"Piper. You know I love you, but—"
"There's always a but," Piper muttered grumpily.
Annabeth ignored her. "Can we please listen to something else now?" she whined, banging her head into the car window as Piper's Christmas CD made an awful squeaking noise and restarted for the third time.
From the backseat of the car, Thalia groaned.
Piper drummed her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the first song. "This is my car, Annabeth," she said bossily, lifting one hand off the steering wheel to point at Annabeth. "I can listen to whatever music I want. And I happen to like Christmas music."
"It's May, Piper," Thalia pointed out, leaning forward so her head was in between the two front seats. "Can you not turn the damn thing off for a bit? Christmas was five months ago."
"I don't mind it," Hazel's sweet voice piped up from the back seat. Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Thank you, Hazel," Piper sniffed haughtily, giving Annabeth a not-so-subtle glare.
Annabeth reached behind the seat to pat Hazel's fluffy curls. "You are far too nice, Hazel Levesque," she told her friend with a longsuffering sigh. Hazel laughed softly.
The chorus to Jingle Bell Rock came on, and Piper started to belt the lyrics out loudly, her voice somewhere between yelling and singing, but still surprisingly pleasant. Annabeth couldn't resist humming along and tapping her fingers on the cool glass of the car window, watching as the scenery flew by and the tires billowed dust in their tracks, letting it settle on the smooth black paint of Piper's car.
Piper's car—a sleek black Mustang—had been a birthday present from her dad the previous summer, and Annabeth would have been inconsolably jealous if it wasn't almost basically her car as well. She spent as much time in it as Piper did, and her best friend even let her drive it fairly often. It had heated seats, a fantastic sound system, and wooden inlay everywhere. Sometimes, Annabeth couldn't help but be a little but jealous for Piper's fancy lifestyle, but Piper was perfectly eager to share it with the rest of them, so it wasn't like she could exactly complain.
"Are we almost there?" Thalia whined, leaning forward in her seat again and tugging on the end of Piper's long braid. "We live in one of the biggest cities in the world. Is it really that hard to find somewhere to go shopping? We've been driving forever."
With a scowl, Piper batted her hand away, pulling her braid over her shoulder. "You're such a baby. We can't just go to any old store, you know that. And don't distract me when I'm driving, Thals, jeez. I don't want to die."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Piper, no offence, but you are making this is way more dramatic than it has to be."
Piper gasped dramatically. "Annabeth, this is only the most important social event of our lives—
"Um, are you sure—"
"Fine, of junior year. But if you think that I'm not going to do everything in my power to look absolutely fabulous, you are badly mistaken."
Annabeth could see Piper's jovial grin, and she stifled her own laugh. "Pipes, you do realize you get a senior prom too, don't you? You don't have to throw everything you've got into this one."
Piper smirked, turning the wheel of her car smoothly. "Oh trust me, babe. This is far from everything I've got."
"I am terrified for next year," Thalia muttered from the back, slumping down the leather of her seat.
Annabeth stifled another laugh. "Look Pipes, I know you have all the money in the world to spend on prom clothes but you know the rest of us certainly do not. I can't afford to spend a million dollars in whatever fancy store we're going to."
"What?" Piper asked distractedly as she honked the horn and flipped off a driver in another lane. "Asshole… Oh, yeah, I know. That's why we're going to a thrift store."
"A thrift store?" Thalia shrieked, causing Piper to jump and swat at Thalia's head with her hand. "Girl, you do realize there are thrift stores in Manhattan, right?"
Piper laughed. "Obviously. But we can't just go to any old thrift store, you idiot. We're going to the best thrift store in the state."
Thalia groaned again, loudly and obviously. "Dude, I'm not even going to prom. Can you just, like, let me stay home? I was going to binge another season of How I Met Your Mother and eat an entire cake."
"And that's different from every other night of your life because…" Annabeth put in dryly.
Thalia reached around and pinched Annabeth's butt. Annabeth shrieked and glared back at her.
Piper huffed, waving her hand distractedly to separate them. "For the last time, Thalia, you are going to prom, even if I have to drag you there by your toes, okay? It'll be fun." Her voice took on a sing-song quality. "You might even meet someone…"
"Um, no way, Piper. We talked about this—"
"Not even an argument, Thals, so shut up."
Annabeth chuckled at their friendly banter. It wasn't exactly a bad day for a drive; for the first time in a week, the sun was shining gloriously and the temperature had shot up. Annabeth let her eyes drift across the side of the road, mesmerized by the green of the grass that lay in the ditch. She watched a patch of bright purple flowers flash by, and wondered fleetingly what they would smell like.
After another few tracks on the Christmas CD had passed and they were surrounded by the density of the city again, Piper finally stopped the car by a crumbling patch of sidewalk and leapt out into the sunlight. Annabeth yawned and stretched, clambering out after her and stomping her feet to wake up her legs. Thalia fell out of the car with a groan as Hazel dusted off her flower-speckled skirt and fluffed her hair with nimble fingers.
Piper beamed back and beckoned for them to follow her.
Annabeth would have completely missed the store, had Piper not dragged the rest of them off the tattered sidewalk and through a rust-red door between a large McDonald's and some ratty-looking pawn shop. The four of them tumbled through the entryway to the soft tinkling of a bell, landing in what felt like an entirely different world. The four of them blinked owlishly in the dim light, taking in the soft ambience of the store.
It was about as big as it looked from the outside, stuffed to the breaking point with large racks of colourful clothing. Annabeth could smell faint wafts of old leather and light perfume that smelled like raindrops, and the dim lighting from the antique lamps that littered the store gave everything the faint peach tinge of sunset. There was some soft classical piece that Annabeth couldn't quite make out playing in the background, and somewhere she could hear the faint tick of an old clock.
"What is this place?" asked Thalia, unable to conceal her awe. "Are we in Narnia?"
"Oh," breathed Hazel. "It's beautiful." She reached out her fingers to gingerly run her fingers down the fur ruff of an old coat.
"I told you I was a genius," Piper grinned slyly, and Annabeth couldn't help agreeing. The store was something out of a fairy tale.
Apparently, the prices were also out of a fairy tale. Annabeth had never seen such beautiful clothing for so little, and she couldn't help but gasp slightly as she pulled a baby-soft shawl made of some sweet-smelling fur into her arms, glancing down at the price. Fifteen dollars? Annabeth didn't know how much good, authentic fur like this normally was, but she was willing to bet her boyfriend that it was much, much more than fifteen bucks.
"Hello," said a soft voice from behind one of the racks. A girl who looked like she was in her early twenties pushed her way through a cluster of coats and into their little pack. Annabeth caught a glimpse of rosebud-pink cheeks and midnight-blue eyes before the girl turned to Piper with a soft smile.
"Piper Mclean." Her voice was like music, and it felt even more like they were in some distant world that shouldn't exist in the midst of this ratty neighborhood. "How lovely to see you again, it's been awhile. Special occasion?"
The girl had extremely long, dark hair that fell in loose, spiraling curls to her waist; it swung mesmerizingly as she talked.
Annabeth saw Thalia looking at the new arrival, and her friend's gaze was definitely nowhere near the girl's eyes. Annabeth hid a grin behind her hand.
Piper gave the girl a wide smile and tucked a lock of chocolaty hair behind her ear. "Silena! Still running the shop? It looks gorgeous in here, I love what you've done."
Silena nodded slightly, still smiling at Piper. Annabeth wondered if she had actually noticed any of the rest of them. "My grandmother is still too sick to take care of it for now. Besides, she says she likes it better when I manage the shop." Her voice was so soft that Annabeth almost had to lean in to hear it. "But what brings you to our humble abode today, Piper?"
"Well, our prom is tomorrow night," Piper admitted, "and we figured we'd better—"
"Tomorrow?" Silena broke in, raising one of her perfect eyebrows. "Running a little late there?"
Piper laughed sheepishly and scratched her ear. "Yes. Well."
Silena rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about, I'm on it." Annabeth watched as her eyes shifted between the three of them, expression calculating. She gave them another delicate smile before disappearing behind one of the racks again, her long hair swishing behind.
"Um," said Thalia intelligently, her blue eyes following the girl. Piper raised an eyebrow at Annabeth, tilting her head slightly in Thalia's direction. The two of them exchanged mischievous grins as Thalia watched Silena walk away just a little too intently.
A few minutes later—by the time that Annabeth felt like if she stood here for much longer she would dissolve into a blob of calmness—Silena returned, her arms full of silky fabrics. She draped a few of them over each girl's arm and gave them all another smile.
"Hey," protested Thalia. "I don't need these. I'm not going to prom."
Silena frowned at her, cocking her head slightly. "Of course you are, honey."
Thalia stared incredulous at Piper, who rolled her eyes and elbowed her in the ribs. Thalia furiously pinched Piper's butt, and Piper shrieked quietly and yanked on Thalia's spiky hair.
Silena walked on silently ahead of them as if she couldn't see the entire exchange.
Annabeth and Hazel rolled their eyes at each other. Their friends were literally five-year-olds.
There were tiny change rooms in the back of the shop; each stall was only a few square feet wide, with a yellowed mirror and a tiny bench at the back. The four of them all squeezed into the largest change room at the end of the row, and Thalia immediately flopped down on the bench and pulled out her phone. Piper gave a slight scoff of annoyance.
The dresses Silena had picked out for them were gorgeous; they each held about three dresses in their arms, each one prettier than the last. The four girls—even Thalia—exchanged matching grins.
An hour passed, and then two. The girls were in and out of the overheated change room, finding dresses and putting them back, laughing at some of the styles and evaluating each choice. It didn't take Hazel long to find her dress, one of the first ones Silena had given to her. It had a simmering gold halter bodice and a long, puffy black skirt that flared out in an inimitably Hazel style. Silena had even dug out a pair of dainty gold flats that fit perfectly on Hazel's tiny feet, which had Hazel beaming like never before. While Piper and Annabeth continued their search, she changed out of the dress and slipped onto the bench beside Thalia and curled up into a little ball, watching the other two bicker and twirl.
Piper found hers soon after. It was a soft, coral pink colour that reminded Annabeth of sunrise, and it flowed like silk when Piper moved, soft and delicate. The skirt tumbled in gentle waves down to Piper's ankles and it was sleeveless, with intricate patterns of lace that grew up the front and back of the bodice. She grinned and twirled for the other three, and Annabeth and Hazel clapped enthusiastically. Thalia rolled her eyes.
"C'mon Thalia, you haven't tried on any dresses," Piper whined, stumbling as her twirling came to a stop. "You have to try on at least one."
Thalia groaned loudly, though Annabeth got the impression she was slightly enjoying the attention. "Piper, I told you already I'm not going."
"Yes you are." Piper grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Here try this one. I know, I know. Just—try the one."
Thalia, huffed, flipped Piper off, and turned to pull the dress on. She turned back a second later, her arms held out slightly so they could see the dress. The whole dress was a dim purplish-grey, and the skirt puffed out to Thalia's knees. The top was covered in the tiniest flowers that swirled in a delicate pattern, and the belt had tiny silver gems.
Piper hummed quietly, her hand on her chin, before deciding, "It's too short. Prom dresses supposed to be long, it's homecoming you wear shorter ones for. Come on, Thals, why don't you try—"
"Oh, no way," interrupted Thalia, tugging on the skirt uncomfortably. "I'm not trying on any other dresses. It's this or nothing. If you insist on making me go, you're going to have to take your pick."
"Alright. Fine," Piper grumped. "At least… pick some nice shoes or something—"
"I'm wearing my combat boots and a leather jacket. Fight me."
Piper held up her hands in defeat and turned back to Annabeth. "I wash my hands of this absolute child," she declared, and Annabeth stifled a laugh at Thalia's indignant expression.
After two hours and twelve minutes, Annabeth was the only without a dress. Even Piper was starting to pull out her hair in frustration, and Hazel had fallen asleep on the bench. Annabeth sighed.
"Piper, stop trying so hard. We should just go with the blue one. Brings out the eyes and all that." She was getting extremely sick of changing from dress to dress.
"No, we can't!" Piper whined. "That one was falling off. You were swimming in it, Annabeth, swimming."
"Fine," growled Annabeth, "how about the purple one, I just want to—"
"No way, the purple one was way too—"
A soft knock beside the doorway of the change room silenced Piper, and Annabeth pulled open the curtain to reveal Silena again, with a pink-lipped smile and a dress in hand. "Sorry interrupt your conversation, girls, but I think I found you the perfect dress." She handed it to Annabeth and disappeared without another word.
Annabeth and Piper shared a curious look, before Piper quickly pushed Annabeth into the change room. Annabeth spent a few minutes pulling the dress on before shyly turning around to look at herself in the mirror, and it was perfect.
The skirt fell in waves of midnight blue down to the floor, clinching in slightly at the waist. It was more comfortable than Annabeth thought possible, and soft lacy patterns surrounded her shoulders and collarbones, dotted with tiny silver gems that glimmered like starlight. Annabeth couldn't help grinning and spinning around and around, watch the skirt flare and dust her legs.
"You look like a goddess, Annabeth," Piper said in a hushed voice, her hands clasped slightly.
Thalia rolled her eyes and sighed loudly, swinging her feet off the bench so they hit the floor. "Oh my god, you nerds, can we go now?"
Annabeth and Piper exchanged a smirk. "We still need shoes."
It didn't take long to find a pair of shoes for each dress: simple coral stilettos for Piper and strappy silver heels for Annabeth, the latter with complicated straps that wound around her toes and ran up the length of her foot to loop around her ankles.
Annabeth didn't normally like heels, but she loved these. Piper looked positively victorious.
Finally, Thalia's whining complaints of I'm starving, when are we going home? got too loud, so they gathered up the mounds of fabric and shoes and brought them to the cashier, where Silena was smiling sweetly.
Ten minutes later, the dresses were paid for, and the three girls were back in Piper's air-conditioned car, cruising home towards the setting sun that glowed like a burning ember. Annabeth smiled, leaning against the window and tapping her fingers to the beat of the soft pop song that was playing on the radio. She could feel her eyelids drooping, and Annabeth blinked, determined to watch the sunset and the skyline as the sky faded to its inevitable oblivion.
She was with her best friends in the world, and that was all that really mattered.
"Are you crying, Thalia?"
"No," Thalia croaked, her voice hitching slightly on the end of the word.
Piper grinned in triumph. "Guys, Thalia's crying. We did it!"
Thalia scowled and blinked viciously at Piper. "I am not, shut up, Piper. You're crying."
Piper sighed, dramatically wiping a tear off her cheek. "That's nothing new."
Annabeth stuffed another handful of chips into her mouth and leaned further back into her mountain of pillows. "Did you guys know that they shot this in a pool that was only like, three feet deep? Also apparently Kate Winslet didn't want to wear a wetsuit at all in the movie and got pneumonia."
Thalia threw a tissue box at Annabeth's head, which she dodged easily. "No one cares about your stupid facts, nerd. Let us watch the movie in peace." Behind her, Piper dissolved into another round of sobs and the others fell silent again. Hazel blew her nose.
It had been Hazel's quiet idea to have a sleepover the night before the big prom, and Piper's massive house had proved the best location. They were all sitting on feather-soft mattresses that Piper had pulled out from the back of one of her closets, surrounded by pillows, blankets and tissues, and crying over a fictional tragedy of a very real boat.
Twenty minutes later, when the credits started to roll and Celine Dion's tell-tale voice started to wash over them, Thalia picked up the remote and muted the television, turning to face Piper with an irritated look on her face.
"Well that officially sucked ass," she said, making a face at Piper. "Why Titanic, of all movies? Why couldn't you choose something cool like Star Wars?"
Piper looked vaguely wounded and started to say something but Annabeth silenced her with a wave of her hand. "Aw, Thals is just mad 'cause you saw her cry."
"I am not," Thalia said, sounding somewhat like a whiny child.
"You keep telling yourself that, honey," Hazel smiled from Thalia's other side, and Annabeth and Piper laughed. Thalia pouted some more.
Three hours earlier, when they had all been settled in front of the giant flat screen TV in Piper's family room in the basement surrounded by blankets and an expensive array of snacks, Piper had decided it was time to choose a movie. As the others settled, she'd flipped through several shelves of DVDs that hadn't been touched in years until she'd found an old copy of Titanic. She'd pulled it off the shelf with an air of great triumph, blown off a cloud of dust, sneezed twice and shoved it in the DVD player. After about ten minutes, Thalia's complaining had stopped and they'd all relaxed into the arms of one of the highest grossing movies of all time. They spent several happy hours gushing over the beauty over a young Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet and pretending they didn't love the movie nearly as much as they did.
Piper snatched the remote from Thalia's hand and pressed a button so the screen went black. She then turned to the others with a mischievous grin on her face. "Who's up for some truth or dare?"
Annabeth groaned loudly, and Piper shoved her over with a grin, throwing a blanket over her head. "Oh, shut up Annabeth. You know it'll be fun. My dad's at a conference, remember? We literally have this entire house to ourselves."
"Hey, you used literally correctly!" laughed Annabeth, flipping onto her stomach and pulling the blanket off her head so that the static made her hair stick up. "That's new."
Piper huffed. "You're so annoying. Who wants to start? Oh, I know. Annabeth, truth or dare?"
Annabeth groaned again, and threw a pillow at Piper, who dodged it so it hit Thalia square in the face. "You're not seriously going to—?"
"Truth. Or. Dare."
Annabeth exhaled for as long as she could manage. "Fine. Truth."
Piper smirked mischievously. "Good luck with that one, Chase." She turned to Hazel and whispered something in her ear, and Hazel grinned back, her expression equally mischievous. Then Piper whispered to Thalia who nodded, looking impressed.
"Can you just… say it already?" Annabeth asked, twisting her hands in her lap.
"Ready?" Piped gave her a sly look, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. "So Annabeth, tell us the truth: are you in love with Luke?"
Annabeth blinked, looking between their expectant faces. "Um. Yes?"
"It's not exactly a question you answer with another question," Hazel said, her voice more suggestive than what sounded natural on her.
"I… what if I just… don't know yet?" Annabeth asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed.
"Babe, you've been dating him for like, a year and a half now." Piper said knowingly. "You either love him or you don't."
"I don't… know?" Annabeth couldn't seem to stop saying everything like it was a question. The problem was, she had almost left it at I don't. It wasn't like she hadn't wondered the question for herself. It was a difficult question, and she'd spent hours of falling asleep trying to discern the answer from her muddled mind. She didn't know what love was supposed to feel like. Maybe this was it. Maybe the nervous flutter she felt when she saw Luke was love. But still, if she was really truly in love wouldn't she be able to just—tell?
"If you're not in love with Luke, then who are you in love with?" Thalia asked coyly.
Annabeth blinked up at them, confused. They were all leaning in to her, like they thought she was about to tell them some big secret. "I…I…"
And then all of a sudden, the true meaning of what they were insinuating hit her, and she sat bolt upright. "No. Guys, no! Not this again! I thought we dropped this months ago." She raked her fingers into her hair, covering her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Not again."
The other three exchanged furtive looks. "We did drop it, Annabeth," said Piper's voice, taking on a cautious tone. "We just… I mean, it didn't seem to go away, so we just…"
"No. No! Oh my god, you guys, you're going to start making me question everything I know." She looked up to see the others exchanging smug looks and something in her mind snapped a little. "No, that's not something that you want. It's weird, and confusing, and… no, stop it! I'm not in love with Percy Jackson. I'm not!"
"Say it a little louder, Annabeth—"
"Shut up. Shut UP!"
For a moment everything was silent as her friends blinked at her, finally seeming to realize they'd gone a little further then they should have. Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek, silently cursing herself for losing her temper like that. It was just that… people seemed to bring it up far too often, and only because she and Percy were such good friends. Probably also that they were both so good looking. But still, it had started to get to Annabeth's head. That was all it was, really.
It was Hazel who broke the silence with her fairy-soft voice. "Um, Thalia. Truth or dare?"
Thalia scoffed like it was the most obvious question in the world. "Dare. Obviously. I'm not telling you nerds any of my deepest darkest secrets."
Hazel bounced on the mattress. "I dare you to eat the biggest chocolate bar in the house in thirty seconds."
"Well that sounds like the easiest dare in the world. Bring it on!" Thalia grinned widely, and Piper leapt up, beckoning the others to follow.
"We have some pretty massive chocolate bars in one of the cupboards, I know my dad hoards them. Come on!" She raced up the stairs three at a time, and the others scrambled to follow. Annabeth pulled herself to her feet, trailing up the stairs behind the rest of them. Though her friends might prod too far sometimes, at least they knew how to get a conversation back on track.
A few more hours passed, and Hazel fell asleep in the corner like a cat, her legs curled up to her chest and her head on her arms. Piper draped a blanket over her and the others continued to play in hushed voices. Piper snooped through some of her dad's cabinets in the basement until she found a few light alcoholic coolers that she handed to the other two with a smile and a come on, guys, live a little. Annabeth took a sip. It tasted like Sprite.
"The farthest you've ever gone," said a slightly tipsy Thalia when Piper responded with truth.
Piper cheeks flushed slightly pink, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a sultry grin. "Well, I mean, there was this one time at a party that Jason and I—"
"Ah!" squeaked Thalia. "Never mind. I don't want to know."
"No, Thalia, it was both of our first times and it was great, we—"
"Nope." Thalia put her fingers in her ears. "That's my brother, don't want to hear it."
"Come on, you asked. It's not like it was just the one time, we've also—"
"La la la la, not listening," Thalia sang, screwing her eyes shut.
Piper rolled her eyes and took another sip from the fancy glass she'd pulled out from one of their cupboards to class everything up, in her own words. "How about you, Annabeth? The farthest you've ever gone?"
Annabeth's cheeks felt hot. "You can't do that, you didn't ask truth or dare."
Piper smirked. "I'm asking you as a friend."
Annabeth sighed. "I mean, I guess there was the time Luke and I—"
Thalia shrieked loudly, and in the corner Hazel fell off her mattress, blinking up at them questioningly. "What… what's going on?"
The three of them had to explain what was going on to a rather scandalized Hazel, who winced and tried to cover her ears. "Gross, I don't want to hear about your shenanigans."
"Shenanigans?" asked Annabeth, amused.
"None of that for me," muttered Hazel under her breath, and then went back to sleep in her corner looking slightly disgruntled.
Truth or dare transitioning to never have I ever, and their voices starting to stumbled with sleep. The questions transitioned to an awkward realm that led to forbidden stories that wouldn't have been suggested in the daylight and stories that had been long forgotten.
Another hour passed and Thalia started snoring on the couch, her head lolling off and her spiky hair brushing the floor. Piper and Annabeth wound up cuddled together under a single thick blanket and whispering as quietly as their voices would go. It was soft and quiet under the blanket, and light tinted pink worked its way through the fleece as the two friends whispered through the warm, stuffy air, their eyes heavy.
"Hey, I'm sorry if we crossed a line earlier," Piper murmured, her voice clumsy with sleep. "I didn't to make you upset. It just... you kind of seem like… well, you know."
"Not really," Annabeth confessed quietly, shifting so her head rested on her crossed arms on the mattress. "I don't know. Not really. I don't really know a lot of things. Not just… stuff about Luke. I'm not so smart, I think."
"You're very smart!" yawned Piper. "That's why I love you. Because of your brains."
It may have been the fact that it was almost four in the morning or that it felt like such a hushed environment under the blanket, but Annabeth and Piper suddenly both found the remark ridiculously funny, dissolving into hiccups of silenced laughter. They laughed until it wasn't funny anymore, helplessly wheezing under the blanket, until Annabeth said suddenly—
"I don't… I don't think I'm in love with Luke. I just…I don't know." The minute she said it, she regretted it; all her normal limits seemed to have disappeared with the alcohol and exhaustion.
Piper's face crumpled a bit in sympathy. "Hey, it's okay, babe," she said, patting Annabeth's cheek a little drunkenly. Annabeth sniffled softly, sighing and burying her head in her best friend's chest. "You're only sixteen, 'beth," Piper continued soothingly. "You have plenty of time to figure everything out. You have an entire…" she gestured at Annabeth, trying to find the right word, "lifetime."
"Yeah," Annabeth agreed, realizing through the fog that neither of them would even remember this the next morning. "Yeah, I do. But I know that I love you, Pipes. You know that, right?"
"Course I do," Piper replied, planting a sloppy kiss to Annabeth's forehead. "Told you, you're my favourite."
"Even more than Jason?" Annabeth giggled sleepily.
"Yup," Piper proclaimed. "It's okay. Everybody knows that you're my soulmate."
Annabeth laughed softly, giving a tiny hiccup and holding her best friend closer. A few minutes later, Piper fell asleep cuddled next to her, and Annabeth was the last one awake.
It was a weird feeling, being the last one in the whole house to be awake, the last one to be aware of her surroundings. Her sleep-deprived brain was fascinated by it.
After a few minutes, her thoughts drifted to the day ahead. It was one day in her high school life, nothing more than her junior prom. It wasn't hugely significant; she probably wouldn't even remember the details in couple years.
But still, something about it felt important, almost foreboding, and Annabeth couldn't help wondering if it was going to be a very significant day of her life.
What she didn't expect was for the events of the next day to be quite so monumental.
A/N: Helloo friends, look at me I got two updates up in December. (I mean, granted they were complete bookends to December but still. Mission accomplished.) SO I hoped you enjoyed this fluffy mess of a chapter - yes it is kind of a filler, but it's pretty important because it's a transition into next chapter which will be SUPER MEGA IMPORTANT. I'm going to try and get that next one up soon because I'm PUMPED for it, so stay tuned babes. ;)
So this chapter was super duper fun to write, and thanks to my brainstorm and editing buddy Rachel (TheWritingManiac) for all her excellent effort (I had to smell a fur hat to prove a point but that's another story.) Rachel is awesome also because she wrote two HUGE oneshots for me and Mia (herecomesthepun) for Christmas and they're absolutely fantastic so do her a favour and check them out you'll probably cry. That's all I love you Rache.
So. Tell me what you thought and any theories for what's going to be 'monumental' in next chapter? Stay gold, lovelies.
HAPPY NEW YEAR. *confetti*
-GGW