Sweet as Revenge

Rachael's POV

Miranda and I had been good. Maybe even a little too good because suspicions were arising between counselors and psychiatrists. "It's just out of the blue." I overheard one of them say, "Especially for Miranda, she was a mess when she first started out, Rachael too. Should we keep them in?" Another person spoke up, "If we don't their parents will have noticed the improvement and will take them out instead. Plus, they trust us." It had been five long months since we began our act, and it was a hell of a good time. Acting like angels to all who suspected us to be evil, little did they know it was all an act. We randomly cried, pretending to remember the horrible things we did and exclaimed about how bad we felt about it, being nice to the "Satan Worshippers" who honestly scared the crap out of me, and even helping with chores around the asylum. And on the most beautiful Tuesday in all of mankind, we were let out. Freedom was absolutely magnificent!

My parents were so proud at "how I'd changed so much" and they let me redecorate my bedroom. I pretended to be so very thankful and soon enough, I was let out of the house to roam. I flipped my flat ironed hair over my shoulder to see a familiar girl. She was riding her bike down the street, looking mad and aggravated, pumping the pedals as fast as they would go. I opened my phone and speed dialed Miranda. "Code R." I said into the phone. I could sense Miranda smirking as I put the phone back in my pocket. I smiled. This day was going to be great.

Annabeth's POV

I had been fighting with my parents a lot. Almost every day I would be slamming my door, blasting music, and sneaking out the window. For five months it was like that. I was on my bike and off, going to different towns and even states. Well, states only once. Anyway, I was pissed at my step mom for trying to ground me once again. This time, it was for going over to Katie's house after school for two hours to study and not telling her. Hello? I have a freaking cell phone. She could've called me in five seconds. I did my routine of swinging down the tree onto the grass and pedaling away on my bike. I flew through blocks until I landed in an unfamiliar area. There were alleys everywhere and graffiti littered the walls. Empty soda cans laid crumpled at my feet, empty wrappers were everywhere. I didn't know how far away I was or how long I'd been riding. I quickly learned that hours can feel like minutes when I rode so I wasn't too shocked to find that I had been gone for almost three hours.

The sun was setting and it was getting dark. Fast. I swung my legs over on the seat of my bike when I felt a cold hand grasp my shoulder. I sat, frozen, my mouth open wide. My back tingled and a light breeze blew through my hair. I gulped and slowly turned. I was staring straight at Rachael. "Annabeth. It's been awhile. How are you, dear? Good, I hope." she taunted. I was too scared to move. My lip trembled as she circled me, brushing her dry hand around my shoulders. "I haven't been good at all, though. I'm sure you know why. And because of that, you might need a little reminder of what it means to be not good. Miranda and I here are going to teach you a little something about being a nice person." Miranda stepped into my view and I let out a squeal. "Don't be scared, it won't hurt that much." Miranda promised. My eyes darted to a sleek gun that Rachael was now holding.

"Goodbye, Annabeth Chase." she smiled, pointing the gun at me. The too familiar bang of gunshot rang in my ear and I looked at my foot. The bullet had missed my nearly an inch. I pedaled away as fast as my legs would take me. My throat was burning and dry and my legs were sore with exhaustion. I didn't dare look back as I sped through the tight alleys. My front tire hit a rock and I fell from my bike, rolling in the dirt. I crawled under a box and called Percy. The phone picked up after three rings. "Hello?" he asked. "Percy, I need your help." I begged.

"Well, that's a first. What's up?"

"Come to Reagan Town. Now. Bring the police." I read off of a billboard.

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

"No time to explain. I love you."

I hung up the phone as footsteps crunched to my right. "She couldn't have gone far. Her bike's right here." I heard Miranda growl. I accidentally whimpered and I was soon yanked out of my hiding spot. Rachael slammed me against the bricks. "Don't run. We'll always find you." Her sharp knee dug into my back and I tried to scream. "Aww, you're cute. Now hold still, we won't kill you right away." A blade flashed in front of me and I cried with pain as my chin started to bleed. She turned me around so my back was to the wall and pushed the knife against my throat. "I'm sure you feel real bad about stealing Percy away from me now, and taking both of our lives away. With the record of us being in an insane asylum, we'll never have normal lives again." I ground my teeth and spat, "Percy kissed me. I didn't even like him at the time. You're just a jealous bitch. He never liked you." She pushed me harder against the wall and screamed, "YOU LIAR! SHUT UP!" My head banged against the wall and I tried to ignore the dizzying spin in my head. "Get off!" I shouted, pushing her. She landed against the pavement with a crack.

I froze and blinked. Blood poured out from under her head. She wasn't moving. I was about to help her, with my natural instincts, when I realized that Miranda was still there. "Now the damage you've done is beyond repair. This is what you deserve you slutty fuck-off." Miranda aimed the gun at me and closed one eye. "Goodbye forever, Annabeth Chase. I'm sure no one will miss you." The last thing I saw was the sparkle in her berry lip gloss and the shining stars before the known bang of gunshot sounded and I blacked out.

Percy's POV

I ran up to the sticky caution tape, panting. Red and blue lights danced across everyone's faces. Police lined the scene, and innocent bystanders looked by in curiosity. A grim cop held a sheet in front of Rachael, who was carried away on a gurney, hiding her bloody body from view. Miranda was screaming murder as she was jammed against the wall by police, handcuffs forced on her wrists. She was shoved in the police car and her screaming was muffled. I was confused, weren't they both in a mental hospital? Annabeth was nowhere in sight. "I'm gonna have to ask you all to go about your business." a cop announced. All the rubber-neckers left but I stayed. "Do we have a problem, young man?" He addressed me. "Uh, yeah." I picked my words carefully, "My girlfriend was in there." He didn't show any sympathy. "Sob. Now, I'll promise you that she's in good hands, you have to leave." I tried to protest but I was given a shove that pushed me into a cop that escorted me out. "They're crazy!" I shouted back at the scene, "Miranda and Rachael are insane!" I don't think anybody listened.

Annabeth's POV

I'd been shot, in my right leg, just above my knee. I was ironically in the hospital again. I was getting sick of the atmosphere of the hospital, it rarely changed. I was kept in bed for four months, getting to walk only around my floor. Percy came every day and stayed with me. It was over almost as soon as it began. I was back in my bedroom, lying on my bed with Percy, looking at the ceiling. "So, it's not over, is it?" I finally said, ignoring the tingling above my knee, "When I go back to school for senior year, I'm going to have to live with everything that happened." I could tell that Percy wanted to protest, but he couldn't. Life would be hard. "I don't ever want to go back." I complained, "I wish we both could just pick up and move to Alaska!" Percy smiled and turned his head to me, "Why Alaska?" he inquired. I brushed my hair out of my eyes and puffed, "It's far away from here." My eyes followed a blade of the ceiling fan as it rotated around the center. My shorts and tight blue tank top couldn't keep me cool enough on a hot August day, August thirty first, only three more days until school.

"The year won't be long." Percy convinced me, "I'm sure of it. All we have to do it make it until graduation." I nodded and smiled even though I didn't agree with him. "Just until graduation…" I muttered, even though I didn't believe it.

I rolled my shoulders back and adjusted the strap on my Vera Bradley tote bag. The bright green leaves flutters like a thousand butterflies in the light breeze. All around me, people were laughing and hugging, catching up from the summer. I stayed hidden in the shadows along the cold brick of the school. Even Percy was hanging out with his friends. I was alone. Thalia was on to college and everyone else, but Percy, thought I was a freak. I didn't feel any safer knowing that Rachael and Miranda were locked away in some insane asylum in Ohio. It only felt empty without them here. I even saw a sophomore ask a junior where Miranda was, I shivered and wondered why no one told the students what happened. The school board was keeping the news low because they didn't want any more trouble. The breeze picked up my curly hair and I stumbled, trying to get it out of my face. When my vision cleared, I was standing in the sunlight, and everyone, including teachers, was looking at me. When I say everyone froze, everyone froze. It was as if I took a remote and paused the scene. Basketballs rolled and texting thumbs froze in mid-text. All eyes were glued on me.

The scar on my thigh tingled and I stood up a little straighter. With effort, I confidently strode right into the building, pushing the double doors open as I entered, I felt eyes burning into my back. When I got inside I slipped into the girls' room and cautiously looked around. There were only freshman, most likely never have heard of me, applying the make-up their mothers didn't let them put on. I walked into an empty stall and took deep breaths. I dropped the old backpack I found in the back of my closet and reached in one of the pockets, searching for my phone. My hands grasped something small and smooth. I pulled out a Lip Smackers. It was a thin mint cookie balm that I got when I was twelve. I used to wear it all the time, impressing no one but me. I opened the tube with a pop and glazed my lips with the sweet gloss. I rubbed my shiny lips together and walked out of the stall. I searched for my locker when I came across Drew. Oh shit. I thought as I decided whether to say hi or run.

"We meet again, Annie Beth." she sighed. I knew that she knew my name was Annabeth. She knew I loathed being called Annie Beth. "Drew." I huffed. I so did not want to deal with her.

"I see you've up-ed your wardrobe yet again." she stated sarcastically, glancing at my ripped shorts and polka-dot tank. She thought she was so cool with her designer and brand-name shorts and tank top.

"Nice of you to notice." I snarled. God dammit, leave already! I thought.

"Well, it's good to have everybody back where they belong, you, particularly, in the lower class. I'm glad you stopped trying to be popular, the real popular people were getting tired of your sad attempts."

"Okay!" I shouted, "I get it! I'm a nerd! I shop at Target. I watch cartoons. I have Lord of the Rings posters in my closet. I eat junk food and own three SpongeBob underwear and bra sets and I wear them to school! But I like myself this way, you perfectionist asshole. See, I didn't even call you a bitch because I'm the bitch!"

I angrily turned around to leave and banged into a locker. "I'm back." I smiled as I stumbled down the hallway. Percy jogged up behind me and walked in sync with me. "That was totally awesome!" he celebrated, "That's why I love you." he whispered and pulled me into a kiss. I stood on my toes to reach his lips, my converse stretching as I put my arms around his neck. It was awesome until a teacher walked by and snapped, "No PDA in the hallways," We broke apart and held hands as we walked down the hallway. The year went by great. My grades were up again and I was arguing with my parents less and less. People in school ignored me, which was fine by me. I made some friends from some other schools, friends that were clueless to my past. Me and Percy were stronger than ever, and we spent as much time together as possible.

~Graduation~

I sat in my stuffy robe and tried to fan my face. The valedictorian's speech was longer than the principals and everyone, even his parents, were getting bored. Eventually, we were all called up to get out diplomas and as I stood on stage, I saw someone familiar. Bianca. She was in the back, with Alison, who was almost a year old. She was waving frantically and I waved back. My name was called and I took the thick paper and shook the hand of the principal and several other board members. I stepped down and tripped on my robe. Instead of being embarrassed, I started laughing and smiled through the rest of the ceremony. Bianca told me that she was doing well and she hadn't run into trouble yet, which was good. I just hope she didn't jinx herself.

Percy and I got accepted into the same college, by miracle. We pretty much lived happily ever after. But, you'd think that's where it ends. But it doesn't. The lying, the taunting, the secrets, they're all floating around, drifting. Waiting for the perfect moment to swarm down and begin the cycle all over again.

The End.

Author's Note: Oh, it's not over. It may be the last chapter, but the story continues. Keep watch for Bianca's own series, and maybe more to Percabeth's.