I know, you think I'm crazy. I'm taking down 'The Body Guard" until I can find some inspiration for it. I might not restart it at all. The 'Protecter for Fleur' thing is getting a bit overused. Anyways, I'm not sure who to pair with Percy in this one. I'm thinking Piper. She's going to be a major part in the story on her own.
A large portion of this story will be a flashback, to help me get it out there. On with the story!
The sky was ink black, the only light was the dim twinkle of faraway stars, the new moon was a day from waxing, and a slight breeze flowed through the night as a man made his way into a forbidden section of the forest.
The tall man was walking slowly, fighting his way through several thickets of elder trees and forest grown shrubbery.
As he slipped by the last of the tangles of foliage, he reached his destination, a little clearing in which a small stream bubbled by, quenching the thirsts of many small animals.
The grass was a dark, healthy green, long and wild, but dotted with wild strawberries and beautiful flowers. Pine trees surrounded the peaceful haven in a perfect circle, needles falling in sweet blankets on the ground.
Crickets sung their nighttime tune, and the man headed to a section of the land where the grass was shorter, softer, a perfect imitation of a pillow; and small colonies of lavender sprouted and graced the air with their scent.
A piece of checker boarded cloth was next to the grass-pillow, barely seen, but seen by the walking intruder no less.
He lay down on the grass pillow, and stared up at the stars, sighing as he felt a tear rip its way from his bright sea-green eye.
"Why Annabeth? Why?" The figure murmured, clenching his eyes shut and forcing himself to the realm of Morpheus.
Percy Jackson walked through the woods, a smile stretching across his handsome face, lighting up his perfect pearly white teeth.
He had just come back from his long quest to recapture and defeat Atlas, holder of the sky.
His orange t-shirt was ripped and torn, his ebony locks were admittedly longer and shaggier, and his blue jean shorts were bloody, but he looked happier than anyone on Cloud 9.
He had finished his trial, completing the Labors of Hercules and defeating one seriously pissed off on-the-run titan; earning the permission of Athena to propose to her daughter, his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase.
After asking one of Annabeth's siblings where she was, and hearing the answer 'Forest or something' he took off towards the land of the dryads and satyrs.
Passing his old friend Piper, 16, Daughter of Aphrodite, and noticed she looked glummer than he had seen her in his two years of knowing her.
He'd been away for six months sure, but he and Piper and Leo had gotten pretty close since Gaea had been lulled back to sleep when he had turned seventeen.
Pulling her into a bone-crushing hug, he grinned at her.
"Come on Pipes! Cheer up!" he urged her energetically, almost bouncing with joy at the thought that he was so close to a lifetime of happiness with Annabeth.
"Hey Percy," Piper whispered softly, "How was your quest?"
She knew he had gone to earn the approval of Athena; she had helped him plan things out.
Losing a bit of bounce, he crinkled his eyebrows together and wondered why Piper, one of the happiest people he knew, was acting so strangely.
"What's wrong Piper? Did Jason do something? I swear if he did I will personally show him the way to Tartarus," Percy questioned, putting a strong assuring hand on Piper's lithe shoulder.
At the mention of Jason, Piper whimpered and hugged Percy, then took off towards the Aphrodite cabin.
Shaking his head, he looked down and decided his shirt wasn't really doing anything. Ripping it off of himself, he willed water out of the air and wet the cloth.
He started walking towards the woods; certain Annabeth would be in the 'Peace Circle' as Percy called it. With the soaked scraps of shirt in his hand, Percy scrubbed the blood off of his shorts as best he could.
Finding the sign that marked 'Warning, Forbidden Area of the Forest Ahead, Enter at Your Own Caution', he took a sharp right and waded his way through the various plant life that guarded the Peace Circle.
As no monsters attacked him, he was sure that today was the right day to propose to Annabeth. Digging a tan hand into his pocket, he felt the velvety fabric of the ring box.
Percy heard the water of the stream and quickened his pace. Finally reaching the Peace Circle, Percy leaped inside the circle. Dusting his shorts, he raised his head, and in the middle sure enough he saw Annabeth.
But she wasn't alone.
She was on her back half naked for the world to see, and a pale body with blonde hair was scrambling all over her. The skinny, undefined blond on top of her was also completely naked, except for a pair of 'Tighty Whities'.
Percy's blood boiled, waves crashed in his ears, and he saw red.
He then heard one thing that shattered his world.
"Oh gods I love you Jason."
That was the voice of Percy's most beloved Annabeth. Storming over to the couple, he cleared his throat.
"Oh hello Annabeth! Fancy meeting you here!" he sneered, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Jason jumped at the sound of Percy's voice, crawling away from Annabeth.
Annabeth's stormy grey eyes widened, taking in the form of her boyfriend, Perseus Jackson.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Percy just glared at her, his usual kind, warm, happy-go-lucky sea-green eyes were a thunderous blue, deep as the treacherous ocean.
"How dare you?" he asked quietly, untold fury lying in his voice.
"Percy i-i-it's not what it seems!" Annabeth franticly tried to assure the six foot tall son of Poseidon.
"Not what it seems? Not what it seems? Tell me daughter of Wisdom, what would you assume I was doing if I were in my boxers being straddled by an equally unclothed woman? What would that seem, huh? I think it's exactly like what the fuck I see. I see a woman that I used to love betraying my faith by fucking someone else," he ranted coldly.
Annabeth was shocked, both by Percy's cold words, and his cursing, Percy never cursed.
"Percy I'm sorr-" She started to apologize, not wanting to lose Percy, especially a nineteen year old Percy with a six pack…
"No, you aren't. You're sorry that you got caught. You're sorry that I'm about to beat the shit out of your lover. You're sorry that you don't get to be known as 'Little Miss Perfect' anymore. You're sorry about a lot of things right now Annabeth, but cheating? No. You're not sorry about that. We're done Chase. And I absolutely never want to see you again. Now get the FUCK out of my Peace Circle before I ship you out on the stream," Percy growled.
Annabeth took her time getting her clothes, tears pooling in her eyes, she made a scene of putting on her bra extra slowly, trying in vain to seduce Percy to take her back.
"Out," Percy growled out again, turning his back to her to face Jason.
Annabeth high tailed out of the Peace Circle as soon as the stream waves started churning like mad.
Percy sneered at Jason, who was paralyzed with fear of the older, taller, more muscular, and more skilled man in front of him.
"Put on your pants Grace. Tonight we fight like real men. Swords, powers, and any other weapon you can wield are allowed. This is not for Annabeth, but to avenge the great crime you have committed against me. As well as to fight to honor Piper, whom you have harmed emotionally greatly, from what I can tell," Percy challenged, uncapping Riptide, and gripping the leather hardly.
Jason's face twisted up in anger, and he rushed to put his pants on and grab his sword.
His anger clouded his wisdom, and he charged readily into combat. He charged his sword with lightning and attempted to fight.
Percy smirked. Sidestepping, he rammed his elbow and forearm into the back of Jason's neck, and the butt of his sword hilt on Jason's back.
Jason fell, sword flying out from under him, and burning a patch of grass nearby. Percy jumped on the pale body below him and doused the fire with a quick wave.
Throwing Riptide aside, he turned Jason over and started to hit him in the face again and again.
Jason fell unconscious very shortly. Dragging Jason by his hair, Percy flung him onto nearby Zeus' Fist, and ran back to camp.
A few tears slipped, he would own up to that. How could Annabeth do this to him? But he pushed that out of his mind. Sprinting to the Aphrodite cabin, Percy knocked hard on the door. His tan, muscular, well-defined body was covered in a small sheen of sweat, for the forest was very large and running it was no easy task.
He heard a few shuffling feet, and finally the door swung open, its hinges creaking and moaning.
Out stepped his friend, Piper.
"Hey Pipes," Percy whispered, out of breath, "I beat Jason's ass in for you. You have any problems with that cheating whorebag of a boy, and you come to me, OK? I'll set him straight."
Piper looked up at him, eyes shining and a smile, a real genuine smile on her face.
"Give me a hug Kelp Head!" Piper demanded happily, running forward to him.
"I don't know Pipes, I'm a bit sweaty, and covered in Jason's blood, it might not be the best time for a-" Percy began, but he was interrupted by the daughter of the love goddess as she plowed into him and knocked him down.
Laughing, they rolled around on the dirt before Percy picked her up strongly and gave a tender hug.
With horror, Piper asked softly, "Did you find out who Jason was cheating with?"
Percy took a sudden fascination with the ground, not meeting her eyes, he nodded solemnly.
"Oh Percy I'm so sorry!" She comforted him, patting him on the back.
"It's not your fault Piper, believe me. I'm going to go take a shower, think things through a little bit. Could you give the ring back to Leo? I can't look at it anymore," Percy asked, taking the blue velvet box out of his pocket and handing it to her.
Piper nodded, and took the wedding ring box. Giving Percy a hug and a large smile, she walked off towards the Hephaestus cabin in search of the crazy Latino Elf named Leo.
Walking across to the Poseidon, Percy avoided the ogled stares of the female population and pushed in the door.
The familiar scent of the sea hit him like a brick wall, and he smiled deeply.
Turning to his bunk, he found a corkboard clogged with pictures, pictures of himself, Nico, Thalia, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Jason, Clarisse and Hazel. (Frank's stick had caught on fire during the Giant War, it was all over.)
Scowling, he ripped off every single photo of Annabeth, Jason, and Annabeth and himself.
Placing them underneath the bed, he got up off of the dusty wood floor and walked to the back of the gray stone cabin.
In the back, there was the Iris Message Fountain, and to the left a shower, which had been installed shortly after the Second Giant War.
Taking off his shorts and boxers, he turned on the water and began working the grind of six months' worth of quest work away.
Six months. Twelve Labors. One love. All worth absolutely nothing.
He wasn't sure what to do now. Annabeth had been his life for a long, long time. Pushing the thoughts of uselessness out of his mind, he willed himself dry and walked around bare to his dresser, on the hunt for clothes.
Grabbing a black t-shirt and ripped and faded boot cut jeans, he dressed quickly and grabbed a pair of socks. Finding some old black Converse he laced them on his feet and sat on his bed, allowing himself to think.
Annabeth had cheated on him. Annabeth had cheated on him. It took five minutes for that to settle in. She would never smile upon him again. He would never get to kiss her again. Never be able to run his hands through her blond curls, never kiss the side of her mouth so teasingly. No, he loved Annabeth with a burning passion, but he would never forgive her.
He would not go back to her. He had some sense of dignity.
Staring at the window, he watched the sun go down, thinking of all the things he and Annabeth had been through. What had he done wrong?
Sighing as he heard the conch horn, he walked slowly to the pavilion, sitting down at the lone Poseidon table and taking a long swing of Blue Coke.
Hearing the clamor of the campers heading to dinner, he marched to the brazier and sacrificed a healthy portion of brisket to Poseidon.
He sat back down at the picnic table and dug into his food, thinking of nothing but how delicious real food was after months of careful rationing of bread and cheese.
He heard a 'plop' as someone sat in front of him. Percy looked up from his plate, he saw the last person he needed to, Annabeth.
Percy snapped his eyes back to his meat, and held in the wave of pain that racked through his heart. He felt so close to the point of tears when she spoke.
"Percy I'm sorry. It was a mistake. I want to get back together," she said while reaching to touch his arm.
The raven haired man jerked his forearm back as if he'd been burned. Looking up at her he grit his teeth.
The course grain of the table rubbed against his skin, but he didn't care. Percy glared at her, "I believe this is the table for the sons and daughters of Poseidon, Spawn of Athena. And I also distinctly remember telling you that I never wanted to see you again."
She took on a hurt expression, and opened her mouth to speak again when Piper came to his rescue.
"I'm sorry Annabeth. But Percy and I have a date," Piper lied smoothly, probably adding her Charmspeak to make it seem convincing.
"Umm. No you don't," Annabeth objected standing up to face the Cherokee beauty.
Piper smiled sweetly and sat next to Percy, looping her arm in his. She continued to smile ever so innocently as she, still looking at Annabeth, planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. It was so childlike, but it made him warm up and his face burn red.
If Annabeth had laser vision, Percy was pretty sure she would have burned a hole right through Piper's head.
The blonde stormed off towards her own table, and Percy and his friend laughed quietly, leaning on each other to keep from falling off of the structure.
Piper was in a simple white shirt with a jean jacket. She wore old jeans and sneakers, plain and simple, but beautiful in its own perfect way.
"Thanks," he whispered to her as he glanced at the bouncing curls of Annabeth.
"Anytime," Piper grinned, still a bit choked with laughter.
Percy looked at his plate, and then at Piper. As if she knew what he was asking she nodded her head and began digging into her own plate.
Percy smiled as he and Piper began to talk idly. They talked about how messed up Annabeth and Jason had been, and how hard it was going to be to heal.
"Well," Percy said, wrapping his arm around Piper, "I'm really hurt by it. I may not act like it, but it cut me deep. I can't imagine how you feel, if it's anything like how I feel. I think I'm going to go where it happened, just kind of cry it out. It's got to get ugly before it gets pretty."
"And I'll help you heal Pipes. That idiot didn't deserve you in the first place," Percy continued, feeling warm from his declaration.
Tears leaked from Piper's eyes as she hugged the green eyed wonder beside her.
"The same for you Percy. We'll get through this, together," she spoke softly, getting up from the table. After all, it was already very late. Percy and Piper had been talking and idly hanging out for over almost four hours.
And that was when Percy began his long trek into the woods, noticing Jason was still unconscious on Zeus' Fist.
Percy Jackson woke with a start. He had heard something other than the peaceful sounds of crickets and the soothing gurgling of the stream. Uncapping Riptide, he cursed himself for not bringing any matches.
Then, all at once, the noises stopped. It was complete and utter silence. Percy rotated around in a circle, his sword emitting a faint bronze glow in the darkness.
A twig snapped, and Percy quickly turned in the direction of the disturbance. Suddenly, a low growl was heard, and a tan blur the size of a small horse darted in the Peace Circle.
It was as fast as lightning, and before he knew it, Perseus Jackson had three inch long fangs bared in front of his face.
A millisecond passed, and the monster clamped its jaws on Percy's shoulder. The demigod thrust Riptide up, the blade coming clean out of the abominations back.
Instead of turning to fine gold powder, the body fell to the grass with a thud, and Percy got a good look at it. It was a wolf.
A wolf with tan fur, and very sharp and dangerous claws and teeth. The wolf's corpse sunk into the ground, and Percy looked to where he was bitten.
It was a deep and bloody wound, life liquid flowing freely. Then Percy realized the amount of pain he was in. The world started spinning, a howl rang in his eardrums, and Percy fell to the ground on the last night of the new moon.