A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you're all staying safe and well. I have a feeling you guys will like the next couple of chapters as we come to the end of section 4. but don't worry! I have the whole of section 5 written already so there won't be a gap between the two :) Thank you so much to Son of Epimetheus16 for the lovely review and to answer your question, I'm just a real sucker for slow-burn. See you guys next week! ~ Emma


Halloween parties were always a strange affair, and Liam Halters was no different. In fact, the larger variety of social circles perhaps made it even more strange. Annabeth had become used to feeling out of place at such events, attending only to ensure Betty's safety while she was intoxicated and so she didn't try anything to get Percy's step dad in any trouble. Liam's parties were open invitation, anyone and everyone was there. The place was packed. Annabeth could see her stepmom bursting a blood vessel if anything like it happened in their house. She got angry enough about the drips of blood Annabeth had once left trailing on the floor.

Liam's lounge was dimly lit from either lamps or rented disco lights that were put up around the room. There weren't any of the traditional large rental speakers around as the house had an impressive sound system installed throughout. The room had clearly been designed with it in mind, as it fit seamlessly. She couldn't help but marvel at it.

It was still quite early in the night, no one was too drunk just yet, but Annabeth was content with hanging around in the back with a cup of orange soda. She tried to avoid looking at the various mismatched pairings, already making out around the room. Mario and a vampire in a long black dress on the sofa. The Joker getting his green hair and painted face all over a slutty pumpkins outfit.

As she tried to distract herself, Annabeth kept coming back to the same thought: What would it be like to just be a normal teenager? To come to a party and not be worried that if you get drunk a monster is going to come and attack you.

Each day the winter solstice drew closer, she felt more on edge. There hadn't made much progress yet. Theories swam about her head as to who Bahrams mother might be to make him more powerful than his father. Could it be Eris, the goddess of discord? Or perhaps Nemesis? The more she looked into each, it became clear that they were nothing more than that. Theories. Perhaps one of the Morpheus kids would find out for her if she took on their chores.

When Percy found her, he was carrying a red cup containing something that was evidently not orange soda.

"I thought you weren't drinking this time." She quipped, looking around the room.

His lips twitched up into a half smile. "Relax, Wise Girl, I'm just having the one. Especially after last time…"

His face faltered and he started picking at the rim of his cup. She felt a knot in her stomach grow in line with his restlessness. She rose her palm to his cheek and he leaned into it, his movements slowing. "Don't beat yourself up about it."

His grimace told her what she already knew; that it wasn't impossible. "I'll try."

She hated seeing him like this. Percy always put so much weight on himself to save the day for everyone, even when it wasn't possible. It's what she loved about him, but it's also what made her worry.

"How's the training going?" Annabeth said, keen to change the subject.

"Good actually." His eyes brightened as he spoke. "She's really getting into it. I was gonna try and get her started on other liquids next week. It's always useful."

"Like when we fought Akhlys in Tartarus?" She said, the dark memory stirring in her mind. She tried not to think about their time in Tartarus and particularly that memory. When Percy had used Akhyls own poison against him. It reminded her of what Percy was truly capable of and the darkness that lay beneath his skin. Everyone had good and bad, light and dark, but few were as powerful as Percy. If he ever did change and give into the darkness… She didn't like to think about it.

"Exactly. It's important to be able to use whatever you can." He took a deep drink. The weight of that experience weighed on them both. Though she liked the way his brows furrowed when he was concerned, she liked his smile more.

"If only I had your powers and I could flick your beer into your face." She smirked and Percy snorted into his cup. The desired effect was achieved as he came up wiping his face.

"You've never needed special powers to get what you want and you know it." He shot her a glare that lost effect due to the curved corners of his lips. "Have you seen Emma yet?"

"You know she doesn't have to be in your sight to be okay?" Though he was bound to be worried about her, they both knew Emma didn't like surveillance.

"I know, but I heard someone mention that Austin might be coming." His eyes darkened as he said the other boys name. "I'm surprised she's coming at all."

So much for lightening the mood.

"I've seen her sitting with Tyler and Liam at lunch some days, I guess they're sort of friends now."

As if she'd heard them talking about her, Emma appeared in the doorway. She looked around, reaching up to play with her hair, but as it was held delicately back by a black ribbon she clearly decided against it. She stood out in her pale blue dress as she walked through a crowd of witches, cats and skeletons. Annabeth much preferred Emma's literary inspired costume. She waved Emma over. Alice in Wonderland was a fitting choice considering all the turmoil she'd been through recently.

The relief was evident on Emmas's face once she saw them. "Does this look alright? I didn't quite know how all out to go and I didn't want to bother you again."

"You look great." Annabeth assured her. "And you never bother me."

"Thanks." Emma said politely, clearly not accepting the compliment in her mind. "Does Chiron know you have those?"

Emma pointed at the greek armour that both Percy and Annabeth were wearing. They shared a knowing look.

"Not exactly." Percy said with an infectious grin.

"They didn't quite make their way home after the battle of New York. But to be honest I think we should have them anyway. You never know when you're going to need to ride into battle." As Annabeth spoke, Emma was twisting her necklace and her eyes were darting around.

Percy reached out and gently put his hand on Emma's arm. "Emma it's alright, Evan's not coming."

Emma practically jumped out of her skin at his touch. "Oh, ur… good."

It didn't seem to relax her much. Not that Annabeth could blame her. It had only been three weeks since Evans and that wouldn't be a night she forgot easily.

Anneth opened her mouth to mention that Austin might be coming, but stopped herself. Emma was already anxious as hell, she really didn't need another thing to worry about. She might not even see Austin the whole night.

Before she could change her mind, Rory swept in, dressed in suit trousers with a white button shirt, opened a little to reveal a superman top beneath. She might have made a sassy comment about his costume if she hadn't noticed how instantly Emma seemed to calm. Her hand dropped from her pendent and the tension seemed to ease as he approached.

"Percy do you want another drink?" Annabeth said, turning to her boyfriend. His response was a baffled look.

"Ur, I just got one?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Sure, yeah, I'd love one!" He shrugged in an exaggerated manner as she practically dragged him away.

"Subtle, seaweed brain. So subtle."


Her heart seemed to beat in the strangest of time signatures. Each thump belonged to its own pattern. It left her breaths uneven and her head feeling light. Emma knew this wasn't going to be easy, but she didn't realise it would be quite this hard.

She struggled to focus on Percy and Annabeth in front of her. She couldn't think about anything other than the bodies that were on her every side. Even when Percy assured her that Evan wouldn't be there, he and Austin still felt like ghosts that might jump out at any moment.

She had liked the thought of coming as Alice. Though Rory had given her the idea, Alice in Wonderland had always been a favourite of hers, with its vibrant world and satirical characters. It represented how Emma felt navigating life in America alone. Two worlds that were similar and yet so completely different. Everyone was larger than life and everything seemed strange and confusing. Now she wanted to pull the stupid ribbon out of her hair and throw the white pinafore away. She longed for jeans and her brown jacket, just for the comfort of familiarity. At least she still had her necklace and boots.

Emma felt him before she saw him. How, she wasn't sure, but she could. Maybe it was the familiar scent of Rorys cologne or the way the crowd seemed to move around him like a river around a rock. She turned as he approached, that wide arrogant smile and those glistening blue eyes slicing through her anxieties and allowing her to breathe again. She felt… safer. She'd almost relaxed, but seeing him a tailored shirt caused a different, yet still annoying, tightness in her chest. She hardly noticed Annabeth and Percy slipping away.

"Clarke Kent? Wow. So original. I'm inspired."

"Why thank you Alice, you see, I'm a bit of a visionary." Rory leaned his elbow on a bookshelf. Charm to Rory was nothing more than second nature. "I thought long and hard about a costume that would be remembered for decades to come, for this esteemed event. I'm surprised you even recognised who I was. The aim was to be so alternative that I was unrecognisable and people would give me attention by asking me to explain who I was all night long."

As he spoke a blonde boy walked past dressed in black with very specific markings on his skin. Emma smirked as she recognised the character, but doubted anyone else would. He marked Rory's point all too well.

She leaned toward him. "You, sir, are a little shit."

"Careful, I might like it when you call me that." He winked at her, causing a flutter in her stomach.

"Sir or little shit?"

"The former."

Emma gasped theatrically, raising her hand to her chest. "Are you flirting with me?"

"I'm not sure that would be appropriate for our age gap."

"And what would Lois say."

"Gosh darn, you're right."

"I always am."

Their faces were so close, each leaning toward the other. His eyes were alight with the smile on his lips and he shone with energy. She felt her eyes glancing down his lips though she begged them not to. The moment she did a wave of embarrassment came over her. She leant back, pushing a non existent strand of hair behind her ear.

"Do you want to get a drink?" His words were as cool as ever, oblivious to the electromagnetic force that dragged her closer despite her best attempts to stop it.

"I wasn't going to drink tonight. I wanted to be in control after last time." Just the thought of it caused a wave of nausea.

"If you wanted to, I promise I wont leave your side all night." He rested his fingers on her shoulder, his touch warm and light.

"Thank you, really but-"

"Riley!" Emma whipped her head around to see Austin's tall friend, Max calling him. Austin swaggered over in wearing a tee-shirt so torn it might as well not be there. His "zombie" costume was nothing more than a half masked opportunity to be shirtless.

Austin surveyed the room as if it were his palace. You wouldn't have been able to guess this was Liam's house from the way he seemed to claim the party. From across the room he locked eyes with her as he took a swig of his beer and winked. After everything he'd said to her. After everything he'd done. If he wanted to play with her like an animal with its food, she wasn't going to go quietly. She took hold of the liquid inside the bottle and pressed it against the sides. She held the pressure, willing it to break the glass in his hand and cut him so he might leave.

"Emma." Rory's hand was on her arm and the only thing that shattered was her concentration. She furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to chastise him but stopped. There was a look of pity on his face. He'd known what she was about to do. He hadn't done that to comfort her, he'd done that to stop her.

"How did you know?" She said, holding back bitter words.

He pausing stuffing his hands in his pockets, his eyes settling somewhere above her head. "You always bite your lips when you focus. And you have to focus to use your powers."

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she shook her head, turning away from him. "Why did you stop me?"

"Because broken glass at a party always leads to some girl cutting her foot open and bleeding everywhere. It's a nightmare to clear up." She looked up at him, guilt creeping in. "You thought I just did it for him, didn't you?"

"Could you cut it out with the whole reading me perfectly all the time, it's really annoying."

"Coming from you." He said with a playful smile that dissolved any annoyance she might hold toward him. Gods she could be so stupid sometimes, it wasn't even like there was anything to be annoyed about. "I'm on your side, Emma. I'm always on your side."

Now she really did have to bite her lip if only to stop the ridiculous grin that wanted to display itself and make a fool of her. But as the anger faded, it was replaced with shame. Just one look from Riley had been enough to make her grit her teeth and lash out, and that gave him control.

"Fine, I believe you." She said, reaching out and picking up a jello shot from the nearest table. "But if he's gonna stay. I'm gonna need quite a few of these to make it through the night."

She tipped it back into her mouth and swallowed.

"Now can I get a McKenzie special of whatever you made me last time."

Rory shook his head and laughed. "Coming right up."