Hey guys!

So technically I'm not late on the update. Technically. Cause it's the third day, and I still have an hour left so… yeah! Snazzy stuff. Also thanks for the reviews and suggestions. Most of them basically revolved around a big Percy/Mathew ocean fight thing, so that's what I did. Another warning - I have literally no idea what the San Francisco bay geography is like, so if I get anything wrong I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

By the time my dad dropped me off at the beach, it was past noon. It was also when I realized my plan of finding the Chases was horrible.

The bay was huge! It stretched miles long, not even including the boardwalk, and on a good day it was incredibly crowded. Today was the first day of Spring Break. Tons of families from all over would be visiting, and I was attempting to find one of them.

I had packed a small bag with a towel, sunglasses, goggles, sunblock, a hat, twenty bucks, and my two daggers. Just in case.

Luckily, I had an idea on where Percy and Annabeth might be… if they weren't there, though, then I was screwed.

See, I lived in San Francisco. I'd been to this beach hundreds of times before over the course of my life, and at least ten times with Annabeth, Jeremy, and Lily. It had been horribly crowded every single one of those times, obviously, so Annabeth had found a solution.

Down at the far south side of the beach, there was an area where a bunch of wild thorn bushes had somehow been allowed to grow, and after a few years they'd been too thick to cut down. They were about fifty feet across, but Annabeth had decided to plunge through them anyway, just in case there was something on the other side.

There was. A beautiful section of the beach where no one ever went - it became our spot. We'd eventually worn down a path so we could avoid the thorns, which was good because saltwater in your cuts does not feel good.

Anyway, if there was one place Annabeth would be, it was there.

I began to jog down the beach, running around families with towels and chairs set up in the sand, eventually taking off my flip flops because they were only slowing me down.

Soon enough, I could see it - the patch of thorns way down at the south end of the beach. I was about to start running faster when I heard something - amid the shouts, screeches, and giggles of children, someone was crying.

Obviously I wouldn't go over to some random crying kid, but when I looked toward the sound, I saw a crying girl of about seven years old. She was wearing a green dress, and her short brown hair was curling in thick strands around her shoulders, almost like dreadlocks.

She was standing off to the side by herself, but there was no one else around her. It was like everyone else couldn't even see her, just walking right by like there wasn't a seven-year-old girl just standing by herself on the beach.

I walked over to her and touched her shoulder. "Hi," I said softly.

She looked up with wide, dark eyes. "Go away!" she shrieked. "You smell bad, like - like them! Go away!"

"Hey," I said. "You're alright, I'm not going to hurt you. Are you… where are your parents?"

The girl only cried harder, and I began to wonder if I was making a mistake. I'd never babysat before, and I basically had zero experience with little kids. Especially little girls.

But she was lost, so I had to help her… right? "Okay," I said. "Um… why are you standing here by yourself, then?"

"I'm lost," the girl sobbed.

"I'm… sorry," I said, patting her on the head awkwardly. "Um, how about I go get someone who can help you out? I'll be right back."

The girl started to protest, but I was already jogging away to the nearest adult. Like an idiot, I'd forgotten my phone so I couldn't call anyone to help the girl.

I looked back at her. She had sat down on the ground and put her head in her knees, rocking herself gently. "Mathew!" Someone hissed, and I jumped.

I looked quickly to the person who had said my name and saw Annabeth and Percy right next to me, as if they'd just appeared there out of thin air. Percy was wearing a camp shirt along with a pair of blue swim trunks, and Annabeth was wearing a sky blue one-piece with white beach shorts. "Guys," I said, kind of shocked. "Um… there's this girl that sort of-"

"No," Percy said. We were about ten feet away from the girl, so she probably could have heard us if she wanted to, but it seemed like she was too busy crying her eyes out.

"I'm not even going to ask what you're doing here," Annabeth said, sounding kind of annoyed. "But we have bigger problems. Mathew, what exactly did that girl say to you?"

"What do you mean, why would-"

"What did she say?" Annabeth interrupted. She sounded really on edge for some reason, so I nervously answered.
"Um, that she was lost. Oh, and that I smelled bad. Or something like that. It was kind of hard to tell, honestly, because she was crying the whole ti-"

"I knew it," Percy grinned, and Annabeth glared at him.

"Just because I thought it was someone else does not mean you have bragging rights," she snapped.

"Hey," I said. "Um, what's going on here? Why are you guys talking about that girl like you know her? She's just some random seven-year-old girl who got herself lost."

"The mist," Annabeth said grimly, and I stared at her.

"The mist? What kind of answer is that? Wh - oh. You mean… the magical veil thing?"
Annabeth nodded. "Look at her again, but concentrate this time. Most mortals shouldn't see her at all, but I think your eyes were tricked because you aren't that powerful of a demigod… but once you know, it should be easier."

I tried not to feel too insulted by the not-a-powerful-demigod thing, instead looking back at the girl and trying to "see through the mist."

For a minute, she looked just like she had before - green dress, brown hair. Then something changed. Her legs coiled and shifted, turning into two reptilian snake tails, each one a dark brownish-green covered in glossy scales. Her skin took on a greenish tint, her nails pointed and turned to claws, and the pupils of her eyes turned to a glowing yellow.

"Oh my gods," I whispered, horrified. "She's a monster." Her serpent tail leg things were coiled on the sand beneath her, but aside from all her monstrous features, she still looked like a little girl - young, crying, with a torn green dress and small round face.

"Dracaena," Percy corrected. "I've never seen one so young, though…"

"What on earth is she doing here?" I asked weakly. "It's San Francisco!"
"Mt. Tamalpais is the titan base," Annabeth told me. All three of us - me, Annabeth, Percy - were still watching the crying snake girl with rapt attention. It was like we couldn't take our eyes off her.

I mean for me, it was the first time I'd seen a monster up close. Sure, there had been some at the battle last summer when a bunch of monsters had burst out of the labyrinth and attacked camp, but I hadn't exactly taken time to, like, examine them.

But here this dracaena was, just sitting there on the sand maybe ten feet away and sobbing her heart out.

"Mt. Tam?" I repeated, and Annabeth nodded. "The titan base is only a few miles away from where I live?"

Percy nodded grimly. "It's also where Atlas holds up the sky."

"Right," I said, feeling faint.

"Anyway, Kronos's monster armies are probably being trained up there. This girl is young… but I wouldn't be surprised he's making kids fight." Annabeth's voice shook a little on the last part of her sentence, and I looked at her curiously.

"Um, by 'he' do you mean Kronos?"
Annabeth blinked hard. "He is now."

I had no idea what that meant, so I let it go. "So… what do we do with the snake girl, then? Just leave her here?"

Percy shrugged. "Annabeth and I sensed a monster around here, and we were trying to find it. But then… it was her. And I don't really want to kill a little girl. She looks like she's barely older than five."

"We could talk to her," I suggested, and Annabeth gave me a look.

"What?" I asked defensively. "I already have. And besides, what's the harm?"
"I guess…"

So the three of us walked up to the girl, and I tapped her on the shoulder again. "Hello?" I asked.

The dracaena looked up at me, and I couldn't help it. I flinched. Just… those creepy yellow eyes, and her slitted nostrils and mottled green skin… I took a deep breath and looked back down at her. "What's your name?" I asked.

She sniffed. "Ssssessssha. Go away."

Sesha. I blinked. I guess I just hadn't noticed the way she said her s because of the mist, but it was still really weird to think that she'd been like this the whole time and I hadn't noticed. "We just want to help you," Annabeth said kindly. "My name is Annabeth. Annabeth Chase. These are my friends."

She crouched down beside Sesha and smiled. Sesha wiped her eyes and looked up at Annabeth, tears still dripping down her chin but not leaking out of her eyes like before. "Annabeth? And who are your friendssss?"

Annabeth glanced up at Percy, and he nodded. I couldn't help but be a tiny bit annoyed, because it felt like they were always sharing looks and having silent conversations.

"My name is Percy Jackson," he said.

Sesha squeaked and jerked back. "Go awaaay!" She wailed. "You're the killer! The one he ssssayssss musssst be desssstroyed!"

A blue forked tongue flicked out from behind her teeth. Percy flinched, and a pained look crossed Annabeth's face. "Sesha, I can promise we won't hurt you. Kronos is bad, but you aren't. We only want to help you. Will you let us do that for you?"

Sesha started to cry again. "I'm going to d - die," she sobbed. "And I'm losssst, and Mommy will be m - mad!"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Sesha, we won't hurt you. Yes, I'm a demigod. But that doesn't matter, okay? I'm here to help you."

I stood back silently, watching as Sasha's tears slowed down. "Who issss he?" Sesha asked suddenly, pointing a claw at me.

My eyes widened. "Me?" Sesha nodded, brown curls bouncing. "I'm, um, Mathew Harris."

"Mathew Harrissss?" Sesha asked, her yellow eyes becoming round. "I remember that name! I'm very good at remembering thingssss," she told us sternly.

"You do?" I squeaked, and Sesha nodded fervently.

"It wassss on a lisssst. I went into the Not-Allowed room once, the one Mommy alwayssss ssssayssss not to go in and with all the sssscary men, and ssssaw a lisssst!"

"Do you know what the list was about?" Annabeth asked kindly, and Sesha bobbed her head.

"It wassss all the unclaimed demigodssss. It hassss their namessss and their godly parentssss! Kronossss keepssss the lisssst sssso he can whissssper into their mindssss."

My breath caught. "I don't want Kronos to whisper into my mind," I said quickly.

Percy shook his head. "He only does it to the ones worth recruiting."

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be an insult or not, but Percy wasn't looking super happy with me at the moment. Then I remembered exactly how yesterday's events had panned out… well. At least he was actually angry for once.

"Oh my gods," Annabeth said. "Wait, Sesha, did you say godly parent?"

"Yessss!" Sesha beamed, and I realized what it meant.

My throat constricted. "Do you know my godly mother?" I asked. If Sesha did - if I could finally know…

Sesha's yellow eyes filled with more tears, and my heart sank. "I can't pronounce it," she said. "But I know her sssstory. Sssshe wassss the beautiful one."

"The beautiful one?" I asked. "What is that supposed to mean? Wha-"

"Mathew!" Annabeth hissed, grabbing my arm. "Shut up!"

I saw where she was looking, and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. There was another dracaena coming, but instead of a kid like Sesha, this one was full grown and dressed head to toe in armor.

She carried a spear tightly in her right hand, and was slither-walking(I didn't know what to call it) through the sand. She appeared to be looking for something, but all the other people on the beach didn't seem to notice her.

"Let's go," Percy said quickly, and Annabeth dragged me after him, disappearing into the crowds of people milling around the beach.

When we finally stopped, we were almost a hundred yards away from Sesha. "Why'd we leave her?" I demanded angrily. "She could have told me more about my mom!"
Annabeth grimaced. "Don't you remember? She must have been from the titan base up on Mt. Tam, then ran away or escaped or something, winding up here on the bay."

"And?"

"And she was part of Kronos's army! I'm betting that older dracaena we saw was her mother. And if she saw us, she would definitely try to kill us. She's probably still looking for us, actually."

Annabeth was glaring at the sand like it had done something to offend her, and Percy patted her shoulder. "Why would the dracaena be looking for us?" I asked. "It's not like she actually saw us."

"Me and Annabeth's scents are pretty strong," Percy said grimly. "It'll be all over Sesha, so if that older dracaena was actually Sesha's mother, then she'd smell us and want to know what we were doing with her daughter. Then if she found us, she'd try to kill us. And I don't think it would be the best for Sesha if we killed her mother."

"Oh," I said. "And if she does find us?"

"I doubt she will," Annabeth said. "We're literally right next to the sea, so that should confuse the dracaena. And Sesha will be fine, don't worry. Her mother will take care of her."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "And what about… my mother? The beautiful one? What does that mean? Sesha said she knew her story."

Annabeth looked troubled. "I'd assume Aphrodite… but she usually claims her kids and has a lot of myths, not just one. She was the only goddess really known for her beauty. Well, Hera too, sometimes, but Hera would never be with anyone other than Zeus."

"Plus, Hera's pretty easy to pronounce," Percy said. "And Sesha said that she couldn't pronounce it, whatever your mother's name was…. But that's not saying much, because I can't pronounce half the names in mythology."

"And that's only if Sesha was remembering correctly," I said glumly. "Maybe there never was a list."

"Yeah. But aside from your mother… what are you doing here, Mathew?" Annabeth asked.

I looked up at her. "What?"

"Is it really a coincidence that we're at the same beach today, and you without your dad or Kristin? Are you… following me?"
My cheeks heated up. "What? No, of course not! Kristin just told me that you and your family were going to the beach today, so I decided I'd surprise you here. I was going to our usual spot down by the south end when I saw Sesha."

"Gods," Annabeth muttered. "First of all, my family is set up down over there." She pointed to a spot behind her, and sure enough, I could see Bobby and Mathew playing in the waves. Mr. and Mrs. Chase were sitting in beach chairs under a large canopy tent.

"Second… why? Why would you just show up?"
"Because I wanted to hang out with you!"

Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other. Did I mention I hate it when they do that? Finally, Annabeth bent down until she was eye-level with me. "Mathew," she said sweetly. "Leave."

My mouth fell open. "Why? I'm here to hang out with you guys, and you just blow me off? What kind of friendship is that?"

Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm supposed to be spending time with my family and Percy," she said pointedly. She was talking kind of slowly, like the way an adult sometimes talks to someone younger than them.

"And?" I asked, annoyed. She could spend time with me and Percy at the same time! Besides, spending time with Percy probably wasn't that good for her anyway. The more I could distract her from it, the better.

"I literally live six blocks away from you. I can see you anytime I want, which isn't right now."

She didn't want to hang out with me? I took a breath. I'd tried so hard to get Annabeth to understand that I was the one for her. Not Percy. Originally, I'd wanted her to understand that on her own, but obviously that wasn't going to work. She needed to hear the cold, hard, truth.

"Can I talk to you alone?" I asked, shooting Percy a look like haha. He raised his eyebrows. Annabeth sighed.

"Fine," she said. She exchanged a glance with Percy. "I'll be back in a minute," she told him, and he nodded.

"I'll just… chill here, then."

I grinned, grabbed Annabeth's wrist, and pulled her about fifteen feet away from where Percy was standing.

Well, I pulled her out two feet before she yanked her hand out of my grasp and followed me.

"Annabeth," I said. I looked her in the eye and casually brushed some of my hair to the side. "Here's the thing. I care about you, and I only want what's best for you. And right now… that isn't spending time with Percy."

Annabeth arched an eyebrow. "Really?" She said skeptically. "And why is that?"

"He's not a good person. He's arrogant, dangerous, and… and not nice!" I was trying to find the words to explain myself, but they just weren't coming out! It's like when something's so indescribably clear to you, but when you try to tell someone else, the words to do so just aren't there.

"Not nice?" Annabeth repeated. "Well. Mathew, thanks for the chat, but I have a day I'm supposed to spend at the beach, and I just don't think you can-"

"Wait!" I said desperately. "Annabeth, think about it. Sasha called him a killer. What does that tell you about him? And do you even enjoy spending time with Percy? I mean really, in your heart? Or is it one of those things like camping, where you think you're having fun but are actually miserable?"

Annabeth stared at me. "What? Yes, I like spending time with Percy. He's my friend."

"Yeah, but-"

"Mathew. I didn't want to have it come to this, but… do you have a crush on me or something?"

Annabeth looked at me hard, grey eyes unblinking. Her lips were pursed together, and she somehow wasn't blushing.

I choked. Heat rushed to my cheeks. I'd always planned on telling her, but not now! And not like this, especially with Percy less than twenty feet away from where I stood, totally within earshot!

"A - a crush? On you? No. I mean, you're awesome but I don't - I mean of course I don't have a crush on you, you're my best friend!"

Annabeth bobbed her head. "Right. Well, that's good, because I just wanted to make it clear that I don't like you in that way. At all. You were a good friend… but that's it."

I nodded, fighting to keep my expression neutral. I'd known that Annabeth wasn't in love with me yet, but hearing her say it so firmly like that was… jarring.

I wouldn't give up on her yet, though. I knew she'd come around at some point, I just had to prove to her that Percy wasn't good and that I was right for her. I wouldn't give up.

"Cool," I said. "So… are good now?"
Annabeth coughed. "I don't know if you recall, but yesterday you attacked Percy after you two had finished sparring. Last Winter, you threw one of your daggers at him while he had his back turned. I don't know why you have this - this grievance toward him, but it has to stop."

It had to stop? Percy was the one who instigated everything with his little smirk, and that attitude and how he always managed to beat me! I mean, who wouldn't fight back? He should have expected it!

Before I could protest, Annabeth pressed on. "That's why you aren't going to bother either me or Percy for the rest of Spring Break. You'll leave us alone. And then, after he's gone… we'll talk. By the time summer comes around, hopefully you'll be feeling more welcoming to him."

It took me a minute to process what she was saying. "You want me to leave you guys alone until school starts again, and then act nice to Percy when we all go to camp again in the summer?" I asked incredulously. "Okay, first of all, I don't have a grievance. Second, why wouldn't you want me to hang out with you guys? I'm your friend!"
Without even noticing it I'd raised my voice, and a few people looked over at Annabeth and I curiously. Annabeth closed her eyes, looking like she had a headache or something.

"Mathew," she said slowly. "I just can't deal with you right now. So can you please just leave me alone?"

I frowned. This conversation wasn't going at all how I'd thought it would, but Annabeth would come around. I was sure of it. And if not, measures would have to be taken. Because right now, she was fooled into Percy's false charisma and charm. She'd said herself that the whole titan war would unfold when Percy turned sixteen!

I mean, he might even be secretly working with Kronos or something! Well, whatever the case, I knew in my gut that he was bad news. Even Sesha, an innocent little seven-year-old dracaena, knew he was bad news.

"Fine," I said. "You go enjoy your day with Percy. I'll leave you alone. I'll call my dad, and he'll pick me up." Nevermind that I'd forgotten my phone at my house… It was hard to get the words out of my mouth, but I only said them because I knew that I had a more important job today: monitor Percy. Make sure he and Annabeth weren't up to anything dangerous, and if he threatened her or a monster showed up or something, I would save the day!

I did have two daggers, after all.

Annabeth looked surprised. "Wow," she said. "Okay, then. Thanks. So… I'll see you next week."

I nodded confidently. "Definitely."

line break dedicated to Jem Carstairs

I didn't follow Annabeth and Percy right away. No, first I went to the boardwalk and bought a milkshake.

Then I went back to where the Chases had set up their towels and beach chairs and looked out for Percy and Annabeth.

At first they played with Bobby and Mathew, splashing them and messing around. Percy would swim underwater, somehow staying under for abnormal amounts of time, only to pop back up again with some sort of cool shell or rock or something.

A few times he took Annabeth down with him. It made my stomach hurt, seeing how much fun Annabeth was having without me, and with Percy. Percy. Perfect Percy Jackson.

But I had a job to do. This wasn't about me. It was about Annabeth.

I'd left my bag down by the boardwalk, but I was starting to regret it because I'd left my sunglasses in it, and the sun was bright. And hot. I'd been walking up and down the beach for about half an hour already, trying to look casual like I was some random person among the crowds of people, but my feet were starting to hurt.

To distract myself, I thought about the one real lead I had in my mom - the beautiful one. Assuming all of Sesha's information was correct, obviously.

Sesha had been cute, for a seven-year-old monster dracaena. Her mother had been terrifying, but Sesha had honestly been kind of adorable in my opinion. I hoped she was okay, and that maybe she could have possibly elaborated more other than just the beautiful one, but I was lucky enough she'd remembered my name from a list of probably a hundred other unclaimed demigods in the first place.

Unclaimed. That's what I was. Well, maybe not. If I could figure out who my mother was… the problem was, the only mythological figure I could think of known for its beauty was Aphrodite. Well, Helen of Troy, too, but she died like a thousand years ago.

Suddenly, I noticed something. Percy and Annabeth weren't playing with the twins in the water anymore… they were gone!

I looked around wildly, wondering where they'd gone, when I suddenly caught the shimmer of Annabeth's blue swimsuit, about fifty feet away from where I was.

I began to run, ducking and weaving through families set up along the beach. I crashed into some dude carrying a boogie board, but didn't even stop to apologize.

After about thirty seconds I caught up to them. Well, sort of. They were laughing, and Annabeth was leading Percy somewhere. With a jolt, I realized where: our spot. Mine, Lily's, Jeremy's, and Annabeth's. And now, apparently, Percy's.

I ground my teeth together in frustration. Did he seriously have to take over every aspect of my life? I hurried over to where the thorn patch was, watching Percy and Annabeth make their way through, jumping out on the other side.

I followed.

The thorns had grown since I'd last made my way through the thick weed patch. They scratched at my legs, and I'd lost my flip flops earlier in the day so was forced to walk through with bare feet.

By the time I finally made it through, Percy and Annabeth were already in the water. I crept up and crouched behind a rock. I was close enough this time to hear what they were saying.

"No one ever comes here," Annabeth said gleefully. "No one ever comes through the thorn patch."

"Couldn't they just swim through the water? I mean, the thorns are only on the beach…"

Hm. Now that I thought about it, Percy did actually have a point… "Seaweed Brain, if you're a mother and taking your family to the beach, do you want to have to carry all of your things through the ocean just to get to an area that's separated by a wall of thorns?"

As always, Annabeth made the better point. "I guess… but still."

Percy stood up, closed his eyes, and a huge wave leaped up and knocked Annabeth over, sweeping her back to the beach.

"Percy!" She shrieked, laughed, and stood back up. "Oh, you are so in for it."

Percy grinned and raised his hands. "Son of Poseidon, remember? Sure you want to battle me here?"
Annabeth smirked. "Afraid you'll lose?"
In response, Percy raised his fist and a wave jerked up, sweeping Annabeth back out to the sea and submerging her under a flurry of bubbles.

I waited for a minute, but Annabeth still hadn't come up. This was my chance. I leaped up from my spot and ran toward Percy, who was laughing as the water swirled around. Then he saw me.

"Mathew?" His concentration must have broke, because the water went back to normal and Annabeth came back up, blonde hair sleek and wet. She was laughing.

Then she saw Percy's expression, turned, and saw me. She muttered something and stood up. "Mathew, what in Hades are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to leave!"
I gritted my teeth. Somehow, it always managed to be my fault, even though it was almost always Percy's. He had just trapped Annabeth underwater with his freaky water powers, and she was yelling at me? How did that work?

"I told you," I snapped. "You can't trust Percy. He just trapped you underwater! You could have drowned!"

Annabeth stared at me. Her hair hung limp and loose around her shoulders. It looked almost brown. "It was a game," she said. "And he made me an air bubble, I could breath perfectly fine! Besides, why are you even here? Weren't you supposed to call your dad to pick you up?"

"Forgot my phone," I said, shrugging.

"Why are you here, though," Percy clarified. I glared at him, but he only glared back.

Guess he wasn't so "chill" after all. "I was… well, I had to make sure you were okay, Annabeth! Anything could have happened, Percy could have hurt you!"

"Oh my gods Mathew! I don't even know where to begin!" Annabeth shrieked. She seemed, like, really mad. Percy stood knee-deep in the ocean waves, looking kind of uncomfortable. "So, what? You decided to follow me and Percy like a creep? And why? Because Percy could hurt me?"

"Annabeth," Percy said quickly. "It's fine. Really. Maybe you should ca-"

"Don't tell me to calm down, Percy! Mathew, how many times do I have to tell you? Leave me alone!"

I felt like I'd been punched. "What?" I whispered.

Annabeth stormed up to me, and it was weird. The sun was shining, the sky was bright blue and cloudless, Annabeth was in front of me in a swimsuit, the most I'd ever seen of her, yet… she was screaming at me. Everything I'd ever tried had just… backfired.

"You think Percy would hurt me? And if he did, you think I couldn't handle myself, and that you would somehow make a difference?"

I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak. Annabeth was… mad. More emotional than I'd ever seen her. It reminded me of another day on a beach, my first day at camp. I'd tried talking to Annabeth, but it had been the day of Percy's funeral, and she'd pretty much attacked me.

She hadn't even touched me yet today, but I felt worse than I had that day. I felt sick. "I just want what's best for you," I pleaded.

"But you don't know what that is, Mathew! You have no idea what's happened to me, or anything about my life! And then you come along, attacking Percy and saying bad things about him when you have no idea what he's been through, either!"

I felt like my heart was being squeezed. I couldn't believe Annabeth was saying these things to me.

Percy walked over. "Annabeth," he said quietly. "It's fine. You know that. We'll all be fine."

Annabeth turned to him. "But you don't know that," she said, desperation creeping into her tone. "You haven't heard the prophecy! And Luke turned into Kronos, Thalia is gone with the Hunters and you-"

"I'll be fine," Percy cut in. He pulled her in for a hug. "I'll be fine, Wise Girl. I always have. I always will be."

Annabeth hugged him back, and they stayed that way for a minute. I, meanwhile, couldn't believe it. Everything I'd done - everything - had been for Annabeth, to protect her from Percy and get her to like me.

Where was I now? Well… Annabeth was in Percy's arms, yet again, and she now hated me.

Strangely, I wasn't sad. I wasn't empty of emotion, either. I was full of it, in fact. I was angry. Because I would have gotten Annabeth - we might have been able to get together long before now, had Percy not butted in and ruined everything.

He needed to be punished. He needed to feel my pain.

Annabeth pulled away from him. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I shouldn't - I just want to be alone for a second."

"Whatever you need," Percy said, and Annabeth turned and walked out of the clearing, through and past the thorn/weed patch onto the main part of the beach.

She was gone. It was just Percy and I. Perfect. The nearest people were too far to notice anything… I wasn't sure exactly what I planned to do him, exactly, but before I knew it I was walking toward him with my fists curled.

"So," I said, my tone sharp, "Are you sure you don't have a crush on Annabeth?"

Percy stared at me. "This again? Look, dude, I'm pretty sure at this point you don't have much of a chance with Annabeth, so I would just let it go if I were-"

A hot wave of anger rose up inside of me, and I stepped closer to Percy. I was almost two feet away from him. I still had plenty chance with Annabeth, she just needed to calm down! "Shut up," I snapped.

Percy took a deep breath. "Listen," he said, starting to sound kind of angry, "I don't know what you have against me, or if I've done something to offend you, but it would be great if you could stop telling Annabeth I'm violent and untrustworthy."

I glared at him, meeting his eyes. He was about four inches taller than me, which was incredibly annoying… it only made me hate his perfectness more.

"But you are," I insisted. "You're just stringing Annabeth along, aren't you? You pretend like she matters the world to you, but I bet you've been thinking about plenty of other girls, haven't you?"
"I-"

"And Annabeth is fragile! I don't know what it is, exactly, but she deserves someone good who'll treat her well, not some creep like you!"

Percy glared at me. His green eyes were bright and his expression hard. A few months ago, heck a week ago I would've been intimidated, but not now. I had to stand up to myself, not be a pushover for guys like Percy to play around with.

"Don't tell me what Annabeth does or doesn't deserve," he growled.

I smirked. "Really? And what would you know about it? Everyone thinks you're so perfect and amazing but that's not true in reality, is it?"

The ocean waves were getting bigger, wilder. "Remember what Sesha said? She said you were a killer. She was a child, and she was terrified of you." I don't even know why I kept talking, I just knew that he had to feel my pain, and whatever I was doing was working. The look in Percy's eyes…

"You blew up a volcano last year, didn't you? I wonder how many telkhines you blew up then, huh? I bet some of them were younger than Sesha, but you didn't care. You destroy, Percy Jackson. You're a bomb set to blow off, and I just don't want Annabeth to go down with you. But you're too selfish to care about that, right? Campers are going to die this summer in the war. A war that'll happen on your birthday. A war that-"

"Shut UP!" A wall of water slammed into my chest and I tumbled backward, screaming into the frothing, foaming, roiling seawater. The clouds above were dark and stormy, and a clap of thunder boomed across the sky.

My heart thudded. Percy was standing in the water, ten-foot waves rising around him in spikes like a crown. Wind roared around me, saltwater spraying in my face and stinging my eyes. Further down the beach, the water was washing up on the shore in enormous waves, rain beginning to pour down in torrents. People were screaming, little kids crying, mothers hurrying to pack up bags.

And Percy himself… his eyes were dark, swirling like the ocean, his hair flying up in the wind.

I looked around myself, horrified. Percy was causing this? And I had provoked him? Oh, gods, what had I done?

"Do not blame those things on me!" Percy roared, storming over to me and raising his hands. Seawater rose up and slammed into me, pushing me from the front and back and up around. Everything was a flurry of bubbles, my eyes hurt like hell from the stinging salt and I couldn't breathe.

"Stop!" I screamed, terrified. What had I done? I was going to die!

Rain poured down, and a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The waves threw me upward, and I finally caught a breath of air, only to be slammed back down by the furious ocean water.

My head crashed against the sandy bottom, and I hit a rock. Pain exploded in my mouth and I tasted blood from my upper lip. I tried to cry out, but I couldn't through the water.

My lungs were burning and I tried to push up, to get air - the water launched me up and I fell, flying fifteen feet at least before crashing down onto the beach, wet sand in my mouth.

I swear, my heart was beating faster than it ever had in my life. I met Percy's eyes, and I finally understood - this was the boy who was supposed to face the lord of time. What had I done, provoking him, thinking I could beat him in a fight?
"Help!" I screamed, scrambling away from Percy, trying to rise. But my legs were shaking, weak, and I stumbled. "Help," I cried, sobs racking my chest.

Rain and waves were beating the beach, pouring down in floods of water. Thunder crashed and lightning lit the sky an electric yellow, lighting Percy's face up so his eyes were practically glowing, his hair swirling around in the air like shadows and making him look like a madman.

I am going to die. That was my one rushed, panicked, thought until I heard the noise, the noise that would save us all - Annabeth.

"Percy!" She came running back, tearing through the thorn patch, not even caring to go through the path. Her legs were covered in angry red scratches, her hair was flying behind her, but she was coming still.

She ran up to Percy, shouting his name. He looked at her and she threw her arms around him, whispering something I couldn't hear over the wind and putting her hands around his neck.

Percy buried his head in Annabeth's shoulder. The storm slowly began to recede. The wind quieted. The waves shrank back until they were regular-sized, and the storm faded away.

The sun shined over an empty beach. Everyone else had evacuated. It was me, wet and trembling on the sand, along with Percy and Annabeth.

They were hugging tightly, and I could've sworn Percy was… crying. I stood up shakily, even though my limbs were weak and I felt like I'd just been beaten.

"I couldn't control it," I heard Percy whisper. "I couldn't and I tried and I hurt people, Annabeth!"

"Shh," she said. "You're okay."

line break dedicated to 12:34

The freak hurricane on the San Francisco bay mystified weatherman all over the country. Sure, strange storms were common in the area - but this one had come and gone within seconds, lasting all of five minutes.

My dad and Kristin had been furious when I hadn't called at the first sign of storm clouds. Little did they know, effectively, I'd practically caused the storm.

I hadn't been able to sleep that night when I got back. I was terrified. I hadn't known someone could hold that much power. And I'd challenged him?

I couldn't stop remembering the way I'd been tossed around in the saltwater, slammed against the sand like I was nothing. The demigod world was crazy. I hadn't understood it before, acting in jealousy and wanting.

Annabeth was right. It would have been so much better if I'd listened to her. Now… well, I didn't care who my goddess-mother was. The demigod world was crazy. And I wanted no part of it.

I'd left my bag at the beach - including my Kossinos and Kitrionos, something I was glad about. I'd never really liked them in the first place.

It was Sunday, a week since the beach incident. I'd avoided Annabeth and Percy since then, staying holed up in my house all day playing Need for Speed. I was so shaken up, I couldn't even pass the fifth level.

But can you really blame me? I'd almost died. I'd messed with something I didn't understand. And tomorrow, I'd have to face Annabeth.

It was weird - I wanted nothing to do with the demigod world, but I was still in love with Annabeth. If anything, my desire for her had only gotten stronger. Sadly, I doubted her opinion of me had gotten any better.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I jumped up from my bed, racing downstairs to get it. It was eleven o'clock. I was in my pajamas, and I was bored. Besides, who would even be knocking at eleven? I wanted to know.

When I answered the door, no one was there, just a few moths buzzing around the glowing door light overhead on the porch. I looked down and saw a small, nicely wrapped brown package.

I picked it up nervously. It was about two feet long and had a nice weight to it. Mathew was scrawled neatly across the top in sharpie with no return address. I opened it cautiously, my blood freezing when I saw what was inside.

Kossinos and Kitrinos. My two daggers… that I'd left at the beach. I picked them up carefully, setting them on the table when I saw a small note taped to the bottom of the box, written in the same handwriting as my name on the top of the box.

Mathew-

Take better care of your possessions. They're more important than you think.

I blinked, trying not to breathe too hard. My daggers - which should have been swept out to sea - had now been mysteriously returned to me along with a note.

I threw the cardboard away, took Kossinos and Kitrinos and went back upstairs to my room. It was fine. Everything was fine.

About ten minutes later, after reading two more chapters of the Art of Racing in the Rain, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

My dad had gotten me an electric toothbrush for my ninth birthday - I guess he'd thought that it qualified as a "good" gift, but it had actually been pretty useful. It had lasted over six years, and I still hadn't gotten a cavity yet.

It wasn't good tonight. As the toothbrush buzzed to life and I stuck it in my mouth, the bristles rubbed against the cut on my upper lip I'd gotten from the rock, and pain flared up in my mouth immediately.

I swore and wrenched the toothbrush out, but then something happened - the cut bled. Instinctively, my tongue reached up to lick the blood off, and the first thing I thought was salty.

Salt. Like seawater. Like the ocean. The memories came rushing back all at once - getting tossed around in the water, my eyes burning from the saltwater, my head slamming against the sand, the wind howling, not being able to breathe, that horrible look in Percy's eyes. And worst of all, that awful feeling of saltwater and blood filling my mouth as I struggled to breathe.

I stumbled and choked, squeezing my eyes shut as I threw up my dinner and lunch all at once. I gripped the edge of the toilet, waiting for it to end as my stomach emptied itself.

line break dedicated to Chiron(cause seriously CHB would be nowhere without him)

The next day at school, I could barely listen to Lily raving about her Florida vacation with Jessica, or Jeremy's grumblings about his family's trip to West Virginia. It all seemed so… trivial, compared to what had happened, and what would happen. Percy was dangerous - incredibly. I knew that, and Annabeth did too, but I didn't want to try messing with him anymore.

My only choice would really be to just try to convince Annabeth I was better, and that she shouldn't be hanging around Percy, but I was also pretty sure she didn't like me at the moment.

Well, only one way to find out.

In between fifth and sixth period, I found Annabeth by her locker getting her Latin books out. "Hey," I said nervously.

Annabeth looked up. She bit her lip, turned around, and walked away from me without saying a word.

Okay so first of all wow. Stuff happened. But guys I seriously need your opinion. Was this good? Was it not? Did the Percy/Mathew fight live up to your expectations? I tried, but if it sucked sorry about that...

So here's the thing. I'm pretty sure Percy isn't actually that powerful yet in the books, but we're going to pretend he is, just for this chapter. He was stressed out, okay?

Also with Sesha the dracaena… does anyone know if child dracaenas actually exist? Because there aren't supposed to be any male dracaenas out there, but yeah.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope this chapter was okay.

-blackthornfam13