Chapter 18: Wise Words

Disclaimer: I do not own anything! Nada! Zip! All right goes to Mr. Riordan. I only own Emily… well… unless your name is Emily… then I guess I don't own you…?

Replies:
Gem of Olympus: Haha I actually want that too! Love how you made it so sarcastic yet so serious XD. Nah I'm a butt, haha honestly I love teasing people! But I made sure to always tease it in front of their faces (you know… in a joking matter of teasing!) But thanks again for reviewing! I love your name too GOO!

Moon over manifest: well I apologize for this time being a long wait… but you know summer is here! So most likely I'll have more time to update more continuously! YAY!

Ohmydemigods: Yep! TOTAL PERCABETH!

Annabeth's POV:

"You guys are siblings…?"

The three of us stood standing, one was looking with extreme confusion, one was masked with pain and sadness, while the other one is just awkwardly staring at the ground… guess which one I am…?

Rachel looked back and forth between us, her eyes probably trying to see the resemblance between us. While Percy removed his arm from my shoulders letting it drop down his sides. For a moment, I felt a bit of… disappointment? Relief? I wasn't so sure, but one thing for sure Percy was feeling lots of guilt and anger as I saw him clench up his fist.

"And…? When have you ever bothered about me?" Percy asked directing his anger towards Rachel. "There's nothing between us that should be any of your concerns Rachel." He said coldly. From ever since the first time I met Percy, I've never seen him act this coldly towards another person. Indifference yes. But hateful and cold… never. His stare felt like the deepest ends of the ocean, his expression was set as cold as stone as he stared at Rachel. It was almost as if Percy was possessed by the devil himself.

Rachel turned to me as if remembering I was there, "Then… are you guys really siblings?"

I looked at Percy who was facing away from Rachel. "I guess there's no point in hiding now is it?" I mumbled.

Rachel look taken back, "B-but… you never had a sibling!"

"Oh gee… how would you know?" Percy retorted sarcastically. "You were always so focused on your art to worry about me…"

"Then why did you say that she was your girlfriend in the first place?" Rachel asked her face etched with confusion.

"If I didn't say that... that Annabeth is my girlfriend… "Percy started. "Would you have left me alone?"

Rachel's face however… looked determined, "Fine… answer this than Percy… if you didn't love me anymore… then why do you care of what I think? Why do you want me to leave you alone? Face it… you still love me."

Percy's face looked pained as Rachel stated that, "I have to go now…" Percy said suddenly as if not wanting to answer. "Tell Grover to call Travis or Connor to take the rest of the pictures."

I looked at Percy's face that was filled with so much emotion, both positive and negative.

"Percy-" Rachel began before Percy interrupted her.

"I'm sorry for lying… " Percy turned towards me, "Let's go home." He told me before grabbing my wrist and walking towards his car.

~PAGEBREAK~

Percy stepped his foot on the accelerator. His eyes glued to the street, as he switched from lane after lane. To be honest, I was scared out of my mind as I gripped tightly onto the armrest. I took a chance to glance over at his speed, which read a little bit… okay… maybe a lot more than the speed limit. Luckily for him, there wasn't that much car out at this hour… or rather there's not much car in this barren freeway.

"You can calm down," I managed as I pressed down on the imaginary break under my feet.

He didn't answer.

To be honest, I didn't know what to be thinking now, Percy was certainly in a rather depressed mood for no apparent reason. "You know… on the upside… you should try out for car racing you're pretty good at it…" I tried to lighten up the mood.

I glanced over the corner of my eyes to see Percy still staring out into the streets with a solemn expression.

"Hey I have to admit you look pretty dashing in that tuxedo." I tried complimenting him.

No response.

"I guess… I'll be a weirdo and talk to myself…" I mumbled sarcastically.

Without warning Percy veered into the exit and slammed his foot on the brakes and turned to me, "Thanks," He said softly.

"For what?"

"I don't know…" He mumbled obviously still upset… but hey… at least he's talking right? "I'm sorry about being such an emo creep like Nico…" He sighed.

"Maybe cause you're thinking about how Rachel is correct." I offered.

"What?"

"Must we go through this again?" I sighed as he looked at me with a bewildered expression. "You obviously like her and she obviously likes you… so just get over it is what you need to get over and give her another chance."

He thought about what I just said, "It's not that easy…" He mumbled.

"Yes it is… you're just being a bit overdramatic about it… what exactly did she do to you? For sure she didn't kill you since you're alive… then what is there not to forgive?" I asked him.

"She didn't kill me… but you should know that there's far worst thing than killing a single person." Percy replied. "She crushed my spirits completely. Everything that I thought was true about turns to be all a lie. I lived pretty much like a mentally crazy guy when she left…" He sighed. "Mental therapy, physical therapy… you name it. I made bad decisions because my mind was clouded. I just can't go through something like that again…" He trailed off.

"You're saying she crushed you… she turned you crazy…she caused you to make bad decision. Then what did you do to yourself?"

He stayed silent and I knew I've hit a pretty tough nerve.

"Just think about it okay?"

Percy didn't answer my question. Instead he just started up the engine and gave me a smooth ride home… which at the moment is all I can ask for.

Percy's POV:

All through the entire week I thought about what Annabeth have told me… or rather… what she lectured me about. Seriously… what kind of older half-brother am I to let such a know-it- all lecture me like that?

I grimaced as I weaved through the maze of cars. I have just called in to Michelle telling her I'm going to be a bit late today. I needed some time to think, to just take a break. Thankfully, Rachel left me alone and didn't come into my office asking for me for a while… which does help… I guess. Life with Annabeth was… believe it or not… rather good. Other than the fact she's always criticizing everything that I'm doing, it was just swell (no sarcasm intended here). Unfortunately Annabeth told me to pick her up late today because she was hanging out with some of her friends or something. Not that I want an annoying know-it-all around me, but I have to admit… that I kind of… maybe… just a teeny tiny feeling of missing her presence.

But the question that Annabeth asked me was just bugging the hell out of me… probably because it's so damn true.

"You're saying she crushed you… she turned you crazy…she caused you to make bad decision. Then what did you do to yourself?"

Damn stupid wise ass sister.

What exactly did I do to myself? Is it I'm just blaming it all one Rachel…? From making me drunk like that…? From making me into a state of depression that I got into that car accident…?

I'll admit she's probably right and the sad fact is Rachel's probably right too. I still care about Rachel, I still care about what she thinks of me… but do I still love her? That's the most stupid and retarded question ever… but it's been on my mind all morning.

I parked my car right in front of the bar and walked in. I slipped onto one of the stools to be greeted by a familiar smiling face of Pollux. "Hey Perce, fancy seeing you here at this hour." He grinned. I shrugged as I made a grab for my wallet. "Hey, it's on me," He waved me off and dropped a drink right in front of me. "So care to tell me what's bothering you?"

"How'd you know something's bothering me?" I asked as I took a sip out of the drink. Sweet but bitter… exactly how I felt about Rachel.

"Come on man… you're not really one to skip out on work. I've known you since high school…" Pollux paused. "No wait… you were a rather famous troublemaker back in high school… always skipping out on schoolwork." He grinned.

"Thanks for making me feel better…" I mumbled.

"My specialty," Pollux shot back. "So why exactly are you here?"

"Need a bit of a thinking time." I told him.

"Well… I'm all ears man." He grinned, sitting down on a nearby stood on the opposite side of the counter.

I put the drink down and looked up at the bartender, "Dude seriously?" I was surprised… usually I don't like talking about my feelings and probably neither does Pollux… unless we're both really drunk… which I don't see happening any time soon.

"Sure… I mean happy hour isn't in for a while… and we haven't talked in a while." Pollux gave me a half grin.

I looked aimlessly at the drink in my hand as the water swirled around the glass. "You think I brought this upon myself?" I asked. "With the accident and all that?"

"You're thinking about that again?" He poured a cup for himself and sat directly across from me.

"What else is there to think about it…? I can't help but think… it's just all too much. What if it isn't even Rachel's fault that caused me to be all depressed? What if I'm just looking for someone to blame, but really the only problem was me?"

"Woah," Pollux held up a hand. "Pause right there! Where did you suddenly get all this wise talk?"

I shrugged, "Just got thinking in this hollow head of mine."

"Well… you want the honest to honest truth… or the truth you want to hear?" He asked me, seriousness written all over his face.

"Just give me honest to honest."

Pollux thought about it a bit before answering, "Well… I'd say it's both yours and Rachel's fault. Rachel's for being scared of the outcome of what would happen if you found out and for not telling you sooner. However it's also your fault, considering you took everything too much to heart. I guess that's one of your flaws… since you're loyal to everyone… you expect them to be loyal back to you. Honestly in this world… not everyone think the way you do."

Pollux reached over and poured a mixture of drink into my glass. "Of course there are other factors that contributed to whoever's fault this may be… but the main person's fault is you. Rachel made her choice but it's your own choice on how you choose to react to it. Honestly… I'd say that you took the easy path: to close out on everyone and hoping that the whole thing would blow over. That, of course, was not the case… on one hand you're hoping that Rachel would come back to you… but there's another side that's somewhat not very forgiving to Rachel, whether it's because of the accident or the fact she left you… I'm not sure."

I grimaced as he stated that, even though I knew that was to be true… I couldn't help but felt a bit inferior towards myself.

"As to the fact whether you still love her or not… only you can answer that… but obviously, since you're not able to forget about that after all these years… I'd say you still have a lingering feeling towards her." My bartender friend paused and looked at me with an amused expression.

He sighed and got off the stool. "Well I would love to stay and chat but… have to go serve a couple more drinks to those bachelors over there." My old friend grinned and patted me on the back before leaving to refill some drinks.

I sighed taking in the drink hoping that it'll somehow wash my worries away.

"If you didn't love me anymore… then why do you care of what I think? Why do you want me to leave you alone? Face it… you still love me."

For some reason that line ran through my head the whole time I was sitting there. I hate to admit this… but Rachel may have been correct, I still have lingering feelings for her… I just don't want to admit it. Out of fear… I was scared that Rachel would just leave me again. I admit, I'm a wimp… I don't think I can bear with someone leaving me like that again… I sighed and dropped a couple of dollars on the table walking towards my car dreading about what just happened the past few days.

~ZOMBIEBREAK~

I thought over what Pollux and Annabeth had said over the past few days and finally came to a conclusion.

I opened my phone, not even bothering to look into the contacts because I knew it would not be there. As if by instincts I typed in the phone number that I've been dreading to call for a long time. Hesitating a bit, I punched in the all-too-familiar number and quickly pressed 'send' before I could change my mind.

First ring. I felt my heart beating a bit faster as seconds pasted by.

Second ring. My grip on my phone was slipping as my hands felt a bit sweaty… probably from a bit of nervousness and probably from the hot temperature.

Third ri- "Hello?"

'She picked up the phone! She picked up the phone!' The panicked voice in my head screamed. I quickly cleared my throat and tried to maintain any manly aura I have left. "R-Rachel." I stuttered.

For a moment there was a pause on the other line as she came to recognition with my voice. "Percy?"

"Meet me at the usual ice cream shop in an hour." I said quickly and hung up before I could change my mind or before she could say anything else.

I sighed and leaned against the doorway of my car. My shoulders seem to be relieved of their tension from just a few seconds ago. As I stood there leaning against the rough paint on my car I couldn't help but think, 'What the hell am I doing now?'

~PAGEBREAK~

I walked into the ice cream shop to see Rachel already sitting there. Her red hair was laid out flat almost as if she deliberately straightened it out. Her posture was almost elegant… almost as if she got affected by her parents aura. I couldn't help but think that she looked rather beautiful… maybe even more beautiful than the last time I actually looked at her in a loving way. Her back was turned to me as she took a spoonful of ice cream, with her face gazing out towards the window of where she sat.

I took in a deep breath and made my way towards her… for a moment I felt as if I was back in high school asking the famous Rachel Elizabeth Dare out on a date. My legs were shaking uncontrollably, while I could feel beads of sweat rolling down the side of my face. My hands were pushed back into my coat pocket as I stood behind her. I opened my mouth to called out her name but nothing came out and Rachel didn't seem to be able to notice my presence.

I studied her, she looked so sad that I almost felt guilty of what I did to her.

Finally after about five minutes of standing a good distance from her, I got up the courage to greet her, "Rachel,"

With difficulty, Rachel looked up, her emerald-green eyes shined through the seemingly dark surroundings. I nervously reached towards the back of my head, a habit I've developed whenever I was nervous. I cautiously walked over to the chair and sat down as we just stared back at each other.

I studied my ex-girlfriend, her hair has gotten longer but it was as red as always. She was no longer dressed in paint-splattered clothes; instead she wore a rather nice blouse with an appropriate pair of pants. Next to her chair, I saw a wrapped up canvas and a box filled with her paint supplies. Her hands were tapping nervously against the table as she looked down in shame. Her eyes wouldn't meet me… as if she's afraid of knowing what's behind them.

"Percy…" She finally began after a while. "I'm sorry. I know I've said that a lot since I came back… but you need to know that I really meant it." She took the time to slowly lift her head to meet my eyes. "I understand…" She paused as if the next few words are hard to get out. "I understand if you don't ever want to see me again-"

"That's not it…" I tried to tell her.

Rachel stopped and stared at me with immense curiosity. "Percy… if it's because you felt sympathy for me… you don't need too."

"Do you know… how hard I tried to stop thinking about you?" I asked her with pain evident in my voice. "Why did you have to come back?" I asked her, knowing that I probably sound like a pathetic little kid… but at that moment I didn't really care.

"Perc-"

"Don't you get how much troubled you caused when you left?" I asked her.

Rachel looked down, "I get it Percy…" She frowned. "I won't bother you again." Rachel stood up and started to walk away.

Before she could leave I stopped her, "Rachel wait," I took a deep breath, "I thought about what you said… and what my sister said. I just needed some time to clear my head." I admitted.

"I-I understand… I'll let you be." Rachel said and turned away from me, probably hiding her tears.

My emotions flared, I didn't want to let go of her… without thinking I quickly blurted out, "Don't you get it? I finally got over you and now you just came back and-"

"And what?" Rachel asked turning back around to face me. "You want me to leave you alone? Well that's exactly what I'm doing," Rachel proclaimed.

"That's not it!" I denied probably scaring her.

"Then what is it Percy? If you're just going to rub it in my face … then just leave me alone." With that said, she quickly stormed out of the door leaving me with all my emotions unsaid.

'Come on! You're letting her go! You're going to regret it!' I told myself. Without thinking I quickly threw a bill on the table and ran out after her just to see her walking towards her car.

I rushed over to her, "Rachel wait!"

"Percy just leave me alone," She begged and started almost speed-walking away from me.

"Can't you tell that I'm not over you at all?" I yelled at her hoping that she'll stop.

Rachel paused in her fast pace and slowly turned around and her face was directly in front of me. She looked at me her face filled with confusion, "A-are you saying-?"

I let my hands drift over to hers, "I still like you," I stared deep into her eyes and I knew what I said was partly true. I still have lingering feelings for Rachel… I'm not sure if it's as deep as before… but it's there and I know that if Rachel leaves now… I'll forever regret it. "I want … to give us one more chance."

PLEASE PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I know… I got in a little Percabeth but then now I got… Prachel coming back…(not that I like it of course… but what can you say)? How'd you think about it? I enjoy writing about Pollux! Cause well.. not many people include him in the story… so I decided to make him the wise bartender haha (since the bar is usually where you go to let go of your problems and… well nevermind!) Anyways… I tried not to make Rachel seem too bad. But don't worry…. Percy will find out soon… of Annabeth not being his sister (like next chapter soon for certain….I PROMISE (then again you guys learned not to trust me))…

Song: Not Over You – Gavin DeGraw - I love this song, I think it describes this perfectly! Highly recommend you to listen to this!

Agent Astro Zombie