tied with a bow

chapter 6

In Annabeth's defense, how would you respond to a guy texting you that he wants to fuck you? She thought that these kinds of pick up lines were used by the grossest of men, not the very opposite of gross and kinda cute Percy Jackson. She had expected an "oops wrong number" text the next morning, maybe even a "sorry i was drunk i'd never mean that lmao". Not complete radio silence from the guy she'd texted practically nonstop for the past week or so. Then having English canceled on top of that made it almost impossible to analyze what he'd meant. She could've texted him or even found him in a corridor and asked but that would mean she'd have to admit that happened.

"Maybe he actually just wants to bang one out with you?" Piper sniffled, still bedridden.

"Come on Pipes, use your brain." Annabeth sighed, pacing around her very sick friend's room.

"I can't! It feels like it's full of cotton." She sobbed, more snot running out of her nose.

She rolled her eyes playfully at her sick friend, grabbing another tissue from her nightstand to help with the river of snot that was flowing from Piper's nose.

"I'll take it from here." Lacy smiled, walking into the room wearing rubber gloves and a mask.

They'd all decided to take shifts helping Piper while she recovered. Annabeth had made the schedule and so far it was working perfectly.

"Annabeth, wait." Piper whimpered. "Will you please help with my work this week? You're the smartest person I know and I-"

"Of course I will, that's what friends are for." Annabeth smiled.

She said a quick goodbye to Lacy before heading back to her own room. Hazel was sitting on her bed reading the book that Frank had left weeks ago. She looked up as soon as Annabeth entered the room, closing the book.

"How's she doing?" Hazel asked, sitting with her legs crossed

"Not much better, she stopped throwing up though." Annabeth shrugged, sitting on the foot of Hazel's bed.

"That's good." Hazel nodded, looking down

"How are you doing? You know with the whole Percy thing?" She said after a few moments of silence.

"Fine, it's not a big deal. I'll just block him." Annabeth dismissed, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

"What? Why?"

"Because he just hit on me out of the blue and asked if I was down to fuck?"

"Out of the blue? Have you ever seen him interact with you? Have you read any of the texts he's sent you? Like actually read them?" Hazel prodded, acting like she had some secret knowledge on Percy that Annabeth didn't

"Yes, I was there when he talked to me at the bar and I've read all the texts he's sent me. He's sarcastic, cocky, annoying, and arrogant." Annabeth recalled, listing his traits on her fingers.

"You're hopeless." Hazel laughed, falling back against her pillows.

"I'm hopeless? What about you and Frank? I saw him "accidentally" leave that book for you weeks ago."

"No, we're just friends. I don't want to overcomplicate anything by adding too many feelings. I like how we are now and it's not worth losing his friendship." Hazel stared up at the ceiling, lost in a daze.

"So you do like him? You finally admitted it!" Annabeth cried, slamming her hand down on the bed.

"No, that's not what I said. I said I don't want to overcomplicate things, that doesn't mean I like him." Hazel explained, quickly sitting up

"Whatever you say, Levesque." Annabeth smirked, putting her hands up in defense.

~~~

The days seemed increasingly more boring as Annabeth hustled through the end of the semester. She'd turned in every essay and project over a week early, allowing her to throw herself into her internship and the planning of that dam formal. She was exhausted with the work, as boring as it had become it was ultimately better than the alternative. Anything was better than waiting for the phone calls to come or respond to her mother and father's attempt to win her over for the holidays. She'd have to decide where she would end up suffering, her father and stepmother's house, her mother's house, or the much worse latter. She knew she'd probably end up at her father and stepmother's house, spending the weeks she had off answering a flurry of questions about her life and trying to talk to her preteen brothers. But the thought of her mother's place tempted her. She knew the chances of actually having to talk to her mom was slim, she'd probably be working the entire time.

Annabeth's mother was a professor at Harvard, the owner of Massachusetts only olive vineyard and mill, and a well known weaver at the local farmer's markets. She taught classical Mediterranean history and strategic planning at Harvard but had revolutionized the olive oil industry a few years prior, something about infused soil and underground farming. She didn't know what that meant but as a kid she tried to get as much information as she could about her mom. When she was 3ish her mom had moved to Massachusetts, leaving her and her father in Virginia. Her father had treated her like the best thing that'd ever happened to him for most of her childhood. But she'd always wanted her mom's attention, reading every book she could that related to her mom's work. She drew family photos for her mom to take to work and made art projects for the fridge, making sure each one was better than the last. But she never got anything more than a "That's nice" or "Not now Annabeth". Thinking back, it wasn't much of a surprise that her parents got divorced. It wasn't for a lack of compatibility, more for a lack of time. Her parents had been on the younger side when she was born, her dad still getting his degree. Her mom hadn't wanted a child yet but her father thought it was fate. But after their hasty wedding and Annabeth's birth they had no more time for each other. They were equally busy but only her dad made time for her, working nights and going out of his way to make it to her events. After the divorce her dad had a girlfriend within the next few months and was married by her 5th birthday. They moved to San Francisco for his new job and soon Annabeth had two new little brothers. She'd made it her job to know everything that was happening with her mom, having no updates from the woman herself. But soon she found herself busy with other things, the dance classes her stepmom had asked her about, reading every book in the local library, and architecture. There wasn't any time to obsess over a mother who didn't want her, letting the woman's presence in her life slip into signatures on birthday cards and brief hugs every other holiday.

But anything was better than him. Her annoyingly charismatic ex boyfriend. She'd thought about going back once or twice, her stepmom loved him and he was practically a son to her dad. He probably still popped by to visit them and ask about updates on her life, a life she wanted to keep him out of. She probably would've moved in with her mom if it weren't for the internship. It was her dream program and most interns at the firm were hired within the year or started their own firm elsewhere. It was too perfect to pass up just because of some guy, she was better than that. Besides, all she had to do was graduate, get hired by the firm, go to Harvard for her graduate degree, and start her own firm somewhere else. It was all so close now, she'd only have to do all this for another year and then it was on to her dream life. The life she deserved.