𝑨𝒍𝒍'𝒔 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒚

Hanging Out

Annabeth's p.o.v.

"Alright," Piper says, "Lets play a game. We all go around in a circle, and tell everyone the most recently acquired contact in our phones."

Uh oh, I think. The most recently acquired contact in my phone just so happens to be a certain captain of the hockey team. 

"Clarisse, you first," Piper says.

"Okay..." Clarisse says, a bit hesitantly. "Chris Rodriguez."

"Stop right there," Piper says, holding her hand up in the universal 'stop' gesture. "When you say 'Chris Rodriguez, do you mean, 'smoking hot senior captain of the football team Chris Rodriguez?"

"That's the one," Clarisse says, with a bashful smile so adorable, that my first thought was, that look doesn't belong on her face.

Piper's jaw drops, and Clarisse shoves her playfully. 

"Oh, come on, McLean," she says. "I'm a senior too, ya know."

"Yea, but Chris Rodriguez," Piper says, still looking awed.

"Anyway," Katie interrupts, "Hazel, you're next."

"Piper," Hazel says.

"Really?" Reyna asks. 

"Yes," Hazel says, looking confused. "Why?"

"It's just that," Rachel interrupts, "you and Piper have been friends for almost a year, it's just surprising that you haven't gotten any new contacts since then."

"Oh," Hazel says, still looking confused. "Well, Rachel, it's your turn."

"Kay," Rachel says. "Thalia Grace. She's a barista at the coffee shop down the road from my place." 

"Oh I know her," I blurt without thinking.

"How?" Rachel asks.

"Ummmm," I say hesitantly. "I just talked to her at the coffee place once." 

In truth, she was the one who found me crying in an alley after I tried to run away.

I was seven, and Helen was having a bad day. I had made her angry, so she locked me in the cleaning supply closet under the sink. That closet has always been infested with spiders. She forgot about me, and I was left in there over night. My dad had been out of town that night, so even if he would have helped, he couldn't have. When Helen let me out the next day, my eyes were puffy and red from crying, and I was covered from head to toe in large, ugly, red spider bites, with cobwebs tangled in my hair. All Helen did was look at me disgustedly and yell "Go take a shower!" Right in my face. 

I started sobbing again and ran up the stairs to my bedroom. I used a hairbrush to comb out the cobwebs, and put some ointment on my spider bites. You may think seven is too young  to do these things by myself, but I had always had to be resourceful, having Helen for a stepmom, and she had my dad wrapped around her little finger, so I never got anything easy.

I had packed my backpack with clothes and a water bottle, and as soon as I heard Helen go out, I rushed downstairs, and shoved a bag of potato chips, two apples, and a Snickers bar into my backpack. I had opened the window and ran down the fire escape, taking the stairs two at a time. I hit the pavement running and I ran as far as I could go. I found a hammer on the ground, and knew it would come in handy, but I didn't know how, so I had tucked it into my bag and kept running.

As the sun started to set, I had found a dead end alley to hide In for the night. I tucked myself behind a sheet of plywood that was leaned up against the wall, the end touching the dead end of the alley so that it made a cave with one entrance, and I had shoved my backpack in that entrance, after taking out a sweatshirt, my hammer, and the Snickers bar. I put the sweatshirt on, then proceeded to eat the Snickers and sob. I had already wasted one of my apples distracting a stray dog.

Just then I had heard something. I tensed, my crying stopped abruptly. "Hello?" a voice called. The voice was female, not more than twelve years old. "Hello?" it called again. It sounded nice, but it also sounded like the kind of voice that could talk some serious smack if needed.

"I heard you," the voice said, and I decided to answer. I burst out of my tiny cave, hammer in one hand, half eaten Snickers bar in the other.

"Don't hurt me!" I had cried. The girl had short black hair and electric blue eyes, a leather jacket and heavy boots.

"Don't worry," she said with a kind smile. "I would never, never, hurt a single bone in your body. Ever." She held out her hand, and I took it. I know now it sounds stupid. She could have done anything, abducted me, killed me, but I somehow knew she wouldn't. I can't explain the feeling, even now, years later. And I'm glad I trusted her. She saved my life. And in the process, I made one of my closest friends. 

"What's your name?" she asked me. 

"Annabeth," I said.

"I've never heard that name before," she told me. "I like it. I'm Thalia. Thalia Grace."

She grabbed my bag, and took me home. 

"Oh, okay," Rachel says, drawing me out of my memories. "Katie, your turn."

"Oh, well," Katie says, "my younger sister Miranda just got her first phone, so it's her."

"Boring," Piper groans in a playful tone. "Next!"

"Some sophomore named Octavian," Reyna says calmly. "He seemed a little unstable, but hey, if he turns out to be a psychopath murderer, I can always block him."  

"Well then," Piper says, looking a bit worried for Reyna. "My turn! Okay, her name is Ella, I didn't get her last name, but she's the quiet girl who always actually studies during free periods, with the red hair?"

"Yea, I know her," I say. "I was partnered with her for an English project, and I'm glad I was, because I'm pretty sure she has every book in the school library memorized," I laugh.

"Yea," Piper says, giggling. "Your turn, Annie."

I glare at her. "Don't call me Annie," I say. "Okay," I take a deep breath, " Percy Jackson."

Piper's jaw dropped to the floor. "Percy. Jackson?" she said. "What did you have to do to get his number? Blackmail him? Drop down on your knees and beg?"

"Um, he asked me." I say. "For my number."

"WHAT?!" everyone says in unison.

"Well, he saw me skating, and wanted my number," I say.

"How," Piper says, "exactly, do you sound so casual about that?!"

"Probably because I don't care," I say.

"How?" Piper says, "How?!"

"Anyway," Rachel cuts in, "time for a subject change!"

1131 words! You don't even understand how happy that makes me!!

 Also,  just a reminder, I own none of the characters, except for any ocs, (I don't have any yet), Or the fan art! I own nothing but the plot! Until we meet again, 

                                                                                                                           -Clarisse