My Boyfriend, the Greek God

Chapter 12: Rancorous Dreams

Merry Christmas! 's login has been down the whole day, so I've tried again and again to deliver this Christmas present... On the bright side, I am now five chapters ahead of the story and kind of have an idea where this is going!

I plowed on into my story, determined to finally get it out and off my chest.

"Luke," I said, "He was just eleven. But he caught me in the back alley of the apartment in San Fran that my family lived in at that time. I was waving the butter knife in his face when I landed on him accidentally, and nearly nicked his face." I said, smiling slightly at the memory-it was one of the few that remained happy and funny after all these year. Luke suddenly turned bitter the summer after his Freshman year. He had a big scar on his face, and he was adamant to not mention it, ever. I never found out what happened.

"He took me in. He brought to to this shelter a few miles outside of town, where Thalia was waiting for both of us. She had this fire started, and she was making some sort of stew. That turned out to be their hangout for months. And I joined them. I finally felt that I was at home." I said, letting out a big breath. This was the first time I told anyone what actually happened. Luke and Thalia were there-they were the only ones that understood me for years.
Thalia was gone too quick, too fast. And Luke, Luke was gone for good.

"Then we lived, as a family. Luke and Thalia and I. Sometimes I felt like someone, something, is out there, trying to hunt us, but I suppose it was just my imagination. Somethings they talk about monsters outside, like what my father and Helen did, but I kept that out of my mind. I didn't want to remember what made me run away in the first place.

"We traveled quite a long way through the states. All the way to New York, to here. They both said it's safer, there's some sort of a settlement-" The word tasted wrong on my tongue, but I couldn't quite recall exactly what Thalia and Luke called that place, some sort of a safe haven for run-away kids like us. But then, the child service came. Thalia never came back. Luke-he opted to stay in the orphanage instead of going back to her mother's home. I never quite understood why. My family moved to New York, and the next thing I know, I'm eternally trapped in this hell hole of a life."

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry." Percy and he took my hand off my coffee, silently holding it. It was a sweet gesture-I hoped that it wasn't just some sort of a polite thing to do in Greece, I hoped that he held my hand just to make me feel better. And potentially because there may or may not be some sort of hidden feelings for me.
I sighed. That few months, no matter how hard it was, I understood the concept of a 'family' for the first time. It was happy. I was contend. I wonder how things could have turned out differently-if we stayed together, if we reached whatever destiny Thalia and Luke had in mind from the very beginning.

"No, no, it's fine. I'm glad all of this is over. And I'm glad you're willing to listen. At least I have someone else in my life now, yeah?" I said, looking at him. Percy didn't say anything, and my heart clenched for the slightest moment, before he lifted his eyes back at me and grinned.

He reached up and tucked a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear. "Yeah, you bet." He said softly. I nodded.

"Anyhow," I continued cautiously, trying to pick the right words for what I was about to say. "Some miracles do happy, and Luke and I ended up going to the same high school, seventh grade through twelve. He was a Freshman when I was a 7th grader, you see, and I was so glad to see him again." I pretended I didn't see Percy making a face and I continued, "He was still the same carefree kid, and a seriously good pick-pockter-Stop scoffing! You would definitely be impressed by his skills." I swatted at Percy, who gave the 'sure, but I don't believe you' look.

"But things changed the summer after." I said darkly, remembering how broken and bitter Luke was at everything. "I tried to get the old him back. I really did. We... We even dated a while," I shot a quick look at Percy, but his expressions were unreadable. "It was the logical thing to do!" I defended myself, wincing at how I tried to use 'logic' to justify everything I do.

"I was just reminding him how much better life could be." I continued. "And last summer... He was worse than ever. Sometimes I see the power-hungry look in his eyes, and those were the times that I felt like as if he became truly insane. He came to my house one day, and tried to persuade me-to run away together, again, like a family, 'before things become too late'." I quoted.

This wasn't how I imagined the conversation to turn out. Why did I even think that this would be a good idea? If Percy's not freaked out by me already, he would be now.

"So... Did you go with him?" Percy said, setting his jaw.

"No... No, I didn't. And I'm glad that I didn't."

"Why?"

"He was crazy... And I was right. It was just barely a week later when Will showed me the newspaper-he blew up Mt. St. Helens, killing several people in the process. They had the evidence that he did it-and I knew he did, too. He told me that he had great plans for the place. Not only that, they also said that he was involved in a drug smuggling ring. I wanted to have faith in him, I really do. But I was certain that the old Luke was dead a few summers ago, and the police just proved it all." I finally finished my rant, wiping a stray tear off my cheek. I didn't want to be so emotional, I didn't want to lose control. But I did anyway-it was inevitable. After so many years, I finally get to tell someone and dump this all on him or her instead.

Percy's eyes were unreadable when I finished my tale, but they quickly softened as Percy stretched his arms around me. I was at lost for what to do, but then I realized that he was giving me a hug. Something that I really needed after all this time.

I gave in and leaned against his shoulder, trying hard to not cry. After all, we were in the public, even though I forgot about that halfway through my story. I breathed in, and relaxed against Percy's calming seaside scent. He must have lived quite closed to the beach, my ADHD part of the brain deduced.
"Hey, everything is going to be alright, hm? I know how that feels, having someone you love ripped right from you. But I lived, and you lived, right?" He rubbed my back and released me, ending the hug way too early than I would have liked.

I wondered what he meant by that, but I didn't say much about it. I smiled weakly at Percy. "Thanks, for everything. I really needed that." I said.

Percy flipped his hair casually (and fabulously), and said, "No problem. That's what friends are for, right?"

I nodded. We are just friends, right?

*** Luke wasn't really involved in a drug smuggling ring. That was just a cover up for the media of the other things he did. Luke did blow up Mt. St. Helens (for a different reason. I have the backstory, but it's hardly needed here) though.***

The story is just getting started, and here's a few questions to help me achieve better writing: Rate this chapter from 1-10?/ Do you think things are going a bit too fast between Percy & Annabeth? I've never been in a relationship before, so I wouldn't know. / Does everything make sense? If there's a plot hole or something, I would like to change it for the better. / Would you all be interested more in a sequel (like, a future fic) or a Percy's POV story? / What kind of music (specific songs, bands, whatever) would you associate with this fic?

Thanks for answering! I'm definitely going to go and give all you awesome reviewers a 100-word sneak peek of the next chapter now. Sorry that I keep forgetting. Any new, thoughtful reviewers would be also getting that, thanks! (And thanks to my beta, ciaomeansbye!)