This chapter contains some upsetting items, please refrain from using drugs, they harm and this chapter is merely fiction. Don't do drugs, I'm serious.

Percy was shocked.

He'd just about had the best couple of hours in his life, figuring that nothing could change it. His smile was starting to hurt his cheek muscles, though Percy did not know or care as he went over to open the large blue doors.

One turn away from opening it, Percy heard some hushed voices. They sounded suspicious and it looked like it came from the alleyway to the left of him, the alleyway that only the sketchy people went to, illegal business. Shuddering, Percy decided to ignore it, it was probably a drug deal going on and he didn't want to be a part of that. Usually people who managed to witness it, they never really were the same. Probably because they were dead.

"I didn't pay one hundred and eighty dollars for nothing, Louis." An unmistakably familiar voice growled. "Give me the whole package, or I want my money back."

"Compensation," the other man had a very low, stereotypical New Yorker accent. "Boss said you've been lousy." The man shrugged, smirking a little as the lamp above them illuminated his face. "That's business to ya."

"Hey," his blonde hair seemed to twinkle in the light, and it took every single nerve Percy had to not gasp. "I was high for God's sake, the cops nearly caught me."

The man held Luke by the shoulders, holding him tight and Percy swore he saw him flinch, though the darkness was concealing nearly everything, he didn't know what was reality at this point. "Yeah, well," the man sneered. "What's the number one rule here?"

"Don't get caught."

"Why, huh?" He was holding him harder now, his knuckles pushing into Luke's shoulders. "Why shouldn't we be caught?"

"'Cause we'll spend the rest of our lives in jail -"

"Wrong!" The man punched him hard on the jaw, sending Luke down to the ground with one blow. It seemed to echo, reminding Luke of the searing pain he was given. "Because if we got caught, I'll find everyone you love and I'll kill them, alright? Right in front of your pretty blue boys." The man laughed, sending shivers down Percy's spine. "Get up."

Luke scrambled, rushing up and looking down at the ground. "Won't happen again -"

"If it does, you know what happens," the cloaked man grinned, his pearly white teeth glistening in the light. Without a word, he walked over to a dark black mustang, driving off with the engine roaring as if taunting Luke.

"Crap!" Luke shouted, muttering some other profanities, letting out all his anger on a trash can.

Percy stood shocked at what he saw, he wanted to go over to Luke and ask, he wanted to shout and sneer at Luke's fear, he wanted to just run inside his apartment and sleep, trembling at the fact that someone he knew was a part of this.

"I know you're there, Percy," Luke grumbled, and Percy's heart seemed to come out of his chest, the thumping noise roaring in his ears and his hands shaking slightly. He had never been this terrified since he saw his mom sobbing as Gabe let out his anger on her, he had never felt this frightened since thirteen years ago, when his mom had filed from divorce with his real father, the one who Percy could just never remember, only smile at the hazy memories of the beach, something his father was fond of.

"Are you -are you okay?" Percy asked, he wasn't the real victim, it was the guy who's just been punched by a WWE lookalike.

"What's it to you, huh?" Luke coughed, sitting down on the rejected trash can and coughing slightly, small dots of blood being shot out from his mouth and onto his shirt. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, mindlessly wiping the blood from his shirt too.

"I hate you, yes," Percy shrugged, he couldn't lie and say it was all part of the act, the one thing he hated was lying, even to a sworn enemy.
"But, I hate violence more, and that guy seemed to knock you out, so I'm here to say are you okay."

"First of all, I'm not gay so get the hell out of my personal space." Luke sneered, and Percy chuckled to himself. That guy was definitely out of it. "And yes, I'm doing okay."

"You coughed out blood, dude." Percy raised his eyebrows. "That's not normal."

Luke shrugged, leaning on the trash can to get more comfortable. A small mouse scuttled next to Luke's feet, though he didn't care, kicking it and it fell unconscious onto the ground a couple metres ahead. "It's been happening for a while now, a few months actually."

"Then go to the hospital."

"Who's going to pay for it, huh?" He threw a bottle of discarded beer at the wall, and Percy winced at the loud noise, the warm brew trickling down the musty walls. "My sorry excuse of a dad, and the madman of a woman who calls herself my mom."

"Don't say that," Percy didn't mean for it to sound harsh, but he hates it when someone disrespects their mom. Maybe because it reminds him of Sally Jackson at the hands of Gabe Ugliano, or maybe because he just couldn't ever see those words come out of a mother's child.

"It's the truth, Percy." Luke laughed, though there was no emotion present, and the atmosphere seemed to tense entirely. "They never cared for me and they never will."

"Annabeth? She cares for you." He never thought that he would say those words out to Luke, though it just seemed to spurt out and it felt so wrong.

"Yeah well, one person isn't enough." Luke held the small bag of pills in his hands. "And that's why I've resorted to this." He threw it up in the air, catching it effortlessly and laughing at Percy's bewilderment. "Drugs and smoking are a man's best friend."

"How long?" Percy blurted out. "How long have you done this?"

"Two years," Luke smiled. "Two years of finally being happy, Percy. You should try some."

He nearly fell over in bewilderment shocked at Luke's request. "What would Annabeth think, huh?"

"Annabeth doesn't have to know!" Luke shouted, his eyes twinkling with madness as he circled the ground.

Percy sighed, pulling out his hands and trying to calm Luke down. "You're killing yourself."

"I already know I'm not going to be rewarded when I die, Percy." Luke sat down tiredly, hitting his head hard on the wall though the impact didn't really faze him. "I should live life to the fullest and die happy."

"But what about Annabeth?" Percy shouted, throwing his hands out in outrage. "She looks up to you and you're just willing to die?"

"She'll be better off without me," Luke sighed. "I'm a goddamn bomb and I can hear myself ticking, I don't want Annabeth to be a part of the explosion Percy, she can't get hurt okay?"

"She'll be devastated," Percy contradicted. "If she doesn't get hurt physically she sure as hell will emotionally! Can't you see, you leave her, you'll leave a hole in her heart." He tried and tried to argue though Luke just stared at the ground, his eyes empty and it seemed his soul had been ripped out.

"Come on," Percy got up, holding out his hand for Luke. "Let's get you home, buddy, let's get you home."

Luke got up, giving Percy a small smile. "You know what? You're less of a pain in the butt when alone, we should do this more often."

"Yeah yeah, very funny," Percy laughed, giving Luke a shove. "You can walk?" Luke nodded, though Percy noticed the slight limp as he took a small step.

"Put your arm around me, my weight will support you," Percy offered, and Luke sighed, going over to Percy and muttering to himself.

He was not ready for such weight to be put on him, and Percy nearly tripped over, Luke laughing at the small little scene. "Dude, what do you eat?"

"Shut up," Luke said, holding onto him more lightly. "You're just weak."

Percy chuckled at Luke's insult. "Even when I'm helping you, you can't seem to shut that mouth of yours, can you?"

"What can I say," Luke laughed. "It runs in the family."

. . .

They'd been walking for about thirty minutes, Percy starting to tire but not telling Luke he didn't want to show his weakness in front of a person he despised.

"How much longer?" Percy asked, and Luke stopped holding on to him, pointing at an eerie looking house with ivy curling on to the aging bricks.

"There," Luke said, and Percy could feel the shame that was laced onto his words. "Thanks for the help." Without a warning, Luke gave him a hug, whispering in his ear harshly.

"Keep this between us two, don't tell anyone." He emphasised the last word, giving him a small wave and limping to his house. Percy, however, stayed right in his same spot, his mind overrun with thoughts that wanted to escape, though he couldn't find the key and they stayed there, building up overtime.

He wanted to so badly tell Annabeth, but then Percy vividly remembered the time when he thought Luke was sketchy a year ago. She hadn't spoken to him for a whole day, and if Percy, well if he told Annabeth know he figured-

He figured she would never speak to him again.

As Luke opened the door, quickly getting in and closing it in a second, Percy sighed and walked back to his home, wondering what would've happened if he came back earlier, would he still be here, learning a shocking truth from someone, someone he hated to hate?

He was about to cross the street when shouting could be heard from the home, and a guttural scream that sounded like a woman. Out of fear, Percy sprinted to the house and barged the door open, seeing a woman hunched up on the ground, Luke sitting on the couch dejectedly.

"Did you do something to her?" Percy cried, going over to the woman to try and calm her down.

"She does this," Luke shrugged. "Sometimes screaming for hours, I never get any sleep. Tending to her all the time."

Percy stood shocked at the woman, her nails pulling at the roots of her hair, large tufts of it coming out. "Is she, is she -"

"May Castellan, at your service," Luke said bitterly, staring at his mother like she was the cause of all his problems. "He left me with her, and now look."

"Hey hey," Percy stared down at the crying mother. "Are you okay, do you want water -"

"Luke? Luke!" May Castellan said, cupping Percy's face with her hands. "You're back, I knew you'd come! I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, your favourite!" Percy looked at Luke uncomfortably, she was still holding his face with her hands like his contact was her lifeline.

"Mom?" Luke's voice wavered slightly, though he clearly hid it. "I'm here, I've been here for four years."

She turned to him at the sound of her son's voice, and for a second it was like she was back to her old self, but then the atmosphere started to change and Percy watched horrified as her eyes seemed to glaze over and she began to thrash around as if in pain. She let out a high pitched scream, causing Percy to hold his ears with his hands, wincing at the deafening volume. "All his fault!" She cried, repeating and repeating. "All his fault!"

She suddenly stopped, her face void of any emotion. "Come on," Luke hugged her, though she didn't show any affection, staring at the ground like she hadn't been screaming seconds ago. "Don't scream, it's night. You want to sleep?"

"No," she said, though her voice echoed. "I need to make more food for Luke when he comes back!" She cried, though the table filled with rotten sandwiches and discarded juice boxes didn't faze her, and she went to the counter and hurriedly started making a sandwich. "I even have stuffed animals, the one that Luke loves."

"She doesn't know you?" Percy asked horrified, his voice trembling in fright.

"Sometimes she does," Luke smiled, then it was quickly replaced by a frown. "Most of the time she's asking me where I am," he sighed. "I don't even know where I am, Percy, this whole thing has lost me to the point where I don't think I can get up from."

"Does Annabeth know about your mom?" Percy asked gently, knowing it was a delicate topic.

Luke nodded, staring down at the ground just like his mother did. "She just doesn't know how I cope with it."

Those couple of words felt like a stake through the heart, Percy had felt so guilty from hating Luke, he wanted to let go of all the fear and anger that resigned from him, and he turned to Luke helplessly. "What can I do to help?"

Luke turned to him shocked, his mouth open for a slight second before he regained his posture and faked a cough. It was like he had never been given help before, and the idea of that was so preposterous it had taken him to shock. "Nothing, I don't need your help."

"You really do," Percy sighed, and Luke gave him a glare.

"Thanks for the advice," Luke said harshly, getting up to leave.

"Just come to me if you need help, okay?" Percy asked, then sighed. "And Annabeth -"

"Annabeth doesn't need to know." Luke said through gritted teeth.

"You know, I used to think keeping secrets was a good thing," Percy said. "That was until I met Annabeth and she really did change me," he paused for a second, deciding on how he should use his words wisely. What would Annabeth do? "She'll be devastated if you don't tell her, she'll think it was somehow her fault that you didn't and she would try to help you." All of that was true, and Percy couldn't watch his best friend get hurt, he needed to tell Luke before it was too late. If she found out, if she found out- well it would break her heart for him to keep something so big from her, telling someone that she hated.

Luke pondered this over in his head, his face giving off emotions Percy couldn't read. Percy smiled triumphantly, figuring that he had won. Finally, he had managed to wrong 'The Great Luke Castellan'.

"No," Luke decided, going to his door and opening it. He scowled at him, kicking a stuffed animal that was perched on the steps, and it bounced off, its smile still sickly plastered on its face as the small elephant lay on the ground. "Get out of my house." It was like Luke had forgotten everything Percy did for him that night, his anger got the best of him.

"You're welcome," Percy replied, going out with a scowl as well, it showed just how easily Luke could change. He seemed fragile, vulnerable, and just like a snap of his fingers, the emotions were gone and he was back to being a douchebag.

"Don't come back!" Luke shouted as he closed the door, and Percy so badly wanted to punch some sense into him.

"Wasn't planning to!" He cried, crossing the road and making his way to the apartment.

Annabeth called his number and Percy quickly answered it, relieved to hear her voice. "Hello?" He asked, and he could hear her sigh in relief. It was around ten pm, the sound of annoying crickets and moths buzzing around the streetlights and some occasional pedestrians talking to their peers.

"I left my book at your place," Annabeth said shyly. "Could I go and get it?"

"Yeah sure," Percy shrugged while walking home. "Though it's pretty late and I'm not home."

"Oh," Annabeth said, she sounded disappointed though Percy didn't know why. Actually, he didn't know a lot of things at this point. "Were you with your friends?" He could sense the anger coming from her voice, he could tell she was trying to hide it but having a friend for so long, it was pretty hard to hide from them.

"Oh um yeah but -"

"Alright then no rush," she said hurriedly.

"Annabeth -"

"It's fine really, I don't mind," she said. "I'll get the book another time." She ended the call and Percy kicked at the floor in frustration.

How could such an amazing day turn so horrible?

Percy walked over to his apartment, opening the door quietly so as not to wake his mom up, and he looked down at his bed frustrated.

Luke's going to break her, Percy thought.

He's going to break her and I won't be able to do anything but watch.

Guess when next update is going to be????

Tomorrow, yeah! It's back to daily updates baby!

Ok but seriously, I ate like a bunch if sweets and now my stomach is giving me revenge, so yeah I gotta go.

JustWannaEatWaffles