νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 2.5-4: I think my friend is mentally ill

ANNABETH

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"Are we ready for food?" Leah asked, rising from the couch. Dad had collected all of the trash, and looked very content with this.

"That sounds great," Tempest said, smiling as she turned to go to the bathroom. "I'll just go wash up."

Wash up? It seemed like Tempest was being a little angel around my family, but I guarantee if she'd been at Percy's apartment, instead of washing up, it would just be her decking Percy in the face because he was annoying or something. She seems to hate him and he seems to hate her, but I do think they care about each other. In the long run, I can see them being siblings that loathe each other and fight every four seconds but they'd still die for each other.

"I'll be back," I said. "I'm gonna put this stuff in my room."

I ran up the stairs before anyone could ask to look at my new knife sheath. I didn't want them to see it, for some reason. I didn't want destructive oils getting all over my pretty new gift, or for a child's chipped fingernail to snag the thread, or- gods forbid- they fray it.

I slipped my knife into the new sheath, pleased with the perfect fit as I set it down on my desk. I put Tempest's things on the desk, too, so the kids didn't get it either. I ran down the hall and to the bathroom, as it suddenly hit me that I forgot to brush my teeth, my hair was a mess, and my skin was all flaky and dry because I have skin worse than a monkey.

The lights flickered again, which was getting pretty annoying. I combed my hair and decided to leave it down again, almost... I dunno, as an effort to be pretty? I'd never done much with my hair, as it'd always just been in the way. Why did I suddenly want to be pretty?

I ran back downstairs just as Leah called my name. I broke into the kitchen, finding the boys trying to kill each other with NERF guns while my dad sat idly by, happily reading the back of the box for his new toy airplane.

Tempest left the bathroom, looking quite content as she took a spot next to me, her icy arm pressing against mine. Part of me wondered if she was too close, but she was the same distance from me as everyone else was from each other around our little square table. It isn't very big, since we hardly ever eat together, but it usually works out.

Leah served us all plates piled up with seasoned green beans, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, thick slices of ham, and bread so buttered up, it looked like cholesterol on a plate.

My mouth watered at the sight.

Just then, right in the center, my dad put out a bottle of something I had never seen before, though I knew what it was- kahlua-nog.

Tempest grinned, looking at him. "Stephanie is very happy."

He had such a wide smile, you'd think someone was giving him a free biplane. "That's- that's good." He turned to Leah, gesturing to her. "Did you still want to say grace?"

I looked at my plate a little awkwardly. Leah was raised Catholic, and even though she knew about the Greek gods and stuff, she still liked to say grace. I guess it made sense. Some kids at Camp Half-Blood still fast on certain days or for religious holidays, or light Hanukkah candles anyway. I was never really religious. I have trouble with the gods I'm directly related to; I don't want to deal with other gods. And besides...