A Deal with a Player

Chapter 3: The Deal

Annabeth POV

Silena's party was loud, but it wasn't very crowded. She only seemed to invite her friends and their acquaintances. I was keeping an eye on the punch bowl because Leo Valdez and the Stoll brothers were here. They were the pranksters of Goode High, so it wouldn't surprise me if they spiked the drinks.

As I grabbed some drinks for me and my friends, I was stopped by the Queen Bee: Drew. 

"What do you want, Drew?" I asked in annoyance. 

"I'm just surprised to see a nerd attending this party."

"Wow Drew, is that the best you got?" She had to be kidding herself if she thought that was clever. Her smile immediately wiped off her face. 

"Is there a problem here, Drew?" Thalia asked menacingly as she came up beside me. Everyone at our school, including Drew, was scared of Thalia, and rightfully so. 

She simply huffed a curse before storming off, probably to find her next male victim. 

"What did she want, Annabeth?" 

"Nothing, just Drew being Drew," I said with a laugh. "Here, take some of these drinks because I cannot hold them all." 

"Yup, I got 'em," she said as we both continued walking towards the backdoor. Most of the party was happening in the backyard since Silena had a pool. 

People were roaming around and dancing to the loud music blaring. Piper and Jason were dancing together on the left side of the yard. Hazel and Rachel were sitting at a table nearby. Thalia and I maneuvered our way through a group of jocks in order to get to our friends. 

Suddenly, I felt a hand grope my butt, and anger spread throughout my body. I whirled around and threw my drink in the guy's face. 

"Don't you dare touch me," I spat into the guy's face before realizing who it was. 

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry if I touched you. I didn't mean to," Luke said firmly. 

"I, err Luke, I'm so sorry. I thought you were some pervert." I immediately felt bad because I knew that Luke wasn't like that. I think. 

"Wait, Luke what are you doing here?" I asked. Luke and I had dated for a couple of months, but then, he had to move away last year. He was my first love, so we tried the long-distance thing, but it didn't work out. We both mutually decided to end it. 

"I'm actually moving back to Goode High," he said with a smile as he wiped his face. 

"Wait, oh my gosh, really?"

"Yup." 

We stood there staring at each other until I went in for a hug. Thalia cleared her throat behind me to split us up. She wasn't a fan of the mushy-gushy relationships stuff. 

"Oh, hey, Thalia. How's it going?" 

"I'm good, Luke," she replied simply. 

"So, Annabeth. I was actually wondering if maybe we could pick up where we left off."

I stared at Luke's handsome face. It was very hard to get over him after we broke up, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to him. 

"Can I think about it for a few days?" I asked gently. 

His smile wavered a little, but he replied with an 'absolutely'. I smiled at him before walking away. I couldn't believe that Luke was back. I genuinely didn't know how I felt about his return. I was happy, but something didn't feel right. 

***

"Annabeth, why were you talking to Luke?" Piper and Silena asked simultaneously. 

"Luke told me that he moved back into town. He'll be back at Goode High for the next year."