Hey! With my terrible updating schedule, I bet you didn't expect an update so soon, haha… but credit to my co-author (MANation) because without him I'd be too lazy/uninspired to write at all.
I'm going to try and keep a more regular update schedule now - once every week or two. Maybe the occasional holiday special.
I also have some stories (mostly one-shots) if you want to go check them out, but updates are few and far in between.
Enjoy!
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"So…" Beckendorf gestured down a flight of stairs. "After you."
Percy swallowed. "Couldn't we have just taken the elevator?"
The area below was dimly lit, with what looked like cleaning tools propped up against the walls, and something that could have been a chainsaw lying on a table in the center. It was either a storage space or a scene out of a creepy horror movie, where the stupid main character gets decapitated.
Beckendorf flicked on a light switched Percy hadn't seen before. The room, in better lighting, looked rather… bland. Minimal decoration, and mostly all cleaning/maintenance supplies in a haphazard arrangement.
"This is where we keep all the cleaning and maintenance materials. I'm not actually sure why we got a whole floor for it, but… here it is."
"It's, um…" The right word for it would probably be disorganized, Percy thought. Everything was either shoved against the wall or placed on a table to make room for people to walk. He finally settled on, "not as messy as my room." Which might or might not have been true.
Beckendorf grunted in response (which Percy noticed he seemed to do a lot) and began pointing out different objects. "There's some keys hanging on the wall over there, and underneath that is… I'm not sure. The guy who worked here before me was a little… weird. On that table over there is a chainsaw, but I'm not sure why it's there or if it's even allowed. We don't use it or talk about it.
"The wall on the right is just mops and brooms and water buckets. And probably rags, but I haven't looked much. Also, don't touch anything I tell you not to," Beckendorf added seriously.
Percy scanned the room, trying to make sense of it all. "Why not?" he asked.
Beckendorf ran his hand through his hair. "Well," he said, "cause there's no guarantee it won't blow up."
Percy did a double take. "Um, did you say blow up? As in, explode?"
Beckendorf laughed at the look on Percy's face. "Like I said, the guy before me was something pretty close to a pyromaniac. He probably would've done better in the engineering industry than janitorial work."
"Engineering bombs, maybe," Percy muttered. Then he looked up and asked, "Who was the guy before you? I'd like to know if I've seen him in any criminal headlines."
Beckendorf smiled slightly. "His last name was Valdez, never got the first. Never even met him actually, just heard the stories. Got fired for reasons unknown, but based on what I've heard, I'm guessing it was because he set something on fire or blew it up," Beckendorf replied.
Percy got the feeling there was more to the story than that, though from the look on his face Percy wasn't sure if Mr. Maintenance was disgusted or impressed, and he didn't think he wanted to know.
Beckendorf raised a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Anyway, uh, what else? Oh, right, office rules. Don't disturb the boss while she's working unless she requests you. Don't get in the way of her and her coffee unless you want to die."
Percy smirked slightly at that, though he started to blush as he thought of all the moments he'd spent with her. Those gorgeous blonde curls, those stormy grey eyes… Percy shook his head slightly to knock himself out of it, embarrassed. Thankfully Beckendorf didn't seem to notice he had zoned out.
"... so as a general rule, just try to get things done quickly and quietly. Most people here think they're above guys like you and me. Some are nice though, like Silena, she's pretty sweet..." Beckendorf drifted off, and though it was hard for Percy to tell, he thought Beckendorf may have been blushing.
"Um, anyway," Beckendorf said quickly, "you'll pick up on who is friendly and who isn't while you're here. But there is one last rule you may need to know." He pulled at his collar, like it was too tight. "No office romances. Company policy. Any questions?"
Percy felt like he'd been punched in the stomach, hard. And as someone who had been in plenty of fights in the past, he was very familiar with that feeling.
He looked down at his hands, a wave of disappointment overwhelming him. There hadn't even been anything between them before, but now that he knew it wasn't even an option, it hurt more. Then he remembered she had a boyfriend, which just made him feel worse. Even if they were having troubles, Percy was sure Mystery Boyfriend was still a better option than him. She was the CEO of a big architecture firm, she was educated and probably pretty rich and unbelievably beautiful… and Percy wasn't. And he never would be any of those things.
He could barely hold onto a job for more than a week at a time, and he had had literally dozens in his adult life. He hadn't even finished high school, since he needed to be there for his mom. He had no future, no reason for anyone to want to be with him. The only girlfriend he'd ever had had made that pretty clear to him when she left. He just wanted to give up.
Percy jumped slightly when Beckendorf put his large hand on Percy's slumped shoulders. He looked up to see Beckendorf with his head turned away, but realized he was trying to comfort him.
He'd been in his own head for a while and it was making Beckendorf feel uncomfortable, he thought. He felt bad about that, but when he started to say something to try to alleviate the tension, Beckendorf spoke up.
"I get it man. We don't need to talk about it, but I get it."
Honestly, that was probably the best thing he could've said to ease Percy's nerves. Percy felt his chest swell with… something, he wasn't sure what. It just felt good to not be alone, to be understood.
Percy just gave him a nod, not trusting his voice to keep from cracking, and Beckendorf gave him a nod back, with an awkward but friendly smile on his lips. Percy hoped he and Mr. Maintenance would be good friends.
"Well, uh, anyway," said Beckendorf, wringing his hands and thoroughly clearing any lingering tension in the air, "I still need to run you through some of the basics regarding maintenance. We won't get through everything today, but we might as well get started."
Percy smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good to me, man."
As Beckendorf led him over to one of the less cluttered tables and began grabbing various tools, Percy decided he was gonna try really hard to keep working here, whatever that took.
OoOoOoOoO
Luke: I think we should break up.
As Annabeth read and reread that text, all the tension and dread that had built up over the last few days finally overwhelmed her.
"Oh my gods." Annabeth gasped. "Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods."
She switched to the phone app and began dialing his number (which she had memorized). "Okay, okay, okay, please pick up…"
Nothing.
She tried again.
And again.
And again.
"Beth," Silena gently laid her hand on Annabeth's arm. "I think that's enough. He's… obviously not going to answer. Besides, I think-"
"He could just be busy," Annabeth protested, shoving Silena's hand off. "I'll just call him one more time - one more time, okay?"
"Annabeth," Silena's voice turned unnaturally stern. "You need to let it go. It's probably for the best. Beth, he- he cheated on you. He probably broke up because he felt guilty."
Annabeth drew in a shuddering breath. "Silena, I- we- I didn't want it to end like this. I really-" she started tearing up, which was uncommon for her. "I really liked him, you know? It's just-" the words came spilling out one after another. "I've known him since high school, we've been through so much together, and we've dated for years and it's my fault because I started working more and stopped spending time with him and I know he didn't mean to mess up like that because I know him. If he really lost interest then he would just break up with me. Which… he… just… oh."
Cold realization poured over her.
Silena patted her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Beth. And I also can't believe he broke up with you over text! That's just- such a cowardly thing to do. Couldn't even bother to break your heart in person, what a douchebag."
Seeing Annabeth's distressed expression, she added, "it's not your fault, Annabeth. People… come and go… and, um, it's never one person's fault when the relationship ends…" Silena blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm not really helping, am I?"
Annabeth shrugged. "No, you're fine," she replied hollowly. "You can keep going. I don't mind."
Listening to Silena's familiar voice defending her really did help a lot - if she tried, she could even imagine Silena was ranting about something like her favorite shoes getting dirty because some car splashed mud on her while driving, or something equally trivial.
Silena could tell her friend wasn't paying attention. "That's it. You need something to distract you from… him," Silena declared. "I'm going to find something."
Involuntarily, Annabeth's thoughts drifted to the man with black hair and green eyes.
A distraction, huh?
She sharply drew in a breath. How can I be thinking of him when Luke just-? Guilt swelled in her chest. I thought about him when I was still with Luke, too…
Gods, I'm just as bad as Luke! I can't believe myself, what was I thinking? If I had been more faithful, maybe this wouldn't have-
"Annabeth." Silena's voice was surprisingly sharp, snapping Annabeth's attention back to her long-time friend. "That's enough. I can see you overthinking this, I know you are."
Silena's expression softened, and when she spoke again, she was more gentle. "I told you, this isn't your fault. I've been your best friend for a while now, and I know everything that's gone on between you and Luke. When I said it was for the best you two aren't together anymore, I meant it. I'm not even sure if you've realized it, but you've been unhappy for a long time now. You always tried more than him, but even you haven't been putting in as much effort lately. Which is okay. It just means you two have been drifting apart for a while now."
Annabeth started to argue that it's because she hadn't put in as much effort that things were like this, but Silena wouldn't hear it. "Really think about it Annabeth; when's the last time you had good feelings about your relationship with him? And I mean your current relationship, not how things used to be," she said, raising her eyebrows.
Again, Annabeth started to respond, but this time she cut herself short. She gave a moment to let her friends' words really sink in. And as much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, maybe Silena had a point.
"I- I don't know," she whispered. "A long time, I guess."
Silena nodded her head, her face full of sympathy. "It's okay Beth, it's okay."
"Maybe I haven't been happy, but I still love him, Silena. I can't just stop feeling that so suddenly. I- I don't know what to do." Annabeth put elbows on her desk and hung her head in her hands.
Silena pursed her lips, trying to think of a way to comfort her friend. She needed to get her focused on something else.
Just then, an idea struck. Silena smiled and pulled out her phone. She'd have to switch some things around, but they weren't that busy today, so it shouldn't be a problem.
Annabeth, meanwhile, was trying to make sense of the emotions swirling inside her. She still loved Luke. However, they had been drifting apart for a while, and they weren't really happy together. But she'd been with him for so long, and known him for longer, it was hard to just let go like this.
Should she try again? Should she let him go? Should she ask if they could still be friends? Then, with a shock, she wondered if she even wanted that.
She'd spent so long trying to fix things, she stopped questioning why she was the only one trying. She was a doer; she handled problems. But it hadn't occurred to her that she might deserve better.
Just then, a snapping sound caught Annabeth's attention. "Beth? Earth to Annabeth! Did you hear me?" Silena waved her hand in front of her face.
Annabeth blinked. "Sorry, Silena, what'd you say?"
"I said, I just cleared both of our schedules for the day!" Silena beamed.
Annabeth immediately stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "You what?"
Silena raised her hands in a plactating manner. "You need a break, darling! You're so stressed out, and working so much is not going to help, believe me. I'm sure you think that it can drown out your thoughts of him or whatever, but not today! You need a change of pace, so we are going to the mall." Silena declared.
Annabeth groaned. "Silena, no…"
"Silena, yes~!" She sang.
"I don't think-"
"Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth." Silena laid her hands on her shoulders. "Do you trust me?"
Annabeth eyed her nervously. "Well…"
"Don't answer that! You only ever go home and go to work, so we're going somewhere else today, and we are going to do something just for fun. No arguments, Beth. I love you, and I love working here with you but when was the last time you had a break?"
She tried to think of a comeback, but quickly gave up. Annabeth sighed in frustration; she knew it was futile to argue with her long-time best friend while she was like this. "Fine, Silena, but at least give me a little time to… clear up some things. I'll go with you after, I promise."
"Okay," Silena finally relented. "After." She folded her arms across her chest. "By which I mean you have 10 minutes."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Fifteen."
Silena nodded, smiling. "Deal."
Annabeth sat back down to quickly rifle through and review a large project she was working on, but noticed Silena didn't move from where she was, nor did she unfold her arms. Annabeth sighed.
She reached for her cup to finish what was left of her favorite drink, and her mind again wandered toward the man with raven hair and sad, sea green eyes. Percy. He was working as a barista when she met him.
She needed to get some more coffee, she thought.
