Thalia Grace

Percy has gone white, and his eyes plead with me not to go through with what I came here to do. Gods, I hate myself right now. She's so happy. Maybe I should just leave.... But I can't let it go. She deserves to know.

Annabeth looks confused. Scared. I'm not sure if I'm being a good friend or a completely shitty one. "Can we go sit down?" I ask, wanting to delay the conversation.

My friend glances at Percy, then back at me, before nodding and leading us into the living room. I can tell from the disgruntled state of the sofa cushions (and Annabeth's hair) what their afternoon intentions were before I interrupted them.

I perch uneasily on the couch next to Annabeth, leaving Percy to take the chair. His anxiety is visible - he knows exactly what's coming.

"Do you want to tell her, or should I?" I say flatly. Subtly accusatory.

Annabeth's eyes are fixed on her fiancé, as she tries to read the situation. "Percy... What's she talking about?"

I see the moment when he surrenders. He won't look her in the eye. "I... I lost my job."

"What? When? What happened?"

Percy looks at me desperately. He wants me to leave. He wants me to let him invent some story about how he got fired - anything but the truth. I shook my head.

Annabeth wears a bland expression. She isn't sure how to react - she's waiting to hear the rest of the story.

He buries his head in his hands. "I didn't mean for any of it to happen... I was on my way to work two days ago... I ran into someone. A guy I met while you were gone. He..." Percy trails off and shoots me another begging glance.

I clenched my jaw. "Go on."

"He's a drug dealer," the dark-haired boy confesses. He lets those words hang in the air, and I see Annabeth slowly processing them. I see her slump as she realizes where this story is going.

Percy starts to cry. "I tried to make him go away, but he just... I couldn't. He took me back to his... where he stores the stuff... And he made me... I swear I tried to stop him, but he was stronger than me, and once the stuff was in me I was... I wasn't sane. But part of me still knew... Part of me wanted to escape, and I did... But I wasn't thinking straight... I went to work..."

When Phoebe had told me about the incident her friend who worked in Percy's office had recounted, I hadn't believed it. But it was all too easy to confirm.

Annabeth tries to stay calm, but I see how close she is to crying. Percy sees it too. "Annabeth-" his voice cracks.

"I'm not mad," she says, just above a whisper.

She may not be mad, but she is heartbroken. That much I think Percy and I can both see.

I stand up. "I'm going to go," I say quietly. "I don't need to be a part of this anymore."

Percy Jackson

I watch Thalia's receding back for as long as I can, dreading the moment when I'll have to turn back to the girl I love. But I can't stare into space forever. Finally, I force myself to look Annabeth in the eye.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, not sure what else to say.

"It wasn't your fault..."

"No, it is. It's my fault for getting involved with those people in the first place. And now I'm paying for it."

Annabeth sighs. "Come over here." She pats the empty space next to her.

I do as she asks. I leave distance between us - I doubt she wants to be very close to me right now. However, she slides over until we're almost touching.

My fiancée takes my face in her hands. "Don't blame yourself, Percy. Please. They're taking advantage of you, and it's completely screwed up and not even a little bit your fault." She kisses my forehead softly. "Now where were we?"

I have never been more grateful to lose myself in her. When we're done making out like a couple of horny teenagers (which I suppose we technically are, although I haven't felt like a kid for a long time), we just lay on the couch for awhile, and the silence is strangely peaceful.

"Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"When was the last time you saw your dad?"

I have to think about it. "I don't know... must have been the Reaping."

Annabeth frowns. "Really? That long?"

"Yeah. I guess he's stopped caring."

The pity in her eyes irritates me, but I can't do anything to stop it. "That's not true, Percy. Your dad has always cared... And he hasn't had any reason to stop caring."

"If he cared, he would stop by sometime. It's been over a year since I've even talked to him, Annabeth. Clearly he's not going to bother with his screw up son anymore." I realize suddenly that I'm trying not to cry, and failing.

Annabeth brushes the tears from my face, shaking her head. "How much will it take to get you to stop thinking of yourself like that?"

"I'm not sure if I know how." I don't want to talk about this. "How long has it been since you saw your mom?"

My fiancée frowns. "The train station in the Capitol before I came home... but she didn't talk to me. She's upset about me being pregnant... She thinks I should have been smarter. Nothing new, I guess."

"I'm sorry," I sigh.

"It's not your fault." She smiles wryly, pulling me in for another kiss. "Look at us, a couple of idiotic motherless teenagers. We're crazy, aren't we?"

I laugh quietly, planting a kiss on her forehead. "I think that's what makes us so beautiful."

Woohoo I actually got this out before the end of the month! Yaaayyyy