Chapter Nine

Disclaimer:

Percy: Look, Isabella, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I can't date you.

Isabella: Why not?

Percy: It's complicated. Look, I just can't. So keep away from me.

Isabella: Is it because of something SpringFling wrote?

Percy: It can't be. She's not the author of the PJO. Rick Riordan is and he made this problem by making me meet Annabeth.

Isabella: Who's Annabeth?

Percy: Oh…um…just this random girl I met at camp – summer camp.

Annabeth: I am NOT random!

NUS -

Back at NUS Percy was facing huge problems himself. He wasn't good at telling girls bad news. So he just couldn't tell Isabella that he had a girlfriend already and had just forgotten about her last evening. How could he have forgotten Annabeth? She was an unforgettable person. Maybe he should use one of the golden drachmas in the fountain and call her. Ask her what to do. No no no Percy! If you ask her then she'll be like, How could you forget about me? And then your wonderful relationship will be blown! He sighed, then jerked up right, realizing something. If I ask her and she stays with me, I'll know that she really does love me. But I'm scared!

"What should I do?" Percy muttered under his breath as he paced his room.

A knock on the door woke him from his self-distress. He quickly ran his hand over his hair and checked that a beard wasn't growing yet. When he was satisfied with his appearance he went over to the door and opened it. Outside stood Isabella wearing a mini skirt and a matching blouse. She looked even more beautiful than Annabeth. Annabeth, his girlfriend, who he loved and had never even seriosly considered wearing a skirt in her entire life.

"Hey, Percy! I'm supposed to show you to your home room. Come on." Isabella said, turning on her heel and starting down the hallway.

"So, uh, about tonight, I can't come. I forgot that I had a doctor's appointment and it was really important. Which also means that I'll miss one day of school. It's in California." He thought everything would be bad now, but it got worse.

Isabella started crying. Well, no tears, but her eyes turned big and round and she made loud sobbing noises. And if there were two things Percy couldn't stand they were monsters and pretty girls crying.

After several moments of hesitation he reluctantly said "Well, I guess I could cancel the appointment. I probably will get another one sooner or later."

"Thank you Percy, thank you!" Isabella flew at his neck, embracing him, a huge smile on her face, her small breakdown already forgotten.

Percy quickly shrugged out of the embrace, but he didn't do it very subtly. Isabella noticed and immediately let go of him.

"What's the matter? Is there a different reason why you don't want to go on a date with me tonight?" she asked worriedly. Oh crap! She called it a date!

"No, no," Percy told her. "I just don't like hugging people that I've only known for one day."

That seemed to relieve Isabella.

"I thought you might have a girlfriend already and didn't want to cheat on her. Did you know that almost every single boy in NUS aren't single and they are actually cheating on their girlfriends? It's nice to see that you're different Percy." And Isabella smiled broadly at him, showing scariley sharp white teeth.

That freaked Percy out, and he mentaly kicked himself for not telling her about Annabeth. For the rest of the walk to his homeroom he kept two meters of distance between him and Isabella. She didn't think to notice, which was good.

After a few minutes of silence Isabella asked him "Do you think I'm too skinny?"

Percy knew from his Mom that it was never good to call a woman/teenager/any-member-of-the-female-race too fat. But she'd never told him what to do if a woman/teenager/any-member-of-the-female-race asked him if she was too skinny.

So the only answer Percy could come up with was "I think you're perfect. Not too fat but not too skinny either."

Isabella's face glowed so much, it was almost sparkling. So Percy didn't say anything for the rest of the way. Or else she might actually start to love him. And as he was going to break her heart later on, he didn't want her to be more disappointed than necessary.

His home room was just ten minutes away from his room. If you ran it would only take about five minutes. Walking with a gorgeous girl who you don't want to cheat on you girlfriend with? It would take about ten minutes as well. But it would feel about twelve times that ammount.

When they finaley got to his home room, Percy nearly sprinted through the door, happy for a chance to get away from Isabella. But what about later? He thought. She'll probably be waiting outside of each of my classes! Maybe…yes, that might work. He would just hide out in the boys bathroom and make friends in class. They could protect him from Isabella. And by kind of shoving her off she'd get that he didn't like her. With that plan in mind Percy set off to his next class.

He was so happy that he didn't notice Isabella next to him until she spoke "You seem awfully happy. Why?"

"Oh, I don't know," Percy replied. "I just feel happy."

And then they'd arrived at Percy's next class. And so on the day continued, Percy kind of ignoring Isabella while she trotted next to him. Percy also made some friends in class, who said that he was lucky to date Isabella. She never went out with anybody. So this was, like, a huge honor. But gods- Percy couldn't forget Annabeth- or Isabella's sharp, white teeth.

Do you think she's a monster? Which one? I know the answer is really obvious. But if you still don't know it, you'll find out later. Review!

DianeJasmine: AND I made it even MORE obvious!