The Greatest Show

Chapter 20: How could I say that?

Annabeth POV

I regretted it as soon as the words came out of my mouth. I watched as Percy's face fell and the storm started to brew in his eyes. I couldn't find any words to fix the situation, and I hated that more than anything. 

"At least, now I know how you feel about me, Wise Girl," he said with such disappointment and pain that it made me want to crumble into a million pieces. I tried to call after him, but he simply walked away. 

How could I say something so horrible to him? Percy was nothing like Luke, and I knew that, especially after everything Percy had done for me. Stupid emotionalism made my outburst as harsh and painful as possible, and there was no doubt that Percy had gotten deeply hurt. 

All my friends just stared at me in shock. 

Grover, being Percy's best friend, spoke up first. "Annabeth, did you really mean that?"

'I, no, not at all." 

"Then, why would you say it?" Grover asked with rising anger. 

"Guys, I was just angry, and I couldn't control myself. Most of you know about what happened already." I had told Thalia and Piper a few days ago, and Percy's guy friends (Grover, Jason, and Leo) certainly seemed to know what's going on. Frank, Hazel, Juniper, and Nico were currently in the shadows, but they'd know soon enough as well. 

"That was such a horrible label to be placed on his character," Jason said calmly. 

"Yeah, but Jason, Percy should've at least told Annabeth," Thalia replied. 

"Maybe, I don't know, but what Annabeth just said was 100 times worse than hiding a kiss. A kiss that Annabeth doesn't even remember anyway. Percy was just looking after her so that she wouldn't have to carry another thing on her plate, especially after everything that went down that night."

He did have a point. What I did was way worse than what Percy did. All he did was hide a shared kiss to spare my feelings. I called him a horrible person. 

"Jason, look at it from Annabeth's perspective. How'd you feel?"

"I'd feel a little betrayed, sure, but I wouldn't feel like Percy's a monster."

"I didn't say that," I exclaimed.

"That's what you mean when you compare Luke to Percy. Besides, Percy had his own reasons for not telling you. He didn't want to risk your relationship by making it all complicated."

"Why would a drunken, meaningless kiss make things complicated?" Thalia asked as she continued to take my side. I was grateful to her, but I wasn't sure if I could even take my own side right now.

"Because it wasn't meaningless to Percy. He likes Annabeth a lot. So, you could imagine how hard it would've been to pull away from their first kiss. However, Percy likes and respects her enormously so he did the right thing even after initially kissing back. He didn't tell you, Annabeth, because he didn't want to jeopardize your current relationship." 

Silence took over the table as everything sunk in. It took several seconds for my brain and body to start functioning again. 

Seaweed Brain likes me. He romantically like me! 

But now, everything was ruined. Our relationship was no more. And, the worst part was that it was mainly my fault. 

***

Percy had left school early that day, and he didn't show up to school the following day either. As such, he missed rehearsal on Thursday and Friday. However, he had told Apollo, who revised the rehearsal schedule to work on things that didn't include PT Barnum (ie Percy). 

I was disappointed that Percy didn't show up. I wanted to see him and talk to him even though I had no clue what I'd say. I just wanted him in front of me. 

Rehearsal on Friday was taking a long time. Apollo excused everyone, besides Jason and Piper, to leave, but I decided to stay. I wanted to see the infamous Rewrite the Stars performance that Jason and Piper were working on. 

They both were getting prepared on stage while Apollo was double-checking the safety of the giant metal hoop that was hanging in the air. In the film, Anne (ie Piper) was a trapeze artist, so much of the song happens with her in the air. We had modified the choreography so that Piper sits on and does different positions on the metal hoop as people backstage control the height of the hoop. Near the song's climax, even Jason hangs loosely from the hoop while embracing Piper. 

I watched as they performed the routine. The song started off slow with Jason singing on the ground for Piper with emotion and desire. 

Then, Piper's voice started as she positioned herself on the hoop, and it lifted off the ground. Piper looked beautiful as she sat in the air. Her movements were so fluid as she leaned back and let her hair flow. She sang her part flawlessly even while being several feet in the air. 

Then, they slow danced and sang together on the ground before both finding their way to the hoop. The song and their voices picked up as the hoop pulled them both in the air. As the song slowed down for the last verse, Jason fell back to the ground with a loud thump as Piper started the last few lyrics. The hoop came down and gently placed Piper back on the ground. 

Jason got very close to Piper with an emotion that said he didn't want to let go. Honestly, it looked very real (not like acting at all). It must've been nice to be in a loving relationship. I had a chance for that kind of relationship with Percy, but I screwed it up by hurting him. 

"We're bound to break, and my hands are tied." Piper finished slowly. They paused in that close position for a few seconds before Piper sadly pulled away and gracefully left the stage. 

It was a beautiful performance. As soon as they rolled out a few kinks, they would be performance ready. I clapped as they met me offstage. 

"You guys were incredible."

"Thanks, Annabeth," they said simultaneously. Piper and I walked to the side for a few minutes of privacy. 

"Hey, Annabeth, you know that you can talk to Percy. I can see how much you're hurting right now. I can see that you also romantically like and care for him a lot. And, before you deny it, you know that I have a sixth sense about this stuff." 

I sighed. Over the past few days, I've only been thinking about Seaweed Brain, and I had to admit that I did have deep feelings for him. In fact, I was so angry and upset at him because of how much I liked him (even though I didn't know it before). 

"After everything that happened, how can I even talk to him, Piper? How can I even face him, and what would I say? I, I can't." I expressed solemnly. 

***

As a few weeks passed by, so did the distance between me and Percy. We still sat at the same lunch table since we had the same friends, but we didn't exchange any words. I couldn't get myself to open up and talk to him, and he didn't seem to want me to either. 

We just floated in silence, and I hated it. 

The only times that we had any form of interaction was when we had to practice together during rehearsal. But even then, we would just perform the scene and move our separate ways. I realized that it actually hurt to be apart from him. One fight, one awful thing that I said separated our once intertwined lives. 

I missed his smile, and his ability to make me smile. I missed the warmth and comfort that came with just being close to him. I missed his always caring nature, and I missed his love. 

I missed him so much. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So sad, but don't worry y'all. Things will get better for our favorite characters, I promise. 

This is my first Wattpad story, so thank you all for the amazing support. Let's get as many reads and votes as possibly quickly! Follow me Sonu2314 for more content.

PLEASE,  PLEASE,  PLEASE:  READ  +  SHARE  +  VOTE  +  COMMENT