Yo guys. Sorry that I'm not updating quickly. Currently, I'm getting back all my exam papers, plus i have competitions coming up, so the best i can do is update weekly for now. Sorry! :(

Anyway, i hope you'd like this chapter. Just a little more emphasis on the change in Annabeth. One more thing, I'm not really sure whether i want to use Micheal Yew cuz I'm scared there are lovers of him here. I'm sorry if you don't like me using him as a 'bad guy'...it's just that if you noticed, i think i didn't introduce him at all in the first part of the story. Sorry once again!

R&R! I love all ya reviews!

~Kuntakintae

Percy's POV

"How was work?" I asked Annabeth as we walked back home. She sighed and massaged the back of her neck.

"Tiring as always. I feel older and older each time I work…" Annabeth complained. I chuckled and poked her arm.

"I'll be expecting white hair and wrinkly old skin then?" I asked in a playful tone. She glared at me and slapped away my finger.

"Shut up. It's not my fault that I have to work, y'know…" Her sentence grew softer with each word, and her eyes lost focus, as though she was thinking about the cause in the first place.

Truth be told, even though we've been friends, best friends, for the past two years, I still don't know everything about her yet. I knew about the bullying and changing of schools, but she never told me about the family that she left, and there were a few hints that there was one particular person that made her fall the hardest.

Well, at least she has become way more open and friendly to everyone else over the past few years. I had hoped that she would trust me enough to open up to me more, but she never did. Maybe she thought that it was of no importance. Maybe she thought that we were not trustable enough yet. I'd never know until I ask her, and I do not want to push her.

I've always had this little voice in my head, always telling me that if I did one simple mistake, like pushing her a little too far, she would disappear from us forever. For some unknown reason, the very thought of her disappearing from my life gave me a very…unsettling feeling.

I then realized we had been silent for a while. I could also see that Annabeth was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Her shoulders were tense and she was walking rather quickly.

"Ah well," I said in a light tone, hoping to loosen the tension in the atmosphere. "At least I'm here to pick you up and bring you dinner everyday!" I exclaimed with a wide grin. My grin widened slightly as I saw her smile. The tension dissipated

"Stop flattering yourself, Seaweed Brain." She teased. I scowled at her.

"Hey, it's true!"

"Okay, okay."

"It really is true! I swear!"

"I get it already."

"Something tells me you're just being sarcastic." She laughed at that sentence.

"Never knew you could spot it, Seaweed Brain. Congrats!" She praised sarcastically.

"Whatever, Wise Girl." I muttered, and sped up.

"Hey, wait up!" She called from behind me. That, of course, just spurred me to go faster.

When we reached Annabeth's house door, I'm glad to say that she was already panting.

"Damn…you…Seaweed Brain…" She gasped. As for me, I merely stood there and smiled at her toothily. She glared at me when she saw the smug smile.

"I'll get back at you one day." She promised once her breathing went back to normal rate.

"I'll be waiting, Wise Girl." Her glare intensified. I laughed and put my hands up.

"Alright, alright. Sorry Wise Girl. I'll try to restrain myself from making you suffer next time!" I said, with a hint of amusement that I could not keep from my voice. Of course, being the sharp girl she was, she caught the amusement in my tone.

"I give up…" She huffed and turned towards the door, taking out her keys from her bag and unlocking it.

After two years, the place had really changed quite a bit. Last time, this place was seriously empty. All there was inside was the basic furniture needed to have a comfortable life. No decorations, no personal stuff, no nothing.

Now, one would say that her house was filled with way too many stuff. The walls of her house, which once had nothing on them, were filled with pictures of the rest and me. There was one picture of when whole group went to the new amusement park just down the road. Another one was when we had went to try out paintball. That one was kinda funny. We were all covered in different colors, hence it made us look like human kaleidoscopes.

"Go and bathe. I'll set up the table, and maybe cook a few side dishes along with the noodles. I heard that these type of Hong Kong noodles tastes well with luncheon meat." I said, walking towards the kitchen.

"Thanks once again, Percy." She said with gratitude. I waved my hand as I walked.

"As I said, it's my choice. No need to thank me." I called. She didn't reply. I wasn't expecting anything from her anyway.

Twenty minutes later, Annabeth came out in her usual loose gray shirt and black Bermuda. I've noticed she always wore the same thing for the past few years. It's like she washes it everyday. Later on, as I observed more, I noticed little differences between the sets of clothes she wore everyday. If one observed closely, she actually had a few sets of the same clothes. The only guess I could make was that she did not know what other clothing would fit her home wear.

"Don't you ever wear any other clothing out?" I asked her as she sat down on the table and I served the food.

"I don't need to spend money on any other clothing." She huffed. I chuckled.

"But isn't washing your clothes everyday more expensive than getting another set of home clothes? I asked slyly, taking a seat opposite her. She stayed silent for a short moment before sighing.

"…okay, I admit. It's because I have no idea what else to buy. I have five sets of these," She pulled at her shirt. "Clothes. I have no idea what other home clothes would be nice." I punched my fist in the air.

"Yes! I guessed correctly!" I exclaimed. She stared at me for a few seconds, stunned at my reaction, before breathing out, exasperated.

"You're seriously a Seaweed Brain. No one would object if I asked them." She said, causing me to glare at her playfully.

"Start eating already. It's a different type of food today." She smiled as she started to pay attention to the recently cooked and heated noodles and luncheon meat in front of her.

"The menus different everyday, thanks to you," She said with a large grin. "I know it's selfish, but I wish that this would go on forever. Your food seriously tastes better than restaurants' food!" She exclaimed.

"Perhaps, if you paid me…" I said in mock seriousness, before laughing away at her attentive face.

"No, no, no, don't even think about it," I said, waving my hand. "I won't accept any cash even if you wanted to give me. Cooking is kinda fun to me anyway." Annabeth's attentive look fell off her face, and she frowned and pouted.

"I seriously wanna repay you for the food, y'know…" She muttered, crossing her arms. She had tried to give me money several times, but I had always rejected them. Overtime, her attempts became lesser and lesser. At some point of time, which I cannot remember, she stopped trying entirely, though she still grumbled about it from time to time.

"You're already repaying me by being an awesome friend." I assured her. She blushed a little at the compliment. After so long, she still wasn't able to accept compliments well.

Still, compared to two years ago, when she always stared right at the person and asked "You were complimenting me?" with a unbelieving, yet small voice, she was way better.

"Whatever…" She murmured and started to take her dinner.

"Do you need a drink?" I asked her after I got tired of hearing her slurping on her noodles.

"Ice water please. Thanks once again, Percy." She said with a bright smile. Her reaction to kindness has grown better too.

"No prob." I replied as I went to pour a glass of ice water for both of us.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well, I still have work tomorrow. Unless you're coming to make breakfast again…"

"Of course I'll do that. See you later, Wise Girl." I said as I walked out of her house.

"Yea, see you later, Seaweed Brain." I could hear the smile in her voice. I waved my hand as I walked back to my house.

Once I reached back home, I immediately went and took a shower before checking my mail.

"What…" My eyes stared in shock at the content of a mail that I had opened. "He's…that fucking…he's coming back? That two-faced, son of a bitch is coming back?" I muttered angrily, my face turning darker and my light mood ruined with each passing second.

Micheal Yew was coming back.