Annabeth's p.o.v.
"Don't look now," Piper says. "But here comes a traitor." I whip my head around, and Luke Castellen, Ethan Nakamura, and Kelli I-don't-care-about-her-enough-to-know-her-surname are standing behind me.
"Hey Annie," Luke smirks. "I heard you got in trouble. For sneaking out. With Jackson."
"And?" I ask. "This is your buisness how?"
"Well," Luke looks over an Ethan in a pitying way. "You haven't heard?"
"Heard what jerk?" Katie asks, a disgusted look on her face.
"Well," Kelli looks sad. "Percy was, well, making fun of you, Annie. Calling you stupid and reckless for getting caught. He said the only reason he hangs out with you is because he feels bad. He said he'd never associate with anyone as ugly as you otherwise."
"You know," Hazel rolls her eyes. "Lying is a sin. Although, you probably want to go home to the pit of hell you crawled out of, Kelli." Clarisse snorts into her glass of water.
"Remind me to write that down, Levesque," she says, still chortling. Even Reyna cracks a smile.
"Oh," Luke laughs sadly. "She's not lying. We heard it ourselves."
"That's funny," says the voice of Jason Grace. "Because I didn't." He's standing behind Luke, taller than him by at least three inches. Suddenly, Percy is there too.
"And what's even funnier," the black haired boy rolls his eyes, smiling. "Neither did I."
"He's obviously just trying to cover for himself," Ethan says in a desprate attempt to regain the edge.
"Poor Ethan," I laugh. "At least you'll get to be with your girlfriend in the afterlife."
"Whatever," Kelli scoffs. "At least I don't sneak out at midnight to see my boyfriend."
"That's likely," I glare at her. "And he's not my boyfriend," I add, looking at Percy as what Kelli said sank in.
"She's right," Percy says. "I'm not her boyfriend." I can't read his expression. The only word I can think of to describe it is 'blank.'
Percy turns on Luke, his expression transforming from blank to dark. "You should really go," he says.
"I don't think I will," Luke shoots back.
I stand, my own expression turning furious. "Go away," I tell him. "Now."
Luke gives me a condesending look. "Now now Annie-"
"Don't call me that," I say, nearly ready to punch him. Even so, he's still good looking.
It infuriates me.
~~~~~
Luke and I used to be best friends. He was sitting in the backseat of the car Thalia hopped in after finding me. She had seated me next to Luke, then sat in the front seat next to her older foster sister Zoe. Luke was her foster sibling at the time as well, and they were driving through New York in a huge black pickup truck.
The mystery boy had looked at me and said "Hi, I'm Luke. What's your name?"
"I'm Annabeth," I faltered, a bit nervous.
"I've never heard that name before," Luke had smiled. "I like it. Well, I already told you my name. I'm sure she already told you, but that's my sister Thalia," he pointed to the girl in all black, "and that's my other sister, Zoe," he pointed to the driver. "Technically, they're not my sisters, but we're close enough to each other to consider them my siblings. We're all foster kids. I like your hair. And your backpack. Is that a hammer? Do you want to be my best friend?"
I remember being flustered, but I smiled and said "Yes! I don't have many friends. Actually, I don't have any friends. I think you're a good friend. I like your smile."
He laughed and scooted closer to me. And we were best friends. We did everything together. He was a year older, so he guided me through all things school related, because he had already done it. He held my hand on all of the big rides at amusement parks, because he had already done them. He convinced me to join a Learn to Skate program, because he had already passed it.
In middle school, when I was in seventh grade and he was in eighth, I realized that I had a crush on him. At first I ignored it, but then it became more intense, creeping into my dreams nightly. By eighth grade I was able to work up the courage to tell him. We rode the same bus, so even though he went to the high school and me the middle, we rode to and from school together.
One day I was sitting there, on the bus, and Luke took his usual seat, right next to mine.
I took a deap breath. "Luke?"
"Yeah?" he smiled down at me, and I resented the fact that he was so much taller than me.
"I- I have something to tell you."
He nods, telling me to go on.
"I think... I think I like you." I had screwed my eyes shut, waiting to be laughed at. But the laughter didn't come. I opened my eyes tentativley. Luke looked a little shocked, but not like he was going to make fun of me.
"I- wow. Wow."
"I knew it," I groaned. "You think of me as a sister. It's fine-"
"No," Luke interrupted me. "I think I might like you too."
"Really?" I hoped I didn't sound as shocked as I felt.
"Really," he said, laughing. "Annie, do you want to be my girlfriend?"
I laughed, so relieved I hadn't scared away my closest friend. "Yeah, I'd like that." I had leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder, still laughing. "I'd like that," I repeated, much quieter this time.
~~~~~
"Fine," a deeper voice, yet still Luke's drew me out of my reveries. "Would you rather I call you Annabeth?"
"I'd like that," I whisper, whithout thinking. His expression changes from resentful to surprised. His beautiful blue eyes shocked. I clap my hand over my mouth.
"Annabeth, I-" but I didn't let him finish. I turned, and ran from the cafeteria.
Do I still love Luke?
Percy's p.o.v.
Luke went to run after Annabeth, but I stopped him. "I think you've done enough," I growl. Then, I chase after her myself. She manages to dodge me by slipping into the girls bathroom. I can hear her slam a stall door, and then... sobs? I don't know if I believe my ears. Annabeth doesn't seem like a crier.
"Annabeth?" I call.
"Go away Luke!" her muffled voice reahes me through the door.
"It's Percy, actually."
"Oh," I hear her open the stall, and then she's standing in front of me. "What are you doing here?"
"I just... you seemed upset." I scratch the back of my neck.
"Well, I'm not."
"Okay-"
"Come with me," she says, her cheeks still wet. She grabs my wrist and pulls me down the hall. We end up in a deserted hall, and she pulls me into the same room we compared necklaces, just a week ago. It seems like a lot longer. She sits in a chair, and strts crying again.
I stand next to her awkwardly.
"Sit down stupid," she looks up at me, her eyes bloodshot and puffy.
"Not gonna lie," I tell her, sitting down, "you've looked better."
She glares at me.
"Joking," I throw my hands in the air in surrender. "Kind of," I whisper once she turns her attention elsewhere.
"I heard that," she grumbles.
"Well, what's wrong?" I ask. I have such way with words, don't I?
"It's Luke!" she says miserably.
"He's not worth your time," I tell her.
"But Percy, I... I think he is" she looks up at me, almost nervously. "I think I miss him. He was my best friend. He was my best friend for so, so many years."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. It's not like I didn't know they dated, they were the Goode high 'it' couple for my freshman and sophmore years. And then, when break was over this fall, they were too. And no one knew why. But I had never paid attention to that stuff. I mean, if I had, I probably would have recognized Annabeth that day I saw her leaving the ice rink with her brothers.
"Oh," is all I can say. There's me being wordsmith again.
"It's fine," Annabeth sighs. "You don't understand."
"Then help me to!"
"Percy, what if I still like him?" she looks terrified at the tought. And I suddenly can't speak again.
"I'm scared," she says. "I'm scared that he doesn't care about me anymore. And the fact that I'm scared of that scares me. And I'm sure I'm just confusing you, so I should probably just go." We both stand at the same time, and I find my voice again.
"Don't go," I say. "So what? If he doesn't still care about you, he doesn't deserve you. That's just what I think. Because Annabeth, you're smart, and talented, and nice, and funny, and pretty, and snarky and popular, and cool, and if he doesn't see that, the joke's on him. Because you are an amazing person, one of the best I know. If you still love Luke, than he should be grateful. Because you are ten times better than him. And I just think you should know that."
Annabeth just looks at me when I finish talking, her mouth slightly agape.
"Percy," she smiles disbelievingly. "Are you being serious?"
I nod firmly. She laughs again.
"You're pretty amazing yourself," she grins at me, and I smirk back.
"Come on, Wisegirl," I elbow her. "We're gonna be late for class."
Luke's p.o.v.
"I'd like that," Annabeth says to me. The words seem to slap me in the face. I barely register Annabeth clap her hand over her mouth and turn, then I'm running after her. But a hand on my shoulder stops me.
Then Percy's voice says "I think you've done enough."
He follows her, and I feel sick. What have I done? If I truly loved Annabeth, I would want her to be happy, and she's happier when I'm not there. That's pretty painful to realize, but It's true. All I do these days is torment her. Her and Percy. But if she falls in love with him, and I know that she's leaning towards that, I'll never have a chance with her again.
And she hates me for being awful to Percy, but all I want is for him to stay way from Annabeth. I try to justify it in my mind, but in truth I'm a jealous brat. What's wrong with me? Why can't I just be nice to her? To everyone? Why did I have to diss her friends in the first place?
We could still be together. If Ethan hadn't been making fun of her friends one day this summer. And with that, I sank into memories.
~~~~~
Ethan was at my house. I knew Annabeth was coming over that night. I never should have joined in.
"Gods, Luke," Ethan groaned. "Your girl is pretty, but her friends are absolutely the worst. That McLean chick? Too rich and stuck up for her own good," he switched his voice up an octave. "'I'm rich and pretty! That means I own the world!' ugh. And that Dare girl. She's rich too. And thinks she's 'all that' just cause she can draw. Oh! And those two that think they're so tough? Reyna and Clarisse? I bet I could beat them up with my hands tied behind my back. They're girls, after all. Which ones do you hate, Luke?"
I didn't hear the door open over Ethan's ranting.
"I-" I was about to say 'I don't hate any of them,' but Ethan was my closest friend, other than Annabeth, of course, and I couldn't risk loosing him.
"Katie Gardener," I say. "She's too peppy for her own good. She's so annoying, I might actually slap her sometime." Ethan grins, egging me on. "And you're totally right about Reyna and Clarisse. A girl could never beat me in hand to hand. I bet they're absolute wussies."
"You wanna repeat that?" a furious voice says from behind me. I turn hurriedly.
"Annabeth, I-"
"No, Luke, I don't want to hear it. We're done," she turned to leave.
"Annie, wait!" She whipped back around, and slapped my face.
"Don't call me Annie," she growled, and she slammed the door.
~~~~~
Suddenly, I seem to wake up. Annabeth's friends are looking at me like I was a mass murderer. I felt like one, I was so sick. I turned, and ran out of the cafeteria, knowing I was about to puke.
I vaguely registered Annabeth and Percy running down a deserted hallway, her hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him behind her.
I push open the bathroom door, then the stall door, and start vomiting into tho toilet.
Puke, Luke, I think drowsily. That rhymes. Ha. Then I barf into the toilet once more.
Guys, I just want to apologize for pretty much forgetting about this story. To make it up to you, this chapter is almost twice as long as the next longest one! 2074 words, to be exact! Anyway, sorry again!
~Clarisse