~ Hey Angels ~

I'm so sorry that the update is late again. It's really late in the UK right now. I've had a really really awful day.

I'll admit it, I'm crumbling under the pressure of Senior year.

I can't handle this amount of work. I'm never free. I never have time to spare. I never have time to breath. I'm constantly working. The number of all-nighters I've pulled to work...well I've lost count. I stayed up till 5 am one night (latest ever) and went to school the next day (Monday), I cannot tell you how horrible that felt. My vision was blurry, I couldn't walk or even function properly. My friends were really worried.

I guess that explains the whole Annabeth-lack-of-sleep scenes.

I just want to be an 8-year-old girl playing with Littlest PetShop in the garden again. And I don't know whether to be upset or angry anymore.

Are there any other Seniors (us) / Sixth Formers (uk) who get my gist? Please tell me I'm not the only one!

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get all gushy like that. I really wanted to make this fanfic a happy place where I could be all happy and bubbly and show that side of my personality. Because when I'm truly myself, that's who I am. I guess we all have bad days...

Apologies if I just brought you all down. Hopefully, this chapter will make you feel a little better :)

Emberstorm-of-ThunderClan - I would just like to personally thank you for recommending such a frickin' amazing song! I've been listening to it non-stop for days thanks to you. I think it's my new favourite! I loved it so much, I took a look at the album (no idea why I didn't do that ages ago bc I already knew about 'kids') yeah, so now I have a number of those songs on my phone. So yeah, PEOPLE, go listen to 'Born' by OneRepublic, it will change your life. Much love.

amyseng2004 - I didn't know which username to use so I just went with your old one. You're so welcome! I love that song so it simply had to go in ;) Thank you so much xoxoxoxoxooxo

comekittycome - Aw, thanks girly! I'm so glad you liked Memories. Will see if I can fit your song in somewhere bc I like Alessia but there aren't any more cheating scenes. Lots of love XOXOXOXXOXO

MichaelLukeSkyWalker - Thank you so much for your wonderfully epic review! I smiled like forever :)

Stargazer1300 - So you were the first reviewer to tell me that long chapters are okay and that made me feel so much better, I can't even tell you. Thank you so much and I will try to upload more long chapter!

Chameloendancer - I'm really glad you picked up on the Reyna part because no one else did and I really liked writing that scene. I thought it brought a freshness to the story - something we haven't seen much of before. Thanks for the review and your honesty! Lots of love xx

FRICTIONFICTION108 - I just want to say that after having such a bad day, this review, this one right here, put the biggest smile on my face. Everything you said about Memories and Dreams left me shook. I can't even express this feeling of giddiness right now. Also, made me think you were some kind of professional novel critic. Thank you so so much and have a wonderful day :)

I'm sorry it is a short one compared to my others but not because I'm worried about word count anymore. I read all of your reviews and they were so lovely and supportive. I honestly can't thank you enough. I now know that long chapters are totally fine so there will be more later.

Happy Reading! ❤️❤️

Chapter 3

Reckless Behaviour

Piper POV

Saturday 17th October

Song Tribute: [Robbers – The 1975]

Night was falling when we gathered around one of the benches on the promenade. The salty sea air whipped around us slicing against any bare skin that dared to show. I was absolutely freezing as I clung to Jason for comfort, his body was warm and familiar against mine.

The other boys were all throwing loose stones out onto the beach and seeing who could throw further while the girls perched on the bench and chatted away. We'd been out a while by now, celebrating Percy's 18th birthday-eve and things had gotten pretty wild. By the time we'd left the nightclub, we were all pretty drunk but Percy was completely off his head. He was so far gone, he couldn't tell the difference between the boy's and girl's bathrooms anymore. That's how he'd stumbled in on a guy harassing Thalia and how that guy had ended up getting punched in the face so hard his nose was gushing. I think that's why we'd been kicked out much to Leo's dismay. He'd really been hitting it off with this Californian girl and was way too smug about it for my liking. The idiot.

He was nowhere to be seen now, Percy. We'd lost him somewhere back at the club and I was starting to freak. Percy, when he's drunk, is bad enough but he'd been doing weed with the Stolls in the bathroom and when you mix that with Vodka, Tequila and God knows what else, it's an entirely different story.

We shouldn't have brought him out tonight. I wish I'd known that earlier. He hadn't been right in the head even before he'd started drinking. This whole Annabeth thing was tearing him in half—anyone could see it. He'd spent every hour trying to drown his problems with alcohol. At first, he'd been this miserable dark figure at the back of the group and then suddenly, after a few shots, he was the crazy guy dancing on top of the bar, holding a bottle of Smirnoff. I'd tried to stop him but Grover had egged him on so much, he found it hilarious.

He was out of control. And it was all because of one girl.

Speaking of the devil, he reappeared moments later as if sensing that we were all talking about him. His tall, built figure emerging from the shadows like some criminal. He wasn't dressed for this chilly weather in jeans, a grey, black and white checked shirt with a grey hoodie over the top and black Vans. He'd even pulled the thing up to his elbows as if the cold breeze wasn't stinging the skin on his arms enough.

There was a dark glint in his eyes and he was smiling.

"You've got some nerve, Percy Jackson." I scowled at him as he came over with a joint hanging from his fingers.

"Get off your high horse for once Pips and live a little." He rolled his eyes, bending down close to Thalia so she could take a puff.

She smiled up at him, breathing in the smoke and blowing it back to him, inches from his lips. There was always something about those two that was a little less than lovers but more than cousins. He relished in the smoke, straightening up and sweeping his dark hair back from his eyes.

"Who even are you anymore?" I frowned as he flicked through his phone and began to play The 1975 out loud. He hardly took notice of my remark.

"This is because of Annabeth, isn't it?"

That caught his attention and he looked up at me with dark eyes. Something softened behind them, though he was quick to conceal it. "So what if it is?"

"Percy." I sighed, moving away from Jason and closer to him now. "She's going to be okay. You both are." He shrugged at that, glancing at the floor and switching his focus to a can of empty coke on the ground.

For a while, no one said anything.

"Do you love her?" I whispered and he snapped back to look me, eyes glaring. I coward in his icy gaze, shrivelling back towards Jason again. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder to comfort me as Percy fell into conversation with Beck and Grover. The mood lightened for them but it didn't for me.

"Let's rob a bank or something!" Thalia declared, shooting up from the bench with an eager look in her lightning eyes. She was speaking to Percy more than anyone else really.

They both tended to do this; rile each other up until one of us had to reel them back in before someone got hurt.

"Sick! Let's do it!" Percy grinned, climbing over the back of the bench to stand on it and look down at her.

"You can't just go around robbing banks, no matter how drunk you are." I snapped.

"Guys, enough already. You're being ridiculous." Jason said while the Stolls just laughed in the corner. Leo was already passed out on the bench and Silena was trying to shove him off her lap with Becks help.

"We'll be in and out before they notice. I've robbed a petrol station before." Percy shrugged as if it meant nothing.

"Ssshhhh!" Thalia grinned, pressing a finger to her lips and swaying drunkenly. "We're not supposed to talk about what we did with you know who."

"Oh yeeeaaah. Shiiit." Percy laughed, higher than the clouds in the sky. He jumped off, stumbling against Thalia who giggled and helped to straighten him out. They were both sniggering amongst each other now.

I was getting pretty tired of hearing about this mysterious gang they'd both been in because they refused to tell either of us anything about it. I didn't like being in the dark when it came down to Percy, he was my closest guy friend and I shared everything about myself with him. It wasn't fair.

"How much do you think we'd get? A thousand? Ten thousand!" Thalia asked eagerly.

"However much we fucking want. It's ours." Percy told her. The way she looked at him, not exactly romantically, but it was as if she thought he held the key to everything.

"What if we get caught?" She asked. "That police officer at the station doesn't really like us."

"He knows my name now." Percy smirked as if that was a good thing.

"Mine too." Thalia snorted.

They were standing so close to each other as if in their own little world. None of us were really here, it was just them two and the endless possibilities of the wicked world.

"I'll shoot him if it's what you want."

"Enough bro!" Jason yelled, trying to make his authoritative voice carry through the cold air and reach his stubborn, thick-headed best friend.

At that, we all kind of seemed to switch on. Deciding it was best to separate them, we pulled them apart. Silena, Reyna and I, grabbed Thalia while Grover, Jason and Beck grabbed Percy.

~xXx~

After that, the bank robbery became nothing but a joke that we laughed about and for a while, things were back to normal. We walked along the promenade, shouting and messing around, thinking of all the things Percy would be able to do tomorrow when he turned 18.

He could legally buy cigarettes, I thought. I'd long since wanted to knock him out of that habit but he kept slipping back into old ways. I cared about him and his health way too much sometimes and seeing him wild and crazy tonight…well, I wasn't sure if I was happy that he finally seemed happy or sad that this was the only thing that made him feel better. Drugs and alcohol.

I walked with Jason, hand in hand but I kept my eyes on Percy. Wary of the fact he couldn't control himself and if something particularly bad happened, we'd have to step in. He began walking with Leo, slinging his arm over his shoulder and praising how drunk he was. After 5 tequila slammers, Leo couldn't really speak properly, he was like a walking zombie and Percy found it hilarious. Both Grover and he started patting him on the back and egging him on to drink another beer—half of which ended down his T-shirt. He gagged making the two boys crack up and applaud loudly.

Of course, they then went off to be the reckless little boys they are; running around, shouting, wolf whistling a group of party girls who past us giggling and showing off their parkour skills. When those two were together, it was all they seemed to do. Even after everything, I found myself smiling and laughing at their silliness with the others.

We were just reaching Thalia's car when Percy suggested another crazy stupid idea.

"Let's take a drive." He said, snatching up her hand and pulling her towards the car.

"Fine, but you're driving." She grinned, taking a puff from a second joint.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He smiled superciliously as they sauntered off.

"Bro, you can't drive. You're completely munted!" Jason cried and the two of them stopped by her car to look back at us.

"Perce," Grover started, slightly cautious now, "let's go cool off, okay?"

"I can drive." Leo cut in, stumbling over his feet and blinking absentmindedly. He was worse than Percy. I'm not even sure he knew where he was or who he was with anymore. "I'm a good driver, just…just give me a sec." He said, rushing over to the promenade's edge and throwing up on the beach down below.

Connor and Travis cracked up as they went over to help him and by help, I mean put it on Snapchat.

"Percy, darling, don't you think that's enough for one night?" Silena tried sweetly, completely ignoring the other boys as if she was used to it.

"Sil's right Perce, you're not driving anywhere." Beck cut in. "Someone could get seriously hurt."

"You could get hurt." I added, genuinely concerned now. "Percy, please, stop this. You're scaring me."

"Pips, I'm totally fine." He smiled reassuringly. "Guys, I'm fine." He said, looking at them all. "Get in the car." He ordered Thalia and she did, climbing into the passenger seat.

"You're not taking my sister anywhere! You hear me?" Jason yelled, shoving him back against the car.

Percy had the nerve to laugh. "She's not a little girl anymore, Sparky. She can handle herself."

"I'm sure she can but you definitely can't!" Jason scowled. "I don't know what this Annabeth girl as done to mess with your head, but this stops now!"

"Gods, the nerve of you!" Percy snapped at his best friend who took a step back in shock. "You on your pathetic high throne with Piper at your side. You don't even know what it feels like!"

"What what feels like?"

Song Tribute: [Wicked Game – Ursine Vulpine]

"To have the one thing you want most in the world—the person you want more than anything, want nothing to do with you."

Suddenly, in that moment, all of our hearts fell for him. He was so lost. And I knew I'd do anything to bring him back.

"Percy…" I whispered taking a step forward and he gulped, straightening up from the car.

"You two and you're perfect lives and your perfect relationship. You stand there thinking you're all high and mighty, wanting to command me into something more manageable."

"That's not true—" I tried.

"Isn't it?" He snapped. "That's all you've been doing. All night. 'Percy don't do that and Percy do this and Percy grow up'. I'm older than the lot of you!"

Realising that Jason had been stunned into silence along with everyone else, I spoke. "Percy, I'm sorry. I just care about you…that's all." I said, taking a breath. "More than anything."

He stood for a moment as if going over my words in his head. Surely, he'd know that after everything we'd been through together, I was just doing this for his sake. I loved him more than he realised and I'd die trying to protect him. I'd go to the ends of the earth to make sure he was still alive because that's what you do for the ones you love most in the world.

For a moment, I thought I'd gotten through to him. But I hadn't. Tonight, he'd shut down all his emotions—blocked them out with a huge brick wall that nobody could tear down. Nobody but Annabeth herself.

Without another word, he turned and walked around the car to the driver's seat. I screamed his name but he was already revving the engine to Thalia's BMW and speeding away. Jason ran after the car, calling out for his sister and stopping in a sweat halfway down the road, gripping his hair stressfully.

Rushing to the edge of the curb, I took in a trembling breath. The wind blew my hair lightly away from me as if to worsen the distance between us—heart hammering against my chest in fear. Fear for him. Fear for Thalia.

Soon they were gone.

~xXx~

Percy POV

My heart was hammering as I pulled away from the curve and stepped on the accelerator. I wasn't sure where I was going, all I knew is that I wanted to get out of there. The way I had acted tonight was bad enough, I didn't like seeing what I looked like in their eyes. Especially Piper's. It terrified me.

Not having Annabeth made me more and more like the Percy I'd left behind in that warehouse. And I'd vowed never to go back there. I'd vowed never to fall in love again.

I'd been breaking a lot of vows recently.

"Forget them, Percy. Forget the lot of 'em." Thalia told me, sitting in the passenger seat and turning on the radio.

I didn't respond, I just made the car go faster as if I could somehow drive over my problems and squash them flat. To drive them into the dust where no one would ever find them again—including my feelings for Annabeth.

We were both drunk and high and though we'd done this many times, neither of us had been quite this rebellious before. Usually, it was all laughs with the others, but this was different. It felt as though I was waging a war against them and dragging Thalia down with me. I didn't like it. I hated how I'd treated them tonight, but I couldn't stop myself.

Without Annabeth, I was like a loose cannon. I was a gun without a safety switch.

My mind blanked as I thought about her; about her golden hair and her perfect smile. Her pretty face. Everything zoned out after that as I stared out the windscreen window mindlessly. The world seemed to slur into a sticky, thick abyss of liquid. Life drowned around me.

Distant murmuring echoed in my mind but I didn't register. There was a flash of lights and a swish of moving vehicles out the window.

"PERCY!"

By then, I'd already known that I'd messed up.

A chorus of car horns roared through the icy air and suddenly I was slamming my foot on the breaks. Thalia gasped beside me and I instinctively swung my arm out to protect her. The thunderous sound of metal rattling and ripping through the air was deafening.

But with the impact, came an abrupt silence— cutting through everything like a sharp bladed knife and leaving only a high-pitched ringing noise at the back of my mind.

Everything went black.

~xXx~

Annabeth POV

Sunday 18th October

Song Tribute: [Into the Black – Chromatics]

It was dark out when I crossed the road, rushing towards the front entrance of the hospital. The cold night air was icy against the bare skin of my shoulders. I wore a sky blue ribbed bodycon dress that reached me midthigh and was off-the-shoulder. It just happened to be the first piece of clothing my fingers landed on in the closet. I practically yanked my white converses on and burst out the door when I first got the news—an entire day late!

It was busy when I got inside; doctors and nurses were rushing about while visitors were looking at maps on the walls to work out which room their loved ones were in. I hated it here. I'd spent enough hours in this horrible place. The lady at the desk was nice as she guided me to the right room using the database on the old computer she was sitting in front of. I followed the long trails of crystal white corridors and patient rooms, up the grubby staircases, because I was too impatient to use the elevator until I finally came across the right room.

I was nervous about going in but I'd been scared with enough anticipation today. I wanted to see him. I slowly turned the handle and stepped inside. The lighting was dim and the room was quiet, it was a private one so he was the only patient in here. My face fell at the sight of him lying in that bed, eyes closed, hooked up to the machines.

It had been Piper who had first called me up to say that he'd been in a car accident. Thalia had gotten off with just a few scratches but it was Percy who was in for the all-nighters. Apparently, he'd swerved the car and shielded her in a way that most of the impact was focused on him.

I would have come sooner if I hadn't been running more errands for Helen. Apparently, I'd missed the whole group visit but I suppose that's a good thing.

Sally was sleeping in a chair in the corner of the room to my right as I came in through the door. She looked weary in her sleep but still pretty. She wore blue faded jeans, a black and white striped long-sleeved top, light brown boots that reached her knees and a scarf to match. Her long, curly brown hair was tied up in a pretty bun and her young-looking face looked peaceful as though she was finally getting the rest she so greatly needed. I imagined it was hard work raising a son like Percy; the type of guy who would come home late most nights with some kind of injury visible.

I smiled softly at her and then my gaze shifted to Percy. He was still sleeping away when I reached the side of the bed. He was in hospital clothes with the covers up to his chest and his right arm on the top. There was a blood pressure strap wrapped around his bicep and a cotton wool bob taped to his wrist as though he'd been prodded with a needle earlier today. I know I'd said I was ignoring him, but seeing him like this broke my heart and in that moment, I knew I couldn't leave him. I'd stay here all night if that's what it took.

Besides…it was his birthday.

With a soft sigh, I reached out and tucked his hair out of his eyes. I hadn't really meant to, it just kinda happened. He looked so peaceful, like a fallen angel in his sleep with his face tilted slightly away from me. His bed hair was thick and messy and perfect, and it was wrong for me to think how attractive he looked right now but I couldn't help it. He'd always been like that.

I was somewhat angry that he wasn't awake because I wanted to yell at him for being so stupid and reckless. I might've even gone as far as slapping him, but I didn't want to wake him so, with a heavy heart, I let him be.

My eyes scanned the room as I looked for spare blankets and eventually spotted some sitting on a table by the window. The curtains were closed and for a moment I peeped through to look up at the sky above. It was cloudy tonight so you couldn't see the stars which saddened me, looking at the constellations had always calmed me when I was in need of calming. I hated living like this; constantly worried that the person I loved most in this world was out getting hurt and being reckless at any chance he got. It wasn't fair.

He shifted in his sleep and with a gasp, I turned back to face him. He didn't wake so I gently wrapped the thickest blanket around him and wrapped the other one around Sally. For a while, I busied myself with looking through all the birthday stuff people had dropped off. It looked as though people had been coming in and out all day. Both tables by his side and even the one at his feet were smothered with cards, balloons and unopened presents. The cards on the left were open so I imagined they were from the gang. I read a few; the ones from the guys were all funny, jokey but heartfelt and the ones from the girls were cute and sweet, except the one from Thalia, of course, which went a little something like this;

Happy 18th Birthday Kelp Head!

I'm thinking maybe we should lay off the booze for a while, at least until we stop considering robbing a bank.

T x

I smiled at that one, giggling to myself as I set it back down carefully. It was odd not seeing anything from Jason though, maybe he hadn't visited yet...

There were too many presents and cards to count, some from family members and some from his long list of friends, due to his incredibly high social status. I'd never get my head around it. I'd brought my own present in my backpack. Initially, I'd been wary about buying him one in the first place because we weren't supposed to be talking right now but when Piper had called me up, after I'd finished my errands, I'd gone straight to the old music store I knew he liked.

After nosily looking through the numerous gifts and rolling my eyes at a box of condoms Leo had bought him as a joke, I sat by his side, dragging the chair as close as it would physically go. And for a while, I just sat there with my elbow on the bed and my face in my palm as I watched over him. I tried to keep it together for his sake, I didn't want him to wake up and see me crying. He didn't need to feel guilty about this, sure he was stupid and reckless but that's just who he is. I can't change that about him. I can't even tell him to stop driving because that's one of his passions. I'd be a terrible person to take that away from him.

But I couldn't deny the fact that seeing him like this; hooked up to those freaky machines, scared me. If he'd had a serious accident today…if it had been fatal, I don't know what I would've done.

The very thought of that brought me to tears and I laced my fingers in his, holding onto him tightly.

"Percy?" I whispered through my tears. "Percy, wake up." Despite how much I needed to talk to him right now, he didn't wake up.

I sobbed, grabbing one of the free pillows by his side and using it to rest my head on as I snuggled up against his arm. It was warm and I could feel his pulse whenever I needed the reassurance that he was still here with me. I'd never meant to, but as I clutched his hand and the pillow beneath my head, I drifted off and fell asleep. I can't remember what I'd dreamt about but I think it was peaceful, must have been because I was with Percy. Whenever I was around him, I always felt safe.

~xXx~

I felt a tight squeeze on my hand when I was jolted awake. My eyes slowly opened and landed on the two hands in front of me; one of which was my own and the other was Percy's. It moved and I shot up to look at him. My heart did a double take when my eyes landed on him. He was awake, his eyes drifting over me as if he'd been watching me sleep.

"Percy, y-you're awake." I gasped, clutching at his wrist with my other hand.

He smiled softly at me, his eyes tired but emotional. "You came." He murmured, his voice a little horse and my heart sank in my chest. He looked weary like he'd been in a lot of pain. Apparently, it had been a nasty crash and most of the damage was internal.

I smiled a little through my teary eyes. "Of course, I came." I said, unlacing our fingers to brush his hair out of his eyes. I let my hand stay there, buried in his hair as I held his with my other one. "How are you feeling? Do you want me to call the nurse?" I said turning around and realising it was still the middle of the night because the curtains were still closed and the bedside lamp was the only yellow light in the room.

"No, it's okay." He said, tightening his grip on my right hand. "Will you stay with me?" He whispered. My face fell at that and I nodded, eyebrows furrowed with a small smile.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever you need." I whispered softly, playing with his hair. He smiled at that, pressing his cheek to my palm and I held his hand to my chest.

"You look pretty." He smiled, his voice soft and heavenly as his eyes darted over my blue dress then back up to my face. I blushed like a little girl, trying to hide her smile.

His eyes darted over to where Sally was still sleeping away in her chair. His eyebrows furrowed worriedly. "When did she get here?" He asked.

"I don't know." I murmured, looking at her. "She was asleep when I arrived."

I heard him sigh and then he was trying to sit up, wincing terribly at the effort. My heart skidded with worry as I reached out to stop him. "Percy, don't. You need to rest." I tried but he ignored me and eventually managed to push himself up to a sitting position, hiding the pain I could clearly see in his eyes. I sighed at his stubbornness, it was going to get him killed one of these days.

"God, I told the nurse not to call her." He muttered.

"She's a nurse, Percy," I smiled, "that's her job."

"Guess so." He gave me a half-hearted laugh. "Good thing I'm in a hospital, she's gonna kill me when she wakes up." He joked and how he could make jokes in a time like this made me laugh.

"She's just worried." I said. "We all are."

He looked at me then and something clicked in his eyes as if he was realising for the first time how much this was affecting me. It was like he'd only just noticed how upset I was. He ran his hands through his hair with a sigh.

Song Tribute: [Fingertips – OneRepublic]

"I'm sorry, I didn't—" His voice cut off. "I don't—"

"It's okay, Seaweed Brain." I whispered.

He looked at me, deeply and sincerely then. "You know I don't like hurting you."

I smiled. "I know."

"I was so drunk—and high." He muttered. "…Jason is so mad at me."

"He'll come around. You guys are like best friends."

"Yeah but this is different, Annabeth." He sighed. "Ever since we were kids, it's like we've always had this pact to protect Thalia and last night I broke that pact."

"You made a mistake Percy, the important thing is that you're both still alive." I said softly.

"I guess…" His shoulders sunk. "He gave me a proper shout at though. Thalia came in trying to calm him down but he just went off on one about how I'm bad for her—how I'm bad for everyone."

My heart sank for him. "That's not true." I pressed. "He was probably just acting out because of his anger. Thalia's his sister, it's his job to do that. I'm sure he'll come around eventually, you guys always work things out."

He nodded slowly but it was a half-hearted nod. "Never drown away your problems and then try to drive." He managed a smirk though it seemed to drain him even doing as little a movement as that.

"Why would you do that? What happened?" I asked, concern written all over my face.

"You did." He spoke softly.

At that moment, it felt as though all the oxygen in the room had been sucked away. I'd almost forgotten how to breathe, let alone speak.

He smiled at my expression. "I don't like being away from you." He murmured, averting his eyes and instead using them to look around the room.

"I've missed this." He said after a moments silence. I gulped at that, heart stopping because I knew what he was about to say. "I've missed you."

I turned away, averting my eyes. I didn't know what to say. "Percy—" I sighed.

"No, Annabeth." He cut me off, grabbing my hand and I gasped looking back at him. "You don't get to be like that—not now—not with me."

"What do you want me to say?" I sighed.

"Anything." He frowned, his voice strained with frustration. "As long as it's the truth." I looked down, ashamed all of a sudden. "Please." He murmured and I sighed, looking up at him eventually.

"I miss you too." I whispered. "Everyday. All the time."

He seemed taken aback. "You do?" He murmured.

"I do." I half smiled, brows furrowing.

That had been the most honest thing I'd ever said in my entire life.

"Well, that's a relief." He sighed, smiling a little and we both laughed a little at that for a while.

"Percy."

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday." I smiled up at him, brushing my hair behind my shoulders.

He smiled. "Thanks. I'm officially two years older than you now."

"You kinda always were." I smirked.

"Alright smart ass." He rolled his eyes making me giggle.

"Do you want your present now?"

"You got me a present?" He frowned.

"Of course, I did." I replied, pulling my backpack onto my lap and taking out the gift. I'd wrapped it in blue wrapping paper with a little notecard on the front so I had an excuse not to write so much.

He smiled, taking the present and curling his leg up as he opened it. I was nervous at first, despite there being no reason why he wouldn't like it. When his eyes landed on the record, they lit up and a huge grin appeared on his face. It was the new 1975 vinyl, the one with the funny name; 'I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it.'

"How did you know?" He asked breathlessly.

"A little birdy told me." I smiled brightly. "Plus…I know you."

"Thanks, Wise Girl." He smiled, holding out his hand for me and I took it without hesitation. "You're the best."

"Oh, one other thing." I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out my other silly gift.

He looked between me and the berry blue funfetti gum drops I was holding out to him, mouth slightly open. "You didn't."

"I did." I smiled.

"Where did you get these?" He shrieked, snatching up the packet.

"You'd be surprised as to what old candy shops are selling these days." I said with a half laugh and he grinned at me for that.

"I fucking love you." He breathed. "Have I told you that before?"

I giggled at that. "Probably," I shrugged, standing up to sit on the bed now with my feet on the chair, "but you can never really say it one too many times."

With a grin, he gestured for me to shuffle over. I smiled softly, curling up against him and resting my head on his shoulder. I could tell he was in pain still, from the way he groaned a little. I was wary about hurting him but he was pulling me against him as if he needed the human contact.

"Is this okay?" I whispered, looking up at him and then realising we were almost nose to nose. "It doesn't hurt?"

He smiled softly, shaking his head a little. He pulled the extra blanket around me and held me in his arms, kissing me briefly atop my head. I smiled blissfully, closing my eyes for a second.

"I'm glad you came, Wise Girl." He murmured. "I know things have been hard for you, I just want you to know that I'm here."

"You promise?" I murmured, playing with his fingers on his chest while his other hand was wrapped around my waist.

"I promise." He whispered, and with that in mind, we chatted late into the night, eating the candy and playing with each other's fingers delicately. And I was just glad to finally be with him again, just the two of us. It felt like I'd never even left.

Little did I know, I wasn't going to be staying for long...

~xXx~

Aaaaawwww. Percabeth! Stop breaking my heart!

What did you guys think? Hopefully you're not too mad at Percy for what he did. Afterall, he is a Seaweed Brain - making mistakes and being stupid is what comes with his character.

I quite like the whole bromance thing between Percy and Jason where they have tiny spats all the time because they have very clashing personalities as we all know very well.

Also, I just love developing the Piper and Percy's relationship, I think they're the sweetest girl-boy best friends EVER!

Oh and don't worry about Leo, Jason and Piper took him home afterward and tucked him into bed. Leo asked Piper to sing him a lullaby before passing out like a baby and murmuring Calypso's name in his sleep ;)

The two of them stayed up all night waiting for Percy and Thalia to home before finally getting a call from Sally, in tears, telling them they'd been in an accident. Jason froze up in terror, while Piper started tearing up on the phone too and then he started shouting and storming out to drive them to the hospital.

That's how I play it out in my head anyways...

PerwinkleLuv9 - Thank you! And sorry for the heartbreak ;) This story is going to be around 19 chapters. There is a sequel, it's going to be the last book. I'm not going to be updating 3 days a week anymore, my update days are Wednesday and Saturday but my new plan is all explained down below.

Guest (Grace) - Hi Grace, thank you so much for your lovely review. Type in fanfiction into google, click login and then it should say sign up or register in the top right corner of the box that comes up saying username and password. Hope this helped :)

KriKri - Hey, thank you so much for the review! I'm really glad you liked Memories. It's nice to hear from a fellow Brit. I wrote most of it over the summers and holidays so I had time to kill. Haha, I'm a major procrastinator as well! So I really like your rendition of how Annabeth should smooth things out with Percy, I wish it were that simple ;) Basic run down of what's going through her head (regardless of Rafael) - she's lost so many people in her life that it's almost become her self-defence mechanism to push people away. So when her dad passed away, she shut everyone out. It's just what she does. In a way, she finds comfort and discomfort in being alone. Hope that kinda explained it. Love ya xoxo

kyrasaige16 - Aaaaww thanks girly, sorry for the unhealthy obsession but I'm glad you liked it anyway ;) Making Memories a Tv Show would be an absolute dream but then it would also kinda be sad bc I always imagine myself as Annabeth in my story. Lol, a girl can dream. Thank you for the song suggestions, I gave them a listen and added a couple to the list. I really liked 'river' (such a badass girl song) and 'ugly'. Oh and 'Ocean Eyes' is already in Chapter 2 btw. Lots of love - AWG

Keijman - Haha aww sorry, hun! There will be some seriously happy chapters in the future which will hopefully make you smile instead. Oh and I love long reviews so ramble away ;)

Iron man ROCKS - I haven't heard that song before but I'll definitely give it a listen. I love Everglow so will add that to the list. Oh, I think I made one of those back in primary school once, it's cool. Favourite song, Gods I have so many, 'False Alarm' - Becky Hill, 'Fix You' - Coldplay, 'Robbers' - The 1975, 'Honest' - The Chainsmokers, the list goes on. What's yours?

Guest - THANK YOU! No, I've never gone skiing or snowboarding before, but I'd absolutely love to do it sometime! Hhhmm music artist... Ariana Grande, The 1975, The Chainsmokers, OneRepublic, Coldplay etc. I have a few. What's yours?

The Book is Always Better - Aaawww thanks girly, I feel much much better now. Hahaha you go ahead and you do that ;) LOVE YOU XOXO

Pineapplelife - Sorry hun, my weeks are pretty busy at the moment. Hahaha, I would love to tell you what happens but that would ruin the surprise! The kiss is a couple more chapters later but you'll be happy to know that next chapter is when she confronts Percy about their past. Sshh, don't tell anyone I said that ;) Aw, thank you so much for the lovely review. Lots of love.

Hermione Historia Chase - Hahaha, sorry hun. Happy studying :) I got your pm and sent you one back so go reply right now misses! Yours took a couple days to come through actually, bc I saw your review and checked my inbox but there was nothing there for a while. Weird. I'm really glad you like the chapters so far. Uuuum, you know I love drama! ;) I knooow, I love him so much, it hurts. Buts lets stop the fangirling before it get too outta hand, jokes eeeeeeek! OKay, I'm done. You go to an all girls school, really? That's kinda cool though because boys outside school are always nicer than the ones inside school. At least that's my opinion. I promise I will pull her out of it very soon! Spoiler - you guessed it ;) Lots of love to my lovely - AWG xx

Wishing I could respond to all of your lovely reviews! If I haven't it's not because I didn't read or love them.

Quick mention about my updating schedule:

So I think I might switch from Saturday to Sunday. Is that okay with everyone? I think that way I'll be able to post earlier on in the day rather than late evening or whatever time it is wherever you people are in the world :)

Also Wise Girl Wednesdays might be a little on and off over the next couple of weeks. School is just too busy right now. However, I'll have much more time to post over the Christmas hols and may even have time to bring back Memory Monday. Except that this book is called Dreams...damn. Why isn't there a day of the week beginning with 'D'?

So yeah, next update will either be up on WEDNESDAY or SUNDAY - most likely Sunday. Sorry, I'm really trying. I swear.

Lots of love ❤️❤️

AWG xx