Elite Bodyguard Much ?

by Amy's Mischievous Little Owl

Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan.

Chapter 5: Percy's Point of View

"If you obey all the rules,

you miss all the fun"

~ Katharine Hepburn

You know the feeling you get when you were a little kid and got caught with your hand in the cookie jar ? Well, that was what I felt at the moment.

The stares from my friends were making me uncomfortable. If Annabeth felt the same, she didn't show it. I, on the other hand, was slightly shaking like crazy. I never meant for us to be on the News. I should have used my brain. My cousins had on very confused and bewildered expressions while the two other girls were frowning. Thalia grabbed Annabeth's hand. Annabeth bit her lip as her eyebrows furrowed. Piper had some kind of grin on her face like she knew what was going to happen and she was delighted about that.

"I never thought I'd say this but, time for girl talk," Thalia sighed. She dragged Annabeth and Piper out into the hall and I suspect that they huddled by the stairs, talking in hushed tones. That leaves my cousins and I. Oh freaking no. Nico wagged his eyebrows, probably thinking, 'Spill, Percy, spill'. I gulped, visibly. Maybe I could lie to them. Scratch that plan. Jason was already giving me the 'Don't you dare' look. Maybe I could change the story a bit. Then again, that's like lying. Pressure, pressure ! I started playing with my fingers, looking at anything but them.

"Percy, just admit it," Nico said, his voice trying to threaten me. He crossed his arms.

"Okay, I admit it we were at the beach," I cried out at last. "We were just having fun." Jason had a grin on his face. I could hear whispers from the hall. I imagined that the girls were also pressuring Annabeth about this. But they were girls. It wasn't that awkward. I swear, my cousins act like girls sometimes. For example, now. I thought guys didn't gossip. But gossiping is universal, right ? Percy, shut up! You're all jittery and acting weird.

"So, you were intimate," He presumed, stroking his imaginary beard on his chin. I shook my head, frantically. Wrong, Jason!

"No! We were sort of chasing each other and at that moment I had my arms around her waist because I had caught her. They lied," I defended myself. Nico had an amused face on. He stared at me, skeptically. I bet he was expecting me to blurt out the truth like I always did when I couldn't stand it. But that was the truth.

"Sure, they did," He said, sarcastically as he propped up his chin. "And I'm a monkey's uncle." I gasped. "My cousin isn't believing me ?" I feigned hurt. "Oh, the agony !" Nico kicked my shin with a smirk on his face. Jason interrupted our 'cousin bonding' time.

"You do remember that oath you made right ?" He asked suddenly. A dreaded feeling stormed through my heart as I nodded. The oath... Right. After the death of my two past girlfriends, I made an oath not to fall in love with another girl because I fear that she'll die too. Call me paranoid but, I'm serious. I'm a rich kid, who doesn't want to target me. Having a girlfriend is like holding up a sign with a description of your weak spot.

Unfortunately, there was something about Annabeth that was different. She was so organized. Like she could predict what would happen. I just hoped that I wasn't drawn to her. I mean, she's already in danger because she's a spy. I'm just adding the burden with my love. Still, I curse Aphrodite. Yes, I believe in Greek Mythology because I can. Problem, bro?

"Uh, Perce," Nico's voice interrupted my train of thought. "You okay ?" Concern was lining his voice. His expression was asking, 'You weren't thinking of Calypso and Rachel, were you ?'. Calypso was my first girlfriend. She was really sweet. She had caramel coloured hair, beautiful chestnut eyes and a winning smile. Too bad she died because of cancer. Rachel was a redhead with emerald eyes. She was an artist. Too bad she died in a car accident when driving to her parents' house.

So, in conclusion, my percentage in successful relationship matters was at an all time low. I fail tremendously. "Nico,"Jason said. "He is definitely thinking about them." I frowned.

"How'd you know ?" I asked. Jason gave me a 'duh' expression.

"Besides the obvious 'you were lost in thought' thing, whenever you thought of the past, you would get a weird look in your eyes. You'll open your right eye bigger than your left ." Jason stated, plainly. I scowled. Yeah, right. Finally, the girls walked in. Annabeth had a flushed expression on her face, Piper's face depicted victory and Thalia was amused. Piper smiled sweetly at Jason.

"Jason," She said, charmingly tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Can we use the basement tomorrow ?" Jason shrugged and nodded.

"Sure," he answered. "May I ask why ?" Thalia grinned. Bad ideas formed in my mind.

"We're gonna start training you so that you can actually defend yourself," Thalia explained. She couldn't help but add, "Spy style." Why do I have a feeling that 'Spy Style' isn't something fun ?

SCENE CHANGE

When we got home, I immediately dived into bed. I was exhausted and I needed some sleep. My bed and the covers were so invitingly warm. Sleep immediately overtook me after I yawned. My dreams were all blurry and random. One minute was dreaming that I ate blue strawberries, the next I dreamed that I was a superstar and fans were screaming my name as I bowed on the stage.

"Percy ! Percy!" The unusual thing was the voices were so real. It was like they were really screaming my name. Suddenly, a fan of mine walked towards me. She was wearing an 'I love Percy' tee shirt. Unexpectedly, she held out her hand. And then she slapped me in the face. I could feel the pain. That's when I awoke and sat up, shocked at the stinging pain in my cheek.

"Finally, you're awake !" Annabeth said, sighing. She straightened. Her blonde hair was over one shoulder and she as wearing a one shoulder tee shirt with a scarf around her neck and shorts on. She looked really pretty and simple. Anyway, I stared at her, bewildered.

"Why'd you slap me?" I asked, stupidly. "And how did you get in here ?" I could have sworn I had locked the door and windows. Even the balcony door was locked. Then, I mentally slapped myself for not remembering that she was a spy. Of course she could pick the lock. Or, she could have used the air vent. Or made a tunnel under my bed. Okay, listen; I get really random in the morning and tend to think illogical thoughts. Sue me.

"I slapped you to wake you up. It's training time. Besides, I called your name a lot of times and you didn't wake up," That explains the screaming fans. I glanced at the clock on my wall. Oh, it was just 5 in the morning. Say what ? I gaped at Annabeth.

"It's freaking 5 in the morning," I told her. She rolled her eyes. "You expect us to train right now ?"

"Duh," Annabeth said, plainly. "Now, I'll meet you downstairs in 10." She walked out of my room and closed the door behind her. I slumped back into my pillow, sighing. I was about to curl up into sleep when Annabeth's voice echoed from outside, "You better not be sleeping or training will be a living hell." I have a feeling she meant that.

And just like that, I bolted awake. I took a really quick shower and wore a pair of basketball shorts and a white tee shirt. Walking downstairs, I went to the kitchen and grabbed an energy bar. I bit into it and followed Annabeth out as she brought a bag with her on our way to Jason's. What was in that? I had no idea. When we arrived at Jason, the said boy opened the door. Judging by the look on his face, he wasn't too thrilled to be woken up at 5.

You and me both, bro.

When we walked in, we found Nico sprawled over the couch and Thalia trying to wake him up. She was holding a bucket of water over him and in two seconds flat, the water hit him in the face. Nico sat up, abruptly and breathing hard. He coughed a couple of times and glared at Thalia. Piper walked in, wearing a sporty polo tee shirt and white shorts. Thalia had on a black tank top and she wore shorts too.

"Okay, everyone," Annabeth said, suddenly. "Let's go to the basement." The boys and I groaned as Piper led the way to the basement. Jason kept yawning and rubbing his eyes. Nico was cussing under his breath and I was trying my best not to suddenly fall asleep. Annabeth set the bag on the floor and the other girls fanned out on either side of her. "Ready for class ?" She asked in an authoritative voice.

We didn't answer her but just nodded. Well, Nico and I. Jason was asleep. Annabeth rolled her eyes as she groaned. She snapped her fingers," Piper, wake him up. Use any means." My eyes snapped open and I immediately stood straight when I heard Annabeth say that. Piper took out a gadget from her pocket. It looked like a chameleon from the movie, 'Tangled'.

Piper stood beside Jason and pressed the gadget. A long rubbery tongue flew out of the chameleon clone's mouth and into Jason's ear. I looked closer and saw that the tongue was actually wet. "Argh!" Jason said as he jerked away from the wet 'tongue'. He wiped his ear a few times. The rest of us tried so hard to stifle our laughter as Jason shuddered.

Minutes later, Annabeth was teaching us the basics of self defense for men.

"First," She said. "This is not a movie." That line cracked a few smiles from us and lightened the mood."Unless you are in a movie, are Bruce Lee, or have Ring / Cage experience, you should not try to do anything too amazing, and you should not stop hitting your opponent until your sure he is incapacitated."

We nodded, understandingly as Thalia and Piper went to stand by the wall. "Second," Annabeth continued. " Your objective is not to win. It is just to defend yourself. Hitting your opponent unnecessarily will land you in court. Also if you stun your opponent somehow,you don't need to do anything more – just run." I wet my lips as I thought of easy moves to stun a guy.

"Third," Annabeth said as she grinned. "Stay calm. Your brain can't work if it's too busy hyperventilating." We all took notes. "Fourth, you have to hit first. Letting your opponent hit you will only force you to regain momentum as your opponent strikes again and again. Fifth, always keep your hands up. This is something boxing coaches remind their fighters of upon entering the ring, and continue to do so until the end of their career. Most of all strikes will either be blocked or the force lessened if your hands are up. Also, watch the Rocky movie. His hands are down most the time, and he gets hit a lot. Learn from his mistake."

Piper and Thalia walked to the center of the room. "Now, they will demonstrate an easy way of self defense." Thalia will be the bad guy. Piper pretends to be leisurely walking. Thalia comes and wraps her arm around Piper's neck. Piper ducked forward, trying to throw her off balance. Then, one of Piper's hand reached up and yanked Thalia's hair, causing the black haired girl to let go and stumble forward. Then Piper delivered a kick to her stomach (a soft one) and ran away.

"This isn't in a boxing ring," Annabeth said suddenly. " Anything goes including biting, scratching, and yanking. " Annabeth then ordered us to do a series of push ups, chin ups and other activities. Then, she taught us on how to fight using ordinary stuff like kitchen utensils or a golf bat. She made a small target for us to aim knives at. After that, we had to battle the three, one on one.

The girls let us take a break while they went two on one with each other. They were like a fighting machine. They could easily predict the other's move. So, they would have to improvise of they wanted to win. Suddenly, Annabeth managed to jump and catch the beam on the ceiling. She climbed onto it. The two girls followed and Annabeth had one girl on each side of her.

I smirked as I watched her try to get out of this.

Annabeth kept her attention on both of them. She would duck as they both tried to kick her at the same time. There came a time when she ended up fighting on her hands. Her hands were so strong because she could hold herself up longer as she fought with her feet. Pretty soon, Piper lost her balance and fell.

That left Thalia and Annabeth.

Thalia was a pretty good fighter. Annabeth had finally stood, normally. Thalia aimed a punch for Annabeth's chest. Annabeth yanked her scarf off and made it wrap itself around Thalia's wrist. Then, she pulled the scarf towards her and Thalia fell. Piper grinned.

"Now, that's what I call improvising," She said, proudly. "Now, back to the work outs."

SCENE CHANGE

Finally, after 3 long hours, we trudged back upstairs and into the kitchen. We were exhausted, hungry and sweaty. It was worse than all the work outs I had ever done, combined. My cousins and I immediately attacked the refrigerator. We started eating and the girls went to shower in Jason's many, many bathrooms.

Remind me to never ask them for another work out. They were still energetic when we got back. Even worse, they didn't ache all over, unlike us. My pride feels bruised suddenly. I cracked my knuckles, painfully and winced when I heard the sound. I feel like I need a massage soon.

When they came back, they were fresh as daisies. Thalia wore a black blouse with black jeans and boots. Piper was wearing a designer halter top with a skirt that reached mid thigh and blue ballet flats. Annabeth was wearing an orange tee shirt and blue shorts. She looked cute.

The girls ate breakfast as the guys showered. I borrowed some of Jason's clothes and then joined the girls at the table. I was still full but that didn't mean I couldn't stuff myself. Annabeth had her laptop with her and she opened it just as my cousins walked in. She set up a call to someone. Soon, a familiar voice erupted in the room.

"Annabeth," Chiron said, cheerfully. "How's the mission ?" Annabeth ran a hand through her hair as she sighed. I noticed that she sort of looks tired. One day, I should thank her for trying to protect us. I mean, we're acting like spoiled kids. She must feel like a nanny.

"Great," She said, sarcastically. "We got attacked on the first day of the job, as I have already told you. Most evidence leads to Kronos although he has no possible motives. We're just waiting for his next move."

"Well, I wish you and the girls luck," Chiron said, smiling. "Tell the boys, Thalia and Piper that I said hi." We could hear him and he was surprised to receive a chorus of 'hi's from us. Chiron chuckled before signing off. Nico cursed when he looked at the clock on the wall.

"Shoot!" He said with a frantic expression. "I have a meeting to go to. It's with one of my business partners. It's important and I can't miss it. " Piper frowned.

"I think it's best that we all go," She said and I agreed. "Kronos could have set up another trap for you guys."

"Piper's right," Jason said. "We'll all go to your meeting. It couldn't hurt seeing you work." Nico scowled.

"You guys will make me slip up," He said, frowning. He poured himself a glass of water before taking small sips. He sighed as he massaged his temples.

I put a hand on his shoulder, "No, we won't." But the idea in my head said otherwise. Annabeth packed up her laptop and grinned at us.

"What are we waiting for ?" She asked. "An invitation ?"

Soon, we were all in Jason's van and heading to one of Nico's hospitals. It was situated more into the city and it was big. I'm impressed. We parked in a reserved parking lot. I unbuckled my seat belt and stretched a bit.

I wonder what awaited us at a normal, regular hospital. (By the way, I just jinxed us. I am incredibly so sorry.)

A/N :

I wasn't in the mood for writing but I pushed myself for an update. I had too. You guys filled your part of the bargain. I hope you liked the chapter. Review as much as you want because I'll be on vacation starting Monday. I'll be back on Thursday.

What will happen at the hospital ?

Another attack ? If so, by who ? Kronos or the Paparazzi ?

An accident ?

Tell me in your reviews.

Love,

Amy's Mischievous Little Owl