The next two chapter are much shorter, but they are necessary for the story and they're not just there because I'm evil and making you wait to find out what's going on with our explosive duo, though mostly it's Percy who people need to worry about since we all know that Leo's on a certain Island but no one knows if Percy's going with him or not but I'm not gonna say either way- it's more fun this way. Though I do warn you it'll get very rough after the two short chapters for a lil while. Anyways, I'm going to runaway now before people murder me for making them wait- and hey enjoy the angst! It's not going anywhere.

Annabeth was numb.

She'd made it to Hephaestus' forges- but he hadn't stayed around for long once she'd managed to force out what had happened- she'd never forget the look on the gods face- the flash of terror when she'd told him Leo went back. And then she'd been on the streets of New York- Hephaestus hadn't wanted her in his forges when he rushed off to try and save Leo and Percy. And she'd seen it on the news- seen the footage of the volcano exploding.

She'd screamed, she'd collapsed in the middle of the street outside of a store with a display TV showing the breaking news, she'd screamed and sobbed and cursed the gods until she couldn't breathe any longer.

People had ran to check on her but she hadn't let any of them touch her- she'd given one man who'd tried to pull her to her feet a black eye, lashing out violently when she felt their hands on her.

After that people had backed off as she'd sobbed hysterically. She'd made it very clear that trying to touch her would only end in pain for anyone who tried, no matter how good their intentions were.

Percy and Leo had been in there, they'd been in there and the volcano had erupted around them.

Was there any chance that Hephaestus had made it in time? Probably not- she knew that and she hated it- she hated it so much.

When she'd managed to drag herself to her feet it had taken her a long time to decide what to do- she should go back to camp- she'd need to tell them what happened. But- and before she'd even realized where her feet were taking her she had arrived somewhere else. And as she stared up the path that led to the Jackson home Annabeth could feel dread in the pit of her stomach.

She made her way up it slowly- hands limp by her side as she did.

Sally needed to know what had happened, Sally deserved to know that her daughter might not come home. But when she reached the door Annabeth just stood staring at it- and she couldn't move. Couldn't bring herself to lift her hand and knock. She just stared at the blue wood of the door- and her mind drifted- she remembered helping Percy pain it- she remembered Percy's laughter, her manic grin as she'd rushed through the store with Sally calling after her that not everything had to be blue- the tub of paint swinging dangerously as she did, Annabeth laughing and chasing after her as Nico stared at them both as if they were totally crazy- they'd had to paint it after an attempted monster attack when half of the camp had been staying in the Jackson home.

She remembered how Percy had danced around the front yard like an idiot, waving the brush around as they'd listened to music and Sally had brought them out ice cold lemonades and freshly made cookies.

She could remember the way Nico had made the mistake of trying to snatch more than his fair share of the cookies and how he'd ended up with a streak of the bright blue paint across his face- the cackled laughter that had followed when he'd chased Percy around the garden screaming for vengeance.

Without even realizing what she was doing Annabeth had raised her hand and it brushed over a spot that had gone wrong- the paint was almost lumpy from where it had dried without being spread properly because of the impromptu chase around the yard.

And there were tears again as Annabeth lowered her hand and just stood there, her whole body shaking as she sobbed- filled with a mixture of grief, pain and guilt.

If she'd have just stayed- if she'd been there- but what could she have done? She knew logically that there was no way she could have made any difference, whatever had triggered the eruption would have happened if she was present or not. But that didn't stop the pain, that didn't help the feeling that she'd been torn in half and she was missing a part of herself.

Just as her legs started to give out beneath her, the door swung open and she found herself being caught by a pair of warm, safe familiar arms, and she was sobbing as she toppled forward, her face pressing into a shoulder- the scent of cookies and comfort and safety that usually soothed her just made her sob harder- and the arms that had caught her were wrapping around her and she heard Sally's voice.

"I know." Sally was crying too. "I know baby I know. It- I know." and Annabeth didn't have the strength to question how Sally knew. She just sobbed, clinging to the woman like a baby as Sally soothed her fingers through Annabeth's curls, almost swaying slightly as they clung to one another for what felt like a lifetime.

Eventually Sally moved them both inside, hooking her foot around the door to tug it closed as she gently towed Annabeth into the kitchen, getting her to sit down at the table slowly.

It was then that Annabeth spotted someone else sat at the kitchen table- someone familiar.

If she wasn't so exhausted and broken hearted she might have been annoyed- but- seeing the red haired girl's face- seeing her own grief reflected in it? It was hard to be angry.

"You." Annabeth whispered the word weakly, her voice hoarse. "How-"

"I had a dream." Rachel's voice cracked, "I- I had a dream. I came here as soon as I woke up-"

"A dream?"

"Percy and Leo- monsters- the explosion... it was... fragmented." Rachel looked as bad as Annabeth felt, her eyes were red from sobbing, and bloodshot too.

"They- I saw them being caught up in it."

"I- I couldn't get back to them."

"They-" Sally's voice caught as she sat next to Annabeth, grabbing the young blondes hand and squeezing gently, "Percy and Leo are strong. They might- they might find a way-" but even her voice made it clear that she didn't really believe it, and they slipped into an agonized silence- and Annabeth stared at Rachel- she'd been jealous before. Jealous that Percy had found someone else, another friend. A girl who was so clearly falling for Percy just like Annabeth had. And Percy had been so blind to it.

But now? Now she felt none of that- because Rachel looked like she was hurting just as much as Annabeth.

And so, tears still pouring down her cheeks, Annabeth reached across the kitchen table with her free hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Rachel slowly stretched out her own hand, gripping Annabeth's like a lifeline, a moment of perfect understanding flooding between them.

Because they'd both lost the girl they were in love with.