A week later, Percy came home from school with a black eye. If Annabeth hadn't been sitting on the couch in the Jackson-Blofis apartment when he walked in, she never would have known about it. Fortunately, or not, depending on how you looked at it, she was and she did. Percy had a major test the next day, so she'd already agreed to come over and help him study. Sally had let her in, then remembered some library books that were due back and rushed out, asking Annabeth to keep an eye on the casserole in the oven until she got home. Paul was still at Goode High School, helping to work the concession stand at some sort of sporting event, so the only one in the apartment when Percy arrived was Annabeth.

"Hey," she said when he walked in.

"Hey," Percy shot her a grin without fully turning his head as he kicked off his shoes and shrugged out of his coat.

"Your mom ran to the library, Paul is still at school, and we have about half an hour before the casserole is done, so I thought maybe we could get some of the studying done before—oh my gods, Percy, what happened?"

He winced. He'd clearly been trying to slip through the living room and into the hallway without turning, but he'd tripped over his skateboard lying in the entrance and half spun around, revealing a massive black eye. With several muttered swear words, he leaned the skateboard carefully against the wall, then turned back to Annabeth.

She was on her feet, already moving towards him. "Percy, what happened? Monster attack?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. "Not exactly."

Annabeth stopped several feet away, since he didn't look like he wanted to be touched right now. "So what was it?"

Percy drew in a deep breath, then heaved a sigh. "Do you remember that dick guy from after the swim meet a couple weeks ago? The one who spilled his drink on me at the party?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said slowly, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms.

Percy exhaled again. "So he's been…giving me a hard time. For a while now."

"How long of a while?" Annabeth asked.

"I mean, he's sort of been a jerk ever since I started at AHS. But the, uh, physical stuff didn't start until after Christmas break. I don't know what changed. Maybe he just got tired of me ignoring him. Anyway that's…that's why I've had all the bruises and stuff." Percy pressed his lips together, looking down at his shoes.

Annabeth chewed on her bottom lip. "So when you told me that you got those bruises in gym class—"

"That was technically true." Percy shrugged. "It just wasn't an accident."

Keeping her voice low in an effort to keep it even, Annabeth said, "Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

Percy shrugged again, still looking at his shoes. "It wasn't important."

"Are you serious?" Annabeth couldn't keep her voice from rising. "Percy, some guy physically attacking you at school is kind of a big deal."

He shook his head. "I'm handling it."

"By letting yourself get beat up?" Annabeth stomped her foot in frustration. "That's not a solution, Percy. And besides, you could kick all of those guys' asses with one hand probably literally tied behind your back, so why are you—"

"Because it doesn't matter!" Percy finally looked up. His eyes were red-rimmed as he pushed away from the wall and straightened up. "It doesn't fucking matter. He's one jerk mortal. I can deal with him. I've dealt with worse. But this school is my last shot, Annabeth. Do you know how many schools Mom and Paul tried to get me into? None of them would take me. Not with my expulsion record and my grades and my unexplained extended absence last year. This was the only one. And if I get into a fight with this guy, it's over. I'm out. And it's not worth it. I'm not…" He shook his head, aiming a kick at the carpet. In a lower voice, he said, "I'm not jeopardizing my chance at college and…and my future with you, just because of one jerk mortal. It's not worth it."

Shock rooted Annabeth to the floor as this outburst washed over her. She didn't say anything for several moments, processing his words. Percy was once again leaning against the wall, hands jammed in his pockets, glaring like he thought she was going to yell at him. But right now, that was the last thing she felt like doing. Her previous anger had dissipated. She hated that he'd been dealing with this alone and she was irritated that he'd kept it from her. But they could deal with that later. Right now, she just wanted to do something to take that awful defeated look off his face.

After several moments of searching for words, she came up with none. Instead, she moved closer to him. Her heart ached when Percy drew back, like he thought she was going to yell. But that wasn't her plan. Instead, she slid her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she dared, while also trying not to put pressure on the bruises she knew were still there, hiding beneath his t-shirt. Percy's entire body was stiff with tension. It didn't melt until she put her lips next to his ear and said, "I love you."

He exhaled hard and wrapped his arms around her, his face dropping to her shoulder, the tension draining away.

A while later, sitting on the couch, holding hands while a basketball game droned on the TV, Annabeth told him, "Look, I get why you didn't want to make a big deal about this. But what I still don't understand is why you didn't tell me."

Percy didn't answer for a moment, eyes on the television screen. The fingers of his free hand tapped against his knee. Finally, he exhaled, looked at her sideways, and said, "I didn't want you to think less of me."

"Percy." Annabeth's voice caught. She laced her fingers through his, pressing their palms together. "That would never happen. Definitely not about something like this."

He nodded slightly. "It's just hard, you know? Everything we've done in the…the mythological world, none of it counts here. It's still hard to be in the real world sometimes."

"It is." Annabeth squeezed his hand and leaned into his arm. Meeting his eyes, she said, "That's why it's always better when we deal with problems together."

"Yeah, I know." Percy grinned sheepishly. He kissed the back of her hand. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was going on."

"I forgive you." She kissed his lips lightly. "Just don't do it again. I've always got your back, Seaweed Brain. Especially against some jerk mortal who doesn't understand that his dumb butt would have been obliterated by Kronos if it wasn't for you." She kissed him again. "I can't believe you didn't let me punch that guy at the party."

Percy chuckled. "I was seriously tempted, believe me. But it's not worth you getting in trouble."

"You are worth everything to me," Annabeth said fiercely. "Besides, he wouldn't have wanted to call the police or anything. A guy like that would never want to go on record admitting that he'd been knocked out by a girl."

"Oh, so now you're not just knocking him down, you're knocking him out?"

"Obviously. That asshole has been hitting my boyfriend. He's done."

A real grin spread across Percy's face. "You're the best."

Annabeth nudged his chest, fighting her own grin. "Don't forget it."

"Haven't yet." Percy leaned in and kissed her, sending shivers down Annabeth's nerves. "I really am sorry I kept this from you. Won't happen again."

"It better not." She squeezed his hand. "And we're telling your mom and Paul what's going on."

"Fine. You're probably right. As usual."

"Exactly." She kissed him again, then bounced up from the sofa. "Come on. I'll get the casserole out of the oven while you set the table."

Sally and Paul were not happy when they heard what had been going on. Honestly, Annabeth thought smoke was about to come pouring out of Sally's ears, like what happened with Leo occasionally. But she clearly made an effort to pull it together for her son as she reassured him that she would call the principal tomorrow and schedule a meeting for her and Paul to go in. "We'll make sure it stays private, honey." She still looked livid about what was happening, but Annabeth admired the way she was staying calm for Percy.

Meanwhile, Percy jerked his head in a nod at his mom's words, but he still looked uneasy. "I just don't get what difference it'll make."

"There's things that can be done," Paul assured him. "They may be able to move your schedule, or his, around so that you two aren't in the same classes, or even so that you don't run into each other in the hallways. Teachers can be put on alert. There are things that can be done to help you. Percy," Paul leaned forward and put a hand on Percy's shoulder, "you don't have to be in this fight alone."

After a moment, Percy nodded again and gave Paul and his mom a small smile. "Okay. Thanks."

"Of course, honey," his mom said. She stood up, moved around the table, and took his face in her hands. "I couldn't always help you with your demigod fights. But I can do this. We'll take care of it." She kissed his forehead.

Percy nodded and swallowed hard. Annabeth was definitely grateful they'd told his parents about the situation. They were so used to solving problems themselves that it felt strange to let the adults take over. But it also felt like a weight had been lifted. It was nice to have a parent step in to take care of something for a change.

Since the weather had turned sleety and cold, Percy drove Annabeth back to her dorm in the Prius. It was a quiet ride. But when they pulled up in front of her dorm, Percy sighed, shifted the car into park, then turned to Annabeth. Reaching over to take her hand, he said, "I know I said it already, but I am sorry I didn't tell you what was going on. I know that wasn't cool. I just…I don't know, maybe I didn't want to admit how bad it was getting."

Annabeth nodded. "That's fair. But do you remember, in Rome, when we were having lunch by the Tiber and talking about the fight with Chrysaor?"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"And I told you that you can't always carry all the weight by yourself?"

"Maybe."

"And that sometimes you have to let other people help you bear the burden?"

"Alright, Wise Girl." Percy reached across the center console of the car, pulling her into a hug. "I hear you. I get it."

Annabeth wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Okay. Good."

Percy kissed her cheek, gave her another squeeze, then let her go. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Probably. What about getting breakfast, then I'll walk with you to your school?"

Percy narrowed his eyes. "You are not punching this guy."

"I never said I was!"

"Uh-huh."

"Seriously!"

"Really, Miss Athena-Always-Has-A-Plan?"

"Percy." Annabeth put her hands over his. "I promise I will not punch this jerk. Even if he totally deserves it."

He studied her face, then nodded. "Okay. Want to do breakfast at that cool place we found last month?"

"The one with the amazing blueberry pancakes?"

The smirk she loved appeared. "That's the one."

"Sounds perfect." Annabeth kissed him. "I'll see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning."

And if she was making a plan in her head as she got out of the car and walked into her dorm, that was fine. He didn't need to know yet. She had promised she wouldn't punch this bully. But there were other ways to get some payback and persuade him to leave her boyfriend alone. She just had to figure out exactly what those would be.