A/N: Long story short- I was in the hospital until last Thursday (Broken Bones), I can't type anything so my bffl is typing everything for mee, so that's why I'm late on updates. I'm feeling SO much better already though. :D Longer A/N at the bottom!! :D 3 Enjoy!!
Percy POV:
Obviously my mom could tell something was wrong. That whole week I had been moping around the house till the point when Paul was worried. So one night at dinner, as I was about to excuse myself from another dinner, my mom and Paul exchanged glances and looked at me.
"Percy," my mom said, her voice worried. "Tell me, honey, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing," I said, getting up.
"Percy, really?" my mom stopped me with her voice. "You've been miserable for days! The last time I'd seen you like this was even before the war!"
"Mom, seriously," I replied. "I'm fine. Can I be excused, please?"
My mom looked like she was going to protest again, but Paul put his hand on hers and they locked eyes. Paul nodded, and my mom sighed.
"Sure, Percy," she said, as if she was struggling to say the words. "You can be excused."
I walked to my room and flopped down on my bed. My Camp Half-Blood trunk was sitting empty in the corner of my room and my camp necklace lay on my bedside table.
I heard a knock on my door. It couldn't be my mom though, the way she was now, her knock would be loud and concerned. The knock was quiet and calm. Paul. . I thought.
"Come in," I called from my position on my back, staring at the ceiling.
"Hey, Percy," Paul said, as he walked through the door. He took a seat on the foot of my bed and smiled awkwardly at me.
When I didn't reply, he said, "Um . .you do know that your mother is worried sick about you. . right?" he forced a small smile. "That's, uh, kinda why I'm here."
I felt a thin smile curling at my lips, and I sat up to face Paul. "Yeah, I do know, actually."
"Good, good," Paul replied. "So . . more girl trouble?"
"Once again," I said. "how did you know?"
Paul smiled and shrugged. "You're my stepson, Percy, and I know you've been through a lot. And you're at the age when girls start annoying the heck out of you but also somehow they make it so that you want to always be with them."
"Yeah," I admitted turning a little red. "Exactly." I sighed and looked at some picture frames on the wall. A photo of Annabeth and I hung in perfect view. My heart felt like it had just gotten a bruise.
"So," Paul started getting up. "I'm not exactly sure what girl trouble you've been through, but what always helps is trying to forget the heartbreak or that person. Hang out with your friends, go play some basketball, and soon, poof, you're fine. Okay?"
An image of someone floated into my head, but I just nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Paul."
"Anytime."
"Olivia!" I called, running to catch up with her in the hallway.
"Oh, hey, Percy!" She turned and smiled at me. "What's up?"
I shrugged. "Nothing really. You?"
"Nothing really," she imitated. I grinned. "Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you. Want to hang out this evening? I know this awesome diner place."
I thought back to Paul's words: 'Try to forget the heartbreak or that person'. So I looked at Olivia and replied, "That sounds great."
"Great," she smiled at me and batted her eyelashes. I blushed. "What time tonight?"
I shrugged again. "Up to you."
"Five-ish?"
"Sure," I replied.
"Okay then," Olivia said. "it's a date."
Percy's house later that day:
"Mom?" I called as I walked through the door of our apartment.
"In the kitchen!" I heard her reply.
"Hey," I smiled at her and gave her a hug.
"Well," my mom smiled as she wiped her hands on a towel. "Somebody's looking a lot better."
I shrugged. "What are you talking about? I was always better."
She laughed. "Sure you were. Anything you want to tell me? Was it Annabeth?"
My smile fell from my face in an instant, and I felt a familiar ache in my chest. My mom looked up at me, her face filled with concern.
"What's wrong? Something with Annabeth?"
"No, no, Mom, it's not that," I said. I changed the subject by saying, "Anyway, I'm going to dinner with a friend tonight. Is that okay?"
"Really? Who?"
"Oh, um, some girl . . from school. Just a friend."
My mom raised her eyebrows, but had a huge smile on her face. "Okay, then. If you say so. Sure, Percy, that's fine. Paul was planning to take me out to dinner too."
"Okay," I replied, walking to my room. "Thanks."
"So," I said, as Olivia and I walked down the streets of New York. "Where is this place?"
Olivia grinned at me. "Don't worry, I'm not taking you to a dungeon, or anything."
"Are you sure?" I smiled.
"Pretty sure," her brown eyes sparkled. I looked away from her for a minute to see exactly where we were, and my eyes suddenly widened.
Le Park Meridien.
That was our place. Annabeth. Thalia. Me. We used to come here all the time. Actually, now that I thought of it, Annabeth and I had just come here last week.
Olivia caught me staring at the hotel and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Oh, um, nothing. . .it's just, I've been here before a few times."
"Really?" Olivia didn't really sound that surprised. Then, she turned away from me and looked around.
"Yeah. . um, Olivia?" Olivia still seemed like she was looking for someone. "Are you looking for anyone?"
"Oh—oh, no, it's just. . .never mind," she grabbed my hand and opened the door of the restaurant. I felt awkward, with her hand in mine, but I decided to let it pass. Paul's words continued to ring in my head.
We took a seat at a booth by the window, and ordered.
"So," Olivia smiled at me. "Tell me a little bit more about you, Percy."
Um . . . ?
"'A little more about me'?" I asked. "Well . . uh. . ."
Just then, Olivia spotted something behind me (or it could on the top of my head), and her face lit up. She noticed that I had caught her instant mood change, so her expression suddenly changed to impassive.
I wasn't that stupid, so I turned to see what Olivia was looking at. When I saw what she had been staring at, my heart stopped. . . and broke in two.
Annabeth was sitting with another guy. . talking and laughing as if they had known each other forever.
A/N: :D Hope you liked it!!! You guys are SOO awesome. . getting me reviews everyday until you guys reach our goal. 58 REVIEWS?!?! Wow. :D 3 3 Thank you SOO much for that.
Anyways, since it'll be taking me longer to update (broken bones and all), I'm going to set our goal higher. Let's say 75. . okay?? :D Sorry about the high number, but it's gonna take me a LONG time because I'm not allowed to type anything. My best friend is typing everything including this message, but I'm just telling her what to say. SO sorry about that, but THANK YOUU FOR THE REVIEWS AND FAVORITES!!! :D :D 3 3 Review if you'd like me to update. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! 3 :D