Hey guys! So here we are again! I have to keep this brief because I've literally been swamped with different things. I'm just finishing drivers ed which means I'm studying for the final (both written and drive) and today I had to plan a route that's like an hour long by myself because around 4 (Washington time) I'm going to be going on the drive with only my prewritten directions to guide me...My family has been doing this big garage sale for a few days, we've been getting our house ready for painting...

Gah its hectic.

Anyway I know how much a lot of you love this story and I wanted to get this chapter out there. Its a little rushed and I'm not sure how to feel about the ending but I think its time. We only have about three chapters left...So be sure to review and enjoy!

AJ Harris:

I chewed on the inside of my lip as I drove. My left elbow was propped up against the window as I drove with my right hand. My head was pounding and my face was sticky from panic tears. I licked my dry lips and pulled over into a subway parking lot. Once I was parked I leaned back in my seat.

I've been driving in a large loop for a few hours and it did nothing to help me. It was mostly a distraction from Ryder. How can he love me? It's only been a few months! And to tell me so openingly? In front of all those people? Does he even know me?

My phone went off again making me sigh. My friends all know I need my space in times like this and as long as I send them texts every hour they won't come looking for me. They'll just wait until I'm calm enough to come home. I only have another day to calm myself before we're getting back on the bus and continuing the tour.

A small part of me feels bad for Ryder. It had to hurt to tell someone you love them and seconds later see them burst out of the room and run away from you. I didn't mean to panic as badly as I did; it wasn't the right way to handle the situation but in the moment I felt trapped in that big stadium.

Jesse loved me too; he told me almost every day. He was my happiness for so long and then he became my anger and misery. He cheated on me for months! Months! All the while still promising I was the only one for him; his one love.

Ryder and I have been apart for three months and we're constantly on the move. We're both busy people and I know he constantly complained about being bored while I was gone and he was stuck in California. How do I know he hasn't…. or at least planned to cheat on me? At least some other girl would say she loved him back instead of run as far away as she could get.

I do love Ryder. He snuck into my heart when I was least expecting it and now he's settling in. Love is so powerful though; you feel amazing once you're in it but once it's over….I'm just afraid to feel that kind of pain again.

I sighed and tilted my head back against the seat to try and keep the tears in my eyes. I wiped my eyes dry and frowned when my phone continued to go off. I mentally groaned when I saw how many missed calls I had from Ryder. He was calling again. Slowly I clicked accept and reached up to press the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Oh finally! I thought you were going to ignore me forever."

"Ryder…"

"Hey can you unlock your door?"

"What?"

"Can you unlock the door? I don't want to tug on it and have the alarm go off or something. I don't want someone to think I'm trying to rob you!"

I looked around in confusion as Ryder chuckled at his little joke. My eyes widened when I saw Ryder's car parked a few spaces away from mine. Within seconds I heard a light tapping on the passenger side window. I jumped at the noise and turned to see Ryder smiling at me. I quickly unlocked the door and hung up the phone. He climbed in quickly and leaned over to kiss my cheek as I stared at him stunned.

"How did you….How are you here?" I asked surprised. He smiled and pointed to the Subway entrance. An employee waved at us before turning back to the store. I sighed as Ryder shrugged.

"My friend Reggie texted me and told me you were out here crying."

"I'm not-"

"And I told him he was blind because thee AJ Harris doesn't cry. Especially not over some wannabe like me."

I let him cup my cheek, his thumb gently wiped away a stray tear and I smiled softly. He gave my cheek a soft squeeze before leaning over to me.

"I didn't do it the right way." He admitted gently, his voice laced with guilt. "I know that now. I should have known that you'd be freaked out. My love shouldn't be publicly announced until I know you're comfortable with it; you're all that matters…even if you don't feel the same way."

"Ryder…" I whispered softly. I reached over to comb his hair with my fingers. He let his eyes flutter shut. "I didn't run because my lack of love…I ran because I was afraid I would lose myself in it. I can't be hurt again; not after Jesse."

"But I won't hurt you." Ryder pleaded, his hand reaching blindly for mine. "AJ you've been with me for months and I've been faithful; and I spent so long just chasing you. Please lose faith in me."

I paused to think. He's right; he's never given me any reason to doubt him or how faithful he is. Man I should have broken more of Jesse's bones; he really messed me up. I'm afraid to trust someone who only wants to love me.

Ryder was a pain in the beginning; playing a mindless game with me to earn my affection. He tried time and time again to get my attention, if only for a few minutes. And during those minutes I was usually yelling at him. He tried so hard just to get to me and he's been a dream since we've been together. He's made me happier then I imagined possible. The thought made me mentally gag. I've turned into Annabeth.

I turned to Ryder and smiled.

"You gonna buy me a sandwich from Subway or am I going to have to kick you out of my car?"

I laughed as Ryder dove out of the car and ran towards the restaurant, eagerly urging me to follow him. I got out of the car and rolled my eyes as he opened the door for me. I stopped and grabbed the front of his shirt. He smiled down at me and I felt myself soften. I tugged on his shirt until he leaned down. I kissed him softly; I hoped he could feel what I did. When he smiled against my mouth, pulling me tightly against him, I knew he did.

I love you

When we pulled away he grinned cheekily. He lifted his finger to playfully poke my nose.

"Of course." He mused. "You'll only admit it when I'm seconds away from buying you food."

I rolled my eyes as I barked out a laugh. With another tug he was kissing me again.

0~0~0~0~0

Annabeth:

"I hate my life!" I moaned dramatically. Owen and Percy were still yelling nonsense at each other when I noticed our retail car was sporting an extreme flat tire. I glanced behind me and sighed. I knew we'd reach this point eventually. I just didn't think it'd be right outside's a children's hospital.

"Guys-"I tried quietly. They ignored me.

"-fair to her? She's a grown woman! She can make her own choices!" Percy shouted angrily.

"I know that! You think you're going to win her back by yelling at her best friend like this? You messed up Jackson! You don't deserve her!" Owen argued back, he paused to shove Percy's shoulder.

"Guys!-"I tried again, this time a little louder.

"Oh and what? You do? She isn't yours! Stop trying to take her from me!"

"Guys!" I shouted desperately. They stopped yelling to stare at me, clearly surprised by my loud outburst. I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." I apologized quickly. I pointed to the car. "We have a flat tire."

"What?" Owen asked as he went to check it out. He cursed under his breath and sighed.

"It popped." Percy said with a roll of his eyes. He moved to stand next to me and I sucked in a subtle breath. I haven't been this close to him in months. He looked at me in the corner of his eye and a small smile formed on his face.

"Owen?" I questioned lightly. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to get as far away from Mr. Hollywood here as we can get and then call a tow truck to get the car."

"Go ahead and call." Percy suggested quickly. "I'll take Annabeth home."

Owen scoffed and stood up from his crouched position to glare at Percy.

"Like hell." He scoffed again. "Knowing you, you'd probably kidnap her and I'd never see her again."

"Owen!" I scolded. He barely glanced at me.

"You don't know me!" Percy laughed bitterly. "I'd only take her wherever she wanted to go; which I'm sure is as far from you as she can get!"

"Percy!" I gasped. Owen's nostrils flared with anger and I quickly dove in front of the two of them again.

"Enough!" I barked angrily. Both men glanced at me before going back to glaring at each other. I let out a frustrated growl and pitched both of them. Once they were finally looking at me I glared.

"You two are unbearable." I groaned. "This has been brewing for a while and we're going to finish this out right now. Owen, call a tow truck; first we need to get the car fixed."

Owen didn't move until I trained my glare on him. With an angry huff he was pulling out his phone and backing a few feet away from Percy and I. His eyes never left us but he gave us enough space to talk.

I turned to Percy and sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck, managing to look somewhat guilty.

"Percy…"

"I want to hug you so badly." He admitted quickly. "But I'm worried your guard dog will bite me if I do."

"What am I supposed to do here Percy?" I asked tiredly. "I can't have you two at each other's throats."

Percy shrugged and I sighed again as Owen walked back over. I looked at him expectantly and he pointed behind him.

"A truck will be here in a few minutes." He looked to the ground. "But we have to get a ride to the hotel." He added through gritted teeth. Percy flashed us his keys with the biggest smirk I've ever seen.

"Wipe that shit eating grin off your face asshole." Owen snapped. "There's no way we're going with you. Right Annabeth?"

"Yeah…Right Annabeth?" Percy asked again, his smirk still present. I bit my lip and turned to Owen guiltily.

"Owen…We need the ride…"

I winced as he exploded. He threw his hands up frustrated as Percy laughed in triumph.

"What's wrong with you Annabeth!?" He growled at me. "Are you forgetting this jerk broke your heart?" He pounded his chest. "Did you forget about how I held you and comforted you when you cried over him? How can you be taking his side over mine?! I thought you were done with him!"

Before I could answer Percy moved closer and opened his stupid mouth.

"Ha!" He gloated childishly. "Shows what you know! Annabeth and I have been talking for months!"

I groaned and leaned over to smack Percy in the back of the head. He winced and frowned when he saw my death glare. He shrunk back behind me.

"Owen its-"

"What the hell Annabeth?!" Owen growled. He ran a hand through his hair angrily. I took a breath.

"Look I'm sorry I didn't tell you." I mumbled guiltily. "I should have. I just didn't want you to be upset."

"Well look where that got us!" He snapped moodily. I bit my lip and rolled my eyes as I thought about AJ's warning all those months ago.

"Fine." AJ agreed roughly. "But you know lying never ends up well for any of us. We're all terrible at it."

"God Annabeth what's the matter with you? Why would you want to talk to this idiot? Why would you want to be anywhere near him? Or have anything to do with him?" Owen asked rudely. His voice was anything but pleasant and I felt myself snap.

"Because I love him! You ass!" I snapped angrily. I was sick and tired of hearing about how terrible he thinks Percy is.

My eyes widened when I registered what I had said. I could see Percy practically beaming next to me as I flushed embarrassed. I realized my love for him had never faded; it was just buried under hurt and anger from his lie.

But I don't want to be without him anymore. But first…I have to finish this argument for good with my best friend.

Owen looked completely wounded when our eyes locked. I shook my head and reached out for him but he took a step back and held up his hands.

"Guess your right Hollywood." He muttered. "I don't know anything anymore." He looked at me with a shake of his head. "You wanna go with Percy? Go ahead. I'll see you on the bus tomorrow."

"Owen." I pleaded softly. He ignored me and turned his back to me. Within seconds he was out of the parking lot and down the street. I sighed once he was completely out of sight and turned to glare at Percy. He reached up to rub the back of his neck.

"Um…Whoops?"

0~0~0~0~0

Matthew:

I jumped as Annabeth slammed the hotel door open. My eyes widened and I raised an eyebrow when I saw Percy follow her in sheepishly. She paused her stomp in to look over at AJ and Ryder. After nodding her approval she moved over to me.

"Where's Natalie?"

I pointed to the locked door and she nodded before quickly moving to open it. I cursed under my breath when Annabeth easily opened the door. She hadn't even locked it?

"Uh Matt?" Annabeth asked carefully. I gave her a weird look.

"What?" I moved towards the door and face palmed when I noticed Natalie wasn't in there. AJ snorted and I turned around to glare at her.

"What?" She asked defensively. "How do you not notice your distraught girlfriend leave the apartment? She had to walk right past you!"

I shook my head and let Annabeth move to stand in between the two of us. She sighed as Ryder glanced around.

"Hey wait where's Owen?" He asked curiously. "Wasn't he with you Annabeth?"

"And what's he doing here?" I asked my sister as I fixed my glare on Percy. He waved cheekily and I felt myself stiffen with anger. This was all too much. Annabeth gently placed her hand on my shoulder and I looked down at her pleading face. I relaxed slightly.

"Today's been crazy." Annabeth announced with a shake of her head. "We all know that." She paused to look at everyone in the room. "Now! We have two AWOL band members who are deeply upset with Matthew and I. We need to figure out where they are and fix this. We only have so much of this tour left and I'd rather not spend it fighting with my favorite people in the world."

Everyone agreed quickly. I glanced down at Annabeth and gave her the look. A look that only an older brother can give his sister when he needs to have a little chat with her. AJ noticed and quickly made up an excuse to get both Percy and Ryder out of the room. Annabeth smiled at me sheepishly, a blush taking over her face instantly.

"Hey Matthew." She said sweetly. I stared at her unimpressed and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"How long?" I asked quickly. She shrugged.

"We've been talking for a few months."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Annabeth paused and let her eyes fall to the floor. She spoke in a soft tone.

"I didn't want you to be disappointed in me."

Something in my heart clenched and I sighed; the anger easily vanishing. I pulled her in for a comforting hug and I sighed again.

"Do you love him?" I asked quietly. My chin was resting on top of her head and after a few unwavering still seconds I felt her nod. I placed a kiss on her head and pulled out of the hug to grip her forearms.

"Then I can be okay with this."

"Really?" She asked hopefully. I smiled when I saw a small spark in her eyes I'd only seen when she's singing. I nodded.

"Of course." I squeezed her arms. "I'm not dad; I can't just order you to stay away from him. I just want you to tell me things from now on okay? None of this secret crap. You and I have never worked that way." I paused and gave her another look. "Now I need you to tell me…Are you sure about this? About…him? He isn't good enough for you."

Something flashed in Annabeth's eyes as she pondered my words. Suddenly as if an invisible light turned on, she smiled. She seemed almost surprised by her own words.

"He's….everything." She whispered happily. I smiled somewhat sadly and brushed some stray hairs out of her face as her smile widened. She leaned up to kiss my cheek and quickly turned towards the door. I watched her go with a heavy heart. She's in love.

I glanced down at my phone to see a sweet picture of Natalie. I have to find her and make this right.

Because so am I…

0~0~0~0~0

Percy Jackson:

"I know right?" Ryder agreed enthusiastically, his bag of pretzels shaking in his hands as he moved. I raised mine in the air as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Normally hotels put the crappy off-brand pretzels in their machines but these-" I shook my bag. "-These are the real deal."

Ryder popped a few in his mouths and nodded. I grinned to myself as I finished my bag. Just as I tossed it in the trash Annabeth came down the hall. I smiled warmly as I watched her approach me.

"Hey how'd it go with Matthew?" Ryder asked kindly as she got closer. She ignored him and quickly walked over to stand right in front of me. I sucked in a breath as she moved impossibly close. I felt lightheaded as I breathed in her sweet scent. She quickly leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. I could faintly hear AJ yell "Oh shit!" next to us.

The world seemed to freeze as I gasped against her mouth.

:D

I think it was time for Annabeth to finally admit she's in love with Percy. It was brewing for a while.

Next chapter: Annabeth needs to have a serious talk with both Owen then Percy. Matthew and Natalie both need a lesson in communication and AJ and Ryder help them speak to each other in the best way they know how; Our Melting Pot style.

Again I've been busy and I don't know when I'll update next but we only have three chapters left!

Be sure to review, follow and favorite and check out my other stories!