Chapter 16: Ice Cream Dilemma
Disclaimer: Look I didn't make you the bad girl of the camp! SORRY DREW! IT WAS ALL RICK RIORDAN! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!
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Annabeth's POV:
I hesitated before answering, "Fine… but one condition… "
To tell the truth, I was a bit surprised when he told the girl that I was his girlfriend, and for a moment I was scared that he had figured it out. I released my hands out of his grip and turned to face him.
"Fine just nothing about my life, or anything that goes against my human morals." Percy said a bit hesitant.
I stopped not really knowing what to say… for one I was already embarrass with the fact that he said I was his girlfriend (even though it was fake) and two I really wanted to find out about his past. However considering how he's always touchy about it… I guess my curiosity will have to wait. "You have to buy me ice cream for dinner everyday." I said randomly, not really sure what to ask of him.
He nodded then stopped abruptly as if realizing something. "Wah- What?"
I mentally smiled at his reaction but kept a straight face as I answered him, "I like ice cream, so everyday I want an ice cream for dinner."
"What are you… a ten year old kid?" Percy sighed but I could tell it was one of relief.
"You don't have to be a kid to like ice cream…" I mumbled.
"Fine… ice cream it is… but I'm only giving it to you on the weekends." He tried to bargain.
"All or nothing… it's your choice." I smirked, knowing that I've got him trapped.
Percy groaned, "Come on, get in the car."
"Why?"
"Don't you want some ice cream little child?" He joked and opened the door for me. However, before I got in he gave me a hug.
I stood back in surprise, "What was that for?"
"For being a good sister." He grinned releasing me from a bear hug as I stared at him weirdly. "What? I can't give my own sister a hug?"
"Whatever," I pushed him off and got into the car with Percy grinning from ear to ear. "Quit smiling like a fool and drive the car already!" I yelled at him as he slowly made his way to his seat.
"Calm down no need to rush." He said patiently as he started the engine.
"One more thing…" I begin thinking about how I'm not really his sister.
"Oh gods… you're going to make me put some sprinkles on ice cream aren't you?" He asked dramatically.
"No…" I trailed off. "You have to promise that whatever happens… you will never get mad at me." I told him with a serious expression.
Of course this was Percy we're talking about… so instead he kept a goofy grin on his face a replied, "Yeah yeah, whatever you say… now… will you be my fake-girlfriend?" He asked with a tone of mockery in his voice.
I smiled, "We'll have to see how well your ice cream picking skills are first."
~PAGEBREAK~
We sat inside the ice cream shop where Percy claimed it as "the best of the best". After ordering us some kind of special flavored ice cream he sat back down right in front of me. He looked at the shop's surrounding with an unsettling gaze almost as if thinking of sometime pleasant. "Believe it or not I was a regular at this place." Percy grinned as he took off his jacket.
"What?" I asked almost laughing, because for sure… Percy Jackson does not seem like the guy to be eating ice cream everyday… much less in a shop that looks like a little fairytale place. "I thought you said ice cream were for little ten year old girls." I teased him.
"Trust me… ice cream can be for many things, whether you are in love or you are just sad." He said with a smile tugging at the end of his lips.
"When did you become the expert on ice cream?" I asked a bit surprised that he can actually be this deep about certain stuff… even if it's just ice cream.
"Maybe it's because ice cream is the turning point of my life…" He shot back so seriously I wasn't even sure if he was serious or not.
"Seriously… ice cream?" I teased him.
"Not particularly the ice cream… but I guess you could say it's related to ice cream." He stated reaching for a couple utensils. "Here," He handed me a spoon.
I took the spoon from his hand and placed my napkin down, "So… what's this between you and Rachel?" I asked before I could stop myself.
He looked at me before playing with the napkins, "We were dating and we broke up." He said simply.
"Pretty sure there's more to that story…" I trailed off. "She obviously still likes you…" I stated remembering all the time at work where a certain Ms. Dare would pay a visit. "And do you like her?" I asked looking at his face. "Yeah you like her, so why are you trying to avoid her?"
"It's more complicated than that…" He mumbled.
"Well I'm in need of a good story."
He sighed, "You are really not going to give up huh?"
"I wouldn't count on it." I smile back as he let out a light laugh.
"Well for Rachel, it's always her art first… it's never anything else… just her art." He began. "Nothing could actually stop her from achieving her dream, not even her father." He laughed at the memory. "You should see her when she's drawing, it's like nothing else matters." I listened intently as he told me about the good quality of his ex-girlfriend. All of which seems to be positive, there seems to be nothing that he hated about her. "I've known her for a long time and we dated for almost five years, I proposed to her, things didn't work out… so here we are."
He said it like it was nothing, but his fist was clenched around the spoon and his eyes held this sad look to it, "Well do you still like her?" I asked already knowing the answer.
"Yes…? No…? I don't even know…" He stated. "But I don't think I want to be in a relationship where it's always about her art and never about me."
"Then… she seem to care a lot about you now." I tried to convince him without really knowing why.. maybe it's because I felt sorry for both of them… or probably I'm just trying to know exactly what happen, because I know for sure a simple break-up like this wouldn't cause Percy to despite Rachel like this. Even though I've not known him for a long time, I could tell he was not really the one to hate someone to this extent.
"It doesn't matter anymore, I don't want anything to do with her." He said with finality as someone brought over our ice cream. "Anyways, off my ice cream dilemma, how's your boring old lectures going?" He asked mixing the ice cream together.
I smiled slightly, I knew that he never really listened to whatever I was saying but it was nice of him to ask. "Oh save the act, we all know you don't even want to listen to my wonderful adventures at school."
"No seriously I want to know," He insisted. "Just don't bore me with facts about 'legendary architecture' or any geometric concept; I was done with geometry years ago… no need to go back down that path."
"Okay okay," I laughed at his facial expression. "Like you would be able to learn anything, your brain is filled with nonsense."
"Oh really?" He challenged. "Well you're looking at one of the most successful business man in the world." He grinned then dipped his spoon into the ice cream. "Yum, I love it!" He smiled widely as he look at the sprinkles on the ice cream. "Aren't you glad I requested blue food coloring?" He asked without waiting for an answer. "It just makes the ice cream that much better."
"You are seriously messed up in the head." I mumbled as I attempt to steal a couple spoonful from his bowl.
He slapped my spoon away, "My food!" He said putting a protective shield around his bowl like a little kid. "Go order your own!" He told me as he continued to act like a pig with the ice cream.
"Just when I thought you were such a good brother… I think I'm changing my mind." I glared at him, even though I was actually laughing like crazy on the inside.
Just as I was about to stand up, he grabbed my wrist, "Take a joke, I'm just kidding." He gave me a lopsided grin and pushed the bowl in the middle. "Here, sharing is caring." He grinned eating another big spoonful. "You should seriously dip it in with the sauce at the bottom and then add some nuts and those bubble things to the ice cream." He said professionally as if he's some kind of ice cream expert.
"Well I'm not going to eat it like that, HA!" I said stubbornly and ate only the ice cream.
He laughed and grabbed my spoon away from me making sure to put exactly how he told me to eat ice cream. "You either eat this or you don't eat at all."
I glared at him playfully before grabbing the whole bowl for myself. "Thank you for the ice cream my good brother." I smirked as I ate another spoonful. "But… since sharing IS caring… I'll give you some."
"You're a horrible sister…" He mumbled. I smiled as we continued to barter insults around and getting weird looks from other people inside the restaurant.
After stuffing our stomachs with ice cream Percy took me back to the university. I closed the door silently since it was nearly midnight, I assumed Piper was asleep. Suddenly my phone gave away with an annoying ringtone, I quickly picked it up before Piper could wake up. "Hello?"
"Annabeth!" More than one voices yelled into the phone.
"Bobby? Matthew?" I asked smiling.
"Yep the two and only!" A voice I'm guessing Bobby answered. "We can't talk for long or daddy's going to ground us from our Lego set."
"Yep! Me and Bobby just finished building the one that you bought for us!" Matthew said excitedly.
"But Annabeth… Dad said you're not allowed to come home for as long as you live, he was mad that you left without telling him anything." Bobby warned me.
I grimaced knowing that my Dad was going to say something like this, he resented me ever since the day that mom left. "Did your mom say anything?"
"I don't kno- oh I'll send you the pictures of me and Bobby's building! Dad's coming to tuck us in!" Matthew said a bit panicked.
"BYE ANNABETH!" I heard Bobby's voice in the background.
Before they hung up I heard my dad's voice, "Are you boys talking on the phone?" The line went dead and I was back in my dorm with a sleeping Piper. I sighed and jumped down on my bed thinking about what I've learned today about Emily's brother. I was actually pretty happy that he forgave me for snooping around but I couldn't help it… I was curious.
I laid my head on my pillow and found a post-it note sticking to the side of my bed. 'You got home late missy… well… a guy came by your down today, his name was Lark Casting or something. (Blond guy) Anyways he was looking for you and said to give you a note. I promise I didn't peak!' I look at it and knew it was probably from Piper. Following the arrow of the post-it I saw a white envelop that was still sealed.
'Hey Annabeth, it's me Luke! Care to join me for some coffee tomorrow like usual? Sorry I've been busy lately, there's been some tournament with our fencing team. I've got a ticket for you in here come and watch it if you can, it's after school inside the hall. Hope to see you there!
-Luke
I smiled at the note feeling a bit happy that he still remembered that we had planned our little coffee routine. I reached into the envelope to find a ticket and a slip of paper with his phone number written on it. I couldn't help but felt a bit warm inside, whether it's from Luke's little note or the little ice cream dinner with Percy… I'll probably never know. I stared up at the ceiling and before I knew it, I drifted into an endless sleep.
Percy's POV:
"You seriously don't believe I could do it?" Nico asked me as he messed around with the decorations in my office.
"Nico… one you're in my office and there is no way I'm letting you hang from the side like Tom Cruise did in Mission Impossible… two… that was television it doesn't work like that in real life!" I tried to reasoned with him. We were discussing about one of the stupidest thing ever. I tried to tell my good old friend here that it's not possible to be hanging hundreds of feet up the air with just a pair of gloves, but he begged to differ… stating that his job gives him all the technology he needs.
"Whatever… you're just jealous that while I'm out enjoying the dangers of life… you're sitting in this office reading papers and calculating numbers." He snorted.
"Oh I would love to risk my life and meet up with ruthless criminal everyday." I said sarcastically as I slapped his hand away from my name plate.
"Well... it's not criminal we're meeting every day, just mentally crazy terrorists." Nico supplied
"Not helping here…" I mumbled. "So what's the occasion for coming here today? You usually hate it here."
"What…? You haven't heard from me in almost two months and this is what you say to me? I'm hurt man." Nico pretended to put an arm over his heart.
"How about we could never get a hold of you? Oh yeah… and why is it every time I call there's always a girl picking up your phone?" I smirked. Nico's face turned a shade of red as I asked the next question, "Could it be that Nicky has a girlfriend?" I asked using the nickname that the Stolls gave him.
"Wh- " His voice came out as a shrilled pitch. He quickly cleared his throat, "I mean… I don't have time for girlfriends… that was probably my co-worker, or my boss."
"So you have your sights on someone?" I teased him.
"No… "He mumbled. "Anyways… do you want to hear what I have to say or no?"
"Fine, go on tell me." I urged him.
"First… does the name Kronos mean anything to you?" Nico asked me.
"Isn't that like some kind of weather station?" I asked completely clueless.
"No…" Nico sighed. "That's Kron 4… I'm talking about Kronos the worldwide terrorist group…"
"Osama Bin Laden?" I asked because seriously that's the only guy that I know who was a terrorist… since I don't study political or what not…
"That guy died already Percy… haven't you been keeping up with the news… anyways… Kronos… the group set on nuclear bombing… they are crazy about it…"
"Well… I never heard of them…"
"Of course you didn't… if you did… they would scare you worst than Count Dracula." Nico proclaimed.
"So what does this Kronos thing have to do with anything?" I asked obviously confused now.
"So you have no idea?" Nico asked his face showing that he was surprised.
I shook my head. "Never heard of them until today." I said honestly.
"Well… since you were a victim of their activities… I was granted permission to inform you of his crimes… ever heard of the incident of the USS Cyclops in 1918?"
"1918..?" I asked a bit surprised. "Nico… I'm pretty sure that's almost 100 years ago."
"Exactly my point… this group has been around for ages already… so have you ever heard of the USS Cyclops?" He asked again.
"Was I suppose to…?"
I could tell Nico was trying not to strangle me, "USS Cyclops…AC-4, 306 crew members and passenger went down… cause of accident is still unknown to the public. It was also recorded as the single largest loss of life in U.S. Naval history without involving combat." Nico informed me. "Seriously… didn't you take any history lesson… you are in charge of dealing with ocean disasters right?"
"That was almost a hundred years ago… what do you expect?" I shot back. "So what does this have to do with this Kronos group?"
Nico slapped his own face in pure desperation, "Seriously did you not figure out the connection? The accident was caused by Kronos members."
"Then what does this have to do with me?"
"Well… incase you didn't know…. The USS Cyclops AC-4 carried information about nuclear energy… of course not known to the public… and the leader of this group wanted information… and in the process he killed innocence to obtain what he needs." Nico stood up and walked around as if nervous. "Well… we have reasons to believe that he either wants something from you… and that you carried something that could help him with his conquest of nuclear weapon…" Nico trailed off.
Nico paused and suddenly I got what he was saying, "You're saying that I have information for a nuclear weapon? Nico… I'm a lot of things… but a mentally crazy killer machine is not one of them." I assured him.
Nico sighed, "I could tell that much… but my boss won't believe me."
"Then what…? Are you here to handcuff me?" I asked glaring at him.
"No." Nico said right away. "Actually… I'm here for another thing… did you know who was the other passenger in the car that was crashed?" He asked.
I never remembered ever catching the other person's name… even if the other driver's family did tell me their name… I was too sad about Silena and Beckondorf's death to even listen. "No… why?"
"I don't know if it's a coincidence or not… but your car was not the only one that was tampered with…" Nico began. "The other car after some evaluation was also messed with, it's barely noticeable… but if you were able to look closely at the reports… there were problems with the motor overheating… and I can assure that was not because of a car malfunction."
"Then…" I tried to put the pieces together, "T-then… they were trying to-"
"Kill two birds with one stone." Nico finished. "We're working to find exactly what they are looking for from you… but since you haven't been harm for more than three years I'd say either they've given up… but more likely they are just waiting for the right time to strike." Nico stood up, "Anyways… I've got to go now, if you can, drop by my house in a few weeks after Grover's wedding, I might have something to show you."
"I have to go somewhere soon anyways… getting ice cream for my sister." I mumbled.
Nico laughed, "I thought your sister was in a university?"
"She is…" I groaned.
"Then why the ice cream?" He asked.
"Cause… she's blackmailing me."
"Blackmailing…" Nico thought about it. "Hmm… I think I might actually get along with this sister of yours."
"Don't even think about it…" I glared at him as he held up his hands in surrender and walked out.
By the time I arrived at the university it was almost eight o'clock and luckily for me… the ice cream was still cold. I parked my car in one of the driveways and walked into the school yard. I walked into the familiar corridor towards Annabeth's dorm to see two people standing in front of there. I was about to keep walking until I finally noticed that the two person there one of them was a blond guy and the other was a blond girl… a blond girl with wavy curls in her hair… Annabeth.
I smirked, 'Maybe I'll have something to tease my little sister about…' I quickly took out my phone and quickly pressed record aiming it at the two couple.
"Well, thanks anyways, I had lots of fun," Annabeth laughed.
The blond guy smiled, "That's a good thing then, you are still going to my tournament match right?"
"Well you already gave me the tickets haven't you?" Annabeth smile back shyly.
'This is epic!' I thought. 'The great Annabeth Chase being like a girly girl!' I grinned feeling like a naughty spy.
"That's cool," The other guy gave my sister a charming grin and I saw her with a faint blush on her face. "We're still up for some coffee tomorrow morning right? Or are you going to cancel on me again?"
"This time I'll come, I'm really sorry about last time, it's just I got side-track of time." Annabeth said stuttering over her words. I couldn't help but grin as I recorded this blackmailing scene.
"Hey chill, I'm just kidding, but I hope to see you tomorrow… if not… I think you are going to have to owe me another little trip to the park." He smirked. "But I'll see you tomorrow." Then the guy quickly leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Later Annabeth." With that the guy left leaving Annabeth a bit speechless with her face heating up. I grinned as I stopped the recorder on my phone.
I walked over to where my statue-like sister was standing and stood there for at least 30 seconds waiting for her to notice me. "Earth to Annabeth?" I finally cracked unable to stand the suddenly life-less Annabeth.
"P-Percy!" She managed getting her blush under control. "H-how" She quickly cleared her throat. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to see you blush like crazy from that other guy." I grinned holding up my recording of her blushed face.
Annabeth's face turned from a shy, blushing girl to a raging mad woman in a matter of seconds, "Give me that!" She yelled reaching for my phone.
Luckily I was just a couple inches taller than her so all I had to do was raise my hand up to keep it out of her reach. "I think the video tells the story of a blushing girl who is lovesick to a blond guy that kissed her on a cheek." I grinned. "How many hits do you think I'll be able to get on YouTube with this?" I joked.
"I'll kill you before you get the chance too." Annabeth threatened.
"Hmm… I think I still have one of the YouTube employee's number on my phone somewhere…" I mumbled pretending to press a few buttons on my phone.
"PERSEUS JACKSON!" She yelled as I quickly flinched. "Give…me… your… phone… now!" She said each word as if they are darts driving into my heart. Despite the height difference and the fact that she's younger, I'll admit… I shuddered a bit at her intimidating stare.
I reluctantly handed her the phone as she sighed happily and quickly erased the recording. "I hate you."
"Likewise," She shot back and handed me back my phone.
"So who's that guy there that caused the great Annabeth Chase to go speechless?" I asked smirking.
"What are you jealous that my attention is towards another guy other than my brother now?" She grinned triumphantly.
"In your dreams!" I exclaimed. "Anyways… here's your ice cream, specially delivered by me."
"Someone's conceited…" Annabeth mumbled and quickly accepted the ice cream. "What flavor is ths now?" Annabeth asked knowing that I bring her a different flavor every day.
"How about 'love' flavor?" I teased her as she gave me that scary look again. "Fine… its mocha flavored." I took my spoon out and quickly stole a piece from her like I usually do. "Is Piper here today to steal my ice cream again?" I asked as she opened the door.
"This is your ice cream?" Annabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Just answer the question…" I mumbled.
"Nah… she's out with Jason, he visited and now they're probably out eating or watching a movie."
"So I should stay here a keep my little sister company?" I offered.
"You're just staying here for the ice cream." Annabeth mumbled as she finally got the door to open.
"What can I say…? Ice cream is much higher on the value scale than my own sister." I smirked and walked in putting my jacket down on a nearby chair.
Annabeth sighed in content finishing the last bits of ice cream. "Oh before I forget…" Annabeth walked over to her desk and grab a file out. "Here's the evaluation of the construction, give it to the architect guy, there's some information in here that is crucial to building the aquarium."
I nodded and accepted the papers, "Anyways, Grover and Juniper are having their wedding pictures taken this weekend and they wanted me to take you along as well."
"Sure, I've always wanted to see Grover in a tux," Annabeth replied with a slight smile.
After spending a while talking with my sister, I finally noticed the time, "Damn… it's nearly eleven, I'll go now, you probably have early boring lecture tomorrow." I smiled.
Annabeth glared at me before saying, "Yeah, I'll see you in the weekends or maybe tomorrow if you got time to drop over."
"Later," She nodded and opened the door for me. I walked out into the night and walked towards my car to feel a breeze push against my face.
With a start I realized I forgot my jacket when suddenly I heard a familiar voice, "Percy wait!"
I turned around to see Annabeth standing in front of the school building, holding my jacket when suddenly out of nowhere someone grabbed her from the back. "ANNABETH BEHIND YOU!" I quickly yelled out, but it was too late…
DUN DUN DUN! So… what happens now? (Yeah… I don't really know either… so I can't really tell you…. XD) I gave you guys a long chapter… you guys got some more extra info, then there's the (eh..) Lukabeth in the beginning… Percy is being an obnoxious brother… Percabeth is bonding (sibling-wise that is…) ! How's that? Anyways REVIEW PLEASE!
Song: Baby It's Fact- HelloGoodbye (Wonderful song if you ask me :D)
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