For the next couple of weeks Annabeth and Percy became unseperable. This wasn't just a figure of speech. If Percy had detention, Annabeth was there. If Annabeth was studying in the library, Percy was there. They were practiacally together 24/7 apart from the fact that they weren't sleeping together.

Percy had decided that he was just about done with being an outcast. Ever since Annabeth had started hanging out with him he had been getting picked on less and noticed more. Percy had even decided to go to the swim team tryouts and see if he could make it. He had used to go to Montauk beach all the time as a kid and swim, but he had never done it competitively. Annabeth assured him she would be there to cheer him on.

Although Percy was having fun and making lots of new friends, he found he was spending less and less time with Nico and Grover. It's not that he didn't want to, it's just that him and Annabeth were usually together and the guys weren't so keen on her. Sure they were nice enough when they did have encounters, and they all still sat together at lunch, but they had been growing more distant. Grover had been spending a lot of time with Juniper where as Nico was going back into his shell and spending time alone...

Linebreak

This is it. Today is the Goode high swim team tryouts. Percy had arrived an hour before the tryouts began. He wasn't nervous, at least not about swimming. Percy had never been too confident with his body, even though he was athletic enough, but after Gabe did... what he did, Percy had vowed to only show people he trusted what marked his skin.

Percy had been sitting there thinking about all the horrible things he had endured when suddenly, the doors opened and in came a certain blonde haired girl whose smile dropped from her face seconds after seeing Percy's face.

"What's wrong Percy?" Annabeth said, a look of worry plastered along her face.

"Just nervous about making the team" Percy said attempting a weak smile.

"Percy, what's really wrong" Annabeth said looking straight through his facade.

"Annabeth, not right now" Percy said. Annabeth sat beside Percy and leaned her head on his shoulder. People had started slowly trickling in to the pool area, getting seats in the bleachers. All of these people were probably here to cheer on their friends. Percy had asked his friends to come too. He wasn't sure he could get through this meet without them here.

There was now 15 minuets to get ready for the tryout and Annabeth stood up, wishing Percy good luck and giving him a kiss on the cheek before taking her seat in the bleachers. Percy went into the changeroom where all the other guys trying out were already getting changed. Percy changed into his swim trunks but kept his shirt off, deciding to take it off when he got out there. Percy looked at the other guys and saw some of them looked as nervous as he felt, while some of the guys were grinning like they had already made the team. Percy waited for other guys to leave before stepping out last.

seeing the bleachers hardly filled with anyone was reliving, but there were still about 20 kids there to watch the tryouts which was more than Percy had anticipated. He started getting panicked and scanned the crowds faces. He saw Grover sitting next to Juniper and smiled a bit before looking through the rest of the people. He saw Annabeth and his heart fluttered a little when he saw her smiling at him and giving him two thumbs up. Percy kept looking but nowhere in the crowd could he see Nico.

All of the kids had lined up behind their podiums. First they would have to do front crawl, then backstroke, then freeswim and come up on the other end. The schools tryouts were very straightforward so it was just whoever was fastest made it and the bottom five were cut. Percy, who still hadn't taken his shirt off, was scanning his opponents. He saw two that he could beat for sure and a few that didn't look like they would be much trouble, but Percy knew there was a chance that he was in the bottom 5 of these kids.

Two groups of 7 would be going and Percy was in the first one. The coach walked over to Percy and whispered in his ear,

"You're going to need to take off the shirt, Jackson" before walking back to his seat on the side. Percy saw everyone looking at him, waiting for him to take his shirt off. He once again scanned the crowd of people, and once again he couldn't spot Nico. Percy stepped back and got ready to run for the door, not prepared to do this. He had just taken his first step away when Nico opened the door, looking Percy in the eyes and nodding a small nod. Percy nodded back and stepped up to the podium, taking off his shirt. There were some gasps, some shushes, and a lot of silence. The coach cleared his throat before starting his count down,

"On your marks, get set, go!" And just like that they were off.

Percy hopped in the second he heard the coach say go, diving in as well as he could, Percy relished the feeling of safeness he got in the water. No peering eyes to look at his scars and judge him, just him and the water. Percy came up to take a breath only when he was halfway across the water. He was the second to reach the other side, although the others were close behind. He started on his way back, relishing in the fact that his whole body felt like it was a well oiled machine made to glide across water. He made it back to the first side in third place before starting on his free swim. Most the kids were now neck in neck except for 2 kids who were lagging fairly far behind. Percy pushed himself as hard as he could and finally made it to the other side, finishing his tryout. The only problem was he came third, so there was no guarantee that he would be on the team. For him to make it one of the kids in the next group would have to be slower then him. He went to the coach to get his time, which was 32 seconds. Not bad for my first timePercy thought. He went over to his clothes quickly, making sure to hide his back as much as he could.

Percy was now sitting in the bleachers beside Annabeth, watching to see if he made it. When he first came over she was all excited and happy for him, but when they sat down she whispered in his ear that they

"Need to talk". They didn't pay too much attention to the race, only looking when it was the last stretch. Percy ended up making the team and beating two of the guys in the second group. One of them had gotten 37 seconds and the other 34. Grover had said that they were going to take Percy out to celebrate that night, and Juniper, Annabeth, and even Nico had agreed. Percy walked out feeling good, but also feeling exposed. All of the people there now knew that he had countless scars on his body...

Percy had told Annabeth that he would drive her to the pizza place that Grover had told them all to go to for Percy's celebration. As soon as they got in the car Annabeth turned to Percy. He looked at her and saw worry sprawled across her face. Without saying a word she reached over and hugged him, crying quietly. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes before softly saying,

"Were they all Gabe?".

"Yeah they were all him" Percy replied stone faced.

"Could-could I see them again?" Annabeth asked uncertainly. Percy have a curt nod before raising his shirt over his head and dropping it on the floor of the car. Annabeth started tracing her hands over all the little scars and bumps that had been inflicted upon Percy over the years. Annabeth was also tracing her hands over areas with no scars, which Percy was confused at. She ran her hand up and down his toned stomach before remembering something.

"Hey Percy, didn't you get stabbed in the back by Gabe? Wouldn't that have left the biggest scar?" She asked curious. Percy turned ghostly Pale. He slowly started turning in his seat until Annabeth could see his back. There were very few scars back here except for one large one that dug straight into the small of his back. Annabeth touched it and Percy shivered, feeling her warm hands on his cool skin. He picked up his shirt and put it back on, feeling uncomfortable.

"Percy..." Annabeth started before he cut her off.

"Don't Annabeth. Today's been a good day and I want it to stay that way. Now let's go get some pizza!!" He said enthusiastically, although the pain in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by Annabeth.

AN:

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile my school right now is really overwhelming I'll be updating a lot slower for awhile until I get a break or a bit of free time.