Make sure to read the announcements at the bottom.

Still in Central Park—

Holding her eyes in his own, he said softly, "I'm taking over my father's company. I have to move to Germany for a year."

Annabeth's heart was pounding faster and faster with each passing second. Just mere seconds ago he had told her to forget him; now, he was asking her to come to Germany with him? "Your father's company?" she asked weakly, her legs starting to become jelly-like. He had never directly mentioned that he was the heir to one of the world's biggest multinational corps.

"Yes," he said, puzzled.

All she could say was summed up in one word, "Why?"

Percy's tone didn't change, but he took her hand, leading her to the bench once more, "I haven't ever told you the full story before, have I?"

Annabeth shook her head, signaling no.

"Where do I start?"

"From the beginning."

"Right."

"No edits."

"…Of course." Percy paused before continuing, "Let's see. The whole story began when my mother died when I was fifteen years old. My father neglected to take care of me, sending me off to boarding school. To put it bluntly, I was a bully. In my defense, it was self-defense. But I was secluded, with no father to look after me. I had no contact with my father, not even a simple email from him demanding about my well-being. We were in our own worlds: his as a corporate CEO, mine as the outcast at a boarding school. My temperament changed when I got into NYU, not as much of a tormentor as I was before. But, I was isolated even more than ever."

Annabeth cut in, "Percy, I don't want to sound rude, but how does this relate?"

Percy smiled sadly, his mouth crinkling at the edges, "You asked for the whole story, didn't you? Just wait. I'm getting there."

Annabeth motioned for him to go on, snuggling in closer to him as he rested his arm around her shoulder.

"Where was I?"

"Isolation?" Annabeth prompted.

"Right. Needless to say, it sucked. The only person I talked to was Sam."

"You never told me how you knew her and how she became my tutor."

"Annabeth, I wasn't trying to deliberately ignore you," Percy said softly. "I made a promise to your mother."

Annabeth stood up quickly, "My mom?"

"Yes, but don't worry about that now. It's the least of our worries. Regardless, I was never interested in any girls romantically. People began to suspect I was gay. Hell, I thought so myself. But, a few months ago, I met you. At first, you were just like the rest of them. Someone I looked down on since they weren't at my 'level'."

"Thanks," Annabeth said sourly.

"I said that was at the beginning. And you ruined my car… Anyway, once I started tutoring you, I started to open a bit, taking bolder moves than I once had. You made me feel more human in a sense, like I could relate to those around me. Everything was perfect… Until my father came back into the picture after seven long years of silence. At first I was skeptical as was expected, but I had learned to be open to my father and gave him the opportunity to fix things. For a while it did seem to mend. Then started the issue. He insisted on my dating Rachel for his business. I refused automatically. He threatened me, Annabeth. He threatened me using you as the blackmail. My father knew about you and swore to me that if I didn't date her, you would suffer," Percy debated whether or not he should tell Annabeth about her father's attempt at trying to attack her, but decided now was not the time.

"Percy, I…"

"It was my fault. I conceded to his terms, promising to date you. If he hurt you, the deal was off. He had bodyguards posted, watching our every move to make sure I wasn't lying. I couldn't even text you. I don't know how I could have dealt with him had it not been for Rachel. She made it bearable, not wanting to fake this whole deal anyway. Just when things couldn't get any worse, he said Rachel and I were engaged," Percy stopped when he noted Annabeth's expression, "What's wrong?"

"You were engaged?" she whispered quietly.

"Annabeth…"

"Percy, answer me. Are you still engaged?"

"Annabeth, listen."

"Percy, just answer the damn question."

"Yes. But Annabeth, it's nothing. Rachel knows it isn't real."

"Really? Maybe you should tell her that before she gets carried away."

Percy chuckled once, "You're cute when you get mad. Your nose turns all red."

"I'm dead serious."

"I'll tell her. Don't worry about it. This engagement took place two days ago. And then I saw you again yesterday. I made my resolve to tell my father there was no way I was going to follow through with his plans. That's when the phone call interrupted us. My father had a massive heart attack while driving," Percy sobered up a bit.

Annabeth's face turned into one of downright horror, "I'm so sorry! Is he going to be able to recover? "

"Don't worry about it. He deserved it. It doesn't matter if he does or not," Percy said coldly, almost emotionlessly, adding quietly so that she couldn't hear, "He, of all people, doesn't deserve your pity after what he did to you."

Speaking up louder again so that she could hear, "He's currently in a vegetative state. More or less, he's dead. I can't get him off life support because the government insists on a previously written statement that says he wouldn't want to be kept alive. But the a**hole probably thought it would be funny if he could stay around watching me write under his control even when paralyzed."

"Percy, I know you and your father don't get along. But no one deserves this awful fate, not even him."

"You didn't know him, Annabeth," Percy muttered darkly. "I was offered the position of CEO Pro Tempore of Atlantic Industries. I refused of course as it involved dropping out of school… and seeing you."

"Percy, this is a great opportunity!"

"Annabeth, I never wanted this! Why do you think I resented my father? He never once considered my opinion."

"What are you going to do about it?" she demanded simply.

"And then they threw in the emotional aspect. I'm responsible for the lives of 750000 employees who might lose their job if I don't take over the company. It doesn't stop there. Many of them are in charge of supporting their family. That's 1.5 million people that I have to take care of."

Annabeth let out a low whistle, "1.5 million people in your hands? So why move to Germany?"

"That was another stipulation. Our company is global, but the German branch of all of them is being the most adversely affected with protests. Messing with the German state is more or less bankruptcy. Right now, everyone believes the company will fail. The laws in Germany have unemployment benefits that far exceed the U.S. To put it simply, the German Union scares me. One mistake there and I could blow up the whole thing."

"No pressure."

"Yeah…"

The two just sat there in silence for a minute when Percy spoke up again, "So, would you come with me?"

"What?!"

"To Germany?"

"Percy, are you insane?"

"I've been told that on occasion, but I'm asking in all seriousness."

"My mom… College. I just committed to NYU. I can't just leave. Tell me you were joking."

"That would be a cruel joke," Percy said solemnly.

"Percy…"

"I get it. You have your own priorities. You were right. It was dumb of me to ask. Me and my stupid loyalty."

"But, we can hang out before you leave, right? We can meet every day."

"My plane's in two hours," he said flatly.

Annabeth was speechless. Percy took something out of his pocket, tossing it to her, "In case you change your mind, I'll always be waiting," Without another word, he left in the direction he came. Annabeth stared down at what was in her hand. Printed was her name. It was a plane ticket to Germany.

Time Skip to One Year Later, Annabeth—

Annabeth had successfully completed one year at NYU, almost twenty years old now. It had been exactly a year since Percy had left for Germany, leaving her alone at Central Park that fateful night. There wasn't a day that hadn't passed without her thinking about him.

It wasn't that Annabeth was entirely alone. She and Thalia had made up after a long discussion, Thalia declaring it was about time she got over Percy.

Nico still hung around Thalia hoping that he could impress her in some way or the other. Although Thalia didn't show it, Annabeth knew that she secretly liked the attention she was getting from Nico. But, it didn't stop her from playing hard to get. Plus, Nico chickened out at every mention of Thalia's father. That didn't stop the three of them from hanging out every Friday at the mall. Annabeth was the only one that felt normal out of the three, but the only non-emo/goth.

In regards to Silena and Juniper, the two had gone their separate ways, going off to college in different states. There were of course the monthly Skype reunions, but the girls had been growing more distant, finding newer friends.

And then comes Percy. Needless to say, their contact had been limited. The first month or so, Annabeth had texted him, only prompting simple one word replies. She couldn't tell if he was genuinely busy or if he was still upset. After a month, those texts stopped.

There had been breaking news a month later officially announcing the broken engagement of Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Percy Jackson, ending the deal between the two companies. To the business world, many saw this as a blow to Percy, but the company didn't take a single dip in stocks as was anticipated. In fact, sales seemed to skyrocket then more than ever.

Annabeth at present was walking down Times Square. Today was just like any other Friday evening. Thalia and Nico had promised to meet up with her at a local ice cream creamery stuck in the middle of all these designer shops. She still had an hour of time to kill, so Annabeth decided to do some window shopping. Just as she was about to enter one of the shops, she noticed the digital billboard in the center of the square change. The pixels had rearranged, now showing a picture of none other than the CEO of Atlantic Industries, Percy Jackson. It was a Rolex watch ad. How it related to his line of his business, she had no idea, but there he was.

Percy looked exactly the same; his face magnified a hundred times more on the screen. His eyes still held the same glittering green they had when she had first seen them. His floppy black hair had been slicked back for the commercial as he wore a black silk looking suit, probably another designer brand. But there was something missing. It seemed superficial, even his smile. Annabeth heard the excited squeals of girls behind her pointing up the ad. Annabeth had a feeling they weren't just pointing at the Rolex.

Feeling rather annoyed, Annabeth entered the shop, not wanting to deal with him. To her dismay, it was the Rolex store. Posters of Percy's face filled up every nook and corner of the building. In the same speed she entered, Annabeth exited the building, slightly out of breath.

It wasn't that Annabeth hadn't seen Percy before. She had seen occasional commercials featuring him on TV, but it had never been so bad, especially considering it was now exactly a year since he left. Giving up completely, Annabeth just stood in front of one of the many shops. There was a TV present in one of the shops, displaying an event going on the airport. There was an entourage of media crew and bodyguards surrounding the person on screen that Annabeth couldn't make out who it was.

The cameramen attempted to get a better audio and visual as they fought with one another to get closer. The man in the center of attention determinedly kept his head down, a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes as he pushed his way out of the crowd.

Just for a second, the media crew gave way for the man to enter his black Mercedes, the windows tinted black. But in that one second, Annabeth saw it all. It was Percy Jackson himself. He hadn't been lying when he had said one year. Percy Jackson was back for good.

Annabeth's legs turned to jelly as she held onto one of the lampposts for support. Why did he have to come back now of all times? Annabeth rang up Thalia immediately, "Hey Thals?"

"Yeah?"

"You mind if I ditch tonight?"

"What, why?"

"Something came up. You and Nico enjoy."

"But Annabeth," Thalia began to protest, "You can't leave me with him."

"Just please Thalia. I'm not in the mood."

"Fine…"

"Love you Thals."

"Shut up and don't talk to me again, jerk."

Annabeth smiled a little at Thalia's reluctance to be alone with Nico. Without another thought, she walked. She didn't realize where her legs were carrying her till she was already there: Central Park. She had stopped in front of the exact same bench where she had last seen him. Almost involuntarily, she felt herself collapse onto it, clutching her knees closer together. She wasn't crying, but it left in her a saddening mood. Simply depressing.

Annabeth noticed the sky darken around her as the night fell quickly. The stars were out, twinkling bright tonight, brighter than most nights. The moon too was at its brightest, a full moon.

"I thought I might find you here," a quiet voice said coming from behind her.

Annabeth jumped up, startled, "Who's there?"

"One year and you've forgotten my voice already?" The figure stepped out so that the light from the moon reflected off of him: Percy.

"Percy?" she whispered in silent disbelief.

Percy snorted, "No. It's Logan Lerman. Yes, Percy."

"No, that's not possible."

"Why not? Have you not seen the news lately? I was rather disappointed that you weren't a part of my welcoming party at the airport today."

Annabeth still shook her head in disbelief, pinching herself to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Well, considering the pinch had hurt, it must be real.

He looked at her with some concern, "Do you still not believe that I'm here? Hello." Percy tried waving his hand in front of her face. He was a gone for a year and this was her response, to stay frozen like she had seen Medusa or something.

In the year that had passed, not seeing Annabeth was even worse than before, 1000s of miles separating them, adding to the physical pain. She had grown up even more beautifully than when she had been in college. Percy knew that he couldn't just waltz back into her life after he had left her, like his own father had done. She could have moved on. After all, she had never promised him anything; that single thought made him falter a little, making him reconsider his plan.

"Annabeth?" he asked anxiously. That single word had an effect. The sound of her name rolling off his tongue was enough to awaken Annabeth from her shock. She approached him in a near zombie like trance. Percy backed away slowly; slightly worried that she might slap him. But what she did instead surprised him even more. She kissed him full on the lips. Percy wrapped his arms around her waist for the first time in over a year, feeling the familiar click as he kissed her back.

She pulled back first, a little breathless.

"What was that for?" he chuckled.

"To make sure you were real."

"Is that so? Then, I should do this more often."

Annabeth then slapped him hard on the cheek. Percy winced this time, "And this?"

"To make sure you were real."

"You already did that."

"You deserved it."

Percy scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess I kind of do."

Annabeth hugged him tightly, as she whispered, "You better not leave me again." Percy smiled once, a little overwhelmed with Annabeth's bipolar emotions, "Never again, Annabeth."

He pulled away once, Annabeth's eyes widening a little in surprise, "Percy?" But, he held on to her left hand.

Percy got down on one knee as he said the well-rehearsed line that countless generations of men before him had said. He pulled out the red satin ring box which held the priceless diamond ring, "Annabeth Chase. I promise to love you forever and to never leave your side. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I know this is kind of sudden and all, but it wasn't something I hadn't—" Percy's rambling was interrupted as Annabeth pulled him into another kiss.

Yes.

Finally. Anyway, announcements time. So, I started a Percy Jackson and Harry Potter Fanfic yesterday. Check it out if you have time. It's basically a character role switch.

I promise I'll update The Green Eyed Marine soon. I'm hoping for tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm going to St. Louis on Wednesday. To those of you not familiar with the States, St. Louis shows up in the first book, The Lightning Thief, when Percy plunges to his 'death' from the arch. I was there last year too. The arch is so beautiful.

Anyway, I want to finish this story by then. Of course, the story could end now. I didn't get much response in the last chapter, so:

Epilogue or no epilogue?

Let's hit 400 reviews, shall we? Maybe? Yes? No? You better... This chapter cleared 3000 words.