"You ready?"

Annabeth gripped my hand tighter as we peered at the fresh looking door to the Chase household.

It was warm in California, too warm for my liking. On Christmas, at least. There was no snow, the only sign it was even Christmas was the ugly snowman statue on the porch we stood on.

Annabeth sighed as she brought her hand to the door and knocked slightly, almost as if she didn't want them to hear her.

The door swung open to reveal an older man in an ugly Christmas sweater. He had graying honey blonde hair and wrinkles around his eyes.

"Annabeth!" he said as he instantly pulled her into a hug, which seemed to make Annabeth fairly uncomfortable as she awkwardly patted his back. "Bobby, Matthew, Helen, Annabeth's here! And...she brought a friend!"

He led us inside and took our not used coats and hung them up. As he left a short Asian woman took his place.

She had straight black hair pulled back into a bun with streaks of gray. Although she was short she radiated authority.

"Hello Annabeth, who is...this?" she asked as she gestured to me.

Annabeth grimaced as she linked arms with me. "This is my boyfriend, Percy. My invitation said I could bring him."

She nodded as she crossed her arms. "I'm Helen Chase, Annabeth's stepmother. You can call me Mrs.Chase."

I nodded as she led us into the formal dining room, which was pristine. A pair of identical twins sat in there, shoving food into their mouths.

"Annabeth, you're here!" one of the twins said, food still in their mouth. "And holy crap, you're Percy Jackson! I'm Matthew!"

He instantly stood up and shook my hand forcefully. His brother, who introduced himself as Bobby, did the same.

"Yes, yes, Percy Jackson is here. Now let's finish eating," Helen said. "You two, grab a plate and begin eating."

We did what was told and sat at the two empty places around the table. Everyone remained quiet for some time except Helen, who was blabbing on about her Christmas shopping experience.

"Sorry, we don't have any presents for you, Percy, I didn't know Annabeth was seeing you anymore," Helen said.

I nearly snorted. Had she been living under a rock? All the media did was talk about us, and Helen seemed the type to follow the tabloids.

"Oh, okay," Annabeth said quietly as she picked at her meal with her fork. I stared at her in confusion, but she forcefully peered down at the floor.

Why isn't she saying anything? I thought. The Annabeth I know isn't a pushover.

"Honestly, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I'm surprised you came home, let alone brought someone with you," Helen said in a fake cheerful manner.

Annabeth shrugged. "I guess you're right. It...it is unusual for me."

Helen smiled warmly as she continued on with her rant. "I'm just glad you're happy, Annabeth. I mean, Fredrick and I were a little confused when we found out. And I'm confused that it's been so long!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice growing angry. Annabeth gripped my arm, but I ignored her.

Helen shrugged as her face turned pale. "No, I'm not meaning to offend anyone, it's just...surprising. We're all new to this, right? At least you're not that dud she used to date. Wasn't he something?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Helen didn't talk as if she were malicious, just simply rude by nature apparently.

"Yeah, he wasn't great," murmured Annabeth.

Bobby and Matthew peered at each other and nodded. Then Matthew spoke. "He wasn't so bad. I mean, he was kinda mean. But he looked like he liked Annabeth."

"Could we not talk Annabeth's ex's at Christmas?" Fredrick asked as he peered sternly at his wife and children.

Helen sighed. "Sorry, Fredrick, but we were just shocked by their relationship. I really thought that was just a celebrity set up. You know how they do, where they arrange famous people?"

My face instantly turned red as I ignored her comment and forced food down my throat, which wasn't hard as Helen was a good cook, no matter how much I hated to admit it.

"And you two are so unalike it almost seems like one of those situations!" Helen declared with an innocent laugh as she continued eating.

Annabeth gripped my hand tighter, her face full of worry. Seeing her all upset, and knowing that I had pushed her to attend, I had had enough.

I instantly stood up, causing everyone to stare at me, including a nervous looking Annabeth.

"I'm sorry for this, but Helen, it's rude to talk about your stepdaughter's past relationships over Christmas dinner!" I declared.

Matthew nodded as he shoved more into his mouth. "I totally agree, mom."

I looked at Matthew, who gave me a thumbs up. I just rolled my eyes. "You were joining in! And Mr.Chase, she completely ignored you when you asked her to stop! This is why Annabeth doesn't like coming home for the holidays!"

Before anyone could respond, Annabeth joined me in standing up and together we grabbed our coats and walked out of the Chase household.

"God, I'm so sorry," I whispered to Annabeth as she called us a car. "I shouldn't have done that, I'm so sorry."

Annabeth smiled weakly as she pulled off her coat as it was too warm to even wear one in California. "Are you kidding me? You literally saved me in there, Perce. I guess you're not such a seaweed brain after all."

I grinned. "Seaweed brain?"

Before she could respond the door to the house opened and Mr.Chase walked out and instantly walked over to us.

"Annabeth, wait," he said as he reached us. "I'm sorry. And Helen, she is, too. Sometimes she just gets worked up. They all feel really bad, please come back inside."

Annabeth shook her head. "I'm sorry, dad, but I already called a car. Tell Bobby and Matthew merry Christmas for me, alright?"

He sighed as he handed us a container he'd been holding. "Helen insisted I bring you leftovers, so just take that. Take care, Annabeth. And tell...tell your mother merry Christmas for me, alright? And I'm sorry."

Annabeth nodded as her father went back inside, waving at her before he reentered the house. She clung to the food but I could tell it didn't mean as much as Helen thought it would.

"I'm not even seeing my mother this year," Annabeth grumbled as we crawled inside the back of the car. "She didn't invite me."

I grabbed her hands tightly, unsure of what to say to her. "It's alright, I wasn't invited to my dad's either."

Because I don't even know him, I thought somewhat bitterly. And he doesn't know I exsist.

Annabeth rubbed her eyes off and lightly smiled. "My mother and I have a...complicated history. Every year I get a Christmas card signed by her assistant, and every year I send her one back. It's a sad tradition, but it's a tradition."

"That's why they compared you to her?" I asked.

"Well, Helen's hated my mother from day one," she answered. "When my parents got divorced, she didn't fight for my custody, so I got landed with my dad and, a few years later, Helen. Helen's never been straight up mean to me, just passive aggressive and it's because I ruined her 'perfect family.'"

I shook my head. "Annabeth, you didn't ruin anything. Helen's just jealous that she can't have as much success as you."

Annabeth burst out laughing, which I was somewhat grateful for as it made her stop crying. "Helen doesn't give a damn about my fame. And neither does my mother, for that manner. My mother doesn't care about anyone that isn't herself. She's selfish and I haven't seen her in years for a reason."

"If it makes you feel better, I don't know my dad," I replied, "at all. Paul is great and all, but I met him when I was already in high school, so it's not like I got the typical 'father figure.' And my mom, she's incredible, but she would never really answer questions about my dad."

Annabeth nodded and listened to me intently, not interrupting me. "Well, Percy, he missed out on a lot since you are the practically one of the best people on earth."

I couldn't help but laugh as our car arrived at the airport. "Well, thank you, Annabeth. Now let's go spend the rest of our Christmas on an airplane."