A Deal with a Player

Chapter 13: The Gunfire

Percy POV

"Wise Girl, what the hell are you doing?" I asked in frustration.

"I'm coming with you, Seaweed Brain. Whatever you're going to do right now, it's obviously dangerous, and you cannot go alone," she said calmly but with a hint of annoyance.

"NO, No, no," I exclaimed. "Get out now."

"Not happening, Seaweed Brain. It's either we waste time arguing or you get going."

I swore in anger as my hands slapped the steering wheel. Annabeth was so stubborn. Couldn't she understand that this would most likely be very dangerous? I didn't want to take her into a den of monsters (ie Atlas and his thugs).

"Fine," I shouted as I drove out of the parking lot.

Calypso wasn't too far away. Apparently, her father and his associates found her at the hotel that the police put her in. Now, Calypso was on the run and currently hiding at a construction site. It was horrible to imagine the beautiful, caramel-haired girl crouched behind a concrete wall while crying out of fear.

"Annabeth, you're so stubborn," I exclaimed.

"Yeah, I've been told that before," she shouted back at me.

My hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly as I drove. The location that Calypso mentioned wasn't too far away. Hopefully, the police would get there quickly so that we'd be safe.

"Percy, where are we going? Who is Calypso?"

"Wise Girl, I literally cannot think right now, okay. Can you just- Ugh, how could you be believing Luke over me?" I asked again. Literally, our entire argument was screwing with my brain. For some unknown reason, it hurt so much that Annabeth wasn't believing me.

"Seaweed Brain, despite everything, you're still on that."

"Yes, I am," I snapped.

"Alright fine, Percy, tell me this: what happened to your hands earlier this week?" she asked boldly. We were both pretty much screaming our words.

"Oh my god, Annabeth, fine! I was upset, okay, and I ended up punching and kicking the walls of my trailer out of frustration. Is that enough for you or do you want my mom's phone number so you can double-check my 'apparently' lying ass?"

"Wait, your hands got injured because you punched a wall?"

"Yeah, I know it's a bad habit. I was just upset Sunday because some stuff happened."

She paused, but I could feel her intense gaze burning into me. Annabeth nodded before turning back to the road. "I believe you," she murmured.

"What?! After all that, now, you believe me," I snapped in disbelief.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain. That bastard, Luke, made it really convincing that you did something. If you want, just go ask Thalia."

My voice softened as my gaze flitted towards Annabeth. "Wise Girl, if Luke got injured, it wasn't because of me. He's only trying to frame me as a bad guy for obvious reasons (you being one of them)."

Annabeth looked at me as her hand reached forward and touched my arm. Despite the intense situation, I felt warmth and comfort flood my system as she slowly rubbed the length of my arm. Her eyes gleamed to the moonlight shining through the window.

Damn, Wise Girl was beautiful and intelligent and incredibly strong.

I'm pretty sure that I could've stayed there (staring at her) for eternity, but the situation crashed our moment.