Title: Untangling Knots

Why? Because this is just a tangle of emotions that needs to get sorted out.

Chapter One: Moving

A/N: Thanks again for choosing to read my story. For this one, I decided to go AU. I know lots of stories are about Percy and Annabeth in an AU high school setting, but, well, here's my version.

Summary: So the characters are maybe 17-ish; just somewhere in their high school years. It pretty much follows the basics of the series, but in an AU form. You'll see what I mena. Annabeth Chase has to move from Virginia to California and then to New York, constantly being separated from and united with her crush Luke, who is oblivious to her feeligns. Along the way, she meets Thalia, who becomes practically her sister, and Grover. Percy Jackson has been a New Yorker his whole life. The only moving he's done is from school to school. Eventually, he meets Annabeth, the goody-two-shoes know-it-all. Then he meets Rachel, and she seems a little more up his alley. But suddenly, there's something cute about how excited architecture makes Annabeth. And let's not forget his family vacation, where he discovers some little place (the one that girl calls Ogygia) while exploring. Oh yeah, and then there's Luke. Talk about a tangled up knot.

Because the books don't give Annabeth's stepmom a name, I'm calling her Helen.

So yeah, this is my story. It starts with a sort of prologue.

Hope you enjoy!

Annabeth's POV

Ever since Dad married that lady, everything's always been about her. "Annabeth, what do you want for dinner tonight?" "Pizza sounds good." "Oh, Frederick, I'm in the mood for Chinese food." "Alright, Chinese food it is." "But Dad, can we at least vote or something?" "Annabeth, you like Chinese food, don't you?" "Well yeah but-" "Then it's settled – we're having Chinese. Hand me the phone." Irritates me so much. I live in Virginia. I have all of my friends here; everything I've ever known is here. And of course, there's Luke. He's older than me, but that doesn't matter. He has sandy blond hair and crisp blue eyes that twinkle when he laughs. He's sweet, funny, smart – everything. But of course, when Helen decides she would like to live in California, we all have to obey her wishes and move. I have two little step borthers. They were pretty pumped to go to California, but I sure wasn't. Everything is always about what Helen wants, which is completely unfair. But who knows? Maybe something good will happen.

Percy's POV

"Mr. Jackson," I pulled my attention away form the window to look at my teacher, Mrs. Dodds. She was my algebra teacher; perfect – my least favorite subject taught by my least favorite teacher. I tried to focus on what sh had been saying, but I gave up around the first two minutes of class. I sighed. This was my about my tenth school. It seemed I hated every school I went to more than the last. And yet, I keep getting expelled. Well, maybe if I went to a school I liked, I'd actually try to stay. I zoned Mrs. Dodds out for the last few minutes of class. Not that I was anxious for the bell to ring – I have after-school detention, again. This school was so boring. Nothing good ever happened. There was supposed to be a new kid coming soon. Maybe he or she will be okay.

Chapter 1 Annabeth

"Flight 21A with service to San Fransisco, California . . ." Ugh, this was it – my flight. I sighed. I was leaving everything behind because Helen wanted to live in California. Great going, Dad. Glad to know you've got your priorities straight. It turns out Luke moved away first. I remember that day so clearly, it still hurts.

- Flashback -

"Hey, Annabeth," I felt my face warm as Luke walked over to me. We were at the local park, where we had agreed to meet. I had planned on telling him about my moving, but he beat me to the conversation about leaving. "Listen, Annabeth, there's something I gotta tell you. I'll be straight up honest – you're not gonna like this." Oh no, bad news? About what? Is he dating someone? "I'm moving." I sat there in stunned silence. Then, a tiny spark of hope ignited in me. "I'm moving, too" He smiled. He was thinking the same thing I was. "Really? Where? Maybe we're going to the same place!" I beamed at him. "San Fransisco." His smile faded. "Manhattan. On the opposite side of the country." "I know where Manhattan is, Luke." We sat there in silence. I felt like crying, but I held my tears back. I was not about to cry in front of Luke and look weak. His phone buzzed. He checked and his expression turned grim. "Sorry, Annabeth. My mom. She said I have to get home to pack. But you have my email, and number, and Skyoe – you can email me, call me, text me, Skype me – anything, anytime." He gave me a loose hug and disappeared down the street. Just like that. Like I didn't mean enough to him for him to stay a little longer. As soon as he was gone, the waterworks started. I dabbed my eyes with my sleeve. I should probably go pack, too.

- End Flashback -

Luke had left last week. He hadn't even said a proper goodbye. Am I invisible? I've been giving him hints for the past year, and he hasn't caught on. My friend said maybe he didn't like the idea of dating someone younger than him. If that was true, then I'm gonna die. I lifted the handle of my rolling suitcase and pulled it towards the waiting area. I sat down between my brothers Bobby and Mathew. "Annabeth! Move! I want to sit next to Bobby!" "Yeah, Annabeth! Move your butt from my seat!" I rolled my eyes. "How can this be your seat if you were sitting there?" "I was going to sit there! Mathew was saving that seat for me! Move!" They both started poking me on opposite sides. "Annabeth, Bobby, Mathew-" My dad started but was cut off by Mathew. "Hey, Dad! You should say my name, first! I'm older!" I sighed. "You're twins." "Yeah, but one of us had to come out first. Right, Mom? I was born first?" Mathew turned to his mother, who smiled at me. "It doesn't matter. Annabeth is right – you are twins of the same age." She tried to be motherly with me, but it didn't work. It was gonna take a lot more than fake smiles to fill the space of mother. "But you were already born first! Isn't that enough? So shouldn't I be first with everything else?" Bobby tried to aargue, but I didn't find it a very legitimate argument. Instead of wating around for them to decide who should be called first, I lined up with the other passengers. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Annabeth, I know you're upset about moving, but this could be a great opportunity for you! And California is a beautiful state, with beaches and spas and malls – all a girl could dream for!" Well, she clearly didn't know what kind of girl I was. Maybe that was great for her, but for me, that's like saying, "Oh Annabeth – let's move to prison!" I ignored her. She continued to try and reason with me, but I ignored her. "Excuse me," I said as smoothly as I could manage, "But I'm going to miss my flight." I brushed past her and walked up to the desk. After we all passed into the plane, we found our seats. I don't like sitting on the aisle and sitting by the window meant thinking about leaving Virginia below, so I sat in the middle. Bobby sat by the window, and Mathew was on my other side. "Hey! I wanna sit in the window seat!" Mathew cried. "No! You can sit there when we fly back!" "We're moving! Who knows when we'll be on a plane again?" "Annabeth move so Mathew can sit next to me!" "Yeah! Move! You don't want to see out the window but I do so move!" They started poking me from both sides and protesting. My dad and Helen had already put headphones on so they didn't hear the noise. Ugh, this was gonna be a long flight.

A/N: Yeah I know – not that good. But it'll get better when the other characters come in. Besides, this is my first actual story – the others are one-shots so cut me some slack.

I'll probably update on Saturdays.

R&R

- Promise