[There's a second where Percy just totally (and obviously) tunes out of the rest of the world (that includes Rachel). His hands comes up to cover Annabeth's, and it's possible to see that one of them is still scratched and bruised from his time in Dreaming. He turns his head in towards her for just a moment, so her forehead is pressed against his temple.
And then Rachel speaks again, and it's almost possible to tell when the words really hit him by the way his whole body goes stiff. He jerks back to look at her, except it's more of a glare than anything else. He has to let go of Annabeth's hands, because they're in danger of being crushed by the way his fingers curl into fists]
What the hell, Rachel? When did I - I never said anything like that! For a start, in case you hadn't noticed? We're seventeen. Who asks a group of freaking kids to run off and save the world? You remember when we met? I was fourteen, guess what I was doing. You know when I started? When I was twelve. I'm tired of being the hero! I'm tired of being the guy who has to hold the world together and make sure it stays that way because the gods have their heads too far up their asses to even admit that there's a problem. And I'm really, really tired of having everything taken away from me because it's more important to them to feed their stupid pride, and their stupid egos than it is for them to take some responsibilities.
The alternative isn't for them to make decisions for me, the alternative is for them to stop.. And you - you're supposed to be my friend. You're supposed to be on my side.
[He shakes his head again, wordlessly, tugging away from Annabeth's hold. He'll come back later, but right now he really just needs to walk away from the situation before he says something he'll regret even more]
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And then Rachel speaks again, and it's almost possible to tell when the words really hit him by the way his whole body goes stiff. He jerks back to look at her, except it's more of a glare than anything else. He has to let go of Annabeth's hands, because they're in danger of being crushed by the way his fingers curl into fists]
What the hell, Rachel? When did I - I never said anything like that! For a start, in case you hadn't noticed? We're seventeen. Who asks a group of freaking kids to run off and save the world? You remember when we met? I was fourteen, guess what I was doing. You know when I started? When I was twelve. I'm tired of being the hero! I'm tired of being the guy who has to hold the world together and make sure it stays that way because the gods have their heads too far up their asses to even admit that there's a problem. And I'm really, really tired of having everything taken away from me because it's more important to them to feed their stupid pride, and their stupid egos than it is for them to take some responsibilities.
The alternative isn't for them to make decisions for me, the alternative is for them to stop.. And you - you're supposed to be my friend. You're supposed to be on my side.
[He shakes his head again, wordlessly, tugging away from Annabeth's hold. He'll come back later, but right now he really just needs to walk away from the situation before he says something he'll regret even more]