Forever- a Percabeth story.

Chapter 39

Annabeth

After school, Percy was called into a team gathering outside in the parking lot. They had pre-meet and post-meet traditions, rallying each other up was part of the former.

I watched him relish in the attention and the excitement as I leaned on Nico's car, waiting for him and Hazel to arrive. I had asked them for a ride home, mostly because I needed to talk to Hazel about something, but also because I felt I needed to fill them in on Percy's heroism.

Just before we left Mrs. Yancey's office he had grabbed my hand. I could still feel where he had touched me.

I wished he would stop touching me so casually, but, at same time, I didn't.

He had seemed so desperate a few moments ago, standing in an empty office grabbing my hand. His green eyes so deep as he looked at me and said "I really want you to be there."

Just the memory of it filled me with a horrible mixture of hope and dread.

Part of me wanted to snap at him "Go find your pretty red head and leave me alone!" and another part of me wanted to pull at his wrist, bring him close and tell him the ugly, pathetic truth... that I'd do anything he asked when he looked at me like that.

Hazel bumped me with her hip when she came up to me.

"Getting a good look?" She teased, gesturing towards where the swim teem was hanging out around Will's jeep, blaring music and chanting and goofing off.

"Yeah, Frank is getting really handsome lately, dont you think?" I tease her right back.

Hazel giggled.

"He asked me to go to the meet, obviously I was going anyway, but he asked me. Isn't that sweet?" She looked so soft and cute, gazing at him from across the parking lot.

Inside, my stomach twisted.

Percy had asked me to go too.

He had also asked Rachel.

How could it be that the most considerate, genuine, wonderful boy in the world could be so duplicitously cruel?

The worst part is he had no idea, no clue at all about what he was doing to me, how much physical pain he was putting me in.

"You seem sad." Hazel said absently, only glancing at me before returning her stare to Frank as he and another boy lifted a freshman onto their shoulders.

"I need to talk to you about NHS." I told her.

She nodded, "Anything else you need to talk about?"

I had wanted to tell her what Percy had done... but maybe it wasn't the best idea. I loved Hazel, but when her and Piper got together they became such a gossip squad. But I still really needed to talk to someone about what all this meant, about what Percy's actions implied. What was the point of having friends who knew my secret if I couldn't ask them for help about it? I had to stop isolating myself from everyone, it only made me feel worse.

I would have reached out to Thalia, but she had gotten her phone taken by the headmaster for a prank she played involving her phone, an aux cord, a green day track, and the morning announcements. Reyna had let me know about it after latin. It seemed funny when she told me, but now I just wished I could call her.

Still, Hazel and Nico were good friends. I could trust them. Besides, they didn't have a relationship with Rachel the way Piper did. The last thing I wanted to do was put Piper in an uncomfortable situation, even more so than I already had.