Hey! Um…so, here's Chapter Two! I think I'm going to at least try to update it every three/four days, I'm not really sure yet. I have a schedule that fits perfectly with everything, but I'm not sure how to explain it…so that's that. I'll probably update more than usual and write more than I anticipated though, which is alright with me…I hope it's alright with the people reading this! :D Um…anyway, thank you again to ThatGirlWithaCat, who put up with me talking about my alliteration, and whether or not Annabeth could dye her hair, and all this other weird stuff we really don't need to know.

How long do you guys think I should make chapters? Right now it's at 2,000 words, should I make them longer? (If people could answer this, I would really appreciate that.)

Soulmate: The term for two people drawn by 'Destiny' to fall in love and be together.
Soulmating: The science of soulmates, and the 'act' of soulmates.
Soulbond: The bond of two soulmates, encompassing the mental and physical parts.
Soullink: The physical link and/or bond of the two soulmates.
Soulshard: The spiritual or mental link and/or bond of the two soulmates.
Soulbreak: The term for the bond of two soulmates being severed or broken.

LivingInBibliomania: Here's a deal. Ellie can have the first review, and you can have the first answer! Does that work? LOL it kinda has to…because it doesn't really change. Reviews can't be removed…but, to be fair, Ellie was very dedicated. She reviewed like…five minutes after I published it, which, you know. Dedicated. Like I already you very much! Yays! No gut feelings! (Although the fact that there were gut feelings is kinda sad but it doesn't matter too much)
Mango is a great name for a cat! It just sorta came to me…maybe it was reading too much A Mango Shaped Space. Which isn't a bad thing, y'know.
I'll ask her! However, she's a little busy with the whole 'life' thing, ya know…she'll get back to ya!
Yup…like father, like son. Jørdyn may be the best alternate spelling of Jordan that I have ever seen or came up with.
Thanks! Bye!

WindGoddess: Yes, yes, I did write something new. It should get better…and it will stop being so slow.

Reader12859: Thank you! Your reviews always make me über happy. It's like an addiction… O_O (Yeah, Soul Shards is much shorter than Hands and Words are Not for Hurting)

Daughter of Sally Jackson: I have! It's right here!

PJAC0606: Thank you! That's great to hear. Thanks for the feedback…hopefully this chapter will be less slow, I didn't really have much to put into the first one but now I have stuff to put into this one…and thank you again. I shall need the luck.

*sigh* And onto this one; ThatGirlWithaCat: Yay! You were the first review! That is always good. And it was like five minutes after I published…DeDiCaTiOn XD (Okay. I know we were chatting so you kinda knew. But still.) Okay…this one is long…very long indeed.
1. I shall go to New Pine Creek someday. It's a promise. It's like my new favorite town on the West Coast…so small, and so unique…no offense to all the other West Coast towns, you're all unique, this one's just…kinda weird. I like it! And yes. We shall both go, together. After high school. We virtually shook on it, so now it's a deal and you can't go back on it. I have screenshots! Mwahaha!
2. Well, there was a 'Pine Creek' that another town had already claimed (I already explained this but I guess everyone else could do with a New Pine Creek history lesson) so they just named it 'New Pine Creek' because CoPyCaTs are bad. Fun fact: those who dwell in New Pine Creek call themselves 'New Pine Creekans'. Cool name, right?
3. Annabeth, and everyone else stuck in her situation, need something better than her bad job at Pallas Olympiad, the only building I have made up so far that is not alliterated! But that doesn't mean it's any good, in fact it makes the whole thing even worse. Umm…I won't reply to that next part to avoid spoiling for anyone who doesn't want to spoil the story before the story has been finished.
4. Perhaps…I think it might be a bit of a stretch though…we'll see what I do here.
5. You're wrong. The song is I Know You're Out There Somewhere, not 'I Know You're Out There'. Really, really. You disappoint me as a lover of the Moody Blues. Even you agree that Nights in White Satin is great. (I think it's one of the best things to grace the Earth along with a whole bunch of other stuff, but still.) Nights in White Satin is like a big moment in progressive rock, that beautiful flute solo…*sigh*
6. …okay, let's not go that far. Because for one thing, I had had the idea for like months, and I planned most of the plot and stuff. Much help you did, though. Thanks lots and lots, I shall never be able to say enough. And yes, I is the one who is writing. But you is betaing and answering lots and lots of questions…*sigh*
7. You definitely did…you were like, 'and you've got Soul Shards in December, right?' and I was like, 'I do?', even though I don't have Soul Shards in December 'cause I have it now but neither of us really knew that at the time…*sigh
8. Olympus does have an 'SS', Silently Screaming, and I have an 'SS', Soul Shards. Interessant.
9. There are two L's in 'Soullink' because Soul & link smushed together is 'Soullink', not 'Soulink'. Plus, it looks weird with one L, El!
10. *nostalgia* #LilithIsAGrump
That's great! Because it's here now, and you are the self-appointed (but approved) beta reader! Anyway, this A/N is super long and it's AlL yOuR fAuLt! But I don't blame you!

1- Goshies. This is more than two Microsoft word pages. I bLaMe ThE fOnT. Don't worry, I'll make sure the chapter is longer! :D

2- Goshies. Did I already say that? Yes, yes, I did. But this font is weird (Speak Pro) after being in Avenir for so long…

3- Goshies. I already said that twice but still…Justin Hayward sounds weird on the younger version of 'Question', but that may be because of how much I listen to the version from his tour last year…

Annabeth's POV:

The day Annabeth changed the novel font to Speak Pro was a big one. For one thing, Mr. Harrell, who lived upstairs, had not stopped making noise all week. It started with a thump seven days ago, and then a few hours later he opened and closed the door and all the noise started. It hadn't stopped but was subsiding slowly. She had half a mind to go up there and tell him to keep it down for once- the full extent of Annabeth's relationship with Darrell Harrell was opening her door to the frail skinny old man with Albert Einstein hair, and being told to 'keep it down', because she was 'disturbing his oboe practice'. Annabeth had never believed that he played the oboe and thought that he was just a wannabe Mr. Heckles- that character from Friends. He probably was.

She wasn't sure what Mr. Harrell was doing up there, however it was proving to be rather bothersome as Annabeth had writing to do- she had no real schedule, as writing wasn't really her main job…she worked at a bookstore and Pallas, after all, but it was what she really wanted to do, so she tried to spend time on that…after too many failed attempts to get an old manuscript published, she'd scrapped the idea entirely, however, nothing new had really arisen and she was looking for inspiration still. She wrote often about Mango, sometimes about the sun and moonlight shining through the window in her kitchenette, or the messy 'Annabel' on the side of her cup in a blue marker because Pollux couldn't find the black one.

But none of it had worked so far, something that had frustrated Annabeth to no end. She'd heard someone say once that you had to be compelled to write, that the letters and the words had to push you to be freed and onto a page, and not because it was hard but because you were being pushed to write faster, so that the words could be heard.

And for Annabeth, it wasn't working. It didn't work as she listened to 'Question' by the Moody Blues, marveling at the passion. It didn't work when she tried to capture the feeling, the emotion, of Mango biting her hand for a few moments, and letting go and licking her hand with her scratchy, sand-papery little pink tongue.

It just didn't work.

So Annabeth took a walk. She didn't have work at Pallas today- it was a Sunday, and she worked every day but Sundays, and she didn't work at the Bookstall until 2:00. And it was 11:30.

Besides, she needed the exercise, probably. Annabeth didn't fancy herself an Olympian, obviously not, but she wasn't lazy- somewhere in the middle.

But there was always room for improvement, right?

The heavy rain a few days ago had subsided, and Annabeth missed it a little- it was calming. Rain gave Rachel headaches, she remembered…but screw Rachel. Rachel was with Reyna in their warm apartment now, and no, she was not bitter! She was just a little bit salty.

Salty was better than bitter, right?

She didn't stop by the Skyview Snack Bar, not in the right mood for an 'Annamarie' on her cup like Pollux had given her yesterday. The sun was warm against her skin, but annoying. She was restless today. She surreptitiously piled her hair into a messy bun- when Annabeth was really little, six or seven, Thalia Grace used to say she put the 'messy' into 'messy bun', and it hadn't changed, only getting messier- before tucking it all under a hat. She needed to get it dyed again soon- well, only a strip.

Her soullink.

When she was little, Annabeth liked the colorful rings of blue, teal, and indigo that spiraled through her curls in one long lock, but she quickly grew out of the dreamy notion of soulmates.

She usually just dyed the one strip blond like the rest of her hair, to make it less obvious.

"Tall double caramel frappuccino for Priscilla," Pollux called as she passed the Skyview Snack Bar. The girl, Priscilla, took the coffee and walked out- and for a few moments, Annabeth thought she was following her, which it turned out Priscilla was, something that made her oddly gratified.

"Excuse me," She called out- Annabeth turned, not being one to be totally rude to the next person in her line of sight, "can you tell me where I can find…" She glanced down at a slip of paper in her hands, "…The…'Catnip Cottages'?" The apprehension and the judgement were both apparent in Priscilla's voice, and Annabeth blinked at her, unused to nervousness in a voice.

"It's that blue building- looks like it was partially rebuilt several times, has some odd balconies, bay windows, weird features," Annabeth waved in the direction of the building. "You can't really miss it. It's just inside the California borderline." Priscilla looked confused, unsure of the meaning.

"What now?" So she was a newcomer to New Pine Creek. Annabeth had suspected, being in a small town, but she wasn't really sure. But only someone new to her small little town (Annabeth had been a newcomer once) wouldn't really know what she was talking about.

"The California border line," She explained patiently. And, though she already knew, she asked anyway. "New to our little town?" Priscilla nodded after a moment of hesitation.

"Well, I'm not really sure if I'm going to move here. I've been looking for a place, and a friend of mine, her grandfather died sometime ago and his apartment is free now, and he lives here."

"Ah," Annabeth said after a moment. "Well, give my condolences to your friend, and I hope everything works out for you. I'm Annabeth, by the way." She gave no last name.

"Pretty," Priscilla said. "Piper. McLean." The pause before she said her last name didn't go unnoticed by Annabeth, who was vaguely sure she'd heard the last name before but didn't really know. After moving to the little town, knowledge of celebrities or actors or anything, really, had slowly slipped away, not that she cared much. However, she was a bit surprised that she wasn't Priscilla, before she remembered that this was Pollux who had called her Priscilla, and Pollux was notorious for getting the wrong name.

"Annabeth Chase." Annabeth, who decided that this Piper McLean didn't seem like such a bad person compared to the others she could have possibly met by being asked for directions in a tiny town, decided that she really had nothing better to do than talk to the girl who wasn't Priscilla after all, so she did. "So, uh, Piper, what do you do?" The latter smiled brightly.

"Well, I'm a therapist," She explained. "But I'm taking online college courses to earn a degree in musical performance." Musical performance, Annabeth mused. Music was nice, she'd never consider trying to work in the field, however. Piper, she was sure, had a lot of opportunities- she was obviously a big city girl and didn't know much about the small town she was looking to live in and how constricted she would become.

"That's cool," She said noncommittally. She didn't really mean it, but Piper didn't need to know that. After all, this was just their first meeting. If Piper did get whatever apartment she was looking for, they'd probably know each other better if they ever met again, which they would. It was New Pine Creek. "You should probably go check out that apartment," She said after a moment. "And I have to take a walk."

"Oh, yeah- is that a cat in the apartment building?" Raising her eyebrows at how fast Pris- Piper was sidetracked, Annabeth facepalmed silently behind the former as she realized that the cat Piper was talking about was none other than Annabeth's Mango.

(Well, she wasn't Annabeth's, because Annabeth didn't adopt Mango, Mango adopted Annabeth and that was clear to anyone who knew the relationship between cat and 'owner'. After all, a tuxedo like Mango would have been worshiped in Ancient Egypt.)

"Yeah," Annabeth said a bit awkwardly. "That is a cat."

"Are cats allowed in apartment buildings?" Piper asked her. "I mean, I don't think they are in the ones I've been to before in California…" Annabeth wanted to point out that, right now, the two of them were in Oregon. But she didn't, as no one really appreciated her 'brainiac bookworm comments', as Malcolm liked to say sometimes.

"Well, the Catnip Cottages used to be a cat café," Annabeth said, "but they ran out of money and it was repurposed as an apartment building. However, as a tribute to what it used to be, cats of all kinds…well, you know, not big cats like lions or panthers or tigers, of course- but cats of all kinds are still allowed in the building. This is…this is Mango." Piper nodded, her interest fading once more.

"Cute cat. Uh…maybe I'll see you around, Annabeth Chase." She said Annabeth's name like it was a subject of reverence. "But I have an apartment to check out." She skipped- who skipped o go see an apartment?- away, leaving Annabeth standing alone looking kinda awkward. Unfortunately, she only got more awkward until she caved and got a coffee.

"Decaf vanilla latte for Annalyn," Pollux called, seeming bored. Annabeth acknowledged him with a nod before taking the coffee, her usual order, and walking outside. A man watched her- another new one that Annabeth had never seen before- as she walked outside and towards the Bookstall where she was to work…in an hour. She had time to kill, but reading was always a smart and reliable way to kill time and so she was going to go do that.

There wasn't anything better to do in a tiny town full of people she already knew from…well, coffee shops and architecture firms.

"Annie!" Rachel greeted her in a bright voice as she stepped in the door. "You're here so early." She commented. "Why? Don't you have work at Palladium Olympian?" Rachel, for some reason, had a vendetta against the place- Annabeth was pretty sure it was owned by the girl's father, who tore down trees to build big plazas and such- and Rachel had never said it right in her life, Annabeth was sure.

"No, my work at Palladium Olympian," Annabeth said, raising her eyebrows at the name, "is off on Sundays. Rest day, and also, since when am I Annie?" The familiar interactions were lighthearted but almost forced, and Annabeth wondered why she'd even moved in with Rachel once.

"Well, since you aren't working there, can you please take the rest of my shift? Reyna's coming down to help me move the rest of my stuff…" Rachel's voice died away.

"It's your last day," Annabeth pointed out, not really trying to win any arguments with Rachel.

"And it would be all the better if I could get off early!" Annabeth rolled her eyes. "And who knows? I saw this hot guy- he could be your soulmate. Maybe he'll come in."

"Well, if he's my soulmate, then there's all the more reason to stay away," Annabeth declared. "I've told you a million times that I don't believe in soulmates." It was a mantra she had heard so many times it was almost comical- soulmate, soulmate, soulmate. Some people spent their entire lives chasing people that, maybe, didn't even exist. It was downright foolish in her opinion.

"Yeah yeah yeah, your parents thought they were soulmates, blah blah." Rachel said, but it was kinda teasing. "Please?"

"Alright," Annabeth caved, "fine."

"Thank you!"

…Rachel was right. A 'hot guy' did show up. Annabeth doubted it was who her ex-roommate meant, but still.

The guy looked awkward. He, too, had a SSB cup with the hastily scrawled Perry on it, and he looked as if he was unused to walking into bookstores- there was an odd expression on his face, and his black hair was ruffled. Annabeth never caught a glimpse of his eyes. He only acknowledged Annabeth with a brief nod before tripping and falling flat on his face.

"Uh, you haven't seen the Catnip Cottages, have you?" He asked after he had gotten up. Annabeth, stifling her amusement, simply pointed.

"Err, thanks." The man high-tailed it- he'd already made a fool of himself, after all, leaving Annabeth alone in Bücherregal Bookstall once more.

That night, Annabeth had a lot of inspiration.

Hopefully it wasn't as slow…and if it was, it's going to get better soon, I promise. Well, I hope. Um, again, everything mentioned in New Pine Creek is from my imagination. I've never been there and it is a real place, however, as I've never been there, I don't want to ruin the description so I'm using a real place without real…places, if that makes any sense at all.

Thank you so so much, ThatGirlWithaCat, for betaing this monster of a fic for like two days in a row. You are like my saving grace and all. Because if not, who knows where this fic would be? (Probably still 'Just an Idea'.) You're the best, honestly.

Question, by the Moody Blues: A great source of inspiration for this chapter, and ThatGirlWithaCat inspired a lot of it too!