Percy

Percy was tired of his house arrest already. After all it had been three days. Three days since he escaped those noble dogs and parted ways with Annabeth. Three days since he caught a fever and hid in a hole by a narrow creak. Three days since he had been locked up in Reyna's grandma's house with the only two windows of the little room locked from outside.

Percy's prison only had the scrawny fourposter that he was lying on and a small wooden table upon which sat an empty plate and a long drained cup. A door led to an even smaller bathroom.

Percy sighed as he stared up at the unimpressive wooden ceiling. He wondered why Reyna was keeping him locked up but he couldn't break the doors or windows. It would be absurdly rude to demolish the house of the lady who had nursed him back to health. He didn't have anything better to do anyway. At that moment he was locked up in the town market corner with barely any plumbing and once he got out, going up to the camp wouldn't take so long.

But going back there without Annabeth...

Percy squeezed his eyes shut and willed her face to go away from his mind. She had made her decision when she had stormed away from him. He couldn't do anything else for her. It would be impossible to locate her even if he ever wanted to see her again. She was gone... for good. She didn't belong in the picture that was Percy's world anyway. She was like a blob of color while everything and everyone else around her was in black and white.

Anyway, she wasn't important. No matter how much color she possessed she would never be able to paint him with sunshine and happiness and chirping birds. That was for sure. So she wasn't important at all. But Jason was. And he was due to meet up with Jason the next day. He had to escape that miserable place before the next day.

There was creaking sound from somewhere near his feat. Percy sat up just in time to see Reyna step into the room. As usual she locked the door first and then set the food tray on the little table. The room started to fill with the wisp and smell of freshly baked bread. There was also a steaming cup of milk.

Percy frowned at that. Milk was expensive. Why was she giving it to him? She usually brought in tea.

Reyna set the tray down on the small table and straightened her spine.

"You know I am all well and ready to kill some nobles if you let me go." Percy said before she could walk out and lock him again.

He eyed the door to make his point clearer.

Reyna snorted and put her hands on her hips.

Percy smiled at that. Reyna hadn't been always this strong and hot headed. She used to be a lady in waiting in the castle of Freezing. She was also the first one Duchess Khione worked her evil experiments on. He could still bring up the image of a bloody Reyna as he and Jason rushed to the camp with her.

She had been in love with Jason since but Jason... His life was a lot harder than any of the rebels. Even after all that had happened to him Percy wouldn't ever trade places with his cousin.

"Eat up. You'll go when when Grandma tells you to."

Percy laces his fingers together and plants them in his lap. He had to suppress the urge to strangle Reyna. Millions of people were being sacrificed everyday to keep up the pomp of the pretentious kingdom and here she was... holding on to each and every word of her grandmother, stopping him from fulfilling his responsibility. But he kept that all in. He was grateful to them for bringing down his fever, so instead he asked about the milk.

A light flickered in Reyna's eyes and she almost smiled,

"It's a special treat from grandma. She also thinks you need to build your strength again."

Percy shook his head which made a lock of his hair to fall on his eye. He pushed it back. He had forgotten how fast his hair grew. They were almost touching the base of his neck. He had to fetch a new blade for shaving too. The one that Reyna's grandma had given him was covered with rust.

Percy brought the hot cup close to his nose and sniffed. The milk oddly smelled sweet. He looked up to see Reyna watching. What was in that milk? He shouldn't drink it. He knew something was not right. So he didn't know why he decided to empty the cup in one go after that.

Maybe it was the memory of seeing Annabeth and Ethan step into that party together in each other's arms. Or maybe it was the memory of her kissing him back and holding on to him like he was life itself. Or maybe it was the sensation of her delicate skin that still resided in his finger tips. Whatever it was but it definitely was her. After all she always brought out the extreme in him in very strange ways.

After he slammed the cup back on the plate he expected his throat to constrict or his world to turn upside down. Nothing happened and Reyna was gone.

Annabeth

"Check mate!"

Jasper groaned as he started rearranging the chess pieces... again. He had lost every time they had played. And calling him a sore looser would be an understatement.

"How do you win every single time?"

He asked with a scowl but his eyes were playful. Annabeth grinned at him. In the past few days Jasper had really gone out of his way to make Annabeth feel good. And it was working.

And right when they were about to start their next game a butler knocked.

Jasper looked at Annabeth. Annabeth had to admit that he had really beautiful eyes. Even in the bright sunshine of the roof garden they sparkled like shards of icy sky.

"Come in." Jasper called politely.

"The master of the village wants a audience."

Jasper nodded and then looked at her apologetically.

"Go ahead!" She laughed, "I could beat you some time again!"

"Let's see if that happens."

After he was gone a while Annabeth contemplated what to do next. She couldn't roam around the palace even if she had a map because Khione didn't like her at all. She didn't want to go to the library because the books there were mostly about politics and tough she didn't mind reading about politics she wasn't a big fan of it. She couldn't call Rachel because she had gone to the nearest town for buying utensils for the kitchen. That left her with the only option.

The maze in the garden. She had been dying to solve it's mystery.

Annabeth got up took the stairs which led her straight to the lobby with the doors to the garden. Everything she passed and every portrait she saw gave her a sense of calm and familiarity. She smiled to herself. She was liking it there. Even the stone railings of the staircases felt warm.

So when she opened the ornate doors to the garden she wasn't expecting Ethan to be there.

Bright sunlight made the green grass and the tall trees more prominent. The garden was huge with flowers of every kind which even grew in winter. They also happened to posses Ethan Nakamura.

Annabeth stopped right in her tracks. She couldn't believe her eyes because he was just... there. He was right in front of her sitting near the goldfish pond. The sunflower growths surrounded him and the sunlight illuminated his very pale skin. His hair was longer and his clothes looked baggier. He was thinner.

Annabeth didn't even realize that she was walking until she was flinging her arms around his shoulder. She knew that it was stupid and reckless of her but she just couldn't stop. He was alive!

Ethan pushed her at arms distance before gaping at her.

"Annabeth? What are you-"

But Annabeth hugged him again before he could say anything. Ethan hugged her back before letting out a weak laugh.

Together they settled down on the raised platform of the pond.

"Eath-"

"So you really are a noble huh?"

A string of denial filled Annabeth's mouth but she held them back. She stayed quiet.

"I'm sorry for inviting you to that party."

And Ethan looked genuinely sorry. His only black eye shined with guilt and a little something extra.

Annabeth smiled and let her confusion show. She knew it would work in her favor anyway.

"I mean you could have got hurt." He looks away from her.

Annaebeth let out a relieved breath. She almost thought that Ethan was a traitor. Almost.

"Hey," She said softly, "You didn't force me to go anywhere I didn't want to."

Ethan finally looked at her again with a sad eye. Annabeth hadn't realized how close they were sitting until she could see his eyelashes touching his pale cheeks. Annabeth gave him a once over. He didn't look bad and was definitely kind and more rational than some people she knew. She expected her heart to skip, she skin to tingle or her blood to at least get a little excited by his close proximity. But instead her curious mind took over.

"What are you doing here?"

Ethan's face paled suddenly. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously before replying,

"I enlisted to the noble army. I'm a new guard here."

"What?"

Ethan brought his face more close to hers as he whispered,

"It was the only way. I didn't want to- to die Annabeth."

Annabeth nodded to show him that she understood but inside her deepest parts she knew that she didn't. She couldn't help but think what Percy would have done in his place and she knew that he would have rather died than serve his enemies. And tough the thought of him dead made her feel... like she herself was nothing... it was still something she loved about him. His loyalty.

And just like that her mind flooded with thoughts of him. The way he had kissed her, held her, looked at her... everything. She had kept those memories at bay for so long now that it was impossible to push them back. Her vision became blurry as beads of tears collected in her eyes.

Ethan misunderstood their meaning and whispered her name once before closing the distance between them.

His lips were soft against hers and warm and friendly. Annabeth pressed back as she kissed him. Soon Ethan was pulling her towards him to deepen the kiss and she let him part her mouth with his as she forced her eyes to close. Annabeth shivered and twisted in his arms as his tongue explored every corner of her mouth. The sensation left her mind blank as they broke away to catch they breaths.

Ethan was breathing hard and was looking at her with with his deep black eye.

Annabeth stared back boldly. She was sure of this. She was sure of him.

Ethan's eye widened as he took in her surety.

He pushed her back on the garden bench and kissed her again, this time with more hunger and urgency. And Annabeth kissed him back with all that she had.

Her tears had dried and evaporated and she could have cared less.

Percy

Percy wasn't alone. Annabeth had come back and she was smiling down at him. He tried to remember why she had left him in the first place but he couldn't because he didn't care. All he cared about was the annoyingly large distance between them.

So he stood up and in a few quick strides he was right in front of her. She didn't say anything but so didn't he. It was not one of those situations were words failed him. Rather it was one of those when his tongue swelled up and he couldn't think straight.

So when he pulled Annabeth towards him by her elbows and touched her soft lips with his he couldn't place the feeling of wrongness in the right slot. After all she was here and he was finally kissing her again. What else could be more perfect in the whole universe?

Percy woke up to the feeling of falling down without resistance to the ground. It was strange and new and not a good feeling. Ironically being awake didn't change that.

Percy felt the covers on his skin, his bare skin. He ran his fingers through his hair and turned to his side. He couldn't explain it but somehow he had expected to see a blonde angel sleeping there besides him. But instead there was a dark haired girl with smooth white skin and white covers lifted up to her chin.

In an instant Percy figured out what had happened. Reyna had drugged him. He had known that she would drug him and yet he had let her.

Hot white anger filled his eyes. He quickly got dressed and advanced towards one of the windows. Maybe he wouldn't be able to beat an old lady but jumping from the top of a building was something he could do. And it would also quench some of his hatred. And at that moment he hated himself more than he hated Reyna.

He picked the small table up and with a roar launched it towards the window.

The noise it created was sharp and ear shattering. Glass flew everywhere, nicking his cheek and missing his eye by an inch.

There was a slow stirring behind his back. Reyna was waking up and she was speaking already.

"You can't leave. Now that you have bedded me you have to marry me."

Called a sleepy husky voice behind him.

Percy turned around and looked at her with frozen eyes. His face twisted in a crazy smile as he saw her pull the white sheet a bit higher.

"Marry you? You are not fertile and therefore not a women by the kingdom's law. How can I marry someone who is not a women."

Reyna cheeks flamed and Percy could see her getting angry, he waited for her to kick him out but instead she said,

"I love you! I have loved you since the first time I saw you! You have always been so gentle and nice and last night was magical! Is that not enough?"

Percy turned towards her fully and slowly haunted his way to her like a wild animal. Because that's what he really was and that was the reason why he was the leader of the second squadron and not someone's lover. He was an animal meant to kill, meant to draw blood. And he didn't know how Reyna had missed that... but she would know now and never forget.

Percy grabbed Reyna by her shoulders and gripped her hard. The spike of pain and sudden resistance she put forward made him smile harder. He was a maniac and he was going to show her. He dug his nails into her skin until she finally yelped.

"Percy wha-"

Percy slammed her down on the bed and put his knee on her stomach and pressed as hard as he could which was too much for Reyna.

"When you give Aphrodisiac to someone you should know that they aren't going to remember the magical moments." He whispered in her ears.

Reyna's eyes opened wide and she started flailing.

"Get off me! Get off me!"

But he pushed her down harder and more painfully. The thin sheet was slipping from her body and the painful way in which Percy was crushing her was making her fair skin turn blue. Tears sprang up at the corner of her eyes which made Percy laugh. He bent down and bit her neck hard, drawing blood.

"No! You weren't last night... no!"

And when she started crying for real he decided he had had enough. He swiftly moved away from her and lightly touched the cracked glass with his fingers.

Reyna was panting and wheezing. Her body and a side of her face were all starting bruise. Her hair was sticking to her sweaty body and her eyes were wide with fear. Her disbelief amused Percy in a very sweet way. He could have devoured her and walked out of there... and she would have been nothing more than a broken doll after that.

"Why?" She croaked.

"Because I don't fall in love Reyna. I'll kill you, beat you, even destroy you if I wanted to but never love you or anyone else in this world, in this life."

Percy climbed the even part of the window and looked down. Two stories fall. He would have to be creative.

"No! you're lying."

Percy tilted his head without looking at her.

"You want me to finish that?"

"You monster!" Her voice finally shook and Percy knew that this time she wanted him to go.

"A shark never falls in love Reyna," He lets out a humorless laugh, "I don't even know what it is."

"You do! You do and you are in love but it's not me! I loved you first and always longed for you but the one to sweep you off your feet was that blonde bitch!"

Percy froze in the middle of removing his shoes. Blonde.

"Annabeth" It was barely a whisper but Reyna heard it anyway.

"Yes. Yes! That's what you whispered into my ears last night. Annabeth!"

Reyna's voice was bitter but the sudden flood of heat in his chest wasn't bitter at all. And slowly and steadily the monster that he was supposed to be was just an echo. He couldn't look at Reyna, knowing that he had scared her to death a moment ago.

So he jumped out of the window. He didn't remember what had happened last night but he knew that it was filled with Annabeth. And he knew that he needed to find her and keep her safe again. He just had to.

The ground soared towards him as he dropped. There was a well just beneath him. And he knew that he could take the dive.

He couldn't- wouldn't admit it and wouldn't ever dare to tell a soul about it. He didn't know how he knew because he had told Reyna the truth about not knowing what love was all about. But he knew that he was in love with Annabeth.

He just knew that he wanted to see her again badly and wanted to feel her, make her laugh and even fight with her again. He wanted her to color him just like her. Above all he wanted to touch her, feel her skin again with a monstrous craving that it was pure agony.

And for the first time after joining the camp cold dread filled his chest. He couldn't love her. He couldn't do that to her or anyone else. His love would kill her.

And then he felt fear gripping his heart and holding him in it's cage. It had been a long time since he was last afraid but as that moment of realization hit him, it jolted his core and made him feel a stronger emotion than terror itself.

He dived into the cold but welcome depths of the fresh water without feeling the chill. He was too warm. He was too much in love.

Leo

Leo glared out through the bars at the police who was sipping coffee from a plastic cup. He had been arrested for freaking vandalism when he needed to save Annabeth.

Fate was cruel and it was true.

He had been stealing parts from his neighbor's garage forever. He would have come clean that time too if little Charlie Wessternsin hadn't brought home a stray dog and Leo wouldn't have broken their car and burned their garage.

He was in deep. He glared at the police one last time before laying down on his wiry cot.

Hold on Annabeth. Please, hold on.

Hey guys! I know it's been long but trust me I have to study a lot and still it's nearly not enough. I hope you enjoyed this and please please please tell me what you think.

I want to thank everyone who reads my stories.

To Guest- I also want to see how they end up if they end up together at all (no spoilers!). And Annabeth will soon be really smart again or as smart a I can be which is not much.

To Alexander- I know right! But I want Percabeth to be perfect when it happens.

To Dawnwizard8010- Jasper is...

To Henrie James Locker- Lol! You wish.

To I really don't- I feel sorry for Jasper too.