Fanfiction? (A collection of Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus fanfics)

Chapter Five

Three minutes.

Only three minutes left until freedom.

The hands on the clock placed high up on the wall ticked repeatedly; the monotone sound echoing off the brick walls of the classroom, drilling into Annabeth's head for what seemed like forever. But suddenly, it stopped. For a moment, everything was silent. Her eyes flitted around the classroom, stopping only for a split second on three girl seated at the front of the room. If she planned her next moves right, she could escape from the classroom without crossing paths with them at all.

One minute left. She had to be quick.

After making sure the teacher wasn't looking, Annabeth stuffed all of her books in her backpack and finished just in time to hear the end-of-the-day bell send it's loud metallic sound bouncing down the halls of the school. Without waiting to be dismissed she practically jumped out of her seat and dashed out the door only to be met with three faces she prayed not to see. The gods were not on her side today.

"Where you goin', Chase?" the first girl said. To an outsider, she didn't look like much. Short, pudgy, with brown hair and crooked teeth but dressed as though she was both Miley Cyrus and Madonna. But Annabeth knew better. "Nowhere you're gonna be," she replied, pushing past them. "Hey, don't walk away from us like that!" the second girl shouted as Annabeth continued to walk down the hallway. "Wow, you're such a bitch!" the third girl yelled. "No wonder nobody likes you! Even your own parents must hate you!"

Annabeth sucked in a sharp breath. Normally these girls would be no match for her, and if they were back at Camp Half Blood they would be dead is two seconds. And normally, the things they said had no effect on her whatsoever. But that struck a nerve. Her family was always a touche subject that not many people could understand or relate to. Nonetheless, she shook it off and walked out the doors and made her way towards the parking lot.

After shooting Percy a quick text, she hopped in her car and began to drive. To where? His house.

The one place she knew was her home.

After a short ten minute drive she pulled into the parking lot underneath the Jackson's apartment building. She slammed the car door shut and bolted towards the entrance, mumbling a quick hello to the security guard before entering the elevator.

The silence that fell as soon as the metal doors slid shut gave Annabeth unwanted time to think. The words shouted at her not even an hour earlier echoed in her mind. For once, she allowed tears to surface. They brimmed her eyes, clouding her vision. She sucked in another breath before she knocked three times on Percy's door.

Almost instantly, the door swung open revealing her all-too-cheerful boyfriend. But after taking one quick look at her face, his smile fell.

"Annabeth," he muttered, engulfing her in a warm hug. "What happened?"

She sniffled; wrapping her arms tighter around his torso. Silent, hot tears poured down her face, splattering across Percy's sweatshirt. "These girls... th-they," Annabeth stuttered.

Percy gently wiped a few tears off her cheeks as he led her toward the living room. Seeing the brown couch placed in the middle of the room reminded Annabeth of all the time the two had spent having movie marathons, racing each other on mario kart, and attempting to study for finals. All of the happy times.

For the first time in her life, Annabeth allowed herself to cry freely. Tears poured down her cheeks, forming tiny pools on her lap. Sure, she could take down monsters with no problem, find the Mark of Athena alone and manage to live to tell the tale, and survive tartarus itself. But no, just a few teenage girls could managed to shatter her world with a few hurtful remarks.

She didn't know how long she sat there crying, nor did she care. It felt good to let her feelings pour out, even if they were in the form of tears. Percy's embrace was warm and protecting. He whispered words of comfort and told stories of all the good things that had happened to the two of them. Eventually, she told him what happened.

Percy muttered a few angry curse words and jokingly promised to seek revenge, which cheered up Annabeth just enough to wipe away the few remaining tears off of her face. She looked up, nervously meeting Percy's eyes. However, he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. "It's okay Annabeth," he murmured, running his fingers through her tangled hair. "Your strong all the time, but you don't have to be that way in front of me. I'm here for you. You know that right?" She nodded, connecting her own lips with his.

"Thank you, Percy." Annabeth gratefully replied.

"You need some cheering up," Percy stated, removing himself from the couch to grab the tv remote. "Superhero marathon? I heard The Avengers was on!" Annabeth nodded as he joined her on the couch one again. "I'm in!"

Before long, the sadness that was once present in the apartment completely vanished, leaving two smiling demigods in it's place.

a/n: this is dedicated to the lovely Rachel (beckendorph on tumblr) who asked me to write this for her!