To any new readers of this story: I understand it is confusing that all of a sudden the chapters have huge jumps in time, but please be patient and I assure you all will be explained.

I also apologize that this chapter has such a big time gap but I'm not in college so I won't be able to write about it satisfactorily as I don't know anything about college life. I also want to get ahead with the plot of the story, which will be revealed later.

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Chapter 9: Rooftop Picnics

One Year Later

I scanned the crowded airport, my eyes searching for the person I desperately wanted to see. Suddenly, someone swept me up from behind, making me gasp in surprise as I was put down and turned to look into the bright green eyes of my boyfriend.

Without another word, I leaned up and kissed him, separating only when I heard the thunk of my suitcase hitting the tiled floor. "Damned thing," I muttered as I snatched it up and made my way to the exit, my hand in Percy's.

For the past six months I had been in LA for an internship that my professor had signed me up for. Alice had been ecstatic when I told her I was going to be in LA, instantly inviting me to stay with her and Thomas in their apartment. I had thoroughly enjoyed the last six months with them but it was only after I had been separated from Percy that I realized just how much I missed him; the way he hugged me after a long day or made me laugh with some corny joke.

I smiled as I looked around at the crowded New York street, the familiar hustle and bustle of the busy city feeling just like home. Percy laughed as he opened the door before I smashed right into it. "Did spending six months in LA make you forget about New York completely?"

"LA is so different," I replied watching the city speed by. "You know it is; it's so much more sprawling-bigger and drier-nothing like New York at all. I've missed this place."

"It grows on you," Percy agreed as he took a left. "What are you doing?" I questioned. "This isn't the way to my apartment-or yours, as a matter of fact."

"I know it isn't," Percy agreed. "And that's because Poseidon decided to gift me this huge penthouse."

"You're kidding right?" I gasped. Penthouses were extremely expensive in NY. "I'm not. It's supposed to be an early birthday present," Percy shrugged. "Don't ask me why he did it."

"Wow, that's really…that's just…."

"I know."

Deep down, I felt slightly jealous. I had always felt that Poseidon was one of the most loving parents, and that he truly cared about his children. It was no secret to me-or anyone else-that Percy was Poseidon's favourite child. Percy himself still denied it, of course.

"We're here," Percy said, jolting me out of my thoughts. He cut the engine and turned to me, grinning. "Prepare to be amazed."

XXX

"Gods of Olympus."

I craned my neck as I tried to take in the huge apartment at once. In front of me was the living room, with a gigantic sofa that took up most of the space to my left. Beyond the sofa was a balcony that looked out over the famous New York skyline, with just enough space to grow plants. I made a note in my head to get Percy's mom to help me with that.

In front of the sofa was the coffee table, and then the TV which was supported by a teakwood ledge that joined two racks together. I stepped closer, smiling as I looked at some of the photo frames inside. There were so many pictures of the two of us, one of us on my 17th birthday, at Camp Half-Blood, even the photo he had secretly taken of me at the NYU library.

I stepped inside, my footsteps muffled by the carpeted floor. I kicked off my sandals, unable to fight the temptation to walk barefoot on the soft carpet. A spiralling staircase dominated the apartment, leading up to the second floor. I saw that past the staircase, the carpeted flooring gave way to marble.

A built-in closet was located near the entrance. Opening it, I saw that it contained our coats, and umbrellas, the bottom part being a shoe rack. Walking on, I came to the dining area. A mahogany table which looked like it could comfortably seat six people stood in the pride of place, the light from the afternoon sun shining through the glass window and onto the table.

A few inches away from the table was a real, actual breakfast bar which was in an L-shape. My feet felt cold on the marble flooring as I looked around. "Where's the kitchen?" I asked Percy, and he pushed open a door in the wall to reveal the kitchen, which was pretty compact yet still seemed spacious.

He walked inside and opened a panel in the wall, poking his head through. "It's to pass dishes through," he explained, sliding the panel shut again. "That's pretty convenient," I admitted as we walked away from the kitchen.

I walked up the spiral staircase, taking the time to admire the view of the apartment and the bustling city outside. The first thing I noticed as we reached the second floor was that it had more rooms.

I opened the first one I saw, seeing that it had two desks on opposite sides of the room. One was pristine and clean, hardly touched. The other had papers all over it, with a MacBook Air sitting in the centre, surrounded by notepads and pens. It didn't take a genius to figure out which desk was mine and which was Percy's.

I continued exploring, heading down the hallway to two rooms next to each other. "These two are conjoined rooms," Percy told me. "They have a door in the middle to join them." I poked my head in, seeing the connecting door located in the wall, and then headed towards the last room.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the cream-coloured four-poster bed that was against the wall on my left. There were bedside cabinets on both sides of the bed, and French windows on the far wall. Walking over to a door situated on the opposite wall, I walked over and opened it, revealing the bathroom tiled in deep navy blue and white colours.

Yet another door led into a walk-in wardrobe, split into two so as to differentiate our clothes. We each had a section of the wardrobe to ourselves. I opened my side to find all my clothes neatly hung up on hangers. There were a couple of evening dresses and silk blouses which hung alongside my normal T-shirts and jeans. I had a feeling that Aphrodite had something to do with that.

I slid the door shut and walked out into the bedroom. "This is a really amazing apartment," I remarked, sitting down on the bed and feeling the softness of the satin sheets beneath my fingers.

"You haven't seen the best part yet," Percy grinned, taking my hand and pulling me out. "Come on." He brought me back outside and showed me a door beside the bedroom that I had not seen, right in the very corner.

"Where does this go?" I questioned as he opened the door and led me up a short flight of stairs. "It leads to the rooftop," Percy replied, not keeping it a surprise for once. We opened yet another door (I was getting quite annoyed by the number of doors at this point), and he led me out onto the rooftop.

It was only then I realized that Percy had failed to mention the fact that the roof was, in fact, home to a garden.

"Wow," I whispered in amazement as I did a slow 360 to take in the view. Percy directed me towards the centre of the garden, where a canopy of flowers awaited us. The turf tickled my bare feet as we walked, a night breeze whipping my hair around my face. Holding my arms out, I turned in dizzy circles before finally flopping down on the fake grass.

Percy joined me, and threaded his fingers through mine as we stared up at the night sky, the stars twinkling down at us. I found the constellation of Orion, remembering Luke telling me about them ages ago while we were fleeing from the monsters.

Thalia had flat out conked, sleeping soundly. But I hadn't been able to sleep so I had joined Luke where he was keeping watch. He had pointed out the constellations to me, told me the story of each and every one of them.

"That's Orion," he had explained. "Story goes that Apollo tricked Artemis into shooting him. He was swimming in the sea and he challenged her to shoot the back of his head. Artemis did so, not realizing that it was Orion.

"That's horrible," I had murmured. "Why did he do that?"

Luke had shrugged. "The gods have many reasons for doing things, Annabeth. The legends differ on this point. Some say that Orion was the only man Artemis had ever loved and Apollo made her shoot him in order to preserve her vow to remain a virgin goddess."

"But that still wasn't fair to him."

"The world isn't fair, Annabeth. I can't guarantee that your life will always be easy but you have to find your own happiness. No one else can do that for you."

Thinking about Luke made me remember his death. Not for the first time, I wondered how that boy who had told me about the constellations, who had taken care of me when I was alone, who had looked after me like a little sister; how could that boy have gone so wrong?

"Zoe," Percy murmured, bringing me back from my thoughts. I followed the direction of his hand, finding the constellation of the Huntress.

Let the world honour you, my Huntress. Live forever in the stars.

I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but suddenly the form of Zoe Nightshade seemed to come alive; nocking an arrow and letting it fly through the stars towards a target only she could see.

"She deserves it," I said out loud, unknowingly.

"She does," Percy agreed, sitting up.

I closed my eyes, feeling too comfortable there with the breeze and the softness of the turf beneath me. The familiar tunes of Taylor Swift filled the air and-wait, what?

I opened my eyes to find my iPod dock resting next to me, with my iPod sitting on it. And oh crap, Percy had found my Seaweed Brain playlist. I looked up to find his sea-green eyes fixed intently on mine, a questioning look in them.

"When we broke up," I explained. "Thalia told me to make this playlist with all these songs that described how I felt. She said it was a good form of therapy."

"You listened to Thalia's advice?" Percy asked. "You know that's inviting trouble, right?"

I laughed and crossed my legs as Taylor Swift started to sing, the familiar strains of Back to December carrying on the night air.

Because the last time you saw me

is still burned in the back of your mind…

You gave me roses

And I left them there to die

I started to sing, forgetting for the minute that Percy was there as I remembered the dark days that followed the break-up.

So this is me swallowing my pride,

Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night…

And I go back to December all the time…

I miss your tanned skin, your sweet smile

So good to me, so right

And how you held me in your arms that September night

The first time you ever saw me cry

"Why are you crying now?" Percy asked, wiping away the tears I hadn't even realized were falling down my cheeks.

"They're happy tears," I explained, realizing that the song had finished and the next one was a song that had described my situation without Percy perfectly.

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase…

This time, it was Percy who sang as he pulled me to my feet.

When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you scream, I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years…

But you still have…

All of me

I didn't care who saw as he twirled me around, sweeping me around the rooftop garden. It was a sort of ethereal place; somewhere where nothing seemed to exist but the sky above, the grass beneath my feet and Percy and I in a bubble of our own.

The song ended and I whirled back into Percy's arms, as he wrapped me in a protective embrace. I almost didn't want to spoil the night with the news I had received earlier in the day but I knew I had to tell him. "Chiron Iris-messaged me today," I told him softly.

"What did he say?"

"He asked us if we could come back to Camp Half-Blood tomorrow. Apparently, there's something he needs to discuss with us."

"Isn't there always something?" Percy sighed. "Man, sometimes I really wish the gods and monsters and everything would just stay in the past."

"Trust me, I've wished that plenty of times," I told him. "Unfortunately, it seems that the world is not a wish-granting factory."

Suddenly, there was a sudden flare of colour in the sky and looking up, I saw that they were fireworks. Of course-it was the 4th of July. Time for East Village's annual fireworks show. It was an amazing view from the rooftop, watching the fireworks explode in the sky in a blaze of colour with Percy's arms around me.

When it was over, we sat down on the picnic basket and talked. I had just finished relating my worries about the internship to him and Percy had just sighed and pulled me closer. "They'll be stupid not to accept you, Annabeth. You've got to be one of the best architects there."

"Hopefully."

"I missed you," Percy whispered into my hair. "Six months was too long."

A sudden warmth filled me at those words. "I missed you, too. It was nice to see Alice and Thomas again but I felt like an intruder sometimes."

"Then maybe you shouldn't leave again," Percy pleaded, his sea-green eyes like a cute baby seal that needed help. Honestly, it was a wonder I ever won an argument with him. Why couldn't I have big pleading eyes like that?

"That is so unfair," I protested. "You can't use the judo power of your eyes on me!"

"Judo power of my eyes?" Percy nearly fell over laughing. "What the Hades is that supposed to be?"

"That-that thing you do whenever you're pleading and-and your eyes become all wide and- ugh!" I complained. "Just-just don't do it, okay? It's unfair leverage."

Percy managed to compose himself enough to scoff. "Please, like you don't do the same thing. In fact, you use it to your advantage! I don't even know I'm doing it!"

"That is such a lie, Percy-"

He cut me off by leaning in and kissing me.

Unfortunately for him, he had pulled that trick a few too many times. With amazing willpower, I managed to pull my lips from his and push him away. "Nice try, Jackson. That's not going to work anymore."

"Then you won't mind if I do it again."

And before I could say a single word of protest, his lips descended on mine and the rest of the world faded away.

Links to Percy and Annabeth's apartment are below; the rooftop garden was created by my imagination.

Living Room: luxury-and-modern-residential-interior-design-of-200-eleventh-avenue-downtown-manhattan-nyc

Kitchen: vivacious-narrow-apartment-interior-design-inspiration/a-vibrant-apartment-in-tribeca-lower-manhattan-new-york-6/

Dining Room and Breakfast Bar: new-york-rental-apartment/