Lives Collide

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

Percy felt a smile appear on his face at the sound of her voice and the familiar nickname. Despite his nerves and the tension that was still between them, Percy found himself relaxing and said, "It's really good to see you, Wise Girl."

And it was. Annabeth had changed only slightly but enough for him to know that she had turned from that sixteen year old girl to an eighteen year old woman.

She grinned back at him and said, "I'm sorry I couldn't see you sooner but I was dragged into a job as soon as I got here and couldn't get away."

Percy shook his head and replied, "It's alright."

Silence fell between them again before Annabeth said, "It's good to see you too, Percy. It's been a while."

Percy put his hands in his pockets and nodded slightly. Annabeth bit her lip as she tried to think of something else-anything else- that would break the tension. They were hovering between the niceties that might renew their friendship and the full out argument that would acknowledge their broken relationship.

Before Annabeth could say anything, Percy took the first step by saying, "Grover told me about the payments. He said that you all stopped taking them before we ever started dating?"

Annabeth nodded, her blonde ponytail bobbing up and down behind her. "Yes. I asked your father to stop as soon as I realised how much I had come to like you, I swear."

There, she had mentioned the relationship. It was out there, in the air, waiting for one of them to grab it. She licked her dry lips and added, "Percy, I never wanted to hurt you. But I just made bad decisions; we all did. That doesn't mean that we never cared for you."

Percy was staring off at one of the deserted bookshelves, trying not to stare at her. "I know..." he said, quietly, "I guess I was just so angry that I couldn't see that."

The relationship topic was still floating in the air, hovering over Percy. But he swatted it away. "I think that we should all have a fresh start; be friends again."

Annabeth tried not to let him see her flinch. Friends? Ok, she could deal with that. It was better than not having him at all. She put a smile on her face and replied, "Thank you, Percy. That sounds great."

Percy cleared his throat and strolled towards her saying, "So...how did you end up at a rave in this place. I remember that you weren't much a party person."

"I'm still not!" Annabeth replied, "Luke said we were all going out to dinner but instead he brought us here. By the time we had all decided to head home, the library was trashed." She looked around at it, taking in the tall bookshelves and the towering pillars that reached up the ceiling. The marble stairs curved down to the ground level and the large windows let in light.

"I didn't realise this place meant so much to the community," Annabeth said, "Everyone seems so dedicated to help rebuild it."

Percy nodded his head and the two of them walked over towards the balcony. He leaned against one of the pillars, hiding himself slightly behind it while Annabeth stood beside him. The others were all busy at work on the ground floor, so they didn't notice them.

"The people who live in this street are in a difficult area," he said quietly, "They are near enough to Olympia Academy to be on the radar of its students. How many times have we walked down this street, after a night out or on the way to one? Over the years, this street had been littered with trash and there is no one to clean it up the next morning, except the residents. Windows have been smashed; walls have been covered in graffiti."

Percy looked down at Jason, who was holding a bin bag open for Piper as she filled it. "People have been hurt," he said and Annabeth followed his gaze.

"That's Jason, isn't it?" she asked, "I read it on his name tag that other day. What does he have to do with all this?"

Percy sighed and put his arm up against the marble pillar. "He holds a serious grudge against Olympia students and from what I've just remembered, he has a good reason to."

Percy ran a hand over his face and continued. "About four months after I arrived at the Academy, Luke took me out with a few of his friends-lackeys, really. We went to the party, they got ridiculously drunk and we left around two in the morning. We stopped at an open store on this street to get food-they would have thrown up if they didn't eat. I was the last out the store and when I came out and looked around for them...they were a few feet away and there was some else on the ground. They were surrounding him and beating him, over and over again. I ran over and pulled Luke off; the other followed and stopped. They stumbled off down the street but I was too busy helping the kid they had beaten up."

"Jason," Annabeth said, with a shaky sigh.

Percy nodded before saying, "Jason's face was covered in blood, and so were his clothes. I called the police and the ambulance and I stayed with him until they came. I had to give a statement but they let me go. I told my father and he paid for all of Jason's hospital bills but Luke and the other boys were still in school Monday morning; as if nothing had happened."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Annabeth asked, slightly put out that he had kept this from her.

"You and Luke were such good friends; at the time I didn't think you would side with me over someone you had just know for a couple of months," Percy said with a shrug. He looked at Jason again, who was laughing with Leo.

"His face was so bruised and with all the blood, I didn't recognise Jason when I met him two years later." Percy's jaw clenched and he looked over at Annabeth with stormy eyes.

"He was fourteen Annabeth! A kid just hurrying down the street trying to get home. I remember that police told me that he had just stepped out for a second to get milk and he was attacked. Oh, when he finds out about me..."

Annabeth frowned and asked him, "Why would he hold that against you?! I know that he may not like Olympia students, but you were the one that saved him!"

"How do I know he won't hate me anyway?" Percy exclaimed and Annabeth smiled carefully. "Percy, are you and Jason good friends?"

Percy nodded and said, "The kid's like a little brother to me...or a puppy that you feed once and then never leaves."

Annabeth laughed slightly and then replied, "Well, if he cares for you as much as you care for him then he won't hate you at all."

"I don't know that!"

"Well you never will unless you tell him. And wouldn't it be better if it came from you?"

"Annabeth?!"

The two of them jumped slightly and looked over the balcony to see Mrs O'Leary looking around from her seat at the front desk. "Annabeth?" the librarian called again.

Annabeth sighed and looked at Percy, "I better get back to her..."

Percy nodded his head, his eyes darting everywhere except at her. Annabeth hesitated for a moment before turning to head down the stairs. The sudden realisation that she was leaving hit Percy and reached out to grab her hand.

"Wait-."

They both looked down at their joined hands and Percy dropped his quickly. He felt like it was on fire and all his nerve endings were fizzing.

"Um...will-will I see you tomorrow?" he asked.

Annabeth nodded her head and replied, "Yes!" She silently berated herself for sounding so enthusiastic.

"Well- if you want to- when you're done with working here, you and the others can grab lunch with us at the diner."

Annabeth smiled at him and asked, "Will you make your blue cupcakes?"

Percy grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Absolutely."

"Ok," Annabeth said walking backwards for a moment. She pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and said softly, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye..." Percy managed to mumble as she hurried down the stairs and back to the front desk. Percy leaned back against the pillar, letting out a slow breath. What had he just let himself in for?

-Olympia Academy; later that day-

Annabeth walked down the hallway to her dorm room, humming slightly to herself. She hadn't felt this happy in two years.

Percy had looked different and exactly the same. He had gotten older, his shoulders had gotten broader but his smile was still handsome and infuriating. His eyes were that sea green that she had always loved and when he had said her nickname, all the memories of teasing and jokes had come back.

Annabeth took her hat off her head as she saw her door but stopped suddenly when Silena appeared in front of her. The other girl had torn out of her own dorm room right as Annabeth passed and they nearly collided.

"Oh, hey Annabeth!" Silena said in an unusually high voice.

Annabeth frowned at her nervous state and asked, "Are you ok Silena?"

The girl nodded and adjusted the bag on her shoulder. "Yes, I've just got to get to the library and get a paper done."

"Ok well don't let me stop you," Annabeth said and she walked off, humming again.

"Wait!" Silena called and Annabeth turned to look at her.

Silena narrowed her eyes and said, "You're humming. You never hum; what's happened?"

Annabeth opened her mouth, trying to make up an excuse. It was possible that Percy didn't want too many people to know where he was. But Silena spoke again before she could say anything. "You've got that 'Percy' glow about you."

Annabeth frowned and replied, "What? A 'Percy' glow? Is that even a thing?"

Silena shrugged and said, "It is for you. And now I know something is up because you didn't freeze or get that pained look in your eyes when I said his name."

Annebeth looked up and down the corridor before stepping closer to Silena and muttering, "I found Percy, ok? Just don't tell anyone."

Silena raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow and replied, "Really? Well, that's interesting."

"Why?" Annabeth said looking her over. Silena had a tight grip on her bag and was biting her lip; she was hiding something. "What's going on, Silena?" she asked and the other girl sighed.

"I just found out something that you might want to know. Or at least, Percy should know."

-Jupiter Diner-

Percy opened the door to the roof of the Jupiter Diner and stepped out into the air. With a sigh he looked around at the flat area and saw Jason sitting on one of the two deck chairs either side of a table. Sometimes, on warm nights, he and his friends would come up and hang out. The view was pretty great, especially at night. The radio was on and he was listening to a baseball game.

Percy walked over to him and Jason heard his footsteps, turning down the volume.

"Hey!" Jason greeted him, nudging the cooler beside him with his foot, "Do you want a drink; the game just started."

Percy shook his head and looked out at the New York skyline. "I don't get why you like it up here so much," he said and Jason shrugged. "I like being high up; just like you like being in the water. But at least up here I don't end up looking like a raisin."

Percy just nodded and sat down on side of the deck chair, his elbows on his knees, staring at his hands.

"No comeback? You must be worried," Jason said with a small grin, "What? Did I do something?"

Percy shook his head again and replied, "No...no. I just need to tell you something. It's sort of a big deal."

Jason turned the radio off and sat up straight. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

Percy licked his lips and finally torn his eyes from his hands to look at Jason. "I know why you don't like Olympia Academy students. It's because a few of them beat you up when you were fourteen."

Jason swallowed thickly and asked, "How do you know that? I've never told anyone that story."

"I know because I was there." Jason's face fell but before he could say anything Percy continued, "I was coming out of the store and I saw them beating you. I pulled them off-it was easy because they were so out of it. I called the ambulance and stayed with you until they got you to the hospital."

Jason let out a heavy sigh but he was looking at his friend with warmth. "That was you? I remember someone being with me. My head was all over the place, I couldn't see straight but I remember someone being there and telling me everything was going to be ok. It kind of makes sense that it would be you."

Percy cleared his throat and replied, "The reason that I was there...was because I was with them. I had gone to a party with those guys. And the reason I was at a party with Olympia Academy students was because I was an Olympia Academy student."

Percy looked at his friend, who face had contorted into a frown. "You-you used to go to the Academy?!"

Percy nodded and Jason stood up, running a hand through his hair. "So-so all this time that I've been complaining about those guys...you used to be one of them?!"

"It's not like I acted like any of them!" Percy said, "I was different! I never supported anything that they did!"

Jason tried to ask another question but ran a hand over his face instead, trying to sort through the thoughts in his head. His best friend had lied to him. And now he was telling the truth?

"What brought this on? Why are you just telling me this now?"

"The students who are working at the library? They are my old friends. I even dated the blonde girl, Annabeth. I found out two years ago that my father had paid for them to be my friends and I was so furious that I left and didn't go back. But now, I realise that I was hasty and didn't have the full story. So I am trying to reconnect with them. None of them are the typical Olympia students that we see all the time...except the blonde guy Luke. He's like the poster child for badly behaved Academy students."

Jason sighed and sat down on the chair again. Both boys were silent and Percy watched his friend with worry. "I-I understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore-."

"Why, you want to get rid of me?"

Percy frowned this time, in confusion at Jason's slightly teasing tone. Jason grinned slightly and said, "Percy I am not happy that you lied all this time but I get that you didn't want to be associated with Olympia Academy students. But I don't hold it against you for being one."

Percy felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders and he let out a relieved breath. "Oh, I was so worried; I thought you would hate me!"

Jason laughed and said, "Hate you?! How could I hate you? You're the guy who helps me with my homework when all I want to do it give up! You're the one who never lets me feel sorry for myself. You're my annoying always right best friend! I couldn't hate you!"

"I'm sorry but could you repeat the always right part again?"

"Shut up!"

Percy grinned widely and Jason added, "I don't hate you; not even if you were the richest kid there!"

Percy raised an eyebrow at this and tilted his head slightly.

Jason's eyes widened and he asked, "Were you the richest kid there?"

Percy sighed but nodded, "Ya...I mean my father kind of owns the place."

Jason's jaw dropped and he shook his head. "Woah! You're an Olympia?! Like the son of..."

"Poseidon." Jason mouth opened and closed and Percy resisted saying a joke about him looking like a fish out of water.

"Wait...so you're worth like...millions? I mean, are you the only kid?"

Percy nodded and Jason replied, "That means you get everything?! Wow..."

"I know. But my father was the one who paid my friends to be nice to me at the start of the school year. And the rest of his family are nut jobs!"

"So? Do you know what you could do with that money?"

Percy frowned at him and Jason held up his hands. "Hey! I'm not a materialist person, Percy, you know that. But even if the family is terrible and your dad lied you; I know that you could great things with that money. I mean, how many times have you complained about the state of the school or the health centre in the neighbourhood? You could help with the library or do whatever you wanted. I don't like Olympia Academy students because they don't do good thing with their money. But you would."

Percy leaned back slightly in thought. He had never considered what Jason had just suggested; but it all sounded like a really good idea.

"Plus," Jason added, "No matter what he did, he's still your dad. And by the sounds of it, he was only trying to make you happy."

Percy narrowed his eyes at him and replied, "I hate it when you make sense."

"I don't." Jason leaned back on his hands and said, "Anything else I need to know?"

Percy paused but then replied, "That guy I was telling you about, Luke? He's one of the guys who...who beat you."

Jason froze and anger clouded his eyes but Percy spoke quickly. "I know that he didn't pay for what he did to you, but you can't go near him!"

"But Perc-."

"Stay away from him!" Percy ordered, "If you put a scratch on him, his parents will have their lawyers all over you. He's poison and I don't want him near you again, do you understand?"

Jason frowned but replied, "Alright fine! But that doesn't mean I'm happy about it." "I don't expect you to be. But people like Luke get their punishment sooner or later. I just don't want you being the one who hands it out."

Jason sighed but flicked the radio on again and sat back in the deck chair. "Well, at least hand me a drink then. I need to relax after such an emotional moment."

Percy snorted and handed him a drink before sitting back in his deck chair.

"Were you really worried that I would hate you?" Jason asked.

Percy smiled slightly and replied, "Ya."

"Aw!"

"Shut up."