Annabeth sighed and stood up from the couch in her dad's living room when she heard the doorbell ring. She dragged her feet to the front door and opened it, revealing her two close friends from school. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked, not really wanting to talk to anyone.

"We came to cheer you up!" Her friend, Isabella, exclaimed.

Her other friend, Ella, nodded in agreement. "We think you need some girl time." She held up her bag, pillow, and sleeping bag to emphasize her point. "Can we come in?"

"Um." Annabeth hugged herself and pursed her lips, thinking. A girl night didn't sound too bad. She probably should get her mind off of some things even though it would be difficult. But what she was doing to herself recently wasn't healthy; not sleeping, crying everyday before and after school, and sometimes skipping dinner. "Sure." She opened the door wider and her friends barreled inside.

"Is your family home?" Isabella asked, noticing the silence within the large Californian house. "Usually you can hear the boys screaming at each other from upstairs."

"They went out to dinner." Annabeth shrugged and led them into the living room where they dropped their stuff next to the couch. "I didn't feel like going."

"Girl." Ella shook her head disapprovingly. "You need to get out more or at least start taking better care of yourself." Her eyes skimmed over Annabeth's body.

"Yeah," Isabella said in agreement. "You've worn the same clothes for the past three days and you didn't even show up to school yesterday."

Annabeth looked down at her grey sweatpants and black sweatshirt. She shrugged. "I-" She blinked back tears and tried to change the subject. "What do you guys want to do?"

Ella dug through her bag, holding up a finger as if to say: hold on a minute. "Ah-hah! There it is." She pulled a rectangular object out of her backpack. "I brought Just Dance!"

"Yes!" Isabella pumped a fist in the air. "Let's go!" She grabbed the disk out of Ella's hands, earning a 'Hey!', then went to slide it in to the Xbox console. She grabbed the remote of the table and turned the TV on, turning the settings to Xbox. Isabella grabbed the controller and scrolled through the songs. "Alright, who wants to go?"

"Annabeth?" Ella asked. Annabeth shook her head, gesturing for her to go on. Ella shrugged. "Suit yourself. Let's dance." She fist bumped with Isabella before the music started playing.

During the so-called dance competition, Annabeth grabbed her book off the coffee table and began reading. As she read, her mind traveled and she ended up thinking about Percy; the reason for her depressed attitude. Not even a year after The Giant War, Percy was sent on a quest with Piper and Jason.

The quest was only supposed to last at least two weeks. And it did. The only problem was that only Piper and Jason had made it back to Camp Half-Blood, Percy nowhere in sight.

At first, Annabeth thought it was a joke so she laughed but then she took in Piper and Jason's faces. With a horrifying start, Annabeth realized that Percy really hadn't come back with them.

Piper had pulled her away privately to explain what happened. Apparently, during their quest, Percy sacrificed himself for Piper and Jason during a fight with a giant. His fatal flaw was loyalty, after all.

Not being able to deal with the pain, Annabeth had moved back to California and enrolled in the high school a few blocks away. No matter how hard she tried to get her mind off of it, Annabeth always found herself crying over him.

And why shouldn't she? Percy was taken away from her for eight months and that was painful enough. Then they had fallen into Tartarus where she almost lost him again. They were inseparable after that and the nightmares were unbearable. Three months later, when they were trying to live a normal life and attending Goode, the gods had been cruel enough to take him away again.

This time, he wasn't coming back. Just that thought made a fist squeeze over her heart painfully. They had so many plans for their future; finish high school, go to New Rome for college, get married, and maybe even start a family. But the gods had taken that away from her. She refused to go anywhere near Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter. She even started ignoring their Iris Messages or phone calls. Annabeth felt terrible for doing so.

So, that was why Annabeth hasn't been taking good care of herself and why she has been wearing the same clothes for multiple days. She did skip school yesterday. It was only because she had a nightmare- well more like a dream- where Percy never went missing. She woke up crying, she even threw up, and her dad suggested she stayed home.

Annabeth snapped out of her deep thoughts when her book was taken out of her hands. "Hey!" She exclaimed, reaching out for it. "Give it back!"

"No." Isabella shook her head, setting the book back down on the coffee table. "We came to have some fun, not for you to sit around and-" Her eyes widened. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not-" Annabeth reached her hand up and touched her cheek with her fingers. Oh, she was crying. How did she not notice? "I don't- I can-t..." A sob racked her body and she buried her face in her hands.

Ella came and sat down next to her. "Hey, what's wrong?" Annabeth shook her head and tried to stop her tears but they just kept coming. She hated herself for making herself vulnerable around her friends. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Annabeth sniffed.

"Annabeth," Isabella muttered, rubbing Annabeth's back. "Does this have to do why you skipped school yesterday? Or why you haven't been sleeping?"

"H-how do you know-?" Annabeth asked, lifting her head off of her hands and leaning back against the couch and looked over at her friend. Isabella gestured to the skin underneath her eyes. "Oh, are the circles that noticeable?"

Ella nodded. "Why have you been so down, lately?" She stared at Annabeth with so much care that she realized she was really lucky to have these two as friends. "You were never like this in middle school or freshman year."

Oh, that's right. Annabeth forgot to mention that she's been going to school with Ella and Isabella since Percy convinced her to go back to California.

Percy...

Another sob racked her body. She missed him so much. It just wasn't fair! She's done so much for the gods and how do they repay her? By taking her boyfriend away, again! It wasn't fair at all.

"Talk to us," Isabella said, sounding like she could cry. "You can't keep living like this, Annabeth. It isn't healthy!"

Annabeth knew she was right but she didn't want to open up.

"Not sleeping or eating or showering." Ella tutted and shook her head, placing her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "It's definitely not healthy."

"Fine," Annabeth whimpered, wiping her probably bloodshot eyes. "I'll tell you."

"And don't hold back on anything." Isabella gave her a kind smile. "We're here for you."

Ella nodded in agreement.

Annabeth took a deep breath. How to tell them without mentioning something from the demigod world? Screw that! She'd just tell them. The least the gods could do was not kill her friends. If Rachel Dare could know, then Isabella and Ella could know.

"Don't freak out, okay?" She asked, earning a nod from her friends. "You guys know about the Greek gods, right?" They nodded again. "Well, they're real and it's okay if you don't believe me or-"

Ella shared a look with Isabella and they smiled. "We believe you."

Annabeth stared in shock. "You do?"

"Yeah." Isabella shrugged. "You wouldn't lie to us."

"Oh, wow, thanks." Annabeth gave a super small grin, almost unnoticeable. "Okay, my mom's Athena and Percy's dad is Poseidon so we're demigods." Her friends nodded, silently telling her to continue. "We've fought in two wars, went through hell together, and he went missing for eight months before the second war."

"Oh." Ella blinked. "Wow. Continue."

Annabeth blinked the tears out of her eyes. "So you'd think the gods would give us a break, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Isabella answered.

"Well, they sent Percy on another quest without friends, Piper and Jason." Annabeth sighed. "Only Piper and Jason came back."

Ella gasped. "Oh, Annabeth!" She pulled her in for a side hug. "Is there more?"

"Yeah. Piper said, he sacrificed himself for them." Annabeth's voice cracked. "They've already burned his shroud, an embroidered blanket thing with your godly parent's symbol that they burn two weeks after someone doesn't come back."

Isabella held her hand to her mouth. "That's terrible. I can't imagine what you're going through right now."

"I know!" Annabeth cried. "It's not fair! We sacrifice everything for the gods and the way they thank me? Taking my boyfriend of almost two years away from me!" This time, she let the tears fall.

"Is that why you stayed home from school?" Ella asked, pulling Annabeth into a hug and Isabella joined.

Annabeth nodded against Ella's shoulder. "I had a dream where he came back. I woke up and then I threw up. My dad told me to stay home."

Isabella and Ella pulled away, feeling terrible for their friend. "We're so sorry. We had no idea," Ella said.

"It's okay." Annabeth shrugged, looking over at the clock that hung on the wall. 8:57. "Can we just watch a movie? Not romance."

"Of course." Isabella stood and dug through her bag. "I actually brought a movie." She dug around some more before pulling the movie out. "Divergent okay?"

Annabeth nodded, laying down on the couch and pulled a blanket over herself. The movie started playing and soon enough the voices from the TV lulled her to sleep.

----

Around 9:30, Ella and Isabella heard knocking sound from the door. Wouldn't Annabeth's parents have a key or something to let them inside? Then again, maybe they forgot it. So, instead of waking Annabeth, who was currently sleeping peacefully on the couch, they went to answer the door themselves.

"Should I just open it?" Isabella asked wearily.

Ella shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. If it's a killer just like drop kick them or something."

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "We both know neither of us can drop kick."

"Just open the door." Ella rolled her eyes.

So, that's what she did. Isabella placed her hand on the cool door knob and summed up all the courage she had to slowly open the door. She peered outside and spotted a teenaged boy standing on the porch, clad in sweatpants and a blue sweatshirt. His hair was jet blacked and seemed to be sort of singed near the ends and his green eyes were bright.

His eyes widened when he saw them and he gestured behind him. "Am I at the wrong house?" He asked hesitantly.

Ella shared a glance with Isabella. "Who are you looking for?"

"Annabeth Chase," He answered instantly.

Isabella gasped and clasped her hand to her mouth. "Are you Percy?"

"Yeah..." He looked around awkwardly. "And you guys are?"

"Oh!" Ella piped up. "I'm Ella and this is our friend, Isabella. We're Annabeth's friends from school. She misses you."

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Can I come in?" The girls nodded and opened the door wider. "Where is she and how's she doing?"

"She-um- is sort of depressed, I guess you could say," Ella answered. "She hasn't been sleeping well and she skipped school yesterday. She's not taking great care of herself, Percy."

"Oh gods." His eyes widened. "Do you guys know about-"

"Yes." Isabella gestured for him to follow her. They walked through the house and finally made it to the living room. She pointed over to the couch where Annabeth was still sleeping. "She's right there."

"I really hate to wake her but..." Percy shrugged and went to kneel beside the sleeping teenage girl on the couch. He reached out and brushed the blonde curls away from her face, keeping his hand against her cheek as he brushed the skin with his thumb.

Ella shrugged. "Don't worry. She won't mind." Isabella elbowed her and gave her a pointed look. "Sorry."

"Wise Girl," He whispered, still caressing her cheek. She stirred slightly but just pulled the blankets up higher. "Annabeth." He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Wake up."

"No," Annabeth whimpered, her face contorting into an expression of pain.

Percy frowned and ran his fingers through her blonde curls. "Annabeth, please, wake up." She squirmed around in her spot for a few seconds before blinking her eyes opened. The grey orbs roamed around the room before landing on Percy. He smiled. "Hey."

She rubbed her eyes then whimpered out, "This is a dream."

"No, Wise Girl." He brushed the tear away with his thumb. "I'm really here."

Her eyes widened, filling with tears. "I-if this is a trick, it isn't funny!" She sat up and glared at Percy. "If you're a god and pretending to be my dead boyfriend then that's just sick!" She cried, tears now rolling freely down her face.

Percy shook his head. He reached down and grabbed her hand, tangling their fingers together. Sparks flew up both their arms. "I'm alive and I'm back. I went to Mom's but you weren't there. She told me you moved back to California." He took a deep breath. "I called Blackjack and he brought me here as fast as he could."

Annabeth placed her hand against Percy's cheek and he leaned into it. She sobbed. "Percy? Is it really you?"

"Yes." Percy smiled, tears filling his own sea green eyes. "It's me, Annabeth."

She smiled and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him as the force knocked them both to the ground. Percy laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face into her curls. "I-I thought that I'd never see you again." She sniffed.

Percy sat up, Annabeth now sitting on his lap but still hugging the life out of him but that was okay. "I'm back and I'm okay." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." Annabeth pulled away but kept her arms around his neck. "W-where were you? Why didn't you call or Iris Message? Let me know you were okay?"

"I was held captive by Giants." He shrugged then gave her the lopsided smile she adored. "Bad reception."

Annabeth laughed and pressed her lips to his, causing her friends to coe at them from the doorway to the living room. "I love you so much," She murmured against his mouth.

"I love you too." Percy buried his hand in her curls and deepened the kiss. "More than you'll ever know." He pulled away slowly and wrapped her up in a hug again. "I'm so sorry, Annabeth."

"S'okay," Annabeth mumbled into his shoulder, hugging him tighter than ever. "Gods, Percy." She pulled away and wiped at her eyes. "That was worse than you being gone for eight months."

"How so?" Percy frowned, tightening his grip around her waist.

"They told me you weren't coming back," Annabeth explained.

Percy smiled and pecked her lips. "Well, I'm here."

"I'm going back to New York with you," She demanded, looking at him straight in the eyes. He laughed and nodded, hugging her close, and rubbed her back soothingly.

Annabeth smiled against his neck. Percy was back. Her Seaweed Brain was back in her arms. The gods should've known that nothing they could possibly tear them apart, especially a stupid quest. They've been through Tartarus for god's sake!

Isabella and Ella, noticing that the emotional part of the reunion was over, now moved back into their separate sleeping bags. They didn't fall asleep though. Instead, they watched Percy lift up a sleeping Annabeth and lay down on the couch with her on his chest. He would occasionally place a kiss on her head or stroked her hair lovingly.

Soon after Percy fell asleep, they turned back to the movie which was almost over. But eventually, they too also fell asleep.

----

Frederick brought the key to the door, only to find that it was already unlocked. He frowned at his wife, Helen, and she shrugged. She kept herself and the boys outside while he checked around the house.

All the rooms were clear of any intruders but he found Annabeth's bed empty. He then heard the TV playing in the living room and he realized Annabeth probably either had friends over or fell asleep on accident.

He made his way downstairs and into the living room after telling Helen that it was safe to come in. With Helen behind him, he peered into the living room. Two girls, he recognized as Isabella and Ella, were sleeping in their sleeping bags but no Annabeth next to them. Frederick's blue eyes traveled over to the couch where he saw Annabeth laying down on a boy's chest.

Frederick was about to march in there and scold her for falling asleep with a boy when she was still so desperately in love with someone else, even if she'd never see him again. But then, he saw the jet black hair and he instantly knew who it was.

Percy Jackson was back.

A smile broke out on to his face and he flicked the TV off with the remote. Even though he knew that his daughter would be moving back to New York to be with Percy again, he was happy for her. He was happy that she'd finally be happy.

And that's all that mattered to him. Annabeth was happier with Percy than she was with him and that was totally okay. Frederick completely understood and he knew that she only moved back because of the pain of staying in New York; Percy's home. But now that he was back, she would be fine living there again.

Frederick was thrilled that Percy was back and that the crack in his daughter's heart would be mended in no time.

Percy Jackson was back.

Percy Jackson