The moment English class was over, Annabeth had grabbed Percy's arm, marching straight out of the cafeteria, where everyone was gathered.
"What the heck are you doing?" he exclaimed, trying to wrench his arm free.
"You're going to have an explanation to give me," Annabeth muttered, pushing him under the little hollow bush they found in the beginning of the year.
She forced him to take a seat on the dirt floor, staring into his eyes with a fierce gray gaze.
"What's going on?" she asked, "Why are you so distant and why are you always wincing when Thalia punches you? Are you still mad about what happened with Thalia calling you a crybaby? And why--"
"Annabeth, you're going too fast," Percy groaned.
"Maybe it's too much for your brain of seaweed to handle!" she snapped, catching Percy by surprise. "What's upsetting is the fact that you can't see that all your friends are worried about you! What are you, a dummy?"
Dummy... Dummy... Dummy...
"I don't know how you can't tell the difference between us not caring and caring! It's like you're born with no brain! Sometimes I wonder how you managed to pass first grade!"
Dummy... Dummy... Dummy...
Percy knew he was being sensitive. He was being way too sensitive for his own good. But hearing Annabeth call him dumb directly to his face... It hurt.
-FLASHBACK-
"Ugh!" Percy threw his pencil onto his desk, watching as the led snapped and made a small silver dent on the notepaper.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Annabeth exclaimed, taking the pencil away before he could throw it. "What's wrong?"
"I'm never gonna get this equation!" Percy groaned, "I can't! I'm just too dumb!"
Annabeth grabbed Percy's arm, positioning him so that he was gazing directly into her gray eyes.
"Listen to me, Percy. You're not dumb. You're smart. It's not your fault you haven't learned YET. You've still got time and you'll learn that you're smarter than you think you are. Way smarter."
"Says the nice girl," Percy muttered, but Annabeth didn't stop.
"Percy, I'm not the nicest girl. If you're dumb, I'm not gonna be shy about shoving it in your face. It's just... pride. I don't know, but my mom said I was born with pride before she left us. And let me tell you... you're not dumb. So don't you ever believe that you're stupid for a second."
"You call me Seaweed Brain," Percy blinked a couple times.
"It's a joke, Percy," Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Seaweed is a smart plant."
"Promise you're not lying?"
"Promise."
-FLASHBACK SWITCH-
Percy cowered under Gabe's glare.
"I ASKED FOR MEDIUM RARE! NOT RARE! DID THEY EVER TEACH YOU ANYTHING?!"
"Y-You... You told me--"
"I told you nothing!" Gabe gave a hard slap across Percy's face. "You're a dummy! A worthless dummy who probably shouldn't even be living right now! Because you don't even know how to make me a decent slice of steak!"
YOU ARE READING
We Olympians (A Percy Jackson AU) || BOOK 1
FanfictionPercy Jackson grew up in the town of Manhattan, New York. He was a nobody there. At his school, he had no one but his best friend, Annabeth Chase. They'd been friends since they were in kindergarten, when he stood up for her when a boy told her she...
