Hello everyone! I know I keep saying I'll update one day and it never happens. I swear I'll try to keep my promises. This a short one, but pretty important. The next update will be on Tuesday. Please take care and spread love.

Aveerup thank you so much for your support. I'm happy you're enjoying my story.

Remember I do not own anything from Rick Riordan's Universe.

Chapter 8

"I just want to take another picture," Helen said adjusting her cellphone for the hundredth time. Annabeth's cheeks were hurting for smiling so much, and her toga was making her sweat despite the still cold weather of February. But nothing could minimize the beautiful feeling of holding her diploma in her hands.

"Mom, you already have a billion of pictures," Bobby said, rolling his eyes and trying to get away from his father's grasp, but Frederick kept both twins on their place while the picture was taken.

"I think that's enough pictures of us, darling. Why don't you ask someone to take one with all of us in it?" He asked her wife, releasing Bobby and Mathew. Helen started searching for someone available to take their picture, as Annabeth took that time to stretch and to admire the auditorium still full of people. Almost nobody had decided to take their pictures outside, obviously not wanting to freeze to death, which made the place hotter from all the warm bodies.

"Thank you!" Helen said to a stranger, before running to them and posing for the picture. This time, Annabeth gave an honest smile as her dad put his arm around her back, Helen stood beside her and the twins in front of her. She felt truly happy for having finished her undergraduate studies and being able to share it with her family.

She had excelled in all her classes and even managed to graduate with honors. Her thesis had been a pain in her back for several semesters, but her experience as an assistant to one of the best architects in the world had made her research about sustainable materials a lot more attractive to the judges. She almost lost her mind, but she finally did it. She was a full professional architect.

"We should get going if we don´t wanna miss our reservation" her dad stated while looking at his aviation watch. Helen nodded as she analyzed the pictures of her phone and the twins were too distracted playing on their Nintendo Switch. His dad sighed at his family's dispersion and smiled at her daughter. "Ready?" Frederick wasn´t an old man. He had her at a young age after all. Even so, Annabeth had started to notice a few wrinkles around his eyes and several grey strands on his blond hair. Sometimes it scared her seeing him age.

"Sure, just let me return the toga and graduation cap," She said taking off the garments and reveling her A-line long-sleeved dark blue dress. The young woman snaked through the crowd, earning some waving from her ex-classmates and making small talk with a few of her professors on the way to the Toga table.

When she returned to her family, her dad gave her a slightly worried look and handed her, her phone. "It's been ringing nonstop," he said, as she grabbed it from his hands. Aurora had promised not to give her work that day, so she had no clue who would be calling. Her good mood almost fell as she glanced at the caller ID. Her dad was watching her, carefully.

"Are you two dating again?" he asked, judgingly as the ringing stopped and, seconds later, started once more. He had never liked Luke, and she swore he made a huge celebration party when they broke up.

"No…we…uh, it's complicated. Just give me a moment" Annabeth said, walking away and ignoring Helen's comment about being late to the restaurant. She had been ignoring him for far too long and, maybe it was her abnormally good mood talking for her, but she decided it was time she cut him some slack. He used to be her best friend, after all.

"Hi Luke" she greeted him softly, feeling him take a sharp breath on his end. Annabeth waited in silence for him to say something. It took a while, but finally, she heard him speak.

"Hi…How are you?" he said, slowly. As if he was careful of not scare her away.

"Good" She tried to sound calm and unaffected, but she was struggling with it.

"Thalia told me you were graduating today…Congrats"

"Yeah, one more diploma in this world. I'm just glad I don't contribute to the unemployed statistics of this country" she half-joked. Luke chuckled slightly before clearing his throat.

"Aurora will surely give you a real job now"

She frowned, her good mood suddenly wanting to disappear.

"My job is real"

"Oh yeah. I didn't mean to say that it wasn't. Is just that…"

"What do you want Luke?" she asked, her patience finally running out. It was not normal for her to get irritaded that easily but, after that night, Luke had become someone strange to her. He was no longer the guy who protected her years ago. He stopped trying to mend his mistake and Annabeth gave him a few seconds to think. She saw her father making her signs to hurry up.

"I was wondering if we could meet. To talk about what happened last October. I really want to apologize and settle things between us" he pleaded with determination. Her heart started beating faster at the thought of confronting Luke face to face. Her ex took her silence as a sign to continue speaking. "I really miss you Annabeth. You have no idea how many sleepless nights I've had…"

"Annabeth, dad says you need to hurry up" Mathew appeared beside her, with an expression of absolute boredom. She was glad that he had interrupted the future awkward conversation.

"Is that Mathew?" Luke asked, with tenderness.

"Yeah. Listen, I really need to go. Dad is taking us to a fancy restaurant to celebrate and we can´t miss our reservation. Is it okay if we continue this tomorrow? I promise to call you" she quickly said, following her little brother out of the auditorium.

Luke sighed.

"Okay. Bye Annabeth. Have a good evening with your family"

"Bye Luke and thanks"

When she hung up, she grabbed Mathew's arm, pulled him back, and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Ewww. Why would you do that?" he said, trying to wipe away her sister's essence with his sleeve.

"For saving me" she replied smiling, as they ran to catch up with their family.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreake

Frederick wasn't kidding when he said they were going to an extravagant restaurant. Her dad didn't have an enormous salary but a decent one to feed four heads under his roof. So, she could only imagine the amount of saving he must have done for the occasion.

Trojan was one of the most renowned restaurants in New York. They weren't even ten minutes in when she had already spotted several A-list celebrities dining quietly on their tables. They had an incredible twelve-course plan with an additional wine tasting experience. Bobby and Mathew complained about how small the dishes were and how weird the food tasted. Helen was fascinated by the elegance of the place and talked about how she felt part of the high society in New York. Her dad asked her about work and her plans for the future.

"Is Aurora finally letting you design things for her?" he asked, sipping the last bit of wine from his cup.

"Uh, I haven't talked to her about it," she said, trying to dodge the topic of conversation. His father sighed, and his cheeks were red from the drinking so much wine. He didn't have a good tolerance to it.

"Honey I don't deny you are the best assistant to ever exist in the world… but is filling spreadsheets, arranging chronograms, and going for coffee, really what makes you happy?" He shook his head before she could reply. "I think you're wasting potential working for her"

"She has connections dad. Powerful ones. Besides I've learned so much from just watching her" she defended, watching her brothers playing on her phone while they ignored their mom's scolding about playing games in such a fancy place.

"I know, I know. It's just that I don't want you to end up like…" he stopped himself and looked at his glass, thoughtfully. Like my mother? Annabeth thought. Frederick never talked to her about her mom. He shut down every time she brought it up, and she hadn't pushed either. Honestly, she never cared to know about the woman who didn't want her. Annabeth didn't even know her mom's name.

"It's okay dad" she reassured him, reaching for his hand. "I'll talk to her about giving me an architecture job, as soon as I go back to work" He gave her a small smile. "How's everything at home?"

"Good," he said, excitedly. "I was assigned a special investigation about World War II at the museum. I'll probably get to travel to Europe, and I might take Helen with me. You'll have to help me with those two devils if it comes to it" Annabeth smiled at the twins.

"I have no problem with that. You'll have to convince them to stay with me"

"I'll just use the same excuse I told them to make them come here," he said laughing.

"What was it?"

"They get to skip school!"

When the dinner was over, Annabeth thanked her dad and promised to visit him in San Francisco soon. As he paid, Helen told her about having seen the building Poseidon Jackson was building, which her stepdaughter was currently supervising.

"Well, it is a piece of art Annabeth. Your boss surely has good taste…"

"Who's Percy?" Bobby interrupted his mom. He looked at Annabeth with curious eyes and her phone silently ringing on his hand.

"A friend" she simply said, taking her phone and standing up from the table.

"A boyfriend?" Mathew asked clearly trying to embarrass her. Her dad and Helen shared a look.

"No… I'll be right back"

She walked out of the restaurant and was greeted by the cold night. She cursed for forgetting her coat inside but quickly answered the call. The blond girl would be lying if she said she hadn't been waiting for his call the entire day. For some reason, she especially wanted him to congratulate her and just hear his characteristic voice.

"Hello stranger" she greeted first, trying to speak above the city's noises.

"Hey" he greeted back. Annabeth's smile faded when she noticed something different in his tone and the lack of his usual funny remarks.

"Is something wrong?" she immediately asked, pacing on the sidewalk to warm herself a little bit.

"What? Eh, no. Where are you?"

"My dad invited us to Trojan. We just finished eating" She felt him face-palmed himself and curse under his breath.

"I forgot about your graduation. I'm so sorry I didn't call earlier. Just go back to…"

"Percy" she called him softly. "Please don't lie to me. What's wrong?" A few seconds passed before he finally answered.

"Rachel and I broke up"

Neither of them spoke for at least a minute. Percy surely waiting for her response and Annabeth was at a lack of words. It caught her by surprise. He never complained about fighting with Rachel, and he always talked about her with tenderness and appreciation. Yes, there were times when they had their disagreements, but never strong enough for them to end things. At least, not that she knew of.

"How do you feel?" she finally asked.

"I-I don't know. Sad? Relieved? It's hard to express" he took a shaky breath. "It's hard to describe" he sounded frustrated, so Annabeth gave him some time to think on the phone.

"Where are you?" It was Annabeth's turn to ask.

"My place"

"I'll be there in about an hour. Don't move"

"Annabeth…" she hung up before he could try talking her out of it. She had been so worried about Percy that Annabeth hadn't noticed she was shivering from the coldness until she felt a warm coat being wrapped around. For a moment, she thought her family had come out of the restaurant, bringing her coat along, but that one was just too big to be hers.

She turned around and found a young handsome man, a little bit older than her. He looked like the typical playboy Annabeth had seen in movies, but his face looked familiar to her. His eyes were similar to Percy's, but they were darker and more turbulent. The black-haired man smiled at her and signaled his coat.

"It looks like you need it more than I do"

"Uh, thanks. But mine is inside" she said, taking it off and kindly giving it back to him.

"No problem. Just wanted to help" he said putting it back on. Then he inspected Annabeth's face. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Uh…" Suddenly she remembered who he was. "You're Triton Jackson. Poseidon's son" His eyes shined with pride.

"Yeah. And you're the one who's helping us with our new tower in San Francisco"

"Annabeth," she said extending her hand to greet him. "Annabeth Chase"

"Well, Miss Chase I've been wanting to introduce myself after I saw you at the Civic Center Inauguration. You did an outstanding job in its design" Annabeth noticed a few pedestrians giving them a curious look. Triton Jackson was one of New York's most desired bachelors after all.

"I didn't help designing it. But yes, it was a piece of art"

"Really? Nevertheless, if you are working for Aurora you must be an excellent architect as well" She felt her cheeks glowing red.

"I aspire to be one, but right now I just have a few amateur designs on my computer" she felt extremely intimidated by Triton. He lacked Percy's easiness and kindness. But they shared the same features who could turn into anger easily.

"Well, if they are just as half as beautiful as their owner, I'm sure they are masterpieces too" Wow, a little bit too forward, Annabeth thought. But Triton didn't look ashamed or regretful. She laughed dryly.

"You Jacksons have a way with words" Triton ignored her comment.

"You should show them to me someday"

"What?"

"Your designs. I'm really curious to see them" He said taking a step closer to her. Goddamn. He is handsome.

"We'll see" she simply said, watching as her family exited the building. "I have to go. It was nice meeting you Mr. Jackson"

"Wait, I don't even have your number," he said as she walked away.

"Good night Mr. Jackson" she saw him smile and enter the restaurant, as she turned around and reunited with her family.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreake

"Don't close the door!" Annabeth yelled as she balanced the pizza box on one hand and quickly grabbed the door's handle with the other one. She was plain lucky that someone was exiting the residence as she arrived, so Percy wouldn't have to come down and open the door for her.

"Thanks," she said entering. It was very late on a Friday night, so the hallways were pretty crowded with people going to each other's rooms and music coming from several directions. She climbed up the stairs to the third floor and knocked on Percy's door once she was in front of it.

Percy opened the door and Annabeth noticed a shade on his jaw and over his upper lip. It was the first time she had seen him with something remotely similar to a beard. Usually, Percy shaved everything in his body so he could swim better, or at least that what he had told her. The exception was his arms that, for some reason, he kept them natural. Annabeth didn't mind it. She thought he looked sexy with or without facial hair. Not that she would tell him that.

Once he realized it was her, Percy opened the door fully and tried helping her with the pizza box on her hands.

"It's okay. I got it" she said, making her way into the room, which was somehow messier than she remembered, and placing the warm box on his desk. She took her heels off and placed them neatly beside his closet.

When she turned Percy had closed the door and was sitting on his bed. Giving her a small smile. "What?" she asked, taking off her coat. He shook his head still smiling.

"You look amazing Annabeth. Blue is definitely your color" he finally said. She smiled back and walked to him.

"If it was up to you, blue would be everyone's color"

She stopped in front of him and gently moved a strand of his black hair away from his face. He was usually so relaxed and easy-going that it pained Annabeth to see him like that. Sad and confused. She took a deep breath as he surrounded her waist with his arms and buried his face on her stomach. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Finally, they broke apart and Annabeth sat on the bed next to him.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she finally asked. He played with his hands for a while before searching for her eyes.

"I saw it coming. And I think she did too. We had been dating for four years and, in the beginning, everything was fine. It was weird seeing her as something more than my friend, but I tried having a relationship with her anyway. We had a wonderful year together and I thought I had fallen in love with her…"

"Thought?"

"Yeah. Now I realized I loved her as my best friend, not as my girlfriend. And for a while, that's how we acted. This last year…we started seeing less of each other. We stopped calling, kissing, hugging and…we realized we were together more by habit than for really loving each other. We started being toxic…me growing irritated by everything and she being jealous and frustrated. I showed the worst part of me whenever I was with her. So, we finally met today and decided to take a break" He almost chocked on the last words.

"I always thought your girlfriend could be your best friend" Annabeth added thinking about Luke.

"Yes. But those are different kinds of love. It's common to feel both but you should never confuse them" She felt a familiar pain on her heart. Was that what had happened between Luke and her? Did he never see her as a lover and confused his feelings over her?

"Look at you. All wise and all-knowing" she tried joking, but only earned a pained smile from him.

"Experience is the best teacher"

"So…how do you feel?" She pushed thinking he needed to relieve some pressure.

"It hurts knowing that It'll take time for us to recover the friendship we had…but I feel free. No more lying to her and no more lying to me"

She grabbed his hand and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"But enough about me," he said standing up and going for the pizza box. "Tell me about your graduation day"

Percy practically inhaled the pizza in less than twenty minutes. Annabeth only had one slice since she had already eaten a whole menu just a couple hours before. She told him everything and even noticed Percy raising an eyebrow on the Luke part and how his jaw tightened at Triton's mention.

"He's a prick Annabeth. Don't fall for his games"

"Wow, I sense some Bad Blood going on" she laughed as Percy fetched his laptop and lie down on his bed. He made a sign for her to do the same next to her. "This dress is too uncomfortable to properly lay down lady-like" she excused. Actually, she didn't want her heart to beat uncontrollably for being on the same bed as Percy.

"You can change into one of my shirts and pajama bottoms. I know for a fact they very comfortable to sleep in" he winked at her and her face grew hotter.

"I am not sleeping in here, Percy"

"I know. I just want to watch a movie with you and that you feel comfortable while doing it. Is that alright?" He said with amusement in his sea green eyes.

"Fine" She grabbed the first shirt and the first comfy pants she found and locked herself in the bathroom. She tried going for the zipper on her back, but she wasn't flexible enough. I need Yoga classes. She could have stayed a few minutes more trying to reach or she could just swallow her pride and ask for help. She opened the door and Percy gave her a confused look. She turned around and said "I need help with the zipper"

"Oh, sure" She felt him got up from his bed and walk to her. As soon as his fingers touched the base of her neck, Annabeth knew she hadn't clearly thought the situation. Where his skin meets hers, Annabeth felt currents of electricity go through her body. And, to make things worse, he unzipped her dress carefully and slowly. It made Annabeth wish he was unzipping it for a different purpose…He just broke up with her long-time girlfriend. Get it together Annabeth!

"Thanks" she mumbled rapidly, before locking the door behind her.

"So, what happened with your brother?" she yelled from the bathroom, as she took off her dress, revealing her black bra and Hello Kitty panties. She covered her face with her hands. He saw the back of my bra. He's an adult Annabeth, he'd probably seen a lot of bras before.

"Half-brother"

"Sorry, half-brother"

"We got into a fight when I was seventeen. I had just met Poseidon and told him I was his son. One day, he invited me to his penthouse near Central Park. That's when I met Triton. He kept insulting my mom for being Poseidon's mistress, so I snapped and lunged at him. Amphitrite banned me from visiting them for a couple of years"

Annabeth pulled her hair into a ponytail and got out of his bathroom. He had also changed to his Star Wars Pajamas "He sounds like a douche" she added, finally laying down next to Percy as he scrolled through movies on Netflix.

"What are we watching?" Percy asked.

"Have you seen La La Land?" she asked as the title peeked on the screen.

"Nop. Is it good?"

"Well, it's a love story. I don't know if you're up to it today"

"Nah, it's okay. Let's watch it" He pressed play and put down the computer between them. Annabeth snuggled closer to her pillow and watched peacefully the first thirty minutes of the movie before involuntarily closing her eyes and drifted to sleep.

When she opened them again, the credits were rolling on the screen. She was barely aware of Percy closing his laptop and turning off the lights. She felt him shifting the covers of the bed and then gently placing them on top of her.

"I can't sleep here, Percy" she babbled sleepily, but she hugged the covers closer as Percy climbed next to her. She smiled when she heard him chuckle.

"Sleep well, Wise Girl"

She wanted to reply, but her head was already in another universe.