answered a few moments late.
The door opened and gasps erupted throughout the room as the person stepped out from behind the door and into the room. Annabeth's eyes grew wide, to the size of dinner plates when she recognized the person.
The woman who stepped through was dressed simply in a pair of old and torn ripped blue denim jeans with a very old pair of converse and a white t-shirt with KEEP CALM AND BE THE REAL THE YOU written on the front of her shirt. Her fawn hair the colour of dried wheat straw no longer held those different highlights that once lay within them. It was a single tone that suited her and the fringe was held back by what looked to be a black shoe lace tied into an Alice band.
Her almond shaped dark russet eyes were filled with this warmth, almost a deep sense of relief, and freedom which matched the peaceful smile on her face. Those eyes wandered and glanced at Annabeth, a sad smile but a curious and interested look appearing on her face as she spoke, "hello Annabeth. Long-time no see."
All Annabeth could do was stare at the woman before known by many names but only one came to mind because that is who she had met her as and that was at their audition years ago.
The newest member of Apollo Records was none other than Calypso Greaves.
So as you can see, it is long and there was a lot happening in this chapter this is where everything comes into fruition and it will be a fun ride I hope. I want to thank those who take their time to read this fic and soon we will have the ball rolling properly and I hope you all will enjoy it. Peace out my dear fictioneers, wish me luck for my exams and I will see you all again soon.
~Michaela~