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Chapter Three

Annabeth

People say that love hurts, but love didn't hurt me. You did.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I still have his number.

I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. I guess it was that part of me that didn't want to let go of the hope that everything that happened was just a misunderstanding.

Sometimes, I take out my phone and stare at his name on my contacts list. I remember all of the old times, when we laughed at cheesy commercials, smashed ice cream in each other's faces, had tickle wars. And the more intimate times, when we whispered the words, "I love you," in each other's ear, when our hands brushed, and when our lips pressed together. And I let myself cry too. I cry because of the hurt that I felt, that I still feel. I cry because I never thought that he would hurt me like he did.

I also wonder if he regrets what he did. They say that you don't know what you have until it's gone. I wonder if he realized that that was true oonce I left.

"Annabeth?" Reyna pulls me out of my daze. "Are you okay?"

I blink and look at her. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Reyna gives me on last worried look, then turns back to the blueprints. She knows I'm hiding something. So does Silena. I wonder how long I can keep up this front that everything's fine.

I turn back to my blueprints. The teacher, Mrs. Ramsey, had us look at blueprints of famous buildings to see how famous architects do things. Reyna and I were both looking at a blueprint of the Parthenon. Greek and Roman mythology has always interested me, and apparently Reyna likes it too. The Parthenon is our favorite building.

I look down at the Parthenon. I've studied it so many times, and I've always admired the way that the columns support the roof. But today, I'm not paying attention. My mind wanders off on its own. I start thinking about Silena and Beckendorf, and how protective he was of her. And the way that Silena looks at him s so sweet and caring and scared. Everytime Silena looks at Beckendorf, there's fear in her eyes. But it's not a fear of him, I don't think. I think it's a fear of losing him.

"Annabeth, are you sure you're alright?" Reyna asks again. "You're kinda staring off into space."

I look at Reyna. Her dark eyes are warm, but cold at the same time, like she's experienced something that hurt her and broke her. Like me.

"I'm fine," I reassure her. "Just a little distracted."

The rest of class is like that. By the time the bell rings, signalling the end of class, I'm sure that Reyna is hiding something and she knows that I'm hiding something also.

I walk to gym class with Reyna and Rachel. Rachel chatters aimlessly about people in her classes. Jasmine and Daniel broke up again. Travis and Connor Stollput a tack on their history teacher's chair. Reyna smiles and laughs at appropiate times. She really is pretty. Her dark hair swishes as she walks. Her eyes, which I first classified as brown, are as dark as night, but sparkle like stars. I've never seen eyes like hers.

And Rachel is pretty too, just in an artistic way. She has hair like a wildfire, bright red and impossible to tame. Her green eyes are bright. She gestures with her hands while she talks. Her eyes take in everything around her. I can easily tell that she's a true artist.

Too late, do I realize that both of them are looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I ask.

"How do you like Goode High so far?" Reyna asks, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Is it 'Goode'?" Rachel asks, then laughs at her own joke.

I smile. "It's great." I look around the hallway. People are grabbing books from lockers and some are dumping books. Girls stand around in clusters, whispering to each other. Guys tackle each other from behind as they head to class. "There's a lot less people than my old school."

"Oh no," Rachel says. She's looking down the hallway at something. "Watch out. Here come the queen bees."

"Annabelle Chase," a girl's voice sounds. The people in the hallway clear a path for three girls. Immediately, my head tells me, run. The three girls are obviously popular. Guys watch them with wide eyes as they walk past them. Girls stare longingly, wanting to be friends with them. All three girls wear short pencil skirts, silk blouses, and blazers. The girl in he center of the trio is beautiful. She could be Silena's sister. She has dark hair just like Silena's, but her eyes are kaleidoscopeinstead of blue. The girl to her righthas red hair with blonde highlights. Freckles poke through the pounds of make-up on her face. The last girl looks like a Barbie. Her blonde hair is as straight as a board. She's so skinny, it can't be healthy. And she's wearing so much make-up, I haven't the slightest idea what she actually looks like underneath.

"It's Annabeth," I mutter, not wanting to get involved with these girls. Not today, at least.

"Whatever," the girl in the center says.

"What do you want, Drew?" Rachel demands, her voice sharp.

"Oh, I just wanted to introduce myself to the new girl," Drew says innocently. She smiles at me, and in my head, i picture canine teeth with blood dripping from them. "I'm Drew, and these are my friends, Brooklyn and Jasmine."

"Pleased to meet you," I say to them. "I'm Annabeth Chase."

Reyna tugs on my arm. "Come on, Annabeth," she whispers to me. "We need to-"

"So I heard that you moved here from San Francisco, California," Drew interrupts, taking my arm and pulling me away from Rachel and Reyna. "Did things not work out well at home?"

Again, my heart is ripped out of my chest. I feel my face turning hot as I remember him. His arms wrapped around me, his twinkling eyes, his fingers entwined with mine.

"Speaking of things that didn't work out," the blonde girl, Jasmine, says, "did you get dressed in the dark or something?"

I'm trapped. They brought me out here in front of everyone o embarrass me.

I've dealt with girls like this before. They would taunt me day after day in California, constantly bringing me down. I never paid attention to them. Why should I now? But what do I say to them? They've got me trapped. I can't say something rude and start a fight. There would be too many witnesses. And I can't walk off like a coward.

So what do I do?

I ock innocence. I look down at my clothes, saying, "What's wrong with my outfit?"

Brooklyn chuckled. "Brown is so out right now," she says in a tone she would use with a confused kindergarten.

"Then why are you wearing brown?"

Brooklyn glances down at her chocolate brown pencil skirt. Her face turns tomato red as she realizes what she's done, but she manages to keep her cool.

Drew speaks up for her friend. "Hon, you have to understand. Brown shirts and jackets are out. Skirts are acceptable."

I shrug. "I don't see the point in that."

"Drew," a boy says from down the hall. "Leave her alone."

Everyone's heads turn. People start backing away to make a clear path for the boy as they did for Drew and her friends. Once I see the person who saved me, I roll my eyes.

"Percy!" Drew exclaims, her voice an octave higher than usual. She probably meant for it to sound flirtatious, but it didn't. "How are you?"

"Leave Annabeth alone, Drew," Percy snaps at her.

"Geez," Drew mutters. "I was just talking to her. You know, introducing her to myself, Jasmine, and Brooklyn."

"Just go away," Rachel says, glaring at all three. "Nobody wants to see your make-up coated faces."

Jasmine and Brooklyn glare back at Rachel, but Drew turns her attention to Percy. "So," she says flirtatiously, "do you know who you're taking to the Winter Ball, Percy?"

"Not you," he replies flatly. I smile when I see Drew's hopeful face fall back into a snobby expression.

"Well," she snaps, putting on a fake smile, "Brooklyn, Jasmine, and I should be going. We don't want to be late for class." The three all take turns smiling flirtatiously before they take off down the hallway towards their class, their heels clicking and their hair swishing.

"Ugh," Rachel mutters. "They're so fake, I could sell them off as lifesize Barbies."

I laugh and Percy does too. Reyna shoots me a knowing smile, making my cheeks turn bright red.

"Come on, Rachel," she orders like they're in a hurry. "We're gonna be late."

Rachel smiles at me and says, "Bye, Annabeth!" as she runs down the hall after Reyna. They hallways had cleared after Drew and her friends had left, so only Percy and me are here. My heart pounds and my stomach flips. My hands are shaking. Being alone with a boy is making me nervous, even if it isn't him.

"So you're Percy?" I say slowly, trying to make conversation.

Percy grins. "Yup. Percy Jackson. And your name is Annabeth Chase, right?"

I smile, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I do that when I'm nervous. "Yeah."

"So what's you next class?" Percy asks, gazing at me curiously. I feel my cheeks reddening. I hate being the center of attention.

"Uh, gym," I say, my voice coming out in a small squeak. I don't know why I'm so nervous. Percy's just another guy.

"Cool," he says. "I have that too." He leans towards me and whispers, "Just to warn you, Coach Hedge is very hardcore. Be careful, or he'll beat you with his foam baseball bat."

I laugh and begin to relax. "I'll be careful."

Percy grins and pulls away. We begin to walk towards the locker rooms. I'm glad I have Percy with me, or else I'd be completely lost.

It's a long way to the locker room; on the other side of the school according to Percy. But I don't mind. Percy's fun to listen to. He talks to me about the school and tells me funny stories about him and his friends. I find out that Mr. Blofis, my English teacher, is his stepfather and that we're in the same English class and we have free period together.

As we walkn, I notice that the halls are nearly empty. "Won't we get into trouble for being late?" I ask.

Percy shakes his head. "Nah. Not from Coach. He usually just gives you a lecture, then forgets all about it. We won't get into trouble. I think."

"That's reassuring."

Percy laughs. "Yeah." It's silent for a few minutes. Our footsteps echo through the school. "So why's you come to New York?" he asks.

"The architecture program you have here," I answer immediately. By the way Percy looks at me curiously, I can tell that I answered too fast.

"Really?" he says. "You like architecture?"

I nod, relieved that he didn't press into the matter, like Silena. "Yeah." He listens while I ramble on about architecture, even though I can tell he's not interested. I talk until we reach two doors-one labeled "Boys" and the other "Girls".

"Here we are," Percy announces. "The gym is across the hall, and by the sounds of it, everyone is still changing."

He's right. I hear giggling and talking coming from the girls' locker room. "Well," I say slowly, "thanks for walking with me. And, you know, standing up for me."

Percy grins. "No problem. " He waves and walks into the boys' locker room.

It's funny how someone you've never met before can get you talking like you've been best friends since kindergarten. It can be dangerous too.

I just hope he doesn't get me talking about my past.

Sorry about the length. I felt like ending it there. The next chapter should be longer.

So how did you like it? Annabeth finally met Percy What's going to happen? Are they going to hate each other? Are they going to fall in love? Is Annabeth going to tell Percy about her past? Ha. I love how I'm questioning my own plotline.

So if you review, I'll eat a cookie for you. This is your chance to get me fat! Review! If everyone who follows this story reviewed, than I'd have to eat thiry some cookies. My goal is to get forty reviews for this chapter or the next one. So PLEASE review!

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." 1 Corinthians 13:4

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