Hey! Sorry, I skipped over Clarrisse. I know, I know, but I couldn't think of anything, and didn't want to leave you guys hanging! I'll get back to her, I swear. But now, Matt! The school bully that tormented Tyson! Awww... He must go down... With this in mind, he does survive the encouter, unfortunately. I had a version where he ended up in the hospital, but I couldn't get Percy in any more trouble! Anyway, I hope you like it! R&R.

I was wandering the streets of Manhattan, and I passed Central Park. There was a guy there with a poodle. A poodle! Real macho, man. I went over to talk to that guy and tell him just how lame he was. He had messy black hair and green eyes, with a strong, athletic figure. Not like he worked out, just that he was active. His tan skin was disrupted by small spouts of acne on his face. He was beaming and laughing, like he was having the time of his life.

Or the time of their lives.

Because, about three feet away, with a cocky grin plastered on my face, I saw her. Beautiful curly blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, sparkling silver stormy eyes gleaming, light pink dancing on her cheeks, and plush lips stretched into a loving smile. Her tan, strong figure was leaning casually against one of the trees.

I recognized her, all right. She was the girl from that picture I stole from Jackson way back in seventh grade. I had found her stunning, and was shocked that she wasted her time on that loser. Anyway, I would've convinced myself it was a dream because there was no way Jackson could get a girl like that, but she left an, uh, impression on me that made it difficult to forget.

As I watched the guy clumsily play with this (snicker) poodle, she laughed at his crazy antics, a light melodic sound that was infectious. However, I didn't catch it, because I never do. The guy turned toward the girl and kissed her, his hand slipping behind her neck. I waited for her to push the loser away, but she melted into the kiss and pulled herself closer. I watched them for a second, and almost pushed them apart just because it was weird that a loser that played with poodles could get a smokin' chick like her, but I didn't have to because at that moment the poodle rammed into them and they fell down laughing. How a poodle could have that much force, I'll never know. The guy must've really been a weakling, and the girl was probably just humoring him so she could suck him of money, and then dump his sorry butt. Yeah, that makes sense.

Then the guy looked up at me, "Uh… hi?" The chick followed the guy's lead, looking up at me before the pair scrambled up and stood there awkwardly staring at me.

It was definitely the girl. So, that guy… He looked a little bit like… No way, he actually got her? I sneered in recognition, "No way. I thought I ditched you years ago, Jackson."

He stared at me for a moment, and the girl looked between the two of us and looked like she was thinking hard; probably trying to figure out a quicker way to dump the loser so she could hang with yours truly. Girls pretty much fell all over me. Or, they would if they weren't too nervous to approach.

"Uh… Sorry, I don't-"

"Percy," The girl insisted in attention, "Seventh grade, right? The one that was so mean to Tyson?"

His muscles flexed, and his eyes flashed in anger. For a second he looked almost… scary? No, no one scared me. I couldn't be scared.

"Sloan." He whipped the name with such uncloaked apparent loathing and ice; it chilled the marrow in my bones. Maybe I couldn't be scared, but terrified wasn't out of the question.

"So, what? You have to bribe a girl to get a date? Lame!" I jeered, trying to gain the upper hand.

This time, the chick's eyes flashed with anger, "I'll let you know that Percy is-"

"Annabeth," Jackson tried to calm his little girlfriend with a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay," he glared at me, "Not worth it, anyway."

The chick, Annabeth, I guess, lunged but stopped in her tracks, "Don't make me punch you again. And this time, you'll be out cold." She then retreated with a vile look on her face, like she wanted to slash me to pieces.

I tried to brush it off, "Whatever. Who was that freak you used to hang with, Jackson? Trevor, Travis..."

Now that precious little Annabeth was out of danger, Jackson's breathing got rough and raged, and his eyes filled with a rage I'd never seen before. "Tyson. Is. And. Was. A. Million. Times. The. Person. You. Pretend. To. Be." He fought to control his anger, but it didn't really seem to be working, and I slinked away in utter fear. "You're lucky I didn't kill you then, but you're sure as Hades not gonna be so lucky now." He took a step toward me, but the chick pulled him back.

"Percy! Remember what Chiron said," she chided lightly, "And remember what you said. Besides, he has no idea what you've been through. What Tyson's been through. What we've been through."

Jackson backed up, but I felt a new wave of confidence come upon me. "You still hanging with that freak, Jackson?"

Before I knew what was happening, he was on me. "Tyson is not a freak." I gasped for air, struggling against his vise-like grip on my neck. "He never was and he never will be." Things were starting to look fuzzy now, and I was getting dizzy. Black spots clouded my vision.

"Percy!" I heard Annabeth cry, but it sounded far away, "What are you doing? You know you can't do that! Get off of him- save your fighting for monsters!"

Then, my lungs ached with a quick onset on sudden available air and I saw Annabeth holding Percy a few feet away, with a murderous look in his eyes, and his breathing hard and angry.

I gasped for more oxygen, and finally regain my composure just in time to hear,

"He is a monster."

Why does everyone judge the bully so harshly?

Me again! If you liked this, check out my other stories! Such as Life in California, featuring Annabeth's life in Cali! Okay, not the best title. But still. Or one of my mulitiple one-shots: Maybe (Jasiper!), Never Assume (Percabeth!), Gris (Percabeth with Jasiper hints)! Or my cross-over with the Kane Chronicles- Unlikely Help! And if your following bookluva98's Not Just Words Challenge, check out my response to the prompts! And, there's my most popular story...

Son of Neptune Rewrite!

Okay, everyone does that. But mine has a twist to it...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. And, please Review. Reviews for all my stories have gone down drastically, and I'm wondering if I did something wrong. Feedback, please! R&R.

Peace, Love, & Life

PLKBerry