First of all, I'm really sorry I didn't get to upload last week. I was grounded. Second, I want to thank the new reviews, followers, and favorites. It means a lot that you guys take the time to read this chapter. And third, I'm sorry the third chapter didn't have the authors note or song lyrics. I had to post that one under the grounding. Then my parents found out and they locked my laptop away.

Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed the 2nd and 3rd chapter.

Spirit398, LeviosaLove, Death is my daddy, BookReaderIsReadingBooks, Ble fotia, The Official Queen of Sarcasm, LovLoganLermanLLL

The song was recommended by Death is my daddy.

Rachel: You posted!

Nico: Finally.

Percy: I was so bored that I started putting sticky notes everywhere.

Me: That explains why my laptop is covered in sticky notes.

Edith: Well, Sugar, you better get that under control.

Grover: Who's Edith?

Annabeth: She's-

Me: DON'T SPOIL THE CHAPTER BEFORE THEY'VE READ IT! *Pushes everyone out the door and slams it*

Me: Let's get on with the story.

So keep your head up high and dust off your shoulders
It's alright, no, it's not over
Love is here, it came to dry up all your tears
Oh, can you feel it
Gotta believe it, gotta see it
By your side in the middle of the night
So keep your head up high and the dust off your shoulders
It's alright, no it's not over

When the final bell rang, Nico, Grover, Rachel, and Percy walked off to the suburbs. I waved to them as they walked away, and they waved back. I turned around and walked to the bus stop. The whole time I was walking, I thought about how close I had come to telling Percy about Reed again. He seems to be trustworthy, and a good friend, but that doesn't mean I should tell him my biggest life secret. Right? Whatever it was, something about Percy made me feel like he was different. And I didn't know what it was. I hate not knowing.

When I reached the bus stop, I sat down at the little blue bench there. I looked across the street, where there was an ad about the musical Wicked performing on Broadway. The background of it was green, but there was a black line separating the witch's face from the background. A black hat covered her eyes, but you could see her red lips. A white witch looked like she was whispering from the side, and there were some flying monkeys above the word WICKED. I remember when my mom and dad took me to see it when I was 9.

(A/N Sorry if anything is inaccurate, I've never been to Broadway. Or seen Wicked. I wish...)

"Annabeth, stop jumping on the seat."

My dad was trying to be stern, but I could still see that he was trying to hide his smile. His sand-colored hair was getting in his eyes, which had a twinkle in them.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." I peeped. "I'm just so excited!"

"That doesn't mean you can just go bonkers." said my mom. "Even though it is your birthday."

I sighed dramatically, then flopped down on my seat. I had always wanted to be an actress on Broadway. I loved their costumes, their singing, everything. My parents said I was a good singer, but they have to say that. They're my parents. What really mattered was what the audience thinks.

Since my mom was always busy, and my dad never had time for me, it was really special that they had bought us tickets for Wicked. They knew that it was my favorite musical, and had meant a lot to me that they carved some time for us to spend together.

The lights dimmed. "It's starting!" I was practically about to explode with excitement. The curtains opened to reveal a black hat. The people of Oz were celebrating the death of the wicked witch. Glinda comes down and everyone starts singing about how horrible the wicked witch was.

I frowned. "That's mean." I said.

"She was evil. She deserved it." said my mom.

I wasn't sure if she did deserve it, but mom was always right. I kept watching the stage. They reenacted the birth of the wicked witch, revealing the secrets and dishonesties of the family. When she was born, the parents were disgusted by her green skin.

"I don't think her own mommy should hate her." I said.

"Sadly, some people just aren't reasonable or logical. These people exist in real life too." said my dad.

I was shocked. "You mean the Oz is real?" I asked excitedly.

Dad chuckled. "Not what I meant, pumpkin. Just keep watching."

The musical went on, and then someone from the crowd asks Glinda if she was friends with witch, and she says yes. Everyone is appalled that Glinda was friends with the wicked witch. She then begins to explain that their paths crossed when they were young schoolgirls. The scene cuts to when Galinda first meets Elphaba.

The bus came to stop at where I was sitting. The sound of it wakes me from my flashback. I get the money for the bus fare out of my backpack. The doors opened to reveal the bus driver. She was African-American, and about 30 years old. Her short hair was sticking out all over the place, like she hadn't combed it in a while. When you looked a little closer, you could see the stiffness of her hair, which meant that she had used a lot of hairspray, and that she looked like that on purpose. She had this facetious aura, always smiling with a glittering light in her eyes. When she opened the door, she saw me and looked at me in delight.

"Annabeth!" she cried.

"Edith!" I cried back. I gave her a big hug, and handed her the bus fare.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I'm really good actually. I have so much to tell you."

Call me crazy, but I had a really good relationship with Edith. I was always on the bus, and she was usually the driver. She was this eccentric and energetic person that everybody seemed to warm up to right away. Even though she wasn't my mom, I saw her as a mother figure. I could confide in her, and I've told her a lot. She was always there to comfort me. And she paid more attention to me than my real mom. When there wasn't anyone else on the bus, like today, we would chat a while.

"Well, fire away!" she said.

I took a seat and she started driving. "Actually, I want to ask you a question first. Why weren't you here yesterday?"

"I was doing something at the college." she replied.

Edith is one of those people who are kind-hearted, intelligent, and put in a bad situation. When she was a little girl, her father died in an airplane crash. Her mom worked around the clock, sometimes not coming home at all. Edith was left to fend for herself in a rough neighborhood. Then, the economy got really bad, and a lot of people were laid off. Including her mom. They lost their car, then their house, and in the end, Edith lost her mom. Thankfully, she met someone, they got married, and now she's taking a medical course at the community college.

"Anything happen at school?" she asked.

"Yeah." I said. "There's this new guy at our school, Percy Jackson."

"Is his mother's name Sally Jackson?"

I thought back to our conversation in biology. "I'm don't know. Why do you ask?"

"I met a lady at the college today. She said she moved here from Nebraska to become an author. She also said she had a son named Percy." said Edith.

"Well, I guess that is his mom." I said. "And, um, I told Percy about my parents."

Edith considered this. She knows that I don't like talking about my family. "Well, he must be something special." she finally said.

I shrugged. "I guess. I just don't get why I would feel so comfortable around him after two days."

Edith seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "There's this old myth," she said. "About humans from Ancient Greece. Humans used have to have double the number of heads, arms, and legs."

"But what does that have to do with-"

"I'm getting there sugar." said Edith. "Fearing their power, Zeus split them in half, condemning them to search for their other part for the rest of their life. Maybe, Percy's your other part. Meant to be."

See, this is what I mean when I say she's like my mother.

"But I've only known him for two days." I protested.

"Love knows no time." replied Edith.

I blushed. "I don't love him." I mumbled.

"Then why are you blushing?"

This, of course, caused me to blush more and caused Edith to laugh.

After that, we had a conversation about how her husband was doing at his job as a lawyer. All too soon, we came to the bus stop in front of the apartment complex. I said goodbye to Edith, and waved. She waved back, then closed the bus doors. I watched as she drove away, weaving thorough the traffic of Manhattan. I took out the apartment key and walked into the complex.

The doorman usually isn't there, which is something I am grateful for. But alas, today I have not been granted this luxury. He sits there with his feet on the counter. It looks like someone dumped a trash can on him, because he is covered in beer cans, plastic cups, and cigarettes. His face is contorted into this permanent foul sneer that is repulsive. His stench is so strong that it could probably be smelt in Europe.

But being the polite person that I am, I said "Hi, Bernie."

He looked at me like I was a week-old burrito that he had left behind the couch. "Shut up, you little pest." he slurred.

Did I mention that he and Reed are friends?

I walk past him, holding my breath. I take the stairs (the elevator is always broken) to my apartment on the 3rd floor. It's only then that I finally breathe. I unlock the door, and am greeted with a clean apartment. Good. I think. Less work for me.

I throw my backpack on the moth-eaten flower couch, then walk to the refrigerator. I pull open the door, and discover that there is only one TV dinner left. I heat it up, then put it on the table for Reed. I won't get dinner today, but it doesn't matter. It's happened before. I plop down on the couch and start on my homework. Thank god there isn't much.

I am just finishing up my math questions when I hear the door open. Reed stumbles in, his eyes bloodshot, his hair shaved half off. He's obviously drunk, possibly high, and has probably been to a pretty wild party. He struggles to take off his jacket, and puts his shoes in the TV dinner. I try to become one with the furniture, but it doesn't work. He sees me, then stumbles over to me. There is something about Reed that makes him terrifying even though he can't walk straight.

"You are in trouble." he slurs. "Bernie told me you were back at seven-thirty. You're supposed to be back at seven."

This, of course, if not true, I was back at five. But he never listens to me anyway, so why bother?

"Answer me." He demands.

"I was back at five." I mumble.

He grabs me by the neck, cutting off my oxygen. I choke for air, and claw at his hands, but he's stronger than me even when he's drunk. My vision gets fuzzy, and I can't seem to hear. I pray for Him to take me away, to release me from this pain. I must get away. Just as I think I see a light, I can breathe again. I cough and choke, but soon I have air. I'm alive.

Reed has been standing over me while I recover. "You pathetic piece of shit." he says. "But I'm not through with you yet." He lifts me up by the arms, then slams me against the wall. My head feels like it's going to split in two. He slams me against the wall again. "Why are you not crying?" he says. "I like it when you cry." He drops me, then punches me in the arm. I scream in pain, but hold my tears in. He puts his sleeve in my mouth. "We can't have any of that now, can we?" he says. He keeps punching, and all I can do is wait for the pain to stop, one way or another. A single tear has managed slip from my eye. I can feel it against my cheek, slowly sliding down. Reed stops. "That's what I wanted." he said. "But it's not enough." I brace myself for another punch, but it doesn't come. He's walked away, leaving me on the floor in excruciating pain.

I wait until the pain has gone from impossibly unbearable to tolerable. At that point, I get up and walk to my bedroom slowly. I open the drawer with the pills, then pour four into my hand. I look at them with longing, but put them back in the bottle again. I want to collapse on the bed and fall asleep forever, but I decide I don't want to smell like Bernie vomited on me. I take a cold shower, because it feels nice on my injuries. After I brush my teeth, I change into my jammies and jump into my bed's comfort. I toss and turn, trying to find a position where I can't feel any of my bruises. As I change sleeping positions, I wonder why pain is so cruel.

But as my favorite book character would say, "That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt."

The alarm woke me up at six. I was sore all over, but I ignored it. After going through the usual morning routine (and skipping breakfast because of the lack of food), I grabbed my jacket and backpack, then started walking to school. I took my iPod touch that my mom gave me for my 15th birthday with me. The school has a strict policy against it, but what's life without a little risk? I put my headphones in and put on Pandora. The song that came on was Daylight by Maroon 5. I walked to the beat of the music. I even started singing toward the end of the song. When it was over, I heard clapping. Alarmed, I spun around to see Percy. He was wearing a leather jacket over a white shirt and jeans. And for some reason, all I could hear in my mind was Edith saying "Love knows no time."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I had to walk to school because my mom's car broke down." he said.

"But I thought you lived in that suburban area."

"I do. I was with my mom at the college she's teaching at. And I was just walking along, when I happen to hear an angelic voice! And so I rush toward the sound, expecting to see a white-robbed human with wings, and instead," Percy makes a face. "I find you."

I pretend to be mad. "Thanks, Seaweed Brain. Feeling the love."

He laughs. "But in all seriousness, you have a good voice,"

"Thanks." I say. "But let's go back to the part where you just happened to find me."

"What, do you think that I was stalking you?"

I pretend to be thinking. "Well…it's not out of the question."

"Why would I be stalking you?"

"Because you like me."

I intended it to be a joke, but that was not how it come off on Percy. He blushed a little, then kind of looked at the sidewalk, then back at me, then he looked back at the sidewalk. "Well, um, I am-" he stuttered.

"Relax, Seaweed Brain, it was a joke." I said.

All at once, he relaxed. "Phew. Cause I didn't want to be the one to let you down."

"Why? Is it because you're scared of me?" I teased.

And with this serious expression on his face, he nodded.

I blinked. "Why?"

"Because, Nico told me he ripped a page of your book out, then you smashed him into a wall the next day at P.E."

"Okay, first of all, you can't prove I did that on purpose." I said. "And second of all, after I did do that, I took him to the nurse!"

"Still scared." he said.

"It was an architecture book!"

"Not helping."

"Okay, well, we had better start walking, because we're going to be late." I said.

And so we walked.

Sorry for the crappy ending, but I didn't really know how else to end it. And there will be some Percabeth in the near future. I'll let them have some time together before I mess around.

Oops, did I just say that out loud? My bad. (Or, erm, type it out loud? Does that still work?)

Next chapter quote is from...Rachel!

"What if I said that you are insane?"

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