Thanks for waiting! Here's the new chapter! I'm sorry it took so long!

~Happy Reading!

ANNABETH

She couldn't believe all the things that had happened in the past few days.

They won a war, putting Gaea to sleep, with only a several casualties, and no one on their team was hurt too badly. Except one. Except for one very special one.

They lost Leo.

Out of all of them, Annabeth admitted that Leo was the bravest. Sure, he never fit in very well even though he could at the same time. Annabeth didn't tell him, but she always felt that 'outsider' sense around him, like he was a stranger, and he was hard to get close to. She didn't want to pry at him too much either, since he seemed delicate and fragile like glass. She was aware of his rough past, how he hid in the shadows and always used his jokes to cover up how he actually felt, and she could relate to him since there was a coat of confidence he had to wear just to get through one day. Still, the prophecy did say one of them had to lose their lives, and it just happened to be Leo. Annabeth felt a tear trickle down her cheek, tickling her, and she wiped it away quickly with the swipe of a finger watching as the droplet landed in the creek. It just wasn't fair. He was too young, only fourteen years old, and with such a bright future ahead of him.

"We lost a pretty great comrade." Annabeth smiled sadly at her reflection in the creek, watching as it refracted from the gentle current. She dipped her finger in the water, letting the ripple effect distort her image. She was sitting alone by the creek, curling the pebbles in between her fingers and pushed them out over and over again. Percy and Grover had run off somewhere, most likely to catch up, and they needed it, and even she couldn't believe it's been a year since they'd seen each other. Her thoughts began to drift more towards her mother, who decided to let her parental instincts take over and apologized to Annabeth.

Athena pulled her aside after their teamwork to defeating the Giants, while the others chatted among their parents in their own groups. Athena smiled brightly, embracing Annabeth who was confused and still thought her mom hated her. "Um.."

"I'm so proud of you, dear. I'm sorry about all the horrible things I said to you. Please forgive me."

"Mom," Annabeth's voice cracked, wrapping her arms around her in return. "you're back."

"Yes, I am. You did so well on your quest, I am proud beyond belief."

"Thank you." Annabeth whispered. Annabeth pulled away, looking in Athena's eyes, finding the familiar kindness she recognized in those cold orbs. "I'm honored to bring pride in you."

"And that's why you're my favorite child," Athena remarked. Both women watched Percy finish talking to Poseidon as he made his way to his girlfriend. He gave Annabeth a skeptical glance to Annabeth, a bit confused about why she was talking to her mom. When Percy arrived at Annabeth's side, he wrapped a protective arm around her waist to the point where he could loop his thumb around one of her belt loops.

"Lady Athena," he bowed his head politely. Athena nodded hers in approval, small wisps of her brown hair falling in her gorgeous face. He was taken aback at how nice she was being towards him. "it's good to see you."

"Perseus Jackson, as well as you."

"Do you still want me dead?"

Athena smiled genuinely. "Surprisingly, no, I do not. However, I believe some of the other Olympians would still like to witness your death."

"That's a relief." Percy scoffed. Annabeth elbowed him in the gut.

"I also still do not know how I feel about...you two." She quickly waved a finger at the couple. Annabeth looked at Percy, silently begging him to say something.

"I love her and that's all that matters, Lady Athena. She's the sun of my life, someone I can't live without. You should recall that I jumped into Tartarus with your daughter to ensure her safety, and to never get separated with her again." Percy replied without even looking at Athena. He was too busy staring at Annabeth with his sea green eyes. Athena found her lips curling into a small smile.

"I do. Thank you, Perseus. You have grown up very much since I last saw you. You have grown into a fine young man." The goddess of wisdom commented. Annnabeth smiled widely at Percy, knowing she had gotten her mother's approval. She wrapped her arms around Percy's torso, hugging him tightly. "I can only hope my sister does not mix you two and babies together or else I will-"

"Okay, mom! I think that's enough." Annabeth chuckled awkwardly, a dark blush appearing on her cheeks. She hugged her mother one more time before the Olympians returned home.

"Annabeth?" Annabeth broke out her bubble. She turned to the calling of her name to find Hazel and Frank standing behind her. "Why-why do you have blue frosting in your hair?"

Annabeth gasped, quickly brushing her hair to get it out. She had completely forgotten about it. "Oh, um-"

"Here, we'll help you." Frank chuckled. The pair ran to Annabeth, helping her pick out the blue bits and pieces the best they could, washing their hands in the creek when Annabeth claimed it was good enough.

"My hair's a tangled mess, I don't think you'll get any further. Thanks, guys." She smiled. Hazel chuckled sweetly.

"Anytime. Any reason for sitting out here all alone?" Hazel asked a bit concerned, taking a seat next to Annabeth. Frank followed, sitting next to Annabeth on her other side creating a barricade of Romans. Annabeth very much enjoyed their company.

"I figured you'd be with Percy." Frank agreed with Hazel. Annabeth chuckled louder than intended, and honestly expected herself to be with Percy as well. Then again she did need some alone time to be with her thoughts and try to manage to bring them down to Earth.

"He and Grover left a while ago to hang out. I decided to stick around by the creek. This is the place where Percy got claimed, you know. He was injured and went into the creek where we discovered he could heal himself, and right there and then, he got claimed." Annabeth smiled at the distance memory, and the two others did as well, but something in their expressions told her they were a bit confused.

"We don't really have that at Camp Jupiter. It's either your parent sends you a small sign, or I guess in my case my dad actually came down to claim me." Frank rubbed the back of his neck. It was interesting to hear about Camp Jupiter and their different traditions in camp. "But mostly your parents send small sign."

"We've also got this tradition where you officially become a man or a woman, and that's typically where the parent claims their child." Hazel added. She smiled at Frank. "Your claiming was special, it's rare for that to happen."

"I still wanted it to be Apollo." He mumbled under his breath. Hazel scoffed, waving a hand at him. Then they grew silent. Suddenly the air around them seemed more humid, causing an uncomfortable silence which Annabeth felt right away. She wasn't quite sure if it was from Frank and Hazel, or if it was her radiating the awkward out. She confirmed it was Frank and Hazel when she noticed the daughter of Pluto biting her bottom lip, which was a sign of nervousness.

"Is everything alright?" Annabeth asked genuinely concerned. Frank nodded his head whereas Hazel shook hers. Annabeth wasn't sure which on to choose. A couple of ripples were forming in the still waters of the creek, creating rings of water that began to grow larger and larger. Perhaps it was coming from Hazel?

"We're fi-"

"It's about Leo." A couple of gold nuggets flew out of the water, flying into Hazel's lap. Frank slapped his forehead out of exasperation.

"Hazel!" He exclaimed. Annabeth gasped. He had never seen Frank this way, and she wasn't exactly sure if he was angry or nervous. "You were supposed to-"

"Don't go telling me what I'm supposed to be doing, Frank Zhang! I can't take it anymore." Her raging voice dropped down to a near hush, but she was not angry. "I really can't."

"Hazel, what's this about Leo?" Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, making that battle strategy face Percy used to poke fun at. He always thought it was cute. "What is there you should tell me?"

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air.

"Hazel." Annabeth tried again. Hazel sighed, rubbing her arms out of nervousness. Annabeth lowered her glare, thinking it was scaring her.

"It's the physician's cure." Frank answered for her. He couldn't keep the secret, not anymore.

Bad ending, I know. I just started the next chapter so hopefully that will be up soon!

If you didn't read the latest one-shot I posted, I have been very, very busy with my AP classes, and now that AP testing is here (AP U.S down, two more to go), I will soon be free and most likely updating ALL of my stories. Be happy. I know it was a very long wait, so thank you so much for being patient!

Review this maybe? Thanks!