Who: Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase What Arrival/Reunion When: May 15th, before her net post Where: The Room of Requirement, Hospital Wing, Great Hall and outside the Ravenclaw Common Room Rating/Warnings: Medium- Likely to be emotional. Spoilers to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, through The Mark of Athena. Status: Complete
Luke had died a hero. He died to save his friends, and Olympus. It wasn’t really that he forgave the Gods, but Kronos had used them. Manipulated him. This war wasn’t what he wanted. What he was fighting for. Kronos wanted the Titan’s to reign again, while Luke wanted the Demi-gods to rule. The Titan king was prepared to kill him, burn away his body to do it. Annabeth gave him the strength to convince Percy to give him the knife so he could sacrifice himself. The pain of death was extreme, but the true heartbreak was when Annabeth told him she’d only saw him as a brother. That she didn’t love him. Still, he planned to try for rebirth, so he could got to the Isle of the Blest.
But he didn’t go to the Underworld. He found himself in some room that he didn’t recognize. He’d been to the Underworld before, and it certainly wasn’t it. A lot of other people were around, looking just as confused as he was. That’s when he saw her; “Annabeth.” His voice barely came out above a whisper. He was frozen in shock. This couldn’t be the Underworld. Annabeth couldn’t be dead. He didn’t know how to react. He just stood there, looking at her.
Unknown to Luke, Annabeth actually had been falling toward the Underworld just moments before. Tartarus specifically. The fall had been long and unpleasant, but Percy had been there with her and she knew that they had to find a way out. Nico had told them just before they fell that he would meet them at the Doors of Death. Their job, once they landed, would be to find them. And yet, when Annabeth landed--though it hadn’t felt like landing, exactly--it wasn’t at all where she expected to be.
Because of her weak ankle and not having been on the ground before her arrival, she had fallen the instant she arrived. Annabeth wasn’t the type to feel sorry for herself, however, so she pushed herself back up to a standing position, leaning on the wall for support. Her bubble wrap cast had seen better days, but it was all she had to work with for now. She looked around, seeing the other people who looked as confused as she was. She was looking for Percy, but she couldn’t find him. She kept looking, knowing that he had to be there somewhere... and then her eyes fell on Luke. She stood there, stunned.
If she was in Tartarus and Luke was there, did that mean he hadn’t gone to Elysium after all? Or was he some sort of hallucination. It didn’t make sense. Her throat was dry, though she wasn’t sure if it was because of the air when she was falling or if it was the shock of seeing Luke after all this time. It hadn’t even been a year since his death. “L-Luke?” she asked. No, it was impossible, she knew it.
Luke wasn’t sure how to react when she noticed him. She only looked slightly different than she did last time he saw her. Though she did look a little more beat up. His eyes briefly glanced at her ankle, that appeared to be sprained, or possibly broken. As always, his instinct to protect her kicked in, and he wanted to know what happened. Still, he also wanted to know where they were, and how he was alive. Because he certainly felt alive.
He finally unfroze, making his way over to her. “Annabeth?” He said, still trying to process everything. “How -- ? Where -- ?” He wasn’t even sure where to start. “What happened to your ankle?” He finally asked.
Annabeth watched as her old best friend walked toward her. How was this even possible. Even if this was somehow Tartarus, he shouldn’t be here. He had died a hero. She had told him he would be going to Elysium because she had truly believed he would. Instead, he was here, wherever this actually was. It really didn’t feel like Tartarus and Percy was nowhere to be found, so maybe it was something else. She just didn’t know.
She could tell that he was having trouble with all of this as well. He couldn’t get a sentence out. She wasn’t even trying. When he finally got a question out, she glanced down at her bubble wrapped ankle, which she had off the ground as she leaned against the wall. “I fell,” she told him. It had actually been a pretty long fall on a solo quest.
Luke quirked a brow at her response. The Annabeth he knew who was coordinated, and strong and resourceful, fell? And hurt her ankle? Clearly she didn't have any ambrosia to fix it. He just wanted to help her. To get back to the way things used to be. Which was why he'd come for her before the Titan took him over. Now he was dead and he didn't think he could. He looked at her, before pulling her Into his arms, in a tight embrace.
Annabeth hugged him back as tightly. She didn’t think she would ever see Luke again, she didn’t think she’d ever get to touch him. “How…” she managed, trailing off. Did he even know that he had died? Of course he did, he had to. He had been the one to stab himself. He would have known there was no way to survive it. She drew in a deep breath as the tears started falling. She didn’t cry often and definitely not in front of people, but less than a year after his death, Luke Castellan was here, hugging her.
Luke stroked her back as he felt her shoulders start shaking. He knew the signs of her crying.. He’d often been woken up to the sound when they traveled on their own, years ago. Now here she was, a beautiful grown girl. He still had the same protective nature of her as he’d had since he met her. “Shh. I’m not sure. But I’m here,” he said. Of course he knew he was dead. He remembered the feeling of putting the knife into his side, the feeling of fading out. But now, he’d never felt more alive.
Annabeth kept him close, almost as though she was afraid that if she let go, he would disappear. Maybe it was better if he did. Despite the weirdness of where they were, she was convinced he had gone to Elysium. Being pulled out of Elysium seemed almost like a cruel fate. “This isn’t… Tartarus, is it?” Annabeth asked. She still refused to believe he could have been sent to Tartarus, but that was where she had been falling, so she didn’t know what to think.
Luke shook his head in response to her question. Luke had been to Tartarus, and this certainly wasn't it. It wasn't Elysium either. It wasn't the Underworld at all. "No. I don't think we're even in the Underworld. I think we're in.." He paused, hearing people who seemed to live here taking. "London?" He guessed. He could to be sure, but the accents were British.
Annabeth wasn’t entirely sure what to think of where they were. All she knew was that she had been falling toward Tartarus before coming here and that Luke was supposed to be dead. London seemed to be a strange place to magically appear. She’d never been to England before, though at least it was the same continent. For her. London was a long way from New York and even longer from Elysium. “I was in Rome… minutes ago,” she said wonderingly. How had this even happened?
Luke rose a brow, looking down at her as she made a statement about being in Rome before she appeared there. “What were you doing in Rome?” he asked, confused. How long had he been dead? He didn’t remember going to the Underworld.. He was seriously lost. He heard someone in charge say anyone who needed medical attention to go one way, and the rest go the other. “Do you want to go get your ankle checked out? I’ll come with you,” he offered.
“I was on a quest,” Annabeth commented. Technically, demigods weren’t supposed to go to that area of the world as it was far more dangerous for them, but it was a quest that needed to be done. The Doors of Death were open and everything was coming back to life. It was now literally impossible to kill their enemies. They had been on their way to Greece to close them, but before going, their quest had led them to Rome and to Annabeth’s personal quest. “For my mom,” she added, glancing away. At the mention of her ankle, she glanced down, then she looked at the people who had spoken. “I want answers,” she commented, though she also knew she should get her ankle wrapped better. “I’m not sure,” she admitted.
Luke was surprised she was doing stuff with, or for her mom. He could only assume things had gotten better after she’d taken part in saving Olympus. He really hoped she’d get the attention she deserved from her mother. “I’m sure we can get answers after you get your ankle checked out. A bubble wrap cast isn’t really a good form of helping brace it,” He told her. Sure, they’d make do with what they could, but now they had someone to check it out for her.
Annabeth was glad that Luke hadn’t asked about her mother or the quest. Neither were things she really felt like talking about right now. Her mother’s words still rang through her head and they hurt more than they should have. She was sure that now the Athena Parthenos was found, that would go toward mending their relationship, but without Annabeth there, it wouldn’t help. She hesitated, then she nodded slowly. It would be better to get her ankle wrapped correctly. “Let’s go, then.”
Luke wasn’t sure if she’d be okay with him helping her. They’d been on the opposite sides until the last few minutes of his life, but she still seemed pretty happy to see him. He put his arm around her for support, heading to where they were supposed to go. “How long have I been dead?” He asked.
Annabeth wrapped her arm around his neck, using him to support her weight. She usually didn’t like getting help from anyone, but sometimes she had to admit that she was better off not doing it on her own--not that she couldn’t, never that she couldn’t. She winced visibly at his question. Neither of them had mentioned the fact that he was supposed to be dead, and his death had hurt her far more than she wanted to admit. “Almost eleven months,” she told him. Percy’s birthday was a little over a month after hers and they hadn’t reached hers… yet. She was literally days from turning seventeen.
Luke was glad she didn't push him away as he tried to support her. He knew she didn't like getting help, but he guessed right now she really needed it. When she winced, he at first thought it was from pain, then he realize it was the question. He was still feeling the heartbreak over the fact she said she didn't love him, and didn't think it would affect her that much. "It only feels like it just happened.." He murmured.
Annabeth walked with him, trying to ignore the fact that they were talking about his death, though that wasn’t very easy. She heard him tell her it felt like it had only just happened and honestly it surprised her. In their world, when someone died they went to a part of the Underworld and there truly was life after death. She thought he might have remembered some part of Elysium. “You don’t remember Elysium at all?” she asked, glancing up at him.
"I don't remember the Underworld at all. I was planning for what I told you; Isle of Blest. Rebirth. Last thing I remember is everything going black in Olympus with you guys," Luke explained. It was weird that he was talking about his death. He knew it would happen one day, but talking about it with his old best friend? That felt strange.
Annabeth remembered that day well. It had been hard on her. Luke had finally come back to her, the Luke she had always loved, but to save Olympus he had to die. “So much has happened since then,” she said softly as they followed the people going to the hospital wing. She didn’t really expect him to know all of that, of course. She didn’t know if people in Elysium watched the living or if they even cared to. “I never thought I would see you again.”
Luke was afraid to ask what all had happened since then. Was she still hanging around with Percy? What about Thalia? Luke had sensed some romantic tension between Annabeth and Percy ever since they met.. Had they finally acted on that? That would really break his heart. He'd made amends with Percy in his final minutes, but he still wasn't the kids biggest fan. "I didn't think I'd see up again either. The one downside to trying for the Isle of Blest," he said.
The truth was, Annabeth was dating Percy. She hadn’t felt that it was necessary to bring up now. Right now, she just wanted to reconnect with her oldest best friend. It was something she had never believed she could do and now here they were. “Maybe you’ll still get to try for it one of these days,” she said softly.
Luke nodded. "I can hope.." He murmured. While he didn't want to be dead, he technically wouldn't be with trying for rebirth. He also didn't mind being able to reconnect with his best friend. He walked with her into something that reminded them of a more modern version of their infirmary. He went with her, finding a bed for her to sit on so she could rest her leg and wait for it to get checked.
Annabeth sat on the bed and waited. There were other people that were being helped and some more severe than her. All she would need is for her ankle to be wrapped. Or nectar and ambrosia. She would prefer that, though she doubted that they would have any. She watched Luke an expression of disbelief on her face. She still had trouble believing that he was really here in front of her.
Luke glanced at her, noticing the look she was giving him. He rose a brow in response, not understanding what the look was. "What?" He asked. He knew he was basically the walking dead, but they'd seen weirder.
“I just can’t believe you’re here,” Annabeth commented as she kept her eyes on him. “I’m almost afraid that if I blink… you’ll be gone.” She bit down on her lip gently, not even looking up as someone came to check on her ankle.
Luke was going to give her a hug, but someone came over to check on her. Instead, he reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised. Granted, he couldn't be positive of that, but he didn't see them going anywhere anytime soon.
Annabeth wasn’t so sure of that and she didn’t think Luke could be either. One was alive and one was dead, so they didn’t technically even belong in the same world. Yet here he was. “I hope not,” she said softly. Selfish? Maybe. But Luke had been her best friend for six years and for three he had been her enemy. She wanted a chance to reconnect with him.
She had to answer a few questions about her ankle, though she was extremely vague on how it happened. She might tell Luke more about it later, but as a demigod, she was used to not telling mortals about what had really happened to her. The ankle was wrapped and they were told to go down to the Great Hall for dinner.
Luke didn’t mind that she wanted him to stay. While she claimed not to love him, he was glad that she still wanted to go back to being best friends, and trying to reconnect. While he was fine with the idea of rebirth, he also would like to be alive, as Luke, for a little while longer. He stayed quiet as the doctor asked Annabeth some questions about what happened, and she answered as vague as possible. Once they were told to go to some place called the Great Hall, Luke got up, holding a hand out to her to help her.
Annabeth took his hand and got down carefully. Despite the fact that her ankle was now wrapped far better than she had it in the bubble wrap, she still had to be careful on it. “Thank you,” she said softly. She was glad that he was there and that things seemed to be okay with them now. They had left things on good terms, but it had been just as he was dying. Before that, they were on very opposing sides and she didn’t know if that would affect things between them now. It seemed to not matter.
Luke slipped his arm back around her for support. It was taken care of better, but that didn’t mean she could go skipping down the hallway. She needed to rest it, but right now they needed some answers. he hoped she’d rest it more once they got things sorted out, but he knew Annabeth. He doubted that would happen. He followed the directions to get to the great hall.”You know I’ll be here as long as I can, right? I mean, I can’t promise to never leave.. We didn’t bring ourselves here, so I don’t think we control when we leave either,” He told her.
Annabeth put her arm around Luke as he supported her to help her down to the Great Hall. She couldn’t count on him to always be there to help her get around, and honestly she wouldn’t want him to help her constantly, but after the day she had had, it was nice to have a little help while it started the healing process. “I know,” she said softly as he told her he couldn’t promise to never leave. “But for what it’s worth, I’m glad that we have a chance to see each other again for now.”
Luke nodded in agreement. It had been too long since they were actually able to bond. It was why he’d got to her when he wanted to run away. The only problem was that she said no. He tried not to hold that against her. He understood that he hadn’t been the most trustworthy person, and he doubted she would have trusted him at that point anyway. No matter what, he was the hero of the prophecy, so he probably wouldn’t have been able to run far. “So am I. I’ve missed our time together. Just us,” he said.
Annabeth felt a lot of guilt for not running with him when he had come to her. She had had a life she couldn’t leave behind and she worried that it was some trick of Luke’s. She had had no idea that would be the last time she would see him as Luke until moments before his death. Hermes had blamed her for not saving Luke when she had the chance, so maybe it had been her fault that Kronos had taken over his body. But he had died the hero in the end anyway. “So have I,” she replied. “I miss my family.” Luke was dead and Thalia, though alive again, was a hunter and they rarely saw each other. It helped having Jason around on their quest, he reminded her a lot of Thalia… but he still wasn’t Thalia.
Luke squeezed her, for affection instead of support. He missed the times when they’d hang out, and spend time together, and just enjoy each others company. “I miss it too. Part of me wishes we never went to camp. Sure we made friends there, and it made life easier, but maybe the three of us could have just stayed the way it was. We could have fought off the Cyclops, and traveled around together. I would have still had yo guys to keep me from wanting to destroy Olympus.” He said. Sure, there was no use in thinking of ‘what ifs’, but he couldn’t help it. He just wanted things to go back to the way they used to. “Anyway, what have I missed?” He asked.
Annabeth wasn’t so sure that it would have prevented anything. Thalia would have still been in danger as a daughter of Zeus. They would have always been chased, maybe none of them would have made it very long. “You always had me,” Annabeth said softly, leaving the rest of her thought unspoken I wasn’t enough. She didn’t want to have any bitterness with him now. She didn’t know how long they had and she wanted to make it count. “The gods made me the Architect of Olympus,” Annabeth told him. “It’s my job to rebuild it.” Each of the heroes got something. “Percy turned down godhood and instead asked that the gods agree to claim their children by thirteen and to be more involved in their lives and that even the minor gods are included at Camp Half-blood.” She thought that Luke might like hearing that part, to know that the half-bloods are being recognized by their godly parents. Though with the gods going schizophrenic, there really wasn’t much god involvement in the current war. The gods had really tried before Olympus shut down.
Luke rose a brow as he told her what he’d missed. It seemed like Percy took his final request seriously, since he requested the gods pay attention to their children and claim them. And her being the Architect of Olympus was a pretty big deal. “Wow, congratulations,” He said. “Do you two.. still see each other?” He asked, trying to act casual. He didn’t want to outright admit that he was wondering if they’d started dating, though he really didn’t want to know, his curiosity was getting the better of him.
“Thank you,” Annabeth replied. Luke would know how big of a deal that really was to her. The gods putting someone in charge of anything would be an honor of course, but Annabeth was really into architecture, more so than her half-siblings, though they all had an interest in it. Being given that job was basically her dream, though she would have never actually thought of it herself. Hearing his question, Annabeth’s expression changed and she cleared her throat a little awkwardly. Percy and Luke had been friends once, before everything happened. They had also had a chance to make up before Luke died but she had no real idea of what Luke thought of him now. “We’re dating,” she said softly.
Luke tried not to show how much he reacted to the news. He'd nearly stopped in his tracks, but he didn't want to let on how much it bothered him. It was the news that didn't want to hear. They'd made better amends when he was dying, but that didn't mean he really liked Percy. Especially with his best friend, and someone he liked, though he doubted Annabeth knew that. I didn't love you. The words range in his head. "Oh.." He said, not sure what else to say. .
Annabeth wasn’t sure how Luke would react and she watched him the best she could while also paying attention to where they were going. She could hear in his tone and that one simple word that the news hadn’t made him particularly happy. A part of her couldn’t help but wonder why he had asked her if she loved him. Had he been trying to say that he loved her before he died? She couldn’t be sure. All she had known at the time was that he was dying and it seemed easier for both of them to let him go. She hadn’t lied, exactly. He had told her they were family, so she had always cared for him as a brother. She had just harbored a crush in addition to that. One that had been unrequited, but now she wasn’t sure. “I don’t plan to rub it in or anything,” she said softly, not wanting Luke to be upset with her.
Luke nodded some, still processing it. She'd said it herself, he'd been dead for almost a year. He couldn't expect her to never move on, despite not really having anything to move on from.. She was always too young to consider anything. "It's fine. I asked," he said. He paused before glancing at her; "does he make you happy?" He asked.
Happy was complicated when you were a demigod. The pair had been separated for several months because of some crazy plan of Hera’s. Or Juno, whatever she was calling herself these days. She had never liked that woman and after she took Percy away she liked her even less. “He does, when we have the time to actually stop and be happy,” she said softly. “There isn’t much of that when you’re like us.”
Luke nodded. "All i could ever ask is for you to be as happy as you can be," he said. He didn't want to be jealous, but he couldn't help it. He tried to shake it off and get it out of his head.
Annabeth smiled and gave Luke a kiss on the cheek. When he wasn’t trying to destroy Olympus, he could actually be a pretty good guy. “That means a lot,” she replied as she glanced up at him.
Luke have her a smile as she kissed his cheek. He tried to keep his mind clear and think of her as a little sister than anything else, though it was difficult. "you mean a lot," he replied.
Annabeth smiled softly. She was glad he thought so after everything that had happened. “So do you,” she replied, honestly. She might have lied about how much he meant to her, but she could still carry the brother thing and show him how much she cared.
Luke gave her a smile. He was glad that things were at least trying to go back to normal. He missed spending time and having out with her, even if they were just friends. He have to get over it. She didn't feel that way.
Annabeth walked into the Great Hall with him and looked around, staying close to him as she did. There were four long tables filled with people and one at the head of the room with what looked like teachers of some sort. Also at the head of the room, there was a line of people and a chair with a hat. Each time a person sat on the chair and put on the hat, it would call out a name she didn’t recognize. Yes, the hat would yell. Annabeth looked at Luke, not sure what to do.
Luke looked around the room, confused. This was nothing like he'd ever seen before. It almost reminded him of camp though, in a strange sense. The weirdest thing was the talking hat.. Sure, he'd seen some weird things, but that was the weirdest. He went her and sat at a table, not sure what else to do.
Annabeth went with him and took a seat, watching the strange occurrences up front. It wasn’t long before someone approached them and asked if they had been sorted yet. Annabeth raised her eyebrow “sorted?” she asked. Since they had been in the hospital wing, they had missed a large part of the explanation.
The person explained a lot of what they missed and that they would be sorted into housing to make sure that they got along with the other people that they would live with. “So we’re going to be separated,” Annabeth commented, glancing at Luke. She wasn’t sure she wanted to live too far from him in this situation. It reminded her of the day that they had arrived at Camp Half-blood. She had already known who her godly parent was, so she had been sent to Athena’s cabin while Luke had been sent to Hermes cabin.
“You might be,” came the answer before she shooed Annabeth and Luke toward the line for sorting.
Luke looked over at her, not liking the idea of being separated. Camp Half-Blood wasn’t that big, so if he wanted to see her, he’d just walk down a few cabins and find her. But this place seemed like it was a lot bigger and it’d be a lot harder to get to her. He wanted to reconnect with her, not be torn apart. Nevertheless, he helped her go toward where they would be ‘sorted.’ Their chances were more likely to be in the same housing than the cabins at camp. Still. he wasn’t exactly sure how they were doing sorting. “Ladies first,” He said, offering to help her up.
Annabeth stood with his help and she walked with him to stand in line. She watched as each person sat on the stool and a word was called out. She figured out that which word they got determined which table they went to. That was like Camp as well. They always ate with the people from their cabin. Their half-siblings. These people weren’t related to them, however, so she couldn’t quite figure out how the word was determined. She held on to Luke’s hand, silently praying to Athena or Minerva, whoever she was today, that she and Luke could be assigned together.
Luke kept hold of her hand as the talking hat was put on her head. He knew she was nervous about getting separated from him, and so was he. He didn’t know how long he’d be there, or alive, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. He couldn’t help but come back to the thoughts about being more than friends, but he internally scolded himself, reminding his inner self that she was still a few years younger than him, she was dating Percy, and she wasn’t into him like that. He waited for the hat to tell her what house she was.
Annabeth sat on the stool and waited as the hat was placed on her head. “Hmm,” the hat said in her ear--creepy much?--”You’re very proud.” As if she didn’t know that. Pride, or hubris as it was called in Greek, was her fatal flaw. “Slytherin would be a good house to help you hone that.” She didn’t know what that even meant. No one else seemed to be able to hear the hat’s words, either. “But you’re also very wise.” Also something she already knew. Her mother was the goddess of wisdom, after all. “Ravenclaw!” That last word rang out through the auditorium. She had seen other people sorted into Ravenclaw and knew where to go. She squeezed Luke’s hand before making her way carefully to that table. Once she sat she kept her eyes on Luke.
Luke frowned as he watched her walk away. He was just hoping he'd be able to join her over there soon. He sat down, getting the hat put on him as well. The thing started talking to him. "Hmm. You're very complicated. Brave, driven, wise.." The hat murmured. Luke didn't care. He just wanted to be with Annabeth. "It seems like someone's in love," it said. "Shut up," Luke snapped to it, unsure if anyone else could hear it. "I assume you want to be with her.. What to do.. What to do.." The hat pondered it's decision for a few moments. "Slytherin!" The hat called, causing Luke to frown. He looked at the tables. Well, they weren't in the same house, but at least they were next to each other. He went over, sitting on the side that would put him close to Annabeth with a frown.
Annabeth’s heart sank when Luke was sorted into Slytherin. The hat had considered Slytherin, but it had put her in Ravenclaw instead. It seemed like a cruel joke. Still, the Slytherin table was next to hers and Luke had sat right behind her. She turned her head and glanced back at him. Now what? She supposed to could be worse. They could sit near each other at dinner, and it wasn’t like she wanted to share a bed with him or anything. She just wanted to be close to him.
Luke looked at her, giving her a sad look. He didn’t want to be separated from her. Especially not now. He really didn’t want dinner. He had died, he didn’t really have an appetite. Still, he didn’t want to get up and walk out, and leave Annabeth to have to hobble along. Sure, he couldn’t be there for her all the time, but he could try to help her as much as he could.
Annabeth bit her lip gently as she watched him. His sad look made her wish even more that she had been put in the same house as him. She debated telling him that it had considered putting her over there, but she thought better of it. “This will be okay,” she mouthed before turning to her food.
"I'll see you after," he mouthed back. He really wasn't looking forward to having to wait through dinner. He was still trying to process everything going on, and he was hoping to have Annabeth to help him through that, and be able to be there for her as well. He picked at his food, not really hungry.
Annabeth ate dinner, not really talking to anyone at her own table. These were supposed to be the people she would get along with the most, and she probably would when she wasn’t too busy sulking about being separated from the best friend who had been dead for almost a year.
Luke ate as much as his mind would let him while distracted, and he hadn't really been hungry in the first place. He just wanted to be done with it and he able to go back and talking with her. He had no idea how close or far their housing would be from each other. He waited for dinner to end.
Annabeth finished eating and asked one of the girls at the table where their house was. She gave the directions and said something about answering a riddle to get in. She raised an eyebrow but ignored it, turning to Luke. “Hey, are you still eating?”
Luke looked over as he heard Annabeth's question, shaking his head. He'd been picking at things for the last few minutes, just trying to kill time. "No. Are you done?" He asked her. He tried to remember that this was similar to camp. They hadn't been able to stay there together anyway.
“Yeah,” Annabeth answered him shifting so that both of her legs were on the outside of the bench, then she stood, using the table for support. “I found out where my house is, so I thought maybe we could explore a little more before we go to bed.”
Luke nodded. He liked the idea. He could walk around with her, then walk her to her room. He got up and went over to here his support again, before guiding her out of the Great Hall.
Annabeth leaned against him and let him help her out of the Great Hall. “The hat almost put me in Slyth--what was it?” she asked Luke as they walked. They could have been at the same table and stayed in the same house, but they weren’t and she didn’t know why.
"Slytherin," Luke told her with a frown. He couldn't understand. The hat seemed to get into people's minds and pick which house they were in that way. So why didn't it put the two of them together if it knew Luke's feelings? Maybe he was trying to spare him the heartbreak, seeing that Annabeth didn't love him? "I wonder if we can change houses," he mused.
Annabeth glanced at him when he commented about changing houses. Would it be that simple? Somehow, she doubted it. “I don’t know,” she said softly. “It commented on my pride and said that Slytherin would be good for that, but then it commented on my wisdom. I’m the daughter of wisdom, so it only makes sense.” Luke was smart too, why couldn’t he have been placed with her?
Luke sighed. "I don't know why we even have to do this. I don't know about you, but I don't intend to take classes here. I didn't come here willingly. While I'm glad I'm here with you, I want to actually be with you." He paused as he realized what he said. "I mean, not in a different housing set than you.." He corrected, though his original sentence was right, he didn't want to tell her that.
Annabeth’s eyes went wide at his words. She hadn’t been expecting him to say that, but then he corrected himself and she felt embarrassed for thinking that he meant something else. Not that it mattered, she was with Percy and she had already told Luke that he was like a brother to her. If she had ever had a chance, that was gone now and she knew that. “I knew what you meant,” she said as she looked away. She clearly hadn’t known what he meant.
Luke looked over at her, wondering if she thought he’d meant what he originally said, which he had. “Are you okay?” he asked, wondering why that would bother her. Would she find it uncomfortable that he had those feelings, if she knew?
Annabeth nodded and gave him a small smile. “Of course,” she answered as she looked over at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked him. The truth was that she had had an unrequited from on him since she was seven. She had lied when he was about to die and now that he was here, well it complicated her feelings. She loved Percy, but she had always loved Luke too. That didn’t go away so easily.
Luke shrugged a little. “You seem a little upset, or uncomfortable with what I said, or that I corrected myself,” He said. He wanted to think that maybe she was upset that he was trying to make it seem like he didn’t have a thing for her, but his more rational mind thought she was uncomfortable with his otentional crush.
“I’m fine,” Annabeth said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. If she told Luke how she really felt about what she said, it would complicate things at best. At worst, she didn’t want to think about what could happen. She wasn’t sure what to say now, so she walked with him silently.
Luke looked at her. He'd known her since she was seven years old and knew she was lying. "Annabeth. I've known you for like ten years... I know when you're lying. Talk to me," he asked, just wanting to know what was bothering her.
Annabeth hated that Luke knew her so well. At this point, she just wanted to drop the conversation so that she could spend time with her best friend. “It’s not a big deal,” she said as she glanced at him. “I misunderstood what you meant and I was a little embarrassed when you corrected yourself.” She wasn’t lying, she just held back the real feelings behind the misunderstanding.
Luke looked over at her. Did it really bother her that it had meant he didn’t have a crush on her -- despite the fact he did? “I didn’t think it’d matter if I felt that way anyway. You told me you didn’t love me, and that you only saw me as a brother,” he said. He wasn’t bitter about that. He just wanted to know the truth.
"Let's not get into this now," Annabeth said once he brought up that question. Back then, the answer hadn't mattered because he was dying. Now it didn't matter because she was dating someone else. It wouldn't change anything between them, right?
"Why not just discuss in now? We could be pulled away at a moments notice," he pointed out. He knew she wasn't trying to change the subject, when he wanted to know the answers.
Why did it have to be discussed at all? Annabeth let out a little sigh. "I just feel like it would complicate things."
By the sound of it to Luke, it almost seemed like she liked him, but he didn't want to get his hopes up, "please? It's important to me."
Annabeth looked up at Luke. She could see this conversation going very badly and after only having had a day to reconnect, that wasn't a good thing. "And your friendship is important to me," she pointed out.
Luke glanced at her. He wanted to try a different approach. He didn't want to fight. "What would you do if I said my original wording was right?" He asked.
Annabeth glanced at Luke, not sure what he was trying to get at. It sounded like he really did want to be with her, but hadn’t her feelings been unrequited all this time? “Luke, I…” she trailed off, not sure what to say. In different circumstances? Maybe that would be possible.
Luke gave her one last glance before looking away. “I mean, you’re dating Percy.. So I guess it doesn’t matter if I meant what I said the first time, or what I corrected..” he commented. He should have known it wouldn’t make a difference, but he took a risk at asking what she’d say if he told her he did want to be with her.
Annabeth stopped walking and she turned his head to look at her. “I have always loved you, Luke,” she told him, her gray eyes trained on his eyes. “But you’re right. I’m dating Percy.” She didn’t know what he was going to do now or how he was going to react. She had essentially lied to him the day he died, but she had done it because he was dying and it didn’t matter.
Luke’s brow rose as she told him that she’d always loved him. When he was dying, he asked, and she said she only thought she did at one point, but found out she didn’t. He wasn’t sure whether or not to be upset. it didn’t really matter much. With the fact he was planning rebirth, he wouldn’t remember it.. But it would have been nice to know on his deathbed. “Either way, it doesn’t matter..” He said, gazing off again.
Annabeth didn't know what to do. She was dating Percy and they were happy together. A part of her had always wanted a chance to date Luke and now she could have it, but not at the cost of her integrity. A tear slid down her cheek as she glanced away.
Luke looked over at her and frowned as he saw the tear. He reached over and brushed it away, pulling her into a tight hug. In the end, he would always be her best friend and never wanted to be the reason she'd cry. “Shh, why are you crying?,” he asked, stroking her back. Annabeth let him pull her into his arms, despite the warring emotions in her head. “Because I never thought I would be in this position,” she said softly. By the time she realized what she was feeling for Percy, Luke had gone bad. When he turned around, he had to kill himself. Luke and Annabeth were never going to have that chance, but now… “I don’t know what to do.”
Luke looked down at her. He didn’t tell her what he did to stress her out and upset her. “I’m not going to push you into anything, Annabeth. I just wanted you to know the truth, and wanted to know the truth. I understand that you’ve moved on and have a boyfriend now,” he said. He tried not to let it show how much it pained him to say it, but in the end, all he wanted was for her to be happy.
Annabeth looked up at him and nodded a little. “Well now you know the truth,” she said as she glanced away. His words helped, but they didn’t make everything better. She was still incredibly confused about everything.
Luke looked over at her. “Can I ask for one thing, though?” he wasn't sure if he’d ever get the opportunity again, and he wanted to take the opportunity while he had it.
“What is it?” Annabeth asked. Luke should know that she would do anything for him. Even if all they ever were was friends, she cared for him deeply.
Luke paused as he considered how to ask for it. He decided to just come out with it and ask; “Kiss me?” he asked. “I can make peace with the fact you’ve moved on, but I can’t with knowing you have feelings for me, and not getting to kiss you at least once,” Luke said, looking to see what her reaction would be.
Annabeth hadn’t been sure what to expect, but that hadn’t been it. She stepped back, stumbling a little without the support that she had gotten used to that evening. “I don’t think that would be fair to Percy,” she said softly, a little sad. “Or you.” Or her, or anyone really.
Luke had let himself get his hopes up, so when she basically told him no, he took it harder than if he would have kept the thought that he didn’t have a chance. He nodded some, keeping his eyes from hers. “Yeah.. You’re right. I’ll walk you to your room,” he said, offering his hand.
Annabeth nodded a little, taking his hand as he offered to walk her to her room. She knew that it hurt him, but wouldn’t it have hurt more if she had kissed him and still nothing could happen?
Luke tried to get to her dorm without getting lost. He was still feeling the sting of the rejection, but he would get over it. He’d have to. He didn’t want to lose his friendship with Annabeth just because she wanted to date someone who was actually good and alive, and didn’t want to kiss someone else. He didn’t blame her, and he wasn’t angry with her, but he was still upset.
Annabeth wasn’t sure what to say as they walked. Maybe there was nothing else to actually say at this point. She stopped when they reached the entrance to her common room and she turned to Luke. “I don’t want things to get weird between us,” she said softly as she looked up at him. The doorknocker spouted off some riddle as she talked and she looked to see who had interrupted them. Seeing no one there, she shook her head and turned back to Luke again. “I mean it.”
Luke shook his head. "Neither do I. I want to take advantage of the fact that we have extra time together," he said, pulling her close, giving her a hug.
Annabeth hugged him back, closing her eyes as he told her that he wanted to take advantage of having extra time together. “So do I,” she told him, looking up at him.
"Your friendship means too much to me, and I don't want to waste time," he said. He'd get over the fact she was dating Percy. She seemed to love him, and as much as it hurt, he just wanted her to be happy.
Annabeth smiled when he told her how much her friendship meant to him. She leaned toward him and kissed his cheek softly. “We’ll definitely spend more time together soon,” she promised him. “Thank you for going to the hospital wing with me.”
Luke's breath caught as she kissed his cheek. He nodded in response. "You're welcome. Just let me know if you need anything or want to hang out," he said.
"I will," Annabeth promised, hugging him again. At least they weren't leaving things completely awkward.
Luke hugged her back, squeezing her softly. "Be careful with your ankle. I'll see you later," he said.
“You know me better than that,” Annabeth commented. “See you later, Luke.”
Luke gave her a smile, squeezing her hand before he decided to go find his dorm. He needed to sleep off the crappy feeling.
Annabeth watched him go before she turned to figure out how to get in. “Are you ready to answer my riddle now?” the doorknocker asked, clearly unamused.