25: The Secret

Percy POV

"What the hell is this?" I snapped.

I threw the tabloid down on the table. I couldn't believe that Atlas Tabloids wrote something like this. It was so fake, overdramatic, and incorrect.

Zeus looked up from his laptop and smirked at the tabloid.

"That is punishment for what you did at the showcase the other day. Your actions have consequences Percy," Zeus said firmly. He picked up the tabloid and scrolled towards the two pictures at the bottom of the article.

"Both of those pictures are so out of context," I snapped. "I'm doing as you say, so why are you bringing her into this?"

"Percy, she's in the center of it all. You're just some dumb kid singer, but she certainly isn't. Annabeth Chase had the audacity and intelligence to stand up to me and Atlas," Zeus expressed.

"She didn't mean anything by it. We just, we have feelings for each other."

I took a seat at the board table. I was so angry that they actually published an article like this. Not only were people going to be curious now, but they were going to be all over Rachel and Annabeth with questions (at least, at school).

"Young love has limits. You might as well learn it and give up," Zeus ordered.

Before I could respond, Artemis, Ares, and Chiron walked into the room. We were having a meeting to talk about the new single. It's only been a few days, but the song became relatively popular.

You would think that Zeus would be happy about that.

"Everyone take a seat quickly. I don't have all day," Zeus commanded. Everyone settled down as I crossed my arms. Gods, this was so annoying.

"Okay, I have to say, congratulations Percy on the latest single," Artemis said genuinely.

"Thanks, Artemis," I sighed. "Just answer me this, Zeus, does Rachel have a copy of the picture of me and Annabeth?"

"No, she doesn't," a voice exclaimed.

Everyone's attention turned towards Atlas, who walked into the board room. He confidently sat down in one of the chairs.

"What the hell are doing here?" I snapped.

"Be quiet, Percy, don't be so hostile. Also, I invited Atlas to this meeting," Zeus said firmly. "After all, Atlas is partly responsible for this single."

"With all due respect, Zeus, Percy wrote and sang this single. Atlas has no influence or reason to be at this meeting," Artemis expressed supportively.

Artemis looked at me with a reassuring smile. Chiron nodded as well.

"My word is final, Artemis," Zeus affirmed.

"So, don't object, woman," Atlas continued. I actually wanted to punch him in the face now. He was an awful man, who couldn't treat women with any respect.

Artemis's face contorted in anger, but she stayed silent. However, it was obvious that she wanted to set Atlas straight.

"Anyway, you said that Rachel doesn't have the pictures of me and Annabeth?" I asked again.

Zeus and Atlas both nodded.

So, Rachel's been lying all this time. Since Zeus and Atlas confirmed my suspicion, I was confident that Rachel has no power over me or Wise Girl. That was very good information to have. It indicated that I didn't need to listen or be with Rachel.

"Zeus and Atlas, I don't want to be with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She has no reason to be in this situation, and I don't like her," I said firmly. "And, I'm going to break up with her."

My voice was surprisingly confident.

I wanted Rachel out of the picture.

Zeus and Atlas looked at each other. Their expressions were conflicted. I knew that Zeus didn't care about my love life as long as it wasn't with someone "normal" according to his definitions. Atlas also seemed indifferent.

"She was becoming a hassle anyway. The constant nagging and begging for the pictures is quite irritating," Atlas said hesitantly.

"This doesn't mean that you get to be with Annabeth Chase," Atlas continued.

"Yes, no way in hell," Zeus said boldly. "However, being with Rachel is your own choice. We approve of disassembly."

Then, Chiron quickly shifted the conversation to other topics. I greatly appreciated his efforts to deter them from changing their minds.

I couldn't stop smiling, but I restrained myself from cheering out loud. I didn't want to push my limits. Also, I hated that I had to get their approval for how to lead my personal life. Regardless, I was incredibly happy that I didn't have to deal with Rachel anymore.

However, they still didn't want me to be with Wise Girl.

I guess that it would have to be our little secret.

***

"WHAT THE HELL? What do you mean you're breaking up with me? No one breaks up with RED," Rachel shrieked.

The whole cafeteria turned towards us.

I didn't want to break up with Rachel in front of everybody. However, she wouldn't stop bothering me about sitting with her, and she wouldn't stop touching me.

"Rachel, do you want to take this to a more secluded place?" I whispered.

I set my lunch tray down on the table nearby. I gazed at Rachel, but it looked like she wanted to be overdramatic and cause a scene. Gods, it was disgusting to make your breakup a spectacle.

"NO, no way. Nobody breaks up with me," she shouted at me.

"Well, then, obviously someone had to. You might as well learn from this experience," I expressed. "Either we go breakup in private or you can continue making a scene."

"I am not being overdramatic. My boyfriend is breaking up with me," Rachel shouted again.

I looked around self-cautiously. The whole student body was staring at us. Gods, did she have no self-respect? She was doing this in front of everyone. It was classic narcissistic and attention-seeking behavior.

"Yes, I am breaking up with you. You have no leverage on me, Rachel. To be honest, it's not fair for either of us," I expressed quietly.

Rachel shook her head as she fumed. However, she also knew that she couldn't do anything. Suddenly, she came forward and grabbed my hand.

"Woah, Rachel, let go," I snapped.

"No," she screamed. Gods, she was making this so much worse for herself. Rachel didn't even like me. She liked the idea of me.

"Are you freakin crazy? Let go," I said again.

For a smaller girl, Rachel had a surprisingly tight grip. Silena and Charles stood up and quickly came to help me out.

"Rachel, seriously, let go of his hand. You guys aren't good together," Silena said earnestly. She was trying to pull Rachel away from me, but her grip was tight.

I finally swung my arm down and broke free.

It was relieving and fantastic I was free from one of my problems, which was so liberating. Rachel stormed out of the cafeteria.

"Uh, I'm sorry about this, everyone," I acknowledged aloud. The cafeteria slowly but surely moved on. A lot of them were used to Rachel's drama anyway.

Silena huffed as Charles patted my shoulder.

"Great work, Percy," Silena said. "You're free of her, at least. That's good."

I nodded with a smile. I grabbed my lunch again and started walking towards my old lunch table where my friends were. My friends were all smiling as they looked between me and Annabeth. However, my gaze locked only onto hers as I sat down across from her.

"Bro, congrats, you're finally free of that dramatic queen bee," Leo exclaimed.

"It's great to be back, guys. I know that ya'll were angry, but thank you guys for understanding my dilemma and everything," I said genuinely.

I truly loved my friends and all of their support.

"So, can you tell us about everything that happened?" Katie asked hesitantly.

"No, unfortunately, it's not completely resolved. But, I am glad that I was able to get away from Rachel. She doesn't have any leverage over us," I said.

"You mean, over you?" Travis commented.

My gaze flitted towards Annabeth again. She was staring at me with a smile. Suddenly, I felt the tingle of her lips on mine. Sensory flashbacks were quite nice.

"Err, yeah, that's what I meant," I replied. "Anyway, guys, I wanted to say that you all were incredible at the showcase last week."

Fortunately, the conversation finally shifted to other topics. My eyes stayed on Annabeth. I could tell that she was pleased but also not completely certain of the situation. To be honest, I wasn't sure about anything either.

But, I was sure that I wanted to be with her.

My foot went forward under the table and gently rubbed her calf. Her gray eyes flitted up and locked only mine. Her eyes sparkled as a sly smile graced her face.

I felt her foot slowly trail my right leg. She started at my ankle and moved up to my knee slowly. It certainly had me excited. I smiled as she repeated the hot, sensual action under the table.

Then, suddenly, her foot collided with my shin. Hard.

I hissed before covering my mouth with my hand. Annabeth smiled all-too-innocently as she sipped her orange juice.

My shin was still aching as I light-heartedly mouthed, I hate you.

You love me, she mouthed back. She didn't even hesitate, and her smile proved that she completely believed her words (as she should).

I do love her.

The silent foot game under the table stopped. I was too scared of getting kicked again, so I didn't try. It was nice to freely hang with my friends and Annabeth again.

Lunch ended way too quickly though.

'Wait, Wise Girl, hold up," I said as I ran after her.

She was standing at her locker and grabbing her books. The hallway was mostly empty. We were only done with half of the day, but I didn't want to go to classes.

"Seaweed Brain, what is it? You're going to make me late for class. I'm already running late," Annabeth responded.

Then, the bell rang loudly.

"Dang it. Now, I'm officially late," Annabeth said. She quickly turned to run to class, but I quickly grabbed her hand in mine.

"Wise Girl, just follow me," I said quickly. "I have to show you something. It's important."

I pulled her towards a nearby restroom. The bathroom looked empty since everyone was either in class or getting to class.

"Wait, is everything okay, Seaweed Brain?" she asked with concern. "Why did you bring me to the men's restroom?"

"I told you, I have to show you something important," I said.

I quickly walked around the bathroom and checked the stalls. I wanted to confirm that we were alone. Finally, I turned around to make her. Annabeth was standing a few feet away from me. She looked really attractive yet natural.

"Percy, what is it?" she asked again.

I walked towards her. She stepped back as I kept walking at her. Her back pressed against the cool wall as only inches separated us. Our breaths mixed in the narrow distance between us.

Her eyes sparkled in anticipation. My gaze flitted to her lips before finding her eyes again. I reached up and placed my hand against her left cheek and neck.

"I wanted to show you this," I whispered.

The kiss that followed was freaking amazing. I had no words to describe the butterflies and fireworks. My brain simply melted out of my head. Endorphins and adrenaline courses through my blood as our kiss deepened. God, damn.

Annabeth broke the kiss first.

My forehead rested against hers as we caught out breaths. I smiled in happiness and excitement as my eyes opened.

"Wow," I whispered.

She nodded before kissing me again. Then, she pulled away. I pouted as Annabeth chuckled and increased the distance between us.

"I'm late for class, Seaweed Brain. You're not going to mess with my grades," she said teasingly. I frowned because I already missed her close proximity.

"Wise Girl, wait."

Annabeth paused near the bathroom entrance. Her smile was so sweet and welcoming as I got closer to her.

"We have to keep this a secret. For now," I whispered.

"You know, Seaweed Brain, this wouldn't our relationship if there wasn't some catch," Annabeth expressed before smiling.

I reached forward and gently squeezed her hand.

"It's just for now. I promise." I paused before saying, "I can't stop myself from being with you. So, instead, I am gonna be with you, but it'll be a secret."

"Somehow, Percy, what you just said was quite romantic, and I approve."