Trust No One

Chapter 12

Annabeth POV

I walked into Persephone's alone. Piper and Jason spent time together earlier, so they rode here together.

I was pretty sure that Percy didn't remember his birthday. 

His memory loss would disable his ability to remember special dates. Plus, Percy never paid attention to his birthday even when nothing was wrong. 

I still remember how I had to remind him of his birthday last year. I surprised him with a small homemade blue cake. It didn't taste the best, considering I wasn't a good cook, but we still enjoyed it a lot. 

Gods, that was one of the happiest nights of my life. 

I quickly shook my head to wipe my busy thoughts away. There was no need to get sad today; it was supposed to be a happy occasion. 

Thalia and Percy were already at the dinner table along with a few other people. It was a small table with 8 seats. 

"Hello, happy birthday, Percy," I exclaimed as I sat next to him. 

Percy smiled as he nodded a 'thank you.' 

His eyes were sparkling today, and the sea-green color was popping due to his turquoise dress shirt. He looked quite handsome actually. 

"You cleaned up pretty well," I commented as I took a sip of water. 

"And, you look beautiful," Percy said softly. 

I felt warmth spread through my stomach at his words. I was wearing a simple gray dress. Persephone's was a high-end restaurant, so we had to dress up to come here. 

"Thanks," I whispered with a smile. 

Percy was smiling back, and for a few moments, the busy yet peaceful restaurant away. It was just me and Percy in this world. 

Then, reality crashed down again as Percy's gaze flitted away. 

My attention turned to the other people at the table. Thalai was there, of course. Jason and Piper were having their own conversation. Then, there were two new members (an African American woman and a black-haired Italian man) that I didn't know. 

"Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase," I introduced myself. 

The dark-skinned woman turned to me. She was attractive in a special way but very young. Her curly hair and golden eyes complemented each other. 

"Hello, I'm Hazel Levesque. This is my brother, Nico. I'm Percy's psychologist that got invited to his birthday dinner," Hazel said with a chuckle. 

"We're happy to have you here, Hazel," Percy said. 

I nodded in agreement. I hit it off pretty quickly with Hazel because she was nice and conversational. I couldn't imagine her not being a kind soul. 

Nico was different. He mostly stayed to himself throughout the night

It was still strange, considering he was Percy's friend, and Percy was so outgoing and social. However, I could sense a silent power and focus in Nico. 

Dinner went by quickly, and we were all waiting for dessert now (i.e. a cake). 

I decided to talk to Percy now for two reasons. First, I wanted to talk to him. Secondly, I wanted to ask him something to alleviate my own doubts. 

"Hey, Percy, you want to go on a walk and talk for a bit outside?" I asked softly. 

Percy looked at me in surprise. His eyes stayed on my face as he studied my expressions, but I did my best not to expose anything.