A thank you to my super awesome, brand-new beta reader, Ruby.

Chapter 12

I braced myself and unlocked my phone.

Percy: I need help.

Immediately, I had horrific scenarios running through my brain. I frantically typed a reply.

Annabeth: You okay?

He replied less than 5 seconds later.

Percy: No. It's Victoria's birthday in 2 days and I still haven't gotten her a present.

I took a deep breath, trying to control my anger at this latest development.

Annabeth: She's one of those girls right? The kind that likes expensive stores?

Percy: What do you mean "one of those girls?"

I cursed. I meant that she was superficial, but I couldn't tell him that for obvious reasons. So, naturally, I improvised.

Annabeth: I was talking about genres, Seaweed Brain. There are girls that like giftcards for expensive stores. And there are girls that don't go for anything extravagant and just appreciate whatever you throw at them.

Percy: I'm guessing you're of the second type.

Annabeth: You guess correctly.

Percy: Well, it would make my life a whole lot easier if I had a girl like you as a girlfriend.

To say my heart almost stopped would be an understatement. What the heck is he talking about?

Annabeth: Just get her a giftcard from Nordstrom or something.

Percy: K. Thanks. Night.

Annabeth: Night.


We had lunch together for the first time in 5 years. All of us. And it was very… mushy.

Jason was flirting with Piper, Leo was flirting with Reyna, Silena and Charlie were cuddling, Travis was annoying Katie, Frank and Hazel were being cute, Zoe and Rachel were talking, Nico and Thalia were arguing about Rock music, and Connor and Grover were racing to see who could eat the most enchiladas.

Typical.

Evidently uncomfortable with all the romance surrounding us, Percy and I ate quickly and went outside. We plopped down under a tree.

"I don't see Victoria," I said casually, leaning back against the trunk.

"Yeah. She had to go somewhere for a family emergency. She won't be here for a week," he answered, playing with the grass.

"You don't sound too upset," I mused.

"I could use a break. She's great and everything, but she's a drama queen," Percy said frankly.

I couldn't suppress a grin.

"You're laughing at me," Percy complained as my phone rang.

He shot me a devious grin, swooped my phone from the grass and answered.

"Hello? ...Sorry, who is this? …Damian?" he spoke into the phone.

Crap. "Don't say anything stupid," I hissed at Percy.

He gave me that annoying smirk yet endearing smirk he was known for..

"Well, Damian, I'm sorry but Annie isn't available to talk right now… Oh she's currently crying," he grinned at me.

"What?" I shrieked, reaching out to grab the phone from his hand.

"Yes, she's sobbing actually. It's terrible. She's getting my shirt all wet," he elaborated, dodging my attempt to snatch the phone away.

"I'll tell her. I'm sure she'll call later. Thank you. Have a nice day," Percy said, ending the call. He looked at me with a cheeky smile as I stared at him in disbelief.

"Crying?" I sputtered out., barely able to keep the disbelief and annoyance out of my voice.

"He told me to tell you to calm down," Percy responded. "He seemed pretty worried," he added, losing the smile on his face.

"He knows I never cry." I said dryly.

Percy faced me with an unreadable expression. "Who is Damian?" he asked.

"A friend," I answered truthfully, still miffed at his casual approach to everything.

"He knows you well," Percy said.

"Umm….yeah," I answered, at a loss for words. "He's my friend," I repeated.

"How do you know him?" Percy asked.

Now, by this point, I was equally confused and frustrated. For one thing, he just intercepted a phone call. And then he had the nerve to look angry and ask questions. So it's pretty easy to understand why I snapped.

"Why is that any of your business?" I asked.

"It was a harmless question," he retorted.

I couldn't come up with a logical argument for that.

"We're going to be in a photoshoot together for Teen Vogue," I relented.

"Together?" he asked.

"Yes."

"You mean as a couple?" he clarified.

"Yes Percy! Gods! Why is this bothering you anyway?"

"It's not bothering me," he insisted.

"You should see your face."

"I just don't like that guy."

"You don't even know who he is!" I cried, exasperated.

"I have a hunch."

"Percy, I don't want to argue with you right now," I said firmly.

"You're the one who's arguing," he objected.

"You're being unreasonable," I defended myself.

"I was just voicing my opinion. You're getting all defensive about him for no reason," Percy said with a distant expression, nowhere near the warm, familiar grin he wore just 2 minutes ago.

I felt a pang in my chest.

"I'm not getting defensive. I just don't understand why you have a problem with one of my friends that you have never met. Your opinion has no logical or factual basis."

"I'm entitled to an opinion."

"Whatever, Percy," I said, grabbing my phone and standing up.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I have to talk to Damian."

His face darkened . "Fine."

"Fine."


I never called Damian. I was too busy trying to figure out a certain Percy Jackson. Questions ran through my head.

Why is he convinced that Damian is a bad person?

Why is it bothering him that Damian is my friend?

Why would it matter to him even if I was getting defensive?

I'm pretty sure by now you'll realize that I'm not exactly dumb. I'm an analyst. I'm good at psychology. I'm good at figuring people out.

I had a large number of theories.

Possibility A was ridiculous. Percy had a girlfriend that he cared about.

So that left me with a number of equally ridiculous theories.

Possibility B: Percy just really dislikes male models.

Possibility C: Percy doesn't like Oscar's movies, and is therefore is taking out the anger on his son.

"What happened?" I heard as I was lying on the grass, staring at the sky.

I turned around to see Thalia standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. She looked at me inquisitively, her eyes thickly rimmed in eyeliner.

"Nothing," I answered.

She flopped next to me, lying on her back in the grass. "Where's Percy?" she asked.

"Who cares?" I answered, trying to determine the shape of a particularly difficult cloud.

"Go," Thalia said.

"Go where?"

"Rant. You know you want to. Go," Thalia said, closing her eyes.

"Perseus Jackson is the most infuriating person on the planet," I said simply.

"And?" she probed.

"Damian called. Percy grabbed the phone from me and lied to him, saying I was crying and therefore couldn't talk to him."

"Crying?" Thalia asked.

I nodded. "Into his shirt," I added dryly.

She smirked.

"Shut up," I said.

"I didn't say anything. But continue," she said, a small smile on her face.

"Then he gets all on my case about how Damian's a bad person."

"He's never met him," Thalia said.

"I know. That's what I said."

"As smart as you are Annie, you're pretty dumb."

"You think I haven't thought about that possibility, Thalia?"

"It's obvious it's true Annabeth."

"He has Victoria."

"Annie. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you honestly believe that Percy loves Victoria," she said seriously.

I looked at her. "I honestly believe that it doesn't matter what I think, because he wouldn't be dating he otherwise."

"Watch them break up within 3 weeks."

"Not gonna happen,"

"I'll bet you 35 bucks."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're confident," I noted.

"I know my cousin. Deal?" she asked, smirking.

"Deal," I answered with a smirk of my own.

We shook hands.


There was a question asked about why I have review goals.

Here is my explanation:

Unlike other authors, I am not as efficient. I begin writing the next chapter after I post one. My story is planned out, but not written down. It usually takes some time for review goals to be reached. In that time, I have an excuse for not updating right away (because I feel bad when I get reviews asking me to update). I also have time to write the next chapter. And starting today, it'll give time for Ruby to review and offer her input.

296 reviews for next chapter

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