A flash back into how Percy got into the drugs with some cutsey stuff at the end :3 a few chapters to go!
Hazel rested her cheek against Percy's back. She could hear his breathing, feel his heart beating. Her head swam with her new discovery. The fact that Percy used to do drugs shook her. Percy started as a delivery boy for someone, shipping drugs with his own bare hands. And eventually, Percy had given into the temptation. Hazel just couldn't picture Percy, at twelve years old, smoking weed, inhaling cocaine or filling himself with meth. The picture didn't bode well with her. Percy had warned them all to not wander into alleys when they had been eating lunch, as there were crazy people in them. And Percy had been visiting one of those crazy people for a while. Hazel doubted even Annabeth knew about the drugs. The look on Percy's face before had told her enough. Percy was ashamed about what he did all those years ago. But his reaction to the packages was a different story. He looked tempted, yes. But also afraid. Hazel guessed now it was because of the consequences those horrible little packages had brought him.
Percy felt Hazel rest her face against his back. He never wanted anyone to know. He didn't think anyone would find out. Delivering the drugs to Gabe and his buddies was never what Percy imagined himself doing. He never wanted to. Percy knew it was dangerous, risky and downright illegal. But, Gabe had two things to use against him. Gabe used blackmail and threats. Percy knew that those threats were not empty. He remembered the first day Gabe told him to get his treasures.
"Listen here, punk. Ed, Antonio and I made a deal with a guy. We want you to pick up." Gabe jeered, his breath smelling of alcohol and bean dip. Percy tried his hardest not to gag. He stood his ground, glaring at his step-father.
"No," Percy declared, crossing his arms and turning around. Percy took about two steps when Gabe spoke again.
"You get the stuff, punk, or else."
Percy almost snorted at how childish Gabe sounded.
"Or else what?" Percy taunted. Gabe cracked his knuckles.
"Or else, your little mummy will learn some new things about her darling, angel Percy. Like, for instance, how you thought it was a good idea to vandalize and steal from your old school. Or, even worse, how me and the guys had some… fun, teaching you a few things while she was working the all night shift at the candy shop."
Percy blanched. He didn't mind if his mom found out about the vandalizing, but the other thing. Percy felt sick to the stomach. That night, Gabe and his buddies had… no, Percy refused to think about it. It hadn't been that long, only a month ago.
"Also, I'm sure Sally is looking a bit unscathed. No pain no gain, eh? I could use a bit of a break, maybe if I used some-"
"NO!" Percy screamed. He couldn't let Gabe touch his mom in any way. Percy hung his head in defeat. "Alright, Gabe. I'll go get your stupid stuff. Where do I get it?"
Percy followed Gabe's directions, wounding up in a dimly lit alley way. "Hello?" he called, hoping someone would come out, preferably without a gun or a wanting to kidnap a twelve year old hoping to pick up some drugs for his abusive step-father. Percy heard footsteps. He peered into the alley, seeing a man appear. He had a greying beard, was grimy and wearing a brown trench coat.
"Well, lookie here. A little one, you must be doing delivery. Who for?" the man asked. Percy stared at his, afraid before swallowing thickly.
"I'm picking up for Gabe Ugliano. I will be his- his delivery boy from," Percy blinked back tears, upset with what he had to say next. "From now on,"
The man just smiled.
"Well, then. I suppose we at least get to first name basis. The name is Harry, you?"
Percy could only gape, his voice lost somehow. A car honk brought him back, saying quickly, "Percy. I'm Percy,"
Harry dug his hands into his trench coat, pulling out a brown paper bag.
"Here you go, kid. I guess I'll see you next week."
Percy could only nod, staring at the bag that was now in his hands.
It was two months before Sally knew what was going on. She was about to leave for work when Percy entered the apartment, a large, bulging package in his sweatshirt pocket. Sally was curious, and a little shocked, hurrying over to Percy. When Percy made eye contact with her, Percy's eyes widened, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Sally immediately reached for the package. As soon as Sally had it in her hands, Percy grabbed at it, and Sally was taken aback. They had a tug of war until the bag split, spilling the small wrappings of drugs.
Sally fought back a scream. Her boy, precious Percy, having drugs? Percy stared at the drugs, before lunging at them, trying to pick them all up desperately. Sally got on the floor, holding Percy's wrist so he couldn't move.
"Percy, what is going on?" Sally quietly asked. Percy slowly looked up at his mother. They looked each other in the eyes, before Percy broke down. His face crumpled, and tears made their way down his cheeks. Sally didn't say anything, she just held her boy, wrapping her arms around him until he had calmed down. Sally couldn't stop staring at the drugs. More specifically, the package filled with a white powder.
Eventually, Percy told his mother the whole story, about how Gabe had blackmailed him into doing this. Gabe wandered over to them when Percy had finished his story. They looked at Gabe fearfully. Gabe's buddies came up, one grabbing Sally, the other grabbing Percy. The kicked and wriggled, trying to get away from their prison. Gabe picked up the white package and went to the kitchen, his two goons following. Gabe ripped open the package and poured two lines with it onto the counter. Ed and Antonio pushed Sally and Percy forward. He grabbed Percy by the hair, making Sally cry out for him to let her son go. Gabe spoke.
"You both inhale this cocaine, now. Just snort it. If you don't," Gabe let the threat hang, only pulling harder on Percy's hair, making his eyes water. Antonio, who was behind Sally, gave her one dry hump, and Sally knew what Gabe meant. He would rape her and torture Percy if they didn't take the drug. Sally leaned down, and Percy screamed.
"No Mom! Don't do it!" But Sally inhaled, and leant her head back, waiting for the cocaine to act up. Antonio let her go, and a delirious grin spread out on Sally's face. Antonio helped Ed restrain Percy, who was struggling even harder. Gabe pushed Percy's head down, forcing Percy to sniff. Percy gave up, and inhaled the drug. Ever since, Sally and Percy were addicted, always ordering more cocaine. Percy regretted it more than anything.
Both were pulled from their thoughts when they reached the others, all sitting at the bus stop eating candy and drinking soda. Percy set Hazel down next to Frank and plunked himself next to Annabeth and Jason, rubbing his face before picking up a can of coke. Both were quiet, only having a drink. Annabeth nudged Percy's shoulder.
"Everything okay, Seaweed Brain?" she asked jokingly, albeit concerned about her boyfriends' behaviour. Leo spoke up.
"He's probably tired. He spent all day walking, carried three people and is only sitting down now."
Percy nodded, but he wasn't listening. Everyone idly chatted for about fifteen minutes before they decided to get a move on.
"Guys, come on. If we move now, we should be home by a quarter past eight," Percy said, and everyone stood up.
The walk to Percy's apartment was quiet. Piper was thinking different scenarios for Percy's house. Did he live in a hotel? A penthouse? What Piper was not expecting was an apartment building. They took an elevator to Percy's floor. Percy knelt down, looking for something. Piper just stared, watching Percy smirk before putting his hand through a secret flap in the wall. He pulled out a key and winked at everyone, before putting it in the lock. The door clicked, and Percy turned the doorknob. It didn't move. Percy snorted.
"Wrong door?" Jason asked, looking a bit disappointed. Like Piper, he had expected a big mansion or a penthouse, not a small apartment. Percy shook his head.
"Nah, the door was unlocked. I just locked it again," and Annabeth giggled.
"I did that a lot too, when you were in California,"
Everyone went quiet, a little uncomfortable. Percy cleared his throat, trying to ease the tension and put the key in the lock, turned it and lo and behold, the door opened. The room was small. There was one long couch facing a TV, a dining table and a kitchen in full view as you walked in. The kitchen was on the left, a bench blocking someone to enter from the door. Percy walked around the bench, wrapping a woman cleaning the stove in a hug, careful to not crush the heavily pregnant woman.
"Hey mom, sorry I'm late but everyone is here," Percy said. The woman turned, her brown hair whipping around. She smiled at everyone. They had all met, but the crew had never been to Percy's home before.
"Oh, that's fine honey. I'm about to go to dinner with Paul. Oh, speak of the devil and he shall appear!"
A man with salt and pepper hair came into view, tying a tie. Hazel glared at Paul, a sudden feeling of hatred pouring over her. She knew Paul was Percy's step-father. She, of course, didn't know about Gabe. This was the man that- that dehumanized Percy? Turned him to drugs? That, that- Hazel wanted to attack him, when she shifted her gaze to Percy. He was smiling, looking happy.
"Be good to my girls, Paul. Or you'll face my wrath of, of…" while Percy was pretending to be intimidating, Sally and Paul laughed, cracking a grin on Percy's face.
"I'll take good care of both of them, mark my words," Paul grinned. He was glad that Percy had accepted about having a new half-sister, maybe even more excited about it than he and Sally were.
They left the apartment, and the group all flocked to the couch, picking out four Disney movies to watch. Hercules, Mulan, Tangled and Aladdin. Frank popped in Tangled first, and before pressing play, everyone gathered around Percy, who was ordering pizza.
"Uh, hi. Can I please get a few take away pizzas? Great I'll have a large pepperoni pizza, a large mushroom olive and chicken," he said this while looking at Annabeth, who nodded. He looked at Jason and Piper. "A large garlic and cheese pizza, a large Hawaiian," and they nodded. He looked at Leo and Hazel, "a large meat lovers, a Marylin Monroe and a large chicken pesto without the cheese please. No, not all the pizza's with no cheese, just the chicken pesto. Yes, all the others with cheese. Oh, yes please, garlic bread sounds amazing. Great, yes. We're in apartment 22B. Thank you,"
Percy sighed, and flopped back onto the couch. "Percy, I asked for a cheese pizza, not a Marylin Monroe," Hazel grunted. Percy laughed.
"In these parts of town, that's called a Marylin Monroe, and it is so good." Although, unsatisfied with that answer, Hazel nodded. Percy got up to the fridge and pulled out seven cans of coke. He tossed a can to each person, and pressed play. Everyone got comfortable, having mountains of blankets surrounding them all. Annabeth snuggled against Percy, content with the way things were. Their pizza was quickly eaten, although Percy was the only one who ate all of his. Popcorn bowls shared between couples, and Leo had one all to himself. Sodas were exchanged for hot beverages as the night wore on, and popcorn turned into chocolates and small candies.
When Sally and Paul got home the house was in darkness, only a soft glow from the TV as Mulan aimed a missile at a mountain, Mushu screaming at how the leader was three feet from her. Only Percy was awake, absent-mindedly playing with Annabeth's hair as she slept, his eyes glued to the TV. As Sally closed the door, Percy looked at her and smiled softly. He looked down at Annabeth, then back at Sally. He beckoned her over, and she kissed him on the cheek.
"Go to sleep Percy," Sally whispered. Percy's focus was back on the TV.
"Nu-uh. Shang just saved Mulan's life, and I want to see Mushu rip off Batman," Percy said seriously. The volume was on low, the words audible yet loud if no one was talking. Sally chuckled softly.
"Goodnight, Percy." Sally said and she followed Paul to their bedroom. Percy removed his fingers from Annabeth's hair a picked up his mug of tea. Mulan was his favourite Disney princess, as she reminded him of Annabeth. Mulan was dutiful, and ran away to help her father. Although those similarities were a bit of a stretch, the fact that Mulan wasn't royal in any way and was still considered a princess sat well with Percy. He saw Annabeth as a queen. His queen. And Mulan didn't need a man, she just happened to fall in love on the way. Kind of like himself and Annabeth. They didn't mean to fall in love.
Taking a sip, Percy thought of more similarities between Mulan and Annabeth. Mulan did what was right, going back to warn her friends about the Huns. A stupid decision, but it was the right one. Annabeth is known to do stupid things to prove a point, and that point often saved a lot of people and stopped buildings from exploding. And, Percy thought, laughing to himself. When the mother asks Mulan to stay forever. Percy swears his mom loves Annabeth as much, or more than himself. Percy took another look at Annabeth. She looked so peaceful, so serene. Percy placed his empty mug on the coffee table and turned off the TV. The soft glow evaporated, leaving the room in darkness. Percy snuggled down, next to Annabeth, and closed his eyes. Sleep over took him, and Percy was ridden of all thoughts from his dark past, his future lying next to him. Percy didn't want any more secrets to come out. But secrets do come out. Some secrets are meant to stay secrets forever, but time can only tell.
Hey! Did you get my Sherlock Holmes reference? If you didn't it's okay.
Thanks for reading guys, gals and non-binary pals :3