SURPRISE! I'm not dead. I am so sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth for a while. Please don't kill me. But I'm back now!

Okay so There's been so many requests, I'm overwhelmed. But I decided to go with my original plan RACHEL! YAY!

Ok, on to the chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights to Rick Riordan.

Rachel

Sun flooded in through the window of the Big House's spare room, and finally Rachel Dare stirred from her deep slumber. She lifted her head slowly, the sun blinding her briefly, and checked the clock next to the bed. She cursed and jumped out of bed, succeeding in knocking everything off the bedside table. She ran around the room for a moment before realizing she had no clothes with her. After all that had happened the previous day, she had pretty much crashed after dinner, giving no thought to what would happen when she woke up.

She sighed and sat down on the bed when a knock came on the door.

"Rachel? Um, can I come in? I brought you clothes." Rachel's head snapped up at the sound of the voice. Was that-? No it couldn't be. She hates me.

"Who is it?" Rachel asked nervously.

There was a pause. "It's Annabeth. I-" Before she could even finish the sentence, Rachel had jumped up and yanked the door open. Sure enough, the daughter of Athena stood there, a pile of clothes in her hands and a friendly, yet tight, smile on her face.

"I realized you probably wouldn't have any clothes here, what with the war and stuff, so I thought I could lend you some of mine, just until you get some of yours from home," Annabeth said quickly, as though she were afraid Rachel would slam the door in her face. Her voice was guarded, careful and not quite warm, but she seemed to be making a very strong effort to be as friendly as possible. It was then that Rachel realized that the pile of clothes was more than she first thought; it was a peace offering.

"Thanks," she said. "You're right. I don't have any clothes. Funny how packing a bag just slips your mind when your city is over run by Titans and their monster army."

Annabeth smiled at that, and it looked a little more real. "Almost," she corrected. "They only almost took over New York"

"And the world," Rachel added.

"Yes. And the world."

Silence followed that statement.

"I'm sorry," they both said at once. The girls stared at each other. It was Rachel who spoke first.

"It wasn't my place to intrude. I'd only just met Percy and you'd known him for years. It was obvious you too liked each other."

"It wasn't that obvious" Annabeth argued.

"Yes it was. Trust me"

Annabeth blushed slightly. "But I was being ridiculous. I didn't have any claim over him. I just thought that he'd found someone to replace me. I was jealous. I didn't have to take it out on you." Rachel looked at her. She knew it was not in her nature for her to apoligize, let alone admit she was wrong. Plus, she had a feeling that if she wanted to stay friends with Percy, being friendly with Annabeth was necessary. And Annabeth really didn't seem as hostile now than Rachel had originally thought. She smiled brightly, and it didn't feel forced at all.

"It's fine," she said. "It's not like I'm going to be dating him now anyway."

Annabeth nodded. "I guess not"

"Besides, as I explained to him, my feelings weren't what I thought. He's just a good friend. And he never really thought of me that way either, I think. He's just too thick to realize it." She chuckled. "You better make your move soon, girl."

"Well…" Annabeth said. Her smile was blinding now.

"No! He finally came to his senses?"

"We both did. And I sort of helped him a bit."

"How so?"

She blushed bright red and turned away, mumbling something unintelligible.

Rachel couldn't help laughing. Se was pretty sure she knew what had happened, but she'd rather hear it from Annabeth. "I didn't catch that."

Annabeth turned back to Rachel and said, "I kissed him."

Rachel whistled. "That's a lot of help." The two girls burst out laughing. Any hostilities that remained melted away in an instant. Rachel realized that Annabeth was still standing awkwardly in the hall, holding the pile of clothes. She grabbed the clothes out of her hands and stepped out of the way. "Come on," she said. "Spill."

Annabeth sat down onto the unmade bed. "Well. What do you want to know?"

"Everything. I want to make fun of him later," she joked.

Annabeth laughed and began relaying her tale. Rachel had to stop her a few times to ask questions, but her smile didn't falter throughout the entire story. When Annabeth had finished, Rachel commented, "You're happy. Your smile looks like it's going to split your face open."

Annabeth laughed but then her face turned thoughtful. "I am. I don't think I ever have been this happy."

"And is Percy?"

"Yes. I think so. Though it was hard to tell through all that stuttering." That set them into another mini laughing fit. This time, hey were interrupted by a knock on the door.

And Percy Jackson himself walked in.

"Rachel, have you seen Annabeth? She wasn't at lunch. And she said-" For the first time he took in the scene before him. "I'm missing something aren't I?" The girls roared with laughter again. Percy gaped.

"Sorry, Seaweed Brain. Just came to give Rachel some clothes. We just got to talking and lost track of time." She got up and kissed him on the cheek. "Did you miss me?"

"What were you talking about, exactly?" Percy asked.

"Oh just gossiping," Rachel said, joining them at the door. "You know how girls are."

"No, apparently I don't," he replied, utterly confused. He shook his head. "Okay. You can explain this to me while I take you on the picnic you forgot about." He said to Annabeth, holding up a picnic basket.

"Oh my gods, Percy! I completely forgot. Rachel, I should go…" She turned to Rachel hoping she was really as okay with this as she said she was.

Rachel smiled. "Of course."

'You could come," Annabeth suggested. Percy's jaw dropped again.

"Oh no. You two need alone time. Besides, I know how couples are. I do not need to see your PDA." Percy and Annabeth both blushed tomato red.

"Okay, Rachel. See you around." Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand and dragged him down the hall. Rachel just caught the words "What the Hades was that about?!", before she shut the door and picked up her borrowed clothes. Annabeth had given her an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. She smiled and couldn't help thinking that this could very well be her new home.

La fin! Ok so not as much Percabth this time, but I hope you liked the Annabeth and Rachel friendship I brought in. I really think that Rachel get's a tough break, and that she's not a slut or a bad person like so many stories portray. It's just my opinion.

I hope this story made up a little bit for lost time. I'm using a different strategy now: writing all my chapters into my notebook first and then typing it out. I'm already working on the next one. Expect it this weekend.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to your feedback!

-Taryn