Invasion

A/N: I suggest you read my story, "The New Kids" before you read this, because you might not understand certain things, like the story behind the promise ring, or the fact that they have phones.

This is the summer after New Kids. Abbi is 11, Lexi and Lyrical are 14, Connor's 15, and most everyone else is 16, 17, 18, or 19.

Annabeth's stepmother's first name is never mentioned, so I just use Karen.

Summary: "Children," Chiron banged his hoof on the stone of the pavilion, "Since a lot of you aren't accepted at home, Camp Half-Blood will be hosting a Parents week. Everyone will have to invite a mortal relative to camp for the week. Those with special circumstances, please contact I, or Mr. D before the campfire."

Mortals at Camp Half-Blood? This is an invasion of my home, my privacy and my life. I am not sure if I like this idea.

~I'm just a line breaker, don't mind me…~

ANNABETH POV

Dinner had just ended, and Chiron was standing up for announcements.

"Children," Chiron banged his hoof on the stone of the pavilion, "Since a lot of you aren't accepted at home, Camp Half-Blood will be hosting a Parents week. Everyone will have to invite a mortal relative or friend to camp for the week. You may only tell one person who doesn't already know about our world, but you may invite up to 4 people to come this Saturday. Those with special circumstances, please contact I, or Mr. D before the campfire. You may Iris Message, or call your families."

An angry chatter filled the room, primarily my voice, "WHAT? OH HADES NO! Chiron, you can't be serious!"

"Silence!" Chiron bellowed, "Now, I know many of you aren't on good terms with your mortal family, mainly because they are ignorant to your lives. The gods and I agreed that this would be a good opportunity to give you all better home situations. Some of you do not have living mortal parents, so we'd like you to invite an aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin, or friend. You all must invite someone."

I met up with Percy, "What's up, Seaweed Brain?"

He wrapped an arm around my waist, "Thinking."

I gasped, "Seaweed Brain, thinking?"

"Shut up. Are you going to call your parents?"

I sighed, "I guess. Karen tries, you know. It's just hard to forgive her after the way she used to treat me."

Percy nodded, pulling me closer, "I get it. No matter what, she's still better than Smelly Gabe."

I chuckled, "I have to agree. Are you inviting your mom and Paul?"

He shrugged, "I guess. I don't really have any good mortal friends."

"Paul will be excited. He just wants to be close to you."

"Yeah. He'll want to meet some other demigods. You and Nico scare him."

"I do not!" I scoffed.

Percy muttered something, and I glared at him, "Got something to say, Seaweed Brain?"

"I was scared of you for a while."

I crossed my arms, and turned on my heel, heading for my cabin.

Percy ran up to me, "Hey, Annabeth, it's not a bad thing. You're just guarded. And defensive. Paul's not used to that. My mom, on the other hand thinks you are the smartest, most level headed demigod out there."

"I have a reason to be guarded. After Karen, and Lu-"

PERCY'S POV

She crumbled. Occasionally, she has days where any mention or thought of Luke makes her break down.

Tears started silently falling down her face. I wrapped my arms around her, "Hey, it's okay. He died a hero."

Annabeth's a tough girl. She's way tougher than me. There are only two things that can break her; Luke and spiders.

She can only hold it in for so long. I walked her into her cabin, Malcolm raising an eyebrow, and mouthing, "Luke?"

As Annabeth cried into my shoulder, I nodded.

"I miss him…" She cried.

I stroked her hair, sitting on her bunk, "I know you do. I know…"

Her sobs subsided, into sniffles. She looked up at me, eyes puffy and red, "Sorry," she choked.

I gave her a sad smile, "It's fine… I know it's hard for you."

She sat against her headboard, "I don't want my family to see me like this. What if I have an attack while they're here?"

We started calling them attacks about a year ago. They're not very common, and come randomly. Sometimes, she won't have one for months, and sometimes she'll have three in a week.

I took her hand, brushing my finger over the promise ring I gave her, "You'll be fine. If you think one's coming on, just walk away. Come find me."

She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I guess I need to call my family. Does my voice sound normal?"

"Yeah."

She took out her phone, unlocking it and tapping her dad's name.

"Hey, Dad?"

"I'm fine. How're you?"

"Good. Um, Chiron wants us to invite our mortal families to camp for a week so they can better understand who we are, and what you do."

"Yeah, Karen, Bobby and Matthew can come too."

She smiled slightly, "I'm sure they'll love your celestial bronze bullets, Dad."

"This Saturday. Just drive up to the hill."

"Love you. Bye."

She hung up her phone, "He's coming. Now call your mom."

"I left my phone in my cabin."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Use mine."

I took her phone, and dialed my mom's number. After a few rings, she answered,

"Hello?"

"Hey Mom, it's Percy. I'm on Annabeth's phone."

"Hi Sweetie! What's up?"

"Chiron wants our mortal families to come to camp. I wanted to know if you and Paul would come?"

"Of course. How long?"

"A week. Just come up to the hill on Saturday. I'll let you in."

"Okay. I'll go tell Paul. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom. Bye."

I hung up her phone, handing it too her, "We need to go to the campfire."

She nodded, and I grabbed her hand, walking out of Cabin 6. We walked into the amphitheater, sitting down next to Thalia and Nico.

"Hey Kelp Head," Thalia said.

"Pinecone Face. Who're you bringing to Camp?"

"No one. I'm supposed to be twenty-something, remember? I can't bring any relatives. It'd be hard to explain."

"Lucky. I have to bring the twin terrors," Annabeth sighed.

Nico was beaming, "I've never been so happy to have been born in the 1940's."

"I'm bringing my mom and Paul."

Thalia grinned, "I love your mom."

"Yeah. She makes me black cookies," Nico added.

The rest of the night was filled with laughter, and some pretty awful singing.

SATURDAY- ANNABETH POV

Saturday came way too soon. The Big Three, Artemis, and Hera's cabins had been cleaned and the occupants moved to different cabins, so the mortals could have a place to sleep.

Everyone was standing on the edge of Half-Blood Hill, watching for their parents. Thalia and Nico were off somewhere, probably making out, leaving Percy and I sitting in the grass, me nervously cleaning my knife on my shirt.

Suddenly Percy stood up, "There's Paul's car."

Sure enough, the Prius pulled up to the hill and stopped, Mr. Blofis and Sally stepping out. Grabbing their luggage, Sally and Paul ran up the hill, finally reaching the top.

"Percy!" Sally squealed, "It's so good to see you!"

Percy hugged her, "I missed you Mom."

Paul gave Percy a 'man-hug.'

"Hey Paul." Percy said.

"Hey Perce."

"Annabeth!" Sally yelled, and engulfed me in a hug. I hugged her back. We had gotten really close when Percy went missing.

"Hey Mrs. Jackson. It's good to see you."

She gave me a pointed look, "Call me Sally. I've told you that a thousand times."

I grinned, "Okay, okay."

"So," Paul began, "Should we go get unpacked?" He asked Percy.

Percy shook his head, "I'm going to wait for Annabeth's parents to get here. I'll get someone to show you around."

Percy looked around, spotting Piper, who was getting ready to go down the hill with her dad.

"Hey Pipes!" Percy called.

Piper's head whipped around, "Yeah, Perce?"

"Can you bring my mom and stepdad down?"

She nodded, "Sure."

Piper walked over, "Hi, I'm Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. This is my dad."

Percy's parents walked away, and we sat back down.

"You don't have to wait with me."

He shrugged, "I want to. You don't have to face this alone, you know."

I leaned my head on his shoulder, "Thank you."

A silver mini-van pulled up, "Oh, gods..." I groaned.

Percy cocked an eyebrow, "Your parents?"

I nodded, "Yep."

Karen stepped out of the van, my Dad doing the same on the other side. As the back doors opened, the twin terrors ran out, duffle bags in hand. They started up the hill, looking like a normal family. A family I wasn't a part of.

The twins reached the hill top first, spotting us, and running over.

"Hey Annie!" They said in union.

"Hi Matthew, Bobby."

Their stares turned to Percy, "Who's this?"

I sighed, "This is my boyfriend, Percy Jackson."

Bobby snickered, "You have a boyfriend?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"I don't believe you."

I pulled Percy in by his shirt, smashing my lips to his. I few seconds later, I pulled away, Bobby and Matthew looking astonished.

"Believe that?"

They started to interrogate Percy,

"Do you love Annabeth?"

Percy nodded calmly, "Yeah. A lot."

"Are you taking care of her?"

Percy snorted, "Your sister doesn't need me to take care of her. But on the rare occasion that she does need me to, yes."

They turned to me again, "Is that true?"

I nodded, "Yes. Now stop harassing us."

Matthew was about to speak, when I felt someone squeeze between us,

"'Sup Percabeth?"

Lexi. I had never been so thankful for sister.

Matthew made a face, "Who are you?"

I rolled my eyes, "This is my sister, Matthew. Her name is Lexia."

"You have a sister?"

I smiled, "Yes. I have four sisters and two brothers."

Bella, Lexi's twin slid up next to us, "What goes on?"

Percy shrugged, "Not much. Just got harassed by Wise Girl's brothers."

Bella nodded, "Fun."

Matthew looked exasperated, "Wise Girl? And who are you?"

I sighed, "Matthew, this is my other sister, Bella. And Wise Girl is what Percy calls me."

My Dad and Karen finally made it up the hill, luggage in tow.

I gave my Dad an awkward hug, and waved to Karen.

"Uh, hi. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. This is Percy, my boyfriend," I pointed to Percy, "and Lexia and Bella, my little sisters."

The fraternal twins waved, smiling, "We're waiting for our parents."

"I'm going to go relieve Piper of my parents, bye Wise Girl," Percy said, pecking my cheek.

"Bye Seaweed Brain, love you."

"Love you too."

Karen waggled her eyebrows at me, and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, bye Bella, Lex. Karen, Dad, Bobby, and Matthew, follow me."

They tried to walked past Thalia's pine, "Uh, Annabeth?" My dad asked, "We can't get through."

"Oh, yeah. I, Annabeth Chase, allow Karen, Dad, Bobby and Matthew Chase to come to Camp."

As they walked in I started explaining, "Magical borders. That's Peleus, the guard dragon. I live in Cabin six, the gray one down there. You'll be staying in Cabin three, the Poseidon cabin. That's Percy's."

I lead them into the shell covered cabin, "Go ahead and unpack. I'm going to go check on the rest of the Athena kids. I'm head counselor."

I practically ran over to my cabin, slamming the door shut, and collapsing on my bed. Malcolm arched an eyebrow,

"Your parents giving you a tough time?"

I nodded, "You have no idea. Isn't your dad coming?"

"He can't come until tomorrow."

"Oh. Please come help me with my parents?"

Malcolm smirked, "The great Annabeth Chase admitting that she needs help?"

I glared at him, "Just come help me."

"Sure."

Malcolm threw an arm around my shoulders, "What cabin are they staying in?"

"Three."

We walked back into the blue cabin, to see Sally, Paul and Percy talking to my family.

Percy walked over to us, "Hey guys. How you doing, Malcolm?"

Malcolm shrugged, "Fine. How're you?"

"Good."

Karen gave me a small smile, "Who's that, Annabeth?"

"This is my brother, Malcolm. Malcolm, this is my stepmom, Karen."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Chase."

"You as well, Malcolm."

"Malcolm's my second in command," I continued, "He always helps with Capture the Flag battle plans."

Matthew and Bobby looked excited, "Battle?"

I put my hand on my hip, "It's not like your video games. Real weapons. People die. And they don't have multiple lives."

"Oh." Matthew said, "Sorry."

"Well," Percy said, "Capture the Flag is the one kind of battle we like."

Bobby snorted, "Capture the Flag isn't a battle. We play that in P.E."

"It's a battle for us. Any weapons and magical items allowed. If you maim or kill you get your dessert taken away," Malcolm retorted.

"Clarisse doesn't have dessert very often," Percy added.

The conch horn blew.

"Time for dinner." Malcolm said.

We walked up to the pavilion, mortals at a separate table. Before we started eating, Mr. D. stood up, "Hello. Today the godling brats have brought their mortal parents here. Joy. Some girls for the Aphrodite cabin have volunteered to explain the rules."

A couple of nicer Aphrodite girls walked up,

"Rule number one, no maiming or killing, or else, you get your dessert taken away. Rule number two, Percy, Thalia and Nico should refrain from using their powers. Rule number three, lights out is at eleven. Rule number four, two non-cabin mates should not be alone in the same cabin. Last but not least, rule number five is, no trying to break up Percabeth!"

I felt a blush creeping up on my cheeks.

The girl continued, "You see that blushing girl at the Athena table? That's Annabeth Chase, currently dating Percy Jackson, the only guy at the Poseidon table. You will not break them up, or we will come kill you. It took four years to get them together, then Percy went missing, and Annabeth got clinically depressed, then another war, and they're finally happy. If you dare mess up that happiness, we will kill you. End of story."

I saw my family's heads swivel towards me, and I hid my face in my hands. Oh my gods. I don't care that they told everyone that we're dating, but the fact that I got depressed? I really didn't need my Dad knowing that.

I felt a familiar hand grab mine, and pulled me out of the pavilion. Percy. He took me down to the beach, sitting down in the sand.

He grabbed my waist, pulling me close to him.

"They shouldn't have done that."

I nodded, looking down at the sand. He gently pulled my chin up, so I was looking at him.

"Annabeth, you don't need to be embarrassed. When you went missing, I went crazy, and we weren't even together yet."

"I know, I just really didn't want my Dad knowing that."

He sighed, "I understand. Now, dinner's started. How about we get back?"

I nodded, and he led me back into the pavilion. I sat down next to Malcolm, who gave me a sympathetic smile.

Thank the gods for Malcolm. He was my rock for those awful eight months.

Once my food appeared on my plate, I scraped some into the braziers.

For Athena, I thought.

Sitting back down, I dug in, asking for lemonade in my goblet.

Dinner went by in a flash, and Chiron had declared that we'd have free time instead of campfire.

I tried to walk out of the pavilion first, so I wouldn't get caught by my dad. Of course, I failed.

I felt a firm grip on my arm, and I turned to see my father and Karen, standing behind me.

I tried to play innocent, "Yes, Dad?"

His eyes were not amused, but filled with hurt, "We need to talk, Annabeth. Can you take us somewhere private?"

I nodded, and led them up the hill, next to Thalia's pine. I patted Peleus' head and sat down,

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"About what?"

"Why didn't you tell us that Percy went missing? And that you got depressed?"

I sighed, "It was after we had that fight. You wanted me to come home, right after the war."

He nodded, and I continued, "Percy went missing around Christmas. He was gone for eight months. I got depressed. That's it."

"How were you depressed?" Karen asked.

"Ask someone else; it's hard to talk about." With that I spun on my heel, and left for the Athena cabin.

I ran into my cabin, practically jumping onto my bunk. Everyone else was off, enjoying their free time. I took off my jeans and tank top, slipping on some old Soffee shorts, and a T-Shirt. I curled up on my bed, popping my ear buds into my ears, listening to Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment.

About an hour later, the door opened, Lexi, walking in, holding Connor's hand. Connor told her goodnight, and gave her a gentle peck.

I smirked, as she blushed, realizing I was watching. She also changed into pajamas, and climbed up the ladder, onto her bed, which was the bunk above mine.

Little by little, the rest of my cabin trickled in, Malcolm last. He sat down on my bed, pulling my ear buds out.

"Your father wanted to know how depressed you got."

I nodded, "He confronted me. I- I couldn't talk about it, Mal. Did you tell him?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I think he got pretty freaked out."

"Not a surprise. I don't want them here. This is my safe spot, away from them."

Malcolm sighed, "I don't agree with Chiron. I don't think he realizes that this is an emotional safe haven for a lot of us. Bringing some of the people who cause us distress here, wasn't a good idea."

There was a knock on the door that interrupted Malcolm's reply. Bella opened it,

"What?"

I heard a familiar voice on the other end.

"She's in her bed. Be quick."

Percy walked into the cabin, laying down next to me in my bed.

"Hey Wise Girl."

"Hey Seaweed Brain."

"I heard your parents had a talk with you."

I nodded, "Yeah. I think you know what they wanted to talk to me about."

"Yep. I'm sorry."

I cocked an eyebrow, "For what?"

"That you have to deal with this."

I hugged him, "Thanks, I guess. They wanted to know how I was depressed. I couldn't talk about it."

He kissed my forehead, "I know. But I promise you, I'm not leaving. Ever. That's what that ring on your finger's for."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

When he kissed me, my worries went away. Percy was here. That's all that mattered."

My cabin mates had gotten quite good at pretending they were listening to every word we said. I pulled back, and Percy gave me one last smile, as he walked out of our cabin.

Lexi hung off her bunk, her head popping down, "He's so cute with you. I wish Connor would give me a promise ring… My dad and stepmom met him today."

I raised an eyebrow, "What'd they think of him?"

She grinned, "He acted like a perfect gentleman. He didn't even steal my dad's wallet. I was so proud."

I laughed, "How'd you get him to do that?"

"I told him that if he screwed it up, I wouldn't let him, hug, kiss or even talk to me for a week. It worked remarkably well."

My laughter grew, "That's genius Lexi! I'm so using that on Percy!"

She smiled, "You don't have to. Percy will do anything you want. It's like dating a Labrador."

I grinned, "You're right. Percy is a Labrador."

Lexia pulled herself back up, and everyone started their nighttime routine. After a while, I called lights out, pushing a button on the remote control the Hephaestus cabin created, turning off the lights.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.