Hey! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please note that italics mean that I'm going into a scene from the past.

Disclaimer: Rick has a net worth (according to google) over thirty-five million dollars. So nope, not him at all.

~headline: jaded or faded?~

…

Annabeth closes her eyes, thinking about Pylos's messaged. It really shouldn't have affected her that much, it was an off-hand comment. Rude, sure, but off-hand. She's sure that Pylos doesn't mean it.

But she can't stop thinking about it. She sets down her phone without responding. It buzzes once again, but Annabeth doesn't pick it up. She's thinking, because really, why does she care about Percy Jackson so much? What does he matter to her? She doesn't have an obsession with him, but her care for him is traced back to when he uploaded his first youtube video. Annabeth, despite her lack of musical talent, has always loved listening to people sing. Music lifts spirits, it makes people happy. It makes Annabeth happy.

She stumbled across Percy Jackson's first video years ago, when they were both fourteen. Her main page was always loaded with various musicians, some well known, and some not. She was scrolling through it, looking for something new and interesting, when she stumbled upon a boy— a quite attractive boy at that— with a guitar in his hand, grinning at the camera for the thumbnail. The video was titled simply, First Video: An Original Song, "The Well's Dry." Annabeth had been intrigued, by the name, by the setting, and most of all, by the boy.

…

Annabeth stares at the screen, enticed. Among all of the video's she's scrolled through, this seems like a special one. It doesn't have many views— fifty-eight in all, but it looks carefully crafted, and the boy is staring earnestly at the screen. He looks talented. With his guitar in hand, and sly smile, he's comfortable. Annabeth clicks onto the video, and it starts with an enthusiastic intro.

"Hey everyone!" The boy waves at the screen. He looks about her age, fourteen or fifteen maybe. "I'm Percy, and this is my first video. I've been writing songs for as long as I can remember, and decided to share one here. For reference, I'm using a Fender—" He tilts the guitar to the side a bit, reading off the label "—CD dash six zero s. I'm saving up for an electric though. This is just a song I wrote the other day, and I decided I would," he nervously laughs, "record it. So here goes."

Her eyes are glued to the screen as he begins to strum the guitar and he sings. And that's when she's sold. His voice is pure, beautiful. It has the texture to it that makes her want to swoon. Annabeth Chase doesn't ever swoon. But the soulful quality to it makes her sigh. The lyrics flow together in a way she hasn't heard before. She doesn't know who he is, or where he's from, hell, she doesn't know anything about him, but she knows that they're connecting right now. It's one sided, sure, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.

She's listening to the song intently, but for the first time, her mind isn't jumping onto the lyrics. She isn't hurried to analyze each word he sings. She's focused on the song itself, the unique vocal quality he maintains. He takes easy breaths between lyrics, and Annabeth knows that it's not heavily edited at all. Within the video, there are no jump cuts, he sings the entire song in one take. His eyes drift down to his guitar, as he individually picks out each chord, each note, in a precise way. Other youtubers make an effort to look straight into the camera while they're playing, but Percy stares right into his guitar, entirely comfortable. She can hear the distant sounds of chatter, and the regular bustling of people in the background, but it doesn't detract from the song. It adds to it, makes him feel more human. Although Annabeth doesn't even know who he is, she can relate to him.

And from that moment on, she's forever linked to Percy Jackson. The video stops, and he looks up from his guitar, and puts a light blue pic to the side. "That was it." He looks anxious. "I don't know if I'm even going to have the guts to post this, but just in case, I'd like to thank you. I think if I do end up posting this, I'll probably make more, so yeah, if you enjoyed, feel free to leave a like, or subscribe to the channel. Music is a big passion of mine, and I doubt I'll ever make it big, but that doesn't matter, as long as I enjoy what I'm doing." He laughs nervously, "But thanks so much for watching, I sincerely appreciate it. Bye guys." He waves to the camera, and the video shuts off. Annabeth hits the subscribe button at lightning speed, to see she's joined a trio of two other people. Which means she's one of his first fans. She leaves a like on the video, and smiles to herself, as she visits his channel, and reads his bio.

"Just a kid from Manhattan that loves making music. I don't really have a philosophy on life, other than to not be a jerk, and be nice to your mom… well, as long as she's good to you. I don't know how often I'll post, but I promise you, it'll happen. Some might see me as a disaster waiting to happen, others might see something in me. Feel free to send me an email if you'd like to chat, it's PercyJacksonPJS at gmail dot com. Friends are always welcome!" The email tag sounds familiar to her, but only in retrospect. At the time though, it doesn't, so she doesn't ponder it.

He lives in New York. Like her. She could bump into the boy with the beautiful voice any day now, and he wouldn't even know her. It really is a small world, after all. She wonders what he'd be like in person. He seemed really genuine from the video, so she assumes he would act similarly in real life.

She copies his email onto a message, deciding to send him a message. She doesn't like leaving comments on youtube videos for some reason, one, because the comment sections are absolutely chaotic, and two, because she'd feel too shy to leave such a personal note in the view of the public. Not that anyone would see it. Just the thought that someone potentially could. Email is much better, safer. She feels that it adds a more personal touch to whatever she writes.

"Hey," she writes, "I just listened to your song on youtube, and holy crap it was amazing. I don't know what else to say except that. I decided reaching out to you before you get big would be a good idea, because someone with a voice like yours will not go unnoticed for a long time. I don't know exactly why I'm writing this, but I guess I related to you. Although you have doubts, I think you have a chance of making it big. More than a chance, I think it's inevitable. Someone is bound to discover you. Anyway, thanks so much for sharing your song, I really enjoyed it."

Her finger hovers over the send bar, because for some reason, she's hesitating. Something's telling her to wait, but she doesn't know what it is. So she clicks away, and navigates back to youtube, adjusting her headphones as she re-watches his video.

The email remains in the drafts folder, never leaving it's place. She doesn't have any clue why she never sends it.

And as Percy's fan base grows, as he starts getting thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions of views, it stays there, in her draft pile. Annabeth doesn't ever leave her mark on his videos, other than a simple like. Because her stupid mind tells her not to. She gets scared, she guesses. Sometimes she types a really long comment, but never ends up sending it. It still feels too personal, still feels like it's not the right time. She doesn't know why she doesn't have the guts to finally tell him how she feels. She continues to admire his voice and watch his videos. She sometimes considers sending him that old email, but always decides not to.

It seems that there's nothing she can do but watch. And then he's picked up by some management agency, and leaves New York, just a year and a half later, going off to LA. His songs become weaker and weaker, Annabeth can see him conforming. Until she doesn't even want to listen to them anymore. But she still does, because she loves him.

He sometimes posts updates on his youtube channel, but lately, that hasn't happened. Annabeth has seen the scandals he's been caught up in. No longer is the innocent boy who smiles simply at the sound of his guitar. No longer is the happy kid who sang songs she related to. Ever present is the one that's scared. The one that's scared of showing who he really is. The one who plays for crowds, charms all, and can never be satisfied by just one woman. It doesn't seem he'll ever be satisfied, and Annabeth's scared of what might happen to him in the future.

He releases his first two albums, and Annabeth listens to them all. His voice is still beautiful, but the soulful quality she's always loved is gone by the second. It feels as if he's faded away. The parts of him she loves have disappeared, like dust, have followed the wind and eventually disappeared.

And that's when she starts her first "Percy Problem" blog post. She started her blog at about the same time Percy moved to LA, and it's going pretty well. She types up the post, talking about the old Percy versus the new one. Talks about how she despises what he's become. Maybe that's strong language. "Highly dislikes" is better. She edits it to the core, and when it's done, tears slip down her face as she posts it. Because as much as Percy has changed, he's an important part of her. She still sometimes watches his old videos, and marvels at them. Thalia and Luke have called it an obsession, but it's more than that. Annabeth has loved the old Percy Jackson for forever, and now that he's gone, she isn't sure what to do.

And as more and more stray tears fall, as she publishes it. It's like she's saying goodbye to her love of Percy, finally. He's turned over a new leaf, and so has she. Annabeth wouldn't say she's a hater, but she does criticize him. She pokes fun at him. Whatever you want to call it.

That's when Pylos comes into the picture. With his snarky comments and automatic arguments. They begin to talk more and more, and he's amazing. It becomes a friendship that Annabeth feels, at least, will last eternally. And she's slowly falling in love with him too. Slowly losing her attachments to Percy Jacksom, to Luke, who she had begun to crush on, and transitioning over to, almost ridiculously, someone she didn't even know the real name of. She isn't distancing herself from her friends, but she isn't opening up to them as much. And after a while, she writes a letter, and signs it with her name, thereby casting away her feelings for Luke Castellan. She's improving, and moving on.

And Pylos is there with her. Pylos is there for her to talk about her problems. When everyone was absent, Pylos was there to console her. And although Annabeth's problems aren't as huge as some, in fact, they're pretty dumb compared to most, he still understands them. And she starts to feel happy again.

But as it does, Trauma strikes, leading her to where she is now, at this time. Time, which has seemingly passed by so slow and quickly at the same time. Time, which is the never-ending oppressor.

…

Time, which she desperately needs now.

She looks at her phone, pondering whether not to respond or go to sleep. She could make him squirm a bit, but that probably wouldn't do either of them any good, so she begins to type up a response, one that is mostly truthful. Percy Jackson, in a way, saved her life. But not anymore, because he's turned into something she's skeptical of. He's not fake, but he's not real either. He's hiding something, and because of that, he's turned into something he's not.

"Percy Jackson saved my life." Annabeth writes, her hands shaking a tiny bit, as she tries to control her breathing. That sudden flashback gave her a flooding of emotions. She feels a tear trickle down her cheek. "I don't like what he's done, I don't like a lot of his new music, but he saved my life. I was one of his first subscribers, subscriber number three, I think, and have been with him since his first video. I've watched him rise, and fall, and amaze me with new music all at the same time. During dark periods in my life, I would listen to his old covers, and try to ignore the celebrity he was becoming. I'm proud of him, no doubt, but if you have to change for fame, I'm not going to like him. The Percy Problem was the manifestation of all of my feelings about him, so please, don't patronize me Pylos. I care about him, because during dark times, his voice was there for me. Maybe he's not my forte anymore, but he's still a part of me. Obviously, I'm not required to give you any explanation, but that's my reasoning."

Pylos replies twenty minutes later, as she's just getting out of the shower. "I didn't know."

"How could you?" Annabeth types back, "I only talked about it on my entire first Percy Problem blog post.." She adds to the end, just in case.

"You didn't tell me the 'saved your life' part, that seems pretty big since it's like, your life, and that matters a lot to me." Annabeth feels herself blush at that last part, but shakes it away, typing out her next message.

Annabeth sends him a shrug emoji. "That isn't the relevant part."

"But it is." Pylos replies, "it makes sense now, why you're so critical. I guess I never really asked about that."

"It's fine. I like to keep it to myself, especially because it's personal. But I guess I trust you. I don't know, even if I have no clue who you are, I still trust you. You're a friend."

Annabeth smiles when she sees his next message come in. "You're a friend too." It still feels incomplete, but it's what they have, and she's glad for that.

…

Frederick drops her and the twins off at school. Like always, Bobby and Matthew don't say a word to her, and flock over to their friends. Once they arrive to the group, the boys' attitudes immediately change. They join in on the conversation, set their phones down, and begin to laugh and talk. Annabeth never expected that they'd be happy with her moving here, but they could at least be cordial. Matthew is the better out of the two, he sometimes acknowledges her. Maybe a slight dip of the head, or a tight smile. Bobby though, completely ignores her at school. She's even heard him poking fun at her, as if they aren't half-siblings.

But Annabeth doesn't really care, because she doesn't like them that much either. She can't even say she loves him— she doesn't even know them. Sure, they're her half-brothers, but she can't help but resent them a bit. Every time she sees them, she's reminded of the fact her father abandoned her. He seems to like his "redo" family and doesn't seem to realize that Annabeth, herself, is left out of that. She's seen him talking to the boys, asking them to be more accepting, but it never works. The second he leaves, they ignore her. It's not something Annabeth doesn't expect. She's the intruder, she's the one that wrecked their perfect little life. Sometimes, Annabeth wonders if they even know what Frederick did.

She wishes she had someone in real life to talk to about this. Sure, Piper's there, but they aren't really close. It feels as if they were forced together, and although Annabeth likes her, she doesn't know the girl really well. Maybe that's something she should work on. Maybe not. Annabeth really doesn't know, because these last few weeks, she's been all over the place. Her mind has been skipping around, trying to place attention on one subject. It's like she's having an overload. Every time she tries to type out a new blog post, she gets through the first paragraph, and changes subjects.

School is going well, and apart from all of the pretentious teenagers there, she's doing well in her classes. Although Piper and her mainly eat alone in Dr. Brunner's office, she's found that not all the students are bad. There's a girl named Hazel in her fourth period History class, who's extremely sweet, always letting Annabeth borrow her pencils and whatnot. Piper seems to like her alright, but they don't sit with her during lunch for obvious reasons. Along with not wanting to, it seems wherever she goes, Piper is flogged by people in some way or another. In school though it seems they've flocked to Drew, which is weird, because Drew doesn't even really know Tristian Mclean. She's a bi-product of Aphrodite's failed loyalty. Annabeth guesses having any relation to a famous person gets you places. That's probably why Annabeth is a nobody. All she has is a dead mom and an evil step-family.

Well, she wouldn't say that they're evil. In relative terms, minus the offhand compliments, Helen's okay. She's not Annabeth's favorite person in the world, far from that, but she doesn't hurt her anything. It's just her little comments. Sometimes it's about what Annabeths wearing. Sometimes it's about her lack of sociability. Sometimes it's just her existence. Frederick isn't any help either. He tries to be kind, and bless him for doing so, but Annabeth can't help but see him in a bad light. He's trying too hard, trying to make her forget his mistakes. And yes, eventually, she thinks, she could possibly be able to forgive him, but the memories of him leaving will always be there.

…

Six year old Annabeth is smiling at the camera, as her mother snaps another picture of her to add on their photo wall. "You're such a big girl Annie," she coos, and looks over Frederick, as he scrolls through his phone. Her mother frowns. "Frederick, look at Annabeth."

Frederick's eyes flicker over, and his mouth turns up into a smile. He gets onto his knees, and picks her up, spinning her around. "Look at you Annie-bear! What a cutie." Annabeth spins around, unbeknownst to what's going on in the background. Athena Chase, while Frederick is not looking, opens his phone, and goes to his messages. The first contact on his screen is from a frozen yogurt place, offering him a buy one get one free deal, but the next, is simply named, "Helen."

Annabeth doesn't know this. She doesn't know what her mother is discovering. She doesn't know how long her mother will keep quiet about it until her father disappears. Little Annabeth doesn't know that in just a month after this date, her birthday, everything she has now, will be lost. No more big, spacious apartments. No more photos of her father plastered against the walls. No more toys scattering the floor. Instead, she'll have lessons. The house will feel dark, gray, and Annabeth won't have a clue why, until she gets over.

When the time comes, the six year old with soft gray eyes, will become a weathered child, with intense dark pupils. She'll realize the world isn't hers— she'll see that nothing is perfect, and that nothing lasts forever. But her mother will be there for her. Her mother will teach her the lessons she needs to learn. How to avoid making the mistakes Athena Chase made. How to make people stay, and how to push people away. Little Annabeth will no longer be the naive, ignorant girl she was. She'll have completed the first step to becoming the knowledgeable human being she is now.

She'll learn that you can't trust anybody. Especially her father.

…

There's no way she can avoid the dark time her mother was pushed into when Frederick left. They'll always be there, especially since she's living with him now. He doesn't seem to understand how he affected her. But she now learns that Fredericks absence made her become the person she is now. She believes in love, sure, but she also knows that you can't trust anyone. Who knows, maybe her father will leave her again. Maybe he'll realize how she's ruined his healthy, perfect home life. Annabeth realizes that now, as opposed to Helen, she's the homewrecker.

Annabeth will never have a perfect life, she knows that. It's improbable, and even more, impossible. You can't take eleven years away from your life. You can't block off the memories of your father leaving. She can't tell him how she feels, because he wouldn't understand. He'd defend himself, defend helen, defend the boys. But what do you do when you have nothing left to defend? What would he do, if only she was left?

That's a question Annabeth's scared to hear the answer to.

…

~you can't take back the past, but you can work to make a better future~

Hello everyone! This was mainly a backstory, but it'll come in handy for the future! A lot of you guys had questions about the Percy/Annabeth meeting, and I'll clear it up right here: there is going to be a slow build up of realization, and then one big moment that changes everything! I'm not going to tell you exactly when, but it'll be around chapters thirteen-sixteen!

Tysm for reading! Lmk what you think, leave a review! Stay safe and healthy! Until the next chapter!

TheLil'Lion