Let's face it. I was a fifteen year old boy. I had never dealt with a girl crying, clutching me so hard it was as if I was to only thing tethering her to the earth. I had no idea what I was doing, so I did what I always seemed to do. I winged it.

"Shh," I whispered into her hair. "Calm down, Annabeth. Deep breaths, alright?"

I felt her nod against my chest. I stroked her hair more, because not only did it seem to calm her down, but it was also very silky against my hands.

I reluctantly pulled myself from Annabeth, and took her appearance in. She had dark circles beneath her eyes, red cheeks, chapped lips, and tears streaming down her face. I wiped them away with my thumbs quickly.

"Please tell me why you're crying, Wise Girl. I need to know so I can help you."

"I don't know why I'm crying, Percy. I never cry. What's wrong with me?!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, hey, nothing is wrong with you. I'm sure it's just a lot of stress weighing you down. Has anything been straining you recently?"

Annabeth nodded.

"Do you want to, you know, specify?" I asked quietly.

She sniffled. "I guess so. Just - promise you won't tell anyone."

"Always."

A small smile appeared on her lips as she stuck out her pinky. I breathed out a laugh and entwined my pinky with hers.

"Now it's official," I stated.

"Yeah. So, um - you know Luke. I hadn't seen him in a while, but one day I ran into him at the store when I was running errands for Helen. He t-told me he missed me, and the we needed to keep in touch. So we did. We met up again at the park a few Wednesdays ago, the one before your movie hang out that Saturday. I ended up inviting him to the hangout, obviously. Then, on the way h-home, we stopped for gas. He had to go inside to give them the cash, and that's when I took a little look around h-his car. There was s-so many cans of beer, Percy."

My eyes widened. I didn't expect that from Luke.

She continued, "The floor in the back was covered. There was also so many cigarette butts. I had no idea that he was into that stuff, I swear. But I didn't confront him until our run Saturday, and he didn't really say anything. He just told me it wasn't my business. But yesterday he called me, and he was screaming at me, He t-told me it was my fault. What was my fault? I don't know what's going on, Percy."

"Oh, Annabeth." I hugged her again, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this. You shouldn't be the one addressing Luke's problems. He should've dealt with them himself."

"I don't mind that part," she admitted, burying her face in my shoulder. "We've always helped each other out of trouble. But what was he blaming me for, Percy? I haven't done anything wrong...have I?"

"Never," I promised. "I'm sure that he was just under the influence, or something. He just wasn't in the right state of mind."

I was trying really hard to focus on Annabeth's words, and not her arms wrapped around my shoulders, or her lips brushing my neck, or the fact that she was practically sitting on my lap.

"Have you talked to Thalia about it?" I croaked. "Does she know?"

"I haven't gotten the chance to get in touch with her," Annabeth told me. "But I'm guessing she knows. I'm assuming that this isn't new news."

I glanced at the alarm clock on Annabeth's nightstand. School would start in less than ten minutes.

"Are you planning on going to school today, Annabeth?"

She shook her head.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"I want you to, but I don't need you to. You can go to school, Seaweed Brain."

I sighed, removing myself from Annabeth's grip once again. "Alright. I've got to get going, but I'll keep in touch through out the day."

"Okay. Thank you, Percy. I really needed that talk."

"No worries, Wise Girl."

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I've never experienced a slower school day in my life. It was only lunchtime, but it felt like I had lived through the day three times over. I ended up sneaking my phone into most of my classes, texting Annabeth every few minutes. Call me obsessive, I don't care. I was worried about her. She didn't approve, obviously, but I was being careful to not get caught.

I made sure my phone was securely in my swim hoodie that I was practically suffocating in. It was a little under seventy degrees Fahrenheit outside, and I was not dressed properly. Sure, I had a few rips in my jeans, but that was clearly not enough.

I plopped at our typical table beside Grover. Calypso sat across from me, and Rachel was beside her.

"Missing someone?" Rachel teased, waving a carrot at me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm worried about her. You guys didn't see her this morning. She was a hot mess."

Grover snickered. "A hot mess, Perce?"

"Be quiet, man."

"Sorry, sorry, I had to take the opportunity."

"It's fine. So, how's Juniper, G-Man? Have you asked her out yet?"

His eyed went wide and he blushed. "N-no," he stuttered out. "No way! She's way out of my league, Perce!"

Rachel laughed. "She's crazy for you, Grover. Take the chance."

"Really?"

Calypso laughed. "I'll buy you a whole platter of enchiladas if she rejects you. That's how confident I am, Grover."

"Okay," Grover finally agreed. "I'll do it during our next class together."

I smiled, glad one of my best friends was going to get what he wanted.

"How 'bout you, Percy?" Calypso asked.

"What about me, Caly?"

"Have you gotten a date to Spring Fling yet?"

I shook my head. "I've had other priorities. I'll probably go stag, like Rachel."

"Anyone's welcome to join the club," Rachel offered.

"Maybe I will, but I was kind of hoping somebody would ask me," Caly admitted.

I shrugged. "Maybe someone will."

Her hazel eyes lit up, but she directed her gaze to her food. I wondered if she had a certain person in mind, and if I had just accidentally given her reassurance. Perhaps she was into someone I was friends with, and thought I was giving her the go ahead.

Or, maybe she thinks I'm going to ask her, a small part of my brain whispered. Was my mom right?

I shook the thought away. It didn't matter if Calypso liked me, because I didn't like her. I would be gentle with her feelings no matter what, though.

With that happy thought in mind, I continued with my day. I skipped swim practice and went straight to Annabeth's house, which I definitely shouldn't have done with the meet being only two days away. What can I say, I was concerned for my friend.

"Knockity knockity," I called, opening my best friend's bedroom door.

"Percy? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at practice?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, but I had more important things to attend to."

She smiled. "Come sit, and tell me about your day."

I happily obliged, sitting beside Annabeth on her comfy bed. I explained how slow the day went, but made sure to over exaggerate it to get her to laugh. I then told her about Grover's trials with his crush, Juniper. I didn't dampen her mood with my suspicions of Calypso's feelings for me, because that always seemed to put her in a bad mood.

See? I'm not always an oblivious mess. Just...most of the time.

"How was your day?" I asked her. "Did you get some rest?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, and I got in touch with Thalia. She said she's going to be home in time for your meet."

I smiled, grateful for my cousin. She had always made Annabeth happy, which made me happy.

"I can't wait."

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Two chapters yesterday, and another today? I'm on fire! I really hope you liked this chapter! I think it was pretty cute, how bout you? Leave a vote if you enjoyed, and comment your least favorite school subject. At the moment I've been hating science.

See you soon!