Sup guys! okay first things first, this chapter is an extremely short and not very well done one. I really don't have the time to write nowadays due to studies and other obligations. So i'm sorry.

I think this story may go on hiatus for now. there are many more ideas i'm coming up with and i may write on other stories first. Sorry but i don't like writing this story during exams because the chapters are very long HAHA

enjoy!

Percy's POV

It's been three weeks since I came back to school. I haven't really talked to the rest of the gang though- I mostly kept out of their way. We catch glimpses of each other in school once in a while, but I never stop to talk or observe them.

To be pretty honest, I've been more like a ghost than anything. I sneaked around, purposely avoiding people I knew. It was pretty hard to do that, especially when almost everyone knew me somewhat. Only the newer people didn't know me.

It wasn't hard to avoid them though. The task of completely avoiding conversations with anyone I knew would be considered as daunting to any other person, but I had trained before in the past to be as invisible as a ghost due to circumstances, so it was pretty easy.

However, I still managed to observe the gang from afar whenever it was lunch break. When I see them laughing so joyfully, when I see their bright and cheerful faces, a deep sadness and pain welled up inside me.

And when I see Micheal, my vision turns red. How I wish I could just take Riptide and slice through his terribly vulnerable neck.

"No," I firmly whispered to myself, clearing those dark thoughts.

The time when violence was the solution to everything was over. I would not allow myself to go back to how I was last time.

I frowned as felt something unusual about the sight. I tried to spot the misplacement. There was someone missing.

"Percy," Beckendorf's deep voice right behind me shocked me right to the core.

I must have been too concentrated on the gang to notice him coming up to me. What's worse, Beckendorf was in no way a sneaky guy. The very fact that he could come up behind me without me even noticing the slightest bit told me how very out of practice I was.

"Yes?" I asked in quiet tone, turning around to face him.

His face looked weary, as though he had just went through an agonizing time. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally.

"I heard from Thalia and the rest. I'm sorry." I stared at him for a long while, the noise surrounding us fading into a soft whirring of incessant chatter.

Strangely, I didn't take a very long time to wrap my head around it. Beckendorf and I had always kept things simple. We never lied to each other. When we did, it was because it was absolutely necessary.

"So what now?" I asked.

"I'll help however I can. I can start by Silena, and she'll start on her good friends, and the chain will continue."

"Thanks. It means a lot." I told him with a wide grin. He frowned.

"Percy, don't keep up this façade in front of us, okay? You know Annabeth, Thalia, Grover and Nico really care for you. It hurts them to when you harm yourself like that."

With that rant, he trudged off. His shoulders were hunched and his body was tense.

I could tell he felt terrible. He must have seen past my façade, and must have remembered he was partly the cause of it.

I sighed, leaning my head against the table, my mind overloaded with everything.

Despite all the uncertainties about the outcome running through my head, I couldn't help but smile at the thought of those four plus Jason. Sure, they may have doubted me at first, but now, they're trying their best to help.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and immediately knew who it was.

"You told him," I stated. It wasn't a question.

Annabeth walked around the table and opposite me, her deep eyes looking at me with concern and a little bit of hesitation.

"I'm not angry that you told him, don't worry. Just very worried about how this will end." She seemed to relax after hearing me say that.

"I'd rather be unsure whether it would end up good or bad, rather than be sure that it will be a negative outcome."

I chuckled and nodded. There was wisdom in her words.

"We'll see how it goes." I said softly.

Just as I finished, the school bell rang. Annabeth and I both stood up, both of us feeling just a little bit better than before and walked towards the locker, feeling uncertain but hopeful for whatever may come.