My Broken Pieces (Percabeth Au)

[ fourteen ]

The second the door closes, I collapse. I hadn't told Annabeth, but Luke's punches had hurt "more than a little bit".

It's not like I'm not used to the pain though, and I knew better than to complain. But if Luke used to hurt Annabeth like he hurt me, then I might have to revoke my "violence only belongs on the field" rule, and tell him who he's messing with.

Thankfully, my mom and Paul are at a doctor's appointment for the baby, so I'm home alone. I'm not sure how, but I find my way to my room, and into the shower.

The water is frigid, and it's exactly what I need. I wash my face gingerly, wanting to clean away the blood, but not damage it further. I already know I'm going to have bruises and I don't know what I'm going to tell my parents. Football practice, maybe? Neither of them will believe that, but I hope they don't push it.

And as for Annabeth, I plan on lying low for a couple of days, or at least until my face actually resembles a face. I don't want her to see me like this.

Jason calls asking if I want to throw a ball around, but I tell him I'm feeling sick and head for the pool.

Goggles are definitely not a good idea, but I don't really care. I'm full of adrenaline, and I need to do something to get rid of it. Considering I haven't done laps in a while, swimming is probably a good idea.

I do laps for almost two hours, pushing myself harder than I have in a long time.

It feels so good, and I only stop when my phone rings. It's my mom, telling me that she and Paul are going out for dinner and there's money for pizza on the counter.

The thought of food makes my stomach grumble, so I quickly change before heading home.

I order delivery from my favorite place, and the guy looks at me as if I have two heads when he drops off my peperoni. Clearly, my face has not gotten any better.

I ignore his stares and give him a solid tip before closing the door. Going into my room, I throw off my shirt and crawl into bed. Starting The Office, I eat my pizza at record speed.

If you think about it, today wasn't such a terrible day at all.

•••

"Dude, I told you I'm not going. Why would I give you another chance to draw all over my face?!"

"That was one time. We'll do a different prank."

"Jason!"

"Sorry, sorry. That was a joke. Anyways, the girls will be there so it won't get too crazy."

"Piper will help you."

"Well-" Jason pauses for a second, "Annabeth will be there, and she doesn't approve of shenanigans after eleven."

"Annabeth is going to be there?"

"Yeah, why? You like her or something?" I can practically see Jason's smirk.

"Oh shut up."

"So that's a yes?"

"Yes. Now go annoy someone else."

I hang up before Jason can say anything else, and grab random clothes from my dresser. I quickly pack my bag and go into the living room where Paul is seated.

"Hey Percy. What's up?"

"Not much. Just going over to Jason's. That okay with you guys?"

"Of course. I'm just grading papers - you got a solid B, by the way - and I think your mom is working late tonight."

I'm glad I got a B on my paper, because I had worked really hard for it. Okay, maybe Annabeth had helped a little, but I did most of it myself.

What I'm not happy about is that my mom had to work late again. She's only a couple months into her pregnancy, but it's not healthy for her to be working late in the first place, and now she's doing it with a child on the way. I know she claims that it's fine, but both Paul and I are both worried that she's working too much.
"Again? I thought you told her not to," I say, sitting down across from him and putting my feet up onto the coffee table.

He nudges my feet off and gives me a look before talking. "I did. But she didn't want to listen to me, and I knew better than to push the issue. Your mom refuses to be told what to do, and rightfully so."

"I know," I say, not meeting his eyes. "I'm just worried. I don't want her to get hurt."

This is clearly making Paul uncomfortable, so he changes the topic. "Speaking of getting hurt, what happened to you last week? You really worried us, bud."

"I told you, it was football. One of the guys was a little too enthusiastic. It wasn't a big deal, and it's healed now."

"Cut the crap, Perce. If it 'wasn't a big deal' then you wouldn't have skipped out on your friends. And you definitely would have gone for burgers the other night."

"Okay fine. I got in a fight, but-"

"You got in a fight?! Like an actual, legitimate fight?"

"Yeah but-"

"Oh my god, Percy. What am I supposed to tell your mom? No, what are you supposed to tell your mom? And with who? Not one of your friends? They wouldn't do that-"

"Paul. Chill. Will you let me explain? Please? I promise it's not as bad as it sounds."

Paul - who had gotten up and was pacing - ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair before sitting back down.

"Okay." He looks haggard and tired sitting down like that, and I don't want to stress him out even more.

"So, um." I think for a second, mentally trying to figure out how much I want to reveal. Obviously I want to respect Annabeth's privacy, but I know Paul won't believe me if I tell him that Luke and I got into a fight for no reason. There's a fine line here, I don't have the best balance.

"I was with Annabeth and uh, Luke was being a jerk. We ended up getting into a fight and he beat me up. Not my finest moment."

"Oh wow. You should have told me. Or someone. Was this on school grounds?" Paul gives me with a fatherly look, and it warms my chest.

"No, no. We were out." Paul clearly doesn't believe me, even though it's the truth, but my phone blows up with texts from Jason, Piper and Leo, telling me to hightail it over.

"Got to go. Later, Paul." I call out as I grab my keys and bag and head to the car.

He calls back to me, but I'm not listening. I'm going to be seeing Annabeth for the first time in a couple days, and I'm over the moon.