REVIEW!


Penny came out a few hours later. She had showered and combed her hair,which was kind of an achievement. The weird thing was,she acted as if nothing had happened. The boys,who were for once,smart,didn't even try to bring it up. Leo held up the toast.

"Good stuff." he said,with his mouth full of it.

"You have it every morning Valdez." Piper said,rolling her eyes. Leo grinned.

"I know..but good stuff."

Penny sighed as she sat down in her chair with a flop. "Bad news," she said darkly "We're not allowed to see Percy."

"What?" I asked,and then bit my lip. Luckily,nearly everyone asked the exact same question,so I was saved from embarrassment.

"What do you mean?" Piper asked,frowning. Penny stared at her phone with distaste.

"The station called. Apparently there was some brawl down there at the station. They've restricted visitors for an entire week. Maybe it's a good thing." she added,immediately looking as though she regretted it. Jason looked at her with a weird look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean-" she sighed,shrugging "-he might be...safe?"

"Safe from what? Penny what's going on?" Apollo asked. Penny clearly looked as though she wished she could run away.

"I don't know. I'm just tired Apollo." she groaned,putting her hand to her head. Apollo waved his hands.

"No,no something is clearly wrong Penny."

"Of course something is wrong! My brother is in jail,and-" she stopped. Apollo looked almost hysterical "And? And what?" he almost cried out. Penny looked uncertain. Jason put his hand on his shoulder.

"Dude...calm down-"

"Penny...we all care about you. I care about you. I'm worried about Percy,damn worried,but I'm worried about you too. And-" he shook his head "You know what,never mind. I need some air."

"Apollo wait-" Penny said,but he had already walked out. Without a word,she dashed behind him,the door slamming. Leo whistled softly. Piper buried her face in her hands.

"I'm worried about her too,she's not acting like herself." she said. Jason gave her a weary smile.

"She'll be alright Pipes. It's just hard for her. Right when Percy stopped sneaking out and hooking up everywhere,and finally being a good brother,he was taken away. It probably has some impact on her."

"Wise words Doctor Grace."

"Shut up Valdez."

"I"m gunna go take a shower," I said,getting up and heading to my room. I sat down on my bed,lost in thought. Percy...how are we supposed to get ourselves out of this one? Just as I was getting up,my phone rang. Unknown caller. Frowning,I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Wise Girl."

My heart leaped up to my throat "Percy?"

"Did you miss me?"

I almost started crying. It felt so good hearing his voice,even if he sounded tired and weary. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Maybe,maybe not."

He laughed,making me smile "How's it going over there?"

"I can't believe you."

"What?"

"You've been arrested for taking 10,1000 dollars. You're in jail,freaking jail. And you're asking me,'how's it going over there' as if you're at your grandmother's house or something. You're impossible."

"I love you too."

My mouth went dry. He's kidding Annabeth,he's kidding. I snorted "Yeah,okay."

I could almost imagine him smirking "'How's Penny?"

"Well..." I told him what had happened. He cursed.

"Well..Apollo has a point. She needs to stop hiding what she feels and thinks."

"You mean she knows something? Percy-"

"Not here,not now Annabeth." she said softly,in a dangerous tone. "I've already told Penny,though I'm not surprised that she hasn't said anything yet."

"Said what?"

"That'll be your mission won't it? Dangit Chase,I'm sorry but I gotta go. There's timings and shit for this stuff."

"Yeah..yeah okay." Ii said,my heart turning back to lead. To my horror,I felt a lump rise to my throat. "Percy-"

"Hey,c'mon Wise Girl,I'll be okay. You know that right?" he said,chucking feebly. I knew that he was letting out less than he thought.

"I do. But Percy,no more brawls."

"Heard about that eh? Alright,I'll try. And Annabeth,I-"

"Yes?"

"-Um..nothing. Just..make sure my sister doesn't do anything dumb."

And the line cut.


Penny

"Apollo-" I pleaded,walking behind him. He wasn't exactly striding,but just trying to walk without catching attention. Guilt surged through me. Maybe I did take it too far.

"It's fine." He muttered,running his fingers through his hair. He stopped. We were standing in front of the building. He turned to face me. I didn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong." he said plainly. I tried to say something,but no words came out. We just stood in silence,staring at each other for some time. Finally he sighed,and took my hands,his shoulders relaxing. "I'm sorry Sunshine...with what's going on with Percy-"

Another wave of guilt crashed upon me. The oaf didn't do anything wrong,and yet he was apologizing. Sill,I squeezed his hands and managed a smile. "Don't be sorry. I'm just...there's something that I'm not exactly telling you guys.."

He raised his eyebrows "Do you want to talk about it?"

"With everyone,yes. But first..with you." I said breathlessly "Because it kinda affects...us." I could feel myself blushing. Crazy as it is,we never really addressed each other as a couple. It just..happened. And we went with the flow. He smiled a bit.

"Us?"

I hit his shoulder weakly "Zip it."

oOoOo

"So..what about us?" He asked. We were sitting alone on our favorite bench in Central Park. I took a deep breath.

"You know..that deal with my dad right? How we never really get along?"

"Yeah..why?"

I pursed my lips,looking at a few kids play baseball in the distance. "He...he might bust Percy out of jail. For a price."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hours before...

After leaving the station,I wiped my eyes furiously. Debating on whether I should go straight home or a cup of coffee first,I heard my phone ring. I looked at the caller ID and froze,remembering Percy's warning.

Dad.

Should I pick it up? Should I ignore it? It was pretty hard to,even with my brother's warning. These things only made me annoyingly curious. Slowly,I picked up the phone. "H-Hey dad."

"Hello dear,comment allez-vous?"

"Je vais bien papa," I sighed,knowing the worst to come "Pourquoi l'appel soudain?" (Why the sudden call?)

"You know why I'm calling dear. Your brother's in jail."

"Comment saviez-vous que?" I asked,frowning. (How did you know that?)

"That doesn't matter now dear," he answered "But the case against him is very strong,and it'll be hard to bail him out."

I stayed quiet.

"je le ferai..for a price." he said. It wasn't exactly a threat,but it felt like that. I swallowed.

"What do you want dad?" I asked,tired.

"If I agree to letting my son out of jail...you will come back to France and live with you. Nobody should come with you,visit you,and you can never go back to New York or anywhere else."

...

"What?" Apollo demanded,looking shocked. I stiffened,nodding my head. He took my hand,lacing his fingers through mine. I held on.

"But..how..what are you going to do?" he asked me,his blue eyes showing concern. I sighed and leaned back.

"When I was taken by Anubis," I said,not quite answering his question "I actually thought I'd be stuck there forever. I felt weak and helpless. I would scream and yell for help even though I knew that nobody would hear me..and the lashes and beating hurt. And..well after the call,I started to think. Maybe I needed to get away. Be alone. But.."

'Then I'd have to leave you.' my mind voice said. Mmy eyes started to burn,and I looked away. He tilted my chin towards him.

"Penny...did he hurt you?"

I looked down at the fading scars on my arms "Well..yeah-"

"That's not what I meant."

Our eyes met. I remembered the times when his lips were forced on mine,on my neck,his fingers running around me..all of it was seen through my tears and Apollo looked like he wanted to scream,cry,kiss me and hit someone at the same time. I always liked that connection between us. He could read me without me telling him stuff.

"You didn't mention this." he said sharply "Penny-"

"I'm fine." I lied,wiping my eyes.

"No you're not. Hardly a week has passed and,we never saw you..saw you grieve you know? You came back and boom,we're off to the beach like everything is okay. You're not telling us what-what happened and you're acting as if everything is okay. You're tough Penny,and I love that about you..but you need to let loose you know. You need to open up. And..I need to know that you're okay."

My eyes welled up again,and my throat was tied in knots. Fortunately,he understood. He turned towards me,both my hands in his.

"You remember the first time we met,right"

I smiled feebly "Of course,the carnival."

He nodded. "Percy,Piper,Jason,Leo and I had already gone. Percy told me that you'd meet us there,but I was barely listening. Percy and Leo were having a contest on who could eat the most hot dogs."

I laughed,remembering the boys and their oversized cheeks that made them look like chipmunks. "Yeah,I remember."

"And then behind me,you laughed. I turned around and-" Apollo laughed "-I couldn't breath."

"I remember," I said,grinning "You were just staring at me."

"All I remember thinking was,'Goddamn it,she's beautiful'." He chuckled. I felt my cheeks go red.

"I couldn't stop staring at you. Percy never really took it seriously,but I was hopeless. Every time I came around to your apartment,I only came to see you. I liked your smile,your obsession with cooking,and even you yelling your head off at Percy."

I laughed. "Yet,I hated you so much."

He grinned "And I didn't care. But I knew you liked me too. The blushing,avoiding my eyes...I loved it all and I hoped that it was would never stop. I didn't really think about my feelings as deep,but when I saw you with Luke one day,both of you talking and laughing aimlessly..I realized that I minded." he moved closer to me "Sometimes when we were alone,you'd let your guard down. Tell me stuff. Your feelings. And I loved that. It made me feel special,and when I saw you with Luke..I was so afraid that you were going to do that without some other guy instead of me."

I opened my mouth,speechless "Apollo.."

"And I still want you to tell me things Penny. You're not weak,no matter what. To my eyes,you're someone that I just can't be without."

"Apollo-"

"I love you Penny." He said,shaking his head slightly "I love you so fucking much."

My mouth was still open. Did I love him? Of course. But nothing,no words came out. Time was standing still,and the only people around were me and him. I stared hopelessly into his eyes.

And then I punched his shoulder.

"Ow!"

"You idiot!" I hissed,my eyes wet "'You can't just..you-I-" I buried my face into his chest. And I cried. But for once,it was of happiness. I took in his familiar scent,not wanting the feeling to go away. After a long time,I looked up at him. He smiled at me,wiping my tears away and grinning.

"Did I just leave Penny Jackson speechless?"

"You're an ass."

I kissed him,my arms around his shoulder,trying so hard to just savor the moment. Why did I ever consider going to France? My home,my family,my real family was here. For the first time in a really long time,I had hope. Hope that everything could be fixed,that everything was going to be alright. All I had to do..was let down my guard.

"I love you too."


Aw yayyy Penollo :) Dw Percabeth shippers,your time to shine is in the net chappie ;) REVIEW!