Kris Senju: I really do hope me making it through this can give others the strength to as well. I hope seeing me keep on coming back can help others realize they can do the same.

Dawnwizard8010: I appreciate it, my friend. It means more than I can say here so i'll spare the words but it really does mean a lot.

Guest: Yay indeed.

phoboschampion367: More is definitely on the way, there's still a hell of a rollercoaster to go through.

Slype99 Son of Poseidon: Hell yeah. I've never given up on it.

Guest: MALMSTEEN!

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THE ROAD – CHAPTER TWENTY

Percy

I felt trapped in the absolute best way.

Annabeth was grabbing my face, kissing me in a way I knew I would never ever feel again. This was special. There was lust and anticipation and so much new. I had never kissed a girl like this before. She rested her hand in my hair, grabbing it tightly as if they were claws as her other hand lingered down to the bottom of my shirt and I knew where this was heading. I knew her vision could be clouded and this was something we could regret later. I pulled back, taking a large gasp for air as if I had just tried holding my breath underwater for hours, but she took my lips right back.

"Annabeth-" I tried speaking, raising my head up as she kissed my jaw. I grabbed at her shoulders and used a small amount of force to move her back, locking eyes with her as she tried catching her breath.

"Not now" I whispered to her, completely forgetting we were in the middle of a tour bus. She looked at me apologetically, walking into my now outstretched hands, embracing her. She clutched my shirt tightly and snuggled closer to my chest, almost like she was trying to bury her head in it. She looked up to me, her eyes teary and wet.

"Do you really want this?" she asked hesitantly, wiping some tears off on my shirt.

I guess I had always had an attraction to Annabeth. From the moment I tried out in the studio that seemed like ages ago she really caught my eye. She was gorgeous then and managed to get even more beautiful as time went by. I considered myself the luckiest man in the world to be close to her and get to know her personality all this time, but you always have that feeling that the other side doesn't feel what you do back. I was always hesitant to talk to her about it too, to avoid creating tension within the band, and it was best avoiding it especially if I could've stomached it all this time and I still came out fine. I've only had her in my arms in dreams, up until now.

"What do you mean? Of course I want to be with you"

"I don't mean that. You know what it means if we get together like this right?" she asked, drying her eyes off again.

"I don't get it" I must've looked like an idiot by the sigh and look she gave me.

"We're popular now. Everyone pretty much knows who we are. If we go public with this whole thing people will have a huge target on our backs. They'll try to take us down just like they tried now." she said and took a pause, referring to the candy powder report I saw on the news earlier. She had a good point, but she kept on talking before I could continue thinking.

"The press can be horrible, you know that. Every famous couple ends up torn apart at some point."

"But we're not like everyone else." I cut her off as she took a moment to organize her thoughts.

"I never thought of it that way. I mean, I've had a crush on you for a while and I want this badly. I never ever doubted the idea of us failing. We really aren't like everyone else. We aren't out there for the money or the fame. I see this as a group of super awesome people here to make music and have fun. The rest is just a novelty. We don't have to be everyone else. Don't you think we can prove them wrong?" I told her.

"I'm just worried it won't work out. I mean yeah, we aren't like everyone else but it doesn't make this any easier."

There was a silence in the room, one that was uncomfortable in a different way. There was no tension, just a cloud of uncertainty. Because we were aware of the stakes of what we wanted, and jumping to a decision could absolutely ruin our friendship, maybe even our careers. There was too much ahead to fail so early on. But this, her, I just couldn't give up on.

"I want this" I told her decisively, looking her right in the eyes. "I really do"

She gave a soft smile, trying to hold back a laugh. "I want this too"

I gave her a smile back, "So?" I asked as I reached out to her hand. She pulled me in close and planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"I don't seriously have to tell you, do I?"

And as scary as revealing all of this to our friends, trying to keep them from spreading anything, we had fun. You can almost say we enjoyed 'living in fear'. But we couldn't deny the positive effect this had on us as a duo. We started writing more often and more efficiently, our synergy reaching places I never thought we could reach. I decided to branch out and try playing different styles on my guitar. It didn't lead to anything on a record, but it was just something for me to keep as inspiration as I found myself picking up my 8 string guitar a lot more. The group's jam sessions got a lot more chaotic, musically speaking. The motivation from my friends, pushing me to be greater, taught me that I had a lot more to learn.

But it wasn't always fun.

- flashback -

Annabeth pov

"DAMN IT!" I heard a loud scream followed by what sounded like a thud. I made a fast walk to the back of the vehicle and saw Percy sitting on a chair, his guitar thrown on the bed and his forehead full of sweat. There was a video open on a laptop in front of him, currently paused. "I hate this" he said in a low, angry tone.

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen my boyfriend hindered by a guitar" I said with a grin on my face. Percy's head shifted so he was glaring at me, clearly frustrated. He pointed to his laptop and pressed play before rolling back in his chair.

"Just listen to this", he said angrily and rolled back in his chair.

There was a guy with big glamour hair, 80's style, holding a guitar painted and designed like a computer motherboard. He pointed to the camera, looking straight down the lens, and said "I'm going to give you, the keys to the Lamborghini". I didn't really understand what the meant, and I was going to laugh, but then the music played. His hands were moving around so quickly it was like they weren't leaving a shadow. I've seen Percy play like what I thought was this speed before.

"What's the big deal?" I said and paused the video, looking back to Percy, who had picked his guitar back up, "You can't play fast all of a sudden?" I gave him a funny look.

"That's not the point" he said and rolled forward in his chair, clicking around the computer screen for a bit to bring a few programs up. "He's switching strings and I can't figure out how he's doing it without bumping my pick into the other strings I don't want to hit and make sounds I don't want to hear when I play. And there are no errors in his play, it's like a freaking cyborg arm playing guitar." He covered his face and sighed loudly. "This is the worst thing ever"

"So don't learn it?" I suggested lightheartedly.

"Can't" he said exhaustedly, "I bet Grover I can"

He rewinded through the video a few more times, his eyes following the lightning fast but precise movements diligently. I took a few moments to just stare at him while I could, observing his facial structure, his expression when he was focused.

"You're really cute when you're like this" Percy stopped the video and glared at me again. I gave him a smile and bent down to give him a kiss on the forehead. "If anyone can do this it's you. I know that much"

"I don't know about that" he said and went back to playing as I walked away to make breakfast.

"You just have to trust me"

- end of flashback -

And I did. It still took me around 3 months to figure it all out. But I was proud of my achievement, especially when Grover thought I caved, and finally admitted he lost.

"I'll admit it, I thought I had you with this one for sure." He said. "You keep amazing me, man"

"I'm paid to amaze you" I said, and that made us both laugh. It was a rare time where we both weren't working too hard and got to have some quality time together. He was in the area so we took advantage of the situation and met up. Grover was working as hard as ever, even harder than me, being a very successful producer and mixer for different up and coming artists, and most of the times it was these guys that got very famous who got their extra push from Grover. He has a very good touch with sound. We have known each other so well for so long so when he had to mix my music, he knew my personality and how I liked my sounds. All he had to do is add his own little spin and finishing touches and those are one of the reasons that I got so famous so quickly. It was because of my best friend.

"I've missed doing this" I told him, "It's been way too long".

"That's true." He said, a slightly sad look on his face, "I'm going to have some more downtime soon, I don't have that much work left."

"How much is 'I don't have so much left' with you?" I said with a smile, "We both know you still have a lot to do, you can't fool me with that".

"He can't fool anyone with that" we heard a third male voice from the door. Frank came in the bus, hanging his coat and sitting down in the kitchen area next to us.

"How was your little date?" I pried at him as he sat down.

"We aren't dating yet, we're still trying to figure it out." He said shyly, taking a large sip out of a glass of water.

"That's not what Hazel thinks" We heard a fourth voice, of Nico's, with a towel around his neck and his hair all wet. "Trust me on that one, I know how these things work".

We didn't even pay attention to the time. It was already late, but we didn't know how late it was after we had finally finished talking. Piper and Annabeth went out with some of Piper's friends around the area, so that meant we could have a night alone, just the guys. Whether it was Grover who I haven't seen in ages or Frank and Nico, who I haven't had the chance to talk to about life all too much because of the touring and all the exhaustion, we finally earned ourselves some free time before our last set of shows around Los Angeles. It was possibly the biggest stage we were going to play on, in terms of the people expected to be there. Midway through out tour, we got word that tickets for our last show had already sold out, which was very surprising. By the end of the night we had all crashed on the couches or in our beds, satisfied and tired.

A/N: Just wanted to throw this here quickly before I sign off and go to sleep.

It's been a very long almost year for me. It really was, in every sense of the word, hellish. What I went through and the feelings I had, I really wasn't sure I was going to be alive by the end of it to be honest with you. I lost someone along the way that was very dear and close to my heart without any explanation. I was badly torn up and there were endless nights of crying and pain and misery and wishing everything would just end because I didn't have the will to go forward. There was a lot of isolation. I've went through a lot of physical and emotional pain to stay standing. I'm not the same person I was a year ago, I've changed a lot. But I'm proud to say that I managed to do it. I just wanted to get the message across to anyone that feels hopeless, lost, and helpless.

This past year has taught me a lot about human will and how much we are capable of overcoming if we stay strong and believe in ourselves. There's nothing we can't do. And while that might not seem like a lot reading this out of a fanfiction post, but if I can do it, anyone can. I was very scared of change in my life. But this whole experience has taught me to stand up for myself, to believe in myself and not rely on others as much as I used to. And as bad as the cost was to learn all of this I'm glad I experienced it one way or another.

Even though they might not see this, I wanted to thank my friend Talia for keeping up at night when I needed someone to talk to, and for taking care of me when I needed her. Thank you for keeping with my horrible mood swings despite having your own stuff to deal with. Thank you for keeping me from hurting and damaging myself. Thank you for convincing me to keep going, for being a steady place I can lean on when I didn't have any strength.

And also my little brother, who despite not knowing my situation improved my mood and was my only source of happiness for a long time. You don't know how much you truly kept me standing little bro. I can never thank you enough for being my reason for staying alive and fighting, and for being there and being able to make me laugh when no one else was able to. I'll owe you forever for that.

And I wanted to thank you guys and girls, last but not least. Even if I didn't make touch, I still thought about this. This whole thing, this whole story and all of you never left my mind for even a second. I love and appreciate each and every single one of you for being there, despite my writing being shitty and my upload schedule being a piece of crap. You were all still there and that just amazes me. Thank you so much.

Just a quick end note to close this off. Some of the damage we take isn't repairable. And that's okay. That's some of the beauty of us being humans. We aren't meant to be immortal. Take the pain that you feel and make it into something that will inspire you to move forward and keep going. Take your pain and learn from it, make it your wisdom.

Keep strong,
DareRelaqz