Annabeth's Point of View

The Titan's Curse - Decisions to Fall

I'm back! Sorry for the delay. This chapter is Annabeth's point of view (obviously) when her and Percy were dancing with each other at Westover Hall.

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Annabeth felt like there were ants crawling around in her jeans and up her shirt. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable around Percy, but there was definitely some tension – at least to her.

It was the Friday before winter break and she was lodged in the back seat between her two greatest friends, Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace. In the front seat was Percy's mother, Sally, and she was telling amusing tails about her son's adventures in the bathtub when he was three years old. Annabeth had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at Percy – for his mother's sake.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine, and Annabeth's ADHD was going wild. Not only did she have to sit still for such a long time, but she was sitting next to Percy, someone she hadn't seen in months, and now might not ever see again.

She had made the decision to join the Hunters of Artemis.

It was a group of immortal girls under the maiden goddess of hunt who pledged off males – all males; that included brothers, fathers, and... friends.

It wasn't like Annabeth had much to lose. Her long-time crush and role model, Luke Castellan, had turned out to be evil and was planning world domination; her half siblings from both her mother's and father's side weren't really that close to her; one of her oldest friends, Grover Underwood, was usually off into the world and she hardly ever really saw him. The only thing that truly held her back all summer was Percy.

They knew each other for two long, hard years, and somewhere between slaughtering monsters and saving the world, they had become best friends. He was sweet, obtuse, loyal, and frighteningly brave when he wanted to be – but he was also reckless and stupid. She didn't know if he'd be able to survive without her. Thinking back to all the times she saved his butt in the past couple of years, she realized that it was near impossible.

But she had already made her decision.

She had her fair share of heartbreak. Luke had betrayed her in the most horrible of ways – leaving their home, breaking all of his promises, and poisoning their friend who had risked her life so that they could survive. He threatened her friends, her family, and her home; all without an apology.

Her dad, who she had been getting along with better now, was moving to San Francisco, a place he knew she couldn't go. Demigods were forbidden to go there, but he didn't care.

And then there was Percy. When she was with him she wasn't as smart as she should be. He made her think with her heart rather than her brain; a good child of Athena wasn't supposed to get ruled by her emotions. He made her happy, but he was bad for her. Her mother would agree with her.

The only reason why Annabeth wasn't already a Hunter was because Percy deserved to know before it happened. She should have told him already, but the words were like syrup in the back of her throat – sticky. She knew he'd feel betrayed, hurt, and probably even angry, but she had to do this for herself.

Coward, a voice whispered nastily. And she knew it was right.

Thalia and Grover knew, and they had told her that she had to tell him. In truth, he was the only one of her friends who didn't know. She decided not to tell him that fact. Why rub salt on the wound?

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. “Oh, yeah. This'll be fun.”

Snow covered the streets and the trees, and the blizzard made everything have a contrasting black and white view. On top of a hill sat a dark castle with black towers and slit windows that looked like a church's, but Annabeth knew it was the school Grover was currently attending: Westover Hall. It looked like something from a twisted fairytale. On one side there was a dark, frosted forest, and on the other a gray churning ocean.