Chapter 1

POV: Annabeth

I woke up feeling like I had been smacked over the head with a sledgehammer. Keeping my eyes shut, I slowly recollected the event of the previous night. My roommates and I had gone to a party, gotten drunk, and flirted with some cute boys, though I could not remember any of those boys' names. In the twin bed on the opposite side of the room, I heard Piper passed out whining about someone named Jane. Piper and I shared the master bedroom while our other roommate, Thalia, got a smaller room all to herself. This wasn't exactly my idea but we desperately needed all 3 of us to be able to make rent and Thalia needed her space.

I started to open my eyes, letting the light slowly filter in. My room gradually came into view. On my side there were stacks of books and bookshelves filled to the brim. There also was a graphing desk for my architecture designs and a television hooked up to my computer for me to have a bigger screen with more detail. On Piper's side there were mounds of clothes strewn across the floor and piles of textbooks. Piper still had one more semester left at NYU while I had already graduated from Columbia.

Piper, Thalia, and I had all been friends since elementary school when Thalia beat up a couple of bullies who were picking on Piper and me. We had grown up together, always watching each other's backs and picking each other up when we fell. Thalia was a year older than us but was held back in fourth grade, so she was almost always with us. She had no interest in continuing her education past high school and quickly joined a group of girls who traveled together called The Hunters. Eventually she came back to New York, but she never would talk about her time with them.

I looked at my clock which read 9:43am. I groaned realizing I had to get up now and shower or I wouldn't make my shift at Godly Nectar on time. I rolled out of bed and made my way slowly over to Piper. I looked over the sleeping beauty and saw that she hadn't even bothered to take off her clothes or makeup, and had left a nice design on her pillow.

"PIPER WAKE UP WE HAVE TO GET READY FOR WORK!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, yet the brunette didn't even budge. I poked and prodded her a couple times before resigning to doing this the hard way. I walked around to the other side of the bed and started to pick up the mattress. As I picked it up Piper slowly started to roll, before gaining momentum and crashing onto the floor.

"What the fuck, Annie?" Piper asked, anger and exhaustion laced into her voice. Even in her half asleep state, she was still prettier than anyone I knew. She could have any guy she wanted but she had spent the last 8 months pining after a boy in her economics class. His name was Jason, and based on Piper's description, was most likely Superman with blonde hair.

"Don't call me Annie!" I snapped, "And we need to get ready for work, it's already almost 10." Piper cursed under her breath and scurried around the room, trying to find her work uniform. Knowing that that would take at least fifteen minutes, I made my way to the shower. I turned it on and let the water heat up. While waiting I tried to remember who we had been talking to last night. We went to the party knowing that Blonde Superman would be there and Piper was desperate. But after arriving at the party and talking to Silena, the host, I don't remember much besides flashes of sea green and someone's lips on mine.

Once the water was hot enough I jumped in letting the water scald me. I've always loved hot showers. They let me think clearly and have often been my twenty minute escape from my life. After scrubbing myself clean, I wrapped my hair and towel and quickly started to get dressed while Piper showered. About thirty minutes later Piper stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed and wearing makeup.

"We gotta go Pipes. Hurry up!" I said, though not very worried as the owner, Sally, didn't really mind if we were a couple minutes late.

"I'm ready, I'm ready," Piper muttered. I grabbed her by the hand and sprinted out of our apartment towards the elevator. Once we reached the bottom floor, I let go of Piper and started sprinting out the building and down the block to where we worked.

I skidded to a halt in front of Godly Nectar, waiting for my friend to catch up. When she finally pulled up, a minute until our shift started mind you, we walked inside. At the counter stood Sally and a black haired boy who was also wearing all black. Sally was wearing a light blue t-shirt with our logo printed on it and a pair of blue jeans.

"Good Morning Sally!" I called as I went into the employee break room in the back. I dropped off my backpack and went back to the front counter, taking over the cash register for Sally. She continued to talk to the black haired boy and I took the chance to get a better look at him. A wave of familiarity washed over me as I saw his dark eyes and pale face. I knew him but I had no idea from where. He said goodbye to Sally and turned on his heel, exiting the store as quickly as possible.

"Hey Sally. Who was that?" I asked, immediately regretting the words leaving my mouth. I had an issue with being nosy. I didn't want to pry but my mind was always asking questions and sometimes they slipped out.

"Oh, that was my nephew Nico," she answered, "He's a sweet boy though I hate to say it Annabeth, but I don't really think you're his type."

"Oh, uh, no, that's not what I meant," my face was turning bright red at this point and Piper was cackling behind me. "He just seemed familiar is all." I ignored the confused look I received from Sally and went back taking the orders while Piper made the drinks and Sally served. We made an efficient trio, which left a lot of free time for us to chat.

"So, girls, what did you do last night?" Sally inquired.

"We, uh, we-," I stuttered out before Piper decided that had gone on long enough.

"We went to a party Sally, and our little Annabeth here met a boy," she said, moving her eyebrows up and down at the last bit. I did? I vaguely remember kissing someone, but I thought that was it.

"What are you talking about Pipes?"

"I'm talking about the boy you were locking lips with for two hours last night. Not to mention the fact that you two talked to each other for the entire party before that. How much did you drink?"

"I don't remember that at all. Are you fucking with me? Do you know who it was?" I said, tacking on the last part with a little too much interest.

Piper shook her head, "I didn't recognize him but you did call him Seaweed Brain a lot though."

At that point a customer walked in, ending the conversation and leaving me flustered and confused. We continued to work but I often found my mind drifting off to those sea green eyes and salty lips that I had apparently spent the entire night with. Honestly I was a bit scared. I hadn't kissed anyone since Him. And since Him, I hadn't dated, or really even acknowledged boys outside of work and Piper ranting about Jason. But this guy, who Piper nor I seem to know, was able to break down my barriers and I don't even remember it.

I was sad but I was also angry. Angry that I could let anyone get that close to me that fast. Angry that my will was that weak while drinking. But honestly, mostly angry because I had real fun for the first time in a long time and didn't know if it would really happen again. It's not like I could find the boy in the massive city of New York. And the party was massive, with people coming and going constantly.

At around three in the afternoon both Piper and I took our lunch breaks and went to the deli down the block. I ordered my sandwich and grabbed a table by the wall. Piper sat down across for me, holding both of our sandwiches. We immediately dug in, both having forgotten to eat before running to work.

"What do you remember about the party last night?" I asked quietly, kind of hoping she wouldn't hear me.

"Do you really not remember? I thought you were just being coy in front of Sally."

"I really don't remember. I talked to Silena in the beginning, grabbing a drink, and then nothing," I grumbled.

"You are such a lightweight. But since I am your best friend I will tell you about the party. When we get off."

At that I groaned. Why was she making me wait? I wanted, no, I needed to know what happened last night. "Why can't you just tell me now," I whined.

"Because, I want Thalia there to help me fill in the blanks. Also because I don't want to have to spend work answering your questions."

"Fine. Whatever. Let's just go back to work," I grumbled. We threw away our trash and started walking back up the block towards the coffee shop. We got back just in time, as not a minute later a wave of people started coming in. After that work couldn't have gone by any slower. By the time we got off I would've sworn I had been there a year.

We made it back to the apartment around 8:15 and proceeded to make a dinner of Kraft Mac and Cheese and a bag of chips. We sat down at the kitchen table and ate in silence, waiting for Thalia to return home around 9:00.

At 9:03 Thalia walked through the door and I loudly cheered. "Yes, yes I'm the best, now what's for dinner?" Thalia asked. Piper pointed to the stove where the pot of Mac and Cheese still sat. Thalia made herself a bowl and sat down eyeing the food eagerly.

"Wait! First I need to know what happened at the party," I declared. Thalia chose to ignore me and happily munched away on chips. Piper however must have decided she was done with the torture and began to tell the tale.