Hello again folks! Now I'm sorry that this chapter came a few days late when I said "A week at the latest", that's my fault. I've been busy with college work since I'm coming to the end of my course soon. So, I'll try and give a more realistic wait time in future, or try and meet the deadline, either or.

I'd like to give thanks to all of you who favourite, follow and review the story, you are the best and you keep me encouraged to write with your support.

Special thanks to: ViktorSweden00, a doge, Antisocial Idiot, and thenameshero for your reviews, I'll try not to let any of you down.

As always, if any of you have any song or plot suggestions, feel free to tell me. I love to know what you guys love.

So, I'll stop stalling and give you Chapter 3, hope you enjoy!

"What was that all about?" Percy asked, managing to get his sentence out through a gap in laughter.

"Don't even ask" I sighed, my step-moms behaviour boggling my mind to the point where I didn't want to even try and explain it to Percy.

His laughing now subsided, Percy switched on the radio and our ears were greeted with the sound of 1975's; Robbers. We both just sat there in content, listening to the song as Percy drove us both to school. Blackjack steaming down the highway towards Goode, towards the

rest of whatever today would bring for us…

Chapter 2

Gods of Goode

Annabeth POV

Song Tribute: [Shotgun – George Ezra]

We were cruising along the main road, well on our way to Goode now. The radio now playing whatever generic songs on the Top 50, probably "Freaky Friday" for the 15th time today, and it was only 8:15. I would've been able to tell but I was too zoned out, realizing the predicament that I was in. I was about to arrive at school with Percy Jackson. Every single person who goes to Goode knows who Percy is, even the 10th graders. Heck most of them look up to him as a God of sorts. But my mind was solely focused on one singular person who was going to see us.

Rachel.

Me showing up to school with Percy isn't just giving her a reason to start tormenting me again, this would be like going to her mansion, kicking down the front door, smacking her grandma and then bashing her teeth in. In simple terms, not good. I needed to find a way of avoiding turning up to school with Percy. Maybe I could just ask him?

Contemplating this thought, I Looked over at Percy and I could do nothing but smile. He just looked so happy, so content with just… being. The way he was driving, like he was putting no effort in at all, yet taking so much enjoyment from the experience.

"Can't keep your eyes of me Chase?" Percy laughed, not even looking my way.

"No, I'm just thinking is all" I replied, giving a small laugh at Percy's comment, unable to contain the small blush that crept to my cheeks.

"Oooooo, the redness of your cheeks is telling me otherwise Beth" Percy cooed.

Percy noticing my blush only caused it to deepen, my face becoming a shade of crimson. I turned my head, trying to look anywhere other than Percy Jackson. "Shut up Percy" being the only comeback I could whisper.

"Whatever you want Beth. Just know that your staring is distracting me from driving" Percy sniggered.

Silence descended for the second time, but didn't last for long. I decided I'd play his little flirting game, and win.

"Oh Percy" I whispered seductively, "Is all of this attention I'm giving you distracting?" I said, leaning back into blackjack's passenger seat, raising my arms above my head and popping out my chest. A seductive pose.

To my amusement Percy looked over at me and did a double take, not being able to take his eyes off me. His sea green orbs explored my body and his face blossomed a small blush. Score 1 for Annabeth. "Ha! Caught you looking!" I exclaimed victoriously, fist pumping.

"Well how could I not when you're sitting like that." Percy remarked, "You sitting like that would be like this" Percy continued, taking his hands of the wheel and lifting his shirt up over his head and throwing it off. "You see?"

"Oh my God…" I squeaked, looking over at Percy, his defined six-pack chest a private show only for me, if I was blushing before I was beet red now. "Put your shirt back on!" I laughed with embarrassment.

"You admit defeat yet Chase, my body too hot for you?" Percy joked, to which I could only reply with a begrudging, but humorous "yes."

"Good." Percy replied, "Because we're almost there and I really don't feel like showing up without a shirt on." Percy reached around in the back of Blackjack looking for his lost shirt, his muscular chest flexing as he searched. It would have been a nice spectacle to enjoy, but my mind was in a completely different galaxy. We were almost at Goode. Rachel was going to see us turn up, with Percy shirtless if he didn't find it in time. My nobody persona would evaporate and all my flaws would be laid bare for the world to see.

Percy had managed to fish his shirt out of the back of his car and was now again struggling to put it back on, as well as drive the car. He slid the shirt back over his head, wriggling his pecs into the sleeves and pulling the hem down over his abs. Not that it did much good, he was wearing a tight muscle shirt that showed off everything.

Noticing my staring at him again, he exasperated "We're not doing it again, are we?" he asked with a laugh, turning his focus back to the road.

"No, no. I was just thinking again is all" I replied with a smile.

"Well, what were you thinking about?" Percy inquired.

"Just stuff, y'know" I answered.

A silence grew between us, the only noise being the radio playing and the roar of blackjack's engine. I looked over to Percy, I could tell from his face that he wasn't convinced with my answer

"I always find that voicing my thoughts makes answering them much easier…" Percy said, his voice trailing off. Staring off into a void of memories.

There was a long pause. I really didn't want to upset Percy by saying this, it wasn't even about him. This was my problem to solve, I shouldn't sully Percy just to make my subservience to Rachel easier. But I can't stand up to Rachel, I can't do that. So I voiced my thoughts, and hoped that Percy would understand.

"Please don't take this the wrong way" I breathed in, readying myself "I don't think we should, turn up… together" I said, almost immediately regretting my wording. It sounded as if I was too good for him, which is the complete opposite of what I meant. I saw Percy's face falter too, his smile disappearing for a second, being replaced with a confused look.

"Well, why not?" Percy questioned. His voice missing the playful tone that I was used to from him.

"Look, there's a certain person that I'm trying to avoid." I started, "And, turning up with you will place me slap-bang in the middle of their radar." I trailed off, hoping that Percy would understand where I was coming from.

I looked over to Percy, his face no longer covered with confusion, instead being replaced with worry. He looked back at me and his sea green eyes were exploding with emotion, most of which was worry for my sake. "Why are you trying to avoid them? Why not stand up to them" Percy lightly wondered.

"I'm not a confrontational person Percy…" I wistfully remarked.

"Then I'll stand up to them for you." Percy reassured, placing a hand on my leg and squeezing it lightly, causing shivers to go down my spine. It was a friendly gesture, one to show that he was there for me, but it still drove me crazy.

"Who is it Beth? I'll have… words …with them" Percy offered.

"I can't tell you that Percy, I'm sorry" I breathed. I couldn't tell him it was Rachel, it would be wrong if I made him stand up to her, especially when their relationship had ended with her cheating on him.

"Please Annabeth. If you won't stand up for yourself, at least let your friend stand up for you" Percy pleaded, his had still gripping to my leg.

"Percy please…" I echoed.

"Is it La Rue? I swear to God if she…" Percy started.

I couldn't take it anymore, he wouldn't stop until he knew. I just didn't want it to hurt him, he didn't deserve that.

"It's Rachel…" I stuttered, not knowing how Percy would take that information.

At the mention of Rachel, Percy's body tensed up, he took his hand off of my thigh, leaving a swirl of fire where his palm had once been. His hands were tightly gripping the steering wheel and his knuckles turning white. Percy's eyes were ablaze, set alight with the emotions of anger and sadness that arrived from hearing her name, his face tight and his jaw clenched.

A moment passed. I'd pulled my legs up my chest as I cuddled them, though it was a relatively warm day, the subject of Rachel had left the car cold. Rather than stare at Percy in torturous silence I decided to gaze out of the window, taking in the loud and busy rumblings of New York City. I noticed the world slow down, until the car came to a stop at the side of the road. I felt a hand lay on my shoulder, belonging to Percy Jackson.

I turned my head, looking over at Percy. His body was still a bit tense, but his face was no longer tight with anger and sadness. Instead the emotions I could read from his eyes were empathetic since both of us had been met with the devil-like behaviour of Rachel.

"Annabeth" He began

"I want you to know, if Rachel starts tormenting you in any way, if she picks on you because you're smart, or because you aren't as rich as her, or whatever stupid reason she decides to pick on you, just know that… I'll be there to stand up for you. Thalia will be there to stand up for you." He promised. I began to tear up just hearing Percy say that. Just knowing that I would be alone anymore against Rachel was overwhelming.

I leaned over and gripped Percy tightly in a hug, a hug that had all of my heart and soul in it. Percy's large muscular arms wrapped around me tightly as I placed my face into his shoulder and let a few tears drop. "Thank you Percy… Thank you." I sniffled.

"Hey, it's okay" Percy whispered, rubbing my back to comfort me. A moment later we broke the hug, not before I placed a small kiss on his cheek, a small token of appreciation that sent butterflies through my stomach.

"Come on Beth, let's get to school" Percy said before revving Blackjack and pulling away.

-[ Line Break ]-

We only drove for another minute or so before we arrived at Goode. The parking lot was bustling with life. There were 10th graders pulling up on skateboards and BMX's, talking about amazing tricks they'd done over the holiday, making small talk over anything eventful that had happened over break. There were 11th graders pulling up in brand new cars after passing their driving tests, comparing models like a scene from Fast and Furious. And then there were the twelfth graders, taking solace in the fact that this was their last year at this God-forsaken school. All of them were dwarfed however by the arrival of Percy Jackson and I in Blackjack.

Blackjack's immense engine roar effectively silenced any and all conversations taking place across the lot. Percy slowly drove through the parking lot, revving the engine every now and then. "You gotta keep the crowd entertained" Percy laughed glancing at me before returning his attention to navigating the car park.

Percy manoeuvred Blackjack to the rear corner of the car park where the rest of Percy's friends were parked up. We parked in a bay next to a black and white 1980's Chevrolet Pick-up truck. The truck belonged to Charles Beckendorf, one of Percy's oldest and closest friends, part of his inner circle.

Beckendorf was sat in the bed of his truck, he had a large build, probably standing around 6'5" (slightly taller than Percy's 6'4"), with dense muscles and thick callous hands, something you'd expect from working with machines for so long, along with dark skin and dark brown eyes. He wore a tight grey vest that showed off his muscular chest, with red flannel shirt over the top. The top must have been at least XXL, yet you could still see Beck's unbelievably large arms being tightly pressed against the shirt. He also wore standard denim jeans with numerous holes and rips laced throughout along with timberland boots.

Sitting with beck on the bed of his truck were Jason Grace, Travis and Connor Stoll and Grover Underwood, all playing cards on a small piece of junk that Beck had left there. Jason Grace was the younger brother of Thalia Grace, though looked nothing alike. Whilst Thalia had Choppy, Spikey, Raven black hair with electric blue eyes, Jason had short, styled, blonde hair with calm blue eyes. Where Thalia had quite pale skin, Jason had a tan, and where Thalia was short (about 5'5"), Jason stood almost as tall as Percy, only half an inch difference between them. Jason was wearing a blue and white baseball tee with light blue denim jeans and white high-top converses. He looked frustrated, slapping $5 Dollars into the hand of Travis.

Travis and Connor Stoll weren't twins, but you wouldn't be able to know that just by looking at them both. Travis was the older brother, Connor being younger by only 2 months. They both had chocolate brown/black curly hair and pointy mischievous faces. Both had light brown eyes, the only two differences between them being height (Travis was taller by an inch, standing at 6'2") and Travis also had a small birth mark on the side of his neck, the only indication that he wasn't his brother. Both brothers had now turned their attention to Grover, who was about to play an all or nothing card.

Grover Underwood was Percy's oldest friend, knowing him since they were in Elementary. Their bond was so close it was almost as if they could feel what the other felt, like they were linked somehow. Grover was a well-defined athlete, also on the running team with me. He didn't have bulging muscles like Beckendorf, but his body was perfectly tuned for running. He had dark skin, with Black curly hair and dark green eyes. His face was soft and hard at the same time. His jaw and his cheekbones being incredibly well defined, whilst the rest of his face was soft. He wore a white hoody with a black leather jacket over the top, with dark black jeans and white Nike trainers.

"Yes!" The Stoll brothers cheered in unison, high fiving each other before proceeding to mock Grover, who had thrown his cards down on the bed of Beck's truck, my guess being that he had lost. Grover reluctantly slapped $5 dollars into Travis and Connors hands before getting up and jumping off of Beck's truck, noticing the arrival of me and Percy.

"Yo Perce!" Grover yelled, walking up to the side of the car once we'd pulled up.

"What's up G-Man!" Percy yelled back, getting out of the car and giving Grover a low five and a man hug. They talked about whatever stuff had happened recently, completely involved in their own world.

I sat in the passenger seat of Blackjack, not wanting to get out and expose myself any more than I had been already. Also, the fact that I was surrounded with Percy's friends who didn't know me was also kind of daunting.

I decided I'd see where Thalia was, since she would be here with all of the others if she were here at all. She must have had to pick some people up have been picked up herself I thought. I opened up my phone and was about to text Thalia to see where she was, when all of a sudden…

"Hey Annabeth!" Jason said, popping up at the passenger window of Blackjack, making me jump and drop my phone down the side of Percy's chair, into the dark abyss of chair rails and unreachable places.

"Jesus Christ Jason, don't scare me like that!" I scolded, only to Jason's amusement it seems.

"Sorry Annabeth, I couldn't resist, I think the Stoll's are finally rubbing off on me" He laughed, giving a half grin. Jason was the only one of Percy's friends that I kind of knew (Apart from Grover, though that was only because we were on the running team together), having spent many a night at Thalia's house, I had also become quite acquainted with her younger brother Jason. He was a good kid, he liked making his parents proud, another opposite he and Thalia had. Jason was the captain of the Football team, which meant that he was in good shape.

"don't start acting like them Jason. I don't need you placing traps in mine and Thalia's lockers as well" I laughed, still searching for my phone down the side of the seat.

"Nah, don't worry. My parents would kill me if I got into trouble doing something like that." Jason sighed with a smile. I think he liked being the good guy, but he felt restricted by it sometimes.

"So Jace, where's Thalia?" I asked, "I thought she would be here by now…" I trailed off, feeling the corner of my phone down the side of the seat, just out of reach.

"Ahh, she went to pick up Piper and Silena, though she should be here by now." Jason said, trailing off at the end.

"Ah, guess I'll wait around until she shows up" I said. I was having trouble getting to my phone, and it was time to get to homeroom. Most people in the parking lot had started making their way to the main doors now. I tried to re-adjust myself, bending over into the footwell to look under the seat and hopefully grab my phone.

I had almost grabbed my phone when I heard someone say "Damn, she's got a fineee ass" followed by a couple of wolf whistles. I looked up to see a group of 12th graders walking past on their way in. Two of the group stood out to me, they were both looking over at me and would've seen me bending over. One of them had dusty blonde hair and a scar running down the side of his face. He had a long-tanned face that just spelt troublemaker, with pointy features and a pearly white, fake smile. The other guy also had a scar, this time running through his eye. He was Asian and looked like he was a wrestler. He had a crooked nose and damaged smile, with at least two silver teeth. The eye that wasn't scarred was blackened with a bruise.

The two of them had noticed my looking over at them, and both gave me equally phoney smiles. "Hey baby." The Asian one said. "Come hang with us instead of those losers" The blonde one completed. Both motioning me to come over to them. I looked at Jason and pretended to gag, receiving a small laugh from the younger Grace.

I looked back over to the two creeps. "Umm, no thanks" was all I managed to muster as a retort to them. I bent back down to get my phone again, hoping that the creepers would move along and not pay me any more attention.

I'd just managed to get a hold of my phone when I felt a pair of hands grab my sides, "Baby, we don't bite. The names Ethan, what's yours?" Ethan insisted, not letting go of me.

"My name is get the hell away from me!" I shouted, shoving Ethan backwards from the car window, in time for Jason to come over and square up to him. "Now, weren't you asking for that" Jason quipped, before stepping in-between me and Ethan.

"You going to fight me Grace?" Ethan taunted, raising his fists. The Blonde guy had also joined the fray, standing next to Ethan, placing his feet in a fighting stance. Jason looked worried, though I suspected he was more worried about the trouble he'd probably get in after he hospitalizes two students. I'd seen Jason play football and mercilessly knock people senseless, and it doesn't hurt that he does kickboxing on the side with Percy, so I had no doubt in my mind that he could take Ethan and his jackass of a friend.

I saw a tall figure start walking up behind Ethan and the blonde guy, he stood behind them both, laying a hand on both of their shoulders. It wasn't a friendly shoulder grab either, you could tell that there was force behind it, a demonstration that this person wasn't someone you pick a fight with.

"You boys should run along before you get hurt" I heard Percy say, gripping tighter onto their shoulders, causing them some pain now. "Before I let Sparky here spark you two out." Percy growled. Ethan and his friend slowly turned to face Percy, realisation and fear dawning on their faces. "Or better yet, I'll deal with you two myself" Percy said, pushing Ethan and the other guy on their way, making sure they'd gone inside before turning back to me and Jason. He gave a small smile as he walked over, leaning on Blackjack.

He leaned down to face me, still sitting in Blackjack's passenger seat, "I leave you alone for two minutes and you're already getting into fights?" Percy laughed.

"Yeah" I sighed, "Apparently my fineee ass is worth fighting for" I joked, smiling back up at Percy. He gave an amused look and wiggled his eyebrows at me, signifying a dirty thought making its way through his head. "It's a pretty good ass" Percy jokingly whispered to me before slinking off to talk with Jason.

"And as much as I would've loved to see you kick their asses Jace, we don't want to put you in uncle Zeus' bad books, do we?" Percy grinned.

"It's good to see you Perce" Jason said, opening his arms and embracing Percy.

"It's good to see you too cuz" Percy replied, deepening the embrace of the two cousins.

There was a small moment of silence as the two friends/family embraced, silence that was broken with car horn being pressed multiple times. A dark blue BMW 5 series pulled up being driven by Thalia Grace, driving past the hugging Percy and Jason.

"Percyyy, are you trying to steal my boyfriend?" shouted a girl from the back of Thalia's car. The girl was Cherokee, with choppy, uneven hair the colour of milk chocolate, just a few shades darker than her skin. She had a soft round face with smooth skin and a button nose. The most amazing thing about her though was her eyes. They were kaleidoscopic, never staying one colour. You could stare into them eternally and never get bored. She wore blue denim short shorts with a large long sleeve tee over the top that was far too big for her, (it probably belonged to Jason). The tee showed off her collarbones and figure without drawing attention to them either. She was short with an athletic build, standing around 5'4" and she was effortlessly beautiful.

"Actually, Piper, he's trying to steal me" Percy said matter-of-factly, releasing Jason so he could go and hug his girlfriend.

"Hey Superman" Piper said, hugging Jason and giving him a small peck on the lips, "Did you miss me?" Piper smiled.

"I literally saw you like two days ago" Jason said, laughing.

"And…" Piper questioned.

"Of course I missed you Baby" Jason said, again pulling her closer and giving her a hard kiss this time. They were an adorable couple, both extremely compassionate towards everyone, but absolutely in love with each other.

"Awww, you two are actually the cutest thing on the planet" said the next girl to get out of Thalia's car. She had long half-curly black hair, and a pale princess's face. She had light blue eyes that were filled with purity and innocence, her skin was smooth and clean, no blemishes or spots, as if she was the daughter of a beauty goddess. She was also short, standing at around 5'6", just below my own height, with a slim supermodel like build. She wore grey patterned smart trousers that ended at her shins, with a white stripy dress shirt that was tucked in at a high waist, with black high heels to really outline her figure.

"Ooooo, I don't know Silena, you and Beckendorf could easily claim that title for your own." Piper beamed, causing Silena to smile beautifully.

"Awww, thanks Pipes" Silena sang, making her way over to Beckendorf who, along with the Stolls and Grover, had made their way over to everyone and had joined in the welcome fest that was going on.

"Ewww, it's a bit too lovey dovey out here, don't you think?" Said the final girl to exit the car, walking round from the driver's side. She had a half-gothic look, with raven black hair that was choppy and spiked along with pale skin adorned with black eyeliner and lipstick. She had electric blue eyes that sizzled with danger. Thalia was wearing an off-shoulder band shirt for green day, with black denim jeans that had countless rips going down them. She was wearing black tomms, a contrast to the usual combat boots she normally wears. Thalia was short, standing at 5'5", with a muscular build. Not "bodybuilder" muscular but you wouldn't want to pick a fight with her.

"It's never too lovey dovey darling" Silena said, climbing her mountain of a boyfriend to kiss him.

"Ehh whatever" Thalia shrugged before turning to see me, still sitting in the passenger seat of Blackjack. Her electric blue orbs crackled with excitement when she saw me, as she raced over.

I got out of the car to meet her in a bone crushing hug, wrapping my arms around her and gripping tightly. "Hey Annie" she chuckled, knowing that I hate the name Annie. "Hey Thals" I echoed back, deciding I'd let her off this time.

Thalia broke out of our hug and grabbed me by the arm, dragging me into the centre of all of her and Percy's friends. "Everyone, this is Annabeth! Annabeth, this is everyone!" Thalia shouted, brokering an introduction between me and all of her friends.

"Hey guys" I stuttered, my anxiety of meeting the Gods of Goode almost causing me to not get the words out. I mean, this group were the most popular people in Goode, they were the big deal, so being introduced to them isn't something you just let go.

I heard a mixture of "Wassups" and "Heys" come from everyone before Percy stepped up and made himself known. "Come on guys, we should probably get to home room" he suggested, motioning to the front door. After an echo of agreements from everyone, the group started flooding towards the front entrance, the only ones left being Me, Percy and Thalia.

"Did you get your stuff out of the car?" Percy asked.

"Yeah" I answered, motioning to the bag in my hand. "Hey Percy. Thanks for giving me a lift today… it was an experience" I said, giving a small laugh.

"It was my pleasure Annabeth, honestly" Percy replied smiling. He then gave me a small hug and a kiss on the cheek, which took me by surprise. I think Percy could tell my surprise by the stiffness of my body, because he gave a small laugh and then whispered in my ear, "Make that 3-1 to me Chase." Before breaking the hug and giving me a coy smile.

"Okay! Whatever's going on here, I want no part in it!" Thalia huffed. "I can't deal with all this lovey dovey stuff…" Thalia muttered walking off.

Me and Percy turned and looked at each other, bursting out laughing at Thalia's antics. "Come on Beth, let's get to homeroom." Percy motioned for me to go ahead of him, like a gentleman. I started thinking about what Thalia said, are me and Percy being lovey dovey? Well I'd have plenty of time in homeroom to think about it. Would I mind if we were? I don't know, it feels like when I'm around Percy, all my problems seem to dissipate.

Let's see how the rest of the day goes, shall we?

That's it for Chapter 2! How do you think I did with introducing all of our favourite characters? What did you think of Ethan Nakamura and his Blonde "friend"? who do you think that is?

Seriously though, thank you to everyone who reads, likes reviews and favourites my story, you are amazing people.

Now, in regards to chapter 4, don't expect to see it until we are past June 6th. That day is when I finish my college course and every day till then I want to focus on completing my work so I can get into University (wish me luck).

I hope to see everyone again when the next chapter comes out, you've all been wonderful.

I love you all and I'll see you again soon,

S.B