Hey guys! I wanted to update early so y'all didn't have to wait very long after that intense cliffie...so I should be loved(:

Super quick..I would LOVE to have 100 reviews by Christmas! I'm not saying I have to, but it would make the happiest person ever :D

Ok, on with the chapter! Whoo!

Disclaimer: I would have never left that cliffie at the end of Mark of Athena, so obviously I'm not Rick. He's too much of a genius to be me!

The Test

Chapter 8

I stared at him, shocked. "What do you mean?"

"I asked how much you knew about my past, Annabeth." He kept his eyes focused on me while Percy moved restlessly by my side.

I gaped at him. "Um, not much, why?"

He studied my face and leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. "Just wondering. Now, Annabeth, I need to talk to you alone."

Percy glared at him with an intensity I've never seen in his eyes. "No way. I'm not going anywhere."

Luke sighed and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. It was quiet for a few seconds. "Look. I'm not going to hurt anyone, at least not right now unless you do something I really don't like or something that really pisses me off. So I suggest you let me talk to her alone."

Percy hesitated for a minute then motioned for Thalia to follow him. Thalia glared at him as he walked past and said, "Do anything to her, and I'll kill you myself."

Luke's friends shuffled out of the room, leaving me and Luke alone. Luke stared at me for a minute, not saying anything.

"Why did you want to talk to me alone, Luke?" I spat out, gritting my teeth.

Luke just chuckled. "Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth. I don't like your attitude. He leaned forward and grabbed my wrist, squeezing it painfully before releasing it. I took my wrist and rubbed it, a scowl on my face.

"Why did you ask me how much I knew of your past?" I asked him.

"Just curious."

I studied his face. "Why did you ask to speak to me alone?"

"I wanted to tell you something."

I looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

"I still love you."

I stood up from my chair so fast it hit the wall. "What?!"

"I said, I still love you." He said, calmly.

I stared at him disbelievingly. "Then why on earth are you doing all of this?"

"If I can't have you, no one else can."

I couldn't believe he said that. The shock of it had me frozen on the spot.

He stood up and walked to the living room where everyone was waiting. I forced my legs forward and followed him in there and saw Percy and Thalia both being pinned on the ground by Luke's friends, struggling to throw them off. They must have heard the chair hit the wall when I stood up. They stopped struggling when they saw me walk in the room. Luke and his friends got up and walked out the door without another word.

Percy ran over to me. "Are you ok? Did he do anything to you? He better not have, or I will kill him with my bare hands and-"

I put my hands on both sides of his face, trying to keep them from shaking. "I'm fine."

He wrapped his strong arms around me and buried his face in my hair. Thalia was still standing off to the side, watching us. She met my eyes and gave me a sad smile. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and I made my way to it cautiously, but Percy held me back and went to answer the door himself.

A man was at the door, looking no older than me or Percy. He had black hair, dark brown eyes, and was wearing all black. He looked past me to Thalia and started his way in. Percy stepped to the side and blocked his entrance.

"Who are-" Percy started.

"Nico!" Thalia cried and walked to him, pushing Percy to the side. I smirked, knowing this is the guy Thalia was 'seeing'.

Thalia threw her arms around him so hard he almost fell over. He steadied himself and returned her hug.

Percy came over to me and grabbed my hand. Thalia released Nico and walked over to me, putting her arms out for a hug. I hugged her back and pulled back to release her, but she just tightened her hold and started whispering frantically in my ear.

"Look, I don't want him to know anything, so I'm going to leave with him. I will call you later."

She released me and fixed a fake smile on her face then walked to Nico and grabbed his hand, pulling him out the door.

"See you later Annabeth, Percy." She said over her shoulder before pulling the door closed behind her.

Percy let out a big breath and sat down on the sofa, putting his head in his hands. I just stood there, watching him until he looked up at me.

"What did he have to say to you?"

I nervously avoided his eyes and mumbled, "Nothing," in an unconvincing way. I didn't want to tell him what Luke said. I love you. Those three words were echoing in my mind over and over again.

"Annabeth, please tell me." His eyes pleaded with me.

"Nothing, Percy." I met his eyes and tried to sound convincing.

Percy just sighed and looked down. His eyes paused at my wrist and stayed there. "Annabeth, what happened to your wrist?"

I looked down. Where Luke had grabbed my wrist and squeezed it was now a nasty looking bruise all the way around. "Oh. Um..." I tried to think of a good enough lie, but came up with nothing. My eyes gave it away.

He jumped up and headed to the door. "I swear, I'm going to kill him, that lying bas-"

I ran to him and blocked his passage. "Percy! He's already long gone by now. Just drop it."

He sighed and returned to his position on the couch. "Annabeth. Did he do anything else to hurt you?" His voice sounded like he was straining to remain calm.

"No. I'm fine." I said in a small voice. I walked over to him and sat on his lap. His arms were rigid for a few seconds before finding their way around my waist. I put my head in the crook of his neck and breathed in.

"Annabeth. I don't want you going anywhere without me anymore. We have no idea what Luke is up to now. I don't even understand why he had to talk to us anyways."

I bit my lip and didn't say anything. "Let's just try and act normal."

We both got up and decided to make macaroni and cheese for dinner. We ate together and watched a few movies until it was time for bed. We got up to get ready for the night and headed to our room. I went towards the bathroom, but Percy caught my arm and gently turned me towards him. His lips captured mine in a kiss and my hands found their way into his hair. The kiss deepened and I felt my back hit the wall, his arms trapping me on either side. After a minute, we separated to catch our breaths. He gave me one more quick peck before going back into our room, leaving me breathless.

I finished in the bathroom and went back to our room, seeing Percy sitting on the bed, shirtless. You would think that I would have gotten used to his perfect body by now, but it was still enough to make me blush and gape at his torso.

"Annabeth? My eyes are up here."

I looked up to see him smirking, yet his eyes still held a sad look.

I sighed and went to sit beside him. We sat motionless on our bed for what felt like hours. Eventually, Percy got up and turned out the lights before laying back down and opening his arms to me. I wormed my way into his arms, feeling the strength and protection in them that I loved. His arms were the only place I felt safe now. I felt exhausted from our eventful day, eventually surrendering my mind to a hopefully dreamless sleep.

Whoo! Another chapter finished! Ok, so I know that the whole 'how much do you know about my past' thing kinda had no point in this chapter, but it's important later on in the story. So keep in mind that Annabeth doesn't know hardly anything about his past! Anyways, please review; I want to try and reach 100. I want to try and gradually make the chapters longer, so be prepared for them to be longer. Well I hope you liked this chapter; I will try and update sometime early this week.

Au revoir, and please review!