νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 3-22: my surprise coming out party

ANNABETH

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Three days since Tempest blew up Mount St. Helens.

Statistics kept running through my head. The first twenty-four hours are the most vital in a missing persons case. After 48, you prepare yourself for the long haul. After 72, you stop looking for a person; you're looking for a body.

We're not looking for a body, I told myself.

Yeah, because it got blown up-

"Stop it."

Malcolm turned to look at me. "What?" I turned to stare at him. He held a book in his hand and his face contorted in confusion.

I blinked. "I didn't say anything."

"I thought you said 'stop it'."

"I didn't." I glared at him. "Why would I tell you to stop reading?"

"Oh. Guess I was hearing things."

Nice lying, I told myself. Guess who made you good at that?

A knock at the door managed to silence that voice in my head before I could do it myself. I leaned out from my desk a little and saw Percy awkwardly waiting in the doorway, looking around Cabin 6 like he was in an alternate dimension. I realized he'd never really come here before.

I stood up and walked over to him. "Hi."

As I got closer, he had to lift his eyes slightly to meet mine. "I was just checking on you."

See? You're making people check on you, like an idiot. "Oh. I'm fine."

"Whatchya doing?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his feet as he peeked into the cabin.

"Um..." I was overthinking, of course. I wasn't doing anything very physical. "Nothing, really. Why?"

"Making sure you're not going crazy," he said honestly, which I guess makes sense. When I have a problem, I tend to hyperfixate. Luckily, Percy found me before I could let that happen. "Will you come to the arts and crafts tent with me?"

I squinted. "Why..."

He looked down. "I don't like doing stuff alone in there. Everyone looks at me like I'm dumb."

Oh. "Of course. Just... let me get my shoes on." I turned around and noticed he wouldn't follow me. "You can come in."

He stepped inside, walking slowly on the wooden floorboards as I got my shoes out of my cubby. He gazed at the various maps on the walls and tried to read the spines of some of the books on the shelves, then shook his head and squinted his eyes like he had a headache. I felt bad, since he looked out of place and insecure. I mean, it's one thing not to feel like you belong. Hell, I can't really go in any other cabin and feel like I belong. It's another thing to feel insecure. I don't feel insecure in other cabins.

"What'd you wanna make?" I prompted, trying to distract both of us. I had to remind myself that Tempest is one of Percy's best friends. He must've been worried out of his mind for her and just wouldn't talk about it. Ironic, since he's forcing me to do just that.