A/N: Hi! A quick update because of a short weekend break from college. Anyway, this chapter is really short, but whatever. Please tell me what you think. :)

The grin shows on her face before she even says the news.

Annabeth flops down on Piper's bed, face down. The brunette continues to type away on her laptop, pausing briefly to look at the smile on her best friend's face before her lips stretch too.

"Who died?" Piper asks.

A frown appears on her face, but Annabeth's good mood remains stuck nonetheless. "What?"

"I asked who died because you're grinning."

Annabeth rolls her eyes. Piper always made her seem like sadistic woman with an equally sadistic cat. Whatever. "I heard you the first time."

After making her final clicks on her blog's content, Piper slowly closes her laptop and turns to smack Annabeth's face with a pillow.

"What?" the blonde exclaims again.

"Funny how your vocabulary is reduced to 'what' just because you're happy," Piper comments and chuckles lightly. She lies down beside Annabeth with her head propped on one arm. "So, what happened? Any hot one night stands?"

Annabeth shoots up and gives her an affronted look. "God, what gave you the idea about hot one night stands?"

"So it is true."

"No. Of course not!" She pauses briefly, unsure how to phrase her words. "Something... something really nice just happened."

"Oh. So Percy finally asked you out."

"What? Piper, no." Even if she denied the accusation, her cheeks still flush a traitorous pink. "Why would he even ask me?"

Piper sits up too and fixes her with daring look, like she can't believe what she's saying. "Why not? You're both good for each other. You look good together. You're—"

"I called my dad."

Piper stops babbling. Her eyes widen in surprise. "You called your dad, whom you haven't seen for fifteen years?"

Annabeth nods slowly. She looks down on her fingers as she fumbles with the hole on her sweater. "And he invited us to Thanksgiving."

Piper squeals and hugs her best friend. "Annabeth, that's so great! I'm so happy for you." She pulls back to stare at the blonde. "Wait. He'd invited me too?"

"Well, no." Then she hastily adds, "But you could always come. I mean, you're always welcome to join, Pipes."

Piper narrows her eyes at Annabeth, with a curious glint in those irises. "So who is 'us' then?"

"Well, it's—I don't think—" Annabeth huffs, annoyed why she's suddenly so nervous. She glances up at the ceiling to avoid looking at her best friend's eyes. "I don't know who to choose."

"You could always pick me, y'know."

"Not the point, Pipes," she says as she rolls her eyes. "It's either Percy or Luke."

A mischievous grin spreads on Piper's face. "Why not both?"

"God, do you even know what you're saying? That's disaster!"

"I don't even get why you think it's a bad idea," Piper begins, her voice a little contemplating. "I mean why not? Why would it be a disaster in the first place?"

Annabeth glares at Piper, a little miffed out that her best friend doesn't understand what she's trying to say. "Piper. Those are two boys—I mean you know how jealous Luke gets—"

"Exactly. Is there something he should be jealous about?"

"I—um, what—no," Annabeth stutters, and for the first time, she actually questions her thoughts and emotions. Should Luke be jealous? "No. Percy and I are just friends, you know that."

Just friends. Is that what I really think? Percy's eyes are really green up close and there's an annoying freckle near his nose that I kind of want to kiss—wait, what?

"Friends. Spare me the bull, Annabeth. You know that this 'who to bring to the Thanksgiving' thing is more than just that."

"I know."

"I asked you before if you still love Luke, but I guess I should've asked about what you feel for Percy. So, I'll ask now, what do you really feel for Percy?"

Annabeth feels her blood sing and her skin tingle like a livewire. Percy percy percy—

God, she feels like she could write a book about him and it still won't be enough to describe this wonderful, amazing human being. Her words would fall short of his stupid smile, his stupidly bright eyes and—and, her whole body bubbles with energy and light and she feels like a supernova on the verge of explosion.

"I—" Annabeth starts, but Piper raises a hand to cut her off.

"Don't tell me yet. Just let me know who you'd bring," Piper says with knowing smile, like she knows what's actually going to happen.

She first feels his presence before she even hears his footsteps. His gaits have always been purposeful; the way the soles of his shoes slap the pavement with careless abandon, nevertheless still filled with security that he knows what he's doing. She remembers those same footsteps walking up to her during her first year of college—when they first met. It feels so far away now, like a hazy memory passing by on a wistful summer. It's a wonderful memory, but that's what all remains of it—a memory.

Annabeth looks up and smiles at those bright blue eyes she once loved. "Hey, you came."

Luke grins back at her, and takes the seat opposite her own. "Of course I came. Can't give up the chance to see you again."