Guys, I'm alive! Sorry for the long absence. BUt I'm back, so here we are!

Disclaimer: Sorry, not Rick Riordan.

Chapter 13

5 pages

Saturday, October 5th

Annabeth POV

Piper's sleepover. I am not looking forward to this. But here it is, already 2:45 in the afternoon. I went upstairs to pack. I grabbed my necessities: A change of clothes, my hygiene kit, two pairs of socks, one fluffy and one not, the book that I'm currently reading (Throne of Glass), and another book, just in case I finish the first one, a pair of pyjamas, and my sleeping bag. Pretty simple.

I went down to the kitchen with my bag slung over my shoulder. Helen was in there, her feet propped up on the table as she read a magazine. She noticed my bag and asked, "Going somewhere?"

I frowned at her. "I told you three days ago that this weekend I'm staying the night at my friend's house."

"Well, I never said you could go." Helen snapped back.

I raised my eyebrows. "It's kinda late now, she'll be here in five minutes."

Helen scowled. She returned her gaze to her magazine and dismissed me with a wave of her hand. That woman disgusts me. How my dad could ever marry her, that I don't know.

Speaking of my dad, he's finally coming home tomorrow. According to Helen, he does this a lot. Apparently the longest he's been gone was a month and a half.

My thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. I made sure I had everything I needed before I answered it.

Siena smiled at me. "Hey, Beth! You ready?"

I smiled back and stepped outside. "Yup, let's go."

I slid into the backseat of Silena's Honda. Thalia turned around from the passenger's stay to face me. "Hi."

"Hi," I replied with a small smile. Silena started the car and we were off. 'Shake It Off' by Taylor Swift came on the radio, and I laughed as Silena swatted Thalia's hand away so she couldn't change the channel.

Silena began singing along, and I giggled while Thalia pouted. After that, I was at ease. When I asked Silena about Piper's house, she said, "Just wait, Annabeth. She has the biggest and nicest house ever."

I kinda figured that, since Piper's dad was Tristan McLean, the famous actor. But she never acted stuck up about it. She could be strutting along the corridors of our school like Rachel, but she doesn't. Piper doesn't even try to bring attention to her looks.

But when we did get to Piper's house, it was truly spectacular. It was a three story brick building, with pillars holding up the porch roof and large, solid wood double doors. There were two balconies, one on the second floor and one on the third. There was a wall that was made completely out of glass so I could see straight into the living room. Let me just say, it was an architect's dream.

"Wow," I breathed, staring in awe at the house.

"I know, right?" Thalia smirked.

"She actually lives here?" I asked.

My question was answered when Piper opened the door. "Hi, guys!" she called. "Come on in!"

We entered and followed her through the house. I marveled at the tile floors, marble staircases, and just the overall amazingness of the house. It felt like an old house, like the 1800s or something, but strangely modern at the same time.

Piper led us into her room. It was the biggest room I'd ever seen. It was painted a mix of greens, all blending into each other. She had a big, dark-wood bed with blue and gray covers. A door was open, revealing a walk-through closet. Connected to this room was another room, adorned with couches and a flat-screen TV. Add some bookshelves, and it would be heaven.

We followed her to the TV room, where Piper flopped onto the couch. "What should we do?"

"Movie marathon!" Silena plopped herself down next to Piper. Thalia and I agreed and sat down next to them.

"What should we watch?" I asked.

"Ooh, Disney marathon!" Silena said almost instantly.

Thalia made a face. "No way. We should watch the first and second A Quiet Place." (We're pretending the second one is out.)

"Lord of the Rings?" Piper asked. "What about you, Annabeth? What do you think?"

"Uh, The Hunger Games?" I nervously suggested.

Piper smiled at me. "I'm all for it. How about you guys?"

Silena said it was fine, and Thalia grumbled, "Only if there's snacks."

Piper laughed, then disappeared for a while and returned with popcorn and Doritos. She put in the first Hunger Games, and I relaxed, smiling with my friends.

~o0o~

It was around 9:30 when we finished. Piper stretched and yawned. "That was great."

"Yeah." I agreed.

Piper got up. "Are you guys hungry?"

"Heck yeah." Thalia answered.

I laughed slightly and we followed Piper to the kitchen. Boxes of pizza were stacked onto their giant table. I gaped at the pile. "How are we gonna eat all this?"

Silena smirked. "You underestimate our ability to eat."

"People only underestimate your ability to eat because you act like such a girl." Thalia scoffed.

What happened next completely surprised me. There was a smack, and on Thalia's face was a slice of pizza. I tried to stifle my giggles behind my hands. Piper was laughing openly.

Thalia scowled. "You're going down, Bouregard," She picked up a slice loaded with veggies and pepperoni. In a flash, the slice had left her hand, and the toppings were in Silena's hair.

Silena gasped. "You do not touch the hair."

My vision was blocked suddenly, and I yelped in surprise. I peeled the piece of pizza off my face. I caught sight of Piper giggling. Her giggles stopped when she saw my face. Her eyes widened as I picked up a slice of pineapple.

I approached her and she squealed. "Uh, Annab-" She was cut off when I smeared cheese, pineapple, and grease all over her face.

She sputtered. "You're dead."

I arched an eyebrow. "Really."

"Jeez, Chase, do you know how scary you can be?" Piper asked.

I laughed. "I've been told that I am terrifying." Something hit the back of my head, and I knew what it was. I whipped around to see Thalia smirked at me.

"You know what?" I said, grabbing slices. "I'm going to murder all of you."

After that, it was chaos. Pizza flew everywhere. Olives, pepperoni, sausage, peppers and more spiraled through the air. Shrieks and giggles resounded around the room, along with some death threats. We were all covered in tomato sauce and grease.

Piper's dad walked in, froze, and furrowed his brow. "...Okay. I'm just gonna-" He backpedaled out of the room.

We all stood, covered head to toe in mess, giggling together. The floor, walls and even some of the ceiling were smattered with pizza. Piper surveyed the room. "Gods, look at this mess!"

That just made Thalia, Silena, and I laugh harder. "S-sorry, Piper." I gasped. "Um, can I use your shower?" I was smudged all over, and my hair was a nightmare.

"I think we all better." Thalia agreed.

"Sure." Piper said. "There's fresh towels under the sink. Just don't take too long." She pointed a finger accusingly at us. "And you are helping me with this mess!"

We all groaned but agreed. I grabbed my suitcase and took it with me to Piper's bathroom so I could get dressed. I scrubbed furiously at the sauce and grease in my hair and skin. Pizza, if all things.

I stepped out and dried myself off, dressing in my pajamas. Thalia brushed past me, muttering, "Took you long enough."

"You try getting tomato sauce out of your hair." I retorted. Thalia just shrugged and shut the door.

I went back into Piper's room, where I saw Piper and Silena sprawled out on the bed. I dropped down next to them. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Silena responded.

"I thought we were cleaning." I said, slightly surprised.

Piper waved her hand dismissively. "We have house cleaners and such."

"Oh. Um, okay then." We lay in silence.

"So, Annabeth, have any siblings?" Silena asked.

I shook my head. "Only child."

"So's Piper. I have an older brother, though. He works for my mom, so I don't see him much."

"What does your mom do?" I asked curiously.

"She's a fashion designer." Silena replied. "Ceo. of her own company, Loving Kiss Ensembles."

I shot up. "Really? Your mom's Aphrodite?" I exclaimed. "The Aphrodite?"

Silena laughed. "The one and only.

"Am I the only one who doesn't have famous parents?" I asked.

"Apparently." Thalia said as she came out of the bathroom, wrapping a towel around her head.

"Who are your parents, Annabeth?" Piper asked,sitting up.

Crap. How could I get out of this one? I pondered the possibilities for a moment, but there was no way out. "Uh, my dad's a businessman; he's always going away on business trips." I played with the ring around my finger. "And my mother, um, was an architect." I said the last bit quieter.

Unfortunately, they caught the past-tense wording. "Was?" Silena asked softly.

I swallowed. "She died in a car accident less than a month ago." I lowered my gaze to the hem of my shirt and fiddled with it. There was silence.

And then, Piper reached out and hugged me. I hugged her back, burying my head into her shoulder and let a few tears escape. I had done it. I had told someone. The reservoir of raw emotion inside stirred, causing more feelings to explode out of me.

I scolded myself, rebuilding my walls. I pulled back from Piper and wiped my face. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She replied, just as softly as Silena.

I sighed. "I-I'm sorry. It's just that, well…" I trailed off. "She was all I had."

Silena's eyes widened. "Oh. So you-you're in a foster home now?"

I shook my head. "No. My dad left when I was seven. So now I live with him."

"What's he like?" Piper asked.

I shrugged. "He doesn't really spend time with me. Like I said, he's gone a lot."

"Oh." Piper looked sympathetic.

I shook my head. "Let's not talk about this. But, please, don't tell anyone."

They all agreed, and Thalia said, "Enough with the mushy stuff. Let's go play Xbox or something."

I smiled a little. "Thalia!" Silena admonished.

"What? Beth said she's done talking about that, so let's go." I winced, and Thalia looked at me. "What?"

"That was my mom's nickname for me." I murmured.

Thalia looked a little guilty. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay." I replied.

"But, seriously, let's do something. I'm bored." Thalia said.

I laughed. "Alright, Thals." I stood. "Come on, girls."

They stood up, too. I smiled at them to show that, really, I was okay, and we went back downstairs.

I felt...good. Really good. My mother's death didn't weigh so heavy on my heart anymore. And now my friends would understand me better. As long as they didn't say anything about it, I was fine. More than fine. Great.

I think I'll be okay.

Guys! GUYS! She finally did it! Now, for Percy….Anyway, it could've been better, so sorry about that. I hope you enjoyed it!

Replies…

2000s gal: Thank you! Yeah, my favorite Percabeth stories are where the romance develops accordingly. Thanks, and thank you for reviewing!

kiwikraz: I know! Next chapter, there's gonna be some more of that. Yeah, the last one was mostly to enhance their relationship. Aw, thanks. Though I'm not entirely sure I want to be Uncle Rick. I mean, Tatarus? Seriously? Don't worry, she's gonna tell him really soon, I promise! I love Hamilton, too! Always, lol. Thanks for your review!

MoonlightDetectiveEdogawaIrene: Yeah, it really was. Thanks for the review!

araceli3321: Thanks for reading my story! Sorry about that,but we're past the depressing stuff now...mostly. Thank you for your review!

Guest: Wow, that's a lot of reviews! Thank you! I'm glad you're liking my story. Here's some more! Thanks for reviewing!