A/N: Hey guys! Back with another rooftops update! Hope you like it!

Percy really needed this. He lets out a relaxed sigh as he sips his hot chocolate. The cafe's quaint, not too crowded, and an easy ten-minute walk from Grover's house. Basically, it's the perfect place to write. And while he's had a lot of fun just chilling and catching up with Grover and Juniper during the weekend, Monday means he finally has time to focus on his writing.

After assuring Grover he'll be fine on his own since he has job applications and writing to do, he had been directed to this quaint little cafe. Honestly, just the change of scenery is enough to make him feel better about everything.

Just as he's pulling out his laptop to submit a few more job applications, a girl who couldn't have been more than six skids over to where he's sitting evidently running from a little boy around the same age.

"I'm so sorry," her mother apologies, hurrying over to where the girl has halted by his leg. He waves it aside and offers a smile to the young girl who's now looking at him curiously. She reminds him painfully of Annabeth, with her blonde hair and face screwed up in concentration and he makes a note to ask Annabeth for childhood photos.

The reminder of his girlfriend brings a pang to his heart. She's the only thing missing over here.

The mother drags her daughter back to their table and Percy turns his attention to the job site pulled up in front of him. It's still depressing, but he refuses to let it dampen his mood, sending off a few resumes before shutting it close.

Today is a paper and pen day. The music is soothing, his hot chocolate is sweet, and as he glances to where the little girl is now making faces at the boy as their mothers talk, he thinks that maybe there's a story out there where he and Annabeth had been friends since childhood and made faces at each other in a coffee shop.

He smiles and starts writing.

-.-

"I'm really glad you're getting somewhere with your writing," Grover says a day later over lunch. "I know how much you love it."

Grover is the only person he knows in real life that has actually read his writing. Usually he either puts it up online anonymously, or it remains saved in a folder or between the pages of his notebook. Grover is only an exception because he's been around since the early days of the Hardy Boy knock off drafts.

Percy nods, chewing on his sandwich. "Yeah, I think the change of scenery is helping. I made enough progress to turn it into a cohesive story today."

Suddenly Grover smacks his head. "I'm an idiot, I completely forgot!" Percy raises an eyebrow as Grover hurries to explain. "I should introduce you to my friend who works for a publishing company who may be able to help you publish your book!"

Percy shakes his head. "Oh no, I don't have anywhere near enough for a complete book, hell I," he shrugs, looking down. "I don't even think I'm good enough."

Grover frowns at his words. "What are you even saying? You're a great writer!"

Percy rolls his eyes. "How would you know."

"I happen to have actually read your work," Grover replies indignantly.

"You've read my old work."

"Exactly!" Grover exclaims loud enough for two Karens to look over. "If I've read your old stuff and I think it's good, you must be even better now."

Percy offers him a half smile and shrugs.

Grover is not one to back down, though. "I'll introduce you," he decides, and Percy can't change his mind. (A part of him doesn't really want to).

He gets a text two hours later from Grover saying he's arranged an introduction.

-.-

Annabeth is trying valiantly to focus on a Youtube video, but for the first time, it's not enough to keep her thoughts at bay. She had a rather shitty day at work, Piper's on a date, and all the feelings she's managed to push aside the last couple days are coming back to bite her in the ass.

She hates it. The cold, the loneliness, the general sadness, that's preventing her from even enjoying the things she likes.

She pauses the video and pulls out her phone. The last text from Percy is a picture of his lunch, where he made a smiley face with his chips, and she'd reacted with a laughing emoji. He usually calls her around this time of night, the only solace she finds nowadays, but he hasn't yet.

She should just call him. She can hear Piper in her head telling her to just call. It'll make her feel better. It always has.

Three, two, one, she presses call.

It rings for so long, she starts to worry he won't actually pick up. But he does, a second before she's sure she would have been directed to his voicemail.

"Hey Annabeth!" he says loudly, obviously trying to talk over the noise of wherever he's at.

"Hey, where are you?" she asks out of curiosity.

"A bar, we're here with a few of Grover's friends. What's up?"

She's very obviously disrupting him and feels bad enough to end the call. But in a split second decision, she decides to push through. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," he responds, tone softening a little. She hears someone in the background call his name. "Be there soon!" he calls back to whoever it is.

"Sorry," he says turning his attention back on her. "It's kind of hectic.

"It's alright." She tries to hold back her disappointment."You should go."

""Yeah…" Her heart falls a little at the answer. "But I'll call you later, though, I need to tell you about something cool."

"Oh come on, you can't just leave it like that," she says despite herself.

"Sorry." She can hear the grin in his voice. "Grover introduced to a publisher friend who might be able to help me publish a book!"

"That's great!" she responds, but it's cut off by Percy yelling to the group again.

"One sec, Rachel! Sorry babe, gotta go. Promise I'll call you later!"

"Yeah, okay," she says before he hangs up.

She was wrong. Talking to Percy does not make her feel better.

-.-

There's a few minutes of deep breaths and blinking back tears before she can't take it anymore and just lets herself sob as everything rushes back to her.

Her feeling of dissatisfaction, the loneliness, the fear of Percy leaving her, her lack of direction in life, just everything. It all comes crashing down and suddenly she's violently sobbing.

And on top of all, that she feels even worse because she knows it's so stupid. She doesn't have a basis for feeling this way. She's got a good life, she's not alone, she has friends, Percy obviously cares otherwise he wouldn't have even picked up. It's unfair and horrible to be feeling this way.

The guilt piles on when she doesn't stop herself from automatically dialing Piper's number. She picks up on the second ring.

"Hello?" Annabeth can hear sounds in the background and her relief at hearing her best friend's voice disappears as the knowledge that she's interrupting another good time overtakes her. God, she really can't do anything right.

She can't bring herself to speak and another sob escapes her before she can control it.

Piper immediately changes tone. "Annabeth? Hey, it's okay, what's happening? Talk to me." Her voice is laced with concern and Annabeth feels even worse.

She puts together some words that probably aren't making sense to form a story that probably isn't right, she's not entirely sure but she does know that she hasn't stopped apologizing since she started talking.

"Okay okay," Piper cuts her off. "First off, you do not need to apologize. For anything. I want to be here, I want to help, and I want you to reach out to me. So don't apologize for calling."

Annabeth remains silent as Piper takes a breath and continues.

"And secondly, I don't know exactly what happened but I do know that you are beating yourself about feeling bad about it." She can imagine Piper giving her a hard look.

"So I'm here to tell you to stop that." Piper's voice is firm. "Stop feeling guilty about feeling bad. It's okay to be feeling bad. It's okay to feel things, even if they're irrational. Stop beating yourself up about things you can't control, okay?"

Her voice softens. "It's okay to be feeling shitty. You have been handling everything like a responsible mature adult. Especially with Percy. And that's great but you're allowed to have a moment. You're allowed to feel sad or jealous or shitty."

Annabeth sniffles and finds herself nodding at Piper's words.

"Feel bad," Piper says softly. "Cry, feel it all, and let it all out. Don't keep holding it in. Just take this moment to let it all out. Feel, unashamedly. Right now, there are no consequences to this. Take advantage of that. Just let it out."

"Thanks Piper," Annabeth manages as a whisper.

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can and we'll work on figuring out what comes next."

Annabeth physically shakes her head before realizing Piper can't see her. "It's okay, I think I just need to do what you said by myself. Enjoy your date. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"If you're sure…." Piper sounds uncertain.

"It's okay," Annabeth reassures her.

"Then you will see me tomorrow."

They hang up, and though Annabeth's stopped crying, she thinks she still needs to.

Because Piper's right, she needs to get it all out. But her mind is racing too fast for her to think or even feel anything properly.

And all of a sudden she's just so tired. Tired and hurt—for no good reason—and she knows it but she can't help it. She's all alone, and exhausted and so completely lost. It's dumb but overwhelming beause she's all too aware of just how alone she is.

She has these people, but she's kept them at a distance because she needed this, needed to figure out life on her own. But she hasn't, she thinks meanly, as the tears return. She hasn't figured out anything. All she has to show for it is an empty apartment, a passionless life with no clear route, and this exhaustion that hangs over her all the time during these short winter days.

This might be a Spiraling and Unproductive Line of Thinking but all the Not Helpful thoughts that she's been pushing to the side for months now come barreling down as if the floodgates have opened and she feels a little like she's drowning in all of them.

Because now there's nothing stopping it. No boyfriend to distract her, no best friend to curb it's flow. It's just her. Her in her empty apartment with nothing but loneliness. She has nothing to turn to—no hobby, no passion, nothing to make her feel whole except a boyfriend who's far away and living and she's Not and it just hurts.

She rolls over on the couch and clutches the blanket tighter around her. The room feels ten degrees colder against the heat of her face, the tears icy as they roll down her face.

She wants to close her eyes, wants to get in bed and never get out because now she's faced with the reality she can't ignore any longer. That life feels...empty, and lonely, and tiring and it's missing something she can't quite place and she wishes Percy was there to fill the hole, to make her feel excited about getting up everyday.

And of course, it comes back to Percy. The irrational hurt is somehow easier than facing reality and she finds herself crying once more over the fact that he left her.

Clinging to that burst of bitterness, the jealousy of him having fun, with some other person, she falls asleep with a tear streaked face.

A/N: I know, a lot of angst, but I think what Annabeth feels in this part are real emotions. Part of the adjustment from school into real adult life is being faced with, quite literally, the rest of your life. For 18+ years of your life all you've known is the structure of school, one grade after another, but all of a sudden you're out and it's freeing but can be overwhelming if you don't have a clear plan. All of a sudden it feels like you really need to figure out what you're doing and where you're going.

And let me tell you, most people don't have a clear plan, and that's completely valid and okay. I don't know how many of you are in this position, my guess is probably not a lot, but I hope when you get there you remember this because it's something I wish I had been told when I was going through it.

So basically, all that combined with seasonal depression and going through a rough patch in a relationship can lead to the ending if this chapter. Also, just pushing thigs away as Annabeth has been for most of the story, it can catch up to you.

So let me end this huge authors note by saying, it's okay. If you feel lost or confused or sad or anything, it's okay. It's okay not to know and it's okay to simply feel something. Just keep going, working towards better every day to the best of your ability, even if you're not sure, it's okay.

Please Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And as always, thanks for reading!

See ya! :)