Disclaimer: I do NOT own Percy Jackson.

Percy's P.O.V:

(A week after..)

As his car exited the highway, Percy glanced at the woman who was sitting on the passenger seat. Annabeth's head was turned away from him, and Percy imagined her eyes wide and jaw dropped as she took in the scenery of New York.

Percy cleared his throat, the wind whipping through his hair. He felt a sort of homesickness for New York City, and longed to walk on the sidewalks. Promising himself that he'd make sure to walk Annabeth on every road of New York, Percy grabbed her hand with his free arm, squeezing it affectionately.

She turned to him, excitement shimmering in her eyes. A smile was planted onto her face, and she was bouncing up and down. Annabeth's excitement spread through him, and he felt like he was finally home, in the bustling of the New York streets and towering skyscrapers.

With Annabeth.

"Oh," Annabeth breathed, her curls flying everywhere due to the wind. "Percy, this is absolutely gorgeous."

"I know someone even more gorgeous."

Turning to face Percy, Annabeth leaned over and gave him a quick, chaste kiss on the cheek. She unbuckled her seatbelt, "Are we there yet?"

Percy chuckled, "No. Just a couple more minutes."

"I told Thalia I'd call her once we got there, and she expected a call an hour ago."

Percy raised an eyebrow, making a left turn. "Well, it isn't my fault that your kissing distracted me."

Annabeth just let out an airy sigh, seeming to be too excited to talk. "I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that I'm here. In New York. With you."

"Hard for me to believe, too, Wise Girl."

"This is perfect," Annabeth was silent for a moment. "Wait, but, are we going to your apartment?"

Percy nodded, already assuming the question Annabeth would ask. "And I don't know if my stepfather is there or not, there's one way to see."

"Where would we stay?"

Percy laughed, "Do you think I'm that unprepared?"

"You never told me."

"I rented a house," Percy said slowly. "It's not that big, but remember that picture I showed you three days ago? You said you loved it."

If possible, Annabeth's eyes got brighter. "Tell me you didn't get that."

"I got that."

An unexpected squeal left Annabeth, and she grinned. "We'll pay the rent together and things are going to go perfect and-"

"You're rambling."

Blushing, Annabeth closed her mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm just so excited."

"I like you being excited," Percy told her. "It's cute."

He found it weird how he was so comfortable about Annabeth, all worries dissipating when he was near her. She made him feel warm and welcomed, but most of all, he felt like there was a spark inside her soul that was absolutely beautiful when lit.

Before any other words were exchanged, he neared a small apartment building, positioned tightly between two others. The paint was slowly peeling off, causing a dull shade of white as the color of the exterior. He glanced up at the second balcony, a strange feeling rising in his stomach.

Nothing about it had changed. A rotting plant was still placed at the edge, but other than that, the balcony seemed untouched.

Gabe would either be here, or he wouldn't. Percy couldn't decide which would be better.

Of course, when he told Annabeth he would be right back and walked towards the old entrance, Percy walked with a sort of confidence that Gabe would no longer destroy. He pulled the door -which was never locked- of the apartment open, and stepped up on the wooden stairs. The apartment itself smelt like eggs and syrup combined, and Percy wrinkled his nose.

He arrived at the door where Gabe was most likely residing in. The same place he had dreamed of getting away from for years on end.

32B. 32B.

Before he had a chance to back out, Percy pushed the knob open, finding it, too, unlocked. Weird. Gabe had always threatened Percy if he didn't lock the door, and even if it seemed years ago, it had barely been four months. What caused him to change his mind?

He tried to ignore and push away the anxiety bubbling all inside him. When he took a step into the room, Percy's first thought was, where's the smell of beer and cigarettes?

He was met with plain, white walls. The scent of lemon hung in the air, and cleaning supplies were placed against walls. The carpets all had been rid of the dark stains from Gabe, which surprised Percy since the stains seemed almost permanent.

As he searched every hallway and room, Percy found everything empty. There was no sign that Gabe had ever resided here, and a twisted yet not entirely uncomfortable feeling coursed through Percy. When he reached the end of the hallway, Percy opened the bathroom door, and to his surprise, a man was standing there, back turned.

"Um, excuse me?"

The stranger turned, and Percy knew he had never seen him in his entire life. He had dirty blonde hair and washed out, blue eyes. Wrinkles formed underneath his eyes and he smiled at Percy. From what he could guess, Percy assumed he was a worker.

"Yes?" The man had a rough British accent.

"I'm looking for a man who lived here," Percy said. "His name was Gabe?"

"I'm sorry, but that man moved out a month ago. I believe it was to Maine, but I forgot. Anyways, he isn't here anymore. We're cleaning his apartment out. Is there something you need?"

Slowly, Percy shook his head. He resisted the urge to hug the man. Gabe was gone. He wasn't in Percy's life anymore. He wasn't in Percy's life anymore.

"Thank you," Percy said to the man.

In response the man nodded, and continued to paint the walls of the bathroom. He left the apartment in record time, practically running through the halls.

When he exited the building, the air of New York suddenly became cheerier. He rushed to his car, where Annabeth was watching him with an odd look, feet propped up against the dashboard. Opening the door, Percy sat inside, "Guess what?"

"What?"

Percy kissed her lips. "Gabe moved. He's not here anymore, Wise Girl."

A smile broke out into Annabeth's face. "Really? Seaweed Brain, that's amazing!"

"I know," Percy told her, reversing the car and being back on the streets once again. "It is amazing."

Ten minutes later, Percy pulled up onto a driveway that was perfectly polished, and he shut the engine. He grabbed the house keys that were beside him. The house in front of them was just one story tall, but it was wide. The walls were a shade of brown, the door standing out in light brown. Windows were placed along the first side of the house, taking up at least half of the wall.

Annabeth shut the door and appeared beside Percy. "Ready?"

Percy twirled the keys in his hand. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Together, they walked towards the door, Percy still in awe that he would get to stay here. He opened the door with the keys, holding the door out for Annabeth.

She gave him a small before stepping in, Percy at her heels. He shut the door behind him, looking around.

"Woah."

Right in front of them were three stairs that led up to the living room to the right. A railing was attached next to the stairs. Right in front of them was a large closet that could be opened by a fancy knob. The living room was big, but not too big. Percy guessed it was just a couple feet wider than the living room in his apartment. It was empty, except for a couple of outlets in the side.

The living room connected to the dining room, which led to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, granite counters were placed perfectly against the walls, the sink and stove matching with the trim of the kitchen. The tiles of the kitchen floor radiating with the light of the window coming from the window on top of the sink made Percy smile. He faintly imagined waking up to Annabeth in the kitchen, or vice versa. The simple thought added to his excitement, and stared at Annabeth lovingly, even though her back was turned to him.

"Are you liking it?"

Eagerly, Annabeth nodded. "The architecture is so beautiful."

He walked over to the bedroom, which was led from the hallway through the kitchen.

Needless to say, as Percy pushed the door open, his jaw dropped. The entire room was huge, and it could fit at least two king sized beds. The walls were a pale green, and the floor was soft carpet. A window was positioned on three of the walls, the trim of them a gorgeous dark gray. A closet took up a third of the wall across from the door.

A door to the bathroom was adjoined at the very end of the room, and Percy peered out the window of the house. Annabeth appeared beside him, laying her head on his shoulder.

"What do you think of the house?"

Annabeth turned away from him, spreading her arms out. "What do I think?"

Percy raised an eyebrow, nodding as she dramatically looked over the room.

She winked at him.

"I think this place needs some remodeling."

Annabeth's P.O.V:

(2 months later..)

"Is this a joke?"

Percy shook his head, a grin spreading across his features. "Come on, Wise Girl. It isn't that bad."

Annabeth placed her hands on her hips. "I am not doing a treasure hunt."

"Come on," Percy pouted. He stuck his bottom lip out, widening his eyes. The gesture caused slight dimples to appear on his cheeks.

After a moment of staring at him, Annabeth gave in. "Fine."

He grinned, and fished out a paper from his pocket. It was a list, with five main items, and small sentences written under each point. She quickly scanned it. Sweet on America Candy, Beauregard Chocolate, Flowers, Necklace, Book.

"What's this?" Annabeth asked him, a fluttering in her stomach.

"Nothing," Percy's tone was innocent. "I have to go to get a couple things for the house, but I'll be back soon. And when I am, you should have finished this treasure hunt, okay?"

Annabeth nodded. "So all I have to do is-"

Percy interrupted her with a long kiss, before breaking apart.

"Just find all the items."

Again, Annabeth nodded. "Okay. Cool."

He gave her another quick peck before leaving the room, and a second later, Annabeth heard the door shut.

The sound of the door reminded Annabeth of when Luke used to slam the door in her face, and all the times he would kick her out. She shook her head in hopes of clearing the memory, and sighed. Luke wasn't in her life anymore. She was safe.

Eyeing the list again, Annabeth read the directions on the first one. Go to the room where we had our first make out session (which, Wise Girl, is a place I hope you'll never forget).

Annabeth smiled, and exited the bedroom. She walked towards the kitchen, placing her hands onto the granite counter. All around the kitchen were packets of chips, cookies, and other foods littered all around.

She remembered precisely when the first time Percy had kissed her, sitting on top of the counter. He'd placed here on the counter and told her how much he loved her, and always would.

Placed perfectly on the counter was a piece of blue candy. Attached to it was a note that read "I love you so much."

A laugh left Annabeth, and she took the candy and placed it in her mouth. It was a mix between chocolate and raspberries, and Annabeth relished the creamy sweet in her mouth. It reminded her of the sweet sensation she felt when she was with Percy. Like she was dreaming.

Annabeth read the second item on the list. Beauregard Chocolates. (Go to the place where we watched ten movies in a row)

The living room.

A couple weeks ago, Percy and Annabeth created a list of all the movies she hadn't watched, including Star Wars. Her boyfriend had freaked out, and they'd spent the entire night doing nothing but watching movies and cuddling. And kissing.

When she entered the living room, Annabeth immediately went to the dark couch they'd bought in the early days of living together. Surprisingly, it hadn't been awkward living with Percy. It felt almost..natural.

On the couch was another sweet; this time a candy. It was a chocolate, with caramel drizzled all over the surface. She popped it into her mouth, closing her eyes as the delicious chocolate melted on her tongue. Even after she'd swallowed it, the taste of caramel lingered in her mouth.

The note next to it read, "You mean so much to me."

If possible, Annabeth's mood lifted even more. She decided that when Percy returned from the store, she would make sure to show him how thankful she was for him. He had done all of this, simply for her.

She read the next item on the list. Flowers. (Go to the place where you spilled water all over me. On purpose.)

A smile twitched at Annabeth's lips as she went back to the kitchen, and towards the back, where the door to the backyard was located. Opening the door, Annabeth was greeted by the August air. She stepped into their patio, and to the right end. Right next to the plant Percy had insisted on buying were four tulips.

A month ago, when Annabeth was trying to water the plant, Percy refused to stop missing her neck. Playfully, she'd tried to dump a bit of water on him from her gallon of water jug, but her hand slipped. That resulted in Percy to be dumped with a gallon full of water, and soaked to the brim.

The tulips were different colors, arranged from red, yellow, pink, and violet. Annabeth gasped softly as she knelt down to pick them up. Using her prior knowledge, she knew that red tulips meant to declare love, and violet meant faithfulness. Then, as if a switch had been flipped in her mind, she recalled that yellow defined being hopelessly in love, and pink meant to care.

"Wow," Annabeth whispered, picking up the note that was laid upside down next to the tulip. She gathered the four of them in her hands, placing them neatly against the plant.

This time the note read, I'm so excited.

Annabeth didn't understand what the note meant, but nonetheless pocketed it just as she had with the others. Getting up, Annabeth read the last item on the last. Necklace. (Where you thought hiding was a good idea when we played hide and seek-and ended up knocking over most of our clothes.)

Annabeth immediately opened the back door and speed walked to their bedroom, throwing the door open. She rushed to the closet, sliding it open. What necklace did he mean?

In the closet, all of Annabeth's shirts were stacked neatly on top of each other, whereas Percy's were carelessly formed into a messy pile. Her pants and sweatshirts were in another organized stack, and most of Percy's were on the floor of their bedroom, or hanging from the bed. In the empty compartment of the closet was a small box, decorated with red velvet on the top.

Annabeth took it out, and her jaw dropped once she opened it. In the box held a necklace with a silver chain; the pendant shaped into a heart. Engraved onto it were three simple symbols, "A + P", and Annabeth took it out gently. She held the chain in her hand, balancing the pendant with her two fingers.

Sighing in happiness, Annabeth carefully placed the necklace back into the box, not wanting to ruin the necklace. She took the note out, which had been right next to the box.

Annabeth Jackson.

Annabeth's fingers flew to her mouth, and a throat behind her cleared. Turning around, Annabeth came to face a kneeling Percy, holding a box. Inside that box revealed a ring that glinted in the light.

"Annabeth Chase," Percy said, having changed into something more formal, "you mean the world to me. And, really, I don't think anything in this world could express just how much I love you. You walked into my life and changed it, you changed it for the better. I wouldn't be the same person if it weren't for you. Your soul holds something that's truly incredible. You're everything anybody could ever want, if not more. Everything about you is prepossessing, and I am so lucky to have you. I'm dating a goddess." He laughed. "And I can't help but wonder how it would feel to wake up next to you everyday and call you my wife." A shake of his head. "That would be unbelievable. It would be my dreams come true. Annabeth Chase, I ask you now, will you do the honors of making me the luckiest man in the world and marrying me?"

All throughout his speech, Annabeth was breathing in deeply. He watched her with a hopeful gaze, mouth twitched upwards.

"Did you plan that speech out?"

Percy sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really."

Annabeth laughed, "Then I'm not really sure I can marry you, Perseus."

His mouth fell open, and the hopeful look disappeared. "W-what?"

Annabeth threw her head back before taking the ring and sliding it onto her fingers. "Of course I'll marry you, Percy."

He breathed a sigh of relief before standing up and kissing her. "I love you, he murmured."

She wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him closer. Annabeth tried to pour all of her passion and gratitude for Percy into the kiss, but she knew she would have many other opportunities. Such as when they kissed on the alter.

When they broke apart, Annabeth admired her ring. It was simple yet gorgeous, with a white jewel and tiny other sea green gems encasing it. The ring fit her perfectly, and she felt a tear sliding down her cheek.

"By the way, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. "Marrying you wouldn't make me happy; it would make me the luckiest person to live. And, you know, the only reason I am living, is because of you."

He traced her lip with his finger. "I love you so much."

Annabeth grinned. "I love you too, dork."

A/N: Last chapter before the epilogue! So I know all (or none) of you are probably like, "..why did she update in four days and say it would end in February?" Change of plans! TWSH will probably end before 2016, or the day it starts. Let's see. I have it all planned out with MajorCartooniac, but I'm also really busy so let's see. It doesn't really feel like TWSH is ending, and I'm probably going to have a hard time letting go. The epilogue will be the wedding, by the way. And another scene. Onto the reviews!

.just. : So glad you liked it! Yeah, it would have been weird if I'd have them fall, and I would've done that if the story wasn't ending. I hate Octavian. Hope you liked this chapter!

Guest: I will never leave you guys hanging. For more than a year, at least. I hope you liked this chapter!

MajorCartooniac: Octavian deserves to suffer. Yeah, and you were probably responsible for many of the deaths. Fluff is amazing, my friend. :3 You'll hear about Thalia! She'll be at the wedding ;) Thank you so much! Hope you liked this chapter.

OGkush-OGskywalker: Oh, something glitched with it so I had to take it down. I put it back up, though!

unspoken-code: I'm so glad you liked it! The fact that it's ending is sad, too, because I'll lose contact with a lot of my followers and I will cry because I love you guys so much. Fluff is something that makes me grin for the entire day and want to scream into a pillow for. Luke and Octavian deserve what they get. I hate them as much as everyone does. I hope you liked this chapter!

Booknerds22202: I'm sure you weren't the only one who caught that reference ;) I'm so glad you liked the chapter and I hope you like this too!

ShatteredOwl: Do not insult my updating skills or I will ignore you again. Jk. Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! :D

KHCMC36: YAY! LONG REVIEW! *is excited* I'm glad they're dead, too. I know. The fluff made me excited too. The man in black was Ethan! :D THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED OMG I CANNOT WAIT FOR YOUR REVIEW FOR THIS. I'll miss your reviews, too and I'll not get over this for a while. You should find a way to contact me so we can still keep in touch 00: Hope you liked the chapter!

BookLuver4ever7: Yeah! You got your proposal ;) You're so sweet! Thank you so much? Wow.

twinsarekeepers: If you ever need to talk, I'm always here! :) I hope you liked this chapter.

Guest: You're so kind! Thank you! Happy holidays to you, too!

C123002: Happy holidays! I hope you liked this chapter! :D

clo7615: Thank you! Annabeth did go to New York! And she became Annabeth-almost-Jackson ;)

greekgeekgirlbro: This review made me feel all warm. You're so sweet. Thank you! I hope you liked the chapter :

Guest: I feel bad for Rachel too. You'll hear about Nico in the next chapter! Gabe's gone for good. I was hoping I could make him get hit by a car but then thought better of it. Thank you! :D

AutumnLeaves03: The smiles at the end of your reviews always make me happy. I hate Octavian too. I hope you liked this chapter!

theartnerd333: THIS REVIEW IS MAKING ME BLUSH YOU ARE TOO SWEET MY FRIEND. I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER! :)

Daughter of Olympus 2: Thanks! I like cliffies ;)

SonOfPoseidon: Welcome to the world of PJO fan fiction, my friend. Brace yourself. It'll be a long ride. I didn't exactly like Luke in the books, either.

CassylovesPercabeth: Thanks! You're so sweet :)

crazybooknerd112: You're welcome! :D

Someone the World Forgot: Haha, sorry for disappointing you! Thanks ;) Hope you liked this chapter!

And that, my beautiful readers, is all of the revi ews. You guys are so incredible and sweet..I'm so happy to have shared this story with you. Happy holidays, guys! I look forward to seeing you guys in the last update of "This Wasn't Supposed to Happen"! Keep smiling, xxx.