The Greatest Show

Chapter 17: How Could You?

Percy POV

Ugh, a stupid fight had to go messing with my head and heart. The worst part was that I knew there was truth to what my friends and Annabeth were saying. I had lost myself during rehearsal times, and I couldn't quite come back into it.

Swimming was my main interest not the musical. Because I was physically beaten, I wasn't able to swim for six weeks, but I also wasn't able to put all my effort into musical practice. Then, even after I recovered, a part of me was holding back.

But, now that I realized it, I wasn't going to hold back anymore. I was no longer scared to show myself. Fear was exactly what my attackers wanted, and I was not going to give it to them.

It was weird how my brain took Annabeth's side even though she was fighting with me. It was like I trusted and supported her more than I did myself.

Even though I was still upset, I felt bad about yelling at her when she was just concerned about me. I couldn't expect her to know how much swimming meant to me and for what reasons. Although, I did think she'd understand me and have my side. Regardless, it's only been a day, and I already wanted to talk to her.

***

"Mom, why are we going to the hospital? I'm perfectly fine."

"I know you are honey," she said with a smile.

"Then, why are we going to Dr. Solace's office?"

Dr. Solace was my general doctor; She was also the doctor who cared for me after my attack. Recovering from the attack was more doable than I thought it would be. I was physically healed, and even the psychologist signed off on my case yesterday.

"We are going to get your letter of okay."

"Mom, what does that mean?"

My mom only chuckled heartily. "We're going to get your permission to swim and compete two weeks early. I think that you're completely fine now, so there's no point in torturing you any longer."

I blinked once and then twice. "Mom, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you so much," I replied excitedly.

"Percy, I know how much swimming means to you and the reasons why, so I'm not going to unnecessarily stop you from doing something you love."

"You're the best person in the world, Mom!"

"Oh really, honey. Then, what about Annabeth?"

I choked on my drink as my head turned to her. My cheeks were burning red. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said quietly.

She just looked at me, and it was enough for me to cave.

"Ok mom, fine. I like her. I like her a lot, but you're still the best person." I realized that I wasn't really afraid to admit my feelings for Annabeth. Why should I be? Annabeth was an extraordinary girl, and any single guy would be a fool to not like her.

Mom laughed before warmly responding, "It seems that she's a very lucky girl."

"No, I'm the lucky guy, mom."

***

I was having a good day thus far. I had gotten permission to swim again from Dr. Solace, and I managed to swim again this morning. Being in the water felt truly amazing, and I was already gearing up to get back into competition. My swimming was setback a little bit, but I was confident that I'd get back to my normal level after a couple of days of rigorous training.

"Thalia, do you know where Annabeth is?" I asked during lunch.

"I thought you'd be asking about her, Kelp Head."

"Can you just answer the question, Pinecone Face?" I asked with a smirk. Our nicknames for each other were getting worse and worse.

She glared at me and then sighed. "Annabeth said she'd be late today. She had to take care of her brothers (who have a cold) while her step-mom attends a meeting."

"Oh," I said disappointed, I wanted to talk to her and clear things up after our fight.

"Don't worry Percy. She feels just as bad about your fight as you do."

"Yeah. I want to apologize for snapping at her. I mean we usually have petty fights, but we never fight seriously, u know."

"I get it, but don't worry. Y'all will kiss and make up the next time you see each other."

Talking to Thalia definitely made me feel better. I secretly knew that Annabeth must've also been feeling bad, and Thalia confirmed it. I wish we could kiss the next time we saw each other, I thought.

"What are you smiling about?" Thalia asked aggressively.

"Nothing," was my quick response.

***

The rehearsal was very busy today. I asked to start practicing choreography for the first time. Apollo decided to work on Come Alive. Piper, Hazel, and Frank helped ease my nervousness on stage since they were also in this number.

The song's choreography actually wasn't that difficult. The plus side was that the dance didn't start till the second chorus, and it started slowly before picking up. I had to perform the dance several times to memorize it. However, the entire crew was so patient, which I appreciated.

The hardest part was dancing and singing simultaneously. It took many tries to synchronize my singing and dancing. We definitely needed to perfect it tomorrow and in the next few weeks, but I was exhausted today.

Annabeth hadn't shown up for practice today, which worried me. Thalia had said that she'd be here, but she wasn't.

I had been talking to Apollo and Miss Artemis about my numbers while everyone left. They had videotaped their plans for the dance numbers. Obviously, it would help if I studied them in my free time, so I took the flash drive. I would have to be prepared for dancing to A Million Dreams, Come Alive, The Greatest Show, and The Other Side. Luckily, my hardest vocal number, From Now On, didn't have any dancing.

I was walking alone to my car but paused when a familiar face came out of the school's main doors.

"Wise Girl," I called out as I ran towards her. She was at school, but she didn't come to practice, which was so strange.

She turned with a violent glare in her eyes and anger on her face. Her body language reflected shock and pain. I internally cringed at her expression and almost backed away.

"Annabeth, I know that we had a stupid fight, but maybe we could move past it. I'm sorry for snapping at you on Friday," I said gently.

Her anger only seemed to intensify. I could see the red in her stormy eyes, which told me that something was seriously wrong.

I reached forward while speaking, "Wise Girl, are you-"

The words got lost as she struck me across my face. My cheek burned at the sensation of her slap, and I felt tears brim my eyes in helplessness and confusion.

I looked up at her face to see only anger and the pain of betrayal.

"How could you, Percy?"

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TWO chapters in one day!!!

I really hope you guys are enjoying this story because I am enjoying writing it. This is my first Wattpad story, so thank you all for the amazing support. I would love it if we could get to 1000 reads by the end of the month and then so much more.

Do you guys have a favorite musical? All recommendations will be appreciated.

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