We Olympians (A Percy Jackson AU) || BOOK 1

Chapter 32 || Annabeth

When Annabeth woke up, she realized where she was. The safe house. In her new room in the Athena hall. Getting out of the gray bed, she put on a gray cropped sweatshirt and some denim skinny jeans, along with some converse shoes. Annabeth didn't want to spend the time to brush out her curls, so she just tied it up with a gray ribbon and left it at that. As she walked down the halls towards the main area--getting lost a couple times--she heard voices arguing.

"...I don't want to tour them!"

"It'll be okay, dude! This is all you've ever wanted!"

"No, it's not! With this new war coming up they don't have time to train! The fact that they're Olympians is already dangerous enough!"

"You're literally going to suffer if you continue distancing yourself! The Fates even helped out! They brought the three of them here and you're still doing this?"

"Clarisse, I was a jerk to them. What do you think it's gonna be like when I have to face them again?"

"The same way we all faced them!"

"But we have history. Nico thinks his sister died because of me. Thalia just hates my guts. Annabeth... Annabeth and I kissed!" So this was Percy.

"So you're gonna leave that alone?"

"I don't care if it's left alone or if it wasn't. My life was going great until I got out into the real world."

"What do you think you're gonna do for the rest of your life?"

"I'm not gonna live that long! I'm lucky enough that I got to the age of 16!"

What was he talking about?

As Annabeth got closer and closer to the living room area, she saw Percy and his friends arguing, along with Grover. The moment Percy spotted her, he glowered before looking at the rest of his friends.

"I don't care what you say. All I know is that my double life just became my single life and I don't think that's a good thing," he said before crutching away.

Annabeth thought she could see a tear slip from Percy's eyes.

"Uh..." she said, looking at all of them.

"YOU JUST GOT THE BLONDE PRINCESS CONFUSED, YOU DUMBASS!" Clarisse yelled after Percy.

"SHUT IT, YOU BITCH!" Percy yelled back before he was already into the hall.

"Are you two always like that?" Annabeth asked.

"They've been insulting each other since they met." Piper rolled her eyes. "It's just friendly teasing."

Clarisse seemed to eye Annabeth, scanning her up and down before rolling her eyes, muttering something along the lines of 'barbie doll' and storming away in the direction Percy had just gone.

"So... you're Annabeth?" Frank said after a long moment of silence.

"What were you guys just talking about?" Annabeth asked. "And why was Percy so upset?"

"He's been closed off for a long time," Hazel explained. "Separating himself from the mortal world--well, more specifically, you, Thalia and Nico--hurt him pretty bad. The Water Chestnut can't get out of it. It's just a lot to take in for him. Almost like it was a waste of time for him to isolate himself when you'd wind up here anyways."

"Water Chestnut?" Annabeth questioned.

"It's a nickname," Jason said. "Also... you do know that he was trying to protect you, right? By keeping his distance?"

"Well... now I do. Before I thought he had just changed into a big jerk. Also... where did Percy go?"

"Judging by how he went down the hall, he probably went to go wake up your other two friends who just happen to also be his cousins."

"Wait... I'm not his cousin, right?" Annabeth asked, scared. There was no way she could be dating Percy if they were cousins.

"Nope!" Leo shook his head. "But your parents hate each other."

"Oh..." Annabeth looked around the room. "Does she hate Percy?"

A knowing glint appeared in their eyes, which freaked Annabeth out... in a way. She already knew they were spies, not to mention they had been spying on her for her whole life.

"Well... that's complicated," Leo said, narrowing his eyes in thought. "The first time Athena met him, she called him 'a mistake'. The second time Athena met up with him, she called him 'a sea scum'. The third time she met him, they were working on a collaboration, so she just said 'hey'. And the fourth time she met him--which was actually a few hours ago--I'm guessing she was grateful that he saved you, so she just said 'you're brave, but I hate your dad's guts'."

"So... she doesn't love him."

"Not one bit," Piper said.

That's when Percy came in the room with Thalia and Nico behind him. Clarisse was behind her two friends, looking like she was planning their murders or something.

"Breakfast is in... what? Five minutes?" Percy checked his watch.

"Yep," Piper said. "Come on, you guys. Thalia, Nico, the children of the Big Three sit up at the front of the table. Annabeth, you can sit wherever you want."

When Annabeth got in, she was faced with the biggest and longest and fanciest table she thought she'd ever see in her whole life. Percy simply crutched over to his spot at the front of the table. Jason took the very top, Percy and Hazel on his "wings".

"Go on," Piper said, motioning for Nico and Thalia to sit in the spots next to them.

So, a very uncomfortable Thalia sat next to Percy, and Nico sat next to Hazel. Annabeth took her seat next to Thalia, and the rest of them just sat down. The breakfast was awkward and mostly silent, only Piper trying to liven up some conversation. But she failed. Percy wasn't really eating. He was just drinking a blue coke and munching on a cookie, trying to remove himself from the conversation in any way possible.

It hurt Annabeth, but looking at the rest of the group's faces, it looked like they wanted to say things, just didn't want to say it in front of Annabeth and the others. Finally, Annabeth didn't want to stay in the silence for much longer, so she just cleared her throat and said something.

"Hi."

"Uh... hey," Clarisse said, still looking uncomfortable.

"I'm gonna go to the water facility," Percy finally said, getting up. "Dad probably wants me there to finish launching the new invention."

"Send me the pics!" Piper called after him as Percy disappeared through the double doors.

"What does he mean by water facility?" Thalia asked.

"Don't worry about that. Percy will come back and tour you guys around. He just needs some time to think about it, that's all."

"I hope that's all..." Nico muttered under his breath.