Hey guys. I will be describing Annabeth according to her book appearance. I fully support the show adaptation and this has nothing to do with that controversy. This is just a fic of the book series so don't freak out. All rights to Rick Riordan.
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Jason
Annabeth had been curled up in his arms on the hillside for nearly two hours. After they shadow traveled out of the cavern, she had collapsed and let loose a sound that was a mixture between a scream and a sob. As she was violently shaking, Jason had crawled to her and held her to him. She leaned on him and cried. Whether or not she actually recognized the fact that he was there was a different story.
His friends were sitting in the circle they had appeared in and sat unmoving. Coach Hedge had heard their arrival and ran down towards them along with Reyna who had arrived mere minutes before them. Reading the faces and the loud absence of a certain person, they remained silent. Reyna bowed her head and swallowed heavily. He had been her friend too.
Piper looked up at Jason who stared at her over the top of Annabeth's messy blond hair. Piper's eyes filled with tears and she bent over, crying. Leo's face was twisted with guilt and shame as he grabbed Piper's shoulders and took her to the ship. Hazel had tears streaming down her face and she reached for Annabeth. She hesitated, fingers inches from her shoulder, then retracted her arm. She followed Leo and Piper. Slowly, all Jason's friends left the hillside, leaving only him and Annabeth.
Time stretched on as Annabeth cried in his arms. He didn't move. He didn't speak. And neither did she. Her sobs eventually quieted, leaving her shaking silently. Even after she stopped crying, neither of them moved.
After an amount of time that Jason could not measure, Frank came back out to them. He was wearing fresh clothes and had properly dressed his shoulder wound. He patted Jason's shoulder and she knelt down beside the two.
"We should take her in." He murmured to Jason. Not to Annabeth. To Jason. Jason nodded slightly, his neck feeling painful since he hadn't moved in a while.
"Annabeth? Can you walk inside?" He asked next to her ear. He felt her chest rise heavily and fall shakily. She didn't respond.
"Here, I can carry her." Frank bent down and picked her up like a bride. Her face pealed off Jason's shirt, but the imprint of his wrinkles remained etched in her skin. Her face had no tear streaks, but instead was completely coated in smeared tears. Her skin was bright red and her eyes bloodshot and puffy. If Jason had not known what had happened, he would not be able to recognize her.
She raised no protest to being carried to the ship and instead dropped her head to Frank's shoulder. His large arms created an illusion of a cocoon. They entered the ship and walked down the hallway. As they passed the door to the main room, the other's voices echoed into Jason's ears.
"I-I j-just can't believe he's g-gone." Hazel sobbed.
"What are we going to do" Leo muttered. Piper was trying to stay words, but her breath kept hitching on them. Annabeth lifted her head slightly and watched the door until it was out of sight. Frank dropped her onto her bed in her room, propped up against the wall. Jason felt almost sick to his stomach. She was almost like an easily breakable doll now. Being picked up and placed in different rooms. A far cry from the leader he had known.
"Annabeth, I'm going to start dressing your wounds. Okay?" Frank knelt in front of her bed. She blinked slowly which Frank took for a yes. He started to clean out the cuts on her arms. Jason waited for her to wince, but she was blankly staring at her table. Looking over, Jason saw that she was staring at a picture of her and Percy.
Jason's breath hitched. Percy was standing with his arm around Annabeth, a sarcastic grin on his face. They both had grey stripes in their hair and Annabeth leaned into him, as if she lived off his body heat. They both looked so... happy. They were not the same people as the boy who begged Jason to hold his girlfriend back or the girl sitting in front of him. They were not the same.
"Um... Annabeth there's a cut on your leg. I- uh." Frank looked at Jason for help. It took Jason a second to recognize the problem.
"Oh. I'll get Piper." He muttered and left the room. He could feel Annabeth's eyes on the back of his head as he walked out of the door. He entered the main room and Leo's, Piper's and Hazel's eyes jumped to his.
"Is she okay?" Leo asked in a hollow voice.
"Um... yeah. Physically I guess. She's pretty malnourished, and she has some wounds that need to be taken care of. Sword cuts I think. There's one on her leg that one of you need to do." He addressed the girls.
"I- we can both." Piper sniffed and rubbed her nose. They left and their seats at the table were replaced quickly with Frank. The three boys sat at the table in silence. Frank buried his face in his hands and did not emerge for some time. Leo had brought out his broken fortune cookie and stared at it.
"It's not your fault, man." Jason said eventually.
"How is it not?" Leo looked up, defeated.
"Because it's Percy." Frank spoke. Both Jason and Leo looked at him. Frank continued. "He was going to close the doors no matter what. Because that's who he is. He lays down his life for other people. And we should have seen it coming. I should have seen it coming." Frank slammed his fist on the table and retreated back to his hands.
Jason closed his eyes, but instead of seeing darkness, he saw Percy's face closing the doors. Maybe one of the last expressions he ever made. He wondered if what he said at the doors were his last words. But what does it matter now?
He's dead. And they were alone.