Chapter 5: Back off?

Percy's POV

After dealing with that little creep-er-I mean that "person", I put my arm around Annabeth once again and led her out of the room. Yes, I was sulking about that little…exchange. The weird thing is; I know that Annabeth doesn't need anybody to protect her. She could probably kick everyone's collective butt, mine included, but I couldn't help myself. It was a kneejerk reaction. I could feel Octavian glare at me, but I just clenched my jaw and kept walking.

Once it was time for Annabeth and me to go our separate ways, I felt an irrational panic at leaving her alone. I glanced at her; she was looking at me with a confused look on her face. Dang, she looked cute confused…did I say that aloud? I looked away and kept pulling her to her locker.

"Percy," she yanked herself out of my grip and faced me. "What was that about? In the classroom?" I groaned on the inside, of course she would want to know about my strange behavior. She raised her eyebrows at me in a questioning look. I sighed.

"Octavian is a douche. He's a jerk to everybody. If he decides that he wants something, he will do whatever he can to get it. Looks like he wants you. That can't happen, because…" I trailed off, not really sure where I was going with that last sentence.

"Because, why?" She looked exasperated with me.

"Because it would be bad," I finished hastily. She looked at me for another second. Then, she shrugged, turned away, and continued walking to her locker.

Annabeth POV

Well, let me tell you, I don't really know what to do with this. I'll just get on with the story. I was walking to lunch when a girl came up to me, right after I left Percy. She looked at me like I was a stupid little seventh grader.

"Who are you?" she asked me sharply. I looked around me, behind me, unsure if she was asking someone else.

"Well? Who are you and what are you doing with him?" I was starting to get annoyed. She was a big girl, not thick, but muscular and tall. She was also vaguely familiar. Who was she to get all up in my face? I settled into a confident stance with my chin in the air, and my arms crossed. I didn't answer.

"Answer me. Now." She scowled at me. "Don't. Make. Me. Mad. Girl." Now, I was pissed off. She was obviously a bully, and I couldn't figure out where I had seen her before.

"Annabeth Chase. Why. Do. You. Want. To. Know." I stared straight at her, and she seemed to back off a little.

"Don't mock me."

"Too late. Now what do you want, I have to get to class." I shifted my weight to show her that I was getting impatient.

"What were you doing talking to Percy Jackson?" I stepped back. What did this have to do with him?

"He's my friend. Who are you? Why do you want to know?"

"No he's not, not anymore. Drew's got dibs. He's for her." I clenched my jaw.

"Get over yourself. He can choose for himself. Can I go now?"

"Clarisse! Get in class!" Mr. Padrosky yelled at the girl in front of me. She glared at me once more.

"Back off," she whispered to me as she walked away. I rolled my eyes and continued walking to lunch.

Time Skip

I entered the lunch room with my tray, not really sure where to sit, since Thalia usually ditched lunch. I felt a hand grab my elbow. I turned to see a girl I knew from Spanish inviting me to her table. Piper. Her name was Piper. She was really pretty, with chocolate brown hair that was kind of choppy and a feather braided in it. I couldn't really decide what color her eyes were; they seemed to change. She smiled and asked if I wanted to sit with her. I nodded and smiled back. As she led me to her table, I saw who she sat with. I recognized a few of them, like: Leo Valdez, Jason Grace (Thalia's brother), Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, and, of course, Percy Jackson. Of course he happened to be there. She introduced me to Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, Nico di Angelo, Silena Beauregard, Grover Underwood, Charlie Beckendorf, Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Travis and Connor Stoll, Katie Gardner, Juniper, Tyson, and Calypso.

Dang, there were a lot of people here. Compared to the empty table I sat at, alone, this was an upgrade. Piper and Hazel, to the left of me, chattered on and on about French, which apparently Piper excelled at. On my other side, Frank and Leo were debating whether fire or animals were more aggressive as weapons. I didn't understand the issue, inside joke, I guess. And, of course, there was HIM. Percy Jackson. He was laughing at Jason, who was looking mortified and staring at Piper from across the table. Percy caught me watching him and winked at me. I hastily whipped my head around to look the other way. A blush crept up my neck to cover my cheeks.

Seriously?! Who winks anymore? I thought. I shook my head, trying to decode the enigma that was Percy Jackson. I like puzzles, I'm good at them. But, this one was leaving me in the dust. I couldn't get my head around it.

"Hey, Annabeth, do you want to see me beat up Connor?" yelled Travis.

"Ha. That's funny, I think this twin thing is starting to confuse you," scoffed Connor, "I'm going to beat you up. See how this works?" Travis elbowed him in the side, and they both looked at me expectantly. I blinked, realizing they were serious about their invitation.

"Yeah, sure." Wow, it's been about four hours since meeting Percy, and I already have about fifteen more friends than I did yesterday. Hmm.