Summary: Annabeth Chase is a no one, spending her time studying, hiding from others, and burying herself deep into her past. To top it all off, this anti-social loner has the biggest crush on Percy Jackson—the most popular guy in school. Travel through the pain of high school with Annabeth as she watches her beloved one, hidden in the shadows.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians—it belongs to solely Rick Riordan.

~oOo~

HIDDEN IN THE SHADOWS

Prologue/Fake-Chapter One

The Irony of the Social Spectrum

~oOo~

The irony of this world I've come to live in never ceases to amaze me.

You see, Goode High School has a figurative scale of, let's say, people, ranging from unpopular at one end and popular at the other. If you looked far down enough at the end of the spectrum, you'd see the little red blip, marking the point where I, Annabeth Chase, an ordinary student at Goode High, stand.

At the other end of this hierarchy, however, stands Perseus "Percy" Jackson, undoubtedly the most popular guy in Goode.

So, what's so ironic? you may ask.

Despite my position in this social scale, I have somehow managed to fall for the untouchable, Percy Jackson.

But in all honesty, what girl hasn't?

With his lean, swimmer's body, deep, sea green eyes, and black hair that falls in front of his orbs, he most definitely was the best looking guy at Goode, and also the most popular, not only the amongst girls, but the throughout entire student body. That, right there, is a feat.

Me on the other hand? Curly blonde hair, plain gray eyes, tan skin. Not to be narcissistic, but I'm not necessarily fugly (as some people call others), but I'm not pretty either. I believe myself to be just okay to look at. A plain, but okay nerd.

At Goode, that's all that matters: looks. It's like: "Screw the personality! Screw the brains!" as if no one cares about it anymore. I seriously doubt that anyone does.

But maybe… maybe if they all looked past their own vain reflections in the mirror… they'd see me, hidden in the shadows.

And then maybe I would have a friend that actually cares about me, for who I am, not what I look like.

Maybe he would notice me for the first time.

Someday, maybe, but not in the near future.

After all, I am invisible to everyone.