Hello everyone! I'm so very sorry about the late upload. Life has been pretty hectic on me for the past little while. But I'm staying strong, and writing it out. Anywho. This chapter is a tad dark, I promise it will not stay this way at all. Just need some build up. Please don't hate me. Anyway, If you have any ideas you would like me to incorporate, please write them in reviews or PM me! Hope you enjoy.

All characters owned by Rick Riordan!


Do you know what happens to the mind when you go through pain repeatedly?

It goes numb.

This was my bliss. The numbness.

The calm between the storm of pain and turmoil where my mind could just say fuck it.

This went on for weeks. No one noticed my miniscule amounts of conversation, minimal effort for activities outside of school and drawing. To be fair though, I hadn't really put much effort in before it all happened anyway.

Maybe this was just meant to be?

Mom dying, then this.

Maybe this is gods way of saying I shouldn't be alive today.

Maybe I should do something about it.


He strode through the halls of school aimlessly. It had been weeks since Annabeth had said a word to him.

Had he really pissed her off that much?

Every time he saw her, she looked a little more distant.

A little more broken.

Spring was in full bloom and the temperature was peaking at mid 80s lately, yet she still wore the same 3 long sleeve shirts, and jeans.

His phone beeping from a text brought Percy out of his trance.

We going to Aqua tonight? - N

Sighing, Percy just locked his phone and put it away. Socializing was becoming too straining on his mental health. Especially with his previous step father coming back into the picture.

Gabe apparently wants to "help out" now. Even though his mom has Paul now, Gabe still wants to be there for Percys swimming.

Like it did a whole lot before.

"Hey, did you get my text?" He didn't even notice Nico walk up and fall in step beside him.

"Yeah. I did. I don't think I can go tonight, sorry." He shrugged out his response and kept walking.

"You haven't done anything with the guys in weeks Perce. Whats going on?" Nico's voice wasn't raised, but definitely carried a lot of concern.

Sighing, Percy turned to his friend and shrugged again. He turned back to walk away when Nico spoke again.

"Is it Gabe?"

"Nothing is going on Nico. Leave it alone." Percy turned again and strode off.

Soaring through the clear water always made him feel invincible. Like nothing would ever hurt him inside his paradise. His mind was clear. His body was alive. His heart unburdened.

As his hand reached out to touch the wall, his paradise crumbled around him.

"That was 4 seconds later than the last time Jackson. Stop playing around and actually try this time!" The shouts from his ex-step dad rang loud enough to penetrate his waterlogged ears. He usually yelled whenever Percy didn't perform to his unrealistic standards. Most of the time Percy just endured it. Lately though, the words stung deeper, the feeling lasting longer.

"Earth to the fucking space cadet! God. You're mother shouldn't have wasted money on those intensive swimming lessons." Gabe's voice rang out again, raising an octave as he spoke of Percy's mother.

"Sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to fucking win you the championship. Idiot."

Percy's shoulders sagged a little at the insult, but he continued on with his drills as Gabe continuously belted out more names to call him. An hour had passed when he finally gave up and stormed off. As Percy pulled his body out of the pool, his arms shook from the overexertion.

A pair of hands reached out and steadied his shaky ones, helping him out of the pool.

Jason.

"You ok man?" Percy just nodded, reaching for his towel. He was about to walk over to the showers when Jason spoke again.

"When was the last time you ate something Percy?"

"Before practice. I had a banana."

"I mean a full meal dude. When did it start up again?"

"When did what?" Percy turned to see Jason eying him. Though he couldn't read the emotions in his eyes, he knew his friend wasn't mad.

"Don't play dumb with me dude, seriously. When did you start counting again?"

Shit

"I don't know what you're talking about Jason. I'm over that." Turning again, Percy started walking away.

"As an athlete, you need more in your system then a measly 50 calories Percy!" Percy spun on his heel.

"Its 89 calories dammit!" His voice echoed off the walls of the gym, bouncing back at him in muffled tones. "Oh god.." Percy's knees shook as he realized what he said.

Jason stepped forward, hands out, like he was approaching a wild animal.

"Percy, hey. Look at me." As realization dawned on Percy, his mind began to shatter. Clutching his temples, he fell to the floor on his knees and began rocking.

Then the world went black.


"I don't know what happened Ms. Jackson! He was fine one second, then he was on his knees rocking back and forth."

"Is he ok?"

"He's fine, I think. But I'm pretty its back."

"What is?"

"His eating disorder ma'am." Jason sighed. "I think Percy's counting again."


Percy awoke in a hospital bed, tubes coming from basically everywhere on his body. Everything hurt. His head, his stomach. His mind was a jumbled mess of goo. As he scanned the room he noticed one thing.

No one was here.

Not even his mother was sitting beside him. Percy struggled to sit up, but groaned at the movement. He laid back down right as a doctor walked in.

"Oh, you're awake. Hi Percy, my name is Dr. Hades. But you can call me Dr. H if you prefer." The doctor scanned the clip board at the end of Percy's bed for a few moments before looking up and smiling. "Looks like you just had a minor case of exhaustion. Very common in young athletes I assure you, everything is fine. You can be back in the pool within a few days."

Though the words sounded sincere to Percy, something set him of.

"Wheres my mom?" The doctor smiled, and just opened his hands out to him.

"I'm sure she'll be here soon. She hasn't left your side since you arrived. I can page her if you want?" Percy nodded, not trusting his scratchy throat to produce words.

The doctor left, and within 10 minutes Sally burst through the door, flinging herself at Percy. Paul not very far in pursuit, just nodded and pulled up a chair.

"Percy, oh my god. Don't ever do that again young man! You scared us half to death." His mothers words were hectic, but he still smiled at her and nodded.

They asked a few questions, he asked a few questions in return. Turns out he'd been passed out for almost 2 days. As he learned more about what happened, Percy began to wonder where he really was. His friends weren't here, no cards or flowers either. He wasn't the most loved person at school, but people would've had to know about this, right?

"Mom, where am I really?"

Sally sighed, glancing at her husband before turning back to Percy with a forced smile. "You're somewhere safe. Somewhere that can help you."

"Help me? I don't need help." Percy sat up straighter, reaching for the tubes running into his veins.

"You do though baby." His moms voice broke, tears began to flow. "You're sick Percy. And this place will make you better."

"I don't need to get better! I'm perfectly fine!" Percy shouted as his parents. Ripping the stuff from his arms, he stood up with wobbly legs. As he turned to reach for the door, the doctor from earlier appeared with two nurses in tow.

"Percy. You need to calm down. We're here to help."

A pinch on his side from an injection was the last thing he remembered before once again, the world around him went black.


A week had gone by and Annabeth hadn't seen Percy in class once. Even with her constant retreating back into herself, she couldn't shake the feeling of being around him. Things felt, lighter. They hadn't talked much since the start of the incident. Granted, she hasn't talked to anyone since that started. And that was over a month ago.

"The incident", or so Annabeth has been calling it, was her nightly visits from Jake. Always near the same time, always saying the same thing.

"No ones home Annie. No one will hear you scream." After awhile she didn't scream. She didn't say anything. Didn't do anything. Just lay there and took it. "No point crying about something you can't change" she would think to herself as her blade slid across her ivory skin. Week after week, the vast amount of cuts grew in numbers. Little and unnoticeable at first. But lately Annabeth wasn't being careful. She'd push deeper, cut longer, bleed more. She'd keep going till she was woozy and unable to stand on her own. Then she'd fall into bed and forget everything in the world.

Or so she hoped.

Day after day, she would wake up with incredible pain on her body, and the bruises from Jake's not-so-gentle intrusions. No one knew about what was going on.

"Not like anyone would care Annabeth. No one likes you anyway." Scoffing at her thoughts, Annabeth began her daily routine at the top of the stairwell at school. It was a secluded area, not many people knew about its existence.

Actually only one person had known, to her knowledge.

Percy.

Percy had walked up on her during her daily routine. He never said a word about it, just started talking like she wasn't wielding a sharp object over her skin. He didn't even ask if she was ok or not. He was just, there. The conversation was light, talking about school and friends. As he was leaving, he turned and leaned down, grasped her wrist in his hand, and planted a soft kiss along the scarred skin. Then he turned on his heel and left.

Shaking her head from the memory, she rolled up her sleeves and pulled out her razor, counting down from 3, she drove deep and long. Start across her pale wrist. Blood welled up instantly, pouring from the wound with no prevail. A little voice inside her head went alert, trying to convince Annabeth that this wasn't normal. The cuts never bled this much.

The warning bells triggered loud in her mind as Annabeth stood up, slightly lightheaded, and made her way down the stairs. As she neared the bottom, black dots danced in her vision. She couldn't talk, couldn't make a sound. Sounds required energy, which she was completely drained of. Each foot step felt like she had cinder blocks straped to the bottom of her shoes.

The darkness finally enveloped Annabeth as she hit the bottom and tripped.

The last thing she remembered was an ear piercing scream.


"The blood transfusion was successful. Now we wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait to see if she wants to live or not."

Annabeth awoke to blinding white light, the beeping of machines around her, and the soft voices of people off to the left of her. She groaned and moved slightly, yelping at the tug of tubes in her veins that she hadn't noticed before.

"Hey sweetie. Relax. We're at the hospital. Do you remember what happened?" Her aunt asked, leaning down to pat Annabeths head. Piper and her uncle were behind, looking grim. Only Jake was still sitting, a smug grin on his face.

"I'm fine. Let me go." She pulled away from her aunts touch, groaning from the pull of the tubes again.

"Annabeth, you can't go." Her head shot to her aunt.

"What do you mean I can't go? You can't just keep me prisoner here."

"Hello Ms. Chase. I'm going to need you to calm down please. We're here to help." A voice from the doorway spoke, pulling Annabeths attention from her aunt.

"Who are you?" She sat up this time.

"I'm Dr. Hades, but you can call me Dr. H if you prefer."

"I'd rather not call you anything." He smiled at her remark, but showed no sign of it affecting him.

"You're going to be staying here for awhile, till we get you all better. How's that sound?" She scoffed at his words, but realization dawned on her.

"I can't stay here. I have school. Friends."

"The school will send you homework, that's no big deal. As for your friends, well they can come drop by." He was still smiling at her.

Shaking her head, Annabeth just screamed. A nurse stepped forward and poked a syringe into her thigh. Her vision began to fade as she heard her aunt crying.

She awoke a few hours later, alone in her room. She sat up, groaning, and began to lift herself up on her feet. She had spotted a few clothes on the chair where her aunt had been sitting. As she changed, she noticed the bandage wrapped around her wrist. It was stained pink from blood, but no other signs of what happened appeared.

Changing into her clothes, Annabeth stopped to wash her face in the adjoined washroom before heading out of the room.

Everything was white. White with sickly green and crusty blue accents that did not match or go well with eachother one bit. People were bustling around, paying no attention to her. Eying the signs, Annabeth head in the direction of the mess hall, assuming someone in charge would be there to help her get out of here. Crossing her arms, she ducked her head down and sped in the direction.

Right into someones chest.

"Ow" was all she said before looking up.

Into sea green eyes.

"Percy?!"


How was it? I know, kinda sucky and pretty dark. Thing sadly need to build up though. On a lighter note. When I was hospitalized, I met my bestfriend in there. He's amazing, and one of the reasons I'm alive right now.

Also I'm a bit curious, any fans of the story also like kpop? I happen to revolve my life around it lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy, if you can. Sorry again for the late update!