Annabeth

When Percy returns from talking to his father, he seems shaken. There's a far off look in his eyes, almost like he's seen the pits of Tartarus. He stumbles toward the rec room to grab his guitar; practice is at Leo's today.

I have an appointment for a dress fitting, so I invite Hazel to come with me. I'm going to meet her at the dress shop, and then we were going to get lunch and find her a bridesmaid's dress.

What, you think I'm not going to have fun planning a wedding I won't attend? If anything, it makes it better.

I get to try on dresses and sample food and plan things, but don't have to stay and see the outcome. Seriously, if the whole architecture thing fails, I might be a wedding planner.

Grover drops me off outside the shop, and I walk through the glass doors. Hazel's already here, chatting quietly with Ellen, the shop owner.

"Hey," I greet them both. "Ready to pick out a dress?"

Hazel nods shyly. "I guess so."

We delve right into the racks of dresses, and two hours later, we emerge successful. I was searching through a rack of deep green dresses when Hazel tapped my shoulder. "I found one. I think it works for your theme." Hazel's voice was quiet, but her eyes glowed. From the conversation we'd been having, I'd learned that she doesn't get to do this often.

"It's not very fun, shopping by yourself," she'd said. I'd understood completely.

I looked at the dress she'd held up; it was a dark blue sleeveless knee-length number, and gathered at the waist with a small bow. It complemented the gold of her eyes, and she liked it. I hoped Hazel would still wear the dress after everything happens.

"Looks great!" I'd assured her, then snapped a photo with my phone. We've got Hazel's dress, I text Percy. He doesn't respond immediately, so Ellen, the shop owner, leads me towards the back room for my fitting.

The dress fits almost perfectly, though the hemline needs to be risen a half an inch. "It's not necessary," I tried to tell Ellen, but she wouldn't have it.

"I'll not have you tripping over your dress while walking down the aisle."

Now we're heading for lunch at a café that Hazel insists is 'simply delicious'. She leans towards the front and tells Beckendorf the address before leaning back to talk to me.

"So, what are you and Percy doing for the wedding?" This question led to a long discussion over wedding stuff. The venue, the flowers, the shoes, the guests, the honeymoon location. Had we sent out invitations yet? Who was the best man? What kind of cake would there be? What would we do if it rained?

The Q&A session continued as we arrived at the bistro and until we were seated. After answering if I had something old, new, borrowed, and blue, the waitress asked what I wanted for lunch.

"Oh! Um..." I took a quick glance at the menu. "I'll take a lemon tea and the soup of the day, please." Once she collects the menus and leaves, I focus in the interior of the café. Dark paneled walls with elegant Victorian light fixtures lining them. Wright iron tables line the walls, the matching chairs covered in deep violet cushions. Near the kitchen door, someone's strung up beaded fairy lights. In one corner, a local musician plays acoustic music. The place smells of espresso, clove cigarettes, and cinnamon.

This seems like Thalia's type of place. Gods knows I'll never be able to find it again to show her.

Percy

I drive myself to Leo's.

Shocking, right? Percy can drive? I learned out of necessity rather than desire, and don't really like to do it, but Beckendorf was off taking care of Silenna and Grover had to drive Annabeth to her dress fitting, so it was necessary.

The one good thing about driving myself is that I have to focus on something else. I'm distracted, for fifteen minutes, all of my senses turned onto the road. There's very few cars today, which isn't out of the ordinary. Hardly anyone lives out this way, and the new that do aren't commuting at the time being.

I pull into Leo's drive and park to the side, nearly hitting a pile of junk that Leo and Hephaestus would call 'valuable antiques' or 'useful machinery' or something like that.

I don't even bother to knock anymore; I let myself into the house, call hello to Esperanza, Leo's mother, who insists that I have a cup of tea and a cookie. The tea and cookie lead to a ten-minute conversation.

"How are you, Percy?" She asked, her brown eyes glinting with childhood mischief. Though he got many habits from his father, Leo inherited his mother's eyes.

"I'm okay. A bit tired."

She nods knowingly. "I know how you feel! Ay dios mio, my family is driving me crazy!"

"It is Leo. You could lock him in a trunk and throw it underwater. It'd keep him quiet, for a day or two."

Esperanza rolls her eyes. "He'd manage to escape before I had the chance. That boy is a miniature Houdini, I swear it."

After a few more more questions, there's a crash from the garage. Hephaestus must be inventing something. He's like Tony Stark, most of the time. Mrs. Valdez sighs. "I best be going. I hope he didn't blow up the radiator again. You be sure to bring Annabeth by, okay?"

I assure her that I will, and make my way to the basement where Leo's begun practice. By the sound of it, he's tried the originals again. The lyrics "I got myself some peanut butter and I fed it to my cat" drift up the stairs, and I cringe before descending into the madness.

Thalia

Only after I hear Annabeth exit the house do I leave the walls of my room. Not like I've got anywhere to go, so I wander around for a while, taking in the rich colors of the furnishings in the hallways. Shining silver portrait frames, sheer curtains, and elegant vases with fresh flowers adorn the empty space of the Jackson's house. They try to give the appearance of life, but anyone inside could tell the there's something off about the whole deal.

Each room is immaculate and empty. I wander from hallway to hallway, study to guest room to library.

I'm not even paying attention to where I'm going, anymore. The halls are like a maze, and the only way I can tell I haven't been wandering in circles is the change in decor. There was antique, contemporary, and a varying design on the doors to lead me. As I kept walking, the halls grew simpler until I hit a dead end. Shrugging, I open the white door in front of me and step outside into the brilliant sunshine.

Percy

The basement is pure madness. Leo's hanging off the back of a couch and he and Jason are shouting at each other. Frank, poor guy, has his hands over his ears and wears an amused expression on his face. He nods in greeting when he catches sight of me, and I wave in return. No use trying to say anything; Jason and Leo are simply too loud.

"We are NOT calling the album 'Smoking Hot Ladies' Man', for the hundredth time!" That was, in case you couldn't tell, Jason. Leo was pouting.

He flopped off the back of the couch and stood up. "But why not? It's a great title." He spoke excitedly, waving his hands in fifty directions at once. "And 'Yellow Rain' could be the lead single."

Oh gods, no. It's time for me to intervene. "Leo-"

" Mr. McShizzle, to you."

Ugh. Not this again. "Fine, whatever, but listen: we're not going to have any sort of song in the album about your dog pissing on a dollhouse." 'Yellow Rain' was, without a doubt, the absolute worst song ever. Yes, even worse than 'PB&Cat', which was what he was playing earlier. Frank and Jason nod in agreement. "The one you had last week, something about the sunset, that one might work."

Time to get to work. We've got some songs to write, and I need any type of distraction I can get.

Annabeth

"I'll see you later, Annabeth." Hazel says as she slides out of the car. "Today was fun. Thanks for inviting me."

"I had fun, too, so thanks to you, as well. Are you and Frank coming to movie night?"

Hazel nods, waves goodbye again, and closes the door behind her. Through the tinted window I can see her make her way up the sidewalk to a yellow house with deep blue shutters. A yellow Labrador comes running out the door to greet her.

"Ready, Miss Chase?" Grover calls from the front.

"Yeah," I say softly, my eyes lingering on Hazel's picture perfect life. One without horrid stepmothers and arranged marriages and strict expectations. The only thing missing is the picket fence. You could have that, y'know. With Percy. "Let's go."

I was gaining too much Real Life lately. I needed to go and get lost in my books, in worlds where people weren't as confusing and you knew where you stood.

Thalia

Outside was something I hadn't seen much of lately. Nature just doesn't cut it for me. Yeah, the brilliant green shooting from the rich brown earth is pretty, and the raindrops falling against the windowsill are nice, but it all turns to shit eventually. Bugs and poisonous creatures hid in the grass, and the rain turned everything to mud. The beauty never lasted.

But this... This was amazing. A canopy of trees allowed light to flutter to the ground, and waves rustled in the soft breeze, which with it brought a light whiff of pine.

I take a tentative step outside, the brilliant green grass compressing beneath my feet. I turn around to look at the house and make a striking realization:

There's no windows on this side. No doors, no vents, no way anyone could see me.

There's coverage provided by trees, and I bet if I were to follow the line through the woods, I'd hit road at some point.

If this checks out, Annabeth and I may have an escape route.

A/N: Hello! So, what did you think of the last chapter? I rather liked the cliff hanger. *mwahahaha* So, I have good and bad news:

-The bad news is that I have finals next week, so I won't be betting much writing done. Also, my best friend's sister is getting married, so there goes my plot line editor.

-BUT after finals comes summer vacation, and I should have more time to write. Lots more time. Like, a chapter in 2 or 3 days.

Also, I have a chapter of a fic I've started, and I kinda want to post it. Think a Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet crossover with Percy Jackson. Opinions?

Keep being awesome (because you guys are the best)!

-Winter'sFangirl