I'm gonna wrap this up in two chapters; one in Piper's POV and in third person.

To say that Percy was surprised would be an understatement. He pulled back quicker than either of them wanted and ran out the door. Ignoring Piper's calls, Percy ran for the edge of the forest. Mrs. O'Leary tried to follow, but he told her to stay. The hellhound howled. Percy kept running. He tore through the trees and brush before finally coming to a stop. and sat down heavily. His breath rang in his ears and he was pretty sure a monster could find him just from how loud his breathing was. Percy drew a ragged breath and tried to calm his nerves. What the Hades was wrong with him? Piper kissed him. So what? It's not like he hadn't kissed anyone before. I've only kissed Annabeth like that, he thought. But Annabeth was dead. She's waiting for me though. Percy looked up and into the sky. The stars were twinkling brightly. The same stars that he had looked at with Annabeth, imagining their future together. Now that future would never happen. They would never have kids, no grandkids, nothing. Percy curled into a ball and laid on the ground, crying.

"Percy," a voice said. Percy looked up. Piper was standing over him, concern in her eyes.

"What?" he asked, quietly.

"Are you okay?"

"No. No, I'm not." Percy turned his back on Piper and started walking back.

"You can't just turn your back on everything, Jackson!" Piper yelled. Percy whirled around to face her.

"What?"

"I said, you can't turn your back on everything," Piper said, more confidently. "That's not the Percy Jackson I know. The Percy I know would face the future and charge. I get that you're sad and angry at everything, but you have to move past that. As much as it hurts to say it, Annabeth's gone. She's not coming back. You could go to Hades and force him to give her back, but it's not natural, not right. She wouldn't want that."

"Don't tell me what she would and wouldn't want! You didn't know her like I did!" Percy exploded. The ground began trembling. "Do you know what happened years ago? She was captured by the Titans and I went to rescue her. When I got the Curse of Achilles, she kept me tethered to the world. She took a fucking poison knife for me to protect me! Her face and name were the only things I remembered when Hera wiped my memory! And then I fell into literal hell to be with her so she wouldn't be alone! That's why I ran. Because there's too many memories of her at camp." Percy fell to his knees and took a shaky breath. The tremors stopped.

"Everyday, I think about her. I think about her hair, her face, her whole damn personality. If I had gone on that quest, maybe she would be alive," Percy looked up at Piper. "I would die for her. If I had to die for her to live, I would accept that. But she died for me." Piper sat next to him.

"Percy,hear me out. It's okay that you still love Annabeth. I get it. You two were literally made for each other. But she's gone. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true. You have to move on. I'm here for you, Percy. No matter what," Piper thought about her next words. "If.. if you don't want me here, with you, I understand. I'll be gone by tonight." The daughter of Aphrodite stood, leaving Percy alone. Percy stared at the ground, then at her retreating figure. He jumped up and ran after her. Grabbing her wrist, he spun her around and kissed her. He pulled back.

"Stay, Pipes. I-I want you to stay." Piper smiled.

"I knew you'd say that," she said. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Shut up. Let's go home."

You do NOT want to know how hard it was to write these two together. I wanted their character's to be as close to canon as possible which means Percy would be entirely devoted to Annabeth, despite her, y'know, dead. But I got it. Took a bit, but I got it. Review, plz! I like seeing those in my inbox. -RFA