Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: There have been so many of these, I don't know if I need to say this, but if you haven't caught on, I'm not Uncle Rick.

Percy didn't realize at first they'd come in. He thought some random blonde and her friend had popped in, and popped out, realizing that they were going to the wrong place. It happened all the time, right?

Apparently not. Because that random blonde happened to be Annabeth. And her friend happened to be Piper (he hoped he was getting her name right). And then, Rachel was beckoning them over, and now, she was talking to him.

"Annabeth!" She greeted them, and gave Annabeth a quick hug. "It's nice to see you," She said, and looked over to him. "This is my boyfriend, Percy."

Percy studied her closely, trying to see if she would tell Rachel about their relationship. She bit her lip, and smiled, holding her hand out. "It's nice to meet you Percy." She said, putting emphasis on his name.

Rachel turned to Piper, who was frowning at Annabeth, to which Annabeth promptly ignored. "Hi," She said slowly, turning to Rachel. "I'm Piper. Annabeth's friend."

"It's nice to meet you Piper," Rachel said, and then looked over at Percy, noticing his starstruck expression. She nudged him, "Are you okay?"

Percy nodded, and tried to smile. "I-" Percy breathed in. "It's probably important to tell you know, that Annabeth and I already know each other."

"Hell yeah you do." Piper looked back and forth at him and Annabeth. "Why were you acting like you didn't." She shook her head. "Dumbasses."

He stared straight at Annabeth, who gasped, just a little bit, and then glared directly at Piper. "Really?" Rachel said, turning to Annabeth. "How do you know each other?"

What the hell? Annabeth mouthed to Percy, who simply shrugged. She cleared her throat, and Percy smiled a bit to himself. It would be easier if Annabeth told her the truth. "Well," Annabeth started, still glaring at Percy. "We met in high school. We were a part of the same friend group or clique, I guess. We lost contact when I moved to California," She shrugged, and Percy bit his lip. He should have expected something like that. "It's nice to see you again, Percy." She said, smirking at him.

Rachel hummed. "That's so cool. I forgot you moved here from Cali." She leaned forward, "What's it like there? I've always wondered. New York City is really the only big place here, and when I moved from there, everything was just so dull. But Cali, it feels like every place there is special. How is it?"

Annabeth sighed, and looked up. This was one of her tells- Percy knew. Whenever she got passionate about something, she'd turn her head upward, and do this graceful sigh. "California's amazing. I love it there. I mean, this place will always be my home, but I still can't wait to go back there." She stopped, and glanced over at him for a second. Percy shifted uncomfortably. This felt pointed. "Yeah, I mean, there's so many opportunities. If you have talent, you can become anything you want."

Rachel sighed, and then put her head on Percy's shoulder. "That sounds amazing." She looked up at Percy from his shoulder. "Doesn't it?"

Percy swallowed, "Yeah, it really does." he said, "But you'd have to leave a lot behind, right? Memories, people, the works." He was staring right at Annabeth right now.

She stared right back. "The success makes it worth it. And if those people break your heart anyway, what's it worth to miss them? It's just leaving behind people you can't rely on." She shook her head. "I have no regrets." She continued, and bit her lip, just as he had minutes ago, when he was trying to keep words to himself.

"I don't know about that." Percy said, turning away, and looking at Rachel, who was studying the two of them intently. "I think that what you leave behind always sticks with you. And I also think that love is important too. You can't be successful without love. To be successful, you have to be happy."

Annabeth frowned at him, her eyebrows furrowing done. Shit, he'd struck a nerve. "For your information, I can be successful without romance Percy. I've been successful for years, okay? You've been gone for years, and I'm doing alright. I have friends that love me. I have a successful career. That's what's important. I don't need love. It's a want, not a need."

"What?" Rachel said, looking back and forth. "I'm sorry, obviously something is going on between you too, and I don't mean to intrude, but Percy is my boyfriend," She paused, "and Annabeth, you're my friend, right?"

Annabeth nodded.

"It would be nice if you could get along," Rachel finished, holding her hands out between them. She turned to Piper, "And I'm so sorry about this. You must feel left out-" That was what was awesome about Rachel. She always knew what the people around her were feeling.

Annabeth said what she wanted to say. She was confident, but also compassionate. And when she was in an argument, she wouldn't back down. That trait led to many successful conversations, all which had drawn them closer together.

But he couldn't think about that. He had to just-

His phone began to ring, over and over again. The conversation stopped at the sound, and Percy picked it up, looking at the caller ID. It was Jason. Jason never called unless he needed to. Something must be wrong. "I have to take this, real quick," Percy said. He kissed Rachel on the cheek. He looked at Annabeth, who looked just a tiny bit perplexed at this action. "And Annabeth?" he said, and she looked up. "I'm really sorry. For everything." He said.

She glared at him even harder, but there was a softness in it- a vulnerability. At that moment, he wanted her so much. He would take her back in a heartbeat at any time, but now? He didn't want to wait, not at all.

He pressed the "accept call" button, and placed the phone to his ear. "Jason," He said, "What's up?" His voice cracked tremendously.

"Thank god you answered," Jason said, "I'm sorry for this, okay? I just need to talk to someone."

Percy nodded, "Sure, what about?" He said, "Bro, if you want to talk about feelings and shit, that's perfectly fine, just give me heads up."

"I screwed up." he said. "For the first time in my life, I royally screwed up." Jason never made mistakes. He was like the perfect person. Perfect life, perfect job, and totally a ladies man. "I can't believe I did something so stupid, like-"

Percy cut him off. "Wait, Jason, start from the beginning. Tell me the full story."

"You know how I invited you to come with me when Thalia asked if we could all hang out?"

Percy nodded, though Jason couldn't see him. "Yeah." he said.

"Well," Jason swallowed audibly, "Piper and I talked that day. You know, your ex's friend. And I thought she was nice. We flirted, I guess. Then I found out I was her boss, basically." He paused. "It's shitty to say, but I was excited. "I mean, she was not only beautiful, but also had this great personality."

"Yeah, she's cool." Percy said.

Jason clicked his tongue. "I- I asked her if she wanted to go on a date with me, and she said 'no.' Something about not wanting to date her boss. I understand that, but man, I'm falling hard. It's only been a week or so, I know that, but like… it's crazy. I don't think I've felt this way about a girl, ever. So I kissed her. We kissed, and then your ex interrupted it. Annabeth, I should probably stop calling her that. We did know each other in high school."

Percy chuckled. But he was glad. Everytime Jason referred to Annabeth as his ex, it felt like a stab to the heart. A constant reminder that Annabeth wasn't his, and that he had to man up and accept that.

"I told her it was a mistake," In short, Jason said. "Basically saying that it meant nothing. But it meant something, to me at least. And she kissed back. I mean, I've been thinking about this all day," Jason's voice crackled a bit, but that was expected. It was a phone call after all. "I really like her Percy. And I need to know how I can tell her that."

Percy paused, "I'm hung up on a girl I broke up with six years ago. While dating another girl to try to get over her. I'm not the best guy to ask for advice. Maybe talk to Leo? He and Calypso, they're official now. It's kind of weird. I mean, Leo has a more successful relationship than I do."

"I wasn't calling for advice." Jason said, "But as sad as it sounds, it's nice to know that there's someone out there that's a little bit more screwed than me," He laughed, and so did Percy. It was a lighthearted joke, but it still hurt. So much.

Percy cleared his throat, and brushed his hair out of his eyes. He looked back into the bar, where it seemed the whole situation had been cleared up. Piper, Annabeth and Rachel were all laughing together. He almost melted. He'd always loved Annabeth's laugh. It was a little cackle, that sounded like she couldn't breath. He had always made fun of her for having it, but secretly, he loved it.

Damn, that did something to him. "I gotta go Jason." He said, "But call or text whenever, okay man? I'm here for you if you need me."

"Thanks man," Jason said, and hung up, leaving Percy alone, outside the bar. He realized he couldn't go back in the bar- that would make everything worse. So he texted Rachel and made sure she could catch a cab.

Then, he went to his car, and drove home, shrouded by silence. Contemplation was best done by moonlight, so maybe he'd find a way to get some damn sense knocked into his brain. Or not. With common sense or without it, he was equally screwed. But of course, he already knew that.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd love to hear your thoughts in a review! I'm endlessly appreciative of all the support, thank you all so much! I loved hearing all of your predictions!

TheLil'Lion

Replies:

Booklover, I can't tell you if your predictions are correct, I wouldn't want to spoil it! But, I can tell you there is a lot more in store for Percy and Annabeth. And for your question, I'd have to say normal school.

RandomFanAuthor, that's a hard one, but I think I'll go with option two (: