THE ONE, THE ONLY, highly-anticipated CLUB SEQUENCE!!!

YAY!!

please hold your applause, questions, and comments till the end, and enjoy, folks.

"You're kidding, right?" Audrey asked in disbelief.

There was a curling iron and straightener plugged into their bathroom wall, makeup laid out all over the vanity, and both beds looked like the covers were made of millions of outifts.

"...How the hell did you pack all of this?!"

Annabeth shrugged. "After going to a casino last time I went on a road trip, I come prepared for anything."

Audrey let out a whistle. "Man. I believe in the importance of a killer outfit as much as the next chick, but....wow."

Annabeth smiled innocently. "Yep. And I can't wait to show you my expertise. I'd hurry up and get a shower if I were you."

Audrey sighed and shut the bathroom door. "Yes, mother."

ALMOST FOUR HOURS LATER...

Audrey had so far been towel dried, blown dried, air dried, stabbed in the eye with mascara wands- twice – been forced to down three cups of mouthwash, gotten her ears cleaned, a lemon on her elbows ("Learned it from Sixteen Candles," Annabeth had explained proudly), and cucumbers applied to her eyes, not necessarily in that order.

Annabeth was currently picking out her outfit, and Audrey was just sitting there enjoying the break.

She liked Annabeth doing her makeup and such- she was just that lazy- but she wasn't allowed to see what it looked like, and beauty could be freaking painful, so she better look hot dammit!

Normally, Audrey would peek anyways, but with Annabeth...you do what she says, man. That, they had in common.

Finally, she came back, smiling brightly. "Okay. Here you go!"

Not even looking at the outfit, she sighed with relief. "Finally I can get outta this fricking towel!"

FIVE MINUTES LATER...

"Okay, I'm done," Audrey yelled. Annabeth came in and immediately just stared, barely blinking.

"...Is that bad or good?"

Annabeth laughed. "You look even better than I anticipated!"

God, she had a wide vocabulary.

"Thanks. Can I look now?"

"Pshno!" Annabeth exclaimed. "I haven't done your hair yet!"

Are you kidding me?!

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...

"Okay, NOW you can look!"

"Oh thank God. My butt is sooo sooorrrree," Audrey whined before standing up and shaking her legs and butt. "They fell asleep," she explained at Annabeth's weird look.

...Wow. Even Audrey was impressed.

Her hair was its usual self, not knowing if it was straight or wavy, but thanks to Annabeth it was sleek, shiny, yet tousled and teased. And even a richer auburn than usual.

And she was assured during this extremely long process that it would stay that way.

Whatever eye stuff Annabeth had used, it was the best she had ever seen. Her brown eyes, which were usually dark, now were slightly brighter. Enough to make a huge difference. She could even see some darker and lighter patterns in them.

And then, the outfit. Audrey had her doubts as she was putting it on, but man did it look good. It was a light green dress that came to right above her knees, with what Annabeth called a "Butterfly Tie" and straps.

She looked awesome.

"It doesn't necessarily matter if you're on The List if you don't pass the bouncer's mental hottie checklist," Annabeth explained. "I think you'd pass with flying colors. It makes your hair and eyes pop against your skin and all!"

With that, they both beamed, and Audrey gave her a high-five. "I salute you, Cap'n. Hurry up and get ready. It's dark and almost nine."

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...

"...I don't know if I should be impressed or insulted that you got yourself ready in such a short amount of time," Audrey commented as she took in Annabeth.

It was strapless, like hers, but had a different flow, was shorter, blue, and made her look like a full-fledged Goddess.

Only Annabeth.

But Audrey knew she looked hot too, and grinned. "So. Let's see if the other two are ready yet."

"Did I ever tell you how seriously scary Annabeth is when she's on a time schedule?" Grover asked Percy, who sighed and finished his jump-to-get-your-jeans-on maneuver.

"It goes without saying. I swear to the Gods she has OCD. That, or she's just naturally scary when it comes to order and perfection."

"Probably both-"

They heard a familiar pounding on their door. "HURRY UP!!" Annabeth shouted.

Percy gagged as Grover sprayed some more of his cologne. "Dude, watch where you spray that!"

Grover laughed nervously. "Oh, sorry. Wrong end. But hey man, gotta smell good for the ladies. You know what they say."

"...No, what do they say?" Percy asked as Grover slipped on some shoes.

"You know. About Southern girls. The whole Southern Belles thing. They make great friends, greater girlfriends, and the worst enemies," Grover recited before laughing.

"And what's worse, Audrey's a redhead to boot. That ups her hotness and shoots her fuse even shorter."

Don't they say that about Irish girls?? Oh well, I guess it applies to both..

Percy rolled his eyes. "I still don't see how Audrey got into this conversation, but okay."

There was a different knock this time. "Guys! C'mon now, the club's open, and it doesn't get really hoppin' till midnight, so if we're gonna get the pearl, we need to go, like, NOW."

Grover waggled his eyebrows. "Speak of the devil." Percy sighed, shook his head, and opened the door.

Annabeth and Audrey stood there, and Audrey was walking around in circles out of boredom, as per usual.

But this time, Percy totally lost his train of thought and made a point of turning his whole body back to Grover.

"Ohhhh myyyy Gooooooddd!!!" He mouthed to Grover, and the satyr busted out laughing.

Annabeth and Audrey poked their heads in. "For a goat, you sure are slow," Audrey commented innocently.

"AUDREY, how many times do I have to tell you?? I....am a SATYR!!!"

Audrey threw up a hand as Grover strode out of the room and ahead of them to push the elevator button in a defiant way. "See? That's all it takes," she told Annabeth.

Percy couldn't believe this. He was squished between two hot girls in a cab. How did this happen to him of all people?

He never even saw it coming.

Well, that's not true. He always knew Annabeth was hot. Hell, they dated for a while anyway. He knew about her hotness.

But Audrey...it was like a subconscious hotness. He knew it was there, he just passed it off as cute, slightly attractive, whatever, due to the fact that she'd never let it go if he even looked at her that way.

Now, here she was, without even so much as a heads-up, looking hot. Unavoidably so. Why, Gods, why?! This was going to be a long night. Hopefully Grover was right, and he'd be distracted by other clubber girls.

If not...well, that would just really, really suck for him.

When they got there, TiK ToK was playing, and they could hear it from outside. "Big surprise there," Audrey muttered to Annabeth as they walked up to the bouncer. But then Annabeth stopped them before they got into sight.

"Okay guys, this is how it works. We have to make a good impression. You two need to look like...like pimps! Yeah, that's perfect. And Audrey, flip your hair and shake it out. Alright, now when we start walking up, act like we own the place, and then Audrey, do your thing."

"How do you know all this?" Audrey finally asked, and the other two nodded. Annabeth shrugged. "Movies."

"Ohhhh!" They all yelled in agreement.

Grover put an arm around Audrey. "I'm an expert at lookin' pimp." Audrey laughed, and they walked right up to the bouncer.

"Hey, how's it goin'. I think you'll find I'm on The List," Audrey said, blinking innocently. The bouncer stared at her for a second, then seemed to come back to Earth and looked at the clipboard in his hand.

"Oh, Audrey Roberts, by the way. What's your name?" Audrey asked with her natural charm. "Bobby." "Cool! I've never actually heard of someone with the name Bobby. You'd think it was common."

The bouncer laughed; a plus. "Yeah, you're on there. Go on in."

People in line complained as he let them pass, but Audrey simply grinned at her friends. "See? If you're nice and make some conversation, they'll return the favor."

TiK ToK was still blaring, and they all split up. Audrey and Annabeth seemed to have the same idea, and went to the bar, where they could see most of the bottom floor.

"There are three floors," she had explained earlier. "The top is only open at midnight and into the morning, so our best bet would be to search the bottom and mid-upper levels before it gets too packed. The less of a crowd, the better. No telling what's going to happen in here."

THIRTY MINUTES LATER...

"Aaannndd...a hometown favorite will be performing tonight for you earlies," the DJ announced randomly.

Audrey sighed with relief. This meant she could pretend to be interested in the act and eventually the guy chatting her up would lose interest.

Annabeth had her own ring of guys around her; poor girl.

Audrey had had about nine approach her now, but this one was so damn persistent.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" He asked.

Oh crap. He seriously just went there.

As if he had a built-in radar, Grover popped up and whispered into her ear rather loudly, "Have you seen it yet??"

"No, but I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend for about three minutes tops," she whispered back.

"...I can do that!"

"Okay!"

She turned and smiled apologetically at the poor guy in front of her, who eyed Grover suspiciously as he slinked an arm around Audrey's small frame. "Sorry, I do, as you can see. And he plays at the U of M. Soooo..."

The guy laughed. "Oh. Awkward."

"Yeah."

"Can I still give you my number?"

"Um, no, I don't think so," Audrey deadpanned.

He walked away, and she high-fived Grover. "Brilliant! Thanks." He removed his arm and jerked his thumb in the direction of a crowd of giggling girls. "Don't mention it. Now, if you excuse me...duty calls!"

Right after he left, the act came onto stage. Some incredibly sparkly blonde was up there, and Audrey got an uneasy feeling. Something wasn't right here.

She started singing some song Audrey had never even heard of. It had no certain tune, but it sounded hauntingly beautiful.

But Audrey wasn't jealous. She was worried.

Everyone within hearing distance started swaying and such to the music. It was like some kind of trance had been cast on everyone the music touched.

And then she realized: sirens.

Audrey was getting off the barstool when the guy from earlier came back, not yet affected by the singing.

"Hey, I got you alone again! Listen, I've got a car out back, very spacious," he informed her suggestively. She didn't like the way he was gripping her wrist. She pulled it out of his grasp.

"No way. I'm not like that, okay?"

"Oh c'mon. It'll be our secret. He doesn't have to know."

"I said NO," she snapped. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Look, don't cause a scene, alright? I won't hurt you."

"No, YOU look. I said no, so go...away," she said icily, wriggling out of his grip.

Annabeth, who wasn't yet in hearing distance either, was about to stand up, but Audrey waved her off.

Audrey then turned around to the guy, but he was right behind her, so she ended up way too close than she liked.

"C'mon. Have some fun. What would it hurt to fool around some, huh?"

Obviously he thought she had never heard of the phrase "Common Sense", or of STDs.

"I said no, okay?!"

He made a pass at her, and she slapped him, his drink practically exploding in her face.

The look of pure menace on her face made him practically run for the other side of the floor, and she sighed. "I...would really like to find the pearl now."

Audrey found a back room, and decided she'd chill in there until the siren went away. Or until she found the pearl. Whichever came first.

She was sitting on a dusty pool table, trying not to smell the Coke in her hair, when the door opened.

"If I were a pearl people used to get to Persephone, where would I be?" Percy was asking himself, looking around aimlessly.

Audrey smirked, waiting for him to notice he wasn't alone.

"Huh. Not there. What about here- oh, nope. Hmm...I wonder what everyone else is- SHIT!!!" Percy yelled.

Audrey busted out laughing. "That was funny. Do you always talk to yourself like that?"

"...Maybe."

"That's probably not healthy. I should stop doing it, too."

"Yeah, you should."

He hopped onto the pool table, and she swung her legs.

He made a face. "You smell...different. What happened?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I didn't know you smelled me, Percy."

"I don't! You just smell weird."

"Maybe I've always smelled this way."

"Okay, fine! ….Seriously, do you?"

"No. Do you really wanna know what happened?"

"Yeah, that's kind of why I asked."

She swung her legs with a bit more force. "Some guy was bound and determined to get me into the back seat of his car. He made a pass at me again, I slapped him, his Coke exploded in my face."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Sounds like you're having a splendid time. Is that why you're in here?"

"Well, that, and I was looking for the pearl, and I was avoiding the siren outside. Hey...wait, why isn't she affecting you??"

Percy shrugged. "Sirens are generally water-dwellers. They don't really affect Gods- or demigods- of the ocean."

Audrey scoffed. "Figures."

Percy laughed. "At least it was just Coke, and not beer. Smells like he had some lime in it, too."

"Yeah. A very manly touch, don't you think?"

He laughed. "Oh, totally."

She made a face. "But still, now I'm all sticky. Why'd I have to hit it that hard??"

Percy got a suggestive grin on his face. "That's what she said."

It took her a minute, but then she realized it, and they both busted out laughing. "Who knew Percy Jackson was so perverted?"

"Everybody. That one was just too good to pass up."

"Very true."

There was a silence. The siren seemed to have stopped; some slower song she had heard on the radio several times was playing.

"What about you? Find any good club girls yet?"

He shook his head. "Nope. But believe me, I was trying."

Audrey laughed. "That kind of felt like an insult, but it was funny anyway."

Percy randomly got a few strands of her hair and brushed them back. She gave him a weird look. He shrugged. "They were starting to bug me."

"...Do you have OCD or something?"

"Only with certain stuff."

"Judging by Annabeth's complaining, I take it your cabin doesn't fall into that category?"

"How did you know?!" He asked with fake surprise. They laughed again.

And Audrey made the mistake of looking over at him. He made the same mistake. Suddenly they were leaning in, and they were dangerously close. She felt her face heating up, and he-

BAM!!

They both jumped, and Audrey jumped so hard she slid right off the pool table rather ungracefully. At least her dress didn't fly up or anything.

"What the hell was that?" Audrey asked.

"No idea. Probably some random guy flying into a wall."

Audrey nodded slowly, avoiding his eyes. "Yeah. There's a lot of show-offs around here when it comes to dancing. Trust me."

Then she brightened. "Hey, look! The last pearl!!"

Percy looked in the direction she was pointing. There, in a showcase, was the pearl, attached to the hilt of some old-fashioned sword.

Audrey marched right up, took down the case, and dropped it on the floor.

"...Oops."

Percy laughed. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"It'd make me sound cooler, but no, I didn't," she admitted.

He laughed again and plucked the pearl out of the hilt. "Hey, it worked. They'll never know it was us."

"Famous last words," Audrey warned as he opened the door, and they hunted down Annabeth and Grover.

"Ready?"

"What??"

"Oh, sorry. READY?!" Audrey shouted to Annabeth and Grover.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Why would you try to talk to them after all that??"

They had fished some earplugs out of Audrey's bag (never know when they'd come in handy, you know) and stuck them in their ears.

Right on cue, the siren climbed onto the stage again. Audrey and Percy led them out of the club, and Grover led them to the car.

Even the bouncer and people in line were swaying in a trance-like state, like everyone inside. "That seemed pretty easy," Audrey commented.

"What?"

Percy sighed and took the earplugs out of Grover's ears, but Audrey didn't realize he had done so, and shouted, "I SAID, THAT SEEMED PRETTY EASY!!!!"

Grover jumped about three feet off the ground, and cursed under his breath the whole way to the car.

Annabeth calmly removed hers, totally unaware of what just happened.

The people outside hadn't even budged.

Before she slid into the passenger's seat, Percy touched her arm lightly. "Hey, Audrey."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe it's a good idea to not mention what happened in the backroom."

"...Not mention what? There's something to mention?" Audrey asked innocently. He grinned. "Oh, you're good."

She smiled and shut the door.

Okay, so, that's all the pearls!

I hope you liked it!

Still more to come, though!

And yes, you DID detect very slight fluff in there.

You're welcome.

REVIEW, people.

It'd be a nice gesture.