FRIENDZONE |lukabeth au| ✔︎

21.

chapter | 21

❝I want something real to hope in; Jesus, what I need is you.❞

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ANNABETH'S POV

I CLUTCHED the small box of chocolate chip cookies and waited for someone to answer the door. Paul and Percy had come home around midnight last night, probably tired from their flight home, but Athena insisted on bringing them snacks. Knowing Percy's sleep schedule during the summer, I didn't ring their doorbell until now–four in the afternoon. I gulped when I heard shuffling behind the door. It opened–revealing Paul's eye from a small crack. 

"Uh, hi, Paul." I smiled. "Good morning–I mean, afternoon."

Paul grunted when he realized who it was and eased the door wider. "Hi, Annabeth," he said cheerfully, but I could hear the exhaustion in his voice. "It's so nice to see you."

I held up the box. "These are for you."

He smiled warmly. "How sweet. These are my favorites." 

I entered their living room and breathed in the sweet and spicy smell, like something cinnamon-related was baking in the kitchen oven–which was surprising since neither father nor son knew how to bake at all. After the sound of the front door closing, Paul staggered past me and crashed onto the sofa. He was most likely sleeping before I rang the doorbell, but he made no move to continue his nap.

"Paul," I said hesitantly, "is Percy...okay?" 

He looked up at me with bleary eyes and sighed, scratching his chin. "Far from it, dear. He's upstairs–I don't think he's slept at all."

Nodding, I bit my lip. "Excuse me." As I made my way up the stairs, I heard the faint noise of Paul's snores. 

Moments later, I stood in front of Percy's bedroom door, silently debating whether or not to talk to him. It was silent inside, and it made me uncomfortable about seeing him again, especially since it was just after that incident by the river. I turned the doorknob and peeked inside.

The room was dark with the curtains pulled over the window. I could see Percy's hunched figure on his bed. Before I could speak up, his voice muttered, "What are you doing here, Annabeth?"

My hand tightened on the doorknob. "I'm just checking up on you. How was the wedding?"

"Hated it."

I approached and kept myself a couple feet away from him. He didn't seem in the mood to talk right now, but I wanted to be near him–that is, if it would make him feel any better. After minutes of silence passed, I realized that it had been a long time since I was in Percy's room. Sure, baseball posters were still there on the walls, but most of the pictures and photographs involved me. 

Like that one over there showed a twelve year-old Annabeth Chase laughing with a cookie in one hand and a giant bouquet of flowers in her arms. 

Oh yeah. I remembered. When he was ranking the girls in our class.

One photo above his desk showed me and Luke on a bench sucking lollipops. 

Where the hell did he get that?  I sucked in my cheeks, slightly embarrassed. That's from the summer festival.

What would Rachel think if she ever came in here? I wondered, rocking back and forth on my heels. What would I think if she ever came in here?

Then suddenly Percy said, "My mom's new husband is an asshole named after a Greek god."

I flinched and racked my brain for something to say. "Uh, that's cool."