Hello! Welcome to my second chapter :D Another warning: ONE PARAGRAPH IS SO CHEESY IM SO SORRY

Plus, Im sorry if this chapter burns ur eyes out, its so cringey lol

Keep a bucket near by, just in case (don't say I didn't warn you XD)

Now that I warned you, read at you own risk! (XD)

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the PJO/HoO series aren't mine ;(( rip XD

But first, a special thanks to 7Lovely7, , pollyyao4, shelb9724, trlpmine for following, and Meetsqueak, , pollyyao4, shelb9727, trlpmine for favoriting!

Now for reviews:

The Patil Twins- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING MY FIRST REVIEWER AHHH XD BUT REALLY, THANK YOU.

Pollyyao4- Hahaaaaa XD thanks, but it's REALLLYYYYY bad lol

Now, enjoy!

Chapter 2: Percy

Annabeth sighed. She was huddling in a corner of her cell to keep warm on a cool autumn morning. She was sitting there, with her chin resting on her knees, making herself as small as possible. The truth was…. Annabeth was feeling lonely. It was a feeling she wasn't used to, since she had Piper all these years….

Piper.

The memory of her friend stabbed her heart painfully. It was painful to remember, but yet Annabeth could've sworn she could Piper walk past, with her choppy brown hair flowing gracefully behind her. The pain stabbed her chest again.

She hugged her knees closer to her chest and rocked back and forth, trying to let go all the memories of Piper. Look at you, Annabeth. She thought to herself sorely, stuck in a tiny cell, with nothing better to do than to think of the one person you trusted.

She got up to her feet, because she decided that feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to do anything useful. She started pacing her cramped cell. She paced the length, then the width of it. She was thinking. About Piper, about King Lamont, and most importantly, how life would be in prison now.

Her stomach grumbled impatiently. Annabeth sighed again. When's there going to be food? She thought to herself as she remembered all the times she had to rely on herself for it.

She was dreaming about juicy peaches, and nice, crispy apples, when someone, the jail keeper, slid a metal bowl under a little door. Annabeth looked up at him expectantly, and finally saw him for the first time.

The jail keeper was about her age— fourteen or fifteen. He was pretty skinny for his age, as if he wasn't fed enough. He had startling sea green eyes that could switch quickly from anger, to resentment, to anguish. He always tried to smile, but it looked more of like a wince. He had messy, jet black hair, as if he just woke up five minutes ago. As soon as Annabeth saw him, she grunted. She disliked him immediately.

When the mysterious jail keeper slid her bowl in, he looked at her and nodded, as if to say You'll be okay. Annabeth snorted in annoyance. Who does he think she is?

She looked down expectantly at the small bowl. There was something grey-ish with small chunks in it- probably porridge, Annabeth thought, pursing her lips. She would've given anything just to be on the run again.

But, of course, she had to eat something. She hesitantly brought it up to her lips, and tilted her head a little, just to get a taste. It surprisingly tasted okay; not as good as fresh food maybe, but she could live with it.

After she got used to the weird aftertaste, she licked her bowl clean. Even though she finished her serving, her stomach still grumbled. She didn't feel full either, but it was enough to keep her awake.

She could hear bowls banging against each other, and the sound became louder and louder as it came toward her. It was the jail keeper again, but this time collecting their empty bowls. Annabeth stood up and started pacing again. Her feet felt heavy as she paced, back and forth, back and forth.

She then went over to grab her metal bowl and slid it under the little door, and the jail keeper caught it. But instead of moving on to collect the other bowls, he unlocked Annabeth's cell door and shuffled inside, green eyes twinkling.

Meanwhile, Annabeth had a ton of questions racing in her mind. What does he want? Will I get the chance to escape already? Why did he just unlock the door?

The jail keeper, now awkwardly standing in front of her, looked down at his feet. He was wearing a grey uniform- about the same shade as her porridge. It was a couple sizes too big for him, making him seem even scrawnier than he actually was. He looked up at her, and immediately forgot what he was about to say.

"Hey… Uhh…." He began lamely, blushing from embarrassment. Why do I have to be such an idiot all the time! He thought, scolding himself. "Umm….. I'm Percy." He finally managed to choke out.

He stood completely still, staring at Annabeth, waiting for a reaction. Annabeth didn't know what to say. She was confused and annoyed by Percy. What did he want with her?

After she was quite for a few more minutes, Percy coughed. "I…. uhh….I've been working here since I was twelve."

Annabeth resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes. She averted her eyes from him, and stared at a corner, wanting to escape her teeny cell.

"Nice cap." Percy tried yet again. He gestured over to her tattered New York Yankees hat, the only item the King allowed her to keep. Now it was time for Annabeth to blush; no one ever complimented her before, except for Piper.

Piper.

The memory of her friend kept coming back and haunting her. Again she pictured Piper, her eyes twinkling in the sunlight, running next to her. Annabeth sighed. I wish I could go back in time, she thought sadly.

Meanwhile, Percy was still staring at her. Annabeth shook her head slightly. "Sorry," she said a little too quickly, "what were you saying?"

Percy turned red again. "Oh.. Nothing. I just like your hat."

Annabeth snorted to cover up a laugh, "This?" She said disbelievingly, holding up her slightly torn up New York Yankees hat. And, thinking that he was making fun of her, held it to her chest protectively. "It's been through a lot." She said defensively.

"What?" Percy said, confused. "No, no, no, I actually think it's nice."

Annabeth squinted her eyes. "Then why did you bring it up in the first place? And why did you come into my cell too?" She questioned.

Percy thought it was pretty cute when she got annoyed like this, but he didn't dare tell her that. Instead, he looked down at he worn out sneakers. "I wanted an excuse to talk to you." He managed to get out.

This time, Annabeth had to roll her eyes. Its like his brain's made out of seaweed, Annabeth thought to herself, I never thought that was possible… But now….

In addition to rolling her eyes, she let a small smile creep on her lips. Percy just stared at her for a few minutes.

"You're really pretty when you smile." He blurted out. Then, realizing what he just said, covered up his mouth. "I mean…. umm…."

Keep yourself under control, Annabeth, she thought chidingly to herself, grinding her teeth and trying hard not to slap Percy, grey eyes stormy.

Even Percy could tell that something he said wasn't smart, and his green eyes tried to look anywhere but Annabeth. He stared out the tiny window above Annabeth, and saw a bird fly by daintily. A bluejay, Percy thought to himself.

Unexpectedly, they both heard a bark. Percy poked his head out of Annabeth's cell and bent down. "Shh boy." He talked in a sweet voice, as if he loved the thing he was talking to very much.

"Sorry," He said, turning to Annabeth, "He's getting a little impatient." Percy laughed nervously.

"Who?" Annabeth asked, overcome with curiosity.

"My dog." Percy said, beaming now. He loved his dog more than anything else in the world. Then, to his dog, "Come on Waffle, it's ok," trying to coax him out.

Annabeth blinked a couple of times to register what Percy's dog's name was. Waffle? She thought to herself, trying to to laugh. That's an… interesting name, but it's cute, I guess. She shrugged.

Waffle hesitantly came into Annabeth's view. He was a golden, almost light brown, mutt that looked like a golden lab, except he was smaller. He had cute, floppy ears and a moist nose. His tongue was everywhere, licking anything in his reach. He also had bright caramel eyes, eyes that you could get lost in in a matter of seconds. Annabeth could see how someone like Percy could fall in love with him instantly.

Annabeth, despite the situation, had to smile. She now understood why Piper's betrayal hurt so much. Everyone should have a companion- someone they trust, someone they care about and love. This someone can be animal or human, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you can go to that someone when times are hard, and they'll help you through it.

Percy smiled up and Annabeth, looking at her longingly, and then back down at Waffle. "I found him abandoned at the entrance of this jail," he almost whispered. "He was just a puppy, he was sitting there, right on the front step, and looked up at me…." He trailed off, looking to the side. "I just couldn't leave him there." He explained.

He shook his head quickly and started gently petting Waffle. "But enough about me…" Percy said with a small smirk on his face. "What about you?"

Annabeth didn't know where to begin. "What do you want to know?" She asked reluctantly, not wanting to remember Piper again.

"What landed you here?" Percy gestured around them, and Annabeth sighed.

She didn't know where to begin, so she just started explaining how she and Piper would steal in order to survive. Percy was an excellent listener. Even though Annabeth could tell that that he wanted to interrupt and ask more questions at some places, he let her go on, saving his questions till the end. She continued to the part where Piper betrayed her, with Waffle laying his head on Percy.

Percy spoke only when he needed to, but otherwise he kept pretty quiet. Annabeth continued her story; telling him about coming to jail and how she felt. It was way more than she had planned on telling him about, but she found the words tumbling out of her mouth naturally, and so she went with her instinct and continued.

When she was done with her story, she didn't look at Percy. Instead, she settled for a spot on the ground. Thinking about Piper was still hard, and talking about her didn't make it easier.

Percy decided to change the subject and ask some other questions. "Why are you on the run on the first place?" He asked tentatively.

Annabeth slowly closed her eyes. She was hoping that Percy wouldn't ask that questions. Really, She thought, of all questions!

She shrugged, though, and decided to give him a brief summary.

Annabeth explained that her mother died during childbirth, so she never met her. Her father was a little negligent, and didn't give her the love and care she longed for. He would take care of himself, and then leave Annabeth on her own. One night, when she was seven, she ran away, and never saw her father since. She doesn't know, after seven years, if her father still remembers her, or if he even misses her.

Percy looked sideways. "I know how you feel," he said softly when Annabeth was done. "My dad died when I was pretty young, and my mom died when I was twelve."

Annabeth looked down. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Percy looked down as well and sighed. "I miss her, but the past is the past."

Annabeth looked up at him and met his gaze. "Have you ever felt like…. I don't know…. Like if you could go back in time, you would change so many things, but then again, if you did change those things, you wouldn't be the same person you are today?"

Percy scrunched up his forehead and blinked a few times, deep in thought. "You lost me at "felt like," and then with a crooked smile, "but, do you mind simplifying it?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes so much in the past half hour that her eyes were starting hurt. Seaweed brain, Annabeth thought.

Waffle, who was looking for attention, started licking Annabeth repeatedly. She started laughing. Percy thought to sounded like music, and laughed with her. Because of this behavior, Waffle kept licking, until Annabeth's face was completely covered with his slobber. She was trying to use her hands to rub some of it off, but it did no good.

Eventually, Percy had to leave. He glanced at his watch, and sighed. "It was nice talking to you." Percy said, not daring to look up and see what Annabeth's reaction was. "But it's getting late, and I better not get caught on my way back."

Even though Annabeth hated to admit it, but she had fun. She smiled and nodded, and Percy got up with Waffle and they walked out of her cell.

Before he left, though, he said, "see you tomorrow," with a small smirk on his face. And with that, left, whistling to a tune Annabeth had never heard before.

"I had fun too." She whispered when he was out of sight. "See you around, Seaweed Brain."

Thank you for reading! Im really sorry if you actually used the bucket, but I don't blame you lol. Also, if you just happen to be bored, go check out Jesternators stories, especially Soaring High. Its absolutely AMAZHANG XD. You might also want to check out Pollyyao4's story- its also SUPER good.

The review button looks like it wants a hug, why don't you give it one? (Translated: go ahead a leave a review, but you don't have to XD)

~SunSun