"Clarisse, head in the game! Stay focused!"

The tough brunette shook off some of the gleaming drops on her temple, focusing. She narrowed her sight at the other girl racing down the court, bouncing the bright orange basketball off the floorboards. The big tournament was in a few months, but it was hard to focus on today's game, much less anything else in the past couple of weeks.

She couldn't help but think of him, these days.

'He's such a dork...I wonder what he's doing right now…? At school, duh… I wonder what his school's like. I bet their basketball team sucks. Well, unless he's on it. He did say he was pretty good, and…I believe him, weirdly. He's like me, kinda' . Likes to move around. He told last Tuesday that he was on a swim team. Sounded pretty pansy, until he told me about their training. I mean, I'm fit, but there's no way I'd finish that many laps in a pool-'

'CLARISSE!''

Her train of thought broke as she saw the opposing team's player head for their hoop, raising the ball for a jumpshot. Clarisse sped in front of the hoop, blocking the way.

Instead of swiping the ball like she had been trained to, Clarisse unthinkingly swung her arm out, knocking the other girl off her feet and hard onto the linoleum.

"Aah!" the fallen girl shouted, hitting the ground with a loud thud before going still.

The game around her slowed down, players staring at the fallen girl.

"Oops." Clarisse blurted into the silence.

'Honestly, that had been instinct.'

She vaguely felt the need to apologize, but the other girl's unconsciousness was too important for anything else to be heard. The opposing team ran over, crowding their player on the floor.

"Oh my god, Megan!"

"Someone get her tongue back in her mouth..."

"Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, I swear!"

"Does anyone know CPR?"

Pfft. Whatever. They all needed to suck it up. It's not like she hit concrete. Wood absorbs shock, right? Huh. Maybe if she'd paid attention in physics-

"Goddamnit, Clarisse!" Her coach shrieked, forgetting about the auditorium full of parents and teachers. The girl tended to make him act slightly more erratic than usual. She watched calmly as he ran up the side of the court with a purple face. "That's the fourth foul you've gotten us today! Bench. NOW."

Clarisse stopped sneering at the girl on the floor, swiveling a glare to the older man. "The bench? You can't bench me. I'm the best shot on the whole team!"

Some of her other teammates snorted at that remark. She ignored them. As if they didn't know she was the best on their team! They could get as upset as they wanted, but their disdain wouldn't change her talent.

The coach shook his head and pointed towards the sidelines.

"Coach, I can foul five times before getting benched, those are the rul-"

"And by god, Clarisse, you will foul those five times! You always do!"

Clarisse huffed, crossing her arms and staring back defiantly.

"Either bench yourself or you're off the team!"

Growling lowly, she stalked off the court. The threat didn't scare her. She had been kicked off plenty of teams before, but she really liked this basketball team. They went up against other schools that were actually pretty good, giving Clarisse worthy opponents on the court.

The visiting team's fans crowed in approval as they watched Clarisse slink off the court, glad to be rid of the player that was killing their scores.

Clarisse watched the game from the bench the rest of the game.

Digging her hands through her hair, she gazed off listlessly.

This always happened. Not too many people could take the heat when she was in the game. Ninety percent of the reason why her ass hit the bench was because of broken limbs, bruises, and pansy players. Even from the bench, she judged and critiqued the ferocity of everyone on court.

'Huh, redhead over there is trying to trip people. Nice….Aw, what is she DOING? She should have punched that snotty, little, ball-stealing-'

When her team finally scored the winning point, she darted into the locker rooms, ready to go home. Fuck this.

The other girls began crowding in the locker room a little while after, congratulating one another and making plans for a post-game party. Some meet up that involved ice cream and guys from their school, other schools. Clarisse got the hint that she wasn't invited when they blatantly left her out of the conversation.

Her phone beeped.

TeenTalk alerting her of another message from Percy.

She leaned against the lockers, a smile gracing her face as she swiftly messaged him back.

"Who're you texting, Clarisse?" Drew asked from across the locker room, a smirk sliding onto her face. "A boy?"

A few girls on the team that had overheard began to coo and jeer lightly. Clarisse tried to hide the phone away, frowning.

"Mind your own business, Drew!" she snarled over the noisy girls, turning away from them all. "We don't all text guys every waking moment of our lives like you do." That earned a few laughs throughout the crowd of girls. Clarisse smiled. Her teammates and her weren't close, but she did admire them.

Drew scoffed at that, turning away from the room to send her own message on a cell phone. Clarisse hadn't lied. Everyone already knew that she was a nonstop textaholic, mostly flirting with boys and posting selfies.

"Whatever, La Rue. It's not like a boy would text you anyways."

A series of "oooh" lifted through the room, girls nervously chuckling. Clarisse shrugged, letting the implied insult roll off her back.

She glanced at Drew's figure, biting her lip. The asian girl was lithe and long haired, very feminine. The guys went crazy over her. Clarissed turned away. It wasn't like she hated Drew or anything. Drew was a good player and decent at trash talking. She just got a little too nosy for her own good. And she made Clarisse feel like she wasn't worthy of being called a girl, sometimes.

She pulled her phone back out. Drew could go kick rocks, for all she cared.

A person bumped into her suddenly, knocking her into the hard locker. The phone slipped out of her hands.

The brunette swiveled around, ready to knock lights out. The girls on the team all knew better than to mess with...oh.

Annabeth.

"Sorry," the blonde girl mumbled past the hair band in her mouth, smoothing her blonde locks back into a ponytail, "-was an accident."

Annabeth was leaning a bit too close, her grey eyes curiously swiveling from the phone on the floor to Clarisse. She squinted a bit as they glanced over she saw the cover of the phone.

'Wait... that picture...is that…?'

Clarisse quickly grabbed the device, shutting the phone off and putting it in her pocket. She eyed the blonde.

Normally, the tough girl would have cussed and snarled and done everything possible to intimidate the offender, but Annabeth Chase had always made her think twice. She was too smart for intimidation. She could probably take Clarisse in a fight, outwitting her somehow.

Clarisse felt strange around her. Lately, seeing Annabeth had made her sweat like a sinner in church. She knew that Annabeth could read people like an open book and had probably been able to sense Clarisse being more cautious around her than usual. Annabeth had been pushing their near-nonexistent relationship's boundaries lately, trying to see what was up with the larger girl. A light, well-aimed brushing of hands, random questions, borrowing hair ties and clips, Annabeth was talking far more to Clarisse than she ever had their entire time in high school, and Clarisse knew she was only doing it to find out what Clarisse was hiding.

She shook her head slowly, turning her back on the other girl. "S'alright."

Annabeth stared for a moment longer, her long fingers slowing in her hair. Clarisse could almost feel the grey eyes boring into her back.

Silently, Annabeth walked away.

Clarisse sat at the old bus stop near school, waiting.

Her mother was at work and her dad was at the gun club. There was no one could give her a ride home.

She didn't even bother asking her teammates for a carpool, because even if she could scare them into saying yes, she didn't want to sit through a long and awkward car ride for the sake of escaping public transport. Besides, she was strong, she could handle it! She sincerely hoped some crazy person or sceevy teenager tried to give her trouble today. She needed a good fight!

Huffing tiredly, she readjusted the sports bag on her shoulder.

Today had been a long day.

Her phone buzzed once more, and she whipped it out, glancing at the screen. She couldn't help but let a small smile slip past her lips.

From Percy J: how did the game go?

Clarisse tapped her foot nervously, swirling a messy hair strand around her finger. When her finger brushed her face and she realized what her hands were doing, she quickly whipped them away, replacing the smile with a scowl.

From Clarisse La Rue: It sucked. I got benched.

It was only a few moments before the buzzing sound returned.

Percy J: why

Her brows knit together.

From Clarisse La Rue: I got too many fouls for knocking girls over.

Percy J: haha. what were you knocking them over for?

Clarisse La Rue: They were in my way.

Percy J: of course they were : ) seems like a tough thing to do for a girl your size.

Clarisse La Rue: I'm pretty tough. And how do you know my size?

Percy J: your profile pic duh

Clarisse snorted. Yeah, as if he knew her size! From an online profile picture that wasn't even her true picture to begin with? How could he be so naive?

Besides, the girl she was impersonating may have been small, but she wasn't weak. Annabeth was thinner than most, but her muscles weren't a secret and neither was her strength.

Clarisse La Rue: I could be the size of Godzilla, you don't know. Pictures lie.

Percy J: i'm pretty sure you're not the size of a building. And you don't seem like a liar.

Clarisse paused for a long time, biting her lip. She sighed slowly.

Percy J: you wouldn't lie to me right

Fingers twitched over her phone buttons.

Percy J: you there?

A tight, nasty feeling swelled inside as Clarisse replied.

Clarisse La Rue: Still here, dork. And no, I would never lie to you. Promise.

(SOMEWHERE IN NEW YORK CITY...)

Percy smiled, hiding his phone underneath the desk. As the teacher droned on, he checked his latest message.

From Clarisse La Rue: How are you texting in class right now without getting caught?

Percy smirked at the picture of the blonde girl staring back from his phone screen. Of course he wasn't going to get caught.

From Percy J: no big deal. Teacher never pays attention. Besides i'd rather be talking to you right now.

It was the truth. Ever since Clarisse had added him four months ago, he'd been fascinated with her. She seemed really cool and knew about a lot of stuff he didn't think most girls knew about. They had messaged for hours about wars they learned in school the other day, and whether boxing or mixed martial arts was better. Her messages never held any double meanings or hidden agendas, she was always straightforward and honest with him. That was one of the things he liked the most about her. There was no guessing, there were no stupid mind games, just her.

It was a few moments before another message popped up.

Clarisse La Rue: Wow. I kinda like talking to you too.

Percy J: "kinda"?

Clarisse La Rue: I really really like talking to you. Happy?

Percy couldn't contain his grin. He was feeling better than he had in cute Californian girl was turning everything around for him. He had never been so comfortable talking to a girl like this before.

Girls were always confusing him, demanding things from him without telling him exactly what they wanted. Sure, Clarisse teased and jibed, but she never beat around the bush. She wasn't afraid to call him out when he said something dumb or tease him. She never pretended to laugh at his jokes if they weren't funny. But she was always there to listen.

It was refreshing, especially for a guy like him. Girls seemed drawn to him like ants to honey, but they always made him nervous and he always ended up saying something utterly stupid.

On TeenTalk, with Clarisse, he could think about what he wanted to say before sending it. He wasn't put on the spot. Sure, he misspelled a few things. But she knew about his dyslexia. She already knew a lot of things about him, and he knew things about her.

He looked at her profile picture again, the bright smile, blonde hair, and blue eyes gleaming back at him.

Percy J: yeah. I'm happy.

"So TeenTalk's working out for you, then?"

Percy hauled his backpack higher on his shoulders, gripping his swim bag tighter in the other arm. "What makes you say that?"

Grover smirked, nudging Percy with his shoulder. Will Solace nudged him from the other side, with a matching smile.

"Quit it. You guys see my hands full, you want me to drop this stuff all over the sidewalk for New York to see? Christ."

Will ignored him, continuing.

"You've been texting that blonde chick all day, man. During Mr. Dionysus's class, during gym, during lunch with the guys, man-you even texted her during swim practice. I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself. I bet every day when you get home, you log on the computer just to chat online with her"

Percy shrugged, not denying Grover's assumption. "She's cool."

"You like her?" Grover asked, his face glowing with curiousity.

Percy averted his eyes, staring straight ahead. "A little, yeah."

Will chuckled. "A little. Sure. Just be careful, man. It could still be some forty year old bum pretending to be a teenage girl. You don't want your heart to get broken by a bum, do you?"

Percy laughed, swinging his backpack at his buddy, who skillfully dodged it.

"Shut up! I'm not gonna' get my heart broken. And it's not a forty year old bum. I'm sure of it."

Will shrugged. "There's only one way to prove it."

Percy perked up. "What's that?"

"Nudes, bro-"

This time Percy's backpack connected with someone, that someone being Will. Grover chuckled at the two of them, nodding his head vigorously.

"Yeah, sure that'd prove it. Maybe she could write 'hi Percy, I'm not a catfish' on her butt in permanent marker? Don't be dumb, Will."

Percy tried to push away the images of a tan, blonde girl shimmying out of her clothes, aiming her camera phone at herself for him. The heat in his gut quickly branched up his neck and across his face.

Grover continued to scold the tall blonde. "Even if Percy went through with your dumbass plan, the girl he's talking to would get freaked out and block him."

"Or," Will insisted, "she might be into it! You don't know. Remember that cheerleader from freshman year? She sent those raunchy nudes to the band geeks and they got all over school? She wasn't even mad. Some girls like showing off a bit of skin."

Percy shook his head. "Whatever. I'm not asking that from her."

Will threw his hands up. "Fine you guys, it was a joke. It would prove it was a chick for sure, though."

"Nuh-uh," Grover shot back, "if Percy's really talking to a dude, they can 'tuck' away for the picture."

"Oh yeah, that's true."

"Tuck?" Percy asked, quirking a brow.

His jaw fell as his friends went on to explain exactly what 'tucking' online meant.

"Why do you guys even know this stuff…" he mumbled, pulling out his phone to see if he had any more messages from Clarisse. "She's not a guy. I know it, okay?"

An unread message.

From Clarisse La Rue: I wish you could've been there at my game today.

Percy grinned, thinking back. There had been countless times where he had wished the same thing. Sometimes he imagined what life would have been like had he and Clarisse not been born on opposite sides of the country. Would they have been friends in real life? Would she be as easy to talk to? Percy liked to think so.

From Percy J: I wish I was there too. Bet you totally wiped the floor with the other team before getting benched

Clarisse La Rue: Damn straight! The janitor got to go home early because of me!

Percy J: LOL. Yeah, sure. Is there an after-game party?

Clarisse La Rue: I wouldn't know, I'm going home.

Percy J: what? Cmon, go have some fun with the other girls.

Clarisse La Rue: I'm kinda tired. They don't want me around anyways.

Percy paused at that. He recalled all the pictures he had seen on Clarisse's TeenTalk profile of her and her friends hanging out, having fun. She seemed pretty popular in the pictures, usually smiling and surrounded by other people? In the texts, she didn't seem that way. She seemed lonely. He bit his lip, replying.

Percy J: why wouldn't they want you around?

Clarisse La Rue: uh, theyre a good team and everything. Solid girls. Its just that we don't really get along.

Percy J: why not? I get along with you just fine

Clarisse La Rue: You're different from everyone else.

Percy J: yeah?

Clarisse La Rue: Yeah.

Clarisse paused before continuing. She wasn't the type to get mushy like this, but Percy struck something in her that made her want...to connect with someone.

Clarisse La Rue: I can't talk to anyone else like I can talk to you...I won't. I really wish you had been there today.

Percy J: I would go to all of your games if I could, Clarisse.

Clarisse shivered a bit, though it wasn't cold at the bus stop. She bit her lip, fighting the feeling that pulsed through her and began building in her chest. Her eyes closed and she stilled.

This was so messed up. She had made this fake profile, and then what? There had been no plan.

She just wanted to be someone else for awhile.

She didn't want to trick some guy on the other side of the country and then...lead him on. That's what this was. Lying. There was no denying it at this point.

Besides, four months ago, if it had been any other guy saying the stuff that Percy said to her, she would have gagged from the drama of it all.

With Percy, she didn't have to put up walls or defenses. She didn't have to scare or fight her way into respect or attention. Percy already gave her plenty of attention and respect through their texting and chatting. It wasn't like they really knew each other and they would never meet face to face. That was that blanket of security that allowed Clarisse to send gushy messages to him.

Percy made her feel like Chris had. Better than Chris, even.

Her phone vibrated.

Percy J: how are you getting home? Do you have a ride?

Clarisse La Rue: Nah, the 'rents are busy. I'm taking the bus.

Percy J: I would give you a ride if I lived down there.

Clarisse La Rue: Wait. You have a car? In downtown New York?

Percy J: haha yeah. I don't drive it down here, too crowded. But my buddies and I are gonna use it to go road tripping this summer. Dad said it was cool and everything.

Clarisse La Rue: That's cool. Where will you guys go?

Percy J: Mm, west. Cross-the-country kind of thing. We might make California the destination, actually. Will wants to surf and Grover wants to check out Yosemite Park-

The sudden sweat on Clarisse's palms allowed the device to slip past her fingers and clatter onto the sidewalk. She reached for it but the phone seemed to keep slipping through her trembling fingers.

'No,' she thought desperately. 'No, no, no…he can't come here.'

The bus finally pulled up to the stop, honking. Clarisse swiped the phone off the ground in a vice grip and forced her panic down, scrambling onto the bus and into a seat.

'This can't…he doesn't plan to…really?'

Her phone buzzed again.

Percy J: U there? We might not reach Cali, depends on the budget. I'm working over the school year to save up.

Percy J: Clarisse...do you not want me to come to Cali?

Percy J: Clarisse?

Clarisse La Rue:...Sorry! I was just getting on the bus. You can go wherever you want.

Percy J: I was thinking while my friends and I were in Cali, that maybe we could meet up, hang out.

Clarisse bit her nails, getting more and more unnerved by the second. Percy knew where she went to school. He knew what Annabeth looked like. The moment he saw her, he would know she had been lying to him. The very thought of it made her queasy.

Clarisse La Rue: I don't know Percy. We haven't really known each other for too long.

Percy J: we've chatted online for four months. we can get to know each other better. We can bring our friends if you don't like the idea of being alone.

Clarisse La Rue: Look, Percy. I really like you, I do. I just don't think it's a good idea to meet up.

She could almost feel the tension rise as the seconds stretched on without Percy sending back a reply. Was he angry? She thought of a quick lie.

Clarisse La Rue: My parents would get really mad if I met up with someone I met online.

Clarisse couldn't help but snort. Even if that were true, it wouldn't stop her in real life. Her mom wouldn't get mad if she met a boy her age. She'd scream with joy, if anything. She had been pushing Clarisse for ages to find a boyfriend. And her father? He could care less about her dating habits or boys, as long as he didn't hear about them.

The guilt crawled through her when she saw Percy's reply.

Percy J: Oh! I get it. Can you just not tell him about it?

He just bought her lie completely. No questions, no doubts! She almost felt flattered by his utter faith in her, but the guilt chased everything else away.

Clarisse La Rue: Of course I'd lie and not tell them. I'm afraid they might find out anyways. They would ground me forever, they're really strict about boys.

Percy J: Alright. I don't want to get you in trouble or anything.

Clarisse sighed. Good, he wasn't coming to visit her. If he did, it would undoubtedly end in her lie being discovered. Dodged a massive bullet there.

Percy put his phone away, flopping back on his bed miserably. Will and Grover scooted out of his way, making room for their distraught friend.

"We're still going to California, aren't we?" Will asked hopefully, his eyes darting between Percy's text conversations and his sad face. "We can't just drop all of our plans because blondie's parents don't want us near her!"

Grover nodded. "Yeah man, I've wanted to see Yosemite for years."

Percy threw his arms over his eyes. "I don't know. I can't drive down there without visiting her. How can I go to California and NOT see her?"

Will's eyes widened. "You know that sounded like a romance novel, right? We don't have to see her. Do you know how big California is? We can easily avoid her."

Percy frowned. "I know that. I didn't mean it that way. I meant that I can't get so close to the chance of being able to see her, and then pass it up without feeling terrible!"

Grover shook Percy. "Hey, here's an idea. Let's get her away from her parents somehow. Get her to go somewhere with her friends, and then we show up and surprise her."

Percy shook his head. "She'd get upset. You saw what she texted. She doesn't want to see me-"

"She didn't say that," Will interrupted, "she said that she didn't want to get in trouble. Grover's plan is fine. She won't get in trouble that way. What the 'rents don't know won't hurt them, right?"

Percy bit his lip, trying to make a choice. "She'll still get mad at me if I just show up like that after she said not to. Don't you think it would freak her out or something?

Grover continued. "Perce', she said so herself, she really likes you. You think she wouldn't be a little happy to see you? Especially without her parents finding out? And it's not like you would show up outside of her school or her bedroom window. It'd be her friends, our friends, y'know. Everything would be cool, just a bunch of teenagers."

Percy sighed, closing his eyes.

He could go along with that plan. He just didn't want to work so hard balancing school, swim team, and his job this entire year, only to meet Clarisse and get turned away. He really needed this to work. He really wanted to meet her in person, despite the short time they'd known each other. Would she be as easy to talk to standing before him like it was when they chatted online? Or would everything fall to awkward shambles?

His phone rang, a caller. Maybe she changed her mind? Did she want to talk to him? They had never actually called one another before. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even know what she sounded like.

"Hello?" Percy shushed his friends, listening intently for a soft, feminine voice.

"HEY Jackson, you want extra hours at work?" a gruff voice commanded through the line. "One of the servers didn't come in today. You can take their shift for extra pay if you want."

Percy grimaced in disappointment. "Sure, Dionysus. I'll be there in twenty."

"Good," came the response before clicking to an end.

Percy stood up, shrugging on a jacket and snagging his work apron from his closet. "I'll catch you guys later, yeah? Don't eat any of the pizza in the fridge."

"Sure," Will nodded before walking out the room.

"You really gotta' leave so soon, Perce? You're always working these days. Yesterday, the day before, and the day before that…Will and I don't even have to work that much at our jobs. You sure you don't want to help out at the clean up crew in Central Park with me? Or maybe assist at the hospital with Will?"

Percy shook his head and shrugged. "I've known Dionysus forever. He's a jerk, yeah, but he plays favorites and he kind of likes me. Especially since I've been picking up the slack around the bar. The pay's good."

Will returned with a plate of pizza, munching. "Your boss knows he shouldn't make a teenager work so many hours. You may as well be a full-timer, by now."

"Hey, is that my-? Will, I just said-"

Grover clutched Percy's shoulder and steered him back out of his room.

"Percy, relax. You'll see. This trip'll be amazing, man! Yosemite Park, surfing, and you can meet your online penpal. Everybody's happy!"