Disclaimer: All PJO characters belong to Rick Riordan.

Chapter Twenty

Percy

When you love someone, they're worth the huge fights, they're worth the million tears, sometimes the break-ups, they're worth losing friends over. Because when you love someone, they're worth everything.

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I feel like such an idiot.

I should have listened to Jason before. He tried to warn me at the dance too, when he sent Annabeth away. He told me that Luke had been watching me and Annabeth all night and I should be careful. But I didn't listen. I had trusted Annabeth, had believed that even if they did have some sort of past, she would never go back to Luke. Part of me still believes in her, believes that there has to be some sort of explanation for her actions.

But I know what I saw.

Annabeth, pressed up against the wall, Luke, right in front of her. The two of them kissing.

I desperately hope that something else was going on, that maybe Luke had somehow forced her up against that wall and that he was the one kissing her. Everything had happened so fast, I didn't get a good enough glimpse. Fury had blinded me to a point where I barely even registered anything other than Luke and how his hands were on Annabeth, my girlfriend, and how hard his lips looked on hers. I didn't even give Annabeth a second glance. It wasn't until she pushed Luke away and called out for me that the hurt had settled in and I realized what I had seen and, gods, it had hurt bad.

And now all I feel is hatred for myself.

How could I have overlooked this? I knew that Annabeth and Luke had had some sort of relationship in the past. I should have confronted Annabeth about it and asked her who she wanted like a mature person instead of sitting around and waiting for her to tell me herself. Man, I acted like such an idiot. All the flirting and kissing and compliments. I had meant all of them, had even convinced myself that I might possibly be the tinist, smallest bit in love with her, and all the while she was torn between me and Luke.

Was she even torn? Or was she with him ever since he showed back up and I've just realized it now? Suddenly, all his gagging and complaints about PDA in school makes sense.

And I just feel worse.

I reach my truck, and pull out the keys from my pocket, rounding the car to the driver's side. I try not to think about Annabeth and how amazing the evening had been before I had gone into the hallway looking for her.

"Percy!" she cries out, almost as if my thinking about her had summoned Annabeth herself. I sigh and turn around to find her in all her beautiful glory by the bed of my car. Despite everything that had happened, she still looks as gorgeous as she did at the beginning of the night. The only difference is the black smudged below her eyes, due to her tears. An unexpected jab to my heart makes me not ignore her and get in my truck and never talk to her again. Despite being hurt, seeing her cry makes me go into protective-boyfriend mode.

"Percy," she gasps, biting her lip. Lips that had just been all over Luke's.

I clench my hands. Okay, Percy, no more thinking.

"What do you want, Annabeth?" I ask, proud of myself when my voice comes out cool and even. "I'm trying to leave."

"I want to explain," she says, voice shaking. "What happened tonight, with Luke, it wasn't what it looked like. You have to bel-"

I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Really, Annabeth?" I spit. "You can honestly tell me that you didn't kiss him. At all. Even before I walked in."

Annabeth opens her mouth, then closes it, biting her lip again. "Okay," she says finally, eyes shut tight. "I did kiss him. But I can explain!"

"Then by all means, Miss Chase, please. Enlighten me."

She chokes back a sob that pierces my chest. "I...he was there in the hallway when I came out of the bathroom. Waiting for me."

"So you decided to start kissing him?"

Annabeth shakes her head at my mocking question, opening her eyes. Her open eyes are worse than her closed ones. The gray color has turned into a dark black and they shine with liquid. She stares at me as she says, "No. I was going to walk right past him but then he grabbed my arm and started apologizing about everything and...and, he kissed me. And I let him."

I nod curtly and rub the back of my neck, not sure what to do with this information. Not sure why I wanted it in the first place. "That's what I thought."

Annabeth starts shaking her head violently, and cries out, "But then I stopped! I stopped because your face popped into my mind and I realized-"

"You quit because you felt guilty?" I demand. I snort. "Yeah, that makes me feel a lot better."

Annabeth's pained face takes on a glare and she says, "Just let me finish!"

I shake my head. I know where this is going. "No. I can finish it for you." I take a step closer until she has to look up to see my face and then say, "You pulled away and pushed him off of you. You explained to him that he was wrong for whatever he did and you were dating me and this was wrong and you never want to see him again. And then he pushed himself onto you again and you tried to fight him off but he wouldn't move and then I showed up. And I understand."

She stares at me. "You do?"

I nod. "Of course. All guys get arrogant at one point in their life, and Luke was arrogant enough to try to get you back."

She lets out a breath. "So, a-are you mad?"

I stare at her for a long time before letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. I wasn't lying when I told her I understood, but there's one thing I'm angry about, or disappointed, to be more accurate. Running a hand through my hair, I say in a quiet voice, "You kissed him, Annabeth."

She opens her mouth and then closes it again, tears pooling up in her eyes. I continue, "And I'm not angry about it. I'm just disappointed. I thought we had a better relationship than that." I pause. "Or maybe that was all just in my head."

She flinches like I've slapped her. Her beautiful features twist up in pain and tears start falling. Each tear feels like a whip on my back and I turn around to get in my car before I do something stupid, like forgive her.

"Percy!" she sobs as I open the door. "Percy, please! Don't go! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry..." She trails off, looking down and hugging her waist, like she's trying to keep herself together. I have to shut my eyes for a minute and take a deep breath before pulling out of the parking space, leaving Annabeth there, in tears, to walk home by herself.

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They say that when a guy cries over a girl, that means that he really loved her. I guess that I really loved Annabeth because as I drive home, making my way through Manhattan traffic, I find silent tears falling down my cheeks.

Maybe I should have listened to her. Maybe I should have forgiven her. I had seen the guilt in her eyes, seen how sorry she was. Remembering it just makes me want to cry harder.

But how would I have known that she wouldn't do the same thing again? How am I to know that another ex-boyfriend won't come hopping along and try to win her back too? How am I supposed to trust her after this?

I feel like I'm in some kind of soap opera. It's sick.

My phone starts to ring. I look at the screen, fully expecting to see Annabeth's name on there. Instead, I see Hazel's. Huh. She never calls me.

I press the accept button and hold the device to my ear. "Hello?"

"Percy?" Hazel's small voice comes from the other side. "What happened? Where did you and Annabeth go?"

"Oh," I say, pausing. I'm unsure of what to tell her. How do you explain something like this over the phone? "Um, well, we kinda got into a fight. Luke was involved too. And, I, uh...I left."

Hazel pauses. "Where's Annabeth?"

"Um, I don't really know. I might have left her in the parking lot," I finish off sheepishly.

"Percy!" Hazel scolds. Then she mutters, "Some gentleman you are."

"Hazel," I try to explain, "you don't know what she did. She...she hurt me." I find myself getting choked up again and I try to push my sudden emotion down. I will not cry over the phone.

To my surprise, Hazel starts to laugh at me. "Oh, Percy," she says. "Whether Annabeth hurt you or not, it wasn't intentional. Maybe you should listen to her. She has a reason behind what she did. Maybe you should figure out what that reason is." Hazel pauses. "She needs you, Percy."

I pause, shocked that those words of wisdom came from Hazel's mouth. I swear, it's like she's seventy years old instead of sixteen. But then Hazel's tone hits me and I ask quietly, "You know what happened, don't you? Between Annabeth and Luke."

Another pause. And then, "Yes. And I'm telling you, don't judge her too harshly. She's been through a lot." A silent so have I sits in the air of my car as I pull into the parking lot of my apartment building. "Bye, Percy," Hazel says before cutting the connection.

Sighing, I park my car and then sit in the front seat, letting Hazel words sink into me. I let the events of the whole night sink into me.

Yeah, Annabeth hurt me, but maybe Hazel's right. She didn't mean to do it. Smiling, I think back to earlier tonight before Luke entered the scene. We were so easy with each other. I was so comfortable with her that I had kissed her on the mouth in front of a busy restaurant. Why couldn't we go back to that? Why can't I get over the fact that she had kissed him? She was so guilty that she had told me. It takes real guilt to confess.

It's the fact that she did it that I can't get over. Maybe Hazel was wrong. I was pretty sure she voluntarily kissed him, knowing what she was doing. That's what I can't get past. That's what's hurting me.

Sighing and trying to ignore the emotion threatening to tear me apart, I get out of my car and make my way to my apartment.

My mom is in the kitchen when I walk through the door. I smile despite my sour mood. She's always in the kitchen, cooking desserts mostly. I remember one time Annabeth tried to help her and Annabeth can't cook to save her life...

My smile falters. I can't think of Annabeth right now. It hurts too much.

My mom turns around at the sound of the closing door and she smiles widely. Then it shrinks down to a concerned frown and she rushes over to me. "Percy," she says, "what happened?"

I just shake my head and move to sit at the counter. She moves back into the kitchen a places a plate of fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies in front of me. I let them sit, too depressed to eat, which is saying something. I love to eat.

"Is everything okay?" she asks, noticing that I'm not eating anything.

I shake my head again, trying to find the words to explain everything to her. "Annabeth and I got into a fight," I decide on. "She was, um, she was kissing somebody."

My mom's face turns to one of disbelief. She stares at me like I've said something incomprehensible. "Annabeth?" she finally sputters out. "Annabeth Chase? Your girlfriend?"

"That would be the one," I say miserably. "And I don't think she's my girlfriend anymore."

"Oh, Percy," my mom says and comes around the counter to give me hug. I let her because I need her support right now. I need her to comfort me like I'm five years old again and scared of monsters in my closet. I lay my head against her shoulder and am reminded of mine and Annabeth's slow dance earlier tonight. I close my eyes tight, an unwanted tear trickling down my cheek and push Annabeth out of my mind.

"Tell me exactly what happened," my mom demands. I do exactly that, telling her everything from my conversation with Jason to finding Annabeth and Luke in the hallway and ending with her trying to apologize in the parking lot.

"What do I do?" I finish lamely. "How do I face her again after this? How do I face Luke without killing him?"

"I don't know," my mom answers, gently brushing the hair on my head.

"She kissed him, Mom," I say. "Before I even came in, she had kissed him. She told me. Even if I do forgive her, how do I trust her again?"

My mom laughs softly and pushes me away from her. I sit up and slouch in my chair, staring at her with bleak, dull eyes. "You know," she says, "I got into fights all the time with your father. He was such a flirt." Her eyes get distant, remembering old times. "No matter how much he told me he loved me, the next day I'd catch him flriting with some lady. It was like he had an addiction."

"Why didn't you leave him?" I ask.

She sighs and gives me a small smile. "Because I loved him. Sure, he messed up a lot, but I never left him. I never left him because loving someone means loving all their perfections and their flaws, loving them through their mistakes. The important thing was that he tried to stop, but nobody's perfect, Percy. Even you."

"She cheated on me, Mom."

She chuckles. "I don't see it as cheating. Someone who she had loved so much it hurt came back from her past and caught her in her weakest moment. She messed up, but that doesn't mean she doesn't love you. She ran after you, didn't she? She even confessed to kissing him. That sounds like she's pretty sorry to me."

I shake my head. "I just don't know what to do."

My mom takes my hand and squeezes, giving me another smile. "I can't help you with that. It's your decision whether or not you want to forgive her and start over."

I offer a weak smile and stand up, kissing the top of her head. "Thanks, Mom. I'm gonna take these," I grab the plate of cookies, "and head to my room."

She laughs. "That's my boy."

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Thalia finds me in my bed Saturday afternoon playing Call of Duty.

"Ugh," is her greeting. "You're just as bad as Annabeth."

My breath hitches at her name but I ignore it and continue playing my game. "What do you want, Thalia?"

"I came to bring by these," she says and my eyes flit to the door. Thalia's holding up a bag and and a pair of black strappy heels. I know with just one glance that they belong to Annabeth. "They were left at my house."

"Why didn't you just bring it to her apartment?" I ask, my voice holding no emotion. I've turned into an emotion-less shell overnight. I hadn't slept more than an hour, maybe, instead, staying up and watching horror movies while eating my mom's cookies. The movies I watched usually scared me, I'm ashamed to say, but last night I wasn't even fazed. All the lights are still off, the only light coming from the cracks in the blinds and the TV screen on the wall. Crumbs are everywhere from my cookie-eating spree last night and the blankets are all twisted around me. I haven't showered yet either.

I look like a guy on the soap operas after a bad breakup and I can't even bring myself to care.

"Not even saying her name, huh?" Thalia teases, setting the stuff on the ground and coming to sit on the edge of my bed. She grabs the remote out of my hands and pauses the game. I shoot her a murderous look. She continues talking, unfazed, "And I tried, but she refused to let me in. And I figured that if I brought it to you, then you would be forced to talk to her."

My murderous look doesn't cease. "You are an evil person."

She ignores me. "Anyway, I thought you'd like to know how Annabeth's doing. I only got a glimpse of her when she opened the door, but she looks awful. Her make-up is still on from last night, but it's all smeared and her hair looks awful, and she's wearing literally nothing except a big t-shirt. I think it's yours, actually..."

I shut my eyes tight. "Thalia," I say, "please shut up."

She sighs. "Well, anyway, what I'm trying to get at is," she pauses, "what did you do?"

I stare at her and throw my hands up in surrender. "Nothing!" I exclaim. "It was all Annabeth. Well, Annabeth and Luke, really."

She gives me a puzzled look. "Luke? What did Luke do?"

I sigh and tell her quickly everything that happened. I feel like I've told this story so many times, I should just post it on Facebook or something. It's going to be spread around anyway and by Monday, everyone will know what happened.

When I finish, Thalia just looks even more confused. "Annabeth would never do something like that."

I laugh a bitter laugh. "Well, she did."

"I have a really hard time believing that."

"Well, I'm sorry that I didn't get proof. I was too busy trying not to snap Luke's head off to get a picture on my phone."

She ignores my bitter sarcasm. "Sounds to me like you should be more mad at Luke than Annabeth. He forced himself onto her."

I shrug and shake my head. "Yeah, I know. And I want to kill Luke because of it. But the reason I'm mad is because she had kissed him before."

"But you told me that she pushed him away. That she didn't mean it."

"Well, yeah," I say slowly. "But she still did it in the first place."

Thalia laughs and leans back against the wall. She crosses her arms and locks her cold blue eyes onto mine. "You're angry at Annabeth for being weak, Percy."

I blink. "What?"

She shrugs. "I mean, think about it. Luke is Annabeth's ex-boyfriend. And he came all the way across the country to apologize to her. That in itself is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. And he probably said a bunch of really romantic things to her that made her weak in the knees like any other girl and when he kissed her, she probably didn't have any strength left to stop him. Can you really blame Annabeth for that?"

I think over Thalia's words. She kind of has a point. If Annabeth came back right now and tried to apologize, I most likely wouldn't have the strength to fight her away. Maybe that's how Annabeth felt. Hurt and broken as her old wounds were being torn open again so she grabbed on to the only solid thing there: Luke. And suddenly, I'm angry at myself for not being there for her. I should have told Luke off. I should have given Annabeth the strength she was lacking. We wouldn't be in this mess right now if I had just stayed with her.

"You're right," I murmur, half hoping that Thalia doesn't hear me give in to her. She does, of course.

"Excuse me?" she says and perks up dramatically, like she really didn't hear me. I roll my eyes. "Did I just hear you say that I'm right? Call the press, people, because this is a monumental day!"

I smile and kick her legs from underneath the blankets. "You're my least favorite cousin, you know that?"

"Oh, please," she says, rolling her eyes. "You'd take me over Jason any day. Admit it."

"Nope," I say, even though I know I would. Every time.

Well, there you go. Now you've got a bit more insight into Annabeth's issue with Luke. I was getting a lot of questions about how Annabeth could kiss Luke and tell him that she loves him and all. I'll try to explain it the best I can. Just imagine if you were in Annabeth's place. You've been hurt and betrayed by the one person you loved most in the world. You've dealt with that pain for almost a year. Now, when you're almost over it and you're slowly being put back together, that same person who hurt you moved across the country to apologize to you. I don't know, but if that were me, I would have some trouble pushing him away also. And she did push him away eventually, she did remember Percy, and she did realize that she mistook her feelings of hate for love. And as Percy said in this chapter, her old wounds were reopening and she grabbed on to the only thing that was there: Luke. I mean, come on, if Percy had been there, Annabeth wouldn't have done that because Percy gives her strength. She probably would've looked Luke right in the eyes and told him that he was wasting his time coming to her because she was completely over him and she would have meant it.

Whew. Sorry. Got a bit carried away there. Sorry if I offended anyone with that. I promise I didn't mean to. I just felt like Annabeth needed to make a mistake for Percy to get mad at her for. It was kind of obvious that she was trying to fight him off at the end there.

Anyway, review! I kind of rushed through this chapter, so sorry that it's not my best. I loved writing the cousin-bonding moment at the end. And when Annabeth tried to explain everything to Percy was kinda fun to write also. Again, sorry for rushing, but I'm trying to get through this story before I leave for a missions trip on Monday. Review!

"And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death." Romans 8:2