AN: WARNING: There is domestic abuse in this chapter. If that triggers anything, then please. DO NOT READ.
Hello, there, guys! I had a great vacation. Thank you for asking. :D
To I really don't: Ha ha, thanks. I did, thank you. And, um. No. I'm not a part of any secret organization, but I don't know about the other guys…
To liaregie: Woah. I made an nOTP…bearable? THIS IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION! WHOOOOOOOOOOOO *runs around room waving arms* *cracks open wine bottle (but not really)* *throws party with cat because I have no friends* WHOOOOOOOOOOO.
2015
They eventually get off of Percy. It takes a little while, Rachel deciding to drag out the dogpile a little longer than necessary, but they all can't stop giggling. Percy's probably the worst.
After they roll off of him, they each (except for Jason) pick up a remote and get back into the game. Annabeth is prepared for when Percy tries to stick his foot in her face again, and she skillfully dodges, kicking his own remote out of his hands.
"Hey!" he complains. Piper and Rachel snicker, but only the latter turns to look. "That's not fair!"
She just shrugs. "All's fair in love and war, Percy," Annabeth says. "Plus; you're a little hypocrite."
"OOOOOOOOOOOH!" Rachel says. "BURN!"
"Hey. You're supposed to be on my side." Percy pouts, jutting out his bottom lip and making a baby seal face.
"Aw, poor baby," Rachel says without any sympathy, but drops a kiss on his lips anyway. Annabeth reframes from clearing her throat or growling, and turns back to the screen, passing Piper. She gives her a surprised look, and Annabeth doesn't reply.
Annabeth wins the round, and Jason points out that it's getting dark.
"We should probably go," Rachel agrees. Percy nods.
"Since Rachel's dropping off Percy," Jason says, turning to Annabeth, "do you need a ride?"
"Oh, there's no need," Percy interjects. "She lives in my apartment building."
He doesn't seem fazed, agreeing to let Annabeth go with the couple, but Piper's eyebrows shoot up with an unasked question. Probably, Why is an orphan living in your building?
With one last farewell to Jason and Piper, Annabeth, Percy, and Rachel jump into the red Mercedes. Percy snags front this time, and he and Rachel start a conversation, Annabeth giving her input whenever prompted.
"See you later!" Rachel waves at them from the front seat. Turning back to the road, she drives off, the breeze she created rippling Annabeth and Percy's clothes.
"Well?" Percy prompted, smiling at her and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah. Yeah I did." Annabeth rubs her hand over the back of her neck. She's not able to meet his eyes for some reason. "Piper was really cool. I'm glad I got to meet her."
He cocks his head to the side. "You say that like it's the last time you'll see her, or something."
She freezes and her eyes widen slightly, but she quickly regains her composure. "No, I just…You never know if other people don't like…you."
"Oh, come on. Don't talk like that." His grin turns encouraging. "I'm sure that she loved you. You're great."
A goofy grin spreads across her face at the uncalled for compliment, and she immediately snaps her eyes down to the ground before it becomes too obvious. She shrugs, giving off an air a nonchalance. "If you say so."
His finger pokes at her side. "I know so. Be more confident!"
"Okay! Okay! Fine!" She slaps his hand away, and they giggle. "I'll be more confident in my social skills from this point onward."
"That's the spirit!" he cheers.
She places her hands on her hips, adding a little strut to her step. "I mean, of course she loved me! Hello! I'm me!" She flips her hair over her shoulder, giving him a look, and strikes a pose. "I'm too awesome not to love."
He bursts out laughing again, and she straightens. The muscles of her cheeks prohibit her from stopping her smiling, and she doesn't want to, anyway.
"O-kay," he says, wiping a tear from his eye, "that may be taking the confidence thing a little too far."
The pair chuckles, her hand splayed out across her collarbone, as they round the apartment building. They probably look like criminals when they climb up the fire escape, but Annabeth doesn't care. He's telling lame jokes that make her laugh for no reason, and she's content.
Then they arrive at her apartment, and her laughter dies down, thinking of the lonely night ahead of her. She looks down, cuffing her foot against the metal below them.
"I can hang out for a little while longer," Percy informs her, and she realizes a sigh had escaped her lips. She looks back up at him, and he shrugs, smiling softly in a way that looks so…natural on him. (She briefly wonders if he ever smiles at Rachel like this, then immediately scolds herself for thinking that.) "If you want."
"I, uh, yeah. Sure. Of course," comes stuttering out of her, as if Cupid had flipped on her switch. "If-if you want to."
"Of course I want to," he says earnestly, cocking his head slightly at her.
She nods and bends down. Digging her fingernails under the wood of her window, she lifts it up. She gives him an expectant look. "Ladies first," she prompts, and he scoffs, slugging her lightly in the shoulder, but ducking in all the same. She hops down next to him and shuts the window.
He tries to flip on the light switch, then turns to her raised eyebrow with a sheepish smile. "Whoops. Forgot about that." He flips it again, but this time to prove a point. "No electricity, huh?"
She debates to herself about teasing him for a moment. Then she shrugs. He's already taken time out of his schedule to hang out with her.
"No problem," she says. "It's, uh, not exactly visitor-ready, so it's probably better if you can't see the whole thing."
He laughs. A soothing sound that rebounds off the walls.
And then Annabeth realizes she can only faintly see his outline in the darkness, and, his eyes being weaker than hers, he most likely can't see her at all.
"I have something for the light, though," she states, almost tripping over a piece of clothing in her haste. She fumbles through one of her cardboard boxes (what? She needs somewhere to put all the stuff she's collected over the years) until her fingertips brush two wax cylinders. Bringing them out, she goes to another box and grabs the box of matches that she knows are always on the top. She places the candles on the window sil she and Percy came in through.
Lighting her match, she touches it to both of the wicks, waiting long enough so that the orange flames ignite there, too. A soft glow illuminates a small part of the room, including her bed.
She closes her fingers around the match, dousing the fire, before she beckons Percy over. "Come to the light, Percy," she says, drawing out the o in come and the i in light.
He snickers and makes his way over. He flops onto her mattress, and a cloud of dust puffs up around him. He coughs.
Wincing, she swipes the dust away from the air in front of her face. (Even though she doesn't need to breath, she can.) "Yeah, uh, sorry 'bout that. I didn't expect visitors, so I haven't cleaned in…God knows how long."
"It's fine." He tries covering up his coughs, but gives up when she carefully sits down next to him.
"No need to clean when you're mom isn't nagging you, eh?" she jests when his hacking dies down.
"Right," Percy says. He looks down, almost nervous, then locks eyes with her again. "If you don't mind me asking…and you can totally not answer, but…what was your family like?"
"My family?" She blinks, surprised. He nods. "Well…They were great. All of them. My brothers and I always played ball in the yard. We were notorious for our roughhousing abilities." She chuckles to herself. "My mom wanted me to be more of a lady," she says, using a posh accent for the last bit, "but with four brothers that was kind of hard to do, and…"
She turns to look at him, and gets embarrassed when she sees him watching her intently. "…and you probably don't want to hear all that."
"No, I do," he tells her earnestly. "You guys seemed like a wonderful family."
"Well. Yeah." She shrugs. "We were. Until my oldest brother killed…a person, and it all kinda came crashing down."
"Oh," he breathes, like he isn't quite sure how to respond. "Did any of your other brothers…?" He doesn't have to finish the sentence for her to know what he's talking about.
"Probably." She rolls her shoulders. "The three, Malcolm, Matthew, and Bobby, joined the army." She says it like they had a choice. Well, Bobby decided to join the Navy out of his own free will, while Malcolm and Matthew had been drafted for World War I.
"And that's where they died?" Percy guesses.
"Yeah."
"What happened to your parents?"
Died of old age. "I don't really like to talk about them."
"Okay."
And she's immediately grateful. He doesn't push for answers. It's the best thing she could hope for.
His phone buzzes. He takes it out of his pocket and curses swiftly. "I'm sorry. I gotta go." He shows the text from his mom to her, asking where he is.
"It's okay," she says, watching him stand up. Though a hollow feeling settles in her chest at the thought of him leaving her alone. "Thanks for hanging out with me."
He gives her a smile. "Any time." He squeezes her shoulder as he goes to the window.
And then he's gone.
Annabeth flops on her back. Dust billows up around her. She rubs her cold hands over her face.
What just happened?
;
1891
Annabeth has just floated into the tavern with the intention of checking on Argus. She hasn't seen him since…well, since the night she died.
He has his fingers wrapped around the brim of a shot glass, looking like he needs one full of liquor for himself. His eyes are red and he rests his head on his hand, like he has to intention of moving any time soon.
Guilt gnaws at her stomach knowing that she reduced him to this state.
A man–a traveler, probably, since Annabeth has never seen him before–sits down at the bar. Argus barely looks up. The man places his hat on the counter.
"I came 'ere needin' ta pour my heart out ta somebody. Looks like y'all could use an open ear more," the man jokes. "What be chewin' at your heart strings, good fellow?"
Argus shoves himself up so that his elbows are braced on the counter. He pushes the shot glass between his fingers and sighs. "The love o' my life jus' left me."
The man hisses. "That's rough, fella," he says sympathetically. Then a grin plays on his lips. "But, hey, you don't need that scamp anymore! You're a free man!"
He fixes the man with a deadly glare. "Don't you dare call Annabeth a scamp. Ever."
His eyes widen. "Then why–"
"She's dead," he mutters. "She left me, for anotha life."
"I'm sorry, fella. I…I didn' know."
"What kind of drink do you want?" Argus asks with a sigh instead of doing anything rash. The man answers, raising his fingers, and he goes to prepare his drink.
Someone else slips into the bar. The person seats himself at the bar carefully, and Annabeth can't see his face through his hood.
Argus hands the traveler man his drink before turning to the stranger. His eyes widen. "Lou Ellen Thanatos?" he asks. "What are you–" He looks around, then leans in close and drops his voice to a whisper, obviously worried about the men in the tavern taking advantage of the daughter of the sheriff. "What are you doing here?"
She takes out a pad and pencil. She shrugs. "Jus' takin' some follow-up questions for mah father," she answers, shrugging her shoulders again, and Annabeth immediately knows she's lying. She leans forward, too, lowering her voice. "And, if you could, he'd like this kept on the down low."
"I…Yes. Fine." He straightens a bit when he sees the traveling man's eyes on them. He gives the man a glare, and he turns back to his beverage. "What questions do you have for me, Ms. Thanatos?"
"What time do you approximate that Annabet' Chase came inta the bar?" she asks, getting her pencil ready.
"About a half an hour 'fore dinner time."
"Did she talk ta anyone befor' she left with her brother, Luke Chase?"
He ponders this for a moment. "Sherman la Rue. The school teacher. Ya know, Clarisse la Rue's pa?"
She nods, scratching down the words. "Was Mr. Sherman armed?"
"No. Absolutely naut. I ain't allowing guns in my tavern."
"Last question: Your tavern is in ba'tween Luke Chase's shop an' the Chase household. Did you, perhaps, see Annabeth cross in front of your shop after she took Luke home?"
"Well, I…" His eyes widen a tad, obviously having not thought of this question before. "No. I didn'."
Lou Ellen darts down the last sentence and shoves the pad in her pocket. "Thank you, Argus. Hopefully that'll help us catch Annabeth's killer." With a parting nod, she exits the inn.
"Oh, Lou," Annabeth mutters to herself. "What are you doing?"
;
After Lou Ellen's questionable encounter with Argus, Annabeth heads home. She phases through the door and finds her mother.
Athena stirs some kind of stew halfheartedly. Her hands are dirty and her usually steely grey eyes are hollow. The same eyes stray to the family portrait over the fireplace.
The photo had to be taken when the twins were born, showing off the boys' existence to anyone who crossed the threshold of their house. The twins were obviously babies, Matthew being cradled by a twenty-eight-year-old Athena, Bobby being held by a thirty-seven-year-old Frederick. Two-year-old Annabeth, five-year-old Malcolm, and nine-year-old Luke stood in front of their parents.
They'd always got a family photo when a new Chase was born. The ones with baby Luke, then four-year-old Luke and baby Malcolm were hung up in the boys' room, while the one taken to celebrate Annabeth's birth was still on the wall of her bedroom.
Athena always said she wanted a new one. Probably before Malcolm goes off to college. Now that she's dead, Annabeth doesn't know what their plan is.
"Athena!" Frederick bursts into the house, bellowing his wife's name. "Athena!"
"In the kitchen, dear," Athena sighs, clearly not excited for whatever lecture is coming her way. He storms into the kitchen and angrily drops his boots on the counter. "Frederick!" she gasps, moving to push the dirty boots off. "Not on the counter!"
He catches her hand in a vice-like grip. "I don't care," he snarls. "I asked you ta fix tha ruffle in my sole. And guess what? A week later, and it's. Still. Naut. Fixed."
"I'm sorry," she mutters, not sounding very sorry. "It's just hard ta keep up wit' all the housework, now that Annabeth is…" She chokes up.
His expression softens. Just a bit. "And I know that," he says. "But, as woman of the house, you have certain responsibilities to attend to. Even if our daughter is dead."
The words make Athena uncharacteristically bristle. "Well, maybe she'd still be around if your son hadn't been out drinking!" she yells, jabbing her pointer finger at Frederick's chest.
His eyes darken, and Annabeth takes a couple frightened steps back. "Oh, so Luke's bar trip is mah fault now?"
"Yes!" Athena doesn't back down. "You're the one who raises tha boys, NOT ME! You should'a taught Luke that alcohol isn't the answer!"
"Maybe ya should've gone ta git Luke, then!"
"A tavern is no place for a lady! And yet, you send Annabeth to get things from there when you have four perfectly healthy, perfectly strong sons to send instead! But what do you do? You contradict my parenting of my daughter!"
"She was mah daughter too!"
"But, as woman of the house, she was mine to raise! I never told the boys to put on dresses after you told them that dresses are not for men."
They stare each other down, seething and breathing heavily.
And then Frederick brings his hand up and strikes her across the face. Athena slams into the counters.
"MA!" is torn from Annabeth's throat, and she rushes forward to help her mother, but her hands slip right through. She glares at her father.
"Get on dinner and fix my boots," he murmurs, voice deathly quiet, before stalking off.
Athena brings her hand up to her now-red cheek, staring at her husband's retreating form. Tears spring up in her eyes, and she blinks them away, stumbling up to grab the pot of stew again.
;
2015
Annabeth was having the best time of her afterlife for these past two weeks.
She'd met Leo Valdez, Jason and Piper's best friend, and then Hazel's boyfriend Frank Zhang at mini-golf with the group. The two boys were rising on her list of favorite friends quickly.
Rachel tried to get Annabeth to go out shopping with her and the girls, but she had to decline. She literary couldn't go anywhere without Percy.
Everyone was great. Bianca, Piper, Jason, Nico, Hazel, Rachel…Everyone.
Not one of them could top Percy, though. He was the best. He invited to her breakfast every morning, and hung out with her most nights. He always greeted her with a hug when he came into her apartment, and never left her without another embrace.
This day, after hanging out at the arcade with the entire gang, they (they as in Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Rachel, Piper, Hazel, and Bianca. The others had someplace to go) went to Jason's house.
"Welcome to mi casa," Jason says, gesturing to the building behind him.
It's huge, though a little run-down. The walls are made out of red brick, chipped here and there, and the doors look like real mahogany wood. All the windows look replaced. A creaky old porch swing sways in the wind. Off to the side is an evidently new shed. The setting sun behind it gives off a mystical vibe.
"Damn," mutters Annabeth, much like when she first saw Piper's house. Percy chuckles next to her, his fingers intertwined with Rachel's.
When they get inside, Percy, Bianca, and Piper make themselves right at home. Percy raids the fridge, Piper throws herself on the couch, and Bianca busts out the board game Sorry!
Percy practically runs out to play, taking the fourth spot in the game away from Piper. She glares at him, and he shrugs innocently. He, Bianca, Hazel, and Rachel get right down to playing, Piper cheering them on and spilling Percy's gaming secrets.
Annabeth wanders a little bit–careful not to go far, though. Even though she and Jason are friends, he probably wouldn't appreciate her snooping around his house.
She ends up finding the fireplace; a red brick, much like the ones outside, structure, blackened by soot. Above it is a family photo of Jason and his parents.
On the fireplace are splayed dozens of pictures, from all different times and of different people. The same shade of black appearing on many of the people's hair, the same jaw line, the same eye shape. Some bearing a noticeable resemblance to either Percy, Tyson, Bianca, Nico, Jason, or Hazel. She scans over all.
Her breath hitches when she finds a certain photograph. It's of Thalia and Kronos King, four out of six of their eventual children standing in front of them. There's no doubt about it. No mistaking them.
Her fingers tenderly wrap around the photograph before she knows what they're doing. She stares at it. Why would there be a picture of Thalia and Kronos?
"My dad likes to do genealogy of our ancestors," a voice cuts into her thoughts. Annabeth jumps, nearly dropping the picture. She fumbles to catch it before turning to find Jason.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean–"
He cuts her off. "It's fine," he says. "Most people are curious on why we have pictures of random people over our fireplace." He chuckles, and then gestures to the photos. "They're all me and Percy's and Hazel's and Nico's and Bianca's and Tyson's ancestors."
"Ah." She looks down, her fingers curling around the frame of the picture. She musters up the courage to ask, "Who are these?" She shows him the photo in her hands, not knowing if she wants the answer or not.
Jason stares at it for a moment, pondering. "Those are the Kings, I think," he says. "Yeah. Yeah, they are. Kronos and Thalia." He pronounces it TALL-ee-a. She fights the urge to correct him"I think Kronos died when they were young, and Thalia changed her and all her kids' last name back to Grace. She's my great-something-grandma. Why?"
"Oh." She turns the picture over in her hands. All the cousins but Jason, Hazel, and Tyson have Thalia's raven black hair, and Jason has her eyes. Hazel's golden irises aren't a shade off from Kronos's. How could she have not noticed before? "She just looks like someone I used to know."
He offers an indifferent shrug. Probably already used to the rule of Annabeth's past stays mysterious, no matter how many questions are asked.
"Jason!" Percy shouts, and the two turn to look at him. For a split second, his face shows an expression of jealousy at the two of them together.
Then it's gone, and Annabeth must have imagined it.
"What?" Jason shouts back.
"Why are we shouting?" Piper yells. Rachel snickers and hits her arm lightly.
"Because I need food, and Jason's out of food!" Percy replies, again in a shout.
"Dude!" Jason complains, going over to the fridge. He opens it. The thing is almost empty, only items like Brussel sprouts and ketchup still in it. He punches Percy in the arm. "I just went grocery shopping two days ago!"
Bianca gags. "How can boys hold so much junk?"
"The world may never know," Rachel says sympathetically, shaking her head.
"I need more food," Percy whines.
"Then get it yourself," Jason shoots back. "Because I sure as hell am not getting it just for your consumption."
"Okay," he says, ignoring the second part of Jason's comment. He whips out his phone, typing on the device. "I found this awesome pizza place not too far from here. There isn't good parking and they don't cater, but it's the best pie on this side of the Mississippi. What does everyone want?"
"Cheese," says Piper.
"Pepperoni," says Bianca.
"Sausage," says Rachel.
"What Piper wants," says Jason.
"Mushroom, banana peppers, and bacon," says Hazel.
"Okay. Annabeth?"
Her eyes snap up to his from where she had been staring at Hazel questionably. "Hmm?"
"What pizza topping do you want?" he asks.
"Oh, um…" It doesn't matter, because my taste buds don't work. Because I'm dead. "I'll try out Hazel's thing."
"So, medium cheese, medium half-pepperoni, half-sausage, and then another medium with mushrooms, banana peppers, and bacon? Sound good to everybody?" Percy looks at all of them, and they nod back. He dials a number and brings his phone up to his ear, telling the person on the other end their order.
"Okay," he says, putting his phone down. "It'll be ready in about twenty minutes. Who wants to go with me?"
Annabeth waits for a moment. "I guess I'll go," Bianca volunteers. Hazel nods in agreement.
"I can drive," Rachel suggests. "I'll stay in the car. Keep it running in case we can't find parking and stop on the side of the street."
"Sounds fun. I'll go, too," Annabeth says, like she actually put thought into her decision. Wherever Percy goes, she has to go, too.
;
Finding parking is a nightmare.
The pizza place is on one of the more busy shopping squares of the town. The contractors that built it didn't do a good job of placing parking. Rachel has to drop them off and drive around the square a couple times until they're ready.
They go in, grab their pizzas, and try to find Rachel as quick as they can. Annabeth and Bianca balance two pizzas each while Percy and Hazel march ahead.
A jerk in a hurry rushes past them, slamming his elbow into the side of Bianca's head as he goes. She topples into a tight alleyway in between a clothing store and a café, pizza raining on her face and shirt. The man turns just enough that Annabeth catches sight of red eyes before he disappears down a corner.
"Wait up!" Annabeth shouts to Percy and Hazel. She doesn't bother to gauge their reaction before offering Bianca her hand.
"Thanks," she mutters, reaching for her limb.
Something silver catches in the corner of Annabeth's eye–an arrow–and it flies through the air.
Straight into Bianca's chest.
AN: WHOOPSIES. MY HAND SLIPPED. (Except not really. BWA HA HA HA HA HA!)
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any other product I might have mentioned.
This was not beta'd, so all mistakes are mine. If there are any errors, please inform me so I may fix them.
Constructive criticism welcome, and reviews make my day!