Hello dearest readers!

Super Important Note Right Here: I UPDATED CHAPTER NINE!

So, basically, I updated chapter nine, so if you read the version that came out on 1/24/19, read it again! I updated it again on that Saturday, I think. So if you read it on Thursday, the 24th or Friday, the 25th, you should read it again because it's majorly different. I just really felt that the original chapter nine was crappy, so I rewrote it thanks to some inspirational reviews (that were not that inspirational, but enough to make me want to actually finish this story and not completely give up!)

To Hi Im Manu, I wrote your response in the updated chapter nine, but thank you for helping me remember to finish this better.

To all my readers, favoriters, and followers: you guys got me this far, so thank you!

Now, onto the story...

Ten.

Building

Annabeth POV

[A/N: I had to throw this in here just in case! read the note above! please! otherwise you will literally not understand this chapter at all! Thank you!]

It'd been a week now.

The funeral had been slow and painful.

She'd avoided Percy the whole time – she hadn't even listened to the eulogies given.

They'd come to a silent mutual agreement to talk about it later.

She had worse things to deal with.

At least Percy was single.

She'd never felt worse in her life than pretending to play it cool with Luke all week.

It wasn't fair to him. That she might like their relationship more than she liked Luke himself. That she might have kissed her ex-fiance the other day. That she might have felt that that all felt more right than this did.

It just wasn't fair to him. For her to not say anything. Not when he wanted to marry her.

Because deep down, Annabeth knew that their marriage wasn't going to last. Because the moment that relationship wasn't the stable, happy one she'd dreamed of, she'd crack. And that wasn't what marriage meant.

Annabeth squirmed in her seat as Luke paid the check.

He smiled at her. "Ready to go?"

Annabeth nodded.

The ride home was painful.

She let Luke do all the talking and forced herself to give the occasional nod.

As they arrived back at the hotel, and Annabeth was preparing to go inside, she stopped.

She'd never felt so far from Luke as she did tonight, and she knew he would sense it. He wasn't stupid.

"Annie?" Luke asked. "You okay?"

Annabeth looked away. Her hands began to tremble a little, not even acknowledging the nickname she hated so much.

She could feel Luke's eyes bearing down on her.

"Hey," he said reaching for her hand. "What's wrong?"

She pulled her shaking hand away, her face still turned from his.

"Luke," she began softly. "I… I don't think this is going to work."

Luke didn't say anything immediately.

Annabeth peered up a little from her self-made hiding spot to see his confused and shocked expression.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

"I just…" she began. "I don't think I'm going to be good enough for you."

He tilted his head as she settled into leaning against her door.

"Annabeth," he began. "You are such a good person, okay? Trust me. You've made me a better person."

Annabeth's face contorted in emotional pain. "Look… Oh, uh, can we actually talk inside?"

Luke stared for a second. "Oh. Yeah. Of course."

He opened the door to his room, letting her in.

Annabeth sat down on the bed. "Someone once told me that to have a successful marriage.—"

"Marriage?" Luke interrupted.

Annabeth rolled her eyes internally at the pointless interruption. "Luke, you don't have to keep pretending. I already know."

Luke looked like he was still trying to process. "How…"

"I saw it on accident," Annabeth said quickly, returning to her original statement. "Anyway, someone since told me that to have a successful marriage, you have to fall in love many times. And always with the same person."

Luke looked at her firmly. "I will always fall in love with you, Annabeth."

Annabeth looked away. "But I won't. And I can't do that to you, Luke."

"What?" Luke asked a little breathlessly.

"Maybe there was a point in time when I was truly in love with you, but, Luke, from the very beginning—"

"This is about our little fight, isn't it?" Luke asked suddenly.

Annabeth looked away in shame. It was so stupid. That she was doing this over a little fight.

"It is, isn't it?" Luke asked again. "God, this is idiotic. You did something, didn't you?"

Annabeth wished she could curl up all alone in a corner.

"What did you do?" Luke asked, his voice dark. "Annabeth, tell me. Please. What did you do?"

Annabeth shrank away. "I made a… dumb mistake."

Luke shook his head. "I can't believe you."

Annabeth's body shook, and she was suddenly back to being a teenager — sitting alone in her massive room, crying, no one there to comfort her. "I.. I'm sorry. It's not fair to you."

"No. It's not," Luke said, sternly.

Annabeth shook more. "I… I guess I realized that I'm not sure I loved you from the start. I've been in love with this relationship more than you. The stability — it's the one thing I've always wanted in my life, and I finally got it, but I wasn't in love. And I don't think that's fair to you when you could have someone so much better for you. So, I can't go through with this in my right mind."

Luke swallowed, his lips pursed. "Okay. It's just… the betrayal…"

He trailed off.

Annabeth looked up at him tentatively. "I'm sorry. I guess I should go."

His eyes were hurt and angry.

She stood up slowly.

Leaving the room, she eyed the velvety box on his nightstand.

"Take it," he said bluntly. "I don't want it anymore."

Annabeth slowly took the small box in her hand, clutching it tightly.

"Get out now," Luke said quietly. "Please."

Annabeth nodded, leaving the room, holding herself together till the door closed behind her.

At the sound of the click of the door behind her, the tears began to fall.

She took deep breaths, then taking quick steps she hurried away.

She needed to get out of this place.

Gathering her things from her hotel room, she ran out, her makeup smeared, mascara running, and her pride long gone — like the only stable building left in her life had just crumbled to dust because there was one crack in the foundation she'd overlooked — like she always did.

Annabeth stood cautiously in front of the door, key held in her hand.

She tentatively slid the key into the doors twisting it.

The apartment was dimly moonlit.

She placed her bags on the floor as she collapsed against the counter, her tears let go.

"Annabeth?" a soft voice asked.

The person approached, their footsteps right behind her. Annabeth didn't even look up, head still barked in her hands.

A hand rubbed her back. "Hey, hey… Sh… It's gonna be okay, got it?"

Annabeth let herself be held. The girl rubbed her back, telling her it was going to be okay.

Annabeth closed her eyes, letting the tears flow away into sleep.

When Annabeth woke up the next morning, she was on the couch.

She quickly went to the bathroom.

Her eyes were puffy and red still. He makeup was smeared everywhere. She was a mess.

She was still in last night's dress.

She shook her head. She needed to get out of this.

Stripping the dress off, she ran the shower water.

The hot water flowed down, cleansing her — reviving her.

Getting out the shower, she changed into clean sweats and a t-shirt.

Opening the door, she was greeted by the smell of waffles.

Piper stood in the kitchen, pouring waffle mix into the waffle maker.

"Hey," she said, looking up from the batter spilling over the edge. "I was going to tell you to pay for this month's water bill because of that shower, but I figured you needed it."

Annabeth's lips tugged at a smile. "Thanks."

She shrugged. "Friends, right? Anyway, Hazel went to work."

Annabeth nodded. "Okay. How's Sil?"

Piper's smile fell a little. "She's barely been out of her room since you came last week. I'm worried about her."

Annabeth took a seat at the kitchen table. "Oh."

Piper came over to the table, carrying two plates of waffles. "I feel like waffles are always the perfect breakup food."

"Wait…" Annabeth began. "How'd you know that it…"

Piper shrugged, digging into her waffles. "Eh, it was kind of obvious."

"Oh," Annabeth, staring down at her waffles. "Thanks, Piper."

Piper smiled. "Yeah. Do you want to, uh, talk about it? Or not?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I kissed Percy that day."

Piper was stuffing a large bite of waffle into her face. "What?"

"I cheated on Luke," Annabeth said again, a little relieved Piper didn't hear her. "I guess talking to you made me realize some things that weren't healthy about our relationship. It made me realize we'd never make it as a married couple."

Piper grimaced. "I'm sorry. But, dude, it's not my fault, right?"

Annabeth looked at her. "Really?"

Piper smiled. "Good. Anyway, I'm proud of you for coming clean to Luke. You did, right?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "He actually took it more peacefully than I thought he would. I guess that that was one godsend." Piper nodded. "Anyway, it was really bothering my conscious all week — I had no choice but to tell him. It wouldn't have been fair otherwise."

"I'm sorry, Annie," Piper said. "Do you want more waffles? I promise they help."

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. That's be great."

Piper nodded, standing up. "I have a good idea! We should have a girls' night out! We haven't had one do those in a while, and you and Sil could both use a little fun."

Annabeth poked her fork at the table. "I guess so. I don't feel like it's fair though for me to be sad when Sil actually loved her fiancé, and he died."

Piper placed a plate of fresh waffles down in front of Annabeth. "Annabeth. Look at me. You have all the right to be sad about this, okay? You just broke up with your almost-fiancé after one hell of a deceiving relationship, got it? Your brain is in no state to be thinking thoughts like that about yourself. So, calm down, chill out, and let your emotions be. You and Sil are going through different kinds a heartbreak, alright? It's okay to be sad about it. It's not wrong. It's not unfair. Just be sad as long as you need to, got it?"

Annabeth nodded, poking at her hot waffles.

"Okay, okay," Piper began. "But, actually? Percy?"

Apparently, she was heard. "Yeah…"

"Oh my god," Piper started excitedly. "You know I'm still like majorly on board with the Percabeth club—"

Annabeth held her hand up. "Ah. Stop. We're not going there. It was a mistake."

"A mistake?" Piper asked. "You're telling me I'm president of a mistake club?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said, stuffing her mouth. "It was. It was wrong. It's just— I guess it kind of made me realize some things."

"Oh," Piper said. "Okay."

"Maybe I just won't go to the gala," Annabeth said quietly.

Piper tilted her head. "I don't know, Annabeth. I really want you to be there. But… I don't want to pressure you, so just think about it. Please?"

Annabeth sighed. "Okay. I'll think about it."

Piper smiled. "Great! But, right now, we have the most awesomest night ever to plan."

After a lot of convincing, they got Silena to get out of the house.

For the first time, Annabeth saw Silena sad, messy, tired. It was a good reminder that everyone was human.

They went out. Had dinner. Drank. Danced. Went crazy.

It was fun.

It was the kind of fun Annabeth had forgotten about.

Girls' nights outs had ended for her when she moved.

It was the kind of fun that just let you forget. Not like the heavily constructed, constrained dinners with boyfriends at fancy restaurants, but just wild, freeing nights out.

She forgot how great it was to be single until now. And she missed it.

"Hey, Piper!" she yelled over the loud club music.

"What!?" Piper screamed.

"Thank you!" Annabeth yelled.

Piper just smiled.

Silena had managed to get herself a little drunk and have a little fun.

Annabeth was happy for her.

Honestly, Annabeth was just happy. She'd forgotten how good it was to just be free with her best girlfriends and just have fun for once in her life because those moments don't always come often when your name was Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth unzipped the huge bag.

Fingering the shimmering cloth, she carefully pulled it out, little by little. This dress. That was so long ago.

"You've made up your mind, then?"

Annabeth turned around to face Piper. "Yeah. I don't want the breakup to affect my friends too much or me for the matter."

Piper smiled. "I'm glad. I'm gonna go get ready, but I'm really glad you're coming."

Annabeth smiled. "Thanks."

Annabeth slid into the dress, letting the silky fabric slide smoothly against her skin.

Slipping on her silver stilettos, she walked slowly before the mirror, taking deep breaths.

She stopped.

The dress fell along her smoothly. The minuscule sparkles intertwined into the fabric sparkled from all angles. She looked stunning.

She let Piper do her makeup, accenting her face in ways she'd never realized she could. And, for once, she was almost happy with herself — with who she was becoming.

She'd grown in ways she'd never noticed in the past few years. She'd overcome her own prejudices — her pride, her mistakes, all of it. And she was finally growing up.

When she'd moved out of the house at age 21, she'd felt that was her growing up moment, but, looking back, she'd never never really grown up at all. She was still girl then — a girl who'd never felt heartbreak, a girl who'd never truly been in love, and a girl who knew nothing but herself. And now, she was finally learning.

She'd come across so many people and experiences that she would never forget that now, she had no place to go but up. She'd never thought being at the bottom was good, but she'd finally realized that those was the things that forged her the relationships she'd never leave behind now.

And after all that, she'd realized that the most important thing she'd ever experienced was truly loving someone. And not even romantically — because that would something totally different — but just as a friend who you know will never leave you.

The venue was beautiful.

Various shades of pink flowers mixed with white covered the courtyard, creating one massive romantic jungle.

But inside, there were white marble floors and white and gold chairs and rose-pink accents everywhere, and Annabeth felt like she was in Cupid's palace. There was a reason Aphrodite was named after the Greek goddess of love.

Annabeth looked rather out of place in her midnight blue dress, but she wasn't in the mood for light pinks.

Piper looked stunning in her sweetheart neckline, pink chiffon, floor-length gown – especially against her darker tan skin.

Hazel showed up in the prettiest, cutest, gold, sparkly dress that perfectly accented her skin tone and hair.

And, of course, Silena had come.

Piper had gotten her to get ready for the special occasion and just enjoy dressing up. And dress up, she did.

She looked drop-dead gorgeous in her high-low, deep red dress that fanned out in a long, very expensive train of fabric. Her black hair was pinned up into a perfectly intricate updo that Annabeth could only dream of doing. Her makeup was pristine, and yet, she looked sad.

Annabeth sighed, taking a seat at her designated table with Piper and Hazel and Sil.

Dinner went on and Annabeth tried her best to enjoy the night, ignoring the empty seat beside her. And she did.

Finally, Aphrodite headed to the podium at the center stage of the ballroom.

She raised her Rose crystal bell to the microphone and quickly dinged it.

"Good evening, everyone!" she squealed. "I hope you all are having a wonderful night! However, in light of a recent loss, I've decided to take this time to honor my daughter's dramatic love story. Only one week ago, my sweet daughter, Silena, lost her fiancé. Tonight, I've invited one of his good friends to say a few very quick words about him. Alright! Let's hurry up with this!"

She clapped her hands and motioned for someone to take the podium.

Annabeth squinted across the room. It was Percy getting up.

He stood up at the podium.

Even from a hundred feet away, she could see his hands shaking.

The death had hit him as hard as it had Silena.

Annabeth didn't know why, but she assumed he'd been there. He probably blamed it on himself.

"Good evening," he said, his voice reverberating through the room.

He adjusted the microphone, sending an ear-piercing sound throughout the room.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Annabeth could see Aphrodite pouting annoyedly on the sidelines.

Annabeth sighed. Dear gods, she began to pray.

Percy POV

Percy fumbled with the microphone, earning a glare from Aphrodite.

You're such an idiot, he thought.

He stared down at the crumpled piece of paper in his hands that was so crinkled, he could barely read the words. Perks of being ADHD – you crinkle anything in your hands.

"Many of you," he began to read shakily from his hands. "must know Silena. She… is a big, uh, part of the, uh, comp… uh, sorry, uh, community. All, uh, thr—though many of us know her, some of, uh, us didn't know, uh, her fiancé, a, uh, good friend of, uh, mine." Stupid dyslexia. "To his, uh, good, friends, he, uh, was no… uh, known, as Beck. But, to Silena, he was known as, uh, Charlie."

Screw this, he thought.

Crumpling up the piece of paper, he stuffed it in his pocket. He was flying solo now.

He took a deep breath, envisioning every memory he had with Beckendorf as he placed his hands firmly on the crystal podium. "Beckendorf – Charles Beckendorf – was one of my greatest friends. He… always knew that no matter what, in the end, he'd always put himself after others. When he died, I had never felt such loss in my life. Everyday, I regret that I wasn't there. But… what I think that we need to realize is that despite all the pain, all the loss, all the hurt, there's a time to move on." Percy looked out on the crowd, surveying the men and women in the audience, some of whom had never even known who Beck was. "We're all broken. All of us have a our flaws. We all have made mistakes. And, sometimes, we have to remember that because of that — that we are all broken — that we need to move on. Beckendorf — he was master of craft, and not just with metal and tools, but with people. He drew people together, despite their brokenness, and I think that that's a lesson we can all draw from — that no matter what differences we face, or hurt we feel that we think no one else can understand, we are all drawn together by our brokenness. All of us have experienced loss in one way or another, and if we can learn to empathize with each other no matter the size of the pain, we can learn to come across differences and overcome our own hurt with others. Beckendorf taught me this through his brave actions. Silena, I know it was probably hard for you to come tonight, but I want you to know that Beck didn't give his life in vain. He left you physically, but all of us have an obligation here to protect and preserve his memory and sacrifice. You may or may not have known Beck personally, but he was a man I strive to be, and that we should all strive to be like." Percy surveyed the room, his voice beginning to break. "Thank you."

He stepped down shakily from the podium, the room silent.

As he sat down, polite applause flooded the room, and Percy wished he could hide.

Dinner flew by.

Aphrodite announced raffle winners.

Stuff happened.

Dancing started.

Percy wasn't really in a dancing mood.

He wove his way through the crowd, unnoticed, falling back to the bar.

"Gin tonic," he mumbled. "Whatever's strongest. On the rocks."

The bar tender nodded, walking away to get his drink.

Percy slumped at the counter.

The rhythmic tapping of heels approached him quickly.

Not now, he thought.

"Percy?" a feminine voice asked.

Percy didn't turn around. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he said. "I know I gave a crap speech and I'm sorry if you didn't know Beck, and I'm sorry if you blame me for his death."

"What?" the other voice said, a little shocked.

"I said," Percy began, "That I'm—"

"No!" the girl's voice interjected. "I mean, no. I heard you. I just… came to say that I really appreciated what you said up there. It was really… beautiful."

Percy turned around, lifting his head up from the counter. He ran a hand through his already gelled hair. "Annabeth? Oh, hi."

She blushed a little. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bother you. It's just… well, I thought you knew it was me. But, uh, sorry, that was beside the point. I just wanted to thank you for what you said. It really meant a lot."

Percy smiled a little. "I'm glad someone liked it."

Annabeth's lips tugged at a smile. "Of course."

There was an awkward beat of silence.

"Actually," she began, "about the other day…"

Percy opened his mouth. "Yeah…"

"Well," she said. "It was a mistake. I was going through a kind of tough time and that was the wrong way for me to take it out. I'm sorry for leading you on. But, Percy, can we move on? It was so long ago that it gets blurry even. I know I made mistakes and that I hurt you, but we were so young – so blind, so unsure. I know this is a random time for apologies, but things have been changing lately, and I wanted to the opportunity – even briefly. You don't have to respond or anything. I just, want to ask if we could move on – even just a little?"

Percy stopped. Little mistakes. "I guess so."

"But, just for clarification, we're not a thing, okay?" she clarified.

"Can we try for friends, then?" he asked, sitting up.

She smiled and nodded. "We'll try."

He grinned lopsidedly. "Want a drink?"

She smiled. "There's always a time for drowning out your sorrows with friends."

Well guys, that's that.

Please leave reviews and criticism is appreciated!

However, I was curious if there was interest for me to continue the story or not?

I could end it with one more chapter, but there's a possibility of continuation for a more wholesome true Percabeth story. But, if I don't get a lot of response for continuing the story, I'll end it next time and shift my focus to my next story that I'm really looking forward to.

Let me know!

- tea-made-bean