Chapter 41 - The Tension Between Us
published: Wednesday, 6 November 2019

Percy found himself standing in front of Annabeth's door, unsure whether to knock or leave. Did she want to see him right now? She probably wanted some time to think.

As he turned his back on the door, Percy traipsed slowly towards his own room. What was going on between them?

There were moments where it seemed like the last five years hadn't happened, and they were just innocent teenagers in love at a time where they thought that love was all they needed.

When Percy pushed his door open, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Annabeth sitting cross-legged on his bed and staring blankly at the wall.

Her gaze swept towards him and Percy felt sadness well in his heart. Blonde curls flowed down her back and Annabeth's grey eyes were clouded with an emotion he couldn't identify.

"Sorry," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Percy swallowed as he closed the door behind him.

"I don't know why I'm here," Annabeth confessed. 

Percy stood by the door uncertainly. "That's okay," he said reassuringly. "I-uh-Do you want to talk?"

Annabeth folded her arms, her shoulders slumping. "I'm afraid my powers will corrupt me," she admitted. "If I can't control them, they could hurt other people too. Not just me. You saw what happened to Jasper."

Percy pulled up his desk chair to opposite the bed and sat down in it so they were facing each other. "I did. I saw you save his life when I thought that he was dead."

"He was only thrown overboard because of me," Annabeth said miserably. She buried her face in her hands. "It's just too much. Everything. The war, you, this."

Percy blinked. Me? he wanted to cry out. I didn't want to leave you.

Instead, Percy suppressed those thoughts and exhaled slowly. "I know it's a lot," he started. "But you're stronger than your powers. I know you are. And I've been trying to discourage you from using them, but the truth is, that you shouldn't be afraid of them," he reasoned. "Annabeth, you're a billion times stronger than your brain."

Percy paused for a moment. "You've got your heart," he added. "And your kindness. And everything you've been through since you were just 7." Percy shuffled his feet. "And, well, all of that is worth ten times your brain."

"So maybe your brain isn't strong enough to cope with your powers," Percy said. "But the rest of you is." He stared at his feet awkwardly.

"That was a real heart-to-heart," came Annabeth's trembling voice. When he looked up, she shrugged. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

The corner of his mouth perked up in a small smile. "Anytime."

Annabeth brushed her hair out of her face. "How're you feeling about returning to camp?"

Oh, so they were back to him. Percy pulled a face. "Nervous, more than anything. I haven't seen some of my closest friends in ages — Grover, Clarisse, Thalia — and I might just have a day before they're all dead. Also—" Percy winced. "I'm afraid they'll blame me for abandoning them for five years."

Annabeth was silent for a few moments. "Well," she said slowly. "No matter what, I'll be there."

"Really?" Percy said lightly. "You'd stay with someone as annoying as me?"

The chiming of a shrill bell interrupted their conversation. Percy's stomach grumbled in reply. It was the dinner bell.

"We should head up," Percy offered. "Unless you prefer to eat here?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, I'm...I'm feeling pretty good," she said with a smile. "Let's go."

Percy followed Annabeth as she headed towards the stairs. She came to a screeching halt in the middle of the stairwell, forcing Percy to stop on the step below.

"What?" he said, with alarm.

"You asked why I'd stay with you," Annabeth said suddenly. She swallowed. "Well, because I'm your friend, Seaweed Brain. That's why."

Memories of a young boy and a girl talking in the back of a truck flashed through Percy's mind.

Her soft breaths pulled Percy back to the present. They were at eye level, Percy still a little taller than her even though he was a step lower.

A hair's width was all that stood between them. Between him leaning forward and kissing her like nothing else mattered. Her hands hovered uncertainly, unsure whether to make the first move.

^^^^^

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

Annabeth counted the seconds with her heart beats. All she had to do was lean forward and she could have everything she'd craved since the moment she'd seen him in that tower.

Then the haze over her mind cleared.

Annabeth withdrew like she'd been sucker-punched, a sharp gasp bursting from her lips.

"Oh my gods," she managed before she stumbled backwards up the steps. "I'm sorry—I can't. I have to go."

Staggering up the steps, Annabeth could feel herself paling already.

How could she let her guard down? Annabeth chided herself for ruining everything she'd been doing to avoid falling in love with Percy again. She'd tried so damn hard, and in the end, everything had failed anyway.

Her friends were gathered in the dining room on the couches or by the cabinet, conversing quietly.

"Annabeth?" Hazel asked in concern once she emerged from the stairwell. "Are you okay?"

Annabeth opened her mouth to utter another lie, but was interrupted by Percy.

"Were you just playing with me then?" Percy demanded.

Annabeth furiously brushed a tear away from her face as she spun around to face him. "What?"

"Every time I feel like you and I are finally on good terms, you do something that throws me off!" Percy said angrily, gesturing wildly.

"I can't let you hurt me again!" Annabeth cried.

His face scrunched up in incredulity.

"Getting over you was the hardest thing I ever had to do," Annabeth sobbed. She let out a frustrated yell as she wiped the wetness from her face. She absolutely hated crying in front of other people. It made her feel so weak and helpless.

"I'm sorry," Percy pleaded. "I'm sorry I left. I'll never do that to you ever again, and I'm sorry I put you through it!"

Annabeth's eyes burned with tears. "That's not why, Percy," she snorted humourlessly. "Of co ur se, I don't blame you for leaving!"

"Then why? Why do you push me away over and over again?"

"Because you kissed Rachel!"

Annabeth's outcry left an unsettling silence draping over the room. Their friends looked on in silence, Jason cradling Jasper in arms.

"Because..." A tear rolled down Annabeth's cheek. "Because you told me you loved me, and you broke my heart." Her voice cracked on the last word.

Silence.

The only sounds to be heard were their exhausted pants.

"I didn't kiss Rachel."

Annabeth gave him a contemptuous look. "I saw you," she said coldly. "Kissing on the beach. Under the sunset." She exhaled with a shudder. "You can't deny it — I saw you."

"But I—" Percy halted again, confusion clouding his sea-green eyes. "Why would you — but I didn't kiss Rachel! Why would I? I was with you!"

"I don't know!" Annabeth yelled desperately. She buried her face in her hands as she slumped onto the couch. "And I've been asking myself every day, if it's because I wasn't good enough for you. Maybe I wasn't pretty enough, or smart enough—"

Percy gently moved her hands away. He knelt down in front of her. "Annabeth, how could you think that?" He swallowed. "I was hopelessly in love with you. I wouldn't and I didn't kiss her."

"Then I don't understand," Annabeth said bitterly. "Because our stories don't match. And one of us has to be lying."

Another pause.

Percy frowned. "At sunset, I was gone. Tartarus kidnapped me at noon. I couldn't have been there. Whoever you saw wasn't me."

It was like the Earth had stopped spinning. Their heavy breaths had calmed to soft inhales and exhales.

"But I don't..." Annabeth's eyes flickered. "I don't understand."

"Oh my gods," Piper gasped, her horror-filled voice cutting through the room like a sharpened knife. "Oh my gods." She stared at Annabeth. "Mnemosyne. In the prophecy. She wasn't just mentioned because of Kronos' scythe."

"Mnemosyne," Percy said slowly. He gritted his teeth. "No. No."

"And what Apate and Dolos said about you falling," Piper said to Annabeth despairingly. "The gods of trickery."

"What?" Annabeth demanded. "What are you talking about?"

"Mnemosyne knew something was wrong," Percy said, closing his eyes and taking a shaky breath. "She even said so when we saw her in the cave. Oh my gods."

Annabeth stared at him.

It didn't add up. Percy was gone, yet she had seen him on the beach. Mnemosyne had felt something off about her mind — her memory.

When it dawned on her, Annabeth would've collapsed if she hadn't already been sitting down.

"Oh my gods," her hand flew to her mouth. "It's a fake memory."

Now that she knew, it was so clear. The memory itself was now hazy. Rachel's features were blurry, lines that shook and wavered. Percy was just a silhouette.

"How could they..." Annabeth searched for the words, her bewilderment preventing her from formulating complete thoughts. "Why would they..."

Five years. Five years she'd spent hating herself and Percy. The horrible way she'd treated him since their reunion. All that harboured confusion and desperation for answers to why he'd done it.

The answer was clear as crystal. He hadn't done it.

When Annabeth looked up with shaking hands, she saw Percy gazing back at her with hurt-filled eyes.

"Five years," she whispered. "I can't believe..."

If Percy had never cheated on her, and she wasn't angry at him, then...what were they doing?

Frankly, the truth was that she'd fallen in love with him all over again.

But that didn't matter. After all this time, after everything that had happened, Annabeth highly doubted that he still felt the same way about her.

But...what were they? Dating? Friends? People who used to be best friends?

She didn't know anymore.

If the rest of her friends weren't there, Annabeth might have kissed him right there and then.

God knew she wanted to.

Grey eyes moulded with green ones as they stared at each other, everything suddenly making sense.

And then the world exploded around her.

In a split second, Annabeth felt the wood under her feet splinter and her body topple down below deck.

Percy's eyes flooded with horror as his mouth opened in a silent shout, his hand outstretched in an attempt to grasp hers. He disappeared behind a explosion of wood and fire that engulfed both of them.

She didn't even have time to scream.