A/N: Once again, thank you all for the kind reviews! Glad to know you're enjoying this so much. Again, I apologize for the delay & hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long. One more chapter to go after this! As always, everything you recognize belongs to Rick Riordan. Let me know what you think, & enjoy! :-)

"In the name of a good party, truce!" Piper called.

"Truce!" Everyone echoed the sentiment and sipped their drinks. It was the last Friday before the holidays, and the friends were sprawled out across Annabeth's living room in celebration. A large pile of gifts lay as yet untouched under the Christmas tree, and the TV showed "It's a Wonderful Life," although nobody was really watching much. Leo had just taken advantage of a lull in the conversation to launch into his own rude version of "Jingle Bells" during George's "I'll give you the moon" speech, and Thalia had whacked him over the head with a throw pillow in retaliation. Although the truce was more of an end-of-summer-party tradition, Piper had thought it necessary, and no one had disagreed.

"Anybody want cookies?" Sally called from the kitchen.

"Oh, HELL yes!" was the general consensus, and nine pairs of hands grabbed eagerly at the plate of still-warm desserts as it made its way around the circle.

"Mama Sally, you're the best!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Thanks so much for helping out tonight, I know it was kinda last minute." Annabeth's dad had initially agreed to help with their party, but something non-negotiable had come up at work, and Sally had graciously offered to step in.

"Anytime, kiddo." Sally smiled at the teenagers and headed back into the kitchen, where Paul was waiting with a glass of wine and the promise of some company - Sally knew the kids would want their space.

"Alright, guys, are we gonna tackle these presents, or not?" Nico asked.

"Dude, you're closest to the tree. Pass 'em out!" Piper gave him her best "get-on-with-it" look, but she only managed to look serious for about five seconds before dissolving into giggles.

"Alright, alright, alright!" Nico held up his hands in surrender and pulled a large gift bag from under the tree. "Your presents from Hazel!" He extracted several smaller packages from the bag and passed them around.

Fifteen minutes later, wrapping paper littered the living room floor and everyone had posed (Nico rather reluctantly) for a group photo with sticky bows on their heads.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Jason said, raising his Coke in another toast.

"Merry Christmas!"

Annabeth surveyed her pile of gifts as she downed the last of her drink. Her friends had gone all out this year - Hazel had gotten her a pretty bracelet, and Frank's present was an amulet of sorts engraved with a Chinese friendship symbol. Jason and Piper had given them all autographed posters from the play, and Leo had made several surprisingly beautiful metal sculptures. Nico gave her a book about archery, and Thalia's gifts were too numerous (and embarrassing) to count. Even Paul and Mama Sally had contributed with gift certificates to the diner, ensuring many more milkshake-filled evenings in the new year. The only person she hadn't gotten anything from was Percy, and while she hoped it was just that he'd forgotten it or wanted to give it to her another time, Annabeth wasn't holding her breath. He'd remembered to bring gifts for everyone else, and she couldn't imagine what he could've gotten her that he wouldn't want to give her in front of people they unconditionally trusted. As harsh as it was, it seemed that he hadn't gotten her anything at all. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered Annabeth - after all, she had his friendship, and that was worth a thousand gifts any day - but their recent awkwardness made it hurt more than it should.

They turned off the TV and headed to the kitchen table for pizza (Annabeth's dad had insisted they at least try to spare the poor carpet), chattering amiably about the food, their gifts, and, most importantly, their plans for vacation.

"When do you leave for California, Pipes?" Hazel asked.

"Day after tomorrow. I can't wait!" Piper was going to visit her extended family, with whom she was incredibly close, for a week. "How about you all, anything I missed?"

"Well, you know I'm going to New Orleans, that's nothing new," Hazel replied.

"Skiing in Colorado for the win!" Leo cried.

"Have you ever even been skiing, Valdez?" Annabeth asked, raising her eyebrows and reaching for a second slice of pepperoni.

"Nope," Leo replied, "but any time with my mom is the best, so there you go."

"And the rest of us are staying home, right?" Jason asked.

"We might go to Montauk for the weekend, but otherwise, yeah, I'll be around," Percy said. Everyone else who hadn't already spoken nodded their assent.

"Cool," Jason said. "Let's meet up. No sense forgetting about each other over break."

"Too late," Piper joked. "I've already forgotten about all of you." She chuckled and kissed Jason's cheek as he smacked her arm playfully. "Kidding, obviously! Nothing short of a memory wipe could make me forget you crazy people."

"Glad to know you hold us in such high esteem," Thalia said.

"You're so infuriating," Annabeth muttered, flicking a potato chip at her.

"But you love me anyway." Thalia smirked and flicked the chip back.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

After they'd all eaten more food than they ever thought their stomachs could hold, the friends once again passed out in the living room.

"Ugh," Leo groaned. "Food coma!"

"You're the one who insisted on a fifth slice," Thalia retorted.

"Yeah, well...I didn't exactly see you holding back either."

"Oh, shut up," Jason said, but his tone was light. "You're supposed to eat too much, it's a party. We'll all regret it later, but whatever. Somebody put some music on." Piper, who was closest, scrolled through Annabeth's playlists, and lively Christmas music soon burst from the speakers.

"Hey, hold up a sec!" Leo called after they'd finished making up the words to yet another song. "Where'd that come from?" He pointed under the Christmas tree to a gift that definitely hadn't been there before dinner. It was small - Annabeth guessed it would fit comfortably in her open palm - and wrapped in dark blue paper with a simple gold ribbon.

"Who's it for?" Piper asked. Leo picked up the package and looked at the tag.

"Annabeth." He passed the gift across the circle to the stunned blonde, who hesitated for a moment. Although the tag gave no indication, she had an idea who the present was from, and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know what was inside.

"Well, go on then," Thalia urged. "Open it." Annabeth obliged, going as slowly as she dared without annoying her friends, and pulled away the paper to reveal a very familiar black velvet box. Her hands were trembling as she opened it - inside was the necklace, accompanied by a note:

Merry Christmas, Wise Girl.

Annabeth turned to Percy.

"Congratulations."

"Huh?" Clearly this wasn't the response he'd been expecting.

"Well, if you go so far as to give me something like this, the only thing that would've topped it for your girlfriend would be an engagement ring." She barely restrained herself from spitting out the last few words.

"Wait, what?"

"Is this some kind of sick joke, Perce?" she asked. "Because I don't find it very funny."

"No! Annabeth, I-"

"You know what, save it. I need some space." Annabeth quickly got up and left the room - a moment later, they heard the upstairs bathroom door shut with a click. The instant it did, Piper rounded on Percy.

"You haven't told her, have you." It was a statement, not a question. Percy hung his head.

"No, I haven't."

"Percy, what the hell are you waiting for? Can't you see what that did to her?" Piper hissed.

"I know, I know!" Percy cried. "I thought maybe..."

"If you gave her the gift, everything would suddenly make sense? It doesn't work like that, Perce," Piper snapped.

"Um...would somebody mind explaining what's going on?" Thalia asked.

"That's Percy's job," Piper said firmly. "I, unfortunately, already know, so I'm going to go talk to Annabeth. Don't you dare leave until you've told them the truth, Percy Jackson," she added threateningly. She glared at him once more before heading upstairs. She hesitated a moment, took a deep breath to calm herself, and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Hey, Annabeth? It's me, can I come in?" Piper asked.

"Um...yeah, just a minute." Annabeth's voice sounded off, like she had a bad cold. A moment later, she opened the door and gestured for Piper to join her. She hadn't shed any tears, but her eyes were noticeably red from the effort. She resumed her seat on the closed toilet lid, and Piper slid down to the cool tile floor and hugged her knees to her chest. For a few minutes, neither girl spoke.

"Wanna talk about it?" Piper said softly, once she decided it was safe to break the silence.

"What is there to say?" Annabeth responded. "What's his problem, anyway? Who does he think he is, flaunting something like this in front of me?"

Piper chewed her lip for a moment, carefully thinking through her response. From downstairs, she heard Thalia's screech of, "PERCY!" followed by a thump and a muffled, "Ow!" From the sound of it, Percy had finally filled everyone in, and Thalia had retaliated with the punch Percy deserved.

"It's not really my place to say," Piper said finally. "I know it's the last thing you want to do right now, but you need to talk to Percy. I'll admit I know more about this than you do, but you need to hear it from him - it might not be exactly what you want to hear, but you need to get it over with now before anything gets worse. You've been dancing around this for far too long."

"You're right," Annabeth muttered, "I don't want to talk to him."

"But I promise you it'll at least clear some things up," Piper countered quietly. "Give him a chance, Annabeth. He may be the world's biggest idiot, but he's still your best friend - you owe him at least that."

"Once again, you're right," Annabeth conceded. "Alright, I'll talk to him. Can you send him up for me? I have a feeling this conversation needs to be private."

"Sure." Piper gave her friend's hand a squeeze. "No matter what happens, we're here for you."

"Thanks, Pipes. You're the best."

"Anytime." Piper gave Annabeth one last hug before heading back downstairs to get Percy. It was high time those two set things straight.