Never Be (Percabeth AU)✔️

>13<

Annabeth's POV

Wrote it down on the walls, she was screaming it out
Made it clear she's still here, are you listening now?

I was walking through the woods, staring at my feet, keeping careful footing. My thoughts dwindled about a million different things, as they always did. It was an ADHD thing. I looked up and paused my music when an all too familiar voice called my name.

"Chase?"

"Asshole?" I asked sarcastically, though I was surprised. I continued walking to the dock, stuffing my earbuds and phone into my bag.

"Happy to see you too." He turned back to the pond. "I swear, you always seem to know where to find me," He mumbled. "What are you doing here anyways?" He pulled a rock from a bucket and chucked it across the pond. It landed in the water with a gentle 'bloop'.

I sat down next to Asshole, on the other side of the bucket. I did the best I could to avoid getting splinters, for the wood of the dock was old and worn. It also didn't help that I was wearing denim short-shorts. "I have magical powers and can sense when a pond is in the area. It's a sixth-sense thing." I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"And there she is." Jackson threw another rock.  "The sarcastic, pain in the ass, Annabeth Wiseass Chase, whom we all know and find extremely irritating."

"You know you love me." I poked his side. He flinched a little bit. He's definitely hurt. He scoffed. "I found the pond when I first moved here. Did some exploring."

He just nodded solemnly. For the first time, I noticed how fucked up his face was. I saw his lip was cut, like he had been punched. A bruise adorned his right cheekbone. I saw a cut peeking out from under his raven black hair and navy hood. I was curious and impulsive—both traits always got the best of me—so I couldn't stop myself from pushing his hair up and his hood back.

I swallowed. A huge gash ran from his temple to the bottom of his ear. "What happened?"

He gulped. "Luke." His answer was hesitant, so I knew he was lying. He was also dodging eye contact, another nervous habit I had picked up on.

"We both know Luke isn't capable of that." I paused. "You're lying to me."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are." I pushed.

"Just let it go, Annabeth." His voice was quiet. The kind of quiet that was scarier than a yell, or a shout. He called me by my first name, which he rarely ever did. He finally made eye contact, holding my gaze. This struck me before anything else. His eyes were bright and alert, because he was excited, riled up. He was scared.

His green irises seemed to churn like waves in a storm. A violent storm. An angry storm. Something had happened.

Something bad.

I decided not to push further—I know, very rare coming from me—even though the curiosity was killing me. I sighed and grabbed a rock from the bucket. I chucked it across the pond. The stone landed on the other side of the water, in the grass.

"Good job." Jackson smirked.

"I bet you couldn't even make it over." I challenged.

"Oh really?" He threw another stone, the slightest grunt escaping his lips. He winced a little bit. My hyperactive brain began to imagine the other injuries he probably had and was hiding under his sweatshirt. I shook my head to clear the thoughts.

The stone just made it to the other side, plopping in the grass.

"Luck."

"Skill."