Realization

Thalia's POV

I guess you could say that Annabeth and I got into a little disagreement. Ah, screw that, we were yelling our heads off at each other. I don't mean to sound like a four year old, but Annabeth definitely started it. It was her fault that she called me at five thirty in the morning to ask me if she should wear light or dark brown eye-shadow to the prom. Just in case you didn't know, I am not a morning person and if you wake me up before noon, I am one grumpy girl. I told her to worry about it in the morning but she insisted on my opinion.

"Light brown." I grumbled.

"Really, you think? I was thinking dark because it would make my dress pop a bit more, don't you think?" Annabeth chattered.

"Sure, whatever makes you happy."

"You see, whatever shade is better makes me happy. So dark brown?"

"Yeah, sure."

"But you said light brown, right? Would that blend better with my dress?"

"Annabeth, I am so tired, just go the fuck to sleep."

"But I can't sleep unless I pick a brown. Now, would a more woodsy brown be good but that may make it look too cow-girlish, don't you thi-"

"I don't think anything right now; I am trying to go to sleep in bed."

"So you are falling asleep while giving me advice? That's a little rude if you're not giving me accurate advice."

"Well maybe you should stop acting like a brat and thank me for even answering the phone at this time of day."

I know, I know. That was a little mean and rude, but she was asking for it! I was sleep deprived and my brain doesn't fully work until two p.m. so it slipped out. And that is where all hell broke loose.

"Uh, excuse me? You did not just call me that!" she screeched.

"Well I did, so deal." I snapped.

"You have been no help to me today!"

"The day hasn't even begun, and I have done so much for you!"

"Sure, sure. Give me some examples."

"One: I took you shopping. Two: I befriended you when no one else would. And three: I made you what you are today, and I regret it!"

"You did not make me!"

"Oh yes I did! I gave you advice and pushed you harder and now you're popular and everyone likes you for once!"

"Uh, for once?"

"Before I made you popular, you were the biggest loser in the whole school!"

"Take that back!"

"I won't because it's true! I also regret helping you because all you've turned into is a spoiled brat!"

"It's not like you aren't one, too!"

"I am so not a spoiled brat!"

"But you're popular now, like me!"

"Do you want to change that?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I can take away your popularity just as fast as I gave it to you. I could ruin you!"

"Well, then. Let's see how that works out, then."

"Fine. Game on, bitch."

And that's pretty much where we left off. There is a really sad part about the fight, though. I meant every damn word I said to her. And to take her down, I already had a plan. A good one. A plan that could demolish her entire reputation forever. A plan so devious that even her family wouldn't want to look at her. And I was as sure as hell that I would get my revenge.

Annabeth's POV

Thalia is a megabitch. I cannot believe she just told me that she created me. I created me! I'm myself! Isn't that all you learn about in cheesy assemblies in elementary school? Anyway, I had much bigger problems to deal with. After I paced my room for a half-hour, cursing Thalia under my breath, my laptop bleated. I plopped down on my bed and placed the computer on my lap, thankful for a distraction. Unfortunately, the distraction was not appealing. Bianca had sent me a forwarded e-mail she had received from Miranda. God damn Miranda was threatening poor Bianca. I needed to do something about it. I needed a plan.

I automatically began to think of a brilliant idea to expose Miranda. Oddly, my brain works best in the morning. Well, I thought to myself, if Miranda knows a lot about Bianca and her life, she must do her thinking and planning somewhere. If I can find the evidence, she'd be exposed. Maybe she has a spiral notebook full of diagrams and notes. She could have a white board deep in her basement with plans scrawled all over it. Or maybe she even has an entire room with pictures and articles hanging on the walls with strings stretched out connecting pictures and Xs crossing out Bianca's eyes.

I had to stop myself there. I was looking way too ahead of things. I was lucky if Miranda even had a composition book with a single word about Bianca in it. I took a deep breath and continued to think. So, in order to find any information about Miranda and her hatred of Bianca, I will have to sneak into her house and search. I flipped open the school district's phone book and jotted down Miranda's address, phone number, and parents names on a swirly green spiral notebook.

If I'm going to sneak in, I'll need a plan; Bianca and her parents are currently the only people living in her house. Her house is pretty small, but it'd take at least an hour to search it thoroughly with no interruptions. All I need is an entrance to the house when it's locked, an easy escape route, and for everyone to be out of the house. First, I will need to scope out the house and figure out where the rooms are located and make a diagram. Then, I'll have to find the way into the house. And finally, I'd find a clear escape path out and then I'd search the house. Genius.

I quickly e-mailed Bianca back, telling her to meet me at Starbucks at 1:00. I desperately needed the time. After I sent it I crashed on my bed and fell asleep for a good six hours. When I woke up, I finished writing in my notebook. I drew an empty model of a house, to fill in Miranda's house's information. I jotted down crappy ideas and plans to get into the house under the model, I liked to plan ahead. I tried to slow myself down; we were only spying into her house today, no need to rush. We still had Sunday. I didn't want to misplace the notebook so I took out a blue sharpie and wrote "Project Weasel" on the front. I know, I know, weird name, but it makes sense if you really think about it, Bianca and I are weaseling our ways into Miranda's business. I could've titled it something cooler but then I couldn't be walking around with it because people would get suspicious. Besides that, at 12:54 I headed out to Starbucks to meet up with Bianca.

When I got there, she was already sitting at a circular table in the back of the store I ordered a black coffee and sat across from her. "Awesome, you're here." she trilled. Bianca's eyes were slightly bloodshot and had dark bags under them. She looked way too excited to see me, like she was anticipating this meeting for weeks. "Hey." I chirped, "So, let's get down to business." I slapped the notebook onto the table and flipped to the first page as I sipped my bitter coffee.

Just as I was about to tell Bianca my plan, the door noisily banged open, letting in a flood of swimmer boys. The laughed and bumped into each other. A swimmer with a buzz cut and a swimmer hoodie pointed to me and Bianca. "Look, we've got some lesbians here!" he shouted. His buddies laughed. "No way, man." another said, "They are way too hot to be Lesbos." Next, some guy in the back wolf-whistled. There was a slight commotion in the back and a shorter boy protruded from the crowd. His sparkly sea-green eyes lit up when he saw me. He shot a glare at his swimmer friends. "That's my girlfriend, you asses." he snapped. Percy walked over to me and pecked me on the lips. The same guy wolf-whistled again and the crowd hustled over to the line and started ordering beverages and pastries.

"It's been awhile." he stated. "You doing anything on Sunday? Maybe we can hang out, I mean, if that's cool with you and all." I laughed at his unease, at the sound of my laugh he seemed to loosen up a bit. "Of course, Percy." I replied, "Meet me at the fountain in the park at five. Don't be late." He ran his hand through his beautiful hair and smiled, "Kay. See you." he responded and strode back over to his buds that gave him noogies and patted his back. Men; always so physical. I patiently waited for them to leave until I told Bianca my plan. She nodded and gazed at my drawings. When I finished, she had some questions;

"So, Miranda is an only child?" she asked.

"Yep." I replied.

"How are we going to get in?"

"I was thinking about making a copy of her key."

"How?"

"I don't know yet."

"When are we starting our investigation?"

"How about now?"

"Okay."

I shouldered my bag and sipped my steaming coffee. In my bag, I had a disposable camera, a video camera, binoculars, my phone, pencils, Chapstick, and my notebook. Everything I had was perfect for a stake-out. We rode in my car to Miranda's house. There were no cars parked in the bumpy driveway, but the lights were on. "Where should we start?" Bianca asked, looking the house over. It was a small house, white sloppy paint and green shutters. I spotted a large oak tree with stumpy braches protruding from every angle. The tree was perfectly planted right by a lit up window. "Follow me." I ordered. I stalked over to the broad tree and began climbing the sappy branches. My hands were sore and sticky by the time I got to the window. I was so close, I didn't need binoculars. I shielded the sun from my eyes and peered in.

I almost fell out of the Goddamn tree. Sitting criss-cross applesauce on a pink and orange oval rug was Miranda. She had prescription pills and various plastic bags full of different drugs surrounding her. She was facing me but her eyes were closed. She picked up a bag with a powdery substance in it and gave it a big sniff. I whipped out my video camera and began recording. Miranda rolled over and began clawing her rug. She shakily stood up and banged her head against the wall. She screamed and hurtled herself onto her bed. I felt sick.

Had she been doing drugs the night of my sleepover? Was she always high? Or was this her first time? I actually felt bad for her; drugs are a real issue for people. Even if she wanted to do them, I still felt for her. "What's going on?" Bianca whispered. I didn't have to answer. She looked into the window and gasped. The branch her foot was resting on broke with a loud crack. She instinctively gripped the branches her was holding onto tighter and replaced her foot onto another branch. The branch made a loud swooshing noise as it fell and landed with a thwump. I held my breath. Miranda had heard the crack. She was glaring at me and Bianca now.

"GAAAAAAHHHHH!" Miranda screamed and opened the window. She clutched a cold, bony hand around my wrist and pulled me closer to her. The camera fell from my grasp and landed in the grass with a soft thump. I shrieked and slipped towards her. "Annabeth!" Bianca cried and grabbed onto my other hand. I tried with all my might to pull away from Miranda but the drugs she'd been using apparently gave her a lot of adrenaline. She pulled me through the window. I tumbled in and rolled onto the carpet and into a different bag of powder. The drug flew up in a puff and blinded me. I coughed and coughed and rubbed my eyes. I felt Miranda's hands clasp around my neck. I brought my knees up to my chest and then kicked her off onto the floor. I tried to get back to the tree but she pulled my ankle back. Her face had claw marks on it and her fingernails had blood in them.

This is a dream. This is a dream. This is a dream. I tried telling myself, but everything was all too real; Miranda's blood on the floor, the burn in my throat, Bianca's cries for help, the throb in my neck. I reached into my bag, trying not to pass out. I fumbled around while Miranda punched my back, I clutched the hard metal binoculars and pulled them out. I rolled onto my back and threw them at Miranda's head. A loud clunk rung in my ears and Miranda fell to the floor. I dragged myself out of the room and stumbled down the stairs. I couldn't climb back down the tree in my condition. I was panting and I felt dizzy. I ran to the back door, tripping over my own feet.

I fumbled for the lock and turned the bronze handle. I opened the door and took a whiff of fresh air. I tried to walk back to where Bianca was but I tumbled onto the grass. I was too weak to move. I tried to get myself up but My arms turned to jelly. I saw a fading picture of Bianca running towards me and the faint sounds of police sirens wailing from the distance before I completely blacked out.

A/N: I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am. I haven't updated in FOREVER! I have so much work to do now, and I have been outside in all my free time. Again, I apologize greatly. So, for my apology, I have given you a 2,349 word chapter. You're welcome.

Now, I would like everyone to READ THIS PLEASE! This story is a fun story that I like to write for you guys in my free time, right? Now, I know that there are no (if not very few) high schools that do have this much drama in them. This is just a fun thing to read and enjoy. A guilty pleasure. So please do not call me rude names and say that I "have just created another stereotypical high school" because I know that this doesn't happen and I'm trying to do something nice and contribute to one of my favorite websites. Thank you.

So, please review your ideas, if you have any, and tell me what you thought about it. Thank you so so so so so so so sososososososososososososo much for patiently waiting for this chapter. Later, gators!