Chapter XXV: We Fight Alongside Our Bodyguards

Rating: T

Word Count: 3,400+

A/N: I wasn't planning to update today, but I decided to do it because I want to conclude this story during these two free weeks I have. Hi! Well, I don't have much to say. I just hope this chapter doesn't have many mistakes (I didn't check it very well) and that you don't hate me because of them. Only three chapters more and this is over! Happy reading!

I'm not sure which feeling is stronger inside me while carrying Annabeth's and my luggage towards the parking lot: Excitement or fear. The thought of spending a whole week in Boston with the love of my life at my side causes my heart to work slower. Even though we won't be alone, I'm sure the following seven days will be perfect for us.

At the same time, I feel scared of leaving the security of our homes. What if something happens during this trip? I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to Annabeth. It was me, after all, the one who suggested leaving New York.

She doesn't seem to notice my worried expression as she tugs my car's trunk open; there's a large smile plastered on her face, and every time our eyes meet she gives me a toothy smile. It's evident she loves going out of the city.

"I can't wait to be there already," she says, helping me stuff our belongings in the Maserati's trunk. "Even though I love New York, I like visiting other cities. It's nice to forget about your daily routine for a couple of days."

I nod, agreeing with her. A hundred and sixty-eight hours free from training, from staying at home like every morning when there's no school and from watching movies until getting bored and falling asleep. "The best part is that I get to spend each minute with you," I say, smiling. "Aren't you excited about that?"

"Uh…" She starts scratching on her nape, giving a few steps backwards. When she notices that my smile is gone she smirks. "I'm just joking! Of course that's the best part. I'll never get tired of spending time with you. Much less now, that you've been so sweet with me after all that's happened. I'll never stop thanking life for putting you in my way. Who would've thought I'd fall in love with my training partner?"

"Since the day we met I've liked you," I admit, removing a lock of hair from her face. "You've been in my head since the moment when your shoes made you lose balance and I caught you." Suddenly, I start laughing, remembering that moment. It's funny now that months have passed.

"You know, I'm starting to change my mind. Maybe spending time with you is a bit annoying." Her eyes become thin slits, and she turns around, giving me her back. I grin even when she's not watching me and shut the car's trunk. She shrugs after I wrap my arms around her body, freeing herself.

"I'm joking. You know that." I place a kiss on her cheek. She nods after a while, turning around to face me. Her hands are placed on my thorax, and her lips are on mine.

"I'll just forgive you because I'm about to laugh about you. Remember that night when you received a birthday wedgie?" Just like she said she'd do, she starts laughing like a madwoman would do. "Oh my, you should've seen your face! I never thought someone's underwear could stretch so much! You know what my favorite part was? The one when everyone said, 'Aw, the boy's wearing boxers with smiling fishes!'"

She continues laughing, but I don't find the things she's saying amusing. In fact, my cheeks turn pink, and I don't know if it's because I'm angry or embarrassed. "Mom gifted me those," I mutter, not knowing what to say. Afterwards, I turn on my heels and face the tall building across the street.

"'I'm joking. You know that.'" The way she mimics me causes my skin to turn pinker. Something tells me my face is colored hot pink. I ignore her even when her arms are wrapped around my chest and her cheek is perched on my back. As I analyze my surroundings, my stare falls upon a silver-colored Honda Civic parked a couple of blocks away. There is a couple inside, and their gazes don't separate from us.

One of my car's windows reflects my face, and I can see that all the color has been drained from my skin. Are those two spying on us? Suddenly, I regret having invited Annabeth to go out of the city. Is it too late to cancel our plans?

As if reading my thoughts, Annabeth's hands start caressing on my chest, trying to soothe me. "Don't worry," she says. "They are the people that will guard our security. In brief: They're our bodyguards. The man's name is Ryder, and the woman's is Lissa. They're married and act as a normal couple whenever it is needed to hide."

"Oh." I don't know what to say, but now I feel better. The man, Ryder, looks pretty terrifying if you ignore his expensive sunglasses and nice haircut. Lissa, the woman, looks like a normal girl looks, though something tells me she isn't delicate and won't have mercy if someone attacks us. I'm sure they'll keep some bad guys out of our way. "It'll feel strange to have people going everywhere we go. I should get used to it, though. Once I become President of the States there'll be dozens of bodyguards working for me."

Annabeth lets out a loud laugh, and I grin. "Yeah, right. Dreaming doesn't cost anything. Why don't we stop talking and set off for Boston?"

"Because Thalia and Luke haven't come back." For the first time in the past minutes I recall that Luke and my cousin exist. About fifteen minutes ago they said they'd go and get their things, but they haven't come back. "I wonder what's taking them so long."

"As much as I love the idea of them being together, we should go and tell them that we need to go. I can't wait to leave." She takes her arms off my body, placing a quick kiss on the back of my neck, and puts her hand in mine. "Let's go."

I let her drag me towards the building in which I live. Any of the neighbors is awake right now; the lobby is completely empty as we cross it. If we weren't going out of the city I'd be asleep, too. It's shucking Saturday. No one wakes up early on Saturday.

To our surprise, we find my apartment completely empty. Luke and Thalia are nowhere to be seen, and their luggage is gone as well. I would think they're not here if sounds weren't coming from one of the bedrooms: Luke's. Someone is laughing.

"We've been waiting for them to leave and they're here laughing?" Annabeth asks. "Those two will hear me now."

As we close the space between Luke's bedroom and us, the sound of Luke's and Thalia's laughter becomes louder. And now I can hear another sound. It goes like: tsk, tsk, tsk… When Annabeth reaches to turn the knob I realize where that sound is coming from. I try to stop her from doing something, but it's too late. The door opens, and we find my cousin and Luke kissing each other.

Okay, if you've never found someone of your family kissing with your almost brother you don't know what being in an awkward situation is. I don't know what startles me the most: The fact that Luke and Thalia are together, or that he's got no shirt on. Both of them are frozen in the middle of the room, clearly startled by our arrival.

Annabeth's body is tense at my side. I can tell she's as surprised as me, and I can read her expression: She's regretting having opened the door. Everyone's stare moves. My green eyes switch from Luke's blue eyes to Thalia's icy-blue. Annabeth's gray ones do the same, and both of them reply to our gazes, their skin reddening.

No one knows what to say. I don't know what to say? What does someone say when you find yourself in a situation like this? Thalia starts dusting her clothes while Luke takes his shirt from the floor. Trying to rip the tension in the place, I grin and say, "Uh, i-it's great to switch places. How does it feel to be interrupted during the best moment of your life? That's what both of you did to Annabeth and me various times."

The air around us becomes lighter, and Annabeth smiles. "Hey, it's true! We just switched places," she says, though her smile vanishes. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt, Luke Castellan?"

Defending Luke, Thalia chimes in. "Hey, this is none of your business. What you saw doesn't concern you."

"It does," I say, raising an eyebrow. "It's happening in my place. Whatever happens here concerns me."

"Shut up, Percy! This doesn't concern you."

"I asked you a question, Castellan!" Annabeth shouts, crossing her arms.

"Shut up, Annabeth! We're old enough to make our own―" Thalia stops taking, her eyes opening so much they could fall. She thinks I didn't hear anything, but I did. Tilting my head to one side, I raise an eyebrow at her again.

"Excuse me, what were you saying?" I ask. "If I'm not wrong that's the same thing I've told you these past weeks. How dare you ask me not to do anything with Annabeth when you were about to―to, uh, do something with Luke?"

Without answering, Thalia grunts and exits the place, leaving Annabeth and I alone with Luke. He's trying to put his shirt on, but he's so nervous that it slips from his hands every five seconds. Annabeth walks towards him, her arms crossed over her chest. I think she'll punch him or something, and so does Luke, but instead she pushes weakly on his chest.

"Well done, tiger." She winks an eye and leaves the place, not noticing that his skin turns redder. The situation becomes even worse. Now I've got no idea what to do or say. I just saw him snogging with my cousin! He, who is almost part of my family, was kissing my cousin!

He starts walking to the entrance but stops when he's in front of me, as if scared of me. I do the only thing that comes to my mind: I pat his shoulder, nodding, and leave his room.

The following minutes pass very fast. Thalia and Annabeth are waiting in the car for the moment to leave, their mouths shut. Luke doesn't say anything, either, as he carries his and Thalia's luggage to the car's trunk. I climb in the driver's seat once everything is settled, and I can feel how tense everything is. The air is almost solid around us.

Annabeth connects my phone to the car, putting some music to calm everything down. The first song that plays is Womanizer, causing Thalia to feel better. Through the mirror I can see he grinning. "Nice song, little cousin."

I think she looked better without talking. Narrowing my eyes with a smile, I say, "Thanks, but it's not mine. It's Ashley's, Mrs. Castellan."

After glaring at me, she turns to stare at her window. Luke is trying not to look ashamed, but he's not doing a good job. I know Annabeth's holding back a grin. Shaking her head with a little smile, she switches the song to Close Your Eyes by Michael Bublé.

I turn the car on, thinking of Annabeth while listening to the song. Soon, I pull the car out of the parking lot, trying not to sing my favorite part of the song. You're one of a kind; Thank God you're mine.

. . .

Annabeth and I have to suck in air when our stares fall upon Dad's old apartment. We saw it before it was fixed, so we know how the place looked before. People that don't know how it was will probably think it's new. The walls were painted, the door was fixed, decorations were added and the floor looks better.

There's new furniture everywhere: A flat screen, bookshelves, a fridge, a stove, a microwave, couches, beds, blankets, pillows, hairdressers, etc. The place, like Dad said, is unrecognizable. The first thing I do is jump on the bed, feeling the new mattress beneath my body.

"We'll have a lot of fun with this thing." I grin, patting on the bed. A pillow appears from nowhere and hits me on the face. Annabeth, with her arms crossed, is glaring at me from the closet in which she's storing her clothes.

"You wish," she says, turning around. It takes us about half an hour to settle in the apartment. We sit on the bed, admiring the alien place around us, once our suitcases are empty. I really can't believe this place was once old and ugly. The old couch that damaged my back is gone, and the room looks much better, as if someone lived here.

Annabeth's obviously thinking the same as me, because she asks, "Percy, are you sure we're in the right place?"

I smile, taking her hand. "Positive."

"I think your father participated in Extreme Makeover." She laughs. "This place looks fantastic. There are more beds now, so you can sleep alone."

"Yeah, I can do that, but I won't."

"I'm happy to hear that." She gets on her feet, placing her hands on her waist. "Well, now that we're settled here, what do you want to do?" She glares at me before I can talk, and it surprises me how well she knows me; I was about to make one of my pervert jokes. "And I'm talking seriously."

Scratching my nape, I suggest the first thing that comes to my mind. "We could go ice-skating. I saw a place where we can do that on our way here. It's about ten minutes far from here. Then we could take a walk and buy some food to have dinner. What do you think?"

"That's a great plan―as long as the food belongs to Carl's Jr. Sorry. I've been dreaming with their burgers lately." She blushes, lowering her stare to the ground. "Anyways, I like your plan. Just let me change my clothes and we can leave. I bet the place will be freaking cold."

"Can I help you change your clothes?" I grin, leaping off the mattress. A second later, she's nowhere to be seen, and the bathroom's door slams shut. "Does that means: 'No'?"

. . .

"Ouch!" I exclaim as we sit in a bench. It may sound funny, but my butt is killing me. I regret having suggested to go ice-skating. We spent three shucking hours in that place and the only thing I did was fall on my butt. Meanwhile, Annabeth, who hadn't ice-skated before, was moving like a professional. She learned to skate very quickly. Kids were laughing at me for letting my girlfriend win me. My favorite part was when I stumbled and fell over the little devils. I'm sure they won't be near ice for a couple of months.

"For God's sake, stop being a girl." Annabeth rolls her eyes, leaning her head against my shoulder. "You've fallen on your ass harder while training and I've never heard you complain before."

"You don't know what I feel. You were so cool back there."

"Thanks."

We remain in silence, staring at the park around us. It's the same place where we kissed for the first time. The place is just like it was before, though the trees are naked because of the cold weather. The sun disappeared some minutes ago, and the moon along with lamps is illuminating the place.

I smile, memories flashing before my eyes. Here happened a very beautiful event. It's comforting to be happy after all the bad things that have happened. "This place reminds of a lot of things," I say.

"I know," Annabeth replies, separating her cheek from my shoulder. When our eyes meet I can see her months ago, when we were here during summer. Another smile flits across my face. I lean forward, removing hair from her face, and kiss her. After various months, I can't believe we're kissing here again.

I would've loved to stay the entire night kissing her, but something forces me to stop: A sound. As if we were in a movie, I turn my head like an alarmed doe towards the sound. If I'm not wrong, someone broke a branch or a dry leaf with his or her foot, but there's no one around the place. We're completely alone―except for Ryder and Lissa, who pretend to be a couple by doing what we do.

Suddenly, I feel alarmed. Wind starts blowing slowly, concealing various sounds―including the footsteps. "We should go," I say, getting on my feet. Just like me, Annabeth heard the sound; she agrees to follow me. Ryder's and my stare meet, and he understands we're leaving.

The apartment isn't far from here, so we didn't bother to bring my car―a big mistake. Something tells me we're being followed. If we had my car here we could use it to get away. Right now, as we walk through Boston, we're exposed.

The bodyguards walk behind us. Every fifteen seconds I glance to my sides. So far I haven't seen anyone.

Ryder and Lissa stand beside their Honda Civic as I fetch the apartment's key. We're almost there, I think, unlocking the door. As I reach to turn the knob, Annabeth releases my hand and jumps, a little squeal leaving her mouth. Beside me, she positions herself in combat stance, and I know that I was right. Someone was following us.

I turn around and find two guys with balaclavas upon their heads. The only thing I can see from them are their eyes, which show danger. One of them is trying to reach Annabeth, but she's always been a good fighter; spinning on one heel, she uses her other leg to kick at her attacker's chest. The man falls on his back.

Attacker number two tries to do something to Annabeth, too, but this time I enter the fight: I stretch my arm and try to hit at his face. He ducks before I touch him and stands up again, but I think fast and spin, my elbow connecting with the man's face.

Lissa and Ryder are trying to cross the street, Tasers on their hands, but cars don't allow them to come. Our attackers get on their feet. Attacker number one moves as fast as a flash, hitting me in the gut. I cough, losing all the air in my lungs. "Percy!" Annabeth screams as the man hits me with his elbow on one eye. My back crashes against the apartment's door.

The man starts punching me in the stomach, don't stopping. Every time he hits he does it again. Annabeth wants to help me, but she's got to deal with Attacker number two. Normally, I would've fainted already, but one thought keeps me awake: I have to keep Annabeth safe.

Making an effort, I hit Attacker number one's face. It isn't a strong hit, but it's enough to make him back away. Sucking in air, I stretch my leg and kick him on the face. Finally, Ryder and Lissa appear. Ryder uses his Taser on Attacker one, who starts making funny movements on the ground. Who surprises me more is Lissa. Annabeth is having trouble getting rid of Attacker two, but Lissa just takes his wrist and Judo-flips him, until he's lying on the ground. Just like her husband, she uses her Taser.

Ryder and Lissa start using handcuffs to trap our attackers, but I don't pay attention to them. I'm more distracted recovering all the air I lost. Annabeth comes towards me, her expression showing more worry than fear. "Percy, are you okay?" She asks, taking my head between her hands and pulling it towards her. She analyzes my eye, and once she's sure nothing severe happened, she pulls me to an embrace.

"It's okay," I say, running a hand over Annabeth's hair. "Everything's fine now." I do the same thing she did, placing my hands on her ears and pulling her face closer to mine. "You fought valiantly. I'm so proud of you, and I'm glad you're safe."

She nods, a couple of tears running down her cheeks. There's a smile, though, in her face that doesn't disappear. Ryder and Lissa take our attackers to their car, and Lissa comes back. Ryder stays behind.

"You should come with us," she says, stuffing her Taser in her jacket's pocket. "We will interrogate those two, and it won't be safe to leave you alone."

Annabeth nods before me, wiping her cheeks. "Let's go." Taking my hand, she starts pulling me towards my car.