Brett turned to see Thalia fixing him with a steely glare. The hair on his arms stood on end. Her stare felt like a thousand volts of electricity coursing through him.

"What are you doing here? She repeated. The only other time he had heard her speak was when she had been joking with Annabeth and the difference was startling. Now her voice was hard and malicious. Danger rolled off her in waves and despite being no more than fifteen, Brett knew he didn't want to mess with her.

He didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her what he was really doing here, but he couldn't come up with a lie. His mind was blank. He just stared at her stupidly, stuttering and trying to come up with a response.

Thalia rolled her eyes at his lack of an answer. "Hey, Annabeth," she called over her shoulder.

Annabeth paused in her conversation with Mitchell and looked over at Thalia. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she saw Brett.

"Did you invite the mortal?" Thalia asked. Brett knew she was referring to him, but why call him a mortal? The way she said it made it seem like she was separating him out as if he was mortal but the others weren't.

"I didn't even know about this party," Annabeth responded as she walked over to them. "I couldn't have invited him even if I wanted to."

The other partygoers had started to take notice of them. Brett could feel Randy and Jake shifting uncomfortably beside him at all the attention.

Annabeth turned to him. "What are you doing here, Brett?"

There was something about Annabeth asking him that helped him find his words. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why wouldn't I be okay?" she demanded.

How could she not see it? She should be grateful that Brett was here for her; she should see how great of a guy he was and go on a date with him. Instead, she was facing Brett down, not quite glaring at him but definitely not pleased.

"Come on, Annabeth! Look around! These are not the type of people you should be associating with. They'll bring you nothing but trouble."

"What gives you the authority to make that judgment? You know nothing about my friends and you know nothing about me, so take a hint and leave me alone."

At this point, almost everyone had stopped their conversations and was watching Brett and Annabeth in anticipation. Their expressions ranged from amused to annoyed. Some of the partygoers parted as Percy made his way to Annabeth's side, silently placing his hand on the small of her back in a way Brett was sure was meant to seem supportive. Brett knew, however, that Percy was being possessive, reminding Annabeth that she belonged to him.

Brett couldn't stand it. "Can't you see how bad he is for you?" He gestured at Percy. "You can do so much better! You belong with me!"

Now Annabeth was full-on glaring at him. "Let me make one thing clear," she growled. "I don't belong with anybody. I make my own choices, and I choose to be with Percy. You just need to accept that and move on."

Obviously, Annabeth was too blinded by Percy to see clearly. She couldn't see that they weren't meant to be, so he tried switching tactics. He glanced at Percy who had not said a single word this whole time, simply stood at Annabeth's side. "He doesn't even care enough to stand up for you! Don't you want someone who will protect you? Someone who will fight for you?"

"Dude," Percy startled him by finally speaking up. "Can't you see that Annabeth doesn't need protection? She doesn't need me to fight her battles, she's more than capable of doing that for herself. I'm just here to support her, and to provide backup if she decides she needs it."

Brett scoffed, "You mean you aren't even man enough to protect your girlfriend?"

Percy held himself like a wound-up spring, ready to release at any moment. His eyes swirled with barely contained rage. "Did you even listen to anything I just said? Annabeth doesn't need my protection."

"And I don't want it," Annabeth spoke up. "I'm not some damsel in distress that needs to be rescued."

Brett ignored her comment. "So you're saying that if someone was attacking Annabeth you'd just stand by and watch?"

"If she had it under control and she didn't ask for my help, then sure. Annabeth is more than capable of holding her own. I'll always be there to watch her back, and she watches mine. I'll be there to step in if she needs help, but she doesn't need me to protect her."

"But that's what a boyfriend is supposed to do! She deserves better than a troublemaker like you!" Brett argued. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, or that Annabeth was apparently okay with it.

"Nor—" Annabeth interrupted again, stepping forward to assert her place in the conversation, "—am I some prize for you to fight over. I am my own person. I choose who I want to be with and nothing you can do or say will change that, Brett."

Percy, who had looked ready to throw a punch, backed down. "Sorry, Wise Girl," he said, stepping forward and kissing the top of her head. "You're right. Kick his ass."

"You know we can't attack mortals!" someone called from the crowd, using that word again as if they weren't.

Percy just rolled his eyes. "I meant metaphorically, of course," he amended.

That made Annabeth laugh. The change was startling compared to the stony expression Brett usually saw her wearing. Her whole face lit up, and it seemed to lift years of worry off her shoulders. She was dazzling. Brett wanted to be the one who made her laugh like that.

Percy and Annabeth had turned away, suddenly captured by shared memories and inside jokes, seemingly forgetting Brett and everyone else watching. The others took that as a sign to resume their previous conversations.

"Brett," Jake spoke beside him. "We should go."

"Not without Annabeth," Brett protested.

"I don't think that's gonna happen, bro," Randy offered.

"But-"

"Brett!" Jake said sharply. "Know when to pick your battles, dude. You've lost this one. Let's all just get out of here; we can crash at my place."

Brett finally let his friends drag him away, already thinking of new ways to open Annabeth's eyes.