DRESSˏˋ°•*⁀➷ || p. jackson

five

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

the boy begin to raise his gaze, but annabeth stopped him. "percy, don't. she's a monster."

"we all choose who we make our monsters, but, right now, that one wants to tear you limb from limb... and i'm offering you lunch. the choice is yours." medusa responded, then turned and walked back into her house.

"i think we can trust her," percy said, after a few silent moments.

"what?" pip and annabeth both exclaimed.

"i can't explain it, i just... my mom used to tell me her story, and the point was that she isn't what people think, and i definitely trust my mom, so i'm going in. you guys do what you want," percy explained, his eyes flickering between the three.

he then turned and followed in medusa's direction. both annabeth and grover stayed silent.

"i'm going in, he's gonna get himself turned to stone if one of us isn't there to protect him," pip muttered and turned on her heel, not waiting to hear what her friends would say about her decision.

a bell chimed as pip pushed open the door, walking into the carpeted entrance. she inched forward, her eyes set on the floor just in case medusa was hiding around the corner. her gaze lifted as she noticed percy, standing behind a chair in the dining room. his eyes met hers and he sent her a soft smile. she moved behind the chair to the left of him, her mouth slightly hung open as she noticed the array of treats and snacks on the table before her.

the bell chimed again and grover walked in nervously, his face brightened when he noticed the piles of food.

"you must be hungry," medusa called out to them from another room. "i left snacks on the table while i get something proper going."

the three sat down in their chairs.

percy leaned closer to pip, whispering, "you think it's safe to eat?"

"i'm gonna be real with you, i haven't had anything proper to eat since breakfast- i'm really hungry and ready to take that chance," pip confessed, not exactly settling percy's nerves but her words caused him to breathe out a small laugh.

the bell chimed as annabeth walked in, unlike the others, she stayed standing.

"thanks for coming," percy said.

"this isn't the same for me as it is for you," annabeth responded coldly, obviously not having forgiven percy for their arguement earlier.

"why?"

"you're concerned i would hold a grudge against you simply because you are a daughter of athena?" medusa answered for her, entering the room. "you shouldn't be, we're not our parents after all. and you and i might have more in common than you think, please, sit and eat."

"so you're not a monster, what are you then?" percy said, reaching for one of the treats on the plate in front of him. pip did the same, inspecting the pastry for any traces of poison, then popping it into her mouth.

"a survivor," the woman answered.

"you must be a little more than that, there's a fury out there that seems terrified of you."

"because she knows what i think of her," medusa said simply. "i don't like bullies. when one shows up on my doorstep, they end up spending a lot more time there than they planned for. the gift that the gods gave me is that i cannot be bullied anymore."

"what my mother did to you wasn't a gift, it was a curse," annabeth stated matter-of-factly.

"you are loyal to your mother," medusa said.