Annabeth POV

School was less than pleasant. Despite popular belief, I am not some school loving nor am I popular. I have the same challenges as any other demigod: ADHD, dyslexia, traumatic past... blah blah blah. I simply enjoy learning, not school. There is a difference. The difference is especially prominent when the school you are attending you have no friends at. I like to think I'm an easy person to get along with, but after the encounter with Matt no one was really going out of their way to talk to me. It was alright though, a little lonely, but alright. Lizzie was polite to me when we were alone, but that was really the extent of it. I have been working at Olympus and sleeping at camp every weekend and Percy calls me for hours every night. He's been working with Chiron on controlling his anger and he says that it's been going well. Thalia meets me after school sometimes and we grab lunch at her favorite burger place. So all in all, the year was shaping up to not completely suck.

"Annabeth!" His voice was frantic and his hands trembled. Once again he was standing on the fire escape by my window. Except this time he was drenched in water and ichor and he had pieces of vines strewn on him. His hair was plastered to his forehead, but he didn't seem to care.

"What happened to you!?"

"I- uh well," he began. He was looking at Lizzie standing on the other side of the room with wide eyes. Percy looked like something I couldn't describe, so I couldn't imagine what he looked like to a mortal.

"Lizzie?" I said. "Could you give us a few minutes?"

"Sure," she squeaked. She practically ran out of the room and I turned to face my boyfriend.

"What happened?" I asked and he recounted the story. I listened carefully, not interrupting unless I needed to clarify. He tripped and stumbled over his words, like his mouth was trying to catch up to his brain.

"So... who was it? Who did I meet?" he asked me.

I smiled at him. It was just like old times, him getting into trouble and me supplying the greek myths. "I can't be completely sure without meeting her myself, but there's this one goddess I remember reading about. Her name is Lyssa, the goddess of crazed fury."

"But she healed me?"

"I don't think she did though," I said. "You said that she said something about breaking an object in order to fix it, right? So I think Dionysus made you go mad. That's why you met Lyssa. I think she pushed you even further into insanity in order to make it better? Or maybe reversed the damage? I honestly can't be sure. I mean look at you, you're drenched. Maybe the water healed you or maybe Lyssa was able to fix the damage. I don't know."

"Oh. Well as long as I'm good now."

"Yeah, Seaweed Brain. Good thing."

"I think I may have startled her," Percy said concerned.

"Who, Lyssa?"

"No Lizzie. She got out of here so fast," he said. "Lyssa showed me how I look through everyone else's eyes and I don't mean to come across as so scary looking. I just- well in my head I'm not so confident."

"You don't have to be. And you're not scary, just powerful."

"Not to you, maybe," he said, "I just hope this all gets easier."

I hated that he sounded so down about it, but I couldn't exactly blame him. It would be tough, but we had been through tougher.

"It will, Seaweed Brain. Now let's go for a walk. I don't want to bother Lizzie anymore," I said. I went out into the hall and told Lizzie she could come back inside and that Percy and I were leaving. She looked relieved at that.

"You know, it's tomorrow is our one month anniversary," Percy told me.

"Any plans?"

"Yeah I was thinking about catching a movie with Grover, then maybe visiting my dad at his palace," Percy said. I rolled my eyes at him, playfully. "Don't you worry, Wise Girl, I've got it all worked out. I mean, my mom helped and all, but you'll love it."

"I better," I teased.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Sounds good. Now go take a shower." He grinned at me and snapped his fingers. All the godly blood and other signs of disarray disappeared.

I frowned at him, "You could have done that earlier, you know. Without dashing through the city looking like a madman."

"Oops."