A/N: I'd like to thank some of the people who helped me out: AlEmily360, SapphireTrafficker, tigerlilycorinne, AshenMoon42, Lesbian101, Shiuanc2, and LadyHW.
Annabeth couldn't stop thinking about Percy's bruised face. She couldn't stop thinking about the wild look in his eye when he entered the classroom (before he quickly schooled it into something calm and palatable), nor the intense way he looked at her now, when he thought she wasn't paying attention.
"What?" she asked, looking up from her screen.
Percy looked away, towards a crop of trees on the other side of the park. "Nothing."
Annabeth scowled. She was in a bad mood. Luke was going on another work trip in a week and she was mad at herself for feeling relieved. And she was mad at Percy for always being there—in her space and in her thoughts.
"Stop looking at me," she said, looking back down at her laptop. She couldn't figure out how to spell 'conscience' and since they were in a park with no wifi, she couldn't look it up. Who's idea was it to work in a park anyway?
"Geez, what's your problem today?" Percy asked, closing his own laptop. He narrowed his green eyes at her.
Annabeth narrowed her own grey ones. "I don't have a problem," she said. "Actually, my 'problem' is that you keep getting distracted."
"Well, maybe that's because you keep distracting me," Percy accused.
Annabeth threw her hands up and scoffed. "How am I distracting you?! I'm not doing anything." Her laptop began to slip off of her thighs and she rushed to grab it before it toppled to the floor.
Percy sat back and laughed to himself, like he was in on a joke Annabeth wouldn't understand, and that made her even more irritated. "And why won't you tell me about your fight?" she said, just to say it. It had been bothering her for days. Every time she looked at Percy's face, the bruise, already turning a mottled yellow, only reminded her of all the things she didn't know.
Percy's expression hardened. "Because it's none of your business."
Annabeth crossed her arms and stared across the park. She didn't want to—couldn't—look at him right now. The trees around the grassy open space were turning lovely shades of red and gold. She wished she could appreciate it, as fall had always been her favourite season. Instead, she was out here with stupid Percy, and his stupid bruise, and his stupid, intense green eyes.
He was getting up. "I think I'm going to go," Percy announced. "I don't see this being productive."
Annabeth didn't say anything. She waited for him to be gone before she slouched down, staring at the space he had been. She took out her ponytail and massaged her scalp, running her fingers through her tangled blonde hair. She was getting a headache.
She knew she was being bullheaded, but she didn't want to apologise. She was just so tired of secrets. Percy's secrets. Hazel's secrets. Luke's secrets. And most of all, her own.
She walked back to her room feeling defeated. And like an ass. She wouldn't be able to work on her project anymore today, that much she knew. She tugged her jacket close. It was getting cold out, at least too cold for the light layers she was wearing. Soon she'd have to transition in her sweaters and cardigans.
Annabeth walked down the hall to her door, but stopped before going in. Voices were arguing inside, loudly. It sounded like Silena and Beckendorf. Annabeth debated whether she should leave them be or intervene before something caught her attention.
"—not much time." Silena's voice said. She sounded like she was crying.
"It's okay, love. We both knew this was coming. You will get through this," Beckendorf said, voice soothing.
"Charlie…"
"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it. My d—"
Annabeth stumbled and hit her knee on the door. It made a loud bang and the talking stopped. She figured that there was no way they didn't know she was there, so she decided to just go in so as not to make them suspicious.
"Hi, Silena...Beckendorf," Annabeth greeted. Silena sat on her bed, leaning against the wall and holding her knees to her chest. Her face was streaked with tears and her makeup was smudged. Beckendorf sat at Silena's swivel chair in the middle of the small room, with his head resting between his knees. He looked up at her when she entered and Annabeth could see he had been crying too.
"Hi Annabeth," he said, wiping his face. She waved at him, not knowing what else to do.
"Hey," Silena muttered morosely. Beckendorf gave her a look that Annabeth couldn't read. Then he started to get up.
"I'll leave you two be," he said. And then to Silena: "We can talk about this another day, okay?" He held her gaze. "I love you."
She sniffled. "I love you too."
He kissed Silena on her forehead. She gave him a weak smile. Annabeth felt like she was intruding on a much too private moment. She should have left them when she had the chance.
Beckendorf said goodbye to Annabeth and left the room. Annabeth turned to Silena after sitting down on her own bed. Silena wiped her eyes, smearing mascara down her cheeks.
"You okay?" Annabeth asked gently. Silena shook her head, wiping her hands on her jeans. "You wanna talk about it?" Annabeth asked. Silena shook her head again.
She got off her bed and stood in front of her mirror, wiping off and redoing her makeup. She flicked on new eyeliner, in a startling pink that complimented her dark brown eyes.
Annabeth frowned in concern. "Okay...if you ever do just...I'm here, okay?"
Silena sighed and nodded. "I know, Annabeth. Thank you." She turned to her closet and grabbed a warm coat off of its hanger. Annabeth watched her silently. Silena turned around. "How do I look?"
Annabeth gave her a thumbs up and a reassuring smile. "Good."
Silena looked back at herself in the mirror. "Not like I've been crying?"
"Nope," Annabeth said, even though it did. "Where are you going?"
Silena grabbed something from one of the drawers in her desk, tucking it into her bag. "I'm going to H-Mart. Want me to grab you anything?"
Annabeth knit her eyebrows together. Just a few minutes ago Silena had been crying, but now she was being so flippant. Annabeth knew what she and Beckendorf had been talking about affected her a lot; she could see it in the tight set of Silena's shoulders and in the way her hands clenched, white-knuckled around her bag. But she was pretending everything was fine in a very not-Silena-like manner. Annabeth was confused, but too mentally drained to follow it up. She couldn't deal with more secrets today.
Instead, she just smiled and shook her head, playing along. "Just the usual please."
:::
Annabeth went on a walk to clear her mind. She needed to just not think about things for a little bit. She put her headphones in and grabbed a slightly warmer coat before heading outside. She tried to find avenues she hadn't walked down before, and spent her time idly staring at brick houses and the lovely colors of the trees. She'd been living on the east coast for years, but it still felt so new and exciting every time fall came around, and the weather started to chill. She loved all of the brick—the houses, the stores, even some of the streets were paved in brick. Compared to California, it all felt very old world.
She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, instead admiring the intricate running trim on an old Victorian when she ran into something. Or actually, someone.
"Ah, shit! Watch where you're going, chica! I'm—wait." Leo stood in front of her, holding onto her arms to steady her. His eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline. "You're that scary girl from my class. Percy's partner."
Annabeth didn't know whether to process the fact that apparently to Leo she was 'Percy's partner' or the fact that he thought she was 'scary.' "Um, hi, Leo," Annabeth said.
"Annabeth! That's what it was." Leo's grin got wider, as if that was possible. His hands were tapping his sides to a rhythm only he could hear, and he was moving up and down from the balls of his feet to his heels and then back again. All of the energy he was emitting made Annabeth feel tired just watching him.
"Yep," Annabeth said, trying to return his smile. "That's me." She paused the music that was still playing in her ear. She couldn't tell whether this would be a long conversation or not, although she hoped for the latter. She just couldn't handle Leo's jokey, upbeatness today. Her irritation from earlier was already coming back full force.
"Hey, uh," Leo said, looking down at his hands before looking back up at her. Annabeth had never noticed how short he was until he was right in front of her. "You and Hazel are friends, right?"
Annabeth thought it was a kind of an odd question, but she answered it anyway. "Yeah, I think so."
"So, have you seen her? I've been trying to—I mean, I need to talk to her, but she's not returning my texts."
"No, sorry…" Annabeth shook her head. She figured that if Hazel really wanted to talk to Leo, she would. His face seemed to fall as the skin around his eyes tightened anxiously, but then his grin was back on his face so Annabeth thought she must have imagined it. "Wait, Leo?"
"Yeah?"
She figured now was as good a time as any to ask a question that had been on her mind for a while. "How did you and Hazel become friends?" Annabeth asked. Leo and Hazel were so different, their friendship seemed to be the kind of thing that must have developed over a lot of shared experiences.
"Did she not tell you?" Leo asked. He was unwrapping a hairband from his reach and pulling his black hair into a low ponytail.
Annabeth shook her head. "She said you went to the same high school."
His hair was evidently slightly too short to be tied back, so he took out the hairband and put it back on his wrist. His hands moved like he didn't even realize he was doing it. "Yeah, we did. She actually, ha, she was kind of weird to me for a while. Apparently, I used to look like her 'old flame', Sammy."
"Sammy?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, some guy Hazel used to like in New Orleans. That's where she's from, originally. I tried to hop on the 'Sammy Train' but she's over him so it didn't work. She's totally head over heels for some guy—Frank. He hates me. Don't know why though."
Annabeth chose not to mention that most guys wouldn't want people flirting with their girlfriends in front of them. She was more focused on trying to get him to say something about his old flame. She wanted to know more about Calypso, another person who had had a timer malfunction. How could someone be born without a number?
"But I thought you were with some girl named Calypso?" She said, trying and failing to broach the topic delicately. So much for being subtle.
Leo's smile faltered and for the first time in the conversation, his hands stilled. "Um, yeah. Did Hazel tell you about that?" Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, well...not at that time."
They fell into an awkward silence that made Annabeth wish she had never asked. Leo fiddled with the zipper of his hoodie, pulling it up and down again to make a zip zip zip noise.
"Well, I should probably—" Annabeth started to say at the same time that Leo said:
"I have to go—" Annabeth shut her mouth and Leo continued: "It was nice talking to you," like he wasn't quite sure it was. Annabeth felt slightly guilty. Maybe she had misjudged him. If Hazel was friends with him, he couldn't be that bad.
"Okay, it was nice talking to you too," she said. Leo smiled and walked away from her, down the opposite direction of the street. Annabeth watched him leave before looking around. Shit, she thought, looking at the unfamiliar neighborhood, where the fuck am I?
:::
Annabeth sat in the stacks of the city library, reading. Sometimes she preferred it here over the school library, even if it was a long bus ride away. It was quieter, with less students convening in groups and arguing over calculus-covered whiteboards. And it was beautiful, at least the main hall was, with a tall ornate ceiling and an open gallery lined with wooden desks. The effect wasn't as grand in the stacks, which was where Annabeth sat, nestled between Last Names G and H in the fiction section.
Piper found her curled up in an uncomfortable wooden chair, around a book that she was turning the pages of, but not actually reading. Annabeth wished she could tear through books as she had in grade school, but now she just couldn't find the concentration. The only time she read now was when she was waiting for something.
"Hey," Piper whispered. Annabeth looked up.
"What did you want to talk about?" She closed her book, not bothering to mark her page.
Piper's smile turned sheepish. "Who said I needed to talk?"
Annabeth leveled a look at her. "You did. When you texted me '911 need to talk'."
Piper sighed and sat on the floor by Annabeth's chair, crossing her legs in front of her. She rolled her shoulders and adjusted herself to lean against the bookshelves, taking time to make herself comfortable.
"We can move somewhere else," Annabeth offered. Piper just shook her head, beaded earrings swaying with the motion. "Okay, then stop stalling."
Piper huffed. "Okay, so you know how Percy came into class with his face all fucked up?"
Annabeth frowned. She couldn't remember telling Piper about that. "Did I tell you that?"
"No, but you should have," Piper said, giving Annabeth a teasing glare. Annabeth tried to look apologetic. "Leo told me."
"You know Leo?"
"He's friends with Jason."
"Small world," Annabeth remarked. Piper nodded. "So what about it?"
"Well, I saw who did it."
"What? How?" Annabeth asked, then regretted not asking the more important question. Who?
"I was walking behind the gym, meeting Jason and, Annabeth," Piper gave her a sympathetic look. "I don't think you're going to like this."
"Who was it?" Annabeth asked, her mind flitting between possible people. Before Piper even opened her mouth, Annabeth knew what she was going to say.
"It was Luke."
Annabeth didn't know what to say. She leaned back into her chair and it squeaked underneath her. Even though her mind had jumped to him before Piper had said anything, she still couldn't believe it. It couldn't be... he wouldn't do such a thing. Sure he got jealous, but he'd seemed so much more easygoing when she mentioned Percy. But at one point...
No. He was different now, he told her that he was different. It couldn't be Luke. Annabeth couldn't start doubting her boyfriend. He loved her. She loved him. That was all that mattered. She had to trust that he thought so too.
"Annabeth…" Piper said, poking her arm. Annabeth focused back on Piper.
"Okay," she said because she couldn't think of anything else.
"You're taking this really well…" Piper brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin against them. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I guess I am," Annabeth said. She trusted Piper, but she also trusted Luke. There were plenty of tall, blonde guys. Piper might have seen someone else. She had decided not to blame Luke for anything until she had more information. Innocent until proven guilty and all. "So, you saw Luke and Percy...fighting?"
"Uhh, sort of. More like I saw Luke punch Percy in the face and walk away."
"He just walked away?" Annabeth asked.
"Well, he said something to Percy first, but I couldn't hear it. I wasn't close enough."
Annabeth thought for a second. That did sort of sound like Luke. She thought back to their disastrous date at the French restaurant. Luke would start shit, but he never stayed to see it through. "And you're sure it was Luke?"
"How many blondes with face scars do you know?" Piper said. Annabeth was about to remind her of her boyfriend, but Piper held up her hand. "Don't answer that."
Annabeth shrugged, letting it go. "And Percy didn't do anything?"
"Didn't have time to, I guess. He looked pissed though." Piper stretched her legs out, letting her feet press up against the other bookcase. "Do you think it's about you?"
"I have no idea," Annabeth said, although she didn't know what it could be about. But she'd find out, if not from Percy, from Luke.
"What are you going to do?" Piper asked. "I know that look."
Annabeth waited for a passing library patron to leave before she answered. "I have no idea."
"Don't do anything stupid," Piper warned.
Annabeth smiled like she wasn't still shaken by their conversation. She had a lot to consider and even more to do. "When have you ever known me to be stupid?"
Then she got out her phone and sent out two texts.
Annabeth- Hey Luke lets go on a date before your trip
Annabeth- hey percy you free tomorrow?
And she waited.
:::
She waited for Percy in front of the Humanities Building, where they had their shared class, sitting on the front steps. He was late, which Annabeth supposed shouldn't have been surprising. She scrolled through news articles on her phone. Politics, politics, sports, 23 Binge-Worthy Shows Coming This Week!, politics, timer protest….Annabeth slowed her scrolling and paused at that headline. Anti-Timer Protest Gets Violent, 3 Arrested. She opened the article and looked through the pictures, reading the taglines. In her head she could feel it, she could hear the familiar chants and feel the familiar sting of tear gas.
"Hey, sorry I'm late."
Annabeth squinted up at Percy, who stood above her, head haloed by the sun. She brought up her hands to cover her eyes.
"Hey."
Percy held out his hand for her. She grabbed it, letting him pull her to her feet. She dusted off her pants and stretched out her legs, pushing painful memories out of her head.
"Reading?" Percy asked, smiling at her and pushing his hair back.
"What?" she asked, still disoriented.
"Were you reading again?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. Just news articles." And then before he could ask anything else, she said, "Should we get going?"
"Sure." Percy bowed his head and put his hands in his pockets. They started walking in the direction of the bus stop, falling into an awkward silence. Annabeth realized that this was the first time they'd hung out without it being for their class. It was also the first time they had hung out since she had gotten bitchy with him the other day. And since her boyfriend punched Percy in the face. Apparently.
She was about to apologise—for being bitchy, not for Luke (she wasn't even positive it was him yet)—but Percy asked, "So, where are we going?"
"Oh, um. I was thinking we could go to the aquarium?" she said, embarrassed that she had forgotten to tell him.
"Oh, sweet. Wanna take my car? Might be better than the bus," he said. Annabeth's eyes widened.
"You have a car?" She didn't know anyone with a car, at least not at the school. Most students left their car at home. Parking even outside the city could be horrible.
"Yeah. I mean, it's my mom's too." Percy changed their direction and she followed after him, walking fast to catch up. They walked to a large parking lot behind one of the campus administrative buildings that had a large sign that said 'Staff Parking Only.'
"Are you supposed to be parked here?" Annabeth asked as they came up to a boxy black car.
"Not technically, no. One of my friends swiped a parking pass and made me a copy." Percy smoothed a hand over the worn paint of the black car. It was charmingly ugly, and obviously old enough to drink. Probably old enough to take out a mortgage. "Meet Blackjack," Percy said fondly.
"You named your car?" Annabeth said, unimpressed.
"She's not just a car," Percy said, unlocking his door and climbing in. He reached over the center console to unlock Annabeth's door from the inside. "She's family."
Annabeth climbed into her seat, throwing the sports bag that was on it to the back seat. The inside was slightly messy, but better than she expected. She'd seen his backpack, and it was not pretty. The car smelled comfortingly of coffee and chlorine, two smells that shouldn't have worked together, and didn't, but still made her relax in her seat. At least until Percy keyed the ignition and the car let out an agonizing wheeze.
"Is it safe?" Annabeth said, sitting up and putting her hands on the dashboard. She buckled her seatbelt. "It won't die?"
"Of course," Percy said, offended, trying the ignition again. This time, the car purred to life. "She's a tough girl. She'll probably outlive you."
Annabeth let out an ugly snort and tried to cover it up with a cough. Percy just gave her an amused, albeit confused, look. All she could think was yeah, she probably will.
Percy drove like he did most things—enthusiastically and confidently. They were at the aquarium in one piece (although several times Blackjack made a noise that suggested it could have been otherwise).
Percy visibly relaxed when they entered the aquarium. He looked around at the tanks with familiarity and Annabeth got the impression that he came here often from the way he refused the map being passed out by aquarium workers.
"Do you come here a lot?" Annabeth asked.
Percy smiled and shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess so. It helps me relax."
Annabeth hummed. They walked around tanks of crabs with algae clinging to their rugged shells and schools of fish glinting silver as they swam in mesmerizing circles.
Percy's face was softened by the odd light of the giant fish tanks. They sat watching the giant kelp forest display sway in the artificial current.
"You know, I'm studying to be a marine biologist," Percy said. He hadn't turned and he said it so softly that it took her a second to realize that it was him speaking. "Ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved the sea," he continued. "My mom says I got it from my dad, but I never knew him. Lost at sea on a fishing trip. Ironic, huh?" Now he turned to look at her, as if daring her to agree with him.
"I wanted to be a doctor," Annabeth said. "I wanted to do something that mattered. I wanted to see myself making a difference. The instant gratification of saving a life." She tried not to sound bitter.
"Not anymore?" Percy asked. Annabeth watched the silhouette of people against the light of the display. Little kids pressed their hands and noses against the glass of the tank and people pointed out the bright orange garibaldi fish swimming behind the seaweed.
"No, not anymore," Annabeth said. "I realized that I needed more structure. Stability. I want to be an architect so I can build something that will outlast me. Something permanent." She didn't say that she couldn't stand the thought of seeing someone die. Or that she'd spent way too much time in hospitals to ever want to step foot in one again. Or that even if she did still want to be a doctor, she'd never have the time to get a medical degree, much less put it into use.
"Wow," Percy said.
Annabeth looked down at her timer. She had taken off the tape before hanging out with Percy to avoid suspicion, but maybe she was overthinking it. It glowed slightly in the dark room and she could just make out her numbers. Like every other time she was with Percy, her numbers changed and her life was lengthened. Watching her numbers count down from sixty-four years instead of nine months was addicting; Annabeth had to make an effort to tear her eyes away.
She looked back at Percy and noticed that he was following her movements. He looked between Annabeth's face and the timer, but when he noticed she was watching he opted to look at his hands. She looked back towards the floor-to-ceiling tank. She could understand why Percy came here to relax. Annabeth adjusted her seating, but knocked knees with Percy. She hadn't realized how close they had been sitting, sharing the same air, the same heat. Annabeth didn't want to sound creepy, but Percy was really warm.
She took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm glad we're doing this," she said, honestly.
Percy turned to look at her again. She felt held under his steady gaze. "Yeah?"
She turned away. "Yeah. I'm—" She looked back at him, but he was looking away from her again. She admired the planes of his face, his sharp jawline, and his strong, romanesque nose. Percy had a sort of handsome regality to him, like that of statues of Greek athletes or Roman emperors. Annabeth sighed again, tearing her eyes away from his profile. "I'm sorry for being...difficult before. I was having a bad day."
Percy huffed. "Your words, not mine." He leaned back, resting against the wall, and Annabeth became distinctly aware of his hand laid between them. She shook the thought away.
"Yeah...sorry. I actually, well, I actually kind of like hanging out with you." She was glad the lighting in the room was so bad—she could feel herself turning bright red. She wasn't sure she would have this level of candor if it hadn't been dark.
"So I don't 'annoy' you anymore?" he asked, a recognisable teasing lilt to his voice. Annabeth was grateful that he was easing the serious tone of the conversation.
"Oh, you definitely still annoy me," she laughed, leaning back against the wall with him and knocking his shoulder with her own. "Seaweed brain."
"Seaweed brain?" Percy laughed. Annabeth shrugged, pulling herself up off the floor. She held out her hand and he looked at it for a second, considering, before grabbing it in a strong and hot grip. He let her pull him up. "Thanks, Wise Girl."
"Wise Girl?" Annabeth said. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"
Percy just ducked his head, laughing. They walked through the west wing of the aquarium, peering into tanks of sea dragons and sand dollars. Annabeth pointed out a particularly elegant fish that looked like Professor Cavan and Percy found one that looked like Leo (at least in theory).
They were just about to walk into the jellyfish section when Annabeth got a text.
Luke- wanna meet up now instead of at 7?
Luke- i can pick you up from your place
Annabeth checked the time. 6:14. It was a lot later than she had thought.
"Shit!" she whispered.
"What is it?" Percy asked, glancing curiously at her phone, but making no attempt to see what was on it, which Annabeth appreciated.
She texted Luke back.
Annabeth- sorry im out rn, could we just meet at 7
"Oh, nothing," she muttered. "I'm really sorry, I have to go."
Luke- where are you?
Percy's eyebrows knit in concern. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's just…" she paused, sending out a response.
Annabeth- with a friend
"—I have a date with my boyfriend at seven. It's almost six-thirty and I still need to get ready."
Luke- who?
"Oh, sure, that's okay," Percy said, frowning.
Annabeth- my friend
Annabeth- ill be ready at 7
Annabeth shouldn't be hiding the fact that she was hanging out with Percy. If Luke found out that she hadn't told him….but Annabeth just didn't want to go through that confrontation today. She just hoped that he would go on his trip and she wouldn't have to think about it or him until he got back. Which made her feel so ashamed—she was an awful girlfriend.
"Luke, right?" Percy said.
"Huh?" Annabeth said, trying to pay attention to what Percy was saying. How did he know that? She felt like she was being pulled in two directions at once.
Luke- k
Annabeth winced. How could she salvage this?
"Luke. That's your boyfriend, right?" Percy repeated, scowling. Annabeth's eyes were drawn to his bruise and his already healed lip.
Annabeth- looking forward to this!
"Yeah, it's Luke," she said and paused. "Do you know him?"
They stepped into the evening light, walking towards the parking lot. Annabeth tried to hurry. Wasn't Percy a fast walker? Why was he walking so slowly?
"Not well," Percy said grimly.
Annabeth couldn't help but read into Percy's reaction. Shouldn't that serve as confirmation that there was something going on between Luke and Percy? There was obviously animosity there—but enough to punch someone?
In the car, Annabeth pulled down the sun visor to look in its mirror. She tried to do something to her hair, brushing her fingers through it or maybe braiding it. Something to make it look less frizzy. She wouldn't have enough time to do both her hair and makeup before the date, so it was best to take care of one now.
Percy looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He cleared his throat. "You look nice," he said. "I mean, your hair...it's good."
Annabeth smiled shyly, flushing. "Thanks. I'm just trying to make it...date nice."
"If I was...Luke," Percy started. His hands tensed on the steering wheel. "I would think you were beautiful however you looked."
Annabeth's eyes widened and she looked out the window. That sounded awfully... sincere. Not like Percy's usual brand of casual flirting that he did with most people. She tried to ignore the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up.
She tried to play it off. "That's because you have kelp for brains," she teased, even though she didn't think it was true.
Percy forced a grin before focusing on the road. They didn't speak for the rest of the ride until he dropped her off near the dorms on campus. She tried not to feel dread as she walked away from his car, feeling like she was going in the wrong direction.
