Okay, so, um, elevator scene over! Cheers to that, I suppose.
Uh, credits to my co-author (MANation)!
That's… pretty much it. Yeah.
Enjoy!
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Annabeth felt like she was being kidnapped. By her best friend. Silena kept dragging her everywhere, with an iron grip on her arm.
"Silena," she groaned, "don't you think this is a little excessive? I mean it was only few hours-"
Silena giggled. For possibly the twelfth time in the past ten minutes. "Oh, Beth. My poor, oblivious genius-nerd. It wasn't just a few hours. You winked at him after - don't deny it, I saw it - and he even calls you Annabeth now!"
"So?" Annabeth grumped. "Tons of people call me Annabeth. And I didn't mean to wink, it was-" she blushed "-something in my eye."
Her best friend cooed. "Was it looove?"
Annabeth shoved her. "No!"
Silena snickered again. "C'mon, let's go to your house!"
Annabeth blinked as she was pulled out the door of her building and toward her car. "Whoa, that's my decision, don't you think?"
Silena was undeterred. "Oh, come one, you were already on your way to leave and we both know it. As your best friend, I can't leave you alone in your time of need!" she said cheerfully.
She all but shoved Annabeth into her car. "I will meet you there with lots of ice cream and chocolate, then we're going to put on some sappy romcoms on Netflix and talk about our feelings and cry together. It'll be great!" She beamed at Annabeth, as if they were discussing Silena's holiday vacation rather than her breakup (and her newest employee).
Annabeth knew Silena did want to look out for her as a friend, but suspected she knew what she was really after. She sighed.
"Well, I can't wait to hear all about how well things are going between you and that guy in there- what was his name?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Immediately, the smile dropped from Silena's face. "Charlie and I aren't-" but Annabeth cut her off by slamming the car door and starting her car.
"What was that?" she yelled through the window. "I can't hear you!"
As she quickly put it in reverse and pulled away, she heard Silena shout, "I'm calling Piper to come over too!" Annabeth glared as she drove away.
Oh goody, she thought, another person who can get in my business.
As she thought about what her business was, she remembered something she'd said to her favorite green eyed employee. She quite liked Piper and needed to talk to her anyways, so maybe having her over wouldn't be that bad of a thing.
Well, so she hoped, anyway.
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The two walked to - Percy wasn't actually sure where - with an unsettling silence hanging over them.
Is he mad I got stuck in the elevator? Percy wondered. And- shoot, Annabeth already left.
Percy wrung his hands nervously. "Hey man, sorry I got trapped in there, I-"
Beckendorf stopped walking abruptly. "Sorry?" he cut him off, his eyebrows knitting together.
Percy grimaced. "Yeah. I know you were having a bad day, and I couldn't contact you myself since I don't have your number, so I just worried-"
Beckendorf's large hand clapped down on Percy's shoulder. "Percy, I'm not upset." His grinned broadly. "I'm happy for you, man! I saw how close you two were in there," he said, a knowing look in his eye.
Percy flushed. "It's not like that with us," he mumbled, turning away.
Beckendorf chuckled. "Us," he repeated. Percy hung his head in his hands. Beckendorf laughed.
Rubbing his hands together, he said, "Alright, we may have lost a lot of time today, but that's okay, some other important things got done."
Percy groaned, but Beckendorf ignored him. "However let's make the most of what's left of today to get some work done," he said, leading the way off. Percy started behind him.
"You seem like you're in a much better mood than this morning," he noted. "Did talking with Silena help?"
Beckendorf coughed. "What?" he grunted out.
"You were standing with Silena when the doors opened. I figured you were talking about whatever was on your mind, since you seem happier now," said Percy.
Beckendorf cleared his throat. "Yeah, that's it. Anyway…" He walked quickly to the stairs, and Percy had to power walk to keep up.
Oh great, he thought, what have I done now?
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Annabeth sighed the moment her doorbell rang. "Perfect timing," she muttered under her breath. "The door's open!" She shouted.
The door wiggled slightly. "No, it's not, Beth! I know you!" The door moved more forcefully. "Annabeth Chase! I swear-"
She heard a sigh. "Move, 'Lena. I'll do it." And then, softer, "gods, who can't open a door?"
The doorknob twisted and the door swung open.
Silena stood there in all her tiny glory, with an exasperated Piper behind her.
"Beth!" Silena squealed at the same time Piper said, "sorry about her."
"Hi, you two." Annabeth said wearily. "Come on in, I guess."
Silena, as always, made a beeline for the kitchen. "I'm getting the ice cream!" She called out over her shoulder.
"Didn't you say you were going to be bringing ice cream?" Annabeth yelled after her.
"Got lazy! Besides, there's already tons in your house."
Annabeth accepted her answer and turned back to Piper, who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Um. Heard about your… problem. I'm sorry."
Annabeth shrugged. "Don't bother dancing around it. Silena's going to make me talk about it either way. And," she heaved a sigh, "I suppose releasing my emotions is better than locking them up."
Piper gave her a nod and stepped into her house.
"Talky-feelings-y time!" Silena practically skipped in, holding three cartons of ice cream and balancing the TV remote on top of the pile. "Beth, you-"
"I don't see the point of putting on romcoms if we're not actually going to watch them." Annabeth interrupted. "And isn't that a little too much ice cream?"
Silena pouted. "It's for the background drama, Beth. It's funny, too! And besides, there's never enough ice cream!"
"'Lena's not wrong, for once," Piper said, grabbing one of the cartons. "About the ice cream, at least. Oh, but wow, this is a lot. Annabeth, why do you have all of this in your house?"
Annabeth shrugged. "Silena comes over a lot and always brings some bribery food. They all mostly just… sit in my house, I guess. I don't go through my fridge much."
Piper frowned. "Then how do you eat?"
She waved her hand vaguely. "I just order take-out. It's a lot more convenient and tastes better than anything I could make."
"But that's so unhealthy!" Piper protested. "You need real food."
Silena patted her arm. "Don't worry, Pipes, I bring her homemade food a lot, too."
Annabeth decided it was not the best time to tell Silena about all the food in her trash can. She grimaced internally. Sorry, Silena.
Piper's eyes widened in horror. "You can't feed Annabeth that poison! You can barely even cook! It'd be better if she just ate takeout!"
Silena scowled. "Annabeth loves my food! Right, Beth?"
"Uh." Annabeth felt both pairs of eyes turn to her. "Sure." Silena took the bait, but Piper wasn't fooled. She and Annabeth exchanged a look.
"By the way, Piper," Silena said slyly, "taken your new boyfriend out to eat anytime recently?" That was Silena's signature playful yet dangerous tone that she used to make people do what she wanted. Annabeth wondered what she was up to.
Piper responded with the same coy smile. "Absolutely. As a matter of fact, I've decided you get to meet my mysterious boyfriend at last."
Silena laughed airily. "Oh, Pipes. I've already met him. Isn't he such a darling?"
Annabeth felt the tension in the air. I can almost taste the passive aggression, she thought, biting into another spoonful of ice cream.
Shock splashed across Piper's face for a second before she recollected her composure. "Yes, he is. I'm rather lucky to have him, right? What do you think about him?"
Silena paused thoughtfully, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Well, he looks really good in those glasses, that's for sure. Didn't know you were into blondes, though, Pipes."
Annabeth felt the levels of tension go up. She ate another scoop of ice cream.
"Yes, well," Piper somehow made those two words sound like an insult and a death wish. "I didn't think so either, until I met him. What about you, Silena? Anyone new in your life?"
Maybe we really do need all this ice cream, Annabeth thought as Silena and Piper subtly tried to eat bigger spoonfuls of ice cream than each other.
This is definitely funnier than any romcom.
"Oh, what about the maintenance guy- Beckendorf?" Annabeth blurted before she could stop herself. The two turned to stare at her. She added, "You were with him when you came to rescue me from the elevator today!"
Piper's eyes glinted. "Oh, really, Annabeth? Do tell."
"Ah." Silena glared at her. "Um."
"There is nothing going on between me and Charlie." Silena said smoothly. "As the maintenance man, it is his job to repair the elevator and I happened to be there since it was Annabeth that was stuck."
Piper smirked. "My, my, Silena, I'm not sure I believe you. Isn't romance against company policy?"
Silena snorted, somehow making that sound smug and condescending. "Piper, darling, tell me, since when have you cared about the rules? I'm not breaking any rules, I was just… appreciating finer features."
Piper laughed dryly. "Ah, that does sound like something you would do, Silena."
Annabeth decided keeping this going was not only entertaining, but also her best bet for keeping the conversation away from herself.
She took another spoonful, and innocently asked, "But Silena, I thought you had to call out a specific maintenance person for the elevators? Since you said in the text messages they had to send him out and it'd take a while for them to get there, whereas Beckendorf works at our building. That means he's there all the time," she added helpfully.
Piper was holding back laughter while Silena shot Annabeth a glare so strong, she could almost hear Silena saying the word traitor.
"Well," Silena started, "as I said, Charlie is the maintenance man, and so he handles repairs. However, while he told me he could fix the elevator, it would void the warranty unless one of the company's own technicians came out to fix it, which is why I needed to call someone else out."
"So why was he with you then?" Piper asked smugly.
Silena smiled, but in a way that reminded Annabeth of a predator about to lunge at prey it knows can't escape. "Well, we have a janitor who was also trapped in the elevator with Annabeth," she said, shooting her a look.
"They were supposed to be working together today, so Charlie was simply waiting for him as I was waiting for you."
Before Silena could begin questioning her, Annabeth blurted out, "But Percy never got the chance to tell him he was trapped, and I didn't mention him to you, so how would he have known?"
Silena's casual poker face remained intact. "He had told me just that morning how much he admired Percy, how dependable and hardworking he was, and so he didn't think Percy just left for the day without saying anything. 'Percy is a good guy, he would never leave someone in need,' he said."
Annabeth doubted those were his exact words, but Silena was clearly having fun now.
"So-" she continued, but Annabeth cut her off, eyes widening suddenly.
"You call him Charlie," she said in shock. "Nobody calls him Charlie, not even me."
Silena stopped short, while Piper lit up in amusement. "Ohhh, how interesting," she said, undisguised gloating in her voice, like she was winning some private contest between the two.
Silena ground her teeth. "Yes, well, that's not important right now, because," she rushed to get her words out before Annabeth or Piper could tease her again, "we were talking about what a loyal friend and companion Percy was, and how he would never betray someone by leaving them."
Her words had the intended effect; Annabeth sat back, hit with the real implications of her words, even if she was sure Beckendorf never actually said them. Silena continued.
"Knowing that, together we deduced he must have been trapped in the elevator with you, for the last few hours. Oh, and speaking of that, are you okay? What happened in there?" Silena feigned concern.
Annabeth, having thoroughly lost control now, made one last attempt. "Deduced. That's a big word for you."
Silena dropped the facade, a scowl on her face. "Cut the crap, Chase, we want details. No more stalling," she added sternly.
She sighed. There was obviously no getting out of this now. "Nothing much. We just… talked a little bit. You know, 'how are you settling into your new job?' That kinda stuff."
Silena scoffed, waving her hand. "Oh, puh-lease, Beth, darling. Afterwards, you let him call you Annabeth. There is no way that would've happened if you just made small talk about how he's adjusting or something."
"I hate to burst your bubble, but that's exactly what happened," Annabeth lied through her teeth. "And me letting an employee call me by my first name isn't exactly grounds for an interrogation."
Silena smirked, clearly amused. "No, it wouldn't be, if it weren't for the fact most people in the office call you Ms. Chase out of fear, and you don't insist on any of them calling you Annabeth," she pointed out, eyebrow raised.
Annabeth had to work not to grind her teeth in frustration. Why won't Silena let this go? I'm making friends with an employee, so what?
As if reading her mind, Silena said, "Annabeth, sweetheart, you don't talk to anyone at the office about anything other than business, besides me and maybe Malcolm. Even if you were trapped in an elevator together for hours, you'd normally just get on your phone and send emails or something boring like that. You didn't do that though, I know because you ignored me. You two just talked, for hours~"
"No, we didn't," Annabeth scowled, irritated. "We talked for a while and then fell asleep at some point. I told you that, remember?"
Piper, who had been quiet up until that moment, chimed in. "Wait, you two fell asleep together?" she asked in surprise.
Silena shot out of her chair. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot about that! Beth, you slept next to someone you've known for less than two weeks! It took me forever to convince you to have a slumber party with me, and I've known you for years!"
Annabeth flushed in embarrassment. "That's because slumber parties are childish, it wasn't like I didn't trust you. And Percy is a good guy, I knew I didn't have to worry about anything, and besides, it was an accident anyway, I just dozed off and so did he."
"Wait, wait, wait," said Piper, holding up a hand. "You fell asleep first? On accident, with a guy you barely know?"
"It's not like my time in the elevator with him was the first time we've talked," she exclaimed, getting increasingly exasperated. "We got caught in a cafe together during that bad storm over the weekend, and we talked and had fun for nearly the whole day then."
Silena looked stunned. "Beth, you've spent time with him outside of the office. You even said you had fun. It takes a miracle for you to hang out with me outside of work."
Annabeth felt a large pang of guilt. Silena hid it well, but she knew she didn't make enough time for her friend.
"It wasn't like I had a choice; the power went out, and the storm was way too nasty to go outside, so the baristas who worked there let us hang out and spent the day with us." She remembered Hazel's words about Percy and his feelings about her. She shook her head.
"I'll take you out there sometime," she added. "The couple that works there are around our age, you'd both like them. Hazel and her boyfriend. Anyway, we can go sometime this week, my treat."
Silena looked mollified, and Piper was thoughtful. "What did you both do there?" she asked.
"Well," Annabeth started, "all of us mainly shared stories. Percy has had some very funny experiences." She smiled to herself, remembering all the stories he'd told about getting pantsed in public and getting run out of a sculptors shop for accidentally breaking some stone statue of some half man, half goat creature.
After a moment, Piper prompted, "Anything else?"
Annabeth grabbed another spoonful of ice cream while she thought. Well, there was a food fight, and we shared an umbrella on the way out.
"No, nothing else really worth mentioning." Neither girl looked convinced. Annabeth was getting sick of how perceptive they were.
"Beth, you trusted this guy enough to fall asleep in a secluded area with him, with no one else around, and you've only talked with him twice," Silena said, and she probably would've continued if Annabeth had let her.
"Percy is a good guy. I'm very careful about who I trust, Silena. I'm sure he didn't do anything. I know that he wouldn't," she barked out.
Piper raised her hands in a placating manner. "I'm sure that's not what Lena was implying. If you trust him, then I'm sure he's worth trusting. I think she just meant you've come to trust him pretty quickly."
"Yes, that's all I meant," she said quietly. "And that's my whole point, Beth."
Silena set down her spoon and placed her hand gently on Annabeth's. "You've always been slow to trust people, and given… recent circumstances, it would make sense for that to be even more true now. However, not only do you trust this new guy after a matter of days spent together, you even remember his name." She raised an eyebrow at her. "We both know you're terrible with names, darling."
Annabeth blinked. "Well, I've been working on that," she mumbled.
Silena gave her a pointed look. "And was there any reason you started to do that specifically? For anyone in particular?"
She shook her head. "I don't like what you are implying, Silena. He works for me, and romance is strictly against company policy."
"A policy you made," she retorted, "and one that, as the boss, you can change freely."
"No, I don't have time for romance. It's not a priority anymore; not after Luke." Annabeth sounded more resolute than she felt.
Piper quirked her head, but Silena answered for her. "Ex-boyfriend. The one who she had a meeting with today, actually, which presumably didn't go well since she was on her way out when the elevator broke down. Yet, she doesn't look sad at all now, does she?"
Annabeth pursed her lips. She struggled to come up with a response to their knowing gazes.
"I talked about things with him while we were waiting. He opened up to me too, and he's had a hard enough life that it helped put things into perspective for me." She glanced at Piper, making a mental note to set up their tutoring lessons before she left today.
Piper smiled. "I'm sure it's hard to accept because you're coming out of a bad relationship, but it's okay to have feelings for someone else. Lena had told me you were going through a bad breakup, but she never gave specifics," she added quickly.
Annabeth nodded. That was one thing she'd always respected about Silena; as much as she loved to gossip, when it came to the stuff that mattered, she was trustworthy to a fault.
Piper continued. "But it's clear you trust this guy, Percy. He means something to you; you can see that, right?"
When Annabeth didn't say anything, she smiled kindly at her. "Just think about it for a minute."
She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, biting her lip hard.
She remembered all his smiles, the shy ones, the awkward ones, the crinkles that formed around his sea green eyes. She remembered all the times she'd seen the sadness in those eyes, before knowing the causes for it. She thought of all the ways she had seen him be kind and considerate, to her and to others. She scowled in frustration.
How is he so happy, so kind, despite everything he's gone through?
She took a few deep breaths, then sighed. "He's been through so much, definitely more than me, but he's handled it way better than I have. Despite having every reason to be angry and jaded, he's caring and understanding. He used to be angry about things, but he wanted to be better so he worked on improving himself as a person."
And I just wish I had that same strength, she thought, shutting her eyes tight.
It was quiet for some time, before she felt Silena's hand rubbing her shoulder. It took her a moment to realize there were tears running down her cheeks.
She sat back in surprise, opening her eyes to look at the other two. Silena hugged her, while Piper took one of her hands in support.
She rubbed her eyes. "Sorry," she said. "It's just been a long day."
Silena shushed her. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Beth."
She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths while gently being rocked back and forth in Silena's arms. Piper rubbed her hand encouragingly. Her thoughts drifted back to Percy again.
"I don't open up to people a lot," she mumbled. "This has been really weird to me."
Silena patted her head gently. "I know, darling, believe me," she said in exasperation, but there was no bite to it. Annabeth continued as if she hadn't spoken.
"I just thought I was doing the right thing. Everyone always has their own things to worry about, they don't need mine too. After today though… I guess I'm not sure.
"Percy is so open about things, so free with his emotions and past and problems, but none of that bothered me at all. If anything, I respect him more now. Meanwhile, he seems way happier than I am."
She opened her eyes to her friends encouraging smiles. "Am I wrong to think that way? Am I right? Does it even matter?"
Piper spoke up. "I think communication is important," she said emphatically. "I know I feel better when I talk about things that bother me, and I worry more about my friends when they don't. It feels like they're pushing me away.
Luke's frown flashed in her mind. 'I don't know what I was expecting.'
"Is that right?" Annabeth mumbled.
She nodded enthusiastically. Silena let her go, taking a step back.
"Beth," she said gently, "What do you want to do? What would make you happy?"
Annabeth closed her eyes. She thought about all the things she'd done to create distance between herself and others, and about the boy who had managed to so quickly get around those walls.
Maybe… maybe those walls need doors put in, she thought. Maybe he could help me build them.
"I guess…" She looked up at Silena's expectant eyes. Annabeth sighed, amused and exasperated.
"I think I want to change some company policies," she said, smirking and rolling her eyes. Her stomach fluttered, but now that it was out there she was more sure of her words than ever.
She grinned at the two of them. "There, I said it. Are you happy now?"
