Hi everyone. It's been a year since I posted, and I want to apologize for that. Being a college student can be tough! But here is chapter 9! I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to post the subsequent chapters soon. Thanks for all your support and kind words. Enjoy!

Percy's never been on a plane before, but it sure felt like he was getting all the disadvantages and side effects of it.

To accompany his new delivery schedule, Silas cut his overnight hours short but insisted on the same payment. Instead of working from twelve to six, he now leaves at four. Because of this modification by Silas' good graces, deliveries started at five. This gave him an hour to freshen up and go to the warehouse for the pickup right on time.

Deliveries were almost the same route, and since it was the same time, it was like he never got fired. The new provider he was working for was much smaller than what he was used to at Joe's which generally meant less hours, but as long as it kept the bills paid along with overnight shifts at Silas, it didn't matter to Percy. The deliveries were basically Manhattan-focused, especially around Uptown. He made some deliveries to Brooklyn as well, but it was to a single store that took about half the stock in the van.

As for time, it took him a total of around four hours for him to go to Queens, pick up the vehicle, and complete the deliveries. He would go back to the warehouse to give the vehicle back to Queens and take the train back home, by which he then got back home at around nine-thirty. He spent less time at the bodega, went out on deliveries, and got paid extra with the combined income all for the same amount of time he spent at the bodega alone.

He felt ecstatic. He could finally pay Silas back in a way to show his unending gratitude. Joe wouldn't be a problem anymore. Poseidon wouldn't be a problem anymore. He could finally start using his credit card without anxiety. Soon enough, maybe he could open a savings account, and then he could try and shoot for trade school.

Is this how it felt like to finally be up on your feet and feel like you're allowed to stand? He thought in awe.

When he laid back on his bed, he could only imagine how things were going up for him for the first time in a while… and that he was doing this all on his own, all without his father's influential hand. Percy felt an immense sensation of pride, starting from his chest and spreading to his smile. He felt like laughing. Instead, he crushingly hugged his pillow on the floor next to him.

Life was smooth, and for the first time in a while he didn't think about smoking a cigarette before blocking out the sunlight with the curtains and going to bed. He found himself humming a familiar tune before giving in to sweet sleep.

;

As the month passed by, Percy quickly got used to the new schedule. It wasn't too bad to live this way because he had two days off where he could catch up on sleep, and deliveries were only on weekdays, so he had extra days of sleep there too. He felt fine so far, but it was probably his youth keeping him alive if anything.

Finally, after two paychecks, he paid Joe back in full. It was a huge sum of money he couldn't afford in his circumstances before, but with both jobs he was able to send a full check. Joe sounded rather pleased over the phone when he had called to say he received the check, and Percy finally relaxed with now nothing over his head.

In the month that had passed, Percy had taken the time to go through the books that Annabeth had picked out and visited her a few times during her day shift so that he could renew them. Because of the constant chill of the October air, he now brought warm coffee from the bodega whenever he visited her. One time he had brought a festive flavor to suit the new month and Annabeth had politely asked if he could keep bringing this flavor (after no success in persuading him there was no need for coffee every time he visited). He happily obliged, admiring having found something she liked that he could give her.

His new budding friendship with the blond librarian continued as they visited each other during their work hours whenever they could. Since midterms were on the rise and Percy had a weird schedule now, they couldn't find the time to eat like they did when they had tacos. But sometimes they found the most trivial ways to spend some time together, like Annabeth studying at the library and Percy casually reading about new skills or solving problems next to her or grabbing a quick bite at the bodega. He really liked her company, as she never made him feel like he had to earn her time or whatnot.

In short, around Annabeth, Percy felt comfortable. Percy hoped he wasn't delusional whenever he felt the settled in familiarity around Annabeth. He felt that she had opened up more as time passed, and as much as he would like to spend more with his quiet, harmonious friend, it was the least of their priorities. Both respectively understood that life got in the way sometimes. At least she had insomnia and he worked overnight so they could stay up and talk over coffee and omelets.

Among others that mattered to him, Silas, as always, found a way to share the newfound good and make life easier for him. During one of his day shifts, he'd told Silas he was now off the hook. "Life working out for you now, huh?"

"Dude," Percy grunted as he tried to restock the bottom shelf without hurting his knees. The rice bags weren't cooperating in stacking. "You have no idea. I feel like I could shit gold."

Silas laughed loudly. He shook his head, "If you do, I want half of what you shit."

Percy laughed along with his joke, and the bodega became lighter as the sunlight hit through the trees from the park and into the windows. It hit the silver of the barstools and reflected off on the walls.

"Deliveries going okay? How's the route?" Silas finally took his glasses off after making corrections to his notebook and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, they're mostly Uptown, so it was kind of a pain because of traffic. Otherwise, they were good. Had one in Brooklyn, too. Around Bay Ridge."

Silas furrowed his brows. "Nothing in Queens?"

"Nah. At least, not for the month I've started. But I think my schedule's fixed now."

"That's strange. Aren't they based in Queens?"

Percy thought about it. "They might already have guys for that?"

"Probably. I thought my buddy said it as mostly gonna be Queens, but I might be wrong. You are their latest hire, so they're probably sending you farther where they get new clients."

That sounded right to Percy, and Silas nodded his head along as Percy did.

"You get used to the schedule?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"How's your sleep schedule?"

"I go to bed at different times like every day. Insomnia doesn't rest."

"Hm…" Silas looked thoughtful, but then he pursed his lips. "Well, I guess I should've asked this earlier then, but you wanna do something about your day shift?"

Percy got up, and his knees made horrible cracking sounds in response. He grimaced and looked at Silas over the shelves. "What do you mean?"

"When does your shift with Jadus end? The deliveries?"

"Like, nine-thirty. That's when I get home. Shouldn't change anytime soon."

Silas seemed to note that down in his messy, rippled notebook. "You just wanna scrap that shift and come in like ten, make the overnight a little longer?"

"Scrap it?" Percy asked, dumbfounded. "Like completely?"

"I'm usually here, yeah? So you don't have to come. It's no big deal. I'd actually rather you start then, 'cause this semester seemingly is worse than all of them combined. I'll do an hour with you to finish up and go home at eleven."

"You sure? What about classes and your project meetings or whatever?"

"I can get a buddy to watch over for the class times, I have a few that owe me. As for projects, they can come meet me here if they're so inclined; we have space. Over there, tables and chairs, yeah? Barstools, yeah? They know I'm a busy man."

"Yeah," Percy repeated. Percy shook his head in amusement and stacked some cans of perishable soups. They made clicking sounds as they stacked upon each other. "I mean, I can cover the hours you're at class."

"Nah, you already do enough."

"Okay…" Percy dragged reluctantly. He wasn't sure why Silas was adamant about dropping the day shift, but he gave in. "Starting tomorrow? Since I'm kinda already here."

Silas nodded and proceeded to the kitchen and turned the grill fan on, presumably to make a couple of sandwiches to hold them over for the next few hours like he usually does. "Also, try to find colleges that have project spaces. I'm not sure if they'll let outsiders in, but in the event you do you can practice what you're learning."

Percy now saw why Silas didn't want him to come in the day anymore. Percy knew that Silas was obviously trying to make sure he got adequate sleep and help him move forward in life. The man was aware that he struggled with restlessness and insomnia, so scrapping the shift would relieve that. It would also give more time for Percy to go about learning his new skills practically. Percy needs to figure out how to show his gratitude. Maybe he'll ask Annabeth next time he sees her, 'cause she's smart and all…

Silas interrupted his thoughts. "Want some music?"

"Shitty radio pop music? Why not?"

"They have a good jazz station."

"Yeah, 'cause just two guys listening to jazz… not strange at all."

Upon turning on the radio to drown out the sizzling of the grill, Percy's ears caught a familiar name before Silas could find another station.

"… officials arrested twenty-three … university graduate Michai Roy Swanne…"

Michai Roy Swanne? Percy knew someone with that exact name.

"Hey Silas wait, hold on. Don't change the channel."

Silas finger stopped on the button and he looked at Percy with slight confusion.

"… dollars' worth of fentanyl-laced Adderall pills circulating in King's County…"

"Can you turn that up?"

"…So far four students have been hospitalized with one in critical condition. It is unknown if there are more suspects involved in the production of these pills, or if there is a possible drug ring. Currently, Swanne is detained in police custody for further investigation. King's County officials advise students to be vigilant and refrain from the purchase and use of these controlled substances without proper subscription. Anonymous tips on the police anonymous tip line are highly encouraged. Next on…"

Percy had chills run up his spine. The name wasn't hard to miss. What the hell? Michai Swanne busted for drugs? Out of all of them, fentanyl?

The Michai that Percy knew had just finished college and was pursuing a stable career, the last time he had heard. Fentanyl-laced Adderal pills in Brooklyn? That had to be a mistake. They had to have had the wrong guy.

Percy sat on one of the barstools that Annabeth would sit on and Silas handed him a plate of a nicely made sandwich. "Something wrong?" Silas asked, wiping his hands on the kitchen rag.

"No... it's just I know that name. Michai Roy Swanne. It sounds like he was arrested for… fentanyl?" Percy shook his head. The pairing of those two seemed so foreign on his tongue. "But the Michai I know wouldn't do that, unless he's somehow a different person since I last seen him."

Silas furrowed his brows and took a bite out of his own sandwich. "When's the last time you saw him?" He said in between chews.

"Over a year ago. I ran into him during a delivery Downtown. He told me back then he was trying to get his CPA license so he could work."

"CPA license… so he was trying to be an accountant?"

"Yeah."

Silas looked thoughtful. "You think it was a white-collar crime?"

Percy slowly looked at Silas. If it were anybody else, he would've gotten offended or angry. But he knew Silas was just exploring possible options. "…No. Well, at least I'm not sure." The sandwich didn't look so appetizing, but Percy took a bite, nonetheless. It took him a while to chew and swallow. "It's just… not him. And it has to be the one I know. That name... you don't just hear every day."

"Were you guys close?"

"He was homeschooled too. Played ball together sometimes."

"Sorry about that."

"S'kay. It's not like I was the one that got arrested or anything. He ain't family either." Percy pulled out his phone so he could do more research over the internet. So far, there wasn't a ton of information. He decided to give it a rest and find out more later.

Silas looked at him with pursed lips. "Want a beer?"

Percy almost laughed. "Nah, man. I'm shocked, not depressed."

"Finish that sandwich. That's seven free bucks."

"I had a bite. Pastrami and mozzarella? Pretty good."

"Yeah. You taste the basil? And the pepperoni?" Silas made the universal sign of 'what the fuck'. "Dude there's more in the center; take another bite. It's one of my finest works."

And just like that, the day was trivialized, and life dulled down to a murky gray. Despite the delicatessen masterpiece laid in front of him on a cheap paper plate, the unexpected combination of Michai Roy Swane and fentanyl together left a bad taste in his mouth.

;;

Percy meant to read more articles regarding Michai's arrest and figure out if he could visit him and see what happened, but all calls were forwarded to answering machines due to a high volume of calls; probably more tips, but Percy wasn't entirely sure. Even after trying multiple lines, his efforts had no avail. The more time passed, the more frustrated he got. He didn't understand why this affected him so much as it did, but he wanted to find out what happened to a buddy from way back when.

Before he could get more frustrated by land-line bureaucracy, he found Marty, lost another game of chess, had dinner and coffee, and talked about his latest job with him. It gave him a sense of serenity to sit down at the park with him before he headed to the library so that he could do some more reading alongside Annabeth to push the strange anxiety down. Whether it's from Annabeth herself or from the quiet of reading in the library, he pretended not to know.

It took a little longer to find her. She wasn't in her usual spot, but instead in a noisy snacking area. Her hair was up in a ponytail, curly strands wildly flaring about around her head. She was typing an extensive essay; probably the research article with extensive interviews for one of her projects. Next to her laptop was a fruit cup, barely touched. Percy approached her and slowly took the chair in front of her and sat down, setting his bag on the floor next to him.

She looked up and smiled in acknowledgement and waved with her pencil. It looked like she was diligently taking notes as well. "Hello." she said.

"Hi," Percy took out his reading for the day and set it in front of him. A bookmark indicating where he last read fell out to Annabeth's direction. She picked it up and gave it back to him. "Thanks. How are you?"

"Stressed. My onsite interviews didn't go too well today, and I don't have that many quotes and references I can put down on my article, so I think I'll have to head out again tomorrow." she elaborated, and Percy nodded. Annabeth had one told Percy that she struggled with onsite interviews because she was too reserved and didn't have the self-confidence to just ask people who were walking about questions. It was a common occurrence that she invested more time than others for that.

"Sounds like you could go to bed early then, right? Tomorrow's work will stay tomorrow's work."

She sighed. "I still have to do more research. My professor didn't look too pleased with my draft today," Annabeth took a piece of strawberry and took a bite. "How about you? How's your day going?"

"Somewhat shitty," Percy slouched in his chair. "Did you hear about the drug bust today?"

"Yes I did," Annabeth smoothed her curls back in an effort to tame it. "We briefly talked about it in class just now and did a brief analysis on the reporting structure. Why do you ask?"

"Michai Roy Swanne was an old friend, kinda."

"The college grad that was involved in the bust?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, Percy," Annabeth put her pencil down and lowered her laptop screen. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"I'm not asking you to be," Percy stated, not comfortable with the apology. "It's just… strange. You know? It's not like him to mess with fentanyl, or any kind of shit like that, for that matter. I've been trying to get a hold of someone where I could find something out, but it's been useless work."

"I'd love to help out in any way… if I can." She offered.

"It's fine. I don't think there's anything we can do. It sounded like they had him detained, so it's not like I can go and visit him or whatever," Percy looked at Annabeth across from him and noticed she looked uneasy. He realized he was the one making her feel that way and sat up, hoping to fight the gloom away. "I'm fine. Honestly. When are you going out for your onsite interviews?"

Annabeth noticed the quick change in subject, fidgeted her hands a bit, but surrendered to it. "I think I will try again tomorrow during lunch hour."

"Lunch hour? Around noon?"

"Yes."

"Tomorrow's a Saturday, right?" Percy checked his phone and indeed he was correct. "That means I have the deliveries off."

"Oh… that's right." Annabeth nodded, being familiar with his schedule now.

Percy had always been curious to see how she worked. He knew that her passion lied in architectural journalism, but he didn't know what that actually entailed, and now was an opportunity to see for himself. "You mind if I come with?"

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "To my interviews?"

"Yeah," Percy fidgeted with a clump of page corners, regretting not considering the fact he might be a hinderance. "I mean… Unless you don't want me there."

"No, no, it's just that… You might get bored. They're not all exciting."

Percy grimaced internally. Why would she think that? Spending time with her was always fun to him. "Annabeth," he emphasized. "I won't even lie; it would probably be the most exciting part of my day. Where exactly are you going?"

"The Vessel," she replied. "Have you been there?"

"Nope," Percy simply said. "Where's it at?"

She laughed softly and shook her head. "I should just assume you've never been anywhere. It's in Hudson Yards."

"I think you should know at this point that people from here aren't exactly tourists," He deadpanned. "Should I do some research beforehand, so I don't make a fool out of myself? Also, I never asked, but what is your research paper about?"

"You don't have to do any research, I'll be your tour guide," she offered, smiling the slightest bit. "My research paper is on newer, unusual buildings around the city and their integration into older architectures around them. To name a few examples on those I'll be visiting next… it will be the Jenga Building, the Oculus, and Hearst Tower. I'll be talking about their architects, history, and significance."

"Why do you need onsite interviews?"

"I want to know the audience reception," she replied. "Basically, to know how people think about their newer designs. My article needs to stay objective, so I need opinions of others to add subjectivity to it."

Percy crossed his arms and looked at her in awe. "I'm impressed."

She sheepishly smiled, as always whenever Percy found a way to compliment her. Annabeth didn't know how to handle those very well. "It's just a paper," she said. "For class."

"Still. You'll be educating people in the future with that kinda shit. Including me. The native who's been nowhere. This is a great opportunity to educate me."

Annabeth laughed at his boldness. "Okay, fine. Where shall we meet?"

"I can meet you in front of your place and we can go together from there. I don't wanna get lost."

"That sounds good," she agreed. "Come by around eleven-thirty. Call me when you're close."

"Uh, problem," Percy said, taking out his phone and handing it to her. "We actually don't have each other's numbers."

Out of the time he'd known her, they'd never needed the exchange. The places they met were simple: the library and the bodega.

"Oh… silly me. I knew that." she said and took his unlocked phone graciously from him. She entered her number, called herself, and gave it back to him. "Thanks. Sorry about that."

"Sorry about what?" Percy said, saving her contact info into her phone. Annabeth, it simply read back to him, and his lips twitched slightly before he slid his phone back into his pocket.

Without intending to, the two slipped into a myriad of conversations without knowing the passage of time. Percy wondered if she knew that she tended to add color to his life. He didn't even get to read the textbook, being so immersed in her. He asked her more questions about the buildings that she mentioned earlier that wanted to visit in the future, and she happily responded with a plethora of facts and names that he didn't recognize. If these onsite interviews meant that they could be an excuse for him to be around her more, then so be it; he'll let that wave wash over him.

After what seemed like a few minutes, the clock on the wall notified him it'd been two hours since his arrival. He had to go back to the bodega soon. "Hey, it's getting close to ten, so I'll have to head out to Silas'. You're banned from it tonight because you have work to do tomorrow."

"Ten? Aren't your shifts usually at twelve?"

"Silas made adjustments so that I can sleep more. I won't be there during the day anymore." He started to pack up his stuff, but the mention of Silas made him think of an earlier thought; of showing his gratitude to that man. "Actually, before I leave, one more thing. Silas has really helped me out a lot and I wanna show him that I appreciate it. Any recommendations on how? Since you know him too and all."

Annabeth hummed with interest, thoughtfully tapping her lip with her pencil. "Hm… Do you know what he likes? We're not that well acquainted, other than the fact we took a class together."

His reply was almost instant. "Religion, philosophy, and experimental cooking."

"Well," she started. "I can't come up with anything now, but… maybe we can think about something together."

"Sounds good," he said. He packed his things together and stood, ready to head to work. "I'll see you tomorrow. Please go home as soon as you can."

"I'll be fine," Annabeth made a face. "I'll see you tomorrow."

As he headed out, Percy grumbled something about getting that girl a self-defense weapon to himself. As he walked to the bodega, hands tightly in his pockets with a smile plastered to his face, he couldn't help but thank whoever was out there, blessing him with a person such as her, so that such a weird and gloomy day could have its silver linings such as this.