A/N: I'm going to try the sequel to SDAAGT. (: I just want to warn everybody that I honestly don't know where I'm going with this story.

I'm just winging it for the most part.

Enjoy the chapter!(:

Disclaimer: All PJO characters belong to Rick Riordan. Names that you don't recognize are probably mine.

Chapter 1: Goodbyes

"I'm going to miss you so fucking much," Natalie May, my best friend, hugged me so tight, I felt like my death would be caused by suffocation through a hug. I hugged her back with equal fervor because I was going to miss her, too, and it would be a long time before I get to see her again.

When I pulled back, her eyes were shining, and they almost made mine shine. We both laughed at our tears, and we both realized we were being irrational, but girls would be girls.

I examined my best friend one last time, wanting to remember every detail, so I could see if she would change the next time I saw her. Her long black hair was passed her waist now, almost reaching her hips. Oh gods, I thought, how the Hades does she wash that thing?

Her hazel eyes were filled with sadness, but happiness was in them, too. It was a bittersweet feeling, I guess, to have your best friend leave so she could be happy.

Natalie looked behind me before meeting my eyes again. "I guess you have to say goodbye to him now, huh?"

I completely dreaded it, but I nodded. Natalie pulled me in for another tight hug, but this was quicker than the last time, and before I knew what was happening, she grabbed my shoulders and turned me around.

Leaving me face to face with my boyfriend.

His stance was cool and collected, something you'd expect from the son of Hades. He wore his famous aviator jacket over a black shirt whilst his legs were covered in black jeans; his Stygian sword hung deadly by his side. His black hair was in its usual disarray, and I wondered once again if my boyfriend owned a comb. It looked like he just got out of bed, to be honest. His dark brown eyes were staring at me, but his face was impassive.

"Come here," he ordered. His arms were wide open, and though his voice was hard, I knew he wasn't mad at me.

I walked myself towards him and when I was close enough, he pounced on me, ensnaring me in his arms. I was trapped in his hug, and I couldn't think of a better way to be captured.

"You're so demanding," I mumbled into his chest, my words distorting. His strong arms grew impossibly tighter, and my theory about suffocating through hugs flashed into my head again.

But truthfully, I didn't care anymore. If I was forced to choose a way to die, it would be in his arms, just like this.

Gag me, I sounded like an Aphrodite girl.

Reluctantly, he pulled back. I had to tilt my head up because he was taller than me, but it didn't bother me anymore. I had my glasses on in hopes that he would like them on me, and by the look in his eyes, I knew he did.

He tucked a strand that went astray, and that one simple action brought me back to the first time he saw me in my glasses. He told me I looked cute with glasses, and my brilliant reply was to tell him only HE would say that.

I almost chuckled out loud at the memory. It seemed so long ago...

"I miss you," he said.

"I'm still here," I smiled.

"Not for long," he reminded me.

"It won't even be long." I tried to sound reassuring, but even I didn't believe myself.

We didn't say anything after that, welcoming the comfortable silence. It spoke more than words could ever had and strangely enough, this would be another thing I was going to miss.

I was going to miss everything about him.

"You should go before I change my mind," he said, as if I was only going because he allowed me to.

I raised me eye brow. "Who died and made you king?"

He smirked, as if I gave him the perfect opening, which I probably did. I was proven right by his next sentence. "Minos died. Thanks to him, I'm the ghost king. I hope you didn't forget that, Arabelle."

"When did you become cocky, Di Angelo?" I asked, not bothering to contain the smile that broke out on my lips. He didn't answer, choosing instead to stare at me with his stricken gaze. The silence that followed was only a short one.

"I love you," he answered, his voice full of the word itself. He had that soft look in his eyes that filled me with warmth that I couldn't quite comprehend, but I wasn't going to complain.

"Me, too," I said, laughing lightly because that wasn't what you were supposed to say. Joking aside, I tried again, "I love you, too."

The small smile that graced on his lips made mine bigger. Yes, it was just a tiny smile, but it was MY tiny smile, and I loved each and every one of them.

Tippy toeing, I gave him a chaste kiss, relishing the feel of his lips before pulling back because I knew we had an audience. As much as I wished we didn't have one, I knew that I would've never left if we continued on.

"I'll see you soon," I promised him. Not being able to help myself, my lips claimed his in a sweet kiss once again before begrudgingly pulling back.

He didn't say anything afterwards, and I knew it was finally time for me to leave.

I waved good-bye to my siblings, yelling that I was going to miss them, and promising to Iris-Message them every once in a while. Reigan in particular shouted, "Tell me if you meet any assholes! I'll happily come and beat them up for you!"

Somehow I knew he wasn't joking.

When I left the magical border of the camp, I knew that this was real. It was really happening now, and I was filled with a mixture of anticipation and agitation.

After putting my things in the trunk, I quickly opened the car door, waiting for her to enter first.

"Hi, Mr. Camille," Lilia greeted politely as she entered through the backseat door, and I quickly mirrored my half-sister's actions.

"Hi, dad," I said simply. His brown eyes glanced at the rear view mirror, silently appraising me and my half-sister. When he seemed pleased at what he saw, he started the car and drove away from the safest place for demigods.

Camp Half-Blood.

Yes, you read correctly.

Two daughters of Athena were leaving the only place where monsters couldn't get it. Why?

We're children of Athena.

We wanted to gain more knowledge, and what better way than to experience high school?

"Hi, girls," my dad replied. Much like he did to me, I started observing him to see if any major changes happened.

His black hair was neatly cut in a buzz cut, but not so much that he was nearly bald. He could still style it if he wanted to, but my dad wasn't really into those kind of things. It looked the same like it did last year, and when I further assessed him, nothing seemed to change that much. His still had that faint scar on top of his lip from cutting himself while shaving, and he still wore the same usual clothes.

Same old, comforting dad.

"It's nice to meet you, Lilia," he said after a few seconds passed.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my half-sister was coming to live with me, and she was also going to the same high school as me.

Wasn't that great?

"It's nice to meet you, too." Even though he probably couldn't see her, she smiled anyways because that was the kind of person Lilia was. "I really hope I'm not intruding or anything. I'd hate to be a burden to you."

Yeah, she still wasn't completely okay with my dad letting her stay with us. She kept saying things like she would be too much to handle, or my dad had other things to worry about.

Exasperated, I said, "Stop doing that, Lil'. You know dad doesn't mind having you stay with us. It gets kind of lonely at home when he goes on business trips and stuff."

My dad was an archaeologist, and most of the time he went away to find more ancient things. I didn't really know the extent of it, but I knew he found most things that were from Ancient Greece. Probably one of the reasons why the goddess of wisdom took a liking to him.

"I know," Lilia started, preparing to explain why she felt uneasy about staying with us, "but it just seems so much and—"

"My dad's really nice," I promised her. "It's why Athena fell in love with him."

My dad started coughing like he was choking on something, which was weird since we weren't eating anything. He was the one on the wheel, so I started worrying that we were going to crash due to my dad's choking on invisible things. I'd give him the Hiemlich Maneuver, but I was currently incapable of doing so.

"Are you okay, sir?" Lilia asked worriedly. She looked ready to climb over the console and stop the car if my dad wasn't.

After he regained his composure, he looked a little bit sheepish. "Yes, I apologize for making you worry. The comment about Athena caught me off guard, that's all." I narrowed my gray eyes, concentrating about this new piece of information.

Glancing at Lilia, I could see she had her own analyzing expression. When her face lit up, she met my gaze directly. I nodded my head to her silent question.

I decided to speak first. "You're still in love with Mom, aren't you?" The question seemed to fill every space of the car, and the quiet silence that followed spoke everything I needed to know.

I had my answer.

"Well, Mom really knows how to pick 'em, huh?" I asked, bumping my shoulder to Lilia's.

This little action reminded me of someone who sort of meant everything to me. He was kind of the whole world to me. If you wanted a simile, he was the Percy to my Annabeth; the Poseidon to my Sally; the Travis to my Katie (though she would never admit it) and more and more pairings.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Lilia asked, completely forgetting about my question. What was it about? Hades, even I forgot it.

I chuckled softly, playing with the silver skull ring that wrapped my ring finger on my left hand. I nodded my head, feeling the welcoming heat on my cheeks.

"Him?" my dad asked, almost frantically. "There's a him? Who is this him? And what does this him mean to you? God, I knew this was bound to happen. You have too much freedom in that camp. Arabelle Camille, you are too young to be in a relationship. I demand you tell me who he is."

Holy Zeus, dad.

You need to meet Riegan.

You two would've gotten along awesomely.