CHAPTER FOURTEEN

HAZEL

"Let it all out, let it all out," Hazel murmured as she patted Annabeth on the back, looking away as the blonde girl retched into the toilet bowl.

"I made you tea with honey," Piper Mclean emerged from the doorway. She plopped the fancy white teacup by Annabeth's side as Annabeth groggily pulled her face away from the bowl and wiped her lips with the tissue paper Hazel had put out for her.

"Thanks," Annabeth said stiffly as Hazel helped her up from the bathroom floor of Piper's room over to the vast, semicircular living room filled with sleek Balinese teak sofas, consoles that looked like antique silver chests, and silk-covered lamps in the shape of lotus blossoms. But the most dominating point of the whole room was a three-story rock wall carved with ancient-looking Buddhas. Growing out of the wall were live ferns and other exotic botanicals, while off to the side, a spiral glass-and-stone staircase wound its way to an upper floor. Piper's mother, Aphrodite, had redesigned it when she had converted into Taoism last summer and she wanted to keep her living space 'extremely zen' with the intention to 'detach herself from all her worldly possessions' (though it was hard to imagine that the French heiress would ever part from her impressive Harry Winston collection).

Annabeth sipped the warm honey infused ginger tea and the sweetness quickly snapped her out of the dream-like, drug-infused haze.

"Do you know who gave you the drink?" Hazel asked as Piper poured her a cup as well. Hazel was no longer in her party dress- instead, she had changed into a light blue cashmere pullover Piper had given her. It was a little tight in the chest so it stretched across Hazel's torso.

Annabeth tried to think back. There were those hazy memories...she had distinctly remembered she had ditched the balcony to avoid being hit on by Percy Jackson, Rachel's boyfriend-but-not-boyfriend (after all she didn't want to cross the terrifying redhead) then heading to the bar to look for Piper and Hazel, only to stumble towards a pair of beautiful dark eyes, rich red lips and double D's. Drew Tanaka.

"It was Drew," Annabeth confirmed, "It was definitely Drew. I didn't feel it first. It took a while to hit...but then I was just dizzy and I saw all these colours and patterns...what the fuck was in that?"

"Honestly, it could be anything," Piper responded casually, stirring her tea with a silver spoon. "LSD, ecstasy, cough syrup. I just couldn't believe Drew would try it."

Hazel sighed and glanced at one of the antique clocks hanging over by the wall. It was only five A.M and it was still pitch dark outside but she could hear the soft hiss of the city waking up. It was Hong Kong and for them, it was a never-ending cycle. "It's Drew, what do you expect? She has been eyeing a spot on the Elite list since eighth grade."

Piper rolled her eyes, "Then she shouldn't have slept with Percy, shouldn't she?"

"Drew slept with Percy?" Annabeth wondered, shocked. It was so weird. Annabeth couldn't imagine having your own friends hanging out with a girl who slept with your boyfriend. "If she did that to Rachel, why aren't you...like disassociating yourself with her since you're Rachel's friends?" You know, like normal people Annabeth wanted to add but she kept her mouth shut.

"It's because Rachel thinks Drew is useful for certain things. Drew's hungry for validation and attention; she'll do anything for a little bit of it," Piper said nonchalantly, standing up from the teak lounge chair opposite of the beige couch Annabeth was lying on. She fluffed out her long dark hair. "Rachel knows about Drew going behind her back and screwing Percy...if she hadn't done that, Rachel would've allowed Drew to be in the Elite. But since she did, Drew's membership is cancelled. She'll never get in. But Rachel isn't going to let Drew's inability to keep her legs closed get in the way of how Drew can be used for other things."

Annabeth blinked. What was this? Some Game of Thrones type of shit? What did I get myself into? Hazel could practically felt all the gears turning in Annabeth's pretty little blonde head, weighing up if she wanted to be into any more of this. But of course, there were many immense benefits of being part of the Elite. You would have the ins and outs of every exclusive private club, you would be able to go to the best schools and have the most fantastic connections. Your children would be set for life, having playdates with children of the most influential people.

"It's not always like this," Hazel insisted, smiling sweetly at Annabeth. "Drew's a terrible person and all that but hey, at least Piper and I aren't too bad, huh? And I know Rachel can rub people off the wrong way at first but...she's a really good friend. She'll do anything for Piper and me if needed."

"Except be here right now," growled Piper, grabbing her phone from her clutch. She checked it for any incoming messages from Piper. "She's still not answering my texts."

"Where is she?" Annabeth's eyebrows connected. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping at hers tonight?"

Piper nodded in agreement, "That's what I thought too. But I don't know…" She trailed off, sighing and tugging on a merlot-coloured silk camisole she didn't remember buying.

"Hey guys, do you want some food?" A sleepy voice announced from behind them. Melli, Piper's maid, was walking out from her servant quarters in her pyjamas- a simple concoction t-shirt and shorts.

"Yes please," Piper ordered, "Get those Ladurée double-decker macaroons mum got from Paris. We'll need it for Annabeth to get some food in her stomach."

"There's no need-" Annabeth began to say.

"Stop it," Hazel cut in, "You need some food. Especially macarons. Piper always got the best ones."

"Yep," laughed Piper, tossing back her hair- a river of Auburn and mahogany. "My mom's pretty adamant on how French food should be prepared so she always gets them imported straight for Paris."

"And plus, the sweetness from them will help make you sober up. Can't sneak back in like this right?" Hazel nudged Annabeth and she cracked a weak smile. Piper poured her another cup of tea. When Melli delivered the macarons freshly on a silver platter, the girls dug in and Annabeth finally found the courage to ask what has been on her mind since the party started.

"Guys...what's the Elite?" she asked nervously, reaching for a vibrant pink macaron and dipping it into hot tea. "Like you guys talk about it...but what is it really? Is it like a group?"

Piper seemed surprised at her interest but replied anyway. "It's more...like a List. It's just a list that the school always comes out with, kind of like Hot or Not or Fuck, Marry Kill...except it's a list and people take it pretty seriously here."

"And what? Rachel makes this list?" Hazel couldn't help but hear the pure indignation in her tone.

"Not really," Piper shook her head, "Look, Annabeth. No one knows who's really behind the list. It's just this piece of paper that's pinned up on the school's noticeboard by the end of the year. All we know is that Rachel has always been on the top of that list for, like, the last four years. Anyone who's part of her official group becomes part of the List."

"So what? It's just like an anonymous thing?" Annabeth leaned forward, forehead frowning. Her eyes were calculating as ever. The haziness of the drugs was slowly fading from her bloodstream. "Did you guys ever think to look? You know, to find the person behind it?"

"Of course, but we hit so many dead ends," Hazel confessed, plopping a green-tinted macaron in her mouth. The meringue crushed under her tongue and the sweetness exploded all over the insides of her mouth. "Parents tried to get schools to shut it down, to find the culprit or to take away the list before anyone could see it but the person either sent it to everyone in our school or hack the school website and post it there. Whoever does this is just super good at evading shit."

"Yeah, I bet," snorted Piper. Easy for her to say. Piper Mclean's name had been starstudded into the list ever since her first mojito at thirteen. She swirled her tea before placing it on the coffee table in front of her and stretched, yawning. She glanced at the clock. "Shit, it's almost six."

"Fuck," Annabeth swore, quickly standing up from her spot. "I..should probably head home. My...uh...parents will be up soon."

"Oh of course," Hazel said. "Want me to book you an Uber?"

"What? No, you don't have to-"

"Please, I insist," Hazel urged, turning on her golden specked eyes on the girl. After all, Rachel had instructed Hazel to make Annabeth feel super included in order to make sure the blonde agreed to the scheme Rachel had planned for Percy. "After the night you had, at least let me pay for your ride home."

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "Well, of course. Yeah sure. Go ahead."

Hazel took out her designer-cladded phone and began to book Annabeth an uber. As the two girls led the blonde out the entryway and bidded Annabeth goodbye, Annabeth was whisked away into a car back to her residence. She watched all of Hong Kong's futuristic skyline swirl around her, the psychedelics slowly draining out of her system and the tiredness of being up all night settling in.

And somehow, despite the chaos of it all, Annabeth found it all captivating- the shimmering dresses, the ruby lips, the neon party lights, the boys in suits and devil-may-care smiles, glinting ballrooms and expensive cars.

Maybe she wouldn't feel so out of place after all.

LEO

The thing about Leo Valdez was that he had a pretty casual mindset regarding relationships. For all of his life, he had never found the quote on quote "the one" (if such a thing existed) and while his friends struggled with sixth month anniversaries and crazy girlfriends (cough Jason and Percy cough), Leo never had that problem. While his friends were arguing over missed calls and carrying shopping bags for their girlfriends, Leo was frolicking amongst the world having no-strings-attached sex.

It was not as if he never had a relationship- he once had a two-month relationship with Hazel but they parted and decided to remain friends. He dated a few girls here and there for a couple of weeks but he seemed to get bored of them or he found some way to disappoint them, either by not saying all the right boyfriend things or not paying enough attention to them. All in all, Leo saw himself as a pretty busy guy- he had football, he had his group of friends, his routine life of partying hard and being a billionaire bachelor. Leo didn't see the need for a relationship and he didn't see had the time to have one.

That was until a hurtling comet by the name of Calypso Moonlace came crashing into his galaxy and destroyed everything he once knew.

He saw her hair first.

Over the pulsating dance floor that was glowing red and neon green, a large group of kids dressed to their best designer clothes were currently raving hard to the music the DJ was remixing over the speakers. It was almost four in the morning and the party wasn't slowing any time soon. Reyna and Jason were still there, relatively sober, drinking their boring gin and tonics by the bar. Percy and Nico were smoking by the balcony and he was nursing his whiskey. Percy was still complaining about that blonde new girl- Annabeth- dissing him.

"Just get some other girl," Dakota Chevalier was telling him as he reached for a champagne flute to pour himself a glass of Stoli and a mixer of cranberry juice.

"No," Percy shook his head adamantly, "Leo, Nico and I just betted about it. I will get her."

"Sure, whatever you say," Dakota laughed at him, tipping back his drink. "Holy shit, check her out." He motioned his half-empty glass towards the dance floor as he let out a low whistle.

Leo looked.

And his breath literally was stolen out of his body.

Her cinnamon hair splashed around her back as she danced- no, scratch that- gyrated sensually across the place, her body moving as if sex was dripping off her. Her hair moved behind her like a waterfall of chestnut brown as she swayed, rich and flowing and full of shine. When she tossed her head to the rhythm, he caught a sparkle behind the strands and saw an Edward Chiu diamond-and-jade tennis bracelet enclasped against her tiny wrist. Eyes were on her as her strapless Kate Spade skin-tight dress highlighted every curve on her hourglass body and her bone-coloured high heels showed off her long, lithe legs that most normal people would be envious of.

"Dude, she's like a ten," Dakota said, still ogling.

"Annabeth's hotter," Percy said, shaking his head. "And don't you have a girlfriend?" Oh how the hypocrite speaks, Leo wanted to say.

"Both of you have girlfriends," Leo huffed, placing down his drink by the VIP table. "Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna find out who she is."

Leo moved onwards to the girl but before he could even tap on her shoulder, a soft body sidled up to him, reeking of heavy flowery perfume. It was that girl from a few nights ago- what was her name again? Heather or something?

"Hey, Leo," she said. The dark heavy makeup that accentuated her eyes made her look she had been punched there. "Remember me? Hesper?"

"Um...hey," he smiled awkwardly but it only encouraged her to grab his arm.

"Oh you know, nothing much." Her tone bordered on coy and demure, like a cat teasing a mouse, and Hesper, whoever she was, stuck out her chest as if to make him stare at her cleavage. She was peering at him through her charcoal coated eyelashes and normally, if he was drunk enough, he wouldn't have hesitated on kissing her but now…

"Well, look Hesper…" He desperately glanced around for Dakota or Percy or fuck, even Jason to help him out here but he couldn't find them. Fucking assholes.

"Hey, babe." Leo's eyes widened as that girl he was staring at on the dance floor wrapped her arm around his waist, swerving him away from Hesper's clutches. When that girl's almond eyes shifted onto Leo, Leo forgot how to compute thoughts in his mind.

She was one of the most beguiling girls he had ever seen.

She had that sort of timeless beauty towards her, as if the gods had crafted her features from pure marble, and put her on this earth to bewitch every being. Her eyes were a soft honey colour and when she spoke, the voice was even more mesmerizing, reminding him of marshmallows melting in a cup of hot chocolate, or a warm fire tending over a camp.

"He's with me," the girl told Hesper firmly as she looked at Leo. Leo just stayed silent, sort of speechless with the way how her full lips moved and how red they were. They were a deep merlot shade, emphasizing her pout against the dusky golden glow of her skin, and her eyes were cat-like and almond shaped, set in over the valleys of her high cheekbones.

"Aren't you, babe?"

Leo cleared his throat when he finally found his voice. "Um, yes! Yes. Hesper, this is my...girlfriend."

Hesper narrowed her eyes. "You never told me you had a girlfriend."

"Well, we just got together," The girl said, smoothly spinning out the lie. "He's really wonderful, though."

"I see." Hesper bit her lip and folded her arms. "Well...I guess I'll see you around, Leo."

Hesper finally left.

"She's gone and you're safe," the girl laughed, smirking at Leo. Leo wanted to perforate her image in his mind. "Anyway, see you around."

"Wait," Leo caught her by grabbing her arm. "Can...I at least buy you a drink and get a name?"

"Well, I can buy my own drink, thanks," Leo's smile faltered for a moment before he heard her say: "But I guess I'll give you my name. It's Calypso."

"Calypso…" He played the name on his tongue and grinned at her. "Damn, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

She cocked her eyebrows at him, "I'm sure you say that to all the girls."

"Only pretty ones like you."

She rolled her eyes at him. Damn, tough crowd, Leo thought. Normally, just his presence was enough to get girls melting, but it seemed as if Calypso wasn't impressed. "You're lucky you're cute. Now let's head to the bar, I'm thirsty."

Leo followed her lead towards the bar at the back of the ballroom. As she leaned across the counter and nodded at the bartender, Leo asked: "What's your drink of choice?"

"Cranberry vodka," Calypso told him. "You?"

"Anything as long as it gets me drunk."

"Nice," Calypso laughed at him.

"So…" Leo trailed off awkwardly as Calypso told the bartender her drink order. "What's your story? How do you get to know about this party?"

"Got invited by a friend," Calypso explained, "I actually go to an all-girls school so being around boys is...well, a little overwhelming."

"Well hopefully, we make your experience worthwhile," Leo joked as the bartender delivered their drinks. Calypso sipped on her cranberry vodka and then proceeded to mix the alcohol and the juice together with her black straw.

Calypso looked at him and the corners of her mouth quirked. "The experience has been kind of lacklustre so far."

"Ouch," Leo pretended to wince. "Can I ask why?"

"The boys are all so pretty to look at but...they're all full of retired, boring one-liners."

Yikes. "That's such a shame. Maybe I can change your mind, you know. I'll make sure that all my one-liners are witty," Leo said, "You can give me your phone number and find out."

"Why don't you give me yours instead?"

"Wow, you're pretty experienced with how this goes right?" Leo assumed that this girl must get hit on pretty regularly so he figured it was fine to tease her a little. Besides, she seemed to be playing back.

The corners of her eyes crinkled as she laughed. Cute. "Maybe."

"Well, okay then Calypso. Let me give you my number." He held out his palm and she took out her phone from her small shoulder bag. She unlocked it and handed it to him. "My name is Leo, by the way."

"Wait, Leo? Like the Leo Valdez?" Her hand was almost touching his when she stopped. Her eyes widened.

"I wasn't aware that my name came with the definition article."

"No, it's just that...well, I heard a lot about you," she retracted, shaking her head, "From just various people."

Leo tried not to feel deflated. He had no doubt she heard about his reputation- leaving pieces of broken girls' hearts scattered across the entire social scene of Hong Kong but he hoped she knew that he was at least nice about it. He made sure all those girls knew he wasn't in it for the long haul when he hooked up with that. Well, except for Hesper, but then again Hesper didn't seem like the type who was bright enough to catch the hint.

"Not all bad things, I hope."

"I've heard nothing bad. You're just the guy I was looking for," Calypso smiled and pushed herself away from the bar. Her eyes glittered like maple syrup. "See you around, Leo. It's about time we met."

AND THERE WE GO, CHAPTER FOURTEEN! HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED!

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