Chapter 21

Annabeth

"You were back early." Her mother commented with a raised eyebrow. It was Sunday morning, and her family was being forced to sit around their oversized oak dining room with the rustic chandelier and carefully arranged flower bouquets. The morning light flickered in through the french doors that led out onto the back porch, a horse nickering in the background of their silent meal. It would have been perfect, a cover for HGTV or something, if it wasn't for the constant tension that was held in their house at all times.

Annabeth shrugged. "Just wasn't really in the mood last night."

Matthew snickered, and Annabeth turned to set her glare on her younger brother instead.

"Well, it was refreshing to hear you back at a proper hour." Athena said, and Annabeth tried not to scoff. Her mother thought she was a grade a whore - something Annabeth had accustomed herself to in the past few years. If only Athena knew why she actually got home so early last night, she wouldn't be as happy.

Annabeth involuntarily tightened her legs at the memory. She - no - she couldn't go there at the fucking table with her parents. Instead, she turned her attention back to her mom, shrugging, "Doesn't mean I wasn't doing something you would disapprove of anyways," She said, mostly because it was fun to watch the pinched up look her mom always got whenever she was uncomfortable.

"Annabeth -" Her dad started, but she cut him off.

"I have chores." She said, grabbing a croissant off the table, the chair making a screeching sound on the hardwood floors as she left. Her parents made no move to stop her, and although Annabeth was the one who decided to leave, she kind of wished they would have said something. It would have at least shown they cared.

The barn door was already swung open, but she didn't think too much of it. They had a few farmhands who lived in the loft, so they had most likely left to go do something better with their day off than sit around with animals and sweat and beer.

Except, because she had the shittiest luck ever it was not that. Percy fucking Jackson was standing in the middle of her barn, shoveling horse shit into a wheelbarrow.

"What are you doing?" She snarled, loud enough for him to turn around, surprised as he took a headphone out of his ear.

"I - what are you doing?" He asked, wincing at how stupid that sounded.

"I live here, idiot." She rolled her eyes, but her voice didn't have the same edge to it as her first sentence to him this morning.

He looked shaken. He also looked disheveled but… good. She figured she could have those thoughts now since they had… done shit in the middle of a field last night, even if it wasn't ever going to happen again. His shirt had risen up slightly, and his jeans swung low on his hips. His boots officially didn't look like newbies anymore, the creases and dust evident from days at work on her ranch.

"I had to work a day on the weekend this week to make up for some days I've missed. If I want to earn my month's wages." He said, returning to shoveling hay.

Annabeth hesitated. She should… she should go back inside. Go get dressed for church. Go live her life without this kid who was gonna leave in a few short weeks.

Instead, she found herself picking up the extra shovel and starting on the stable next to Percy's. He looked up in surprise. "I - you don't have too."

Annabeth waved him off. "Better than going to church." She said with a smile that she hoped was friendly. His returning grin was nice to see, and he offered her an airpod. She accepted, looking up at him with raised eyebrows at the local country station it was tuned too.

He shrugged with a blush, "Hard not to listen to that music out here."

She just gave him another small smile, and went to work. They were silent, but it was comforting to know he was there with her. Her parents never came out to even drag her to church, and she tried not to be irritated by it. They were done within an hour, and Percy hung up the shovels again despite Annabeth's protests that she could do it herself.

"I should head home. I did the rest of my work before you came out here, so I'm done for the day," Percy said, dusting off his jeans. Hay littered the floor, and Annabeth found herself staring at it to keep her occupied. Before, they were working and distracted. Now… now she just felt awkward and stiff around him.

"Okay." Annabeth responded quietly, scuffing the floor of the barn with her boots.

"Okay." Percy breathed, turning to leave. Part of Annabeth was glad he didn't bring it up, but the other part of her had the insane urge to grab him and kiss him again.

"Percy!" She blurted out, as his muscled back walked away from her. She watched him pause, as if he was deciding whether she was worth the time. Her heart panged, but he eventually faced her.

"What's up?" He asked, running a hand through his hair, hay flying out of it.

"Um," She gulped, unsure why she had even said his name, "The… fourth of july party. We're leaving tomorrow."

Percy let out a breath. "I know."

"Are you going?" Annabeth asked.

He shrugged. "Don't know. I was thinking about just using the time to hang out with my dad, but-"

"Come." She said, with a sense of urgency, though she had no idea why she suddenly cared so much. "I… you should come with. It's fun. We go to Chesapeake Bay, and I know you like the ocean and…"

He glanced down at his boots, toeing the dirt. "Maybe. I…"

"Please," She sounded desparate, but she didn't care. The thought of sharing this with Percy was enough for her to make her want to beg. "I want you to come."

He winced, and she was sure he was going to say something nasty to her, because even she knew she was being ridiculously indecisive with him, but luckily her parents pulled up from church with a load full of middle school boys in the back of their pickup. He glanced at the truck, then back at her. "I'll go." He said, finally, and left without another word. Annabeth tried to ignore the relief she felt at those two words.

-0-

"Do you think I'm a bad person?" Annabeth asked Thalia later that night as they were throwing swimsuits and denim shorts into already filled suitcases. She hadn't been able to do anything else with her Sunday, instead choosing to stare out the window absentmindedly and unfocused on everything else going on around her.

"I think that's a very subjective question." Thalia answered, folding up a black one piece with a criss-crossed back.

Annabeth scoffed, "When did you get so smart?" She asked.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Why are you asking, anyways?"

Annabeth shrugged, eyes drifting back to the hundreds of things she had to fit in here before they left even though it was already pretty much full. "I invited Percy." She blurted out.

Thalia frowned. "Jason already did, I thought. Said he wasn't coming."

Annabeth gave up on her suitcase, instead taking up a spot on Thalia's bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. "He wasn't. I asked him this morning, though, to come."

Thalia looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Is he coming now?"

Annabeth blushed. "Yeah. I think so. I mean, he said he was going to but I kinda don't know if he meant it or not."

Thalia went back to folding. "He's definitely coming now." She scoffed.

Annabeth threw a pillow at her, and then joined her on the floor again, sitting on her suitcase until it closed.

-0-

Piper let out an exhausted moan as she threw herself into the back seat at 10 AM in the morning. "We did not have to leave this early." She said, flopping back on to the leather as Jason climbed in next to her.

Jason rolled his eyes. "It's not early. Besides, it takes 6 hours. At this rate, we're gonna miss dinner."

Percy grinned, glancing in the rearview mirror as he and Annabeth got in the front. "Because missing your food would be the worst disaster of this whole week."

Jason flipped him off, but Annabeth laughed, kicking off her shoes as soon as they got out of the driveway. They were taking Jason's truck, but Piper had demanded she sit in the back so she could nap on Jason's shoulder, so Percy was stuck driving for the moment.

He glanced down at her bare toes, painted white for the trip. "Why do you have such an aversion to shoes?" He asked, swerving around a curve a little too fast and throwing Annabeth into the window. He didn't seem to notice.

She rolled her eyes, "They're not comfy. I don't really enjoy wearing clothes, either." She said, and then immediately wanted to stuff the words right back into her dumb mouth. Piper let out a snicker from the back, and Percy's cheeks had turned a bright red, his hands now gripping the steering wheel even tighter.

Annabeth tucked her feet under her butt so she didn't have to look at them anymore, and brought out her book to read. It was quiet for the first hour or so, her phone plugged into the aux, playing a mix of all of her favorite songs. Piper had started snoring slightly, and as they passed town after town, Percy finally relaxed after her previous comment.

Percy tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to look up from her book. "Wha-" She started, but he put a finger to his lips in a shh motion. He glanced again in the rearview mirror, jerking a thumb at their friends. Annabeth turned, finding the two sprawled out asleep, Jason's head on top of Piper's leg, a dribble of drool spilling down his chin.

Annabeth snickered, pulling out her phone and snapping a picture of the two of them.

She showed it to Percy, who laughed and shook his head. "They're cute."

"Mhmm." Annabeth agreed, closing her book and shifting around in the seat. They were only an hour in, and she was already uncomfortable. "Going on two years now, I think."

Percy hummed. "They're lucky."

"Yeah, they are." She agreed, meeting his eyes before he looked away sharply, back at the curving highway.

They were quiet for another song, before Percy spoke again. "Are you ever… I mean, could you ever? Tell me what happened with Luke?"

Annabeth sighed, closing her eyes and kicking her feet up on the dash. "No." She said, simply. Detached.

"Why?" He asked, not missing a beat, as if he had expected that answer. Which, he probably had.

She shrugged, opening her eyes again and finding his knuckles going white on the wheel. "It's none of your business."

"It's-" He started, turning on her, his whole body tensing, before he realized he needed to go back to looking at the road. "It's none of my - how can you even say that, Annabeth?"

She crossed her arms, knowing she had said the wrong thing but not being willing to back down from the statement. "You're not my boyfriend, Percy. It doesn't fucking concern you." She snarled back.

"You're kidding me, right?" He snapped, taking a turn way too sharp. Annabeth glanced back at Piper and Jason, who were still knocked out in the backseat despite Percy's raised voice.

"I don't owe you -" She started, but he cut her off.

"No. You don't." He exited the freeway, swerving onto another back road towards a truck stop. "But for once in your fucking life you could not think about yourself and think about somebody else for a goddamn change." His voice raised with every syllable until he was practically shouting. Annabeth shrunk back with each word, her body now pressed up against the door in a defensive position. She tried to think of something worthy to say back, to hurt him as much as he had just hurt her, but all she could do was bite her bottom lip to keep from crying. Pathetic.

"Woah." Jason said, gripping the back of Percy's seat as he sat up from his nap. Piper glanced at Annabeth cautiously, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What's going on?" Jason asked.

"I just need a break." Percy snapped harshly at his friend, flinging into a parking stop, the car lurching as he pulled the e-brake. It took all of three seconds for him to slam the driver's side door and stalk into the convenience store, Jason right on his heels.

Annabeth wordlessly climbed over the console into the back seat where Piper made a move to grab her hand. "Don't." Annabeth snapped, putting as much distance between herself and her friend as she could, but she sighed when she saw the look on her friend's face. "Sorry. I just… I'm fine."

Piper looked unconvinced, but Annabeth resigned to sitting in silence. It was better than explaining what the fuck had just happened up there. Percy and Jason returned a few minutes later, Cokes and Slim Jims and chips in hand. Percy had a slightly less angry - but still pissed - look on his face, and he slid into the passenger seat. He threw them a bag of chips, which almost hit Annabeth in the face though she was too shocked to do anything about it.

Instead, she curled herself into the seat, put her sunglasses over her eyes and tried to sleep. Anything to pretend like she wasn't totally regretting bringing Percy on this trip.

Hi! Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Promise there will be lots of fluff and good stuff on their little trip together. Also, hope you guys are excited to see Percy get a little angry with her, as he should. Love you all, review as always.

-a