I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN GIVING ME REALLY GREAT FEEDBACK THROUGHOUT THE STORY. IT REALLY MAKES MY DAY WHEN I RECIEVE EMAILS CONTAINING NICE THINGS ABOUT THIS STORY.

I FORGOT TO INCLUDE A DISCLAIMER IN THE LAST CHAPTER. OOPS?

DISCLAIMER: NOTHING BELONGS TO ME, BUT THE PLOT. EVERYTHING ELSE BELONGS TO THE AWESOME MR. RIORDAN AND ETC..

"Running in circles

A mouse on the table

I try to feel, I just don't

Hurtin' and dead inside

Go on and cut 'em in half

Said I"

-BROKEN BELLS: SAILING TO NOWHERE

NICO'S POV-

Thalia was unnaturally quiet throughout the whole ride home. Bianca tried making small talk with her a few times, but gave up because she figured that Thalia needed her space right now.

When we arrived at Thalia's house Bianca told me to wait in the car while she walked Thalia to the door. My first instinct was to argue, but when I saw the look on Bianca's face I bit my tongue and nodded.

I looked out the window as Bianca led Thalia to her porch. Like mine, Thalia's house fit more into the category of mansion. What with its Greek style architectural design and 5 story physique, you'd expect at least one-hundred people to live there, when in reality only three and a few of the live in maids occupied the rooms.

I lowered the window and leaned out the opening to get a better view of Thalia and Bianca.

Oh how I wish I had a pair of binoculars right now.

I squinted my eyes and noticed that Bianca was saying something to Thalia. My cousin stood there nodding and hosting a solemn look on her face. I leaned out the window a bit more. I'm not a very bright child.

After a few minutes, Thalia looked up at Bianca and smiled. Bianca enveloped her in a hug and they laughed when they separated. Gag.

I scrunched up my face in disgust at their heartfelt moment, and was about to go back inside the car when I realized that my foot somehow got entangled with the seatbelt. I tried yanking free, but it's a bit hard to when half of my body is sticking out of a car window.

Bianca turned around whenThalia was safely in her house, just in time to see me topple out of the car and onto the pavement.

I wrapped my arms around my head to soften the landing a bit more, but still ended up landing on my face.

"Nico!" Bianca ran toward my crumpled form. "Are you okay?"

"No!" I lifted my butt in the air and wrapped my arms even tighter around my head. "I think I broke my face!"

I felt Bianca sit down next to me. She rolled me over and I closed my eyes as she tilted my face and started examining me.

"Your cheek is starting to bruise up and you've got a few scratches, but other than that you're okay." She furrowed her eyebrow. "Never mind. Your nose is starting to bleed."

I opened my eyes only to see that Bianca was crossing her arms. I didn't know that it was possible to look stern and worried at the same time, but she somehow pulled it off. Bianca may be only four years older than me, but she can look as intimidating as our mom when she tries.

"Why were you hanging out the side of the car in the first place?" I was about to answer when she cut me off. "You were trying to spy on me and Thalia, weren't you?"

"Psh-me spying?" I said in an affronted tone. "Of course not! I was just trying to…cloud watch?"

Bianca gave me an, are you kidding me, look.

"Okay. I was spying." I said sheepishly.

Bianca sighed and helped me up. "Sometimes I fear for your future." She said. "But that's why I'm your sister right? To help you along the way?"

I grinned. "Of course. Without you, I'd be streaking down central park this very moment."

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PERCY'S POV-

I wasn't joking when I told my friends that I had to go. Yeah, I was a bit insulted by Thalia's comments, but that wasn't what got me running. It was Gabe.

My mom was working until nine P.M. today and Gabe always expected me take care of all the cooking, cleaning, and pretty much everything else that had to do with setting up his stupid poker party.

Gabe was usually home around four. Right now it was three-twenty, which meant that I had less than an hour to do all my Gabe-given chores.

I threw open the door and stormed into the kitchen. I heard Tyson close the door behind me as I took out the ingredients for some seven-layer dip. Yes, I do know how to cook.

"I don't get it." Said Tyson.

I shrugged off my backpack and left it lying at my feet. "Don't get what?"

"Why you do all this for Gabe" Tyson grabbed an apple. "He's so mean to you. Why would you ever want to be nice to him?"

I swallowed my dignity and told my eight year-old brother the biggest lie I have ever told so far in my life. "I want to be nice to Gabe because he's our step-father," my knuckles turned white on the kitchen knife," and he works hard to keep our family together."

I felt something solid hit the back of my head. "Ow!" I turned around and saw Tyson staring at me as if I had just told him that I had a secret love for One Direction. "Why'd you throw an apple at me?!"

"Because I wanted to make sure that your brain still worked." Tyson shrugged. "Apparently it does."

I face palmed and grabbed a rag from the rack near the sink. "I'm going to make you a bargain, got it?"

Tyson nodded.

"If you help me clean the house, I'll tell you the real reason I'm doing this for Gabe. Okay?"

Tyson held out his smallest finger. "Pinky promise?"

I wrapped my said finger around Tyson's. "I swear on the river Styx."

Tyson and I were both born mythology geeks, and swearing on the river Styx had become the most binding form of a promise we had.

Tyson gave me a toothy grin, and ran off to do his brother a favor as if it was the most important thing in the world.

I started warming up the beans for some dip, and ran over to the dining table with the poker game materials. I set up the table with the speed of a ninja on a sugar high, glancing at the clock when I was done. It was only four thirty-six.

I wasn't worried about whether Tyson would finish the chores on time. His cleaning skills were disturbingly amazing, and I had learned long ago not to doubt him.

It was three fifty-six by the time both Tyson and I were finished meeting our overweight stepfather's commands. I looked around with some pride at what we had done.

All the rooms looked spotless (thanks to Tyson) and the temporary poker table was set up perfectly (thanks to yours truly). The center of the table was adorned with a seven-layer dip, chips, sausage finger snacks, and some rocky road ice cream. I made sure not to make anything too healthy due to Gabe's certain fruit and vegetable restriction.

Fine by me. Gabe could stick his health up his a-my thoughts were interrupted when the smelly walrus himself walked in, followed by his motley crew.

He pushed me out of the way in order to get into the kitchen. I guess the idiot has never heard of the phrase "excuse me", much less the word "deodorant".

It was always like this for me. Nobody respected me or cared about what I had to say, not that I blamed them, but it gets to a point where you just wish that people would understand that you're not all about jokes and small talk.

A few minutes of Gabe's eating passed, until he finally took some time to glance at Tyson and I standing in the kitchen doorway. "You outdid yourself today brain boy." Brain boy? That's the best he can come up with? "But-" Oh no-" you're still busted for getting me into trouble with your mom this morning." Gabe got up, causing his stupid poker buddies to make way.

"Go to your room and lock the door." I told Tyson.

He looked absolutely terrified when he saw Gabe trudging towards us with a look of malice on his face, yet he still managed to give me a blunt "no" as his answer.

I grabbed him by his shoulders. "Please do it." Gabe was getting closer. "Don't open the door until I ask you to. Other than that, no matter what don't open it!" my voice was rising in volume in fear of my brother's safety. "Go! I'm begging you to please just go!"

Tears were forming in Tyson's eyes. He sensed the urgency in my voice though, and nodded his head just as Gabe grabbed my shoulders. Tyson sprinted down the hall.

"Go get the kid!" Gabe roared. "He needs to see what'll happen to him if he decides to ever disobey me."

I heard the sound of three pairs of footsteps running past me, but didn't really see anything due to the fact that my face was currently having some forced contact with the floor.

"It's locked!" Yelled the rough voice of Eddie, the least evil of all of them, which wasn't saying much.

I was yanked off the floor. "Tell him to open the door and you'll go through a lot less pain." Gabe's breath smelled worse than a skunk's fart.

"No" I managed to say.

I was smashed against the wall with so much force; I could feel my teeth rattle. I felt two hands slowly, but surely, getting tighter around my neck.

"I said to get your brother to open the door." He growled.

"And I-" It was getting harder for me to talk-" said no."

"Alright then, suffer more it is." Gabe gave a whistle and his minion's came rushing like a pack of trained puppies.

Eddie grabbed my arms and the man I recognized as Jack grabbed the other. I squirmed, but their grip just became tighter. "I'll give you thirty seconds to decide if your brother is worth the pain."

"One." Started the plumber, Ian.

I was kicked in the stomach. Hard.

"Five seconds right there." Sneered Eddie.

Gabe threw various punches at my face.

"I'd say that's fifteen seconds right there." Said Jack.

My arm was twisted behind my back. Not enough to pop it out of its socket, but close. I gritted my teeth.

"Twenty three seconds." I couldn't tell who said this.

I yelped when my arm was jerked back. "Twenty seven seconds."

"Stop!" I gasped.

Gabe smiled in that despicable way of his.

"I've decided that-" I paused and Gabe grinned triumphantly-"you're an asshole."

Immediately I was jumped by said asshole. "Why you little punk! You think you're so smart, but you're just worthless scum that deserves to be thrown in the gutter!"

I was being punched and kicked by various so-called men, yet I didn't feel brought down. I felt like I had won the biggest award in the world because Tyson was safe, and that was all that mattered.

The only thing that seriously worried me was the fact that I was being punched in the face. Gabe has never wanted my mom to find out about his beatings, so he has always avoided leaving any noticeable marks. He must've been gaining confidence or at least thought up an explanation for my injuries. If so, then I was in major trouble.

Minutes that felt like hours went by, until finally I felt the blows start to recede. With a sense of finality, Gabe spit in my face and walked off with his poker pals, chatting and enjoying himself as if he hadn't just beaten up a twelve year-old kid in his own home.

I could hardly move and breathing was an accomplishment on its own, but I still made an attempt to get up. I couldn't allow my mom to see me like this, much less find out that the one who caused it all was Gabe.

I'll go through this every second of the day as long as he leaves my friends and family alone. I would do anything to keep those I love out of danger. Anything.

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BE WARNED: PERCY'S LOYALTY SHALL BE PUT TO THE TEST. DUN DUN DUN!

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