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

Chapter 15 || Annabeth

Annabeth lay awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sounds of the movie playing downstairs ringing through the halls, Bobby and Matthew's laughing bouncing all over the house. She opened her door just a peep, and saw her stepmother, her dad, and her two step-brothers all curled up on the couch. They were covered by a large blue blanket big enough to fit five.

But Helen always said it couldn't fit her.

She wasn't their 'fifth' person invited. She was Annabeth. The girl no one wanted to be next to.

Just two more years, Annabeth. After you're done with your senior year you're off to college, off to find work, and off to start a new life without these balls of shit you're supposed to call family... Annabeth thought as she walked back into her room, turning on the bedside lamp she had. Taking a book off her nightstand, she began to read.

The book was slightly eroded, the edges of the cover soft and white, dozens of fold marks on the pages. Of course, the book cover was blue with a sea-green wave painting in the middle, Nemo's picture taped on by the only person she knew as a friend when she was twelve. Yes, she kept it for four years and read it every night. Because it never got boring. Just like Percy never got old. 

He was always her Seaweed Brain. An adorable, loving, innocent kid who she longed to be with every second of every day. The only source of happiness she had. Percy was the only person who could let her forget that she didn't have a family. He was her lifeline. And he left. She lost him. Annabeth's fingers traced the blue paint on the DIY book cover to hide the ugly one it had before.

"So un-colorful," Percy had said. "It's like looking at a sea with no fish in it. Or a beach with no water. Even no sand. Just a dry desert is what you'd think of, but without a desert."

Her lips twitched up in a smile when she thought of him, his voice ringing through her ears. But that smile faded as she remembered what had happened when he just came back. He wasn't... Percy. There was no way it was the Percy she had grown to love. The way he acted, the way he looked, the way he didn't even look at them, was all strange to her. Unheard of.

"Percy Jackson? Leaving Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico? Psh! You're stupid if you think that's gonna happen."

Well, it happened. Whoever thought it wouldn't got a lucky guess that Annabeth wish no one did get. Her mind flashed back to when she saw him with that beautiful girl with the feather in her hair. Piper. That was her name. The way they laughed together. Or the way he was with that Clarisse girl, shoving her like they were one person. Especially the way he had done with Hazel. The inside jokes Percy made while he wasn't with them. How he was just... okay.

CHAPTER 20 || Penny and Her Clownfish

Penny Roberts looked into the water, her arms sinking into the tide pool as she examined the fish closely.

"Did you get trapped when the tide came in?" she whispered as she took out a large plastic bag full of water.

She gently scooped the small clownfish up, dumping it into the bag, where it swam around happily, enjoying its new space. As Penny bent to put it back in the water, the fish seemed to swim closer to the bottom of the bag, as if it didn't want to go. Penny frowned, staring at the bag. It didn't want to be free and she knew it.

"Come on, little guy. I've gotta let you go. You wanna be set free from me. I'm just a human and you're a fish. You belong in the ocean with all your fish friends. Not me and my human friends."

As Penny started to dump the water into the sea, the fish clung to the bag for dear life, choking itself as the water went away. Penny, frantic, filled the bag with her water bottle's water, relieving the fish.

"Why did you do that?" she asked the fish as if it could respond.

The fish stared at her, its tail swishing behind it. It was obvious to Penny that the fish wanted to stay. So she took it and trudged up the beach, the fish happily in its confinement bag.

"I'll buy you a large tank from the pet store and I'll feed you, too," the twelve year old girl said, "I promise! You'll have fun... Nemo Jr."

Nemo Jr. seemed to like his name, as he just swam in the bag in circles, like a dog trying to chase his tail.

Annabeth paused, reading the chapter's beginning again. The author, @MaidenDemigod4Life, really seemed to understand what she was going through. She was Penny. Percy was Nemo Jr. Or was he really belonging in the sea? Annabeth flipped to the end of the book.

CHAPTER 45 || Heartfelt Goodbyes

As Penny knelt down to the sea, watching as the tide came in, she saw a school of clownfish near the shore. Nemo Jr. stared at Penny with pouty eyes, but Penny shook her head, a tear slipping down her face.

"I'm sorry, buddy. You belong in the wild. You were born in the wild. I'm not like you and it's cruel of me to trap you in a jar when you could explore everything you wanted in the world. Not just looking at my room. Don't forget me though, okay, little guy?"

Penny didn't know if fishes could hear humans, or even understand, but Nemo Jr. just nodded, his eyes sad as she approached the water. She thought of all the fun times she'd shared with Nemo Jr. But her level of attachment wasn't healthy and she knew it. Nemo Jr. wasn't raised in the pet store. He was raised in the wild. A place where freedom was. A tear slipped down her face as she began to pour the water out.

"I'll miss you, little guy..." she whispered as Nemo Jr. seemed to wave goodbye to her.

This time, he didn't cling on for dear life. He just slipped into the ocean, swimming to his school of fish. With one last glance at her, the school of fish zoomed away. Penny sank to her knees in the beach, staring at the little bag. She tucked it into her pocket, staring at the waves lapping at the beach.

"Miss you already, Nemo Jr..." she felt her tears slipping down her cheeks. "I'll never forget you."

Annabeth was crying. Sure, it was just a fish and a girl. This was a child's story. But it held so many meanings Annabeth couldn't describe. She checked the time. 12:00 AM. As she switched off the lamp, pulling the covers over herself, she let out a sigh as she slipped into her dreams, Nemo Jr. still in her mind.