You'd think someone who was beautiful at age 12 would peak in their teens, but not Annabeth. She looked like a woman now. She still had an athletic figure and legs that went on for days. She was more shapely than she was back then. She'd lost her typical tan since she wasn't in the sun 24/7 anymore. Her skin was kind of a cream color and she actually wore some makeup now. Not much, but a little eyeliner and mascara. Her eyes were the color of sterling silver and sparkled like it too.

It was amazing how some things never change and some people never stop taking your breath away from a first glance. It made him briefly forget about his situation. Then it all came back when she arrived in front of him. He felt awkward now.

"Um… Annabeth?" he asked unsure. Was it her? She was so… grown up. He was positive that if models wore jeans and t-shirts all the time then they would look just like Annabeth, but not as natural.

She nodded and looked at him quizzically. Her brow furrowed and she was biting her lip. She didn't recognize him. Then it seemed to come to her.

"Percy?" she asked in somewhat disbelief.

"Yeah, it's me. Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon and Sally."

She smiled. "Wow. It's been a while hasn't it?"

Her voice sounded the same, only more mature. She was carrying herself differently. Sure, she had a calculating look about her, but he couldn't figure out why she seemed so much more relaxed.

"Like… 5 years." Percy said slowly.

She shrugged. "Time flies I guess."

"Sure does… seems like just yesterday I was drooling in my sleep."

She smirked and nodded. "Probably still do, Seaweed Brain."

There it was, the name. The name she plagued him with through out their whole friendship. It would never die.

"I thought you would've forgotten about that name, Wise Girl."

"Amazing. After 5 years of not seeing me, you couldn't think of anything else? Very much like you."

He chuckled then turned a little more serious. "You look great." He said. "What have you been doing with yourself?"

She cleared her throat. "Well I'm actually designing software for Sims right now, but since that doesn't pay enough for the rent, I'm a waitress at Olive Garden on the side."

"I thought you were studying to be an architect?"

"I was, but after you rebuild Olympus, every other job seems sort of shabby. I did design a few buildings in California, but things didn't work there so I'm back in the city. How about you, Percy?"

"Well Rachel and I just got divorced, over complicated things..."

Annabeth showed genuine concern. "Oh no! Why?"

"She erm… cheated on me." He said quietly.

"Oh Percy, I'm sorry! That's terrible." This Annabeth sounded much more empathetic as opposed to "I told you so".

"I'm just kind of down on my luck, but you know…"

"Well don't worry, you'll bounce back."

"I guess." He felt awkward getting advice from his ex-girlfriend.

"People can really suck right?" she said simply.

"Totally." He agreed. "Especially guys named Miguel."

"The famous mariachi dancer?"

"Probably."

"Wow…" she said quietly. "Well she doesn't deserve you. You deserve to be happy."

He smiled lightly. "Thanks, Annabeth. But happiness hasn't really come my way yet."

She gently touched his shoulder. "Not to tell you what to do, but be happy you're single. You can have a way better time as a bachelor than as a married man. Grant it, being married is great for people who have someone they're with and are ready to commit. Being single is about having fun and finding yourself, which I think may be just what you need."

"How do I get back into that when everything is horrible for me right now?" he asked.

"Go out, mingle, meet people. Do the things you loved doing before marriage."

"Wow…"

"What?"

"You're just so… different. Are you one of those free spirits now?"

"I guess you could say that. I'm smarter though, and wiser. My life just isn't the way I planned it when I was younger."

"I can see that. How can you be happy with such a… non-ideal lifestyle?"

"I guess because it's surprising. I never know what'll happen next."

"But you hate not knowing…" he was confused.

"I used to, but now I embrace it. Life needs a little mystery."

Percy felt like the roles were flipped. The only thing that remained the same about Annabeth was clearly her sarcasm and her wisdom/intelligence. She was now the one who lived carelessly and happy living that way. He was now uptight and had everything panned out and when things didn't go that way, he freaked. It was what living with Rachel for 5 years did to him. He wondered what changed Annabeth.

She nodded. "Well I'm going to say hello to Chiron. It was nice talking to you Percy."

"It was nice talking to you too, Annabeth." He said as calmly as he could.

She stuck out her hand and he looked at it briefly. He soon realized she was going to shake his hand. How awkward. Nonetheless, he took her hand and shook it.

Later that night, Percy laid in his old cabin and simply stared at the ceiling.

He felt like he was 12 again and it was his first night in camp half-blood. He glanced at a picture of Grover, him, and Annabeth after they'd rescued her from Atlas and Luke. He recalled how concerned he was for her wellbeing. In fact, he couldn't sleep with the thought of Annabeth in danger. Grover was giving Percy bunny ears in the picture. Percy smirked at that. How a childish act of humor could amuse him never made sense. He sort of wished things never changed. He wished it was like his second year of camp where it was all about just being a kid. And being a demigod kid was the best thing that ever happened to Percy. Even if it did threaten his life once or twice… or more.