Leo Owes Us Money

"I had a surprisingly good time," I said as I got out of the car.

"Why are you surprised?" Percy asked as he got our bags out of the trunk. "My mother is an absolute delight. And I guess Paul isn't too bad either."

"Anyway," I rolled my eyes at him fondly. "Thanks for an amazing little breakaway." I gave him a peck on the lips, and he smiled at me before leaning in for another.

"Hey, Jackson!" sounded a familiar voice. Percy turned toward the noise, only to be met with my lovely sister's fist. The impact sent him stumbling. He would have hit the ground if he hadn't caught and steadied himself on his car.

"For fuck's sake, Thalia," Percy groaned, slightly dazed, rubbing his jaw. "You don't hit like a fucking girl!"

"Yeah, remember that next time you get the urge to touch my fucking brother!" My mind finally caught up with what just happened.

"Thalia, what the fuck is wrong with you?" I hissed as I rushed to Percy's side, cupping his face to inspect the damage. His lip was split and bleeding, and it made fury flare up inside me.

"What's wrong with me?" Thalia asked, incredulously. "What's wrong with you?"

"You sucker-punched my boyfriend, Thalia." She threw her arms up in exasperation.

"You're dating Percy fucking Jackson. What did you expect me to do?" she asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Annabeth caught him with Alabaster Torrington balls deep in his ass in this very fucking car!" Thalia smirked at Percy as if she had just hammered the last nail in his coffin.

"Want to explain?" I asked gently, which made Percy groan again.

"I was his eighteenth birthday present from his mother," he said lowly, ducking his head.

"Ah," I hesitantly glanced at Thalia, who hadn't heard Percy's little confession. "Understood. How about we get inside and clean you up?" Percy gave me a grateful smile as I took the bags from him, turning toward the dorms.

Thalia only stared at us, dumbfounded, as we walked. We made it all the way to the doors before she came back to life following us inside. I pulled Percy into Frank and my flat. Frank looked up from his spot on the couch, eyes landing on Percy.

"What happened to you?" he asked with a frown.

"Thalia decked me," Percy grumbled, and Frank let out a laugh, which caught in his throat as Thalia stepped inside behind us. I silently pulled Percy through to my bedroom, where I calmly put our bags down and made him sit on my bed. I dug out my first-aid kit and cleaned the cut on Percy's lip, trying to be as gentle as possible. This was the last thing Percy deserved, after everything he's had to endure. Thalia stood in my doorway, staring. I felt a chill run down my spine.

The silence was all too familiar. Without realising, I had reverted back to my father's lessons. Get out of the public eye as calmly and fast as possible whenever drama arises. Thalia had endured those lessons, same as me. Which is probably why she had followed us so silently. I knew what was coming, though. Every silence, every calm, was always followed by a storm. Glancing up at my sister, I saw the lightning flash in her eyes. What was I supposed to tell her? How was I going to explain the situation?

"Why aren't you pissed?" she asked. In the back of my mind, I sensed the electricity between us.

"Because I love him and I trust him," I answered.

"You're making a mistake," she said, disregarding the fact that Percy was still sitting on my bed. "He's a manipulating bastard. He's going to lie and keep secrets from you all your life, baby brother," she sneered.

"He'll never lie to me, Thalia." Anger was bubbling in my chest again. I could see the clench of Percy's fists in the corner of my eye. He wouldn't be able to hold back much longer, that I knew. "Neither are there any secrets between us."

"And you're just going to take his word for it?" Thalia laughed humourlessly. "You don't even care that he fucked half the school while dating Annabeth? Once a cheater, always a cheater, Jason."

"He's not that person anymore, Thalia."

"What the fuck changed, then?" she challenged. I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to silence her with the truth. She had no right to tear down the man I loved. She had no reason to tarnish his name. I never got the chance, though.

"For fuck's sake, Thalia!" Percy roared as he got up from the bed, stepping in-between Thalia and myself. "I admit that I've fucked up royally in the past. I admit that I had absolutely no respect for myself or the obscene amount of people I've fucked. But I've explained myself to Jason, and he still chose to love me, to forgive me." He stepped into her space, and I saw a glimmer of fear in her eyes. "I don't need to explain myself to you." He glanced at me over his shoulder. "But for his sake, I will. Because I don't want to come between him and his family."

"Then, explain." Percy steeled himself with a deep breath.

"Thalia, I was forced into prostitution in High school." Thalia's eyes bugged, clearly not expecting that. "One of my first clients was actually Hecate Torrington, Alabaster's mother. She's quite influential in the mafia, by the way, and she isn't shy about her affairs. Alabaster hated me, though. For all the times he found me with his mother. On his eighteenth birthday, his mother gave him the chance to humiliate me, the person he hated most. His request was to fuck me in my car, at a time and place of his choosing. My handler agreed because he didn't give a fuck about me. And that's how Alabaster planned on Annabeth catching us. Made me fucking finish too before I could go after her." Percy sighed as he sat back on my bed. Both Thalia and I kept quiet, listening to him in a trancelike state.

"By the way, Frank, I expect you to keep this to yourself too," Percy broke the trance. Frank sheepishly stepped into view in the hallway. "Anyway, I got out of that shit shortly after Annabeth and I broke up. I respected her, though, even if I didn't respect myself. I never touched her. I didn't want to corrupt her."

"But you're fine with corrupting my brother?"

"Thalia..." I tried to stop her from being hostile when Percy was baring his soul.

"Jason changed the way I see things," Percy cut me off. "He showed me that my past doesn't define me. Jason gave me a reason to live when I really didn't want to." His words hung heavy in the air. "I love him, Thalia. I love him more than anything, and I owe him my life."

"I love him too, Thals." I sat down next to him, wrapping my arms around him, holding him close. I looked at Thalia, daring her to say anything negative.

"Fine," she growled. "But if you ever do anything to hurt Jason, Jackson, I'll cut off your dick using a spoon. Understood?" Percy surprisingly laughed.

"Fair enough," he shrugged. Frank seemed more shocked than anyone with Percy's response, crossing his legs in sympathy. The sight made us chuckle.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" I asked. "I'm cooking, and I'm banning Frank from the kitchen. How about chicken parm?

"Sounds good," Percy and Thalia answered in unison. They shared a look—a mutual understanding forming beneath the surface.

"I'm on it." We got up and made our way to the living room. Frank stuck out like a sore thumb, not sure where to look or what to say. He kept glancing at Percy with sad eyes. Percy playfully shoved his face away when glanced at him again.

"Don't look at me like that, Frank," he said gently. "I don't need anyone's pity."

"Are you okay, though?" Frank asked, taking the playful shove as encouragement. Percy smiled at Frank's concern. Ever since Percy and I had started dating, Frank and Percy had gotten along much better.

"I'm getting there, big guy." Frank seemed to accept this answer as they fell into a comfortable silence.

"What games do you have?" Thalia asked as she fell into the couch, grabbing a controller.

"GTA, COD, HALO. Take your pick," Frank supplied. Taking a seat next to her and grabbing the other controller. Frank and Thalia played video games while Percy helped me cook. The whole evening turned out to be quite pleasant, despite the uncomfortable start. That was until I realised Thalia was refusing to leave before Percy did. Judging by Frank's smirk, he was quite enjoying their little standoff.

"Oh well, it's getting late, and I have an early class," I said with a yawn.

"You're right," Thalia said sweetly. "I guess Percy and I should leave, then." Percy chuckled mostly to himself.

"Let me just grab my bag," he got up with a sigh and went to fetch his bag in my room. I mentally thanked him for just going along with it. I walked the two of them to the door. Thalia left, promising that she was going to check in much more. Percy left with a quick kiss, a smile and a wink.

"So," Frank started as I walked back into the apartment. "Secret's out now? You and Percy finally going public?"

"Yeah, I called my dad on Friday and told him too," I answered. "We don't have to hide it anymore."

"That's probably a huge relief," he said, shaking his head. "If it were me, I don't know if I would have been able to go so long without telling someone about Hazel and me. I mean, I wanted to tell everyone."

"Yeah, me too," I laughed as I joined him on the couch. "I'm kind of looking forward to everyone's reaction now."

"The guys from Halfblood High are probably going to throw a wake." I frowned at him.

"Why?" He frowned back at me, confused.

"You don't know?" he asked.

"Know what?" I asked, sitting up straight.

"Well, he probably told you that he slept with most of the football team in High school, right?"

"Sure," I shrugged.

"Okay, well obviously he hasn't been with anyone else since he's been with you. The guys assumed it was because of him still recovering from his injury, so they respected it at first. But then he got on his feet and still didn't sleep with anyone..." Frank looked at me with mirth in his eyes.

"So?" I asked when he didn't continue.

"So, they opened season on his ass."

"What?" I squeaked, making Frank burst out laughing.

"The Stoll's are running a betting pool on who's gonna break him."

"You're not serious," I shook my head. "How do you know about this?"

"Leo told me," Frank shrugged. "He put his money on you, by the way. The Stoll's told him he was crazy and gave him impossible odds. Most of the other guys put their money on Will."

"Well, Leo better give me part of his winnings," I laughed.

"You're not upset?" Frank asked.

"Why would I be upset?" I asked, cocking a brow.

"Half the football team have been trying to fuck your boyfriend," Frank deadpanned.

"Emphasis on trying, Frank. None of them has or is going to succeed. And I'm going to make Leo give us a slice." I got up and stretched, my back popping. "I'm going to bed now. Good night."

"Night," Frank said as I made my way toward my room. I grabbed my phone, typing a quick message to Percy.

Leo owes us money!