A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this update was late! Had a bit of writers block, but it's here now! Hope you like it!

He knows as soon as he enters the room. There might be a few people milling around, but his eyes find that head of blonde hair out of a habit formed so long ago it's instinct now.

She's chatting with some guy and it makes his heart twist in pain. It's too soon.

And then, as if by instinct again, she looks over.

He'll never forget the way his heart stopped when he made eye contact with Annabeth Chase again.

Her eyes move to his right, no doubt noticing Rachel, and he has to fight the urge to run up and tell her it's not what it looks like.

But she just turns away sharply like a punch to the gut. He wonders if it's too early to leave. But then Rachel is tugging on his arm, so he stumbles after her towards the kitchen, his eyes not quite leaving the blonde curls.

"Percy…" Rachel starts, seeing where his eyes are going. "You need to stop staring."

He jerks his head towards her, immediately regretting it when he sees the sadness in her eyes. He knows it's not pity, but his mind can't help but turn it into that.

"Want a drink?"

He nods, even though Rachel is already off to dig one out of somewhere. His neck burns and he wonders if she's watching him. He wants to turn around, he shouldn't, but he could—

"Here!"

And Rachel's back, handing him a can of Pepsi. He accepts the cool aluminum as a distraction and allows the can to become his focal point. Every time he gets the urge to turn around and look at her, he zones in on the can instead.

Frank comes up to talk to him, followed by Hazel and Nico and he fiddles with the tab so much it actually breaks off the can entirely.

None of them mention the elephant in the room but that just makes it all worse.

He wouldn't have shown up if he knew Annabeth was going to be here.

(But then, after forty-five minutes when his will gives out and he peeks at her, he wonders if the pain is worth a glance.)

She catches him looking.

He retreats to the bathroom.

"You can do this," he says to himself in the mirror. "You got this, just focus on your friends, it'll be fine."

It's NOT fine.

It's a small house party, so it was only a matter of time before they end up running into each other. He's leaving the bathroom and she's about to walk in and suddenly he's closer to her than he's been in what feels like an eternity.

"Annabeth." The name escapes his mouth in a strangled sort of way.

She's not looking at him. "Percy."

He can feel his face heating up, the words are getting caught in his throat, and he has no idea what he's doing.

"How…how are you?"

It's quite possibly the dumbest thing he could have said. He sees the telltale signs of her annoyance and he knows he's messed up. He could kick himself.

But suddenly, she's grabbing his arm and pulling him into the bathroom with her. Honestly though, he's not really aware of more than where her hand has made contact on his arm, the touch electrifying him.

"Oh, I'm doing great!" she replies sarcastically. "Thanks for asking, Percy!"

Her tone snaps him into place, and he feels a frown forming on his face. "Okay you don't need to be rude!"

He's not sure why he's getting heated too. (Maybe it has something to do with the unaddressed tension that's been building for the past hour.)

Annabeth growls and paces two steps into the small bathroom. "What the hell Percy, seriously!"

"What!"

She throws her hands up in the air.

"You think it's easy for me to see you with someone else?"

The words stop him dead in his tracks. He should explain, explain now that Rachel is just a friend. But then he remembers the guy she was chatting with earlier. Did she think it was easy for him?

Starting to feel the heat rise again, he can't help but say the thing that's been haunting him.

"Well, you're the one who ended it!"

"Because I was mad not because I stopped loving you!"

The silence that follows those words seeps into his bones. The chill that follows consumes his body and the words come out in a broken whisper.

"You still love me?"

She's not looking at him, but he can see the tears welling up in her eyes. She doesn't answer, just turns away.

With a shaking hand, he reaches to touch her shoulder, expecting to be brushed off. But she stays still save for the small slump. It's enough to let him know she's crying.

Without thinking, he slowly turns her around, enveloping her in a hug.

He doesn't know how long they stay like that, with her hands clutching his shirt and his arms wrapped around her body. Somewhere in that though she stops shaking and he musters the courage to lift her chin up.

She's avoiding his eyes, tear streaked mascara on her face. It twists his heart even more to see her like this. Especially when…

"I still love you too."

A/N: As I've mentioned, this series is very indicative of my life, hence this drabble based on my recent binge: tik tok lol You might have heard the sound before, but when I heard the dialogue I thought it'd be a fun little writing exercise to try.

But on a more serious note, I also wanted to touch on heartbreak since love and heartbreak go hand in hand and I wouldn't be covering the semantics of love without also covering this.

Please Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And as always, thanks for reading!

See ya! :)