Twists and Turns Chapter 12: Fearless, a percy jackson and the olympians fanfic

Twists and Turns

Chapter 11

Annabeth PoV

Oh dear.

A water park?

With superstars and my best friends?

Not a good combination.

I looked over at Percy, and he had the same horrified look I had, but none of us had the heart in us to say no.

I looked back at Emma, who was practically glowing with happiness. Which was one of the reasons we said yes.

My adoptive daughter squealed and ran over to our side and hugged us both.

"Thanks Mommy! Thank youw Daddy!" A few others heard this and stared at us, probably thinking of why we were parents at this young age.

I blushed the dark shade of my dress and Percy's cheeks filled with color.

"Okay, calm down, tiger." I said, my lips rising into a grin, "We still need to ask the others, then we need to plan where we are going."

Emma nodded vigorously.

"Okay, finish your vegetables and we can play Sugar Rush."

I have never seen a three-year-old eat a burger and salad - and not choke - faster than Emma, who just devoured her meal.

After we finished our meals, Percy and I said (with a funny accent like in Adventure Time) in sync, "Check pleeeeeaaase."

We looked at each other and I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. Who knew super stars were such children? Well, I never really paid attention.

A waiter came and gave us our check, and as I was getting my wallet out, Percy took out his and paid our bill with a ten dollar tip.

The man gave a smile and a polite nod and left.

I gave Percy a look that said what-did-you-do-I-was-supposed-to-do-that-so-don't-do-it-again.

He ignored it.

"Ready to play?" he asked Emma.

She nodded.

******A few hours later******

"Did you brush your teeth?"

"Uh huh!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Let me smell."

"No!"

"Come on, open your mouth."

She shook her head 'no'.

"If you brushed your teeth you wouldn't be afraid."

Her mouth was still shut.

"Okay, I'll give you five minutes to brush your teeth. Ready? Go!"

She raced off towards the bathroom.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

I took a seat on the armchair and brought out 'Divergent' and continued re-reading it for the 3rd time.

Percy left about 10 minutes after dropping us off. I remember the fit Emma set off after she heard this.

"I don't want youw to go!" Emma whined for the 5th time.

"I don't wanna go, but I have some things to do okay?" Percy replied.

"But youw will see us tomowow wight? To talk about the twip?" she looked at him with her big grey-blue eyes.

He crumpled, "Yes, I'll just talk with Mommy here and we will plan something okay?"

"Owkay."*

When he left he gave Emma a big hug and a kiss to her forehead, right between her eyebrows.

Then he turned towards me and he also gave me a hug.

It was a little awkward at first with him being nearly a head taller and us not knowing where to put our arms. After a moment, the position we were in – my arms around his torso, my cheek pressed against his chest, right above his heart (which was fast paced, like mine), and his arms around my hips – is confortable. I regretted letting go, and I think – or hoped – that he did too.

Emma stared expectantly at us, "Are youw guys gowing to kiss owr not?"

Percy and I's eyes met and we looked away quickly.

"Uh, um, Emma, we, uhh…." Percy stuttered, and I didn't need to look to know he was blushing.

"We… aren't married." I blurted out, feeling my face heat up even more.

She just looks at us, "Silena said youw don't have to be married to kiss."

I silently curse Silena.

"And Mommy kissed Daddy at da hospital."

"So it's okay to just kiss on the cheek?" I ask her.

"Or anywhere on tha face!" she said.

I turn to look at Percy, who is still staring at the ground blushing.

"Come here, Casanova." I mutter and pull him closer so I can put my lips to his blushing cheek.

I have to tiptoe to reach his cheek, and Percy bends down so I can get better access to his face.

His cheek is warm and soft. It looks like his cheek would be rough since he has a strong jawline, but his cheek isn't rough. Well, not really rough.

I thought it was softer than anything on his face, but still, I wanted to move my lips and see if there was another softer place on his face. But I hold myself back.

I remove my lips and he bends down to kiss my cheek.

When his lips touch my cheek, a silent shiver runs down my spine; his lips were nice and warm and soft as a feather.

That was the first time he kissed me (kinda).

I was wrong; there was a softer place on his face.

Long after he left, I could still feel his mouth soft mouth on the side of my face.

Now, I lift my hand and place my fingertips softly on the part of my cheek he kissed.

Then Emma appeared in my peripheral vision.

She rushes over to my seat and sits on my lap.

My daughter opens her mouth for me to smell.

I take a sniff and smell the minty Colgate toothpaste, but I fake it being stinky.

"Eeewww!" I say, "You didn't brush your teeth." I give her a mock outraged look, and Emma, being the smart girl she is, catches on.

She then gives me her own fake angry look, which consisted of a frown, dawn eyebrows and hands on her hips.

"I did! Feel my toothbrush then!"

"You could have just put in under the sink and not brush your teeth."

She huffed and crossed her arms and stuck her lower lip out.

Her expression made me crack.

I laughed whole-heartedly and the little girl in my lap joined in.

"I believe you, Emma, and now it's time for bed." I told her.

"But I don't want to!" whined Emma, and she tried to wiggle off my lap, so I put my arms around her and picked her up.

"You need you sleep. Tomorrow you can come with me to my shop."

She looked at me, "Youw hawe a shop?"

I nodded, "A book shop; it's where I work." And I have to get more jobs now so I can pay for Emma, and for when she goes to school. But I wasn't going to tell a tree-year-old that.

Said three-year-old yawned and put her head on my shoulder.

I opened her bedroom door and set her down on her plain white twin bed.

I put her favorite stuffed animal, a pink dolphin, next to her and kissed Emma's forehead, "Good night, and don't let the bed bugs bite."

I reached over and turned on the sky blue starfish shaped nightlight Percy bought for Emma today.

It bathed the pale grey walls a light blue color, which reminded me that I needed to ask what color Emma wanted for her room.

I looked around the mostly empty room.

All there was in the bedroom was a window, the twin bed, and the bedside table.

You could look out into the streets from the window, and the fire escape.

I took a seat on the window seat.

Eight floors down, the streets of Manhattan still buzz with life.

Cars and motorcycles zip from avenue to street to boulevard, around corners and across bridges. Horns and engines can be heard from all over the island. Lights glow from tall skyscrapers and business buildings. Houses that store families are dark and children sleep, pursued by dreams about happy things. Or nightmares, but there is usually someone there for comfort.

I look over at Emma, who is now on her side and hugging the dolphin; which is one of the only things that she has from her birth parents. Her face is pale against her dark hair. Her mouth is slightly parted, but not big enough for drool to leak out. Her face holds pure innocence, tinted a little dark with her past, and now there is no way to remove that dark tint.

The past is the past. We can't change it, no matter how much we want to.

I think back to that fateful day when my mom disappeared.

I was seven and me and my Mom went to a clothing shop, which was empty except for the cashier.

"Do you like this one?" Athena, my mom, asked 7-year-old me, holding a white fluffy winter coat, since it was the beginning of December.

It was snowing lightly, which was a little different from what I was used to.

Fredrick, my dad, my mom, and I moved to New York 2 years ago, but I still wasn't used to the ice cold snow.

Before younger me could answer, the doors burst open and men in all black came in.

Seriously, black trousers, black sweater, black coat, black cap, black scarf, black bandana, black glasses, black shoes, black socks, black gloves.

Black guns.

Mom's grey eyes went as wide as saucers.

She pushed me back into the fitting room, "Don't get out no matter what okay? I love you." She kissed my forehead.

"Mommy? What's going on?" I asked, very sacredly.

"Don't leave this room until the police get here, okay baby?"

I nodded, "I love you, too, Mommy."

She smiled sadly at me and gave me a hug. Then she was gone, and I was alone in the dark room.

Over the course of 5 minutes, I heard gunshots and screams form my mother, but when the police arrived and I looked out, the men were gone, and so was my mother.

I felt something wet slide down my cheek; a tear.

I look up and blink back tears.

When I am positive they wouldn't leak out, I get up and go take another cold shower, change into my owl pajamas, set my alarm for 6 o'clock in the morning, check the doors are locked, then I take a moment to clean up the place a bit, then I go to my room and try to sleep.

It doesn't come. At least not easily.

I sit up and turn on a lamp and take out my purple guitar.

Whenever I can't sleep, I always play my guitar; it soothes me.

I play a few notes, and then I play a song.

A Taylor Swift song.

Taylor Swift

Fearless

Somethin' bout the way
The street looks when it's just rained
There's a glow off the pavement
You walk me to the car
And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there
In the middle of the parking lot, yeah
Oh yeah

I play and sing softly, so not to disturb anyone else.

We're drivin' down the road
I wonder if you know
I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now
But you're just so cool
Run your hands through your hair
Absent mindedly makin' me want you

As I think of these lines, I could only think of how Percy runs his hands through his hair.

And I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

I was in one of my best dresses tonight.

So baby drive slow 'Til we run out of road
In this one horse town I wanna stay right here
In this passenger seat you put your eyes on me
In this moment now capture it, remember it

Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

Oh Oh

Well you stood there with me in the doorway
My hands shake I'm not usually this way but
You pull me in and I'm a little more brave
It's a first kiss, it's flawless, really something,
It's fearless

The part of my face where Percy's lips touched burned.

Oh yeah

Cause I don't know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance
In a storm in my best dress, fearless

Oh oh, oh yeah

After I play the last notes, sleep catches up to me.

I zip my guitar back into its case, and lie on my bed, and I give into sleeps grasp.

But before I fall asleep, I think to the time when Percy kissed my cheek and I kissed his. He seemed flustered, but why? He kissed many others, right? I mean, there are even pictures of him kissing fake, plastic, bimbos like Khione.

Why was he blushing to kiss me? My cheek?

My last conscious thought, which I think was so crazy it must've been the tieredness, was:

Maybe he actually likes me.

Then there is just black. I enter the lands of the dreams.

A/N: There, finished, done, fin. No cliffy either.

SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! I had a lot of things to do, and I left my laptop at home when I went to the beach.