A/N: Hope you guys enjoy my new take on why these events happen and the little mysteries behind them. Everything will be explained (it wouldn't be much of a story if they weren't) but in due time. I bet some of you will be able to guess it too before I officially reveal it. I'd love any reviews and suggestions regarding the story. Also again disclaimer that I do not own these characters.

Chapter 2: Lies and a Secret

Camp Half Blood (One Year Later)

It made absolutely no sense to Percy that the only peaceful year he'd ever experienced at camp was also by far the worst. His closest friends wanted nothing to do with him, Poseidon had completely stopped acknowledging his silent prayers, and even Annabeth seemed to be a world away. But he smiled at the thought of her, knowing he couldn't be mad because she essentially was in another world. Annabeth had been going on weeklong trips to Olympus, hell-bent on reading every book in its library since she had gained access.

Percy knew that's where she was now, but this trip was longer: three weeks. They had discussed it before she left and Percy had to fake sadness at the extension of the trip, hiding his excitement at what he realized he had just enough time to do. It had been a rough year but the plan he had brewed up with Leo and his dad's help had made it bearable.

Percy had spent the first two weeks of Annabeth's trip embarking on various life-threatening errands assigned by Hephaestus. They were supposed to be for gathering the necessary materials, but Percy had a feeling that a few were for the god's own amusement considering they didn't require him coming back with anything. The third week was spent asking for Athena's permission. More accurately, 20 minutes were spent building up the courage to, 5 minutes were burned sputtering the single sentence out, 12 hours were spent trying not to get sliced in half or impaled, 5 seconds to hear and process the "Yes", and the rest of the week was Percy recuperating in bed.

The pain of the entire ordeal disappeared completely when, earlier today, Percy heard a short rap on his door. He was almost fully recovered, but still half limped his way to the door only to find nobody outside. On the ground was a little wrapped package. The package: the entire reason he had exerted these last 21 days on himself. He quickly scooped it into his pocket and ran to their spot, his heart somersaulting at what he was going to ask Annabeth tonight.

Tonight was the night Annabeth was coming back from Olympus. Percy sat by himself on an isolated strip of beach facing Long Island Sound, with the evening sun inching closer to the horizon. For the brief period between the two wars, when they had started dating, Annabeth and him would sneak off here to spend time together away from everyone else. But when her Olympian expeditions started, it became his favorite spot at camp for when he wanted to be by himself, which was less and less often now that it wasn't a choice anymore.

He sighed while staring out into the sea, reminiscing on the year's events that left him almost completely alone, beginning on the day his insufferable half brother showed up.

*Flashback*

Percy was forced to squint as he made his way to the Big House while the midday sun beat down on the camp. It was August 4th so it was still the middle of summer, but that didn't explain the heat stroke Percy felt like he was having. His head continued to throb as he trudged towards the Big House and it dawned on him that he was hungover. He groaned incredulously.

It was one shot! he thought to himself. Percy had never drank before, but last night on Olympus, most of the demigods had decided on a single celebratory drink with only Frank and Hazel abstaining. Percy clutched his stomach and shuddered as he reached the front lawn of the Big House, swearing to never drink again while hoping his friends were in better shape than him.

Chiron had called a meeting, requiring all of the campers to be there. Percy was one of the last to arrive. He looked across the chattering horde of campers, about 120 in total, and saw his friends littered among the crowd in similar shape to him. Frank and Hazel stood together and, even though they felt bad for their friends, the duo snickered at the various levels of nausea visible on each of their faces.

The campers went silent when Chiron strode out onto the porch of the building they were all gathered in front of. His white stallion half seemed to be tense, his hooves gripping the maple floor. Chiron looked to be frustratingly deep in thought, as if he'd been trying and failing to solve a riddle that should've been easy. He relented and began to speak,

"Campers, we have a new recruit," he said while gesturing to the front door of the Big House. The campers looked at each other quizzically, wondering why an entire meeting was called for something like meeting the new kid. Their question was addressed when the door swung open.

Out walked a kid with the gait of a gorilla standing on two legs, arms and shoulders swinging exaggeratedly, and a haughty look on his face as he came to a stop next to Chiron. His unimpressive frame made Percy wonder where this conceited aura came from. His thought was silently answered by Poseidon himself stepping out of the Big House and positioning himself next to this kid with his hand on his shoulder.

The campers snapped out of their momentary shock and kneeled before the Olympian in front of them. Everyone looked up at Poseidon as he began to speak,

"This is my son Cameron. As of today, he will be joining Camp Half Blood and I expect him to be treated with respect," Poseidon said authoritatively.

Percy was dumbfounded that Poseidon suddenly had a demigod son that was around the same age as Percy. As he was processing that, Percy had barely noticed the absurdity of Poseidon publicly favoring the kid and demanding respect for him. Poseidon took his hand off of Cameron's shoulder and walked back into the Big House.

"That is all. Campers, you are dismissed," Chiron said, his face returning to the same thoughtful but agitated expression as before. Most of the campers began to shuffle away, but many of the newest ones stayed to meet the new kid who had been personally claimed by a powerful Olympian.

Percy also wanted to get acquainted with his half brother. As confused as he was about Poseidon somehow having a hidden human kid no more than a year younger than Percy, he couldn't help but be a little excited at the thought of a sibling. Percy drew closer to the little fan club of new campers that Cameron had amassed as he told the story of how he single handedly fought a dozen hellhounds at the top of the hill.

"...and it jumped at me, mouth open wide! I dropped my sword and grabbed its top and bottom jaw in each hand before I pulled up and flipped it over my head. It landed on its back and before it could get upright again, I snatched up my sword and buried it in its side, killing the last one!" Cameron finished.

Percy lightly rolled his eyes, knowing the story was obviously embellished with lies. The new campers, however, stared with awe as their lack of experience allowed them to miss glaring inconsistencies in the story; this kid was not lifting up and capsizing a thousand-pound monster. Percy finally got a good look at his new half brother.

Cameron was about average height and a little on the skinny side. His hair was chestnut brown and well-kept in a close cropped fashion. He was also noticeably pale and Percy wondered how this could possibly be a son of Poseidon. His gaze trailed up and sharpened in shock as it settled on Cameron's eyes. They were grey, not unlike Annabeth's, but striking instead of stormy. Around the iris sat a thin ring of sea green that looked like an almost sparkling moat defending the grey.

Is that what our kids' eyes would look like? Percy thought. He blushed and mentally slapped himself to get focused. Cameron was still falsely answering questions asked by his throng of campers and Percy decided that he'd talk to him later. Instead, he strode into the Big House to confront his dad about the hidden break in the Big Three's former pact.

Poseidon sat on the leather futon in the living room while Seymour the leopard-head eyed him suspiciously from his mount in the wall. The sea god seemed to be glaring into nothingness, but cocked his head towards Percy when he walked in the room.

"Hey dad," Percy said, smiling that the issue in Atlantis last night presumably went well. Poseidon stood, holding a stoic look on his face.

"Ja– Perseus," Poseidon corrected himself quickly. He looked at Percy to go on, knowing he had something to ask from the jittery state his hands were in.

"Where did Cameron come from? Or wait no that's not what I meant. Where has he been this whole time? You broke your promise in the pact twice but just never told anybody? Because you told the council I was the only demigod kid you had during the period it was in effect…" Percy realized he was rambling accusingly as he looked up into the face of a raging Olympian.

"I do not answer to you, boy!" he thundered. Poseidon's eyes glowed a dark green and Percy could feel the power rolling off of him in waves. His glare was ice and Percy had never felt this kind of fear towards his father before. Poseidon looked like he wanted to kill him but something invisible was stopping him. Instead, he flashed out in an almost-black column of water, the opposite of his usual trail of ocean mist, leaving Percy standing alone in the living room.

Walking back onto the lawn, he saw the Seven, Calypso, and Nico standing around and talking. Percy was still dazed from the "talk" with his dad, but managed a smile to say hello. Annabeth looked at him with concern but he gave her an assuring glance. Besides Percy and Annabeth, the rest were preparing to leave for their respective homes. Percy understood but he was sad to see them go.

Nico left first, promising to visit as often as he could from his duties in the Underworld, and dissolved into a shadow. The other six were heading off to Camp Jupiter, from where Leo and Calypso would leave for Mount Olympus to stay with his dad. They shared heartfelt goodbyes, officially disbanding the party that fought off Earth itself. Annabeth, in true daughter-of-Athena fashion, looked at Leo inquisitively.

"Mount Olympus is right here. Why are you two going all the way to California first?" she asked. Leo just smirked and embraced the other five into a strange ball of bodies.

"These Romans need a ride, don't they?" he chirped, disappearing with the group into a column of flame. Percy and Annabeth were dumbfounded at one of his new immortal powers. They looked at each other as they got over their shock. Percy wanted to spend some time with her, but knew she was ready to start packing for her first trip to Olympus. They shared a quick kiss and went their separate ways.

Percy spent the rest of the day back at his cabin, reeling from the events in the Big House. It quickly became night and Percy sat on the corner of his bed, his head in his hands, still thinking about what had possibly possessed Poseidon to act like that. And while he hadn't even met him yet, Percy's initial excitement at Cameron joining his cabin had dissipated with the way he had been acting all day.

Cameron had a little demo going on right outside of the cabin. His retelling of the fight had evolved into a play and Percy had been listening to reruns for well over an hour. It was as if Cameron was deliberately being as loud and as close as possible to the cabin to irritate him. Eventually, the live demonstration ended with the audience of newbies erupting in cheers.

Percy swung his legs onto the bed and propped himself against his headboard, relieved that the racket was over. Cameron made his way into the cabin, smirking at the look on Percy's face, proud that the noise had obviously been agitating him.

"It's nice to meet the half brother that I've heard so many exaggerated stories about today," Cameron said. Percy wasn't in the mood for this and was amazed at the awful first impression his new sibling was making. Still, he had to bite.

"What do you mean by exaggerated stories?" Percy asked, genuinely a little confused. Cameron laughed.

"Come on. You may have those kids convinced, but I just got here and I'm not going to be tricked into thinking even half of them are true," he said while sneering.

Was he talking about my quests? Percy thought to himself, his confusion rising. "Which ones did you hear about?" he asked. Cameron rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Oh you want me to stroke your fraudulent ego? Defeating Ares when you were 12, holding up the SKY, killing two titans and a handful of giants, and crossing hell itself with your little girlfriend? What a joke. Basically all of these stories are word of mouth and I know you made them up. I've already convinced most of the kids today that you're not the hero you claim to be. The older campers have seen you do a few minor things so I'm sure they'll be harder to show the truth to but I promise I will," Cameron finished, out of breath from monologuing while Percy's eyes glazed over.

Percy sighed dejectedly at the kind of guy his half brother turned out to be. He wasn't worried, though. This kid was a liar that was irrationally full of himself with no experience to back it; he didn't believe Percy had done those things because Cameron couldn't see himself capable of it.

Cameron felt he had successfully shut his perceived rival up and got ready for bed. Percy groaned internally at his cranky mood because it would definitely be reflected in the vivid and generally dangerous dreams every demigod gets. His head hit the pillow and he was out.

To Percy's surprise, he dreamt of nothing. Not that he didn't dream, but that his dream was nothing. Percy was suspended in a plane devoid of all senses. He knew his eyes were open, ears uncovered, and the rest of his senses were functional too. His eyes picked up on nothing. He held his hands up to his face and his field of vision didn't change at all, remaining an impossible black. He couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet even though he knew it was there. The deafening silence was off-putting at first, but Percy realized that maybe these weren't such bad conditions to get some sleep.

For a single instant, Percy thought he sensed a presence watching him and felt a tug in his head like a plug being yanked out of an outlet. It disappeared as quickly as it arrived. It was so quick that he wasn't even sure if it really happened, so he disregarded it and closed his eyes.

The next morning, Percy woke up to an empty cabin and light streaming through the open windows. Light? Percy's time on the Argo II had adjusted him to waking up at 7 every day, so where was all of this light coming from? His head hit the bed frame above him as he heard the familiar sound of the breakfast horn. He'd overslept by THREE hours, savoring the best sleep of his entire demigod life. But now he was extra hungry. He couldn't afford to wait until lunch so he threw on his clothes and hustled in the direction of the dining hall.

In the dining pavilion, everyone had their usual seats. Most campers still sat at their respective parents' tables but, with how many empty tables there were now for many minor gods, a few cross-parent groups formed. The most notable one was all of the head counselors that fought together in the Titan War. Will Solace, the Stoll brothers, Katie Gardner, Clarisse, and Annabeth sat together wondering where their last tablemate was.

Instead, Cameron hopped into Percy's seat to the vague displeasure of the table. None of them had explicitly met Cameron yet; they'd just seen his introduction at the Big House and heard the ruckus of his string of performances.

"Hey guys, I'm Cameron but I'm sure you already knew that. Are you guys waiting on Percy? Sorry about that, he must've slept in because we were up really late talking about everything he's done at camp," he said, faking a very convincing tone of friendliness. It worked and they all welcomed Cameron to the table, but Annabeth remained wary at the unnatural warmness of the cocky kid from yesterday.

They talked for a few minutes and the group seemed to take a liking to Cameron. They laughed and talked about their first impressions of him yesterday. Travis Stoll had his arm around Cameron and chuckled while saying,

"Man you're nothing like I thought you were going to be like." The rest of the group largely agreed. Cameron smiled sheepishly before responding.

"You guys aren't like how Percy described you either," he said, "I really like you guys." This silenced the table as everyone realized the implication. Will Solace piped up,

"What do you mean 'how he described us'?" speaking apprehensively to the kid who was now throwing accusations at one of his closest friends. Cameron looked around the table at the glares he was receiving, none harsher than Annabeth's impossibly narrow slits. He knew pushing this lie was going to be a difficult task but he hadn't accounted for almost shuddering involuntarily at the hateful look in the daughter of Athena's eyes. He looked back at Will, putting on a solemn mask.

"I shouldn't be doing this but I feel like you should hear it," he leaned in so only Will could hear him, "Percy told me about Michael Yew dying and said you could've saved him if you were braver and hadn't gone back to hide," he whispered, deliberately only saying one word louder. Annabeth tried her best to eavesdrop, raging at the allegation against her boyfriend, but was only able to catch a first name. She quickly put together who they were talking about and her anger faltered.

Did Percy really tell him about Michael? It took him weeks afterwards to tell me about what exactly happened on that bridge, and he was devastated that he couldn't save him. But, regardless, there's nothing in that story that could describe Will.

She was dragged out of her thoughts when Will's face went deathly white and tears welled up in his eyes. He quickly got up and ran out of the pavilion, not willing to cry in front of his friends about the death he still blamed himself for. Cameron hung his head, allowing himself a smile for a second, before hiding it and sadly addressing the rest of the group,

"I'm sorry. This was a mistake," he said before he slunk off to a group of newbies sitting around a table that would later become Cameron's. Nobody in the group had said a word since Will ran off, but the seeds of curiosity had been ingrained and Cameron knew they'd find out what he had said. At that moment, Percy ran into the dining hall ready to eat.

Before heading to grab some food, he cheerily greeted his friends who, much to his confusion, responded half-heartedly. Most of the group was still a bit stunned; they knew Percy to be one of the best people they had ever met, but Will's reaction wasn't something they could just gloss over. Annabeth had complete faith in Percy and knew there was a reasonable explanation for what had just happened.

The horn sounded again just as Percy sliced a portion of his pancakes into the central brazier, most as an apology to his dad and for some reason, he felt the need to add a bit as a hello to Lady Hestia. He groaned as he sat down because his friends were already leaving for their classes and activities, a couple a bit too quickly. Percy raised an eyebrow at Katie not even glancing at him as they filed out. Annabeth stayed behind, not wanting Percy to eat alone but also curious about last night.

"How does it feel having your first demigod sibling?" she asked him. Percy nodded absently as he tore into his regular-colored pancakes, upset that the dryads still refused to make them blue.

"It's whatever. I only got to meet him last night when he got tired of entertaining all of the new campers and came to the cabin to get some sleep," he replied. Annabeth pressed a little, asking him what they were talking about last night. Percy just shrugged.

"Honestly nothing really. We just had some small talk and then a little about him and his merry band of performers," Percy said, not wanting to worry her about Cameron's weird villain speech. Annabeth went silent for a bit while Percy continued to ravage his food. She thought to herself,

Percy's lying to me now? There's no other way for Cameron to have even known Michael's name let alone what was like the details of his death unless Percy had told him.

She decided to drop the subject, silently hurt that he was lying right to her face while she still looked for a rational explanation. Annabeth was going to have to figure this out on her own. They instead talked about their friends at Camp Jupiter as Percy finished up his food. Annabeth got ready to leave as she had to finish packing for Olympus and was heading there right after she got done. Percy was sad to see her go but so excited for her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her in to kiss her.

"I love you." Annabeth paused for a second but smiled and rolled her eyes before replying.

"I love you too. I'll see you in a week," and she was off to her cabin.

(Line Break)

The next months were the most confusing of Percy's life. What he noticed almost immediately was that Will had completely stopped talking to him. He'd storm away anytime Percy was in his vicinity, and had returned to sitting at the Apollo table during mealtimes.

Unknown to Percy, his friends were made aware of what Cameron had told Will and their confidence in Percy was shaken. They weren't outright not talking to him, but there was always a level of tension at their table. Cameron was also dedicating more and more time towards catching Percy's friends isolated around camp. His next target was Katie Gardner.

Katie and Cameron were friends now. He always expressed his admiration of her weekly floral arrangements around the Demeter cabin and this week, she let him tag along to help pick the next set. They were in a clearing just beyond Zeus' Fist, selecting the best ones from a natural bouquet of bellflowers. Cameron plucked one too roughly, killing it, and he grimaced while turning towards Katie.

"From everything I've heard about you guys, I thought this would be much easier," he said. Katie looked at him nervously, a sinking feeling in her stomach about who he was referring to.

"What have you heard?" she asked cautiously. Cameron sighed before he told her what "Percy" had said. He brought up how Percy said the Demeter cabin was easily the most useless in the camp and that Katie's bossy attitude came from insecurity at how powerless she knew she was.

From Katie's eyes, he knew he had already gone far enough but Cameron pressed on. He told her about how Percy thought she could've saved more lives at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel during the Titan War if she were as capable as she claimed to be. This was the nail in the coffin as Katie began openly sobbing at what one of her closest friends had said about her. This led to another relationship completely severed with Percy.

Cameron wasn't done. As the months passed by, Percy's circle continued to grow smaller and smaller with no explanation as to why for him. The Stolls were next, hearing that Percy said the only reason they didn't turn out like Luke was because they weren't smart or determined like Luke was. Then was Clarisse, who left the most violently.

Percy and Clarisse were natural rivals because of Percy's relationship with Ares. But the two always had a grudging respect for each other's fighting prowess that became a friendship following the Titan War. It was all thrown down the drain when Cameron did his worst to reignite hatred between them.

He tried constantly dropping comments about how much of a loser Percy thought Ares was and making fun of the anger issues his kids had. Clarisse was unfazed because she knew her dad didn't need defending, and didn't mind her anger because it helped her stomp on anybody in her way. Cameron grew increasingly frustrated until he realized the card he had to play.

One morning in the sword fighting area, he decided to finally break Clarisse while making sure he was a couple yards away; she was holding her spear and Cameron had seen her use it for much less. Cameron told her that Percy was glad that, if someone had to die for it, it was "the traitor" Silena that spurred Clarisse into killing the drakon during the war.

Clarisse exploded. Cameron jumped back to avoid the bulldozer that was Clarisse running straight through the wall of the arena, barrelling towards Percy who was having yet another unsuccessful morning of trying to get his friends to talk to him.

"JACKSON!" she shouted, within 10 feet of him now. Percy turned and was met with a flat slab of steel striking the side of his head, sending him crashing into the ground. As angry as Clarisse was, she wasn't going to kill the guy who had done so much for the camp regardless of what he had said. Percy's vision became blurry and littered with spots, and his ears rang like Apollo was in his head banging cymbals together. He tried and failed to form words as the searing pain in his temples kept him silent.

"Don't ever say her name again," Clarisse spat as she walked away. Percy eventually made his way back to his cabin with some ambrosia and nectar courtesy of a sympathetic dryad that saw what had happened. He climbed into his bed as the warm feeling from the godly food began to heal his head. Percy had already given up on trying to elicit an explanation from Clarisse or any of his other friends, convinced it now wouldn't happen.

It was still morning so Percy had all day to sit in bed and have an earned pity party about the last 11 months. Day after day of increasing loneliness as he kept losing more friends as his half brother gained them had taken a toll on Percy. But he still had Annabeth. Just her name was enough to ease the dull pain in his face as he thought about how she was doing on Olympus that week.

Annabeth had been away for a lot of the year but would come back every week for a few days at a time. Each time, she'd spend the first day with Percy and they'd talk about everything she had learned that week. More accurately, she'd talk while he'd try his best to keep up with the information, but be content just listening to how excited she sounded doing it. The next day, or days, she'd still see Percy but later in the day because she wanted to hang out with the rest of her friends. But when she'd see him, she'd always be slightly more distant.

Annabeth always said it was fatigue from the day, but it was because her friends, and eventually Cameron, would catch her up on whatever else Percy had allegedly said about them. There was a little part of her that remained dead set that it was all somehow a lie concocted by his brother, but that part got quieter and quieter as the evidence piled up. Cameron just knew too many details that he couldn't have gotten from anyone else. She still held onto that feeling of hope because the Percy she would spend the first day with was who he had always been. He was nothing like the hateful person that would have said the things that drove all of his other friends away.

But as the months flew by and the situation continued to worsen, her initial fear that Percy was lying from the first breakfast with Cameron began to win her over. Even though that persevering sliver of hope meant she still loved him, she subconsciously distanced herself each week even if Percy didn't notice.

Still lying in bed, Percy thought about what had gotten him through these difficult months. Besides of course Annabeth, it was the plan he had made with Leo, and then the Blackouts. That's what Percy had started calling his periodic perfect nights of sleep where he dreamed of nothing. At first, he thought they occurred randomly but Percy put together that they only happened on nights where he thought about his dad. Since the sleep was so deep that it guaranteed he'd doze off for way too long, he limited himself to the days that he felt the worst, like tonight. He laid in bed, ready to call to his ever silent dad once his head stopped throbbing.

About an hour later, the pain of his wound had ebbed completely, but Percy sat up as he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to find Annabeth back from her most recent trip, and he immediately wrapped her in a tight hug. She tensed for a second before hugging him back lightly. She hid the uneasy look on her face as she pulled away from the hug.

This time, Annabeth had quickly visited her friends before coming to see Percy, where they told her what had happened between him and Clarisse. That finalized her decision regarding something she hadn't told Percy or almost anybody else about yet.

Percy was so happy to see her after the day he had just had. He didn't want to let go but he did, not wanting to worry her. Annabeth sat him down on his bed with her and held his hands.

"Percy, I'm in the middle of a really big content project on Olympus, and I'll be leaving tomorrow morning for a little while longer than normal. I'm sorry I couldn't be here for more time but I wanted to come back and let you know before I left for three weeks," she said, feeling awful for lying to his face about where she was going. Percy just looked at her understandingly; as much as he missed her here, he couldn't bear to keep her from those godly libraries.

"That's alright, Annabeth. After you come back from discovering the secrets of the universe, you owe me a lot more time here," he said playfully, hiding the excitement at the message he was going to send Leo after she left. She smiled at his encouragement as he leaned in and kissed her. She got up to leave, her confusion only worsening at the polarity of the Percy infront of her versus the one that said those awful things about Clarisse.

Annabeth pushed it out of her mind as she opened the door and stepped out; she had somewhere to be. Percy stood in the door frame as she walked towards her cabin and he called out,

"I love you."

"Love you," she replied, not turning back to look at him. Percy didn't take note, though, as he was busy admiring the way the silver glow of the moon illuminated her curly blonde hair.

He closed the door and laid stomach down on his bed, kicking his feet behind him like the lovestruck idiot he was. He didn't know what it was that had him feeling like this. Could it have been the loneliness at camp? Maybe. The fact that most demigods don't live long natural lives? Sure, that too. But those factors paled in comparison to the driver that was how much he loved her.

While Annabeth went on her extended trip, he was going to do what he said he'd do. He was going to call Leo. He was going to ask Athena. And when she came back, he was going to ask her.

He was going to ask Annabeth Chase to marry him.

*End Flashback*

The sun had long set, and Percy's hand drifted to the package in his pocket. He took it out and removed the wrapping. In his hand sat a little velvet box, the initials AC carved into the sea green fabric. Percy hadn't planned to look at the ring beforehand, but he couldn't resist with it right in front of him. He gently opened the lid and his breath hitched.

The intertwining band was a soft rose gold, Annabeth's favorite color, inlet with shimmering diamonds that Percy had stolen from Hades. The elegant frame seemed to pull Percy's gaze towards the main attraction, set on the prongs stemming seamlessly from the band. The center stone was a piece of the jewel of Theia, the goddess of gems. Percy felt bad about taking it from her buried temple, but Hephaestus had promised to put the rest back. And taking a look at the jewel adorning the center of the ring, he didn't regret taking it anymore. Because of its enchantment, it had a kaleidoscope effect causing it to shift between every kind of gem. Emerald, diamond, amethyst, jade. The effect was hypnotic and perfected the ring, showing whatever gem the viewer most wished to see.

Percy shook with excitement as he sealed the glowing ring back into its velvet safe. Although he hadn't explicitly asked Annabeth to meet him here, he knew this is where she'd come after noticing he wasn't at his cabin, and she was due any minute now. A dramatic entrance. He needed to make a dramatic entrance. This was the biggest moment in his life; he couldn't just be sitting here in the sand. An idea popped into his head and it required Annabeth's invisible hat.

Percy sprinted across camp towards the Athena cabin, doing his best to avoid any patrolling harpies in the darkness. He arrived in front of the cabin door and slipped in silently, hoping to not wake any of her siblings. Thankfully, as head counselor, she had designed a separate personal room in the back that her siblings wouldn't dare enter without her. Percy could, though, and he made his way to her desk where the Yankees cap hung off the top of her chair. He'd never deliberately invade her privacy but there was a lone piece of paper on her normally cluttered desk, and the golden state seal of California caught his eye.

Dear Annabeth Chase,

Congratulations on your acceptance and thank you for submitting your intent to enroll at the University of Southern California. For our incoming architecture students, we will be having a pre-fall program that we greatly encourage you to attend from July 14th to August 4th…

Percy stopped reading and took a step back. A suffocating feeling built up in his throat as he looked away from the paper. Today was August 4th. Was this where she had been for the three weeks she claimed she was on Olympus? Was she planning on moving to a school on the other side of the country without telling him? What else was she hiding from him?

Dude, get a hold of yourself. This is Annabeth. You trust her more than anything; she'll explain all of this. Get back to the beach.

Percy's breathing steadied and he flipped the cap onto his head, turning him completely invisible. The excitement of what he was about to do pushed the news of the acceptance letter to the back of his mind as he trotted back towards their spot on the beach.

Still invisible, Percy got within earshot of his destination when he picked up on two voices coming from the strip of beach. For a second, he was dismayed that two random campers may complicate the moment he prayed would be perfect, but he quickly recognized one of the voices as Annabeth.

"... haven't even told him yet," she said to whoever she was with.

"Even though it took all of these months, aren't you glad I still convinced you to apply?" Percy scowled as he realized it was Cameron's voice.

"Yeah, I am. Thank you. I couldn't have done that to the Percy I knew. But with everything we've learned about how he really feels this year-" her voice faltered for a second. She paused for a minute. "- he's not the person I fell in love with," she finished shakily.

"I know," Cameron said.

Percy surged forward to interrupt their discussion. The scene before him made Percy's chest tighten painfully as a hole seemed to bore its way through his heart; Cameron leaned down to kiss her while Annabeth leaned up and let him.

A/N: Heh. No reaction until next chapter, first mini cliffhanger-ish of many. I hope you enjoyed this new version of why people THAT close to him would still leave. I wonder how Cameron knows everything he does about Percy's past. Please leave a review on how you're liking the story so far. I especially would like them from the people that also read the original one. Starting next chapter, I'll begin responding to one or two reviews in the beginning notes of the chapters.