AN: I've decided to make this chapter three months later because I want Annabeth to start talking soon and I can't do that yet. So this chapter is three months later and is in Percy's POV.

Chapter Four (Three months later)

I open my bedroom door slowly and step out into the darkness. I tiptoe down the hall trying not to wake Annabeth. I want her to get as much sleep as possible because tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of her parent's death and I don't want her to be exhausted. I want to cheer her up and help her think of the good memories and not the bad.

My bathroom door is a few steps away when I hear a loud sob. I freeze. I walk backwards a little so I'm standing in front of Annabeth's door. I press my ear to the wood. The choked sobs break my heart. Does she have to go through this every night?

I've heard her sobs hundreds of times and even if I haven't known her long I wish I could take away the pain. I suppose you could say we're close. She's nice- even if she can't talk. Or won't.

What do I do? Walk away? Go in and check on her? I sigh and softly knock the door. Obviously she doesn't reply but she does stop sniffing for a second so I open the door slightly and pop my head in. The sight in front of me kills me. The small light in the room coming from the moon let's me see Annabeth, curled up on her side in the bed, clutching a wet pillow.

I sigh and flick the light on, walking in and closing the door behind me. "Hey," I whisper soothingly. Her eyes widen and she looks away. I look down at myself wondering why she looked away. Oh- I'm only wearing boxers. I roll my eyes and sit in the side of her bed, her back pressed against my thigh.

Without thinking I move my hand to her head and run my fingers through her soft, blonde curls. The sobs return and she starts shivering. "Oh Annabeth," I whisper my own eyes filling with tears. Am I going to still be crying myself to sleep in five years?

She rolls over so her head is pressed against the outside of my thigh. "Ssh, it's okay," he say but my voice breaks. I take a shaky breath, put arms around her waist, and pull her onto my lap. I grab her blanket and lay it over us.

"My dad died when I was ten," I start, hoping my story will let her know she's not alone. "He was out sailing while my mom and I were home. He was gone for about three hours when I noticed my mom getting nervous- her being nervous made me nervous. I was in bed when I heard a knock on the door, I thought it was my dad so I ran out of bed and found my mom already at the door. She opened the door to let my dad in… only it wasn't my dad- it was a cop. There had been a storm; my dads boat had flipped over. He drowned." Instead of sobs I hear soft breathing and I know

Annabeth is listening. "My m-mom," I stutter and take another shaky breath. "We were at Montauk. My dad loved it there so we went there often. On the day we'd had a great time… and then came the ride home. A man crashed his van into my mom's side of the car. She went through the windshield- the doctors said she'd died straight away, like that will make things easier. The cops proved the driver was drunk and he's in jail but that won't make me feel better. That won't bring my mom back."

I don't feel embarrassed when the tears swim down my cheeks. I don't feel anything. "I barely got touched. I came out with a few scratches and bruises and she-she!"

I find my voice raising and anger growing inside of me. "B-but I can't dwell on it forever- we can't dwell on it forever! Our parents would want us to carry on and be happy. Yes, we'll have bad days but who's stopping us from having good days? Tomorrow I'm taking you out, okay?" I don't wait for a reply because I know I won't get one. "…And we are going to have fun!"

I look down to find Annabeth staring at me with tear-filled eyes. Our eyes meet and I can't seem to look away. "I know you can talk," I whisper, "And I know deep down you want to, but you're scared. It's okay to be scared." My voice is a whisper again and I hope my loud voice from before hasn't woke anyone up from the bedrooms below us.

"You'll talk when you're ready- I know you will," I say. "And I'll be waiting."

I offer a small smile and she returns it. "You should sleep," I say and stand up. I gently kiss the top of her head, tuck her in and turn to leave but she grabs my hand. She tugs it a little and I look at her in confusion. She looks away for a second, her cheeks pink but she looks at me again and pulls my arm harder making me nearly fall onto her bed. This action makes me realise what she's trying to say… or trying to show. "You want me to stay here?" I ask gently and she nods.

"Okay," I whisper and turn the light off before climbing in next to her. I pull the blanket over us again and I automatically roll onto my side and rest an arm around her waist. I close my eyes. I have a feeling I'm going to have a good night sleep.

Annabeth's POV (Morning)

I wake up and for once I don't hurry out of bed and check my face in my mirror, but instead I roll over and come face to face with a sleeping Percy. He looks cute when he sleeps- even if he drools.

He stirs and I'm afraid I've woke him up. For some reason I don't want him to know I was watching him sleep- he'll probably think it's creepy, but I can't look away. He looks so… peaceful- different from last night when one minute he was sad, the next angry.

His mom died the same way as my parents and it was even after having a great day at the beach. Maybe that's why I feel connected to him- we have a lot in common. I sigh as he opens his eyes. At first he seems confused but his face soon relaxes and a nice smile creeps onto his face, which I return.

We lay there for a while; staring into each other's eyes but the sound of my stomach growling makes us head downstairs for breakfast. "Good morning Annabeth, Percy," Chiron greets and I smile in return. I sit down after making myself a bowl of cereal and dig in.

After a while I realise Percy isn't at the table and neither is Chiron. I look around in confusion but give up after a while. I put my bowl in the sink and smirk when I realise Drew is on wash-up duty.

I exit the kitchen and head to Chiron's office. I knock and when I hear his reply walk in. I find Chiron behind his desk and Percy sitting opposite him. He looks at me, grins and then says; "Chiron said he's going to take us all out in the van."

I raise my eyebrows. Where?

"It's a surprise," he smirks.

Two hours later we're all in the van with a hired driver at the wheel. The roads are familiar and after a while I think I know where we are going. When the driver stops the van I look out the window and what I see makes me gasp. We're here. The same one my parents and I had been at on that day… The beach.

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