I don't own Percy- Rick Riordan and Annabeth do, and I'm glad.

Annabeth's Pov~

I shook Percy awake once the bus stopped in front of the two story building known as New York Academy, original huh? It looked like a church that was huge, maybe they were renting it.

"Are we here?" He asked waking up. I gave him a 'what-do-you-think?' look and he shrugged a response.

We both piled out of the bus last, observing the kids we would go to school with for the next who knows years. But we walked next to each other in silence and as we approached the front office, entering. I could feel eyes on us and I tried to ignore it, because I couldn't blame them.-we came mid year and we are new meat. Percy opened the door for us and greeted the office attendant known as Mrs. Robles.

"Perseus and Annabeth, 8th grade."

"Hello Perseus, Annabeth," she nodded at me.

"Here are the books you two will need- two separate stacks. And as you know, you have the same schedule, and your homeroom will start in 5 minutes."

"Thank you," Percy responded. I smiled in response and walked out with Percy.

I pulled out my schedule to look for the room number we were in, Smith- room 211.

"Do you have a your schedule? I forgot mine at the house." I nodded and took out my pen to write on the back of the schedule.

It isn't wise to be unprepared.

"Well not all of us are on top of things."

Excuses…

"Okay, Wise Girl, lead me to homeroom then."

Fine, watch and learn.

"Okay, teach me." I smiled and walked up the stairs looking for 211. It was to my immediate right and Percy and I took our seats 3 minutes before the bell. Thalia was in my homeroom, along with Charles, and they sat next to me and Percy. But we all sat in silence and I watched everything around me, memorizing it.

Percy and I walked our way to classes through out the day and rarely talked. Even at lunch we sat next to each other but listened to Percy's iPods. After school we rode the bus back to the orphanage and repeated the cycle every day. But as the time went on Percy and I 'talked'- I went through a lot of notebooks talking to him.

Weeks passed and it was safe to say that Percy was my best friend and I his, we were always together. I was still friends with everyone else in the place I lived, but everyone knew we were closer friends, and they were okay with it. We were occasionally teased at school, but it was only by people who wanted some drama for the day.

Most nights we spent the night in each others rooms, not doing anything of course, but we kept each other company. And I like having someone beside me when I was so lonely. We were okay with each other, comfortable with everything, and supporting one another. Especially when bad memories came back- like the abuse Percy went through from his now prisoner father, or when I had nightmares about the murder leading up to the man and the blackout. But sometimes they were worst, like I was a mute and uneducated. Or Percy being the one to kill them, on some really bad nights. And when one of us was sick, the other stayed and took care of the other. We were each other's rock I suppose you could say, as utterly retarded as that sounds.

But as several months passed, I told Percy about my upcoming birthday, which was next week.

"Well why didn't you tell me earlier Annabeth?"

I don't know. I' not sure why I just told you to be honest.

"Well I'm glad you did missy. What do you want? Mini fridge? Money?"

I don't want anything. I just told you so you could know. When is your birthday?

"August 18th. Besides, everyone needs a birthday present. You are going to get one."

Please don't.

"Oh shut up and deal with it." I gave him a look.

"Okay, sorry, but you will be surprised." I punched his arm and he chuckled. He grabbed his pillow and turned the light off in his room, walking with me to my room. I opened the door and yawned as he walked in behind me, he spoke up.

"It's hot in here," he said softly. I'm not sure why he almost whispers every night. The music that is always playing in his room as a distraction is very loud.

Well deal with it, I write before I lay down in my bed.

We both climb into my bed, me first and after he turns the light off I notice he took his shirt off. I nudged him.

"What?"

I couldn't answer of course.

He sighed and turned the light on again.

"What do you want?" I gestured to my shirt and pointed to him.

"You want me to take your shirt off? Well I can if you want… I didn't know I was that irresistible."

I shook my head no and blushed furiously. I put my arms out to my sides and shrugged- the I don't know shrug.

"You want to know why?" He guessed. And I nodded.

"I told you it was hot. Now let's go to bed." He turned off the light once again and I turned nervous.

His arm draped over my stomach, like normal, but this time his hand went under my shirt. Not trailing up, but just resting on my stomach, and it unhinged me. I'm not sure why though, but I turned around-facing Percy- and it caused his hand to move to my back.

"Dude, what is the matter with you? You are all stiff." I relaxed the best I could.

"Is it because I took my shirt off?" I nodded no furiously into his chest., it was surprisingly strong for our age.

"Hah, your bothered by it," he said, becoming wide awake opposed to his zombie state. I nodded no again, but I could sense him grinning.

"Does this bother you?" He moved his hand up my back, and I shivered. It got really cold in here for me, opposed to the hot temperature that caused Percy to take his shirt off.

I nodded to Percy to tell him to stop. He sighed and gave an 'okay' and he stopped. But the thing I was nervous about wasn't the fact that he was touching me and rubbing my back, he does that all the time, but it made me feel...dirty.

I can't explain why it made me feel like that, but it brought back memories that I didn't even remember. But I knew something like that happened to me in a bad way, but it was hidden in my memories- maybe it was part of a blackout. But the fact that it was on the tip of my tongue… it truly angered me. And I went to bed after Percy being angry at myself for not knowing the memory. It was rare that I didn't know something.

*Dream*

I was reliving the murder of my family- the sheer terror, the pain, the shock. And all of it was caused by the one man- Gabe Jackson. I had learned the face and name of the man who did it through the court sessions, questionings, and news from Fox 10, and they all made me cry at the memories I was reliving right now.

Helen laid on the ground near Matthew and Bobby, who were covered in blood from the gunshots to their foreheads. I flinched and turned around to get the image out of my mind, covering my ears for some unknown reason, and wanting to get out of the house before the man found me. But he grabbed me and I tried to fight him the best I could, but I was so weak, the adrenaline in my small body was nothing compared to the sick- demented buzz this man had from killing my family. I kicked him between the legs and darted with my heart racing in my chest, to the neighbors house. The knocks meant nothing- he was gone and the man grabbed me again- but as I remember shutting my eyes in reality the neighborhood around distorted to the courtroom where I first saw the killer. Gabe Jackson had the orange dirty outfit of a prisoner with cuffs on his hands and as the judge called me, I glanced at him. But when I did, his black eyes lighten to the sweet green I love, his buzz cut morphed into shaggy, uneven raven locks, but that was only the beginning of this horrible dream.

The orange suit that was tight with his heaviness shrunk into a medium frame of a older teenager, and years were taken off of it so the body appeared as a sixteen or seventeen year old. And his horrible face twisted from the nightmare smile into a sinister smirk, which outlined the dimples of my best friend. My nightmare was Percy, just like it was at least three times a week. The same thing, the same scares, the same smirk reminding me I didn't know my best friend. He likes blue. His name is Percy. And I don't know his last name, or who his dad is, or his mom. Where did the fridge come from?

My panic crept up on me and I felt the tears streaming down my face.

"Annabeth? I'm here, please stop crying." I looked up to see a stressed Percy holding me up in the twin sized bed.

"What dream was it?" I felt bad again, just like I do every time that dream haunts me. He knows about the three nightmares that seem to plague me and reoccur often. But I grabbed the notepad and scribbled 'you' on it and looked down, tears in my eyes. He starts apologizing even though he has done nothing and rubs my back. I hug him and wish I could whisper 'it's okay,' but I can't, and it angers me that I can't talk- it's the one thing I can't do.

"Annabeth, I really am sorry. But I think we should just go back to bed. We could go to my room if you want." I looked around my room, debating. But I nodded no, I knew I was already looking weak, but I didn't want to be pathetic.

"Okay, come on." He laid down with his left arm out. But when I tried to avoid it when I laid down, I was half off the bed.

"Annabeth, limbs make good pillows."

Oh, I could lay on his arm. I blushed and laid on his arm, which was strong and warm. But I moved closer to his body because I was cold, but I will admit I wanted him to hug me too. And when he did I snuggled closer to him and hugged him back, but I was stunned when he kissed the top of my head, I couldn't explain the feeling that went through me. My father used to do the same thing when I was in kindergarten, but when Percy, my best friend, did it…It felt so intimate, even though I'm sure it was for reassurance, but it made me want to kiss him, and I have never wanted to do that to anyone. So turned my body to face Percy and I noticed we were about the same height now and when I did my lips were extremely close to his. His eyes flew open, sensing this and looked at me, just as I did to him. But he started blushing, just like I did and leant forward. My breathing hitched more than it already had, which I thought wasn't possible. He leant forward and kissed my cheeks, left and then right. And I blushed deeper, but I returned the favor by looking up at him and kissing his right cheek and seeing him blush crimson, like the color on my cheeks. But I hugged him closer and closed my eyes and went to bed, again. And this time I slept good, with no dreams. Even though I would have preferred to have one good dream, as long as it's not that nightmare, I was happy.

And happy was how I felt when I woke up. But when Percy got up with me we smiled at each other. I was happy we were on the same page and I almost died of happiness when he kissed my cheek again before quickly walking to his room. But when I realized I was acting like a love-ridden teenager, I toned my mood down a bit.

Okay, we all know that we wanted them to kiss, and for Annabeth to be giddier than shit in the morning, but it just wasn't her. I know she doesn't act very Annabeth-y right now, but that is because of the trauma and she is slowly going to develop the Annabeth-ness that makes her such a great character! This is the same for Percy, with his cussing and what-not. J And I really tried to correct this chapter on grammar, so please tell me what I have wrong. I did my best for being tired at 2 in the morning. Thanks, and as always review!