"When you start liking someone, you lose your words, your heart beats weird, and your mind is all over the place. Love is nothing less than being drugged. The difference is, it is the drug that can heal the world."

When Piper saw Annabeth, she momentarily felt conscious of her own dress and then realised that it was not hers, but Annabeth's, that was weird. Piper was wearing a yellow long sleeve short satin dress - a modest modern clubwear material while Annabeth was wearing black pants with a brownish-red dress that reached till her upper thigh. She had topped it with a shrug. The only "skin" Annabeth showed is her hands and face while for Piper it was her hips, shoulders and legs.

Weird.

Annabeth's didn't look anything like a party dress.

Anyway, she figured they had other problems to worry about - Silena Beauregard, who was definitely NOT a Selected, was sitting in between them. She was tipping from tipsy to drunk.

"Wh-are you-?" It came out like a reflex from Annabeth.

"Are you two a couple?" Drew asked, looking from Annabeth to Piper. "Why're you always showin' up together?"

Annabeth ignored her and placed one hand on Silena's shoulder from behind the sofa. "How much has she had?"

"About 3 shots," Calypso replied.

She hit Silena on her shoulder. "You should not be drinking if you can't handle it!"

Silena gave her a stink eye that resembled Drew's. Piper was caught off guard. "Leave me alone." Silena leaned over Lady Calypso who attempted to comfort her with the world's most awkward shoulder shrugs. Anyone could tell Calypso was having a hard time breathing in the same air as drunk Silena while sitting in a room stinking of alcohol.

Piper understood her of course. It wasn't the most natural sweet flowery smell Calypso was used to. Annabeth, on the other hand, frowned at Lady Calypso, and that made Piper sigh.

There was no way this girl understood any of the Selected. She didn't even attempt to try to do so.

Except me.

Why? Because I'm not into Percy like that.

Piper lacked in many ways but the one thing that Piper had, which perhaps not many other Selected wanted to have at this moment, was her easy attitude towards friendship. Over time, she had talked to all of the Selected (now, Privileged) and tried to, not judge, but understand their characters and where it came from.

It was easy for her. It was who she was.

Annabeth on the other hand... not the best at not being jealous. But that's okay. All of them had their weaknesses. Piper could live with them.

"What?" Drew sneered. "Grab a shot glass and go sit down. We don't have forever for the games."

Annabeth looked back to where Piper handed over a small shot half-filled with what looked like wrongly coloured Vodka. She shifted it with precision and walked over to the other side of the room to sit on a loveseat. Piper sat beside her.

Piper's mind wondered if there was some magical energy to the room which placed everything in the most convenient setting possible for a party. The room was big enough to make-shift into a dance floor if they pushed all the sofas to one wall. It had an open bar with a dozen leather stools placed in a comical circular fashion. The whole room could easily accommodate 50 people, and the drinks were all placed in the table next to where the Selected sat.

The Selected only occupied about 10% space of the high-end bar. They sat, having turned the sofas away from their respected tables to form the nearest ideal of a circle, in 3 sofas each occupying 3 people and in 3 loveseats occupying 2 each. Some of them sat on cushions on the floor. Just to keep everyone in hearing range, Piper thought.

She jolted back into reality when Lady Cassey tapped her hand rest and lifted her eyebrows. Annabeth reached over to pick up a bottle and passed it over to her after filling her own glass.

Why did Annabeth take a shot already?

"Alright. Now that that is set, I think we should move on to the real games instead of the same lame spin the bottle story." Reyna suggested.

Piper noticed the empty bottle on the floor which had its mouth facing between Annabeth and herself. She had taken the first shot.

"Exactly." Drew followed. "The one who gets drunk first loses the series."

Everybody agreed.

Lady Reza went first. "Never have I ever played dumb just to get out of a mess."

Piper and a few others chuckled. Most of the room rolled their eyes. Few of them took their shots.

"Never have I ever secretly wished to have superpowers." Lady Kayla proposed.

Annabeth flashed a smile which Drew narrowed her eyes at. Everyone except Reyna, Reza, Cassey and Drew took their shots. Yes, even Silena.

It was Lady Valentina's turn next. She looked around as if wondering if it was the right choice to ask her question then went for it: "Never have I ever heard or watched someone at it. Excluding the internet."

A few girls sighed in embarrassment. Many laughed and looked around. Surprisingly, Drew and Alice took shots. Suddenly, she found Calypso frowning in her direction.

Piper glanced at Annabeth to find her glass empty.

Annabeth was trying to look anywhere, but the girls and it was obvious that not many noticed that she had had a drink. Calypso was definitely observant.

Who did Annabeth -

Lady Laurel spoke up. "What is this innocent play? Never have I ever kissed a girl."

That effectively caught Piper's attention. Her cheeks burned. She looked around the room just like everyone else but then closed her eyes and gulped down the burning liquid in a flash.

The room went silent.

"Wha-"

"When did you-"

"It is not one of us, is it?~"

"No, genius, if that were the case then two people would've had the drink."

Piper tried to zone them all out. Drew spoke in an obviously self-satisfied manner. "How was it?"

Her cheeks burned more at that.

"Yeah, spill girl." Someone called out.

"What do you mean by how it was..." She looked around in embarrassment. "It was just like any other kiss."

Lady Cassey laughed. "Was it a dare?"

Piper thought about lying for a second but then, "No. No, it wasn't."

Cassey's smile fell. Alice pushed, "What? Are you bisexual then?"

"Hey!" Annabeth interrupted. "Since when do we ask these many follow up questions?" She pointed at Calypso. "Your turn, Lady Calypso."

Piper mouthed a thank you to Annabeth. She nodded.

Lady Calypso hummed. "Now that we've gone there let us all get this cleared up. Be honest. Drink if you've had more than 5 or more dates with the prince."

Surprisingly, Annabeth didn't drink. Drew, Rachel, Calypso, Reyna and even Valentina emptied their half-filled shot glass.

"Number." She asked.

"5" Drew, Reyna and Valentina said.

"6," Calypso said. They turned towards Rachel.

"Well... I spent 3 whole days around him...?"

Calypso brushed it off. "True that."

Stella spoke. "What about a kiss then?"

Oh boy.

This was an enviable blackhole they were gonna fall into, wasn't it?

Nearly HALF of the room raised their hands.

Piper wasn't expecting that count. Percy is better than that..., right?

The room was unusually tense. All the suppressed emotions started leaking from the corners.

For the shortest second, Piper had imagined this party to go like any girl's only night out. She imagined they would get drunk, apply nail polish on each other, sing songs in horrible tunes then fall asleep uncomfortably. Well, I guess that isn't how a girl's night out goes if all the girls are pining over the same guy.

Those who didn't drink stared at those who did. Rachel spoke. "Silena?"

"Oh," she hiccupped, "I'm not in. I didn't ki-" she laughed. "Percy is like a cousin brother, seriously. You guys play, it just got interesting." She tauntingly raised her eyebrows at Annabeth. "The whole gang bet on Annabeth anyway."

Rachel must have felt offended. "You're that sure?"

"Yeah, sure." She replied with a hiccup. "Question is if they'll end up together." She leaned over to Calypso, and whisper screamed the rest with one hand blocking her face in an unsuccessful attempt to hide it from Annabeth. "We have a divided bet on that."

Annabeth huffed and shook her head but had a small smile on her face. "Don't worry." She smirked at Rachel. "They've been on it for years, and the terms of the bet has varied so much that they're not sure if they already won or not."

Billie's turn next. "Forget this. Raise your glasses if a Prince has kissed you. That makes all the difference, doesn't it?" She stared at Rachel.

"That-" Silena pointed at a wall about 10 to the right of Annabeth. "Is true. Ohhh..." She shushed herself. "She knows..." She hit herself on the forehead. "I'm gonna sleep." She coughed. Calypso immediately sat down as if she'd found her new escape and let Silena sleep on the loveseat.

Only Annabeth, Rachel and Drew raised their hands. Alice rolled her eyes. "Drew is lying."

"No, I'm not! What do you know?"

Katie was vexed. "Your insecurities?" Drew glared daggers at her.

On the other hand, the question had forced Annabeth and Rachel to chew on an apple of discord. They were both green with envy.

A war was about to start.

Drew said, "Never have I ever suggested to sleep with-"

Rachel spoke up, dismissing Drew and forgetting the order. "Never have I ever walked a prince to his room after a good night kiss on the rooftop." She didn't wait for the others. She emptied her drink.

Annabeth shook her head. "Never has a prince ever carried me over to my room and kissed me on the first actual date." She emptied her glass. "God, why is the temperature rising?"

"You shouldn't have worn clothes like it is snowing inside." Katie pointed out.

"Yeah, Wise girl, you might wanna get a little less decent. It is just the girls... or are you afraid of the faux next to you?" Stella smirked at Piper.

Piper suddenly wished to meet her inside the sword fighting ring. She grit her teeth.

Annabeth glared at her before taking off her shrug. She then stood up and took off her pants too. "Now," she sat down on the floor and glared at Rachel, "where were we?"

For the record, Piper didn't think of Annabeth like that.

Rachel smugly lifted a bottle and sat in front of her on the floor. "Never have I ever took the prince to my home?" They were, for sure, getting wasted today. It didn't look like they gave a shit. Piper wasn't sure if they realized it or not, but they were gulping full instead of half shots now.

Annabeth looked up at the ceiling in amusement. "I've lived on the same floor as him for years, know him front to back and been inside his room enough times." She lifted the bottle and took a gulp straight from it.

Why were the others not stopping them?

Rachel was red in anger. "Estelle likes me. The queen does too, and it has been only a few months. How long did they take to trust you?"

Annabeth grit her teeth. "You really think they trust you? Yeah? Who is the one who knows secret passages, codes to those secret passages and royal secrets?!" She snarled.

Piper's eyes widened. Was Annabeth exaggerating?

Here, I'll break the 4th wall to ask you, readers:

Is it safe to say something like that out loud? In front of all the Selected? One of them could be the one framing Annabeth, right?

What if-

My mind: STOP WITH THE SPOILERS.

*4th wall glued back together. *

Katie was worried about Annabeth. "Um, girls, maybe she had too much to drink. She is blabbering now."

Rachel looked like someone slapped her cheek. She took a big gulp and said, "I introduced him to my father."

Annabeth snickered. "Yeah, drink, drink, my father introduced me to the Prince." She chuckled coldly.

Piper wasn't sure, but she thought Rachel's confidence wavered. "And my mom invited him to breakfast!"

Annabeth went silent at that.

Of course, Piper thought, Annabeth's mom only revealed herself a few weeks ago, and she never approved of Percy.

Maybe it was the fact that Annabeth realised the mistake she just made or maybe she was too wasted. "I'm out." She said and drowned the rest of the bottle. "I didn't want this party anyway."

She grabbed her shrug and tried to get up, only to fall back down on Rachel. It didn't look like she was in a state to try to wear her pants now.

When she eventually managed to stand up and walk straight enough, she collided head-on with the nearest wall. She looked back one last time, eyes clearly giving away how drunk the girl was. She leaned over one wall and used it as leverage to cross over the room and get out. After she left, Piper looked the girls and surprisingly, nearly half of them were either smiling or had smug looks.

The only person who looked like she didn't understand anything was Rachel, considering she was equally drunk.

Piper was pretty annoyed at this point.

"You know?" She locked eyes one after other with Calypso, Reyna, Valentina and Rachel. "Just like how not saying the truth is equal to lying, not doing anything is the acting accomplice of the criminal." She looked at Drew.

"Ohh" Stella retaliated. "We find a little detail about her and her girlfriend gets all mad."

Cassey gestured out. "You're free to join her, you know?"

Drew nodded. "Just know that if you choose to leave now, we're gonna make it really hard for you to meet your little... blond crush."

Piper paled. Immediately, she looked at Katie, the only person except for Annabeth who knew about Jason.

Katie refused to look at her. She couldn't say if it were in embarrassment or guilt.

Lady Reyna frowned. Piper didn't know why.

"What?" Calypso asked. She was helping Rachel sit back up. "You thought we wouldn't know? Hmm... I wonder what the prince feels about this..."

All colour left Piper's face.

She couldn't be suggesting...

Treason...

No... not Calypso!

Not the nice ones!

Lady Amber asked. "Piper, what is she talking about?"

"Exactly." Piper maintained her poker face. "What are you on about, Lady Calypso? And, Drew, who said anything about leaving?"

Drew looked satisfied.

"So, who is up for the next game?"

...

Annabeth was sure there were a million stairs to her room when she looked down from the 4th floor.

And why exactly was the hallway a circle instead of the regular straightway?

Water pipes were floating above her...

How can I breathe?

She giggled.

This is so satisfying...

Waaaaaittttt...

Why is Percy not talking to me?

Did we fight...

No...

Fight. The swordfight... I threw him around.

Hehehe...

I can totally protect the guy, you know?

Protect. She coughed. Oh... I need to protect my Seaweed brain...

Where is the way to the secret rooms?

What are they called...?

Uh...

They had water bubbles in the room...

She hiccupped. Bottles. Bubbles. Bottles.

So Percy drinks sugar water...

She shook her head. Salt. Salt.

Whyyyy...

Finally, after an eternity, she came to her floor and entered her room.

Jeez... I want him.

That effectively sobered her up a little.

She blushed - which didn't make any difference as she was flushed enough because of the alcohol. She hit herself on the cheeks.

"Wh-at hell am I thinkiiing?" Her drunken voice spoke.

"Yeah, Annabeth, what the hell are you thinking?" Someone asked.

She hiccup-coughed grabbed the door, which felt overly heavy for its size.

Maybe I had too much?

"Who is it?" A voice called from inside her room. Again, the room felt way too big for its size.

Why do they have the same voice?

Yeah, I had too much.

Annabeth focused hard to figure out who it was. The person (or people) on the other end were staring at her too intensely.

She looked at the guy. "Whee are there eeee of you?"(Translation: Why are there three of you?)

I know him...

The voice was closer now. Or did she move inside? She squished her eyes and looked again. "There isi de-depinetely tooo of yo-u." (Translation: There is definitely two of you.)

At the same time, Annabeth felt a kind of an earthquake behind her. The door to her room opened and in arrived a certain Prince wearing a navy bathroom robe that did a poor job hiding his upper body (probably because said Prince didn't care enough to tie the robe well). His raven hair was still wet and sticking out in awkward directions.

"Well, that's good news." His guard said. "Now I can tell Silena that her boyfriend is gonna be back without a scratch."

Percy smiled and opened the door to her room. "That's the best thing I've heard all day."

Then, he saw her.

And froze.

Jason, at the same time, frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Annabeth wasn't so disoriented anymore, but she sincerely wished she was.

Just to use that as an excuse to stare at Percy's... well, just a little longer?

He must've noticed as he immediately hid and re-did his robe in a hurry. "Unit dismissed." He called out. "Jason standby."

The earthquake stopped.

Jason looked back. "Did you...?"

"NO. NO - WE- I – I-I-I" Percy put his hands up. "Didn't."

Annabeth involuntarily bit her lip, and Percy noticed it in a beat. He'd completely forgot about the robe part while raising his hands. He whined and went back to tie it.

Jason stood in front of Annabeth, blocking Percy.

"Oh move, will you?" She spoke with proper pronunciation.

"Answer me." He was irritated. "Why are you here?"

"W-what do - mean why-I- am I -?" She was irritated now. "I'm i-in my room, Jason." She spun around only to trip on her own feet.

Someone caught her. "So, you recognize Percy, you see Jason, but you don't know us?" He demanded.

"She's definitely got her priorities straight." His mirror image spoke.

"Wait." She tried to sober up. "Why can only see one of them but two of you?"

The guy looked at his mirror image. The mirror image spoke. "Hello, I'm Connor, he is Travis, good to meet you. Now, where is the real Annabeth?"

Travis hit him. "Shut up. You don't want her to know that you roofied Percy, do you?" He whispered the last part, but Annabeth heard it clearly. As if on instinct, she punched the mirror one's nose. The poor guy stumbled back. Percy was trying hard not to laugh uncontrollably.

"Dude! That was uncalled for!" He came forward as if wanting to retaliate but instead of hitting her, he hit Travis.

"Ohhh, even drunk Annabeth is scary." Travis pointed out.

"Fuc-forget it!" A wave of nausea hit her. "Aa-all of you, get out! I need to sa-sleep."

She walked straight inside and feel on the bed. The distance to her bed felt unusually long, and the bed itself was unusually soft.

So soft... Her mind said, best mood to sleep naked!

Only if these idiots get out...

"Go back to your room, Percy." She cooed. "I'm tired. We'll speak in the morning." She gave him a drunken smile.

He walked further in. "Um... about-about that Wise-" He ran one hand on his hair when she looked at him. "You're actually in my...?"

"In your head?" She smiled. "As I said," she whispered, "tomorrow."

"That's n-not what I was-" He looked at Jason for help.

Jason looked completely, totally, unmistakeably lost.

Annabeth suddenly stood up and removed her shrug. "It is too sweaty." She looked back at the four boys whose eight eyes were staring at her. "Come on! Get out." She made a hand gesture that roughly read: Shoo

"What-what are you doing?" Connor spoke.

"Oh yeah!" She smiled. "I was changing my dress, I remember now." She bent down to grab on to her dress.

Jason looked away. Percy immediately brought his hands forward in a defensive position and said, "NO. NO. NO!"

She bit her teeth in anger. "Why?"

"We're still inside!" He reasoned. Connor and Travis nodded but looked alarmed. "Don't you get it? 4 guys! Inside the room!"

"Then get out!" She fired back. "Lock the door too!" She bent down again. "Gods, I hate this -" She dragged the hem of the dress up.

Travis and Connor jumped on it. "Okayyy, time to go." They pulled Jason with them.

"Guys, guys, don't leave me like this." Percy pleaded. "Help?"

"If she finds out we saw her like this; she is gonna kill us. If she finds out you did, she is gonna blush." Travis said. "Who do you think needs help?"

"Jason! You told me she couldn't be alone with-"

"Ah- yes he-"

"You wanna die tomorrow?" Connor asked him. The genuine seriousness in his face seemed to reason with Jason.

"Exceptions?" He changed his stance.

"Jackson, before you do anything, make sure she is in her senses."

Annabeth whined. Every time she tried to bend down; a wave of nausea would hit her. "Percyyy... I feel sick. Help me take this off."

The rest of the guys lifted their eyebrows. "Yeah, help her." They pushed him in and locked the door.

Percy hit the door a few times before looking back in. Annabeth was sitting on his bed with her hands on her head. She leaned back and tried to reach her dress again.

He mumbled. "Please don't hate me."

He went straight towards her and held her shoulders. "No, Wise girl, you're gonna be cold." She shrugged out his hold and mumbled something in her drunken state. Irritated, he tried to get up and shouted. "No!" She made an unexpected move with her legs, and he tripped over her. The momentum made him pin her to the bed.

She froze, only to look at him with big confused eyes.

He placed one hand on the bed to get up but found himself admiring her. How he wished this were an utterly different circumstance...

The last time he was-

She looked left and right. "Did I do something wrong?"

Percy immediately started coughing and got up. She sat up and blinked more. "No. No. You're just a little... um... drunk."

"Ah... is that why my computer is showing the stocks page?"

"Huh?"

She pointed at the table (which looked unusually big.) "I don't remember having that many losses last time."

Percy cringed at himself. He sat on the chair and started analysing the losses.

Oh no, he did not just start working now. I want to cuddle him!

"Why are you looking at my stocks again?"

"Annabeth... this is my room."

"We're sharing a room now?" She walked closer to him.

"No. I live with the twins."

"So, we have roommates. Where are they?" She sat down on his lap and put one hand over his shoulder.

He froze. "What are you doing?" He refused to meet her eyes.

"I wanna cuddle." She tilted her head to look at his eyes.

He closed his eyes as if trying to restrain himself. "Not today..." It was more of a why today of all days than I don't want to. He breathed in and out deeply.

She adjusted herself to make sure she wasn't sitting on the cell phone in his front pocket to make sure she wasn't making him uncomfortable by hitting any... sensitive areas... and leaned over his chest/shoulder. He still didn't look at her.

Why was he so awkward and stiff?

Annabeth let him be. She admired the stark pink colour that had formed all over his neck. The arm tattoo, on his other hand. The way he concentrated so well on the computer screen. His half-wet hair. His collarbone. The muscles she was leaning on...

It felt weirdly safe to fall asleep.

"Don't stare at me."

"I didn't know you worked out."

"Yeah, the whole tournament thing made me wanna go back. You'd be seriously disappointed if you looked at me right now."

"Oh, I don't know about that." He didn't answer. She smiled and traced one finger over his neck. He was blushing so hard that it felt warm. Eventually, it was frustrating to know that he was trying his level best to not give attention to her; so, she pretended to trace his collarbone but ran her finger inside his robe.

Instantly, he pulled her away. She protested by crossing the second leg and cradling him. She no longer cared about a stupid phone. If he was uncomfortable, he could take it out. Percy bit his teeth, but it didn't look like he was angry. "I don't think you know what you're doing, but please, please don't do this." He shifted and pushed her away from him. "Don't sit forward like this."

She frowned. "How do I sit then? Backward?" In one shot, she changed positions to sit facing the laptop.

"No. De-definitely no. God, you're turning me-"

"Hey, you idiot!" She looked back at him. "That is your strategy?"

"Huh? What?"

"The stocks! You can't go like this! Wait, let me..." She started clicking away.

Percy stared at her. This woman was gonna drive him mad. He bit his tooth harder and thought about depressing stuff like the past war, the explosion where Beckendorf nearly died, the upcoming meetings and even the boring Olympics welcome parties.

It didn't seem to work...

After a few minutes, she half turned and started explaining to him what she had done. Percy wasn't really getting any of it. He was just staring at her.

"Alright?" She finally chucked and turned back to put an arm around his shoulder to go back to their initial position."Your sober work is worse than my drunk one." She criticized. "I think you're gonna have to marry me just to keep you in the track. What are you gonna do without me?"

"Exactly." Percy didn't look away this time. He gave her an Eskimo kiss but flicking her nose tip with his. "What am I gonna do without you?"

Annabeth's heart stopped for a second and started beating twice as fast the next. Her stomach churned in a way that had nothing to do with nausea.

He smiled. "Don't kiss me." He kissed her on the cheek. "You're drunk."

She pushed him away. "You're telling me that you have no problem with me sitting like this, talking to you and that smell is fine, but I can't kiss you?"

"I do have a problem." He said stupidly.

Annabeth pulled away. He wasn't expecting that. She got up and looked around.

"I get it now. I'm in your room. Do you want me to go out?"

Yes? No? Definitely not.

"Do you wanna go?" He asked.

"Not now, the Selected must be coming back now. I left early. Can I go after an hour?"

"Wait a minute... you all got drunk together?" He looked surprised. "Tomorrow is gonna be interesting." He laughed.

Annabeth didn't like it when Percy spoke of the Selected. Or referred it to as 'them'. Like it was always more than one person. She sighed and went back to sit on his bed.

She giggled. "I'm definitely choosing this one."

"No... I have my spot! I can't sleep on the twins' beds!"

She kept telling herself to not fall asleep in that one hour. However, she was lying on the bed, looking at the various decorations on the walls.

Percy and Annabeth didn't talk much after that. He looked at his papers for a while then went into the shower. He had just showered from the gym so Annabeth couldn't understand why he was showering again.

She thought about Percy, about her feelings, about Selection, about Percy's advice.

She wondered what all was in store for her.

For the smallest moment, she felt like crying.

She also felt thrilled, like never before in her life.

When Percy came back, she was on the verge of falling asleep. He got inside the mattress and spooned her from the right. "We're cuddling now."

Percy was extremely cold.

He had taken a cold shower? At night?

Why?

She turned around to give him a small kiss, and he didn't protest. He returned it with equal tenderness. Annabeth faced away from him and pulled his arms further in. The first tear full of uncertainty fell from her eye onto his pillow.

She didn't want to feel sad.

Percy was right; she shouldn't be thinking about everything else when it was just them.

All it ever did was put unnecessary pressure on their relationship.

She turned around and hugged him. She let the emotions engulf her. His scent, his slightly salty smell, his breath on her forehead... it was addictive in a way that alcohol simply cannot substitute.

For the first time, she imagined as if she was the only one.

She imagined a world without Selection...

A world where Percy had feelings for only one person...

It felt too idealistic to be her life.

Even if it was all a lie, that moment, lying next to him, was pure bliss.

She could live with those lies...

For him.

For all those who didn't completely understand the last part, i.e. Percy and Annabeth before they fell asleep, I want you to think about this carefully: Percy said he was never gonna use his phone unless Leo reprograms it. When Annabeth sat on Percy's lap (in front of the laptop), she said: She adjusted herself to make sure she wasn't sitting on the cell phone in his front pocket.

I wonder where the phone suddenly came from.

There is a reason why I rated it T/T

I think I teared up a little writing this last part.

So... Beckendorf is safe...(?)

Percabeth made up, definitely, but why does it feel like they broke up?

Forget that, and please tell me your thoughts! :) I love interactions. Every comment. They are the only things that are keeping me with this story after so long. They're priceless to me.