Hoped to see you again (Percabeth AU)

Chapter 44

Piper's POV

I didn't know what was going on. All I know is Percy is upset, Annabeth has stopped talking to everyone except her boyfriend, and I have an exam next week. Despite the exam I should be studying for, everyone, including me, went over to Percy's to comfort him.  Why? We don't know. He won't tell us anything, so all we can do is make him food and keep him company.

Percy refused to talk to anyone about whatever subject it was though. We made small talk about random stuff like childhood and high school memories.

"When I was in middle school, I had this massive crush on this girl named Mariah and I was so nervous when I asked her out, that I peed my pants, " Leo was saying.

"I remember I peed my pants when I was in elementary school and I went home crying," Percy smiled slightly. "Then Annabeth came over after school to check up on me and... sorry Leo did I interrupt you? What happened with Mariah after?"

We all looked at each other at the subject change. "She rejected me and I never lived it down." Leo explained, plastering an uncomfortable smile. 

We sat in a silence so filled with awkwardness that I clapped my hands together and said, "Okay, it's lunch time. Let's go out to eat?" 

Everyone nodded and agreed so we headed out. "Hey Piper, it's your turn to choose the place." Leo looked over at her. 

"Um... how about we go to that café on the east side of campus?" I suggested.

Percy noticeably stiffened. "Um, guys, sorry, but can we not?" The look on his face was enough to convince all of us that the café had something to do with Percy's current situation. We all agreed. 

"Then the usual?" Jason asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah sure."

"Mmmhm."

~

The usual was a small pizzeria near the campus that all of us enjoyed because of the homey environment. It was a family owned business and they give us discounts because of the amount of times we go there. It was a great compromise when we couldn't decide. We all ordered and sat down at the usual table, waiting for our names to be called. Making small talk isn't a hard thing to do when Leo's with you.

"I'm just saying, since narwhales actually exist, we should call unicorns the narwhale of the land instead of calling narwhales the unicorn of the sea," Leo ranted.

"Yeah, yeah, but unicorns are a lot cooler and better than narwhales, so they get priority." Percy argued defensively. One of the best aspects that Percy had that everyone loved was that he was always quick to recover. But we never knew if it was real or a facade. 

"Percy," Hazel asked, "is this about Annabeth?"

The whole table instantly shut up, all eyes on Percy, who laughed unconvincingly. "Why would Annabeth have anything to do with narwhales and unicorns?"

Hazel sighed. "You know what I mean. I've been thinking about it since we saw you so down and Annabeth is the only person that could ever make you this way. She's the closest family you have ad to confirm it, you immediately stopped talking about Annabeth, which you never do. What happened with her?"

Percy sighed. "As I've said before, Annabeth and I grew up together. And as that time flew by, I developed feelings for her. When we were separated, I was devastated. I never thought I would ever see her again. So when I was adopted and I saw Annabeth at school, I was ecstatic. I thought fate was giving me a second chance. But Annabeth already had Luke. He seemed like a pretty great guy, so I went with it. More time passed and feelings resurfaced. But then, she drifted away. College, when Piper brought Annabeth to that hangout we had, I was so shocked that she was still social, as I've only really seem her focusing on studies and ignoring stuff like that. Then, distanced herself again. I saw her yesterday. Well, I was kinda stalking her and Luke, but that's unimportant, and he was saying rude stuff to her, so I intervened by just saying hi, but Annabethjust shoved past me like I was nothing." Percy took a deep breath. "And, well, that hurt."

You could cut the tension with a knife. "What was he saying to her?" I asked.

"I didn't hear everything, but something about not talking to some people? Then he cut her off when she was trying to say something. That's when I couldn't take it anymore." 

The gears in my brain creaked as they worked. "Percy, did you think of what he was saying to her? Like in context? Was he controlling her?"

He shrugged. "Pretty much yeah." 

"And did you ever think of why she left us?" I went on.

"Well yeah, but I couldn't think of anything. What're you getting at?"

"Percy! How did you ever pass high school? Do you think Luke has been controlling Annabeth and making her ignore us?"

His face morphed. 

"Wait, wait, wait," Leo intervened. "Isn't that some kind of abuse?"

"Well, not necessarily." Hazel answered. "Depends on how he's controlling her." 

"Well, it doesn't matter because what's clear is that Annabeth and Luke's relationship isn't a healthy one so we should go save her." Percy concluded. 

"Whoa there Romeo," Jason put his hands up. "We should be sure of it before we talk about taking any action. This may just be a misunderstanding."

"But how do we do that? She's been avoiding everyone and I've never seen her without that stupid boyfriend of hers." I said.

Percy smirked. "I have an idea."

IM SO SORRY GUYS ITS BEEN LIKE ONE AND A HALF MONTHS YIKES. I FINALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO. IF ENDING SEEMS RUSHED IM SORRY IM JUST NOT AS INTO PJ AS MUCH AS BEFORE. PREPARE FOR SOME DEVELOPMENT WHOOP