Ian Carter is tall, blonde, and very good-looking. He has a light splattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose and oddly bright sea-green eyes. He's also captain of the state champion soccer team at his school and top of his class. In other words, he's pretty damn near perfect. 

With all of this, it's easy to see someone his age becoming conceited, but Ian's not like that. He's far too kind, or rather I should say.... utterly clueless and sometimes just a bit too modest.

Yep, that pretty much sums up seventeen-year-old Ian. 

Or at least it used to. Everything changed at the start of senior year, only two months before he turned eighteen. August 18 was the turning point, it was the day everything really went downhill.

- O - O - O - O - O -

Ian is running late for work...again. He rushes, running down the busy Manhattan street, hoping that his boss will cut him some slack this time. After all, he was up late last applying to colleges and working on some of the summer assignments he has to have done before going back to school. Not that he would have woken up on time anyway, but hey, he's tired and he really doesn't want to be yelled at already this morning. 

As he crosses the street, Ian collides painfully with someone. Being more muscular he therefore pretty much runs over the tall, scraggly boy.

"I'm so sorry," Ian says, while at the same time grasping the guy's arm and yanking him over to the curb, away from oncoming traffic. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No, it-it's okay," the guy says and looks up. 

He actually looks a bit older than what Ian initially thought, maybe in his twenties, and he's wearing a ratty, old rasta cap. At first, his eyebrows furrow in confusion as he stares at Ian, or more specifically his eyes. Then his own eyes widen and he stumbles, almost into the street forcing Ian to grab his arm again before he can. "P-P-Percy?!"

Ian cocks his head to the side. "What?"

"Percy? It's you! It has to be! It's me, Grover," he cries out suddenly rushing forward to grab Ian by the shoulders. He's absolutely sure that who he's looking at is in fact the Percy Jackson. 

So his best friend did choose rebirth as Annabeth once said. 

Those eyes are so familiar, they are without a doubt the same eyes that Medusa once tried to sneak a peek of, the eyes that are so similar and yet so very different to Poseidon's own. 

Ian tries to shake off the strange guy, who by the way is creepy him out a bit, but Grover's grip is like steel and Ian's not freaking Superman. He can't bend steel. "Look man, I think you've got me confused with someone else. Actually I'm sure you do, but if you -"

The blonde cut himself off as his eyes catch sight of the strangest thing he has ever seen. One of Grover's shoes is gone, likely back in the street and roadkill by now. Instead of a normal foot like one would expect from a man missing a shoe, there is a hoof. "Why do you have a donkey's foot?"

"Oh, you've got to be - I've already told you. It's goat. I'm half goat. That's what a satyr is." Grover says with a groan, almost forgetting the years that have passed and for a moment feeling as if he's just hanging out with his best friend again. At Ian's incredulous look, his eyes darken as something important finally occurs to him. "But you don't know that do you? You don't get to keep your memories when you're reborn."

Ian shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I really have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe don't eat or drink the things your friends give you, okay? Take a nap and drink some water. Things might make a bit more sense after that. Anyway I have to go now. I'm really, really late for work."

And with that the teen is gone, leaving a shaken satyr alone as pedestrians and cars continue to rush past.

- O - O - O - O - O -

"You did what?!" Annabeth says, slamming the sippy cup down on the counter and turning to face her friend. "Grover what were you thinking?!"

Grover is nervously chewing on a diet coke can as he avoids the daughter of Athena's deadly glare. Annabeth may be married and have two kids, but her feisty nature never did change. "It was Percy. I couldn't help myself."

The blonde sighs and rubs her temple. "Yes, I know. You knew that he's out there. I told you that when I saw him eleven years ago, but I also stressed to everybody how important it is that we leave him be. Grover, he may have the same soul, but he's not Percy Jackson anymore. He gets to be someone new, someone normal, someone who doesn't have to worry about defeating monsters, staying alive, and leading a camp to war over and over. We can't ruin that for him!" 

"I-I know, but-" Grover stutters.

"No buts," Annabeth cuts him off. "We don't mess with the kid. We let him live his life. After everything Percy went through, he deserves this."

Slowly the satyr nods. His shoulders sag. 

He's so close and yet so far away. When Percy died he wasn't there, but thanks to the empathy link he definitely felt it. He wasn't able to do anything for almost three whole months. Now when he finally finds the person he lost, he has to avoid him. It's just too painful.

Suddenly a seven-year-old girl bounds into the room. She's sporting her dad's brown hair, but her stormy grey eyes sparkle with intelligence as she looks up at her mom. "Mommy, did you get my juice yet?"

"Sorry sweetie, not yet. Why don't you go play with Uncle Grover while I get it?" Annabeth says bending down to the little girl's level.

The little girl's eyes light up and she nods rapidly. Grover smirks and takes her hand. "Come on, Selena. I'll teach you how to play the reed pipes."

Annabeth has to stop her groan as the two run back into the living room laughing. Soon after a rough version of Boyfriend by Dove Cameron comes floating into the kitchen followed by Selena's giggles. 

"Let me try. Let me try."

The demigod mother shakes her head and reaches into the fridge to grab the apple juice.

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A/N :) I like this first chapter, especially the latter half at Annabeth's. Tell me what you think. And don't forget to vote! :3