18: The Storm

Annabeth POV

The rumbling thunder kept interrupting Apollo's lecture. It was annoying our teacher to the point where he threw chalk at the wall in frustration. Then, he said that we could have free time for the rest of class.

"Wow, guys, that storm came out of nowhere," Jason commented.

"Agreed," I said firmly.

Another boom exploded outside. A white flash illuminated the room for a second before vanishing. A girl screamed in shock.

Everyone realized that we were in the middle of a violent storm. A lot of us would probably have to spend extra time at school so that we didn't drive in the pouring rain. As I looked out the window, I noticed that visibility was pretty low.

"Oh, Annabeth and Jason," Piper started. She looked nervous as she gazed at us. "Um, I hung out at Percy's house a few days ago. I didn't tell ya'll yet."

"What do you mean?" Jason blurted out.

"Oh my god, babe, not like that. Gosh, my sister and her boyfriend took me with them to chill at Percy's house on Saturday," Piper explained.

"I wasn't thinking like that, Pipes. I know that you'd never cheat," Jason paused. "And, Percy's too good and loyal to do that to me."

His voice silenced as he talked about Percy. Clearly, Jason missed his best friend. However, according to Jason, Percy had changed. Apparently, Percy was in the wrong now.

Of course, I wasn't so sure about that now.

"Did you have a fun time?" I asked neutrally.

I felt bad about sending Percy away from my house, especially since he was going through a lot of unclear problems. I just needed to think.

"Actually, yeah. It was a good time. I just felt so guilty about not telling you guys," Piper breathed in relief. "I know that neither of you are liking Percy right now."

"It's fine, Piper. If you want to be friends with him, it's fine," I said quietly.

Honestly, I wanted Percy to have support right now. I didn't want me to be the reason that Percy was alone.

"That applies to you too, Jason," I affirmed.

"I can't be with someone, who's different after achieving success, fame, and money. That's not the Percy that I want to associate with," Jason stated. His tone was strained and tense.

Piper decided to speak up from the opposite standpoint.

"Jason, I'm always on your side and Annabeth's side too. However, I think that something else is going on. I think that Percy's trying to do the right thing," Piper expressed.

"How, Piper? How is he doing the right thing by being a complete jerk?" Jason stated in frustration.

A tense silence followed as Piper sighed. She didn't have an answer. At this point, I didn't have an answer either, but I was going to get answers.

Hazel awkwardly managed to shift the conversation to school and homework. To be honest, I forgot that Hazel and Leo were here since they stayed out of our conversation.

Thunder continued to rumble outside as rain rattled the windows. Yup, we definetly had to wait for the rain to settle before leaving.

Finally, the bell rang marking the end of school.

We walked into the hallway and immediately noticed the mess a few yards away. Loose papers were scattered on the floor next to the trash can.

Considering it was in our way, Hazel and I decided to pick them up and throw them away properly. There was nothing wrong with keeping our school clean.

"Wait, guys, these lyrics and handwriting?" Hazel asked cautiously.

I noticed them too. The barely comprehensible handwriting that I knew all too well indicated whose book this belonged to.

"This is Percy's songwriting journal," Jason commented. He pulled the ripped-up journal out of the trashcan before gathering the individual scraps and crumpled sheets.

Jason's face was solemn as he stared at the torn-up lyrics.

"Why would Percy throw away his book? His songs mean a lot to him," Leo said firmly. He seemed incredibly confused as he picked up the remaining papers from the ground.

"Um, maybe, we should find Percy," I stated.

Everyone turned to me in surprise. "Um, he stormed out of class. Something isn't right. I know that we have our problems, but I have a bad feeling," I expressed earnestly.

Piper nodded as we continued walking down the hall.

Jason carefully paced the individual papers inside of Percy's journal. The hallway was crowded with people, so I had no idea where Percy was.

It was storming outside so he couldn't have left unless...

Suddenly, an eerie and upsetting feeling settled in my stomach. Percy went dark sometimes when he was emotional.

"Guys, over there," Piper exclaimed.

She quickly turned the corner to an empty hall. It was a short hallway with only a few classrooms and no lockers on the wall. The hallway was ended with a pair of exit doors. At first, I was confused why Piper brought us into an empty hall, but then, I noticed the figure outside.

Percy stood in the rain, getting drenched. His hair was covering his eyes, and his hands were in fists. he was simply standing in the storming rain outside.

We paused a few feet from the glass doors.

It was a sad scene. Percy looked so downcast as the rain washed over him. It was the archetypal representation of an emotional man.

"Jason, honey, please go. He's your best friend," Piper whispered. Her kaleidoscope eyes bristled as she watched Percy. She was always the friend that cared so much.

Jason looked at me hesitantly.

"Jason, go. I want you to help him," I said firmly.

My voice nearly cracked as I watched Percy. The lump of emotion in my throat was painful as Jason gave me Percy's journal and walked towards the door.

A gust of wind and mist exploded against us as he walked out.

"PERCY," Jason shouted. "PERCY."

I shook my head at Percy's lack of response. Clearly, Percy was in his own world. I've been in this place with Percy before. This darkness and recklessness happened on the day when he told me about Gabe. He trusted me with his deepest, darkest truth.

Finally, Jason ran through the rain towards Percy. His hand touched Percy's shoulder as he spoke to him.

Percy's eyes showed raw shock and emotion as he gazed at his best friend.

Then, Percy melted into him. Percy's arms wrapped around Jason as his face buried into his friend's shoulder. His chest was rising and falling in clunky waves. His hands wrapped into fists again effectively gripping Jason's shirt.

I realized that he was sobbing.

Jason wrapped his arms around Percy in support. They had an amazing friendship filled with care and support. Sometimes, guy friendships were so much purer than girl friendships.

Jason looked up; his eyes were filled with concern and worry as he continued to talk to Percy. But, His eyes also relayed a silent message to me and Piper.

We decided to leave and give Percy some privacy.

Hazel and Leo left without speaking while Piper and I stayed together. We sat in the cafeteria for a long time. However, we were both lost in our own worlds.

My free hand wiped the tears off of my face. I was tightly clutching Percy's lyrics journal as I breathed in and out to control myself.

Seeing Percy like that was painful for me, and I hated it.

***

I wasn't dumb.

Percy seemed so tired and done with life.

Now, I definitively knew that problems were plaguing Percy. Gabe was only one aspect of all his issues. The other problems in his life had to be equally if not more suffocating.

"Guys, I seriously don't know what's going on. Percy didn't tell me anything. He just accepted my support with gratitude," Jason explained.

We were at lunch. It was the next day.

The news of Percy's breakdown spread through our friend group like wildfire. While they were still upset with Percy, they were also concerned. As was I.

I watched Percy across the cafeteria.

He was sitting with Rachel at the Jocks/Cheer table. Percy stayed glum as he listened to Rachel rattle off.

"Um, I know that this is a sensitive topic, but maybe-" Travis faltered off. "We could invite him to sit with us," Connor finished hesitantly.

No one responded. No one knew the appropriate answer.

"Hey, guys, I have some news," Piper interrupted. We all turned to Piper and Silena, who were approaching our table.

"Hey, great to see ya'll again," Silena greeted with a smile. "I wanted to officially invite everyone here to a party at our place on Saturday."

Piper smiled as she squealed. Piper loved having parties at her home. She was a great host, and she loved organizing parties. I was sure that it was gonna be a lot of fun.

"Yeah, party time," Leo cheered.

The news brought on various conversations, which was good. It lightened the mood, and I was quite excited to have a good time with my friends.

Suddenly, another man approached our table. Gods, we're popular today.

"Hello, Annabeth, can I talk to you for a second?" Luke asked firmly. I had no clue why he was here, but I didn't want to be rude.

"Yeah, Luke, what's up?" I asked.

"I know that we already talked about this before, but I was wondering if I could take you out. I think that you should give us a chance," Luke expressed.

Everyone at the table stopped talking and focused on attention.

I stared at Luke, who was hesitantly smiling. He was tall and handsome, but I knew that I didn't have feelings for him. Percy was the only guy that I can imagine next to me.

"Luke, I don't think-"

"Annabeth, can I talk to you real quick?" Silena interrupted.

Silena and Piper quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the seat. Luke's smile faded as he stared at us. Piper pulled me a few feet away.

"What are you two doing?" I hissed abruptly.

"Annabeth, you should say Yes," Silena whispered quickly. Piper nodded in agreement.

"What?" I snapped. "No, I shouldn't. I don't like Luke. Besides, I can't imagine being with anyone else right now, considering my situation with Percy."

"That's exactly why you should accept Luke," Piper expressed.

I didn't understand what Piper and Silena meant. My eyes looked back at my friends, who were all staring at me. Luke was waiting for my response.

"Look, Annabeth, jealousy is a powerful emotion. It's enough to get a guy to reveal his true feelings," Silena said firmly.

Suddenly, I realized what they were saying.

They wanted me to flaunt a relationship with Luke in front of Percy. Since Percy was lying and hiding whatever was going on, they wanted me to force a reaction out of him.

"Besides, Luke deserves a step-down. He always tries to exploit different girls' talents. You don't like him, so it's fine," Piper continued.

"That's true, but-"

"No buts, Annabeth. Trust me, Percy will react to this in a way that favors you. I know guys and how they act. Something is up with Percy. If you want to figure it out, you need a clever plan," Silena said with a smile.

I shrugged before smirking.

"Not gonna lie, I kinda want to see Percy's reaction," I said slyly.

"There's our girl," Piper laughed. Silena and Piper receded as I walked towards Luke. Everyone was waiting for my answer.

My gaze locked onto Percy across the room for a second before turning back to Luke. I didn't want to be with Luke but making Percy jealous and forcing him to express what's going on didn't seem too bad.

"Luke, there's a party at Silena's house. It's a date," I said firmly.

Luke smiled confidently as he nodded. I gave him my phone number before he went back to his table. I purposefully made the date at Silena's house. One, I knew that Percy would be there. And two, it was safer to be around other people on a first date.

I rejoined my friends and refused any questions. The plan was built on assumptions, but I liked it.

Besides, I had already noticed Percy looking at me sternly when I was giving Luke my phone number. Yup, this plan should get a reaction out of Percy.

And, I was waiting for it.