Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson.
Annabeth's P.O.V:
The alarm clock caused Annabeth to turn over and groan. She reluctantly cracked her eyes open, only to shut them once again when the light of her window blinded them.
The blaring alarm clock was still piercing through her usual quiet room, and Annabeth reached out a hand to slam it shut. She pushed herself up on her bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Glancing at the clock, Annabeth realized it was only 5:00 am. She still had a couple hours until school started.
Somehow, she was suddenly wide awake. The first day of sophomore year. A new school. New friends. I know nobody.
A pang of anxiety shot through Annabeth, and she threw her feet aside the bed. The carpet floor strangely died her nerves down, and she rubbed her feet together while looking around her room. A simple twin sized bed with gray and black covers, matched with pillows entitled with quotes. The green walls to her room -which Annabeth had not agreed to- caused a feeling of wistfulness to rest at the bottom of her heart, but she didn't know why.
Her dresser held nothing but a hairbrush and hair ties, along with her backpack and school items. Everything was neatly placed, and the light radiating from the window made it seem almost perfect. The late dawn light made Annabeth recall the night she had seen Percy, something that seemed years ago. Yet, it had been only months ago. Annabeth had still remembered him, she had found herself constantly dreaming of him.
Yawning, Annabeth stood up and walked towards the bathroom, which connected with her room. Flipping the light open, she almost gasped as her reflection came into view. Dark bags had settled under her eyes, and her lips were paler than before. How much had she been sleeping?
Needless to say, yesterday, Annabeth had gotten only an hour of sleep, if not less. She sighed softly, touching her reflection in the mirror. Her blond hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, bangs falling out and framing her face. She turned on the water,splashing her face with the cool liquid. Once she was done drying her face, she brushed her teeth slowly.
Her dad would kill her if he knew she had disrupted him while he was sleeping. He had a meeting today, August 18th. Annabeth knew how much the meetings meant to him.
Definitely more than she meant to him.
She found the fact that just a month ago, Frederick had been jobless odd. He'd been broke. Now, he seemed to carelessly throw money around.
Knowing better than to question it, she stayed silent. He'd most likely end up hitting her for asking. They hadn't exchanged any words for weeks, other than him spitting insults and Annabeth enduring them.
Turning the faucet off, Annabeth gave another look at her in the reflection, pointing out all her flaws. She could imagine Frederick's words engraved into her mind, reminding her everywhere she went that she wasn't good enough. She wasn't smart enough. But she was stupid. Worthless. Annoying.
And that would never change. She'd accepted it when tears were dripping down her cheeks at night.
She turned and opened the door, turning the light off.
Her clothes, which she had already picked out the day before, we hanging loosely on a chair next to her window, backpack neatly set against it. Annabeth let out a tired sigh, plopping on the edge of the bed.
She put her hands in her face, three words repeating themselves in her mind.
I'm not ready.
When Annabeth entered her first period class, which was ancient history, she almost threw herself onto a desk.
Other than the fact that she'd gotten lost in the large hallways at least ten times, bumped into people and watched them give her scowls, Annabeth let herself believe that the day was getting a little better. She glanced inside of the classroom, which was filled with desks aligned perfectly amongst each other, posters and maps taking up the space of the walls. The room held an aroma of wood and old books, and it brought Annabeth memories from when she was younger.
Annabeth walked over to one of the front desks slowly, and sat on the one directly in front of the whiteboard. She placed her folders onto the hard surface, and then her palms, breathing in deeply. Annabeth heard snickers behind her, and turned her head to see who was laughing. There were only about fifteen other students in the classroom, and her eyes quickly scanned each of them.
A kid with dark hair and pale skin, another girl beside him with electric eyes and spiky hair. Her piercing glinted in the lights of the room, and she let out a snort. Trying to ignore the voice in her mind stating that they were laughing at her, Annabeth eyed the other students.
A girl with brown hair and brown eyes, another next to her with beautiful almond eyes and a gorgeous face outline. Students with different types of hair and eyes, all knowing someone in the room. Annabeth didn't know anyone.
She averted her gaze to the papers on her desk, gripping the pen in her hand tightly. Somehow, she wished that all her worries would magically just disappear, like bubbles floating away and popping. Gone. Just like that. Yet, sadly, she learned it never worked that way. Her heart was pounding as the giggles of the girls behind her increased in volume, and Annabeth shut her eyes tightly.
They probably weren't even laughing at her, for all she knew. But why did it suddenly matter to her?
A man walked into the room, and he cleared his throat. Annabeth looked up to see a man with a wispy beard and brown, caring and determined eyes. His gaze quickly ran over the room, scanning the rows, before it landed on her. Annabeth broke eye contact, not being able to stand the look he was giving her, as if he knew everything about her.
She crossed her legs as he began talking. "Welcome to history! Now, I am aware it's probably not the best idea to have a bunch of sophomores in history at first period, but you'll adapt. You have an entire year to do so." He winked at the class, shuffling through papers on his desk, still standing up. "My name's Mr. C. I'll be your history teacher for this year, and probably next year. And the year after that," he cracked a smile, and Annabeth decided he didn't seem too bad. That was before he announced that he was going to do attendance.
"When I call your name, raise your hand and say 'here'. Understand?" He seemed to be watching the punk girl in the class with an amused glance, and a smile broke out when she huffed. "Thank you. Calypso Atlas?" The almond eyed girl raised her hand. "Annabeth Chase?"
Slowly, Annabeth's hand rose. She heard giggles erupt from the back of the class, and felt her face burning. After he nodded and checked the clipboard, Mr. C continued. She had dozed off before hearing another name being called, a name she had forgotten about.
"Perseus Jackson?"
Annabeth's head snapped up and she turned her head to see who was sitting behind her. Her eyes met sea green ones, and she gasped. All heads were turned to him, and he was looking back at her. When she offered a small smile, his features hardened and he turned his gaze to the teacher. How had Annabeth not seen him coming in? Most importantly, how was he here?
He cleared his throat. "Here."
Mr. C nodded, and when Percy looked back down at his baggy hoodie and skinny jeans, Annabeth faced Mr. C again. She could feel her skin heating up. He hadn't changed at all, but he looked older. The signature smirk Annabeth had missed was there, but the happiness in his eyes wasn't. His eyes were now dark and clouded, like he didn't care anything. As whispers broke about the "new guy", Annabeth felt a pang that he didn't remember her.
But then again, who would want to know her?
For as long as she could remember, Annabeth sat alone at lunch.
She wasn't complaining, but when nobody sat next to her, the empty seats took a place in her heart. It was clear that nobody cared about the new girl, or even bothered to give her a second thought. The lunchroom was filled with the noises of the students gathering together, all with their own group of friends.
The table she set in held six seats, the other five vacant. The table was placed nearest to where the food was being served, yet Annabeth had no appetite. She swallowed her dignity as she pulled out a book, her favorite out of the millions of books she'd read. Pride and Prejudice.
Tracing the leather of the book cover, a special edition for her birthday, years ago. When her parents actually cared about her birthday. And remembered it.
She was midway through opening the book when a throat above her cleared. Annabeth glanced up to see the same girl who she already shared three classes with, the one with almond eyes. Callie? Annabeth vaguely remembered her with a "C". She was watching Annabeth with an irritated look, obviously waiting for her to speak. Her tray was held close to her chest, but Annabeth felt a sense that the girl was controlling the urge to dump it on her.
"Yes?" Annabeth asked.
"This is my seat," Callie, the name Annabeth had temporarily given her said. "It always has been."
Heat rushed to her face, and Annabeth nodded. She began to stand up, when another figure came behind her.
"Calypso, it's okay. Let her sit here. There's five of us." An unfamiliar, feminine voice spoke.
Annabeth shifted her gaze to the girl standing next to Calypso. Her face was angled beautifully, and her features were sharp and alerted. She had dark brown eyes, and long, brown hair that was styled into a braid. A small spark of envy went through Annabeth. She was beautiful.
"It's okay," Annabeth said. She grabbed her backpack. "I can leave."
The mysterious girl offered a small smile. "No, don't worry about it. Sit down."
Calypso scoffed. "She doesn't need to be here, Reyna."
So that was her name? It sounded elegant and gorgeous, a perfect name to fit her.
"Calypso," Reyna laid a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. Just sit at the end, I'll sit next to her-"
A booming voice interrupted her, as Thalia Grace placed her tray right next to Annabeth, not noticing what was happening. "Hey, losers! It's been a while."
When nobody answered, Thalia looked up from already stuffing her face into the fries. "Mats mwong?" Her voice was muffled, but she quickly swallowed.
"Nothing," Reyna said, placing her tray down on the table. She shot a glare at Calypso, before sitting down.
Calypso huffed before sitting across from Reyna. She gave a look at Annabeth, her eyes piercing into hers. "Yeah, nothing."
"So," Reyna gave a friendly smile. "Care to tell us about yourself?"
"Well," Annabeth said, embarrassment laced into her tone. What was she supposed to say? "I'm Annabeth, and I've never been to this school before."
Thalia nodded, patting Annabeth on the back. Annabeth smiled, Thalia didn't seem to care whether or not they'd never seen each other before. After all, they shared all classes up until lunch. "I'm Thalia, that's Reyna, and that's Calypso. Piper and Hazel should be here soon."
At the mention of their names, two girls sat beside Calypso. They set their trays down, plopping onto the seats.
"Hey!" A girl with choppy brown hair and green eyes exclaimed. Her voice was soft and beautiful, and she pushed a strand of hair out of her eye. "Sorry, Hazel forgot her stuff."
Hazel, sitting next to the girl, blushed. Her eyes were the color of pure gold, which shined. Her dark skin contrasted with her puffy hair, and Annabeth thought she held a unique beauty. "Piper was the one that had to use the bathroom!"
"Mhm," Thalia said. She looked back at Annabeth, her electric eyes twinkling. "So, Annabeth, that's Piper," she pointed to the girl with choppy hair, whose eyes were now a shade of blue, "and that's Hazel."
Annabeth nodded. She grinned at the two girls, "Nice to meet you. I'm Annabeth. I'm new here."
They both smiled back.
"Back at you," Piper said. "Are you enjoying Goode so far?"
Before Annabeth could respond, Thalia snorted. "You know I have homework in three classes? And we have two classes left!"
"I finished that in class," Annabeth stated. She cracked a smile at Thalia's reaction.
"How do you even do that? Homework is stupid anyway." She muttered, shaking her head.
Piper laughed, and Annabeth felt herself warm up to them. They continued talking, making jokes about the subjects and teachers. None of them excluded Annabeth, and she felt herself laugh at least a dozen times.
"Annabeth, why aren't you eating lunch?" Piper asked after a while.
"I'm not hungry," Annabeth lied. Next to having no appetite, Annabeth knew her father would kill her for wasting money. Even if it were just for lunch.
"Here, take some of my chips and water," Piper offered. "Did you eat breakfast?"
"Yeah," Annabeth said. "I'm okay, really. Don't worry."
Unwilling to give up, Piper slid the packet and bottle to her. "Just take it. I don't need it, anyway. Just eat."
"Pip-"
"Annabeth." Her voice was stern, and she shook her head. "Take it. You have to eat something."
"No, she doesn't." Calypso's voice came, and she rolled her eyes.
Piper ignored her, letting out a sigh. She made eye contact with Annabeth. "Please, eat."
"Annie," Thalia squeezed her shoulder. "Is something wrong?"
Annabeth forced a smile, shaking her head. "Nothing. I'll eat, I promise."
"Thank you," Piper said.
A sudden shame overcame Annabeth. She stood up, glancing at the clock at the end of the wall. She had four minutes until the bell rang.
"I have to use the bathroom," Annabeth told them. "See you guys around?"
When all of them -except Calypso- bid their goodbyes, Annabeth left the cafeteria, to find the nearest bathroom. She rushed and before she knew it, her books were knocked out of her hands.
She muttered a curse before looking up at Percy Jackson himself, who was watching her with wide eyes. But he wasn't alone. Next to him was a blonde haired boy with blue eyes, a scar running through his mouth.
"Sorry," Annabeth mumbled, her heart racing. She half hoped Percy would help her pick the books up, but he did no such thing. Instead, he stood staring at her with a look Annabeth couldn't give a name to. When she finished picking her books up, Annabeth made a move to step away, but the man blocked her.
He gave an amusing glance to Percy, "Aren't you going to do anything, Perce?"
Percy shook his head. He let out a chuckle, and Annabeth knew he was laughing at her. "She probably knows not to bump into me again." He gave her a long look. "Watch where you're going, Blondie."
The moment the door shut, Annabeth collapsed against the frame. She slid down, burying her face in her hands.
She could still hear the people laughing at her, giving her amused looks. As if she were the stupidest thing they'd ever seen.
Worst of all, it was the dark look in Percy's eyes when she'd seen him in the halls. She could see him judging her, feel his eyes on her.
It was the worst feeling she'd ever felt.
Annabeth was suddenly pulled up by the hair as Frederick grabbed her. She held the wall to steady herself, yelping when he slapped her.
"Did you do the dishes? Where's dinner?"
Annabeth let out a sigh. Their new house was an old townhouse, with two bedrooms and one bathroom. It smelled of cigarettes and laziness, clothes thrown everywhere and furniture placed wherever. She had meant to finish arranging the furniture, knowing fully well Frederick would never do it, but hadn't gotten the chance.
"I'll do that right now," she said tightly.
He growled. "Apologize, or you'll pay."
She looked into his eyes, the same eyes she once looked to for comfort. "I'm sorry."
He slammed her head down, so hard Annabeth heard a bone crack. She winced.
"Girls," he whispered, "don't look men in the eye. Do you hear me? Say it properly."
"I'm sorry," Annabeth said, quietly. Tears burned in her eyes, but she kept her eyes on the ground.
He made a noise of approval before slamming her against their stairs, to which she hit her leg on. "Good. I have to go to work, and when I come back, you better be done with chores, you useless bitch."
Useless. That was his word for the day.
Opening the door and slamming it behind him, Frederick left with no other words. Annabeth knew he would be back within three hours. She knew he wasn't going to work, and a lingering voice in her mind had a couple other ideas of where he was going instead.
She sighed, letting a tear slip from her eye. Brushing it away quickly, Annabeth walked into the kitchen, looking around. The counters, made of marble and wood, were messy with water stains and beer. She opened the fridge to find at least a dozen more beer bottles, and other than that, there was no other food in the house.
At least, food that Frederick hadn't hidden. From the moment they moved in, Frederick had hid most of the food from her in his bedroom or other places Annabeth didn't know of, stating that "girls should only eat less than a hundred calories a day".
Rinsing her hands from the metal sink, Annabeth glimpsed at the dishes. Once again, she felt the urge to throw herself out the window that was placed above the sink.
She still had homework from pre-calculus to complete, a worksheet that would take at least an hour. Biting her lip, Annabeth walked towards the stairs and pulled out the packet of salty chips Piper had given her. She opened the bag, breathing in the scent.
She leaned against the railing of the stairs, letting her eyes shut.
What had her life become?
A/N: Sorry if this is a little OOC. And, that it was so late. I hope you guys liked the chapter, though! I'd love to hear feedback.
uneednotnomyname: Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying this. Don't worry, it would take a lot for me to stop writing. ;) Well, of course, this is a Percabeth story, but you can't have a story without a little drama, right? *winks*
rhig122: Yep, this is a Percabeth story. No worries. Actually, you probably should. I hate their parents, too. Thank you so much! I hope you had a great season too :)
greekgeekgirlbro: Yep. Smiley Athena is not a good sign. You are fully allowed to kick Frederick. There wasn't any Percy/Poseidon in this, but you'll see next chapter! Thanks! I hope you liked this too. :D
BookLuver4ever7: I'm really, really, excited that you want to read mor of my writing. Seriously. This story is probably way different than TWSH, but the emotional part is sorta my style, you know? Hope you liked this chapter! Thank you!
CassylovesPercabeth: Here it is :) Hope you like it!
Shattered Owl: You disappoint me. (Jk.) Yep, the year's been pretty crazy. Especially with the new semester starting. YOU DID KILL HIM. STOP LYING.
artcrazykatie: Thank you so much! :)
And, that's it for the reviews. I hope we get more this chapter? Anyways, thank you guys for reading! I'll get back into my updates, I promise. I hope everyone has a great start to their semester, with it starting and all. Good luck! :) Keep smiling, xxx.