PJO/HOO Fanfiction- Behind Closed Doors

Chap 45

Annabeth's pov:

"You okay?" Piper asked me, glancing at Rachel.

I nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Piper opened her mouth, but then quickly closed it. "No reason."

I looked back at her, her choppy brown hair braided with a feather. I've always wondered how she managed to do that, I barely had enough time to brush my hair.

Piper noticed me looking. "What, something on my face?"

"No, just thinki-"

I was cut off by Leo. "Guys I've found the entrance, now," he clasped his hands. "Who wants to go first?"

I smiled at him, then jumped down, the others following me soon after.

"You got the torch?"

Piper nodded, then took out the said item and flashed it, lighting up the whole area we were in.

"Tone it down a little." Thalia whispered, and Piper obeyed.

The light shone down the musky tunnels. A small spider scuttled across the floors, somehow stopping at my shoes. I quickly kicked the spider off of me, and shuddered. The sewers stench engulfed my nostrils, practically burning them. It smelt like the stink bombs immature 7th graders (I'm english, I don't understand 'grades') threw at a crowded hallway.
The others could smell it too, as I noticed their wrinkled faces.

Leo threw his hands up. "Hey! I didn't say it was 5 stars, this area doesn't let you put on ratings."

"So where do we go?" Percy asked.

"Come on." Piper threw the torch at Leo. He grabbed it and walked down the abandoned area.

As we were walking on, my left foot met with a sickening crunch on to what seemed to be a massive spider. I screeched, then kicked my shoe on to the wall.

"Gods Annabeth, what did that shoe do to you?" Frank asked.

"A dead spider was on it." I said, patting my knees down to act more dignified. Through the corner of my eyes, I could see Thalia stifling a laugh.

"Haha, very funny, Thalia." I said sarcastically.

She burst out laughing. "Your shoe is ruined."

I didn't realise what she said until the others looked down at my spider infested shoe. I had rubbed it down so viciously the sole of my shoe had nearly weared away, so much that I could feel my skin on the rough floor.

"Great," I mumbled. "Now I'm going to have to limo the rest of the way."

We carried on walking through the tunnels, an occasional sound coming from deeper in. We decided not to venture to it, this was New York, it could be anything.

"I see the light coming from the supposed tunnel we're leaving in," Leo said. "Only a few minutes left."

I groaned inwardly, my feet were starting to ache from walking so much and crawling. Due to the amount of times my back was hunched over in the confined space, I could already tell that my spine had bended, making me feel like I fell short a couple of cm.

Something grabbed my shoulder, and I instantly turned back ready to wound the trespasser that had somehow managed to creep up on me.

"Woah there!" He held out his hands. "It's me, Percy."

I sighed, then sheathed my dagger. "Don't sneak up on me." I had nearly killed Percy for goodness sake.

He chuckled. "Consider me warned."

"So, why'd you come up to me at this random time?"

Percy shrugged. "To talk."

"Talk about what?"

His smirk slowly changed into a nervous smile. "We'll . . . we could talk about the fact that you've been giving Rachel the cold eye the whole time we've been here."

I crossed my arms. "That's just how my face works Percy, nothing wrong there."

"There really is," he frowned. "Are you . . . Are you jealous?"

I stopped in my tracks, my face hardened into a glare. Of course I wasn't jealous, no, no I wasn't. The person who managed to love Percy first, the girl with the amazing art skills and the most unique hair.

Of course I wasn't jealous.

I realised what I had just said. I had never been so wrong in my life, the glares I sent her way, the fact that I always rolled my eyebrows whenever she made a comment. I was undeniably jealous.

And I hated it.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked back at Percy, I didn't want him to judge me. "No, no I am not jealous," I sighed, getting ready to make a believable lie. "It's just scary, we've been practicing this for months, whilst Rachel? She literally just found out about this today, and she doesn't have anything but a hairbrush."

Rachel overheard me. "Hey! My hairbrush is capable of many things, including harming people."

I laughed, ignoring the tight knot of jealousy that had now started to ever so slowly unravel. "If you hit Kronos with that thing, I'll buy you a new art canvas."

Rachel's eyes lit up mischievously. "You serious?"

"Dead serious." I said.

Rachel gave out her hand, and I shook it knowing that she would cower once she saw Kronos.

Percy glanced between us two. "What just happened?"

"What?" Me and Rachel said in unison.

"You guys are bonding after all the um . . . tension." He waved his hands out.

I pushed him lightly. "Seaweed Brain."

He pushed me as well. "Wise Girl."

I looked up at his sea green eyes, their colour so unique. He stared at me too, and once he smiled I forgot about Kronos, and leaned in to kiss him.

Not before Jason interupted us.

"You guys are going to kiss?", he waved his hands at the tunnel. "In here?"

I blushed, but then smacked Jason's head. "You ruined it."

Leo laughed. "Because kissing in a tunnel that smells like the boys changing room on a Friday straight after football practice is romantic. It sure is."

I laughed too, then noticed the light had intensified and I realised that we were nearing the end of the tunnel.

"Guys! The entrance, look!" I pointed to the light.

We stared at it, then headed off, out of the darkness and into the light of the sun, my eyes squinting due to the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Dude, I've never felt this happy to see the busy street of New York."