Breathe (Percabeth AU)

III: The Introduction

Thursday, August 10th
3:00 pm - the local park

Annabeth sat on her favorite bench, watching two birds share a scrap of bread on the path. She sighed in despair. She still hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy, and she prayed that Luke hadn't either, though she knew he wouldn't. His reputation was too precious. What would the people of Goode High think if they knew that Luke Castellan—their star quarterback, everyone's favorite jock—got his girlfriend pregnant? And what would they think if they knew Annabeth Chase—student body president, captain of the volleyball team, and natural female leader of the school—got pregnant? What would her family think? The possibility that they could react anything like Luke had scared her.

Possibility.

That's all anything was; possibilities. It was a possibility that Annabeth was pregnant. It was a possibility that Luke would react like that, or that he could get into UCLA. It was all possibilities. Sometimes, life needed to be played as a game of luck, not skill, and it just so happened that Annabeth was not as experienced in the former as she'd liked.

The two birds suddenly flew away, only leaving a few crumbs behind. Annabeth wondered if they had eggs in the nest they would be returning to, for soon enough, she would too.

~*~

The smell of her favorite café forced Annabeth to quicken her steps. Even at nearly two blocks away the scent of coffee and muffins was prominent. As she walked, she kept her head down and stared at the ground. She needed to clear her mind and organize her thoughts.

Annabeth always found that the best thing to do in a stressful situation was make a plan, and this had her stressing more than any test she had ever had to take. Everything was always better when you knew what you were doing. She felt like her world was crashing down around her. Annabeth saw her life as a stack of paper perched on a desk; every sheet in order, not one edge out of place. But now, it was as if someone had come in and shoved that neat pile straight off the desk; onto the floor, papers drifting through the air. Now, the stack was in a jumble of sheets and words all over the floor. It was a mess; her life was a mess.

She tried not to think about too much, or she might start crying, which was not the ideal thing to do in public places. Her spirits lifted as she neared the café, its blue sign like a smiling friendly face.

Annabeth had been coming to Riptide Café for a few years now. It had become one of her favorite places to be. It was a small, quaint little shop, and not many people knew of it, though the coffee was delicious, and there food was always fresh. Annabeth liked it that way, though; it was never too crowded, so it created a peaceful atmosphere. the smell of warm coffee was always nice, even during the hottest days of the summer, like this one. She always sat at the same table, in the corner by the last window, with only two chairs. Few people had ever sat in that second chair; Luke, Thalia, or her father. It was a special place to her, only to be shared with special people. However, it was just her today.

She thought about the people she had sat with. Thalia; Annabeth still hadn't told her, using her absence as an excuse. Her father whisked her and Jason away on a trip, and that was all she had told Annabeth. She still hadn't told her father; she needed to build up the courage. Finally, there was Luke...

It had been four days since they had fought, and neither had reached out to the other since. Annabeth was stubborn, and she wouldn't apologize for something that she didn't have to be sorry about.

But however strong-willed Annabeth was, she couldn't out run her fear. What if Luke didn't apologize? What if he just left? Annabeth decided not to think about that as she joined a few other strangers on line. She wondered what all of them were going through. Was it worse than her situation? Was it better? Yet, she would never know, because humans were gifted the wonderful ability of concealment. No matter what was going on in our lives, we could act and dress like nothing was wrong at all. It was something that, at times like these, Annabeth was grateful for, but it also could be the cause of her dismay.