PeaceMaker

There was an exchange of an emotion that Annabeth rarely saw and barely understood. In their gazes was fondness. The feeling of understanding and knowing each other, the feeling of love between two people. The kind that had been there for a long time and will be for lengths to come. 

Moments later, they broke into laughter, their heads leaning against each other as they giggled happily. Annabeth's heart clenched. It was so cringy but at the same time so beautiful.

Her cheeks got slightly hotter and she looked away from them, her eyes dimming seconds later. 

"Aish, look at them go again," remarked a lord as he looked at Louis and Addison. "Not a day goes by that they don't make us feel single." 

His friends nodded their heads in understanding. "I know right, they should just get married already. Soon they'll be shoving their engagement rings down our throats."

Louis smirked, hugging Addison tighter. "You're just jealous. It's ok to be lonely you know. One day you'll find the ones. One day."

The lord rolled his eyes. "Another tactic to bully I see."

"You started it first," Louis laughed. "I just defend what I love." He rubbed his chin on Addison's head. 

"Arg! You're going to mess up my hair again!" Addison scolded. 

"I'll fix it for you later," Louis promised, a mischievous grin passing on his face. 

Addison hushed and blushed slightly before letting out a sigh. 

There was an exchange of 'oo's and 'aahs' in the crowd once again and Annabeth smiled along this time. That was when she felt the slight tap on her shoulder. 

She turned around to look up at a boy who was looking down at her with starstruck eyes. He blushed immediately when they locked eyes. The air in the group seemed to come to a complete stop when the boy cleared his throat. Annabeth's eyes glowed in amusement and anger. Personal space, her personal space had been breached again but none other than a love-struck man. It was hilarious and at the same time alarming. 

He looked down at the ground before looking back up at her again. "Uh… sorry to interrupt your conversation," the boy bowed, greeting the group. 

"No problem…" Walter replied slowly, his speech slurring a bit as he watched the boy look back down at Annabeth, his eyes locking with hers. "Lord Dean."

Annabeth's eyebrow raised curiously. She took a deep breath and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Dean."

The boy blushed again, his lips quivering slightly as he began to form his next sentence. "Sorry once again to disrupt but… I walked into the room and this lady here caught my attention immediately," he muttered, locking eyes with Annabeth. "I just had to come by and say my greetings. I couldn't dare to let this moment pass by."

Annabeth smiled, bowing in response. "I'm glad that I was able to catch your attention, Lord Dean."

She turned back around and faced the group. 

There was a pass of silence as the man stood behind her, his eyes glowing in excitement, like he was waiting for something. Tension hung in the air. Annabeth didn't seem to be giving him what he was expecting from her. 

Lord Dean tapped on her shoulder again. "I heard that they had a fine selection of snacks and deserts near the food section," Lord Dean pressed. 

Annabeth's eyes glinted in slight annoyance as she turned around to face Lord Dean. "Yes, thank you for that comment, Lord Dean. I heard of that too," Annabeth smiled. Her eyes looked up, scanning the crowd in the direction of the food court. "You might want to hurry there son, the tea and snacks will be finished soon."

Lord Dean blushed again. Annabeth smiled and turned back around, focusing on the group again. An air of silence passed in the air as Annabeth turned her back on the guy. The silence was stifling. 

Lord Dean grabbed Annabeth by her hand and turned her around. Annabeth's jaw clenched as she looked up at the guy, her eyes stabbing through his. She was biting at him now, her anger flared. He didn't seem to be noticing, his mind probably thinking that she was interested in his too by her hard stare. 

Annabeth's jaw clenched as she stared up at the man. This was one of the reasons why she hated being present at events like this. It was like an invasion for all the boys in the room to make their moves on the women in the room whether or not they appreciated it. And people like him, the person Annabeth was staring straight at, was one of the people she hated the most. The persistent types. 

They never backed down, they stayed the most alert, always following, always looking, always trying. They never seemed to take a hint, they never seemed to know when to stop. 

And at events like this the most, the worst part of it was how people reacted. Instead of the reaction the person going through it would have had, most would marvel at the persistent guy, praising him for his courage, and instead of helping her, would help him but keeping quiet and giving him motivation in that way. 

It revolted her so badly, it made her blood boil to the highest. The fact that she couldn't brush him off as harshly as she pleased, the fact that she was expected to allow him to take her along with him. It was annoying. Completely revolting and simply disgusting. 

She hated it.

"Sorry if I seemed to bland or didn't get the point across well the first time…" Lord Dean muttered shyly, his hand running through his hair. "I wanted to ask to talk to you privately… to get to know you more."

Annabeth's eyes twitched as she looked at the man, her annoyance building. She freed her hand from his grasp. Her lips forcing a strained smile. 

The man blushed, grabbing her by the hand again. "So..? would you like to come with me?"

Annabeth's eyes dimmed immediately, her annoyance peaking. "Haha.. I don't think that I deserve that."

Lord Dean immediately bowed his head, his eyes looking up into Annabeth's excitement. "Of course not! He excitedly greeted her. "I would love to take you on a date. I think you deserve the world."

Annabeth's eyes twitched again. She locked eyes with the man and her eyes immediately dimmed. She had snapped. 

Lord Dean flinched, notice the change in mood in Annabeth. Her eyes were blank, distant, and cold. She stared down at him, demeaning him with her gaze. Justin flinched, noticing Annabeth's change in mood. Maria and Jena trembled. It was not going to end well at this rate. 

"I'm currently having a conversation with them at the moment, Lord Dean," Annabeth muttered, each word in her sentence seemed to sound like blocks of ice, cold, harsh, and brutal on contact. 

Lord Dean flinched, smiling nervousness. "I mean… that was why I apologized in the first place, don't you think so?" he chuckled, "I knew I would be distracting you so I apologized first incase I would be bothering you more than I would as of right now."

Annabeth chuckled, her laugh rough and plain, her face barely moving as she laughed. She peered down at Lord Dean, her gaze growing harsher by the moment. Her head cocked to the side as she smiled, a fake smile forming on her face. "I don't think you get it…" she began.

Lord Dean cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Hm? What do you mean."

Annabeth's eyes twitched and her eyes grew dimmer. "I meant-"

"That this isn't really needed at this moment," A voice interrupted. 

The air seemed to pause as eyes turned to look at the person who spoke. Antonio gazed at Lord Dean, a smile on his face as he approached the two.

Lord Dean flinched, his eyes looking from Annabeth to Antonio to Annabeth again. "Yea.. I know this isn't the best time to be doing this which is why-"

"If you know then why are you continuing?" Antonio cocked his head to the side as he stopped beside Annabeth, "If you know that what you're doing isn't really appreciated in the slightest then why are you continuing with your actions?"

Lord Dean flinched, his pupils shaking a bit. "Because-"

"Because you like her?" Antonio interrupted, "because she caught your attention out of all the women in the room?" His eyes peered down at Dean, his smile fading for a second. "What do you think the purpose of marriage proposals are?" he asked. 

Dean stood up straight. "In order to announce your interest with the family of the Lady and proceed with getting closer to the woman and leading to marriage in the end."

"Then why are you asking to spend more time with her now? Especially when it looks like she's currently spending time with people other than you," Antonio asked.. "I understand that you like her and all, but that's the purpose of marriage proposals, for you to announce your attraction and begin pursuing the person you want to date romantically."