A/N: This story is extremely dear to my heart as it is extremely personal. It's very much so an AU and the title is from the song "Begin Again" by Taylor Swift. Thanks for reading and please leave me a review if you enjoyed it. Lord knows it would help me out.

When Annabeth meets Luke for the first time, it's magic. She's only 12 and he's a little older but that doesn't bother her the slightest. They hit it off immediately and with in a few weeks they are best friends and are inseparable. Annabeth thinks her favorite thing in the world is the tiny mole on his cheek right where his jaw meets his neck. She also loves the way he runs his nail under hers when they hold hands. The way he rests his head in her neck melts her. She can stay in his arms and smell the delightful scent that lingers in his neck and shoulders forever, And as they grow older, she loves the kisses and the ease of their friendship morphing into something more. She thinks she's the luckiest girl in the world because she's truly in love with her best friend.

But something isn't right. She can feel it in her bones. It's five years later since they've first met and she's never loved him more. However, she isn't sure she can say the same for him. It's in the way he says he loves her. It's the way he kisses her. The way he assures her he'd never hurt her. Something isn't adding up in her mind, but she does her damned best to tell herself she's paranoid. She's been hurt before. But Luke of all people? Not her Luke. He'd never hurt her. They were going to get married, have little babies and sit in wooden rocking chairs on the porch watching their grandchildren play. It was their plan since the beginning. It was the only solid thing Annabeth could hold on to.

So of course, when Annabeth discovers his secret life, she's completely destroyed. The parties. The drugs. The girls.

She's stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Only a stupid girl could've missed all the signs. The way he'd never call before bed. The way he'd be so distant when they were together. The constant holes in his stories that she overlooked.

She thinks of all the excuses she made for him. She can remember all the times she defended him to Piper and Rachel.

Oh, if she thought the revelation of what he did when he wouldn't answer her calls hurt, it was nothing compared to him looking her dead in the eye and saying, "I don't love you anymore. I haven't for a long time."

Annabeth thinks she'll never leave this room of hers again. Her world is collapsing all around her and she thinks if she can speak to him one last time they can fix this. He can change his ways and they'll be back and better then ever. So she calls. And calls. And texts. And after days of crying and begging and nothing but silence, she gets just one response.

Just shut the fuck up already.

And at that moment she realizes when he said he didn't love her, he meant it.

It's been a month since she last tried to call Luke. She's slowly learning how to go about her day without Luke there with her. She has her good days and bad days. Whenever she hears his name, her blood boils and her stomach does flips but she does her best to take deep breaths and remind herself that he is simply not worth this. It's slowly coming to her. She's slowly starting to see all the things wrong with him that she had seen up close. It's not much, but it's the start she needs.

In the second month, she decides to start dating. His name is Andrew and Piper mocks how perfect this potential relationship could be based solely on names. Annabeth tries to play it off casually. She doesn't want Piper to see how nervous she actually is. Luke was the only guy she'd been with ever. The idea of being with another person was strange and intimidating to her. She wants this to work more then anything. She wants to prove to herself that Luke isn't the only person to show interest in her.

But she doesn't like the way he holds her hand. His are too sweaty. She doesn't like the way he kisses her. His lips are hard and rough. Luke's were always moist and soft. She doesn't like his smile because his eyes don't light up the way Luke's used too.

After three dates, Andrew knows and he doesn't call her back. She's not offended. She probably would've done the same if she were him. She knows she's not ready to date and it would be unfair to the other person to try. She's content and understanding with his decision.

He's been gone from her for three months when Piper tells her of her new boyfriend. His name is Jason Grace. Piper says she's in love and Annabeth smiles, hoping for her friend's sake it won't end badly. Piper glows when she speaks of Jason and Annabeth wonders if she looked that way when she used to speak of Luke.

"I want you to meet him," Piper says. "We can go somewhere really fun. Please, Annabeth. You haven't left your house in months."

"I don't want to third wheel your date," she says. And, gods, is she being honest. That's the last thing she wants.

"You won't. Trust me."

"Piper McLean, if you try and set me up-"

"Annabeth." Piper does that slightly whiny voice she knows drives Annabeth crazy. "I'm your best friend. I'm inviting you because I want you there."

Piper's voice softens a little, "I'm worried about you. I know you're still recovering but you can't stop your life for this asshole. You're worth more then that."

A lump forms in Annabeth's throat. She swallows thickly and exhales.

"Tell me when."

The day that she meets Jason Grace marks the fourth month of Luke's absence. Piper picks her up and they drive to a well known music shack in the city. Piper lights up when a tall, blond boy approaches her.

"Hey, Beautiful," he smiles at Piper.

He's handsome, in a bookish sort of way. He holds his hand out to her. "You must be Annabeth," he smiles. "Gosh, it's so great to finally meet you. Piper talks about you non-stop."

She smiles, "You too."

They're kissing now and she's uncomfortable and ready to leave. She opens her mouth to speak when another tall boy, this one with black messy hair and intense green eyes walks up to them and slaps Jason on the back.

"Save it for the car ride home, bro."

Jason laughs, his cheeks reddening.

"Annabeth," Piper smiles like this is the moment she's been waiting for all night. "This is Jason's best friend, Percy Jackson."

A/N: This is by far the most personal story I have ever written. I'm going through a very similar experience myself and it's been hard on me so I decided to do what helps me most and that's write. I do plan on continuing this story if it's well liked so please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Thank you so much for reading!