Annabeth

New York was a great city. Annabeth loved it there, most days-when it wasn't being attacked by Titans and such. But the energy of the city was undeniable, and the sights, the sounds, the smells, all of it was so exciting and modern. Of course, Mount Olympus was here, too, and Annabeth had spent quite a lot of time there after the Titan war redesigning Olympus.

But the city had its downside-it reminded Annabeth of Percy. It was his home, the place he loved, and Annabeth couldn't go anywhere without being reminded of him.

Try to buy a hot dog-bam, memory of when they bought lunch from a street vendor and went to a movie. Try to take a nice jog through Central Park, and Percy's face as they sat on a bench together was all she could see. It was hard, being here, but Annabeth needed to see Sally.

She got out of her taxi at Sally's apartment and headed up the stairs. She had a key to the apartment since she visited so often, and knocked before letting herself in, cupcakes from the bakery down the street in her hand. She had decided to bring some to Sally's place as a surprise.

As she walked in, a wave of sadness overcame her as she remembered the afternoons that her and Percy had spent in the city, and then come back here for dinner. Too many memories were here, but Sally needed her visits. She loved when Annabeth visited her.

"Sally?" she called into the apartment. "You home?"

She was rewarded with a surprised, "Oh! I didn't hear you!" and Sally rushing out of her office, papers fluttering to the ground behind her.

"I'm sorry, it's a mess in here," she apologized, hurrying in and pulling her hair back, since it's current state was flying around her head in a mess. "I wasn't expecting anyone."

"I'm sorry," Annabeth said, holding out the cupcakes. "I brought food, if that helps." Sally laughed. "It definitely does. Come on in to the kitchen," she said. "This was so nice of you," she said, taking the cupcakes. "You didn't have to." Annabeth shrugged. "I just thought if I'm dropping by, might as well bring a little something for you. It's been a while." Sally gave Annabeth a hug. "It surely has. I'm glad you stopped by."

She pulled out a chair for Annabeth and then bustled around, getting out the lemonade and pouring two glasses. "How's college been?"

Annabeth smiled. "It's great. The courses are so interesting, and it's great being with other students who share my passions, you know? Lots to learn, great teachers, overall wonderful." She didn't mention the part about being antisocial and never talking to others.

They talked for a little while more about college life and how things were going for Sally at home.

"I'm glad college is going so well," Sally said, smiling. "You deserve to be happy. I just know you're going to do great things, Annabeth." She looked down at the lemonade in her glass, swirling it around. "He would have been proud of you," she said, almost whispering it. "He always talked about how you were going to be the greatest architect of the century, build monuments to last forever. He thought so highly of you."

A lone tear fell down her cheek, and she brushed it away. "He always told me to pursue my dream of writing a novel, too. That's why I've been working so hard on it, because I know he believed in me. He wanted me to be happy and accomplish what I always wanted."

Tears were now falling freely down her face, and she got up and grabbed a tissue. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to get so emotional. It's just…" She blew her nose. "Everything reminds me of him. I just wish he was here to see all of this."

Annabeth gave Sally a hug, holding back her own tears. "I know, I know," she murmured. "I see him everywhere, in everything. And it's hard to move on. But… he wouldn't want us to sit around crying. He'd want to see you write your book, see me design buildings. He would be so proud of you, too."

They sat in silence for a while, holding each other. Annabeth tried to hold back her tears, but her efforts were futile.

"Paul will be home in a few minutes," Sally said, blowing her nose again. "And I suppose you have to get back to school, huh?" Annabeth nodded. "I'll come visit again soon, promise." She gave her one last hug and headed out.

"I hope you can see me, Percy," she said to herself. "I hope I'm making you proud."

Jason

Jason wandered into New Rome and looked for Piper in the shops. He knew she was still staying here, but she planned on leaving and going back to Camp Half-Blood soon. He had to at least make things right before she left.

Sure enough, he found her in her favorite small cafe, eating a sandwich and watching a couple eating in the booth across from her. Jason's heart fell to his knees.

"Mind if I sit here?" Jason asked, approaching Piper. She looked up, and for a second, a look of hope and excitement crossed her face. It was quickly replaced by an indifferent, stoic look. "I don't care," she said, looking away.

"Look, Pipes," Jason said, not knowing how exactly to start. He knew that he wanted to apologize, but he didn't know how.

"Don't call me that," she said sharply. "I'm not your girlfriend anymore, Jason. You made that clear. Please don't rub salt in the wound."

Jason felt like an even bigger idiot.

"I don't know how to say this any other way, Piper, but I'm so sorry," he said. "I know how awful I was, breaking up with you like that. It was classless. It was dumb, and I feel so bad about it. And I guess I'm trying to ask for your forgiveness here. I mean, I don't need you to be my best friend and talk to me all the time, but I can't go on knowing that you're so upset and knowing it's my fault. I just want to make things better."

Piper glanced at Jason, then looked away again. "It wouldn't upset me that much, Jason, except what everyone said was true. They all warned me, 'Don't date a son of Jupiter. They're bad. He'll hurt you.' Well, we survived the war, and I thought that was it. I thought I got my happy ever after, but I was wrong. And I don't even know why!" She turned and faced him, anger in her eyes.

"You just said it 'wasn't working out'. Really? We'd been together for so long, been through so much. You gave me everything, and I did the same for you. So what changed? Was it something I did? Something I said? Or what? Because I'm not buying any of that 'I don't want to lose you' BS."

Jason took each of her words like a stab to the heart. It killed him to see her so upset, and he wanted to tell her about Nico. But would that make everything worse, or better? I just didn't sound right to say, Sorry Piper, I broke up with you because I fell in love with a guy.

How did he explain himself, though, if he didn't say that?

"Look, Piper, it was nothing you said or did. I just… it's me. You never did anything wrong. I know it sounds dumb, but really, it was me that made it end. I'm the problem."

"So what is it?" she demanded. "What's so bad about you, what's your big problem that was so catastrophic that you couldn't tell me, and then had to break up with me for good measure?"

She looked like she could either scream or break down crying.

"I… I met someone else," Jason said. "I mean, it wasn't something I thought would happen, it just sort of did, and I couldn't go on not telling you, but I felt awful, and I panicked, so I just... I had to break up with you. I didn't know what else to do."

Piper had gone pale. "So there's someone else, then. Another girl. Is it Reyna?"

"What?!" Jason exclaimed. "No! Of course not! Reyna and I… that was forever ago. And it was never real, anyway."

"Well who is it, then?" Piper asked. "I at least have the right to know her name, don't I?"

Jason hesitated. Should he tell her?

But he had no choice.

"Well, his name is Nico," he said. "Yes, Nico DiAngelo. I don't know how it happened, it just sort of… came out of nowhere."

Piper just sort of stared for a moment, not saying anything.

"I'm sorry, Piper, please," he said, but she just stood up and left, not saying a word.