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

Chapter 34 || Annabeth

Annabeth blinked a couple times just to make sure she wasn't dreaming, pinched herself, slapped herself, even purposely fell on the floor. She wasn't dreaming. Percy had actually just agreed to not distance himself from them. After such a long time!

"WELL FINALLY!" she screamed to no one in particular.

That's when Thalia and Nico walked in, looking for her.

"Annabeth!" Thalia spotted her on the floor and immediately began to help. "What happened? Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"Thalia!" Annabeth laughed. "I'm more than okay. Percy finally agreed to not distance himself from us!"

"Please don't do this to me..." Thalia shook her head. "Annabeth, I'm done with pranks--"

"I'm not pranking you, Thalia! He actually said he'd stop distancing himself. But it'll take time, so don't rush him."

"How do you know he means it?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

"He promised me when we were twelve," Annabeth murmured. "Percy promised that no matter what happened, no matter where he went, he'd always come back."

-FLASHBACK-

Annabeth sat alone in the rain, the water soaking her as she cried her twelve-year-old heart out. She was sitting in front of her parents' house, sobbing after a fight she had with Helen and her father. Stupid, stupid Helen and her stupid dad. They just HAD to make life miserable, didn't they? Suddenly, an umbrella opened up above her and she stared up in alarm. There was a figure slightly shorter than her, but those sea-green eyes meant it was Percy.

"Percy?"

"No, it's your donut! Of course, it's me!" Percy said with a cheeky grin.

"You're..." Annabeth wiped her eyes on her sleeve, which was also soaking wet. "You're getting wet, Percy!"

"It's not like I care." Percy shrugged. "I actually like water. It's the only thing that can really understand you. Just like you're sad today, the water is, too. And when you need water, it's always there to help you, no matter how far away the ocean is. It's always there to help you."

"What did the ocean have to do with my situation right now?"

"Well... I'm here for you right now," Percy said. "The water came, too. Just think of me as the water. When you're sad, I'm sad. When you need me, I'll always be there to help you, no matter how far away I may or may not be. But just like the ocean, I'm always there. I promise."

"So are you some philosopher right now?" Annabeth found herself laughing slightly. "Get under the umbrella before you catch a cold!"

Percy sat next to her on the steps of Annabeth's house, the rain pouring down harder, beating against the blue Nemo umbrella.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

"Helen and my dad. My dad just got a fancy job in San Francisco for his job and Helen told him he had to go chase a money opportunity, so he just went. I told him to stay... I mean, he's my dad. I'm not gonna let him go and leave me to the Helen creep. It's not like she'd care. The treatment's probably gonna be the same."

Percy held her hand and brought it out so she could catch some of the raindrops.

"Imagine me that small," Percy pointed to the bit of water in Annabeth's palm. "See how easy it was to get to me?"

"Yeah..." Annabeth smiled at the little seaweed brain. "Thanks, Percy."

"You're welcome!" Percy grinned cheekily before giving her a hug. "Now get inside before it gets too dark."

Annabeth had her hand on the doorknob.

"What about you?" she asked. "It's really dark and it's dangerous for you to be walking outside by yourself, especially in New York."

"Don't worry about me, Wise Girl," Percy said. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."

As Annabeth opened the door, she turned back to thank him, but Percy had already left.

"Have a nice trip, Dad," she said to her father as he was about to walk out the door.

Her father stared at her in shock, as she was sopping wet, but Annabeth said nothing more as she walked up the stairs to her room, closing the door behind her. Taking off her wet clothes, she looked at the dripping mess on the floor. A smile spread across her face.

"Goodnight, Percy," she said to the droplets before she dried off, putting on her pajamas.

-FLASHBACK-

"He really said that to you?" Thalia raised both of her eyebrows.

"Yeah..." Annabeth chuckled. "It's actually pretty silly if you ask me, but it meant a lot."

"No, that's literally the smartest thing he's ever said." Thalia shook her head.

Annabeth sighed, taking out her phone and calling Percy. To her surprise, he answered. He was on the car with Clarisse, jamming out to music.

"Hey!" he said, still bopping his head to the music. "Did you tell them?"

"Uh... they're right here."

Percy froze, turning to them, and Clarisse immediately slapped him, grabbing the wheel.

"Watch the road, punk!"

"Yes, mother," Percy scoffed, rolling his eyes at her.

Clarisse gave him a punch to the arm and sat back down in the passenger seat, tightening her seatbelt. "How'd you even pass your driver's test?"

"Don't insult my marvelous skills, Clarisse! Hey, Thals," Percy said as his eyes were trained on the road. "Hey, Neeks."

He brought his Starbucks drink to his lips, driving one-handed. 

"HEY?!" Thalia and Nico both exclaimed.

"Talk to you later." Percy rolled his eyes. "We're at Ares's facility."

"It's chowder time, Prissy!" Clarisse got out of the car, slamming it shut.

"Bye..." Percy laughed, hanging up.

"Are we talking to the same person?" Thalia asked after a while.

"Hey, Annabeth!"

Annabeth turned to see a girl walking forward. Drew Tanaka. She had a gang of girls behind her. Oh shit. Drew Tanaka, even if she was pretty, had beat up a couple guys in their elementary school. Annabeth had believed Drew had dropped out or moved somewhere... but she had gone here. Lucky day.

"The daughter of Athena," Drew chuckled, looking her up and down. "Lucky girl. You don't have what it takes to be Olympian material. Look at you! You can't even fight!"

"I can!" Annabeth's pride took over and she almost cursed out loud.

Drew smirked, as if she had been expecting it.

"See you in the arena, Annabeth. You might wanna bring the paramedics. Just so you don't bleed out."

She was frozen in fear. Drew was going to beat her until she was a pulp.