Chapter Four

Annabeth woke up distressed the next morning. She'd only agreed to go to that party with her roommates because exams had ended, and she really needed to get her mind off of things. And then Luke was there. Then Percy showed up. Choosing between the two, she definitely decided to acknowledge Percy rather than her Lying Cheating Ex-Boyfriend.

To be perfectly honest, she was really pissed at him anyway. She was giving him her extra ticket in exchange for a ride he would've driven with or without her (given he had a ticket, of course), and he couldn't even answer his damn phone.

He ignored nearly all her texts of trying to make plans, only occasionally answering with "kk" and "shut the fuck up". He always sent her straight to voicemail. The couple of times she'd bumped into him, he'd brushed her off and gave an excuse like, "I've got an exam to study for" or, "I don't plan shit like this."

But Annabeth was a planner, and it was killing her that nothing about this trip was organized. She knew it would take around fifty hours to drive from Boston to LA, and figured they would drive about ten hours for five days to get there, not counting traffic or toll line-ups or snow. She didn't even know where they'd be stopping every night.

And Percy Jackson seemed completely unconcerned.

So she really laid it on. Thick.

Annabeth groaned and covered her face with her blankets. He was annoying and rude and unorganized and dense and if she was being completely honest with herself, all she could think of half the time was what would his tongue piercing feel like if he kissed someone.

Not that she wanted to kiss him. At all. Definitely not. Even if she found piercings and tattoos incredibly sexy –

"Shut up, Annabeth," she whispered to herself, trying not to cringe. She shouldn't even think of going out with Percy. They were too different, and it wouldn't end well.

Not that he would, anyway. He made it clear that he found her an annoying little bitch, and even if Annabeth had really been trying to be, it still stung a little. Not that she'd ever admit it to him.

She urged herself out of bed and to the bathroom, washing her face, brushing her teeth and trying to tame her crazy hair a little. Annabeth had nicknamed her hair The Lion's Mane, because it often was.

Annabeth made her way to the kitchen, tip-toeing to make sure she didn't wake her roommates. Her dorm was apartment-styled, in that each of them had their own room and a common kitchen area.

She wrinkled her nose as she wandered through the hall, seeing a trail of clothing leading to her roommate Kelly's room. Annabeth didn't give a shit if her roommates had guys overnight or slept around, but it was just tacky to strip on their way to her room and leave their clothes all over the hallway – wait a second. Annabeth froze in her tracks, staring at the black t-shirt crumpled on the ground.

She recognized that shirt.

Annabeth snatched it from the ground, turning it over in her hands and nearly snorting out loud. The band shirt that had some death metal skull logo on it was definitely Percy's, and he'd definitely been wearing it last night, and he had definitely just slept with Annabeth's crazy roommate.

"What a fucking idiot," she whispered, grinning at his shirt. She clutched it in one hand and quietly opened the door to Kelly's room. That girl never bothered or remembered to lock it, especially when she went out drinking or partying. Annabeth quietly snuck in, trying to keep her giggling to a minimum.

Kelly had taken the majority of space on the single bed, and even in his sleep, Percy looked as though he was concentrating on not falling off. Annabeth carefully snuck beside him and carefully placed a hand over his mouth.

This was enough to wake him. He jerked in his sleep, eyes widening and making muffled sounds behind her hand. Annabeth nearly smacked her forehead when he lurched around, making the most noise he could possibly make with his mouth shut. And then, when he grabbed her arm to push her away, he fell off the bed and took her with him.

Annabeth was suddenly painfully aware that all of Percy's clothes were in the hall.

"Shhh!" she hushed, scrambling away from Percy and throwing his shirt at him. Don't look at his penis, don't look at his penis, do NOT look at his penis! "I'm trying to help you!"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he whispered furiously, holding his shirt to his crotch. "Did you fucking follow me?"

"No!" she retorted. "Kelly's my roommate!"

"Kelly?"

"The girl you just slept with!"

"Oh, shit," he said, groaning loudly. Annabeth tried to shush him, but he shot her a look. "Newsflash: your roommate does not know when to stop drinking. She is dead to the world."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Right."

"She's a horrible lay."

"Probably."

"What are you doing?" Percy asked, getting up to retrieve his clothes. "I was going to leave, if that's what you're worried about."

"Yeah, yeah," Annabeth said, hurrying after him and shutting the door. "You should do that now. And hurry."

"Can't stand me that much?"

"Yes." She looked away as he reached for his boxers, trying her best not to stare at his ass. No matter how nice it may have been. "But I'm really doing you a favour."

"How?"

"Kelly is legit going to stalk you."

Percy snorted and hitched his jeans up his legs. "She doesn't even know my name."

"Let's hope she was too drunk to remember your face," Annabeth said, "because if she'd woken up and liked what she saw, she would've made sure to cling to you."

He pulled on his shirt. "I could've handled it."

"Don't sleep with her again," she told him, immediately wishing she hadn't said that. She headed to the kitchen, calling over her shoulder. "Not to tell you who to sleep with, but I wouldn't recommend it."

"Whatever," he said, grabbing his jacket and following her. "I don't like how she practically ripped my clothes off and left them on the floor."

"It's pretty tacky," she said absent-mindedly, reaching into the cupboard for cereal.

"And dirty. Who knows when you guys last cleaned the floor?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Want to steal some of Kelly's cereal?"

"Sure," he said. They sat down to eat at the table, the chewing and spoons clacking against the bowls filling the awkward silence. Annabeth didn't think she hated him. Not really. He just annoyed the hell out of her.

And now she didn't know what to say.

"I don't usually do that," Percy blurted out.

Annabeth startled. "What?"

"Sleep around." He looked very uncomfortable, despite the fact that he'd told her the night before to go get laid. Or maybe it was just the drink. "I don't usually have one-night stands."

She shrugged and kept eating. "It's your business."

"I guess you should know," he said. "We've got two weeks together, don't we?"

"Five days going, five days going back."

"And a few days in between for the concert and rest."

"Yeah," she said, shrugging again. "So I guess I shouldn't expect you to pick up girls every night of the trip?"

"Exactly," he said, looking relieved she'd understood. Maybe he didn't quite know why he was saying it in the first place. A few minutes later, he asked, "Have you ever saved another guy from Kelly before?"

"Not really," she told him. "Most of them have enough sense to leave before she wakes up."

"Not really?"

"Nope," she lied smoothly, hoping her face wasn't turning red. She kept her eyes on her cereal, eating the last bite. "Can we plan the trip now?"

Percy dropped his face in his hands. "Why?"

"So we know what to do!" she reasoned, crossing her arms in front of her. Was it really so much to ask? "We should have a backup in case your GPS breaks, or if it doesn't detect road closings or something."

"Fine, we'll print a map," he said, rolling his eyes. "Anything else?"

"Where we're staying," she pointed out. "Booking hotels, and –"

Percy waved a hand, dismissing it. "Simple. We'll just find a place whenever we want to stop driving."

Annabeth wanted to smack him again. "I want to plan it."

"What for?"

"I need to plan it," she corrected, trying to keep her voice calm. "I swear to god I'll go crazy without a plan, and I really just want everything to go smoothly and safely and –"

"Fucking hell," he muttered, standing to put their bowls in the sink. "You get crazier?"

She glared at him.

"Fine, we'll plan it," he agreed, shrugging his jacket on and taking his phone out of his pocket. "As long as you stop nagging me."

"Fine."

"When do we leave, then?"

"The concert's in about week," she said, thinking, "and it takes five days to drive, and we'll want a day in between to rest, so –"

"We leave tomorrow."

Annabeth swallowed dryly, anxiety already stirring her stomach. "Tomorrow."