What's up, my lovelies!?

So school is almost a week from starting, so if I don't finish this story in time, the last few chapters will probably come by really slowly because of school, homework, projects, all that crap.

Anyway, back to the other stuff.

Since no one answered the trivia in chapter 12, well, in review form, I'll put them up again. Review? Pretty please with a drachma on top?

1.) Where and how did Luke get the scar on his face?

2.) Name two Cyclopes mentioned in the whole Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (Not Heroes of Olympus).

3.) Who was the school bully in The Sea of Monsters?

SHOUT-OUTS:

Thanks, PrincessSerenityforever21 for adding my story to their Favorite Stories list.

Thanks, xJojolsHerex for adding me to their Favorite Authors list.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the original Percy Jackson series in this story except for everything else I made up!

ON WITH THE STORY!

Chapter 13

(Luna's POV)

Recap: I gave him a little squeeze in reply, and considered my options. "You know what, Chris," I said with complete defiance, "I think you just got yourself a date to the Demigod Dance."

Chris thought I needed some time alone - which I did - and said goodbye to me after I accepted his offer to the Demigod Dance.

He walked off with a gigantic smile on his face and an aura of pure happiness, which wonder if I made him that ecstatic.

Before I headed to the beach to take a swim (if you know what I mean), I needed to pay Zach a little visit. He was still talking to that slut, Victoria, but she gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek and left, strutting around camp and making several boys' heads turn toward her.

Zach stared after her dreamily, then shook her head as if he just woke up out of a trance.

So many feelings were running around in my head.

I wanted to punch him, kick him, slap him, whatever to make him realize that I'm not a simple toy.

Another part of me also wanted to make him feel the pain he caused me in middle school and high school.

Basically, I wanted Zach to burn in hell . . . Underworld . . . whatever they call it here!

I stomped up to Zach, feeling tears prick my eyes.

No, I will not cry in front of him. I will not show weakness. I will not, I chanted in my head. I refuse to cry in front of anyone at all, and especially not over a boy who tossed me away like I was a broken toy.

Zach smiled when he saw me coming, and my anger momentarily melted. That's how much how his smile affected me. Then that disturbing image crept back into my mind and stuck there.

"A prank? That was it? That was why you played me like all those other innocent girls back at Serpentis?" I hissed.

He had the nerve to look confused and surprised. "Luna, what are you talking about?" he asked.

I was so angry, I could feel my face turn red. All I wanted then was to just drag him into the deepest and most monster-infested part of the woods unarmed and tied to a tree.

Feeling one lone tear slip out of my left eye, I raised my voice, "Don't even try to look surprised! I saw you kiss Victoria just now!"

Zach took a step back, then shook his head like he finally realized what was going on. "Oh gods . . . Luna, she used charmspeak on me!" he protested. I didn't want to let him know that I had no idea what charmspeak was, because I was afraid I was going to forgive him if I figured out what it was, and that was one of the last things I wanted to do.

"I don't care if she used a love potion or whatever on you if they even exist! Just do me a favor, and never talk to me again since I'm going with Chris to the dance," I continued.

A mix of emotions flew through Zach's face, and I thought I recognized regret, anger, and sadness. He has no right to look regretful or sad, I reminded myself.

One lone tear slipped out despite me biting the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood, and it dripped down my face and onto the green grass.

Zach looked stunned that I actually cried . . . sort of . . . and reached out to either hug me or brush some of the hair that had fallen in front of my face. I slapped his hand away just like I did the first day I came to camp and hissed, "Don't even think about it."

Before he could reply, I stomped off toward the beach, not even bothering to change into some kind of swimsuit. Thank the gods, not many people were there, and they were all on the far side of the beach, away from camp.

I looked around to make sure no one was looking at me, and reached into my jacket pocket, feeling the comforting handle of my razor.

Honestly, I never would've started cutting if not for Zach. I could put up with my mother, but he just pushed me over the edge, and I was completely powerless back then.

I hastily brushed my eyes, not caring if I ended up looking like a raccoon, and swiped the razor once across a clean part on my wrist.

It barely hurt since I was so used to it, but it wasn't enough for me. I literally wanted to end my life once and for all, and a small razor wasn't going to do that. I mean, who would care? Zach obviously didn't, I doubt my mother was sober enough to even notice I was gone, I didn't have many friends at camp, and even Poseidon wanted me gone because I had a gift, or maybe a curse that was too powerful.

I pressed down harder as my second, third, fourth, and fifth cut passed.

More tears dripped down onto the clean sand. Blood oozed out, and slowly dropped to the ground, staining the clean yellow sand.

Just as I was about to start on my tenth cut, my razor was ripped out of my hand by someone.

I hid a gasp since whoever it was probably would spread rumors that I really am an emo freak. Then I would be even more of an outcast here at camp.

"Luna. What in the name of the gods are you doing?" a very familiar voice aksed, steely with anger. I lowered my head in shame like a lost puppy and avoided looking up at Zach's amazing blue eyes.

Despite by best attempts, hiccups racked my body and I couldn't stop the tears running freely down my face now.

I managed to choke out, "Why do you care?" Zach knelt down in front of me and took out an Ace bandage out of his pocket. He took my left wrist and began wrapping it up, though it would only stop the bleeding temporarily.

"I care a lot about what happens to you," he quietly said.

I froze . . . well, as best as I could freeze while hiccuping. "Luna, why are you doing this to yourself?" Zach asked.

That hit a nerve. He should know! He knows almost everything about me. He knows Poseidon left me and my mother to fend for myself and that she turned to alcohol for a reliable source. He knows he and Sabrina and almost everyone in Serpentis High School bullied me to no end, physically and verbally. I mean, even the strongest person had to break down somewhere in there.

I stood up, shaking off the Ace bandage off of my arm.

"You have no right to ask me that question!" I yelled. Zach looked stunned that I actually yelled. Usually I'm a very quiet person.

Several people down the beach turned their heads, but eventually went back to whatever they were doing.

Tears streamed down my face and I continued, "You know what, I never forgave you. No one can forgive you if they'd been in my shoes. NEVER!"

Zach stood up, too, and shook me by my shoulders. "That's not what I meant," he said calmly.

How can he be so calm at a time like this?!

I took several steps back until there was about ten feet between us and half-yelled, half-spoke, "I don't care anymore. You shouldn't either." What I did next was plain cowardly, but I ran toward the water until it was up to my waist, which was really hard because it's not easy running in water.

My seashell charm started glowing green with a blue-ish tint and I mumbled, "I want to be a mermaid."

Soon, my legs were switched for a black and silver tail, and I swam deeper in the water. I dared to look back only once, and I just saw Zach standing at the edge of the water, watching me intently.

I almost lost my courage and turned around, but I told myself to keep going.

Tears flowed from my eyes, but I don't think they showed underwater . . . maybe . . . Wait, why am I thinking about that? Gods, I really can have ADHD moments even though I don't.

I don't know how much I swam out in the deeper waters, but I didn't stop after maybe thirty minutes had passed. By then, I realized I was really tired and my tail swished limply in the water.

Guess I'll be staying here for a while, I thought.

Several shiny objects reflecting in the sunset caught my eye, and I swam down to look at them, finding a big coral reef and tons of shiny shells.

The shiny pale green and blue water surrounded all around me, and the sunset up above washed everything in a light red orange color. Pale pink and green coral occasionally scratched at my bare arms, but I found it soothing and not at all like my sharp razor.

Different species of fish swam past, staring at me, and sometimes even talking in my mind. Luckily, I figured out how to turn off my mind reading power, so their thoughts didn't overload in my brain, but I could tell they were wondering why an unfamiliar mermaid was trepassing in their territory.

Wow . . . it sounds so weird to call myself a mermaid . . .

Shiny shells that were in all shapes dotted the bottom of the ocean. Some where spirals, some where the classic shape that was on my necklace, and some where just these pointy shells that spiraled out to a sharp point.

I examined a lot of them, but all were very pretty and I kept drifting from one to the next. I even picked up a spiral shell, and a small hermit crab popped out, seeming to stare at me and ask, What are you doing here?

Not being fond of crabs, I let it scuttle back to wherever it was going.

A myriad of marine life came to life when I circled the coral reef.

I spotted a beautiful group of angelfish swim around my open fingers.

Holding my hand out, I don't know how, but I captured a group of fish with glittering scales in a sort of solid water bubble. Maybe I can just keep them in my cabin as a few pets.

Percy wouldn't mind . . . I hope.

It was after I caught about sixteen different fish that I realized that I'd been gone for at least an hour, and it was probably dinner time now.

I decided to swim back and managed to find my way to Long Island.

Thank the gods, no one was there - probably at dinner - and I pulled myself up to the sand, keeping a close eye on my new fish.

The water held them in the solid bubble, but I was afraid some of them might fly out or roll the bubble back into the water, so I was keeping a very careful watch on them.

As I looked at the bright lights of the pavilion, I realized that dinner just started.

I evaporated the water covering my body and appeared back in my regular clothes.

Not sure how to hide my fish, I decided to just hold it over my hands behind my back, and I sprinted as fast as I could back to my cabin. Thank the gods, Percy wasn't in there - probably at dinner.

I left the fish in a small bucket that I found and put it on my dresser. I was about to run to dinner when I realized something smelled weird . . . like seaweed and muck from the bottom of the ocena.

Lifting my wrist up to my nose, I almost gagged from the smell of saltwater coming off it.

"Oh, gods, I need to take a shower," I mumbled to myself.

Sighing since that meant I needed to run to the bathrooms, I grabbed a few clothes randomly and jogged at a steady pace toward the showers.

I scrubbed and scrubbed the scent off my body until my skin turned a pale pink and I dried my hair as quickly as I could. Checking my watch, I realized it was almost seven, the time that I'm vulnerable to water and can turn into a mermaid at any time.

I piled my dirty clothes in a plastic bag, making a mental note to wash them later, and changed into a new outfit. (Link on profile)

My somewhat ADHD mind wandered to the subject of my clothes and I realized that it was one of the rare times when I've worn shorts.

If you're wondering why I'm wearing those huge nerdy glasses, it's because I really do need glasses, but I usually wear contacts. Shocker, right? No, just kidding. Anyway, those are real glasses, not those fake ones that posers wear. I'm sad to say that I've gotten teased a lot when I was little because I wore them, so I switched to contacts. I'm just way too lazy to put in my contacts again, so I just dug out my glasses from the bottom of my bag and put them on.

Argh . . . stupid ADHD!

I fingered my necklace a little nervously as I walked into the dining pavilion, almost ten minutes late. People that I knew, like Alisa, Chris, Percy, and *gag* Zach, looked at me curiously, but the rest - which was the majority of the pavilion - ignored me completely as if I were invisible.

Loading my plate up with food, I tried to brush away the lasers Zach seemed to be shooting into me with his eyes.

He watched me like a hawk watches for it's prey as I scraped a part of my meal into the flames and silently sat across from Percy.

Percy stopped shoveling food into his mouth - boys . . . - long enough to look at me and ask, "Where have you been?"

I popped a few grapes into my mouth and slowly chewed, trying to think of a believable lie.

"I've been training . . . with Chris . . ." I answered, avoiding Percy's sea green eyes and finding interest in my food. I hoped Percy would believe it since he wasn't the brightest person I've ever met - no offense - and I was right. He simply shrugged and continued eating.

I let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I'd been holding and brushed my ebony hair from my face, only to have it fall back in my eyes again.

Giving up, I picked up the nymph-made pizza and it was gone in a matter of seconds.

Gods, I'm really hungry, I thought as I finished off another slice, two rolls, and a small bowl of fruit.

I probably would've eaten more except that Chiron announced that dinner was ending and my first Capture the Flag was beginning.

YES! A NEW CHAPTER!

I would've gotten it up sooner, but I was getting used to the new school year so . . . yeah . . .

Anyway, READ AND REVIEW!

-xXMuzicLuverXx