((A/N Hey guys! So I usually don't like writing two fanfics at the same time, as I usually prioritize one over the other, but I had this wonderful idea that I couldn't help but develop... and here it is. I came up with the idea while listening to Phillip Phillip's song, Gone, Gone, Gone. If ya'll want to get the gist of this story, read the lyrics; the verses and bridge are Annabeth's POV, and the Chorus is Percy's POV (in BOLD). This whole story is written in Annabeth's POV unless otherwise specified. This story is much heavier than my others; there will not be as much humor, and there will be a lot of crying. I apologize for this in advance. Disclaimer: Ciharacters and all the jazz belong to the ever-talented troll, Rick Riordan. R&R!:)))
"Gone, Gone, Gone"
When life leaves you high and dry
I'll be at your door tonight
If you need help, if you need help.
I'll shut down the city lights,
I'll lie, cheat, I'll beg and bribe
To make you well, to make you well.
When enemies are at your door
I'll carry you away from war
If you need help, if you need help.
Your hope dangling by a string
I'll share in your suffering
To make you well, to make you well.
Give me reasons to believe
That you would do the same for me.
And I would do it for you, for you.
Baby, I'm not moving on
I love you long after you're gone.
For you, for you.
You would never sleep alone.
I love you long after you're gone
And long after you're gone, gone, gone.
When you fall like a statue
I'm gon' be there to catch you
Put you on your feet, you on your feet.
And if your well is empty
Not a thing will prevent me.
Tell me what you need, what do you need?
I surrender honestly.
You've always done the same for me.
So I would do it for you, for you.
Baby, I'm not moving on,
I love you long after you're gone.
For you, for you.
You would never sleep alone.
I love you long after you're gone
And long after you're gone, gone, gone.
You're my back bone.
You're my cornerstone.
You're my crutch when my legs stop moving.
You're my head start.
You're my rugged heart.
You're the pulse that I've always needed.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum my heart never stops beating...
For you, for you.
Baby, I'm not moving on.
I love you long after you're gone.
For you, for you.
You would never sleep alone.
I love you long after you're gone.
For you, for you.
Baby, I'm not moving on,
I love you long after you're gone.
For you, for you.
You would never sleep alone.
I love you long, long after you're gone.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum my heart never stops beating for you.
And long after you're gone, gone, gone.
I love you long after you're gone, gone, gone.
I died on March 6th, 2014. I was 18 years old, good and healthy, which is rare for a demigod. Honestly, I shouldn't have died. It was an accident, but sometimes even accidents are very purposeful.
Immediately after it happened, I was sent to Charon, who put me through to the Underworld, where I stood before the judges, shaking and afraid. They read aloud all of the good and bad things I'd done in my life. Some made me grimace. Some made me smile. All made me cry.
My good things outweighed the bad by far, and they offered me Elysium. I turned it down. I asked for something else instead. They looked confused, but quietly considered my request, which eventually they accepted. And I was on my way back home.
When I arrived, my funeral had just ended. Everyone's eyes were red, and my close friends sat together, all looking so pained it hurt me. There were rows of chairs, most of them deserted. I didn't see my family. That's okay, though. I didn't expect them to show up.
Smoke still rose from my shroud, and I found myself walking up to it. In front of the lump wrapped in smoking silver cloth, he kneeled. His face was pale, and his eyes were red, and his fists were curled tight.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice catching on nearly every word, "I'm so sorry."
My heart twisted inside my chest, and I reached out to comfort him. But my hand passed through his shoulder. He didn't even flinch.
I couldn't stop myself from crying, and I knelt next to him, telling him it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. He couldn't hear me.
Then he stood, sharp and rigid, and began running. I followed him past crowds of kids, past the Big House, and to his cabin.
He slammed the door, but I passed right through it. I covered my mouth with my hand as he thrashed around, screaming and crying and breaking everything in sight. A chair sailed through my head and shattered against the wall behind me.
"Stop it!" I yell. He didn't stop. He just kept breaking things and punching holes in the wall until his cabin looked like hell. Then he sank to the floor and put his face in his hands and bawled. I crept forward and ran my fingers through his hair. His body shook with sobs.
"I love you," he whispered quietly, to no one and to nothing. I know he was talking to me.
"I love you, too." I whispered back. I stayed with him until he cried himself to sleep, on the floor, surrounded by debris. And then I left, unable to see anymore sorrow.
No one gave me so much as a glance as I walked towards the lake. A few little kids even ran through me, laughing and poking at each other with wooden swords.
I dipped my toes in the water, but it didn't ripple. A breeze shook the nearby trees, but I didn't feel it. I was dead. I am still dead.
I found the place where I died, surrounded by already withering roses and pictures of me: me when I was first found on my father's doorstep, me on my first day of kindergarten, me on my father's wedding day, me with Thalia and Luke, me with Percy and Grover, me, me, me. It felt stupid to pay tribute to myself, but my knees buckled, and I found myself kneeling before this commemoration.
Over a million thoughts ran continuously through my mind, but one stood out above the rest, leaving me clutching at my stomach. Will they be okay without me?
All of my tears for the day had been cried, and so I just sat and stared at the rose petals that danced in the wind but didn't fly away. That's where I am now. Just sitting, staring. I have been here for hours now.
"Annabeth?"
I shake my head, "Leave me alone." And then something inside my brain clicks, and I look over my shoulder to see Chiron, his eyes on me. His eyes on me? "How…?"
Chiron swallows, and I can see the pain in his eyes, "I'm immortal, my dear. I've died a dozen times. I know what a ghost looks like."
The word sends a shiver down my nonexistent spine. I'm a ghost. "And you can interact with me?" I ask, my voice cracking. I stand and reach towards the centaur, but even though I can speak to him, I still can't touch him. My fingers pass through his arm.
"You are not solid, no matter how clear you are," Chiron says. His face twists, "You are dearly missed."
I take a deep, shaky breath. "Is everyone else okay?"
"There are a few in the infirmary, but you seemed to have saved most of them from harm."
"No others died?" I ask again for confirmation.
Chiron shakes his head, "No. It was a brave…" he stops and clears his throat, "Very brave thing you did."
"The judges offered my Elysium." I tell him, "But I wanted to come back. I needed to see him."
The centaur opens his mouth to speak, but hesitates. "He is going to be okay, eventually. Is there… anything you'd like me to tell him?"
Tears fill my eyes, and I bite my lip, "Just remind him how much I love him, okay?"
"I can do that." Chiron sighs heavily, "I know you don't sleep, but if you need a place to stay… the Big House is always open."
I smile quickly, but it is almost instantly washed away. "Thanks, Chiron."
He smiles sadly, "You are a great hero, Annabeth Chase."
"Were," I correct quietly.
"Are." He reaches out with his hand, but then seems to remember my situation and pulls it back. He winces, "I have seen many wonderful demigods come and go. They never stay."
"I'm sorry," is the only thing I think to say.
He laughs sharply, "Never apologize when you have nothing to lose."
I want to tell him that, even though I'm dead, I still have so much to lose. But he gallops away without another word, and I swear I hear him sniffle.