That Silly Pact

11

A few days into going back to work, and Annabeth missed not having to do anything. She especially missed not having to worry about people insulting her while she worked, but of course, after everything that had happened, it was bound to occur eventually.

Late Friday night, Annabeth got back to Percy's apartment, where Percy and their other friends were working on transitioning Annabeth's stuff from Luke's place to Percy's while Annabeth went to work. She had tears on her face, and she was curled into herself, shoulders hunched, holding her arm with her hand.

She closed and locked the front door, her hair hiding her face, secretly hoping Percy didn't hear her come in. He heard her, though, and he appeared at the end of the hall, a smile on his face. "Hey, I was getting worried." She turned to him. "Is everything... What happened?"

He moved forward, hands on the sides of her face. She leaned against him, eyes closed, arms around his waist, crying. "Annabeth?" She didn't answer. "Annabeth, baby, what happened?" Again, she didn't respond. He picked her up, carrying her to the living room, where their friends were laughing and talking about nothing. He kept moving, down the hallway to his room, laying her on the bed.

"Talk to me, Wise Girl." He whispered, after closing the bedroom door.

"Luke's parents... They came into the diner and started randomly insulting me from across the room, calling me a slut and a whore..." Annabeth wiped at her eyes. "Charlie asked them to stop, as the diner is supposed to be family friendly, and they did, until the last group of parents and kids left, then they started throwing insults at you. I wasn't even in their view anymore. I was in the kitchen, but they wouldn't stop. I tried leaving once, but they followed me out... I barely managed to lose them the fifth time... They refused to leave while I was there, or leave me alone."

Percy held her close to his chest, rubbing her back. "It's okay, Annabeth."

"No, it's not!" She called, crying still. "They insulted you for no reason, harassed me until I lost them in traffic! I would've been home sooner, but it's like they were stalking me..." He kissed her temple, rubbing her arm with one hand, the other resting on her back. "I was actually scared that they might attack me. Which is saying a lot because Luke's parents have always been 100% against violence of any kind."

She rested her chin on his shoulder, hand on his back, eyes closed. "Call the police." Percy whispered. "Charlie and Silena were there, right? They can vouch for you."

Annabeth really wanted to do that, but she shook her head no. "I don't think it works like that if they haven't done anything violent..."

"Yelling insults at you while you work isn't violent?" Percy raised an eyebrow, running a hand through her hair, the motion helping her to relax.

"I mean... It is, but... If it happens again, I'll call the police. Right now, though, it's not worth it at the moment." Percy sighed and kissed her temple.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you, too.' Annabeth sighed, burying her face in the side of his neck, one of her hands on his opposite shoulder, the other resting against his shoulder blade below her head. He held her close to his chest, nuzzling her hair until someone got curious.

Piper poked her head in. "Hey. You guys okay?"

"Yeah, just a bad day." Annabeth shrugged, barely pulling away from Percy. "I just needed a good hug."

Piper smiled, "Well, hurry up you two. Percy, you gotta work, Annabeth, we're having a girls night."

She left, and Annabeth pulled away from Percy. "I thought you didn't work tonight?"

"I'm taking up extra hours. I talked to my boss, and he said that if I work enough to pay it off, we can get a free dinner." Annabeth's jaw dropped slightly.

"But where you work-"

"The reservation alone is expensive, I know." He kissed her forehead. "But you're worth it. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I knew you'd beat it out of me if I didn't just tell you." She giggled and kissed him softly, a hand on the back of his neck. He hummed against her lips, "Trust me, If I could stay home with you all night, I would."

Annabeth giggled as he deepened the kiss in response to his own words. "Mmm... I thought..." She laughed and pulled away. "What happened to needing to work?"

"I still need to work, but I wanted to kiss you first." He grinned playfully at her and she rolled her eyes, before getting up.

"Get dressed, Seaweed Brain. I don't want you to be late because of me." He kissed her forehead before pulling away and going to the closet. Annabeth left the bedroom, walking into the living room where her friends were. "I thought it was a girls night?"

"Oh, it is. They're just being stubborn." Piper laughed, pushing Jason towards the door.

Leo grinned. "If the girls are having a sleepover, I wanna stay for the pillow fight."

Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, and Thalia shared a look, before each grabbing a pillow and hitting on of his body parts. Annabeth got his face, Piper his chest, Hazel his leg, and Thalia his groin. Leo's eyes bugged out of his head and he rolled off the couch, whining in pain. The girls all laughed as Frank and Jason dragged Leo out, neither wanting to go through the pain Thalia had caused their friend.

They sat on the couch, turning on a movie. Annabeth wasn't paying much attention, especially when Percy walked into the living room and stood behind her, bending down to kiss her. Annabeth smiled, giggling as he did so. "I'll see you in a few hours, beautiful. I love you."

"I love you too." Annabeth smiled, watching as he walked to the door, shamelessly staring at his butt. When he was gone, she turned back to the movie, just to see her friend's face. She jerked backwards, eyes wide. "The fuck?"

"You two are literally so cute, you know that!?" Piper grinned. Hazel nodded in agreement.

Thalia snorted. "It's sickly sweet."

"Thanks, I guess?" Annabeth laughed uneasily, eyes wide.

"I'm just glad you're happy." Hazel smiled. "Knowing how Luke acted whenever we tried to have a girls day, compared to how Percy is acting... It's good to know that he's the better option."

Annabeth laughed. "You make it sound like there even is an option. If I'd realized sooner... Luke never would have had a chance."

"Aww!" All three of them- Yes, even Thalia -cooed in response.

"Okay, you guys are crazy. What are we watching, again?"

"Annabelle." Piper grinned. Annabeth's eyes got wide, and she shared a regretful look with Hazel. Hazel was not good with scary moves. Annabeth didn't like them much, either, but she could watch them without feeling absolute terror. Hazel on the other hand, she despised horror movies. Was absolutely terrified of them. Annabeth was surprised they'd gotten away with putting it on while she was paying attention.

"You guys are cruel."

"Yup."