A/N: Hey guys! Back with another one!

This chapter takes place after Chapter 13

Percy might not make it. And he never even got to write that memoir. He wonders if he can, quite literally, ghostwrite it after he's dead.

As all these thoughts run through his head, his panic must show because Annabeth speaks up from beside him.

"Percy, it's going to be okay. I promise."

The reassurance is nice (and so is her reaching over to hold his hand), but it doesn't help as much as it should. (Because he knows at the root of it, his fear of not being good enough for Annabeth will only be heightened if he doesn't get her parent's approval).

"Especially since," Annabeth continues, "their opinion doesn't matter."

It's something she's been saying from the first time the topic came up.

"They want to meet you, and I know they'll like you. But ultimately, their opinion isn't going to make a difference in our relationship."

"You say that," he says, turning to look at her for a second. "But it won't be good if they don't like me."

Annabeth shrugs. "Listen, my parents are fine, I love them and all, but we've never been that close. Not the way you are with your family. I've always done my own thing, it's how I've been able to do what I do now."

"Yeah, but…"

"My brothers will probably hijack you anyway."

Right, her brothers.

Though she's never said it, Percy gets the feeling that getting her brother's approval means more than her parents. And he's not sure if trying to win over two eighteen-year-olds is easier or not.

He doesn't reply, trying to find his inner indifferent New York subway rider as he pulls into the driveway. It's a big house, not a mansion or anything but definitely the height of upper middle class.

Stepping out of the rental car, he walks over to Annabeth's side just as she gets out. Grabbing her purse and a bag, she meets his eyes as he comes to a stop by her. He's not sure what she sees on his face, but whatever it is makes her pull him down for a quick peck.

Before he can process or react, she's grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door. They only get a few steps in though before a soccer ball soars over the back gate headed straight towards them.

Annabeth shrieks, and once again before processing anything, he's caught the ball right before it would have hit her in the face. At the same time, two guys run through the gate and towards them.

"Oh my god," Annabeth says, catching her breath as she readjusts the bags she's holding. "Thank you, Percy."

"Shit, sorry Annabeth!" One of the guys calls out as the two come to a stop in front of them. They've got dark brown hair, a contrast from Annabeth's golden blonde, and are both looking at him curiously. He tries not to fidget under their gazes.

"I can't believe this is how I'm greeted," Annabeth grumbles, but Percy catches the small smile as they step up one by one to hug her.

The other one takes the bag from her. "Is this for us?"

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "I don't know why you always assume things are for you Matthew…but yes, it is."

"And this," she continues. "Is Percy."

They both turn to look at him again. "Hi," he says, offering a small smile. "This is yours?" He tosses the ball back to them.

"Bobby," the one holding the ball says. "And yes it is, thanks for catching it."

"If he hadn't it would have hit me and I swear to god if it left any sort of mark—"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Matthew (or who he thinks is Matthew) cuts in. "Your publicist, we get it." He ignores Annabeth's glare and turns to Percy.

"Matthew, nice to meet you."

"Hi, you too," he replies somewhat awkwardly, thankful that Annabeth has once again grasped his hand.

Bobby, who had been staring at him, speaks up. "You're different than I thought you'd be."

They say curiosity killed the cat, but he asks anyway. "In what way?"

Bobby shrugs. "I don't know, thought you'd be more like what's his face…that blonde one?"

Matthew shakes his head. "Don't remember, didn't really like him." He turns to Percy. "You're cooler than him right?"

"Um…" If they were talking about Annabeth's ex (who is another actor) then he sincerely doesn't know.

"Guys! Be nice!" Annabeth juts in.

"What" It's a valid question?" Matthew defends.

Annabeth ignores him. "Where's dad and—"

"Out," Bobby finishes. "They thought you guys were getting here later. Anyway, come on."

Bobby gestures for them to follow and the four head through the back gate to the backyard, where the boys had presumably been kicking around the soccer ball.

"It's a bit of a mess on this side," Matthew says. "They're building a new deck."

And sure enough, as they round the corner, there are the bare bones of a new decking structure on the back of the house.

Percy can't help but be a little curious. It's been a while since he's seen a project like this and he finds himself walking up to him, Annabeth (with her hand still in his) following along confusedly.

"What's up?" she asks as she scans the skeleton decking.

"Hold on…" Letting go of her hand, he steps closer to inspect the beams. "This isn't right…"

"What?"

"This isn't right," he repeats, stepping away from the beams and turning to see all three of them looking at him. "They bolted the beam to the side of the post, it can cause the wood to shred, and they really should have used galvanized-steel post caps…" he trails off as he realizes the way they're staring at him.

"How do you know all this?" Matthew asks, stepping forward to inspect the beams.

Percy shrugs, trying not to turn red under all the attention. "I used to work in deck construction."

Bobby nods appreciatively. "That's cool."

"Actually, it was pretty sweaty," he jokes. "But sometimes the people were nice and offered us coffee."

"Really?" Matthew asks. He realizes that he has the boy's full attention now and just decides to go with it.

"It was never that good," he continues. "But you take what you get. Especially at six in the morning."

"Six!?"

"It depended on the lumber situation, but there was this guy there who liked playing soccer and if we had some downtime before heading out, he'd teach me how to do keep-ups."

"Really? Can you show us?"

"I wasn't that good at it and it's been a very long time but… I can try?"

He manages to keep up the ball for fifteen seconds which is enough to get the boys grinning and trying to attempt it on their own.

Annabeth presses up to his side as he watches Bobby try. "Told you," she whispers, leaning into him.

He smiles back, feeling much more relaxed now.

"Also," she continues to whisper. "I got to say, the deck building is impressive. No wonder you're so good with your hands…"

Never mind, there goes all the relaxation out the window.

A/N: Shoutout to anon on tumblr and the rest of you who requested Annabeth's family after Percy's! Lot's of lore in this one lol I really wanted Annabeth have to have some familial ties and I thought her being close to her brothers and not her parents is a fun dynamic to explore. I hope you guys liked it!

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please Review!

And as always, thanks for reading!

See ya! :)