Percy didn't know where things went bad in their relationship. They had been the best of friends before. They even lead the camp in the Titan War and won together. She was his best weapon. Maybe that's where it went wrong. He only saw her as his battle strategist. She wanted to be more to him.

Whatever they had between them, it was over now. When they had gotten back to camp after the war, Rachel and Percy were sitting in the dining pavilion talking, when Rachel kissed him. He didn't pull away until he saw Annabeth out of the corner of his eye holding something blue. Before he could shout her name, she was running back to the Athena cabin. He had tried to talk to her several times since, but it was no use. And with Rachel away at boarding school for most of the year, he didn't have anyone.

As far as he knew, Annabeth went to boarding school in New York now, busy redesigning Olympus. Thankfully, the city was a big place. He hadn't run into her at all during the school year and he was greatful for it. Still, the year was ending and it was time to head back to camp. His bags were packed and waiting on the couch for when Thalia arrived.

He heard the front door open and went over to say hi. Thalia was a regular in the Jackson-Blofis household, so it was normal for her to let herself in.

"You ready to go Percy?" she asked, twirling her keys in her hands.

"Yeah, can you grab one of my bags for me?"

"No problem."

"Thanks." He said goodbye to his mother and hauled his remaining luggage into the trunk.

"Just so you know, we've got to pick up another demigod on the way," Thalia told him as they drove.

"A newbie?"

"Not really."

"Dam." Percy always liked to show off in front of new campers. It gave his ego a nice boost. They continued to navigate the streets of New York, when Thalia pulled up to an old white building. There were girls walking around it in plaid skirts, white blouses, and matching ties. They were all dragging boxes to cars parked on the campus.

"Please don't tell me we're picking up who I think we are," groaned Percy. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"What happened to you two? You were best friends before. Everyone at camp shipped it."

"What?"

"Don't play dumb Percy. It was obvious she liked you from the start."

"No she didn't. I think I would've known if she had a crush on me for four years."

"Remember when she was considering joining the hunters?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you think she chose to stay at camp?"

"I don't know, probably because it's her home and she's been there for so long and-"

"It was because of you! Gods Percy, you're so dense."

"There's no way that-"

"Look! I see her coming now!"

Percy looked where Thalia was pointing and saw a group of girl's in identical uniforms walking. In the center was- Annabeth? Yeah, it was definitely Annabeth. But she didn't look anything like the Annabeth he knew.

Her hair was blonder and straightened. It looked pretty frizzy too, like it had just fallen out of a ponytail. And was that- makeup? No way. Annabeth didn't wear makeup. She had clumpy mascara on and her lips looked bruised. And Percy could've sworn that was a hickey on her neck. She was holding onto her friends for support as she stumbled. Even Thalia looked shocked.

"Stay in here," she instructed as she got out of the car. Percy rolled down his window to try and hear the conversation.

"What happened to her?" asked a distressed Thalia.

"She just had a bit of a run last night, that's all," giggled one of the girls.

"Who did this to her?"

"No one. If anything, she did it to herself," laughed another.

"How could you let this happen to her?"

"Relax. She does it all the time. She'll be awake in a few hours, don't worry."

Percy watched as Thalia grabbed Annabeth and dragged her into the backseat of the car. The girls walked away together in a cluster of laughter, leaving Annabeth's bags behind. Thalia threw them into the trunk before sitting back down in the car. Tears were starting to form in her eyes, something Percy had never seen before. As far as he knew, Thalia didn't cry. She reached into a compartment and pulled out a bag of wipes.

"Here," she said as she handed them to Percy. "Wipe the makeup off her face before we get to camp." Percy took the bag and looked back at an unconscious Annabeth who was passed out in the back seat.

"What happened to her?" he mumbled.

"She's hungover Perc."

"Well duh, I can tell. But how did she end up like this. Annabeth wouldn't be caught dead looking like that."

"Just wipe her face off Percy. And some nectar wouldn't hurt either."

He looked at Annabeth's cold face. He remembered all the memories he had with her. Like when they had won the chariot race together. Or the just the summer prior when she had gotten her first quest. She had cried into him that day. At the time, he didn't know how to react. Now, he wish he'd done something else rather then just stand there.

He'd poured some nectar into her mouth and watched the color slowly return to her face. She blinked a few times and he realized that she was wearing blue contacts over her grey eyes. As he pressed the cold wipes against her face, she slowly regained consciousness. Every time she moved, he'd quickly pull his arm away until she was asleep again.

He managed to get the makeup off, but she still didn't look much better. Her hair was still messy, her lips were still bruised, and the hickeys on her neck didn't disappear. She woke up as they pulled into camp.

"W-where am I?" she groaned.

"We're heading to camp," said Thalia flatly.

"Camp? Now?"

"Yes, now."

"I wanna go back."

"No, you're not going back. It's too dangerous." Thalia sounded like she was arguing with a child.

"Where's Maddie and Emma and-"

"They went to their home. You'll see them once camp ends." As they drive up to the camp entrance, Thalia turned to Percy. "I have to get back to the Hunters. Can you make sure Annabeth gets to her cabin?"

"Thalia, I really don't-" he began.

"Percy. Take her to her cabin." He realized that she wasn't giving him much of a choice.

He got out of the car as Annabeth came out from her side. He extended an arm, but she denied it.

"I can walk," she stammered right as she tripped over herself. She ended up leaning against Percy's arm as they stumbled into camp together. He felt awkward as campers stopped and stared. The last thing he wanted anyone thinking was that he and Annabeth were a couple. They walked down the hill and into the cabin area where kids were starting to move in. He had to help her get up the stairs as they entered cabin 6.

Malcolm, her brother, was waiting inside with the other Athena kids. Annabeth collapsed onto her bed and everyone looked at Percy with wide eyes.

"What happened to her?" asked Malcolm.

"I don't know. Thalia and I went to pick her up from her school and she was just like this."

"What was happening at her school?"

"Like I said, I don't know. I haven't talked to her since last summer." The kids were all silent and gave each other a few sideways glances. Percy took that as his que to leave, and made his way to cabin 3. But as he walked, he heard a voice call from behind him.

"Percy!" He turned and saw Chiron galloping torwards him. Great. "I was just talking with Argus. He went to retrieve your bags from the van and said he thought there was something wrong with Annabeth. Is she okay? Where you attacked on the way here?"

"She's in her cabin," replied Percy as he turned back around. Chiron might've said something else, but he didn't bother to listen. He slammed the door as he marched into his cabin. He threw himself onto his bed and screamed into his pillow.

What was happening? Why was he acting this way?

It's because you can't bare to see her like this, whispered a voice in his head.

"No," he told himself. "She doesn't care about me, and I don't care about her. End of story." But he knew he was lying to himself.

Make sure to follow/favorite/review if you liked it. I'm going to try and have part 2 up soon:))