There was an old photograph, in an envelope, on Piper's kitchen counter. Annabeth had sent it from her new apartment in New Rome. She told Piper that she'd been cleaning out some old photo albums, and thought Piper might like to have a reminder of the night her life changed.

5 Years Earlier

The music was beating in sync with Piper's racing heart. The lights, and music, the fuzzy feeling in her head left a warm feeling in her chest. There were people all around her, dancing, drinking, some were making out in the middle of the room. Piper danced and drank with them until she couldn't feel the ache in her chest. Before she knew it, she wasn't on the dance floor anymore.

Before getting hammered at the nightclub 'Elysium', Piper had been having an okay day. She woke at a pleasant time, having actually slept through the night. Her boss hadn't yelled at her, which was a win in Piper's book, and she went to her favorite Bistro for lunch with her father. All in all, she was good. But that didn't last. Piper was out of groceries at her apartment, which she shared with her roommate, Annabeth. She offered to go shopping for Annabeth, since she was still at the Architectural firm. Percy, Annabeth's best friend (and Piper's boyfriend) had tagged along because he was going to make them dinner that night.

Piper had known both her roommate, and her roommate's best friend since freshman year at NYU. Percy had practically lived in their dorm for the first two years of college. His excuse was always 'Annabeth is helping me study for an exam when she gets back from her classes' or ' Annabeth promised me food, so she's running to McDonald's for me.' Piper didn't mind his company. Oftentimes, he would help her study, or just keep her company after a bad day. After college, Percy kept coming to their apartment (Piper and Annabeth had decided to continue living together to deal with rent.). Piper didn't question it, since he was Annabeth's best friend. But after a year, Piper caught on to the hints of flirting they were doing, and Percy started hanging out with only Piper more often.

Now, almost a year later, they were about to celebrate their six month anniversary. However, Percy got called to the station for an emergency shift after they finished shopping.

"I'm so sorry, Pipes. We'll do something when I get off, okay. I promise." He said, and left Piper at the door with the multiple bags of groceries. Piper had gotten used to his emergency shifts in the five years that she'd known her boyfriend, so she didn't hold it against him. Percy worked at the fire department in their district of New York City. He loved his job, and dreamed of helping people since he understood what being a hero was. She knew he couldn't control the times that multiple fires burned at the same time and the fighters were stretched thin. She knew him well enough, and trusted him, to keep his word of making it up to her.

Piper carried all of the groceries into the kitchen, and put all the food away. She couldn't cook to save her life, and both of her cooks weren't here at the moment, so Piper did what she could. Which was to call her sister, Drew.

Piper and Drew weren't what you would consider close. They ran in different social circles, didn't visit their mother at the same time, and often Drew was just a plain bitch. But Drew knew how to get someone's mind off of their problems for a night, which is how Piper ended up at Elysium in the first place.

the next morning

Piper woke to a searing headache, and eyes blinded by the morning sun. She didn't remember a thing from the night before, or how she ended up… in a hotel. Oh shit, did she? Piper looked down at her fully clothed body. Oh, Thank goodness. Piper looked around the hotel room. There were two beds, one occupied by Piper, and the other completely empty, but unmade. She could vaguely hear the sound of a shower running past the pounding in her ears. Why did she have to get so drunk last night? And who the hell is in the shower?

Piper sat up in the bed, her vision doting black. She walked- stumbled- past the unoccupied bed, and into the bathroom. "Who's in there?" She asked, and the person in the shower started coughing. She couldn't see into the shower because of the white shower curtain obscuring her view.

"Piper? You awake?" The man behind the curtain asked over the sounds of running water and a headache. Piper had to strain her concentration to make out what he was saying.

"Who are you?" She asked in reply. Finally the water stopped running, making her headache lessen. A hand came out from behind the curtain, making a grabby motion.

"Can you pass me a towel?" Piper passed the hand one of the white towels hanging on the rack behind her. She could hear shuffling behind the curtain, and it finally opened to a face Piper hadn't seen in years.

"Connor?!"

"The one and only. Stoll brother at your service."

"How- why- Connor?"

Piper was at a loss for words. Connor Stoll, her childhood crush at summer camp, was standing in front of her practically naked. He was practically naked! Piper turned around, flushed that she didn't notice his nudity before. She had a boyfriend for goodness sake. The big question was: what was Connor Stoll doing in New York?

The last Piper had heard, Connor and his older brother, Travis, opened a joke shop in Atlanta, Georgia. She talked to Travis' girlfriend, Katie Gardener, on a regular basis. However she hadn't seen either of the brothers since the end of camp their senior year in high school. She hadn't really thought about Connor since freshman year of NYU. So, five years ago. But here he was, standing behind her, half-naked in a hotel room.

"Holy shit!" Piper yelped, and started running back into the hotel room. She needed to find her shoes, so she could get back to the apartment. She hadn't told Annabeth that she was going out last night. Annabeth was going to kill her!

"Piper?"

"Connor, thank you so much for bringing me, well wherever we are, but my roommate is going to kill me for not being home last night." Piper said and found her platforms that she had worn with Drew the night before.

"Who's your roommate?" Connor asked not getting the hint that she had to hurry.

"Annabeth Chase."

"Wait. Annie?"

Piper looked at him questioningly. How did he know Annabeth?

"Do you know her?" Piper asked him while standing up from the floor.

"She went to Camp. She stopped coming about a year before you showed up. She took Percy with her too."

"Percy? Percy Jackson?"

"Yeah. Grover, Annabeth, and Percy were inseparable. Then in Junior year of highschool, Percy's little sister-"

"Estelle."

"Yeah- Estelle- was born during the camp session, and Percy and Annabeth chose to stay in NYC to be with her."

Piper's brain was spinning with the new found connections. Her boyfriend and roommate had also gone to Camp Half-Blood? Why hadn't they ever told her about it?

She could ponder all those questions right now however, because she really needed to get back to the apartment. So, Piper grabbed Connors phone from his hand, opened his contacts, and typed in her information.

"Call me, and we can talk more later. I really have to go at the moment, but I owe you one for getting me out of that club last night. Thank you."

And with that Piper ran out of the door.

Break

Annabeth wasn't mad at Piper, she was disappointed (Annabeth's words, not Piper's). She lectured Piper for about forty-five minutes on how irresponsible getting hammered at a club was, if she didn't have a sober friend, or a designated driver. "You could've woken up in a stranger's apartment, and you wouldn't have known. You could've been kidnapped. Someone could've taken advantage of you, Piper, you don't know how fucking lucky you are." Annabeth went on and on about all of the possibilities, and Piper let her. She knew that what she did was reckless. Piper knew that, and she was ashamed of it. She knew she should've done better. So she waited until Annabeth felt like Piper got the message to ask her questions.

"How do you know Connor Stoll?" She asked her roommate, who looked back at her confused.

"Who?"

"Connor Stoll. He went to Camp Half Blood with me, during my junior and senior years of highschool. He seemed to know you." Annabeth's face lit up in recognition.

"Travis's brother! Wait- you went to CHB?"

Piper explained what happened when she woke that morning, and they exchanged stories from their separate times at Camp Half Blood.

"It's crazy how we never crossed paths there, but we ended up being college roommates." Annabeth commented after they finished their story time. Piper thought the same thing. It's crazy how the universe makes connections.