Chapter 10

Percy felt his body drifting into consciousness. He refused to open his eyes, wanting to stay asleep. He had been having the best dream about sitting at the lake with Annabeth at Camp Half-blood. As he thought of her, the memory of her falling asleep curled up against his side filled his mind. He smiled to himself.

Percy slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see her still beside him. But she wasn't. Instead, he found himself in an uncomfortable position, somewhere between half sitting and half laying, clutching the pillow her head had once occupied. He scanned the room, but didn't see her. He got out of bed slowly, his neck and back aching from the way he slept. He rubbed his sore neck and walked out of the bedroom. He first checked the bathroom, but the door was wide open. His next stop was the kitchen, but she wasn't there. Confused, he looked towards the couch. Her coat was gone. He ran his hand through his messy hair and dropped himself onto the couch.

"What a mess," he mumbled.

He was angry. Angry at himself for not being there to save her, angry at Luke for what he did, angry that she was gone, but even angrier that she felt like she had to leave before he even woke up, and angry that he was yet again alone.

*****

Annabeth stared at the copy machine as it spit out paper after paper of some worksheet she had dug out that morning from an old workbook. She hated being the type of teacher who gave her students busywork for no reason, but she didn't have it in her to teach. She was exhausted, mentally and physically. Somehow things had gotten more complicated than she ever wanted.

As the light from the copy machine went back and forth, scanning the paper, she remembered what it was like waking up next to him. His arms were wrapped securely around her, protecting her. He felt warm against her body. She couldn't help but smile as she heard his soft snores. He looked like he was in a less than comfortable position, but she didn't wake him. Somehow their night of friendship had turned to something much more. She tried to tell herself that he was just comforting her as a friend, that any friend would have done the same thing, but she was lying to herself. She wanted to be there with him in his bed as much as he did and that couldn't happen. So, after taking a moment to revel in what it felt like to be with him, knowing that she would never have that feeling again, she slipped out of his arms and quietly out of the apartment. She didn't know what else to do.

The copier stopped and Annabeth snapped out of her daydream. She grabbed the copies and placed them on the table next to the copier. She picked up another piece of paper from the pile of papers she had brought in and stared at it. She had thought a long time about whether or not she was going to write the letter and give up everything she had worked for, but she knew what she had to do for herself and for him. She had taken half the day on Sunday to write it and the other half of the day to decide what she was going to do with it. She cried herself to sleep before the nightmares started. They were worse than ever before and she woke up screaming for him, but he never came.

Annabeth placed the paper face down on the copier and closed the lid. She hit the copy button as a tear hit the copier.

Just one floor above her, Percy trudged in. He was exhausted and, more than that, partially hung over. He was earlier than usual, but sitting home thinking about what he did wrong was worse than going to work. At least at his desk he hoped he would be able to concentrate enough to plan his lesson for the day. If not, his students were going to be stuck doing written assignments that they would most certainly groan about and he would groan about correcting.

Percy threw his jacket over the back of his chair and dropped his bag on the ground. He sat at his desk, about to pull his plan book out of his bag when he stopped. He couldn't concentrate on plans when there was something he knew he had to do.

Pushing his chair back, he stood up. He didn't know how early she got to school, but he knew that he would wait until she did. He took the stairs two at a time as he went down to the technology and art wing. He was practically jogging when he glanced in the copy room and saw her standing with her back to him over the copy machine. He stopped outside of the room, took a deep breath, and walked in.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

Startled, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She had been hoping to avoid this moment, but it had arrived and she had to face it. She turned around slowly.

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why did you leave?"

"I just think it's best if we didn't see each other anymore."

"I didn't know we were seeing each other to begin with. I thought we were just friends."

"Percy…"

He walked towards her.

"What are you so afraid of, Annabeth? That you might start having feelings for me?"

"That's not what I'm afraid of," she answered quietly.

"Then what is it? Because I can't do this anymore."

"I made it very clear what I wanted and didn't want," she stated, raising her voice.

"Yeah, you wanted to be friends. Well, let me tell you something, I can't just be your friend."

"Then I'm sorry. Because that's all I have to offer."

"Annabeth, anyone who knew us could tell that we weren't just friends when we were fifteen years old."

"That was a long time ago."

"Maybe, but it's still true." He put his hand on her arm. "Look me in the eye and tell me you just want to be my friend.

She did look him in the eye, but she didn't speak. Instead, she saw the same, gentle person she knew when she was a child. If she could have been honest with him, she would have told him that she wanted to be with him, but that wasn't an option. She had made her choice ten years ago. A choice that still pained him, but that he would never know she made.

"There are some things you just don't understand."

"Then help me understand them."

She shook her head. "I can't do this."

He tried to touch her cheek, but she pulled away.

"This has to do with Luke, doesn't it?"

"I can't do this!" She shouted. "I was fine before I saw you again. I was moving on and now…" She pulled the sheet of paper out of the copy machine and shoved it at him. "Now I'm resigning."

She quickly gathered her papers and left the room. He stood, holding her letter of resignation in his hand, feeling as if he had lost.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the great reviews from the last chapter. I have to admit that I was really nervous about what people would think, but I'm really glad that it was well received. I'll admit that this chapter isn't as exciting, but there'll be a lot more coming up! (And, to answer someone's question, I had a fabulous vacation and the weather was actually freezing since I went to Vermont, but it still was a ton of fun. Thank you for asking!)