So sorry I haven't updated! I went camping, and there was marching band...but anyways I'm back! With the 10th chapter!

Also, my chapters keep getting posted with weird text and numbers added in. If anyone knows how to fix that, please tell me! I don't know what to do except just repost

Annabeth caught her breath, shocked. Thalia was Jason's sister...but Annabeth definitely hadn't expected to see her here.

"Is that Thalia?" she whispered to Percy.

Percy turned around, searching for the person she was pointing at. He cracked a smile. "Oh yeah, that is. Awesome. I'm gonna say hi."

"Uh, okay," Annabeth agreed, scrambling up from her seat. "I'll come with."

Now that Annabeth thought about it, it had been a really, really long time since she'd seen or talked to Thalia. Thalia was her best friend since forever, maybe even better than Piper, although the three of them were basically the Three Muskateers (even though there were technically four, whatever). She and Thalia had been friends first, ever since the day that Annabeth moved in. She smiled at the memory.

Annabeth had actually lived in San Francisco when she was really little. But then, when she was about six or seven, her parents had decided to move to Pennsylvania. That was back when Athena and Frederick Chase had still been happily married, before the divorce and the stepmom. So they'd moved across the country (Annabeth vaguely remembered a really long car trip, and crying bitterly at having to leave her friends and neighbors behind). And when they got to their new home, Annabeth had been sad and was scared of making new friends. But when they got out of the car, an older girl had come over. She wasn't much older than Annabeth, maybe a couple years, but she seemed very mature. When she saw Annabeth, she smiled and asked what her name was, despite Annabeth's angry, aggressive face. She handed Annabeth a toy knife and said they were going to play monsters and heroes. Luke had been with her, and the three of them quickly became close friends, even family. They'd been there for her when her parents split. Despite being older, they were still there for her school troubles. In middle school and high school, Luke had begun to drift away a bit (there was teasing about how his two best friends were girls), but Thalia always stayed by Annabeth's side. And when Piper had come into the picture (technically it was easier for Annabeth to be friends with her, since they were in the same grade and saw each other every day, and Thalia always had a million extracurricular activities, like those feminist groups and self-defense classes), but Thalia had accepted her. And now they were basically sisters. But, Annabeth realized now, they hadn't seen each other in a while. Thalia was busy globetrotting (she was part of a company that promoted feminism-perfect for Thalia-and Thalia, being part of their advertisement campaign, went all over to promote it), and Annabeth had been so busy with schoolwork. In fact, the last time she'd seen Thalia was when Thalia had come over and threw a mini party to celebrate the fact that she hadn't died at the carnival. So...the last time they'd seen each other had been the same last times she'd seen Percy. A fierce longing gripped her. She'd missed Thalia so much, and she hadn't even realized how much. She walked over with Percy to greet her.

Thalia saw Percy first. Her eyes lit up and she began to smirk. "Hey Perce," she said. Then she glanced behind him, and saw Annabeth. The smirk dropped. For a split second, she looked...worried? Unhappy? The strange expression flitted across her face and disappeared before Annabeth had time to register or decipher it. Then Thalia's whole face lit up and she smiled hugely. "Annabeth!" she said. "Oh my gosh, you look amazing."

Annabeth felt her lips stretch into a similar expression. "It's great to see you, Thals," she said, rushing forward and hugging her. "It's been way too long, you know."

"I know." Thalia sighed and released her. "Work has just been crazy and everything. We should totally get together now that we're both here. Speaking of, how are you here? I didn't know you knew all these people!"
Annabeth laughed delightedly. Being with Thalia always made her feel more hopeful and reminded her of being little again. "I didn't, before this week," she explained. "Jason asked Piper to come along, so of course she dragged me, so...here I am. But everyone's been super nice and awesome."

"Wow," Thalia said. "I knew these people from camp, you know. You remember how I'd go away about a month each summer. Yeah, it was for camp."

"Ahem." Until then, Annabeth had almost forgotten about Percy. "Hello?"

"Hey, Percy," Thalia said, turning to him and smiling again. Annabeth pushed back the tiny jealous worry that wondered exactly how well they knew each other.

"Hey Thals," he answered back easily. "What brings you to this humble abode?"

Thalia snorted. "Humble, sure. It's not even your house."

Percy shrugged. "Whatever. The point is, how come you're finally here?"

Thalia sighed gustily. "I have been working, you know. I don't get to laze around like all you college students. I've been super busy. Oh, but I met these feminists from Amazon. They were super cool." Thalia started waxing poetic on the amazingness of feminism. Normally, Annabeth enjoyed hearing about empowerment and girlpower, but right now she was hungry. She glanced enviously back at Piper, who was eating cheese and crackers and talking to Hazel.

"Hey," she said as soon as Thalia paused. "Guess who else is here?"

"Who?" asked Thalia, momentarily distracted. She turned and saw who Annabeth was pointing at. "Oh my god, it's Piper. Uh, I'm going to go say hi. Okay?"

Annabeth smiled. "Yeah, go ahead." Once she left, Annabeth turned to Percy with a slightly desperate look in her eyes. "You know anywhere where we can get some food? Before 8?" Rachel had announced the official dinner time as 8 pm (and threatened against people eating earlier, giving several people the evil eye), but Annabeth had barely eaten lunch and only a small breakfast, before Piper announced that they needed to start dress shopping. Seeing all the food had made her hungry for more than just chips and crackers.

Percy smirked. "You asked the right guy."

They drifted across the room and ended up near the door. Annabeth stifled a laugh as Percy dramatically looked both ways and tiptoed out of the living room. Annabeth looked around as she followed Percy, expecting to see someone catch them, especially after Percy's ridiculous performance, but no one stopped them. Shrugging, she walked out and back into the kitchen, where Gwen was still preparing food.

Gwen looked up, and Annabeth braced herself for refusal. She got it immediately. As soon as Gwen's eyes met Percy's, she frowned with an amused twinkle. "You are nothing if not persistent," she told Percy firmly. "But my answer is still no. You did hear Rachel, didn't you?"
"Yeah," Percy said, sighing heavily. "But for once, I'm not here to beg for food. I wanted to know if I could take Annabeth to the roof."

A surprised look crossed her face. Then something gleamed in her eyes…Annabeth wasn't sure what it was, but a look of understanding passed between the older woman and Percy. Something that made Percy's cheeks turn red. "Sure, go ahead. Make sure you be careful up there, young man."

Percy slung an arm around Annabeth. "I'm always careful, right?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you are."
They walked out of the kitchen together, this time through a peach door that Annabeth hadn't noticed before. As soon as they were alone, Percy released her and looked around.

"Uh, what was that?" asked Annabeth. "I said I was hungry, not that I wanted to go sightseeing."

Percy shook his head, a slow smile creeping up his lips. "Patience, young grasshopper," he teased. "All will be understood soon."

"How soon is soon?" asked Annabeth, raising an eyebrow.

"So impatient," Percy muttered. "Alright, come through here," he directed them through a couple rooms, "And up here." They came to a spiral staircase that stretched high above them.

"Wow," Annabeth said, taking a moment to admire the architecture. "Rachel's house is awesome. Can I live here?"

Percy laughed. "Uh, ask her. I don't know. But come on, you said you were hungry, didn't you?"

That was all the motivation Annabeth needed to lift her skirt up and start climbing. The stairs were pretty flat and easy to walk on. So the first hundred weren't too bad. But then they kept climbing, and climbing stair after stair.

"How much longer?" panted Annabeth after the 200th stair (yes, she was counting).

"Just a little longer," promised Percy. "And then we'll take the elevator."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Uh, what? How high is this thing?"

Percy grinned. "600 stairs," he answered, smiling even wider at Annabeth's expression. "Yup. I don't know why, but Mr. Dare really wanted 600 stairs."

"But how is this not noticeable from the outside?" Annabeth wanted to know. "The house looked really tall from the outside, but not 600 stairs tall. More like maybe 200."

"You probably didn't notice it, but there's a turret in the back," Percy explained. "For whatever wacko reason, there are 600 stairs leading up to it. And an elevator, in case you get tired. But the view is awesome."

"Wait," Annabeth said. "What about food? I'm going to be even more hungry after all this climbing."

"You'll see," Percy answered. "Haven't you ever heard that good things come to those who wait?"

"Good things come to those who do the wave," muttered Annabeth with a small smile.

"Huh?" Percy cocked his head.

"Good things come who do the wave," Annabeth repeated. "Uh, Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare."

Percy shook his head. "You nerd," he teased affectionately. "Couldn't help but put in that book quote, could you?"

Annabeth's answering grin matched his. "Course not," she said, bumping his shoulder. "I wouldn't be a nerd if I didn't."

As they had climbed the stairs, they'd passed by a new floor every so often. Most of them looked similar to the kitchen and living room; spacious windows, hardwood floors, several expensive looking decorations and paintings. One floor had a giant canopy that Annabeth peeked into through the door, which Percy pointed out as Rachel's. But finally, there were fewer and fewer floors, until they reached a simple hallway. This one didn't have fancy colors and furniture, but instead led to an elevator. Annabeth felt relieved; she wasn't sure she was conditioned to walk up that many stairs, despite how flat they were.

They entered the elevator together. Inside, each wall was covered completely by mirrors. Annabeth usually tried not to be vain, but she couldn't help but . Piper had been right to make her bring this dress.

The elevator was fairly small, so Percy was kinda squished against her. Annabeth prayed to whatever gods there were that her cheeks weren't quite as red as they felt.

"I hate this music," Percy grumbled as they started to ascend slowly. "They really could use better music."

"Mmm," Annabeth replied. "Well, elevator music is always bad."

The trip up seemed to take forever, but finally the door dinged open and Annabeth nearly

fell out. Once she did, she groaned. In front of her was another small set of stairs that led up to a trapdoor.

"More stairs?" she asked Percy wearily, who was grinning and seemed completely unconcerned.

"Yup," he answered. "Come on, these are the last ones, I promise."

Annabeth sighed, but began to climb the stairs next to him. "Mr. Dare must be crazy," she muttered. "Who on earth would do something like this?"

Percy shrugged. "I've only met him a couple times. He's incredibly rich, so that may be part of it."

Finally, they reached the top of the stairs and Percy pulled open the trapdoor. "Let me go first," Percy said. "Just a sec."

His head disappeared, then the rest of him followed. Annabeth heard something outside that sounded like wind. "Come on up," Percy's voice shouted.

A hand reached down to pull her up, and Annabeth took it. Something about the whole situation seemed familiar, like deja vu, but Annabeth couldn't quite put her finger to it. Then she pulled herself up and gasped.

The view was incredible. The sun was just going down, casting radiant streaks of color all across the expanse of the sky. Annabeth craned her head up, admiring the drifting pink clouds and spotting the dim shape of the moon, far away.

"Percy," she breathed. "This is amazing."

She could almost feel Percy's smile. "Worth all those stairs?"

"Oh yes," she said immediately. "Worth every single one of them."

"Good," he said. His voice sounded rough, and Annabeth realized how close they were. She pretended to not notice and kept staring at the sky.

Then she looked down.

They were on a small platform, above the roof of Rachel's house. A thin rail encircled them, but that was it. She caught her breath as she realized that there was almost nothing keeping Annabeth from falling. The ground swayed beneath her. What if I fall like I almost did off that roller coaster? She thought. I'm going to die. From this height, I'd splatter on the cement. I was so close to dying before. I could die now. There isn't anything protecting me except that flimsy rail. I'm in more danger of falling now than I was before. The wind could knock me over. I'll never see Piper again, or Thalia, or Percy. I'll never do anything else that I wanted to do. Would anyone even care? Her thoughts came fast and furious, barrelling over themselves. She felt her heart racing and speeding up. Dimly, she was aware of Percy asking her if she was okay. But she was so dizzy. The ground was right there. She could fall at any time. Just like the roller coaster.

Rational thought tried to kick in. I didn't die on that roller coaster. The chance that I'm going to now is small. But the other thoughts kept coming, warning her that she needed to get off right now and stay on the ground forever, where she'd never be in danger of falling.

"Percy," Annabeth said, air catching in her throat. She realized that she was gasping and breathing heavily. A tiny corner of her brain wondered if this was hyperventilation. "I need to get off here."

A tiny crease appeared on his forehead. "Annabeth, are you okay?" he asked again.

"No," Annabeth replied, gulping even more. Her heart was racing and she could feel sweat on her forehead. "I need to get down," she repeated.

"Uh, okay," Percy said. He looked really worried now. "Uh, move over. I'm going to open the trapdoor, okay?"

Annabeth nodded, trying to focus on the sky. It was so beautiful still, even through her fear. You'll never see a sunset again if you fall, she was reminded.

Finally, Percy got the trapdoor open and helped her down. Without Percy, she might have fallen down the steps, but he guided her down, even though she was gripping his hand painfully.

"It's okay," he said soothingly once they were back on the ground. "You're safe. What happened out there?"

Cold sweat slid down her back as she thought about being up there again. "I-I don't know," she stammered. "I think it was a panic attack, or something." In the back of her mind, she realized she was still shaking, and Percy was holding her. His warm presence helped calm her down a bit. "I just kept thinking about the roller coaster, and how close I was to dying, and being that high reminded me of it, and I would've died if I fell," she managed to explain in a rush.

Percy's face had an expression on it that Annabeth couldn't figure out. "I'm so sorry," he said, both of them sinking down and sitting on the floor. "I hadn't even though of-I'm sorry, Annabeth."

"It's fine," she answered. "You didn't know. I didn't even know that I'd have that reaction. I guess-well, I haven't been anywhere high up since that day."

"I'm still sorry," he insisted. He looked guilty. "I shouldn't have brought you up there. It's my fault that you had that panic attack."

"No," Annabeth said firmly. Without meaning to, she reached out and swept a piece of hair away from his eyes. "You were the one who saved me that day on the roller coaster. I-I wouldn't even be here without you. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for."

Percy opened his mouth, probably to argue, but Annabeth set herself in her stubbornest face and he closed it. "Well," he said, sighing, "At the very least, I can give you food."

Annabeth had completely forgotten about that, and a tentative smile crept up her face. "Okay," she agreed. "I'm still hungry."

In the corner of that small room, against the elevator, was a small cooler that Annabeth hadn't even noticed. Next to it was a bag that looked like it was filled with Cheeto and Dorito bags.

"I used to come up here more often," Percy explained. "And I'd always get hungry, so I brought food up. I don't think Gwen knows about it."

Annabeth walked over, joining him. She chose a bag of Doritos and took a Sprite from the cooler. She already felt much calmer. Talking with Percy helped. And, she realized, she was even hungrier now.

She and Percy talked and laughed for a while in that small room, until she realized it was already time for dinner.

"Oh no," she said, looking down at her phone. "They must be wondering where we've been."

"We've gotta get down there," Percy agreed, standing up and stretching. "Just leave the chip bags and all that. I'll get it later."

"Alright," Annabeth said, also standing up and pressing the elevator door open. "Let's go down."

They rode down the elevator and began the long walk down the stairs, hurrying so as not to be late for dinner. The stairs made her nervous, but Percy squeezed her hand, anticipating her reaction, and she felt a little better. Despite the snacks, Annabeth was still kinda hungry.

"Oh no," she said suddenly, stopping one of the last stairs.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked impatiently. "The others are going to be worried."

Annabeth bit her lip. "This is extremely shallow of me," she confessed. "But my hair is probably a mess from being out there. Piper's going to notice."

Percy rolled his eyes. "You look fine. Here." He reached up and brushed her hair down. Annabeth blushed when his hand lingered there. Their faces were this close together. He's going to kiss me, she thought distractedly.

But just then, somebody shouted, "Annabeth!" Percy's eyes closed and his hand dropped. Annabeth swore she almost saw him sigh. I'm going to kill whoever that was, she thought, sighing a little herself.

It was Thalia. "Where have you been?" she asked. "We've been wondering where you two were."

"Uh, we were exploring," Annabeth said, hoping she'd take that explanation. "Um, is dinner ready?'

Thalia rolled her eyes. "I'll go tell the others," she said. Thankfully, Thalia wasn't the type to get excited and worked up. "And yeah, dinner's ready," she added. "Come down."

The three of them walked to the dining room. No one seemed particularly worried that they'd been gone for a while, and Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief. Until Piper caught her eye and smiled knowingly at Percy and her. Annabeth frowned at her and hoped that her face wasn't red.

The food was excellent. There were several different dishes, and Annabeth marveled the fact that Gwen had been able to prepare all of them. Some dishes were familiar, like an amazing mac and cheese, and even pizza, but some of them seemed a little strange but still delicious. For the first time, Annabeth tried frog meat, and found it was just like everyone said: it tasted like chicken. There was a casserole, and risotto, and even eggplant parmesan. Apparently these were all of Rachel's favorite food. Well, she certainly had varied tastes. But it was all good.

Dessert was the best. There was a cake, cupcakes, cookies, pie, all the things she'd seen on the counter. But there was also pudding, and even creme brulee. The best part in Annabeth's opinion was the homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream with melted chocolate syrup.

Annabeth was feeling full and sleepy after all that food, and it looked like everyone else was feeling the same way. She could almost forget that she'd had a panic attack. Almost. Rachel announced that everyone was welcome to sleep over if they wanted, or to sleep in their own beds, but that the next day they had better be back for a surprise. Piper said that she had some things back at the hotel that she needed to do, so they went back to the hotel, although Annabeth thought it might be fun to have a sleepover. But she was really tired from all the day's events, and recognized that she'd actually sleep at the hotel, as opposed to a sleepover. So she hugged everyone goodbye and left with Piper, Jason and Percy.

After they arrived at the hotel and the girls said goodbye to Jason and Percy (it's possible that her eyes lingered on Percy longer than necessary), Piper pounced on her, trying to pry details of where exactly Annabeth and Percy had been.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Annabeth promised sleepily, heading up the elevator. It reminded her of Percy and of him bringing her up to the roof.

Once they entered their room, Annabeth collapsed on her bed. Piper pulled her up to change quickly out of the dress, but after that, she fell back on her bed and was out as soon as her head touched her pillow.