His Dark Side (Edited Version)

Chapter Four: Unearthed

When Annabeth woke, Percy was gone. She sat upright, looking around as she let out a quiet yawn, bringing up the blanket to cover her chest. "Percy?" she called out tentatively. It was dark- No light, and the entire feel of it sent chills down her spine. Wind angrily drove against the side of the cabin, howling like an aggressive beast.

She pulled on her shirt, not bothering with a bra, and drew her dagger from the bedside table, testing the blade against her thumb. She frowned. She'd ask Leo to sharpen it later, but for now it would do. "Percy?" She stood, calling out again and brandishing her dagger as she scanned the area. She could barely make out the edge of the bed frame across from Percy's, the dim glow of a night light from under the bathroom door, but nothing more.

During the addition of cabins that Percy and Jason had promised to build, they decided that there should be updates made. Each cabin now had a personal bathroom and a room dedicated to their hobbies with some sort of expansion magic. The Athena cabin had a library/study, the Apollo cabin had a special room at the infirmary and an archery range in their cabin, Demeter had an indoor garden, et cetera, but she wasn't sure what Percy had for a room. Those rooms were explicitly for the children of the respective gods, and if anyone else were found inside... Well, Annabeth likes to think Poseidon can keep his temper in check but she'd rather not test the theory. Gods are much too unpredictable to accurately test, anyways.

She swept the entire cabin with her dagger, including the bathroom, but Percy was nowhere to be found. Why wasn't he thinking anything? Was he meditating again? Did he fall asleep somewhere else? She double checked to ensure that she still had her bud, her heart pounding in her chest. Maybe the serum malfunctioned, or wore off? No, it takes weeks for blood to completely recycle and the serum would be there until then.

Annabeth rushed out of the cabin, but all she had to do was turn in order to see where he had gone. Percy sat at the end of the old dock, feet in the water and his back to her, though she drew a conclusion that he was probably meditating by his relaxed but unmoving form. She walked up to him, sitting down on the edge of the dock. His eyes were closed, hair ruffling in the breeze. He looked... Peaceful. Innocent. After a few minutes, he slowly opened his eyes, turning to look at Annabeth. "Hello."

"Hi," she greeted back, looking out at the scene before them. Trees swayed, the lake's surface rippling with small waves, fish and birds, campers laughed in the background. It was peaceful. "Percy?"

She sounds stressed.

"What's up?" Percy shifted so he was facing her more, tilting his head a bit. The orange hues of the setting sun created a beautiful contrast with his ocean eyes, framed with dark lashes and a look of concern. "Are you alright?"

Annabeth nodded. "I just... I realized that you never liked your old step dad, Gabe, but I'm still not sure why. You never explained, and I was just curious."

Percy tensed slightly beside her. Annabeth figured she struck gold as he turned to face the water, dragging his foot through it and creating small patterns. She had several other topics to try if this wasn't the key she was looking for, but she thinks she got lucky. "He was abusive, to both me and my mom. I don't remember a time he wasn't kicking me down the stairs, giving her a black eye for not bringing him more gambling money to lose, calling me a freak and using me for target practice with glass bottles." Percy looked over at her, smiling slightly. "But now he's a statue, and it's all over with. He'll never hurt another person again."

Just the memory of it is giving me anxiety. I don't know how my mom put up with it. For me, I guess- She did everything for me.

"I-" Annabeth shook her head. "I'm sorry, Percy, I had no idea."

Percy shrugged. "You couldn't have known- Grover and my mom were the only people that knew." He gave her a small smile. "And now you. See all these little dots on my hands?" Percy held them out, pointing to a few on the back of his hands and a few on his fingers. "People always think they're freckles, but they're burns. If I tried to hide money he'd put out a cigarette on me as punishment."

Annabeth let out a shaky breath, gently grabbing Percy's hands and bringing them to her mouth, kissing over the scars gently. "You jump a lot. I always thought it was monsters, but..."

"There are many types of monsters in this world. Most of them are human."

Just like you! Imagine that.

Fuck off.

"Percy?" Annabeth looked over at him. The sun was setting by now, creating a beautiful orange hue over the water and making Percy's skin seem to glow.

"Yeah?"

She paused, contemplating her next words carefully. "How are you feeling? I know we've been kind of distant recently, I've been trying to deal with it but... I realized that I never paid attention to how you were feeling after. I was so drawn up in my own little world, trying to fix myself..." Annabeth hugged her knees, looking out at the lake. "I shouldn't have left like that, and I'm sorry. I want to make sure you're okay."

Percy shook his head, squeezing her knee slightly. "You have no reason to apologize Annabeth. I know you were just trying to build yourself up again. I never thought you were ignoring me or anything, if that's what you're worried about. We all have our stuff to deal with, and sometimes we just need space."

Annabeth nodded. "Thank you, Percy. But are you okay? After... After everything?"

Oh-ho ho she's talking about me!

Shut up, I'm trying to think

Have fun, lover boy.

"I..." Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "I know what this is about, Annabeth and I... I honestly don't know what it was, or why it happened. I'm... Trying to get it sorted out. I talked to Will about some... Well, some methods for calming me down when I get anxious- Noises and such will freak me out sometimes, but other than that I'm as good as I can be."

What, don't want to tell her you have a psycho killer in her head? Such a bore, Jackson

Shut the fuck up. I don't want her to worry.

She should worry. What if you snap again, hm? Then what would she do? She's terrified of you, terrified you'll snap and hurt her.

Annabeth frowned, staring down at the edge of the dock. "Whatever it was, just know that I'm here for you, okay?" She looked over at him, squeezing his hand gently. He smiled.

"I know you are. You always are."

xXx

A special early update for @td90328 to celebrate their birthday a bit early! I won't reveal the date for privacy reasons but make sure to wish them a happy birthday one way or another! Thanks for being an amazing writer and always complimenting me on my works, it's more appreciated than you may realize <3