Hey guys! I hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: If I had made Percy Jackson, there would be AT LEAST two scenes of Grover furiously stress-eating enchiladas.

Annabeth arrived in town at ten o'clock the next day. She had taken a plane, to a train just like she had done last time, this time actually knowing Piper.

The train ride was quiet, as Piper slept through most of it, while Annabeth quietly texted Thalia on her phone about their return, and Piper.

Thalia and Piper hadn't met yet, and Annabeth was especially worried about how they would react to each other. At first glance, Piper and Thalia would look like people from opposite worlds. Plus, they had clashing personalities, both outspoken, and both stubborn with their opinions.

She just hoped they'd have the same opinions, or else, this might be chaos. Plus, she was worried about competition, these were her two best friends after all.

But on the other hand, maybe they'd like each other, and get along a bit too well? It would be nice, but Annabeth was still worried about that. And it wasn't like she could voice her concern to Piper, because she was sleeping.

And when she was texting Thalia, she used purposefully vague language, to the point she knew Thalia herself had probably realized it. Eventually, Thalia said she had to go, and Annabeth decided to get some sleep too.

So she slept through the rest of the train ride, until the train pulled to a stop, and it was time to unload. Annabeth had packed light, only bringing what she needed, which fit into about four individual bags. Piper had the same amount, and they had mutually decided they would go to a furniture store to get the apartment set up.

Annabeth held a taxi, and then they were off to the main town, off to the bed and breakfast.

"So," Annabeth said to Piper. "Are you excited?"

Piper nodded. "I guess so. It's going to be nice to help some of the kids here."

The driver interrupted their conversation, looking back ever so slightly, and smiling. "Oh, are you guys new in town?" He said.

Piper nodded, while Annabeth shook her head. "No, not me," Annabeth said. "I'm coming back. I grew up here,"

"When did you move away?"

Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "I'd say about six years ago. I moved to California."

The driver nodded, understanding. "Anything to escape here, right?"

Piper, who had been watching the interaction between Annabeth and the bus driver interjected. "Wait, what's wrong with this place?"

Annabeth and the driver exchanged knowing looks, and despite not knowing each other, it seemed like they were connected in some way. That connection being this town. "There's nothing wrong," Annabeth said slowly, "It's just, this town, it-" Annabeth hesitated before saying anything bad about the place. It was her hometown, after all.

"It's the kind of place that doesn't let you leave." The driver interrupted, helping Annabeth out. "Ask about ninety percent of the people here where they grew up, and they'll say here. Not many people leave." The driver nodded at Annabeth. "How'd you?" He asked.

Annabeth tapped her head. "Got into a good college. Scholarship too," She added. "A lot of people here go to the local college, and those that go to colleges farther away always make their way back, at least, that's what my parents and friends' parents have told me."

"The town always has some type of hand on you," The driver murmured. "Like a fish tank. Lets you take a little time away from the tank for cleaning, and then bring you back in once you're done."

Annabeth nodded. "But don't worry," She said, looking at Piper's worried expression. "It's a nice town. People are inviting. A little too inviting sometimes, but it'll be nice." She sighed, "And then we'll go back to California, and all will be fine."

"Okay," Piper nodded, and smiled. "That's good."

"Well," the driver said, after a couple moments of silence. "We have arrived. I'm Chiron, by the way, if you ever need a ride, I'm one of the only cabs around here. And the other one manages the other side of town, so it'll most likely be me."

"Annabeth," Annabeth replied, "And this is Piper." She said. "It was nice to meet you Chiron, I guess I'll be seeing you around, we don't have a car, so we'll be relying on Taxis."

Chiron smiled, and quickly helped them with their bags, before driving off.

"Well," Piper said, "I'm totally not nervous at all."

Annabeth laughed, trying to push away her own feelings. "You don't need to be," she said, and advised herself to take that advice too. "It'll be fine." She looked up at the sign, which read the name of the place in a big, bold, yet fancy script.

Adjusting her bag, she smiled reassuringly. "Let's head on in."

The place wasn't crowded- it had a normal number of patrons in it. Annabeth walked over to the host, and smiled. The host- a tall boy whose hands wouldn't stop moving. He was endlessly hyper. "Welcome," he said, "I'll lead you to some seats, and a waiter will come over shortly."

"Sorry," Annabeth said, blinking quickly, "I'm not here for that. We rented the room up top? Under the name 'Chase'?"

The boy blinked. "Oh!" he said, embarrassed. "Sorry, I'll have our waiter lead you up. Right this way." The boy motioned towards the back of the restaurant, and Annabeth and Piper followed.

"Hey! Waterboy!" The boy shouted into the back. "The renting people have arrived! Lead them up to their room."

"Coming," a voice called out, and to Annabeth it seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She pulled out her phone, which had just buzzed with a text from Thalia, asking if they had arrived, and began to respond.

And she was confused by the next thing she heard.

The drop of a towel, and: "Shit."

Annabeth's head snapped up, trying to see what had happened. But all she saw was…

Tan skin, green eyes, jet black hair.

"You." She hissed, as she recognized the face.

"You?" The boy who had broken her heart said, almost confused.

"Who?" Dakota said, as he looked between the two of them, unaware of the intensity settling between them. Piper, who looked just as confused as Leo, exchanged a glance with him, and both of them, almost in unison, slowly backed away from the fire that was now beginning to burn.

And it wasn't just any old fire; it was a forest flame.

So they reunited! Yay! Okay, so yeah, it wasn't a happy reunion, but at least it was there! (please don't kill me, I promise that happy stuff will come up… eventually)

Also, to leoisthebadboysupreme, thank you so much for reading and reviewing my other one-shots/stories! I can't tell you how much I appreciated that, it really made my day. I don't know what else to say, other than that, but know that made me so, so happy.

TheLil'Lion

P.S: Stay safe and healthy! Next chapter will be out on Saturday! Additionally, I think that I'll be posting some one-shots sometime in the next couple of days. I have a bunch of them I need to edit, and I like to share them with you guys.