Before I start I just want to say something about the reviews I got really recently. The first thing is thank you. From the bottom of my heart I just wanted to say thank you. When I first started this story it was, what, a couple of months ago? I thought that this would be the masterpiece, I thought that this was the best thing that would ever be written. And then when I was writing, updating, posting, I realized that it was much more than that. It's my masterpiece. And I don't care what anyone thinks of it as long as I'm proud of it.

So all I wanted to say was that I really, really, love writing this. And sometimes things get in the way of it, like school, or home problems and stuff but I know that every time I could back to my notepad, I'm really where I should be. And yes, I know that the first chapters sucked so bad and I had grammar, spelling, and general plot and character mistakes, but I'm not doing this because I'm a pro. I doing this so that in a couple of years, I can look back on how far I've come.

Chapter 9: Picking up the Pieces

Percy's PoV

I'm walking Annabeth home (which didn't happen without protest), and it was only then I realized how wrong this was. How wrong it all was. A girl like Annabeth shouldn't be with a guy like me, even if we weren't technically together.

Sometimes I wonder what we'd be like if we weren't in this situation. What if our roles were switched, Annabeth was the neglected one and I was the famous actor. I wonder if I could ever be Annabeth's knight in shining armor. Probably not. And that was the worst part of it.

I know that I probably can never manage to pay Annabeth back for everything that she's done for me. Which probably the only reason she lets me stick around. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not a good person. And I'm okay with that, I guess.

I looked at Annabeth next to me. Sometimes I just think, which surprises me because I rarely ever used to think about the things I did. And sometimes I think about Annabeth, and sometimes I think about me.

Me.

I guess you could say I'm a little bit of a player, in Annabeth's eyes, for kissing someone in kindergarten for money. But what can I say? I dollar could buy me an ice cream, and I'd never seen it as that much of a big deal. It's basically just touching someone's mouth with your mouth. But based off of Annabeth's reaction, I guess it's a little more than that. Or a lot more than that.

I glanced at Annabeth to find her gray orbs trained on me. My heart skipped.

"Thanks," she said.

"For what?"

"Bringing me home." She gestured to her right and it was only then I realized that we were standing right outside the gate to her house. The light from the house cast a golden glow around her and made her look almost otherworldly.

"Oh- well- you're welcome." I threw in an extremely dry laugh because I'm awkward like that.

"You. . . wanna come inside?" She took a small step towards the gate. To be honest, I kind of did, her house was huge and they have good cake there. But her mother is kind of creepy, to be honest.

"No thanks," I said. "My dad is probably worried . . . about. . . me." The words were still almost unbelievable. My dad was probably getting worried about me.

"Yeah," she said after a while and I was really starting to believe that this was the most awkward conversation I had ever had.

"And your mom scares me just a little bit," I added on, in hopes of lightening up the mood. And by the looks of it, it worked. Annabeth chuckled a little.

"She was probably doing it on purpose."

And that, admittedly, was probably the best part of the night, seeing Annabeth's smile.

~Linebreak~

~Annabeth's PoV~

After a couple minutes of excruciatingly awkward conversation, I went back inside my house to find my mother standing at the door.

"Feeling better?" was all she asked and I was so grateful for her simplicity in that moment.

"Yeah."

"Malcolm is waiting for you in his room." It was the last thing she said before turning around and going back down the hallway.

I sighed, really just wanting to sleep, but I went to his room anyways. He was sitting on the bed, his hair tousled and his tie loose.

"Hey, Malcolm." I shuffled into his room.

Instead of speaking, he gestured to the seat next to him on the bed. I sat and he looked at me; he looked at me like he used to when I was seven years old, and I was just starting fall in love with my manager, the days where everything was brighter, and it felt like a walk in the sunshine whenever I saw him. Then I remembered that those days are over. They ended when he shattered my heart and stomped on it. I felt my face heat up and my blood start to boil.

"If you wanted to talk me about how childish I was to ever believe that our relationship was real, don't. I really don't want to hear it." I resisted the urge to cover my ears.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

I stared at my feet, tucking my hair behind my ears.

"It's . . ." I sighed. "It's okay."

"Huh?" He looked at me.

"I think. . . I think I might have any idea about how you felt." I tapped my feet on the ground aimlessly. "You didn't want to break my heart, but you broke it, even more, this time." I chuckled dryly.

"Yeah. . ."

"Just. . ." My face felt hot and I felt tears escape my eyes and roll down my cheek. I kept staring at my feet.

Malcolm leaned forward. "Annabeth, are you crying?"

I laughed a little. "Yeah, yeah I guess I am." I felt a little pathetic to be throwing a fit while Malcolm is there with a straight face. This isn't me. I'm strong-willed, strong-minded Annabeth. I don't cry. I don't whine, I don't do any of the things I've been doing this whole week where my life turned upside down. Then again, who could really blame me? This is someone I've been looking at for so long, and the straight up rejection? I don't want to believe it.

"I didn't know it was that bad, I'm sorry.I know from the start it was never going to happen, but you were a kid, you know? It was a childhood crush. I didn't want to ruin that for you. Annabeth, you're not a normal kid. I wanted you to have the life that all little kids have. I didn't think it would really be a lasting thing." Malcolm tried to console me, but I didn't really feel very consoled. Just more insulted, really.

"I know, I know." I wiped away my tears hastily. "It's just that, you were my person. You were the one person I felt like I could lean on. It's hard."

"So. . . what are we going to do now?" He twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"I'm not going to fire you if that's what you're thinking. I think it's best if you just. . . stay away from me for a while. Just give me my schedule for the month, and I'll handle getting to and from work. I think I just need to think for a while because right now, I feel really crappy and I just want space." I got up, already heading towards the door.

"Goodnight," he managed to slip in the words just before I closed the door. I stood there for a second, wondering what I should say. Instead, I just closed the door and headed towards my bedroom.

~Linebreak~

~Percy's PoV~

~Just a Short One 3~

Tonight wasn't my best night. It's really bad. I can't even talk to Annabeth right anymore. It's just weird, and I know it's kind of jerky to be thinking about her this way right after she just got out of that relationship with her manager and I think Grover still likes her, and her whole life is pretty much imploding on itself.

It's gotten to the point where I can't just not think about her. I was eating dinner tonight, and all I thought of was 'What is Annabeth was here, eating dinner with us?' I was watching TV and all I was thinking was 'What if I saw Annabeth on TV?'.

I'm way out of my league right now, how am I ever supposed to get with the pretty actress? She's better off meeting another handsome young actor and being one of those celebrity power couples.

I feel like it would be better if I just pull away for now. I think it's better to just be there for her, instead of just always chasing after her. I want her to lean on me more, so I can be there for her.

All I know is that I'm in way over my head.

~Linebreak~

~Annabeth's PoV~

I really need to pull my life together.

You'd think I'd have it together already. I have a steady job, a loving family, friends, education. You could say I have it all. But I don't feel that way, not at all. The one completely stable relationship I thought I had is completely gone, I still don't know what the heck is going on with Percy, and think that's the only good thing in my life right now because I don't know what my feelings are towards him, and before I even think about my feelings, I don't even know what his feelings are.

It's so confusing, life is. One second, you got it all together, the next it's falling apart.

I need to take a second to realize where my priorities are. On one hand, I've got work, which is for sure a priority. On the other hand, I've got my school life which I've really been slacking on. My grades are dropping because I keep missing school.

And then there's Percy.

I really don't know about him. On one hand, he has that kind of carefree personality that I really hate. On the other hand, he has these eyes that just get to me. Every. Single. Time. I feel like I should be there for him more. I'm not the only one with a weird life, and I've been leaning on him too much. Maybe once the tension between him and I calms down a bit, I'll be able to talk to him more about us.

And Malcolm too. We already had our talk, but I feel like I should be able to talk to him more again. I mean, he is my manager. I think I'll be able to handle transporting myself to and from places, but maybe I'll do something for him to make it up to him.

~Linebreak~

The next morning was alright, I woke up earlier than usual, and it only took me a little bit of makeup to cover up the red rings around my eyes from the night before. I wore a way-too-big-for-me sweatshirt and leggings to school, hoping that maybe everything today would go right, and for once I can have a normal day. I carpooled with Piper to school, making sure act as happy as I could so that I wouldn't be questioned at all. It was tiring, but I think I made it through okay.

The problem was, that I just realized that I would actually have to keep up that facade for the whole day, which will be really exhausting. Right now, I just want to go home and eat a whole pint of ice cream. It's not even like I'm sad, it's just that drama is exhausting, and I really just want to calm down. I don't think I've ever had more of a thank-god-it's-Friday feeling than today.

~Linebreak~

Lunch was probably the best part of my day. The cafeteria was serving their absolutely disgusting pizza again, so I decided to skip. I went to the library instead, hoping to study for an upcoming test.

There weren't very many kids in the library. It was really quiet, and it soothed my headache. I had already pulled out a couple of textbooks and some schoolwork when I saw him walk in. He was clad in dark jeans and a blue shirt that really made his eyes shine more if that's even possible.

He looked around the library for a quick second, before his eyes landed on me. I snapped my gaze away from him. How weird would it be if he walked in and I was staring at him? I pretended to already be working, but hoping he wouldn't come over because my face was probably intimidating a tomato at this point. Who was I kidding? I felt his green eyes lock on me, and I knew I was done for. He strode over, taking a seat in the seat directly opposite from me.

"Hey."

"Hi," I mumbled, careful not to look directly into his eyes as I lifted my head to look at him. Last night was awkward, and I didn't want him bringing it up again. Still, I brought my eye to him warily, letting my eyelids droop slightly. I was tired, I couldn't deny that. But I did wake up when Percy suddenly moved his face so that it was close my mine. My face heated up. Was he. . .?

"Percy-" I started.

"Have you been crying?" he cut me off. My lips parted, staring at him in astonishment. How did he know? I had looked at myself in the mirror today, I looked fine. No one else noticed. I didn't do anything that could have messed it up by now. . .

"What?" Was all I could say before he grabbed me by the elbows, pulling me to the window. He stared into my face for quite a while, narrowing his eyes as he pushed himself closer to me.

"Definitely crying," he concluded before sliding his hands down to my wrists. "What happened? I'll listen."

I wondered for a second why Percy was acting so. . . caring lately. And since when did he get this clever? He had looked at me for barely a second and he already knew. I did my best to ignore the burning feeling that erupted from my skin where his hands were.

"Nothing," I mumbled. It was the truth, I wasn't bothered by it anymore. Scratch that. I was really bothered by it. I shouldn't be bothered by it, so I wasn't. Percy scoffed.

"'Nothing', yeah right." he glanced down at his hands on me, and quickly retracted them, putting them behind his back. He could have been blushing, but it could also be the red glow coming through the library curtains.

"Seriously, it's cool. I just ran into Malcolm last night, it was fine." I sighed, reaching a hand up to rub my eyes, but stopped midway, not wanted to mess up my makeup. If Percy would see it so easily, what about everyone else in the classroom? Everyone knows that I don't cry. I don't look sad, I don't whine. I don't do any of those things weak people do to get attention.

"By the way," I realized I was standing a little too close and took a step back. "How did you see my eyes? I thought I covered them up."

"Your eyes puffy?" He leaned closer, and I was beginning to start feeling that burning in my wrists earlier, except the fire engulfed my entire body this time. "They are. So you have been crying!"

"But, if you just noticed that, how'd you know?"

He smiled. "It's the look of your face, it gives it away every time." I looked at him for a long while. How come I didn't know anything about him, but he knew just the way to figure me out every time? "Anyways, you're sad and I want to know why."

"Yeah, things went down at home."

"What?"

"I had a talk with Malcolm." Percy's eyes widened.

"What did he do to you?"

"Nothing, we just talked."

"Then what's wrong?" He looked frustrated.

"Reality is wrong, Percy. have you ever just felt like sometimes, you're not caught up with yourself? Sometimes your mind is racing at a hundred miles per hour, and it leaves your heart behind. Sometimes you think you're fine, but you're not. And sometimes you hit a bump in the road, and you're brain skips right over it, but your heart is still stuck. And you're frustrated because you want to move, and you know you should move on, and you have to move on. And you can't. You just can't. I can't."

He eyed me with some emotion I couldn't pick out. His eyes were thinking, and eventually, leaned against the wall. "Yeah, I think I get what you're saying. It's like sometimes, your heart needs more time to accept what your brain already knows. And it sucks, it really sucks, because you're just sitting there, confused and tired, waiting for yourself to feel full again."

I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling of understanding. I'm stuck. My heart is stuck on Malcolm. And I don't know when it'll ever manage to find itself a way out.

"It sucks, but it's life." I turned to Percy, who was smiling at the ceiling. "At the end of the day, it is what it is. At some point, you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and what you wanted to happen, and just live in what's happening. Sometimes you just have to accept what's happened, and stop wasting your time on things that don't matter anymore." He closed his eyes.

Except it did matter. No matter how utterly messy it was, Malcolm was the first one to break my heart. I will always remember that. For the rest of my life, he will always be the one that hurt me the most. I don't want to forget that. I don't want to let that go. No matter what, Malcolm will always be my first love. And now my first love is gone. Nothing will ever respark, nothing will change the fact that he was the first one.

But I'm willing to pick up the pieces.

Just then, my heart caught up.

And that's when I knew it would be okay.

I looked at Percy, who was still staring at the ceiling, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Who taught you all these life lessons?" I teased, smiling, and when he looked at me the smile was wiped clean off my face. His eyes looked so crystal clear it was like I could see right through them.

"Someone who really made sure my world will never be the same."

~Linebreak~

~Percy's PoV~

La Douleur Exquise. Annabeth taught me that word. It means "exquisite pain". It's a connotation for the feeling of wanting someone you know you can't have.

Sometimes I wonder if my heart will ever catch up to my brain. Annabeth Chase is bad news. She's the girl I can never get, and I know that. But every time I look at her, it's just like I forget it all. Not just my common judgment. All of it. Everything from my empty childhood, to the reckless misbehavior, to the way she made me feel like something was there even when it wasn't. All of it.

It's come to the point where I can't really imagine a life without her.

Every day for weeks, I met Annabeth in that same library. We leaned against the same window, and talked about what was happening in our lives, and sometimes we'd share funny things that happened recently, and we'd share laughs. And every single time she'd laugh, I would always sober myself up just so that I could look at her. Her eyes, and the way they lit up, her lips and the way they curled into that smile I adored, her nose and the way it crinkled when she laughed. Then she'd look at me and we'd sit there looking at each other until we both broke out into laughter again.

Every single time.

It was like a therapy session. No, maybe it was more like that moment you feel when you watch the sun set on a terrible day and the sunrise for a new hope. The rays slowly spreading color into your world. Letting you know it's never too late to change your ways.

Annabeth was my sunrise. Every time she smiled at me, it was like I knew it was worth it. It was all worth it. Every single second of agony I spent wishing for her, it was all worth it. I began to realize I was changing. I hate change. Change is when everything shifts and you find yourself feeling more confused than when you started. Change is that moment where you get your house refurbished, and suddenly, it doesn't feel exactly like home anymore.

Except I feel like I was starting to like it.

~Linebreak~

Dinner.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

On one hand, a home-cooked meal tasted good, after eating crappy takeout every day for years. On the other, I didn't like how my dad came home from work early to dine with me, or how every single time, I take a bite of something my sister has to go ahead and ask me if I like the food. Or how when I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, my family acts like suddenly, I hate them.

But this, this was the worst. It started when I got home from school.

I had nothing to do, no one to talk to. My sister was watching some kind of drama TV show, and I know that her show ended at seven, so I was pretty much home alone that this point. I pondered why I never got Annabeth's number. I could've texted her, met her in the park, something. Instead, I stared up at the ceiling of my room. My mind drifted to Annabeth, and I knew it wasn't coming back anytime soon. Lately, she's been happier at school. And it's not the fake happy she was for so long after things got tense with Malcolm. It was a genuine happy. Where she laughed at the corny jokes I tell her, just so that I can see her carefree face again.

. . .

I don't know why I didn't realize something was wrong the minute my father came home. He put down his briefcase by the door. He usually tucks it away neatly into his office. He didn't get changed when he sat down to dinner. Misty had made some sort of pasta. She quickly dished it out, setting mine in front of me like it was a priceless diamond. We had just started eating when my father began to ask questions.

"So son, how was school today?" It still bothered me how he never called me Percy or any variation of that. I was just 'son'.

"It was fine."

The rest of dinner was held in silence, until Paul started coughing hysterically. Misty immediately started panicking, running to his side, patting him on the back the way you pat babies when you want them to burp. He fell forward, his face slamming onto the kitchen table, blood pooling around his head. I stood still, waiting for it all to be over. Did that makes me a bad person? Not even helping my father when something was clearly going terribly wrong? All I know is that when I reached for my phone, I didn't think about calling 911, or the paramedics. All I thought about is the incredible regret that I didn't get Annabeth's number.

It's funny, how we all call ourselves humans. Humans are supposed to be beings of caring. We always advertise intelligence and love. We always talk about how much we hate the hate in this world. But the second you do something terrible, the second you make a mistake, suddenly that's what makes you human. Mistakes make you human. I never seemed to grasp that. When my mother made the mistake of giving herself up for me, suddenly everyone tells me it was the most caring thing they've ever seen. I don't get it. It was a mistake. She drew the rift in the family. Not me. And yet the blame landed on me because I was the product of the problem? I never got that.

Wondered if it was a mistake to sit in my kitchen while my own step-father got dragged off by the paramedics. At some point, someone called 911. Or was it me? Definitely not me, I don't recall ever moving from my spot. Maybe it was the neighbors, though I'm not sure how they would ever know. I'm also still not sure how I ended up in the hospital, waiting for the doctors to tell us what happened to him.

Was this what people call shock? When you can't move and suddenly you feel like you're floating in a sea of dread. Shock is what I felt when my father started dying in front of me.

. . .

When the doctors asked if we had anyone we wanted to contact, Misty had no one. I looked at her. I never wondered how she was doing in school. I mean, I knew she got good grades because she used to rub them in my face all the time. But I never see her going out with her friends like other teenage girls. No bringing guys home, no friends, it's weird.

Nevertheless, I raised my hand. There was definitely someone I wanted to contact.

~Linebreak~

When Annabeth arrived, her hair whisked all around parking next to the hospital in a bike. Who rides a bike to the hospital in the middle of the night?

Only her.

Her hair was frizzy and knotted as if she didn't even think to brush it before she left the house. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy color, as the air she puffed out turned into steam and danced away in the cold night air. If I didn't suspect that I was going slightly insane, I would've told her that he looked good. Looking back on it, I'm so happy I didn't comment because that would be kind of awkward.

"What-" she breathed heavily. "What happened? I got a call, no caller ID."

"My dad." Suddenly, I felt like crying. I shifted from foot to foot. "I don't know what's going to happen to him. To us." My voice cracked, and I hated every second of it.

"Oh, Percy," She parked her bike, right there, in the middle of the road. She came closer, and for a second I thought she was going in for a hug, and if it wasn't so cold out I would've blushed. Instead, she held out her hand, and I interlocked mine with hers. Slowly, she led me back into the white, sterile building.

I couldn't really tell you if it was Annabeth or the fact that it was so late a night. Maybe in the dark, quiet waiting room, the red sign above the door my step-father was on the other side of. Telling us, that we couldn't come in.

~Linebreak~

It was either forever or no time at all before I could see Paul again, couldn't really tell you. Misty paced the whole time, while Annabeth sat on the couches. I found it strange how they make the chairs so comfortable. They try to make you feel at home. It was that very thing that made me feel worse than ever.

The door opened, and a man clad in a white laboratory coat came out. We all watched him, waiting for answers.

"Your dad is fine." he read from a clipboard in his hands. "The cause of the breakdown was stress. He was overworking himself." He pulled a pen from his pocket and clicked, handing the clipboard to Misty. "Next oldest in the family, you have to sign this confirming your father got the proper help he needs."

"When are we going to see him?" Annabeth cut in. The doctor narrowed his eyes at her. "It's family only."

"Yeah, I'm his daughter," she lied smoothly, putting her arm around me. "This is my twin."

"You don't look much like it," the doctor commented, before opening the hospital door. Annabeth walked in, exuding confidence.

The scene wasn't like all the medical TV shows I've seen. When a family member was in the hospital, they were supposed to have so many tubes in them that you couldn't see their face. It was supposed to be devastating. Instead, Paul was just sitting on the bed casually like he should have been there the whole time. It made me mad to see that after causing us all this panic, he was just sitting there like nothing ever happened.

"Hi Percy, Misty, Annabeth."

"Hey, Mr. Blofis. Glad to see you're doing fine." She smiled, but I could see the strain behind it.

"I guess I should lay off the extra hours, shouldn't I?" He made an attempt at humor, probably trying to lighten up the room in some way. The problem was, I didn't feel like laughing.

"Are you going to tell us why you made us all worried for nothing?" My fist clenched at my side.

"Percy-" Annabeth started.

"No. You made us wait here all this time," I looked out the at the sun bursting through the horizon. "For something petty like this?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it." He stared down at the floor. "I'm a single father, I have to work to provide for you guys." Suddenly, I felt really bad for what I said. He was just trying to give us a good life.

"It's fine." I turned around and walked out of the room, out of the whole building. It was chilly out, and I needed to catch some air. The door opened behind me and light spilled in.

"Hey, Percy." I knew from her voice that it was Annabeth. "It's great that your dad is doing better."

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"So how are you feeling?" She stood next to me and we both watched the sunrise.

"Stupid."

"Well, we all feel the way sometimes." She sighed, before turning to look at me. "Here." She handed me a small pager. I thought I had seen this before, but they weren't those cute ones she and Malcolm carried. It was a small black sleek one.

"If you carry this around with you all the time, I'll know whenever you need me." She rubbed her hands to together in the cold night air. "I won't have to wait until you use the public hospital phone to call me."

"What about your phone? I could just get your number."

"Believe it or not, I'm not on my phone much." She smiled.

And we stood there, side by side in the frigid New York Winter, watching the sunrise. We were just two friends, watching the sunset on problems, and the sun rise on a new day. And I couldn't help but think, with her by my side, that it might just be alright.

Hi! Long to no update.

I'm really sorry for the lack of updates, I've actually had a lot of things going on with myself. I was actually in and out of the hospital a lot, getting treated for a hernia. It's probably the most painful you could ever experience. So I've gotten surgery for that, I'm good. If you don't know what a hernia is, look it up. I'm pretty sure there's a Buzzfeed video on it.

It was actually really hard to write this. I guess it was hard to think about the way they would react I kind of wanted this to be a peaceful chapter since things are going to get a little crazy soon. I'll try to update more, but I'm going on vacation from the 3rd of July to basically the 10th, so I move quickly, I want to update a chapter before I leave.

Follow your dreams~

-TFN