I do not own anything from Rick Riordan's universe.

Chapter 27

Annabeth tapped her fingers nervously on the table waiting for the next date Piper had arranged for her. Waiters kept passing her table as they threw looks of pity at her. Her date was late. Pretty late. And Annabeth had been pretty tempted to leave on the first ten minutes she spent sitting in the fancy table. But her curiosity to see who it was, got the best of her.

She had been going on blind dates for a couple of weeks, so just to calm Piper down.

"You don't have to fall in love with them," Piper had said one afternoon when they were shrinking wine together. "Just tried to have a bit of fun."

But Annabeth knew she wanted her to date other people because Percy had been doing it too. Not that he had told her of course, but gossip traveled fast.

Well, celebrity gossip did. Apparently, Calypso Atlas was back in town and Annabeth had spotted her in the cover of a magazine while she was buying a hot dog. The picture had been of Calypso with a mystery boy, who Annabeth had immediately identified as Percy. She wondered if that is what he had felt when she was dating Triton.

It had been a hard blow, but it was nature following its course. At least, Percy and she had been talking through phone almost every night, and they were back at being the good friends they had been a while ago.

Annabeth sighed and looked at the time in her watch. Maybe it was time for her to go before things became even lamer. But just as she was readying her stuff, the restaurant's door opened, and Annabeth immediately understood why her date had been late.

A tall brown-haired guy entered the room, with an aura full of energy and mischief. He seemed amused by the elegance of the place, and the waiter seemed embarrassed by something he had said. Then his brown eyes traveled across the room until they stopped on her. A grin appeared on his face.

Annabeth cursed under her breath as he made a beeline through the tables and finally reached her. She was going to kill Piper.

"Annabeth Chase," the guy laughed, childishly. "Of all people…"

"Hi Travis," she said, not bothering to hide her irritation. "I see Piper played us both."

"Yeah, well," he took the seat in front of her. "I suspected something was off when she called me and asked me for a favor. She hates me since I put green dye in Jason's shampoo."

Annabeth laughed. "I remember that. She took him to a hairdresser the day after." She narrowed her eyes. "Can you blame her though?"

He shrugged. "It's not my fault people don't know how to take a joke." He sent her an amused look. "You definitely are the worst at them. Just wait till I tell Connor my date was the high strung of Annabeth Chase."

She wrinkled her nose. "I can be fun…I mean I can try…"

Travis chuckled. "Sure."

"Listen," Annabeth said, with a little sigh. "I'm sorry Piper made you come here and waste your time. We can just call it a night if you want…"

"Now wait a minute," Travis said holding up his palms. Then he pointed at him, "I'm hungry," he pointed at her, "You're hungry. And, we are already sitting in this nice restaurant, so why don't we dine as good friends? Get to know each other a little better, and maybe you can prove you're not as uptight as I think you are…"

Annabeth bit her lip. She didn't have anything else to do, and Piper would kill her if she knew she left her date before even trying it.

"I promise I can make it fun," Travis said, giving her a troublemaker smile, that painfully reminded her of Percy.

"Okay…but if you make spider jokes…" she started warning and he waved his palm dismissively.

"Relax. Those are out of date. So…" he said inching closer. "Tell me about your life."

The dinner was not bad at all. She ended up laughing in tears, as Travis told her funny things that happened in the news set. He was a good producer but had tons of problems with HR because they defined his jokes as heavy ones.

Annabeth told her she was still working as a waitress, but she had managed to get an interview with Daedalus who was coming to New York for a few days.

"Have you place the lawsuit yet?" Travis asked when they were on the subway ride back to her home. He was, even with all his bad manners and heavy jokes, still a gentleman.

"No. Malcolm couldn't get the number of Athena. And somehow, I feel she's the only one who can win that case."

Travis thought about it for a while. When they stopped in front of her building, ready to part their ways he said, "I can get an interview with her in the morning show. I'll invite you into the set and maybe you can manage to talk to her."

"Really?" Annabeth asked hopefully before she narrowed her eyes. "What's the catch?"

He smirked. "I need a date for my cousin's wedding, and your uptight attitude might help convince my mom I can hang out with serious girls from time to time. Just to ease her mind."

Annabeth blinked. "Just that?"

"Just that."

"Okay…we have a deal then."

They stretched their hands as he said, "You know, Annabeth? I did have a good time today. I mean we would never work out as a couple, but maybe we can hang out more like friends. What do you think?"

She smiled. "Sounds great…but can you tell Piper the date went well. I'm tired of blind dating, and I tell her things didn't work out with you, she'll have another man on the line.

"You got it." He winked and then started to leave before saying, "Bye Annabeth. Oh and, by the way? There's something on your hair."

She immediately touched her hair and grabbed a paper figurine surely left by Travis there a while ago. A paper spider. She wrinkled the paper and threw as far as she could as Travis's laughter echoed through her quiet street before he faded completely out of view.

With a heavy sigh, Annabeth climbed the stair up to her new studio apartment feeling the weight of loneliness again. She didn't like living on her own and much less sleeping on an empty bed.

The studio was nice, though. It was on a small four-story building in Brooklyn, and her dad was helping her with the rent so she could afford something a little nicer. She had fought against him of course, but he had talked to the landlord himself, leaving her no choice but to accept it.

She only had an old T.V, her bed, and a small kitchen, without an oven and a rusty microwave. Not even a table where to eat.

Annabeth felt depressed every time she stepped in the little room, and that day wasn't the exception. So, she did the only thing that lifted her spirits.

After putting some comfy clothes and leaving her T.V on HGTV to have a little noise in the background, Annabeth grabbed her phone and dialed Percy's number.

At the sixth ring, when she was sure he was not going to pick up, Percy answered.

"Hey," he greeted in a whisper.

"Hi…Am I calling in a bad moment?"

"Um, no," She heard footsteps, followed by the sound of doors opening and closing.

"I can call tomorrow." She suggested, without excitement.

"No no," When he spoke again, his voice was at a normal volume. "Sorry about that. Phone calls are not allowed in the lab zone. What's up?"

She frowned. "Lab zone? Are you at the office?"

"Yeah, I had to come to the labs to help in analyzing some last-minute results. We have to send the official report tomorrow."

"Right, I remember you telling me something about it. But it's late…"

"It's gonna be a long night, Wise Girl. We had some issues, so I'm staying here until they are fixed. It could take me the whole night."

Annabeth bit her lip. "Have you eaten something at least?"

"Not really."

"Percy…"

"I know, I know. I promise I'll go fetch something after a few more minutes." She felt him smiling. "Annabeth I would like to talk to you right now, but I need to go back…"

"Yeah, yeah. I totally understand."

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

After he hung up, Annabeth was back on her own in the lonely room. She tried playing solitude and she even finished some of her designs, but something was still tugging at the back of her brain.

If Percy were having a rough day, she could at least go and bring him something to eat, right? That was what good friends did…and it was not just an excuse to see him.

Before she could back down, Annabeth change into a pair of jeans, put some tennis on and headed out of the door.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

The security guard didn't let her in, since visits were only allowed on normal work hours. It made sense, but Annabeth had warm food in a paper bag, and she didn't want to waste all the journey, alone at late night, to go to waste.

"Can you just call him, then?" she insisted. "Tell him to come down and meet me?"

The guard looked at her with an expert poker face, before getting his intercom closer and saying, "Tell Mr. Jackson her girlfriend is waiting downstairs."

Annabeth blushed. "Oh no. You got it wrong, I am not his…"

The guard had lost interest in the conversation though and had entered the building once again, surely running away from her. Annabeth decided to wait on a bench in the small front garden as she watched New York's nightlife progress in front of her.

It had been quite a while since she last visited Percy at his job, and seeing the eco-friendly Ocean's building once again, brought back a ton of memories from when they had first shared a decent conversation.

She heard footsteps approaching and turned to see a rather tired Percy walking with a slightly rushed pace towards her. Annabeth was worried she had appeared in the busiest part of his night, but his radiant smile was enough to ease her mind.

"Wise Girl! What brings you here at eleven p.m. on a Thursday?" he asked sitting heavily beside her.

"Sorry for interrupting your work," she apologized, showing him the brown bag. "I wanted to bring you food to the lab, but apparently visits are not allowed after normal work hours."

He chuckled. "Who would have thought?" Percy accepted the bag, and his stomach grumbled. "Thanks. I really needed a break. But you didn't have to come all the way…"

"I did." She said, immediately. "I wanted to. I take care of you; you take care of me."

"Right." He opened the bag and his eyes closed with pleasure as the smell came out. "How's Carla?" He asked recognizing the food from his favorite place.

"Oh, shut up."

"You're not going to eat?" he asked seeing there was just enough food for him (which was the equivalent of just enough food for an elephant)

"Nah, I went to dine earlier."

Percy stopped chewing. "With who?"

"Whom." She said and he rolled his eyes. "And don't talk with your mouth full. It's disgusting."

He swallowed then sighed. "Don't change the subject."

"I'm not." She hadn't told him she had been seeing other guys, just as he hadn't mentioned Calypso at all. "Travis."

Percy blinked. "Stoll? Why?"

"He's helping me in contacting Athena." She lied. "He said he could get an interview with her and then he would invite me into the set to talk to her."

He scrunched up his eyebrows. "That's nice of him."

"Yeah."

"Did he tell you why he was helping you?"

She shrugged. "Maybe he's just being nice."

"You two never talk." He finished his first burger and his frown grew deeper. "How did he know you wanted to reach Athena in the first place?"

"I don't know, Percy. Maybe Piper told him? Why are you so upset, anyway?"

"I'm just making sure he's not taking advantage of you."

"Advantage?"

Percy leaned back and thought of his words very carefully, as he slurped his soda. "Annabeth," he started. "We both know you're not in the best emotional state right now to start a new relationship, and much less with someone as Travis Stoll."

"Oh. My. Gods. I can't believe you just said that." He shrugged and continued with his second burger. "I'm better, Percy. And who knows? Maybe a fresh face would help me in finishing my recovery. Besides, it would be his problem if he decides to date a crazy person, not yours."

He took another bite with a poker face. "So, you do want to date him."

"No," she answered a little bit too quickly, and a ghost of a smirk appeared on his face. "You're right, you know? Piper has been setting up blind dates for me, and none has worked. Not because I'm not emotionally ready."

"Then why?"

"Because they are not you." She admitted as Percy finished his burger with a shocked expression. "You're hard to replace, Seaweed Brain. And I'm not sure I can move on as easily as you did with Calypso."

He started choking on his soda, and Annabeth had to pat his back a few times to help. "Things with Calypso are different…" he started saying.

"It's fine." She said. "You're doing nothing wrong by trying to move on, okay? I understand."

He shook his head. "It's not moving on; it's a distraction."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "A sexual distraction."

"Please, don't make this more complicated." He said rubbing his forehead. "What I meant is that I am just as confused as you."

"Okay…" she bit her lip. "Maybe I could use Travis as that kind of distraction too."

Percy's expression was priceless, and Annabeth burst out laughing. "I need to go," she said standing up, and Percy did the same.

"It's late," he said, looking at the time on his phone. "Let me get my car…"

"Goodnight, Percy." She said starting to walk away, leaving a very confused Percy standing frozen in the spot with an empty paper bag in his hand.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

"Wait," Piper said out of breath, and Annabeth slowed her pace down, finally stopping with her friend. "Whose idea was to run today?"

"Yours," Annabeth said, watching as her friend leaned on her knees. "You said you wanted to be like those annoying New Yorkers who always went jogging in Central Park as if they needed the whole city to watch them."

"Well, I hate my past self." She took deep breaths. "I need a churro to keep going."

Annabeth laughed. "Let's get you one, then."

Twenty minutes later, they were both sitting on a bench eating their churros, watching other committed joggers pass by.

"Travis said he liked hanging out with you," Piper said, out of the blue.

"I liked hanging out with him too." She said. "But I will never forgive you for setting up a date with one of the Stoll brothers."

"It was worth a shot. Besides, you're a very complicated woman, and I am running out of decent men to offer." She took another bite from Annabeth's chocolate filled one. "You should invite him to your birthday."

"Bowling?"

"Yeah."

"Percy will be there."

"Calypso too."

Annabeth sighed. "Why can't I have a drama-free birthday."

"It's your 26th birthday, Annabeth. You better get all the drama you can collect before you get old and your birthdays dull."

Annabeth laughed. "Jeez, thanks."

"Look at it this way. Percy would be incredibly jealous."

"So would I, if Calypso goes."

"Yeah…It would be like a civil war. How exciting!"

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Uh, sure. When is your interview with that crazy guy?"

"In a couple of weeks."

"If he accepts you, can you ask him to assign you to Paris? That way I can ask for a transfer too, and we'll be roomies in the city of lights."

"What about Jason?" Annabeth asked, finishing her treat.

Piper sighed. "I think he wants to end things."

She frowned. "Why?"

"He's been acting so weird, hiding things from me. And I know he's not being honest when I ask him about it."

"Well, you know I'm here for you. And of course, I'll ask for Paris so we can both run away from our disastrous love life."

"Running away from love, by going to the most romantic city on earth…sounds like a plan."

Annabeth smiled, before standing up and stretching her arms. "Shall we continue?"

Piper sighed irritated. "Fine. But If throw up, I'll blame it on you."

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

When she had asked Travis to go to her birthday, Annabeth hadn't really expected that he would agree. Their time in his cousin's wedding had been fun, but nothing extraordinary.

So, when he said he would pick her up at 4 p.m. that Saturday, it came as a surprise to her…and to Percy.

"Want me to pass by your house and pick you up?" Percy had offered one night, while they talked on the phone.

"Nah," she'd said, knowing a ride with Travis was better than a ride with Percy and Calypso. "I'm fine."

What she really hadn't expected, was for Travis to arrive in a Harley Motorcycle with a loose grey shirt and jeans. He looked like one of those bad boys, girls liked so much. But there was one problem.

Annabeth hated motorcycles.

Sadly, she was still trying to prove she could be fun. Therefore, she had no other choice but to strap her helmet on and hold on to an amused Travis all the way to the bowling place. Thank the gods, she had decided to wear comfortable jeans.

"See? It wasn't that bad?" Travis said once they were back on solid ground.

Annabeth stepped off the bike, her heart beating up rapidly, and her hands sweating for holding on to him. "Yeah, fun…" She took off the helmet and gave it back to him. He chuckled.

"What?" Annabeth asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You have a bird's nest on your head."

Annabeth looked at the rearview of the bike and cursed as she tried to detangle the mess of curls. "Better?" she asked, once she was decent enough.

He shrugged, making her sigh.

"Let's get this over with."

They both entered the busy alley and searched around for their friend's table. It wasn't difficult to find, since it had a bunch of birthday decorations and they were the loudest people in the room.

"I feel like a child again," Annabeth said, remembering how her dad celebrated one of her birthday parties in a similar bowling place.

"What's wrong with that?" Travis asked. "Children have the most fun."

She smiled. "I suppose."

Even if she had prepared herself for seeing Calypso and Percy together, it was still a pretty hard punch to her heart. She shouldn't have agreed, but she felt bad for the girl when Piper told her Calypso had never gone bowling since her father had kept her locked in their house for all her childhood away from scrutiny.

How was she supposed to say no to that!

After everyone greeted her with lots of hugs and happy birthdays, Annabeth sat with Travis opposite to Percy and Calypso. She was grateful they weren't holding hands, or even touching each other. But their bodies were still too close for her liking.

Annabeth tried not to think about how they would make a great couple. They were both extremely gorgeous, incredibly talented and their fathers were rich. Their babies would be perfect.

Wow. Why in Hades was she thinking that?

During the whole time she listened to the group talk about several projects, Annabeth wished for Percy to look at her and see her with all the love and adoration there used to be in his eyes whenever they shared a look. But he hadn't taken off his eyes from Travis from the moment they appeared. At least, he looked irritated by the idea of Travis picking her up, and not him.

Piper was sending her complicit smiles from time to time, and Annabeth had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes.

"What do you say if we begin playing?" Reyna suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We should go get shoes," Annabeth said, and then she looked at Travis. "What size?"

"What an indecent question to ask a gentleman," Travis added, mischievously, and Annabeth blushed.

"Idiot," she muttered after punching his arm. He chuckled and finally gave her his size of shoes before Annabeth left with Piper, Frank, and Percy to the shoe locker.

"I think is going well," Piper whispered, as they waited for the young guy to retrieve their shoes.

"Describe well."

"Percy is definitely jealous."

"Well, so am I," she sighed. "This was a toxic idea."

"Too late to back down now." Piper looked at something over her shoulder and muttered quick good luck before skedaddling towards Frank.

Somebody cleared his throat behind her.

"I thought you didn't want to date," Percy said, once she was looking at him, going straight to the point.

"I don't. We're just hanging out as friends."

"Aha…" They waited awkwardly in silence until he spoke again. "What are those helmets he was carrying when you got here?"

"They are his. For his bike."

He frowned. "You hate motorcycles. You even said you'd break up with me when I told you I was interested in buying one."

She shrugged. "I changed my mind."

"Because you're into bad boys now?" he asked, with a dry smile.

"Because I'm trying new stuff. Isn't that what you wanted me to do? Do little sacrifices for the people we care about?"

"So, you are dating him." He accused. "What was all that talk about him not being me?"

"It was true" she hissed. "But you can really expect me to stay alone for the rest of my life because you found someone better than me in Calypso. I'll just have to settle."

"I haven't replaced you, Annabeth. People are not replaceable, and we are not dating. She's just a friend."

"With benefits? Like Rachel? You know? You can't really criticize Trevor, since you're kind of a player too."

He clenched his jaw. "She is just a friend." He said slowly.

"Good. Because Travis is just a friend too."

Annabeth was going to kill the guy fetching their shoes. What was taking so long?

"It was nice of you to let Calypso come with us," Percy said, after taking a deep breath.

"She's never been bowling. Of course, I would let her come. I'm not that kind of psycho."

He smiled. "Still it was nice. Sorry I won't be in your team this time."

"It's fine. Trevor is a better player anyway." She joked.

A little bit of mischief sparkled in his eyes. "Is that so? How sure are you?"

She tried to suppress her smile. "Very sure."

"Wanna bet?"

"What you got?"

"If I win, you buy me one of those pancake grills."

"Fine, but if I win you buy me a Nespresso machine."

"Deal."

They stretched hands.

"You're so gonna lose, Chase."

"Only in your dreams, Jackson."

"Oh dear," she heard Piper muttering. "This is gonna be a warzone."

Percy and Annabeth were very different, but when it came to competing against the other, they went on full battle mode. Their friends would laugh at how hard they were against each other, and that day was not different. Turns out, Annabeth did have the advantage, since Travis had a perfect aim, after some many years of doing pranks, and Calypso had never been bowling before.

Still, she couldn't help but celebrate every time they scored higher than them. It was in her nature.

The only thing she did not like, was how much touching Percy and Calypso were having, as he explained to her how to throw, or which ball was perfect for her.

"How did they meet anyway?" Annabeth asked Piper, quietly enough for nobody else to hear.

"In one big gala years ago. Apparently, they bonded on how jerks their fathers were and became great friends." Piper answered.

"That's a very bad thing to bond over with."

"Very effective though. Daddy issues for the win."

"Why don't you just tell him you wanna try things again?" Hazel asked.

"What would I say? Hey, I broke your heart twice, and I'm medically unstable so I can't assure I'll do it again. Wanna be my boyfriend?" she sighed. "Percy's kind, but not stupid."

Reyna shrugged. "Then prove that you're not gonna do it again."

"How?"

"Ask him," Hazel suggested. "Who better than him to tell you what he wants."

"I hate you all." She joked. "Because you're right…But he seems to be having a good time with Calypso. I really don't want to screw that up."

"Ask him about that too."

Finally, the game was over and Annabeth had won by several points. She high fived Travis before sticking out her tongue to Percy.

"You owe me a Nespresso." She reminded him.

"Consider it your birthday present." He said, with a small smile.

"What do you guys want to do now?" Jason asked.

"Connor is working as the staff of a classic rock concert. We can hang out there for a bit." Travis suggested.

They all agreed. After returning their shoes, they all went outside and talked for a bit on the sidewalk as they waited for some cabs to pass by, because Trevor could only carry one, and Percy had to take Calypso home.

"Good game," Percy said next to her, as Travis was busy talking with Piper about beauty pageants.

"I told you I could beat your ass."

He chuckled. "You always can, Wise Girl."

Annabeth noticed her friends sending her weary looks and she knew she had to something sooner or later before things got worse.

"Percy, Can I talk to you in private?"

He frowned before nodding, and they took a few steps apart from the group.

"What's wrong?"

Where to start.

She bit her lip. "Percy, how serious are you going with Calypso?"

The question hit him by surprise, and it took a few moments for him to answer. "We're just friends," he said, before taking a deep breath and saying, "A few things had happened, but nothing serious. Why?"

Annabeth's heart sped up. Was it too soon to ask him? Was it a bad moment? Well, she was in too deep now.

"I want to win you back, but I need you to tell me how." She admitted. His eyes passed from confusion to shock in a matter of seconds, and Annabeth decided she needed to explain further. "I'm feeling better, and I know that I had made mistakes, but I can also learn from them. However, I need you to tell me if you want me back too. Because if not, I totally understand it, and I'll be able to move on and leave you be for once and for all…"

"Percy?" Someone interrupted them.

Damn you, Calypso.

"Sorry," she said, honestly ashamed of interrupting. "But I really need to go now."

Percy shook his head. "Sorry, Cal, but I need to…"

"Go," Annabeth said, earning a confused look from Percy. "It's better if you think of what I just said, instead of giving me an answer right away."

Percy seemed to be having an internal battle for a few seconds before he finally nodded reluctantly.

"We'll talk later," he said with determination.

"I'm not running away this time. I promise." She comforted him.

She watched them disappear around the corner, as they walked towards Percy's car. Had she just screwed up things with the love of his life? Probably. Was she going to Paris if things went wrong? Yep.

"Ready?" Travis said, giving her the helmet.

"I guess."

She wasn't. She hated motorcycles.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

Annabeth didn't have to run away.

Percy didn't touch the subject of that day on the conversations they after. Or, even, when they met for the occasional lunch or phone call. Whenever Annabeth questioned him about it, he just said he needed some time to think.

Meanwhile, she kept hanging out with Travis. Not that she was particularly interested in him, but he did make her laugh, and was a good distraction from her Percy anxiety. She understood his relationship with Calypso. It was nice to hang out with someone you hadn't had much drama with. Like traveling with light baggage.

In other news, her interview with Daedalus had finally arrived. The thing is…that it wasn't the normal way. Apparently, the guy had come to the city to a Green Architecture event, and he had asked her to approach him and to just make conversation with.

The event was formal, so she had had to ask Piper for her expertise once again. The tight dark blue dress caught off her breath, and the heels weren't helping in following Daedalus wherever he went. But the interview was going well. They had a bunch of things in common, along with some crazy ideas for the future of architecture.

Things were going so well, that she actually believed she was going to get a new job.

Until the phone called happened.

At first, her cellphone started ringing with an unknown ID. She ignored and kept talking with her future boss.

Then it rang a second time.

Then a third one.

And, by the sixth one, Annabeth had excused herself and had gone to a retired part of the convention center.

"Hello?" she said, trying to hide her irritation.

"Annabeth?" a shy voice answered.

She blinked. "Calypso?" No answer. "Are you okay? Why are you calling me?"

"It's Percy" she replied, and Annabeth's world collapsed at her feet. Was he okay? Had he had an accident? "We were supposed to watch a movie today, but he hasn't appeared and he's not answering his phone. It's pretty unlike him, and I'm getting worried."

"Did you notice something unusual?" she asked, as the only sound she could focus on was her heart beating quickly.

"No…I mean he was a little irritated this morning. But that's it."

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "I'm gonna start looking for him. I'll tell you if I find something."
"Thanks," she replied softly, before hanging up.

First, she needed to calm down. After taking a few deep breaths, Annabeth assessed the situation. Percy was irritated, and there were usually only two things in the world that could annoy him to the point of dropping everything and going MIA.

His father, Triton, and Annabeth.

Apart from their conversation on her birthday, Annabeth had done nothing that could upset him. So that left, his father and his stepbrother. Whatever it was, Annabeth was sure he had needed to relieve some steam, and if hitting Triton wasn't an option, she only knew another thing that could calm him down.

Swimming.

Knowing that leaving now would mean the end of her relationship with Daedalus, Annabeth grabbed her purse and muttered a quick good-bye to him saying that she had a family emergency, before exiting to the streets of New York in search of the subway.

It had been a while since she last set a foot on Goode, but she still remembered the place correctly. She followed the directions until she reached the inside pool facilities.

Luckily, the door was open, and Annabeth sighed loudly when she recognized the only figure swimming in a straight line on the pool. Careful not to fall in her heels, Annabeth descended through the bleachers until she sat at the border of the pool giving him space to blow some steam. After a few more laps, he finally popped his head completely out as he caught his breath.

"You're getting slow, Jackson," Annabeth yelled.

Percy turned around quickly, taking off his goggles. He had a tired expression. "Must be the age." She said as he swam towards her.

He popped up his head once again and laid his arms against the border. He smiled softly. "It's the lack of practice, actually. Adult life is way busier than I expected. What are you doing here?"

"Calypso called." She said, and his face turned into an irritated one.

"I forgot," he grumbled, pinching his nose. "How stupid of me."

"Nah. It's classic you."

He raised an eyebrow. "I never stood you up."

"That's because I was the reason you got irritated."

He chuckled. "Not all the times…"

"What happened?" she asked softly.

Percy thought about for a moment, before running a hand through his hair.

"My dad called me to his office today. He fired Triton because of some issues with some numbers in Iceland. He told me he wanted me to take his place, but that first he would have to recognize me publicly as his son."

Annabeth blinked. "Iceland is a great country. Great ecological practices."

He smiled. "I'm not upset by the job. He wants me to recognize me publicly, Annabeth, as if I wasn't really his son before. But when he needs a more competent son to run his business, he now looks at me and decides I'm worthy enough to the world." He clenched his jaw. "That's just a jerk move."

She clicked her tongue. "Yeah, I get it. What do you want to do now?"

"Right now? I just want to distract myself."

Annabeth got an idea. If she got him drunk maybe he would not only tell her his problems but would probably also make him answer the question she made him days ago. "What about a bar?" she suggested.

He looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "A bar? You do know I don't drink."

"You got drunk in Australia with strangers, why not right now with me?"

"That was a bigger problem." He answered, referring to the heartache Annabeth had caused him.

She winced. "Sorry about that…You don't have to get drunk, just drink a few cocktails until you feel tipsy."

"Travis is a bad influence on you…" he said, sourly, but Annabeth ignored his comment.

"Pretty please?" she insisted, with puppy eyes. Percy rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine."

"Yes!"

"But you pay for the drinks. I have a Nespresso machine to buy."

"Deal."

He got out of the pool, and Annabeth had to resist the urge to drool at the sight of his body.

"How did you find me?" he asked, picking up his stuff.

She shrugged. "I just know you."

He smiled. "Of course, you do."

"You should text Calypso." She reminded him before he could disappear behind the locker's rooms. "She was very worried,"

He simply nodded.

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

Percy, that sneaky little bastard, had double-played her.

After arriving at the bar, Annabeth left him in charge of the drinks as she looked for a table. Of course, he had been smart enough to cheat her by ordering virgin cocktails for himself while he ordered full loaded ones for her.

He had played dirty.

Of course, she was too drunk to figure it out at the moment. So drunk, that she began talking about embarrassing stories of her crush on Luke when she was a kid, or telling him architecture jokes he obviously didn't understand.

"Okay, so a gothic cathedral, a renascence church, and a modern temple enter into a bar…" she began another joke, dragging her words. She frowned. "Wait, no. I got it wrong."

Percy chuckled as he ordered another pair of drinks.

"Okay, okay, I remember it." Annabeth looked emptily at a point over the bartender's head before saying, "Nop, that wasn't either. Gods, it was really funny. How could I have forgotten it?"

"I don't doubt it must have been hilarious," Percy said, sarcastically.

"Oh, you just wait. I'm gonna remember it, and you'll have to put up with my laughter for a good time." She took a sip from her new drink and frowned. "How come you're soberer than me?"

He shrugged with mischievousness in his eyes. "I'm more resistant, I guess."

She narrowed her eyes. "Let me have a sip of yours."

"Oh, no. That's enough alcohol for you." Percy pulling his drink further away from her. "I've never seen you that drunk before."

"You're the one who kept ordering." She sipped again. "You were the one who needed to blow up steam, and instead I'm the one having a good time."

Percy smiled again. She hadn't seen him smile that much since Australia. "I'm having a good time. It's cute watching you tell really bad jokes."

"They are really good, just not apt to all public."

"Aha."

She wrinkled her nose. "Travis said the same about them though."

The humor left Percy's expression and was replaced by a deep frown. "You've been drunk with him?"

"No…but he said I wasn't funny. So, I tried telling him those jokes." She giggled. "He laughed at how lame they were, but I think that counts."

"You've been hanging out with him?"

"Yeah, he's fun. And not a bad kisser."

Percy's eyes widened. "You kissed him."

"Just once," she said, eyeing his drink. Why was he sober? "I only did it to see what it was like to kiss someone who wasn't you."

His eyes softened. "And?"

"Oh, it was horrible. I think I bit him too much and our teeth clashed like crazy. It felt unnatural. Either way, I was the bad one at it."

Percy's shoulders shook as he tried hard not to laugh.

"Don't laugh!" she said. "I hadn't kissed anyone in a long time, and, unlike you, I didn't have any desire to have a friend with benefits. Two in your case." She finished the cocktail. "Piper warned me. She said you were a troublemaker. That your heart belonged to many girls, just like you dad's."

Percy's eyes were sad. "She did? Ouch."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I ignored her. And I loved you even knowing what you were. So, it's okay."

"Loved?" His green eyes were fixed on hers.

"Well, I still do, but you haven't answered what I asked on my birthday, so I didn't want you to feel pressured."

He smiled gently. "I don't"

"Good." She looked towards the bar. "I'm gonna order another one." She started getting up, but a strong warm hand pushed her shoulder slightly and she sat back on her chair.

"I think that's enough," Percy said. "You're still on your meds, right?"

"It's just for tonight," she said. "Besides, I don't wanna go back to my depressing apartment yet."

Percy's eyes grew in alarm and she quickly said, "Not that kind of depressing. Just boring." She smiled, warmly. "I do need to go to the bathroom though."

She tried standing up again, and suddenly, everything started spinning around her to the point where she had to grab the table to prevent her from falling.

"You'll be able to get there on your own?" Percy asked with concern.

"I'm excellent." She said, counting mentally to three and then stumbling towards the girls' bathroom.

When she splashed her face with water, the idea came to her.

She stumbled back to the table where Percy was paying the check, and said, "You, cheater. You were drinking virgin cocktails, weren't you?"

He smirked. "Me? Never."

"I thought I was paying."

"You're too drunk to get you wallet out. Besides," he moved his chair back, making Annabeth take a few steps back. She would have tripped with her own feet and fallen to the ground if Percy had not stabilized her. "We need to get you some food."

"Pizza?"

He smiled. "Pizza, it is."

HeythereimalinebreakenjoyyourdayHeythereimalinebreakenjoyyou

"I don't wanna go to my apartment," Annabeth said, as she looked through the window and held the warm pizza box in her hands.

"We are not going to your apartment," Percy said as they walked out of the subway station, his bag hanging on his left shoulder.

"Then why is this street so familiar…"

He chuckled. "Gods, I really overdid it giving you so much alcohol."

"I'm a little bit soberer. It'll be better once I eat."

Percy sighed. "We're going to my place."

"Oh, right."

Percy's building came into view and she sighed of relief as if once again she was finally home.

"Did you text Calypso?" she asked once they were climbing the stairs.

"Yep."

"Good."

They entered his small apartment, and Annabeth hadn't felt happier in weeks. She immediately went towards the bed but first stopped and ask, "Did you and Calypso…" she signaled the bed.

Percy narrowed his eyes and then realized what she was saying. "Um, no. It was always at her place."

"A simple no was enough." She said, hopping on the bed and opening the box.

"Annabeth Chase eating on the bed. That's new." Percy said bringing two cold sodas from the fridge,

"I'm a renovated woman…and I'm too drunk to care."

He laughed. "Fair enough."

After a few slices of pizza, rounds of UNO, and series on Netflix, Annabeth was almost completely sober. While Percy was showing her the few new songs he had added to his playlist, his phone rang. Calypso.

Percy looked at for a few seconds.

"Go ahead," Annabeth said. "She must be scared."

Their eyes met, and finally, he surrounded under her gaze. He stepped into the small fire exit and began chatting.

A new song started playing. It had the fifties or sixty vibes, and she started swaying to his beat, as she inspected the apartment. Everything was just as she had remembered. Now new things, nor missing things. She was glad Calypso hadn't altered anything from it. It was her project too after all, and Percy knew it.

It all happened by mistake. Annabeth was just admiring the decorations and papers Percy had laying on his desk, and she moved the computer's mouse by accident.

And there, in full definition, was a photo of Percy and Annabeth popping their heads out of the water after they had finished diving. It was his screen saver. But that was after Australia…

Before she could inspect any further, someone pulled her hand and she found herself back in Percy's hand as he led her along with the beat of the music.

"It's a beautiful song," she said, with her heart on her mouth. When had he put that screensaver on? Just the day after they went diving. No. It was a new computer.

"I know." He gave her a twirl, and Annabeth could not help but blush. When was the last time they had danced like that? Why wouldn't he answer the question she had made him on his birthday? "It's called Twilight Time."

He spun her around a few times, and she ended up giggling.

"I never asked...," he started saying. "Why the fancy clothes?"

"I was at my interview with Daedalus." She said trying to keep her hopes down.

"It was today?"

"Yep."

"How did it go?"

"Well," she grimaced. "Calypso called me in the middle of it, and I had to leave immediately to find you…"

Percy stopped dancing. "What? Why?"

"Because you're more important than a job interview. Any more stupid questions, Seaweed Brain?"

The music stopped, and so did they. Percy was looking at her with a fearful expression.

"What?" she asked weakly. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, taking a step back, and just like that Annabeth felt incomplete again. As if an important part of her was running away. "You can't do this to me." He whispered.

Annabeth paled.

"Percy…"

"You can't break my heart twice, and then say things like 'I'm trying to win you back' or 'you're more important than a job' or 'no other guy compares to you'"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her chest aching.

"You don't understand. I convinced myself you weren't for me. I've done everything to get you out of my heart, and then you say things like those, and I immediately fall back again."

"It wasn't my intention…"

"I know it wasn't. Gods, Annabeth, I know you've changed. And that's what I want to believe. But I'm afraid we'll end up hurting each other more."

"I understand." She stepped closer and said, "You have no idea how much I regret doing all that to you. I wanted to go back to you, the moment I stepped on that airplane back to New York. I wished I have moved in with you and started a new life far away from this damned city. And when I saw you back again, gods, it was like I could breathe once more."

She was finally doing it. She was getting everything out.

"I wanted to tell you I would go wherever you go, that I would remind you how much you meant to me even if we're not a couple. But I was so afraid you'd hate me for it, that I settled for only being your friend, and sleeping away from you. I settled for giving up your lips, even if I wanted to kiss them every goddamned time, we were together." She took a deep breath. "On my birthday, I just wanted to see if there was a small chance that I could take it all back, but now it's clear that you want to move on, and…and…"

She didn't get to finish, since Percy had suddenly pulled her closer to him and had shut her up with a kiss.

And, gods, it felt wonderful. As if she had been dying of thirst, and his lips were the oasis she had been looking for in a long time. It was as if her body had suddenly remembered what to do with his body, and she was expertly moving her lips against his, and running her hands through his hair.

She was finally kissing Percy Jackson.

The thought brought a smile to her lips, and Percy stopped kissing her also mimicking her expression.

"That was…" he started saying.

"Amazing."

He pushed a strand of her behind her ear. "Have I told you how beautiful you look, whenever you look at me?"

She giggled. "No, but I can imagine."

"I want to kiss you again."

She sighed, closing her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I want you back, Annabeth Chase."

"What if I screw it up?"

"You won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because we're not gonna do things your way…"

He gave her a soft kiss that melted all her insecurities and fears away.

"This time, we are going to do them our way."

A/N: Yay! Finally. I was also suffering with you, guys LMAO.

Only three chapters left, and all drama is gone. I promise. Just a few loose ends to tie.

Thank you all for coming with me on this journey. You are amazing!

Lots of love and health.