Hello!

So, I'm not sure if you noticed, but I've kind of combined the old chapters and did a sort-of repost. Didn't really make any tweaks other than basic grammar things, so you don't have to go re-read (but if you want, go right ahead!). I've changed up the author's notes, but nothing really important. Well. Depends on whether or not you're curious about the re-post.

Credits to my co-author (MANation) for the idea!

Thanks for reading!

OoOoOoOoO

"Silena," Annabeth groaned as she was dragged past rows and rows of cars into the horror Annabeth would call a shopping mall. "I don't think this is very… relaxing."

"That's ridiculous!" Silena beamed. "There is nothing more relaxing than a spa day and a shopping spree. And… there's a coffee shop." She winked salaciously, and, against her will, Annabeth was hooked.

She squinted her eyes and frowned. "Fine. But only for two hours!"

Silena reached up and patted her head. "Two hours. Oh, Beth, you're so cute."

Before Annabeth could protest any further, she found herself being dragged into the strip mall by her overly enthusiastic friend. Silena easily led them through the semi crowded mall, and Annabeth realized she would probably be forced to stay here all day.

Now resigned to her fate however, time passed surprisingly quickly. Silena pulled her in and out of shops, forcing Annabeth to try things on here and there, nearly none of which Annabeth bought. At one point Silena had her in a dark green sleeveless dress that showed off her long blonde hair and her slim athletic figure, and a nice set of dark grey owl-shaped earrings (to match your eyes, Silena had said). Even Annabeth had to admit they did look pretty good on her. As soon as she was out of them Silena snatched them up and bought it for her.

"Silena," she protested, "you didn't have to do that. I'm an adult, I can buy my own clothes."

Silena sighed.

"Yes, Beth, you can buy your own clothes, but would you have?" she asked patiently.

Her silence spoke volumes.

Silena smiled slightly. She shook her head and mumbled, "Girl, you're a mess…" before dragging Annabeth off again.

Annabeth noticed Silena wasn't buying much for herself, which she thought was strange; she'd seen pictures of the huge hauls that girl would go home with. When she asked about it, Silena waved her hand dismissively.

"This day is about you, darling, not me. Even I can reel myself in when I need to," she said.

"Is that it, or is it just we don't have anyone here to carry things for you?" Annabeth asked wryly.

Silena narrowed her eyes. "You make it surprisingly difficult to love you sometimes, Beth, you know that?"

Annabeth laughed. "Maybe so, I guess. But hey, if today is supposed to be about me, shouldn't I decide what stores to go in?"

Silena blinked in surprise. "Well, sure, of course. I just assumed you wouldn't go in anywhere unless I made you. Where do you want to go?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and began walking in the opposite direction, waving her hand in a, 'follow me,' motion. "Even I have things I'm interested in, Silena, it's just not clothes."

Silena shrugged and began following her back the way they had come.

After half a minute of walking they came to a little book shop. Silena rolled her eyes.

She huffed dramatically. "I should've figured. Of the places we could go to together, you pick a bookstore."

Annabeth ignored her. "If it's my day, I should get to go where I want. Plus I need to pick up some reference for a project I'm working on. My newest client wants to create some sort of art installation, which is outside of what I normally do, but I'm excited for the challenge."

Silena stopped walking. She frowned at Annabeth. "The new client? Annabeth, darling, the whole point of coming here was to get away from work. We aren't going to come here to do more work."

Annabeth scowled at her. "I thought the whole point of coming here was to distract me, and I am distracted. I enjoy what I do, Silena, and I'm excited about this project. And that's not the only reason I wanted to come in here," she snapped at her.

Silena's mouth hung open slightly. Annabeth took a deep breath and sighed.

"Look," she said, "I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I'm just… today's been… I'm sorry." Annabeth looked down, ashamed at herself for snapping at the one really close friend she still had, especially when she was trying to help her.

Silena put her hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Annabeth," she said softly. "It's okay. Let's go take a look around the bookstore, huh? Show me what reference you were thinking about getting."

Annabeth looked up at her and smiled gratefully. She was glad Silena worked with her; she had always been a good friend, and if not for that near daily contact she probably would've lost touch with her like most of her other friends. Maybe she should try and reconnect with some of them, she thought.

With renewed determination, Annabeth set out toward the art section of the store. As she walked, she looked back to Silena and said, "I've been thinking a lot about the newest project. I've never been consulted on something like this before, so I think it'll be a nice challenge, and, if things go well, this could open more opportunities for us in the art world."

Silena's eyes lit up in understanding. "Right, that makes more sense. I can see now why you're excited about this, you're always up for a challenge. Plus, I think her seeking to work with you specifically was a nice ego boost," Silena said, a knowing smile on her face.

Annabeth blushed slightly. "Well, after my work at Olympus Towers, she said I was the perfect fit for her work."

"So you've started the planning phase, then?" Silena asked. They had reached the correct aisle by then, and Annabeth quickly searched through the artist's names.

"No, but I've talked to her agent a few times," Annabeth replied. "I'd like to have a better idea of her general style before the first meeting, hence the reference," she said, holding up a book displaying a lone boy with a bronze sword hanging loose in his hand, staring out into the raging sea on a stormy night. "I'm going to meet up with her next week though."

As they walked toward the checkout, Silena smiled at her. "I'm excited for you, Beth. To new beginnings," she said brightly, raising her hand in a mock toast.

As they walked, Annabeth's eyes were drawn toward a cover on the self help section. Demand better of yourself and the world: how to be happier and know your self worth.

Annabeth hesitated, then she smiled, and reached out to get that book as well.

"To new beginnings."

OoOoOoOoO

Annabeth hummed appreciatively when they rounded the corner and came upon the coffee shop. It wasn't particularly big or beautiful, but the air was saturated with the smell of coffee.

She loved it.

"Well? What do you think, O Wise One? Does it match up to your standards?"

Annabeth lightly smacked Silena's arm. "Yeah, it's…" she took a deep breath. "It smells amazing here. Like… coffee. And happiness."

Silena laughed. "Coffee addict much? But, yeah, this place has got pretty good coffee. Don't know why you like the smell, though." Silena wrinkled her nose. "It's so… pungent." She shrugged. "Well, each to their own, I suppose!"

The line was relatively short; mercifully Annabeth thought. They made their orders, and as they searched for a seat, warm beverages safely in hand, Silena suddenly let out a high pitched squeal.

"Piper!" She took off quickly toward the far end of the food court, rushing toward a startled woman with choppy brown hair and kaleidoscopic eyes. Annabeth, assuming she wasn't harassing a total stranger, but still wanting to avoid the startled looks her friend was causing, followed behind to try and keep things to a reasonable volume.

By the time she got there, they were already engaged in a friendly conversation. Silena, noticing Annabeth, claps her hands and exclaims, "Sorry, I'm being rude. Introductions are in order!

"Piper, Annabeth. Annabeth, Piper. She-" Silena pointed to Piper "-is my half-sister. She," pointing to Annabeth, "is my… coworker. Boss. Best friend."

Annabeth extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Piper…?"

"McLean."

"Oh!" Annabeth's eyes widened in surprise. "I recognize that name! Is your mother Aphrodite McLean? My mother knew yours, and I worked with my mom to rebuild her workplace after it burned down."

Piper smiled. "So you're Annabeth… Chase, then? Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't recognize me for my father. He's… pretty famous, now. But, um, yeah, I've heard of you."

Annabeth smiled sheepishly. "Well, I don't watch a lot of movies or tv," she said.

"Or have much of a social life at all, really," Silena said casually, looking away and sipping her tea.

Annabeth glared at her while Piper laughed. "Well, it's not my fault I actually work instead of gossip."

"Oh, don't mind her. I've learned to take most of what Silena says about people with a grain of salt, even if she means well," Piper said, winking at Annabeth conspiratorially.

Silena frowned while Annabeth laughed at her expense. "Hey! That's mean!" she pouted.

"Don't worry, 'Lena, I still love you." Piper patted her arm affectionately. "Even when you try to take me on these gross shopping sprees."

"You too?" Annabeth was surprised. She realized she'd just assumed enjoying shopping ran in Aphrodite McLean's bloodline.

"Aww, you're both teaming up on me!" Silena complained. "That's not fair! I demand back-up!"

Piper smiled slyly. "Well, you could borrow my boyfriend."

Silena's eyes widened in shock and she slapped her hands down on the table. "What?!" She shouted. "Since when do you have a boyfriend?!"

Piper smirked. "Since two weeks ago."

Silena blanched. "Oh my gods, two weeks ago? Who is he? How did it happen? And why're you only telling me this now? My gods, Piper, I thought we were sisters! This is a betrayal of the highest degree. I cannot. Believe you! Hmph! Annabeth, we're leaving!"

Annabeth pulled her friend back down. "Silena, hush, you're making a scene."

Piper giggled. "What a drama queen. Hey, Silena, if you promise not to take me shopping for another month, I might let you meet him~!"

"You would try and blackmail me into spending less time with you, just so I can meet this new man in your life?!" Silena's eyes narrowed. "I'll find him on my own if you make this difficult, Piper. I have my ways."

Piper rolled her eyes. "You can try, but I've been sure to be extra careful. Partially because of you, mainly because of the paparazzi. I don't want either of you scaring him off."

Silena huffed indignantly. "We'll see, Piper. We'll see."

Annabeth watched them banter back and forth like siblings; which, she remembered, they were. She'd always wished for a relationship like that, but her only siblings were both several years younger than her, and she wasn't very close with her family anyway.

"Now, go away." Piper made shoo-ing motions with her hands. "I'm busy with a… coworker and I don't know why he's taking so long getting our food, but when he comes back, you two can not be here."

Silena scoffed. "Aren't you a tutor? How do you have coworkers?"

"Well- I'm not the only tutor- we have a- system- for finding people. And, um, he's… helping me. Find people. To tutor." Piper coughed.

"Ohhh~" Silena sang. "Sure, Pipes~! We'll be going now! C'mon, Annabeth, let's leave Piper with her coworker."

"Oh my gods." Piper muttered. "Just go away, please." Piper pulled a pen out of her pocket, scribbled something down on a napkin, and handed it to Annabeth. "Annabeth, here's my number. I just got a new phone. Please don't share it with Silena or she'll spam me. Thanks! Nice meeting you, hope we can be friends, bye! And take Silena with you," she said meaningfully.

"What do you mean 'don't share it with Silena'? Piper McLean, I'm going to-"

Annabeth grabbed her arm and dragged her away. "Bye, Piper, nice meeting you, talk sometime later, haha! See you around!" Piper waved back gratefully as they receded into the distance.

Once they got far enough away, Annabeth finally let Silena go and watched as she dusted herself off. Once she finished, she glared balefully at Annabeth, and she stifled a laugh.

Silena opened her mouth, and from her expression Annabeth thought she was about to say something very rude, but then her eyes widened and her hands shot up to cover her mouth. For a moment, Annabeth was worried, but then Silena started to squeal excitedly, so she assumed she was mostly alright.

"Annabeth, Annabeth, I just had the best idea! Let's go back and stalk them! I'm sure they aren't done eating yet, we can totally catch them! C'mon, Annie, pleeeease?" her eyes were big and pleading and impossible to resist.

Annabeth resisted them.

"No, Silena," she said, rolling her eyes. "Let's give your sister her privacy. If you're good I'll tell her, and maybe she'll give you her number after all," Annabeth said teasingly.

Silena narrowed her eyes. "Or you could give it to me, since you're my best, best friend who loves me ever so much…?"

Annabeth struggles to keep a straight face. "Not a chance," she said, turning on her heel to walk away.

Silena grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "Oh, come on, Beth," she whined, "please? Pretty please? Gorgeous please?"

Annabeth just smiled back, enjoying her friend's dismay. It was what she'd been feeling all day, after all, only fair to share the discomfort.

But as Annabeth thought back on it, on meeting Piper and the bookstore and the dress, about how hard Silena had tried to cheer her up, she couldn't help but be grateful. A distraction, Silena has said. She had certainly been distracted today. And, somewhat unbidden, her mind wandered to another possible distraction in her future. But that would be a problem for another day.

"Fine, Annabeth," Silena pouted. "Let's just continue our day off!" She looked around, noticing they were just outside a little day-spa. She grinned widely at Annabeth. "And since, obviously, we're already here… let's get massages!"

Annabeth groaned. Never mind, she thought grumpily, there's always time for it to get worse. Silena laughed at Annabeth's expression and dragged her, unwillingly, inside.

OoOoOoOoO

Percy walked down the stairs, humming a song, feeling much lighter after his talk with Beckendorf. It was nice to have someone to confide in. Especially about… certain other people.

Percy was nearly to the door when he bumped into a slightly taller blonde man with clear blue eyes.

"Oh! Hi, sorry, didn't you see- see you there. Um, don't think I've seen you around here before." Percy said, catching himself.

The other man smiled. "You probably haven't. I don't work here. I'm just here to… find someone. Annabeth Chase? Do you know where she is?"

Percy wondered if this was a potential new client. He didn't want to make a bad impression on him; it might reflect badly on the company, and he liked his job here.

"Um, I'm sorry but I believe she took the day off earlier. I could… let her know you were looking for her?" Or find someone else more important to, Percy thought. Someone she'd want to see.

The man frowned, his eyes closing. "Right." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

When he opened his eyes again, they were friendly, but subdued. "I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I think it'd be best to discuss things… in person. But again, I appreciate your help, man."

Percy straightened up slightly. "Of course, sir."

The man laughed. "Please, don't call me sir. It makes me feel like some old, douchey business guy, and that is not how I want to treat people," he said, giving Percy a slight, but genuine smile. "What's your name, man?"

Percy tentatively smiled back. "It's Percy. Percy Jackson."

The blond man smiled wide, and thrust forward his hand. Percy took it and as they shook, the man said,

"Nice to meet you Percy. I'm Luke."