A/N: Hi, guys? Surprised for the fast update? Me, too. I guess I'm just as curious as you to find out what's going on. Besides, I have some free time on my hands so I was able write this faster.

RachelChaseJackson: Uh . . . I don't honestly know. I just started writing and before I knew it I had finished those chapters. I don't know if this will help you but find something - a song, a movie - that is related to what you're writing. That's what I do when I'm having writer's block.

As per ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted's suggestion, I'm changing the rating to M. Just to be safe.

One question: What do you think of that scene with Percy and Mrs. Woods? Too much? Too less? I received a request that I should write such scenes in details. What do you think? Let me know!

And because I'm a silly guy on a quest to reach 1000+ reviews for this story, no updates until reviews reach 40! Ha! *grins evilly*

DEMONS

Chapter 2: I Know What You Did Last Summer

ANNABETH

"Thalia, please, just text my Dad and tell him I'm with you," I pleaded on the phone.

"No way, Annabeth," she declined from the other line. "I'm not gonna lie to your Dad. No. Forget it."

I sighed. "Look, I don't really wanna do this but remember last summer? When you went to California with Zoe and Phoebe? I told Beryl you were staying at my house. She found out that you weren't and didn't talk to me for weeks."

Thalia groaned. "You play dirty, Annie." I didn't respond. "Fine. Fine. I'll text your Dad but you'd better tell me everything on Monday."

"We'll see," I said, ending the call.

I was waiting in front of Percy's house. After my failed attempt to ambush him at school, I decided to go here instead. I knew he was still there; his car was there so either he walked home or took the bus, he hadn't left the school premises when I did.

I don't know why I was even doing what I was doing. We weren't friends; we hadn't talked for thirteen years so why was I so worried about what's going on with him? Was it simple curiosity?

The sky was a sea of dark clouds and the air was wet. It could rain any minute. I was making a mental note that I should leave before Percy arrived when a memory pushed into my mind: two children, a boy and a girl, playing in a tree house; same pair of children around the house and were having a good time.

The quiet hum of a car's machine made me look up. Percy parked his car at the side of the street and got out. I stood up and dusted my jeans. He hadn't noticed me yet. He had two grocery bags on an arm and was jangling his car key with his free hand.

He looked up and frowned at me. "What, are you stalking me now?" he asked in a very unwelcoming voice.

I swallowed the unfriendly response in my mouth. "I just want to talk to you."

"Was I not clear this morning when I told you I don't need to give you an explanation?"

I was starting to lose my patience. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked defiantly at him. "Well, I do apologize for being concerned."

Percy just looked at me. He shook his head and went to unlock his door. He let himself inside. I stood there and waited for him to invite me in. "What, do you really think I will invite you inside my house?" he asked, giving me an extremely cocky smile. "No."

I could feel myself grow red in the face. "Wow," I said. "Thank you so much, Mr. Hostile." I turned around to leave when heavy rain started to pour. I didn't have any rain gear with me. I didn't have any choice, though. I wasn't going to stay here and let Percy humiliate me more. If it's between walking in the rain and spending another minute with him, I'd rather be soaked.

I took a step forward, to get away from his house when his hand on my shoulder stopped me. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"I'm obviously not welcome here so I'm leaving," I snapped at him.

He gave me an unbelieving stare. "If you think I will let you walk in this weather, you're insane."

I seriously wanted to punch his face now. "Well, Percy, I'd rather get pneumonia that let you insult me one more time." I turned around and was about to take another step when he grabbed my arms with both hands. "Let me go, Percy." He tired to drag me inside but I didn't let him. I flailed and kicked his legs but he was stronger than me. "I said let me go!"

I was no lightweight, though, and I didn't stop fighting him. I also knew some self-defense move, thanks to my paranoid father. We wrestled until he slipped and came crashing on the pavement, away from the shelter of his house. He was soaked to the bone in seconds. He looked at me in disbelief, but there was something in his expression that made him look like a child.

I, however, was flustered. "I'm sorry," I said.

I tried to step close to him to help him up but he stopped me. "Don't," he said. He stood up and went back to his house. He looked back at me and raised his eyebrows. "What are you waiting for?"

I sighed and let myself in. His house was huge. Mine could easily fit in here twice. The furniture and appliances looked very expensive and the quality of the materials used to build the foundation were no doubt top of the class. How was a seventeen year-old with no family acquire such belongings?

We were at his living room when he shred his shirt off. I could feel my face getting hot. I wasn't able to really look at him earlier today due to the circumstances. Here in the privacy of his house, I got a good look at him. He wasn't overly ripped but perfectly toned; six pack abs that was glistening with rainwater; a trail of dark hair below his belly button that lead into his jeans looked enticing. I swallowed thickly, feeling urges I wasn't used to before.

I didn't trust myself to keep on looking so I diverted my attention to something else, only said something was far more troubling. The wounds on his torso. There were long lashes on his chest that looked like those were already starting to heal, but there were some that looked fresh. Most disturbing was the one I saw this morning. He had covered it with some gauze but I could see blood soaking through.

"How did you get those wounds?" I asked him in an unsteady voice.

He looked up but didn't say anything. Instead, he unbuttoned his pants and removed it right in front of me. If my face felt hot before, now it felt like I was being baked. He had red boxer briefs on that was tight on him, leaving very little to imagination. I want to say that I was able to look away, but I wasn't. Except for my younger brothers, this was the very first time I saw a teenage guy nearly naked in front me. I knew it was rude but I couldn't tear my gaze away. He just looked . . . inviting: his hair was plastered on his forehead, droplets of water running down on his skin. Not to mention the bulge below his waist . . .

I looked up to his face with difficulty. He was smirking at me, which I found intimidating. "D-don't you have any decency at all?" I asked him.

Instead of answering, he walked towards me. I was caught off guard and started backing away. What was he doing? My back met the wall separating his living room from the hallway. He didn't stop until his face was a few inches away from me face. He looked me in the eyes and I found myself unable to look away. "Why, Annabeth," he asked in a low voice. His breathed fanned across my face and I felt my knees buckle. "Does my being half-naked bother you? You know, a lot of girls would kill just to be in your place."

This remark offended me. I shoved him out of the way and breathed through my mouth, unwilling to breath more of the scent that was distinctly him. "Well I'm sorry, Mr. Jackson, but I'm not them." He shrugged, grabbed a towel and started drying his hair and wiping the rainwater off of his body. I cleared my throat uneasily. "Aren't you going to get dressed?"

"It's my house," he pointed out. "I can walk around naked if I want to."

Please do, a part of me said, a part which I quickly scolded. "In case you haven't noticed, you have a guest so have some decency and put some clothes on."

"I do have a guest," he agreed. "A guest I didn't willingly invite into my house."

I started fuming. I seriously wanted to smack that face of his except that I realized he was trying to provoke me to leave. "Don't worry, as soon as the rain stops I'll be out of your hair."

"Good."

I chose not to respond but let my eyes travel to the appearance of his living room. I did get the first impression that everything in his house was of the highest kind, but that wasn't just it: all of which seemed to come from different parts of the world. He obviously wasn't the one who decorated the interior of his house because despite the difference between each piece, everything went perfectly together. I was sure his house would've looked a whole lot more impressive if not for the bags of chips strewn all over the floor, bread crumbs scattered on top of his table and an underwear hanging on the backseat of his couch.

"Cleaners don't get here until tomorrow," he informed me. He was busy towelling his hair dry, his biceps bulging.

I once again felt that burning sensation. For some reason, I felt myself go thirsty. "Can I at least have a glass of water?" I asked.

"Help yourself," he said.

"I don't know where the kitchen is," I informed him.

"Last door to your right," he said.

I nodded my understanding and went to get my glass of water. By the appearance of his kitchen - which looked like it hadn't been used - it was pretty clear that Percy didn't eat at his house very often. I grabbed a glass from his cupboard and opened his refrigerator. I took out a pitcher of water and poured myself a glassful. When done, I put it back in and closed it shut. I was about to turn and go back to his living room when a piece of paper on the tabletop made me stop. It was beneath a bottle of medication that looked to me like they were painkillers. Written in what undeniably was Percy's scrawl were a list of names.

Miranda Woods

Eloise Canterbury

Jennifer Mills

Katrina Myer

Octavia Griffin

Rebecca Adams

Reyna Arellano

I stopped short. I recognized most of the names on the list. Miranda Woods was undoubtedly Mrs. Woods, our history teacher; Eloise Canterbury was a known socialite, married to the wealthiest man in New York; Jennifer Mills was the wife of our mayor. Of the names listed on the list one was completely foreign to me: Reyna Arellano, which had an asterisk after it. Who was she? And most of all, who were all these people and why were they listed on a piece of paper?

Something else caught my eyes. The bottle of medicines which I first thought were painkillers weren't as normal as Tylenol. I didn't need a super brain to guess what it was - bright blue pills the size of a penny. Didn't I see these on the news? Authorities had warned the public about a new type of illegal drug that was circling the city. What was it called again?

"That's Vertigo," a voice behind me said. I turned around and dropped the bottle. It landed on the floor with a thud, the cap flying off and small blue pills rolling everywhere. "Surely that's what you were thinking."

"I-I" I couldn't form any response, then I realized that I should be mad at him for taking these drugs and ruining his life. "Why are you using these?" I demanded.

He smirked. "Whatever it is that I do to ruin my life is no concern of yours."

"It is!" I insisted. "It is my concern because you're my - "

"I'm your what?" he asked, cutting me off. "Please don't tell me you were about to say friend because I never pegged you for someone who make jokes."

I wasn't able to answer right away because what he was saying was true. I really was about to call him my friend until I realized I couldn't label him that way. But I couldn't just push aside the memories of the boy who gave me his share of raspberry ice cream so I would stop crying because I got lost in the mall.

"Percy," I said in a small voice. "I know that it's been tough on you after everything that happened, but this isn't the answer. Destroying your life won't make it any better. This isn't who you are!"

His eyes flashed dangerously. "And what makes you such an expert on who I am?"

"Because we used to be friends!" I answered hotly. "Don't you remember how we met? I got lost in the mall and you and your Mom found me. You didn't even know me then but you gave me your ice cream so I would stop crying. What about the times when we had sleepovers and I couldn't sleep because of nightmares? You would sneak out of your room and sleep beside me. Tell me those things don't mean anything to you," I said.

"They don't," he answered too quickly. "The boy you were friends with died when he was four; I am not him."

"And because you have lost a lot of things, you think you can do this? Drugs? And not to mention the rumors that have been going around - "

"That I'm fucking our History teacher?" he nearly yelled, his sea green eyes cold with fury. "Let me confirm that to you, then. Yes, I'm having sex with a forty year-old married woman. Do you want to hear the dirty details? How I pushed her against the wall and drove into her? How I made her scream when she finishes? Come to think of it, I think she rode me once while I was sitting on your chair - "

"Stop!" I yelled. "Why are you doing this? Do you really enjoy having an affair with an older woman? You're underage; for all we know she could be manipulating you."

He smirked. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I'm just a horny teenager?"

"But why her?" I challenged. "You can easily have anyone. You don't have to destroy a family so you can be satisfied. Why -"

"Why not you?" he asked, taking a step towards me and wearing that freaking lopsided grin. "Let me ask you Annabeth, will you be able to handle me? Will you be able to satisfy my sexual appetite? When I tell you to hurt me, whip me or claw me, will you manage to do that? Because if you can't then I'm passing on the offer."

I wasn't able to answer right away. I didn't even acknowledge the fact that he said I was offering to be his sexual slave. I was too stunned at the fact that those wounds were inflicted on him because he wanted to. I knew about masochists but when Percy said that part, I swear I saw his hands shaking and his right eye twitching.

"That's not it," I said when I was finally able to regain my speech. "I don't think that you like being hurt. There is something else, something that you're not telling me."

Percy bit his lip in anger. "Then just accept the fact that I'm not telling that to you for a reason."

I threw my hands in frustration. "Why won't let me be a friend to you? Why is it so easy for you to throw that away?"

His eyes hardened. "I'm sorry, Annabeth Chase but my father is dead, like my mother and I was transferred from foster home to foster home for years, not to mention the older brother I have to look after so I'm sorry if I didn't have the time to make friends." He took a step towards me. "Why is it so important for you to know, anyway?"

"Because if what you're saying is true and the boy I was friends with is already dead, then I'd rather get to know this guy I'm talking to."

He shook his head. "You don't want to know me; you just want to divert you attention from your issues at home." I stopped short and he smirked in satisfaction. "What, you think I don't know about you? A father who only notices you when you make mistakes and overlooks all your achievements, and an absentee mother who - "

I didn't let him finish. I slapped him, hard enough that my hand stung. I didn't care. I just wanted to let my anger out. He didn't seem surprise, though; in fact he looked satisfied like that's what he wanted. "You push people away because you think it's easier, fine; be the architect of your own destruction. And let me just tell you that if the point of you being nearly naked and all those antagonisms is for me to hate you, then congratulations, Percy: I hate you."

I exited his kitchen and went out of his house, ignoring the fact that the rain was still pouring. The cold rain was not enough to dampen my anger on Percy. I came to offer friendship and give him someone to lean to but all he did were seduce me and humiliate me. Before I knew it, angry tears were running down my cheeks. I wiped them away in frustration, only to be replaced by a new batch.

Things that I confirmed on my visit: Percy was having an affair with Mrs. Woods; he was using drugs; he was on his way to self-destruction; lastly, he was a humongous, super-massive asshole.

An annoyingly attractive asshole.

When I looked up, I was already standing in front of my house, completely drenched to the bone. I debated whether I should get inside or go to Thalia's instead. I decided to go inside. If I went to Thalia's house, I might end up spilling the beans and I wasn't sure what to do with the information.

Dad was in the kitchen, sorting papers from his work. He noticed me and removed his eye-glasses. "Didn't Thalia drive you?"

I was still mad so I blurted out the truth. "I wasn't at Thalia's," I told him. He was about to open his mouth to say something but I didn't let him. "Don't be mad at Thalia, she just texted you because I asked her to. Be mad at me and if you're going to yell, you can do so but not right now. You can do it tomorrow. I'm tired and I'm going to bed."

I went up to my room without letting him respond, which would most likely earn me a month's worth of yelling.

I took off my drenched clothes and left them in my bathroom. After drying myself up, I put on dry ones and went to get my backpack. It was a good thing that my bag was waterproof. I removed all of my belongings and hang the thing to dry. Last thing I picked was my phone.

I had a new message. I sighed, sure that it was from Thalia, only to frown when the screen displayed an unregistered number. I accessed the message and stared at my phone for nearly a minute, debating whether I was reading it correctly.

Stay away from Percy or die, it read.

A/N: Curious about what Percy's secret is? Part will be revealed in . . .

[NeXt - Chapter 3: THE WORLD HAS TURNED AND LEFT ME HERE]