Hi guys! I'm so, so, so, so sorry for not posting in ages, I had this sort of motivation block where every time I sat down to write I got distracted too easily and I couldn't actually type more than a few lines at a time. Anyway, on to the reviews...

DownElliot: Thanks! I'm trying to write longer chapters and thanks for letting me know you enjoy them. I will certainly be updating more now that I'm back.

Johanne er best: Thanks you so much! Stand up sit down is a great invention, that's for sure! You all seem to love it! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story!

ThatDamAnnabeth: You can certainly put the game into your story! I would be honoured if you did! I liked the way Frank's talents were brought in too, I'm really happy that you like the story so far!

Sisi Fangirl: Sorry for the long wait! I promise I'll keep writing, don't worry! Glad to know you're enjoying it!

Thanks for the reviews guys, it's great to know your opinions on the story and what made you laugh or what you found cool. I love reading your comments, it really makes me happy when I open my email and read these. Keep reviewing!

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for... Stand up sit down, IS REAL! Yes! We used to play it in Geography, although the actions weren't as out there as stealing someone's chair and having them sit on your lap, but oh well. The teacher is real too, this is where I get the inspiration for the lessons, most of the teachers, apart from Miss Puffy, are at my school. Not all of the pranks and such are real though, I'm in my GCSE's now (The exams in England, for those of you that don't know) so we've stopped doing the more outrageous of things now. Well, here comes Chapter 7!

Chapter 7

Annabeth's POV

I ducked out of Thalia's arms after IT. We were heading to Music together, a double period too, but my heart wasn't in it. Neither was my head. It was swirling around, my thoughts didn't make sense. I began to feel dizzy, compressed. Like a fish in a small tank, constantly being looked at, judged. Oh gods. It was happening again. An attack. I had always had these, but I had thought that this year, for once, my troubles would be over. Things were looking bad. Really bad. I needed to get away, immediately. I hurriedly made an excuse to go to the bathroom. I chose the one nearest to us. Not the most secluded but by far the easiest and safest bet. Luckily for me, it was empty. Unluckily for me, I was having a full on panic attack. I slumped down the wall, breathing heavily. I tried to use the techniques I had been taught when I was little, but I lost focus and none of them worked. I felt a wave of emotion flow over me. Frustration that I was rendered weak and helpless, fear at the thought of other people noticing me and laughing at me. Alone, even though I hadn't asked anyone to help me or to comfort me, I felt alienated. All of my worst fears, my deepest secrets, my innermost thoughts. They whirled around me, hurting me in ways that wouldn't leave marks. At least, not visible ones. I vaguely heard the door swing open, but I couldn't rise from my stupor like state. It was Drew. The Barbie doll from hell. The meanest of the popular girls. She looked in the mirror, as if to check her make up, but then glanced to her right. She saw me. I froze, hyperventilating. It was terrifying. She stared down at me and, laughed? I felt a burst of confusion but then realised it was a harsh laugh, aimed at me.

"Well, well, if it isn't the nerd!" She said. "What's the matter blondie? Something wrong? I knew you were a freak, you always were!" She taunted. She went on and on, prolonging my pain. How can people be so mean? I sat there, unmoving, caught in a civil war between my brain cells. I was hurting inside, and everything Drew said confirmed my fears and hurt even more. People hated me, they didn't want to know me.

"I bet Percy and his friends are only using you to get good grades. I bet they're gonna ask you to do their papers and homework's and at the end of it all, they'll treat you like what you are. Dirt. You're their pet project. Their little personal nerd." She smiled cruelly. "That's all you are. A nobody. A nothing. A smart little nerd with no friends and no life." She stopped, seeming satisfied, but my mind was still racing, trying to force me to accept her words as the truth. The door to the bathroom opened. It was a boy. Not just any boy. Percy. He took in the situation and snaked an arm around Drew's waist, pulling her away. I broke inside. Drew was right, I was a nobody. Wait, no, she wasn't. Percy's face betrayed him. His eyes were fire, his features distorted in fury. Drew didn't notice.

"Oh Percy, honey, I knew you would come around." Drew said, allowing Percy to pull her close. "You are right, we should go somewhere private without this loser." Percy actually picked her up and carried her to the door. My heart sank, maybe he was just going to leave with her after all. And then he threw her bodily from the room. I would have laughed and cheered had I not been hyperventilating and unable to move. And then he shut the door and came over. He pulled me close and held me there. I suddenly felt right, like this was where I was supposed to be, in his arms. I began to calm down, to relax a bit. I let my head fall onto his shoulder and he didn't even flinch. He just held me and whispered in my ear.

"Why?" I asked him. I got no response and looked up only to find a pair of mesmerising sea green eyes just inches from mine. And then he kissed me. I heard fireworks somewhere, but they seemed insignificant to the spark I just felt. And it was a spark. I felt it, and I think he did too. And then he was gone, all too soon. I was lifted up by strong, muscular arms and found myself with my face against Percy's chest. I glanced up at him and saw a sheepish, lopsided grin on his face. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you." I whispered. Again, I got no reply, but this time he carried me to the door, set me down, and brushed me down. He swept all of the dust off of me and even grabbed some paper towels, dabbing at my eyes and face to get rid of tears I hadn't realised were there. When he was done I looked in the mirror and saw myself again. But this time I had a bigger smile than I've ever seen on my face. I realised that the mask I have hidden from the world with was gone. Percy had wiped away more than just tears. He had wiped away my fears.

"Ready to go Annabeth?" He said, getting my name right. I was surprised, I thought he would use 'Anna', 'Beth' or 'Annie' or something to spike my temper and get me back to my old ways. That's how I would have done it. And then it hit me, Percy isn't me. He isn't anywhere near as smart as me, no offense to the guy or anything. But he dealt with the situation better than I could have ever done. Sometimes being smart wasn't always the answer.

"Yeah," I answered with more confidence than I could remember having. "Let's go." He smiled, as if realising he had done a good job.

"Right this way, my lady." He joked, offering his arm. I took it replying,

"Thank you, kind sir." He laughed, which brought a curious glance from me. I raised my eyebrows at him, gesturing for him to explain.

"I'm glad I could see you as you. No mask, no distractions. Just you being you. I like it." He explained, and then proceeded to turn the colour of Rachel Elizabeth Dare's hair, bright red. I was shocked at the compliment and a little flattered and flustered when he said that, so I didn't notice how he quickly smiled at me. Nor did I see the twinkle in his eye. And I definitely didn't notice how hot he looked in the t-shirt that hugged his body fairly well. And I most certainly did not notice how his arm never unlinked from mine. And there was no way in Hades that Annabeth Chase was thinking how much she enjoyed spending time with Percy Jackson and how good he made her feel.

Of course, the moment was ruined when all of my friends rounded the corner and saw us together. Percy didn't unlink his arm like I expected him to as Thalia, Juniper, Calypso, Grover, Piper, Leo, Jason, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, Selina and Beckendorf came pounding down the hallway to meet us. They were louder than a herd of elephants in the Lincoln Tunnel. Long story, don't ask.

"Annabeth!" Thalia called. "Where the hell were you?!"

"What happened?!" Asked Juniper.

"Are you alright?!" That was Calypso.

I opened my mouth to reply when all of a sudden Leo broke in.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. Why are you two linking arms and walking down the corridor like you're having the time of your lives?" He narrowed his eyes at us, trying to look serious. He couldn't. He cracked up laughing and so did all the other guys. My friends looked at Piper for an explanation. She clearly didn't have a clue either. Neither did the other girls.

"What's so funny?!" I demanded, not sure if they were insulting me or not. They slowly came to a stop, leaning on each other. Then Jason stepped forward as if he was testifying in court or something, avoiding Percy's eyes and looking a little nervous.

"Well the thing is..." He broke off under a glare from Percy. He clearly knew what the guys were thinking.

"Oh for Zeus' sake!" Beckendorf said. "Stop wimping out Grace!" He turned to me, grinning. "We were laughing because this is Perseus Jackson, who has said many a time that high school relationships are stupid and that he won't have one, ever, and he was caught walking arm in arm with a girl. Filthy hypocrite!" Beckendorf laughed, and this set the guys off again. My heart sank as I looked at Percy, who himself looked extremely sheepish. So it turns out there wasn't a spark. I put on a brave face and laughed it off. Nobody needed to know how I felt. It didn't matter. I heard the sound of heels clacking on the floor behind us. Not good. We turned around in dismay to see a teacher I've never seen before walking towards us. We saw her as she saw us. Her mouth opened to start shouting at us and, by some unspoken agreement, we ran. Dodging around corners and hurtling down the pathways and corridors of the school complex. The funny thing was, that all this time Apollo still hadn't turned up.

We slammed the door of the music room shut and at once fell apart laughing. I felt better now but I still couldn't meet Percy's eye. He must have felt just as awkwardly as I did, as he crossed the room and sat in the far corner, loading up a computer and putting his headphones on. Thankfully, the others didn't notice, or care, and I sat between Thalia and Piper as we all loaded up the computers. I had just opened up Garageband when the door opened and the teacher, Apollo, finally strolled in. He was dressed in black skinny jeans, a white and black checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and some ray bans. Thalia at once sat up and I smirked, mouthing "She fancies him" to Piper, who understood immediately. A lot of girls liked Apollo, I mean, he was hot. I'll admit, he was hot, but I don't fancy him like Thalia does.

"Hello class!" Apollo said smiling at us. Wow, it was like looking at the sun. I was almost blinded by that smile! "So," Apollo continued, "today, we will be just doing a sort of free lesson." He did air quotations on the word 'free' and most of us perked up. Even Percy had removed his headphones to listen. "What I want you to do is simple. Choose from any of these three options on the board." He gestured to the whiteboard which was currently covered by a pull down projector screen. He pulled the cord and it receded into it's compartment above the board. Everyone looed at the board, taking in and weighing up the options:

-Begin a track on Garageband

-Go into a practise room and work on a song of your choice

-Work on a song/piece in small groups

People started to mutter to each other, asking their friends what they were doing and discussing song choices.

"Settle down guys!" Apollo called "You don't have to make your choice right away, you can have a couple of minutes to decide. Once you have done so, let me know and then start working. I will be picking some to show to the class, so make sure you don't mess around!" I began to panic a bit and I saw Percy go slightly pale across the room. I glanced at Apollo pleadingly, he knows I have issues performing in front of people. He noticed me and nodded as if to say he wouldn't pick me and I relaxed a it. He retired to his chair and opened up his own Garageband piece, fiddling with the keys on the keyboard, selecting the right instrument and playing a few notes as he waited for us. Almost at once Percy got up and headed over. I was fairly close to Apollo's desk so I could hear their conversation.

"Sir, can I use practice room twelve?" Percy asked. I frowned, that was the furthest, most secluded room he could of picked. And then I remembered that I wasn't the only one that liked to perform in front of others. Apollo looked up.

"Sure Percy, the keyboard is set up in there so you can do whatever, just don't trash the room." He said and tossed Percy the key with a card on the keychain reading 'Room 12'. I decided to work on a Garageband piece that I had been tinkering with at the end of last year. It wasn't anything too good, just some backing chords so far. I didn't want to make a fast moving, brand new top charts hit or anything, so the chords were just plain piano for the moment. I messed around with that for a bit, working on a new chord layer before I glanced up to see what everyone else was doing. Leo was working away on Garageband with Beckendorf doing the same beside him. Jason and Piper had gone to Practise Room 1, Frank and Hazel were working on a track together in Practise Room 2. Thalia, Juniper and Calypso were working on a group piece in a corner, a couple of other kids were working on their own things. Then I looked at Nico. He had a bass guitar out and was absent mindedly playing while talking to Will Solace and Grover about something, I couldn't make out what, and Selina and Reyna were singing together in another corner. I wondered how Percy was getting on. I hope he won't have to perform, he could only just do one song in front of us, let alone in front of a whole class!

Percy's POV

I felt so awkward after that whole scene with everybody in the corridor. Gods it was awful! While it is true that I think high school relationships are pointless, I can understand them. Like Selina and Charles, or Jason and Piper, they worked together and they actually loved each other and wanted the relationship. They weren't about having the relationship, they just wanted the person they were with. I couldn't do that. I probably wouldn't see the girl I was going out with in a years time anyway. I just don't like high school relationships. My opinion, not theirs. But I still felt awful seeing Annabeth's face. I mean, I did just kiss her. Man I screwed up! I was glad for the excuse to get away from everyone. Music always calms me, and here was a free ticket to playing music in private. Just as long as I don't get picked to perform, this lesson could go off without a hitch.

I reached the furthest practise room, room twelve, and opened it up, shutting the door behind me. I could already feel myself relaxing as I stood there in the peace and quiet. I figured I should probably do something in case Apollo came round to inspect us and to check we weren't fooling around *cough* Leo *cough*. Luckily, I store my guitar in room twelve anyway, it's always unused so I leave it in here to be safe. I didn't trust the school band storage room. I went in there once and was ambushed by a couple of cheerleaders that had taken an interest in me. Bad memories. I flipped open the lid of the case and pulled out my guitar. At first, I couldn't figure out what to play, so I sat browsing through the songs that sounded good on guitar in my head. Most of them were too cheesy or boring to play, not really anything I could get into. But then I remembered one that I liked: Wild Hearts, by The Vamps. I actually liked their music because they weren't a typical boy band and their music suited my guitar so I began to listen and play to it. I was just about to strum the first notes when Apollo passed the window. Dam. He was going to ask me to play what I had for him, and if he liked it I would have to perform to the class. To Hades with it, I thought, and began to play anyway:

I was walking away,

But she's so beautiful it made me stay

I don't know her name,

But I'm hoping she might feel the same

Here I go again, You got my heart!

Tonight we'll dance

I'll be yours and you'll be mine

We won't look back,

Take my hand and we will shine

Oh, Oh, Oh

She needs a wild heart [X2]

I've got a wild heart

Stay here my dear,

feels like I've been standing right here for years

My mind's made up

Tell me you feel this, you know I won't give up

I won't give up

Tonight we'll dance

I'll be yours and you'll be mine

We won't look back,

Take my hand and we will shine

Oh, Oh, Oh

She needs a wild heart [X2]

I've got a wild heart

Oh, Oh, Oh

She needs a wild heart [X2]

I've got a wild heart

I know it's late I know it's cold

So come right here and I swear I'll never let you go

The way move is wonderful

Let's do it now, cause one day we'll both me old

Oh woah oh

Tonight we'll dance

I'll be yours and you'll be mine

We won't look back,

Take my hand and we will shine

Oh, Oh, Oh

She needs a wild heart [X2]

I've got a wild heart

Tonight we'll dance

I'll be yours and you'll be mine

We won't look back,

Take my hand and we will shine

Oh, Oh, Oh

She needs a wild heart [X2]

I've got a wild heart

Oh, Oh, Oh

She needs a wild heart [X2]

I've got a wild heart

I finished playing and looked through the window to see Apollo smiling at me and giving me a thumbs up. Oh Gods...

Authors Notes

Once again guys I'm so sorry for not uploading in ages! It was a motivation-block thingy and I hated it! I should be back now and hopefully posting chapters every Wednesday as usual. Please review and let me know what you like and even what you don't like about this story. The next few chapters are gonna be fun to write! I love you long time, bye!

Scott