Hi! First off, I know it's been freaking forever since I came out with a new chapter and that's for a million different reasons you guys probably don't want to hear about. Let's just say I was super busy with everything I had going on and then I was out of the country and then it was the holidays and then I had and still kind of have a huge case of writer's block so yeah-just a lot. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it. I wanted to write at least one chapter all in Percy's POV so this was my attempt. Also, kind of a major turning point in the story for him.

Review Responses:

M. 21: It's awesome to know that a figure skater is reading my story! I used to skate myself but that was a long time ago. Don't worry I'm not giving this story up.

Hannah Jackson (Guest): Haha glad you're obsessed with the story that means I'm doing my part as an author! Also, thanks for the cookies, delicious! Lol

Emopunk mad hatter fangirl: Firstly, loving your username. Thanks so much for reading my story and I enjoyed taking a bow haha.

Disclaimer: Don't own

Percy lightly chuckled as the group of people around him laughed while drunkenly slapping each other on the back. Music was blaring through the speakers in the house and there were couples occupying every corner, making out with their tongues down each other's throats. They had no shame whatsoever. There were beer bottles on the floor, some of them still half full. The middle of the room that was deemed the dance floor was occupied with girls grinding themselves up on guys and empty red solo cups rolling around at their feet. It didn't matter that it was a Wednesday night. Most of them probably would skip the rest of the week anyway.

One of the guys next to Percy, Michael Yew, nudged him. He stuck his hand out to offer him a cigarette. Percy just looked at the thin cylinder of tobacco rolled in paper. The air was musty around him from the puffs of smoke being released. He shook his head in refusal to the offer.

"Come on Jackson. When are you going to stop being such a coward and just smoke a cig already?" Michael insulted. A couple of the other people in the group agreed, nodding their heads and turning to Percy.

"I told you I don't smoke." Percy replied sternly. It seemed that every time he was at one of these parties all his so called friends talked about was getting him to smoke. Michael rolled his eyes.

"Yeah and you don't drink either. What are you afraid of? Scared you're going to mess up your little hockey career?" He taunted, stumbling a little in place while the others laughed around him.

"Maybe I just don't want to mess up my life. You clearly don't give a shit about yours. As for my hockey career, at least I have something I'm good at." Percy argued, glaring towards the boy. He didn't even know why he'd decided to come to the party in the first place.

"Whoa I'm just messing around Perce. Can't take a joke can you? You know you've been acting weird lately. The old you would've been on his second make out session with another girl. Speaking of which…"

Right at that moment Drew found her way over to the group. Her high heels clicked on the wooden floor as she strutted over in her skintight skirt and crop top that was way too small for her. The lipstick on her face glowed a cherry red and her hair was down.

"Hello boys." Their eyes roamed over her body as she moved saucily next to her boyfriend. She moved fast, fisting the top of Percy's black t-shirt and taking him by surprise when she pulled him down to crash her lips to his fiercely. He half-heartedly kissed her back as she took ahold of his hands to place them low on her body. He heard a couple of wolf whistles but he pulled away a moment later, detaching himself from her.

"Hey baby." She said flirtatiously. Percy could smell the alcohol in her breath. It was intoxicating. She grabbed his arm, putting it around her shoulder as she turned back to the rest of the guys.

"Mind if I steal him for a bit?" She asked innocently, hiccupping a little in her drunken state.

"Course not. The guy could use a little relaxation." Michael agreed, making way for them to walk. Drew grabbed Percy's hand before he could say anything and practically dragged him along with her. As soon as they had reached a more secluded part of the house she turned around and pulled him to her and kissing him sloppily.

"Drew" Percy protested, detaching his lips from hers. That didn't stop her though. She moved to kiss his neck, probably to give him a hickey. Percy took ahold of her arms, separating himself from her completely.

The brunette sighed in exasperation and anger. "What is it Percy?! What's up with you? I'm practically throwing myself at you and you don't even want to kiss me!"

He just stared at her for a moment. The next thing he said was not planned but after he said it he found himself being filled with relief on finally admitting it.

"Listen, I just…I don't think this is working out Drew." He said, surprising even himself. Once he said the words he realized how true they were. A couple weeks ago he would have happily given in to what she wanted but now he just wanted to go home. Besides, he had absolutely nothing in common with Drew and half the time she was lip locked with some other dude. The girl in front of him furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief, her mouth falling agape.

"Are you breaking up with me?!" She squeaked out, tears building up in her eyes. He couldn't tell if they were from anger or from sadness but either way she was glaring at him with a look that could kill.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said in response. He used to break up with girls practically every other week so why was he feeling guilty this time? He couldn't mull over the thought much longer because a second later he felt a hot stinging sensation on his cheek.

"You're a jerk Percy Jackson!" Drew shouted after slapping him, her eyes red with fury. Percy held his cheek as she stalked away angrily. Well that went well, he thought.

He sighed heavily, leaning back against the wall that was slightly vibrating because of the loud music. He didn't want to be there. Why had he decided to come? Deep down he knew the answer to that question. To protect his image. The image of a playboy that didn't give a damn about the rules and did whatever the hell he wanted.

But something had changed. He didn't feel like that person anymore. He didn't want to be that person anymore, the guy who got all the girls and broke all the rules. But the thing was, he was trapped into fulfilling that image and he didn't know how to get out of it. High school didn't work like that. A person couldn't just change their status of how they were viewed by everyone else.

He stuck around the party for a few more hours, not really doing much except walking around and being roped into conversations that he didn't even want to be a part of. A couple of girls had come up to him throughout the night. They must have seen Drew stomp off crying and figured out they were no longer an item. When everyone was pretty much drunk of their asses, Percy made a run for it and left the party. It was almost one in the morning by the time he got back to his apartment but considering how late those parties went, it was the earliest he'd ever gotten back.

He closed the door quietly behind him after unlocking it. He didn't want to wake up his mother who was sleeping. All he wanted to do in that moment himself was crash but he had to be silent so as to not disturb her. He placed his car keys on the small key rack and headed for the staircase to go to his room. As he was walking he nearly fell in surprise when a familiar voice disrupted the silence.

"Where were you?" Sally Jackson demanded, the look in her eyes cold and harsh. She was seated at the kitchen table with a bottle of water in front of her and nothing else. She had stayed up to see when her son was going to come home.

Percy's eyes widened when he saw his mother sitting there with her arms crossed. He stuttered on his next words.

"M-mom? I was just…uh-"

"The truth" She demanded. Her brown eyes darkened as she looked at him. She knew whatever he was going to say was going to be a lie to get him out of trouble. But how many excuses could someone come up with for getting home at one in the morning on a school night?

The boy sighed, giving in to his mother's demands but also trying to downplay the situation. "I was at a party. Wasn't really a party actually, more of a group thing with a few friends."

The look on her face turned into one of disappointment as she stared at her son. "Percy. What do I have to do to get you to stop going to those parties? You smell like liquor and smoke not to mention it's one in the morning and you have school tomorrow."

He saw the mixture of fear and disappointment in her eyes and it made his heart ache. He was the one causing her to feel that way and it made him feel awful. Was his image really worth it? When he spoke again it was with complete honesty.

"I'm sorry mom. I know I say that a lot and we've been in this situation several times but I mean it this time. I…I kind of realized something tonight and I promise you I'll stop going to those parties."

Sally Jackson started at her son. She knew by the way his eyes didn't waver from hers and the way he didn't stutter that he was telling her the truth. Her intense gaze lessened and she stood up from the table.

"Well I hope you really mean it this time. But this doesn't mean you're off the hook. You're grounded for the next two weeks. You'll go to school and then to practice but you'll come home right after that understood?" Percy nodded.

"Good. Now get to bed it's late." She scolded. He climbed up the stairs and she followed right behind him.

Percy knew that night was a significant one. It was going to be hard but slowly he was going to try to change. He didn't want to be the person he was. He wasn't happy and maybe it was because of everything that was expected of him. He was expected to be the school's playboy and the guy who didn't care. It was practically impossible to change the way you were looked at after four years in high school but he was damn well going to try.

The following day at school Percy disregarded his normal morning routine that consisted of him heading over to wherever Drew was and making out until the bell for first period rang. Instead he walked over to the hall near the cafeteria where he knew a couple of the guys from the hockey team gathered in the mornings. Percy had always been invited but never really interacted with them much during the school day. A couple times Leo had sat with him at lunch since he was all around liked with that sense of humor but he'd never really taken the time to know his team outside of the rink. He hated himself for that. They had been a part of his life for so long but he was so concerned with trying to protect an image of himself that he hadn't really given them a second thought. As he got closer he noticed there were four guys in the group talking aimlessly amongst each other. Two of them he recognized almost right away. Leo was receiving a punch in the shoulder from Jason. Knowing the curly haired boy, he had probably made some stupid joke and Jason had felt the urge to hit him. The other two guys were Matt and Liam, two defensive players on the team that Percy had talked to once in a while. As he walked further the four of them turned around at the sound of his footsteps. No one said anything for a second.

"Oh hey Perce! Surprised to see you here. Finally come to the realization that I'm so wonderful you can't stay away?" Leo blurted out sarcastically. Percy cracked a smile. Leave it to Leo to break any awkward moment or situation.

"Sure Leo. That's what happened." Percy played along, allowing Leo to shake his head smugly while closing his eyes. The five of them laughed and Percy joined their small circle near one of the walls.

"No, I just finally realized how annoying the people I hang out with normally are." He continued honestly. The three men in front of him lifted their eyebrows up in surprise, not expecting that answer from their captain.

"So now you wanna hang out with the coolest group in school?" The Latino boy asked coyly. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Sometimes I really wonder how we're friends when you say stuff like that." The blonde teased. Liam and Matt nodded their heads in response to the statement as Leo faked mock hurt.

Percy laughed genuinely. "Something like that Leo." The three guys stopped laughing and turned towards their captain. Jason smiled genuinely at him.

"Well you know you're always welcome Perce. Glad you finally came to your senses." He said. Percy chuckled as he came in closer to the group. He was laughing within a minute of standing there and that's when he knew he had made the right decision.

"What? What is so important?!" Annabeth whisper shouted in annoyance. She turned from her spot next to him to stop him from tapping her shoulder relentlessly with his pencil any longer.

Percy's eyebrows shot up in amusement. He snickered as she looked to him for an answer with a scowl on her face. Percy shrugged as she continued to stare him down.

"I'm bored."

She rolled her eyes. Percy knew she wasn't happy with the new seating arrangement in history. Piper had moved her seat so that she was now sitting next to Jason. The two of them had started dating just a couple days ago when Jason had asked Piper out after the figure skating competition and Annabeth didn't want to be the one to hold Piper back from sitting with her boyfriend so she had decided to let him take her seat. Since Jason's old seat was closer to the front of the room a different student had taken his spot so they could see better and Annabeth's new seat had somehow turned out to be right next to Percy.

"Well you're supposed to be doing classwork. Now is that all or is there more?" Annabeth asked the boy. Percy's hands moved up into a surrender position as she continued her work.

It was quiet for another ten minutes before Percy spoke again. He realized that the blonde had finished her history work and was now reading a book.

"You know you're very uptight." He said just loud enough for her to hear. Annabeth sighed exasperatedly. She shut her book and looked over to him. She knew she wasn't going to get any reading done for the rest of the period. There were other people watching them questioningly.

"I am not. You just haven't seen the other side of me." She argued.

"Well maybe I need to sometime." He teased, winking cockily.

"Gods you're such a flirt. Do you ever take a break from that?" She shot back, turning the tables on him. He tilted his head down in acknowledgement.

"That's fair. But you don't know everything about me either."

"I guess I don't." She stated, putting an end to that topic of conversation for the time being.

"So, you going to the game tomorrow?" Percy started, looking to her for an answer. He didn't know why but for some reason he really hoped that she would be there.

"Yeah. Christina wants us to go so the entire figure skating team will be there. I expect to see a good game Jackson. I don't go to games where my team loses."

Percy laughed quietly. "Well I'll try my best Chase. Glad you're coming, I'll be looking for you in the stands."

For a split second there was a feeling of giddiness that filled Annabeth as she looked into his sea green orbs but as soon as it had come it had gone. A minute later he spoke again.

"Speaking of skating. Let me know when regionals are. I'd love to come watch again."

"Really? You didn't think it was, I don't know…a bunch of ice ballerinas?" She teased, a playful smile on her face.

He chuckled, remembering when he had called the skaters that so long ago. So much had changed since that day. Never would he have imagined he'd be befriending the girl who'd constantly gotten on his nerves over the years.

"No, you were pretty great Princess honest."

Her face felt a little warm at his comment. She smiled and allowed herself to catch his eye directly. "Thanks Hockey Boy. I look forward to seeing the so called star player in action tomorrow night."

He grinned as a comfortable silence enveloped them. Percy was finding it extremely hard to tear his gaze away from the blonde in that moment. She shook herself out of it, breaking eye contact with him as she smiled downwards.

She felt the stares from people around the room became stronger. The next thing she said had been on her mind since the conversation started.

"Jackson…Why are you talking to me? I know our seats are now right next to each other but we rarely ever talk in school. What's changed?"

Percy paused. He tried to think of a way to explain his change in attitude but nothing was enough to sum it all up. She looked at him with her calculating grey eyes filled with curiosity.

"It's not a crime to talk to you outside the rink Princess. Also, let's just say, I've changed. I decided I'm no longer going to care what people think of me. I can talk to who ever I want and if people have a problem with that than so be it." He said nonchalantly.

"So what, you just woke up this morning and decided all this?" She responded in disbelief. Her mind was spinning with a bunch of questions.

"I guess you could say that."

Percy laughed at the way Annabeth's expression twisted into one of utter confusion. She looked like she was about to say something but right at that second the bell had decided to ring, interrupting their short conversation.

"I'll see you later at practice Princess." He dismissed, leaving the girl dumbfounded by her desk as he caught up with Jason who was walking out the door.

That's it for this chapter! Percabeth is slowly but surely coming I promise guys. Percy's finally realized how unhappy he was in his life. More and more of Percy's story as well as Annabeth's will be revealed in either the next chapter or the one after that. Next update will for sure have the first hockey game of the season tho so get excited! Again, so sorry for the wait and I'll try my very best to make the next update come out faster. Love you guys!

REVIEW, REVIEW AND REVIEW!

-M