Chapter Eighteen

Percy

Annabeth is waiting for me when I emerge from school. Glancing at her, I wouldn't be surprised if when Annabeth finally takes her head out of her book she has ink smudges on her nose. I notice her biting her lower lip as she reads the words. Her stormy grey eyes pause, and I can tell she's trying to get the letters to stay in place. Sighing, she closes the book with a thud, and looks up for the first time. Her eyes widen when she spots me.

"How long have you been standing there?" She demands, her eyes narrowing at me like I've been stalking her. Which I haven't, promise. Okay, so maybe I looked her up on facebook ( she doesn't have one, by the way- how wierd is that?), twitter, and instagram, and maybe I've been looking forward to seeing her all day, but that doesn't mean anything.

"Not long." Oof, great job not sounding like a stalker, Percy. That didn't make it sound like you've been watching her from binoculars across the street at all. I hope you caught the sarcasm. "So when are we telling Grover?" I ask, plopping down beside her. Annabeth purses her lips but let's me change the subject without protest.

"He's supposed to show up any minute." She mutters, while yanking a massive binder out of her bag. Seriously, the thing must've been six inches at the spine. I gape at it, until she shoots me a glare and I promptly close my mouth.

"I have a question." I start and Annabeth shoots me a look that clearly says get to the point Seaweed Brain. She's been using that nickname far more than I'd like for her to. Thankfully, it hasn't caught on or I'd be mortified. It only slightly bothers me when she does it, anyone else doing it would be horrifying. "Won't Grover's parents notice that his car is gone, when he's supposed to be in D.C?" I raise an eyebrow, thinking she hadn't thought that far ahead. You think I would've learned that she's always thinking eight steps ahead, by now. Annabeth bites her lip, and tucks a perfect curl of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Grover's family situation is kind of complicated; he lives in a group home." She explains, clearly uncomfortable. "They'll noticed if he takes off, but since they all know he's been saving up to go on a road trip this summer, they won't expect him to be in Greece." I pause for a second considering what it would be like to not have anyone invested in me, I wonder if that's what Annabeth's home life is like. "They'll just think he's going on a conciliation trip with some friends, which is sort of true." I'm not sure if that's how I'd classify it, but whatever works for her.

"Oh…" I trail off; Grover was the only topic of conversation I had come up with. I guess you could say that I'm not exactly articulate.

Annabeth

A girl struts in front of me and Percy, twirling her red hair around her finger absent-mindedly. Two guys follow after her like trained monkeys. She laughs an annoying giggle laugh when one of them says something.

"I know, I just can't stand History, I mean, why bother learning about a bunch of dead people? They are dead, right?" She asks them, shifting her weight so her curves are even more prominent, drawing both boys' attention. I roll my eyes and scoff. The sad thing is she sits next to me in my AP History class. Is that sad or what? I get that she's just trying to seem less intimidating to the guys, and avoid being harassed, but I don't empathize with the girls who pretend to be stupid and fake being perfect. I guess I've just never seen the purpose for that.

If a guy's not going to like you for you, then what's the point of bothering with him? On the other hand, Luke doesn't seem very enchanted by the real me. I sigh a little to myself, not wanting to think about Luke, but doing it anyway. He hasn't been the same since that game, and I know in my gut that the stalker's involved. Luke had to have recognized him. I'm sure of it. It would explain the off note when he offered to bring me home.

On second thought, it could very well be about Thalia. I'm not quite sure what he's been doing to try to find her, as he hasn't brought it up since that first morning, but I know his efforts have come up fruitless. I've tried digging into the situation, I even had Malcolm look at her various alibis, but I got nowhere in a hurry. Thalia has literally fallen off the map. I need to find her; just thinking about it has me out of my mind with nerves.

Percy clears his throat, and I glance up to find Grover standing over us. I gesture for him to sit before watching Percy out of the corner of my eye. His black hair is rumpled, but I think it's always like that. I'm not quite sure what we are, I'd like to think that we're friends. I mean, I'm following him across the country to help find his father, I'd hope that we're more than acquaintances.

Grover plops down beside me: dropping his backpack on his other side in the process. Grover's one of my best friends, and he's one of the few people who I trust. I know he's just as distraught over Thalia as we are.

Grover wants to be a social service worker. He grew up in the foster system, and he wants to make a real difference in kids' lives. He's already told me that he's thinking about going into the most at risk divisions, despite the dangers. The problem is, if he gets another strike on his record, it won't get expunged like the last few times. I know it's a risk, asking him to do this with us, but I know if we're careful we won't get in trouble. I'm a specialist at careful.

"So what's with all the mystery? You guys have been so distant lately." He wonders. "You're not…" He trails off, and I feel a blush burn across my cheeks, and if I look as red as Percy, then I'm a tomato.

"No!" Percy blurts and an irrational stab of pain hits me. It's not as if I like Percy, not at all. All though, I can't say I haven't noticed he's cute, I mean the messy black hair, the dazzling green eyes, Percy is a tall glass of water in all honesty. We're not like that though, we're just friends, and happy to be. Luke is the right guy for me: I know it deep in my heart.

After gathering my courage, I take a deep breath and begin to explain the situation to Grover.