28 The Snow Storm

Percy POV

Generally, people managed to avoid me after finding out about my cancer. Most of the kids in the school weren't the same with me, but Annabeth was right about my friends. Throughout the week, I explained my situation to my friends, and they were all so supportive.

None of my friends treated me that differently, and I loved them for it.

That was really all I needed from them.

My walk to the cafeteria was interrupted when I heard crying from one of the dead-end hallways of Goode High. It was a girl, and I followed the sounds to make sure that she was okay.

Rachel was crouched at the end of the hallway. Her knees were up to her chest, and she was crying into her arms. Her curly red hair enveloped her face and back.

I didn't know what to think. I wasn't necessarily angry at her, but I was disappointed.

Rachel may not like me, but she wasn't a bad person. Yet, Drew had said that Rachel was the one who told her my secret. Even Rachel only found out about my cancer last week.

"Rachel," I acknowledged softly.

She immediately looked up. Her face was tear-streaked, and her green eyes were cloudy. Sadness wasn't the best look on her.

"Percy, I- I'm sorry," she said while crying again into her arms.

I was frozen in place for a second. She seemed so genuine, and I knew that something was definitely wrong.

I crouched next to her. I gently grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from her face.

"Rachel, what happened?" I asked.

"I didn't mean for Drew to know. She overheard me when I called you last week. I thought I was alone in the art room, but she was in the hallway," Rachel said.

She was begging and pleading for forgiveness.

I watched her face and her eyes to see if she was lying, but I didn't see anything immoral. Rachel seemed to be telling the truth.

"Are you genuine about this or lying? I'm asking because I don't want to be hurt again. Please be honest, Rachel."

"I am, Percy. We've had a rocky relationship, but I'd never do that to you," she said. "Percy, I would never hurt you like this."

I stared at her for a few seconds.

I genuinely believed that this was all a crazy mistake.

Honestly, I was hurt by what happened, but my life wasn't ruined or anything. I had forgiven Calypso when she destroyed me years ago, so I could do the same for Rachel, especially if she didn't do anything wrong.

Life's too short to hold grudges against people. As a cancer patient, I knew that.

"It's okay, Rachel. I forgive you," I said softly.

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we're good. It'll take time to fully trust and befriend you again, but I forgive you. Come on, let's go to lunch," I said softly as I pulled her up.

***

"I can't believe you, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said with a smile.

She was driving me home after my chemo session on Friday. The March cycle had officially started, and the side effects hit right away. I decided to bring someone along just in case, and it was a good thing that I had.

"What?" I asked as I swallowed the nausea and took a deep breath.

I knew Annabeth was trying to get a conversation going in order to distract me.

"About how you handled the Rachel situation," she said.

"What do you mean, Wise Girl?"

"You forgave her, Seaweed Brain, and you brought her back into our friend group."

"Rachel was your friend way before you even knew me, Wise Girl. Besides, I believed that Rachel was being honest. She wouldn't do something immoral like that," I said earnestly.

"No, Rachel wouldn't do something like that on purpose," Annabeth confirmed.

We drove in silence for a few minutes before I told Annabeth to pull over the car. I couldn't hold in the nausea anymore. I quickly got out of the car and threw up onto the side of the road. I was on my knees as I threw up (this was a bad one).

Annabeth quickly came and wrapped her arms around my back.

Even as I threw up, I could feel the relief that came from her touch and presence.

Our relationship was kind of at a stand-still. We cared a lot about each other, and we both knew how we felt about each other. I was simply holding back from making it official. Even so, Wise Girl was always by my side.

***

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please listen to this announcement. As you all know and can see, we are in the middle of a giant snowstorm," Mr. Dionysus, our principal announced.

It was snowing like crazy outside. Everyone in the cafeteria was listening.

"The snow is not forecasted to stop, and the roads have shut down. Unfortunately, this means that all of the students are to stay in the school until the roads get cleaned tomorrow after the snow stops," Mr. D continued.

Now, the students buzzed with conversation. We were stuck in school overnight. Damn.

I had no intention of staying in school. I was already having a bad day, and the chemo side effects would hit pretty soon. I could already feel it.

Several teachers came into the cafeteria to monitor the entire 11th grade.

Every student had to stay where they were in order to maintain order in the school. Luckily, that meant that the rest of the school was canceled. We would just have to hang out. At least, the 11th grade got lucky. We were at lunch, so we could hang out with our friends.

Wise Girl groaned next to me.

"I don't want to stay at school overnight," Annabeth complained.

"Wise Girl, I thought you loved school," I teased.

She shot me a glare before responding. "I like learning stuff, and that's why I'm comfortable with school. I don't like school when we're stuck here like it's a prison," she said.

I was laughing at her annoyed expression. She was so cute.

"Hi, Percy, are you okay, son?" Paul asked as he approached my table.

He was one of the teachers who had a free period right now, so he was assigned to watch over the students in the cafeteria.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Paul."

"Okay, Percy, call me if you start feeling sick. All right?" he said firmly.

I nodded. Honestly, I was already feeling uncomfortable, but it wasn't too bad. Even though Paul met me when I was thirteen, he treated me like his own son.

"Seaweed Brain, it's still weird that my English teacher is my boyfriend's dad," Annabeth said.

My head whipped around to face her. Boyfriend?!

Annabeth quickly realized what she just said, and her cheeks turned rosy. "Err, I didn't mean that Percy. It's just weird," she said cautiously.

I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Our smiles were clearly evident on our faces.

I liked the potential identity of being Annabeth's boyfriend.

Even as we got back into the conversations with our friends, my hand continued to play with her fingers and memorize the feel of her hand under the table.

Annabeth didn't pull away either.

A few hours passed by before I had to step out into the hallway. I wasn't feeling well at all now, and Paul suggested that I go someplace more private.

I was sitting in the hallway when Paul came back with a mini trashcan.

"Just in case you need it, Percy," he said.

"I could just go into the bathroom, Paul," I told him.

He chuckled before setting the trashcan down next to me. "Percy, I have to help the other teachers with distributing food around the school. Will you be okay without me for about an hour?" he asked with concern.

I forced a weak smile.

"I'll be fine. I'm used to it, after all. Just go."

Paul nodded tentatively before going back to the cafeteria. I hadn't noticed Luke walking over from the opposite side of the hallway.

"Will you get over it, the cancer I mean?" his deep voice interrupted.

I turned towards him in surprise.

"I, I don't know yet," I said earnestly.

"I'm sorry for everything, man. I didn't get to say it before. I was awful to you," Luke said genuinely.

I smiled at him weakly. "I'm just glad that you're not bothering me anymore. You better not change your mind again," I chastised.

Luke simply chuckled before surrendering his hands.

"I've learned my lessons, Percy. Thanks," he said before walking away.

A few minutes later, I was throwing up into the trashcan. Gods, the nausea was hitting in strange waves, and the cold winter temperature wasn't helping.

Wise Girl came towards me from the cafeteria. "I'm fine, Wise Girl," I said as I lifted my head. I couldn't even fake a smile, though.

"You're clearly not fine, Percy," she said firmly. "Come with me."

Annabeth took my hand gently and guided me towards the nearest janitor's closet.