Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! This is where chapter 27 left off.

Disclaimer: I think it's more likely for me to be a hamster than Rick Riordan. Well, actually not really, but you get the point.

~headline: more resolving, less forgiving~

…

Annabeth stands outside, with her phone in hand. She looks out into the dark twilight of the night, and sighs, taking her newly returned phone out. Almost subconsciously, her fingers take her to her camera roll, and they scroll and swish past the last couple of photos (though she hasn't taken many), until they get to a period of time where her mother was alive. She stares at a photo of her, the vibrant, bright, beautiful woman, and then swipes up. Because her phone shows face identification, it's created a folder of all the images of her mother. Of course, she goes directly to it, and sighs as she looks through all the ones of the two of them posing together.

It gets up to as early as sixth grade, when she got her first phone. There's a picture of Annabeth and her mother smiling as they sit in a dimly lit restaurant. When she checks the time stamp, it reads the date of her birthday, July twelfth. They both look so happy, leaning over plates full of good food, steak, Annabeth thinks. She zooms into her mother, taking her look in.

There are slight wrinkles, smile lines that look so warm, but what strikes her are the stony eyes she's showing to the camera. They are intimidating and cold, and what particular interests her about it, is that they are the same eyes she sees whenever she looks into the mirror. It's haunting how similar they look and how different. Annabeth remembers feeling so proud of herself, so proud and old when she took that picture, like sixth grade was it. Now, as a fully grown senior in High School, she looks onto sixth grade Annabeth as small. With her mismatched, curly, pig-tails and light green overall. Little Annabeth had braces, and her teeth stuck out a bit, but she was smiling wide and proud. All of it is really endearing.

It feels weird looking at pictures of her deceased mom, but at the same time, it's comforting. Comforting to know that at one point, she was secure. Comforting to know that she had people, and comforting to know that she still does. Little Annabeth didn't have a car in the world compared to now, she was happy and free. That seems like it's coming soon for Annabeth. With Percy and her new connections. She's introducing things into her life that make her feel that way, happy.

So many good times were spent in the company of her mother. Birthdays, where they'd go to the same restaurant, the one pictured in the photo she's looking at. Her mother would make her work hard, but at the end of the day, she was always happy to let Annabeth have fun. No one is perfect, but Athena Chase came pretty damn close. Yes, she could be cold and distant sometimes, caught up in her work, but she always got out of that funk, was ready to praise Annabeth for her hard work and help her with trouble.

When Annabeth got into her teenage years and had started experiencing mood swings, ones where she'd get so sad she couldn't take it, Athena Chase was there to calm her down, help her get out of them. It's something that she's endlessly grateful for. Athena Chase made her into the person she is today, of course Annabeth is not perfect, but in her mind, perfection is boring. Perfection isn't exceptional, it's blending into the crowd. If there was a perfect person out there in the world, Annabeth thinks, they would go unnoticed, the world would pass them by. They would excel, yes, maybe change a couple of things up, but in the end, that individual would go unnoticed by everyone else. The same. Because in the end, we're all swallowed into oblivion.

She sighs, and falls against the small couch that sits on the porch of her father's home. It's not uncomfortable, but it's also not comfortable. Meaning, she has to shift around a bit to find the best position, one that won't hurt her back, but will also allow her to actually chill.

The train of thought that's guiding her suddenly swoops into known yet undiscussed territory. How different her life here is compared to her old one. In the mornings, she'd wake up early, going about her day peaceful and upset. She wouldn't have to look out for step-brothers (or should she say brothers now, Annabeth thinks they've passed that) or anything like that. In the mornings, her mother usually was out with her work as a Defense Attorney, always staying out late and going in early. Athena Chase was one of the most hard working people Annabeth has known. Countering the fact her father drives her to school now, in New York, she'd walk outside to one of the close subway stops and take the subway to school, sometimes accompanied by Luke or Thalia. That's one of the bigger changes too. Annabeth doesn't have either of those people in her life (closely) anymore. She knows that at least her and Thalia will always be friends, but Luke… not much so.

Picking up her phone, Annabeth sighs as she goes to the contacts app. She could call him. Quickly. Right now, his number is right there. The contact has his contact name, which is, "lukewarm water," an inside joke from sophomore year, and his contact photo is something she took that year too, she thinks. He looks taken off guard, but his eyes are gleaming and twinkling, it's a bright day. A smile is tugging it's way onto his face, he looks like he's just about to burst out laughing. In this picture, because of the light, the scar that goes up from the side of his face to almost his eye isn't visible.

Annabeth remembers that day. She remembers how lucky she felt having him and Thalia as friends. Look where they are now.

There was a point in time Annabeth had a crush on Luke. A big one, in fact, she almost thought she was in love. It was kind of foolish, considering she knew he couldn't see her that way. He'd always told her she was like a little sister to him, and that was probably why she never told him.

Right now, there is no crush on Luke. All of her romantic feelings go to Percy. The Percy that was always there for her in times of need, without even being conscious of it, the Percy who was actually Pylos, sending her sweet messages on the daily, and the Percy she isn't leaving anytime soon. Percy is great. Amazingly great. But Luke is her friend, or used to be. A connection to her past. And Annabeth realizes, if she really wants to finally let go of the different conflicts she is experiencing right now, maybe it's time to contact him. Text, call, whatever.

Her pointer finger slips onto the call button, and before she can stop it, her phone is ringing. Heart beating fast, about to explode, Annabeth hangs up quickly before she can stop herself. Again, he probably won't even figure out until later, it's late at night in New York. Luke's probably not even awake. He probably doesn't care. Maybe he'll give it some thought, like, "oh, that's the girl who I used to be friends with," and then push it away. She wouldn't be surprised, especially considering what Thalia has told her.

Annabeth sets her phone down onto the seat, and leans back, looking out at the sunset. A new ending, or, as an optimist would say, a new beginning. Because for each new horizon that falls out of view, a new one appears. Sighing, she continues to ponder where she might be if her mother was still alive. Would Percy have asked her anonymously for a song lyric, still? Would Annabeth have figured everything out? Would they even still be talking? Maybe she would figure out, being close to Thalia, and eventually would meet him, or something like that. Perhaps she'd be surprised with tickets, or even better, he'd meet her. Or maybe they would fall apart, just like many relationships already have.

Blocking that thought out of her mind is the only thing Annabeth can do to stay rational. She doesn't need to think about the "what-ifs" because what's happened has happened. There's no way she can take back what's happened, even if she really, really wants to. Along with that, there's no way she could compare and contrast the life she used to have and the life she's now living.

It feels a bit like a fairytale. Not all the way, but it's almost a Cinderella story. Not quite, there are plenty of differences, but also plenty of parallels. Her mother died. She was sent to live with her father and stepmother, along with two step-brothers. The realization that the boy she had been talking to for months, almost a year was actually a super famous pop star. It's a little blurry, but it's kind of scary how similar the stories are. On top of that, this doesn't feel like a fairytale. It's not perfect, Annabeth has problems, Percy has problems.

The things about fairytales, she thinks, as she leans back even more in her seat, are that they never show the brutal truth, they leave out all the sadness and despair of loss, the troubles of going to a new place, leaving people behind. Most of all, they leave out the fact that love is complicated. She and Percy, they're complicated. Inherently. There's no perfect way they can work out, but there are plenty of good ways.

Annabeth sets her hand on her phone, and then startles at the fact that it's vibrating. Her ringtone was playing too, as soon as she set her hand on her phone, it began to buzz. Annoying beeps and blips ring from her phone, and she turns around to see the caller ID, Luke Castellan, splayed on her phone, his face blinking on the screen.

He's calling her.

She picks up the phone. And it's quiet. Luke's breathing heavily, but he's quiet. "Hello?" Annabeth asks curiously into the phone.

"Annabeth." Luke says. There's something about the way he says her name, somewhat guarded and hesitant. This must have been a spur of the moment call. She knows this because she knows Luke. Or well, thought she knew him. "I— you called me?" He says slowly.

Swallowing, she replies. "I did."

"Do you—" he stutters, "need anything?" That may sound sweet, and it is, but Annabeth is really over it. He could have tried contacting her before, not waited until Annabeth called him. She doesn't need anything, from him at least.

Instead of saying that all, Annabeth sighs. "I just wanted to tell you that I've moved on. And that I wanted to say I'm okay with you distancing yourself with Thalia in me. It's probably for the best, anyway."

"Things have been complicated." Luke is defending himself, as always. He doesn't seem to realize how his actions affect other people. It's like he's not putting the puzzle pieces together. Abandoning Annabeth when her mother literally died is not what friends do. She sincerely doubts that they're even friends now. The only reason she tried to contact him was out of obligation, or something like that. Taking something off of her chest.

"Sure." Blunt is the best way to put it.

Luke huffs. "You just don't understand."

"Then explain it to me Luke." Annabeth snarks at him. "That's all I wanted to say to you. Then I could finally leave that past life behind."

"Look," Luke tells her. Annabeth pushes the phone closer to her ear. "My mom is unwell. You left, Thalia has a girlfriend. I don't have anyone."

"What about all of your friends? The ones from your Instagram story?"

Luke stops. "They aren't like you guys."

"You can't just leave us behind and not explain Luke. Friends aren't supposed to do that. Friends don't ignore messages, they don't stop showing up. So as far as I'm concerned, you aren't my friend anymore."

He interrupts her. "It's because I started to like you." He says.

What. No, take that off, what the hell? "What do you mean?" Annabeth laughs humorlessly, "you didn't like me before?"

"You know what I mean Annabeth." Of course she does. It's the feeling Annabeth had for Luke before she met Pylos. And a little while, too, until she realized that she was falling for Percy, Pylos, as he was known at the time.

Annabeth swallows tightly. "I'm sorry Luke."

"You don't like me."

"I don't. Not in that way. And I think you need to figure yourself out."

"Can you just tell me one thing?" He adds on, sounding so desperate Annabeth wants to hang up the phone right then and there like a jerk. "Why?"

"I used to like you Luke, okay?" Annabeth is being honest. Honesty is always key. "But then I met Pylos— Percy, I don't know if you figured this out, but I've met him. So I guess that faded away pretty quickly."

"Are you—" he's stuttering a lot today, "are you two dating?"

Biting her lip, Annabeth ponders how to respond. Should she be honest with this one, can she really trust Luke? "If I tell you, will you keep it to yourself."

"What do you take me for?" Luke spits, "I'm not an idiot Annabeth. I'm not a total jerk."

You've been acting that way. "We are."

Luke sighs. "The one that got away, right?" Annabeth doesn't appreciate the reference. Nor the sentiment within it. She's not the one that got away, she's the one that was forced away. He could have reached out any number of times but he didn't. It's good that he showed his true colors, or no, how he changed. How they both changed.

"Not for me."

"I'm sorry."

"You need to apologize to Thalia too. Just because she has a girlfriend now doesn't mean she doesn't miss you." He's hurt both of them, and if he denies that, then well. Annabeth doesn't know what to say.

"I'll be waiting." He says finally after momentary silence. Okay, so scratch deny, he just completely ignores that. Wow. It just— doesn't seem like Luke. He would never do anything like this to his friends.

Annabeth frowns deeply. "For what? It's you who needs to fix all of this."

"For you Annabeth. If you come back."

She sighs. "I'm not going back to New York."

"But maybe after Percy—"

God, he really is going to be like this. Literally Luke was the one who started this all, the one who pushed her aside as just a friend, pushed her away even farther when she needed him most. He was gone, and now he's trying to make it better by trying to what? Downplay her relationship with Percy? He really has changed.

"There won't be an after if I can help it." Annabeth snaps. "The Luke I know would want me to be happy, not try to take me away from the people and things that I enjoy."

"It's just hard."

"It's hard for me too Luke," anger, that's all she feels right now, "you could have supported me, and you didn't. Friends are supposed to make life a little less hard. If you wanted to talk about it, you could."

He exclaims, "I didn't want to discredit what you were going through by bringing about my own troubles!"

"I would have tried to help you Luke," she frowns, "and if you don't think Thalia and I, your friends, would have helped you, maybe it's good that you decided we shouldn't be friends. Hang out with those people on your Instagram, you obviously trust them much more than us."

"They're easier."

"Friendship isn't supposed to be super easy. Relationships are complicated. Stop trying to hide behind your own rationalization, and get over it. Get over me. Because even if," she trails off, because she wants her and Percy to last, "even if Percy and I don't last, I'm not coming back. I don't like you anymore. You need to figure your shit out, and then maybe, we can try again. But now is not the time. At all."

"Is this really why you called me? To chew me out?"

Annabeth bares her teeth, even more annoyed. "Stop angling for sympathy Luke. You're not going to get it."

"Annabeth—"

She hovers her finger over the red end call button. "No. Bye Luke."

And then she taps it. Shuts the phone off completely. Sets it beside her. Sighs, leaning back once more. That's done and over with. It's getting late. Probably time to go in. That didn't go well, at all. And Annabeth really thought that Luke hadn't changed, that they would be able to get along well. But she guesses it doesn't work like that for all friendships. It makes sense that she and Thalia made up, and she could've sworn she would have done the same thing with Luke if not for her mother's death.

They've both changed. The difference is that Annabeth thinks she's changed for the better, while Luke seems to have taken a turn for the worse. He's always had problems with his mother, relationships, and school, but it never boiled down to a fight. They've argued before, petty bickering leading the fights that could last a day or two long, but it's never felt like this.

This seems permanent. Like they aren't going back for it. Annabeth doesn't know if they'll ever make up, but when they do, she certainly believes that it'll never be the same. That's impossible.

Again, they've both changed. Luke needs to figure himself out, the same way that Annabeth has, if they want to have a friendship again. Annabeth doesn't think she could ever take dating him, and she doesn't want to date him, because there's Percy. Perfect, perfect, Percy. The only person that's for her. It's the kind of thing she doesn't want to end. Annabeth's so excited to see him. Of course, she'll tell him about her talk with Luke. Share thoughts. He'll help, he doesn't seem like the jealous type at all.

Everything's coming together, everything in her life. Annabeth sincerely can't wait for the future, and though her past is full of sorrow and sadness, things that worry her, she knows that in the future, that'll change. She has family now, a new one, sure, but also one that's just as good, one that's chosen. And as the future comes close, she knows that all will be well. It has to be.

…

~when someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure~

Okay wow wow wow we are nearing the end of this isn't that crazy? This is probably my first novel length fic, so, like, it's kinda crazy for me. Two more chapters! I really hope that you all will check out The God of Deception, after this, it would mean a lot. Additionally, there's a oneshot I've been working on for a while now coming soon! Ty ty for all the support, leave a review, lmk what you think! Stay safe and healthy! Until the next chapter!

TheLil'Lion