Yay, update! How was everyone's New Years? Sorry about the hiatus-i had to move to a whole different country over the holiday. Crazy, huh? So in Ch. 5 I'm introducing a couple of new characters...hehehe you know them. Read and comment!


Chapter Five

A Bit of Screaming

Percy POV

I came out of the bathroom and heard a loud, high-pitched scream. Annabeth had her eyes shut tight, waving at the air with her free hand. "God. Oh my god. I could've gone my entire life without seeing that. GO PUT SOMETHING ON BEFORE MY EYES BURN AWAY."

"Sheesh." I turned and pulled some boxers and shorts over my bare bottom half.

"Are you...are you decent?" She still had her left hand clamped over her face.

"God. Yes, Wise Girl." I slipped a black shirt over my head.

She slowly opened her eyes and carefully looked at me. "Okay. Seriously. Second rule: no walking around naked. I swear..."

"You know you liked what you saw," I smirked, feeling around my dresser drawer.

Two bright pink spots appeared on Annabeth's cheeks. "Excuse me? I felt like digging out my eyes. Your butt is now permanently burned my memory, thanks a lot."

I opened my mouth to make a snarky remark, but the door shuddered and popped open. A tall, pretty brunette stood in the doorway, her perfect dark hair in ringlets. She was Asian, with flawless makeup and a slim curvy figure. The clothes she was wearing could probably pass as swimwear.

"Hey, I'm Drew Tanaka." (A.N. There's a Drew Tanaka in HoO and in the Kane Chronicles...and they look exactly the same! Coincidence? I think not!) She flashed a blinding white smile at me. "I was sent to take you—" I felt her eyes rake me up and down, like a physical caress "—to the restaurant for dinner."

"Okay, thanks," Annabeth cut in. Drew's eyes flicked to her and narrowed for the briefest of seconds—or maybe I'd imagined it, because soon Drew was smiling so wide, I thought her face would crack.

"I'm supposed to escort you too—it's easy to get lost here," she simpered, and before I knew it I was being hauled out of the cabin, my arm somehow entwined with Drew's.


Annabeth POV

I smirked as I watched Drew tug Percy out of the cabin. It was so obvious what Drew wanted. And those had to be the smallest pair of short shorts I'd ever seen. Honestly, some people are just desperate.

We reached the restaurant easily—I could've walked there blindfolded. "It's easy to get lost in here." I choked back a laugh.

The restaurant was island-themed, the entrance flanked by Easter Island statues. The host led us to our table, which was actually seven pushed together into one long one. I could see the entire cast there, with Mr. D seated at the end. Silena had already left for the city.

"Ah, our leads. So important they can keep us waiting." Mr. D glanced up at us balefully.

I ignored him and took a seat. The waiters came around and took our orders, and left. The table slipped into talk.

"Hey, you're Annabeth Chase, right?"

I turned and saw an extremely hot guy sitting on my right. He looked eighteen, maybe nineteen, with sandy-blond hair and chiseled features. Despite the thin white scar running across his tanned forehead, he was still male-model worthy.

"Yup, that's me." I smiled.

"Wow, it's great to be meeting you. I play Liam Payne—the supporting actor."

I thought back to the script. "Oh, Nate's friend, right?"

"Yeah. You're quick." He grinned at me. "Luke Castellan, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." I shook his hand. It was larger than mine and pleasantly warm.

I quickly became friends with Luke. He was funny, and we soon were talking about our acting careers so far—he was planning to go to Julliard—and I barely noticed my entree when it came, I was so busy talking to him. For the first time, I was actually enjoying myself on the resort.

After dinner we went out behind the restaurant, where a patch of sand surrounded by tiki torches kept the night bright. I watched the waves crash on the beach barely twenty feet away and just talked with Luke for a while.

"So, do you have a girlfriend back home or something?" I inquired, shading my eyes with my hand.

He blushed. "No, I had one but we broke up a while ago."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'm still searching for the right one." He met my gaze, and unexpected warmth rushed through me.

I blushed and looked away, hoping he wouldn't notice my flaming red cheeks. "So what about you?" he asked politely. "I don't think I've seen anything on that topic lately—except something about Taylor Lautner a couple of months ago—?"

"No, we're just friends." I shifted in my flip-flops.

"Good to hear it." He smiled, half of his mouth pulling up higher than the other one. Just then someone called his name. "I better go—but it was really nice meeting you."

"You too." I shot a smile at him, and stared after his retreating back as he went off to talk to a friend.

I headed back into the restaurant and out toward the cabin, strangely tired. Maybe I could lock Percy out or something. The resort was busier than it was in the morning, bright lights illuminating the pathways. People streamed back and forth, talking and laughing.

The Royal Palm I door was already unlocked when I pushed it. I flipped the lights on and something staggered out at me. I realized it was two people, smashed so tightly together they'd looked like one. Percy and Drew. Percy's face was covered with glossy pink lip marks, and his tousled black hair was even messier than it usually was. Somehow Drew still looked perfect, not a dark curl out of place. I had no idea how she did that.

"Hey," she breathed. Her arm was wrapped around Percy. "We were just talking."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for stopping by, Diana," I told Drew. "I'm sorry, but I need to um, finish up in my room so..."

She nodded. "It's okay," she said sweetly. "I understand." Drew gave me a fake smile and wrapped herself around Percy. "See you tomorrow." Then she was gone, leaving me choking in her designer-perfume-scented wake.