of half-bloods and happenings
broken
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"Annabeth?"
Rachel spotted her friend sitting by the canoe lake, knees drawn up to her chest. Annabeth's blonde hair was streaked with mud and grime, and the bronze armour she wore looked tarnished, as if it had seen better days. Which, Rachel mused, it probably had.
Annabeth turned slightly, so the setting sun cast long shadows of her eyelashes across her cheekbones. "Hey," she said, sounding upbeat, but Rachel could tell that there was no happiness to her expression, no smile on her face. She sighed, and flopped down next to the blonde.
"How did you know I was here?" Annabeth said, swivelling her body to face Rachel. The latter thought for a moment, staring out across the rippling water. Someone, the Stolls, no doubt, had anchored a canoe in the middle of the lake, complete with fake dummy passengers. The boat rocked in the gentle breeze.
"You're my friend, Annabeth," Rachel said at last. "I know you. Plus, I am the Oracle. It's kinda my job to know stuff." The ghost of a smile flitted across Annabeth's face. "Stuff," she echoed, blinking rapidly. It looked like she was holding back tears.
Silence.
"Hey, do you remember when we first met?" Rachel asked, trying to lighten the mood. "We hated each other, didn't we?"
Annabeth nodded. "I was such a bitch."
Rachel laughed. It felt good, made her feel better than she had in a long while. "So was I. Sorry about that, you know."
Annabeth shook her head vehemently, blonde curls flying. "I'm the one who should be sorry, Rachel. I just…" She paused, turning once more to gaze out over the lake. Rachel realised with a start just how deep the shadows beneath Annabeth's eyes were, just how hollow her limbs looked. She seemed fragile; breakable. This wasn't the Annabeth Camp Half-Blood knew as their leader. This was someone different. Someone less. Broken.
The daughter of Athena cleared her throat. "I can't believe how obtuse he was. Percy, I mean." Her voice was thick, but she was obviously making an effort to diffuse the tension. Rachel grinned. "I mean," Annabeth continued, "How could he not see how I felt about him? It was ridiculous."
Rachel was silent for a long moment. "I think… I think he did realise, Annabeth." She looked her friend in the eye. "Well, maybe not exactly. But he sure cared about you. More than- more than anyone else." Annabeth gave her a strange look, as if she didn't quite believe what Rachel was saying, but she wanted to, and desperately. "He loved you, even then. It just took him a while to understand what he felt."
Annabeth sniffled, looking suspiciously like she was crying. "Stupid Seaweed Brain."
The girls sank into silence once more, watching the waves lap up against the canoe lake shore.
Rachel looked down at her bare toes, at how white and small they looked in the deepening shadows.
Annabeth took a deep breath, as if readying to dive underwater.
Rachel smiled to herself. She stood.
"Come on, Annabeth." Rachel held out her hand which, instead of taking, Annabeth just stared at.
"Uh…where?"
"Counsellors' meeting. Remember?"
"Oh."
Rachel sighed, tilting her gaze towards the purple clouds overhead. "We'll find him, Annabeth. We will. I know it." Annabeth's shoulders shook gently with the smallest sob. "He'll come home. I'm sure he will." Rachel smiled gently at her friend, once more extending her hand. This time, Annabeth took it, letting her friend pull her to her feet. "Come on, then," Rachel murmured, casting one last look at the rippling water behind her.
"Friends don't abandon one another, Annabeth," she whispered, watching the blonde who seemed to want to linger at the lake for as long as possible, as if somehow, Percy himself would appear at the horizon. "Percy won't abandon you. And I won't either, because like it or not, you're stuck with me."
Annabeth turned towards Rachel after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. Arms still linked, they began to walk slowly towards the Big House. "You're my friend," Rachel reiterated, grip tightening on Annabeth to make sure she didn't slip away into nothingness. "Even if you are a bitch."
This elicited the smallest of small smiles from Annabeth, but for Rachel, that was enough. She blinked away the forming tears in her eyes and, together with Annabeth, broke into a run, the setting sun sky glowing both orange and purple behind them.
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Author's Note: Longer than my others, but it felt right, somehow. Hopefully you enjoyed it, amazingirl96, who asked for an Annabeth-Rachel friendship fic at the end of TLH, when they're late for the head counsellor's meeting! Thanks for the drabble suggestion! Any more, just feel free to review and request! That applies to everyone! Thanks to first reviewers, amazingirl96 and The Ace of Owls. You guys are the best!