Sometimes Things End Right

Chapter 9

Annabeth

"I'm really excited for mini golf," Will grinned when I opened the front passenger seat of his sleek black car. It was a sports car, a brand that I barely recognized- Audi or something- I was never really into cars.

I slid into the front seat, smoothing the skirt of the sundress I wore down on my legs. "Me too," I peeked out the door before closing it shut, "It kind of looks like it's going to rain, though."

Will leaned forward and looked out of the dashboard windshield. I watched him squint his blue eyes, "Ah, I think it's kind of far off."

"Maybe," I murmured, fidgeting with the hem of my dress.

Was it stupid to wear a dress?

Probably. It was almost October.

Still, though, the black sundress was one of the only things that I could find to wear, and Thalia wasn't much help with helping me pick something out. We had even raided Mal's outrageously huge closet- nothing really fit me, though, because she was slimmer than a 2x4 wooden board.

Her makeup, though, was priceless. There was so much of it, and almost every day there were more boxes of different name brands coming through the mail. It was as if the companies wanted Mal to wear it just to claim that she was using their product- which was probably their aim. It was easy for me to swipe a lot of what I would actually use from her stash- there were so many boxes piling up that I was sure she would never even notice if it went missing. Thalia even took some, claiming that even though she 'didn't know how to use makeup,' the eyeliner was her perfect match.

I used Mal's hair products, smoothing my hair into a fine, straight hair do. I hadn't straightened my hair since I was in middle school, but after I was finished with the hour and a half that it took me to flatten my curly mane, the straightener worked like magic.

Shit, if I had known my appearance would improve by a thousand, I maybe would have considered moving into my father's house years ago.

Maybe.

So I felt pretty, but I was uncomfortable in the dress. I just wished that I had worn my blue jeans and a tank top or something.

"You look great," Will said, pulling out of the long driveway. "Your hair looks nice, too."

"Thanks," I reached up and touched the blonde locks. "I used my sister's straightener."

"Your sister?" Will's car slowed to a stop in front of the security box. I told him the exit numbers and the gate swung open. "Like, Mal?"

"Yeah," I said, feeling a little uncomfortable. I didn't want to talk about her, but it was my fault for bringing her up.

"Is it weird?" He asked, "Having a famous sister?"

"Sort of," I shrugged.

Will was silent, waiting for me to elaborate.

I sighed, "I mean, yeah, it's kind of weird, but I don't think the public has really caught on too much. I don't get followed by the press or anything. I think it's because I was never photographed with her or anything; the public probably doesn't know I exist."

"That's good then, right?" Will said, keeping his eyes on the road. "You don't really want a bunch of random people snapping pictures of you all the time."

"Yeah," I agreed, "It's nice, I guess. I like going to class without a bodyguard following me everywhere."

"You guys have bodyguards?" He asked. "I mean, I kind of assumed your sister did or whatever…"

"We have two that stay at the house," I answered, "They're around-the-clock. There's a security guard at the gates to our house, too. I'm not for sure, but I'm kind of certain that there's a surveillance guard that watches our house cameras, too."

Will whistled lowly. "There's cameras around your house?"

I nodded, "I think there was some issue with some crazy stalker fans or something when Mal was, like, fifteen. Then there was that thing with that celebrity, uh, Juniper Wood that time? You know, how that crazy guy broke in and was living in her attic and selling her stuff on eBay or something? Anyway, after that, my dad decided Mal needed protection."

"Geeze," Will laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess it's better safe than sorry."

"For sure," I agreed. I tried to think of another subject to change the conversation. "So, tell me about something you're into- besides your family and school."

He pulled into the parking lot of the mini golf course and put the car in park.

"Ah," Will pretended to think, "I shot for the archery team in high school."

I raised my eyebrows. "What? That's really cool, Will!"

He laughed and opened his car door, sliding out of the vehicle in one swift movement. I watched through the window as he walked around the car and opened my door. "I wasn't as good as my brothers. I mean, our dad taught us how to shoot but I was always better at biology and stuff."

"Your dad is a doctor, right?" I asked, walking beside him as we made our way to the ticket box. There was a long line to get in, which wasn't surprising for a Friday night.

"Yep," Will nodded, "He has his own private practice he shares with my oldest brother."

"The one whose wife is pregnant," I remembered. "Michael."

"That's the one," He said, seemingly happy that I remembered. "And then there's Lee…"

"He's the one that just got into the army med school," I said, picturing the photo Will had pulled up on his phone a few days ago when he was showing me his family. His oldest brother, Michael, looked more like him than Lee did. All three brothers shared a bright, sunny smile and soothing blue eyes, but only Michael and Will had curling blonde hair. Lee's head was almost bald, shaved close to his scalp. While Michael and Will both had lean, runners' bodies, Lee looked more built and mostly looked aggressive in his pictures.

Then again, he was in the army.

"I'm surprised you remember all this," Will said sheepishly, "I know I can go on and on about my family…"

"You just really like them," I shrugged, "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Still," He said, "If it ever gets to be too much, just let me know."

"Tell me more about your little sister," I asked, noticing the clouds in the sky were getting dark grey. We were almost to the front of the ticket line at this point and the people around us were murmuring and looking up at the angry clouds.

"Georgina is a mess," Will shook his head, "Like I told you, we call her Georgia mostly, but Lee always likes to aggravate her and call her Curious George. She's eleven and she's really into chemistry right now."

"Chemistry?" I raised my eyebrows. "What kind of eleven year old is into chemistry?"

Will laughed and rolled his eyes, "Well, technically she's really only into making slime, but when I call home Dad only refers to it as chemistry."

I laughed hard at that one. "Sounds like your dad is pretty prestigious."

"I mean, he knows how to have fun," Will kind of shrugged. "He likes to take the family on a new adventure every summer for vacation. This past summer we went to Cozumel… I think that's when my mom conceived."

I tried not to wrinkle my nose at that comment. Will felt oddly comfortable with the subject of his mom conceiving another child.

Just then I felt a rain drop hit my nose. I looked up at the sky and the drops started falling faster.

"Oh, crap," Will said, looking up, too. "It's going to start pouring soon."

I threw my arms up over my head in an attempt to cover my freshly straightened hair. "Oh my gosh!"

The rain started to pour harder and he reached forward to grab my hand. "Okay, we're going to make a run for it back to the car!"

I nodded, my hand feeling tingly in his. "Okay… ready, set- GO!"

We took off running along with most of the other people in line. A few scattered under the awning of the ticket booth, leaving their dates to retrieve the car. As we ran, the bottom really fell out and I could feel my clothes soaking.

When we finally made it to the car, I let go of his hand and ran around to my door, tugging on the handle to get it open.

"Will, open the door!" I cried out laughing, pulling on the handle. "It's locked!"

"Shit," He laughed back, patting his pockets for his keys. When he finally retrieved them he unlocked the door and I ducked inside to safety.

We both laughed until we couldn't breathe, and then when our breathing finally slowed down, we made eye contact and started up all over again.

Being with Will felt freeing.

"I'm sorry," He laughed, leaning close to me. "Your hair is soaked!"

I looked down at my hair and picked up a couple of strands. It was already curling up into mini spirals. He reached out and took a spiral in his hand, stroking it softly.

"I spent so long on it," I sighed.

"I like it better natural, anyway," Will grinned.

I felt my face heat up. I had to look away so he wouldn't notice me blushing.

"I should've checked the weather," He apologized, "I'm sorry about that."

"It's alright," I said as he backed the car out of the parking lot. His windshield wipers were working overtime against the pouring rain. "It will be a funny story, anyway."

As he drove me back to my house we continued to talk more about his family. It was one of his favorite subjects and he could go on and on about it. Lucky for him, I liked to hear his voice, and I didn't mind hearing about his family. His eyes lit up when he talked about them and I enjoyed hearing him talk about stuff he was passionate about.

We stopped in my driveway, the same spot that he picked me up, and the conversation died down.

"Would you want to come in?" I asked, looking past the rain outside of the window and at my house.

"I'm really wet," Will looked down at his dark wash jeans. His red polo was stuck to his chest. "I would probably get your house all wet."

"I got your car all wet," I pointed out, pulling at my wet dress to prove my point. "Come on, you'll be fine."

"If you're sure," He said, pushing his door open. He followed me inside, standing behind me in the doorway of my front door with his hands in his pockets.

I unlocked the door and let us in, calling out to see if anybody was home.

"Matthew? Bobby?" I called up the stairs. There was no response.

"Who is that?" Will asked politely.

"Um, my dad's fiancée's sons," I replied. I still wasn't certain if they were my half-brothers; I had been too chicken to ask. Instead, I just referred to them as Sav's sons, but in my head they were basically my brothers. I mean, our parents were going to be married soon, anyway. It was just weird for me to call them that out loud.

I peeked in the surveillance office and saw that the desks were empty. "Travis?" I called, wondering where everybody was. I assumed he was in his part of the house, which I had never seen and didn't really have an interest in discovering. His new partner, Conner, was nowhere to be found, either.

"Travis?" Will questioned, obviously curious again.

"One of the bodyguards," I explained, "It looks like they're gone, though. I assume they're off for the night- or with Sav somewhere."

Will nodded, "Do they usually do that?"

"I mean, sometimes," I shrugged, beginning to climb the stairs, "They live around here somewhere. The house is so dang big that I haven't even explored the whole thing- I don't know where exactly they stay, so they could be in their rooms. The guard at the gate box was there, though, so it's not like the house is ever completely without protection."

Will followed me up the stairs, his feet making heavy footsteps behind me.

"This is my room," I pushed the door open and waved my hand to the inside.

Luckily I had made the bed that morning. Sure, the family had a cleaning crew, but I preferred to do it all myself- I had grown up in my mother's house cleaning my own room, so it was more of a habit to do it myself now. Still, the cleaners had vacuumed and straightened up the pillows on my couch and everything.

Honestly, the room was a lot bigger than I had expected it to be. Originally I had been staying in Mal's room on her couch until my room was set up, but that was when I had first arrived. Now I had my own room, and it was big enough for two couches, a coffee table, a television, two dressers, a closet, a desk… well, you get the point. The room was huge, and I usually only spent time in the room on the bed or using my laptop on the couch. The TV was rarely used.

"You can sit on the couch," I offered, walking further into the room. "I don't care if you get it wet."

"Are you sure?" He walked over to the couch uncertainly.

"Yeah, for sure," I nodded, "I swear I don't mind."

"I'm almost dry, anyway," Will said, patting his legs and taking a seat. "The car's AC half way froze me to death."

I rubbed my arms at the thought of it. I decided not to change into dry clothes, though, because if Will had to sit in his damp ones, so should I.

"You can come sit with me," He patted the seat next to him. "I don't bite."

I smiled and sat next to him. "We can watch something on TV if you want."

"Whatever you'd like," Will said politely.

I briefly wondered if we were ever going to get past the polite stage. I wanted to bypass it so bad; I was looking forward to being comfortable enough with him that I never really had to beat around the bush. Will was naturally friendly, though, and it seemed like everything he did was polite.

I turned the TV on, not really sure how to use the remote. Will must have noticed, too, because he offered to do it for me.

Before long, he had a movie from Netflix playing.

"I love Killers," He grinned, "This is one of my favorite movies."

"I have had a crush on Ashton Kutcher since I grew up watching That 70's Show," I confessed, relaxing back into the couch.

"Well, crap," Will said dramatically, "I definitely can't compare to Ashton Kutcher."

I laughed and turned to him, "Why would you need to compare to Ashton Kutcher?"

"If Ashton Kutcher is your type, I don't fall into that category," He waved his hand at the TV screen. "I'll never get you to have a crush on me."

I bit my lip.

Was he serious?

He's so freaking hot- like, way cuter and much nicer than Ashton Kutcher.

And Jesus, his smile- he practically made me melt into a puddle every time he flashed me with it.

"You don't have to look like Ashton Kutcher for me to have a crush on you," I giggled, leaning my head against his shoulder, "I've already got one."

I felt his body turn to face me. "Is that so?"

I faced him, too, bringing a knee up between us. "You make me feel like I'm a teenager again."

"Is that good or bad?" Will played with one of my curls.

Instead of answering him, I leaned forward and kissed him.

It was pretty bold of me, honestly, and I halfway couldn't believe I actually did it.

I mean, I'm really glad I did, because his lips were super soft and almost perfect, but I still surprised myself. He made me feel like a shy little girl when I was around him, and I stuttered more than I ever had before. Everything about him made me feel like I was having a school girl crush, so when I jumped at the chance to kiss him, I alarmed myself.

However, the alarm quickly melted away when he kissed me back.

His fingers that were playing with my curls shifted to my neck, pulling me closer to him. My knee was still between us, though, which was a tad bit uncomfortable, but I hardly noticed.

I swung my leg over his lap, straddling him. I didn't slow down long enough to even put thought to that- if I had, I probably would have been too embarrassed to continue.

Instead, I tangled my fingers in his blonde hair and closed my eyes while he deepened the kiss. His free hand held my hip, squeezing and bunching up the fabric of my black dress. I sighed into his mouth and he took it as a green light to open his mouth to mine.

It was wildly erotic and honestly not something I had ever done on a first date. Of course, I had only been on about three first dates before, and each one had been with a previous boyfriend, but I had never progressed this fast before with anybody.

I felt his teeth nibble at my bottom lip and my tongue slipped into his mouth. I angled my head to deepen the kiss; it was a weird feeling, but definitely not something I hadn't done before. We kissed harder, his hand leaving my hair to mirror the hand on my hip.

I pulled away to breathe and his head ducked to my neck. It gave me a break to realize that one of his hands were pushing the fabric of my skirt up high enough for the hem of my underwear to be brushed by his fingertips. Honestly, though, before I could even really get into it, Will yanked his head back and his head spun to the door in alarm.

"What the hell?"

I realized somebody was standing in the doorway and I hopped up off of Will's lap.

I definitely wasn't expecting to see Percy Jackson standing there.

He looked sort of pissed off; one dark eyebrow was cocked, his mouth was set in a pursed line, and his green eyes blazed. Percy crossed his muscular arms over his chest, a piece of black fabric bunched up in one of his hands.

"Percy? What are you doing here?" I quickly straightened my dress skirt so it wasn't bunched up around my butt anymore. I was next to positive that Percy had seen my underwear. I looked back at Will, his face flaming red.

"I was picking up something," Percy shook the black fabric in his hand, walking further into the room. "Who is this?"

"Uh, I'm Will," Will stood up quickly and walked across the room to Percy, his hand held out for a handshake. "Will Solace; it's nice to meet you, dude. You're Annabeth's step brother?"

Percy stared at Will's hand without a word. It was chilling; the two were the same height, and totally different. Where Will was bright and sunny (and still damp from the rain), Percy was dark and brooding- at least, today he was.

"I'm not, actually," Percy finally took Will's hand. He gripped it hard and pumped it up and down- hard enough that I saw Will's knuckles turn white. "I'm the ex-boyfriend."

Will's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"Mal's ex-boyfriend," I interjected, stepping between the two. I had my back to Will, pushing Percy back with my palms. "My sister's ex-boyfriend."

I turned around to see Will scratching his head uncomfortably.

"Right," Percy said, his eyes flicking between me and Will. He didn't offer anything else.

I wasn't sure what else to say. Was I supposed to include that yeah, Percy was my sister's ex-boyfriend, but he was also sort of my ex-I-don't-even-know-what.

Was it possible to have an ex-we-used-to-sort-of-have-feelings-for-each-other-but-never-did-anything-about-it?

Probably not.

Still, though, it was awkward as hell.

"Uh, I should probably get going," Will said uncomfortably from behind me.

"Yeah," Percy agreed at the same time that I protested.

I shot a glare at Percy.

"Will, you don't have to go," I said, reaching forward and grabbing his hand. He had started to head back to the couch we were sitting on to retrieve his phone. "Don't go,"

"Just text me tomorrow," Will said under his breath, making eye contact with me briefly before gazing back at Percy. "We'll talk later."

I followed him through the room, past Percy (who he politely said excuse me to), and to the door. "Really, you don't have to leave. I don't even know why he's here…"

"I promise, it's fine," Will said, side-hugging me. He kissed my forehead quickly before adding, "I had fun, we should hang out again sometime. I can find my way out."

Then he left, leaving me stunned.

He can find his way out?

Was that code for I-never-want-to-see-you-again? Was Will weirded out by the giant dude that just appeared in my room for no apparent reason, threatening him with his glaring eyes?

Remembering the so-called threatening dude with the glaring eyes, I turned around angrily.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I hissed, storming over to him and shoving his chest.

He was surprised by it, too; his eyes widened and I had pushed him so hard that he almost moved. He recovered quick, though, his surprised expression melting into a pissed one.

"What do you mean, am I fucking kidding you?" Percy challenged, "What the hell were you doing up here with him alone?"

My eyes widened. "You're joking, right? I'm almost twenty years old, asshole. I can be in here alone with whoever I want."

Percy's nostrils flared and his lips became dangerously thin. I watched a fire ignite in his eyes. "How long have you even known that guy?"

"Why does it matter?" I demanded, fed up with the conversation already. I pushed past him- even though there was clearly enough space in the room to avoid having to do so- and made my way to my dresser. I yanked out a change of clothes.

"Did you just meet the dude?" Percy followed behind me, his voice raising. "You probably just got back from your first date with him, huh?"

I didn't answer. He honestly didn't deserve an explanation.

Besides, who was he to come in demanding all these answers?!

"I don't understand how this concerns you," I slid a pair of shorts up my legs and under my dress.

"I just can't believe you almost fucked him on the first date," Percy scoffed.

"I didn't almost fuck him," I growled, unzipping the back of my dress. "We weren't even close to doing that."

"I still don't see how this concerns you," I said, slipping the straps of my dress off my shoulders. I didn't even care if Percy saw me in a bra; he was the least of my concerns at the moment. His eyes didn't even glance away while I yanked a dry shirt over my head. "You know, you're being a total jerk right now."

"I'm being a total jerk," Percy laughed coldly, "No, I'm really not, but I definitely can be."

"No, really," I turned around, stepping out of my dress that had pooled on the floor around my ankles. "You're being a major asshole for no reason at all. Hell, I don't even know why you're here right now! News flash, dude- you don't live here. You got your… whatever that is, now go home."

Percy's eyebrows rose again. "I don't know who you are anymore."

"You never knew who I was in the first place," I shoved his chest again. "You never bothered to get to know me, Percy. It's always been about you! You, you, you."

"What the hell does that mean?" He grabbed my wrists, stopping me from continually shoving him. I struggled in his grasp to get away, even though his grip wasn't very tight. He was being gentle with me and I knew it.

"It means that ever since the day I met you, you've been a stupid jerk," I said, yanking my arms to free my wrists. "First it was about the soda I spilled on you. Then it was about you wanting to stay with Mal. After that, it was all about how you were 'doing the right thing.' I mean, damn, you even made me sit there and listen to you bitch and gripe about Mal the entire time she was in the hospital!"

"Watch your language," Percy finally let go of my wrists. He leaned down to scoop up the black fabric he had dropped in order to trap my wrists.

"Or what?" I challenged, my voice raising. "You'll send my date home? Stop bossing me around, Percy Jackson! I'm not your girlfriend! You ruined that shit."

I tried to spin around angrily- and probably way too dramatically- but he stopped me by gently placing his hand on my shoulder.

To be honest, his sudden gentleness surprised me. I turned to see his eyes had gone soft.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me," I spat, "I'm not your girlfriend, so stop bossing me around like I am. You lost the opportunity for that to ever happen when you never called!"

"What? I never called?" Percy sounded genuinely confused.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah."

He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyebrows drawing together in concern. "You expected me to call you? What, after the hospital?" His voice was incredulous, as if he couldn't believe the conclusion he had come up with.

It kind of stung.

I didn't respond. I just stared him down, my arms crossed over my chest and my breathing ragged.

Was he really going to make me explain it to him? I sort of thought that we were on the same page, but I was obviously kidding myself.

"You expected me to call after the hospital," Percy's voice dropped to a whisper, as if he didn't believe it. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Jesus, Annabeth."

I glared at him still, my jaw clenching. "Well, obviously I was really freaking wrong with my expectations. No worries, though- they've been adjusted."

"Annabeth," Percy said, reaching his arm out for me. I moved out of the way, hitting him with a cold glare that clearly told him not to touch me. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I just thought… I don't know. I thought things were weird, you know?"

I didn't tell him that I also thought things were weird how we left them. Still, though, I kind of expected us to kind of pick up once Mal was out of the picture.

"I thought since Mal was gone…" I avoided Percy's eyes while I spoke, "I don't know. It was stupid."

"Annabeth, she was sent to rehabilitation," He said, his voice soft. "That's hard."

I closed my eyes, feeling like crap for ever even bringing her up.

"Right," I agreed, "And you two broke up because she's pregnant with another man's baby. Forgive me for thinking that if she could move on quickly, so could you."

I rolled my eyes and walked away from him. "Whatever, I'm done with this conversation." I added.

"Can you just hold on," Percy interjected, "I'm not done with it!"

"Well, I am," I said, using my best end-of-discussion voice. "And next time you show up at my house, you should probably send a text or something- oh, and knock before you walk into my room, please."

I left him in my room and locked myself in the bathroom, wondering what in the hell just went down.

Thoughts?

If you guys could leave a review or a comment on where you expect this is headed, please do so! I really want to hear your thoughts.

Also, I'm still considering posting the original copy...