Falling Through Portals

Let's Play With Sharp Objects!

Chapter 51

"So, you have read about my adventures in these books?" Percy said thumbing through the pages of a book titled The Lightning Thief. 

He felt exposed. He would stop at different pages and it was like reading his own memories. Some of it was in such great detail that he had forgotten all about it.

"Yea," Keeli said. 

The trio finally introduced themselves only minutes ago. Two of them seemed to be brother and sister and the other one was his "girlfriend." They had piled all of the books about him on the kitchen counter. All of these titles. He couldn't believe it. While he had understood that many of the people he had met in different dimensions were characters in books from his world. He could accept that. But imagining that he was one too . . . it was scary to think about. 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians,' was what the series was called. Percy Jackson. Should he be flattered that he was the main character? He didn't know, he just felt like . . .  like his privacy had been invaded. This Rick Riordan, had written out his life word for word.

"I don't know . . ." Percy shook his head, "How to . . ." 

Keeli reached out and put a hand on his arm. She didn't say anything. Percy looked at the stack of books. The thicker ones were named 'The Heroes of Olympus,' series. Percy looked at the titles. The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The house of Hades, and The Blood of Olympus.

Percy looked at them and was not only surprised that he could read them without getting a headache from his ADHD but also because they seemed to map out his life. He saw these times as memories, not as books with written words. They should have been named, This Kid, Jason, Came into the Picture, Percy Jackson Book 6, Annabeth Fighting Spiders and Boating Across the World, Bob Saves the World, and Finally, We get to Kill the Stupid Giants. 

Percy liked his titles better. 

Good thing Percy was not an author. He opened The Mark of Athena and flipped to the first few pages. He saw that it was in Annabeth's point of view and began reading.

Until she met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything. She'd paced the deck of Argo II, checking and double checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down. She confirmed that the white "we come in peace" flag was flying from the mast. She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew-and the backup plan and the backup plan for the backup plan.

Percy covered his mouth and laughed, tears in his eyes. It sounded exactly like her. He had imagined what it must have been like to fly to New Rome, but to hear it in Annabeth's voice was like nothing else. The nostalgia was so strong that he was having trouble breathing. It was interesting that he was nostalgic for the time that the world was ending. Funny how the universe ending did that to a person. Percy flipped through the pages, he wanted to see the part- this was it.

Then someone else appeared from the crowd, and Annabeth's vision tunneled. Percy smiled at her- that sarcastic, troublemaker smile that had annoyed her for years but eventually had become endearing. 

Percy felt hot tears running down his face, he could care less about the strangers around him. 

His sea-green eyes were as gorgeous as she remembered. His dark hair was swept to one side like he'd just come from a walk on the beach. He looked even better than he had six months ago- tanner and taller, leaner and more muscular. Annabeth was too stunned to move. She felt that if she got any closer to him, all the molecules in her body might combust. She'd secretly had a crush on him since they were twelve years old.

Percy sucked in a breath. 

She had??? A warmth spread through him. She had had a crush on him that long??? Percy skipped down passed Reyna's awkward dialogue and back to Annabeth.