Annabeth was extremely busy. She had done a few big parts before, but the mania back then was never even close to how it was now. She pinned it all on having the lead part. What she had been pining after all those weeks ago, she totally couldn't recall. Annabeth woke up every morning at six to run before training, did public outings with Percy all morning and afternoon to promote a movie that hadn't even begun filming yet, had fittings and meetings with stylists, writers, directors – in fact, the only people she had met so far were her castmates (sans Percy of course).

This was due to change, and soon. On the schedule Thalia had printed out and pinned on the living room wall, she was going to have meetings the next couple days with the entire cast to do read throughs before they began filming. The entire script would take two days, with every major member of the cast prepared to spend nearly all of their daylight hours cramming everything in. Apparently there had been some complications and the pressure to get everything done in the quickest possible time had suddenly been greatly increased – hence the crunched time. Thalia, like a good agent and a better friend, was prepared to wait it through 48 hours of little sleep, little food, and much acting and revising with her.

Yay. She could hardly wait.

Every part had been casted, but none announced. The directors were going with suspense – and it was working. The only people who had been publically and officially announced were her and Percy, and they both already had swarms of fans buzzing around them. It was like waiting to have your eyes poked out by vultures.
So far the production had been pretty good about keeping everything else under wraps for all the other parts. She was positively baffled about who she might meet the next day.

Thalia and her had been guessing for weeks. She was still a hundred percent sure Hugh Jackman would factor in there somewhere as the platinum haired bad guy – hey, everyone was dyeing their hair for the part, it could happen. Thalia, however, had reason to believe he was currently working on some other project. She wasn't dropping any major clues, but apparently word on the block was that it had something to do with baguettes and singing.

To distract her from the suspense, she spent the majority of the morning packing. They would be departing for New York City two days after tomorrow. She had been searching the web and calling Percy all morning about what she should pack, what kind of weather to expect, etc. She wanted to be completely prepared. Percy, from what she could tell, hadn't begun to pack at all. More out of laziness than lack of excitement, of course. He was positively glowing with joy the last time she had talked to him, and it only increased with each day that got closer to their departure time.

She couldn't help but get excited whenever he brought it up – it was contagious. He talked avidly about places he wanted to take her, people he wanted her to meet – every time he mentioned her and the city in the same sentence she felt a light buzz overcome her. It was stupid, she knew, that she felt so special that he might want to include her in his old life, but she honestly couldn't control it. She pushed back the thought. Percy was a great friend (albeit greatly frustrating at times), but that was it. When she finished this movie they would have a very public 'break up' and just continue their friendship as it was. That was the plan, and that's was all that is was. Obviously. She was certain she wouldn't be able to handle anything else. And besides… there was someone she had to meet in New York, too.

Xx

Annabeth pushed through the door into the studio exactly five minutes ahead of schedule. Traffic had been lighter than previously calculated. The hallway was dully lit, and plainly decorated. No noise could be detected within. However, as they rounded the corner they spotted a couple walking away from them. One was disheveled, with blonde tendrils of hair sticking up all over the place. The other was a curvy young woman with long dark hair, and a bounce in her step. They were whining about something quite loudly. The blonde reached up to tousle his bright locks.

Something in the gesture was remarkably familiar. The slouch in his walk that suggested boredom and the contradicting energy in his stance that hinted at a boiling storm shouted Percy.

But the boy she was staring at was, again, blonde.

Thalia shot her a sideways glance, confused too.

Thalia, Percy, and her had spent a lot of time together lately. She had also spent some quality time with Percy's agent, Grover, but not a lot with the four of them together. Grover was always really busy. Both Annabeth and Thalia weren't really buying it – not by the third time, at least – but Percy claimed ignorance. Knowing the guy, he probably wasn't faking it.

"Ah, hold on, I think I forgot something," The boy said, turning around. He had only taken a couple of steps towards them before he froze. "Annabeth! Hey, Thalia." He closed the gap between them, and halted awkwardly a foot away. He seemed to remember the hair. Percy rocked back and forth on his heels awkwardly. "Erm, hi. Again." Cue hair ruffle.

"Percy -" Thalia began, in awe.

" – You're blonde." Annabeth finished, mouth dry.

"Erm. Yes."

There was a beat of silence.

And then Annabeth burst into laughter, Thalia right behind her. She was nearly doubled over, her stomach aching. "I'm sorry -" she managed to rasp out between bouts.

"You're just so -" Thalia spluttered.

"Blonde, yes, thank you." Percy said, looking affronted. Annabeth was nearly done when the girl turned back too, alerted by Annabeth's less-than-kind laughter.

It was Silena, her dirty blonde hair suddenly coal black.

It was quite an odd scene, as if the two had swapped hair colors. Really, really odd.

"You know, we didn't laugh when you had to dye your hair," Percy quipped, looking a tad bit hurt.

Before Annabeth could apologize (I'm sorry but – Percy? Blonde? Who wouldn't laugh?), another figure came rolling into the hallway from the direction the pair had been heading to. Her laughter subsided rather quickly after she saw who it was.

It was Chiron, eyebrow arched. "Annabeth, Thalia, I'm glad you're here. Once you've gotten a hold of yourselves, if you would follow me, please." He began to roll back down the hallway. Percy, now grumbling, followed, hands shoved into his pockets. Annabeth was hit with a soft jab of guilt.

"I didn't think I looked too bad," Silena said in a small voice, now smoothing down her already perfect dark hair. She was still striking, the contrast of her darker hair color highlighting the contours of her heart-shaped face and kind eyes.

"You don't," Annabeth was quick to say, feeling especially terrible at her breakdown. "It was just a bit of shock is all." Although, now that she thought about it, Percy hadn't looked too terrible himself. The trio went back down the hallway, Silena feeling a bit more assured.

The hallway opened up into a large room – the kind you would hold eighth grade graduations and awkward bar mitzvahs in. It was square, and white, with big plastic fold out tables stretching along like a large dining hall. It was nearly full, and buzzing.

Which reminded her. "Silena," she began in an odd voice as realization began to hit. "What're you doing here anyway?"

She smiled slyly. "Well, I guess I can tell you now that we'll be working together – Hello, Annabeth, my name is Silena Beauregard and I'll be playing Isabella Driftwood. It's very nice to meet you." She curtsied mockingly, looking rather impish.

Annabeth was stunned. "You – you're going to be playing in this movie?" Silena grinned, flipping back her dark hair.

"Honestly, I'm surprised the great, brilliant Annabeth has taken so long to realize it." Now that she thought about it, Silena had been dropping hints the entirety of the last three weeks about getting a good part in a big upcoming movie. She had also put on a lot of muscle lately for the part. With the silky dark hair and the lithe physique she looked less fairy tale princess and more lethal assassin. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, you know," she twisted her mouth to the side, and waved her hand around. "Contracts, and legal jargon. You're not mad at me, are you?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Are you kidding me? I'm just glad I'll be with you for the next couple of months." She grinned. "As long as you don't drag me shopping while we're in the city."

Silena looked suddenly pained. "But… Burberry!"

Chiron came up before Silena could pull out her puppy dog face, thank the gods, with two boys in toll.

"Girls, I'd like you to meet Travis Stoll and Ethan Nakamura. You four get acquainted quickly before we begin in," he checked his watch. "Ten minutes."

The lanky, dark haired boy that Annabeth took for Travis grinned and extend a warm hand, which Annabeth shook. "Hey! I'm playing Alex, and he's playing Magnum, my lover." He waggled his eyebrows at his companion, pretending to swoon. Annabeth decided she liked the guy.
Ethan scowled, cheeks brightening, before stomping off back to the tables. "He's shy," he informed them brightly.

"I'm Annabeth, and this is -"

"Silena Beauregard." He dipped his head in a flourishing bow. "We've met." He grinned, and it had a mischievous sort of air.

She merely sniffed and turned to flounce away to find a spot at the tables as well.

"And then there were two."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Should I be running away too?" The look on his face was so hurt, you would've thought Annabeth had just run him over with her car.

An immediate feeling of guilt rushed over her before the cheerful expression bounced back and it was made clear he had just been joking.

Damn. Boy could act.

"Nah. Ethan's just grumpy, and as with your girl…" He smiled and dropped a wink. "I suppose you could say Silena and I have a bit of a past."

Silena had a 'bit of a past' with just about every cute A-lister in Hollywood. It wasn't that she was a flirt, or slept her way to fame – she honestly just fell in love with everyone. For the first time, Annabeth felt nearly envious of her.

Travis and her conversed for a bit about the pains of hair dyeing (he'd previously been blonde) before he wandered off on the search of food, and her in search of a particular bedheaded (now) blonde.

She found him a minute later two seats away from Silena, with an empty one in between. They beckoned her over wildly as Chiron prepared to begin the read through. She just barely slid into the seat when it began.

Chiron cleared his throat and began to read the opening director's notes.

Annabeth took a deep breath – even though she knew her lines weren't for a couple pages, and that she had them all memorized, she could feel her pulse quickening.
She eyed Percy out of the corner of her eye, and saw him, for once, completely concentrated on the script. There was no sign of tension in his body, except for the slightest crease in his brow as he followed along, and his eyes, brilliant green, creased slightly in the corners as he concentrated. Even without looking up, as if he could feel his eyes on him, she felt his hand slide into hers, squeezing just tightly enough to be reassuring. She could feel her pulse quicken slightly at the shock of his contact, then slow as she focused on the familiarity of his hand in hers. It was as if all of the tension she had in her, all the pressure of not screwing up her big chance just… ebbed away, into Percy where it couldn't touch her and where it would surely be tucked away where it couldn't hurt either of them anymore.

Chiron stopped every few seconds to make minor corrections here and there, and when it came time for her to deliver her first lines, her pulse was completely back to normal.

She was no longer trapped in the white walls of the studios, or under the scrutiny of a thousand new faces – she was Cassie Frey, the brave redhead with angel blood in her veins. The words came to her like they were her own, and with Percy beside her, it could have actually been them in the script.

By the time they were done with the first scene, the entire room was breathlessly quiet. Annabeth could feel herself pulling away from the script and back into her own body. Percy was staring at her. In fact, the entire room was staring at the two of them.

Surprisingly enough, it was Mr. D, tucked away into the corner, who broke the silence.

"So," he said smugly, his eyes on the pair. "Does anyone have any more goddamned doubts about my casting now?"

Xx

A/N: HEY GUYS. I keep not updating for longer and longer periods of time, so I'm sorry about that.

Thanks go to Maddie, my beta. Cookies go to her. Not literally. Sorry, darling.

I know I said that you'd be meeting Rachel soon, but I PROMISE IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.

Reviews make me update faster...

You know...

If you want...

Love, Anna.

PS:

Quick note: I changed my username to Combustspontaneously! Also, just a reminder that I read all of your reviews and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and productive on the inside. Also, if anyone wants to attempt fanart of blond percy, red headed annabeth, or really anything, feel totally totally free. Also I would love you 5ever.