Going Viral

Chapter 15

August 3rd

3 days, 14 hours and 25 minutes. Each second that passed on the clock felt like a sharp slap to the face.

He had sent a message in the end, the night he'd written the song.

percyjackson18 i'm so sorry, we need to talk but i need to figure myself out first, i don't want to just forget about it. i need to fix it properly and i will, promise x

Unsurprisingly, he got no reply from her. He did get something from Piper and Leo though, which is an harsh contrast to their prior messages of comedy videos and lighthearted messages.

hyperpiper she won't tell me what happened but she knows she's overreacting, i can tell because she looks ashamed whenever she chats bull about you. you're a good guy, jackson, i just hope the pair of you can work it out

alldaladieslove.leo chicks, hey?

alldaladieslove.leo but srsly dude, hope youre okay. annabeth's not but she will be

He knows Leo's only trying to help but the words are hardly reassuring.

Percy's at the gym. He wants to punch something, he wants to feel powerful. Once again, he's grateful that Chiron made him channel that anger into something that wouldn't hurt anyone.

The punchbag swings back in his face. The receptionist, a muscly, bald man with a goatee gives him a strange look but Percy's too far gone to really care. He knows he's not using the equipment properly or even safely but he just needs a moment to let it out. Then he'll move on to weights.

For the next few days, this becomes his routine. The Halfbloods song of the summer was announced on the Saturday and there was a seven day countdown on its release. Percy hadn't written this one, Thalia had, but he had to admit it was pretty good. 'Up All Night' was a basic 4/4 sequence but the lyrics were really good and Thalia had been so proud of the hook she'd come up with for the melody line. It was going to be a hit.

The weeks countdown for the song felt like an expiry date for him and Annabeth. They'd managed to avoid each other thus far and he was growing anxious to see her again. His therapist had encouraged to reach out in a 'non confrontational manner' and then leave the ball in her court. So that's what he did, he typed out another message to her and hovered over the 'send' button before just closing his eyes and letting his finger fall. There, he can pretend it was an accident.

percyjackson18 can we talk? i miss you

He tries to forget about it after that. It's scary to think that their entire relationship rested on her reply. Not that they had a relationship. In the last two months, Annabeth had come to rival Grover in the position of 'best friend', but he would never dare say they had a relationship. It might insinuate that there was something there. And sure, there was for him, but he didn't want to pressure her.

The hour that passes before she sends a reply feels like a constant weight that builds on his shoulders (which are already aching from his morning using the weights). The buzz of his phone nearly knocks him off his feet because that's her. She's okay. She's not completely ignoring him.

absoluteannabeth i'm sorry too. you didn't deserve to be blanked like that

There's a little typing bubble that ripples for as long as it takes him to read her first message.

absoluteannabeth the cafe? at 6? maybe we can start over. i owe you an explanation.

~~~

The cafe was empty when he arrived, save for a young woman behind the counter. Percy figured she must be on a break and working the summer hours shift like he'd done when he was her age.

The young woman, Hestia - he read from her badge, offered him a soft smile when he nodded to her and took the table in the back corner. It was only 5:45 but he was desperate to see Annabeth so he'd left his apartment before he'd needed to, dropping a text to Grover to explain where he was off.

Annabeth was early too. He'd only just sat down when the bell above the door tinkled and there she was.

Look, Percy wasn't in the habit of drooling over pretty girls. He'd had a girlfriend in high school but it was never very serious and truthfully, he hadn't been that invested. There was something different about Annabeth. She was rough around the edges yet still incredible. She was so smart and intuitive and yet she was able to relax and laugh with him like they'd been friends for years. And she was beautiful. Not beautiful in the way Percy recognised other girls to be. He's not stupid - he knows girls like Piper and Thalia are attractive - but Annabeth is gorgeous.

He had to bite his lip to keep it shut.

"Hey, Perce." She clears her throat.

Trying his best to act normal to help ease her nerves, he smiles. "Hey, you. Take a seat, I'll order. Your usual?"

When she nods tentatively he moves to the counter. Hestia is quieter than Demeter and so Percy stands in silence as she works. In his head, he's thinking of a million things he should say to Annabeth, but none of them feel right. None of them can explain why her reaction bothered him. But first, he wants to understand her point of view.

They walk down the bank with their drinks, Percy kicking the curb and Annabeth rolling her eyes fondly. After a few blocks of silence, she speaks up.

"I guess I owe you an explanation." Her voice catches but she coughs to try and hide it. "I should probably start at the beginning."

Percy keeps quiet the entire time she's talking. His heart aches when she tells him about her parents, her stern mother that she only remembers from the library of books she left on the shelf, her dad who never really knew how to parent and a stepmom that had some kind of a resentment for Annabeth. At some point during her spiel, her voice quivers and she swallows hard. His hand slips into hers instinctively.

For 20 minutes, Annabeth puts all her cards out to him. There's a girl, Clarisse, who she'd grown up with. She talks of Clarisse fondly, telling him all about their competitive challenges and friendly bickering. And then one day something must have changed and Annabeth was left alone. Again.

"And the same goes for everyone else. Everyone's so adamant that they can help, that I need them to function and yet they're out of my life at the first opportunity. I'm just waiting on the day that Piper realises and off she goes with all her friends. Hell, Percy, it's only a matter of time before you work out that you don't want this." Her head dips towards their interlinked fingers.

Percy's drink is long gone, thrown in a trash can a few blocks back, so he's able to pull her closer and throw an arm around her shoulder. She's tense against him for a split second before she hums and tucks herself against his torso. Unsure of what comfort he could offer without making promises, Percy just holds her for as long as she needs. Their footsteps are in sync.

"Your turn?" When she speaks, he frowns. He hadn't told her that he was feeling vulnerable too. "C'mon, Perce, you said you needed to sort yourself out. What was that about?"

The words tumble out of his mouth, all of it. His dad, Grover and the kids at school, Gabe. There's so much he can't say about Gabe but she's able to fill in the blanks. When he stumbles over his words, Annabeth leans into him and mutters her reassurances.

He hasn't spoken about Gabe outside of therapy. It was a sensitive subject in the Blofis (neé Jackson) household, especially now that Estelle understands more, and he'd never really spoken to his mom about him. He could, of course he could, his mom would hide any hurt she would feel when he made her relive everything that happened, but he couldn't make her do that. Annabeth doesn't need to understand everything, but she understand enough.

They're sat in the park until 11 that night, just talking and holding each other. When it's clear that everything has been said, he walks her back to her apartment. On the steps of her building, Percy pulls her in for a hug and there's a moment when she looks up at him and he so wants to kiss her. Not here. Not now.

He's not going to push it, but he thinks they both know that there will be a time when he can drop her off at her building and they can part ways with a kiss.