CHAPTER 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to Rick Riordan. Now that's out of the way, so read on!

Today, I felt something I had never felt before. Freedom. That's right, something never seen before folks. Annabeth Chase is on a motorcycle. With a boy. The old Annabeth from just two weeks ago would never have done this. She would have gone with morals and instincts. But this new, strange Annabeth threw those out the window. I felt… liberated.

"So where are we even going?" I yelled to Percy over the sounds of the roaring wind as we raced through the streets.

"Just wait and see, Wise Girl," he said.

"Wait, what do you mean by Wise Girl?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, I figure that you're a genius because you just give me that vibe. You know, the girl that's really smart and good in school. Plus, eyes can say a lot about a person. Your eyes seem intelligent and flat-out scary, so…"

"Huh." I let that settle in. Percy was really surprising me, he was way more perceptive than I originally thought.

We drove in silence for a little bit, and I took that time to really reflect on my (surprising) life choices. I had a great group of friends (who I was currently lying to), a protective father (who I was also lying to), and a boy… friend who also happens to be a big-time drug dealer. Needless to say, I'm doing great. But at least my grades have not gone down the drain… as long as I get home to study for my big test tomorrow.

Good reflection.

Suddenly, I was shaken out of my thoughts by a halt, meaning that we had arrived at our destination.

A beach. Montauk?

Percy hopped off of his motorcycle, and offered his hand. "Madam."

Accepting it, I said, "I have to say Jackson, I'm quite surprised. I did not expect the beach, of all places."

"Stick around, Annabeth. I think there's a lot about me that you don't know." I wanted to, but I wasn't sure if I should. I mean, my teen angst bullshit does NOT need a body count, which is surely what I would get if I stuck around with Percy's crew.

As we walked along the beach, I started to see why Percy brought me to the beach. It's like he was born on it. Or something to that degree. I watched him completely transform… and it was amazing. One moment, he's this badass teen drug dealer, and the next, he's a carefree little kid.

He ran across the beach, dragging me by the hand as we raced along the shore. "Come on, Annie!" And with that, he took off his shirt and jumped into the ocean.

"Percy!" I yelled, absolutely flabbergasted.

"What are you waiting for? The water's great!"

"My clothes will get wet!" I replied.

"Oh please, Wise Girl, you only live once. And you're here, with me, so make the most of it." I mean, he did have a pretty convincing argument. I did have nothing to lose at this moment. So I jumped right in with him.

Later on, we walked along the beach to dry off, hand in hand as the sun set. "I didn't know you liked beaches so much, Seaweed Brain."

"Seaweed Brain, huh?" He asked, green eyes sparkling in all of their glory.

"Well, from your obvious excitement of being here, I figured you must spend a lot of time at the beach. You have a pretty muscular, surfer-dude figure, so you must swim a lot, which coincidentally, fits your eye color. Plus, you have a piece of seaweed stuck in your hair," I said, as I pulled it out.

"Oh… well that makes sense." Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Come on, I want to show you something." With that, we raced across the beach once more, to a little row of cabins on the other side.

We entered one on the very end, slightly isolated from the rest. The moment we did, I felt at home, even more so than I did in my actual house. From the outside, the cabin looked a little bit rustic, but on the inside, it was more gorgeous than I imagined. It was fairly modern, all white, and blue accents everywhere. There was even a little fish tank on the side, with a variety of beautiful tropical fish.

"Seaweed Brain, this is… amazing," I breathed.

"Thanks, my mom and I come here all the time. It's… sort of my escape. A breather."

"An escape, huh? Sounds pretty special."

"It is. I don't know why I'm about to tell you this, we've only known each other for a couple of days and I feel like I'm ready to bear my soul to you. But…" He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Needless to say, I was slightly worried.

"Hey, it's okay. Come over here, sit with me." We moved over to the bed, and got prepared for the story.

"So… I never had the best childhood. Growing up with a single mom, you know, it wasn't easy. We didn't know where my dad was, he was just… gone. And we weren't exactly well-off. It was paycheck to paycheck. Then, my mom met Gabe.

"Gabe was who both saved and destroyed us. He had some money at the time and was a pretty nice guy. My mom was so happy that she had saved us from total poverty. But once they were married… he turned into a complete and utter asshole. I mean, he quit his jobs, picked up on drugs and alcohol, and made my mom do everything. She had to pick up a few jobs, especially at a candy store, and gave up on her dream as a writer. It was horrible."

I was silent for a few moments. "Did he ever hit you?"

"Never me… but my mom, yes. But I didn't know for a while, I guess she just hid it from me. But on day, when I was 15, I came home and saw broken shards of glass all over the floor, and him beating my mom on the ground. I saw red, and the next moment, I had Gabe on the ground, blood on my hands. My mom had to stop me before I went too far. We called the police, and he's in jail for life.

"But we still had a ton of drugs, and not a lot of money. So I did what I had to do, and I sold them off. Thus, beginning my career as a drug dealer. I know it's wrong, but I do what I have to do. My mom has a loving husband, Paul, and I'm expecting a little sister soon. And she's living out her dream as an author. Plus, a couple years back, I found out that I had a half-brother from my dad's side, Tyson. He was in a car accident, and he lost an eye and had some brain damage. I guess my dad was too busy to deal with it, so he sent him off to live with me. But I love him. I know this whole situation is not ideal, but…"

"Ha- have you every killed anyone before?" I asked hesitantly.

He chuckled darkly. "What's the answer you're looking for?"

"The truth."

"Well… I try not to do it. And I mean, I really try. But if someone was aiming a gun straight at me… I would do what's necessary to protect my family and my friends behind me."

"…I guess I don't know what it's like to be in your shoes, but I do understand where you're coming from. You know, with the single parent thing."

"Really?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, my mom left a while ago, and it was just my dad and me for a while. And he's great, he really is, but he's just super protective."

"I guess that's why I'm getting the good girl vibes from you," he said jokingly.

"Yeah… and then when I was younger he met Helen, my stepmother. And then they had my brothers, Matthew and Bobby. I absolutely adore the twins, I do, but Helen and I don't exactly have the best relationship. I have no idea why, but she's always seen me as a freak, just because she isn't my biological mother.

"They're all away on a trip right now, so my dad and I have had the house to myself, and it's been nice. I love my dad, but he's so blind to how Helen doesn't accept me, and I don't know what to do. Thus, I've tried to keep out of trouble and make it easier for everyone."

"That must be really hard," he said.

"I guess… I just want a change in my life. Something completely different. I'm ready to break out of my box."

"I know what you mean. To just be a different person, regardless of what everyone else thinks of you."

"Exactly!"

"Stick with me, Wise Girl." There was that line again. But this time, he drifted off to sleep on the bed.

I fell asleep a few minutes later, my thoughts consumed by his words. I just might.

A/N: And…. Chapter 6 is done! Did anybody catch the reference in the story? Let me know. I don't know why, but this chapter took forever for me to write. Worth it though.

Btw, I'm going to add a few new characters soon, and I need to decide between Thalico and Solangelo. Let me know!

Be sure to favorite and review this story! You can just leave suggestions, and I'll definitely take a look, because I don't really know where this story is going to go. I just write in the moment. :)

XOXO,

Lexielovely