Wassup?

The correct answer would be: the sky. Common knowledge.

Anywho, I would like to apologize for taking so long to upload this new chapter. My excuse is: I've been pretty busy. Recently I found out that I'm moving to a new house, so lucky me – I get to pack up everything I own. That tends to keep me busy.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! In all honesty, I wasn't going to write a new chapter, but you asked for it. Literally.

And thanks to AthenabethChase for being soo awesome and supportive. It makes me so happy to talk to you and I'm glad to finally get this chapter up, as promised.

Alright, I think that covers everything.

Without –

No! A disclaimer! (Sorry for forgetting one in the last chapter.)

I'M A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL THAT LIVES IN FLORIDA…DO I SOUND LIKE RICK RIORDAN?

Annabeth Chase had been through a lot. Heck, she'd been through hell (literally). Not much could get to her. She'd seen the scariest of monsters, dealt with many lunatics bent on revenge…she's even faced off with the one and only Arachne – and lived to tell the tale.

That had not been easy. Specifically because Arachne was a spider.

Ugh. Spiders.

Annabeth was a daughter of Athena. She didn't do spiders. The Arachne situation had been a one-time affair – to save the world. After that incident, Annabeth had vowed: Never again.

Because she and Percy had taken a slight detour to Tartarus. And almost died.

Fun, huh?

Not. At. All.

So, now, whenever Annabeth saw a spider – no matter how small – she would scream and yell for Percy to kill it. Or anybody but her, for that matter.

Arachne had been scary. Tartarus was enough. Any more spiders? Too much.

Annabeth sucked in a sharp, ragged breath.

Eight fury legs. Creeping slowly closer. Eight beady eyes. All directed at her.

A cold shiver trickled down her spine.

"P-Percy?" she whispered. She meant for it to come out loud and strong, but she couldn't seem to find her voice.

Annabeth had been sitting in Percy's bedroom at his house. Percy had briefly left the room to grab the couple a snack, while Annabeth continued to finish up a bit of homework.

Percy still hadn't returned and the sight of the small house spider gave Annabeth flashbacks to her time with Arachne.

A dull vision of pain pulsed up her leg. She realized that it was a taste of the pain she had endured when she had broken her ankle.

Her vision clouded over, and when she blinked, her eyes opened to a whole different scene.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Percy was dangling in front of her. Yes, hanging over a chasm of death. The same chasm Annabeth knew would soon swallow him and he would be thrown into the pits of Tartarus.

But…Annabeth was below him, grasping his hand tightly. So how could she be up where she was, on safe land?

She must've been looking through someone else's eyes, perhaps Nico Di Angelo's.

Annabeth focused on the scene in front of her. Her eyes (or Nico's, whatever) zeroed in on Percy's face. As he made Nico promise to meet them, his lips were pursed in determination. She detected a small gleam of fear in his eyes, but once again, the determination and purpose drowned it out.

Annabeth herself hadn't really been all there at the time. Her thoughts had been clouded with pain. She had been so overwhelmed, and everything had happened so quickly.

Percy could've easily let go of her hand and be pulled up. Luckily (for her, at least) the words abandon, desert, and leave were not etched into his vocabulary.

Because that was his fatal flaw: loyalty. Gods, Annabeth loved him for it. Without it, she wouldn't be there today.

Annabeth did her best to avoid the "what ifs." She didn't want to think about how better off Percy would have been without having to fall with her. Or what it would be like –

No. She pushed the thoughts away from her mind, pulling her attention back to a very distressed Percy.

His hand was slipping, knuckles white.

At that moment, Annabeth knew that she would be nowhere without Percy Jackson.

The memory clawed at her heart, threatening to break it into a thousand fragile shards.

The second Percy's hand left the ledge, Annabeth's vision cleared and she was staring once more at the measly spider in Percy's bedroom.

"PERCY!" she shrieked.

A few thumps could be heard outside of the room. Finally, Percy burst through the door, Riptide drawn and ready to strike. "What? What's wrong?" he asked, his head swiveling from side to side in concern.

"Sp-p-pider!" she stuttered.

Percy focused his gaze on the small house spider that sat still on the rug. He walked up cautiously, as not to scare it away. After Percy raised his foot to smash the eight legged creature, it was reduced to nothing but a harmless brown spot.

He looked up and met Annabeth's gaze.

They stood, staring into each other's eyes for a few moments.

Then, the memory flooded back into Annabeth's mind, and, naturally, she stood up and ran to Percy. He held his arms open invitingly, and Annabeth, in need of comfort, gratefully accepted the hug.

"What's wrong?" Percy whispered gently.

Annabeth began to sob into his embrace. Here he was, asking her what was wrong. She sniffled. "I-I saw you…the spider…Tartarus…Arachne…" she trailed off.

Percy absentmindedly played with her hair. "It's okay." She couldn't even get a full sentence out, yet he knew exactly what she was trying to say. "We're here. Together. Arachne's gone."

Annabeth took a shaky breath, attempting to regain a small bit of her composure. "The memories…they're always there. Tartarus haunts me still. I can only get away from it for so long. Things like," she hesitated. "Things like spiders trigger certain memories."

"Yeah," Percy agreed, one of his hands now soothingly rubbing circles around her back. "The same thing happens to me. I just have to remind myself that it's all in the past."

She nodded into his shoulder. "What triggers yours?"

Percy's body tensed against hers, and he pulled her closer. "Little things can cause me to have nightmares about…about losing you. I'm used to nightmares, but these? These are scary. Even the thought of you…" Percy stopped himself. "Other times, when I hear the word 'titan' or the name 'Bob,' I can't shake the guilt that comes with it." Percy's voice wavered.

"You know—"

"Yeah, Wise Girl, I do," Percy cut her off. "I know it wasn't my fault. Tell that to my conscience." He gestured towards his temples.

Neither knowing what to say, they sat in a comfortable silence. Annabeth's thoughts strayed to herself.

She was a daughter of Athena. Meant to be fearless and strong. Calm and collected at all times, ready to dish out a plan when needed.

As if reading her mind, Percy said, "It's okay to cry, Annabeth. We've been through so much, it only shows how brave you are."

Wow. When did her Seaweed Brain get so smart?

She giggled at nothing in particular.

"Gods of Olympus, I love you Percy."

"I love you too."

In that moment, Annabeth knew that it was okay to tuck away her strong façade sometimes. Sometimes she needed to have a good cry and breakdown in Percy's arms, because it was okay. No matter how she was feeling or what day it was, Percy could brighten up everything and make her laugh. He always knew –

"Can we just take a moment to thank the gods that spiders don't fly?"

Sorry. I had to do another Percabeth. Couldn't help myself. I apologize for the shortness and the clear rushedness (not a word) shown. I just wanted to get something posted.

I hope you enjoyed this little one shot with spiders, because I had a lot of fun writing it.

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE give me any ideas that you have on your mind. Even if it's super cheesy, cliché, or random, I can work with it. And if I do find a good one, I'll be sure to give you credit in my authors note.

Thanks so much for reading, and I appreciate any reviews. Criticism is welcome, and the more I know that people are reading this, the more I'll write for you guys. Thanks again!

~Grace