Annabeth chase and the conspiracy of endless time (A pjo swap parent fanfic)

Chapter 11 : A nice ride

Annabeth's Pov

-A, is this a sign of puberty?

I blurted out when I saw Percy's expression.

-Huh?

Grover and Percy said at the same time.

-Well...isn't it normal for teenage boys to feel shy around girls?

I tried to repeat my sentence even though it felt wrong.

-No way. How can you see that as shy or fierce? I'm not even that interested in girls.

Percy replied, though he looked annoyed and I could tell he found what I said funny.

-What, "Not interested in girls" are you gay? I didn't mean anything by it, I was just asking. I've never heard you mention it before.

Grover asked. I could see Percy's cheeks turn a little red but after a moment he shook his head repeatedly in denial.

-No! I mean, you know, my experiences with girls have never been good! Well, except for my mom, which I don't think counts! Thanks to Nancy, and then the girls at my old schools!

He replied. I didn't know who Nancy was, but I could tell by the tone of his voice that he definitely didn't like her. My experiences with both genders were bad. The girls would sneer at me, the boys would openly tease me. The common thread was that they all hated me. I'm talking about my experiences with kids my age at the half-blood camp.

-Yeah, I agree, Nancy is terrible.

Grover agreed, nodding his head. Even someone as gentle as Grover felt that way, so Nancy must be terrible. I suddenly thought of the Aphrodite girls, not that I think they're all like that, Silena for example, she's super sweet and kind but some of her younger siblings reminded me of the "mean girls" in school movies and the way Grover and Percy talked about Nancy was exactly like that.

-I can't believe I've met Medusa and I still think Nancy is terrible!

Percy said, as if he had completely forgotten that he was on a flying horse and crossed his arms over his chest.

-Well, the standards of good and evil for humans and monsters are different. Monsters that only stop at the level of bullying are probably enough to be considered saints on the moral scale of the mythical world. There's no point in comparing two things that are already extremely different.

I shrugged. Even though it was only 2 years ago, I still had the thought that humans were much worse than monsters, now I still think that way.

-Oh, you've changed a lot in the past two years... the last time I saw you was still..
Grover suddenly fell silent, he didn't want to mention this topic. Me too, I don't know if I've grown up at all in the past two years (actually it's only 1.5 years, damn Lotus Hotel).
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FLASH BACK
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-Get away from me!

I sobbed and pushed Grover away. He fell to the green grass. Luke stopped, his face showing concern, something I didn't want to see.

-Annabeth...

Luke said, helping Grover up. I felt my face burning with tears and shame, guilt for pushing Grover away when he only wanted to help me.

-I...I'm so tired! What kind of safe place is camp! It's all lies! I'm different from you...I don't have any siblings!! Everyone sees me as a bad person, a troublemaker! I'm nothing more than a thing for the other kids to vent their anger and stress on!! If they don't avoid me, they just want to make me look pathetic!

I ranted. I didn't want to say it because I felt like I was blaming Luke even though it was never his fault. And it also contains the smell of jealousy, that ugly emotion..But it's hard to think clearly when the emotions I've been suppressing burst out.