Thalia's POV

They went back to Annabeth's house, where she proceeded to storm into the building, and order the cooks to make her two cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles, just the way they liked it. In addition to that, she barked out a demand for lemon cheesecake. Like she'd said before, no one defied Annabeth Chase when she was mad. In fact, Thalia thought the only person who had done that and lived was Percy. And even then, he'd never been the same.

"Tell me exactly what happened," She said, once they were in the vicinity of her room, on her four-poster bed, mugs of hot chocolate and plates of lemon cheesecake in hand. The bed was made, the room void of any personal possessions. She practically lived at the Jacksons' house; she assumed that was where her all of her things were.

"Okay- why is your hair wet?"

"Don't try to change the subject, Thalia!"

"Alright." So she poured out the story to her, her best friend. Why had she ever thought she couldn't trust her own best friend?

Annabeths POV

Annabeth listened to the story, feeling betrayed. How could she have hidden such a big thing from her? But then, she had also denied and lied to her about Percy. So didn't that make her just as bad?

"So, why is your hair wet? I didn't realize you'd started taking baths at night."

"I... I haven't. I just... Percy threw me into the lake." Annabeth decided that since she'd told me about her and Nico, she should tell her about Percy and her, too.

Her eyes grew wide as dinner plates. "He did what?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Is it so difficult to believe?"

"Yes. Although you seem strangely, almost deliriously cheerful. Despite the angry aura you're emitting, of course. Did something happen after he threw you in?"

She was fairly certain she turned the same shade of crimson as the bodice of Thalia's dress. "We kissed a bit..."

"I can't hear you..." She mocked her in a sing-song voice.

Annabeth groaned. "He kissed me."

"Who kissed you?" Thalia was taunting her; she knew very well what had occurred with whom.

"Percy Jackson, your idiotic Seaweed Brain of a cousin."

"I have to agree with you on that one... What exactly do you see in him?"

And the two of us started giggling uncontrollably like twelve year olds, the night's troubles forgotten.

Thanksgiving, Thalia's POV

The table was laden with food for the guests who had yet to arrive: either her father's business partners or relatives. Six roasted turkeys sat on the table, complete with cranberry dipping sauce. A tureen of cream of mushroom soup had been placed next to a cutting board stacked high with loaves of freshly baked, golden, crusty bed, which lay alongside a dish of baked beans. The aroma of mashed potatoes, absolutely dripping with butter, permeated the room. The cooks had simply outdone themselves this year; there was enough food to feed an army.

It was a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds: a brown tablecloth had been placed on our table, which would actually seat forty tonight. The silverware, wrapped in soft red cloth nearly the same shade as the burning embers in their fireplace and tied with orange ribbon, sat upon an orange plate. In addition to the flickering flames in the candelabras around the rooms, there were candles lying in muted orange votives, casting the room in a pumpkin-tinted glow. Her father had unearthed the best wine from the cellar for the occasion, which would be poured -as usual- into the long-stemmed crystal wineglasses sitting on the table. She was old enough to drink this year- not that it mattered, for she had been mixing wine into her water since she was twelve. Thalia Grace was no lightweight.

The room would soon be filled with the sounds of people talking, a thousand different conversations going on at once. And of course, the sound of people shrieking in terror or surprise as they became aware of whatever pranks the Stoll brothers and Leo Valdez had deemed suitable pranks this year. One year, they had put a rubber spider in Annabeth's water glass- Annabeth, who was a known arachnophobic. She had chased them around the house with a steak knife, threatening to cut off their "family jewels". Since then, the event had been dubbed, "The Great Spider and Steak Knife Incident". She wondered what pranks they would pull this year.

Thalia didn't have to wonder much longer. The doorbell rang.