Double Life? Make it Triple

Chapter 6

A/N

Annd...welcome back to the story I never update because of my shitty time management skills! So, for last chapters question, I'm gonna go with naiad, because I love the ocean. Anyway, onwards with the story.

Enjoy!

"Dang, Chase, no bandana?" Jackson asked, leaning back against the wall.

"Me and L-Castellan had a bit of a...disagreement. Now get lost," I snapped back. He pushed off the wall.

"Really? Such a shame. That mean you're available?"

"No," I snapped. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Snarky, huh? Don't worry, sweetheart, you're gonna love me. Everyone does," he said casually.

"You stole something of mine. I'd like it back."

"Ah, yes. The phone. Ickle mistake, Chase. You should label your contacts, though. Never know whose who," he added, tapping his head.

"Shut it. Give me my phone," I ground out.

"You know what could happen if I just-" he plucked the phone out of his back pocket, and held it over the grate.

"You wouldn't dare." He would. It was the most Jackson like thing anyone could do. He raised his eyebrows at me.

"Don't use the word 'dare'."

"What do you want me to do?" I groaned in exasperation.

"I'll think about it. I might just hang on to this for a while."

"Really, Jackson, give it back. This whole smart-ass faade's getting old." He raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe it's not a faade, Chase. Maybe I'm really just an angsty, messed up teenager."

"And maybe you aren't. I think there's more to you, Jackson. I don't know what, though, seeing as you're such a jerk," I added.

"Aw, Chasey! That was almost a compliment," he clutched at his heart. "I'm touched, truly."

"Shut up. Just...give me my phone and get out of my life," I said, putting my hand on my forehead. He raised his eyebrows for the billionth time.

I'm so offended! How could you do this to me?" He asked dramatically, a superior smirk on his face. I lowered my hand, and glared at him.

"Look, Jackson. I'm sick of your freaking tough guy act. Drop it, give me my phone, then leave me the hell alone," I threatened, taking a step closer to him.

"And if I don't?" I c****d back my fist and punched him. He clutched his jaw, looking at me in awe.

"That won't be all you get. And don't raise your eyebrows so much, you'll get wrinkles," I advised dully, before continuing down the street.

"Don't scowl so often, you'll never get a boyfriend like that!" I clenched my fists, and resisted the urge to run back and punch him again.

"If I wanted one, I'd have one," I called back.

"So you are single."

"No crap," I muttered as I turned the corner. Where Luke was waiting, propped against the wall. What the hell did I do to deserve this?

"Hey, Chase, I'm really sorry if I upset you yesterday, or if-" I cut him off. Yes, we are in gangs. But when he's trying to apologize to me, he can still use my real name, can't he?

"Hell no, Castellan. I'm having a crap day, and I never wanted to be a part of your stupid gang in the first place, so guess what? I quit," I spat in his face. He looked shocked. Okay, maybe quitting wasn't exactly my smartest idea, and being numero uno on the Titans hit list wasn't my first priority, but whatever. I was done with gang life.

"You can't quit. Being in a gang isn't something you can just quit, Chase. You've said you'd leave before, but here you are," he replied, his eyes darkening. I arched an eyebrow at him.

"f*****g watch me," I said, and clocked him in the temple for good measure before storming away. Jeez, punching two guys in, what, ten minutes? Both of them from the most powerful gangs in Manhattan, and to make it even better, they were both pretty high-ranking. Well, I assumed Jackson was. No one could be that arrogant and not be in a position of power.

I wasn't sure where I stood with the Titans now. Would Luke think I was just joking (which I sure as hell wasn't), like I'd done a few times before when I got angry, or would he forcibly try to get me back in the gang? Or maybe he'd just think, screw her, and send one of his hitmen after me. I groaned, and kicked a rock.

"My life's messed up," I muttered.

"Yeah, it kinda is." I spun, and saw Zoe Nightshade standing there.

"What the hell do you want?" I mumbled, sitting on a nearby Dumpster. She raised her eyebrows.

"I hear you've quit the Titans." I didn't reply. "There's still room in the Hunters, if you're up for it." I felt my eyes roll skyward. Zoe'd been trying to recruit me for years. I'd shot her down every time. But now...it could offer me a refuge, if you could call it that, from the other gangs I'd pissed off recently. And I didn't really feel the need to date anyone right now.

I finally decided on, "I'll think about it." Zoe seemed satisfied with that, and nodded.

"See ya round, Chase."

"Later, Nightshade." As I was walking home, I pondered on my life as it stood. Not too great. I glanced inside the shops along the side of the street as I walked by them. Nothing interesting. Although I could use something to eat. I ducked into one of the public toilets and faced the mirror. My hair was down and blown across my shoulders. I pulled a stray piece out of my mouth, and examined my face. Slightly red, but I assumed that was the adrenaline from the punching wearing off. I reached into my trusty shoulder bag, and brought out an orange t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Hey, go off at me on how orange and black don't mix well. I don't give a crap. I splashed some water on my face, then tugged my bandanna off. I ran my fingers through my tangled hair, and tie it into a loose bun. Lastly, I put in my brown contacts, and was debating whether to put on my glasses when I heard a banging on the door.

"Yo, open up! I've been waiting nearly ten minutes!" Someone exclaimed from outside. I rolled my eyes, and shoved everything into my bag, before heading out. The angry girl that needed to take a piss gave me a disdainful look, before pushing past me into the loo. I slid on my spare pair of red glasses, and slipped into the nearest café. A bell rang above my head, drawing the attention of the five other customers who were crazy enough to be here at six at night.

"I'll take a chai latte and a scone, please," I told the person behind the counter, and turned to scan the seats. It was reasonably small, so there were only about two tables left. But both tables were right next to...oh crap. I casually strode over to the one closest to the door, silently praying they wouldn't see me. See, my list of enemies is pretty long. And I didn't even know if one of these two liked me or not. But I'm guessing you want the details.

One was Chris, and I didn't know whether Luke had told him about my quitting (I'm assuming he hasn't had time, but you never know), so that could go either way. But numero dos was another story.

Clarisse La Rue and I have history. I wasn't sure if she was in a gang or not, but I had my suspicions. She looked the part, to say the least. Clarisse was buffer than most of the guys in the Titans, and had a cruel sneer permanently etched on her lips. Her eyes were brown and narrow, and she was the classic bully. We've automatically hated each other since we first met, and my theory was that she was in the Half-Bloods, and knew I was pretty high up in the system, but I digress.

I sat down, and reached for my phone, only to find it wasn't there. "Damn Jackson," I muttered. Chris must have really good hearing, because his head turned to me for a second. He took in my hair, my clothes and my glasses and quickly dismissed me, turning back to Clarisse. He could do better, honestly. I breathed out a quiet sigh of relief, and pulled my laptop out of my bag. It was basically my prized possession. An older step-brother of mine had given it to me, just before he'd died of some weird liver disease. I plugged in my earphones, and unzipped them. Piper had bought them for me at a local night market, and they were awesome. Since I broke so many of my old earphones trying to untangle them, she got me ones where you zipped them up, so it was virtually impossible to tangle them. I brought up the browser, and surfed the internet for any gang related activity in the recent news. None. I quickly exited the tab when the waiter brought over my food, and I took a sip of my latte, wondering what to do now. I decided to log onto sss to check my inbox. Generally, it was mostly school announcements. I heard a ding from my earphones, and glanced at the chat that had popped up.

Piper: howre you doing?

Annabeth: I think I'm outta the titans

Piper: you think?

Annabeth: I told luke I quit, so...

Piper: thank freaking gods! about time

Annabeth: I don't know if that's good

Piper: y not?

Annabeth: ...I may have punched luke

Piper: ...ur serious

Annabeth: dead

Piper: maybe the halfbloods'll want u

Annabeth: ha, no. I punched one of their higher ups too

Piper: ...was it Jackson?

Annabeth: maybe

Piper: it was. y'd u do that?

Annabeth: cause hes an asshole?

Piper: right. u wanna stay over 2morro? hang out?

Annabeth: hey, y not. I'm gonna go, cause Clarisse is less than 2ms away from me

Piper: Yeesh. see u 2morro

Annabeth: til then

I put my laptop in my bag, but kept my earphones in. It takes quite a lot of skill to do that, you know. I tried to keep my steps even as I passed their table. But the fates must've thought that I'd already had a s**t day, may as well make it worse. Clarisse turned around at the last minute, and saw the glasses and contacts. She'd always been able to pick me out when I was in disguise, and today was no different. I mean, she'd known me since I was three, so she should know. Unfortunately, that also meant she knew my real name.

"Hey!" She called, standing up. I inwardly groaned. She could easily beat me in a fight, because she was double my size.

"Clarisse. I really don't want to do this now, and you're going to cause a scene-" she cut me off. Rather rudely.

"I don't care. It's our tradition, Annie." I felt my eyes widen. Crap. I was pretty sure Chris didn't know my first name, and if he happened to recognize me now, asking around for an Annie Chase wasn't what I needed.

"Shut up, Clarisse. Not now."

"Why not, Chase? Why not?" I froze, and discreetly flicked my gaze towards Chris. He was staring at me, and I met his eyes. In that moment, I knew he knew. And now I wasn't in the Titans anymore...well, things could turn to hell just like that.

"Chase?" He asked. Clarisse spun on him. "You know her?" He just nodded mutely.

"Clarisse..." I had friends in the Titans, but as soon as they found out I quit, they'd turn their backs faster than I could even think about asking for help.

"Annie Chase..." Chris was muttering, trying to place the name.

"Annabeth," Clarisse corrected absentmindedly.

"Why the hell did you say that?" I demanded. She held up her hands.

"It's your name. Chill."

"No! You don't understand...Ro-Chris. Is she, ah, you know?" He shook his head. "Really? Now that's interesting."

"I'm not what?" By now, the other three people in the café were staring at me intently.

"I'm in a f*****g gang. Happy?" I asked dryly, spreading my arms.

"What, you? No way, Chase-"

"It's true, Clarisse," Chris said quietly. She turned to him.

"And how'd you know that, huh?"

"She's in my gang." Clarisse froze.

"Pardon?"

"I'm in a gang. The Titans," he clarified. What a great chat up line. Hey, I'm in the worst gang in Manhattan! Wanna date? I saw an Asian guy suddenly perk up from the corner of my eye. What was up with him? I raised my eyebrows at him, daring him to say something. And he did.

"You're Chase?" My eyes trailed down to his wrist. Purple. That meant SPQR. Crap.

"Who's asking?"

"Zhang. Third in command of SPQR. I believe that's your equal?"

"Not anymore," I muttered. Chris furrowed his eyebrows.

"What?" He asked.

"I quit the gang." The words hung in the air. Everyone tried to process what I'd just said.

"But...how-you can't quit!" Chris protested.

"That's what Castellan said. Last time I checked, he was face down in an alley somewhere," I said seriously. He nodded.

"Threat processed."

"How far away was that alley?" Zhang asked slowly. I shrugged.

"I dunno. A block away?" He pointed to the door. I swore under my breath. Luke was lurking outside, looking mightily dodgy and suspicious.

"You might wanna hide. s**t's about to get serious."

Crap. I didn't think he'd be conscious for at least another five, ten minutes. I looked helplessly at the others. Chris wouldn't be able to help me as soon as Luke walked through that door. And if he knew the Titans were against me, he knew my real name. Why did I get myself in these situations?

"He knows I'm here. He's just biding his time 'til he comes in and...I don't know what he'll do." That much was the truth. Zhang looked conflicted, then nodded his head firmly.

"Levesque," he said, staring at the counter. A short girl who looked a few years younger than me hopped over the bench. She had chocolate skin, with curly brown ringlets and golden eyes. "You called?"

"Take Chase here out the back door. But you owe us," Zhang directed the last part at me. I swallowed, and nodded stiffly. Owing a gang was not good. But hey, it's pretty mild compared to the other s**t I've got myself into. I mean, let's take a look at where I stand with everyone:

The Titans: Trying to kill me for quitting and beating up their leader

The Half-Bloods: Trying to kill me for beating up one of their high ranking members (I assumed)

SPQR: Indebted because they stopped Luke from killing me on sight

The Hunters: Wanting me to join them, but'll get annoyed if I say no again

The Amazons: The one gang who doesn't give a crap about me. Woo hoo.

As Levesque was hurrying me out the door, I heard Luke enter.

"Where is she?" Of course, everyone knew who he was talking about.

This was where Chris' loyalties would come into play. "Rodriguez?" Luke asked. I bit my lip, and dropped out of the window, but not before I could hear Chris' reply.

"She slipped out the front door when you came in." Oh, thank gods! But I knew that was the last time he'd cover for me. I ran off into the night, but looked back once to see Levesque watching me, a tiny smile on her face.

So there's the long lost ending of chapter six I forgot however long ago I uploaded it. And I'm sorry, but I got these new earphones a while ago and I had to put them in the story because...well, I'm a weirdo. The question of this chapter is...do you have any ideas for the story? Cause if you did then I could update faster...

Seriously though. Who's your Trials of Apollo OTP? Your top two.

Enough of that. 'Til later,

HV