Guys, no freaking out. I was late last time because of something stupid going on . I fixed the problem, and it took me a full day. I hope you don't hate me for it. Now, here you go.

Disclaimer: No PJO for LHG. It's all Ricks.

Percy: I still think I understand…..

*We all leave to read the story*

Annabeth:

It was all my fault. I'm the reason Leo's in prison. All I could think about was how quickly Luke could get everyone of my other friends sent there, too. It was San Francisco all over again.

My friends needed help, I gave in to Luke. Then, when the moment was right, I ran.

But I can't do that now. My new friends are being used as bait. If I take it, I don't just throw my life away, I throw out theirs too. So I did what Luke says. Every weekend we he picks me up in his car and we join Ethan and his friends at their fraternity. I've been doing this for a week now and I've never felt so helpless. Luke hasn't tried anything… too bad. I would never let that go and I wouldn't care if I had to get taken down to take him down. So he's trying to be a good, abusive, manipulative boyfriend.

I hate every second of it. I hate him, I hate Ethan Nakamura for letting it go, and I above all hate myself for letting it happen. I have to play along and I don't ever forget to be arrogant and snarky around them.

And then there's Percy. I have to avoid my friends in class, but above all, I have to avoid him. I lock myself in my room during lunch and I sit as far away from them as possible.

Now I know that Octavian is helping in on this. His 'special friends' save me seats in classes and I'm not bullied by them anymore. I even got a special text from Rachel. I told you it wasn't meant to be. :)

So now I hate her too. None of my friends can help, Percy can't help, and I'm the Damsel in Distress. I can't leave my situation, and no one will ever be able to help me. I just hope Percy can move on and find someone. Cheesy yes, but true. I hope he moves on because I've seen the way he looks at me in class now. He's as heartsick as I am.

Percy:

I don't know what happened. Maybe I was the bad boyfriend or I didn't do enough. All I know is that she's going out with a college Sophomore named Luke. Rachel sent me pictures of them together and a little note that said. You were warned.

I spend most of my free time swimming. Five hours of it after school lets out. I just swim laps and sometimes Nico and Thalia are there trying to get me out. I've stopped doing homework, I've stopped going outside. I've given up. By the end of this week, they both stopped trying.

I legitimately thought my life was over because the Wise Girl that called me Seaweed brain was gone from my life. Dating another boy. That was the part that scared me the most. She immediately met with someone else and is dating them. After a few days of watching Annabeth sitting next to Joe Bob or Matt Sloan, I knew that she'd given up too.

And that made me feel even worse.

Nico:

You want to be surprised? How about waking up at four in the morning to spy on a dog while she does her business? Mrs. O'Leary couldn't stay at the Jackson's and Percy is still going through his breakup. I'm on doggie duty...duty.

I'm really worried about that. He's barely touched his food and he's just given up. The fact that me and Thalia are back together reminds him of her, so we try to get to him separately. It still doesn't work. Grover makes sure that he gets up for school, otherwise he wouldn't bother getting up.

Now I'm waking up at four to make sure the dog can go. I was about to go back in when I got the phone call that changed it all.

"Whats up?" I didn't recognize the caller ID. "Nico? Nico! Yes this works! Okay, listen closely. We're being used. I don't know what for, I don't know why, but I was a warning. Nico, you listening? I've only got a few minutes." I was so surprised. Leo was still in juvie. How was he?...

"Dude, someone is using us to get to someone else! Octavian is part of it! I need you to see whats up, okay? It's the reason you were framed." He was speaking quietly like his life depended on how silent and urgently he contacted us. "Leo, what do you mean?" I was trying to wrap my head around this theory. "Get to Octavian or Rachel! You have to get the answer for yourself! Oh-" Someone broke off the call on the other end. I kept trying to talk to him, but he didn't answer.

I know Leo wouldn't call unless it was important. I guess I had to look under a few rocks to figure out what was going on.

I visited Rachel first. Octavian had set her up with a private room, but that didn't stop me. I wasn't someone to give up. Last year, I nearly destroyed him, but he'd thrown a curve: I'll hurt your friends. Not me, my friends. I backed off, but that didn't mean I was scared to get my hands dirty again.

I knocked on Rachel's door and she didn't answer at first. I was seriously debating whether or not to break down the door when it did open. I must've looked really ridiculous in skull and bones pajamas while holding a little black poodle, but she still gasped when she saw me.

She backed up, and I took the chance to go into her dorm. "Sit down. We've got some things to talk about."

Leo:

Getting the phone wasn't so hard, but getting a signal? Not so easy. Calypso kind of owns the place and I just asked her. She got one quickly, but explained the real problem. "No signals in here. There's a square foot of coverage by the rec room window, but that's always locked." I just had to smile. Locks I can handle. But the phone I'd be a sitting duck out there. No, somewhere more private.

And so at three in the morning Calypso let me into her room. "Did you get that other stuff I asked for?" I asked she got out the pringles can and the wire. "You are a girl of many talents." I complimented her. She smiled slightly. "Anything to get back at Octavian." And with that, I set to work constructing the Can-tenna.

It was a really basic thing, so I won't go into detail, but I shoved it out of her window, through the bars that made jumping impossible and I pointed my special device in the direction of the school. My phone got a signal.

So I called Nico. First person I could think of and luckily I had his number memorized. When we spoke I made it quick, but the can-tenna broke. I had just a few minutes and then it burst into flames. Me and Calypso looked pretty funny stomping up and down on a burning pringles can.

"Great, now I look like you." She looked grimy and covered in sweat. It was kind of hot, actually.

"You'll get over it. Thank you, just for all you've done." He said. She raised an eyebrow. "The Lord of Awesome is thanking me? Very unlike you Valdez."

"Yeah, well just wait until I get you out of here. I-" She put a hand over my mouth. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Leo. It won't work." She said. I didn't stop. "I'm not lying. I'll get you out of here. It'll take a while, sure, but -" She stopped me, but not with a hand over my mouth. Instead she kissed me.

I remember once seeing Percy after Annabeth kissed him. He had to remember how to breath. Now I understood. It was like your brain just forgot everything besides what you're kissing.

She sat in front of me while I gaped like a fish. She didn't meet my eyes. "Get out Valdez. And when you leave, try and forget about me. I don't think you'll ever see me again."

I did what she asked, but it was a little different than that. I felt like I was in a trance, and when I got to my bed, my brain was still in autopilot. I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

Nico:

Information gathering was a very slow process. I didn't know what to expect from Rachel, but she didn't give me anything. Instead she pointed out that I had no real evidence. Sadly, she was right.

I was going to give up, after only a week of searching. Then I caught a break from one of my friends, Ella. She was in the library with Tyson, Percy's half brother. I just sat with them, throwing in the towel. But when I looked at Ella, she looked curious. I know she's really smart, even though she doesn't let on.

It was a risk, but I explained the situation to her. After a while she got a out a chess board, and picked up a pawn. "Pawns. Pawns have kings. Kings use pawns. Blonde and blue king. Green and black king. Kings and queens and pawns. Pawns and queens?" She phrased the last bit like a question. She was talking in riddles. "Grey and blonde. Crying because of her king. Sad. Wants to be with the other one." Now that sounded confusing.

I grabbed her hand, gently. "Ella, you are a genius. Thank you for your help." She nodded her head and I left, still thinking about what she had said.

When I got back to my dorm, I pulled out a chess set. I'd invited Grover, and only Grover, into the investigation. He sat across from me and I tried to make sense of it all. I picked up a king. "Okay, so a king uses pawns. Leo told me that he was a pawn. Like he was used as a warning." I said. Grover nodded his head. He picked up the other king. "Octavian. It has to be. He's the biggest king in this school." He said.

I shook my head. "No, when Ella said king, I didn't feel like she meant Octavian" I said. It was so weird discussing chess like it was all real. Especially with my eco friendly detective. "Green and black…. thats Percy." I said, setting my king aside. Now Grover was tapping the king to his thigh. "Kings use pawns….. but what about the others pawns? Do you remember when…." He trailed off. I knew what he was talking about. Leo liked to use the other person's pawns as shields when he played chess. It gave him an edge.

"Manipulation. Someone used Leo as a shield. But the other shields…." I pointed to the rest of the board. "We're still here. Being used as a smoke screen. But by who?" I asked. Grover shrugged, but he put down his king in the center of the board, like it was on trial. "Didn't Ella say something about queens?" I nodded my head. "So what did she say?"

"The queen was crying because of her king. She wanted to be with the other one…" Then I facepalmed. "No, she said the 'blonde and grey' one. Who do we know who has blonde hair and grey eyes?" I asked. Grover's eyes widened. "No way. Leo in juvie and Annabeth breaking up with Percy? That can't be related…." But I saw the gears in his brain moving now. He was getting into it like I was.

"But what about Octavian? He said Octavian was behind it all." Grover reminded me. I frowned. Yes, Octavian had to be a part of that. How else could it all of happened. "Could Octavian be used as a pawn?" I asked no one in particular. Grover raised his eyebrow. "Only to one person. Rachel. And she has a crush on…?" I facepalmed again and cursed.

"She wanted to get rid of Annabeth! Leo went to juvie and I stayed behind. She broke up with Percy a few days later! She's out of the way." Then I looked at the king, still on trial. I picked it up. "Have you gotten a good look at the guy that picks up Annabeth every weekend? He has blonde hair, but I've never seen his eyes…." I said. Grover was catching on. "He's her old boyfriend. Do you think?..." Honestly I didn't know what to think. But this was a good lead.

"We need to contact one of Annabeth's friends from California. Anyone she might've mentioned?" He nodded his head. "Yeah. She mentioned a name. I could get her Skype address." He said. I nodded my head. "Do it quick. We've got four days until winter break. If this guy is with Octavian…" I let the possibilities hang in the air. Me and Grover would get to the bottom of it.

But then we'd tell Percy.

This was nice. Guys, again, really sorry about last time. It was being stupid, and I had to go from copy-and-paste to Microsoft word.