Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.

Chapter Seven

Dancing With the Gods

When we arrived at the shore after many food and bathroom breaks (mostly from Andee and Grover), it was starting to get dark so Argus dropped us off at the shore before turning around and heading back to Camp, which would take a couple of hours. Andee stood, watching the van drive away before looking around at her surroundings.

"Well, since I am not a New York native, or a United States native for that matter, who knows where the closest hotel is?" Andee asked, holding her necklace and rubbing it against her bottom lip as she continued to look around.

"Right behind you," Annabeth said aggravatedly, pointing to the large building beside us overlooking the waterfront.

"Aha! We have found it!" Andee exclaimed dramatically before leading the way over to the hotel entrance. Once we had booked a room for the night, we went up to see it.

It was on the second floor, which went around in a square letting you see over the edge of the rail and onto the first floor. Our room had two beds, a couch and a television, a bathroom and a mini fridge. Andee walked in and dumped her bag on the floor, diving onto one of the beds. "It's so comfy!" her muffled voice exclaimed happily.

"Well, we don't have much time so we need to plan our next move," Annabeth said.

"Clubbing," Andee said.

"What?"

"Our next move is clubbing," Andee said simply.

"We are underage and that has literally nothing to do with our quest," Annabeth argued.

"Actually," Andee started, smiling slyly, "there are clubs in New York designed for people under the legal drinking age. I know this, because my friends and I looked it up so we could go clubbing when we came here for our class trip." Annabeth gave her a look. "Come on, Bethie! We can't do anything until we figure out the next move, but we're already so stressed that we're not going to be able to even see our next move if it hit us in the face! Besides, I've got a good feeling about this."

"She has a decent point," Grover mentioned and Annabeth glared daggers at him. Andee just smiled in her victory.

"Come on, let's get ready! You two too!" she shouted as she ran into the bathroom with Annabeth, grabbing her bag on the way in. "Meet us down in the lobby."

Grover and I were ready in a few minutes while the girls took a lot longer. And I mean, a lot. They took about an hour to get ready, but I could definitely see why when they finally came out of the bathroom.

Annabeth had her hair down for one of the first times I had seen in all the time I had known her. She had smoky make-up around her grey eyes and was wearing a sequined black top with a pair of tight jeans and matching black flats.

Andee made my jaw drop. She had her blonde hair in curls much like Annabeth's, but hers weren't nearly as long. She had sparkly gold make-up on her eyes and was wearing a short, gold-sequined tube dress and black high heels that must've made her at least four inches taller. She was wearing a pair of gold dangly earrings, a black leather jacket that she kept hanging open, and a black clutch.

"So how do we look?" Andee asked, smiling brightly and twirling around so we could get a full look at her.

"You look incredible," I said softly.

"Well, I don't feel incredible, I feel uncomfortable," Annabeth said, adjusting her top slightly. She definitely missed the fact that the compliment was meant for Andee, but Annabeth did look good too.

We left the hotel and Andee started leading us down the street to where she had apparently seen one of these underage clubs on the way here. You could tell we were close because you could hear the music pounding from blocks away. Andee was strutting down the sidewalk with all the confidence in the world as she led us to the club.

"Hey," I said quietly to Andee, struggling slightly to catch up with her brisk pace.

"Hello," she smiled at me, her hand brushing mine as we walked together in a comfortable silence. We got there and Andee led us past the surprisingly long line and up to the entrance where a big guy wearing sunglasses was standing with a clipboard. He saw us approaching and lowered his sunglasses, giving us a "not-going-to-happen" look.

I glanced at Andee but she didn't seem to notice – she just kept that confident smile on her face. She walked up and the others in the line began looking at her as well. When she reached the bodyguard, and he said, "There's a line."

She snapped her fingers and his eyes went blank, along with everyone else's in the crowd. "Andee le Fay, my name is on the VIP list."

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, Miss le Fay. Go right ahead," he said, his eyes going back to normal as we breezed past.

"You can use the Mist?" I asked incredulously.

"Yup. My aunt taught me," Andee said. "She was at Camp for a long time."

The music was booming and the only light in the entire building was the multicolor and strobe lights flashing around. Andee began dancing right away, swaying her hips to the beat. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the music take over.

"There's a strong smell in here," Grover mentioned, sniffing the air. "Something not human."

"You see? The Fates are with us," Andee commented before looking at Annabeth. "Come on, love, let's dance!"

Andee took Annabeth by the hand and began to dance with her, both of them moving to the beat and laughing away. I couldn't believe that someone like Andee, who had been through quite a lot, could get on with her life just like that. She didn't seem to care about what had happened in her past, while others moaned on and on about all the horrible things that had happened to them.

"Ask her to dance," Grover told me.

"I can't," I said. She didn't remember dancing with me at the celebratory feast, and that had taken a lot for me to ask her then, and I wasn't sure I could do it again.

"Just do it," Grover said, shoving me towards her.

"Hey, you wanna dance?" someone asked from behind Andee just as I was about to ask her myself. It was a slightly older guy, probably eighteen or nineteen. He had dark blue eyes and was wearing a black, button-up shirt with a few of the top buttons undone.

"Yeah, definitely," Andee said in a dazed tone.

"She is so lucky," Annabeth sighed as she came back to join Grover and I, her voice taking on the same daze-like tone as Andee's.

I looked over at Andee dancing seductively with this guy, grinding her hips against his. He leaned and whispered something in her ear and her lips immediately met his.

I couldn't believe it. She had just met this guy and now they were making out? I think what made me so pissed off was that I had let myself believe I actually had a chance with her.

"What's so special about him? He's just a guy…not even that good-looking," I commented, glaring at him.

"Are you jealous, Percy?" Grover asked, sounding a little shocked.

"No," I snapped back. "I'm just saying he's nothing special."

"Are you kidding me?" Annabeth asked, looking me dead in the eyes. "He's godly!"

Godly. Grover and I exchanged looks before glancing back at Andee, whose lips were still attached to the random guy's. "He's a god," Grover and I said in unison, and Annabeth gave us a doubtful look.

"No, he's – oh my gods, he's a god!" Annabeth exclaimed, shaking off whatever spell he had put her under. It made perfect sense now. Like Ares, he made you feel a certain emotion when you were near him. And this god must have had something to do with lust. Annabeth and I must have been thinking the same thing because she said, "That's Eros."