The Stories of Our Heroes

Head v. Heart - Part 1

The timeline for this one-shot is a little messed up... it worked best if Estelle was already born in the fall of Percy and Annabeth's senior year, so just roll with me! :) As background, Annabeth is living in New York with the Jackson/Blofis family to finish out highschool.

Annabeth dragged herself through the front door of the apartment, practically throwing her bookbag to the floor of the entry hallway, kicking off her shoes, and taking a few deep breaths. She tried to forget about her ridiculous day at school, instead focusing on the smell of fresh cookies and the sounds of the kids' show that was playing on the TV in the room over. Annabeth relaxed as she was greeted by these familiar occurrences that had begun to feel like home, and it finally seemed possible that her mood could improve.

"Annabeth?" Sally's voice called. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," she responded. "Be there in a minute."

She first stopped in the living room, her gaze immediately catching on the cutest grin in the whole world. Estelle was bouncing in her exercise saucer, and her favorite show, Little Einstein's, lit up her face.

"Hi Stella," Annabeth cooed, reaching out to stroke the little girl's head. Estelle giggled in response, babbling something that Annabeth couldn't make out. She had just said her first word the other day, and everybody was desperately waiting for the ones to come.

Annabeth headed towards the kitchen, attempting to wipe away any remains of her foul day. She didn't want to bother Sally with unimportant things, and she knew that her boyfriend's mother would worry if she knew something was wrong.

"Hi, sweetie," Sally greeted, turning to meet her. She had a bit of flour smeared on her face and her apron was covered in what looked like chocolate, but her smile was so inviting that Annabeth couldn't help - she rushed forward for a hug.

So much for not being in a bad mood, Annabeth thought miserably as Sally's arms wrapped around her.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, and a rogue tear ran down Annabeth's cheek in response. They were both quiet for a while, Sally stroking Annabeth's hair while she attempted to stem her tears. Finally, Annabeth pulled away and sat heavily on one of the bar stools.

"I just... I just had a long day." She so badly wanted tell Sally what was really wrong. She ached to explain that she felt like she was disappointing somebody with every choice she made, and nothing she did could make everybody happy and she hated it. Hades, she didn't even know how to make herself happy. But she couldn't say that to Sally because she didn't want it getting back to Percy. She certainly couldn't tell Sally about her conversation with her guidance counselor, because she absolutely zero intentions of telling Percy. So she kept it simple: she had a long day. Not a lie. Just not the whole truth.

"Well, I get that, honey. What happened?"

"Oh, just lots of little things. Aphrodite wants her temple redesigned. My science teacher doesn't know how to grade. I didn't even get to talk to Percy after school before he had to go to basketball practice." 

"Hm, I see... that's it?"

Annabeth nodded, and she knew from Sally's look that she didn't believe her, but she also knew that Sally wouldn't push her, which Annabeth was eternally grateful for. "Alright, but let me know if you want to talk-"

Sally was cut off by the ring of the phone hanging from the wall. Estelle started crying when she could no longer hear the TV. Annabeth stood to comfort Estelle, receiving an appreciative glance from Sally who was reaching for the phone.

"Oh, baby," Annabeth said, kneeling in front of the saucer, "it's okay." She scooped Estelle up and held her close to her chest, gently rocking and shushing her. Estelle calmed down quickly, her attention returning to music playing on the show, her tiny little hands tugging on a few strands of Annabeth's hair. They stood contently like that for a few moments, Annabeth's mind going blank as she focused on the little girl in her arms. The peace was soon interrupted, however, as the memory of the day's meeting crept back into existence. She sank into the couch, hugging Estelle closer for support, and ran through every detail of the event, yet again, just to make sure she hadn't imagined it.