(AN: Hey guys, I'm back with another super cliché chapter. Also, this chapter is written from a different perspective sort of... you'll see. BTW, if you notice stuff like the fact that I spell mom mum it's cause I'm from Australia, sorry if that annoys you. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!)

Why do we have to visit another one of my dad's brothers? No one except my dad actually wants to stay the night with some family members we barely know in a tiny apartment, I mean we could just stay in a hotel! My mum thinks that Paul's new wife is going to be some sort of negligent, disgusting mother. I mean I don't disagree, she's had two husbands! She also has a kid, and apparently, it's a boy. I'm hoping he'll be handsome and the same age as me, but with my luck, he's probably 7. 

We pull up at a large apartment building. It's actually larger than we expected, you'd think that they were the scum of New York from the way my mum talked about them. We walked into the building and up all the stairs to the top floor. The top floor! I take back what I said earlier, if there isn't an elevator, the apartment building is not high class enough.

By the time we get to their apartment door, we're all puffing and panting. We were not made to walk up 3 stories of stairs. I can hear a boys voice, complaining about cookies or something. Great, he sounds like a 7-year-old, and definitely not boyfriend material. You might be thinking gross, you can't date a relative, are you really that desperate? Um... yes you can date a relative if you aren't related by blood, and yes I really am that desperate.

I don't know why no-one will date me, I have luscious blonde hair and greeny-brown eyes, I am quite attractive if I do say so myself. I'm drawn out of my thoughts by my mum's sharp knock on their door. I stand up straight and tug my skirt down a little. 

"Coming!" yells a woman's voice from the other side of the door. It opens a few seconds later and we're hit by the smell of baking cookies and faint lemon shampoo. At the door is a woman in her forties with brown hair and smile wrinkles around her eyes. She grins at us.

"Welcome, come in! I'm Sally, Paul's wife." 

We follow her inside, the house is small but cosy. Paul is standing at the large bench, and the kitchen is covered in flour and cooking supplies. This house is nothing like our stark, white mansion, modelled off Kim Kardashian's. 

I'm silently searching the room for the boy I heard, hoping against hope that he'll be my age. Sally seems to notice. 

"He'll be back in a minute, he's just grabbing a hoodie," she says, nodding kindly at me.

"Hey mum, I can't find my swim team hoodie!" 

The voice comes from down a small hallway, and into view comes the hottest guy I have ever seen. he's about 18, my age, and he has tan skin, lots of muscles, and the cutest green eyes I have seen. His black hair is just so messy and perfect and I want to jump into his arms and kiss him right now. But I manage to restrain myself, if I do it now I might scare him off.

***

We are all at the small table, eating Sally's delicious food when there's a knock on the door. 

"That must be Annabeth, Percy can you open the door for her?" 

Who's Annabeth? What's she doing arriving halfway through dinner? Percy gets up to open the door and in comes a rush of blond curly hair and blue sweatshirt. The figure collapses into Percy and hugs him. Who is this, and what does she think she's doing with my future boyfriend? 

She comes to sit down at the table and I notice how pretty she is... maybe if Percy rejects me I can go out with her... I push that thought out of my head, Percy is my goal, I can't get distracted. My mum begins to attempt small talk with her 

"So darl, what's your name?" The girl glares at her a little, and then collects herself 

"My name is Annabeth," she says shortly. 

"And uh Annie, why are you here, what's your relationship to Percy?" 

Why my mum is so nosy I don't know, but I'm curious too, so I don't try to stop her. Annabeth's scowl deepens.

"My name is Annabeth, not Annie, and if you really must know, I'm Percy's girlfriend." 

My heart drops out of my stomach, they're dating? Dammit, I guess Percy really wasn't boyfriend material. Luckily for everyone at the table, mum dropped the subject after that. But the awkwardness hung over the table for the rest of dinner.

***

Its been an hour , and Annabeth is still here, and my mum is getting noticeably worried about where she's going to sleep. You see, in this tiny house, there were only three bedrooms, Paul and Sally's, Percy's, and a guest room with a double bed. 

My parents had organised it so that I would sleep in Percy's bed, my parents in the guest room, and Percy on the couch. But now that Annabeth was here and obviously staying, that threw a spanner in the works. I mean we're all coming to the conclusion that Percy and Annabeth were going to sleep together (AN: No, not in that way, get your minds out of the gutter) and my mum is not going to be happy about that.

Sure enough, my mum speaks up 20 minutes later, 

"Um Sally, I don't know if you noticed, but there aren't enough beds for all of us." 

Sally looks at her, surprised "Yes there are, You and Steve are sleeping in the guest room, Paul and I in our room, Amelia in Percy's room, and Annabeth and Percy'll sleep on the couch." My mum looks taken aback 

"You're letting two teenagers sleep together on a couch by themselves? are you mad?"

 Before Sally can say anything Percy jumps in. 

"Mum it's okay, I'll just sleep on the floor, I've slept in worse places." 

Sally looks at him sadly.

My mum seems content with the whole situation, and before I know it everyone's asleep, even Percy in his spot on the floor. When I go to get a drink of water, Annabeth's hand is draping off the couch, her fingers tangled in Percy's. All is peaceful and quiet in the Blofis-Jackson house, or at least until 3 o'clock in the morning it is.

We are all woken by a scream, by multiple screams. I lie there, and the weirdest thought crosses my mind, I've never heard a guy scream like this, they usually yell, or make no sound at all. But all thoughts about toxic masculinity fly out of my head when I remember what is actually happening. I run into the other room, and there are my parents, faces white and confused. 

Percy is lying in a ball on the ground, tears running down his face, eyes closed. Annabeth is crouching on the ground, desperately trying to get him to wake up, to talk to her. She's sobbing, and when she looks up at us and gives us a death glare, her grey eyes look dark and broken. As we stood there and watched, I began to notice the intricate pattern of scars all over their bodies. what had they been through? Suddenly Percy's yells get louder, and we hear a massive bang, and another, as all the water faucets seem to explode. Annabeth sobs harder, and begins to shake Percy, begging him to open his eyes, to wake up. I notice Sally and Paul had crept into the room, why hadn't they come earlier, when the screams started?

Percy's eyes fly open and he smiles weakly at Annabeth. Somehow he and Annabeth aren't even wet, even though the rest of us got drenched by the water that exploded from the pipes. They kiss, tears still streaming down Annabeth's face. Sally smiles sadly again, and ushers us all back to bed. My mum doesn't even bring up the fact that Percy and Annabeth are wrapped in each other's arms on the couch, surrounded by a puddle of tap water.

(AN: So that took a dramatic turn... not originally where I was going to take the story, but here's where it turned out! Thanks for 570 reads, and withstanding my Aussie spelling, Iris 🌈)