Because of my absence for more than a year, I felt obligated to give my readers a one-shot as well as an update to The Heirs. Please Read and Review.

Lots of love,

DaniB123

Annabeth POV

I don't know why I did it. Whether it was the situation I was in, or the way I knew it could have very possibly been the last moments of our lives, or the way my stupid teenage hormones had been flaring up like crazy, I have not the slightest idea in the world. But I did it. Somewhere deep down, way deep down, in the deepest pits of my heart, something pulled me towards doing what everyone who has known us wanted me to do for the past year. I kissed my best friend. I kissed Percy Jackson.

Not the best time for a kiss, I know. And it most certainly wasn't the best place… but I couldn't control every voice, and thought that urged me forward, so I kissed him.

"Be careful, Seaweed Brain." I said. They were my final words. The words of goodbye probably held a trace of how terrified I was for the both of us at the time. I secured my Yankees cap on my head and disappeared from existence.

I had always loved that hat. It was one of the few gifts I had received from my mother and I cherished every bit of it. I reveled in the way it separated me from the world. Sometimes I would take the cap and retreat to a place where not even the closest of my friends would ever suspect me of going, like the edge of the docks, or entangled in the centermost part of the forest surrounding camp, and I would once again space out and think my deepest thoughts. I loved to think. I always thought. One of the things I always found pleasure in was exploring my head. So many different concepts run through the mind of any one of me or my half-siblings a day you get consumed so much to the point where you will have a mental break down if you don't give yourself time to organize the information you had developed over a certain amount of given time. So I would always take my hat with me wherever I went. It seems I always needed it for emergencies… or just to escape…. but most likely both….

And this time I definitely needed the cap for both…

It could have been the surge of energy and love pumping through your veins that happens every time you kiss someone. It could have been the hormones talking again. But you never know. It could have been one of those strange adrenaline rushes. Seriously. It isn't uncommon. Some of those super overprotective moms go absolutely insane and something goes on in their body to make them think "Okay, I'm going to body slam myself into this semi-truck and risk my life to save little Johnny's". I'm dead serious. But… the more that I think about it, the more the hormone's possibility sounds way more reasonable a cause for the way I practically flew out of the building. Hormones and the fact that I was literally running for my dear life…

I was about two hundred yards away from the building when I heard the faint hissing of a chemical reaction that always occurs before an explosion. I instinctively threw myself to the ground and covered my neck.

It lasted for what seemed to be forever…. The ongoing eruptions of who knows what and this and that flying through the air just to land next to me.

I got up trembling, with none but one thought on my mind. Nobody could have survived that. It's not physically possible. And…. And as much as I wanted to believe it, I knew that there was no way that Percy could have lived.

I knew… I had to keep going. I looked back at the destroyed pile of rubble and felt my eyes well up and my throat close off. I turned and headed home. Not that it mattered anyways. Not that anything mattered. But I knew I had to keep going… for Percy.

I walked aimlessly for a couple days. In the general direction of camp was where I was intended… but instead, before realizing it, I was standing on the front door of Percy's apartment, the hole in my heart aching.

There were no thoughts. I had no thoughts. I always was thinking, but at the time, nothing registered… nothing except the pain throbbing from dull to excruciating that was reminding me that I had lost my chance. I would never see him again. I spun on my heel and headed down the street and towards camp, not knowing what would happen when I got there.

Typically I enjoyed being alone. But not having him beside me. Not having him… just there… it was awful. It was as if my whole body was robbed of the warmth he provided whenever he was next to me. It was like… something was missing. I was incomplete without him.

No food. No sleep. No water. Nothing since the explosion caused many to be curious when I arrived at the top of Half-blood Hill. Beckendorf was the first to notice me. I caught his eye and he grinned, jogging up to meet me. His smile faded, however, when he really took me in.

"Annabeth… is he…? Are you..? He's gone… isn't he?" He managed to get out.

I stared blankly back at him and the pain returned like a million stabbing knives. I fell to my knees, my breaths running in and out of my mouth in short, and hysterical beats. Beckendorf kneeled next to me and put a hand on my back, trying to figure what to do. The pain was unbearable, eating away at me every moment. It was so torturous that I didn't notice that I was taken back to my cabin and asleep until I woke up the next morning, my pillow tear stained and my sheets damp from the nightmares that had me sweating from head to toe.

Over the next few days, Chiron, Grover, and a few others visited me repeatedly. They forced me to eat and tried to get my mind off of things, but it was no use. I was frequently woken up either by my screams or the shaking of my cabin mates. They were worried about me. I don't blame them.

The day came. I was forced to go. I didn't want to but then again, did I really have a choice? He was my best friend… I kind of owed it to him. I didn't know what I was going to say. I had thought about it, or tried to think about it, rather, but my mind just returned to being blank. So I sat there on my bed again, staring down at my hands, the empty hole, once again, throbbing where his chunk was missing.

There was a faint knock on the door and Grover slowly opened it and peered in. His eyes were rimmed red and his voice was barely audible when he whispered, "Annabeth, it's time…" I slowly got up and remembered his shroud. I reached back under my pillow and pulled out the sea green silk that had been the only thing that would help me fall asleep because it contained the scent of the ocean… Out with it fluttered a picture that was taken so long ago…back during my first quest. We were in the Locust Casino. And even though we were under its spell, we were happy and enjoying ourselves. Percy was in the middle with Grover and I flanking him on either side. We all had a huge grin on our faces and I couldn't help but smile myself just looking at the picture. Grover came up behind me and sniffed. "We sure do look happy." He managed. I nodded and put the picture in my back pocket, then got up and trudged toward the amphitheatre, Grover in tow.

Words were said. Songs were sung. And then it was my turn. I got up with his shroud and let it trickle down to its full length. Holding it above the fire, I could almost feel his presence and when it burned, the scent it gave off mended the pain for the tiniest second. Then it was back. I turned around to face the rest of the camp. I couldn't think of anything so I took a huge breath and said whatever came out first, "He was probably the bravest friend I ever had. He…" I stopped. Squinting through the flames, I made out the green eyes that I missed. I could feel the blood rush to my face in one swift moment. And I couldn't stop myself when I practically yelled, "He's right there!"

I jumped off the podium and pushed my way through the campers. People were muttering and gasping and asking tons of questions, but I didn't hear them, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" I screamed and tackled him in a hug. The hole was filled once again. I was no longer incomplete.

Again, to my wonderful readers that I love so so so much and with my greatest apologies. Please review.

DaniB123