Hey there! Next chapter for you! I hope you like it! Not much to say here in this author's note. My life's been hectic and I'm sick right now, so I have the day off. Anywho, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan does.

- Blair

Chapter 2

Annabeth's POV

I walk to the back of the class and take the seat next to Percy, not even glancing at him. I feel his gaze burning into me and I begin to feel self-conscious. Is he really going to stare at me like that? I turn towards him and meet his gaze warily, his bright sea-green eyes meeting my stormy grey ones.

After a moment, I snap, "Stare much?"

He smirks at me. "You were staring back."

"For a second, not a full three minutes."

"Oh, so you were counting now?" he teases.

I give him my best glare. "Shut. Up," I hiss.

I turn back to my notebook, opening it, and try to focus on whatever Ms. Dodds is talking about. Unfortunately, I'm a bit distracted today. I keep pulling down the sleeves of my sweatshirt, trying to hide my wrists. My side aches terribly, stabbing pains shooting through me every few seconds. I'm pretty sure I wince every time. It hurts just to pick up my pencil and write. I keep noticing out of the corner of my eye how Percy keeps glancing at me. I take a risk and turn to look at him as he glances at me again. His eyes are full of concern, but I don't understand why.

He meets my eyes again, just for a second, then turns away, scribbling something on a piece of paper. A few seconds later, a white folded up piece of paper is sitting on my desk. I lift it up, unfold it quietly, and glance down to read it.

Why do you keep wincing every few seconds? it reads.

Crap. Am I that obvious? I feel my cheeks heat up as I quickly write back.

It's nothing. I just pulled a muscle. I'm fine. Why do you care anyways?

I slip it into Percy's awaiting hand when Mrs. Dodds isn't looking, and his fingers brush against mine. I feel like I was just shocked by electric, but I will the feeling to pass. What was that about?

He reads it, replying with, You look like you're in a lot of pain. I just wanted to make sure you're okay.

I purposely hold out my hand while Mrs. Dodds is turned away, waiting for the note, just so I could feel that addicting jolt of electric through my fingers when he touches them. He passes it to me, and I feel that same shock. I smile slightly to myself, read the note, and mouth back to him, "I'm fine."

I crumple the piece of paper in my hand and stuff it in my pocket, tugging on my sweatshirt sleeves again, just in case. I sit back and try my best to listen to what Mrs. Dodds is teaching, the class dragging on.

LINE BREAK

I sit down at my usual lunch table and wait for my only friend, Piper McLean. I don't understand how we are even friends, but now we're so close I consider her like my sister. Piper's beautiful, but she's got her own style, and she doesn't flaunt her beauty, like some of the popular girls, who aren't nearly as pretty as Piper. Piper could easily be popular, have any guy in school, but she ignores it all. Apparently to her, I'm all she has. Of course there's her boyfriend Jason, and his best friend, Leo, who's she's friends with too, and I guess I sort of am friends with both of them as well, but she means it in a sisterly, best friend way. I'm grateful though, because she is literally all I have. She even knows about what Luke is doing to me, but I made her swear not to tell anyone or make a scene about it. Instead, she usually covers for me or tries her best to help with my bruises when she can.

I begin eating my lunch, and ten minutes later, neither Piper, Jason, or Leo has shown. I sigh. Piper must be sick, or she's off with Jason, which would explain why he isn't here. For Leo, I have no idea. Maybe he's flirting again. Which means I'm alone.

Luke is sitting with his football buddies today, and even though he always invites me to sit with him every time, I refuse to sit with those jerks. No way.

Two minutes later, just as I'm finishing my lunch, someone slides into the seat in front of me. I look up, surprised to see Percy, and I can't help but think about the feeling that traveled through me when our hands had touched. Those thoughts quickly changed as I remember the reason Luke hit me last night, all because of Percy. And if Luke sees this...

"What are you doing here?" I hiss.

"Relax, I won't stay. I just wanted to remind you about that project we have to work on for Mr. Brunner's class," he replies, throwing his hands up in mock surrender.

"Yeah, so?"

"So... We need to get started on it. You can come to my house after school, and we can work on it. Only if you aren't busy though," he shrugs.

I glance quickly towards Luke. He isn't paying any attention to me, still goofing around with his friends.

"I'm not busy. I can come."

"Great. Just meet me at my locker after class, okay? I can take you."

"Or I can just meet you at your house," I say, suddenly nervous about the idea. What if Luke sees me walking out with him, or getting into the same care with him? Luke might have me cornered anyway.

"Do you have a car?" Percy asks, a slight smirk on his face.

I blush deep red. "No."

"Exactly. My locker number is 657. I'll see you later," he says, getting up and leaving.

Just then, Piper decides to come rushing in, dragging Jason behind her. Her hair is everywhere, and Jason has lipstick on his cheek and lips. Wonder what they were doing. Piper slides into the seat Percy just got up from, and Jason sits behind her. I hand him a napkin and say, "You got a little something on your face."

He blushes and begins wiping his cheeks and lips as Piper straightens her hair, immediately beginning to interrogate me. "What was he doing with you?" she asks anxiously.

"We were paired for a project. He was asking me if I could go to his house to work on it today after school."

"His house? Will his parents be home?"

I shrug. I hadn't thought about that. "I don't know."

Piper leans in close so Jason can't hear what she's saying, but he isn't paying much attention. She whispers, "What about Luke?"

"Think you can cover for me?" I ask just as quietly.

She smirks. "You know it. I'll walk out with you and Percy, and Jason can come, so it'll be like a group. I'll keep a lookout for Luke. If I see him, I'll explain you're coming with me to work on a project."

"Thanks, Pipes."

"No problem, Annie. I'll see you after school. I'll meet you at Percy's locker. What's his locker number?"

"657."

"Sounds good. See you later!" she gives me a hug and grabs onto Jason's hand, getting up.

"Bye, Annabeth," Jason smiles and waves at me, and they run off.

I wave back and throw away my food, then walk out of the cafeteria, deciding to go to the library before next class.

LINE BREAK

I'm sitting in my last class, English, which I usually enjoy, but today I desperately glance at the clock, waiting for the bell to finally ring. I don't understand my feelings. Why do I want this class to end? I should want it to drag on, considering that I have to work with Percy today. And if Luke sees me... Ugh, shut up, Annabeth! Piper has you covered. Besides, there's nothing between Percy and I. All we're doing is working on a stupid project, and it's not even a project where we learn anything! Unless you count learning new things about your partner necessary. What a waste of time.

I mentally groan.

Finally, the bell rings, and I shoot out of class, the first one out the door. I walk over to my locker with my head down, put all my needed books for tonight in my backpack, zip it up, and shut my locker door. I wander around aimlessly, trying to figure out which locker row contains 657. In one row, I see a tall, broad guy with messy obsidian-colored hair, struggling with his books, trying to put them in his backpack neatly. Let's just say he's failing. I recognize who he is immediately and squeeze past people, walking up behind him. After a few seconds, I poke his shoulder.

He turns around and sees me, his face brightening, and he gives me a boyish lopsided grin. My heart skips a beat at his adorable smile. Wait a second... What the heck, Annabeth? Get yourself together!

"Hey, Annabeth. I'm almost done, just give me a second," Percy says, turning back to his mess of a locker.

"Struggle much?" I smirk at him, and take a step closer so I'm standing next to him, our shoulders brushing as I try to fit in between all the students. Hopefully Luke doesn't see me.

"Nah, I'm just having some trouble today. This doesn't usually happen," he replies, a slight blush crossing his cheeks.

"Here, let me." I take his backpack out of his hands as he grabs the books falling out of it, and I set it on the floor.

I bend down, my hair covering my face, and start putting books Percy hands me neatly into his backpack. When I'm done, I hand him his backpack, and shove him playfully out of the way so I can stand in front of his locker. It's a mess of loose papers, books, and writing utensils. I start taking all of the loose papers out of his locker, crumpling them in my hand, then handing the pile of papers to him.

"Go throw these away."

He obeys and leaves me for a few seconds while I continue organizing his locker. I straighten all his books, putting them in size order, then put all his writing utensils in the little cup holder thing that's magnetized to the inside of his locker door. By the time Percy comes back, his locker is spotless.

"Wow, thanks. I could have done it myself, you know," he says, staring at his locker.

"No, you couldn't have," I disagree, about to close his locker door. Then I notice a familiar face that sends shots of panic through me every time.

Luke.

He's at the end of the locker row, looking around, as if he's searching for someone. He is. Me.

"Oh no," I wheeze out, suddenly dizzy, trying to hide my body behind Percy's locker door and the student next to me.

Please don't see me.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" Percy asks. It may just be me, but his voice seems to be a little louder than I would like. What if Luke hears him say my name? Then I realize, in actuality, he's whispering to me.

"Yep, just fine," I squeak, my voice unusually high.

"No you aren't. What is it?" He starts looking around, trying to figure out what's upsetting me so suddenly.

I practically squeeze myself into his locker, and hiss, "Stop looking around! Would you just stop?" I start to feel tears pricking my eyes, and I blink, refusing to cry in front of Percy.

He stops and acts casual, like he's still rummaging through his locker. Really, he has instead grabbed onto my arm, leaning down, and I flinch away from his touch, but he holds on and looks at me intently. "What is it?"

"Nothing," I reply.

"Don't lie to me."

"Why do you care?"

"Because one, you've been in pain all day, and I've noticed it. And you keep pulling down your sweatshirt sleeves as if you have something to hide. Two, you look like you're about to be sick and like you've just seen a ghost, while you were fine just a few minutes ago, and you're whispering. Plus, you've practically fit yourself into my locker hiding. Hiding. From. What?"

I look away from his intense gaze, ignoring the question. I peer around the door to find Luke is gone, and let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "It's nothing," I finally say, standing up to find myself pressed up against him.

I take a jagged breath, ignoring how I feel like I enjoy being so close to his strong body, like he could protect me, and slip under his outstretched arm, no standing in the middle of the locker aisle. "Can we go now?"

He turns to face me and sighs, knowing he won't get an answer from me. "Yeah, come on."

He closes his locker door and lightly takes my arm, which I flinch away from. He looks at me with an odd expression I can't quite read and takes my arm again, guiding me in front of him and through the students still throwing things in their backpacks. When we're out of the locker aisle, I look around, making sure Luke isn't anywhere to be found, and Percy lets go of my arm.

"I have to meet someone first, come on," I say, walking to where Piper's locker is located, Percy trailing behind me.

"Hey Pipes! Come on, we have to go!" I call to her from the end of the locker row, not wanting to walk past all the people again. She turns her head, smiles and waves, then closes her locker and swings her backpack onto her shoulder.

When she meets up with me, I ask, "Where's Jason?"

"He had to go home early with Thalia. Something about his mom?"

"Oh, okay... Well, let's go."

"Hey Percy," Piper greets with a small smile and a wave.

"Hi. Piper, right?" he asks politely.

"That's me, I'm Annie's best friend," Piper smiles widely and throws one arm across my shoulders playfully.

"That's cool."

Piper laughs. "Well, we should be going. Come on, you two."

She leads us out of the locker area and into the halls, keeping a close eye out for Luke. I keep my head down, just in case, and Percy follows behind me. We make it out of the building with no problems.

"Okay, well, we're all good," Piper says, winking at me. "I got to go now, my car's over there." She points, then gives me a hug, waving to Percy, and walks off.

I suddenly feel awkward, and a bit panicky. What if Luke shows up and Piper's already gone? "So where's your car?" I ask Percy, eager to leave and finally be safe.

"Over there," he says, pointing in the opposite direction that Piper had gone. He leads me over to his car, a sleek black convertible with the top up. Small, white letters read Blackjack on the driver's car door. The car looks brand new, glossy and clean, not one scratch visible. Percy unlocks the car and opens up the passenger door for me, so I sit down. There's no where else for me to sit anyway, considering there's no back seat. If there was, I would have taken it.

He closes the door behind me and walks around the car, slipping into the driver's seat and inserting the keys. He locks the doors, and I become a little nervous. The last time I did something like this, I was with Luke, and he had locked me in, then hit me. I curl up in the seat, hugging my knees. Percy looks over at me.

"You really aren't okay. Why won't you tell me what it is?"

"It's nothing, I'm just tired."

He sighs, clearly frustrated at my denial. "You can trust me, you know."

"That's the thing, I don't know! I can't trust anyone anymore, except for Piper! I've only really known you for what? A day? Just because of this stupid project! How can I possibly trust you?! I can't even trust my own boyfriend, for goodness sakes!" I scream at him. The last part sort of just slipped out, and I regret saying it, because I just admitted to something way too personal. Something no one knows about except Piper.

Percy looks at me confusedly, but then realization hits him like bricks to the head. "That's why you're in so much pain. He's abusing you, isn't he? And that's why you were hiding at my locker, you saw him looking for you, and you didn't want to be seen with me because he would hit you again."

This guy was smarter than I thought.

Crap.

"That's not it."

"Don't lie."

"Can we please just go?" I plead, curling up again into a ball on the seat, trying to drop the subject.

He won't let it go though, obviously, because he takes one of my wrists forcefully, prying it away from my knees. I yelp at his grip on my bruised wrist, pain shooting through my arm. He lifts my sweatshirt sleeve, and I try to twist away, but his hold remains. He looks down at the swollen purple bruise wrapping around my wrist. I keep trying to pull away, but he doesn't have it. What he does surprises me, though.

He lifts my wrist up to his lips and kisses it gently, and I melt under his touch. His lips are warm and soft, and soothe the throbbing pain in my wrist.

"W-what are you doing?" I whisper.

"You shouldn't have to go through that," he replies softly, concern and sorrow etched into his voice.

"But I have to anyway."

He continues to stare at my bruise, and begins rubbing it gently with his thumbs. Even though it's soft, light touch, it still hurts terribly.

"That hurts," I wheeze out, trying to pull my wrist away.

"I'm sorry." He kisses my wrist again, and my heart thumps in my chest. Why does he have this effect on me all of a sudden?

He lets go of my wrist and I pull my sweatshirt sleeve back down. I look out the window and see sprinkles of rain beginning to fall.

"Can we go now?" I ask, embarrassed at what just occurred.

"Yep."

He pulls out of the parking spot and drives away from the school, the place where I'm guarded with fear, hidden behind a mask. What Luke does is tiring, upsetting, exhausting, a million other things. It kills me inside, and I can't do anything about it.

But maybe someone else can.

Not really a cliffie, and yet, sort of a cliffie! I hope you liked this chapter, and the next update will be posted soon! Thanks for reading. Please review! Feedback and suggestions are appreciated!

- Blair