A/N: HI EVERYONE! I'm still alive! I survived my first semester of university, and gods of Olympus, UNI LIFE IS FUN! Tiring as Hades, but really fun!

Here's the next chapter of Hero! I'm sorry I took forever to update! Shoutout to sifuXANA, Equinoxes, and the Anon Guest!

This chapter's going to be a little more sentimental, in contrast to the previous action-packed chapters. The town of Eldmont is fictional, lol. It's as fictional as a Paper Town HAHA

Disclaimer: PJO/Demigod Diaries ain't mine boohoo

The bus ride to Maryland took almost five hours and Annabeth was hungry, dizzy, and exhausted by the time they alighted from the vehicle. The first whiff that Annabeth's nose caught upon stepping down from the bus was the delicious aroma of baked pastries wafting out from the open door of a nearby bake shop. Annabeth shouldered her backpack and staggered towards the glass windows of the shop like a hypnotized zombie. Her mouth watered as her eyes wandered over the trays of glazed doughnuts, cupcakes, croissants, and Danish pastries. Her stomach rumbled uncomfortably. They had skipped lunch while they were travelling, and the last decent meal she had eaten were the pancakes Luke had made for breakfast, which weren't much, actually.

"Want some, kiddo?" Luke asked her. He set his hand on her shoulder gently, giving her a little squeeze. Annabeth found herself nodding almost automatically. "Well, we actually have some spare money this time." Luke fished around in his pockets for a few seconds before he finally came up with three dollars and a couple of cents.

His eyes twinkled as he dropped the cash into the young girl's hand and sent her almost flying into the pastry shop. Annabeth didn't waste any time to ask Luke where he had gotten the money; they seemed to always have at least enough. Most days were worse than others and Annabeth had to sleep with a growling stomach, but some days Luke came back to their campsite with enough food for the entire day.

Annabeth purchased a croissant and a cup of hot chocolate for herself, a bagel and coffee for Luke, and a ham sandwich and green tea for Thalia. The three demigods settled themselves into a comfortable couch by the window, because Annabeth enjoyed gazing out into the streets.

Annabeth had always wanted to go on a camping trip, but her dad and her stepmom had never allowed her, even when the school had commissioned a father-daughter camping trip when Annabeth was in the first grade. But Annabeth had finally gotten her wish over the past few days that she had spent with Thalia and Luke. From her older demigod friends, she had learned how to light a fire, how to patch up a damaged safe house, and as a bonus, Luke had even brought home some marshmallows on her second night so they could make s'mores. It was a dream come true! There were no more spiders crawling out of her imagination and into her bed every night; instead, she had the company of Thalia and Luke, demigods just like her who understood exactly what she was going through.

Annabeth sipped her hot chocolate carefully, savoring the way the warm liquid sloshed in her mouth and ran down her throat, warming her from inside out. Did her stepmother miss her? Was the house too quiet now that Annabeth had run away and no one was there to scream about spiders in the middle of the night? Did Bobby and Matthew miss her? Did her father miss her?

"What are you thinking about, kiddo?" Luke asked her, startling the young blonde from her thoughts. Annabeth realized she had been gripping her mug rather too tightly, her knuckles whitening.

"Home," she sighed after a few seconds. A worried look crossed Luke's face, but Annabeth quickly reassured him with a smile. "I don't miss it. I have a new home now."

Thalia chuckled. "Even if 'home' is a loose term for 'running around across different states in the hopes of evading monsters'?"

Annabeth nodded. And she meant it. With the warm chocolate sitting in her stomach contentedly and the company of her two newfound best friends, she was home. She was right where she needed to be.

"Are you sure about this?" Thalia asked, stepping over yet another pile of fallen, rotting wood. After their quick stop at the pastry shop, the trio had set out once again to find shelter for the night. It was nearly nightfall by the time they had stumbled upon a deserted store at the end of a street that looked like it had once been a quaint, little coffee shop. The door had been boarded up and the windows sealed, but after much violent kicking down of the front door, Luke had finally managed to open the place up.

Annabeth instantly felt goosebumps rise on her arms as soon as they stepped in the place. It was pitch black and reeked like a musty, old cabinet. Luke had to light a temporary torch just to provide a source of light until Thalia finally found the light switch. Thankfully, it was still functional. A few seconds passed before the yellow-orange light bulbs buzzed to life. Annabeth blinked, taking in her surroundings. The light bulbs were strung across the ceiling in a rather artistic fashion, suggesting that this place had once a beautiful place for coffee and snacks. A couch was pushed to the far left side of the room, while a stack of love chairs and coffee tables were stowed towards the back. Cobwebs were gathering inside a collection of glass display boxes. An old-fashioned cash register sat on a dusty counter top.

"I mean, this place looks nice and all, but is it safe?" Thalia asked again. She rubbed her arms and glanced back at the door Luke had closed behind him.

"I don't think the hellhounds will be on our trail for a few more weeks," Luke said slowly. He shrugged. "Or a few more months, if we're lucky this time." He trudged ahead, stepping over broken plates and mugs.

"No," Thalia muttered, shaking her head. "I don't mean the monsters, you dummy. The police."

At the mention of the police, Annabeth felt her skin prickle. Sometimes she couldn't decide which of the two could possibly cause her more harm; the police, or the monsters? Monsters were dangerous, no doubt. Hellhounds could shred her to smitherins in a few seconds, dragons could disintegrate her into a pile of demigod ashes, and hydras could easily melt her into a puddle of demigod goo. But the police could bring her to a juvenile detention center, and eventually reunite her with her family. She did not miss her family. She did not miss the spiders, the nightmares, the anxiety –

"Hey, you look tired," Luke jarred her back into reality. Annabeth took a sharp breath and closed her eyes. It was the second time Luke had grounded her back after her thoughts had carried her away in a tsunami of fears. She needed to stop thinking too much.

"I'm fine," she protested, shaking his concern off. She found a broom by the couch and picked it up firmly, showing him she was fine. "I'll sweep up."

"I'll set up the sleeping bags once you're done," Thalia quipped.

Luke grinned, setting his hands on his hips. "Then I guess that leaves me to do carpentry on the windows and doors, to make sure the monsters – or the police," he winked at Thalia. "Won't find us here. This place, after we fix it up, will be our safe house. For now."

And so they got to work. An hour later, the deserted coffee shop was starting to look a bit more decent as a living space. Annabeth huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. Thalia had set up the couch near the center of the room. Three sleeping bags were arranged near the far end of the room, where it was darker and cooler. The cobwebs had been dusted off the counter top and Luke had set up their current supplies: bottles of nectar and a couple Tupperwares of ambrosia squares that they had taken away from Hal's supply, first aid kits, sandwiches from the pastry store, and bottles of water and candy for energy.

Luke wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to face the girls. He had managed to craft a lock on the front door. "This should do the trick," he said proudly.

"Against a pack of hellhounds?" Thalia asked skeptically.

Luke frowned. "Well, against the police but – "

Thalia snickered playfully. "I'm kidding, Son of Hermes. You looked pooped. I think it's time to call it a night."

Luke still seemed doubtful. "I can add some reinforcements – "

"Not tonight," Thalia said firmly, though she was smiling comfortingly at him. "It's time to rest. We all need it."

Luke walked towards the bathroom towards the back to change out of his dirty clothes, and Annabeth settled into her sleeping bag, pulling the edges up and over herself. And as she drifted off to sleep, she smiled to herself, thankful for her new family and her new home, even if it was only temporary.

Maybe they were demigods, and maybe they'd have to spend the rest of their lives on the run from monsters and policemen and everything and everyone else evil, but at least they had each other. They'd have each others' backs and the world would keep gifting them with food to eat every now and then, and shelter every so often. The world was cruel, but it wasn't always so.

Maybe, just maybe, they could have a shot at a normal life.

A/N: Rather short chapter, but I felt like our characters deserved this break from the monsters! Tell me what you think of this chapter in your reviews! I really, truly enjoy hearing from you guys! I hope I'll get to update again soon!

If you guys have any suggestions for a PJO/HOO Christmas fic, send me a PM and I'll try my best to write it for you!