Uh, so, hello everyone! *laughs nervously* I am very, very, incredibly sorry! But I had my exams to attend to, and they lasted for an entire two weeks! And then I caught a bad cold. Awesome timing, isn't it? -_-

Anyways, thanks to all those who reviewed, followed and favourited. And a special thanks to EmmaChase-Hunter of Artemis, for asking me if life's treating me well. ^_^ Well, to be honest, life's treating me like shit right now, but yeah.

Now, I have made you all suffer by making you wait for so long. And so we have the next chapter! Now that my vacations have begun, I may be able to update faster. So no need to worry!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS! PLEASE DON'T TORTURE ME ANYMORE!

Ch 3: I Am Not What You Think:

Annabeth stirred and blinked her eyes a few times, unaccustomed to the light of the sun rays pouring into her room. Once she was fully awake, memories of the previous night pooled into her head. The blonde frowned as she pressed a hand to her forehead. What a weird dream…

"I see that you're finally awake."

Shit. Annabeth instantly sat up and winced slightly as the sudden movement hurt her sore muscles. And Annabeth was surprised that she wasn't really surprised, because any normal person would've shrieked out loud at the sight in front of her.

Well, first things first, Greeny was in her room. No surprise there. The thing that interested her was that he was hanging upside-down from the ceiling. Annabeth was shocked at how calm and composed she felt. Maybe her brain was still half-asleep. She wordlessly stared at the boy (if you could call him that). Did he stay here all night? Part of her thought. That's creepy.

"How?" she asked lamely, wondering if he would understand what she was trying to inquire. Normally she would be more graceful in her etiquettes, but this wasn't a situation you would call normal. And like she had stated before, her brain was having a bit of a problem in functioning properly.

"I told you last night. I'm a demon."

"Right," Annabeth closed her eyes. So now I have a demon in my room. Or maybe he is some sort of magician or something, and he has hypnotised me into seeing things. Geez Annabeth, thinking these sort of things won't get you anywhere. Just try to calm down and ask logical questions. She reopened her eyes just to see Greeny looking amused at her silent soliloquy. "So, you're a demon?"

"That's what I said now, didn't I?" he drawled.

It's official. I don't like him, Annabeth mentally noted. "Like the ones in stories?"

"Depends on what sort of stories you are talking about."

Annabeth cringed. That sentence sounded awfully familiar. "Uh, you know, the ones in which they feed on souls and fight with angels and do black magic and … stuff."

He actually laughed out loud. Annabeth didn't know whether to be offended or embarrassed by the fact that he was laughing at her. Admitted, what she said did sound stupid, but her knowledge on demonology was limited. That didn't stop a tinge of red forming on her cheeks though.

"Not really, no," he said, still chuckling in between. "We feed on negative feelings. Souls are for other purposes. And we usually stay away from angels, and vice-versa. It's just a waste of time to fight them anyway."

"Sure," Annabeth nodded, taking in the information that angels do exist from a 'demon'. She decided to humour him. "So what exactly is a demon doing inside my room?"

"Maybe because you are the one who summoned me here."

Right. That ritual. That damn ritual. She knew there was something fishy about in the first place! "I see," she muttered. She had to deal with this; after all, it was her doing. "And how do I send you back?"

He snorted. "How cocky of you! You think that I couldn't have gone back if I had wanted to?"

That just confirmed the fact that he had voluntarily stayed in her room all night. Creep. But then again, he was a demon. Or so he said. "And why exactly are you still here?" She asked even though she knew the answer. She perfectly remembered the words he had whispered the previous night before she had passed out. Soulmate… Annabeth resisted the urge to shiver.

He leaned closer to her. "Why are you asking me if you already know?" Annabeth blanched. Did he read her mind? Was that some sort of demonic power? Before she could say anything, he continued, "However, it's strange, how you perfectly summoned me. Soulmate or not, it is difficult for a mere mortal to summon a high-rank demon like me." Annabeth had no idea if he was bragging or not.

"I told you, I don't know," she said wryly. "If I had known all this would have happened, I would have strongly protested even more against doing that stuff."

"Oh?" Greeny's eyes flashed, and he smiled. A smile which sent shivers down her spine. "Repeat that again, will you? I didn't really catch that." He jumped down onto the floor and bent forwards, placing a hand on the wall on either side of her head, effectively trapping her. "Well then, Annabeth, if you didn't know that all this would have happened, why did you do the soul-mate ritual in the first place? Maybe you thought it was stupid."

Annabeth didn't tell him that was exactly what she had thought. He narrowed his eyes, a smile still present on his face. "Or maybe you performed it for another man?" he said.

Annabeth gulped and hoped that he wouldn't sense the spike in her heartbeat. Well, his guess was spot-on. Annabeth had hoped that she would see Luke's face in the mirror. But if Greeny found out about that… She didn't want to think about it.

Unfortunately, luck didn't favour her (It never did!). "So, it was another man," he growled as inched his face closer to her.

For a wild second, Annabeth wondered if he was going to kiss her. That thought was enough to set off the alarm bells in her head. She tried her best to push him back. "Woah Greeny, do you think you inch back a little?"

He tilted his head. "Greeny?" That got him off-guard. He still was close enough to her to feel her breaths, but at least he wasn't growling like a wild animal anymore.

"Uh, yeah, because I don't think you've ever mentioned your name to me. Which I think is unfair. Because you know my name, and I have no idea how the heck you know it, maybe you just read my mind or something, or maybe it's some sort of powers you demons have, or maybe…" Annabeth cleared her throat and stopped her useless babble. "Anyways, the point is, I don't know your name."

Greeny looked as if he was stifling a laugh (which he no doubt was). "So you named me Greeny?" he said amusedly.

Annabeth flushed slightly and let out a huff. It did sound like a name a person would give to a plushie, not some random demon. "My point stands."

"Percy."

At first Annabeth misheard it as 'mercy'. She blinked. "Huh?"

The demon rolled his eyes. "That's my name. Actually, it's Perseus, but who would want to have a complicated-sounding name like that? Hence for now, my name is Percy."

"Oh, that's a…" Human-sounding name, Annabeth mentally added. If the demon- Percy- had not been hanging upside down from her ceiling, and had his eyes not flashed red, Annabeth would have readily taken him as a human.

He didn't have any of the characteristics she thought a demon might have. To be honest, she had no idea what characteristics a demon should have, but she had expected fangs, horns, a pointy tail and bat wings. And he didn't seem to have any of those as of yet.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "That's a?"

"Nothing."

"That's a nothing? Seems like you need some improvement on your sentence making skills."

"I can make sentences just fine," Annabeth snapped. It seemed to her as if she was getting too close with the demon. Human or non-human, soulmate or non-soulmate, he was still an intruder in her house. Annabeth looked around. "Aren't you going back? How are you so comfy even though the sun is up?"

"A high-level demon like me does not get affected by this small amount of sunlight. Now, if the sun's rays were hitting me directly, I could tolerate it to some extent, but the low-level demons would readily burn."

"So if I run outside right now you won't be able to follow me?"

Percy snorted. "Nice try, Annabeth, but I could simply possess a human body to follow you. Sunlight affects the demon's physical body, but it would not affect a soul preserved in a human shell. Besides," his eyes narrowed once again, and Annabeth was reminded of the fact that he was still very close to her. "What makes you think that I will let you go?"

So he has no intention of leaving me? Annabeth frowned. "Well sir, if you don't let me go, then how am I supposed to move about?"

"That's the point. You're not supposed to move about."

It was Annabeth's turn to narrow her eyes. "And you intend to trap me here for how long?"

"No idea."

Annabeth was pissed off at how calmly he said that. "What do you mean by that?" she snapped. "And now that I'm trapped here, just what exactly do you intend to do with me?"

"Indeed, what should I do with you?" He tilted his head. "Maybe I should mark you? You are my mate after all."

Annabeth paled. "No."

"What?"

Annabeth shook her head vigorously. "I'm not ready," she stared wearily at him. "Aren't you supposed to stay back, because I'm uncomfortable and as my… soulmate, you shouldn't do anything that makes me uncomfortable, should you?"

"And now a mortal is giving me advice on what a mate should do."

"I do have a right."

"And what if I don't agree?" Percy whispered. "Do you know how many centuries I have been searching for my mate? Do you know how much I have been yearning for this moment?" He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "What makes you think I'll hold back after so long?" He nibbled on her ear.

Annabeth felt the rise in her heartbeat. "Stop," she whispered, trying to struggle out of his grip. Her attempts were fruitless, thanks to the large difference in their strength. She shut her eyes tightly. What was wrong with her? Despite being weaker, she couldn't just allow him to force her into doing something she didn't want to. "I said stop it!" she shouted. Near his ear.

The effect was immediate. Percy jerked back at her shout and rubbed his ear, growling slightly. Annabeth had figured that his hearing was sensitive. Almost all supernatural beings had sensitive auditory senses, and she had hoped that this one would be no different.

"Now you listen to me, you arrogant jerk!" she glared at him, her voice getting louder with anger with each second. "I don't give a shit whether you are my freaking soul-mate or not, but when I say that I'm not comfortable with something, it means that I'm not comfortable with something! It does not matter whether you are a demon or not! Just because you've found your mate after who-knows-how-many goddamn centuries, does not mean that you could do whatever you want to do with me without my consent!"

She paused to take a deep breath. Before Percy could open his mouth to say something, she lashed out at him once again.

"First, you appear out of nowhere in my room, then you freaking scare me half to death, you spend the entire night in my room watching over me without any shame and now you have the nerves to do this?! Just because you are stronger than me, you think you could treat me like some bloody weak and submissive medieval lady? And after that entire high-rank demon shit, you think what I say to you is not acceptable? You, sir, are a bloody, stuck-up, shameless, haughty bastard!"

"Are you done now?" Percy asked calmly after her little speech was over.

"Oh, and what makes you think that, you egotistical asshole?" Annabeth got off from her bed and stood with her arms crossed. "Just because I have been acting like a clueless, little idiot all this time does not actually make me one! What made you think that you could force me to do anyth-"

"I'm sorry."

"-ing I don't wa – huh?" Annabeth blinked, her cheeks still red with anger.

Percy turned his head to the side. "I said I'm sorry."

Annabeth frowned. "At least have the guts to look into my eyes and apologise," she said.

Percy turned his head to look at her. "I'm sorry," he said while staring deep into her grey orbs.

For a split-second, Annabeth forgot why she was so angry at him (and she had no idea why that happened). Well, at least his apology sounded somewhat genuine. She couldn't be sure. He was a demon, and demons were known for trickery. She cleared her throat and looked down. "It's okay, I guess."

She didn't get a reply. Confused, Annebeth waited for a few seconds before looking up. She blinked before looking around her room. Percy was no longer there. He had, well, vanished. Without even her knowing it, though she had been only a few feet away from him. She took a deep breath. Well, that was a good riddance. She sneaked a glance at her wall-clock. Get ready, Annabeth. The rest of the day is in front of you.

-o-o-o-

Annabeth hummed slightly to herself as she tossed the things present on her Things-To-Buy-the-Next-Time-I-Go-Grocery-Shopping list into the cart. But nothing stopped her from peeking over her shoulder every now and then, afraid that she would find a stalker behind her, who would by possessed by a certain someone.

She mentally chided herself to keep her paranoia in check. But to put it simply, Annabeth was scared. She really was scared of the demon, after all the strength he had shown to have that day. And Annabeth was sure that was only a little bit of his total power. She sighed. What has she gotten herself into?

She kept browsing the racks, wondering if she had forgotten to put something in her shopping cart, until suddenly:

"You have the smell of a demon over you."

Annabeth gasped silently and spun around. The speaker was a girl (who seemed to be of her age) standing a few feet away from her, her pitch-black hair drawn into a single braid. Her black orbs narrowed at her. "I have no idea why you smell like one, but you sure do."

She stepped closer to her and placed her hands over her hips. For a moment, Annabeth wondered if she was going to scold her. But all of a sudden, her face broke into a grin. "Having problems with the supernatural, milady? Then I think that I may be able to help you."

-o-o-o-

Okay, sorry if the chapter was boring and filler-type. But seriously, everything that happened in this chapter was pretty much important. I will try my best to keep every chapter non-filler!

Review everyone! And follow! And favourite! You guys rock, y'know? I love y'all! Even the ones who actually bother to read this story at all! XD

PS: Any guess who our mystery girl is? It's pretty easy. Lel. :P

Kudos~!