Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Thank you for the reviews and for clicking to read this chapter despite the… uh… 5 year- no, 5 month wait…. Yeah… it's only been 5 months… sounds… right.

Seriously, thank you all so much. This story is what made me the writer that I am and I just lost my touch with it for so long and I was focused on Cinderella (I know I'm not the best at keeping up with that either) and time just slipped away from me... But it means the world to me that there are people still reading this and urging me to continue even though it's been years. I'm glad to know that I created something that people care about so much. So thank you.

Previous Chapter: Scared of rejection, Percy lied when Annabeth asked if he had any feelings for her. Feeling rejected herself, Annabeth hoped finally going on a date with Luke would help her forget about Percy. But their frustrations eventually cumulated in a fierce make out session in the pool, only for Annabeth to run away.

My Tutor

Chapter 14

Annabeth

I left wet footprints behind me as I ran across the quad towards the girls' dormitories. My soaking hair occasionally slapped me in the face when I made a turn. My clothes were still dripping and my cardigan felt even heavier when I finally entered the girls' dormitories. Students I passed gave me confused looks, their eyebrows rising and mouths contorting to one side.

I guess it was a good thing I was still wet since my tears were disguised. But then I saw my reflection in the elevator doors. I looked just like I suspected: a total mess. My eyes were puffy and red, then my vision blurred with a new wave of tears.

Students went to stand next to me to wait for the elevator and I couldn't help but let a whimper escape my lips. Some turned their heads to look at me while others pretended they didn't hear and continued waiting, a few of them placing earphones on or looking at their phones. One girl looked like she was about to say something to me but before sound left her mouth I walked towards the door to the staircase. I didn't care that I had to walk up six flights of stairs. I couldn't stand being near people right now. My chest was heavy, my stomach twisted and my brain was pushing up into the walls of my skull.

I couldn't believe what just happened. I made out with Percy. I haven't really kissed anyone, let alone made out with anyone. (If Leo insists that we've kissed before, he's lying and don't believe a word he says. It didn't count because we were just practicing, got it?) But still, the few times I've kissed other people didn't compare to kissing Percy in the slightest. Everything about it felt right. I didn't even have to think about whether I was a good kisser or not. I don't even think it mattered because in that moment I knew Percy would still want to kiss me even if I was the worst kisser in the world (kinda like how Leo is). My arms already knew to wrap around Percy's neck and my body pushed against him, wanting to be as close as possible.

I put my fingers to my lips. They were still tingling. I tried to stop them from feeling that way by lightly biting down on my lower lip but it didn't work. His kisses still had an effect on me.

I reached the third floor when I decided to check my phone. Percy was considerate enough to put it aside when he pushed me in the pool. The corner of my mouth lifted at the thought but promptly receded back to place when I saw that Percy hadn't texted me. And what's more, he didn't even chase after me when I ran away.

But there was a text from Luke.

Hey baby i get off work in a few mins see u soon!

Now both corners of my mouth turned downwards. He liked to call me "baby" but I didn't like it. It just felt weird and forced coming out of his mouth whenever he said it to me.

"Yeah, that's it, Katie."

I stopped on the fifth step of the fourth flight of stairs. I hadn't even noticed that people were in the staircase. No one takes the stairs. Like ever. But now that I remembered that, it made me think how this place was the perfect place for couples to get together and… do things.

Oh shit. I think that was Travis's voice. I looked up hoping to any god that was listening that he and Katie weren't in the middle of something that would taint my virgin eyes. But I let out a small sigh of relief when I saw that Katie had Travis pushed against the wall and was only kissing his neck. Her hands were around his waist while Travis wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him.

Wow, Silena was right. They are cute together.

I smiled at them and wondered if I should try to sneak past them or go back. But I did not walk up freaking four flights of stairs just to turn back, so hell yeah I'm sneaking past them. I was almost past them and rounding the corner to the next set of stairs when Travis spoke.

"I love you, Katie!" He declared. Katie giggled and kissed him even harder. I could tell even without looking back at them because I could hear their sloppy and wet kissing sounds. I'm sure Percy and I sounded similar.

Travis's words may have delighted Katie, but they reminded me of Percy saying the same thing to me. Not that he loves Katie, obviously. But that he loves me. Percy loves me.

I stepped harder on the next step and my sock made a louder sloshing sound against the hard stair, catching Travis and Katie's attention.

"Hey pervert, enjoyed the show?" Travis yelled at me. He laughed when I flipped him off but yelped in surprise and I didn't want to look back to see what was happening. "Don't grab me there, I wasn't ready." Travis said. I kept ascending the stairs.

I was too distracted by what Percy had said to me. Never mind making out with someone. You can make out with someone you don't like. Well, you know, someone you don't like-like. But you don't just tell anyone you love them, even someone you like-like. I know that at least Percy isn't the type to do that. But what the hell is going on with him? He told me he didn't like me when I asked if he did. I had finally figured out that I felt something for him when he completely shattered everything I thought we could have had together. He felt nothing for me. Nothing besides friendship which is pretty great itself. But I wanted something different with him.

My eyes started watering again, so much so that my vision blurred and I needed to hold on to the rail to guide me.

Over this past week, all I've thought about was Percy. After he told me what I didn't want to hear, I admit that I sort of, kind of completely avoided him. How could I face him after what I asked him? Our friendship was still intact but it was so awkward. And how obvious was I being when I asked him if he liked me? Who asks something like that unless you like that person, too? He must have figured out how I felt about him Percy isn't that stupid. At least, I hoped he wasn't. I mean, I didn't mean to avoid him. It's just he looked at me with such pity. I didn't want to see him look at me like that again. I needed some space.

Too bad Luke wasn't a good distraction at all. Our dinner was nice but that's all it was: nice. We had next to nothing in common. We both went to Goode and we both knew Percy. That was basically it. The dinner was only about forty-five minutes and that included waiting to be seated and waiting after we ordered.

The only reason I really stayed close to Luke this past week is because I desperately wanted to be with someone besides Percy. And I thought that maybe spending more time with Luke might make things between us less uncomfortable. But even after spending practically this whole week together, minutes of silence would still go by when we were together. Every time he'd put his arm around my shoulder, he didn't push me close to his side like Percy did. I'd try to laugh at some of his jokes but the only thing that would bring a smile to my face would be to imagine that Percy was with me.

His black hair would probably be messy even after he ran his hand through it. His eyes would look down on me with a kind of serene that reminded me of earlier days, days when we'd sneak away from our friends to visit the isolated cove and the sea gently swayed over our feet. He'd smile at me whenever I laughed, making his dimples appear. And whenever I imagined Percy with me, I was overcome with the urge to kiss those cute dimples and let Percy tell me more of his stupid puns that were so bad they were good.

"Making puns is an art form, Annabeth." He used to tell me.

And I'd almost give into my wish to kiss the imaginary Percy when I'd realize that he wasn't there and I was left with Luke trying to make me smile in a way that only Percy could.

Holy crap. I swore I would never take the stairs to the sixth floor again. I was out of breath and practically wheezing on the last few steps and my crying wasn't helping. Before I opened the door to my room I caught my breath and did my best to wipe my tears dry just in case Piper was in there. To my relief she wasn't, probably off somewhere with Jason. So I grabbed some fresh clothes and headed to the bathroom. A nice long bath always helps me think.

I stripped my clothes off as quickly as possible because it was starting to get a little chilly. My worries seemed to melt away when I took my first step into the hot tub and sank deeper into the water, dunking my head in once.

Maybe taking a bath wasn't such a good idea. Being around all this water just made me think about being in the pool with Percy.

What a jerk! Who does he think he is kissing me like that? He told me he didn't like me, which I was still trying to get over. And Luke wasn't making it any better. In fact, he was making it worse. I thought finally getting to meet him and be with him would make me forget about Percy. But the more time I've spent with Luke, the more I realized he is just a friend like Jason or Frank are just friends (supers hot friends, but still just friends).

Wait, if I was "dating" Luke to forget about Percy and all the hurt he caused, does that mean Luke is a rebound? But even though I don't want to think of him as my rebound guy, that doesn't mean that he isn't. And that isn't fair. Luke is great guy. But, he's not for me.

But if I go back to Percy, if that's even possible, won't people then think that Percy is my new rebound guy who I'm with just to get over Luke.

Okay, once again I was overthinking things. It didn't matter that Luke was a rebound or Percy is the new rebound or people think he's the rebound or whatever! The point is that I want to be with Percy. And from the way he pushed himself against me in that pool, he wants to be with me, too.

I dunked my head in the water one more time and stayed submerged until I couldn't hold my breath any longer.

"Freaking Percy." I laughed.

Percy

I slammed the door behind me as soon as I got to my dorm. And I didn't even change out of my wet clothes. With a thud, I collapsed onto the bed. Some droplets from my hair ran down my face and when I lifted my hand to wipe them away, I realized they were tears.

What the fuck was I thinking, kissing Annabeth and telling her I love her like that? She must think I'm an idiot! Why did I suck at telling the truth when it came to her? And to top it all off, if I had just told the truth in the first place, Annabeth would have understood. Why else would she kiss me back like that?

But she must have realized what a pathetic, lying coward I've been and didn't want anything to do with that mess. That's why she left. Fuck!

I rolled onto my stomach and checked my phone, thinking about texting Annabeth. The finger recognition was having trouble registering my thumb because it was wet or pruney or whatever so I had to enter in my passcode. I hate doing that. Then as soon as I opened Messenger and saw Annabeth's name with sparkles and rose emoji, I couldn't bring myself to click on her. What was I supposed to say? Sorry I love you?

No, I've hurt her too much already.

There was nothing left to do but pack. So that's what I did. I pulled out my two extra big luggages and grabbed all my clothes from the closet and drawers and stuffed them in as best I could. I didn't have the patience for folding shit. The more I packed, the more my heart ached. This was really happening. I was leaving Goode. For the past few years, my home has been here. I wasn't just leaving Annabeth. I was leaving all of my other friends, too. No doubt they'll be pissed that I waited so long to tell them I was leaving.

Annabeth, my friends, my school, and my mother, too. I've never been so far away from her before. Here at Goode, she was just an hour drive away. Now she would be a five hour plane ride away. And I'm not the best at flying by myself.

I was cleaning out my trunk when I found my secret box. Instead of cleaning out the rest of the trunk like I should have, I went to my desk and read all of the valentine and birthday cards Annabeth had given me. My chest felt heavy. I was all Annabeth's. And I decided then that she should know that. With a scrap of notebook paper I tore out and a mechanical pencil that was almost out of lead, I began writing a letter to Annabeth that revealed the whole truth to her, how I felt, why I really ripped up her card, that I was leaving, and that I hoped we could see each other again, even if it would just be as friends.

I was a fucking moron for freaking out about being "friend-zoned." I should have been happy that Annabeth was letting me back into her life as her friend instead of sulking that she didn't love me. If Annabeth was happy with Luke or any other guy that treats her right, that's fine by me. She's my dream girl but if anything, I would still want to be her friend. I just hoped she would still want to be my friend, too.

By the time I was finished, my clothes were dry and it was past dinner time. I tucked the letter into an envelope and was doodling flowers and hearts around Annabeth's name in fancy script to waste time when the door opened.

"Percy? I didn't see you at dinner."

I wiped my hand over my face before I turned to face Grover.

His eyes shifted between me and my oversized luggage. "Going home for the weekend?" He showed his teeth in an awkward smile.

I didn't know how to break it to him. But I decided that I needed some practice in telling the truth. Just like Annabeth, my other best friend deserved to know the truth.

"No, I'm leaving. Today's my last day here."

Grover's eyes looked at the suitcase again for a while longer and then he turned back to me. "WHAT?" He exploded.

I stood up and placed my secret box safely in my second luggage, making sure it wouldn't get crushed. "My dad filed for custody of me and he's taking me to live with him in California. My flight's tomorrow."

Grover was quiet while he watched me clean out the rest of my trunk. I looked up at him to gage his reaction. His lower lip began to twitch. And then he burst into tears.

"Why didn't you tell me? I thought I was your best friend and you didn't even tell me until the day before? Does our friendship mean nothing to you?"

"Grover, please-" The wind was knocked out of me as Grover tackled me to the bed and squeezed his arms around me with all of his might. Wow, I'm surprised he's gotten so strong. I mean, we used to horse around and wrestle all the time in middle school and honestly he had maybe an ounce of muscle. Then my growth spurt hit in high school and I just didn't think it was fair to wrestle a guy almost a head shorter than me. (Leo, on the other hand, is a different story.)

"Will I ever see you again?"

Fuck, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I was in tears with Grover in a matter of seconds.

"Of course you will! It's just these last years of high school. And I'll be back for the summer and holidays. You'll barely notice I'm gone." But my words didn't seem to have any calming effect with my voice cracking 'cause I was crying along with him.

Gover put his arm around me and nodded along in understanding as I explained everything else, including what's going on with me and Annabeth.

"Well, at least you're not on academic probation anymore and you'll be on the swim team of one of the top schools in the nation." He rubbed his hand against my arm to further comfort me.

"Yeah, I've been trying to look on the bright side of this, too."

Grover's mouth shifted to one side and he looked away, his eyes locked on a picture of Juniper he kept on his nightstand. He turned back to me, apparently deciding on what to say. "How does Annabeth feel about this?"

"She doesn't know." I stood up and began packing again and Grover started to fold the clothes in my messy suitcases.

"Sh-Shouldn't she know?" His voice was unsure, and I couldn't blame him. Like always, the subject of Annabeth and I was like treading on thin ice - thin, melting, and cracking ice, to be exact.

"Yes," I admitted, "But I'm not ready to face her yet."

"But you're leaving tomorrow."

"I know."

Thankfully Grover left it at that and he helped me with the rest of my luggage. He spent the rest of the evening making me promise I wasn't gonna lose contact with him and "totally forget what we had when I made new friends." His words, not mine. But I was more than happy to make all those promises.

The next morning after I got out of the shower, Frank, Jason, and Leo were all sitting on Grover's bed with tears in their eyes. When Frank saw me, he rushed forward and hugged me. Then Jason and Leo did the same and we fell to the ground, my towel loosening in the process.

I felt around for my towel and tried my best to keep it as close to my body as possible while my friends fought over who got to be closest to me and who could hug me tighter.

"Guys, can you not-" But my voice was drowned out with their sobbing. Grover was taking pictures on his phone.

After I pried each of them off me, Jason insisted that I sit down so he could tell me how much he loved me and how much he would miss me. It took like twenty minutes. He was bringing up everything from the times I snuck him in and out of military school to nudging Piper in his direction to how we figured out how to tie our shoelaces ourselves after Thalia lost patience with us and left.

Then Frank went on for another twenty minutes, too, probably trying to out-do Jason before he ran out of stories. He talked about how I was the brother he never had, how he loved sleepovers at my house (because my mom made the best breakfast burritos), weightlifting together, and how much it meant to him when I accompanied him to Canada for his grandma's funeral.

My face was in my hand by then, doing my best, but failing, to hold in the tears.

Leo's speech was short though. Much shorter. He said he was thankful to have someone like me making him look cooler by comparison and he asked me if my moving meant he could take Annabeth to the homecoming dance again and to basically every dance this year and next. I punched his shoulder.

"Didn't hurt!" He said. But he kept rubbing his shoulder.

Keep in mind, I was still only in a towel while this all went down.

So when I finally got the chance to put some clothes on, they were all busy on their phones. Before I knew it, Jason was already walking out the door with one of my huge suitcases and Leo and Frank were checking my side of the room to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. Leo was still rubbing his shoulder.

I handed Grover Annabeth's letter. He eyed it and tried to give it back to me. "Shouldn't you-"

"Please give it to Annabeth."

Gover's lips began to quiver and he set the letter down on his desk before he jumped me again. I sighed and hugged him back before we went to the parking lot.

My dad said he sent a chauffeur to take me to the airport and I was looking down at my phone expecting a phone call that he was waiting for me. I didn't expect the the rest of my friends to be out there waiting: Beckendorf, Piper, Hazel, Silena, Connor, Travis who brought Miranda Gardner with him, Juniper, Will, even Clarisse was there, though she was blasting her headphones and her arms were crossed.

They swarmed me at once, everyone talking at once, grabbing onto me, and close to tears (besides Clarisse). When they finally settled down, everyone gave me an individual hug (yes, even Clarisse), and the girls (minus Clarisse) kissed my cheek. Hazel and Silena were bawling their eyes out. Piper's lips trembled and Jason pulled her into a hug. A tear escaped Travis's eye and his girlfriend and brother went to hug him. I knew I had good friends, but I didn't know they loved me this much. I was gonna miss them all so much.

The driver pulled up and popped the trunk, and Clarisse and Connor helped me load my stuff. I was about to get into the back seat when I turned around to take another look at my group of friends. I was really leaving. And they were really sad to see me go. I loved them all so much. I walked towards them, my arms held open and we all gathered for a last group hug. Grover, Frank, and Piper were the ones closest to me and squeezed me with all their might.

"Goodbye, Percy!" Hazel sobbed when we all separated and I got into the car then it slowly pulled away from the curb. I looked out the back window.

"Later, Perce!" Will shouted.

"We love you, man!" Beckendorf yelled.

"Don't go!" Leo screamed.

"I'll never forget you!" Connor wailed.

"Release me, release me!" Travis whined as Clarisse and Miranda held him back and kept him from running after the car.

Their voices and goodbyes melded together and they all waved their hands up.

Annabeth

The next morning I woke up, refreshed, recovered, and determined to make things right. I had a revelation last night in the bath. Nothing mattered besides the way I felt about Percy and the way he felt about me. And whatever happened, we would work things out between us. But I had to work things out with Luke first. It wasn't fair of me to still be with Luke when I felt this way about Percy.

I got dressed thinking about what I would say to Luke. But I have to admit, I was a little distracted trying to find an outfit that would make me feel confident but at the same time make Percy unable to look away. What? Don't look at me like that. I wanted Percy to think I was cute, what was so wrong about that?

But I eventually gave up and went with a blue crew neck tee and dark wash jeans. Maybe I was being delusional or overly romantic, but I thought Percy would like me however I was dressed.

While I was brushing and braiding my hair into a headband like Hazel had taught me, Piper's ringtone blasted and woke her up. I watched her hand reach out from beneath her blanket and slap down on her nightstand a few times, feeling around for her phone. She knocked over her alarm clock and her water bottle.

"Right, Pipes." I said, securing my hair with a few bobby pins.

Piper moved her hand according to my direction and found her phone, bringing it with her under the blanket.

"Morning, babe." Piper said, half awake. Hmm, it was either, Selina, Reyna, or maybe Jason on the phone. Not sure about that last one.

Satisfied with my appearance, I was out of our dorm room and walking down the hall right when Piper screamed into her phone, "WHAT!"

I was sure she'd tell me all about it later.

I pulled out my phone to call Luke on the elevator. It was still ringing when I got to the lobby. From the corner of my eye, I saw Connor, Katie, and Travis exit the opposite elevator. My head did a double take when I realized that Connor had his hand over his face and was crying. His brother took his other hand and led Connor along while Katie linked arms with Travis.

My mouth opened to call out to them when they exited towards the parking lot. "Ka-" But Luke answered his phone by then.

"Hey, Annabeth, what's up?"

"Oh, Luke, can you meet me by the olive tree in the quad? I need to talk to you about something." I said while watching Connor, Travis, and Katie meet up with Clarisse and Selina, which was kind of weird, but I shook my head and focused on Luke.

He was silent for a good ten seconds before clearing his throat and agreeing.

When I saw him under the olive tree, his hands were in his jeans and his hair was tossed back, looking as handsome as ever. His lips formed a small smile as I approached and he opened his arms to hug me.

"Is everything alright?" He asked before kissing my nose.

"Yeah, everything's great."

He leaned forward and tried to kiss my nose again but I stepped back.

"It's just…" I hesitated, scared of how he would react. But he smiled even wider to encourage me to go on. "You have to understand, Luke. I really, really like you."

Luke's smile dropped. Guess he figured what was coming.

But I went on anyway. "I'm not sure how to tell you this, but I don't think it's going to work with us. I've realized that I don't feel for you the way I thought I did. Please don't be angry."

Luke looked away from me and lightly shook his head. There was a silence between us before he released a breath. "I'm not. I'm just sad. But I won't fight you on this. I…" He took another breath. "I understand. I had hoped that we could have connected better. But I always felt that you were distracted." He looked at me. "Maybe by someone else."

"Maybe." I answered.

"Is it Percy?" Before I could answer, Luke spoke again. "I'm sorry I asked that. I- It really doesn't matter if it is or isn't him or if there is someone else." He stepped forward and took my hands in his. "If you're not happy, I don't think we'll work either. I get it."

Oh gods. He really was a great guy. I scanned his face, from the beautiful curve of his jaw, to his shining blue eyes, and down the pale scar on his cheek. Even after I just broke up with him, he found the will to smile at me. It was the smile that first made me fall for him.

He was wonderful.

Just not for me.

I leaned forward and he let me kiss his cheek. "I'll see you around." To my relief, he smiled wider, this time, more melancholy but sweet and honest. And he nodded and walked away from me.

And I was on my way to Percy.

My whole body felt lighter as I entered the boys' dormitory. But why wouldn't it? I was on my way to make Percy my boyfriend. I felt so giddy that I ran up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Boys smiled at me as I walked past them on the third floor and I beamed back at them.

I soon came face to face with the door to Percy's room. Sometimes Grover and Percy would leave it unlocked when they hung out inside. I used to take advantage of this fact and enter unannounced and I'd usually find Percy and Grover playing video games.

There was no noise coming from the inside but I did notice that the door wasn't closed all the way. But I still knocked. No one answered.

"Percy? Grover?" I knocked harder this time and the door cracked and I could see a sliver inside facing Percy's side of the room. Only it wasn't Percy's side of the room.

I pushed the door open wider in shock.

Percy's bed was completely stripped of sheets. I walked in slowly. The closet was wide open but all that was in there was a few wire coat hangers. I hurried to the dresser and pulled out each drawer, my heart sinking further and further into my stomach when each proved to be empty.

What the hell was going on? Was I in the right room? My head snapped to the other side of the room. I recognized every single one of Grover's belongings because I've been in this room so many times.

But there was one thing that caught my eye. I marched over to Grover's desk and snatched the envelope with my name on it. It was written in pretty, handwritten cursive and was decorated with small drawings of flowers and a heart there and again. I recognized those hearts. It was how Percy drew hearts, always a little lopsided towards the left. Trust me, I know. I've got a bunch of valentine cards with those hearts littered all across them. I tore out the letter from within in a hurry.

Annabeth,

I'm sorry I left without telling you.

My heart stopped beating for a second. Percy was just here yesterday, what the hell was happening? Wait, is this why he kissed me so suddenly yesterday? Because he was leaving? I did think it was suspicious that he asked me to meet him so privately by the pool. And all he told me was that he passed his English exam. He must have been planning to tell me he was leaving instead but chickened out, I guess.

I was about to read the rest of the letter before I suddenly remembered Connor crying, him, Travis, and Katie meeting up with Silena and Clarisse and all of them going towards the parking lot. Maybe I wasn't too late.

I stuffed the paper into my pocket and ran as fast as I could. I skipped the elevators again and practically jumped off each flight of stairs and burst out the doors towards the parking lot.

I wasn't going to lose Percy. Not again.

Last Chapter: The conclusion to this love story. The only question is... Will it be a happy one?

Thank you for reading and please review! You know how much I love those.

And before you say anything about it, Luke and Annabeth were barely a thing in this story. I don't see the need to drag out their break up because it's totally amicable. Gotta move the story along.

If you haven't already, please read my other stories, especially A Twisted Tale of Cinderella! (And yes, I'm working on the update. It's coming.) Visit me on on tumblr at annazonabeth!