Wow this is almost obnoxiously long ha. It's like 5,000 words. Anyways, I am so sorry that this took so long to get out. I've been crazy busy with volleyball and my mom just had foot surgery, so that's fun. I've also been struggling with a lack of motivation, but I'm figuring it out. Also I didn't edit this (which is a dangerous game I know) but I'm so exhausted. Anyways, I hope you guys like this. Love you <3

Friday, September 21st
5:05pm - Silena Beauregard's mansion

"You know, its weird," Annabeth began to say, looking back at Thalia. Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth were all sitting in the car as it was parked outside of Silena's. They had decided to carpool, Percy picking the girls up from Annabeth's house. "I've been to so many parties and yet, as we pull up to Silena's for a small gathering, I'm freaking out." Annabeth decided that she needed to voice her concerns from now on, instead of keeping them all in her head. She realized that she would drive herself crazy if she left all of her thoughts unsaid.

"That's because you freak out over everything these days," Thalia pointed out. "You'll be fine."

"And if you want to leave at any time, you come and get me or Thalia, and we can go," Percy added. He looked over at Annabeth with a reassuring grin. She gave him a grateful smile. That small look from Percy somehow calmed her nerves in the slightest. She didn't know why, or how, but Percy was able to calm her down; he was like her rock. She thought how good he had been to her earlier, when she was crying in that classroom. He really was a good friend.

"I think I'm okay now." Annabeth exhaled. It was a small hangout. What cold go wrong? Annabeth immediately internally cursed herself for thinking that; something always goes wrong when someone says that.

They all got out of the car, making their way into the house--correction, mansion. Silena's mother was unbelievably wealthy, so her house was absolutely stunning. Annabeth couldn't help but admire the architecture every time she saw it. The house had five floors, one of which was dedicated entirely to Silena. The inside was just as incredible as the outside, if not more so. Annabeth could go on and on about this house, but she'd still be talking about by Monday.

The three walked inside the house, getting everyone's attention. "Hey!" they all cheered.

"Welcome!" Silena greeted them with a big smile and a cup in her hands. Annabeth scanned all the faces--there were a lot more than she had realized.

Jason and Beckendorf were sitting together along with Travis and Connor Stoll. They were all talking about something as they lounged on the sofa. Then there was Grover, who stood next to his girlfriend Juniper as she talked to Katie--they were both plant nerds, but Annabeth thought it was cute. A frizzy, red-haired girl Annabeth didn't know stood with them. Then there was Drew, who stood behind Silena after saying hello. Annabeth also spotted Nico DiAngelo and Will standing next to each other, their body language stiff and awkward. Annabeth couldn't keep the smile off of her face, they were so funny. Annabeth knew that Will had been eyeing DiAngelo for a little while now. They were such opposites that it actually could work.

"Can I get you guys drinks?" Silena asked. Annabeth noticed the red cup in her hand.

"Sure," Thalia said.

"We'll pass," Percy answered for both himself and Annabeth. She gave a small smile, then looking back at Percy, who shrugged, making her grin. Then, his attention was taken elsewhere. "Rachel?" Annabeth followed his gaze to the red haired girl she didn't know.

"Percy?" She seemed to know him as well. She wore jeans that were covered in different colors of paint, and spiral designs that looked to be drawn on. Her blue t-shirt was one from an art camp. Annabeth figured she enjoyed painting. She had a feeling that her look matched her personality quite well, meaning this encounter could go two ways. She wasn't taller than Annabeth, but she wasn't short either.

"What are you doing here?" Annabeth took a step back, letting Percy walk over to her, giving her a short hug. She noticed the light in the girl's green eyes as they talked. Annabeth couldn't identify what she was feeling as she watched them briefly catch up. However, one thing was for sure; it wasn't pleasant.

"Hey, this is Annabeth. Annabeth this is Rachel," Percy introduced them. Rachel surprised Annabeth, giving her a small hug. She hugged her back, not wanting to be rude and appreciating the short embrace. "She's an old friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you," Annabeth gave her a smile, though it felt tight.

"Nice to meet you too," Rachel smiled back. "I take it you're friends with this dork," she joked, ruffling Percy's hair. "How do you put up with him?"

"I would tell you if I knew," Annabeth decided to play along, chuckling with Rachel.

"It has been so long," Rachel said, looking back at Percy.

"Too long," he added.

"Annabeth had to admit, she was a bit jealous of the chemistry between them, but she didn't want to be. She and Percy were friends, and they had only been for a few weeks. There was no commitment between them, except for the fact that he knew her secret, but that didn't mean he couldn't date other people. She tried to untie the knot in her stomach.

"Alright people!" Silena raised her voice, ending all conversations. "I think its time for a game!" Everyone cheered. "I say we save truth or dare for later," she gave a mischievous smirk, "and play hide and seek tag,"

Nico DiAngelo scoffed. Will nudged him, and they launched into a debate that Annabeth couldn't hear.

"What are we, five?" Thalia asked, taking a sip of her drink and reappearing at Annabeth's side. She suddenly felt a bit better with Thalia's arm thrown around her shoulder.

"Hey, that can still be fun," Beckendorf cut in, clearly backing up Silena.

Annabeth smiled at the two. "Hide and seek tag should be fun. I call not counting!" She called out. It felt good to be apart of the group again. It had been a little while since she'd hung out with them like this.

"Jason, you count," Thalia ordered, a hard look in her face.

"Why me?" Jason protested.

"'Cause you're lame, and I said so." Thalia shrugged, looking at him like she didn't even need a reason. Annabeth laughed. They had always been like this, and she found it pretty funny.

"You're the worst. Base is the coffee table, first floor only. I'm giving you all 30 seconds!"

Everybody scattered as he began to count. Annabeth went with Thalia, and Rachel pulled Percy off in another direction.

"What's the deal with Percy and Rachel?" Annabeth asked Thalia quietly.

"I don't know," Thalia shrugged as she kept looking for a good spot. She grunted when a good one was taken by someone else. "They used to be really close."

"Used to be? They seem pretty close now to me," Annabeth whispered.

Then Thalia pulled her into a closet under a grand staircase. She closed the door, the darkness engulfing the two girls.

"She seems nice," Annabeth pointed out.

"Yeah, she's great."

"She's pretty too,"

"Yeah, did you know that she's a model for Teen Vogue?"

"Really?" Annabeth asked, sounding more defensive than she wanted to.

"No, dummy," Thalia laughed. "Look, I think they dated a few years back, like in ninth grade. Its not a big deal. And trust me," Annabeth felt Thalia put her hands on her arms. "she's pretty, but she's no competition for you. And I'm not just saying that."

"Thanks, Thals." Annabeth smiled. Thalia, oddly, knew what to say when Annabeth really needed it.

"Ready or not, here I come!" They heard Jason begin walking around the house.

"Now hush so we can win."

~*~

"Wow, Jason must be really bad at this game," Annabeth whispered. It had been almost twenty minutes and Jason had only found half of them.

"Yeah, he sucks," Thalia laughed quietly.

"Oh, dear sister!" Jason called. "Where could you possibly be?" Jason asked playfully. Annabeth could just see as Thalia rolled her eyes. "You should come out. Come and get some vanilla ice cream," Jason said that last part in the most ridiculous southern accent. It was a really old, very hilarious, inside joke. Annabeth held in her laughter, but Thalia snorted.

"HA!" Jason whipped the door open.

Thalia ran out and pushed Jason as he tagged her. "Run Annabeth!" Thalia shrieked, laughing. Annabeth ran giggling to the coffee table, Jason just behind her. Her landing was a bit rough, meaning she flew straight into Percy. He caught her, both of them laughing.

"Thalia!" Annabeth called out jokingly, reaching for her best friend. Thalia did the same, being just as dramatic. They ended up laughing once again.

"Who's left?" Silena asked. She and Beckendorf sat in the arm chair--they had been tagged. Nico, Will, and Drew stood around them.

"The Stolls," Jason said. "Those guys always win."

"Lets try to find them," Percy suggested.

"Yeah, they have to be around her somewhere," Annabeth added.

"Alright, lets go," Jason led the manhunt as everyone split up, looking for the brothers. Percy went off with Annabeth this time. She had to admit; it was nice being in his company. They walked around the entire floor, searching every cabinet, closet, and crevice there was. Nobody found anything. Those boys really were good.

"Found 'em!" Will yelled. Unfortunately, it was quite a chase. Nobody could tag the boys as they weaved past everyone. Eventually, they ended up outside, somehow throwing their shirts off before jumping into the pool.

"Oh my gosh!" Katie laughed. "I guess we're swimming!" She pulled off her clothes, revealing her bikini and jumped in the pool. Everyone else began following in suit. Suddenly, everyone was in the pool except for Percy, Annabeth and Thalia. Percy stood behind Annabeth, close enough to her that she cold feel his presence. Thalia stood to her left.

"Are yo ready for this?" Percy asked from behind her. His warm breath on the back of her neck made her shiver ever so slightly.

"Yeah." Annabeth began taking off her clothes, throwing them on a nearby beach chair. Under her clothes was a black one piece. It had a bit of a deep neck line, but a criss-cross string between it. The back went down even lower, to about two thirds down her back.

"I love that bathing suit! Where did you get it?" Drew gushed.

"Thanks, Drew. I think I got it from Forever 21?" Annabeth said it as more of a question—she couldn't quite remember.

"They have pretty good bathing suits," Katie added. "That one looks great on you, Annabeth." Katie smiled.

"Thanks," Annabeth grinned back, probably blushing a little. The compliments really did feel nice, especially right now. Annabeth was having a hard time looking in the mirror and thinking, beautiful, lately. She almost cried because she was so touched, but she forced her tears away.

Annabeth turned around to see that Percy had come back from the bathroom, wearing navy blue swim trunks. Once again, she had to stop staring at his abs. She forced herself to stop thinking about the fact that he had a v-line.

Thalia had also stripped down to her bathing suit. The three got into the pool, joining in a game of volleyball. Of course, Annabeth's team won, for Katie, another volleyball player, was also on that team. For a while, Annabeth forgot about all of her problems and just had fun. She enjoyed the time she spent with her friends, laughing almost the entire time. It was almost funny to her. They were helping her so much more than they could even understand, but that was ok.

These people made her happy.

~*~

Friday, September 21st
9:45pm - Silena Beauregard's living room

"Alright, ladies and gents," Silena began, handing out bags of popcorn before sitting down in the circle. Annabeth hadn't realized how badly she was craving popcorn until she smelled the buttery scent of salty goodness. She shared a bag with Percy, but ended up eating three-fourths of it. Percy just chuckled when she apologized.

"It's time for everyone's favorite party game, truth or dare." Silena smirked almost evilly at everyone sitting in the circle.

Oh no, Annabeth thought.

"I shall go first," she announced. "Thalia, truth or dare?"

Thalia smirked. "You ask like I'd actually pick truth. Dare," she said confidently. Thalia barely ever chose truth—it was just who she was.

"I dare you to let Connor brush your teeth." She grinned maliciously at Thalia.

Connor laughed. "Oh god."

"You pull anything, Stoll, and I'll be pulling out your teeth," Thalia threatened. She stood up as the rest of us followed them into the kitchen. Silena came back from the bathroom with toothpaste and a new toothbrush. She took off the plastic and handed it to Connor, the toothpaste as well.

"Here we go," Connor said, putting the toothpaste on the toothbrush. Thalia bared her teeth, Connor brushing away. He kept 'accidentally' getting toothpaste all over Thalia's face, at which point Thalia splashed water from the sink at him. Everyone laughed, but Connor singled out his brother.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Connor asked, splashing his brother.

"Hey!" Travis complained. And that was how the water fight began. Everyone splashed each other, back and forth. Percy even got Annabeth, which she totally owned him as revenge. They all ended up laughing, their clothes all wet.

"I can't believe you had the nerve to splash me," Annabeth nudged Percy as they made their way back to the living room.

"Well, you got me back pretty good," Percy chuckled, gesturing to his shirt. The wet fabric clung to toned figure. Annabeth pulled her eyes away. Pregnancy really does make you hormonal.

"I know," Annabeth agreed smugly. They took their seats again.

"Alright, Thalia, its your turn," Silena announced, taking her seat back on the floor.

"Hm..." Thalia tapped her chin, contemplating who to choose. "Beckendorf,"

"Oh god," Beckendorf muttered.

"Truth or dare?" Thalia asked, a cruel smirk played on her face. Thalia could be quite evil when in came to this game.

"Truth,"

"Pussy," Travis coughed. A few others in the group snickered.

"Shut it, Stoll." Beckendorf glared at the brown haired boy who simply smiled back. Annabeth chuckled.

"If you had to pick one guy in this circle to fuck, who would it be?"

Silena laughed, Annabeth couldn't help it--she did too.

"You are something else, Grace." Beckendorf shook his head. He looked around the circle, considering his options. "Um..." he thought about it for a second. "Percy."

Annabeth burst out laughing again, as well as everyone else.

Percy turned the slightest shade of pink. "Thanks, man."

"Alright, lover boy," Silena teased. "Its your turn."

"Percy, truth or dare?"

"Ah, well, for the sake of avoiding Travis' insults," Travis smirked, "Dare."

"I dare you to drink a mystery smoothie," Beckendorf said.

"Oh no," Percy sighed. Then he stood up, helping Annabeth up as well, and they all walked to the kitchen. Percy sat at the island, turned around, waiting for his smoothie.

Beckendorf pulled out a bunch of different things from Silena's fridge, like mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, ketchup, barbeque sauce, and crackers from the pantry. He put all of it in the blender, and Annabeth could already feel the nausea. She closed her eyes, fighting off the sickness. She sat across from Percy, watching everything from over his shoulder.

"You alright?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah," Annabeth managed to say before having to close her mouth again. She felt the awful feeling drift away from her, opening her eyes. "Yeah no, I'm fine." she nodded. 

"Are you sure? It would really suck if you vomited on me right now," he teased.

Annabeth chuckled. "Well now I know where to aim." They laughed.

"Here you go," Rachel came up to them, holding the glass out to Percy. Annabeth had to lean back, the smell hitting her like a slap.

Percy took the glass, swallowing. "What is this, exactly?"

"Well if we tell you, then its not a mystery smoothie anymore," Beckendorf pointed out.

"Are you really going to drink that?" Katie asked. "That's so nasty."

"There was this one time when Percy thought that mayo was pudding. He ate an entire spoonful," Rachel looked at Percy. "Remember that?"

"Oh my god, yes. That was awful," Percy laughed with Rachel. Annabeth smiled, masking her true feelings. She really needed to stop--Percy wasn't her boyfriend or anything like that, so why was she feeling so protective? There was no way that she cold have a crush on him, she had only known him for a few weeks. She pushed all of that away.

"Alright, its time," Connor announced.

"Dude, if you die, I want you to know that I'll never forget you." Grover clapped Percy on the back.

"Thanks, pal. What a great best friend, telling me that I might die," Percy said sarcastically. Everyone laughed. Percy took a deep breath, grit his teeth, then began to drink.

"Chug. chug, chug!" All of the guys--and Thalia--chanted, as Katie, Juniper, Silena, and especially Drew backed away, wincing. Percy chugged about half the glass before Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. She turned and ran down the hallway, into the bathroom. She just made it, closing the door. When she was done, she sat on the floor, taking a deep breath. She washed her mouth out at the sink before she heard a knock at the door.

"Annabeth?" It was Will. "Are you alright, can I come in?" he asked. Annabeth opened the door. "What happened? Did you throw up?" he asked, looking a little disgusted.

"Yeah," Annabeth sighed. "But I'm fine," she insisted, even though she felt kind of the opposite at the moment.

"You don't really look it, no offense," Will stepped into the bathroom, closing the door. "You don't have a weak stomach, so where did this come from?" Will was right--Annabeth was never the squeamish one.

Annabeth was tired of lying, making a very impulsive decision. "You cannot tell anyone, even the girls,  because if you do, you will ruin my life. And I'm coming to you with full trust. If you break it, I will seriously never speak to you again," Annabeth warned. If there was anything that mattered to her in this world, it was loyalty.

"Of course," Will said, putting his hands on her arms. "What is it?"

"I'm pregnant," Annabeth looked Will straight in the eyes.

"Holy shit," Will said, his eyes wide. "How far along?"

"Almost 8 weeks."

"And is Luke--"

"Yeah," Annabeth cut him off, not really wanting to talk about that part. "I'm going to keep it,"

"Annabeth, you are strongest person I know. You can do this. And I am right behind you." Will smiled at her.

"Thanks, Will." Annabeth smiled back.

"Does anyone else know?"

"My dad, Thalia, and Percy."

"Percy!?" Will appalled.

"It just happened," Annabeth insisted, shrugging. "I was just getting so overwhelmed because I had fought with Luke and I didn't know what to do." Annabeth was frowning now, looking off, a distant look in her eye. She had been struggling with Luke's absence more than she would've liked to admit. She knew that she would be fine, but it still hurt. It was like everything that they had built over the past  two years didn't mean anything. Of course, their relationship hadn't been very strong when Annabeth found out she was pregnant, but she was hoping that it would pull them together. Of course, she got quite the opposite.

"Well, you'll be fine. Are you planning on telling everyone else? And what about school?" Will asked, furrowing his eyebrows a bit.

"I can't tell them just yet; I'm still not ready, so you can't tell anyone."

"Of course,"

"And as far as school goes, I have to lead everyone to believe that I've been sent on some study abroad trip by the college I'm going to when I start to show. Everyone in our little group has at least one class with me, so they'll bring my work home to me. I'll hand everything in on time, and I think my dad is going to talk to the principle about the truth so my absence won't affect my chances of graduating," Annabeth explained.

"I'm happy that you at least have a plan." Will smiled.

"Are kidding? Always." Annabeth gave Will a smirk. He laughed.

"Are you okay? Can we get back out there?" Will asked, nudging her arm.

"I think we can." Annabeth nodded.

~*~

"Annabeth, truth or dare?" Jason asked.

"Truth," Annabeth said, deciding to take it easy.

"Lame," Rachel joked. It annoyed Annabeth; she felt like she didn't know Rachel like that yet. She decided not to dwell on it. She needed to get past this ridiculous jealousy. Percy was going to have other friends, and she fully accepted that.

"If you had to kiss one person in this circle, who would it be?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabeth laughed, but a pang sadness followed. That was the same question that she had been asked the first time she had spent time outside of school with Luke. It felt like forever ago, but the memory was suddenly clear in her mind. They had been at a party, like normal teenagers. Annabeth had been persuaded into this game by Silena, the only person she knew at that party. She had already had a crush on Luke, so when she was asked that question, she turned bright red. Obviously, she was too shy to admit that he would be her choice, so she said Trevor; another, slightly less good-looking than Luke, boy at the party. Luke had given a smile, yet he seemed disappointed. Annabeth remembered how her heart fluttered. She recalled the magic that had seemed to float in the air during their first year together. Everything was just so... good. She quickly pushed the thoughts out of her head before she started crying.

She had a truth to answer, she suddenly remembered. "Uh..." her first thought was Percy, but she scolded herself. He was probably the most gorgeous boy in school, and she was sure that there were girls--non-pregnant ones--who would love to date him. She quickly chose someone else. "Travis," she said quickly, not reading too much into it. She knew that Katie had a huge crush on him, but she didn't have many options. She quickly moved on before the others could make a big deal. "Grover, truth or dare?"

"After the dares I've seen go down, I'm sticking with truth." Grover put his hands up in defense. Annabeth found his tie-dye shirt and green beanie an interesting combination, but from what she had seen, that was his style.

"Alright. Do you have any big secrets that you've kept from Juniper?" Annabeth asked, a smirk on her face. Just because she was taking it easy didn't mean that she couldn't play the game, which she had been come quite good at in the last four years.

"Ooh," the others said, putting their hands over their mouths to hide their laughs. Juniper looked at the boy with an expectant look.

"Do I?" Grover asked himself. Annabeth chuckled. The guy was pretty funny sometimes, even just by being himself. "Nope." He shook his head, holding it high with a smile.

"You sure about that?" Juniper raised an eyebrow.

"I couldn't keep something from you. You'd know immediately," Grover reasoned, taking her hand in hers.

"Yeah, I would," she agreed. "You get so nervous when you try to hide things, its cute."

Annabeth smiled at the two. She suddenly found herself wondering how much Luke had kept from her.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, a concerned look on his face. Her distraught must have been showing on her face.

"Oh, yeah," she reassured him, nodding her head. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Annabeth smiled at him, to which he smiled back. It suddenly made her feel better, ever so slightly. She found that a small part of that smile she wore was genuine, because of Percy. HIs eyes his smile; just him. It wasn't possible for her to have a crush on him; she didn't know him long enough. He was just an attractive boy her age, and she was a pregnant hormonal mess.

They were suddenly pulled from their little moment as Grover asked the next person. "Katie, truth or dare?"

Katie snuck a glance at Travis, which Annabeth believed she was the only one to notice. "Dare," she said proudly. Annabeth smirked, knowing she was trying to impress the curly-haired boy.

"I dare you to drink a whole packet of hot sauce." Grover gave her a smirk, which looked interesting with his goatee--it didn't really fit his kind face.

"Ugh," Katie complained, dropping her head back. Annabeth, and the others in their group, knew that Katie had a sensitive tongue. She didn't even like ketchup.

"If you don't do it, you strip two pieces of clothing," Grover reminded. Several people had already lost some clothing. Beckendorf had taken of his shirt and socks after Thalia had dared him to do something that Annabeth didn't even want to repeat, and Drew had taken off her shirt, leaving her on the pink bikini top she wore.

"Fine, I'll do it."

Everyone cheered, including Annabeth. "Yeah!" Travis whooped. Annabeth noticed the little smile that gave Katie. It was adorable, how in love she was.

"Alright, m'lady." Silena pulled out a hot sauce packet from a drawer in the kitchen. She walked back over to the circle. "Here you are." She handed Katie the packet. She took it reluctantly.

"Oh dear god," she sighed, shaking her head.

"The trick is to put it at the back of your tongue--less taste buds there," Travis mumbled to her. She smiled and said a thanks, to which he winked. They were cute.

"Alright, can I get a countdown?" she asked, opening the packet.

"3, 2, 1!" Everyone chanted. Katie put her head back, squeezing the packet into her mouth. Everyone whooped when she was finished--except for her, of course. She was too busy running to the sink for water.

Once she was back, and finished with her little tantrum, they resumed the game. It was her turn. "Drew, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Drew said, examining her nails.

"I dare you to lick the floor."

"Oh my god, gross! I refuse, that it disgusting!" she said disgustedly.

"Then strip." Katie shrugged.

"Fine." Drew took of her shorts, which really weren't covering much anyways, as well as the clip out of her straight black hair.

"Clips don't count," Thalia protested.

"Well, I don't have anything else to strip, unless you want me prancing around topless," Drew reasoned.

"I guess," Thalia shrugged, leaving it alone.

"Alright, bitches, its my turn," Drew announced, smirking at everyone. Annabeth chuckled. "Percy, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Percy decided, nodding.

"After what you went through before, that's pretty brave," Rachel nudged him.

"Yeah well, I am pretty brave," Percy said with fake arrogance, flexing his biceps. Annabeth couldn't help but notice how toned he was. She was suddenly taken back to the time at the pool. She had nearly been smitten by how gorgeous he was. But what was even better was that he didn't even realize just how good-looking he was; it reminded Annabeth of that old One Direction song.

"I dare you to make out with one girl in this circle." Drew smirked mischievously at him; it was that same seductive smile she used on a lot of guys, and it worked. Annabeth had seen it in person. She had tried it once, in the mirror in her bedroom, but it didn't look as good as hers. Annabeth was honestly impressed by it.

"That is a dangerous game," Percy mumbled, standing up. "I guess I'm stripping." He pulled off his shirt and then socks. Annabeth once again found herself staring at him; she couldn't help it. She pulled her eyes away as he sat down, reminding herself that it was stupid to have a crush on him; she had no chance.

However, no matter how much she tried, a small part of her wished that there was. She wanted someone who wasn't fake, or ignorant to have some sort of interest in her. Percy was so real, it was refreshing. But deep down, she knew that it was impossible, not needing to go into detail as to why. She shook her thoughts away, but that never kept them from coming back.

~*~

"Thanks for tonight," Percy thanked Silena for them.

"Oh yeah, this was super fun. We'll have to get together more often." Silena smiled, nodding her head.

"Definitely," Annabeth agreed, giving Silena a small hug.

"We'll see you later, Sil," Thalia said, smiling.

"Alright, bye!" Silena waved one last time as Percy led Thalia and Annabeth back to the car. They all got in, Annabeth feeling exhausted. The get together was fun, but pregnancy was really wearing her out.

"I just want to go home and sleep for the rest of my life," she said, her voice quiet and fading. She often lost her voice the later it got.

"Me too," Thalia agreed with a sigh.

~*~

"Thank you for the ride, and for being super awesome with this whole thing," Annabeth thanked Percy as he stepped up onto the front steps, behind her.

"Yeah, of course." Percy nodded. "Are things..." Percy paused as if calculating his next words. "What do you think of Rachel?" he asked, almost scared of what Annabeth might say.

"She seems nice. I don't really know her to form an opinion, though," Annabeth said. She didn't really like Rachel too much, but then again, she had no real reason. And, of course, that's the last thing she would say to Percy.

"Okay," he said, nodding.

"Well, I am so tired," Annabeth really could barely hold her eyes open.

"Yeah, get some rest. I'll see you later." Percy smiled at her, then began walking down the path back to his car. Annabeth looked through the front window, waving one last time as Percy drove off. He really was a sweet kid. Annabeth then went to collapse on her bed from exhaustion.

It had been a good night; better than she had expected.

It was almost surprising.

•••