"Alright Thalia, time to spill," Annabeth confronted her friend as she sat down at the table. Thalia looked at her and rolled her eyes dramatically. Her legs were propped up comfortably on another chair. Annabeth grabbed a fry before gulping down about a quarter of her milkshake. "I saw what you were doing at Thanksgiving."

"I was eating the delicious food that Lupa bought," Thalia said with a shrug. She took a bite from her burger.

"That's not the only thing you were eating," Annabeth commented dryly. Thalia instantly choked on her food and started smacking her chest. She doubled over, and Annabeth slapped at her back to help get the food out. When Thalia had coughed out the grossly chewed bits of the burger that nearly killed her, she glared up at Annabeth. "Spill."

"There's nothing to spill," Thalia shot down again, preferring to focus back on her food. Annabeth rolled her eyes and took a sip of her milkshake. They were having dinner in their favorite diner. They always went here as a kid with Luke. A sad sigh left Annabeth for a moment before she looked back at Thalia.

"Stop giving me that look," Thalia complained. She took Annabeth's milkshake from her hands and stole a precious sip of the holy brew. "Ew. What is that?"

"Peanut butter and banana," Annabeth answered as she took her shake back. "Stop trying to change the subject. I saw you playing footsie with Reyna, and I saw how disheveled you were at Sally's."

"It's because I woke up late," Thalia dismissed with another shrug. Annabeth gave her a look, wholly unconvinced. "Alright, fine. Yeah, we slept together. Are you happy, Sherlock?"

"Mostly," Annabeth replied with a grin. "Are you two dating?"

"No," Thalia muttered. She shook her head and stabbed her fries into her ketchup. "Reyna's an asshole. Why would I date her?"

"What happened?" Annabeth asked. She lost her grin and studied Thalia. Her childhood friend shook her head and looked down. "Thalia, you can tell me."

Thalia sighed and laid her head back against the booth. She seemed lost in thought for a minute. Annabeth waited quietly for her friend to collect her thoughts. Besides, the milkshake was delicious. Thalia finally hung her head.

"I wasn't lying when I said that I regretted how I ended things with Reyna," Thalia began. "Screaming at her was just immature. I was too stubborn to go after her, and she was too stubborn to come back in and apologize. It just ended on this awkward note."

"I also know I was her first serious relationship. It's just so difficult to date someone who is that focused on their job," Thalia vented. She looked at Annabeth. "Do you remember how focused you were when you wanted the title? You trained almost every single day until you had the title match, and it only got worse from there. Thank God you chilled out a little since finally winning it."

"Don't worry. I'll get worse the closer we get to my fight," Annabeth teased. Thalia rolled her eyes. "I get it, though. It's why I never bothered to date anyone for the past few years."

"That's just because you can't get the stick out of your ass," Thalia quipped. Annabeth retaliated by throwing a fry at her. Thalia tried to catch it in her mouth, but it ended up smacking her in the nose. Annabeth smirked.

"How is Reyna an asshole then?" Annabeth questioned. "Did she say something after you two slept together?"

"At Thanksgiving, I caught her in the kitchen and asked her about her sister. She said they reconnected, and she asked if I was available to talk after Thanksgiving. I'll be honest, Annabeth. I didn't think she wanted to talk. Reyna never talked about her feelings, so why would this be different?"

"She did say that she wanted to talk," Annabeth began.

"I know that, but I didn't think she was serious. Reyna has never talked about her feelings with me. When I asked her how she was, it's always 'I'm fine'. Do you know how long that takes to get annoying?" Thalia asked rhetorically. "So when she said she wanted to talk, I figured she just wanted to get me alone."

"Let me get this straight," Annabeth began, attempting to understand. "She said she wanted to talk, and you agreed. Since you thought she just wanted an excuse to be alone with you, you decided to roam all over her body using your foot."

"Pretty much," Thalia admitted bluntly. "When I got back to my hotel room, I put on my favorite robe and nothing underneath. When she got there, I took off my robe and probably broke her brain."

"You are hot enough to do that," Annabeth agreed. Thalia grinned as her ego was stoked. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "That was supposed to be embarrassing."

"I am hot," Thalia affirmed with an extra cocky shrug. "Anyway, we spent the night together, and when we woke up, she wanted to talk about us. She said that she wanted to get back together."

"What did you say?" Annabeth asked. Thalia rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"That I had to go to Sally's," Thalia mumbled. Annabeth gave her a look. "I was late!"

"You were already late. Another five minutes wasn't going to kill you," Annabeth chided. Thalia sighed and hung her head. "Or, were you running from your feelings?"

"Will you stop being so smart?" Thalia groaned as she laid her head back against the booth. "Yeah. Okay. Part of me wants to get back with Reyna, but the other part of me knows better. I went all in when we first dated, and I got nothing in return. If I just wanted sex, I would have hired a prostitute."

"Have you talked to her since running?" Annabeth asked. Thalia nodded. "How did it go?"

"Bad," Thalia replied. "For one, Jason told her that I had a date, and it was the date he set me up on. He sabotaged me!"

Annabeth motioned for Thalia to continue, and Thalia obliged, "I could tell that it upset Reyna. She left the break room, so I ran to catch her in the hallway. Told her the date meant nothing. Kissed her and caused her to drop her soda cans."

"That's why they exploded on me," Annabeth complained. Thalia smirked. "What happened after you sabotaged my soda?"

"I tried to leave again and got called out for it," Thalia muttered. She looked down and quickly lost her smirk. Thalia dipped her fry in her milkshake. "I told her I thought she just wanted a fling and that a fling would be easier. She then pretty much accused me of manipulating her into sleeping with me."

"I would never do that," Thalia said as she looked at Annabeth. "You know that! I work with all kinds of woman that are manipulated and abused. I would never do that to another person, so when Reyna accused me of that, I got mad. And then she called me a whore."

"Thalia," Annabeth began. Thalia shook her head and looked away. "Look, I can go fight Reyna right now if you want."

A small smile came to Thalia's face, but she shook her head again. Annabeth reached out to grab her hand. She knew that Thalia had been bullied in high school for living a more loose lifestyle. It wasn't like Thalia slept with that many people, but it didn't stop everyone from labeling her as a whore.

"I don't know what she said after that. I just called her an asshole and then stormed out," Thalia said. "We haven't talked since."

"So, Reyna feels like you manipulated her into sleeping with you," Annabeth began. Thalia nodded. "I know you didn't, but I can see her point of view."

"I get that I was all over her, but it's like I told her. She should have just told me she wanted to talk. Instead, she kept kissing me and shoved me onto the bed," Thalia said. She rubbed her forehead. "If she had just said she wanted to talk, I would have pulled away."

"What do you want?" Annabeth asked. "Do you want to date Reyna?"

"Only if it's not a one-sided relationship," Thalia answered without hesitation. "I just don't think Reyna is mature enough to share her feelings like that."

"If you want my advice, you need to be honest with Reyna. You can't dance around this. You have to tell her that you want her to open up if she wants to date you," Annabeth stated.

"Reyna should know this by now," Thalia complained. "I thought when she let her sister back into her life it would have changed things."

"You won't know if it truly did or didn't unless you talk with her," Annabeth said. "You just have to be honest."

"Why are you so smart?" Thalia complained. She sighed and laid her head back.

"I am a genius," Annabeth said.

"Speaking of stroking egos," Thalia muttered. She rubbed her face. "Alright fine. I'll talk to her. First, I am going to let her and myself cool down. I feel like I would probably yell a lot if I saw her today."

"Just don't take too long," Annabeth warned. "Don't let yourself stew in that anger, and keep in mind she might be doing the same."

Thalia nodded and looked like she was lost in thought. She finally looked down, "It always pissed me off how Reyna talked about her sister. Sure, they had their arguments, but Reyna just brushed Hylla aside. She could see her sister, and instead, she shut herself away."

"You know that when I was younger, I did everything in my power to see Jason after our mother died and we were separated. I just can't imagine giving up on my sibling like that," Thalia said with a shake of her head. "I really thought Reyna had changed, but the more I think about it, the more I'm not sure."

"You need to sit down and talk with Reyna. That is the best thing for you to do," Annabeth stated.

"What if she doesn't want to talk?" Thalia whispered. Annabeth grabbed her hands and squeezed gently.

"Then, you know that she won't put effort into your relationship, and that gives you an answer," Annabeth explained. Thalia hung her head and pulled one hand away to rub her face. "I know it's hard."

"I just don't understand how you can get punched in the face for a living, yet you are so smart. Did you steal Percy's brain cells?" Thalia questioned.

"What use would I have for seaweed?" Annabeth joked. Thalia laughed, and Annabeth did as well. "I missed having you around, Thalia."

"I'm in town for months this time," Thalia said with a wave of her hand. She looked at Annabeth. "Also, I have a favor to ask. The hotel is going to get expensive soon, and I love Jason, but he lives with Piper. Do you know how disgusting those two can be?"

"I stayed with them for a week after one of my concussions. Trust me, I know," Annabeth said. Thalia smirked. "What's the favor?"

"Can I stay at your place? I'll clean up after myself, buy food, and I'll even help pay for the bills. I will be the perfect roommate," Thalia promised. Annabeth tried to hide the grin that came to her face almost immediately. Thalia didn't even have to ask. She could have just shown up one night with her bags, and Annabeth would have let her in.

"On one condition," Annabeth said. Thalia nodded quickly. "When I get home, you have to rub my feet."

"I would rather be on the streets," Thalia declined. Annabeth laughed, and Thalia did as well.

"I would love to have you," Annabeth said. She stood. "Let me drop off my car, and we'll go to your hotel room to collect your things. There is one more thing, though. Not a demand. Just a request."

"First off, I love you. And, thank you," Thalia said. She hugged Annabeth tightly. "Lay it on me."

"If you bring Reyna over, please do not ruin my sheets," Annabeth said. Thalia almost choked on her food again, and Annabeth cackled. Thalia glared at her. "If you two go to her apartment, don't scar Nico."

"Please stop talking," Thalia groaned. She buried her face in her hands. "I take it back. I'll just live with the two lovebirds."

"You don't hate yourself that much," Annabeth quipped. Thalia slowly looked up. "I'll make you a deal though. I'll make you breakfast if you can make me dinner for when I get home."

"Deal," Thalia agreed. Annabeth's lips curved upwards as she grabbed the bill and paid for it. Thalia finished her food and stood. "Let's get all of my crap. Then, we're going to have a movie night!"