Been… a pretty stressful week for a lot of people, I'm sure. Definitely has been one for me. I think the rate we're going now, we really are going to have to slow down updates, but we'll try our best to make them longer, too, to make up for it. No promises, though, since life is a little wonky.

Uhh, so for some people, the latest chapter (chapter 16) still hasn't shown up. We're working on getting that fixed, so please be patient and I'll let you know once it's functioning again.

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER 16, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM READING THIS ONE

Enjoy!

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Percy stood across the street from CHB wringing his hands nervously. He felt queasy, but he'd already committed to this now.

He had texted Annabeth that morning saying he'd need to reschedule, and asked Rachel where she'd like to meet up. Annabeth was very understanding, and thankfully Rachel's number hadn't changed, otherwise he wouldn't have known where to meet her. They both had chosen to ignore the long list of one-sided texts before today's chat.

Percy's foot tapped impatiently as he waited for the crosswalk to let him walk. Of course, she wanted to meet at the one place outside of work I've spent a lot of time with Annabeth. He shook his head. Hopefully Hazel and Frank aren't working today.

Finally, the light changed, and Percy rushed across to the other side of the street. With each step he felt a bit more sick, but he pressed on. He wasn't sure what exactly he was in for, but he needed answers. He set his jaw. He deserved answers.

The door chimed as he pushed it open in his rush, and a handful of people shot him a startled look. While the cafe wasn't particularly crowded, he didn't see Rachel immediately. However, standing just behind the register was Hazel, whose eyes flashed with recognition when she saw him.

He approached the counter. "Uh, hey, Hazel. I'm here to meet up with someone. Rachel. Redhead, green eyes," he blurted out before she could say anything. She looked confused, but led him to where Rachel was sitting.

Her face was buried in a sketchbook when they walked up, various colored pencils strewn across the table. Percy coughed.

"Percy!" Rachel said, smiling as she looked up. "I wasn't sure whether or not you would actually show up. I'm glad you did."

She gestured for him to sit down. As he did, he watched Hazel's eyes flashing quickly back and forth between them, unsure of what to make of the situation. Finally, she settled on Percy, her expression hard to read.

"Is there anything I can get for you, Percival?" Her tone was polite, but Percy flinched. She was judging him and he knew it. She must have assumed there's something between me and Annabeth, that I'm going behind her back here… oh, Hazel, if only you knew it's not that simple.

"Um, a hot chocolate would be nice," he said meekly, not meeting her eyes.

Rachel smiled at Hazel, money already in hand. "Keep the change." She raised her hand when Percy tried to object. "I'm the one who asked you to meet up, so it's my treat. Really, it's no big deal."

Percy might've argued more, but he knew Rachel wouldn't take no for an answer and the longer they argued the more Hazel would misunderstand, so he just looked down and mumbled a quick thanks. Hazel left quietly, leaving a brief, awkward silence in her wake.

"So," Percy began, "what did you want to talk about?"

Rachel studied him, her eyes hard to read. At one time Percy had thought he was pretty good at reading her, but clearly he'd been dead wrong. Sometimes he wondered how much he'd ever really understood about Rachel.

She spoke, breaking his reverie. "How is Sally doing?"

Percy frowned slightly. He hadn't come here to make small talk, but he figured it would be better to ease into it. "She's doing good."

"Is she still in a lot of pain?"

Percy shrugged. "We get by."

Rachel's expression softened. "I always loved your mom. You're very lucky. She was the family I wished I'd had."

Percy stiffened, but if she noticed she didn't react. You could have had. "I know."

Rachel pursed her lips. As she began to speak again, Hazel came back with Percy's drink. Rachel made a space for it as Percy took it in his hands, still not making eye contact. He couldn't help but notice the name scribbled on the side of the cup.

Zeus. He grimaced. I need to clear this up with Hazel before I leave. She's completely misunderstood things. Not that I blame her, I guess.

"Sorry," he mumbled involuntarily. Rachel gave him a quizzical look, but he ignored her and looked into Hazel's eyes, guarded and steely.

He wanted to tell her it wasn't what she thought, but the words just wouldn't come. His face seemed to do the trick however, since she dropped some of the anger, but she was still apprehensive as she walked away. Percy sighed in relief. Better than nothing, I guess.

Rachel watched Hazel walk away. "What was that about?" She asked.

Percy ran his hand through his hair, leaning back to look at the ceiling. "Just a misunderstanding." Before she could ask, he continued. "Why are we here, Rachel? I'm sure you didn't want to just catch up." And that's definitely not what I'm here for.

Rachel twirled a pencil fluidly back and forth between her fingers, her expression almost pained. "I… I wanted to apologize, Percy. I think you deserve that."

Percy laughed without humor. "It didn't work out, Rachel. Priorities shifted. It happens."

She winced. "Yes, well… it's a little more complicated than that, which is what I wanted to explain."

Percy leaned forward, eyes locked on Rachel's. She seemed hesitant, but this was what he was here for. She owed him an explanation, and she knew it.

Rachel's phone buzzed. She broke eye contact to check it, and almost seemed relieved. "I'm sorry, I need to take this, but I'll be right back." With that, she got up and walked to the women's bathroom, phone in hand.

Percy sat back, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. There were so many things he wanted to say to Rachel; part of him wanted to yell, a bit of him wanted to cry, but some small, sad piece of him wanted her to take him back.

He missed the good old days, but he knew that wasn't an option for either of them now. Nothing had changed; he was still a loser with no education, working a dead end job, whereas she was a successful artist from a wealthy family. She had no more reason to want him now than she did before. The difference was he now had plenty of reasons to want to stay away from her.

But still, he missed her. Even before they dated, they were close. She was one of his best friends for years. To lose that entire relationship so suddenly and completely left a pretty big hole in his life for a while.

He remembered the first time he'd met Rachel's dad. When they went to Rachel's house, it was normally empty, save some cleaning people or the cook. That day was different, however.

"Rachel," said a man with judgemental, dark green eyes and red hair similar to Rachel's, "who is this?"

Based on his tone and expression, he could have just as easily been talking about a pile of trash as a human being, and Percy wondered how this man could think so little of someone he didn't know.

Percy's friend snapped to attention, standing up and tilting her head back to look at the man he figured to be her father in the eye. "Father," she replied coolly, "this is Percy. He is my… friend. I didn't realize you'd come home yet from your business trip."

Ah… right. Percy remembered the few times Rachel had spoken of her dad. None of the things she'd said were… pleasant, to say the least. Percy clenched his fist when Mr. Dare looked down at him with disdain - almost the same way he'd looked at his daughter.

He folded his arms behind his back as he addressed her directly. "Is there anything I should be aware of?" he asked.

"No, father. All of my grades are good, and there's been no more trouble in Mrs. Dodds's class."

The man nodded. "Good. I'm glad you've learned from our previous discussions about the importance of good behavior." He glanced briefly at Percy, then resumed ignoring him.

"As such, you get your end of the deal, as long as you continue as you should. Do as you wish." And with that, he turned away, dismissing them both.

Before he could stop himself, Percy blurted out, "Dude, don't you care about your daughter at all?! The first thing you say to her when you get home is, 'Who's this?' No, 'How was your day,' or 'I missed you'? Honestly, you can't even pretend to be interested?!"

"Percy." Rachel murmured, sticking her hand out to stop him from continuing. He was close to yelling, however, when he saw that she was barely holding back too, he managed to catch himself.

He raised one eyebrow, frowning at Percy in a way that made him feel the disdain this man held for him. Then he turned his belittling gaze on Rachel.

"Rachel, why is he here?" The man asked pointedly.

"Because I invited him." Rachel snapped shortly, eyes burning with defiance and anger. "C'mon, Percy, let's go upstairs and do something." Without another word, she whirled around and stormed off to her room, leaving Percy alone with her father.

Mr. Dare observed Percy for a heartbeat before stepping in and telling him, "I think it would be most advisable for you to stop spending time with my daughter. She doesn't need lowlifes like you holding her back."

Before Percy could lay into him again, Mr. Dare folded his arms behind back. He gave a slight bow of his head, but a way that was more demeaning than anything else. Speaking quietly, he said, "I am a generous man, however. For your cooperation, I could see to it you were… fairly compensated."

Percy barked out a laugh. "So, since when did it matter to you who Rachel hung out with? Before, you didn't seem to care about getting involved with her in general - what's up with the sudden change? Don't start pretending to care now, Mr. Dare," his voice dropped, "when you should have started caring years ago."

On that note, Percy stalked off to follow Rachel. He barely made out Mr. Dare's vague threats about regretting it, but Percy didn't care. Rachel was important to him and she liked having him around, so he was staying, whether Mr. Dare liked him or not.

Percy slumped in his chair, throwing his head back and groaning loudly. Things had been so much simpler then. He and Rachel had always had each other's backs, and even with all the hurt she'd left behind, he did miss her.

Things were different now, though, and he couldn't keep living in the past. He wasn't wanted now, and he couldn't help but wonder if part of her decision was because her dad finally did get to her.

Had she really sunk to that low? Was she like him after all?

Percy shook his head, even if he was only thinking to himself. Rachel just wasn't that way, and he doubted her dad had broken through in that way. But why meet now?

He desperately wanted to know, wanted some form of real closure, because though she'd made herself very clear before, he couldn't find it in him to let go back then.

Now, however… now was different. He had distance; years of it. He had a new perspective. And, as he thought of the grey eyes he'd come to know, he had someone new to occupy his heart.

Even if it was a one-sided attraction and Percy was no more worth Annabeth's time than Rachel's, it meant he could keep Rachel out of his head. That, and Annabeth actually cared about him, which definitely put him above Rachel in his mind.

Only now did it occur to him that despite all this, he'd made Rachel the priority today, not Annabeth.

He planted his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands. Ugh, what an idiot! You keep saying you've moved on, but what do your actions say about you, huh? You had a great chance to spend time with Annabeth, and you chose to see your ex instead?! And now you've missed your chance, it's too late!

He took a deep breath, gripping his hair tightly in his fists. He collected himself as he continued his breathing exercises.

Well, maybe, maybe not. I could text her, see if she's available for later today, and then rush through this mess with Rachel… but I don't think this is a conversation that can be rushed, and the longer we take, the later it'll get. But I'm already here, and we do need to have this conversation…

Percy's mind pinballed back and forth between whether or not to go to Annabeth's house after he talked with Rachel, right up until Hazel propped her face up with her hands. "Percy," she said curiously, "who's she?"

"Rachel. I already told you that." Percy grumbled.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. Who is she?"

Percy looked away from her gaze. "A… an old friend, I guess you could say."

Hazel stared quietly at him for a few seconds. "And where's Annabeth?"

"...I don't know." He mumbled. "Probably at home." Alone, his mind added, because I decided I would meet Rachel instead. Percy mentally momentarily wondered what Annabeth was doing, if her shoulders still hurt, if- he shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

"You should talk to her, you know." Hazel told him, her eyes looking seriously into his.

"But what is there to even talk about?"

Hazel gave him a look. He stared back blankly. She looked upward and sighed, as if to say, what am I going to do with this boy?

"Just go talk to the girl, Percy. Whatever this is, between you and your, 'old friend,' can wait," she said, using air quotes and a look that told Percy she knew there was more to it than that.

When he hesitated, she gave him a shove.

"I'm serious. You and Annabeth need to talk, figure things out, and the sooner the better."

Percy blinked. "You know it's not like- er, what do we need to figure out?"

Hazel threw her hands up in frustration. "Ugh, you're both hopeless," she muttered to herself. "Just go, Percy, and don't come back until you've seen her!"

"Yeah," he sighed, "maybe I should."

She gave him a satisfied nod, stood up, and smiled at him as if nothing had happened, and walked away, presumably to serve another table.

Percy slumped back in his seat, thinking about what Hazel had said. Does she think something's going on between Annabeth and I? But why? I think she's noticed I like her but… I'm pretty sure it's just one-sided.

Groaning, he put his head in his hands again. I'm going to go see her, he decided. I'm not sure what Hazel wants me to say to her, but I should talk to her. I'll tell Rachel first, though, and maybe we can talk another time.

Rachel came back to the table at that exact moment and Percy took a deep breath. "Rachel," he said, "I'm sorry, but something just came up and I need to leave." Trying to look as apologetic as possible, Percy pushed his chair back and stood up.

"Hmm." Rachel stared at him for a moment, her face unreadable. Then the tension dropped from her shoulders and she smiled. "That's fine! Just let me know whenever you're available, yeah?"

"Right, right," Percy mumbled before rushing out of the door. "See you around!"

Rachel tilted her chair back slightly, exhaling. She put two fingers to her wrist and counted to ten. Taking a deep breath again, she called out, "Check, please!"

Percy clambered onto the bus, finding an empty seat far away from everybody else and sitting down.

On the way there, Percy's mind raced with all the ways this could go wrong - and all the ways it could go right. I'll apologize for coming without warning first, he decided. And… maybe see if she's still up for that massage.

When the bus stopped, Percy climbed out and walked the rest of the way, giving himself a little more time to turn back. He didn't.

This is probably a bad idea, he allowed himself to think for a moment before he rang the doorbell. In the window, he caught a flash of blonde hair before the door swung open.

"Percy?!" Annabeth yelped, dropping a carton of cookie dough ice cream. "What are you doing here?"

She had her hair down, no makeup on and was wearing an oversized grey hoodie with matching sweats. Percy gulped, his mouth suddenly dry. She was still very cute, just in a completely different way from the prim and proper business Annabeth he was used to seeing. She also looked somewhere between shocked and mortified.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat, looking away. "Sorry, I guess I should've called in advance."

"Yeah, you should've!" she snapped, though she sounded more embarrassed than angry. He raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm sorry, it's just the other thing I had to do sort of… didn't work out the way I thought it would at the last minute, so I just thought I'd come over to see if you were still interested in, uh, what we talked about before, but I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I can go, I'm sorry," he took a small step back, face flushed with guilt.

"No, don't!" she said, reaching out to him before she could catch herself. She covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide, as if she was just as surprised at her outburst as he was.

"I mean," she said, mouth still covered. After a deep breath, she reached down and picked up the ice cream she'd dropped before. "You came all this way. You shouldn't leave just yet. Besides, I can't finish all this alone," she said, waving the carton back and forth.

"So… come on in, I guess." She invitingly swung the door wide, waiting for him to come inside. Moments later, Percy had crossed the threshold into Annabeth's home and, he hoped, a fresh start in his life.

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Heya, everybody! What a crazy week, huh? Hopefully y'all are safe and sound, wherever you are! Just keep your chin up! We're all in it together, we can pull through anything, my friends!

Hopefully our humble little fanfiction is enough to pull you out of whatever stress you're facing at this time 3

Speaking of, thoughts on this chapter? Hopefully you were able to see the last one and ffnet stops derping around soon lol.

Were you expecting Percy to go for Rachel, Annabeth, or both? What do you think about Percy's progression, with how he views himself and his past? What do you think Rachel wanted to explain, and what do you think happened between them all those years ago?

We look forward to seeing what you have to say! We read and look forward to every review, and we value your thoughts and opinions, so please let us know what you think! Love ya!