Author's Note: (The little things are so annoying right? Like AUTHOR'S NOTES) Hey, here's chapter 11! Alright, I originally started writing this July 29th, that just shows you how long I actually work on these things. And I said how long, not how hard. I'm lazy. I admit it. But I have a system so I don't look as lazy. A few of those days in between that time and the time it's uploaded, I was on vacation in Ottawa.

Oh, and thanks to twilight1801 for the constructive criticism. Really helps, and it didn't come off as rude AT ALL. By the way, the separating names from sentences one, I must've heard from a teacher once because I only do it sometimes. I guess I wasn't really sure if that was a rule, but thanks for confirming that, I'll make sure, to the best of my ability, that I try to work on the areas you suggested. And as for, the fact that I stretch things out instead of making them short sweet and to the point, that's a problem I had since I was in fourth grade. I'm never good at summarizing or shorter stories because I can never seem to get the point and all the important points, in a smaller area. As for details, I try, but I'm not very descriptive. I get your point though, and I'll try to fix it the best I can. I might not even be explaining this I should just shut up, and let you read, huh? Fine. But I'm stealing your Mom's car keys! Ha ha!

Annabeth woke up to a lovely surprise the next morning.

Her brother Malcolm shook her shoulder to wake her up. "Annabeth, wake up."

"No." Annabeth moaned.

"Come on, get up! You have a surprise waiting for you."

"I hate surprises." Annabeth grumbled, putting the pillow over her head. "And whatever it is can wait until it's actually time to wake up."

"Actually, it was time to wake up 20 minutes ago. Now you're just being lazy." Malcolm informed.

Annabeth's eyes flung open. "What? Why didn't anybody wake me up?"

Malcolm motioned over to the dagger on her night stand.

Annabeth rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Whatever. So, what's this surprise anyway?"

"You got a not-so-secret - especially since we told everyone - love letter from a certain son of Poseidon." Malcolm said, wriggling his eye brows, and dangling the envelope in her face.

"Give me that!" Annabeth yelled, grabbing the note from his hand. She studied the envelope with her name on it written in Greek. "Wait, this isn't Percy's hand writing. You opened it, read it aloud, and resealed it didn't you?"

"Nothing get's past you. I'll leave you alone so you can squeal and giggle, and do all that girl stuff girls do when their in love." Malcolm said walking out of the cabin.

"I don't giggle and squeal!" Annabeth called after him. She opened the re-packaged letter and read every word with joy. She shook her head, "Seaweed Brain …"

Nico noticed that Thalia and Percy were extra tired that morning at breakfast, but didn't really mention it. He just figured they had bad nights too. He couldn't sleep the whole night because he had been thinking about Rose. Max was already out cold, so he had no one to talk to. He had just lay there, eyes wide open, thinking about all the things she would do for him.

He looked at Percy with slight confusion. "You still haven't shaved it off? I think it got thicker, you'll have to shave it sometime."

"I can't, I don't have a razor. Because, like I already told you, I don't normally have to shave. This stupid beard thing is driving me crazy!" Percy complained.

"You do know that Chiron probably has a razor right?" Thalia suggested.

Percy's eyes widened, and he ran off to the Big House. "Idiot." Nico and Thalia said simultaneously.

"So, how'd you sleep, Bone-Bag?" Thalia yawned.

"I didn't. I just lied there and thought about stuff. Either that or I dreamed about a dark chamber, with an evil sorcerer who snores." Nico grumbled.

"Max? He isn't so bad. At least he's not another Percy, that'd be terrible." Thalia remarked.

"I don't know, I don't trust him."

"Careful, it's not good for a son of Hades to hold grudges." Thalia teased.

"Whatever."

"Hey listen, I got a fiver that says Percy doesn't get that stupid thing shaved. You in?"

"Why so sure? Did you take the razor from Chiron's room or something?"

"No, it's just I have faith in Percy to find a way to mess it up." Thalia shrugged.

"Cool, you're on." Nico gambled. "Wait, what if he comes back with like, only a little shaved off, 'cause he dropped the razor or something Percy-like?"

"Easy. Depends on how much is left. If there's more left than there is shaved, I win. If there's more shaved, you win. But you won't win, so don't get your hopes up."

Percy later came back with a disappointed look on his face, not to mention the stubble. "YEAH! IN YOUR FACE! I WIN, YOU LOSE! AGAIN! HA HA HA, HA!" Thalia boasted.

"Thanks a lot, Percy! You made me lose five bucks!" Nico growled.

Percy cocked his head sideways, like a confused puppy. "What did I do?"

"Where do I begin, Hoarse-Head? For starters, you were born with A BRAIN MADE COMPLETELY OUT OF KELP! Fast-forward 18 years, to today, and YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE A FREAKIN' RAZOR BLADE!"

"What?"

"We bet weather you could shave or not, and I WON! HA!" Thalia bragged.

"What? No, you see, I did shave it off, but it grew back almost instantaneously. I tried about three or four times, but no luck."

"Wait, that means I won!" Nico exclaimed.

"No, he came back with it not shaved-"

"Yeah, but he did shave it-"

"That wasn't the bet, Death Breath!" Thalia shouted.

"Was too, Air Head!" Nico challenged.

"You're dead!" Thalia yelled, tackling Nico and putting him in another electric head-lock.

Percy sighed. "Do you have to fight about everything?"

"Depends. If Nico's gonna be stupid about everything-"

"Shut up! I-I so ... won the b-bet!" Nico chocked out, struggling against her grip.

"Stop fighting! Thalia, just let Nico win this one. It's just gonna keep going on unless one of you can turn the other cheek."

"Then why do I have to do it? He's the one that's wrong." Thalia spat.

"No, you are! And why does Percy keep bossing us around? He can't do anything."

"Oh yeah?" Percy asked, agitated.

"Yeah." Both Thalia and Nico agreed. "You can't do anything to us on land, Fish Lips." Thalia added.

"Really? You want to start something?" Percy challenged.

"With you? No, I don't wanna embarrass you." Nico taunted. "Oh, and it's true what they say; Poseidon's the father of horses!"

"Yeah, just step down, Kelp Head." Thalia said. "You know you can't win a battle without Annabeth telling you what to do."

"I can so! She's not the boss of me!"

"Oh yes she is. I never seen someone so ***** whipped." Nico said, making a whipping noise.

"I am not! She respects me." Percy fought.

"Oh really? Then why does she make all the decisions?" Nico tested.

"'Cause she's the daughter of Athena."

"Yep, and you're the daughter of Poseidon." Thalia laughed. Percy scowled at that. "Oh come on, if she respects you so much, then why are you always the second priority?"

"What ... what'd you mean?" Percy laughed, nervously.

"She spends all day planning out Olympus, and when they won't let her work on it anymore they send her to school. Then after she's done there, she comes back to you to complain. By the time she get's the time to see you, she's usually angry about something they did wrong up there. Looks like she cares more about the builders than you." Nico observed.

"But ... she loves me. I know she does. It's just it's important to her."

"More important then you're relationship?" Nico questioned. Percy didn't answer. "Let me ask you this. If she loves you so much, why is she going to England without you?" Percy avoided his gaze, thinking hard about what he said. "I'm just saying, when was the last time you did something romantic together?"

"Uh, Prom was kinda romantic. I mean, 'till I got drunk. And, uh ... oh. That grad dinner. Though we did cut it short 'cause she had to go to Olympus to finalize a design ... I sat in Central Park the rest of the night ..." Percy remembered.

"Really? No way. Annabeth wouldn't do that." Thalia said.

"Correction. She wouldn't do that to some one who matters to her. Face it Percy, the spice has gone out of your relationship. She doesn't wanna spend time with you anymore."

"... But ... N-no ... She's just busy-"

"Too busy for you. Convenient isn't it?"

"Nico, lay off." Thalia ordered. She saw Percy doubting himself and Annabeth.

"Why? I'm just telling him what he was gonna hear from Annabeh later. Better he know now while he's still got the chance to stop it, then ..." Nico faltered.

"Wait, this isn't about Percy and Annabeth at all is it? This is about you and Rose! You still haven't got over her and you're using Percy and Annabeth's relationship as a outlet, because you know you could've stopped your break-up." Thalia accused.

"What? You're crazy. Stop being crazy, they'll take you away to a mortal asylum." Nico said too quickly.

"Nico, stop messing with Percy just 'cause your a loser. You can only mess with him when you have a good reason, like, you're bored, or it's just funny."

"Do you ... Do you really think she doesn't wanna spend time with me?" Percy asked worriedly.

"Nah, Annabeth loves you. Right, Nico?" Thalia prompted, elbowing him.

"Okay, I'm all for helping Percy, but all we're really doing is enabling him so he can hold her back. What we're doing isn't fair to Annabeth." Nico hissed to Thalia. Thalia glared at him, like, Shut up, he's standing right there!

"I'm holding her back?" Percy stressed. Nico and Thalia looked over to him. "That's all I ever do to her is hold her back. She's got dreams, and the smarts to get there, but with me ... no matter how hard I try I'll never be able to give all the stuff she wants, and deserves. I am holding her back."

"No, Percy, I was just-"

"Telling the truth." Percy finished. He sighed, "I can't hold her back anymore." His look hardened. "I need to do the right thing."

Percy stormed off towards Athena cabin, and Nico and Thalia ran after him. "Percy, what do you think you're doing?" Thalia questioned.

"The thing I should've done a long time ago. It's not fair to Annabeth, that I keep her to myself. That's why she's been so mad. She just didn't want to hurt my feelings, so I'm gonna do it for her."

Nico and Thalia exchanged looks. Nico asked, "What're you gonna do?"

Percy looked over his sholder as he walked on, "I'm gonna break up with her."

"WHAT?" Both Thalia and Nico yelled.

"It's better for her. I just want her to be happy."

"Percy, don't be an idiot! She loves you! You can't break-up with her! She'd be devastated!" Thalia expressed.

"This is what she really wants guys, I know it. Why else would she be so upset about England? She was just making up excuses before, but this way, she can be happy."

"No, you'd both be totally depressed! I can't believe I have to say this for what must be the millionth time but, DON'T BE STUPID, PERCY!" Thalia scolded.

"Yeah! I was just joking around! Don't make the mistake I did, trust me, this could end up being the worst of your life. I'd give anything to go back and make things right with me and Rose, and I'm not letting you throw away your relationship." Nico warned.

"You can't stop me guys, I'm gonna do this whether you like it or not!" Percy shouted, getting up to the porch of the Athena cabin.

Nico and Thalia looked at each other and silently agreed, Get him.

Thalia grabbed his left arm and Nico his right. He struggled against them, but they overpowered him and dragged him back towards the arena. "LET ME GO! I'M DOING THIS FOR HER OWN GOOD!"

"Yeah, well we're doing this for your own good. Trust us on this one. You'll thank us later, well, you know, if you come to your senses." Thalia explained. "Besides, she's probably off doing some camp activity, there's no telling where she is."

Percy stopped struggling. "...If I can't see her, I'll just write to her again ..." He muttered under his breath, just quiet enough so the others wouldn't hear.

Nico and Thalia had apparently never stopped talking while he was. "... And if we have to tie you to a tree we will." Nico finished.

"Yeah. We're doing this because we're your friends, and-"

"I get it already! Would you just shut up? I'm not going to tell Annabeth we're breaking up, okay?" Percy coaxed.

Nico and Thalia stopped. Thalia asked, "So, you're not going to break her heart?"

"Nope." Can't break her heart when that's what she wanted.

"And, you're not going to ruin everything?" Nico tested.

"Nope." Just everything for him.

Thalia and Nico exchanged looks and let his arms go. Nico decided, "Alright, but we're watching you. We're not letting you do anything stupid. Which'll be hard because almost everything you do is stupid, but you know what I mean."

"I can take care of myself." Percy grumbled, getting off the ground.

"Well, obviously not. You still got that stupid stubble, a- hey, I WON THE BET!" Thalia realized.

At lunch, Thalia pulled Percy aside. "Look I've been meaning to talk to you about last night."

"Why?" Percy asked.

"'Cause I don't want you telling anybody about the things I said, or the way I acted. Especially when I ..."

"Fell into me?" Percy offered.

"No, you hugged me. Either way I want your word that nothing leaks out into camp. Those Aphrodite girls can really gossip."

"You already have my word, remember? I swore on the river Styx-"

"Yeah," Thalia said, holding her spear to his neck. "I know. But I want you to swear on something that really matters to you."

"Like what?"

"Like ... like Annabeth's grave. I want you to swear on her grave that you won't blab."

"What?"

"Do it!"

"Fine, I swear on her grave." Percy said quickly and uncaringly.

"No, say it like you mean it."

"Fine! I, Perseus Richard Jackson, do hereby solemnly swear never to reveal the actions of Thalia Gra- uh, that took place yesterday night. Happier?"

"Yep." Thalia said, lowering her weapon. "And, 'Richard?'"

"What? I was named after my great Uncle Rich -on my mom's side- who died of some disease when my Mom was in college. What's wrong with Richard?" (I don't what his middle name really is, I just figured since Sally cared enough to take care of her Uncle Rich when he was dieing, she would name her son after him. There's a note in the Ultimate Guide, page 13, that proves my point a little)

"Nothing. It's just I never heard your middle name before. Now, come on Richy, I'm hungry."

Later, at about 3 am, Percy took out a (Non-magical) pen and paper, and started writing in ancient Greek. He sealed it in an envelope, and wrote her name on the back, just like last time, but with a few tear stains added.

He stormed out of cabin 3, not even checking for the cleaning harpies. He got about halfway to cabin 6, when two some thing's tackled him from behind. Thalia and Nico.

"Liar! You said you weren't gonna break up with her!" Nico shouted.

"I said I wouldn't tell her we were breaking up! I'm taking the cowards way out!"

"You little rat! We knew you'd try something like this!" Thalia yelled. "That's why we stayed up all night to stop you!"

"LET ME GO!"

"NO!" Both Thalia and Nico yelled back. Thalia made a wild grab for the envelope, and ran off towards Percy's cabin.

"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!"

"NEVER!" Thalia called back over her shoulder.

Percy struggled against Nico's grip, but managed to limp over to Poseidon cabin, with Nico clinging to his back. Though, once he got through the door Thalia pinned him down and passed the envelope on to Nico, who leisurely strolled over to a bunk nearby and opened it. "Read it aloud." Thalia ordered.

"Dear Annabeth," Nico read.

"This is one of the hardest things I ever had to do, because I love you so much. Emphasis on the 'love you' part. I don't wanna have to do this, but I know it's for the best, and I respect your decisions. I figured out why you're mad, and I don't hold anything against you. I love you, but I know you wanna break up, so, I'll do it for you. I'm breaking up with you, so you don't to do it to me. I know you've wanted to do this for what must be a while now, and I'm sorry I didn't get the point sooner. Knowing me, you could've wanted this for a year. I love you. I'm sorry I couldn't do this in person, and I feel like a jerk for doing it like this, but you know I can't really see you, so this is the best I could do. I love you with all my heart, but since I know this is what you want, I'll back off, and let you live your life. This way, you can go to England without me bugging you. I hope we can still be friends, 'cause it can be just like it used to be. And I'll pretend none of this ever happened if that's what you want. I love you, but I gotta let you go."

"From, Percy." Nico finished.

Thalia loosened her grip a little, but then snapped out of the sympathy trance and gripped harder. "You were gonna give her that?"

"I'm not too poetic, if you haven't noticed, but I guess I got my point across."

"Yeah, that you're an IDIOT!" Thalia screamed in his face.

"You can't stop me from doing what she wants!"

"Gods, you're so freaking thick!" Nico criticized. "Why can't you just get that she doesn't want to break up-"

"Maybe I want to break up!" Percy shouted, his voice breaking.

That hung in the air. Thalia stopped trying to hold him down, backed up, and just stared at him like he said, 'Maybe I want to **** on a God's throne!'

"Wha ... What?" Thalia breathed.

"Uh, yeah. I wanna break up with her, because I'm tired of us fighting, and we never fought when we were just friends. I mean, we fought, but not like this. And I realized you're right, Nico, she is always too busy. I know she has her dreams, but every once in a while it'd be nice to spend a little time together. Maybe ... maybe I do wanna break up." Percy said, telling himself more then them.

"Percy, you don't mean that. You can't do this." Thalia told him. "Look, just because you're going through a rough patch, doesn't mean you can give up on the whole thing. You can't runaway from this, Percy-"

"I'm not running from anything! I'm just ... confused. All I ever am these days is confused. And scared. Scared I'm loosing the best thing in my life."

"If you're scared to loose her, why are breaking up with her?" Nico asked, a little angry.

"That's one of the things that's so confusing! The only thing I can do to stop loosing her completely is to let her go. This way, when she get's back from England, we can at least be friends, because it won't be as awkward as if she brings a new guy here and I find out some other way." Percy explained.

"So ... you really wanna go through with this?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah." Percy breathed.

Nico exchanged looks with Thalia, and Thalia sighed. "Nico, give him the note."

"What? No! We can't-"

"Stand in his way. If Percy really wants to do this, "She said, looking Percy in the eyes. "We've gotta respect his choice. It's his life, not ours. Give him the note."

Nico grumbled something like, Fine, but don't blame me when you start missing her being there. But reluctantly handed him the note.

"We're leaving now, and you can chose to send her that note. Or, you can destroy it. I just want you to remember, she loves you, and you love her. And no matter what, she'd hang on through it all for you. And she maybe she already has, but she'd do it all again to be with you. Just think about that before you break her heart." Thalia advised, pushing Nico out the door.

The words haunted him, long after the door slammed shut. What was he supposed to do?

The next morning, Nico didn't need the alarm clock to wake up. No, although he was incredibly tired, something managed to get him up. A smell. A simple smell.

Now, early morning smells usually vary. From the scent of dew covered strawberries wafting towards the cabins. To the fresh, crisp breeze brought in by the ocean, that smelled vaguely like saltwater. Or maybe even the smell of wet pine, wandering down Half-blood hill. Yet this morning, there was the oddest scent. An unmistakable aroma of burning paper.

Nico's eye lids flung open when he recognized the stench. At first, panic surged in his heart. Smoke usually isn't a good sign. But once he saw there were no impending threats of fire, the panic in his heart was extinguished. He swung his legs out of bed, and got up. Reaching for his aviator jacket as he did, he walked over to the door. Gazing out, he could see a figure standing by the freshly lit fire-pit. Percy.

He stepped out of his cabin, and walked over to him. They stood together in silence for a long time, just staring into the crackling fire. In the center of the pit, was a blackened, and crumbled piece of paper. Nico couldn't make out much of what it used to be, except he could vaguely make out the name Annabeth written on one side. Percy's break-up note. Percy glared at it bitterly. After a long period of silence, Nico offered, "You did the right thing, you know. This would've been the biggest mistake you can make."

Percy continued to stare into the fire, and later answered in an unually soft voice, "..Sure. Whatever ..."

"I know it might seem bad now, but every thing'll work out. It has to." Nico tried.

"... Sure ... whatever ..."

Nico looked at him strangely. "You okay?" It was a stupid question to ask, and he regretted asking it as soon as it came out of his mouth.

Percy blinked hard. "No ... And I don't think I ever will be." He admitted, his voice cracking.

"I don't like when you talk like that." Nico mumbled, looking at Percy worriedly.

"Why? You and Thalia talk like that sometimes."

"Yeah, but ... you're not like us ... Thalia and I ... we're always angry about something, and usually just to cover how upset we are. But you're always happy, or at least, happier. I don't know. You're just always in control, and calm and stuff. If you're talking like that, well, it doesn't give our situation much hope." Nico rationalized.

Percy stared at him strangely. "You think I'm always in control? Where have you been the last eight-teen years of my life? I'm anything but in control, Nico. And usually, I'm at peace with that. Sure sometimes, I get mad, but I'll just let it go because there's no use in complaining. I don't know where you got that calm and in control stuff, but I don't think I am."

"Well, you're calmer and more in control than us. You ever notice that? Thalia and I are always cynical and harsh, but you, not as much. I think ... I think it's 'cause you got at least one good parent. Me and her, we had basic guidance, I guess, but you got support and all that. You were raised to be good and happy in life. You got better head start, and I think that's the key difference between us." Nico observed.

"Maybe ..." Percy mumbled. They stared back into the fire. The note, by now, was completely ash. Sure, he could've written another note, but burning this one was like symbolisum. He threw away his chance to escape this pain. He was so confused, and tired of being confused, that tears actually welled in his eyes. He took a deep breath in. "I could've stopped it. I still can. Why aren't I? It's what she wants, so why can't I just do it already?"

"Because you can't let her go. You're too overprotective, it's your fatal flaw, isn't it? Extreme loyalty? You can't let her go, because you simply can't. It's not in your nature. But there is something you can do about that."Nico offered.

"Wha ... what do you mean?"

"Well, I think the Daemon of Loyalty was er, is Eusebeia. All you have to do is pray to her to uh, make you less loyal."

"You really think that's gonna work?" Percy asked quizzically.

Nico shrugged, "It's worth a shot, if you really wanna let her go. I'm just giving you the option. What I did with Rose was pray to be a better guy around her. I really wanted it to work out with her, but I guess I didn't pray to the right God."

"You actually prayed to be a better guy? I don't think there's a God for that." Percy said.

"I was desperate, okay? Back off." Nico snapped.

"Okay." Percy said simply, looking at him with surprise.

They both took a deep breath and blew it out, simultaneously. Life wasn't good right now.

"Come now, just a little farther! That's it! Yes, you've got it! Very well done!" Chiron called up to Thalia, who was attempting the tight-rope esc thing. She was sweating and shaking like crazy, but she managed to get to the other side without having to be removed by ladder. This was her 14th try.

"G-good job, Thalia!" Percy stuttered. He was on a very angry Pegasus, which was their substitute for a bucking bronco.

"Yeah, just wonderful!" Nico growled. He was fending off a barrage of tennis balls, that were being launched at him from one of those machines tennis players use to practise, by using shadow force feilds.

"You're all doing excellent, I think we're even ahead of shedule!" Truth was, Thalia and Nico didn't want to be ahead of schedule. Chiron had promised that if they had spare time, he'd punish them for trying to kill each other. But Percy did. He wanted it more than anything, so he could see Annabeth. He was working extra hard, to make that happen.

"Arrgh! Why are we doing this again?" Nico grumbled.

"These are just excises to test different aspects. Thalia; her fear, Percy; endurance, and you, Nico, reflex. You're all doing wonderfully. But a break is in order. Well, for one of you. Percy, you have an hour to yourself, while Thalia and Nico must wash dishes." Chiron informed.

"WHAT? No fair! We deserve a break too!" Thalia shouted down to him.

"Well, if you want time off, don't try to kill people. Come, you two need to get suited up, or else your hands will burn off."

The last thing Percy heard before running out of there was their annoyed groans. "... Pony's pet ..." Nico grumbled under his breath, quiet enough for Chiron not to hear.

The door to Athena cabin slammed open. "Annabeth, I love you!"

Too bad no one was there. Percy cursed under his breath and looked for clues as to where she would be. He figured the camp activities shedule would be a good place to start. Polishing armor. Easy. He bolted out to the armory, making papers rustle in Athena cabin. As he ran, everything around him was a blur.

She could hear Percy coming from a mile off. He kept screaming her name, and acting like an idiot, or in other words, himself. "Percy?" She almost whispered, disbelievingly.

He bursted through the door, "Annabeth?"

A smile crept across her face, and she ran to him. "Percy!"

This wasn't the first time the kissed in front of a crowd. The Athena cabin cheered for them, even though some of her half-brothers didgive Percy the evil-eye as they cheered. When they came up for air, Annabeth got a good look at Percy. She tried not to laugh. "Percy, what's with the-"

"I know, I know, I'll explain later. Right now, I need advise."

"What about?"

"You think it'd be wise to sneak out of polishing armor for a while?"

Annabeth smiled, "I don't know, but I don't think you can call it sneaking out when everybody already knows we're doing it."

"See, this is why you're the smart one." Percy told her.

Annabeth laughed. "There are so many more reasons why I'm the smart one."

They went out to the fireworks beach, sat down on the sand, and talked. "So, are you gonna tell me what's up with that beard?"

Percy sighed. "It's not a beard, it's stubble. And, remember how I told you in the letter that we had all these weird side affects? Well, this is apparently one of them. And before you say, why don't you just shave it off? I tried already, it just keeps growing back, and I mean instantly."

"It's alright then, as long as you have a good reason, I guess I don't mind it. So, how are Thalia and Nico doing?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know. Thalia admited why she was upset though, so I guess that's the first step, and stuff, but she still seems kind of sad. And guilty, very guilty. I wonder what she did that's making her so messed up. Oh, and she's eating a lot more. I don't know if that's good or bad, but still. Anyway, Nico's still not over Rose, and he's starting to bug us about it. I mean, he's making us feel bad so he can feel better. He's become a bit of a bully, but I don't hold it against him since I know why he's doing it. Thalia, on the other hand, is still kinda mad. I guess they're still working through it or whatever." Percy updated.

Annabeth seemed to be considering this. "Yeah, well, I'm worried about them. And since I can't help them, you have to. Make sure they don't do anything they could regret. They're probably very open right now, and you need to be there when they're ready to talk."

"Already working on it. Thalia opened up to me the other night. It was really weird. She was so open, and emotional, and not like herself."

"Yeah, Thalia can be surprisingly sensitive and vulnerable. She always likes to hide it though, because she thinks it makes her look weak. Oh, and by the way, she might be very irritable and angry in a little while, usually for no good reason." Annabeth warned, because step 3 of the 7 stages of grief was Anger/Bargaining.

"Why?" Percy asked, confused.

"Oh, just a feeling. Don't be too scared, and don't try to fight her." Annabeth ordered.

"Check. So ... what's going on with you?" Percy prompted. He didn't want to talk about their problems, and ruin their time together.

"Not much. Well, you know, camp stuff. I've been helping some of the younger campers with their Greek history."

"Oh, yeah? How are our future heroes doing?"

"Better than you did when you first got here, that's for sure." Annabeh laughed. "But that's not much of an accomplishment, now is it?"

Percy tried to look offened, but he laughed too, "Hey, I wasn't that bad. And I think you have to cut me a little slack. I was worried about my mom, my dad, that whole child-of-the-prophecy deal-"

"Fine, I take it back. They're doing better than you on a normal day at camp." Annabeth corrected.

"There's normal days?" Percy chuckled.

"You know what I mean Seaweed Brain." Annabeth laughed.

It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun shining just right, the ocean glittering, and the breeze cool and crisp. They both avoided their problem, but it added an uneasiness every now and again. But, still, it was perfect. Well, you know, half-blood perfect. Eventually though, they couldn't avoid the enviable. "... And then he said that her tree was the best bathroom his hell-hound ever had!" Percy laughed.

"No way! I can't believe Nico was actually stupid enough to say that!" Annabeth laughed.

"And she totally freaked, and blew up the machine!" Percy chuckled.

Once they finished laughing they stared out to the sea. It was quiet for far too long. "Percy ... we can't just pretend like none of that happened. We've gotta talk about this."

Percy groaned. "Do we have to? Why can't we just enjoy the day?"

"I want to, but we've gotta sort this out. We can't just make like every thing's fine, it won't go away if we don't talk about it."

Percy sighed, "Fine ... You go first, I'll try to listen."

"Okay. I'm really angry at you for not trusting me to go to England, and I know you apologized. But I also know that you were studying up on architecture to impress me, which would normally be sweet, but I know you're doing it to make me not want to leave, so I'm even more mad. And things have been really awkward. I just wanna know ... why are you so upset all of the sudden?"

"'Cause it's not just all of the sudden. I just, didn't realize it untill I saw you about to leave like this. And this time, I want to make this perfectly clear; I trust you, with my life." Percy said slowly. " It's everything else I don't trust. Have you ever been to England? They say that it's merry old England, but I've been researching this, and England has one of the worst crime rates in the world! And I think it was every 851 people assaulted per 100,000! And you could be the 1, in the 851!" (No offense to those who live in merry old England! I got this information online, so don't blame me for most of the things Percy's gonna diss England with)

Annabeth stared at him strangely. "You studied for something you didn't have to? Oh my Gods."

"A-and they've got the most expensive petrol gas over there. Your car will be so much more expensive!" Percy told her.

"Percy-"

"And I read that on average, living costs, uh, I think that's houses, are more expensive, since like, the homes there are usually bigger." (Again, online. I don't know if it's true)

"Percy-"

"And-"

"Percy!" Annabeth shouted.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up for a second and listen." Annabeth said.

Percy's jaw tightened.

"Good. Now, I've been reading up on England, too. And, the gas may be more expensive, but you don't necessarily need a car in England. And the flights are cheaper to anywhere in Europe. I could go to Rome and see the-"

"I know, the Parthenon. Okay, I see your point. I worry a lot. But I do have good reasons. Long distance relationships usually can't work out." Percy debated.

"Well, kids usually don't save Zeus's master bolt. Kids usually don't travel half way around the world, and back, to save a camp. Kids usually don't navigate the labyrinth, battle monsters on a daily basis, or hold up the sky! And kids definitely don't defeat the titan lord against impossible odds! We're notaverage. We're not normal. And we're definitely not usual, Percy. We're demigods, and we can do anything if we work together."

"Wow, that was pretty inspiring. All you need is an American flag in the background and you're set. But I still have reasons to be worried."

"What now?" Annabeth groaned. "Didn't you hear my speech?"

"Yeah, but I'm also worried about money." Percy stressed.

"What? Why? We've got plenty of money from my working on Olympus and your saving up your paychecks-"

"Well, not exactly." Percy admitted.

"What?" Annabeth questioned, staring him down.

"Well, and you gotta promise not to be mad ... I kinda spent all our savings on er, something ..."

"WHAT?" Annabeth screamed. "ON WHAT?"

"W-w-well, there was Thalia's operation, and, uh, well, Nico, Grover, and I wanted to have some fun one weekend, and ... well, we went to Vegas ... I made a lot of money, but then lost it all in one round. We were sworn to secrecy, 'cause they lost a lot too, an- ah, Styx! I gave up the secret!"

"Peseus Jackson ..." Annabeth seethed.

"Annabeth, p-please! Don't kill me!" Percy pleaded. "You love me, remember?"

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! I THOUGHT YOU WERE A SEAWEED BRAIN BEFORE, BUT THIS ..." It goes on like this for a long, long time. She almost brings her knife out, too. "... AND IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE IN TROUBLE BEFORE, OH, JUST YOU WAIT!" And it goes on ... "... I THOUGHT YOU AT LEAST HAD A SLIVER OF GOOD SENSE IN THAT SEAWEED BALL YOU CALL A BRAIN, BUT APPEARENTLY, YOU'RE AN IDIOTIC SIMPLETON WHO IS COMPLETELY INCAPABLE OF ARTICULATE THOUGHT!" And on ... "... AND VEGAS? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? OH WAIT, YOU WEREN'T!" And on.

Eventually, she did calm down a little, so unless you want to read 10 chapters of Annabeth's rants, let's just skip to then.

"I've said I'm sorry about a billion and one times, but I'll say it again; I'm really, really, reallysorry. Just let me finish telling you my point." Percy apologised.

"Fine. But you are so dead later." Annabeth growled, her arms crossed.

"Okay, so without my savings, we don't have a lot of money for you to keep traveling back and forth for the holidays. Which means, it'll be the full four years that we don't see each other-"

"Well, maybe, if you hadn't spent all our money in a freaking casino-"

"I said I was sorry! You know I didn't mean to l-"

"Oh, that's supposed to make it all better? Because you didn't mean to?"

"I'm sorry!"

"All our finical plans are ruined!" Annabeth screamed.

"I'm sorry!" His voice wavering.

"Oh Gods, what have you done?"

"I'm so sorry!" Tears welling in his eyes.

"I've been paying the bills with that money! That means we're in debt! At 18!" Annabeth cried. "You've been hiding the mail from the government haven't you?"

"Yes! I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't! Grover and Nico made me swear on my life, and they didn't want to get in trouble so-"

"Percy! Don't you know what this means?" Annabeth sobbed.

"I know! I'm so sorry! I-I-I don't ... I don't ..." Annabeth sobbed into Percy's shoulder. "I-I'm sor-ry!" Percy hiccuped.

"You did-dn't even t-ell m-me." Annabeth wept. "Y-you don't ev-ven trust m-me to d-deal with our m-money?"

"I d-do it's ju-ust, I was s-scared to l-lose you ... 'c-cause you'd b-be mad ... " Percy bawled. You know, as it turns out, you can't argue when you're bawling.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Annabeth asked, staring out to sea. They had eventually stopped crying because they simple ran out of tears.

"I wanted to, so badly. But I thought if I could handle it myself, I wouldn't have to upset you, and Grover and Nico didn't want to get in trouble with Rose or Juniper, so I didn't want to rat them out, and I'm an idiot, so I thought I could pull it off before you noticed, and-" Percy babbled.

"Is that why you took all those extra shifts?" Annabeth asked blandly.

"Yep." Percy answered dryly. "It might not matter now but ... from that I saved a couple thousand. But ... because we had to pay for the operation, it's down to 500."

"Out of about 15,000?"

Percy nodded remorsefully.

Annabeth heaved a long sigh. "Go."

"Annabeth, I-"

"Just go. I can't look at you right now." Her eyes closed, and her hand on her forehead.

"I ... I love you. And I was trying to get more money so we-"

"Please Percy ... Go."

He looked at her for a while, then kissed the top of her head, a tear slipping out, and trudged back to the cabins.

Ouch. That's bad. Oh, and by the way, just in case you didn't get it, I DIDN'T MEAN ANY OF THE BAD THINGS ABOUT ENGLAND! I've never even been there! That's just what I read online, so it's not my fault, really. Oh, and Percy hasn't prayed to be less loyal yet, but will he? I don't know. I usually just wing it. We'll see. By the way, this one, I didn't necessarily want to be long. I wanted it to be short sweet and to the point, but I kept writing.

P.S. Where I live, I'm posting this on August 13th. What about you?