Annabeth's POV

Everything was in place.

From the looks of it all so far, this prank was going to be great. Everyone would be in the halls, preparing for their next class. He would humiliate himself in front of all those people.

And best of all, I would get sweet revenge. He would be covered in raw egg, and everyone would see it. He would be humiliated. And I know that he hates attention, so he'll be extremely uncomfortable. The thought made me smirk.

I was positioned perfectly so that I could see the entire thing unfold. It gave me the perfect camera angle. The hallway was beginning to become more crowded as the minutes passed.

Now all I had to do was wait.

><•><

After what seemed like years, Jackson finally came to his locker.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He opened his locker, and it was like I saw each balloon burst against him, covering him in eggs. I watched him step back, his jaw drop and his hands fly up. Once all the balloons had fell, everything was dead silent. I walked up and started laughing.

"HAHAHAHA—YOUR FACE—HAHAHAHA!"

Asshole was fuming. He turned to me, his green irises looking more dangerous, wild. He looked like he was ready to murder someone. Me, in particular. His clothes were covered in egg yolks and whites, as was the floor.

Everyone else started laughing. Jackson didn't turn around to face them, he stayed looking in my direction. He sighed and closed his eyes, dropping his head and shaking off his hands.

Eventually, a teacher—I forgot her name—came out of her classroom and told everyone to get to class. She then walked over to Jackson. I quickly ducked behind the corner and ran to class, silently laughing. I heard the teacher yell.

"Percy Jackson! What is this?" She shrieked. "Principle Minerva's office, now!"

This was followed by clip-clopping of high heels, and the squeaking of sneakers.

><•><

"Hello, Asshole." I said in a cheery voice as I threw my bag down next to Jackson. His clothes were stained, but dry by now. I smirked.

He looked up at me. "Wiseass." He then resumed what he was doing. I did a double-take when I saw what it was that he was doing. He was eating cookies.

Blue cookies.

"The fuck?" I said after sitting down, noticeably looking at his snack.

"What?" He asked, chewing his cookie.

"They're blue."

"And?" He asked with attitude.

"Fuck you." I pulled out my P. B. & J. sandwich. I took a bite of my lunch as I searched through my bag for my earbuds. I sighed when I didn't see them. "Fuck my life." I muttered a little loudly.

"What?" He didn't sound very concerned. It was more like he wanted to know so he could relish in my dismay.

"I forgot my earbuds."

He stayed silent for a few moments, as if debating something in his head. "Welp. Sucks for you." He went back to his cookies.

"You really are an asshole." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You didn't give me that nickname for nothing,"

"I really hate you."

"The feeling's mutual."

><•><

I got home and was finally able to listen to my music. I went to my room and plugged in my earbuds.

You call me up
It's like a broken record
Sayin that your heart hurts
That you'll never get over him getting over you

I was just in my room, jamming out to my wonderful taste in music when I was interrupted.

"Pumpkin?" My dad knocked on the open door.

"What's up?" I pulled out my earbuds.

"I think it would be a good idea if you take Bobby and Matthew to the park. All three of you could use some time in the sun, especially you. What do you say?"

I thought for a minute. I haven't spent time with the little shits in a while. Why the fuck not? "Sure."

"Thank you. Just be back at 5 for dinner."

"'Kay." And with that, he walked off down the stairs.

><•><

"Come here, you little monster!" I chased after Bobby as he squealed.

"Come on, Bobby!" Matthew waved his brother over to the swings. "And, safe!" He yelled as Bobby grabbed onto the swing.

"Aw, dang it!" I said. "You out ran me, bud!" I said.

"Ha! I win." He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Yeah. We win, Annie!" Matthew joined in, also sticking out his tongue.

"Hey, that's not nice." I poked their tongues.

"Ew!" They exclaimed. Squealing then followed, for I had picked up Matthew and spun him around.

"Matty!" Bobby said as he tried to grab his brother.

"No! Bobby, help!"

"Mwahahaha! I will steal you from your precious twin!" I exclaimed before running off to the slide, Matthew laughing and yelling for help as his brother chased us.

Bobby caught up to me. "Ha! I got you now, Annie! Matty, grab my hand!" Matthew did as he was told.

I then placed Matthew down and let Bobby take him, saying, "No! You have defeated me once again!" Then we all laughed.

"Alright." I said, out of breath. "I think that's enough play time for one day."

"No!" They both protested.

"We have to go home for dinner. Mommy said to be home by 5, and it's," I checked my phone. "4:51. We have to go if we wanna be on time."

"Okay." They said sadly.

"Maybe we'll come tomorrow."

"Okay." Their tone was a bit more cheery. Then we headed home.

><•><

I was just lying flat on my bed, staring at the ceiling when my ADHD kicked in. My mind decided to be an asshole and was like, oh, let's be really annoying today and think about something that we really don't want to think about.

Jackson.

I thought about all the times I saw bruises or cuts on his arms or face. I had so many questions.

Was he abused?

If so, by who?

Did he do it to himself?

Did he have some sort of accident?

Yet, no answers.

And it was driving me insane.

It was something new. I had never been so curious before. Sure, somethings have popped up and I have thought, oh, that shit's a little weird. I wonder if... but then it dies down, because if it doesn't concern me, I most likely don't give a shit. And this really didn't interfere with my life at all; it was simply curiosity. And I was defenseless against my ADHD brain.

I decided that I needed to clear my head. I remembered when we first moved here, I did some exploring. I had found a huge pond, with a small dock. I jumped off my bed, pulling on my converse. I grabbed my things—sketch pad, colored pencils, earbuds, phone—and threw them in my bag.

I grabbed my board and quietly snuck to the front door. Helen was in the den, and my dad had left earlier on another trip for his job. I checked my phone, seeing it was 7:04p.m. The sun was just starting to set. Helen wouldn't be happy with me going out at night like this, without her consent or knowledge of it, but since when did I give a fuck?

And with that, I slipped out the front door and off into the night.

•••

Author's note

GUYS THIS IS IT. HERE WE GO. GET HYPED.

Thanks for all the reads!! Don't forget to vote, comment, etc. thanks and love you guys!
-bella💕