Find my Seaweed Brain...

December 31st Part 1

Annabeths POV:

Things have not been going well since Christmas. I spent all day waiting for and Iris message from Percy, telling me this was all some cruel elaborate prank he had devised for some stupid Christmas present. I kept thinking about how I would have to stay mad to prove my point, but deep down I was convinced I would break down the moment he appeared.

I guess it was all a moot point though, because as long as I waited alone in his cabin, he never called. He never snuck up behind me and covered my eyes and said "Guess who wise girl". I never disarmed his sass with logic. I never judo flipped him over my shoulder. I am torn right now, between kissing him when I see him next, or judo flipping his ass to Hades.

I haven't left Cabin 3 since the last time I went to visit Sally, I havent eaten in days and as long as it takes for the colourless endless days to melt into colourles endless nights, I still havent found a way to sleep without my Seaweed Brain beside me. My stupid, careless, loyal seaweed brain and his stupid, clumsy arms around me. I never bothered to take the Christmas tree down from in here, the presents Percy and I bought eachother still lay beneath it. Sometimes I stare at the smallest one, like it's going to jump out and attack me, or worse, I'm going to break and open it.

No. I'll open it when Percy gets back, when he can see my smile and I can see his. When we can kiss eachother and dance to cheesy music and celebrate our first Christmas together.

I didn't even realise I'd started crying until my tears hit the blueprints below me, distorting the colours into an ocean of swirls. No. I'm not about to fall back into the cycle.

I am Annabeth Chase daughter of Athena and I do not cry over something I can fix. I fix it. I'm not stupid. In that moment I made a vow that I was not going to cry again until I held Percy in my arms again, one way or another. How was I to know the chain of events leading to our reunion would be soaked with so much horror that tears are the last thing I had to worry about?

I would have to celebrate Christmas with Percy later, along with New Years and any other holidays he might miss. Yes... that'd be fun.

Shaking myself out of the spiral I'd been falling down for weeks, I rushed a brush through my rats-nest of hair and grabbed the nearest hoodie, not taking notice that it was Percys not mine, and stormed out of the cabin, gripping my dagger unconsciously.

I ignored the stares and the whispers from the campers around me, who seemed mystified at what had drawn me out of his cabin. I wanted to see Piper, we'd become friends since she returned from her quest a few days ago, as she'd taken it upon herself to bring me breakfast every day. I think she felt bad that she hadn't found Percy on the trip.

I was snapped out of my concentration by some random Ares kid. Now I can handle the rumours or the pityful looks, even people saying I should give up Percy is clearly dead. I knew they were all false, temporary in a way. But this kid pushed me too far.

"Ah so she's finished sulking about not being on that quest? Never much liked that dead Jackson kid but at least he wasn't an attention whore." He whispered no-so-quietly to the brute next to him.

Red. All I could see was red. Once again engulfing everything I saw, surrounding the image of the Ares boy.

"Woah James, thats way out of line, shut your face." Clarrise pushed him a little.

"Why should I? That b*tch always gets the quests while we're stuck here. Labyrinths, Volcanoes, Olympus. Just because her boyfriend is the 'Almighty Perseus Jackson, Hero of Olympus'" He stuck his fingers into his mouth and mimicked gagging.

Red. Blinding. Hot. Red. I took a step closer.

He looked directly at me. "What? You gonna hit me 'Wise Girl'?" He spoke them words, them words Percy has said to me before with so much love, and filled them with hate and bitterness. I took a step closer.

Im sure I could hear Clarrise intervening, whispering to someone to go get Chiron, but I didnt hear it. All I could hear was the Ares kid over the roaring red.

"She did the same thing with that Luke. Getting all the attention because he was great. And now he's dead too. How long will it be huh? Before you run out of boyfriends whose spotlights you can steal? I mean just look at the trend;
Luke Castellan? Dead.
Perseus Jackson? Dead.
Whose next huh? Who'll drop dead for the 'Almighty Annabeth Chase' next?"

I took one more step, the red finally engulfing my entire vision. I reached for my dagger

Then it happened. I don't remember how, all I remember is everything going black.

Hope you enjoyedddddddd <3