So sorry about the long wait for Chapter One, especially since the first update was only the prologue!

Without further ado, I present to you:

Chapter One:

Confession Session

The horrible thing about demigod dreams is that they are rarely just dreams. Of course, it could just be my paranoia planting false circumstances in my head, I tell myself as I see Rachel Elizabeth Dare kissing Percy Jackson in my dream, but I know with grim certainty that my conscience is showing me a real scene from my best friend's life.

There's something about the image- fake memories have a certain… 'shiny' quality to them. This one… it's as if I'm actually there, watching this.

A stab of jealousy courses through me. It should be me kissing Percy before he rides- or, should I say, flies- into battle on his pure black Pegasus. Not that red headed she- devil.

A sense of betrayal washes over me. I couldn't imagine kissing anyone else before parading onto a battle field. But, that could just be because I'm held back by my unlikely crush on the guy. He doesn't have the same limitations.

He is free to kiss and date who he likes. I have no possession over him at all… I wish.

The other day, when I caught a son of Apollo obviously flirting with me, I couldn't even bring myself to acknowledge him.

Goes to show how far gone I am.

As I lay awake, listening to the sounds of a couple of Apollo and Ares kids playing a very violent game of soccer (I am actually taking an afternoon nap, so everything else was in full swing), I think about Percy. What is he doing right now?

I hadn't seen him in weeks, ever since he had gone to stay at his mum's for the winter break. We spoke every couple of days, but it just wasn't the same.

I missed him dearly. His clumsiness, his lunacy, his twisted sense of humour, his crooked grin that labelled him as a trouble maker… even his impossibly tousled black hair. All of it. It was just… him.

I know that yesterday, he had embarked on a mission to destroy Luke's demon cruise ship The Princess Andromeda with Beckendorf, a burly Hephaestus camper who is the only other demigod at Camp who could keep up with my talk about engineering and architecture. Could sometimes even contribute to the conversation.

No word has been sent about whether the boys failed or succeeded on their deadly mission. I'm hoping for the latter, but you can never know with two powerful, probably very smelly demigods, and a ship full of hungry monsters from the depths of Tartarus…

To kill time, so that I don't drive myself insane with worry, I decide to seek out Silena Beauregard. Her boyfriend is also risking his life on this mission.

Not that Percy's my boyfriend or anything…

I brace myself against the stench of designer perfume and knock on the Aphrodite cabin's hot pink front door.

A boy who is so handsome he's on the verge of beautiful opens the door a tad. He must be new, because I've never seen him around.

It's not like I've had time to focus on who's new and who's not, so wrapped up in planning strategies for the war as I am.

The boy, around my age, give or take a few years, appraises me in silence. When the extended silence becomes awkward, with me just standing there, arms crossing in what I suppose is an intimidating way, the boy clears his throat, opens the door fully and says, "Daughter of Athena, right?"

I crack as grudging smile. "At least you're not all hopelessly ignorant gossips."

The guy doesn't look offended at all. In fact, he laughs. "I didn't say that. You can be gossipy and intelligent at the same time. I actually learn a lot from listening to the camp gossip." We both chuckle a bit, and the ice is broken.

"Do you want to come in? Or would you like me to get someone for you?" the boy asks.

"Um…" I think it would be rude to say, 'I'd love to come in. Just… do you have any spare gas masks lying around?'

So I settle for saying, "Oh, I was just wondering if you could send Silena out?"

The boy seems to hesitate, then he says, "Um, I can ask for you. I'll be right back."

I wait for about two minutes. Finally, the door opens again and the boy comes out with Silena at his heels. She is wearing a hoodie with the hood pulling down, even though it's nearly the middle of summer.

"I'll just leave you two to it," the boy says, then takes his leave.

Too late, I realise I didn't even get his name.

Silena and I walk in silence to the mess hall.

"So, Silena…" I start awkwardly when the silence becomes unbearable. My mind scrabbles desperately for a topic of conversation. I eventually just say, "Your brother's really… nice." Nice going, Annabeth. Real smooth.

"Yeah, Ravin's pretty cool," Silena mumbles dejectedly, slumping down at the Hephaestus table. Her voice is croaky like she's been… Holy Hades, she's been crying.

"Hey," I say in what I hope is a soothing voice. As you might have noticed, the words 'Annabeth Chase' and 'soothing' do not really work well together.

I don't say anything like 'it'll be okay', or 'they'll be back before you know it.'

It is very likely that those words will be chucked back into my face with dire consequences.

Instead, I said, "Percy and Beckendorf are two of the most powerful and resourceful demigods at Camp Half- Blood. They have a bag full of explosives, a decent plan worthy of Athena," Yeah, right. "They're skilled fighters, wise in battle strategies… need I say more? Honestly, if they were listening to this conversation right now, Percy's head would be so big he wouldn't be able to fit it through his cabin door!" I hope my futile attempt at humour has at least slightly lifted Silena's dampened spirits. I glance furtively down at her. She has lifted her head and her sky blue eyes are red rimmed and bloodshot, full of water ready to leak if one wrong word was uttered.

Oh, sweet Athena, guide my tongue…

"Look, Silena," I begin, helplessly. I am running out of strategies to get her to lift her mood. There is only one way. One thing a daughter of the love goddess can't help but grin at- love, of course. "I'm not going to say 'don't worry', because that would just be hypocritical_"

Silena's mouth twitches. I know I have her hooked. "Worried about Percy?" Silena teases half heartedly, making an effort to try and lighten the mood. I don't bother denying it- she is the daughter of the love goddess, and can probably sense my feelings with her love radar or whatever it's called.

All that matters is that she is back in her element. I shrug and state matter of factly, "Does the whole camp enjoy snooping into other people's business?"

Silena giggles and ducks her head in mock shame. "Guilty. It's just what we do."

On impulse, I lean forward and kiss her on the cheek. "I'll tell you a secret, so listen very closely," I whisper in her ear. She subconsciously squirms closer to me so that she won't miss a word I say.

I gulp. Once I say the words on my mind, Silena will constantly be on my back. But she is my friend, and perhaps she can help me through this. "I. Like. Percy." I mutter.

She squeals so loudly that I'm sure the whole camp goes momentarily deaf.

Looking forward to Chapter 2? I really am evil, aren't I? I'll let you in on a sneak peek- the title of the second chapter might be: What Words Cannot Convey.

Thanks for reading!

MashPotatoeSquishBanana