CHAPTER 3:
STILL PERCY POV
Krystal wasn't pretty at all, she was just rich, which made her popular. She walked up to me and stood right next to me. She placed a hand on my shoulder. Annabeth, who was next to me tensed up and reached for her dagger again. Piper, who was next to her, realized the situation and whispered to her that she couldn't take her dagger out. I guess she used a little charm speak, because Annabeth just nodded glumly.
Krystal was talking to me now. "Percy, would you like to go to a movie Saturday night?" She asked.
I looked her in the eye. "Krystal, I have a girlfriend." I said, emphasizing the word girlfriend.
She scowled. "Everyone knows that you are making her up, give it up." She said.
I gritted my teeth. "No, I'm not. This is Annabeth, my girlfriend." I said, pointing to Annabeth who waved cheerfully to the fuming Krystal.
She glared at Annabeth. "Well, when you get tired of that, call me!" She said. She just spoke of Annabeth as if she were garbage or something.
"Annabeth is a billion times more amazing, beautiful, funny, smart, etc. than you will ever be." I said, my voice steely calm. "I don't know why on Earth she loves me, but I sure as Hades won't question it."
The table immediately went quiet when I said that. Krystal turned red and walked away.
Annabeth had tears in her eyes. I immediately panicked. "Annabeth! Are you okay, what's wr-" She cut me off with a short and sweet kiss.
"Seaweed Brain, that was the sweetest thing you ever said!" She said, a tear spilling down her cheek. I gently rubbed it away. I leaned really close into her ear. "I meant every word I said." I whispered.
She threw her arms around me. Everyone at the table was looking at us. The girls, even Thalia and Clarisse were cooing, though they were doing it mockingly, and the boys were just rolling their eyes. Juliet was just looking at her food.
Our sweet moment was ruined when David showed up. This guy hates me because I was 'more popular than him.' His words, not mine.
He stared at my girlfriend. Hades no. He will not set a single foot near her.
"So, Jackson. Why don't you introduce me to your friend." He said, flicking his hair away from his face.
Annabeth wiped the last tear away from her cheek. She glared at him. "Go away. I don't like you, nor will I ever. I am having a moment with my boyfriend and I would appreciate it if you left us alone." She said, her anger portrayed as she said each word in a tight tone.
He winked at her. "Playing hard to get, are we? Okay, then. You asked for it." He said, leaning in. He was about to kiss her cheek, when I pulled her away. Being the idiot he was, he fell face first into the table and got food and drinks all over his face. Everyone cracked up. Even though just about every inch of his face was covered with food, you could still see that he was bright red underneath it. He stalked away without another word.
We all continued eating happily after that.
Eventually, we found out that we all (even my Goode friends) had Greek next. When my mortal friends realized that they groaned dramatically.
Annabeth stood up, frowning. "What's wrong? We have Greek next, aren't you excited!?" She asked.
The mortals looked at her in disbelief. Then Alex spoke up. "Sorry, Annabeth, but for once, Percy's the only good student in that class because he can speak fluently, so no one else knows what he is saying." He said, as if it should be obvious.
Annabeth threw her head back and laughed heartily. "Well, in that case, this class is going to get much more interesting for all of you, considering the fact that we can all speak Ancient Greek and Latin fluently." She said, still laughing slightly.
They groaned, probably realizing that now we could all communicate without them knowing what we are saying. For some reason, Juliet looked a bit jealous… I wonder why…
Thalia POV
After Annabeth broke the news to the mortals, we all made our way to the Greek room. Annabeth and Percy looked extremely happy. After Tartarus, they both got flashbacks when something reminded them of their time down there, and they got the most horrible nightmares. The nightmares would only stop if they were with the other. Even I, with my Hunter-ness, think that they are an absolutely adorable couple.
As we walked to the Greek door, I saw one of Percy's mortal friends, Juliet, looking at them jealously. I had a feeling as to why she looked like that. "Hey, Pipes?" I whisper-called to her. I have recently gotten extremely close to my brother's girlfriend and the other girls that were here with me now.
She left her place by Jason and started walking next to me. "Yeah, Thals? What's wrong?" She asked, absently twirling a green feather that was in her hair.
I whispered my response. "Do you think that you can use your Daughter of Aphrodite-ness and sort of sense Juliet's feelings? Because I have a theory that she's in love with Percy, and I really just want Percy and Annabeth to have a more relaxed relationship now."
Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at Juliet. She cocked her head and closed her eyes. After a moment or two, her eyes snapped open. (AN: Piper probs cant actually do this, but its for the story, okay?). She looked at me, her eyes somber. "You're right, she does like Percy and she is jealous of Annabeth…" She said.
I groaned. I guess it was kind of loud, because all of my friends turned to me. "Thals, are you okay?" Percy asked me. I nodded half-heartedly. I made eye contact with Annabeth and we had a silent eye-conversation.
I need to talk to you later, okay? I eye-spoke.
She nodded. We had gotten really good at this while we were on the run.
We sat in the most front seats that we could, and waited for the teacher. After a few minutes, we got a huge surprise, because, of all people, CHRION was rolling in on his wheelchair!
Me, and the rest of the demigods, all stood up. "What are you doing here?" We asked in unison. He smiled and waved us all in.
"I thought that I could visit my favorite students…" He said, winking at us all. "Oh, and while I'm a teacher, my alias is Mr. Brunner." He added quickly.
We nodded, and then returned to our seats. Percy's mortal friends looked at us quizzically. Before anyone else could say anything, Leo burst out. "He's our camp activities director." We all nodded.
The mortals looked a little frustrated. "You mean that camp that you go to each summer, and you come back with more scars, and the camp where you see all your 'family?'" Alex asked Percy, frowning.
Percy nodded, smiling cheekily. "That's the one!" We all laughed.
Then the bell rang and Chiron told us all to sit down.
"Welcome to Goode! I will be your Greek teacher for the time being at least." He muttered the last part quietly, and I smirked.
"Well, first we'll talk about the 12 Olympian Gods and Goddesses." He said, winking slightly at all of us demigods and Grover. "Can anyone name all of them?" All of us (demigods and Grover of course), raised our hands, but he called on Katie.
She cleared her throat. "The Olympian Gods were Zeus, king of the gods and god of thunder and lightning." I smirked slightly and Jason high-fived me. Kelp Head and Death Breath rolled their eyes at our little exchange. "Then there is Poseidon, god of the sea, storms and horses." Percy whooped quietly, so that only the demigods could hear. We all laughed a little, and Annabeth kissed his cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Juliet frown a little. "Then there is Apollo, god of the sun, music, healing, and prophecies and one of the twin archers, Hermes, god of messengers, thieves and traveling." Travis, Connor, and Chris all exchanged mischievous grins at that. "Ares, god of war." Clarisse smiled proudly, but there was a sort of sadness in her eyes. Percy was the only one that noticed, that kid was too loyal for his own good, I swear! He leaned over and whispered something in her ear that made her genuinely smile. "Dionysus, god of wine, madness and partying." At that name, we all scowled, remembering our grouchy camp director. "Last of the Olympian gods is Hephaestus, god of the forges and fire." Leo grinned and his ears lit up. He quickly snuffed out the flames so no mortals would notice. "The Olympian goddesses have Hera, goddess of marriages." We all scowled even further at her name. We still hated her after everything. "Demeter, goddess of wheat, grain and agriculture." Katie said her name proudly. Connor stifled a laugh, in a stage whisper, he added, "and cereal." All the demigods turned red from our held-in laughter. "Athena, goddess of wisdom, and battle strategies." Annabeth sat up proudly at that comment and Percy kissed her cheek lovingly. "Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty," Piper smiled wryly at that comment, and Leo mouthed the words, 'Beauty Queen' to her. "Lastly, there is Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the moon and the other twin archer." I sat up proudly at that, and Annabeth smiled at me.
Rebecca raised her hand. "Why didn't Katie say Hades, god of the Underworld and wealth, and Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home? Aren't they Olympians?" She asked. Nico and Hazel looked down sadly at that comment, and I noticed Percy tilt his head as he looked at them. His eyes brightened, as he seemed to have gotten an idea.
Chiron answered her. "While Lord Hades and Lady Hestia are included in the major gods and goddesses, they aren't Olympians because Hades isn't treated equally because he rules the Underworld, and Hestia gave up her throne for Dionysus to have a throne on Olympus." Rebecca nodded.
"Now can anyone speak Greek fluently?" He asked, eyes twinkling slightly. We all raised our hands again, and all the students' jaws dropped.
"How about Percy and Annabeth have a conversation, alright?" They smiled at each other and then at Chiron.
"So, Wise Girl, what should we talk about?" Percy asked, speaking in perfect Greek.
"While I know that you would LOVE to talk about how much you love me, I'm pretty sure that Thalia wouldn't appreciate that much…" Annabeth replied.
I piped in then. "You got that right!" Everyone (the demigods) laughed.
Annabeth got a mischievous look on her face and Percy paled slightly.
"We CAN talk about guinea pigs, though…" She trailed off and Percy blushed so bad I thought he would permanently stay red.
"WISE GIRL! You promised you wouldn't bring that up! I still have these weird cravings for lettuce sometimes…" He muttered the last part. We were all confused. What were they talking about?
Travis cut in. "What in Hades are you talking about?" Nico scowled.
"Don't use my dad's name as a curse! Use your own dad's name!" He said.
Connor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because Oh Hermes sounds soooo good."
Clarisse rolled her eyes also. "Just answer the question Fish Boy."
Percy blushed. Annabeth finally took pity on him. "It was on our second quest, the one that was actually Clarisse's and that we snuck on. It's a bit of… an inside joke." She said and Percy exhaled with relief.
Chiron smiled. "Annabeth, dear, would you two possibly have stumbled upon a certain island?" He asked, winking at her as Percy blushed again.
"Yeah, actually, though we didn't know it at the time, it was where we first met Reyna." Annabeth answered, smiling.
Percy, decided to cut in. "Well, Wise Girl, while I had to have, a special treatment, YOU looked positively gorgeous. Although, I must say, I think you look even more perfect without the makeup." He winked at her, and now Annabeth's cheeks filled with color. The boys all wolf-whistled, causing Annabeth to redden even more.
"Aww! You're so sweet! Love you Seaweed Brain!" She said, kissing him softly.
He winked at her. "Love you too, Wise Girl." The girls, minus myself and Clarisse, aww-ed, and Piper squealed silently. She saw our baffled look, and smiled sheepishly.
"The Aphrodite cabin is brainwashing me!" She said. We all laughed, as the mortals looked at us, still completely confused.
"Yo, Kelp Head, you better explain that story soon." Jason said, smirking when Percy blushed again.
"In your dreams." He muttered.
Chiron cleared his throat. "Now, we are going to have a lesson on mythology." He said the word with disdain. "Everyone partner up, and write a 5 paragraph essay on a mythological event, a mythological character, or a mythological place of your choice." Percy and Annabeth immediately partnered up, Jason and Piper partnered up, Clarisse and Chris did, Travis and Katie, Leo and Connor, Hazel and Frank, Grover and Nico paired up. I had no one to partner up with, so I walked up to Juliet and asked if I could be her partner. She looked wistfully at Percy, but nodded nonetheless.
"What mythological event, character or place do you want to do?" She asked me politely. I thought for a moment. Percy and Annabeth are doing the Athens contest, Jason and Piper are doing Hephaestus' capturing of Ares and Aphrodite in a gold net, Clarisse and Chris were doing the Trojan War, Travis and Katie were doing Persephone's capture, Leo and Connor were doing Typhon, Hazel and Frank were doing Uranus, Grover and Nico were doing the Orion story, so I thought that maybe we could do the Medusa-Perseus story. I asked her if that would be okay and she nodded.
We got to work on the essay-she did the writing since I'm dyslexic, and I told her what to write. We finished in record time, considering the fact that I just asked my dad what happened in that specific story and knew the story now like the back of my hand. The only other groups that were done were the demigod groups, David and his idiot jock friend (Ugh) and Krystal and her make-up covered wannabe (Blegh). Chiron winked at all of us when we handed them in.
Once everyone else handed their reports in, Chiron said that he would randomly choose 3 to read out loud. He chose the first one, and imperceptibly winked at Percy and Annabeth, who grinned back at him.
Their report was positively perfect; it explained the contest, the reason for it, the competitors, the reward, etc. We all clapped wildly afterwards and Annabeth and Percy dramatically bowed for us all.
Then, Chiron began the next one. "This one is David and Kyle' report on…" He glanced at Percy and me worriedly. "Hercules." He finally said. I gritted my teeth and Percy clenched his fists. As Chiron read on, the essay lied about everything. It stated how Hercules was the most powerful demigod ever. All of us snorted at that and looked at Percy, because in reality, he was the most powerful demigod ever. Annabeth was restraining him from killing David. Not because he was upset that he wasn't known as the most powerful demigod, but because he never mentioned that if it weren't for Zoë, Hercules wouldn't have been able to do anything. And Percy still blamed himself for Zoë's death. When the torture of an essay was over, everyone but the demigods clapped.
Chiron looked apologetically towards Percy and me. "The last essay we will read is by Krystal and Isabelle." I nearly gagged. "The topic is…" he gasped and looked at Annabeth and Percy worriedly.
"Come on! Just read it! I want to go!" David complained. Chiron glared at him.
"The topic is… Tartarus." He whispered. Nico just shivered, because he wasn't in there nearly as long as Percy and Annabeth. They were different stories. Their gray hairs seemed to glow darker. Percy started shaking uncontrollably. His vision unfocused slightly. Annabeth was a mess. Her vision clouded all together, and she was crying hysterically and screaming Percy's name.
As soon as he heard Annabeth's voice, his vision focused on her and his eyes widened. "Chiron, I'll be back!" He called. He slung her over his shoulder and sprinted out of the classroom door.
Chiron looked worriedly at the direction his two favorite students left in. Then he looked at me. "Thalia, go check on them please." He begged. I nodded without another word. The students were confused and asking questions. Hazel just snapped her fingers, and manipulated the Mist. The only mortal other that still looked confused was Juliet. Oh Hades no. Not a demigod, please.
I quickly followed Annabeth and Percy, and saw that Percy had already dried her tears and calmed her down. He was just holding her and rocking back and forth as she relaxed. I walked back to the classroom, not wanting to barge in on their private moment.