Annabeth

I wasn't eating anything and wasn't that hungry,but the minute I tasted the soup,my stomach twisted with hunger. Before I knew it,I gulped the entire thing down,not caring about how disgusting I looked.

Piper was watching over me,holding a glass of water. On the left side of my bed,Leo and Apollo sat,heads downs and looking sombre. Piper kept shooting them a look mixed with anger and pity.

"Thanks." I croaked,accepting the glass of water and emptying it in one go. I should have realized that I needed to eat something. I suddenly felt like I could run a mile and ready to be discharged.

"You look better already." Piper said encouragingly. I sat up,pushing aside my tangled curls. "You two okay?" I frowned at Leo and Apollo. Their heads snapped upright.

"I feel like a bag of shit left out in the open sun." Leo sighed,leaning back. Piper pursed her lips,fluffing up my pillows.

"He'll come around,just give him some time." she said simply, picking up her phone and going through her texts. "Penny's coming in an hour,she's on her way."

Apollo nodded,but Leo looked like he was about to puke "Oh. Okay."

"What's up with you?" Piper wondered,taking in his sweaty palms and jittery hands. He didn't reply,just put his head in his hands and stayed silent. Just then Jason came in,his jaw set. "Thalia says that she wants to talk to you." he said,looking at Apollo.

"Why?" He asked, confused. Shrugging,he looked elsewhere. Apollo exchanged a look with Leo before getting up and heading to the door. He turned to Jason desperately.

"Jason,look man,I'm-"

"Just go." He replied, stone faced. Grimacing,Apollo left. Piper got up,frowning. "Jason,come on. Let's talk."

"No." he said stubbornly,a pulse beating in his neck. Piper glared at him and he gulped "maybe just a minute or two." he said quietly. Soon it was just me and Leo. It was a bit awkward,seeing as we never really talked much.

"You need some coffee?" he asked,trying to break the silence.

"No,thanks." I muttered,thinking of something to say "Jason's your best friend,he'll come around you know."

Leo exhaled "Yeah..I hope so. I just-well-It's never gunna feel the same as before. So much has changed."

Hearing Leo talking sense was very unsettling. I had grown used to seeing him grinning,his eyes glinting with humour. Now he was still,a dark shadow in his brown,almost black eyes. It reminded me of a trapped wolf's eyes.

"Yeah,a lot has." I accepted bitterly. He looked up at the ceiling.

"Times like these,I always run." he sighed "now I can't. Oh,I ran away from home." He added,seeing the look on my face "been to several foster homes. Relative's places. Never worked out for me."

"How'd you come here then?"

"Me and Penny-" he stopped, as if the memory was too painful "we were buddies when we were little. Thirten years old? I forgot. We parted ways back then. I was in New York with a bit of change and I wanted some donuts,so I went into a coffee shop. And I overheard the counter dude talking loudly with Drew Tanaka,about two new rebellious twins,the Jackson's and how they moved in before they were even legal."

My stomach swooped "Luke?"

His lips thinned "Yeah. I asked him a few questions about it. He gave me a long look before asking me if I was Leo Valdez. Apparently,Penny told him about me. They were buddies for a long time too apparently." he rubbed his eyes "He was a good guy. He gave me her number,making me promise that I never told her how I got it. So we reconnected and I moved in next door." he shrugged. I nodded,my guts twisting. Luke. The phone number. My heart skipped a beat before I reached into my pocket and felt the paper inside. Luckily,Leo didn't notice.

"Were you and Penny..you know..?" I asked gently. He looked up at me,bewildered. I shrugged.

"I mean,it was kind of obvious. The way you mentioned her name,and a few...other things." I trailed off,leaving the evidence that I had on how he would look at her,and the pain in his eyes when Apollo kissed her. He shrugged.

"Well..we kind of clicked. There was something between us. Thing were good,until Apollo came along. I did feel bitter and stuff but Apollo knew how to handle her when none of us did. I realized that she was better off without me." he said it casually,but it was so sad it made my heart ache.

"We kissed once." He added,after a moment's pause. I raised my eyebrows,a smile dancing on my lips. He chuckled dryly too.

"Yeah well,nobody knows. It was when we were kids. Before Apollo of course," he said hastily "still,it was something."

"I had no idea." I said,astonished. He looked at me,the shadow in his eyes fading a little.

"Ah well,nobody does. So uh..I'd appreciate it if-"

"It stays between us. Don't worry." I said reassuringly. Just then Piper and Jason walked in. Piper was smirking while Jason looked strained. He looked at Piper,who gave him a little nudge. Sighing,he turned to Leo.

"Piper talked some sense into me and well,I get why you didn't tell me. My sister is very scary. But what you did was completely stupid-"

"Yeah,I know man. It was." Leo said immediately,looking a little hopeful.

"-and it's going to take me some time to calm down. So for the next one week you and Apollo will be on laundry duty and we're good."

Leo blinked,then grinned uneasily "Deal." Jason looked like he wanted to grin back,but turned and walked off,probably to repeat the same thing to Piper. Leo crushed Piper into a hug.

"Thanks Pipes." He said,looking relieved. She grinned.

"Anytime Leo. Just don't mess up again."

"Noted. What did you even say to him?"

"Ah,a little bit of this,a little bit of that," she smiled "I'm good at my job Valdez."

"Yes ma'am. I'm gunna go check on Apollo." and he jumped out. Smirking,she pulled up a chair and sat down. On looking at my expression,she blushed. "Don't say it."

I burst out laughing "You two are so cute." Her eyes widened. "He might hear you!" She hissed, looking behind her shoulder. "And pull it together Annabeth,we need to talk."

"About?"

"Thalia."

"What about her?"

"What about her? She-she knew Luke! She probably knew all of us before she met us and I'm starting to believe that she likes Apollo."

Luke. All the topics led back to him. "Has Thalia said anything?"

"She hasn't talked at all," she said,looking crestfallen "She just whispers things. She looks really bad."

"Well,with what happened with-" I couldn't bring myself to say his name. Images of blood on my hands flashed in my mind. Piper seemed to understand.

"I just can't believe he's gone." Piper said softly "he was a good friend."

"Yeah." I said,mouth dry. My mind wandered back to my main thought; Percy. For all I know,he could be gone too..

Dont, I told myself. Just don't.

"Penny should be here soon." Piper said simply,glancing up at the clock. With a start,I realized that it was already 11pm. "It'll be okay."

"Her dad's coming too?"

She nodded. "With his help,we'll hopefully get more information about Percy. Hang in there Chase." she added,gripping my hand. I squeezed it gently,nodding.

"So what were you and Leo talking about?" she asked. I recalled my promise.

"He told me how he came here,reconnected with Penny and moved in next door." I said vaguely. Piper raised her eyebrows. "They were friends,apparently. Go way back."

"Oh." Piper frowned "Well I always suspected..yeah,makes sense."

I had the feeling Piper knew how Leo felt about Penny too,but I didn't push it. "He said Luke helped him." I added quietly. Piper looked surprised.

"I didn't know." she responded. I shrugged,not pursuading the topic anymore.

"It was Luke who helped us get the apartment." She said quietly after some time "He put in some contacts,helped Percy and Penny sign some statements without exposing their real age."

Before I could respond,the boys came running in,wearing looks of both fear,relief and worry. "Penny's here." Jason stated.

Hi,im sorry that I havent updated in more than 2 weeks. I've been having a really tough time and I've been busy 24/7. Review!