Guys, O...M...G, CAN WE PLEASE GET THIS STORY TO 400 REVIEWS?!

If we do, honestly I will have a flipping heart attack! And for that 400th reviewer, they will get not only a preview of the next chapter BUT AN EXTRA FRICKING SPECIAL SURPRISE! You have three options:

1. Get a preview of ALL my other stories, not just this one

2. Get to pick what oneshot I'll write despite the poll and also get a little preview of that oneshot

3. You can get a preview of this story and one other that I'm currently writing AND a little preview of the story that I'm going to start once 'Dear Luke' and this story is almost over.

Wow, three fricking awesome options.

So, seriously, let's get 400!

Please? For me? :)

How about another special surprise? If we do get it to 400 reviews, I promise to post Chapter 24 the NEXT DAY!

So guys, what do you say? Get it to 400? It's 26 reviews, but you guys can do it!

Vote on my poll, please!

Now how about I shut up and let you guys read?

Chapter 23

"Luke, I can't believe you did that!" Thalia scolded. She was cleaning up her house after the party (which had ended quite badly, given the circumstances) and now, it was even worse. She couldn't believe that Luke, the most kindhearted, fantastic kid ever, BEAT UP Percy Jackson. Thalia had to admit that she wanted to beat Percy up to, but Luke might have given up a broken nose. "How do you think his mom is going to react? How do you think you're father is going to react? How do you think Annabeth is going to react?!"

Luke shrugged. He picked up a couple paper plates and cups and threw them into the garbage. "First of all, my dad wouldn't care. Second of all, I'll just tell Percy's mom what he did to Annabeth. And speaking of Annabeth, she'll be overjoyed to find out that I gave Percy what he deserves."

"I don't think overjoyed is the right word. Shocked? Depressed? Moody? Perhaps. But overjoyed? No."

Luke grabbed Thalia's hands, forcing her to set down the plates onto her counter. He looked in Thalia's eyes and smiled. "I did what I had to be done. I know that it seemed irrational at the moment, but I had to do it. I didn't want Annabeth to get hurt again, especially not by Rachel. You can understand that, right? Look, Annabeth's like a sister to me. I'm sure Malcolm would do the same thing."

Thalia smiled. "It doesn't make what you did right, but I guess I can understand your motivations."

Luke smiled. He leaned in, now whispering in Thalia's ears, "I knew you would." The two kissed and it felt like all their problems had just melted away. "I love you Thals."

The beginning of spring break was going awful for Annabeth. First of all, her boyfriend cheated on her with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. And second of all, she ruined Thalia's spring break party with her boyfriend problems. Most people left after Annabeth's emotional outbreak when she finished explaining Percy's betrayal. She felt embarrassed at her vulnerability. She was known for never showing emotion, for staying strong.

But at the moment, it was like nothing else in the world could keep her from crying. The only person that seemed to keep her strong lately was Percy.

And where was he now?

Oh right, in Rachel's arms.

The car ride home wasn't the great either. She was happy that it was with Katie, who was someone that she could actually trust (although she would have preferred it to be Luke. Unfortunately, he was still a little MIA after leaving Thalia's spring break party very suddenly). Katie, who was probably the most by Annabeth choosing Rachel, seemed to very easily accept Annabeth's friendship. All the way to Annabeth's apartment, Katie tried to comfort her best friend, although it was awkward since Travis and Connor were both in the back.

They weren't exactly the most emotionally connected to Annabeth and they struggled to say anything that might help her. In fact, whenever they tried to crack a joke, it only seemed to make it worse. She was glad to be out of the car and in her apartment.

She waited outside for a couple moments, just to soak in the fresh air, just to clear her mind before she faced Athena and Malcolm, who could possibly be even angrier than Katie or Thalia or Luke. She gave herself a few moments to calm down, to wipe the tears away, to readjust her clothes. She felt stupid in her outfit. Her clothes were mocking her, saying, 'Rachel wears it better. Rachel wears it better!'

Annabeth sighed, fumbling to find her key, before making her way upstairs. She paused outside the doorway, thinking about different excuses she could use to explain the horrible emotional state in which she was in. Perhaps she could say that Luke got into a fight? Or she and Rachel started fighting? Or she and Percy started fighting? Saying that is technically telling the truth.

She just didn't have to say that she ended it because Percy cheated on Annabeth with Rachel.

Annabeth took a deep breathe and unlocked the door. She expected to see her mother eating at the kitchen table, the lights on, as she poured over the day's newspaper that she didn't have the time to read in the morning. However, there were no lights on, just the light coming from the TV with Malcolm sitting there on the couch, an empty plate on the coffee table in front of him.

He looked up and smiled, "Hey Annie! How was the party?" Immediately, though, his smile faded and he stared at her. He saw the streaks of mascara and her puffy, red eyes. "W-what's wrong? What happened?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Nothing happened."

Malcolm scoffed. He turned off the TV. "Like hell. What happened?"

Annabeth tried to smile, but the emotions were too overwhelming for her. She let out a muffled sob, her legs suddenly becoming very unstable and tears welled in her eyes. Malcolm was next to her in a flash. He cradled her in his arms and helped her to the couch, flipping the light on. He held her for a couple of seconds, whispering comforting words in her ears.

"Tell me what happened," Malcolm whispered, wiping a couple of tears away from her eyes. "Only if your ready."

Annabeth nodded. "I-I'm so stupid," she muttered, though stifled sobs. "How could I let someone do that to me? How could I not see the signs? I'm supposed to be smart, aren't I? I'm the intelligent one! Why didn't I see this coming?"

"See what coming?"

"A fight..."

Malcolm tensed up, the protective side of him peaking through. "A fight? Between who? You and Luke? Or you and Rachel?"

Annabeth shook her head, "I would never fight with Luke. He...just, he's not that kind of person. And Rachel, well, of course she's involved if I'm...if I'm like this." Annabeth fought back a wave of tears, but it still shook her with a violent sob. Malcolm seemed to deliberately and involuntarily pull Annabeth into yet another tight hug, as if it would make all her problems go away.

"What happened between you and Rachel?"

Annabeth chuckled, humorlessly, "Let's not forget Percy?" Annabeth clutched her stomach, as if it hurt to say his name. She didn't want to let Percy have this kind of power over her, but she knew that it was no use trying to fight it. She loved Percy. She trusted Percy, and, honestly, wouldn't anyone be just as upset as her if they found out that the person they love did something as awful as cheat on them?

Malcolm's eyebrows knit together. "Percy?" He knew Percy, and Malcolm knew and understood how much Percy loved Annabeth, so it was a clear surprise to hear Annabeth say that. "What are you talking about? What did Percy do?"

Annabeth buried her face into Malcolm's shoulders. She felt him rub her back in calm, soothing circles. She pulled away form her older brother and stared into his grey eyes, one of the many traits that they had in common. "He and Rachel...," Annabeth trailed off. Stringing that combination of words together in a sentence was just to painful for Annabeth. Besides, she didn't need to tell Malcolm. He was smart enough to figure out what Percy had done to her.

Suddenly the part of Malcolm that hardly ever came out surfaced. He was angry...like violent angry. She never say him like this and she hated seeing him this angry, but she didn't seem to object the emotion. She was angrier than Malcolm was, but also in much more pain.

Malcolm stood up, clearly too angry to sit. "How could he do something like that?! I thought he loved you!" Malcolm ranted, his voice loud enough to wake their neighbors, but Annabeth didn't even bother to calm him down. It would be completely pointless. "And Rachel? After everything you two have been through? She just betrayed you...and Percy, too."

Annabeth shrugged, sniffling. "I was stupid to ever trust Rachel."

Malcolm looked over at Annabeth and sighed. He sat down next to her. "You are not stupid. Trusting people isn't a stupid thing to do. You gave Rachel a second chance. You thought she moved on. It isn't you fault that she couldn't."

Annabeth shrugged. "I should have listened to my friends. Rachel was no good. I guess I just wanted to believe that there was still some good in her." Annabeth, at the moment, seemed past the crying and past the regret. In fact, she just felt drained of energy. She felt as if nothing in the world was going to make up for her loss. Crying seemed to take too much energy. In fact, she was just downright depressed.

Malcolm pulled his younger sister into a side hug. "You're better without Percy, you know that, right?"

Annabeth shook her head. "But I'm not. He was everything to me. He was my better half... Without him, I have nothing. Nothing but a broken heart."

"A broken heart doesn't last forever," Malcolm whispered. "Take it from someone who lost more than one girlfriend: it may hurt at first, but if they make a boneheaded mistake like this one, your better off alone."

Annabeth wanted to say something back, to say that she would never be the same without Percy, but she decided against it. She was just too drained to argue with Malcolm right now. "I just want to go to bed. I want to forget that this ever happened. I want to forget about Percy and I want to stop hurting."

Malcolm smiled. "That's the spirit. Go on. I'll be out here if you need me."

Annabeth chuckled, "I'm a junior, Malcolm. I don't think I need my older brother's help. But thanks...thanks for being there."

Malcolm shrugged. "Hey, we're family, kiddo. That's what I'm here for."

Annabeth smiled, before turning away and making her way to her bedroom.

When Annabeth woke the next morning, she was in tears. She had the worst dream imaginable. She would have preferred to see Rachel and Percy make out again, than have to see this dream.

It was around midnight, and Percy and Annabeth were at the beach. The sand was chilly, but the air was warm, which caused Annabeth to feel comfortable as she strolled barefoot on the sand, edging closer to the small tide of waves crashing against the beach. Percy was just a couple steps behind her, watching his girlfriend as she enjoyed the nighttime visit to one of Percy's most favorite places. Annabeth was wearing a long, ankle-reaching white dress and a golden necklace, her curly hair framing her face, making her look like a princess. Percy stared at her in awe as she stopped, turning and gesturing for him to hurry.

He smiled, and took quick steps to her, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tight, as if letting go would kill him.

He planted a gentle kiss on her lips, tucking a strand of perfectly curly blonde hair. He kissed her cheek repeatedly, picking her up bridal style, still kissing her, and walking a few steps closer to beach. He stopped, moving his lips to hers and they finished their passionate moment with a timeless kiss. He released her and set her down, but they never looked away from each other.

The moonlight shimmered off of the waves, sparkling off of Annabeth's eyes. She looked more beautiful than usual, Percy observed. He kissed her again. "I love you, Wise Girl," Percy whispered in her ear.

Just the thought of any happy moment with Percy made Annabeth's eyes water. She dreaded seeing them happy in a dream. After all, dreams are basically fantasies that people wish would come true, although most of the time their completely and unbelievably impossible to achieve. She hated thinking it, but she knew that it would be an impossible wish.

It would never come true.

Any happy moment with Percy had vanished the second that she caught him and Rachel making out together.

For now, she would be alone...and she would be okay with that.

On the last day of spring break, Katie, Silena and Thalia decided to cheer Annabeth up with a girls' night out. They picked her up around 5:00 and decided that the best medication for fixing Annabeth up would be to head over to Thalia's, play dress up with each other, maybe cook about fifteen pounds of cookies and listen to nearly every 'I'm better off alone' song out there on repeat. The night wasn't exactly what Annabeth thought would be the best for her at the moment, but she figured that she should at least try to think about her social life...not just dwell on Percy, Percy and Percy.

Katie and Silena picked her up, duffel bags in the back, along with another backpack that literally had all the makeup and hair products in the world. Silena and Katie sat in the front, jamming out to 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' by Taylor Swift. Swift wasn't exactly Annabeth's favorite artist, but at the moment, the title of Taylor's hottest single in the album Red, was definitely something to praise.

She was never getting back together with Percy. It wasn't worth the pain, or the struggles. It wasn't worth having to deal with Rachel all over again.

Being without Percy could be good for Annabeth. It could mean having some time for herself.

When the song changed into a more romantic setting, Katie and Silena quickly turned the radio off, in fear that it would throw Annabeth into a comatose state. However, the conversation seemed to reflect the same lovey-dovey feeling as Katie and Silena began to go on and on about their fantastic relationships and how everything seemed to working out for them.

"Beck already picked out some houses," Silena said with a smile. According to her, she and Beckendorf, who had been her boyfriend for practically forever, were going to move in together near a mechanic store where Beckendorf would work and modeling agency, where Silena would work. They had their whole lives planned out together, and Annabeth suddenly felt extremely jealous. Obviously Silena didn't suspect that Beckendorf would do anything that would hurt her.

As for Katie and Travis, their relationship was a little different.

"Can you believe that he did that?!" Katie shouted, after explaining the latest prank that Travis pulled on her. Apparently he glued all of the paper in Katie's diary together, which made her more than just angry considering that it was her diary.

"And yet you're still dating him?" Annabeth mumbled, sarcastically.

Katie chuckled, "Well, of course, silly. I love him."

By the time that Annabeth arrived at Thalia's house, she was sick of romance. She was tired of listening to Katie and Silena, and now Thalia, go on and on about how fantastic their relationship was. She wished she could turn to someone who was completely single, even if it meant Connor, who had no one. She couldn't even talk to Jason, who's in love and kind of obsessed with Piper.

When they arrived at Thalia's house, their friend was already waiting outside. She greeted each other them with quick hugs, saving Annabeth for last. "I'm glad you could make it," Thalia said, smiling, as she gave Annabeth a much longer hug. "How was the car ride over?"

"Sickening," Annabeth mumbled, letting herself inside.

Thalia glowered toward Katie and Silena, who both looked at the ground, sheepishly. "We kept the romantic talk to a minimum," Silena argued.

"Oh, it's fine," Annabeth said, putting on her most convincing smile. "Let's just break out the makeup and music."

Silena laughed, throwing her arm around her blonde friend. "That's the spirit."

The four girls, all hauling their duffel bags and makeup, made their way to Thalia's room, which was clean and spotless as usual. As expected, Thalia's room didn't change much: the bed was still in the corner next to the window, there were tons of photos her and her friends (but mostly her and Luke) plastered around the room, a small cabinet stood next the door with the stereo blaring music and finally, her makeup/hair station, which seemed more organized than usual. Thalia dumped the bag of beauty products on the cabinet and turned to her four best friends, grinning.

"So, who has the music?"

Silena grinned. "Of course, I do." She went to Thalia's stereo and put her iPhone in. It was silent for a moment, but then I Am Woman by Jordin Sparks begin to play. Silena laughed, "Don't you guys just love this song?"

Katie, Annabeth and Thalia chuckled as they began their usual sleepover/party routine:

Silena unzipped her beauty bag and literally dumped out all the contents onto the floor. It ranged from foundation, to eye shadow pallets, to curlers and to hairsprays. Thalia also did the same: emptying the contents of her makeup and hair cabinet onto the counter top. Meanwhile, Katie and Annabeth watched on the bed. Annabeth used to love getting makeovers done, but at the moment, she didn't really feel like looking glamorous. She didn't feel like dressing up and trying to make herself look stunning when she felt the exact opposite of fabulous and beautiful.

"Who's first?" Thalia said, holding up a hair brush and large container of skin moisturizer.

Annabeth immediately looked to Katie, and she sighed, standing up. "Fine. Fine. Fine."

Silena laughed and pulled Katie over to Thalia's makeup table. Annabeth leaned against the window as she watched Silena apply moisturizer onto Katie's face and Thalia ran a comb through Katie's brown hair.

"I don't understand why people spend so much time on hair and makeup," Annabeth said, sighing. "We don't really need it."

Silena sent Annabeth a nasty look. "Easy for you to say, Miss I-Have-Perfect-Skin-And-Don't-Need-Any-Makeup."

"Yeah," Thalia chimed in. "And not everyone is as lucky to have princess curls like you."

Annabeth blushed. "I was just saying..."

Silena interrupted her with a giggle. "We're just messing with you, Annie. Take a deep breath."

Annabeth snorted, sitting down on Thalia's bed again. "I haven't gotten the chance to take a deep breath since...," she faltered, and immediately earned the stares of her three friends. It was the first time in a while that Annabeth had even brought up Percy in front of people. Suddenly, she felt very weak again.

"Um, I think I'm going to change the music." Silena set down the liquid foundation that she was using on Katie and changed the song to Better than Revenge.

As Annabeth listened to the song, she fell more and more in love with it. It was the perfect depiction of what happened. Rachel stole Percy and this was exactly how Annabeth was feeling. She knew she could destroy Rachel, and Annabeth's done it before, but could she destroy Percy? Annabeth wasn't too eager about that idea. Having to hurt Rachel over this was one thing, but Percy was a completely different story.

"I like this song," Annabeth thought, aloud.

Silena smiled at her friend as she applied setting powder to Katie's face. "Good. I picked this song just for you."

Annabeth smirked and stepped closer to Katie, assisting Thalia by holding or pinning up strands of hair that were in her way. "You know, you three are lucky. At least you guys have someone to look pretty for."

Thalia sighed, "You know, Annabeth, any guy that would get you would be lucky. In fact, if you are lonely, I'm sure Nico would be happy to have you."

Annabeth glared at Thalia and sarcastically laughed, "Yeah, thanks."

"Besides, I know guys," Silena started, "And if Percy is stupid enough to leave you for Rachel, he definitely downgraded...by a lot."

"Yeah," Katie agreed, although she struggled to focus on talking as Thalia curled her hair and Silena applied makeup to Katie's eyes. "First of all, your hair is much more attractive. The curls aren't so crazy, plus your blonde, so it's like a win and win. And your smarter and thinner and more stylish."

"Yeah, Percy's a total moron to leave you for that bitch," Thalia added.

"That's why I call Seaweed Brain...," Annabeth mumbled. "Besides, Percy technically didn't leave me for Rachel. Their not together."

Thalia froze and turned to look at Annabeth. "Um, you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"Percy and Rachel are dating," Thalia muttered. "Nico told us. Rachel convinced Percy to go out with her."

Annabeth sighed. She wanted to cry, but at the same time was tired of looking and feeling weak because of Percy. She shrugged, trying to pass of nonchalance. "So, Percy moved on? Well, so will I." Her friends smiled at her, but they could see through Annabeth and knew that she was hurting.

"Um, Silena can I get some hairspray? It's that drawer," Thalia said, just to change the subject.

Silena nodded and opened it up, shaking the bottle. "I think it's all out, and I didn't bring any."

Thalia sighed. "There's a spare can in my bathroom."

"I'll get it!" Annabeth said, very eager to leave the room.

She knew exactly where the bathroom was and she so didn't have a hard time finding it. She looked through a couple of cabinets and found a Redken hairspray. Setting it on the counter, she took a deep breath, trying to recollect her thoughts and pull herself together. Annabeth, however, did the opposite. She found herself tearing up, a few tears leaking down her cheek. She laughed at her emotional state and wiped a couple away, only for more tears to replace them. Annabeth groaned, wishing that she could go one day without crying over Percy.

"Annabeth?" Came a boy's voice, "Are you okay?"

Annabeth groaned and looked up to see Jason, wearing a pair of jeans and a purple shirt. He stared at her, with his eyebrows raised. Annabeth straightened herself up, wiping away a couple of tears. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll leave."

"Y-you don't have to," Jason said, smiling. He leaned against the bathroom sink. "Look, if I were you, I wouldn't want to go back there."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You guys aren't that quiet and these walls aren't that thick," Jason pointed. Annabeth blushed, looking down at her feet. "But, if you want, you can head back."

Annabeth sighed and leaned against the counter by Jason. "So where's Piper? Don't you guys have plans?"

Jason shrugged. "She's busy."

"Too busy to spend time with...oh," Annabeth very quickly understood Jason. She knew there was a reason that Jason was being surprisingly talkative. Usually, he just stays his room when Thalia's friends are over. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

"Girls are confusing...no offense."

Annabeth chuckled, "And guys are cheating jerks...no offense. Relationships suck."

Jason laughed, and Annabeth even cracked a genuine smile. "You know, considering that your one of Thalia's friends, you're actually pretty cool."

"Why, thanks! And considering that your Thalia's little brother, you actually not as annoying as she said you were." Jason and Annabeth smiled at each other, and for once, Annabeth felt okay. "W-well I should probably get back."

Jason grinned, holding the door open, "And I should probably go call Pipes. And Annabeth?"

Annabeth turned to look at him. "Yeah."

"My sister is right about one thing: you better than him."

Annabeth sighed, "That's what a lot of people are saying."

Whoa, what a chapter!

You got some Thuke moments, you got some sibling Malcolm/Annabeth moment and hey, there was even Jason in there

Plus, it was pretty long!

What will happen to Percy and Annabeth?

Will they make up, or will Rachel win in the long run?

Okay, I have to admit that this wasn't my best written chapter, but I felt like I really jammed it with a lot of conflict and plot twists, so hopefully you guys like it...

So next chapter, it's going to be a lot more Percy-centric and you'll finally get to see a lot more of Nico and Grover.

Remember guys, REVIEW! Do YOU want to be the 400th reviewer?! I know I would want to be.

~Juicyfruity39