Broken Together [Perlypso] - Completed {Book 1 of 2}

XIII- Annabeth Part 2

Percy

I'd never seen Annabeth's eyes that stormy.

She stared at me, studied me, bore into my soul. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself.

I guess it was hard for both of us, but I guess she had the worse end of the bargain. She had no clue of my whereabouts. She had probably blamed herself for my disappearance, spent tireless hours looking for me, and then finally finds me and discovers the entire time I've been with another girl?

"I..." she started, but stopped.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth..." I said. "You know I wanted you, you know I would've-"

"This is all my fault." She said before turning and running up the sparkling white steps to the throne room and throwing open the huge doors.

I watched her in silence as she ran away, before turning around and walking the other direction, clinching my fist and breathing heavily to keep from crying.

"Percy..." Nico said. I felt a hand on my shoulder and went berserk. I judo flipped Thalia on accident and put Grover in a head lock in a flash of movement.

"I-I'm sorry." I said. "I-I- I don't..."

"Percy." Nico said with more force.

"Percy! Calm down!" Yelled a voice to my right. I turned to see Piper. I felt the charm speak working, but I was much too tired to try to resist. "Percy. Calm down. Look at me."

Her voice sounded like the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard in that moment, drawing me into a trance, worse than the sirens themselves... I blinked and shook off the charmspeak.

"Piper," I managed before letting Grover go and crushing her in a hug.

"I was worried sick," Piper said in my ear.

"Piper?" Yelled a voice. I looked up to see Jason.

"Jason!" I yelled, dropping Piper and running up and chest bumping him.

"Percy! Man! I missed you in capture the flag!" He said.

"Jason! Man, do I have a lot to tell you-"

"Ahem." Said a voice of authority. I turned to see Athena and my face shifted.

"Uh... Lady Athena," I said. "Nice to see you again."

"Percy Jackson." She said. "We've been waiting for you in the throne room."

"Well..." I said. I turned to Jason, Thalia, Grover, Nico and Piper. "I guess I should go."

"Good luck, Percy." Thalia nodded solemnly. "Lady Artemis will stand behind you. That I know."

"Thank you," I said. I stiffened and turned to Athena. She began walking towards the steps. I caught up to her, walking by her side.

"I must admit, I was rather worried at such a strange disappearance," Athena said, raising an eyebrow. Her aura made me want to stand up straight and march like an army official. It made me want to sit down in a tactical room and plan out a battle strategy. "You're quite the handful, Mr. Jackson."

"Thank you, Lady Athena." I replied, giving her a smirk. "But you knew where I was."

"I had my suspicions." She admitted. "But I never thought you'd stay with her."

"She's easy to talk to," I confessed. "I confided in her. She became my best friend. We spent long nights on the beach. You know if you become close in a short amount of time, and because of you becoming close you become happy, then you have feelings."

"You love her, don't you?" Athena asked.

"I-" I hesitated. "That's between Calypso and I."

"Really?" Athena gave me a slight smile, which looked odd on such a stern face, but it quickly disappeared. "You can see it in your eyes. You can hear it in your voice. You almost smile. Something changes when you talk about her, when somebody brings it up."

I couldn't help but smile at that. I looked down at the ground, shoving my hands in my pockets. "I... I don't know."

"I must admit," Athena coughed. "I was relieved you weren't seeing my daughter anymore."

I studied her, and then saw the smile playing on her lips. I laughed a little, and she returned it slightly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Athena said. They approached the door, and she placed her hand on the huge door handle. She opened it, and Percy stepped inside after her.