Her mouth was sandpaper.

Annabeth groaned, feeling hot and sweaty and gross as she rolled over on the couch. She blearily opened her eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight reflecting off the freshly fallen snow. Somehow, she had drunkenly managed to get her jacket and shoes off during the night- both items lay beside her on the floor but the rest of her clothes were still on intact.

With another noise of displeasure, she buried her face into the throw pillow Thalia had graciously provided her, trying to block out the offending light.

Her head throbbed a pounding rhythm against her skull, and Annabeth found herself wondering how she had even arrived at the apartment.

There were echoes here and there- she remembered stumbling through the door, knocking over a lamp, curling up to sleep-

But then she hadn't gone straight to sleep, had she?

Horrified as the memories raced back to her, she tugged her phone out from in between the cushions, pulling up the app and staring.

1 Outgoing Call- SEAWEED BRAIN
2hrs 13 min 23sec

Oh Gods.

Oh no.

Oh fuck.

She scrambled to sit up, immediately regretting the movement as a wave of nausea crashed over her. The throbbing in her head intensified and she doubled over, the horrifying realization repeating in her brain.

She had called him.

And he had answered.

Bits and pieces of their conversation floated in the periphery of her mind, just out of reach.

They'd talked about kissing, hadn't they? And some of the things she had said…

Annabeth groaned, dropping her phone and burying her face in her hands. This was a disaster. What if he recognized her voice?

But his voice… She could remember his voice. And it was familiar, that much seemed to permeate her fuzzy memory. But she liked it- it sounded confident, firm, with a lilt of humor that had sent bursts of energy through her body.

Annabeth sat up, pressing her palms to her eyes.

Her phone buzzed.

Blearily, she scooped it back up, scrolling to her messages.

9:47AM SEAWEED BRAIN
hows my wise girl feeling today?

His Wise Girl. She vaguely recalled him calling her that last night. Her heart skipped a beat as she responded, squinting at the screen.

9:49AM WISE GIRL
Ugh don't ask.

9:49AM SEAWEED BRAIN
oof
ur already conscious?

9:50AM WISE GIRL
Unfortunately.

9:50AM SEAWEED BRAIN
how much do u remember?

She could remember his sweet words, her asking him how they would kiss, him agreeing to stay up and then… not a lot after that.

9:51AM WISE GIRL
More than I care to admit.

9:51AM SEAWEED BRAIN
damn haha
was i that bad?

9:51AM WISE GIRL
No, not at all!
I was just…
Horrible, ugh, I don't want to remember it!

9:52AM SEAWEED BRAIN
nah u were cute!
u should call more often haha!

9:53AM WISE GIRL
Is that an invitation?

9:53AM SEAWEED BRAIN
absolutely.
i loved hearing ur voice
i want more.

She sucked in a breath.

9:54AM WISE GIRL
More of me?

9:54AM SEAWEED BRAIN
yes
like, shit
i feel like
i feel like i need to know every part of u

Her fingers hovered over the keys, her heart beating in time with the throbbing of her head, which felt far less painful now.

9:55AM WISE GIRL
I want you to know every part of me.

9:56AM SEAWEED BRAIN
is that a promise?

9:56AM WISE GIRL
It's a hope.

"Who are you texting?"

Annabeth nearly jumped out of her skin, hiding her phone on instinct as Thalia's voice tickled her ear.

"No one! Nothing! What?" She stammered, heat rising to her face.

Thalia was leaning over the back of the couch, one eyebrow raised and eyeliner smeared. Annabeth winced. Her reaction was definitely going to pique her friend's interest.

"Dude, I'm not stupid, you've constantly been texting someone for at least the last few months, and last night I heard you laughing on the phone," she said with a yawn.

"How much did you hear?" Annabeth could feel the panic rising in her, but Thalia just shrugged.

"I couldn't make out any words…" Her lips quirked up into a smile. "Have you- are you seeing someone?"

"No!" The blonde paused, "I- maybe," she admitted,

Thalia laughed, hopping over the back of her sofa and plopping down next to Annabeth. "No shit, congrats! Who?"

"I-" She was at a loss for words. Was it time to reveal her big secret? Spill her guts to her best friend, admit why she'd been so distracted for so long?

Thalia waited patiently.

"I don't know his name," Annabeth finally admitted, tension she hadn't known she'd been holding released from her shoulders.

Her friend stared. "So is it, like, an online dating thing or…?"

"No, no nothing like that, he just," she bit her lip. "He just texted me out of the blue one day, and didn't stop."

"Wait, and you… responded?" Thalia looked impressed. "You, Annabeth Chase, Miss No-Distractions-Including-Boys, are flirting with some mystery guy?"

"I guess?" She shrugged her shoulders in defeat, accepting how ridiculous it sounded.

"Can I see?"

Before Annabeth could respond, Thalia had snatched the phone from her hands, gleefully searching through the messages.

"Wait, Thalia-!" Annabeth grabbed at it, but Thalia held it out of reach.

"Woah, Seaweed Brain? What kind of name is that?"

"Thalia that's private!"

"I just want a peek!"

"Give it back!"

"Oh, wait until I tell Luke!"

Panic entered Annabeth's voice. "Don't!"

"Why, worried he won't-" She was laughing, but it stopped abruptly at Annabeth's expression. "Whoa, hey, I'm just teasing you, you know that right?" She handed the phone back. "I won't tell him."

"I-I know." She accepted the device gratefully. "I just… It's a little um…"

"Embarrassing?"

"Intimate." She looked down, a small smile forming at the thought of all their wonderful conversations.

Thalia whistled. "Shit. You really like him."

"Yeah, I… I do." She said it out loud for the first time, "I really, really like him."

"So… why not meet him?" Thalia crossed her legs, leaning forward.

Annabeth's teeth worried at her bottom lip. "It's complicated."

"Try me."

"The campaign, first of all."

Thalia nodded in understanding. "You worried about your mom?"

"Yeah. I can't… I can't try to have a relationship in the middle of everything going on, and Athena- she's very um…"

"Bitchy?"

"Critical." She sighed heavily. "And what if… what if it doesn't work out? It's so easy this way, not knowing who's on the other end…"

Thalia shrugged. "I mean, that's a risk in any relationship."

"But I don't want to risk this one." The thought of losing him made her heart squeeze uncomfortably.

They sat together in silence for a moment.

"So… you're being safe and stuff, right? He's definitely not a creep?" Thalia's voice was more serious now.

"I'm pretty sure." Annabeth hadn't really considered it. Seaweed Brain seemed so genuine, and real, she couldn't imagine he was just catfishing her.

It wasn't like they'd exchanged pictures or anything.

"Good." Thalia seemed satisfied, taking her friends' hand. "I'm really glad someone is making you happy, you've been so focused since we were kids- I worry sometimes."

Annabeth gave her a grateful smile. "I've been doing okay for myself, I don't need a guy to fix me."

"Well obviously not!" Thalia rolled her eyes. "But sometimes a good partner can bring out the best in you, you know?"

Annabeth was reminded of what her mother had said.

Seaweed Brain really did push her to become a better version of herself. She was trying new things, meeting new people, owning up to her mistakes- It was all in her already, but he seemed to coax the best parts of her out into the open.

The phone in her hands buzzed again.

10:13AM SEAWEED BRAIN
u have me hoping for a lot of things, wise girl

Thalia saw before she could hide it, and her eyebrows shot up again.

"Wise Girl?"

"It's… it's a nickname." Annabeth flushed pink.

"It's cute." Thalia grinned. "Gods, please can I just read a little bit?"

"No!" Annabeth laughed, pushing her friend over. "Like I said, it's private!"

"Okay, okay fine! Don't share with your best friend!"

They spent the rest of the morning recovering from their hangovers, coffees in hand, and chatting away about Annabeth's mystery person.

"What do you even know about him?" Thalia questioned as they combed through their hair in the bathroom.

"Well… he likes blue food." Annabeth laughed, trying to think. "He's kind, and caring, and funny… He's powerful too, apparently, though I don't know who his godly parent is."

"Really?" Thalia paused her movements, bobby pin between her teeth. "Why don't you ask?"

"I don't know, it just doesn't seem important." She shrugged, trying to detangle a knot with her fingers.

"Maybe it will give you a clue to who he is!"

Annabeth snorted. "Thalia, if I asked, he would probably show up at this very apartment in ten minutes flat. Figuring out who he is isn't a problem."

"Right, right, you don't want to know."

"Not yet, at least." She leaned into the mirror to examine the dark circles under her eyes. "Especially not right now, Gods I look like Tartarus!"

Thalia laughed, slinging an arm over Annabeth's shoulder. "Nah, you look pretty. He'd probably die on the spot if he saw you."

"I certainly hope not!" She pushed Thalia away, turning back to examining herself in the mirror.

Her hair was a rat's nest, curls and frizz tangled up and cascading over her shoulders. The aforementioned dark circles made her eyes pop, and she swore she could feel a zit coming to the surface on her cheek. Sleeping in makeup was never a good idea.

"Let's not get that wasted again, yeah?" Thalia read Annabeth's mind.

"Definitely not. What was even in those shots?" she wondered, tying her hair back into a messy braid.

"Something dangerous, I'm sure. I'm glad you came out last night, Jason and his friends can be a handful but…" Thalia shrugged, "They're like family.

"I had a lot of fun." Annabeth smiled, leaning back and taking a deep sip of coffee.

"Great! We hopefully will be seeing more of them-"

"But Leo doesn't get to pick the shots next time."

Thalia chuckled, "No, absolutely not."

They finished up, and Annabeth felt lighter than she had in a while despite the looming responsibilities of the campaign and the now dull ache in her head. She had done something normal, she had gone out with friends and gotten wasted and drunk dialed the guy she liked. The college experience that had formerly eluded her seemed within her grasp.

Not that she ever expected to have a normal life. She was still a demigod, still pining after a boy she didn't even know the name of, and still expected to accomplish near impossible things by her mother, but… even a taste of the life she could have left her hoping for more.

They were walking down the streets, laughing and talking, Annabeth checking her phone occasionally, and Thalia teasing her about her crush.

A distant boom made the hair on Annabeth's neck stand on end, interrupting their conversation.

"What was that?" Thalia adjusted her scarf nervously, peering down the road. Many others turned, mortals curious as a rumbling from school's direction grew louder, and louder, soon accompanied by screams.

People were running away from something, a few of them whooshing past Annabeth and Thalia, who automatically took off towards the noise, instincts kicking in.

Several years of training would do that to you.

The pair turned a corner, Annabeth skidding to a halt as she watched in horror. Something was slithering toward them just beneath the asphalt, the road rising up and breaking apart before their eyes. Just as it was about to reach the cross street they stood at, a massive head tore through the surface, a serpentine face staring down the demigods as the crowd around them fled.

Annabeth swallowed.

"The Ismenian Dragon."