Hey all! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I'm not superstitious, but thirteen is known as an unlucky number. What would be lucky, is if I owned Percy Jackson. But I don't. So there you go.

Percy didn't know what to feel. Happy, sad, relieved, even hopeful, it was all a weird mess of feelings that talking with Annabeth (and Thalia) had given him. And despite having a therapist friend, he didn't know how to manage them.

At least it hadn't been a total disaster, Percy didn't know how he would be able to manage that, it would be awful.

He was lucky that after, he only had to work a couple of hours, and then he was off to the pool. Today, there was a group lesson, but only one of them, which meant he could swim until he had to go back to work.

Then the bar, obviously, and he winced, remembering Rachel would be there. It wasn't that it was bad- it was nice having a friend, a female one at that. And maybe, he would be able to talk to her about Annabeth (he wasn't betting on it, but it was a nice thought).

The group lesson went by fast, time went by fast whenever Percy was near water- swimming was like a sixth sense he had. The feeling of the water against his skin? Brilliant. How it could just make him let go- forget about all his problems, even for just a moment? Soothing.

But of course, it couldn't last long. Because soon, he was up and out, and mostly dried off. His hair was still wet at the tips, but that didn't matter.

He left the gym, and made his way to his car, popping the key into the ignition, and backing out of his parking spot. He drove back to the Bed and Breakfast, parked the car, and clocked himself in for the night.

Waitering wasn't the best job out there, but Percy was grateful to have it. It meant he could indulge himself, and the pay was pretty good. On top of that, with the Swim Lessons, he was doing alright. Even if he wished he could become, say, a marine biologist, he hadn't gone to a good enough school for that. You had to be smart or rich to get out of this place.

Annabeth, was of course the former. He smiled, thinking about how she would quiz him on trigonometry, how she'd kiss him everytime he said something stupid. The little quirk in her eye that would raise every time she was questioning what he was doing.

He remembered one night, when he'd snuck out of the house at midnight to see her. He'd thrown rocks at her window, nearly scaring her to death, and climbed up the side of the house and onto the roof with her. They'd talked, and kissed and loved all night.

And shit, everyone knew that you had to have a lousy life if you peaked in high school, but goddamn he definitely had.

It didn't matter what he had now, because in high school, he had Annabeth. The best of the best. The greatest of them all. His princess, his wise girl, as he'd called it back then. The Wise Girl to his Seaweed Brain, he'd tease her.

And the refreshing banter they had, their friends always had said they had amazing chemistry. She'd make a comment about how he drooled when he slept, and they'd be off. An immediate conversation would be strung together. Percy didn't think that there was one moment in their entire relationship- friends to lovers- that there had been an awkward silence.

They bounced off each other, it was plane math. She'd say something, then he would and that would happen over and over again. They never got tired of each other. It was an endless cycle that wouldn't stop until one of them had to leave.

Which is why their friends constantly got tired of them. Percy and Annabeth shared the same friend group, meaning that their friends had seen the full of their relationship. All of the ups- and the little downs they'd have.

Those downs, being mostly jealousy. That jealousy was always resolved, because over everything, the most important thing was communication.

And Percy wished that he'd been a little bit better about that when he broke things off. Maybe if he had explained everything to her before- his insecurities, all the research he'd done about long distance relationships, if he'd actually talk to her, then maybe this would have all been resolved.

He was worried that interrupting her time with Thalia had actually made everything worse- that he should just pull back, and wait. That was a better idea than any of his others. He should have just thought about that first, that it would be better to stay away, and let her process everything.

He shook his head, vanquishing the thoughts about Annabeth. He should focus on doing… waiter stuff (whatever that was). He continued serving people, and soon, clocked off. As he got ready to leave and head to the bar, he heard the slight chitter-chatter of those coming in and out.

He walked to the bar, and headed in, buying himself a drink. Rachel would probably be here any minute.

"Hey dude." He stiffened as he heard her voice from behind him, only seconds later. "What's up? You gonna buy me a drink?"

Rachel slid in the bar-stool next to him, and Percy turned to her. She was wearing a small sun-dress that showed off her curves, and a green beanie. "Hey Red." He said, smiling weakly at her. "Sure, what do you want?"

She chuckled. "I'm just kidding Perce." She said. "You're too nice, I'm not going to take advantage of you like that." She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Unless you want me too."

Percy laughed and shook his head, hoping she was joking. "I'm good Rachel."

"Worth a try," She said, giggling a bit. Percy was almost surprised, she'd always had a low chuckle, not a laugh like that. "So, anything new?"

"From the last twenty-four hours?" Come to think of it, a lot had happened. "My ex is back here." He looked at Rachel, trying to gauge her reaction. Her face didn't say anything. "And it's been weird. She's renting out the apartment above the restaurant, it's a coincidence, and I saw her, and she was weirdly sympathetic towards me when I came to hang out with Jason and she was there. I can't explain it. It's just weird."

He wasn't sure why he was telling her this. But then again, they were friends. Rachel and Percy had dated. Why wouldn't he talk to her about it.

Rachel continued to stare. "I'm not sure what you want me to say." She finally told him. "I mean, do you want me to be honest?"

Percy nodded.

"I don't know who this girl is, or what she does, or anything about her for a matter of fact." She slowly spoke. "But I do know I like you. Romantically."

Now Percy was the one who was speechless.

Rachel snapped her fingers. "I wanted to let you know that. And how long has it been since you guys were together? A while, it has to be. I haven't heard of any other girls but her. But if you aren't over her, she must be pretty damn cool. But I still like you, and I'm interested, so if you want me to help you get over her, I'm open to that."

Well, Percy thought, that was forward. "What do you mean?" He asked hesitantly.

"Date me." Rachel said, like it was the easiest thing in the world. "It's pretty damn simple. I know why you broke it off last time, but come on, now I understand why. Maybe we can work on that."

"I don't know what to say."

Rachel shrugged. "Say yes."

"Yes?" It sounded more like a question than an answer.

Rachel took his hand. "Easy as that." She told him, and smiled. "And if you don't want to do this at any time, just let me know. I'll back off."

Not sure I want to do this now, Percy thought to himself, but stayed silent. This was certainly going to be an experience.

… sorry, I couldn't help myself (BUT… Percabeth will come at some point…)

I hope everyone is feeling safe and healthy. If you are ever feeling down, I am here to talk. This entire thing (COVID-19) is a really crazy experience, but I hope everyone's doing well. Let me know what you think of the chapter, and I hope you are all safe and healthy.

TheLil'Lion

P.S: Thanks to booklover for reading and leaving comments on Knelt by Her Notebook! I really appreciate all the support.

P.P.S: Some one-shots may be coming out soon…