The day had finally come, the day that Annabeth and Percy's fathers were to leave. Annabeth knew it was coming, but the emotional preparation didn't make the day any easier. Annabeth stood in a modest dress and heels, a grey hat providing a halo effect behind her head. The platform was bustling with families, a cacophony of sobs and light chatter echoing across the train platform. Among the constantly moving bodies, the blonde stood still, staring at her father who was only a few paces away. Her father was listening to her mother speak intently, his hand cupping her cheek. Annabeth had a hard time eavesdropping on their conversation, resorting to watching them with a fondness in her eyes. The way her mother leaned into her husband's hand, the way she placed her smaller, but equally strong, hand over his. It would be a long while before she would witness this sight again, so she took her time in watching.

A few feet back, Percy was listening to his father speak, stealing glances towards the girl who stood as if she herself were getting drafted. Her shoulders were pressed back, her hands folded in front of her, a practiced mannerism, her feet neatly together.

His father, noticing his son's very apparent inattention, paused. He let out a low laugh, waiting for his son to notice his lack of speaking. Percy turned, grinning sheepishly. His mother, sitting on a bench next to them, laughed.

"This boy is most certainly in love," she remarked, craning her neck to eye the blonde that had now moved closer to her father.

The whistle on the train blew, a conductor stepping out onto the platform. "Train's gon' be leaving in a few minutes, folks," he announced, quickly stepping back into the train.

Annabeth turned her head back to her father, a forced smile crossing her face. He let go of his wife, stepping towards Annabeth, closing the distance between himself and his daughter. His eyes were filled with pride as he looked down at the blonde, his heart swelling. Annabeth placed a hand on his shoulder, adjusting his tie.

"You can never tie your ties straight, daddy, can you?" she asked, sniffling as she straightened the green tie out.

"Why would I tie it straight when I've got you to fix it for me?" he asked right back, wiping the lone tear from her cheek with a finger.

Her stomach turned, and she suddenly found it hard to speak. Fred noticed the sudden silence that was uncharacteristic of his daughter, drawing her into his arms.

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry," she said, her voice cracking. He pulled her closer, burying his face in her shoulder.

"It's okay if you do, dear," he murmured against her dress, a tear falling on the fabric.

"I want you to take care of your mother, Annabeth. Make sure you lock up the safe every night. Double, triple check before you leave. Don't work on Sundays, spend the day with your mother. I'll write you as soon as I ca-"

He was cut off by the sound of the whistle once again. The conductor stepped back out, yelling, "All aboard."

Percy turned to his father, grabbing his shoulders firmly. "You come back to me, pa. You come back to me and my mother," commanding in his speech. The normally consistent tone in his voice faltered as he grabbed his mother and father into his arms. "You come back to us," he repeated one final time.

His father reached for his bag, slinging it over his head and onto his back. Reaching for his wife and son, he kissed them both on the forehead.

Annabeth clutched at her father's back, fisting the fabric that was there. "Write as soon as you can," she said, pulling away. Her father nodded, pulling her back in for one more hug, kissing her cheek.

"I love you, Annabeth," he said, turning to say goodbye to his wife.

Annabeth turned away, trying to avoid crying anymore. She spotted Percy Jackson a ways from her, being hugged by his father, his face red, eyes stinging with tears. Scanning the faces of the rest of the families crowding the platform, she found similar scenes. This was the first large batch of men to be drafted from their town, and the effect it was having on the population was extremely evident.

"Last call!" the conductor yelled from the train, the whistle blowing once more.

Annabeth faced her father, giving him one last hug and kiss on the cheek. Percy pulled in his dad once more for a hug, attempting to hide his tears. His father looked at his equally green-eyed son, speaking with a sudden conviction. "Perce, you go after that girl. And you make your old man proud."

The crowd parted as the men left to board the trains, wives crying after their husbands, daughters reaching for their fathers, sisters weeping for their brothers. Annabeth stood, tears falling, unsure of what was to come. Percy wiped his eyes, reaching to put his arm around his mother as she waved at the train, to a window where her husband was sitting, waving right back.

Annabeth smiled across the platform at the scene of Percy with his mother, turning to hug her crying mother. Her father stood in the doorway of the train car, smiling at his family.

Annabeth didn't know how long it would be until she saw her father again, so she took a moment to look at him, take in his features. The lines on his face - his clean face, now without a beard. His hair cut in a military style, his hat covering all but the edges. His posture straight, his bag held in one hand.

The train pulled away, women running after individual cars, yelling last words of love, reaching for one last touch. Annabeth watched the pain in their eyes as they walked away from the train as it picked up speed, their men out of their reach. She felt for them.

Once the train was down the track, the crowd cleared. Annabeth stayed at the edge of the platform, leaning over the handrail, watching the train reach the horizon. Percy told his mother to take the car, staying behind to talk to the blonde girl who stood on the rail in heels.

The dark-haired boy came up to the rail, speaking, his voice slightly raspy. "You're still here, huh?"

Annabeth's smile did not reach her eyes, but she nonetheless replied in a humored tone, "And you are as well."

Percy stood up on the rail as well, leaning forward as she did to watch the train continue on. "I'm only here right now to talk to you," he admitted, raking his hand through his hair nervously.

"Is that so," she remarked, eyes narrowing at the boy who, now again, dwarfed her in height.

"I wanted to ask you how you've been… You know, since it's been about a week since the Luke thing…"

Annabeth paused a moment, turning away from Percy. "I'm fine. Thalia came to visit me a lot so I wouldn't feel like I had no one to talk to. My parents were a little upset that we had broken up until I told them the circumstances, then they understood. My dad wanted to go to the Castellan home and teach him a lesson or two, I think…" she laughed lightly, still a little unsettled by the whole thing.

"I need to thank you again, though. I don't know what might have happened. Luke has a really bad temper-" Annabeth paused, comparing her struggles to the ones that the men on the train were about to face. For a moment, she felt silly. Her and Percy's fathers were being shipped off to war. She knew people didn't come back from wars the same, if at all. And here she was, talking about a boy who didn't even love her, as she didn't love him.

"This is silly," she said, looking at the roof of the station, shaking her head. "A good number of the men of this town just got shipped off to war, and I'm here talking to you about an ex-boyfriend."

Percy looked at the frustrated girl, understanding her point, but similarly, not agreeing. "Yes, but that doesn't mean you should just forget about your problems." He wrung his hands together, a nervous habit.

Annabeth sighed, adjusting her hat. "There are more important things to think about, that's all. Percy, I'm sorry to cut this conversation so short. But I best be going. Just because some of the men got drafted does not mean I still don't have a business to run." She stepped down from the rail, the sound of her heels hitting the ground echoing across the empty station. Percy jumped down as well, adjusting his shirt.

"Thanks for talking to me anyway," she offered, sticking her hand out for a handshake. Percy instead took her gloved hand and kissed the back of it, coming back up with a crooked smile.

She shook her head, speaking one last time to the dark-haired boy with a slight blush across his cheeks. "Goodbye, Percy."

"See you soon, Annabeth."

Percy watched the blonde walk down the platform and down the stairs, heading back towards town. In that moment he knew, he was a goner.

...

The following couple of weeks were a whirlwind for Annabeth. More men in the town had decided to sign up to fight, as increased coverage of the war spread across the airways. Many men had come to her for a haircut, and she seldom found time to be by herself. She did take those Sundays off, spending them with her mother and Thalia, who would sometimes stop in to the apartment.

Percy was receiving peer pressure from his friends during this time to sign up with them. They were of age, and felt they needed to do something. Or at least, that's what they told Percy. He thought that maybe some of them were only doing it for attention, or pure teenage adrenaline, and maybe even a touch of rebellion. He also thought that you shouldn't just enlist for any old reason. Percy supported his country, sure, but felt he shouldn't leave his mother unless drafted, or until he felt there was a right time to do so. Sally Jackson was a tough lady, but he didn't want to leave her alone.

Percy also didn't want to leave the blonde dame across the street, but he wasn't quite ready to admit it to himself. In the two weeks since his father left, and their conversation on the train platform, he had only spoken to Annabeth a handful of times, mostly in passing. He didn't know how to make the first move towards the girl, frankly, finding her kind of intimidating now that they had spoken a few times. He also didn't know the proper waiting time to ask a girl out after she was just in a relationship.

His usual too-cool-for-school facade wavered around the blonde, but the other girls that would peek into his shop window didn't seem to notice. As he worked, they would pass by and wave, or peek their head in the door and say hello. He found it annoying usually, but especially now that his interest in Annabeth was growing. As if the Fates were against him, more of them seemed to be showing up, probably hearing about their escapade on Main Street, or their interaction at the station.

As Percy cleaned some guy's muddy work boots, pondering over a way to ask the girl out, the bell on the shop door jingled. Percy sighed, popping his head out from the office, hoping that it wasn't a special request. Even though he was a shoe shiner, he hated having to scrub especially dirty shoes, at least feeling grateful that the customer wouldn't see his frustration as he worked.

Mid-thought, he processed the sight in front of him. Annabeth Chase herself stood behind the small counter, looking at the family photo hung on the adjacent wall. She had not yet noticed Percy, giving the frazzled teenager a moment to gather himself. Tossing the boot back on the small work table, Percy tried to wipe his dirty hands on his apron, the attempt mostly futile.

Walking out of the office with his best nonchalant posture, he came up behind the counter. "How may I help you today?" he asked, his voice a cross between professional and ridiculous.

Annabeth turned her head from the frame to him, cocking it to the side. "I came here to ask you something," slightly confused by his tone, furrowing her eyebrows together.

Percy's mouth turned dry, his nervousness at an all-time high. "Yes?" What did she want?

"Would you like to get dinner with me Friday?"

Percy's eyes widened with shock. It was certainly unexpected for a woman to ask a man out, but Percy couldn't say no. This was Annabeth god damn Chase! Caught off guard, he recomposed himself.

"Beat me to the chase, Chase," he remarked, putting a hand on his head as he stepped away from the counter.

"Well, you were being very indecisive," she shot back. "I am a very patient person, but I'm not waiting around forever for something to happen. Now do you want to get dinner with me or not?"

A smile spread across Percy's features, the nervousness fading away. "I would love to."

Annabeth smiled back, heading for the door. "I need to be getting back to work, but I'll see you then. Let's meet at Charlie's at 7," she said, pushing the glass door open, going back to work.

Percy sighed, collapsing into one of the chairs usually meant for his customers. It was only Monday, and Friday night felt like an eternity away. The restaurant that Annabeth invited him to was a modest Italian restaurant, which he was happy for. The Jacksons were doing well for themselves, but Percy didn't want to spend money where he didn't absolutely have to.

Relieved, he laughed a little. Annabeth Chase asked him out on a date. And he said yes. He felt that he would now have to make up for not asking her out to dinner first.

Across the street, Annabeth, now starting on a customer, smiled to herself. After being in a relationship for awhile with Luke, it was nice to finally have control in a relationship. She decided whether or not to ask him out. It had been some time since the Luke incident, and she had been pretty happy to not have seen him since.

Things were finally beginning to look up for Annabeth. Despite her father being gone, she had received a couple of letters and was pleased to hear that he was doing fine. He had been placed in a relatively comfortable position due to his age, and did surprisingly well during their basic training. He missed her and her mother, including a postcard from the nearest town along with his letter.

Finishing up with the customer's haircut, Annabeth brushed any remaining hair off his shoulders, checking the evenness of the hairstyle. The young boy who couldn't have been much older than her was now lacking his dark curls. He shook slightly, swallowing as he did.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked, worried at the boy's state. Did she nick his ear? Was their blood somewhere? She inspected the dark toned boy, finding nothing.

"I'm planning on enlisting," he said, straightening up in the chair slightly.

"Oh," was all that escaped Annabeth's lips, suddenly understanding.

"I'm Leo," he offered, sticking his hand out for a shake.

"Annabeth," she replied, shaking his hand.

Leo stood up from the chair, heading to the counter, reaching for his wallet. "Your dad was Fred, right?" he asked.

Annabeth nodded, reading out his total.

"He got drafted in the most recent batch, didn't he?" Leo asked again, passing his cash over to her.

She nodded once more, handing him back his change.

"He's a good man, Annabeth. He's been cutting my hair since I was a kid. I may not know him as well as you, but I know he'll be fine."

Annabeth smiled, never quite realizing the effect that her father had on other people. He had been running the business since before she was born, it being passed down from his father. She didn't quite think about other people knowing him, making a personal connection with him through his work.

"Thanks, Leo," she replied, patting him on the shoulder. Though Annabeth's stressing over her father would probably never stop, Leo had helped her. Even if her father didn't come home, he was loved by many.

...

Luke grumbled to himself, pacing back and forth through his foyer, stopping only briefly to glance out of the window to his car. His fashionable dress shoes clicked with every step across the polished wooden floors. He was frustrated. Annabeth, the girl who was supposed to marry him, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, the smartest girl in town, had shown him up. She had embarrassed him.

Raking his hand through his hair, he fell back into a nearby arm chair, pondering his next move, taking a long drag from a cigarette. Her father wasn't there, which was a plus. Fred was a smart man who no doubt saw through his facade in some aspects. Her mother was not gullible either, but she could be distracted by the premise of a tragic love story. She lived for that, she was a librarian.

He had to find a way to frame the whole situation a little better, to make Annabeth see things from a different perspective. Why would he ever intentionally hurt her? He loved her, he wanted to marry her. Grabbing her was in the heat of the moment. He simply didn't want to lose her.

It wasn't perfect, but it could work. For the time being.