Chapter Three

"Whoa," was all Percy had to say.

"Hey Percy. Nice to see you again. Hope you have changed your way of pranking girls." I said.

"What?" He took a second to process what I had just said. "Oh. Yeah. I mean no. I am still pranking girls. Young, old. Who cares. They're girls so I can prank them all I want. Except for mom. Man, she got so mad when I messed with her. I hope to never do that again." Percy wore a goofy grin that I couldn't help but giggle at. He blushed and looked away from me. Percy wore a blue hoodie with jeans. He wore nikes and had sunglasses on his head. His hair was really messy and grew longer. What stood out the most were his sea green eyes.

"What? You got nothing to say to the girl that you pranked years ago. Don't tell me because I'm smarter than you that you got nothing to say." I said, confidently.

" In your dreams, Wisegirl. I'll prank you to my hearts content. I have help from Death boy and you got Pinecone Face there to help you," he said back at my grinning like the Percy I knew from years ago.

"Us girls will kick you and all the guy's sorry butts, Seaweedbrain. I hope you like the taste of failure because you're gonna get some," I said back, making him look a little shocked. Then, we all laughed again. When we ceased the laughing, I said "Nice to see you again, Seaweedbrain."

"You too, Wisegirl. Nice to see you again." After that, we all remained quiet for the rest of the way.

Thalia's house was big. It was a little bigger than mine. It had a fountain in the front yard with bushes sprinkled around. The house is a maroon red and white. It looks really modern. The garage was big enough to fit at least two cars in it. We parked in the empty space. Once we got out of the car, I grabbed my luggage and went up the stairs. The inside of the house was spectacular! It had modern and old fashion furniture with big glass windows. The walls were painted blue with a few lightning bolts on it. The architecture of the house was splendid. I am so glad that we are staying here.

As I went up to my room, I tricked on the stairs. I was about to fall back, but Percy caught me in time.

"Be careful, Wisegirl. You almost fell down the stairs," he stated.

"Um, thanks Seaweedbrain."

Percy helped me carry up my luggage to the guest room.

"Hey, Percy? Where are you going to stay? My mom and I are staying in the guest room. What about you and Nico?" I asked.

"Me and Nico are going to stay in the living room. We're going to crash on the couches for the break."

"Oh. Okay. If you don't mind, it's okay if you stay in the guest room and my mom and I stay in the living room," I suggested.

"It's okay. Thanks for the offer Annabeth. I can't believe that I was so...annoying when I was little and that you are so nice to me. Thanks again." He had a dreamy look on his face. It looked like he was in a flashback. When he was back to reality, we went up the rest of the stairs to the room. The guest bedroom looked as if maids came inside and tidied the place up. It smelled like the cool ocean breeze...or was it just Percy. Percy and I put the luggage on top of the bed and I started to unpack.

"Um...can you leave, Seaweedbrain. I have...girl things in here," I said awkwardly.

"Oh. Right. See you downstairs, Wisegirl." And with that, he left.

As I unpacked, I thought about my summer with Thalia when I was twelve. We were both at camp and had a blast. When I was at camp, I vaguely remember a boy that looked strangely like Percy. He had messy jet black hair with light sea green eyes that pierce through the black hair that was covering part of his face. This mysterious boy was placed in the Poseidon cabin. He was the only one there. It mus have felt really lonely. I haven't seen this boy since I was twelve and I haven't seen Percy since I was seven.

After I unpacked, my mom came into the room to unpack her bag. I went downstairs to find Thalia, Jason, Nico, and Percy sitting on the couch, trying to push each other off. "Guys? If you want a seat then you can ask each other nicely." Everyone besides Thalia looked at me. Then, Jason ran up to me and hugged me.

"Annabeth! It's so nice to see you again! My sister has been bugging me and you are the only person that actually helps me stay away from her. She never does anything bad when you're around. So help me please?" Jason looked at my pleadingly and I couldn't help but say yes. Jason was a smart kid, but can act childish at times. He is fourteen right now, but is taller than everyone, but Percy. He wore a green shirt that said 'Eat Voltage!' and he wore dark jeans with blue converse. Then, Nico walked up and hugged me. Nico smelled like the dead. I mean, he doesn't smell rotten or anything, but he just smells like a funeral. He wears all black. Black shirt, sweater, pants, shoes, and he has black hair and brown eyes that look black. Nico was about twelve.

"Nice to have you back, Annabeth. When I went to Percy's house for the summer, he kept talking about you. It was so annoying!" Nico went on and on about what Percy said. I blushed until I looked like a tomato and so did Percy. Then, Percy cut him off.

"I think that Annabeth has heard enough. Why don't we all play a game? How about tennis?" Percy suggested. We all agreed and headed outside to the tennis court in Central Park. I changed into sport shorts and a big t-shirt with some nikes. I also grabbed my water bottle. Thalia, Percy, Nico, and Jason did the same. When we left,we drove into the city and found a subway. When we reached Central Park, there weren't many people on the courts which was good. That means we had more space to play on, We decided to play doubles first. Me and Thalia against Percy and Nico. Jason will be the score keeper for the game. We all decided that Thalia would serve. Then the game started.

Thalia served it into the left side of the opposite side of the court. Nico was there to hit it with a forehand to my direction. Since the ball was on the left of me, I hit it with a backhand. Percy hit it with a volley and sent it flying in the middle of Thalia and me. Thalia looked at me and I knew what to do. Thalia and I ran for the tennis ball. Then, I hit it. I sent it behind Percy and Nico tried to hit it, but wasn't able to reach it in time. 15-Love. We were in the lead.

We were in the lead and won the game. Then it was Jason's turn to play doubles. Thalia sat out for this game. I served it. We won the game and I was pretty sure that Percy and Nico were going to faint. I had really good stamina. I guess they didn't. After this game, we decided to play singles. First, it was Jason vs. Nico. It was a really good match. They kept on hitting it back and forth until Jason lobbed the ball while Nico was at the net. That was Jason's mistake. Nico hit the ball behind Jason, winning the game. Next, it was me vs. Percy.

"You might have win in doubles, but I will beat you in singles, Wisegirl!"

"In your dreams, Seaweedbrain!" The game started.

Percy served. It went into the service box. I hit it with a strong forehand. It made it across the net. Percy was there to hit it. He volleyed the ball, but I was there and hit it. It hit the doubles line and Percy didn't reach it in time. We kept playing for at least twenty minutes. At the end, I ended up winning.

"You have no chance, Seaweedbrain," I remarked. I could see that Nico was playing against Thalia, I guess they got bored watching us.

"Good game, Annabeth. You better save up that feeling of victory because next time, I. WILL. Win," he stated confidently. We all took a break and drank some water.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the last pair I wanted to see in the whole world. Everyone saw my face. I guess my face looked shocked because Percy said "Annabeth, what's wrong. You look like you have just seen a ghost." I knew my face showed a lot of emotions. Fear, anger, disappointment. My friends all followed where my eyes went. Over the chained fences of the tennis court, I saw Ava with her boyfriend AJ. The people that bullied me all through elementary, middle, and high school.