Hello readers!

This is an idea that I have had for many days (cough two days cough). I thought that there were many 'Stockholm Syndrome' stories that didn't really capture the fear and torture that came before any sort of mutual attraction and while, I like Percabeth a lot - I honestly have no idea which pairing to end up with. I guess it would be like a voting competition. (More about that in footnote.)

About this story, I would be posting a chapter every Tuesday/ Wednesday (Considering how long it takes to appear) but sometimes, I might post chapters earlier and if I haven't posted any chapter, I would definitely tell you the next schedule in my bio.

This story is about the difficulty of Stockholm Syndrome - and the pains of poverty and criminal things but I am not going to include any swear words (Until warned) I would try to explore the themes in the most non-painful way possible.

I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer - I own the story but not the characters.

Looking back on it all, Percy felt stupid.

Now, see – his best friend, Lou Ellen, who did weird sorcery stuff (pretended to) listened to her but the thing was that most of the days were bad days to be alive according to her – Percy had never been the bookish smart one. He always got scolded by one teacher or another and when, she said it was a bad day, it just meant he would definitely get scolded but he had never expected it all to come to this. Nup, never.

That day was insanely hot – especially for him since that day, instead of making them swim, the coach had made them run rounds in the heat in the football ground for everyone to see. In their speedos. The coach insisted that it was their punishment for winning only two awards at the recent swim event – Freestyle, which Percy as captain of the swim team had honourably won and the Medley Relay. Goode High School was kind of like a powerhouse in swimming. People expected them to win most of the events but most people had no idea how difficult attaining an All-Kill was.

Percy had a very good idea.

After all, he'd kept himself in shape for swimming with a lot of hard work. It felt good when it seemed like the hard work was paying off in All-Kills and prizes, not abs and muscles for the whole school to see.

He blushed, as he walked down the street.

The mental image of everyone clicking pictures at him and whistling was so mentally scarring and humiliating that Percy never wanted to show up his face in school again. He wished that the incident would be forgotten by tomorrow but judging by the constant 'tck' of notifications ringing in his phone, he guessed not.

He sighed and decided to sit somewhere to rest for a while. In air conditioner, most probably. It was just too hot but currently, there weren't any places with air conditioner except for a bank. He instantly thought about the air-conditioner ATMs on one side of the bank and how, he could use some cash from his mom's card to buy her flowers, right now.

His mom absolutely loved flowers.

As Percy entered the ATM booth area, he noticed that out of three, only one was occupied with a man, just standing under the AC, much like Percy was going to do. He entered the booth and did his transactions fast and leaned against the wall as cold air dried out his sweat drops and relieved him of the heat.

Just when Percy was about to haul his butt and buy the flowers for his mother, there came some shouting and hustling and jostling sounds from the bank and Percy wondered if an angry mob had gathered out. He was just about to inspect when there were two loud BAM!, which sounded a lot like gunshots. His eyes widened and while he wasn't comprehending anything, his body acted of its own accord. His knees fell to the floor and he scurried behind the ATM machine, away from the direct view.

He took a shaky breath to calm himself. Only a clear mind can serve clear purpose. He breathed again and heard for more sounds. He heard a yell and a crash, like a chair being thrown. He knew those kinds of voices because of his abusive ex-step-father. With shaky fingers, he took out his phone and dialled in police's number but before he could press the call button, the door to is booth flew open.

Percy immediately silenced his phone and the notifications stopped ringing. 'Okay, it's okay,' He reassured himself, 'Whoever it is won't notice me. Probably they are someone who's there to help me, instead of a robber.'

Turned out, both his wishes were wrong.

First, the person noticed him.

"Come one, now. I know someone's hiding there," A sweet female voice called out – too sweet to be a criminal. Percy shut his eyes and prayed. Please let it be a saviour. Please let it be a saviour.

Second, theperson wasn't a saviour.

The girl marched up to the side of the ATM and yanked him out by the arm. She was wearing a black jumpsuit and her face was completely hidden except for her eyes, which were many colours at once. They travelled to his phone, clutched in his hand and Percy barely had a moment before pressing the call button, when the girl slapped the phone out of his hands and the device fell to the floor but Percy had managed to call the police.

The girl knew this when the phone began to ring.

"You idiot," She whispered – screamed to him as she fully pushed him to the floor in a swift motion and trapped his hands behind his back. The girl pressed him down with legs folded above his and her hands clasped firmly to his mouth, pretending him to even make a sound.

"Police department and – wait, hello?" Someone – the police's voice called out in the phone. Percy writhed under the hard grip of the girl and shouted but her hand on his mouth muffled everything.

"Hello?" The voice called out again. Percy stared at the girl. Her eyes were wide in fear. That made him writhe more.

"Hello?" The voice called out a third time, "Listen, dear caller, this better not be a prank. We already have so many calls to receive. Wait an hour or less, I'll trace this number and get to you."

The phone line cut and the girl relaxed but then, she stiffened once again as she glared at him.

"You. Idiot." She hauled him up, grabbed his phone and pulled him in the bank, where Percy noticed that people were all on their knees with their hands up. It seemed so much like a thrilling movie scene but right now, there was nothing thrilling – only scary. The girl brought him in, towards the counter where another figure in black was stacking money in a suitcase and then kicked his back and he fell to his knees like a pathetic sandbag.

"Hands up!" She shouted and he lifted his hands. He wasn't much afraid of the girl and her physical punches and kicks but he was definitely scared of the gun in her holster.

His eyes followed the girl as she went to the figure and said, "Hey, I messed up. The guy with the pretty eyes managed to call the police and while they thought he was a prank caller, since I didn't let him speak, they said they'd trace his phone."

"Wait, what?" The second figure replied in a feminine voice. She turned towards the girl with multicoloured eyes – her own eyes were steel grey, "Why didn't you answer the call – pretend it was a mistake?"

The other girl sighed and said, desperately, "Well, there's a reason why I said I messed up!"

The grey-eyed girl shook her head, "Give the phone. I'll fix the trace problem and then, I'll see how they trace him."

The multicoloured eyed girl nodded and started filling up the suitcase instead while, they grey-eyed one messed with his phone. His loving phone.

Percy sighed. His arms were tiring out by constantly holding them up – so, was the woman's who was sitting next to him, crying soundlessly. She was pregnant, Percy noticed by her swelled middle. And her hands were dipping much like Percy's.

The grey-eyed girl, locked her scary eyes with him, "I'd suggest you not. Keep them up. Straight." The girl briefly glanced at the woman before continuing her work.

Percy stared at the woman and her cheeks dipping with tears and he didn't know how he found the courage but he spoke up.

"It isn't fair. The woman is pregnant. Cut her some slack." The grey eyes locked dangerously with his own sea-green ones and he found himself regretting speaking up. The girl tossed his phones on one side, apparently finishing up her work and strolled towards him, so stiffly and so regally, it felt like she was a ruler of some sort. A queen.

"Stand up," Her voice wasn't particularly loud but it echoed and it was stern. Percy obliged. The pregnant woman looked up at him – her brown eyes full of concern but he couldn't give back a reassuring smile. Not with those grey eyes seeping into his soul.

"First, nothing is ever fair. Second, the command that I gave previously was meant for you and third, I don't remember asking your opinion. Did I ask you?"

Percy stayed silent.

"Answer me."

He momentarily closed his eyes, imagining the headlines – 16 Years Old Killed by Gunshot at Bank Robbery. And then, he decided that life was painful anyway, so he answered her.

"No,"

"Exactly. Who gave you the permission to speak?" Her grey eyes were far too scary for him. The gun in her holster, the silence, the fright in the air – it was too overwhelming but he tried not to let his fear show. If he had learnt anything from his ex-step-father, it was to never show fear that that the predator can smell. They'll grow more powerful.

"Well, I – I just felt – "He was cut off.

"You just felt? Who gave you the permission to feel, huh?"

Percy blamed his twisty tongue for what happened next, "Feeling is a human thing. You won't understand – "

The grey eyes fixated him in such a way that Percy wondered whether he could die from her looks. He thought the girl was going to kill him, but she turned to her partner instead and the next words took the life away from Percy.

"We need a hostage in this case because of the small slip-up. We'll take him." She announced. Percy's eyes widened. Nup. Not happening. No way.

The other girl squinted at him, "They pretty eyed guy?" She shrugged, "Fine by me."

The girl turned to him.

"No, wait. You're not taking me anywhere. I'm not going. I'm not going to be a hostage. No. You can't – "The words rushed out of him. In all of this, all Percy wanted was to go back home. They weren't taking him away.

The girl scrutinized him, "If you don't oblige, we'll use force. And if you're still being difficult," the girl's hand touched her holster, "Well, I don't carry a gun without knowing how to use it. I'd say you sit down, now. Oh, and hands up."

Percy felt to the floor, giving everything, he had to not cry and curl up. Thankfully, his eyes didn't water. They hardened instead even when everything inside him was hurting like crazy. He just wanted to be with his mom now, sipping her hot chocolate and listening to her novel being read out.

"And also," The girl turned to the pregnant woman, "You can sit however you want. After all, he just decided to be a hostage and ruin his life instead of letting your hands stay up for a little longer."

Percy bit his lip. Now that he thought about it, it was a small thing to be hostage about. But as he saw the woman bite her lips to stop sobbing and cradle her stomach and smile slightly – he could see in her eyes that she was happy to touch her baby, he felt that it was still a nice thing to do.

He smiled at the woman, happy to at least make a mother happy – it was a hard thing to do. Mothers are mostly only happy when their child is good and Percy wasn't the woman's son but he made her smile slightly in a bank robbery.

That was the good point of a horrible, horrible day.

The grey eyed girl noticed him smiling at the woman, glad for the woman and narrowed her eyes at him. He swore he could hear her think, 'Interesting' before walking back up to the counter.

So, there was the first chapter. I swear when I write chapters in Microsoft Word, they seem so lengthy (Like 4 pages in one sitting! Calls for ice-cream but when I paste it here- I'm like man, should have written more.'

And about the voting thing - some possible pairings are:-

Percy/ Lou

Percy/ Piper

Percy/ Annabeth (High possibility)

Percy/ Rachel (high possibility)

Percy/ Katie

Percy / Drew (Also high possibility)

Percy/ Kayla (Sounds good)

Percy/ nobody (Also high possibility.)

Please vote - Lou, Piper, Katie are meant as friends (so, I decided to have a good friendship without attraction but if people want it...) (Percy is kinda sold to Drew, so attraction might be possible.)

I really hope you enjoy!

Love y'all,

InnovativeIvia