I AM SO SORRY THAT I UPDATED THIS LATE, AND TO TOP IT OFF, I'M STILL NOT EVEN CONTENT WITH THIS CHAPTER. STATE TESTING AND FINALS ARE COMING UP, AND I'M TERRIFIED THAT I'LL FAIL IN MATH SO I HAVE THAT BLOCKING MY SCHEDULE. I'VE GOT 3 PERSUASIVE ESSAYS TO FINISH, NOT TO MENTION SOME PERSONAL PROBLEMS GOING ON, BUT I'LL STILL TRY TO UPDATE WHEN POSSIBLE.

I HAVE A FAVOR TO ASK YOU GUYS. LATELY I'VE BEEN LOOKING BACK ON SOME OF MY CHAPTERS AND FEELING A BIT UNSATISFIED, AND I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU COULD POSSIBLY LEAVE SOME TYPE OF CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM SO THAT I CAN IMPROVE MY WRITING. FOR EXAMPLE-

1.) WHAT WORDS AM I OVER-USING AND WHAT OTHER WORDS CAN I USE INSTEAD?

2.) WHAT ARE SOME THINGS IN THE STORY THAT YOU WANT ME TO BRING MORE INTO LIGHT?

STUFF LIKE THAT. I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT, AND THANKS IN ADVANCE!

OKAY, NOW ON TO THE CHAPTER!

DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS GO TO RICK RIORDAN AND ETC.

"We keep moving forward,

opening new doors,

and doing new things,

because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

-Walt Disney

PERCY'S POV-

"One second Tyson!" I need to get the glue from your room!" Someone pushed open my bedroom door and caught me off guard.

"Gah!" I fell over the side of my bed.

Bianca jumped about three feet in the air and clutched the front of her shirt. "Percy! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry Bianca." I got up and leaned against the wall. I felt a lot better than I had a few hours before. "I was just caught off guard when you came in, is all."

Bianca relaxed and walked towards the desk next to me. "When did you get here? How come I didn't see you come in?" She started rifling through the bottom desk drawer.

I stretched out my arms and winced due to my still-sore body. Bianca sent me a strange look. "I don't remember." That's not a total lie. "I was in a bit of a daze when I got here, and I must've fallen asleep or something."

"You do seem a bit tired." Bianca said sympathetically. "Now that you're here, what was the really important thing?"

"What?" I give her a blank stare.

"Here it is!" Bianca raised a bottle of glue triumphantly, and closed the drawer. "You told me to pick up Tyson because you had to do some important thing last minute. What was it?"

Bianca stood up and waited intently for an answer.

I coughed in search of an excuse. "Uh..I had a..can I see the text message I sent you?"

Bianca put her hands on her hips. "You sent it to me. Shouldn't you already know what it says?"

"Right…" I scratched the back of my head. "You see, there was this small incident-" My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took that as my chance to distract Bianca. "Oops, I've got to check this. One sec."

I smiled in what I hoped didn't look like relief, and took out my phone with an old man level slowness, ignoring Bianca's look of annoyance. I flipped open my phone to see one unread message. I clicked on it.

MESSAGE FROM: UNKNOWN STALKER

P.P.S TELL THAT HOT BIANCA BABE THAT YOU HAD TO STAY FOR AFTERSCHOOL DETENTION BECAUSE YOU MOUTHED OFF A TEACHER. YOU DO IT PLENTY ENOUGH (AGAIN, DON'T ASK HOW WE KNOW) AND SHE PROBABLY WON'T SNITCH ON YOU.

I shivered. It probably wasn't a coincidence that the text had arrived right when Bianca asked for an explanation. I was overcome with a feeling of nakedness that I felt would soon drive me insane.

"Percy!" Bianca snapped her fingers in front of my face.

I looked up and put away my phone. "Sorry again, I blanked out for a bit." Before she could speak, I cut her off. "I couldn't pick up Tyson because I had to stay for afterschool detention, but I promise that I'll try not to do it again if you promise not to tell my mom. I don't want to disappoint her more than I already do."

Bianca put her hands on my shoulders, causing me to feel guilty for telling her a lie. "Don't think like that. You've made Sally prouder than anyone ever has. I cross my heart that I won't tell her." I held back a fist pump. "Can you tell me who the teacher was?"

The answer popped into my head right away. "Mr. Andrews."

"Again?!" Bianca growled. She almost always takes my side. "What did he say to you this time?"

I removed her hands from my shoulders. "The usual." I made an imitation of a strict man going through a mid-life crisis. "Perseus Jackson you will end up on the street if you keep doing what you're doing! You'll be lucky to even get a job at Mcdonalds!" I switched back to my normal voice. "I called him an old sot, whatever that is."

Bianca chuckled. "An old sot is a drunk." She waved me over and we walked out into the hall together. "I wonder how people like that can still be teachers. I thought a teacher was supposed to be someone who built you up and got you ready for life with knowledge, but most of them seem to be the exact opposite." Bianca shook her head in disgust. "Come on, Tyson's waiting for me with the glue."

I blinked, surprise hitting me like a blow (I've experienced plenty of those to know what it feels like). That was it? No in depth interrogation? Lying was that easy? All these years I thought it was rocket science, but all it seemed to be now was a small fib!

"Aren't you coming?" Bianca was five feet away.

I shook my head, partly to acknowledge her and partly to clear my mind, as I seem to be doing often lately.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXLINE BREAKXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

PERCY'S POV-WEDNESDAY MORNING-

Why had I agreed to this? There's no reason I need to go through any of it. What stupid person would put them selves into this situation?

"Watch your step, it gets darker going down." Luke pointed his flashlight in the general direction of our destination.

I followed Luke down the set of never ending stairs, sliding my sweaty palms down the wall. I still can't understand what came over me when I accepted coming to this meeting or "special training orientation" as Chiron had called it. Everything had happened so suddenly, from the message in my bedroom all the way to now.

FLASHBACK

I pulled my jeans on and noticed that my right pocket felt slightly heavy. Confused, I reached into it and pulled out a note tied to a ten-gram metal block. What the heck?

I unfurled the note and read it, my heart racing when I realized who this was from. They wanted me to ditch school for this? It would only be a matter of time before I got caught. My friends would be suspicious. Nico would tell Bianca that I wasn't at school and she would swear that I was. Nothing will go right if I agree to it. I don't have to go. I'm not being forced. Yet why do I feel such a need to attend?

I crumpled up the piece of paper and grabbed my bike chain key. I never ride it to school, but this isn't school I'm going to.

On my way out, I dump the note in the kitchen trashcan without sparing my mom or Tyson a glance.

I go over the message in my head, not caring if I had made the right choice or not. Curiosity can kill the cat if it wants to.

"Our meeting was never completed yesterday. If you want to fill in the blank spots, meet Luke at the alley two blocks away from your school. We have a proposition that will interest us both."

END OF FLASHBACK

"Ever since Chiron saw your file, he knew you were something special. Not one of us, excluding Travis and Connor of course, has ever gotten into as much trouble as you."

I stopped myself from tripping a split second before I almost did. "How does that make me special? It just proves that I'm some troubled kid who has issues with following the rules."

"Not everything you got in trouble for was stereotypical bad boy stuff." Luke stated. "That time you were caught wandering alone in downtown Manhattan during school hours wasn't something that every kid goes through. Do you remember what happened?"

I flinched at the memory and nodded. "It was during recess in third grade. I fell asleep in the school playground and woke up in the same alleyway I met you on a while ago. The school said that I was caught sneaking out on the video recorder, but I don't remember any of it. It's a good thing the police found me before I could wander away even farther or else I would've been lost for more than a few hours."

"Not totally a good thing." Luke walked me through a hallway leading to a metal door twenty feet away.

"What do you mean?" It struck me as a bit disturbing that Luke would think a eight year-old kid should stay lost in a big city.

"When Chiron looked into that case, he found out that the tape the school found wasn't really you, just the back of someone that looked like you at the time. The alleyway you woke up in wasn't so far from our training area. Someone must've dropped you off there while you were sleeping. I know it sounds creepy, but it was no coincidence that you woke up where you did. Someone wanted us to find you before Kronos's army could."

"At age eight?" I tried to imagine a third grader being asked to join a secret intelligence service.

"We can't officially join the Olympians until the age of fifteen, but that doesn't mean the training has to wait until then. There's no age limit to a business like this. By the time I was five, I knew how to handle any gun I was given." Luke scrunched up his nose. "I've got to admit that even to me its kind of sick having to do a job like this. I always find myself wondering if any of it is worth it…."

Luke put his hand on a blue scanner next to the metal door we had arrived at. I heard the sound of rushing air along with a few beeping noises.

The door popped open and Luke turned to me. He looked strangely menacing with shadows playing across his face. "Until I remember that I'm not important enough to have a choice."

XXXXXX LINE BREAK XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ANNABETH'S POV-

I slammed my locker door with as much force as possible. The clash of metal reverberated throughout the hall.

"Someone's in a bad mood." Thalia walked up to me, smirking.

"I'm not up to joking right now."

Thalia must've caught the seriousness in my voice because she wiped the mocking smile off her face. "What's wrong?" Her fists curled into a ball. "Who do I need to murder?"

I let out a heavy breath. "Sadly, this isn't a problem that can get solved easily. I'm having problems with my dad again."

Thalia crossed her arms. "That guy needs to learn how to appreciate his kid. You're the smartest person I have ever met, and I don't understand how he can't see that."

"I can't fully blame him. Ever since Matt passed away, he's never been the same." I wrung my hands. "He's just treating me how he used to treat him."

"You have got to be kidding me." Thalia snarled. "No matter how many times he makes you angry, you still defend him. I gave up on my dad a long time ago when I realized that he was unreachable. Maybe you should do the same."

"I never give up on someone. I may want to throttle them or stick some acid down their throat, but giving up isn't an option." I clutched the shoulder straps of my backpack, and started down the hall.

Thalia had to jog in order to catch up to me. "I'll admit that everyone needs some pushing once in a while. That's a common fact." Thalia drew an invisible line on the air with her finger. "The problem with some people, your dad for instance, is that there comes a point when they've gone too far on the pushing."

"Like how you did with Percy the other day?" My steps turned to strides.

"I thought we got over that." Thalia's voice was strained. "What I'm trying to tell you is that there will be a day when your dad pushes too many buttons and you'll need to step in and take charge. Stand up for yourself."

I made a right turn. "Thalia, you're making it sound like he's beating me or something. All he's doing is try to lead me in the proper direction. The only reason I get angry about it is because of the things he says."

"Exactly, that's what I'm talking about. Your dad says that he's trying to help you with leading your life, yet the things he tells you are so insulting and hurtful, its as if he was your enemy."

"Please, let's just talk about something else. I don't want to spoil my morning anymore."

Thalia looks like she's about to protest for a second, but I walk into the classroom before she has a chance to say anything. We have different homerooms so she isn't able to follow me in. Good.

I sit down, taking out my notebook and pen. Percy isn't here and neither is 57% of the class, leaving me with nothing to do except start my essay. I'm not really one to procrastinate with such an important assignment as this.

The Difference Between Love and Destruction-Rough Draft

I underline my title for emphasis. I lean back in my chair, and think for a moment.

My best bet for this essay is to write it based on personal experiences, our English teacher did say to make it opinionative. I recollect everything that has happened in the past few days.

I make a column on the side of my paper, numbered from one to five. At the top I write:

Who do I love?

I use my fingers to count out those closest to me, and add them under the column as I go along.

1. I love my dad, no matter how hard he may pressure me at times. I respect him.

2. My brother Matt died when I was eight, yet I'll never forget him.

3. Thalia is like a sister to me, though she may be very annoying at times.

4. I hardly remember my mom because she left when I was five. What I can recall is how she would remind me every night that I was going to do big things some day.

I pause, contemplating who could be my lucky number five. What other person do I know that adds so much influence into my life?

I glance at the empty seat beside me. Of course!

5. Percy Jackson has been with me through thick and thin. I can't think of anyone else who's really had my back like he has. Lately, he's been getting strangely distant, and it hurts.

I put down my pen when I am hit with a sudden sense of realization. All this time I was in denial, shunning the thing always roaming in the back of my head somewhere. It took me all this time to realize the truth. I love Percy as more than just a friend. I love him like I would a brother.

He's the most amazing friend I could have ever been blessed with, and it pains me so much to see him fading away. To know that I haven't done enough to try and stop it, until now.

I flip to a fresh page in my notebook and start planning out my idea. I can't let Percy get away from me, not anymore than he has already.

Not like everyone else in my early life.

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