"Percy? Percy, are you awake?"
"Too...bright," I moaned in reply.
"Thalia, turn off the lights," the voice said. I recognized that voice...where have I heard that voice before?
"'Kay Perce, we turned off the lights. You okay?" I opened my eyes to slits, and I saw a blurry version of Nico looking down at me.
"Still too bright" I groaned, bringing my left arm up to cover my face, only to have pain shoot through my body. I let out a surprised yelp, not expecting the sudden pain.
"You okay?" Nico asked worriedly. Someone had closed the blinds, and my eyes were finally adjusting to the light. I turned to see who it was, and saw Thalia. Why would she be here?
"What happened to my arm?"
"You sort of broke it."
"I broke it? It was Skull Eater, not me!" I protested, the events that brought me to the hospital coming back to me. Nico let out a small smile.
"Whatever you say, Cuz." I scowled. Thalia pulled over a chair and sat beside my bed.
"You've been out for eight days Percy. The doctors stitched you up; you have 8 stitches by the way," she informed me, lightly touching my forehead. I winced slightly, feeling the pain. "Sorry. They also gave this cast." I looked at my left arm, and there was indeed a cast. Huh, you would've thought I noticed it before. I saw that Thalia and Nico had already signed and doodled on it. I also saw that Grover and Rachel signed it. I looked over at Nico.
"So why'd you save me? I thought you hated me?"
"I don't hate you. I just needed time to grieve, I guess. Sorry for blaming you by the way. It wasn't your fault."
"It wasn't yours either." His face darkened.
"Damn well it wasn't. The only people to blame is our fathers. I swear they're going to pay."
"I'll back you up," I agreed.
"So you guys'll be spies, I presume?" Thalia asked.
"Why us? Why trust us?" I wondered.
"I grew up with you guys, I know you. You'd never want to hurt anyone Percy. As for Nico, not so much," she teased. It resulted in Nico throwing a pillow at her head, which she easily ducked. "They killed your family, for no reason. Hell, they kill people for no reason. It's stupid, and you don't want it to continue." I blinked at her. How did she know all of that, when I didn't?
"I'll be a spy if Percy's in."
"Yeah, I'm in."
"Great!"
"But to get back to HQ, we're going to have to kill Annabeth. They won't let us in with an incomplete assignment," I informed them.
"You're not killing anyone. They still contact you right? Just pass on their messages, and it's good enough. There are plenty of spies in HQ."
"There are? Guess the Olympians are losing their touch," I joked. A nurse came in and told my cousins that visiting hours were over, and I needed to rest. He told me my condition, and that I'd have to stay for two more nights, before letting me go.
LINEBREAK
I woke up in the middle of the night, for no reason. I opened my eyes and saw Annabeth watching me. I jumped a bit, and let out a groan of pain.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"How the hell did you get in here? It's the middle of the night."
"Window."
"Bad security," I mumbled. "What are you doing in here?"
"My dad thinks you're part of a gang. He thinks gang members only target members from other gangs, and he doesn't want me to be around you. That's why I didn't visit during the day. I finished the script for our presentation, and Mr Brunner said we would present it when you got back."
"Thanks. You know, for visiting me. Breaking the rules. Never thought you'd be the one to break anything," I joked. She lightly punched my good arm.
"Aren't you right handed?" she asked, noticing which arm was broken.
"I'm fine with using my left hand," I reassured.
"How long do you have to wear that thing?" she wondered, gesturing to my cast.
"I think they said six weeks." It was silent after that. For about five minutes, until Annabeth broke the silence.
"I'm just glad you're okay."
"Me too."
"I should go."
"Yeah. And thanks again." She smiled.
"And Percy?" She opened the window.
"Hmm?"
"You drool in your sleep," she winked, climbing down. I felt my cheeks heat up, but I eventually fell back into a deep sleep.
LINEBREAK
I was out of the hospital for a week. The past week was normal, except for today. Annabeth had gotten detention for snapping back at at Mrs Dodds. I'm not sure what Mrs Dodds said in the first place, mainly because I zoned out. I started paying attention when I heard Annabeth's annoyed voice. When Mrs Dodds gave her a detention slip, I couldn't help but snicker. I mean, Annabeth? Detention? That doesn't happen often. So of course, Mrs Dodds asked me what was so funny, and I got detention. It was just us and a few other morons who were caught trying cigarettes.
Anyway, I was waiting for Annabeth, because her parents had invited Annabeth's boyfriend (Connor) to come over for dinner. Annabeth claimed they wanted to celebrate her having a first boyfriend (she rolled her eyes at this part when she explained it). However, Connor couldn't make it because of a meeting with the Rebellion, and as much as Annabeth disliked her stepmother (no idea why, she's such a nice lady), she didn't want her cooking a big feast for nothing. So she asked me to replace him. She never described Connor to them, and the only way they had found out was that Annabeth had let it slip. I didn't understand why she didn't just choose Nico though. I understand why she didn't choose Grover though. They were long time friends and even Annabeth's parents knew he was dating Juniper.
"C'mon, Beth. What's taking so long?"
"Shut up Percy. You're just fast."
"Why thank you." She finally put on her backpack and looked at me.
"Okay Mr. Impatient. I'm ready. Just don't screw up."
"You should just be happy I'm doing this. I could ditch you anytime."
"But you won't, if you know what's good for you." I scoffed.
"Please. I could beat you in any physical fight."
"You keep telling yourself that." A moment later she screamed and jumped on my back. I supported her with my good arm. She was pointing at a spot on the floor.
"KILL IT! KIL I-IT!" she screamed in my ear.
"I can hear you just fine," I muttered. I looked at where Annabeth was pointing.
"Annabeth, that is the smallest spider I have ever seen. Now please, just get off me, you're hurting my arm." She seemed frozen, and her grip around my throat was starting to hurt, so I decided to squish the spider. She was still frozen, so I took away the hand that was supporting her leg. She finally came back to her senses and hopped off me.
"Sorry," she mumbled, her face red.
"Spiders?" I chuckled. "The great, fearless Annabeth Chase is scared of spiders?" She glared at me, but her face still looked like a tomato. Wait, I don't like tomatoes. Her face was a cherry. Yeah, I like cherries. Nice and juicy. But the seeds annoy me. Every time I eat one, I'm concentrating more on finding the seed and spitting it out so that I don't swallow it and choke rather than the flavour. I just hate seeds in general. Like in grapes. Those ones really annoy me. Or maybe the black ones in watermelons, they're too hard to easily swallow.
"Shut up," Annabeth said, breaking me out of my train of thoughts. Annabeth looked pretty embarrassed, and I had to feel guilty. I wrapped my arm around her in a sideways hug.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. Tons of people have arachnophobia.
"Wow Percy, you know the word 'arachnophobia'!" I took my released her from my hug and shoved my hands in my pocket.
"I'm just trying to make you feel better," I mumbled, pretending to sound hurt. I kept my smile hidden. I knew she was just trying to get off the topic of her weakness.
"I'm kidding, you big baby."
"Oh look, a spider," I said, pointing at the sidewalk. Annabeth screamed. When she realized there was nothing but dirt on the sidewalk, she calmed down.
"I hate you."
"I was kidding, you big baby," I mocked. She shoved me.
LINEBREAK
Dinner was awkward. That was the only word to describe it. Annabeth's dad was a bit surprised that I was her 'boyfriend', but her step mom smiled like she expected it. I'm not even going to dwell on what that means. I guess I didn't have to act that much, but still. They took some pictures, one in which they made me kiss Annabeth on the cheek. It wasn't a kiss on the lips, which I was thankful for, but it was awkward nonetheless.
Anyway, we were now up in Annabeth's room (with a warning from Mr Chase) after dinner playing Monopoly with Matthew and Bobby. I think Mr Chase sent them up to keep an eye on us. So far, I was almost bankrupt, and Matthew was taking all our money.
"You have to give me $800!" Bobby yelled at Matthew.
"Nu-uh. I only owe you $400."
"No! $800! I have two houses!" Matthew glanced at the square and plucked off one of the houses.
"No you don't." Bobby tackled Matthew. I stood up quickly and pried Bobby off Matthew. I lifted him off the ground and kept Matthew from throwing punches at his brother with my broken arm. Annabeth finally dragged Matthew back and held his arms in place, and I did the same with Bobby.
"How about you both win? That sound good?" I tried. This resulted in protests. I sighed.
"BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!" Annabeth yelled at them. They shut up.
"If you stop fighting, I'll take you out for ice cream tomorrow." Their eyes brightened up.
"Can we go to the skating park?"
"I don't think-" The boys started yelling again.
"FINE! But if you get hurt, I'm not taking the blame."
"Okay!" We let go of them. They ran out laughing. Annabeth collapsed on her bed.
"They're so annoying."
"I'm glad I'm an only child." She turned her head to look at me.
"What about Tyson?" A knot formed in my stomach.
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Is he...I mean...did something..."
"He's not dead, last time I saw him."
"Where is he?" It took a while for me to come up with an answer.
"Somewhere safe. Safer than me anyway." Annabeth didn't pry any further. I sat down in the chair at her desk.
"Hey Annabeth?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did you choose me to be your fake boyfriend instead of someone like Nico?"
"I don't think Nico would agree to help me with this."
"I don't think I can even imagine him with a girlfriend." Annabeth laughed a bit.
Bobby called Annabeth from downstairs. Something about someone at the door wanting to talk to her.
"Be right back."
I waited. Five minutes. Ten minutes. What was taking so long? Annabeth eventually came back, and she looked...broken.
"You can leave Percy." She said quietly.
"Annabeth? What's wrong?" I put my hands on her shoulders an looked at her. She pushed me away.
"I said leave!" I didn't. If something was wrong, I wanted to help her. I wasn't going to leave without doing anything. Instead of leaving, I stepped towards her and wrapped my arms around her. She struggled, but even with my broken arm, I was stronger than her. She gave up and grabbed my shirt. She didn't cry, but her grip was enough to tell me she wanted to. I lead her to the bed and sat down.
"It'll be fine Annabeth." I reassured, stroking her hair. "Just let it out."
We sat there for another few minutes before Annabeth grip loosened. I kept rubbing her back and kissed her head, to let her know I was there for her.
"Thank you," she mumbled into my chest.
"I'll always be here for you Annabeth," I replied. She finally sat up, and I realized my shoulders ached. Annabeth's eyes were red, and some strands of her hair were loose from her ponytail.
"He-he broke up with me," she finally told me. Part of me felt joy. Another part of me felt shameful for feeling the joy. The rest of me hurt to see Annabeth so miserable.
"Oh. Annabeth, it's okay."
"He said...he said that I loved someone else." My stomach formed knots, and I felt something like anger. Why would I be angry? I pushed down the feeling.
"Do you?" She brought her knees up to her chest.
"I don't...I'm not sure. She wouldn't meet my eyes. I stood up.
"Let's have a picnic on Sunday," I told her. She looked up at me, surprised.
"What?"
"It'll get your mind off Connor. And the weather's supposed to be nice. We can even have ice cream, the ultimate comfort food!" Annabeth winced slightly at Connor's name.
"Percy, I don't think...I just want to deal with this alone."
"You have tomorrow to deal with it alone. Sunday, we're having a picnic. See you then. Noon." I left before she could protest.
LINEBREAK
I hate having a busted arm. I mean, how do people live through it? You can't do anything! I lied to Annabeth. I can't use my left hand. I can't even practise my fighting skills with Nico, I can barely use a fork and knife (or spoon) and taking showers is a pain. I have to wrap up my cast. It gets so annoying. But enough with my complaining. Let's talk about the picnic.
Nico and Thalia were out doing who knows what. Probably rebellion stuff (again) Why I wasn't invited, I'm not sure. But I didn't really care. This way they wouldn't bother us and I didn't have to cancel today's plans with Annabeth. It was the least I could do for her.
Anyway, back to the picnic. I was sitting on an old blanket that used to be Gwen's. I was sitting there, alone, wondering if it was a good idea to have this picnic. What if Annabeth bailed? I just wanted to cheer her up. I was having these thoughts until I saw her coming. She was wearing a big, purple pullover hoodie and bootcut jeans. She sat down beside me.
"Percy, thanks for trying to cheer me up. You're a great friend." I beamed at her and took out two sandwiches and two plates from my backpack.
"Peanut Butter and Jelly? Really Percy?"
"It's the only thing I can make without destroying the house. And I can't do much with one arm," I defended sheepishly. She rolled her eyes but gave that cute smile she always gave me when I said something stupid. Wait, back up. Did I say cute? I felt my face heat up.
"What are you blushing about?" she teased. I blushed harder.
"It's the cold." She scoffed.
"It's not cold. This is California. Besides, you're wearing a thin hoodie, so I wouldn't be talking."
"Fine. Maybe it's not cold. So, what are you being for Halloween?" I asked, trying to change the subject before Annabeth remembered what we were originally talking about.
"I don't know. Athena maybe."
"You have the eyes," I agreed. "But Athena's Greek, don't they usually have dark hair."
"Really Percy? Not all Greeks are brunettes. Some are blonde. Then again, Athena has always been portrayed with dark hair..."she trailed off.
"Are you going trick-or-treating with someone?" I asked, trying to save myself from the lecture that was sure to come about Athena.
"We're sixteen Percy, aren't we a bit old for trick-or-treating?" I pouted in mock offense.
"I'll never be too old for free candy."
"What about you?"
"Harry Potter. I've got the eyes and hair."
"Harry has emerald green eyes. You have sea green eyes. And your hairstyles are different. Harry's stick's up at the back, and yours doesn't. Besides, I don't think he has windswept hair. But I guess your hair is equally messy. And you just have to get a fake scar and glasses, lose some of that muscle and grow a bit," she joked. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"You noticed what shade my eyes are?" She blushed.
"You're eyes are very noticeable," she argued.
"And you think I'm muscle-y?" She scowled.
"That's not a word."
"You're changing the subject.
"Whatever." I smirked at her, which of course earned me a slap upside the head.
"Let's go get ice-cream now," I suggested when I noticed she finished her food. I got up and offered a hand to Annabeth. She ignored it and got up herself. I rolled my eyes. She never liked to accept other people's help. Her pride would be the death of her.
We rolled up the blankets and threw out our garbage, and we soon found ourselves walking on a trail in a forest licking our ice creams. I had blueberry and raspberry with blue sprinkles. Annabeth had the soft vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate.
"Your ice cream look good," I informed her.
"It is."
"Can I have some?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"You can have some of mine."
"I don't want yours."
"Are you sure? It's delicious."
"I don't like blueberry."
"Than have the raspberry."
"I'd rather have mine. Now leave me alone."
"Fine." I took a big bite of my ice cream. I immediately regretted it. Ice-cream is cold. But I forced my self to finish eating it. It would be embarrassing if I spit it out or screamed in front of Annabeth.
"You're missing out on a lot." She took the last bite of her cone. How did she finish it so fast?"
"I don't want your ice cream."
"Fine." I finished my ice cream.
"Why are you doing this for me?"
"You're my best friend Annabeth. You have been ever since I met you. Sometimes. You know, when we weren't fighting." Something like disappointment flashed across her face, as though she just got rejected. But it vanished so quickly, I wasn't even sure it was there in the first place.
"Yeah. You're my best friend too." I smiled at her.
"So, how are you doing with..." I didn't want to bring it up, but I was curious.
"I talked to Connor yesterday, and I can see where he's coming from. I guess I never really loved him romantically, but..." she trailed off a bit. "We agreed we could still be friends."
"So you're not holding anything against him?"
"Of course not." I smiled.
"That's good." Then I noticed two girls running towards us, and the smile was wiped off my face immediately. One had choppy brown hair, multi-coloured eyes, a cute/beautiful face, and was wearing worn out jeans, a snowboarding jacket, even though it wasn't that cold. The other girl was almost twice her size, because of muscles, stringy brown-blond hair, cruel eyes and was wearing an army jacket, cargo pants, and hiking boots.
"Crap," I muttered under my breath. Annabeth glanced at the two girls.
"What?"
"Annabeth, go hide behind the trees or something."
"Why?"
"Just do it," I hissed, but it was too late. The buff girl had already grabbed her behind the neck. Annabeth chose the wise decision and chose not to make a noise. I think she was terrified, but it was hard to tell with her expression.
"Well, well well, Prissy's got himself a girlfriend?" I clenched my fists.
"Let her go, Clarrise," I growled at her. Clarrise was part of the MoA, and was a daughter of Ares, which explained her violent nature. Her partner was Piper, a beautiful fifteen year old, who hated her parentage. She tried masking her beauty, but being a daughter of Aphrodite didn't help. She loved her dad, and her mom, she just hated the attention she got because of her beauty.
"What brings you to Frisco?" Clarrise sneered at me.
"I could ask you the same thing.
"Pipes and I have a week off. We're visiting her dad."
"Doesn't he live in LA?"
"He's shooting a scene here today. He's leaving soon, and we have to hurry so we don't get left behind. That's why we're running. Clarrise, we should really go." Piper tried to convince her. Tristan McLean was Piper's dad, and he was a pretty big movie star. Clarrise didn't listen. Instead, she lifted Annabeth off the ground. Annabeth's face started showing pain and fear. I resisted the urge to throw myself at Clarrise and beat the hell out of her. I couldn't use my weapons in front of Annabeth, and Clarrise could easily beat me in hand-to hand combat, even if I didn't have a broken arm. Clarrise tightened her hold on my best friend, and Annabeth's face started turning blue. I realized I didn't want Annabeth to die. I couldn't let her die. Clarrise took out her own knife and pressed it to her neck. Blood started dripping down, and Annabeth let out a small whimper. At this point, I wanted to strangle Clarrise, but I kept my face emotionless. Piper looked at me, glanced at Annabeth, and understanding flickered in her eyes.
"Clarrise, I'm trying to do my job. Or do I have to tell my dad that you're part of the reason I'm delayed?" My voice wasn't as confident as I wanted. It sounded like I was begging. I almost winced at how it came out. She growled at me.
"Clarrise, we're going to be late. Let's go." Piper's voice was filled with persuasion. She spoke calmly, but firmly, easily convincing Clarrise to leave us alone. Clarrise threw Annabeth at me. She threw her. I caught her, stumbling backwards, crashing into a tree on the way. The two started running again, and I looked at Annabeth worriedly. She her face was pale, and a red hand print was on her neck, showing where Clarrise had been holding her. Actually, the more appropriate word would be gripping. Her hold on Annabeth was tighter than I had thought. There was a streak of red blood in her honey-blond hair. She must've hit the tree. Something in my stomach tightened and all I could think of was if Annabeth was okay. It was a feeling I wasn't used to: panic. She was gasping, and was leaning on me, so I had to support all her weight. I layed her down and sat her in my lap, so her torso was leaning on my chest.
"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods," I muttered. I checked her pulse. It was faint, but still steady. I opened her eyelid with my finger and saw that her eyes were rolled back; she was unconscious. I rummaged through my backpack for the first aid kit. I had brought it with me ever since that gang incident two weeks ago. I cleaned up the wound on her neck and head, along with trying to stop the bleeding. I didn't know what else to do. First aid didn't come to me easily, so I just sat there, knowing that now probably wasn't the best time to move her.
After about ten minutes, Annabeth muttered something that sounded like "Spiders."
"Annabeth? Are you awake?" I asked hopefully.
"My head hurts," she groaned. She was awake! And alive! I hugged her.
"Percy...let me...go...can't...breathe..." I let her go and put her face in my hands. I inspected her eyes, looking to see if anything was wrong with them, like dilated pupils or something. I got distracted by their colour. Right now, it was a soft grey, like a cute baby bunny I sometimes saw at the pet store. I held up three fingers.
"How many fing-"
"Three. I'm fine Percy. My neck just hurts a bit. She stood up again.
"Who were-"
"They go to the summer camp I go to. The buff girl is the bully of the camp and the other one is Thalia's brother's girlfriend," I improvised. I seemed to be lying a lot to Annabeth. She nodded.
"I should head home now. Dad wants me back by three." Something told me her dad didn't care when she got home.
LINEBREAK
Annabeth wasn't at school the next day. Nor was she there Tuesday. She finally showed up on Wednesday, but something seemed a bit off. There was a sort of bounce in her step, which I didn't expect. Her hair was brushed and her curls weren't natural. Another thing I would never expect. Her hair was up in a hight ponytail, even though she didn't usually wear it that high. Her smile almost seemed fake. I walked up to her, and I'll admit, I was confused. Big shocker, right? But seriously, I was usually confused with girls' mood swings, but this...it waqs like Annabeth was a different person. And I didn't like it. I liked Annabeth the way she was. Even if she was annoying at times.
"Annabeth? Are you okay? Where were you yesterday?" I noticed she wasn't wearing the friendship necklace she wore everyday. Instead, she was wearing this weird bracelet. The pendant thing was gold and rectangular, and the edges seemed to latch on to her skin. How was that not painful? There was a small, clear diamond looking thing in the pendant, and it looked like a bit of red liquid was swirling around in it.
"I'm fine, Silly." She kissed me on the cheek and skipped a way. What the hell?
I won't bother with excuses. But an extra long chapter for the extra long wait. I swear, I wanted to update before school started. Then I was like "before thanksgiving" then "before MoA" then "Before Halloween." I didn't meet any of my goals. I'm sorry. I feel terrible. On the bright side, MoA didn't end on a totally horrible cliffhanger that makes us want to curl up in a ball and die and come back to life for HoH!
Olo Eopia03 - Thanks. I just hope it wasn't so confusing you couldn't understand. Percy, alive, good thing? We'll see...
Pirate-Spy-Demigod-Wizard - Thanks. And sorry. It wasn't sooner :( I'll remember sugar and spice and everything nice will only make gunk.
Blackwolfy - Good enough...right?
Katerina Riley - Sorry 'bout the wait...
ER Jenn - Thanks! I updated...?
alliegirl101 - thanks (:
Dr. Katniss Annabeth Nina - They're boys ;P
PJOaddict - psh, this is soon...
littlecarlos - At least it's not a year... Thanks.
Moondapple - I figured as much.
Percabeth rocks 4 ever - Psh, this is soon...totally...
vickybooksxtwilightx - Thanks.
Fortune24 - Thank you very much.
Canuguesswhoiam (x2)-I didn't realize the review was supposed to be annoying. I just thought it was amusing. I can imagine.
Ya its me again - Your grammar will never improve if you insist on getting it wrong. Besides, we've been over this, your threats are horrible.
BlueBerrySourStraps -Ikr. I mostly ignore insults unless I have a great comeback...I usually forget within 3 days, that's why when my teacher asked if we were ever bullied I was like "I don't know...?" Anyway, NOT EVEN 3 MONTHS!
Diamond Dunce - There's going to be a red button and they're going to press it and the world will blow up and turn to cheese.
Mockingjay88 - thanks!
PercabethIsEternity - Thank you, and I did :)