Percy and Annabeth-Their future

See You Soon!

Rion lugged his suitcase down the stairs and sighed. I saw the look in his eyes, a mix of fear, sadness, and excitement. He was going off to college. 

"Hurry up, Ri! We're gonna be late!" Luke shouted from the car.

"There is no late in this business, Luke," Percy laughed, helping Lena put her suitcase in the car.  Lena looked at Rion the way he had looked up at the house, the same emotions bombarding her mind. 

Sophia was a senior this year, and Rion and Lena were freshmen. It was going to be the first time they'd every been separated for that long. 

"Hop in the car, Tay! We're gonna miss my flight!" Lena shouted, clearly more worried than usual. In her hands, she held the pamphlet she'd picked up two years ago when we'd first visited the school where she'd spend the next four years; the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. 

"Are you gonna be okay?" Taylor asked, squeezing into her seat, which was surrounded by boxes and suitcases. Lena took a deep breath. 

"Yeah," She said, meeting Taylor's eyes. "I just don't know."

Lena looked at her brother, who was clearly arguing with Luke about the same thing. I could tell that Lena was still unsteady about her going to school in Pennsylvania while Rion would be in North Carolina, at UNC. 

I started the engine, pulling out of the driveway. I turned on some music, hoping to keep the vibe upbeat, but a sad song about leaving home came on and Lena started crying, which immediately triggered my hand to turn it off.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." I said, reaching back to hold her hand, a treacherous thing you should NEVER try while driving. 

"It's not going away that hurts, Mom... It's Rion. I've never not had him right next to me. He's always there to stick up for me, to laugh with me-"

"Or at you," Taylor added sheepishly.

"Oh, shut up." Lena said, crossing her arms. 

"We get it," Taylor smiled mischeviously, and I anticipated her next move. 

"Okay, next subject, Taylor." Taylor laughed, turning back to face Lena. "Listen, I'm not joking about all this stuff for nothing. You're my older sister. I hate to see you so-" She paused, looking for the word. Thankfully, her mother happens to be a human dictionary.

"Distraught," I said as we pulled into the airport parking lot. I turned off the car, pulling the keys out of the ignition. 

"Exactly," Taylor said. "Anyway-"

She was cut off by Percy and Luke screaming the words to "Blank Space" as they pulled into the spot next to us. Rion looked especially annoyed. He quickly dashed out of the car, grabbing his bags, and stalked off toward the airport. I glared at Percy, who gave me the smile that made my anger melt away. I tried to stand as firmly as possible, but it was no use. 

That's what Lena was there for. She followed his example, rushing to grab all her luggage as well, before dashing off with Rion. 

"We'd better go get them before anything else happens," I said, sighing. I broke into a light jog, hoping that they hadn't gotten too far; I didn't want them leaving on a sour note. What I saw was hardly sour. 

There was Lena, her face drenched in tears, because she couldn't hold it together any longer. Rion was her other half, her rock that had kept her standing since birth. She wasn't ready to part this quickly. And Rion felt the same. He had wrapped her in a bear hug, telling her things along the lines of, "I'll visit all the time," and "It'll be over before you know it," He even went as far as, "I'll transfer if you really can't handle it." 

Lena smiled at her brother. "Thank you," was all she could manage. 

"Always,"

                                                                                        ~~~

We got to security, where we were parted with Lena and Rion. At least they still had each other for fifteen more minutes. 

"Bye, Lena!" I smiled, wrapping my arms around her and trying to wipe away the tears that shone on her face. "I know you're scared right now, but you're going to do amazing things. You'll love it once you get there, I just know it. I'll call all the time to check in on you, and I'm sure Rion will too." I saw her glance at him, as if she was unsure if he'd even attempt to call once, but Rion wasn't that kind of kid. He'd follow thorugh.

"Rion!" I said as it was my turn to say goodbye. "You'll take care of Lena, won't you?" 

"Yeah..."

"Rion, what's wrong?" He shrugged, shaking his head. 

"It's just Lauren. You remember her? Well, she's going to University of Exeter. In England. We broke up yesterday." 

"Then it's settled," I said, wrapping my arm around him. "You'll take care of each other."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You can do whatever you set your mind to, Ri. And don't forget- there's a sea of college girls who might be better than Lauren."

Maybe I should have left out that last part, because maybe it made him feel worse, but I was pretty sure that not all of my kids would have the high school to college relationship fairytale Sophia was blessed with, and I knew that would give him some padding. 

I watched as Lena and Rion got ready to part ways. They hugged for what seemed like eternity. Lena said something about calling her, and Rion said something about how she'd keep him updated on Lauren, and then they smiled and parted ways, becoming just more people in the sea, travelling to their destination in life.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys! I'm (finally) writing to guys from my new computer! I was about ready to throw my old one out the window and hit it with a sledge hammer. I have re-written this chapter about fifteen times because every time I trusted my stupid computer, it crashed in the end, completely disregarding my saves. 

But here's the chapter! I thought the whole Rion-Lena brother-sister relationship would be a cool thing to explore, so I tried it on this one! What did you think? I really hope you liked it! I might be able to update once more tonight, but there's no guarantee... I will definitely be working on the new chapter.

If you read any of my other stories (DDIHS or Meet the Fangirls) I'm really really sorry, but I'm going to put those on hold until I get back into the swing of things on Wattpad. I've been taking really long breaks, and that's unacceptable of me. Again, I'm really sorry for the inconveinince, but they've been unofficially on hold for a little while now. 

Thank you so much for staying with me through this journey! It's crazy to think that this is the 83 (?) part of this story. I am so proud of myself for sticking with this for so long, and I'm so appreciative of all of you. You're the best people on Earth, and I hope everyone else sees you that way!!

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER: Do you want Rion to reunite with Lauren, or find someone new?

XOXOXO
~PercyAnnabeth20owl