*Disclaimer: I own nothing of Rick Riordan's.*

*Chapter 2: Happy Halloween*

When I woke that morning, my first thought was, it's Halloween!

Then I remembered I was supposed to go to Percy's apartment, and groaned. I sat up, nearly screaming out loud when my gray eyes met a pair of green ones.

"Hey," Percy said. "I was about to wake you. After breakfast, Aphrodite wants us to leave to . . . get ready." He hesitated, apparently not wanting to say the words 'get ready.'

I threw the covers back. "Okay, I'm coming."

After breakfast, Percy and I told Chiron where we will be.

"What?" Connor said. "It's going to take you all day to get ready?"

"And by Aphrodite?" Thalia added, crossing her arms.

"Apparently," I sighed. "We'll see you guys tonight. We're coming back here for the party, right, Connor?"

Connor grinned. "Of course."

Argus drove Percy and me to his apartment. Unsurprisingly, Aphrodite was already waiting for us. She was in a floor-length red gown, her legs crossed as she sat on the couch with Percy's mother.

"Hi, sweetheart." Sally kissed Percy on the cheek and hugged me. I loved Percy's mom; we especially grew close after she found out Percy and I were dating.

Aphrodite stood. "Come on, Annabeth, dear. You first. It's going to take a little while, I'm afraid."

"Oh joy," I groaned.

Sally smiled. "We'll be waiting out here."

I followed Aphrodite to the bathroom, and gasped. There was a mountain of makeup and hair products, dye, jewelry, etc. Hanging up I saw two long plastic bags, which I knew were Percy's and my costumes.

"I am not dying my hair!" I said, fingering my golden curls nervously.

Aphrodite waved me off. "But it's an essential part of the character, dear. And besides, it'll wash out when you shower."

I bit my lip.

"Trust me," she said. "You'll look great." She steered me to a chair and plopped me down in it. "Now, stay still. I have a lot of work to do."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At long last, Aphrodite was finished.

"You can open your eyes now," she said.

Almost afraid to, I slowly opened one eye, then the other. I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked nothing like myself. Oh, Hades . . . . what was I wearing?

"Do you like it?" Aphrodite asked, apparently proud of her work.

"Uh . . ." I didn't know what to say. I certainly did not look like myself. My makeup was perfect, and so was my hair, despite the fact that it was now brown and in soft waves that traveled down my back instead of my curly locks.

Aphrodite squealed. "Perfect! Now go talk with Sally while I get Percy ready."

I swallowed. If Aphrodite could manage to make me look like this, I can't imagine what she'll do to Percy.

When I entered the living room, Percy wasn't there, but Sally was, and Paul. When they saw me, they both gasped.

"Annabeth, you look beautiful!" Sally said.

I smiled shyly. "Thank you."

"Wow, I didn't even recognize you when you came in," Paul commented.

"Aphrodite can do that," I told them. When I looked behind me, the bathroom door was closed, and Aphrodite was already getting to work.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Thalia's POV)

"Where are they?" I asked. Rachel, Connor, Travis, Nico, Grover and I were standing by my pine tree on top of the hill waiting for Percy and Annabeth.

Connor and Travis were dressed as Ghost Face, from the Scream movies.

"Why are you two dressed the same?" Rachel asked. She was a police officer. She even had a plastic gun at her hip.

"Because there are always two killers in the Scream movies," Travis explained. "One who everyone knows, but there's always an unexpected second killer. It's the movies' trademark."

"Ah," Rachel said, though she looked a little confused.

A car's headlights suddenly lit up the tree, and a car came to a stop, two figures stepping out. Me and the others headed down to meet them.

I peered at them. They certainly seemed familiar . . . .

"Who are you?" Travis called. The two figures stopped and looked at one another. When they moved in front of the headlights, I could see who they were dressed as: Captain Jack Sparrow and Angelica, Jack's . . . what is she, exactly? His lover? I had to admit, they did a pretty good job. They looked almost exactly like Jack and Angelica.

"You don't recognize us?" the Angelica look-alike called.

I squinted. Rachel gasped. "Percy? Annabeth!"

Everyone else gasped, too.

"No way!" Travis and Connor said. "Dude, you guys look amazing!"

"We didn't even recognize you," Nico added, who was dressed in silk black robes. I think he was supposed to be Hades. Or maybe Voldemort.

Percy and Annabeth grinned. They waved to the person in the car, who I could now see was Sally, before she drove off.

"That is so cool!" Grover reached out to touch Percy's beard, but Percy smacked his hand away.

"Don't touch, mate! It took forever to glue this on," he said, putting on a surprisingly good accent.

"Are you guys wearing contacts? Your eyes are brown," Rachel asked.

"Yup," Annabeth said. "Aphrodite's work."

"Aphrodite, huh?" Grover smiled. "I'm not surprised." Grover was wearing a shirt covered in green leaves, brown pants, and had a crown woven with grass and leaves on his head. Was he supposed to be Pan?

"Let's get going! The sooner we get candy, the sooner we can come back for the party," said Travis, and we started the walk down the long street.

"Angelica is supposed to have an accent, too, you know," I said to Annabeth as we walked, who was hand-in-hand with Percy. I had to admit, Aphrodite's pick was pretty accurate for Percy and Annabeth, though I was half expecting her to dress them up as Romeo and Juliet, or Helen and Troy.

"I know," she said, "I tried, but I'm not very good at it."

"And yet Percy's got Jack Sparrow down," Connor laughed.

"You bet," Percy said, making the rest of us laugh.

I wish I hadn't swapped out my comfortable jeans for a skirt. It was cold. At least I had my jacket, which I pulled tighter around myself to shut out the cold wind. I was also on my guard. I had my knives hidden everywhere, just in case we were ambushed. A bunch of demigods out in the open was very dangerous. I knew Annabeth had her knife, and Percy had his sword. Strangely, their weapons actually fit with their costumes.

"Time to get some tricks in before we get the treats," Travis said to his brother, and Connor agreed. They both pulled their masks down over their faces and slunk away from the group, dissapearing into the shadows.

"Guys!" I called, but they were already gone.

"Oh, boy," Annabeth sighed. "Be prepared to run." We all nodded in agreement.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

*Here are the costumes, don't make fun of me, I'm a nerd.*

Percy - Jack Sparrow

Annabeth - Angelica (Pirates of the Caribbean 4)

Travis - Ghost Face #1 (Scream)

Connor - Ghost Face #2

Thalia - herself

Nico - Hades (Or Voldemort)

Rachel - police officer

Grover - Pan