2 - Different ways

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Annabeths POV

Naturally, I kept a steady pace walking down the rain covered road, wanting to get to the sheltered prison called school, as fast as humanly possible.

Don't get me wrong here, I loved learning. It's like collecting your own personal library of knowledge in your brain. But Percy had been gone for just over a year now, and as pretty much anyone could've predicted, things got bad again.

"Watch it!"

A heavy weight knocked into me, and I landed face first on the hard, unforgivingly cold asphalt.

I let lose a cry in surprise of the sudden impact. I grunted with disapproval, pushing up onto my knees, assessing the damage.

My hands were scraped up, but it was hardly anything I couldn't deal with. Besides my hands stinging and my brain practically itching to cry out in frustration, I was fine.

I dragged myself off the ground and began, "What kind of indecent human being-" My voice failed me as I looked up and finally saw what the "impact" had been that crashed into me. No one but my least favourite person in the world. Luke.

Just my luck, I thought angrily, of course I would run into Luke.

"Hey, hey. Annie, what are you doing out here in the rain? You know, science proves that you can get a cold."

He glared daggers into me, but I glared right back, just as determined.

"Oh, yeah? Well science also proves that idiots are bound to end up on the streets."

Just as I turned to run his fingers wrapped around my bracelet covered wrist, as if he'd predicted my desperate attempt to flea.

"You're not just going to leave now are you, Annie? Where's your precious Percy when you need him, eh?"

He spoke with a far away look in his eyes. Others who had ever had the misfortune of having to face Luke always claimed that he wasn't really... there, mentally when he was physically. Only now did I truly grasp the hint they'd been trying to present to me. He was completely mad.

"Luke. I have to get to class and it's... It's raining."

My earlier reasons for getting to school early no longer seemed very valid with Luke towering over me. The soothing sound of the rain engulfed the two of us for a split-second, as though the world had stopped.

The calm before the storm.

"Luke," I spoke softly, remembering the times I'd tried to calm others- soothing your inner self into a calmer state of mind.

"Let me go."

To my surprise, he loosened his grip a bit. I took the chance I got and bolted.
I sprinted for my life towards school, towards safety.

The bell rang just as I got to my locker. I was drenched from the rain, but I'd been wearing a hoodie, so thankfully I didn't look like I'd just took a morning dip in the ocean. Once I was in class, I barely managed a whispered a 'here' during registration.

My run-in with Luke had shaken the usual upbeat tone out of me. The thing is- I could take care of myself. The only thing that could possibly screw it up now was running into Luke again.

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