It didn't take long for Percy to admit that he hated them.

When he first spoke to Grover, his voice was nothing but jaded drawl. He only talked about their English project they were forced to be partnered together on. Then Grover helped him and didn't make fun of his dyslexia. It was a friendship meant to last forever. They were supposed to be together until the end.

He ended on Percy's 17th birthday...

When he first laid eyes on Annabeth as a little innocent twelve year old, she was a princess. Guarded and trapped in a tower that she built for herself, desperate to remember how to free herself. Percy wanted to be the heroic prince who saved her.

Then he did, and she forgot...

When he first saved Hazel, she was a Roman guard. Young, full of hope, but serious and strong. She was confused, taken out the timeline she was born into. He wanted to help her, guide her as she adjusted to her new life.

He did, but she left anyways...

Frank was his distant relative, but they thought of each other as brothers. Brothers fight, Percy knew, but they were supposed to make up. Not turn their backs on each other.

Frank did it anyway...

Jason was the Roman hero that everyone looked up to. Percy was his 'lovable' partner-in-crime. They were close, if not a little jealous of each other. He respected Percy and Percy respected him. They went to each other, knowing that each knew the burden hey both carried. The jealousy was never supposed to overcome them. They shouldn't have torn each other down.

Jason did what he did without even batting an eyelash...

Piper had been his little sister who would always give amazing relationship advice in the form of the words, "Fucking walk it off. She loves you, you retard. Not even you can mess that up." She respected him, loved him even (in the most platonic way possible). She was supposed to always be there. She was supposed to be the one who outlived him.

Too bad things never worked out as planned for Percy...

Leo was Leo. Leo brought Percy up whenever he was down. Leo had his fair share of regrets and was almost exactly like Percy in every aspect save for his appearance and skills. Leo was Percy's second anchor.

Too bad the Fates wanted Percy to float away...

No, Percy resolved. He didn't hate all of them. He hated himself, for letting them hate him.

"So where should I go?" Percy murmured to himself. "Mom and Paul have a daughter and I don't want to hurt her. Camp Jupiter, I don't completely belong. Camp Half-Blood, everything's gone. No one cares."

Percy shoved his hands in his pockets, muttering 'excuse me' every time he bumped into a passing New York pedestrian in the inky black night, lit up only by the stars and the city lights. When Percy finally reached an empty street, the frustration built up until he couldn't even take it anymore.

Letting out a low growl of frustration, Percy kicked a lit up street lamp with so much force, the light flickered out.

"I should call the cops on you, for damage of private property, you know," a voice sang out from behind him.

Percy whipped around to find himself face-to-face with a teenage girl about 16 years old. She had dark, blue-black curls tied up into a ponytail, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. Her eyes were a violet, or maybe a lavender, reminding Percy of Lou Ellen, head counselor of the Hecate cabin back at Camp Half-Blood. She wore a black apron (with white words so faded, Percy couldn't even read them if he wanted to) over a pair of jeans and a red top. Her skin was pale, as though it were washed in moonlight. She looked sort of familiar.

"You said 'should,'" Percy pointed out.

The girl nodded, smiling. "I know who you are, Percy, so I figured this would be a little action to repay you."

"Not having me arrested," Percy breathed a laugh. "How nice of you."

"I try," the girl joked.

"So you're a..." Percy hesitated.

"A demigod, yes," the girl said. "My mom's Hecate, but Artemis found me when I was little and sort of adopted me. She wanted me to become a hunter once I turned fifteen, but I couldn't commit to that. So I sort of ran away, started a little old café with my mortal half-sister." Ah, that's why she looked so familiar. She looked like Artemis.

"Interesting history," Percy remarked.

"Not as interesting as yours," the girl shrugged. "I'm Aria by the way."

Percy stuck out a hand to shake hers, but Aria ignored it, instead bowing slightly.

Percy blinked. "Wha - ?"

Aria blushed slightly. "Sorry," she murmured. "I forgot how normal people greet each other when they first meet. I'm sort of a princess."

"You're joking, right?" Percy asked.

Aria didn't dignify that with a response. "So what are you doing out here? We never really get customers. My sister and I mostly live on our inheritance and her fiancé's paycheck."

"I left," Percy's eyes shifted.

"Too much pressure?" Aria inquired.

"Something like that," Percy shrugged. "My friends... They're gone. And I don't want to put my mortal sister in danger by going back to my mom's house."

Aria nodded, not pressing further. "Do you need someplace to stay? You can work it off in the café." Aria winked. "And I'm sure you'll draw in some customers." She turned around, her heels clacking as she walked into the building behind her. (It was marked Melody Café.)

"I don't get it," Percy said, trailing behind her.

"Now I get why they call you 'Seaweed Brain,'" Aria laughed.

Percy flinched at the old nickname.

"Oh," Aria muttered softly. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Percy waved her off. "When's dinner?"

Aria laughed again airily. Little did they know, it was the start of beautiful, long-lasting friendship...

1 year later,

Annabeth growled under her breath. Ever since a year ago, the good memories had slowly came back. No one knew why they left in the first place, but Chiron suspected it had something to do with an enemy wanting to break Percy's spirit.

Ultimately, this 'enemy' had succeeded. Piper and Grover were dead. Frank and Hazel had become completely indifferent toward Percy for a short period of time. Annabeth flirted with any cute guy she saw that wasn't Percy. Jason's jealousy grew out of control until he wrongly told his father that Percy was a traitor for a reason he forgot. And Leo? Leo died for Calypso only to come back to find the camp almost completely against Percy.

Leo was the reason why the good memories came back. Calypso had been completely shocked. And last, but most certainly not least, the camp was depressed. It was almost impossible to be happy.

Search parties had been sent out for Percy. Annabeth was ridden with nightmares of Tartarus without anyone but Nico to help her out. And the son of Hades wasn't exactly pleased with her at the moment.

Everyone sat solemnly at the dining pavilion, even the newer campers adopting sad personalities, when Lou Ellen came rushing in.

"I just IM'ed my half-sister," Lou Ellen cried. Her cheeks were flushed, as though she had run a great distance. She was hyperventilating, but no one was really sure why.

"And this is important how?" Annabeth's younger brother TK asked. He walked over to the panting daughter of Hecate and led her over to her cabin's table. Annabeth tried to stop her mind from derailing over to the fact that Lou Ellen and TK were just so cute together.

"I," she stopped for breath. But her tone was excited. "Well, the IM was fuzzy. She tries to block out the gods from her life, you know, she just doesn't want to move to a remote place like Alaska. Anyways, she's really powerful which can explain how Percy could evade the gods for so long while still being in New York."

"I'm not following," Katie Gardner said, confused.

"She means," Annabeth stated. "That Percy could be living with her half-sister."

Annabeth tried not to allow the white hot bubble of jealousy to explode. The thought of Percy being with another girl made her want to scream.

"Exactly!" Lou Ellen cried.

"Wait, so you're saying Percy works at Melody Café?" TK interjected, eyes wide. "I mean, I know he's there a lot, but..." Lou Ellen nodded frantically, grinning.

"Wait," Annabeth said. "You know her?"

TK smiled weakly before taking off in a sprint. Annabeth growled before turning to Lou Ellen.

"Take me to her," Annabeth ordered. Lou Ellen grinned, pushing her caramel hair out of her tanned face before saluting.

"Yes, ma'am."

Percy was having a good life.

He had an fabulous best friend who never looked at him for all of the plans and leadership. Her family was fucking awesome, too. Because, it turns out, you didn't just have to be a demigod to get cool powers. The reasoning behind why Musa Melody can transform into a fairy by just crossing her arms over her head and shouting, "Transform!" to be consumed in a ball of light was yet to be explained, but still. It was undoubtedly awesome.

It turns out Riven Melody was pretty good with a sword, too. Not as good as Percy, of course, but still much better than the majority of camp. Plus, he had all of these amazing (but deadly) gadgets Percy and Aria could play with before Musa's friends would snatch them out of their hands, laughing.

Aria's friends and family loved laughing, which was cool with Percy.

They laughed about near-death situations, waving them off as bumps in the road to a happy ending. They laughed whenever Percy asked why they were so indifferent when a hellhound scratched him (his mom would've freaked out because he was and always will be her baby), saying that their lives got crazy when they were 16, too.

But what Percy loved most was the fact that they laughed at all of the funny little things in life. The smallest joke could send them into rounds of tears caused by giggles and laughter. They were a happy bunch no matter what and Percy admired that about them.

It was a slow morning. But they always had slow mornings at the café.

Percy was the only one in the shop at the moment, his pen tucked behind his ear and the notepad slipped into his apron's pocket.

Musa and Riven were out. Layla, Bloom, and Roxy were chatting animatedly upstairs in the apartment above. Stella was in Aria's room, designing and having Aria model - which, in Aria's words, was "absolute hell." Tecna was out in the training room upstairs, mastering some new fighting move, and Flora was watering the garden outside. The remaining Specialists (meaning, the girls' boyfriends) were helping Tecna out.

The door opened and the bell pinged, causing Percy to look away from Flora's amazing way with her plants.

When he spotted the customers, it took him a while to figure out who they were. Actually, who the first one was, because ever since Annabeth, it hurt for Percy to even look at blondes.

The first girl was about 15 years old, two years younger than Aria and three younger than Percy himself. She had caramel hair with what Percy thought to be naturally blonde highlights and tanned skin, reminding him of Flora. However, instead of Flora's grass green eyes Percy found lavender ones, like Aria's.

Then, it clicked.

The girl looked like an older version of Lou Ellen, and Lou Ellen was about 15 now since Percy hadn't seen her in about a year so...

Shit.

The second girl was Percy's age, that much he could tell. She looked sleep-deprived, not to mention desperate. Her skin was pale, with sunken cheeks and bloodshot and puffy gray eyes. Her hair looked brittle and tangled, but otherwise it was curly. Princess curls.

Even deeper shit.

"Lou Ellen," Percy acknowledged, politely though not warmly. "Annabeth," he muttered, icily.

Annabeth winced as though his tone could pierce her skin.

"Hi, Percy," Lou Ellen smiled softly. "Where's Aria?"

"Upstairs," Percy said vaguely, waving his hands. "Going through hell."

"Stella, again?" Lou asked, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Yeah," Percy chuckled.

"It's awful, though, for your information," Lou Ellen defended. "It has been rightfully named hell, because you can only be pinched by pins and bleed through white dresses so many times."

Percy snorted, "Glad I'm not a girl then."

"Just you wait," Lou Ellen warned. "One day, when she decides to make male clothing, her next victim will be you. I mean it." She added when she saw him stifling his laughter.

"Save me, will you?" Percy requested.

"I make no promises," Lou joked.

"Why'd you leave?" Annabeth asked. During Percy and Lou Ellen's playful banter, all she had done was stare blankly at the pair of them. Her eyes were hollow and her voice was devoid of emotion.

Percy glanced at her for a second. "All of my old friends are gone. I could only make new ones." He tapped the mahogany counter. "Clarisse visits me about once a month. Chris, Draco, Liv, and Arizona come for coffee every Sunday morning. Katie and the Stolls talk with the family that owns this place about twice a month. TK and Lou here come here on a random basis."

"You..." Annabeth turned toward Lou Ellen.

"I do," Lou Ellen admitted. "I wanted to make sure you actually cared. I wanted him to be ready. It was for the best."

"Can you forgive me?" Annabeth's voice was choked with desperation, turning back to her ex? Boyfriend? We'll go with 'her seaweed brain'. "Can we go back to camp and start off on a clean slate?"

Percy and Lou glanced at each other, and Annabeth felt jealous that they could do that. She and Percy used to do that...

"I like it here," Percy said finally. "It's...my new home."

"You would rather confine yourself to a mortal life than experience your old one?" Annabeth whispered.

The whole establishment shook.

"Don't call this place normal," Lou Ellen said. "Because it most certainly isn't."

"Eeek!" Percy heard Stella shriek.

"STELLA!" Roxy screamed. "You just turned Timmy into a mouse!"

"Damn," Percy murmured, eyes wide. "Not again."

Annabeth stared at Percy. "Again?"

"I told you this place wasn't normal," Lou Ellen said, looking down at her nails.

Annabeth left when the pretty girl with dark hair and lavender eyes came down the steps and kissed Percy on the cheek...

Like it? Hate it? I might post a second chapter if you review... Review if you want Percy to forgive the rest of camp!

~Miyako