Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO. O:

Dedicationz (Jawshy-Wash, here you are, bish :3 ) - Storm229, xXN1C0L3Xx, BookWorm2512, ThaliaDaphneJackson12, JayKayy, Jawshy-Wash, Soccer Gal, SnowPrincess248, Athletiger.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave me a message below ;)

- S

The first thing I did when I stepped off the plane in New York City was call my brother, Jason. No… Not very exciting.

Silena, on the other hand, started gaping and gawking. "Oh. My. Gosh." Her eyes wide, she spun around in a circle, surveying her surroundings. Then her gaze snapped to me and I decided to take a very calculated step backwards. "You're not excited, Thalie?"

I shook my head, then nodded, then stopped and thought. "Well… Not re-"

I broke off, realising that I had all of our suitcases, minus Silena. "Oh, what?" I sighed.

Keeping a tight hold on the suitcases, I began to walk briskly to the exit where the information centres ought to be.

"Where are you going, girl?"

I nearly jumped at the sound, and then shot a glare at the girl standing next to me. Decked out in designer brands and jewellery, Silena was a picture of angelic innocence, clutching a hot pink iPhone to her chest.

"Getting a taxi?" I tried to keep my voice steady, hoping that I sounded normal, so Silena wouldn't realise that she nearly scared the Hades out of me.

"No need," she grinned. "My mum's got us a limo." With that said she picked up her pink roll-on luggage bag and began strutting down to the pick-up point.

I had forgotten about Silena's mum. Aphrodite Beauregard was an extremely famous supermodel, beauty expert and fashion designer. She lived and worked in New York. Silena's father however lived in Australia. He owned a chocolate factory and would often send us boxes of the delicious sweets.

My parents however were divorced. Zeus Grace was one of the richest people on earth. He and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, were known as the Big Three. They owned the three biggest companies in the world. My mother was an eighties starlet. Sarah Grace was a beauty back in the day. Mum developed a drinking problem after the divorce though. She died a few years ago from a car accident. I also had two half-siblings: Apollo and Artemis. They were older than Jason and I and were fraternal twins.

I bit at the quick of my thumb as I slid into the backseat of the limousine. I grew up in New York and only left for high school in Australia. It felt oddly reminiscent cruising along the streets of the city. Tall buildings, semi-crowded streets and the zingy yellow of taxis greeted my eyes.

The ride took approximately twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of talking excitedly with Silena, swapping new phone numbers after we changed sim cards and texting my brother.

From Apollo: I heard from Arty that you were staying at Silena's mother's apartment complex. How come you don't want to stay with Jason and me? ):

I didn't even bother replying to that. I didn't want to stay with Jason and Apollo because… well, you know how boys are – messy, and all that. Besides, Artemis was studying overseas and it would be no fun to stay alone with my brothers. So I decided to take up Aphrodite's kind offer to stay at one of her apartments, along with Silena.

"Misses," came a female voice from the speaker of the lined roof of the limo. "We are here."

Silena pressed a button next to the speaker before she spoke into the mic. "Thanks for the ride!"

The doors opened automatically and I quickly grabbed my black studded jacket before stepping outside. Silena followed after me, her Christian Louboutin heels clicking on the ground.

We were standing at the outside of a beautiful glassy abstract building. It was rectangular in shape with some triangles and sharp roofs jutting out. The material looked like hard metallic glass, a bit bullet-proof perhaps. The entrance of the building was under shelter and mailboxes in the shape of triangles lined one side of the small hall. Aphrodite's apartment complex was so amazingly her. It was fashionable, it looked futuristic, and it was like a small gem in the middle of the city, what with the metals reflecting the sun and sending sparkles everywhere.

"Wow." I said, impressed, and I took a step back to look at the building better.

"Wow." Silena echoed back. "It must be ten stories or something!" She fingered the strap of her Gucci handbag, then dug her hand in and pulled out a silver card. "Here," she said, handing it over to me. "The key to your room."

The card was a hard plastic with a hole punched on the corner. It had a key ring with a silver skull adorned with light blue gems. "Thanks," I replied, liking the keychain immediately.

We walked in the lobby together, our bags in tow behind us. Inside the lobby was quite different from the outside. Whilst the outside was very modern, the interior had a mode olden feel to it. It was painted a pale yellow gold with nice lounges of beige leather. The wall opposite of the elevators had a large mural of Greek gods. Interesting.

I read the number on my card key. Apartment 96, level 10. I looked up at Silena while we were on the lift. "Please don't tell me it's a penthouse."

She plucked the card from my hands and flipped it over, narrowing her eyes as she looked. "It is!" She clasped her hands together and beamed at me. Stepping out of the lift at the highest level of the complex, we looked around. "Oh…" I heard disappointment in her voice.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, turning to see her looking crestfallen.

"We are five apartments away!" She mumbled at the floor, but quickly composed herself and smiled. "At least we're on the same level, right?"

"Right." I smiled and she gave me another silver card. "What's this?"

"My apartment key, just in case, you know." Silena gave me a wave as she walked down the hall to her new home.

I just stood there, holding my card in one hand and Silena's – the one with a pink heart with angel wings – in the other. I glanced up and looked around the corridor, finding my apartment quickly. The door was silver and had a chrome plate with '96' written in fancy numbers on it. There was no door knob. Instead there was a chrome rectangle machine thing, much like a hotel room door. Slipping the card in, the door opened smoothly, revealing a large stylish apartment.

I immediately groaned. Right in front of me around five metres ahead was a large balcony, and the curtains were drawn back revealing a very sheer drop to the city below. I cringed as I walked quickly over and closed the gauze-like white curtains. Ah, much better. I smiled a little at my silly fear of heights.

Then I took the moment to actually explore my apartment. It was nice and homey. Walk right in and there's a kitchen to your right, large with a ceramic stove, dishwasher and sink. Across the sink was a countertop that acted as a small bar. The living room was across it and was spacious and bright due to the skylights and the balcony. Turn right again and there was one huge bedroom with an en suite, a spa/shower and a huge dresser table.

Holy Zeus. The next time I saw Aphrodite, I would praise her to the high heavens. I kicked off my black boots and moved my bags to the bedroom. The bed was king sized and had a comfy comforter, and large fluffy pillows of assorted colours. A medium sized plush collie dog sat in the middle with a studded black collar. It faced the mirror cupboards across, as if it were telling me to open it.

And so I did. And at that moment I was about to either jump on the roof and proclaim my love for Aphrodite, or crawl in a corner and wish to die. I think I preferred the latter. The wardrobe was filled with clothes and shoes. It was my style, just flashier and more designer. Black leather and silver adorned the clothes, and the shoes looked great too. Then on one side were neat soccer uniforms, cleaned and folded. A new soccer ball was on the ground underneath the shelf too.

I suddenly felt tired and went to sit on the bed. It was so nice of Silena's mum to do this for me, but she really didn't have to. Closing my eyes, I started to drift into sleep before I heard a musical chime. Huh? What was that? I groggily walked to the front door and opened it. "Hi Silena," I greeted, noting that she had changed her outfit.

"Hi," she grinned and reached out to touch the blue streak in my hair. "You know, I really like that colour on you. It suits you."

"Thanks," I smiled as I let her in. "What's the basket for?" I looked pointedly at the small basket filled with fruits and flowers.

"It's for greeting the neighbours, since we are new and all… I thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves. Make friends a bit and-"

"Alright," I cut her off. "Where to?"

She fidgeted slightly and sucked in a sharp breath. "I was thinking maybe next door?" Silena blurted out, then crossed her legs and bobbed up and down.

I let her drag me out of the house, making sure that the door clicked shut behind me and that I had my key in my pocket. "95 or 97?" She asked excitedly, her hands clasped together in the total Silena-esque way.

"97?" I shrugged, and she jumped to ring the doorbell.

Not more than a few seconds later did we hear a female voice say, "Coming!" And the door swung open. Standing before us was a young lady (she looked around the late twenties to early thirties) with curly blonde hair and the most brilliant green hue eyes. She wore an apron which had clay splattered over it, and her hands were caked with the substance. "Well, what do we have here?" She squinted at us and her pupils narrowed like a snake. "New neighbours? Welcome!" She threw her arms wide and smiled at us. "I haven't had visitors in such a long, long time." She gazed off wistfully before snapping back to reality. "Come in, come in, where's my manners?" She stepped back to allow Silena to flounce in with her award winning smile.

"Hello, I'm Silena Beauregard, and this is Thalia Grace." She pointed at me with a grin. "We're new here, but my mother owns the building."

The lady beamed at both of us. "Nice to meet you, girls. I'm Medusa Valance, named after the Greek monster –" her nose wrinkled as she said this, "- but you can call me Aunty Em!"

Aunty Em turned out to be quite an eccentric lady. She accepted the gifts with amusement and showed us around her living room, taking great pleasure as she did so.

"I make statues," she waved her hand in a flourish, showing the clay and some marble statues in various locations of her house. "I like to make them as close to the fantasy world as possible." She sat back down on her chair, placing her hands on a piece of clay shaped like a satyr's head. "This is my newest artwork! I named him Ferdinand." She showed us proudly her satyr head and Silena recoiled in shock as I looked at it with mild interest. "I like to capture people's emotions," Aunty Em explained, a laugh bubbling up from her.

She gazed up at me then, staring hard at my face. "You have lovely features, Thalia. I would very much like to capture that on a statue…" She trailed off, thinking about something. "Marble, perhaps?"

I didn't know what to do so I shrugged. "That would be, um… Nice." I cleared my throat, looking off at her photos on the table. One in particular caught my eye.

"Beautiful photo frames, did you make them?" Silena was trying to make conversation again as she tried to keep her distance from the satyr head.

"Yes," Aunty Em said, looking up to answer. She was busy etching the eyebrows of the satyr, one hand skilfully and artfully working.

I blinked and stared at the photograph again. Surely it couldn't be… "Uncle Poseidon?" I couldn't help but ask.

Aunty Em looked at me, surprise spreading across her face. "Uncle? He's your uncle?"

"Yeah, Poseidon." I pointed at a photo of him and Aunty Em together at a beach. They looked like teenagers, happy and in love. Was this before Aunt Sally? I frowned.

"We dated." She replied, her answer short and simple.

It was awkward then and pretty much silent. I played with the rings on my finger while Silena watched Aunty Em work with her sculptures.

"I think it's time we went," I started off, checking the owl clock on the wall.

"So soon?" Aunty Em paused with her work and swept her blonde hair out of the way. Her green eyes fixed on me with a hint of sadness and I almost felt guilty for leaving her alone.

"We have our first day of school tomorrow," I explained, standing up slowly, watching as her eyes followed my every move like a snake.

"Goode High School?" She questioned and Silena nodded and piped up a yes. "I teach art there!"

I stepped back and let Silena handle that happy outburst. "Really? That's wonderful! We will go say hello to you when we see you then."

"And you will visit here too, right? I do get so lonely sometimes." She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back and nod a yes. "That's great then. Have a good night's sleep and I'll see you tomorrow." She gave a wink and a wave as we went out.

I moved to open my door but Silena's hand closed around my wrist. With one glance at each other, we burst into laughter.

"That was so, so awkward!" She giggled, clutching her stomach with one hand and trying to stifle a laugh with her other.

"I know," I smiled, recalling Aunty Em's eccentric behaviour and attitude.

"Hey, so meet you here tomorrow for school, right?" Silena asked, watching me as I dipped my card in the machine.

"Yeah, of course! Oh, and Silena, we be-" I was cut off from what I was about to say by the chime of the elevator, signalling that the doors were opening. I heard heavy footsteps fall behind me, and Silena's mouth dropped open, her breath stalling.

"What?" I mouthed, watching as she quickly assumed a sassy position, messing her hair as she did so.

"Spin around," she mouthed back, giving me one of her "OMG!" expressions.

I turned carefully and found myself standing face to… well, chest. It was a nice chest. Broad, tanned, well-muscled and – I froze. Naked. A naked chest.

Immediately my gaze dropped down, slightly embarrassed. But that was even worse. He wore old faded jeans that were slung low on his hips. His stomach was ripped, perfectly sculpted like it belonged to Adonis, or even Apollo.

The guy cleared his throat in an irritated way and I quickly looked up. Wavy blonde hair messed artfully, high cheekbones and blue eyes. Blue eyes the colour of the ocean, framed by thick golden lashes.

"Can I help you?" His mouth turned down with annoyance and his voice was deep and firm.

Keep your cool, Thalia. Breathe in and out.

"Well?" He arched a brow and this time I noticed that his eyes were not the colour of a warm ocean, but the colour of a cold icy sea. I didn't like the way he was looking at me like I was inferior. He was probably baiting me, and like an extremely bad habit, I was probably going to rise to the bait.

"Hi!" Silena quickly stepped in before I could snap a reply at him. "We just moved here, I'm Silena and this is Thalia."

"I know." He brushed the wavy blonde locks off his forehead, fixing us with an analysing stare.

Alright then. I really didn't like this guy at the moment.

"Luke." He finally said, offering his hand.

Silena quickly shook hands with him, a coy smile already in place. When it was my turn, I stared icily at it.

"Suit yourself, Kitten." He shrugged, and stuck his hand into the pockets of his jeans.

"Don't call me that!" I snapped, flabbergasted that he had already chosen a pet name for me.

He smirked, and oh how I wanted to slap it off his face. "Well, ladies, this has been quite an interesting visit. If you don't mind…" He did a half wave before walking around us and pulling his card out of his bag. I spotted a glimpse of a black and white ball, a familiar object. Oh hell no. What did he say his name was?

"I'll see you around, Silena… And Kittycat."

I snapped back into reality and glared at him. "Douche!" I growled, hands clenched and by my side. His door closed slowly, a throaty and deep laugh echoed as it shut with a click.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. "He's Luke, isn't he?" I asked, trying to keep calm.

"He said he was Luke, silly!" Silena said, and I could almost hear her daydreaming about him. Yuck.

"I meant, he's the one – that guy, Luke Castellan." I opened my eyes to see her staring at me.

"You saw it, too? The soccer ball and that captain crest?" She asked, and I nodded.

"I hate him." I said aloud, recalling his stupid smirk and attitude. "He had the audacity to call me by a pet name, too."

Silena shrugged and then shot me a sly grin. "You've got to admit it though – he's quite good looking. Actually, he's better looking in real life. You just might end up falling in love with him!"

No. That whole encounter summer up what I thought about Luke Castellan in a nut shell. He was cocky and arrogant, and not at all, even in the least, good looking. And I would never, I repeat, ever, fall in love with him.