My heart leapt at the sight of the tallest monument of the United States. And I just couldn't help myself when I started stating facts about it. But my friends were used to this. The Gateway Arch. I was seeing The Gateway Arch.
I surprised myself and everyone else when I just kissed Percy right there and then. In public. Where hundreds of people were. But I didn't care at the time. He did something that I never thought he would do. I never thought that I would ever love him more than I already do.
"Thank you, Seaweed Brain." I told him honestly, "Thank you so much."
He just smiled and pulled me close, "Anything for you, Annabeth."
We didn't waste any time trying to get to the top as soon as possible. There were too many tourists and it was getting quite annoying how they always complain about the heat or how annoying the others were. I just want to hit them on the head or shout at them to be quiet and stop acting like babies. Seriously. They're going to ruin one of the best days of my life.
But the one who pissed me off the most was the lady and her Chihuahua. She just happened to follow me and my friends the entire time we were there and just happened to complain over such little things. The worst thing that happened, though, was that she started flirting with all of the guys with us. And she wasn't even that pretty. Maybe that was the only thing keeping me from killing her. I know that Percy would never ever listen to her.
"How is it that wherever we go, there's always a single person that would take interest in you?" I muttered under my breath so that only the person in question could hear.
My boyfriend laughed in turn, looking at me and placing a soft kiss on my temple. "Maybe I'm just irresistible." He answered, teasing.
It was true. He was irresistible, not only to me but to every other woman in the world. But that wasn't the worst part. There are some others who are so much better than I am and I was afraid of losing him to them…. I shook my head to clear the thought out. That won't happen. Percy loves me. He will never do that to me.
The girl hasn't left us yet.
To my right, I swear I saw Thalia fist her hands when she saw that the unwanted stranger fingering her boyfriend's bicep. And Nico was trying really hard to get away but it was very much impossible when her grip was almost unbreakable. It was taking all my self control not to throw her out of the observer's room. And I don't think she can survive a 630 foot drop. But who cares! She can be out of our lives forever! All I need to do was to give one little push.
My conscience told me not to. It wasn't the best idea seeing that I could so easily get arrested with all those people around. But I have been very good at lying lately and I could easily make it look as if it was an accident or that someone else did it or that she committed suicide or…
"Annabeth!"His voice got me out of my trance. "Wise Girl, are you alright?" he asked, a little worried. He might be thinking that I officially lost my mind or something.
I smiled at him reassuringly, burying my face on his chest. "I was just thinking." He looked as if he was about to say something but the annoying high-pitched laugh cut him off. I glared at the brunette that I was so close to killing and approached her. She was getting on my nerves.
"Listen." I hissed to her, grabbing her shoulder. "You stay away from my friends or else."
She just crossed her arms and gave me a look that I can't really describe- a mix of determination and anger and maybe enthusiasm. I wasn't really sure about the last one. "Or else what?" she spat on me, as if I was an animal.
"Or else I will break every single pretty bone in your body. My friends and I, we don't really like someone else eyeing our boyfriends as if they're new toys to play with and they would be very happy to help me plan your death." This was said with frightening calmness. And she flinched when she realized that I was serious. But she stood her ground.
The slut shoved me hard, causing me to stumble backwards a little. I was really glad that Travis caught me and helped me regain my composure. I glared at her again. "You can't tell me what to do." She said, "You don't scare me."
I was glad that Thalia backed me up. The other girls formed a circle around her and shielded the guys from her eyes at the process. Clarisse smiled evilly and cracked her knuckles. When she does that, she was pretty intimidating. "Well, you should be scared." My best friend mused, "Annie here has done pretty bad things in her lifetime."
"So, I suggest that you just go run away." Piper helpfully added, her eyes flashing.
Again, she didn't move. Clarisse stepped forward, her hands in fists. This was the only time that Percy and I would let her beat someone up enough for them to die eventually. "Now," my friend growled, "What should I hit first?" She turned to me for an answer and my smile widened.
"The face and then maybe break her fingers…" I trailed off and nodded,
"You're just afraid to hit me yourself." The bitch laughed but she was clearly shaken. "Hiding behind your friends. Pathetic."
Oh she did not just say that. "Clarisse, stand down." I ordered firmly, approaching her myself. Silena and Katie actually made the move to stop me because they both know how bad I can be when it comes to keeping my relationship. Even Thalia hesitated. They might hate the girl but they don't really want her dead.
"Annabeth." Percy called from behind me, taking me hand. "Don't do anything you might regret. The last thing I want is for my girlfriend to be arrested."
That was when our prey looked truly afraid. If my boyfriend had to intervene, she knows that I was so much worse than a serial killer if I want to be. Once I get too into it, I don't have the ability to stop. And I can tell that it would be really fun beating her up.
I saw my boyfriend back away behind our shield again, clutching his shirt because of what I was about to do. He knows that I have to take my anger out somehow and maybe this was the best way. I will try to keep myself from murdering her. As long as I think of my Seaweed Brain.
"Now, I will give you one last chance. You go now and never look, touch, or think of my friends again." I took a step backward to give her space. "Or, you suffer."
From where I was standing, I could clearly see that her mind was going haywire. She was considering and reconsidering over and over again. Once, she actually looked as if she wet her pants but I highly doubt that. When the decision was made, she just stood up and went closer to the glass. "I'm still not afraid."
Maybe I should give her more credit. She's brave but she's using her bravery for something so evil that it was seen as pride. This time, my friends let Percy through just so that he could stop me when he needed to. I know that the girl saw that. She wasn't blind.
"Before I take away your ability to talk," I said, moving closer to her. "I want to know your name."
She raised an eyebrow at me, "Paige. My name's Paige."
Alright, now I know what to put on my "People to kill when murder is legal" list. It wasn't very long, actually. Just a few names like Rachel Dare's and most of her friends. She's like the tenth person there.
Anyways…
Without warning, I swung my fist to meet her jaw. I saw Katie and Juniper look away and the others move to restrain me. But there wasn't any impact. When my friends heard nothing, they all looked at me and how my hand was only millimeters away from her face. And on my forearm was a hand that belonged to no other than Percy Jackson.
He looked at me pleadingly, those sea green eyes were sad and I immediately realized what I was doing wrong. I heard the faint barking coming from Paige's Chihuahua and heavy breathing from my almost victim. I carefully lowered my arm, retreating to the only person who can comfort me.
"Percy…" I breathed, "I'm so sorry." If he didn't stop me from giving that first blow, I would have broken every bone in her body like I promised. I would even have fulfilled my fantasy and pushed her through the thick glass that was keeping us inside. I didn't want to be a monster but she challenged that side of me to come out.
Thankfully, there weren't much people left to witness this. I don't know why but I think that most of them left at the same time a few hours ago. Those who were here stood at the far corner oblivious to the fact that a girl almost committed a murder. The word struck me. If he didn't stop me, I would have killed her.
Percy helped me sit down near the tram cars and knelt in front of me. My heart was beating very fast, the adrenaline rushing through me. And it didn't help my ADHD. "I'm so sorry." I repeated, suddenly ashamed of myself.
"It's alright, Annabeth." He said softly, brushing the hair from my face and tucking it behind my ears. "You didn't hurt her. It's alright."
I looked away. My pain was his pain. And he doesn't deserve to go through this. "I almost did. If you didn't hold me back. I could have killed her."
"But you didn't," he insisted. "There was no harm done, Wise Girl. And I trust you. You will never do such a thing."
He had to convince me at least ten more times before I finally got the message. I can never kill a person. It just wasn't part of who I am. And Percy would never let it be part of who I am. He will only do what's best for me and that would mean stopping me before I even start. "I love you." I sobbed on his neck, pressing my lips to his softly.
Seaweed Brain, my Seaweed Brain, wiped away the tears on my cheeks. "I love you, too."
We were just sitting there, right beside each other and he continued to whisper sweet words to my ear. It was peaceful. Even I completely forgot that we were still currently at the top of the monument.
"Annabeth." A person said from my right. I looked up from my boyfriend's chest and to the blonde girl who was unharmed. She looked guilty and maybe she was. "Annabeth, I want to apologize for how I was acting. I'm not usually like this but my friends… they influence me into doing so many bad things. I regret it every day but it's very hard to escape a habit that I've unconsciously formed. I'm honestly very sorry."
I sighed, "I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me. I just can't help it when someone flirts with Percy and I guess my jealousy is worse than others."
Paige smiled a true smile, something that I easily returned. "I'll leave you two to talk." My boyfriend said, pulling me up with him. I was about to protest but he stopped me with a kiss. He flashed a grin at the other blonde and walked to where the rest of the group was.
"You two look really good together." She commented, leaning against the glass. "And I was wrong to get between that."
When I looked at her again, I saw that my first impression of the girl was clearly wrong. Behind the make-up that I know she didn't like and the sultry clothes that she finds uncomfortable, I could see an intelligent girl who fights for what she believes in and knows when she went too far in an argument. She knows how to apologize because she values her relationships more than her pride and she was influenced by the wrong people. And that made her who she is now. She's a good person, someone who can be considered as my friend.
The thought made my heart lighten. "Look, Paige, I should have talked to you first before ganging up on you like that. You're different from who I thought you were."
"My friends, they were with me a while ago. Bridget, the leader, she told me that I should prove myself by flirting with your group and I know that if I ever want to be with them, I can't say no. They're not the best people to be with but they're the only ones who can help me stand out, you know. Be noticed."
I nodded sadly but didn't say anything.
She continued. "Before I met them, I was the teacher's pet. I was quiet but sociable and I wasn't hated even when I had the title. I was respected. They took the opportunity to poison me then. They made me think that who I am wasn't good enough and I was stupid to believe them. The friends that I left, the ones who truly cared about me, they were disappointed when they found out who I chose. They were trying to reach out to me the moment I joined Bridget's group but I told them that I didn't want to be with them." She breathed shakily, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I deserved what you almost did to me. That's why I never ran. Not because I was being proud and keeping my dignity. I know that someone else should snap me out of this and bring me back to who I was."
I never actually thought that her story would be so sad. A kind heart like her doesn't deserve such a terrible past to remember. "You know what!" I smiled, taking both of her hands in mine. She looked at me hopefully, "You should go back to your friends, the ones you left behind."
"What if they don't accept me? I hurt them so badly."
"They will. If you're supposed to be with them, then they will. Don't let a single person change who you really are because you are so much better than what they're turning you into."
It took her a moment to absorb what I told her. But when she did, she surprised me by hugging me tightly as if we've known each other for a very long time. "I think I can lend you some clothes, something more proper than what you're actually wearing." She laughed and nodded in agreement, "And you can wash off the make-up in our RV."
"Thank you, Annabeth." She told me, "You're the best."
My friends greeted Paige with big smiles. Seeing that we were really good at recognizing a liar, it was pretty easy to trust her. Every word she said was true and I guess she has been living her entire life in a lie and she doesn't want that anymore.
Once the introductions and apologies were made, we headed to the trams and back to ground. We had to hide Paige because we noticed her so-called "friends" not too far from us. I didn't want the girl to be sad again, not when I already treat her as if she's my sister.
There wasn't much to give her but jeans and a plain red t-shirt. She didn't mind though, saying that it was so much better than the short skirt and tank top that Bridget required her to wear. And Silena had to help her remove some of the make-up because soap and water won't do it. It was quite amusing how closer we are to her already. Maybe we can relate to her easily or she was just friendly.
When the clock struck five, we had to let her go. Percy, as much as he hated it, said that we should be back on the road if we want to reach the next place in time. I didn't want to argue with him so I just wished her luck and gave her my number, saying "If you ever need me for anything, don't hesitate to call."
"Thanks, guys." She said, hugging all of us. "And take care of yourselves. Maybe we'll see each other again."
"I hope we will." Jason smiled at her, unable to help it.
Before I had the chance to close the door, Clarisse reached out and shook her hand. "No hard feelings then?" She whispered but I knew that she intentionally made it loud enough for all of us to hear.
"It was a learning experience for everyone." We shared one last laugh with her before closing the door, waving goodbye.
It took me a while to leave the window and when I did, I immediately claimed the passenger's seat with Percy driving to our next destination. "Where to next?" I asked, taking his hand.
"We're going to visit my uncle in Denver."
