Annabeth

She lay completely still in the dark. A sliver of street light shone through the window curtains, painting a gold line across the ceiling.

It's not fair, she thought. After avoiding nearly every phone call, Annabeth knew that at some point she would have to face him.

Why couldn't he have just let bygones be that?

I've moved on with my life, he can't just come back on a whim.

She rolled over, and checked the time on her phone.

The brightness of the screen, contrasted with the darkness around caused her to blink and squint.

It was just passed midnight; a telephone icon signified two missed calls.

Annabeth sighed, turned off her phone and rolled over.

She closed her eyes, turning her thoughts to Percy. I should have told him I loved him today. She pictured him, his grin glued to his face. It was infectious the way he smiled at her, and she always felt her mood lifted.

She wished he were still next to her, snoring softly. She took a deep breath, slight frustration beginning to creep into her mood.

With her first class at 7am, Annabeth knew she would be tired on waking up. It was, after all, past midnight and she still felt wide awake.

She peeked again at her phone, barely a minute had passed.

She knew she would fall asleep eventually, but the first few hours of the nights sleep were crucial. By the time she had to wake up, it would take several cups of strong coffee to get her moving.

Annabeth rolled over, bunching up her pillow under her cheek in an effort to make herself more comfortable. It was, in fact, easier on her neck and she closed her eyes- resigning herself to a tired morning.

The next thing she knew, her alarm was ringing- a severely annoying sound. Her eyes felt thick and heavy; her lips were dry. She forced her eyes open and dragged her arms up- turning off the alarm.

Annabeth took a deep breath and pushed herself up to a sitting position. She yawned, stretched her arms above her head and stood up. She picked up a towel and made her way to the bathroom. Yawning again, she turned on the hot water and began to undress.

The warm water did help to wake her up, but in a strange way, she almost felt that she was more tired. She dried herself off and got ready for the day. As she gathered her note books and pens of varying color, another yawn creeped up on her.

Wishing she was asleep in bed, Annabeth walked down to the on campus coffee shop. As she expected, there was a long line and she begrudgingly waited her turn.

After ordering she slumped down at a table to wait; the smell of roasted coffee and overpriced pastries was rejuvenating. Her stomach rumbled and she considered buying a bagel or muffin.

Her cellphone vibrated once and she took it out of her pocket. It was a single text message from Percy.

Good morning, he frequently messaged her throughout the day and "good morning" was standard procedure.

She allowed herself to smile slightly and heard her name called. She stood and took her coffee from the counter and left the shop, opening the call function on her phone and tapping on Percy's name.

"Hey," he answered right away.

"Hi," Annabeth said as she walked across the street. "How are you?"

"Oh I'm good, just leaving the gym. How are you?"

"Tired," she yawned. "Didn't sleep very well last night."

"How come?"

Annabeth shrugged unconsciously and sat down on a bench. "I guess I just had a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

She frowned, not wanting to tell him that she was worried about an Ex-boyfriend.

"I was just thinking," she said, thinking of her other dilemma.

"Thinking about what?"

"Oh lots of stuff- nothing really worth rehashing. But hey! I think it would be fun to do something with you. Something out of the ordinary."

Maybe she would have the courage to tell him she was in love, if she had planned an occasion around the event.

"Ooh, what's 'out of the ordinary'?" He sounded excited.

"Not sure yet but I'll have something planned by tonight if you're interested?"

"Hmmm, do I get a say in the planning?"

"I'll let you put in a request," she said, grinning.

"Can I touch your butt?"

Annabeth laughed.

"Maybe," she sipped at her coffee, which was still hot, and it scalded her lips. "Ow!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just burned my lips on coffee."

"Yikes. What time are you thinking for tonight?"

"Maybe around 6:30..." she trailed off, something caught her attention- Or rather, someone. "Oh shit," she whispered, her heart beginning to beat rapidly. "I have to go, I'll call you later..."

He was here, approaching her nonchalantly.

Percy sounded concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just gotta go. I have class."

"Okay..."

Annabeth hung up and stood to face him, taking a deep breath.

He stopped in front of her, and smiled. "Wow. I never thought you were actually gonna do it."

"Fuck off Tom," she said.

"Well that was rude, what did I do to you?"

Annabeth smirked. "Just leave me alone, it's been 3 years, no need to make things complicated."

Tom laughed. "Oh it's cute that you think you're special enough for me to travel all the way here to find you."

She rolled her eyes and turned to go.

"Okay look," he touched her shoulder. "I do want to talk. "

Annabeth brushed his hand off her shoulder. "Don't touch me. I'm not interested in talking. I've moved on with my life."

"You never renewed the restraining order."

"That's a formality- and like I said, it's been 3 years. There's been no invitation for you to waltz back into my life as if you belong," she crossed her arms. "I'm not in the market and even if I was you'd be the last person on earth I would talk to- scratch that- even if you were the last person on earth I would avoid you like a plague

You started dating someone else? He's not around now is he." He almost sounded jealous.

"What did you expect?" Annabeth took a step back. "There's no way you get another chance."

"Oh come on," Tom sounded angry. "I've been working hard the last few years. I've got some money and I want to buy a house. Just like we always talked about."

"How could you possibly think any amount of money would give me incentive to be your punching bag."

He laughed. "It was like one time!"

"You put me in the hospital. And what about all the times you shoved me around and slapped me? No. You're a manipulative asshole, a narcissist and a horrible person."

He was angry now and closed the gap between them, one fist clenched. "Stop making me sound like a bad guy."

"But that's what you are. And I'm not scared of you anymore," her heart pounded, she was scared but she knew she had to stand up for herself.

Tom grabbed her by the wrist, his grip as like iron.

"I'm not a bad person! You just have to make everything about you! You just think I'm a bad person and that's your problem!"

"Then let me go," Annabeth demanded calmly, despite her racing pulse. "If I'm at fault for my own perception, then you should leave. Because I'm not going to change the way I see things."

"No,"he pressed his fingers against his eyes. "Stop it. You just make things confusing."

"Then you know why I can't go with you. At the very least, For you? It's confusing." She took a step back.

"I've been with other people and they don't love me like you did."

"Tolerate you mean?" Annabeth did love him at one point, he had been kind and funny; then she had moved in with him and things quickly devolved.

"Whatever you want to call it," he still hadn't released her arm.

"Look, I'll say it short and simple. Let me go, leave me alone. And please, do not contact me again."

He considered for moment before releasing her arm.

Annabeth turned and walked away. She didn't look back.

Percy

Something in the tone of her voice had bothered him. He couldn't quite put a finger of it, and didn't want to overstep his bounds. If she was going to tell him she would, but the thought nagged at the back of his mind as he made his way to work.

The day passed slowly and by the afternoon he felt drained. He sat at his desk, pen loosely held between his fingers and his head drooped, eyes closed.

Suddenly he jerked himself awake, sitting up straight and shaking his head. He rubbed his eyes and stood up, deciding he had better pour himself another cup of coffee. He made his way to the kitchen and set to work.

"Did you get that email?" Jason clapped him on the shoulder and Percy's coffee sloshed out of the cup, a couple drops of dark liquid spilling onto his tie and white shirt.

"Dude!" Percy set down the mug and grabbed a couple paper towels. "What email?"

"Going to Cuba. On Monday."

"What? This Monday?" Percy threw the paper towels in the garbage and picked up the coffee mug.

"Yeah, this Monday."

Now that Jason had mentioned it, Percy vaguely remembered an email but he had not read it. "Shit."

"It'll be a quick one, in and out- you and me. Just a pickup. We'll have fun!"

Percy made his way back to his office, carefully setting down his mug and opening his computer. Sure enough there was the email.

The nagging feeling came back. What was it that had bothered him? Something about Annabeth's voice when they had talked.

He had a hunch. Percy pulled up the tracking information for Thomas Zeising.