How You Changed Me (Demigods In High School AU)

Chapter 30 || Annabeth's Plan

ANNABETH CHASE

Annabeth got out of her bed, her hospital gown falling down to her ankles as she stepped across the cold floor. She walked across the hall before reaching a room she dreaded to go into. Renee's room. Opening the door, she saw Renee, who was looking rather upset. The moment she saw her, she glared daggers at Annabeth.

"Listen," Annabeth sighed, "I'm sorry for the fight that went down last night. But... I just wanted to talk to you. If that's fine."

Renee loosened a little bit at her apology and she nodded.

"Sit," she said.

She sat down on the chair next to Renee.

"I guess I finally understand what it feels like to have a boyfriend," she chuckled sadly.

"You've... You've never dated before Percy?" Renee blinked a couple of times.

"No," Annabeth shook her head, "Virgin, maiden... yeah."

Renee stared at her for a long second before shaking her head.

"I actually thought you'd be something like Emma Mitchell or something. One of the girls who try to get every guy that's hot."

"No," Annabeth shook her head, "He just seemed pretty sad and I wanted to cheer him up. That's why I wanted to hang out with him. Not because I wanted to steal him from you or anything. Just... I got concerned when he began to drink. It's what got me into my protective sense."

"But you haven't even known him for very long," Renee said, puzzled, "Why do you care about him so much?"

"Because I just... do. I found him at the bar last week... after you two broke up. And he was just sitting there, getting drunk, explaining the pain he was in... And he looked so... broken. I'm not saying it's your fault, it's mainly Jackie's. Do you know what happened?"

Renee nodded.

"Yeah. Me trying to help him is also one of the things I started off with, but later on, it grew more into a popularity sort of thing, and I... lost track," Renee said guiltily. "But I do love him."

Annabeth sighed.

"Have you seen him without alcohol? Do you remember how it was like before he drank for the first time?"

"Yeah..." Renee sighed, "I guess... I wanted to have a common interest with him, which is why I got him into alcohol. You may think my life's perfect, but it's not. Alcohol just escapes pain for me. It's how I cope."

"I'm... I'm so sorry," Annabeth cleared her throat. "But he's so much more... alive when he's not on alcohol. So I made him swear his life that he'd not go into a bar to drink when he was sad, and that he'd talk. That's how we met up after three years. And after... I just... kissed him. I don't know why, but I did it. We dated for a week before... our fight."

She felt tears welling up.

"And what happened after that?" Renee asked, confused as to why Annabeth had began to cry.

"He said it was better for me if he broke up with me. Because he said he wasn't smart enough or good enough, and he said the fight was all because of him. The stupid thing always blamed himself."

Renee sighed.

"He's off to France, you know that?" she whispered. "He won't be back until it's next year. He'll probably move on, and you should, too."

"But I can't," Annabeth said firmly, "I've never felt true love before. And I just... knew it was true love when I met him. What made me so angry was that he dated you. That's why. But he's lovable."

"Man candy," Renee rolled her eyes, "That's the reason why so many girls want to be his girlfriend."

"No," Annabeth shook her head, "I'm not one of those girls. I like him for being him. And of course, his hot looks are a bonus, but I care about him."

"You know," Renee said, sitting straighter, "I always thought that Percy did feel sad. I just slowly stopped thinking about it the more we grew into our relationship. Now that I think about it... I really wasn't the best girlfriend to have ignored it for so long. And you... you were a better girlfriend."

She stared in shock. Renee Baldwin. Just told her. That she was better. No way.

"But he's gone," Renee sighed.

"That's why I have a plan," Annabeth said, staring deep into Renee's eyes.

"What... plan?" Renee asked, curious.

"I figured out why Percy's always been so bottled up. It's because he hides his feelings. Leo even said so himself. It's the reason why Percy acts so cold to people he doesn't know, or to people he does know. He puts up a barrier. And if he could just see the people who've hurt him, or anyone he wanted to say his feelings out to, he should."

Renee crossed her arms, intrigued.

"There are so many people he knows that aren't supportive of his feelings. Leo even said that when he went to visit the studio, Mack kept telling Percy to not share his feelings. It's all inside of him and if he could let it all out, he'd be less hurt. Then, we could start to heal his trust issues. I believe in him, Renee. I think we could really help him."

"What are you saying?" Renee raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know what prison Jackie's being kept at?" Annabeth asked.

"Uh... It's the New York State Prison," Renee said, her eyes widening, "You're not gonna--"

"We're gonna talk to her," she responded.

"But why?"

"Percy has a lot of feelings kept inside for Jackie. If he lets it all out, he can leave her with good terms. She doesn't have to say anything if she's not gonna be helpful, but at least he can get it out. Then, I guess he could talk to you, then to Mack. It's literally us with Percy driving around everywhere to get everyone that has hurt Percy to talk to him so Percy can fix himself."

Renee stared at Annabeth, her jaw slack.

"Wow, you really did think this through... So we just... visit the prison? How do we get Percy to be there? It's literally gonna take a year! Jackie's in life sentence for first degree murder."

"Which is why I have a plan."