HI FUNNY BUNNIES! I wanted to make sure that I updated this one soon before life got crazy so that I could leave you guys with a bit of drama. The next chapter will not be as immediate as this one was and that's why I made sure this one came out soon. I have been loving your reviews! They are so sweet :)! I show them to my friend and she thinks it's so cool that there are people out there actually reading what I write. It's hard for me to believe it too. Anyway, that's all for today and I hope you like chapter 17 of Layers.

Annabeth stared at the ceiling above her and pouted. She had had another dream about that little girl and she just didn't want to go to school. She didn't know if it was because she wasn't ready to see Jason or if it was because of Percy. Not that she was afraid of seeing him per say, more that she's afraid of her every growing feelings for him. There. She admitted it. She had feelings for Percy Jackson.

Now, whether those feelings were romantic or not, she didn't know, but she really wasn't excited about finding out what they were either. He had a girlfriend that he loved and her him. And she had a boyfriend that she was...tolerating at the moment, but usually she loved him and he loved her.

So yes, she didn't want to go to school today. She had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be just an ordinary day. Call it a hunch.

When Annabeth opened her front door to head to school, she was surprised to find Nico on the other side of her.

He offered her his arm like it was 1902 and smiled. "Hello young lady. I will be your school escort today because it seems as though Thalia is sick," he said with a smirk.

Annabeth laughed, "And by sick you mean...?"

"She has a project due today so she decided to catch a cold."

"Yeah I'm sure she did."

"Oh hey, I almost forgot," he said bending down to pick up a cup holder that held two cups. "I got us some coffee."

She grabbed a cup excitedly, "Oh my gosh Nico! I swear if you and Thalia weren't a thing and if you weren't all emo and stuff, I'd totally date you."

He scowled at her. "First of all, I'm not emo! I just like all my clothes to be one color. Black. And second, Thals and I are open to anything Annie." He said with a wink.

"Um yeah no thanks."

The rest of the walk to school was filled with small talk and mindless chatter until they had stopped in front of her locker.

Nico gave her a quick hug then walked away, throwing a "see you at lunch" over his shoulder.

Annabeth turned to see Piper behind her, standing against her locker with a bag in her hand.

"What's in the bag?" Annabeth asked in her best Kronk voice.

(A.N- Emperors New Groove...hands down my favorite cartoon :))

"Well i was starving this morning and I had extra. Would you like a donut?"

Annabeth's morning was just starting off wonderfully.

She grabbed the bag and pulled out a chocolate donut moaning out her thanks.

Piper chuckled, "Your welcome. I'm glad I didn't think to being coffee seeing as you already have some."

Annabeth hugged her cup to her, "Yes my favorite person at the moment brought it for me."

Piper smirked, "Would that person happen to have messy hair, green eyes, and a fuck hot body," she said winking.

Annabeth blushed at the insinuation, but before she could say anything a locker slammed loudly behind Piper.

Annabeth looked over the other girl's shoulder to see Jason stalking off quickly. It was obvious he had heard the tail end of their conversation.

Annabeth rolled her eyes as Piper asked what was wrong with him.

"He's just being annoying. He showed up at my house last night questioning where I had been and who I had been out with."

"And let me guess, you were with Percy?" Piper had a slight smile on her face.

"Yeah, but it wasn't even like that! His mom invited me over for dinner when she heard I would be eating alone." Annabeth threw her hands up, her coffee sloshing on the floor.

Piper giggled, "Well I wouldn't worry about it, it's just a guy thing."

Annabeth nodded and sighed, she was about to tell Piper thanks for the talk before the bell interrupted her.

They walked into calculus with linked arms.

(...)

Percy was poking her.

Repeatedly.

After the 27th poke Annabeth had had enough. She threw down her pencil and swatted his hand away.

"What the hell is your problem?"

She hissed.

Percy just grinned and went back to work.

Or so she thought.

*poke*

She bristled.

*poke*

She took a deep breath.

*poke*

"That's it," she mumbled.

"Percy Jackson! Why are you such a child?" She swung on him and smacked the back of his head, but not before she knocked over her cold cup of coffee that she should have thrown away a long time ago.

"Shit," she whispered as she watched the brown liquid dripped onto the floor

The idiot next to her just started

Mr. Brunner barely even looked up at the pair he just pointed saying, "Supply closet is down the hall to the right. Mop is in there somewhere."

Annabeth walked to the door her face flaming.

She walked over to the closest silent plotting how many ways she was going to make him pay.

She opened the door to a sight that made her heart drop to her toes and her face blanch.

It was Cami and Calypso. Going at it like a couple of bunnies in heat. Calypso had her top off with one of the bra straps hanging down. She was perched on top of a very willing Cami who lay sprawled out on the floor of the closet.

They continued to kiss it was obvious that they hadn't heard her open the door.

Annabeth was about to take a deep breath and just close the closet when Percy called to her as he started walking down the hall.

Annabeth turned to him and immediately froze. Percy was the one person who shouldn't have to know what was going on in that closet. Annabeth couldn't find her voice but she tried to convey her feelings in a look.

Stay back.

Of course this is Percy she was talking about so he just sped up.

"Why are you staring at the closet, you look like you just saw a-"

She heard the breath leave him as he stood behind her. His eyes fixated with the couple in the closet.

Annabeth didn't turn, already knowing what expressions were in his face and she didn't have the heart to see them there.

Cami opened her eyes and gasped pushing Calypso off of her, her eyes wide. Calypso just looked at Percy with a sad expression. No surprise, no anger, just sympathy and sadness.

Annabeth didn't notice Percy had moved until she heard the door to their classroom slam.

Annabeth looked at the guilty pair once more then closed the door and walked to their classroom only to be almost run down by a stoic Percy heading in the opposite direction.

She wanted to chase after him but she needed to get her things first.

She ran into the classroom and grabbed her things. "Mr. Brunner I really need to go find him before he does something he'll regret later."

He nodded, "Go get him I'll get someone to clean this up."

Annabeth ran out the door and through the school before almost colliding into a sweaty Jason. "Whoa Anna where are you going?"

She ignored him and tried to move out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let go. "I have to go find Percy!" No caring that his reaction would be less than stellar.

Jason face darkened, "I'm so tired of hearing his name come out of your mouth Annabeth." He growled.

She yanked her hands free from his and snapped, "Oh come fucking off it! He needs someone right now and I'm going to help him! I'm tired of your fucking small ass ego thinking everything I do is against you! How about you pull your head out of your ass for a second to realize that I'm in love with you not him!" She took a deep breath, "Even though at this point I don't necessarily want to." She left him and walked away feeling like a fucking boss.

She was relieved to see that Percy was sitting in his truck instead rampaging on any and everything.

With out a word she threw her stuff in the back and hopped into the passenger side. Percy started the car like he was waiting on her to arrive and started driving.

She didn't ask where he didn't look like he would have responded anyway.

When he made the turn onto the path that led to his house, Annabeth became anxious. She had climbed into his car with the intention of helping him through whatever was about to happen, but she wasn't quite sure how she could do that.

Percy got out of the car and was at the front door before Annabeth had even taken her seat belt off.

She walked into the living room and kitchen and finding no signs of the hot-headed boy. She took the familiar path to his bedroom and knocked softly just to hear silence. She opened the door to see Percy laying down on the floor drinking from a bottle of beer.

Annabeth sighed and sat down on his bed, fighting not to reprimand him for drinking laying down.

What? It was a chocking hazard.

"Percy," she waited for a response, "Are we going to talk about what happened?"

He chuckled darkly, "What," he said, his voice harsh, "About how I found my girlfriend goin' to town with her best friend? Oh oh, that happens to be a girl." He shook his head and took a long pull from the bottle, "You know you've hit rock bottom when your girlfriend cheats on you...with another girl!"

Annabeth scowled, "Stop it. That's not true and you know it. Calypso's actions say nothing about you or who you are as a person."

"Thanks mom."

Annabeth sighed and layed back on the bed. They were going to be here a while.

"Percy I get why you're hurt-"

"No you don't." He interrupted, "You think I'm hurt because the girlfriend that I love oh so much has cheated on me and crushed my heart. No, I'm angry and hurt because I thought she was my best friend and that she would have the balls, no, not even that, the respect for me as a person and her friend, to tell me that she didn't want to be together. I wanted to be the person that she came to when she needed to get things off of her chest. I wanted her to be able to come to me and tell me that Cami made her happy." He trailed off draining his beer quickly and then sitting up.

Annabeth thought this over for a few moments noticing that while it sounded like the thoughts of a friend. It didn't however, sound like the thoughts of a boyfriend that was just recently cheated on.

"So...you're not hurt that she cheated on you? I'm talking to the boyfriend side of you." She clarified.

Percy sighed and got up to sit next to her on his bed. "No not really. I had been...anticipating this for some time now."

"Her cheating on you?" Annabeth said appalled.

"No," he swiped a hand down his face, "That we would break up. I've been getting this feeling for some time now, but I thought we would just break up amicably and stay friends, I didn't think she's fucking cheat on me though." He said, his voice getting harsher with each word.

"So, you don't love her anymore?"

Percy shook his head, "No I do."

Annabeth nodded, but felt slightly deflated inside and she couldn't find it in herself to figure out why.

"But not the romantic kind. I don't think it's been romantic since school started. I love her because she's my friend, but nothing more than that." He was looking at her with a strange intensity in his eyes. Annabeth couldn't find it in herself to look away. His bright orbs staring into what felt like her soul. She drew in a deep breath. "Well I'm glad you aren't too broken up about this, I'd hate to see you sad about something like this."

"Nah I'm not. I'm going to try and talk to her tomorrow."

Annabeth stood up and turn to face him, she couldn't imagine what her face looked like right now.

"You're going to what? Why the hell are you going to talk to her?"

"Because she's my friend," he said frustrated.

"Friends don't hurt each other, whether it's intentional or not." She said angrily.

"Annabeth I didn't really ask for your opinion on this so I'd appreciate it if you didn't give it." He said, his face as hard as his tone.

Annabeth flinched back like he hit her. She quietly grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, "Well I'm sorry for wasting your time then."

By the time she reached the door Annabeth felt a warm hand slid into hers. "Where are you going?"

"Home," she said shortly and tried to tug her hand from his tense yet pleasant grip.

"I drove you here, remember?"

She turned to see a little grin on his face.

She reached into her pocket for her phone, "I'll call Thalia, she's at home anyway."

The grin left his face after that.

He grabbed her phone, "No stop, I'm sorry." He whispered softly and pulled her closer. "I'm an asshole and I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

Annabeth sighed, "No, you have every right to tell me to shut the hell up," she said with a wimpy chuckle.

He pulled her until he was sitting on the bed and she was standing in front of him, his hand still in hers.

"No I didn't you were trying to help and...I'm sorry."

She sat down next to him, "It's okay. I just don't like cheating, or cheaters. There's always another way to go about things with going behind peoples' backs."

Percy looked at her with a sad expression on his face and squeezed her hand.

Annabeth's phone chimed made them break their stares from each other.

I'M SORRY~J

She felt Percy tense up beside her and release her hand, it was obvious he had read the text.

"What'd the asshat do now?" He said gruffly.

"He thinks I'm sleeping with you."

Percy's eyebrows shot up as he started laughing, cackling really.

"Why is that funny," she asked, confused.

He shrugged and wiped his eyes, "Nothing. But you've got to admit, being accused of sleeping with a studmuffin like myself is a whole lot better than getting paired off with someone like Nico." He said laughing.

Annabeth laughed, "First of all, the fact that you just called yourself a studmuffin was enough to get you pulled out of the race and second, Nico is awesome what are you talking about!"

"Sure if you like black."

"Maybe I do."

Percy just smiled at her for a few seconds before asking, "Hey you want some food?"

(...)

After eating the left over burgers from last night, Percy suggested they watch a movie. Annabeth shouldn't have been surprised when he put The Incredibles on.

"Beth, this is a classic." He argued.

Beth? Well that was new.

"I'm not saying it's not, just that maybe as a sophisticated high school senior such as your self should maybe be watching something a little better."

"Ummhum like what," he asked with a raised brow.

"Frozen."

He burst into laughter and almost dropped the popcorn she had brought over to him minutes before. "Annabeth you should be fun more of the time."

"I'm always fun." She pouted.

"Yeah sure you are," he handed her the popcorn.

They watched the Incredibles, Frozen, and per Percy's request Fast and Furious, with commentary from Percy after just about every scene.

(...)

Annabeth was laying on something warm, and hard, and it was moving. She heard a click and a giggle and more movement beneath her.

"Hey Mom," Percy said, his voice rough with sleep. Annabeth had to fight to pretend to be asleep so she didn't have to face total embarrassment.

Percy slipped from under Annabeth and she fought to stay still.

"You guys are mighty cozy," she heard Sally say, but she was positive there was a smile in her voice.

"Yeah she came over hear to help me."

"With what, homework?"

She heard Percy scratch the back of his head, "Ah no. Caly and I broke up today. I kind of made a scene and left school early and Annabeth followed me."

She waited for Sally to chide him for skipping class, but when her voice came it was muffled. They were hugging.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but from the looks of it you're not to broken hearted."

Percy chuckled, "I'm not."

"Well," Sally said after a few seconds of silence, "You should wake Annabeth up and take her home before her mother realizes that she's gone."

"When that day comes she will probably faint from confusion." He mumbled as he walked towards the couch.

She heard a fleshy smack, "Hush and wake her up. I'll be in my room."

Annabeth felt soft hands on her shoulders gently shaking her. "Beth, you gotta wake up."

Her "just woken up" performance was Oscar worthy really. She was proud of herself.

She sat up, "What time is it?"

"Almost 8. I need to take you home."

She nodded and got up to collect her things.

The drive to her house was filled with comfortable silence as Annabeth gazed out the window and took in all that had happen today.

When they got to Annabeth's apartment Percy put the truck into park and sighed. "I want to thank you Annabeth. It kind of just hit me how big of a deal it was for you to leave school to console me." He cleared his throat, "So...thank you. Seriously, we don't know each other that well, but the stuff that we do know is...heavy."

She nodded and smiled, "No thank yous needed Perce. I'd like to think that you'd help me if I was in that situation. You'd be better actually. I'm not the best at consoling people."

He squeezed her hand, "You're perfect." He said looking into her eyes.

Annabeth stopped breathing for a second, but caught her breath when the moment was broken by a car passing by.

"Thank you for the ride Percy."

"Thank you for today Annabeth."

She smiled at him indulgently, "Goodnight."

"Night."

(...)

That night she dreamt about Percy Jackson for the second time.

Ask me anything you would like to know about the previous chapters in this story (not the ones going on or that ill just ruin it) and I will try to answer as many as I can the next time I update.

Please review I love reading you guy's feedback, it helps me be a better writer.

Side note because I would like you guys to get to know me:
I just have to vent. Sense I spent probably the last 2 1/2 years of my life reading everything on this site that has to do with PJO, I had to find something else when that ran out. So where did I go? To twilight. I love the books themselves they are some of my favs, but the idea of reading Twilight fanfics never really appealed to me...until now. And...I'm...Obsessed! Obsessed to the point where reading anything other than a fanfic makes me feel weird, which in turn makes me feel bad about the amount of paperbacks and hardcovers I have laying around.

Okay I'm done. :) See you next time!
~TUTU