Once Upon A Time

Second chapter for this story. I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does.

Enjoy reading! :D

Chapter 2: The New Boy

My schedule for the day goes something like this: Wake up at 7. Cook breakfast and lunch for the family. Walk to school. Come home from school. Do more chores left by the stepmother, also known as the witch. Listen to her rant and wait for her to slap me. Do homework. Sleep.

I know, I know. You must think I'm some kind of loser. I am. The witch doesn't give me any electronics for me to play, she says it's 'for my own good'. If only I got five cents every time someone says that. You won't believe the amount of times I've heard people say that, and believe me, it gets extremely annoying. Anyways the started like every other day by cooking breakfast and lunch. I always leave early for school so I can avoid the witch's scoldings.

I dragged myself to school, my worn out sneakers slapping the pavement as I ran through the busy streets of New York, dodging through cars and people. As I rounded the corner, Goode High School came to view. I slowly came down to a jog as I made my into the big brown building. I quickly walked down the hall, heading in the direction of the library with my head down, when I suddenly collided into something and fell on my butt, with books spilling out of my old backpack. Cursing, I struggled to my feet and looked at what I bumped into. Or who I bumped into. A guy around my age was standing in front of me, offering me his hand. Reluctantly, I grabbed it and pulled myself up, all the while observing the person that stood in front of me. He was obviously new, with a nervous look on his face. He had the perfect body, lean, tan and muscular. He had raven black hair and entrancing sea green eyes that swirled with many emotions at once. Overall, he would definitely fit in with The Populars, yet here he was offering me, the school nerd, a hand. I narrowed my eyes, thinking this was a trick and said curtly, "Thanks but I don't need your help," He looked at me, confused and hurt at the same and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to-" I suddenly felt bad for the rude sentence I said to him and quickly interrupted, "No, no I shouldn't have been so mean to you. I thought it was a trick, especially since you fit right in with The Populars." I said the last part with a snarl. He looked at me, slightly bewildered and repeated, "The Populars? What's that?" I quickly explained to him about how I called the popular people that and he looked at sympathetically, as if he knew they bullied me. Like I'll ever tell him that. Then he said to me, "I'm Percy Jackson. And your name it?" How embarrassing! I forgot to introduce myself! Quickly, I told him my name. Percy asked me if I could show him around the school and after thinking about it, I agreed.

While walking around the school, I soon learned that Percy lived in New York but got kicked out of lots of school by the accidents he caused. Goode was his seventh school! He told me about his old friends and a couple of his favorite things. But then he began asking me questions on my family, and I just turned coldly at him and said through gritted teeth, "They're a good family." He immediately shut up after wards and we wandered around silently, me kicking dirt and him looking around. People began arriving and I dragged him away from the parking lot, where The Populars came in their cars. Percy looked at me confused but I only shook my head, signaling him to not ask. Surprisingly, he got the message well enough and followed me as I lead him into the school and showed him to his locker. Just my luck, it was right beside mine. He flashed me a grin, showing a set of perfect white teeth and said, "Well, well, well, what a coincidence!" I couldn't help but grin back and he smiled even wider. He pulled me into a hug before I knew what was going on and I just stood there in shock. No one had hugged me after my mom died and now here was a new guy that could've been really popular, hugging me. I quickly hugged him back before letting go and inquired why he'd hug me. He replied with a smile and said, "You never seem happy. Everyone deserves a hug when they're sad." I just stood here, trying to process the words of what he just said to me and slowly told him, "I'm the school nerd. I'm a freak. I'm a loser. Why would someone want to hug me, or even want to be my friend?" Percy just looked at me, clearly not happy at what I just said. He replied back, "You shouldn't let others make you feel like that. You're Annabeth. You're smart and pretty. No one should make you feel like a freak or a loser and of course people would want to be your friend! This guy here," he gestured to himself, "would love to be your friend. You're special in your own way Annabeth, people are just so judgmental these days, they just notice everyone's uniqueness. Don't you dare think that Annabeth." Those words he said to me were the kindest words that I heard. I felt strength surging into me and a real smile made it's way up to my face. I haven't felt happy for a long, long time. It was wonderful, until the school bell ruined my happiness. And so my horrible day at school had begun. I had Mr. Blofis, the English teacher for first period with Thalia. As soon as I spotted her, I made my way toward her. She grinned and as I sat she down, she leaned over and whispered to me, "Hey I saw you and that new boy hugging each other. Who is he, your new boyfriend?" I spluttered, "What, no!" Thalia just ginned evilly at me and gave me the I will find out look before turning around and facing the teacher.

~ooOoo~

At lunch, I sat with Thalia and Katie as they complained about school. At least they don't have an abusive stepmother and have to face the slaps and hits by her. Even though those two are my best friends, I never told them about Susan the witch. If Susan ever found out, I'll be beaten bloody. My thoughts were interrupted when a guy plopped down in front of us. I glanced up and couldn't help but break into a grin when I saw who it was. Percy was sitting at our table while all The Populars were gawking and pointing. He just ignored them and began munching on fries that he bought from the cafeteria. On of the girls from the popular group sauntered up to him and began batting her eyes while talking in a flirty voice. "Hey Percy, you don't need to sit with these losers, come sit with us instead." Percy looked up at her and glared, his sea green eyes hardening. "I don't want to sit with you brats. Now leave us alone." he snarled, venom dripping from his voice. The girl (I think her name is Drew or something) looked surprised and completely baffled before remaining her I'm-so-surperior posture and stalked back to The Popular table. Meanwhile, Thalia was staring at Percy with adoration in her eyes. "Thanks, man," she said. Percy then stared at her and said, "You're my cousin Thalia Grace. Didn't you know that?"

How many more surprises were there in store for me today?


When I arrived home, my stepmother walked up to me with a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Annabeth, dear, YOU FORGOT TO WASH THE DISHES!" she roared. "How-"slap "many-" slap "times do I have-" slap "to tell you TO WASH THE FREAKING-" slap "DISHES?!" slap. My arms were red all over by her slaps and the words still rang in my ears. Mumbling, I apologized but before I could go to the kitchen, Susan grabbed me by my arms and kicked me at the knees. I fell to the ground, wheezing. She said, "Look at the clock missy. It's 3:15. You're FIVE minutes late." And right after she finished her sentence, she kicked me in the shins. "Now go do the dishes. And I don't want to hear a peep about this." she ordered. I slowly got up, hobbling towards the kitchen.

While washing the dishes, I thought about why I had to get the worst luck of all people. My body is already bruised and broken, not to mention I'm as skinny as a twig. After finishing the dishes, I got sent to my room. It's not exactly a room though. It's more like a closet. I only had a lamp, a desk and a small bed in there. My dad never cares about me anymore. I'm more like an outcast to the family. No one in this world will give a single thought about me if I disappeared. It hurts and sometimes I wish I was already dead, so I can lay in heaven with the one person that truly cared about me, my mother.

I walked over to my desk and opened one of the drawers. Underneath all the papers, there was a blade. I took it out feeling the smooth cold surface before gritting my teeth and slashing a cut onto my forearm. The ruby red blood trickled out as I gasped in pain and delight. Physical pain always block out the emotional pain. Over the past few years, when I discovered the feeling of cutting myself, I've been doing it so often that my skin is basically filled with scars. I've always wore long sleeves, even in the summer, so others won't notice. Glancing down at my skin, I decided there were enough cuts and instead, I pulled up my grey shirt and brought the silver blade down by my hip. A red droplet appeared, as I closed my eyes, feeling satisfied. I knew it was bad for me but I couldn't stop cutting myself. It's like some people can't stop smoking while others can't stop drinking. I sighed and sat down at my desk, pulling out my homework that was waiting for me to finish.

~ooOoo~

Stumbling into bed at 9, I dreamed about me being stuck in a tower waiting for someone to save me. Suddenly, man wearing silver armor with green linings arrived by the moat that surrounded the tower. He battled the great black serpent that prevented me from getting out of the tower and won. Minutes later, he appeared in the chamber that I was locked in and stared at me, his helmet covering his face. Then everything began turning black but I caught the knight's eye. They were bright green, like the guy that sat with me and my friends at lunch today...

I fell into a deep slumber, still pondering over about what the dream meant...

What do you guys think the dream meant? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Oh, and please help me on my other story, Her True Self. I'm stuck on it, I have no idea how to continue it. :(

Don't forget to R&R!

Peace out! c: