Sorry that this is more of a filler chapter. Setting up for the next phase of things to come! Read, review and enjoy!

Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.

Chapter 13

Annabeth walked into her new apartment in the hotel suite, thanking God she had a reprieve from the Texas heat. Her mother failed to mention to her that she was going to melt once she got here and she also failed to mention the heat was going to last well into October. It was only the first full week of September and she already knew that she was not going to get used to this heat. She walked to her new room and quickly found shorts and a tee shirt, making her only slightly more comfortable than she was in her work clothes.

She was glad that her mother had everything unpacked and ready to go for her and she was also thankful that the layout was completely different from her old place as well as Percy's. She was grateful for the lack of reminders and yet she couldn't get him off her mind.

The last two weeks had been hell. She and Percy were speaking, but just barely. Things were beyond strained between the two of them right now. Percy tried to apologize to her for his behavior the night she flipped him onto the coffee table, and while she accepted the apology, she was still a bit frightened of him. She knew she had no reason to be, their emotions were running high and got the better of both of them, but she couldn't help but still be upset. She still blamed him for the cuts she added to her wrist the next morning even though she swore she wasn't going to do it anymore. It didn't matter though. Those few moments of pain were enough to keep her world from closing in on her and sending her into another catatonic state.

She sighed and walked into the kitchen, hoping her mother stocked that up for her as well. She opened the fridge door and smiled at the wide variety of foods staring back at her. She grabbed an apple from the crisper, shut the door and walked over to the balcony door.

She opened the sliding glass door and the warm ocean breeze hit her face coupled with humidity. She stepped out and sat down at the patio table and started to munch lightly on the apple. She was enjoying the sound of the ocean lapping up against the shore wall, amazed at how it drowned out the sound of the traffic below when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She pulled the phone from her pocket and set it on the table. She was supposed to text Percy when she got in but had been avoiding him. Right now she just wanted to enjoy the change. She wished he was there with her to enjoy the view, much as they had on her birthday when they looked out at the ocean from the Ferris wheel at Coney Island.

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. She missed that Percy. The one who had waited for her. The one who wanted nothing more than to be in her presence. She opened her eyes again and picked up the phone. She quickly unlocked the screen and checked her messages.

I just wanted to check in and see if your move went okay. I miss you and I will see you at the end of the month! Call me when you get a chance. Thals*

Annabeth smiled and instantly sent a message back to her best friend. Thalia was the only one through all of this who had remained indifferent to the drama. She was there when Annabeth needed a shoulder and she swore she always would be. It made her sad that she wouldn't get to see her whenever she wanted anymore but she was glad that they would get to hang out at least once a month while she was on this year long journey.

She slowly lost her smile as she realized she really did need to let Percy know she was okay. Annabeth scrolled through her contacts and stopped on Percy's name. Her thumb hovered over the call and message button and she decided to just call him.

Her heart started racing as his phone rang several times on the other end. She was just about to hang up when he finally answered.

"Hey babe," He answered, slightly out of breath.

As much as she hated the pet name, she missed him calling her by it. "Hey you," She replied sheepishly. "I made it okay and mom had the apartment completely ready for me so . . ."

"You sound sad," He said, cutting off of her thought.

She shook her head no and then remembered he couldn't see her. "Not sad. Just contemplating things."

"Like what?"

"Us," She whispered in his ear.

"What about us," He whispered back.

"I . . . I . . . God, why does this have to be so damn hard?" She pushed herself back in the chair even farther and pushed the heel of her free hand into her temple.

"Calm down babe. You're kind of scaring me at the moment."

"Sorry. I'm just in a bit of a mood. It's hot as hell here, I feel weird, and at the moment I am a little lonely. I honestly keep expecting you to walk through the door any minute. It's funny the things you get used to and don't realize you miss until they aren't there anymore."

There was an awkward silence between the two of them and then Annabeth spoke up again, "Where on earth are you anyway?"

"Oh, I am . . . I'm still at work. Some school group showed up for the late tour and here I am, stuck."

"Oh. I should let you go then. Call me when you get home okay." She was quiet in her tone but she at least meant it this time when she told him to call her. "Love you Perce, talk to you soon," And with that she hung up the phone.

She pushed herself back in the chair balancing on the back two legs and let the tears fall. She was tired of crying all of the time but she couldn't seem to stop. So much was weighing on her and despite trying to move past things, she just wasn't able. She closed her eyes and tried to will it all away.

Percy didn't get the chance to object as Annabeth quickly hung up on him. He almost blew his surprise for her and was thankful no one called any flights over the intercom as he was on the phone with her.

He had decided he would do whatever he could to help her move past the issues with Luke as well as the ones he helped cause between the two of them.

He was on the phone the morning after the coffee table incident with the Texas State Aquarium, practically begging them to take him on full time during the duration of the project. It took some convincing but finally the administrator of the aquarium decided that he would be an asset during the entire remodel.

He was going to use this time to help Annabeth heal and help her move on and that meant that he needed to be there for her. Yes his sister needed him as well but she had more than enough people looking after her whereas Annabeth had no one. He was going to be whatever she needed him to be and if that meant that he was going to be her punching bag, so be it. All he wanted was to be in her presence again.

Percy took it upon himself after securing the job to call Annabeth's mother. He needed to know where the new apartment was and he also needed to know if he could possibly get a key. Athena Chase thanked him for wanting to take care of her daughter. She knew things were rough of her and she just couldn't clear her schedule enough to help her the way she should. She gave Percy the address and assured him that when he showed up, there would be a key waiting for him at the front desk.

Percy quickly made his way down to the baggage claim and waited on his two large suit cases. As soon as they came around he grabbed them and made his way to the exit. He prayed there was a taxi outside and thanked God as he walked out to find one pulling in right in front of him.

Percy wasn't too worried about losing the cab. In all honesty, this was the smallest airport he had ever been in and while the inside was fairly busy, outside told a different story. Everyone seemed to be running away from the city and just in the two minutes he had spent outside helping the driver throw his bags in the trunk, he was drenched. He now knew Annabeth wasn't kidding when she told him it was hot as hell here.

Percy quickly climbed into the back of the cab and the driver followed suit. He turned around and asked, "Where to man?"

"Ummm . . ." He trailed off and then found the slip of paper in his pocket and finished his thought, "900 North Shoreline Boulev . . ."

The driver smiled up at him and cut his sentence off, "The Omni! Got it. We should be there in about fifteen minutes."

Percy leaned back in the seat, grateful for the cool air that was coming through the vents. Without thinking he asked the driver, "How on earth do you guys do it?"

"Do what," He replied back.

"Live in this heat! I've been here for ten minutes and I am already drenched."

"Well, for one we don't wear pants in the summer. And two, we are just used to it. You really do grow accustomed to the heat."

Percy sighed and leaned back into the seat. He closed his eyes for what seemed like just a minute when the driver said, "Hey man, you're here."

Percy shook his head to clear the haze. He glanced down at the fare counter and quickly pulled two twenties out of his wallet and handed them over. "Keep the change."

The driver nodded at him and was out of the car, quickly pulling Percy's bags out of the trunk for him. Percy slowly climbed out of the cab and stretched and nodded to the driver.

"Enjoy your stay." And with that the driver was back in cab and pulling out of the drop off lane.

Percy grabbed his bags, made his way inside the lavish hotel and slowly took in everything that was in front of him. It never dawned on him just how much Athena Chase was worth, which meant that Annabeth was worth just as much. He was used to lavish things thanks to his father being a big named lawyer and his massive trust fund, but there was no way that his trust would ever cover a yearlong stay at this place.

He quickly went to the front desk and gave the receptionist his information. She quickly produced a key and sent him toward the elevators.

Suddenly he was sick. What if Annabeth didn't want him there? What if she didn't want to see him right now? He stepped into the elevator and hit the button labeled 18 and waited as the car slowly pulled him up to the eighteenth floor. The doors opened and he stepped out, looking down the hall to his right. He shook his head and took off to the nearest door on the left and stopped in front of it.

Percy pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly called Annabeth back. He didn't want to startle her by just walking into the apartment and having another incident like at his old place.

He waited patiently as the phone rang on the other end and then went to voicemail. 'Crap!' He hung up and tried one more time. This time on the fourth ring she finally answered.

"Hey Percy," She said through a yawn. "You home now?"

"Almost babe. Did I wake you up or something?"

"Yeah. I fell asleep out on the balcony."

Percy sucked in a deep breath, unlocked the door and stepped into the amazing Ambassador Suite. "You okay? You just sound . . . off." He quietly walked through the unfamiliar rooms and stopped in the living area. He could see the back of her head against the chair on the balcony.

"Just really exhausted. This move took a lot more out of me than I thought it would and I had to jump straight into work today. I figured I would have the weekend but mom sent me straight in." She then yawned, stretched and almost fell out of the chair she was leaning back in.

Percy accidently giggled in the phone and Annabeth whipped around, actually falling out of the chair this time. "I'm home babe," He whispered into the phone and smiled at her jaw to the ground look.

A smile slowly spread across her face and she jumped up and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms just as she had the first time he showed up on her doorstep back home.