Here's one for Annabeth. Warning: Lost Hero spoilers!

"G'night Annabeth," he whispers, wearing that dorky lopsided grin she loves so much. Then he leans forward slowly and gives her a light kiss. Her heart flutters a little, and she smiles against his embrace.

"See you in the morning, Seaweed Brain," she murmurs into his shirt.

Then she steps back and watches him walk to his cabin. Counting the steps he takes. One, two, three, four, five- Because you never know when things might change, right? Seven, eight, nine, ten- She needs to savor every second they were together. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen- She has to remember everything. He takes 17 steps. And Annabeth never forgets.

When he's not there in the morning, she knows something's up. She remains levelheaded, trying to stay rational. That works until about lunchtime. Then she's starting to ask around, not because he's actually missing, she convinces herself. Just because I want to see him.

"Hey Connor, have you seen Percy around?"

"No, actually..."

"Clarisse? Did you see Percy over here?"

"No."

Even resorting to ask Aphrodite girls where he might be...

"Oh, Drew, I was meaning to ask you..."

"Where Percy was."

"Yes!"

"Haven't seen him, hon. Though I might not look anymore if I were you, he's probably cheating and catching him in the act would make things a little more awkward, don't you think?"

This is why Annabeth saved Aphrodiate girls for last. Her frustration level now is the verge of boiling over when she runs into Chiron at the Big House.

"Chiron!" she calls to him, but it comes out more like a scream.

He turns in alarm, and she she smiles apologetically. "Chiron, have you seen Percy anywhere?"

He frowns. "I'm afraid I haven't, child. Have you asked around?"

Annabeth bites her lip. "All day. He wasn't there at breakfast, lunch, or any of the training sessions I share with him."

Chiron sighs. "Have you checked his cabin? The boy's probably still asleep."

Hope swells inside Annabeth, the warm sensation sending a smile across her face. "That's it. He probably just slept in too late. Thank you, Chiron!" she yells over her shoulder, already racing towards his cabin with her ponytail flopping back and forth behind her.

The sun is setting on Long Island Sound when Annabeth makes it to Percy's cabin. Gulping in deep breaths, she brushes her bangs from her face in an effort to compose herself. Then she slowly opens the door.

The room is so quiet that Annabeth can hear every creak in the floorboard, every whisp of her hair swishing as she turns her head. And the bed is left empty and unmade. The silence is louder than sound, mocking her loneliness as it rings in her ears like a chimless bell. And then it hits her. He isn't here. And then the hopelessness hits her. He isn't anywhere. And then the truth hits her, so hard it hurts. He's gone.

"No!" she screams into the empty cabin with the empty bed. Why were the fates so cruel? Could they not just live a normal life now, now that they had won the war and played their part in Olympus's victory? Of course not! Annabeth furiously blinks the tears from her eyes, but it is a battle she can not win. She throws herself onto Percy's empty bunk and cries until she sobs out almost every drop of water in her body.

Annabeth knows she isn't overreacting. Disappearances aren't just a little thing for demigods. Even if it's less than twenty four hours, it's something to worry about. And Percy has made a lot of enemies.

She buries her head into his blankets and gives a ragged sigh. The pillow smells like sea spray mixed with shower fresh deodorant. She misses that smell, even though it had been less than a day since she last saw him.

Where was he? Who had taken him? What happens now? Questions Annabeth can't answer. Questions she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to answer. All she knows is that it had taken 17 steps to take Percy away from her and she's going to take all the steps in the world to get him back.

Good? Bad? I tried this one in a different tense, tell me how you liked it! REVIEW(: