"Group sleepover!" Leo laughed as he sprawled out on the couch.

"Have you guys chosen your colleges yet?" Piper hummed.

"Ew, ugh, no." Jason fake barfed. "Too adult."

"You dimwits need to start thinking about your futures." Calypso smirked. "Your looks won't stay for that long. Not that you'd really be losing anything."

"Ouch." Leo blinked. "C'mon admit it babe I'm hot."

"When you're on fire maybe."

"SOMEONE GIVE ME A LIGHTER!"

"DO NOT GIVE HIM A LIGHTER!"

Everyone just laughed at them.

But the more Percy thought, the more he realized Calypso was right. They had been living in their own world for a long time now, and it was time to leave it and join reality.

But he didn't want to.

His own little world contained everything over the years. Every broken spirit, every happy memory that had begun to form.

Especially the memory of he and Nico the other night.

His mind had been scattered in a storm, wind and rain swirling around in his brain, relentlessly thundering and booming as it tore away at his inner self.

And Nico pulled him back. He hugged him, and that storm faded away. It calmed down, into nothing more then a light trickle.

And he finally felt real.

His injured eye finally had some... form of indication that it was real.

It was just- it was special.

It was a special Percy didn't want to go away because of the real world.

He was in his story book, and he finally liked it.

These were his happy moments, and he was going to hold onto him. These... goofballs, absolute morons, were the things he could be positive about.

The whole time Nico had been watching Percy, and he knew exactly what he was thinking, because he had been thinking the exact same thing.

Their story book is where he regrouped with Percy, where they changed... so much. Where his sister had died, and where he found out just how many people were at his side. Where he felt alive and dead, and where... so much had happened.

And he didn't want it to end.

"Well..." Thalia said slowly. "At least we're leaving the place better than how we found it, right?"

"Well I mean to be fair most of the problems did come from you guys." Piper joked.

"And you and your friends were any better." Hazel teased.

"Ooooof Hazel is getting salty tonight!" Leo laughed.

"It's not salty if it's simple fact." Thalia hummed.

"You all besmirch the name of the King's entourage and I refuse to stand for it!" Leo exclaimed, leaping up onto the couch.

Calypso looked up at him, slowly raising an eyebrow.

"Yes I know big words like 'besmirch.' Problem?" Leo hummed.

"...Dullard." Calypso muttered, grabbing his feet and yanking them out from under him, sending his body flopping and crashing down into the couch with a loud thwump, followed by about a million jeers and jabs from those around him.

"Well- ow, okay. That's just not fair you guys she's probably going to be like, an English major!" Leo exclaimed.

"When are you gonna learn to stop fighting?" Jason sighed. "I mean I Iearned how to. Just give in man, it makes life a lot easier."

Leo blinked, staring at him. "I... I don't think that's the lesson we're trying to teach here."

"Thank God we aren't teachers then!"

---

Nico gently reached out a hand to stop Percy in his tracks, keeping quiet.

Percy glanced over at Nico with a curious look, but Nico just put his finger to his lips.

They had decided to go out on an early morning walk before school started- just as a way to clear their heads and hang out before college and adulthood came to hit them like a brick.

It was kind of funny. Nico never thought he'd make it far enough to see the end of his high school career. Whether it had been from fate or himself taking over.

Slowly Nico and Percy crept towards and alleyway, Percy still clueless, and Nico still not explaining what they were doing.

He just... he heard something.

He swore he heard something.

When they poked their heads around the corner they saw something that simultaneously broke both of their hearts. It was this... girl. She couldn't have been more than thirteen years old, and yet she was curled up in the corner of this... dirty alley. She was hugging her knees so tightly.

She had this... long dirty blonde hair, and when she finally looked up- this pale, freckled face. Her eyes were a stormy grey/green, but they were dulled by her quite obvious emotions. When she saw them she tried to stop crying, but she just... she couldn't. Those tears kept flooding over, and she immediately started to apologize.

But she had nothing to be sorry about.

"Hey, hey. Don't apologize." Nico said softly, slowly making his way over to her. "I know this is a weird question for a stranger, but... what's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing." she whispered, looking between the two, a broken smile crackling onto her face. "I'm fine."

"Now I don't think that's really true." Nico said, trying his best to give a small smile. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here, alone."

"..." she looked down.

"What's your name?" Percy rasped. "I'm Percy, that's Nico."

"Percy... and Nico?" she said, glancing back up at them for a second. "You... you're Percy and Nico?"

"Heard of us have you?" Nico asked curiously, slowly kneeling down in front of her- not too close, but just... near her, Percy soon doing the same.

"I heard you're good people." she murmured. "And I'm sorry for what happened with your sister." she hugged her knees tighter, looking at Nico.

"She's happy now, I know it." Nico said. "But thank you."

She bit her lip, pursing her lips before glancing to the side, her hair falling in front of her face. "My name's Annie. I... I just needed some time alone. I really wouldn't want to bother you two- busy high schoolers and all."

"It's not a bother at all, Annie." Percy said quietly, observing the girl. She seemed... really familiar, he just... didn't know why.

Annie shook her head a little. "No just- everything you've been through. I... any problems I have don't... matter. You've been through so much..."

"Any problem matters." Nico said, staring at her. "You've clearly heard of us, and I don't know exactly what you've heard, but we would love to help. And... okay maybe we've been through a lot. Maybe we've been through things that most people couldn't fathom in their day to day life. That doesn't mean we're more important then what is currently going on with you or anyone else. Everybody's problems are a huge deal, because it's happening to them. It doesn't matter if someone's been through something 'bigger,' or 'more intense.' It's still pain. Different scenarios can produce similar emotions. Don't you ever think you don't matter."

"Quite the lecture to get from a stranger." Annie said softly, a ghost of a smile playing onto her lips as she looked back at the boys. "...I just... I came here for someone. I wanted to find someone. After breaking up with my girlfriend and getting into this big fight with my parents and just all the kids and stress from school I-" she cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, but, if you go to the highschool I think you do... do you know a woman by the name of Athena Chase?"

"Miss. Athena?" Nico blinked. "Why do you want to find her?"

Annie blinked and looked down.

"Right- sorry, you don't have to tell me." Nico said. "We can... take you to her if you want?"

"You would do that?" Annie whispered.

"Well it's obviously important to you." Nico slowly stood up. "I cannot imagine what is going through your head right now. But what I do know is, someone your age should not be crying in an alleyway. Or really crying at all. Come with us, we'll take you to see Miss. Athena."

Annie thought on it for a little bit before standing up and shaking her head rapidly. "N-no. No. I'm sorry. I- I shouldn't have- this was a mistake. Please- excuse me-" she quickly pushed her way past the two, wiping her eyes.

"Wait." Percy said, causing Annie to stop and stagger for a second.

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Come with us." he said quietly. "Whatever you're seeking maybe you'll find, and maybe it can ease your mind."

She glanced back at them. "...You're really, truly willing to help a... a stranger?"

"We already share something in common." Percy murmured. "We've all felt pain."

---

"Are you sure you can skip school?" Nico glanced at Annie, who just gave a small smile and a shrug. She had pulled herself back together, and now she just looked like any other normal teenager.

"Not to brag or anything, but I just... get lessons really easily, they click. So I've got a deal worked out with my school and everything- trust me, it'll be fine." she hummed. "Although being so intelligent and all I should've known better then to go with two strangers."

"Hey like you said, we're not strangers. You've heard of us."

"Yes but one's reputation does not always reflect one's own self."

"...Percy she's smarter then us what do we do?" Nico whined jokingly, looking at Percy.

"I mean it's not that hard to be smarter than you." Percy teased, earning a few giggles out of Annie.

"Sassy." Nico muttered.

"You two are so cute." Annie smiled. "...Can I ask you guys a question?"

"Of course." Nico hummed.

"What makes your relationship work?"

Nico and Percy blinked, glancing at each other. They never really thought of that.

It just kind of... did.

Fate brought them together, and they clicked with each other right when they needed to.

They were lucky, in that sense. Really lucky.

After a couple of moments just looking at each other, it was Nico who spoke.

"I think... it's because we've been through so much- apart and together." Nico murmured, gently taking Percy's hand. "Fate just kind of... weaved our lives together, and it worked. We've had so many great conversations that we can just... trust each other. We trust we'd never purposefully hurt the other, and then we talk some more."

"Because he was charming and I got tricked into falling in love with him." Percy said softly, giving a small grin.

"Oh okay fine whatever." Nico laughed, gently nudging him.

"Think you'll last?" Annie hummed.

Nico smiled. "I sure as hell hope so. As far as I can tell, he's the only person who can make me smile, no matter what mood I'm in. It doesn't matter if I'm done with the world, with everything. He calms me down. He's that one thing I know will always be able to bring me joy, in some way. And that thing I want to protect, and keep happy. My sister, Bianca, she used to talk about how she always believed that people had found the one when they just smile, almost right upon seeing you."

"I like to think we help each other grow, in just the right ways." Percy added.

"How adorably cheesy." Annie giggled. "Relationship goals- found."

Percy gave a small shrug. "Every relationship needs work." he hummed quietly.

"Personally relationships scare me." Annie said.

"Oh? Why is that?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

"It's just... everytime something good begins to happen in my life, something bad comes along just as extreme to crash into it. It's a bit backwards thinking for someone as logical as me, but personally from experience it just doesn't work out for me." Annie gave a small shrug. "Nothing works out. Something comes along, and I just can't stop it. I mean don't get me wrong I have made my peace with it all. I'm happy as long as the others around me are doing okay. I don't yearn to be happy solely for myself. Besides, either only bad stuff keeps happening, or something good comes along and I just-"

"Turn into a monster." Nico whispered.

Annie blinked, glancing at him. "That's... exactly it. I get blinded by my own happiness, by that good thing in my life, and I ignore everything and everyone else. I become this self-centered... prideful monster."

"Someone who you don't even recognize anymore, right?" Nico stopped walking, looking at her. "Someone who you think is insensitive, who doesn't care about anyone. Who ignores everything going on around them and instead zeroes in on itself. And you'd rather suffer then to become that."

"...How do you know this?"

"Because I've lived it. I have lived through the long nights of debating what I was doing. I have lived, not wanting to get better in fear of what's waiting at the other end of that tunnel. What waits for me if I become happy- and what devastating thing will happen if I proceed. Here's my advice to you. You can be happy without giving up any caring or compassionate spirit you have. I am positive the people in your life want to see your happy. If you think there's something that might come up inside of you you don't want then fight it, and you won't become it. You recognize what you don't want to be, so build off of that. As for that... bad things always happening to contradict the good things? Maybe that's true, maybe it's not. But..."

Nico glanced at Percy, who gave him a small smile.

"Live in the happy moments." Nico said. "Enjoy them. Love them. Their your moments to live , so live them. Anything positive happens recognize it, and celebrate it, and appreciate it. Bad times are bound to happen that is just how life is. Maybe for some people it's more constant. But enjoy the happy and positive times. There is light in anything positive. Don't... be scared to be happy. Make memories, make friendships, that you can hold onto when those dark times hit."

"...Wow that's deep" Annie whispered with a light chuckle. "You know, I can't promise anything."

"Just promise to try." Percy said.

Nico nodded in agreement. "It does a lot more then you think." he chuckled.

Honestly he... did believe in what he just said, but he realized he didn't really do that. He just really wanted to help her.

She put on a convincing mask. One that... honestly a lot of people could don on quite instinctually. It doesn't matter if someone seems unfazed by life, that feeling could still be there. That pit. That hole. Him and Percy had managed to catch her in a moment of weakness- one where she was willing to open up, where she was pouring everything out.

But not much later every guard and act she had was up, acting like nothing was wrong.

And she was so young. Barely starting her teenage years, and already broken down by the world in some way. Maybe it was just the thing with her girlfriend, or maybe it was that plus a million other things.

One could never really tell.

But either way he wanted to help. So he said what... people have said to him. What he wants other people to do.

Did he live by his own words?

Not... necessarily. In fact he kind of felt like a liar in some ways. Here he was, telling her to do all of these things, saying all these things on getting better and seeing the positive things, when some days he couldn't even do that for himself.

Do as I say not as I do really came into play there.

"Duly noted." Annie smiled at them. "Wow I feel like I just got a whole bucket of wisdom from my elders." she giggled.

"...We're not that old." Nico muttered.

"I'm an 8th grader, you're seniors in high school. To me you are that old."

"Yeah yeah yeah."

"Speaking of high school, are... we almost there?"

"Oh- yeah, sorry, right." Nico nodded.

Annie smiled, "It's okay. No big rush. Actually you have actual school so, nevermind."

Nico turned his head to Percy, "Any idea where Miss. Athena would be at this point in time?"

"Office?" Percy gave a small shrug.

"Worth a shot."

So the three of them headed to her office, quickly weaving through the clamoring halls of the student body.

Annie was... having second thoughts about doing this. Grabbing to random high schoolers? Asking for a favor? And worst of all so quickly asking them to help do something so personal for her.

No.

No.

No it was too... it was too weird.

It was too awkward.

It was too inappropriate.

What was she thinking?

She couldn't do this to people she had just met.

Afterall she didn't even know if she wanted to do what she planned to do.

Her problem was... a problem, but it wasn't... gigantic. But she dismissed that particular though right away, to go off of what Nico had said earlier.

...It was big, because it involved her, and her emotions.

But it was just...

She was really intruding.

And really regretting letting them to this for her.

She'd been... chasing this thing for so long.

She could wait a little while longer.

So she... backed off.

And when Nico and Percy looked back behind them when they neared Miss. Athena's office- Annie was gone.

"Where'd she go- she was right here I swear." Nico blinked.

"Too much too fast?" Percy slowly shrugged his shoulders.

"...I guess that's understandable." Nico said. "...What a weird encounter."

--

"That's so saaad." Leo whined. "Small beans shouldn't have to feel pain."

"Well unfortunately, Valdez, that's life." Reyna said, looking at him and crossing her arms. "Sometimes people have to grow up a little too fast."

"That's crap."

Percy glanced at Nico, "I think we should make a book."

"A book?" Nico raised an eyebrow. "I- we can't write a book."

"But we should." Percy murmured softly, glancing around them. "Think of all we've learned."

"...We could share that, with others." Calypso slowly looked over at him. "Show them what life is like, and what they might be able to draw from it."

"All I'd have to write about is how I stood by and watched a million terrible terrors rain down on everyone." Nico puffed.

"I think you guys should do it." Reyna said. "Also do not give me that garbage, Nico, we all know you can write."

"Our lives follow depressing stories of... blood, and tears." Nico said. "Who would want to read about that?"

Leo shrugged. "You never know bro. If you ask me whatever we've got going on in our minds shows just how up and down life can be."

"Sounds serious." Jason shrugged, popping open a coke. "What made you want to write a book Perce?"

"Annie." Percy said quietly. "...People need to know. What's in their head... it's not the end of it all. There's more. I... have never had... much to say. But recently I... I want to say a lot. But I don't know the right words." He looked at Nico. "You're great with words. You write, I draw. We create."

"How about I think about it, okay?" Nico said. "Not to shoot you down or anything Perseus, I just-"

"Hang on wait." Piper sat up. "Perseus?"

"Dude is that your real name?" Leo gasped, staring at Percy. "Yo that is like- so cool!"

Percy smiled sheepishly, slouching his shoulders and slowly sliding down back into the couch.

"Wasn't Perseus like a... an Incan warrior or something?"

Reyna slowly looked over at him.

"Not... exactly, Leo." Hazel smiled sheepishly, Leo looking over at her curiously.

"Greek demigod ya moron!" Calypso smacked him on the head. "Guess that means you don't know the origins on my name."

"Mayan-"

"Stop it with the American tribes!"

"Yes ma'am."

Calypso rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Greek you moron. All of it is greek."

"Actually my name-" Jason started.

"Stop it. Don't. Add any new information or his brain won't be able to remember any of it." Calypso muttered.

"...Got it."

Piper looked around with a small smile. "I mean... I think Percy might have a point. There are times when we've all felt like we're just... too different from society- when in reality maybe everyone feels that way at some point. I believe it would be a good idea to get- albeit, semi-altered version of our story out there. Something that comes from raw, real emotion. Written from experience."

"Maybe the experiences in the book don't have to be the same, but that doesn't mean the feelings aren't." Selena pointed out with a wide smile. "I don't know, I think it could work!"

Nico blinked, "Wow I wonder what you all think about this book idea, please, speak up." he chuckled.

"Sorry Neeks." Leo shrugged, shifting to put his arm around Calypso, who instinctually grimaced, but just gave in an relaxed. "It is better then something dumb like, the news coming to try and do a story on it and twisting it all out of proportion."

"That's not what the phrase is." Calypso deadpanned.

"Okay okay fine- twisting it all out of shape."

Calypso facepalmed. "Y'know see we need to record things like this. Times when I am just so... impressed." she looked at Leo.

"Aww thank you-"

"With how stupid you can be."

"That turned sour real quick." Leo whined, pulling his arm away as the others laughed.

Percy glanced at Nico with a smile. "You don't have to. Just an ide-"

"I want to." Nico said. "It... it'll be like our own testimony. Our own thing. Maybe we can reach more people like Annie- people who are like or unlike us. Either way, I think we can do this. I think we can make it work."

"Oh oh you know what you should do? Make an excerpt for the school paper before we graduate!" Selena squealed. "It's like giving everyone a taste of what is to come. The successful Jackson and Di Angelo! Living happily ever after with fantabulous friends like us!" she giggled, clapping her hands and smiling.

Nico glanced at Percy. "And we could even help spread Luke's story. Let the world know his life, and learn from it. He was a thirteen year old boy who didn't know what he was saying, doing, or feeling. But he should be known. Maybe we can save some minds."

He grinned before an arm around Percy, gently kissing his cheek. "I like the idea of us working together. And all out of an idea originated because of a random... lucky encounter with a girl we met."

"Hey, Percy?" Hazel said quietly. "Did she remind you of Annabeth at all?"

Percy lifted his head a bit. He gently rested his head on Nico's shoulder before answering with one small, simple, heartfelt phrase, and a shrug.

"She had the same spark in her eyes."