Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

A/N: Anything in italics is either flashbacks or thoughts

Chapter 35

"Hey girlie, come here," a voice slurred.

Annabeth stared from what she was looking at, trying to stifle a gasp as she saw a semi-drunken man come at her. She prevented herself from looking scared; instead, trying to think what Thalia and Luke did in situations like this.

"I need money," the man slurred again, nearly stumbling.

'If anyone comes at you Annie,' Thalia said with a huge grin on her face as she demonstrated on Luke. 'Punch the idiot like this.' And with all the strength she had, she punched him and gave him a broken nose.She had giggled, clapping her seven year old hands in delight while running over to her 'big brother' to see if he was okay. Thalia just grinned, handing him a bandaid for his bruise while patting his head teasingly.

"Come here," the man said while gesturing rudely.

Annabeth had already stood up from the dirty wall that was supposed to be her bed for the day. She walked closer- ignoring the nagging voice telling her to run away.

"That's right," a grin was on the dude's face. "Where's your purse?"

"Somewhere over the rainbow with a happy unicorn," Annabeth said, reeling back before letting her right arm collide with the guy's nose.

Blood started to stream out of the man's nose and he staggered back with a roar, leaving a blood trail on the floor. He muttered a string of curse words that left Annabeth wondering how many swearwords in the world there actually were.

"Stupid, hey! You-" the dude tried to stand back up again but Annabeth kicked him in the stomach, wincing as he 'oofed' in surprise. His eyes narrowed and tiny droplets of blood fell from his mouth. "No more fooling around now- g-gi-gimme... that... purse...!"

"Try finding a job," Annabeth retorted, hissing as the guy clawed at her arm.

"Getting sassy eh? I need money!"

She tried to hit the crazed man again, but this time, he expected it and dodged as if he was a boxer. He smiled toothily, showing all his yellow teeth before reaching for her bag in a hurry.

"Get the hell away from me," Annabeth snarled, pushing her attacker the the ground. She gripped her bag tightly. "And don't you ever touch me again."

And without another word, she left, running for her life as she did without looking back once.

With Percy:

He had taken the motorcycle. That was the first thing he did after slipping under the hedge as a desperate escape. He was tired, and the fact that he was driving his vehicle wasn't helping.

"Whoa..." the sound of a little kid could be heard and her eyes widened as she stared at Percy when he drove past. "Mommy look at that, he isn't wearing a helmet!"

The mother shook her head disapprovingly, pulling her child away from Percy, who had stopped at a light, only to stare at them. He could feel pairs of eyes at him, and he looked away uncomfortably, staring at a cafe instead.

A large honk snapped him out of his daydream. He looked behind him and saw that at least fifteen cars were 'staring' back at him in anger. Other beeps and honks followed after the first one and he winced slightly.

"Hurry up kid!" an impatient driver shouted, honking three times in frustration.

"Sorry!" Percy yelled back, his unfocused eyes becoming clearer as he began driving again, shaking his head in the process.

Blurred scenery was all he saw as he drove around the streets of New York. He didn't know where he was driving, neither what he was actually thinking. Despair filled him up like some potatoes in a sack. He should've stayed. That was the only question running through his head, along with the words of 'could've he stayed, even then?' He felt like Hestia, giving up her throne for Dionysus.

'Nobody likes you punk,' Gabe sneered, kicking Percy in the gut when he was on the ground. A nasty smile made a way to his pudgy face. 'They want you gone. You ever heard of hell punk? That's where you're going to end up for sure."The only thing that came out from Percy's mouth was something unintelligent to say. 'Look who's talking,' he muttered, coughing out blood.Gabe kicked Percy again, growling. 'You'll regret saying that punk. I'll make sure you'll remember me even in hell.'Yells could be heard around the cluttered apartment.

In reality, he blinked once. Twice. Then stared around as if reality was a dream and flashbacks were reality. His stomach ached, and he instantly clutched it with one hand, the other one remaining on the handlebars.

"Mom, hear me sing!" a little kid stated cheerfully, clapping his hands together. "Heads, shoulders, knees and toes knees and toes...!"

His stomach lurched as if he was going to puke. Percy blinked again. Once. Twice.

"Hurry up you punk!" a driver shouted angrily.

Percy looked behind him and saw that the car was about to crash into him if he hadn't sped up at the last second. He sighed, watching his breath form into vapor. Punk. Punk, punk, punk, punk, he chanted in his head.

'I'm sorry Percy, but it-it's for the best,' Sally Jackson said before sighing. She ruffled her son's hair fondly as she sat back down in the sand. 'Now let's enjoy this moment when it's just the two of us.' She shared a grin with her son as if they shared a secret.

He started telling himself to stop remembering. New start, was the only thing he would think of as buildings blurred past him as if they were moving- not him. Nobody would care anymore, nobody at all...A flash of blonde hair caught his eye and he frowned. The girl turned to look at him, but when she did, her eyes widened and she stopped running, her intent grey eyes staring at him in disbelief.

"Percy?" she managed to utter as she breathed in and out from running so hard.

Somehow, he couldn't manage to get the words out. They were stuck in his throat as he watched her stand still as if time had frozen. The sound of the motorcycle could still be heard. He was still driving forwards.

He braked, all so suddenly, as he saw that he was about to crash. It was like time started going on again in slow-motion. The fact that he stopped with a loud screech made him fall backwards in shock.

"... A-Annabeth?" Percy asked as if she were a hallucination. He reached out his hand.

Annabeth grabbed the hand firmly, smiling through her veiled face covering of tousled blonde hair. "Glad to see that you're still alive."

"Oh I'm alive," Percy finally replied, finding his voice. He wanted to add the other part. I'm just contemplating suicide. "I thought you were at your dad's."

A heavy frown replaced the friendly smile on her face. She sighed. "He kicked me out, so I... Ran away."

"Why did you run away?" came the immediate response. "What exactly happened?"

"A cop brought me home. I-I thought that my dad would let me stay in his house, but I... I guess I was wrong."

He knew that it was hard for her to admit. As far as he had known her, she had almost never admitted that she was wrong.

"Come back here!" an enraged voice suddenly shouted, making the two teenagers jump in surprise.

The drunken man stumbled over to them in frenzy, shouting and muttering curse words. He grinned maniacally as he saw Annabeth and made his way towards them.

Her eyes immediately widened. "Run!" she hissed lowly, grabbing his arm hastily.

"Why? My motorcycle is right there-" Percy protested, feeling frustrated, as he pulled away from her strong grip.

"Just listen to me for once, that guy is dangerous!" Annabeth shouted in a panic. "But fine, if you don't want to follow me," she made a sarcastic waving gesture before starting her run again.

"Don't you dare r-run again!" the man yelled, slurring the r slightly. "I'm gonna get your purse, just you see!"

Percy's mind started to work things out, and he finally started to understand Annabeth's panicked tone. He saw the guy changing direction, right towards him.

"Stupid, stupid girl..."

"I'm a girl?!" Percy spoke loudly, looking extremely offended.

The man took out a bottle of alcohol and started gulping it down noisily. "Stupid girl and her problem with me..."

Breakup was the first thing that came to Percy's head. He noted the fact that the man would probably finish the entire bottle... Which gave him at least ten seconds to get on his motorcycle to drive away.

"Wait!" a cry sounded out.

Percy was already in the seat, revving up the engine in a hurry.

"I remember you! You're the kid... The kid that supplied the poker money for us! Remember...? What the hell are you doing out here?! Damn, Gabe'll be pissed if he sees you..."

'Stupid idiot, who the hell does he think he is? Thinking he can barge in here like this...? It's your house Gabe, what's he still doing here?!'

A snort came from the fat man. 'Like hell I know, I keep him around for kicks, y'know? Besides, he makes a good slave. Too bad Sally's dead- she would have made better food than the shit he whips up.'

He would've done way more than show the man his middle finger if it wasn't for him calling Gabe's phone number, which would lead to the police station, which would lead to calling his cousins' place...

And with one last rev of the engine, he sped off, ignoring the cries of the drunken dude and the sound of a crashing bottle.

A/N: Extremely sorry for the late update but I was really busy- and I had writers block. Next chapter will be mainly based on Percy and Annabeth again and then later comes the court case. Thanks for all the support, and the 300 reviews!

Leo Valdes Son of Hephaestus: Thanks for being one of the many people who got me 300 reviews! And no, I don't think I've ever tried slamming a revolving door.