Hey people! Shockingly I managed to finish another chapter within a good amount of time. This isn't the last chapter, there's going to be at least 1 more after this at most 2 more updates before the end and then the epilogue. There's not much Percabeth in this update but this is a long overdue chapter I've been meaning to write and you'll see why. I hope you guys like it and thanks for the people that reviewed on the last chapter! Only going to respond to one review this time cause I only got a handful in general on the last update. Happy Reading!

Review Response:

A-is-not-for-allies: Aww thanks! Yes, I'm very much alive haha. Yeah it just feels right to end this story after working on it for so long and finally tying everything together slowly. I'm going to be sad when it's over but all good things must come to an end right? Thanks for sticking with me and reading my story!

Disclaimer: Don't own

As the days passed Annabeth only seemed to feel worse and it was affecting her skating. Sure, the figure skating team didn't have any upcoming competitions to worry about anymore but that didn't mean it was ok for them to completely slack off or in Annabeth's case, fall every other time she tried a jump. Her teammates had noticed, and she knew Christina had too. She couldn't help it; her heart just wasn't in it.

She hit the cold hard ice for the fourth time in the last fifteen minutes, landing on her butt and sighing in annoyance. She felt eyes on her.

"Alright practice is over, hit the locker rooms." Christina shouted towards the group.

Annabeth got up, skating steadily towards the exit of the ice where the rest of the team was going. She could see Ashley and Rebecca giggling about who knows what a few feet in front of her. Rachel must not have been very far behind.

"Wonder what those two are giggling about." Calypso said, appearing at Annabeth's left side.

"Probably how much money they just spent on a pair of shoes. Oh but don't worry it was totally worth it!" Piper added in a high-pitched tone, coming over to Annabeth's right side.

Despite her annoyed and sad state, Annabeth managed a small smile. Leave it to two of her closest friends to put a smile on her face.

They got changed in the locker room. Annabeth replaced her white skates for a pair of comfortable boots and took her hair out of the high ponytail it had been in. She pulled a giant hoodie over the thin long-sleeve shirt that she had hanging on a hook in her locker. The smell of sea salt air enveloped her. She grinned shyly down at the piece of clothing. It was one of Percy's hoodies that he'd let her 'borrow' about a week ago. He was crazy if he thought he was getting it back. It was way too comfy. She would never say it out loud, but it didn't exactly hurt that it also smelled like him. The blue hoodie was huge on her, the bottom of it went to her mid-thigh and the sleeves went well past her hands making it look like she didn't have any.

She bunched up the sleeves in order to organize her duffle. She eyed her now off-white skates next to the duffle. She knew she needed to change the laces on them. She already had a pair of white laces in her bag, but she just hadn't gotten around to actually changing them. She sighed, looking at the frayed edges and brown tint of the laces. Now was as good a time as ever she thought. It wouldn't take too long anyway. Deciding to stay an extra few minutes, she watched as all the other skaters left the locker room. Piper and Calypso each hugged her goodbye and then she was by herself…or so she thought for a good ten seconds before she saw a flash of red in her peripheral vision.

Rachel was notorious for taking forever to get out of the locker room. It was like she lived in there. How much could one person really need to do in a locker room?

The red head's locker was on the opposite side of the row from hers (something that was definitely done on purpose when they had the chance to pick lockers at the beginning of the season). Annabeth could see that they had similar ideas because Rachel was also improving the appearance of her skates. She was sat on the bench in front of her locker polishing the blemishes on her white skates. Annabeth looked back at her own skates. They could really use polishing as well but she didn't have any on her. She looked back at Rachel. Might as well give it a shot.

"Dare" She called, grabbing the attention of the other skater in the room.

Rachel looked up; her eyes narrowed when she spotted Annabeth. "What?"

Annabeth was already regretting asking. "My skates could really use a polish before I re-lace them, but I don't have the stuff. Any possible chance you can find it in you to share some polish?"

Rachel didn't say anything for ten seconds. Just when Annabeth started to think the red head had ignored her, she spoke up.

"Only if you've got an extra pair of white laces I can have" She challenged, eyeing the strings in Annabeth's hand.

The blonde rose her eyebrows in surprise. Truth was she did have an extra set. The pack she'd bought had two pairs. She had a mental battle with herself. She really didn't want to give Rachel her extra set because she knew she'd end up changing the laces again soon, but she also really wanted to polish her skates. They needed it…badly. Rachel stared at her expectedly.

"Fine, deal." She said after taking another look at her skates. She reached into her duffle to grab the extra set.

Rachel smiled triumphantly and moved the small jar of polish to her other side so it was closer to Annabeth but still far enough that she was going to have to sit on the same bench as her. She hesitantly approached the skater and handed her the laces before taking a seat on the bench facing the opposite direction so they were back to back.

The two skaters sat in silence for a while, both polishing their white figure skates. After a few minutes Annabeth felt a slight vibration from the bench she was sitting on followed by a low ringing noise. She checked her phone but saw that no one was calling her so it must have been Rachel's cellphone. Rachel picked up her phone a second later, confirming Annabeth's thoughts. She took one look at the caller ID and turned the device off. Right before the screen went black Annabeth caught a glimpse of the word 'Dad' on the iPhone. Rachel stared at the phone with a look of annoyance, one Annabeth was all too familiar with.

"Everything ok?" Annabeth asked. She had no idea why she said anything in the first place. It would have been perfectly fine if they spent the rest of the time in silence.

"What do you care?" Rachel replied harshly before using one last bit of polish.

"I don't even know why I try" Annabeth huffed, resuming the cleaning of her skates.

Another minute passed. She felt Rachel shift to her left and pause when she went to pick up the extra laces. She seemed to be conflicted over if she should say something.

"Why do you?" The red head said it so quietly Annabeth almost didn't hear it but when she did, she looked up to meet green eyes.

"What?" She asked confusedly.

"Why do you try to start conversations with me when we're not friends? It's not the first time you've done it." The way she asked the question was less like an insult and more like a genuine curiosity. She didn't seem mad at her but rather confused as to why Annabeth was talking to her in the first place.

Annabeth sighed, remembering the specific time after one of the competitions that she'd tried to talk to the girl. "Honestly…I don't know."

"I-I guess I just feel like I can…relate with you somehow." She continued.

Rachel laughed sarcastically. "How can you possibly-"

"Just hear me out ok?" Annabeth interrupted whilst closing her eyes briefly. Rachel sighed, gesturing for her to continue even though she didn't look interested in what she had to say.

"I saw you after Sectionals…talking to your dad." She started.

Rachel's face paled, the sarcastic smile on her face now replaced with a frown. "Well you should've minded your own business Chase."

"I didn't mean to I was just leaving the locker room and-"

Rachel put down her skates and turned to face her. "Yeah? Well next time instead of eavesdropping on other people just keep walking and stay the fuck out of-"

"Perfect daughter" Annabeth blurted out before she could finish. It took Rachel off guard, she furrowed her brows and stopped mid-sentence.

"W-what?" She said shakily.

"Be responsible Annabeth. Do your homework Annabeth. Don't forget to apply for scholarships Annabeth. Why did you get a B on your essay? Oh and my personal favorite- ice skating is just a distraction from your schoolwork."

Rachel gave her a look she didn't quite understand. "Your mom?"

Annabeth nodded, looking down at her skates and starting to lace them up. She couldn't meet her eyes.

"I know how it feels to have someone constantly on your back about succeeding. When you feel like you need to constantly prove yourself to them. Be the quote on quote 'perfect daughter' because anything less means you're worthless."

Rachel didn't say anything for a while. She couldn't figure out what to say really. The truth was she'd heard stuff similar to what Annabeth was talking about from her dad her whole life. She had no idea the blonde had such a similar situation to her. She finished lacing one of her skates, but she paused before starting the second one.

"Ever since I was a little girl my dad's been pushing me to be a better skater. Everyone in my family is good at something like really good. My cousin's currently on his way to being part of the Major League Soccer team. My Aunt was an Olympic gold medalist in swimming. My dad was on his way to being in the NBA before he got injured. So, when I went skating for the first time when I was six and told my dad how much I liked it…I basically decided the rest of my life. I started taking lessons and the rest is history. Getting second place in anything just wasn't an option. 'Perfect daughter' in a 'perfect family'." She finished.

Annabeth sighed. "I had no idea."

"How could you have? We haven't exactly been the best of friends Chase."

"Guess we're both pretty messed up aren't we?" Annabeth asked sarcastically. Rachel laughed quietly whilst nodding her head.

"Yeah"

Flashbacks of her arguments with Rachel over the years went through her head. They had been enemies for so long. Constantly fighting and throwing insults. But no matter how far back she thought she couldn't remember where it all originated from. Why were they enemies? When did it all start? The insults, the competitiveness, the stubbornness.

"Why do you hate me so much Dare? What did I ever do?" Annabeth asked desperately, putting down one of her finished skates.

There was a moment where neither one of them said anything. Annabeth's gaze didn't waver from the girl sitting beside her.

"You really don't know do you?" She heard Rachel whisper.

Annabeth shook her head. "No"

"I'm jealous of you." Rachel admitted, shutting her eyes and refusing to make eye contact with the blonde.

"What? How…how can someone like you be jealous of someone like me?" Annabeth asked confusedly.

It didn't make sense. Rachel was the popular girl in school, the one other girls wished they could be. The life of the party with a pretty face. Meanwhile she was just some bookworm obsessed with figure skating.

"Are you kidding me? Listen as much as it pains me to admit, Annabeth you're an amazing skater. It's like it just comes naturally to you. I wish I had that. Everyone hell, even coach thinks you could make it big one day. We don't exactly have a captain on the team, but everyone knows if we did it would be you. You're better than any of us on the team-"

"That's not true I-"

"Yes, it is. You're also modest as hell. Just take the compliment Chase." Rachel butted in, shaking her head.

Annabeth looked down, smiling. "Thanks. You're also really good Rachel. Better than you seem to think."

Rachel nodded her thanks. She shifted in her spot on the bench and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before she continued.

"And then there's school. You're so smart Annabeth. If you don't get a skating scholarship, I'm sure you'll get an academic one to college. I don't have that option."

"You don't know that."

"And lastly, as cheesy as it might sound…you've got Jackson. I've had a crush on that boy for as long as I can remember. He's never looked at me the way he does to you and he never will. Not only that but somehow, you've changed him. He's different now. Not the same old playboy who used to go to parties almost every night of the week and hook up with a new girl. I knew that Percy. The Percy he was before you came into his life. Every girl wants to be the one that changes the bad boy and that was you. Not to mention you also had the captain of the wrestling team pining for your attention at the same time. You're pretty intimidating if you ask me."

"I don't…I don't know what to say." Annabeth breathed. She was beginning to feel overwhelmed with the amount of stuff Rachel was telling her. Was she really jealous of her? Never in a million years had she thought that was the reason for her coldness.

"I didn't really expect you to. But now you can see why I've hated you so much the past few years. You have the life I wish I had. I mean you know, before you told me about all the strict mother stuff." She joked at the end.

Annabeth smiled sadly. "The only reason I'm so good at skating is because it's…it's what got me through a rough time in my life. I spent entire days at the rink when I could just skating to try and forget a lot of stuff I was going through. I get good grades in school because my mother pushes me past my breaking point on a daily basis. As for Percy…that was something I never saw coming believe me."

She laughed. "I mean come on you saw how we used to be. Constantly at each other's throats whenever we saw each other at the rink. It all just kind of…happened."

Rachel smiled, emitting a breathy laugh. "Oh I remember."

Annabeth shifted her hair over her shoulder and Rachel caught a glimpse of something that made her grin. "Clearly a lot has changed since then. Looks like things have been going well between you two." She winked at the blonde.

"What do you mean?" The blonde asked confusedly.

"Oh nothing. Just referring to the hickeys on your neck." Rachel said in a subtle teasing tone.

Annabeth's cheeks flushed red and she moved Percy's hoodie in attempt to hide her neck. "W-what? I don't know what you're-"

"Oh please. I know a cheap foundation coverage when I see one. Not to mention it's rubbing off. Jackson really did a number on you, that's quite a dark shade of purple." Rachel teased, finishing the laces on her second skate.

Her comments only made Annabeth blush harder. Truth be told over the past few days her and Percy had been getting…distracted a lot. Things never went too far, maybe sometimes a shirt or two would come off and maybe their lips would end up swollen, and hickeys…lots of hickeys and not always just on her, but it never went past that. Although that didn't mean it wasn't getting harder and harder for both of them to stop before it did.

Percy was usually the one to pull away. She loved that he respected her and never once tried to do something she didn't want or something she wasn't ready for. But she knew that wasn't the only reason why he pulled away. He didn't want to go further until he knew how she was feeling. Exactly how she was feeling.

Annabeth refused to make eye contact with the girl across from her. She finished up her skates and placed them aside. Rachel stared at her suggestively.

"Whatever Dare" She said, confirming what Rachel already knew.

"Just saying, I know a ton of ways to get rid of those hickeys faster. Wouldn't want mama Chase to see her daughter marked with purple bruises on her neck now would we?" Rachel continued, enjoying herself far too much.

Annabeth gasped in mock hurt, leaning towards the curly haired girl and slapping her arm. "Shut up! I'm highly regretting telling you about my mother right now!"

Rachel laughed, putting her hands up in surrender while Annabeth just turned redder. Once the moment had died down Rachel spoke once more, this time in a more serious tone.

"No but seriously, all jokes aside Chase I'm glad you two have managed to resolve things. Whenever I see him with you, I can tell how much he cares about you. I knew the minute I saw him go over to congratulate you on a good race the day we did a relay during practice that I had no chance. You balance each other out. I mean I'm still jealous as hell because that boy is gorgeous but…I'll get over it." She fidgeted with the hemline of her jacket and Annabeth stared at her sadly.

"You're going to find someone Rachel, I promise."

The red head smiled. "Thanks."

Everything Rachel said replayed in Annabeth's head. Percy showed her all the time how much he cared about her. He was sweet and kind and patient. And what had she repaid him with? Keeping secrets, shutting him out, and trying to figure everything out on her own. She was a horrible girlfriend. But she was done. Whether she had her shit together or not it didn't matter. She needed her boyfriend to be there for her and the only way that was going to happen was if Annabeth told him everything. Satisfied with her decision, she stood up from the bench in the locker room.

"Come on, let's go. It's well past the end of practice." Annabeth said, putting her skates in her bag and zipping it up. Rachel copied her and they walked side by side out the door to the ice rink.

Who knew Rachel Dare would be the final push to get Annabeth to stop shutting everyone out? She had no idea what to call the red head as the evening came to an end. They would never be best friends. That type of plot only existed in those cheesy teenage movies Annabeth couldn't help but love.

However, the two of them understood each other on a level other people couldn't, and that was something very valuable in Annabeth's eyes.

That's it for the 40th chapter! Wow I can't believe how long this story is holy crap haha. Please review and let me know what you guys think because even if the reviews are negative they really help me to better my writing and also motivate me to keep writing! Next chapter will definitely have some Percabeth but I'm glad Rachel and Annabeth finally have some type of closure it's something that's been long overdue. Sad this story is coming to an end but is this the end for me? Who knows...oh wait I do haha. Maybe your favorite writer has a thing or two up her sleeve ;) (no before you ask, NOT a sequel) Love you guys!

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