Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the OC's
Since murder would get us arrested, we only settled with giving them our worst glares. I had a feeling they would rather die a horrible death than to ever see that again. I do look terrifying if I want to. Not to mention the fact that Seaweed Brain can make normal guys pee their pants just by the sight of him.
Katie was the first to break the awkward silence. She still had the traces of fear in her kind brown eyes but another emotion overshadowed it. Percy sighed, "Why are you here so early in the morning?" He asked. Luckily for them, he looked more disappointed than angry so they only had me to worry about.
"Well, home isn't exactly paradise for Thalia and me so we decided to head over here early. Apparently, we had a shadow." Jason looked pointedly to Connor Stoll who hid behind his brother. I rolled my eyes. He was such a coward. "They just told the others that we were heading here and… yeah." He ran a hand through his blonde hair, embarrassed. If killing other people was not against the law, I would take advantage of that.
I had a feeling that they enjoyed our company more than their own families.
Behind me, I heard the soft pitter-patter of footsteps- probably from a child- and then constant complaining from a man. Percy crossed his arms, shaking his head slightly. "Good job, guys. You woke them up."
After all of my friends got scolded by Sally Jackson for going here so early, we headed directly to the living room. Her accusations were actually pretty funny, considering the fact that they're mostly related to how their parents will 'worry' about their absence in the household. Knowing the Grace siblings' father, he might not even notice that they're gone. It was a sad thought but it was the truth.
"Percy, I'm hungry." Bella mutter from his brother's arms. She was in one of his old shirts, something that look way too big for her. It was either he gave that to her or she wanted to be just like me and that included the part of me that steals my boyfriend's clothing.
He didn't look like he minded though. "I'll go make you something, alright?" he smiled at her kindly. "Any requests?"
"Pancakes!" she squealed, clapping her hands.
Seaweed Brain laughed as if expecting the answer already. "Blue, of course." Bella nodded vigorously, her brown hair falling wildly on her face. "Annabeth?" His beautiful sea green eyes met mine and my brain turned to mush for a short moment.
"Pancakes are fine with me." I answered, blushing. He chuckled, taking the little girl's hand and directing her towards the kitchen. She likes watching him cook. Maybe because she gets to taste whatever he's making. As for me, I liked watching him because he looks so graceful when he moves. He wasn't really into spending his time in the kitchen but he would do everything just to make her and me happy. Wow, that really boosted my ego.
But they just had to take advantage of that.
The moment we stepped foot in the kitchen, they started reciting orders as if it was a diner or something. Not only did they ruin such a peaceful sleep but they're treating my boyfriend like a maid. I really should get better, less selfish friends.
Juniper, being the kind hearted soul that she is, decided to shut them all up. "Guys, come on. It's not polite to break into someone's home and demand for food." She crossed her arms, glaring directly at the men. I smiled triumphantly when they looked down in embarrassment. I sat on the countertop, my eyes moving from one place to another but always falling on Percy.
Bella was humming a song beside me, something I've heard Percy sing every once in a while when he thinks no one was listening to him but me. And she swayed from side to side, her blue eyes bright with happiness. She's so much like her brother.
"Percy, sweetheart, could you add up to those pancakes?" Sally said from the dining room table.
I could almost see him smile. "Of course, mom. Give me a sec." It was clear that he can never refuse his mother of anything.
Poseidon soon entered and headed directly to the coffee maker. Once he turned it on, he directed his attention to the little girl who was still stuck in her own little world. She giggled at the sight of her father, reaching out to him. He didn't even think twice before he picked her up. As for me, I walked to where my boyfriend was and hugged him from behind.
"Hey, Wise Girl." He greeted brightly, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
The familiar smell of bacon was in the air, causing me to turn confused for a moment. "Why are you making bacon? I thought we're having pancakes?"
He laughed, "We are. Bella just like her pancakes with bacon."
Once he was done making breakfast enough for everyone, and I mean everyone- including my idiot friends,we all found a seat around the house. I stayed where I usually stayed and dug in on the blue pancakes that he made. They were delicious, actually, and I was glad that he was the one who made this for me.
"Wow, Perce. This is really good." Thalia commented, not even bothering with the teasing. I was glad that she was learning what sincere means.
No one spoke after that. The silence was nice in the early morning, something that should seriously happen more often. And I devoured my pancakes so un-ladylike that it surprised Silena the most. The Jacksons didn't bother to point it out, though. They were used to this after seeing me eat so many times before.
And as usual, my friend started scolding me like she was my mother. She started ranting about how manners were important or something. I didn't bother pay attention. I know how to be proper. I just choose not to.
Once Ms. Beauregard finally shut up, I decided to speak. "What do you plan on doing today?" The question was directed to my friends but my eyes were pleading with Sally to kick them out so that I could have some peace and quiet with my boyfriend. Hmm, that sounds nice.
"Nothing really." Nico answered, looking outside to the sight of my favorite black puppy chewing on a toy bone. "I figured that you would know, seeing that you always do." He was teasing now and I rolled my eyes at him.
I crossed my arms, "Just so you know, I already have my day planned until you guys ruined it." They all refused to meet my gaze, which wasn't much of a surprise. I could easily make those middle school bullies pee their pants just by glaring at them.
Thalia raised her arms in surrender, not wanting to fight me at the moment. It was still early in the morning. "Not really our fault. You should learn not to plan anything ahead, Annabeth."
She may be my best friend but I swear if I could, I would have punched her right now. Percy sighed, seeing how tensed my shoulders got. He placed a hand in mine and warned me with his eyes, like he usually does. That calmed me down enough to the point where I just cursed them over and over again in my mind.
"I think it's no use trying to make them leave now. They're as stubborn as you are, Wise Girl." My boyfriend smirked but I easily wiped it away by slapping him hard on the arm. "Can't you take a joke?" he asked, "That really hurt!"
Once again, I rolled my eyes. "Stop acting like a baby, Seaweed Brain." He stuck his tongue out at me and I mirrored the action. It made us look like five year olds, really. Not only does he have problems acting his own age but he just happened to rub it off on me.
"Why don't we head over to the mall?" This was, obviously, Silena. This was what I was afraid of but I can't really argue with her now that she had most of the girls agreeing with every word she says. Even Piper, who was her sister's exact opposite, seemed to be convinced that it was a good idea.
Poseidon cleared his throat, taking everyone's attention immediately. "Percy, do you mind taking Bella with you? Your mother and I both have to go to work later and no one will take care of her."
He smiled, nodding happily. Okay, with a child with us, I'm sure that the clothes shopping won't be a vigorous as it usually is. I really have to thank that girl later. She just might have saved my life.
Once the table was clear and the dishes were in the sink, we all headed our separate ways. Sally headed to Bella's room to dress her up while Percy and I got ready ourselves. It actually took at least fifteen minutes before we were ready and I just had to smile at the sight of my boyfriend playing with her sister while she was on his back.
I sat on the passenger seat of his Honda. With Bella carefully strapped at the back, we drove off towards the mall with the others in Beck's pick-up. We would have ridden there ourselves but it wasn't really safe for a child to be there.
Percy parked the car flawlessly and we found our way to the entrance, not even bothering to see if my friends were behind us. The youngest Jackson giggled happily at the sight of the giant fountain right in the middle of the walkway. "Silena, where are we going first?"
The last time I was here, Silena had to catch up on her shopping and she forced me to buy a dress that was totally out of my budget. I wasn't really complaining when I saw how beautiful it was and Percy's reaction was priceless when he saw me wear it. It wasn't a bad day, really.
"We split up. The guys go with Charlie while the girls go with me. Bella stays with Percy, of course." She clapped her hands together. I suddenly realized what she did and immediately regretted not arguing. So much for not dying today.
Thankfully, dear Seaweed Brain crossed his arms. "I'm not going anywhere without Wise Girl." His little sister nodded in agreement, an adorable look of determination in her eyes.
Silena sighed, relenting. "Fine, fine. Annabeth, stay with Percy. But you have to buy at least three pieces of clothing before you're allowed to exit this place." The look she gave means that her decision was final.
I was about to argue but she cut me off again. "And the clothes you have to buy have to be approved by me." Well, I guess the plan of just buying plain t-shirts was thrown out of the window. "Is that clear?" She raised a perfect eyebrow at me and I frowned.
"Yeah, crystal" I mumbled, annoyed.
Before a fight could start, Jason coughed awkwardly. "We meet at the food court by lunchtime." He said, getting a nod of approval coming from Silena. It means that she could buy so much in the given time span.
Most of my group decided that it would be best if they went to the arcade. Seeing that I'm not really into games like that, I dragged Percy to one of the shops to buy whatever I think deemed worthy of Silena's time. Bella sat patiently on one of the leather chairs, watching as her brother helped me with the task at hand.
I was actually rather successful, holding simple white sundress and black cardigan. To be honest, the moment I saw the dress, I just fell in love with it because it looked so much like the one I had in my dream before. Seaweed Brain offered to pay for it, which I was very thankful for since it wasn't really cheap.
But, once again, someone just had to ruin that perfect moment of happiness.
"Well, well, well." A girl snarled behind me. I refused to turn around because I didn't want to be kicked out of this store forever. Plus, Bella's too young to see her role model- which is me- beat someone up. "What do we have here?"
Percy picked his sister up, taking my hand once she's comfortable in his arms. "Rachel." I hissed, my tone filled with obvious anger. Why do I have the feeling that she's been watching me? Surely this couldn't be a coincidence. This is exactly what happened the last time except for the fact that there were more of us before.
"I see you're back from your 'road trip'." She looked smug, which was actually quite natural on her.
The man beside me tensed, his eyes narrowing at her words. "How did you know that we went on a road trip?"
She smirked evilly but didn't answer him. The paper bag in my hands containing my most recent purchase crumpled because of my grip. What angered me more was when her green eyes stared at Percy with so much lust. He shifted uncomfortably at the look, focusing on me and my breathing more than ever.
His lips were close to my ear. "Come on, Annabeth. She's not worth it." He squeezed my hand reassuringly, flashing a grin reserved for only me.
I unconsciously followed after my boyfriend, still glaring at the red headed harlot until she was out of sight. With all the anger that enveloped my system, I never noticed that Bella was actually very close to crying and Percy was struggling to calm her down as well. She must have seen how I reacted to Rachel and it must have scared her.
After buying another top at another store very far away from the last one, we paved way to the food court where some of my friends were already waiting. Silena wasn't there yet and so were Piper and Katie. Thalia looked as if she barely made it out alive and the others had annoyed faces. I managed a smile at that.
"I see you bumped into Dare too." Jason commented, noting the frown on my face.
My face contorted to shock. Travis laughed, "Before she met with you, she went to us first. It was actually pretty funny seeing her demand for you guys."
"And did you tell her where we were?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
He shook his head, "Nah. We told her to leave and go back to the whore house where she belonged." This got a small chuckle out of me. I have to admit that was a good one. "But I guess she found you after all."
Once we were complete, I placed both of my hands on the table. They looked at me in curiosity. "I don't know how but she knows that we went to the road trip. And I am not going to stop until I find out how."
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