A/N: I reread all of the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books this year. Half way through Mark of Athena, I was really starting to question Percabeth's relationship. I felt like every interaction they had was layered with doubt and nervousness, and I thought back to what it felt like to be 16 and in love. Let's just say it really didn't work out for me! And then I listened to the song "If the World Was Ending" by JP Saxe and Julia Michaels, and I imagined what it would be like if Percy and Annabeth were the people in that song. So here it is!

(Also don't worry I finished Heroes of Olympus and am now fully convinced they will end up together).

Annabeth

I was distracted and in traffic. I didn't feel it when the earthquake happened. I didn't even know it had happened until I got home. I threw my keys onto the kitchen island in the apartment and turned on the news while I cooked dinner. All the reporters talked about the earthquake. Whenever something like this happened, I always wondered what actually happened, because it was never just an earthquake. I could have Iris messaged Chiron or one of my friends from camp for the story, but I wasn't sure I could be bothered. Lately my life had become pretty … ordinary. This was evident by the tomatoes I was currently chopping after my 9-5 at a big fancy architecture firm in LA. If anything I had more contact with Camp Jupiter, but honestly I was happy being away from all the demigod stuff. My life was good when it was ordinary. I had LA friends, smiling back at me from the frames hung on the walls. I had hobbies, like the tennis racket propped up in the corner next to my front door. I had a good job, a good apartment, a good car, a good credit score. Life was good. One thing I didn't have was a boyfriend.

For the first few months after we broke up, I couldn't even stand to think about anything related to Percy. I wanted to scream and hit the wall and run until I couldn't feel anything. My heart felt like it was slowly being ripped out of my chest. Now a year later, it still hurt, but not in the same way. It made my heart ache when I saw the ocean. It made me shiver on cold nights. Every time I saw the color blue I thought of him. A year later, I had learned how to live without him just like I had purged the color blue out of my life.

The earthquake made me think of him. As I waited for the water for my pasta to boil, I thought about what those first few months after the Giant War were like.

...

I was laying on my back staring up at the ceiling above my bed at boarding school. I couldn't sleep, and even though I was feeling pretty restless I didn't want to move. Percy was finally asleep. He was laying half on top of me, his arm slung across my body, his legs tangled in mine. There wasn't much space for him anywhere else in my twin bed, but I didn't want him to be anywhere else. His soft breaths against my neck gently moved my hair. These past few weeks had been torture.

There had been the initial high after the war was won. It was days of banquets and celebrations, a whirlwind of food and excitement. It was easy to ignore all of the bad things that had happened. Percy and I were so tired we couldn't even begin to process. Those days were blissful. These days were less blissful. The summer ended too quickly, and everything changed. I moved into my dorm at boarding school in New York, and Percy moved back in with Sally. Slowly everyone remembered that Percy and I had probably been through the worst experience of our lives: Tartarus. We also remembered. Now it was practically all I could think about. Sleeping was the worst part, because the nightmares were unbearable. They were only slightly more bearable with Percy. He snuck into my dorm every night avoiding all supervising adults, and by now Percy practically lived here. I know Sally missed him, but I think she also understood. I think him waking up screaming my name and swinging Riptide helped her understand.

Percy turned his head and mumbled in his sleep, drooling a little on my shoulder. I kissed the back of his head, wishing that my lips could take away his bad dreams.

...

The water boiled onto the stove making a horrible hissing noise bringing me back to the present. I quickly moved the pot off the burner. The news continued to drone in the background. They were still talking about that stupid earthquake. Apparently it was novel because an earthquake had happened in Portland at the same time. That stupid earthquake made me think of that stupid green eyed man, sucking me into another memory.

...

I could feel the base shaking the room as sweaty bodies moved all around me, but I didn't think about them. All I could think about was Percy. Percy's hands on my body. Percy's hips against my hips. Percy's mouth on my mouth. It was intoxicating, overwhelming, and I wanted more.

We were interrupted by our friends. Our normal human friends. They motioned for us to follow them, I guess it was time to move on to the next party. We stumbled out a back door into an alley, and all of our friends talked over each other saying all the things we couldn't hear inside the party. Percy's shoulder bumped into mine as we walked. I looked at him and couldn't help but smile. I was walking next to the person who knew me best in the whole world. The sky, ocean, and hell included. His fingers wound their way through mine, his palm pressed against mine. It was us against the world.

College had been a totally different experience. We started at NYU, made new friends, stayed out all night partying, went to classes, and finally had a somewhat normal teenage experience. There was no more adult supervision, so rather than him sneaking into my dorm every night, I just walked over to his. No big prophecies hung over our heads, and after the Giant War it felt like even the monsters knew we needed a break. We lived the life of two college kids in love.

...

My timer went off, once again bringing me back to reality. I carried the pot over to the sink and strained the pasta, returned it to the pot, and then went to check on the chicken in the oven.

The break had happened slowly. For a long time we were happy. After our freshman year of college, we moved into an apartment together. We picked out sheets and bought a set of cheap plates and bowls. It felt like we were any other young couple trying to make it work. Life changed, and we changed with it. Our days were filled with school work and part time jobs at restaurants rather than fighting monsters and saving the world. Back then it felt like the best time in my life. Looking back I could see how the cracks in our relationship were starting to grow.

...

I looked up from the kitchen table as the front door opened. My books were strewn all over the table and a cold, half eaten bowl of ramen sat next to me keeping me company. Percy breezed into the room kissing me on the head.

"How was your day? I didn't see you this morning?" He asked, wandering into the kitchen to make his own bowl of ramen. The night was dark outside, creeping into our little kitchen through the windows.

"Good! I went to work this morning, went to class, and then started studying when I came home." Percy made a noise of acknowledgement from the kitchen. I went back to studying. When his ramen was ready, he leaned against the counter scarfing down his noodles. My books had taken up all of our dining room table.

"How was your day?" I asked, making some space for him at the table.

"Good! Pretty much the same, except I went to class this morning, then got some food with Greg before work." I nodded in acknowledgement, not breaking eye contact with my notebook. I heard the empty bowl being put into the sink, and the sounds of books being pulled out of Percy's backpack in the living room . Percy went to bed around midnight, and I followed him about an hour later. As I crept silently into our bedroom, I could barely make out Percy laying on the bed although I was getting pretty good at making it into bed without touching him and waking him up. I let the sound of his breath lull me to sleep.

...

I sat down at my kitchen island with my dinner, still thinking about Percy. Months had passed like that. We saw less and less of each other, even though we slept in the same bed every night. During our senior year we had spent the fall semester apart. I had an internship in LA and he had one in Portland. At the time we hadn't thought much of it. Our relationship had already survived so much, I don't think we even thought that it could possibly end. Over that summer, the daily phone calls turned into weekly phone calls. The last three weeks of summer neither of us called. When we went back to our apartment in New York. I still felt like we were in different cities. I thought back to the night when it happened.

...

I was sitting in bed on my laptop, going over some notes for my test the next day. When Percy walked into the room I barely noticed him. In three days he was going back to Portland to finish his last semester online while he worked at the place where he had interned. He laid down on the bed next to me.

"I can move into the kitchen if you want to go to sleep." I offered.

"Ya sure that way I'll see even less of you." The answer caught me by surprise. He had said it like it was supposed to be a joke, but I could hear the resentment in his tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shot back, suddenly angry. Why would he say it like that? Percy took a deep breath, like he didn't want to say what he was thinking.

"What are we even doing Annabeth? I've barely seen you since you came back from LA, you've been so busy. It's like I'm living with a ghost who sends me a text when we need milk." His tone was accusatory. That just made me more mad.

"I'm not the only one who's been busy, you've spent all of your time this week on campus. Should I just not tell you when we need more milk?"

"Because the milk is the problem." Now Percy was sitting up. "We never do anything together! We basically live separate lives!"

"So we shouldn't even be together? Is that what you're asking me?"

"Yes! No! I don't know! That is not what I said I'm just … " His voice trailed off like he didn't know how to answer.

"That's what 'what are we even doing' means Percy! That's what people say when they're breaking up!" A small voice in the back of my head was telling me I was saying the wrong thing, but my pride was smothering that voice with a pillow. How dare he suggest that we break up!

"I'm not saying that! I'm just saying that it doesn't even feel like we're in a relationship anymore. It's like living with a stranger!" His voice was raised now.

"Great! I'll make it easy for you. Go sleep somewhere else. I don't know what we're doing here anymore either."

"Anna-" I cut him off.

"Go. Now."

I failed my test the next day.

...

Percy had walked out of our bedroom that night, and it turned into my bedroom for the next few months until I graduated and moved to LA. I had been so mad at him that I packed up his things that night and dropped them in front of Sally's door the next morning. Then I cried. For weeks. Percy and I didn't talk. He was in Portland so I couldn't even accidentally run into him. I didn't see him again until graduation. At that point I had cried myself out. I just waved at him from across the room, and then moved to LA.

As I looked back on it, maybe I should have listened to that small voice in my head during our fight. But I was too prideful at that moment to do it. And every day after I was too proud to call him and tell him how much I loved him and missed him. And maybe it wouldn't have made a difference. I hadn't felt close to him in a long time when we broke up. Although that didn't make me not miss him.

I shook my head. I shouldn't think like this. We had broken up a year ago, and hadn't talked since. Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder though. I put my dishes away, and cleaned the kitchen trying to think of anything other than him.

I had gone on a few dates when I moved to LA, trying my best to move on. There had been some good ones, and some less good ones. But in the end none of them ever got past the second date. None of them had black hair and green eyes. I distracted myself as best I could for the rest of the evening, and finally it was time to go to sleep.

When I laid down in my bed, there was nothing to stop me thinking about him. I pulled my blankets closer as I stared at the ceiling together. Sleep felt so far away. We had been through so much of our life together, but maybe we just weren't right for each other.

The earthquake got me thinking. If we died we wouldn't be with each other. If the world was ending again he would come find me. Right? I couldn't imagine experiencing the end of the world in anyone else's arms. He would come over. Right?

PERCY

I was sitting in my kitchen eating dinner when the earthquake happened. I wasn't scared. Being an all powerful demigod of the god of the sea and earthquakes had its perks. I did turn on the radio though, and learned that the earthquake had affected the entire western coast. That included LA. I tried to imagine her reaction. What would she be doing right now? Where was she? It was a game I had played with myself this last year. Where in the world was Annabeth Chase? I knew that I should stop, but it was hard. I stared at my food, almost hoping it would talk back to me and distract me. The bowl I was eating out of was one that we had bought for our apartment. I never knew why she decided that I should have it, but here it was with me in Portland. It made me think of our kitchen. More specifically, it made me think of the last good night we had in our kitchen.

...

I had gotten back from Portland earlier that day. Or more accurately, the previous day. It was Greg's birthday and he was throwing this big party. Annabeth came with me. I had missed her over the semester, but I had been so busy. And then I felt like I barely saw her at the party. At one point we played beer pong together, but then one of her friends dragged her into the other room to take some pictures. Around 2 in the morning when I was getting tired, I managed to find her.

I walked up to her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. Out of habit she brought one of her hands up to hold mine.

"Let's get out of here," I whispered in her ear. She half turned in my arms so I could see her smile and nod at me. So we snuck out of the party. Everyone was drunk so it didn't matter if we disappeared. As we got further away I noticed that I was also sort of drunk. It was like I hadn't noticed with all the people and music at the party. I gripped Annabeth's hand in mind, grinning like a mad man.

When we made it back home, we stumbled into the kitchen. Annabeth flung off her shoes in the entryway and got a glass of water. She sat on the counter drinking it. I got my own glass of water. I set the glass down next to her. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and my hands wandered up her thighs. We hadn't seen each other in months. I missed her. She pulled me closer. We didn't make it past the kitchen until much earlier in the morning.

...

I pushed my bowl away from me. I didn't want to eat anymore. My kitchen looked different than our kitchen had looked. That kitchen still existed. With its bright yellow cabinets and tiny New York appliances. I just didn't exist in that kitchen. I existed in a kitchen with white cabinets, not yellow ones. Much of my life was different. I was friends with people now that didn't even know Annabeth's name. I loved my job, and sometimes friends from camp would drop by.

I hadn't meant to start the conversation that broke us up. It had been days since Annabeth and I had even actually talked to each other, and in a few days I was leaving to go to Portland again. I wasn't going to see her until graduation. It made me frustrated. She made me frustrated. We had gone through so much together that the distance felt insignificant at first. It hadn't bothered me until we were back in New York. But even then I never thought we would break up. We took our relationship for granted. That last night in our apartment had been so different from the first night.

...

The window was open letting the cool late summer air swirl through our room. It was the first room we were ever going to sleep in that was our room. We hadn't gotten this moment because we had snuck past the eyes of watchful adults, or because my freshman roommate was staying at his parents. This was our room. Our mattress was laying on the ground, and we finally had a mattress that was big enough for two adults to sleep in. But we weren't using the space. We were wrapped together, leaving the sides of the mattress empty.

The whole day had been spent moving our new second hand furniture and unpacking boxes. We had argued about what cabinets to put our bowls and plates in, but Annabeth had eventually won that argument like she won most of our arguments. After a long and exhausting day, we had showered and flopped down into our bed. And here we were, our wet hair making the pillow cold. But we weren't asleep. We kept whispering about where to hang up all of our pictures or giggling when we made plans to invite all our friends over for a party. We were going to make them all dress up in formal wear for a formal dinner party on the fold out table that would only fit if we put half in the living room and half in the kitchen.

...

The pictures from that dinner party were shoved in the back of one of my drawers. I hadn't looked at them in a year, and I definitely didn't want anyone to see them. I didn't want people to ask about the smiling faces in fancy outfits. I didn't want to have to say the girl in the middle of the picture was my ex-girlfriend. I knew people didn't work out all the time, especially people who got together so young. I guess forever just wasn't part of the fates plan. We were destined to let go of each other. I thought back to the months after the giant war, back when the only person I wanted to be around was her.

...

I was laying on Annabeth's dorm room floor. She was sprawled out next to me, studying. Her foot was hooked over my foot, and I was slowly twisting her curls around my fingers. I was so tired, but I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to live in these moments of peace with her forever. I studied every inch of her laying next to me. Her gray eyes focusing intently on her worn books. Her lids hanging low as sleep threatened to overtake her. Her fingers tapping against the page as she tried to focus. Her back curving as she propped herself up on her elbows. I didn't ever want to forget her.

"Let's go to bed seaweed brain." She said. I could see how tired she was. I wrapped my arms around her, and much to her surprise, rolled her on top of me.

"Seaweed brain!" she exclaimed. Her face was now inches from mine. She kissed me. A warm feeling spread through my chest. I loved that girl so much. Eventually I broke the kiss.

"Bed time wise girl?" I asked. She nodded. We clumsily stood up from the floor and climbed into her bed. I reached over and turned of the light. In the darkness she curled up closer to me, and I wrapped my arms around her. She fell asleep before I did. So I just held on to her in the darkness. I never wanted to let her go.

...

The radio droned on in the background. Still talking about the earthquake. I wondered if she had spent all evening thinking about me too. The first few days after we broke up, I was numb. My mom baked me blue cookies and tried to talk to me, but I didn't want to talk. Annabeth telling me to get out was still ringing in my ears.

It hit me when I went to Portland. I was staying in an apartment right next to my work. The last person had left this amazing painting of a dog in a captain uniform in there. I took my phone out to send a picture to Annabeth when I remembered that we weren't together. I threw that dog painting off the balcony.

I had thought about calling her, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. She hadn't called either. I wondered if she would even talk to me if I did call. At the time I didn't think I could survive her telling me to go away a second time. So I tried to put it out of my mind. It didn't work well. But eventually I went from thinking about her once a minute, to once a day, to once a week. I survived.

How was she? How had she survived? I didn't even know how her life looked now. I saw her once at graduation. I wanted to talk to her, but she just waved at me and then disappeared. Greg told me she moved to LA. Was she thinking about me? Was she dating someone new? Had she even noticed the earthquake?

I stood up suddenly. Before I could even think about what I was doing I ran outside and whistled for Mrs. O'Leary. She showed up quickly, and after the customary near death crushing and slobbering, I told her what I wanted. She barked excitedly, and I jumped onto her back.

The air in LA was warmer than it was in Portland. Somehow Mrs. O'Leary knew which apartment building Annabeth lived in. And I knew which apartment she lived in because we had bought the doormat lying in front of it together four years ago. I still hadn't thought this decision through. I didn't know what I was going to say. No reason to start thinking now. I knocked on the door.