Chapter 12
(Percy's POV)
I wake up a few hours later, slamming my hand onto the alarm clock. I trudge over to the mirror and look in horror at my pale face. My eyes and hair look wild, and
I see a thin layer of skin forming over my stitches, and I'm assuming that Annabeth is going to remove them soon. I get dressed and sit down at the kitchen table. Mom sits across from me, staring blankly ahead and stirring her cereal.
"Where's Paul?" I ask.
"The school. He went in early," Mom says.
"I'm sorry for waking you up this morning," I say in between spoonfuls of cereal.
"You did the right thing. If they had gotten you, we would have known that you got kidnapped," she says. The doorbell rings, so I get up and get the door.
"Good morning," Annabeth yawns.
"Is that Annabeth?" Mom asks.
"Yeah," I call back.
"I'm early, but I need to remove your stitches. The girls already know I walked here, so they're picking us both up," she says, plucking a pair of nail scissors off the bathroom counter and dunking them in a pot of boiling water. She grabs a pair of tweezers, lifts the knot, and starts cutting away the thread. I sit silently until she's done, dreading the fact that I'll have to tell her what happened earlier.
"You look horrible! What happened last night?" She asks.
"You know how Gabe somehow escaped from prison?" I say.
"He didn't come after you, right?" Annabeth says, smoothing down my hair.
"He didn't come after me himself, but he sent two goons to kidnap me while I was sleeping," I say. Annabeth's calm face twists into an expression of fear.
"I'm glad you're okay, Seaweed Brain," she says quietly, wrapping her arms around me and burying her face in my shirt.
"Aww, you'd miss me," I say, smirking as she pulls away from me and rolls her eyes.
"Jackson, I swear," she grumbles.
"C'mon, let's go do something," I say, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the couch.
"Where's Triton?" She asks.
"I think he snuck into a party last night, and he isn't home yet," I say. The front door opens and he staggers inside. His hair is disheveled, his shirt is inside out and backwards, and his jeans are hanging off of his hips, unbuttoned and unzipped.
"And there he is," Annabeth chuckles.
"Well, somebody had some fun last night," I snort. Annabeth slaps my arm before going for a glass of water and some painkillers.
"So, what happened to you?" She says as Triton swallows the pills.
"I went to a party last night, and woke up this morning next to a pretty redhead with freckles. Everything else is a blur," he groans.
"Did the girl have green eyes?" I ask.
"She looked like that Rachel girl you were dating last year," he says. Annabeth stares at the stitches on his knuckles and starts removing those.
"Yep, you hooked up with Percy's ex," Annabeth says quietly.
"It's fine, I dumped her anyways. She cheated on me with twelve other people," I chuckle, running a hand through my hair. Annabeth's face falls as she removes the last bit of thread from Triton's hand.
"Oh no," she whispers.
"What?" I ask nervously.
"Remember what Rachel does every time she hooks up with a new guy?" Annabeth says in horror.
"Oh. Oh. Oh God I think I'm gonna be sick," I gag.
"What does she do?" Triton asks.
"She -err- brags about how good or bad they are in bed for at least a week," Annabeth shudders.
"Triton, I think I speak for both of us when I say that I do not need to know how you are in the sack," I say, patting his shoulder as a limo pulls into the driveway.
"And that's our cue. Ask Sally for more painkillers if you need them," Annabeth says, slipping her messenger bag over her shoulder and walking towards the door. I follow. As soon as I shut the door, Annabeth turns to me and starts laughing uncontrollably. We're both clutching our stomachs and wheezing by the time we're driving away from my house.
"What's got you two in such a good mood?" Thalia asks as soon as we sober up. Annabeth and I glance at each other and start laughing again.
"Triton hooked up with Dare," Annabeth wheezes, clutching her stomach.
"I'm not even mad! It's the funniest thing to happen in my family since Tyson trying to learn how to bake!" I cackle.
"Wait, did they use protection?" Annabeth says, sitting straight up.
"I dunno, why does it matter?" I snicker.
"What if Dare gets herself knocked up by your brother?" She says.
"Oh my god. I'm not dealing with a possible niece or nephew that's also my ex's kid," I say.
"I got it. I'll have Reyna tell us if RED's pregnant," Annabeth says, furiously typing something on her phone as Frank clambers into the car.
"I swear if Triton knocked Rachel up, I'm going to actually die," I groan.
"What?" Frank shouts. Nico climbs into the car.
"Percy's brother hooked up with Dare last night," Annabeth says as the school comes into view. We walk inside and head towards the cafeteria with the rest of the school. A huge crowd of people are crowded around Rachel. I push through the crowds, trying to avoid being noticed by Rachel.
"Oh Percy, guess what I did last night!" She says walking towards me. The crowd parts for her, and Annabeth squeezes my hand. Rachel is wearing thick sunglasses and chewing several pieces of gum.
"What do you want RED? I really don't want to deal with you right now," I say.
"I hooked up with a new guy who is hotter than you'll ever be!" Rachel giggles. Her breath smells horrible. I glance back at my friends and see them struggling to hold back their laughter. Annabeth bites her bottom lip in an effort to hide her giggles.
"You know, I don't really care what you do Rach. Did you at least use protection? I don't exactly want to be an uncle right now," I smirk. Rachel's mouth falls open in shock.
"What makes you think that you'd be an uncle if that guy got me pregnant?" Rachel sneers, with her hands on her hips.
"Oh silly me! I forgot to tell you! That dude you slept with? That was my half brother," I say, before turning and walking away.
"WHAT?" Rachel shrieks.
"And I take offense to the statement that my brother is hotter than me, but I don't care what you think!" I shout over my shoulder. Leo and Callie finally crack, and start laughing hysterically.
"Percy Jackson's awesome! His ex just hooked up with his brother and he doesn't even care!" I hear a sophomore say.
"I got it on video!" Thalia says, holding her phone up.
"Nice job, Seaweed Brain,"Annabeth says.
"Hey, it was fun to wipe that smirk off of her face," I say as we slip into the music classroom. The words 'I'm in a meeting all of first period, so you all have a free period! Don't leave the school!' are neatly written on the board.
"We do next to nothing in this class!" Hazel says.
"Alright, I'll start teaching the choreography. We'll be in the empty room if you need us," Callie says. The girls pick up their bags and leave the room.
"What are we going to do now?" Jason asks, leaning against the wall.
"Leo and I aren't allowed to pick, so what do you guys wanna do?" I sigh, texting my mom.
"Dude are you seriously texting your girlfriend right now?" Leo asks, attempting to snatch my phone.
"Dude, I'm texting my mother!" I say, standing up and holding the phone above my head.
"I swear, you're the biggest momma's boy of us all," Nico says.
"To be fair, Sally is pretty awesome," Frank says.
"And it was just me and her until my dad decided he wanted to get to know me when I was twelve, and then Paul came along when I was thirteen. So yeah, I'm close with the one constant parental figure in my life," I say, rolling my eyes.
"We've got incoming," Leo says. I see four shadows in front of us.
"Dammit," I mutter. Jason sits up straight, and glares at the four girls. Reyna is texting somebody, probably Annabeth, and Drew is glaring at Nico, who's staring out the window. Rachel is staring at me, and Khione is glaring at Jason.
"What on earth is so important that you just had to come over here?" Leo says, crossing his arms.
"Shut up Valdez, nobody likes you. That's why your parents are dead. They purposely stayed in that burning house so they wouldn't have to see your ugly face," Drew says. Leo starts to shake, and furiously wipes at his eyes.
"I'm gonna go hang out with the girls," he says, his eyes watery and his voice cracking. He sprints out of the room, and we stare after him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jason shouts.
"Why on earth would you say that to him?" Frank roars. Jason and Nico each grab one of his arms in an effort to hold them back.
"Zhang, we can't hit girls," Nico says.
"I don't care, I'll rip her cheap ass extensions out!" Frank shouts, struggling against his restraints. By this time, the entire class is staring at us.
"Why would you think that that was a good idea? Did all that nasty perfume you bathe yourself in mess with your brain cells?" I shout.
""Yeah Drew. That was low, even for you," Reyna says quietly.
"Oh, shut up Reyna! She was right! Nobody likes that idiot, not even his parents!" Khione says. Nico goes silent. A creepy grin crosses his face. He digs his phone out of his pocket and dials a number.
"Come now," he says before hanging up.
"Now back to these bitches," Jason growls.
"Seriously, why can't you accept the fact that not everyone likes you?" Nico cries. I hear thundering footsteps, and the girls run in, dragging a sniffling Leo behind them.
"Who's ass am I kicking?" Calypso growls, tying her hair back.
"Did you call them in?" Nico asks.
"Yep. Code Blue. they'll be here in about three minutes," Hazel says.
"But it takes ten minutes to get here from your house," Frank says.
"Oh, I know," Piper says.
"But-" Rachel starts, before getting interrupted by squealing tires. Beckendorf and Silena park in the parking lot by our classroom. Thalia pries the window open and waves them over.
"Who do I need to yell at?" Beck says.
"Those three girls over there," I call, pointing to Rachel, Drew, and Khione.
"Thanks Percy," Silena says, leaning halfway into the window.
"No prob 'Lena!" I say.
"Oh, this should be good," Annabeth mutters. People are looking back and forth between us as if we're playing a game of tennis, instead of having a conversation.
"Aren't these the three girls who straight up tried to break into the house?" Beckendorf asks.
"Yep," Thalia says.
"Woah, you broke into their house? Not cool," Ethan says, fiddling with his eyepatch.
"I had to set up a newer security system because of these idiots!" Beckendorf says.
"Don't forget what they just said to Leo," Nico says.
"Charlie, I'll handle this one. Leo's like family to me too," Silena says.
"Who are you people?" One of the popular people asks.
"Oh, I'm Silena, the Sirens' official stylist and Leo's unofficial guardian," Silena says.
"I'm Beckendorf, Leo's older brother and legal guardian. I'm also the Sirens' tech guy," Beckendorf says.
"Leo Valdez is like family to the band and all of the workers. You mess with him, you mess with all of us. And trust me, you do not want to mess with us, because then you get the fanbases involved, and we take bullying very seriously. Do I make myself clear?" Silena says.
"Crystal," Rachel says.
"Good. Fix your makeup. Newsflash, nobody's face naturally that orange compared to their skin," Silena says, before turning and strutting towards her car.
"Leo, wanna go home?" Beckendorf asks.
"Yeah," Leo says.
"Get your stuff, Sil and I will sign you out. We're doing whatever you want to today," Beckendorf says, before turning and walking to the car.
"See you tonight," I say.
"Yeah. Movie marathon tonight after we finish our homework?" Piper says.
"You're on," Leo says, smiling sadly.
"You can fix up the toys I got the twins for Christmas. They're under my bed," Annabeth says.
"Thanks guys. See you back at the house," Leo says, grabbing his bag and walking out of the room.
"I hope he'll be okay," Calypso says, chewing nervously on her lip.
"He'll be okay," Hazel says.
"How do you know?" Calypso asks.
"We've all kind of developed a thick skin after the shit we've seen," Thalia says, glancing at the door.
"I guess we have all seen some pretty terrible things," Annabeth says.
"I'd love to talk about this more, but I'd rather do it when we're alone. I'd rather not have the entire student body knowing our deepest darkest secrets," Nico says.
"The empty room?" Calypso says.
"Fine, let's go," Jason says. We walk in silence and Annabeth pushes the door open.
"Alright, let's get this over with," Frank says.
"So, Jason and I have an alcoholic mom and a manwhore of a father," Thalia says.
"My parents split up my older brother and I as part of their divorce. I didn't see him again for another five years," Annabeth says.
"My mom has severe PTSD and I watched my grandmother's house burn down. I haven't seen my grandma since, and we don't know if she's alive," Frank says.
"I watched the roof collapse on top of my mother and I'm a survivor of neglect," Hazel says.
"I've dealt with two poor father figures and I'm a survivor of domestic violence. I also almost got kidnapped, nearly got sold into prostitution when I was twelve, nearly got Annabeth murdered that same day, and I almost got gambled away once," I say.
"I told you something was off about that woman, but no, you insisted that she was just a lonely old woman!" Annabeth says.
"How was I supposed to know that she was a psycho? I didn't know that she had a shrine devoted to my dad until Grover had already knocked her out!" I say, rolling my eyes.
"We almost got killed!" Annabeth says.
"But we didn't," I say.
"Need I remind you that I've literally broken ribs trying to save your dumb ass?" Annabeth says.
"That was one time!" I protest.
"They'll be at this all day," Thalia grumbles.
"Anyways, I've almost been kidnapped several times by people looking for ransom money from my dad," Piper says.
"My mom and sister died in a car crash, and I was the only one who was available to identify their bodies," Nico says.
"My mom left us as soon as she was released from the hospital when I was born," Calypso says.
"We're like a little support system. If you need anything, come to any of us," Annabeth says.
"Yeah. We're a family, after all. We look out for each other," Hazel says.
"I thought family was who you're related to by blood," Calypso says.
"Family is more that just blood. Blood may make you related, but loyalty is what makes you a family," Annabeth says.
"Yeah. Not all of us are related by blood, but we're a family, and that's what matters," I say.
"And let's be real. Percy's the most annoyingly loyal one out of all of us," Piper says.
"Yeah, and according to Leo, I'm the responsible one, who happens to be dating the terrible influence," Annabeth chuckles.
"I'm not that bad!" I protest.
"Waterland. CC's Spa. the island. . Look, the point is, you can't be trusted to make plans," Annabeth says.
"Yeah, but I tended to follow the rules when we were younger. You can't argue with that," I say.
"Yeah, you followed the rules when you weren't nearly getting us all killed," Annabeth says.
"Okay! Can you two stop arguing?" Jason says.
"Sorry Jay," I say.
"I'm not. You should know that we argue all the time. Have you learned nothing in the however many years you've known us?" Annabeth says, crossing her arms.
"I hoped that you two would grow out of it," Jason sighs.
"Our parents have been fighting for nearly twenty five years. We can hold a serious grudge," I say.
"Don't forget the merger," Annabeth groans.
"Ah yes, however could I forget that my father is trying to use us as a business opportunity?" I say. The bell rings.
"See you at lunch," Calypso says, slipping her bag over her shoulders and dashing off.
"Alright. We've got three minutes to get across the school to history, or else we're history! Run!" Thalia says, glancing at Piper's watch before sprinting out of the room. Annabeth sighs and jogs out after her. I walk calmly down to math and settle in as Frank collapses into his seat. Nico skids in just as the bell rings, and stumbles a little as he abruptly stops running.
"You made it, man," I say, reaching back to high five him as he sits down.
"Good morning, class. Put your books down, we're having a pop quiz," The teacher says.
"Oh shit," I mutter.
"You guys'll write my eulogy, right?" Nico groans.
"You guys need to write my eulogy. I'm literally dating a genius. I'll fail, and she's gonna drag me into the library. You'll never see me again," I say.
"We can do this guys. What did Annabeth always say?" Frank says.
"Umm… keep a level head?" Nico whispers.
"No! Well, yes, that would technically apply here, but she always told us when we were studying for finals 'if you focus on what could go wrong, you'll never get anything right'!" Frank says. The teacher drops quizzes onto our desks. I can do this. Focus Percy! Oh, hey, I know how to solve this problem! Focus on what I know, instead of what I don't. I'm going to pass this test, I think.
"Time's up! Pass 'em forward!" The teacher calls. I silently pass my test forward and sigh as I glance over at Frank and Nico. Nico's got his head in his hands, Frank's slamming his head onto his desk repeatedly, and the rest of the class is no better. The only people who look calm are me, one of the mathletes, and Khione, who sits right behind the smartest kid in class. I suspect that she's cheated, I think.
"Alright class, now today we will be returning to the pythagorean theorem. You may know what the formula is, but do you know what it means?" the teacher says.
"A squared plus b squared equals c squared," Khione says, popping her gum.
"That is the formula, Ms Thompson. Does anyone know what it actually means?" the teacher says.
"I think it has something to do with congruent shapes on the outside edges of a triangle?" I say.
"You would be correct, Mr. Jackson," the teacher says, turning to draw a diagram on the board.
"Who are you and what did you do with Perseus Jackson?" Nico hisses.
"How'd you know that?" Frank asks.
"Annabeth. She'd constantly mention it when she'd come over in like freshman year or something," I whisper out of the corner of my mouth.
"And you remembered? How? You can barely remember to brush your hair in the morning!" Nico hisses.
"I don't know! I just remember random things that smartass has mentioned!" I hiss.
"You lovestruck weirdo," Nico mutters. I feel my face heat up, but I do nothing.
"Okay class! Your homework is page 207, numbers 5-30!" the teacher says a few minutes later. The bell rings, and we rush out of class.
"Speaking of lovestruck weirdos, Zhang, when are you gonna ask your girl out?" I ask, punching his arm.
"I don't know! Every time I try, I start to panic, and I can't get the words out!" He hisses.
"You can do it, Beastie! There's nobody I'd trust with her more than you," Nico says, waving as Thalia, Piper, Annabeth, Hazel, and Callie pass by.
"And, as much as I love you two, I cannot handle this anymore. You'd be great together," I say. Nico gives me a funny look. "I've spent too much time with girls." I shrug, with a small smile on my face.
"But what if she says no?" Frank asks as Jason comes up to us.
"Are you serious? Are you actually serious right now?" Nico says, punching Frank's arm between every word.
"Honestly, what is my life right now?" I ask, looking up at the ceiling with my hands in the air. It's so obvious that they like each other!
"You're kidding me right? It's Hazel. She's got a successful music career, and probably has her pick of any successful Hollywood teen actors!" Frank says.
"I'm going to lose my mind," Nico mutters.
"I swear you two are worse than Percy and Annabeth, and they were tap dancing around each other for three full years! Four, if you count last year!" Jason says.
"They freaking kissed twice before they were even together, and I'm still angry at how oblivious they were!" Nico says. I rub my neck awkwardly.
"Oh, no. it was more than two times, wasn't it?" Jason says.
"How many, Jackson? How many times before you manned up?" Nico says.
"Err… I think it was like four or five times?" I say, looking at the ground.
"Mi dispiace, cosa?" Nico says.
"Neeks, you slipped into Italian again," Jason whispers.
"My bad. But, four or five times? Dear God, man! Why the hell did it take you so long?" Nico says.
"Look, I did it. At least I'm not Sparky over there. Does anyone know what the hell is going on with him and Pipes?" I say.
"Yeah, what on earth is going on with you two? Are you a thing or not?" Frank says. Jason gives us a withering look.
"I don't know! See you next period," Jason says, dragging Frank into their next class.
"What is up with the four of us and taking forever to ask people out? Although, at this point I'm not above locking Frank in a room with her until they actually get together," I grumble.
"I get what you mean, but we need to let it happen when they're ready. I'm not pulling a McLean on their asses," Nico says.
"But it's so boring," I whine, flopping into my seat.
"How do you think the rest of us felt watching you and Owl Head tiptoe around each other for three years?" Nico mutters, slamming his forehead onto his desk.
"Nope! You are not going to slam your head on that desk anymore, Death Breath! Do you know what Thalia would do to me if I let you hurt yourself?" I hiss, pulling Nico's hair so that he is forced to lift his head off of the desk. As I release him, his hair falls back over his eyes. how does he see through that? Hazel's gonna make him cut it, I think.
"Why are you staring at me?" Nico asks.
"You do know that the girls will be forcing you to cut that mop of hair before we head to LA, right? And how do you even see out of that?" I say.
"I don't," he replies. I look down at my wrist and see two rubber bands. I think that'd work.
"Put your hair up with this," I say, giving him a rubber band.
"Why do you even have rubber bands on you?" Nico asks, raising an eyebrow as he pulls his hair back.
"Keeps me from falling asleep in class," I reply, snapping the one still on my wrist. Nico squints, looking around at the brightly lit classroom.
"It's weird being able to see everything in the room," Nico says.
"Welcome to being like the rest of us, Death Breath," I chuckle.
"But seriously, this is a pretty good idea. I'll probably end up wearing my hair in a ponytail a lot more often," Nico says, brushing one short chunk of hair behind his ear.
Rachel and Drew walk in, and they stare at Nico with an odd expression on their of them gulps, and they both keep staring at him, even though they bump into a few things. Drew holds up her phone, and a small shutter noise comes from her general direction.
"Oh god. I think they like the ponytail, Neeks. What have we done?" I whisper.
"Oh well, it's functional. I'll cut my hair eventually," he says.
"Oh god, Thalia's gonna freak," I snicker. The teacher comes in, and we go completely silent. I immediately zone out, knowing that Annabeth will just go over it with me later. I wonder how Mom's doing?
(Sally's POV)
I lay back on the couch with my laptop and an apple. I figure that this pregnancy would be a perfect time to work on my book, but all I can focus on is the baby. Will I be a good parent? I made so many mistakes with Percy. At least I have help now, I think, thinking of Percy and Paul. Maybe I did do good, I think, thinking of how great Percy turned out. He's a good boy. I trust him, even though he's a bit oblivious and his loyalty gets him into trouble sometimes, I know he'll be a great older brother. He's already done a pretty good job with Tyson. I already know that Annabeth's going to be a great daughter-in-law and an excellent sister-in-law, even though they're only sixteen, I've never seen such love in two people who aren't at least engaged. Besides, the goofy grin on his face every time Annabeth talks to him or even comes up in conversation makes me think that they might just make it all the way. Oh god. Get to the bathroom quick Sally! I stagger to the bathroom, hands clasped over my mouth. I barely make it to the toilet.
"Is everything okay Sally?" Triton calls.
"Yeah, I'll be okay!" I call back, turning on the sink and washing out my mouth before going to the fridge and getting some Gatorade. I plop back on the couch, groaning. "This baby's going to be the death of me," I groan. Was Percy this bothersome?
"Percy's mommy!" Tyson cries, flinging himself onto the couch beside me.
"Hey, Tyson. What's up?" I say.
"I heard you throwing up. Are you sick?" he asks, his huge brown eyes filled with concern. I'm going to tell him. If Percy trusts him, I should too. After all, he is family.
"Tyson, can you keep a secret from your parents?" I ask, ruffling his hair.
"Yes!" he says.
"Well, I'm having another kid," I whisper in his ear.
"You mean I'm going to have a playmate?" he says, smiling.
"Uh, it might be more like you with Annabeth's brothers," I say.
"Oh, okay! Annabeth's brothers are cool!" he says.
"Never change Tyson. Never change," I chuckle.
"Can we watch Spongebob?" he asks.
"Of course! When did you get into Spongebob?" I ask, changing the channel to Nickelodeon.
"My best friend back home recommended it!" he chirps.
"Ooh, what are they like?" I ask, happy that Tyson's putting himself out there.
"Her name's Ella. she's taller than me, and almost as smart as Anniebeth! She's really pretty, but everyone makes fun of her for reading big books," he says.
"I swear, you and Percy grow more alike every year," I giggle.
"How?" he says, staring intently at the television.
"You both are best friends with girls that love huge books and are super smart," I say, choosing to ignore the fact that that description is almost exactly how Percy described Annabeth to Poseidon nearly five years ago. Why do Poseidon's children all befriend genius girls? If Tyson ends up dating her, I'm going to actually call the press and tell them how all of Poseidon's kids have a thing for geniuses.
"Ooh, and she also loves the Sirens. She was really excited when I told her that my brother lived in the same town as them," Tyson says.
"Really? Do you think she'd be happy if you got her their autographs for Christmas?" I ask.
"Yes! She says that she likes them because of their message, whatever that means," Tyson says.
"Tyson, promise me one thing," I say.
"What is it Mrs. Percy's Mom?" he asks.
"You do know you can call me Sally or Mom if you want, right?" I ask.
"Sorry, !" he says. It's an improvement.
"Can you promise me that you'll stick up for Ella? Even if you think she can handle herself, it's always nice to have somebody in your corner," I say, thinking of all the times Annabeth and Percy would help each other. I remember having to call and explain to Frederick and Susan why Annabeth had detention several times.
"Yep! Ella's fun! I don't understand why people don't like her! Sometimes she reads me books she's gotten from the big kid part of the library!" he chirps. I laugh and he stares at me in confusion.
"Oh, sorry! You sounded like Percy eleven years ago. Wait, has it really been that long?" I say
"Wait, Percy was like me once? And Anniebeth was like Ella? I thought they always acted the way they did when I met them!" he says. Poseidon's kids, always so oblivious!
"Of course not! Annabeth would come over and read Percy books all the time, and he'd supply snacks," I say, smiling as I remember Percy staring at Annabeth in awe as she slowly worked her way through the first Harry Potter book.
"Really? Ella would love to know that a famous singer was like her once!" he says.
"Do you want to call her and talk to her?" I say, gesturing to the landline.
"Can I?" He asks, bouncing up and down with excitement.
"Go ahead. I bet she'd be excited to hear from you!" I say. He leaps over to the phone and dials a number.
"Hi Mrs Sybilline. It's Tyson. Is Ella home?" He flops onto the couch. "Hi Ella! How's life? Oh, I'm at my older brother's house. He's at school right now, so I'm hanging out with his mom. Or is it my stepmom? Annabeth says stepmom, but I'm not sure," the girl on the other side of the phone says something, but I can't tell what. "Oh Annabeth? I've known her for almost my entire life! She's my brother's best friend and girlfriend, and she's awesome! She's willing to read to me, plays all kinds of games with me, and gives me ice cream. If you want, I'll get you their autographs. My stepmom says that you remind her of Annabeth when she was younger." More chatter. "She's not like the evil stepmother in all those fairytales! Sally's awesome! Anyone who can put up with any of us for thirteen years on their own definitely has my respect. We kids of Poseidon aren't exactly easy to deal with."
"I'll say! Your father didn't even send a support check or offer any kind of help! Do you know how hard it is to raise a kid on three minimum wage jobs while writing a book? Your father should be lucky that I let him even get in contact with Percy after he forgot we existed for twelve years!" I grumble.
the girl speaks again, and I attempt to piece together what she's saying based off of Tyson's response. "My dad didn't tell us about her or Percy until four years ago. Apparently he cheated on Mom while she was pregnant with Triton. Mom and Sally are on pretty good terms, but between the both of them, if Dad just pulls this type of thing on us again, his reputation will be ruined." Ella talks again. "What's Percy like? He's cool! He's a way better big brother than Triton, and Mom gets along with him really well, especially considering how badly he reacted when he found out about us. Can't blame him, though. After years of thinking that his father didn't want him to stay or even provide financial help, only to find out that his father was not only alive, but had a separate family and he had two siblings he never knew about? That's gotta be tough. For some reason, he doesn't seem to have the famed Poseidon's Rage that the media talks about," he says, putting the phone on speaker.
"Oh, he does. He's just gotten very good at hiding it. Someone said something racist and sexist to his friends, and-" I shudder.
"Ty, your stepmom sounds like a saint. She deserves a gift basket for all the stuff she's dealt with without being recognized by your dad,"a sweet voice says.
"I don't hold grudges. Percy and I did just fine on our own. Besides, I went from having one son to three. Percy turned out alright. He's a bit of a momma's boy, but that's probably because I'm the one constant parental figure he's had in his life," I shrug.
"We don't deserve you, Sally. We're honestly lucky that you even let us be a part of Percy's life," Amphitrite says, sitting in the recliner with a mug of hot chocolate.
"It's unfair to deny the boys the right to see their brother, right? And besides, I'm glad that you don't blame me," I chuckle.
"Percy's a good boy, Sally. You did a great job with him," she says.
"I'm gonna get started on some cookies. Do you want any? I have to hide them from Percy so he doesn't eat them all, " I say, getting to my feet.
"Can I help? I want to learn how to make the famed Jackson cookies for Tyson when we're back home," Amphitrite says.
"Of course! These cookies are what kept Percy from going through that rebellious teenage phase," I say, washing my hands.
"How?" she asks.
"I sat him down and told him that I'd never make those cookies again if he didn't respect me and follow the rules. He never sassed me after that," I say.
"You truly are a saint, Sally. If only it were that easy with Triton. He keeps sneaking out and going to parties, and he doesn't come back until morning. I'm worried that this might catch up to him someday, and he'll die, or hurt himself, or get a girl pregnant," she sighs.
"Percy told me this morning that Triton came in just before he left for school with Annabeth. He also apparently slept with Percy's ex girlfriend, Rachel," I say.
"Oh, god. I'm so sorry! Is Percy angry?" she asks, with a hand slapped over her mouth.
"Either he's hiding it really well, or he doesn't care. He broke up with her for Annabeth, anyway," I say.
"Alright, but if Triton got that poor girl knocked up, I'm going to kill him," she mutters, cracking an egg into the bowl.
"I'm pretty sure Annabeth and Percy would kill them both," I say, pulling out a baking sheet.
"Oh, really? Why?" she asks.
"Rachel was one of the girls who harassed Annabeth, and Percy would follow Annabeth to the ends of the earth to make sure she and his friends were okay," I chuckle as she mixes the ingredients together.
"So if Rachel bullied-" she asks.
"Why did Percy date her? Some nonsense about trying to forget about Annabeth and his friends, because he didn't know if he'd ever see them again," I explain.
"And Annabeth isn't angry?" she says in shock.
"Oh she was at first, but he made it up to her," I say, placing the sheet of cookies in the oven. I wonder what they're doing now, I think.
(Annabeth's POV)
The bell rings, and we start heading for free period. Lunch was surprisingly uneventful, with nobody bothering us. The highlight was probably Thalia nearly having a heart attack when she saw that Nico had a small ponytail.
"Cmon! We've already gone over half the choreography, Sunshine!" Piper whines, shoving open the back doors to the auditorium.
.
"Fine. no more work on the plan for today. We're going to work almost all of free period tomorrow, though," Calypso sighs as we plop down on the stage.
"Does anyone else remember that song Thalia loved last year? What was it, Castle?" Hazel says, swinging her legs idly.
(Annabeth, Piper, Thalia, Hazel,All)
Sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise
Tired of all these cameras flashing, sick of being poised
Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it
Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it
I'm headed straight for the castle
They wanna make me their queen
And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying that I probably shouldn't be so mean
I'm headed straight for the castle
They've got the kingdom locked up
And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut
Straight for the castle
Oh, all of these minutes passing, sick of feeling used
If you wanna break these walls down, you're gonna get bruised
Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it
Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it
I'm headed straight for the castle
They wanna make me their queen
And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying that I probably shouldn't be so mean
I'm headed straight for the castle
They've got the kingdom locked up
And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shutStraight for the castle
There's no use crying about it
There's no use crying about it
There's no use crying about it
There's no use crying about it
I'm headed straight for the castle
They wanna make me their queen
And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying that I probably shouldn't be so mean
I'm headed straight for the castle
They've got the kingdom locked up
And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut
Straight for the castle
They wanna make me their queen
And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying that I probably shouldn't be so mean
I'm headed straight for the castle
They've got the kingdom locked up
And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut
Straight for the castle
"See Thals! We do listen to the music you like," I say, elbowing her.
"I've heard that song so much that the lyrics will be permanently ingrained in my memory," Piper grumbles.
"Pipes, it could be worse. At least it's not something awful," Hazel giggles.
"Girls, we need to talk," Thalia says, glancing at Frank.
"Jay, can you hold down the fort for a few minutes?" I ask.
"Of course," he replies. I push open the door, and we all sit down on the floor outside the auditorium.
"Hazel, we can't keep going on like this. You need to tell Frank," Piper says.
"I know. It's just, I'm worried. What if he doesn't feel the same way?" she says, biting her nails.
"Hazel, Frank would have to be blind to not notice how amazing you are!" Calypso says.
"And I'm pretty sure he's noticed," I say.
"What?" Hazel says, looking hopeful.
"Percy and I were talking-" I start.
"Oh, I'm sure you did a lot more than talking," Thalia interrupts.
"Why, I do believe you're correct, Miss Grace! Percy and I had a lovely time watching television in his house with his little brother!" I say, putting on a terrible British accent.
"So, no disgusting couple things?" Piper smirks.
"Anyways, Percy says that he's noticed Frank acting a bit weird when anyone mentions you or you go anywhere near him," I say.
"That's a good thing, right?" Hazel says.
"Yes. he blushes every time you get near him. I think that's good 'Zel," Thalia says.
"We should get back inside before somebody sees us," Calypso says, wincing as a loud crash comes from the room.
"Yeah. I don't know how much longer Sparky can hold out," Piper says. A loud thud. Shouts.
"I'm going to kill that Seaweed Brain," I growl, yanking open the door and stomping inside.
"Oh, shit. The girls are back," Percy says.
"Oh shit is right! .What on earth did you do?" Thalia says.
"Nothing, Nothing! I tripped and knocked over a chair. That thud was me putting it back in it's spot!" Nico says.
"Then why was there screaming?" Piper asks, crossing her arms.
"That was -err- me! Yeah! I saw an umm… spider?" Frank says.
"Nice try, Zhang," Thalia says.
"I won't pry," I shrug.
"Who are you and what have you done with Annabeth Chase?" Calypso says.
"I figure that they don't want to tell us for a reason," I explain.
"Oh thank god!" Percy whispers, slinging an arm over my shoulders. I smirk, and hum a tune under my breath.
"You do know that Tyson's probably rifling through your drawers right now, right?" I say, quietly enough that only Percy can hear me.
"Oh please, what do you take me for, an idiot? Don't answer that. Anyway, I turned my dresser around and shoved it against the wall before I left," he whispers.
"Aww, you can think," I say, playfully ruffling his hair.
"Wow. I hoped you'd be easier on me now that we're dating, but I guess not," he mutters.
"Oh, shut up. You know you love me," I smirk.
"Yeah, yeah," he whispers, rolling his eyes.
"So, if you two are done whispering, I need to borrow the nerd," Thalia says, glaring at her science textbook.
"I'll be right back Seaweed Brain," I whisper, standing on my tiptoes to peck his cheek and then walking over to Thalia.
"Can you help me with this? I don't understand momentum," she grumbles.
"Okay, so momentum refers to the quantity of motion that an object has. If an object is in motion, it has momentum," I say.
"Well, I get that, but how do I solve problems with momentum?" she says.
"You know how to solve for mass and velocity, correct?" I say.
"Yes. Is that all it is?" she asks.
"Momentum equals mass times velocity. It's that simple," I say.
"Thanks Annie," she says.
"Anytime. And you know, I think you'd look really good with one of those side shaved things. What is it called again? Oh, yeah! An undercut!" I say.
"I'll consider it," she chuckles.
"Pip! When's your dad coming back from wherever he's shooting that movie?" I ask.
"He's in Australia, and he won't be back until April," Piper says, with her head in Jason's lap. Hazel is nervously talking to Frank, and Nico is telling Percy some sort of story, gesticulating wildly.
"He better get you something, or at least spend time with you, or I'm going to kick his little Hollywood ass," I say.
"Woah, Annie! Chill. You're only 5'9! He's got several inches on you and he's still really in shape from his King of Sparta days!" Piper says.
"Piper, your dad left you with assistants almost your entire life. He better make some kind of effort to be a real father," I growl, plopping down next to Percy,who is slumped against the wall.
"I think Kelp Head's finally rubbing off on you, Owl Head," Thalia says as she twists Nico's ponytail around a bandaged finger and he moves his hand under her chin. Percy and I roll our eyes.
"Pinecone Face, If you and Death Breath are going to start making out, please find someplace else to do it. We don't need to add the auditorium to the list of places we've all defiled with our dirty, dirty sinning," Percy says. They spring apart, and I raise an eyebrow.
"But- we- weren't!" Thalia stammers.
"Yeah, Thals, and I'm the queen of England," I snort, pulling my phone out of my bra.
"I will never understand how you can get away with that," Percy says, staring at me in shock.
"Girls clothing has next to no pocket space. It's easier to keep your phone in your bra, because it's really obvious when somebody's trying to steal it," I say, before groaning when I see that Mom is trying to call me.
"I'll let you handle Athena, since she doesn't want to castrate you and feed you to the wolves," Percy shudders. I accept the call, and silently pray to all the gods I've ever heard of that this won't end badly.
"Hello?" I say.
"Ah, Annabeth. It's your mother," she responds coolly.
"Yes, Mom, I'm aware. What did you need?" I say.
"I called to ask you what you were planning to do for winter break, because I want you to come spend it with me," she says.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I have to babysit my brothers all week, and then crews are filming our first Christmas back in Mystic, and then I'm doing a lot of music stuff," I say, rambling desperately in an attempt to avoid her asking about Percy.
"How about after Christmas?" she asks.
"My half brothers are staying with us all break, so I can't," I say.
"Did you break up with Barnacle Beard's son yet?" She asks. DAMMIT!
"Well, err, no. Percy and I haven't broken up," I say nervously.
"What? Why not?" Mom yells. I cringe.
"Well, we're pretty happy together," I say.
"The Demon's asking about us?" Percy says.
"Can you be quiet Perce?" I ask, slapping his shoulder.
"What was that?" Mom asks, her tone dangerously level.
"Oh sorry, Percy was being really loud. And before you ask why he's near me, we're at school," I say.
"Since you can't come out here, I think I'll drive out to Mystic for the holidays," She says.
"Oh,no Mom, I hardly think that will be necessary! Where would you sleep? All of our bedrooms are full until January," I say, panicking.
"I'll figure it out, Annabeth," she says.
"Ooh! I almost forgot! Poseidon wanted to talk to you about putting the feud behind you," I say.
"What?" she says. I can hear the anger in her voice.
"Now that Percy and I are umm… dating, he figures that the feud isn't really necessary. He said something about using Percy and I as a sort of bridge between your companies?" I say, getting up and walking into the empty hallway.
"And why would he want to end the feud?" Mom says.
"Look, Mom, I know you don't understand why I chose him, but he makes me really happy. Your feud with his father is really difficult to work around, but I want to try. We want to try. I know you don't like Percy, for whatever reason, but when your childish feud gets in the way of your children's happiness, there's a problem," I say.
"Childish!" Mom huffs.
"Yes, Mom. this feud is childish. Percy's a great guy, but you refuse to accept it because you're angry at his father for something that technically wasn't even his fault! Until you get your life together and stop living in the past, don't expect me to pick up your calls," I say, before hanging up. Percy pokes his head out of the door and spots me nearly tearing my hair out in frustration.
"Babe, are you okay?" he asks, walking over to me.
"Mom refuses to accept the fact that we're dating," I groan, burying my face in his shirt.
"Hey, hey. We can get through it, I promise," he whispers.
"She also insists on coming out to see me for winter break," I choke out.
"I'll try and impress her, then, I guess," he says.
"Percy, you don't have to do this," I say.
"Wise Girl, I want to. Your mom means a lot to you, and I want her to like me," he says.
"Percy," I start, leaning away from him.
"Annabeth, listen. I love you, but it kind of sucks knowing that your mother wants to actually kill me for daring to hold your hand," he says.
"I know. I love you too. I tried so hard to get her to accept it, but in the end, I had to give her an ultimatum. At this point, she can either end the feud, or lose me forever. I can't do this anymore," I sob.
"Beth, you didn't have to risk losing your relationship with your mother for me," he says.
"I had to. If mom won't accept us, then I don't need her in my life," I say.
"I don't deserve you," he says.
"Don't sell yourself short," I say.
"I'm serious! You're willing to sacrifice everything for me, when it'd be a lot safer and easier to just date some famous actor or model or something," he sighs.
"Percy, I love you, and I'm not leaving you for some boring Hollywood superstar. Just accept it," I say.
"Sorry, it's just, Triton keeps saying that you're gonna realize how-" he starts. The announcement system turns on.
"Attention students! Please get to the nearest classroom! We are in a lockdown situation! This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a-" Our principal's voice says, before getting cut off by several loud popping noises and screams. The system goes dead silent, and Percy and I dash into the auditorium, where our friends are staring at the loudspeaker nervously.
"Attention students and staff of Goode High School," A raspy voice slurs. Percy cringes. "This school is under our control now, but I'll let everyone free if a certain punk turns himself in to me. Who, you may ask? Perseus, or as you probably know him, Percy Jackson." the system cuts off, and Percy cringes again.
"Shh, It'll be fine," I whisper.
"I should have known! How could I have been such a goddamn idiot?" he shouts, kicking a chair.
"Percy, beating yourself up won't help anyone. We need a plan," I say.
"Who was that man, and why did he want Percy?" Calypso asks, her voice shaking along with her hands.
"You know how Percy said he was a victim of domestic abuse?" I say, as Percy clenches his jaw and looks away.
"No," She gasps.
"Yep. My ex step dad is holding us hostage," Percy says, nodding grimly.