Annabeth checked her watch for the tenth time and pulled the door open. The school was fairly empty and the click of Annabeth's heels echoed through the halls as she hurried to the library. It was 5:11 which made her exactly eleven minutes late.

The kids were waiting patiently, milling around the entrance to the library, and Annabeth apologized profusely as she unlocked the door and let them in.

"Sorry, sorry. I grabbed the wrong binder this morning and I had to run home and get the right one. I figured you all don't want to hear about Russia ever again after last year," she said as everyone found seats. The older students laughed and Annabeth smiled. Russia had been the previous year's topic and it had been interesting, but a year was long enough to grow tired of any topic. Plus, the kids hadn't been too fond of Tolstoy or Pasternak.

"Ok, we're going to start with a demidec quiz, so everyone get yourselves signed in. Then I believe Gwen has a presentation for us," she looked at the girl in question for confirmation and continued when Gwen nodded, "and Mr. Grace will be here around 7 to go over the economics stuff he gave you last week. I'm working on getting someone in here to talk about the Eliot piece because, frankly, it's rough. I'm sure some of you have read it before; I know Mr. Castellan taught it in his AP Comp class before he left. I've read it a few times, but I'm sure there's someone in this school who knows Eliot much better than I do."

"You should ask Mr. Jackson," Lacy said, bouncing in her seat.

Annabeth pursed her lips. Percy was exactly who she was going to ask, actually, but she'd put it off because all the students still seemed to think they were dating. And they most definitely were not. Annabeth didn't even like him like that. They were just friends. (She was so deep in denial at this point that she was almost able to fool herself into thinking she only wanted to be his friend.)

"Anyway, let's get started."

As she and Jason made their way out to the parking lot after practice he said, "Gwen did well on her presentation."

Annabeth nodded. "I feel like they're all really prepared this year."

"It could definitely be our year."

Annabeth groaned. "Don't jinx us. Webster has never been to Nationals."

Jason scoffed. "With this team, there's no way we aren't going to L.A."

Annabeth punched his shoulder. "Stop it! If we don't make it I'm totally kicking your ass."

"We're gonna make it."

Annabeth just shook her head and allowed herself to think about the possibility. Jason was right; the team was excellent and they'd never had a better chance of going to Nationals. To see all their hard work validated- Annabeth couldn't even imagine how amazing it would be.

"Oh hey, we really should ask Percy to be our Lit guy. I know he has swimming and everything but I bet he'd be willing to stop by after he's done with practice a few times."

Annabeth sighed, conceding to herself that she'd just have to get over the whole dating thing.

"I'll ask him at lunch tomorrow. I hope he likes Eliot."

"I love Eliot!"

Annabeth resisted the urge to laugh. He just looked so damn cute when he got excited.

"Really?" Piper asked, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"What, you don't?" he asked, scandalized.

Piper's expression returned to normal again, she shrugged and said, "I have no idea who Eliot is," and went back to her sandwich. Annabeth did laugh this time because Percy's face was just too comical.

"Well anyway, I've read The Wasteland a few times, but it's so long and dense and I want the kids to have a firm grasp on it. We've covered a lot of the shorter material, but I don't want to screw anything up. They've been working so hard."

"I'm totally in! When do you need me?"

"Oh, whenever you're free. The kids will be really pleased though, that's for sure."

"I can come on Thursday if that works for you," he offered through a mouthful of ham and cheese.

"Thursday is great. Although I should warn you- they still think we're dating. I can't seem to convince them otherwise."

Percy opened his mouth to respond but Piper snorted and drew both of their attention.

"What?"

Piper shook her head and just stuffed a baby carrot in her mouth. "Absolutely nothing."

Annabeth leveled a glare at her best friend before she went back to her lunch.

When the bell rang Percy left them with a smile to get ready for class (something involving music and a flashlight) and Piper smirked at Annabeth.

"Stop that."

"Stop what? I didn't do anything."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes but Piper just looked at her innocently.

"Have a good day, Annabeth," she said cheerily. She winked as she turned and Annabeth glared at her best friend's back as she walked away.

Thankfully, her kids weren't too terrible after lunch, although Annabeth was strongly considering separating Dakota and Connor; the two of them never got anything done sitting together.

They were drawing to the end of the Greek and Roman mythology unit and Annabeth was a firm believer in giving students time to work on projects in class. She just didn't find it fair to set a group project and expect kids with totally different schedules to be able to constantly meet outside of school.

"Now don't forget," she said at the end of the day to her AP kids, "we'll be starting presentations on Monday which means everyone's scripts are due at the beginning of class that day. You'll have half of class tomorrow to work, but you should be to the point where you're mostly just tying up loose ends. If not, I suggest you make good use of your long weekend."

The bell rang right on cue and the students scrambled to get out of the room. When the last students left, Annabeth flopped down into her chair and sighed. She needed to tidy up her desk- it was covered in papers and it was making her a little crazy- and she needed to answer some emails (one from Reyna about a department meeting next Tuesday, one from the decathlon coach at Riverview High about the upcoming invitational, and one from her mother about her extended business trip in Athens), so she opened up her iTunes and got to work so she could spend her fall break doing absolutely nothing work-related.

"How would you feel about hosting the Halloween party?"

Annabeth looked up, startled, from her email to the Riverview coach and found Jason and Piper both looking at her expectantly.

"Um, fine I guess."

Relief flooded Piper's face and Jason said, "See, toldja you were worried about nothing."

"So why am I hosting it? The Halloween party is your thing," Annabeth said leaning back in her chair.

Jason snorted and Piper bit her lip. "Hera was insulted we didn't invite her so I may have said it's because you were having it this year."

Jason shook his head fondly and patted Piper's head. "She's not exactly the queen of quick thinking."

"I panicked! Do you want your stepmother at the Halloween party?"

Jason shuddered.

"That's what I thought. Also, are we still on for the Kardashians on Sunday?" Piper asked Annabeth.

"Duh."

Jason rolled his eyes. "I don't understand why you two like that show."

"Um, because it's fantastic."

"Anyway, we've got most of the stuff for the party. All we have to do is bring it over to your place."

"Cool. You can just bring it Saturday if you want."

"So do you have your costume yet?" Jason asked, practically bouncing up and down. It was adorable how much he loved Halloween.

Annabeth chuckled. "No, but I can tell you do."

Piper grinned and Jason said, "I'm Captain America and she's the Winter Soldier."

"Are you two ever going to be over that movie."

Piper looked scandalized. "Never!"

"Ok but really, what are you gonna be?" Jason asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I have a few ideas but nothing especially fantastic. I might just wear my toga."

"Absolutely not!"

"Ok then what do you suggest I be?"

Jason pursed his lips, thinking about it for a second, before he shook his head. "Give me a day or two. I'll figure something out for you."

They left, deep in conversation about possible costumes for Annabeth, and she went back to sending her emails. Deciding her mother's reply could wait, she pulled up a Halloween store website and glanced through their costumes.

"Ok so what are you supposed to be?"

Percy wasn't prepared for Annabeth's outraged look. She was wearing a pale blue dress and a silvery blonde wig that almost reached her butt and she had a tiny stuffed dragon sitting on her shoulder.

"Oh my god, Percy, do you live under a rock?" Hazel asked adjusting her Minnie Mouse ears.

"She's the chick from that show where everyone dies, right?" Leo asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm Daenerys Targaryen. Geez, what do you two watch on tv?"

"I'm a fan of zombies," Percy said.

Leo shrugged. "I don't watch TV, man. Too sedentary."

"To be honest, I'm just impressed you used the word 'sedentary' correctly," Annabeth said over her red plastic cup.

"Hey, I know stuff. I know who Percy's dressed as."

Annabeth gave Percy a once over (solely to check out his costume, thank you very much) and scoffed.

"That's because it's the most predictable choice ever."

Percy made a noise of protest and said, "Hey, I'll have you know Aquaman is awesome."

"He doesn't even have a movie," Hazel pointed out.

"Says Minnie Mouse," Leo added.

Hazel scowled. "Minnie Mouse is like, an icon. Everyone knows who she is."

Annabeth shot Percy a look and the two of them slipped away. Things between Hazel and Leo were known to get heated, if only because of their complicated relationship (almost together was one of the strangest relationships to have with someone and honestly, Annabeth applauded their ability to still be friends).

"You guys take Halloween really seriously here, huh?"

Annabeth laughed. "Yeah, it's mostly Jason's and Piper's thing but everyone really gets into it."

They both looked over to where Jason and Piper were holding court by the booze table, both wearing accurate and film-worthy Hogwarts uniforms,complete with wands and everything.

"Apparently," Percy said amusedly.

Frank nodded at the two of them as he passed in his teddy bear costume (Annabeth couldn't decide if it was supposed to be serious or ironic but it was perfect for him either way).

"So this is where you live?"

Annabeth nodded. "It is. It's nothing special but I like it."

"No, it's great. Much bigger than my place. Plus I can't have pets," he said, nodding at the cat lounging on her couch.

"I still can't figure out what to call him," she said with a frown.

The cat jumped down from the back of the couch and began to wind around Percy's ankles. When he bent down to scratch the cat's ears, Annabeth could actually hear it purring.

"I think he likes me," Percy said with a dopey grin.

Annabeth laughed. "Ok, cat whisperer, ask him what his name is."

Percy bent down and put his ear up to the cat's face. Annabeth was half expecting the cat to start hissing or to retreat, but it only pushed off with its back legs and rubbed against Percy's cheek.

"He says his name is Blackjack and he loves his new home."

Annabeth shook her head fondly. "You're such a nerd."

"Yes, but a cute nerd," he said giving the cat one last pet.

Very cute.

Annabeth blinked as the thought crossed her mind. Her traitorous mind.

"If you say so," is what she said aloud.

"Oh I do. And so does Blackjack."

"I think Blackjack just wants attention."

Percy straightened and took a sip of his drink. "I think you might be right." They both watched as the kitten moved through the crowd and rubbed against Reyna's leg.

The doorbell rang and Annabeth hurried over to answer it. She opened the door to a tall, skinny boy with shaggy black hair and a tshirt that said This is my costume.

Before Annabeth could ask who he was, Hazel rushed over and enveloped the newcomer in a hug. Annabeth noticed the pink staining his cheeks as Hazel pulled away.

"Annabeth, this is my brother, Nico."

Annabeth's first thought was that the two siblings couldn't be more different. Hazel was lively and vibrant and Nico seemed like he was trying to melt into the ground. Then she noticed that they had the same nose.

"I hope it's ok that I invited him."

"Of course! It's nice to put a face to the name," Annabeth said with a smile. "Hazel talks about you all the time."

Nico glanced at Hazel, who was trying to arrange his hair so it would stay out of his face, and grimaced.

"Lots of good things," Annabeth added quickly.

Nico nodded and Hazel kissed his cheek. Annabeth saw the surprise flicker over his face for just a moment, as if he wasn't used to that sort of display of affection. But he smiled, really truly smiled, at Hazel nonetheless.

"What's going on over here?" Percy asked throwing an arm around Annabeth's shoulders. Her skin burned where his fingers brushed her bicep and her stomach turned over not unpleasantly. Percy cleared his throat and pulled his arm back looking embarrassed, which made Annabeth even more embarrassed.

"This is my brother Nico," Hazel said, smothering a smirk. "Nico, this is my friend Percy."

"Oh, hey! We've heard a lot about you."

"You really like talking about me huh?" Nico asked his sister sheepishly.

Hazel just grinned. "What can I say, I like having a big brother."

"So, not into the whole Halloween thing?" Percy asked, nodding at Nico's shirt.

Nico shrugged. "Hazel bought it for me."

"Only because he refused to be Mickey Mouse," Hazel added.

Annabeth resisted the urge to laugh. The image of Nico dressed up as Mickey Mouse that popped into her head was fantastic, but she doubted if he would appreciate the humor in it.

"You should've asked Frank to do matching costumes," Percy said casually. Or at least if Annabeth didn't know him she would have thought it was a casual suggestion.

Annabeth was pretty sure Hazel blushed under all the rouge on her cheeks.

"Speaking of Frank," Hazel said turning to Nico, "you should meet him."

She excused the both of them, pulling Nico along behind her, and disappeared into the kitchen.

"He's lucky to have her," Percy said with a smile.

Annabeth nodded. "I like Hazel. I'm glad she's staying at Webster."

"I do like your costume by the way," he said over his red plastic cup.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You didn't even know who I was supposed to be."

Percy shrugged. "Doesn't mean I can't tell you look good."

Annabeth cheeks turned red about three seconds before Percy's.

"You know, like, objectively, aesthetically speaking. It fits you well. And stuff."

Annabeth giggled under her breath as Percy looked anywhere else.

"Well thanks. Your costume looks good too. You know, objectively, aesthetically speaking."

Percy laughed uneasily and cleared his throat.

"I think I see Reyna waving me over. I'll see you later?"

Annabeth nodded, smiling slightly at his flustered tone. As he hurried away she couldn't help but admire the way his tights-and-speedo combo made his butt look.

You have so got it bad, she thought downing the rest of her drink.