Annabeth had fallen into a new routine these last three of weeks. Every morning the first thing she did was check her phone to see if Percy had texted her. (Most mornings there was a text waiting for her, and no,she did not get overly excited when all he said was "hi.")

She would then rush around her room getting ready for school and bolt out the door, bagel in hand, to pick up Percy on her way to school. His step-father Paul, had started his new job this past week and he had needed his car back. (He was an English teacher at the middle school across town.) They both knew he could just take the bus, but when he had asked Annabeth to drive him everyday, she wasn't going to say no. He helped keep her mind off other things.

Lately, thoughts of her father had been taking up a lot of space in Annabeth's head. She remembered a time where she would sit in the same room as him while she read, just so she felt some connection to him. She had never had that parent/daughter relationship. Sure, she had Piper and Hazel, but it wasn't exactly the same as being able to come home and tell your father that some kid had pushed you off the swings, and have him pull you into a hug and tell you that it was okay, or that you scored a 100% on that big math test you freaked about, and have him whoop in happiness and scoop her up in a hug. She just didn't get it. What could she have done to him that made him just ignore her like that? Wasn't a father supposed to be overly protective of his only daughter?

She pulled into Percy's driveway with ten minutes to spare, so instead of sitting in her car and getting lost in her thoughts, she got out and rang the doorbell.

The door opened to reveal a smiling Mrs. Jackson. (or was it Mrs. Blofis now? She would have to ask Percy later.)

"Hi, Annabeth!"

"Hi, Sally. How are you?"

"I'm just fine, dear. Percy should be out in just a minute. Do you want some pancakes?" she asked, leading her into the kitchen.

"Oh, no thank you, I ate on the way over."

"Okay, make yourself comfortable then," she said waving an arm towards the big, navy couch in the living room. "I'll let Percy know you're here."

Annabeth thanked her, and looked around the room. She had been to his house before, but every time she came over, there was something different that she hadn't seen before, due to the fact that they were still unpacking. Today, she noticed a whole new cluster of photos on the wall. Annabeth loved photos. She loved being able to look at them and remember all the memories that were behind them. As she looked at them, she could see how happy Percy looked in all of them. She found herself coming back to stare at one of the three of them in front of the United Center in Chicago. They were all wearing Blackhawks jerseys and hats and Sally and Paul were laughing at Percy's ridiculous pose. She wondered if she would have pictures like this in her house if her family was, well - like a family.

"Like what you see?"

Annabeth yelped. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't heard him come up behind turned to face him and plastered a smile on her face so he wouldn't ask what was wrong.

"Very funny. I didn't know you liked hockey. I thought you were just into swimming."

He grinned, waving her off.

"Nah, you found my weakness. I'm a diehard hockey fan."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You are a hockey fan. Like actually will sit down and watch a game on tv."

"Um, yeah. Why? Is that surprising to you?

"Maybe a little. I didn't take you for one. Besides I secretly love it too."

She imagined them sitting close together on the couch in his living room watching the game and him screaming at the tv about an unfair tripping call the ref made, or jumping up cheering when the Hawks scored, and he would hug her and it would feel so right and he would pull back, and look into her eyes and lean in close and - Whoa. she thought. Where did that come from? She shook her head clearing her thoughts and realized - she had just told him something about herself that she never told Piper or Hazel. How had she let that happen? Sure it was small and stupid but still...what if she let her and her father's relationship slip? She made a mental note to be more careful around him. Scolding herself for letting him get under her skin, she turned around and walked to the door.

"Come on, we're gonna be late for school."

A/N: So I know I haven't updated in a while, but I am moving and I haven't had a lot of time to write. This is kinda just filler because I felt like I needed to get something posted. Anyway…..Review! Let me know what you think.

P.S. I had an idea for a new story the other day and i'm really excited to start working on it.