Alex Focker: Riptide is Percy. Percy has no mafia form, he is just the plain ol' Hollywood actor that is somehow involved. It's just Percy's pseudonym that he used when he made his debut in public. I know which part confused you, but just remember that she meant it as, just stop using the name.
Enjoy.
The light of the kitchen downstairs was dimly lit. It was two in the morning, Percy should be asleep, but he couldn't, especially when he found out that Annabeth was nowhere in sight when he opened his eyes. No matter how different she was from all the people that he had ever encountered, it was hard for him to believe that she would be up at this ungodly hour in his kitchen with a dim candle light.
Silently, he started to make his way to the lighted room. Hesitantly, he stepped into sight. He could see her hunched over with something in front of her, but couldn't decide what. Moving closer, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to help, or at least know what she wanted, because he didn't like seeing her in this foul mood.
"Did I wake you?" A small, quiet yet scratchy, horas but audible voice came from the hunched over figure, startling him for some reason. She didn't even turn around to look at him to know that he had jumped due to the surprise, chuckling, she patted the empty seat next to her, signaling him to join her. When he finally moved on to the stool, he could have a better look at her, but only at what was in front of her and not her face, because it was shaded by her hair.
"You haven't answer me." She reminded him lightly, not looking up. Her hands still fiddling with the tiny bullet in her hand. He reached out, wanting to take the bullet to have a better look and also to dismiss the dark thought spinning in his head ever since he made out the object she was playing with.
But, she shook her head, fisting the bullet and finally decided to look at him. "Answer me." She demanded, even with her voice soft, it still sounded powerful.
"No." He sighed, retracting his hand and running it through his hair, then his face in frustration. "Why're you down here at this inhumane hour at night, or should I say, in the morning?" A small smile appeared on his face as he phrased his question, it was too small that she almost missed it.
"Can't sleep." She shrugged, the micro movement seemed more like an imagined respond than something that she had actually done.
"Liar." He accused almost immediately. Her eyes shot up, narrowing at him uncontrollably. "You're a terrible liar, Chase, especially at this ungodly hour in front of me." He chuckled, slowly reaching for her fist, taking advantage of her shocked state, he released the metallic thing grasped in her fingers and took it into his hand.
"What do you mean?" She really couldn't think of anything better to say, she was honestly exhausted.
"You were never in bed were you?" He sighed, placing the bullet in his pajama pocket and not bothered to look at it.
"No." She stared at him for a while with a blank face, then admit defeat, not wanting to play anything coy anymore. "I wasn't."
"Why? I never unwelcome you to my bed."
"I know." She shut her eyes and faced the ceiling. "But I scared you last night." She continued in a small voice, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Yes, you did." He nodded, wanting her to continue as he stared at her intently. "And you're scaring me right now. Annabeth, there's not a time that you don't scare me, it's just a matter of degree." He confessed sincerely, leaning forward, taking her hands in his, making her reopen her eyes and focus on his.
"Then what should I do? I am incapable of leaving you alone, because you are a lost star in the sky." She whispered, searching for confidence and encouragement in his eyes.
"Do what you think is right." He answered in a heart beat. "I trust you, Annabeth, you and your gut-feeling. I trust them, with my life."
"I'm sorry, Percy." She squeezed his hand, even though he was confused with her apology that came out of the blue, he decided to question it later.
Pursing his lips together, Percy stared at the floor, trying to think of a way to make her open up to him and to share the burden that she had on her shoulders and in her mind, but nothing was coming out. Finally, after what seemed like a decade of staring into space, he decided that he was too tired for his brain to function, so he stood up, still not letting go of her hands.
"C'mon. Let's sleep this off first, shall we?" He suggested gently, tugging on her at her hands, trying to pull her up to her feet.
Reluctantly, she stood up and followed suit, allowing him to lead her to his bedroom.
Laying back in bed, he draped an arm over her stomach, drawing circles on them over her thin cloth. "Just sleep, baby." He whispered in her ear, but he knew her eyes were still wide open and the gears in her mind were still turning furiously. Placing soft kisses from her earlobe to the top of her hair and then back to her shoulder, he was trying his best to distract her, and it seemed to be working, because her eyes started to close.
"It's just another few years on my life sentence."
¢.¢
Percy wasn't able to fall asleep, at all. He tried to force himself to sleep, but he couldn't. He knew he was lucky that he didn't go through all the nasty stuff that the woman next to him did, but whenever he closed his eyes, the image of her with the poison in her hand surfaced. It was agonizing, the evil look in her eyes and the void emotion on her face. He didn't know what she had done to him, but he knew that he wanted to stay with her and to keep her safe.
Turning over ever so carefully, a smile settled on his lips as he saw the woman that had been slowly dominating his heart sound asleep next to him. He was grateful that he had walked down and brought her upstairs. He was grateful for ever thinking of the idea for the film to actually provide him this opportunity for meeting her. All he knew about her was pieces of information that he obtained from website databases and from herself, even if it wasn't all, even if it was a lie, a part in him believed that she did if for a good reason. His intuition had always told him to have faith in this girl and she was still a mortal like everyone else.
Unconsciously, he ran his fingers through her curls that acted like a curtain over her bare shoulders. Separating them, he saw the tattoo that he had remembered kissing less than ten hours ago. It was an improvement from her. He knew it. She didn't say anything to explain, but it was enough for him to know that she was there for him and this would be a symbol for the start of their relationship. He somehow understood the meaning behind the tattoo. It was new and without confirmation from her, he somehow knew that it meant her loyalty and faithfulness towards him. He just wished he could hear it from her.
Leaning in, he placed another gentle kiss on tip of the sword, then trailed the blade until he reached the tip of the hilt, lingering on the trident symbol on his way down. The gesture made her stir in her sleep, a smile split across his face.
"Did I wake you?" He whispered in her ear, making her turn on her back so she could face him.
Nodding shamelessly, she opened her eyes lazily, a smile with the same attitude spread across her lips. The second their eyes locked, he found himself drowning in her gray orbs. They were so different from the look during the day. They were watery, lively and full of positive vibes. He thought he might be the luckiest guy on Earth to wake up seeing the most beautiful pair of eyes in the world.
Staring at his love-sick expression, the innocent smile on her face turned into a smirk. She raised a hand to cup his cheek, and pulled them to his lips. He twisted his head slightly after a kiss on the cheek so that his lips was able to capture hers.
"Slept well, princess?" He didn't know where that nickname came from, but he found it endearing and suitable for her. She snorted at the name but otherwise nodded in response. He chuckled, not knowing where the sudden surge of courage came from.
"Very bold, Mr Jackson." She commented lightly, pecking the tip of his nose even lighter, teasing him with her long slender finger tracing the line of his jaw.
"Ditto." He replied, holding her wrist and lifting it up, showing her the gauze that had been soaked in blood. Her eyes followed his motions and then met his pointed gaze, wincing at the change of expression.
"Touché." She muttered, sitting up at the edge of the bed and peeling off the gauze.
"Are you going to tell me or not?" He asked, sitting down next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder while waiting for her wound to be exposed.
"No." She grunted, not sure where the foul mood came from. "Sorry." She then murmured an apology for taking it out on him. When he didn't reply, she thought she had really angered him, so she stopped and looked at him. She opened her mouth to explain, but he released her before anything could come out of her mouth.
Leaning back down and giving her a lingering kiss on the forehead, he said. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."
"Kay." She uttered barely audibly, not sure what to make of his gestures. She sat in her spot, immobilized as her mind went blank to what just happened. Then, in her fastest speed, she worked through her wound and took off to find him, determined to make it up to him.
"Percy," she called softly when she reached the end of the staircase.
The man turned around to greet her at the entrance of the kitchen. Fresh memory of early morning appeared in his mind as she made her way to the same seat that she had been sitting in just merely five hours ago.
"Do you still have the bullet?" She asked, sitting down and taking the glass of water he offered.
"What?" He turned away from the toaster, shocked by the question. Part of him had successfully convinced himself that what happened last night in this place was a dream, it was his delusion.
"The bullet." She repeated herself, still calm, but the glint in her eyes from the moment she opened her eyes was gone, her eyes returned to the dark and guarded shade. "The one the you took from me this morning." She didn't need to look intimidating to force others obey, her voice had that power even when she didn't try.
"Shit, I thought I imagined all that." He cursed at himself, reaching into his pocket and felt the tiny cold metallic round material. Taking it out slowly and hesitantly, he fixed his eyes on her, ignoring the toaster behind him completely. The toasts were already popped out and ready to be served, but the internal debate in him had seemed to pause everything for him.
"Percy." She called to bring him back to reality. "The bullet?" She asked once again, this time, a little curious and a little worried at the same time. It was in her voice, though barely detectable.
"Yes, sorry. Fuck." He scolded himself for zoning out in the morning, but he was really blaming the lack of sleep. "What do you need it for?" Ah, yes, this was what had been bothering him.
"If you really want to know." She sighed exasperatedly, but from the sound of her voice, he knew it was just tiredness and she didn't mean to sound impatient with him.
"I do and I insist." He took a seat across the table, facing her. The bullet in his hand as he toyed it between his fingers.
"Give it to me before you threw it away in disgust when I tell you the story behind it." She extended her hand, her palm facing up, indicating to him to put it in her palm, but he did no such thing. "I can't do shit with this tiny piece of crap, Perce, just give it to me, I promise I won't use it to harm." She raised her arm in surrender.
That finally got him to yield. Rolling her eyes, she took the bullet from him and place it in front of her, but out of his reach.
"This," pointing to the standing bullet in front of them, she said, "is from a 2.34mm rimfire, a Swiss Mini Gun." Picking up the bullet in between her fingers, nipping it at the tip of her thumb and index finger, she brought it closer to her eyes. "It came out of my arm." She used her other hand to point at the gauzed wound.
"Who did this to you?" He stared at her in horror, but the expression wasn't mirrored on her face. In fact, she was calm, more calm that he had ever seen her, she might as well find it boring.
Not answering straight away, she reached into her pants pocket, taking out the smallest weapon that he had ever seen. Placing it on the table next to the bullet. She looked back up at him, waiting for his reaction.
"Stop playing with me, Chase." The hysterical laugh coming from him told her that he found it ridiculous and unbelievable. It was the reaction that she got from most people when she showed them the combination, without the wound of course. "What are you really hiding that I can't know? You've told me so much already."
"I've told you nothing, Jackson." She sneered, hating his tone.
"Then, tell me what kind of game are you playing or what death trap are you luring me into?" He huffed.
"I've told you that I would and will never do that to you. Why can't you understand?"
"Because you've been sending mixed signals and you've been nothing but confusing ever since I met you in jail five years ago." He yelled. Even though she didn't jump at his outburst, she was indeed surprised by it.
"Well, I'm truly sorry about that." She shrugged, not meaning the apology as much.
"Tell me what's all this about, drama queen." He stood up, pointing at the weapons displayed in front of her.
"This is the bullet that I extracted from my wound," she raised her arm, indicating to her injury, and continued in the same calm voice, "this is the gun that shot out the bullet." She picked up the respective objects as she mentioned them. "As an answer to your previous question, I did this to myself."
"Why?" The inquiry came out instantly after her voice faded.
She shrugged.
"Tell me, Annabeth, you're hiding enough from me."
Annabeth contemplated on retorting, but when she remembered the hurtful and fearful expression on his face, she quickly dismissed her initial respond. "It's an experiment."
"You do experiments on yourself?" He stared at her with wide eyes, looking at her as if she wasn't the same species as him.
"Yes. Sometimes." She said. "I thought I can pull this off, but maybe not this time."
"What else have you done to yourself? And, why? Why would you fucking do that to yourself?"
"I've done a lot to myself, a hell lot. Though, not as much as damage has been made compared to what my parents did to me, but enough for me to obtain my data and my result."
"Why?"
Annabeth went silence as he pressed on, it was close to her deepest secret, it was time for her to stay quiet. She wanted to leave, but the look on his face made her reject the thought.
"Fuck!" She slammed her fist on the table, making him jump, but she wasn't angry at him, she was just trying to get out her own frustration.
"Annabeth?" He asked quietly, staring at her helplessly, waiting for her next move, or outburst.
"I'm sorry." She looked at him sincerely, then covering her face up with her hand.
"What is it, baby?" He walked closer to her. All she could think of now was how could she deserve such a patient, sweet and warm man.
"Nothing." She muttered from behind her hands. "It's just that," she revealed her face. Her eyes were sad, they held no tears, but this was the only emotion it was showing right now. It only broke his heart seeing her upset.
"What?" He urged her to continue, taking her hand in his and squeezing it encouragingly. "Tell me, baby." He kissed the back of it gently, his eyes still glued to her, waiting for her.
"If I tell you, you'll never be looking at me the same." She finished her sentence as her voice broke and wavered; faltering as she lose confidence little by little. She avoided eye contact with him and removed her eyes from the room, focusing on the balcony door that was allowing a stray of sunshine come through as if trying to light up the mood with the bright yellow light.
"No, I would never…" His voice failed his intended emotion, but before this could completely sell him out, she held up a hand to stop him, completely oblivious to his tone of voice. He stopped and swallowed, trying to decide whether or not he would like her to say what she had to say.
"Not so fast, Percy." She raised her now glossy eyes, glancing at him briefly before turning away, trying to conceal the tears that were threatening to pour out.
"Tell me then, you're not going to know until you tell me." His patience was wearing thin, both of them could sense it.
Annabeth knew she had to give him a satisfying answer, but she didn't know which to tell. There was so much that he didn't know, she had been keeping him in the dark for as long as possible, even though everything she did had some relationship with him.
Pulling her hand away from his, she hugged herself as she rubbed her upper arm, not knowing where that nervousness all came from, but she found herself shaking her head at him in respond to his request. He sighed exasperatedly, running a frustrating hand through his hair, pulling it as if it would get rid of his frustration and anger.
"Fine, how about we talk about something else?" He took a seat right in front of her, there were no physical barrier in between, their flesh would be touching if she wasn't curling up trying to let the world swallow her. She stared at him warily, her mind told her not to give in, but her emotions gave in. She hated seeing him disappointed and hated to keep everything from him, she hated the thought of leaving him. She had surprised herself already by admitting her feelings for him, and also recognizing him as her boyfriend, it was already too much and too quick for her to register. She had never felt so uncontrollable of her feelings and her own emotions, never felt so vulnerable in the world that she was still controlling.
All those feelings and emotions led to the unconscious nod of approval from her, it was the most micro gesture, but the motion was not missed by him.
"What do you mean 'it's just another few years on my life sentence'?" He quoted her from the night.
Hearing the exact same words made her flinch, she placed her forehead on her knees that she was hugging closer, trying to convince herself that she was dreaming, it couldn't be true. She had let another secret of hers slide, she had subconsciously forced herself to her plan b.
"It means what it means." Annabeth looked up, all emotions cleared from her face, it was just the blank void face that Percy hated but find himself facing every time. "It's just another few years in jail." She shrugged nonchalantly, the criminal in her starting to take control.
"What does that mean? You're not going back are you? What have you done? Or, maybe, what have you been doing?" All those questions were thrown to her, overwhelming her. The inquiries poured out of his mouth like flowing water rushing through a newly opened gate. "Where have you been all those time that I was on set? You've not spent a penny that I gave you, you've not leave any record that I can possibly track, you've never told me anything about your day. I didn't press because I thought you don't want to share it, but what the fuck are you up to? Who are you exactly? Who the fuck did I fell for?" He whispered the last part to himself, looking like a rock hit him square in the face, but realization didn't dawn on him.
"You've fell in love with a criminal mastermind that is the claimed most wanted mob leader, whom is also doing her best to protect the only person left on the planet that she can possibly love with everything she can." She started with a mutter, but soon turned into a passionate declaration, too emotional that she slammed her mug down on the table, ignoring the liquid flowing down the table as she stood up, towering over him and glaring straight into his eyes.
"Is that so? Trying to protect some guy and using it as an excuse to continue your illegal organization. Are you trying to get me arrested? You do know that I've fought my whole life to be here and with the reputation I have right now." They were now face to face, both of them were too angry to stay seated. "Do you know how much it would cost me to let the public find out that you're the girl that got of jail unclean while associated with me?"
"If I'm as stupid as you think I am, then you might as well think that I'm a fucking gold-digging whore." Glancing at the door, she thought she should leave before she said anything that she would regret.
"Don't you dare just walk out of that door." He moved to stand in her way, gritting his teeth while towering down at her, forcing her to lean against the table.
"Or what?" She challenged with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "How dumb can you be? You know it full well that I didn't get in prison because of my actions, because I don't have any criminal record."
"Yes, yes, yes, yada, yada, yada. You were scapegoated." He rolled his eyes. "You got in jail because you got fucked by some lawyer and judges. But that doesn't change the fact that you've got your mind set into illegal trade even when you're in jail. Maybe you didn't commit any crime before you got in, but you're definitely wasted your redemption time in jail." He spat.
"You really have no idea how deep you are in this shit." She hissed, leaning up to him to be closer to his face. "Yes I was scapegoated, but lawyers didn't fuck me, because I ain't got a court. I was been put straight into jail, it was one of the rare case that was not negotiable. Why? Because I'm serving the sentences that my parents were supposed to serve. They died, and I became their scapegoat, simply because everyone hated them too much to think that I, their innocent daughter that had been their experiment ever since, deserved to be punished for their crimes."
"So you're a sociopath?" He whispered.
"I've got no personality disorder whatsoever!" She yelled out in frustration. "I hated my parents, because they've not only brought me to a world that I've never want to be a part of, destroyed the life that I was supposed to get growing up, ruined me as a person both physically and mentally, torn me to shreds as if I was just a piece of ordinary paper with their fingerprints. Then, at last, tossed me in jail, because they realized that the time for them had come. Perhaps, that was the only responsible thing they've ever done in their entire life. Even their marriage was a lie, you have just no idea how messed-up their sex lives were, it was unbearable."
She panted after all those shouting and ranting, after all, she didn't even know if he was still listening. The tears had left a trail on her cheeks some time during her rambling, but it was already dried. Refusing to take the water that he was offering her, she had only one thought in mind, and that was to correct all his misinterpretation of her and her life.
Yes, she was finally opening up to him about her past. It was a first to her.
"They only gave me ten years, because someone actually had a heart and pitied me. Why? Simply because I was dragged to prison on my birthday when I was having the most fun. Yes, that's after my parents' death, when I can finally have some fun as a teenager, I was been invited to jail."
"So," after a long pause, when he saw that her breathing had returned to normal, he started in a croaked voice, "all those information that I got about you from the database are wrong." She gave him a small nod. Immediately, she found herself been engulfed in a tight hug from him, she could feel the remorse from him and the apologies that he didn't tell her verbally. They were all radiating off from him.
"Percy," she pulled away carefully, holding his gaze, silently asking if he was ready for the next part, "that's not it."
"I know, baby." He cleared away the tear stains with his thumb, trying to sound empathetic. "You're holding back a lot, I can tell, but I want you to tell me everything you can. I don't want to be left out cold, I hate staying in the dark without being able to help you."
"But I can't." Frustration rushed back to her once again. "I cannot! And that's the thing, I just can't tell you."
"Why then?"
"Because," she went silenced to think through her answer, "I'm not risking anything, especially not you."
"What are you talking about?" He was looking worried as ever.
"I didn't want to be an actual criminal after being released from jail, but I have to take over my parents' organization. I can guarantee that if I didn't take control, it will soon turn to a terrorist association. I'm sure of it." She said it with so much confidence that he almost thought he understood everything. "All I've been trying to do with Luke every time we meet up is to think of a way to legalize the actions that can easily be caught by authorities. We're only forced to do that because we are very close with the police right now. Due to a case that had been dug up recently."
When she mentioned about legalizing her group's actions, his mind went to a conversation that he had with Nico, just the picture that she had taken with the surveillance camera. He suddenly remembered.
Nico was warning him about her, he was suggesting to him that she only stayed with him because she had to keep an eye on him, that explained why she was already at home when he got back, no matter how early or late. He had also told him that she was a dangerous figure to stay around with. Percy gave him the benefit of the doubt.
"Is that the secret that you're trying to keep from me?" He whispered, not sure how he should piece the two together, his gut was telling him that those two pieces of information belonged together, but he wasn't sure how to combine the jigsaws to one.
"No." She answered instantly, thinking to the actual dark secret that she had in her. "The one that I would never tell you is personal, very personal."
"So its true then," this phrase that was more than familiar caught her full attention, "Nico's right when he told me that you're only staying with me because you want to keep an eye on me." Hurt evident in his eyes and on his face, "I didn't believe him, because I've always believed that deep down, you don't believe in living a criminal career, I thought you won't be doing so, but apparently I'm-"
"No! You're not wrong about me!" She cut him off quickly, fearing what was coming out of his mouth next. "At least not entirely." Her voice decreased in volume as the next part barely came out in a whisper. "You have to have faith in me, because I…" She didn't know how to phrase the next sentence, she was feeling too much right now.
"Why were you downstairs yesterday night, apart from the fact that you don't want to violate my privacy."
"I was thinking." She replied honestly, eyeing the bullet and the gun still laying on the table behind her.
"About what?"
"Everything." His lack of response told her that she should elaborate. "My past, the present; my feelings, towards my career, my life, you; everything that I can possibly think of."
"What about your feelings to me? What conclusions have you drawn?" Of course he only captured this part, even if she had tried to slip it through as fast as possible, it would be sensitive for him nevertheless.
"I find myself incapable of leaving your side." She whispered, surprising herself of the revelation. It was something that she had never said to anyone, even when the thought was extremely strong in her.
"Ditto." He murmured. "So, don't leave."
"How?"
"Say you won't let go."