His Dark Side (Edited Version)

Chapter One: The Serum

Annabeth studied Percy during breakfast at the dining pavilion through her lashes. The open hall was filled with laughter, general chatter and the smell of burnt offerings for the gods. She knew today was going to be a bit hotter than usual- today's breakfast was french toast and Apollo always liked to be closer to the 'amazing mortals who created such divine eatery' on those days.

His eyes glittered, holding all the power of the sea yet the same gentleness of the soft lapping of waves at your ankles within them, his pupils dark as the bottom of the Mariana Trench. His smile was crooked and mischievous, carefree despite having walked through hell and making it out alive. She studied his reactions to everyday occurrences. Nothing in even slight resemblance of what I'd seen that day- nothing even somewhat similar to the Earth-Shattering revelation that had Annabeth shaking to her core. Nothing shocked her- Nothing had for quite some time. Sure we could feel upset or excited about what was happening, but she was never truly stunned by what she was seeing until that night in Tartarus with Akhlys.

The glint in his eyes disappeared and had never showed up again. But would it? Would the look of glee as he drowned a woman in her own poison come back? The grin as she choked, hissing and screaming in agony, was something that haunted her every hour of every day, striking at random. Curiosity was suffocating her; tightening her ribs tighter and tighter around her ribcage until she was sure either her lungs would pop or her ribs would shatter.

Her thoughts, her panic, was driven away by her half brother's voice. "Annabeth? Are you alright?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze that grounded her back to the physical plane. She smiled slightly, though it was weak. "I'm okay, thank you Malcom. Just thinking, you know how it is."

He pursed his lips and nodded. The very slight splash of freckles across his nose and cheeks were the most prominent this time of year, making a beautiful contrast between bright blue eyes and the tanned freckles, like stars or glitter amongst the moon.

I looked back at Percy, who was animatedly talking with Jason, waving his hands and doing weird body language that made the son of Jupiter laugh. Any sort of sharp movement or fist from Percy and I would flinch, however. I had to know if he thought about it at all- If he thought about hurting us, even just in the back of his mind. He seemed to enjoy torturing the goddess of misery, and that was enough to make Annabeth queasy. If Percy did fantasize about killing or hurting people, she can't say she wouldn't be surprised. He's been through a lot of trauma- She's honestly surprised one of them hasn't attempted to off themselves yet.

Dismissing this thought, she jumped into conversation about the best college in New York, where Malcom was avidly defending Cornell while Maria made several valid points about Columbia. She was too worried about Percy to get properly absorbed in the conversation. Perhaps Leo could build something to read negative thoughts?

Annabeth wasn't hungry, but she stomached an apple and some eggs before she caught sight of Leo slipping out of the pavilion, leaving soft kisses along Calypso's jaw and throat while she rolled her eyes, tangling her fingers in the masses of curls.

"Leo!" Annabeth called out, standing and jogging towards the Latino, who turned to look at her with a confused expression, looking an awful lot like a confused puppy. "C'mon, do you mind having a talk with me for a minute?"

The boy frowned, clearly not trusting the situation but he nodded. "Yeah, what's up Anniebell?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes as the three of them walked towards the edge of the pavilion. "First of all, never call me that again. Second of all, I need your help with something."

"My help? With what?"

"Patience, I'm getting there. I need you to agree to try, first- And to not tell Percy."