Chapter 5

"Who the hell do you think are, terrorizing my little brother like that?" The boy shouted, a fiery look in his eyes. He dug his nails into her wrists, by means of which he had pinned her to the wall. She didn't answer, instead trying to push him off of her. Her attempts were unsuccessful.

"Who are you?" he repeated. She looked down for a second.

"Annabeth," she said. "My name is Annabeth."

The boy's face took on an expression that she couldn't read, but she didn't let his moment of hesitation go unnoticed. She shoved him off of her and put as much distance between herself and him as possible. I have to get out, she thought, but the boy was between her and the door.

"Why did you..." the boy trailed off as he stared at Annabeth's wrist. She looked down to see what he was gawking at. It was the paste.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! Annabeth mentally abused herself. How could she be so careless like this?

"That's not blood, is it?" said the boy.

Annabeth refused to answer.

"Let me see!" the boy demanded, stepping forward and grabbing her wrist to get a closer look.

"Hey!" Annabeth yelled. She punched his jaw with her free hand and wrenched her wrist out of his grasp.

The boy took a step back. He rubbed his jaw, looking dazed. "Sorry," he murmured.

"It's not blood," Annabeth confessed. "It's water, and flour put together, with some red dye mixed in."

Before the boy could respond, a scream rung out. "Percy!" she heard someone sobbing. "Percy, where are you?!"

"Oh, no," groaned Percy. "Tyson!" He sprinted out of the room and down the stairs. Annabeth followed him. She knew she couldn't let him leave until he promised that he wouldn't tell anyone about her.

When she got down stairs, a large boy with a babyish look about him was clutching on to Percy, crying his eyes out. Annabeth felt a pang of regret. She had done this. She had terrified a little boy, and had probably just sealed a therapy bill for his parents.

"Tyson, calm down!" said the boy - Percy? - reassuringly. "It's okay."

Annabeth's guilt weighed down on her, so she stepped forward and touched the boy's arm. "Hey," she said softly. "It's alright. You don't need to cry."

The boy sniffed loudly, wiping his eye with his sleeve. He hiccuped once, but he stopped crying. "Where... Where is ghost?" he asked.

Annabeth smiled. "There's no ghost," she said gently. "Just me."

Annabeth racked her brain for something little boys liked. She tried to remember all the time she had spent with Malcolm... An idea popped into her head.

"What just happened was a mechanics trap, and you got out of it! You wanna see how it works?"

The little boy's eyes lit up. "Yeah!" he said.

So Annabeth spent the next half an hour showing the boys the string that she used to pull the door shut from the stairs, her supply of "blood paste", and even how she poured it down the little crevices in the floor so that it would run down the walls. So basically, she showed two strangers the past five years of her life's work.

After she had, Tyson, as she learned was the younger boy's name, practically fell asleep right where he was standing. Percy put him in his sleeping bag.

Annabeth went to sit out on the terrace that looked into the woods. The sky was vacant of clouds, and the stars twinkled brightly above her.

She breathed in the warm May air as Percy walked out onto the terrace. He sat down next to her. "Why are you here?" he asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I've got nowhere else to go."

Percy was silent for a moment. Then he said, "How long have you lived here?"

Annabeth didn't answer the question, instead coming up with one herself. "You and Tyson... You're the ones who just moved next door, right?"

Percy nodded glumly. "Yeah."

Annabeth gave a small laugh. "You're enthusiastic."

"Whatever," said Percy irritably. "I just don't see why my parents couldn't have waited until after the school year. Because of them I lost everything."

Annabeth stood up, placing her hands on her hips. "Everything?" she said sharply.

"Yes, everything!" said Percy, standing up as well. "I had to leave my best friend, my girlfriend, and my swim team!"

"Leaving them isn't the same as losing them," said Annabeth heatedly. "You still have you're parents, right?"

"Well, sort of, but-"

"You still have your brother," Annabeth continued, not letting him speak. "You still have people who care about you enough that they put a roof over your head! Face it, Percy, you're one of the luckiest kids alive!"

"And what would you know about that?" Percy retorted.

"My parents abandoned me," said Annabeth, her voice laced with malice. "I had a foster family until I was five, but they sent me back because they had their own child. They didn't feel any sort of bond after five years. After that I had been in seven foster homes by the time I was eleven!"

She was practically screaming now, stepping towards Percy. "I ran away after I got to the seventh house, though. And you know what? They didn't even report me missing. People found out about it after my social worker came to visit, and by then I was long gone."

Percy didn't say anything, but he took a step towards her. He seemed unsure of what to say.

"So, you see, Percy," said Annabeth, quieter now, but still angry. "You are incredibly lucky, at least to me. So get over it."

Annabeth sat back down. Percy did so as well. "How old are you now?" said Percy.

"Fifteen," said Annabeth, seeming tired from all that had just happened.

"You've been here for four years?" said Percy in surprise.

"Five. I'm almost sixteen," she said dully.

Percy nodded. "How to you get food and stuff?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I take it from the local grocery store. No one seems to notice it, anyways."

Percy sighed. "Look, Annabeth, I'm sorry, okay?"

Annabeth nodded, playing with her necklace. A thought occurred to her. "You can't tell anyone about me," she said.

"What do you mean?" said Percy, confused.

"I mean, you can't tell anyone that there's no ghost. Their fear is the only thing that keeps me from going back to the foster system, and probably juvenile detention, too," she explained.

Percy opened his mouth as if to protest, but seemed to think better of it.

"Oh, and... Percy? You... you can't come back to the mansion again," whispered Annabeth.

Percy stood up again. "What?"

"You can't come back!" Annabeth faced him, though she had to look up because he was taller. "If people notice you coming here, they'll get suspicious. You... you have to stay away."

"Annabeth!" he protested. "We could be your friends! We could help you! Isn't that what you wanted? Someone who actually cares about you?"

"I'm sorry, Percy," she said levelly. "But that's the way it has to be."

Percy locked eyes with her. He was silent for a moment.

"Fine," he said, giving up. "If that's really the way you want it."

He walked inside. Annabeth heard his sneakers loudly clomping down the stairs. It wasn't until she was sure he was out of earshot did she gasp, letting the tears stream down her face.

After all those years of being alone, someone had actually wanted to be her friend. And she had turned down the offer of companionship. She knew it had been the right thing to do, but that didn't stop the aching in her chest as she realized that she would be forever alone.

Hey, guys. Remember that thing I said about updating on Saturdays and Wednesdays? Yeah, well... Forget that.

I've got a lot going on. High school application process, basketball playoffs, choir, orchestra, not to mention HOMEWORK(Thank you, teacher)... You know how it is. So, I sincerely apologize, and I'll try to update better... Next... Time...

Update better?

Be a better updater?

Update more than good?

Update well?

Ah, whatever.

So, anyways, this chapter's theme song is:

Don't Forget by Demi Lovato for Jason and Reyna!

Special thanks to daughter-of-zeus for the song.

Reviews make me happy. When I'm happy I'm nice to people. When I'm nice to people I get to use the computer. When I get to use the computer I fool around on my music writing program for hours. When I get insanely bored with the music program, I... Email. When I realize I have no friends to email, I write!

So review! (You have no idea how long it took this dim-witted mind to come up with that.)

-Rebel