*** I WANT CC. FLAMES ARE APPRECIATED. *** If you think my story deserves to be flamed, DO IT. My main goal is improvement, and I won't be scared away or offended by a healthy amount of harshness!

—

Okay, now that that's out of the way - even if you don't review, thanks so much for taking the time to read my story! I hope you liked it, though it's probably not up to par… ^-^ Okay, I'll stop talking now.

—

If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it loves you too. But what happens when coming back isn't an option?

—

Clouds danced across the sky, illuminated for brief seconds in the light of the falling sun. I sat on a small hill with my legs tucked underneath me, overlooking the beach. Birds still chirped quietly in the distance, as the shimmering of sunshine disappeared off the water. A slight breeze caught my hair, and white cotton fluttered as my t-shirt feebly attempted to tug me eastward.

How long had it been since I'd arrived here? Hephaestus' words hung in my mind, like the dripping tap you can't ignore, no matter how hard you try.

Then you'll need to decide whether or not you're leaving.

Memories flashed through my mind – Flames, agony, and power coursing through my veins. The world melting around me, colors shifting to whiteness while I lost consciousness… And then before my little 'combustion', there was Annabeth—

I was snapped out of my reverie as a small hand came to rest on my shoulder, and a petite body knelt down beside me. My eyes quickly refocused themselves as thin fingers stretched out across my peripheral vision. "Are you alright?" she asked in a small voice.

"Y-yeah," I replied quickly, slightly surprised by her sudden appearance.

There were a few moments of silence, and Calypso pulled on a spare strand of hair nervously. Her pure white, knee-length dress drifted a bit in the wind; she sat back on her heels and gently pulled her hand off of my shoulder to rest it in her lap. As she turned her head to look out over the tides, I couldn't help but notice how perfectly her eyes reflected the beauty of the sea; almost ironic, it was—

Stop. I mentally shook myself to clear my thoughts. This was not the time for that.

"Are… Are you sure? If something's wrong…" Calypso asked again; her voice was almost hesitant, and my heart quivered at the sound. The meaning was clear – if you want to tell me something, you don't have that much longer to do so…

"No," I whispered as I turned my body to face her. "No, I'm not alright." Her hair was down, unbraided, which was slightly unusual. She was also gorgeous, which was not unusual at all.

A small, sad smile flashed across her face in response. She didn't have to ask. Calypso met my eyes, and the only sound was the rhythmic beating of the waves off the sand in the distance. I could see it, all the emotions she bottled up, the restrained smiles, the constant tinge of sadness that she tried to bury. It would be so easy to just pull her closer, tell her it was okay, tell her that I wouldn't leave her—

I broke the stare, looking down after a few seconds. I twisted back around to face the smooth sand of the beach, my face slightly flushed. Grass blades tickled my fingers as I touched the earth, though my mind was far away from it. Calypso was still beside me; completely oblivious to the small war I was having with myself. She adjusted her positioning so she was sitting more comfortably, and for a second I could smell cinnamon drift across the light wind.

We sat in silence for a moment, as I tried to rearrange my thoughts. Moonlight now illuminated the scenery around me. The silence was broken as Calypso spoke the words that were already going through my mind:

"You'll have to decide soon, you know," her voice was again laced with that slight trace of sadness. "You'll have to choose."

"I… I think I already have," I answered in an almost inaudible voice. I knew what she'd left unspoken, what she didn't want to believe – "You'll have to leave."

I stared out across the waves. Water… Water was constant. Water was predictable. Tide in; tide out. Emotions weren't predictable, or constant. Emotions were sporadic. And I couldn't control emotions nearly as easily as I could control water.

Calypso slowly stood and turned to walk away. "I understand," she said quietly, and the sadness, the resignation in her voice was unexplainable. It's as if she believed with all her heart that she knew what I would say.

Because after all, she did.