I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Also, I published a one-shot yesterday, and I'd appreciate if you could check it out!

Disclaimer: I'm so much more predictable than Rick Riordan.

Annabeth woke up not having a clue how she'd got into her bed. She knew she had drank a lot last night- the bottle sitting across from her was there to prove it, but not this much.

She went over to Piper's room, who was sleeping peacefully in her bed, cuddling Mr. Cuddles, a stuffed teddy bear in her arms. Sometimes, Piper was just so damn wholesome.

Whatever. She needed to get her awake. Wholesome her ass, she needed to figure out how she got up here. She shook her awake.

Annabeth emotionlessly shook her and Piper woke up in a start. "What the hell Annie?" Piper yawned. "Dude, I had a late night, let me sleep."

"I need you to tell me how I got in here."

Piper blinked. "Oh, that? I came back to see you talking to some random stranger in a car, obviously drunk, the hangover should kick in right about-" Piper snapped her fingers, and Annabeth realized how sluggish she felt. "Now. Anyway, the person drove off, and you sort of just… paced back and forth for a while until I ran over and got you- at first I didn't even think it was you. Then I helped get you up to bed, and watched Netflix until midnight."

Annabeth groaned. "Seems like the late night thing was your fault." She sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "I feel like shit."

"You look like shit too." Piper told her, and Annabeth feigned offense.

"I don't wanna go to work today." Each word slurred together, until Annabeth gave up on the sentence overall, and mumbled a bunch of incoherent words. "I'm never doing anything like that again."

Piper fake gasped. "You can't mean that." She put her hand over her head. "Woe is me."

Annabeth slapped her. "I wanna just," She spread her hands out in front of her, "cease to exist." she added, continuing to complain.

"We should have a dry July." Piper said, smiling at her in a jokingly manner.

Annabeth groaned some more. "It's not even July."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Don't mind the details." She looked sympathetic then. "But hey, it's only seven, it'll wear off by ten, and then we'll head over to work. I can get you some medication too if you need it."

Now that was a good friend. Annabeth hugged Piper. "Thank you, you're my savior."

"Of course." Piper rolled her eyes. "And by the way, Jason? He's available. I know I told you I'd never date my boss, but he's not your boss…"

Annabeth shook her head adamantly. "Hell no, I'm not dating your crush. Plus, I think if you like him, you should date him."

Piper grimaced. "It's not that simple. It would feel weird, possessive even. I just think the whole 'I'm your boyfriend and I'm in charge of if you get fired' is weird. I wouldn't like it."

Annabeth's face softened. "Look, I understand that. I totally do. I'm not going to tell you to date someone you'd be uncomfortable dating. But Jason's a good guy, and if he does anything wrong, Thalia could beat him up for you."

Piper's face instantly brightened. "She likes me?" She asked, eager.

"She told me you thought you were cool, apart from the whole wanting to hook up with her brother thing."

Piper's shoulders relaxed. "Man, I was so worried she wouldn't like me. I really wanted to make a good impression on your friend." She grinned. "And I'm so glad I did."

Annabeth smiled, despite her epic hangover. "People instantly like you Piper- that's nothing new. You shouldn't be surprised."

"What do you mean?" Piper said, her eyebrows furrowing. "I don't understand."

Annabeth waved her hands in the air- which just made her more dizzy, so she set them down. "You have this aura- I don't really know what to call it. I mean, you're my best friend, you make me feel relaxed, and I think that other people experience that too." Annabeth looked at her. "And," Annabeth added, "You're funny, and sweet, and caring."

"Go on" Piper grinned, and Annabeth slapped her.

"Oh, stop digging for compliments, Pipes," Annabeth said, and stretched her arms out. "I'm going to take a shower, maybe that'll stop the hangover a bit."

Piper nodded, and Annabeth walked to her room, and grabbed a towel from one of her bags. Slinging it over her shoulder, she headed to the bathroom, and got ready. Soon enough she was in the shower, the water rushing down her body.

Annabeth had mixed feelings about showering. Some days she loved it, it felt like cleaning the rest of the dirt away, it was calming in a way. The water clinking against the ground, little droplets dripping from her hair. It felt nice. It was calming.

But sometimes, it wasn't. The pitter-patter of water became too much for Annabeth to take sometimes- and even worse, sometimes, even when she was in California, she would be reminded of Percy. Percy talked about the shower like it was his pet. He'd talk about memories he'd have in the shower, thinking he had water powers.

Really, water reminded her of Percy. Not just because it was raining when they broke up- that was just salt to the wound but Percy was a swimmer. And Percy loved the water- he adored water. They had had so many memories in the water together- one time, they'd driven down to the beach in his mom's old car, and spent the day and night there.

It was a really good memory, though it had turned sour from the years she and Percy had spent apart.

Why was she thinking about Percy anyway? He had a girlfriend, She reminded herself, and Annabeth was over him. Totally over him.

But even so, her mind begged for her to answer the question- then why did you get that feeling in your chest when you saw him kissing that girl?

Annabeth isn't jealous. She wasn't a jealous girl, she swore. But damn, seeing Percy with that red-haired girl really did things to her. The way the girl's arms wrapped around his neck, just as Annabeth had so many times.

Shit. She couldn't still be in love, could she?

Percabeth will come… eventually. On another note, I think I've said this before, but I'm going to reaffirm it: I update Monday's, Wednesday's, and Saturday's. Apart from that, I'll post a one-shot on any day of the week, it's unpredictable.

Tell me what you think in a review! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Rajkusri000, yeah, I think so too. That's one of the reasons I like writing angst so much.

Booklover, for your question; if you check out the "favorites" section on my profile, you'll see a lot of good stories. Additionally, SomethingMoreCreative is a really good author I'd recommend.

Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! There were so many that came in, and each of them made me smile. (:

TheLil'Lion