A/N: Thank you to all of the gorgeous people who followed and favorited!

July

"No. NO. Why do you hate me so much?" Annabeth squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to ignore the voice coming from the person in the seat in front of her.

"WHY?" The person screamed. Reaching out a hand, Annabeth rapped the back of the seat. The person turned around.

"I'm sorry… I was just trying to beat my Candy Crush level." He stuttered out, looking embarrassed. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

It was her second flight out of three, and if the firm was trying to get her to quit, it might be working. They were making her fly more now, even though her life had been crappy enough recently. The meeting in New York went okay, but the return flight was unbearable without Percy…

Gosh, Percy.

Annabeth had tried to forget about him. It wasn't even like she'd ever see him again.

But it didn't matter if Annabeth tried to forget. She never would.

When was the last time she had connected to another person on that level? Not even with Luke, though that was an adolescent crush.

Even if you do see him, one day, Annabeth told herself, it won't be like he'll remember you. Percy's a friendly person. He probably talks to strangers on planes all the time.

"Hi!" She heard a voice behind her. Before Annabeth could register what was happening, she had already jumped out of her seat, holding her backpack to her chest.

Panicked, she looked around. That voice was familiar somehow… maybe she'd heard it on TV? But the plane wasn't very full, and the only people near her were the Candy Crush player, rolling his eyes at her, and in the aisle seat directly behind her, Percy Jackson.

Seriously, it was Percy. Annabeth's brain could barely process the idea. She had set herself up for disappointment, yet here he was, sitting right there and looking mostly excited but slightly nauseated.

"Hi, Annabeth!" Percy said again once he realized she was looking at her. "Wait. You remember me, right? If you don't, I'm sorry for scaring you and being a creep-"

"Nope, I remember you." Annabeth interrupted, happy if not a little bewildered.

"Are you going to your next meeting? You're an architect, right?" Percy tilted his head around the seat to see her better.

"Umm… yeah." Annabeth honestly didn't know what to say. She almost couldn't believe Percy wasn't some strange mirage. "Where are you going?"

"To see my sister's next play. It's part two of her summer camp." The same joyful look came over his face as it usually did when he talked about Estelle. "This time it's Guys and Dolls."

Annabeth perked up at the change in topic. "That's the one with the gamblers, right?"

"Yep. Though I don't know how happy my mother is with Estelle playing a gambler." Percy laughed. "Estelle actually asked if we could play poker together when I arrive."

"That's funny." Annabeth tried and failed to keep herself from giggling. "I think I went through a poker phase as a kid too."

"Really? I see you as more of a trivia person-" Annabeth playfully swatted at Percy's hand "-but I loved Uno when I was younger. I played it every day for a year straight. Until the deck of cards went missing, and I only found out last year my mother had taken them."

Now they were both laughing out loud, ignoring the stares of the people around them. "I started bringing the poker chips to school, and then I started playing for actual money instead of M&Ms, and that was when my father decided he had to take my deck of cards away."

Percy continued to laugh but stopped abruptly when he saw the expression on Annabeth's face. There probably wasn't a word for how she looked; almost like a child whose balloon had floated away.

"Umm, are you alright?" He asked after a minute of silence, desperately trying not to pry.

She turned away from him.

Time continued to drag slowly.

A fly buzzed against the ceiling.

Until a voice came from in front of Percy's seat. "He's sick."

"He's sick," Annabeth repeated. "My dad raised me, and he helped me through school, and now… he's just in a bed. Alone." She sniffled. "And I don't know what to do. And I can't do anything about it. I'm worried he might-" Her breath hitched, and she stopped talking.

"I don't really know what to say." It was true, Percy was terrified he'd say the wrong thing. "But if I can do anything to help, please let me know." He finished.

"It's cancer, you know," Annabeth said. "Pancreatic cancer. He's had it for a while. It just started getting worse."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"But seriously. If I can do anything at all, let me know. I'll steal a sea otter if I have to."

Annabeth blew her nose. "You work in an aquarium, right?"

Percy nodded, then realized they still couldn't see each other. "Yes, I do." He said instead.

Annabeth leaned around the seat so she could see him. "Can you tell me about your job?"

"Are you sure? My life isn't very glamorous." Percy was a little confused now.

"Yeah." Annabeth sighed. "My life is shitty right now, I'd rather not talk about it."

Percy nodded again and began to talk.

And so as Percy described coral and joked about a rude clownfish, Annabeth contemplated her day. She had seen Percy again. (Which was possibly some kind of miracle.) She had broken down about her father's health issues to someone she barely knew. On a plane. In front of at least ten people. But somehow, when she was talking to Percy, it felt like they were the only ones in the room.

Was that weird?