The drive was peaceful. Annabeth was a much better driver than Gabe, so I wasn't slammed into any parts of the car unexpectedly.

Even though I knew that we weren't even nearing the speed Gabe was at; I still clutched my seat. I didn't want to take any chances.

I tried to look like it wasn't really affecting me, but I still let out a breath of relief when we got out of the car.

I followed Annabeth uneasily towards her front door. She turned back to me when she got to the top of the stairs and said she was sorry if they started asking too many questions.

Then she opened the door and led me in.

Instantly I was hit with the smell of cooking meat and the sound of running footsteps.

"I'm home. I brought Percy," I heard Annabeth shout as I closed the front door behind me. Thankfully I was able to succeed in not falling on my face. There was a mumble from where the smell was coming from.

Annabeth sighed as she gestured to me to follow her through the living room into the kitchen. There Annabeth's stepmom Helen was cooking ground beef in a pan on the stove. I saw noodles and sauce cooking in other pots and figured spaghetti was on the menu.

"Helen, this is Percy, Percy, this is my stepmother Helen," Annabeth gestured between us. Helen set down the spatula she was using to stir the meat and walked over to me, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Hello there, Percy," she greeted me with a smile, and I warily shook her hand she had extended.

"Hello," I managed to say softly. I wasn't really comfortable calling Helen by her first name. I desperately tried to think of Annabeth's last name as Helen went back to the stove to finish making dinner.

"I hope that spaghetti is ok with you?" I nodded at her. Sure, I had spaghetti last week, but any home-cooked meal is welcome to me. In fact, any dinner is welcome.

She smiled softly at me and gestured with her hand in a way I didn't quite understand. I heard Annabeth breathe in sharply, and I looked at her. She nodded and then grabbed my wrist. Thankfully she grabbed the left one and dragged me down a hallway off to the side of the kitchen.

"These are my step-brothers, Matthew and Bobby," she introduced as two twins about eight years old ran up and down the hallway and then into a room. She sighed and followed the two, letting my wrist go.

Walking to catch up, I turned into the room to see Annabeth talking with the two boys. She turned around and waved me over. Her ears were tinted a bit red.

The two boys started laughing to themselves as if sharing an inside joke. While laughing, they introduced themselves. "I'm Bobby," one with a grey t-shirt said.

"I'm Matthew," the one with the green t-shirt managed to choke out, seeing that he was trying not to laugh.

Annabeth sighed and grabbed my left wrist, tugging me out of the room, mumbling something about stupid younger brothers and how she would never live this down. We walked over the stairs, and Annabeth announced that we would be in her room until dinner. We heard an ok from the kitchen, and I followed Annabeth up the stairs.

I groaned as I almost fell on my face as I walked into Annabeth's room. She followed me in and then walked to her bed. Feeling awkward, I made my way over to the desk chair, where I sat during the last tutoring session at her house.

"So, what hobbies do you have besides studying?" she asked, knocking me out of the daze I was slowly falling into.

"Um, I play a few instruments, but that's basically it, uhh, how about you?" I tried not to mention singing. Technically it counts as an instrument, but I didn't want to zero in on it by saying I had a singing hobby. That would be the equivalent of me holding a sign that said Ask Me To Sing A Song! I didn't want to sing, at least not in front of anyone.

"That's pretty cool. I draw buildings, and I like to read. I'm kind of a nerd in a way," she chuckled quietly to herself. I smiled a bit as I sat in the chair, imagining different scenarios that would happen at dinner. I was still plenty terrified. I can't remember if I've ever gone to another person's house before to have dinner.

I shook my head. I needed to keep a somewhat normal face for Annabeth's family. I didn't want them thinking that I was a sad, depressed teenager that needed emotional help. Ok, I am precisely that, but I didn't need her family knowing.

Suddenly I heard the bed squeak, and I snapped my head up to see Annabeth reaching for a deck of cards on her dresser. "Wanna play?"

I shrugged, not sure which game she was thinking of. "Do you have a preference on the game?"

I thought about it. What games have I actually played and know? I guess War, Go Fish and Crazy Eights, but I'm pretty much in the dark besides those three.

"Um, how about Go Fish?" that one was easy and required minimal brainpower. Also, it had fish in its name.

Annabeth dealt out the cards, and I slowly took my hand "4 or 2 pairs?"

I looked up at her, not sure what that meant. "Um, 2 pairs?" it came out as a question. I'm not sure what that meant, but I also didn't want to look like an idiot.

She nodded to herself as she placed a pair down. Breathing a sigh of relief as we played the game how I usually would, I chose right.

We played a few games, Annabeth winning every time because she said she took advantage of this thing called card counting. I'm not sure if it actually helped or not; all I knew was that I lost repeatedly.

There were pounding footsteps getting closer to the door as Bobby? barrelled through the door.

"Dinner's ready" then he barrelled out of the room, leaving the door open.

Annabeth sighed as she put the cards away. We were just about to start a new game, so thankfully, he came in before she dealt out our hands.

I slowly stood from the chair and stretched a bit, trying hard not to wince as my bruises ached and shot pain through my body. Relaxing, I saw Annabeth leave the room, and I rushed to follow her.

Ok, Percy, no need to be a clumsy oaf today. Just walk down the stairs and not face plant. No need for any embarrassing action that would cause the dinner to be awkward. I mean, what's there to be scared about? It's not like the stairs are in full view of the kitchen, and it's not like her family is waiting for you to eat dinner. No, no, of course not.

Sarcasm.

Some people would walk down the stairs, get to the bottom, and calmly join the dinner table. Others would maybe slip a bit from nervousness and walk embarrassed to the table. But for me, no, I have to be special.

I slipped on the first step and fell all the way down the stairs tumbling over my head and feet like some kind of roly-poly. Then to end my graceful walk down the staircase, I landed face-first into the thankfully carpeted floor.

Great first impression Percy.

Groaning, I heard a snort as someone tried to help me up. I felt blood flow a bit from my nose as I stood shakily to my feet. Yea taking a dive down the stairs in a bruised body is not the best plan I've ever come up with.

As Annabeth tried to stifle her laughter, she told her family that she would help me with my nose and grabbed my hand, leading me to the restroom.

"I don't know how you managed to fall in such a graceful manner. But it was hilarious," Annabeth spoke while giving me a bunch of tissues to hold under my nose.

My voice was muffled by the tissues. "I'm glad someone found my comedy act funny."

After a few minutes of looking anywhere but at Annabeth, I slowly brought the tissues away from my face to see if my nose was still bleeding. Seeing that it wasn't, I stood up and threw the tissues out. Walking towards the sink, I washed my hands while Annabeth stood in the doorway, waiting.

After drying off my hands, I followed Annabeth, embarrassed as we got into the dining room. Everyone was sitting at the table. Including Annabeth's father, who I didn't even notice come in, though I would've been in her room, so nevermind.

The table was round as food was placed in the center. The twins sat next to each other while Annabeth's stepmom sat next to Bobby and her dad sat next to Helen. Leaving the seats next to Matthew and her dad open. I immediately knew which one I wanted to sit in, and almost like she read my mind, Annabeth sat next to her dad.

Mentally thanking her, I sat next to Matthew and Annabeth. Then Helen started serving food.

The spaghetti was delicious, which was accompanied by mixed veggies and buttered bread. To me, this was what Thanksgiving would be like if I had one.

My muscles would scream at me whenever I tried to keep up my manners, so really, just eating, in general, made everything hurt. Which was ironic because to heal the bruises, I needed food. I was content and happy with the silence, but of course, this was a family meal where I was the newcomer. It wouldn't last.

"So, Percy, tell us about yourself," her dad started. I wasn't sure what his name was, but it didn't really matter.

"Um, I'm a senior in high school, my favorite color is blue, and I like playing instruments" I hoped that that was enough information. Hoping Annabeth's dad wouldn't pry into anything deeper. But just like how my luck was with everything else, my hopes were ignored.

"Have any siblings?"

"Nope, I'm an only child."

"How did you meet Annabeth?"

"She's my tutor for math."

He took a second to eat a bit more, which I was grateful for. I saw Annabeth shoot her dad a glare, probably to get him to stop asking so many questions. This time Helen spoke up.

"What instruments do you play?" I smiled softly. This is the kind of conversation I wanted to be in, not a family and life interrogation.

"Uh, I play the piano, guitar, and I'm learning the drums" not untrue, just not the complete truth. I could play almost every instrument at school besides a select few.

"Are you going to enter into that contest for the end of the year?"

I gulped; over the last few years, my teacher repeatedly tried to convince me to compete. She would always say how I could beat everyone in her classes if I wanted to. I felt that was an exaggeration. There was probably a multitude of kids better than me in her other periods.

I wasn't a big fan of the attention being on stage would bring, and if I managed to get past the auditions, it would only bring unwanted attention.

I prefer the quiet, nobody life I have, fewer people to ask when my lip is split, or my hoodie pulls up, and they see the lines of bandages. Also, I am terrible in social situations. I don't think my heart could handle it if people tried to talk to me in the hallway.

"Um, no, I don't think so" thankfully, Helen took that as a sign not to press and continued eating, smiling softly at me.

I noticed Annabeth scowling out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't mention it. The table fell into a comfortable silence, and I finished the food on my plate. I saw Helen finish, and she stood grabbing her plate and a pot of food as everyone finished.

Following suit, I grabbed my dishes and the leftovers on the table and stood up. After arriving in the kitchen, Helen quickly tried to take my dishes and the pot from me, but I just smiled at her.

"That's ok, you made dinner, let me help," she looked surprised, and that confused me a bit. I thought it was a given to help clean up dinner when you weren't the one who cooked. I guess that's something only my mom taught.

I walked over and placed my dishes in the sink, and grabbed a baggie that Helen had set on the counter after she left to grab the veggies. I used the spoon in the noodles to put them in the baggie and closed it tightly. Then after placing the pot in the sink, I reached for the saucepan. Grabbing hold of it, I brought it over to the counter I was working at and grabbed another baggie. Using the ladle, I poured the sauce into the baggie and closed it tight.

I noticed Helen wasn't back yet. I shrugged and walked into the dining room, both boys were gone, and Annabeth, her dad, and Helen were in deep conversation. I noticed the stacked dishes on the table and the pan of veggies and saw that Helen was about to walk back into the kitchen when she was pulled away.

I picked up the dishes and the pan and walked back into the kitchen. Placing my load on the counter, I grabbed the last baggie and quickly set the veggies inside. Then I scraped the excess food on the plates into the trash and left them on the counter.

I pulled the two pans out of the sink, turned on the faucet to its hottest setting, and placed the plug in the drain. After opening the cabinet under the sink, I found the dish soap and set it on the counter. Squirting some in the water's rising level, I placed a few more plates into the soapy water. I pulled my hoodie sleeves to my elbows and grabbed a nearby sponge.

I tried my hardest not to care when the hot water hit my right wrist or when the soap suds got under the bandages. I was unblocking the sink and allowing the water to drain out when I heard someone come towards the kitchen. Quickly drying off the pan with a nearby towel, I found I placed it on the counter.

I hastily pulled down my hoodie sleeves to hide the bandages. I heard a small gasp.

"You did the dishes! And put away the food!" I turned to see Annabeth with a surprised look on her face as she looked at the clean dishes on the recently wiped off countertop.

"Um, yea, was I not supposed to?" I really hoped I hadn't messed up, rubbing the back of my neck as I looked sheepishly at her.

"No, it's fine. I half expected you to be scouring the kitchen looking for the candy bowl."

"I'm glad to see how high you think of me" shit I didn't mean to blurt that out.

She just laughed and gestured to the dry dishes on the counter. "Honestly, by doing this, you're already higher on Helen's like list than me. But we should probably put them away; I'll help you."

I stacked the plates, and Annabeth pointed to a cabinet as she grabbed the pans and placed them under the stove. I opened the doors of the cupboard and placed the plates carefully in their spot. While the door was open, Annabeth started handing me cups. I put them upside down like how the others were in the cabinet and closed it. I turned around and almost jumped out of my skin.

Both Annabeth's dad and Helen were watching us with surprised looks on their faces.

"I can't believe it. Annabeth doing chores? Without us threatening grounding?" her dad started.

"Did you clean up for me, Percy? Thank you so much, sorry I wasn't in here to help you."

"It's fine, Mrs.Chase. I normally end up helping after dinner at my house anyway," I patted myself on the back when no one corrected me about the last name.

I didn't know what time it was, and honestly, it was probably later than Gabe would like me home. I hadn't told him I was going to dinner; that would have just made him angrier. But that didn't matter. I enjoyed this false sense of safety I got from being in Annabeth's house. It was like being in my mom's embrace, but without the pleasure of feeling my paranoia slip away.

"Well, I'm going to drive Percy home; it's getting late" my ears perked up as I realized I was going home. Not to mention Annabeth was going to drive me there. It'll be fine. I'll just have her drive me to the wrong house.

Both of her parents nodded in agreement as they moved out of the doorway. I followed Annabeth out of the kitchen to the front door. The almost familiar sound of running footsteps pounded through the house as I exited the house.

Annabeth led me to her car, and we slid in.

"Sorry about all the questions. They were a lot better than I thought they were going to be, though" I just smiled at her.

"It's fine," we drove in silence until she turned on the radio and the song I was playing on the drums turned on. Gonna Go Far Kid by The Offspring. I listened to the music playing. I hadn't heard it before playing it on the drums, so I wanted to make sure my tempo and sound was the same as what was coming out of the car.

"So, where am I going?" oh snap, I forgot, we were back at the school, and I was grateful; this made it easier to lead her the wrong way.

"Um, left here."

"The next street."

"Ok here," I stopped her in front of an average house; it was white and a single story. The lawn was recently mowed, and there was a small flower garden in front of the kitchen window.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow," I waved as she drove back the way we came. I strolled away from the house towards the direction Annabeth had driven off in. Reaching my hand into the pocket of my hoodie, I brought out my earbuds and my phone. Plugging them in, I turned on my phone. But not before seeing the two missed texts from Gabe,

Gabe: Your late little shit

Gabe: Get your ass home NOW!

I stopped walking.

Shakily I opened my phone and shuffled my music. I began walking again; I wasn't going home tonight. I started walking towards the school. Kids started showing up around 7 am, plenty of time to sleep and make sure that I didn't look like a complete mess. Sighing, I continued walking at my slow pace towards school.

At least I had eaten tonight.

After around half an hour of walking around and getting a bit lost, I made my way to the school. I walked around to the staff exit on the side of the school.

Jiggling it, I knew that the door was in desperate need of repair, and the lock was worn down. I turned the knob and pushed. It took a bit for it to give, but I was in school.

I shut the door and relocked it as I walked calmly towards the library. Annabeth proved that to be an excellent place to hide and catch up on sleep.

I stopped and realized all the doors were probably locked. Sighing, I backtracked and went to my locker. I pulled out the first aid kit and grabbed out a pin and a needle. Shutting my locker, I walked back to the library.

I wasn't the best at picking locks, but I got by. It took me a few minutes, but I got the door open, and I gratefully stepped into the book-filled room. Shutting and locking the door behind me, I walked to the couch in the alcove and placed my improvised lockpicking tools in my hoodie.

I was softly singing the words to Leave Out All The Rest by Linkin Park as I laid down on the couch and pulled the blanket over myself. I grabbed my phone and set an alarm for 6 am. Then after shifting to get comfortable and closing my eyes, I slipped into unconscious bliss with the only thought being that Gabe was going to kill me.