DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Percy

Damn Nico…he chose an amazing time to just walk in. Note my sarcasm. Then again he did live there but that's not the point.

Back to Thalia's deadline, Nico told the Stolls to go check up on her and make sure she was okay. Then the three of us waited. Annabeth sat on the bed with her legs crossed, and Nico leaned against the wall next to the door. I was lying on my makeshift bed (which was the floor with a pillow and a blanket) staring at the ceiling.

"Are you sure I wasn't interrupting anything guys? Because, if I was, by all means continue," said Nico, breaking the silence. Annabeth turned red and I sat up, raising an eyebrow.

"We told you, we weren't doing anything. Lay off man, I don't ask you about your love life," I pointed out.

Nico held up his hands in mock surrender as I stood up and went to the refrigerator. I could hear my stomach growling as I pulled a blood bag out of it. Annabeth had grown used to me feeding so she just started up a conversation with Nico as I sipped the blood silently.

Then a knock came on the door and Nico opened it, the Stolls walked in their eyes wide.

"Is Thalia okay?" asked Nico, closing the door. "What's wrong?"

"She's fine, but I think she's planning to go see him tomorrow. That's her deadline, isn't it?" asked Travis, looking from Percy to Nico.

"We have to make sure she doesn't see Luke, at all costs. Stolls, come with me," said Nico, nodding toward the door. When they left, Annabeth and I were alone again.

She took a shaky breath and said, "Percy, I'm sorry. I mean about what happened before Nico came in-"

"Don't worry," I said, looking back to my blood bad. I suddenly wasn't feeling hungry anymore. "I'm sorry too. We'll figure it out once we get rid of Luke."

"I think I understand why you wanted to forget me now."

I grinned. "The life of a supernatural can really suck."

"Ha-ha," she said, looking down. Then she looked up at me again. "I still don't understand something. What does Luke want? He's being controlled by Kronos, I know, but why? And why does he want you guys dead?"

"Honestly, I don't know. He didn't plan to kill Bianca and Jason. He just did. After that, he's been after us. Thalia too I think. He wants all three of us dead but I don't know why. I could ask my dad, but I doubt I could find him. He could be anywhere."

"Oh," was all she said.

I suddenly got up and walked over to her, sitting down next to her.

"I can't believe I'm asking this but, are you okay?" I felt like such an idiot. Why had I brought her into this in the first place?

She let out a small, forced laugh. "It's still a little bit overwhelming, but I'm good."

I let myself stare at her. Her blond, curly hair that smelled like lemons once you got close enough, her stormy grey eyes, everything.

"You're staring," she said. I hadn't realized how close she was, I could feel her breath on my neck.

"Uh-huh," was my best answer. Now she looked at me and my eyes traveled to her lips. Just a while ago my lips were on her neck. I leaned in closer.

"Percy, you said we'd figure it out after-"

I gently pressed my lips to hers, cupping her chin with my hand. I pulled away and she looked at me, her eyes wide.

"I said we'd figure it out later, not that I wasn't going to kiss you."

I kissed her hard this time. I felt her hands shakily wrap around my neck as I pressed my hands against the small of her back. Pulling her forward, I fell back onto the bed with her on top of me. Then she broke away, breathing heavily. I stared up at her, and was about to pull her down again when she stopped me.

"Percy I know you're stressed and that vampires can't control their emotions, but I really don't think it's a good time," she said, moving to lie next to me instead of on top. "I mean, I really like you but-"

"I get it," I sighed. "It's more logical to just not do anything. You seem to be learning a lot about vampires though. And you're right. It's hard to control emotions and sometimes I just don't bother."

"That's why-"

"-I kissed you," I finished. "I've wanted to for a while. Annabeth, I've never hesitated on killing anyone before. I truly never cared. Then for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to kill you that day in your apartment. I'm so glad I didn't."

"Thanks," she said. "Thanks for not killing me."

I closed my eyes. I don't know why, but I was suddenly exhausted. Drifting off, I could still feel Annabeth next to me.

I woke to loud knocking on the door. Sunlight streamed through the windows and I sat up. Annabeth was still next to me. Her hair was a mess and she looked like a child while sleeping. I brushed the hair out of her face before opening the door.

Travis and Connor looked terrible. Travis's upper left arm had a huge gash and there were bruises on his face. Connor's hands and arms had streaks of blood. There was a cut on his cheek and he seemed to be limping. I hurried to get bandages. They both sat down as I started on Travis's arm. If you're wondering, being around this much blood wasn't making me uncomfortable really. I wasn't hungry after all.

"Percy?" mumbled Annabeth. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes. She almost resembled a little girl like this.

"Good morning Annabeth," I said. "Say hello to our guests."

She simply fell back onto the bed and mumbled something incoherent.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked, turning back to the Stolls.

"Luke was expecting us. Thalia helped him. Nico's gone. That's basically it," answered Connor, holding ice to his swollen ankle. "I barely even remember it. We woke up behind Thalia's house. When we checked inside, she and Luke were gone as well as Nico. They're going to be after you next Percy."

"Where did they go?"

"I'm guessing somewhere on the edge of the forest. Percy you have to stay here, don't even think about-"

"We have to help Nico, if he's still alive. Connor, stay here and watch Annabeth. Travis, you come with me."

Before we could leave, Annabeth was fully awake and insisted on joining us.

"It's too dangerous Annabeth. You don't have any actual training as a hunter. Kronos won't hesitate to just kill you, and besides, Connor has to stay here too because of his foot. You can babysit him," I said, trying to sound convincing. It didn't work.

"Percy, you aren't going to just leave me here. If something happens to you…"

"Nothing will happen. I promise. We just need to get Nico and Thalia back. It won't take long, okay? Let's go Travis."

I could see tears fill her eyes as we were about to leave, not just because she was worried. She didn't like being treated as weak. She wanted to come. I could tell Connor was pissed too but he couldn't walk so it would be a risk taking him.

Travis and I went out, going around the town to reach the forest. The tall trees loomed above us like we were tiny ants. I looked to Travis, who shrugged. We had absolutely no idea where to go. Kronos was smart. He'd hide in the exact place you wouldn't look. I paced around, thinking about where he might be.

"Percy, wait," said Travis. "I don't think Luke would still be here."

"Well then where is he?" I asked.

"He might have gone back to Thalia's house. Or maybe he-"

"Wait," I stopped him. I looked around and began walking away from the forest, closer to the town, but not too close. "I think I know where he is."

We walked closer and closer, then I saw something move in the window and my suspicion was confirmed.

"That son of a bitch," I said. "He's in my house."

While standing outside the house, I could hear Luke talking to Thalia.

"-not fair. You said you weren't going to hurt us!" yelled Thalia. I could hear Luke laughing.

"We only need some blood. You'll still be alive after this."

"If all you needed was blood then why go to this much trouble? Why did you take my blood too? You wanted me to kill Nico and Percy!"

"Well it would have been easier if they were dead. You're deadline was today, and you disappointed me."

"Luke, this isn't you. I know you're in there somewhere, please stop!"

"I'm right here with my master. And, Percy, you can come inside now, I know you're out there. The door's open."

"Shit," I said.

"What happened?" asked Travis.

"Let's just go inside, and don't do anything stupid."

"Now why would I do that?"

The inside looked the same, exactly as I had left it. Except for the fact that now, Luke was standing in front of me. His close cropped blond hair, the scar under his eye, the same crooked smile…we used to be great friends.

Then he turned all dark and mysterious and joined possibly the most evil person in the universe, Kronos.

Great guy, huh?

"Percy, it's been a long time," he said, his voice cool and collected. "Sit down I have some blood if you're hungry. And don't worry Travis I think I might have something for you as well. It's probably stale, expired or just plain disgusting but it works."

"Actually, I came for my cousins. Have you seen them by any chance?" I asked sarcastically.

He nodded his head towards the stairs and began walking up, leaving Travis and me to follow. Upstairs, I saw Thalia and Nico, both tied to chairs. In the corner of the room, there were two blood bags which I assumed contained their blood. Nico was unconscious with a bleeding gash on his head. Thalia was struggling to free herself from her ropes, and her eyes widened when she saw me.

"Percy, go! What the hell are you-"

Luke walked over to her and touched the back of her neck. She closed her mouth and I saw her eyelids begin to flutter close.

"Are you looking for these two? I assure you, they're fine."

"Luke, it's two against one right now. You can't win this. Just let them go."

He shrugged. "Go untie them if you want."

Travis walked over to Thalia, who was unconscious now too. The second he touched the ropes, Luke had come behind him and had bitten his neck. He yelled n pain and I grabbed Luke, pulling him off and throwing him into the wall. As he slammed against it, Travis fell to the ground, losing blood fast.

Luke had recovered from his previous shock and was now running toward me again. Tackling me to the ground, he got up again and picked up a small wooden stool that had been next to Nico's chair. Breaking off one of its legs, he came back towards me. I was quick to roll over as he tried to stab it in me. He dropped the leg and I reached for it. Getting up, I pushed him against the wall and pointed the makeshift stake towards him.

"Leave now Luke. Take that asshole Kronos with you."

He looked up at me then smiled sweetly. I felt something poking my back then a wave of pain rolled over me. I felt my head hit the floor as I dropped to the ground. I could see the broken stool in front of me. Somehow, Luke had managed to break off another leg. I could barely move. Luke kneeled down next to me.

"Great job Percy. If you hadn't come, you might still be alive tomorrow. Now I can't-"

He yelped in pain. A bullet had sunk into his left shoulder, making his shirt turn red. I turned my head just enough to see Annabeth, a gun in her hands. Connor was next to her, leaning on the doorframe.

"Annabeth," I gasped. The pain in my back worsened as I turned to Luke, who was still holding his shoulder in pain. Annabeth fired again, this time it hit him nearer to the heart.

He screamed, and his eyes shot open. They shined gold before they turned back to a normal shade and his eyes closed.

The last thing I heard was Annabeth calling my name before everything blacked out.

A/N: Finally, a slightly longer chapter! I know the end with Luke and all might seem a bit confusing, but it'll be explained in the next chapter.

Yay, Percy and Annabeth are together! Well, kind of…Sometimes I have no idea what the hell I'm even writing. =] So, did you like the chapter? I hope you did because I really enjoyed writing it, especially when Annabeth comes in all badass and stuff.

Oh and for those of you who voted, the winning story is…

In Shallow Water!

Chase Me got second, and It's Kind of Sort of Maybe Love got third. Thanks to everyone who voted! So basically I going to start with In Shallow Water and then after a couple chapters do Chase Me. I'm not sure about the last story as of right now, but I might write it.

Okay, reviews? :D