Thanks for all the support! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Also ty ty ty for two hundred reviews! Please read the a/n at the end of this!

Disclaimer: I just— no. Don't own.

~headline: first world problems~

…

When Annabeth realizes that she doesn't have her phone, she knows something has gone very, very, wrong. She searches her mind, trying to figure out when she last had it. Was it in line? Through security? Maybe it was pick-pocketed, or lost. She starts freaking out, frantically searching through her room until she realizes that it's not there. It's not outside the meet and greet. She didn't leave it at security. She left it in the actual room.

And that tells her she'll never get it back. She goes onto her computer, trying to see if there's anything about it, until she reaches her news feed, and finds articles upon articles about… a lost phone, Percy Jackson, and a "mysterious girl." She reads through one of them, and in horror, sees that her blog name is mentioned.

Shit. Shit. Shit. If her blog name is mentioned, and there are multiple articles mentioning it, she's really screwed.

Her hand shaking, she types into the search bar of google her blog, and shakingly presses the enter button. When she gets to the general results page, she feels her eyes tear-up, because there are so many results. Forums, media sites, fan-pages, Instagram, and Twitter links all talking about the same thing. Yeah, Annabeth wanted to be recognized, but not like this— this is scary. She has half the mind to think there might be death threats though she doubts it. Maybe this is her fifteen minutes of fame. Being known as the random girl who lost her phone at Percy Jackson's meet and greet. Does he even care? She hasn't had her damn phone, so she hasn't been able to reach out. And— now, it's like, what matters? Because if she does see him again, she'll just be targeted, continuously targeted by the media and press and just people. The people that are posting stuff about her blog aren't a part of the industry— they aren't the paps, they aren't the media. They're just random individuals, like her, who are interested in this random girl Percy Jackson tried to help out. And to be honest, if she wasn't said girl, she'd probably already have a blog post in the works about it. It's fucking crazy how much the tides have turned.

What's even more fucking crazy, is that Pylos and Percy are the same person. On it's own, meeting Percy Jackson is pretty astronomical, and on it's own, meeting Pylos is pretty fucking astronomical too. But the two of them together? Meeting them both, at the same time, as the same person, in the same room, at a meet and greet? That adds a new level to everything. She still isn't sure if she's pleased with it, or just extremely surprised. She's not disappointed— that's for sure, but she's definitely a little bit shook. This is a lot to process, and adding to the wait that her blog is going to be pretty much trashed when she taps the direct link to it, it's definitely a lot to process. She wonders if Pylos— no, Percy— has messaged her about anything. She wonders if he warned her, or tried to let her know what was going on. It would be a sweet gesture, definitely, but it still wouldn't help anything. And to be honest, it's probably wishful thinking.

Adding to the already high level of uncomfortability, is the fact she's still mixing Pylos and Percy up as if they're different people. She keeps thinking the same way she did before, even though now she knows that they're one in the same. It's a little bit overwhelming, more than a little bit overwhelming. Because who woulda thought? The guy she'd been ranting about Percy Jackson to for the last year or so actually, but some twisted coincidence was Percy Jackson. And he never said a thing about it, just took it all. That's certainly admirable. And, although this entire situation is already weird, what makes this even weirder, is that the signs were always there. Annabeth just didn't put them together, she sometimes, just bluntly ignored them. Like the time that Pylos mentioned that in real life, he didn't like Percy Jackson. That the only reason he was defending him was because there was more than one side to the story. Or just Girl in My Corner, the entire song, plainly. Now Annabeth wonders if it could have been about her, because Percy did tell her that her and Calypso weren't really dating. Annabeth has a bunch of other thoughts about that she wouldn't want to share out loud.

For one, there have been so many celebrity "couples" exposed like that before, and it's never been in a good light. Fake-dating never ends up the way you want it too, ever. It always gets out to the world, always creates a scandal, and why would Percy, who probably knows that, want the threat of a scandal on his back?

Unless… it's someone telling him to do it, like he's not in control. Annabeth doesn't know much about his management, but she does know that it's led by a guy named Dionysus Vino, who has always felt a little sketchy. Annabeth remembers there was a scandal about him five years ago or something. She wasn't invested in the media scene back then, but Annabeth remembers coming across an old headline about it like a year ago.

She sighs, because there are more important things to be thinking about now. Like the fact that she's been tearing up for the past ten minutes as she stares at her blog, the link to her blog, which has probably been tarnished. She's scared to click it, scared for it to load, and see what's happened to it all. It's the only real place she can expose her opinions with yes, a tiny bit of judgment, but anonymous judgment too. And now that people have seen it… then, she that place of comfort will no longer feel the same.

Her hand shakes as she finally presses the link, and it loads to open her home page. She switches the page where she posts all her writings, and sees that the comments section… it's rampaged. The entire thing is just… rampaged. Even more comments are coming in now, and she wouldn't be surprised if her blog email, which she has attached on her contact page, is blowing up too. Some are kind enough, others are reacting to her posts, but most are just… horrible. The opposite of kind, it seems that most of them haven't even read her posts. They're shaming her, talking about how she doesn't deserve to be on the news. Some just say her writing is blatantly crappy, and others, she guesses, haven't even bothered to spare a second looking at it, and are just commenting about her, as a person.

Annabeth wants to throw up. This— this is sick. What these people are doing is sick. They don't even know her… they haven't even seen her as a person.

And the sadistic, cynical part of Annabeth wonders if they're right. That she doesn't deserve this, doesn't deserve the notice of Percy. Maybe— this was just all a mistake. Percy told her it wasn't a joke, but maybe it was. Maybe this is a part of it all. Maybe he got offended by her post, and then created some elaborate plan to ruin her life.

Or she could just be catastrophizing. Or her worries aren't that relevant. They probably aren't, to be completely honest. To her, yes, they are, but to these people, they're just saying whatever they think. Most of them are just here because of the hype. And maybe that hype will die down, and they won't remember, but Annabeth will. Annabeth will always. It hurts, so much. Annabeth doesn't feel like it'll stop hurting every time soon.

She can't reach out to Piper, because she doesn't have her phone, she can't email Thalia, because Thalia barely checks it, and Luke is out of the question. Pylos is her last thought, but she doesn't know if she could do that.

She goes to her email, and sets out to deactivate the account. New messages are coming in as fast as can be, and the chat with Pylos she has going on has several new messages she doesn't want to look at. She moves to her setting page, and then goes through with the final deactivation. Then, she goes back to her blog, and turns off comments. She next goes to delete her post, but… she can't. They're a part of her, things she's worked so hard on. She can't take them away. It's not like anyone can reach out to her now. She'll never know who's reading it, and to be frank, she doesn't care.

That's a lie. She does. She cares more than she wants to. At the end of that day, what matters most to her, like many others, is what other people think. She wants praise, she wants criticism, but she doesn't want hate.

Maybe it's time for a cleanse. Of all social media. She doesn't have her phone after all, it's not like she'll be able to do anything. She can look at Instagram, yeah, but there's not much she can do. She goes to the website, turns off notifications, and then logs off her account. Then it's done, fully. Annabeth Chase no longer has an online presence. She's gone.

The closes her computer, and leans her head against it, more tears falling down her face. She starts to wail— literally wail— and she doesn't care that the whole house can here. Why did all of this have to happen today? If it was spread out, this would be fine, but everyone now is just so unfair. What did she do to deserve this? It's been a rollercoaster since she moved here, and everything that's happened over the past couple of months has been enough to fit a life-time. A shorter one, but nonetheless, a lifetime.

She doesn't realize it, but the door to her room quietly opens, and her father peers in, to see what she's up to, why she's crying. When she doesn't stop, he approaches her with the same level of caution he probably would to a bear with rabies, pulls a stool next to her, and sits down. He doesn't say anything, and Annabeth doesn't need him to. She continues to cry, and although she knows he doesn't understand what she's sobbing for, he's there, and that makes it all a little more comfortable. She (of course) feels weird about how parent-like this is, but she doesn't say anything, because she doesn't feel the need to. When he finally speaks, it's in hushed tones, like he's trying to coax her out of her shell. "Annie, what's going on?"

She sniffs and doesn't respond. He puts a comforting hand on her back, and pats it lightly. Annabeth's not bothered by it. She doesn't have the energy to be bothered by it. This is so messed up, and if she doesn't have any friends to talk to, why not go with family. What does she have to lose? "I went to this meet and greet today." She says, "I left you a note about it, and— yeah. I just got some upsetting news."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He says, though it's hesitant.

Annabeth doesn't know. Probably not. She doesn't know how she could explain it all to Frederick without getting him confused, or concerned. All of this is just too… too messed up. "I— I don't really—" she sputters, unable to finish.

Instead of making her stumble around her words even more, Frederick, scoots a little bit closer. "Annabeth," he says, "I'm your father. I know I haven't been the best, far from that. I do regret what I did to you and your mother, but, I'm still your father. And while I have this second chance to make things right, I'd like to know what's going on. Just, what are you feeling? You don't need to explain the situation, I'm just trying to understand why you're crying."

"Hurt." Annabeth tells him. "Everywhere," she wipes a tear from her eye, and then looks over to him. "Frederick?" He flinches, probably at the fact that she's still not calling him dad. "Have you ever felt so confused and hurt and just… betrayed that you can't— you can't describe it? I'm torn, because there's one side of something— someone, that tells me that it's all a mistake, and the other side that really feels like a monster."

Frederick bites his lip. "Yes." He says, and doesn't elaborate. He looks over to the dresser, where a picture of Athena Chase is gleaming in the light. Annabeth turns to it too, and they both stare at it, in silence.

"I don't know what to say." Annabeth tells him. "I don't know what to do. I just feel so powerless, no matter what I do."

"Is there anything that Helen or I could do to help you?" He looks genuinely concerned.

Annabeth shakes her head. "I know you want me to get to know your new family, but everytime I look at them, I'm reminded of what I lost. Everytime I look at you I'm reminded of what I lost and left behind." She puts her head back on her desk, and angles it toward the direction of the picture. "I'm sorry."

Frederick shakes his head. "You don't need to say that." He tells her. "I know I won't ever understand Annabeth, but I hope you know that I'm on your side. I'm struggling, I know this. I'm going to screw up a lot. But if it means I can stay in your life, I'll take it. I haven't been fair to you about this entire situation, I've had too many expectations, high expectations. And I'm sorry about that. I'm the one who needs to say sorry."

It's funny, parents never seem to be able to admit that they're wrong, and Frederick is doing that right now. She knows that there's going to be a long road, a lot of bumps that'll need to be slowed down on, but she hopes that eventually, she'll be able to accept everything. That's going to take longer with Helen, Bobby, and Matthew, but she hopes at some point she'll be able to call them family. For now, Frederick is okay. He doesn't understand everything, he'll never understand everything, but he's considerate enough, which is nice. Annabeth still doesn't know the whole story between him and Helen, and seeing him smile and laugh with the woman who broke her family apart really does hurt, but at this point, she can't change that. Time Travel doesn't exist, not yet at least, so she can't change anything. She can make the best of a bad, really bad situation, and try to heal.

Frederick soon leaves, and says that he'll call her down for dinner. Annabeth decides that she will eat with everyone else this time, although it's become something she's avoided. This may be time to try to create a better relationship with them all, especially since many of the ones she is in right now are lost causes. She can't contact Piper, because she doesn't have her phone, she can't message Pylos, or Percy, because her accounts are deactivated, and of course, everyone back at home wouldn't be able to do much to help her. So know it's time to focus on the real things, the things that are right in front of her.

…

Dinner is torture. Annabeth knows the minute she goes down and sits on one of the white painted wooden chairs. Bobby and Matthew, for once, aren't on any electronics, and Helen is smiling painfully wide right at her. Frederick gives her an encouraging smile, and she walks back and forth in her chair, looking down at the matching white table.

Today, they're having pasta, spaghetti, that Frederick said he made. Her plate is brimming with pasta, and Annabeth suspects it's because they're getting concerned about her eating habits. It's not her fault that she has midnight snacks.

Well, it kind of is.

The takes a fork, and spins the spaghetti around her fork, around and around, without looking up. Once she gets a good size portion, she stuffs it into her mouth, and starts chewing. Then, she looks up to see everyone staring at her.

"Annabeth," Helen says, "did you have a nice day?"

Annabeth keeps on chewing. Her mouth is full. It takes an uncomfortably long amount of time. "It started out well," she says carefully, and then prepares to take another bite. Helen bites her lip and nods, and Bobby and Matthew look down at their plates too, and then take bites at the exact same time. The Shining shit right there.

How was your day Matthew?" Helen says, moving onto one of the twins, obviously a little bit turned off. Annabeth feels kind of bad, she hasn't been fair to her. But like. She can't be fair to her, because everytime they interact, Annabeth's reminded of her mom, who her father left for this woman.

Matthew finishes eating his bite, and then grunts, "fine. We played basketball, ate Tacos."

"Yeah," Bobby adds. "Tacos are good."

Annabeth snorts to hold back a laugh, and everyone looks over to her. She covers it up with a cough, and then takes another bite. They probably think she's hysterical. Soon enough, she's finished the entire plate of pasta, and no longer has anything to distract her with. She's the first to finish, so she clears off her plate, taking an extra long amount of time to get everything done. By the time she gets back, Frederick and Helen are talking about how the front lawn needs to be mowed, and Annabeth sighs, relieved. She is trying but this entire conversation is way too forced, and Annabeth feels that in order to create a positive relationship, things have to be natural.

Thankfully, everyone finishes their food very quickly, and Annabeth smiles at Frederick a little bit, to let her know that she's this was fine. She's working on it, and he's working on it, and that's what's important. It's going to take time, as everything does, and maybe Annabeth should approach this adjustment to new life with a level of acceptance. She hasn't yet told her father that she's lost her phone, and maybe that's because she's still holding out hope that she'll see Percy— or Pylos— again. Still holding at hope that they'll reunite. But there are other things that she needs to focus on now, more important things to direct her energy onto. She doesn't know if she'll ever be able to post stuff on her blog again, but she can sure as hell write some material. If she focuses on the things that make her happy, maybe the pain will go away.

But… the thing is, Pylos made her happy. She loved talking to him, possibly loved him. Their conversations always left her with something, whether it was a new pondering, a smile, or a shifted perspective. She'll be missing that a lot. So much. And now, since she's deactivated her email, she doesn't know if she'll ever hear from him again. That isn't okay in Annabeth's eyes, but maybe it'll become that way. Soon, she can put this all past her, and she'll learn to laugh at it. Because that's just how life works. As trauma and sadness fades away in the distance, and slowly, the stages of grief, leaving a person or group of people with a heightened realization of what they have to do to get better.

And that's what Annabeth is going to do. She'll try to get over this, and get better. Of course, if she finds Percy is trying to reach out, she'd take that opportunity and try to fix this, but there's a low chance that'll happen. This entire thing has caused another scandal for him (one that won't be covered in a blog post) so he has more important things to worry about, and Annabeth understands that. She understands it all.

…

~loving yourself isn't vanity, it's sanity~

Okay so I'm going to update Friday as opposed to Saturday this week bc of some technical difficulties, just an fyi. Tysm for reading! Leave a review, lmk what you think! Stay safe and healthy! Until the next chapter!

Replies (Ty for 200!):

LostHopelessDreamer18: this story will be thirty-two chapters! Leoisthebadboysupreme: ty so so much! Clancy Gray is from The Darkest Minds, that's right! Percabeth824: ty, Piper's awesome so I'm glad you liked it! 1234booklover: glad you think so! Idk if I've written Luke's POV before so it was cool to do. Dotsey: I'll try my best lol. PurpleBunny5540: yes yes drama is my speciality!

Thank you all so so much for the support!

TheLil'Lion