Half-Blood High

Chapter 5

~0O0~

Percy ran a frustrated hand through his hair, as the sky above him darkened and emitted low rumbles. He felt the cold wind sting his face and smart his eyes as he stared absently across the grey lapping surface of the lake, the whole world a shade dim under the shadowy blanket of the crying sky. He felt the damp coolness of the grass under him and stretched his tired limbs out. He had taken solace outside by the lake side, after the student body had returned from the village trip and the merry chatter and exclamations of the colorful stuff they had bought at the various stores gave him a sore headache. There was also that tiny incident at the library with a certain blonde that had him agitated and oddly restless.

"Why her?" he muttered to himself in irritation as his mind started to conjure up images of startling grey eyes, silky blonde hair, pink lips; plump and luscious and so absolutely fucking kissable…

He shook his head physically and let out a low growl as his traitorous mind conjured up yet more delicious images of her and a shiver of anticipation ran through his core. He wanted her so bad, to just push her against the nearest wall in an abandoned class room and have his wicked way with her. The girl who had been haunting his dreams with her tingling laugh and innocent eyes as she licked her plump lips and gave him a wicked smile. He had lost the number of times he had woken up in the night, breathless and sweaty and gripping the sheets only to lay back down in disappointment when realization struck that she was all the way at the opposite end of the castle, sleeping peacefully in her own bed and nowhere near knowing the sleepless nights she caused him.

He wouldn't be in this condition if it had been any other girl who constantly invaded his fantasies and left him in such a pathetic condition that he had to abruptly leave classes in the middle of lessons and find the nearest loo. No, if it had been any other female, he would have already lived out each and every fantasy he had ever had and she would have been more than happy to comply to his wishes. He was in no way stuck up, but who couldn't feel a little arrogant when he was popularly known as The Sex God of Half- Blood High or among some more intellectual groups as 'The Irresistible Eros'?

Percy couldn't honestly for the life of him fathom what made him react to her in such an intensely confusing way. He had had more than his fill of girls, in school as well as at drunken parties throughout the cities, but for some reason, the morning after the passion filled night when he nursed the inevitable hangover, his mind would wander back to the blonde…aching for just one touch. He wanted her to see him, to talk to him, to at least just acknowledge his existence, even though he had no clue why he needed it so desperately. Perhaps that's why he had made it his mission to make her like miserable as much as he could, to push her buttons until she snapped and yelled at him and he could bask in the feeling of knowing that he wasn't invincible, that she could see him and was actually talking to him, even if it was at twice the normal decibel and may once or twice had included slaps to the face.

But it had been worth it, so worth it. After she had stormed of, he would stand there, cheeks stinging, his mind unable to discard the image of her fury, all tangled locks and smoldering grey orbs that made his heart pound faster and his mouth dry and a throbbing ache of need pass down south.

He clenched his fists in frustration, discarding the initial thoughts of erasing her from his mind, since that tactic had been proved useless for the last four years. Instead he focused his eyes over the lapping surface of the lake, squinting when he tried to get a closer look at two figures on the shore the opposite side a little to the right, who had suddenly cropped up in his vision. Frank, he concluded after a minute, taking into account the burly shape and the ridiculous amount of hand actions involved, and that girl from West Tower, one of her friends. He watched them absently, a small part of him envying his best friend's state of happiness. When was the last time he had been at peace? Everything in his life at the moment seemed to be trying their hardest to pin him down, to drown him in an ocean of helplessness and for once, he felt he was sinking all the way to the bottom and no one could pull him out. The current situation with his father, his grades… that constant itch of longing under his skin, threatening to break out, whenever he glimpsed her in the hallways or in a secluded nook in the library.

He left for the East Tower an hour later, figuring the rest of his Tower mates would be at dinner and he could catch a few seconds to himself. By the end of the night, he had decided that he no longer was going to suffer the agony of watching her from the shadows. He was done being the gentleman for four years and now it was time for the more animal, inhuman side of him achieves its satisfaction. No longer was he going to wank of in the shower miserably while she strolled through the hallways, tempting curves on display and her maddening laughter drawing him out like a sirens song.

He was finally going to take what he needed…and Chase wouldn't know what hit her.

~0O0~

Annabeth swallowed the bitter taste that lingered at the back of her throat, no thanks to the cup of frothy beer in her hands, of which she had taken a small token sip to appease a thoroughly drunk Piper, even as her own head swam and her skin prickled in the heat of the crowded room. She stood in a corner, plainly awkward in the midst of sweaty bodies grinding against each other to the heavy music resonating off the stone walls.

The East Tower was having one of its monthly parties, with crisps and other junk foods wheedled out of the kitchens and bottles of alcohol carefully smuggled in. They would bring out an old stereo system and play all the latest hits, which frankly to her, all sounded like some drunken idiot taking his frustration out on a couple of garbage bins. It was a much awaited night where everyone wore their trashiest clothes and makeup, the promise of a naughty time heavy in the atmosphere. It was a night Annabeth loathed with every fiber of her being.

"Come on, Annie! Don't just stand there!" the blonde looked up startled at the voice, only to find an intoxicated Piper, half supported by a disheveled Jason, who didn't seem to be in a much better shape himself. "Just…you know…dance and…drink and…dance!" she did a little twitch of her hips as a demonstration and nearly fell over.

"Okay." Annabeth replied frowning, as she wrestled the bottle of beer held tightly in the brunette's arm. "That's enough liquor for you for tonight. Jason, could you put this back? Because frankly, I don't thing Piper can walk two steps without kissing the floor."

As Jason disappeared through the crowd, Annabeth got hold of her swaying friend and helped her onto the nearest sofa. Piper immediately slipped off her black heels and curled up on the soft material, sighing peacefully as her head sank onto a cushion. She gave Annabeth a small sheepish smile while the blonde rolled her eyes and plopped down at the end of the couch.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Piper?" Annabeth demanded a bit harshly, as she looked for a suitable place to put down the bottle of beer that she had confiscated from the brunette. "You can't just go on drinking like this. It's completely reckless and irresponsible."

"I'm sorry, Annie. You know I can't resist-" Piper shaky whisper broke off in anguish and blonde's glare softened a bit. Of course she knew why Piper drank. She had every reason to but it didn't mean she should. And as her best friend, Annabeth knew she was always going to be there to catch her when she fell.

"I know, Pipes." The blonde whispered gently while smoothing the brunette's hair back. "But you have to get over it, darling. It's been a year almost, Pipes, and you can't just let her pull you down like this. You have a whole life ahead of you that need not have to be constantly pulled back by one, depressing incident."

"Annie, why do you think she left me?" Piper voice cracked at the end and a glassy sheen took over her multicolored eyes and Annabeth got the uneasy feeling that her friend wasn't actually expecting an answer. Instead she settled for gently stroking her hair.

Annabeth looked around her, and after spotting Alicia bell and Michael Charring on the verge of literally doing it on one of the tables, she decided she had endured enough.

"Okay, everyone! Let's wind up this party!" Annabeth had to shout twice before someone turned off the music. "We need to get up early tomorrow and clean up this mess!"

"Come on, Chase!" someone shouted "We haven't even started yet!"

Agreements followed as the students stared at her in dismay.

"Stop being such a kill sport, Chase! Just because you prefer to live the life of a prude doesn't mean the rest of us have to too!" Alicia snapped which earned a few drunken giggles and a whoop.

"I'm not a prude." Annabeth replied coldly "I'm just making sure we won't get caught…"

How Annabeth wished she had left it at that. Because then she could have avoided the oncoming arguments and harsh words and the bottle of beer that she had to finish to prove to Alicia that she wasn't such a prude after all. And most of all, she could have avoided the harsh words that were about fall from her classmates and more painfully, from her own friends.

~0O0~

Annabeth stumbled down the uneven stone steps, her hands clinging onto the polished wooden barrister for dear life, her footsteps echoing in the eerie atmosphere of the night. She had not a silver of idea where she was headed; all she knew was that she had to get away from that godforsaken party to catch a breath of fresh air and clear her pounding head.

You are literally the most stuck up person in the tower.

What a nightmare!

A low, feral growl escaped the blonde's throat as Alicia's sharp voice cut through her mind, making her hands clench unconsciously. She could still feel the mocking eyes of the nearby students who had all looked on. She could still see the guilty faces of her friends as they stood back.

Well you know, it is sorta true, Annie. You do tend to be little…uptight.

Perhaps you could let go for one night?

Of course she could bloody well let go for one night. She could let all nights if she really wanted to. But she couldn't afford to, could she? The part that stung the most though, Annabeth concluded tersely, was just how fast they had all forgotten all the things she did for them while they were out throwing up. She was the one who cleaned up the common room after a party in the morning so that they wouldn't be caught while the rest of them would be upstairs in bed, totally hung over. She was the one that held Piper's hair back while she emptied her guts into the toilet and made sure the boys had enough Advil stocked on the bedside table. She was the one who helped them on their due essays because they were still too sore from last night. She was the only one who did all this because only she chose to be sober.

Not anymore Annabeth thought drunk, stumbling down the last step, hiccupping slightly. Maybe she had a tiny bit more liquor than what was necessary to prove a point.

Piper's voice suddenly rang in her ears.

Yeah, you know Annie. You need to be more…adventures.

Adventures. She'd show them adventures as soon as she figured out where the hell she was. The air had gotten chillier to the point where her breath misted in front of her and her hands visibly shook. The walls here were lower as compared to the west tower, the rough stones bigger and somehow a lot…darker.

Annabeth staggered to a halt, and after taking a few deep breathes, turned around to survey her surrounding, which she had neglected earlier thanks to her drunken stupor. Yes, the walls really were darker, and so was the air and everything else in the corridor. She felt like invisible tentacles were reaching out and stroking her barren skin that caused a cold shiver run down her spine. That same terrifying feeling out in the grounds a month earlier griped her heart and paralyzed her onto the freezing stones underneath her.

Something sinister invincible was lurking in the air, just out of her view. She felt something was watching her through the dark shadows, making her heart beat out of control.

She had to get out of here. This empty, silent corridor with a sense of…wrongness hanging heavily in the heavy air. She turned around and had taken a few steps back the way she came when a deep throated chuckle echoed off the walls, freezing her onto the floor.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." A voice said behind her "Little Chase all alone in the scary dungeons. I wonder what's going to happen now."

~0O0~

So again, infinite apologies for the unedited, short chapter, again. This chapter was supposed to be longer but being in the middle of terminal exams, I had to split it up.

My greatest thanks to all who took time to review last chapter! (I'll post my replies in the chapter;)) and also follow/ Favorite. You guys are AMAZING!

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