Chapter 49 - The Library Book (AU)
published: Wednesday, 28 January 2020
Timeline: Alternate Universe (AU); our beloved characters are in junior year of high school
Synopsis: In a world without demigods, Annabeth Chase has been on the waiting list to check out a book for months. As it turns out, none other than Percy Jackson has the long overdue book, and they meet in the library one day.
This is a story where two rivals find something good in being together, while discovering the most unexpected things about themselves and each other.
Warning(s): physical/emotional abuse
—*—
"Okay, this is preposterous," Annabeth declared furiously. She threw her book bag onto the ground and slumped into her seat.
Piper and Leo exchanged furtive looks as they stifled giggles. Jason gave them each a pointed look. "Mind catching us up, Annie?" he hinted.
Annabeth crossed her arms and scowled. "Don't call me Annie when I'm ready to decapitate somebody," she muttered under her breath.
"Annabeth," Jason corrected himself. "Okay, what happened this time?"
"Were you too quick for the AP math class?" Leo piped up.
Piper snickered. "Too smart for the teachers?"
Annabeth opened her mouth to say that both were actually right, but she closed it and thought better of the situation. "Shut up. No, I'm talking about how I've been on the wait list for this damn book for five months!"
"It's a book," Leo repeated.
"Yes!"
"Just leave it!"
"I can't," Annabeth said exasperatedly. "It's supposed to be one of the foremost leading understandings in anthropology."
Piper stared at her. "I understood exactly seven words in that sentence."
Annabeth pointedly ignored her, directing most of her frustration towards Jason. "And I've chased after this dumb book for so long, I can't give up now!"
Jason held up a hand in a 'pause' sign as he turned to Piper and Leo. "We'll meet you by the tree."
Piper winked at her boyfriend. "Thank you," she said in relief, pulling Leo to his feet.
Annabeth rolled her eyes as they staggered away, chattering and joking about. When they were gone, Jason turned back to her. "Continue."
She launched right back into it. "I tried to ask Fanny who's had the book all this time, and apparently, it's been overdue since September!" Annabeth leaned back in her seat and set her chin stubbornly. "She wouldn't tell me the person's name because privacy issues — whatever."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe she didn't want you to go to jail for murder?"
"I wouldn't kill them," Annabeth protested. She shrugged. "Just...maim them a little."
"Maim them?" Jason repeated. "A little? Wow, you're so nice."
"Shut up," Annabeth said playfully as she shoved him in the side, making him laugh. Jason had been her best friend all through middle school. He was long used to her meaningless rants.
Two years year, when they'd first come to high school, Jason had quickly developed a crush on the 'pretty girl' of the school — Piper McLean. Of course, Annabeth had assumed she was the queen bee who would never pay attention to either of them.
By spring break, the two of them were head over heels for each other and Piper turned out to be the sweetest human being of all time.
Annabeth was forced to find other friends to spend her time with, and that's when she met Leo Valdez, the only other kid in their year who was in the senior AP calculus class.
They'd bonded over being the youngest and smartest minds in the class, and Annabeth quickly found that he was the biggest joker ever. Somehow, despite their vastly contrasting personalities, the four of them formed a tight-knit group before their second year in high school.
Whenever they had free time, the four would sit under the big oak tree outside. No one else sat there. Annabeth didn't think they'd made a threatening note to "stay off their turf", but everyone seemed to know that that was their spot.
Plus, with Piper McLean with them, no one really dared to say anything against them.
Except Percy Jackson.
Annabeth remembered Percy Jackson from kindergarten and middle school. Back then, he'd been a scrawny kid with a goofy smile and missing two front teeth.
On the first day of high school, he'd shown up, much, much taller and with broader shoulders. His goofy smile disappeared and his resting face was so intimidating even Annabeth had to take a step back sometimes.
Grover Underwood had been his best friend through the years, and Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang joined them in high school. Last year, Grover left out of the blue — he was moved to another school for kids with physical disabilities.
Annabeth remembered when she used to be friends with Grover years ago. They'd kind of drifted apart when he met Percy and she'd met Jason.
Now, Percy, Hazel and Frank were their own group — strictly off limits. Annabeth had only talked to any of them once. They weren't in many of her classes, and that one time had been during a fight.
It happened before the summer of sophomore year, back when the groups had just formed.
Annabeth walked out of History with Piper at her side. Her cheerful chattering, annoying at first, had now become endearing and an essential part of her day.
"So anyway, I told her to back off," Piper continued. "Because I'm not just pretty — I'm also smart."
Annabeth snorted. "Can't believe Drew called you stupid."
Piper grinned. "You should've seen her face when I got a 95% on the test."
Annabeth opened her mouth to make another jab at the bully, when a loud crashing sound could be heard from the lockers.
"Hey, hey, what—"
Both girls snapped their heads to look at each other simultaneously. "Leo," Annabeth gasped, recognising the voice.
Taking off in a mad sprint, Annabeth screeched to a horrified halt when she spotted the commotion.
A massive Asian guy had shoved Leo against one of the lockers, his eyes flashing with anger. It was Frank Zhang, burly defender of the football team.
"Stop it!" a small girl with dark skin and fluffy hair yelled, her fingers splayed uselessly across Frank's arm as she tried to pull him back. "Get off him!" Annabeth recognised her as Hazel something; Frank's girlfriend.
"Oh my god, what are you doing?" Annabeth shouted, dumping her bag and books on the floor before she ran up and shoved Frank away from Leo.
"She's put up with you for so long!" Frank growled at Leo. "She told you to stop hitting on her, and you never stopped!"
"I didn't mean it that way!" Leo protested, scrambling to his feet. "I flirt with everyone!"
Frank glared at him threateningly. "Not my girlfriend."
Annabeth swallowed. Okay, so he was huge and could probably pummel Leo into the ground.
Students had crowded around to see the fight unfolding, cheering or watching with interest.
As Frank approached him for a second round, Annabeth leaped in front of Leo, taking a punch to her jaw. A loud crackle could be heard as Frank's knuckles cracked against her face.
Annabeth choked out a gasp as her hands flew to her bruised jawline.
Frank had stepped back with horror at seeing what he'd done. "I'm so sorry, I—"
"Hey, don't touch her!" came a yell from behind her.
Annabeth watched helplessly as Jason raced up beside them and smashed Frank into the row of lockers behind them.
"Stop it, Jason!" she shrieked, wrenching her friend off the other boy. "What've you done? I'm trying to stop the fight!"
"He hit you!"
"I was in the way!" she said snarkily.
"Doesn't matter!" Jason shouted back, his words cut off as Frank's next hit caused a stream of blood to flow from his nose.
"Stop! Stop!" Hazel's shouts could barely be heard over the noise that echoed through the corridor.
Annabeth glanced around wildly. "Someone get a teacher!" she demanded. "Come on!"
"Get off my friend!"
Another voice joined the fight as Percy Jackson barrelled in to Frank's defence.
"Oh my god!" Annabeth yelled in frustration. Leo was lying by a locker, holding his bruised cheek and black eye as Piper stood next to him, glaring at anyone who dared come close.
"Stop it!" Piper cried. Usually, she had a pretty good persuasive ability, but the boys were too far into it to hear her.
A deafening thud sent a cold shiver down Annabeth's spine as Jason landed on his back to his the floor, groaning softly. Percy had sucked-punched him and sent him flying.
Annabeth gritted her teeth. "That's it."
"You!" Frank growled at Leo. "You've made this mess!"
"It's not his fault!" Piper said furiously. "You're the asshole who started this fight!"
Percy was walking up to Jason, ready to take him down again. Annabeth's gaze flickered between Leo and Jason. Between the two of them, Jason was in bigger danger at the moment.
She rushed towards her fallen friend. "Get away from him!" she yelled savagely.
Percy glanced at her. She was surprised to see that his expression was tired and gaunt. He definitely didn't look like he wanted to do this. But he was, to protect his friends.
While Annabeth respected that, she couldn't risk Jason getting anymore hurt.
So she planted her foot into the ground in front of Jason and delivered her best uppercut to Percy Jackson's face.
The resulting silence over the student body made Annabeth and Percy's panting all the louder in the quiet hallway.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Annabeth closed her eyes, grinding her teeth. Now the principal arrived. Of course.
That fight had landed all five of them in detention for three months. Leo, Jason and Frank ended up in the infirmary; a broken nose, a black eye, fractured wrists. Annabeth wanted to punch Frank for his hotheadedness. Her father and stepmother had nearly passed out when they'd seen the detention slips.
If he'd just thought with common sense for a second!
Of course, the fight had happened anyway, and Annabeth didn't regret punching Percy. She'd left him with a nasty cut on his lower lip and if that was what it took to protect her friends, then so be it.
The fight had established a rivalry of sorts between their two groups. No more physical fights happened after that — Piper and Hazel saw to that — but no one from either group spoke to each other, and names were muttered with either distaste or contempt. Even now, in their junior year.
Annabeth and Jason settled in next to Leo and Piper under the tree. They were busy drawing stupid things in the soil. Annabeth could see where all their initials were imprinted at the very bottom of the tree, near the roots. Leo had done them one day when they were bored with nothing to do.
The rest of the day was uneventful. They played pictionary with sticks for pens and the soil for paper until lunch ended, and the lessons after that were pretty much the same.
The next day, a Wednesday, Annabeth walked back into the library, ready to be faced with yet more disappointment when her book wasn't there. She briefly considered 'letting it go', as per Leo's suggestion. Annabeth shook the idea out of her head. She'd come way too far for that.
"Miss, I'm so, so sorry that it's late," a frantically apologetic voice drifted out of the library. Her curiosity got the better of her. Annabeth slowed down her steps as she cautiously approached the door.
"I borrowed it for my mum," whoever it was continued. A boy, Annabeth guessed. "She's been taking care of the house for my stepdad and she's been so busy. I brought it back as soon as she finished reading it, and I'm so sorry that I kept it until now."
"Young man," that was Fanny, the librarian. "I know that you didn't mean for this to happen, but you'll have to take a few detentions here. It's school policy."
There was a groan. "I promised my mum that I'd help her out with chores today." He hesitated. "Can I do it now? Re-label books or whatever it is that needs doing?"
Annabeth could hear Fanny pausing to think.
"Okay, then," came Fanny's relenting voice. She was too nice for her own good. "You'll only have to spend the rest of the week."
There was a sigh of relief. "Thank you, thank you, Miss."
Annabeth waited for the shuffling sounds to fade away before she stepped into the library, a spirits lifted. An overdue book? That could only mean one thing...
"Good afternoon, Fanny," she said brightly, sliding up to the desk, hoping that her excitement was contained enough to throw off suspicion.
The librarian clicked her tongue disapprovingly at Annabeth. "Back again? I suppose you just don't eat lunch then."
"Lunch is for the weak," Annabeth informed her.
"Well, you're in luck today," Fanny said with a smile. Her right hand reached across the desk and plopped a large hardback book in front of her. "'Sapiens'. I know you've wanted his for months."
Annabeth wanted to get down and pray, because the day had finally come. After so long a wait, she couldn't believe it had finally happened. "Thank you," she gushed gratefully, grunting as she lifted up the heavy book. "What, is it made of iron?"
Retreating to her usual table and chair, Annabeth shimmied her school bag off and climbed into the chair, placing the book on the wooden table. Before she opened the lid, Annabeth found herself wondering who exactly had the book before herself.
Tentatively opening the lid, Annabeth turned to the page with the list of students who had borrowed it and their due dates. The name scrawled across the space above hers sent a frightening jolt through her; "Percy Jackson".
Annabeth's head snapped up at lightning speed — oh my God — her eyes searching the area. Sure enough, at the table to her left was none other than the boy himself. Windswept brown hair and green eyes; it was Percy Jackson alright.
She hasn't noticed him earlier, but now that she had, she couldn't seem to drop her gaze. His head turned and their eyes met. Green and grey.
Annabeth frantically averted her gaze, her heart beating wildly out of the norm. Percy Jackson, okay, okay, okay. Totally normal. Unless he still held it against her for punching him in the face. Which he probably did because she'd bloodied his lip in the process and left him with the scar.
She didn't feel like getting beaten up today. And she certainly didn't want another fight breaking out between him and her friends again.
Staring pointedly at the book, Annabeth tried her best to ignore Percy's gaze burning into the side of her head. It dropped eventually when he returned to whatever detention activities Fanny had planned for him.
There wasn't anyone else in the library, because not many high schoolers could read and study and pass it off as cool. Annabeth thought that was a stupid unspoken rule, to be honest. People should be whatever they wanted to be. Who cared what other people thought?
As she refocused on the book, Annabeth found her mind becoming more interested in the story matter and less on Percy Jackson's presence. Occasionally, there would be a student who would drop by the library, maybe to read or check out a book. But the moment they saw both Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson in the same room, well, it was safe to say that the tension in the atmosphere was enough to cut with a knife, and no one wanted to get in the middle of that.
When the lunch bell sounded, Annabeth disappointedly stuffed the book into her backpack and slung it over her shoulders. "Thanks, Fanny," she called as she headed towards the exit.
Except Percy was right there too, nearly by her side as he pushed the door open. Annabeth stopped in her tracks, rooted to the spot. She waited patiently for him to leave, only for them to stand there awkwardly for a few seconds.
"Oh!" Annabeth wanted to slap her forehead. He was holding the door for her. Of course. Hurrying to run through the doors, Annabeth tucked a strand of hair behind each of her ears. "Thanks," she muttered under her breath.
"No problem," he returned just as quietly.
They continued the walk down the corridor in silence and peak awkwardness. Annabeth wasn't quite sure what to do. Opening the door for her, was that a peace offering? Should she talk to him?
Annabeth inhaled and forced herself to speak. "I, uh, heard you borrowed the book for your mum." She slid him a tentative glance.
Percy was looking down at his feet embarrassedly. "Mhm," he murmured. "Yeah, Hazel calls me a mama's boy."
"I think it's sweet," Annabeth offered. "Nice of you to...to do that." Another moment of tense quiet.
Percy cleared his throat. "Nice uppercut, by the way."
Annabeth flushed a dark red. "Oh man," she groaned. "I'm really sorry about that." Her gaze flickered to him. "Oh, I even left you with a scar!"
"It's fine," Percy shrugged. "Not the worst scar."
If she was anyone else, Annabeth would've thought he meant that it wasn't the worst scar to have. But she was pretty good at reading people, and that didn't sound like it.
They had reached the end of the corridor and Percy gestured to the right in questioning.
"I'm this way," Annabeth blurted out. Actually, she was going his way too, but she didn't know how people would react at the sight of them together.
Visible relief washed over his face. "Oh, okay. Well, see you?" It came out as an uncertain question and Percy turned on his heel and headed the other way. Annabeth tried not to watch as his retreating figure was joined by Frank and Hazel before disappearing into the crowd.
She released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and started off in the other direction.
+++++
"You will not believe who I just saw," Annabeth whispered as she hurriedly slid into her chair next to Leo. It was Biology, and they were doing an experiment today. Something about the organelles in plant cells.
Leo glanced up at her, clearly intrigued, handing over a lab coat and goggles. Annabeth pulled on the coat and rolled up the sleeves — she wasn't exactly the tallest person, so she was always stuck with oversized lab coats that risked being set on fire.
"Beyoncé?" Leo's eyes widened.
Annabeth drew back with a snort. "What? Why would I—" She shook her head. "Forget that. No, Percy Jackson."
Leo's eyebrows shot skyward. "Jesus, I didn't know he'd forgiven you for punching him last year."
Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Right? Well, apparently he's over it now. Because— okay it's a long story. So remember that overdue book?" When Leo nodded, she continued, "Well, turns out he had it the whole time."
"Aw, fate," Leo cooed, earning a glare. He waved a hand dismissively. "You know I'm just joking, that guy is terrifying."
Annabeth winced. "Yeah, agreed."
"You gonna tell Jason?" Leo asked.
Annabeth hesitated. She told Jason practically everything. She always had. "I don't know," she admitted. "He and Percy really, really don't get along."
"Piper said they nearly got into another fight at football practice," Leo pulled a face.
Annabeth frowned. "Yeah, probably better if I don't. Doesn't matter anyway. Thank goodness, I'm not going to see him again. He's got detention in the library for the rest of the week, so I'm just gonna read under the tree instead."
Leo chuckled. "Wow, you really go out of your way to avoid social contact."
"Just with him," Annabeth reassured.
—*—
Following the completion of "End of the Line", I've started a new Percy Jackson fanfiction called 'The Library Book'. It's a little more lighthearted and god-free than my other works, so I hope you can find the time to read it!
This was the first chapter — a small excerpt to get you hooked — of the book. If you wish to continue the story, the next four chapters are up on the book, which you can find on my profile!