OH MY GOD I'M SO EXCITED

I was asked what I thought about the tv show, and honestly I've got pretty high hopes for it. For those of you who don't know (but totally should), Disney + is making a PJO series. From what I've seen, it seems like Rick is pretty involved, so I think it'll end up being good. Plus I'm hoping they learned from their mistakes and can make us proud this time. I also have my Camp Half Blood shirt on the ready for when they call me up for auditions. I'm prepared. ;-D

Percy POV

Percy had gone shopping with his mom the day he was released from the hospital. They had a ceremonial bonfire in the backyard, burning his old clothes and everything else in the house that reminded them of Gabe.

Percy slept well at night knowing Gabe had been rotting in a jail cell for a month. One month down, a life sentence to go. He smiled. He would never have to look at that pig ever again.

"Percy! It's time to go!"

He threw his books into his backpack and made his way downstairs. He paused at the top of the stairs to straighten the newest picture frame on the wall. They had taken the picture a week after they were free. Percy smiled just looking at it. He stood behind his mom, both of them grinning wide at the camera. His bruises had mostly healed, and he couldn't have looked happier. His mom looked beautiful in her blouse, and he was wearing a nice, pink polo. He loved wearing colors again.

"Percy you're gonna be late!" Sally yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm coming!" He picked his bag back up and slung it over his shoulder. He practically jumped down the stairs. He couldn't believe how light he'd felt since he'd been home. Everything was perfect.

Well, almost everything.

Sally was standing by their new, red door, swinging her purse onto her shoulder.

"You're gonna be late for your first day back," she said, gesturing for Percy to go faster.

Percy paused to stop and tie his bright blue converse. They were his favorite shoes ever. He hadn't worn anything other than black boots in years.

He opened the door, gesturing for his mother to go outside. He shut the door behind them, leisurely walking to her car. He took a deep breath as lowered himself into the car.

He was so excited to get back to school. He imagined everyone's surprised faces when he walked through the door, looking like a completely new person.

But he was also nervous. Before, he'd always been able to blame his lack of friends on his horrible manner. But now he's changed. This is the real him. What if they still don't like him?

What if he still wasn't good enough?

His mom pulled up in front of the school. She had driven him everywhere the past month. She wouldn't listen to him when he assured her that he really did enjoy walking sometimes and how it cleared his head. She refused to let him walk, so he let her drive him around. He knew she felt guilty, and he wanted to do anything he could to help appease that feeling.

He felt her thin fingers land on his shoulder. She pulled him close and engulfed him in a hug.

"You're gonna do great today, Percy." Then, almost as if she could read his thoughts, she said, "They're gonna love you. The real you."

He pulled back so he could look at her in the eyes.

"You think so?"

She smiled at him softly and put her hands on the sides of his face. "Percy, I know so."

He felt his lips curve into a smile and he took a breath. How bad could it be? He's definitely been through worse.

He grabbed his bag and stepped out of the car. He closed the door behind him and leaned into the open window. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too," she replied, leaning over the consol.

He took the first steps towards the front doors. Was the brick always that color red? Since when were there that many trees lining the sidewalk? Had those benches always been there? How did he not notice all of this before?

He pulled open the doors and walked into the building. He couldn't keep the grin off his face. He couldn't help it. He was excited. For the first time in years, he could finally show off his real self. He didn't have to hide anymore. He didn't have to hurt people's feelings anymore. Because he did hurt a lot of feelings. A lot. Could they forgive him for that? He figured they probably would if they knew his reasoning, but would they even listen?

He felt like a new kid walking into that school. Nobody paid him any attention. He wondered if anybody even recognized him. He did look quite different. He couldn't wait to get rid of the broody, dickhead persona he had embodied for so long.

He felt like he was seeing his classmates for the first time. He never really noticed them. He was used to staring at their feet, ignoring them in class, and avoiding them outside of school.

But now, he kept making eye contact with them as he passed them in the hall. At first, he wasn't sure what to do when they looked directly at each other. It was just awkward.

Then, he walked past one of the cheerleaders, Silena, and she gave him a small smile. A smile. He felt his mouth mimic the gesture as they passed each other. Nobody had smiled politely at him in a very long time.

"Hey Percy." His head whipped around at the mention of his name. He saw Silena slowly walking backwards down the hall. "Love the new look." Her smile widened and she turned back around, continuing her path down the hall.

Percy stood rooted. He couldn't contain his smile. She liked his new look. Which was essentially just his 'pre-Gabe' look. His name had turned some heads as people were made aware of his return.

"Oh hey, Percy!"

"Hey good to see you man."

"Diggin the new outfit, Percy!"

More and more people noticed him. Some would greet him, welcoming him back or something of the other. Others would just give a smile and keep walking.

He was beaming. He didn't even think people would notice he would be back. He wasn't even sure they'd realize he'd left. But no, his whole story was all over the news. He only hoped that these people realized he wasn't the person he was.

Their friendliness gave him high hopes.

His day continued on like that. More and more people greeted him or smiled at him. He noticed a lot of people staring at him, but he didn't even really mind that. As long as they were seeing his true self, they could stare as much as they wanted.

Though, with as many people as he saw in the hallways and in the classrooms, there was one person who kept alluding him.

Before, Percy would pass Annabeth in the halls multiple times a day, but now, it was like she'd disappeared. The thought occured to him that maybe she wasn't here today. But he knew her. She would never miss a day of school unless she was literally dead. She had to be here somewhere.

His stomach cinched. Wow, he was nervous to see her.

He said some regretable things back in the hospital. It was an emotional night, and Annabeth definitely got the side effects of that. What if she couldn't forgive him? He didn't really know what to do if that happened. He was finally finding his way, and he had realized awhile ago that Annabeth brought out the best version of himself.

The thought of her not being with the real him made his heart feel weak.

He knew he had to find her. He had to talk to her, and he desperately needed to apologize to her. He just hoped she would listen.

Annabeth POV

"Hey Annabeth! Did you hear? Percy's back!"

Yes, thank you random kid from her math class.

She'd been hearing about it all day. About him all day.

She gave the girl a forced smile and kept walking.

Ever since that night a month ago, everyone has been talking about Percy. Amongst themselves, to the teachers, to her, basically anyone that would listen.

It was weird in the beginning. It was the first time anyone was talking about Percy, not with malice, but with pity. She'd heard from so many people how sorry they felt for him and how his attitude finally made sense.

Yeah, she thought so too.

People have been coming up to her constantly with questions about Percy, or using her as an outlet for their guilt about thinking poorly about him for years.

And okay, Annabeth kind of understood, her and Percy definitely had a... thing, sure, but they were never official. They'd never even kissed. And he made it pretty clear he didn't want her around. So why would they not just leave her alone?

She was digging through her locker when Piper found her.

"You know," she started, leaning against the locker next to Annabeth's. "It might be nice to talk to him."

"I don't really have anything to say to him right now." She said, closing her locker and walking to her next class.

She heard Piper push herself off the locker and jog a bit to catch up. "I know you're mad, but-"

"I'm not just mad, okay? We've talked about this Pipes. I'm... disappointed." She watched her feet move over the tiled floor. "He was right, you know. I thought I could bring out the best in him. And, I don't know... when I was sitting in that hospital room, waiting for him to wake up, I just kept thinking... I thought about how it's over now. How he was free and he could finally be the person I thought he was turning into. I thought..." She sighed. "I don't know... I thought we had a chance."

"I know," Piper said, putting a hand on her arm. "And I know what he said hurt you, but he had gone through a lot. He probably said a lot of things he didn't mean."

Obviously she had thought about this. Percy, of course, had gone through so much that day. She thought about it all the time. But she also thought about how it's been a month and he hadn't tried to talk to her once. Not even a measly text saying 'hi'. Let alone an apology.

She'd let herself stew in anger for the first few days after she stormed out of the hospital. She sat in her room, waiting, waiting, waiting. As mad as she was, she thought for sure at least he'd call.

Wrong.

So she'd tried to ignore it all. Which of course proved to be very difficult as Percy was all anyone could ever talk about.

She opted for eating lunch in the library, trying her hardest to avoid everyone... well, a specific someone. She just really wanted to go home. It was killing her knowing that he was here.

She was so mad at him for saying all those things, and then not apologizing. She was mad that he wasn't trying to fix what they had. To fix them. She was mad that he didn't seem to care.

And while she was angry at him, she still felt this dark pit in her stomach of guilt. She felt so guilty for avoiding him. Because yeah, maybe she did want to talk to him. But she couldn't just run to him. Not after he didn't even care enough to give her a call.

Did he even want to talk to her?

The rest of her day went by in a daze. Before her last class, she saw him in the hallway.

He looked so different she hardly recognized him. That was, until she saw his striking green eyes. Then there was no question.

There was a group of people surrounding him. Pestering him with questions, talking to him like they were old pals, or just straight up staring at him.

She did have to admit, blue looked good on him. He looked comforted and... refreshed. No longer did he look like he was drowning in his own eyes.

Yet, he was still scanning the hallway, looking for something. Or someone. So Annabeth quickly ducked into the bathroom and accepted tardiness to class.

She didn't meet his eyes in class, in fact, she hardly looked up from her own notebook. She was pretending to write, but was really just staring at the blank page.

Finally, the bell rang and she rushed out the door, eager to get to her car and solitude. Avoiding everyone and keeping to herself all day felt very exhausting. Was this how every day would be from now on?

She didn't even stop by her locker, even though she needed her math textbook. She really just needed to be alone. Though she was alone all day.

She started walking faster when she felt tears building up behind her eyes. Even though she succeeded in not talking to Percy, she felt defeated. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as a hot tear slid down her face.

She needed to get home.

She unpeeled her fingers from her palm, no longer caring about the crescent moon dents that were left behind. She pulled her backpack in front of her and started to blindly rummage through the pockets, looking for her keys as she finally spotted her car.

Her fingers closed around the fob when she heard him call out her name. Her heart stopped. As did her feet. She had to remind herself to keep breathing.

"Annabeth!" he repeated. She heard his steps get louder... and faster. Was he running?

No. She wouldn't let herself look.

She took a shallow breath and took another step forward.

"Annabeth, please," he said, much closer. It wasn't his begging that made her turn, but rather the way his voice shook slightly, the fragileness of it bringing her back to that night a month ago. "I... I really need to talk to you."

He had his head down, staring at his feet until he heard her turn around. His eyes lifted, and he looked up at her through his eyelashes. He was panting a bit, and Annabeth guessed he had run from class to meet her here.

He had stopped a few feet away from her, which she was grateful for. If he got closer, she didn't know if she'd kiss him or judo flip him.

She didn't trust herself to speak, so she just stood there holding her elbows while she waited for him to say something.

"Annabeth, I'm just-" he cut himself off, his eyes falling to his feet again before rising with emerald sorrow. "I'm so, so unbelievably sorry, Annabeth." His hands got lost in his hair. "I just... I went through so much that night and I wasn't thinking straight and I-"

"Percy," she said sharply. His mouth immediately closed as his hands fell to his sides. "I get it, okay? I get why you got upset at the hospital."

"Wait. I need to tell-" he started.

"What I don't get... is why you never," she looked away from him as her vision started becoming cloudly again. "Not once. Called. Or texted. Or... tried." Her gaze landed back on him and she saw his lips thin as he tilted his head away.

"Annabeth... I'm not gonna lie. I wasn't in a good place after that night." He wrung his hands in front of him. "I really haven't been in a long time. The only time I've ever felt... myself... was with you."

Her heart clenched and she felt shaky.

"And, after everything that happened..." he continued. She watched his foot lift off the ground as if he was about to take a step forward before gingerly setting it back down. "That I wasn't good enough for you. That you would be better without me. And I just needed... I just needed to fix myself first. Before I could try to fix... us."

Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. How could she be better without him? He helped her so much with stress and pressure. She remembered how relieved she felt when she had told him about her anxiety during one of their library meet-ups.

He was somehow so good at noticing when she was worked up, and he did a great job of distracting her. Even if he was unaware he was doing it. So, needless to say, she had a pretty shitty month without him.

"Percy, I-"

He held up a finger, effectively halting the words in her mouth.

"There was another reason I didn't contact you." Annabeth held her breath while she waited for him to continue, her mind full of possible excuses. He didn't like her anymore. He never did. She wasn't pretty enough. He found someone else. "I was afraid you didn't know the real me."

At this, she felt her temper rise. What did he mean, she didn't know him? Of course she knew him. The crease on her forehead deepened as she opened her mouth for rebuttle.

His eyebrows shot up and he held out both hands. "Wait! Let me explain." Her mouth snapped shut again and her arms crossed tighter across her chest in restraint.

"You see, you were the first person in four years to see the real me." Her heart simultaneously filled and shattered for him. "And... in the hospital... when you said that you finally understood why I acted the way I did when we first met..." He trailed off, eyes watching his shoes tap each other.

Her anger had dissolved into confusion. How could her excusing his actions make him think she never knew him?

"Annabeth... I never wanted to act the way I did."

She waited for him to elaborate, and when he didn't, she replied with a confused, "Wait, what?"

He visibly took a deep breath and met her gaze again, his eyes swimming. "He made me, Annabeth." Like turning on a faucet, the tears began pouring down his face. His voice waivered. "I never wanted to. I hated it, Annabeth. I hated making everyone hate me." His knees crumbled and he sunk to the ground. "I hated hurting everyone. I hated hurting you... I- I hated myself."

She rushed over to him, her backpack forgotten on the ground. His sobs filled the empty air, and Annabeth realized that most of the cars were gone. She held him, not unlike the way she held him at his house.

She scrunched her eyes together as her own tears rolled down her cheeks. Her heart hurt for this boy in her arms. She couldn't believe what he'd been through. She couldn't believe how stupid she was for thinking the worst in him.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth." She released him and leaned back onto her knees in front of him, rubbing her thumb under his eyes.

"No, Percy. I'm sorry." He shook his head, about to speak. "I'm so sorry that it took me so long to realize what was happening, and I'm so, so sorry for thinking you were anything less than who you really are."

Neither of them said anything for a moment. They let their tears dry as they stared at each other. For the first time while looking into his eyes, Annabeth didn't see darkness, or clouds, or angst. She just saw... freedom.

"I'm so proud of you, Percy." He gave her a small smile, his eyebrows rising in appreciation.

Percy took Annabeth's hands and stood the both of them up. The way he was looking at her made butterflies erupt in her stomach, and she was suddenly very aware of their touching hands.

He took in a deep, slow breath. "I didn't think I could love you more than I did yesterday," he pulled her closer to him. "But then I saw you today, and I fell all over again."

The right side of her mouth turned up in a teasing smirk as her heart did a somersault. "Well, I'm worried what happen to you tomorrow."

He gave her a small smile and shrugged a bit. "It's a pretty good quote."

"Hmm, seems a bit cheesy to me." She shrugged a bit as her smirk grew into a smile. She let go of his hands to rest her own on his shoulders.

His grin grew larger as he got closer to her. "I used to think so too, but then I realized that it was exactly how I felt when looking at you, Wise Girl."

She smiled wide and felt a blush creep up to her cheeks. "Just kiss me already, Seaweed Brain."

He gave a small laugh before slowly leaning down. She watched his eyelids flutter shut and felt hers do the same. She could feel his presence get closer and closer, and finally... FINALLY... with no Helen in sight... their lips finally met.

And it was pretty much the best kiss of all time.

Wow. Feeling a lot of emotions right now. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this story since I started writing it 4 years ago. And thank you to everyone found it recently and has been reading. And thank you to those who will find it once I go mark completed. Thank you all so much. I hope you enjoyed this. I sure enjoyed writing it. I love you all. 3

P.S. Keep your eyes peeled. See you soon ;)