Chapter 1

Percy's POV

Hi. My name is Percy Jackson. And up until a week ago I had a life . . . a life to escape what nightmare I have to face at home. See, a week ago I was a college student at the University of California – Berkley. I purposefully chose a school far from home so I can finally have peace.

Moving back home sucked. Everything about this city reminded me of why the hell I'd wanted to get away. I had a life in California. Here in New York City I was Percy Jackson. No matter where I went people knew me. Sounds weird, right? I mean, why the hell would people in New York know me? But they know my family . . . especially my dad. And now, they're talking about us. Which is why I had to come home. Leaving my sister, Tanya, and my mother, Sally, here alone to face this was impossible. The scandal hovering over our heads took away all my choices and freedom.

For now, only a few people know, but soon the entire city of New York would know what my dad was doing or more appropriately . . . who my dad was doing. King of the marine biological world had been a high enough title for some little gold digging whore to jump in bed with my dear old dad. The first time I'd seen the gold digger working as my dad's secretary I knew something wasn't right. She was young and smoking hot and apparently money hungry.

The old son of a bitch couldn't keep it in his pants and now my mom and sister would have to deal with the drama it would cause. This was already devastating to my mother. My younger sister Tanya had caught them going at it one evening when she was bringing dad some dinner. She'd called me that night crying hysterically. I'd withdrawn from school immediately, packed my things and headed home. My family needed me.

A knock on the door knocked me out of my thoughts and I went to see what chick was here looking for Luke this time. God knew the guy had an endless line of females parading through his life. My new roommate here in NYU is a player. A major player. I twisted the knob and swung the door open without peeking through the hole.

The surprise was on me. I'd been prepared to tell whatever tall, willowy large but obviously fake chested female dressed in almost nothing waiting outside the door that Luke was busy with another very similar to her. Except a very natural almost curvy blonde stood before me. Red rimmed eyes and a tear streaked face gazed up at me. There were no mascara lines running down her face. Her hair wasn't styled but pulled back in a pony tail. She wore jeans and what appeared to be an authentic Back in Black AC/DC concert t-shirt. No belly button flashing a flat tanned stomach and her clothes weren't skin tight. Well maybe the jeans were a little snug but they hugged her hips nicely. My appreciation of her legs stopped however when I noticed the small beat up suitcase clutched tightly in her hand.

"Is Luke here?" Her voice sounded broken and musical at the same time.

I was having a hard time digesting that this girl was here for Luke. She wasn't anything like he veered toward. Nothing was enhanced. Everything from her thick blonde curly hair to the Chuck Taylors on her feet screamed, "not Luke's type." And the fact she was carrying a suitcase, well that couldn't be good.

"Uh, um, no." I stammered.

Her shoulders slumped and another sob escaped her mouth. One small dainty hand flew up in an attempt to mute the sound of her obvious distress. Her nails were even classy. Not too long with a smooth rounded tip and soft pink nail polish.

"I left my cell phone," she let out a sigh then continued, "at my stepmom's. I need to call him. Can I come in?"

Luke was out with a swimsuit model that apparently had a thing for college baseball players. I knew from the way he talked he didn't intend to come up for air much tonight. He'd never answer her call and I hated to see her get more upset that she already was. A horrible thought crossed my mind, surely he hadn't gotten this girl pregnant. Couldn't he see how freaking innocent she was.

"Uh, yeah but I don't know if he'll answer. He's busy . . . tonight."

She shot me a sour smile and nodded stepping around me, "I know the kind of busy he is but he'll talk to me."

She sounded rather confident. I wasn't feeling her confidence myself.

"Do you have a cell I can use?" she asked me.

I reached into the pocket of my jeans and handed it to her unable to argue further. She had stopped crying and I wanted to keep it that way.

"Thanks, I'll try calling first." Pretty blonde said.

I watched as she walked over to the sofa and dropped her suitcase to the floor with a thunk before sinking dejectedly down onto the worn cushions as if she's been here a hundred times. Being as I'd only been moved in for two days, I wouldn't know if she had been here before or not.

"It's me. I left my phone when I ran. You're not here but your new roommate let me in. Call me," she sniffed then hung up. I watched fascinated as she proceeded to text him. She really believed the male whore I lived with was going to call her right up as soon as he got her message. I was intrigued and growing more concerned by the minute.

She finished and handed the phone back to me. She smiled at me and two dimples appeared in her cheeks. Damn that was cute.

"Thanks. Do you mind if I wait a little bit until he calls back?"

I shook my head, "No, not at all. You want a drink?"

She nodded and stood up, "Yes, but I'll get it. My drinks are in the bottom drawer of the fridge behind the Bud Lights."

I frowned and followed her into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and bent down to get her hidden drink.

"Ah, here it is. Luke needs to run to the store and restock. He must be letting his one nighters drink my Bubble Up"

I couldn't keep guessing. I needed to know who she was exactly. Surely she wasn't one of his girlfriends. Could she be the sister? I sure as hell hoped not. I was interested and I hadn't been interested in anyone in awhile. Not since the last girl broke my heart. I opened my mouth to ask her how she knew Luke when the phone in my pocket started ringing. She walked over to me and held out her hand. The girl really believed it was Luke. I glanced down and sure enough, my roommate had called back.

She took the phone from my hand.

"Hey . . . she's such a selfish jerk . . . I can't stay there Luke . . . I didn't mean to leave my phone. I was just upset . . . Yes, your new roommate's a nice guy. He's been very helpful . . . No, don't end your date. Get her out of your system. I'll wait . . . I promise not to go back . . . She is who she is Luke . . . I just hate her . . . No, no, really I'm fine. I just needed to see you . . . Don't. I'll leave . . . Luke - . . . No! . . . Luke . . . Okay fine."

She held the phone out to me, "He wants to talk to you."

This conversation was like nothing I'd expected. The girl had to be his sister.

"Hey," I said, not really knowing what to say.

"Listen, I need you to make sure Anne stays there until I can get home. She's upset and I don't want her leaving. Get her one of her damn soda thingys out of the fridge. They're behind the Bud Lights in the bottom drawer. I have to hide them from other chicks I have over. All females tend to like those nasty drinks. Turn on the television, distract her, whatever. I'm only ten minutes away but I'm putting my jeans on as we speak and headed home. Just help get her mind off things but DON'T touch her."

"Ah, okay sure. Is she your sister?"

Luke chuckled into the phone, "Hell no she's not my sister. I'd never buy my damn sister drinks and call her back when I'm in the middle of sex. Anne's the girl I'm gonna marry."

I had no response for that. My eyes found her standing over by the window with her back to me. The long thick blonde locks curled on the ends and brushed against the middle of her back. She was absolutely nothing like the girls Luke regularly hooked up with. What did he mean she was the girl he was going to marry? That made no sense.

"Keep her there man. I'm on my way." Then he hung up the phone.

I dropped the phone on the table and stood there staring at her back. She turned around slowly and studied me a moment then she smiled.

"He told you he was going to marry me, didn't he?" she said laughing softly before taking a drink of her soda. "Crazy boy. I shouldn't have bothered him but he's all I've got."

She walked over and sank back down onto the old faded green sofa. "Don't worry. I'm not leaving. He'd rip apart my stepmom's house searching for me and scare the hell out of her if I left. I've got enough issues where she's concerned. I don't intend to unleash Luke on her."

I slowly made my way over to the only chair in the room and sat down.

"So, you're engaged?" I asked staring down at her bare ring finger.

She shook her head, "Not in a million years. Luke has crazy ideas. Just because he says them doesn't make them true."

She raised her eyebrows and took another drink of her soda.

"So you aren't going to marry Luke," I really would love for her to clarify this because I was incredibly confused and more than a little interested in her.

She bit down on her bottom lip, "Luke was my 'boy next door' growing up. He's my best friend. I love him dearly and he really is all I have. The only person I can count on. We've never actually been in a relationship before because he knows I won't have sex with him and he needs sex. He's also real wrapped up in the whole idea that a relationship between the two of us before we get married will end badly and he'll lose me. He has this irrational fear of losing me."

Did she know the guy had bagged over three different girls this week and apparently was having a threesome when she'd called? She was so much better than Luke.

"Wipe that look off your face. I don't need your pity. I know what Luke is like. I know you have probably seen the kind of girls he's attracted to and I absolutely look nothing like them. I don't live in a fantasy world. I'm very aware," she tilted her head and smiled at me sweetly. "I don't even know your name."

"Percy Jackson"

"Well, Percy Jackson, I'm Annabeth Chase. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise"

"So you're a friend of Nico's"

When Nico di Angelo, a childhood friend, heard I was going back to New York and that I was admitted to NYU, he hooked me this apartment with Luke because I don't want to stay full time at my so called home.

I nodded, "Yes but don't hold it against me."

She laughed for the first time and a sudden pleasure from such a simple sound startled me. I liked hearing her laugh.

"I won't. Nico isn't all that bad. He likes to use those pretty boy looks of his to get his way but I'm safe from his attention. Luke would kill him if he decided to bat his eyes at me."

Was it of Nico's womanizing or the fact that he was a guy made Luke protective of Annabeth?

"ANNE!" Luke's voice rang out as the door to the apartment swung open. His head snapped around and his eyes went straight to Annabeth.

"God baby I was so afraid you'd leave, come here." This was a side of Luke I'd never seen. Apparently the sweet little blonde got to him in a way no one else could. He pulled her up into his arms, reached down and grabbed he forgotten suitcase then led her back to his bedroom whispering to her the entire way. If she hadn't informed me that she refused to have sex with him earlier I'd have been eat up with righteous fury at the idea of him touching someone so sweet. But instead, I was eaten up with envy because I knew he was going to get to hold her and listen to her musical voice as she spilled out all her problems. He'd be the one to fix them, not me. I'd just met her. Why the hell did that bother me?