Summary: The bones made a sick cracking noise as he crumpled to the ground. I rushed forward and ran my fingers through his silky brown fur. Budderball looked up at me with his deep dark eyes. Human eyes.

Clarisse

"I'm not stupid, Wise Girl!" I snapped into my phone.

"I didn't say you were, Clarisse," Annabeth Chase retorted.

We were in a huge fight over if whether Percy Jackson knew if Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner were dating. It was a ridiculous subject, really, since it was obvious that the two were dating, but both of us couldn't let it go.

"They're dating!"

"I know they are!" Annabeth snarled exasperatedly. "Everyone knows they are!"

"Well, someone's boyfriend didn't know that," I shot back.

"Percy's just a little slow," Annabeth replied, defending her boyfriend.

"Yeah, a little," I scoffed.

"So, tell me why we're fighting about this again…"

"I don't know, you tell me, Wise Girl."

As one of my best friends, Annabeth and I got into fights a lot. I prefer my battles with weapons-but where am I gonna get those?-and Annabeth prefers hers won by words.

So it didn't really work out for either of us.

Annabeth is immensely smart. In fact, she's pretty much a nerd−minus the geeky glasses and braces.

"You're the one who brought it up, Clarisse."

"You're the nerd," I replied and hung up.

I jammed my phone into my jeans pocket and clambered home.

As I walked, I wasn't really listening to my surroundings, but the noise I heard was un-ignorable. Pain.

A low yelp sounded, like a big dog getting beat up.

I cautiously walked toward the ferns off to the side of the sidewalk and peered through them.

I rolled my eyes. What was I doing? And so I screamed like a mad man and leapt forward through the plants and looked around wildly.

A wolf was lying on its stomach on a patch of grass. Its dark brown eyes glanced at me as if to say, Don't go around screaming and jumping when it's almost dark, you idiot.

Narrowing my eyes, I shot back, Don't give me that look, puffball.

Budderball whined pathetically, churning his paws in the air. At least I think it was a boy wolf. I don't plan on checking anytime soon. Well, it's a boy from now on.

I sighed. "Oh, you pathetic little thing."

The wolf glared at me. Shut up, you fucking bitch.

"All right, Budderball, keep your tail over your ass so I don't have to touch your butt, okay?" I told him, walking forward.

Budderball snarled at me and started twitching uncontrollably. He stood up shakily, his legs jerking.

The bones made a sick cracking noise as he crumpled to the ground.

I rushed forward and ran my fingers through his silky brown fur.

Budderball looked up at me with his deep dark eyes.

Human eyes.