Annabeth's Mortal Friends

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Caleb Pierson's POV:

I paced at the end of the street, twiddling my thumbs. I glanced at Annabeth's house occasionally, but there were people walking down the street, and I didn't need them thinking that I was some kind of stalker. I'm just waiting for Jordan. What is taking her so long?

Annabeth had walked into the house a little while ago, and the front door was still hanging open, so it was obvious that something had happened. I couldn't see anything from this angle, but I was sure Jordan and Percy had been caught.

I was hoping that I would see Jordan come outside first, or maybe Percy. Either one I was fine with, but if it was Percy, I would have to hide. He would've just gotten kicked out by Annabeth, and I'm pretty sure I would have to stay out of his way; there's no way he wouldn't be angry. Besides, he'd probably come after me, since he knows that I'll be the one to snatch Annabeth up after he ruined everything.

Then, after they both exit the house, I would get a call from Annabeth, I would console her, I'd ask if she wanted me to come over to talk some more, and the rest would be history. It'd be perfect.

It was another minute or so before Jordan came storming out of the house, and when I say storming, I mean literally. There could've been a black cloud over her head and it wouldn't have surprised me.

She was supposed to come meet me at this end of the street, but instead she just jogged down the front steps of the house and started off in the other direction, paying no attention to me as I waved her down.

I groaned, jogging up the sidewalk to catch up to her.

"Jordan!" I called, halfway down the sidewalk. No response.

"Jor?" I yelled again, getting closer. Nothing.

"Jordan," I said a third time, putting a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She whipped around, knocking my hand away.

"God, Caleb, what? I did what you wanted me to, and now I want to go home." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at a car driving past.

"I just wanted to find to find out what happened. How did it go? Did she dump him? Do I finally have a chance? God, I've been waiting forever-"

"Enough!" Jordan threw her fists down at her sides. I blinked in stunned silence, finally noticing she was crying. "I don't want to hear you talking about this, okay? Just leave me alone..." She muttered, spinning around on her heel and heading back down the street.

Did I say something wrong?

"Caleb?" I heard a voice behind me, and my heart fluttered. I turned around, expecting to see a heartbroken Annabeth. I was half-correct; it was Annabeth, but she definitely didn't seem heartbroken. She seemed a little pissed off. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

Crap. I wasn't expecting her to see me outside her house, I was hoping she'd just call me...How am I supposed to explain this?

"Well, I....I mean, I was just-"

"Whatever, I don't really have time for this. I'm only out here because I heard Jordan yelling, have you seen her?" Annabeth tapped her foot impatiently, glancing over her shoulder to see if Jordan had gone the other way.

I paused, looking behind me for a second. Jordan was still walking away, and if Annabeth saw her, she might rip her head off. She looked pretty angry. I'm assuming she's mad at Percy, so why would she be taking it out on Jordan?

I turned back to Annabeth and realized that she had followed my gaze. She saw Jordan too.

"Nevermind, I found her. Thanks Caleb." Annabeth patted my shoulder and started off in Jordan's direction. That won't end well.

I grabbed Annabeth's wrist, stopping her. "Hey, what happened, anyway?" I tried to stop the hopeful tone in my voice, but it couldn't be helped.

"Nothing, Caleb, but can you let go of me? I seriously need to talk to Jordan." Annabeth pressed again, but I tugged back at her wrist. She winced, and I glanced down, noticing a fresh bruise. Oh God.

"Do you really need to talk to her? Or are you just running from your house?" I asked cautiously.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be running?"

"Because..." I whispered cautiously, "Percy's in there, isn't he?"

Annabeth frowned, biting the inside of her cheek. "Yes, he is. Why?"

I gulped nervously, lifting up her hand and rolling her sleeve back a bit, pointing at the bruise. "Did he do this?"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Annabeth snapped, yanking her hand away from me. "Why is that always your first suspicion? What is so awful about Percy, why do you hate him so much?"

I balled my fists. "Why wouldn't I hate him? Are you forgetting that he attacked me?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, still in denial.

"Don't forget the stuff he's done in his past! You know all that and you still don't think he's crazy?!"

"Oh my gods, Caleb, this has to stop!" Annabeth rubbed her temples. "You're calling Percy crazy, however you're 'coincidentally' outside of my house right after Jordan goes after Percy? If I knew any better, I'd suspect that you had something to do with this."

"No I don't!" I lied.

"Whatever. I don't know if this is some ploy to take Percy down just because you hate him, or if you're still making a weird effort to get me to produce some kind of feelings for you, but it's not going to work!"

I took a deep breath. Annabeth took my silence as an end to the conversation and turned, heading back toward her house. I glanced in Jordan's direction, and saw she had already turned down the sidewalk and vanished behind the rows of houses.

I looked back, and Annabeth disappeared through her front door. I looked beside the door and saw Percy standing there, staring down at me. He shot one last dirty look before following Annabeth inside, leaving me standing alone on the cold sidewalk.

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new pfp, if you recognize that bear we're officially best friends 😌

11/13/20