Leaving Damon's mansion was as hard for me as leaving Percy's beach house. It was almost painful watching the little boy crying as he hugged my boyfriend tightly, clearly not wanting to let go and begging for him and the rest of us to stay for a while longer. I wanted that, especially for someone as precious as Jesse but the longer I stay away from my actual home in New York, the sadder I become. And the sooner I get back there, the better. They could always visit after, maybe in the early future.

It took us half an hour to finally get back to the road and for our mind to focus on the destination ahead, which was practically California. I was pretty excited myself to be in my hometown again but it also made me a little wistful. This was where Thalia, Luke, and I usually run away from our problems and just be together as a small family. That family broke apart and what's left of it is nothing but bad memories.

I know it was hard for Thalia too. She has suffered as much as I did and it would also bring back those moments with him, something she didn't want anymore. She broke up with Nico once because of trust issues regarding their relationship, with Luke being the middle of everything. He always was. And it's getting very annoying. I should forget about him like I did earlier, before the idea of California even came to me. I was faring so well without him.

"Are you sure you want to go? I mean, we could always skip that and head directly back home." Percy suggested selflessly, staring at me.

Maybe it would be better for me to just not go to San Francisco. The only thing that it would give me is pain and sadness. I would gain nothing there. But I shook my head at the thought, focusing on the good memories I had, the friends that I made. "Yes, keep going. I'll be fine."

He took a last worried glance to my direction before turning his head towards the road, not really bothering to ask again for he knew that my decision was always final and he didn't want me to be mad at him.

Somehow during the trip, Travis and Connor convinced my boyfriend to stop at a candy store in the middle of nowhere. I don't even know why they had to buy so many sweets when the fridge was filled with ice cream and chocolate for the sake of the boys. You know how the boys get when they don't get their certain amount of sugar per day. So far, there was no problems and since Damon was more than happy to share his stash with us, we had enough to last the entire trip and more.

The bad thing was that when we finally gained a good distance away from the said shop, the van suddenly stopped. Thalia marched over to our direction, demanding for an explanation as to why we were in the middle of the dessert with the sun at its highest. Percy just shrugged and checked the engine with Leo and the others. It wasn't because we ran out of gas because we just refilled it a few miles back and the tank was still half full. And since it would take some time for dear Repair boy and Beck to find the problem and fix it, we were stranded.

Since it was getting super hot inside the RV, with the air conditioning off and the metal conducting the heat from the sun, we decided to head outside and just try to find a place to cool off. Percy, seeing that the two boys could already handle the job, decided to keep me company and do his best to prevent me from having a heat stroke. But even he can't do anything. I just groaned and buried my face on his bare chest, feeling the temperature rising through his skin. And that's not just because of his body. I swear, in five minutes, we would all be so much tanner.

"This is unexpected." He murmured, managing a smile when I tugged my shirt over my head, leaving me in a white tank top. "I can't believe we're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one but annoyed friends, tumbleweeds, cacti, and sand for company."

I laughed, trying really hard not to move too much. "I don't know what's worse: the annoyed friends or the fact that we're practically going to get toasted here."

"Nah, I doubt we will. We have enough water in the van so we won't get dehydrated and you do have your fan that you always keep inside your bag." Oh my God, I can't believe I forgot about that. I rummaged through my messenger bag and pulled out a battery powered fan that I bought when we were in Miami. Thanking whoever is up there, I immediately turned it on for me and my boyfriend to enjoy.

The others just sighed and joined us a few minutes later, not because we had a way to cool ourselves off but because it was better to stay together in a place like this. "How long did Leo say it would take to fix whatever's wrong?" I asked, sharing my fan to everyone seeing that they were suffering so much. Almost all of the guys arealready shirtless, so much for their girlfriend's pleasure but I prefer looking at my boyfriend's body than anyone else's really.

Piper sighed and wiped the sweat off of her forehead, leaning against Jason. "An hour and a half with both of them working on it together."

"Why did this have to happen to us? I mean, the RV was working so well the entire time. Why did it just suddenly break down after we left Damon's house?"

Then my brain finally processed everything. I remembered the teenage girl, Vanessa. She was giving us the dirty look because she was jealous and she probably had something to do with this. While we were telling stories with Damon, she might have seduced a guy to do something to the van so that it would just stop working when we're somewhere no one could help us. She was smarter than I thought if she figured that out by herself. But I didn't share that thought, knowing that it wouldn't benefit us at all. The heat was already bothering us. We didn't need yet another slut to worry about.

So, Nico never really got his answer.

Every once in a while, Silena went to check on her boyfriend and ask what was happening and she would usually get the same answer. And that answer never really satisfied her question. But, being the person that she is, she didn't push Beck any further. She knew that it was already hard for him to work on the RV with the heat and the pressure given to him from Thalia's whining and the last thing we want is for him to give up and have Leo do it by himself. That would take twice as long, even with someone as mechanically talented as Leo Valdez.

"Okay, why don't we just find something to distract us? A game? Or a song?" Katie suggested when she finally had enough of Connor's constant complains on how hot it is. Travis, surprisingly, wasn't saying a word and for that I was grateful.

It was the best idea we had so we decided to pursue it. Maybe a song can help us keep our mind off of the fact that our skins are now burning.

Percy smiled at me and took my hand, starting with the song that I obviously just liked all too much.

Let it go,
let it roll right off your shoulder
don't you know
the hardest part is over
let it in,
let your clarity define you
in the end
we will only just remember how it feels

It was only right for the rest of us to join in. This was a song that I kept on playing over and over again the moment I first heard it. They unwillingly memorized the lyrics and just… went with it.

Our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours still remain

Let it slide,
let your troubles fall behind you
let it shine
until you feel it all around you
and I don't mind
if it's me you need to turn to
we'll get by,
it's the heart that really matters in the end

Katie was right. This did distract us from the sun and probably from the uncomfortable heat that was bathing our bodies. We didn't mind now. We were finally enjoying ourselves. And the only movement that we were doing was the occasional swaying and the content smiles.

Our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours still remain

All of my regret
will wash away somehow
but I cannot forget
the way I feel right now

And never once in my entire life have I ever enjoyed my friend's company than I did now. It was only natural for us to go through things together, even if those things involve sweaty, sunburned skin and sand on our pants. If it were possible, this was the part of the trip that brought us more together. Not only because we had no one else for company but because, through almost everything, we stick together.

In these small hours
these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away but these small hours
these small hours, still remain,

they still remain

these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away
but these small hours
these little wonders still remain

When the songs were done and over with, we just decided to share stories. Even when we are inseparable, there are still some things in our lives that we didn't know about each other. Things like leaving your brother's pet hamster outside while it was raining, perhaps (Connor) or joining in a kid's beauty pageant and winning second place (Juniper) or even breaking almost every bone in your body after a bike accident (Chris). Me? I didn't admit anything but the fact that I had a tiny crush on a certain Twilight book character when I first read it.

Since Thalia was a fan of the series, she immediately asked who it was and I finally just admitted that it was Jasper Hale. I couldn't really help myself. His character was just so intriguing, so complicated, that it made me kinda obsessed with him. And when Travis asked if I still do, I gave in and nodded my head. Percy just sighed at my friends' immaturity and placed a kiss on my temple, saying that he understands.

"So now that I'm done humiliating myself in front of you, I think it would be best if someone else says something."

It was my boyfriend who didn't tell a story ever since this started. Of course, I knew everything about him so there would be nothing he would tell that would surprise me. "When I was fourteen, Annabeth and I, we went to watch a movie as friends." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Where was this leading to? "And we were heading back when some guys cornered us in an alleyway…" He took a deep breath, his grip on my hand tightening. Yes. I remember this. This was the first time we had kissed, just a small peck but a kiss nonetheless. "They wanted our things, especially our money, but I wouldn't let that happen to her. So I told her to run and I would handle them. She didn't want to, at first, but I told her that it was only for the best, so that she could get help.

"Annabeth kissed me then and just ran, leaving them confused for a moment and then they got mad at me. They started beating me up and I just lost it… It was blurry but I ended up knocking all seven of them down and I ran to the nearest apartment and just passed out there." He bit his lip, his gaze falling to the floor. "When I woke up, I was really tired and there were cuts and bruises all over my body. I could barely stand without feeling sick. And this girl, this really pretty girl, she went to me and told me to sit down. I asked her where I was and she told me that I was in her home. She found me in front of the door of the apartment building unconscious and bleeding and she just took care of me."

"Her name was Calypso, like the one in the myth. And I never really thought that I would be lucky to find someone who was nice enough to take me in. She brought me as close to normal as she could and she helped me to her home. But she told me that she fell for me, over the past days that we've been together. She told me that she loved me and she wanted me to be with her. And I thought that maybe it was good to finally be with someone who would treat me kindly. But I realized that I already have that someone- Annabeth. I was thinking of how she would be so heartbroken when she figures out where I've been. So when we were on our way to my home, Calypso told me that we might probably not see each other again because she's going to move to another country the day after. It was the last time I saw her."

This was a story I never heard of before. His side of the story, that is. As for me, the moment I reached the police station, I called him and found out that he wasn't picking up. I was worried sick and I was afraid that the worst happened and that he might be dead in that alley. I was crying and crying on Percy's mom and they didn't give up searching for him. Until he showed up in front of their mansion with healing bruises and a small smile on his face. I was mad at him of course, asking him why he wasn't here any sooner and why it took him almost two weeks to recover. But Sally was just glad that he was alright and told him that she was going to make cookies to welcome him back.

There was silence for a moment. Thalia looked quite shocked as she looked at both of us, me trying really hard to keep myself from crying over some silly memory. "Annabeth, did you know about this?"

I choked and shook my head, letting a single tear fall to the ground. And Percy saw it. He pulled me close, ignoring the fact that his body was making the heat intensify for me. But I didn't pull away. All I needed now was the reassurance that he was there. He will always be there. "Wow. I never realized that this was what happened to you in those two weeks, Percy." Nico said, a little wistfully.

"I know it's not the best time to tell you guys about it, especially when it's already almost three years after it happened but… I just never had the courage to tell you. I didn't want to hurt you, Annabeth. You know that."

My only response was a simple nod, feeling him against me and reminding myself that he and I were meant to be together.

Just in time, Leo headed over to us with oil on his shirt, hands, and face with Beckendorf beside him in the same state. They were both smiling widely and that only meant one thing. "The RV's fixed." They both said at the same time.

We all cheered and eventually thanked both of them for the hard work done. Silena was kissing her boyfriend hard because she was beyond grateful that she didn't have to suffer the heat anymore.

And before we know it, we were already heading to the place where I was born.

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