Work Text:
Should've burst through the door
With that "Baby, I'm right here" smile
Annabeth woke up on her sixteenth birthday feeling like complete shit.
She spent her whole life feeling excited for her the day she turned sixteen. She watched older campers get parties, presents, and an entire day dedicated to them. It wasn’t that she wanted all that attention. She just wanted to spend a day with her best friends.
But Annabeth knew that wasn’t happening today. She couldn’t get a party or presents or attention because, in a little over a month, the world might end, and camp had to prepare for that. She knew that was a priority, and she’d be upset if they wasted any time on her. As a strategist, she knew a birthday party wasn’t a valuable use of their time. Still, that didn’t stop her from wishing she could have a normal day being a normal girl. There was also the issue of trying to spend the day with her best friends. While most of them were here, the one she wanted most was off doing whatever the hell he does now.
Annabeth was snapped out of her pity party by her brother throwing a pillow at her face.
“Hey, birthday girl!” Malcolm said, grinning. “Stop staring off into space and go get dressed. Chiron wanted to see you before breakfast.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes but grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathroom. Before she could make it too far, though, Malcolm grabbed her hand and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Happy birthday, Annabeth,” he said softly into her hair. “I love you, and I’m so damn proud of you.”
Annabeth had to blink back the tears stinging her eyes. She didn’t even know why she was crying. It could’ve been the fact that he was the first to wish her a happy birthday, or it could’ve been because he had a growth spurt, so now she could only bury her face in his chest and whisper a quiet “thank you.”
And it would’ve felt like
A million little shining stars had just aligned
And I would’ve been so happy
Annabeth left her cabin and headed to the Big House to talk to Chiron. He was sitting out on the porch reading a book when he looked up to smile at her.
“Hi, Chiron. Malcolm said you wanted to talk to me? Is something wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, Annabeth,” he said. “I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”
“Oh,” she said quietly, looking down on the floor and praying her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.
“I am extremely proud of you,” Chiron began. “Watching you grow these past few years has been a privilege, and I’m so proud of everything you’ve accomplished. You have one of the brightest futures ahead of you.”
For the second time that day, Annabeth regretted being such an emotional person. She refused to cry every time someone told her they were proud of her today, so she met his eyes and gave him a genuine smile.
“Thank you, Chiron. That means everything to me.”
He gave her a warm smile. “Go on to breakfast. I’ll be there in a few minutes.
Annabeth nodded her head, but lingered there, still looking at Chiron.
He just raised an eyebrow. “Do you have something to ask me, child?”
She knew he knew what she wanted to ask, but of course, he was going to make her say it out loud.
“Did—uh. Did he call?” Annabeth asked, making sure to avoid any direct eye contact. Percy always calls ahead of time to let Chiron know when he’s coming to camp. It made it easier for everyone so that they could arrange their schedules to maximize Percy’s (limited) time there.
Chiron gave her a sad smile, and Annabeth’s heart dropped. She quickly nodded her head and moved to turn around before he spoke again.
“Annabeth—” he tried to say.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t care. He can do what he wants. I’m going to breakfast.”
She walked away before Chiron had a chance to say anything else.
I've got my eye on the door
Just waiting for you to walk in
But the time is ticking
People ask me how I've been
As I comb back through my memory
How you said you'd be here
You said you'd be here
As Annabeth trudged down to the dining pavilion, each step felt heavier and heavier, as if every time she lifted her foot, the weight of her feelings multiplied. And maybe it did. Maybe she was so screwed up that even after he disappoints her, those stupid feelings won’t go away. If anything, each day, even the ones where she didn’t see him, they got stronger and more intense.
Annabeth was so busy being lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even see everyone looking at her expectantly until Clarisse cleared her throat. When Annabeth’s eyes snapped up, she saw everyone surrounding the Athena table, which was filled with presents.
“Guys…” she began to say. “You really shouldn’t have done this. Seriously. We have so much planning to do, and I—”
“Oh my gods, just say thank you and open up my present,” Grover said as he emerged from the crowd to give her a tight hug.
Ever since they were kids, they had an unspoken rule that Grover couldn’t pull away from the hug until Annabeth did. She was never quite the type to ask for physical affection (no matter how much she needed it), so this seemed like a good system.
When they did eventually pull away, Annabeth said, “I appreciate the excitement about your present, Grover, but let’s wait til after breakfast. I’m starving.”
“Um, no,” he said.
“No?”
“Yeah, no. You kinda need to open it now, or else they’ll be pissed.”
Annabeth’s heart dropped. “They?”
“Um. Yes, but not like—shit.”
While Grover was stumbling over his words, a girl’s voice spoke from behind Annabeth. “Okay, I’m gonna save Goat Boy over here and just say I’m the present.”
Annabeth turned around to see Thalia, dressed in black ripped and a black tank top that it seemed she cut the sleeves off of herself.
“Thalia!” she exclaimed as she launched herself at her. “I can’t believe you’re here! How are you here?”
Thalia pulled away, laughing. “What? You thought I’d miss my best friend’s birthday? No way. Besides, the hunters can live without me for a day or two.”
“Um, actually,” Grover said, seemingly regaining his composure. “I’m definitely her best friend.”
Connor Stoll snuck up from behind her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Nah. That’s totally me. Who did she pull pranks with as a kid? Oh, that’s right. Not you two.”
“Can we please stop fighting over the princess and just admit none of us here are her best friends cause her best friend isn’t even here?” Clarisse said. “Let’s just eat breakfast, please.”
Everyone looked at Annabeth, who directed her gaze towards her shoes. When she finally did look up, she gave a weak smile and said, “Thalia is my best friend. Let’s eat breakfast.”
What do you say, when tears are streaming down your face
In front of everyone you know?
And what do you do when the one who means the most to you
Is the one who didn't show?
Annabeth was only a little pissed that they wouldn’t let her open the rest of the presents yet. They told her they’d do it later today, after all their daily camp activities, which was fine. She already felt a little flustered from all the attention. She also liked her schedule today. It seems Chiron gave her a good one. Pegasus riding with Silena, archery with the Athena cabin, training with Clarisse.
Her last activity, which she just finished, was canoeing with Connor. At first, she thought it would suck because he never pulled his weight. But today, he actually tried to help for once. They spent most of the time sitting out in the middle of the water, just talking about nothing. He mercilessly flirted with her, but that wasn’t new. She actually enjoyed the normalcy he always brought her. No matter what was happening, she could always count on Connor to make her smile.
Once they paddled back and tried to go back to her cabin, Connor grabbed her wrist.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Um, don’t leave yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you to?”
Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest. “Try again.”
He sighed. “Because I was supposed to stall you for an hour, but it’s only been fifty minutes.”
Annabeth smiled. She was always able to get the truth out of him eventually. “Why did they make you do it?”
“I guess they knew I would be able to distract you,” he replied with a wink.
Annabeth shoved him, but laughed. “Sure, Connor. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Connor gave her a cheeky grin. “Oh, it definitely does.”
And the hours pass by
Now I just wanna be alone
But your close friends always seem to know
When there's something really wrong
So they follow me down the hall
And there in the bathroom
I try not to fall apart
And the sinking feeling starts
As I say hopelessly
“He said he'd be here”
Apparently, Connor had to stall her because there was a surprise party in Thalia’s cabin. Which she figured out, because duh. Connor isn’t the best and being subtle unless he’s trying (which he never is). The party was fun for a bunch of teenage demigods. People were mostly just hanging out and talking. There was plenty of food (Malcolm made sure to get pizza with extra olives) and drinks, so everyone was planning on skipping dinner to keep hanging out.
Even though Annabeth was surrounded by people she loved and people who loved her, she felt lonely. And she hated herself for feeling lonely. As far as birthdays go, this was nowhere close to the worst. At least she wasn’t on the run, and at least Thalia wasn’t a tree. So why did she still feel like shit? She should be hanging out with Thalia, someone who practically raised her, and she rarely gets to see. Nevertheless, instead, she found herself walking into the bathroom and locking the door.
Annabeth sank down to the floor with her back against the door and put her head in her hands. Tears started to stream down her face, much to her dismay. This isn’t what she wanted. Her whole life, Annabeth felt like a burden. Just a waste of space that people had to deal with until they inevitably passed her off again. Now here she was, in the bathroom at a party that her friends threw for her sixteenth birthday, crying. She should be thankful they did this. She was thankful that they did this. But Annabeth still felt awful because the one person she wanted to be celebrating with wasn’t here.
She didn’t know how long she stayed like that, sobbing on the bathroom floor, until she heard a soft knock at the door.
“Annabeth?” said Grover’s voice from behind the door. “It’s me. And, um, a few others. Can we come in?”
Annabeth sighed, but stood up and unlocked the door. She was greeted with the sight of Grover, Clarisse, Thalia, Silena, Malcolm, and Connor. Not exactly what she assumed “a few others” meant, but sure. Why not?
She wordlessly stepped aside to let the others walk in, and Grover quietly closed the door behind himself.
“Huh,” Silena said. “So this is where the real party is.”
Thalia laughed. “Yeah. An unused bathroom in Zeus’ cabin. I’ve never really ever slept in here anyway. Even when I visited, I just stayed in the Artemis cabin. This place freaks me the fuck out.”
“Whatever,” said Clarisse. “This is the better group, anyway. Other than Stoll over here.”
“Okay, first of all, fuck you,” Connor said. “Second of all, I am amazing company. Who here was able to stall Anna for an hour while all of you took your sweet time setting up?”
Malcolm wrinkled his nose. “Literally not you.”
As they all continued to bicker, Grover went to stand next to Annabeth and wrapped his arm around her. “You okay?”
She just shook her head no and leaned her head on his shoulder. She silently watched everyone continue to argue with Connor until Thalia said, “Can you guys shut the fuck up? Like, seriously. We came in here to talk to Annabeth, so let’s do that.”
Silena gently took Annabeth’s hand and guided her away from Grover so she couldn’t hide from everyone. She didn’t drop her hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I just—” Annabeth sighed. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
Silena gave her an encouraging smile. “Yeah?”
“He said he’d be here,” Annabeth said hopelessly, her voice cracking on the last word.
“We used to talk about it,” she continued. “Our sixteenth birthdays, and how we would spend a whole day together, just the two of us.”
If anyone saw Connor clench his jaw and avert his eyes, they said nothing.
“And the whole time,” she continued, apparently not noticing Connor microexpression. “I knew what was supposed to happen on his birthday. And I had to keep smiling and pretend that it would all be okay. Everything was supposed to be okay!”
Grover flinched at the last sentence. “It is gonna be okay, Annabeth. You don’t know what the prophecy means. No one does.”
“But I used to believe that! I really did. I thought with all of his training, he could defeat Kronos. But that was before Kronos… took control of Luke. And even then, I thought Percy could beat Luke; he just needed to stay at camp and train. But he’s not here! He hasn’t been here!”
Everyone was quiet for a minute until Clarisse spoke up and said, “Are you mad because he hasn’t been here this summer or because he isn’t here today?”
“Honestly? I’d rather he be here every day this summer except today than have him be here today. At least then he’d have a better chance of making it to see his sixteenth birthday.”
“Annabeth,” Grover said. “Do you really have such little faith in Percy?”
“Grover, it’s a miracle he’s even made it this far.”
“Then he’ll keep making it. You need to keep hoping, Annabeth. He’s not going anywhere.”
“Well, he’s not here.”
“And?” Connor asked. “Who cares? We’re here. And we’re way better than him anyway.”
Clarisse elbowed him hard enough to make him yelp out in pain. “What he means is that it’s okay that he’s not here because we’re here. So let’s go back to the party, yeah?”
The last thing Annabeth wanted to do was go back to that party. She just wanted to sleep off this day and wake up feeling better tomorrow. But if she said that aloud, everyone would hate her for not being grateful, then they would leave her. And she was so tired of people leaving her.
She looked at Malcolm, her last hope, with pleading eyes that said please get me out of this.
He cleared his throat and said, “I’m honestly kinda tired, too. Annabeth, walk me to the cabin? Let’s stop by the Big House on the way over. I’m sure Chiron will want to say happy birthday one last time.”
She shot him a grateful smile and nodded her head. “Let’s go.”
You called me later
And said, "I'm sorry, I didn't make it"
And I said, "I'm sorry too"
And that was the moment I knew
“Thank you for getting me out of that,” Annabeth said after a couple minutes of walking in silence.
“Consider it a birthday gift.”
Annabeth laughed. “You already got me a gift. And I’m excited to read all of the books, by the way.”
“Yeah, well. I’d like to think I know you pretty well. I met you first when you came to camp. I remember you being this cute little seven-year-old with these wild eyes who kept asking for Luke.”
“Right. And now I’m just a sixteen-year-old with wild eyes who keeps asking for Percy.”
“Oh, shut up. Stop reducing yourself to just wanting boys. You are way more than that. And wanting your best friend to be here on your birthday isn’t whiny or obnoxious. It’s normal.”
They stopped in front of the Big House and saw Chiron sitting out on the porch (Annabeth wondered if he ever actually moved).
“Goodnight, Annabeth,” Malcolm said, giving her a quick hug before heading towards the cabins. “Love you.”
Chiron gave them a fond smile. “Annabeth, someone is on the phone for you in the Big House.”
“Oh, my dad? Yeah, he called this morning, but the twins weren’t there because they were at school. They’re probably just calling me back before they go to sleep.”
Chiron nodded, but there was a twinkle in his eye. “Okay. They’re still on the line. I just told them to wait until you come back. You can go on in.”
He got up and walked in with her. “I’m headed to bed, but you can stay on the phone as long as you want.” Chiron placed a hand on her shoulder. “Happy birthday, Annabeth.”
Annabeth walked over to the table and picked up the phone that was placed next to its base. She picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Beth,” Percy breathed.
Annabeth’s heart stopped. “Percy?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Why are you—”
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I’m so sorry. I really wanted to be there today, I just—”
“Then why weren’t you?”
She was met with silence from his end, which felt like the theme of today.
“You know my dad called me? The last time we talked was when I called the house on the twins’ birthday and he picked up. That was months ago. Yeah, my estranged father called me before my best friend did. Wild, huh?”
“Beth, I—”
“No,” Annabeth whispered, voice breaking. “No, you don’t get to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Guilt me like that.”
“Annabeth, I’m not trying to guilt you. I just—”
“You just what?”
Percy sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it.”
Annabeth held the phone away from herself as she let out a broken sob. It was just such a Percy thing to say. No matter how mad at him she was all day, the second she heard his voice, she couldn’t be mad anymore.
“I’m sorry, too.”
The world might’ve been ending in two months, but it felt like Annabeth’s world ended today.