Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson.

"I don't understand," Annabeth told her mother as they sat on the couch together, the day after the Fourth of July.

Frederick had gone off to supposedly "work", which Annabeth suspected she knew what he really meant, but she decided not to think about it.

She'd came back after the fireworks ended, walking over to her house by herself. Thankfully, no creeps had come here way, yet Athena was still sitting outside, waiting for Annabeth, even at ten o'clock, when she should have been working on her architectural designs. Annabeth felt a touch at her heart when she saw her mother sitting on the stairs of the house, waiting and looked around worriedly.

It wasn't like Athena used to be so nice to her, and Annabeth detected it was due to the divorce. Yet Frederick hadn't changed, at all, only gotten worse.

Athena sighed and looked at Annabeth. "Honey, trust me, if I could change it, I would. You're father wants you to take you with him, he told me he'd be a good father, and he wants to spend time with you. He said he'd get a job, and had found one in New York. I want to do what's best for you-"

Annabeth interrupted her. "But that isn't the best! Don't I get a say in this? Can't I choose who I want to stay with? Mom, what makes you think he isn't lying..? That once I get there, he'll throw me out and hit me?"

Athena pursed her lips. "I suppose he can, but the court can decide that."

Annabeth looked at her mother, incredulous. "Mom, if we are going to court, then you can gain custody with me, right?"

Athena looked at the floor. "I suppose."

"When do we go to court?" Annabeth asked her, trying to ignore the fact that the six words broke her heart. Normal families wouldn't be going to court.

Athena exhaled. "Four days."

"Do you have a lawyer?"

Athena nodded, "Yes."

"Does Dad have a lawyer?" Annabeth questioned, a sinking feeling inside of her.

Again, Athena nodded. "Yes."

"And you never told me?"

"I couldn't," Athena told Annabeth. "It would have affected you."

Annabeth snorted. "Like this doesn't affect me."

Athena turned to her daughter with a look of sympathy. "This is affecting me too, Annabeth. I'm sorry, but you know this has to be done."

Annabeth bit her lip and nodded. No, it doesn't. "I know."

Athena smiled at her, but it was obviously forced. "That's my girl. Promise me, Annabeth, whatever happens, you'll remember to me strong."

Annabeth glanced at her, "You will take custody of me, right?"

Athena didn't answer.

"You don't want to have me live with you?" Annabeth asked her, trying to ignore the hurt in her voice.

Athena looked away, as if she were hiding something. "Annabeth, I can't deal with this right now."

Annabeth set her face into a thin line. Of course. It never really mattered anyway, what she felt and thought. "Okay." She said, quietly, and when Athena turned to face her again, Annabeth saw her eyes were glassy.

"Mom?" Annabeth asked, and Athena gave her a small smile, before shaking her head and getting up.

"I'm fine," She told her daughter before Annabeth could say anything, and momentarily shutting her eyes, Athena walked away from the room, leaving Annabeth alone.

Annabeth sighed as she stared ahead of her, trying not to think. She heard the distant sound of thunder, and knew there was a storm coming. Shaking her head, Annabeth herself got up, but feeling dizzy, sat back down.

Would she be a witness? What if Frederick got custody over her? Who was Athena's lawyer? Who was Frederick's?

Shaking off the thoughts that had creeped up to her mind, Annabeth sighed as she yawned, suddenly tired. She decided to go to sleep, not having slept for days, and laid her head down onto the sofa.

She closed her eyes, and instantly, she was out.

Athena's P.O.V:

Athena shook her head as she talked on the phone with her lawyer. "Artemis, I'm telling you, it's hopeless."

A pause. Then, "What makes you think it is? Listen, Athena, you have a daughter. I can give you custody of her, believe me. All you have to do is admit he has been abusing not only you but your daughter, as well."

Athena sighed, exasperated. "Artemis, that is not possible-"

Artemis interrupted her. "Don't lie to me. You were my best friend since high school. I can recall the times you told me he had been abusive when you two were simply dating, and I know he does it now."

Athena paced the floor of her room, feeling a pounding in her head. "Yes, he does. But I need to lie, Artemis. There is no proof that he has abused us-"

"Yes, there is," Artemis said. "Annabeth. Your daughter."

Athena shook her head, again. Even if Artemis couldn't see her. "I know. But where is the physical evidence?"

Artemis was silent for a moment. When she spoke, she sounded tired. "Annabeth."

"No," Athena replied. "She isn't."

"Look, you want your daughter, right? Athena, then you'll have to work with me. Provide evidence or this court case is already a disaster."

Athena pause for a moment. "What can I do if there's absolutely no evidence stating so?"

"You're acting like you don't want your daughter."

Athena stopped pacing. "That's because," Athena said, "I don't."

Percy's P.O.V:

"Aye, kid!" Gabe's voice came through the house, and sighing, Percy got up from sitting in the hallway, his phone in his hand, and went to see what was wrong with his step-father.

"What?" He asked, coming into the living room, where again, Gabe was sitting, sprawled out onto the couch, a beer in his hand.

Gabe looked up at him. "Where's my beer?"

"What do you mean?" Percy questioned him, not sure what he was talking about.

Gabe stared at him with a look of both disappointment and irritation, "I gave you money to go buy me beer. Are you that stupid?"

"I'm underage." Percy stated, simply.

Gabe rolled his eyes, and raised his beer and chugged it. When he was done, he let go with a sigh, and threw the beer onto the floor, as it clinked with others, making Percy mentally wince. "There's a store that I fucking told you about, that has my buddies giving me beer. Go there, and buy it from them, and be back."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "That's like an hours' walk."

Gabe smirked. "Exactly."

Percy stared at Gabe. "Why can't you do it?"

Gabe narrowed his eyes at Percy, and Percy had the urge to laugh at how disgusting his step-father looked when he was trying to threaten Percy.

"Are you questioning me?" Gabe's voice was steady, and dramatically, Percy rolled his eyes.

"Isn't that how a conversation works?" He said, tempted to add "stupid" at the end, but restraining himself.

Gabe looked at him, and an evil grin broke out onto his face. "You know what doesn't work? Anybody liking you."

Percy bit his lip, not answering. He stared at the ground, visions of his mom once again overcoming him.

He glanced up at Gabe, who was giving him a smug smile, as if he had won something.

"Fine," Percy told him, attempting to ignore the pain in his chest. "But one day, I promise you, when you're on the ground laying down due to the beers having your organs fail, I'll be here, laughing."

Percy cursed as he pulled his hood over his head, hoping nobody saw him. It was late at night; about midnight, and Gabe had forced Percy to go buy him beer, even though it was illegal, from a store that was four miles away.

And he would have to walk by foot.

Of course, he'd really had no other choice, living with Gabe. You either did what he asked, and got verbal abuse, or you either don't do it, and get extreme physical abuse, mixed with verbal, then have to go do whatever he asked.

Percy decided not to do the latter.

He knew where to go, having went there with Gabe when he was little all the time as his step-father drank with his friends while Percy was just a toddler.

From what he could remember, Gabe's buddies, Atlas and someone who called himself "H", were the dealers there.

Percy's feet ached. He had been walking for at least an hour, and felt sleepy, for some reason. He'd taken an abandoned road, walking in the dark, the lights of the city guiding him. His heart hammered in his chest, and his muscles screamed for him to stop, but he didn't.

He knew Gabe wouldn't care if he was kidnapped or taken away, so he didn't exactly worry about that, either. It wasn't like he cared about himself, the scars on his wrists backing the point up. Percy was back to his old habits, habits he knew his mother wouldn't have been proud of (like she was ever proud of him to begin with), but he couldn't find himself to care.

Everything he did nowadays was due to his compulsive behavior, and it wasn't his fault he couldn't control it.

Percy looked around him. He was walking along side of the highway, trying to get into the city of San Francisco, and he could hear the sounds of cars passing him, and he kept his face down in hopes of nobody finding him, and he could see nothing but the lights of the highway. shining onto the road in front of him. He knew it was possible for somebody to pull over; to find him and ask him what he was doing this late at night, but nobody did. San Francisco wasn't large; but it wasn't small, either. Percy knew he had a chance of being found, and as much as it was supposed to be terrifying, it wasn't.

He took a deep breath to calm his thoughts, the silence of the night making him paranoid. Looking ahead, Percy saw that he was near the city, the silhouette and the lights clear to him in the middle of the night.

Keeping his face down, Percy continued walking.

Twenty minutes later, Percy was walking through San Francisco, as the smell of pollution and gas lingered in the air. Car horns were honking, and he could see people giving him weird looks as he went, but all ignored him, not daring to come up to him.

He stopped at a stop-sign, waiting for it to signal that he could cross the road, as he looked ahead of him. The building was at the very end of the next block, and he, again, tried to calm his nerves as he came closer.

When the signal had cleared, Percy took a breath and crossed the street, knowing fully well that the people waiting for the signal to turn green on the left and right of him could be staring at him, considering he was the only one crossing at this time, and he tried to brush it off, feeling heat rush to his cheeks.

Percy shut his eyes as he walked through the block, trying to forget why he was in the city of San Francisco in the first place.

Because you have an abusive step-father and he needs you to buy beer and even though you're 15, you're doing it anyway, because you're afraid of him.

You're afraid of him.

He bit his lip, the four words echoing in his head, making him dizzy. As if he needed to be reminded of how much of a coward he was.

When he reached the end of the block, Percy turned left, and saw that in between the first two buildings, there was an abandoned alley way, where two figures stood, talking. Percy couldn't make out what they were saying, but he could hear deep voices.

There was no doubt in his mind that those were Gabe's friends. A small, flickering light was attached to the side of both buildings, illuminating the alleyway.

Percy mentally prepared himself, and walked into the alley, the eerie sound of night back again. His foot thudded against the alley, and the two figures turned, making Percy's fear rise.

I am not afraid, He told himself repeatedly.

When he reached the two figures, who he couldn't see clearly due to the masks on their face, he heard one of them speak.

"I assume you're here for the drugs?" One asked, in a dangerous voice.

"Yes, for my step-father," Percy forced his voice to remain steady, yet he could sense a shaky edge to it as he spoke.

The other one laughed, a creepy laugh that had Percy shivering. "Ah, Gabe. Remember when we used to get into physical fights with him? Quite the womanizer he was, taking advantage of them like that.."

Percy forced himself not to gag. He looked up at them, not interested in their disgusting stories, "Can you give me the drugs?"

Silence. Then, the first man extended his arm out, and made a gesture with his fingers, indicating Percy give him the money. "Money first, you bastard."

Nodding, Percy took the money from his hand and put in into the man's gloved hand, and when the man spoke, Percy could hear the smirk in his voice. "Excellent."

He was handed the drugs, and feeling guilt wash over him, Percy took them.

"Now, go, before we have to kill you, bastard. And tell Gabe a 'fuck you' from both 'H' and I."

Nodding again, Percy pursed his lips and stuck the drugs, which were given in a bag, into his pocket. He turned away from them, and started walking away, his footsteps, again, echoing throughout the alleyway.

As he turned the corner, he could hear their voices again, but ignored them, as he walked through the city. The people, once again gave him looks as if he was some sort of criminal.

The funny thing was, Percy didn't deny it.

A/N: Okay, the plot will get better, and (hopefully) the chapters longer. I hope you guys liked this chapter, let me know what you think of it in a review? I've stayed up nights writing this, and I sincerely hope you guys like this chapter. Anyways, onto the reviews.

7: I'm sorry for my updating time, but honestly, I can't get any faster than this. Chapters don't just magically write themselves, and I'm already missing out on sleep. I apologize.

Shattered Owl: Aw, that sucks. I feel bad for you, but I'm glad you aren't ignoring me. I hope you like this chapter! :)

CrazyPeopleLikeMe: This made my day, thank you! I'm glad you like it. I have something in store for Percy and Annabeth, so you shall see when they meet. I hope you liked this chapter, too, love! :)

Guest: Oh. My. Gods. What? A great author? That's way too nice. Thank you so much, and I'm glad you feel something for this story! I hope you like this chapter as well, love. Thank you! :)

TigerL1ly81: I did some research on it, too, like you told me, and I think I have a way of making Annabeth stay with Frederick. Trust me. Anyways, thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter as well! :)

Someone the World Forgot: Guess you'll have to see what happens with Athena and Annabeth, huh? Same can go for Percy and Gabe ;) I hope you liked this chapter, K (I shall call you that if you don't mind)!

Jessica Jasso: I hope you liked this one, too, love! Thank you! :)

theartnerd333: I am so happy for you and your reviews, Christine, you have no idea. Honestly. Thank you so much, and I just. I sit here and wonder why you're reading my story, and when you review, it's just the best thing I've literally ever experienced as a writer. Thank you, so much! I'm so grateful for you. I hope you like this chapter! :)

Magik458: Thank you! No, there won't be mythology or anything involved. It's an AU. :)

greekgeekgirlbro: I stopped breathing when I read this. Yeah, Frederick is a total ass. I agree. You'll have to see ;) and I can't thank you enough for reading this story, and saying all these nice stuff about it that makes me so badly wish I could hug you. Thank you so much. :)

BooksaremyBestbuddies: I know Annabeth isn't a pushover :) but sometimes you just gotta let it slide just a little. Which makes me hope you don't mind too much. I hope you liked this chapter, too. Thank you! :)

Thank you guys for your kind reviews, seriously. They mean the absolute world to me. So does you, the person that's reading this. I love you. Stay safe, beauties. Keep smiling, xxx.