Percabeth One-shots (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Beach Chat

ANNABETH CHASE
My knuckles are white from gripping so hard on the steering wheel. A part of my fringe falls forward, out of its usual pony tail. I sniff briefly before wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. My hand comes away wet from tears.
I pull the car over on the side of the road and watch silently as cars drive past me. How jealous I am of those mortals at the moment. I look to my right and realize that I had pulled over right near a beach. I sigh. Of course the beach would make me feel safe. I open the car door and grab my keys from the ignition and my phone from the front seat. I close the car door behind me and lock it. I've already stolen the car from my parents, I doubt my step-mom would be very happy if someone steals it from me. I walk towards the edge of the sand and take my shoes off. The sand grains stick to my toes, warming them as I continue to make my way towards the water. I plonk myself down right near the waves, so occasionally the water washes up and over my toes. The wind whips through my hair, pushing my fringe in my face. With frustration, I push it out of my eyes for the fifth time. I see a stick to my left so I grab at it and start digging at the sand. My mind keeps wandering back to the argument I had with my dad. I huff and throw myself back against the sand. I'm sure my shirt is now covered in sand but whatever. That's the least of my worries right now. I hear my phone ring. As I pick it up I see that the caller is my dad. Annoyed, I switch it on silent and put it back down on my stomach, bringing my arm over my eyes to block out the sun. Listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the sand calms me. It reminds me of Percy, which makes my heart ache. I feel the water go further up my legs than just my toes, it almost soaks my shorts.
"Fancy seeing a daughter of Athena here." A voice says.
I lift my arm up slightly, allowing me to catch sight of Hawaiian shorts and a casual T-shirt, at first I don't know how it is but then I see the man's eyes. They are the colour of the sea, with the same twinkle in them that I always see in Percy's.
"Poseidon, sir, I just was driving and needed to get away... I'll leave if you want..." I say uneasily, not knowing how he will react to me being here, considering he and my mother don't exactly have a relationship filled with sunshine and roses.
"The beach always is a great place to come when you need to think, but I guess I am quite biased." He grins, his eyes seem to be changing colour, as if the sun is glinting off the sea, ever changing, never settling.
I sit up and lean over my knees. My phone falls in between my legs and lands on the sand below my knees. I see the picture of my dad come up again, he just won't give up calling me.
"And besides, I don't think my son would be very happy to know that I kicked his girlfriend off the beach." He comes and sits beside me. I'm sure Percy would kill to be in this position right now, having a conversation with his dad that was longer than thirty seconds.
"So, mortal troubles eh? Petty things they are. Hardly knowing what's really going on around them. So oblivious, so innocent, so...." He stops as if searching for the correct word.
"So lucky." I answer, throwing my stick into the water, not even caring that they may have been disrespectful in the midst of the sea god.
"I never thought I would hear a daughter of Athena say that being oblivious would be better than knowing the horrible truth." He looks at the water, the waves begin to settle briefly.
I don't reply, instead I look back at my phone, my fingers itching to check how many times my dad has called.
"I'm sure my son would be so much better at...this..than me, but what did he do? Maybe the old sea god could give you some advice worth the ears of Athena herself."
I look over at him briefly, noting how much Percy looks like him, and how it never gets old the fact that although he just came out of the ocean, he was dryer than me.
"Dad was ignoring me again, as I was asking him if he would help me get my bags to the car. I was supposed to be going to the airport, but he just grunted and then went back to his work. I guess I just snapped and got sick of him ignoring me but always having time for my oh so perfect mortal brothers. Things escalated from there, I drew my dagger suddenly and then I seemed to realize what I did as I looked into his eyes. He though I was going to attack him right then, he looked at me like a mortal would look at Medusa just before they turned to stone, as if finally seeing her for the monster she really is, for seeing me for the monster that..." I stopped as I choked on tears. The image has been mentally branded into my head. His hair had been messy, as it always was when he had just been working (he would always run his hand through his hair, disrupting the way it had sat originally), his face had frozen, his mouth slightly open, his body rigid. But that wasn't what had scarred me the most. It was his eyes, how they flashed from anger to fear in just a couple seconds. He looked at me like I was a stranger, a stranger that would attack his perfect sons. The ones that were normal. And to think I had only asked him to just carry one of my bags less than 100 meters.
I furiously wiped away my tears. How dare I let myself cry in front of a god. Let alone the father of Percy. Way to make a good impression Annabeth!
"Are you a mortal?" He asks.
I stare at the ground, running those words through my mind again. Had I heard right?
"No."
"Are you a god?"
"No."
"Are you a Demi-god?"
"Yes...but I don't see-"
"What were you told about being a Demi-god? About your weaknesses?"
I thought back to the day when I was seven when Chiron had talked me through the classic: you can be killed quite easily when you're a Demi-god even though you're part god.
"That we had the weaknesses of a human but also the enemies of the gods?"
"That's right. And what does that mean?"
My mouth opens slightly as I begin to overthink his question. There are so many answers to that question but they are all to do with different aspects so what could he be really asking?
"I..don't know sir." I feel ashamed. What a disappointment I am to Athena and my siblings.
"It means that you are not fully accepted into the mortal world or even by the gods. You are in between. But you aren't the only one like that are you? And this of course means that only other half bloods would ever truly accept you fully for what you are. And that's what matters. Not what some mortal briefly feels towards you, or how much a god may despise of you."
My tears finally stopped falling. I nodded slowly, I understand what he means. He was right. This advice truly was worthy of Athena.
"And besides, if my son accepts you then obviously you're doing something right. Even if you're a daughter of Athena." He winks at me before standing up. My phone vibrates. As I grab for it, I see Poseidon look at it curiously.
"Didn't Chiron tell you about the risks of mobile phones?"
"He did, but every now and then it feels good to be getting rid of a monster even if it's only for a little while."
He nods before making his way to the water. As he steps into the waves, the water gathers around his feet, swirling around him. Just as he is about to disappear under the water, he calls out to me.
"Give my best to Percy would you?"
And with that he recedes under the waves. I watch for a little longer before grabbing my phone, keys and shoes. I hold my shoes and keys in my left hand as I scroll through my contacts. After checking for my dagger in my back pocket, I click call, signaling for all the monsters in the area to come and find me. It rings three times before I hear a voice on the other end, I answer the voice,
"Hey seaweed brain. Don't you know how dangerous it is for a half-blood to be using a phone?"