How You Changed Me (Demigods In High School AU)

Chapter 46 || Hang On

ANNABETH CHASE

When Annabeth woke up to her face being showered with rocks, she coughed, spitting a pebble out of her mouth. She rolled over, feeling the rocks shift off of her and she scanned her surroundings. She made sure no more things were falling down on them before she got up and searched around.

"Percy?" she called.

No answer. She remembered where he was the moment she remembered what happened before she had been knocked out. Percy was also under the rubble. She fought her way through the rocks before she dragged his body out. He was covered in blood, the hole in his side the most prominent out of all of them. She gagged when she saw his ribs all protruding out, his flesh stained and dirty. Annabeth knew Percy could die of infection if she didn't treat it.

Or is he dead? a voice asked and she panicked.

She felt his chest. Slight movement. He was still alive. Annabeth looked at the ambrosia squares in her pocket. She didn't have much left, as most had been washed away when they fell into a river earlier last week. She only had a few that were somewhat dry. So she took two squares out, popping one in her mouth and the other in Percy's. Taking a small sip of nectar, she waterfall-ed some into Percy's mouth, making sure he drank the godly liquid.

Immediately, his blood stopped flowing as much, and a few of the cuts on his arms and back began to close up slightly, but the hole still remained. She ignored the sight of it, focusing on getting Percy to wake up. And he did, groaning as he opened his beautiful sea-green eyes. Annabeth could stare into them all day.

"Annabeth?" he murmured groggily, "What happened?"

"Debris avalanche zone," she explained, "Come on, we've gotta keep moving. We were probably out for a day or something."

Percy agreed before she helped him to his feet. She felt a sharp pain go through her arm and Annabeth yelped in pain. Percy's eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked, scanning her body.

"Dislocated shoulder," she explained, "I forgot to use the good one."

He nodded, limping over to her other side to hold her hand.

"We've gotta hang on," she said firmly, "We have to."

Percy agreed.

"I know we've only been dating for a while," he said quietly, his dirt-stained face looking at hers, "But I can already see me marrying you. That's something I never saw in Jackie or Renee."

She noticed that he didn't flinch when he said those words anymore.

"You say it normally now," Annabeth smirked, knowing her plan had worked.

"Thanks," Percy rolled his eyes, smiling at her smug smirk. "But really. You've literally done the impossible."

Annabeth pecked his cheek, ignoring the taste of blood and dirt. She could still smell the sea-breeze on him, though it was mixed with the smell of iron and sweat. Sniffing the air, she realized that she probably smelled filthy and looked filthy, too.

"How do you think the monsters know we are dating?" Percy suddenly asked.

"Monsters don't just live down here. The moment it's seen by one monster, it tells everyone. They all know. Plus... I think I fought with you in the war. You were the dude dressed in blue-painted celestial bronze armor?"

"You were gray?" Percy raised his eyebrows, a twinkle returning to his sea-green eyes as he mentioned the nostalgia, pushing through the dullness from being down in Tartarus.

"Yep," Annabeth smiled, holding his hand slightly tighter.

It probably felt no different. After all, she felt like she was a walking skeleton. She could tell Percy was struggling to walk. In all realness, his side looked like nothing but ribs and bloody flesh. But his jaw was clenched in effort. Annabeth's heart squeezed when she looked at him. Her brave Seaweed Brain who she had met in high school only to hate him, then to love him in such a short period of time, was such an ass. A stubborn ass.

"Did you just call me a stubborn ass?" Percy managed to laugh.

"You are one," she smirked, "Deal with it."

"Oh, don't you steal my DEAL WITH IT line!" he smacked her playfully and they kept hiking, their lungs burning from the effort.

His leg quivered slightly, but he stood up straighter and walked as if he was perfectly fine. She had to admit... she was doing the same, too. They were both hiding their pain. And she knew they were both pieces of stubborn godly bags of flesh and bone. Because they weren't gonna show it anytime soon. Percy suddenly stopped her, pulling her back behind a tree.

"What?" she hissed.

"Look," he pointed ahead and Annabeth froze. "The Doors of Death..."

"I can't believe we almost passed it," she sighed as she looked at where the rest of the water from the river was going.

Annabeth could feel her whole body wanting to shut down right there and then, but she shook off the feeling.

"We need to get out."

"But we need to wait before the army of monsters leave," she held him back.

After a while, she realized that the creatures weren't moving.

"I don't think they're there to leave," Percy whispered as one turned in their direction.

Annabeth quickly sucked in, trying to hide. But one look at the monster's face told her that they had spotted them.

"They've seen us," she whispered, "If we wanna get to those doors, we need to fight our way in."

"And how do we do that?" Percy whispered, "We're literally dying!"

"We'll figure it out, but we'll die quicker if they call reinforcements."

He nodded and they both approached the monsters, who hissed in delight.

"Not looking so good, dearies," one hissed.

"We were looking better before we got a glimpse of your ugly face," Percy retorted with such sass, Annabeth thought she'd evaporate just there and then from her flushed up red face.

"You son of a--" curse words flew out of her mouth and Percy stared at her in surprise.

"What's a... What's a hobknocker?"

Before the monster could answer, Annabeth sliced through one with her dagger, alerting the others. Percy slashed through the lady who had just been cursing at him and the battle commenced.