In Another Life

By: xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx

AN: Hi. This idea has been bothering me for a long while, and I've been dying to write it, though I never found inspiration to do so. Anyways, this story is based off of the song by Katy Perry: The One That Got Away. You'll see some similarties of my two OCs with Katy's song, and you'll probably wonder what this has to do with PJO, but I promise you, the PJO is near the ending.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HoO and The One That Got Away.

"I've had it!" he yelled, annunciating every word with unfamiliar ferocity that that shivers down her spine. Had she not been so angry, she might've gone and cowered in a corner.

His green eyes—God, she loved them—were narrowed disdainfully, and he ground out, "I'm sick and tired of you and all of your drama. Do you honestly think that I would… that I would cheat on you? God, Beth, for someone so damn smart, you're so stupid!"

Her mind went blank with anger, and she stood on her tiptoes, wearing a glare akin to his. "Fine then," she spat back, "if you're so damn tired with me—" With each angry word, she pushed his chest with her finger, "—then just leave! See if I give a damn!"

Surprise covered his good looks, and for a minute, they were just staring at each other, both breathing heavily. Then, shock turned into rage, and he growled, "Fine. If that's what you want, then fine. I'll leave you alone with all of your almighty glory."

They stayed frozen in that position for another moment, before he let out a disgusted scoff and stepped away from her. She remained still as he backed away, walking backwards, still looking at her.

Eyes softening in the slightest way, he quietly said, "Goodbye, Beth," before he turned and ran away.

That was the last time she saw him.

Beth wished everyday of her miserable life that she could take back every single stupid, hateful, false word that she said to Russ. [1]

God, she had been such a stubborn idiot. Going around and accusing him of cheating on her… How dense could she possibly get? This was Russ, probably the sweetest, most loyal guy she had ever met. He would never, ever turn his back on her…and she had been and fool to not realize that sooner.

Now, she would never get a second chance to be with him.

They went to different colleges, worked in different jobs, and lived in different parts of their city, so it was easy—too easy—for him to avoid her. She tried looking for him a few years later, but he had left town, according to a few of his buddies. She would never see, hear, or talk to Russ Green again. She had let him slip through fingers.

She found herself longing for the past so badly—looking through old pictures of the two of them, staring at her tattoo that was identical to his, listening to his favorite bands, among others—and wanting to find him. Knowing Russ, he had probably found a pretty girl, gotten married to her, and lived a successful life as an artist.

And her…well, she ended up getting married, getting divorced, and becoming a single mom, all before she could even drink.

It was crazy, really. It was crazy to live in the past—to wish so badly to be able to go back to it. The past was the past; Beth knew she couldn't time-travel to try and change things. She couldn't try and keep all the promises that she and Russ had made. That was just life.

But, she couldn't help but wish… that, maybe, in one of those myths or whatever, she could be reincarnated, just so she could get a second chance with Russ.

"Promise me… that nothing will change between us. Promise me, that, if something—or someone—tried to come between us, we wouldn't let them. Promise me that."

"I promise. I promise that you and I… we'll make it in this crazy world. Nothing's going to change between us. I promise." [2]

Her mind was blank with rage. She couldn't think, let alone stop herself from saying those cruel, cruel words that she was saying to him. Everything seemed to be crumbling apart…

She was going to loose him.

For some reason, it felt like this… this had happened before, and in a way, it had. She had lost Luke, Thalia… But Percy? She had swore to herself that he would be different. They would build something permanent with each other, and he promised her that as well.

But now, the possibility of that happening seemed slim.

"I-I… I can't believe you!" she screamed, getting way too close to his face for his liking, but she was too angry to give a damn. Through gritted teeth she continued, "I can't believe you, Perseus. You… You are the single most annoying, obtuse, stupid person that I have ever met!"

She wasn't even sure what they were arguing about. It always started that way; the simplest things caused the worst damage for them. Maybe it would be he had locked their apartment door, and she had forgotten her key, so she was stuck outside until he came home in whatever weather was happening. Or, it could have been that he had forgotten to tell her about using his debit card, and they would end up having some unknown debt. Little things like that. They added up—slowly, but surely.

Percy's face contorted into one of rage. His green eyes were narrowed contemptuously, and she can't help but feel a bit of déjà vu. "I might be annoying," he snarled, "but at least I'm not a bratty, selfish, stuck-up bitch like you!"

She flinched. She had grown accustomed to their arguing—it usually consisted of throwing insults at each other—but… Percy had never gone as far as cursing at her before. She had to him, but not vice-versa. His entire form was shaking with rage, and he was breathing heavily.

They had gone too far this time.

"Fine, then," Annabeth spat, unwilling to let go of her pride. "If that's what you think about me, then maybe this entire relationship won't work out."

Confusion flashed across his face, but then he clenched his jaw stubbornly. "Maybe it won't," he said, equally coldly.

"Fine, then. Just go."

"Fine."

It took him a little while to gather up his things, and she was nearly on the verge of crying—begging him not to leave—but what happened couldn't be changed. She had been the one to start the argument in the first place, and now, she was going to suffer the consequences of loosing him.

Luggage in hand, Percy turned, and from her place on the couch, the two locked eyes. In a hushed whisper, he said, "Bye, Annabeth." Then, he was gone.

The words sounded so familiar in her head, and she fell apart. Gods, she had been so stupid to even say those things to him… She had been stupid to just… to just let him go so damn easily!

Bitter tears ran down her face. He was gone.

But, Annabeth wasn't willing to give up on him that easily. She was going to get him back… one way or another.

Climbing up to Paul and Sally Blofis's two-story high up apartment wouldn't have been difficult, if there had been a ladder to get up to the balcony. Unfortunately, the metal ladder was no where to be seen…which meant Annabeth had to get up the hard way.

She set her jaw stubbornly as she looked up at the balcony, which happened to be an entrance to Percy's old room. Part of her wondered why the Hades she was doing this—after all, hadn't he insulted her too? Still… pride or not, she couldn't let someone this important to her slip right through her fingers. Not again.

It took her a while, but she managed to pull herself up onto one of the first-story balconies. Then, after several more minutes, she was on Percy's balcony. New York was still bustling with people, despite it being after midnight, but the lights in Percy's room were off. If he was even there, he was asleep.

Inching towards the door, Annabeth prayed to one of her least favorite goddesses—Aphrodite. Right now, Athena and Artemis probably weren't the best people to consult for relationship help. As much as she hated to do it, she prayed earnestly for Aphrodite's blessing in reconciling with Percy. If anyone had the power to make things go well… it was Aphrodite.

She slid the door open, and it made this strange creaking noise. Annabeth grimaced; if Percy was asleep, the door might have woken him up. Then again… this was Percy, and Annabeth was positive he could sleep through World War III.

Her eyes fell upon Percy's bed, which was a complete mess. The bed sheets were tangled everywhere, some of them even on the ground, and on top, Percy lay on his back. As Annabeth walked forward, she realized that he wasn't actually asleep—no, he was very much awake. Still, he said nothing.

"Percy?" Her voice was soft, wary.

He turned, and his green eyes met hers. His features were not longer angry… Just sad, and a bit upset. A wry smile formed on his face, "You know I could get you into some legal trouble for breaking and entering, right?"

Percy's voice was filled with amusement and sarcasm, and that cocky little smile of his bugged her to no end. He acted as if nothing had happened between them. That wasn't what he was supposed to. Here, she had formulated this long, heartfelt apology, which might even included getting to her knees, if it was needed, and he was acting as if nothing had happened.

That Seaweed Brain.

Annabeth scowled at him. "You're an idiot, you know that, right?"

He chuckled, a mischievous sparkle glinting in his green eyes. "But I'm your idiot. You're annoying, obtuse, stupid idiot." His voice still sounded a bit hurt, but he smiled.

Annabeth's expression softened, the guilt eating at her heart. Yeah, she was angry at him for calling her a bitch, of all things, even if she had probably deserved it. But, after all they had been to, she wasn't going to let him go that easily.

"I'm still mad at you," she said warningly as she sat on his bed. "Don't think you're going to be let off the hook so easily."

Once again, Percy laughed, throwing his head back onto his pillow. He grinned at his fiancée, taking her into his arms. "I wouldn't want it any other way, Wise Girl."

Annabeth smiled, leaning into Percy's chest. Nah, she definitely wasn't going to loose him today. Not today…

…and not ever.

In another life, I would be your girl.

We'd keep all our promises,

Be us against the world.

In another life, I would make you stay.

AN: Like I said, this idea has been bugging me to write it for a while, and I'm glad I finally did.

If you didn't get it, Percy and Annabeth are reincarnations of Russ and Beth. Thought I'd make that clear.

[1]: I remembered halfway through this Katy Perry's ex-husband or whatever is named RUSSell. I swear I didn't try to do that. Russ or Ross is just what I wanted the guy to be named.

[2]: Okay, so I'm leaving it up to you: That can be either Russ promising Beth that, or Percy promising Annabeth.