Hey everyone one, I am sorry I took so long with this, it took me a long time to decide to choose what to do and when I finally decided to continue it, I had to search for the right songs to inspire me so this is inspired by 'Back to December' and 'Last Kiss' and 'Breathe' by Taylor Swift cause the songs interpret the chapters story but it's more of 'Back to December." So enjoy.

It Had Begun Again With A Simple Hello

Annabeth didn't know how long Annabeth had stayed in that moment with Percy, his arms still around her like they belonged, holding her in a warm tender embrace that keep her upright. She didn't know what to say so she just stared in disbelief up at the man she hadn't seen in five years.

He's here, he's really here, a repetitive phrase that ran through her mind as she looked at the face that she had grown up watching mature and grow more handsome. His jaw seemed relaxed but still powerful and strong like before, his cheek bones were a little more defined, and if it were possible, his face had grown even more handsome. Like seriously, he could give Narcissus run for his money when it came to his looks. Girls would be swooning over Percy.

The only thing that hadn't changed were his eyes. They still had the sparkle she remembered, the vibrant swirling emotions in his green eyes reminded her of the clashing waves of the sea battling against each other and yet they still were calm and warm as they gazed down at her. His small lop sided smile captivated her heart like it always did as Percy leaned back and pulled her straight so she was balanced on her feet, but his arms lingered.

"P-Percy, you're here?" Annabeth stuttered, her throat closing up on her as she looked up into his eyes. He smiled and nodded as his arms finally left her waist.

"Yeah, I figured I would catch you before you left. I didn't want you to think of me as rude and heartless if I didn't come." He whispered softly, his bottom lip between his teeth as his hand rubbed the back of his neck. "I hope I am not too late cause if you have to go to your plan I had best be on my way."

"No!" Annabeth answered with wide eyes, her voice making Percy jump a little. "Sorry, umm, I really want to see you and I really don't have to be back home for about another week so I can stay." Annabeth answered calmly, taking in deep breaths with Percy watching her with a curious eye but nodded. "Please, take a seat." Annabeth said in a soft voice, her hand indicating to the chair that was in front of the seat she was previous sitting.

Percy smiled and nodded as he pulled out her chair for her and Annabeth smiled and sat down as Percy pulled out the other chair and sat down. The waitress came by and handed them drink menus before she smiled a bright smile, and winked at Percy, her brown eyes twinkling mischievously as Annabeth growled discreetly, the girl catching on and walked off.

Annabeth breathed in deeply as she looked at Percy who was rubbing the back of his head, the awkward tension bubble around them growing as they sat there in silence so Annabeth stilled her nerves and spoke, "I am so glad you made time to see me but I really wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't come after what happened." Her voice was quiet as she looked down guiltily at the table, playing with her fingers.

"You know me. I ain't like Nico so I cant really hold a grudge, and I guess I just thought it might be nice to see you." Annabeth instantly noticed how emotionless his voice as he shrugged his shoulders, his muscles slightly clenched and his elbows rested on the edge of the table, his right hand shaped in a fist with his left wrapped around it. He hadn't looked up at her since he sat down. She knew that his guard was up and she couldn't blame him.

"How's Life? Tell me how's your family? I haven't seen them for a while?" Annabeth inquired curiously in an attempt to kill the awkward tension. If there is one thing she knew Percy loved to talk about, it was his mother.

"Good, I have just been very busy is all? My mom is doing well, constantly asking if I have heard anything from you cause she kind of misses you a lot." Percy answered shortly, playing with his hands as he spoke but as he spoke, he didn't really seem like he was there. "So does Tyson. He's grown quite a lot, he still occasionally asks about you but not anymore really."

Annabeth really loved Percy's brother Tyson, or Ty Ty as she called him. He was only four when she left but from a baby onwards, he loved Annabeth very much. She missed Percy's family a lot, they were her second family, and she absolutely loved Sally and Tyson but she was so stupid with her mistake of cheating on Percy that she believed that his family would hate her and want nothing to do with her because of her idiocy.

"I am sorry about that, I know it must have been hard on you after what happened." Annabeth whispered guiltily, her gaze looking down at the table but they were high enough to see the muscles in Percy's arm tighten.

"Are you going to tell me the real reason why you decided now after five years it was time to see me after you practically broke me?" Percy gritted through his teeth, his hand forming a tight fist, Annabeth hung her head lower at the anger and hurt in Percy's voice. She knew that she was the root cause of this mess but she did not like how he treated her like it was her fault she waited for five years.

"I get I hurt you Percy but it's not my fault it took you five years to finally come and see me or have any form of communication with me." She bit back as she raised her eyes and met Percy's harder steel glare that made her insides quake but he held her strong composed gaze. "I called everyday and tried to constantly talk to you but you wouldn't have it. You wouldn't even let me explain myself or even let me fight for you because every single day for the last five years I sit on the floor in my house and night, wearing your shirt you gave because there wasn't a day I didn't miss you."

Percy laughed, he laughed, like he was mocking her, he didn't believe her.

"Please. I dare you to elaborate because I am certain that if you gave a damn about me since you were out with Luke on Christmas fucking eve." He spat getting up out of his seat and slamming his hands flat against the table and glared at Annabeth who got right up, anger fuelling her. "If you gave a damn you wouldn't have had lunch and dinner with him when I was at home, waiting for you. Fuck I quit my job that day because my boss wanted me to work that night but I wanted to spend it with you."

"I didn't go out for dinner with him. I went for a drink with him to tell him how fucking wrong what we were doing was. Yeah I was confused about my feelings for him, but I loved you. You didn't even give me a chance to tell you the truth." Annabeth spat back, tears gathering in her eyes. "Every fucking night I sit on the floor, I think about how you liked to show off and then I'd roll my eyes and you pulled me and made me dance even if I sucked at it. Or how you always kissed me in the middle of my rants just to shut me up." Annabeth smiled as she met Percy's gaze which was guarded. "There wasn't a day when I hated the rude interruption because I loved you, I still do."

"What's the point in remembering when none of that meant anything to you. If what we had meant anything to you, then you wouldn't have said yes to him." Percy growled, his voice so unfamiliar it shocked Annabeth to her core. "I never thought we'd ever have a last kiss because I thought that we would be forever because I always believed that you loved me and yet you found it necessary to cheat on me just because we didn't see that much of each other. I wanted you but you left like the coward you are"

"I get it Percy. It's my fault. It will always be my fault and I may be a coward but so are you. You say you wanted me but you forget you are the one who left without even fighting for us." Annabeth yelled, everyone in the cafe watching them with cautious expressions. "You said you loved me so why did you go? You left first, you didn't want me anymore so I ran because I was unwanted by anyone, not Luke, not you, not by anyone, so why did you leave me Percy if I meant so much to you cause to god I wish you had stayed? You tell me you loved me but why did you?"

"I WENT BACK TO THE APARTMENT AND YOU WERE GONE ANNABETH!" Percy yelled at the top of his voice, Annabeth's heart breaking. He came back. He had come back for her. "I came back and you were gone. I loved you and I only ever wanted you. There was no one else because I wanted you to be it for me. I go back to December all the time. I sit up at night, wide away cause I can never sleep because all I want to do is go back and stop myself from leaving so that you wouldn't have left me." Percy whispered softly as he turned his head to the side, his hand running through his hair, gripping it.

Annabeth just stood there frozen as she looked at Percy who fell back into his seat and hunched over, his hands pulling at his hair. "Percy-"

Percy interrupted her, "When your birthday passed, I never called. I knew where you were and I never called and you called me almost two thousand times or something crazy and I didn't call back once." His voice was filled with guilt, was he blaming himself. "I still think about all the summers we went to Montauk and how I liked watching you laughing when you were seated next to me in the passenger seat or how peaceful you were when you sat reading your book in the passenger side with your glasses on and I used to think how beautiful you were. I always thought of how lucky I was to have someone who was so perfect."

"Percy I am far from perfect." Annabeth whispered softly as she sat down, Percy still sitting hunched over.

"You were to me Annabeth." Percy whispered as he looked up and met her eyes. His were rimmed with tears, the sparkle was no longer there, they were filled with a swirling tornado of sorrow and regret. "I constantly feared that you wouldn't leave me. Even after you said you loved me I was scared you would leave me and when I found about Luke, I thought that my fears were coming real. That you had found someone better than me."

"Percy-"

"This is me saying I am sorry I left because I wanted to leave before you left me, because I wouldn't have been able to handle that and I realized I was so stupid and I came back and you were gone and it was all my fault." In all her life, Annabeth had never seen Percy look so guilty. "I lost you, and I was always afraid that you wouldn't want me so I never called back."

"I missed everything about you Percy. Your sweet smile, the way you held me in your arms that September night. When I lost my mom it broke me and you were there. It was the first time you had seen my cry and you just loved me and held me." this time Percy looked up and met her tear filled eyes. "This is me saying I am sorry for cheating on you Percy. I was just so afraid of being alone I sought comfort elsewhere cause I couldn't have you and I made a huge mistake and I am sorry." Annabeth reached into her shirt and pulled out the necklace that hung around her neck and held the ring between her fingers.

Percy's eyes widened when he saw the ring. The last time he saw it was the day he walked into Annabeth's office to take her out for lunch, he had looked at it when he was sitting in his car, working up the nerve to go in and find Annabeth. "You kept it after all of this time. I thought I had lost it."

"I kept as a reminder of how much you loved me and a reminder of what I had lost." She whispered as she took it off from around her neck and held it in her hands. "Maybe this is wishful thinking, or some stupid day dreaming-" she stopped herself, no need to make this awkward, "- I just want you to know that if I could I'd go back in time and change what happened, I wish I could change it every day because I still love you Percy and I wish ever day you were still mine." So you just went out and said it, great job Chase.

Percy was silent and so was Annabeth. The silence surrounding them left an awkward tension but it was mainly Annabeth's outrageous declaration but it wasn't outrageous cause she meant it. She loved him, and every day for the last five years, she had hoped, prayed, pleaded and begged that he would just pick up the phone and say hey.

"Would it be weird if I still wanted that even after all of this time and after what happened?" Percy whispered as his eyes met Annabeth's. Annabeth remembered how they used to lock gazes like this, green on gray, Percy reaching out and wiping away the tear that ran from the corner of her eye with his thumb before his hand lingered and his knuckles brushed her cheek softly.

"No it wouldn't be at all." Annabeth answered as his warm and soft knuckles brushed her cheek, instantly making her breath hitch, she hadn't felt anything like that in years. The familiarity of his skin against hers left chills down her spine as she leaned in a little.

"I want to be with you Annabeth, but I want to start afresh, as friends. Is that alright with you?" Percy asked in an uncertain tone as Annabeth reached up and intertwined her fingers with Percy's.

"As long as I can fix things between us and be with you again, then that's all I need. I just want you Percy, if you will still have me." Annabeth whispered softly as squeezed his hand and he smiled and squeezed her hand back.

"Would asking you to move me back in the apartment be too forward? I haven't moved and that place is pretty without you cause I really missed seeing your work on your sketches and watching movies with you." Annabeth smiled.

"I would be happy to come back home." She whispered with a soft smile and Percy grinned. This is the start of the beginning of the second chance and Annabeth was going to make sure she didn't screw it up again. She was going to love him and cherish him and fight for him.

Hello everyone, so as you can probably guess, this is the second chapter. Like seriously guys, 39 reviews, I love you all and I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I hope I built it and layered it right cause I have plans for this, hope you all enjoy it and see you all again soon. Don't know when, I will see. Hope you enjoy it. See you soon.