A/N: Why hello there! So, this is my first venture into fanfiction, and I'm honestly nervous. I know how it goes: "Oh god it's her first fic! It's going to suck!"

Well, I hope this doesn't suck! The pairing is totally random, I know. But I needed something that was different than the usual pairings. So, Annabeth and Travis it is! Btw, does anyone know how old Travis is? I can't remember. I'll just say he's the same age as Annabeth for now.

This story is AU (because in this story, The Lost Hero didn't happen).This takes place 2 years after TLO, making Annabeth around 18 or so.

Break My Fall: Chapter 1

It's not like Annabeth meant to sleep with Travis Stoll.

Honestly, she didn't.

You see, everything had happened so suddenly that even Annabeth herself was caught up in the whirlwind of it all. She promised herself that after what had happened with Luke, she would never again fall for a child of Hermes. Luke had left her feeling broken and alone, and she thought that maybe Percy Jackson would be there to help pick up the pieces. Again, she was left alone, feeling even more broken than before. The pieces of her were so small and spread out that she felt like she was going to fall apart into nothing.

After Kronos had been defeated, Percy was offered immortality by the gods. At first, Annabeth didn't think Percy would accept it; Percy wasn't like that. But as Percy stood before the gods, silent with deep thought, Annabeth grew worried. When he finally spoke, Annabeth felt her world crumble all over again.

"I accept," Percy had said.

Just like that, Percy was taken away from her, just like Luke had been. They tried to make it work for a little while. Percy still stayed at Camp Half-Blood, helping train the other demigods in case another threat were to emerge. But when Annabeth and Percy were alone, they never talked about his immortality. It was like a silent menace that hung above them, always thought about but never discussed.

For two years, they were on an "on again, off again" status. They would fight, screaming at each other until they were both hoarse. Annabeth would start crying, and Percy would cave. He would pull Annabeth into his arms, holding her and telling her how sorry he was.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth," he had once said into her silky blond hair. "I love you so much…I'm sorry."

Love. That word had an almost bitter after taste to Annabeth. Percy would tell Annabeth how much he loved her, kissing her so passionately that she was left gasping for air. When they had sex, Annabeth thought for sure her body would catch fire from the shear passion of it. Sex with Percy was amazing, and that's what made things so much harder. Afterwards, Percy would hold her close, saying that he loved her more than anything.

"I love you too, Percy," she would say, feeling hollow inside.

Annabeth would look at Percy as he slept. He looked so gorgeous, his dark hair sticking in all directions, and his body perfectly toned. Fifty years from now, he would look exactly the same. In fifty years, Annabeth would be old, wrinkled and gray (if she managed to make it that long). Percy wouldn't want her then.

Artemis had talked to Annabeth out joining her band of hunters. In the back of her mind, Annabeth was slowly beginning to wish she had. Of course, it was way too late for that. She was too old and she wasn't a virgin anymore. But if she had accepted, she would still be able to see Percy. She couldn't have a relationship with him, seeing as hunters were prohibited from falling in love.

During one of her visits to Olympus for the rebuild, Annabeth had confided in her mother (who took it a lot better than Annabeth thought she would). She knew that Athena held no soft sport for Percy, and though Annabeth deserved better for herself. But as Annabeth spilled her feelings out to her mother, Athena placed a hand on her face, telling her that things would work themselves out for the best.

"I know how much you care for him, Annabeth," Athena said, running a hand through her daughter's hair. "And I know how you may not want to hear this, but I believe it is best for you to move on from Poseidon's son. You must realize by now that he was incredibly selfish in his choice, thinking of no one but himself. I, for one, did not think it was an appropriate gift for the boy, but my father was adamant about it."

Hearing those words from her mother was incredibly painful, but it was true. Percy was selfish. When he accepted immortality, he only thought of himself and no one. Not Annabeth, his mother, Grover…not anyone.

Two nights after her conversation with Athena, her mother's words hanging in the air like a storm cloud, Annabeth found Percy…knowing she couldn't put this off anymore.

"What is it, is something wrong?" Percy asked, his sea green eyes full of concern.

Annabeth paced back and forth a few times. Words had never been so hard to find before, "Percy…I…there's something we have to talk about. We've been putting it off way too long."

Percy stepped forward, cupping Annabeth's face in his hand. She stepped back from his touch, "Annabeth…what's wrong? You're acting weird."

Annabeth breathed deeply, "It's just…how long do you expect us to last, Percy? You're immortal now…you're never going to die. When you accepted immortality did you even think about me? Or anyone? I'm going to get old…I'm going to die someday! Did you even think about that?"

Percy looked away, hurt seeping from his eyes, "I did think about it, Annabeth. I thought about you, and everyone here. But, I knew if I accepted immorality…I could help demigods. Me and Chiron are going to make sure all the demigods are safe…and that what happened to Luke never happens again."

Annabeth felt tears stinging her eyes, "It took you all of, what, ten minutes to decide that?"

Percy tried to touch her, and again Annabeth moved away, "I didn't want to hurt you-"

At those words, Annabeth lost it, "You didn't want to hurt me? Really, Percy? Because that's ALL you've done since Kronos was defeated. Every time you hugged me…or kissed me, it was a painful reminder that we can't be together! I don't know what I've been doing these past two years…I was kidding myself."

Percy managed to grab Annabeth by the arms, pulling close to his body, "Please don't say that. Please, Annabeth I'm sorry! I didn't want to hurt you but I thought it was the best choice! You know I love you."

Annabeth had to look away from Percy's eyes, "Don't…Percy, I love you too. That's what makes this so hard. I love you…but we can't keep doing this. We just can't."

Percy gripped Annabeth tightly, kissing her lips softly. Annabeth tried to pull away, but she couldn't. She let Percy's lips move against hers, kissing her as though he were trying to pour his feelings out to her. Annabeth felt warm at first, but then the hurt began to build in her stomach like a wave of acid. Annabeth broke the kiss, stepping out of Percy's embrace.

"Don't do that again," Annabeth whispered.

"Annabeth…"

"Please, Percy. We…we can't do this anymore. You know it as well as I do. Did…did you really think I would be ok with this?"

Percy gazed into her face, as though he were trying to memorize her, "No…no, I knew you would hate it. These past two years...I was just trying to make you happy. It was selfish, I know."

Annabeth felt the tears brimming again, "I was happy. I mean, as happy as I could be I guess. But gods, Percy, after everything we went through together…I thought maybe. No, I'm not going to say it."

"No, please tell me what you were going to say."

Annabeth felt tears spilling over her eyes, not able to control them anymore, "I thought that maybe we could get married…I know we were only 16 but after everything, that sounded amazing. You and me…"

The rims of Percy's eyes were red with tears now, "Annabeth…I-I'm so, so sorry. I…I thought you were going to become a hunter with Artemis. I thought you were in love with Luke still. I…gods. I can ask them to get rid of the immortality…I can ask them to make me mortal again."

Annabeth shook her head, "You know you can't do that, Percy. That would be a huge insult and it would only make your life worse."

"It would be worth it if it would get you to stay with me!" Percy shouted.

Annabeth looked away from Percy, thinking about his idea. But the more she thought about it, the worse it sounded. The gods may vote to kill him if he asks them to make him mortal again. No matter what…it was useless. Percy was immortal, and that was that.

"Don't kid yourself, Percy. Because I'm not kidding myself anymore. We can't…be together anymore."

They were silent for what seemed like ages, not looking at one another. The awkwardness and realization of what just happened hanging around them.

"…if that will make you happy," said Percy quietly.

But Annabeth was anything but happy. She was torn apart inside, seeing the boy she loved hurt like this. There was no other option. They had to end it now, or it would end badly later on. "I'm…sorry, Percy."

"I'm sorry too. We…we can still be friends though, right?"

Annabeth smiled lightly, "Friends…of course. I don't know what I would do if you weren't in my life."

For a moment they just stood there, the gravity of the situation suddenly making itself clear. Percy ventured a hug, which Annabeth allowed. They held onto each other for a moment before letting go. Annabeth felt the tears welling up again, and knew she had to get away fast before she broke down completely. She slid out of Percy's arms, whispered a quiet "good night" and walked away, tears falling freely from her gray eyes.

Annabeth was glad it was nighttime, because she really didn't want anyone to see her like this. She hurriedly made her way back to the Athena cabin, passing the camp store as she went. She heard a rustling sound which startled her. She quickly turned toward the store, seeing a familiar shaggy haired son of Hermes trying to break the new lock on the door.

"Oh, hey Annabeth," said Travis Stoll. "Uh…you're not going to tell anyone about this, right?"

Annabeth tried to hide her tears but it was too hard, "I don't care right now, Travis."

"Whoa, what's up? You're crying," said Travis, suddenly forgetting about the lock on the door.

Annabeth scoffed, "Very observant of you."

"Well, sorry! It's just I don't see you crying too much. Did Percy do something? I can kick his ass for you if you want?"

"No need. It was sort of mutual thing anyway," Annabeth blurted out, and seeing the look on Travis's face made her wish she hadn't.

"Wait…did you guys…you know, break up?"

Annabeth nodded, unable to say the words just yet. Travis suddenly looked sympathetic, but still held the characteristic Hermes grin. She was suddenly reminded of Luke, which made her want to start crying all over again.

"Wow," said Travis. "I'm really sorry, Annabeth."

"Thanks, but you don't have to worry about anything," said Annabeth, pushing the tears back again.

"But I have to worry when there's a pretty girl crying," said Travis, his playful grin making Annabeth blush. She thanked the gods it was dark because she didn't want Travis to see how red her face had gotten.

"Look,I really should get to bed. It's getting late-"

"Wait! Don't rush off yet…I have an idea that might make you feel better."

Now, when one of the Stoll brothers tells you that they have idea, it's usually best to turn the other direction. That would have been a wise decision, but despite her parentage, Annabeth wasn't feeling too wise at the moment. She was sad, angry, and feeling more lost than she ever had before. So, even though this could end up being a huge practical joke, Annabeth followed Travis to his cabin. He went inside and a few moments later he came out with a small duffle bag.

"Come on, let's go back to the camp store," said Travis. "We'll have more privacy there."

Annabeth followed the older Stoll brother back to the store, and waited until he picked the lock so they could sneak inside. Once inside, Travis led her back to one of the supply closets. It was a rather large room, bigger enough for probably 5 or 6 people to sit comfortably. Travis set the duffle bag on the ground and unzipped it, revealing a rather large bottle of vodka.

"Oh gods, Travis," Annabeth said rolling her eyes. "You're not supposed to have that stuff here!"

Travis smirked, "Oh, come on, Annabeth! I'm a child of Hermes. I'm supposed to do things we're not supposed to do."

Annabeth suddenly wished she had went back her to cabin. The situation wasn't good at all, "This is stupid. Alcohol doesn't solve your problems and it shouldn't be here in the first place."

Travis seemed to be paying no attention to what Annabeth was saying as he opened the bottle, pouring small amount into a shot glass, "Don't be so uptight. After what happened with Percy you need to unwind a little. It won't kill you if you have a little."

"Seriously, Travis, you're not even old enough to drink that," Annabeth scolded.

Travis smiled mischievously and took a shot, "Hasn't stopped me or Connor before. Just have a couple shots with me and then you can go back to being the good girl."

Annabeth sighed. Two shots wouldn't be too bad, right? Travis could sense the conflict going on in her head, so he poured her a shot and held the small glass in front of her. Taking a breath, Annabeth sat down across from Travis and took the glass. She emptied it into her mouth, feeling it burn all the way down her throat. Her eyes began to water and turn red, which made Travis laugh loudly.

"Wow, you've really never had alcohol before?"

"Yes," replied Annabeth as the burn subsided. "It's not good for your body, and usually leads to unwise decisions."

"Well, like I said, a little bit won't kill you. So enjoy yourself," Travis replied, taking another shot.

An hour passed, and needless to say, both Annabeth and Travis were feeling pretty good. Annabeth hadn't meant to stay, but after a couple of shots, she felt herself opening up to Travis (probably more than she should have). She told him everything, about Percy and Luke. She didn't think she was drunk, but she didn't care at the moment. She felt more relaxed than she had in a long time.

Travis didn't seem too far gone (seeing as he had more practice with this sort of thing). He let her talk, pouring out her emotions like a dam breaking. He put his arm around her shoulder, and suddenly Annabeth couldn't remember when he had moved to sit right next to her. He was warm and actually smelled really nice…

They turned to face each other, their eyes meeting. Annabeth never really got to look Travis in the eyes like this, and she found that his eyes were calming. They were a mix of blue and green with a roguish glint. And his curly brown hair actually looked really soft.

"You know," said Annabeth a little loudly. "You can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but you're not all that bad."

Travis laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Annabeth took one last shot of vodka and placed the glass resolutely on the ground next to her. She was starting to feel a little dizzy, so she placed her head on Travis's should to stop the world from spinning.

"You're kind of a light weight," said Travis, absently playing with the ends of her hair.

"Shut up, Stoll," Annabeth giggled. Oh gods, did she really just giggle?

With Travis holding her around the shoulders and feeling him so close, Annabeth felt a little warm. Travis seemed perfectly content holding her close, and Annabeth wasn't complaining. Suddenly, Annabeth felt Travis's hand on her cheek, turning her face towards him. They were looking at each other once more, just scant inches apart. Annabeth saw Travis move closer, almost in slow motion, and close the gap between them. She felt his warm, soft lips pressing against hers. Annabeth nearly gasped…

Travis Stoll was kissing her.

And she was kissing him back.

A/N: There you have it: chapter 1! I hope you enjoyed it, and you all probably know what's going to happen next! Chapter 2 will be smutty, I promise lol.

Please review!