Encounters

AN: TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter is going to be covering the subjects of sexual assault. It's really important that if any of my readers are sensitive to this subject, they know that a good first half of this chapter is going to be covering that subject, and if you're impacted by that skip over it and I'll summarize what happened in the AN at the bottom of the chapter. I'll also put a notice of where you can start reading if you choose to skip over the first half of the chapter. Please please read the AN at the bottom of the chapter - ShyGal

Annabeth

When you hear about bad things, you never expect them to happen to you. They can happen to other people, but they could never, in a million years, ever happen to you. When you hear about something bad happening to someone you don't know, you get angry at the injustice they've faced, but after some time you stop thinking about it because you don't know that person so why would it stay in your mind? Sure, it's horrible, but you can't be expected to remember every single injustice that some random strangers have faced. When you hear about something bad happening to someone you know, it hits closer to home. Now, it's more real. You realize that bad things happen to people all the time, and if it happened to someone you know, who's saying it won't happen to you? Instead of being angry, you're scared because now it's close, but you try to calm yourself by reminding yourself that even if the bad situation happened closer to you, it still probably wouldn't happen to you. You go over all the statistics, and you calm yourself by telling yourself that the chances of something actually bad happening to you are small. You try to sympathize, you try to understand, but you always live with this small voice in your head telling you that that could never happen to you. You tell yourself this enough times that in your mind, it becomes true, and then you continue living your life being naïve. On Saturday, at 12:05 am, I realized that that naïve person was me. I didn't realize it right away because I didn't know there was a threat at first. It was just me, walking through the dark parking lot that was on the other side of the school, trying to get to my car so I could be on my way home.

At 11:30 on Friday night, I realized the parking lot was completely empty, and there was no one else there. The naïve part of me was trying to reassure me. It would be okay, it told me, because I'd walked through this parking lot alone multiple times there was no reason that that night should've been any different. Still, I walked a little faster towards my car.

At 11:32, I saw my car in the parking lot and almost let out a breath of relief. I was going to get in my car, drive away, and go to bed. That's all I wanted that night.

At 11:35, I got to my car, and my anxiousness to get home caused me to drop my keys by the door. Someone picked them up for me and rung the keys around one finger.

At 11:36, I met the blue eyes of a person that I'd seen at a café in New York City weeks before. The person gave me a smile that was supposed to be heartwarming, but inside I felt cold, and the fact that the parking lot was empty came back to me. Sometime between 11:38 and 11:40, a gun was whipped out, a threat was made, and I was told to get in the car.

Between 11:40 and 12:00, I was in a car with a guy who was threatening to kill me if I didn't comply with what he said. He made it clear that if I even reached for my phone I'd regret it.

At 12:00 am on Saturday morning, I was forced out of the car and into an apartment. Looking back at it, it was odd that he didn't take any of my belongings, but my brain was racing too much at the time for me to have taken that into consideration.

At 12:05 I was thrown down on a bed. I said no, and I squirmed, and I screamed, and I yelled, and I pulled away as much as I could but it was no use.

At 12:49, he stated that he was done with me and proceeded to throw the clothes he had ripped off of my body back at me. He sat me down and told me that if I said a word, that would be the end of Malcolm, and Percy, and any other person that I cared about. How he grew to learn so much about the people I loved was beyond me. He told me to sit down on the couch, and then sat down next to me. He told me that maybe if I had been compliant this wouldn't have happened, that if I just did what I was told and stayed out of business that didn't concern me, I could've avoided this. He told me that this was well deserved and that I should be grateful that that was all he did because it could've been so much worse. He threw my keys back at me, gave me a pat on the back as if we were old friends, and then said, "You know, I'll miss you. Maybe there'll be a next time" as he shoved me out the door.

At 12:57, I got in my car, and drove home feeling nothing but numb. My body ached, and my head pulsed, and my eyes were blurred, and I was not okay. At one point, I considered wrecking the car on purpose.

At 1:09, I got home and the first face I saw when I dragged myself through that door was Helen's. She was sitting in an arm chair, and when my face popped up, she looked up at me and gave me a smile so deathly sweet I could feel a cavity forming. She went through the formalities of asking me how I was and I lied partly because I knew she didn't care, partly because obviously I was not fine by the way I looked, and partly because something in the back of my head told me she already knew exactly how I was.

At 1:12, I marched upstairs and sat down on my bed trying to clear my head, but every time I tried to tell myself that it would be okay, I remembered the way his mouth smelled like tobacco. Any thought I had brought me back to the event, and my head pulsed just thinking about it. I wanted to scream, or yell, or something, but instead I sat there like a stone.

At 2:18, the thinking became too unbearable, so I grabbed my stuff and went to take a shower, attempting to scrub away the feeling of nails on my body. I felt disgusting and nasty, and I scrubbed so hard my skin went raw and I was red all over. For a while I just sat in the shower, letting the water run. When I got out, I looked at myself in the mirror and at that moment I wanted nothing more than to peel away my skin to get any particle from the scene away from me, but instead I went back to my room.

From 3-5 am I did nothing but sit on my bed and stare at a wall, the words that Luke spit at me before I left repeating themselves in my head. I couldn't sleep because when I closed my eyes the scene from that night became more vivid.

At 6:17, I made my way downstairs and came back up to my room with a bottle of whiskey and a glass. My plan was to get so drunk I passed out, so then I could sleep. That plan didn't work.

From 6-11, I tried to distract myself from what had happened. I played a game, I read a book, I did anything I could think of to get my mind off of things.

And now, at 12:21, I picked up Percy's phone call.

"Hey, Blondie." He greeted, sounding happy and vivacious and everything that I wish I could feel right now but I felt nothing.

"Hey." I responded, trying to sound exactly the opposite of how I felt.

"It's Saturday, are we still up for our hang out?"

"Sure." I choked out, even though the last thing I wanted to do right now was leave the house.

"Great, when do you think you can be here? I have video games set out so we can fight to the death." I cracked a small smile and shook my head at him even though he couldn't see me. Then I realized that I was still under the influence, and there was no way I was going to risk driving over there. That meant I had to walk. The mere thought of going out into the streets made me want to hurl. A picture painted itself in my head of someone dragging me away into an ally because I decided to walk that day.

"Actually, my head kind of hurts, do you think you could just come with Malcolm and then we could drive together?" I asked awkwardly, hoping he didn't think the request was too bizarre.

"Sure, that should be fine." And it was fine, and he came and drove us to his house. I knew that I looked like a mess. I had no motivation to do anything, so I left the house in sweats and a huge t- shirt with my hair looking like I'd gone through a hurricane. But Percy, graciously, didn't say anything, and for that I was grateful.

"So how are you, Blondie?" He asked as we sat ourselves down on the couch.

"I'm okay, just tired I guess." He glanced over at me and frowned.

"Yeah, it looks like it, your eyes are bloodshot. Do you want some tea?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Yes, that'd be great." I replied as I followed him into the kitchen, making sure to not make eye contact.

"You never texted me last night, I got kind of worried." He stated as he put some water to boil and then turned to me.

"Yeah, sorry, my phone just ran out of battery and I didn't have a charger." I lied, swallowing quickly. It made me sick how quickly I could come up with lies.

"It's okay, I was just scared something bad happened." He said as he got closer, and the panic sensors in my brain turned on. I suddenly felt small and weak and I wanted to get away. The moment I saw him leaning in for a kiss I jumped away. He shot me a hurt and confused look and I hugged myself as I stared at the floor.

"Um, sorry, I just think I'm getting sick and I wouldn't want to get you sick."

"Why did your breath smell like alcohol?" He questioned, ignoring my justification for pulling away. He poured some boiling water into a mug and then placed the tea packet in it.

"Thalia and I were celebrating the fact that you guys made the playoffs last night." I said quickly, and he turned and shot me a look. "I mean, obviously not Thalia because she can't drink, so I stupidly decided to drink for the both of us. It was dumb."

"You shouldn't drink that much, Blondie, you could end up getting over intoxicated." He said as he walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I stiffened under his touch and swallowed, trying not to jump. It didn't matter that it wasn't Luke because any touch jumped me back to the night before, and I was on the edge.

"I know, it was stupid. Just happy for you guys." I said as he passed me the tea, and I let out a breath of relief as he backed away from me. Even though I knew I was safe, I felt trapped in my own mind.

"Thanks. Now, let me tell you about what went down at the celebration last night." He started as we got back to the couch, and when we did I made sure that the distance between us was great.

**IF YOU SKIPPED OVER THE FIRST HALF OF THE CHAPTER YOU CAN START READING NOW**

Piper

I wasn't into girls. I liked guys, and I'd had sex with guys before. I wasn't into girls. I'd never had feelings for a girl before, I'd never dated a girl before, so I wasn't into girls. I wasn't into girls.

When I woke up that morning, I didn't know what to think. My head had been in the crook of Reyna's neck, our legs were intertwined with each other's, and I could feel her bare skin under the covers. And I wasn't into girls. I remember staring at her sleeping face and thinking about how peaceful she looked with her long hair framing her face and her face so relaxed, and then I stopped myself because I remembered that I wasn't into girls.

The fact that I was aware of what happened last night troubled me because I wasn't into girls. I'd been shocked to learn that our lips molded with each other's so well, but I wasn't into girls. I was aware that she'd made me feel like I'd never felt before, but I wasn't into girls. I wasn't into girls. That's the only thing that I would allow myself to think about the entire time I was awake, and that's what I was thinking about now. I felt a stir and was snapped out of my thoughts when Reyna's dark eyes met mine.

"Hey." She said roughly, rubbing her eyes with her hands to get the sleep out of them. I moved away from her and leaned against my elbow.

"Hi."

"What time is it?" She asked, and before I could answer, she crawled out of bed completely naked and started to stretch. I could feel my face heating up and she turned to look at me as she stretched her arms behind her head. She raised an eyebrow at me and my mouth popped open.

"Oh, um, it's 10:12." I blurted out, while repeating the phrase I'm not into girls in my head. She tilted her head to the side as if she was thinking and I watched quietly as she turned to her wardrobe and started braiding her hair back.

"Alright, so I say we get breakfast downstairs, and then at 10:30 we start working on the project. Does that work for you?" She asked as she slipped a sports bra over her head and I was so confused as to what was happening that all I did was nod.

"This should be more than enough for Monday, I can fix up the conjugations later, so basically we're good to go. Do you need a ride home?" Reyna asked a couple hours later after we'd successfully finished the project. If I was being honest, Reyna did most of the work because I was not paying attention to half the things she was saying. The entire time I was reminding myself that I wasn't into girls.

"Um, Thalia's actually, she's not feeling well so I'm going to go keep her company." I told her, and she nodded and stood up, gesturing for me to follow her downstairs.

The ride to Thalia's house was filled with silence, and in my head I was tearing myself apart. I wasn't into girls, I'd never been into girls. We pulled up in front of Thalia's house and I turned to Reyna.

"Listen, before I go, I think we should talk about last night." I said quickly because I knew if I took my sweet time I'd never get it out. Reyna turned to me and gave me a look.

"Me too actually. I didn't know that you were into girls." She commented as she messed with the stereo and I cringed.

"I'm not into girls, that's what I was going to tell you." I said timidly. She looked up from the stereo and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean you're not into girls?"

"I mean, I'm not attracted to girls, I don't like them. I'm straight." She paused and then leaned back in her seat.

"Were you still high when you first kissed me last night?" She asked seriously.

"No, I was conscious."

"Then what do you mean you're not attracted to girls?"

"I mean, I've never liked a girl. I'm into guys." I said as I played with the ends of my hair in an effort to not have to look at her.

"You realize that just because you're into guys doesn't mean you can't be into girls right? Because the way you were acting last night totally contradicts your whole "I'm not attracted to girls" statement." She said bluntly, meeting my eyes again.

"I mean, you got on top of me." I defended, and her eyes narrowed.

"Sure, but did you forget that you initiated the entire thing? You kissed me first."

"You didn't have to kiss me back." I retorted, ignoring her statement that I had, in fact, initiated the entire thing. At hearing this Reyna gave me the most confused and shocked look she could muster.

"Why the hell wouldn't I kiss you back? We were having a moment and I felt something, you initiated a kiss so I kissed you back."

"You didn't have to." I repeated, confused as to what was happening right now because if I wasn't wrong Reyna sounded hurt.

"Are you really trying to blame the fact that we had sex on me?"

"No, I'm just trying to tell you that I'm not into girls." I said, getting heated for whatever reason. I could feel this turning into an argument and I wanted to run away. Reyna scoffed and shot me a look.

"Oh, that's rich, really because it's not like you consciously initiated sex with me. Last time I checked I'm a girl." I threw my head against the back of the seat and shook my head.

"Last night was a one-time thing, I'm not into girls. I was just in the moment and I-"

"Oh, please save the bullshit for someone who's actually willing to buy it. Whatever Piper, fine, sure, let's sit here and pretend that what happened last night didn't happen, it was totally just a heat of the moment kind of deal, and it won't ever happen again because you're oh so straight and totally not into girls." She said angrily and then her eyes narrowed and she turned to me. "If you're really not into girls, then what you did is even more messed up now because you knew how I felt at the time and you totally used the fact that I was sensitive about something so you could get in my pants. How can you be so manipulative?"

"Reyna-"

"Look, I have to go, I hope your situation with Jason gets fixed." She snapped, and I took that as my cue to grab my stuff and leave. As soon as I got out of the car she drove away and I was left standing on the curb thinking about the words I'd just said.

AN: alright so a couple things about this chapter. 1) If you skipped over the first half of the chapter that covered sexual assault, basically what happened was that Luke threatened Annabeth in the parking lot, took her away, she was sexually assaulted, and then it just covers how she felt afterwards, and the fact that she's lying about it to Percy. 2) The second half of the chapter deals with confusions about sexuality. I know right now it seems like what Piper did and said is kind of heartless, but speaking from experience in those types of situations a person can become really confused about themselves and what they like. 3) This is a really heavy chapter and it was difficult for me to write, and I sincerely hope that nobody got upset or triggered by it. 4) Lastly, the reason that I covered the subjects of sexual assault and confusions on sexuality is because first, as a writer, I want my stories not only to be at least a little realistic, but also to cover issues that actually matter in the real world. We don't talk about these things nearly enough and that's something we should change so we can all become more aware. The truth is that these kinds of things happen all the time, and it's disgusting and wrong and we all need to be more aware about these types of situations, and second, LGBTQ+ issues and personas are under represented in media and entertainment, and because of that we never really get to see the issues or struggles that come with being confused about your sexuality. I really really hope this chapter didn't offend anyone or hurt anyone or anything because the entire reason i write is so I can impact others in some way. Till next time- ShyGal