Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: If I were Rick Riordan, you guys would know by now.

Annabeth knew, somewhere inside of her, that she wasn't over Percy. Even so, she'd forever shut that side up, in hopes that nobody would ever find out. It was a part of her now, the part that thought of Percy all the time.

But it seemed Percy, now at least was over her. And that was a good thing because it let her focus on what was really important: her job, and making connections, relationships. Annabeth wasn't sure why she had picked Rachel to be friends with, especially since she knew she was Percy's new girlfriend.

Fairly new, she had learned from Rachel, when he'd come up in conversation. When she talked about him, Annabeth had to bite her lip, and hold back the sudden flow of envy she had. Instead, she'd turned her sour face into a reassuring one (or so she hoped), and told her it sounded like her boyfriend was nice.

She shook her head, thinking about the entire experience. All she wanted to do was go home, but Piper had asked if she could drop by the therapy office so they could head home together. Of course Annabeth had agreed, Piper was her best friend.

Thalia had also texted her about this get together she and a few friends were having on Saturday at the gym. Annabeth had agreed to come and said she would bring Piper. It seemed her social calendar was suddenly booming.

Because the therapy office was fairly close to where Annabeth was now working, she could get there in about five minutes by foot. She arrived at the center soon enough, and realized she hadn't actually ever been there. She'd always wished she went to a therapist when she was younger, she'd always struggled with anxiety, and was happy when she learned that Piper was trying to become one.

She opened the door and walked in. There was a receptionist waiting by a desk who smiled at her on one side, and then a couple of chair's accompanied by a small little desk which had a water machine, and a container full of mints. The place radiated calmness, Annabeth almost felt like falling asleep right then and there.

She walked over to the receptionist and smiled. "Hello," she said, as she got closer, she realized it was Silena, someone she used to go to school with.

"Do you have an appointment?" Silena looked up, and her eyes widened. "Annabeth!" She said, "It's been so long, how are you doing?"

Annabeth shrugged, "I've been fine. I actually just came here a couple days ago."

"What brings you back to this blessed town?" Silena said, and Annabeth chuckled.

"Well, coincidentally, I got a job, redesigning and leading a team's addition to this gym." Annabeth shook her head back and forth, "The only gym in town, of course."

Silena smiled, "Nice," She said, "Well, what brings you here?" She asked, and motioned towards the room.

"Right, I'm here to pick up a friend. She's new here. Her name is Piper Mclean." Annabeth quickly told her.

Silena grinned, "Piper, oh she's made quite an impression on all of us here. Especially Jason, you know, he happens to be the lead therapist here now."

"Yeah, I heard that," Annabeth swallowed, "From Thalia." And Percy, she almost wanted to add. At this stutter, Silena's face immediately softened.

"Oh, have you seen-"

Annabeth swallowed, cutting Silena off. "Yeah, I have. And I'm fine. I really am," She probably sounded like such a madman right now, but she didn't care. "I am…" She hesitated, "Totally over it. Could I, uh, go see Piper?" She looked around, "Where is she?"

"Third door on your right, she's not with a patient right now, so you're free to go in." Annabeth turned away from Silena, and began to walk to Piper's door. "And Annabeth?" Silena added, making Annabeth stop, and look back again, "If you need a familiar face, or anyone to talk to, I'm here. You have my Insta, right?"

Annabeth nodded slowly, and smiled at her. It was nice to see she had loyal friends, even after her six year absence. To be honest, she was surprised Silena even remembered her. They'd always been friends- not super close, but close enough. Silena was pretty popular too, she had a way of calming people down- similar to Piper. They had the same aura, Annabeth guessed.

Once she got to Piper's door, she opened it wide, to see something she had never imagined seeing before, especially after Piper had denied it.

Jason of all people, was kissing Piper, his hand wrapped around her back, pulling her closer to him. And weirdly enough, Piper was kissing back. She almost wanted to close the door, and give them some privacy, but they had already noticed her.

Piper had pushed away, blushing furiously, and Jason looked away. "Uh," He said, looking between the two, "I'm sorry, I- that was a mistake," he fumbled for something in his pocket, and pulled out a pair of keys. Piper looked resolved, and embarrassed.

Jason walked out quickly, and gave Annabeth a quick grin. Annabeth frowned at him. Once he was gone, Annabeth rushed over to Piper, "Oh my god, I am so sorry Piper." She said, and gave her a tight hug, "I didn't mean-"

"It doesn't matter," Piper said, and Annabeth noticed her eyes watering. The girl blinked quickly, as if she was trying to hold back tears, "It was a mistake, right?"

Annabeth pulled out her phone, "Look, I can text Thalia right this instant and tell her to beat Jason up, okay? I'm sure it wasn't a mistake. Was it the first time you…?" she trailed off, not knowing if it was safe to answer.

Piper nodded, "It was, and it'll be the last time." She slung her arm around Annabeth, "Come on, let's get out of here."

She led her out of the therapy office, and Annabeth sent a grateful look at Selena when she didn't say a word about it. She simply mouthed "DM me," and continued with her work, scanning some papers she had been looking at before.

"Do you like Silena?" Annabeth asked. She moved her arm off of Piper's, and opened her phone, getting ready to call Chiron. "I know her from high school, she's awesome."

Piper nodded, but didn't say anything. That was weird, Piper was usually a talkative person. Annabeth called the cab number, and soon enough, Chiron's musty old car arrived. "Hey Chiron," Annabeth said, as she and Piper got in the back.

"Hello Annabeth," Chiron said, looking back. "Where to?"

"Home or bar?" Annabeth whispered to Piper, who quickly replied, "bar." Annabeth gave the address to Chiron, who started to drive over.

"Bad day?" He asked, motioning towards Piper.

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, kind of. It seems most days are like that, you know?"

Chiron hummed, and continued to drive. "Perhaps," he said, and clicked his tongue. The rest of the ride was silent, as it had been many times. They soon pulled up to the bar, and Annabeth thanked Chiron for the ride. Piper and her got out, and walked to the entrance.

She looked in the bar, her eyes quickly drawn to a couple, that couple being Rachel and Percy, talking. She closed the door quickly, and blinked. "Still want a drink?" She asked Piper, hoping she'd say she had changed her mind.

"Hell yeah." Piper said, "Just because I'm a therapist doesn't mean I can't have fun."

It won't be much fun for me, Annabeth thought, but nevertheless swung the door open, and walked in. It was for Piper, right? And maybe Percy wouldn't notice her. Maybe they'd just-

Just her luck. Both Rachel and Percy had turned to them, Percy's mouth shaped in an "O," while Rachel beckoned them over, smiling.

Why did this always have to happen?

Okay this is random, but holy shit, online school sucks. It's not that hard, and I'm a bit of a nerd, but goddamnit, I really hate it. I mean, with writing and stuff, I'm already online a lot, but still, it really sucks…

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think about this chapter! Any predictions? How do you think the first interaction with Annabeth, Piper, Percy and Rachel will be? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Stay safe and healthy!

TheLil'Lion

Some replies (because I've been forgetting, sorry!)

Bethpjf, Thank you so much! I'm glad that you're enjoying and are invested in the plot! That makes me so happy to hear!

PaigeJames, thank you so much! I'm glad that you like my disclaimers, I put an unhealthy amount of effort into them.