Artemis:

"Can we sneak home now?" Zak whispered in my ear, and it took all of my will power not to growl. During the car ride, Annie wouldn't shut up about how she would pay me twenty bucks if I turned the car around and went back to the dorm. Zak was okay on the ride, but the moment Nikki saw we were here, he wanted to go.

"No, Zak."

"But we did what she wanted. We came. Why can't we go?" he whispered once more as I started to walk back into the messy Frat house. Earlier, I got a call from my mom, and, as I wanted to know how Beck was, I had to go outside to answer it. Zak took that time to beg me once more to leave.

When I walked inside, I wanted to cringe.

Everywhere you looked, someone was drunk, and it was only the begging of the party. In some parts, people were so packed that you could barely move, but there were also places where only a few people stood. The music was pounding until I swear the floor was shaking.

And everyone was loving it, especially Nikki who had already found a super-hot football player for herself. Annie, on the other hand, was downing a drink every few seconds and trying her hardest to dodge either Joel or Marcus. Marcus kept looking at either Annie or Nikki, but Joel kept his eyes on Annie. He made it less obvious by talking to people at the party and seemingly having fun, but his eyes gave it all away.

And here Zak and I stood.

It was pretty tempting to go back to the dorm. When I was little, I always said I'd go to college single because that was how it was meant to be enjoyed, but I couldn't get myself to leave Zak, especially when he got in to AU with me. I never want to lose him, and I had to give up some things for that. I missed over half of the parties last year, not that I probably would have gone if I had been single. There were countless dances we didn't go to. In high school, it felt weird being the couple we are, but it's not at all like that at Camp. In high school, everyone thought we would break up any day now, but, at camp, everyone just looked at Percy and Annabeth and say 'Why not?'. It's so much better there because we're not the only ones. There are only about three couples left like us there because of break-ups due to college or things like that, but we're still not the only ones. I had hoped College would be like that, which it is sort of. But there are moments, like this, were you feel like you're about to hear someone whisper 'They'll break up any day now'

"You okay, Artemis?" Zak asked, breaking me out of a trance. I took a second to reassess where I was and nodded at him.

"Yeah, just looking for Nikki," I lied like she hadn't been the easiest person to spot in the room. I mean, what do you expect from a girl with pink hair?

"So, what happened with her and Marcus?" I asked him after a few moments of silence from the guy who wouldn't shut up a minute ago.

"I don't know. They were never close or anything, but, one day, they just couldn't stand the sight of each other," Zak shrugged, and I knew it didn't happen like that. In Zak's mind, it would make since that they just grew apart or something, but that doesn't happen with Nikki. She doesn't just start screaming at a guy. Something definitely happened between them, and I want to know what.

Annie:

An hour later:

I looked around the room again. A few of the old faces had left with someone, but a bunch of new people were here, too. Artty and Zak left fifteen minutes ago, almost sneaking out the door so Nikki wouldn't see, not that she could. At the time, she was making out with some football player that she ditched about ten minutes ago for unknown reasons. Marcus was talking to some girl, just out the corner of my eye, and Joel was who-knows-where. All I knew was that, I was a little drunk, tired, and alone. I would have traded anything to be Art at this point. It was like our lives reversed.

I was always the one who had a guy, and I was the happiest out of the two of us. She was always the one who went to parties with her friends and left without the buzz of having a good time. Now, she was the one happiest, with a guy I might add, and I was leaving with a frown on my face.

As if she knew I was about to leave, Nikki made her way to me through the crowd. She looked a little bit different from when we left, but not by much. Her dull, pink lips formed in a comical frown, but her green eyes still held the party-fun atmosphere around her. Instead of Chanel #5, she reeked of alcohol.

"Cheer up, Annie," she drunkenly grinned, but she didn't slur, telling me she wasn't that drunk-yet. She hasn't gone to a party in weeks. She'll probably go all out.

"I think I'm going to go, okay, Nikki?" I smiled as if I were completely sober, which I definitely wasn't. She shook her head, making her hair shake a little bit.

"Annie, you can't go," Nikki begged, pulling on my arm. As she did so, the right shoulder on her black 'New York Does It Better' dress started to slip a little bit, revealing a black mini dress underneath. She always wore one so she won't have a wardrobe malfunction.

I was about to tell her I'd call her tomorrow, but I saw two familiar faces working their way towards me. I knew I was pretty close to the drink table. So, it wasn't that shocking, but I could tell by the look in both of their eyes that they weren't going there. They were coming to me.

Marcus and Joel.

My breathing labored, and my face paled. It snapped me out of my drunken haze, but I still couldn't think.

"Hey, Nikki," Joel smiled to Nikki, and she smiled, too.

"Eww, it's Marcus," Nikki groaned, and Joel smirked a little bit, making me glare at him. Joel looked into my eyes with a 'You know it's true' glance, and it made me shiver. It reminded me of old times where he could look at him which made me want to smile.

Every single time, I smiled at it, until now. For the first time, I'm not shaking my head with a smile. It feels so weird. I wanted to do as I always did, but I couldn't.

"Someone's drunk tonight," Marcus smirked, and Joel rolled his eyes at the lame comeback. I wanted to glare at Joel, but he was right.

"Oh, then you should go, Marcus. Don't want you out when you're drunk. I'll call the cab," Nikki playfully nudged him, and Marcus scowled. Joel looked at Nikki as if they were having a silent conversation. She looked between Joel and I, and I knew what was about to happen. I didn't know if I liked it.

"Marcus," she smiled, pretending to be even more drunk than she really was, "Wanna dance?"

"You're kidding me, right?" Marcus looked at her like she was being ridiculous, and she just cocked her eyebrow at him like she wanted to laugh.

"If you think you can't keep up, I'll just go find someone better," Nikki smiled, knowing this would work, and she was about to walk away when he spoke up.

"Fine," Marcus sighed, and Nikki took his hand and led him to the dance floor, leaving me and Joel alone.

I looked nervously at him, not knowing what to say. Instead, I nervously tugged at the bottom of my dress. Joel watched me, not really knowing what to say either.

"Um… I need to get going. Artemis will get upset if I'm too late again," I nervously told him, hoping to high tail it out of there at that moment. Joel almost laughed.

"I highly doubt your sister wants you to come in when she's with her boyfriend alone," he tried to smirk, but it was too dry. I couldn't help but smile, even though it totally wasn't the time.

"I guess," I nodded sheepishly.

"We really need to talk, Annie," his chocolate colored eyes looked into mine, and I knew I was going to talk to him, even if I didn't want to.

"Yeah, we do," I nodded, and he looked around the party to see that it really wasn't the place to talk, even if a slow song was playing. I nodded towards the door, and Joel nodded.

To Be Continued…

Nikki:

I couldn't really think straight, but I could definitely tell that Marcus is holding me in his arms. It had felt awkward at first, but we were supposed to look awkward. That was the point, but, now, his grasp felt like the most natural thing in the world. It felt like a relief when I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes.

"So, you're good at getting what you want, huh?" he smirked, but I didn't open my eyes. I just let him lead me in the stupid slow dance.

Yeah, as if. There's one thing I want, and it's the one thing I cant get.

"You really like Annie, huh?" I only focused on what I had asked and how close he was holding me. He tightened his grip on me, and I wanted to hate him. I wanted to mean it when I screamed at him, but I just couldn't.

I didn't know if he meant it. I did it as an act, to make Annie think I'm not head over heels for him as she already called bibs, and there are times where he joins in for fun of it. But, I just don't know. Does he really hate me? I don't hate him. I can't. And I don't think I could handle it if he did hate me.

"I guess I do… why do you ask?"

I shrugged, making him stir a little bit.

"I guess, I ask because I can," I pushed my head a little deeper into his chest, wanting to cry into it. In the end, I usually get want I want. I know how that sounds, but that isn't what I mean.

I guess what I mean is that I just… I strive to get want I really want, and I can't get him. Annie is my best friend, and she wants him. I mean, before I could object to her dibs, she slept with him! Even worse, he wants her, and there isn't a thing I can do about that. I just have to stand here and pretend I don't want to scream.

"So, what do you think I should do about that?" Marcus asked, completely oblivious to how I was dying in his arms.

"You should tell her," my voice sounded distant, and I felt like a balloon, full of life on the outside and empty on the inside.

"Yeah, I should, shouldn't I?" Marcus smiled, making me want to pass out. I took a deep breath and nodded, acknowledging that the song was ending which meant he was going to let me go.

"I…" I was about to say that I liked him, but I stopped myself, "I don't hate you, Marcus, and I hope you don't me either."

"I…" Marcus stopped himself, and it made me hopeful he would say that he liked me, but I will never know what he was going to say, "I definitely don't hate you, Nikki. I've been just been a little-"

It was then that we noticed that the song had ended and had been replaced by 'Just Dance' by Lady GaGa. But, I could feel a reluctance in his arms to let me go. It fueled me with hope, but I reminded myself of how we had been talking about his crush on Annie, not me.

"I better get going, Marcus. My dorm is only a few hundred yards from here," I smiled, pretending I wasn't going to cry the entire walk back and all night in my room. He nodded, with an unidentified look in his eyes.

"Uh, yeah, I'll see you… later," he didn't know what to say, and neither did I. I knew it would probably end up awkward, but I got on my tippy-toes to hug him. I shut my eyes so tight that I saw those weird little sparkle things. Then, I realized I had to let go and opened my eyes.

"Well…good luck with…Annie. I wish you two the best," I lied, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Thanks, Nikki," he smiled.

I nodded and turned away to leave. For the rest of the walk home, I could barely see through blurry tears. I'll never have him. I mean, I was in his Zuessin' arms, and he asked me what he should do about Annie.

Annie:

Continued:

The night air would have been delightful, but I was too nervous to notice it all. I felt like I was about to trip in my high heels, but it had absolutely nothing to do with how many drinks I had. I didn't know if Joel was sober at this point, but he definitely was serious about this.

On the front porch of the Frat house had been littered with people who were smoking, getting sick from too many drinks, or making out from some random person. It was quick to see that it wasn't the perfect place to talk. So, we just kept walking and walking until we reached a park within the campus. The only lights around us were little light poles (A/N: Correct word, right?) sitting beside benches throughout the park, leaving us to

So, we ended up sitting by the first dimly lit bench we could find, and here we both sat, me trying to keep myself as far away from him as the bench would allow. It didn't take a genius to know that he noticed I was doing so. A year ago, this bench would be way too big for us, and, now, it was a miracle I wasn't asking to just sit on the grass. I started to miss my dad more than ever, and I wished I could have asked Annabeth what to do. But, I couldn't. Instead, I sat there with him looking at me.

"So, where do we start?" my voice didn't mean to be dry, but I couldn't help it. It was either that or it could sound as pained as I was, which wasn't a much of a step-up.

Joel was left speechless beside me, and I didn't blame him. I had no idea what to say, but I knew I had to say something. Otherwise, we'd be sitting here until dawn.

"Why'd you dump me?"

Joel was caught even more off guard.

"I don't know. I wasn't really thinking," I could tell he was lying. So, I just glared at him until he kept going, "Fine, I got my acceptance letter to UCLA, and I was scared, okay?"

It made sense, but it didn't excuse it one bit.

"At prom? It had to be at prom?" I tried to scream, but it proved pretty hard to do.

"I didn't plan it! It just sort of happened, and that happened to be at prom!" he whisper-yelled, trying not to ruin the peaceful moment around us, but it was already shattered.

"You broke up with me in the middle of the dance floor!" I shrieked. I didn't know I had wanted to scream at him, but, now that this was getting off my chest, it was feeling a million times better.

"If you wanted me back, you could have told me. But, no, you told me goodbye- leaving me in the middle of the freakin' hall way, I might add- and feel for Marcus like a minute after we broke up!" Joel yelled.

"You dumped me, not the other way around. I probably would have tried to make everything work between the two of us until I realized that it wouldn't work, and you obviously didn't want it to work!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't know you were going to go sleeping with a guy right after we broke up!"

Now, that one hurt, and I really didn't want to know who told him. He was right to be upset about how long we had been together-about a year- and that I just suddenly forgot about it and slept with Marcus, but that wasn't how it went. I got drunk, and Marcus was the closet person to me. Joel may never see it like that, but I also don't think he wants to.

"Well then. I'm sorry that after being dumped by you and cheated on by a summer fling that I got drunk and hooked up with the first boy I saw!"

"You don't get to say that your life is worse. At least you can like people again! I can't. When I'm on a date and I blink, there is a moment where I see your face! If I kiss a girl, I taste your mouth. I say your name in my sleep, and it's getting pretty pathetic!" he screamed, but the look of surprise on his face told me that he hadn't meant to say all that.

"I lock my door every Friday morning and cry for an hour because that's when we used to meet because you had soccer and I had swimming." For the first time in this conversation, I didn't scream. Instead, my voice was timid from hearing what Joel had to say, and I really wanted to know more.

"When I get coffee, I always get the White Mocha Frappuccino that you like even though I hate it," Joel shrugged.

"I used to go on Zak's Facebook account just to see how you were doing."

"I would have done that, but someone blocked me," Joel nudged me, and I smiled. This is how we always ended fights. We'd scream. We'd quite down a little. Then, we'd laugh.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked, then remembering how he had a flight to California this Tuesday. It didn't matter that he was here now, but he was leaving soon. And, I do mean soon. It was already Friday.

"Well, Annie, we're at the point where you choose if you want Boy Toy over there," he smirked, making me playfully nudge him, "Or me."

"Joel, I love you," I smiled, and he did the same, but I wasn't done.

"I love you, but, on Tuesday morning, you get on a flight back to California, and I wont be able to see you again until Christmas Break. We'll basically never see each other. Even after graduation, I want to work in Public Relations, and you want to do charity work for a while. When could we possibly be together?"

I could see that Joel was dying beside me, and I was pretty dang close to it as well.

"I could try to transfer next year," he tried, but even he knew I would say no.

"And leave your dream school for me? I couldn't let you do that, Joel," I told him, making him nod.

"Well, then. What am I supposed to do about the fact that I love you?"

"I love you, too, Joel, but, for right now, we have to just…" I didn't know what to say so I changed my direction, "If we're going to end up together, we will end up together."

Joel nodded, his brown eyes full of disappointment. I didn't know how I looked, but I felt like I had died and gone to Tartus (A/N: Can't seem to spell today).

"Kiss goodbye?" I tried to smile, but it was weaker than an Aphrodite girl in a game of dodge ball. He tried to smile at my 'Annie-Ways', but he couldn't pull one off either.

I silently prayed I hadn't made the wrong decision. If we would end up together, we'll end up together. That's just how it works, right?

While I was thinking of that, I found that his lips were on mine, and it was absolutely perfect. I suddenly found that I wasn't thinking of Marcus or anyone. I couldn't. The only thing on my mind was Joel and what I had just told him, trying to figure out a way that we could make the California-D.C. thing work, but I couldn't think of anything.