Annabeth
Meanwhile, in Greece…
Annabeth Chase leaned against a pillar of the Parthenon, wiping little beads of sweat off her forehead. She sighed. It had been a hectic day, what with her talking-no, arguing-with various other architects who thought they knew more architecture than she did. Annabeth gave a snort. She was beginning to regret signing up with this bunch of rowdy idiots. Being the only female architect, they believed themselves more superior and constantly tried to hit on her, despite the fact that she was in a relationship with Josh Frost. Annabeth grimaced. Josh Frost. She didn't exactly want to think about him, since every time she thought about him, she felt a deep emptiness and a hollowness inside her. She quickly recomposed her face as she heard footsteps coming her way.
"Hey love, how're you feeling?" Josh asked, walking over to stand next to her.
What do you think? I'm tired and I just feel bad. Go away. Annabeth thought but she quickly plastered a half-smile on her face as she answered. "Oh, I'm fine dear, thanks for asking. You?" Annabeth said as sweetly as she could, which she doubted sounded sweet.
Josh smiled. "I'm fine sweetheart." He said, leaning in to give her a kiss. Annabeth responded half-heartedly. Josh pulled back, concern in his eyes.
"Sweetie, is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, and I have a slight headache from arguing with those blithering idiots." Annabeth lied smoothly. Well, mostly lied. Those architects really were stupid idiots.
Josh grinned again. A grin that Annabeth had once found attractive but had lost its luster soon. "Well, you know how work goes slowly here. What do you say to a late afternoon at the beach?"
Annabeth's stomach lurched at the mention of the beach but she concealed it. "Sure, I'll meet you at our hotel in a hour and a half alright? There are just a couple more things I want to see and check." Annabeth said, really hoping that Josh would go away now.
"Ok sweetheart, I'll see you later then." Josh said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and walking off.
Annabeth clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She hated those cheesy endearments. The instant he walked off, the feeling of deep emptiness, guilt and hollowness filled her. Annabeth knew exactly what was causing them as she wandered around the perimeter of the Parthenon aimlessly; her mind slipping back to what had led her to her current position, more than six months ago…
Whoosh! Clang! Clonk! CRASH! A dummy fell to the ground, cut clean in two, its cloth in shreds and its straw stuffing basically gone.
"Percy! Why are you training so hard? You've been destroying the dummies so fast that we can barely make enough for the other kids! And you've been training like crazy for the past three months! What for? You think the Titans are going to rise again?" Annabeth asked jokingly as she added in the last part, watching Percy rip and slash apart the dummies with his dual blades. But Annabeth was serious too, Percy had been training so hard, you would've thought that he was going to fight Gaea herself in a day.
Percy paused and wiped his sweaty brow, capping both of his Riptides. "Hey Annabeth, how's it going?" He asked in weary but cheerful tone.
Annabeth arched an eyebrow. "How's it going? You're training so hard, I'm surprised most of the campers can actually sleep! And I'm worrying my mind off wondering why you're training! WHY? The war's over Percy, why train so hard?" Annabeth yelled.
Percy shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I don't want to get out of practice…"
"That's a load of Minotaur dung Seaweed Brain! You know it and I know it. Besides, that's what you've been telling me the last three months. Can't we just spend some time together?" Annabeth asked, pleading a bit.
Percy gave her a smile, the smile that she loved. "C'mon Wise Girl, you know I'm always there for you. When was the last time I ever left you?"
Annabeth melted at his smile and the mention of his nickname for her. "Well, you were gone for eight months. And I still don't know whether you hooked up with anyone while you were there." Annabeth said, glaring at Percy. She felt that the eight months apart had strained their relationship.
Percy pouted. "Annabeth, you know I'd never cheat or leave you willingly. Can't you just drop the subject?"
Annabeth's eyes glinted. "I'll drop the subject only if you stop training and go to sleep. It's getting late anyways."
Percy sighed. Annabeth had ways of getting people to do what she wanted. "Fine. So, you'll drop the subject?"
"You're not out of the fighting arena yet Seaweed Brain. And I have to make sure that you really are asleep before I let you go." Annabeth said, smirking.
Percy smiled and walked over, slinging a arm around Annabeth's shoulder. "Well, I suppose I have the honour of having an escort when I got to sleep then." Percy said, grinning cheerfully as he steered them to his cabin.
Annabeth smiled as she leaned into Percy's shoulder. He was taller than she was now, and she found it immensely comfortable. This is what life is supposed to be. Annabeth thought dreamily. Suddenly, they stopped.
"Why did you stop?" Annabeth asked, rather angrily.
"We're at my cabin. Unless you want to sleep with me, then I think we need to separate for now." Percy said, his mouth smiling, but his eyes showed a slight bit of worry before being replaced by his usual cheerfulness.
"Alright…well then good night Percy." Annabeth said as she slipped out from underneath Percy's arm, disappointed that Percy hadn't wanted to give her a kiss before going to bed, which then turned to anger as it fueled her suspicions that he had gotten tired of her.
"Hey… don't I get a kiss before I go to sleep? Isn't that what I always got before?" Percy asked, sounding hurt.
Annabeth had to stop herself from turning around and rushing back into his arms as she instantly became happy again. Reminding herself that she was a daughter of Athena, she decided to show that she was always superior.
"Well, I'm kind of afraid of giving you a kiss before you go to sleep, since you disappeared the last time, remember?" Annabeth
Luckily, her back was still turned, or she would've instantly caught the look of panic and worry on Percy's face. Think for the long-term, just a little bit away from Annabeth, and if I make it, I'll have Athena's blessing. Percy thought desperately, composing his face into a mask. He decided to play along with Annabeth's little game.
"Fine. If you don't want to, then don't. How do I know whether you moved on either?" Percy said, injecting a note of hurt into his voice. Bad idea.
Annabeth whirled around, anger flashing through her stormy grey eyes. "Well, I wasn't the one that disappeared for eight freaking months! I was worried sick about where you were! Everyone here knows about it! And I can't just exactly go up to any Roman guy and ask them 'Oh, how was Percy? Did he hang out with anyone?' since they all seem to dislike you. Most them at any rate. And since it sounds like you really don't want a kiss, then FINE! Go to sleep!" Annabeth yelled, stomping away back to her cabin, a tear running down her face.
Percy stared after her, dumbfounded and slightly frustrated. What did I do this time? I was just trying to play along with her joke. She didn't act like this before… Percy thought glumly. Percy flinched when he looked at his watch. He had to go meet Athena and two mysterious people who would be accompanying him. Deciding quickly, Percy went into his cabin and hastily scrawled a note, telling Annabeth that he'd always come back and he'd never leave her. He tossed it onto his bed, trying not to imagine Annabeth's anger when she found out that he was gone. With that, he quietly slipped out of his cabin and with a last look at the Athena cabin, he left camp, not knowing that it'd be five months before he would return.
Annabeth woke up the next morning feeling bad. She really shouldn't have yelled at Percy, and yet she couldn't help it. The feelings of jealously were strong, and were shrouded in suspicion. I really have to control my emotions. Annabeth thought glumly as she quickly showered and put on her orange t shirt and jeans. Or else that'll end my relationship with Percy. In all honesty though, Annabeth wanted a break. A short break, where she could spend maybe a month out in the mortal world, relaxing, and just stay away from her hectic and chaotic demigod life. She wanted a normal, mortal life. At least for a little bit. Then she could go back and hang out with Percy. Annabeth was briefly cheered up by this until she thought of how to tell him that she wanted to take a break, but didn't exactly want to breakup with him.
Annabeth led her cabin to the dining pavilion and her gaze instantly flicked to the Poseidon table. Which was empty. She froze for a instant before deciding that Percy probably slept late, after all, his training had been vigorous and she would've slept late too after all that. However, when it was time to do their daily offering to the gods, she walked straight up to Piper, who was touching shoulders with Jason. Annabeth had to admit that she was glad that Percy had remembered her, since she doubted she would've been as nice as Reyna against someone who had "stolen" her boyfriend during his absence. Reyna had, after some difficulty, accepted Jason and Piper's relationship, and remained Jason's best friend. Leo had been ecstatic, since he was Jason's best friend too, but Reyna made it painfully clear that she was not interested in Leo. After several trips to the infirmary, Leo had finally gotten the message and remained on somewhat neutral terms with Reyna.
"Piper, Jason, have you seen Percy yet?" Annabeth asked.
"Um, no I haven't, why?"
"He's not at his table." Annabeth said, her voice flat as Piper scraped a portion of her food into the braziers.
Piper froze and turned around, looking at the Poseidon table while the majority of her food fell into the brazier. Jason turned too and his eyes widened. He and Percy had bonded well, close together like brothers.
"That's not good. Are you sure he's actually gone or maybe he's just tired?" Jason said. "Oi, Piper, watch your plate or you won't have anything to eat."
Piper gave a muffled yelp as she righted her plate, having given about 90% of her food to Aphrodite.
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking…" Annabeth muttered as she scraped off a large portion of her breakfast into the braziers. To Athena, mom, please help me with my emotions and with Percy.
"If he doesn't show up after breakfast is over, we'll go and knock on his cabin door. Break it down if I we have to." Piper said.
Annabeth nodded tersely. "Don't tell anyone yet ok? I don't want everyone to start swarming around the Poseidon cabin."
Jason and Piper nodded. "But what about Frank and Hazel? Those three were extremely close."
Annabeth pursed her lips. "No. Not yet. Besides, by the time we reach them and tell them, breakfast will be over."
"Alright. Who wants to bet that I'll finish first and be at his cabin first?" Jason asked cheekily. Annabeth and Piper merely rolled their eyes and went off to their respective tables. Annabeth sat down and began scarfing down her food, ignoring her half-siblings comments and questions on why she was eating so fast. While she was eating, she had the feeling that someone was watching her. She raised her head and looked around, then saw Chiron lower his head and begin to calmly eat his food. Annabeth narrowed her eyes and analyzed Chiron. He seemed calm, but Annabeth could sense that he seemed nervous and his face had slight worry lines in them. That just made Annabeth even more nervous and eager to finish her food. Swallowing a Fruit Loop whole, she stood up and made a dash towards the Poseidon cabin.
To her surprise, she found Jason and Piper standing in front of the cabin, looking rather impatient as they waited for her.
"Wow Annabeth, you are slow." Piper said teasingly.
Annabeth brushed it off. "Is he in there? Did you try knocking or shocking him out of bed?"
Jason shook his head. "We decided to wait for you, since you know, you're his girlfriend."
Annabeth nodded her thanks and brushed past Jason and Piper, taking a breath before knocking on the door.
"Percy? Are you in there? It's past breakfast time!" Annabeth said, becoming more and more nervous as nothing happened. "Percy? Percy? PERSEUS JACKSON!" Annabeth yelled, pounding on the door. Annabeth turned around and met Jason and Piper's gaze, worry evident in their eyes.
"Let's just knock down the door alright? Because if you yell any louder, I'm pretty sure the whole camp will find out real soon." Jason suggested. Annabeth nodded and pulled her foot back, ready to kick it down.
"Whoa, Annabeth, what are you doing? Shouldn't you use your shoulder?" Jason asked, looking at her as if she were crazy.
Annabeth rolled her eyes and shot her foot out in a perfect line. The door flew off its hinges with a crash, and she ran in without a second's thought, Jason muttering about not wanting to get kicked by Annabeth as he and Piper followed through. All three froze when they saw the empty bed. Annabeth's eyes fell on a envelope lying on Percy's bed and she snatched it up, ripping it open, completely ignoring Jason and Piper.
Dear Wise Girl,
"Ummm, we'll just go alright? And maybe tell Chiron?" Piper said uncertainly.
Annabeth waved them off with a distracted wave of her hand before returning her attention to Percy's letter.
Dear Wise Girl,
You're probably worried by the time you read this letter. Possibly angry too. Please don't. I have some business that will take an unknown amount of time, but if I make it through this, then I will finally be able to have a peaceful and blessed life. I promise you that I will always return, and I will never leave you.
Love,
Seaweed Brain
Annabeth was shocked as she finished the letter. Then she felt furious. She felt a fury she had never felt before, and it took all of her self-control to not rip the letter apart and destroy Percy's cabin. How dare he leave her? And from the letter, it looked as if Percy had left willingly! Shaking with rage, she forced herself to walk out of the cabin slowly and did the best she could to keep her face neutral. She suspected she failed spectacularly at it since Chiron, Hazel, Frank, Jason, Piper, Leo and the twins Travis and Connor, moments ago edging cautiously towards the cabin door, literally leapt backwards the instant she stepped out. All but Chiron flinched from her gaze as she glared at all of them.
"So, is it true? Percy's-"
"Missing. Yes, he's "missing". Annabeth finished for Chiron, sketching quotation marks at the word 'missing'. "AGAIN! But I highly doubt it, since he left me a letter telling me that he'd "always be here and will never leave me". MY FOOT! If he'll never leave me, then what did he just do? HUH?" Annabeth yelled, not caring whether she was yelling at Chiron or a god at the moment.
"Look dear, I'm sure Percy didn't meant to-"
"Mean to what? Leave me? Again, how come he had time to write a letter then? And why does it sound like you know where he is?" Annabeth snapped. "Now just leave me alone!"
She stomped her way back to the Athena cabin, crushing Percy's letter in her fist, ignoring the stares that the campers, old and new, were giving her. She stormed into the Athena cabin, slamming the door shut so hard that the entire cabin shook. She flopped onto her bunk, and then jumped off, unable to stay still. She paced around the perimeter of the cabin, her anger only growing as she wandered around aimlessly. She began to wonder whether Percy had gotten tired of her and perhaps he had left her for someone at the Roman Camp. After all, she didn't have any solid proof that he'd been faithful, he'd certainly appeared to have stayed faithful to her and his word that he hadn't hooked up with anyone else. He hadn't even sworn on the Styx!
You know he wouldn't cheat on you. This is just your jealous self, Annabeth. Her inside voice scolded.
But then why would he leave? Why would he leave after the war is over? When we could live together forever? In peace? Why leave then? Annabeth argued with herself. Besides, Calypso is free, how do I know he hasn't contacted her and found out where she was? After all, he lived there for two weeks and from what I've seen is that he loved it there. And Calypso is a great looker.
With each thought, Annabeth became angrier and angrier until she couldn't hold it back anymore. She gave a yell of anger and jealously, ripped apart Percy's letter and threw them into the trash can. That's what I think of you, Jackson. Annabeth thought viciously. You and your stupidity, and the constant reminder that we have a dangerous and demigod life. Why should I be stuck with you if you're going to leave me like this all the time?
Annabeth found herself strangely satisfied with that thought. Perhaps she'd let Percy taste his own medicine. But she highly doubted that Jason, Piper, Leo, and especially Hazel and Frank would approve. How to get rid of them? Send them to Roman Camp. And tell them to keep an eye out for Percy! She'd have to deal with Clarisse and a couple of the old campers, but she was sure they wouldn't interfere too much. And besides, if Percy doesn't come back, he can't miss what he never got right? And she could pretend to search for Percy by going to her architect school; it wasn't too late to enroll in it. Her dad would understand. Annabeth couldn't help but feel extremely satisfied and cheerful about the plan. She'd have to keep up a pretense of being angry with Percy, but she'd limit her time visiting camp as much as she could.
Much cheered, she walked out of her cabin, keeping a flat and neutral mask on her face. Barely had she left her cabin before Jason and the others crowded around her. She steeled herself to receive a slew of questions and comforts.
"Hey, um, Annabeth, well, is it alright if we go to Camp Jupiter? You know, cause I want to show Piper and Leo the secrets of the Camp and you know, if Percy shows up there or we hear of anything, maybe we could call you? Of course, if you want us to stay here, we'd understand." Jason said quickly.
Annabeth froze for just a second, this was a complete surprise and went along with her plan perfectly well! She struggled to keep her face as neutral as possible. Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, it's alright. But if you see Percy, send me a Iris Message immediately ok?" Annabeth said. So I can beat the crap out of him.
Jason looked surprised and rather relieved. Probably because he had heard stories of how unsociable Annabeth had been when Percy had been abducted by Hera. "Yeah, definitely, no problem. Well, see you later I suppose? We'll stay there until we either see Percy or we get tired of Camp Jupiter and want to have some fun alright?"
Annabeth nodded idly and waved them off as she walked around in search of Chiron. She found him standing at the archery range, idly shooting perfect bulls-eyes, a calm look on his face even though it was obvious he was nervous and slightly worried.
"Hey Chiron, I have a request." Annabeth said, trying to keep her voice in a monotone.
"Ah hello my dear, and what is the request?" Chiron replied, not quite looking her in the eyes.
"Well, two actually. The first one is, do you have any idea where Percy would've gone? It must be really important to leave, don't you think?"
While Chiron kept his face puzzled and worried, his tail had flicked and he had shifted his feet. To many, it would've been nothing, but Annabeth had known Chiron for about 10 years. She knew that Chiron was nervous about this topic and was possibly hiding something.
"I'm afraid I don't know… even though we can safely assume he is safe, since he had time to write you a letter, yes?"
"Yeah…" Annabeth grumbled out. "But anyways, I was just wondering whether I could enroll in a mortal architect school, you know, expand my career and keep an eye out for Percy."
Chiron nodded. "I'm sure that with your excellent track record, you'd have absolutely no trouble. From what I've heard, you are almost done remodeling Olympus." Chiron chuckled. "If only the mortals knew that, you'd be more famous than their so called celebrities."
Annabeth laughed too, but couldn't help but notice that Chiron seemed more relaxed when they weren't talking about Percy, which only increased her suspicions and anger. "I really like remodeling Olympus. But I always wanted to work on the Parthenon. I'm kind of hoping to get a chance to help rebuild bits of the Parthenon."
Chiron smiled. "A Daughter of Athena never gives up right? I'll tell Argus to prepare the van. And really, I'm sure that they'll accept you without trouble. Hades, maybe you'll be teaching them about architecture. You can go ahead and call your father, I'm sure just this one time wouldn't hurt."
Annabeth nodded her thanks and while Chiron went in to talk to Argus, she quickly called her father. Her dad didn't pick up so she left a short message to tell him to be careful when calling her since she was going to be out in the mortal world instead of behind Camp borders. She had just finished when Chiron came galloping out, a large duffel bag already in his hand.
"The van is ready my dear, and here is your duffel bag. I've packed everything inside it, since I already know what you would want in there." Chiron said, smiling lightly.
"Thanks Chiron. I'll try to drop by whenever I have time alright?" Annabeth said, slinging the duffel bag over her shoulder and walking towards the borders.
"Good bye my dear. And good luck! I'll you if I have any information about Percy!" Chiron said, waving.
Annabeth waved and crossed the borders, climbing into the van and letting Argus drive her to her school of choice, a school that accepted anyone interested in architecture from international countries. When they arrived, she calmly climbed out and waved goodbye to Argus, who tipped a imaginary hat and gave her a thumbs up sign before driving off.
As Chiron had predicted, she had absolutely no trouble enrolling into the architecture school, despite the fact that the school year had already started. Since it was a Sunday, and her dad had put a deposit in this school a while back, she was shown to her own dorm room. Seeing as she had quite a bit of free time, she decided to Iris Message her mother to ask her whether she knew where Percy was. Taking out her special water bottle that caused a mist of water to come out, she stood in front of the windows and sprayed the air until a rainbow formed. Taking a drachma out of her pocket, she tossed it into the rainbow.
"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering and show my Lady Athena, probably at Olympus."
The rainbow shimmered to show her mother, this time with dark brown hair, staring at something intently. Annabeth was curious until she heard the clash of metal against metal and ultimately decided it was her mother playing around with different strategies.
"Hey Mom." She said, slightly nervous.
Athena whirled around and her eyes widened for a split-second when she saw Annabeth. "Annabeth! Is something wrong?"
"Yeah. Percy's gone. Do you know where he is or whether you can locate him? Please mom?" Annabeth said.
Athena shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry my daughter, but in this matter I cannot say anything. The only thing I can say is that you will find out eventually. In a few months perhaps."
"But-but does that mean you know what he's doing? Will the outcome be happy? Do you approve?" Annabeth asked frantically. As much as she hated Percy at the moment, she still wanted to be with him if he was coming back soon.
Athena kept her face neutral, although that was probably a mistake. Her neutral face didn't look very positive. "You'll know soon. And it is best if you do not contact him. You'll only be blocked." Athena said, before cutting off the connection.
Annabeth gave a growl of frustration. Even her mother wouldn't tell her anything! And that usually meant bad news, and her warning that she would know soon and not to contact him did not bode well with Annabeth. Annabeth gave a huff before stretching and facing out her window, looking towards the sunset. If Percy wanted to leave her, then she'd leave him too. She was a Daughter of Athena, not a daughter of Aphrodite or something, she'd never stand such indignity. Annabeth gave a slight smile towards the setting sun.
New life, here I come. Annabeth thought contentedly.
Over the next several months, Annabeth had one of the best experiences in her life. For a couple weeks, she attempted to keep up her 'worried for Percy' façade, but ultimately gave up on it since it took too much effort. School was wonderful, there hadn't been a single monster attack, and she relished the attention she was getting at school and at Camp. Now that she didn't need to worry about Percy, she could wear whatever she wanted and flirt with whoever she wanted. She was immensely popular at school thanks to her superior intelligence and her looks, and had gotten the attention of several professional architects. She also had a boyfriend. A new one.
Annabeth had met Josh Frost on her first day at the school, and had instantly taken a liking to him. Although he was the only son of a very rich businessman, he was quiet, soft-spoken, polite, rather shy, very intelligent, and quite a looker with his blue eyes and soft dark brown hair. A complete opposite of Percy, whose mood swings, at times, drove Annabeth crazy and his green eyes were a bit more piercing than she sometimes like. Josh was also one of the very few who did not actively try to ask her out. As the days rolled by, Annabeth found herself seeking his company more and more, and practically forgot about Camp. Besides, she couldn't stand the looks that the old campers were giving her when she casually flirted with a couple fo the new male campers. While Annabeth and Josh hadn't established anything between them, Annabeth always thought of him as her boyfriend and was rather hoping that he would ask her out formally.
Annabeth was walking down a hallway, flushed with the praise and success of yet another top-notch exam, impressing the teacher so well that they began talking of sending her out to help architects around the world, when someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Josh. Struggling to hold back a blush, she gave him a questioning look.
"Hey Annabeth, um, well, first of all, I'd like to say good job." Josh said, looking flustered and his face a bit red.
Annabeth gave him her sweetest smile. "Thank you Josh. Means a lot coming from you."
Josh blushed even harder. "Er yeah, well, um, what do you say to a night out at Lombardi's Pizza? I have a couple things to ask you."
Annabeth held back a squeal and gave him an even bigger smile. "I'd love to! What time?"
"How about 6 o'clock? Meet at the entrance?"
"Sure! I'll see you then!"
"Alright! Bye for now!"
The instant Josh was out of sight, Annabeth practically ran into her dorm and gave a squeal, not caring whether she sounded like a Aphrodite child or not. Josh was asking her out! Ok, she wasn't completely positive that he was asking her out, but why else would he invite her to dinner at Lombardi's Pizza? Annabeth jumped around her dorm in excitement for a little bit more before calming down enough to think on what she should wear. Annabeth also realized with a start that this was her first date. Her first formal date, seeing as Percy had never taken her out on a real, formal date. That made her angry again, but she pushed it out of her mind so as not to mess up with tonight's real date.
Annabeth walked over to her wardrobe and flung it open. Even after several months away from Camp, she still marveled at Chiron's ability to pack so many things into such a tight space. She still hadn't found the need to buy a single piece of clothing, other than sexier lingerie. She began taking out hangars of clothing and began tossing this aside, putting that on one side and continuously analyzed each style, too conservative here, too revealing for this one, too informal and all that. After spending a long time rummaging through her clothing, she finally decided on wearing a white and blue lacy blouse with a V neck that wasn't too low as to be outright slutty but definitely low enough to be sexy. For her pants, she chose a form fitting pair of skinny jeans with a line of sparkling glitter running down the sides of her jeans. Completing the outfit was a light jacket from Jones New York and her two owl earrings that she had gotten from her dad.
Quickly popping into the bathroom to put on a bit of blush, some glossy pink lipstic, and some light mascara, she looked at herself in the mirror and had to admit that she thought she looked great. Her cleavage was plenty ample; her form fitting jeans outlined her athletic legs and her glossy blonde hair was smooth and butter soft. Excellent. Let's see what he'll see to this. Annabeth thought with satisfaction. She looked at her watch and gave a start. It was already five minutes to six o'clock. Thank the gods that it wasn't very far from her dorm to the entrance. Just a elevator ride down and ten feet to the right and she'd be at the entrance. It took Annabeth only 2 minutes to slip on her high heels, lock her door, and get down the elevator to the entrance. To her surprise, Josh was already there, a looking a little flustered and nervous but otherwise he looked relatively calm and handsome in his deep blue, open-collared dress shirt and tuxedo pants.
"Hey, I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long." Annabeth said cheerfully.
Josh smiled. "It's alright. I just got down here like, um, 45 seconds ago." He said, taking a quick look at his watch. Annabeth was impressed that he was so accurate, always precise.
"Then let's get going shall we?" Josh nodded, holding the door open for her before following. To Annabeth's great surprise, there was a limousine outside. An attendant bowed and held the door open for her. She turned around with surprise, looking at Josh. He nodded to her to go in. Well, this is new. Annabeth thought as she slipped into the limo with elegant grace, sinking into the butter-soft leather seats with a contented smile. Josh slipped in a second later. The moment the door closed, Annabeth turned to Josh.
"Wow, I didn't know you had a limo!" Annabeth whispered excitedly as the attendant came to the front and slipped into the driver's seat.
"Lombardi's Pizza? Is that correct Sir?" The attendant/driver asked Josh.
Josh nodded. "Lombardi's Pizza it is. Thank you."
The attendant tipped his head and started the engine with a barely noticeable shudder and smoothly accelerated off, the engine purring along quietly.
"Well, my dad is a rich guy… and I have a good connection with the attendants." Josh said, answering Annabeth's question.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Annabeth asked, fluttering her eyelashes just for the sake of it. Besides, Josh looked cute when his face was pink.
Josh blushed. "Can-can we talk about it after we're done with our dinner? Cause it's a thing that I would like to ask…preferably with no one around."
Annabeth was cheered up by this fact. "Sure! No problem."
"We're almost at Lombardi's, Sir. Would you like me to wait for you sir?" The attendant asked.
Josh gave a kind smile and shook his head. "No thank you, it's alright, you can go home and relax."
"Most kind of you, sir."
A minute later, they had reached Lombardi's. The attendant quickly got out of his seat and hurried to open the door for Josh. Josh climbed out and gave a nod of thanks before reaching out a hand to help Annabeth out. Annabeth took it, although she had no need of it before thanking Josh as sweetly as she could. She also thanked the attendant, who blushed a deep red and bowed before hurrying back to the limo.
The moment they entered the restaurant, another attendant hurried up to them. "Mr. Frost sir, your table is right this way."
"They know your table?" Annabeth asked him.
"I reserved it beforehand."
"How'd you know I'd accept then?"
"Because I know you." Josh said cheekily, giving her a full smile, showing off his white teeth.
Their table was at the very back, obviously a VIP place. The chairs were made of premium rosewood and covered in plush leather. The lighting was very soft and had a romantic touch to it.
"So, what would you like to order?" Josh asked, handing a menu to her.
"Um…" Annabeth quickly scanned the menu at speed, automatically analyzing and storing the data into her head, a nice ability to being a Athena child. "The Margherita Pizza looks good. Shall we try that then?"
Josh grinned. "My sentiments exactly." He quickly raised a hand and hailed a waiter to their table. "Excuse me, but we'd like to order a Margherita Pizza with some red wine as our drinks."
"Very good ma'am and sir, it shall arrive shortly." The waiter said, giving them a short bow as he quickly hurried off.
"Um, is wine alright with you? I forgot, I usually drink some wine with my food and I'm not sure whether-"
"It's alright. Always good to learn new things right?" Annabeth said, flaunting her cleavage a bit by bending down in her seat to "adjust" her socks.
"Um right, it's always good to learn new things." Josh managed to say, blushing red as he looked at Annabeth's breasts.
Score! Annabeth thought. She held back a smirk and put her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek on the palm of her hand, increasing the view down her shirt. "So tell me more about yourself. I'd love to know more about you." She said, giving him a small smile.
"Ummm, I love architecture, love Greek mythology, I'm an environmentalist, a fan of the Yankees, and I'm pretty bad with computers? But I'm great at anything on paper." Josh said slightly awkwardly, since he was still gawking at Annabeth's cleavage. He wrenched his gaze away from it, and forced himself to stare into Annabeth's slightly unsettling gray eyes. How could she have such amazing gray eyes? "How about you?"
Annabeth smiled. This was going to be fun. They continued the small talk, talking about personal interests and what they liked and didn't like, their wishes, what they hoped for, etc, until their pizza arrived, the instant it came, Annabeth nearly drooled, it smelled so good. Both Annabeth and Josh attacked their pizza, and for a couple minutes there was nothing but the occasional chuckle when the cheese stretched so long that they had to stand up to eat it without breaking the cheese string.
To Annabeth's great surprise, they managed to finish the entire pizza between them, despite the fact that they had ordered a medium sized pizza that didn't look or feel so medium. Annabeth leaned back with a contented sigh, sipping her surprisingly good tasting red wine. Josh was leaning backwards too with a satisfied look, slowly drinking his wine.
"Tell me, I'm just curious, but have you ever, um, had a boyfriend before?" Josh asked, almost timidly.
Annabeth struggled to keep her face composed as she felt a wave of emotions hit her. Emotions from guilt to happiness, but the two most prevailing were jealously and anger at Percy. After all, had Percy ever done something like this? She desperately wanted to be with someone, to be loved, so she chose her next words carefully.
"I had one I suppose. It didn't quite work out though. He left and I never heard from him again." Annabeth lied, keeping her face and voice controlled.
"Oh. Did you guys ever do anything…serious?" Josh asked in a tight voice. Was it Annabeth's imagination or could she detect a jealous look in Josh's eyes?
"No. Other than a kiss, we never went any deeper than that." Annabeth said. The last part at least, was true.
A look of deep relief passed through Josh's face. "Oh ok. And in case you're going to ask, I've liked a couple of girls, but never as much as yo-" Josh stopped suddenly, turning red. "Um, if you're done, let's go shall we? You know, take a walk, there's something I want to ask you."
"Sure, no problem. So let's split the bill then? 50/50?"
Josh grinned. "Too late. Already paid when I made the reservation."
"What? You can't do that! At least let me-"
"No I am not. Besides, I invited you. And also, you don't even know how much it cost."
"Then I'll just hand you a bunch. Or sneak it into your pants or something."
Josh rolled his eyes. "You do that, and I won't ask you the questions. I know you want to know what they are."
That shut Annabeth up. Josh gave a triumphant grin and led Annabeth to the front, holding the door open for her and giving the attendant at the front desk a small tip. Josh hooked his arm through Annabeth's and guided her into a smaller street that had very few people on it, if at all. They walked in silence for some time as Josh struggled on how to best phrase his questions to her without seeming abrupt. He finally gathered up his courage.
"Look Annabeth, um, well, I applied to a company to see whether I could have a chance working on the Parthenon in Greece, and they accepted. You know, working slowly on the Parthenon with some small side jobs. I'm allowed to bring another person with me, another architect or just a friend, and uh, I was wondering whether you'd like to um, come with me?" Josh asked nervously, stopping and taking a quick glance at Annabeth.
Annabeth was shocked. Her biggest dream, to work on her mother's Parthenon, was here. Right here, in front of her. And to actually work on other smaller jobs! For a moment, she was speechless and Josh looked worried, but then she found her voice.
"Of course Josh! I'd love to! I always wanted to work on the Parthenon! It's like, my biggest dream ever!" Annabeth said excitedly. "Thank you so much!" Then she frowned. "What about school though?"
Josh had a deeply relieved look on his face. "You're welcome. And don't worry about school, you're so good at architecture, I'm sure they'll let you off for as long as you want."
Annabeth gave Josh a tight hug. "Thank you so much Josh. When do we leave?"
"Um we leave tomorrow at about 6 p.m. And another thing Annabeth…" Josh paused, gathering his courage.
"Yes?" Annabeth asked, but instead of a wary voice, it was an expectant voice.
"I-I love you. Willyoubemygirlfriend? Um, will you be my girlfriend?" Josh managed to stutter out.
Annabeth smiled. "To be honest, I've been waiting for you to ask me that. And the answer is yes." She said. Without thinking, she kissed him. For a second, Josh was completely surprised and was stiff but soon returned the kiss with ten times the passion. Annabeth felt a slight twinge of guilt before pushing it out of her mind. Percy had left her. And she wasn't going to mope over him.
The next day, Annabeth, full of energy, hailed a taxi to Camp Half Blood, although the taxi driver didn't know it was there. Ignoring the driver's question and tossing him the money, she practically flew past the camp borders, in search of Chiron to tell him the good news. She found him teaching archery to a young group of campers.
"Chiron! I've got some good news!" Annabeth half-yelled.
Chiron turned around in surprise and instantly dropped his bow to give Annabeth a hug. "Annabeth dear, it's been so long. What's the news? Did you find Percy?"
"No, I still haven't heard from Percy. But I scored a contract to go to Ancient Greece to work on the Parthenon!" She said excitedly.
For an instant, just an instant, pure panic and worry flashed through Chiron's eyes before excitement filled them. "Annabeth dear, that's wonderful! Congratulations! When do you leave?"
"I leave today at 6 p.m. I just wanted to notify you."
Chiron barely managed to hide his unease. "I suppose I will see you sometime in the future? As a world-famous architect? And Annabeth, I recommend that you leave a letter for Percy, telling him what happened, just in case he comes back alright?"
Annabeth almost gave a growl of frustration. Who cared about Percy? But ultimately, she decided to write a letter. "Alright Chiron, I'll just go and write a letter, tell my siblings on what happened and to hand it to him if he comes back." She went off before Chiron could say another word.
This is going to be bad. This is going to be really, really bad. Chiron thought desperately.
Annabeth, obviously oblivious to what Chiron was thinking, happily walked into her mother's cabin and greeted her half-siblings. They looked at her in shock.
"What? Did I just come from Mars?" Annabeth asked jokingly.
"Um no, it's just that you're happy now. Before, you were fragile and testy. Really testy." Malcolm replied. She was surprised to see him there. He was supposed to be at college. Probably has his own reasons being here Annabeth though dismissively.
"I'm happy because I managed to score a contract to go to the Parthenon and actually helped remodel it!" Annabeth said cheerfully, taking pleasure at her half-siblings' shock and slight envy.
'Congratulations!' and 'Wow, you're so lucky! Good luck!' were heard throughout the cabin. They were all happy to know that the little Annabeth they'd grown up with had finally become an adult and had found a career.
"What about Percy? Any news on him?" Malcolm asked. Despite his mother's disapproval, he found Percy completely likeable and a perfect fit for Annabeth.
Annabeth barely managed to control her facial expression and anger. Why did everyone care so much about Percy? He left her!
"That's why I'm here to write him a letter. Just in case he decides to come back." She replied a little stiffly. "Any paper and a pen around here?"
Malcolm rolled his eyes. "This is the Athena cabin, surely you haven't forgotten that this cabin always has paper and pencil all over the place." Malcolm said, only half teasing however. He handed her a sheet of paper and a ballpoint pen.
Annabeth quickly scrawled out a letter, deciding not to be completely honest with him so just in case her relationship with Josh didn't work, she'd still have the chance to get back to Percy. She also decided to add the three years into it, despite the fact she had no idea how long this contract was. She re-read it when she was done. Excellent, no way could he figure out that she had gotten a new boyfriend.
"Thanks Malcolm. If you see Percy, hand this to him alright? Everyone, it's been great seeing you again, but I got to go and catch my plane. See you all later!" Annabeth said, handing the letter to Malcolm and rushing out the Athena door. Unknown to Annabeth, Malcolm and her other half-siblings were taking a peek at her letter. And being children of Athena, they knew what she meant in her letter.
"Oh shit. This is not good. In fact, this is bad. Really bad." Malcolm whispered, a feeling of dread passing through his body. All the other Athena children nodded in silent agreement.
Annabeth, oblivious to everything, had been dropped off at the airport by Argus. The instant she stepped out, she saw Josh with his luggage and her duffel bag, everything on a cart, ready to check-in.
"Hey sweetheart, you ready to go to Greece?" Josh asked, lightly brushing his lips over Annabeth's.
"Yeah… I'm ready for a new life." Annabeth said, walking into the airport hand in hand with Josh, confident that she had made the right choice.
That was the WORST decision I've ever made. Annabeth thought, pulling herself out of her thoughts of the past. She looked at her watch and realized with a shock that she had spent about half an hour wandering about the perimeter of the Parthenon, thinking about her recent past. She had better get going or she'd be late with her appointment with Josh. She could take a taxi back to the hotel, but it was a relatively short distance and she could use the walk to clear her mind. She succeeded in keeping her mind clear and at peace until she saw the newspaper.
On the cover, even after so many months of the Giant-Gaea War, the media was still in a crazy frenzy of the destruction in Rome and especially Greece. The cover showed a huge crater near Mount Olympus, with many scientists claiming it was an meteorite that somehow made it past the mortal satellites, or another freak storm or some other probable disaster. But Annabeth knew better. Percy had made the crater in his rage; he had released so much power that he nearly killed himself.
Seeing the cover filled Annabeth with pain, regret and emptiness. She knew she couldn't deny it any more. She missed Percy Jackson. She missed his laughter, his smile, his sparkling green eyes, she missed his mood swings, she missed his unpredictability, and she just overall missed him so badly that she felt as if some part of her had disappeared. Josh was a good friend, but that was it, just a friend. After a few months with him, Annabeth had found the faults of Josh. He liked using cheesy endearments, which drove Annabeth insane, he was somewhat of a pervert, always goggling at breasts like a typical man, and he was just so…so bland.
Yeah, that's the right word. He's bland. Annabeth thought. Josh was bland, while Percy was filled with changes. Josh was too predictable, and just rather boring. He wasn't even that good of a kisser. Annabeth desperately wanted to get back to Camp, even if Percy hadn't returned, she just wanted to be surrounded by her old life. Her old friends. The fun in Capture the Flag. Hades, even Mr. D But Annabeth knew that in order to return back to camp, she'd have to break Josh's heart, and give up her position in working on the Parthenon. Did she love Percy enough to cope with the consequences?
Thinking back, she had been really stupid. She had let anger and jealously overcome her. She had focused on Percy's faults, and compared them to Josh's pros. Which didn't seem so pro anymore. And she had been inexcusably unreasonable; Percy wasn't a rich guy, he had spent almost all of his current life fighting monsters, protecting demigods, protecting and serving the gods, protecting her. He never had time, and whenever he did have time, monsters always came to fuck it up.
She had also been in a state of denial. She had just wanted a normal life, a normal life without monsters, without anything that reminded her of her crazy demigod life. She should've known better, but she had let it consume her and literally dumped Percy. She realized with a shock that she was doing what Percy had been doing, before the Battle of Manhattan. Percy had hung out with Rachel, because she was a mortal, she was a anchor to the mortal world, a reminder that the normal world was still out there.
But Percy didn't leave you for her. He stayed for you, and just remained friends with Rachel. Annabeth thought, guilt washing over her in waves. Speaking of Rachel, she'd have to call her, even if she was still in school.
The question came up again. Did she love Percy enough to leave everything here? Everything? Yes. She missed and loved Percy too much to part with him. Annabeth decided to listen to what Josh wanted to tell her, and then she'd have to break the news to him. She winced at the thought of it, but kept her core as hard as steel. She'd do it. She was a Daughter of Athena, and while she made mistakes, she'd correct them. Even if Percy didn't want anything to do with her, she'd still rather be friends with him than stay with Josh, leaving Percy behind with a ill-written letter. She fervently hoped that Percy hadn't returned to camp, since it'd make her life a bit easier.
Annabeth noticed with a start that she'd somehow walked all the way back to the hotel, despite the fact she wasn't even thinking about where she wanted to go. She checked her watch, half an hour to go until her meeting with Josh. No problem, she'd just go to her room and wait.
To her surprise, Josh was already there, pacing around the room, muttering to himself. With a tremendous amount of effort, even more than when she held the sky, she put a smile on her face and a cheerful note in her voice. "Hey Josh, looks like we're both early. Want to go now?"
Josh's face was red. "Um sure, yeah, why not? I don't think we need to go in swimsuits do we?"
Annabeth shrugged. "Fine by me. We can just go like this then. No need to get our nice clothes all sandy and wet." On the inside, she was grateful. She would prefer to reveal her body to Percy instead. Entire body if she had to. She also couldn't help but make a snide remark inside her head about Josh. Probably cause you don't have any muscles to speak of.
Josh nodded and took a deep breath. "Let's go then shall we?"
Annabeth nodded and followed Josh through the door. They stayed in silence while they reached the beach that was behind their hotel. After walking around a bit, hand in hand, Josh finally broke the silence when they reached a more secluded spot.
"Look Annabeth, um, I love you a lot." Josh paused. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box, kneeling in front of her. "Will you marry me?"
Annabeth stared in shock. This was a complication. A seriously bad complication. How could she possibly refuse now? It'd be unforgiveable. She struggled to find an excuse.
"Josh I-"She stopped when she saw the biggest wave she'd ever see in her life form behind Josh. Josh, sensing her shock, looked up and saw her staring behind him. Then he saw the wave and pure fear shot through him.
"Run!" Josh yelled, running off before stopping. "What are you waiting for? We have to-"
SPLAT!
A oversized owl flew overhead, conveniently emptying its bowels on Josh's face, blinding him as he choked and spluttered. The owl then dove in, using it's wickedly sharp claws to tear Josh's arms, legs, back, everywhere apart. Blood flew in all directions when the owl suddenly shot back up into the air.
WHAM!
The wave hit with a tremendous smash, shaking the earth so hard that the ground cracked. Annabeth tried to fight against it, to make her way to Josh, but the waves pinned her against the ground, and water began flooding into her mouth, her nose, her eyes, down into her lungs. She choked, and realized that she was drowning. She had never feared about drowning before, since Percy was always at her side to create a air bubble, but now she was afraid. She struggled to free herself from the waters grasp, but although she was strong, the water's force was unnatural, pinning her to the ground. Just as she began to lose consciousness, she heard a screech and the water instantly receded.
Annabeth struggled to her knees, calling on her years of battle experience to ignore the weakness in her oxygen-starved muscles. She heard some strangled screaming and looked up. What she saw shocked her.
Josh, bloody from the owl's attack, was literally a wretched mess. His arms were gone, and he was being dragged into the water by two sharks with unusually sharp and intelligent eyes. Annabeth forced herself forward, reaching for Josh, but the sharks growled at her, their eyes glaring deep into her own. Then they disappeared with what was rest of Josh into the retreating waves. The only traces of Josh were his blood, which left an ugly red streak on the beach.
"No…" Annabeth whispered, horrified. She heard a triumphant screech and whirled around to find an owl staring at her with gray eyes that more than matched her own. Then the owl disappeared. Annabeth whirled towards the sea, and she could've sworn that she saw a tall man with black hair, glowing green eyes, a black beard and a glowing trident in his hand, staring at her with a look of harsh hatred. Then he too disappeared.
Annabeth couldn't believe it. Her mother and Poseidon had both killed Josh, with Poseidon almost drowning her in the process. It was too much to process. With her oxygen-starved brain, the recent events that happened, plus her feelings for Percy, her brain decided to shut down and rest. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was a crowd of people swarming around her.
Annabeth woke up in a warm and comfortable bed, although she felt anything but comfortable. She slowly opened her eyes to a warm light and shut them, her head hurting horribly. She gave a low groan and tried to speak, but couldn't, since her mouth felt like fur.
"She's awake! Martha, she's awake!" A man called. "Do you need water dear?"
Annabeth did her best to nod. A instant later, a wet cloth was applied to her parched lips, and the touch of water was like nectar. The wetness slowly trickled into her mouth and her throat, and she gave a low moan, sucking on the cloth to get as much water out.
"Whoa, slow down girl, I know you're thirsty, but too much and you'll choke. We wouldn't want that now, would we?" The man chuckled.
Eventually, he held a beaker of warm water, and she gulped the whole thing down. Feeling much revitalized, she slowly opened her eyes to meet a pair of eyes astonishingly similar to Josh's.
"J-Josh?" She asked hesitantly, her mind still a little fuzzy.
A look of pain crept through the man's. "I'm sorry, but I'm Andrew Frost. His father. He was my s-son." He whispered, looking away.
Annabeth was shocked for a second. His father? He was an extremely rich man and moved in high circles. "I'm sorry sir. It's just the eyes, and I thought you were him." Then, for the sake of keeping up her pretense as Josh's madly in love girlfriend, she added, "I wish he were here."
A woman entered the room. Annabeth instantly looked at her and began analyzing her. She put her around middle to upper fifties, but she wasn't sure, since her eyes were bloodshot and she had lines of pain all over her face.
"Hello Annabeth, I'm glad you're alive and awake. I'm Martha, Martha Frost, Josh's mother. And I can see why he raved so much about your eyes. They're such a amazing shade of gray." Martha managed to say without choking on her tears.
Annabeth gathered her scattered wits and attempted to be as diplomatic as possible. "It's an honour to meet you two, I always wanted to meet you people. I'm sorry that we couldn't meet under…better conditions." Annabeth said, artfully wiping her eyes and pretending to cry. Sure, she was sorry that Josh was dead, and that it had caused so much grief to his family, but she really, really wanted to get back to Camp and try to contact Percy.
"It's alright. No one could have done anything… nature had decided to spring a tidal wave and nobody could have done anything. We are glad that you're alive though." Andrew sobbed, a tear running down his face.
"Sharks. If it weren't for Josh, I'd like to go and kill every last one of them." Martha said viciously.
"Sharks? Josh? Um, excuse me, but what does this have to do with Josh?" Annabeth asked hesitantly.
"I'm sure Josh told you that he was an environmentalist. He wanted to protect nature and constantly quarreled with me about my factories. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't own some of the world's most efficient and cleanest factories." Andrew said proudly. Then his face fell. "But now I will never have a quarrel with him anymore."
Martha patted Andrew's shoulder soothingly. "Look Annabeth, Josh told us a lot about you, and I know you probably want to spend some time by yourself or with your family, but please answer this question: Did you love him and would you have married him?"
Annabeth decided in that split second to lie instead of the truth. The truth would hurt too much and she would make a dangerous enemy.
"Yes I would. I loved him a lot, and I would've married him without hesitation." She said firmly.
Both Martha and Andrew cheered up visibly. "Thank you my dear. I'm glad to know that Josh at least had a happy ending and had such a great girlfriend."
Annabeth put on a sad and depressed face. "Pardon me for asking, but how long have I been out? And where am I?"
Martha gave a watery chuckle. "Our manners have certainly deteriorated. Forgive us. You've been out for two days due to severe oxygen-starvation, and you're currently in New York."
"New York!" Annabeth said, surprise crossing over her face. She was stunned, they had airlifted her all the way back to their house?
Martha misinterpreted the look for panic. "It's alright, we packed everything in your hotel, and we're very sorry that we had to bring you back here, but Andrew just doesn't trust those doctors in Greece. He never liked them much, even more so now with all the budget mess going on. Your contractor agreed to let you off, but is completely willing to take you back if you wish. We'll provide all the transportation too if you want to go back. It's only fair since we did "abduct" you from your work in Greece." Martha said apologetically.
Annabeth chose her words carefully. "That's really too kind of you, but I don't think I'm going to go back to Greece. It'll bring back too many painful memories, at least for now. I'd like to talk to my family and just, I don't know, just wander around for a bit before finding more work to do?"
Andrew nodded. "If you'd like to leave now, I can prepare transportation to your destination of choice. And if you ever find yourself in need of some work to do, or just some help, feel free to call me at any time of the day. My son said you were the cleverest architect he'd ever seen, and I believe him."
"Thank you very much. I'd better go and pack then..." Annabeth faltered when she saw her duffel already packed at the bedside table. "Um, well, perhaps change my clothes."
Andrew and Martha nodded. "Whenever you're ready, you can come down and we'll send you on your way." Andrew said, walking out the door with Martha.
Annabeth felt guilty when they left. It was all her fault that Josh had died. She was positive that Poseidon and possibly even her mom had killed him. She forced it out of her head, deciding to concentrate on what to tell Chiron and her half siblings about her sudden return. She'd probably just tell them that she was done there, and the dick heads didn't like listening to her.
Annabeth quickly changed into a comfortable gray shirt and jeans before slinging the duffel over her shoulder and stepped out the door. She saw the staircase and quickly walked downstairs, meeting Andrew and Martha when she reached the end of the stairs.
"Ready to go?" Martha asked, dabbing at her eyes again. Andrew was wandering around aimlessly.
"I am. And thank you so much for your hospitality. I don't know how I will ever manage to repay you." Annabeth said politely.
"Nonsense. We'll never be able to repay you for giving Josh the happiest time of his life. It's the least we can do. I hope we can meet again, Annabeth." Andrew said hoarsely.
Annabeth nodded and gave each of them a tight hug. "Thanks again. And I'm pretty sure we'll see you again." Annabeth said, waving to them one last time as she walked outside. They nodded sadly.
"Good bye dear."
Annabeth climbed into the limo that was waiting outside, and to her surprise found the same attendant that had given her her first ride with Josh. The attendant had red eyes too.
"Forgive me miss for not opening your door, I'm just-Oh!" He said, startled as he recognized her. "Where to miss?"
"Farm Road, 3.141. It's a place where I go when I'm searching for peace." Annabeth said, just in case he questioned her for going to a empty place.
The attendant nodded his head and started the limo. In a few minutes, Annabeth had arrived at the home she hadn't seen in many months.
"We're there miss. Do you need anything else?"
"I'm fine, thank you so much for your help. Perhaps we can meet again in the future?" Annabeth said, climbing out of the limo.
The attendant bowed his head. She closed the door and the limo drove off. Annabeth gave a sad smile and turned to Half Blood Hill. Percy, here I come, whether you want me to or not.
Annabeth reached the top of the hill and saw Peleus, guarding the Golden Fleece as usual. Annabeth relaxed when she saw it. Some things never changed. Or so she thought. By god was she wrong. The instant Annabeth stepped past the borders, she heard some yelling mixed with screams and cheering. Frowning, she hurried to the pavilion and found the source of the noise. A black haired guy clad in heavy armour was surrounded by a group of screaming girls, not all from the Aphrodite cabin.
Annabeth's heartbeat quickened when she saw the black haired boy but then went into full overdrive when she realized it wasn't Percy. Yet the boy had the same black hair and the same green eyes. But the green eyes were lackluster, looked dull, and the boy had a pudgy face.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Annabeth screamed.
Everyone instantly quieted down and stared at her. The boy who had the same hair colour and eye colour as Percy stepped-no, swaggered- forward, a sneer on his face. "Who are you? He asked in a pompous manner, his beady, pig-like eyes sweeping over her entire body. Annabeth instantly decided that she hated him and automatically classified him as a pervert.
"I'm Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena. An old camper. Who are you? Where's Chiron?" Annabeth replied in a stiff tone.
The pompous pervert smirked. "I'm Matthew Grant, a immortal demigod Son of Poseidon and Guardian of this Camp. I'm the most powerful Son of Poseidon there is around." He said.
Annabeth's eyes flared. She really hated him now. And more than ever, she wanted Percy back. "Huh. Conceited much? And where is Chiron?" Annabeth said through clenched teeth, glaring at Matthew with her best glare.
Matthew flinched in spite of himself. "You dare talk to me like that bitch? No one wants you. And the horsy guy and the wine dude are in the Big House." Matthew said nastily, walking off with a disgusting snort. A crowd of campers followed after him. However, there was also a group of people who stayed behind. Annabeth examined them and recognized her old friends. Travis, Connor, Katie, Nyssa, Jake Mason, Chris and Clarisse. Her entire cabin, behind Malcolm was there too. Oh gods. Clarisse looked pissed. She also realized they were all glaring at her with slight disgust.
"So. You finally decide to crawl back here? You have the nerve to be back here after what you did? Huh Owl Girl?" Clarisse said with contempt.
"W-What do you mean? And where's Percy? Has he come back?" Annabeth asked with desperation and confusion.
"Has he come back? Are you fucking kidding me? You broke his heart!" Katie screeched. Annabeth was shocked. She had never seen Katie that angry before, except when the Stoll's had put chocolate eggs on her cabin's roof. And she has never heard her swear either.
"I-"
"Annie Bell, I suggest we talk about this at the Big House. In private. Chiron would like to talk to you too."
Annabeth turned towards the voice and say Mr. D. He seemed rather sad, and tired. "Come." He said to her. To the other campers that were glaring at Annabeth, he said, "Off you go. Anywhere. I don't care, anywhere is better than that stupid bastard." They nodded and dispersed, leaving Annabeth and Mr. D alone together. Without warning her, Dionysus snapped his fingers and teleported both he and Annabeth into the Big House. Dionysus promptly collapsed into a oversized sofa, picked up a sausage and flicked it towards Seymour. The leopard head swallowed it whole with a roar, then a loud burp.
Annabeth turned and saw a second occupant. She recognized with a start that it was Chiron, in his full centaur form.
"Chiron!" She cried happily, rushing forward to hug him. Chiron allowed her to hug him for a while before gently disengaging himself for her.
"Why Annabeth? Why did you do it?" Chiron asked sadly.
Annabeth knew what he was talking about. He was talking about her dumping Percy. She looked down at the ground in shame, her cheeks turning red. She tried to form words but found she couldn't. Instead, tears started rolling down her face.
"There, there. Don't cry, there's still a little hope I suppose…" Chiron said sadly, pulling out a tissue and gently wiping Annabeth's face.
"What…what do you mean a little hope?" Annabeth asked hoarsely.
Chiron sighed and ran a hand through his bushy hair. "There's perhaps a chance for you to find Percy and reconcile with him. But it's so slim, I'd rather take my chances with a bed full of pit scorpions."
"You mean he hasn't come back after all this time?" Annabeth asked, fear beginning to grip her.
"No. He returned. For a couple weeks. He read your letter Annabeth, and nearly destroyed half of the camp with his pain. Added onto that horrible demigod Matthew, he…left. And I do not know where he has gone. Dionysus knows, but refuses to say. He says it is not his secret to say. And Grover's empathy link with Percy is gone. Completely gone."
Annabeth froze. "That means he's dead-?"
Chiron shook his head. "If Percy were dead, Grover would be dead too. So we can take small comfort in that. The only thing Dionysus has told me is that Percy is having… a rough life."
"That's an understatement." Dionysus muttered.
Annabeth turned and glared at Dionysus before turning back to Chiron. "What about Jason? Thalia? Nico? Have they heard of anything? And who's this Matthew? How can he be a son of Poseidon? And immortal?" She asked desperately
Chiron sighed. He decided to explain everything to Annabeth. Starting from the very beginning, but he left out the fact that Percy had been gone due to Athena's wishes. Athena had specifically ordered him not to tell her. He told her everything else though, from Matthew's appearance, the way he was treated, how he had the power to kick anyone out of camp, and then Dionysus told Annabeth how Triton and Amphitrite had plotted the entire thing many years ago. When they finished, Annabeth stood stock still, pure shock on her face.
"How long has he been gone?" Annabeth said after several minutes of shocked silence.
"A month or so." Chiron answered.
"If Poseidon hates Matthew, why can't he just take away his rank and immortality?"
"One of the laws by my dumb father. He made the law so that the person who received it fully deserved immortality. Ugh, basically, it was to prevent the gods from making mortals immortal for a couple minutes to let them heal and then take away the immortality. So maybe in about 500 years or so, Poseidon can remove it, but for now, nope. He's immortal, that stupid brat." Dionysus said sourly. "In all honesty, I wish Perseus were back. My wife approves of him, and if she approves of him, then I approve of him."
Annabeth turned to Chiron. "Chiron, I have to search for Percy. Please. I have to. I made a mistake, and I have to correct it. Please." Annabeth practically begged.
"There is no point in searching for him. You'll never find him." Dionysus snapped.
"Dionysus, let her search. It'll be a nice excuse to stay away from Matthew anyways." Chiron said.
"Fine then. If you want to go on a suicide mission, go ahead. I don't care." Dionysus said irritably.
"Thank you sir. Chiron, I better get going then." Annabeth said, turning to leave.
"Annabeth, wait. A word of advice. I suggest that you be careful with the old campers who are loyal to Percy. They are… sensitive about you. And another thing, if you find Percy, he may be a completely different man than he was before." Chiron said.
Annabeth nodded, too excited by the prospect of finding Percy to pay much attention to him. She bolted out the door and ran as fast as she could to her cabin, quietly slipping inside. She froze when she saw her siblings. Malcolm looked at her and sighed.
"We're not going to bother yelling at you. We're a family, so we'll stick to your side, but try not to make the same mistake alright? Especially since this mistake may be irreversible." Malcolm said calmly. "Now go sleep, or eat, or whatever you want to do. We won't stop you."
Annabeth nodded her thanks, grateful that her half-siblings weren't going to rat it out at her either. To her surprise, she saw her duffel bag on her bunk.
"It appeared there by itself. Probably Mr. D" Malcolm said, responding to the surprised look on Annabeth's face.
At any other time, Annabeth would've replied with a smart-aleck reply, but decided against it since she could tell her siblings really disapproved of her choice to leave Percy. Rifling through her duffel bag, she got ready a set of outdoor clothes, and put her Yankees cap, a bottle of nectar and some ambrosia in a small backpack. She quickly grabbed a couple of PowerBars and stuffed them in before heading straight to the door.
"You're leaving already?" Malcolm asked, his surprised face mirroring his other siblings.
Annabeth nodded. "Yup. There's still plenty of sunshine before dinner, and besides, I don't think I want to be stuck in this camp with that sea scum."
Malcolm laughed. "True enough. If you come back and find a very angry Matthew, don't say anything. Something the Hermes cabin and we are planning. And good luck hunting." Malcolm said.
"Thanks." And with that, Annabeth walked out the door, easily evading the numerous campers that wandered around camp. As she reached Thalia's tree, she smiled slightly at the sun, determined to find Percy and right her mistakes. She desperately hoped that Percy would somehow forgive her, even though she knew the chances were slim.
I'm coming for you Percy, even if I can't find you, or can't be with you, I'm coming.
For two continuous months, Annabeth searched all over the place for Percy, asking around, following monster trails and even begging Dionysus to give her a hint. Dionysus remained as immovable as a mountain. Annabeth gave a small sigh of despair as she walked along the beach where she and Percy used to sit, making out or just relaxing in each other's presence. The moon was amazingly bright tonight, despite being ¾ full, it looked like a full moon, shining down with a powerful glow. Artemis must be happy tonight about something. Annabeth thought.
Even though she hadn't found a trace of Percy, she wasn't going to give up. If this was her punishment for dumping Percy, she was ready to take it. She didn't regret it either, since searching for Percy gave her the perfect excuse to escape camp. It also gave her plenty of chances to practice her dagger skills. They had come back amazingly fast, and since there were plenty of monsters around, she was getting better and better with it.
Annabeth kicked the sand in slight frustration as she thought of the possible places where Percy could be. She'd contacted, Jason, Piper and Leo. She'd talked to Frank and Hazel, and had the sense that they weren't exactly very warm to her. She'd even Iris Messaged Nico, and he hadn't found a trace of him either. He assured her that he was alive, since if Percy were dead, he'd sense it. That was a relief, but Annabeth was still frustrated. Wait a moment… of all the people she'd Iris Messaged, she hadn't called her best friend! Thalia! She was with the hunters, and when Percy had been kidnapped by Hera the first time, Artemis had even ordered her hunters to search for him. Which meant a lot, and she could always confide in Thalia. At least, she hoped so. She knew that Percy and Thalia had a close bond, not a romantic bond, but a close sibling bond despite their arguments.
Annabeth took a look at the super bright moon. Was it possible to create a moonbow? She'd heard of it, but knew it was rare. Worth a try. Taking out her water sprayer, she continuously sprayed the air and to her surprise, saw a faint "rainbow." Or in this case, a mist-moonbow. Knowing it wouldn't last long, she acted quickly. Taking a drachma out of her pocket, she tossed it in.
"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering and show my Thalia Grace, most likely with the Hunters of Artemis"
The image shimmered and Annabeth watched her moonbow excitedly. Just in case the moonbow faded, she sprayed a bit more water into the air, watching the pictures that were beginning to form closely. What she saw shocked her. Thalia was in a tight embrace with a man who was quite a bit taller than her, Thalia's black hair and the man's black hair mixing together perfectly. She hurriedly tried to listen in on what they were saying.
"…on Earth. Love ya Perce." Thalia said, her face turning red as she pulled back even though she was smiling.
Percy smiled. "Love you too Thals. Since when-"Annabeth gasped loudly. She couldn't help it, but she recognized the man as Percy the instant Thalia said 'Perce' since it was a special nickname that Thalia reserved for Percy. She hurriedly slashed her hand through the mist, whirling around, her mind in turmoil. Percy. Percy was in love with Thalia? How could Thalia do this to her? Percy was hers. And hers alone. How could Percy do this to her? She couldn't believe what she had just seen. Tears running down her face, she struggled to comprehend what she had just seen. True, she didn't see them kiss, but that was a tight hug. And Thalia had said it, she hadn't said it formally obviously, but Percy hadn't mind, he'd smiled and replied the same way!
It galled her that Percy fallen for Thalia. She could understand if he had moved on, slightly, since she had left Percy after all, but Thalia? And Thalia was a huntress; she shouldn't and couldn't fall in love! And she should be helping her get back with Percy, not take him for herself! Belatedly, Annabeth realized that Thalia had known where Percy was for a long time, and hadn't even told her! Red anger boiled through her blood as she stomped her way back to the Athena cabin, ignoring her siblings as she slammed through the door. Stifling her sobs, she lay in her bunk, forcing herself to calm herself down and think of a way to get to Percy, drag him back, beat him up, then beat her best friend up.
A cold calmness and fury replaced her boiling anger. Thalia had still been wearing her hunter's clothing, and if Thalia had fallen in love with Percy that meant Artemis did not know about it yet. When she managed to find Percy, which would be relatively easy since all she had to do was search some forests, she'd bring the matter up to Artemis, provided Artemis hadn't found out already. Tomorrow, she'd also tell Jason and the others, and by Zeus would Thalia get into trouble. Even more so since Thalia was Zeus's daughter and Percy was Poseidon's son, and Annabeth knew that Zeus disliked Percy and Poseidon hadn't exactly been very warm towards Thalia. But if they found out, they'd blow their tops off. Annabeth grinned. Athena, or Athena's children, always had a plan. They always have a plan. She'd find Percy and bring the matter up to the gods, then she'd beat Percy up. Now thatwas a good plan.
Little did she know that three months later, she'd get her wish to see Percy and bring the Percy-Thalia matter up to the gods in a completely unforeseen way.