First chapter done, like 20 more to go :P Checked email today to find ten more Fanfic emails for reviews and others :D Luv u guys!

I am number 58 to be completed for Percy Jackson and the Olympians thingy-ma-bob-y, which makes me PROUD!

Haha will begin The Short Immortal Life of Bianca di Angelo after chapter 3, so be ready! I know some of u have been waiting a few weeks :D

Also I am now a beta-reader, so if anyone wants me to beta read their stories, send me a private message! :)

Son of The Sea 100896: two words: hehe! :P. Or is it one word?

SallyJackson85: I try to update every few days, a week at the most, unless I am going on vacation or something and I'm too busy :D

I Save His Butt AGAIN

Percy's school day was, well I can only explain it as one word. "Interesting."

Meriwether College Prep wasn't your average school. Most classes had beanbags instead of chairs, (something I didn't mind much,) and wannabe rockstar-like teachers with various band names on their shirts. They were bands I've never heard of too, ones like The Advil Monkeys, or Armor For Sheep. I didn't even want to know what their songs were called.

Percy's first class was English, where they were currently studying The Lord of the Flies, a book where a bunch of children get stranded on an island and go crazy in the head.

For his final exam, the teachers sent them out into the recess yard for an hour with no supervision, which is not a smart move for a bunch of mentally disabled kids.

There ended up being a full tackle basketball game, two rock fights, and a wedgie competition between the seventh and eighth graders. It was actually a pretty good reenactment of the book, without the whole everyone goes savage and wacko, and a bunch of people die.

A guy with dog-like eyes, and not the cute kind, with shaggy black hair was obviously the main bully, even if he didn't look particularly big or strong. He had a confident aura around him, which I instantly disliked, the Ares Cabin kids. One front tooth as shipped, probably doing something idiotic and stupid.

I didn't pay much attention until the tormentor tried to give a wedgie to someone who was big and strong looking. I froze, even though no one could see me in my invisibility hat, and slowly raised my eyes to the large boy's face.

Instant terror and disgust flew through me, and my hand itched towards the knife on my belt. The thing was probably going to go on a frenzied rampage if the bully even put a finger anywhere near his underwear.

I could tell he was homeless, as most Cyclopes' were, abandoned by their parents as babies and forced to survive on their own, to feel the worst of nature's and human's cruelness, ending up hateful and evil themselves.

The flashback started immediately.

"Is it this way?" pondered Grover at a crossroad. "No I think it's this way. Or is it?"

Thalia and Luke had their arms crossed impatiently, shifting every few seconds. We had been waiting for Grover to make up his mind for about five minutes.

Being seven, I was tired, leaning slightly into Thalia, her inviting warmth soothing against the biting wind.

"Thalia?" I asked, looking up at her tall form. "Where are we going?"

She looked down, her eyes softening. "Somewhere safe, or so Grover says."

Grover was oblivious, playing his reed pipes in some sort of direction song. "Will we still live together?" I asked.

Thalia, lifted me from the ground, putting my on her back. "Sure, kid, of course."

I smiled, her spiky hair prickling my nose.

"I think it's this way!" spoke Grover.

He pointed down the road to a small town where looming, apparently abandoned buildings cast large, dark shadows. The sun was going down beside them, making the shadows longer and more distorted as the day ended.

"Think, or you're sure?" asked Luke crossly.

Grover hesitated. "Sixty-five percent sure."

"Oh, that's reassuring," whispered Luke into Thalia's ear.

She and I giggled softly. Grover appeared not to have heard, or if he did he chose to ignore it.

Grover trotted forward, his confident gait forcing Luke and Thalia to speed up from our leisurely walk. I bounced on Thalia's back, the wind filling my ears with a soft whistle, and blowing the hair from my face.

"Hey, goat boy, wait up!" called Thalia.

Grover turned, a cross look on his face. "I told you not to call me goat boy!"

Thalia laughed. "But it's true! Half-goat," she gestured to his lower half. "Half-boy." She indicated is upper half. "Goat plus boy equals goat boy."

Grover and Luke cracked a smile. I rested my head on Thalia's shoulder, my eyes drooping.

Luke glanced at me, and checked the time on his watch. "It's getting late, we should find a place to crash."

I chimed in with an agreeably, "Mh-hm!"

Thalia lowered me from her back. "You're a big girl, right Annabeth? I bet you couldn't walk the rest of the way."

I straightened up. "Yeah I can! I'm the strongest seven-year-old in the world!"

Her eyes twinkled with laughter, and we strutted down the road, Grover sniffing into various buildings, looking for a safe one.

"This one seems safe," he announced.

It was a regular building, with warped windows and old red bricks.

When Grover tried to push the door open, it fell in, hitting the floor with a thud, and dust flew around us. Our eyes watered and we coughed, waving the dust away from our faces, waiting until it settled.

"I don't think anyone lives here," coughed Luke.

Dust was everywhere, almost an inch thick on the ground, and various furniture covered with white sheets spread throughout the room.

Grover played a wind song on his pipes and a breeze swished through the room, lifting the dust from the floor and sheet covered objects, and whisking it away to some unknown place.

Luke walked over to a sheet, lifting it away to reveal an old-style flower couch, where he plopped onto it, stretching out.

Grover peeked under each one until he found a particularly fancy one, where he immediately started to chew on the armrest. "Oh, a Marcel Breuer! This place has taste!" Then he blissfully chewed it to his hearts content.

Thalia and Luke laughed. "Grover, you're one of a kind," said Luke.

I sat on the floor below the couch, and watched Thalia practice fighting with her spear. "Hey, Luke, come practice with me!" she called over.

Luke pushed himself up from the couch, taking his sword from its sheath and walked towards Thalia. "No electrifying this time!" he said.

"But that takes the fun out of it!" protested Thalia.

"Yeah," said Luke sarcastically. "So much fun to be shocked by a freaky static girl." He waggled his eyebrows at Thalia.

Thalia smiled, flipping her spear into the air lazily. "Fine, fine, no shocking, if you want to play the easy way."

Luke rolled his eyes, glancing at me. "Hey, Annabeth, be on my team. We'll kick Thalia's butt!"

My tiredness forgotten, I jumped up, unsheathing my knife and running to Luke. He ruffled my hair with his hand and looked at Thalia. "Ready, Thalia?"

"Hey, hey, no fair! Two against one! Goat boy, get over here!" said Thalia.

Grover glanced up from his meal of the chair. "But this is a delicacy!"

"Yeah, yeah, you can get back to it later. Come on!"

Grover sighed, giving his chair a reluctant look. "Fine. But only for a little bit." He took out his reed pipes and began to play a song that sounded like the Dora theme song. I didn't like the show, and my dad would have to drag me out of the room while I screamed, "It's right behind you, Dora! Just turn around!"

Then the ground under us began growing grass that tried to wrap around our ankles. I cut mine off while Luke fought off Thalia with his sword. Even just fooling around, they were good. Each move was planned out and executed perfectly. Luke, an amused smile as he blocked strikes from Thalia's spear.

Thalia had lights in her eyes, like mini captured lightning bolts, her electric blue eyes in deep contrast. Her face was a mix of concentration and laughter.

"Retreat!" yelled Luke, dramatically holding his shoulder in pretend pain, where Thalia had poked it with her spear.

We raced away down the hall, the sound of victory cries coming from Thalia and Grover.

"Okay, Annabeth, here's what we're going to do. Hide and wait until they come after us, then surround them." He pointed to a spot well hidden in the darkness, large enough for a seven-year-old to hide without being seen. "When I cry out, that's the signal to attack. They should run by you, and we can beat them."

I nodded enthusiastically, and crouched in the shadowed corner. Luke's footsteps faded down the hall, and everything went silent. Then the sound of pounding feet reached my ears, and Thalia's form thundered past, electric spear in hand. Grover wasn't there, and I presumed he must have been going around a different way. About thirty seconds later, I heard a familiar cry of Luke's voice, and jumped up.

I raced away, silent on my hunt for my friends. But something stopped me in my tracks.

"Annabeth, come home with Daddy." The sound of my father's voice scared me. I had finally found people who accepted me for who I was. I didn't want to go back where people resented me. I crawled forward, knife in hand, and heard a strangled dry coming from a room to the left down the hall." No, Annabeth-

"Quite, hero." A thump echoed from the room, and silence resumed.

I moved forward again, slowly, peeking around the corner to see my friends hanging over a giant pot. Not one of those steamer pots either. It was hot tub size, with green boiling liquid, something that didn't look particularly pleasant to be cooked in.

Thalia was pale and seemed unconscious, while Luke and Grover fought to be free of their binding ropes. The giant figure standing over the pot held a wooden spoon the size of a canoe, stirring casually, while he muttered something under his breath.

I crept into the room sneaking around into the shadows. Then I stepped on a creaky board.

"Who's there!" demanded the Cyclops, spinning around and glancing wildly around the room with his one eye, a hideous color of vomit green, dirt and other unrecognizable things covering his face.

His voice changed. "Annabeth, it's Daddy. Come here now. This isn't funny."

I stayed silent, barely breathing. The Cyclops shrugged and turned back to the pot.

That's when I charged. The Cyclops whipped around, spoon raised, but I was quick. I brought my dagger down deep into his foot, and the Cyclops said a quick, "ouch!" and exploded into golden powder. I lowered my friends' rope, careful not to touch the green liquid. Grover fed Thalia some ambrosia, while Luke walked over to me.

"Nice job, kid."

I was startled back into present time as the bully tried to give a wedgie to the Cyclops.

It panicked, swatting the guy away with a sweep of his arm, tangling him in a child's tire swing.

"You freak! Why don't you go back to your cardboard box!" called the bully.

The Cyclops started crying, sitting on the jungle gym, leaving a butt-shaped mark for future kids to play on for generations.

"Take it back, Sloan!" yelled Percy.

He was defending the monster?

The bully, Sloan, sneered at Percy. "Why do you even bother, Jackson? You might even have friends if you weren't always sticking up for that freak!"

Percy's face turned red and I suppressed an urge to punch Sloan in the face. Even if Percy was protecting a monster, I was his friend, and I did not like someone who bullied my friends.

"He's not a freak," protested Percy. "He's just…" Percy's face fell. He couldn't think of anything.

Sloan and his friends laughed, a large group of about nine people, some with nametags, others with none. "Just wait until PE, Jackson. You are so dead," cried Sloan.

The bell signaling the end of first period sounded, and the English teacher came out, announcing that the class had understood The Lord of the Flies perfectly, and that everyone passed.

Percy went to the Cyclops. "Come on, Tyson. I'll buy you an extra peanut butter sandwich for lunch."

Tyson sniffled. "I… I am a freak?" he asked, his brown eye streaming tears.

"No," Percy comforted. "Matt Sloan is the freak."

"You are a good friend. Miss you next year if…if I can't…" Tyson gulped.

The Cyclops seemed different from the one I met, more afraid, less evil, but I still didn't trust it.

"Don't worry, big guy, everything will be fine."

Tyson looked up, hopeful, and they walked off, back into school.

I followed, ending up in Percy's science exam. They were supposed to make something explode using the chemicals set in front of them. I leaned towards the names, easily finding combinations that would have created a reaction. Potassium permanganate with glycerin and water was a good, along with ammonium nitrate powder, ground zinc powder, and hydrochloric acid, but Tyson just knocked the whole container of chemicals into the trash, a puff of orange coming from it.

I guess either way worked.

The teacher called the hazardous waste removal squad, then congratulated Percy and Tyson for passing in the first thirty seconds.

I think this was a good school for Percy. Being clumsy got you good grades, I guess.

Next we went to social studies, the only seemingly normal class so far. Percy opened his binder to a picture of… me? It was when I went on vacation with my family to D.C. I was standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial in a denim jacket and my Camp Half-Blood shirt and a bandana in my hair. I had totally forgotten I had sent that to him. But for him to print it out and put it in his social studies binder? That was just creepy.

Sloan snuck up behind him and ripped the picture from the rings.

"Hey!" protested Percy, reaching for it.

"No way, Jackson. Who is that? She is not your-"

"Give it back!"

Was Sloan about to say girlfriend? I mean, Percy was just a friend, right? There was nothing going on. Was there? He did have a picture of me in his folder, but I had also snuck into his room, even if I only meant to bring him back to camp.

Sloan passed around my picture to his buddies, to my extreme embarrassment, as they gawked at my picture. Seriously, couldn't Percy have a picture of like, Grover or something? I did not like my picture being shown to a bunch of strangers.

I had zoned out, following the picture with my eyes, trying to find an opening to steal it. Then they started eating it, to my revulsion, and sort of relief that it was gone from prying eyes.

"You're such a loser, Jackson. Good thing I'm gunna put you out of your misery next period," said Sloan.

Once again, I fought the strong urge to punch Sloan.

Class ended, and almost everyone was gone, and I decided to try and speak to Percy.

"Percy!" I hissed in his ear. He jumped and twisted around, getting the attention of a few students. I suppressed a groan. There was no way I was going to be able to talk to him now.

He shrugged it off, heading down the hall towards the gym. I wasn't paying attention as I followed Percy, and ended up in the boy's locker room. Not only did it smell disgusting, I was surrounded by a bunch of undressing guys. I slipped out the door as fast as I could, to avoid further scarring of my mind.

The dodgeball game started normally, the popular kids siding with the bullies, Percy and other less popular kids on the other team, a few hiding behind mats, others just frozen solid, scared.

Then the game started. Percy was hit immediately, right in the stomach. He doubled over, the breath knocked out of him, then fell onto the floor, looking dazed. It took a lot to get Percy off his feet, so I wondered who had the strength to throw a ball so hard.

The kids on the other side laughed. "Percy, duck!" yelled Tyson.

A ball whizzing at practically the speed of light came hurtling towards Percy, but he managed to roll away.

"Hey!" yelled Percy angrily. "You could kill somebody!"

Sloan's goons had grown. Why hadn't I seen it before? Read the signs, or at least there name tags. Everyone knew they tended to be either gory names like Gut Squishier, or old time country names like Bob. They were Laistrygonians.

"I hope so, Perseus Jackson! I hope so!" one named Joe Bob called back.

Six of the kids on the other size grew to about eight feet tall, sporting tattoos of snakes and hearts with the word "Mom" in them.

Sloan dropped his dodgeball in surprise. "Whoa! You're not from Detroit! Who…"

I resisted the urge to yell, "Well no duh, Sherlock!"

Kids began running towards the door, panicking. I wasn't sure what they saw through the Mist, but it must have been something like terrorists or maybe a gang, scary enough to make the guys scream like little children.

The doors shut tight with snap, locking us in the gym. The gym teacher was totally oblivious from the whole, "we are about to die scene," happening right behind his magazine.

"Let them go!" shouted Percy at the Laistrygonians.

One of them growled. "And lose our tasty mortals? No, Son of the Sea God. We Laistrygonians aren't just playing for your death. We want lunch!"

I groaned. Why couldn't Percy mix in a fight with vegetarian giants? Why did he have to go and find the worst possible monsters New York City? His bad luck just kept going on and on.

Joe Bob waved his hand, a bunch of dodgeballs appearing on the line. But theses weren't your average red rubber dodgeballs. They were bronze, flaming, those-are-going-to-leave-a-mark-on-my-soul balls of terror.

"Coach!" screamed Percy desperately. He didn't have Riptide with him. Oh, of all the luck.

"Yeah. Mh-hmm. Play nice," said the coach, getting back to his magazine.

Another monster threw a dodgeball at Percy, who dove to the side.

"Corey!" he yelled. Tyson grabbed a kid who was hiding behind the mat before it blew up into a bunch of tiny, flaming pieces.

"Run! The other exit!" screamed Percy at the other kids. They ran towards the locker rooms, but those slammed shut also.

"No one leaves until you're out! And you're not out until we eat you!" screamed Joe Bob.

I sighed. I was going to have to get into this fight soon. I was still tired from my run-in with the hellhound and walking around all day.

Another fireball of doom flew at Percy, and Tyson pushed him out of the way. The blast sent Percy flying, his clothes smoking.

I took this advantage to sneak up on other monsters, stabbing them with my knife and climbing up their backs in order to turn them into gold dust.

Only Joe Bob was left, and he was aiming toward Tyson, who had been knocked to the floor by a surprise hit.

"Stop! It's me you want!" yelled Percy.

That Seaweed Brain! The idiot! He had no weapon on him!

"You wish to die first, hero?" asked Joe Bob.

Then Percy charged. I started running towards Jim Bob at the same time. Whatever idiot plan Percy was planning, it wasn't going to work. I was going to have save him.

"My lunch approaches," said Joe Bob smugly.

Percy braced himself for the killer blow. I leaped into the air, stabbing the monster in the stomach, dust exploding around me. My Yankees cap fell off, and I put it in my pocket.

I turned to Percy, who was staring at me with an open mouth.

Sloan had the same expression. He tried to form words in his mouth, but to no avail. "That's the girl… That's the girl-"

I punched him in the face. Man, that felt good. I really hated bullies.

"And you," I said to him. "Lay off my friend."

The building was in flames and crumbling. Kids screamed in terror and ran around in circles of panic. Seriously, did they not see the holes in the wall to escape?

Percy came to his senses, finally. "Annabeth…How did you...How long have you…"

Even when he was lost for words, I understood what he was saying.

"Pretty much all morning." I put my knife back into its sheath. ""I've been trying to find a good time to talk to you, but you were never alone."

His face looked like he was watching me do the chicken dance. I rolled my eyes at him.

"The shadow I saw this morning… That was…" His face turned red.

I pleaded to the gods for him not say it aloud.

"Oh my gods, you were looking in my bedroom window?"

Oh, curse the gods. They never listened. My face reddened and I changed the subject. "There's no time to explain! I just didn't want to-"

To what? Use the front door? Oh, I should face it. I wanted to see his room, not that it was very appealing once I caught a glimpse. And besides, I didn't want to worry his mom by just randomly knocking on the door at, like, seven in the morning, 'Hey, I'm Annabeth, and I am just going to take Percy back to camp and go on another dangerous quest that's probably going to kill us.' Yeah. That'd go well.

The doors burst open. "There!" screamed an adult.

"Meet me outside," I said. I glanced disdainfully at Tyson. "You'd better bring him."

"What?" said Percy totally confused by now. He just didn't take surprise visits very well, especially after being attacked by cannibals.

"No time!" I glanced at the horde of adults streaming in. "Hurry!"

I put on my Yankees cap, disappearing from the eyes of curious teachers.

Slipping out of a hole in the side of the building, I walked to a street sign and waited.

Sure enough, Percy did a flying leap out of the same hole with Tyson racing behind him.

It was time to get back to camp.

Okay, I had to do the Dora bit. "It's right behind you!" I used to get annoyed about that too, even if I didn't have to get dragged out of the room.

Hope I did the flashback well enough! The other one I did for the first book wasn't the best, so I tried to make up for it :P

Longer chapter, finally :) the first one was, like, two pages, so this is getting back to normal!

Review Please!

:D