Chapter 20

-Percy-

Rapid knocks on his front door wakes him up and he stumbles out of his bedroom and into the living room of his apartment, wondering why someone is pounding on his front door so late at night. His questions were all but answered when a sobbing Annabeth falls in his arms the very moment he opens the door.

"A-Annabeth?" he asks, his voice full of concern. "What are you doing here? Why are you crying?"

She clings to him and tries to speak, but her voice breaks and she continues sobbing.

"Percy...? What's going on in here?" Sally asks, shuffling down the hallway.

"I don't know," he replies. "It's Annabeth..."

"What's she doing here so late at..." Sally's voice falters when she sees her sobbing. "Oh my... What happened?"

"I don't know," he says. "Can you get her something to drink?"

"Yes, of course!" Sally says, rushing to the kitchen.

Percy manages to turn on the lights in the living room and guides Annabeth to the couch to sit. She won't let go of him, but that's fine by him. All he knows is that she clearly needs him right now.

"Hey, it's okay now. I'm here," he says in a soothing voice. He rubs her back gently, trying to calm her nerves. "Can you tell me what's going on? You're supposed to be at your parents house, aren't you?"

"Th-They're not my parents..." she stutters.

What does she mean by that? he thinks. He's about to ask her when Sally comes out of the kitchen with a mug of hot chocolate and gently touches Annabeth's back. Annabeth tenses, but relaxes when she sees it's her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Sally apologizes. "I brought you some hot chocolate."

"Thanks..." she says, letting go of Percy to take the mug.

"Can you tell us what's going on, sweetheart?"

"My... my parents... they didn't tell me they did this but..." Annabeth starts to say but she tears up some and her voice cracks.

"Shh... take your time," Percy says softly.

Annabeth nods and takes a careful sip of her hot chocolate. "We were opening our Christmas presents... Dad went first and got something nice, then my brothers convinced me to open mine next so I did. I thought I only had the two gifts from my parents, but... mother invited Luke over."

Percy tenses a bit in surprise. "What? They invited Luke?"

Annabeth nods, still trembling at the fresh memory. "I protested his presence but they decided to leave me alone with him to talk. He... wasn't interested in talking, though..."

She starts breaking down sobbing again. "He assaulted me, Percy! And my parents chose him over me!"

Sally covers her mouth in shock and Percy pales slightly.

"I tried to get him off of me but I couldn't, so I screamed as loud as I could," she explains shakily.

"Oh, sweetheart, that's awful," Sally says. "You're more than welcome to stay here. I can set up the couch for you."

"No, mom, she needs a bed," Percy says.

"You're not sleeping with her, dear," Sally objects.

"Nor was I suggesting that. I'll take the couch."

"No," Annabeth protests. "Percy, you don't have to do that..."

"Yes, I do," Percy says, looking into her eyes. He isn't going to take no for an answer and he knows she sees it. She doesn't argue any further, instead she just nods and leans into him.

"Do you want me to call the police?" Sally offers.

"No, you don't have to do that... if my parents won't, I think my brothers might. I'm pretty sure they believed me at least..."

"Even still, I should call them and tell them what happened," Sally says.

"How can we prove to them that it happened, other than a witness account?" Percy asks his mom. "I'm not against the idea, I'm just thinking..."

"Percy's right, Mrs. Jackson," Annabeth says. "It would be my parent's word against mine. They won't listen to me."

Sally nods. "Alright. In that case, do you have extra clothes with you?"

Annabeth nods. "I have a bag, but it's still in my car."

"I'll get that for you, dear. You just do what you can to calm your nerves, okay?" Sally says.

"Thank you..."

Sally gets up and leaves the apartment to find Annabeth's car. In the meantime, Annabeth clings to Percy again and holds on tight. Percy holds her just as tight, protectively.

"I can't believe it..." he mumbles.

"What...?"

"I can't believe that your own family... that's terrible..."

She sniffles and buries her face in his chest. "I know..."

"What exactly did Luke do to you?" he asks softly. "You don't have to say right now if you can't."

"No, I can... Just give me a minute."

"Okay. Take all the time you need, I'm not going anywhere."

A few moments go by before she finally speaks.

"After my parents left us alone, he backed me into a corner and pinned my hands above my head. I couldn't move them and he was so close that I couldn't kick him. His right hand was still free and he... he reached for my bra and... I couldn't stop him..."

"That bastard..." Percy growls.

"When I screamed, everyone heard me. Luke covered his ears and I was able to kick him when he backed up a bit, but my mother immediately started accusing me of lying to them about Luke..."

Percy can't believe what he's hearing. Her own parents betrayed her for a creep and wouldn't even let her explain.

"Does your house have cameras?" Percy asks her.

"Only on the outside... There's none inside, otherwise I would use that to get him arrested..."

"He has to pay for this," Percy growls.

"Percy, please... Don't go looking for a fight... I don't want you to get in trouble," she pleads.

"Annabeth, I can't just let him get away with this! Your parents have to be held accountable, too!"

"I know, but what can you do? My parents are... well, you know... and Luke..."

Her phone starts ringing, cutting off Annabeth's sentence. She looks at the caller ID and sees it's her father. She ignores it, but Percy picks it up. Annabeth quietly warns him to be careful, but gives him permission to answer the phone.

"Annabeth! Thank God you picked up! We need you to come home right now!"

"She doesn't want anything to do with you, Mr. Chase!" Percy says, letting his anger mix with his otherwise calm tone.

"Who is this? Where's Annabeth?"

"You've probably heard of me already. My name is Percy Jackson. I'm her boyfriend, and she came to my apartment and told us everything. Let me make one thing clear to you, sir! I don't care who you are. You have some nerve allowing a creep like Luke anywhere near Annabeth!"

"Tell Annabeth she needs to come home, now!"

Annabeth snatches her phone from Percy, but sets it to speaker phone. "I'm not coming home, father! Not after what happened! I don't want you or mother to come near me!"

"You understand what this means, don't you?"

"Do you believe what I said about Luke, yet?" she asks him.

"Luke told us what happened!"

"Oh really? What did he tell you?" Annabeth asks.

"He said you two were just talking when you got angry at him and kicked him."

"And you believe him?"

"I don't know what to believe. Luke never seemed like the kind of man to lie!"

"And am I known for lying?" Annabeth asks, harshly.

The sounds that come from the phone then tells Percy that Frederick is trying to figure out how to answer that, which isn't a good sign on his part. His eyes narrow and he glances from the phone to Annabeth and the look on her face breaks his heart.

"If you really have to think about that, then you don't really know me," Annabeth says quietly, clearly very hurt.

"I do know you! You're my daughter!"

He doesn't sound mad, much to Percy's surprise. He sounds more desperate. No, not desperate. It sounds like he's pleading with Annabeth to come back. But though his voice has that pleading tone to it, his words aren't matching.

"Not anymore!"

"Annabeth-"

Percy watches her hang up and toss her phone onto the table in front of the couch.

"I can't believe that just happened..." Percy grumbles, furious over the conversation.

Annabeth is still trembling in his arms and she clings to him again, her tears flowing all over again and she sobs into his chest. All Percy can do for now, is hold her and comfort her the best he can.

...

The following morning, Percy is woken up when he feels somebody climbing onto the couch with him, then extra weight pressing down on his chest. He opens his eyes and sees Annabeth curling up with him, her arm wrapped around his waist, anchoring herself to him.

"Morning," he groans, sleepily.

She only hums a response.

"How..."

"Don't finish that question," she warns. "I slept horribly."

"I'm sorry... Next time I'll see if I can find you a better bed."

She digs her elbow into his stomach and he yelps. "OW! Okay, I'm sorry!"

"I'm not in the mood for your jokes, Seaweed Brain," she grumbles.

"Okay," he replies. "So then what are you in the mood for?"

"Just shut up and hold me for now..."

"That I can do," he says, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

...

"Hey Percy...?"

"Yes?"

Annabeth squeezes his hand. "Thank you for helping me earlier. It means a lot to me that you're here."

"You came to my place, first, but I get it. I'll always be here for you when you need me, I promise."

"That's a big promise to keep, Seaweed Brain," she jokes, cracking a small smile. "Are you sure you're up to the task?"

"For you? Of course."

Her smile widens just a little bit and she leans into him, continuing to watch their movie.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Percy exclaims, suddenly getting up, which makes Annabeth fall onto her back on the couch.

"Woah! Hey, what's your deal?"

"Since you're here, I figured I could give this to you now!" Percy says, picking something off the table in the kitchen and returning to the living room. It's the gift he got for her for Christmas. "The season isn't over yet, and maybe this can help cheer you up."

Annabeth takes the gift from him and smiles. "Percy, are you sure?"

"Never been more sure, open it!"

She laughs softly and tears open the wrapping paper. Just under the wrapping is the cover of a certain book she looked at while she was at the Barnes and Noble in the mall: the one about ancient architecture. Her eyes light up and her depression disappears, replaced with joy and excitement.

"I know this book! I looked at it at the bookstore before break!" she exclaims, looking through the pages.

"I saw it one day and thought of you. You've always said you loved architecture and wanted to be an architect someday so I figured you'd want this. Merry Christmas, Annabeth," Percy says with a smile.

"Thank you, Percy!" she says, the happiness being clear in her voice. She sets the book down and throws her arms around him.

Percy laughs and hugs her back. They embrace each other for a while before she pulls away just enough to see his face. Percy smiles at her and she smiles back right before kissing him. He hums and closes his eyes, keeping his arms around her so she doesn't get jumpy. The gentle kiss doesn't last long and it breaks naturally.

"I love you," she whispers quietly. So quietly, in fact, that even with their closeness he could barely hear her.

Percy's face reddens and he stares at her in shock. "Y-You... what?"

"What?"

"You just said 'I love you'," he says, embarrassed.

"I did? I thought I just thought that! Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I mean, I'm not sorry, but, I didn't mean to say it out loud! Ugh, I'm such a mess!"

Percy laughs and takes her hand. "Hey, it's okay. We can talk about this some other time okay?"

"You don't feel the same for me?" she asks him, faking disappointment.

"What? No, it's not that I don't, it's just... we haven't been dating long and I don't want to go too fast, you know?"

Annabeth laughs as he rambles. "I know, silly. I'm just messing with you."

"You're a cold hearted person, Annabeth," he jests.

She lightly punches his arm and leans back into him. She picks up her new book and while Percy keeps watching the movie, she starts reading.

He looks down at her and smiles, amazed at how happy she seems already since last night. Seeing her now makes him realize one thing: he would do anything to protect her. He'll stand up to her parents, hell, even the President of the United States if it means she remains safe. She doesn't deserve any harsh treatment from anybody.

"Hey, are you okay?"

He blinks a couple times and sees her grey eyes looking up at him, curiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just lost in thought, that's all," he says.

Annabeth frowns a little and leans her head on his chest. "You're thinking about what happened?"

Percy sighs and rubs her back. "How can I not?"

"Don't be reckless, okay?" she says.

"I won't. But the next time I see Luke at school, I'm going to knock him into next year."

"And I doubt anything I say will convince you to not do that," she hums.

"Nope."

She sighs and looks back up at him. "Just don't go too far, okay? I don't want you in any serious trouble."

"I won't. Hey, you want to go out somewhere?"

She sits up, still looking at him. "Where to?"

"I don't know, maybe we could go to Jason's house or Piper's? Call everyone and just hang out if they're not too busy?"

"If we're getting everyone together, we should wait a day or two," Annabeth says. "And I don't want to risk running into Luke in the city so let's just stay here for now, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Percy says with a shrug. "In that case, I'm going to put on a different movie."

"I should text Piper, though, and Thalia. They should know what happened."

"I agree. And Piper will probably tell Jason, who might tell Leo, who will probably go nuts making more swords for war."

Annabeth laughs a little. "I don't think Leo would do that, would he?"

Percy shrugs again. "Who knows? He might."

"Last I checked, from Halloween you're his king," she teases. "He would wait for your orders."

"Stop teasing me about that," Percy sighs. "I'm not a king."

"Fine, but you know I am right about him listening to you."

"Yeah, if I tell him to make a sword, he would. But I already have one and it's nice and sharp," Percy says, smiling.

"Yeah, you don't need a sword for Luke. I think you can win with your fists."

"He's still stronger than I am, you know," Percy reminds her.

"That doesn't mean you can't win. I think his strength is all that he relies on off the field."

Percy smiles at her. As far as he's concerned, she's completely right. Luke may be a football player in their school and have an advantage in strength, but Percy technically has more fighting experience. His interest in Greek mythology is partially responsible for that. A lot of the time, he's kept in shape for the most part, so he's not weak by any standards. But Percy doesn't like giving himself credit for things like this. It sounds arrogant and he doesn't want to be seen as such. However, it's also not like he's actually fought other people before, either. He's only sparred with Leo and Jason several times, but that hardly counts as a real fight. Luke has gotten in fist fights before, Percy has witnessed it firsthand, so he would know how to block a punch and counter.

"You're still concerned about it?" she asks him. "About facing Luke?"

"Yeah. I've beaten him with a sword before, but he's been through a lot of fist fights. I think he prefers using his fists over any sword or spear," Percy sighs.

"Well, how about this? You both agreed to a rematch right after the fight during Halloween, right?"

"Yeah, we did."

"Tell him you're ready for that rematch. Then kick his ass a second time."

Percy laughs at that last part. "Well... I guess. We'll see what happens, okay?"

Annabeth nods and leans into him again. "Whatever happens, just be careful. Promise?"

"Promise."

...

December 27th, 2010

"I can't believe he actually did that! He needs to pay!"

"Yeah, I agree!"

"Oh my God, will you two please keep it down...?" Percy groans, covering his face with his right hand as several people sitting around them turn and look at them.

Jason and Leo blink at him, unbothered that they were just being stared at a moment ago. "You want us to be quiet about this?"

"Hey, give the guy some slack," Grover says, taking a bite of his sandwich. "You wouldn't want every stranger in New York to know if Piper was assaulted. That information belongs to a special few."

The four guys have been sitting in a food court at the mall while the girls shop. Piper, Thalia, Cal, and Annabeth are roaming somewhere and the boys just don't want to bother looking for them. Jason had texted Piper and told her where they'd be so now they just have to sit back and wait until they arrive. Unfortunately, that also meant having to deal with Grover wanting food for nearly 20 minutes before Jason agreed to buy him some since Grover didn't have any money.

"Like the police, the doctor, a therapist, maybe," he continues.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Jason grumbles.

"Should we reform our army and go after him?" Leo asks.

"Dude, no," Percy says. "I'll be fine alone, but the army thing was only for Halloween, remember?"

"I know, but it was fun!"

"It was," Percy agrees.

"But like he said," Jason says then, "It was just for one night."

"Okay, fine," Leo sighs.

Jason's phone dings and he looks at it. "Piper says she and the others are here."

Percy looks around and spots the girls standing at the edge of the food court, looking through the crowd to find them. He points them out and Jason lets out a quick, loud whistle, catching the girls' attention. They start making their way over, but Percy spots someone behind the group with blonde hair. He stands up and starts walking up to the girls, thinking it's Luke stalking Annabeth, but as he gets closer, he's able to get a clear look at the guy's face and sighs with relief. It's not Luke, just some guy trying to navigate the busy mall.

"Hey," Percy says once he reaches the girls. "Did you finally find everything now?"

Piper pinches his arm and he yelps. "Yes, we finally found what we wanted. So impatient."

"Rude," Percy mutters as Piper steps passed him to get to the table.

"You guys have been sitting there this whole time?" Thalia asks him.

"Yeah. Grover wouldn't quit complaining about food so Jason paid for lunch," Percy explains.

"I can see that. He really hasn't changed much, has he?" Thalia laughs.

"Nope, he really hasn't."

"So what's the plan now?" Annabeth asks.

"Sit down and have lunch," Cal says. "I agree with Grover for once. I'm starving."

"You can sit next to Leo," Annabeth teases in a singsong voice.

"Eww, no! Why would I want to sit next to him?"

Percy smiles, seeing something about her that no one else does.

"What are you smiling at, Jackson?" she grumbles.

"Nothing. Just that the spot next to Leo is the last open seat," he says.

"What? No, there's a couple chairs opposite of him," she points out.

"Well then unless you want to sit next to me, then-"

"Fine, I'll sit with Leo!"

Percy laughs and they go sit at the table, Piper to Jason's left, right of Percy, Leo to Jason's right, Cal next to Leo, Thalia right of Cal, Grover to Thalia's right, then Annabeth between him and Percy.

"Oh, hey sweet thing, I didn't think you were interested in me," Leo says to Cal, going straight to flirting.

"I'm not. Shut up and eat your food," Cal orders, shoving some of his food towards his face. Everybody laughs a bit as Leo and Cal start arguing.

Percy's phone dings and he see's it's a text from Grover. What do you think of Leo and Cal?

Upon closer inspection of the text, he sees it's sent on the guys' group chat, which Leo is a part of. Fortunately, he's too preoccupied with Cal to notice his phone so Percy shoots a quick reply.

Percy: It's no secret that Leo is practically in love with her.

Jason: Okay yeah, we already know that. What about Cal?

Grover: Yeah, that's what I meant.

Percy: Okay, fine. There's something there. As much as she denies it, I'm pretty sure she likes him back.

"I knew it!" Jason calls, then quickly hides his phone as everyone at their table stops talking and looks at him.

"Knew what, Jason?" Piper asks him.

"Nothing important," he replies.

"Uh huh..."

"You shouldn't keep secrets from Piper," Cal says. "She finds out everything one way or another."

"I can attest to that," Annabeth says. "I've tried hiding something personal from her and she found out about it really quick."

"What can I say?" Piper says with a smile. "It's a gift."

"Just like Percy's gift with reading people?" Leo asks.

"I think swimming is more my gift, but sure let's go with that," Percy replies.

"Swimming? You've never competed though so how do you know it's a gift?" Piper asks him.

She has a good point there, he has to admit that.

"I've seen him swim," Annabeth says. "He's really fast."

"Yeah, I bet he is faster than all the guys on our school's team," Jason says. "Which is why I've been trying to get him to join the swim team for a long time."

"Yeah, he has," Percy confirms. "And I might just do that next season."

"Really? You're actually doing it?" Leo asks him.

"Yeah, I am. Maybe even when we get to college I'll keep doing it, I don't know."

"Well I think tryouts are in August right before school starts, so get training for that," Grover says.