Chapter Twenty-Eight: Actions Have Consequences

Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan's
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
and the Heroes of Olympus Series, and I do not
own the songs I put into this book either.
I only own my fan made characters and of course
the plot line.

Added SongsIn Order of Appearance
The One - Kodaline


~Author's Note~

Well guys, I'm back in record time with the next chapter of Lies and admittedly i was up late most nights over this last week, fighting to get this chapter done but i did it. Quickest I've updated in my life and it was so worth it. I apologize if it seems rushed or missing anything but I was quite happy with the events of this chapter and we are nearing the end of part one but this chapter is the build into the big event and I am getting excited about it. Anyway, hope you like this chapter, see you at the end.


Saturday 22nd April : Two days till recording


Love, what is the definition of love?

According to Google, love is a strong fling of affection. Synonyms include deep affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, attachment, intimacy, attachment, endearment and so on.

To Hazel, love was the intense rock concert of fire breathing dragons that blew fire in her stomach. It was the constant thoughts of the person she held most dear to her, racing across her mind. It was the ability to be almost instantly sidetracked at random times by a mere random thought of the person she loved. The desire to be held, kissed and comforted by Frank was how she knew she loved him.

Valentine's Day was the day she realized just how much she loved him. even through all the fighting, the hurtful comments, the constant walking outs by both parties, they came back to each other and she still found herself loving him even more fiercer than the last time. She believed the phrase, the heart grows fonder when apart, her heart certainly did.

Well in this moment, she sat seated in front of the sound board, feeling broken and almost shattered. She felt like love was nothing but foolish because she had been made a fool out of. She blindly thought that for the first time she had held happiness, but this morning when she'd woken up in her boyfriend's bed, she was happy but was shattered and humiliated in an instant.

Frank had left early for an interview with Leo and Jason and she had just come out of the shower, finding a sweet note from Frank saying that he was sorry that he couldn't be there when she woke up but he hoped she'd have a good day and he'd call her soon. But in that moment, a phonecall that she had left for the machine to record a message, shattered all the love she felt that Frank was giving her.

It felt all so false, hearing the voice of his grandmother leave the message she did, just broke her heart. She could still hear it playing in her head.

'Fai, it's your grandmother. I am anxious for you to come and visit us soon as you promised. I look forward to you bringing that sweet girl you've been telling me about. I am so glad that you came to your senses and dumped the pompom headed negro. I look forward to the visit and meeting this wonderful girlfriend of yours. Love you.'

Hazel had never felt pain like this before. Humiliation, heartache, anger, sorrow, regret, confusion, hell she didn't know what to feel but in this moment, she felt as if she had been living in a fantasy world when everything was but a cruel reality. She understood why he never took her to meet his family, they not only hated her for who she was born as but ashamed that Frank was with her.

She questioned if he even loved her, if he was hiding her because he was ashamed of her or just trying to shield her from the criticism but it all made more sense now. now she had been left burned and hurt, she felt like all the deeds she had been doing as of late were all for nothing. She was questioning everything, including her reasoning for letting Luke blackmail her.

The man was a hard ass, persistent and dead set on ruining Annabeth and Thalia's happiness but more set on ruining Annabeth's life since Luke had told her to solely focus on the blonde haired superstar more after she fired him. He'd been pushing the meeting to hand over everything she had collected and he had been pushing hard, threatening to hand that photo to the press, not that she felt it would make a difference anymore if Frank didn't care enough to actually fight for their relationship, for her.

"What's got you looking so glum there, Levesque?" A familiar voice spoke out, bringing Hazel out of her deep musings. She looked up and saw none other than Nicolas James Pluto or Nico for short as she had come to know, standing there with a concerned expression on his face. He was dressed pretty casually, black jeans, but this time he was wearing a white wife beater with a skull with headphones on and 'Apollo Records' written in cursive bold letters and a black open zip-up hoodie. "Why are you crying?" he asked in a genuine tone.

Hazel hadn't realized that she had been crying and quickly reached up and rubbed the pesky tear that had fallen from her eye. She let out a shaky, quiet, "It's nothing," before going back to her previous position in her seat, hugging her knees to her chest, the sneakers she was wearing rested on the edge of her chair, headphones around her neck and a fully done up hoodie with the Apollo records Logo with an image of a record on the back with her name there too.

Nico sighed before taking a seat in the chair next to Hazel, following her eyes and watching Annabeth and Thalia in the music room, rehearsing lyrics and harmonies without music playing. "I know we don't know each other that well but if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

"It's nothing really, but thanks Nico." She said with a sad smile as she rested her chin back on her knees as she watched the two friends interact with a heavy heart. Nico didn't press, just sat there next to her, watching her. He'd seen that look before, he'd felt it before.

"You know that I never knew my father." He said in a soft tone, Hazel glancing at him from the corner of her eye as he spoke, "I lived with my mother, and she used to tell me that my father loved me and wanted to be there for me. She died from cancer years ago, not a day doesn't go by when I don't miss her but naturally, the foster home tracked down my father and sent me to him."

Hazel could see the almost slight hesitance, although she could barely detect it, she did and instantly felt where this possibly could be going.

"As it turns out, my father had left because he never wanted me. He spoke with hatred and I felt like I had been lied to all my life by my mother, the woman I loved and adored," Nico had a sad look in his eyes as Hazel looked over at him and noticed the tear falling down his face, "I learned the look you have in your eyes, I felt how you feel right now for years. I felt betrayed, confused, hurt, humiliated cause I ran in and blinding shouted daddy like an excited child only to be hurt where it hurts most."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She truly did mean it and didn't even try to deny that he had read her perfectly.

"He supported me but never loved me really, not until I was involved in an accident. Our school bus tire burst, we veered off the road, and right into the barricade." He spoke with a near broken voice, recollection seeming to be painful and hazel knew why. She had heard Thalia mention that even though Nico was confident; sharing about his past was hard for him. "I woke up to find my dad sitting next to my bed fast asleep in his, looking disheveled, like he hadn't showered in weeks. When I croaked out his name, he was awake in an instant, hugging me like his life depended on me."

Hazel was genuinely shocked, she couldn't comprehend what Nico was telling her but in a moment it clicked. The thought of losing his son, the thought of the last piece of the love of his life being taken away made him realize how much he truly valued Nico even if he had in the beginning never wanted him.

"He told me that I had been in a coma for almost three weeks." Nico confessed, a soft almost content smile appearing on his face even though there was a fresh tear or two running down his face, "He'd had realized just how much he valued me because even if h didn't want to admit it, he was bonding with me the longer I was there, he was learning to love me. heck, he'd even taken me to the bus the day of the accident and he had never done that before." He said with a chuckle.

"Why are you telling me this?" Hazel asked in a soft tone, her eyes looking at him as he turned his head and smiled.

"I'm telling you that no matter what you are thinking or feeling, that no matter what, things aren't always what they seem. It may seem confusing but the thing you need to understand is that the universe works in mysterious ways and that no matter what, you're never alone, never unloved no matter how hurt you feel by whatever's happened." With that, Nico, stood up and headed towards the door of the music room.

Hazel pondered over his words before she called out, "Nico," Catching his attention. His hand was resting on the door when he stopped and turned to her, a nod encouraging her to speak. Hazel gulped before she spoke, "When do you know you're doing something you shouldn't be doing? What do you do when you're stuck between a rock and hard place and no matter what you do, whether you are lying or telling the truth, someone is going to get hurt badly either way."

Nico smiled softly, "The truth is golden, no matter how many people get hurt. Your conscious will be clear if you confess instead of lying because the truth will set your conscious free. My mother always told me that lying only makes everything hurt more than the truth, no matter what it is. Do what you feel is right in your heart, Hazel." With that, he opened the door, and entered the room.

Hazel turned her head and watched as Nico embraced Thalia, kissing her on the forehead as Annabeth laughed, a smile so carefree and happy that it nearly broke Hazel's heart as she watched them act so free and alive, oblivious to the deviousness of a man who wanted to wreck their lives. She felt a buzz in pocket and instantly pulled her phone out and saw it was a text from Luke.


Enough time has been given Hazel. I want the evidence and I want it tonight. I'll be waiting outside for you, you'd better have it my dear or everyone will learn the truth about you.

Unknown number


She put the phone away and sighed, honestly and wholeheartedly debating every aspect of her live, questioning her actions, her morals, her character... everything was being called into question as she decided what her next course of action was going to be.


When Nico walked into the room, calling for a break so he could hang with his girlfriend for a while, Annabeth had ended up in the corner of the room, looking through her pile of sheet music for a whole bunch of music she was considering for her album, her mind focusing on this one song she'd written, of course it had completely been inspired by Percy, just like a lot of her music as of late.

She couldn't help but smile at the words she had written when she put her pen to this piece of paper, she'd done it the weekend of their fifth month anniversary, the weekend she'd spent with Percy. A lot of the words that Percy had said to her that weekend had stuck and she'd written them down, making it into this song that perfectly described Percy and Annabeth.

But the more she thought about it, the more she had come to realise that although he was seeing her true self, he saw her as a whole other person to who she was. He saw her as a woman with black princess curls and piercing blue eyes, not blonde hair and gray eyes. As of late, Percy had been mentioning how grateful he was to have her, and how he never thought he'd find happiness like he had with her.

He had even gone to say that he trusted her, and felt comfortable in his skin. He didn't feel embarrassed about his scars, the marks marring his skin had become nothing but a reminder of his strength, all thanks to her... no, not her, no, it was Anna Olympia who made him strong. It was her who showed him everything, who showed him what trust was, what love was, what pure undiluted happiness truly felt like.

She'd done nothing but live as Anna Olympia with Percy.

She had honestly thought that she would be able to do this until she was ready, pretend to be a person she was not, to wear a facade of the person she could have been had she not pursued music. She felt like she was losing her own identity the longer she acted and played a role. Her own self was projected into another being, another person so she could be normal instead of having to live in this stressful, harsh industry that she loved no matter how hard everything got.

As she looked over the last part of the song, the words resonated within her as it processed them and re-read them as the reality sunk in.


When we are together, you make me feel like my mind is free and my dreams are reachable, whoa
You know I never ever believed in love, I believed that one day you would come along, whoa,
And free me

You make my heart feel like its summer
When the rain is pouring down
You make my whole word fell so right when it's wrong

That's how I know you are the one
That's why I know you are the one
That's how I know you are the one
That's why I know you are the one


She felt almost somewhat overwhelmed by the statement in itself because she had come to realize within these last few days that she had been lying for far too long. She should have told him from the beginning, she should have showed him who she really was the day she agreed to see him for coffee.

She'd been living in a fantasy, a reality that she couldn't keep living anymore.

She had made a choice that she was going to follow through, heartache, consequences and everything be damned.

She was going to tell Percy the truth. The lie had been going on for far to long. It should have ended long ago and she has only delayed the inevitable but she had led him along for so long. He was going to be hurt, broken, possibly crushed but she had to tell him not because the lie was starting to get too hard to keep or she was feeling pressured by everyone who knew... no she was going to tell him because he deserved to know the truth.

He was such an amazing person and this lie had almost become unbearable to bare no matter how much at ease she seemed; guilt had plagued her and hit her hard on countless occasions no matter how everything seemed okay. She needed to tell him, she had to tell him, she wanted to tell him the truth and she was going to do it and she was going to do it on Monday.

"What's got you thinking so hard, Annie?" Thalia teased with a smile on her face as she plopped herself on the bench, effectively straddling it so she was looking directly at her best friend.

Annabeth said nothing for a while before she finally spoke out, "I'm going to it."

"Do what?" Thalia asked with a curious look in her eye as Annabeth turned and faced her best friend, a look of determination written on her best friend's face.

"I'm going to tell him, Thalia." Annabeth whispered again, her tone certain and sure.

"Tell who, what, Annabeth?" Thalia said in a confused tone. She was genuinely confused by her friends words as her best friend was barely telling or disclosing any details to her.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered softly, Thalia seemingly to register in her min what Annabeth was saying, "I'm going to tell him who I am."

"When?" Thalia asked softly, reaching forward and taking her best friends hands in her's, maintaining their locked gazes as she saw the seriousness in Annabeth's eyes.

"Monday. When he comes to fetch me, I'm going to ask him to come in and I am going to tell him everything, if he will listen. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't, but no matter what, I'm going to tell him who I am." Annabeth whispered softly, taking in a deep breath and putting a smile on her face, albeit a sad one. "Its going to end so badly but at least he will know the truth, and at least it will have come from me."

"I am proud of you Annabeth." Thalia whispered as she pulled her friend into a hug, smiling against her friend's neck, "I'm going to be there for you whenever you need me. Forever and always, like we promised each other as kids."

"Forever and always, Thals. Forever and always."


Hours later...

Hazel had texted Frank and said that she wasn't feeling well which she truly wasn't. She'd had an upset tummy seemingly all day and the last thing she had felt like doing was seeing Frank because of how hurt she was still feeling right now. She was going to be taking a cab home to her apartment but when she walked out the building, she didn't expect to be pulled into an empty recording room, standing face to face with an enraged Luke Castellan.

"L-Lu-ke," She stuttered, feeling completely nervous and small under his beady, angry eyes, "w-hat are you doing here?"

"You know exactly why I am here, Hazel." Luke said in a calm, yet deep tone that just made her feel small and insignificant as he towered over her. "I want the pictures, videos, I want it all and I want it now!" he demanded, anger flooding his dark blue eyes, his muscles tense and angry.

Hazel stared into his eyes, every rational part told her to just give up the fight and give it to him but her heart told her not to. She had thought long and hard, questioned every rational and every irrational thought and possibility that could transpire, she looked at pros and cons and had come to a decision, one that she should have made a long time ago. It was more than just a decision or a conclusion, it was a choice, a choice she was willing to make.

She was sacrificing everything for the word that left her mouth as confidence surged within her.

"No."

Luke looked shocked, surprised and befuddled, fumbling his words in disbelief as he laughed out, "No. you're telling me no."

Hazel pushed him back, creating space between them, feeling relief when her back was no longer pressed against the wall, feeling stronger than she had ever felt in a long time. "Yes Luke. I am telling you no. I'm not going to be involved in wrecking someone as amazing as Annabeth's life." Hazel bit back, her spit fire nature coming back, no longer afraid of him like she used to be.

"You realise that your actions have consequences. That picture will be up everywhere by Monday, I assure you." Luke growled, his voice full of promise and assurance that he would do it, "I'm going to give you till Sunday night to give me what I want or else that picture will be sent to every gossip site."

"Don't hold your breath, Luke Castellan." Hazel growled as she shouldered her bag and stormed out the room, leaving Luke in the room.

When she left, he smiled and shook his head as he pulled out his phone and searched through his contacts list before he typed out a message.


I've got a story for you that will rock the fabric of this music industry, if you're interested. Meet me tomorrow evening at the Olive Garden, eight sharp. If I give you this story, I expect it to be on by Monday, trust me, it's worthy of your show.

Unknown Number


He had honestly expected Hazel to turn, although he had hoped that he'd have at least had some pictures but he had none so he was going to have to go to Plan B but one way or another, he was going to get those pictures. Annabeth Chase's secret identity was going to be exposed and everything around her was going to be destroyed and her reality would cease to exist.


Sunday 23rd April : One day till recording


At Apollo Records...

It was all approved, all signed and ready you could say in Annabeth's mind. Everything had been planned to the finest detail, placement of camera's had already been discussed with the director who was working in tandem with Apollo and Hazel to perfect each detail. The room had been rearranged here and there, boom microphones and recording booth microphones had all been sifted and positioned where Annabeth and the set designer had chosen.

There had a black backdrop added all around in the forms of fabric hanging from the ceiling, making the room look like it was nothing but an empty space filled with instruments, like it was an empty plain, just like Annabeth and Thalia had envisioned. Lights had been carefully mounted to the black ceiling, invisible and Annabeth smiled as they tested the lights, dimming and brightening them, as if a solo light was being projected onto the piano and the microphone set up for Annabeth.

When everything was ready, all had gathered in the board room, a crew of up to nearly forty people, including family and friends, co-workers, even Venus and Aphrodite had been requested in to do the outfit designs for the girls. Jason was present, there for his sister, Annabeth's entire band was there, Hazel too along with Apollo. Each held a flute of champagne in their hand as Annabeth stood at the very front, looking over everyone with Thalia.

Each and every person present in the room wore an Apollo Records hoodie or shirt, representing the amazing place thing they were apart of as Annabeth tucked a loose bang that had fallen out of her messy bun behind her ear as she looked at Thalia and smiled, "on behalf of my partner in the composing of this song and the organisation of this video, along with the help of our boss, Mr. Apollo Solace, we'd like to thank you for being a part of this amazing feat we are trying to pull off."

Thalia grinned, her pixie cut hair messy, a black Apollo Records shirt resting on her frame with ripped jeans and sneakers, raising her flute and spoke, "You are a bunch of cool cats and I can't tell you how much this means to me. I promised not to get emotional so I am gonna say thank you everyone. Tomorrow is going to change not only my life but every single one of yours because you will responsible for this message getting out. Without you or Annabeth, this wouldn't be possible so thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"We've already accomplished so much and tomorrow, we will gather here once again to make a dream come true." Annabeth said as she wrapped her arm around her best friend's shoulders, "This wouldn't be possible without this amazing woman so I would like to make a toast to the creator of this project, to the woman that manages all of us under Apollo's wing and my best friend for forever and always. To Thalia Grace."

"To Thalia Grace." Every voice said as they all raised their flutes and took a sip, Thalia and Annabeth chiming their glasses and took a sip to celebrate this historic bonding moment that they would forever cherish.

Today was ending perfectly, and neither could have asked for anything better.


Monday 24th April : Recording Day


Frank was thankful to have the day off since Annabeth and Thalia was recording their music video today.

He'd honestly been worried about her the last couple of days since she had been sick for the last few days. Tonight he would be going to pick her up from the studio when the video was done and he was going to take care of her and nurse his girlfriend back to health. He was going to use every ounce of love he had in his body to make her feel better.

His mind being on her had inspired him to write a song, and he was quite enjoying himself as he played with the lyrics, seeing what made sense and went with the chords of music he played. The news was playing in the background when the breaking report on E News appeared. Out of sheer interest, Frank switched over to the channel just as it started to see what was going on in the world of the celebrities and all, in case something about his interview with Jason and Leo on a big show that he could not remember the name of appeared anywhere.


'According to our anonymous source we now have proof of a brewing scandalous affair. Heart Throbs band member, Frank Zhang's girlfriend, Hazel Levesque, the sound board controller employed by Annabeth Chase, recording artist of Apollo Records, has been caught in a scandalous photo that proves she is cheating on the beloved band member with another band member, the drummer Leo Valdez.'


Franks head shot up and he scrambled off of the bed and knelt in front of the screen, staring at the picture that was now on the screen. The picture was obviously taken at night time, and it was obviously in the Heart Throbs recording room. But what had Frank's attention were the two figures in the middle of the screen.

His band member and best friend, Leo Valdez had his girlfriend, Hazel Levesque, pressed against the wall, the two of them in a heated lip lock, with Hazel's legs wrapped around Leo's torso, their shirts thrown to the side, their hands all over each other. Frank's eyes were rimmed with tears as he listened to the rest of the report.


'If this isn't proof enough then I don't know what is. Honestly, there has been no real photographic proof of the relationship between Miss Levesque and Frank, although it was confirmed through the Apollo records website. How long has this torrent scandal been going on for? When did it start? Were Frank and Hazel ever in a relationship? Was it just a cover story so that Leo and Hazel could live a private love life? If so, what will be the outcome now that this evidence is out?'


Frank gritted through his teeth as his hand shot forward, punching his flat screen, more specifically the photo of Leo that was projected on the screen, leaving a large crevice in the screen. Emotions within Frank were swirling like nothing before.

Betrayal

Heartache

Sorrow

Regret

Anger

Confusion

His eyes felt heavy with tears, his vision blurred as he felt the urge to crawl under his covers of his bed and cry from the heavy sword of betrayal plunged right through his back, straight through his heart. He didn't know how to feel, every part of him hurt so much. He could barely breathe, the photo of the woman he loved and best friend locked in a heated embrace plagued his mind, making him want to scream out in pure agony as a single word entered his mind.

Why?

He needed answers. He needed the truth. He wanted to know why he had been lied to, why he had been played like fool in love that he was. He gave himself to her wholly, his purest part of his soul was given to her and it turns out, Hazel and Leo had been together behind his back. That made him angry. It reared its ugly head and made him grit his teeth.

He was going to get answers and he was going to get them now by breaking Leo Valdez's face.

He climbed to his feet and just shoved the television off it's stand, letting it crash and break apart into pieces like his heart was slowly shattering and grabbed his keys and he charged out his apartment, slamming the door behind him. His neighbour was outside, a woman in her late sixties, gray hair pulled back into her eyes, a sad look in her blue eyes when she saw the tears that pooled in Frank's red tinted eyes. She watched with a heavy heart as he straddled his Harley, not even bothering to put on his helmet as he drove out into the traffic, not caring at those who honked angrily at him.

Frank didn't notice the tears in his eyes yet as his heart slowly started to break piece by piece as it realized the betrayal, not just from his friend but from his girlfriend as well. Things were about to explode, the beast inside him that he had fought to keep locked in came to the surface and he had his eyes set on one person.

Leo Valdez was a dead man and the beast was going to make sure he wasn't going to get away unscathed.


Meanwhile at Percy's Apartment...

A man stood in front of the apartment number of a Perseus Jackson.

The man smiled to himself, his blue eyes sparkling with deviousness and pure evil intention and amusement as he looked down at the large envelop that he held in hands. A chuckle left his lips as he shook his shaggy blonde hair as he thought back to the evening where he had attained the evidence that lay within this evidence.

Luke had resorted to his plan B, taking what he wanted from right under Hazel's eyes. He followed through on his plan on both ends. Even though Hazel had said that she wasn't going to give him the evidence, he was still going to find a way to get it and these days, it wasn't hard to pick a lock. But even if she had given him the photos, he would have sent that picture anyway.

He didn't care about how many lives he wrecked, he only cared about one thing and that was taking everything that Annabeth Chase cared about. He didn't feel an ounce of guilt when he saw the pictures of her looking so purely happy and carefree with the man he had learned to be Thalia's cousin. He didn't care that she had found herself again, she'd taken everything from, tossed him aside like trash years before, she said he was a friend, years ago, he was her best friend and one day, he no longer existed.

Sure she brought him with her to the label but it was all about Annabeth and Thalia, he was an outcast and he had been deadest on getting his revenge, his justice that he had wanted for so long.

The envelop held it all.

He placed it down on the floor, right in front of the door and turned on his heel, knowing exactly what time the man who owned the apartment would be returning since he had Hazel's recon book or her diary that told him everything he needed to know, and walked away with a content smile on his face.


Well now Hazel's secret is out. As the title said, actions have consequences and now the truth is going to come. Everything has been leading up to the events of the next chapter as well as the chapter after but now, everything finally will come to light. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the events so don't forget to review and thank you for the ongoing support. See you all with the next chapter soon which I have had gotten a start on too. Thanks for the support guys, see you soon my Fictioneers.

~Michaela~