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Percy trudged home, fuming. Dionysus had suspended him for 2 weeks, "as a warning". "You should be grateful I didn't expel you, but one more issue and you're out." Dionysus had said.

However, it wasn't the fact that he was suspended which pissed Percy off so much.

It was the fact that he was innocent.

Percy stormed into the house and up the stairs. Mr. Jackson wasn't home since it was 10:00 a.m., and he didn't get home until 5:00 p.m. (30 minutes after school ended). Going into his room, Percy slammed the door shut.

At 3:00 p.m., Poseidon came home. He went up to Percy's door and knocked. "Percy? Are you in there?" The door swung open, and a sullen Percy stood behind it.

"I heard you were suspended." Poseidon began.

"I didn't do it."

"They found the bottles in your locker."

Percy's eyes flashed. "I told you, I didn't do it! Someone framed me!"

Poseidon sighed and dragged a hand through his jet black hair which was sprinkled with gray. "Ok, but you're still suspended. I can't but help be disappointed. I thought that you'd hold out for the rest of the year."

Percy stood still, shocked. Poseidon was the second person to have any faith in Percy, the first being his mother, and he had blown it. Not intentionally, of course. Percy still felt guilty. Masking his guilty expression with anger, he walked past his father.

"Percy, where are you going?"

"Out."

The boy grabbed his phone and key to the house, and left.

Mr. Jackson shook his head. "That boy gets into too much trouble."

3 days had passed since Percy's suspension. The news of his suspension had reached the whole school by now, and everyone was talking about it. Almost everyone knew that he didn't do it, but no one did anything about it.

The halls were empty. Annabeth walked slowly, her sneakers making no noise against the floor. Her hands sought out the zipper on her jacket, and fiddled with it. She reached her destination, hands dropping from her jacket. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Annabeth knocked.

"Come in." Pushing the door open, Annabeth went inside. A lady in her forties sitting behind the desk smiled at her visitor. "Oh, hello there Annabeth. What brings you here?" Annabeth smiled, weakly. "Hey Mrs. Scully. I was wondering if... if I could speak to the principal?"

"Why of course, dear. There's no one in his office at the time. Be sure to knock before you go in."

"Thank you Mrs. Scully." Annabeth made her way over to the Principal's door. She knocked. "Enter," said a gruff voice. Annabeth let herself in and stood in front of Principal Dionysus' desk, which he was sitting behind.

"Annie beth. Take a seat." Not bothering to correct her principal, Annabeth sat down. I am Annabeth Chase. This doesn't faze me. "So... you came here to see me? You're a perfect student, I'm assuming you're not here about your grades." Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "So why are you here? Hurry up, don't stall." Annabeth took a deep breath before starting. Just say it. You're prepared. You have all your arguments and evidence. Just do it.

"Percy Jackson is innocent."

Goode High School's Principal stared at Annabeth as though she had grown a third leg. "That's what you came to me about?" The blonde girl nodded. "We've already proved Percy guilty. The matter is settled." Annabeth shook her head. "No, it's not, because Percy isn't guilty. The real culprits are the seniors, Luke Castellan and Ethan Nakamura. Those witnesses? Friends of Luke and Ethan. Also, if you look carefully at Percy's locker, you can see that his lock was damaged. Someone had broken in and placed the cans in there. Motive to frame Percy? Well, there's not really one. Percy has a record, and those boys know it. They figured he would be the easiest target." Annabeth paused for a breath, and Dionysus took this moment to speak.

"I see. However, you don't have any proof that it really was those two." Dionysus smirked with his victory. Annabeth was one step ahead, though. "I tracked down the store from where the bottles were purchased and they allowed me to look at security footage." Annabeth pulled out a CD from her bag and handed it to Dionysus who played it on his computer.

He watched as a blond boy, Luke Castellan, and a dark haired boy, Ethan Nakamura, purchased the spray cans. Dionysus cleared his throat, handing the CD back to Annabeth. "Looks like you caught the real culprits. Congratulations."

He didn't sound too pleased, probably because he had to admit to making a mistake.

"Percy will be returning to school tomorrow, and I'll catch those crooks." Annabeth smiled softly. "Thank you, sir." She departed, feeling accomplished and a feeling of relief spread across her body. No more worrying about whether she should do the ethical thing or not.

Until she remembered that she'd have to face the consequences. Luke and Ethan wouldn't hesitate to beat her up, or worse. Annabeth was seized with worry as she walked back to class, but wiped her face of emotion once she got there.

"Percy!" Poseidon called for his son as soon as he got home from work, that same day. "Percy, come down!" No response. "Percy!" Nothing. "PERCY!" A grumbling Percy finally poked his head out of his room, and made his way downstairs.

"What is it?" He was still not feeling friendly towards his father, especially since Poseidon didn't believe his son when he said he was innocent.

Mr. Jackson cleared his throat. "Well... I'm sorry for not believing you when you said you were innocent." Percy raised an eyebrow. "I got an call from Goode. They caught the real culprits. Some seniors named Luke Castellan and Ethan Nakamura were the ones who graffitied the school."

"Apparently, some girl by the name Annabeth Chase gathered evidence and proved you not guilty. Your suspension has been lifted, and you'll be starting school again tomorrow."

Silence.

"Annabeth?!" Percy was shocked. He knew that Annabeth wasn't a big fan of his, so this came as a surprise to him. His father nodded. "Yes, Annabeth." Percy turned and retreated back to his room, expression unreadable.

Annabeth got up the next morning for school, dreading what the day might bring. Luke and Ethan hadn't unleashed their wrath on her yet, but it was bound to come. She dragged a comb through her tangled blonde curls, and pulled it up into a ponytail.

After getting ready and eating breakfast, Annabeth grabbed her things and ran out the door to the bus stop.

Only to find that she had missed it. Dammit. I was so reluctant to leave that I took too long and missed the bus. Annabeth began to walk towards school. Her dad and stepmom had taken the cars for work, and she didn't have her own.

As she got closer to school, her anxiousness dissipated. She'd be safe at school since Ethan and Luke had been expelled. She was only 5 minutes from school when she heard a voice that stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey Annabeth. Or should I say Anna-bitch? We're gonna make you pay for what you did to us."