PERCY JACKSON

9-3-20

I truly was living the life. It was a few minutes past midnight and I was lounged on my bed, sipping blue raspberry Kool-aid and playing video games with my roommate.

Seconds before we were getting ready to start the next round, my phone lit up. I looked at it and immediately set down my controller.

"Sorry, Dakota, I've got to take this. Five-minute break?"

He grinned at me lazily. "No problem, dude."

I accepted the call and laid down on my bed. "Hello beautiful, how are you doing?"

Annabeth made a sound suspiciously similar to a sniffle. "Not the best, Percy."

Immediately, I sat up, completely rigid. "What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"Um, the party didn't exactly go as planned. C-can you come to get me?"

"Of course I can, will you give me the address?" I requested, trying to keep my voice soft even though I was absolutely teaming with fury.

"Y-yeah, I'll text it to you. Just - don't hang up, okay?" she whimpered.

I balanced the phone in between my ear and my shoulder and frantically searched for a matching pair of shoes while she typed out the address.

"Okay, I sent it," she stated monotonously.

I shoved my feet into my Vans and grabbed the keys to my apartment. "Alright, thank you, Annabeth." I opened the door and was halfway into the hall before I called to Dakota, "I'm heading out, I'll be back in a bit."

"Um, okay. What about curfew, though? You're not allowed out after..."

The expression on my face must have silenced him because I didn't say a word.

"I'll be here," he said.

I halfheartedly waved before darting down the hallway. From what I could tell, there were no resident advisers keeping watch. So, without any doubts, I sprinted down the stairs and out of the building.

"Percy?" Annabeth's fragile voice spoke. "Are you still there?"

"Of course I am, Wise Girl, I'm not going anywhere. I just left the dorm. I think I can make it in ten minutes, is that alright?"

"Y-yeah, that's okay, as long as you don't leave me."

"I would never do that, I promise." I settled into a half speedwalk half jog pace before asking, "Can you tell me what happened, Annabeth?"

She sobbed. "It was awful, Percy, I don't want to think about it. I just want to leave."

"Alright, then let's make that happen." I sped up into a solid run for a while before slowing back down again so I could speak clearly. "I recognize the street that you sent me," I piped up.

She sniffed. "R-really? Why's that?"

"Because it's the same street Jason lives on," I explained.

"Then Jason's stinking rich."

I laughed. "Why do you say that?"

"This house is insane. It's massive, three floors, six bedrooms, and a million bathrooms."

"Really?" I asked jokingly. "One million bathrooms? Did you count them all?"

She scoffed. "As if, Seaweed Brain. Why would I count the bathrooms?"

"I would count the bathrooms," I bragged.

"You can't even count to one million," she argued.

I chuckled. "Can you?"

I could practically see her nodding smugly. "Of course I can count to one million."

"Prove it."

And oh, she did. Over the following ten minutes, she had made her way to the thousands and was still going strong.

"Alright, Wise Girl, I think you proved your point. Would you mind coming outside for me?"

Her consistent counting halted abruptly. "No, I don't want to do that."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"I don't want to run into anybody," she answered vaguely.

I didn't want to spend too much time thinking, so I just dashed up the walkway and into the house, which was packed with sweaty college kids and smelled like my ex-stepfather. "Are you upstairs or downstairs?" I asked breathlessly.

"I'm on the second floor in a bedroom," she told me.

"Alright, thanks." I shoved my way through the mass of people and found a staircase. I took the stairs two at a time and began knocking on every door I saw. Finally, after three tries, the doorknob turned and the door slowly swung back, revealing the most stunning girl in the world.

Dressed in a tight black dress and plain black shoes, her hair messy and her makeup smudged, Annabeth had never looked more beautiful. I stretched out my arms and she immediately collapsed into them.

I felt my shoulder get wet with tears as she sobbed. I held her tightly, rubbing her back softly. "It's going to be okay," I murmured in her ear. "I've got you now. I'm right here."

She sniffed and looked up at me, not removing her arms from around my body. "I probably look awful," she babbled.

I smiled softly and cupped her jaw with my hand. "You're beautiful, Annabeth."

Her eyes grew glossy once again and tears began to leak out of them. Her face distorted with pain as she cried. It was heartbreaking. Never had I ever seen my girlfriend in such a distressed state, not even back in high school when she was involved in drama with Luke Castellan. I didn't really know what to do, so I just pulled her in close and didn't let go until I was positive she was done crying.

"Are you ready to leave?" I asked softly.

She nodded. "My feet hurt from these stupid shoes, though. Will you help me take them off?"

I smirked. "I can do a lot better than that." I bent down and scooped her up, one arm under her legs and one supporting her back.

"Percy!" she giggled.

"There's that smile I love," I commented, swiftly pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Annabeth's face flushed red. "Shut it, horsey."

I chuckled and walked out of the room. I retraced my steps and was about ten feet from the door but a tall guy stood in my way.

"Excuse me, dude, could you move? I need to get going."

The guy turned around. He scoffed and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Have fun with that prude. She won't open her legs for anyone at this party; I doubt you'll be any different."

I clenched my jaw and peeked down at Annabeth, who was tense with fear and had tears coating her grey eyes. "Listen, man, please move, or I'll make you move."

The jerk rolled his eyes and stepped aside. "Someone's a little frustrated. Don't come crying when she doesn't put out for you just like everyone else. I warned you."

Breathing deeply, I shouldered past him and strode out the door. Annabeth's face was paved with tearstreaks as she wept in my arms.

"I know, Annabeth, I know. I've got you now; no one's going to hurt you."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shoulder as I walked down the dimly lit street.

A minute later, I was standing on the front steps of my cousin Jason's house. The first thing I thought was that - of course - Annabeth was right. Jason was stinking rich. His house was as big as the one where the party was taking place at, if not even bigger. The second thing I thought of was that I hadn't planned ahead, at all. I had no way of getting inside without waking all the occupants.

I set Annabeth on her feet but kept an arm around her shoulders for comfort - mine or hers, I can't really say. Then I pulled out my phone and dialled my cousin's number, saying a silent prayer that for some reason he would be awake and answer the phone.

After three rings, the noise stopped and I heard a groan. "Hello?"

I cracked a smile. "Hey, Jase. Could I ask a favor from my most favorite cousin in the entire state?"

"How much trouble are you in?"

"Surprisingly, none at all. Well, at least yet...anyway, could you unlock your front door and let us in?"

There was a brief pause. "Us?" he repeated. "Let me guess: hi, Annabeth." He greeted her a little loudly for my eardrums, but my girlfriend was able to hear it.

She sniffled. "Hi, Jason."

"Woah, wait, what's wrong?" he inquired, followed by the sound of rustling.

I sighed. "Can you just let us inside?"

"Yeah, of course, be there in a second."

Less than a minute later, the large wooden door swung back, revealing my cousin in a pair of red plaid pajama pants and a grey teeshirt, his usually kempt blond hair slightly rustled. "Come on in, guys. Don't worry about noise; it's just me tonight."

I smirked. "Wow, you're not wearing your Superman jammies tonight? Surprising."

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Funny. Do you two need anything? Water, snacks, anything?"

Annabeth cleared her throat. "I'll take a glass of water and some ibuprofen if you can."

Jason nodded. "Of course." We followed him to the kitchen, where he quickly gathered what my girlfriend asked for. "Anything else?"

I looked down at Annabeth and shook my head. "No, but can you show us to a guest room?"

"Yeah, there's like half a dozen. Follow me."

We wandered down a few halls and up a flight of stairs before arriving at one of many spare rooms. My cousin opened up the door and we looked inside the massive room. There was a queen-sized bed dressed in white blankets and sheets with a nightstand on either side, a large dresser with a television resting on it, and a few basic pictures lining the walls and furniture. A plush grey rug covered the floor and a glittery light fixture decorated the high ceiling.

"Wow, this is really nice," Annabeth commented, her voice croaky.

Jason scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, it is. I mean, it's kind of excessive, but I appreciate it."

"You said you were all alone tonight, right?" When he nodded, I continued, "Are you the only one here most of the time?"

He smiled halfheartedly. "Almost always. The company is nice, so really - make yourselves at home, okay?"

I nodded and squeezed his shoulder. "Thanks again for doing this, man, I'm really grateful."

"It's no problem," Jason assured. "I owe you everything, anyway. Get some rest, guys, okay?"

We nodded and he walked down the hallway, closing the door on his way out. Turning my attention to Annabeth, I noticed how tired she really looked. Not only was she upset, she also looked anxious and exhausted.

I guided her over to the large bed and we both perched on the edge of it. After staring at each other for a long moment, I spoke up.

"Annabeth, please tell me what happened tonight," I begged.

Her watery eyes drifted down my body before flickering up to my own green ones. "I...it all started..." She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. "It was all my fault," she wailed.

I tucked her under my arm and kissed the crown of her head. "Take all the time you need, okay?"

Annabeth took her hands away from her face and stared at the carpet. "It was all my fault," she repeated monotonously. "I suggested we go to the party. We got ready and were excited but when we got there, I was just so nervous. I couldn't even think straight, so I decided to have a drink. One thing led to another and, soon enough, I was completely drunk. Reyna got mad at me and I convinced her to drink too. I went off to go to the bathroom but when I was leaving that guy...he wouldn't let me out. He forced me to stay and put me on the counter and he - " She broke out into tears.

I caressed her face and brushed away her tears. "Did he touch you, Annabeth? Did he lay a hand on you?"

She looked up at me in pure defeat and I saw red. I threaded my fingers into my hair and pulled so hard my scalp felt like it was peeling off, but it was the only thing keeping me calm.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. "What did he do?" I asked, my words coming out slowly and quietly.

"H-he kissed my neck and touched my thigh, whispering nasty things to me. I felt so..so violated, Percy. I felt helpless and violated."

The crack in her voice put me on alert and I immediately dispersed of all my anger. "Come here," I whispered.

Annabeth crawled onto my lap and wrapped her limbs around me like a koala bear. I encased her frame with my left arm and stroked her soft hair with my right. We stayed like that for an eternity before I slightly shifted our position so I was laying on my back, but she was still holding on tight.

"Annabeth?" I murmured.

She hummed in acknowledgement, adjusting her head in the crook of my neck.

"What that jerk did to you was not your fault. He had no right to take advantage of you, even if you chose to drink. Don't feel guilty because this was not your fault."

She sniffled. "Do you think Reyna's going to be mad?" she asked softly.

I chuckled. "At you? Not at all. At that sorry excuse for a human being? Absolutely furious."

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this chapter's also pretty long...do you prefer shorter or longer chapters? I usually try to keep it around 1000-1500 words but these last two have been a little over 2000 a piece

so yeah tell me what length you prefer and also let me know what you thought of this chapter! i hope you liked it :)