Luke Castellan
I stare longingly at Annabeth's rigid form. How long will she go on like this?

"You can't just ignore me forever, you know." She jumps a foot into the air when I speak.

"Why not?" Typical Annabeth.

"Because in a few hours, we're going to be on national TV. If you refuse to even look at me, people will ask questions. Do you really want everyone to know what happened?"

Annabeth turns to look at me, and her face is wet with tears. "I want to know, Luke. Why did you do what you did? And why did you run away instead of staying to fix things?"

As much as I want to tell her everything, I can't. Not now. "I couldn't stay with Thalia.   Not when-"

"Why couldn't you just break up with her? Why did you have to break her heart?"

I'd forgotten how hard it is to argue with Annabeth. "I- I just couldn't do that, okay? I just thought-"

"You were a coward! You were afraid to face her, so you cheated on her instead! You cheated on Thalia! We were best friends, Luke! How could you ruin that?"

She's right. I was a coward. I couldn't just dump Thalia. I would've needed to supply an explanation. I couldn't explain my actions without telling them both everything.

"I didn't want to leave, Annabeth, but how could I stay? Maybe you might have forgiven me eventually, but Thalia never would've. Our friendship wouldn't have been the same."

Her face is expressionless, but I know she's pondering what to do. I don't have to wait long for her decision. "What makes you think I would've forgiven you? What makes you think I care? Because I don't. I stopped caring the moment you left. And nothing you can say or do will change that."

I know what I'm about to do is a bad idea, but I can't hide my feelings from her any longer. "Maybe this will."

Without a second thought, I lean forward and press my lips against hers. I wait for her to pull away, to rebuke me, but she doesn't. Instead, Annabeth pulls me closer to her and kisses me back.

I realize she's still crying, and I'm not sure what to do. One part of me says to make out with her, and another part tells me that's the last thing she needs right now. Our lips separate, and she rest her head on my shoulder.

"I missed you, Luke."

She has no idea how much those words mean to me. "I missed you too."

Our romantic moment is cut short when my stylist, Drew, walks into the room. Trailing behind her is a boy with curly brown hair who can't be more than fourteen. Drew's eyes widen when she sees us, and we instantly jump away from each other. Annabeth is blushing furiously. 

There is an awkward silence, which Annabeth eventually breaks. "Luke, this is my stylist, Leo." She glances at Leo, who waves sheepishly. Seriously? That kid is a stylist? I must have given him an incredulous look, because he defends himself.

"I'm short, okay? You don't need to make this so awkward!" Drew rolls her eyes and gives me a look. Am I forgetting something? Oh, right.

"Um, this is Drew...." I don't think Annabeth heard me. She and Drew are glaring at each other. Talk about awkward. Before long, Annabeth speaks.

"Look, Luke, I really need to go get ready. See you at the parade, okay?" Leo heads out the door, and Annabeth starts to follow, but I grab her hand. 

"Annabeth wait I-" I feel something cold and hard in her hand. I look down and see the ring on her finger. I try to inspect it more closely, but she pulls away.

"I'm sorry, Luke." I could swear I saw tears glistening in her eyes.

I turn back to Drew, who is, for some unfathomable reason, smirking. "She really didn't tell you?" 

"Tell me what?"

She sighs. "I'm so sorry you have to hear this from me, Luke. I thought she would've told you." Drew pauses, letting the suspense grow.

"She's engaged, Luke." No. She has to be lying. She just wants to turn me against Annabeth. I tell myself that, but I'm not very convincing. When I look into Drew's eyes, I see that she is telling the truth. 

The question is, to who? I already know the answer. Percy Jackson. He's the reason I cheated on Thalia in the first place. Sure, Thalia's nice enough, but it's always been Annabeth that I loved. I just couldn't stick around once Percy came. It was obvious that they liked each other, and I couldn't bare watching them fall in love.

Why didn't she tell me? I ask myself that question, but deep down I know. She doesn't trust me. She still sees me as that boy who abandoned her and Thalia six years ago. I can't change that. I can't make her love me. 

Maybe if I had time, she would grow to love me. But we haven't got much. At this point, the best I can do is help her win. Get her out of the arena. Send her home to the people who love her. If Annabeth is happy, that's good enough for me.

So.... LUKABETH..... Mwahahahaha. I love to mess with the emotions of my characters and my readers.  red_flower17, I know you hate me. You tell me that all the time. So you don't need to comment that you hate me. Everyone else, I really don't care if you hate me. Lolz.