Hey guys. I know I haven't uploaded in a long time. But the thing is that I wrote the second chapter a long long time ago.
Then, my computer became a butt and decided to delete all of my documents. I don't know what happened. Maybe it was a virus, but for some reason, after I logged back on, all of my documents were gone.
The second chapter was originally really good. It wasn't only because I was too lazy to rewrite it, but it was also because the voice I originally used was gone. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't recreate the language I used that eventually lead up to the end of this chapter.
Lastly, I lost all sense of Riordan's style. In fact, in this chapter, I think Percy and Annabeth are even more OOC.
I'll apologize in advance to you guys if this story isn't to your taste.
My alarm woke me up that morning.
As I yawned and reached over to turn off my alarm clock, I accidentally knocked something off my nightstand.
Crap.
I scrambled to my feet to see if I knocked over something important. It turned out to be a blue necklace I've never seen before.
What in the world? I thought to myself as I picked the necklace up. It was then that I remembered my dream with Aphrodite.
"Annabeth…" I muttered as I stared at my necklace. Suddenly, I had an irresistible urge to try the mind control. Maybe I can simply test it. You know, to simply see if the mind control thing actually works or not….
First things first, I got up, put on some random jeans and a t-shirt I found in my drawer, and went to brush my teeth. Afterwards, I went downstairs and found a blank note on the kitchen counter.
"Gone out with Paul. I made some breakfast for you on the breakfast table. We'll be back soon. –mom"
Before I continue my story, I should probably explain what's currently going on. My mom was scared to death during the war against Kronos, and was terrified of the thought of losing me. The deaths of many of my fellow demi-gods in camp Half-Blood made us all realize how precious our every moment with each other is, and how any one of us could die at any time. As a result, my mom first decided to remarry to Mr. Blowfish, which I really couldn't blame since my mom's previous spouse was absolutely abysmal. Secondly, she forced me to come back home with her for a month in order to spend some "family time". This is also something I couldn't object since it's been years since I last spent time with just my true family. I kinda looked forward to reliving the quiet days with just me and my mom and now maybe Mr. Blowfish. Unfortunately, as things became more intimate between mom and Mr. Blowfish, there were days when they simply went out together, leaving me behind at home. It was hurtful, but also understandable. I told my mom I understood her desire to be alone with Mr. Blowfish once in a while. Who would want a teenager with a knack for trouble to ruin his or her romantic evening?
Those days alone were especially tedious. There was hardly anything to do in the house. I spent my time eating and watching reruns on TV. One time, I was so bored that I even tried to read a book. You see how low I've sunk?
Thankfully, sometimes Annabeth would come over to visit me. She was like the incandescent cure to my excruciating disease of boredom. After a few weeks into our relationship, we felt comfortable doing anything together. We would stroll around the neighborhood, and talk about random things. She once even tried to teach me how to play chess, which I would lose miserably every time I played against her. Once in a while, when we felt really close, she would even share her innermost thoughts and feelings. So strong was our trust that we didn't even have to promise under the river of Styx to never disclose our secrets.
As I munched on a morning muffin, I started to feel guilty for even thinking about mind controlling Annabeth.
My heart has engendered a monster so powerful that one can never truly destroy it. And so unique was this monster that it wasn't like a dragon or the Minotaur, where you can simply chop it up and it will disappear. It's a force that spawns in your mind, and no amount of physical strength can fight against it. This monster was temptation itself. One's only shield against it was self-control.
How ironic. How very ironic.
My thoughts were put to a halt when the door bell suddenly rang. I scrambled to the door and called out, "who is it?", though in my heart I already knew who it was.
"Just open up the door and see for yourself, Seaweed Brain," came the reply.
I grinned as I opened the door and saw Annabeth standing in front of the doorway.
"Hey," She said and invited herself in, "I smell muffins."
"Oh, I was just eating breakfast," I said.
"Nice necklace," Annabeth said, pointing to the blue pendant Aphrodite gave to me.
"Oh, thanks," I said, and then lied, "I found it on the road. It was blue and looked kind of nice, so I took it. Do you want anything to drink?"
"Wow," Annabeth said, "Am I hearing right? For once, you're actually offering me something to drink? What will happen next? Kronos becomes Santa Clause?"
"Ha, ha, very funny," I said in a monotone, "I can simply order you to get your own drink if you want."
'No, that's okay. I'm quite curious to see what you can make," Annabeth said, "Though knowing you, it'll probably be pretty salty.
I pretended to scowl as I walked to the kitchen. Inside, I took out the vial of potion Aphrodite gave to me and added a few drops into the tea I made. I didn't know what made me add those drops. It was as if my arms added them on their own accord.
Once again, I felt that sense of irony.
"Here you go," I said and handed Annabeth the cup of tea.
Annabeth took a sip and her eyes suddenly widened in surprise, "this is really amazing Percy! Where'd you learn to make tea like this?"
"No need to be sarcastic, Annabeth," I sighed. My mom always criticized me for my ability to make tea. According to her, they almost always tasted too bitter or sweet.
"No, but it's really good," Annabeth replied, "I didn't know you can make such good tea."
"Har, har" I said, "Jokes over now. Stop pretending my tea is good."
"I'm serious," Annabeth asserted. And that was when I realized that Annabeth was telling the truth. Perhaps Aphrodite added something into her potion to make any drink taste amazing?
"Well, I call it 'Frog Tea'," I said.
Annabeth snorted and almost choked on the tea as she laughed, "Frog Tea? Are you serious?"
"Well I'm sorry I'm no Linnaeus," I remarked. It felt kind of dumb naming the tea such a ridiculous name, but one of the requirements was to say the word "frog". Now, all I had to do was make her say the word "big".
What am I doing? I thought to myself, this is wrong. I absolutely cannot mind control Annabeth. She trusts me to never do something like that to her, just like I trust her to do the same.
"Wow, I'm surprised you know who Linnaeus is," Annabeth said, "I thought you knew nothing at all."
"Believe it or not, I actually know a thing or two, Miss Condescending," I replied. The two of us laughed and we started talking about random topics again.
The entire time during our conversation, I silently, yet guiltily, hoped for Annabeth to say the word "big". It was such a common word that I was almost certain that she would slip it out sooner or later. But as hours past, she never did. Finally, I decided to push things a little.
"Annabeth, let's play a game," I said.
"Yeah?"
"Let's take turns in saying words that mean 'huge'. Whoever runs out of synonyms first loses."
Annabeth smiled and said, "Okay. Enormous."
"Gigantic."
"Massive."
"Large."
"Vast."
"Immense."
"Humongous."
For a while, we kept trading words. Eventually, I began to run out, while Annabeth kept spouting out nerdy SAT words such as "behemoth" and "colossal" and etc.
"Dang it," I said, "I ran out of words…."
Annabeth laughed, "Silly Percy. After all this time, there's one single, obvious word that I can't believe you haven't said it yet."
"Oh really?" I said, and my heart began to pound, "What is it?"
"This is unbelievable," Annabeth said, "I thought this would be one of the first words you'd say. It starts with a 'B'…."
"Bah… beh… boh…?" I suggested stupidly.
"B… and then an I…?"
"Bih? Bik? Bir?" I asked. God, I must look like a complete idiot.
"B-I-G," Annabeth finally said, "C'mon Percy. What does that spell?"
"Er," I said, "You know how bad I am at English…. I'm not sure. Why don't you say it for me?"
Then, the two of us simply stared at each other in awkward silence.
"Are you alright, Percy?" Annabeth asked in a serious tone, "Not trying to make fun of you or anything, but perhaps a monster has addled with your brain?"
I laughed and dismissed her theory, but deep down I shuddered.
Oh how right you are, Annabeth, I thought, there is a monster messing with my brain, but it is not the one you're thinking of.
Stop this mess while you still can, I told myself. If you want Annabeth to do something, ask her to do it on her free will. Don't force her. Don't mind control her.
But the yearnings. I couldn't stop them. Those feelings were too strong.
I'm losing.
"There was this thing I read about that other day," I suddenly said, "Something about the Huge Bang Theory?"
And then, finally, she said it, "You're so hopeless, Percy. It's called the Big-"
Annabeth suddenly stopped talking. Her eyes immediately turned blank. She stared at me like a mindless drone.
In a silent voice, I said to myself, I did it…. I actually did it….
"Annabeth?"
The girl sitting in front of me suddenly jerked her head towards me. Her gray eyes bore into mine, as if waiting for an order. A feeling began to bubble in my stomach. It was a medley of all the deepest emotions hidden in my soul.
"Annabeth, are you okay?"
A blank stare was all I received.
"Annabeth, raise your left arm into the air."
Like a robot, the girl immediately lifted up her arm with sudden utmost urgency. Her eyes were still looking at me, waiting for my next command.
That was when I couldn't hold it anymore. The feeling finally erupted. I then, in the strangest voice, screamed, out of guilt, out of delight, out of pain for betraying the person who trusted me the most.
Most of all, I screamed out of the irony. The cruel irony. What is the irony you ask me? It was Aphrodite's true gift to me. Oh yes, she gave me mind control. But more, she gave me a temptation, a monstrous greed, a burning desire that took over my soul. Just like how I now mind control Annabeth, my very sinister temptation mind controlled me.
Tell me what you think of this chapter... Also, post suggestions on what you think Percy should do now that he can mind control Annabeth. :D