I loved him, I really did. I loved him so much, more than life itself, but this was wrong. I wanted to give him what he wanted but, despite my actions, I was terrified. I didn't want this but I didn't want to disappoint him. But, when he reached to take off my shirt, I realized I couldn't go through with it.
Pressing my hand to his shoulder, I pushed Percy off me. Ignoring his surprised questioning, I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle the sobs but it didn't stop my shoulders from shaking. My other hand gripped the edge of the bed.
"Annabeth?" I internally cringed at the sound of his voice. Oh gods, please don't let him hate me. I felt the bed shift as he sat up and moved closer. "Oh Annabeth." His arms slid around me, pulling me close.
I leaned against his chest, my hands clutching at his shirt. I shut my eyes tightly, pressing my face into his chest. "I can't do it, I can't. I'm so sorry, Percy," I sobbed, my words muffled by his shirt.
"No, no. Don't be sorry. It's not your fault." He truly did sound apologetic and… relieved? Pulling my head back, I looked up at him. My vision was blurry due to the tears so I had to blink before I could see the gentle concern on his face. He reached a hand up and gently brushed the tears off my face. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he murmured before kissing my forehead.
Smiling weakly but still teary, I rested my head back against his chest. I don't know how long we stayed like that but, when someone knocked on the door, my face felt sticky with dried tears. I lifted my head again, regretting when Percy let me go and got up to answer the door, taking his warmth with him.
After rubbing my face with my hands, I watched Percy cross the room and open the door. We were both surprised to see Mr. Mosley standing there. I didn't know why but, from the stern expression on his face, I felt like I'd done something wrong, but I knew I hadn't.
"Mr. Mosley? Is something wrong?" Percy asked.
He looked us both over before answering. "I heard a report of inappropriate activities commencing here," he told us. "I thought it best to investigate."
My face immediately turned red at what he was insinuating, even if it was somewhat true. Technically, what we'd been doing had been inappropriate but we certainly hadn't done what he thought.
"Well, as you can see, we're behaving," Percy said.
He grunted, looking to myself, to Percy and back. "Just make sure you stay that way," he said. "Such acts are not tolerated here and will result in immediate expulsion. Good day." With speed surprising for a man such as his size and age, he left.
Percy blinked in surprise then closed the door, turning to face me. He looked more shaken up than I could understand, making me frown. "Percy?" He slowly walked back over to the bed, sitting down beside me. "Percy, what's wrong?"
"It's a good thing we didn't do anything," he said.
"You can say that again."
"Well, that would explain what Grant meant. But I don't understand," he continued. "He's been going here long enough to have known about that rule, so why'd he suggest…?" He trailed off, frowning.
"Why did Grant suggest what?" I asked.
"Not Grant." And so, he went on to recount his encounter with Anthony, telling me everything that was said. At first, I was angry at Anthony for lying to Percy and manipulating him. Then, I was amazed that Percy would go out of his way to track Anthony down and try to "save" our relationship. Lastly, I was surprised by how gullible my boyfriend really was.
But I pushed that last thought away. "Aw." I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I can't believe you would really do that for me."
"What? Track down a hostile near-stranger and confront him or try to seduce you to save our relationship?"
"Both."
He grinned sheepishly. "I'd do anything for you," he told me, making me have to force myself not to melt down into tears. He suddenly frowned, his eyes hardening. "He has some explaining to do."
"Anthony?"
He nodded. "What did he really say to you?"
I cringed at the memory. He must have seen because he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me close. I pressed my face into the crook of his neck, eyes closed tightly, trying to block out that tiny voice in my head telling me I was worthless.
"Annabeth." I could feel Percy's breath against my ear, making me shiver, despite myself. "Please, tell me."
So I did. My words were probably muffled by his shirt and my tears but he must have been able to make sense of them because, when I looked up, he looked like he wanted to kill someone. "He won't get away with this," he said quietly. I would have been less nervous if he'd started ranting and screaming.
"Percy? Promise me you won't go after him alone," I pleaded.
"Annabeth, he can't hurt me," he reminded me.
"Promise me anyway."
He sighed deeply and nodded. "I promise. I'll go find Nico and Thalia," he said.
I frowned. "What about me?"
He smiled knowingly but sadly. "Annabeth, I saw the way you reacted when I asked what he said. I don't want to force you to face him again." He was so good to me but he was also too protective.
"I'm not going to just hang back and let you fight my battles for me," I told him. "I'm coming too."
He nodded reluctantly. "Alright," he said. He knew it was no use trying to argue with me when I dug my heels in. "Stay here. I'll go look for Nico and Thalia and we'll come back to get you before going to look for Anthony."
I nodded, regretting it when he let me go and got up to go look for our friends. When he reached the door, I said, "Be careful."
He looked back at me and smiled before slipping out of the room.
I took a deep breath and brushed my hair behind my ears. Without Percy, the room felt incredibly empty. And quiet. No, silent. I gulped, suddenly feeling very nervous. Something wasn't right. Getting to my feet, I looked around anxiously.
I jumped as the door opened but it wasn't Percy that entered. My heart stopped for several seconds before starting again when Anthony closed the door behind him, locking the door. His eyes were cold as ice, made even more terrifying by the cruel glint in them.
"You just don't get it, do you?" he asked. "You don't belong here."
I unintentionally took a step back. "We belong here as much as you do."
He took a few steps forward. "No, you don't. We don't grovel at the feet of the gods. We won't be their puppets."
"We're their children, not their puppets," I protested.
He scoffed. "You've got to be kidding me. We mean nothing to them. But, I can tell you one thing, I won't be controlled and I certainly won't be brainwashed."
"Brainwashed?"
"You think I don't know why you're really here? Where you really came from?" he snapped. "I know they sent you here to try to convince us to serve them. But I won't let you. The others can't see the danger, but I can. They don't believe me but I know what I know. I won't let you control us. Mr. Mosley can't expel you without a reason. I practically handed you over on a silver platter but he still can't see you don't belong here. So, I guess I'll have to persuade you to leave."
Oh gods, this guy is nuts! I stared at him in a mixture of shock and fear. "P-Persuade?"
He suddenly smirked but his eyes never changed, which scared me even more. He reached behind him, pulling out a knife, if it could be called that. It was more like a short sword. I looked around for something to use but I knew it was hopeless. My weapons were all in my bag, in my room, far out of my reach.
He seemed to be able to sense my helplessness because he grinned, like a cat that had cornered a mouse. Anthony slowly crept closer, forcing me further back away from the door and window, the only escapes. I looked frantically for any way to get away or defend myself. But there was nothing. I could call for help but that would probably lead to him killing me even more quickly.
The sound of low growling made us both stop. We looked at each other before looking at the door, which seemed to be concealing whatever it was that was making the noise. I took a chance. Opening my mouth, I screamed.
Anthony's eyes shot back to me, his face contorted with fury. He lunged forward just as the door flew open, despite having been locked. Before I realized what had even happened, Anthony was on the ground, on his back, his entire torso and arms encased in ice.
Grant glared down at Anthony, his eyes a cold, deep blue. "You really don't know when to let things go, do you?" he snarled.
"He never has," Ryan pointed from where he stood in the doorway. Neither looked overly surprised at what they had just stopped. He suddenly frowned and took the knife from Anthony. "I've been looking for this."
"Annabeth!" I watched as Ryan stepped further into the room to allow Percy, Nico and Thalia to enter the room. Behind them, Aren, Missie and Josh peered into the room.
"Jeez, what happened here?" Missie asked.
"Annabeth, are you ok?" Percy asked as he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around me, though I was sure it was more to reassure himself than me.
"I'm fine," I told him. "A little shaken, but fine."
Turning, he glared down at Anthony who glared back at him. "What are we going to do with this one?" Percy asked.
"Take him to Mr. Mosley," Josh said.
"Let him deal with him," Aren added.
And that's just what they did. Mr. Mosley didn't seem surprised either to hear what happened, though he did seem sad. He asked Anthony, "Do you have anything to say?"
I half expected Anthony to deny everything. Instead, he said, "All you all so blind? They're not poor little half-bloods lost in the woods! They're from that camp! They've come to brainwash us! Why can't you see it? We have to get rid of them! If we don't, we'll all end up as mindless puppets! Mark my words!"