Chapter 10

Percy

He had been lying when he told Thalia he had only had one drink, but the whole turn of events had completely sobered him up. Besides, he wasn't going to let anything happen to Annabeth and that thought alone was going to keep them from getting in a wreck.

Unfortunately, sobering up meant Percy became increasingly uncomfortable with the situation unfolding in front of him. Crying girls were not his… thing. Usually, this would be the time when he would find their friends for them and pass them off to go find somebody who was less emotional, but now all he wanted to do was… comfort her?

That couldn't be right. No. He hated Annabeth. Disliked her, at the very least. He had never, ever, had this dumb sense of caring, this ache in his chest when he saw her sobbing into his t-shirt. His ribcage fluttered and his neck tightened in a way that he was not okay with because no, no this wasn't happening with Annabeth Chase. She was annoying, and always right, and liked books and wore cowgirl boots and had frizzy tangled hair and overall not someone he wanted to hang out with or even just be around in general.

And then his hand was on her leg, her knee, her wrist, her hair and her… her skin, soft but rough, like she spent a lot of time outside, and raised goosebumps appeared wherever he touched her and he couldn't get enough, and he thought it had to be the alcohol. It had to, because there was no way these feelings were real.

Then, it also could have been Luke. It could have been pity. That was it, he decided, because it was much, much easier to come to terms with than the other ideas, the ones where his stomach ached and a flutter took place just below his navel and no, he refused that idea. It was pity. He had never understood Thalia and Jason's hate of Luke until tonight. He had always assumed it was some sort of petty thing on Thalia's part, Luke was more popular, Luke was better looking, maybe even Annabeth had gotten Luke, the two of them oblivious to Thalia's own feelings about him.

Now, though, Percy wondered… was that the first time Luke had hit her? The first time he had talked to her like that? Luke had always made his skin crawl, but Percy had always chalked it up to being some sort of territorial thing, like both he and Luke saw each other as a threat. Percy's internal radar might not have been so far off after all though.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he barely noticed them pulling into the Chase's drive, although now he was extremely aware of the idea that he knew these roads well now, he could drive them without thinking, there was familiarity here. There wasn't a ton of time to dwell on this terrifying new realization, since Annabeth was still next to him. Less sobbing, more sniffling which made the situation slightly less embarrassing for him.

"Annabeth?" He asked, as gently as possible. In reality, he probably sounded like the ass he always seemed to portray. "Do you think… is it okay to go inside?"

She gave the slightest shake of her head, his t-shirt shifting slightly, "No - I - my mom, she can't, she can never see me like this." She blubbered, her breaths coming in heaves as she tried to calm down. "I can't - please - please, don't make me," She pleaded, her breath spreading up, the hiccups coming faster between each breath.

What kind of family did you have to have to not want them to see you crying, he wanted to ask, but he settled on, "Okay, shh, okay," rubbing her shoulder to soothe her. The last thing he needed was more crying. "The back door?" He asked her.

She nodded, sitting up slightly so he could see just how puffy her eyes were. "That works," She said, her voice small. Percy got the feeling he wasn't doing what she wanted, but he wasn't sure what that was so he went with the back door idea. He turned off the headlights, gave a wide berth to the house and pulled up at the door that led to the second kitchen and a stairwell that would take her directly up to her bedroom. It was weird, at times, that he knew so much about this house when he had never actually been in it for anything other than work.

Percy got out of the truck, shutting the door silently before opening Annabeth's, taking her arm. She was shivering, shaking like she was having a seizure, like she couldn't get control of her own body. It was kind of scary, honestly, and Percy wondered if she needed to go to a hospital, if she was having some sort of psychotic break but then she opened her mouth.

"Are we gonna go in, or are you gonna stare at me all night?" She questioned. Her eyes were still red, her face was puffy, there was a tear running down her cheek, her mascara was all over her face and Percy's t-shirt, but she was there. She was still Annabeth, not having a psychotic break.

Percy cracked a smile, helping her out of the car. She didn't let go of his hand as she stared up at the huge wooden door in front of them. He waited for her to go inside, but she didn't. She just stood there, shivering in the cold wind that was whipping at them.

Percy shifted uncomfortably. "Uh… are you okay? I mean, sorry of course not, I just, I mean, do you want to leave or go up or I can open the door or -"

"Percy," Annabeth said, looking at him. Really looking at him, for the first time. Big, stormy grey eyes staring at him, no glare, no laughter, no hate. Just her, looking at him as if it was the first time she had ever really seen him. Which, maybe it was. "Walk me up?" She looked shy, averting her eyes immediately after she asked the question.

His body felt like it was melting into the ground, out of embarrassment or something else he didn't know, but he ignored it. "Of course," He said, letting go of her hand to open the door. The warmth left him immediately but he blamed the feeling on the cold night air.

The house was eerily quiet, although that was expected for one in the morning. Annabeth led the way, the night so dark that her body turned into a shadow as she disappeared one, two steps in front of him. The door to her room creaked open, revealing a place the size of his apartment back in Manhattan. His body instantly calmed when he walked in, the room a blend of whites and creams with fresh flowers on the windowsill that Annabeth had picked from her garden - he had watched her do it, her hair tied back in a braid a few afternoons ago. Percy ran a finger across her dresser, his index coming up completely dust free. There were candles strategically placed around the room, and a bed piled high with white and grey pillows sitting in the middle of the room.

Annabeth slipped off her boots and climbed in. She sat on top, shivering still but only slightly, hugging her knees to her chest. Percy was worried she might start crying again, but she just sat there in silence which was almost worse.

"Uh…" He trailed off. He wanted to run out of there, but he figured that wasn't the nicest or most compassionate thing to do. "Is there anything else you need?" He settled on, deciding that was the most neutral statement he could come up with.

She shook her head, "No," She said, looking up from her knees, "I-thank you, Percy," She said, mustering up a smile.

He returned the gesture, "It's no big deal," He said, backing up towards the exit, "But you're welcome, of course." His back hit the wall, and he turned to open the door when he heard her voice again.

"Wait," She called out. It was shaky, and Percy thought when he turned around she might be crying again but she looked… nervous? She winced when he made eye contact with her, sharply turning away. "I..." She breathed, then inhaled softly again, "Can you… I don't… fuck." She muttered, half-laughing, gesturing slightly to the spot next to her on the king sized bed.

"Stay the night?!" Percy said, more out of shock than anything, but she looked grateful that the words had come out of his mouth instead of hers.

She pulled the covers down and over her body before responding, "I'm worried he's going to - I don't know what he's going to do." She said, her eyes focused on her phone as she tapped away, most likely responding to a text from Thalia while simultaneously avoiding Percy's eyes.

It dawned on him that he really had no idea the extent of whatever abuse she had suffered, whatever had happened during that relationship. Annabeth was scared. Scared that Luke was going to show up at her house, drunk, maybe hit her again, he didn't know. Usually, Percy would have ran as far as he could when a girl asked him that. He would never, ever let a girl stay the night and his friends from home would have laughed at him if they could see him right now.

Percy kept his hand on the door, almost, almost turning the handle but her eyes were pleading with him and there was no way he was leaving her alone. He knew he wasn't going to be able to do it, so he stumbled over, slipped off his shoes and got under the covers with her. She visibly relaxed, allowing herself to slide down into the bed. Her body was still stiff as a board, hands folded neatly on top of the blanket, eyes open and staring at the ceiling.

Percy copied her actions, but he knew there was no way he was sleeping tonight. The number of times he had been with a girl before could have never prepared him for the sheer intimacy of just being there. They didn't touch, didn't do anything obviously but he was closer to her than any other girl he had been in the same bed with.

Annabeth eventually rolled over and curled up, facing away from Percy. He laid there, completely still, feeling totally awkward if he even moved an inch. Her breathing went soft, eventually turning into a quiet little hush. Percy relaxed slightly, assuming she was asleep before she said, "Don't touch me. I still don't like you." Despite the harsh words, there was nothing behind them and Percy laughed silently, turning on his side to face her back and closed his eyes. He didn't think he was tired, didn't think there was any way he was going to sleep tonight but within seconds he was drifting off, barely aware of the quiet snore coming from Annabeth's side.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Unfortunately, that was the first thing Percy noticed when he woke up. The blaring of an alarm he didn't remember setting. The second thing he noticed was the room. It was unfamiliar, clean and white which was completely unlike the messy dark blue at his dad's house.

The third thing he noticed was the mess of blonde hair, curls tangled on the pillow. Her body was curled back into his, barely touching but they were - or had been - sharing pillow. He realized his wrist was resting gently on the dip between her hips and waist and he jerked it back violently, completely disgusted with himself.

What was he doing in bed with fucking Annabeth Chase?

She must have had the same thought because she let out an extremely loud scream before scrambling off the bed and almost tripping onto the floor.

"Okay," Percy muttered. "I didn't know my presence was that horrifying."

"Sorry," She gasped, "Sorry, sorry. I - you should go. That alarm was set for six so you could get out of here before - before my dad, my mom - uh, you know."

"Right." He ran a hand through his hair, sitting up in the bed. The events of last night were slowly coming back to him, which made the situation slightly less awkward. Uncomfortable still, yes, but at least he knew they didn't… you know.

"Back door, again." She said, putting a sweatshirt on over the skimpy tank top from last night. "I…"

He nodded, putting on his shoes, "Don't mention it."

She chewed her lip, looking at him carefully. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this." She said finally before opening the door for him signaling it was time to leave. He hesitated, he wanted to say something, anything but he couldn't form words to express whatever this weird thing was that he was feeling, this head rush, this concern, so he left it alone.

With another smile that he hoped said more than he could at the time, Percy left her room and went back out to Jason's truck who was most likely not too happy that Percy had stolen it although he thought Jason might understand.

He tried to push Annabeth out of his mind as he drove home, reminding himself that she had Thalia and Piper and they knew her. Annabeth needed them, not Percy to go running back up to her and… and what?

What exactly did he even plan on doing? Hugging her? Holding her? Punching Luke again? In reality, there was nothing he could do. So he kept driving home, sulking into the front door with a walk so tired you would've thought he was drunk.

"Is this a joke to you?" Percy froze. Poseidon's voice rang out from the living room, clearly extremely angry. His dad came into view as Percy rounded the corner, making Percy wince. Percy would've gladly ran back to the party and let Luke beat him up before he ever wanted to face his dad like this. Poseidon's face was tight, pinched up and there were bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept all night. It dawned on Percy that he might have been up all night, waiting for Percy to get home, his calls going straight to Percy's dead cellphone.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" His dad demanded, stalking over to Percy. Percy was tall at 6'2 but his dad towered over him, a good three or four inches taller. It was intimidating, to say the least.

Percy shrank into himself. "I - I'm sorry?"

Poseidon sighed. "Sorry doesn't cut it, Percy Jackson. I've been up all night, calling you. We didn't…"

His dad was worried. About him. About Percy. Despite the whole night and the fact that he was in serious trouble, he wondered if he had been harder on his dad than he should have.

"Really, I'm sorry." Percy insisted, twisting his fingers nervously. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You will," Poseidon agreed. "You're grounded. For a week."

"But -" Percy started to protest, but thought better of it.

"You're gonna go to your room. Take a nap because you're obviously exhausted. And when you come down, there's going to be chores to do." Poseidon insisted, but he sounded tired. There was less anger behind his words now, and more relief.

"Yes. Yeah," Percy said, hovering by the stairs. Poseidon waved him up, turning back towards the view of his ranch out the window.

"And Percy?" He called, not turning to face his son.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're home safe." Poseidon said, and although Percy couldn't see his expression or his face or eyes, his own lips broke out into a wide grin despite the severity of the situation.

Helloooo again, thank y'all for the reviews! So, I am aware that there is a consistency error with Leo and Grover haha because originally Leo wasn't going to be in town and then he was so eventually I will go back and fix it but I am lazy and it probably won't happen for a while. I know I said there wasn't going to be a lot of Percabeth for a little, but I couldn't resist this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy. For real this time though, the next few chapters will be about the stuff I talked about in the last A/N

Also, another note. Somebody reviewed and asked if I will go back to the other stories I have posted on here. Honestly, probably not. I wrote them when I was younger and it would take too much editing to go back and fix. This story is kind of a replacement for Country Girl, just flipped. I might do an office one like Different Cities but it would be a completely different plot and rewritten. That being said, I do have another story started, a royalty take on obviously Percabeth. However, I'm going to finish this one before starting to post that.

Review as always! Love you

-a