The Jackson/Blofis Home

Pressured Daughters (and Christmas Eve)

I present to you... Chapter 4!

Annabeth was still in Percy's room.

It had been an hour now, and Annabeth's ADHD was not happy about staying in his room. Percy had been outside the room the whole time, setting the place up for Christmas. Annabeth had tried reading, but couldn't focus on the blurring letters across the page. She tried listening to music, writing and even cleaning, but nothing worked.

Her mind was in overdrive, imagining what was happening outside.

She could faintly smell Sally's cooking, something sweet. But she couldn't place her finger on the smell, it was missing the usual chocolatey-feel. Annabeth finished tucking the last of Percy's clothes into his draw, giving up on anything and lying on the floor like a star-fish.

She huffed and let herself get lost in thoughts until she heard a slight chuckle coming from the door. Percy stood there, looking at her amusedly. He had a Santa hat on his head and there was a little bit of glitter on his cheek. "Alright, Wisegirl, you can come to see it now." Annabeth jumped up in excitement, placing a quick kiss on Percy's cheek before exiting the room.

The decorations started in the hallway, and Annabeth could only imagine what the rest of it looked like if this was the hallway. Thin strips of colourful tinsel strung across the ceiling, making the room glow with a gold tinge. Percy had literally decked the halls.

The living room was filled with so much Christmas, Percy must have outranked Santa on Christmas spirit. There was no tree since they couldn't possibly carry it through the harsh weather, but there were fairy-lights, stockings and decoration everywhere. In the background, Christmas songs played gently.

It was beautiful.

Not able to express her words, Annabeth turned around to face Percy. He was smiling, very widely. His eyes glinted as he looked down at her. "I can't believe this, Percy. It's- it's amazing!" She placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him, but had to pull away because she was smiling too much.

Usually, at the Chase house, they had a plastic tree and presents underneath. The presents were usually the focus, not the decorations and family time. But here, it was so different. Sure, they didn't have the opportunity for too many presents since the shops were closed, but it didn't matter. All that mattered to the Jackson/Blofis family was each other.

Paul cleared his throat as he walked in, a signal to stop kissing if they were. Sally followed in behind with a tray of Christmas themed sugar-cookies, oblivious to Paul's usual warning. She was very excited about her Christmas tree and candy-cane shaped cookies.

They all sat the kitchen table together, eating cookies and playing board games together. It was like they were a real family, Annabeth could almost imagine a married version of herself coming here every year for the celebration (maybe even with kids, eventually). Annabeth felt the excitement for Christmas build inside of her, a bubble of warmth in her stomach.
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That afternoon, Percy and Annabeth were sitting on the couch together.

Annabeth had her head in his lap as she read her book and Percy was half-heartedly watching a basketball game on the TV whilst twirling a piece of Annabeth's golden locks in his hand. It was peaceful, just the relaxation Annabeth needed.

She jumped slightly at the buzz that went off in her pocket. Pulled out her phone, she saw it was her dad calling. "Hello?" She answered, sitting up. Her dad knew it was risky to call her at all, so she wasn't used to seeing his name pop up.

"Hey, Annabeth. I heard about the cancelled flights. When are you going to be able to get here?" Frederick asked. Percy muted the TV, so it was quiet enough for him to hear what her dad was saying.

"I don't know. Most likely not until after Christmas, though." Her tone was a little bit bitter, after all, he hadn't even asked how she was or even where she was.

"Are you sure? There's no possible way for you to get here?" Annabeth sighed, getting a bit frustrated.

"I can't even leave the building, Dad. No."

"Building? Aren't you at your dorm?" Annabeth briefly explained the situation, how they thought it would be best for her to stay with the Jackson/Blofis family.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you staying with your boyfriend, Beth." Annabeth huffed at the nickname, she hated being called Beth.

"You don't get a choice, Dad," she responded, standing up. She didn't want Percy to hear any more of this conversation. She went into Percy's bedroom, closing the door as she continued talking to her dad. After ten minutes, he finally agreed with the decision (although she did lie and say they were sleeping in separate rooms) and they hung up the phone with a quick goodbye.

Merry Christmas Eve to you too, Dad.

When she rejoined Percy in the living room, Sally was sitting on the couch opposite to his. Paul was probably off grading papers or completing some other work. Percy and Sally were talking, and by the red tinge on Percy's cheeks, she assumed it was relating to their relationship. They immediately stopped talking when Annabeth got closer, sitting next to Percy as he placed a hand on her thigh.

"How'd it go?" He asked hesitantly.

She sighed. "Not well. He's not happy I'm staying at my boyfriend's house, but he doesn't get to make that decision. If he really knew you, or even me, he wouldn't have cared. He doesn't even know me and yet he thinks he has the right to control my life. Where was all this concern when I was little and scared by the spiders that haunted me each night?"

Percy entwined their hands, not sure of what to say but wanting to support her. "I'm sure he has good intentions, he's probably just upset that you can't be with them for Christmas." Sally nodded, agreeing with Percy.

"Has he seen you since... everything?" Sally asked. Annabeth shook her head, the last time she had seen him was a while ago, before the war. "Then he's probably just concerned. As a fellow parent of a demigod, I know what it's like. He most likely wants to see for himself that you are alright."

"I just wish he wouldn't pressure me so much," she admitted, picking her book up again. Percy unmuted the TV, and they settled back into a comfortable silence. Paul eventually came back from working in the office, and they played a family game of monopoly.

Annabeth, of course, won. But Sally was a close second. Paul was a bit behind, claiming that 'he was an English teacher, University didn't prepare him for this'. Percy was much further behind, having landed on Annabeth's Mayfair six times and becoming bankrupt. When Annabeth won, he flipped the board jokingly.

"Why did we even bother playing for two hours? We knew she was going to win anyways."

"You could have won, Seaweed Brain. If you had used your community chest card on your last turn. I was going to tell you, but then again..." His jaw dropped, before breaking into a smirk.

"I'll get you for that one, Wisegirl," he said, before chasing her back to his bedroom. Annabeth went to sleep without nightmares that night, listening to the soft heartbeat of the boy she loved.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!