Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series...


"You've changed, Percy!" Annabeth pushed him away as she stormed out the door, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the room.

Percy slammed his fist into a wall. He didn't care about the pain that jolted up his wrist. He didn't care that he could hear his Roman friends calling his name. He just needed to get away, to clear his head. His mind felt cloudy, like it had before he regained all his memories. "You've changed, Percy." Annabeth's words echoed in his mind. "You've changed." Why was she so angry? He punched another wall. They hadn't seen each other in months. Now she was accusing him of not being the person she once knew and love. He punched a wall again, ignoring the crunch and the fact his hand was throbbing. He had walked so far he had ended up at the lake. The lake, water. A place where he could finally think clearly. A place where he could make sense of his twisted life.

He went to the shore. It was empty except for a boy who was skipping rocks across the surface of the lake. He was about as tall as Percy. He had blonde hair and was wearing a purple shirt. Percy walked over. Surely he wouldn't stab his Praetor. Percy had every intention of giving it back to Jason, but they never really got a chance to talk...

"Hey." Percy greeted the boy. He turned to face him. The boy had electric blue eyes and a scar on his lip. He regarded Percy with curiosity. Percy had the feeling he had seen this boy before. Then it hit him.

"You must be Jason Grace." Percy said, holding out his hand.

"And you must be Percy Jackson." Jason replied, shaking it.

Jason turned back to the lake. He picked up another rock and threw it at the lake. Percy could see his frustration and anger as he released the rock with more force than before. Jason then walked back and forth, his hands on his forehead, as if he was trying to clear his mind, just like Percy was. He then sank the floor, proceeding to sit down and stretch his legs. It was like life had completely exhausted him. Percy sat beside him. Across the lake they could see families having picnics and children playing under the blue, sunny sky. He sighed in longing. Why couldn't his life be that carefree?

"Do you ever feel... stretched between two worlds?" Jason asked Percy, his tone solemn.

Percy sighed again. He was a demigod: part human, part god. He was naturally split between two worlds. He was stretched between the mythical world and the mortal world, between a normal teenager's life and the life of a hero. Most recently, he was stretched between the Romans and Greeks. Percy was part of both groups now.

"Yes."

Jason threw another rock. "They think I've changed. They think I turned soft because of my time with the graeci (a/n: plural form of graecus)." Jason laughed, but it was brittle and void of life.

Percy gave him a sad smile. "My friends think I turned cold and hard."

"Sometimes I wish the switch never happened." Jason said with uncertainty, as if he wasn't sure how Percy would react.

"Then the Romans wouldn't distrust me and Reyna wouldn't hate me." Jason continued.

Percy glanced at him, feeling as sorry for Jason as he was for himself.

"Maybe she's just mad."

Jason sighed. "Mad that I abandoned her along with the whole camp?"

"If anything... Camp Half- Blood is probably mad that I abandoned them." Percy's heart sank as he said that. All his friends, hating him. Especially Annabeth, a voice in his head whispered, she hates you the most. "Especially Annabeth." he muttered under his breath. Horns blew behind them. It was time for the Senate meeting.

The boys got up and started hurrying to the Pomeranian Line.

"Reyna doesn't hate you. She never believed you were dead, never gave up on you. She's probably just mad about you dissapeared and made her worry so much."

Jason stopped in his tracks. Percy slowed to a halt. "Maybe..." Jason's eyes filled with joy as he thought over what Percy had said. Percy took off the purple cape and toga.

"This is yours." he said, shoving the clothes into Jason's arms. Percy moved to run, but Jason grabbed his arm.

"Annabeth probably feels the same way Reyna does. She went insane looking for you."

Percy smiled. "Thanks, Grace."

Jason pulled on the toga and cape. "You might not be so bad after all."

"Back at you, Jackson."

Jason grinned, then frowned. "Now all we have to do is get Romans and Greeks to like each other."

"That will be fun." Percy's eyes widened. "We're probably late."

Jason looked at the statue of Terminus in the distance.

"Race you to the Pomeranian line?" Jason asked with a grin.

Percy grinned. "You're on."

They took off running, and Percy thought, just maybe, the Greeks and Romans had a chance of getting along after all.


A/N: I was thinking of the cover of the Mark of Athena with them fighting and all, and was inspired to do a brotherly moment between the two, considering that the Greeks and Romans are probably going to fight. Should I do a one shot about Annabeth and Reyna bonding?