Disclaimer: No one is as awesome as Uncle Rick. Especially me. Characters belong to him.

Warning: slight cursing

"Annabeth, stop it," Percy said, pulling the sheets over her.

She giggled. "Are you gay, then?" When they had gotten to their shared hotel room, Annabeth had ran into his bedroom and it took all his might to pry her off of him. He wasn't all that worried about their roommates because he was certain they were all preoccupied. Nico was probably just about ready to pound in Leo's face, and Hazel was most likely still with Frank, a friend of Percy's.

He sputtered. "What?"

She sat up, crossing her arms and huffing. "I'm trying to express my love for you, Percy, and you keep pushing me away. Everyone keeps telling me you might feel the same way and I should tell you, but here you are, telling me to stop."

He shook his head and sat down next to her. "Annabeth, I can assure you I'm not gay. I just can't explain how I feel about you. And right now, you're not yourself and I don't want to take advantage of you."

She mocked him and rolled her eyes. "All my signs are pointing to you being gay."

He was not going to argue with her about this. "Annabeth, I'm not gay." [A/N: there's nothing wrong with being gay :)] She stared at him for a long moment, and then slowly approached, wrapping her arms around him. "Prove it." Before he could pry her off again, she smashed her lips to his. As much as he wanted to kiss her back, he gently pulled her off and laid her down on the bed.

"I'm not tired, Jackson." She said, staring up at the ceiling with her arms crossed. But he could see that she could barely keep her head up. "Sure you aren't." He stood up and walked to the side of the bed and kissed her forehead, pulling the sheets up over her.

He walked to the door and shut off the lights. Even though Silena might've had some very suggestive...ideas, Percy really felt like he was babysitting a little kid. It was kind of adorable, watching her pout. A reluctant voice called, "Per...Percy."

He stopped halfway pulling the door closed. "Yes?"

"Can you stay with me?" She asked, sounding like a vulnerable little child. Percy never really saw the defenseless side of Annabeth, mainly because she was always guarded, calculating her chances in any situation. He nodded, closing the door behind him. It seemed like, in the seconds he was away, she had calmed down, no longer trying anything.

He laid on the bed, putting a good distance from Annabeth, but she immediately shifted over and wrapped her arms around him. He smiled and pulled her closer, hugging her back.

They laid there a while, and when he was certain she was sleeping, she spoke. "Percy?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't leave me again, please," she pleaded quietly. "You left me once, but I'm not sure how much my heart can take."

Annabeth's POV

'Oh shit.' That was the first thought that came to her mind when she opened her eyes. 'This isn't my bedroom.'

"You're awake," Percy said, coming out of the bathroom. She peeked beneath the sheets and saw she was only in her underwear. With dread, she looked back at him. "Percy, did we...?"

He laughed. "No, but you kept trying. I forced you to go to sleep." She found nothing funny about the situation. Percy looked stressed out and exhausted, yet he looked visibly relieved to see her awake and normal.

She gave him a weak smile. "Um, thank you, Percy." He shrugged. "No problem." He paused, seemingly debating over saying something. "Do you...happen to remember anything from last night?"

She rested her head in her hands, ignoring the wave of messy curls falling in her face. "Yes. I totally embarrassed myself. Why'd you let me drink, Percy!" She yelled.

He held his hands up. "I didn't."

"You let me- wait, what?" She asked.

"You barely drank an ounce of alcohol. I had the bartender switch drinks."

"So...I did all of that..." she bit her lip. This was probably even worse than if Percy had let her drink. Gods, this was so embarrassing. He nodded. "I wouldn't blame you. For someone under all the stress you've been through, I would've cracked a long time ago. I just simply let you believe that you were drunk because I figured it would have been less embarrassing. Though, it did kind of kill me watching you flirt with every guy but me."

She couldn't tell if he was joking, so she ignored the last part. "Less embarrassing? Oh gods. This is even worse!" She honestly didn't know Percy was capable of something so genius.

"I just figured you needed a way to escape that all, at least for the night. And if that didn't work..." He sat down in one of the sofas near the bed. He grinned. "I'm your therapist."

"What?"

"Let it all out, Annabeth. I'm here for you," he said, mock seriously. She ignored the rush of warmth she felt at the pit of her stomach from his words. "Percy. This is crazy. I'm not telling you-"

"Annabeth, you can't keep it all bottled up. Because sure enough, you'll have another episode like last night and I might not be there. Please, Annabeth. Just tell me what's going on with you."

"I'll tell if you tell," She whispered. He nodded, although he looked less enthusiastic. "Why do I already have a feeling I know what you're about to ask?" Percy said, shaking his head and looking away from her.

"Then answer," She said boldly.

"Poseidon doesn't matter to me, Annabeth. I don't know why you insist on digging." She crossed her arms. "Because I know you're lying. You're not mad because he contacted you. No, you're mad because he hasn't reached out to you sooner. You're mad because it was a second thought, as he was dying, that he should try to patch things up with his son."

His jaw clenched and Annabeth knew she struck a nerve. For a long, nerve-wracking moment, he didn't say anything. He forced a laugh. "Annabeth, if I remember correctly, I was supposed to be your therapist."

She shrugged. It wasn't fair of her to ask questions that struck to close to home without telling something herself. "Ask away."

"Annabeth, why do you live in that crappy apartment in New York? You know you don't have to live there."

"You haven't seen the inside, so how would you know it's crappy?" She stalled, hoping he'd take the bait.

"Annabeth." Percy said, staring at her seriously.

She drew in a shaky breath. She hadn't told anyone this, and she wasn't really ready to. It wasn't really a big deal, but she wanted Percy to know that he could trust her and that she would tell him anything. Annabeth didn't know why. They weren't dating, but there was obviously some unresolved tension between the two.

"I can't afford anything better." She said quietly, looking down at her hands.

"What? Annabeth, do you realize how much they're paying you for-"

"Yes, I do know, Percy," she snapped, looking at him sharply. "I... I give the money to my family. They needed it more than I do." She watched him carefully to see his expression. "Needed?" He asked.

"When I didn't go back to school, I haven't talked to my family in months. I considered calling, but the worst part was... they didn't even bother. They didn't try checking up on me. I could've been dead for all they cared. I guess we're kind of in the same boat." She stared at the ground, remembering the night everything changed. A tear streaked down her cheek and she wiped it away. 'There was no reason to cry, Annabeth.' she told herself.

Percy, noticing she was crying too, went to stand up, but she held a hand up. "I'm fine." she waved her hand at him.

"And then, one day, they found me, and they needed money. So I gave it to them. I mean, they needed it. But now, they're filthy rich bastards living off my money. It became a habit, and if I stop, I'm afraid they'll be right back in that horrible financial situation that forced me to stop going to college. Whatever stupid dream it may be, Matthew and Bobby might have to put theirs on hold like I did."

When she had released her first song, her father had called her up for the first time in months, pretending that night never happened. She had genuinely thought he was trying to patch things up, but then he had dropped the bomb- he needed money. But not in that way- Bobby had been hit- no, grazed, really- by a drunk driver and he needed money for his stay in the hospital. So she stupidly gave it to him.

And then even after Bobby got better they kept hunting her down for money. And she loved her family, so she continued paying for their needs. After all, she was keeping Bobby's promise. She didn't forget about her family. How could she? They took most of her money anyway. She'd even sent the boys a new pair of sneakers for their birthday.

And then somehow it had become a habit- whatever earnings she made, her family would receive over 80%. The rest went into her saving's account. She didn't really mind- but it did make living like a celebrity really hard.

"You obviously don't want that, Annabeth. Worry about you first; what do you want?" Now Percy really sounded like a therapist. A small smile formed on her face and she looked at him, expecting him to be joking, but the smile dropped from her features when she realized he was being serious.

"Money never really mattered to me, but it was obviously important to my father. I wanted to make him happy."

He gave her a look that told Annabeth she was stalling. She sighed. "College."

His face softened. "I don't understand what's so wrong with going back-"

"My family needs money, and Hollywood life is all I'm good at for the moment. I'll figure something out eventually, but until then I'll stick with acting. Honestly, I never even really wanted to be famous. It seemed like a fun thing to do when it all started, but now I feel like I want to rip my hair out."

"Annabeth," Percy said softly. "If you don't want this life, who's stopping you from changing it?"

She thought about the question. "But my dad-"

"They found a way of making it by before you were famous, and they'll find a way after you're done with this." he said, staring at her as if forcing her to look at him. She refused. If she looked into his eyes, she'll be reminded of everything she lost. She was done crying. She was done feeling sorry about herself. Percy was about to undo all the precautions she took in not being hurt again.

"You don't have to live for other people, Annabeth. You're your own person. You come first." He leaned forward and touched her cheek, the other hand on her arm. She looked at him, and something snapped.

Pulling away, she laughed bitterly. "That's rich, coming from an actor. Your whole 'life' is fake in their eyes! They don't see the real you, Percy. They see a playboy. I see a...broken boy." She said softly. "You're living for other people to make a living. You allow them to make lies about you simply because its your job. Stay quiet, be the trophy and allow real people to walk all over you. Speaking about lies, where's your girlfriend, Percy?"

He looked away from her. Annabeth couldn't tell if she'd wounded him like she'd hoped, or if he couldn't look at her simply out of guilt. Her skin burned where he touched her.

And then his phone rang, ruining any chances the two had of finishing their conversation. He looked up at her, as if asking for permission. She shrugged. "Go ahead. If anything, it might be your girlfriend." He looked at the caller ID and sighed.

Without another word, he stood up. She stopped him. "Percy, we can do this movie no problem. But after that...I think I just need some space and time to think." He stared at her and nodded, sliding past her and exiting the room. Annabeth hugged herself and leaned against the bed post, closing her eyes.

For someone without a boyfriend, that sure did sound like a breakup line.

She never asked for this. All she wanted was to have a simple life and go to Stanford. She wanted to be an architect like her mother. And then somewhere along the way, her dreams became so blurred and disoriented that she wasn't sure what they were anymore.

A/N:

Sorry about the sad ending. I'd say it gets better next chapter, but that would be a lie. You're about to hate me big time. I'll give you a hint: Kelli goes too far.

But don't worry, all's well in the end.

theartnerd333: I honestly don't know. I saw some commercial and I'm like: hey, I should make a story about blah blah blah and it just developed in my head until I was too excited and posted it. I dunno.

**please read**:I'll be going back and editing the story, so don't be freaked out if certain things disappear or something.

I was going to wait till B.F. was over, but I was too excited and started another story, In The Grey. I'd really appreciate it if you stopped and read it for a second! :)

Oh, and there's probably two or three chapters left. :(

Review!

~Greekfreak302