A Very Merry Blue Christmas (PERCY JACKSON)

Chapter 3- When The Going Gets Tough.

There was a lot of hustle and bustle at camp as teams of three attempted to put together the finest and the most creative Gingerbread House, one of the events in the Twelve Days of Christmas Contest that Chiron had initiated to bring in the holiday spirit at camp. The winning creation would be displayed in the Big House and would get a free pass that would exempt them from cleaning the Pegasus Stables for a month. It involved a sense of aesthetics and a knack for architecture. So naturally, a competition like this was right up Annabeth's alley.

If she managed to pay attention for more than three minutes at a stretch.

If ditching her on the ice-skating date hadn't been bad enough, Percy was now constantly MIA. They barely managed to exchange a few words on a daily basis, and even those were short and hurried. Something was up and it frustrated her to no end that she couldn't put a finger on it.

But over the few days that had passed, she had received two more gifts. One was hand delivered by a thirteen year old girl from the Apollo cabin who had refused to divulge any of the details she had asked for and the other was airdropped using a bright red balloon. The first was a skillfully crafted celestial bronze dagger and the other was a smart looking laptop bag- possibly for Daedalus' laptop. Both of the gifts were things she had been pining for for a very long time.

Piper and Hazel were working on the base of the gingerbread house and the parts of it that they had already discussed with Annabeth initially before making their way to their work station. It took all the possible courage to not pop one of the gummy bears into their mouths. Their absolute concentration was on making this the best Gingerbread House EVER. Piper looked up to see what the architect in charge was up to, only to see her lost, her mind drifting. She raised a chocolate brown eyebrow and put a hand on her hip, her blue quill feather earrings swaying slightly in the process."Earth to Annabeth Chase. Are you going to spout your brilliant ideas or shall we just binge on the candy and gossip?"

Annabeth quickly snapped out of it and resumed lending a hand with the structure. Being constantly ignored by Percy had pained her, but like a typical child of Athena, she disguised it as annoyance. "I'm still thinking Piper, stop making such a big fuss out of everything."

Oh man! She hadn't meant that at all. She glanced up only to see Piper staring at her, wide-eyed. She sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just... Everyone is so preoccupied these days. I barely see any of you guys- especially Percy. I'm worried that I've done something to annoy him and that he's mad at me. I miss him so much."

There was some silence between as they got to fixing the different parts of the house together before Hazel finally spoke up. "Annabeth, we both know he is incapable of being mad at you for more than four minutes at a stretch. He's probably preoccupied with a task Chiron gave him or something like that. Just give him some time. Forget it for now." She leaned forward eagerly. "But tell me, how did you like the gifts?"

Annabeth looked up at Hazel in shock. "Wait, how did you know about those?"

There was a scuffling sound followed by a cry of pain, courtesy Hazel, as Piper explained the situation with a dazzling smile. "Percy asked us if we knew anything about them or who was behind them. That's all."

Annabeth looked at her, eager and skeptical at the same time. "So do you?"

"Of course not!" Piper said a little too fast while Hazel followed it up with a 'Nope', popping the P.

Annabeth wasn't satisfied with that answer. She glanced at where the boys had been standing, huddled up and lost in deep conversation. Percy was one among them.

She had had enough. She decided that it was time to do a little recon and discover the truth behind everyone's odd behaviour.

After explaining how she wanted the rest of the Gingerbread House executed (two storeyed with an old fashioned chimney and windows and doors outlined with cream and smarties), Annabeth stealthily sneaked away and pulled out her invisibility cap. She began to carefully approach the group after putting it on, careful not to make any unwanted or revealing noises on the way. Once she got there, she stood behind Percy, who was completely oblivious about his girlfriend's presence.

Seaweed Brain was absently rubbing his jaw. "There has to be a way around this you guys. It's way too important to compromise on."

Leo stood beside him, his hands absently creating some automaton out of some stray wire that he had found in his magical belt. "Bro, maybe Jason could ring up his old man and cash in a favor."

Jason scoffed. "No way. Why don't you ask your dad?"

Leo looked Jason straight in the eye and smiled smugly. "I don't need my daddy dearest. I can pull off anything all by my hot self."

Percy looked at him disapprovingly. "Even what I'm asking of all of you right now?"

Leo scratched his face and thought about it wholeheartedly. "Actually, I can try. Give me twelve hours. A day tops."

Frank, who had been quiet the entire time, finally spoke up. "I could help you if you want Leo. I know how important this is to Percy."

Leo smiled in appreciation. "That would be awesome sauce."

Piper and Hazel, having finished the Gingerbread House, joined them. Piper looked at everyone over Jason's shoulder, her hands around his neck. "All good?"

Percy nodded. "Leo has decided to volunteer for the mechanical aspect of the plan, Frank is helping, Jason is working as my middle man, Rachel is working on the other technicalities and you girls are keeping my lady company." He paused, looking at them meaningfully. "How is she by the way?"

Hazel, who was now hugging Frank, answered the question, explaining how Annabeth was upset with the way he was acting and how she might or might not have stirred suspicion about the gifts.

Percy sighed. "All in good time. She's not onto us though, is she?"

"Actually she is."

Six heads turned to face a furious Annabeth, who had stood by the entire time, each word spoken causing her even more anguish. Percy spotted the cap in her hand and knew immediately that they were in trouble. "How could you guys do this to me? All the time spent together, all the monsters, the slaying and the war knitted us together. At least that's what I thought. I was naive enough to think of you as my own family. How could you do this to me? How could you keep me out of your plans? Are you going on a quest? Is this some special mission? Did you really think that I was stupid enough to be distracted by a few presents? Do you not want me to hang out with you anymore or something?" Her voice cracked on the last word as she attempted to reign in her emotions with every fiber of her being.

All of them stared at her, surprised and troubled at the same time. Percy tried to approach her slowly so as to not instigate her further. It killed him that she was hurt, but he couldn't let her in on their plan just yet. He spoke soothingly. "Annabeth, this isn't a quest. Or a mission. And none of us think you're stupid in any way. You're smarter than all of us combined..."

Annabeth raised a hand to stop him. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

Silence stretched between them. Percy couldn't find the right words to explain the predicament they were in.

Annabeth shook her head. "It doesn't matter then. Looks like you don't need me anyway."

She turned around and walked away before anyone could put in a word of their own and just in time for the first tear to make its way down her face.

All she wanted to do was to return to her cabin and never get out of it ever again.