A/N: Hellooo everybody. New chapter, finally! Sorry it's been a while, my life has been HECTIC with school lmao. But on the plus side, it's a big one! I had a lot of fun writing this! Please, please, please leave a review! I love feedback, whether it be constructive criticism or telling me things you enjoyed. It really makes my day!

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Cacti Need Love As Well

He led me to a small, quieter booth in the area I had just run through before. I fingered the latch of my purse nervously as I saw two other figures sitting with their backs turned away from me, one head chest-nut brown and the other pitch black.

"Fucking finally," the black-haired one spoke, not looking up from his phone as Percy slid into the booth. "What were you doing in the loos, there, Perce- shitting all of Antarctica or… something…" he trailed off as he spotted me hovered awkwardly at the end of the table.

The brown-haired one looked at me once, looked back at Percy, looked back at me again, and then split the biggest shit-eating grin I had ever seen in my entire life. "Woohay, bud," he cheered, slapping his hand down on the table, "you finally bagged yourself a chick!"

"Shut up, Leo," Percy frowned, half in amusement, half in genuine annoyance.

I narrowed my eyes at the brown-haired boy. "I am not something to bag."

I saw the corner of the black-haired one's lip quirk up as I spoke. "Something funny?" I asked. He didn't deign to respond.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I apologise for my dickhead friends." Leo made a sound of outrage. "Anyway," Percy continued, "this is Leo," he gestured, "and this is Nico. We're here with our friend Jason, and his girlfriend, Piper." Nico nodded palely at me, remaining silent, dark eyes unreadable. Leo, on the other hand, scooched up so I could squeeze around the table. But…

"Wait, Jason as in Jason Grace?" I asked, frowning. It couldn't possibly be…

"Uh, yeah," Percy chuckled confusedly, "why, you… know him or something?"

I blinked. "Um, yes, actually. He's Thalia's- I mean, my friend's younger brother. He paid my cover charge actually."

"Huh," Percy mused. "It really is a small world, I guess."

A thought struck me. Jason was at least two years younger than me, and looked a hell lot less mature than the guys sitting at this table…

"Are you guys in the same year? As Jason, I mean." I asked them, twiddling the end of my jacket nervously. I felt a strange rush of something that felt adjacent to relief as they shook their heads.

"No. We're two years above," Leo answered.

"In fact, I'm his senior swimming mentor," Percy nodded, "which sounds fancy, but basically I train him and some other lads on the junior uni team."

"What's your name, by the way?" Leo asked. Percy, remembering that he hadn't introduced me to them yet, opened his mouth- then shut it again, turning expectantly towards me to let me answer for myself.

An odd feeling coursed through me. Luke- Luke never would have done something like that. He would have spoken all over me and not let me get a word in for myself.

I let a smile creep onto my face. "Annabeth."

"And what brings you over to our table? Other than my devilishly handsome good looks, of course." His strangely coloured eyes glowed brown in the fluorescent lights whirling around above.

From opposite us, Percy snorted. I rolled my eyes at both of them. "I'm just waiting for my friend to reappear. I was being… bothered by two drunk guys. Percy… was in the right place at the right time." I frowned, realising that I had never actually thanked him.

As I opened my mouth and turned to the man across the table to do just that, a familiarly scratchy voice rang out to my left.

"There you are," Thalia seized my shoulders, pressing the back of her hand to my forehead in genuine concern. "Are you alright? What happened? Who are these people?" She turned and glared at the others.

Nico merely raised an eyebrow, Percy offered a friendly grin, and Leo… was staring at Thalia, his jaw so low to the ground that I thought it would take a crane to lift it back up again.

"Hi, I'm Percy Jackson," he offered his most charming grin, dimpled cheeks on full display. "I just helped Annabeth out with a… situation."

"Jackson?!" Thalia and I both screeched at him. He flinched lightly, and frowned.

"What? What is it?"

"You didn't tell me you were that Percy!" I gasped, shocked.

"You guys are starting to freak me out here a little…" he said, unsure.

Thalia regained her composure first. "Your mum, Sally Jackson, is our Classics professor," I could see the cogs in Thalia's brain whirring as she pieced together exactly who these guys were. "Hmm…" she smirked. "You must be my brother Jason's cronies. If I'm not mistaken, you're Nico di Angelo, and you…" she turned to Leo. "You're Leo Valdez."

"Guh…" Leo tried to talk. Nico hushed him.

"Huh," Nico mused. "So you're the famous Thalia Grace. Jason's always complaining about you." It was the first full sentence I had heard him say.

Thalia snorted. "Pretentious little prick. He was always mum's favourite- wait, what was that situation you were talking about earlier?" She turned to Percy and I.

His eyes were questioning. Somehow, I knew he wouldn't tell her if I didn't want him to. If I had brushed it off as nothing, he would have followed suit, no matter how much Thalia pressed him. But Thalia was my best friend, and I told her everything. Quickly, I relayed the situation, even Nico and Leo leaning in, as this was the first time they had heard it as well.

When I finished, Thalia frowned. "Oh, don't worry, if anyone had touched you, Annabeth, they would have had to answer to me. I know fourteen ways to kill a man with a plastic straw." She offered me an apologetic smile, one that spoke volumes of just how guilty she was feeling.

"Don't worry, this big ol' oaf showed up. Thanks for that, by the way." I turned to face Percy, offering him an unrestrained smile- because really, I was really and truly grateful.

His breath seemed to hitch slightly. "No- no problemo. Yup- any time."

Thalia smirked. "Also, Annabeth, I left you alone for fifteen minutes and by the looks of things, you've already sent two guys to the hospital," she quipped, amusement dancing pertly in her eyes.

"I did not- I only flipped one of them. He wasn't even that hurt."

I looked at Percy for validation, and he nodded in agreement.

"Girl, I believe you. But what you didn't see is the bouncers tackling them as they spilled their crack all over the floor trying to push past the exit," Thalia chuckled, setting her shot glass down indolently on a table.

"Well, that was not anybody's fault but their own," I huffed, crossing my arms. Thalia snorted. "Sure. But I only know one person in here who could have sent them running that fast out of this place, so technically…"

I glared at her, and Percy chimed in helpfully, "To be fair, they were real asshats."

"I know," Thalia shrugged her shoulders, "I don't blame you. I shouldn't have left you alone. But, I also know that you're a badass queen, and you can take care of yourself. Besides, I was wondering who had made them run that fast. It all makes sense now."

Her short, dark locks were beginning to dampen with sweat, reflecting the beams of colour projected by the flashing lights. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the Leo guy sigh wistfully as he propped his chin on his hands and rested his gaze on her.

"Not that you need any help, obviously," she added as an afterthought. "Oooh," she turned to me, "tell them about that time you judo-flipped that old beer-belly man who catcalled you-"

"That's enough of that!" I grinned hastily, shoving my hand over her mouth. Percy laughed, his green eyes gleaming like wet sea glass. Even Nico cracked a small.

"Enough of what?" she asked innocently, "You're my knight in shining armour. I wouldn't get anyway without you."

"Sadly, that's true." I sighed playfully, turning to the others. "I had to stop her legally changing her name to 'Simon' and then talking in the third person for the rest of her life."

"Hey!" Thalia protested, her voice muffled against my hand. I released her and she glared light-heartedly at me. "That was an amazing idea. 'Simon Says' has always been my favourite-"

I shoved my hand back over her mouth.

Leo roared unnaturally loud with laughter, his eyes still fixed on Thalia. The latter's lips quirked slightly as she noticed the attention. I raised an eyebrow meaningfully, before finally letting go of her, and she rolled her eyes back. Don't be too hard on him.

"Where's my egghead sibling anyway?" Thalia asked, downing the volume amber liquid in an impressive swallow. "It's bad enough being stuck with a boffin for a brother, but knowing my dumb ass, I had to make friends with an intellectual as well." She grinned cheekily at me.

"Probably snogging Piper," Nico said, his tone dry and unamused. "Jesus, it's like he's eating her face all the time."

Percy chuckled as Thalia's eyes widened. "Wait- wait, he's here right now? I didn't think he was coming until later!" she cackled, expression bright and devilishly gleeful, "Annabeth, hold my calls, I've got some third-wheeling to do."

She shoved the glass into my hand and strode over towards the couch where I could just about distinguish, in the chaotic light, Jason and a dark-haired girl with bright feathers in her hair, their faces glued together.

"Man, your friend's wicked," Leo sighed, leaning back in his chair. "She's damn hot."

I chuckled awkwardly. "Don't say that to her face. Her ego's already big enough, any more and it'll explode."

Oh, poor guy, he was going to be so crestfallen. Thalia had a habit of making them fall for her, flirting with them hard, and then stomping all over their hearts with her tough biker boots.

"What?" he demanded, seeing my expression. "What is it? Has she already got a boyfriend?"

I shook my head. "Well, it's not quite like that…" I wasn't quite sure how to tell him that Thalia didn't actually like guys. Males. Whatever you wanted to call them.

"What about you?" Percy asked suddenly, his expression unreadable. I shivered at the sound of his voice, humorous and teasing, as if someone had trickled warm water down my spine.

"What… about me?" I asked, laughing unnaturally to cover my blush. Hopefully they would just think I was flushed from dancing. The warmth pooled in my belly.

His smirk faded into an emotion I couldn't quite figure out. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked, tone carefully neutral.

I blinked at the unexpected question, but regained my composure quickly. "Oh, nope. I'm a, uh, single pringle." I smiled cheerfully, masking the hurt that Luke had left. It had only been three days. It still stung like heck.

"Oh," Percy nodded, seeming to relax in the shoulders just ever so slightly. Or maybe the margarita I had downed earlier was simply making me delusional. "That's cool."

"Yeah," I sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. "I just got out of one though. Like, a couple days ago. God, I kicked his ass when I found out what he-" I cut myself off before I could spill anymore details about that rather traumatic relationship.

His green eyes widened. "Oh, um… I would say I'm sorry, but really, I'm not."

"Why not?" Uh, I was a little insulted.

"Well, then we wouldn't have met. At least in my eyes, that's a positive."

Okay, nevermind, he redeemed himself.

I laughed, flushed. "Damn right. He was a jerk. And the cause of all entropy. And just in general a low-lying, ignorant scumbag."

Percy chuckled lightly, before frowning. "If you don't mind me asking..."

"He, um…" I raised my gaze to his hesitantly. His eyes were wide, trusting, and genuinely curious. I hadn't told anybody other than Thalia the reason we broke up. She had been determined to make it known that Luke was a dirty, pestilent cheater, determined to ostracise him from society, but as much as I hated the guy's guts, I didn't want to ruin his entire life. I didn't need revenge.

Sensing my discomfort, Percy's expression softened apologetically. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried, it's none of my business-"

"No, no, it's alright," I said quickly. What was really weird was that… I kind of wanted to tell him. Even though I'd only known the guy a maximum of twenty minutes, I found myself placing a strange kind of trust in him. "Really, it's fine. He…"

"Stop," he interrupted gently, placing a hand on my arm. I had taken off my jacket ages ago, and the feel of his bare skin upon mine sent fireworks off in my stomach as heat shot up through my cheeks. "You don't want to talk about it. That's perfectly fine. I shouldn't have asked in the first place. I understand, really, I do. In fact, I broke up with my ex just over a month ago. It still hurts, a bit, but after a while… you just forget. You see all their bad qualities, and realise that they just weren't worth your time or effort."

God, why was he so cute and sweet, and ugh, how he can go from innocent goofball to all sincere and serious-

Shut up, dumb hormonal brain. Now is really not the time.

From the other side of the table, Nico scoffed. "And good riddance. Rachel was a bitch."

Percy grinned wryly, lifting up his glass to toast his friend, but something about that name stirred up a painful memory. Then it clicked.

"Rachel as in… Rachel Dare?" I asked, my breath caught.

"Yes," he frowned, looking at me oddly, "Rachel Elizabeth Dare, so she kept telling me. Do you know her?"

"Oh my god," I breathed. "She was who Luke cheated on me wi-." Then I slapped my hand over my mouth as I realised what I'd admitted.

Percy's eyes darkened. "You mean, Luke Castellan? The prat who runs that boring Transport and Infrastructural Engineering Society? He cheated on you?"

I nodded bitterly. "The one and only."

"God, I mean… what a mega ignoramus." I was surprised to hear him laugh.

"What's so funny?" I snapped defensively.

His eyes widened. "Oh, not, nothing about you- that's not what I meant. It's just- I know Rachel. She'll get bored of him within a week."

I pulled a face at him half-heartedly, slightly mollified. "Besides," he grinned, almost… nervously? "Who in their right mind would cheat on you?"

I flushed what I'm sure must have been tomato red.

"I mean," he continued, "you can judo flip people, you're really smart, and I, uh, if it's worth anything, from what little time I've known you… I think you're great. Ya'know?"

Even though his eyes were sincere, his lips had pulled up into a slight smirk, as if he liked seeing my flustered. Damn body, betraying me all the time-

God, if my face had been red before, it was now definitely an alarming shade of sangria.

I floundered, "Guh… I mean… haha thanks, me too- wait, no, I mean like, not that I think I'm great too, but I think you're, uh-"

"I had an ex too once." Nico interrupted, his voice monotone. I glanced at him, exhaling, grateful for his unintentional rescue.

Leo pulled a face. "Ugh, you mean Chimera? Yeah… he wasn't the most… pleasant."

Nico snorted. "Unpleasant is an understatement. Anyway, he was really controlling, monopolised my time, and stole my limited-edition Mythomagic cards."

"And he kicked my dog. He kicked Tyson! What kind of maniac kicks an adorable, poor, one-eyed puppy who has more innocence in his little paw than in that lunatic's entire body?" Percy seethed, and I was shocked at the anger on his face, alien on his soft, handsome features. Like the emotion didn't belong there.

"I had a drill officer at summer camp who allegedly kicked kittens." I raised my eyebrow at Nico.

"Kicking kittens-" Leo spluttered.

"Ah, is that where you learnt to beat the shit out of drunkards?" Nico nodded seriously.

I chuckled. "I guess so, you could say that. So what happened with what's-his-face? Chimera? How did it end?"

"I caught him cheating on me. In my own house. While I was away at a convention." Nico said bluntly, and I gasped lightly.

"In you own house-"

"Yup," Nico nodded. "He had also pawned off all my trophies from that time I was on Kid Genius, all my limited edition Dragonball cards, and my television, just so he could have money for weed. I had to stop Leo burning him alive right then and there."

Beside him, Leo grimaced at the memory.

"Anyway," Nico continued, "I kicked him out immediately, had a obligatory pity-party for myself, ice-cream and all-"

"Half-Baked Bye Bye Brownie?"

He winked. "You bet. Anyway, after that I sat down and plotted sweet, sweet revenge. I gave it time. Because, just like my ice-cream," he linked his fingers together nefariously, "revenge is a dish best served cold."

"OOOooohohohoo," Leo snickered, "this is the best part."

All three of us turned eagerly to Nico, who- for the first time this evening- grinned widely.

"Well, first, I had to butter him up. Make him think I was reconciling, running back to him. I liked a few of his old posts, texted him 'missing you' texts." He laughed with a sort of joyous malice, "The poor fool was so gullible. So pig-headedly arrogant that he believed everything. So, we get back together, but mind you, there's no way in hell I'm letting him move back in with me again. I make up some excuse like I'm having a sink fixed, or my walls painted or whatever. I go over to him, and I check the weather before I leave. In the afternoon, it's going to rain. So what do I do? I buy a shit-ton of instant mashed potato powder, go over to his house in the morning, and sprinkle that stuff like fairy-dust all over his lawn."

Leo guffawed beside us, the biggest shit-eating grins on both his and Percy's face.

"Damn…" I muttered. The kid was some kind of evil mastermind. I noticed that a couple of clubbers from the table next to us- including a caramel-haired girl and her friends- had stopped talking and had turned round to pay attention to what Nico was saying.

"But that's not all. Later on in the day, I suggest we get matching tattoos, you know, to solidify our reunion. He agrees, of course, because I have a bunch of tattoos and he can't be seen as less-manly than me, who he sees, of course, as a wimp. We get to the tattoo shop just as it starts to rain. I say, 'You go first, babe.' So he sits down in that parlour chair, and I get him the feminine, corny lovers design with hearts and doves and cupids tattooed all over his shoulder- all the stuff he said he didn't want- with my name sprawled across nearly every inch of skin.

And then, I ask the tattoo artist if I can write my name on him as well, as some cute 'he belongs to me, I belong to him' thing, and she doesn't care, so she gives me the pen and I write 'I'M A CHEATER' in massive block capitals across the entire thing. He can't see it, of course, because his back is turned. And so he's finished, and he checks in the mirror, and goes absolutely ballistic, like, they almost ask him to leave, but he calms down and then gets this sort of evil gleam in his eye and demands I sit down in the chair for my turn."

"What did you do?" The caramel-haired girl asked from the other table.

Nico smirked the most devilish, self-satisfied grin. "I said no. And promptly walked out. And to make matters worse, he came home to a lawn full of mashed potatoes. And then I moved to London where he couldn't follow me, for Uni."

Leo and I roared with laughter as Percy snickered, hands over his mouth. A few splatters of applause came admiringly from the table next us as they returned jovially to their drinks.

"Well, anyway, I gotta go meet Will in a couple minutes. I'll catch you guys later." He stood up, waving.

"Bye," I said.

"You're not gonna get a drink before you go?" Leo asked.

"Nah, water's fine for me." Nico nodded, "I'm driving."

"I thought water wasn't your type?" Percy interjected suddenly, smirking.

Nico snorted. "Haha, very funny," he replied sarcastically. "Later, losers."

I glanced at Leo confusedly, and he shrugged. "I don't know either. Inside joke."

"Annabeth! That's my bestest friend," a voice slurred cheerily from behind me. I turned to see Jason and Piper each propping up a shoulder of a very happy, very tipsy Thalia. "Annabeth! Annabeth… Annabeth… Anna… bethhhhh?" she frowned as if she had forgotten what she was going to say.

"She may have gotten a little drunk," Piper explained apologetically, as Jason rolled his eyes behind her. I was surprised at her voice, it was soothing and almost eerily sweet.

I mimicked the actions of Thalia's brother as I grabbed my best friend's arms and forced her down into Nico's vacant seat. She melted into my grasp, throwing her arm around my waist as she buried her face into my neck.

"Annabeth…" she mumbled, "I love you, more than… more than tequila!"

"Wow," I sighed, "high praise."

She pouted angrily at me. "I really do… but like not in a romantic way, 'cause that's gross and you're my best friend and you're probably gonna bang him at some point-"

Both Percy and I flushed bright crimson as she pointed at him in her stupor across the table. I avoided his gaze.

"- preferably sooner rather than later, because Luke really fucked you up, Annie. Like, very platonic, ya'know, Annie. That's what we have, my darling best friend, platonic love. Like sisters, Annie. Oh wait, I forgot you don't like to be called that… anyway just remember the sock on the door handle, because you're very lucky to have me as a roommate, and nobody else would be this kind, because we're best friends right, that's what friends… that's what friends…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "Wait, wassat? What was I talkin' bout?"

"Um, Thalia, maybe it's time we headed back…"

"I'm drunk aren't I…" she sighed sleepily against my shoulder.

I snorted. "Wasted." From the corner of my eye I could see Percy watching us with what appeared to be amusement.

She giggled, hiccuping. "Gotta make the hangover- hic- worth it then, right?" she beamed, grabbing a random alcoholic beverage from a random girl and downing it in one.

"No, Thalia, that's not what- I'm so sorry, I'll pay for that," I fumbled around in my purse for five quid to hand to the indignant girl.

"I gotcha," supplied Percy, reaching over the table to hand the note to the girl. She blushed and fluttered her eyelashes at him, and I felt a wave of an unpleasant emotion wash over me. Oh God, it was jealousy, I was jealous, I had no right to feel like that. I barely even knew the guy-

"Annabeth?! Annabeth?! Annabeth?!" Thalia was shaking my shoulder with wide eyes. I turned to her anxiously.

"What is it? Are you alright?"

"Are you… is that a cactus?" she mumbled, pointing at a decorative tree in a plant pot on the next table, her sudden burst of energy draining.

"I.. what?" I replied, dumbfounded. "No, that's a ficus elastica tree, native to Eastern Asia… why are you asking me this?"

"You're so- hic- smart! My best friend is a- hic- GENIUS, everyone!" Thalia yelled, standing up in the middle of the club. She drew a few glances, and the caramel-haired girl from earlier turned to her friends and whispered something. They all giggled.

"Thalia!" I hissed, pulling her back down to her seat.

"Can I pet it?" she asked suddenly, clutching my hands.

"You what now?" I asked, hearing Percy and Leo chuckle behind us. Piper and Jason had resumed 'operation face-eating' on the couch.

"Can I pet the little wittle cactus?"

"Why-"

"Because sometimes… sometimes… I feel like nobody wants to touch them because they're so- hic- nasty on the outside, everyone is put off by the spikes, you know… but it's like their outer wall of defence, and inside they're probably- hic- really, really sad because they've never been shown any love, you know? But I'm willing to push past that defence to comfort them, you know? Anything to make my little cactus feel- hic- better…" she trailed off, her blue eyes big and sparkling with tears.

"Ok, Thals," I sighed, wrapping an arm around her, "it's definitely time to go."

"Noooo…" she whined, stomping her feet like a small child, "I'm… I… I'm hungry!" she announced, suddenly very proud of herself. "In fact, I'm- hic- FAMISHED! DO THEY DO BURGERS HERE? I WOULD KILL FOR A BURGER! BUT NO TOMATOES, 'CAUSE THEY'RE TECHNICALLY FRUITS, AND I AIN'T NO VEGAN SISSY-" she was cut off as I slapped a hand over her mouth. Again. For like, the third time this evening.

"Thalia, shhhh, indoor voices," I reminded her, she giggled like a first-grader and nodded, cupping her hands over her mouth. In all my years being best friends with her, I had swiftly learnt how to deal with a drunk Thalia.

She had three main stages. First, she got sleepy and emotional, then somehow miraculously got a short boost of bubbly energy, as if she were on a sugar high. Then stage three, the most dangerous, she got really, and I mean really salty-

Leo smirked, "I like a girl with an appetite."

"Well we have to eat, you halfwit," she snapped at him, eyes suddenly focused, "what are we supposed to do, photosynthesise?"

Leo shrunk back, stung a little. I bit my lip. He wasn't a bad guy, just a little blunt. And even fully intoxicated, Thalia had a sharp tongue.

"Alrighty, I think we'd definitely better head off. Come on, Miss Girls-Photosynthesise, we are going home right now."

Thalia whined and stomped her feet petulantly as I gathered up our coats and prepared to haul her to her feet, but before I could I felt them being gathered out of my hands and placed on the table again.

I turned around to see Percy smiling at me, arms spread out wide. Standing up, I was reminded again how ridiculously tall he was.

"Before you go," he grinned, eyes gleaming, "would you like to have one final dance?"

I blinked, unsure. But Thalia had flopped back into her seat, eyes drooping shut, snapping in a ridiculously hypocritical manner at Leo when the guy ordered another drink about how Shakespeare died of a hangover- and I decided, you know what, fuck it. I had just met a cute- no, not cute- stupendously hot guy at a bar, he was silly and sincere and funny and compassionate, and boy, I wasn't thick-headed enough to let this one go.

"You know what," I smiled back, shoving my purse into Thalia's hands. She giggled, instantaneously over her tantrum, and pulled out my mints like a small child. Leo had to stop her from spilling them all over the table.

I smirked at Percy, and his green eyes sparkled in the light. "Let's do it."