Disclaimer: I am not Uncle Rick and I do not own the rights to these characters. I just ship them immensely.

A/N: Kind of a "filler" chapter, but we're leading up to things ;)

"Is that the last of it?" Zoë asked with a grunt, pushing Thalia's new ottoman into its proper place. They had spent the last few days arranging her new belongings, the belongings that Piper had helped pick out three weeks prior.

"Yeah. I really appreciate the help, Zo," Thalia said. "Want something to drink?"

"Water's fine," Zoë responded, reclining on Thalia's new cream colored couch. Thalia joined her a moment later, holding the water as well as a soda for herself, and they turned on the TV.

"Thalia, it's been a month. Have you called him back yet, or even texted him?" Zoë interrupted after a moment.

"I'm fine, and that's none of your business," Thalia said quickly, keeping her eyes on the TV screen.

"Thalia, you can't just press pause on Luke like that. You'll regret it. Believe me, I know you."

"I don't want to talk about this. I just want to watch some TV and relax, okay?"

She knew it wasn't fair. She knew she was making excuses. But she was still getting the rest of her life together, and she didn't think it would be fair to get Luke's hopes up, even if she did still get butterflies when she thought about him, about his blue eyes and gentlemanly manners and his scent and his voice and-No. She wouldn't do that to herself. At least not now.

The rest of the evening passed quickly and before they knew it, it was time for Zoë to get home so that they could drag themselves out of bed early the next morning for work. As Thalia opened the door, Zoë spoke again.

"Thals, you know I'm just looking out for you. I could care less about how Luke feels, but I don't want to see you hurt yourself like this. Just give him a call tonight, okay?"

"Okay. Fine," Thalia surrendered her arguments, biting her tongue instead. She gave Zoë a soft smile. "See you bright and early." The door closed between them and Thalia let out a heavy sigh, padding back to the kitchen to make a mug of tea. She took a relaxing shower, hoping her muscles wouldn't be sore in the morning after all of the furniture moving she did, and receded to her room. Her phone was sitting on her nightstand invitingly, and she frowned. Thalia looked away from the accursed object and proceeded to pull her sheets away from the mattress. Her eyes betraying her, she glanced again at the cell phone. Cursing under her breath, Thalia picked it up and dialed with trembling fingers.

-x-

"I wanted to personally commend each and every one of you who had a part in our latest project. It's teamwork on projects like these that really prove how dedicated this company is, and how dedicated you all are to the efforts you make."

Reyna had gathered everybody together in the main lobby and had read them an excerpt from a local magazine that raved about the play they had recently designed, and had given extra praise to the set designs in particular. Thalia and Zoë shared a grin.

"Congratulations, ladies," Octavian said to Thalia and Zoë, once the announcement was officially over with. "Look, I'm going out tonight with a few of the senior designers to celebrate. Care to join? Drinks will be on us."

Pausing to mull over the idea, Thalia finally nodded. "Sure, thanks," she said.

Octavian grinned, although it barely reached his intrusive blue-eyed gaze. "Great. I'll send you an email with the place and time." Like that, he was gone, and his intrusive eyes were replaced with those of Zoë's.

"Really, Thals? You hate him, why did you just say yes?" Zoë exclaimed incredulously.

"Senior designers, Zo. If we have to deal with Octavian, fine, but this is a chance for us to "climb the corporate ladder", if you will. Get our names and faces out there and get in a position to earning promotions, or even internships for another design firm," Thalia explained. "Come on, just go with me. If it's boring, we'll leave early. Besides, since when did you turn down a free drink?" she teased. After a bit more coaxing, Zoë finally relented.

"But only because I'd rather go with you than have you go alone with him."

Thalia smiled. "Thanks."

"Mm hmm. I'll catch you later. And you're picking me up." Zoë was gone shortly after that, flipping her long hair over one shoulder in an act of contempt.

That afternoon, Octavian was true to his word, and Thalia received an email invite to the bar. She forwarded the information to Zoë and resumed her work until she left around 4:30. When she got to her apartment, she changed into something a bit more comfortable (although she thankfully persuaded herself out of wearing a dress), put a curling iron to her hair to give the normally straight black hair a slight wave that shortened the length to her chin, and then caught a cab to pick up Zoë at 6. When they arrived, Octavian and his group were waiting close to the entrance. "There they are," he said with an amiable grin. Even so, Thalia and Zoë still read his impression as arrogant.

"Not late, I hope," Zoë responded, to which Octavian shook his head. "Ladies, meet Silena, Pollux, and Castor." As he spoke, he indicated a slim woman with black hair and hazel eyes and then two identical men with curly blonde hair and violet eyes. They must have been twins. Thalia wondered if they were wearing contacts or if their eyes truly were such a strange hue.

"Nice to meet you guys. Your work is stunning," Zoë said with a grin. Thalia glanced at her and knew that her expression was only exaggerated for Thalia's sake.

"Thank you," the man named Pollux said.

"Let me get you girls a drink while these guys find us a big enough table," Octavian offered, putting his arms around Thalia and Zoe, leading them to the main bar at the center of the building.

[To be continued!]

Please follow and review! This is my first published fic, so I'd love some feedback! Critiques are welcome, rudeness is not.