Okay, so this one is rather long compared to my first chapter. I'll probably do some revising with this and the first chapter, so it may change a little soon. :)

Right now, I'd like to give a shout out to the one and only, Karmaric. She's completely amazing at writing, and she inspires me every day. (That was cheesy. I'm sorry. lol ;) ) I've been writing my own stories since I was in the fifth grade. She says she actually started writing this year, and she's already got more talent than I do. :/ ;D ------Thanks, Jackie, for putting up with my endless story ideas :) (And everything else I ramble about for that matter ;P) :)

I strongly encourage you to review. I need all the help I can get :P

(I personally think I moved a little too quick in this chapter . . . I'm not sure . . . Every time I reread it, it gets worse. :/ You be the judge :) )

~Chapter Two~

Janelle

I wiped the grimace off my face and said, "Oh my gods. You're Percy Jackson??" Even though it had been my plan to act this way in front of him at the beginning, I couldn't help but realize half of my excitement was real.

He laughed even though I was sure this happened to him with a lot of other demigods that didn't know who he was at first. "Yep, that's me." He said smugly.

I instantly recoiled inwardly. The way he said that one statement directly told me that he was arrogant. On the outside though, I was still smiling. "Oh my gods," I said again.

"Yeah." He shifted and glanced away for only a moment.

"I'm--"

"--Janelle Liberato. She's new here," Grover interjected, beating me to it. The fact that he hadn't spoken since Percy arrived, made his voice seem too loud, and I think it startled both me and Percy.

I turned to look at Grover just as Percy did, and I saw the looks that passed between them. Grover's boasting triumph shone in his eyes, and Percy looked just a little irked.

I bit my lip and took a step to the right, away from both of them. I hadn't been here for ten minutes and I had met Percy Jackson, and was beginning to think I was about to start a fight of some sort.

My mother, Cecilia, had told me I was alluring and could have any guy I wanted with only a bat of my eyelashes. All mothers were supposed to say that, right? That's what I thought, until I started middle school. A series of events made me understand it wasn't just something she was saying to make me feel better. It was true. I really could have any guy I wanted. And most of the time, I would defiantly use that to my advantage. At seventeen, I had an authentic mix of charcoal and mahogany hair that curled naturally, and bright green eyes that sparkled at all times. My face was completely clear of freckles, and I never remembered a time when I actually had a blemish. Although my face was porcelain white, my high model-like cheekbones doubtlessly deserved a double take that I usually obtained.

Percy and Grover both looked my way when I moved. Percy immediately spotted my uneasiness, "Janelle." He repeated. "Jane for short?"

I nodded.

"I like it," He beamed.

I smiled and looked away, towards the many trainers on the field. One girl with lengthy, coffee colored hair was watching us intently. Percy followed my gaze, until it landed on the girl.

He looked back at me. "Oh. Um. Hey, I gotta go. But it was nice meeting you Janelle." He bounded away quickly towards the girl, and left me standing there with Grover.

I wasn't stupid enough to say I didn't see anything going on between Percy and that girl. Her watching us, and then him running off; that defiantly meant something. I don't know what was up between them, but I was going to find out. And I was going to bring it down.

"Ugh. So that was awkward. Sorry about that. He's just always won. I wanted to show him up for once. Sorry. Again."

I laughed. "No, it's okay. I understand." And oddly, I felt like I did. Here Grover was, apparently having to live with Percy's victories, while he sat on the sidelines. Percy obviously had a girl. And that thing that happened before just went to show how cocky he was. I already hated Percy Jackson and his perfectness. I felt a leap of enthusiasm for his destruction. My stomach flipped, and I could almost hear the praises from my father after my mission was complete.

Grover introduced me to practically the whole camp before I met Mr. D. He was a short chubby middle aged man, but somehow, I immediately had a sense of respect for him. Grover told me he'd meet me at dinner and ran off, leaving me there with him and a girl maybe a year younger than me with short blonde hair and muddy brown eyes.

"So you have no idea who your father is?"

This was actually a question I didn't know how to answer. Well yes, I was going to say no. I couldn't just come out and say Hades was my father, even if they did except it. If people knew that, they would put two and two together, and I would have no chance of destroying Percys perfect life. "No sir."

He squinted at me as if he were trying to read between the lines then finally said, "Cabin one. Trina, take her there, and see to it that she gets settled."

"Of course!" Trina bounced happily as if this was the most anyone had ever asked of her. She smiled warmly at me.

I forged a smile back.

Cabin one was too crowded for my liking. The building was separated right down the middle by a narrow passageway; boys on one side, girls on the other. In all, I estimated about twenty bunk beds in the girls (seeing as I didn't exactly go into the boys side of the cabin.) The fewer people that were actually there turned to stare at me; not a quick glance, but a long look that made me want to scream at them to freaking learn some manners.

Trina helped me unpack everything into a shelf that was next to our bunk bed. Apparently, I got the bottom since she had been there and called the top first. I kind of wanted to be alone, so I could plan what I was going to do next, but she kept talking a million words a minute, and I just wanted to scream and knock her out.

Everyone had begun to file out of the cabin after the first ten minutes, so there were only two girls in the opposite corner of us, giggling over a magazine. I wasn't stupid enough to think I could get away with punching Trina in the face with them in the room. I imagined my knuckles cracking across her face and almost couldn't stop myself from actually doing it, but luckily there was a knock at the cabin door and Trina stopped mid-sentence. I side-stepped her awkwardly before she walked into the narrow hallway and up to the door separating the guys and girls rooms. The other girls looked up as soon as the door opened; which revealed a guy, tall and blonde. The white scar under his eye was hard to miss; it made him look largely intimidating. His eyes searched the room, disregarding Trina altogether, and then they landed on me. "So it's true." He didn't say it to anyone in particular.

I examined him thoroughly; he was wearing a blue long sleeved cotton shirt, and dark washed jeans that seriously defined "the perfect fit." His bitter gray eyes pierced mine.

I didn't say anything,thinking maybe he wasn't even talking about me; even though I was the only person in the direction of his eyes. But then he pushed past Trina, who made an unappreciated noise and stumbled to the side. He walked to the edge of my bunk bed, leaning against the dark wood comfortably.

I glanced at Trina, who looked completely shocked, and then at the girls in the corner, who were staring at me accusingly. One of them leaned over to whisper something to the other, and they both giggled. I bit my lip trying to shove away my bad thoughts, and my eyes shot back to the guy in front of me.

"You," was all he said.

This wasn't really the way I'd like to begin a conversation, but I went along with it, "Me."

"You're Janelle Liberato." He said my last name oddly, and I was already beginning to feel bad vibes from this guy.

Trina stood to the side and watched, refusing to get in this confrontation.

"Oh. Yeah. That's me. Do I know you?" I tried to sound nice, even though what I really wanted to do was take the dagger from my coat and slit his throat for even daring to speak to me like that.

"Doubt it. I'm Luke. I wanted to come by, you know, to say hi since apparently I was the only one who didn't get to meet you earlier."

"Oh. It's so very nice to meet you." I said sarcastically. The words slipped out of my mouth before I even thought about it.

His eyebrows raised and then he laughed. "Right. Well. I really came here to tell you that we should talk sometime soon. I . . . have some information you might want to know." He said this last part so seriously it surprised me of how fast the mood had changed. He shifted and glanced at the girls in the corner who didn't even bother to look away.

"Information," I repeated as his eyes came back to mine.

"Yeah." He nodded, "I think it would be in your best interest to meet me."

I was completely confounded by this encounter. I had no idea who this guy was and he says he has information that I might want to know? I felt myself gasp and quickly covered it up by a cough. What if he knew why I was here? What if he was planning on blackmailing me? What if--

"Okay," I told him. It probably would be in my best interest to meet him. I mean, if I didn't, what if he started blabbing his mouth to everyone that I was here not to train, but to kill Percy? "Where and when?"

Luke glanced around the room, as if the little audience we had was starting to make him uncomfortable. "Uh, I'll talk to you at dinner later. We'll figure out a time and place then."

So he wanted to meet me... to set up a meeting time? Eh. Whatever. This guy was weird.

"Fine by me," I confirmed.

"Right," he took a deep breath, "Okay. Good. Great. I'll see you then." He turned abruptly and stalked back out the separating door to the guys side of the cabin.

I watched until I was sure he was completely gone before I even dared to look at Trina or the other girls. Trina turned to look at me at the exact moment I looked at her. A moment of awkwardness passed and I glanced away towards the other girls. They were both staring at me like I was the most disgusting thing they had ever seen.

I found a place on the wall, rather then making eye contact with anyone else, and stood.

"I'm not trying to get all up in your business, but you're new. So I'm gonna just tell you; you do not want to get caught up with that dude. He's seriously bad news. He was the one who..." Trina lowered her voice, "stole the lightening bolt last year."

The mentioning of the lightening bolt made me look back at her. "Why is he still here then?" I only asked out of pure curiosity. If someone did something like that; threatened the lives of the gods and all of humanity, you would think they wouldn't let him back at the training camp.

She shook her head and sighed, "I honestly have no idea. People say it's because he has connections here somehow. Whatever. Nobody wants him here. He's like a . . . a . . . disgrace upon this place."

I glanced at the girls in the corner who were obviously trying to listen in to our conversation. "Do you have a problem?" I snapped at them.

They both looked away quickly and held up their magazine, switching there attention to something else.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Trina. She looked a little shocked at my outburst towards them, and I remembered I was playing the good guy here; I couldn't just walk around biting peoples heads off.

"I'm a big girl. I think I can handle him." I grinned almost devilishly at her, trying to change the mood with a little humor.

She smiled but sighed and shook her head at me. "So listen, I think I should stay with you during this meeting of yours and his. I mean, I won't necessarily be standing with you, but I can be off to the side, you know, kind of watching. I don't trust him. And even though I barely know you, I would rather not have something horrible happen to you."

I immediately knew that this idea of hers was not going to work for me. I'd have to ditch her soon. I couldn't have her lolloping behind me like a golden retriever. But at the same time, I was moved by her suggestion. She was a foolish girl, trying to trust me; to get to know me, and I could see she was most likely going to be in the way in the near future.

"Oh. I can't. I mean, I don't think that's the best idea. He'll notice something. I really don't think we should chance it. I'll be fine. I promise. I'll scream or something if something goes wrong." One of my weaknesses was thinking of something off the top of my head. I was defiantly going to have to work on that.

"Janelle. Your not gonna shake me, 'kay? I know him better than you do. I'll be in the distance. You won't even know I'm there. "

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to get angry at her.

"Speaking of dinner, it comes right after sundown and the sky is starting to darken outside. We should probably start heading out."

She made it sound like we were going to have to walk a few miles to get there. "I like being one of the first to get my food, okay?" she said after she noticed my expression and then giggled.

So we headed out. The sky was, in fact, growing dark, and the only lights were the pale crescent moon, the stars, and the occasional lantern hung outside the cabins. I could smell the food way before we even neared the outdoor pavilion.

Halfway there, a group of girls joined us—or to be more exact, Trina—and I managed to slip behind unnoticed. I hid behind a cabin, watching as they got farther and farther away. Trina didn't even look back. Ha, so much for her "plan."

The only thing that could be heard was distant talking, a few chirping crickets, and my still breathing. I stood there, probably longer than necessary, but I wanted to make sure they weren't going to turn back around and try to find me. They never did. The still silent was just beginning to fully calm me when—

"Hiding from someone?"

I jumped five feet in the air and almost screamed.

"What the hell!" I whisper-shouted, my heart still racing in my chest.

"Sorry," Percy held up his hands innocently and grinned.

"Oh... my gods." I started pacing, unable to stand still.

"Hey, I didn't mean to scare you that bad. Calm down." He laughed.

"Do you think this is funny?" I snapped, breathing heavily.

"Look, I said I was sorry, okay?"

If he hadn't still been smiling, I may have forgiven him, but that smirk on his face just angered me more. I shot him a cold look and stalked back towards the pathway, now that Trina's group had disappeared.

He followed, jogging to catch up. "Wait a second. I'm sorry. Seriously. Really. Honestly." His face magically transformed into a more sincere one. I had this feeling he was faking it, but I couldn't be sure.

I sighed, "Whatever."

"You're too serious about things, you know that that, right?" He lopped beside me, keeping up easily with my fast pace.

I scowled in the dark, "You're too immature about things." It was true. Ever since I met him this morning, I had gotten this vibe floating off of him that screamed, "Look at me! I'm childish and spoiled! Love me!" Gods. I had thought that maybe he would be a little bit experienced. He had, after all, retrieved the lightening bolt and returned it to Zeus to clear his own name. You would think that anyone that had done that would be more professional.

"Immature? You think I'm immature?" He laughed without humor. "Okay, I get it. You're the big bad bitch who comes here and thinks she can take over things and says whatever she wants to say. But I have something to say to you. You're the one who's inexperienced. You just got here. I would shut your mouth if I were you because one day it's defiantly going to get you into something that's inconvenient."

My head shot around at him. He had—he just—did he just tell me off? What the—

"Hey! Guys!" A deep voice came from behind us, interrupting my thoughts—and my plans for a nasty comeback. Grover trotted over and made his way between us, throwing one arm over each of our shoulders. "I'm starving!" He turned to me, his face incredibly too close, "Are you starving? I'm starving."

Percy shrugged off his arm and sighed angrily, "I am."

Grover turned to him and slowly slid his hand from my shoulder, "Dude, what's up with you?"

"Nothing," He kicked at a pebble on the track looking truly upset.

I had said nothing to him but the truth. He had no right to go and look so innocent and depressed.

Grover swiveled his head toward me, clearly expecting me to fill him in.

I shrugged and looked ahead. The pavilion was right in front of us; it's bright lights shone in our faces. The whole place was bustling with kids. Or teenagers. Or both. Whatever. We attained our food, and waited for everyone else to do so before we all threw away a serving. 'A show of gratitude to the gods,' as Grover had put it. Yeah. That was the biggest load of bullshit I'd ever heard.

I managed to steer clear away from Trina throughout dinner, and I had confidence that she hadn't seen me yet. Within the crowd of people here, it wasn't that hard.

"So tomorrow, I'm thinking Percy can teach you some awesome sword fighting techniques. And then Annabelle can give you a Greek lesson or two. And then I could--"

"Have you even consulted these people about this?" Percy interrupted Grover, talking as if he hadn't been one of the people he had mentioned.

Grover looked at me nervously, trying to see if I was offended that Percy didn't want to "show me some awesome sword fighting techniques." I was far from offended. I was. . . aggravated. He was so exasperating. All I had said was that he was immature, and now he was holding this childish grudge against me. That just went to show how adolescent he was.

"Um, Percy, why wouldn't you?" He cut his eyes back to me quickly.

Percy sighed, and apparently decided he wasn't in the mood to argue. "Yeah, sure. I'll 'teach you some awesome sword fighting techniques.'" He said this last part sarcastically, which immediately left flickers of awkwardness in the air.

I pursed my lips and looked away. "I think I'm going to go talk to Trina," I got up and walked away without another word. Of course I wasn't really going to go talk to Trina. That would be stupid on my part. I just felt the need to get away from the awkward tension back there. So I walked around, my eyes swiveling to one person to the next, until they landed on a familiar face: Luke.

The corner of his lips lifted into an irresistible side-grin, and he stopped in front of me. "Janelle," He acknowledged.

I gave him a quick smile; one that didn't completely meet my eyes, before looking away. I felt self-conscience suddenly, even though it usually wasn't in my character. "You needed to talk to me?" I shot a look around, making sure no one was paying any attention to us.

He laughed, "Getting straight to the point, are we? We have, what--all night to discuss that? I think we should just enjoy this marvelous food, shall we not?"

Ugh. He wanted to get on "friendly terms," first. Blah. Whatever. I could do that, even though I would rather not. I sighed. Why did everything have to be so complicated? I casually leaned closer to him, as if we were about to share this big secret. "I don't have time. And no offense, but I'd rather not be seen with you.

He looked down at me, "That's understandable." Instead of looking offended though, he looked amused. "The woods are usually empty around this time. We could slip in there unnoticed." He suggested.

I glared at him. "I'm not going anywhere with you. We can set up a 'time' right here. Do you seriously think I'm that stupid?"

"Fine, fine. I'm sure your friends have set you up with a million things to do tomorrow, so I'll say . . . you can come anytime this week between the hours of one and four."

Um. Okay. So he's given me a time slot. Wow. "Yeah. Sure. Okay," I told him and tried to get around him, so I could make a circle back to Percy and Grover, but Luke grabbed my arm, sending a shock throughout my whole body.

I immediately found myself looking up at him, checking to see if I had been the only one to feel that.

If he had felt anything at all, he was extremely good at hiding it. "Make sure you come alone," His eyes bore into mine.

Of course I was going to come alone. Who else would I bring with me? I nodded, and he let go of my sleeve. I slipped past him, my mind so occupied that I didn't even notice when I walked past Trina.