Chapter 35 || Annabeth

Here she was. Standing on a side of the arena, terrified for her life. Sure she had been here for three months... but it was still terrifying. She had a dagger. A 7-inch dagger that she feared wouldn't last her in battle, but it was the simplest to wield, so she chose it.

Promise. That's what the dagger's name meant. A promise. Percy's promise. It would keep her safe, right?

"Drew Tanaka versus..." The announcer looked at Annabeth, wanting a name.

"Oh... uhm... Annabeth Chase."

"Drew Tanaka versus Annabeth Chase!"

There were whispers in the sidelines that made Annabeth's skin crawl with anxiousness.

"Oh my gods... Drew's gonna flay her!"

"Crazy girl... she DARES go up against DREW?"

"Poor thing... She's gonna be scarred after this..."

"I hope she doesn't die..."

Drew's eyes were glinting maliciously as she stared at Annabeth. Drew and Annabeth had always butted heads, especially when they were in school. She was the popular girl who beat up people and Annabeth was the typical smart girl who tried to stay out of Drew's way. Well, due to Annabeth's stupid pride, it never ended well.

"No killing, only maiming in this game. Ready... spar!"

Annabeth's breaths came quick as she stared at Drew's sword. It was glinting in the sunlight as if to say "I will kill you". She didn't even see the blow coming until it did. It was a gash across her arm. Blood spurted out of the wound and she could hear Thalia's breath catch in her throat. Annabeth felt pain searing through the spot as blood gushed out. Some people were laughing.

As she heard the mocking laughs of joy as she sat on the floor, Drew smirking down at her, her pride did something good to her for once. Annabeth got up and sliced straight across Drew's face, catching the girl by surprise. The people on the sidelines gasped and Annabeth had the urge to press mute buttons on their throats if they had mute buttons.

Drew's face was now covered in sticky scarlet blood, dripping onto the floor. Annabeth got lucky as Drew's sword soared above her head and she ducked, missing the blow. The way Drew held her sword, Annabeth knew Drew was a seasoned Olympian warrior. She didn't stand a chance. The aching longing for the chance to drop out was tremendous, but her pride controlled her body.

A punch to the face was just what Annabeth needed to cheer up her day. She held her eye in agony as she felt blinded. It seemed to throb and she was sure she'd have a black eye. With a rush, Annabeth's adrenaline pulsing through her veins, she pounced on Drew, tackling the girl to the floor. Now, it was a fist fight as Drew's sword clattered out of her hands and Annabeth's did, too.

Even if the whistles blew, telling them that Annabeth had won because Drew got disarmed first, the girls kept fighting. Drew was beating her up. Badly. Annabeth's adrenaline rush had died down now and she felt every blow, screaming with pain.

"Drew! Stop!" Grover tried to pull the girl off of her, but he got whacked in the stomach.

Drew held her fist up, ready to punch down on Annabeth.

"This is for stealing Percy, you bitch," she said before the fist swung down once.

Pain in Annabeth's head came and she yelled with it. The fist got ready to knock Annabeth unconscious before Drew's weight disappeared. Hazily, Annabeth sat up to see Percy standing there, a murderous gaze in his sea-green eyes as the storm raged at Drew. Water was spilling from the pool, the fountain, the streams nearby... Everything was raging. The earth shook. A hurricane circled above.

"What the f**k do you think you're doing?!" he yelled at Drew, who's eyes were wide as she stared at Percy.

"I... I--"

"You're beating up a newbie?!" Percy growled, glaring at her. His eyes were glowing with power.

"I'm sorry, Percyboo--"

"Don't call me Percyboo! I told you that we could be friends but I didn't think you'd sink this low. She literally just came yesterday and you want to beat her to the floor. What is it with you?!"

Drew let out a little squeak of terror. Percy's hurricane stopped and the water flooded back, the earth's trembling coming to a halt as Percy realized what he probably looked like. He released Drew and sighed, looking away with a wince on his face. Suddenly, Percy looked very tired as his gaze flickered between the two of them.

Annabeth could feel everyone's stares to her and at Percy. Clarisse was at the entrance to the arena, glaring at Annabeth as if to say 'you stupid girl', but in all capital letters. Everything was silent. Percy pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a silent sigh.

"Don't do it again. I don't care who it is. You're not allowed to beat up newcomers. She won fair and square, so lay off."

Percy glanced at her, concern in his gaze, before he winced again and just walked out of the arena. Every Olympian camper just stared at Drew with a gaze that matched Percy's. The assumption Annabeth made was that Percy was a leader here, and just like Instagram followers, they did what he said. What puzzled Annabeth was that Percy was never the kind of guy who wanted fame.

She rose unsteadily to her feet as the people filed out. Thalia was at her side, pressing a paper towel to the gash on her arm.

"We've gotta get you to the infirmary."

Leaning on her best friend's shoulder, she managed to get to the infirmary. To her surprise, she saw Percy there, scanning through the cabinets.

"Percy?" she asked, confused.

"Hey..." he took out a couple sets of pills.

"What are those?" Annabeth asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh... uhm... this is Aspirin, the clear pills with blue little dots in them are to prevent my PTSD episodes, and these dark ones are to help my migraines."

"You get migraines?"

"Chronic migraines," Percy said. "It's because my dad's one of the Big Three and I'm his only child, so I was given more injections with the power you'd distribute among different children, and my chip is more powerful, so I have side effects. You'll learn about the injections when you get yours."

"Injections?" Thalia raised an eyebrow.

Percy chuckled, leaning against the counter as he pulled out a paper cup to fill with water.

"You don't have to worry at all. Your injections won't hurt one bit and they don't have lasting effects. I'm just extremely unlucky."

"Your migraines... are they bad?" Nico asked hesitantly.

If possible, Percy's gaze darkened.

"They can be... But they mostly appear when I'm stressed out, panicked, tired... something like that. There was a time last year when I was throwing up blood and my head felt like it was literally about to split open. I was passing out every few minutes. But that's the worst it's ever been. We never knew why it happened, though. I guess some things just aren't meant to be solved."

He tipped his head back and swallowed the pills with a gulp. The moment he looked at Annabeth, he sighed, running a hand through his raven black hair.

"You're lucky," he finally said.

"I'm lucky?!" Annabeth exclaimed. "I almost got beat to a pulp!"

"A girl almost died when Drew went up to her. She's disabled now and I thought Drew would learn her lesson... but she didn't. That girl... she's probably the most beautiful daughter of Hermes I've seen in years. But... what were you thinking, Wise Girl?"

"What was I thinking?"

"You gave me a f**king heart attack when I walked in on you being beaten like that!" Percy took more sips of water, throwing the cup in the trash can.

"I... I dunno! My pride kinda just... took over!"

"Annabeth, you could've been killed! There was a stone behind your head. If Drew had punched down, your head would've been split open."

Annabeth stared at him in shock.

"I..." Percy winced again, pausing. "Oh f**k."

He sat down, rubbing his temples.

"What?" Annabeth asked, worried for him.

"Ugh, it's a migraine!" Percy groaned.

"Is that why you were wincing like that earlier?" Thalia asked.

"Partly..." Percy's face twisted into a grimace. "Also because it's a lot of stress to be the sorta 'leader' of the Olympian campers. It's like I have to set a good example and flipping out like that wasn't a smart choice. But seeing you in that position... it was just like... nevermind."

Percy left the infirmary, causing the three of them to stare at the spot he'd just been in.

"Well... he talks to us now?" Thalia said, trying to lighten the mood.

But all Annabeth could do was curse at herself. She had just probably caused a migraine.