Hello all writers! Here's the next chapter to this ongoing saga; BTW: I took all of the reviews that I received in mind, this chapter won't be so plot-heavy (well most of it anyway...) Enjoy! (Also, P.S., there is a decent amount of kissing in this chapter just as a forewarning )

Annabeth's POV

I set down the walkie-talkie. That wasn't so bad, now was it?, I thought to myself.

I still felt like Percy was a little upset I couldn't come over today; I mean he told me himself that he thought that the hospital was as boring as the library on a Friday night (to which I responded with a stink eye). But I'm sure he'll be fine for the night and then we can hang out all day tomorrow since I have no studying to do (which hasn't happened to me in a while).

I tried to shake my guilt about ditching Percy and focused on trying to get to Luke's house without almost getting hit by another truck (like I need another boy in the hospital because of me).

I turned on the corner of 3rd Avenue and walked on the side of the road towards Luke's house.

His house wasn't much bigger than mine; it was painted white and a faded cream color, with a Victorian-style flare to it. I don't know why, but I always get a shiver down my back when I stare at his house for too long. Maybe it's because of the giant, dead tree in the front; with its ominous-looking branches hovering over the top of the house.

Or maybe it's because the first time I visited his house, there was a violent storm brewing and, while I was rushing to get inside before I was swept away with the wind, I could've sworn I saw someone standing at the doorway, just staring at me with dark, hollow eyes. In the blink of an eye, the silhouette was gone and I instantly ran inside.

Nonetheless, I knocked on the door (Luke told me his mom couldn't afford a doorbell) and, eventually, a tall boy with sandy blond hair and pale blue eyes answered the door.

"Hey Annabeth" he said with a flirty tone to his voice.

"Hi Luke. Sorry I'm late" I said, stepping inside. A waft of dust entered my nostrils. It's not like it was dirty inside; his house was just always really musty, possibly due to all of the carpeted floors.

"It's ok", he said as he grabbed my hand and kissed my fingertips like a prince (as if I was a princess). He walked me up the carpeted stairs to his small bedroom.

His bedroom consisted of a bed that squeaked when you sat on it, a table with a book and an empty picture frame on it, his backpack with swim team medals clasped onto the front and a dusty, old comforter chair (not to mention the clothes strewn all over the floor).

Ok, so maybe I was mistaken about his house being clean.

"Sorry" he said, walking inside "I got home a few minutes before you arrived. I didn't have time to clean." He frantically started picking up all of his clothing and throwing them onto the top of his bed.

I smiled "It's ok. Here, I'll help." I got on all fours, just as he did, and we started picking up all of the clothing off the floor and throwing them on the bed.

Once all of the clothing was off of the floor and the gray carpet was visible, I pulled out my Chemistry textbook.

"Woah. Why the textbook?" he said with a sly smile.

"Didn't you call me over so we could study for the Chemistry exam on Monday?", I said slightly confused.

"Yeah... but that was before I knew we were both gonna get together late. Speaking of which; why were you late?"

"Well...I had to call Percy to tell him that I couldn't visit him at the hospital tonight" I said quietly. Luke frowned when I said Percy's name.

See, they don't really get along. I'm almost positive it has something to do with Luke losing to Percy at the National Swim Competition a couple months back at school. I can't imagine why he would be so upset about it, though, considering how many swim medals he has collected over the years. So what if he lost one time? He shouldn't have a hatred for Percy just because of that, but I can't imagine why else he would frown at the slight mention of his name.

"So Fish Boy still at the hospital?" he said with a slight annoyance to his voice.

"Please don't call him that and yes he's still at the hospital. The doctors said he has to stay there for about 6 weeks and then he'll be allowed to leave."

"Bummer" Luke said, getting up and stretching his arms "Well, how about that movie?"

"Okay, fine."

"But first..." He walked towards me slowly and tossed his arms around my neck.

"Ugh Luke", I said with exhaustion in my voice "why do we always have to do this right before we do anything at your house?"

It was actually pretty funny when you thought about it; Luke would always insist we make out before we got to do anything at his house. Time for lunch? Let's make out over the peanut butter sandwiches your mom just made. Time to leave? Let's kiss before I walk out the front door.

"Because I like kissing you" he said as if it were obvious. He leaned in closer and I could smell his minty breath as our lips touched. He hugged me tightly and, after what seemed like longer than five minutes (which was our normal timeslot when it came to kissing) his lips parted away from mine.

But then he leaned in again and we repeated the process, only this time he deliberately fell onto his bed, bringing me down with him. His bed made a sudden squeak sound as we wrestled on top of the covers. We hadn't done this before and I was kind of nervous; I have no idea why, but I just liked it when we had a constraint on our kissing and now it seemed he was breaking our unspoken rule by doing this.

At this point I had enough; I pulled him away from me.

"What!?" he said.

"Luke" I said gasping for air " We're never going to be able to watch all of the movie if we just play around in here all night." This was an excuse of course; an alternative to "Get your lips away from me".

He sighed. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair like he was trying to figure out why he did what he did. "Sorry. It's just..."

"I know, you like kissing me"

"Yeah." he said with a slight chuckle. He got off of the bed and we both walked downstairs.

I made popcorn while he got the movie set up.

"It's called 'Rocky Relationships'", Luke was saying when I asked what movie we were watching, "I think you'll enjoy it."

He wasn't wrong; I thoroughly enjoyed the movie! It was about a lady detective who was solving a case about a man who was almost murdered 3 times. The first time the man was run over by a pick-up truck; the second time the man was almost suffocated to death in his own hospital bed; and the third time...well we were getting to that.

The detective, Kathryn Cobell, had just figured out who was trying to kill her client, Mr. Horesh. She was racing to the hospital; she had a gut feeling the criminal was about to strike again.

"Annabeth..." Luke's voice startled me; I guess I was really into the movie.

"Yeah?"

"You-You love me right?" Now that was the last question I thought I'd hear out of Luke's mouth.

"What kind of question is that?" Seriously, I was baffled at what brought on this question.

"Just answer the question. Please." His voice cracked at "Please". What was going on with him?

Detective Cobell just made it to the hospital and raced up the steps to Room 101. The door was locked. She frantically pulled out a bobby pin from her caramel-brown hair and tried to jimmy the lock with the point of it; a few seconds later and the door opened with a Click.

I turned back to Luke and could've sworn I saw a tear race down his cheek. His pale blue eyes were glistening and reflecting the light coming from the TV and I could see the tiny, but visible, scar that was on his chin. I heard a rumbling from outside; sounded like a storm was brewing.

I turned my head back to the movie. Detective Cowell was pleading with the criminal who was none other than the man's own brother; Josh. He was holding a small pocket knife in his hands and looked crazy enough to kill.

"Why would you do this, Josh? Why would you throw your whole life away and kill your own brother?" Cowell was clearly trying to buy time for the police to arrive; meanwhile Mr. Horesh was feverishly trying to stand up and protect the detective; but all tries were in vain due to his legs being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down because of the accident just 4 days before.

"I-I-He TOOK MY GIRLFRIEND AWAY FROM ME! HE IS SO MUCH BETTER AT EVERYTHING THAN ME AND I HATE IT" Josh's voice was breaking and it looked like he was about to have a stroke right there, with the knife being held firmly in his hands.

"Annabeth, do you love me..?" Luke's voice rang in my ear and I wasn't sure if I was remembering the question or if he was repeating it. Suddenly a giant crackle of lightning flashed through the windows and I heard an enormous BOOM! coming from outside. I instantaneously jumped and Luke flinched.

Suddenly I wondered what time it was. My eyes grew wide as I checked my watch; 8:15.

"Oh my gosh, Luke!"

"What?" It looked like he was just awoken from a trance. His face snapped back into a focused expression instead of that faraway look he's had during most of the movie.

"I promised my dad I'd be home by 8; him and my stepmom are going out for dinner and I promised I'd watch the boys!"

Luke muted the TV. "Well go ahead, I'll see you later, ok?"

I packed my textbook inside my bag and slung it over my shoulders. I pecked Luke on the cheek and walked out the front door onto the porch.

I looked up at the sky; it was dark and windy. The clouds were moving north, away from the city; maybe it would clear up by the time I got home.

I jogged all the way back home and used my house key to get in. I looked in the living room and saw my dad and my stepmom sitting on the couch. My dad spotted me and gave me one of his disappointed looks. I explained to them that I lost track of time (and all of those other excuses) and my dad seemed cool with it.

"Only 15 minutes", he said with a wave of his hand.

But my stepmom was another matter; she always was.

Anyway, they soon left and I was alone with the boys. I played some board games with them (Scrabble was their favorite) and gave them some leftover salad and mac 'n cheese for dinner. They begged me for dessert with those puppy dog eyes and I eventually caved in and gave them some ice cream.

They soon fell asleep on the couch and I ended up carrying them to bed (they always did this so that they wouldn't have to walk upstairs; the little devils)

I went into my room and I suddenly realized how exhausted I was. I fell down onto my bed and closed my eyes.

What was up with Luke? I thought. He was just so...off today. The kissing thing, the "Do you love me?" the faraway look he had on his face throughout the entire day...were they connected? Did something happen at school that I wasn't aware of? Was there something wrong?

All of these questions raced through my mind as I drifted into sleep.

I woke with a start.

I have no idea what snapped me back awake; I wasn't dreaming (at least I didn't think I was) and there was no storm outside; in fact the dark, night sky looked very clear, with the stars twinkling in the moonlight.

I turned my head and saw the time; 12:05.

I got up and walked over across my room to the small table with my water bottle on it and switched on the light. The house was quiet and peaceful. I was thinking of quickly changing into my PJs before getting back into bed when I heard something coming from my bedside table.

Static. Static coming from the walkie-talkie that sat aimlessly on the table. What in the world?, I thought.

I heard a familiar BEEPBEEP come from the device and a familiar voice came from the other side of the line.

"Somebody. Anybody. Help me. Someone's trying to kill me. HELP!" The walkie-talkie went slack and I was left staring at the device, with an open mouth.

The water bottle slipped out of my hands. My body was shaking and I felt like I was dreaming.

Percy is in danger. Percy needs my help, the words rang inside my head until I couldn't take it. I willed my body to move; I grabbed my jacket, my phone and my bag and ran out the door, down the stairs and out of the house.

I dialed 911 on my phone and heard ringing on the other side; praying they would hurry up and pick up.

Maybe it was a misunderstanding; maybe it wasn't. I heard the fear, the pain in Percy's voice. He sounded so scared, so vulnerable.

I'm coming Percy, I thought as I heard somebody speak on the other side of my phone.