Chapter 28

Annabeth

"You did what?!" Percy has just finished telling Grover that we didn't get in him a burger, mainly because, in his words, "we got in a bit of a bar fight." That wouldn't have been the way I would've described it, but I really don't want to think about what just happened. I had pulled over at Percy's request, and now I had nothing to stop myself from drowning in the tumultuous thoughts racing through my head. It was pretty bad as it was, especially the conversation I just had with Percy, but it definitely could have been much, much worse. I have heard all the horror stories, girls getting snatched, or god knows what else at places like that. Even worse, that manager could've had us all arrested. I close my eyes for a moment, sliding those thoughts out of my head and to the edges of my mind. The, normally calming, exercise doesn't work, not even the slightest. All of the things I had learned, all the strength and brains I possessed and I was still such an easy target. I made myself a goddamn target. The throb at the top of my head brings me back to that moment, on the floor and totally helpless. If Percy hadn't been there and I hadn't had that miraculous stroke of luck… I wouldn't have made it. I would not have survived that. How close tonight came to disaster, and how painfully vulnerable I was, at the bar, and just now in the car, has me genuinely trembling from fear packed adrenaline.

Percy's talking to Grover, hurriedly explaining what's happening and the snippets of words I catch over my internally panicking aren't helping me calm down. "Grab….. laughing… yank… nobody even cared." That was the worst one, no one cared that this was happening to me, nobody even believed my story. I meant nothing, absolutely nothing. Nothing has changed since the early years, and I'm no more credible than I was when I was eight. I could've been kidnapped or murdered tonight and it wouldn't have mattered, I'd just be a stupid kid who asked for more trouble than I could handle.

I don't realize how uneven my breathing is getting until the road lines blur and I feel sharp pain on my scalp as I realize I've been pulling on my hair out frustration. I'm so panicked, I'm not thinking clearly. I try to will my vision to clear, until its way too strong. I call out, and then there's nothing.

…

Bright colorful images, happy things that I can't quite place, float around for a minute, before I feel my head smack into something. Some one's yelling and I feel myself jerk to the side and stop moving all together for a moment, before there's someone's gentle touch on my forehead. My eyes slowly crawl open, and Percy's concerned face hovers over mine, my memory is still hazy as the door beside me opens and Grover gently pulls me out of the car, with a little help from Percy. Sitting on the road, I take in my surroundings for a moment, observing the barren side of the road, before the nausea hits. I wrap my arms around my legs and put my head between my knees, and focus on breathing while listening to Percy and Grover's conversation.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, she was all calm originally, and then we started talking about when you guys got in trouble, and she starting getting upset."

"Which time?"

"Which time what?"

"Which time we got in trouble?"

"Does it matter... the time Luke…"

"God!"

"I get it was scary, but I don't see why it set her off."

The answer's too quiet for me to understand, but my head is starting to clear and my memory's getting better. I had a panic attack from thinking about tonight. Oh god, I can't go back down that road, not now. I push the thoughts away for now, focusing on breathing. When I start to feel better; I peek my head up and look at Percy and Grover. Who are standing close and frantically talking to each other: mostly about me. Grover's talking about how Luke's attack still gets to me, and it got too far tonight, and he's starting to hint at stuff I'd rather not have everyone knowing.

"I can hear you both, you know."

…

Percy

I turn towards Annabeth, seeing her face and her eyes peering up at us. She looks okay for the most part, a little pale and a little flustered, but she seems alright. As I look a little closer, I see her eyes are swirling more furiously than normal. Grover and I glance at each other quickly before hurrying and sitting down beside her. I can't even get out my "Are you okay?" before she continues talking.

"You know, standing operating procedure isn't to stand three feet away and discuss what caused the panic when someone faints." Even though she's sort of insulting us, something about the snarky aspect of her response has me ten times more relieved than any expression of gratitude would create. Grover seems to be thinking along the same track I am because he laughs and hugs her for a moment.

"In our defense, there wasn't much we could do...You know you scared the crap out of me, right?" He says, and she laughs a little, and then starts crying. Grover looks at me, his eyes wide and his expression looks as if he found grizzly bears destroying a department store in New York City. I am absolutely positive we have the same expression.

"Annabeth?" I tentatively ask, as she pulls her knees tighter into her body and the cry seems to decline.

"I am not having a good day, am I?" She hiccups, and Grover and I laugh again. She seems to have gotten back in control, and the Annabeth I know is slowly starting to make reappearance. "I'm sorry; I know I must be freaking you guys out..." She trails off wiping her eyes and Grover shakes his head at her as I answer.

"Annabeth… you just went through something freaking' traumatic, you're allowed to break down a little." I assure her, gently reaching out and rubbing her back in a way that I hope seems comforting and not like a pedophile touching a five-year old girl. Freaking her out, more than she already is freaking out, won't go well. I can hear her breathing deeply, and she isn't trembling, like she had been before, so I take it as a good sign. "Do you think you can stand?" She nods, but holds onto both of our arms as we help her up. She seems nervous, but I think that's more likely a result of being afraid of fainting and not a side effect from the fainting itself.

We lead her to the car, each one of us with a hand on her elbows. Grover and I keep trying to discretely communicate through eye contact over her head but every time we try it I look down to see her rolling her eyes at me. Once we finally got in the car, me in the front seat and Grover watching over Annabeth in the back, the real debate broke out.

Grover and I agreed we should get a motel room, the more comfort we could offer, the better. Annabeth, however, insists that it's way too late and we should just park at a rest stop and sleep there for as long as we can. We both tried to talk her into the hotel, saying she'd be more comfortable in things like a bed, because it would be somewhat familiar. Her point was that this car is way more familiar and that a hotel would be an entirely alien atmosphere. Not to mention, she's still determined to convince us that she's okay. I don't know why she's so afraid to admit to herself that she just went through something seriously nerve-wracking. I mean, most people don't faint. Today wasn't exactly a regular day though.

Eventually, Grover and I ended up conceding to Annabeth's plan, mostly just because it is impossible to argue with her, as she always manages to win every debate.

It took another couple of minutes for Annabeth and Grover to decide it made more sense to head down to Florida and not to head outwards toward Missouri. Personally, I was too stressed out about the reason behind the trip to care too much about the order. My father, the man who gave me life and then left my mother out to dry, is sitting out there, somewhere, and he has no idea that I'm this close to finding him.

Following Grover's directions, we pulled into the closest rest stop, which didn't have all the amenities that truck stops had i.e. showers, cafes, etc., but they were free, which was a big plus. I found a spot parked, and looked behind me to see Annabeth and Grover pushing the back of their seats back.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep in the front, Annabeth?" I ask, it's not like I really wanted to crash next to Grover, but I still feel obligated to offer, my mom lectured me way too often on chivalry. She waves me off.

"We'll switch off… Percy, relax… it's fine... I'm fine" She seems to be trying extremely hard to keep her voice from showing the fear that's lurking under the surface. I know she's freaked out that she lost control, I mean; anyone would be freaked out by it. I sure as hell know I would be, and I'd definitely react ten times worse than Annabeth is. For the most part, excluding the original emotional release she seems to be processing all of this okay.

Grover hands me a blanket as he lies down, his back to Annabeth, and I'm bitterly jealous for a split second, as I remember when we had slept back there. Okay so maybe chivalry isn't my only reason for wanting Annabeth in the front. I don't want to cheapen anything that had happened between us by making it seem like nothing.

I had pushed Annabeth that night as well, and she had opened up to me, not the way that she had tonight, in an almost unhealthy release of suppressed emotions., but it seemed less crazy, somehow. She had cried a little that night, but the words were painful and I would never fault her for that. Either way, I had comforted her, and we spent the entire night wrapped around each other.

That stuff wouldn't happen with Grover, right? Of course not; they're like siblings, she doesn't think of him as anything else. On that same note, had there been any clear sign, when Annabeth was entirely in control of herself, that she felt any differently about me than she did Grover? I couldn't say that was true, oh crap, but what did it matter. I didn't think of Annabeth that way, I mean, not really. Sure my thoughts had meandered in that direction more than once, but it didn't mean anything. Annabeth's an attractive teenage girl, and I'm a fully functioning teenage boy, there's nothing wrong with that. She's probably repulsed by me, of course, but it's not like it even matters. Oh god, I really just need to stop thinking.

Looking back at Grover and Annabeth, and seeing that both of them are sound asleep, I shove down that screaming little voice that's shouting out my crazy thoughts and force myself to try to sleep. This should go well.

A/N: The next few chapters should be interesting, as I'm planning to join a chunk I pre-wrote a while ago, and a PJO character we all know quite well. I'm curious if you can guess it, and there might be a reward in it for you guys if you do guess. In other news, I'm looking for someone to Beta this story, and naturally I'd prefer if it wasn't someone who's entirely new to the story and would have to read the whole story, so if any of my lovely readers are up for the job, shoot me a PM and we'll see what we can do.

Finally, my goal for this chapter is to get 145 reviews, and if we get there within the 9/3/13, I will post a teaser on my profile of a future chapter.