Chapter 8

I was depressed. I spent the next few days sulking around the farm. Percy and I didn't talk, but we didn't fight either. I didn't know what was worse. At least fighting I got to hear his voice. His parents definitely noticed the tension, but they seemed content to let us work it out. My mother had called almost ten times but I hadn't had the heart to answer it. All she ever did was yell at me, or tell me I wasn't working hard enough.

It was late Wednesday night when I got up the courage to finally call her back. I was laying on my bed, stomach down and legs crossed in the air. I was desperately bored. Percy had dove into his chores, asking for more from his parents. The most exciting my days got at this time was meals. Malcolm had texted me that day, saying I should call our mom. He said she was generally worried, but I doubted that.

On the second ring, she picked up. "Annabeth. Why haven't you returned my calls?"

I sighed, picking at my white comforter. "I didn't have time." I mumbled.

"You didn't have time for your mother?" She asked incredulously.

"Mom, I'm busy here. I don't have time to call you every second of the day."

"Annabeth, don't give me that attitude. Clearly, this place isn't fixing the issue. Maybe you should just come home."

I rolled my eyes. I could hear Percy pacing back and forth in his room, and the sound was making me even more agitated. "Do you ever stop to think that maybe you're the problem?" I asked, my voice getting louder by the second. "Maybe I only have this attitude because of you?" I was yelling now, and I heard the pacing in Percy's room stop.

"Annabeth Chase!" Athena chastised. "I raised you better than this!"

"No!" I yelled into the phone. "Mother, you didn't raise me at all. Marissa and Chloe did. They loved me and cared for me. They got me a snack, they put a band-aid on when I fell outside, they stayed up late with me when I had nightmares. All you ever did was make me do things I never wanted to do in the first place."

"Annabeth," My mom started. She sounded exasperated, as if this was just typical Annabeth behavior. My mom had never taken me or my feelings seriously. To her, I was just a money maker. "You're being absolutely ridiculous. Of course I raised you. I'm your mother."

"No, Athena, you're not." I had never called her that before. She had made it clear that her name was Mom or Mother, but I didn't care. I bit my lip, waiting for the explosion that I knew was going to come from the other end, but it never came, so I continued. "Just because we share DNA does not mean you are my mother. Family is a choice. If you don't show me respect, you can't expect to get any back."

There was a very long pause on the other side, and I was sure she was going to find a way to vaporize me from the other end of the phone. I heard a long sigh, and then, "I think we need to talk about this in person. Plus, it will give me a chance to reevaluate if I think this whole Kansas thing is working. I'll get on a plane tomorrow. Please don't cause any more trouble into I get there."

It took everything in me not to scream, and as soon as she hung up, I burst into tears, throwing my phone across the room. It hit the wall with a sickening crack, but I could care less if it was broken.

There was a soft knock at the door, but I didn't respond. My sobs were fast, and I wasn't sure if I could even say yes or no right now.

"Annabeth?" A boys voice came through the door. Oh wow. He was not who I wanted to see right now. "Can I come in?"

I sniffled, trying to get control of myself. "I guess." I buried my head into my knees so I wouldn't have to look at him, but pretty soon a pair of strong arms had wrapped themselves around me, pulling me closer.

I started sobbing again. "I'm so sorry."

"Shhh." Percy whispered, stroking my hair. "I'm sorry too, Annabeth."

"Your shirt." I said miserably, opening my eyes to look at the wet tear stains on his t-shirt.

Percy chuckled softly. "It's okay." I started crying again. Gods, I was a wreck. "Shhh, you're okay." He whispered over and over again, his hand winding itself into my curls. I pressed my body closer to his. I couldn't get close enough. It was probably ten minutes before I sat up again, tears dried, but I wasn't sure if that was because I was done crying or I just didn't have any tears left.

"You don't have to be here." I sniffled, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.

Percy started rubbing soothing circles on my back. "Of course I do." He said. "You're my friend."

I laughed. "Thanks, but we haven't been acting like friends lately." We sat side by side now, legs and shoulders touching. Percy had one arm around my waist still.

"I'm sorry about what I said." Percy said softly. "I didn't mean any of it. I would hate it if you had to go back to California right now."

"It's okay." I whispered, leaning my head on my shoulder.

"So we can go back to being friends?" He asked, his voice muffled by my hair.

I smiled. "Yes, Percy, we can be friends."

"Oh, thank gods." He said with an over exaggerated sigh, and I giggled. "Friends tell each other stuff, right?" He asked. I nodded. "So, you have to tell me what's going on."

"Nothing, I'm fine." I shook my head as best as I could with my head resting in the crook of his neck. This didn't feel like a thing friends would do, but I wasn't about to ruin the moment.

Percy snorted. "You really think I'm gonna believe that?"

I shrugged listlessly. "I was hoping."

"Come on." He said, settling his hand on my chin, lifting my head so we were looking straight into each other's eyes. "What's up?"

"It's my mom." I said reluctantly. "We had a big fight. I told her she wasn't my real mom." I broke eye contact with him, putting my head back on his shoulder. His eyes were always so intense, and I needed to focus right now.

"Harsh." Percy said.

I shrugged again. "It's true. She didn't raise me, my nannies did. Anyways, she wants to come out here and assess whether or not this whole country thing is working. To fix my attitude, or whatever. She's apparently getting on a plane tomorrow."

"Is it working?" Percy asked, his hand absent mindedly drawing circles on my lower back.

"I never had an attitude problem." I said. "I just fought with my mom constantly, which she took to mean I didn't respect her, or anybody else. Which, I don't, but still."

"You never had an attitude." I could hear the smirk in Percy's voice.

I glared at him playfully. "Okay, so maybe I was a little rude. Still. She's only gonna make things worse by coming to check on me."

"You'll just have to convince her that it's working." Percy said, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Yeah, good luck. She's psychotic." I said, crossing my legs. I was only wearing tiny gym shorts and a tank top, and I was shivering cold. Percy pulled the throw blanket over both of our legs, and tucked it around my body. I smiled up at him gratefully.

"You do know you guys share the same genes, right?" Percy pointed out, smiling.

"You're hilarious." I said, laughing. Jeez, this boy. Ten minutes ago I was a sobbing wreck, and now it was like nothing had happened. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and before long my eyes started to get heavy. Percy was warm and I was thinking that maybe I never wanted to get up from this position.

I felt Percy shift his legs and sit up. "Mmm no." I mumbled.

I could hear Percy chuckling. "No what?"

"Don't leave." I said, my voice muffled by the pillow. I felt a hand reach out to brush a curl behind my ear. He settled back into the bed. "I don't want to be alone." I spoke again, timidly.

"Okay, Wise Girl." He wrapped his arms around me again, and somewhere in the very back of my brain I thought about how inappropriate this was, but I couldn't find a single bone in my body that cared. I curled into his body, tangling our legs together. "Goodnight." He whispered, and pressed a kiss to my head.

-0-

I woke up with the sun, stretching my hands above my head and popping my back. I hummed in the back of my throat, feeling warm and content. I tangled my hands with the pair around my waist and – wait, hands? I turned as quietly as possible, and found myself face to face with a drooling Percy Jackson. Last night came flooding back. My fight with my mom, talking to Percy. Asking him to stay. Oh gods, what was I thinking?

Percy's arm was wrapped around my waist, tight. His face was buried in my hair, and I had to smile when I saw the small trail of drool coming out the corner of his mouth. I tried to get up, hoping I could just get in the shower before he woke up. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Percy's arm would not budge. I was pretty sure he weighed a thousand pounds right now. I tried to push my body up, but failed, groaning. Eventually, I gave up. A few more minutes of sleep wouldn't kill me. Besides, I was pretty comfortable.

The next time I woke up, the smell of blueberry pancakes wafted up the stairs. A hand was stroking my hair, brushing it away from my neck.

"Mmmm." I mumbled, stretching again and turning towards Percy.

"Good morning to you too, Wise Girl." He said with a smirk.

"Hi." I whispered. I was suddenly very aware of the terrible case of bed head I had at the moment and I was sure my morning breath was very unattractive.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

"No," I scoffed. Percy just chuckled and shook his head. "I woke up an hour ago and couldn't move because you were holding me down."

"Really?" He said. "As I recall, you wanted me to stay here. Besides, you didn't complain last night when I pulled you even closer." He said wiggling his eyebrows.

I blushed. "Percy, get out. I need to shower." I said, giving him a playful shove.

"Okay, okay." He said, climbing out of bed, hair a rat's nest. I watched him go, his back muscles obvious through the tight t-shirt. He started to open the door until he turned back around. "Hey, Wise Girl?"

"Yeah?" I asked, climbing out of bed to head towards the shower.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his gaze intense.

I laughed lightly. "Yeah, Seaweed Brain, I am."

"Okay." He said, a goofy grin appearing on his face. "Hurry, there's pancakes. I'm gonna eat them all if you don't come down soon." He said, laughing.

I threw a pair of dirty shorts at him. "Very funny." I stuck my tongue out as he ran into his own room, chuckling.

I took a quick shower, and threw on one of Malcolm's college sweatshirts and jean shorts. I hadn't worn makeup in almost three weeks, and my skin was glowing. I made a mental note to do a makeup cleanse more often.

My stomach grumbled, and I ran out of my room, stumbling down the stairs.

"Too late." Percy said, laughing. "All gone." He put up his hands like he was five and I giggled.

Sally rolled her eyes, but chuckled. "Of course they're not all gone. Here, sweetie, I saved a couple for you."

"Your mom loves me." I said with a mouth full of blueberry pancake. I wasn't sure how I was going to survive in San Francisco without Sally's cooking. It was heaven.

"Hey, I love you more." Percy said, and I immediately blushed. Luckily, Percy didn't seem to realize what he had said, and instead turned his attention to his dad. I hadn't seen him this happy in the past week, and a part of me was secretly ecstatic that I was the one to make him feel this way. "Dad, can you get me a cup of coffee."

"Can I get a please?" Poseidon asked, but was already going over to the coffee machine.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Please."

Poseidon nodded. "Annabeth, would you like on too?"

"Yes, please." I said, in between bites of pancake. I accepted the coffee gratefully, and took a long sip, wallowing in the warmth of the drink. Coffee was a lifesaver.

"So, did you two sleep well last night?" Sally asked, and I nearly spit out my drink.

Percy was bright red. "Wha-what?" He stumbled.

Sally laughed. "I was just wondering." I breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't know.

"I wasn't aware you guys were having sleepovers now." Poseidon mentioned from his spot at the breakfast table. He looked so nonchalant over there, reading the paper and sipping coffee, but the sparkle in his eyes gave him away.

"Dad – Mom, we weren't – I mean, nothing happened." Percy said, and he looked like he was about to vomit. I was pretty sure I looked similar.

"Well, hopefully." Sally said, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. "Just let us know if you'd like to buy condoms, though." She turned around, grinning, like this was the most fun she had had in years.

I squeaked, and Percy turned an even brighter shade of red. "Mom!" Poseidon was chuckling, and Percy turned to glare at him. "Come on, Annabeth, we're leaving. Let's go for a trail ride today." He said, and abruptly got up from the table. I followed him, trying to look anywhere other than the eyes of his parents. Even outside with the door closed, we could hear their laughs.

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry." Percy said, running a hand through his hair as we started towards the stables. He looked extremely frazzled and before I knew it, I was laughing my head off. Percy looked hesitant, but he joined in. We were both still giggling like little kids by the time we reached the horses. Percy put a hand on the barn door to stabilize himself and I tried to catch my breath.

"I can't believe they offered to give us condoms." I said between giggles, and Percy busted out laughing again.

"I know," He shook his head. "They're crazy." He walked deeper into the barn, stopping to pet the horses on the way. I found Porkpie and started to saddle him up while Percy worked on Blackjack. "Short loop or long loop today?" He asked.

"Short. My mom's coming, remember?" I said, shuddering.

"Oh, right." Percy was quiet for a second, then said, "Are you sure you're okay with her coming? I can try to get my parents to talk her out of it, or-"

"It's okay." I said, cutting him off. I led Porkpie out of the stall, meeting Percy at the barn door. "It needs to happen."

Percy nodded, accepting my answer. "Oh!" His face lit up. "I forgot!" He ran back into the barn, leaving Blackjack. "Close your eyes, Annabeth." He yelled from somewhere in there.

I laughed. "Okay, Seaweed Brain." Ten seconds later, I felt something light settle in my hands.

"Okay, you can open them now." He said.

I gasped. "Percy!" In my hands was a light tan cowgirl hat, similar to the one Percy had on his head right now. "When did you… why?"

Percy shrugged, his eyes shining. "I wanted to get you something after I was such a dick last week. I thought this would be perfect, since I really don't want you to leave. Maybe a cowgirl hat will keep you here."

I laughed, and he took it out of my hands, setting it on my small head. I did a little twirl. "How do I look?" I asked, and Percy chuckled.

"Adorable." He said with a grin that made me blush. "Come on, lets go." He said, swinging a leg over Blackjack. He snapped his heels and set off, with me right behind him. A soft breeze blew through the air today, and as I exchanged playful banter with Percy, I did my best to forget about my mom. One moment at a time, I told myself.