Annabeth

Apollo stayed quiet the entire time,watching us put the truth together slowly like a puzzle. Judging by his expression,he didn't like it. Neither did we.

"Which means Penny has to go to Paris." he said,coldness etched in his voice.

"We'll figure something out man," Jason said,trying to calm him down "Let's just concentrate on figuring out how to talk to Percy next." Apollo looked like he wanted to argue,but he shut his mouth and nodded grimly. Just then Leo came out of Penny's room and closed the door behind him with a proud smile on his face.

"Uncle Leo's back! What's going on?"

"Percy's in jail."

"So the usual I guess. Man,things never seem to calm down don't they?"

I was about to reply to that,but then I realized that ever since I came here,problems seemed to be hitting us one by one. I felt guilt wash over me and I did my best to not let it show on my face. Percy was already drinking before I came. Even if I wasn't here,Penny would've been taken. Percy would've robbed a casino. It's not my fault. Thalia sighed.

"I'll go buy us some lunch,I'm hungry." And with that,she swung her legs off the table and walked out. I wanted to follow her but I stopped myself.

Thalia

I breathed a sigh of relief,but I still felt like a jerk. I've lived long enough on the streets to know that Karma is real and it'll come back to bite me later.

Then we'll worry about it later.

I took the stairs and walked out the small lobby. The streets were busy and crowded. People bustled around,all seemed to be in a hurry. Honestly? I wasn't used to being in this kind of environment. I was more of a feral kid,trying to stay away from civilization. I scanned my surroundings,then took a deep breath and walked towards the coffee shop. there were only two people inside. A guy using his phone and drinking coffee,and a woman reading a newspaper.

Right on cue,I saw him walk out from the door behind the counter. He stopped in his tracks,his eyes widening. I felt my heartbeat accelerate. I gave him the look.

We need to talk.

He sighed and nodded. We could understand each other just by our facial expression and eyes. When you're on the run with someone for months,it's not that big a surprise. I learnt forward on the counter,and he passed me a coffee cup. Decaf. I took a sip.

"They didn't find out didn't they?"

"Nope." I said. I deliberately avoided his eyes.

"Will you be telling them?"

"Nope."

He put his finger under my chin and tilted my head upwards,making me stare into his sky blue eyes. I tried my best to keep my poker face on,but it was hopeless,he knew me too well.

"How's Jason?"

I looked back at my coffee mug. "We haven't had that much time to talk. With Percy going to jail and everything,it's put everyone in a different state."

He nodded understandingly. We stood in silence as I slowly finished my coffee. He took the mug back,but as he did he wrapped his fingers around mine. I was so surprised I almost jumped. I wasn't used to physical contact,but with him it felt so right. Usually when things feel right,that means I need to run. But something kept me rooted.

"Thals,we're going to figure this out," he reassured,squeezing my hands "And if not..well,we can always leave."

I looked back up at him "What? Again? You-you'd actually-"

"Sure. I always got your back." He smiled. I didn't trust myself with words,so I smiled back.

oOoOo

Penny

So apparently Leo is a VSCO girl. Elf. He started pulling out little candles from this weird man-fanny bag that he always carries around. I blinked.

"How-never mind."

"Alright,so this is watchu gun' do. I'm gunna fill up your bathtub and put these scented candles around. You're gunna do a face mask and all that amazing nice smellin' ish that you girls do. And then you will stay in bed all day and eat ice cream. Got it?"

I thought about it. These were the things a typical teenager would love to do,and honestly,me too. But with the weight of my dad,my brother and Apollo plus all the emotions swirling up inside of me,it felt so wrong.

Like I didn't deserve to relax. Apparently my thoughts were seen to Leo,so he sighed.

"Penny look. You deserve this. We all do,to be honest. And Percy would agree. If not,I'll give him a face mask and braid his hair. We'll see how his thoughts change."

I laughed. "Okay fine. But only one day."

"Good." he said,his expression calming down a bit,for Leo at least. As he turned to leave,he looked back. "You know that we're all here for you right? I mean..after everything you've done for me-"

"I do Leo. We always got each others backs." I said,smiling faintly. He regained his playful attitude,shot me a finger gun and left. I pushed my hair out of my face. Truth be told,it's probably because of me that Leo's even alive.

OoOoO

I was tired and exhausted. A thirteen year old girl on the streets with her backpack,yet nobody really looks at her twice. I love this city.

I looked up at the Empire State Building. Daddy's mansion was like a cottage compared to it. I suddenly longed to go up it once. The sudden image of going up there at night,the wind wild and free brought some sort of happiness. One day,I'd do it.

But not today.

I remember the feeling of being on top of the Eiffel Tower. Would it be the same?

I looked at my watch. It was 7:00pm. Crap. I still haven't made my decision. My phone kept ringing. It was mom. I knew why she was calling. To beg me to come back home. I silenced the phone and continued,17 missed calls ignored.

The metro looked scary and for a moment I reconsidered. It was similar to the one in Paris...but different. Taking a deep breath and holding my token in my palm firmly,I sat on the bench. I was one hour early and nobody was around.

I thought about Percy,and how much easier it would be for mom to have one lesser mouth to feed. My throat swelled up and tears formed in my eyes. Before I could stop them,they splashed down.

"Help!" I heard someone shout. The sound of feet thudding the ground echoed. My breath hitched as I heard it again. Without thinking,I plunged straight ahead towards the sound,leaving my bag behind.

I turned to a corner. There were two guys,probably 16 years old, running after a smaller guy. They cornered him at a dead end. I saw that one guy was holding a baseball bat.

"HEY!" I yelled,my heart hammering against my chest. The two guys turned. I picked up a rock and marched closer. They started laughing.

"Sorry,not interested in your girl scout cookies." one snorted. I wanted to cry. What was the use? I was no defender. I was no offender. I always needed someone to save me. I couldn't even protect myself when the fire broke out and those guys caught a hold of me...what if these two did the same?

Screaming with fear,I threw the rock hard.

PLUNK.

Before I knew it,he yelled out in pain,blood flowing down his face like a waterfall. Before I could even register what I did,the other guy,holding his friend,ran off. The smaller boy they were chasing stood up and brushed off his clothes. Didn't make much of a difference. He was small with curly hair and dark eyes. He had a tanned complexion and a serious look on his face. But then he grinned widely,and suddenly his eyes didn't seem dangerous.

"Hey,thanks! That was-"

I started crying.

I fell to my knees and cried,hiding my face in my hands. I felt humiliated when I realized that I couldn't stop. My entire body shook and my nose was runny. I was scared. What was I thinking? Ii needed my mom. I needed Percy.

I couldn't protect myself alone.

The boy sat across from me,legs crossed. After perhaps ages of crying,he offered me a slightly dirty handkerchief from his backpack. I accepted it,wiping my sweaty and gross face.

"Th-thanks."

"Don't be. That was really cool,what you did for me back there." He said kindly,trying to peek a look at me. All I did was hide my face in my palms,hoping that my weakness wasn't reflected in my eyes. I shrugged.

"Seemed like the right thing to do."

He seemed to consider this. He held out his palm. His fingers were thin and dirty with cuts. "I'm Leo." he said.

I looked at him. I never really had friends. Ever since I was born,it was only Percy,mom and dad. He looked so out of the ordinary. His eyes seemed to twinkle and he looked at me. I choked back tears and smiled as faintly as possible as I shook his hand.

"I'm Penny."

oOoOo

Leo

"That girl better get something good. I'm hungry!" I said,trying to bring up the mood. Eh,didn't work. My eyes traveled towards Apollo,who was staring at nowhere in particular. I felt something weird rise inside of me. I clapped my hands together.

"You know what,I should probably go get that ice cream for Jackson. Later!" I said,barging out the door. I heard Jason call after me,but I didn't listen. Truth be told,I needed to be alone. Yes. Shocker. I let my grin fade away and walked out of the lobby and down the street,thinking. I wanted to grab a lugwrench and fix all of our problems. Get Percy out of jail. Make Penny feel at ease again. Unfortunately, people weren't machines. A shame. Machines are sexy.

But as much as I wanted to help,I felt guilty. It was because of me that she decided to become a fortress,many years ago. How? I basically told her to become one. But not like this. Not shutting out everyone. Not shouldering everything on her own. I didn't blame her. I do the exact same thing. But there are things about me that she doesn't know.

For example? It's because of me that her mom is on the verge of death.


You know,it's making sense that the name of the book is 'The Return of the Past'. Also I am soo good at cliffhangers. But I'm really sorry that my writing skills have degraded but your girl's trying here. ALSO FINALS IN 3 DAYS DLFNADJN. Anyways,the flashback isn't over yet,to be continued in the next chapter! Reviewww!