The Death of a Hero | Percabeth Fanfic

Seashells by the Seashore

Feel free to comment any suggestions or anything in particular you liked/disliked. Comments and votes are the things that keep me going through the day so, thank you so much. Most chapters will be around 800-1200 words long, just a heads up :)

(CHARACTERS NOT OWNED BY ME)

(I like first person so a couple chapters will be in it, thx <3)

JACK

Annabeth had pulled away, and it made me sad. Hugging her made me feel safe. I know, that's weird, because we just met a few hours ago. But she had that effect on me. 

I suddenly remembered a body of water that I saw earlier. I pulled Annabeth along, down to the sea. She stopped.

"How did you know where this was?" she said accusingly, and I'm not going to lie, it kind of hurt.

 "I saw it earlier. And you said you liked the sea, so here we are," I tilted my head, thinking. All the sudden, Annabeth collapsed. She looked so haunted. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know what do. I just sat there, feeling horrible. I wondered if this happened often for her. 

Then she started to shake, so I started talking. "Annabeth..? Are you okay? Hey, its ok, Annabeth, come on." her eyes suddenly focused, and she snapped out of whatever was happening.

I sighed in relief. "You started shaking. Annabeth, are you okay? Do I need to take you to the nurse or something? I-"

"No! No. I'm fine. Let's just... Let's just go."

I frowned. 

"Hey, I know we just met each other, but Annabeth-" I hesitated, unsure of whether to keep going or not. She looked so sad. "-you don't have to be strong all the time. You and Percy were obviously close. But you can't just keep your feelings locked away, pushed down. You..." I kinda lost my train of thought. 

My eye had caught a small box that had washed ashore. It looked like it had been a soft velvet once, but it's time in the water had dulled it. I knew that that box. Such strong feelings came with it. 

"I remember- I remember that box. I was going to-" I remembered laughing, quick kisses, and love. It was overwhelming. I shook my head slightly, trying to clear my mind. I walked over and picked it up, barely noticing my hands shaking. I knew exactly what I was going to find when I opened to box slowly. I had a feeling I'd stared at for long periods of time, trying to gather the courage-

It was a beautiful ring. It was a pearl onset with diamonds. I smiled sadly, becuase I'd probably never know this girl who meant so much to me. I snapped the box closed, startling Annabeth. I slipped it in my pocket and remained silent.

And then I remembered Annabeth sitting there, shaking and lost to the world, and I got an idea. My hair was still a little wet from the sea spray. I grinned and shook like a wet dog. She stood there, shocked for a few moments, and I wondered if I had gone too far. But then she scooped up a handful of water and flung it at me, laughing. I kicked some back at her, and she shrieked, and splashed me back. We were both shin-deep in the water.

Maybe we'd be ok. 

Just then I noticed a couple walking along the beach. They were approaching us, and I wondered how I didn't notice them a lot sooner. The guy was tall and blond, a scar on his upper lip, and glasses. The girl was much shorter, with choppy brown hair and a red feather braided in. she clung to the guy, and they made their way over to us. 

I waved. Annabeth looked at me quizzically, then turned around. She turned back to me, her face pale. I was confused, but then she kicked some water at me and ran ashore, away from me and the couple. Now I was even more confused, because she had left me by my self. I shrugged and picked my way out of the water and over to the couple. 

The girl looked so guarded, and the guy looked like he would murder me if I said a single wrong thing to her. 

"So... Hi, I guess?" I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, "My name's Jack."

The girl looked me in the eyes, her expression hard. 

"Piper. And who was that, with you? That just ran off?" The blond dude still hadn't said anything. 

"Uh, Annabeth. Her last name is Chase, I think?"

Piper gaped slightly at the mention of Annabeth's name.

"You mean, she came here? With you?"

"I guess." I shrugged.

Piper looked thoughtful, probably deciding whether or not to kill me. Then she elbowed the blonde guy, who grunted and said,

"My name's Jason. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." 

"Jase, I'm going to find Annabeth. You stay here with Jack."

Jason looked like he was going to object, but she ran off before he could say anything.

He looked back to me, shrugged, and sat down. I did too. 

"So... you like pizza?"

Jason and I hit it off immediately. We got to talking about all sorts of things. A couple times, I started talking about a memory when it fuzzed out and I forgot what I was saying. It was extremely annoying.

I sort of noticed something was wrong, though, when he jumped at a sound from the nearby woods for the third time. 

"Hey, dude... Can I ask a question? You totally don't have to answer, though."

Jason groaned. "My least favorite kind of question. Shoot."

I hesitated, but I figured Jason was probably the best person to ask about it. I already felt close to him. It was sort of like an instant connection, like we'd been friends for years.

"Um... What happened to Percy?"

Jason looked startled and completely caught off guard. I figured he almost didn't answer, before steeling himself. He started talking.

"Well... Annabeth and Percy were as close as they possibly could be. Gods, they loved each other so much. But then..." Jason gulped, "They were bringing a little girl into camp, when they were ambushed. Annabeth took the little girl back, and Percy took on a monster army by himself. Nobody except Annabeth knows exactly how he died, but she refuses to talk about it. She hasn't been the same since. I..." I knew he was trying hard not to cry, "I had to carry his body back to camp. It was the hardest thing I've ever done." 

"A metal scorpion," I muttered. Jason heard me. 

"What?" he asked sharply. 

"The reason he died. It was a metal scorpion. You know, the one from the..." I trailed off. What was I talking about, again? This is so frustrating.

Jason inhaled sharply. 

"What? What did I just say?" 

"How did you know that?" Jason said dangerously. His blue eyes glittered with pain. I think I messed up.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea what I just said. This whole situation is maddening. I remember something, and it slips away." 

Jason studied me for another moment and sighed. "It's fine. Hey, wanna skip rocks?" 

I grinned. Thank goodness I didn't ruin it. We stood up and searched for flat rocks on the beach. 

...

(oooh, they met Piper and Jason. luv ya <3)