Hey guys. So, I'm just gonna cut to the shit, because I'm tired and have nothing else to say :/

Itulquiorra: I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying this story even though it's something you might not usually read (: And what's the name of that fanfic? Sounds interesting 0-0 And thank you so much! :D

Disclaimer: No, I do not (and sadly never will) own PJO

Annabeth's POV:

My heart raced as I spotted the building where the interview would take place. I would be featured on Goodnight New York, one of the most watched shows in the city. As my Mother's car neared the parking lot, I couldn't help but feel nervous. What if Melissa doesn't believe my excuse? What if this is the last time I'll ever see her again? Would this be the last interview I ever have?

My Mother must've recognized the troubled look on my face because she reached over and squeezed my hand reassuringly. I looked up to see her smiling softly at me. "Don't worry Annabeth. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

I sighed, my stomach churning uncomfortably. "What if... What if this is the last interview I ever have? What if after this, I'll never see Melissa again? Hell, what if I never get to model ever again?" I said hesitantly, voicing my thoughts to my Mother.

Athena remained silent as she parked the car nearest to the back door of the building. She turned off the ignition, letting they keys swing slightly, jingling as they connected. Finally, she turned to look at me, her analyzing eyes locking with mine. She gave me a faint smile. "Annabeth," she began softly, her gaze never leaving mine. "When I joined The Olympians, I was worried that I would never accomplish my dream of being a successful architect and owning my own company. I had doubts of never being able to pick up a pencil and draw an amazing building ever again. But they helped me out. Those people made sure I made my dream come true. Trust me, you'll walk down that runway again soon enough, and when you do, you'll do it like never before." Athena caressed my cheek, brushing her thumb over my cheekbone.

I brought up my hand to cover hers with mine, smiling gratefully. "Thank you, Mother."

Athena smiled and slipped her hand out of mine, placing it on the handle of the door. "You're welcome. Now, let's go inside. I'm sure you're practically leaping with joy to see an angry Melissa."

I rolled my eyes and groaned, placing my hand on my forehead. "Let's just hope she doesn't go all She-Hulk on me."

Melissa in did in fact, turn into She-Hulk.

My Mother and I entered the building, and once we stepped through the door, the place was pure chaos.

People with earpieces were scurrying around, shouting orders at people. Others were carrying different things around, setting them in different places around the building. Some people were just milling around, talking to others or helping with something. I thought I wouldn't be able to find my agent through all this chaos, but I soon found out, that anyone in a fifty mile radius would be able to spot her.

"WHERE THE HELL IS MATT? HE'S WHERE? OH HELL NO. TELL HIM TO GET HIS ASS OVER HERE NOW!"

Those were the first words I was hit with when my Mother and I stepped through the door. She was standing in the middle of the throng of people, her arms crossed and her Caribbean blue eyes narrowed furiously. She brought one hand up to her earpiece and shouted into it. "WHERE THE FUCK IS ANNABETH? YOU SAID SHE'D BE HERE." If looks could kill, everyone in this room would be dead by now. Melissa's features contorted, her eyes blazing with fury and her hands trembling. "YOU LIED TO ME? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU'RE FIRED, YOU IMBECILE. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW? I TOLD MR. ELLIS SHE'D BE HERE FOR THE SHOW. ARGH!" Melissa tore out her earpiece and threw it on the floor, making it snap in half instantly. She stepped on it, the heel of her red stilettos stabbing it senseless.

All the people in the room stared at her in fear, shock, and some looked at her as if she was a maniac. Which right now, she kind of was. One man walked up to her, calmly telling her something. She waved him off irritably, her eyes flashing. "I can't tell him that. Unless you say you know where Annabeth is, I don't want to hear from any of you-" she was cut off as her eyes landed on me. I slowly took off my sunglasses, folding them up. I stared at her blankly, even though inside I was begging her not to kill me. The whole place was silent, no one moving. Melissa and I just stared at each other, not saying anything. Her face was unreadable, her eyes as blank as a white sheet of paper.

It was until the man next to her coughed that broke the spell. Melissa blinked, as if she had been slapped across the face. Then she spoke, and now I find myself wishing she hadn't. "Annabeth," she said in a monotone voice, making me resist the urge to flinch. And then her eyes narrowed. "Annabeth?" Her voice was now incredulous, as if she couldn't believe I was actually there, her eyes now wide. And then they narrowed into slits again. "Annabeth," her tone was sharp, cold, angry. She strode towards me, her heels clicking against the floor the only sound in the studio. I kept my face impassive, trying to look as nonchalant as ever. I tucked my sunglasses into my purse as Melissa stopped in front of me, hands on her hips.

"Where have you been?" Her voice was deathly calm, making her as scary as ever. I didn't respond, not wanting to say anything with all the prying ears in the room. Melissa must've noticed this because she whipped around, glaring at everyone. "What are you morons looking at? Get back to work." If I didn't know who she really was, I would've thought she was the one running this studio. Everyone immediately ran off in different directions, talking among themselves in hushed voices. Melissa turned back to me, her eyebrow raised.

I cleared my throat and stole a side glance at my Mother, who was looking at me with a troubled look. She took the hint and nodded, turning back to face a scowling Melissa. "It was nice seeing you, Melissa. But if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the ladies room." With a polite smile and another glance at me, she strode off, leaving me and my agent alone.

"Look, Melissa," I started hesitantly, picking at the zipper of my purse. "I had some things come up that involved a friend's family. One of her parents was really sick, and I went to go visit them at the hospital. Her parents are close friends of my Mother's, so she kept going to the hospital for the whole week. I kept going with her, not wanting her to go by herself. I'm sorry I couldn't respond to any of your texts or calls, I was just so busy, and I'd lost my phone for about four days. I'm so sorry, Melissa."

Melissa remained silent, simply staring at me. That's when I realized that there were tears in her eyes. I furrowed my eyebrows in concern. "Melissa, are you ok-" she cut me off by flinging herself at me, encasing me in a hug. I stumbled back slightly, managing to catch my balance. I hugged her back, burying my face in her thick chocolate colored hair. Her scent invaded my nose, the smell of cinnamon and strawberries filling my nostrils. I smiled through the hug, squeezing her.

"I'm just glad you're okay," came her muffled reply. She pulled back, grabbing me by the shoulders. Her eyes were red from crying and her cheeks were flushed. She studied my face with a troubled look. "God, Annabeth," she said, sniffing. "I thought you were hurt or that some bastard had kidnapped you."

Something like that, I thought through a strained smile. "I'm fine, Melissa. Really."

Melissa studied me for a bit more before smiling, wrapping me in another hug. "So, who'd you fire today?" I asked, a teasing smile on my face.

Melissa pulled back, sighing exasperatedly. "Oh my God. I fired Chloe, David, Xavier, and Ally. Fucking morons don't know how to do their jobs right," she grumbled, crossing her arms. I laughed, happy to be able to hear my friend complain again. This is probably the last time I ever will, I thought bitterly. I pushed that thought away. I have to enjoy everything I'm used to while I can. When I walk out this building, nothing about my life will never be the same.

But the day you walked out of that building, nothing about your life was ever the same either.

I shook the thought away, not wanting to think about him right now. Melissa's eyes widened. She took me by the hand and began shoving her way through the throng of people, pulling me right behind her. "We gotta get you ready for the show."

I groaned. "Melissa, can't I just go out like this?" She glanced at me over her shoulder and gave me a once-over. She made a face. "No. We gotta get you into a more summer-y outfit."

"Summer-y isn't even a word," I grumbled as she began to tug my arm and walk me to another place.

She quickly led me to a door labeled, Wardrobe and Make-up. She pushed it open and shoved me unceremoniously inside. I stumbled slightly and glared at Melissa, who just strode over to a rack of clothing, flipping through each shirt and dress and skirt. She snapped her fingers to get the attention of the two girls who were rearranging all the make-up items. They looked up at her.

"I need you two to put some eye-shadow on her. A color that makes her eyes pop. Also, some mascara and some light blush. Then, straighten her hair," she order while flipping through the rack of clothes, not even looking up. The two women nodded and practically shoved me into the chair in front of the wide mirror on the wall, lined up with little lights.

Immediately, they began fussing over me. The girl with black wavy hair began searching through the different bottles and pallets on the desk. The other girl with sandy blonde hair began grabbing her flat iron and plugged it into an outlet near the mirror. Then I was suddenly blinded when something was thrown at my face. The material was soft, but it still alarmed me. I ripped the item off my face and spluttered, holding the item in front of me. It was a coral colored playsuit with a white floral print. I glanced to my right to see Melissa standing there, a pleased look on her face. I cocked an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes and pointed to a pair of over-the-knee gray Suede boots on the floor. "You and your gray. You can't go out without wearing at least one item of clothing that's gray."

I grinned cheekily and shrugged. "It's my favorite color. Besides, it matches my eyes." I fluttered my eyes mockingly.

Melissa snorted and shook her head. "Yeah, whatever Annabeth. You're impossible," she turned to the girl that was currently pinning my hair up with alligator clips. "After you're done, put something in her hair that matches the summer-y theme."

The woman nodded and turned back to her flat iron, gently touching it to see if it was hot enough. She nodded, satisfied and picked it up. Through the mirror, I saw Melissa checking her watch. She clucked her tongue. She lifted her head to look at me through the mirror. "I gotta go talk to some other agents for your next photoshoot. I'll see you later Annabeth." She gave me a smile, and then exited the room.

I smiled sadly. The thing is Melissa, I won't be going to any other photo shoots in a long time. The girl with black hair picked up her make-up brush and began lightly fluttering it over my cheeks, moving it in a circular motion. I smiled in content. I missed this. This was all so familiar. The tickle of the soft thistles of the brush. The light pull off my hair as the iron tugged at it.

It took about twenty minutes for my make-up artists to finish up. I looked in the mirror once more. My hair was straightened to perfection, not a single curl visible. The dark blends of the eye-shadows made my gray eyes indeed pop. One of the eye-shadows carried some glitter in it, casting a light shimmer on my eyelids. Dark eyeliner lined my eyes, protruding into a wing in the corners of my eyes. The light blush on my cheeks made my cheekbones stand out, giving my face a nice look. My make-up artist had put some lip gloss on me, making my lips glitter slightly and look more moist.

I smiled at my image. If I put on a smile, no one would ever know what really happened to me. They'd see Annabeth Chase. The confident, intelligent, wise, proud, and beautiful woman the whole world sees on every magazine and billboard.

"Miss Chase ," spoke the girl who had straightened my hair.

I turned to her. "Hm?"

She held out a flowery headband. They were bright colors. Yellow, pink, green, and purple. "Ah," I grabbed it and pulled it over my head. I grabbed my hair and tucked it over the back of the headband. I grabbed the front of it and pulled it over my head. The girl adjusted it slightly, smoothing down any hair that stuck out.

"There we go," she said, smiling pleasingly at me.

I grinned back. "Thank you."

She nodded, "No problem." With that, she began tucking away the iron, helping the other woman place back all the make-up items.

I stood up, my legs feeling funny from how long I'd been sitting and a slight tug at my side. Ignoring it, I grabbed the play-suit and boots and went into the dressing room. I quickly slipped it on, as well as my boots. I stood up, taking a few experimental steps. The heel of the boots made my steps more forced, sending jabs of pain up my side. "Oh God," I groaned, sitting down. I put my head in my hands. I inhaled deeply. "I can do this. No problem. I can do this," I chanted over and over, standing up. Or maybe I can just run out of here, find my Mother, and demand her to take us home.

Sadly, I have to get this over with. After all, it's my last time having an interview.

I walked out the door, taking confident strides. I grabbed my purse and items and walked out the room and into the studio. People were still running around, making last minute preparations. I glanced at my phone to check the time. 7:45.

I blew out a puff of air and looked around to find Melissa. A woman carrying a stack of papers walked briskly by me. I caught her by the shoulder. She turned to look at me with a scowl, but when she realized who I was, her features morphed into a friendly smile. "Why, hello Miss Chase. You look lovely."

I flashed her a winning smile. "Thank you-" I glanced down at her name tag. "Leslie."

Her brown eyes sparkled slightly. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Ah, yes. Have you seen Miss Myers?"

"Oh, yes actually. She was talking to Mr. Ellis near the set of the show."

I whipped my head around in the direction of the stage, and sure enough, she was there. I turned back to face Leslie. "Thank you." She nodded in return and walked away.

I set off in the direction of Melissa, maneuvering around the mess of people. As I walked, I was greeted with a bunch of, "Hello, Miss Chase," and, "You look beautiful, Miss Chase," to which I replied with a polite nod and a strained smile. I finally reached Melissa, who was laughing along with Mr. Ellis to something he had said.

Mr. Ellis was a successful showman. Almost everyone in New York tuned into his show to watch. He was a man in his thirties with short brown hair, warm brown eyes that sparkled when he laughed, and a joyous smile.

Once I reached them, Mr. Ellis greeted me instantly. He gave me a winning grin. "Ah, Miss Chase! What a pleasure to have you here." He held out his hand for me to shake.

Tentatively, I took it, a genuine smile on my face. I gave his hand a firm shake. "Pleasures all mine, Mr. Ellis."

He waved carelessly. "Please, call me Charlie."

I grinned at him. "Well, I can't wait to get this show started."

He cracked a smile, revealing pearly white teeth. He gestured towards the entrance and seats. "Well, look at that. There's gonna be some crowd tonight. I'm sure it's because they found out you were going to be our guest star."

Sure enough, a huge crowd of people were arriving through the entrance. Already, half of the seats were full. I turned back to the showman. "I'm sure it's not that. You have a wonderful show going on here. No surprise people pay hundreds of dollars to see the show live," I replied politely.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well, I better get going. I have to get ready." With a polite tip of his head, he walked off in the direction of wardrobe. I turned to face Melissa, who was scowling down at her phone, her fingers flying over the screen.

"Meliss-"

She held up a finger, still frowning down at her screen. "Hold up."

She typed in one last thing before turning back to me. She gave me a once-over, nodding appreciatively. "You look fabulous. And it's all because of me," she gloated, whipping her head, making her brown mess of hair get stuck to her lips, courtesy of her lipstick. She spluttered, trying to spit out the hair that had snuck it's way into her mouth.

I snickered. "Yeah, okay, Melissa."

She scowled at me, using her fingernails to pry away the hairs from her lips. "Hey, not everyone can be a sexy, perfect, diva like you."

I blinked at her. She blinked at me. Suddenly, a hysterical bubble of laughter escaped my lips. Melissa looked like she was trying hard not to laugh, but failed miserably. We both burst into laughter.

"Y-you? S-s-sexy?" Gasped Melissa, leaning her body on mine. I shut my eyes, uncontrollably shaking from laughter.

I wiped away a tear from my eye. "M-me? P-perfect?" I laughed hysterically. The stage crew gave us funny glances, their faces pinching up. Melissa and I ignored them, continuing to laugh until we couldn't breathe.

We finally calmed down after about ten minutes of hysterical laughter. Melissa sighed, giving me a fond look that surprised me. "I missed you," she said softly.

I smiled warmly at her."I missed you too, Mel."

Our moment was interrupted when Mr. Ellis walked out of the dressing room, dressed in a nice black suit. His brown hair was combed nicely. He gave us all a cheeky smile. "All right guys! Showtime!"

The lights dimmed a little, and Mr. Ellis motioned his hands to a band in the back. Instantly, they began playing cheesy jazz music. Out of who knows where, a baritone voice announced, "And here we have... Mr. Ellis with Goodnight New York!"

Mr. Ellis started strutting onto the stage, waving at the crowd of people who were clapping and cheering excitedly. "Hello citizens of New York! My, my, we have quite a crowd this night. I wonder what made this big of an audience show up. Because this place is literally always empty. Like, you could even see those bundles of wheat floating by like in those Western movies."

The audience laughed good-naturedly. I cracked a grin while Melissa rolled her eyes next to me yet smiled. Mr. Ellis strode over to his dark brown desk, sitting down comfortably and clasping his hands over the desk.

He looked at the crowd blankly. The whole place was silent. He glanced around, as if waiting for someone to appear and start talking. He turned back to the crowd. He frowned in confusion. "What are you guys looking at?" The crowd chuckled and Charlie's face lit up. "Ah! That's right! We have a very special guest tonight folks. She's been on every magazine, runway, billboard, and even some commercials. Give a warm welcome to Miss Annabeth Chase!"

The whole crowd erupted into applause and cheers and whistles. But instead of me walking on stage, it was a man with a blonde wig, stilettos, and a black, tight dress. He walked on to the stage with a hand on his hip, strutting confidently. The whole crowd burst into laughter, some letting out wolf whistles and catcalls, and even I let out a chuckle myself. It was part of the show. Just to humor and disappoint everyone. Some people let out some disappointed, 'awws.'

Mr. Ellis looked at the crowd in confusion. "What? This isn't her?" The crowd responded with an immediate "no." Charlie looked flabbergasted. He waved his arms at the drag queen, who was posing sexily at the crowd. "But it looks just like her!"

The crowd laughed some more. The showman studied the not-me. He then nodded seriously. "You're right. I mean, look at those legs! I don't recall ever seeing Miss Chase with such hairy legs." The crowd burst into laughter as the drag queen come over and slapped Mr. Ellis. He simply blinked and snapped his fingers.

"Security! Get this imposter out of here!" He shouted. Two burly men came in to the set and dragged the man away, screaming and kicking. Mr. Ellis straightened his tie. "Simply repulsive," he muttered in disgust. The crowd burst into some more laughter.

Mr. Ellis grinned and rose his hands up and down. "Okay, okay folks. Now, give a warm welcome to the real Annabeth Chase!"

Melissa all but shoved me onto the set, and I had to extend my arms to keep from falling and bite my lip to keep from crying out in pain.

I covered up the cry with a flashy grin and began walking on the set, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd, making them cheer louder.

I laughed and curtseyed for them, and then went to sit down on a black sofa next to Mr. Ellis's desk.

Once the crowd quieted down, Mr. Ellis mock-glared at them. "Now I know why we have such a big audience tonight. Without having Miss Chase here as or special guest, this place would be a literal ghost town."

I grinned at him while the audience laughed. Charlie smiled and turned back to me. "So, how are you, Miss Chase?"

I smiled back at him. "I'm great, Charlie, thank you for asking. How are you?" I all but lied. I was feeling terrible right now.

"Well, since you're on my show tonight, im feeling absolutely ecstatic," he said with a happy smile.

I laughed. "Well, glad to hear that."

He leaned forward seriously. "So, word on the street had it that you were missing this past week," he admitted with a raised eyebrow.

I chuckled nervously. "Yes, I've ah, been off the radar lately, but I'm perfectly fine. Some friends had something come up and I had to be there for them."

Mr. Ellis nodded in understanding with a smile. "That was nice of you, Miss Chase. But there was another rumor that somehow got out as well,"

My heart dropped. I smiled nervously. "Really?"

Charlie's face lit up. "Why of course! This August you're going on a trip to Europe for photoshoots and modeling shows. You're going to be traveling through that whole continent!"

My heart sank. Oh no. I forced a smile onto my face. "Ah yes, that's right."

Charlie grinned. "That must be extremely exciting."

I plastered a fake-ass grin on my face. "Yes, it is."

A screen on the wall displayed a picture of me at a photoshoot in a beach in Miami. I was wearing a coral pink sundress with gray wedges, laying nonchalantly in the sand, my hands propped up behind me, the wind making my hair flutter around. Then another one appeared, showing me with a white and yellow flower printed bikini, posing in the sand, the sea green and blue ocean making a beautiful background.

"Look at that. Miss Chase, if I'm being honest here, you could be dressed as a hobo and still look as radiant as ever," commented Mr. Ellis with a genuine grin on his face.

The crowd and I laughed. "Thank you Charlie."

Charlie turned to me. "So, Miss Chase, what place in Europe would you want to visit most?"

I tried not to smile sadly. I won't be going to Europe, Mr. Ellis. I plastered a smile on my face. "Hmm... I've always wanted to visit Greece. My Mother was born there after all."

Charlie smiled. "Greece is very beautiful. They pictures you would take there will be magnificent."

Tell him, tell him. A voice inside me ordered. I glanced at the crowd, where my Mother was standing off to the side. She gave me a nod.

I took a deep breath. "Actually, Mr. Ellis..."

He looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, Miss Chase?"

I looked down at my lap. "I ah, can't go to Europe."

He frowned in confusion. "And why is that?"

I looked back up at him. "Because I'm going to be taking a break from modeling for a while."

Some of the people in the crowd gasped. Charlie gaped at me. And the person whose reaction I feared most came running onto the set.

"What?! Did you- did you just say that? You never said a DAMN THING about ANY OF THIS. What the fuck?!"

I winced, trying not to notice how much Melissa's eyes were burning with anger and confusion. I sighed. "I'm sorry, Melissa. I wanted to wait until the interview to tell everyone, including you."

Melissa ran an angry hand through her thick hair. "What the fuck, Annabeth? Do you realize how many calls and people I had to contact and fire in order to get you that tour in Europe?"

"I'm sorry," I pleaded with her, wishing she would stop making such a scene. At that moment, the two security guards walked on the set to pull her off of it. When one of them grabbed her by the arm, she drove her stiletto through his foot. He grunted in pain and glared at her.

"I can move on my own, thank you very much," she growled, scowling deeply at them both.

"Melissa, can we please talk about this after? Please," I begged her.

She glared at me, but her face softened when she noticed my expression. "Fine," she gave in.

With one last sad and furious glance, she left the set, leaving the audience and all of us in complete silence. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of awkwardness, Charlie cleared his throat. He peered at me curiously. "Do you mind telling us why you're taking this break?"

I smiled awkwardly. "Well, I have to be helping my Mother with her company for a while. She has been having some... Misfortunes come up, and I need to help her."

Charlie smiled almost sadly. "Oh, Miss Chase, it is so wonderful of you to give up your career for a while to help those you love."

I smiled back at him. Actually Charlie, the people I'm helping are complete strangers to me. "Yes, well, you've gotta do what you've gotta do."

Charlie chuckled. "And when can we expect your return?"

"In about six months," I responded carefully. I was worried Melissa might come running into the set again, wailing like a banshee, but she didn't.

Charlie smiled fondly at me. "Well, I'm sure we'll all be extremely happy when you return."

I nodded. "Thank you."

I stayed on for about ten more minutes, answering questions and laughing at jokes Charlie cracked here and there.

I was dreading going off the set, because then I would have to talk to Melissa. Hell knows how that conversation might end.

How do you guys think that conversation will turn out? Will Annabeth tell her the truth and admit she's been recruited to join The Olympians? My updating schedule is kinda weird now that I'm on summer break, so be on the lookout for any updates, because they'll be coming out of nowhere.

I have a poll up, so make sure to check that out! :D I don't know when I'll close it yet.

And don't worry guys, Percabeth will be coming up very soon ((: I know your all dying to read when they finally get together, I am too, but we all gotta be patient. A lot of secrets will be revealed when they do, and you guys might hate or love me for it XD

~Kat