Annabeth slowly looked around her house. There were plenty of beer bottles on the table with a variety of different brands. She decided to not buy any hard liquor in case anyone wanted to drive home. There were boxes of pizza, wings, and a few other items littered around the kitchen.

"Everyone is going to love it," Thalia assured as she appeared at the door. A towel was still wrapped around her hair. "Are you sure that you don't mind if I invite Reyna to stay the night?"

"As long as you two aren't loud," Annabeth replied bluntly. She heard a knock on the door and walked towards it.

"She's the loud one," Thalia quipped as she followed behind. Annabeth rolled her eyes and opened the front door. A grin came to Thalia's face as she leaned on Annabeth. "Hey babe, come here often?"

Reyna rolled her eyes and handed a bag off to Annabeth. A glance inside showed some drinks and some desserts. Nico spoke, "Are you two going to spend all night making out?"

"I plan on getting smashed, maybe in more ways than one?" Thalia teased. She pecked Reyna on the lips. "You doing better today?"

"I'm good," Reyna said with a small shrug. She glanced at Annabeth before quickly averting her gaze. Annabeth frowned slightly; it seemed like Reyna was uncomfortable around her now. Annabeth carried the bag towards her kitchen and began setting the items out.

"Let me give you the grand tour," Thalia welcomed as her voice carried through the house. Annabeth grabbed a beer and popped the cap off. Her gaze moved around her living room and kitchen. She had spent the night before cleaning the whole house and made Thalia help her after she got back from her date.

Annabeth had only taken a few sips of beers when she heard the front door open. A glance to the side showed that it was Percy letting himself in. Piper followed right behind him with Jason in tow. They all carried cases of beer and different parcels of food.

"Hey," Annabeth waved as she walked towards them. Percy immediately pulled her into a hug with one arm, and Piper got in between them to steal Annabeth's hug.

"Cheater," Percy complained.

"You can hug me," Jason began. Percy quickly turned and hugged Jason as tight as he could. He stuck his tongue out at Piper. In response, Piper stuck her tongue out and tightened her hold on Annabeth.

"Don't crush the host," Annabeth muttered as she gently pried Piper off of her. Percy came around to her other side and hugged her again. Jason joined in the group hug, and Annabeth became trapped by all of her friends. "I love you guys too."

Her friends finally pulled away and moved to set all of the food on the table. Annabeth focused back on her beer and Piper looked at her, "Who all is coming today?"

"Nico and Reyna are already here. Hazel and Frank are coming soon. I invited Will along with Octavian. I invited Gwen too," Annabeth listed off.

"It'll be nice to see Gwen again," Jason commented. He moved his gaze off to the side. "So, Reyna is already here? How are she and Thalia doing?"

"It seems like they're pretty happy," Piper said. She shrugged as she looked at Jason. "Why does it bother you so much that they're dating? It seems like Reyna is trying really hard."

"She is trying," Annabeth added. Jason sighed and reluctantly nodded. He grabbed another beer. "I can't believe you actually got a day off, Jason."

"I deserve one," Jason agreed with a shrug. "Everyone in the company is off today, and my family is arguing too much about the front yard to plan anything for us to come together."

"The front yard?" Percy interrupted.

"They are arguing whether they should put flamingos or gnomes up in the front yard. Someone also added that they should just keep the candy canes up front. Then, they just started yelling," Piper explained. She sighed and leaned on Jason. "It's no surprise Thalia moved in with you."

"She would probably murder our whole family within the first day," Jason added. There was a knock, and Jason sat his beer down. "I'll get it."

"Yeah, you get it babe," Piper echoed as she grabbed Jason's beer and downed the rest of it. Annabeth heard Jason open the door followed by Hazel's excited voice.

"Hey losers," Thalia called as she walked back into the kitchen.

"You're a nerd," Nico retorted as he followed behind. Reyna trailed between the other two. She seemed to be in a rather bad mood, more than just her quiet one. Annabeth felt like she was still upset about what happened at Christmas, and she wasn't sure how to make up for it.

"Shut up," Annabeth scolded as a blush bloomed across her cheeks. It was true that she had an entire room that was a dedicated library, but she just really enjoyed learning new things.

"I thought it was cool," Reyna commented with a small shrug. "Especially the history stuff."

"Reyna's a nerd too," Nico said. He elbowed Reyna. "Even if you pretend not to be. Don't get her talking about history."

Annabeth looked at Reyna in surprise. It wasn't that she thought Reyna was dumb, more that she just didn't have a lot of interest in anything that involved schools. Fighting seemed like it was most of Reyna's life. And some fighters just didn't have a hobby outside of that.

"I'm not a nerd," Reyna said as her face reddened slightly. "It was the only interesting subject in school."

"Nerd," Thalia chimed in as she leaned on Reyna and kissed her cheek. "It's cute."

"I thought you hated school," Jason commented as he led Hazel and Frank towards them.

"I just didn't have a good time at school," Reyna muttered. She glanced at Thalia. Her girlfriend pecked her on the lips.

"Because you weren't big enough of a nerd," Thalia teased. "I didn't realize you were such a scholar. Did you read, like, Romeo and Juliet?"

"That's a stupid play," Annabeth interrupted with a shake of her head.

"It's romantic," Frank countered. "Two lovers who can't be together but want to be."

"Weren't they like twelve?" Nico asked. "And they knew each other for a day."

"I need to know someone for at least a week before I die for them," Percy commented. There was another knock on the door. "I got it."

Percy walked towards the door and opened it. Annabeth looked at Hazel and Frank, "Hey guys. How are you today?"

"I'm good," Frank said. He turned his head and smiled. "Hey, Gwen!"

"Gwen!" Hazel greeted with a wave. She looked back at Annabeth. "I'm good, Annabeth. Thanks for throwing this party. I've always wanted to have a New Years Party."

"You've never had one before?" Annabeth asked. Hazel shook her head.

"I was a little too scared to participate in any last year," Hazel admitted. She looked down. "Even with Nico encouraging me, it was kind of hard to open myself up to everyone."

"It can be hard to open yourself up to strangers," Annabeth agreed. She watched Gwen walk into the living room, and greetings were passed all around. Annabeth noticed how Gwen almost seemed surprised that Thalia was tangled up with Reyna.

"I'm sorry I haven't visited as much," Gwen began as she looked around. Hazel hugged her, and Frank did as well. Reyna nodded towards Gwen and probably would have gone for a hug if Thalia wasn't holding onto her so tightly. Jason even gave Gwen a hug.

"It's just nice to see you again," Reyna said. She smiled at Gwen. There was another knock, and Annabeth slipped away to get it. She opened the door and smiled at Will. The team's doctor smiled back. Annabeth was worried that Will felt leftover even when he was hanging out with all of them. He didn't have an immediate bond like most of them did being fighters.

"Hey," Will said as he held up two bottles of alcohol.

"Nice to see you," Annabeth said with a smile. She led him inside. Annabeth led Will to the others and looked at them. "There's plenty of alcohol and food for whoever wants it. I have plates set out. Feel free to help yourself."

Mostly everyone made their way towards the kitchen. Annabeth felt some butterflies in her stomach. She was worried about hosting a party, as it wasn't really her thing. She never partied when she was in college because she was focused on her education and career. Annabeth looked at Percy as he leaned on her.

"I still can't believe someone else besides me kissed you," Percy pouted. Annabeth rolled her eyes as Percy grinned. "Was it good?"

"I was drunk. So no," Annabeth answered. She sighed. "I still feel bad about it."

" I doubt that Reyna blames you," Percy assured. He glanced to the side. Annabeth did as well. Thalia was teasing Reyna and gently kissing her. "Have you tried talking to Reyna about it?"

"She's not one to share her feelings," Annabeth began.

"Kind of like you," Percy commented as he gave Annabeth a look. "Just apologize again and tell her you didn't mean for it to be awkward. And tell her you're breaking up with her. You're all mine."

"Shut up," Annabeth groaned as she hit his shoulder. Percy pursed his lips and made kissing noises. Annabeth almost hit him again, but he wisely ducked away and made his way to the kitchen. Annabeth watched Thalia pull away from Reyna and make her way to the kitchen.

Annabeth probably should have talked to Reyna. Instead, she made her way to the kitchen and grabbed some pizza and wings. After filling her plate, she waited for the others to leave. The only one who really lingered was Gwen.

"Still enjoying everything?" Gwen asked as she stopped by Annabeth's side.

"I am," Annabeth confirmed. She smiled at Gwen. "I was worried about fitting in, but everyone is accepting. Lupa has even given me personal training sessions."

"Those sessions were invaluable," Gwen recalled fondly, and she had a look of surprise on her face. "I'm shocked she already invited you to them. I wasn't given any until I spent two years at the gym, and I think it took Reyna three. It's good, though. I'm happy for you."

Annabeth smiled as Reyna walked into the kitchen. Reyna gave Gwen a gentle hug before turning towards the food. Annabeth walked out to meet up with the others. Before she could fully make it to their side, Jason looked at her and asked, "Do you have ranch? I don't want to go through your fridge."

"My home is your home, Jason. But, I'll get it for you," Annabeth said as she handed her plate off to Piper to hold. A threatening glare was given to Piper just in case she was going to use Annabeth's plate for seconds. Then, she walked back towards the kitchen.

"It's just weird," Reyna began. Annabeth made it into the kitchen and saw that Reyna had her back turned and was grabbing food. Gwen stood next to her and studied her. "I'm glad we're dating, but I don't feel how I did last time. I'm opening up more. More than I did with you."

"Do you regret it?" Gwen asked quietly. Annabeth froze as her hand rested on the fridge handle.

"I don't know," Reyna admitted. "I'm just not as happy as I thought I would be."

Annabeth opened the fridge door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Reyna turn, and her eyes widened. Annabeth kept her face clear as she grabbed the ranch and looked at them, "Jason's weird with his ranch obsession. Who eats ranch with pizza?"

"It's the only way he'll eat the crust," Gwen said. Reyna seemed to relax as she studied Annabeth. "Only the crust, though. God forbid any other part of the pizza touch the ranch."

"He's like a little kid," Annabeth laughed. She walked out of the kitchen and tried to keep her poker face. Annabeth wasn't sure how to feel about what she had just heard, and should she tell Thalia? The answer didn't come to her as she made it back to Jason and handed him the ranch.

Piper gave her a plate that had a pizza with a bite taken out of it. Annabeth hit her in the chest, but not as hard as she normally would. Instead, she watched Reyna walk out of the kitchen and move to Nico's side. Annabeth was starting to realize why Reyna was being so awkward around her, and it was because Thalia was Annabeth's best friend.

Annabeth frowned as she ate her food. First, she was going to punch Piper again for taking a bite of her pizza. Then, she was going to keep an eye on Reyna and Thalia's relationship. Because the last damn thing she was going to do was let Thalia's heart be broken again. Not if she could help it.

For now, Annabeth would have a good New Years party. Then, she had a fight to focus on.