The smell of antiseptic, white blinding light, and the soft beeps of a machine were the first things Percy was aware of as he woke up, blinking slowly. It took a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust to the bright light and as they did, he saw a pair of familiar grey eyes and blonde princess curls.

Moaning, Percy leaned over the bed and began to dry heave, his throat dry and scratchy. He felt fingers carding through his hair in a way that was supposed to feel comforting. Though, what it really felt like was his heart trying to claw its way out of his chest, but unfortunately there was no word in the English dictionary for that.

"Percy?" She said. "Are you okay?"

Percy's sassy side felt like saying, "If your definition of okay is just waking up from a freaking coma and feeling like complete shit, then yes." But he didn't have the mind or energy to get those words out, so he just let out a noise that sounded like a dying hippo.

Annabeth ran out into the hallway and flagged down the nearest nurse. He could hear her yelling for them to get a doctor, spewing out orders like she was a doctor herself. She could've been, considering how smart she was.

She appeared back in the doorway, walking up to the bed and taking his hand in hers. Percy wanted to snatch his hand away, but he didn't have the energy to do that either. He hadn't eaten in days, he smelled like puke, and the first person he'd ever loved and had his heart broken by was holding his hand like the only thing that mattered was him.

And Percy knew that that was a complete lie.

The doctor strolled into the room at that moment. He was an older looking man with salt and pepper hair and a receding hairline. He also looked like he had drinking a dozen cups of coffee just to keep him up for the night, resembling something of Albert Einstein with the way he hair stuck up like he'd been electrocuted and the wire-rimmed glasses that sat firmly on the bridge of his nose.

As the doctor told Annabeth about Percy's condition - he was stable enough to be moved out of the intensive care unit - the green-eyed boy felt himself drifting away little by little as if he was being blown by the wind. Grey eyes connected with green just one more time before Percy let him succumb himself to the darkness that was starting to overwhelm him.

The next time Percy came to, he felt the dip in the bed beside him, the cause being a body laying on the bed next to him, their legs pressed together from the hip down. He turned his head to see Annabeth laying beside him, her eyes focused so intently on the book she was reading that she didn't notice he was wide awake and watching her.

Being this close to Annabeth, Percy noticed all the the things that had changed about her since he had last seen her.

Annabeth's hair was now more strawberry blonde than honey blonde, little tendrils of hair framing her face naturally and effortlessly in the way most girls took hours to do. Her cheeks were tinged with pink instead of the red he was used to and her eyes, oh God, those eyes.

He missed the way they turned to a lighter shade whenever she laughed or teased him, the color of the clouds after a rainstorm. He missed the way they turned dark like the smoke of a fire when she was angry.

Most of all Percy just missed her in general. The smell of her strawberry shampoo. Her dainty fingers intertwined with his. When she called him Seaweed Brain.

But the memories of those times also brought the heartache with it, too. The feeling like he was being strangled till the world was spinning below his feet and the thudding of his heart was a loud rhythm in his ears as she said those godforsaken words.

"It's over, Percy."

And then tossed him to the side as if he were the trash that deserved to be left on the curb.

The only thing was, when Monday came around and the garbage truck left, Percy was still sitting there on the curb outside of her apartment building. He had wanted to go back into her apartment to give her one last confession of his love and try to convince her that they were worth a second try. That you couldn't just throw away a love like theirs.

And then Percy saw her enter her apartment with Luke. The same Luke who was the quarterback of Olympus. The same Luke who he had to pretend he didn't hate because he stole his Wise Girl and made her change schools to avoid him.

And up until now, Percy thought he had moved onto something bigger and better that was named Jason Grace, but when his eyes met Annabeth's, time stopped and he found himself wanting to brush her hair behind her ear like old times, even though he knew he couldn't.

Because things were different.

Because she didn't love him anymore.

Because he was dating Jason.

"Um," Annabeth said, looking away quickly. "You're probably thirsty."

She reached over to pick up a cup of water from the bedside table, turning to fully face him. "Drink," she commanded as she held the cup to his awaiting lips.

When he was done, Percy licked chapped lips, his throat feeling a lot less dry. "Thanks," he said, though it might have came out more sarcastic than he wanted it to.

Annabeth blinked in surprise, like he had slapped her with his words. She wrung her hands together and looked at him with a expression that resembled guilt. Percy would've been lying if he said some part of him was smiling in satisfaction.

"Look," she started, her eyes turning so dark they were almost black. "I'm sorry, Percy. I know that I hurt you a lot - "

"That's an understatement." He snapped, interrupting her. "You broke my heart, Annabeth. I've let my guard up and it's going to take a lot to make me trust you again."

"I know, Percy," she nodded, curls falling from the loose bun at the crown of her head. "I know. I've been replaced with Jason."

No, you haven't, Percy thought bitterly. He shut his eyes tightly and held he breath before letting it out like his counselor from anger management had told him to do. In for one. Out for three.

Feeling the tension leave his body, Percy opened his eyes, meeting Annabeth's grey ones. He plastered an indifferent look on his face, the mask he often wore. "Can you get me some dinner?" He asked nonchalantly. "I'm hungry."

"Percy, you can't just change the subject. We've got to talk about this eventually." Annabeth insisted.

"No, we don't. I'm done with this conversation."

"Percy," she said softly, taking his hand again. His skin burned from her touch. "Look at me."

He did.

"I know you're dating Jason, but I still want to have you in my life, even if that means as a friend. When you left, everything changed. I didn't have anyone to talk to when Luke broke up with me because my best friend was gone. Do you think going to a new college and making new friends was easy? And not having someone to vent to at the end of the day?" Annabeth asked him, her voice cracking a bit. "God, I just... I just miss you, Percy."

He became too aware of their proximity to each other. Annabeth's body was pressed against his so that she could look at him. Her face was so close, her nose was barely brushing his. He could smell the mint on her breath.

Percy wished he could say something, anything. It was like he was in quicksand. The more he thought about Annabeth and what to say, the worse the situation got. It was taking all of his willpower to not say yes and kiss her like he'd wanted to for the past six months. It was crazy how she still had this affect on him, even after all this time.

But then Percy's eyes drifted to the door and he caught sight of a certain blue-eyed blonde in the doorway. Piper was standing behind him, grabbing his hand to try to pull him out of the room, but Jason was rooted there, eyes widened and mouth agape.

Percy tried to sit up, but the wires tangled around his arms and his chest were keeping him strapped down to the bed.

"I can explain," he said desperately, shaking Annabeth off of him and reaching for the only blonde that should matter to him right now. "It's not what it looks like."

It's funny how that was what everyone said when they were caught doing something that they shouldn't be doing.

Jason took a step back into Piper and let the girl tug him out of the room.

"Wait!" Percy called desperately. He thrashed around, trying to get out of the mess he was in - both literally and figuratively.

Jason didn't even glance over his shoulder not once.

Percy held his head in his hands, pulling his hair at the roots. He felt a hand on his back that was tracing patterns through the thin material of the hospital gown. He glared at the blonde girl beside him, his eyes churning like the angry ocean.

"Get out," he snarled. "I want to be alone."

"But - "

"Get out!" He yelled much louder than he needed to considering she was laying beside him.

Annabeth flinched, slinking away from him. She slid off the bed and gathered her bag off the chair in the corner of the hospital room. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she settled him with her steely gaze.

"You should call him."

And if that wasn't the smartest thing to come out of those rose pink lips, then Percy didn't know what was.

Kay, so leave me a review telling me how that played out because I didn't want Annabeth to come off to much as a female dog. I mean, she and Percy have a love/hate relationship going on.

Also, I hope this helps you guys understand why they were laying in the same bed. I don't want Percy to come off as a douche bag, lol.

So YAAAAASSS, don't forget to review, follow, and favorite.

Love ya bunches!

- Hazel x