Thanks for all of those AWESOME REVIEWS! Yeah- they all deserved the capitalization key.

~GoGreen52

Chapter 16- Plan Groviper Part 1

Previously:

She carried me to the food, and hid me behind it. "Annabeth. Stay here. Do not move."

My mommy sounded so scary, and I did what she said. She walked away, and went right to the check out place where we buy the ice cream. But I had a bad feeling in my tummy, and went to figure out why mommy left.

All of the sudden, there was another BOOM and then another.

I followed the sound, wanting to see why someone was lighting fireworks in Rainbow.

I saw red on the floor. It looked like red milk. But I saw people laying there, a hole in their heads… mommy was one of them. Her golden hair, like a princesses, was stained with red. I looked at the only man standing.

He had hair like mommy's- gold. He had blue eyes, and a dark line going across his face. It was scary. He looked at me, and I ran away and hid behind some clothes. Later I heard sirens, and knew the police were here, and it was safe. Mommy told me all about police and safe sirens.

-End Flashback-

Tears went down my face. If only I knew what was happening. They never caught the killer… and I have a feeling he knows that I saw him… I hope he thinks I forgot. But who would think someone forgot something that tragic?

I sighed, laying down on the floor. The tears where dripping freely from my eyes.

I was only five years old when I witnessed my mother's murder.

-Annabeth POV-

I sat against the wall, and thought about what I could do now… tell Percy? No, I couldn't do that. Keep it cooped up in my mind for the rest of my life, possibly going crazy? No way. There has got to be a better explanation than this one.

I laid my head back and sighed. There was nothing I could really do to avoid telling someone… I should tell Thalia or Juniper about it. I'm sure they'd understand. And I don't want to worry Percy, considering he has a lot to think about already. No need to bring another thing right in with them.

I looked at the drawer that was on the floor next to me. I knew that me staring at it wouldn't make it magically grow legs and carry itself to the dresser. I had to do it myself. But to be honest, I really don't feel like moving right now… a few seconds wouldn't hurt the world that much, would it?

I heard a knock on the door, and sighed to myself, knowing I would have to get up, walk to the door, and open it. Then, I'd have to deal with whoever was behind that door… not in a bad way of course, but whatever.

Closed my eyes, really not wanting to stand up. But I knew I had too. The person knocked on the door again, and I stood up. My body was groaning in pain, and I winced, not really enjoying that feeling. It was the kind of feeling you get when you max out… but this time, it was just from pure exhaustion.

I opened the door, and stood face to face with a worried looking Thalia. She took one glance at my face, taking in my red eyes, and tear stained cheeks. "Are you okay?" she asked, going ahead and inviting herself in. She sat cross-legged on the bed, and looked around the room.

"Do I look like I'm okay?" I asked, shutting the door. "I don't know what could be more obvious… maybe a knife in my chest would help?"

Thalia looked at me, recognizing my behavior, and raised her arms up in a surrender position. "Hey, sorry- have you ever heard of common courtesy? I was trying to do that. But really, what's wrong?"

I sighed, I will admit it was a bit more dramatic than it should've been, and sat in the chair by the bookshelf. I slumped down, and laid my head back. As soon as I closed my eyes, they snapped right open. I saw my mother… laying in her own pool of blood. I saw the wicked eyes of the cold blooded killer… icy blue, cold as Antarctica, the coldest place on the planet.

"Just had some flashbacks… you know, when there's a few pieces of your past that you want to just lock away forever?" I asked, looking at Thalia straight in the eye. She knew this was serious, and nodded, her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

"Yeah… why do you ask?"

"I remembered a few things from my past that... don't really deserve to be remembered," I told her, and closed my eyes. The sound of the gunshots rang through my ear, and I opened my eyes. I was expecting to see the old grocery store, seeing my mother's body, but I was in my room.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Thalia asked, her voice hesitant. I had a feeling she knew what I was talking about- the whole experiencing a thing from your past part- I knew she didn't exactly have the most clearly past either.

"I think I should." I said, and I saw Thalia focus on me, turning her whole body to me. I immediately felt nervous, terrified of telling her… the murderer was out lose somewhere- my mother's death was a cold case… probably sitting on the end of a desk in the precinct.

"Okay… my mom was murdered when I was five years old, and I heard it happen. I saw the murderer, and the bloody bodies. I remember everything like it was just yesterday- the images and sounds etched into my brain. I have no idea why I remember it now, but I just do. And it scares the crap out of me," I told her. Thalia's face was pale when I finished.

"That's not good, Annabeth... did they find the murderer?" Thalia asked, and I could see a spark of interest in her eyes. She loved chasing after stuff like this, listening in at hearings, or just doing plain old detective work for cases that were unsolved. Let's just say she's really the Nancy Drew of New York.

"No. They didn't even think of me being a witness, having me just saying I heard the 'big boom' and nothing else. But here's the thing- I saw the murderer, but they don't know it. I was five at the time, and didn't understand a thing.

"But now… I do. So, I have a feeling I could call up the people who worked on the case and give them a good description. It was a good 21 years ago, but who cares?"

Thalia smiled at me and said, "Atta girl. You can straight yourself out though." She pointed to a wet spot on the floor, and I could tell she knew it was tears from a few tissues on the floor near it.

"Yeah… I guess I should do that," I laughed, and Thalia did too. "Thanks for helping, Thals. I really needed it."

"Any time, Annabeth. Now let's get downstairs to get the two eco freaks together," Thalia joked, and I nodded.

"Yeah… we need all the time we can get."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

We walked downstairs together, and saw that the boys cooked for us. I could tell it was only the boys, because Juniper was doing the taste-testing, and seeing if the food was actually eat-able.

"The food okay, Juniper?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She paused, some guacamole on her finger, and gave Thalia and I a faint smile.

"Yeah… I'll admit that the boys aren't that bad," Juniper said, then put her finger in her mouth. She took it out, and sighed. "The guacamole is to die for."

"Um… Juniper?" Thalia asked, and Juniper looked at Thalia, taking in her questioning look.

"Yeah?"

"I wouldn't exactly… die for guacamole," Thalia said, raising her eyebrow at Juniper. I just started to laugh at the little charade going on. Usually Thalia would figure this out, but I think she still has a few things on her mind.

"Thalia- just so you know- she wouldn't do that either," Percy said, laughing with me. We high fived, and laughed even more when Thalia's face reddened when she finally figured it out.

"Guys, don't make fun of my Girlfriend," Nico said, slapping Percy. Well, let's just say everyone but Percy was laughing at that one.

"Okay- now what about that food? I'm starving," I spoke, getting the boys to focus here. I'm hungry, and I don't want to have to go make the food by myself now.

"Just relax- the food is ready now," Percy told me, smiling at my pouty behavior.

We all walked to the dining room, and Grover laid down the plates, and Nico the cups. Percy was carrying the food- burgers and homemade fries. He set the plates in front of all of us, and I smiled at him.

"Is it safe to eat this stuff?" Thalia asked, picking up a fry and looking at it awkwardly. Juniper laughed, and the boys just looked offended. I guess I was just up for hearing them talk…

"Yes, Thalia, it is. I tried it already," Juniper spoke, eating a fry with one bite. Thalia shrugged and threw the fry in her mouth that just a few seconds before, she was holding it away from her like it held some kind of infection.

I smiled at the two of them, happy to see everyone just… getting along and having a good time. Percy was next to me, and he was doing the same thing I was- looking in awe at something I never thought was possible… a real family.

It's been years since my family was actually a family. Ever since that night at the grocery store, my dad really just avoided me. He hired a nanny to take care of me, and got married again. To make matters worse- the woman hated me. I could tell my nanny wanted to do something… but she couldn't without getting fired. (She had three teens of her own)

I saw Percy looking at me, and we exchanged a smile. He reached and took my hand- our seats only inches apart. I saw Thalia looking at the two of us in pure joy, and then she looked at Grover and Juniper who were flirting with each other, in a intense discussion. Nico was just being Nico, eating his food like a pig. I'm glad Thalia found someone like her…

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I'm stuffed," Nico said, leaning back into his chair. Thalia laughed, and took a sip of her sprite… she really wasn't the drinking type- none of us were.

"Yeah, I think you would be, considering you ate all the food you could get a finger on," Thalia said, and everyone besides the couple laughed. Thalia just looked annoyed, and Nico looked embarrassed. His face was as red as a tomato.

"Okay guys. I think it's time to play spin the bottle… truth or dare edition," I said, and the girls started to nod and the boys (well Percy and Nico were acting it) looked confused.

"We should play it! I think we could make it totally work!" Juniper exclaimed, and Thalia and I shared a glance. This was going all according to plan…

I saw Grover look nervous, and I felt pretty bad… he was the only one here who didn't know what to expect. Juniper was almost as clueless going into this as he was, having not knowing that we were only really playing this to get them together.

"Okay… let's go into the living room," I proposed, and everyone nodded in agreement. We all walked to the living room, forgetting about our plates and cups. I'm sure the boys would get them later. Being the gentlemen they are… yeah, I might have to pick them up before I go to sleep.

We all sat down on the floor, I sat between Percy and Juniper. Juni sat next to Thalia, who sat next to Nico, who sat next to Grover, who sat next to Percy. Yeah… that was the circle of us.

Before hand, I grabbed a bottle for the game, knowing we would need it. It was a basic Root Beer bottle, which would do rather nicely. So, I sat it down in the middle and crossed my legs to go into 'criss cross apple sauce' position.

"Okay, here's how you play- someone spins the bottle, and whoever it lands on, they ask them truth or dare… then it explains itself from there. So… I'll go first," I said, and spun the bottle.

I shot a glance at everyone in the room, trying to get a feeling of the emotion in the room. I oughta' make it more… lovey dovey. Even though I hate it myself, it's really the only way my plan would work. Thalia, Juniper, and Nico looked excited, Percy looked like he was thinking, and Grover looked interested. This was… okay, but not the best.

The bottle landed on Nico.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Nico said, licking his lips. I could see the smugness in his eyes. Think I'm going to go easy on you huh pretty boy?

"Who was your first kiss?" I looked at his face as it paled. Thalia looked at him, interested. I could see she was jealous, but I knew she had no reason to be jealous.

"Do I have to?" Nico asked, looking at me with a face of complete mercy.

"Yes, you have to Di'Angelo. Or take off a piece of clothing." I saw he was wearing no socks, so I honestly felt bad for him. I warned Percy about this earlier, and I saw he was. But to be honest, I was kind of sad. Snap out of it, Chase!

"Fine. Her name was Merissa, okay? We went to middle school together, and were going out. You happy?" Nico asked, glaring at me. I just raised my arms up in a surrender position.

"Sorry- just playing a game here," I said, raising my eyebrows. Nico sighed, and spun the bottle.

It landed on Grover… time for plan Groviper.

Okay- I know you've been waiting for this, but here's the thing:

What should Nico make Grover do?

~GoGreen52